F-01-87 & Netzach
I fucking hate writing. It hurts my hand and I don't have the patience to write long reports. I tried bullying Lizt into doing it for me, but someone snitched to Information and I was given a warning. Disciplinary Team didn't scare me one bit, but that pink demon… I didn't want to get on their bad side. I was fortunate Ek was always there to mediate between us.
Writing sucks big dong! I grunted at the paper.
24 suicide cases. Let that sink in. Between employees and clerks, Lobotomy Corporation employed less than 60 workers. Almost half of our numbers were desperate enough to take their own lives before continuing to suffer in this hell of ours.
The most worrisome part was that some veterans also participated. One of Safety's secrets is the stuff we put in the lounge's food. There isn't a nice way to say this, so I'll just say it. We drug them. Everyone. With little and consistent doses of medicine, we lower their sensitivity to the horrors they have to endure, passively increasing their SP resistance. The fact that the veterans were starting to off themselves meant the effectivity of this measure was decreasing.
I had to reflect the gravity of the situation on the reports, which was a responsibility too great for a street grunt like me. Man! I hate writing! I get it, okay? Everyone is losing hope and chose death over a life of torture. I… I told [DATA EXPUNGED] how important they were to everyone, but they went missing nonetheless! That fucking moron! I would beat them so hard they would shit blood for an entire week! That is… if they do return.
Where the fuck did the Inspector disappear to?
I threw my pencil away. I was tired and the day had yet to begin. Fucking hell! Hm? That was helluva thick green goop jar. The Enkephalin Hod gave Netzach were usually small doses, not heavy tanks. What as that lazy ass trying to accomplish? Securing his drugs for the entire month?
"Hey, lad. What's that about?"
"Don't mind me, Gregory. I'm going to make an experiment."
"You attempting to do anything out of your own volition is new. What kind of experiment?"
The green rusted Netzach was the quietest of all the Sephirahs. Whatever he said, he was always depressively calm. He was the polar opposite from the passionate robots, like Malkuth or Kikas. He seated next to the tank he took so much effort to transport to the Main Room.
"I've been thinking about how to die. Since death is metaphorical to an AI like me, I'm going to cause an overdose of Enkephalin on my robot body, causing irreparable damage."
As much as turning that 24 number to 25 pleased any perfectionist's mind, I wasn't a fan of his idea. Netzach was usually a relaxed fellow, but that time they rushed to bathe into the Enkephalin, giving me no time to stop them.
I hope I can wake somewhere without X, the other Sephirah or Angela.
For a sloppy suicide attempt, the reaction was quite explosive. His body corroded with the green substance and, from its bottom, a stony appendage grew upwards like a tree that held the pieces of its old chassis. The upper half of his eye was covered by his tired body, resembling a sleepy expression.
"I hope you live long enough to realize how strong you really are, Netzach. When that day arrives, I'm whacking you shitless!"
It would be nice if you didn't.
"Hah! Says you! You're already trying to kill yourself! Shouldn't you be encouraging me to break you? That's what I'm talking about, lad. This experiment is going to fail. I bet all the department's paperwork for a whole week!"
I'll take that bet. Maybe that will give me enough motivation to die.
"Hahahaha!" I laughed as I stepped onto him and looked straight at his green eye. "You're going down, lad!"
I hope so.
Angela gave the announcement or whatever, so I told Lizt to gather everyone from the department and assist to the strategy meeting. They were smarter than I was, so I wasn't going to be of much help anyway.
In the meantime, I headed towards Control. I focused on the sounds during the travel. I always held the hope to listen the distant hums the Inspector usually made. There was no luck that day, either. Kicking the ground and insulting their stupid ass, I headed to the Main Room and entered a special chamber. A huge W logo was painted on a circular platform. On top of it, a big dark box with yellow parts waited patiently to be opened.
I checked the documents. According to the branch facility, the abno they sent us was a HE level threat. Usually, I would request the aid of my whole team to take the abno container to its new chamber, but there was a state of emergency. I wanted them to focus on devising the best counter-measures to the challenge we were facing. So I took it upon myself to welcome that scarecrow thing.
I opened the box and quickly jumped backwards.
A huge oversized wolf clawed his way out. His body was full of painful looking scars. His claws stabbed the metallic floor. The most noticeable part of the monster, though, was his eyes. Blue, hungry and glowing eyes that were deadly fixed on me.
Big and Will Be Bad Wolf lunged at me, maw ready to engulf me in one fell swoop.
"Fuck!"
I rolled to my side to dodge, but his claws got my face. The pain was a reminder of the dangerous situation I faced. My Fortitude was literally the highest of the entire facility and that thing managed to put such a deep scratch on my face.
"This will leave a scar… Fucking dammit!"
However, I had the Main Room proximity in my favor. Once the regenerating factor accumulated, a pulse of healing would restore me to full health. If it was an endurance battle, I wouldn't lose!
Unlike Kickass, I was a better fit for Gold Rush gear… even if I had no freaking clue about how to use its special skill or summon magic portals. I had no need for it anyway. One punch was all it usually took to deal with some ordeals.
Exercising my Justice virtue, I rolled towards the wolf to dodge a swipe of his claws. I punched him on the tummy, sending him flying against the ceiling.
He lunged again from above. I backslapped the doggy and slammed my golden fist onto its head. The tremor extended through the entire facility.
A swipe from its claws got my legs. My Fortitude prevented him from cutting through my bones, but I got immobilized. The abno jumped and dove into me with its sharp fangs. I guarded my front with my resistant fist, but my back was history.
"Fuuuuuuuuuck! Where is that regeneration?!"
I gripped its jaw with my weapon and crushed a couple of fangs. The wolf shook me around before throwing me towards the air. When I came into my senses, the mouth was all around me.
Darkness. Darkness and…
"Fucking bullshit, fuck, fuck! Let me out, you fucktard shithole! You think you ate me?! I'm going to eat YOU! I'm the fucking captain of the Safety Team! Prepare yourself, bitch!"
No matter how much I bit into the acidic tissue around me, I achieved nothing. No. I actually got tired, which was worse. In case you didn't know, there's not much air inside a beast's stomach. My wounds hurt. My new facial scars hurt. I was going to be digested and pooped.
"This… gotta be… some sick joke…"
My breathing accelerated. The wolf moved somewhere else. The battle continued.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Shut the fuck up. Contain your breathing or I'll kill you." I grumbled to the new employee that joined me inside the wolf.
Worst of all, I had to carry out my threat. Bitch wasn't shutting their trap, so I kicked them unconscious. Fuck… I was Safety's captain. Why did I have to beat my employees to keep them alive…? Everything was so messed up.
The insides of the wolf were acidic, but the creature suffered indigestion problems. We spent so much time there we should have turned to goop by then. How much time in total? An hour, maybe?
I had to do something.
I stretched my arms inside the beast's tummy and attempted to reach for his throat. Considering the deadly screams outside, we were safer inside, but I couldn't allow myself to rest while everyone was dying. I had to protect them! What use is my strength if I can't show it when it matters?
Shots. Shots and slices. The stomach pressed us and we were spat out.
"Shit… shit… shit…" I complained as I rolled over the floor.
A foot stopped me and a shotgun pistol was pointed at me.
"I know you… prey."
Oh, no. So it was really her. Little Red. An infamous nomadic hunter. Ressurrekt, my old Syndicate, clashed against her once, back in the day. I was one of the lucky ones to make it out alive.
Little Red grabbed me by the neck and lifted me above the ground.
"You tried to steal my prey."
I punched her face to make her release me. Her maw-like scarf fell to the ground.
"Fuck you, Red. Do you think I was in any position to do anything but fight against him? It was kill or be killed. You are no different. If you don't go back to your containment unit right now, I'll crush every fucking bone in your body until you tell me to stop. Then, I'll hit harder."
Her yellow eye glared at me.
"You prick… Are you picking a fight with me?"
"I'm telling you the options available to you."
She wasn't much better than I was. The wolf hit hard and fast. Her limbs suffered heavy cuts and a pool of blood quickly formed under her feet. I was actually impressed she was able to keep moving. I desperately stood up and stared at her with resolved intent.
"What will it be?"
Little Red pointed her dagger at me… and then she sheathed her weapon. Without losing a moment, she ran away back to her chamber. I knew how badly I messed up. I just entered her black list. Next time she breached, she would look for me.
However, I was the same. Next time she breached, I would look for her and stay true to my warning.
"You left this behind, moron!"
Without an owner, I tied Crimson Scar around my neck. I cleared my face from my messy blue hair and examined my new Blue Scars.
"The fuck is this?"
A headband that resembled a Sheep's Clothing was tied around my head. I glared at the red Main Room from Discipline.
"And why the fuck are the regenerators not working?!"
Ah, wait. That was Netzach's thing. He was trying to kill himself. Deactivating the healing system, the mental corruption neutralizing gas and locking the access to HP tablets made a lot of sense.
I collapsed onto the floor. I was about to bleed out. I felt the life leak out from my wounds. Fuck the pink-demon. If the Inspector is not around to sing, I'll fucking do it.
"Torito tiiiii tiiiiii toooooo… Toritooo tiiiii toooo taaaaa… I've… become soooo numb. I can't feel you there. Become so tired. So much mooore awaaaaaaaare. I'm becomiiing thiiis. All I waaant tooo dooo, is be mooore liiike mee, and be leeess like yoooooouuuuuu!"
Ah. Such a good song. I noticed the person resting next to me.
"Aw, fuck. You were there all this time and said nothing?"
"I'm sorry…" The Discipline employee said.
"Well, we are wolf-food buddies, so I forgive you. What's your name?"
"Qwerty…"
"Gregory. Safety Team Captain. Where is the rest of your team?"
I only had to look around and notice their sniffles to get the picture.
"Well, shit. Sorry about that."
I hoped they didn't decide to kill themselves later. I had had enough suiciding morons for a day.
As we were waiting death's cold embrace, a sudden pulse expanded through the entirety of the facility. Our wounds closed and our minds were relieved of their fatigue.
Why must I wake up and do all the garbage I hate every single day?
"You tell me, lad. You tell me…"
Doubt. One day, a question crossed through my mind. Where do we come from? We were given life and left in this world against our own volition.
"Green Dawn, huh? This is no time for rest, partner. The day is only starting. Come on, give me your hand. It's time to hunt."
It was a weird sensation. I bore both the desire to go crazy and eat any prey that stood on my path… and the savagery to dispose of anyone who caused trouble in a disorderly fashion. The burning heart of a monster… and the vengeful heart of the hunter. Those sensations nullified each other and only one thing remained: the thrill of the hunt.
"Let's fucking break some bones! Kickass! You better get your metallic butt over here or I will steal the show! Ahahahahaha!"
I dashed like a lunatic and punched every invader on the BRIAH level. I almost mistook the Tiphereths for targets. I smirked an apology at the red Sephirah that blocked my attack with her red broadsword and moved away. There wasn't any rest for the wicked!
The newly expanded Welfare Department completely slipped my mind, so Zero warped their gray ass to deal with the golems there. I would treat them later to some of the glorious –non drugged– HamHam PangPang imports from the eatery as thanks!
Hunting for every troublemaker in ASIYAH, I ended up becoming a bloody mess. Thanks to the employees, though, another Qliphoth Counter was filled and the regeneration pulse patched me up to full health.
I felt so overjoyed people mistook me for Kickass! Ahahaha! Even Ek had a hard time keeping up with me! Lin's bullshit reminder of the rules just went in one ear and out the other. Those rules were designed with regenerators in mind, anyway! I just had to hunt until everyone was safe and have a blast at it! A frustrating thought crossed my mind and I roared to the skies.
"Where the fuck are you, shitty Inspector?! You're missing out the greatness that I have become, you fuck! Get your ass over here right this instant or I'll gut you!"
I stopped breathing, but if life calls out to me yet again…
I was so looking forward to not writing reports for a whole week I left everything behind and rushed straight towards my department's Main Room. To heal my horrible mood after enduring so many wounds from ordeals, managerial work and whatnot, I wanted to rub my triumph over my lame boss' face. The gates to the department were sealed shut.
Someone was humming inside.
