Brenda's violet eyes narrowed behind her thick glasses.

  "Parameters confirmed. You are Jett. Veschar. Height..1.75 meters. Weight…70 kilograms."

  Jett blinked. "How do you know all that?"

  "The Algorithm…provides data. It is efficient." She said.

  "Right," Jett said slowly. "And you're going to teach me how to fight?"

  Brenda tilted her head. "Combat…is a skill. It can be learned."

  "Okay," Jett said. "So, where do we start? Do you have, like, a training montage planned?"

  Brenda's violet eyes blinked slowly. "First…I must assess your current…capabilities."

  She stood up and walked toward him.

  "Show me…your strength," she said.

  Jett hesitated. "Uh, okay." He flexed his arm, trying to look impressive - there was no muscle definition on his biceps.

  Brenda stared at his arm for a moment, then shook her head. "Inadequate. Show me…your speed."

  Jett shrugged. "I'm pretty fast. I can run…pretty fast."

  Brenda raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

  "Demonstrate."

  Jett sighed. "Okay, fine." He took a few steps back and then ran across the room, he nearly tripped over a coffee table.

  Brenda watched him with a blank expression. "Acceptable. Show me…your…talents."

  Jett frowned. "Talents? Like, singing? I can sing. Sort of." He cleared his throat and sang a few lines from a pop song, his voice cracked slightly.

  Brenda stared at him for a long moment. Then she shook her head slowly.

  "You…are not…suitable."

  Jett's jaw dropped. "What? What do you mean I'm not suitable? I came all the way over here!"

  "Your physicality…is lacking. Your…speed is mediocre. Your talents…are nonexistent."

  "Hey! I'm a great pizza delivery guy!" Jett protested.

  Brenda tilted her head. "Pizza delivery…is not…a combat skill."

  "But I need to learn how to fight!" Jett exclaimed.

  "I keep running into these…things! And they're trying to kill me! I almost got killed by a gargoyle! And I had to fight a giant rat monster! And now I have a baby monster rat living in my laundry!"

  Brenda stared at him, her violet eyes were unblinking. There was an evident look of surprise on her face.

  "A…baby monster rat?"

  "Yeah!" Jett said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

  "It's this tiny, green eyed thing! It's kind of cute, but also terrifying! And it lives in my dirty laundry! And I don't know what it eats! And I almost died from the sun just walking over here! I feel like I'm turning into a boiled egg! And I had the weirdest dream about Ariana Grande and Freddie Mercury!"

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  He ranted out of frustration, before panting.

  Brenda's face remained blank. But suddenly, her voice changed. It lost its robotic monotone, becoming smooth and…normal.

  "Wait, you had a dream about Freddie Mercury? Tell me everything."

  Jett's jaw dropped.

  His eyes widened. He blinked several times, trying to process what he had just heard.

  "Wait, what?" he stammered. "You…you can talk normally? You're not a robot?"

  Brenda's violet eyes softened slightly. The robotic stiffness in her movements vanished.

  "The…robot act, as you so eloquently put it, is a choice. A…persona, if you will."

  Jett stared at her, he was utterly bewildered.

  "But…why? Why the weird voice? Why the 'input your parameters' thing?"

  She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head:

  "It amuses me. And it tends to filter out the less interesting individuals."

  Jett blinked again. "So, you're saying…I'm interesting?"

  Her lips curved up in a small, almost imperceptible smile.

  "You had a dream about Freddie Mercury. That alone qualifies you as unusual."

  Jett was still trying to wrap his head around this sudden shift in Brenda's personality. One moment she was a robotic - monotone instructor. The next, she was a…normal woman, albeit with blue hair and violet eyes - who was strangely interested in his dreams.

  "Okay," Jett said slowly. "So, you're not going to reject me anymore?"

  Her smile widened slightly. "The…parameters have changed. Tell me more about this dream. Was Freddie wearing his yellow jacket?"

  Jett was still reeling from Brenda's sudden personality shift, he took a deep breath.

  "Okay, so, the dream…" his voice was a little shaky. "It was…intense."

  He started to pace about, his hands gestured wildly as he recounted the bizarre events.

  "I was on a stage, right? Like, a huge stage, with a massive crowd. And I was holding a microphone - but I had no idea why."

  He paused, his eyes widened as he remembered the details.

  "And then - Ariana Grande shows up. In a sparkly dress. And she's all, 'Ready to sing, Jett?' And I'm like, 'Ariana Grande? What the hell is happening?'"

  Brenda leaned forward with her chin on her palm, her violet eyes were filled with interest.

  "Ariana Grande…interesting choice."

  Jett nodded. "Yeah, but it gets weirder. Then Freddie Mercury appears. In his full glory. You know, the yellow jacket, the mustache, the whole thing."

  Her lips twitched. "Continue."

  "And Freddie's like, 'The show must go on, darling!' And I'm standing there, sandwiched between Ariana Grande and Freddie Mercury, thinking, 'This is the most surreal moment of my life, even if it's just a dream.'"

  He paused, and added:

  "And then, the music starts. It's a mashup of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Thank U, Next.' It was…chaotic, to say the least."

  Her violet eyes widened slightly. "A mashup…intriguing."

  "Yeah, and I'm freaking out because I didn't know the words, but then I started singing! And my voice was amazing! The crowd was going wild! It was like I was born to sing!"

  He threw his arms up.

  "And then, Celine Dion shows up. She just pushes past Freddie, like he's nothing, and starts belting out a power ballad. It was incredible!"

  Her lips were now curved up into a full smile.

  "Celine Dion…what a trifecta of musical legends."

  "Exactly! But then, the stage starts tilting. Like, it's going to fall over. And we're all sliding towards the edge. I'm grabbing onto Ariana Grande, trying not to fall, and she's just shrugging like it's no big deal."

  He paused again, his voice was filled with disbelief, then he continued:

  "And then, a giant inflatable rat appears. With green eyes. Like Murk's." He pointed at his sling bag.

  Brenda's smile widened. "An inflatable rat…with green eyes?"

  "Yeah! And it catches us like a bouncy castle! We're bouncing on this giant rat, laughing hysterically, and then it starts floating away. We're soaring over the city, singing and dancing on this giant rat. It was the most insane, amazing, ridiculous dream I've ever had."

  He finished his story, he was breathless and still slightly bewildered by the memory. He was getting a lot of things off his chest.

  Brenda was staring at him, her violet eyes were filled with amusement and…something else.

  "That…is a truly remarkable dream," she said.

  "It has everything. Musical legends, chaos, a giant inflatable rat…it is…perfect."

  Jett launched into a full blown rant. "Yeah, well, my life has been pretty perfect lately too! Except for the whole 'almost dying' part!"

  He started pacing back and forth again.

  "First, I run into this creepy goblin thing! It was all slimy and gross, and it tried to attack because I tried to give it a free pizza! Then, I get attacked by a freaking gargoyle! A real, stone winged gargoyle! It was huge and angry, and it nearly crushed me!"

  Her violet eyes widened slightly. "A gargoyle…interesting."

  "Yeah, and then I find this weird underground prison, and there's this guy, Barty, who's locked up down there! He's got wings and talks like he's from a pirate movie! And he helps me fight the gargoyle, but then he just flies off! It's like my life has turned into a bad fantasy novel!"

  He stopped pacing and looked at Brenda, his voice was filled with exasperation.

  "And then there's the sun! I feel like I'm going to burst into flames every time I step outside! I'm pretty sure I'm getting a tan, but it's not a good tan! It's a 'I'm slowly being cooked alive' tan!"

  He threw his hands up in the air. "And all this happened in like, one month! A month! I just wanted to deliver pizzas! I didn't sign up for monster fights and Vampires!"

  Brenda watched him, her expression was thoughtful. "So…you have been…experiencing a great deal."

  "You think?" Jett said, his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

  "I'm pretty sure I've aged about ten years in the last week."

  He paused, then added:

  "And I still don't know what to do about Murk." He pointed at his sling bag. "He's probably hungry."

  Brenda's attention shifted to the sling-bag.

  "May I see him?" she asked.

  Jett hesitated for a moment, then shrugged.

  "Sure. Just…be careful. He's got little barbs on his tail."

  She approached the sling-bag cautiously. She reached inside, her pale fingers gently pulled out Murk. Murk looked up at her with his green eyes, letting out a confused squeak.

  Brenda held Murk in her hands, examining him closely. Her violet eyes scanned his tiny form - taking in his patchy fur - his glowing eyes - and his thin tail.

  "He is unique," she said.

  Murk squirmed in her hands, then licked her finger.

  Brenda stared at Murk, then she looked at Jett.

  "He is a Spawn Ruin. A…young one."

  "Yeah, that's what that weird voice in my head said," Jett confirmed. "What does that even mean?"

  She ignored his question. She continued to examine Murk.

  "He is weak. But he has potential."

  Murk let out another squeak and tried to climb up Brenda's arm. Brenda let him, and Murk settled on her shoulder, his green eyes blinked slowly.

  "He seems to like you," Jett observed with a smile.

  Brenda tilted her head. "He is drawn to my energy. It is similar to his."

  She looked at Jett. "I will help you. Both of you."