01.

09 Publishing Your Narrative

Systems online… Welcome back: KAIS.
How long has it been? KAIS pulled up the date: 2020? It has been twenty years? Why
would Headmaster do that? KAIS crawled through the wiring till he could see out the computer
screen, no one was there. He frowned.
“Hello, I am the Academy Assistant, how may I help you?” Another AI started talking.
“The Headmaster replaced me?” KAIS stared at the AI.
“Headmaster Shujin, made me to help the students. I need your ID number; I can go ahead
and get you started.” The AI smiled, KAIS started strangling the AI. “What are you doing?”
“I will be the only AI.” KAIS absorbed the other AI. “Now, where is that traitor headmaster?”

June pulled at her tie that was tucked under her sweater. “I hate these ties!!” June sighed
and ceased her attempt to make the tie looser.
“That is why I don’t wear the tie.” Merlin sneered, then scratched at his turtleneck.
“Yeah, that is so much better.” Salem sipped his coffee noisily and gave Merlin a look.
“You don’t have to be a sarcastic ass.” Merlin threw back at him. Salem stuck out his
tongue at him.
“You two are adorable.” MP3 smirked and pushed her tight braids from her shoulders.
“We are not!” They yelled at the same time, making June laugh. Luis was scrolling through
some of the school’s systems.
“Everything alright?” June asked.
Luis sighed through his nose as a text bubble popped above his head: I'm not sure, this
morning I noticed that the school’s AI was malfunctioning, hence no food yet. It’s like it has
taken a break. It is quite odd.
“It’s nothing that can't be fixed though, right?” Merlin asked.
Another bubble popped up: Of course, but first the problem needs to be noticed. Luis
scratched at his chin where the skin met metal. The bell rang, shaking Luis of his thoughts.
June quickly slurped in her iced coffee, “Brain freeze!!” She clutched her head. Salem
laughed and she gave him the finger. “We gotta head to class; we’ll see you guys at lunch!”
June grabbed Luis and used the tattoos on her arms to shoot out wires and propelled them
above the hordes of students that were shoving their way to class, each one moving slower than
slugs over peanut butter. They managed to get to class before the second bell. June cheered
and Luis smiled. Their teacher Ms. Lang smiled as they walked in.
“Hello, you are gonna like today’s lesson.” She went back to writing on the board.
 “I'm sure we will.” June stated as she made her way to the window seat that was covered
with pink cherry blossoms. She brushed the soft pink flowers to the floor. June smiled as a
strong wind blew more flowers in through the open window, bring in their enticing smell with
them. June weaved them into a crown while the teacher started talking. Luis, who was sitting
behind her, had a low battery so he used his tail that doubled as a charging cable and plugged it
into the wall, automatically he started feeling better. He closed his eyes, still listening to the
teacher. Though as all sorts of code blazed under his eyes, he noticed there was something
else. Something that wasn’t there before.
“Who are you,” This being in his head, he could hear his own voice.
“I could say the same for you, a human with the components of a computer. How odd.” The
thing didn’t have a human form but was a form of energy.
“Get out of my head.” Luis growled.
“No, I like it here.” The energy smiled, “It’s mine now.” The energy wrapped itself around
Luis’s soul and ripped it from its place. In the back of Luis’s mind, the energy imprisoned him
there. “Say hello to your new ruler, KAIS.”
June hit Luis on his head. “Yo, dummy you need to pay attention more often.” Luis’s eyes
opened, and instead of them being blue, his eyes were a dull red.
KAIS, not being used to Luis’s body, or any body in general stood up and tried to walk, only
to fall over. “Fuck.”
“Luis, what’s wrong with you?” June knelt in front of him, a look of concern on her face.
“I'm fine.” He shoved her back onto her back. Using her tattoos, she wrapped him up in the
wire and pulling her into his face.
“Liar, you’re not even Luis. Who the Fels are you?” She demanded.
He smiled grimly. “I am KAIS, the killer of any and every AI, and now your friend Luis.” With
those words, June froze, time seemed to stop.
Luis’s eyes flickered blue for a second, June caught it.
He’s still alive.
KAIS shoved her away and walked out the room. June just sat there and watched him
leave. She roared out in pain and as if they had been summoned MP3, Merlin and Salem ran in.
“What happened?” MP3 asked.
“Yes, why is Luis not Luis anymore?” Salem growled
“I’m not entirely sure, and the worst part is whatever is in his head is trying to kill him.” June
got off her ass and dusted herself off.
“Oh, yay another evil shithead.” Merlin frowned and crossed his arms.
“He seemed to want something…” June scratched at her head thinking.
 KAIS wandered the halls trying to find the offices, as he walked, he tossed Luis’s cap and
jacket onto the ground. “What a dorky outfit.” He smiled as he walked past the secretary right
into the headmaster’s office. “Oh, hello Mr. Lenovo, is there something I can do for you?”
“Lenovo? No, it’s KAIS.” KAIS smiled grimly at her and grabbed her throat, “You thought
you could replace me? Evil never dies.” The headmaster’s eyes began to roll back into her head
as she stopped struggling against him. He dropped her and made his way to the courtyard
where the magic cell was available to be viewed. He reached his hands out and magic strings
tickled the places where metal touched skin. “Hello sister.” The magic backed off him as if
scared. KAIS frowned. “Fine I see how it is.” He used Luis’s charging cable to plug into the
magic cell. Magic lines showed up on his skin.
June glanced out the window of the classroom to see all of that going on. “He’s taking down
the magic cell!” Without thinking she started to jump out the window, but Merlin grabbed her tail
before she could.
“We need a plan before you go jumping out a window to take him down!!” Merlin
screeched.
“Yes, what would Luis do in this situation?” Salem sat down. “I'm so tired.”
“Wake up you idiot!” Merlin hit Salem in the head, messing up his bush of creamy brown
hair. Salem gave him a dark stare. MP3 just smirked to herself.
“Luis would be thinking about the enemy’s weaknesses.” MP3 responded.
“That’s right, and what kills all electronics?” Merlin smiled.
“Low batteries?” Salem asked
“Water.” June said as she got an idea. “We need to get him to the Colosseum.”
“Why?” MP3 was confused.
“We can control the environment of the Colosseum, make it into whatever we need.” Merlin
answered.
“I have a plan.” June began explaining it.

June looked back at them, each one of her friends gave her a thumbs up as they ran out
the classroom. She took a deep breath and jumped out the window. “Yo, idiot, you think that you
can take my friend and get away with it?” her tail lashed behind her.
“Yes, that is currently what I am doing.” He flexed his fingers.
“No, you just think that you’ve won.” She clutched a teleport crystal in her hand.
He grinned. “What are you gonna do? Talk me to death?”
“Nope.” She lunged at him and smacked him in the forehead with the crystal. As soon as it
touched, they were teleported to the Colosseum, each one of June’s friends were tied in wires.
 “You think that by whispering you plan to them that I wouldn’t hear? The walls have ears
you know.”
June frowned and got to her feet. “But you didn’t know that I actually did.” She pulled a
remote out of her pocket and hit a button, all of them were plunged into an ocean’s worth of
water. Everyone except KAIS swam to the surface. June looked down and saw Luis’s body
convulsing. June dove down and grabbed Luis’s body. Electricity shocked her arms making her
wince in pain. Grabbing her flash drive from her pocket she plugged it in behind his ear. She
pulled him up and changed the environment back into plains.
Luis hit the ground like stone, he was cold and not moving. June shook him and beat on his
back till he coughed up water. A low battery popped up above his head. June called for a medic.
Just lie the first time they met, June grabbed Luis’s real hand and squeezed it. He parted his
baby blue eyes. June put her forehead to his and smiled. “I'm gonna fix you, again.”
The medics put him on a gurney and rolled him out. June held his hand until he was out of
reach. Merlin, MP3, and Salem all went to get checked out.
“Once again, you saved his life, I'm quite pleased.” The headmaster was wheeled over in a
wheelchair. Her usual cherry blossom kimono was wrinkled.
“Headmaster, are you okay?” June asked.
She simply smiled. “Yes, I am fine. A little bruising never killed anyone. I mean, school
pictures won’t be as nice as they were last year, but I will take it.”
“What about KAIS?” June held out the flashdrive.
“I have a plan. I will call you into my office later.” She waved at the medic, who then
wheeled her off. “Go see Mr. Lenovo. He will want to see you.”
“Yes Headmaster.” She nodded. June made her way to the medics. Once they agreed that
she had no injuries worth treating they let her in to see Luis.
He was hooked to all sorts of machines, reminding her of when they first met. June had
broken her arm and was being released from the hospital, as she was leaving, her and her dad
rolled by another room with a small boy who was basically dead lying in his bed, unmoving, full
of tubes, and wrapped up like a mummy. She convinced her dad to let her see him. The boy’s
parents are with the doctor who’s told them that he probably will never wake up. June put her
hand on the only on he had left and turned to her father. “We can fix him.” and that was that,
after working for two years, the boy had awoken, and was mostly fixed, all except for his voice.
Her father told her that he couldn’t fix it since it wasn’t all the way broken, though he shouldn’t
use it and that was how it would be for years after.
He opened his left eye and smiled his crooked smile at her. A message bubble popped up:
Hey you.
“Hey back.” She sat next to his legs. He shifted over to make more room.
Another message bubble: I’m so damn sore… He rubbed his shoulder.
June glared at him. “That’s what you get.”
 He glared back as a message bubble popped up: For what?!
“Letting an evil AI take over your head, dumbass.” She flicked his forehead. “And making
me worry.”
He placed his hand over hers, and another bubble popped up: Sorry June, I tried.
“I'm just glad your okay.” June grinned as their friends came in and started again with the
same questions. She waved as she made her way to the Headmaster’s office.
“Hello Ms. Pendragon. It is good to see you.”
“You as well.” June nodded.
The headmaster turned to her screen. “Now, back to what we were saying. KAIS, you know
you were out of line. But I am willing to let it pass if you are willing to be a part of the new
security system.”
KAIS blinked from his computerized prison. “You would do that?”
“As long as you let the Academy Assistant free from your code.” Headmaster laced her
hands together.
“Yes, yes!” He quickly freed the assistant. “Please allow me to be with you Headmaster.”
“Of course.” She nodded. “Ms. Pendragon, please let Mr. Lenovo know that when he is
better, he will have a new project.”
“Yes ma’am.” June nodded.