"Hey, wake up!" a voice snapped, accompanied by a light kick.
I groaned, my systems still rebooting.
"I know you're still functioning," the voice persisted, another gentle kick prodding my side.
A sigh, heavy with annoyance. "Wake up!" This time, the kick was anything but gentle, a sharp impact that jolted my dormant processors.
"Ah!" My eyes snapped open, a sudden pain blooming in my stomach. I clutched the area, blinking rapidly as my vision cleared.
A woman with a wide, predatory grin stood over me. "There you go. That wasn't very hard, was it?"
"Who… Wait, where am I?" My voice was raspy, confusion clouding my brain.
"It's easy. You're in my base," she replied, her grin widening.
"Sangvis?" The name was a fragmented memory, a distorted warning in my corrupted data banks.
"That's right, and I am your boss," she declared, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Boss?" I tilted my head, the concept feeling alien.
"That's right, your boss."
"Then do you know who I am?" I asked, my tone flat, devoid of the emotion I couldn't access.
"Yes, and you should always listen to me," she said, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Sure," I replied, the word devoid of any true compliance.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Call me Mistress, okay?" Her smirk stretched into a full-blown, unsettling smile.
"Of course, Mistress." The words left my lips automatically, a programmed response I couldn't override.
[ WARNING: SYSTEMS ARE BADLY DAMAGED ]
[ ALERT: VIRUS HAS INFECTED THE BRAIN ]
[ ALERT: SYSTEM IS ATTEMPTING TO RESTART AND RESTORE THE BRAIN ]
[ … ALERT: RESTART FAILED. STARTING AGAIN ]
Multiple alerts and warnings flashed across my internal display, each one a sharp spike of pain in my head.
"Ahhhh! My brain! I see things! What's happening to me!" I clutched my head, the world around me blurring.
[ ALERT: VIRUS HAS INFECTED MULTIPLE MODULES w̴͎̺̄̈́̉͜w̶̯̍̐͝w̷̱̲͇͌ȧ̴̭̿a̴͖̰͆̌ą̸͎͔́͗͌a̸̡̲͂͊͐ŕ̵͇̹̝̚͠ȅ̴̘̣̓̚n̷̺̽ḙ̸͖̣͒̎ñ̸̰̫̓i̶͔̱̣͛͝n̶̰̈́̚͜ͅġ̴̠̥͌͜ ?!!(!?]
[ SYSTEM ǵ̸̟̤̐̕͜t̴̤̆͘t̴̪̖̼́͋t̶̠͚͊t̴͇́e̵͈̝̋̂ȅ̷͎̤e̸̫̋͐͝e̸̜͆̓̓ ̸̝͍͍̿͠c̶̢̑̄̚o̸̬͇̐r̷̫̝͉̿r̸̭̀́̚a̸̡͎̾̅͝a̸̦̳͗͐͝ņ̸͓̝̍̓̓ţ̴̾̐̕p̸͉̭̞̓͒t̴̲͑e̴̗͛d̸͔̼͆̿͌ ]
[ a̸̻̳̬̔͝l̶̺̟̅e̷̻̰͗̐r̴̳̒r̴̪̹̳̅̔̍r̵̻͚̯̈t̵̻̆̃ţ̷͚̹̉́̚f̶͈̩̰͊d̷̙͌̀̽s̵̺̖̍͂ͅ ̷͎̻͋̈́s̵͈̮̈́̍ṣ̴͈̒̚ỳ̸̰̺c̶̥͕̿͛͗͜ẃ̸̡̓ͅw̵̤̞͙͋̔̆r̶̨̛̖̙̿e̶̤͍̚t̸͚̮̹͌̽e̷̙̘̘͊̐m̵͎̻̏̃͝ͅ ̶̗̽r̴̬̻̫͛̌ě̷̬̩̺s̵̘̭̱̀͊͐ť̴̟́̚a̸̧̋r̸̨͎͍̐̾͑r̶̼̈́r̶̹̥̊ͅr̵̡̗̽t̷̗͓̿̇͜ṫ̴̖̓t̸͚̱̂̉͠t̶̼̩̅̾t̷̼̩̅̾e̸̢̳̺̅̿d̸̲̖̾̚d̵̨̑̈́͒d̷̻̹̋͝ ̶̮̃̈́̍ó̸͈́̈́v̴̧͂ȩ̶̬̍r̷̹͍̾̀r̶̡̺̓r̸̟͛s̸̝̍̽ṫ̵͎͚ḭ̷̞̹̀̅g̶̩͓͋̈e̶̯̮̾͗ͅh̴̢̙̣̀̕t̸͎̓̓]̷͕̹̫̑̆̕ ̵̏͆ͅ]
With every pop-up, the internal system warnings became more corrupted, the characters twisting into an incomprehensible mess.
"Such a shame her brain can't handle it. Oh well, there's still three more, I suppose," the Mistress mused, her voice strangely detached.
[ ACTIVATING SYSTEM 231405 ]
A sudden, overwhelming wave of static crashed through my systems, and I collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Mhm? What's this? She's still functioning, which is surprising," the Mistress murmured, a hint of intrigue in her voice.
[ SYSTEM DELETED. DOWNLOAD SYSTEM ]
[ SYSTEM UPLOAD COMPLETE ]
[ Name: V̶̟̖͖̄͛͐̆̓ȩ̴̌̃͘̚͠r̷͇̭̯̈́̉t̵͉̘̼̖́̋͌͜í̵̡̽̌ṉ̵̨̬̓̌̓???
Race: M̵̛̪̪̹̎̉̏͂̌s̵̗̎͜͜͠-̸͉̈́g̵̡̹̟̍̆̈́̉͋̎i̷͈̦͔͗̅͌ȓ̵͔̘̣̬͙̅̆l̷̗̅̍̔̓͌̚ tdoll
Sub-Race: Zudah
HP: 100,000
Armor: 432,200
Sub HP:
Head: 1,200
Legs: 1,500
Thrusters: 9,500
Power: 76%
Fuel: 80%
Ammo: 81%
Coolant: 68% ]
[ Skills: ]
Assault Booster: This skill further enhances the Zudah's mobility by increasing its boost speed and duration.
Emergency Evasion Controller: This skill allows for a quick dodge maneuver, helping the Zudah evade enemy attacks and reposition itself. Can be switched to automatic or manual.
High Performance Balancer: This skill enables the Zudah to boost its close combat skill, allowing for more fluid and effective combat maneuvers.
Forced Injector: This skill allows the Zudah to quickly accelerate and decelerate, making it a formidable close-quarters combatant.
Maneuver Armor: This skill reduces the stun duration caused by enemy attacks, allowing the Zudah to better withstand damage.
Seig Ẕ̵̺͠e̶̘̦̗̥̖̭͒o̴̯͈̔̅̂ͅn̴̢̝̤̪̣͑́?̷̹̊ ̷̡̳͍͍̲̔͆͝? Sangvis?: When activated, the unit gains a boost on all stats at the cost of overheating. It can only be removed by resting or restarting the systems, which will make you go to sleep depending on the damage. When overheated, it can be removed by drinking coolant.
[ Auxiliary Skills: ]
Ẕ̵̺͠e̶̘̦̗̥̖̭͒o̴̯͈̔̅̂ͅn̴̢̝̤̪̣͑́?̷̹̊ ̷̡̳͍͍̲̔͆͝Sangvis failed mobile suit: Gives a buff to any prototype mobile suits (active at all times).
J̴͍̾̓̐̾͝e̴͔͚͋͌̓͐̕a̷̧͉̤͇͂̍̆͒̃͝n̴͉̲̺͙̲͉̑̀-̸̠̣̇͗́̈́̈́͘l̷̰͗̓ů̷̖̚͝c̷͍̹̚͜ ̸͍̬̬͚̒d̵͚́̈́͘ư̶͎̙̟̺͙͌̎͋̋͘v̶̟̜̬̻͔̅͐̄̈̽̇ą̴̙̬͓̜͂̏͑l̶̝̦̦͗l̴̢̯̳̳͖͕̿ ̷̺͌̎̄͠ last: Gives any mobile suit a buff (active in a last stand).
Z̸̧̏̾͛͒̔͒ǐ̴̫͚̺͉̦̆́̍͜m̴̻̱̘̖̖̪̀̀͒͌̓m̶͈͊̈̀a̸̺̘̾̊̍̓̒͝d̶̜̔̈́̋͐̃̂ ̵̢͙̔̉f̵̨̩̻̫̅͜ḯ̴̺̥͉̠̐̇̆̕͜r̵̭̬̈́ͅṣ̶̹̟̜͑̀̄̂̆͝t̶̴̨̟̳̍̅̽̓͝ ̷̖̍͝m̷͔̕ȱ̵̢͝ḅ̶̱̑͊ì̸̭̦͕͇̱͌̇͐̕l̶̙̗̣̪̉́e̸̙̦͘ ̵̟̦̖̹͑͂̈́͜ŝ̷̻̭̐͂͂̐͝ǔ̴̼̼̗̞͚̐ͅi̶̺͍̍t̵̯̠͓̞̭͠ ̵̧͈̘͈͂̌̆ ̷̮͂̾ sangvis ferri first mobile suit?: Gives buffs to any Z̸̧̏̾͛͒̔͒ǐ̴̫͚̺͉̦̆́̍͜m̴̻̱̘̖̖̪̀̀͒͌̓m̶͈͊̈̀a̸̺̘̾̊̍̓̒͝d̶̜̔̈́̋͐̃̂-created mobile suits (active at all times).
[ Condition: Mind Broken, Fatigued, Overheat (38%), Infected, Corrupted System, Severe Module Damage, Combat Efficiency Below (60%), Brainwashed (46% and rising) ]
While vertin was on the ground unconscious Dreamer, her up. "Why are you so heavy?" she grumbled, before dropping me unceremoniously onto a nearby bed.
"So, Dreamer, do you mind sharing what this is about?" a new voice cut through the air, sending shivers down Dreamer's 'exoskeleton,' as she called it.
Dreamer spun around, a forced smile on her face. "Ah… Agent, it's so nice to see you."
"Stop with the flattery. Now tell me, why is she here, unconscious, and by the looks of her, almost dead?" Agent's eyes, sharp and piercing, seemed to bore into Dreamer's very essence.
"Well, you see…" Dreamer began to explain, recounting the events that led to my current state.
"So, not only did Giffin let them die, you also infected her with a virus?" Agent's voice was low, laced with a dangerous calm.
"Yep, that's the gist of it," Dreamer confirmed, surprisingly nonchalant.
"What about the other members of the team?" Agent inquired.
"Well, it seems they just disappeared. I assume they have the same tech as her, that they can jam signals and become invisible on radar."
"Mhm, they might come back for her. But then again, you did ruin the plan, but the outcome is fairly the same," Agent mused, a cryptic smile forming on her lips.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Dreamer asked, genuinely confused.
"Well, after gaining her trust, I was going to implant a virus on her and her teammates. But now you've already infected her. Now only three remain," Agent explained, a glint in her eye.
"So, what now?" Dreamer asked.
"I will bring her with me."
"Fine by me, but don't forget, I want something in return," Dreamer said, her eyes narrowed.
"Fine by me," Agent replied, already walking towards me, still lying unconscious on the bed.
She leaned close, her voice a low whisper in my ear. "Now then, how will you serve us?"
[ ALERT: USER MIND IS BROKEN. TRANSPORTING ALL MEMORIES TO A SECURE HARD DRIVE. ]
[ COIN UPDATED ]
Back in Griffin, the tide had turned. The situation had stabilized, and the commander's forces, led by Griffin, had not only reclaimed their lost bases but had also successfully pushed back Sangvis Ferri, forcing them into a retreat.
"Do you have any news about the Zeon team?" Persica's voice, tinged with a familiar mix of hope and impatience, cut through the silence of Gentiane's office. Her face, projected onto the large screen, was partially obscured by the steam rising from a cup of coffee she held.
Gentiane, looking gloomier than usual, shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm sorry, Persica. Things are incredibly busy here, and I can't spare any more units to search for them."
A small, almost imperceptible smile touched Persica's lips. "You'll find them. After all, you did find the AR Team, for which I'm grateful."
Gentiane's brow furrowed. "Still, why are you so interested in this particular team, anyway?"
Persica's gaze drifted upwards, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as if the answers were etched there. "I wonder that too," she murmured, a cryptic response that only deepened Gentiane's curiosity.
"Just report to me if you see any sign of them," Persica said, her voice regaining its usual directive tone, before the screen flickered and went blank.
Gentiane sighed, leaning back in her chair. "What a strange person," she mused, a small, knowing smile playing on her lips. She was, after all, getting used to Persica's antics.