I am neither dropping 'Not so Simple' nor any other stories I have on going. Motivation and inspiration for those are severely lacking and I cringe looking back at some of the things I wrote. None of that means they're abandoned, just on hold.
Btw, new obsession dropped, boys! Murder Drones has consumed the past two or so weeks of my life and I'm gonna express that right here! Have fun with that!
This story will only start in 'Murder Drones' and will swiftly move onto the next setting.
This is another attempt at hitting the proverbial jack-pot, writing wise, that'll be fun enough to write so I can finish it.
Booting up...
DETECTING SECONDARY MIND!
Secondary mind has been designated as superior, will be assimilated...
Machine ID: V1
Current Location: Copper 9, Outpost 3 Maintenance room
Current Objective: Repurpose Hardware to work with nearby available fuel sources.
I feel myself return. My mind was a mess, memories of the life of a teenager in the 2020s clashing with the horrid years as a killing machine in the final war and later, in hell. My head, my thoughts, where dominated with panic at how I was perceiving my five senses. I had yet to open my eyes but I still 'felt' the metal ground I lay on. But instead of simply feeling the texture, my 'skin' absorbed the data input of what it was touching, sending the code to my central network/brain, which then finally converts it into a feeling my human mind was familiar with. There was no delay, it was actually even faster than a normal human body would need to feel something, but it was still odd.
I was a human in a robot body.
I knew I was a human once because I still remember being one and because I remember not being one. As V1, from motherfucking ULTRAKILL by the way, I didn't think like I did now. I had objectives and ways to complete them. No philosophical wondering about my existence... except maybe some instances where I contemplated what my prey felt. Empathy, I was developing empathy but I- or rather V1- discarded those thoughts handily. They where not conclusive to the main objective.
Even now, as I lay in some kind of storage room that I could scan without even needing to open my singular eye, I still got the analytical thoughts of V1 beamed into my head. They where like somebody whispering suggestions into your ear, but for me, they didn't speak any language. It was almost like I myself came up with them.
Find Blood
Relearn offensive combat
Yes, it's suggestions where both morally disturbing and helpful at the same time. I'm not even going to touch on my meta-knowledge of both ULTRAKILL and, from the Copper 9 in my status report that came up like a video game screen as I woke up, Murder Drones. I was still reeling from my situation. I was reincarnated, my human death at the hands of simple sloth that compelled me to cross the street early along with the fantastical situation I was in guaranteed that.
I could not even go down the denial road as I instinctively had both the capacity for insanity and not. While still human in mind, I had something of an AI foundation to my consciousness. I could go insane, but the second I did, I would be rebooted. I would not loose my memory or become some other person. No, the primary AI, simply referred to as V1 for simplicities sake, would surgically remove my 'malfunctioning' parts and send me back on my feet. It was also the reason that extreme emotions such as panic or dread are suppressed. If not inherently positive, I could only feel something like despair if my electronic CPU where to be shut off, leaving whatever is currently controlling my body without fuel to pilot it. I was suspecting that it was my soul, but I still needed fuel or else my transformers like shifting between arms and weapons was off limits, along with advanced movement.
Well, I couldn't slam-storage-walljump, as V1 never did in it's memories, but dash-jumps and slides where still good.
Returning to the topic of past memories before I wake up fully, V1 lead a disturbing life for any human. The only reason I didn't despair in guilt, forcing a reboot, was because I was barely separating myself from that time as the murder robot and due to hasty compartmentalization. It just lived, killed, fed and repeat. It only got better, that was the only change it underwent. Better in the use of newly acquired weaponry, better in utilizing it's RAM and other available technological enhancements for battle specifically.
I open my visor, my instinctive knowledge of my body letting me know that the one yellow orb was now operating fully. I was simultaneously digesting the information of both normal, infra-red and sonar-based vision. It was awkward and I focus on the normal vision, if night-vision enhanced, and put all others on the back-burner until they either picked something up or I needed them. I grin, mentally that is, I couldn't as V1. I could run simple programs of my own design in my funking brain. If I want a timer for 5 minutes? Bam! Done. Want to save a memory or image for later? Saved for later!
And now, I simply told my other visions to alert me if they picked something 'suspicious' or 'out of order' up, the basis of which they simply took from my own mind. Robo trauma may be in the package, along with muted emotions, but otherwise being V1 is awesome.
I observe my room and find it to be lined with shelves on three of the four metallic, pipe-lined, industrial walls. The last was occupied by an equally industrial, probably hydraulic door. Just from what I could see, V1 'told' me it would open via a scanner built into the top, a key-card or via a pass-code that would be typed into a holographic panned that would activate as soon as I stepped near.
I looked around the room, analyzing the rouge mechanical pieces on the shelves. As I finished, V1 supplied that I was very well capable of repurposing a lot of them to make myself a small tank on either my hip or back to store Oil for fuel, or repurposing the Blood absorption entirely- though that would rid me of my healing factor, something out of the question as my build was flimsy. For ULTRAKILL standards, that is. I could probably tank a tank-missile and live.
I shrug, the Drones of this series- holy fuck I was in Murder Drones btw- lived on Oil, so having the option to fuel myself with it was better than nothing. I love that I just... had and AI with the equivalent of the entire human races knowledge in my head. While not knowing everything inherently, I would still get a summary for something fitting of the situation.
That demonstrated it's usefulness as I picked up three objects, one a zip-locked patch of tubes that I planned to reinforce with some excess plating I still had... 'in storage' from the last time I absorbed blood, a canister about the size of a small- like, really small- dog and lastly some kind of engine-pump thing that would apparently filter impurities out of any Oil I gather with the help of some of my internal systems.
I sigh, using the last of my Blood stores, something V1 was advising against by nature, to transform my left hand into the Whiplash, the green, metallic grappling hook arm. True to my earlier description, my left arm simply shifted plating all the way up to my elbow until it was... well, the Whiplash. As an almost perfect machine for anything physical or combat related, along with general superiority to humans- god that sounded bad- I didn't have the concept of a dominant hand.
So, five minutes of both building and freaking out because I was using the Fucking Whiplash from my personal favorite game ULTRAKILL inside a storage room that was further inside Outpost 3 of the web-toon Murder Drones I had gotten obsessed with not two weeks before my death, I finish rigging myself a crude Oil-to-health pack.
I had opted to put it on my hip, to be able to check it anytime for damage and have ease of access. Now, I went deep into my CPU, a weird experience that felt like opening another tab on your computer, and reprogrammed my Blood-Absorbing code to include Oil, a sample of which I provided as a base from a rouge droplet on one of the scraps I grabbed. The pack on my hip would now purify and store it, similar to the fuel tank in my lower abdomen did for blood.
Now, along with V1's faint mental droning for blood, it added Oil into the mix. But it got quieter as the main objective was now fulfilled, resorting to analyzing what data we had already acquired. I was sure it would be done in a matter of seconds but as V1 was as much a part of me as I was it, it recognized that it's new human part needed some time to process the situation. I felt it recoil at the thought of having a human inside it and I swiftly deleted any anti-human protocols in regards to it's personality it had. There was no resistance a normal AI would show against it's reprogramming. After all, I was the 'superior intelligence' that holds the steering-wheel in this relation ship and if I find fit to delete some of it's code, then I should go ahead and do it.
Now alone with my thoughts again, I laid down onto my back, faintly feeling my six, yellow-glowing sword-wing appendages first hit the floor before the shifted a bit like your shoulder would if you lay on your side as a human to accommodate my back hitting the ground. I take a metaphorical deep breath and think about what to do.
First of all, from half-backed scans that would need blood or oil to be better that scanned outside this room, I picked up the AI and vague forms of some Worker Drones, confirming in what fictional world I was. I was prone to panic but V1 shut that down real quick. Right, I need to focus.
I need a goal, or a game plan at least. I always desired, if I was sent to any fictional world, to be able to do all the cool shit I could only do in my teenage-hormone-fueled daydreams. That requires me to put my fucking life on the line for ultimate power... would I risk it all to be able to do anything I want, having a sick-ass adventure in the meanwhile?
...
Yes.
The answer is yes. I think that is literally all I ever wanted.
So, now that the main, overarching goal is established, how do I deal with the world of Murder Drones specifically? The nonplus ultra of powers here is the Absolute Solver, which is currently inside Cyn, it's puppets in the form of Uzi and Doll having a weaker version. Could I simply extract the code from them and delete the link to Cyn herself?
Yes. While more fuel for processing power would be required, as well as an approximate two days of time where it would be isolated in a separate, internal sever, it would be possible.
I thank V1 for it's input, getting a vague sense of appreciation as well as the notice that such human ways of expression where unnecessary in it's opinion in return.
Good to know I wasn't limited to the undoubtedly still unbelievably powerful and destructive skill-set of V1. But I wasn't settling for second place, I would, like Uzi in the season finale, go for the [Null] creating, origin code itself, Cyn's Solver. I nudge for V1 to give it's verdict.
Information on both the Absolute Solver and the entity designated 'Cyn' is too sparce to give full report. Vague estimation states that the main vessel of the Original Absolute Solver, Cyn, must be weakened both through mental and physical exhaustion to fully assimilate the code without danger of complete digital deletion.
I thank V1 for the excellent report again, this time getting a more genuinely appreciative feeling. It's conflicting how it's acting so human while having committed probably every brutal war crime imaginable along with recreating every Mortal Combat KO.
Good, so a more detailed path to ultimate power is established, put it in a note document V1! I feel it nod, which is cute and terrifying.
Noted in newly created file 'Goals (Murder Drones)'. Model gives it's support for the new objective. The Absolute Solver would significantly increase combat efficiency.
Glad you have your priorities strei- I see a small pipe at the bottom corner of the room, dripping oil. I shrug, not questioning it and start absorbing it with an outstretched hand. A few minutes later and...!
Excess reserves of 34% in storage. All major functions now online.
V1 congratulates me and I feel like I've gained a new muscle. A lot, even. Each for every weapon, alternate and colored variant along with the three left arms I can transition between. I also got a full analysis of each arm and weapon and what they can do, in reality now.
The Feedbacker, my normal, blue arm can parry. It's works on a basis of kinetic energy absorption, storage and reflection. Simply said, if I time it correctly, I can let the kinetic energy of an attack return to the sender. This parry can also work on ranged attacks, including my own shotgun shells, to boost speed and even create an critical reaction inside said shells for an explosion. I love that the Shotgun Parry has carried over form the game.
The Knuckleblaster, the red, bit more bulky arm has far better offensive power, along with reusable shotgun shells that let me create a shockwave on demand. It can also blast away projectiles with said shockwave, though the timing is a bit delayed from activating the blast, so it's harder to time. But it lacks the parry.
Last of the arms is the Whiplash, the one I've already used besides the basic Feedbacker. It can extend a grappling hook that has two functions, depending on what I hit. If the object exceeds a weight and size limit, I'll get drawn towards it and if it's below said limit, it'll be drawn towards me. There is no 'Hard Damage' here, which also means I can have melee fights far longer and effectively, so I can spam the Whiplash all I want.
As I scroll past the arms text document I see another document between the weapons and arms.
Movement.
I still have stamina, though it still caps at three. It works on the basis of Kinetic Energy, just like the Feedbacker. It stores the energy the wind uses to resist my movements and stores it for later use. Due to this process being CPU draining, it stops at three 'bars' of stamina to avoid overheating. I can use stamina for a variety of things, from using boosters implanted in my sword-wings to slam myself into the ground or dahs a short distance, to combining my slide with the dash for maximum momentum.
My theoretical maximum speed without external help would be achieved through combining a slide-dash-jump with the explosion of my Malicious Rail cannon, which is a weapon I'll read more about later. This'll actually give me about one fourth of bullet speed. If I was human, I'd have major inner bleeding and I would blast out my eardrums, not to say anything about lacking my new CPU and AI to help me comprehend what I would be seeing in such speeds.
Now, onto the weapons. The real meat of my powerset. I can change between weapons as most of my slim body is actually a fabricator. I need to get one example of a weapon and then absorb it so I can deconstruct and reconstruct it in milliseconds, seemingly summoning said weapon to my hand.
Firstly, I have the Revolver and it's variants. Unlike ULTRAKILL, I have both the Alternate and Normal version of each at the same time. The normal revolver fires weaker shots at a higher rate and the Alternative is the reverse, where rapid fire is exchanged for higher damage.
Starting off I have the Piercer, which has a battery that can be charged up for a blue, piercing shot. Then arguably my most useful implement as most of it's in-game features have been carried over to real life. The Marksman. It can generate special, hardened and reflective coins that I can throw in the air. Any weapon considered 'Hit-scan' can be reflected off of these coins, there even being the possibility of chaining coins, for increased damage. My hands, using the oh-so generous V1 AI, throw the coins in such a way that a reflection of a shot fires directly into the weak spot of an enemy, something I can't normally do without coins as the increase of bullet speed from a coin-reflection is needed to guarantee that the enemy does not move before I can hit them in the desired spot.
Lastly, I have the Sharpshooter, which charges a battery similar to the Piercer but instead of one, strong blast it shoot out a ricocheting, red-hot bullet that, while weaker if only hitting once, has the capacity for more damage than the Piercer.
Damn, this is a lot of yapping from V1. My secondary, morally gray intelligence shows it's displease at my mental comment by shocking me and making me drop a Drones arm onto my head that I was using to stabilize my room. I apologize and continue reading, getting a bit more comfortable with the situation I had found myself in as I continued living in the body of V1.
The shotgun also had an alternate variant. The normal one was a typical shotgun, though I could parry my own bullets for increased speed and an explosion. The Alternate, called the Jackhammer, looked like it's namesake, withy a hydraulic meter on it's side and a little shield on it's outer, right side. It has no projectiles it shoots, I have to charge it up, retracting the press, before I can let it go for a shockwave and a theoretical heavy impact with the foe. The real bonus in the Jackhammer lies within it's unique trait, being that it's damage increases the faster I am. And, unlike the game, it has no upper limit, simply transferring the excess force my body cannot use for stamina into an increase shockwave and impact upon release.
The variants had different interactions with each version, starting with the basic Core Eject. I can fire out the overheating, bullet generating Core of the shotgun, which then regenerates soon after, for a large explosion from whatever it hits. The Alternate version does not fire it, it simply releases it in front of my face. I can then use the Jackhammer to fire the core at bullet-speeds into anything I desire.
Next is the Pump Charge, which let's me rack my shotgun for an increased amount of bullets in exchange for bullet-spread. At four pumps, it's overclocked and will cause an explosion instead of firing. The Alternate variant does the same, though pump-charging it simply increases damage in exchange for shockwave size.
Lastly, there is the Sawed-On variant, which attaches a Chainsaw extension onto the side of my shotgun or Jackhammer than, upon fire, shoots said chainsaw. The wood-chopping tool then comes back to me due to an attached wire. If I then use my Feedbacker, I can play ping-pong with the chainsaw and don't have to wait for it to slot itself back into place before I can fire it again. But if I where to hit it with my Knuckleblaster, I can snap the rope off and the chainsaw starts bouncing around until it's momentum is lost.
Next is the Nailgun, the last weapon with an Alternate variant. It's normal form is a two-barreled mini-gun that shoots out nails at a high rate. The Alternate version is highly different, instead being a Sawblade Launcher that can shoot out bouncing sawblades. It's first variant fires off a magnet that attracts not only the nails into a soon-after exploding trap, makes any fired sawblades orbit the magnet like a moon but it also attracts the unhooked Chainsaw from my Shotgun for an extra, stronger and more durable 'saw' in the magnets orbit.
Continuing, there is the Overheat, which charges up as I fire the Nailgun or Sawblade Launcher in any variant. When sufficiently charged, it either fires one large burst of nails or one larger, more durable sawblade before the variant has to charge up to be usable again. Lastly, there is the Jumpstart, which fires out a wire that uses the created kinetic energy of either the fired Sawblades or the rotating barrels of the Nailgun to transfer electricity from the weapon to whatever I have it hooked onto, dealing massive damage. Though the line snaps if I am too far away.
Up next on the doc is the Railgun. Each variant shares one feature, being that it has to charge up after being fired once, along with being able to be bounced off of coins, excluding the last variant. The first variant fires a blue, electric beam that does massive damage, if only once. The second fires a red beam that, upon impact, creates a large explosion, though dealing less damage in total than the Electric variant. This Malicious Variant can be fired into the ejected core of the Shotgun to create the largest explosion I could feasibly create, causing about four times the damage of a grenade. The last variant is the Screwdriver, which is the only Railgun variant that isn't hit scan on account of shooting out a drill that sticks- and slowly drills into enemies.
The very last weapon in this gigantic yap session is the Rocket launcher. Now, all the variants share the same trait that a damaging explosion from the rockets is only created when hitting an enemy as the rockets only create a knock-back explosion otherwise. The first variant is probably the most advanced piece of tech in my arsenal, excluding V1 itself. I can stop time for every rocket of similar build to the ones I fire or ones that I have registered and are combatable in the area. When stopped for a long enough amount of time, they store up enough of their should-be used kinetic energy to create an even larger explosion.
The next variant is the S.R.S Cannon that fires one, giant cannonball that explodes if hit with a projectile. For more momentum and to create a bulldozing ball of death, I can Whiplash it towards me after firing it and quickly switch to the Feedbacker to parry said cannon ball.
No finally, finally, the last variant of the last weapon in my extensive arsenal is the Firestarter Rocket Launcher, which simply sprays out gasoline. It is very self-explanatory what that would be used for.
Finally, I'm done. Damn, that was a lot of text. I approach the door an- my sense of direction and gravity is justled around as the small window on the door shows me an extremely fast shifting perspective of layers of rock. The world spins and shifts in my room before it all comes to a stop. I hadn't crashed to the ground as any normal person would've but I was jostled quite a bit. I approach the door, seeing a black void beyond the small, fist-sized window. It hisses open with sparks of broken electronic-
I was in space. Like a macabre painting of Robot Gore, chunks of Outpost 3 where suspended by yellow tentacles that seem like they're made of glowing strings of energy. Like layers of a cake, Outpost 3 lay below stripes of rock and dirt before it reached the surface. It was decked with snow and dead trees but all of those where lined in a yellow light. I turned to my right and saw it. The planet of Copper 9 had a gigantic hole in it with a mass of orange-yellow tentacles extruding from a core shining with the same intimidating colors.
If the background of space, shining with it's white dots that represent the far-away stars, made it clear, the absence of sound let it be obvious at what point in the timeline I was. The fucking end. I look to my right and about half a kilometer away, something I can see with the zoom function I had installed, I saw a few tentacles trying to grab at a Disassembly Drone space pod that was barely avoiding the asteroid belt of the planet.
Receiving message from an unknown source!
Welcome, gamer!
No fucking way.
You have been brought to the climax of one of your beloved series as a tutorial! We will test your mettle and you'll get extra rewards based on your performance! Your current form of the robot V1 will be carried over as a secondary vessel into your next world if you perform admirably!
The strength and versatility of your system depends on your performance, too.
Have fun!
This was not a sanctioned message!
V1 tries to explain that it had no clue how it breached the firewall but I wasn't listening. A test? I had so many plans for this world! I wanted to get the Disassembly Trio as servants through a code that'd ensure their loyalty under threat of death! I wanted the Absolute Solver! I take a mental, deep breath. Cyn was at her strongest and I was being graded on performance right now... that means I have to do something reckless.
I take out my time-stopping Rocket Launcher, activate it's ability and jump onto the rocket that's glowing in a blue light. I let time resume and am launched forwards with insane speeds. I pass pockets of land, held up by the primordial being before I starts seeing the battle between V and J, the two drones with sharp, metal wings fighting in the air.
I had plans to interact with them. I had plans to befriend them. I had plans to kill them.
But all of that doesn't matter. I had been told that I'll be leaving this world soon, so no consequences for anything I do. So, I have only one goal. Get Cyn's core. Sorry Uzi, sorry N, you'll have to live without that.
I ignore the fact that I'll be the fucking gamer and jump down from the rocket as it reaches above their arena of ice and a broken school bus. My ground slam cracks the hard ice beneath me and I lock eyes with the fighting duo. Behind me, the Worker Drones supporting cast consisting of Lizzy, the sassy one, Thad and Khan Doorman, Uzi's dad. Lizzy is currently being chewed out and chucked around by that Sentinel, robot raptor thing and the other two are looking at me with a lot less shock than I thought they would.
I lock my gaze onto J, my mechanical eyes and brain perfectly following the battle. I take out my Railgun and fire it at her. Like a falling star, her previous trajectory into her Drone enemy is redirected towards the ground in front of me, her form spasming with blue electricity from my now smoking Railgun that I quickly tuck back into me in exchange for the Marksman Revolver.
She crashes into the ice and slides only a few meters in front of me, visor cracked with a clean hole through it. My aim is good, what can I say? I step towards her as V reaches the ground, confusion clearly written on her face. I shift my arm into the Knuckleblaster, the hiss and creaking of metal indicating the transformation. I lean downwards and plunge the arm, it's two sharp fingers helping, into her J's white metal chest. The spray of oil recharges what energy I lost in firing my Railgun.
"W-Wat the hell are yo- ACK!" J, in her spider-core form, tries to ask but I tighten my grip on said core as I rip it free from the wires and tubes that connected her to the rest of her body.
I lock my the camera formed head onto her single eye that shows between the tendons and other material that make up the now sentient core. "Where is Cyn?" My voice was just like my human one, just possessing the slight robot echo.
Her one visible eye dilates in fright.
-The Absolute Solver/Cyn-
"You dropped this, silly!" Her monotone voice rings out as she rises on top of the glowing tendon that is part of her feast. She crushes the imitation of the [Null] code that Uzi had shot into her body, the shockwave letting her regain control over the tentacles. She steps onto the metal railing, feeling herself gain strength as she consumes bits and pieces of the planet below her. Her biomechanical body- more like a drone covered in skin and muscle- fails her again as her leg cracks to the floor. Her stride is uninterrupted as she continues to walk forward, her visor locking onto both... Uzi and N.
She locks her eyes onto Uzi, that thorn in her robotic side. "Hi Uzi." The unamused tone should be enough to indicate her dislike. She grins as she looks at N, her companion! "Hi N!" Though, to her dismay, the Disassembly Drone raises his blaster with wide, fearful eyes. "I see. You will not talk to me because I have hurt..." She continues to walk towards them both with her staggered step. "...your feel-"
She is interrupted as something crashes into her with great speed. She cannot comprehend what was happening but she swings one of her yellow energetic extensions at whatever has her currently slammed onto the railing. She get's a quick look at what dared assault her as her retribution approached. If she didn't already fill that role, she'd have thought that a mechanical demon was after her.
It's one, singular, glowing yellow eye in the head that's shaped like a camera was locked onto her. No indication of what it was feeling, none of the expressions she constantly emulates. It's left arm was gripping her neck and, in contrast to the rest of it's slim, blue-plated body, was of thicker build and in red color. It only had three fingers, two of which where sharp and wide and a gray metal. There where some kind of booster at the elbow of the arm and it's forearm had a compartment for... shotgun shells?
Behind it where six wing-like appendages. They where sword shaped and glowed a similar yellow to her tendrils. In it's other arm sat a revolver of unfamiliar make. Before one of said tendrils could slap it away from her, it shot her in the head, let go of her neck and only due to her biomanipulation could she see what stopped her offense. The red arm slammed into her attack and just as she thought that was all, a shockwave blasted it apart, strings of yellow energy fiber laying themselves down all around them.
She regrated her head just in time to see the machine plunge it's arm into her core. She frowned and tried to slash it in two with a claw that rose out of her grounded back. In a flash, it's revolver was exchanged for a miniature ballista-sawblade launcher mix. One such sawblade was launched towards her newly formed limb and slashed it apart, the splatter of blood that collected on the things face seemingly got absorbed... interesting.
She saw that it had a designation noted on one of it's two angular chest pieces.
V1
She growled as her core was ripped out, both blood and oil splattering everywhere and again, most of it got absorbed into the plating of this... V1. She split her consciousness apart again between her core and the shell of a body she had molded with the flesh of dear Tessa. Five appendages in total rose behind and in front of them and all sprung towards her newest opponent. Two where claws that sprung from the husk and three where glowing ones from her main body.
Unexpectedly, the machine took out a large, three-segmented Railgun with red energy crackling inside of it's long barrel. As she was mentally grinning, thinking it could only destroy one of her attacks, it aimed it at it's feet. She could see V1 pull the trigger in real time. The resulting explosion destroyed most of her husks body and flung the rest into the lower levels of this floating outpost, the platform they stood on and lastly launched her enemy far into the air, her core sat in the red arm.
She felt herself being crushed to pieces in the beasts hand, the agony was immeasurable but could easily be blotted out. What was less entertaining was that her heart, her very code was now floating in the suddenly appearing foes hand. All her planning and now some... nobody would just come and ruin it all? Well... she had no choice but to let it do what it pleased. It was too far up to reach it with her tentacles in under five seconds and J was already terminated by... this very same bot. Huh, she should've looked at the recordings her underling sent her instead of focusing on Uzi and N.
-V1/?-
I gaze at the black hole in my hand for but a second before a black void expands all around me. I can barely see the ground a few meters below me even with my enhanced vision and the sound of rushing air was the only thing I could register. I quickly asked V1, can you absorb the Solver now?
Yes. I shall sanction it off to ensure safety and it will take approximately one hour.
It's better than the estimate it had given me and I simply let him proceed, the black hole being absorbed into my Knuckleblaster with an inhuman shriek. The void-like surroundings left me as I fell back onto the ground when the world returned to color.
I fall to the ground, the battlefield destroyed and crumbling form my Malicious Railcannon shot. I avoid the gaping hole the explosion created and look towards Uzi and N, both staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. Before I can say anything, the world starts to fall. I had neglected to get a hold of anything and am, as a result, flung into the air. Before I can even react, my head slams into a falling piece of metal and my world turns black.
You did well, gamer!
The message is clear in this void. As I read it, I notice that the background noise of V1 is gone. My enhanced thought-processing and everything else my machine existence had given me is gone. I am purely human, now. I feel like throwing up at V1's memories. The death, the murder, it all blends together so much had it slain. The husks, they where just humans! The desolate fields of Greed, the bloodshed of Violence, it all hurts my head. I feel like throwing up. Holy shit.
Then, I remember what I had lost.
My past life. Mom, dad. I wanted to do so much, still. C-Can I still enjoy a good movie in the world I'm going to? Even if I could, none of my friends would be there to laugh with me. My mom couldn't chide me for coming home late of for staying up for far too long on a school week. Memories fly before my minds-eye like a river of movie scenes.
Had they given me V1's body so I could pass their test without breaking down? I felt like shit, honestly. I read about these situation a lot and many of the main characters that get reincarnated either just say 'what can ya do about it?' and move on or pass over their grief in seconds. I... I couldn't. This ache in my heart, I doubt it'll leave me... maybe ever. But... I take a mental breath... I can set it aside. I try and focus on the changing game screen. I can find new friends for my mental health. They can't replace my own, can't replace mom or dad but they can be something new. To be a balm to the void in my heart.
I set aside my grief in favor of focusing on my goal, because achieving it would make all this pain worth it.
Power.
I gaze back at the game screen, noting that I lack any kind of body.
Your performance was rated...!
Above Average!
As a reward, you get to keep the Absolute Solver, V1 as a secondary body and a body with a special power in your new world!
Your system is of average strength, featuring a bare-bones skill feature but beneficial Stat-scaling as well as a quest system with major rewards.
Prepare for reincarnation!
I nod and my world blooms white.
I gasp awake, my chest feeling like shit and my head hurting like all hell. But... I couldn't see anything. I saw a vague figure in the distance... he wore a uniform of dark blue fiber that I think I recognized. His black hair tied in a tip-knock above his head with some bangs covering small parts of his sharp face as he turned to where I was. He had a wide, sharp scar in the lower left region of his face and I still think I know him from somewhere. When he fully turned over to me, he spoke, his voice ethereal and almost fading.
"My time is up... I've been briefed about you... please, take care of Miwa and..." A heavy sigh escapes his lips, almost reluctant. "...and don't feel bad. You're as much me as I was." The world then spun into color as the void faded.
Stinging pain filled my chest and my head hurt. Not due to an injury. No. But because I was dealing with more memory fuckery.
My name is... Kokichi Muta. I was born defective and thought it a curse all my life. And I still do. But when I found out about the power it granted me, I could try and make something of myself. I joined a school for the unusual in Kyoto and found my classmates there, people I trust and care for. I learnt to utilize my special powers, I built robots and puppets, leaning heavily on the design of the things I saw in anime. While I loathed that I couldn't be there with them truly... with her, I still enjoyed it all the same.
But all that want and greed for a normal life lead me to make a deal with somebody I shouldn't have and when I tried to betray them after I was healed of my condition, they killed me, despite the power and effort I spent. Now I lay here, in the corpse of my master piece. Defeated and dead.
At least, I should be.
I jump up from the cockpit of Ultimate Mechamaru: Absolute, the high-tech chair below me having crashed into the screen I had built into it. My memories where a mess, I was Kokichi Muta, a student of Kyoto Jujutsu High!- ARG! No! I am V1, I have but one objective. Fuel and battle- NO! NO! NO!
This is all wrong!
I am Luke! I lived in the 20th century and had enjoyed my life despite the hell that was school! I distracted myself with anime, manga and even fanfiction.
My head told me I was all three. Can I... accept that? I had always been a realist, and I couldn't change the situation... my heart ached in stabbing pain as I relived the best moments of my past life- no? It ached because I had died, because I couldn't tell Miwa how I felt. Because I couldn't see everybody else again. No being annoyed at Todo. No getting lectured by the stern Kamo. Mai couldn't hold her superiority over me nor could sigh at Momo's complaints about the sexism in the Jujutsu world.
Who am I?
I am... Kokichi Muta. At least a version born from the flames of V1 and aided by the memories of somebody who lived another life. He talked to me... just a few seconds ago... he said something about how I shouldn't feel bad and that I'm as much him as he was? Was that his soul talking to me as it left his body? It could be... or I could have been having hallucinations.
In this world, you never knew... because I was in Jujutsu Kaisen. Or- I had been born in Japan and gained memories of Jujutsu Kaisen, the anime and Manga? I had no clue, I'd simply assume I was Kokichi with a personality changed through living a life more focused on mental health... or lack there of. V1's memories are something I dare not touch. Speaking of the robot... I sit up from my position on the ground, noting that my body had healed from the massacre Mahito had put me under, glancing through the red light of my gigantic mech and at the ridged form of V1.
He had no AI, this time. It was V1, but only his body. But... he was also my puppet. I could feel it. I ordered him to wave at me and the foreign but very familiar feeling of Cursed Energy leaving it's ocean inside my and into V1 in a spit second washed over me. It waved it's blue plated hand, it's singular, camara-like head staring at me unblinkingly. I looked at the hole Mahito had created as he burst in here to kill me with that creepy-ass grin. I had been so angry and panic-y back then but now... those feelings still lingered but I had a kind-of third-person perspective on it all.
I crawled out of the broken mech, barely any connection to my Cursed Technique remaining of it, and I was greeted by the rising sun. After Murder Drones, after literal Hell and after the battle with Mahito... it was a sight that brought me to tears. I didn't sob, but my eyes watered. Speaking of eyes...
Grass. Fresh. Bloodstained. Metallic Traces. Shi-
When I looked at something, literately everything about it was downloaded into my head and I felt like... I could change it's properties. As if the world was made of code and I used the programming engine of reality. Looking at the reflective surface of the broken chest of my mech to my right side, I saw that my left eye lacked a pupil but had the three-pronged sign of the Solver inside. It was marginally bigger than a normal pupil, too large for my half-lidded eyes to fit. It was as big as the palm of my hand and even the white color of the rest of my eye was colored a deep black.
My other eye was now the same color as the solver, a deep Yellow. I realized that, in contrast to the ending of Murder Drones, I lacked the inside voice of Cy-
"H-Hello, master!" I looked to my left at the very familiar, TTS-like voice. There stood the gore-y form of Cyn... and she was, like V1, one of my puppets. Though, shifting through her memory, she had her mind in tact and an unnatural sense of loyalty was instilled into her very being. Her only limitation was that she was just Cyn. Not the gigantic, eldritch being that was her real body. She still had the Solver, though a version that lacked the growth of the gamer system like mine, and still had the biomanipulation.
Her form was... something to look at. X-Shaped stance for her legs which where of human skin with visible tears that reveal the metal below. She lacked any blood, so there wasn't any gore and neither was oil leaking from her as she now ran on my Cursed Energy but it was still a bit unnerving. Her black dress and shoes was a bit tattered but I could fix it, she was my ally now. Her hands lacked any human skin, the human hand of Tessa just flopping around, attached at their wrists.
Her head had a few scars and below the skin was still the drones head, the eye holes stretched to fit the visor. The visor displayed two X's instead of pupils but remained an eerie pitch-black otherwise. Her hair was as black as her eyes and still had an equally black bow on the top-right side of her head. Her mouth was wide and grinning, though with much less malice than in the show.
All of that would be pretty intimidating- and still was, to an extend- if she wasn't tall enough to just barely reach the top of my chest. I sigh. "Hey."
She frowns. "Do you find me..." her voice stutters a bit as she continues to talk in her monotone voice, though the effort she put into making it sound adoring and friendly towards me was appreciated. "...unsightly?" She sounded like a hurt puppy as she said that.
My heart tore at that, not as much as when I remembered my family... but still a bit. The psycho robot wants me to think she's pretty. Great. I nod uncomfortably. "I'm not a fan of gore but you do you." My voice was the more emo one of a teen.
She shook her head rapidly. "T-That wont do. My new parameters state that I serve you a-and being good on the eyes is essentia-ial." I ignored that her voice was fucking lagging in favor of looking in awe as she transformed. The exposed metal was covered ins smooth skin, the flopping mass of skin on her hand connected to her robot one, growing more skin to make up for the stretching. Her legs, previously staggered and hobbling, became straight and elongated a bit, so too did the rest of her body. Now, she stood just a few centimeters below my height, not too much of a growth but enough so that she could pass for a real human now.
If not for the fact that her head was still the same, if not having repaired the scarring. But the sheen of her visor became much more organic... do you know that one image of a biologically accurate anime girl? With those huge eyes? I think that's what she did. Her dress was still a bit torn, and I felt embarrassed to look at that now, but if she covered her head, she could walk through populated streets without a second glance. "B-better?" Her voice was still the same. Guess some things can't change. But I've always liked her voice and personality, her appearance was slightly appealing before but now it was even a bit attractive.
I'd have to flush my mind of how she looked before but otherwise, she was kinda...
I shake my head. "Yeah, all good." I say with a small smile. "But... I kind of have no clue what to do with you right now?" I ask awkwardly. "Anything you want to do?" I ask her as I scratch the back of my head, both finding the feeling of the thin hair unfamiliar and regular.
She shakes her head, the motion even a bit cute. "I'm sorry but no. Though may I suggest preparing a base of operations for whatever you have planned in this world?" Ah, so she knows about all the gamer stuff. A quick examination of the surface thoughts, as while she's still my puppet, I can't fully possess her.
I nod at her and look at Ultimate Mechamaru: Absolute and cringing a bit in pain as I think about what I'm going to say. "You can... salvage my mech here to make one." My pained voice made even her avert her gaze as if she'd done something wrong. Okay, protective big brother instincts are kicking in for her. Hard. I don't care that she's a planet-devourer, she's now my little sister!
It'll be a good dynamic to set up between us, fun and friendly, and it'll be the first bond I made here... I wont forget you, mom and dad.
"Make the entrance at the bridge and notify me if anything goes wrong." I point to the bridge where Geto stood before I tried to attack him... that bastard.
She nods with inhuman glee and excitement. "O-On it big bro!" I almost topple over at her words. Holy shit, can she read my mind? Thank god she didn't say Ni-Chan or something, I always found that cringe. She hops towards Mechamaru, enjoying her new freedom of movement, and the form of the Absolute Solver appears on a chunk of it's silver plating before it's ripped out.
I sigh, so if this is the world I'll be staying at then I can finally pl- Holy shit Shibuya is currently happening. My eyes widen as I order V1 to my side. Okay, not much time. If I remember correctly then Shibuya happened at night and directly after my death, so in a few hours only. I'm in the outskirts, so I can still make it if I speed run this gamer shit. "Status."
Kokichi Muta
CE: 251.320/1.500.000
RCE: LOCKED
HP: 10.000/10.000
VIT: 10
STR: 12
DEX: 23
INT: 34
I nod, it would be obvious that I have less physical power. My Cursed Energy was expected to be that high but I still, damn. I note the stats and proceed. "Skills."
[Heavenly Restriction] Level: 1/1
A heavenly restriction is a permanent binding vow made with the gods. Yours gave you incredible Cursed Technique range and Cursed Energy in exchange for a body plagued with every disability imaginable along with a stinging pain every time light touched it. Thankfully, you got rid of the penalty so, have fun.
[Puppet Manipulation] Level 78/100
Your innate Cursed Technique. It allows you to imbue puppets of your making with Cursed Energy and, due to your Heavenly Restriction pilot them over a range encompassing the entirety of Japan. Like enchanting or Cursing an Object, puppets can be imbued with effects or abilities.
[Simple Domain] Level 1/100
Allows you to create a small barrier that protects you from the effects of a domain and Simple Domains can be empowered with Binding Vows.
[Binding Vow] Level 1/1
The ability to exchange something for something of equal value, in the Jujutsu sense.
[Martial Arts] Level 18/100
Encompassing everything from Tai-Chi to Karate and beyond, this skill grants the user either faster learning times for new martial arts or greater mastery over already known ones.
[Absolute Solver] Level 1/100
You are now the intelligence hosting the Absolute Solver, congratulations! It's abilities, though limited due to your human body, include; Telekinesis, Teleportation, Illusion Creation, Minor Shapeshifting, [NULL] creation which is the production of Black hole-like orbs, Minor Invisibility, Minor regeneration, increased body-awareness and finally the Callback Ping to locate anybody with the same Absolute Solver code as you!
Wow... the Solver is technically the best thing in my arsenal. I have to train that more but I don't have the time. Well, I need to figure out it's teleportation at least, so if that counts as training then I guess I do have time to train. In contrast to my Cursed Technique and other powers that require more feeling and finesse to utilize, I simply have to think about it and reality changes in response to what I want. The only limitation is the effectiveness of the 'code' that I'm using and the speed.
For example, I just moved myself really fast because I don't have the know-how for how to teleport objects yet and don't want to bother Cyn in such a time-crunch. If I where to get more familiar in the programming language of 'reality', i.e. level the skill, I'd know better ways to do all of that.
But for now, moving in the blink of an eye is good enough. Night starts to set in as I teleport myself upwards and stay there with telekinesis, which is harder than I thought. I'm glad that it is using Cursed Energy and much less than I thought, but the concentration needed is hellish. I see the city district of Shibuya in the distance, tall buildings and lights turning on with the coming nightfall. I teleport back down and net to Cyn. "A-Ah, I see you're getting the hang of my handy-dandy code." I think there should be more fervor in that sentence but the higher pitch is all she could manage...
I nod at her as she fires an oh-so small [NULL] into the bridge, hollowing out a good dozen meters. "Yeah, it's pretty useful." I then pat her on the head... no clue where that came from but if her cat-like face is anything to go by then she liked it. "I'm just here to say goodbye. If anything goes wrong, I'll try and come back alive. If I somehow die-" I mutter to myself that that is indeed very likely. "-then you are to live life under the radar."
She shook her head and ominously giggled in her robotic voice, which was oddly adorable. "If you d-die then I perish to. You are now the host of the co-co-code." Her voice still lags but she's obviously getting better... hopefully.
I nod with an awkward cringe. "Okayyyy." I then look towards V1. "Come along." I'll need him if I am to gain the most out of Shibuya and save as much of the cast as I can. Hopefully, I can stop Gojo's entrapment. I start stagger-porting myself towards the bustling city.
I arrived just in time to see the veil lower and the small, white dot of Gojo enter through one of the sides. The two main casualty zones are with Megumi and Nobara's group and then the other main casualty- singular- is Gojo. Something I am almost forced to prevent, if I can. While V1 may be stronger, it lacks the adaptation of a human mind if I put it in auto pilot through bare-bones coding via the Solver and let it fight, so I'm sending it to stalk Megumi's group.
When I'm done with Gojo's save, then I'll prevent Sukuna from appearing and V1 will hopefully prevent Mahoraga's summoning. Okay, bare-bones plan in mind, I jump into the veil, mentally giving V1 all the code I could. 'Code' is a... gracious word and I'm not coding in the traditional sense. I'm using more vague commands like 'fight when confronted' and designating a vague set of my own memories to what V1's fighting should look like along with combos of weapons that it has. Minor adjustments in movement or situation are automatic.
I see Gojo float above the entrance into the subway and I brace myself. He will no doubt sense any attempts at stalking him, so I best just explain and confront. I land on the roof of one building, jump onto the roof of one that's a bit lower before I finally make it to the ground. As I approach him, he turns to face me. His white, silver hair waves in the soft wind and even through his bindings, his stare feels piercing. "Aren't you that informant for Mahito and such? And shouldn't you be, like, a walking corpse?" His nonchalance makes me slow down as I enter a bit out of his arms reach. Not that that would matter.
I nod. "Yes. You can answer your question with the first statement, I was an informant so that Mahito would heal me of my curse." I bow. "I am ready to face judgment after this operation but I would like to help you for now, Mr. Gojo." I hear him chuckle at my reverent voice.
"I don't care what you did, nor about what'll happen to you after this whole thing." The grin on his face was the first thing I saw when straightening up. "I have no clue where you came from but you can come with, sure." He looks down at the subway. "I think the guys who cast the veil are down there, so let's go." He grins as he begins leisurely stepping down the staircase into the underground train station.
I sigh, of course he would just disregard the bounty on my head for betrayal. He doesn't have to worry about me. After all, he's the strongest. I nod and follow him past the cold, midnight air. "Sure thing." I push past a sea of people, the air getting warm with their breath and grumble at Gojo stepping onto the heads of those guys.
I stop walking as I realize that I can literately float. Wide eyes of the people below and previously next to me are what I see as I rise to the strongest's level. Literally, that is. He quirks an eyebrow below his masks as he sees my move. "You can float?" He's probably already analyzing how my Cursed Energy is encompassing me to allow me to do that. He then makes eye contact with me for the first time since we met up, or I think. He's still got that cover. "What's happened to your eye?"
I shake my head. "Not now." I point to the circular drop downwards and approach it. "You sense it too, don't you?" I ask him and he nods. Three Cursed Energy signatures down there. I sigh and take the plunge, landing softly as I carry myself on what feels like an invisible hand until I feel the metal and stone rail-ground of the train station. Gojo took the stairs, appearing on the railing next to me.
We all lock eyes with the Curse in the middle of the trio in the shadowy arch of the tunnel, his singular eye quirked with malice and smile twisted with a hope for bloodshed.