“Why is it so...dark...and just ugly in general?” Braden sneered as he peered out the ship's glass at the small planet not too far off.
His under worker, Daren, flipped through a series of information logs on his Hyperion computer, quickly trying to gather intel on the planet their tracking device had lead them to.
“Uh, Spurcus has a long night cycle. It lasts for three hundred and sixty hours. Their day cycles are only 12 hours long.” Daren explained.
“What? How is that even possible? Three hundred and sixty hours...that's like...that's...”
“Fifteen days.” Darren stated.
“Ridiculous. He just had to end up at a weird planet like this. How did he even get here anyways?” Braden brooded. He paced the cock pit for a minute before returning back to his own chair. He clutched the tracking device closely, staring at it with a sick obsession.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Daren shrugged, he tried not to talk too much about the escaped experiment. Whenever any of the team brought up the child, Braden would go into a fit of ranting that would take hours for him to get over. Luckily, he seemed too preoccupied with Spurcus to go off on another rampage.
However, it wasn't the planet that had Braden quietly contemplating in his chair. His mind kept slipping back to that fateful moment at the base where he narrowly escaped with his life. That one soldier, the only one he had even see at the base, there was no way he was the one who had taken them all out. A seething hate boiled through his veins, how had Dahl found out about their whereabouts? Had someone ratted them out?
“Patterson always thought we were too cruel to the experiment...but he was a coward.” Braden grumbled under his breath. He knew exactly who would do something like that, but Clay was dead and he had no....
Braden paused, slowly sitting up in his seat.
“DAREN!” He barked causing the smaller man to jump in his seat.
“Y-yes sir!?” He squeaked.
“Where did my Clap-Trap unit go?” He stared in bewilderment, realizing he couldn't recall the last time he had seen the purple AI. He knew he had gone, but where had he gone? It hadn't seemed important at the time, but now...
“You have a Clap-Trap?” Daren raised a brow in confusion.
“Don't bull shit me. Of course I have a Clap-Trap. He used to belong to that idiot of a scientist Clay. Where is he? I can't remember the last time I saw him.” Braden scratched at his head. The annoying machine had not been with them for at least a month now.
“I suppose he got destroyed when the base was attacked.” Darren shrugged.
“No...he's been missing long before that.”
“So what are you trying to say?” Darren sighed, his boss was always on about something.
“Doesn't it all seem fishy to you? Clay is kicked out of his own project, then his devoted robot disappears before the base is suddenly attacked. Dahl didn't just stumble upon the base...someone leaked our location. Then, somehow, Clay's experiment was rescued from the base. Why would they rescue him? That Dahl soldier was shooting everyone he saw. He was sent to find him.” Braden stood suddenly.
“So...you think the Clap-Trap did this?” Darren snorted, how could a useless robot come up with a plan so cunning? This had to be another one of his boss' hate fueled episodes.
“No, someone told him what to do. Someone else is the brains behind this operation.” Braden squinted down at the tracking device, watching as the small little red dot moved ever so slowly across Spurcus.
“And how exactly are you going to prove this?” Darren yawned, it was better to go along with Braden and humor him until he got the theorizing out of his system. Braden flipped to the multi device on his wrist, momentarily switching from his tracker on 'A' to his Clap-Trap locator. Withing a few seconds it was pinging a location half way across their galaxy.
“I knew it!” Braden spat, slamming his fist down. “He is still out there. On some planet called Thrace.” His teeth were practically grinding with fury. Darren's eyes widened, shocked at the realization that just maybe his boss was actually on to something for once.
“Wait so...your Clap-Trap actually ran away...and there's a chance he knows who called the attack on our base?” Daren sat up.
“Yes!”
“So...what...what should we do?” He looked at Spurcus, growing closer by the minute, and at the star maps indicating the far away planet of Thrace. They couldn't go after the experiment and the robot.
“Don't you see Daren? This is just the icing on top of our cake of redemption. While we retrieve the experiment, we can put a bounty on that stupid robot. Someone out there will bring him back to us and then we'll have what we need to finish Project 0. The experiment will provide the missing strands of DNA that we lost with Clay and Patterson. Then, we can extract the information from the Clap-Trap that we need to find out who ratted us out to DAHL. After we have that information we bring it to the Hyperion board of CEOs and they'll be so pleased with us that they will fund the re-start of our little project. Everything will be back on track.” He laughed manically for a good minute.
Daren was surprised to admit that Braden's plan sounded like the perfect way to get things moving again. It was all very possible and almost sounded too easy.
“Send out a mission on the echo net, I want that robot.” Braden demanded. “And make it quick, we land on Spurcus within the hour.” He tapped his fingers together feeling quite pleased, it was all coming together smoothly.
Only hours before, a much smaller ship had left Spurcus' atmosphere, blasting off into space. A calm quietness rested on the small ship as it scuttled along through the stars. Axton wondered if he could ever appreciate the serenity of an empty space vehicle again. He used to love the lack of noise of the Dahl ships as they headed to their next destination. The soldiers would all sit in their own corners of the ship, keeping to themselves. Not a word was uttered between them as they prepared for whatever mission awaited them.
However, after those few hours he had spent with 'A', chatting before they crash landed, he decided that he greatly appreciated the company of just another person to vent to. It helped to calm his nerves. Which was something he was currently trying, yet failing, to do.
The navigational system beeped, notifying him that he was only an hour out from the Dahl base. He could see the familiar green planet floating in a lazy rotation just outside the front glass. Despite the excitement of getting home and finally sleeping in his own bed, he couldn't fight the feeling of dread pooling in his stomach.
Sarah had been oddly calm the last time he spoke with her. On top of it all, he was about to ask her to send a small team back to Spurcus in order to free 'A' from whatever Hyperion clan had kidnapped him. He had to convince her, otherwise there was no hope in finding the kid.
The motivation of saving the poor child fueled him as he finally docked his new ship at the DAHL home base. He was greeted at the bay by other soldiers, all waiting patiently for his arrival.
“Hey fellas.” Axton smiled, waving at the friendly faces of his fellow subordinates. His cheery demeanor was returned with hostility and cold expressions. One of the soldiers stepped forward from the others, meeting Axton halfway across the bay.
“Axton.” He greeted him, eyes narrowing at the commando.
“Uh, what happened while I was gone? Is there a funeral today or something?” He tried to tease but it did nothing to lighten the heavy mood.
“No.” The man drew his rifle. Axton's muscles stiffened, hands drifting towards his own fire arm.
“Sarah has ordered us to escort you to her on your arrival.” The soldier explained, gesturing for Axton to walk but still keeping his weapon trained on him. A bit of relief washed over Axton, but it was short lived.
“That's Sarah for you. Always so dramatic when I piss her off.” He chuckled, the soldiers pretended not to hear him as they ushered him down the halls of the base. They stopped outside of Sarah's office, allowing him to enter on his own.
Axton couldn't help but gulp as he stepped into the small room, shutting the door behind himself. Sarah was seated at her desk, back to Axton. His foot steps echoed across the metal floor as he neared her. He held his arms out, expecting her to spin around and demand to know where he's been. Instead she began to speak, back still turned.
“Axton...the rest of the battalion ships out to Themis tomorrow and I don't want you with us; not as a soldier...and not as a husband.” She finally spun around. She peered at him, cool and collected as if it was the easiest thing she had ever said.
“W-what!?” Axton's arms dropped at his side, taking a step forward in confussion. “What the hell Sarah?”
“Remember Hestias?” She frowned. “Instead of protecting the dignitary assigned to your command, you put a tracker on him, gave him to the enemy, tracked them back to their base, and blew it up...with the dignitary still inside!” She spat, folding her arms in irritation. Axton quickly sat across from her, ready to fight for his job...and his marriage.
“Yeah, which was awesome! You can't pretend that wasn't awesome.” Sure he had screwed up a tiny detail of the plan, but the mission had been a huge success.
“Demophon, Thrace, Tantalus; you consistently prioritized personal glory over following orders. I don't need a soldier like that.” She flipped open his file that was placed on her desk, beginning to write something down. Axton felt speechless. Sure he had his kill streak and other “annoying” habits, but things were different now. Ever since finding 'A' on Demophon, he had come to realize that he was responsible for more than just himself on team missions. He needed to rescue the poor kid, but now was hardly the time to bring that up to Sarah.
“So...what now? You going to turn me over to the firing squad? Unless they've changed the rules on me, I'm pretty sure “Semper Fi” means forever.” He couldn't believe he was about to meet his end at the hands of his own wife.
“You are correct. At 0900 tomorrow the MP's will escort you to the brig where you will await your execution.” She paused, closing the file and leaning closer to Axton. She continued, her voice quieter,
“As your commanding officer, I can not officially suggest you go A-wall tonight, and try your luck on the border planets.” Axton quickly caught her drift, allowing his heart rate to settle, it wasn't his time after all.
“Too bad, that would have been good advice.” Sarah stood and lead him to the office door, she opened it and gestured for him to step outside. The soldiers were gone now. Before he stepped out she grabbed his arm, placing a small jewelry box in his hands.
“What's this?” Axton squinted at her.
“My wedding ring. You can keep it. I never liked diamonds.” She sneered, shutting the door on him.
“Ouch.”
“OUCH! The little cretin bit me!” The scrawny, brightly dressed man seated next to 'A' yowled in pain. He clutched his hand that was dripping with crimson liquid. 'A' growled at him from his own seat in the vehicle, where he was chained still. Right after the auction he had been relocated to this strange car, and he was soon joined by two men and a driver.
“Well why in the hell did you stick your hand in his mouth? He had a muzzle on, what happened to that?” The man known as Sir Boyet Lee commented from the front passenger seat of their luxury ride.
“You told me to put the shock collar on him...I gotta take the muzzle off to do that, it gets in the way. Then he just bit me like some savage animal!” The small man whined, watching as his red bodily fluid seeped from the gnarly teeth marks cut into his hand.
“Dr. Icarus. You have done this how many times? And you still can't manage to take off a muzzle without getting bit.” Sir Boyet chortled.
“Don't tease me Sir Boyet. If this job was so easy, you'd have any ol doctor in Genova inspecting your new little minions.” Icarus huffed, finally covering his wound with bandages from his pocket.
“You know I only jest. You are the best in the business Dr. Icarus and I value your work highly.” Sir Boyet gently responded, pitying his poor doctor.
“I appreciate it Sir. Although, it does seem that this one may prove to be my most difficult one yet.” He sighed, glaring at 'A' with skeptic.
“I'm sure you'll figure it out. He is an interesting one isn't he. Do you suppose he talks?” Sir Boyet peered into the back seat, earning a snarl from 'A'. “He has spirit. I think he'll be a perfect fit for...what I have been looking for.”
“You keep saying that. You said that the moment you laid eyes on him. Frankly Sir I don't see anything that would indicate that he even has the skill for this. Just because he has sharp claws, teeth, and can turn invisible, doesn't mean he'll be suitable for the job.” Icarus finished with his bandages.
“Have I ever been wrong about my purchases?” Sir Boyet raised his tone, as if offended by the doctors words.
“No sir! It's just, I don't know how you do it. How can you tell he's what you've been looking for?” The doctor quickly explained himself.
“It's in his eyes.” Sir Boyet spun back around in his seat, peering into the emerald green orb that shot malice back to him. “I see the faintest tint of red twisting behind that magical green. There is a wild hunger burning deep inside of him that he cannot fight. It wants to come out, wants to consume him. Somewhere lurking in this magnificent creatures DNA is the primal instinct to hunt, to prey, to stalk. It is held back by the soft nature of humanity in him. It wasn't always like that though...was it?” His voice lowered, speaking directly to 'A' now.
'A' had stopped growling and fighting his confines the moment Sir Boyet Lee had began to so easily dissect everything about him. Hearing what Boyet saw him made him stop, realizing it was all true. He wasn't the innocent creature that Clay had made, not anymore. He was the monster Braden had invented. Even now the taste of Dr. Icaru's blood stained his teeth and he yearned for more.
However, just as Boyet had perceived, humanity was also intertwined with his monstrous DNA. He had inherited traits from one of the strongest humans to grace the universe with her presence, and his own thirst for violence saddened him. A stray tear watered his emerald eye and streaked down his cheek. Both Boyet and Icarus noticed, and turned back to themselves silently, deciding not to converse for the rest of their ride.
'A' was grateful for their silence, he was too deep in his own thought to be able to pay attention to their babbling. He recalled what Boyet had said, he was slowly losing to the carnage that waited, restless, inside of him. Braden had awoken it, and 'A' had never been the same since. Except...with Axton. When he was beside the commando he didn't feel the constant battle raging inside of him between ferrel and humane. It wasn't until the soldier was in danger that his blood thirst overcame him, and look where it had gotten him; captured and in chains...again. 649Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIjagpJNWY
Their ride was over shortly after the driver took them into a tunnel underneath a sparkling sky scraper. They stopped in an empty, brightly lit garage, and poor 'A' wondered if his eyes would ever get a break from all the florescents. Sir Boyet Lee was the first to leave the car. He stepped around and opened the door nearest 'A', earning a startled gasp from Dr. Icarus.
“S-sir, watch out! Let one of your body guards get him!” Icarus warned, leaping out of the car to stop his boss.
“Calm yourself doctor. The humanity in him has momentarily calmed the beast.” Sir Boyet smiled, nearing 'A' who slowly turned to him. “He wont lay a finger on me...will you little one?” His voice again became hushed when addressing 'A'. He didn't wait for a response and leaned in to undo the chains keeping 'A' contained in the vehicle.
Icarus held his breath, watching with wide eyes as the once ferocious child cautiously emerged from the vehicle like a wounded animal. His arms were still cuffed behind his back, but there was nothing keeping him from running up and sinking his teeth into Sir Boyet's jugular.
“S-sir, the restraining leashes.” Doctor Icarus pulled a series of leather straps from a box brought over by Boyet's bodyguards who had been patiently waiting across the garage.
“Not necessary.” Boyet waved the men and straps away, he was confident in what he saw in the boy. He was also confident in the small remote in his pocket that controlled the shock collar currently hugging the child's neck.
'A' ducked his head, avoiding eye contact with Sir Boyet, slightly terrified by his ability to read a person through just their eyes. Doctor Icarus followed close behind them, trailed by five burly bodyguards. The small company continued through the single door in the garage which lead them to an elevator.
They traveled through dimly lit corridors, a stark contrast to the gleaming city outside the tower. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, 'A' found himself in a sort of room he had grown all too familiar with. There was a padded operation table in the center of the room, surrounded with assorted medical equipment and devices. 'A' immediately tensed when he entered the room and Boyet placed a warm hand on his shoulder. Icarus backed away a safe distance, while the body guards scooted closer, sensing the experiment's unease.
However, Boyet was quick to discretely wave them away.
“You're scared, why?” Sir Boyet's voice had a strange calming effect that 'A' wasn't trusting of but found himself easing to it anyways. Was Boyet trying to get him to speak? 'A' frowned, words were already hard enough for him to form, and he wasn't going to waste his artful speech on someone keeping him from freedom.
“I take it you've seen your fair share of places like this.” Boyet noted, taking in the many surgical scars adorning the boy's skin.
“An experiment, I presume, subjugated to cruel and invasive procedures. But what was it about you that was...wrong? What were they trying to fix? To...make better? They didn't see you as a living, breathing thing, but a monster. A product of their sick imagination, their lab rat...plaything. What have they created?” Every word struck a chord deep inside 'A', his claws twitched, his heart rate heightened and a shimmer of red glistened behind him beautiful eye.
Boyet watched him carefully, then all at once got onto one knee, eye level with 'A'.
“What have they created indeed? A monster?” He questioned, watching as A's voice hitched, his resolve slowly being chipped away. “I am no scientist, I do not see what they see. What stands before me is a creature so unique, mother nature herself couldn't create it. You are fighting the monster, yet you cannot give in to humanity, how come?”
Again he was met with silence, but Boyet was not ready to give up, that wasn't his stile.
“What are you, who are you?” That was it, 'A' couldn't answer that.
“I don't know.” He muttered, trying desperately to fight the tears. What was the point of seeking freedom? Where would he go? He didn't have a purpose anymore, he didn't have a family, he didn't even have a proper name. Sir Boyet Lee smiled to himself, he could see the crack in the boy's guard, and that was all he needed.
“You are nothing, a zero. Not yet anyways. We all start at nothing, oh little zero, and now it's time for you to become something.” Boyet gave him a quick pat on the back moving him towards the table, and little 'A' didn't even fight it.
As 'A' sat on the table, Sir Boyet Lee moved to the exit where his bodyguards were stationed. Doctor Icarus neared the experiment cautiously, bewildered at Boyet's ability to break almost any being with his mere words.
“Do not fret, little Zer0, Dr. Icarus here will not gut you or anything of the sort. He is simply going to make sure you are healthy and not in need of any medical care. The Clanton's have been known for bringing in specimen's of a sickly nature. Once he's done you'll be fitted with a special outfit and we'll introduce you to your peers.” Boyet assured him, to which 'A' quietly nodded.
Boyet quickly left with his bodyguards, leaving one behind in the doorway, watching Icarus. 'A' was relieved to find out that Sir Boyet Lee had spoken truth, Icarus didn't harm a hair on his head. He did, however, examine him to no end. He seemed content in his findings until he moved on to the artificial implants in his neck and head. 'A' listened, sitting still as a statue, as Icarus mumbled to himself about “unnecessary bulk” and “they could have saved his other eye.” 'A' didn't care too much about his mutterings until Dr. Icarus gasped and exclaimed,
“A tracking device!” loud enough for even the body guard to hear. 'A' spun to stare at the doctor, trying to understand what exactly he had discovered.
“W-what have you found out?/ Has something bad been found here?/ Tell me what is wrong!” He demanded, forgetting he had been trying not to speak. Icarus gaped when the words flew from the child's mouth, momentarily forgetting his plight. Then a switch flipped in his brain and he rushed to the table grabbing an ECHO and calling Boyet, ignoring A's questions.
“T-tracking device!” He stammered into the echo. Those two magic words seemed to be enough to get Boyet back into the operation room in less than five minutes. He came storming in, body guards and all, looking none too pleased.
“Where?” He demanded. Icarus pointed to a small chip wired into the implant. “Is it working?” Boyet questioned.
“Yes.” Icarus exclaimed, paling by the second. “It's Hyperion too, this is no joke. I've seen these kinds of trackers before. They are used in special ops robots. They are designed in such a way that they can't be tampered with. If they are changed or altered at all, it can shut down the whole system it's hooked to. That prevents captured robots from giving away any information involuntarily.”
“But he's not a robot. So would it still harm him?” Buyet questioned.
“Yes! These implants are connected to his lungs, heart, nerves system and brain. If they were to be damaged or go off, it would slowly and painfully kill him.” Icarus shuttered.
“What can we do? I'm not about to have him in danger my whole system. If Hyperion is following him, and if they locate him here, that could throw everything to chaos.” Boyet frowned. By now 'A' had figured out what was going on and was falling into a panic of his own.
Braden could track him, Braden could find him and drag him back to Hyperion. Every waking moment he dreaded something like this happening, and this whole time he had been pinging off an electrical trail for Braden to follow? It was a nightmare come true.
“Make the tracking stop/ I don't want him to find me/ I can't go back there.” He sobbed, this day just kept getting worse. He wanted nothing more than to have Axton appear, guns blazing , to take him back to Coffeville. With the soldier maybe he could be safe, even from Hyperion. Axton was strong, he was clever, he had blown up the base and saved him once before. But with every minute that his savior did not appear, 'A' began to lose hope, accepting whatever fate awaited him in the possession of Boyet and Icarus.
“Don't cry little Zer0. We will think of something.” Boyet sighed, turning to Icarus hopefully.
“I can't shut it off...” Icarus took a deep breath to steady his own nerves, “but I can block the signal. But it's not easy. In order to block a signal this strong, the device will have to be completely surrounded in some...signal blocking material.” He waved his hand in the air trying to fathom what this signal blocker would look like or even be made of.
“So...like a helmet? Do we have time for you to make up something like that?” Boyet asked.
“Probably not, but I'll come up with a temporary solution before a final product.” He hurried over to his desk against the far wall where his assortment of tools were organized. The doctor immediately got to work on a design, forgetting about his boss and the experiment in the room. Boyet sighed before pulling a silver trimmed handkerchief from his breast pocket. He handed the small piece of cloth to 'A' before helping him down from the table.
“Come on little Zer0, let's introduce you to the future, yeah?” He lead the still cuffed child out of the operation room and down the dimmed hall to a world bound to change him forever.
Author's Note:
Author: Happy Birthday Erin. This chapter was a long time coming.
Clap-Trap: Oh! It's someone's Birthday? Let's get partying already!
Author: Wait...you don't even know her!
Tabitha: It doesn't matter, a birthday is a great opportunity for a party.
Author: Are you guys serious?
A: Yes.
Tabitha: We need something happy to happen right abut now anyways.
Author: Is everybody on board for this?
Axton: *sniffling in the corner* No...some of us our grieving.
Author: Oh boy, here we go.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
