Warmachine Recap

*SPOILER ALERT*

For those of you who have not yet read my fiction 'Warmachine', which is the prequel to this story, and would be interested in doing so, please refrain from reading this recap section. A simple search on the site will yield the desired fiction. For those not interested in Vile's origins and who want to just delve into this fiction (or those who have already read Warmachine), feel free to use this section as clarification or something to refresh your memory with.

Vile: Vile has always been plagued by dreams and strange visions of a scientist, clearly deranged and panicking, speaking to an onlooker locked in a tube. The visions always end with the scientist being killed by invading Maverick Hunters and the subsequent destruction of the entire facility due to measures taken by the scientist prior to his death. After surviving the battle on Sigma's Lunar Base, Vile began to wander the Earth aimlessly, working as a mercenary to try and get the funds to repair the damage he had suffered. With the rise in popularity and success of the Maverick Hunters, the criminal elements for whom Vile worked began to lay low, decreasing the job opportunities the renegade had even more. With nothing else to do, Vile decided to investigate these visions, as they had become far more common and sometimes even painful after the events atop the Jakob elevator.

During his investigations he meets up with Nana and the two join forces, each for their own reasons, so they can benefit from the expertise of one another. Through a lot of hardship, and the help of some old friends, Vile is able to learn about the nature of the visions as well as his own origin.

Vile was created as part of the Vile Project, a project launched by Colonel Redips and then-Major Typhus in a bid to destroy the Maverick Hunters from the inside. They had several projects running, but it was the violent approach of the Vile Project that won their favor in the end. Their intent was to create a Reploid of incredible adaptability, capable of wielding any weapon, using any technique and learning both on the fly. With many weapon mounts and the ability to pick up just about anything and use it expertly, it would be a force to be reckoned with. However, this Reploid needed to have only one sole purpose, so as to make it truly infallible in this regard: combat. To that end, they set out a number of parameters that essentially limited the mental faculties of the Reploid to those of a Mechaniloid, making it little more than a glorified, yet very dangerous, drone. After mass-production, the two would have a force without ties to them to use to assassinate and destroy whomever they could not control within the organization that helped bind Reploidkind.

They required a suitable scientist, which they found in a Reploid scientist named Romanov. A fervent proponent of equality for Reploids and humans, he was an expert in the integration of thought, morality and emotion into Reploids. However, his talents in Reploid design of any kind were notable and for reasons still unclear, Romanov accepted the project. He soon realized that Redips and Typhus would use his creations solely as a gun to point and shoot, which was against everything the scientist believed in. Knowing full well it would spell his doom, Romanov attempted to introduce all the programming that made up a Reploid's mind and personality into one of the four V-models he had created. V-004 proceeded to go insane at the sudden influx and escaped, rampaging through Central City before finally being destroyed by the Repliforce. Romanov knew his time was short, that Redips would not tolerate treason or the possibility of his plans leaking out. Before hunters could knock down his door, he uploaded a barely modified version of the programs he had used on V-004 into the other three models, which included the Reploid who would later become known as Vile. He was then shot and killed by the hunters, the lab subsequently blown up.

Two of the three models were utterly destroyed in the explosion, but Vile's pod was found by a search party. Sigma, who was present at the time, was intrigued and sent him to for analysis, soon incorporating the war machine into the Maverick Hunters. The reason why Vile began to get the visions he did was rooted in the fact that the explosion had damaged a data packet and a personality program of Romanov that was supposed to explain all that had happened and impart the scientist's last wishes upon Vile's activation. The damage continued to compound over time, his mind trying to fix and undo what was going wrong. Vile's near insanity at times, as well as his violent rage and just plain overly passionate behavior is all attributed to the incomplete mind he had been given so late in development. The latest events on the Jakob elevator had forced the visions to the foreground and after nearly losing his life fighting against Typhus' ultimate weapon, Vile's mind finally restored the message Romanov had left for him.

In a mental conversation with the personality program, all was revealed to Vile. Romanov had wished for him to have a choice. He had realized that Vile had been created solely as a weapon of war. Each Reploid was designed for some specific purpose, but they still had liberty and choice in some form. Vile was never even supposed to have any of that. He was a drone given a mind. It was a desperate bid of Romanov to at least give Vile the will to make a choice, even though that choice remained limited to warfare. But at least he could fight for himself. Vile had squandered that gift up until that point, always fighting another's battles while reassuring himself that he shared those goals, even though he was just lying to himself.

After the battle in Central City was finished, Vile was allowed the chance to escape, because he had saved Central City from destruction at the risk of his own life. Even though the reasons why had been selfish as ever, there was no doubt that he had done so nonetheless. Soon after, he would ponder Romanov's words and return to the life of a mercenary, which he found suited him well. After several months, he was surprised to find himself contacted by Nana, who offered her services as his operator. Whether it was nostalgia or just because she had her uses, Vile accepted and the two became a sort of vigilante, with Nana managing to stem his anger at least somewhat and balancing him on the thin line between the legal and illegal jobs. Despite everything, Vile still suffers from a broken mind and is still very much a dangerous Maverick. But, now at least, he can fight for himself and what he believes in, however short this list may be.

Nana: Nana had continued to work in Giga City after Redips' defeat, hoping to bring the dream of Chief R's dream of a liberated and peaceful Giga City to fruition. However, during a routine checkup of a database, she discovered an outward data transfer from the engineering department. Unusual under normal circumstances, it was even more impossible during the events of Giga City. Furthermore, it had been sent to an external receiver. A short investigation quickly revealed there had been a traitor helping Redips bypass Giga City's security. Revealing this information to the Maverick Hunters resulted only in disbelief from the officer on the receiving end, a Reploid named colonel Typhus. Unwilling to let one of the murderers of Chief R get away with the deed, Nana was determined to get to the bottom of the incident. She left Giga City on her own, hoping to find the traitor's whereabouts and bring him to justice.

After meeting up with Vile, the two joined forces and Nana proved her worth by using her technological skills and talents as an operator to guide Vile through numerous battles. In the end, she learns of the identity of the traitor that had been aiding Redips and was now putting other plans into motion. After the smoke cleared, she was offered a position as an operator in the Maverick Hunters, but she declined the offer in favor of returning to Giga City and continuing the rebuilding efforts. However, after these were completed, she and Vile got into contact once more and she began working as his operator, hoping to catch further glimpses of a semblance of good in his heart. Perhaps she was just being naïve or stupidly optimistic, but she cannot break away from the renegade.

Colonel Typhus: Typhus' bid for power is a complex one. Years prior to the Asura incident, Typhus was a major under the direct supervision of colonel Redips, the commander of East Branch. Redips, after spending years watching humanity oppress Reploids, decided the only way to force Reploids to riot was to destroy the collaborators: the Maverick Hunters. He would do so from the inside, breaking the chain of command. He found an ally in the twisted mind of Typhus. Typhus, however, found that Redips was too incompetent to pull this off and disagreed with the man's plans for allowing mankind to serve as a slave race, reversing society. Typhus wanted to eradicate them all and, because Reploids were too weak-willed to make any decisions for themselves, he would also wipe their minds to the point where he was the only sentient being left on the planet. Reploids would live in a veritable utopia under his rule. But, he still wanted to see if Redips could succeed at least somewhat, so betrayal was not on his mind.

They explored all manner of avenues, but the first project that they truly found interesting was the Vile Project. Funding scientists to create the ultimate drone; they would mass-produce these into a private police force and use the weapons to enact their plans and start the revolution. Romanov, their chosen scientist, stepped out of his bounds, however, and attempted to insert personality into one of the V models, feeling compassion and love for his own creations. The V model went berserk in Central City, but was destroyed. Typhus managed to cover up the incident, but not before recovering anything that remained of that model behind Redips' back. Redips then decided to put their plans on hold after Romanov was killed and all evidence removed, wanting to let the heat decrease.

Their next real bid was Redips' plans to capture Supra Force Metal from Giga City. He had Typhus organize the theft of the experimental copy chip that would allow non-new generation Reploids to change shape. After choosing a good candidate for Redips, the only Reploid in their organization that seemed compatible with the prototype chip, to impersonate, they began their plans. The events of the Giga City incident proceeded, culminating in Redips' public betrayal and death. Again, Typhus was there to clean up the mess, making sure to keep any information on the copy chip and Force Metal for later use. From there, he began to exert his influence. Another was promoted to colonel of East Branch, which left a position in Central City open. Typhus was promoted to colonel there and over the time that followed, began to put his pawns in place until much of Central Branch Tower was under his control. Corrupt hunters, blackmailed innocents, it made little difference, he was set.

Typhus then proceeded to steal both of the Supra Force Metal fragments, one from the government, the other from an independent research facility. These fragments were all that remained of the Force Metal and he required it as a power source for his ultimate weapon. Once he learned of Vile and Nana's snooping, he began to use the independent presence of the hired Revenants, a mercenary unit, to harass and hopefully kill the two. After numerous failures, however, he found his tower and seat of power under attack from the furious renegade Vile and, eventually, he was found out by the Maverick Hunters themselves. Vile, the hunters and the Repliforce all began an all-out battle in Central City outskirts against his fortified tower and private Mechaniloid force. He hoped to hold them off while he unveiled his secrets.

Typhus had adapted the V-004 corpse he had had salvaged from the incident many years ago to fit the Supra Force Metal. This would power its weapons to unprecedented heights, its simple mind remaining unaffected by the corrupting power. Adding information from all the Reploids in the copy chip and stolen technology, he had created an incredibly powerful Reploid that proceeded to beat Vile within an inch of his life. However, he soon found his plans to mass-produce V-004 shattered when Vile turned the tables and destroyed it. No longer able to see a way to make his utopia a reality, he activated Asura, a truly enormous machine of war he had developed in secrecy. V-004 had only been meant to serve as its power source in the event of an emergency. He set the beast loose, ordering it to destroy everything and everyone, including himself. If he could not own the world, none could.

In the end, he did not even see Asura defeated, as Nana could not find it in her heart to bring him to due justice and lethally shot him through the chest, his body plummeting from the top floor of his tower to his death...

The Revenants: The Revenants were an elite force of infamous mercenary Mavericks known for their efficiency, deadliness and high pay checks. Experts at covering their tracks, no one really knew their identities and it was near impossible to track down where they had been over the years. However, much of their administration was still handled by external sources, which proved to be an invaluable lead for Vile and Nana. The groups consisted of four Reploids, each one deadly in their own right. Onslaught was the muscle and firepower, while Frostbite was the one with speed on his side. Morrigan had the unique ability to turn intangible, proving to be the greatest obstacle to a direct combatant like Vile. Last, but not least, was Spectrum, the leader of the group, who had been installed with an experimental Copy Chip that could supposedly be integrated into the systems of any old generation Reploid to give them the same shape shifting abilities as their new generation counterparts. However, it turned out this technology only worked on barely 1% of existing Reploids, which caused the prototype to be pushed to the back bench. Beyond this, Spectrum was also a saber-wielder capable of fighting toe-to-toe with the likes of Zero.

All four were confirmed casualties of the battles in Central City, though only the remains of Onslaught and Frostbite were found. Spectrum and Morrigan's remains were likely vaporized when Typhus' war machine destroyed a large portion of his tower.

The Aftermath: The battle against Asura had far-reaching consequences. Thousands of people, human and Reploid, had died and the truth of Typhus' betrayal was soon out. While Asura had been destroyed, it had damaged not only large portions of the city, but also the trust the Maverick Hunters had been able to build up. People and governments were afraid and soon, important and veteran officers of the Maverick Hunters were being replaced by puppets of politicians. Backboneless yes-men who proceeded to put ever more severe sanctions on any Mavericks and any hunter who did not do exactly as ordered. The Repliforce underwent similar changes, rumors even circulating that the Maverick Hunters would no longer be allowed to operate independently and be placed under the supervision of the internationally-run military force.

Tensions are on the rise between the humanity and Reploids and it has been shown many times throughout history that little is as damaging to society and peace as fear and misunderstanding...