The dead rose to their feet, giving them a better line of sight for their attack on the Slayer, while the others charged forward to his sides. Two came forward in coordinated charges. It was all for nothing, as the Slayer dodged each of them, sweeping out the legs from one zombie.
As it fell, he grabbed the second one by the head and brought it down upon his knee, caving in its skull. The Hell Walker then curb-stomped the first one, crushing its head underfoot. Several more walkers reassembled as part of a group and roared before clashing their way over to the Slayer, only for two zombified faces to receive a series of reckless fists.
Another zombie tried to take the Slayer one on one with its nails and teeth, but he merely caught the zombie before ripping off its arm. Taking the arm for himself, the Slayer then skewered the creature before pinning it to the ground. Another zombie came in a ghoulish hunger and managed to land behind him but was quickly defeated. The Slayer was continuous with his vicious attack among the undead swarms as each assault from the zombies became useless.
A roundhouse kick broke its back before the Slayer grabbed its head and separated its upper and lower jaw. The next walker didn't even have time to attack before he came after it with a jump. Landing on the zombie, the Slayer put his knee to its chest before punching the head three times, crushing its skull. More zombies once again have gotten torn apart while more reassembled immediately, roaring as the Slayer shrugged their petty assaults.
Only a lucky few had retaliated, but it wasn't enough after the Slayer pierced and propelled that left fleshy chunks of body parts everywhere. He quickly dodged the other zombies, bringing out his rocket launcher. Deciding to get rid of the weak zombies first, the Unchained Predator targeted ones wearing ripped clothes. He used the lock-on feature to make sure he didn't miss it. As the three missiles fired and homed in on them, they tried their best to attack him.
Their dodging and evasion were worthless as they soon got blown to pieces by the powerful explosives. Then, the Slayer swapped out the rocket launcher for the gauss cannon with precision bolt modification. Waiting until the ghoulish creature stopped moving, he quickly zoomed in before charging up a shot and taking its head off. There were still too many before deciding that if the quality doesn't work, the quantity will. Putting away the gauss cannon, the Slayer deployed the chaingun and used it as a mobile turret. Hundreds of rounds that flew across all headed towards each zombie.
They tried their best to attack, but even they could not dodge everything. Each bullet ripped through countless undead corpses, shredding their clothes and bodies. One zombie could only partially lift itself before the Slayer came upon it. He grabbed it by the throat before putting the plasma rifle against its chest and pulled into full auto-attack. It became too much for the zombie before getting disintegrated into nothing but red muck.
"GRRRAAAAUUUGGGHHH!"
More undead creatures were coming forward; however, the Slayer did see a few left on sight somewhere outside of the ghost town, and he will not let them escape from his wrath. The Slayer stood his ground, and just as the zombies came in range, that's when he activated the Heat Wave. The pulse from the plasma rifle not only stopped the zombies but pushed them backward, incinerating their limbs, torsos, and half their faces.
VEGA: {Slayer, might I suggest a constant and unrelenting assault to override the undead's presence?}
Boosting into the air, the Slayer switched to the combat shotgun and fired off an explosive round. The direct hit caused secondary cluster munitions to go off, further damaging and disorienting the leftover walkers, leaving them unable to fend against the likes of him. Putting a foot on a fallen walker's stomach, the Slayer grabbed one of its legs to twist it 180 degrees before ripping it off.
He then repeated the action for the other one. With that taken care of, the Slayer knelt on the walker's chest and started smashing its face in, killing it. He stood up with his combat shotgun and got ready once more, turning towards the remaining zombies, who had wandered somewhere else.
VEGA: {Incoming two energy signatures that are human. I suggest taking those humans at their word. I can understand your separation from human contact, but we are stuck here without any other excuse.}
The Slayer nearly stopped for a second right there. It's been long since he's ever emerged around any other humans before all this havoc went down, despite that Hayden was formerly a human until he progressed on some new robot body that the Slayer craves to rip apart once he finds the bastard.
VEGA has never lied to the Slayer and has always done his best to assist my need for help. Much of this reminds the Slayer of how he destroyed the Argent filters while Hayden nagged at him about facing an energy crisis. Humanity had a better chance of dealing with an energy crisis than a demonic invasion.
The Slayer made his way to follow the leftover trail, running as fast as he could. He finally reached where the leftover zombies are, overhearing the sounds of blades and grunts. The Slayer then proceeded to the last few zombies before they noticed him with his combat shotgun aiming at them.
"RAAAUUGG-!"
*BANG*
The sun was directly overhead, determined that it was officially afternoon or somewhere consequently. Rick and Michonne had been driving down the road for what felt like minutes. The ride was long and bumpy as Michonne waited to arrive back at the small-sized ghost town.
Rick did not know what to expect but kept his hopes up that it isn't the Saviors. Trees and bushes zipped past them, spots of light illuminating the woefully empty road of the wilderness. Rick was just a bit over the recommended speed limit, but it wasn't as if anyone was out in the middle of the road, except for a corpse laying from afar torn to shreds.
"What the hell...?" whispered Michonne.
Michonne couldn't help but lean in and stare at the dead walker leading up to where the town is supposed to be. But it wasn't because she was in awe of how brutal it looked. It certainly didn't look like a typical tactic to kill a walker. Its body looked smashed or permanently destroyed by something more fierce.
"Something's not right here." Rick said, "We better be careful, okay?"
"Yeah," said Michonne, feeling uneasy for some reason.
Rick was getting off track from this sight as he slowly pulls over. He and Michonne looked at each other before nodding and then got out from each side of the van. As they made their way over to the corpse itself, Rick made sure he had his gun loaded for anything else.
Michonne was behind Rick, watching her surroundings only to make sure this wasn't a trap. But by the look at this broken walker on the road, Rick couldn't help but think deeply about it.
"I don't hear anything out here, Rick." Michonne stated, "Well?"
Rick didn't budge to answer.
It can't be from the Saviors. If it was, shouldn't they have left a sign or note to show how authoritative they are? As he could imagine, Negan is never this type of brutality. Sure, the bastard was more manipulative in people's mentality than too much physical involvement, but something about the dead walker next to Rick gave him an eerie vibe about something. Was there something else out here worse?
"Rick! Walkers!"
Rick eventually snapped out of his thoughts from Michonne's loud voice, and his eyes laid over to several more walkers coming out from where the town remained. After a brief calculation in his head, Rick called out to his companion before getting up with his knife out.
"I'll handle the front, Michonne..."
"I'll get the left." She replied as she leaped into action with far less hesitation than before.
Michonne swung her katana in a diagonal angle from the center of the walker's body downwards to the right, severing its grasping arm. With an upward swing, she nicked its neck, but the finisher was yet to come. Michonne swung her katana downwards and pulled it back, and then with all her strength, she stabbed her enemy right in the middle of the forehead. The blade sunk two inches deep, and after a moment of stillness, it too joined the ranks of the truly dead.
Rick approached his quarry quickly. As he ran, he ducked under a walker's grasp to the left. After he stood up, he swings his blade into the first one's head, in which Michonne sprints to the side and twirls her sword to slice off three walkers. Rick intercepts another walker who tried to bite him with a swift swipe of his blade through its skull.
Michonne was using one of her usual techniques in a fight. With the tip of her katana, she pushed the three walkers back. The next to fall was the one directly in front of her as she swung her katana down and slashed the walker's head. Quickly afterward, she changed her stance to face her left and swung the katana broader side to a walker's head. Michonne sliced the next walkers' heads with a horizontal swing to the left temple. In an instant, three walkers were dead with chopped skulls. Michonne narrowed her eyes on the last few walkers, getting ready to strike until...
*BANG*
Rick's eyes widened at the gunshot, simply witnessing two of the walkers flying over him and Michonne. The first thing that comes to Rick's mind was a state of confusion.
Who and what did that?
Even Michonne couldn't believe it as well until her eyes spotted an armored giant charging within the shadows. Once the two dead creatures impacted the right side, the Slayer sprints right out of the bushes to her surprise. He delivered a swinging hook to the zombie's left side, and then another one close-ranged through the head. The zombie had tumbled down onto the road.
Moving his foot to the walker's head, the Slayer viciously crushed its skull until it stopped moving. His eyes stared onward to the road's right side, unfinished upon killing the two other undead creatures.
Using his combat shotgun, the Slayer dashed forward at incredible speed before discharging one round, tearing through half of the zombie's body into a blood-soaked mush. With one more zombie getting up to attack once more, the Slayer snapped its left arm for a broken bone to protrude outward and then impale the sharp bone right through the zombie's face.
It was over now, causing him to step away from the last corpse. The Slayer's attention to the other humans behind him has stepped aside as he checked the area. Rick had subconsciously known that this giant of a man wasn't one of those dead freaks, but the sudden presentation was just so startling.
Michonne could see the gruesome appearance from how the Slayer looked in the Praetor Suit, showing the dark colors that cover his entire body. He remained splattered with blood in different shapes and sizes.
Aside from all that, Michonne couldn't help but feel somewhat overwhelmed yet disturbed at the same time. These methods of killing walkers showed to become more than just grim. It was sickening to anybody's stomach. From the way the Slayer handled the undead creatures, something snapped back into Rick's mind that this man was a danger to them. Using his full instinct, Rick manages to whip out his gun as the Slayer scowled at him.
"Drop the gun, right now," Rick said grimly, with his Colt Python aiming at the Slayer.
There was silence between each of them when he first put that gun up at the Slayer, having come close enough to the Slayer's presence alongside Michonne. The Slayer took in each action of the two survivors. Their eyes locked on the Slayer, scanned him over, and didn't notice any human peculiarities from him. Not before long, the Slayer's eyes narrowed over to see Michonne holding up her katana, showing nothing but a stern look.
"Do as he says," Michonne said with a scowl.
The Slayer's body became tense, frozen in place as something within himself stopped everything; every dark thought, every dark instinct, every piece of blackness that had enveloped the Slayer. Before the Slayer could remember anything from what VEGA has informed him, he felt that rage come back again.
"Look, nobody needs to get hurt, and I think we both know better than to do something stupid like this to ourselves right now," Rick said with a cautious voice, doing his best to get the Slayer off guard. "Drop the gun and get on your knees-!"
Using all of his swift motion, the Slayer's combat shotgun went and smacked the gun off Rick's hand, kicking him with a boot to the chest on the ground. The Slayer stepped away from one swing of Michonne's katana and then avoided another swipe from her. She then attempted to finish him off with an overhead motion until the Slayer caught the sword's blade with one hand. He then yanked the katana out of Michonne's grasp, much to her shock, before seeking for her gun, but the Slayer knocked Michonne on the ground.
With enough space, the Slayer held up his combat shotgun and aimed at both of them, causing one or the other to freeze. Michonne glanced back and forth towards Rick and the Slayer, gritting her teeth in an alarmed manner. Rick held both his hands out, planted firmly onto one knee as his eyes set onto each one.
"Rick..." she said, her voice filled with a mixture of anger and unease for her lover's sake.
"Please, don't," Rick whispered to her, calming Michonnne to the point where she couldn't take the Slayer down when he has her and Rick to the ground.
The Slayer stood with his combat shotgun in a firing stance until he lowered it slightly, revealing the piercing fury of his narrowed eyes. They were going to take him down like some stray animal. These two started threatening to kill the Slayer seconds ago, and now things started to go down south. The Slayer didn't know whether to know from their word or not.
VEGA: {Please refrain from your anger, Slayer. We are currently in a world without our knowledgeable creations, and they are only scared like you are. We still aren't sufficient enough to interpret any demonic energies lurking within this version of Earth. I suggest that you follow them back to their grounds to ensure they are certified enough to handle themselves.}
The Slayer felt his eyes harden into glaring blue orbs as his eyebrows lowered. None of this has ever happened to the Slayer before. Whatever the Slayer might do to innocent people, it's going to be a lot worse than what those demons did to him the first time around.
And the humans here in this world don't have an energy crisis or lurking with demons. The Slayer remained pissed at all those UAC scientists for the trouble they caused back then. But at the end of the day, they're still human.
What would the Slayer be fighting for if he killed these humans out of rage?
The Slayer won't hurt any of them intentionally. But again, keep in mind that he will do anything to kill any idiot or demon effortlessly. Rick and Michonne witness just as the Slayer starts to make a move.
However, nothing happened.
The Slayer merely sighed, his combat shotgun descending itself to a neutral position. As much as the Slayer hopes that VEGA is right about this, he is certainly not going to kneel to these two survivors here and now. Besides, they are both lucky to live with both arms intact.
Lowering his hand with a palm open under him, the Slayer waited until the two survivors watched him raise it gently. While making the gesture one more time, they could see that he was requesting them to stand up. Rick and Michonne gave each other a glance of confusion, but they pushed that aside once they gathered themselves up to their feet again.
As the Slayer carelessly trudged forward and snatched Michonne's katana off the ground, both Rick and Michonne flinched at his approach. The blade looked very sharp, coming with a leather-wrapped hardwood scabbard with a shoulder strap. The Slayer examined the well-made folded steel sword for only a few seconds before handing it back to her, which Michonne cautiously accepted with a dumbfounded yet stern look.
Ignoring Michonne, the Slayer marched right past her with a glare to keep her still as he picked up Rick's Colt Python revolver nearby. Making sure Michonne or Rick weren't sneaking on him, the Slayer came to Rick and handed his gun back. Rick nods at Michonne to reassure her that it is okay, cautiously reclaiming his Colt Python revolver. Rick looked at the Slayer with obscure eyes as if the Slayer were throwing a haunting familiarity at his soul.
"Okay, who are you? Where'd you come from?" asked Rick, cocking an eyebrow at the Slayer with his stern look.
No words.
No grunt.
Not even a breath of air.
"Answer him," Michonne warned, slightly scowling.
Rick couldn't maintain his usual scowl. It broke instantly, his brows rising slightly. Something piqued within him, nervousness; anxiety that something from his past had crept upon him. A man took him down with ease and began to let him and his partner live just like that.
The Slayer crept upon each of them as if he had been somebody with years worth of military or combat training. That is what made both Rick and Michonne extremely tense at this very minute. All they could hear from the Slayer was utter silence, making this whole situation feel as if the Slayer's voice was not born to get heard from them.
Rick stared on, briefly in his thoughts, "This man is hiding something for sure, but something tells me that I shouldn't do something that I would regret sooner or later. Hopefully, nothing goes south from here."
The Slayer's head motioned to the man with a hint of boredom in his eyes, which he cannot entirely see due to the helmet blocking his view. But then again, the Slayer noticed Michonne signaling Rick about the armored giant.
Rick quickly noted this before speaking, "Can you talk?"
After a few moments of further thinking, the Slayer calmly shook his head. He noticed that while surprise showed on Michonne's face, she knew Rick had no time to sit and gawk.
"How come?" asked Rick, who frowned at the Slayer.
In response, the Slayer craned his head up to tap a hand on his throat before shaking two fingers sideways. From what he can see, this almost caught Michonne off-guard for a bit before realizing something.
"You can't speak?" Michonne finally noticed, asking.
The Slayer looked over at Michonne, nodding his head. All there was is silence, causing Rick to gaze at the armored man with skepticism and confusion. He and Michonne looked at each other dumbfounded, with Rick shaking his head in disbelief.
"How do we know if you're telling the truth to us? You do understand what language we're speaking, correct?" Rick glared.
The Slayer shrugged with both his shoulders, not knowing any other way for them to understand him. Right now, the whole situation became a concern on their part. Rick and Michonne have never dealt with or interrogated a mute survivor before. The Slayer's hands started motioning a few different gestures to ask if they had anything he could write with or use anything else to communicate. It was fortunate enough that Michonne understood what the Slayer was gesturing, but Rick sighed at this point.
"Did we even bring any paper or a pen?" Rick asked, looking at Michonne.
Michonne shook her head. "No."
VEGA: {Slayer, might I suggest that you use the flat soil nearby that bush?}
With that idea in mind, something tells the Slayer that this will get their answers somehow. He slowly waved a hand for Rick to follow him, which both he and Michonne became extremely cautious at this point. Aside from that, they needed answers. Once they had complied to do so, Rick had his gun ready for anything suspicious while Michonne had her sword in both hands.
The Slayer flattened the dirt grounds with both palms and started to form different letters to communicate. After a few seconds, Rick finally realizes that he was trying to say something, and Michonne observes as well.
The first few letters the Slayer managed to say are:
CANNOT REMEMBER MY NAME
TROUBLE EVERYWHERE
FIRST PEOPLE TO MEET
Michonne asks, "So, you can't remember your name?"
The Slayer shook his head at her in response.
Rick seemed a bit indecisive yet determined about the whole issue. "Can you take off the helmet?"
The Slayer shook his head in response to her question. He did not want to remove his helmet because he's always on high alert for any trouble brewing, especially if these people would try shooting his face off. At this point, the Slayer's only hope is that they agree to let him communicate, even though his helmet is probably one of the Slayer's prized possessions in keeping his head safe.
"Why not?" asked Rick, who frowned at the Slayer's refusal to accept defeat.
The Hell Walker snorted, causing Rick to jerk for a moment, and gave him the best "are you serious" expression. The Slayer kept himself in a defensive posture, not willing to test his armor on their weapons. It appeared that Rick's interrogation was barely even being held by the Slayer's incoming letters before him.
The Slayer's hands erased the letters from the soil ground, and then starts forming:
KEEPS ME SAFE
FROM THE UNDEAD
AND THE LIVING
BEST UNTOLD
OR YOU WILL REGRET
Rick learns this answer from the written message, having him start progressing. Michonne had remained silent the entire time the close interrogation began. Rick did his best to comprehend it all without the help of his lover. Yet beyond that, all the Slayer could do was observe.
"Okay, fine, I won't. Now then, who are you from?" Rick asked the Slayer.
They watched as the Slayer began lettering a new message, saying:
NOBODY ANYMORE
ON MY OWN
BETRAYED
"So, you used to be with someone else, but he or she betrayed you?" Michonne asked, receiving a firm nod from the Slayer.
"Who betrayed you?" Rick asked.
It was the obvious question that everybody should always guess, for which the Slayer started a new lettering message to answer him.
DOCTOR SAMUEL HAYDEN
GREEDY AND NO GOOD
STOLE WHAT WAS MINE
AND SENT ME AWAY
"Do you know where he is now?" Michonne questioned, to where the Slayer shook his head in response.
"And you're saying that you are alone now? Any place you go to or not?" Rick asks the next question.
The Slayer shook his head one more time, getting a bit irritated by all these random questions and such.
"Then how come you're wearing all this armor, covered in blood and dirt right now?"
The man was starting to get on the Slayer's nerves a bit more. These people are scared of him, which is why the Slayer had refused to take off his helmet for them. Maybe, to say the Slayer was glad he took the time to observe would be an understatement.
The Slayer did not take long for him to realize that he was in a world without the use of advanced technology. Finding out that he was in a broken society was simple. The Slayer sighed at Rick's truthful fact, mildly rolling his eyes in annoyance before jabbing a thumb from behind toward where the small town remained.
Now, it was Michonne's turn to become inquisitive. "We heard sounds of gunshots going off around the area. Was that you who was doing all that?"
The Slayer nodded since he wasn't the type to present a bull-faced lie to either of them.
"You do know with that much loud noise. It could've attracted a walker horde around for miles away. Those sounds were echoing all over until we heard it." Rick manages to say, sounding displeased. "Don't you know that? Wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully, would it?"
The Slayer shrugged in response, acting a bit uncaring, despite Rick's slight irritation.
"Well, did you know how many there were?" Rick asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
Without any of them even knowing, the sternness in the Slayer's face slowly melted into smug confidence. His hand got sent back down to clear and finger-draw the next few words:
SEE FOR YOURSELF
At this point, Rick was already too suspicious of the Slayer answering his question like that, but it looked like it had something to do with him presently covered in dirt and blood right now. With a sigh of reluctance, Rick slowly glanced over at Michonne with a nod, who silently agrees to trudge past the Slayer and went in through the bushes to search the small town.
As Michonne stayed currently on track of the small town's whereabout, the smell was unmistakable and insufferable to the swordswoman's discovery. But once her eyes caught onto a little trail of the undead that was grounded literally, they soon grew wide at the sight of several more following after until she arrived at the disturbing scene. Among the trees and structures circling, gore and bodies of fallen walkers remained scattered all over, and it looked like an overall warzone.
Many of the corpses looked like they got melted by something fierce. Several different store buildings and workshops got their fronts viciously demolished. Hanging corpses dropped from trees that have gotten thrown in various random directions. Numerous body parts were mutilated, incinerated to ashes, while others became reduced to dark, steamy red muck.
"...!?" Michonne's silence speaks for everything as she took a step back, feeling disgusted at an instant.
Michonne's expression slithered past her sense of disgust, all the way up to pure horror, putting a hand close to her mouth in aversion. All of this in front of her now was a massacre, more than just a mass slaughter. She could not believe anything like this would become possible. And before she could think of anything else, Michonne had forgotten that the Slayer was still with Rick, causing her to whip around and rush herself back to the road's direction.
Back with the Slayer, Rick was judgmental about where the Slayer was from, but from the way the man gestured, Rick decided to back off before asking the next question. That is until Michonne came back, and she was too abrupt as the swordswoman grabbed Rick away from the Slayer.
"How..." Michonne muttered in slight fear. "...how did you do it?!"
Rick was suddenly confused by his lover's sudden behavior at this point while the Slayer remained silent yet amused by her expression.
"Michonne, what did you find-?"
"Don't go over there, Rick, he..." Michonne trailed off for a moment before she looked at her lover, gulping the disgust down, "...this man killed an entire horde by himself."
Rick blinked in silence just as his expression becomes agitated, "What?!" he asked.
"Yes. Once I got over there, the place was a wreck. There were bodies everywhere; blood...and parts scattered across the ground." Michonne explained, sending Rick a quick worried gaze.
Rick began to look at both Michonne and the Slayer back and forth until he places a hand on his forehead. He pursed his lips, digging deep into his brain for an answer that would solve their enigma, but couldn't find anything plausible about it. Rick sighed, clearly at a loss for words on what to say before glancing at Michonne with incredulity.
"That...that's impossible." Rick manages to say.
Michonne then looks at the Slayer once more to ask again, "How did you kill all of them?"
The Slayer's silence was the only simple answer that came out to these survivors. He did not sever any eye contact with Michonne, whose eyes froze over in bewilderment. As for Rick, he lost in thought about how much it defies that no human being could take on a walker horde on their own. Quite frankly, it is utterly impossible. It almost felt the same way as to how he and the whole residency of Alexandria drove a swarm of walkers down previously, but this is way more different.
The horde got obliterated by one man.
Rick was uncertain when he moved on to the next question. "Is that shotgun the only weapon you have?" he asked. "It could not have been enough to take down an entire horde without running out of bullets…"
Just then, the Slayer lowered one hand from behind and began plonking his weapons upon the two survivors. Rick kept his eyes narrowed down at him with his gun in hand, preparing as if the Slayer was going to pull something unexpecting out. Even without the guns, the Slayer can take these guys barehanded and leave without a sweat broken.
Ironically, the Slayer would be laughing out loud from their expressions of "surprise" at this point. What Rick and Michonne saw became something that they would have expected, but nothing like this.
"What the hell...?" Rick thought as his face dropped.
Surprisingly, Rick's composure almost deflated at the sight of the Slayer's weapons and plainly how futuristic they looked from his own. Never has he ever seen the type of firearms getting carried around by the Slayer this way. He even had a chainsaw to increase both Rick and Michonne's skepticism of his existence.
"What the...?" Michonne whispered in total shock.
Rick just welcomed this new information like it is a gift, after learning the Slayer became isolated from a recent betrayal by somebody named Dr. Samuel Hayden. He stared at the Slayer with a hint of caution yet so interested in some reason.
"We're going to put the weapons in the van, so you know where they are. Is that okay?" Rick asked.
The Slayer didn't reply and made no effort to look in the man's direction. Rick did not offer any response and instead turned his head to nod at Michonne for a moment. After examining the Slayer's guns, she went and placed each heavy weapon with their artillery in the van.
"Is that all?" Rick asked, looking at Michonne, who seemed tense as he is now.
"Y-Yes," Michonne answers, slightly curious about the weapons the Slayer had obtained.
Rick then cleared his throat until he asks, "Do you know Negan? The Saviors?"
The Slayer's face remained vacant by Rick's question, shaking his head. Are they some Satanist Cult or something? And what kind of stupid name is Negan? It sounds like it truly belongs to an asshole or something.
Now, the Slayer has to deal with more stupid conflict that the people have committed here. It does make the Slayer wonder if Hell would follow him here in this dimension because of the sins committed here.
"What about Hilltop? The Kingdom? Do you know them?" Michonne asks, glancing at the Slayer with a hint of confusion.
After the Slayer shook his head from that question as well, Rick and Michonne looked at one another before glancing back at him.
"Hmm...okay, stay put where we can see you," Rick said, refraining from his position as he and Michonne started whispering with each other.
"What do you think?" Michonne whispers, watching Rick, who quickly glances over to check that the Slayer had not run off yet.
"I think he is telling the truth, but I believe he's hiding something." Rick answers.
"I can already see that," Michonne added, raising one brow and placing her hands on her hips, "That man or whatever is not normal, Rick. You already saw those guns that he had. Especially the huge one with all the others too. I just have a bad feeling."
Rick sighed a bit as he reassures Michonne. "Look, I don't think he knows about Negan or any of the other things I said. The man looked like he generally does not know. For now, it's only best that we shouldn't take away any of his weapons unless if he poses any threat to us or even everybody else's wellbeing."
She looks at Rick with the same honest look as before. "Okay, then what should we do about him?"
"I'm not sure, Michonne." Rick looks back at the Slayer, then faces Michonne again. "What do you think?"
"As far as useful he could be..." Michonne trailed off.
"But...?" Rick asks.
"...but we can't just take him back. The others will not be very accepting, and we can't just take people like before, Rick."
If anything, Michonne was right about this situation by bringing in a stranger. Because obviously, Rick thought the Slayer looked so otherworldly from the way he represented himself physically. He was different among their weapons, clothing, and methods of killing those undead creatures they call walkers.
Rick's expression grimaced at the horrible thought of the Slayer terrorizing or killing any of their people. But the former deputy had to shift to better solutions for the Slayer than wandering off, maybe in the wrong hands of somebody else. If anything, Rick would have dreaded if Negan had found the Slayer first before he did.
Thankfully, that didn't happen now. Negan's reign needs to get demolished, as well as his very life into the abyss where he belongs, and the Slayer looked like just the person suitable for their need of aid.
Rick sighed with his grim look. "I know, I know. But we're going to need as many people as possible to win this war."
Michonne sighs, not wanting to go through the same speech Rick had said before.
Rick looks at her genuinely, putting his hands on her face. "We'll take him, but we'll still keep an eye on him."
"Okay, okay..." Michonne nods.
Rick began to walk up to the Slayer and explained, "We agreed to let you come back with us. We're sorry about before. We just had to make sure that you were not with the Saviors."
As the Slayer slowly gave another nod, he felt somewhat relieved that he did not have to kill any of these survivors. Then again, it was always the beginning when it comes to joining another human group. Even though he's smart enough to know who to kill, the Slayer was still unsure about the humans in this new world.
"Tell me something first," Rick said. "How many walkers do you think you've killed, well, before the whole town herd came around?"
Countless flashbacks had come to the Slayer, recalling back to the spilled blood and torn flesh. The cracks of bones and twisted heads swiped off from his own two hands. And the sound of bullets emptying through each creature until they were carcasses. Plus, those zombies back in the small town were probably another example of the Slayer's answer.
The Slayer had fought some of the most critical opponents back on Mars and within the depths of Hell. Opponents from Hell's ghoulish monsters to the Cyberdemon in its prime, especially with those Hell Guards standing in his way from defeating Oliva Pierce.
To even reference these undead creatures as a challenge with their predictable sluggish and lunging movements. That was probably an insult of the highest accord. The Slayer had seen demons with more intelligence than what stood before him earlier.
If the Slayer had a choice, he knew he would have done the most destructive means of clearing out the dead. The Slayer could only grimace upon that thought to himself. It took just a few seconds before the Slayer went back to finger-drawing on the dirt ground again.
KILLED WAY TOO MANY
Rick raised an eyebrow at this strange new gesture, having him remember back to when he and Michonne found the headless corpse in the road. Pressure began to thicken as Rick couldn't help but almost feel this deadly aura, it emanated something immorally terrifying, sinister, and it was directed from the Slayer. He shook his head a bit to put that aside from now on.
"How many people have you killed?" Rick asks, still a bit uneasy seconds ago.
The Slayer thought for a second, remaining silent as he looked at Rick and Michonne. He couldn't even remember the last time he wasted a human being before, only that he had to slay Oliva Pierce in her Spider-Demonic form. Does Olivia Pierce count as a person? She was dead set on her goal of bringing Hell to Earth, so the Slayer believed that counted.
"It's okay. You can tell me," Rick said in a reassuring tone of voice. "A lot of us have killed before, so don't be afraid to say it."
The Slayer's eyes set back over to Rick's until he held up one finger, nodding as a way for them to understand. Rick and Michonne looked at each other from this answer and then looked back at him once more.
"Why did you kill this person?" Rick asks.
The Slayer calmly went back to his dirt finger-drawing again, lettering each word to say about Oliva Pierce:
OLIVIA PIERCE
HAYDEN'S PAWN
SHE SACRIFICED HER PEOPLE
SHE BROUGHT HELL
BUT SHE GOT TRICKED
SO I HAD TO KILL HER
Rick eventually sighed to himself before looking at the Slayer again. "I understand what you mean, big guy. Most of us have been in that situation ourselves."
Rick finally inserted his gun back into his pocket holster and held out his hand, "Okay, you can come back with us. My name is Rick Grimes. This here is Michonne."
Michonne nodded, watching the Slayer walk in front of them. He was still perplexed by Rick's sudden warm reception, despite the Slayer's intimidating appearance. Was this always a natural occurrence for the Slayer to make friends with the least approachable people ever? The Slayer slowly sighed before lifting his armored-gloved hand to shake Rick's, keeping the grip inferior yet firm.
"Don't make me regret this decision," Rick warned, a hint of unsaid hatred or almost sadness lacing his tone. "We rarely take people in now after everything that's been going on. And I am sure staying with us for a couple of days would help. We could do more numbers now anyway."
The Slayer mulled over his warning, and he was sure the sight of two survivors leading a hulking-armored giant would attract some attention. Aside from the Slayer and VEGA not knowing much in this dimension, he shrugged in acceptance. After the handshake ends, the Slayer looked just as more confused as to when he first came to this new Earth. He decided to ignore these survivors' observations and grunted in annoyance as they led the Slayer carefully towards the van.
"We'll explain to you on the way over," Michonne said as she gets into the van with Rick sliding in next to her.
Although the Slayer needed to find a way out of this world, all he must do is survive this world. The Slayer was currently trying to fit himself all into the back of the vehicle. Speaking of the van, it had only shaken for a few seconds once the Slayer became placed into a cross-legged sitting position.
Right after Rick starts up the van, he turned to look at the Slayer. "We'll be heading back to Alexandria soon. You fit alright back there?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Slayer raised his head and looked to see Rick with the same blank gesture, lifting a hand to turn into a thumbs-up. Rick gave a confused nod before driving down the road, already knowing that he owes his newest recruit an explanation about the Saviors.
Without further or due, Rick began explaining: "Now, here's the deal about the Saviors..."
"I do not mean you any harm, but I will, in turn, ask for your assistance, miss." Dr. Samuel Hayden spoke with such integrity and creepiness within his voice synthesizer.
Laura turned to face what she had not expected to witness, absolutely confounded by a display of the android scientist towering before her.
"W-What the hell?!" Laura almost shouted in panic, observing Hayden, with her assault rifle pointing directly at him. "Stay back, whatever you are!"
Hayden instantly became very aware yet confused about the woman's words. The way Laura spoke suggested just how frightened she is of him than those dead creatures he has killed.
But who in their right mind wouldn't know him?
Samuel Hayden was a very public figure.
A recognizable one at that too!
He had solved his world's energy crisis and was partially responsible for the end of the "promising" last wars humankind has ever fought.
His world...
Then it hit him like an arrow...
...this wasn't his Earth.
Hayden did his very best to remember the situation that had happened before; especially involving the one tool capable of trans-universal manipulation, communication, and transportation that was evident from his previous experimentation and demonic texts.
The Crucible.
Argent D'Nur's existence was also proof that alternative Earths endured since they were a region of it transposed over Hell, which was not missing on his home planet. Inwardly, Hayden believed that he could make some good use of information from Laura in front of him. Suddenly, his scanner has locked onto three other heat signatures; one of them remained secretly hidden around the shrubs with a firearm, and the other two were right behind the thick trees.
"One of your soldiers can come out quietly. I can already see where they're hiding, so there's no point in trying to ambush me completely."
Hayden, being colder than usual, became present on Laura, and her decision to speak went silent at an instant. The cyborg then spotted Mark reappearing to aim an assault rifle, much like Laura's, at where Hayden stood.
"Laura, what the fuck is that...?!" Mark uttered in complete shock as he aimed, ready to shoot when things got taken seriously.
"Keep at bay, Mark! We don't know what this thing can do right now!" Laura commanded, slightly disturbed by the situation, indecisive of her position to either shoot Hayden or not.
"I'm going to have to do this on a different approach." Hayden's thoughts came to him, as he then raised a hand to hold each of their triggers to a halt.
"Save your ammunition, onlookers. There is no need for each of us to impose an abrupt hostility around this side of the forest. I'm Dr. Samuel Hayden, and I mean you all no harm." Hayden only stares at her, tilting his head slightly.
Laura shifted nervously at Hayden's attempt of a polite tone, which was difficult with his voice synthesizer. Back with Mark, he couldn't understand how or where Hayden came to be existing somehow, especially how the cyborg was able to converse as composedly as possible. Mark's eyes remained glued toward Hayden, backing away from the situation at hand. Deep down, he was greatly reassured yet somewhat troubled. Laura and Hayden were staring each other down quietly as they were, drawing deeply upon what was going to happen if things didn't go smoothly as of now.
"N-No harm?" Laura asks, wondering what else to say next. "And you say that you're a doctor, right?"
"In a way, yes, ma'am." Hayden nods, placing a hand on his torso. "I'm sorry for bounding without any further gist of communicating with you. I understand that my... cybernetic appearance intrigues this irresolution, but I'll have you know that I come in peace."
Mark looked at Hayden with uncertainty on his trigger finger, "How were you able to see where I was?"
Hayden turned to face Mark, "Thanks to my body's mechanics, I'm able to perform multiple visual scans on the environment or creatures surrounding me. In a way, I can determine familiar properties, as well as to detect various proximities. I have also run a diagnosis that each of you two is hesitating to shoot me quickly enough. Am I wrong?"
Laura's face displayed an expression as if Hayden had just declared himself a god of the universe or something equally outlandish. Meanwhile, Mark could only express a feeling of nothing more than extreme wonder and concern. He lowered his assault rifle in a non-threatening gesture, quieting down as Laura had begun to descend her weapon as well.
"I thought so. Furthermore, I'm fully aware that you two have become accompanied by two more other spectators," Hayden spoke again. "I know that they can see me as I can scan them too."
Laura seemed hesitant at first but slowly nodded, then turned her head from behind, signaling Dean and Derek with a high-pitch whistle. Hayden noted that Dean and Derek were from behind Laura and Mark, both outrageously shocked to this point on.
"Holy shit!"
"What the hell-?"
"There is no need to be alarmed, gentlemen," Hayden spoke again, turning to Laura. "I believe that I may have a variety of your questions to answer, correct?"
Laura tried her best to not panic about this, gently nodding.
"Y-Yeah..." Laura uttered when she speaks up. "I didn't think anyone would make a robot here and now."
With each of their rifles aimed directly at Hayden, Derek asked, "Did you just speak?"
Derek pretty much stated the obvious like it was some groundbreaking discovery. After that remark, Hayden started regarding a third option that the man was utterly foolish or something.
He needed to investigate more.
"Yes?" Hayden said politely, remaining motionless. "I do. What would make you think otherwise?"
Mark silently inspects the robotic android without any further thoughts whatsoever.
"Nevermind what he just said." Dean soon spoke harshly, "Look, if you are as harmless as you say, then you'll answer everything we need to know and you will comply. Understood?"
Hayden couldn't help but tilt his head, asking, "Does this mean I am under arrest?"
He wasn't worried about that until observing the baffled look on Dean's face, provoking the android to come back and recorrect his question.
"On second thought, never mind. I will come with you willingly and answer each of your questions thoroughly."
"Okay. What we need to know is where exactly did you come from, robot?" Dean asked.
When the question came, Hayden scarcely stopped himself from cursing in his mind. After such an effortless start, a question about his actions and motives in an unknown world, where he could not tell anybody the truth yet. He needed a cover story believable for a three-meter tall android. It was surely going to be a tough task, but he could manage.
"For years, I've been scavenging for parts to operate on my cybernetic body when I was taken by surprise by four undead creatures."
"You mean those rotters?" Laura added.
Hayden nodded, "Yes. I despatched them all in self-defense."
"Yeah, but that doesn't answer my question," Dean grunted coldly.
Laura looks back at Dean. "Well, maybe tin-man here hasn't had much interaction with humans like us."
Mark chimed in, "She's right, man. But still, though, there couldn't be any other people out here to have built Hayden here, and he has proved himself of his abilities to read where we were hiding back there."
"You can say that," Hayden spoke again, turning to each and everyone, "For what time I had previously, I have transferred each part of my brain into this mechanical form to survive a world of debris. Of course, by all accounts, I should be dead by now. But fate, it seems, saw fit that I'd have a second chance. And thanks to the help that I've gathered, I have been reborn substantial; new and improved, you might say."
Each of the Savior soldiers and lieutenant became utterly astonished by such a concept. They were all shocked and were wondering just how someone had managed to keep a portion of their human self.
Mark was the first to stutter in random words, "What, how...huh?"
"So, you were once human?" Laura asked, confused.
Hayden eventually nodded. "Yes, the only organic thing in my entire body is my brain, maintained by an unreservedly artificial life support system."
"But how did you even do that, though? Transplant your brain? You obviously couldn't have done that yourself, right?" Mark's tone changed almost imperceptibly.
It was too little for Hayden to deduce the reason behind that.
"I...had help. I knew an unusually qualified neurosurgeon back then. Of course, it was a risky and difficult operation to instigate, but in the end, it succeeded."
Hayden didn't need to lie this time. Only to exclude the fact that in truth, his neurosurgeon was a team of nine physicians, and they were the best that the solar system could offer.
"They sound like they're pretty professional. Negan could've used the help of something like that. Do you know who they are?" Derek asked, dreading the answer.
Another trap...
It still seemed like they were a bit untrustworthy of him.
"I'm sorry, but I was told to have my identity remain secret, and telling you about the names would jeopardize that." Hayden remained as calm and level as ever. "You may think of it as if I'm plotting something far more drastic, but in certainty, I am not."
Dean shook his head and glared in defiance, "So what? We should believe you because of that? If so, then how long have you been working in hiding?"
Tricky question.
Again.
Hayden turns his head to Dean, leaning down to look at him closely, "I can understand how much my origin can create deep curiosity with a lot of you all. Rest assured that I am compliant enough to take your word. That is if you're willing to assume my word as well. Besides, if I'd told you now, would you have believed me?"
The Savior team looked at each other, stayed quiet after what he said.
"I didn't think so..." Hayden leaned back before looking at Laura. "...is there anything else you would like to know, ma'am?"
Laura sighed in annoyance, "You don't need to call me ma'am, Sam. Laura is fine."
"I assumed you'd be alright by a given title, and for that, I apologize. I see that you all consider yourselves as the more casual type, perhaps?"
Dean increased his stare, almost close to a scowl but keeping composure in his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?" asked Dean sternly.
Hayden begins to clarify, walking near the Savior members, "Well, I have met numerous people with distinctive personality types. Some are brash when others tend to be reserved, some present unusual judgments, and at times, they keep to themselves. I tend to despise those where their assumptions are something they should follow. It will lead them to a world of trouble if they rush head-first without the slightest grasp of caution."
The cyborg's explanation did not go unnoticed as Mark couldn't help but wonder how much knowledge does Hayden truly grasp in a mere minute. He was surely acting like an intellectual at best if some would agree, only that Dean was a bit annoyed and frustrated by Hayden's bizarre intelligence. Meanwhile, Laura seemed surprised by the abundance of experience Hayden has somehow acquired by experience, craved by her intention of learning more about him.
"Well, judging by the way you look, we don't know if we should take you with us back to our group. It makes me wonder how people would think of us finding a giant talking tin-man. But aside from that, what can you do, outside of looking like a killer robot?" Laura asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Various parts, as you can say," Hayden stated. "I've always had a knack for technology."
"So, you're a tinkerer?" Laura asks, receiving a nod from Hayden.
"Henceforth, I'm a scientist and an investigator."
"Could you turn that voice some other way else? It's creepy as hell." Derek asked, unnerved.
"I'm afraid not, sir. It is the specification of my voice synthesizer." Hayden said, shaking his head.
Dean then had enough, "Okay, we should talk about affiliations now."
Damn.
They couldn't stop putting Hayden into these difficult situations.
"Do you know anything about a settlement called Alexandria?" Dean asked.
"I have never heard of it, to be honest," Hayden answered.
"Do you know a man named Rick Grimes?" Laura asked the next question.
Rick Grimes...?
Hayden begins to question this time, "Who exactly-?"
But Dean cuts him off, "Answer the damn question! Do you know him? Possibly even worked with him before?"
Hayden shook his head, "No. I've been working alone for the time being. I wouldn't be lying while you are all here pointing your firearms at me. But please tell me, who is this Rick Grimes you articulate about?"
"Rick Grimes is the leader of Alexandria," Mark divulged to the cyborg. "He and his group snuck into one of our compounded outposts and killed a majority of members inside while they were sleeping. They held no negotiations, no offering a chance to surrender or taking captives."
Derek added angrily, "The guy's a fucking asshole, too. That night when they fucking murdered a load of Saviors for no goddamn reason. I mean, none of this shit would ever have occurred otherwise, and maybe we wouldn't be in this shit storm right now. We only killed two of theirs, and they killed about fifty of ours! Those Savior members had families, husbands, wives, aunties, and uncles. They should try asking themselves who's sicker in the head! But they got what he deserved. I mean, if his group did know about you snooping around their territory, they would've tracked you down to kill you or something."
"Okay, Derek!" Dean nudges the man's shoulder hard, halting his rant, "You don't need to go overboard with that terrible shit."
Laura sighs, "Alright...? What about Hilltop? The Kingdom? Are you aware of any communities like those?"
Hayden shook his head and gives his answer, "No. I honestly have no recollection of meeting a man named Rick Grimes or have any alignments with communities like those before."
The Savior members looked at each other in the same serious expression they kept all the time.
Eventually, Dean then gestures at Hayden, "Alright, come with us. We're going to take you back with us."
"Do you four have a leader?" Hayden asked.
"Yeah, we'll need to take you to the boss, and then show an intruder like yourself we found on our premises," Derek speaks up.
"And then what? You'll kill me afterward?" Hayden asks again.
"No...well, it's not our decision. It's our leader's decision...Negan." Mark uttered almost softly when he mentioned the Savior leader's name.
Hayden felt perplexed by this. "Negan?"
"He's the leader of the Saviors. He is not the guy you wanna mess with easily. Oh no...nuh-uh." Laura shook her head, nonchalantly.
"Understood," Hayden said, watching all four Saviors surround him.
"Oh, and don't even think about double-crossing us either. Because if you are from those three communities like we've said, or do anything that becomes defined as an act of aggression, then we will put you down." Dean finishes with enough level in his voice, despite showing stress and hints of fear this stand-off was having on him.
The threat implied to Hayden, causing him to worry only slightly. As much as he didn't know what he was up against, there still was hardly a better choice. Any attempt to flee could warrant him a criminal record he did not desire. Hayden would have had to rely on his genius mind and his cybernetic advantages to find a way out, and he was decently confident in his ability to handle both combat and discretion.
"I would do no such thing," Hayden replied, spreading his hands apart with palms open to further reinforce his peaceful message.
"Hmm, all right then, Dr. Hayden." Laura soon said, motioning the group to head back to their base. "That's good enough for me. Let's head back to Negan."
"Well, what else was he going to say?" Dean felt conflicted.
"He doesn't like someone calling him a liar. I wouldn't like it either." Mark sighed.
"I've already got a good bullshit detector, Dean. Maybe that's why you boys can never beat me at poker." Laura smirked smugly.
Derek begins to scoff, "What? You don't always beat me at poker!"
Mark gave each of them a look, "Dwight sometimes gets better hands than y'all."
Derek shook his head and ignored Mark, "Alright, how can you be sure, Laura?"
"Well, I'm sure I ain't willing to leave somebody of great use in the woods to rust," Laura explained in response as she stares at Dean next. "Besides, we got Negan with us that can make that call. We can have him talk at it with the robot here first."
"I don't like this!" Dean criticized, "Not with what happened to...!"
"You don't have to remind me of that waste of shit, Dean." Laura glared back at him, who shrugged off in a reprimanded manner.
"Whatever!"
Each Savior member nodded as they watched Hayden walk forward alongside them, still aiming their assault rifles at him. Thankfully, the rather nightmarish-looking Crucible was stored safely in a container within the cyborg's back.
"No talking unless we tell you to do so," Dean commanded in a cold tone.
"Of course," Hayden replied, locking all his actuators in place and following the Savior group back where they belong.
The home of the Saviors, ruled by Negan.
The Sanctuary.
A/N: [Now that I've finished this chapter, it got a little iffy trying to characterize the Slayer with Rick and Michonne. They were frightened of him when not only the Slayer took down walkers in a split second, but by how animalistic and lethal he made it look. And the whole selective mutism shtick also got both Rick and Michonne on edge at this point. Dr. Samuel Hayden was lucky enough for an intelligent cyborg to convince the Saviors that he is not a threat. But again, the Saviors have never seen anything like him, let alone an android. Anyways, please comment down your thoughts and show some ideas on what you think until the next chapter. Later!]