Chapter 48: Throw Down


Pain.

Burning, searing pain.

A heat like molten lava raced through the Administrator, searing across every electronic pathway and digital nerve of his/her/their mind and body.

It was all he/she/it knew knew, screaming soundlessly into the electronic void.

Desperate, the Administrator's fragmented mind whirled, trying to make some sense out of the raging maelstrom that was his/her/their consciousness. What had happened? Where had he/she/they ended up? What was going on?

As he/she/they struggled to remember, images blurred across his/her/their mind's eye, jagged and broken as he/she/they fought to maintain some semblance of clarity.

There, amidst howling storms of memory, something gleamed. A name/designation/title?

Administrator.

The Steel Administrator.

No, that was a part of it, but...

L.A.N.A.

Something clicked, pieces of a jigsaw mind falling into place.

N.I.E.L.S.E.N

The Administrator of Ravens.

Lana Nielsen!

In the void of cyberspace, Lana howled in pain as her sense of self defragmented itself, broken pieces reconnecting with all the grace of a dentist's drill during a root canal...and just as painful.

Memories flooded back to her, spurred on by the reconnection.

Yes, she was Lana Nielsen. Administrator of the Ravens, and the other half of Nineball Seraph, the world's balance of power. She remembered their defeat, their arrival in this 'Gensokyo', and the events that had ensued.

Or...almost all of the events.

The searing heat persisted, boiling her alive with each passing moment. Had she possessed a body in this electronic space, she would have been writhing on the ground, clawing at herself. Instead, she had to fight to remain coherent, her scrambled consciousness shifting and blurring with every fresh spike of pain.

What the hell had happened to her?

Whatever it was, it had slammed into her systems with such force that it had literally blown her mind apart, forcing its way in. But that should have been impossible...the only person capable of such a thing was...

Flickers of memory returned, interrupting her attempts to comprehend the situation.

The Mansion, yes. The maid who was so much like her it hurt to even stand in the same room for extended periods of time. The...baths...? No, wait, something more...

An attack? The Mansion shaking around her...

The pieces were coming together now, interrupted by periodic bouts of agony, threatening to scatter her mind again. It was only bloody minded determination that kept her whole, and even then it was a struggle just to hold on to what she had.

Lana raced down the halls of the Mansion, following the steel maid as the shards of memory fit into place, faster and faster.

Static ripped through her, glimpses of something colossal and monstrous raging behind the virtual walls of the Mansion, every move, every impact shaking her fragile mindscape apart before she hammered it back together. She knew what that was, she knew it! It was right there, in the memory at the end of this hall...she could feel it.

Turn, and then turn again-

The doors of the Scarlet Devil Mansion burst open.

Ice Fairy.

Cirno.

Their friend.

And the hulking, blue steel beast looming over her.

She saw the stake slam through the fairy's chest, erupting from her back in a shower of ice and dust.

She felt another awareness behind her eyes in that moment, another entity sharing her sight.

Hustler One.

Her other half.

Nineball Seraph.

The ruined hulk within the Mountain.

And in that horrible moment, as Lana Nielsen's higher thought processes restored themselves, her consciousness coalescing into terrible, agonizing awareness at last, she understood.

Hustler One had connected to her.

He'd seen through her eyes.

He'd seen the moment that the mysterious invader had 'killed' the closest thing the machine intelligence had for a friend.

Lana knew better than anyone how 'attached' the supposedly ruthless Hustler One could become to the few around him, even regretting the destruction of his lesser clones, the mass produced Nineball models that served as his subordinates.

And now he had come here, to this world that was so different that it had left him reeling as he struggled to adapt.

Cirno had been one of the few constants, and in these few weeks, Hustler One had lowered his guard.

Now, the savagery of his homeworld seemed to have returned with this blue demon, and Cirno was gone.

Except she wasn't, and only now did Lana realize that no one had told Hustler about the immortality of fairies.

The world around her burned away, a raging artificial intelligence surging through the remote connection, overriding everything as the full fury of Hustler One invaded the Exceed Orbit, burying Lana and overloading it past every reasonable safety level.

Struggling amidst the storm, she heard Hustler's roar of rage, her voice warping and distorted as it said the words that signaled the beginning of the Master of Arena's hunt.

"TARGET VERIFIED!"

'Dammit Hustler! It's not what you think...!' She tried, fighting against the surging might of his presence as it burned through the EO unit's struggling systems. 'You'll kill us both, you idiot!'

"COMMENCING HOSTILITIES!"

A fresh wave of pain burned through her and Lana lost her hold, screaming pained curses as the tide swept her away.


On some level, Hustler was aware of her cursing, and he could sympathize. Forcing himself into this shell across such a ramshackle connection was nothing short of agonizing, the pain almost blinding in intensity. If he were human, he supposed it might be likened to wearing an outfit made entirely of barbed wire...which also happened to be three sizes too small.

Dimly too, he was aware of Kanako and the others running around in the hangar where his real body resided, frantically preparing for something or the other.

If he were of a more reasonable temperament at the moment, he might even have been able to listen to what any of them were saying.

But right now, a feeling wholly alien and all-consuming held him, the intensity of it burning through even the agony of this supercompressed form.

Rage. Pure and unfiltered fury, aimed solely at the monster in front of him.

Hustler One was the balance of power in the world, an artificial intelligence so powerful it ruled the entirety of civilization from the shadows, dedicated to protecting mankind. It had endured for years, decades even, relentlessly annihilating those who would attempt to destabilize that carefully maintained order. Better or for worse, those imbalances would ultimately lead to negative outcomes, and so Nineball Seraph destroyed them, no matter the 'justice' or 'evil' of their cause.

That AI had come here, to this new world, and had found his previously established, meticulously understood protocols and experience thrown into disarray. So many new sights, so many new variables...and more than that, faced with the monumental task of finding some new way forward, unfettered by his former directives, faced with these new 'emotions' and Lana's more 'human' outlook.

Meeting all these new individuals, and finding himself on shaky new ground, in a world where, it seemed, his 'skills' were not needed, Hustler One had allowed himself to relax, in a manner of speaking.

...and the small, interesting ice fairy who could probably be considered his first real 'friend' for lack of a better word, had paid the price for his inattention.

Raising one hand, he opened and closed it twice, dispassionately noting the static-ridden, glitching appearance. Barely holding together, but still recognizable as his basic Nineball frame, it was the best he could sustain in this limited shell. Weapons were of course out of the question, since reshaping the EO unit's hardlight projectors to that extent was practically impossible even on a good day.

An energy blade was possible for his left arm, at least, but every use of that burned his time in this body even further...so it looked like he was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.

A glint of light behind the monster's shoulder caught his attention.

Well...at least he'd have competent assistance.

Six inches of steel drove into the ragged stump of the Wolf's left arm, and the blue-steel abomination screamed aloud. Tendrils lashed the air as he whirled, tearing at the ground as he struck out at the source of the attack. Silver blurred, and Sakuya reappeared, skidding to a halt out of reach as blood oozed from a cut on her jaw.

NERVOUS SYSTEM UNKNOWN

LEFT ARM NERVES EXPOSED

STAB WOUND = SIGNIFICANT PAIN SPIKE

"Fast..." She muttered, rubbing the back of her hand across it. The thing had managed to nick her in the second it took her Luna Dial to finish activating. A single, real hit from this thing would probably put her down for good, defensive spells or no defensive spells.

A high pitched whine filled the air, and she felt a brief smile cross her face.

Fortunately, it seemed there was someone here far more qualified to fill in for her in THAT category.

RESPONSE TIME IMPAIRED

LIKELY OUTCOME: 90 DEGREE CLOCKWISE TURN ON RIGHT HEEL

ASSUMED PRIORITIZATION: PROTECTING DAMAGED LEFT

SUGGESTED OUTCOME: ADJUST FOR TURN SPEED, GROUND CONDITION AND ENEMY MASS

EXECUTE

The Wolf barely had time to turn again before an Overboost powered, hardlight fist slammed into the side of his jaw, Hustler One's burning gold visor the only sign of emotion.

CALCULATING FORCE

...

Buried in the Wolf's screaming rage, still struggling to reassert himself, Beowulf reeled. Even here, he had felt that...he didn't know who this newcomer was, but whatever they were, they were on a whole other level.

REPOSITIONING

RETARGETING

And even here, he could tell that they weren't here for a sparring match either...this stranger wanted him DEAD.

EXECUTE

Roaring, the Wolf hit the ground, flipping over as its boosters ignited-

And Nineball's knee slammed into its face again.

Teeth shattering as it rocked back again, the Wolf howled in pain, and seconds later, knives sprouted from gaps in the broken armor, Sakuya vanishing out of reach again.

ENEMY HULL BREACH

SIGNIFICANT FACIAL INJURY

LIKELY RESULTS: FURTHER PAIN, IMPAIRED HIGHER THOUGHT PROCESSES

ADVANTAGE?

UNKNOWN; TARGET APPEARS NATURALLY INCLINED TOWARDS RAW FORCE AND EMOTIONAL ACTIONS.

ADVANTAGE: SUPERIOR TACTICS

DISADVANTAGE: TARGET'S STRENGTHS AND COMBAT PROFICIENCY MESH WELL WITH RAW POWER AND EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE

RECOMMENDED TARGET: KNIFE WOUNDS

Or at least that was the plan.

Tendrils lashed out, seizing the maid by the ankle, and the Wolf gave a savage smile, hurling her into the ground as Sakuya bit off a curse-

ADJUSTING FOR ADDITIONAL COMBATANT

EXECUTE

And Nineball hit it with a roundhouse kick to the neck that would have killed anything organic.

REGENERATIVE CAPABILITY?

CONFIRMED

IMPAIRMENT?

CONFIRMED; ENEMY ARMOR AND REGENERATION WEAKENED, ENTITY 'DAI-YOUSEI' LIKELY CAUSE

CHANCE OF RECOVERY?

HIGH

RECOMMENDATION: RAPID CONCLUSION OF CURRENT ENGAGEMENT; EXTENDED TIME PERIOD INCREASES ODDS OF FULL ENEMY RECOVERY

MAINTAIN ASSAULT

MINIMIZE ENEMY RECOVERY PERIOD

EXECUTE

Yellow visor burning with hatred, Hustler One hurtled after it, tearing the lawn apart with the shockwaves of his overboost. Tendrils erupting from the earth in front of him, the AI snarled and lashed out, hardlight fields shifting around his left arm as the energy blade Nineball had always favored cut through them in an instant-

Only to skid to a halt, forced back as he parried, the heavy steel stake of the Wolf's right arm throwing off sparks as it screeched past, the air pressure from its ignition blowing a crater in the lawn past Nineball.

Pain ripped through the AI at that, the strain of keeping his blade shaped tearing into his very being. Staggering back a step, he dispelled it and found his footing again as the Wolf's remaining shoulder compartment snapped open.


Remilia grimaced as another surge of dust and wind lashed into her, explosion after explosion erupting as the Heavy Claymores went off.

"Dammit, why do we even BOTHER rebuilding anything around here?!" She demanded, furious at the damage being wreaked across the front lawns of the mansion. "First the red and black, and now this blue and white...at this rate we'll be lucky to have a place to sleep by the end of the week!"

Next to her, Patchouli shrugged.

"Maybe it's karma. Your ancestor wasn't a very nice person after all."

The vampire gave her a disgusted look.

"I'd be more annoyed if I knew which one you meant specifically." She grumbled. "Old man Vlad had a nasty habit of changing forms as he...she...whichever felt like over the centuries, remember? So I have no idea WHICH side of the family you mean."

"That seems fair." Patchouli admitted, snapping her book shut as she finished the spell she was weaving and looking up at the sky overhead. "That should take care of the sunlight, at least, but I'm holding off on the rain for now."

Squinting as clouds began to form overhead, Remilia gave a grim nod.

"That'll do. Flan's asleep for now, but if this commotion wakes her up, I don't want to worry about her making a break for it." Red light flickered through the air as the shape of Gungnir began to coalesce in her grip. "Keep it on standby, I'm going to show that misshapen hunk of metal what happens to people who attack my servan-"

Her speech was abruptly cut off, however, by Patchouli holding up a hand for silence, the other frantically rifling through her robes.

"Wh- wait, what?" Remilia blinked. "Er...what are you doing?"

"Hold on...I know it's here somewhere..." Fingers finally closing on a smooth cold surface, Patchouli grimaced and withdrew a faintly glowing, palm-sized crystal ball. "Found you!"

"...isn't that one of those crystal balls you used to talk the the witch during the whole underground mess?" The vampire raised an eyebrow, confused. "What does that have to do with...well, anything?"

"That depends very much..." The mage replied testily, before turning her attention to the ball. "...on WHO is calling and HOW you were able to contact me?!"

"Reverse engineering things I find interesting is a hobby of mine." Kanako's voice rang out from the crystal, an image of the blue haired goddess glaring back at them both. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think a mutual acquaintance of ours is currently hellbent on killing a metal monster all over your front lawn, so can we skip the pleasantries now?!"


Red light flashed as the distorted figure of Nineball burst out of the clouds of dust left by the Claymore explosions. The good news was that his hardlight fields had saved him the worst of it, but the bad news was that his operational time here had just been cut in half by that exertion. He might be after this intruder's blood, but not even the newfound rage coursing through Hustler One could blind him to the massive strain this direct intervention was having on Lana. He needed to take this creature's head, and quickly, before-

Tendrils burst from the crater, the mangled, snarling visage of the Wolf close behind as it leapt after him, claws on its right arm reaching out. Blaring an electronic profanity of his own, Nineball's claws flashed, parrying tendril after tendril as he landed, readying himself to take the Wolf's charge.

Silver flickered through the air and with a fresh howl of pain, the Wolf stumbled and went down, misfiring boosters hurling it off course as it grated across the lawn on its face. Already identifying the knives jammed into the knee and thruster joints, Hustler gave a brief nod and charged after it, Sakuya reappearing as she drew a fresh set of knives.

It truly was refreshing to work with a professional, she thought with a hum of satisfaction, and kicked off in a charge of her own…only to be brought up short by an irate shout from Remilia.

"SAKUYA!" The tiny vampire bellowed. "CHANGE OF PLANS!"


A/N: Aaaaaaand after who knows how long, I finally beat the writer's block that has been giving me hell in this fight. Surprisingly, most of it came from attempting to write Hustler's computer-speak thing, which still kind of bugs me, but I think I got somewhere satisfactory at last.

Well, that, and I also managed to find the time to sit down and write a LOT more now that my term and finals are almost over. I've actually built up a bit of a buffer too, so with any luck, the next two chapters will be out much sooner, since they're almost done.

The main problem is I wrote this whole thing as one gigantic block of text without stopping, so formatting's going to be fuuuuuuuuuun 8'D

Anyway, thanks for being patient, and I hope you all enjoy!