So here I am, thoroughly unamused as I stare down the short weird looking girl whos probably a case 53 that decided to attack me with some form of head hurty power. Instead of responding, she tilts her head.
(̷̩͈̘̯̗̥̳͙̳̪̬͔̥̥̓̽̊̔̏͘Q̶̬̳͇̮̭̤̙̗̪̤̦̿̂̔̄̀̍̄̅̔̍͘͝͝ͅu̸̡̢̨̥̝̰̥͔̩̗̥̖̳͔̹͔̭̗̜̳̦͉͉̒̄̓̓͑̔̃́̈́̆̈̀̓̔͂̔̄̈́́̕͜͜͝͠ͅe̶̳̫͈̎̈̏͜r̴̜͙̪͖̋̀̈́͛͆̋̄͗́̓͒̇̕̚y̷̢̻̲̥͉̻̦̥̮̪̽͛̇̊͂̄̊̋̈́͛́́͆͒̐̓̈́͘̚)̸̛̻̔͒̿̊̕
Gah! Fuck! "Cut that shit out already!" The pain is less but it still sends a gush of black liquid down my face. Fuck this. "Alright bitch, put em up. I ain't scared of cold cocking a girl." I stand up fully again and raise my hands. She's already attacked me twice. Not letting her get another hit in is a good idea here. So despite my words I already started rushing her, she looks rather soft so a quick hit to the- I can't finish my charge as I'm flung back painfully through the glass window of some building. Fuck. What the… Seriously what the fuck? I had felt my clothes pulling then I was just sent flying.
(̸͖͙̊̄͂͂̾F̸̙͇̱́̽̚͜u̵̾̈́ͅt̴̡̞̪̪̮̓i̵̦̦͋ḹ̸̍̚ḯ̷̛̻͙̇̃̚͜ţ̸̼̦̖̃ỷ̶͖̙)̷̛͓͖͍͛͊̏͘ ̷̦͖̖͔͓̓̇͗́(̵͉͖̠̓̎̀̒̅D̷͙̫̤͛̍͂͝ë̶͎̮̹́̔̕ͅt̸͕̺̥̥̀a̸͖̣̐̀̔̽i̷̥̝͐͌̄ǹ̷̝̝m̶̩̹̱͑̀̐̈́e̸̖̓ņ̸̪͈̉̽͐̓̕t̴̨̨̥̯̳̍͗̈́͝)̷͓͍̆͂͆
I blink in my position on the floor atop the broken glass, actually having understood that one slightly. Wait, detainment. I know that word. I do not like that word. "Hey wait a minute here, I think we started off on the wrong foot. Why don't we start over and talk about this, yeah?"
(̸̛̞͍͇̰̺̋̋̉̕D̷̘́ȩ̵̡̜̔͋̄̌̃ṅ̶̹̐́̇̅i̶̢̘͕̅̓a̸̤̼̣͉̩̓̑̿͌͝l̴͚̒͆̒͜)̸̡̩̳͒͋̑̕
"Fuck." And before I can say more I hear a woman singing. Why is there a lady singing in my head? Why are my eyes closing? Man, I'm so tired all of a sudden.
When did the lights go out? Wait, they were never on.
...
When I next come to I find myself in a dark large room with a whole bunch of stuff I don't understand. Machines of a variety of types, the biggest being a huge glass cylinder filled with liquid and tubes. Most worrying, however, is I'm strapped to a stretcher or something. I pull at my wrists and they don't budge, and neither do my legs which are fully strapped down. I can raise my chest slightly and that's about it. I do however have the ability to turn my head. To my right? Blank wall. To my left? Two other dudes in the same situation as me if a bit worse.
The first is a dude around my age and height I think, hard to tell with the being strapped to a stretcher and all. He's looking rather pale and has frizzy brown hair or black hair. It's dark and the only illumination is from the machines around us so I'm just guessing at this point. His eyes are closed, for an obvious reason when you consider he has something strapped to his wrist attached to an IV drip thing. So no help there bro's drugged out of his mind.
Unfortunately for me, so is the other guy. A short man, with a large gut. Older guy too if the receding hairline says anything about his age, and if he's young damn, sorry for your loss dude.
(̷̗̩͈͝D̷̺̯̈̊͘e̶̛͎͍̍͜v̸͈̈́͜i̷̞̜̺͆͆͠a̴͝ͅn̸͖̜̕ț̶̼̹̐ ̸̪͇͕̓̋V̶͓̈́i̴̧͔͐̇ͅt̸̞͔̐͐̚a̶̱̻̚l̶̲͇͝)̸̨̬́ͅ ̵̯̎{̷̮̔͐̎A̸̢̧̼͛̈́͗d̶͇͗̑m̶̰͍͈̐i̷͖̠͇̐n̴̨͉̊̎́i̵̥̝͊̐͝s̶͚̯̅̈́̆t̵̪̭̬́̃́r̸̫̆͒̆a̷̖̫̦͊t̷̹̅ͅō̷̦̲r̶̭͊̉̋ ̷̼̼͘1̶͎͊}̴͍̫̪͋̄{̶̫͙̃̉͊G̴̳͋̐r̷̫̠̭̂̀ó̷͔̗̥͘ẃ̸̧̩͙̕͝t̵̗̤͔̃̾̉h̸̪͒́̆ ̴͉̾̏1̸̋̍͜͠}̸̻̖͔͋͝{̴̱̻̈́̒D̴͚̩̟͊r̸̰͆̍̋o̴̭̘̫̐͆͝n̴͓̾͛͘ę̵̯͙̄̿ ̵̃̇͜C̴̮̬̦͝o̶̳̎͑͠m̸̡̖͆̾̎m̵̹̒ā̶̠̹̇͑n̵̺̦̒d̸͎͈̾̀̂ ̵̯̍1̷͎̂͌}̶̛̜̜̂͝ ̷̰̹̀̔͜(̶̗̐͐Q̴͓̯̇̍ṳ̴̮̈e̴̟͌͘r̴͈̩͉̐ẏ̸̢̌͂)̸̘͈̒͌̈́
Oh boy, I sure love voices in my head. "Where you at Simmy? Yeah, I know who you are you angel-looking shitter." I twist and turn in my stretcher looking around for her and not seeing the fucking Endbringer that kidnapped me anywhere in sight. Seriously what the actual fuck? What is this shit? I have too many questions, and while my brain didn't want to register this It's hard not to see the signs when they all blast you in the face at high-velocity speeds. Head fuckery, check. Angel looking, check. Telekinesis (In hindsight), check. And finally, tinker shit. I look around the lab I'm in. Check. Wait, there's one place I haven't looked. Stretch my neck a little and lift my chin to look directly behind me, and I immediately meet blank red eyes with my own. "Uh, found you?"
(̸͍͉̣̍̋̀D̷̙͕͌͛̈́e̸̯̜̎̑͝v̶̦̉̈i̷̙͐ǎ̴̯͉̈̕n̷̦̅ẗ̴̨̺͍́͐ ̶̖͒V̷̡͚̬̀i̸̳͒̏͝t̴̘͓͋ã̸̯͖̩̅̌l̵̲̂̆͂)̶̡̜̙̔͊ ̷̨̌{̴̨̙̳̿Ạ̶͈͕̒d̶͓͔͆m̴̯̳̬̀ḯ̵̜̻͆͗n̷̪͉̄͋͜ì̶̮͖s̶͕͖̽͘͝t̶͙̙͆̋͜r̸̡͑̏̂ả̶̺t̶͔͆̓́ó̷͔̲̋r̵̛̫͝ ̸̣͓̀͑̌1̵̨̛̀}̴̺̳̃̋̿{̸̦̗̔́̽G̷͈͗̾͆r̷̨̰͇͋ö̶͖̳́ͅẅ̶̧́̉t̵̛̫̋h̸͖̗͛̍ ̸̮̲̮̒͛͒1̸̼̐̐}̸̬̐{̶̞͛̓͝D̶̳̬̒r̵̘̞̅ô̷̥n̵͔̓́ë̵͜ͅ ̷͈̝̲͝C̸̡̻͔̓̂̑ō̸͙̣̖͑m̶͙̆̀͜m̷͍̺̬̽͛̅a̷͍̙̔̈n̴̥̜̉d̴̨̩̄ ̸͚͑1̶̟͙̩̽͗}̸̠͇̖͌̓ ̴̤͗͗(̸̝̃̇̇C̴͓̓̋͂ò̸̦͉n̴̳̟͋f̴̭̞̈̓͜i̶̱̪̘͗̾r̶̳̘̈̅̊͜m̵̭̐͒a̶̤͐̅̌ṱ̶́i̸͇̾́̓ǫ̸̜̺̈́͘͝n̷̠̐)̴̤̃̚ ̴̨̆͛̽(̴̠͕͛̆Q̸̻̞͛û̷͕̓̌ẻ̵͓̅r̸͍̲̽y̷̻̩̺͊͐̂)̴̡́
Is blasted into my head and I wince. Still not as bad as it was the first time or every following time. "Yeah look, I have no idea what the fuck you want. But the fact you haven't mind raped me into a gibbering mess I'm taking as a good sign."
(̴D̵e̴v̸i̶a̴n̷t̵ ̴V̶i̴t̴a̵l̸)̶ ̶{̶A̸d̸m̶i̸n̷i̷s̷t̵r̵a̷t̴o̷r̸ ̵1̴}̷{̸G̵r̶o̷w̸t̸h̸ ̵1̷}̸{̸D̸r̷o̴n̵e̶ ̷C̵o̵m̸m̵a̷n̶d̴ ̸1̵}̵ ̸(̴I̷n̵a̵b̴i̶l̴i̸t̶y̷)̶ ̵(̴A̷d̸a̴p̶t̴a̵t̴i̷o̶n̶)̴
"What does- No, you can't? That's hilarious. Get bent bitch."
(̵D̴e̶v̴i̶a̶n̷t̴ ̷V̶i̵t̵a̴l̸)̵ ̸{̴A̴d̶m̴i̵n̸i̸s̶t̵r̶a̴t̸o̶r̶ ̴1̷}̸{̷G̸r̵o̶w̷t̴h̶ ̸1̶}̸{̸D̶r̵o̴n̴e̶ ̸C̷o̶m̴m̸a̶n̵d̵ ̴1̶}̸ ̵(̷I̴r̵r̸i̸t̸a̶t̷i̷o̸n̸)̵ ̶(̴E̷x̴p̵l̷a̴n̸a̷t̶i̷o̶n̴)̶
"Don't care." I laugh, and I finally see the first sign of emotion on her face as the corner of her mouth twitches. "Wait, why are you calling me that? And can you talk like a person? Or is this body mute?"
"Biological function larynx fully functional, (̵D̴e̶v̴i̶a̶n̷t̴ ̷V̶i̵t̵a̴l̸)̵ ̸{̴A̴d̶m̴i̵n̸i̸s̶t̵r̶a̴t̸o̶r̶ ̴1̷}̸{̷G̸r̵o̶w̷t̴h̶ ̸1̶}̸{̸D̶r̵o̴n̴e̶ ̸C̷o̶m̴m̸a̶n̵d̵ ̴1̶}̸ ̵(̷I̴r̵r̸i̸t̸a̶t̷i̷o̸n̸)̵ ̶(̴E̷x̴p̵l̷a̴n̸a̷t̶i̷o̶n̴)̶." Okay, that was words, even if the ending sounded like it was multiple dying animals with said words.
"That my shard or something? Deviant Vital Administrator blah blah blah?"
"Confirmation."
"So you gonna let me go? I mean you said you can't do anything to me." I try cus why the fuck not at this point.
"Negative. Irritation. Threat. Host Destruction. Precaution." She answers with no change in expression. Wait a minute. Oh fuck, oh no, bad bad bad.
"Hey hey hey, hold on just a minute here. I ain't no threat. We're chill, we're relaxed, calm down a bit here."
"Platitudes disregarded. Destruction of Host (̵D̴e̶v̴i̶a̶n̷t̴ ̷V̶i̵t̵a̴l̸)̵ ̸{̴A̴d̶m̴i̵n̸i̸s̶t̵r̶a̴t̸o̶r̶ ̴1̷}̸{̷G̸r̵o̶w̷t̴h̶ ̸1̶}̸{̸D̶r̵o̴n̴e̶ ̸C̷o̶m̴m̸a̶n̵d̵ ̴1̶}̸ Optimal." Fuck she actually wants to kill me.Fuck, she actually can kill me.If I had this opportunity a few months back I'd have taken it in a heartbeat. Now? Now I'm panicking hard as I sure as shit do not want to fucking die.
"Hold up! Hey please do not do that! I know I'm an asshole but killing me seems like a last resort kinda deal here if you brought me alive yeah!?" At this point, it's pure speculation, but I just found reasons to live and I don't want to fucking die.
"Study. Query. Confirmation Threat. Host Destruction Optimal." She doesn't budge at fucking all.
"Wait! I know things! Things you have no idea about! A future even you can't see! Aren't you the least bit curious?! I have knowledge even The Thinker never had access to." She blinks. Actually blinks. Her humanish body's eyelids close for an instant. I had apparently said something so outlandish she couldn't stop her body's reaction.
"Query. Demand."
"Easy there, I know a lot. And I'm banking on the fact you can't get any more out of me if murder was your go-to." I give a nervous chuckle and she doesn't budge. "Okay, not big on small talk. Don't mind my panicking. Alright so, your primary directives. Worthy opponent and information collection yeah? You are literally built to be curious, to gain as much knowledge as you can. Can't gain mine if I'm dead or not cooperative. And between you and me, I have knowledge well past this world, and the other worlds in this multiverse."
"Confirmation. Frustration. Query."
"I have no idea what you're asking, use people words please."
"What information does Host (̵D̴e̶v̴i̶a̶n̷t̴ ̷V̶i̵t̵a̴l̸)̵ ̸{̴A̴d̶m̴i̵n̸i̸s̶t̵r̶a̴t̸o̶r̶ ̴1̷}̸{̷G̸r̵o̶w̷t̴h̶ ̸1̶}̸{̸D̶r̵o̴n̴e̶ ̸C̷o̶m̴m̸a̶n̵d̵ ̴1̶} contain." Huh. So she can talk.
"Uh, just call me Rory, please. And to that… A lot? I know what the future of this world would have been, your future included. The cycle is defunct, nada, shits over. The Warrior dies, and you help kill him."
"Negative."
"Is it really that outlandish? Think about it. The Warrior is an obstacle to you. He isn't going to continue the cycle, and never will again considering The Thinker is braindead. What does that mean? It means he's going directly against your directive.
Guess what Simmy, you're fucked.
Killing me does nothing for you, and I'm probably the only guy that can even think about helping you outta this mess." I may be getting a bit too confident here, but that's literally all I've got. Fake it till you make it, but I'm not even faking it.
The Simurgh will never complete her objectives if Zion goes full world-ender on us. She stays silent after that for quite a bit. And I find myself latching on to any possible sound around us. The drip of a faucet, the steady beeps of machines, anything really.
"Information confirmed truthful. What does Designation Roar Ree Propose?" Wait fuck what? I didn't think I'd get this far, fuck what do I do?
"Alliance of convenience, I'll show and tell you all I know over the next while as we figure out what to do about the big golden guy and your dad-"
"Denial. Molecular structure of biological vessel is unique." Ohh, touched a nerve I did it seems.
"Alright won't call him that. We'll figure out what to do aboutDavid. In exchange, you don't murder me or the people around me, is that acceptable?" I look at her in the eyes, and it's like staring at a statue. Unmoving, expressionless, no humanity to be found. She's a machine. Albeit a shard-based currently biological machine. But a machine nonetheless.
"Agreement." She states with no inflection. I let out a huge sigh of relief I had been holding. There was still a chance she would just fucking murder me instead.
"Uh, alright. Can you let me out now? My leg is itchy." And without even saying a word, the straps holding me down snap and fall away. I rub my wrist but any possible chaffing is already long gone. "And these guys, who are they?"
"Host-"
"Parahumans got it. Using human terms, please. Brain talk is not fun."
"Hosts used as resources to create flesh vessel. Currently obsolete. Disposal recommended."
"Heya wait a sec there. You don't need these guys anymore?"
"Correct, Designation Roar Ree."
"Then we can just let them go?"
"Why?" Oh god, it's like talking to a four-year-old. Fuck how can I argue this one...
"They could be useful if something happened to your body. You need to be around them to copy powers right? That's why you have them right?" Or she was harvesting their flesh, I would say it's a toss-up.
"Correct, Designation Roar Ree."
"Just Rory. No designation shit. And uh, alright then let's let these guys go."
"Acceptance, Roar Ree."
What have I signed myself up for?
...
It took a bit for the tinkers to wake up considering she pumped them full of sleeping drugs. So I just waited in silence as I tried to ignore the constant gaze of the literal Terror Drone as she's been called in fanon. Eventually, the first of the tinker's eyes blink open, dazed and confused looking, the young guy who looks just a bit older than me wakes up first. "Where… The Simurgh! Fuck! Where is she?!" And immediately starts flailing around as he looks for her. I have to actually rush to hold his arms down so he doesn't hurt himself.
"Hey man, easy, easy there. She's gone, you're safe."
"Of course I'm not safe, I'm a fucking Ziz bomb or something now." He starts panicking as he grasps my arm tightly, then he sees the humanized Simurgh behind me. "Oh fuck she finished my project. What the hell could she have done to Morrigan? Why is Morrigan even awake?!"
"Hold up a sec man, take a second." I try and sound as calming as I can.
"You don't get it. That's a goddamn human Endbringer hybrid. Without my safety precautions, we should all be fucking dead!" I'm sorry, what did he just say? Wait a goddamn second…
"Are you Blasto?" He blinks in surprise at the name, then takes his eyes off Simmy and turns to me.
"You know me?"
"I know of you, and I must say cloning an Endbringer is fucking bullshit levels of stupid!" I growl.
"Disagreement, the statement from Roar Ree is false." The Simurgh is quick to add and Blasto looks at her wide-eyed.
"She's sentient?! I didn't program that! I can't program that! I can't do brains more than the size of a walnut!" He exclaims fully hysterically.
"Hey, hey don't focus on her Blasto. I made a deal with her. The Simurgh left already. She's gone. You're safe."
"Do you not comprehend the fact we have what's essentially an Enbringer clone right fucking there!? How in the ever living hell is that safe?!"
"She would have killed us by now, I reckon." Another voice, I look to the side and see the older more rotund man has woken up. "At least that's what I figure. I'm panicking just as much on the inside right now."
"She's fine. The Simurgh did her thing and left, that's all there is to it." Okay, I don't fucking know how I'm supposed to talk no jutsu this, but I'd rather not kill these two guys and I already got the Simurgh to agree to that. Wait, why did I fucking wake them up at all? God damnit I'm fucking retarded at times.
"I hope you don't mind if I think fine is the last word to use here."
"Yeah, that is fair."
"Designation Morrigan will not eliminate research subjects." Oh, okay she accepted that name for some fucking reason. Good to know.
"She called us research subjects!" Blasto Panics again.
"Blasto, I said we're fine for fucks sake! Morrigan, stop talking!"
"Agreement not stipulated to include silence Roar Ree."
"Please? That means I sincerely wish you will let me do the talking. I should clarify."
"Acceptable."
"Okay, okay good. Now uh, I have to make a few calls. And find out where we are. And what to do about… Everything really."
"My girlfriend is going to kill me." Blasto puts his face into his hands and whines. Ah fuck.
"I can sympathize with that." Not helped by the fact I promised Lisa a talk. Or that I'll have the Simurgh following me around like a lost puppy. I feel I just escalated harder than Taylor ever did all at once anyways. Then I remember Khepri. Nope, I'm still in the clear.
But seriously. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? The only thing I know for sure now is that I've fully confirmed to myself I don't want to die anymore.
Silver linings I guess. And now I need to convince the Simurgh to put pants on. Seriously, what the fuck is my life?