The slate stone walls of the laboratory flickered faintly as the mad professor crossed the other side of the room, putting away an instrument he had been using and recovering a tome stashed away in another corner. Flipping through the pages, he stumbled in his exhaustion, his year of effort having taken its toll on him.

In the very middle of the room was his workstation which looked strangely like a reclined patient’s chair of a medical facility. The girl seated in that chair took account of her surroundings, trying to figure anything out at all. What was going on? Where was she? Who was she? She blinked, figuring out how her eyes worked, and turned to look around. Her mind came to her at that point, a jumble of thoughts and facts but no real answers. Still, it gave her more to work with, she put together how to get her body to respond. She lifted her arm, opening and closing her hand before her eyes as she measured how it worked. Thoughts rushed through her consciousness, a jumbled cluster of mess that she still did not understand, so instead she tried to take things one at a time. She tried to sit up in her chair to look around, bumping a nearby tray table and sending its contents to the floor.

Mr. Ymheqxhya jumped at the sound and rushed over, pride surging through him at this sudden burst of progress. It made little sense why things had been stagnant for so long, only to change in this moment. Was it something he had done recently? He recounted some of his recent actions, all failures disproven. He was honestly searching for another solution when all of a sudden… It was nothing short of a miracle. Still, in his years of experience, his devotion to his practice, he knew everything happened for a reason, logical in its own way. It was imperative to figure out what had happened so that he could work with it, rather than against it. He set the tome back and went searching for another instrument.

The girl could not understand the strange actions of the man rushing around, but she could tell he was concerned for her. He was her caretaker or something? The girl searched her thoughts in concern, pressing diligently for an answer. Ah, she had it, this man was something of a father to her. Having accomplished that, she pressed against her memories, using the experience to see if she could divulge any more answers. While trying to sort through her mind, she paused all of a sudden, feeling two important presences approaching her. She couldn’t figure out what made these two presences so important, but they were. She pressed her thoughts for an answer, invested into the importance of the matter, and in return only learned that her mind did not have an answer. So, it wasn’t something she knew, it was only a matter of.. instinct. That instilled a feeling of curiosity, following the two presences as they approached and knocked on the door.

She was thus surprised to find three people entering instead of two. She pressed upon her mind for answers, and identified the first as her mother, but had nothing for the other two. All three of them meanwhile were surprised to see her. Ah, her father reacted as well, it was probably that she was awake as she was. Honestly, she was herself surprised how well she was doing with everything, her mind keenly aware of how much of an accomplishment this was. She watched her father rush over to them, beaming with pride. The two others, both somehow really important to her, they were still frozen and pale, like they had seen a ghost. Why was that anyway? She pressed her mind for answers, but was instead interrupted questioning her mind by the sudden conversation.

“It’s remarkable, isn’t it? She had been completely unresponsive until just a few moments ago, but now she’s all too.. awake.” “Khyzae.. is that really her?” “Well, yes and no. The real Khyzae did die that night almost a year ago, caught in the blaze of that fire. However, even in her last moments, her living essence held on despite the fire, the only vestige of her that remained. It was remarkable that I was able to recover such, in all honesty. If she had been left in the observatory, not even that would have remained. I managed only barely to salvage and transfer her essence into the Ersatz we had prepared based on her. It now also has her blood surging through its veins, even her own living signature imprinted into it, and its own set of thoughts based upon her own. Sure, it doesn’t have the same memories as she used to, and it’s still an artificial creation, but this is otherwise a perfect copy of her.” Mr. Ymheqxhya surprised Sryine with the explanation, divulging not just the past year of effort, but some of his life’s ambition long before it. Khyzae’s father could certainly tell that making sure her body was thrown like that from the observatory was no accident, it was a final gift from his daughter. He had no idea how she would have known her essence would be so preserved, but had devoted himself to ensure such a gift was not wasted.

This answered so many of the girl’s questions. She was Khyzae, or actually something of her copy, basically a kind of artificial clone. There was a word for that as well, an Ersatz. The explanation provided her more answers than her mind could, that her original had died in a fire, and she was what remained. She didn’t have the same memories, that also explained why her mind wasn’t so good at providing answers. Her thoughts were almost an emulation too, she didn’t have access to the complete collection of her predecessor. So the two people she thought of as parents, they were the real Khyzae’s parents. Well, as her creator, they were still her parents too, that didn’t change. The other two, they seemed to think she was important, they were probably important to the real Khyzae too. She knew they were important, but not why.

She tried to climb off the chair she was sitting in, but had not fully grasped how her body works yet. Stumbling over the edge, she tripped and landed hard on her left hand, which failed to properly brace for the rapid movement. Her left wrist snapped on the solid stone floor, and she screamed in pain. Her eyes closed, she still felt one of the important people approach before anyone else had an opportunity. Rapidly, the feeling of pain began to wash away, the artificial filaments of her body interweaving together once again in its original form. Sryine gasped at the movement as Vwyx clung desperately to the fallen Khyzae, devoted in whole to make sure that she did not fail her friend again. Much like her craft in the past, she was using her gift to interweave the fibers of her friend's artificial body back into its previous form, a material not even faintly related to the wood she was used to, nor was it or its design at all familiar to her. She had no idea what she was doing, but she wasn’t going to let the limitations of her mind stop her.

To Khyzae, it felt like a soft warmth, a familiar light. She could just feel Vwyx’s will flare to life and burn with ambition, lending her confusing existence a strong source of comfort. She opened her eyes and looked around, Vwyx tearfully focused on her work while Sryine had rushed in to find anything else she could help with too. Khyzae figured out the right word for all of this, these were her friends. Her wrist fully healed, she took both of them in a hug, of which both of them returned in kind. Khyzae’s mother set down the food she had brought while her father stepped back to take account of the situation. Clearly, the girls had everything under control, things were going to be okay. If Vwyx had such talent in the field, maybe he should take an opportunity to teach her more on the subject. Having someone else on hand with the appropriate knowledge would make things much easier for him, especially now that Khyzae had awoken.

Having healed, Khyzae tried to stand up, finding herself instantly assisted by her two new friends. After a bit of practice, she managed to figure out how the process worked, though her body wasn’t completely as responsive as she might have liked. All things considered, this body had never done stuff like this before, maybe it just needed some practice.. some exercise. She took a few steps forward, but almost stumbled again. Quickly, she found herself carried back into her original chair, Vwyx not wanting to see her friend injured again. Sryine took account of the situation, all too familiar with how awkward it could be to get out of bed so suddenly after being stuck there for that long. She herself had been fairly drained until recently, having enjoyed a good lunch had done her plenty of good. Still, she was a person, did the same principle apply to this Khyzae?

“Is it possible for her to eat food? Does it do her any good?” “Oh, lunch, right! It.. her body doesn’t exactly make use of food in the same way, but it emulates living conditions almost perfectly. Just like any other person, Khyzae is going to need to eat and sleep and all things such as that. She’s actually been taking nutrient tablets herself for a few months now, but this would be the first real food she’ll have ever eaten. Make sure she’s careful with eating then, she will have knowledge of how it works but nothing more.” Sryine nodded, understanding the complications Khyzae’s father was getting at. The soup they brought might even still be hot, that could burn her if her body could not adjust to the heat. The sandwiches were a better choice, but were potentially a choking hazard if not eaten properly.

Sryine got together a portion of the food, finding they had brought down plenty to split between two people. First, she served a portion of the soup, so that it could start cooling down. Then, she set a sandwich aside and cut it into tiny bite-sized pieces. Khyzae took account of the same information she was being exposed to. Eating, that was something she knew about, and it made sense at this point that she might not have personally experienced it. She pressed through her mind for any relevant information. Bite-sized pieces, that was so she could chew the food easily. She practiced moving her jaw and took a deep breath, exercising the parts of her she would need for this process. Taking account of everyone’s concern, and scanning over the thoughts she had, she came up with another idea.

“Water?” Technically, this was the first word Khyzae had ever personally vocalized. She measured that if she needed to learn to eat food, it might be easier to start with drinking water. Vwyx was out of the room in a rush, knowing where she could get the requested water from. She returned not long after with a cup of water, fresh and cool. Sryine paused her work to watch. Khyzae took up the cup carefully, measuring her grip and the motions required. She knew she had to be careful how much water she drank at once, but even a small sample was good practice. Khyzae took care to only take a small sip of the water, and swallowed carefully. Yes, she could do this. She took slightly more samples of water until she was able to drink a comfortable portion. She returned the empty cup to Vwyx’s waiting hand, both sharing a gentle smile at this success. Sryine took the opportunity to show up with the sandwich pieces, which Khyzae carefully picked up. Using much of the same process, she carefully took her time measuring the process of eating the sandwich pieces, chewing carefully. With the sandwich gone, Sryine started to prepare another, pausing as Khyzae shook her head.

“I.. I can do it.” Khyzae held out her plate for another sandwich, so Sryine provided a whole and uncut sandwich for the plate. Khyzae carefully measured her own pieces in her mouth, until she finished with the entire sandwich. Sryine could only imagine how much it would take to depend on artificial memories to do something she herself had never done before, even if it was something as simple as eating a sandwich. Wanting to keep providing encouragement, Sryine then brought forward the bowl of soup, a spoon waiting inside. This provided Khyzae another challenge, some hand-eye coordination to bring the soup to her mouth. However, even though her first attempt was a success, she was getting the hang of how her body worked. What surprised her was the heat of the soup, still cool enough to eat, but far warmer than anything else she had eaten. She knew it would be warm, but not what it meant for something to be warm. Still, such surprise quickly passed, and she resumed her efforts to consume the soup.

“Thank.. thank you both. I.. I don’t remember your names. What are they?” Khyzae found her two friends chuckling softly at her, for reasons she didn’t quite understand. Of course, without all of her memories, they were but strangers to Khyzae once again. This was the second time they had neglected proper introductions, much like they had once before. Both of them wiped tears from their eyes, realizing that this was their opportunity at a second start, a second attempt. This time, neither of them were going to let this chance slip by, there was no more room for error.

“I am terribly sorry for forgetting proper introductions. My name is Srynihxaezhiyl Maexiqhezyhr, please call me Sryine.” “Meanwhile, mine is Vwyxzrihqaeli Bhyiqiexhaez, or simply Vwyx. We’re glad for this opportunity to be of assistance to you.” Sryine and Vwyx were grinning ear to ear, passing an introduction that fit all too well, co-ordinated like it was rehearsed without any form of real hesitation. Even Khyzae started laughing at this, though she couldn’t really understand why it was so funny. Vwyx and Sryine shared a mutual glance to each other, both understanding the intent. They had both let down the hopes of the original Khyzae, they both owed this family their lives. Helping this new Khyzae out, being her assistant number one and two all over again, they hoped it would go towards paying back everything that they still owed.

Khyzae’s father went over further calculations, still overall confused. Khyzae even needed introductions for the two girls, which made sense as there was no way this Khyzae would have memories of them. And yet, the two of them had grown so close almost instantly. He recalled before they had even arrived, she had perked up and had followed their approach, as if she could see them through the solid stone. Was it so much of a coincidence that Khyzae had finally woken up just as both girls had finally approached? He had even been informed of their all too unnatural injuries, which had left them in his wife’s care instead of either family. The burns they suffered weren’t natural at all, and in all accounts neither of them had much of a chance of surviving such serious injuries.. and yet here they both were. He always knew his daughter was up to her own mischief behind his back, but had never been able to learn the details. With her gone, he would never have the chance to ask her.

He had even taken the opportunity to get a look at her observatory, to see what he could discover. Almost all records were lost, every single paper destroyed, much of the instruments misshapen in a pale unidentifiable form. He knew the giant white blob in the corner used to be an instrument for viewing the stars, but nothing more. The other two girls might have seen something, but that night would have been so traumatic that it made it so difficult to ask. Even worse was that everything had transpired in a short period almost a year ago, much of the fine details would have been lost in that time. He would have to depend on his own instruments to turn something up, though he didn’t think there was much hope in uncovering anything new. If there was nothing to be done about the past, then he would have to turn his attention to the future.

His Ersatz project had finally struck a success, though the cost was far too great. He still had no idea how the essence had been salvaged, but it was clear the cost to gain this essence was to take the essence of another. That did not settle his ambitions, this wasn’t the creation of a new essence, only the repurpose of something existing. Depending on the fallen to fuel his ambitions did not sit well with him at all, throwing him right back to the drawing board. Worse, even with an essence, the Ersatz didn’t awaken on its own impulse. Finding a way to make an artificial essence was an impossible enough feat, but this added complexity made the whole project seem to hold a grim future indeed.

At present, he had other complications. His achievements had returned to him a daughter that would need help to return to a regular lifestyle. Her two friends were clearly invaluable for this process, but there was a complication in depending on that solution. He was well aware that the two girls had families that had grown worried about their fates, who wanted them returned to their caring embrace. As soon as they discovered the two girls in question were well enough, he would have to return them to their homes, returning everything to the state things were before all of this had begun. He was well aware of how much the rest of the village kept them at a distance, and even a year later it had only grown worse due to the accident. Meanwhile, all the extra supplies they needed over the past year, to save his daughter and her two friends, it had buried them in obligations after obligations.

To convince the village that he could properly care for both girls, he had to establish that the village lacked any real medical practice and that their family could provide such services. They had kept services low, convincing everyone that the two girls demanded most of their attention, but once both girls were gone, the doors for future services would be left wide open. It wasn’t a lie that the village had no real medical service, but neither him nor his wife were actually skilled doctors. The most he had was the knowledge he had gained during his research, just the same as his wife. Sure, there was a lot of related knowledge, but he had serious doubts in his ability to deal with any life-threatening injuries. That itself is why the survival of the two girls was something unexplainable, like saving a lost arm with nothing more than first aid. His wife had been caring for them like they had a serious flu, instead of knocking on death’s door from a coma. As the two of them had recovered, they had just continued to provide simple basic care, in order for them to have the resources to complete their recovery on their own.

He knew everything would one day come back to overwhelm him, and there was no choice but to face that judgement head-on. With troubles such as those, he would no longer have the opportunity to devote any time on any further research in the field of his passion.