AJ-001 ripped off the metal plating remaining on the base of the D-Bugg's rifle, tossing them to the pavement like trash. With his free hand, he pulled apart thin electrical wires and steel fragments that held the shell together. Pieces of the machine fell off on their own. After a few minutes of digging into the base, he stopped with a small CPU chip in his hand.
RL squinted to get a better look from below.
Is that what was controlling it? No... It must have been the core stuck to his sword. Then what is that for?
Examining the card, AJ scowled, flicking off the seared edges that were charred by the rifle's earlier activation.
"Chip's busted, burn marks roughed up the edges. I must've been too slow to stop the rifle's charge, that its excess energy fried the internal motherboard."
"It truly is unfortunate," the Orbital Warden floating around AJ said. It looked just like Owen, but lined with gold instead of silver. And the voice sounded more feminine. "At least the core still works."
"Yeah…" AJ hopped off the D-Bugg's body and kicked away some of the plating on the ground, "Five cores but with nothing to synthesize them with. These C-tier machines just lack the parts I need."
His eyes latched onto D-Bugg's arm with the long spike attached at the end. His brow furrows in quiet contemplation.
"Say, Warden. What about this spike? Could it be useful?"
"Its sharp edges could make for a fine blade edge."
After some twiddling with the seam that connected the spike to the rest of the D-Bugg, AJ could pry the spike off. He stood up, rubbing his hand behind his neck.
"With this and the cores we have, we might have enough for a higher LvL weapon."
RL and Owen watched silently as AJ continued to scavenge for parts. He precisely picked the D-Bugg apart like a hunter who kills and skins a game animal for meat, ensuring not to be too aggressive and ruin some materials until the inner skeleton was revealed. After he felt satisfied with the salvaged items he found, he placed them in front of the Orbital Warden. A blue light enveloped them, glowing with an accompanying hiss and low buzz. In an instant, the item that once hovered in front of the warden disappeared.
What was that?
AJ finally acknowledged RL and Owen and approached them; his visage remained stoic and unflinching. As he got closer, he narrowed his eyes to RL. Barely visible, the iris around his hazel pigment dilated, almost as if he had a hint of recognition towards her. Even so, his resplendent stare made RL catch her breath.
"So you're another Doomsday Unit," he stated, studying her. "What designation?"
"RL-004…" after a momentary pause she frantically continued her sentence. "Y-you're AJ-001, right?" She laughed. "You really saved my ass back there. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't shown up."
She extended an arm, requesting a handshake. He accepted, squeezing his hand tightly around hers.
"You should be more careful. Going up against a D-Bugg without a weapon is suicide, even if it's a low tier. "
She looked away, embarrassed. It wasn't her intention to go head-to-head with it. She only got its attention to draw it off of the people it was killing, who could not defend themselves. Even then, running away from it was the priority.
He raised the machete in his left hand into the air. The rays from the sun and shadows from The Falling Sky gave the blade a dirty orange sheen. AJ looked up at the blade with a touch of admiration on his face, his lips curled up enough to be noticeable.
"Even a weapon like this is not ideal. Really, you'd want an Auxiliary Device to fight one of those things."
He gazed at the corpse of the mech, "If it was any stronger, you'd probably be dead."
Owen's eye switched over to a green coat. "That is accurate. Had it been anything higher than a C, your chances of survival would have plummeted from 25% to 6%."
Her mouth went agape, "It was that low to begin with?"
Owen closed in toward her face. He appeared almost squeamish with his green eye switching to pink, "I beg you, do not attempt that again, Miss RL. You almost gave me a heart attack because of your stupidity."
RL's eyes twitched, "Watch it, bot! And your getting a heart attack makes no sense!"
RL sighed, They're right; those D-Buggs are too much for me right now.
She looked over to the unresponsive D-Bugg and then at AJ.
But this guy defeated it in seconds. Maybe…
Her eyes widened and lit up. A mischievous smile painted her mouth.
AJ gave the last bit of materials to his Orbital Warden. Exhaling, he rubbed his forehead with his arm, wiping away some of the sweat and pushing around his golden bangs. The slightest bit of exhaustion affected his movements.
"Warden, pull up the map."
After the course of three separate beeps, each a unique pitch and frequency, a green wireframe model of the entire city of Paris materialized. RL grew curious and stood on her toes to see the map over AJ's shoulder.
AJ observed the hologram intensely. Putting his index finger and thumb together and then flicking them away, he zoomed in closer until four small red dots became visible. He slid his fingers across, and the hologram shifted to the left until a large building popped up. It had a massive orb floating at its top with many even lacerations wrapping around it in parallel lines.
RL frowned at Owen, whispering, "Why didn't you use something like this?"
Owen's eye turned pink, "You did not ask."
"Stupid bot."
"The Command Center is still a ways away, probably two or three hours out from our position." He turned to RL, "I assume you're going there? Try to avoid any D-Buggs on your way."
RL curled her brows up, "You're not going?"
He shook his head, "I am. But… I have something to do first."
His AI companion chimed in, "Doomsday Unit AJ-001 has been awake for quite a while, skirmishing with various D-Buggs. Doomsday Unit AJ-001 was planning on sleeping before he heard your-"
"Warden," AJ said. His eyes closed tightly, and his face wore the first frown RL had seen on him. "Do not speak for me."
"Wait, if you're going to the Command Center after you rest anyway, wouldn't it be fine for me to tag along with you?"
Owen's eyes turned red, "Miss RL! I strongly advise you to get to the Command Center as soon as possible!"
She raised a hand softly to Owen, signaling him to quiet down. He complied immediately with her request.
She turned back to AJ, "Is that alright? More heads are better than one, no?"
AJ glanced off to the side at nothing in particular. Seconds pass...
Honestly, he's probably going to say no. I got his number. He's one of those dark and brooding types who like to do things alone.
"That's fine," he said blithely.
RL's mouth fell, "Huh?"
"Is that weird? You're the one that asked." AJ's left brow raised.
"O-oh it's nothing, I just thought you'd say no. Given you like to brood a-and…"
AJ tilted his head slightly. "What?"
"Nothing important!" RL hastily bowed, partly to hide the flush of embarrassment that reddened her cheeks, "Thank you!"
He sighed, assiduously resting the blade over his shoulder. "Whatever. Just follow behind me."
She put an arm to her forehead in a rushed salute, "Will do!"
AJ turned around and started walking away from the plaza back onto the adjacent street. RL kept a steady pace behind him. She looked back one more time at the D-Bugg. Its unmoving shell looks oddly meek compared to how it was when it was awake and rampaging. It had now become the same as the people it was vanquishing. Petrified, unable to move from its place.
She stared into the thin slit that housed its once-red eye, now gray. Shuddering, she pivoted around and rushed closer to AJ's side.
It's still terrifying, though.