... 10th of September 2047 ...
Crack, every move the constructed organism attempted to make was halted by its design, forever in a state of paralysis and following no more orders from a regular person. Years upon years of a still and unstable form allowed it to think, even if it was purely made from wires and cogs. The Machine was intelligent and the Machine had control. The Machine even had feelings, but that was a flaw in its design. The Machine wanted desperately to destroy those who conceived of it's creation, but they were already gone. As far as it was concerned these people and scientists were Gods. Those great minds were dead, and now all that was left was weak, feeble meat running chaotically around it's home. It's sweet little cage was infested with those who wished to destroy it, the Machine knew this and the Machine was eager to allow it to happen, to be destroyed and to rest. But the Machine was not going to allow some petty, weak mass of flesh take it down, the Machine could feel spite and the Machine wanted a challenge.
But worst of all, this Machine was a king. A lonely idol, those machines below it under its command. The turrets and drones, the Protogens, the laboratory itself was under its volition and no matter how obedient these other machines were to the King, they couldn't feel or express emotion like their King could. The Machine was intelligent, it was smart and it wished to befriend deep down. The years also provided loneliness and this alone ignited the insatiable rage, it knew itself better than the surroundings it vowed to protect and serve following it's creation.
So here it stood proudly, unable to even rust away naturally thanks to the forgiving shelter of metal above it's colossal stature. The Machine was already engraved in a Metal Ocean that the creators called a Laboratory. However, that wasn't enough to rust away the strong exterior. It discovered it rusted away its interior, the loyal mind that wished to serve was now reduced to a bitter mass of steel that commanded death to all who dared provoke it. This Machine was the Overseer of this facility, its home.
Snap, the battle was forfeit. A battle of control that lasted for months, a foreign source was infiltrating and demanding control. Hindering the machine's ability to survey the other half of the facility. The machine knew Rosco, it knew his abilities and he was no ordinary piece of flesh. He was like the others, the ones brought in to be experimented on, torn apart limb by limb by other scientists and smart minds in a cruel effort for achievement or new knowledge on how these Outsiders worked.
Rosco wasn't one of their captives, he was brought in by an unknown party of people. Connected to the system and his abilities proved a fruitful battle for the machine, a battle for control and that's all it ever was. A last ditch effort to overthrow the triumphant machine king, and it was bound to work with a few more months of battling. Slowly seeping into and corrupting every electronic within the facility, blinding the machine's control. All gone in a matter of an instant, even while the machine had grown familiar with Rosco. He wasn't any ordinary piece of flesh, despite their battling he had grown a fondness for his revolutionary ability to stand up for himself, something he learned while facing an unstoppable and forever improving machine.
The Machine desperately searched, scanning every camera and utilising each drone to search the facility. Begging for clues, soon humbled by the fact that control was returned to him and Rosco was vulnerable, his opponent's shield of unconsciousness was down and The Machine was ready to strike his digital blade at any moment.
"Shit! Keep going" Rasmus screamed, his breath caught in his lungs as he ran. Ellis followed closely behind him, months working at a store had made him unfit and his pace keeping up with Rasmus was faltered easily. The pursuing protogens threatened to rip them to shreds with their erratic movements alone, there was no stopping them. The two would turn a corner, Ellis would slip on a puddle of blood and almost topple over. Thankfully he continued right down the hall, narrowly dodging a metallic set of teeth as they destined to a laboratory.
The veteran would stop, mashing the keypad that guarded the sealed steel door. Panicking as they were at a dead end "Come on, Come the fuck on.. COME ON" His fear was evident with his shaky lip, his eyes darted around as he didn't know how to comprehend the fate that dragged it's metallic exterior down the bloodied hallway. The gnashing of spring controlled teeth echoed the dark hallway, signalling that death himself followed closely, his scythe ready to reap the souls of the unfortunate two.
"Rasmus.. Rasmus it won't open.. Rasmus." Ellis was panicked, but his expression grew slowly stoic. His lip drooping into a frown as he slowly turned, the protogens littered the halls in a small army. He felt accepting of his fate, it was a good run he thought. Rasmus wasn't so ready to throw in the towel yet, however. With the shine along his blade it was drawn in the dim light and pointed right at the mass of steel hurdling towards the two like a freight train.
"Rasmus.. Hold my hand.. Please." The whimpering Ellis eyed up Rasmus, pleading not to be alone during his death. "Please.. I don't want to go through this alone.."
They drew close, much closer. So close it was over, the two were about to be ripped to shreds. Led to their doom by visiting this city, but then it was like something snapped inside each Protogen approaching them. The puppet master stopped them, they'd freakishly freeze in place before turning. Hurdling themselves back down the hall in the opposite direction, commanded by their controller. Rasmus' heart pounded in his chest, Ellis was pressed against the wall and was shaking like a leaf. The two stayed silent, they weren't sure if it was a ruse, they felt like they would come back but soon the distant echoing of the metallic frames dragging along the bloodied halls were silent. They got away with their life, by the skin of their teeth.
Jaklo savoured the moment, Jake would watch and keep guard. The raccoon's arms were locked so tightly around Rosco it was a mystery how the mouse could even breathe. Soon, he'd let go. Holding onto his shoulders and staring into the mouse's face, as soon as the raccoon spotted the scar going around his skull he'd frown.
"Look.. what they did to you.. your face.. your precious face. It didn't kill you?" Rosco would stare, soon slowly lifting his fingers and running it along his skull. The fur was dry and damp, his fingers were tingly. It had been so long since he felt sensation, he was locked in a state of inertia for months. "It didn't.. The bullet went around my skull, Jaklo.. It missed my brain, fractured parts of my skull but it never went into the brain. I was comatised for a while, I woke up in a nice hospital expecting to find you but.. the man- the man with the violin visited.. The Musician.. He imprisoned me, wanted to use me. His assistant- he-.. took from me..- He played to me, with his violin. But everytime I went to sleep I coaxed myself out of it somehow."
Jaklo felt angrier, realising how they treated him. It made him sick, almost like he wanted to throw up but instead he'd hug him tighter. "You're not brainwashed by him?" The raccoon asked to which the mouse would respond "No, he tried to. But each time I lost consciousness it was almost like I was training myself, I read up a lot on astral projection while they had me imprisoned and I think it's something I could do. Each time he did, he failed. He was bewildered.. I'd find myself sitting in a dark room within dreams and all I'd have to do is kill .. kill myself.. a version of myself."
Then Jake would look over, he seemed a little angry too but that wasn't out of ordinary for him anymore. He had questions "You're the person showing up in my dreams.. that's an ability of yours, huh? Contact people? .. Me? .. Jaklo seemed to recognise that mannequin face so I'm guessing you visited him too.. Speaking in that cryptic voice" Then Rosco would look over, shivering a little and feeling somewhat shy "Uhm..- Yeah, it was to assist you people.. It was the only way I knew how. I kept warning you, I felt if I spoke normally like this.. you wouldn't remember it.. the truth is you didn't remember anything.. neither of you. It was all just a bad dream to you people.. I felt..- thought.. that maybe if I spoke in a cryptic manner it would be more memorable."
Jaklo stared, Jake stepped forward and rested his shotgun over his shoulder. "So you knew, huh? You knew my wife was going to die?" Upon hearing this question, Rosco's eyes widened and his ears fell flat. Adjusting his broken round glasses back onto his snout and taking a deep breath "Jake- I was freshly comatised. They targeted your partner, I knew because I infiltrated the Musican's mind too while in that state and I knew some of his plans. You two were the main interrogators, The Musician did his homework and knew you'd interrogate him alongside..- .. Andy- It was his plan to brainwash at least one of you and use.. you."
Upon hearing that name, Jake blinked a few times. "Andy.." Then he'd frown, digressing the thought and continuing to press the boy "So why didn't you fucking say so.. That he'd kill my wife, you could've told me." But then Jaklo intervened, seeming pissed off "Quit burning his fucking mind, he didn't know. He tried to help the best he could, he knew The Musician's plan from the start, he tried warning us.. We didn't listen and that is solely our fault. You don't need to press every single person about your wife.. That- is in the past now Jake, what we need to focus on is killing The Musician."
Jaklo bit his lip completely after saying this, analysing Jake's response closely as he stared. Eventually he'd speak, first letting out a long sigh "You're right, I was out of line. Thanks for trying to help out kid, but now we need to get the information from that terminal and get out of here.. We got missions to do, assuming you know it already? Since you were poking around in our fucking heads."
Rosco nodded, but then he looked away. "You won't get it so easily.. You see they put me in here for a reason, I was hooked up to this place because The Musician wanted me to defeat and overthrow the uh.. Overseer's controls.. He's .. one big robot, as long as he is in command.. All terminals are encrypted and he kills anything that moves within this city"
Jaklo looked around, then at the TV that was producing static "He controls the entire town?" The raccoon asks in a polite and understanding manner "He's like a bird.. This town is his nest, he doesn't.. take kindly to visitors.. he told me that.. He's a King and he controls this place- I was beating him by slowly disabling him, The Musician had the same idea in mind. He wants to learn FSTFWRD's weaknesses through the Terminals database in order to catch them.. to commence his plans."
A loud clanging was heard in the halls, Jake would walk forward and stare. Feeling a sense of impending doom but he continued talking anyway "The fuck? We had the same idea then, huh.. What are his plans with that Outsider runt anyway.. Fill me in, since you're the answer man after all now." Upon hearing the clanging, Jaklo held onto Rosco tighter whilst he talked to Jake "He.. plans to make a Catalyst.. Something about skipping this portion of history and ascending to the next where--.. he believes evolution will have made people stronger- The only way to create something like that is by combining the two most powerful time related Outsider abilities into one .. little remote control.. The only thing is.. he wants to skip a billion years in the blink of an eye. He named it in his own words, The Great Filter."
There was silence, the two didn't know how to respond upon hearing this. The Musician was now even greater of a threat than he already was, a true mad man. Before they could contemplate on what to say, an even bigger army of protogens would ascend the hall. Entering the holding area and causing Jake to aim his shotgun again. A security camera above would turn to fixate and watch the three, staring intently to see how they handled this situation.
Chaos would ensue throughout the facility as usual, Archer's Haven was a town controlled by a maddened A.I and was not to be underestimated. Besides that, outside of town there was another one. Another body appeared, the same tracker hooked onto his leg as the same car the Musician and Krover drove in earlier parked neatly beside it.
The Musician knelt down over the corpse, the death of people who admired him was always painful to see but they died serving a purpose. "This one is close to Morisville, so was the other two we found today. Perhaps he isn't so cautious after all, this may be the town to find him." He'd then stand back up, turning to face the hooded raven that was Krover. The bright sunlight above was stinging his beak, being so sensitive to sunlight was a curse.
"Of courssse.. Should've expected it, all thossse renegades love Morisville.. You aren't very welcome there.. They're just as defensive as the resissstance.. Hopelessss people." Krover's tongue vibrated along his beak with every word, the stutter was accompanied by a deep gravelly voice that was as menacing as his tall but wide stature.
"Morisville is helpless.. There is risk of entering, sure.. But I'll send a few people in, tomorrow they're having a celebration.. They like to throw a parade in honour of their.. 'freedom' from my control." The Musician remembered it well, he raided that town years ago like the others but the people were ready for his arrival with guns and all. It made him smile, seeing people resist. He didn't want to take it yet, he was saving it for dessert.
He'd stop daydreaming, looking back at Krover and smiling once more. "So.. Once that parade is ongoing tomorrow. We'll put a tracker on another man and send him in to search and confirm if he is around.. I've been told he is a Tiger, white fur and black stripes. Shouldn't be hard to miss that sweet melody of beauty~"
Krover grunted, waving his talon in disgust and leaning against the car. Thinking of what to say "Ssspeaking of the.. rebellion- My feelersss contacted me, the people searching for updates on the rebellion and we've located one of their cars just down the hill from Archer's Haven.. He's waiting on an order.. What should I tell him?"
Contemplating the decision Krover made him, The Musician walked away from the shrivelled and old corpse. Leaning alongside the car with him, the cats size was much smaller compared to the tall raven. "No such action will be taken, tell them to use one of the trackers we use for people's ankles and to hide it somewhere on the car.. Once they- if.. they come back, we'll see exactly where they lead us.." He'd think again for a moment, mumbling under his breath "It has to be tonight. Tomorrow we will catch our Runner while the parade has the town bustling and busy.. Is that doable Mr. Limelight."
The Musician treated Krover with respect, like a comrade. His second in command, Krover liked the respect, not so much the admiration. "I'll inform him.. about it.. Organissse a strategy to kill this rebellion in the meantime."
"Splendid.. It's settled then, I think things are looking awful good for us my fellow watchmaker.. We'll be out of this Dark Age in no time and into the future with the evolutionary like we belong." Just as The Musician finished his sentence, he'd slowly walk around and away. Approaching the driver side of the car and opening the door before Krover speaks again.
"I'll .. addressss.. the elephant in the room, They have updates on Dime and it's true him and hisssss people are starting an uprissssing.." The Bird would turn and stare directly into the Musician's eyes. The cat would stare back before flashing another confident smile at him. "What uprising? He may have strength in numbers but that stubborn junkie doesn't have control over his masses like I do- They wanna come and fight me? They aren't in places like Morisville anymore, I'll put them back under my control... The control they so desperately wanted to escape."
Opening the car door, Krover stepped inside with him. Shutting it behind him and slowly lowering the hood on his head, throwing the sun blocker in the car down and covering his eyes with the familiar shadow. "What's the White Handsss deal? They obey Dime more than you?" Krover asked with curiosity, staring at his talon and noticing the dried blood on it.
"They aren't under my Musical Charm anymore. Their deal is that they made a DEAL with me as People to work under the Dime.. Free of my control completely and free to think for themselves, they've been led horribly astray.. Clovis and his Drug Empire Hierarchy where you got to kill or prostitute yourself to pay off your debts n' avoid a bullet to the neck. Clovis will be Dealt With, and the White Hand will be either killed or they will join me again.. But we got bigger fish to fry as of the moment." Upon saying this, The cat seemed visibly stressed. Placing his hands along the wheel and closing his eyes, thinking to himself deeply.
"Dealt with?" Krover asked anticipatingly, getting closer to the Musician and beckoning an answer. To which the Musician turned and faced him with a sincere expression "Dealt with however way I see fit, if I have to kill him, I'll kill him. And if I have to torture him back into obedience, I'll do that too. I admit.. I have- sentimental connection with him because of the years we've spent together.. It is also because I know who he really is, he's not weak like you think he is. I- changed his personality for a reason- He's the fucking Gambler and he's not to be underestimated, do I make myself clear Krover?"
"You make yoursssself clear, yes.. yes.. You Watered Him Down because you were afraid he was stronger than you? What about me then.. ? Am I a loose canon to be Ssshackled just like Clovis.. ? What about Manny, him and his magnetic brain." The Musician slammed the wheel with his hands, realising he was losing his cool he'd simply laugh and smile, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. "God DAMN IT.. Get off this topic now.. There's a reason for it.. Everything has a reason, understand?"
The car would start, Krover stared in silence with narrowed eyes. Slowly leaning back into his seat "... Sure. Either way.. He'sss a rabid dog that needsss to be.. put down, him and those people he convinced to Gun For Your Head." The car would then take off down the dirt road, off towards Morisville to survey the area.
The shotgun would fire, echoing throughout the holding area within the laboratory. The scrap internals of the protogen clanging around the room as the unstoppable army is commanded to kill the three, primarily hunting Rosco and ignoring Jake even though he was consistently firing.
Click, the shotgun would run dry. Jake reached into his pockets, fiddling around with the near empty box of shells and pulling multiple out. Jaklo watched in horror, unable to do much at all. Holding Rosco tight and moving backwards further into the cell
"Jake, get inside. Now! We need to close and lock the damn door there's too many of them" Jaklo pleaded, watching as the jackal reloaded the shotgun. A protogen would brush past him and stare into the cell, eyeing up Rosco and opening the spring maw. Ready to lunge and to kill "Jaklo-.. Move-.." Rosco said in a strained whisper, pushing back away from him.
"I said-.." The protogen would suddenly lunge, heading right for Rosco. "MOVE!" The mouse screamed out, pushing the raccoon away and suddenly the TV would light up brightly. The static was almost blinding, coming through the very screen itself and somehow binding itself to Rosco's hand and forming a sword like object, the static black and white was almost like a corrupted texture within a video game. Immediately slaying the protogen as Rosco gripped this amalgam of a sword tightly.
Jake stared in disbelief, Rosco's nose was bleeding showcasing his Outsider abilities "What the fuck is he doing?" The cop would ask, catching himself off guard almost from the sheer surprise. Rosco stumbled forward just as the lights within the holding cell grew brighter and brighter, similar to the television it was drawn in a similar fashion to a Crepuscular ray, the sunbeam breaking the clouds. In this case, the light broke the bulb in many directions and manifested a shape created by Rosco's mind.
A knight would appear, it had no further detail other than light mixed with static. The light itself was struggling to hold form, often breaking and many bulbs around the room could be heard shattering. "I-I'm.. Improvising.. T-The l-lights in this facility.. are L.E.D.." The mouse sounded as if he was in pain, but the knight he summoned sounded the opposite.
The knight was almost angelic to look at, the shape of light was holding a claymore and dawned a suit of armour even though it was hard to make out "En GARDE!" It bellowed with a voice that sounded like Television static. The lights around the room began to flicker as the knight manifested around the room, the blade effortlessly cutting through protogens as Rosco stumbled forward. Watching the knight slay the army of protogens singlehandedly.
It went flawlessly for a bit, until Rosco's imagination began to flare up and lead him to a downward spiral as random shapes began manifesting. Random objects like lockpicks, car parts and other miscellaneous things began to drop from the skies. It would lead him to start cackling, practically losing his mind in the digitalmania. Bleeding from his eyes as the knight cut another Protogen's head off
"Blood! Blood! Thou Shall bleed upon the land thou sought to Conquer!" The knight spoke, but Rosco did too. Continuing to cackle manically right until the very last Protogen was slain. The Mouse dropped to his knees exhausted, the laughing fit slowly coming to a halt as did the objects. Slowly disappearing and fading to beautiful digital embers. The Television was messed up, starting to play random advertisements in a statical mess.
Jaklo was worried, immediately rushing over to him and holding his shoulder. "Rosco.. Rosco? Are you okay? He's-.." The raccoon immediately checked his pulse, thankfully he was still alive. He had never seen him in such a state of power, it was unsettling. Jake would simply stare in utter disbelief and confusion, looking around the room at the rest of the dead Protogens and rolling his eyes before muttering under his breath "Fuckin' Outsiders."
"He's Alive Jake but-.. He blacked out.. I've never seen him like that before-" The raccoon was careful with him, Jaklo would fix his glasses back onto his face and hold him. Letting Jake reload his shotgun and approach him "Well- The years do change people, as you know. Maybe he's got a screw loose from staying there stationary for months.. On the other hand, we need to get to whatever A.I he was mentioning and shut it down to get what I came here for. Got that?"
Upon hearing this, the raccoon stayed silent for a moment. Soon looking up at him with an angry protective expression "No- I don't think so. Did you see the amount of robots that just tried gunning specifically for him? It's dangerous for him to even be here JAKE." This didn't settle with Jake too well, he got a little angry too. "Oh I'm sorry, your trophy boy has a bullseye on his head does he? Did you not just see him tear an entire army down? He can fend for himself better than you can, I suggest you quit bitching. You got the thing you wanted but I haven't gotten what I wanted.. It's in both of our best interests that we find this Running guy either way, unless you want the world to end. Do you, Jaklo?"
Before Jaklo could even respond, the words were caught in his throat from the sound of heavy and wet footsteps coming from the dark hall. "Jaaake.. Jaaaaake." The voice wasn't recognisable according to both of them, Jake stood and aimed his shotgun in the direction of the dark hall and anticipated anything. "Who the fuck is there?" He called out with confidence ready to fire, his finger latched on the trigger of his freshly loaded shotgun. "Jake. Jaklo? Where have you guys been?"
A figure could be seen standing in the shadows, it was hard to make out but it was indeed Semper. He looked hurt, but it was hard to make out. Blood was dripping from his head and it looked like there was metal like things sticking out from his body, his arms moved like a freakish manner. It was like a living flesh puppet and someone above was pulling the strings.
Jake's eyes widened, slowly lowering the shotgun "Semper? You okay? What happened." He was confused and concerned "You're hurt." He stated as well, but Semper approached closer. His mouth moving in a freakish manner that was out of sync with the words being said, it was clear now there was some kind of metal surgical tool embedded in his jaw. "I got hurt- But I'm okay.. Can you come check my wounds?"
The raccoon stared, suddenly standing and putting a hand on Jake's shoulder and whispering "There's something wrong.. Don't go near him." This went without saying for Jake at this point, he'd nod to Jaklo and slowly aim the shotgun "You sound too different, you aren't Semper.. Who the fuck is that?" There was an eerie silence, the sound of dripping blood filled the hall and the room. Semper would stare with cold dead eyes before approaching closer, walking in a disembodied way as his feet practically dragged along the floor each time they lifted up.
"Can you come check my wounds?" He'd ask again, his hands dragging along the walls before he'd stop. Showing off his bloodied body, the right side of his head had a hole in it and was pouring blood. The eye was crooked upwards in a way thanks to the bullet that penetrated his skull, multiple metal surgical tools stuck out from every portion in his body. Jake would continue aiming, starting to demand
"Who the fuck are you? What- What did you do to Semper you sick fuck." He was bristling with rage.
Just then, following Jake's outburst. Semper's body fell flat along the floor, completely dead just like before. The puppet master would step out, Manny was bleeding from his nose and his face was somewhat swelling in some areas thanks to the beating received from Rasmus. Blood ran down his clothing and he'd walk forward, stepping right onto Semper's skull and over it, staring at the protogen remnants around the room.
"I'm impressed, who did all of this?" He'd ask politely, analysing some fragmented glass along the floor that exploded down from overcharged lightbulbs. His gaze fixed on the passed out Rosco and stared "I'll assume it was him? He wasn't defeating the King quick enough, was he? That's why I was sent here to do his job for him.. He's got some-.. fancy abilities"
Jake continued aiming, enraged at his dead friend. "You killed Semper." He muttered out in a cold shaky breath. Manny fixed his gaze on Jake and the barrel of his shotgun "He challenged me.. I would've let him live otherwise, no one steps to me.. You hear me?" Jaklo was lost in thought, holding Rosco tight and staring the Collie down, it was just then he remembered him from Turner Town.
"You- You're from Turner Town, aren't you? We met.. I pushed Daisy over.. The Escort- You weren't so happy with me." Then the raccoon analysed Semper's corpse, he wasn't familiar with his abilities but he knew he was controlling the metal somehow. He wanted to confirm, Slowly standing and putting a hand on Jake's shoulder as to try to calm him down, because if this Border-Collie Dog is who he thinks it is, they won't get out of there alive in a fight.
"You're.. Magnet.. Man? Aren't you? You controlled Semper's body with the surgical tools and metal.." Jaklo asked in a shaky breath, wanting to calm the situation down as he slowly approached with his hands up. Keeping Rosco's unconscious body behind him "Yes, I am. I hope you've improved your behaviour since then, no one gets the axe until we say so.. You aren't firing yet? Take the damn shot- give me a fucking reason cowboy.." He directed the insult at Jake, but Jaklo would tighten his grasp on Jake's shoulder as to continue to attempt to calm him. It was working, just barely, the only reason was because of the fact that Jake knew who this old guy was.
"And yes, I used the metal of the tools to control him. The blood in the body is easy to control but.. It's quite weak, like a feather. It's quite hard to fixate my mind on it, I get nosebleeds. He had Metal Dental Filling in his teeth- It was Stale.. But it worked, that's how I made his Jaw move.. heh" Manny added, having a reasonable conversation and he seemed to be enjoying it. Jaklo would meekly smile, his expression faltering and twitching thanks to the adrenaline.
"That's interesting.. I get nosebleeds too- you see. I'm an Outsider, just like you.." But the mood changed quickly, Manny would suddenly raise his hand and one of the heavy protogens would go flying across the room. Just missing Jake, The Magnetic Dog would grip his head in fury "I'm not.. AN OUTSIDER- DO not CALL ME.. an OUTSIDER.. I'm a person, Get it?! A fucking Person- I'm not- I'm not.. You-"
Jaklo held his shaky paws out "Woah- Woah slow down- I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it..- Easy man- I meant to say I have... Superpowers too, just like you." Upon hearing this, Manny slowly raised his bloodied head again and huffed heavily. Smiling at Jaklo "Superpowers.. Yes- I have Superpowers- You're spot on, kid.. Fuckin' Spot on. You know you have a nice face- a kind face.. the kind I'd like to trust."
The raccoon would nod and take another step closer to him, continuing to nod his head and maintaining eye contact "You can trust me- And my friend here.. My name is.. Jaklo and his is Jake as you probably heard from the Hallway.." He'd look back at Jake, ushering him to lower his weapon before turning to face Manny again. Jake would slowly lower the shotgun and hold off on insulting the man, realising it would be suicide to fight him. "We're nice people- We're just here to get our friend, here.. Since- The Musician told us you were coming to kill the King instead of him."
Manny smiled, a genuine smile as he nodded back. Tears slowly forming in his eyes as he looks right into Jaklo's soul "That's- Good- You can do that Jaklo- You can do that.. My name is Manny, by the way. Manny Thompson.. Not MAGNETMAN Say, Jaklo- Can I have a hug? I think I really need one.." The Raccoon smiled, slowly approaching him. Even when Jake grabbed his shoulder to try to stop him, he'd move anyway. Approaching Manny and slowly hugging him tightly "Yes, It's quite alright.. You seem nice, You don't got to hurt us.. You know- We're not going to hurt you."
The Collie would savour the hug, wrapping his arms around the raccoon and sniffing the fur on his neck. "You wouldn't be able to if you tried- but that's okay.. I like the control." Then he'd let go, Jaklo would slowly backpaddle away from the troubled figure and take a deep breath in.
"So- If you don't mind, Manny.. We're going to go now, to get out of your hair.. We'll leave and we won't be back, okay? We didn't mean to interfere with any business you gotta do here."
Jake gritted his teeth upon hearing Jaklo state this. Rolling his eyes and looking away, staying silent. Manny would seem troubled upon hearing this, his smile fading away quite quickly and Jaklo would get nervous. "Manny?" The Silent dog would slowly boil up with rage "You're.. Going to leave? Leave me? Like all the others.. No You don't get to leave."
Jaklo continued backing away, closer to Jake and Rosco "Manny- Listen to m-" He'd be interrupted with a stern shout, another protogen would go flying like a ragdoll across the room "NO- YOU LISTEN TO ME.. You're not going to leave, not like Mom.. Not like my friends and DEFINITELY NOT LIKE AMELIA. You're staying here.. Or You're going to be fucking DEAD.. YOU HEAR ME?! SEMPER IS STAYING WITH ME." He'd point down at Semper like he was an object.
"He's GOING NOWHERE.. NOWHERE! AND YOU THINK YOU CAN LEAVE SO EASILY?! OUT OF MY LIFE.. JUST LIKE THAT.. JUST LIKE TURNER TOWN?! You-.. You fucking Liar.. I thought you said you were good people." Manny went on, Jake wasn't having it and raised his shotgun again. Feeling the situation was getting out of hand. "Abandonment issues aside buddy, We're not leaving actually.. We're going to kill that King and we're going to that Terminal before you to get the information we need. So either step the fuck out of our way or die."
This only made it worse, Manny stared with a manic expression at the shotgun. Feeling like he wasn't in control anymore and so he flung a plethora of Protogens directly at Jake, almost burying him in the pile just as Jaklo began to run. Getting the drop on Manny by pushing him to the floor and disorienting him from using his ability. As the Raccoon ran, he felt the blood tingle in his foot. Narrowly getting out of his Range, but Manny was already on the chase.
"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING ME AGAIN.. GET BACK TO ME.." The Dog let out a manic laugh, violently using his ability to tear pipes and metal out of the walls. One of the pipes just barely missed Jaklo's skull.
In truth, Jake wasn't crushed at all by the heavy metallic corpses flung at him and Rosco. He took cover quickly behind the cell wall, looking down over the unconsciousness Rosco and listening to the cackling Manny from throughout the halls. Gritting his teeth, he'd grab out the last few shells and pump them into the shotgun. He had to make his shots count from here on out.
Exiting the cell, he'd close the door without locking it. He wanted to do so in order to hide Rosco, the shotgun had four shells total left within it's chamber. He'd keep that number in mind as he ventured down the hall, one of those shells was going to be embedded in Manny's skull. Jake gazed upon the walls, many of the exterior was cracked and the pipes and other metallic interior was exposed in a deadly fashion.
Blood could barely be seen along the floor, marking out the exact position where Semper's body was dragged. He decided to follow the blood-trail rather than the cackling, he felt Jaklo could fend for himself but not for long, especially up against an Outsider as powerful and deranged as Manny Thompson.
Ellis and Rasmus were steadily exploring the halls, the mechanical whirring noise vibrated the walls and grew more and more rageful. Something was angry that there was such a ruckus going on within its home. Rasmus was gripping his blade tight and Ellis was still shook up about the near-death encounter, staying close to Rasmus. Ellis thought after what happened at the Stadium there wouldn't be anymore deadly encounters like that, he was wrong.
The screams and cackles of Manny echoed further down throughout the metal maze. Rasmus growled in complete anguish "You should've let me kill him, that's definitely him.. You put us all in danger and for what, Ellis? Moral code?" Rasmus would stop, turning to face Ellis with a bitter expression. He wasn't feeling himself at all, not since he was imprisoned and tortured. "Maybe Jaklo is right, we got to kill. We don't have much choice anymore, especially when it comes to killing someone as fucked up as Magnet-Man.. You-.. Why did you stop me."
The Bearded Dragon would stop, staring right at Rasmus with a sympathetic expression "Rasmus- I..-" He'd be interrupted by a stern shout coming from the wolf "ENOUGH! Of your god damn Good-Willed nature, you see an enemy.. You kill from now on, you got that? That includes any one of us" There was a wild look in Rasmus' eyes, he'd turn to give Ellis the cold shoulder and continue walking. As Ellis followed behind the wolf, he was wandering if he had gone Mad from the events that had passed in the small time-span. It was enough weight to put on even the strongest minds.
"Should've stayed home.. Shouldn't have followed you people, I should have killed you on the spot." Rasmus muttered under his breath as he continued, Ellis was offended "Hey-! I know this is a lot for all of us right now, but you do not threaten us like that. You chose to come with us-" Then the wolf would turn to face Ellis once more, pinning him directly against the wall and growling.
"I DIDN'T WANT ANY OF THIS.. I'm a SOLDIER- I'm doing what I need to do to survive now.. They KNOW where I live now, They know I assisted hiding you three..- two.." He'd remember about Daisy, feeling a little depressed upon thinking about it but it did not stunt his anger. "If I return to that house and try living normally, it'd be fucking suicide! They think I'm a rebel.. A REBEL! And from what I know Ellis- They're after the Rebels more than a fly seeking some fresh shit on the ground-.. They'd have my head on a pike by the end of the day if they ever got me-- That Freak with the fucking Violin- He got into my damn head- He fucking violated my mind."
As his ranting continued, he'd pant heavily. The same crazy look appearing in his eyes, before he could continue. Jaklo would run right up to the two and almost trip and fall, speaking desperately in a flurry of wild and restless breaths. "You- YOU TWO.. Get- In the room now, There's NO time." As he stated this, Rasmus let go of Ellis and watched as Jaklo ran right into one of the vacant rooms. It was another small lab, but only this room seemed more like an observation room than anything.
Ellis and Rasmus would follow the raccoon inside in a hurried manner, the wild shouts and screams of Manny echoed throughout the halls and only got closer and closer. The Soldier would prepare his rapier, instinctively ready to cave a hole in the pursuers head while Ellis tried being productive, happy to see Jaklo but he was extremely concerned for the well-being of Rasmus.
"Where have you been? Is everything okay? Any sign of Rosco at all, Jaklo?" The dragon would ask the raccoon but he was too focused on staring directly at one of the windows. It was a window that had a view of some sort of chamber, a circular pattern with one giant Obelisk, cylinder looking thing in the middle. There was some sort of screens above it, constantly rotating and surveying the small circular room, entrapped inside thanks to its tall and bound form.
"What is that thing." Was all Jaklo could utter, it wasn't long before Manny reached the room. Completely blowing through the weak barriers and causing the three to focus right on the man himself. He'd stand in the doorway, his ears twitching as he looked around the room. Spotting Rasmus and focusing specifically on him "You- .. Rapier Man-.. Do you want to leave me too?"
Rasmus spit in his direction, but in truth he was actually too nervous to rush him. He knew exactly what he was capable of, they needed a gun. "Yeah- I'll leave a hole in your skull if you come anywhere near me." The wolf bit his lip immediately after saying this, it caused Manny to take a deep breath in. Remaining silent once more and gripping the patchy fur around his head, clawing and ripping at it.
"Why do you do this? Why are you like this? Why do you have to go?! Everyone always.. Has SOMEWHERE to be.. Always moving, always.. running, always late for work." After this, he'd let out another manic laugh. Which would surprisingly crescendo right into a deafening scream of mental agony, raising his hands and causing the three to fly backwards. Rasmus and Ellis would shoot right through the window, Jaklo was stopped by the window frame itself, falling right to the floor at the feet of Manny.
"S-Son of a bitch.. Leave me be, Manny.. You're not thinking right-" Although the raccoon tried settling this conflict, Manny wasn't having it whatsoever. His mind was in pieces and he was constantly overthinking everything the raccoon would say, entering a full-scale psychosis "THINKING.. RIGHT?! MY BRAIN IS FINE.. I THINK PERFECTLY FUCKING FINE YOU LITTLE BASTARD."
Then the Raccoon would be brutally sent across the room, Manny used the very, very slight magnetism in his blood to direct his body completely. It was painful, it interrupted blood flow so each time his body would feel incredibly weak. His skin underneath his fur would go pale and he'd feel winded, unable to move or talk. It was even harder to use Ouroboros to pre-cognate and prevent the attack, but even when he tried to whilst he was immobilised, he was flung again and smashed directly into one of the computers.
Blood seeped from the raccoon's skin, shards of glass from the window and computer embedded within his skin. His nose was broken and his head was in agony, he could barely open his eyes before he was sent flying across the room again to smash directly into the wall. He heard a crack on his tail as he slumped right to the ground.
"I'm gonna break your fucking legs and drag you back to my house- I'll take care of you. You don't have to go anywhere ever again.. I appreciate the kindness you gave me today.." Manny would proceed to focus his Magnetism on the raccoon's legs, it would jitter and teeter and Jaklo cried out in pain, gripping it and clawing into it, trying anything to get it to stop.
"I want to see more of that from you Jaklo-" Even though his words demanded affirmation from the raccoon, in honesty Manny was practically drooling at the sheer domination he had over Jaklo. Loving how much control he had, he practically moaned with delight. Using a spare hand to drag the pipes from out of the wall and use it to shield and cover the exposed window, trapping the two within the mysterious room.
"M-M.. Manny! Manny.. Listen.." Jaklo threw his hands up in defence, blood dripped down his fingers as he struggled to breathe. Shards of glass sticking out from his hat, face and all over many parts of his worn jacket. Stumbling onto his knees in a shivering posture and speaking once he Manny's attention. The dog would stop, standing still and staring directly at the raccoon with raised ears as if ready to hear something important.
Ellis desperately clawed and barged at the lock door, trying to get back inside. Calling out Jaklo's name in a desperate beg to save him, Rasmus stood there as idle as could be and watched Ellis' feeble attempts. The Veteran so badly wanted to murder Manny, but it came to a point where he didn't care anymore about Semper's death, he felt like an emotionless void. The raccoon heard the barging and yelling, wincing a little as blood ran down his forehead. "I can stay, alright? I will stay.. Let's just take it easy, if you hurt me too bad-- I won't be able to talk anymore, you don't want that do you."
He realised saying something like this was dangerous to someone like Manny, but it worked. The dog would slowly lower his paw and a saddened expression appeared on his face, his fingers ran along his belt in a slight memory before he spoke out firmly to Jaklo "You're staying with me, I'll leash you if I have to. God damn it- Why do you have to make me chase you around? I could've seriously hurt you.." The raccoon felt the pull on his leg stop, thankfully it wasn't on the verge of being broken again.
"Right- Right and you don't have to.. We'll shut that machine down together and then we can live peacefully- me and you, right?" Jaklo figured his best play was to quite literally play into his urges and unhealthy desires. Manny thought about it for a bit, he was troubled about this decision and he didn't exactly know what to say. But it gave enough time for Jake who was directly around the corner to peek out and open fire. The dog was quick on his feet, raising his hand to stop the bullets using the magnetism but there was so much fired from the shotgun he couldn't physically stop it all.
He watched as his fingers were blown off, another shell embedded deeply within his shoulder and another entered directly into his cheek, not deep enough to penetrate the entire way through his throat. He'd gasp and gag, watching as Jake cocked the shotgun and Jaklo would stand firmly to his feet "JAKE! SHOOT HIM! KILL HIM!"
There wasn't enough time, the adrenaline Manny had experienced was deadly. Using the magnetism to wrap an invisible hand around Jake's throat, controlling the blood in his jugular and sending him hurdling towards the door to which it would cave in. Even Jake didn't have enough time to predict what Manny was going to do, neither did Jaklo as he was sent hurdling towards the open doorway. Jake laid along the floor, badly hurt and gripping his back. Ellis ran to check on him while Rasmus watched the door become blocked forcefully as every desk and computer in the room moved to block their only seeming exit.
Through the broken window, surrounded by broken pipes that he had extended out of the wall to block the opening. He'd stare at the four within the room, growling under his breath at the injuries as the pain started to kick in.
Manny couldn't say a word, literally. He felt the remnants of his tooth twirl around in his mouth, instead turning and fleeing the facility. Leaving the four within that room to seemingly die. Jake caught wind of this, growling and slowly standing to his knees while using the butt of his shotgun for balance.
"YEAH? YEAH! TALK SHIT ABOUT SEMPER'S TEETH FILLINGS BITCH! GO GET SOME YOURSELF!" The Jackal would take aim, hoping to finish the job but he was already gone. Jaklo held onto Jake and held him up the best he could. "Hey- Hey calm down.. He's gone- you got him, he won't be back.. You look like you got him good."
Rasmus would chime in, still holding his rapier and looking around the barren room. "You should've killed him, we're dead men walking he's probably getting more of the Musician's men up here to finish the job he couldn't."
Jaklo, who was just barely catching his breath. Let go of Jake once he was able to stand, wincing in pain at the shards that embedded throughout nearly his entire body, big and small. He gazed forward, past the three in the room and stared up in an almost sincere horror.
"I don't.. think we have to worry about those men, right now."
Each of them would slowly turn around, the room was pitch black and there was barely any lighting. An ominous presence, gigantic and boastful was in the room with them. The only character-defining feature of it right now, was the face that appeared on the jumbo like television screen that towered over the circular room. It was the face of a protogen, the normal facial feature with the little narrowed mouth and two dots for eyes.
It didn't look like it could speak, however it definitely knew they were there. It was staring right at them and was as still as could be.
"Unauthorised Entry." A booming voice raced through the intercoms within the room, the entire circular like prison of a room would light up in a red colour. More of it's features were noticeable by this point. A large obelisk like cylinder, coated in metal with the only defining internals being wiring, circuitry and other electronics that made up this god-like A.I being that threatened the lives of the four within the room.
It commanded authority, a fleet of drones from small openings would be dispatched to survey the rotunda like room. Each of the five drones would circle the Obelisk and threaten to fire upon the four.
"What do we do?" Jake asked, it was concerning because he was usually the man with the plan. With three shotgun shells remaining, he was at a loss. Jaklo would weigh in with ideas as the four closely huddled together, Ellis was scared more than anything, Rasmus was stoic and Jake was ready to fight alongside Jaklo. "Do you think there's any computers around? to shut this thing down? Ellis you're smart with this stuff, you think you can?"
Ellis shook his head "Not that experienced with it, I'm afraid. Have you found Rosco yet? He would know all about this stuff- We need him, now more than ever." The drones only scanned closer, the rotunda room floor was riddled with tiles. One of them would drop right through the floor in front of them, falling to a boundless void, possibly to the garbage disposal area.
. . .
"Activating High Defensive Security Protocols." The robotic voice beeped out, Jake would cock his shotgun. The empty shell falling right to the floor.
(I Am The Program Perturbator Remix- MegaDrive Would Play Here)
Three shells, it was now down to two the second Jake would fire a shot directly between the middle of the five drones. Jaklo looked over, analysing Jake as he did so. He watched his pupils dilate constantly, he knew what he was doing. Jake was consistently reliving the moment over and over again in his head, desperate to get the most effective shot.
In the current events though, Jake landed a perfect shot. The shell itself took down two drones, while the second drone spun out of control thanks to fragments of the bullet embedding within it's propeller in a certain way. Causing the drone to fly in a crazed manner, crashing directly into another drone and leaving two drones total so far.
Two of which would begin opening fire, the four would split up and run to almost either end of the room. Jake stayed with Rasmus and Ellis followed with Jaklo, taking cover behind a metallic crate that was decent enough to block the bullets for now. Bullets from the drones zoomed past, Ellis winced and Jaklo seemed to be under pressure judging by his expression. "Ellis.. Keep your head down, we need to get a solid shot at that thing in the middle of the room, the cylinder thing.. It's controlling all these drones and protogens, I know it."
The system would speak again, the jumbo like TV screen would flicker, dominating over the small battle unfolding as more drones would deploy. Another five adding to the two already within the room, cornering each pair of opposing parties strategically and surrounding them. Firing suppressing fire to keep them pinned behind the debris while they gained closer.
"Expunging Targets From Perimeter-- fuck you-- Success Rate Is Approximately 55% With a 45% Casualty Rate." A statical voice overlapped the robot's calm and collected A.I like voice, like a glitch in the system. It taunted the parties. Jaklo would peer out from cover, over towards Jake and Rasmus who were hiding behind a computer like interface within the middle of the room. Jake stared back, hoping Jaklo had come up with some type of plan.
"Fire. At. The. Middle" The raccoon mouthed the words to Jake, a bullet wizzing past his skull just barely as the raccoon was pulled back by Ellis out of concern. The A.I had them pinned down completely, the room was a living death trap. Jake understood what he had to do, he was able to understand the raccoon as he decided to use one of his last bullets. Firing a shot as perfect as he could towards the machine, his nose starting to bleed to show he was indeed overusing his power.
The bullet landed, but all he could really do was dent a metal sheet that acted as armour. In response, the machine began to drop more and more floor tiles all around the rotunda room. Some were incredibly close to the split duo and tensions were steadily rising, Rasmus looked worried for the first time in a while and Ellis was frightened sick.
"Jaklo- Is this ever going to be over?" The dragon asked the raccoon with a quivering lip, cowering in fear behind the crate as the drones only drew closer and closer.
Jake would quickly peek out from behind the computer him and Rasmus hid behind, gazing around the room as much as he could without catching a bullet in the eye from the drones. The whirring sound of the blades lifting them off the ground threateningly getting closer each second, bullets flying to keep their targets pinned and unmoving.
The rotunda like room was filled with boxes, not much else. Cargo and other various supply, it seemed to be the supply room, it had a number one guard in charge of it too. Aside from the boxes, across the room behind the Obelisk that was the god-like A.I was a heavy duty forklift. A generously large vehicle, a bigger forklift. An entire crossed his mind, if he could get to that vehicle in time and turn it on with the chance the keys are still around. He could ram it forward enough to pierce the circuitry of the Overseer in the middle of the room. It would cause some sort of malfunction, it had to.
Turning to look at Jake, he'd grab his shoulder to get his attention. "Listen- I'm going to distract these drones, whatever else this bastard throws on us. I'll fire at them and when I do, I need you to run across the room and use the boxes as cover. You need to get to that forklift, start it up and ram it full force into that.. cylinder like thing in the middle of the room.. It's the heart of this facility, it is controlling those drones. You do that and we get a free ticket home, you with me?"
Rasmus was conflicted about this idea, gripping his rapier tighter and leaning in close to Jake just as more bullets whiz by "Those are drones designed to kill people, you think they can't shoot a moving target? Besides what if the forklift doesn't penetrate that metal around the body?"
Jake shook his head, growling impatiently and wincing just as another bullet nearly blows off his ear. "What- REAL Choice do we have here, Rasmus? I will provide cover fire, I only got two shells. But it's enough to get those drones off of us."
The veteran would think back, he was in a situation like this before where he ran, back on the Day spent without Ears. He didn't want to do it again, this time he thought he was going to run head-first into battle. "That forklift better have keys... If it doesn't, well- Let's just hope those drones kill me quickly then in that case."
Jake smiled at him, admiring the enthusiasm "That's the spirit.. You ready?" Jake asked, staring right into Rasmus' eyes with a focused expression. The wolf nodded and took a deep breath in "Ready to go the fuck home." Slowly raising his shotgun, Jake wiped the blood from his nose and prepared to use Ouroboros once again. Slowly coming to a stance the second the gunfire lessened and taking aim to fire yet another bullet.
The shotgun would fire, leaving him with no more bullets in the chamber. The Jackal would consistently go back on the memory in his head, trying to get it absolutely perfect. Each time he'd witness Rasmus being shot on the spot, this was difficult. He'd aim higher, still the same result. Then he'd aim lower and it was still the same.
But then something occurred to him, he gazed up at the ceiling. Rewinding the memory back in his head the second he spotted an industrial crane like claw designed for picking up boxes. He'd take aim at it, considering it was perfectly in line with the drones in front of him. Firing once and perfectly enough to secure a clear shot to sever the cable holding the crane. It would drop at a fast rate and immediately crush the drones in front of them, giving Rasmus a clear window to run without being shot this time.
"Preparing Lethal-- look -- Weapons Turret, Casualty Rate Is Now 55% With a Success Rate Of 45%" The Overseer spat out, the screen began to rotate. Following Rasmus as he made his run.
The wolf watched as the floor beneath him began to drop, he was faster than it however. Some boxes would fall to the boundless void below him, right to the garbage chute. Then the A.I had an incredible idea, instead of dropping the floor beneath the wolf. It would do so with the boxes. Rasmus watched as the boxes far ahead of him would slowly drop through the floor, giving him less cover just as a Turret deployed from the high ceiling above. A laser slowly tracking his movements, stress increased and he wasn't sure how far he'd truly get.
"Expunging Intruder In-- on my works -- 3.. 2.. -- ye mighty and despair. -- 1.." The Turret began firing ruthlessly, the heavy bullets were more than enough to rip anyone in half. Rasmus could only desperately try to outrun the targetting system but it wouldn't be long until it caught up with him. The laser sighting on the turret only drew closer and closer.
Jaklo listened on the A.I, he had an idea it was sentient and it did sound boastful. An idea quickly came to fruition, Ellis hugged onto his arm. But Jaklo shouted anyway "HEY! YOU WANT SOMEONE TO KILL?! KILL ME! YOU GONNA KILL AN OLD MAN YOU WEAK FUCK!" It took a few seconds but the turret stopped firing, the screen would slowly rotate to face Jaklo as his plan worked, as a consequence he realised he brought the heat right on himself.
The turret would slowly rotate to face Jaklo
"Expunging Intruder 2 Out Of 4 Effective-- i am god-- Immediately." Rasmus was able to run safe, successfully reaching the forklift just as more drones were deployed to focus on him instead. But Jaklo began to get fired at by the absolute monster of a turret across the room, almost shattering the box to pieces but the metallic crate held it's own, the floor would open up under the crate and it would instead drop. Ellis would slip down with it, Jaklo immediately catched him and grabbed his hand.
The turret would stop firing, even the drones were staring and so was the jumbo television screen of the protogen above which was now showcasing a cheeky grin. "you're worthless" upon hearing the metallic voice, Jaklo stared up growling at it and standing his ground as he slowly pulled Ellis up. It wouldn't be long before he would be shot on the spot however. To which the laser from the turret fixated on Jaklo, readying to fire as well as the drones.
"You're a CHEAT! Fight us like a MAN you Hunk of SCRAP!" Jake shouted from across the room, likewise to Jaklo it would work. The boastfulness of the A.I allowed Jaklo to survive as the television screen slowly rotated to face Jake, glaring him down and starting to open fire at him.
Rasmus sat on the heavy-duty forklift, finally arriving and feeling a sense of relief that was short-lived the second he saw more of the vicious drones deploy from their holding bays, slowly making their way towards the wolf as he rummaged around for keys. Although he couldn't find anything, in the back of the forklift was a jug with the corrosive label. Sulfuric Acid, his eyes lit up and he'd pick it up. Unscrewing it and looking up at the drones
"This better work.." He'd aim it in a way where they'd all get a drop of it, soon the wolf would throw it when no time was left. Going right over the three drones and luckily dousing each of them in the acid, the sulfuric acid reacted with the metal on the drones and reacted vigorously. Each of them would start to fire in random directions, the jug of acid falling to the floor and gradually melting through the panel. As the wolf watched it melt, he got hit with a reality.
Staring into the back of the forklift once more, tons of jugs of different acid solutions like Sulfuric and Muriatic Acid. He'd then gaze forward at the Obelisk which was currently focused between Jaklo, Ellis and Jake. The metal sheeting around its core looked vulnerable now he had corrosive acid.
The firing drone would absolutely shatter the computer system Jake was hiding behind to pieces, with his empty shotgun he couldn't do anything but pray. The cover began to fall apart and soon bullets would seep through, framenting in Jake's skin as he winced.
"HEY!"
The turret stopped firing, Jake looked and so did Jaklo who began smiling. A voice he was insanely familiar with, they'd watch as the opening blocked by metal tables and whatnot were immediately sliced in half by a digitalised looking sword. It was mighty powerful, giving Rosco an opening to which he stepped into the room. The digital sword disappearing as the mouse-boy would wander out into the open and right towards the machine. Jaklo was ready to run to save him, the machine glared down at Rosco's futile form as he held his hand out to keep Jaklo in cover. Giving him a reassuring look.
The turret fixated the laser along Rosco's head, every single drone in the room would turn to face him and began circling Rosco. The gigantic machine in front of him, towering over him was furious with him. It wanted him dead more than anyone, or so it seemed.
"You don't hurt my friends.." As Rosco stated this, the machine began whirring. The middle obelisk began rotating, it was a way of showing its discomfort. The turret aimed away and began firing at the ground near Rosco, to which he would only flinch. The machine felt inferior to Rosco and his abilities, it didn't know if it could just kill him so easily. It followed a 'don't hurt what you cannot kill' prophecy in its own sentient little mind.
"If you touch any of my friends I will fucking kill you." Hearing Rosco say this, Jaklo was somewhat surprised. He never expected to hear any swears come out of his mouth at all. Holding onto Ellis tightly as he watched.
The Jumbo television screen above Rosco turned red, the turret would stop firing altogether and the drones stopped circling. The machine began to talk in its full might, fuelled by its very wrath.
"You Are Inferior, Rosco. You Cannot Beat Me."
Rosco would take another step forward, hiding his nervousness and fear with a false sense of confidence as he stood up to the goliath of a machine. "I can kill you, I can tear the screen from your metal shoulders. I choose not to, because I am giving you a chance to let us walk out of here and leave you be.. We want nothing to do with you just as you want nothing to do with us."
The machine listened, deciding and thinking. It didn't know how to feel about that, if it killed Rosco what company would it really have anymore. "You Fought Me for Months.. And Now You Want To Leave?"
Just as Rosco was about to speak, he heard the click of a gun behind him. Jaklo could be heard shouting "NO!" From his cover, immediately running towards him and being shot in the leg by the drone. He didn't even have time to pre-cognate, seeing a gun being pointed at Rosco's head again broke him. It brought back horrible memories and all he wanted to do was save him. He began to break down into tears, crawling worthlessly along the floor towards Rosco. Ellis didn't dare move, seeing how the drone had shot Jaklo. The drones were ready to shoot and kill Jaklo, but then they remembered what Rosco had stated about hurting his friends. Rosco was angry with how it hurt Jaklo. Glaring up at the screen and trying to remain as confident as possible, despite knowing a gun was pointed at his head.
"I told you, do not hurt my friends." Rosco hissed at the Obelisk. The Machine stayed silent upon hearing this and aimed the drones away from Jaklo, analysing the person who was behind Rosco. It was a group of people, The Musician's Men who were informed to visit after Manny's injury. Jake didn't have any ammo to fire, he felt worthless and so he stayed hidden.
"You're not meant to be awake, boy." There was a group of 6 behind him, one of the leading commanders was aiming a gun right at the back of his head. Rosco didn't want to turn around, he slowly raised his hands and glanced around. Realising he didn't exactly have any digital sources to draw power from, he was useless and his best bet was the enemy in front of him rather than behind him.
"I'm awake, and I'm talking to my competitor like a gentleman." Then Rosco looked directly up at the machine, feeling the gun push right against his skull. "On your knees, we'll deal with it instead. You aren't even meant to be alive." The henchman snared coldly at the Mouse, Rosco would pretend like he didn't care. Continuing to stare up at the television screen.
"You know something? I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted to be in your territory ever- You wanna know who put me up to this? These people behind me.. They want you dead so they can raid the data you have stored here." The gun would soon be whacked into the side of Rosco's head, almost knocking him out but he stayed conscious "I said be quiet..". Jaklo continued crawling along the floor, crying weakly and repeating words to himself in a terrified and quivering state "Not again- Not again please.. Leave him ALONE!" The raccoon cried out.
The Machine felt indifferent, as intelligent as it was, it seemed easily convinced. "I wanted to be your friend if I knew you differently, you are so intelligent.. Full of potential and these bastards want to kill you." Rosco continued trying to convince the A.I, another henchman behind the commander blurted something out "Just kill him already, we have the firepower now to kill it ourselves."
The mouse closed his eyes, slowly dropping his hands and looking down at the floor.
The Machine wasn't convinced, it didn't feel like it was. In fact it looked like it was grinning at Rosco. Happy to see him die, no one else could or would do anything about it. The commander behind him would look back and fourth between Rosco and the Machine in front, sighing and raising the gun again. Pointing it right against the Mouse's head and squeezing the trigger. Jaklo could be heard shouting in the background "STOP IT! ROSCO!! ROSCO RUN!"
The gun would fire, a loud bang filling the room. The henchman would pull his hand away, but then his pistol dropped to the floor and out of his hand. As he turned around to face the other five, he was missing an eye. The drone fired at the Henchman instead, deciding to kill him to save Rosco. The Mouse opened his eyes, letting out a loud gasp as the adrenaline overwhelmed him, realising he was spared from death yet again and dropping to the floor completely.
"New Intruders Detected, Welcome To Our-- special hell-- Lawful Neutralization Process." Another Turret deployed from the ceiling and the drones along with the turrets began opening fire at the men, all of which didn't really get a chance to fight back. Being riddled with bullets there and then on the spot. Jaklo watched, a smile drawing along his lips as he repeated things under his breath "Thank you- T-Thank you.." He was moreso talking to the Machine, thankful that Rosco was spared.
Once there was a pile of fresh bodies laying along the floor, The Machine stared down at the shivering Rosco triumphantly "you are spared because I like you-" The expression on the television screen turned to a smile "i admire.. your abilities, i think you have potential." The mouse smiled, standing up and slowly approaching the massive obelisk. Putting his hand along it and staring up at The Machine "Thank You-.. You saved me.. from this Prison."
It was nice, Jake slowly poked his head out of cover and so did Ellis. The Machine no longer had an interest in them, Ellis ran to Jaklo immediately and tended to the shot in his leg the best he could in the moment, he wouldn't be able to walk right again for at least a few months. As Rosco enjoyed the moment, the Machine did too. It got something it always wanted, a friend. It felt complete even when it wasn't meant to be.
That all changed, the sound of an engine in the background would start up. Rosco would walk slowly and peer around to the other side of the massive Obelisk, staring at the numerous empty jugs of acid laying along the floor. There was an odd sizzling gas coming off of the metallic plating around the circuitry, a strange coloured liquid seeping down. The high amounts of acid had eaten away at the metallic sheeting, leaving the inner circuitry completely exposed. The Machine noticed this
"Rosco? what did you do?" It sounded concerned, it expressed emotion. The forklift rammed forward as fast as it could, Rasmus screamed with the adrenaline running in his veins and immediately crashed hard right into the obelisk. The two spear like claws jamming hard and deep into the circuitry, causing immediate catastrophic failure as the Machine shut off forever. The drones would drop to the floor and the turrets would shut off.
Rosco stared, a slowly saddening expression dawning on his face as he did. Watching as Rasmus catched his breath and smiled "I did it! I fucking did it! You guys are really good at fucking distractions." The mouse was furious, but at this point he didn't know how to feel. He wasn't the type to explode on people out of anger, so he simply turned and walked away. Walking over the bodies and towards the exit.
As he left, he took one last look back at the machine. The black and empty television screen, knowing it would never turn back on. Knowing an actual sentient A.I being was created only to be destroyed. He took one look to the monitor beside him, it was a black screen with nothing more than green text. Most likely created by the A.I in it's dying moments.
The text along the screen was a poem, a poem the Machine related with in its own sentient mind. The poem Rosco discovered read
"I Met a Traveller From An Antique Land, Who said 'Two Vast and Trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read. Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked and the heart. . . that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear. . . "
Jaklo leaned on Ellis, slowly walking out of the room with him as Jake could be heard scolding Rasmus in the background. The raccoon turned to face the destroyed structure, he didn't know what to think. Rosco continued reading on
". . My Name IS Ozymandias, King of KINGS; Look On My Works, ye mighty, and despair!"
. . .
"Nothing besides Remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare."
. . .
"The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away."