Adam and the Panzermaster were completely still as the footsteps of his strays moved further into the sewers. Eventually, there was no sound at all once more. They didn't need to breathe, or blink, or perform any of those small automatic movements that organics needed to. Adam simply stared at the Panzermaster as he reviewed all the information that he had gleaned from their encounter already.
This was not an opponent he could afford to take for granted. Adam looked down at his sword again, it would be good for two more strikes like that before it broke, half of the mileage he normally got out of them. Judging from the damage it did to the blade, he himself was actually at risk of taking damage from a blow. Even a glancing blow would damage him, and another jump-kick like that would cripple him entirely if he let it hit directly.
One good hit from the enemy in front of him, and Adam Smasher would be scrap. That was an unacceptable outcome.
Looking at the frame, Adam realized he couldn't recognize its model. The borg's frame was a custom job all the way through, just as nimble as his own, just a little less powerful. The power it made up for by being a grandmaster of panzerfaust, as his almost broken sword attested to. Judging from the speed at which the panzermaster caught the rifle rounds fired at it…
A sandevistan and a kerenzikov, both of them. Those used to be incompatible chrome, not anymore. The borg he was facing was faster than him by a solid margin. That and he clearly was better at panzerfaust than Adam, that trick with the bullets proved it.
A counter-vibration in the palms to cancel the impact of the bullets and render them harmless? That took precision and practice that Adam simply didn't have. He might be able to replicate the trick in time, now that he knows about it, but it would take a while. He probably didn't have time for it in the fight.
The panzermaster was faster than him, hit harder than him, and was immune to standard bullets. Adam was underground, so he couldn't use explosives without risking a few thousand pounds of stone collapsing on them both. One of his heaviest-hitting tools and he couldn't use it because of the environment he ambushed them in.
That and the movement, there should have been something other than ripples to alert them. Some sort of miniscule sound, but there wasn't. Adam realized why when he reviewed the scene again, the borg was using that counter-vibration trick again to somehow cancel the energy of his landing and prevent sound from escaping. That was one of the most absurd feats he had ever seen in his life.
And of course, the reason he sent the boy and the gremlin ahead anyways…
Adam looked to the scanner in the top-right corner of his vision. The one that told him what percentage of the target was chrome. It was currently linked to the completely still borg in front of him in the shadowy, pillared room.
One-hundred percent.
The thing in front of him wasn't a borg, it had no limitations of flesh. It was a full machine. An AI piloting a frame that was faster, hit harder, and was more skilled than him. It could probably keep that sandevistan on for longer than him. This thing could probably kill him if he made a single fucking mistake here. Of course, Adam wasn't about to make a mistake if he could avoid it.
Alright, look at your advantages Smasher. Firstly, he was better armored. He had way more armor than the bot in front of him, almost twice as much as far as he could tell. He could survive glancing blows and would die to a direct strike, the same was true the other way around here.
Secondly, his reach. His frame was way taller than the bot's, and his arms and legs were proportionally much longer as well. That is in addition to his swords, which gave him another three feet to work with. Reach was a massive factor in fights in knifing-distance, and he had it in spades here.
Thirdly… Uriel
'Can do.' Uriel replied as he stepped out of Adam's frame. Adam didn't get as old as he did without being cautious, he wasn't about to risk a fight against a panzerfaust grandmaster AI in a custom frame if he could avoid it. Doing shit like that was why so many cyberpunks became corpses.
Uriel viewed the world through cyberspace, and looked to the bot before them. There was no change in its appearance from the real world to the cyberworld, they were identical in each.
No… There was something around the bot… something that looked like static. All around it, flowing like electrical current.
"I would advise against that, Adam Smasher." The bot spoke before Uriel could move forwards, stunning the both of them. They stared at him in no small amount of surprise, although in Adam's case it was more like glared. "Your anima, while impressive, is fledgling. It would not survive my Void."
Adam Smasher didn't get to be as old as he was by taking risks like this, Uriel retreated to his frame and laser focused on the fight. Neither of them had any fucking clue what the bot was talking about, but if it could see Uriel then it could probably fuck him up something fierce.
The bot continued. "Although, I am surprised. To think your anima would take the form of the Deva Surya, it was not what I expected of the Red Sun Asura. Still, a sun nevertheless, so I suppose it is fitting. The cosmos rhymes in funny ways, don't you think?"
What was this bot rambling on about? Mystical bullshit that Adam didn't care about.
With Uriel as an advantage taken out outside of a last resort (he wasn't about to risk such a huge advantage unless he needed to) Adam was down to two things, Armor and Reach to win this fight. Let's not give him a fucking challenge now, huh?
Adam transferred the damaged blade to his left hand, and drew a second blade. He'd need to cripple the thing before it could get a lucky hit on him. There wasn't a safer option here than an absolute attack. He'd need… four swings before he could get a hit in. He better make it count.
The bot noticed his aggressive stance, and kept talking. "I am honor-bound to prevent any knowledge of the hidden art from spreading beyond the order. You were left alone because you seemed disinclined to teach another. That has changed, and now we come into conflict."
"I believe in attempting diplomacy first, however. Tell me Adam Smasher, will you lay down your arms and accept destruction?"
Adam growled at this.
"I'm not going to die to some scrap in a sewer, I'm not going to die to anyone."
The buddha-masked head tilted.
"A shame, I will try to make your death swift."
A drop of water started falling. They activated their sandevistans simultaneously. Adam rushed forwards to meet the bot doing the same. The bot got within cutting range of Adam, and Adam swung.
The bot stopped the sword with two vibrating fingers, and moved to close the distance. Adam didn't let it, shifting his body to pull the first sword back and swing down with the second vibrating blade. This time the bot raised both hands to grab the sword between its vibrating palms. Adam thrust the first sword again, crashing it against both hands and sending them upwards.
Its guard was open, Adam kicked it as hard as he could. It brought its hands down to meet his foot, being just a tad faster than he was. It blocked, barely, but the force of the kick sent it flying back to crash against a pillar. It twisted midair, and caught itself on the pillar by its fingers, spinning around and down to bleed off all the energy of the blow before its feet hit the water, again making no sound.
Their sandevistans deactivated. The water drop finished falling. Adam's swords crumbled. The chamber echoed with the sudden crash of disturbed water from Adam's movements. He looked at his swords, both of them shattered to the point of uselessness. He dropped their hilts and drew two more swords. He really was hoping that he could get three hits in with them each, but apparently he could only get two sometimes, how wonderful.
He looked at the damage he inflicted on the panzermaster.
Slightly damaged arms. Their plating was bent a bit and their servos made a small amount of noise with its movements.
For the low cost of two of his five swords, the only real advantage he had in this fight. He liked himself a good scrap, but dying was unacceptable here. This was a distinctly poor situation for him. He shifted his stance and his sensors in his foot returned pain.
He checked his vitals, his foot was at half structural integrity. From a fucking block.
Correction, two swords and a half-broken foot.
Goddamn this was a bad situation.
"I am most impressed with you, Adam Smasher. Not a single teacher to guide your path, and already you have reached such competence with the basic techniques, and discovered an advanced technique on your own. You are not as proficient with it as Grandmaster Recited Song of Roland 66 is, but the fact that you can even manage such is to be commended."
Adam grunted, this was already old. They were trying to kill each other here, talking is for fights you don't take seriously.
"Will you shut up?"
The bot tilted its head.
"No."
Fucker, he'd make you shut up then.
Another drop of water started falling. Both activated their sandevistans again. The bot used the pillar it was against to jump forwards in a flying kick. Adam brought a sword down to clash against it mid-air, the sword shattered, but the blow was stopped. Adam swung the other sword at its leg, crashing against its inner-calf area. The bot twisted in the middle of the air, moving with the force of the blow to spin itself like a top.
A spin kick came for his head, Adam brought back his sword to defend against it. It broke through the sword and crashed against his neck-armor. Adam was sent hurtling, rolling through the water until he was stopped by another pillar. His impact cracked the stone straight through.
Their sandevistans deactivated. The drop of water finished falling. The cistern echoed with another explosion of water where Adam was standing. Adam slowly got up.
He was down two more swords, and his neck armor was almost completely shattered. His sensors in his entire upper-torso returned servo damage throughout. He looked at the bot. It had landed without a sound yet again, the only indication of its fall being a slightly unsmooth ripple on the water's surface. Good progress.
The right leg was slightly damaged. It was putting less weight on it now than before, the servos were making small amounts of noise with their movements. Alright, down two more swords and all the protection on his neck, but he had gotten the equivalent of a bad bruise or maybe bone fracture on the bot. Baby steps Adam, baby steps.
He drew his last sword. He wasn't going to be able to preserve it for another strike, so he had to make this next one fucking count. He put both hands on the sword this time.
"Marvelous, simple marvelous. But, you are running out of swords, Adam Smasher, why not surrender?"
"Fuck you."
"What a civilized response."
"We're murderers."
"Does that mean we have to be vulgar?"
"It means I don't care what you say."
The bot's head tilted again. It chuckled at him.
"You remind me of Grandmistress Incarnating Avatar of Kali 13. Savage in mind and body both."
Adam didn't bother responding, he simply waited for the next drop of water. He was glad that the bot did the same.
A drop of water fell. They activated their sandevistans. Adam rushed forwards in a stabbing motion. The bot caught the sword between two palms again, like a dumbass, and the sword started to shatter. The moment the sword was fully stopped, Adam had already let go of it. His micro-missiles on his arm and shoulder were armed on the way over.
He didn't have to worry about bringing the roof down if he hit, and he can't miss a target right in front of him. All three micromissiles fired and Uriel manually detonated them before they actually hit the bot's vibrating arms. Block that, scrapfucker.
The explosion engulfed them both. Their sandevistans deactivated, and both were flung away to crash against their respective pillars again. The drop of water finished falling.
This time, Adam's pillar broke and fell in great chunks. One of Adam's main advantages was his better armor. It might not do jack shit to help him against panzerfaust blows, but it sure as shit protected him from his own missiles. He checked his vitals. Fifteen or so percent across his entire frame, not bad but could be better.
He got up slowly, servos screaming in protest, sensors returning pain across his form. You know for mostly superficial damage this sure as shit didn't feel like it. He put his hand on the broken pillar to help himself get up.
He looked to see where the bot was. He didn't see anything. His instincts screamed at him to block, he raised his left hand to guard his frame. An impression of static came from that direction.
The bot came from his side faster than he could see, the fucker had already activated his sandevistan. Didn't even wait for a water drop this time. Cheating bastard. Adam activated his own sandevistan.
His leg crashed against Adam's arm. Adam's arm disintegrated under the blow, his sensors screamed at him. The leg was getting close to his face…
The bot slowed, its sandevistan timed out. It was in bad shape, one leg nearly useless, both arms torn off, the entire frame suffering damage. This was likely it's last chance to take Adam out.
Adam grinned, stepped back, and lifted the pillar section his still functional arm was on. He started vibrating his arm and with it the pillar. He always did love using a good blunt weapon, it reminded him of his youth, before the nuke. He smashed the pillar down on the bot still suspended in the air, who did not have any way to block this time.
Adam's sandevistan timed out as the pillar turned the bot into fucking scrap on the ground. It shattered and broke with a scream of tortured metal, the pillar shattered as it crashed down.
Another drop of water fell.
Adam slumped to his knees for a brief moment, arm letting go of the concrete and rebar to catch himself. Ah, his leg servos were still a bit jammed up from the explosion, the pillar put a few hundred extra pounds of weight on them for a moment.
He looked at his vitals. He was all fucked up, orange or red in every location. He hoped the kid was able to take care of the meatbag, because he wouldn't be much help if it was still a serious threat. He pushed himself back up onto his feet, and drew his own shotgun with his remaining hand. He could always shoot whatever was still moving he supposed, and he had a few missiles left.
Hardly the worst state he's ever been in.
Uriel, check on the kids.
Ah, nice, they're fine then.
Mission complete once they get back.
Absentmindedly, he and Uriel started drafting up a schematic for a nice club. It would probably hold up better than the swords he had been using so far.
—
The kids looked worried as they carried the busty one back. They panicked a bit when they saw him, he wasn't sure why. All hostiles in the area had been cleared out and they had more than enough supporting guns to escort them once they left. He was in no danger now.
Besides, that bot gave him some new ideas, and they completed the mission without any casualties. Overall, this was a tremendous success, and Adam was feeling pretty good about it. They strode out of the sewers, target tied up to the back of the ACPA.
There was a lot of pointing at them, and lots of whispers that Adam didn't care about hearing. The kids fidgeted slightly as they handed off the target to the escort, and told the second responders what was down there.
Then on the way back to the tower, Adam put in a report for the damages the team sustained. It looked like they could get their new chrome to replace their broken stuff when they got back, they had spares for a reason after all.
He decided they should drop their gear off first, it wouldn't do to carry around a bunch of useless stuff around with how much damage his servos sustained. It was already looking like it would be more efficient to just swap to a fresh body at this point.
They entered his floor, and began to drop off their weapons in the bin. Well, only his shotgun, pistol, and knife for him. Everything else he had was scrap at this point.
The woman walked in, and jolted when she saw them. She all but dashed over.
"Y-your arms!" She gestured for the both of them. Adam looked at the boy again. Huh, the arm that the kid was missing was his left arm too. Funny coincidence. He looked back at the woman, and the kid spoke up.
"Mom, it's fine, you can disable the pain in a cyberlimb, remember?"
The mother started calming down at that. She looked at them again, licked her lips nervously.
"Ah, that's right huh… I suppose you two aren't feeling any of that are you?" She asked. The gremlin started waving her arms in a 'stop now' gesture. Adam replied.
"I got the pain adjusters removed." Both the woman and the kid snapped their heads to him in disbelief. Fucking meatbags, stop acting like a little pain is a bad thing. The gremlin put her face in her hands.
"Fucking why Smasher?!" The kid asked him.
"Dangerous to go numb in a fight, that's how you push too hard and kill yourself." Adam calmly explained. The kid stared at him for another solid second before letting out an explosive sigh. The woman spoke, hesitantly.
"Y-you can still feel everything?"
"Of course I can."
She stared, before her gaze hardened. My, what a scary expression woman, he might just run away in fear.
"Go get repairs." She tried to command him. Woman, how dare you try to order him to do anything.
"Was already going to, just dropping off the weapons." He growled. She growled back.
"You should have gone immediately."
"And carry all this extra weight on my servos?"
She didn't have a response to that. She just took his weapons out of his hand and from his holsters, then started shoving him towards the elevator door. Fucking woman, he was going, stop being dramatic.
Uriel was chuckling the whole time.
—
His new frame was exactly the same as his last, it was the spare they kept in the tower exactly for rapid repairs like this. They moved his biopod to the second frame, and then took the old one off for repairs. He'll have another backup in about a week or so, until then he would have to play it carefully. So he returned to his home to find a happy celebration being held between the kids.
They were watching one of his old vids, and eating some sort of pasta or something. He didn't know, he wasn't a cook. They were on standby for the rest of the week, as a 'reward' for taking out scav leadership and so many of their high-level enforcers. Arasaka military agents were already moving in and clearing everything else in the area out. The mayor was calling it 'a war on criminal activity and gangs in Night City'. Soon enough, the scavs as a faction would be completely gone in NC.
Ah, that's right, he had to congratulate the kids.
"Congratulations." He said from behind them on the couches. They jumped a bit and turned to him, perking up at the word.
"You have completed your first genocide without casualties."
They froze a bit at that. The woman also paused what she was doing, fiddling with some sort of chrome maybe?
"...That was a genocide?" The kid spoke up.
"You were key instruments in the complete eradication of a particular group within a region. That's the textual definition of Genocide. Don't let yourself forget that."
"...but they were scavs…" The gremlin spoke up.
"Indeed. They were still a group that you helped to eradicate."
"...it feels a lot less rewarding when you put it like that." The kid replied, hugging the girl tighter.
Adam snorted, kids would learn in time. They were killers from their first time putting some meatbag down. The only difference now is how good at it they were. He walked over to his bench in the other room, and sat down. He had a fight to review in detail with Uriel.