Note: Character development. All chapters have been posted on the MXO boards first if you play MXO I am on Regression and so post the stories there first.
Back info: A few times here and their I've had to explain my characters unique condition. In essence, it's like a triangle, 3 sides make up the whole. There's the host (David). The will (Merovingian). And the binding program. All three of these make up Anubis. This story is about the binding program and a back-story for how I managed to level so much (saying XP boost just isn't as cool as having something like this). Be warned, it's a tad dark for my writing, even my stories in the Hellsing universe, which deals with vampires and gore are not like this.
((Second warning: Dark))
"Meeting adjourned." Kabell finally said, the meeting was another dull update on the affairs of various organizations within the matrix. The Devils Advocates had recently become more powerful, Zion has become more annoying and the Machines were hidden but ever present as always. Anubis didn't care about any of this. Something had been building up in him for some time now, it had started as a distant feeling in his gut, like a hunger that would not be satisfied but could be dealt with. Recently however, it had grown considerably.
After the meeting, he had walked over to the bar and pulled out one of hidden bottle of absinthe. Taking a gulp of the chilled liquid he felt the distant hunger dull slightly. Something about this particular liquor code helped, but it was like band-aid, it didn't stop it, just bought him time. That was what scared him, bought him time for what?
"Anubis, are you alright?" looking up from his forth glass he saw Renshi next to him, a bit of concern in her eyes. She was one of the few from his old faction that came with him to the Advocates when La Costra Nostra was collapsing.
"I'm fine Ren, just thinking about what's been happening lately." Anubis lied. Would she understand what he was talking about if he told her the truth? Probably not, even she didn't really have much of an idea of what he was, hell he didn't even know what was going on with him so how could he expect her to understand what he was feeling.
"I think ill go for a walk, clear my head a bit." Anubis finally said as he stood up, filled a flask of absinthe and pocketed it.
"I'll come with you." Renshi said, following him to the stairs leading to the upper floor of the Sphinx. "Na Ren, need some time to think by myself."
"Are you sure?" Renshi asked, concern hidden in her voice. Anubis was never one to drink much; he always had a flask of absinthe with him, but only took it out every now and then, and even then just a few sips of the stuff for a buzz, hardly enough to get drunk.
"Yeah Ren I'm sure, don't worry I'll be fine." He reassured her as he left the club, heading for the hardline to take him to a random location so not to be followed if she persisted.
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Anubis found himself in South Vauxton. An area of the city for the middle to upper class to live out their lives in the matrix, all in all not a bad area filled with parks and what not. Pinging the area, he smiled as it returned with only blue and gang. The moon was rising, full and in its entire splendor. Letting his feet decide, he set off in a seemingly random direction.
As he walked, he felt more and more distant from his RSI. Like he was more a viewer then the pilot within his own body. It didn't feel bad, like he was drifting off to sleep. Like the blissfully filled space between being awake and being asleep, where nothing mattered, your body was relaxed and you were just drunk on the feeling. Even the hunger seemed unimportant to him now.
Eventually, he made his way to the apartment complex in the area. Something seemed different now; if it weren't for his glasses, someone would easily see his eyes were glowing red. Silently he walked towards the elevators and pressed the button for the lower level. His eyeteeth extended as the doors parted, showing a group of exile programs hiding out in the basement.
"Hey, what are you doing here little man."
"Lose your way?"
"Doesn't matter, he wont be making it out of here." The group advanced towards Anubis just as he slowly advanced towards them. In that instant, Anubis jumped forward, tackling into the closest of the group, instantly breaking the exiles left arm. Taking hold of him by his shirt he threw him towards the others.
"What the hell! He's a red pill!" One of the less damaged exile shouted as he leveled his gun and fired. The bullets hit their marks, but didn't faze Anubis as he walked towards him. The exile continued to fire into him, no blood, there wasn't any blood flowing from his wounds, even red pilled bled, why wasn't this one.
Knocking the exiles gun away Anubis punched him squarely in the neck, pain showed on the exiles face as he fell to the floor. He could sense that they were decompiling now. No, these wouldn't be allowed to recompile, standing in the pile of bodies he began to take deep breaths, their code entering his body. Finally, their bodies completely disappeared, having turned into code and consumed by Anubis. More, he wanted more. Heading deeper into the hideout he continued on. Feeding off the code of those he killed.
With every exile he killed and absorbed, he felt their strength, their knowledge enter his body. Felt it merge with part of his code, making him more and more stronger. The hunger was slowly disappearing with each kill, that was what pressed whatever that possessed him to continue.
He didn't use his side arms, submachine gun or rifle to depart his food, no, he used his fists, his feet, anything that he had that was part of his body. As he went deeper and deeper the screams of those he had taken echoed down the hallway, prompting the others deeper in the hideout to come together to defeat whatever it was that had invaded their territory.
Opening the doors, Anubis looked down the hallway, fifteen of them all stood, their guns drawn. Breaking into a full-fledged run he entered the swarm of exiles. Kicks, punches, the sickening sound of coded blood and bodies hitting the floor echoed repeatedly in the hallway where the massacre was taking place. Finally the last body fell. The code that flowed all around him was blissfully intoxicating.
Opening his mouth, he let the code flow into him; he felt his body grow stronger and stronger still as the code flowed in. If the exiles fed on the floating feast then this had to be a concentrated version. The code slipped down his throat like the softest wine in the world, its flavor intoxicatingly ecstatic. He wanted more. The hunger within him demanded it, demanded him to continue on. Who was he to deny its commands?
The elevator doors opened as he stepped out, this was the last floor. Only the strongest in this hideout were allowed to be on this level. Here, here he would find the purest of the code in this dank hideout. Someone must have radioed head, for as he stepped forward; he was greeted by several of his supposed level. Leaping forward, he grabbed the throat of the poor bastard that was closest to him. While still in mid air he threw him into some rusted machinery, the sounds of crushing metal and coded flesh music to his ears.
Turning to the others he took his time to dispatch them, one tried to crawl away around a corner, only to be dragged back to its death. The sound of bones cracking echoed a moment later. A few minutes after the one sided battle Anubis walked around the corner and down the hall. He took his time as he walked down the hallway. There was nowhere for his prey to go.
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Lupin paced the floor franticly; his two guards holding their weapons in hand nervously watched the door. The first report from the top floor that his gang controlled reported a redpill had come in, and made short work of his men but would be no match for the next level. A few minutes later that level reported the same red pill had ripped their ranks as well before the transmission was cut off. The other floors failed to report in, most likely trying to mount a defense against whatever force had come into their territory to remove them permanently.
Just as he thought the suspense was about to kill him itself he heard the sounds of gunfire and shouts in the stairwell above them. One by one the shouted stopped abruptly. The sound of a body hitting the door and sliding down sickened him. Whatever was out there, made him realize that this was his final moments in this place.
The doors opened, in walked a man clad in black and red. His face smeared with code. The sight sickened him as he and his guards opened fire. Lupin watched first hand as the being took out his men one by one, sucking out the code from their bodies and growing stronger. Finally the two faced each other alone. His men laid there for a minute before disappearing completely.
"What the hell are you!" Lupin shouted, the gun in his hand shaking. Anubis only approached, a maniacal look in his face. "Stop, ill give you whatever you want. You want my coat? Here take it!"
Lupin threw his coat over at Anubis, only for it to be cast aside. His red eyes glowed hungrily at him. That's when it hit him.
"Oh god, you. You're supposed to have died in the fourth instance!" Lupin shouted as he pulled the trigger on his gun. The bullets having no affect on his target as Anubis continued to advance. "Come on, ill give you anything you want!"
Lupin's back was against the wall now, literally. He knew what he was facing, something that terrified even the exiles. A program thought to have long sense been terminated. It was made by the machines to clean the matrix of all the exiles and absorb their resources to be brought back to the source. The only problem was that it used the resources it obtained and 01 wanted those. Reclaiming programs were sent after it when it refused to return, only to be claimed by the program and integrated into its code.
Eventually the program was captured by the Merovingian, altered, compressed, and hidden away. Apparently the Merovingian decided to bring it out and put it in this red pill. The last thing Lupin saw was a fist flying towards his face.
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Anubis walked out of the back room. Not quite sure how he got their though having an idea. Marrith had most likely gone into code lust. Anubis sighed in relief that it had been an exile hideout not loyal to his master. He felt stronger now, like his strength had doubled several times. Abilities just out of his reach were now obtainable, he felt that things would not be as harder as they once were. He noticed that the hunger had receded quite a bit as well. It was still present, though not as demanding. Looking up at the sky he saw the sun begin to break.
((Okay, bit of explaining is in order about Marrith... but that's not going to happen until the next installment.)) Read and Review!
