These were all things a rational person could have put together very easily.
At this moment, Aryu was not rational. In fact, it's a safe assumption that at this moment, he was one step up from a feral child raised by animals in the deep wilderness. One who knows only three things: hunger, fear, and survival.
The spinning, glowing blue eyes remained locked on him, whirling about the solid cores at various speeds. The thing was much taller than Aryu, but was skinny and ridged, like a steel skeleton come to life. No face. Barely a head, really. Just eyes in a round, flat metal plate.
Was he really home?
What was happening?
....How?
The thing was almost in front of him, gears and servos grinding until it had bent down to what could be called a knee, meeting the terrorized man face-to-mock-face.
“I believe, Aryu, that I understand your reaction entirely.” That voice! Gods, it was clear as a bell and twice as pleasant. It was surreal, like an educated teacher trying to get across a point to a child who won't listen. It was firm but understanding.
“Indeed, this whole village reacted the same way when I arrived. It took some...” a soft clicking somewhere inside its short, odd head, “...convincing, to have them understand that we mean no harm to them or you. We've been waiting for you, Aryu. You are very important to us.”
It spoke the words clearly, with proper inflections and emphasis. If you closed your eyes, there was no way to tell it apart from a regular human voice. The creepiness grew more and more.
Aryu heard these perfectly formed and well-chosen words, but they may as well have been garbled and unintelligible for the amount he understood. Confusion and fear continued their waltz through his head, neither daring to take the lead.
Aryu remained where he was, trying to grasp the words the thing was saying, head cocked slightly like a dog, confusion written all over his face.
“As I expected, it will clearly take a moment for my words to sink in. But rest assured, Aryu, I speak the truth of things.” Aryu’s body tensed as the thing grew closer, but he remained silent. “Huh, well, not surprising, really.” It let out a sigh, just like any other living, breathing, exasperated thing. “I believe you should come with us, Aryu. Ms. Sia and I both believe further discussion is warranted, but in a place a little less public.”
The first of the rational thoughts to come rose in Aryu. Aryu tore his vision away from the monster and its intrusive eyes and found Sia, now standing with her son Esgona, eyes softly staring at nothing specific. She was no longer the woman whose bravado and saber-rattling had shaken so many council meetings. This was a woman beaten to the limits of her mental strength. Aryu began to doubt she'd heard a word the thing had said. Her face said she hadn't.
“You must forgive her current state, sir.” Sir? “She is quite exhausted from the events of the last few weeks. Believe me, though. I speak for her, and I speak very clearly. We must adjourn to a more serene environment if we wish to continue. I believe the...” the clicking began again, “rabble, as it were, may cause us unnecessary distraction.”
The background drone of the crowd that hadn't run in terror became louder and louder until at last Aryu heard it for what it was: terrified people screaming for this thing to leave and take the winged man with him.
Aryu’s sense of survival was as keen as ever, and his most base instincts grew with every mental step he took back into the here and now.
He slunk back, away from the machine.
“Aryu, I am afraid I must insist on this matter.” It began to match his movements, inching forward as he moved away. “My purpose here is far more important than your petty fears and useless questions.”
With that, it began extending its arm, four grasping digits opening to grab Aryu.
When it was inches away, Aryu’s most primal urges, coupled with a newfound sense of power, didn't let it get any closer.
He pulled back quickly, rising to his feet as he did so, his right arm grasping the light, straight sword like an old pro, twisting it around his body until it came between him and the nightmare before him.
“I believe I made my stance on this issue quite clear, sir.” An edge of actual impatience inched into its pleasant voice. “There is no time for stupidity.”
As it rose to meet him again, grasping claws again coming closer, Aryu’s mind became clear as fallen snow. With one fluid motion of his wrist, the blade came across the lunging appendage, severing it like it was freshly baked bread right above its rotor-driven elbow. The scream of fear in the crowd was almost instantly drowned out by the inhuman noise that erupted from the machine. All hints of pleasantness were completely gone.
It was unlike anything Aryu had ever heard. Like an animal attacked by wolves, screaming for help or in pain, whichever instinct was stronger, but was then passed through some electronic megaphone.
The mechanical man staggered away, black and red fluid squirting out of the appendage that had moments ago had an arm attached. Now it flapped about like a giant chicken wing.
The
