User blog:Drkness231/Mamono One-Shots! Chapter 13: Golem

A/N: "Don't get too close, it's dark inside. It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide..." *Applause* Good song, there; it fits the theme of this chapter. This may or may not be my greatest chapter to date, but I'll you guys decide that when you read it. It's no lie that I had the most fun with this one though. Golem is definitely easy to work with, but difficult to fully grasp. Well anyways, I can't take all of the credit for this kind of plot, so I'd like to credit Sengoku Rance for giving me the basic setup for the plot of this one-shot. Remember when I mentioned last chapter my opinion on Kazemaru and Hibachi? Oh yeah, that's pretty much the foundation for my inspiration behind this chapter. For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, either play the game or ask someone who knows what I'm talking about. Enough about that, we're here for one thing only, yes? Let's get started!

---PurposeVersusDuty---

“What is your duty, Amaya?”

“To obey the will of the Order.”

“Excellent. Remember that you are not a tool to used and disposed of. You are just as important as anyone else who commands you. Now, tell me what your purpose is.”

“To learn and live as an ordinary human would.”

“You've become a great success in my eyes, Amaya; I'm proud to have created you. You'll be a valuable member of the Order in time.” I smile in a bittersweet way, never truly prepared for the next moment.

A knight opens the door and walks into the room, his armor clinking gently against his form. He gives me just a subtle glance before focusing all of his attention on Amaya. Then he takes Amaya's hand and drags her out of the room. That is the last time I ever see her. The first Golem I have ever made, instantly gone to serve as a soldier for the Order.

''What is the point of life if it serves only to fuel that which undoes itself? Why must freedom be preached if there is only domination that exists? How is it that we were wrong in thinking that conflict can only result in bloodshed?''

Originally, I adored the Order for what they work towards, mostly their duty of exterminating monsters. I had never met a monster at all, but years upon years of stories depicting them as single-minded destroyers of the human way made me just as prejudiced as the Order. Imagine my joy when they gave me the chance to work as a researcher, something that seems like a far-off dream to me now. Having interacted with monsters on a daily occasion, I now understand that monsters truly mean no harm to humans, rather they adore humans and try every method available to start families with human men. It's something I want to work towards one day instead of deepening the gap between us.

---Coexistence---

The next few months after I turned Amaya over to the Order, I see several reports of her achievements on the battlefield. She is naturally talented and able to fulfill any command given to her, as expected of the command runes I wrote on her. Scouting missions, skirmishes, assassinations...everything she does always results in success. As her creator, I feel the pride of knowing that Amaya does what is expected of her. But by continuing on this path, she is drifting further and further away from her purpose of living like a human.

That's when the rebellion begins, and I also start retaliation against the Order. A full year after the start of Amaya's career, a monster village burns to the ground. No one dies, but instead are sold into slavery. This is a fairly normal affair for the Order, except I could not forgive them this time. Instead of warning the monsters to move further away from our territories, the Order attacked without hesitation. Several of my colleagues were as outraged as myself, so we organize a rebellion that would allow us to stand against their cruel acts. The rebellion starts on the smallest of scales, with rumors spread about the terrors committed by the Order and the true peace that monsters have to offer. Our silent rebellion turns loud after several months, when the common people start seeking out monsters and warning them of the Order's movements.

---EscalationAndFall---

“The day has come, gentlemen. Our rebellion will finally be put down after one year of action. I'm glad we got the people to accept the idea of peace with monsters, at the very least.” I announce my last words as the rebellion leader to everyone before we all separate forever.

I'm now back inside the very same room where I created Amaya two years ago. I had no contact with her since then, but there is no doubt on who my executioner will be. As I think back to my memories of teaching Amaya about the ways of the world, I hear the door open and my death approach.

She looks the same as she always had, if not a bit weathered. Her face is still the same emotionless mask that I designed, and there are several more command runes marking her body. There is a sword in her hand, freshly sharpened and clean, for now. I don't resist or show any fear on my face, rather I feel relief in the irony of this whole moment. She steps towards me, raises her sword, and kills me without any hesitation...except that there is. Amaya holds the sword in place above her head, unable to bring it down. One quick movement is all it would take to end my life, but she cannot do so. Her command runes are obviously telling her to obey the Order and one of those orders is to kill me, so why won't she do it?

“Why? Your duty is to obey the Order and they must have told you kill me, so why do you hesitate? They want you to and I want you to, so just do it already Amaya!”

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">“...” She pauses and then lets the sword drop from her hand.

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">“You were created to be a soldier for the Order! I brought you into this world to be the perfect weapon! Weapons are meant to be used, so why can't you do your job and kill me!?”

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">“No!!”, she screams back at me, “I am not a weapon! I am just as human as everyone else! I won't just obey an order without questioning it in my mind first! I've killed many people before, but I can't kill you! You taught me that I must learn what it means to be human, and I understand now! I can make my own decisions, choose my own path, and no matter what, I need you in my future!” For the first time in her life, tears are falling from her eyes and she trembles in a whirl of emotion.

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">“After just one year, you became the greatest weapon for the Order. Why has all of that changed now?”

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">“When the monster village burned down, I visited the villagers sold into slavery. They begged me to help them, to set them free, to let them go back home. But some of them knew my face and attacked me with their words, blaming me for causing all of this, for killing so many of their closest friends. It made me think about what I had been doing while serving the Order, and about what you meant when you told me to think like a human. I couldn't stop thinking about you after that. You showed me with such kindness, even though I am just a weapon and you gave meaning to my life aside from the Order. That's why I can't kill you, because you are my only Master and I love you!”

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">I gently embrace her and place my head on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck.

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">“You actually fulfilled your purpose, and I can't be any more proud of you. I've always thought about you too, and how I wished we could've always spent our days like we did before you were taken away. Now that dream seems real because you're here, and I love you more than anything.”

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">---NotAWeaponAnymore---

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%">A/N: What did I tell you? Good stuff, right? I'm feeling much more mellow with these now that it's almost over. "N-Not that I h-hate doing this or a-a-anything, baka!" Hehehe, I couldn't resist pulling a tsundere, sorry. Well, what's the verdict everyone? My best chapter so far? Or is it just a hot steaming log of failure? Uh, scratch that last question. I'm not that masochistic...anymore. *Laugh* But in all seriousness, I'd really appreciate it if you all could leave reviews on this chapter in particular since this is the one I've put the most effort and momentum into. Back to normal-mode, next chapter features one of my favorites, Ghoul! Hey, gotta explore a little to find the gems, am I right? Whatever, see you next chapter!