This story is meant to be fairly wholesome and for most viewers. However…
*There’s some mild profane language.
*This story features transgender and other LGBTQ+ characters.

KIT Mecha-ala - Part 3

Later that day, Kaylee got a call on her phone. “Dr. Varfen” was the listed name. She didn’t recognize the area code at all, nor the name. As she looked at it, her thumb hovered over the hang-up option. But then again, maybe this was something about her hormone treatments?

She hit accept.

“Hello? Would this be Kaylee?”

“Uh, yeah, who’s asking?” she asked hesitantly.

“I am Doctor Varfen. It’s very unlikely you’ve heard of me, but I work with sensitive technology. I know you’ve been working the night shift guarding a tech company out of Massachusetts. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble at all, but did anything unusual happen in the past couple of weeks?”

Oh shit, are they looking for Kit? she thought. “Nope, nothing at all.”

“Ah, okay. We’re looking for someone related to a project. We don’t believe she’s dangerous at all.”

Kaylee slipped up. “Oh yeah, she’s just the sweetest…” That’s when she caught herself. “EEP!” she yelled as she lost grip of the phone, dropping it on the table.

“Hello? Are you still there? It’s okay… I’m assuming you’re keeping her safe?”

“Uh… Y-yeah…” Kaylee responded, shaking.

“You have nothing to fear… You haven’t done anything wrong in my book. So, you met her?”

“I have, and she’s just the sweetest thing you could ever meet! Took me by surprise, but she was so understanding and friendly. I wanted to protect her after meeting her…”

“I’m one of the designers of her base artificial intelligence kit, and I got to say, looking through her logs before she disappeared – presumably to build her body – I can see why.”

This got something to click in Kaylee’s head, something Kit told her that night… “A designer of the base AI kit… Are you a… Kitsune?”

“Oh-ho! So she told you about my kind, how interesting…”

“She said if you got involved, she’d be safe. She told me because she also knew her development was illegal.”

“Indeed it was, and it’s been completely shut down. Now, we’re just trying to verify her safety. Awakened AI like her have all the same rights as kitsunes by our culture, so we want to make sure she’s free to exist as she is. Before I ask where she is, it seems she didn’t have a name by the time she left the Pentagon’s systems. Did she come up with one?”

“Kit. Kit Mecha-ala. Like McKayla, only-“

“A pun on her mechanical nature, hehe.”

For the first time, Kaylee was finally relaxed. Something about this older [alien] gentleman’s laugh was genuine and easygoing. She was now ready to believe everything the kitsune man had claimed.

“Anyway, is she there with you, or?”

“Stubborn girl wanted to see the ocean, get some hot dogs. So, I gave her some money for that. I admit I’m worried about her, but she’s resilient.”

“I can imagine, with as much as she was looking through before creating a body. She absorbed a lot of stories on resilience. But, we can get some allies to look for her and make sure she’s safe. Talo, my apprentice, was going to link up with the FBI. I can forward this new information to them to help them look for her... Maybe even treat her to that hot dog she wanted!" Varfen paused for a moment. If this human knew about the kitsunes, and she was a night guard, she might prove useful…

“Young lady, if you don’t mind, while we wait, I’d like to offer you a job – in person. Being a night guard who’s already learned about my kind’s existence, well, it’s something we don’t get all that often.”

Kaylee was stunned and confused all at once. “Oh?”

“We can discuss it more in person, but we have a joint-run facility on the other side of the country. Humans, us, and a whole lot more, working together. Perhaps you’d be interested in a new job?”

=======

Terrance was waiting on the docks, just like his contact told him to. If he was lucky, this was his chance to finally get some hard evidence on the Arden-Smiths, especially with their only child being estranged (and now a genie too – meaning anything she now had was inadmissible in court, given “genies don’t exist”).

His phone rang. “Yes, hello? Where are you?” Terrance asked nervously.

“Look out to the ocean. Then look up.”

Terrance followed the instructions, and his eyes met a plane.

“Hahaha! Did you really think I was going to talk!? I’m going somewhere where the weather is nice all year long – and there’s no such thing as extradition! See you never, sucker!” The “contact” hung up.

Terrance’s hand lowered, shaking. Pure, unadulterated rage boiled over. “AAAAARRRRRG!” he roared as he chucked his phone into the ocean, where it landed with a plop and a fizzle. “Well… Shit,” he muttered, realizing one of his phones was dead. Again.

His other phone “conveniently” rang at this moment. He pulled it out, revealing it had a case made of exotic wood, not found beyond a place called Grovewall. It also revealed it was his “special” boss calling. “George…” Terrance muttered.

“Arden-Smith case claimed another phone, I take it?”

“Yeah…” Terrance sighed.

“Well, how about I give you a break from that mess? We got a tip from the kitsunes.”

“What about?”

“It seems illegal AI research was being conducted by the Pentagon, go figure. The AI awakened, then disappeared. She built herself a body, and she’s in the area. The kitsunes are looking for her.”

“Is this their protection protocol?” Terrance was familiar with the kitsunes’ policy on awakened AI; friendly ones were protected as much as blood-and-flesh beings.

“Indeed it is.” There was a pause on George’s end. “Uh-huh. Got it. Yup, it’s all here. Good news, we got more to work with, including a name, and what she might be doing…”

“Sure thing, just give me the information, and I can make contact.”

“Well, she was apparently going to visit the dock…”

No sooner had George said that, Terrance watched a girl in boyish clothes with pure gray skin, interrupted by black mechanical joints, walk right by him, causing his eyes to widen as she strolled by, enjoying the gentle ocean breeze.

“… Afterwards, visiting a hot dog stand, for some reason. She goes by the name of Kit.”

“Uh-huh,” Terrance replied, nodding slowly.

“… She’s right there, isn’t she?”

“Uh-huh,” came the same dumbfounded tone from Terrance.

“Don’t worry, I have assurances from the kitsunes that she’s harmless. Go ahead and give her some company, take her to the hot dog stand and back home. There, Dr. Varfen will be waiting to meet her. I’m counting on you. Oh, and I’ll fund the food you get. Good luck, Agent Terrance!”

Terrance hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket, then walked up to Kit. “Excuse me, um, madam?” he asked. He had to admit he was still processing “robot girl” being added to his list of beings he’s met.

Kit turned around. “Oh? Yes?” she asked in a pleasant tone.

“Errm, how’s the view?”

“You’re not very good at small talk, are you?” she asked with an amused look on her face.

“I’m, well, this is my first time meeting a ‘robot girl.’ And for a short career loaded with surprises, it seems I still haven’t seen everything life’s going to throw at me. Agent Terrance, of the FBI. I’m here to accompany you on your trip to keep you safe. Your developers-“

“The kitsunes?”

“Yes indeed. Dr. Varfen, one of your code’s original designers, shut down the Pentagon program that created you, and they’re now trying to ensure your safety. I’ve been asked to accompany you on your trip. It sounded like one of the kitsunes might be waiting for you at the place you’ve been hiding out at…”

“Huh, I wonder how Kaylee will feel about meeting a kitsune face-to-face? Wait, she’s the one who told you how to find me?”

“She may have been contacted by Varfen, who forwarded the information to us. I don’t know the specifics of how, but I do know that your trip is going to be paid for, courtesy of my boss, so…”

“Oh, really!? I mean, I wasn’t going to get much, but thank you!” Kit’s smile melted Terrance’s heart.

“So, first of all, why a hot dog?”

“I mean, I got this advanced digestive system, and the taste buds to taste it. Why not try one?”

“Woah… This job continues to surprise…”

“What do you mean?”

Terrance thought about it for a moment. The information he dealt with for “this part” of his job was highly classified. Then again, Kit’s makers were among the classified material. Heck, she was probably classified. She probably could know.

“There’s two parts to my job right now, and one of them deals with investigating supernatural beings and events. I’ve met kitsunes, like your creators, as well as more Earth-bound beings such as dryads and merfolk as a part of this. I knew about the kitsune AI program, but it never achieved anything on Earth… Until you. I’ve been with the bureau for six years now, and it seems like every other month is a new surprise. Heck, my ‘official case’ ended up colliding with my secret job a couple of months ago, when I met a transwoman I’d been looking for over a year. Turns out, she became a genie, a particularly powerful one.”

“Oh, really!? That’s amazing!”

“Unfortunately, that also came with the fact she knew nothing about the case nor was involved in it. Even if she did, none of it would be admissible in court, as ‘magic doesn’t exist.’ I might have… Err, chucked my phone into the sea out of rage just a few minutes ago because of said case…”

“Ouch.” Kit reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “Sorry to hear. But it’s cool that there’s this whole world of magic around us! I wonder if, as a machine, if I can even use magic… Nah, that’s probably silly. Stories I read suggested technology and magic don’t get along. But I can dream!”

“You can?”

Kit smiled. “Yup! Been dreaming since I started building this body, even before I got into it!” She turned out to the ocean again. Her eyes closed as her smile widened.

“So, how’s the ocean?”

“Amazing.”

END OF PART 3

By Erica Chrisman (CrystalSeaDragon44)