The air was stale with the smell of cigarettes and beer, a smell I knew all too well.
A bright light hung over me as I laid upon a padded chair, beside me: surgical equipment.
"Been a year, hasn't it Danill?" Spoke a man in a dirty vest. "Sorry, to hear about Irka."
"Thank you, but I go by Daniel now." I replied. "You know that-"
He took a drag, puffing white smoke into the air. "Right, right- guess first impressions last the longest, eh?"
"So, what's wrong?" He said, leaning back in a chair.
"My hand was trembling this morning." I spoke, "You don't think it could be an issue with the muscle fibers, could it?"
"Does this happen often?" He asked.
"No-"
"Hm..." He looked down at the floor taking a drag. "...What about your implants..." He said, staring at me with a stern look.
"...The Berserker, I used it for the first time in a while this morning..."
He sighed, leaning back; "Hah... Nerve damage..." He said, looking up at the ceiling. "You suffered a bit of nerve damage from using your implant."
"The Berserker works by doping your nerves. Stronger muscles, more stamina, more pain resilience, etc-"
"I know this-" I stated bluntly.
"But you don't, Danill- Listen." He protested, "This one is different- It doesn't just drug them, but it stretches them too. It enhances your nerves. And I know it's not the only implant you have cooped up inside of you."
"Your Cyberware, whatever it's called- It's one of a kind." He said, "I've worked as a Ripper for 15 years and I've never seen anything like it. If it was a simple Berserker implant, I could just remove it; but it's different; your entire "body" is an implant."
"What does that matter-" I asked, annoyed.
He put out his cigarette on the floor, "I can tell it's old tech, from before the crash."
"..." I tensed up.
"The amount of strain it must put on your brain, I can't even-"
"It's nothing I'm not used to." I replied.
"Well-" He scoffed, "You're suffering from the effects of overuse. It just seems to have come a bit late." He spoke.
"I can fix the nerve damage but not much more than that; this is beyond my level of expertise."
"Fine." I said, "Just get it done."
He placed on surgical gloves, "You want any pain killers?" He asked.
"No..." I replied, "Pain never gave me much issue."
"It's done." He said, rolling back into his chair. "Haah... I need a drink."
I stood up, flexing my arm. "Better..." I thought. I went to grab my coat.
"Hey-" He called out, "You should take these."
He placed a capsule full of pills on the desk. "Immunoblockers..."
"'ppreciate it." I said, placing some eddies on the desk, and pocketing the pills.
I was about to head out the door; "You keep using your implants... Nerve damage will be the least of your worries." He spoke, twirling his finger around his ear. "Psycho..." He whispered.
"Tch-" I stepped out; I was beginning to need a drink myself.
Pulling the truck into the shop I shut the door; flicking the switch the lights came on over a workbench.
Different trinkets I worked on over the years lined the shop; generators, motors, power converters, some rifles but Irka always nagged that it was too dangerous for Zuzuka to be around.
"Sigh..."
But there was something-
I pushed aside some blueprints and tools, opening up a small box. A few memories stored away inside: my dog tags, Zuzuka's birth bracelet, a picture of the first date Irka and I went on...
We went to an outdoor drive-in movie; she wanted to see Bushido 2. She always had a thing for action movies, never understood why. My hair was a lot shorter back then, I looked a lot meaner too.
"But she didn't seem to mind..." A soft smile touched my lips as I stared at the photo.
I placed the picture back in the box; instead pulling out a small light metallic blue shard.
It glistened in the sunlight that peered through the window. "...Why." I asked myself.
"Why did he give me this...?"
There was a ringing in my ears as I found myself lying within the rubble of the server room; "Ahh..." I lifted the concrete slabs off of me, scanning the room.
A body lay lifeless as it was impaled by several rebar. "Sarge..." I thought.
The sounds of footsteps came from a bit aways.
"jìxù kàn!"* (Keep looking!)*
"tājiù zàizhèlǐ!"* (He's around here!)*
"Kang Tao, they're here..." I got low to the ground, quietly I made my way to an opening that had been made by the collapse.
Then, I heard a noise, "Ksssh!" I looked over, the large server box had begun to open. "What..."
I walked over, ripping the door off.
"...Bartmoss..." I said, a hatred in my voice.
Looking down within the hollow case laid what could only be called a living corpse.
His body was thin and rotten, wires and tubes poking out from every inch of his withered body. He was more machine than man.
A large piece of rebar pierced his chest; a pool of blood slowly formed beneath him.
"Serves you right, you sukin syn."* (Son of a bitch.)*
I turned away, "Wait..." said a weak voice.
I instantly activated my mantis blades, poised to strike the final blow. "Give me one good reason."
"Take it..." He replied, out from a small opening came a light blue metallic shard.
Taking the shard, I noticed something written on the backside. "To: Spider- Love: Rache-"
"What's on it..." I asked.
He coughed up blood onto himself, his last breath beginning to leave him. "...Eden..." as he spoke, he finally passed on.
"Tch..." I scoffed, "Got better than you deserved."
Suddenly, the roof was blown off as the assault squad made their way inside.
"wǒmen zhǎodào letā!"* (We found him!)*
"zhǔnbèihǎo nǐde wǔqì!"* (Ready your weapons!)*
"Click!" "Ka-chack!" "Click!"
I placed the shard in one of my pockets, closing my eyes.
"tā kǒu dàilǐ yǒudōngxī!"* (Something in his pocket!)*
"huǒzāi!"* (Fire!)*
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The world went still, hundreds of bullets came at me from all sides. "Haah..."
In a matter of moments, I kicked the hollow box over me, shielding me as a bullet hell rained down.
"tínghuǒ!"* (Cease fire!)*
The men slowly walked towards the bullet riddled box, "tāsǐ lema?"* (Is he dead?)*
"Shwing!" Instantly the men were ripped to shreds as the hollow shell fell apart.
"a! guàiwù!"* (Ah! Monster!)*
I stood up holding what was left of Bartmoss's corpse. "Useful even in death..." I chuckled.
"zàicì kāihuǒ!"* (Fire again!)
I launched the corpse at the men; using the sandevistan I punched through it, impaling the first two. "Gaaaah!" They screamed in pain.
I dug my other arm in, ripping them in two. It rained blood as the two men exploded into a viscera of carnage. "God damn!" I laughed.
With the remaining men blinded, I jumped to the surface...
Only to be met with not a single squadron, but a small army. "Shit-"
Three hundred armed men, 10 Basilisks, and 20 Manticores. Enough firepower to level a town.
I couldn't run-
"zhuāngtián dàpào!"* (Load the cannons!)*
I had to fight, but-
"mùdì!"* (Aim!)*
I would have to remove my limiters and activate the Berserker and the Sandevistan simultaneously to stand a chance. Doing so would send me straight over the edge, I'd go psycho before I took another breath. But-
"huǒzāi!"* (Fire!)*
"...Did I have any other choice?"
"BANG!"
The force of the cannon rocked the earth, launching a shell 20 inches thick towards the short black-haired man.
"BOOM!"
What was left of the compound shook with the impact of the shell, kicking up a large cloud of dust and debris. A brief moment went by as the men starred in silent confusion.
"tā méiyǒu bàozhà ma?"* (It didn't explode?)*
The dust settled, and what remained filled the men with true terror.
"tā- tāzhuāzhùlebèiké!"* (He- He caught the shell!)*
I breathed a heavy sigh of hot air, as my muscles twitched with tension, and my mind raced; it was as if my body and mind were working at the speed of light...
"Oh, Bartmoss..." I chuckled, "You didn't need Mikoshi..." The ground began to crack as my muscles began to twitch even more, building even greater tension.
...I felt as if I could tear the world asunder.
"...You just needed ME!"
I launched the shell back at the men, "BOOM!!" It erupted in a fiery inferno, engulfing half the army.
I laughed as the men screamed in terrified and confused agony.
"Come on... vecherinka tolko nachinaetsya!"* (Party's just getting STARTED!)*