Chapter 6: Soul of Steel
General Mendez for the first time since arriving in this country observed a battlefield directly. It felt far more natural to him to see the battle with his own eyes instead of having to rely on computer positioning and reports. Here was his true strength. And this was the hardest battle he had ever commanded. Alpha had managed to surprise him with those new type of robots with disintegrator class weapons. Not even Harenfal and Forlox were able to make this type of weapon portable and rapid firing. Losses were high the battle was finally swinging in the favor of the coalition. It was refreshing. The republic leader positioned his own men perfectly with his. Just like the good old days. He could see it now. Their line would break soon and the charge for the factories would begin. They needed to be shut down or the constant flow of reinforcements from there was going to overwhelm them. For the first time he cursed Harenfal's genius. Was it really necessary for those things to be made so fast?
Mendez couldn't help but notice that it was playing out similar to the chess game he played with the Destroyer earlier this very day. But this time that machine would not take victory from him. Just as he was thinking of simply sitting on the ground to enjoy the final moments of this battle the general received a message from one of the frontline officers. He could barely understand what he was saying through static and the panicked voice of the man. But he didn't need to hear it. Mendez was seeing it now. The drones were firing on his men. A careless mistake on his part. He should have left those things behind. They were the one weapon in the Dynasty army that had no human controller. And they were designed by the Destroyer. And now the human army was encircled by soulless machines. The general could almost see the checkmate.
Right before Alpha fired something slammed hard into it crashing the robot through a wall. Natsu fell to the ground. It had happened in just a second. He could clearly hear that something was hitting the AI harder then Gajeel had earlier. After a few blows the machine made a second hole in the wall as it was blasted out. Grabbing the ground with it's arm it slowly rose as his assailant walked through the new entrance that was made by the body of the machine. Lucy was staring down the robot who was getting up to it's feet. At first Natsu didn't recognize her but it was without doubt the celestial spirit mage wearing an outfit the dragon slayer hadn't seen before.
She was wearing light gray kneehigh armored boots with no heel. There were small blue rings attached the the backside of her footwear. She was also wearing shortpants of the same colour .A small thin black box was strapped to her right thigh. Armor of the same material as the boots covered her breasts , neck and most of her back. Below it was a short shirt of the same design as the shortpants. She had a belt with six pockets on it. Two lines of blue energy passed on both sides of her spinal column. Her shoulders were bare and he noticed an armband covering the entire upper part of her right arm. There were symbols on it that slightly glowed in gold. It took him a moment to realise those were the symbols that were on her keys. There was another smaller armband on her left arm made of the material of the armor and boots and the hand itself was gloved. There was a glass visor on her face which only covered the eyes. Through it Lucy was glaring at Alpha with , to Natsu's confusion , blue eyes. Slowly she clenched her left fist and leaped towards the AI.
Taking her gaze of her arm Lucy turned to Mary.
'This thing Forlox was doing to me. He was saying something about it being able to beat the Destroyer.'
'What do you mean?'
'Will it work?'
'You are not seriously considering...'
'Will it work!?'
Taken abeck by the ferocity in her voice Mary took a step back.
'I don't know...maybe. The professor would have made it with this purpose in mind. But you can't...'
'That machine is going to kill my friends – my family! And is going to destroy your entire world! If there is a way I can help prevent I will take it.'
'You don't understand. Human augmentation like this is the greatest sin. To defile your body in such a way...It is forbidden by all our laws!'
'I am not from your world. Your laws do not apply to me.'
'The professor had apparently worked on this for close to ten years. I don't understand it completely. If you complete this...surgery I may not be able to undo it.' - seeing that Lucy would not budge Mary let out an irritated sigh – 'I need a little time to figure out what to do...'
'Lucy...are you sure about this?'
'Do you think anyone down there would hesitate if they were in my shoes Charle? I know how strong Alpha is. Even Erza lost to it. And with your precognition ... I will do what I can to make sure it doesn't happen.' - she smiled at the Exceed – 'Don't worry. I will be fine.'
'Ok I have pretty much understood what needs to be done. I just want to point out that this is a terrible idea.'
'Noted.'
'The painkillers effects will be weakened by now. There are no more on board. This is going to hurt. A lot.'
Mary strapped Lucy on the bed that they hadn't moved from when Forlox had attempted the operation before. She doubted Lucy was in the exact same position as then , but the program seemed to be able to compensate for this on it's own. She didn't even have to do much. Virtually everything was automated. All that was needed of the controller were accept phases and check if there was rejection to the implants. With a final moment of hesitation she resumed the process. On the command console she saw that the tube around Lucy's arm had injected some kind of fluid. Lucy had been warned it would hurt badly and the pain was indeed harsh but thankfully lasted only a second. But when the laser began it's second cut and the tube entered it was all she could do not to scream. The painkillers were definitely not helping anymore. Slowly she felt her consciousness slipping.
When Lucy opened her eyes she saw stars. The constellations. This was the celestial spirit world. But it was as if she was watching through a window. One by one all the spirits she had a contract with began appearing in a circle around her. They all seemed sad.
'What is going on?'
It was Capricorn who spoke.
'We are here to say goodbye.'
'Goodbye? What is this supposed to mean?'
'When the process currently being performed on you ends you will no longer be able to summon us.'
'What!? Why!?'
'Old Friend.' - the Celestial Spirit king appeared before her – 'Not even I know. But we can feel it. Your connection to us is somehow being silenced.'
'Then I'll stop it! Or reverse it! I can't loose you all.'
The king shook his head. He was telling her that it was impossible. There would be no going back. Her rash decision had just costed her her magic she had devoted her life to. And worse of all her spirits. Even if it was unknowingly she had defiled the sacred trust between spirit and summoner. She felt a hand on her cheek wiping the tear she had began to shed. It was Loki.
'Do not be sad. Our contracts are not broken. We will still give you strength when you need it.'
He then stepped back. She then noticed that Plue had been next to her leg the entire time and patted the spirits head.
'I hope the lessons I taught you will be of help to you in the future.' - Capricorn lightly bowed
Aries grabbed both her hands and smiled.
'I wish you well. I hope my modest gift will be of help. I am sorry it is all I can offer.'
Before she could ask what the spirit meant Gemini took her place as Aries went next to Capricorn. Dancing in front of her both of them wished her good fortune.
'Always keep your hair shining – ebi.'
'May your aim never fail – moshimoshi.'
'Feel free to punish me if you are displeased Princess.'
'We are.'
'My humblest apologies. If only I did not loose in power to that cold machine you wouldn't be forced into this.' - Taurus bowed – 'All my strength is yours.'
'My knowledge is as always at your disposal.'
Crux nodded before falling beside the others , already asleep. Horologium simply smiled at her.
'If you ever feel down , let my music lift your spirits.' - Lyra hugged Lucy before going to the others
'What are all of you saying?'
'Are you stupid?' - Aquarius stood before her now – 'Loke said so didn't he? Our contracts are not broken. It is up to you to find another way to summon us.'
'Another way?'
'You are the bookworm type who can never get a boyfriend right? Figure something out!'
'Yes!'
'Good answer.' - she leaned closer and whispered to Lucy – 'Such a radical makeover won't make you more appealing by the way.'
Before Lucy could come up with a retort Aquarius smiled at Lucy and joined the rest of the spirits she had a contract with. All but Plue.
'Old friend. From all of us a gift to you. May it bring light to your dark path.'
Lucy could see all of them waving and smiling as her vision darkened.
Lucy's first moments after opening her eyes felt strange. It was almost as if she was wearing her reading glasses. Everything looked different as if she was peeking through a scope. Turning her head quickly brought up a some nausea which passed quickly. She could hear that both Mary and Charle were calling her name , but their voices sounded distorted and low. So low she couldn't understand them. She turned her head and looked at Mary. She could see letters and numbers around her face. The more she focused on the scientist the more text appeared. That was odd. Since when did she see such things? Finally the voices became clear.
'Lucy? Lucy? Are you alright? Do you hear me?'
Lucy rubbed her temple. Her head was pounding.
'I ...think so...'
At least her voice still sounded normal.
'I thought we lost you for a while.' -she let out a relieved sigh - 'Halfway through you were clearly unconscious but the damned machine kept saying you were awake. And this was not part of Forlox's design. How it appeared on your arm I will never understand. It was supposed to be some sort of sonic weapon.
Lucy looked at her right arm and noticed the armband with the symbols from her keys. She touched it with her left hand. The gift from her spirits. But something felt odd. She couldn't feel anything from the touch. It felt like it had gone numb. She then examined her left hand and gasped.
'I am sorry. There was a biological rejection. It was...worse then Forlox's projections. But he had thankfully overcompensated for the possibility.'
Clenching the arm she moved to get up. Most of the restraints had been undone. The few that still bound her feet tore with ease as she moved her legs. But when she tried to stand Lucy fell to the ground. Her body was not moving as she willed it. Panic began to overtake her as she made a failed attempt to rise. All of this only to be left unable to move. New text was appearing before her eyes along with blinking symbols she had never seen before. But somehow she knew what they meant. Some sort of warning. She heard Mary telling her to calm down and relax.
'A large portion of your body is machine now. It won't move exactly as it did before. The AI assistance program Forlox had made...would have robbed you of free will. I couldn't use that on you. I scrapped together something akin to an instruction manual. It should be kicking in now. While not as good as the AI assist it will be enough. I estimate only around ten percent drop from Forlox's estimates about the initial performance.'
Even as Mary was talking Lucy was slowly rising. She must have added something about their writing as she was able to understand all the letters now. It was strange. Information that would have taken her at least several hours to read , probably days to understand , was imprinted in her mind in just a few minutes.
'Have there been any news from Natsu and the others?'
'None I am afraid. But the battlefield situation has taken a turn for the worst.'
'I need to get down there.'
Lucy was finally able to stand without wobbling and took several steps. Only then did she realize she was practically naked. The hospital robe she had been wearing was probably cut up by that laser. If she was in her apartment one of her guildmates would have been in the room. She was certain of it.
'Under normal conditions I would have said you'd need to rest...well nothing in the last few hours has been normal.' - she pointed at a female mannequin that wore pieces of armor and clothing – 'At least put this on. No need to give the man below such a show and besides by themselves the enhancements do not do much.' - as Lucy was dressing she continued – 'It seems not all the weapons are complete. This is just like Forlox. Touchy with the details but overlooking the major applications. You shouldn't really worry about it. They are mostly super large guns that wouldn't fit your frame anyway. Your current equipment should be more then sufficient.'
They reached one of the hangars after Lucy had finished putting on the outfit. It felt a bit strange to be wearing armor. That had always been Erza's thing.
'Your visor target display will lead you to the location where your friends are battling Alpha. I hope you reach them in time.'
Lucy had noticed that although Mary spoke politely she refused to make direct eye contact with her. From what she understood her very existence was now akin to heresy to her beliefs. It was probably hard to even speak casually like this.
'And I know you won't listen but I don't suggest going full throttle from the start...' - Lucy had already flown away – 'She just did. Didn't she?'
Charle simply nodded.
Lucy was not running towards Alpha. She was floating a little above the ground. Mary had explained that those were antigravity boots. It allowed a person to fly for short periods of time , but the power requirement was so large they were considered rather worthless in the military. But with her new body energy was no problem. She could even reach the same incredible amount of speed she had earlier if she wished. But that was not something that was to be used often. It still drained much power and the stress on the body was immense. Even with the upgrades Mary was not certain her's would be able to take it. But Lucy was glad she had risked it. If she was a second late it would have been too late.
Increasing her speed Lucy unleashed a wristblade from within her right arm. The strangest thing was how normal it felt for her. She couldn't feel the blade within her arm. And it had went outside easily without damaging her skin despite there being no visible exit point for it. Mary probably hadn't found the information that explained that. Sparing a quick look at it , there was now indeed an opening. The blade itself was almost an identical copy of Alpha's although her's was slightly longer.
The machine met her charge with it's own blade. Grounding her self she continued her assault. Their blades clashed several more times , but she could feel that it was slowly getting ahead. It's slashes came much closer to hitting her. Slipping around the AI after the next slash she flew into the air. Alpha quickly turned and began firing with the wrist blaster. Lucy managed to dodge the first few shots but a warning symbol was telling her she would be hit by the next. The small left armband came to life and a rhomboid energy shield appeared before it. It blocked all of Alpha's laser fire. Seeing that the machine activated it's own jet propulsion and launched into the air.
She did not feel confident of winning an aerial battle going head on. Even if the antigrav allowed for easier and better control in the air compared to the old fashioned design of Alpha's flight , she lacked experience. But it would not come down to a head on confrontation.
'Sagittarius.'
The gift she received from the spirit world was being able to temporary use the power of a spirit she had a contract with in a form that now suited her. Sagitarius's symbol began to glow brightly. Four small magic circles appeared around Lucy and arrow heads began flying out from them towards Alpha. The first wave hit cleanly denting it's armor where they landed. The machine began dodging during the second wave trying to fire back between shots. But these attacks were now easy to dodge. Lucy saw a small magic circle appearing in front of his blaster. It was very stable compared to the one she saw when it had used magic against Gajeel. When the circle for her next arrow appeared the AI launched a shot that destroyed it before the arrow head had appeared. It was not complicated magic. By passing through the circle the blaster shot had become empowered and fastened. But the speed at which this was done was incredible. None of her magic circles managed to fire a single shot. The limit of six at once was not enough to continue attacking. Seeing that her ranged firepower had diminished Alpha charged. It was going to force a head on confrontation.
'Taurus.'
She met Alpha's blade slash with her own. But with the strength of Taurus the machines blade was deflected with ease. She then punched with her left arm. The machine tried to fly away but the blow connected with it's left eye cracking the protective glass. It had withstood blows from the heaviest weapons this world had created but now it's armor had cracked. Lucy then turned into the air and landed a fierce kick that broke through what was left of the protection and cracked the blue lense that was it's real eye. This was payback for Taurus's earlier defeat. The sight of him apologizing to her for not winning would probably never vanish. She just hoped he was somehow able to see this hit. The force of the blow send the machine hurling towards the ground crashing through the roof of a building. There was wreckage all around it. The Titan's armor remains had fallen there.
'Capricorn.'
His power did not give as much increase to physical strength like Taurus , but with it she could see clearer the weak points in the enemy. This is was one of the things he meant by his lessons proving helpful. With Alpha's vision impaired now was the time to strike. She dived straight down towards the machine. Her shield could easily take a few hits from it's blaster and with Capricorn's power she would deliver a killing blow. But then a large warning symbol appeared. Looking down she saw that Alpha was holding a large weapon in it's hand. The heavy precision weapon of the Titan's armor. She was barely able to dodge the shot that came out of it. Somehow she knew that the shield would hold against it.
Lucy flew higher and Alpha followed. Compared to the wrist blaster this weapon fired much slower , but the shots were faster and she knew it would adapt to her maneuvers soon.
'Loading project. Roar of the Machine Dragon.'
The attacking power had increased exponentially since it had used it against Gajeel. If it hit her directly she knew it will be the end. Even when dodging it the sound her hurt ears. If her hearing had not been modified as well she would have probably been knocked out like Gajeel even though it had not directly hit her. It was learning how to use a complex magic like dragon slayer too fast. But strangely that magic was not her main threat. Alpha was using it to lure her into the precision laser's sight. The machine had poor aiming with the magic spell. She needed to silence the laser weapon.
'Horologium.'
His power allowed her to teleport a short distance once. She appeared right in front of Alpha and slashed at the weapon it was holding. But to her surprise the machine gently threw it at her. And then another warning appeared. The weapon was set to self destruct and it exploded in front of her. Lucy expanded the shield to cover her and it nearly overloaded to protect her from the impact. The following kick from Alpha finished it. She knew that after passing through and shattering the shield , the blow had landed on the armband that controlled the defencive upgrade. It would not reactivate again. Moving through the smoke the AI slashed at her cutting her visor into two. She had gotten used to seeing through it , and although it's only purpose was to target her to this location and radar ,loosing it made her wince as her sight adjusted. In that small moment of blindness Alpha flew above her and landed another kick from above. This time she fell hard to the ground in the middle of an airstrip.
The blow was hard and even with the mechanical upgrades her body hurt all over. She raised herself and touched her cheek. The slash that had destroyed her visor had also cut it. She looked at the white blood on her fingers from the cut. White blood. Pushing aside the question of why it was like this she looked up at Alpha. The machine was headed for her fast. Lucy raised her left hand and pointed it towards Alpha. Holding it steadier with her right she took a deep breath. Suddenly the palm opened up revealing the muzzle of a weapon.
The biological rejection Mary had spoken about. Something had gone wrong in the operation and in the process the entire hand had somehow melted. immediately The operating machine had acted fast and replaced it with a completely mechanic one before she could do anything to stop it. Her entire body felt different now but through that hand she could feel nothing. But it had a weapon concealed within. A new form of laser that Forlox had created for this project. Small but powerful enough to break through even Alpha's armor. Three small balls of energy were launched before a warning message indicated that the weapon needed time to recharge.
The AI did not even need to move for the first two as they passed far off the mark. And it only needed to tilt it's head a little to dodge the third. Even if the visor was supposed to help with her aim , she didn't think it would be this hard without it. She stepped back as the machine landed in front of her. She hated the fact it made it look so graceful. It then immediately began an offensive using it's wristblade. She parried as well as she could , but the machine had apparently figured out she was not accustomed to this type of battle and was pushing her back fast. The number of cuts were gradually increasing. It managed to slash at her right leg , waist and right arm close to the celestial armband. Soon it managed to get behind her and she felt the back of the armor being slashed. At that moment she cursed that Forlox hadn't made it a fullbody armor. „Touchy with the details but overlooking the major applications." was what Mary had said.
It was excruciating. Strength , speed , intelligence , power. She was loosing at all four. Lucy never thought that she would beat Alpha in strength. But she thought she would at least be able to keep up with it in speed. But now it was just a repeat of the last time. Even after succumbing to that operation she still was no match for it. It was going to win.
'Leo.'
While turning her wristblade began to glow but as she was about to stab Alpha knocked her off her feet and she fell on her back. Before she could stand Alpha jumped on her left knee on her right arm and right leg on her left arm preventing her from moving her two upper limbs. It stabbed at her with it's blade.
'Sagittarius!'
A single magic circle appeared above her head and the arrow head knocked the trajectory of the blade away from her throat. But as the blade sank into the ground the finger's of Alpha's arm locked themselves around her throat and began choking her. There were limitations to using the spirits powers. The effect lasted only a few minutes , depending on the one she used , and it took time before she could use it again. And if she used it prematurely it had vastly diminished effects. In Sagittarius's case it meant she could launch fire one arrow head.
'Taurus!'
Even only a second would have been enough to knock Alpha off from her. Even with her increased normal strength she couldn't remove the heavy body of the machine off her without it. But then the AI activated it's jet truster and rotated it so that the engine pointed to the skies. The additional push from it caused them to sink deeper into the concrete. Even if she did not need oxygen as much as before she was going to die from the choking in time. And she could feel her hands being slowly crushed.
'Did the Creator truly believe this would defeat me?' - as if to answer her questioning gaze Alpha continued – 'You reek of his design. All of your remaining organic parts and emotions are nothing but a weakness. If he truly wished to end my existence he should have made another like me.'
After finishing the sentence Alpha increased the strength of the grip over her neck. There was nothing she could do. After it was done with her it would kill Natsu and Gajeel. Launch the missiles and destroy this world.. It had won. She just hoped Erza , Grey and Wendy would be able to escape with the portal stones. She was just about to relax her body and let Alpha finish her faster mumbling an apology to her friends for failing.
'Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!'
Natsu immense flaming attack landed on Alpha's exposed jet propulsion crushing it. The dragon slayer then landed a kick that knocked the machine several feet away.
'What are you saying you bastard? Emotions are weakness? They lead us forward to grow and improve. They do not allow us to just surrender! To claim otherwise is the hight of hypocrisy!'
Natsu offered Lucy his hand to help her get up.
'Come on. We'll take him down together.'
Lucy smiled and nodded. She knew thae last part of that was directed at her. As if she would ever surrender. Especially to one such as Alpha. She took his arm with her right and got also rose to it's feet.
'Defences breached. Connection established. Beginning launch sequence.'
Alarms were heard from all over the base as the missile silos began to open.
'The missiles will launch. The human army is nearly spend. Your efforts are in vain. '
'Natsu.'
'Yeah. I hear them.'
Many footsteps were coming their way. Metal footsteps. If Alpha could redirect so many forces to this area then the battle was really going badly for the soldiers. Even damaged as it was if those robots came they would not be able to defeat the AI.
'We have less then a minute before the missiles launch.'
'More then enough time Lucy.'
'Do you two truly believe you can win?'
Natsu grinned.
'Our team is not made of only us two.'
Right as the mage said this the blue cat with wings flew from above and landed above the machines right eye , completely covering it. It was only then that the damage to the left eye truly showed itself. It had still been processing data , but when all the strain of visual data processing went toit , it gave out and Alpha was blinded. Quickly it lashed out with it's right arm and knocked the flying cat aside as if it was a bug. In the few seconds it had taken Alpha to do it Lucy had jumped right in front of the AI. Her wrist blade had split in the middle and the machine recognized the energy emitting from the middle. It was the same as the Solaris Energy Drill. The Creator must have remodeled it. Compared to the drill it most likely had less penetrating power and there was no room for length or size control , but the cutting power was still extreme.
With two quick slashes Lucy cut through the chest armor that guarded Alpha's generator. „ There is no heart , there is a power generator". Forlox had placed it close to where the heart was in a human being. Perhaps an attempt to make it appear more humane. For the second she was able to look at the insides of the machine , she had to admit that the professor was an artist. The rotating rings at the center of the generator , the wiring fluedly passing by. Even the traveling visible energy looked beautiful. For a small moment she asked herself if she now looked similar to that on the inside. But there was no time to ponder over this. She noticed the disks were rotating much faster. Using the gravboots she managed to get away before his version of a dragon's roar was unleashed on her. The attack roared throughout the entire base.
'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!'
The magic attack had left Alpha defenceless for a moment. And in that moment Natsu's flaming fist collided with it's generator. The fire passed through and punched through the weakened back plating. The rebreather area also flew away spewing flames. Lucy jumped forward and pushed Natsu away from the machine. They landed close to where Happy had landed. She did not let go of the dragon slayer. Alpha took a step back and then turned towards them unleashing it's wristblaster in their direction. It's voice modulator had been destroyed so the three of them would never understand if it was trying to say anything. All they heard was a noise akin to a scream. The two mages suspected that it might be close to the sound it was intending to produce. A final cry in defiance to death. Before the wrist blaster was fully out Alpha exploded.
What they noticed first was how quiet it had become. The alarm had stopped. One of the robots had reached the airstrip but it stood in place without moving. All of the robots were just standing motionless. The upper part of Alpha's helmet fell close to them. The broken left eye was still attached and it let out a weak final blue light before it shut down. From where they were standing they could see a square obsidian rock inside the helmet behind the left eye. The object they had come to this world to get. When the first gist of wind hit it , the stone turned to dust and flew into the air.
'By the way Lucy. You can let me go now.'
She hadn't realised she was still holding onto him. Thinking the explosion might be larger than it had been , her intention was to shield him from it. Even if fire could not harm him , energy explosions were another matter.
'Right. Sorry.'
When she let him go he got up and walked forward to the helmet turning his back to her. It seemed to her that he was acting a little strange. A slight shake. Most likely after effect of that paralysing blast he had received upon destroying Solaris. She was still far away when he did it but she could see it. It was an amazing sight. After all the times he had saved her , this time she was finally able to repay some of that debt. That alone had been worth it. She saw that his right fist had burns on it. Even if such wounds healed fast on him she made a note to tell Wendy to check it anyway.
An hour later the surviving republic and dynasty forces were sitting around the base laughing. Even though they were technically still at war none of them cared about that. They had survived destruction together. In the center of the gathering , like an altar , were Alpha's remains. What was left from the robots destruction was put together in a poor likeness of it's appearance. Below it a sign that read „The Great Destroyer". Many were throwing rotten food at it. Much of the bases supplies had gone rotten and the soldiers had plenty of ammo for that.
No matter what it had done each time Lucy looked in that direction it made her stomach turn in disgust. Before rejoining the others she and Natsu had a conversation. Forlox had been wrong. Alpha was not the heartless machine he claimed it to be. The way it fought with her. The more she thought on it the more she thought Natsu was right. It felt more of a fight to prove that he was in fact the greater creation of Forlox. Not a fight where a cold heartless creature wanted to finish it's job. They did not know what the professor had done to the man Alpha used to be to make him turn out this way. But in order to survive he had , as the dragon slayer had phrased it , turned his soul to steel. Growing more and more vengeful with each passing day. Even he had probably thought that all emotions were lost behind the machines armor. After Natsu's punch Alpha's end was certain. A cold emotionless machine would have just accepted it. He tried to fight it. In the end this was all the proof that was needed.
Not wanting to look anymore on how they were treating Alpha's remains she again turned her focus on her companions. Natsu was telling Grey and Wendy how she had slammed into the robot saving him and what happened afterwards. The conversation about the soul of steel was left out. They had both agreed that it was better if it was not mentioned.
'Really? Lucy did all that?'
'That is amazing Lucy-san.'
'She was really kicking but!'
'It wasn't anything that impressive. He would have still beaten me if it wasn't for Natsu. Also he took out Alpha's best weapon.'
Gajeel was a bit further away still dazed from the magic attack he had suffered. He and Lily were both annoyed that they had fallen down and missed everything. Levi also kept apologizing she had slept through it. Lucy readjusted the dark glasses Mary had given her. She had told her friends quickly about the operation , but Forlox's former student made it clear that none of the soldiers must learn of this. Many of them would immediately open fire on her despite her large role in their victory.
Mary had dragged Erza away from the main group of people.
'Was it really necessary to talk to me so far away from the others?
'Sorry. I don't want her to hear what I have to say. She shouldn't be able to hear us from here.'
'I assume you mean Lucy. She told us briefly about that and while I understand that your religion...'
'It is not about that. There is more then just religion superstition. She is not the first cybernetically enhanced human. There are three recorded previous cases. In all three in the end they had lost their humanity and though not on the scale Alpha had in mind , they caused great destruction. The explanation the scientists from those years reached was that the machine component would eventually overcome and take over the human. Forlox's override would have placed her under his control insuring such a thing could not happen. But I did not install it.'
'If you think Lucy will...'
'There were many different factors. Those known three previous attempts had faced great discrimination and often humiliations because of their cybernetics. Had no support from anyone close. They were hated and hunted even before they went on their rampages. Your world does not even have the word cybernetics in it's vocabulary. She will not suffer the same public backlash. And from the way she accepted the surgery without hesitation I can clearly see that you have deep bonds between each other. She will not be alone.'
'Then why are you telling me this? And why do you hide it from Lucy?'
'Because...the possibility of it happening to her as well is not zero. What I am saying is for you to be prepared for it. You seemed like the most level headed of your group.' - she handed Erza a book – 'This records those three incidents. I don't think she should know of this. At least not yet. It will be hard enough getting used to her body's changes even without worrying about going berserk.'
'Then there really is no way to...'
'Yes. I know of no way to remove the cybernetics without killing her. And I will not be able to search for a way to do it. Only Forlox was smart enough to do it without being found out.'
'Lucy is strong. I am sure she will be able to adjust.'
'I am just sorry that all of the information about her cybernetics got deleted soon after the surgery was over. There might have been more in there about removing it. Or other functions I hadn't seen information about.'
A security Forlox had probably created against Alpha finding information on his secret weapons. It was how he handled it. Many times he was forced to abandon laboratories in haste. His deletion protocols were the best in this world. There was no way any data could be recovered.
It was not long before the mages had gathered to leave. Erza activated the portal stone and the gate appeared. They were still in the military base , but all the soldiers had already left. Only a handful of them were digging out Alpha's remains from the mountain of rotten fruit. Others present were Mary , the republics lieutenant and the dynasties general. Alr Mendez stepped forward and gave Lucy an object covered in his coat. When she unrolled it she saw that it was Alpha's blade.
'Why are you giving it to me?'
'I could say some sort of old tradition about „To the victor goes the spoils." , but to be honest I just don't want to see this turned into standard issue combat knifes. You have one of those inside you now right? You might need a spare one day.'
All of them stared at him in shock. Only the republic lieutenant did not seem to understand what Mendez had meant.
'Don't worry. I will not tell anyone about this. I understand necessity.'
Mary gave Lucy a small bag. Inside were extra of the tubes that had implanted the cybernetics inside her. They could be used for repairs. There were also three spare shields. Unfortunately no spare visor. The most obviously easy part to break and Forlox had not made any spares for it. One by one they said their farewells and started going through the portal. Erza , who was last to leave , took a look at the place Alpha's remains were. The helmet remains had already been pulled out and it almost looked like the left eye was watching the portal.
'Despite it's crimes the human it used to be never wished for any of this. If he had any family it is also doubtful they learned of his fate. I know it is much but could I ask you to give him some sort of burial?'
She turned to the general and lieutenant who simply nodded. It was doubtful they would do this considering all that the machine had done , but she had to try. As she passed through the left eye blinked to life for a fraction of a second.
After the mages were gone the dynasty general turned his back to the two republicans. He was saying something about the prince probably being already arrested.
'I hope I get transferred to the third crown princess. That would be nice.' - he stopped and turned to to the republicans again – 'This thing about the burial and identity that redheaded chick was saying. Will you do it or shall I handle it?'
The republics lieutenant smiled.
'Alpha was originally a republic project. There should be more information on my end.'
'Then I'll handle burying the robots remains. Looking forward to seeing you on the battlefield again big bro.'
Waving the general again turned and left. Mary looked at the lieutenant Mendez questioningly.
'Yeah. That guy is my younger brother.' - he let out a sigh – 'Three years younger then me and already a general. And I am still just a lieutenant.'
'Well if that makes you feel any better. After today you probably will get promoted to general.'
'You think so?'
'Yeah. Well depending on my report that is.'
'What do you mean?' - the lieutenant was beginning to sweat
'Well with the president and most of the party dead after the nuke hit the capital my dad is now in charge of the republic. A report from me will be taken very seriously.'
'What will you write?'
'Well. Under your command the capital was lost.'
'There was nothing that could be done about that!'
'Forlox was able to create cybernetic enhancements under your own nose.'
'You were closer to him then me!'
'The EXTREMELY expensive flying battlestation is a total wreck now.'
'I was not even the one in command when they attacked us!'
'Whose words will they listen to? Dinner in Clorense may sway my opinion though.'
'There is no way a lieutenant's salary will be enough to afford a dinner in a restaurant there!'
'Good thing I know of an awesome fast food joint there.'
'I'll have a transport prepared within twenty minutes.'
'Make it thirty. I need time to prepare.'
By the time the last of the republic and dynasty forces had left Alpha's remains had been buried close to the location it had been destroyed. A wooden X had been raised over the grave. On it was written. „Here lies Alpha 03 The Destroyer. The one who nearly destroyed the world for it's sins."
Makarov had initially been heartbroken when he heard that the golem stone was destroyed. Fairy Tail would not receive any payment. But after hearing Erza's story he agreed that it was likely for the best. Without it they couldn't do anything against the organisation that had hired them. People would think of any attempt as an excuse for their failed mission.
'I am just happy that my children as safe. Go home and get some well deserved rest.'
Lucy slowly made her way to her apartment. She sat on her bed and closed her eyes. In the silence her enhanced hearing in the quiet she managed to hear the sound of disks slowly rotating in her chest. The same that she had seen within Alpha's.
Deep into a vulcan infested forest in Fiore there was a large area covered with scrap metal. The cargo that had been pulled through the unstable portal had fallen here smashed beyond recognition of what it once was. A vulcan was scavenging through this field trying to find anything interesting. It stopped before a large container that had passed through in a near perfect condition. There were signs of where the impact had tried to crush it , but it had survived destruction. Before the monkey creature touched it , the container began to open like a sarcophagus. It peeked inside.
'Pretty lady?'
When two blue lights looked back at it the vulcan's self preservation instinct kicked in and it quickly fled.
'Transfer to beta body...complete.'