“Davídrius!!”
“Eh–?” the Introtechnic turned around just in time for
Kevérin to barge up to and glare at him.
“The hell is this?!” the Transfer Captain gestured at the
hall behind him, marred with the remains of the barricade Davídrius had broken
through.
“…Heheh,” Davídrius chuckled self-amusedly after he caught a
glimpse of Kaoné coming around the corner and immediately backing away. “I’m
just securing the place, like you said.”
“Did I not say no killing if you can help it?!”
“They attacked me–!”
“They attacked you?” Kevérin echoed in disbelief, “Then
why are they the ones
smeared all over the walls?!”
“What, d’ya expect me to just rap everyone up the backside
of their head?” Davídrius snorted.
“I expect you not to leave behind a mess worthy of
the Riaxen!”
“Everything okay, Davídrius…?” Christeané asked warily as he
approached the two arguing Chaotics, “You’ve been a little… off, ever
since we boarded the shuttle.”
“Off?” Davídrius smirked, “Ha! I’ve been feeling pretty
goddamn great, actually!”
“…It’s Hastryth.”
“Eh?” the Introtechnic crossed his arms as Kievkenalis
walked up, “What’s that?”
“It’s the Dark Ayas Hastryth,” the Riveranian repeated, “I
told you, it’s not one of the ‘Dark Ayas’ without reason!”
“This bullshit again,” Davídrius snarled, “If you’re tryin’
to say that it’s corrupting me, or something, well, you’re wrong. Nothing
controls me. Certainly not some damn stone!”
“…Davídrius,” Kevérin addressed him warningly, “Calm down–“
“Don’t tell me to ‘calm down’,” the Introtechnic shoved
Kevérin away, “You can’t tell me shit–!”
“ENOUGH!”
Everyone froze where they stood, startled by the sudden
voice over the intercom.
“We have no time for petty squabbles, Quakeborn!”
“Quakeborn?” Christeané echoed amusedly.
“…Who’re you?” Kevérin responded apprehensively.
“The base’s computer or some shit,” Davídrius replied
nonchalantly, “That’s what he was sayin’ before you got all up in my face, at
least.”
“With luck that will not remain the case for long. We are
losing time; you need–“
“You’re the base’s computer?” Kevérin frowned, “…You’re
saying you’re an AI?”
“In a sense, yes.”
“Bullshit,” the Pyrotechnic scoffed, “Even the Syraus don’t
have fully-functional AI. There’s no way the SFC could’ve created one.” He
glanced over at Kievkenalis. “Right?”
“It’s technically possible, but I highly doubt it,” the
Chaostechnic nodded, “I’m sure the RPF would’ve picked up on something like a
self-governing AI.”
“The ‘SFC’ did not create me. They merely found me.”
“…Are you saying you’re an Aldredas artifact?” Kievkenalis
suddenly seemed very intrigued.
“This smells all kinds of wrong,” Kevérin frowned, “For all
we know it’s just the SFC trying to throw us off…”
“Do not group me with these fools! You may not be the Keys,
but I would not dare lie to the Quakeborn!”
“Keys? Quakeborn? What?” Christeané scratched his head
cluelessly.
“I speak of topics you need not know… for now you need only
know my identity. I am the Prior Arcán,
designation Aegis.”
“Arcán?” Kievkenalis’s intrigue peaked even further,
“That’s… one of the light Ayas. Is there a connection?”
“There is little time for this now! This information is not
immediately relevant and I can explain once we are all far removed from the
Kotak menace.”
“A likely story,” Kevérin snorted, “We’ve wasted enough time
here–“
“There is an Ayas in the caves two kilometers east of this
compound.”
The four Chaotics froze again.
“…You’re lying,” the Transfer Captain replied flatly.
“Think rationally. I am not of this modern galaxy but I have
heard and processed much data related to it. The people of this base, those of
the SFC, are no match for this ongoing raid. I have nothing to gain from
distracting and diverting seven Chaotics out of many. But you have nothing to
lose, bar time, and even then your absence would not be truly noticed. Yet you
have the possibility of obtaining another Ayas. There is little reason for you
to not at least investigate.”
“I’m with the computer on this one,” Christeané stated,
“Another Ayas? Definitely worth checking out.”
“And if it’s a trap we’ll just blow through it!” Davídrius
declared, “Nothing can stop me!”
Kevérin hesitated for a moment before turning to his side
and bringing up a tactical display of the compound on his glasses. After a few
moments of investigating the location pings for the other raid teams he closed
the display and turned back to the other three Chaotics, sighing
apprehensively. “Alright… we’ll go for it.”
“I am glad you saw reason.”
“Can it,” Kevérin shot back, “When we get back, you’d better
have proof that you’re actually an AI. And if there’s no Ayas then I’ll be sure
to format your core and use it for my porn stash!”
“Porn?” Davídrius cocked his head cluelessly, “What’s that?”
Silence fell for a couple moments.
“Dude,” Christeané commented woefully, “I am so sorry.”
“This is all beside the point. There is an Ayas there, I
assure you. And upon your return I will have further instructions and
information; your desire for proof will not go unsated. Now go! Retrieve the
Ayas before the menace claims it!”
“This had better all make since soon…” Kevérin grumbled as
he turned back down the hallway, “…Everyone, we’re moving out. To the east!”
*
* *
“Caves again? I have a bad feeling about this…”
“We’ve only ever had one bad experience with
caves,” Davídrius snorted.
“And that one ‘bad experience’ resulted in the loss of an
entire colony,” Siyuakén countered, “I think I’m right to be mildly worried…”
“On Sunova, we didn’t have an Ayas to help us out. But now
we do,” the Introtechnic smirked, “There’s nothing to worry about! I can take
care of it!”
“That’s exactly
what we have to worry about…” Kaoné muttered.
“Quiet,” Kevérin ordered as he gestured for the rest of Hero
Machina to hide in the underbrush. The caves may have only been two kilometers
from the SFC compound, but those two kilometers were filled with dense forest
and had taken them almost twenty minutes to clear. They were now at the edge of
a small clearing, the end of which was the entrance to caves.
“…Is it… blocked?” Rebehka questioned, referring to the cave
entrance.
“It looks like a steel door… probably something the SFC
installed.” Kevérin stood up and stepped out of the underbrush, gesturing for
the rest of the Chaotic squad to follow suit. “We don’t know what’s behind that
door,” he commented, “So be careful. Kaoné, Kievkenalis, see if you can sense
any presence. And once we’re close enough that you’re comfortable, tear down
the door.”
“I can do that from here!” Kaoné remarked, promptly tearing
down the steel door and tossing it to the side after transmuting it into dust.
As soon as she had removed the door, a full squad of six
armored soldiers sprung forth, guns blazing. Kaoné and Rebehka instinctively
raised shields to block the bullets and lasers, but before anyone else could
react Davídrius had vaulted over the barriers and lunged forward, ignoring the
weaponry and simply allowing his armor to soak up the damage. The moment he was
within arm’s reach of the front-most soldier he whirled his right foot around
and cartwheel kicked the soldier, slamming him straight down to the ground. The
Introtechnic then launched Hastryth’s blade end at the next nearest soldier before
dashing toward him, running several circles around him until Hastryth’s tether
bound his arms. Davídrius then grabbed the soldier by his head and back
flipped, ramming his foot into the soldier’s chin with enough force to snap his
head back far further than the body would naturally allow. The moment the
Introtechnic had both feet planted on the ground again he tossed Hastryth’s
handle into the air and spun around, catching the handle with his foot and
swinging the tethered corpse around in a circle, toppling two of the soldiers
who had attempted to get in close. He then yanked on the cord, unraveling the
corpse and sending it flying into a third soldier as Hastryth’s blade was flung
backwards into a fourth. The Introtechnic quickly drew his sword and flung it
into the air; the moment it had fallen down, tip-first, he whipped around in
another cartwheel kick and drove the blade with his foot into the soldier he
had floored earlier – even through the soldier’s Chaos Armor.
By then the remaining four soldiers had become wary of
Davídrius, and were slowly backing off while maintaining gunfire. Their actions
did nothing but egg the Introtechnic on, however – now confident that none of
them were Chaotics, he blasted forward at full speed and before shooting his
foot out just in time to ram it through one of the soldiers and then using
Hastryth to snag the soldier standing right next to him and yank him to the
ground. He pulled Hastryth back and slammed the blade end through the corpse
stuck on his leg, causing it to suddenly disappear in a cloud of blue mist.
Without so much as stopping to give the odd occurrence any thought, Davídrius
dashed toward the farther two soldiers and clothes-lined them before slamming
his foot into the back of one of their necks, and through the crotch of the
other. He then jumped away and spun around, launching Hastryth one more time
toward the final remaining soldier and completely impaling him.
The rest of Hero Machina watched on in dead silence, frozen
in awe of Davídrius’s ruthless display of speed and strength. They were slowly
shaken out of their stupor by the sound of laughing – by the sound
of Davídrius laughing.
“Ahahahaha!!” the Introtechnic grinned gleefully, “Those
guys weren’t even a match!!”
“Looks like they were Black Suns soldiers…” Kevérin
muttered, “I guess that’s why the SFC resisted… they didn’t want us to know of
their ties to the Black Suns…” he then turned his attention to the perpetrator
of the short massacre. “Davídrius! What the hell are you doing?!”
“Winning!” the Introtechnic shouted back, “They attacked. So
I retaliated!”
“They didn’t deserve this!” Rebehka countered, “There was no
need to… to… to slaughter
them!”
“Eh, looks like they’re just a bunch of Black Suns cannon
fodder,” Davídrius remarked, “No one’ll miss ‘em.”
“I knew recruiting a Tresédian wouldn’t work out
in the end,” Kevérin scowled, “Davídrius, stand down! Drop the Ayas!”
“Whaaat?” the Introtechnic dismissed the Hastryth weapon and
crossed his arms, “You’re tryin’ to give me orders again?”
“I’m relieving you of military standing!” the Transfer
Captain barked, “You’re in no way fit to keep fighting!”
“Not fit for fighting?!” Davídrius laughed again, “I feel
better than ever!”
“It really is Hastryth,” Kievkenalis commented, and then
stepped forward. “Davídrius, the Ayas is controlling you! Let it go!”
“No! Your bullshit is exactly
that, bullshit!” the Introtechnic countered irately, “Nothing’s
controlling
me! You think I’d actually lose myself to this fucking stone here? You’ve got
the master relationship backwards, pal!”
“No, Davídrius! It’s blinding you!” Kievkenalis stood his
ground, “You aren’t thinking straight–!”
“Even if I wasn’t, do you really think I’d come around just
‘cause you said so?” Davídrius snorted, “I took care of our attackers. That’s
that. Now are we just going to stand around here, or are we going to go get the
Ayas?”
“You’ve become a danger in your own right,” Kevérin
declared, “We’re not going anywhere until you stand down and hand over the
Ayas!”
Davídrius smirked self-amusedly. “Keheheh. I’m the danger. C’mon, stop
bullshitting. We needa get the next Ayas. Right, guys?” he turned toward the
rest of Hero Machina.
“No, Kevérin’s right,” Christeané gripped his battlehammers
defensively, “Something’s up with you.”
“’Up’ with me,” Davídrius echoed, “’Up’ with me, you say.
These are just some Black Suns soldiers! The Black Suns are mercenaries! Who
gives a shit?”
“It’s one thing to kill them – it’s another to do so as
brutally as you did!” Siyuakén exclaimed, “You’ve crossed a line!”
“This isn’t you, Davídrius!” Kaoné added, “Even you never did something like this
back in Treséd, or on Sunova, or Teghica!”
“’This isn’t me’…” the Introtechnic muttered, and then
suddenly exploded. “’This isn’t me’?! Like hell you know me! You pacifistic
little shit, you think you can tell me who I am?!” He
snapped his attention to the rest of Hero Machina, all of whom had entered
defensive stances. “Y’all think you know me better than I do?!
You don’t know me! You don’t know my history! You don’t know my home, my
preferences, you don’t know shit! And you think you can just give me
orders, tell me to ‘stand down’, to drop the Ayas?! Like hell I
will!!”
“Davídrius…!” Kievkenalis muttered warningly.
“No! Fuck off! If you think you can tell me what to do, then–
then I’ll– I’ll show you–!! Haaugh!!”
“…What’s going on?” Kevérin questioned apprehensively as
Davídrius suddenly collapsed to his hands and knees, his back arched.
“…The local Chaos Energy…” Kievkenalis
muttered, and then suddenly widened his eyes in shock. “I’ve never seen it so
excited before–!“
He was interrupted as a sudden shockwave exploded outwards
from Davídrius, blowing each of the Chaotics of Hero Machina back several
meters. By the time any of them could look back to the Introtechnic, his entire
body was covered in a dark blue aura, thick enough to obscure all of his
features – as well as his entire armor.
“…Shit,” Kievkenalis scowled, “He’s gone berserk!!”
* * * * *
==================== End of Chapter 30 ====================
* * * * *
Data Entry: Berserk State
The Berserk State is exactly as it sounds – a state of being in which a Chaotic goes berserk, indiscriminately attacking and tearing down their surroundings in a feral rage. All higher thought processes shut down while a Chaotic is berserk, leaving them to act on instinct alone – and making any form of reasoning impossible. Berserk Chaotics are even completely immune to mind control; in fact forcing a Chaotic to go berserk is an oft-used method to break any mind control influence.
The Berserk State is characterized by the Chaotic becoming covered in a thin veil of Chaos Energy, their skin and clothing stained with a color ranging from light blue to red. The Chaotic gains a massive power boost, though the power boost is somewhat mitigated by the fact that they no longer have the mental capacity to put their power to efficient use.
The State is brought on by overuse of Chaos Energy and is tempered by the Chaotic’s emotional state; it only subsides once all of the excess Chaos Energy has been exhausted. Generally, Chaotic types who use a lot of Chaos Energy within short periods of time (such as Chaostechnics) are very prone to going berserk, and Chaotics with very short tempers are also very prone to going berserk. The State is usually preceded by the Chaotic feeling a sudden heavy pressure; this is their cue to remove themselves from the situation and calm down. Should they neglect this feeling, they will shortly go berserk, though extreme emotions, particularly extreme anger or sadness, can bring on the Berserk State with little to no warning.
There is no way to easily stop a berserk Chaotic. The State cannot be simply exited, as the berserker lacks the mental capacity to attempt as much; furthermore, berserkers are not easily captured, as their primal rage and immense power make them difficult to nail down. Nevertheless, the general protocol for dealing with berserk Chaotics is to trap them in an enclosed area where they can do minimal damage and then simply wait for the Berserk State to wear off.
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