Rebuild World

Chapter 1: Hunter Boy Meets A.I. Girl

Earth Year: 2184

Location: United Cities of America (formerly United States of America)

San Angeles (formerly the cities of San Diego and Los Angeles)

The two cities that were once San Diego and Los Angeles, were now a combined larger city known as Scrap Iron City. After World War III and the devastating Earthquake known as the San Andreas, aka The Big One, the former cities of California were left in ruins. For a whole century, the city had been going through slow construction and through mergers, had become one of the larger cities in the former USA, rivaling that of Neo York, formerly New Jersey, New York, and North and South Carolina. It was one of the largest and most advanced cities that were controlled by the corporations that had survived the war and gained a somewhat corporation government system that coexisted with the Factories that connected to one of the walled Cities, that being San Angeles The city itself was a place where the wealthy and infamous could go to leisurely live, covering hundreds miles within the twin-combined city.

Surrounding the city though were the ruins of the old below. No one was allowed to go in the walled city, only those who could pay. The cataclysm that devastated the city created what was known as Bi-Beasts: Biologically and cyber-enhanced lifeforms. Most were deadly due to to the military technology making up their systems, and even far greater, the Sci-Weather phenomenon. the one most commonly known as the Grey Mist.

However, there were long lost technology found in the ruins of the cities and areas beyond the Walled City.

That's when the Hunters came in.

Those brave enough to go in guns blazing and daring to go in to make a hefty amount of bucks. And if they succeeded, they could buy better gear, weaponry, vehicles, all just to survive. Even Cyberntic Prosthesis was a thing for it. The goal was simple: Earn enough to make a living to go into the Walled City. But when money gets involved, those still could settle in the slums to rule the weak, thus corruption and gangs involved. And if the gangs wouldn't be enough to kill... the elements from outside would. And this night, a particular Hunter's journey was finally about to take root in the City of Technology.

The Slums

The dirty ridden empty cities of the slums were much like any low-class neighborhood. Though the orphan population was a steady turn up to say the least and the unemployment was racking up like crazy. But not even the Walled City was worried... for at days like this, events known as Crash Mobs would begin. At that moment, people were running like scared cattle, as something chased them. A pack of cybernetically mutated wolves ran after them; silver skin top and powerful cyber legs, bladed tails and ears, and glowing red eyes roared as they sought out fresh meat.

The slow stragglers were easily picked off, including a few weak Hunters that were being thrown about. Though as one of them dropped a 9mm, one individual spotted it and rushed over. It was a sixteen-year-old guy; his skin was Caucasian with a little bit of tan to it, his figure was fit and slim for a guy his age, possibly as a result of grown up around in the slums. His hair was ice blue, possibly a dye job or natural, short but had bangs in the front combed to the right sticking out with a cowlick in behind. He was wearing blue jeans with cuts on the knees, and a few on his right thigh, which was bandaged up, with black and blue sneakers barely holding together, with a Black long-sleeve shirt on with the left sleeve torn off, exposing his arm showing cuts and gunshot burn marks, and a dark blue T-shirt hoodie with white sleeves and a front pocket, with a black jacket tied around his waist, with a black watch on. His name was Max, a slum kid who just got a card made up for his first day as a Hunter.

Max slid to it, as he quickly grabbed the gun, as the beasts were taking their time tearing apart the hunter. The guy was twice his age, wearing military grade gear and armor colored under armor black, while the armor and gear was khaki gray. There wasn't much to see left, as the guy's face was being gnawed off, and his right arm shredded off, as one of the beasts were swinging it around like tearing a newspaper.

Max gulped as he looked at the gun, and paled, "Crap, crap, crap, crap... I do not wanna die today."

The creature stopped as it spotted Max adn then dropped the arm. Max saw it as he hurred to get the gun check, "Crap!" It charged at him, as it roared, as he screamed, "OH CRAP!"

BANG!

The beast was only a few inches from him until it was shot, sending it flying across from him. There came more automated shots, as it spooked the others, and ran for it. Though coming from the clearing, another hunter was walking on the scenes.

He was a young man of seventeen, Caucasian, with long brown hair to his shoulders in a shaggy look to it, brown eyes, and had an arrogant expression on his face. He was lean built and was wearing a full-body black suit, but had dark gray boots that went almost up to his knees with red lining on the grave trim, ankle guards, tips of his toes, red and black kneeguard with red and black thigh guards with black holsters to them, while on the upper thighs were cartridge holsters and had chest armor on top, red shoulder guards and elbow guards, with the under armor showing signs of exo-skeleton reinforcements, a neck guard, and a backpack with a shotgun and a rifle in hand. His name was Davis, a delinquent from the slums turned Hunter, a tormentor of Max's, and a sadist.

"Well if it isn't the weakling Max," Davis said in an insulting tone, "If I'd know it was you, I would've let the Beast end you right then and there!"

Max looked to him as he still hand his hand on the gun, but holstered it as he slowly began to get back up.

Max stood up, as he shook his head, "Davis. I honestly thought the beast got you earlier. What with just a shotgun."

"It's much better than that peashooter you have," Davis replied back, "Then again, you might as well hand it over. Your peashooter is more useful than you are in a fight!"

"I can't do that! A licensed huntsman is required to have a weapon on them at all times while out on the field," Max replied while showing his Hunter's License as proof that he required to keep his gun and follow the rules.

Max then pointed at the arsenal that he had, "Besides, you got an Anti-Bi-Beast rifle, two guns, and a shotgun. At least let me have this."

Davis simply laughed at the request. "I guess I have to since that's all a worthless bum like you will ever have," Davis said to Max, "That card and gun are probably the only things that give your life any worth! I bet that peashooter can only hold twelve shots. Maybe less!"

Max shrugged, "Maybe." But then slowly began to back off, "But I won't bother wasting the bullets."

Davis simply snickered at Max. "If you're so confident, let's see how long you can last on your own. I'll even wait fifteen-minutes before seeing if you need to be saved again like the weakling you are," Davis said to Max in a mocking tone.

Max blinked, "What the hell, Davis? Why would I..."

BANG

Time froze for Max at that moment as the sound of the gun going off filled the air and Max lost his footing. He found himself on the ground and a sharp pain emerging from his left leg to his entire body. He saw the lower part of his left leg and blood spraying out from where his leg used to be. After a second, time resumed for him as Max realized what just happened as she screamed out in pain.

"Oops, did I say fifteen minutes," Davis said while holding his shotgun which was smoking, "I meant five seconds!"

Not wanting to get shot again, and pushing through the pain, Max bolted into the narrow alley. Davis attempted to go after him, but due to his rifle's girth, and that he didn't holster it on his back, he got himself stuck until he pulled out. He aimed for Max's back, and fired... but he rounded the corner, dodging the armor piercing rounds.

Davis snarled as he pulled at the rifle and slid through but had to shuffle instead of run. Though Max had a bit of distance, but began to limp as he groaned, feeling the pain now that his adrenaline rush had just faded, as he groaned, "NRAG, screw that Davis!"

In the alleyway, Max was leaning against the wall as the burst of adrenaline began to wear off. He slid down the side and leaned against the wall in sadness. He looked at where his former leg had been and began to despair. 'How am I supposed to be a hunter now without my leg,' Max thought as the despair within him began to consume him, "I can't afford a prosthetic limb!"

He then flinched as bullets flew passed him as he looked to see where from afar, Davis was getting a high vantage point. Max limped as fast as he could, hiding behind a pillar as some bullets began to eat up on this. Davis jumped high onto another vantage point; his agility and leaping thanks to the Augmented Suit.

"Run while you can, you piece of trash," Davis said as he looked through the scope of his gun, "I have all day to wait and end your pathetic excuse of a life!"

As Davis continued to look for Max, the injured boy was hiding behind a pile of rubble. His vision was beginning to blur a bit, and his head became light from the loss of blood.

He looked to his right, seeing an open landscape, an area to where the bomb once dropped a hundred years ago. When he was just a kid, kids like him would toss rocks down there. Max rubbed his sweaty brow, as he groaned, "I need a way out of here."

Jump off the building and into the pit

Max blinked, as he heard that voice, as he looked around, trying to see if Davis was goading him, but no such luck.

When the Grey Mist blows in, you have to take your chance and jump

Max wasn't sure if the voice was real or just his mind playing tricks on him due to the loss of blood. 'I'm dead either way, so I might as well meet my end by my own hands and not by that psycho,' Max thought as he prepared to follow the voice's instructions.

Wait a moment. Wait until the mist is close enough

Max didn't flinch, even though he saw coming not too far, a massive grey fog bank coming in. The grey mist had a habit of messing with electronics, that included... Max blinked as he realized it messed with Augmented suits, scouters... even scope lenses. Like the one on Davis's rifle.

"What the," Davis said as he looked at scope that wasn't working, "Stupid gun!" Davis looked for Max without the use of his equipment. "That trash couldn't have gotten far with only one leg," Davis said as he looked for Max through the mist.

Okay, go now!

Max suddenly bolted as the mist was clearing in. Davis saw this, and then just pulled out his pistol, firing at random at him, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"DIE YOU WORTHLESS TRASH," Davis cried out. Max could hear Davis' hateful cries as he limped through the mist while dodging the bullets out of pure luck. His vision became worse and he found it hard to keep his mind away as he lost more blood from his missing leg.

He got to the ledge and jumped... but not before a bullet passed through his left shoulder. Life seemed to flash from his eyes, as he began to fall down into the massive ground zero pit of a ruin that was the black hole he fell down, as everything went black.

...

-p... -ke up...

The next thing Max knew, he could hear the voice again while in what felt like a dark void.

Though at the moment, he looked below him and saw he was... floating? Max blinked, "What the...?"

What's holding you up are a combination of Kinesis and Stasis Modules. I was able to successfully reactivate them when the Grey Mist washed over. The safeguards allowing me to follow my function to preserve a life.

Hearing that, Max realized from her words something important. "So... I'm not dead," Max asked the voice, "I'm still alive?"

That is correct. I was able to preserve your life.

"Thank you. Whoever you are," Max said, "But why did you save me?"

However, before that could be answered, the two glowing lenses attacked to two arms, began to lower him, as he was gently dropped onto the ground when he was six inches from it. He groaned, as he slowly began to pull himself up and rubbed the back of his neck. Though he looked around, the place was dripping and massive. The sounds of hollow echoes were heard, as he slowly began to try and get back to his knees.

Wait, you should wait until I get a gurney bot for you. there should be some Nano-Meds left here to help.

"Gurney bot? Nano-Meds," Max asked the voice, "Aren't those some of the rarest pieces of lost technology? I've only seen ones that were damaged beyond repair."

Well, luckily, places like these were decently protected from the war back then. Not everything's up to maintenance but I've managed to repair and discover things buried in this military facility.

The lights managed to get back on, as Max looked around to see that the area was in fact some kind of warehouse. Storage for some kind of military bunker or something. He could tell from the ruined vehicles and damaged ammo crates. Max managed to limp a bit, as he looked around to get a clear view of the area. The area looked like a cybernetic-med lab, as it had been set up as such. It had a near-damaged super-computer setup, with a console, screens half broken, as well as supercomputer databases, along with a box full of strange glass containers no bigger than golf balls. On the desk, was a strange looking device that looked like an egg display tong of sorts with a projector on top. He also saw there were projectors all around the area. Not security cameras neither. But it could have been security cameras, and someone was just spying on him.

He finally got fed up as he shouted, "Okay, if there's someone here, just come out!"

Suddenly, two of the projectors on one of two pillars still standing began to whir to life, and fire violet lasers five feet from Max. It was shaping something... or someone, until it finished taking shape, and the figure looked to Max. It was a girl of Caucasian design, appearing to be his age, slender frame and physically beautiful, with long purple hair going down to her knees in points, and purple eyes. She had a glamorous figure; thin waist, long legs, tight butt, and C cup chest. Her face showed a girl-next-door beauty as well as a new girl in class beauty and innocence all on her own. Her skin, however, was light purple, but with her upper calves outer thighs, lower back, sides of her ribs, and lines going up her breasts, including her forearms and hands, as well as the outer parts of her shoulders dark purple. She also had a single line in her inner thigh, as well as her belly button colored purple, with her collar bone having an upside-down triangle in dark purple too. Needless to say, Max was a bit stunned by her beauty, but also in awe at what she was. An Old World Technology A.I. system. She suddenly but slowly moved to Max.

She gently walked to him, her dainty toes and feet dancing on the ground as her hands were behind her until she stopped to him... and smiled, "It's finally a pleasure to meet someone. My name is LSN-1984."

Max stared at her. Not just for what she was but for how beautiful she was. She was like a spirit under the light of the moon. For a few minutes, he was silent at the AI smiled at him. Finally, he found his voice. "It's... It's nice to meet you two, LSN-1984," Max said nervously, "Are-are you alone here?"

She smiled, "Mmhmmm, well, not anymore. Now that I found you." She smiled looking at him, "Honestly, I was worried you wouldn't be able to hear me at all."

At that moment, a floating gurney floated to them, as it stopped, with the pillow part acting like a head for the robot, as it beeped for Max to lie down.

Max was a little nervous at first, but seeing LSN-1984 nodded as she was saying it was safe, Max laid on the down on the robot. The softness of the bed was the softest thing he had ever laid on. Normally he would lie on the stone floor due to growing up very poor. It felt as though the bed was a marshmallow and that he would sink into the bed as though it was quicksand. Even the pillow made his head would sink.

Medical Wing

The gurney then gently sent him to the medical wing, in mere moments, all while LSN ended up there, turning it all on. There was a 3-D printer for medical purposes, with a few robotic arms, humming to life. Several bottles and cabinets full of liquids and pills, as well as some kind of chamber, as it opened up, with LSN, changing a bit into a sexy dark purple mini skirt V neck dress with a doctor's labocat on, and glasses, still barefoot but smiled, "Alright, patient. Strip down to your birthday suit."

"My what," Max asked as he became scared.

"Relax. It's not like I haven't seen the human anatomy exposed before," LSN said with a smile. Suddenly, robotic arms extended out of the droid and proceeded to remove Max's clothing. "Wait, no," Max pleaded as his clothes and underwear were removed, "STOOOOPPPP!" In less than a minute, he was now naked as his body shivered from the cold.

Though LSN was blushed and wide eye at this, as he stood there. Though LSN, in a comical manner was blushing a bit dark violet... and drooling.

"I'd thought you'd seen human anatomy before," Max asked as he covered his junk and blushed in embarrassment.

"Yes... My apologies," LSN said as she straightened herself, "I haven't seen anyone in centuries. Now then, let's begin the examination."

Max's body was small muscled, very attractive, and he was built like both an athlete and a porn star. But as LSN noticed, there were also slash marks from Bi-Beasts and gunshots, meaning someone or a lot of people were trying to kill him.

His latest wounds were a key factor to it, as she gently let him to the chamber, as she said, "Please stand here."

"It's kind of hard to stand with only one leg," Max said to her pointing out his lost left leg to her. Seeing that, LSN closed her eyes as the sounds of metals parts moving filled the room. Suddenly, robotic arms came and latched on to Max's arms and lifted him up and towards where LSN wanted him to go.

An arm then gave him a shot, taking some blood, as Max groaned from that, as it pulled back. then suddenly, the chamber sealed up, as an O2 mask dangled in front of him. And then suddenly, the chamber began to fill up with a green liquid, which made Max quickly put the mask on. Once it did, the robot from before inserted or injected the blood into the 3D printer device as it scanned its contents. In the chamber, another arm formed up to him, injecting his limb as it numbed him a bit, as two more legs began to work.

Alex felt strange from the green slime and from the machines were working on him. He was scared but he was also thankful to still be alive.

LSN looked at him, and smiled... and then heard her voice in his head, Don't worry, we'll get you all better in no time. And honestly, I'm glad I could find someone who can connect to the Technology of the Old World.

Max was a bit taken back. He heard from long ago people back then could link up with technology from way back with only mental links. It was rumored that the ability was given to them through the injection of nanotechnology within the brain. This was before nanotech got out and infected the wildlife and flora of the world, leading to the state it was in now. And the ability was lost.

Max wanted to ask more questions, but he was still wearing the O2 mask that made it hard for him to speak. 'To think it took almost being murdered by that psycho Davis to find this place,' Max thought to himself, 'But what's going to happen to me now?' Max didn't know the first thing about LSN except that she was an AI and she was helping him. What did she gain from helping him and what was it going to cost him afterward?

Yeah, it almost did take you getting killed to find all this, Max, LSN's voice spoke in Max's head, as he looked to her in confusion. She arched an eyebrow and playfully smiled, Since you can connect with the Old World Tech, I can speak via telepathy

'That explains how you contacted me when Davis was trying to kill me,' Max said not sure how to feel about LSN being able to read his thoughts like this, 'So since you can hear me, what are you doing to me in here?'

LSN nodded, grimacing a bit I'm just really glad it was you I could connect and not that guy. I've been spotting him as much as I could anywhere else I found a link to. So far, I can tell this guy jerks off on hurting others and raping girls.

'That sounds like Davis. He's always gone after girls,' Max thought to himself.

For as long as Max can remember, there had always been rumors about Davis taking anyone woman he could find, especially ones that were already with someone and making them his own. There were just rumors and there was never any proof of this, but everyone knew it was true.

Then he met...

"Hey, Blue."

Blue? LSN asked, as Max blushed a bit remembering a moment. LSN narrowed her eyes to him and asked, smirking mischeviously Say... who is Tomie?

'She's... The only friend I have in the outside world,' Max answered, 'She approached me one day at the orphanage and always wanted to talk to me. That made everyone else at the orphanage angry. Especially Davis.'

LSN thought a moment, and then stood for a second. Her body began to warble as she suddenly changed shape in front of Max.

She was a young Asian girl of sixteen, pale skin and long flowing black hair that was silky and shiny, with auburn brown eyes in the traditional Asian size and shape; small and slits, but big enough to see their beauty, and her hair going down to her lower back, with a long bang parted in the right side of her head, and cascading down to her shoulders like waterfalls. She had an amazing frame; slender and slim to showcase her hidden B cup chest. She was wearing a black turtleneck one piece suit with black legging boots with ninja toes, black sleeves with gloves that only had fingers on the thumbs, index and ring finger. She had a pink chestplate on top, showing a diamond cut on the back, pink back armor, while her thighs had pink and black holsters strapped around them, with her calves having pink armor plating on them showing boosters, and pink ankle guards. She also had a midriff dark pink hoodie jacket with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, showing black tight armor no her forearms, but pink hand guards. Strapped behind her were two katana hilts. To Max, she was a goddess beyond anything.

So this is this Tomie you speak of, LSN said while looking at the form she took.

'Yes, that's her,' Max said while staring at LSN new form.

She looked at it, and then with a snap of her fingers, the closed brittled and faded, leaving her naked, as she made sexy poses, I can see why you like her. A hunter and a babe It was clearly evident, and much to Max's embarrassment, she was teasing him to no end.

'I don't know if I like her that way or not,' Max quickly thought to himself, 'She's just been really nice to me that's all!'

LSN smirked as she continued to pose. Centuries later and humans still have a hard time understanding their feelings. I suppose that's one thing that will never change about humans.

LSN returned to normal, as she smiled, Hey, wiggle your left foot and toes now

Max blinked, and then looked down.. to see his missing leg and foot restored.

Max couldn't believe it! His leg had been resorted to him. There wasn't even a sign of a scar anywhere. Max moved his foot and found it moved perfectly fine. It was like it was never shot off. 'It works perfectly,' Max thought in amazement, 'It feels like I never lost it! Thank you! Thank you so much, LSN!'

The tank suddenly drained, as Max was back on his feet, as it opened, as LSN smirked, "No problem. Old World tech dealing with regenerative reconstructive technology for medicinal purposes." But then blushed as she saw Max's wet naked boy, and smiled blushing like a pervert, "Now eh... why don't I... check your prostate."

"My prostate," Max asked as he looked down at his crotch area and covered it again in embarrassment, "Why do you want to look at that?!"

LSN smiled, "Oh nothing much, just wanting to play doctor is all." LSN couldn't help herself as she smiled, holding her burning cheeks. "Sorry about your clothes, I had to incinerate them due to toxic components. And they were about to fall apart."

"You mean I'm in a strange place and naked," Max exclaimed in horror, "What am I supposed to wear?!" "Not to worry," LSN said with a smile, "There are plenty of things to wear here. I'll bring you to the clothing storage area once your check-up is finished."

A blue line began to form on the floor as it led right to Max, as she smiled, "I'll be right behind you." And then looked away, blushing as she giggled, "Getting a good shot of his sexy backside."

Max sweatdropped as he followed the line, as he mumbled, "She has been alone for too long."

Moments Later

Armory

The doors opened as both nude boy and naked A.I. girl stood to see what or where she had led him. There, it was a long extinct armory, and from the looks of it there were weapon printers and a few bags, as well as some clothes.

Max was left in awe at all the weapons and gear that were considered ancient technology! Just one of these would earn him enough money to live like a royal for the rest of his life! "Look at all of this," Max said in awe at all the stored items, "You've been preserving everything in here all this time?"

"Yes. That is one of my functions," LSN answered with a smile as he led Max into the room.

Max looked around and was about to take a few plain military garments, but Max then spotted what apparently was an Augmented Suit. He looked to LSN and asked, "Is that an Augment Suit?"

"Back then, the Military called them Power Combat Suits, but yeah. The basis of most of the Hunter Tech could be found in ruins, but also in local shops," LSN explained as the chamber opened. "The basis of most of your tech were derived from the old military technology from of my old world."

Max was left in awe of the suit before him. "It's amazing you were able to keep everything preserved like this for so long," Max said as she led him into the chamber. As they walked, LSN swayed her hips back and forth to see what his reaction would be. Much to her disappointment though, he was more focused on the Power Combat Suit than her attempts at flirting.

Max had fully suited up and now stood in his new gear. He stood in a fullbody black suit, seemingly made from latex but a kind of honeycomb body armor of sorts, black in color, showing off his muscled body and junk. But the armor had blue parts to it; the shoulders were both armor plating to protect it, while his left bicep had blue armor around the bicep with a blue elbow guard separated by a black band, and his left forearm was a small blue armored forearm guard with three dials at the elbow, while there were three dials going down it, with a gem palm on his left glove, while his black glove had a blue handguard on the back, as did his right hand, while his right bicep had an outer blue armor piece with a black band going around the bicep, blue elbow armor and black band. He had a black pouch belt with two black big phany pouches in back, with blue armor guards on his lower thighs with blue and black kneeguards, black and blue holster straps while the upper thighs had three clip cartridge holders, his greaves and calves were covered in blue armor, with a black line going around under his calves with two boosters on the calves in the back, while there were two pouches on the outer calves, while the boots were black with blue steel tipped toes, heels and blue ankle guards, with blue buckles on the outside. And to finish the look, on his chest was a blue V-stripe, with a blue hoodie in the back, and black military backpack for ammo and carryon.

Max marveled at himself in awe at his new attire.

LSN also looked happy to see Max looking sharp and ready for action.

She smiled at the mirror, asking, "So... is this suit enough to make you a hunter?" And asking that, floating from her hand was Max's Hunter guild card.

Max smirked, as he grabbed the card, "It sure is." But then blinked, as he looked to her, "Wait. What do you want in return? You can't just be giving me all this stuff for free."

LSN looked rather bashful on that, as she tickled her cheek, "Well, in truth, finding someone who can connect with Old World Tech is actually a blessing, but if it's okay, I would like to ask your help in a job for me." But then blinked, as she looked shocked, and turned to the door, "Max. We're gonna get company. And not the tea and cookies type. Battle Hounds."

Max blinked, as he asked, "Battle Hounds? Those Cyber Dogs with mini guns mounted on their backs?"

LSN nodded, "Yeah. They were designed for Urban Police pacification, but when the Old World collapsed they're not Bio-Beast weapons. The nanobots in their bodies create their ammo from the waste of what they eat, so they're something to worry about."

Max asked, "How'd they get in?"

Cupping her chin, LSN looked deep in thought as she thought, "Well, If I had to guess, I'd say there were holes in some of the security systems, or that my time with you might have distracted me."

Max began to become nervous after hearing about the invading wolves. In his brief amount of training, he had never faced any Cyber Dogs. His pistol wouldn't be strong enough to take them down. Not without emptying a number of clips. "What-What do we do," Max asked in a worried voice.

"We terminate them for invading the facility of course," LSN answered without batting an eye at the question.

Max blanked a bit, but then stated, "You do realize, I'm only armed with this," and then pulled out the 9mm pistol with no special qualities.

LSN shook her head, as she pointed to a certain device, "Place it in there, and look on the side, there's a melee weapon as well."

Max looked towards the device and approached it.

The cylinder device was standing there, with the top being a glass dome that opened up and extended a platform for the gun to be placed, and around it was a ring on artificial piston muscles and crane with three laser carvers designed for nanobot construction.

Max looked at LSN for a moment before placing his pistol into the machine causing the machine to hum. The inside glowed blue as the gun was lifted into the air. Suddenly, small mechanical arms extended out and began to redesign the gun. The gun was dismantled, reassembled into a different shape, dismantled again, and reassembled a few times. After two minutes of the same pattern, the machine deactivated, and the door opened revealing the new creation before Max.

LSN then appeared at a locker, as she pointed, "Your melee weapon's in here."

Max walked over to it as he opened it. Once he did, he saw a few ruined clothing bits and gear; apparently, not everything could be saved. Say for the weapon in there. It looked to be a bat-handled collapsible flat paddle of sorts. When he pulled it out, he looked at it in question, arching an eyebrow at this, until it stretched out, making it a short sword-shaped police baton. It cracked and sparked with electricity as Max was a bit stunned to say the least.

"You're giving me a battle baton," Max asked as he picked up the bat-like weapon.

"Yes. Sadly, with your skill level this is the best we have. And this place used to be a Military Police station," LSN answered, "You may have skills with a firearm, but your body is built for more physical weapons at the moment. This can be changed with training later on. This will enable you to use a wider verity of weapons."

The 3D printer then pinged, detecting it was finished, as he walked over to it, and blinked at seeing the pistol now. It had a similar handle and trigger, but now the barrel was bigger, but also the nose was a bit hefty, while on the right side of it was an extra ammo clip connected to the empty shell release, while also on top of the handle, was a laser counter and guider counter for ammo.

Max blinked, "Now this a gun."

"It should be," LSN smirked, "It's been modified to be upgradable with future features later on, but it'll pack a better punch now." LSN then pointed at the baton, "That's also a modified RIOT baton used for prisons."

"It's electrical," Max stated.

"Yeah, they were very rowdy prisons back then," LSN sweatdropped.

She then pointed to Max's left arm, "Now try flexing your left fist."

Max did what she asked as he held it up, flexing his fingers from fist to claws. Suddenly, the dials glowed bright blue, as a humming came to life as suddenly, his fist pointed to one of the lockers, telekinetically pushed it back.

"WHOA," Max said in amazement.

"That's your Telekinetic Glove, or GRP as they call in the business," LSN explained to him, "The glove releases energy that replicates the concept of mental telekinesis. Using this, you can grab things from inorganic to organic within the range of the glove. The device needs to charge every so often, so use this function sparingly."

Max blinked, as he asked, "And military and police use these?"

"They were also used for deep-space mining and engineering. Mostly to get stuff from far away or if it was in a place unable for a person to squeeze through," LSN said, "So it had a lot of uses." though she grimaced as she mentioned, "Though the police were brutal in prisons, toying with the prisoners with it."

"Well, I'll be sure to use this more responsibly," Max said as he looked at the gauntlet and understood the responsibility that LSN was placing on him.

"I know you will," LSN said to him, "One of the scientists stationed here once said that a strong man who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength and knows compassion."

Max understood her words, but kind of felt the sting of being called weak. "Thanks," Max answered, "I think."

LSN stopped for a moment, and looked serious to the door, "They're coming down the main hallway. It's narrow, but with my eyes helping, you should be able to take them down." She looked to Max and winked, "Just follow my advice, and I promise, I'll get you back to the surface alive."

Max nodded to show he understood, "Thank you. After everything you've done for me so far, I trust you with my life anytime," Max said to her as he prepared for the hardest fight he had ever faced yet since becoming a hunter.

In the Hallway

It looked to lead to a main office waiting room of sorts; a surveillance camera desk was spotted as well. The potted plants all dead, and the skyline dimmed with the setting sun coming. But at the moment, the Battle Hounds roamed a bit. There was a pack of eight present, and they looked similar to the dogs that had rampaged the slums earlier, but they had more of an upper hunchback, their legs and belly were a darker gray, while their upper fur, heads, and ears were light gray. Their tails not bladed, but more like a chain with a blade tip at the end. But the real danger was on their back, as two back-mounted mini-guns were grown into them. These were the Battle Hounds.

The Battle Hounds were looking through any open spaces for food of any kind. They also sniffed the air for any sources of food as well. The scent they were following at the moment though was the scent of blood from Max's wound from before. When Max was being brought to the facility, the wolves picked up the scent and began to follow it. Once they reached the facility, the wolves were able to find an opening in the building. Now they were on the hunt for the fresh meat.

Gently crawling through the airducts above, Max was shimming through, keeping an eye down there.

Though oddly, there was a Thumbelina-sized LSN on his shoulder, a question he'd ask later, but she helped to guide him, "Okay. It shouldn't be difficult; Battle Hounds have a kind of pattern to them. Mostly their movements. If you characterize them, analyze the patterns, it'll be an easy fight."

Max then asked, "Okay, what do I need to do?" Unknown that one of the wolves picked up the sound.

"You're gonna run outside as fast as you can," LSN answered.

"Outside," Max asked her.

"Yes. They have the advantage thanks to their mini-guns. The narrow hallways make it harder for you to dodge their gunfire," LSN explained to him. "But outside, it will be a little easier to dodge their attacks," Max said following her logic. "It is the most logical way to avoid being at a disadvantage," LSN finished.

LSN winked, "And once outside, leave them to me."

However, Max's front path was shredded by bullets, as it caused the air duct to fall forward, spilling out Max, as he rolled on the ground. He managed to get up, as the mini LSN hung onto his shoulder, as the beasts spotted them.

LSN screamed, "RUN!"

With that, Max ran as fast as he could as the Battle Hounds chased after him. Their mounted mini-guns were firing as the hallway was sprayed with bullets. It took everything he had to run and turn each corridor before the Battle Hounds caught up with him.

However, they stopped as they didn't hit him, and just chased after them, as they got outside, once he was, LSN hopped off, as she returned to normal size, as she struck a pose, "Yoo-hoo!"

The beasts stopped as they saw her, and as if on instinct, they fired their rounds. Though they didn't realize it but the bullets were passing her, as she danced around, first like a ballerina, and then as a ballroom dancer, gliding on the ground. It stopped when the beasts' guns clicked, showing that they had been emptied. LSN smirked, "Oooooh, looks like someone ran out of bullets."

"Thank you, LSN," Max exclaimed as the odds had now become a little more even. The Battle Hounds growled as they leaped towards LSN but still passed through her. Then, they turned their attention towards Max and charged at him.

A shot was heard, as one of the beasts in the back fell to the ground with a smoking hole in its head. Alerted by the shot, they turned to see Max rush in, as two of the hounds approached him. Using his Kinesis Module or GRP, he activated it, pulling the two to him, as he shot their bellies, and then force-flung them to the others. Another of the eight, the 4th wolf, charged at him, but he pulled out his baton, as he swatted at the face, dazing it, as he shot its head.

Then, he took the electric tip of the baton and thrust it into the hound's stomach. Jolts of electricity went through the hound causing it to twitch all over. Another hound attacked him but Max moved the baton and swatted the wolf away with the electrical end. The hound collided with the wall and was out cold.

The 6th and 7th hounds charged at him, but then he roundhouse kicked them, sending them flying back, as he shot the two hounds from before, and used the Kinesis module to slam the latest two wolves into the wall, piercing them on iron spike beams.

Blood dripped from the spikes where the two Battle Hounds were hanging from. "Seven down," Max said as he turned, "One to-" Suddenly, the hound pounced on him and pinned him down. Max did all he could to keep the hound's mouth from biting his face or throat.

LSN panicked, "Max! NO!"

However, before the beast could rip him apart, it was shot from cannon fire. The bits and pieces of the beast were now strewn about, as Max got up, but LSN paled, "Oh, no. I miscalculated. There's another one."

Max grabbed his gun and reloaded it, as he said, "No problem, I'll..."

"That's just it," LSN said as she turned to Max and asked, "Remember when I said these beasts were created using Nano-Technology? Well, one of the other reasons why the Old World went bye bye was because of nano-tech going wild. In some cases, it created mutants."

Max paled as he asked, "So... then you're saying..."

"What killed that last Hound was another one. But from what I can detect from surveillance out here... it's a mutant. Meaning it's bigger than the others."

Not far, destroying anything in its path was a Battle Hound, walking. But unlike the others Max fought, it was 7 times its size, the size of a greyhound bus. On its back was fitted a massive mini gun with two missile launchers on the side. Its lower jaw split up to a mandible function, with a tentacle-like tongue, and its eyes were yellow... with its right eye bigger and three eyes on the left.

The larger eye had a targeting symbol in it and it set its sights on Max. Suddenly, a missile shot out of the launcher and flew toward Max. Max ducked onto the floor as the missile flew past him and through a door. An explosion shook the facility as a burst of fire burst out of the door and filled the area of the hallway. Max was okay thanks to him lying on the floor.

LSN scooted to him, albeit being a holographic projection, said, "Max. I have a plan but I need you to follow my instructions to the letter."

"I'm all ears," he said to her. He had total confidence that she was there to help him and that truly had a plan that could defeat this mutated Battle Hound. (edited)

She pointed to a railing, "At my signal, you run up there..." And then pointed to a wall away from the Hound's sight, "And hide behind that wall until I count to zero. When you get your chance, dump all your ammo into its main eye when it attacks."

"Understood," Max said as the Hound Wolf got back on its paws and growled at Max.

"Now!" LSN shouted. Max bolted to the stairs, as he ran as fast as he could. The beast attempted to go after him, but was blinded or distracted by a laser shot pointer by LSN as she reappeared again, "Here, puppy. I'm your new chew toy!"

The Battle Hound found itself unable to look away from the laser pointer as its training functions from before kicked in. However, the Battle Hound was slowly getting over it as Max continued to make his way up the staircase.

He then made it to the wall, as he took a breather and counted, "5... 4...3..." "2... 1..." LSN said as she suddenly aimed the laser on the left side to where Max was at, as she screamed, "ZERO!"

Max quickly moved as the wall next to him smashed through, as the Battle Hound's head stuck through with its big eye exposed. He then fired and dumped every bit of ammo on top of the Battle Hound's big eye as instructed. The Battle Hound was confused from the laser pointer and the ammo being dumped onto its head. However, the ammo smashing through the eye hit its main target: Its brain. It was game over, as the beast had been dealt a fatal blow.

Finally, the beast crashed down to the ground, dead as it fell from the height it climbed from and crashed down below. Max blinked, "Whoa... this is a really powerful gun."

"Yeah, that, and it was easy since its brain was so small," LSN smiled. "But it helped that the gun had more kick to it now."

Max headed back down to the floor below to see LSN. "Are you alright, LSN," Max asked in concern, but then he realized what he said, "Oh wait, the attacks didn't affect you."

"Yes, but I'm grateful for you showing concern for me," LSN said while she looked away with a blush and smile on her face.

LSN then smiled, as she said, "Well, now that the chaos is over with... I have a request, or rather... a commission for you, Max."

Max looked at LSN as she smiled at him. "Um, sure. I owe you my life after you saved me twice today," Max said to her, "I'll do whatever I can for you."

"Agreeing to help without knowing what I'm going to ask," LSN said in a nostalgic tone, "I had thought humans had forgotten that trait."

Max smirked as he stated, "You kept me alive when everyone else either backstabbed, lied, betrayed, and robbed me blind. Even before I became a Hunter. Not to mention you seriously wanted me to live as you could communicate to me. So killing me would kinda screw up whatever plan you got."

LSN had to smirk at this guy's reasoning; she did need him to live, and replied, "I'd like you to conquer an ancient ruin for me."

Max was silent for a moment after hearing that as he processed that. "An ancient ruin," Max asked her to make sure he understood what she said, "You want me to conquer an ancient ruin?" LSN nodded acknowledging that's what she said. Max felt a little fearful at first, but then he found his courage. "I'll do it," Max said in a determined voice, "I'll conquer it! But where is it?"

"That's just the thing, Max..." LSN sweatdropped, "I've lost it."

"You lost it," Max asked sounding dumbfounded.

"Well, it doesn't move and I didn't forget about it. It's just its location has gone missing from the database. I remember it's something super important in there," LSN explained, and then looked around, "And honestly, it's not in these ruins." And then LSN said, "But even if we found it, you're not ready to go in there yet."

"I see," Max said understanding what she meant by that, "So I also need to find it and get stronger on the way to it."

"That's right," LSN said, "The creatures in this particular ancient ruin are much, much stronger than the Battle Hounds we faced today."

"I understand," Max said, "But why do you want to conquer this lost ancient ruin? What's so important about this one compared to the others?"

LSN was silent at the moment, as she looked to him in silent.. and seriously said, "I need to find two particular A.I.s like myself. they're both fundamentally important for the restoration of the ruins of this planet." LSN then sweatdropped, "And other than that, I can't remember. It think they blocked the info when the world collapsed to ensure nobody irresponsible tries to abuse that power and then end the world a 2nd time."

Max sweatdropped, "I see."

"So before the mission, I need to get you ready and geared up," LSN said, "Which means I need to help you get stronger, faster, smarter, well more equipped, which means more high powered weapons, tools, even get you vehicles. And if need be, a team you can trust. Which will also add into the success of this mission's completion. Otherwise if you did it yourself, it would take 20 years to even find the place and then shot at."

"20 years," Max asked in shock, "Well, I'm willing to work towards it, but are you okay with waiting that long?!"

"I've waited for centuries to find someone who could perform the task," LSN answered, "I can wait another 20 years or more." Max sweatdropped, but LSN smirked, "But if things go right, we can shave that down to 2 year preparation. So when you're eighteen, you'll have the right stuff." She then smirked, "And I shall be your first supporter, LSN-198..."

"Allison," Max said, making LSN looked to him in confusion, "That whole LSN thing sounds like Allison, and its easier to remember."

He nodded, "Yeah, taken after LSN because it sounds like Allison. And Ally could be a nickname." LSN, now Allison, smiled, "I like it, Max. Thank you so much."

Allison held out her hand towards Max who looked back and force between Allison's face and her hand in confusion. "This is what humans do when they greet each other and form a contract," Allison said in an excited tone, "You call it a 'handshake.'"

Max smirked, as he gently grasped her holographic hand, and smiled. "Deal then... partner."

"Agreed... partner," Allison said back.

What started as what would be the end of his life was now a new beginning for Max and his new A.I. partner as they worked together to discover more mysteries of the world while surviving in it.

Next Chapter: Training and Teaching and Dangers of Knowing

I'd like to give a shout out to Sideways865 for helping me with this. Also wanted to say Happy Holidas this year, and have a holly jolly Christmas.