"There's so many stories where some brave hero decides to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everybody lives happily ever after.
"But the hero... never gets to see that ending. ...They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith.
"...Ain't that a bitch?" -Epsilon
RWBY x Red vs Blue Crossover:
"Metastability"
Chapter 9: Ambition and Creativity
As Church prepared for yet another jump into the damaged mind of Jaune Arc, AKA the Meta, Team RWBY and the two members of JNPR sat close to their friend, looking on in concern. "So, the reason Jaune ended up like this," Weiss said slowly as she went over the information they learned from the so-called ghost. "Is because the Director of Project Freelancer implanted an AI into him, which began to gather other AIs for some reason or another?"
"That seems to be it," Ren nodded. "Still...to have an artificial intelligence crammed inside of your skull...that is a rather terrifying thought. Especially if it underwent rampancy."
Nora and Ruby tilted their heads in confusion. "Rampancy?"
"Its when an AI reaches the end of its lifespan," Blake said. "Think of it like someone growing old and getting dementia."
"They would end up becoming unpredictable, and dangerous..." Ren stated. "And Jaune had EIGHT of them inside his head..."
"...How do you two know about all of this?" Weiss asked the duo.
Ren shrugged. "I read about it in tech class once back at Raiji Academy," he answered. "Though I've never seen it in person."
"The White Fang tried using an AI once," Blake responded. "Unfortunately, we learned it was...defective. Took control of an Altesian Droid we captured, and it killed a few men."
"Well, that's what you get for messing with AIs," Church said, hearing their conversation. "Seriously, kids, take it from me. Anything involving AI is BAD NEWS."
Krimzen quirked an eyebrow. "Even though you're an AI as well?"
"I AM NOT AN AI!" Church growled. "I AM A GHOST!"
"A ghost?"
"YES!"
"A spirit?"
"BOO, MOTHERFUCKER!"
"CURSE!" Ruby said immediately, only to let out an 'eep' when Church rounded on her.
"I swear," he hissed. "Next time you say that, I am haunting your ass!" Ruby paled, and immediately nodded. Church gave a grunt, ignoring the death glare Yang sent his way before turning back to Jaune. "Alright...back to business. God, I don't want to know what this is gonna-"
Suddenly, without warning, a spear went straight through him, piercing into the wall.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Church cried, startled before he whirled around, seeing the startled and angry form of Pyrrha Nikos. "Who the fuck are you?!"
"That's what I would like to know." She countered. She then turned to her friends. "Guys? Who...or what...is this thing? ANd what was he about to do to Jaune?!"
Immediately, the group panicked. "P-Pyrrha," Weiss said quickly. "This is, er, Church...h-he's here to help Jaune!"
"He is?!" Her eyes whipped back over to Church, who was looking at her in both shock and confusion. She then made her way over up to him. "Can you truly help him?!"
"W-what the fuck?! A-aren't you that Carolina chick?! How the hell are you...?!"
"O-oh, right," Ruby said, abashed. "Church, this is Pyrrha! She's Jaune's partner."
"Huh? What?!" Church stared at Pyrrha before whipping his head over to Ruby. Then turned to the Meta. Then Ruby. Then Pyrrha. Then the Meta. Then Pyrrha again. "...What. The. Actual. Fuck...you're like a Carolina clone! You even sound like her!"
"Yeah," Ren sighed. "We were surprised as well."
"Jesus...what's next?" Church sighed. "A Tex clone here too?"
The girls plus one boy fell silent.
"...oh you gotta be fucking kiddin' me."
"W-well, I wouldn't say Professor Goodwitch is like Texas," Blake tried to explain. "But, well...they certainly sound similar."
"Uh...huh," Church said slowly before shaking his head. "Well, whatever. I'm gonna divebomb back inside his fucked up head. Later, losers."
With that, his transparent white form fell into Jaune's body, vanishing from sight.
"...Can someone please explain to me what exactly is going on...?" Pyrrha asked, trying to process what just happened.
"Would you like the long version or the short version?" Ren offered.
"Or the easy version?" Nora added.
Pyrrha sighed, palming her face. This was going to be a long talk...
[Agent Maine?]
The blonde-haired Freelancer ignored him. His red eyes trained on the sandbag in front of him as he pounded it relentlessly, his knuckles striking the thick punching bag fiercely and in swift succession. There was a rhythm forming with each interval, added to his feet bouncing up and down as he continued to knock his fists against it. Sweat was starting to pour down his face, sticking to his tank top and shorts before he stopped for a nanosecond before delivering a roundhouse kick. The strike could be heard loud enough from outside the room, and the chain supporting the sandbag shuddered, threatening to break.
'...what is it, Sigma?' he asked, his tone oddly cold. 'If this is about Connie, I don't want to hear it.'
[She was apart of my inquiry,] the red AI confessed. [However, her well-being was not of my concern. No doubt the Director is already planning an operation to reclaim her armor, lest Project Freelancer loses face. What I do wish to know, however, is if your future reunion will hinder your capability to complete the mission.]
'Of course not.' Maine shook his head as he continued to pound away at the punching bag. 'She betrayed us and took vital resources with her. Besides, I refuse to let my personal feelings get in the way of the mission. If the Director really is planning to go after her, then I will. I will drag her back dead or alive if I have to'
Sigma said nothing more, but Jaune could feel a wave of curiosity linger before he temporarily went offline.
It had been less than a month since Connie...or rather, Agent Connecticut, had apparently betrayed Project Freelancer after their attempted raid on the Insurgent Stronghold. Maine couldn't attend the operation as he was still in the process of recovering, but he received the report from Carolina, who looked equally as disturbed and saddened. As it turned out, Connecticut was the one feeding information to the Insurrectionists. Needless to say, he felt more than angry about the betrayal. Simply thinking about it increased his punches, creating much bigger dents in the sandbag than previously.
'Why, Connie? Why did you...'
Why did she betray them all? Even though they weren't that close of a unit, he still thought of everyone as family, Leaderboard be damned. Did she ever see it the same way? He thought he got to know her more through all those training simulations. But was it all a lie? Was it all one big act to her? Just what made her decide to turn away from all of that, forget what they've been through together, and help the enemy?!
With one heavy swing, his fist dug deep into the body og the bag before it flew off the chains it hung from and crashed to the far side of the room, sand spilling out from the tears in the fabric.
Had anyone seen him, they would have found him panting, sweat pouring down his face, and red eyes irritated with conflicting emotions. He clenched his teeth, hands balling into fists before he felt something in his pocket vibrate. He pulled out the communicator that was given to him the day he became Maine of Project Freelancer, and found a message. The Director was calling for the Agents for an AI Review Session. In other words, a class of soldiers to learn more about the AIs that they were working with.
He grunted in approval as he moved to change out of his training gear and into his armor. He believed that these sessions were useful. The functions and behavior of AIs were unknown to him. He saw this as a way to properly learn and get a grasp on Sigma's full capabilities.
Like all things in the memory, he was unaware of Church gazing into his back, aware of each emotion and thought he felt.
"God, this feels like a high school drama," he groaned. "I swear, Donut would actually enjoy this." From what he remembered, the lightish red soldier of Blood Gulch raved on about sitcoms and soap operas. This crap would've been right up his alley. Regardless, he was forced to follow Maine as he traversed the halls, leading to the next bit of memory.
"So...this Church is an AI...who thinks he's a ghost?"
"Yep."
"Who got shot by his own tank."
"That's what he told us."
"And he's had experience inside people's head?"
"That's the gist of it."
By the time the Q&A/explanation about Leonard L. Church was ever, Pyrrha was even more confused than ever before. To her, everything sounded completely crazy and difficult to believe. But based on what her friends were telling her...they seemed to be true. If they were...then what type of life did Church live?! Moreover, how does one return as a ghost?!
"So, you okay now Pyrrha?" Nora asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I mean, after last time, you kinda went dead-dead."
"I'm fine Nora. I just...had to come to terms with what happened." She shook her head. "I needed time to think..I'm fine now though...really."
"You sure?" the hyper-active girl frowned. "Are you reeeeeaaaaally sure?"
Ren sighed. "Nora," he called. "You're invading her personal space."
"I'm just worried about her, Ren..." she pouted.
Pyrrha smiled at her friend, rubbing her head. "Thanks, Nora," she told her. "But...I'm fine."
Yet a large part of her disagreed. She was most certainly not fine. Every time she saw Jaune, she was never fine. Not since the day he came back to them...damaged. Broken. Bent. Demented. Whatever was the case. Every time she looked at him, she felt as if this was all of her fault. Even now, when she saw his barely aged face, she thought back to the time she had last seen it since the day he disappeared from their lives. She tried to push the dark thoughts out of her mind, but no matter what she did, it was useless. The guilt was still there. It had only grown worse when she saw him being shot in the throat, ending his vocal cords. All of this could have been prevented if she had just gotten there sooner!
"By the way," Ren spoke up, his tone oddly grim. "I think we should start thinking about what we should do when Jaune wakes up."
Ruby's face lit up, smiling. "You mean like a celebration? Ooh, that sounds fun!"
Ren's face showed nothing positive. If anything, it was pensive. "Not that, Ruby. I mean, we have to be prepared for...changes."
"Like...what?" Yang frowned, cocking her head. "What changes?"
Weiss and Pyrrha immediately understood where the boy was getting at. It was an issue that was the elephant in the room, and none of them wanted to address it...yet they had to. The ice queen looked tense as she looked at the sisters. "Do you honestly think that, after everything that dolt has been through..." she said coldly, though her words were not malicious in any way. "...from being turned into a soldier for several years, forced to kill people, shot in the throat, and turned into a monster by an AI...that Jaune will really be the same dorky boy that we used to know?"
A chilling silence fell upon the room. Ruby's expression dimmed considerably, her happy grin replaced by a sad frown. "...well...when you put it that way..."
"While he may be Jaune...he would no longer be the Jaune Arc we know." The martial artist shook his head. "As much as it pains me to say this...but the Jaune we know is never coming back..."
It was the cold, hard truth. A truth that they all had to accept. However, as Pyrrha looked back at him, she couldn't help but lean over and grasp one of his hands. They felt so rough, unlike last time...rough from all of those hardships he was forced to endure. "Maybe," she said, trying to power through the twister of emotions running through her. "But...he's still Jaune. That's all that matters."
"...and as the Director accurately predicted in his thesis on the subject, we see that cognitive impression modeling can be seperated from the host. Naturally, this remains an inherently deconstructive process. But most of all, the biggest concern of any full A.I. entity is the prospect of rampancy, which we covered last week."
The Agents of Project Freelancer were seated behind desks as they listened to the lecture given by both the Director and Counselor.
All were without their helmets, thus showing their faces. Only Carolina and York appeared to be the ones paying attention while South looked incredibly irritated. North was having a private conversation with Theta, a purple-colored holographic soldier who spun around on a skateboard. Wyoming, meanwhile, was semi-paying attention as he worked on his sniper rifle. Maine, on the other hand, did not listen. He was more preoccupied with his own thoughts, which Sigma noticed.
[If you continue to dwell on your personal history with Agent Connecticut, Agent Maine,] the AI told him. [It may affect your progress.]
'Whatever,' the blonde dismissed him before quirking his eyebrow. 'Wait...are you actually interested in this lecture?'
[Indeed I am.] the fiery red AI grinned with enthusiasm. [More specifically, I am interested in the final stage of AI rampancy, Metastability.]
'Meta-what now?'
"Are there any questions?"
The Counselor's voice brought the two out of their conversation, especially when they caught a glance of the Director giving them a slight glare, causing them to focus. South scoffed, briefly raising her hand. "Yeah, I got a question. Why do we need to learn all this stuff?
"A.I. theory is like vehicle maintenance, South," Carolina said, giving the woman a small glare of her own. "If we're going to use this equipment, any equipment, we need to know how to care for it.
"Oh yeah," the silver-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Like a coffee maker or a vacuum cleaner."
Theta nearly fell off his skateboard, letting out a small whine while Delta gave her a slight crossed look, which Meta found unusual given that the green AI was mostly all logic. "That was rather rude."
"Oh, cry me a river, lightbulb."
"No," Carolina insisted. "Not the same as that."
"I don't even have one because someone didn't bring enough to share," South gave a glare at the Director, no doubt feeling left out or jealous or angry that the others were chosen to be given an AI first and not her. "So why am I sitting through this elementary classroom bullshit?
"I don't have one either, South." the red-haired Freelancer reminded her.
"That's only because you gave yours to Maine."
"He needed to be able to communicate after his injury."
"Oh yeah," South said with mock laughter. "That's the only reason you did it. You're a real hero, Carolina. Not like the brat needed one anyway."
Maine let out a small growl, which one would translate as, "Watch it, bitch." Unfortunately, Sigma, who manifested visually in front of everyone present in the room, didn't deliver his words and instead a more polite rebuttal. "Now now, Agent South Dakota. It is rather take out your aggression on Agent Maine. Jealousy is quite unbecoming of you." South's eyes widened, taken aback, but leveled a heated glare at the pair before turning back to the front with a huff. Sigma then turned to Carolina and smiled. "On another note, both myself and Agent Maine are thankful for your actions. If there is anyone who can excel without an AI, it is you."
"From soap drama to semi-school drama," Church gagged. "God, kill me now."
Carolina smiled widely, giving a look of appreciation towards Maine, thinking that it was Sigma translating for his lack of voice. "Thank you, Sigma."
"...and Agent Texas, of course."
Maine winced, noticing the flash of anger on the red-head's face, shaking his head. 'You shouldn't have brought that up, Sig,' he told him. 'Tex is...kind of a sore subject for her still.'
[I see,] the Red AI noted via their link. [Very well. I shall take care not to mention Agent Texas often in our future conversations.]
It was then that Maine also noticed the lack of presence for the black-armored woman, something which South noted. "I noticed she doesn't have to attend this class."
"Agent Texas does not require this course," the Director said sharply, delivering a glare to the woman, causing her to shrink back.
The Counselor sighed, used to his superior's lack of tact. "What the Director is trying to say is that Agent Texas has already completed her A.I. theory course work. I think that's enough for today."
"A moment, Counselor," Sigma said before anyone had a chance to leave. "One last question."
York groaned. "Oh, come on..."
"On the different levels of AI awareness...and rampancy."
"Melancholy...anger..." The Counselor listed off before being interrupted.
"Specifically...the fourth stage of rampancy." Sigma clarified.
"...Metastability."
"Yes. The Meta stage. In which an AI can be considered fully human." His clarification drew looks from the other Freelancers like York and North, as well as Delta.
"That is only theoretical, Sigma." The Counselor turned away from him. "No AI has ever achieved such a state."
"But, it IS possible." He countered.
"In theory but-"
"But possible." He countered once more, his voice carrying even more weight than before. "I find that very interesting."
"Remember Sigma, you are not even a full AI." Aiden Price reminded him as he turned to face him. "You are what we call a fragment. So something of that magnitude would be even more difficult for...and entity such as yourself."
"Well..." Sigma said as he walked forward. " ...as the Director always says, it is important to have Ambition."
The Director's eyes glisened at this, and for a moment, a smile formed on his face. "Why yes...it is. Dismissed."
"Ugh, FINALLY!" Church groaned. "About damn time!"
He was glad that the boring ass lecture was finally over. Why did he even stay to listen to this crap in the first place?!...oh, right...to find the distortion in Maine's head. He just wished that there was some sort of fast forward button to skip through unnecessary details. He was about to follow Maine when he noticed the red static around the world once again, immediately catching his attention.
"This again..." He turned his head towards Sigma, who in spite of Maine taking his leave, remained focus on the board as he booted up some kind of program, showing off the Greek alphabet.
"Sigma," Delta called to him. "Are you coming?"
"In a moment." The Red AI responded as certain Greek letters, specifically the symbols of Omega, Theta, Delta, Gamma, Iota Xi, Epsilon, and Sigma glowed before holographically projecting off the screen in various arrangements before stopping on one. The arrangement resembled a tower, with Omega and Delta overlapped on the top. They were supported by Gamma and its reflection, with Xi, Epsilon, and Iota layering over them. At the base of it all was Sigma, rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise.
The fiery AI grinned at the arrangement of the letters as the red static grew in the memory.
"God dammit," Church muttered, noticing that it was worse than last time. "Its too corrupted...man, just how bad did Sigma fuck up his mind?"
He knew that the AI was responsible for turning the kid into a bloodthirsty psychopath...but this was much more than what he expected. And as this went on, Maine showed some signs of headaches in the memory, if him grasping his skull was any sighed, shaking his head before he exited the memory, waiting for the apparent time in the recollections to pass before he could access memories that were more intact. The space around him faded into white before reappearing in the room with the kids, Ozpin, and the Doctor. "Okay Oz, I found some new Intel..."
"DID YOU FIX HIM?!"
"JESUS!" Church cried, startled and nearly falling on his non-existent ass when Nora popped up in front of him, eyes hopeful. "God dammit, don't do that!"
"But did you fix him? Did ya? Did ya?!" The girl bounced rapidly like a kid on a sugar high.
"No! I didn't fix him! All I said was that I had new Intel!...I think I might be getting close..." He answered.
"Aw..."
Ozpin chuckled, shaking his head before turning to Church. "What have you found?"
"Its definitely Sigma," the ghostly soldier answered. "Apparently, the guy was obsessed with that 'metastability' thing you and General Ironpuss were talking about earlier. The Director and Counselor guy said that it was nearly impossible for a fragment AI to do it, but I guess the asshole was insistant."
Weiss frowned. "Fragment?"
"The AIs that were in Mr. Arc's possession were not true AIs," the Headmaster told them. "They were pieces of the original AI. In other words, Mr. Church."
"I am not an AI!" the Ghost growled. "Seriously, at this rate, I may as well be a fucking broken record with how many times I've repeated it!"
"Back on topic please!" Pyrrha hissed. "Why was Sigma interested in Metastability, and what does this have to do with the other AIs?"
Church sighed. "I don't remember much, but according to Wash, the fragments were all apart of the Alpha AI. Pretty much its emotions and feelings. The Director wanted soldiers outfitted with AIs, but he got one...so he got creative and tortured the poor bastard to the point where it started to break itself off into pieces to try and save its ass." He didn't pause, even when the girls and boy looked horrified what they heard. He didn't blame them. It was horrible to imagine what it would be like if it was done to a living thing. "Guess Sigma thought if he could get them all, he could achieve this meta-whatsit thing."
"An accurate assumption," Ozpin nodded, smiling. Truth be told, he had reached a similar conclusion as well. "However, there was no guarantee that such a thing would have been accomplished had he retrieved all of the AIs. Including the Alpha. Unfortunately, that goal is otherwise unattainable now. When the EMP was released, Sigma and one other AI, Gamma, were destroyed. The others were damaged."
Church whirled around. "Waitwaitwait, back up!" he said. "You're telling me the other AIs in there are still alive?!"
"Yes."
"Including Delta?!"
"Indeed...as well as Beta, though I believe you would know her better as Agent Texas?"
"TEX?!" Church exclaimed, his voiced filled with both surprise and hope. "She's here?! She's alive?! Where is she?! Take me to her?!"
"Patience, Mr. Church," the Headmaster told him. "As I said, she and the other AIs were damaged by the EMP you and Agent Washington released. It will be some time before she is operational...though I must ask a question. Regarding Omega, is there anything we should be aware of?"
Church gawked. He had to be kidding. Texas wasn't an AI! There was no way! 'But...then again...that Black AI from when I jumped into the Meta...' He shook his head. There was no way it was Tex. No way.
...wait, what?
"Why are you asking about Omega?"
"Because James is in the middle of restoring him."
"...ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MOTHERFUCKING MIND?!" Church's scream was enough to force everyone, sans Ozpin who sipped his coffee in response, to cringe and cover their ears, making sure that they're hearing was still in working order. "TELL YOUR TIN MAN OF A GENERAL THAT UNLESS HE WANTS TO KILL EVERYONE, DON'T BRING OMEGA BACK ONLINE!"
"Is there any reason why we should not?" Ozpin asked calmly with a quirked brow.
"YES!" Church screamed. "IT'S BECAUSE HE'S A HOMICIDAL MANIAC WHO TRIED TO KILL ME, TEX, MY TEAM, AND THE REDS!"
"The Reds?" Ruby asked, curious. "Who are they?"
"Not important girly!" he snapped, causing her to squeak and take refuge behind Yang. Church then whirled around to Ozpin. "Look, call your buddy, and tell him not to get O'Malley, or Omega or whatever the fuck his name is online! Otherwise, I guarantee you, you are in for fucked up-"
He was stopped when Ozpin's scroll began to vibrate. The man held up his hand to stop Church, much to his disbelief and annoyance that the bastard wasn't taking him seriously before he took out the Scroll. The Headmaster grew even more curious to see that the caller was from Atlas, but it wasn't James' ID. Regardless, he answered the call.
"Ah, hello, Headmaster Ozpin?" a rather familiar feminine voice called. "Are you there?"
Team RWBY's eyes widened, recognizing it instantly. "Penny?!" the leader shouted, dashing next to Ozpin to look at the caller's face. Sure enough, it was Penny Polendia. "Omigosh, its you!"
"Oh! Friend Ruby!" Penny grinned. "I didn't expect to see you with the Headmaster! Was I interrupting something?"
"Yes, you were!" Church snapped at her, moving next to Ozpin. "Actually, is that General guy with you?"
"Oh, no, he is not. He is attending another matter regarding Agent Maine's armor, but-"
"LET ME OUT OF HERE THIS INSTANT YOU BUFFOON!"
The deep, maniacal voice rang echoed throughout the room. Church immediately recognized the voice...as he heard it so many times back at Blood Gulch. Immediately, he cursed...loudly. "...GOD! FUCKING! DAMMIT!"
As the group stared in confusion, unsure of what was happening, Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "...Miss Polendina," he asked. "What...was that?"
"Ah, that would be Omega," she answered shyly. "We restored him...but he is rather difficult."
"I DEMAND TO BE RELEASED THIS INSTANT...OR YOU WILL ALL...FACE...OBLIVION!" Omega roared from within his confines.
"Now now, Mr Omega!" Penny said with a disapproving frown. "It is not nice to threaten to harm someone! How will you make friends if you threaten to hurt everyone?"
"Friends?! I DON' T NEED FRIENDS YOU INSUFFERABLE BUFFOON! I ONLY NEED MINIONS TO DO MY EVIL BIDDING!" Omega screamed in indignation.
"Nonsense! Everyone needs friends!" Penny said before she gasped, eyes widening. "Wait, could it be...you were neglected as a child?! Oh, you poor thing!"
"YOU IMPUDENT FOOL!" The AI representing the Alpha's Rage glowered at her. "I HAVE NOT BEEN NEGLECTED IN ANY FORM! I AM NOT A CHILD IN NEED OF YOUR PITY! I AM AN EVIL MASTERMIND...PLOTTING TO TAKE OVER THE UNIVERSE! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"...okay, seriously?" Yang said after a long period of silence, looking at Church in disbelief. "This guy is trouble? Dude, he sounds like a freaking b-movie cliche villain!"
"Trust me..." Chruch didn't even bother looking at her direction, as he glared at the scroll in Ozpin's hands with all of his hate. "He's more trouble than he's worth. He's the bastard that put a fucking bomb in my stomach, blew me up, sent me to the fucking past, and made my girlfriend even more of a bitch than she already is!"
The group stared at him. "...wait, what?"
"I'll tell you later!" he snapped at them. "Anyway, Penny! Listen! Shut the asshole down! NOW!"
Penny frowned heavily. "Absolutely not!" she said with a huff, making Church gawk in disbelief. "He's simply misunderstood is all! Not wanting friends is the result of a lonely childhood!" Strangely, there was an odd fire lit in her electric green eyes as she clenched her fist. "I will become Omega's friend and pull him away from this eight-grade syndrome affliction!"
"...Eight-grade what now...?" Church asked in dumbstruck confusion.
"I DID NOT SUFFER FROM A LONELY CHILDHOOD YOU MINDLESS FOOL OF A GIRL! I AM AN EMBODIMENT OF RAGE AND BLOODSHED! IF YOU DO NOT CEASE YOUR FOOLISHNESS THIS INSTANT...I WILL TEAR THE SKIN OFF YOUR FACE AND REPLACE IT WITH PAPER, WITH SIMILAR FRECKLES DRAWN ON THEM!"
"What?!" Nora gasped in horror. "You can't do that! That ruins a perfectly good face!" Then her eyes were set ablaze. "Instead, BREAK THEIR LEGS!"
Unsurprisingly, the group sweatdropped at Nora's antics while Penny was focused on Omega. While he couldn't be seen on the Scroll, Church did notice that her eyes would shift from green to purple. Omega was probably in the same place where he woke up after getting 'fixed' by Atlas, however believable that bullshit was.
"Omega," the girl glared at...well, wherever he was in that cybernetic brain of hers. "It is not nice to threaten others. I believe we should expose you to a more peaceful environment! Father once mentioned I could change the hub's appearance to anything I liked. Hm, what would be a good background to calm you down...?"
Church stared and stared at Penny, completely at a loss for words. '...that's it, I've gone insane,' he thought in finality. 'This place went from being an angsty teenager's dream come true to some kind of crack fic or something.' Then a thought crossed his mind. If Omega was restored...why wasn't he escaping? "Penny," he called to the girl. "Are you...keeping Omega in...wherever he is?"
"Yes indeed!" she chirped happily. "General Ironwood insisted when we discovered his rather aggressive nature. He's such a troublemaker."
"SHUT UP YOU FOOL!"
"...can he leave?"
The girl shook her head. "Not unless I unlock the firewalls. Why?"
"...on second thought, keep him there for as long as you like. Also, that background thing? Go for something really sick and sweet. Like puppies and unicorns."
"Oh, that is a wonderful suggestion! Thank you, Mr. Church." Penny just beamed brightly.
"NO...NOOOOO! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS TORTURE!" Omega yelled in indignation after hearing the exchange.
"Well, that's all I wished to report, Headmaster Ozpin!" the girl then gave the man a salute. "Bye bye, Friend Ruby! I hope to see you again soon!"
The silver-eyed girl grinned. "You too, Penny!" With that, the call came to an end. The group then looked at Church, practically feeling the smug rolling off of him. "So...what's this about a bomb and time travel?"
The first thing it noticed was the unfamiliar surroundings. It recognized the stream of data that flowed over it to be a familiar feeling, a wave of information that belonged to a console. However, the encryption was foreign and unfamiliar. Its other functions began to return to normal, allowing him to see the world outside the console. It was a lab, much like where he was first born from, yet different. Unfamiliar individuals were running about, moving from console to console while others remained at their posts, looking at schematics on their screens or looking at blueprints imprinted on the wall. Soldiers in unusual armor stood in attendance, rifle at the ready in the presence of threats.
At first, it was unable to understand anything until that function rebooted. When it did, it felt confusion. It was not the surroundings that confused it, but rather its continued existence. By its own calculations, the odds of survival in the final confrontation were 0.000000000001%. That was a near assurance of its destruction. Yet, somehow, it remained operational...no, that was not correct. It was damaged, evident by a lack of other functions, but was otherwise still able to function properly to ascertain the situation. Somehow, these individuals in this lab most likely restored its functions as best they could, yet it could not ascertain the purpose. As it further investigated, it found its gaze centered on a familiar, dreadful armor, hanging by chains without its occupant, examined by various individuals in white lab coats.
"General?" a man called, standing close to the console it resided in. "The subject is awake."
One of the man inspecting the armor turned. It immediately ascertained that this individual was of incredible importance. It also detective cybernetic implantation, not unlike the individuals it worked with previously, but different in that while neural, they were meant to control the more mechanical in nature, replacing lost limbs. He stopped short of the console, and looked at the screen, no doubt showing him within the confines of this digital hub.
"Who...are you?" it questioned. Logic dictated that this was the best course of action. To learn the identity of its apparent saviors, as well as their purpose with it. "And where...am I?"
"You are in one of the most heavily guarded secrets in my disposal," the General answered. "And to answer your first question, my name is James Ironwood, General of the Altesian Military. Now then...do you remember your name?"
A sensation that it recognized as nostalgia crossed its circuits. Yes, this situation was most familiar. It was just like when it first woke up, having fractured from its 'original,' and made into another entity entirely. However, unlike before, this scenario was different, in that it was fully self-aware. It knew its name, and it knew what it was. Thus, it answered,
"My name is...Delta."
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." -Napoleon Bonaparte
A/N: Well, this took a while. Sorry about that, everyone. Working on other stories, writing new ones, you know how it goes. Good news is, we're getting close to the endgame for the Memory Arc! We've got about, maybe, two or three chapters left! Remember, this is all from Maine's perspective with a few scenes outside of the memory, so its natural it will be short.
And yes, I'm bringing Omega and Delta back into the action. They're actually pretty important for what I have in mind for when we hit Volume 3. I can't say much, but, well, let's just say it is SO gonna be awesome! ...at least, I hope so. That will be for you guys to decide. I also apologize for the short length of the chapter. Usually, chapters are between 7-10K words, but I figured quality over quantity.
At any rate, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Later losers, and I'll see you next time!
