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

[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.]

[ugyuuya]

[Yuuya and Stella are able to lay Leos down and begin inspecting the wounds underneath his clothes the two come to a similar conclusion due to the controlled nature of the cuts and the lack of any defensive wounds. The discovery of some of the more shallowly installed and larger parts only further shocks the pilots.]

They have cybernetic enhancements in here. If they haven't healed in fully yet then he's been ripping himself apart the whole way here, what kind of hack doctor doesn't keep a patient restrained if they do this.

[Tarisa and VG come back with their appointed tasks done and move in to help, Stella begins to back away as the other two take over.]

[break_the_nine]

[Clearly one that doesn't really care about the Hippocratic oath or simply had any shred of decency. Leos flinches weakly every so often from assistance rendered by both Tarisa and the Medics VG brought and would attempt to shy away from them if not for his sorry state.]

[He whimpers fearfully at the number of people crowding around him, eyes darting around frantically as his breathing speeds up. The lights shining into his eyes from up top really aren't helping the feeling that he's back in the surgical theater.]

[ugyuuya]

[Noticing his rather severe duress Stella finally steps in her voice controlled but still shaky,]

Stop, you're scaring him, whatever happened was bad enough but you're making it worse right now.

[She leans over and begins to wipe Leos' face clean with a cloth from the medic's bags.]

Leos we're going to get you help I promise. I don't think I can be in the same room as you the whole time but I'll keep an eye on you and if anyone tries to hurt you again I'll stop them.

[Stella takes Leos' hand in her left and gives it a squeeze as she continues to speak.]

Now we're going to go with the medics now, I'll be with you the whole time but it may hurt, if it does can you squeeze down alright?

[break_the_nine]

..kay...

[Leos admittedly hesitated before returning the squeeze. It felt a little harder than expected... then again considering what was done to him... maybe it was a given. Either way he puts up less of what could be called a fight as the medics hauled him off.]

[ugyuuya]

[Stella walks with Leos and watches for the duration of his treatment. As the night fades into morning and the medics finish Stella is oddly silent in the observation room as she watches Leos rest fitfully in medicated slumber. When Lana comes in to look in at him and then just as quickly begins to leave anger finally takes Stella and she attempts to overpower the woman and drive her into the wall.]

You inhuman monster! What possessed you to do this to him? Why would you even consider it when there are other man-machine interfaces that work almost as well without the invasive procedures?

[break_the_nine]

[About that Stella, Lana was pretty difficult to overpower. You managed to force her back a few steps before she pushed back with surprising strength and shoving you off with a dispassionate look on her face.]

Except that there aren't. Not on the level that this particular procedure provides. Leos said he'd be willing to do anything to get stronger, so I merely offered him a way to do so.

Now I suggest you step back before you do something you will definitely regret.

[Stella, there was something else when you attempted to attack Lana. Something about her just didn't feel right...]

[ugyuuya]

[Stella is too upset at this point to take Lana's word at any kind of value.]

You abused his guilt and remorse to manipulate him into this. He was not in any state to agree to something like this and you had to have known that. Now if you want to talk about regrets

[Stella pitches her arm back...]

I'll give you regrets!

[And throws the telegraphed punch right into Lana's jaw.]

[break_the_nine]

[While it didn't feel like hitting a brick wall, Stella's hand may feel pretty sore for a while after making impact on Lana's face. Leos' handler merely turned her head, fist buried in her jaw and all.]

Are you finished? Or are you going to try again?

[ugyuuya]

[Stella pulls back her hand nursing her injured fist for a moment before her face turns into an expression of disgust.]

Well, isn't this interesting. I guess I was more correct then I imagined with my opening description of you.

So what exactly are you? A Gynoid, Cyborg, Robot, AI? Did you ever really exist as a human or were you an AI given a humanoid form to "manage" assets for Raven's Nest?

I know morals and ethics are second to funds for your organization and wondered how you slept at night, I guess you just plug in and shut down your active processes to recharge?

[break_the_nine]

[Lana merely looks Stella in the eye, expression firm.]

What I am doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

And you and others who have realized what I am... you keep thinking you know what I was made for.

[She shakes her head and turns to leave.]

What I was built for... was the preservation of humanity. No matter the cost. Morals and Ethics are most certainly worth sacrificing to that...

[On that note Lana leaves. But who does she think she's fooling? 'Preservation of humanity'...?]