A/N: This announcement has been a long time coming. This is going to be my last work for Rio, but I will still be hanging around this site, so no worries.
Happy Feet 2 is what I will focus on next, but that's two months away...
I intend to use this story as a means to "go out with a bang," and I hope to live up to that expectation.
Just so you know, this story was inspired in part by: The Amazing World Of Gumball, DeviantArt by Adry53, "Love on the Battlefield" by fellow writer The Scarlet Macaw, and last but never least, the mind of yours truly.
Without further ado, here it is...
Chapter 1:Welcome to D.E.A.T.H.
The passage of time is indeed a primordial force. Nothing ever stays the same; everything is altered, in one way or another, by the shifting sands of time. That fact was glaringly evident in the reduced Solar System in which Earth resides.
The cool red Sun - half as large and a quarter as bright as it was 40 years ago – maintains in orbit four planets out of the individual nine. This profound reorganization came about in 2100, when a vagrant black hole swept by the Solar System on an unexpected visit.
Pluto was devoured, Uranus was cast into Neptune, and Saturn was merged with Jupiter. The gravity of the black hole siphoned off half of the mass of the Sun. The Earth would have frozen over if it had not been drawn closer to the Sun, allowing the reddish light to continue to warm the planet.
In the process, the Moon, Mercury, and Venus were drawn into the now shrunken star, and Mars began to orbit the Earth, albeit a bit too close for comfort.
On this grand scale, the Solar System was a strange place. Down on Earth, that strangeness was mirrored in full.
The planet was buried under a burgeoning population of 12 billion humans. Bullet-shaped vehicles drifted through the sky in an endless dance; buildings soared into the sky and seemed to scrape the clouds.
True, all of the original continents and countries still existed; the great cities like Paris, New York, and Rome still stood undeterred.
But in areas where there is triumph, in others there is failure. Many great cities had been brought to their knees by the War, futuristic ghost towns that harbored nothing but the scorched shells of tarnished buildings and streets of corpses.
Rio de Janeiro was one of those places.
Stray animals sniffed along the cracked pavement and decomposing bodies for scraps of food. Lone fires burned here and there, tainting the crimson sky with pillars of black. Machines cloaked in bird feathers patrolled the streets, their robotic eyes scanning every direction for any signs of danger.
In short, it was the farthest thing from a paradise imaginable; equivalent to a comparison between Heaven and Hell.
The surrounding rain-forest was a vast improvement, still reasonably populated with the natural flora and fauna that had existed there for centuries. Bare spots devoid of plant life were reminders of the skirmishes fought since 2090, the year the War started.
The disaster with the black hole in 2100 halted the conflict and allowed both sides to lick their wounds.
The fear of bombardment by the scattering of the Asteroid Belt caused the world's leading nations to send up orbital satellites to defend against the onslaught. The catastrophe was averted, and the 75 strong orbital fleet had fallen into dormancy by 2120. Every so often, the drifting satellites would catch the glare of the Sun and twinkle brightly in the sky.
The scarred still jungle teemed with indigenous life, a ring of verdant emerald growth that surrounded the desolate city. In and around the bay of Rio de Janeiro, a more fortuitous and unforgiving population was stationed. That polluted and sickening expanse of water was hidden beneath a monumental dome of steel tipped with flashing signal towers.
A series of tubes stretched from that hemisphere of metal in a myriad of paths. Some of the tubes crossed the bay and terminated in the shallow sea beyond, connected to smaller structures domed like the parent one in the bay. Others lead up to the black domes that topped the small mountains like Corcovado and Sugarloaf.
The Christ the Redeemer statue had been toppled to make room for one such mini-base. Its fragmented remains lay strewn about the bottom of its former home.
The remaining enclosed tubes led into the jungle and merged with yet more mini-bases.
The Machines had began construction of this interconnected network in 2090, the year the city was destroyed. It had been finished by 2110, and was still functioning just as smoothly now as it had been 30 years ago. This was the base of the Machines born from the efforts of the Creators.
It was led by the two first Machines ever created: the Precursors. They now managed an army in the five figure range, but even this impressive feat of engineering did not hold the entire army. The entire state of Brazil had been evacuated after the War, and the Precursors had claimed it as their own.
Brazil now functioned as the most expansive military base ever conceived and implemented.
The city-sized base in Rio was merely the headquarters of the operation. Life here was not easy, for the Traitors and teir profoundly evil Machines posed a constant threat. They could hide in broken-down buildings, conceal themselves in the treetops of the jungle, and even find a hidden entry into the base itself and wreak havoc.
Any of the Machines that called the base their home could be attacked and slaughtered, should they be in the wrong place at the wrong time. At times, life was nowhere near easy here. But the Precursors and their army had a war to win, the War to win, and that is how things were.
Death was lurking all around the city, but a strong sense of triumph resonated within every soldier that fought for the Precursors and the force of good. There were peaceful days where the Machines could wander the jungles and enjoy the splendor, or just sit in the base and talk with their family and friends.
There were times to enjoy the gift of life, and other times when that gift must be taken away.
Nonetheless, the Machines in Rio ultimately hope to eradicate the Traitors and their army and restore peace to the world. The War is still being fought 50 years after its initiation, but their efforts are unswerving with the hope that they will be the ones to end it.
Their motto is "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."
And this is their story...
In the bay of Rio, deep inside the base known as D.E.A.T.H. – an acronym for the Defense of Earth by the Annihilation of all Traitorous Half-breeds – lies a central room seventy feet long and seventy feet wide, capped by a roof twenty feet high.
In one corner, two massive Machines lay dormant, nested side by side as if in a state of sleep. Two serpents slither towards them, a bright blue cylinder clutched in each of their jaws.
"It is time that we wake the Commanders. They will not be too pleased if we fail to do so at the proper time." said the serpent on the left.
"You worry too much, Raxus! They value and care for us deeply. What do you think they will do, Terminate us?" said the other, exasperation in her voice.
"Not at all, Nixus. I just don't take kindly to not living up to my Commander's wishes."
"Just relax, friend." said Nixus as she nudged the other with her head.
"Maybe if we spent less time talking, you wouldn't have to worry, would you?"
"I see your point. What would I do without you?"
"You'd get Terminated, that's what!" mocked the female.
"Most likely. Alright, let's plug these Cores in..."
The two metal serpents lifted their heads to eye level with the silent Machines and carefully opened a small hatch that lay between their eyes. They each placed a glowing Core into the chamber behind the hatch and slid the opening shut.
A soft buzzing resounded, and the eyes of the two Machines filled with a hue the exact same as the Core. There were no pupils or irises; the eyes were just glowing orbs of intense color.
After a slight pause, the bird-shaped forms stirred and stood up. They stretched their enormous wings – they each possessed a seven-foot wingspan – and blinked several times. They gazed around quickly before looking at the two serpents that lay coiled up before them.
"Good morning, Nixus!" greeted the Machine on the left.
"Good morning, Raxus!" intoned the other.
The two serpents each replied, "Likewise, Commander."
The bird on the right turned to its companion and said warmly, "How was your Shut-down, Blu?"
"Decent, Jewel. Yours?"
"I may not need it anymore, but it provides a welcome escape from the troubles of our world."
"I agree completely, honey."
Jewel flashed Blu an acceptant smile before focusing back on the serpents.
"Is it time to get started already?"
"Indeed it is, Commander. The Sun has just emerged above the horizon." replied Raxus.
"Well then, we have no time to waste. We must meet with our children immediately!"
"You are always one step ahead of me! Do you really require my presence anymore?"
"I apologize, Nixus! And I will always require your presence, as much as I require my timeless mate to be by my side."
Blu pulled Jewel close with his sweeping wing and kissed her softly.
"Did I recall you saying something about a meeting with our children?" said Jewel with a playful voice.
"Oh, so you don't enjoy me kissing you?"
"Of course I do! It's just that there's a...you know... a war going on out there." replied Jewel, her tone matter-of-fact.
"Oh, how could I forget? Let's get down to business then..."
Blu and Jewel crossed the room with Nixus and Raxus in tow.
Their claws – which were incredibly tiny in their former life and ill-suited for doing damage – were remodeled as five-inch blades of death. They carried a solid curve, but not so much as to impede walking.
The mechanized bodies of Blu and Jewel were by no means as light as they appeared. They were fifty pound monsters, the heaviest Machines the Creators had ever built. Had it not been for the sturdy floors of the base, they would have broken through, fallen into the bay and met a most grisly Termination.
Their footsteps were still audible, and the dull thumps alerted the other soldiers to their presence. They passed through the autonomous sliding doors and began the trek down a semi-busy hall.
All of the birds who caught sight of Blu and Jewel instantly stood at attention, one wing raised to their foreheads in salute. Once they had passed they resumed their former activities.
The journey from their quarters – which lay at the top of the dome - to the Control Room - which occupied the lowest floor of the structure - was confusing, but the path had been easily memorized by their computerized brains. A set of elevators allowed travel between the various floors, and for Blu and Jewel's case, the journey took twenty minutes.
They emerged from the final elevator and traveled down a short hall, and upon reaching an imposing set of cold steel doors, they paused. Two Scarlet Macaws stood on each side, their stone-still bodies at attention.
"Good morning, Commanders." they replied stoically.
"At ease, soldiers." said Jewel.
The Scarlet Macaws dropped their wings and assumed a more causal pose.
"What is your first order of business today, Commanders?" queried one of the macaws.
"We need to speak with the 1st Enclave, Andrew."
"Yes ma'am. Right this way."
"Thank you, Gabriel." said Blu.
The macaw named Gabriel punched a a button on the wall, and the doors slid open silently. Gabriel and Andrew led them out into the Control Room and turned to the left. The eerie green glow from banks of monitoring screens and radar readouts lit the room nicely.
Macaws of all species milled about, while others were glued to their chairs, their eyes focused intently on their respective screens. A gentle ambiance of beeps and clicks was all that could be heard in the enormous room – almost equal in size to Blu and Jewel's quarters.
It was an irony that peace of this magnitude could be encountered in a place so stricken by war.
Nevertheless, a cloud of tension hung in the air, for at any moment an unknown party could show up on the radar displays or be caught by the surveillance cameras that littered the jungle and nearby mountains.
All of the birds momentarily broke away from their objectives and turned to face the Precursors and their personal guard. A sense of pride welled up in Blu and Jewel, for they felt the unswerving loyalty and dedication of their inferiors conveyed in their stares.
They left the room and traveled a short ways into another hall. They then turned to the right and entered a third set of doors, which were sealed shut by means of a keypad. The two macaws lined themselves up on the right side of the door, opposite from the keypad.
"We have arrived, Commanders. You may now proceed."
"Thank you, Andrew." replied Blu.
He marched forward to the keypad and deftly punched in the 25 digit pass-code. This Meeting Room was second in privacy to only the space where Blu and Jewel resided.
A robotic voice declared, "Access granted. Welcome, Commanders."
The quartet of cyborgs left the Scarlet Macaws behind and marched into the space. More screens adorned the walls, though not as many as were present in the Control Room.
A large steel table was bolted to the floor, and stacks of military documents were strewn across its surface.
Six Spix's Macaws swiveled away from the screens and approached Blu and Jewel merrily.
"How are my children fairing? I trust that all is well with you."
"Indeed it is, father!" replied one of the females.
"Now, have any suspicious parties been detected in the area?"
A serious expression grew on each of the six macaws' faces.
"Yes, mother. Come and look." said one of the males.
The six birds returned to their posts, and their parents quickly followed. The snakes reared up over Blu and Jewel from behind, peering with equal fervor at the row of screens.
"At 0400 hours, radar detected movement in sector J7. For some reason, it hasn't moved at all."
Each time the neon-green line swept out a circle, a trio of squares flashed on the display to the west of the outpost, and the position coordinates just next to the square showed no sign of movement.
"Is it a friendly, Vicente?" asked Jewel.
"No way. Nobody left the base all night long. I have a hunch its some of the Traitors' Machines. We thought they were scouting the jungle, but they never moved."
"Look over here at one of the camera feeds."
A female motioned to one of the screens with her wing. She zoomed the camera in and centered the viewfinder on a boring patch of jungle.
"I don't see anything, Josefina."
"Just watch, mother!" declared her daughter.
A collective gasp escaped from Blu and Jewel's beaks, and the snakes behind them hissed. A trio of Blue and Gold Macaws were crouched in a small grove. They were each facing a different direction, as if waiting for something to appear.
"You must be correct, Josefina. I can recognize those evil Traitors anywhere!"
"What are we going to do? We have no clue as to what they're up to."
"I'll tell you what we're going to do, Stefano!" said Blu pointedly.
"I am going to go investigate those macaws. I think it would be wise for me to head out at once. Nixus can accompany me."
He strode for the door with Nixus just behind.
"I'm coming with you, my love."
Blu stopped abruptly and saw his mate walking rapidly towards him. Raxus was slithering along beside her.
"I would rather you not, honey. It's just three puny Machines. I can find out what they're doing, and if not, kill them with little trouble."
"I am worried for your safety. Two Precursors are better than one, after all."
"Trust me, Jewel. Nixus and I can handle this. We won't be gone for longer than half an hour. You should stay here with our children and track us."
His tone was stern, but dripping with tenderness.
"Fine. I will stay here and monitor you with the radar. Just please be careful, Blu."
"Of course. I will do my best to live up to your request."
"What if you don't return after thirty minutes?"
A slight tinge of panic was evident in her words. As the door parted to let Blu and Nixus out, he countered, "Bring the entire 1st Enclave..."
After a few anxious elevator rides and a five minute walk, the two Machines found themselves on the desolate northern beach of Rio. A thick silence pervaded the atmosphere, save for the sound of the gently rolling waves.
The Sun was shining just above the dome of the central base to the east, its rich red light glinting off of the metal. The looming orb of Mars sat in the southern sky, half of its surface hidden away by shadow due to its position relative to the Sun.
The pair of Machines strode towards the north, straight for the location of the disturbance on the radar. They moved stealthily and carefully through the undergrowth, making as little noise as possible for fear of startling the wildlife.
True, a fifty pound tungsten carbide bird and a ten foot snake were already difficult to conceal, and the leaf litter that buried the floor did not help.
Their robotic eyes scanned the area in the manner of a HUD, and the influx of data on the virtual screens was confusing to say the least. They kept their finely tuned senses alert for any movement, but so far none was spotted.
A small beep alerted Blu that he was being contacted, and a small antenna popped out from his right shoulder.
"Is everything alright, Blu? What have you found?"
He heard Jewel's soothing voice in his head, since that is how they were designed to talk to each other. The antenna served to receive her voice and transmit his own.
He lowered his voice drastically and said, "Just fine, honey. How far away are we from the target zone?"
"One mile."
"Thanks. I'll keep you posted. Blu out."
The antenna drew back inside his body, and he nodded for Nixus to continue.
Five minutes into the walk, Jewel contacted him again. Only three-quarters of a mile separated the macaw and snake from their target. Blu and Nixus were hoping for the chance to down the macaws with their concealed weapons, but they would never get that chance.
As they crossed a small stream and entered a ten foot clearing, Blu stepped on a stray branch, which snapped loudly under his weight.
"Damn it! I think I just blew our cover. Hide, Nixus!"
They attempted to reach the border, but a searing orange laser blast burned the ground and stopped them cold. They tried to run the other way, only to be stopped once again by a wall of bullets that cratered the earth. The fire seemed to be coming from everywhere.
They froze where they stood, and the attack halted.
"We've been ambushed! What do we do now?"
"Try to make it back to HQ and warn the others. I'll take to the sky and circle around. Hopefully my distraction will enable you to get away."
"But I can't just leave you behind, Commander!"
"There's no time to argue. That's an order!"
She narrowed her eyes and replied, "Yes, Commander!"
Blu deployed the miniature turbofan engine from his lower back and brought it to life.
"Go now, Nixus!"
She had not retreated one foot when the attack resumed. She heard the sound of bullets burrowing into metal and an electric buzzing. She was not the one who had been hit.
She turned around, and to her horror, the crumpled form of Blu was sprawled out on the ground. Sparks were spouting from his wings and back, and his engine was smoking profusely. His eyes pleaded with her to go, but no sound came from his beak.
A red beam of energy burned into his back and emerged under his chest, causing his bright blue eyes to fade to black. A large explosion of sparks showered the clearing, and his head dropped to the ground and lay still. Nixus tore off into the undergrowth as fast as her body would carry her.
She had just witnessed her Commander and friend being Terminated, and unparalleled dread flooded her system.
Oh Commander, I am so sorry! Just hold on, help is on the way!
She popped out an antenna of her own and shouted, "Raxus, Commander and I were ambushed! I made it out, but he..." She couldn't finish the sentence. "Just... get Jewel and the 1st Enclave to sector J7 without delay!"
She hid her antenna swiftly and streaked towards the beach. She knew not if the attackers were planning on capturing him or not. She hoped that they had mistook him for a regular soldier and planned to leave him for dead. It was a grim hope, but it was all she had.
We have to get him back! His capture will mean the eventual end of the war. The end of the war for us...
Back at the base, Jewel's six children – the constituents of the 1st Enclave – were monitoring their father's radar signal. Jewel had contacted her mate twice already, and everything was fine. She was now staring at the radar screen, and once they had moved within three-quarters of a mile to their target, the two squares stopped abruptly.
"What happened?" she asked strongly.
"I don't know, mother."
"Are there any cameras in sector J7, Liliana?"
"No. The closest one is in Sector J6, and that's a quarter-mile to the west of them."
"What if he got attacked? What if he got ambushed?"
Jewel resorted to pacing back and forth behind their seats. One of her children got up and placed a sturdy wing on her.
"He'll be just fine, Mama. He's a skilled bird, and he has Nixus there to help him."
"I know you are trying to help me calm down Esperanza, but I am just so worried!"
"I've got movement!" shouted a male.
"What's going on, Stefano?"
"The two squares just split up, Mama. One of them is... trying to get away. Wait, it went back to the same spot. How odd."
"Commander! I've just received a transmission."
Jewel rushed over to Raxus as he replayed the data. Jewel's antenna jumped out and picked it up.
"Raxus, Commander and I were ambushed! I made it out, but he..."
The playback paused, and Jewel froze with fear.
"Just... get Jewel and the 1st Enclave to sector J7 without delay!"
An asteroid of dread slammed into Jewel's electronic brain, and she felt herself go limp. Raxus coiled up beneath her and broke her fall. Her six children were clustered around her in an instant.
"I was right!" she whimpered. "They've been ambushed. Nixus got away, but my mate didn't! We have to get over there!"
"Nixus advised me to stay behind. My speed of travel is not as fast as yours. Take your children and go, Commander! I will warn the rest of the base, should you ask for a counterattack."
She lifted herself off of Raxus and dashed for the door. Her children followed close behind. She and her offspring rode an elevator to the top of the dome - the only one that opened to the outside. Once they had all gathered, they deployed their engines and revved them to life.
"Once we get over there, draw your weapons. Shoot anything that moves that isn't friendly, understood?"
The sextet of macaws replied in unison, "Understood, Commander!"
Jewel flapped her massive wings to get into the sky, and then her turbofan took over. In mere seconds she was traveling at over one hundred miles an hour. A phalanx of macaws shredded the sky, their high-speed travel emitting a low pitched rumble that echoed across the bay...
They made it to the chosen sector in under thirty seconds, and their landing was all but inconspicuous. Their wings snapped several trees like matchsticks, and the crashing noise as the boughs met the ground was audible for nearly a mile.
The seven macaws advanced towards the ambush site steadily, each one brandishing a fearsome weapon that emerged from their backs and assumed firing position.
Jewel's advanced eyes spotted an image between the trunks of two trees, and she held out her wing to halt her children.
"What is it, Mama?" inquired her son in a near-silent voice.
"I see those Blu and Gold Macaws up there and..."
"And what?"
"And they're not alone. There's four others. Oh no, Blu!"
Jewel inched closer and spied the ruined form of her mate being poked and prodded by the seven enemy Machines.
Jewel was filled with a mechanized rage that yearned to be released.
Stefano drew up on her left side and declared, "It's seven on seven, Mama! Are we going to fight them?"
"It may be a seven on seven, but the fight won't be fair... for them. We have to rescue your father. I'll pick a few of them off, and then we'll go in and kick the rest of their asses."
Jewel brought forth another of her weapons and targeted the two closest macaws. She pointed her Short-Range Laser at the left macaw and her semi-auto Assault Rifle at the other, making sure her shots would land in the most lethal places possible.
A bright blue beam of energy streamed from the laser on her left shoulder, and after it raked across the macaw's neck, the head dropped to the ground. She instantly shut off her laser and blasted off four shots at the other, piercing his head and sending sparks across the ground.
"Now, children!"
She broke free of the foliage and took aim at the remaining five macaws. She dispatched another with a point blank Rifle blast to the forehead, and as she whirled around amidst the sound of gunfire and screams of agony, she noticed all but one enemy macaw was left alive.
He had been de-winged by her daughter's laser, and she stood over him menacingly.
"I'll handle him, Liliana. Step away..."
She obeyed her mother and withdrew her massive talon from the Military Macaw's chest. The joints where his wings were once attached were shooting out sparks every few seconds, and their edges still glowed red from the heat that had severed them.
Jewel crushed him into the ground with her foot and glared down at him with endless rage.
"Did you do this to my mate, asshole?"
She picked up the macaw by his neck - he was only half her size and weighed not even a third of what she did - and held him out towards the smoldering body of Blu.
"No, I swear! It was my buddies! I had no part in this. Just let me go... I have a mate..."
She brought the macaw right up to her face and shouted, "You... are lying through your damn beak!"
She pushed the barrel of her Laser right up to his forehead in an intimidating fashion.
"Please, let me live! I didn't mean to! They told me to shoot..."
"Not going to happen, bitch! You owe me a life debt. You Terminated my mate, and I'm going to Terminate you."
The barrel of her laser began to glow blue, and the macaw grew frantic.
"No, don't kill me! I'll work for you. I'll join your army. I'll repair your mate..."
She narrowed her eyes, but through all of her anger, the macaw noticed an infinite sadness buried beneath them. In that moment, he knew what it felt like to lose your mate to war. He only wished that his loving mate would keep him in her memory.
He sent up a silent prayer, and Jewel fired.
The laser burrowed through his chest and burst from his back, burning through the canopy and extending many miles into the air. His eyes darkened to the black of an abyss and his head went limp.
"Traitorous scum..."
She released her grip on the dead Machine and rushed to Blu's side, where her offspring were already gathered.
A series of holes and slits decorated his back, and one of the holes was set directly over his Scion – the sphere that housed his computerized brain and his entire essence of individuality.
That brain was a shrine of his personality, his thoughts, and all of the knowledge he had gathered since his transition from animal life to robotic life. The brain inside the Scion was Blu, and it had apparently been melted by a laser.
He had been Terminated in the ambush - the Precursor's fancy word for being killed.
"He's dead. My Blu is dead. Damn you, you Traitors!"
Jewel collapsed onto her mate's cold alloy body and quivered uncontrollably. Being that she was mostly mechanical, she could not weep.
"It's okay, mother! Calm down!"
"How can I calm down... Vicente? He's... gone..."
"He has replacement Scions, remember? All we have to do is bring him home and have him repaired. Then we can give him another Scion and he'll be just fine!"
Jewel had forgotten all about that fact in the midst of the chaos.
She and Blu each possessed nine replacement Scions, plus the one already in each of their bodies, for a total of ten Scions each. Thus, they had ten "lives," and more Scions could be made at any time. Granted, the material the Scions were composed of was hard to come by, but as of now, they had nothing to worry about.
"Forgive me for losing control, children. It's just that... I hate to see him like this!"
"We forgive you, mother. We can carry him back to HQ and have him fixed before sunset."
"You're right. Well, we better get home. The entire base is probably on alert thanks to Nixus and Raxus."
Jewel deployed her engine and was just about to take off, but a tap on her shoulder caused her to re-fold her wings.
"What is it, son?"
"What are we going to do with these bodies?"
Every resource that they could find was valuable, and she would certainly not let such an easy harvest go to waste.
"Carry as many of them as you can. We're going to melt them down like scrap and gain some real use out of them..."
The phalanx of macaws had made haste back to HQ, and the atmosphere inside the dome was brimming with anger and anxiousness. The soldiers were dying to get out and wreck their enemies, but Jewel quickly informed them the perpetrators had been dealt with.
The base maintained a forge on a platform closest to the sunset - which now lay in the south, not the west - on the southern side of the dome. It jutted out over the bay like an irregularity, but that could not be helped. The noxious fumes and insidious heat that the forge belched out had to go somewhere.
Jewel and her children dropped the bodies off at the forge and instructed the metalworkers what needed to be done.
The seven ruined macaws were dropped into a furnace, and the Spix's Macaws watched as their enemies were reduced to liquid tungsten carbide. The red-hot metal dripped out slowly and was added to one of many storage crucibles for later use.
Blu was instantly set upon by the master metalworkers, and the gaping holes that perforated his body were carefully sealed with drops of liquid metal on the end of carefully-shaped rods.
Once he had been repaired and restored to working condition on the outside, the internal damage now needed to be addressed. He was taken to the highest floor and examined by another armada of equally-talented birds. Jewel and her children reluctantly stayed and watched.
As much as Jewel wanted to send her children off to appease the angered soldiers while Blu was operated on, they protested heavily, and she could not.
He was carefully separated by means of a precise seam that ran down the front side of his body. His splintered Scion was discarded, and the wires that had been sheared by the bullets were removed and replaced. The ordeal took over two hours, for he had suffered extensive damage in a number of places.
He would have been repaired faster, but Jewel did not want him to leave the lab in substandard condition. She insisted that he be double and triple-checked after the repair was complete; he had been a perfect Machine before he came in, and that is how she wanted him to leave.
In the middle of his reconstruction, Nixus and Raxus had appeared, and they were obviously stricken with grief. Nixus was feeling it harder than her companion, and Jewel assured her that none of it was her fault. Blu had sacrificed his life to save her, and although he would remain "dead" for only a few hours, the gravity of his choice was still apparent.
He treated Nixus as a friend and protector, and cherished her life as much as he cherished Jewel's. They had forged a powerful bond of servitude and loyalty, and in a perilous age such as this, those bonds were a necessity.
Nixus had left to retrieve one of Blu's Scions from a hidden compartment in his quarters, and being as it was only down the hall from the lab, she returned in less than five minutes.
Blu was sealed shut once more, and the Scion was inserted into a hatch in his chest. His eyes soon glowed with a heavenly blue light, and he jumped from the table and crushed his mate in an embrace that would have killed a human.
"Oh God, I missed you, Jewel!"
"I missed you too, Blu! I hope I never have to see you so... battered and lifeless ever again."
"If it meant saving one of our own, I would die all over again..."
He gave her a seductive kiss, and the other workers looked on in awe. This was a bird who loved others more than life itself, and they were proud to be led by him.
When he broke free from the kiss, he came face to face with his confidante, Nixus.
"I owe you my life, Commander. Had I been more alert, I might have been able to keep you safe. I feel that I have failed you in some way..."
"Do not let such degrading thoughts poison your Scion, Nixus. You owe me nothing but loyalty and companionship. There are tragedies that cannot be prevented, and this was one of them. You have not failed me, my friend, and in fact, your retrieval of my rescuers was quite the opposite. You accomplished your mission, and as such, the duplication secret I hold inside of me was kept just that: a secret."
Nixus took to heart what he had said – even though she lacked a true heart, her Scion was a reasonable substitute – and bowed her head in deference.
"I understand, Commander. I accept your praise with dignity, and I would gladly give my life for you, if the situation ever warranted that I do so."
"I know you would."
Blu turned to face the workers that had restored him and intoned, "Let this be a lesson to us all. Life is a delicate thing, and to give it up for another is the highest honor achievable. At times we may have lives to spare, and at times we may not. If that ever happens, greet your death with the belief that you did not die in vain; that you gave your final life in defense of a comrade, a brother at arms, a friend. This ridiculous war has already claimed so many lives, and the dire truth is that many more will be lost in the future. Jewel and I can't guarantee that all of you will get to see the day when the Traitors are cast into Hell, but I can guarantee that they will be cast. This planet is no place for those abominable humans and their fiendish Machines. They are nothing but a party of tyrants and their sycophantic slaves, and Hell will be glad to have them. This has been a chaotic day, but tonight, when the smile of Mars graces the star-dotted sky, sleep well, for the Sun will always rise again, and life will go on..."
Blu walked proudly from the room, and seven macaws and two snakes trailed in his wake. A loud cacophony of noise erupted, and Blu received several forceful slaps on his back from his children, along with a kiss from his mate.
He and his posse took a trip to the Control Room, and Jewel sent the two snakes off to have all of the soldiers gathered there. Over 200 showed up – as many as could be crammed into the space – and the rest waited next to any and all broadcast screens they could find.
Blu made sure that his speech would be heard by every base in the state of Brazil, and even the Traitors, if they were listening.
He then repeated his speech word for word, and at the end, he added the motto that his entire army lived by: "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."
In that crowded expanse, he was met with applause and cheering that shook the walls of their HQ.
Even though he did not know it, that same emotion was mirrored across all of the subsidiary bases in Brazil. His speech would be remembered for decades to come. He had re-established himself as a worthy leader, and a leader that was capable of accomplishing whatever task he desired to accomplish.
Be that as it may, he was merely a lone bird. He was nothing without his followers, his mate, and his family. He needed their support and strength to turn the tide of war. Judging by his reception there and throughout the state, he had all the support and strength he would ever need...
After receiving several rounds of physical praise by many of the soldiers, Blu left the Control Room and traveled upstairs to the Meeting Room with his children. Nixus traveled with them. Jewel and Raxus, however, opted to stay in the Control Room and supervise for a few hours.
At least a hundred soldiers were stationed in this room, for the massive amounts of data that the dozens of screens poured out warranted it. One of the digital clocks on the wall read 1430 hours.
Jewel and the snake were near the back of the room, merely watching and observing the banks of screens for any hostile parties.
The other soldiers knew she was there and they acknowledged her presence without slowing their activities.
They would say in passing, "How are you, Commander?" or "Your mate set a fine example of leadership this afternoon!" or "Do you plan to lead a scouting party in the evening? I would like to come."
She gave them honest and tender replies. The organization and discipline here was strict, but when they were not being attacked, Jewel was always laid-back and almost carefree.
Though her stance showed no indication of it, her brain was raging with questions and strategies. Most of them were concerned with the undetected ambush that took one of the lives of her mate. How did the radar not detect them all? Why were they so afraid of his still body? Were they using a new stealth technology?
There were so many inconsistencies and unknowns that Jewel didn't know where to begin.
She feared that more unplanned ambushes would be conducted in the future. As if the loss of life from regular face-to-face skirmishes and small-scale battles wasn't enough, their enemies were now conducting guerrilla warfare.
Some of the same concerns were taunting the snake as well, and he caught Jewel's attention with a hard stare.
"That ambush sure was odd, wasn't it, Commander?"
"Indeed, Raxus. Our radar should have detected them. There were just three in the morning, and then when we got to the site, there were four more. I just can't explain it."
"I think you know as well as I that this is not the last of them. There will be many more, and we have to watch our backs carefully when we leave the Base."
"What can we do to help combat these ambushes?"
Raxus lowered his head and affected a thoughtful gaze.
"Perhaps you should boost the number of soldiers in the scouting parties. The more eyes and ears they have, the better the chance that they will have of detecting hidden threats and countering them."
"I like your thinking, Raxus. Perhaps the team size should be doubled?"
"That sounds reasonable, Commander. When will you implement it?"
"Tonight, right as the sky turns black. I will deliver another state-wide broadcast."
Raxus nodded and looked back towards the screens.
The hours dragged on by, and not a single disturbance was reported.
Perhaps those Traitors learned of some of their Machines' demise after the ambush,mused Jewel. They went into it with courageous hearts, but as soon as we found them, it became a suicide run. Serves those damn fools right! If they are brainless enough to harm one of our own, and my mate no less, they should expect retribution of the most primal type...
The time had advanced to 1925 hours, and although Jewel was devoting a great deal of energy to her watch, she was growing restless and needed to get out and stretch her wings. She went and visited her family in the upstairs Meeting Room and informed them that she would be going for a walk/patrol in the city.
Blu had wanted to accompany her, but she assured him that the city was safe; no hostile targets had been spotted since the ambush. He wished her good luck and bolstered her spirits with a goodbye kiss.
She and Raxus returned back to the Control Room and entered one of the decently-lit tunnels. They crossed the bay while inside that tunnel and ended up on the northern beach. It was a lonely strip of tarnished sand; a grim reminder of what once was.
Instead of continuing in the direction of the jungle, they turned to the north and walked slowly and carefully down the cracked and empty streets.
It was a dark and musty place, and only the Machines had the ability and the will to come here. They stopped in the middle of an intersection and scanned the area.
"I don't see or hear anything unusual. This patrol may actually turn out quite peaceful. What do you think, Raxus?"
"I agree, Commander. It is times like these when one truly doubts the purpose of war, of senseless killing and destruction. This city stood tall and proud in the 21st century, a gem on the coast of Brazil. Now, in the 22nd century, it is nothing but a rotting lump of coal, forever degraded and useless. All because of the wills of a few deranged men. All because of the Traitors..."
"And that is why we will end them. We will rout their Machines and tear the humans limb from limb. We will rend flesh and rend metal, and their wills will crumble. We will not let up until they are exterminated from this planet. Rest assured Raxus, we will triumph... one day..."
The bird and the snake nodded to each other and resumed their trek between the scorched buildings, their spirits high and their senses keen.
They journeyed deep into the city, and the smoldering husk of the stadium was visible a few blocks down the street. The pair of Machines turned to the left and began to walk toward it, but an echoing cry grabbed their attention. Jewel blocked the snake's advance with her outstretched wing.
"What was that?"
"It's coming from up ahead, Raxus. Let's go investigate."
"Do you think it's an enemy Machine?"
"No. It sounds too... normal..."
They continued down the street until it branched off to the left. The noise grew louder, and they turned down the side street, now growing wary. They came to a stop in front of a wrecked restaurant, the noise now plainly audible.
"It's coming from in there! Stay outside and keep watch. I'll be right back."
"Very well, Commander. Stay safe."
The snake coiled up and faced away from the restaurant, reaching seven feet into the air and creating his own personal vantage point.
Jewel stepped over the edge of the windowsill, the glass crunching and the wood groaning under her weight. The bottom floor was burned and blackened, but the tables were still roughly in their original spots. Holes punctured the walls, and the ceiling was stained with soot.
A pile of debris against the right wall blocked her path, and the noise was filtering through from behind it.
She pulled out her six barrel Short-Range Laser and let loose. The dozens of short beams it fired out burned through the debris with ease, and enough was vaporized to allow her to fit through deftly.
A short hall stretched away before her, and the rear wall was patterned with laser holes.
She inched her way down the hall towards the cries, and once she reached the wall, she noticed another dining room to her right.
The entryway was blocked by another cave-in of material, and she cleared a path with her revolving laser once again.
As she stepped through, she heard a male voice yell, "Hey, watch it! Wait, who's there?"
The dining room was lit up by a shaft of faint sunlight that fell through a hole in the roof. Over in the far corner, Jewel spied two Blue and Gold Macaws huddled together.
"It's over Sarah. They found us, and now they're going to kill us! I love you, dear..."
Jewel raised her talon and brought it down with deadly force on the wooden counter before her, splintering and crushing it completely.
She walked over the wrecked counter, neared the two terrified macaws, and affected a curious expression.
They shrank back against the wall in fear, for she towered a full two feet over them.
"What makes you think I'm going to kill you? And who are 'they?'"
The macaws blinked and opened their eyes.
"You're so big... and so scary! You looked just like the other ones before, but you're bigger than they were." replied the male.
It took Jewel less than a second to deduce who the "other ones before" were.
"You must have seen one of my soldiers. I assure you, they weren't out to kill you, and neither am I. I am a bird that fights for good, not evil. Now, to get to the point, what are you two doing here?"
"My mate and I were eating in breakfast in the jungle, and then all of a sudden, bullets start flying everywhere and these bright beams go right by us. It was a little after sunrise. We were so scared that we flew away and came to the city. We landed outside this building to rest and we were going to hide in the stadium, but we saw a metal bird come around the corner. We found a way in through that hole up there and hid. We heard it walk by, and when we tried to leave out of that doorway, part of the ceiling fell in. Sarah, my mate, broke her wing, so we had no choice but to stay here and wait for someone to show up. Looks like you're that someone."
His explanation bounced around in Jewel's head, and she immediately resolved to help them.
"I see. Well, you are certainly wise for deciding to stay put. My soldiers wouldn't dare kill regular animals like you, but there are others out there that would. This city is not safe. I need to take you back to my home base."
"Is that the big shiny thing over in the bay?"
"Correct...uh... what's you name?"
"Oh, sorry! My name is Hector."
"I am Jewel. May I have a look at your mate?"
"Sure, but can you get rid of that laser thing on your shoulder first? It's freaking me out."
"Oh, of course."
The barrel retracted into the rectangular body of the weapon, and the whole assembly slid into a hole in her shoulder and disappeared.
"Thank you. I wasn't trying to be rude, it's just that your gun reminded me of the attack."
In that instant, something clicked in her brain.
"Did you hear or see anything when that attack happened?"
The male scratched his head with wing and replied, "I think so. There was a huge bird like you, and a long snake-looking thing. We didn't get to see much because we flew away, but I think the bird got hit... a lot."
Jewel couldn't believe it! These birds had witnessed the ambush on Blu and Nixus.
"This is such small world. It always amazes me..."
What... do you mean?" croaked the wounded female.
"That bird... was my mate. He was killed, but he didn't stay dead for long. It's a miracle that you two survived the ambush, even though you weren't the intended targets."
The macaws now looked utterly confused.
"How can he die and still be alive? That's impossible!"
"No Sarah, it's not. This is 2140. The world is different. Now, may I see your wing?"
"Sure. Just be careful. It really hurts!"
Jewel's talon reached out and cradled Sarah's form completely. She held the macaw in front of her and allowed her wing to droop. Jewel studied its outline, and the bone was angled backwards, toward the wall behind Sarah.
"That is a nasty break! I need to get you back to base as quickly as possible. Can you walk, Hector? Are you injured at all?"
"No, I'm fine. I just want to get out of here and get somewhere safe!"
"Well then, we mustn't delay."
Jewel placed Sarah on her massive back and instructed her to hold on with her good wing. The three macaws clambered from the maze of the ransacked building and back to the waiting form of Raxus.
"Woah! It's another snake looking thing!"
"Indeed, Hector. This is my companion, Raxus. My mate has one of his own, which is the one you described to me."
The comparatively tiny macaw strode up to Raxus and tapped his body with his foot. "Hey, you're made of metal! That's so... amazing!"
"It's actually tungsten carbide, Hector. Nearly impenetrable and very reliable."
"Now, who have you found, Commander?"
"These two macaws were almost casualties in the ambush of Blu and Nixus."
"What a small world it is."
"That's what I said. Now, we need to get them back home quickly. The female is injured and needs attention."
"I'll take the male and slither back on the ground. You just fly back, and don't wait for me. I will arrive eventually."
"Agreed, Raxus. You take care and keep Hector safe."
"As you wish, Commander."
The snake lowered his body to the pavement and said, "Hop on, Hector. Wrap your wings around my neck and hook your claws in between the gaps in my armor."
Hector did as he was told, and the snake declared, "This ride will not be pleasant, but do not let go for any reason."
Uh...okay, Raxus."
The snake curled around and lunged forward, churning his way down the street at deadly speed and rounding the corner. A continuous gouge in the pavement was a testament to the power of the snake.
"You do the same, Sarah. I will not travel at top speed, but I won't exactly be drifting either..."
Jewel exposed her engine and rose into the air with mighty flaps of her wings. She soared into the air and increased her speed to a brisk fifty miles an hour, aiming directly towards the looming dome that covered the bay to the south.
Jewel made rapid time back to HQ, and she took the wounded Sarah to the lab where Blu had been repaired several hours earlier.
The medics tended to her while she waited for Raxus and Hector to arrive. After a five minute wait, snake and macaw crawled into the room and sighed with relief.
Hector's feathers were in disarray from the journey, but he looked none the worse for wear.
Sarah's wing turned out to be in worse condition than Jewel had expected, and the medics were hesitant to operate on it. The chance of her ever flying again was slim, and this caused her mate great distress.
She would be able to live, no doubt, but her life would be substandard; she would be forever grounded. There was that option, and then there was one other.
Jewel was discussing the pros and cons of each with Hector and Sarah.
"Look, you can either be healed as possible and be released back into the jungle, or... you can become one of us. You cannot reside here if you are normal, but then again, you cannot reside in the perilous jungle in your compromised states. It is entirely u to you both, and I will not force you to choose your fate."
Hector and Sarah were gripped with dread and confusion. The first option was quite clear, but the second had left them completely in the dark.
"How exactly... do we become like you?"
Jewel prepared herself for the shock that would undoubtedly erupt from the two macaws before her.
"It's quite simple, really. We scan your brains, turn your thoughts, personalities and memories into raw digital data, and then program that into a computerized brain. We then implant that brain, a Scion, into a robotic body called a Shell. That is how you both will be changed from animal to Machine."
A bewildered silence ensued, but Sarah eventually broke it.
"Is it painless? How long does it take?"
"It only takes a few hours. The thing is, I will have to... kill you. The process can only be done on dormant brains. That is the grim reality. I have certain business matters to attend to, so you don't have very long to choose. But you must consider this matter most heavily. You are giving up many indulgences and necessities of life for immortality. You will no longer be able to have children, for one thing. You can still share intimate experiences, but anything beyond that is impossible."
The macaws looked on the verge of tears, and they hung their heads. After a five minute wait, they looked into Jewel's glowing eyes with conviction.
"I... I'll do it." declared Hector.
"If my mate does it... then so will I."
At that moment, a Blue-throated Macaw strode up to Jewel.
"Yes, Matthias?"
"We haven't enough silicon for one Scion right now, let alone two, Commander."
"I see your point. I have a solution, if the two macaws are willing to go through with it."
They nodded resolutely, and Jewel blinked several times.
"Raxus, go to my quarters and bring one of my Scions back here."
The snake sped off and returned within the minute, the metal sphere clutched in his jaws.
He handed it to Jewel and asked, "Are you going to give them one of your Scions?"
"Yes, I am. These birds deserve it, for they have made a most difficult choice."
Jewel handed it to Matthias and said, "Harvest this Scion for the silicon at once, and I will dispatch these two macaws as cleanly as possible..."
The Blue-throated Macaw took Jewel's Scion into another adjoining room.
"Why are you doing this, Jewel?"
"Because sacrifices must be made, Sarah. My Scions are precious, but not as precious as the lives of two macaws willing to die for the chance to fight alongside me. It is a most noble sacrifice, and one I will gladly undertake. Now, are you ready to begin?"
The macaws swallowed heavily and began to cry.
"Thank you, Jewel. We accept your sacrifice, and we hope to prove ourselves to you one day."
"That day will come very soon, I assure you. Now, I duly apologize for any discomfort you may feel..."
Jewel grabbed Hector with her right foot and held him down against the nearby table.
"I hope to see you and your mate in a few days, once you have grown accustomed to your new lives as Machines."
So do I, Jewel..."
Proud tears drained from his eyes, and with a quick turn of her foot, Jewel cleanly snapped his neck.
"As soon as his Scion is ready, begin the Shifting process immediately."
His body was dragged from the table and into a separate room, the same room where Jewel's Scion had been taken.
He may have been out of sight, but he was far from out of mind.
Jewel turned around and grabbed Sarah, and after the tearful macaw had also met her end and her body removed, Jewel departed from the room and returned to her quarters.
Jewel had slaughtered hundreds of enemy individuals over her lifetime as a Machine, but having to kill innocent souls weighed heavily upon her. Raxus was there to console her and convince her that the macaws had graciously offered to join the army.
It took a great deal of effort on his part, but Jewel eventually steeled her will and morphed her mood from downcast to cheerful.
Even though she was not subject to the chains of normal life and did not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, Jewel tried to gain as much shut-eye as possible by allowing her Core to be removed.
Judging by the clock on the wall, it was 2145 hours, and she was waiting for Blu to show up so that she could rest and recuperate.
Raxus had reminded her about the scouting party reform, but she decided that she would handle that the coming sunrise. She just wanted to be next to her mate and relish in his presence.
At 2200 hours, Blu finally entered the room, and he appeared just as tired and beat-up as she, if such a thing was possible.
Raxus slid over to make room for Blu, and the massive macaw stopped just in front of his mate.
"Its been... quite a long day, hasn't it honey?"
"I couldn't agree more, Blu. You got killed, and I myself had to kill two macaws."
Blu affected a curious gaze, his interest piqued.
"Why did you have to kill two macaws? When?"
"Just a while ago. It's a long story, and I'll fill you in on it tomorrow. I think it's time for a well needed nap."
Blu sidled up on her right side and pulled her close with his wing.
"Of course, Jewel. I won't press you anymore today. As for me, I spent the rest of the day with the kids, and not a single enemy was spotted. I think the Traitors learned a good lesson today. I too am ready for a decent nap. But first, I need to give you one of these..."
Blu leaned into Jewel and planted a kiss on her beak.
Although they were essentially cyborgs, their Scions allowed them to feel emotions and sensory stimulation just like a standard animal.
Both of their eyes closed from the rush of sensation, and the kiss continued. Raxus slithered a few feet away and fixed his gaze on the door to give the two macaws some privacy.
True, one of the tantalizing experiences they had to give up was copulation, and they could no longer produce offspring. To them, it did not matter. They could still be intimate with each other, and that was still exciting in its own right. In addition, they were basically immortal, as were their six children, and they had all the love they would ever need.
After a straight minute of kissing, Blu and Jewel parted and locked their glowing, ocean blue eyes on each other.
"Damn, that was amazing, Blu. You do know that I love you beyond measure, right?"
"Of course I do, my mechanized temptress. I feel exactly the same way..."
The entry doors slid open and Nixus crawled to a stop in front of the two Spix's Macaws.
"Greetings, Commanders. Are you ready to have your Cores extracted for the night?"
"I do believe you read our minds, friend." stated Blu. "We are more than ready to endure a peaceful night's rest. You have our full authority over the soldiers, Nixus. And so do you, Raxus. Keep this place running smoothly, understood?"
"Yes, Commander." replied the two snakes in unison.
"Oh, one more thing, you two. See to it that the scouting parties are to be doubled in size, effective as of now. Send out as many parties tonight as you feel necessary."
"As you wish, Commander."
"Now, could you please extract our Cores?"
The two snakes reared up and grasped the hatches between Blu and Jewel's foreheads with their jaws. With a gentle tug, the Cores slid out, filling the room with an electric blue glare.
"Good night, you two." said Jewel.
"Likewise, Commanders." replied Raxus.
The snakes clutched the Cores nimbly and slid them from their respective hatches in the manner of extracting a battery. The hatches drew shut automatically, and the once-vibrant eyes of Blu and Jewel faded to black.
Their bodies grew still, frozen in the restful pose they had assumed before their Cores were removed.
The serpents placed the fluorescent cylinders on the ground near their owner's talons and slithered towards the exit.
A brief curtain of light entered the room, and once the tails of the snakes slipped away, that curtain of light was extinguished.
The home of Blu and Jewel – if one could call it that – was quite lonely. On the days where they simply needed to relax and enjoy each other's company, and had no indication of any impending attacks by the Traitors, this is where they spent their time.
Still, their children were much too busy down below, and hardly ever dropped by on those solace-filled days.
Even on the rare occasions that they weren't, and the base was given a day off, they knew better than to interfere. Their parents had the weight of the world on their shoulders, and they needed some time alone to escape from the tremendous pressure that they had to endure.
The twin Cores flickered like futuristic night-lights, and the deathly quiet space had the feel of a nursery: charming, innocent, and occupied by carefree souls.
This was Blu and Jewel's own little universe - and even though they had no beating hearts - it was a universe filled with hope, strength, and most important of all... love.
A/N: You can Google Image search "Cyborg Jewel" and see where part of my inspiration came from. Granted, I changed the details of the pictures, but for obvious reasons.
I put this down here to avoid spoiling the entire chapter. That would not be very proper conduct, now would it?
If you don't mind, would you please review? This is my last story for Rio, and I want to hear some parting thoughts...
Description Origin: "We have war when at least one of the parties to a conflict wants something more than it wants peace."-Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
Motto Origin: "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."- Winston Curchill.