AE.exe - Online
The screen of the handheld device flickered to life. The screen was glowing faintly green and nothing seemed to appear for quite sometime... until a familiar face appeared on the screen. Although the face of the boy that had appeared was similar to one that had just passed... something seemed different. He stared silently for a moment, his eyes moving left to right. It appeared as if he was looking directly at the two boys that had discovered him. He finally looked forward and his smile grew even larger.
"Ah... Heeeello there! I am AB, short for Alter Buddy! I am here to provide you with any assistance you may need in your coming journey down the rocky road of life! You two... You must be Hiroshi Koda and Ruri Egusa! I can tell simply by looking at you. Mr. Zaizen was spot on in his description of the two of you... Ah, and according to my memory banks he was quite fond of you two as well. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you! I seem to share the appearance of Mr. Zaizen, so if it is more comfortable, you may call me Shinya Zaizen if you so wish!"
Shinya Zaizen's doppelganger laughed to himself and clapped his hands together in joy. The tone of his voice was... down right chipper. He had a certain friendly air about him, and although he seemed annoyingly excitable... it was almost charming? This couldn't possibly be the same boy they knew. Not by a long shot.
"Hmmm... I.. suppose if you both have activated me then it means that Mr. Zaizen has passed away. That is unfortunate. You have my condolences. You all were such great friends weren't you? Mr. Zaizen was quite worried the last time he spoke to me. I suppose his paranoia is what resulted in his death... I did try my very best to assist his emotional state, but I'm afraid I was not enough... Ah, if you do not mind my asking, what exactly happened? Mr. Zaizen would never have hurt anyone if he were in a correct state of mind, but seeing how he was the last time we conversed... Well, my data is all coming out to one conclusion. It must have been grim."
The program running on the small handheld device seemed perfectly human. It was as if Shinya Zaizen had been brought back and stuffed into a tiny box. Before the boys had much time to respond, the little boxed man spoke again.
"Oh, of course... How rude of me. You both may ask anything you wish and I will answer it to the best of my ability."