Slavegear - Part 4

"HA HA, I'LL MURDER THEM ALL" she laughed, spinning around with her sword. Unfortunately, she didn't have the skill to effectively fight off all the foes, especially not at that moment.

When she smacked on the ground, she made a quick recovery.

~Okay, so the force still carries me off my feet. Noted.~

When the batpony got close to hit, she made a narrow, but calculated dodge. From her new angle, she gave an elbow to his head, with way more force as implied from her frame. When it connected, whisps of energy came free, as if she was cloaked in the Artemis spell of boosting.

As Twilights elbow punch connected, the batpony emitted a muffled scream and crumbled to the ground, momentarily stunned.

"TWILIGHT, NO!" you suddenly heard Harlequins piercing shriek: "Cancel that spell! Immediately! It will tear apart every muscle in your body! The only reason the Artemis Officers can use it, is because they're cybernetically augmented!"


Mercer exhaled in frustration, as she swung her sword again in a wide arc: "..so that's why no other country could copy it... Artemis cybernetically augments their officers, that's how they withstand the strain of the spell-"


Before she finished her sentence, Twilight could already feel a slight searing pain in her entire body. Every muscle began to slightly ache. The feeling was akin to that of extremely sore muscles, after strenuous exercise, taken after a long time of no activity.



As Moon spinned around with her sword in hand, one of the batponies got his arm cut and jumped back.
The second one dropped down from above and kicked Moon in the stomach. His sword was already raised, prepared to strike at any second.


Through the sounds of clashing steel and screaming, you vaguely noticed a few batponies opening the Slavegear's pilot hatch. Another one climbed inside and the hatch closed.
The robot shook and began slightly moving again.


"-..Bravo-Six here, continuing target acquisition over." You heard a voice echo over the enemy radio and the Slavegear roared, violently kicking the wall in, creating a massive hole in the hangar bay.
Through it, you could see the blue sky and the endless line of the ocean.

The Slavegear ducked and tried to crawl its way outside

"-...Coordinates locked! Target acquired! The missile is hot! Beginning the last pre-flight check" the voice echoed in the radio.

Moon groaned and fell back, but still held her sword. The look in her eyes was wild and crazed, and she laughed loudly. She lifted her sword in an attempt to stop the batpony, cackling and grinning like a madmare.

(Radiance)
Taking off Radiance rushed to attack the Batpony who had just kicked Moon. There was a flash or metal followed by a spray of blood. The batpony was cleanly decapitated, Radiance just on the other side with both the dagger and sword dripping with blood.

(Omega)
Omega stepped into join Eva and Mercer. His own greatsword being used to deflect arrows or knock back any more grenades flung at the group.

(Tarmikos)
Tarmikos began firing a volley of fireballs at the cockpit of Slavegear in an attempt to cook the current pilot out even faster.

"Oh, that's the secret?! Well screw that, I have another use for it!"

She reeled back a bit from the pain, the energy dissipating. But she followed with a stomp of her foot on her assailant's chest. With the impact, a little bit of energy came out, with a noise as if something incredibly heavy was dropped.

"Ooooh, that smarts..."

She gives a hiss as she pulls her foot back, showing she wasn't used to the spell yet.

Rain flaps her wings underwater she quickly gains on johan and grabs him by the foot, she pulls him up to her body and her wings wrap tight around him holding him against her body, she looks up and begins to rise, to the surface. She breaks the surface and takes a big breath and coughs, she starts to make her way to mother base, moving johan to her shoulder now unable to fly... She crawls onto the dock and lays johan down and checks for a heart beat

"G-Get inside slavegear if you have to!" she says breathlessly into her friendly radio,

The battle began to die down. The remainder of the Vampire Unit was laying or crouching on the ground, wounded.
The Union personnel began to move in and start placing them into coughs, administerring first aid.


The Slavegear machine was now the only active hostile element on the scene. It managed to crawl outside of the hangar bay and now stood knees deep in the water.
The fireballs that struck its cockpit hatch, seemed to have little to no effect. The armor plating was too thick.

The robot looked at the sky and roared, as two attack helicopters took off from Mother Base and began circling the machine, releasing barages of high caliber fire.
The robot tried to hit one of the choppers with his fist, but its carcass moved too slowly and the chopper banked out of the way.


"It wont launch the missile, so long as the choppers stay in the air" Mercer called over the racket: "The choppers will just shoot the missile out of the sky!"



As Rain checked over Johan, a weak heart beat could be heard, but he wasn't breathing.
Kaylee crawled out of the water and stumbled towards Johan as well:
"...his lungs are full of water.." she called in alarm, then crouched next to Johan and began making CPR, over and over.

Only a few seconds passed, before Johans pale face suddenly twitched, his eyes opened wide and a long series of coughs took control of his body, as he coughed the water out of his lungs.

He was ghostly pale, completely drenched and shaking. His eyes looked empty, hollow, as he finaly stopped coughing and slowly sat down. You notice the fur on his face was slightly singed from the explosion.



A few seconds later, you heard a series of explosions from the outside. You noticed one of the choppers had lost its tail section and was plummeting into the ocean. The other one was trailing smoke and steared off, attempting an emergency landing.

The Slavegear emitted a long roar, then suddenly jerked backwards. Its entire body contorted and it began falling onto the hangar bay.

A deafening screeching of metal echoed acrosd the area, as the robot tore another hole in the hangar bay, folding the metal wall like a tin foil.

With a last screech, the robot crashed into the water, next to the pier, sending a large wave to wash over everyone. Its hand twitched and stopped moving.


Mercer slowly picked herself up from the floor, completely drenched and looked at the robot:
"...the pilot.. the machine must have fried him again..." she grimaced.



Johan was still sitting on the ground, unmoving and seemingly unfazed by the giant wave that washed over him a second ago.
Kaylee was coughing next to him and looking for Rain.




A relative quiet began to settle over the hangar bay.
Slavegear laid on its back, half of it submerged underwater.

Without missing a beat, Harlequin jumped onto its pilot hatch and tried to open it. The hatch didn't budge and a synthetic voice quietly called:
"DNA print not recognized"

Harlequin frowned and placed her palm over the hatch.

"DNA print, not recognized" the synthetic voice repeated.

Harlequin looked up at you and called: "Its no good. They found a way to place some kind of lock on the cockpit. I can't get inside. And we can't pry it open, or get the missile out. The armor platings too thick"


Mercer sighed and waved it off: "No matter. The hangar bay is secure. I'll call for the engineering team, they'll just have to dismantle it, piece by peace."

The Councilor looked at everyone and nodded:
"We did it. The assault on Mother Base is over"





Johan was still quietly sitting, next to Rain and Kaylee. His eyes emptily staring at the palms of his hands.
After a moment he whispered:

"...pointless... all of it... pointless... this world is broken" he closed his eyes and quietly sighed.

Moon sat on the ground and looked around. She looked at the dead bodies, and the blood, and she smiled. And then, she started to laugh, a dark chuckle at first. She was covered in blood, not that it was hers. And she continued to laugh.

Johan released a small smile as well: "...Moon has the right idea.." he quietly said and released a small laugh. It sounded wrong, unhealthy.


Kaylee turned pale at the sound of it and shook his shoulder:
"Hey!... come.. come on... snap out of it!.. Moon, Johan, come on... its over. We won-"


"Yeah... And w-what will that accomplish?" Johan asked with an empty smile: "Another year of peace, before this world tries to wipe us out again? We're weeds, after all. A nuisence.
Everyone's fighting everybody. Everybody's killing everybody, for the stupidest reasons.

Peace? Co-existance? Harmony? Fantasies of a child. A myth, or a temporary veil, placed on the eyes of the masses... you must think I'm such an idiot... I am, really..." Johan broke into a quiet, hysterical laugh. It was unsettling:

"..you should have just let Councilor Chambers have the virus. Get it over with. Someones gonna wipe out Nyx at some point anyway" he covered his face, quietly laughing. A streak of tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Come on Johan, let's have a PARTY!!!" She laughed, looking at him with crazed eyes. "We can decorate with BLOOD AND GUTS." She then burst into a fit of mad laughter, licking the blood off her hands occasionally.

Rain wraps her arms around Johan not quite knowing what to say, in many cases she would disagree but seeing how they were formery enslaved... That makes them look weak...

If they could just establish themselfs they could easily become a world power... They just need the chance... And competitors wont give them even the thought.

(Hay at least the counsolers dead.)

"Johan! Moon!" Kaylee called in alarm: "Stop it! This isn't helping!"

"Johans not here right now" Johan quietly said, burrying his face in his knees: "He's gone and he's never coming back... this world is just too cruel.."


"Come on, stop it" Kaylee weakly called, shaking his shoulder, then tried to release an encouraging smile, but it came out really nervous: "We'll make a change in the world, we'll take action! No one will harm Nyx again-"


"You're right Kaylee. Drastic action must be taken" Johan suddenly said in a cold, firm voice. He lifted his eyes, staring directly ahead. Any trace of a smile has faded:
"The world views Nyx as some sort of push over. No army. No backbone. No means of defending itself.

They will never leave us alone. And they wont forgive us either. Not after what Marek has done. Not after the Slavegear incident!

They will call for retribution... some of you already thought of it too, haven't you.." he briefly glanced at Twilight, before going on:


"Words are wind. You can't change the world by talking. You can't change it with smiles and handshakes and hugs. Sometimes, drastic action is necessary.
Sometimes... you have no choice but to take a life.."



Kaylee was staring at him, stunned to her core. She numbly touched his shoulder and called:
"...Johan... whats gotten into you?"


"..did I frighten you? I'm sorry" Johan released a sad smile and looked down.

A puddle of water on the floor showed his reflection. Johan sighed:
"...my hair... turned gray again... so uncool..."

He slowly pulled something out of his pocket. It was a can of instant hair spray. Dark color. You used something similar during the infiltration of the ball in Sanja, when you tried to steal the tiara.


Johan began carefully applying the spray to his hair, painting it black.
Kaylee was sitting stiffly near by, confused. Unsure of whats happening.

"Kaylee... What do you think has gotten into him" she raises her brow at the girl, "all he tried to do was stop the fighting and look where it got him... It almost got him fucking killed..." she growls, "johan... War will always be an issue... People dont just... Give away land because they think they own that part ofnthe world... They'll go as far as to sacrifice anothers life to keep it... Problem is nowa days they they wont defend it with their own life." she sighs, "im sorry you have to sit through all this..." she looks down and sits next to him, "fuck... She takes off her blade and throws it down in front of her.

Twilight was silent, observing Johan's sudden change. She limped to the body of Former Councilor Chambers, and observed the cause of death. The small cut in the neck was identical to the ones of those in the elevator. She then looked at him.

"So that's why his medical skills were needed... Then forget the list."

She gets up as best as possible, and pointed two fingers at Johan. Her frown increasses in immense dissapointment. A green glow comes around her fingers, as magic could be sensed.

"Flesh to stone."

She fired a thin beam shot from them, right at their fallen friend.

Johan grinned.

Just before he dodged the shot, he grinned.
A crazed. Somewhat familiar grin. A grin you've seen somewhere before.


"...I've waited for you to betray me.." Johan quietly said, as he rolled backwards and jumped to full height, a playful smile across his face:
"I knew you would... from the first moment I saw you.. Tamara. At the back of my mind... I knew, what you wanted to do to my people..."


He turned into a blur, before Kaylee could even gasp in shock at what happened.

Johan already stood atop Slavegear. A familiar crazed grin over his face:

"I didn't cause the Slavegear incident... I didn't start this fight... but since you pushed me... I'll finish it-" he ducked low, pressing his palm into the machine's surface. A synthetic voice responded in kind:
"DNA print - accepted"


Just before Johan jumped into the cockpit and sealed the hatch behind him, he smiled, one last time.



And his crazed smile triggered a set of memories, deep in your mind.




-------

The Village of Dusan. Johan's house. Just after the Slavegear Incident.
Johan tells you to run, then faces the Artemis soldiers, as they violently beat him up and drag him away, into their armored car.
They drive him away, as you run through the endless fields of potatoes.



A new memory.
A poorly lit conference room.
Eva groans, as she reads an old field report:
"They found an Artemis transport vehicle, on the edge of Sanja city, in Nyx. The vehicle was found laying on its side, off to the side of the road. The Artemis soldiers inside were heavily injured.
Its unclear who carried out the attack.."




A new memory.
A major bus station in Sanja.
You're on your way to the ball. To steal the Tiara and find Dr. Zarovee.

After a moment of looking around, you notice someone you recognize.

Johan.
Sitting by himself at the bus station.
The look in his eye, haunted. His glasses missing.
A few, small dark red stains on his shirt. He seems to be just sitting there, staring emptily into space.

You notice a severe bruise on the side of his head.
"..I'm sorry.. I get headaches sometimes... w-what were you asking?" he shyly smiles to you, struggling to shake off the pain.
"O-oh.. master Moon?.. master Tarmikos, is.. is that you?... I'm sorry, my sight isn't so good..."
He absentmindedly pats his pockets, to no result.

"..if.. you don't mind me asking, where will you head now, master Moon?"

"We're going to a ball, and please, stop calling me 'master'" Moon replies: "You don't have to." she smiled slightly.






A new memory.
The HGTS tunnels. Country of Artemis. During the search for the Slavegear.

A poorly lit train station. Johan is sitting next to Twilight, staring into space.

As she places her hand on his shoulder, his eyes slightly catch focus and he looks at her:

"..forgive me... my.. memory's not so good lately... I get headaches sometimes.." he quietly exhales, rubbing his forehead.

"...you .. already know what kind of life we had in Nyx...
There was an old shed, where the wounded would be dropped off and discarded...

I would visit the shed and tend to the wounded, the best I could.. to make them a little more healthy... so they could last.. at least one more day..."


Johan turns away, sobbing.
"...One night... I came to the shed...it was on fire... the Masters had set it on fire...
I ran inside... tried to help them... but

Everyone was already dead...


I remember screaming... I think my skin was on fire.
I think... my brother ran in after me. I think he had to forcefully pull me out of the shed.. I didn't want to leave.
My brother, his name is Drasko.


He.. pulled me out... I think... made sure I was alive.. then... he started walking toward the manor,
where my Master had lived.

There was a large garden there, just next to the manor. It was full of these heavy gardening tools,
some of them really sharp.. really dangerous..


Drasko.. picked one of the tools.. and started walking inside the manor... no one even tried stopping him... I don't think they expected a batpony to snap like that...

He entered the manor... with this large gardening tool and... he just started... killing
the Masters... butchering them...

The screaming... I can't get it out of my head!..." Johan covers his face, tears streaming
out of his eyes again.








A new memory.
The arrest of Priscilla Ealhere. Johan's former Master.

As you mention the name 'Johan', Pricsilla's demeanor changes irreversibly.
Her face becomes pale, beads of sweat appear on her forehead and genuine, primal terror suddenly reflects in her eyes.

"You can't... you can't do this!..." her breathing increases, her face ghostly pale:
"..This is murder! Y-" the words get stuck in her throat, as she looks toward the door, where Johan was hiding.


Johan slowly steps into view, frightened, uneasy. Nervously rubbing his fingers,
looking at Priscilla with sadness, he quietly speaks: "...M-Master?..."



Priscilla screams. She screams in primal, unhidden terror, so suddenly and so loudly, that Johan jerks back in shock.

Priscilla claws at her armchair, her eyes crazed, she struggls to get as far away from Johan as she possibly could.
She stumbled across the room, screaming in horror and looking at Johan, as if she was seeing a demon.
Her painfully loud screaming echoes across the house:

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!!!! GET HIM AWAY!!!! I CAN'T DO THIS!! HEEEEELP!!! SOMEBODY HELP MEEE!!!!"


Johan stares at her in complete shock, turning as pale as she was. Confusion and fear reflect in his eyes: "M-Master... its.. okay... Its.. Its me, Johan... please, don't be afraid... everything will be fine now-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Priscilla shrieks in horror: "GET HIM AWAY!!! GET THAT MONSTER AWAY FROM ME!!!... don't let him kill me.. PLEASE!!! HE'S COMING FOR ME!!!! DON'T LET HIM KILL ME!!!!"

She cries.








A new memory.
The final battle with General Dakova.
Drasko releases a familiar crazed grin and charges into battle, along side you, punching and kicking aside the soldiers who were loyal to Dakova.






A new memory.
Just after the final battle with Dakova. After Nyx was pronounced officially free.

A group of Union soldiers approach you and claim they found a confused batpony, unaware of his surroundings. They say the batpony kept calling your name. The batpony turned out to be Johan.


Johan seems completely confused. He seemed like he didn't know where he was, or what was happening.

You noticed a freshly installed Neurochip on the back of his head. And you noticed the bruises on his knuckles. He didn't have those before.

"my head.. hurts a little" he quietly says: "I.. can't remember what.." he closes his eyes, trying to concentrate. You notice that his glasses are missing.


"Johan, were you in a fight?.." Elisabeth asks: "did you fight someone?"


"What?" Johan looks scared: "N-no!.. at least... I don't remember to.." he slowly lowers his head into his hands: "I don't want.. to hurt anyone..." he looked at his stuffed toy.





The memories end.
Kaylee's eyes widen.


Just as Johan leaned back in the cockpit of Slavegear and connected his Neurochip to the interface, you heard Dr. Zarovee again, call over the radio:
"---Can anyone hear me! Hello!"


"Doctor..." Kaylee quietly called: "...have you seen Drasko? Have you seen Johan's brother?"




"JOHAN HAS NO BROTHER!" Dr. Zarovee yelled over the radio:

"JOHAN AND DRASKO ARE THE SAME PERSON!"









As seconds ticked by, Kaylee watched stunned, as the Slavegear roared and began raising up again.

Dr. Zarovee was still yelling on the radio:


"Everyone! You have to listen to me!
Johan is suffering from a rare case of split personality! It happens sometimes, after a PTSD event.

It must have happened when he saw that shed burning!
His mind couldn't take it!

So it created another personality, that could cope with the harsh reality of that moment. That's when Drasko was born!


I believe that one persona doesn't retain the memories of the other. They're vaguely aware of each others existence, but not fully. It would make sense for Johan to see his other half as his brother.


And they keep switching places, in his mind! Whenever the situation becomes calm, Johan takes over.
But if the situation becomes stressful, then Drasko comes out!



Please, I beg you! Don't hurt him!
Johan is sick! He needs help! He doesn't understand whats happening to him! Its not his fault this had happened!
Just, please, be careful, if he switches to Drasko again, he may become violent and-"




The Slavegear loudly smashed its fists together, sending a deafening shockwave across the hangar.

"...I have about five minutes..." Johan's cocky voice echoed out of the robots speakers:
"Shall we play? Hehe..."

Twilight pressed the button on her radio, speaking monotone.

"Dr. Zarovee, Johan is gone now. Drasko is all that remains. He entered the uncooling Slavegear. Call us back in five minutes."

She releases it, and quickly goes to the offense, using her telekinesis to toss pieces of the hangar at the Slavegear. She knew she couldn't stop it, only slow down.

"EVERYONE, GET TO IT! SLOW SLAVEGEAR DOWN, TOSS THE HANGAR AT IT! KILL JOHAN IF YOU HAVE TO! DON'T LET HIM FIRE THE ROCKET! THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN ALLOW TO FAIL!"

"Johans gonna be cooked in there..." she shakes her head and sighs, "here we go again..." she rises and picks up her blade.

The pieces of the hangar harmlessly bounced off the Slavegears surface, causing no effect.


"Ah yes! The rocket!" Johan's cocky voice rang out of the speakers. As he spoke, you heard a synthetic voice ringing inside the cockpit behind him:

Coordinates locked.
Missile. Ready for Launch.
Missile. Ready for Launch.


"What should I dooo...." Johan released a quiet giggle: "Oh, I know. Lets play a game.

I'll give you, 5 minutes.
If you can't kill me within 5 minutes, I'll launch the missile. How does that sound?"




"JOHAN!" Kaylee screamed, as she ran along the pier. Her eyes wide, streaming with tears:
"JOHAN I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! YOU STOP THIS, RIGHT NOW! I KNOW YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!!!
JOHAN!!!" she screamed as she ran along the water line, crying.



"I'm not listening to you anymore!" Johan barked through the speakers: "People try to stab me in the back, the moment I turn my stupid head!
Now you FUCKING KILL ME! OR I LAUNCH THE FUCKING MISSILE!!!"




Mercer ran up to Twilight and Rain, tugging at their shoulders:

"Look! The smaller models!" She pointed to the two cargo ships, docked in the hangar bay.
Four massive robots rested there. The next generation of robots.
Smaller models. About half shorter than Slavegear. No weapons attached.


"EVERYONE!" Mercer barked over the hangar: "IF YOU HAVE A NEUROCHIP, YOU CAN INTERFACE WITH THE ROBOTS! YOU CAN PILOT THEM! I'LL GIVE YOU ACCESS!"



"Best hurry up lads" Johans robot knocked its fists together and began marching outside:
"You ain't got all day!!! I'll be waiting outside this cramped FUCKING HANGAR" he busted through the closed doors of the hangar, marching outside of Mother Base, his robots feet half submerged underwater.

Rain quickly jogs up to the smaller mechs and tries to figure out how to get in. She looks around for a hatch of some sort.

Moon giggled "I WANNA POP THIS TIN CAN OPEN!" She shouted before running after the giant robot and leaping onto it, taking hold of anything that would secure her grip.

(Tarmikos)
A dark green magical aura along with pulpish black tendril-like smoke started to surround Tarmikos' body. After a moment the smoke tendrils all moved to where Tarmikos missing arm was. The scarred skin on the left side of his face starting to turn black as well

"Desperate time's call for desperate measures" Tarmikos muttered under his breath

There was a crackle of energy completely surrounding Tarmikos in a flash of green light hiding him for a brief moment. When the light finished Tarmikos stood, his old arm now back.

The veins all across Tarmikos body began to glow that same green color. His eyes now taking on the classic look of one using dark magic. Tarmikos raised his right arm and fired a concentrated blast of radiation filled magic at the massive robot.

"What a hassle... Fine then! One last time! Just to shut him up!"

With the same scale of power to move the hangar, she pulls one of the smaller models to herself, making it stop close by. She catches her breath, then tries to open it, looking visibly nervous.

"Okay, only a few minutes..."

As the blast of radiation filled magic hit Slavegear's back, the robot's surface briefly glowed. When the glow stopped, the robot appeared to be completely unharmed.

Johan's crazed laugh echoed out of the speakers:
"Loooks like someone didn't do his homework. You can't punch through this armor with magic! Slavegear's surface is immune to that sort of thing.
On that note, Moon, you should find a way to get off. I wouldn't want to accidentally throw you off, its uhh, quite a drop AAHAHAH AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA"



"Johan for gods sake!" Kaylee shrieked from the pier: "Stop this non sense!" she was running toward the smaller robots, together with Rain and Twilight, stumbling a few times, as she struggled to wipe the tears from her eyes.


"Now is not the time captain!" Mercer barked. The Councilor pressed a few buttons on her touch screen and the four smaller robots emitted an electronic sound, before their cockpits opened:
"Everyone! Board the robots!" Mercer called over the hangar:
"Just take a seat in its chair and buckle up! Your Neurochip will interface with the robot immediately! You will see through its eyes! Its hands will be your hands, its feet, your feet! Don't worry about the controls! It will feel like using your own body!"



Kaylee approached one of the smaller robots, sobbing, and placed a hand on its surface:

"Johan please... I know you're still in there... don't make me do this... I don't want to fight... I know you don't want to fight either... its not like you-"



"Shut up" Johan hissed through the speakers: "Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUTUP SHUTUP SHUTUP SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!!!!!"
You heard a thick sound from the speakers, as if he slammed his head into the control panel.



"Please, talk him down!" Kaylee called to you: "He's not well! We can't just murder him!"


"FOUR MINUTES, FIFTEEN SECONDS" Johan barked through the speakers: "BEST HURRY UP LADS!!!"