Seventh Game

[break_the_nine]

[1]

[One would expect Leos to be absolutely devastated when you find him after the mission. With who died... who went missing and how badly he fared. The screaming and crying all the way through... that he would be an inconsolable mess. Yet instead when you find him, he's humming cheerfully as her walked through the base with several packs of pudding. A little too cheerfully. Something was worrying about this.]

Oh... hey! One minute...

[He snaps off a pack and places it in your hand, giving you an almost heartrendingly sunny smile.]

Friendship pudding now. Just so I don't forget like I did a lot of times before.

I've got a meeting with Progtech that Lana's taking me to so I won't be back until waaaay later.

[2] [Later that day...]

[It was closing onto midnight and still no Leos. One would almost be worried as to what was happening to him... but he's a grown dude. He can take care of himself right?]



H... elp....h...help...m..me...

[Except that belief would be refuted. Utterly. Walking down an intersecting corridor was a horrifically bloodied Leos with a frighteningly vacant look in his eyes from the absolutely gigantic amount of pain he was feeling before he just collapsed into the ground and bled there.]

[3]

[The good news first: Leos isn't in any danger of dying. The bad news: All those wounds and injuries? They weren't random. They were surgical scars. It was less about what could have been removed... but more about what was put in. Specifically it seems that Leos was now the proud owner of a large amount of cybernetics. Ones that in theory could allow him to literally interface with machinery and link his mind to it.]

...

[The surgery itself was horrifically invasive and traumatic as Leos can attest to. Diagnosis revealed that a minimal amount of anesthetic was used in order to ensure that the cybernetics were properly linked to his body. As he recovers in the infirmary you can see Lana sparing the Raven a glance before walking away.]

[Could she... and by extension PROGTECH be responsible for this...?]

[As Leos is still in no state to be visited... Discuss this matter with others/Confront Lana?]

Comments

3

[majestic_keiki]

[At least one person is going to talk to Lana about just what happened. A rather irate teenage girl to be exact.]

Just what did you people do to him?

[break_the_nine]

Simply put, he has been 'upgraded'. It was a possibility I was pondering on quite some time ago after a conversation with Lieutenant Bridges on just how much 'assistance' Leos would require.

I had argued for Leos to be modified for quite some time now. This latest loss seemed to have had the PROGTECH board of directors in agreement with me.

Once he recovers, I believe he would be quite a bit stronger.

[Her tone was... callous to say the least, same as always. But somehow this felt a little bit more horrifying than before.]

[majestic_keiki]

You took somebody in desperate need of counseling and support and instead installed cybernetics against his will? Why? For the sake of PROGTECH's profits?

2

[herodrawing]

!!!!

[A shocked Izuru runs up to Leos and tries to pick him up. Then he promptly stops, seeing how wounded he is.]

We need a medic here! Someone help, anyone!

[break_the_nine]

[Yeah, trying to pick him up miiight not have been the best idea. Between the blood and the injuries, Leos let out a hoarse noise that sounded like a scream that was trying to force its way through a throat that was far too dry.]

[And... was he heavier? A LOT heavier as well...]

2

[empress_without_a_throne]

[What with the night and everything, it would make sense for Mizuki to go out scouting and pray whatever happened between Sara and the Indalph didn't happen to her. So thus she gets to be there and see Leos stumbling in...]

LEOS!

[Cue one Empress running desperately to try to support the poor, wounded soul.]

[break_the_nine]

[Frantic wheezes and whimpers were Mizuki's reply as Leos tries to muster the energy to stand again. No such luck. He gives the Abyss Empress a pleading, tear filled glance.]

Mh...mh'zki... h...help... h...hurts... everything...

[He flinches and tries to curl in on himself and... oh god were his eyes bleeding?]

2

[keep_your_dignity]

[A lot of people, on seeing this, would panic, fuss around Leos, start asking if he's alright. Kagura, however, is a more pragmatical person than that, and is not really into stupid questions - he isn't. And her sensors are picking up a very high metal content inside her, which coupled with the fact that most executors ARE cyborgs gives Kagura all she needs to know.

So she reaches Leos, and lays him down to prevent him moving and opening his wounds further, with the practiced movements of one who has done this kind of thing often. As she does, she radios out.]

THIS IS KAGURA. WOUNDED AT MY POSITION. INTERNAL HAEMORRHAGING. STRETCHER ON TWO, ONE TO PREPARE MEDICAL.

[break_the_nine]

[Laying down, can't move. His breathing speeds up a bit as his mind flickers back to what happened and his body twitches. Ragged wheezes that were weakened attempts at cries rattled out as his eyes darted around.]

P...pl'se...n..n'mre... h..hrts..hurts......

3

[keep_your_dignity]

[...and so, a little later, as Lana is going around she stumbles upon Kagura, who looms like nobody else, and behind her the six members of her squad, arms crossed and not looking very happy.]

NIELSEN

[break_the_nine]

Major.

[Lana doesn't seem to be bothered in the slightest, nor threatened.]

3

[srwu_mods]

"Miss Lana Nielsen."

Look, it's the Unity Group commander in chief. And his hands are trembling, which is why he's hiding them behind his back.

"Please leave."

[break_the_nine]

[Lana paused at that, calmly raising an eyebrow at what had been said by the commander.]

Could you please repeat yourself Commander Antov. I believe I might have misunderstood what you said.

[Hard to believe, but the look she had on her face pretty much meant she wanted an explanation very much right now.]

[1] + [2]

[ugyuuya]

[Yuuya meets Leos and accepts the pudding readily. He wonders about the chipper mood as it is so different from the other responses but if he's managing and has work to do then why bother stopping him?]

[Come that evening Yuuya would regret that decision as the Argos flight happened across Leos after a bit of night training in their backup units.]

Dear god what happened to you Leos? VG call a medic, Tarisa get the medkit from that emergency locker, Stella give me a hand getting him down so we can treat him.

[The rest of the Argos flight breaks quickly for their tasks except for Stella who just stops slightly horrified at what happened to Leos, only rousing to help after Yuuya yells her name to shake her from her reverie.]

[break_the_nine]

.Y.. yh'ya... s't'la c..can't... p..pl'hs...

[Leos was in too much pain to thrash around thankfully, but in a way that was a major part of the problem as well as he struggled to breath. Whatever happened to him Yuuya, it was probably as bad... if not worse than his first encounter with the BETA when you see that look in his eyes.]

[The way he struggled to speak also said volumes, overworking his voice... possibly from screaming for who knows how long. Either way he clings as closely as possible to both the TSF pilots helping him, and moving him seems to be a far more difficult task than expected.]

1

[abugslife]

You are willing to share this with me, of all people?

[After a few seconds of staring, Hetepheres takes the pudding with her chitinous hand.]

What is the meeting about?

[break_the_nine]

Of course! Its friendship pudding after all... it'd be silly if I didn't share it with my friends! I'd share it with some of the other gebians but...

[Yeah he remembers their reaction.]

Anyway the meeting's just some really unimportant stuff. Just some adjustments to Pale Rider that could really help since we might need to rebuild it from the ground up!

1

[ben_dixon]

Thanks, Junior! Remind me to buy you some steak later! We should eat together. You're a bit skinny, protein is important!

[break_the_nine]

Sounds awesome! There's a great steakhouse on Star Rose. I heard the meat's so tender it melts in your mouth!

1

[way_of_vengeance]

Oh? What's this about?

[break_the_nine]

Its probably just a bunch of old coots grumbling about numbers again... but there's also the stuff they might have lined up for Pale Rider too!

That and... well...

Maybe there might be a way for me to get even stronger as well.

3-after expulsion notice

[way_of_vengeance]

...you have done a very wicked thing, Miss Nielsen.

[Oh hey, it's Sayo and Kanae.]

Perhaps you should confess your sins, and beg forgiveness from the lord.

Re: 3-after expulsion notice

[break_the_nine]

And what lord am I supposed to beg for forgiveness from exactly?

I have done nothing less reprehensible than you Miss Ootori. If my actions are wicked then yours would be nothing short of abominable.

2

[abugslife]

...Leos.

[Hetepheres raises her hand to where her ear should be, activating a communicator.]

Bring a medical team here, at once. Get Bennu.

Yes, I know she is probably asleep right now. Her skills as a surgeon are needed. This is an emergency!

[Now she approaches.]

What have you done, Leos...?

[break_the_nine]

H'ph'rs..?

[Leos tries to focus on the gebian general with great difficulty. It hurt quite a bit trying to look at the right angle.]

S...srry... d..did..s'mthing...