The tides of change.

[Saber]

((Continuing from the Birth of a New Generation Storyline))

Since the incident in Lilith's neighborhood of cyber city, Saber had been fading in and out of consciusness, his vision and awareness going dark, with brief moments of blurry vision and muffled audio. He couldn't understand any of what was happening, but he did understand one thing, he had been abducted, and had no idea where he was being taken to.

One of his more vivid moments of awareness, however, was in an odd environment, one that seemed oddly familiar. As he came to, for the moment, he could see nothing but white and gray...ash? It looked like he was in a vast wasteland, and he was being dragged by the arms, and being dragged backwards. He could vaguely see the trail of his heels being made behind him as they continued to drag him deeper into this odd wasteland. It wasn't until he saw a massive monster of a virus in the far distance that he realized where he was...and he was a long way from home.

As they kept moving further into the wasteland, he could hear the voices of some unfamiliar avatars calling to the group that had him in tow. "Welcome back, sir. I trust your hunt was successful." "I would say it's fucking successful, look at what they've got draggin behind 'em ya dumbass!" "Ey! I'm only bein nice to the boss! So fuck you bitch!" "Not even on your worst day, ya limp di-"

"Shut your mouths or I'll rip your tongues out with my bare hands and reprogram your vile minds so you do your jobs QUIETLY! Do you understand me you worthless maggots!" That last voice, Saber knew all too well. Halberd was leading this little 'hunting crew', and he was the prize, but he still didn't understand what he had planned with him. He knew one thing, he was in a very tight situation, and in a very sever disadvantage. Still, he had to try and break free, and he started to struggle against his captors, and try to dig his heels into the ashy terrain.

[Mani4c]

One of the goons immediately put a stop to Saber's struggling, "Oh no you don't motherfucker!" The minio smashed Saber in the face with the butt of his rifle, breaking his nose before stomping on his ribs repeatedly, causing a couple of wet cracking sounds to fill the air as he was practically trying to cave in his chest. "Yeeeah, not so fucking tough now are ya!? You put my ass in prison, so I'm gonna enjoy taking you apart you cu-URUGHK!"

The minion suddenly clutched his throat, code spraying from a new, neat slash to his gullet and splattering across Saber's face as the masked man dropped to the ground, gurgling and clutching Halberd's leg desperately as he began to fall apart, begging his boss to preserve him somehow.

Meanwhile, a new "Face" appeared, slowly fading into view with a wickedly curved blade that was still dripping with code. "Pathetic...you idiots know that I want to examine him before we end his operational cycle...So many unique samples to cull from that pretty young form of yours...oh yes, I always did find you Cyberblades fascinating..." This new associate's voice was almost predatory in how it regarded Saber, disturbingly similar to Genome, but somehow it held a bit of madness to it, whereas Genome was just clinically sociopathic in his actions.

The "Doctor" knelt down and grabbed Saber's chin, tutting dissaprovingly at the damage he'd suffered. "Oh fie...I'm going to need to fix this...and the crushed framework that is your ribs..." Sounding disappointed and concerned all at once, despite having just slit a man's throat with all the concern shown to him that one would give a thanksgiving turkey. This guy was completely unhinged.


The masked man examined Saber a bit more, his clawed gloves pricking his chin as he pinched it tighter  to force him still and tilted his head to inspect him like some kind of meat slab. When he was done, he turned to Halberd and bowed slightly, steepling his fingers together as he spoke in a calm, measured tone. "Halberd, I'd recommend putting off your revenge just a smidge longer, if we want those samples to be as fresh as possible..."

(For those curious, listen to this guy talk: link, this is how our new friend talks. As for his name, it's Myasnik. Just...look it up in google translate, Russian specifically, and you'll get the idea.)

[Saber]

Saber's vision was blurred from the sudden impact of the minions that had pistole whipped him with his rifle, smashing his face before delivering some solid blows to the ripcage of his framework. He let out a loud cough before a sudden silent gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. As he faded in and out, he could only hear bits and pieces of what was happening.

Halberd's voice echoed behind him as he listened to the doctor inspect Saber's condition "Your attention to detail is unparalleled, doctor, as is your ability to revive ghost data within avatars. But my revenge does not end with this one's demise, and I expect you to dispose of him only when I say."

As the "doctor" was finishing up his inspection, another blurry figure came into Saber's view, this one more feminine in design, but the way she talked was nowhere near womanly, but had an air of familiarity to how she spoke "Awww, we don't get to kill him, master?~ Well, can I cut him for you? Make him suffer for the times he and his little goodie-goodies made you look bad?~ Puhleeeeeeeese?~"

[Mani4c]

The Doctor sighed and casually pulled out a pair of scalpels, whipping them at the woman to shut her up. "Your crude attempts at torture would damage valuable specimens you harlot! if you want to make him suffer it must be calculated, delicate!"

The doctor went back to examining Saber's face, tilting his masked head to the side as his voice lowered. "And..the torture must extract every scrap of code I need...this specimen is incredibly rare, he must be preserved and kept alive until I've scraped and copied every bit of his beautiful programs..and then, we can perfect the NPD's uninspired work...yessss...it is decided, YOU shall not lay a single finger on him, instead, focus on...entertaining Lord Halberd...provided you even try that filthy activity for anything other than your OWN gratification..."

[Saber]

The woman was about to retaliate, but the sound of two booming cannon bursts struck the ground near their feet, causing the girl to let out a quick shriek as she jumped away from the blast "You assume too much doctor, and you, Siren, keep your focus on your job. I chose you because of your skills with viruses, remember that. Now, both of you, keep moving. We have work to do, and you two are wasting time..."

As Saber's vision started fading in and out, Halberd finally stepped into view, his imposing visage looming over the physically drained Cyberblade "You have been busy, haven't you? Winning a war, becoming a role model and a symbol of peace, along with your disgusting humans...Well, you and your lot were not the only ones who have been busy. But we will have plenty of time to talk later...brother."

Halberd delivered a swift chop to Saber's neck, and for a brief moment, he felt his whole body slump. He could hear the faint voice of Halberd giving orders before he blacked out "Drag this meat to the cells, let him get acquainted with his new family."

It felt like hours had passed, but Saber had finally felt himself coming to. As his vision came into focus, he was laying face down on the floor, and everything around him seemed like up was left, and down was right. He struggled to get to his feet, pushing up with his arm as he slowly rose to his feet. He could see that he was in a small cell, a prison cell from the look of it, and it looked like it was a poorly kept one. Deciding it was time to try and escape, Saber tried to switch into his combat armor, but nothing came. No swords, no guns, not even his shield "...Great, stuck in a program lock cell..."

"Oh, it's not as simple as that, friend. It's not the cell, it's you." Saber spun around and brought his hands up in defense, his feet stumbling a bit as he was still too weak to move too quickly. He found himself face to face with a hoodlum of an avatar, dressed in street clothes with a metal chain round his waist. The avatar was leaning against the wall of the cell, along with a couple of other odd avatars "That's how they get to you. They shoot you with something, and then you end up weak and powerless. Happened to all of us too." The avatar approached Saber slowly, his hands in his pockets "You're some kind of celebrity in the big world, right? I seen some of your performances in the net games, I can see why the new underworld leader would want you. The name's Smoke, the group behind me are Tesla, Frost, and Cinder." Behind Smoke were three other avatars, another man wearing a yellow biker vest with a buzz cut, an asian woman wearing mostly black with blue hair, and a darker skinned woman wearing leather pants and a rather revealing top, her overall appearance like some modern edgy voodoo woman. Not sure what else to say, Saber could only say the first thing that came to mind "...Saber..."

[Mani4c]

The meet and greet was interrupted by the sound of something rather angrily smashing against the wall of the adjacent cell, a low, hostile sounding growl reverberating through the room. "God Damn iiiit! Let me out of here you fucking cretins, or I'll rip out your innards and feed them to you!!!" What followed was more smashing and crashes, and judging by the clattering of wood and metal, the irritable prisoner wasn't against smashing his furniture in an attempt to get out of his cell.

[Saber]

Smoke simply sighed and shook his head, walking over to a nearby corner and leaning against that instead, which was a bit further from the other prisoner's rioting "Eh, let him wear out. He's just like the rest of us, stuck with the lockdown virus, he'll tire out soon, and then it'll be quiet again. So, how did a celebrity like yourself end up being the target of the worst underground leader in the antarctic?"

Saber watched the savage avatar rage against his cell, smashing things around as he tried to break out "...It's complicated..." "I'm sure we've heard far worse stories for you to just lead with 'it's complicated', come on, what's your story pal?" Saber took a deep breath and closed his eyes, just giving up on trying to keep secret, at least around these avatars, who seemed nicer than some of the others in this part of the world "...Haberd is...was...my brother. He and I were created from the same avatar program. He broke out during a power surge that compromised the computer's security protocols, and finished his code from random data from the internet, and I stayed behind to be completed the intended way."

Smoke let out a low whistle, pocketing his hands as he looked Saber over "Gotta admit, there is some family resemblance, but you look far different than he does." "Yeah, well...I've had some upgrades lately...What does he intend to do with us?" "Not suite sure. All I know so far, is that when someone gets abducted, they don't come back out, but the big cheese's army just grows larger, with more of his look alike drones."

Saber's eyes narrowed as Smoke mentioned an army, a cold shiver running down his code "...An army?" Tesla stepped up, his gruffer voice speaking over Smoke's as he decided to make his voice known "Halberd has been amassing an army from nothing. The come and pick people off from the streets, and as our numbers dwindle, his army's grows."

[Mani4c]

The voice growled again and slammed the walls harder, snarling in a bellowing tone. "They won't touch a single line of code on my body! I'll rip them asunder if they try!!!"

There was the sound of someone else sighing softly, his voice dry and bored sounding. "Stop wasting your energy...you'll just make the guar-...actually, no, go ahead and see where it gets you, it might help with this dreadful boredom."

The man's voice sounded...calculated all of the sudden, like he was planning something. and despite the calm, polite tone he was using, his words came off as menacing almost. 

[Saber]

Saber watched as the prisoner was bashing the walls harder, screaming at the top of his lungs as he was cursing the guards and physically threaten them. When the second voice echoed from another nearby cell, Saber's curiosity piqued "What's that person's story?"

Smoke looked across at the cell, getting a look at the one who spoke up. She turned around and shrugged "Not really sure, he's been around when I got here, and I still can't figure him out. He doesn't really socialize much from what I've seen."

[Mani4c]

Cinder rolled her eyes, her voice coming out in a thick Cajun accent that was laced with irritation. "He gives me the creeps...nobody is that fuckin' polite without wanting to stick a shiv in ya, nobody."

Frost just sighed, shaking her head at Cinder's remark. "His...calm mannerisms put a couple of us on edge, I mean, how can someone be so...blase about being trapped and basically up in line to be disassembled for parts?"

The unseen captive just kept roaring and smashing the walls, not stopping until finally, an alarm began to glare, signaling that he'd been causing enough trouble.

"Great, now loudmouth is gonna get skinned. Maybe we can get some goddamned rest now."

[Saber]

Smoke and Tesla started to slowly lower down onto the ground, clearly knowing what the siren meant. Saber, seeing this, began to follow suit "Smart move, Mr. Celebrity. Best to keep a low profile, while the rioters get dealt with."

As Saber lowered to the ground, what he saw brought a chill to his spine, a small battalion of what appeared to be Halberd, but in faded, near-grayscale colors, began to march to the rioter's cell. the way that they moved, they seemed to be acting as ants marching to the command of the queen, mindlessly moving in a single direction without any sentient thoughts of their own.

As the door to the rioter's cell was opened, there was an ensuing fight, but the virus overcame the crippled avatar, and he was dragged away, kicking and screaming as he tried to fight the Halberd drones off, but was too weak to make a difference. As the siren ended, Saber and the others started to rise back to their feet, and Saber was taken aback by the fact that things had become so out of control since the last time he had been undercover down in the underground network "By the maker...How long has this been going on down here?" "Several months, actually. Halberd went up to make an example at the big bad that was stirring things up in the big networks up north, and when he came back, he seemed...Different, at least, from what I've heard. Apparently, he had a serious wake up call and suddenly, he was even more ruthless, and people were vanishing left and right."

[Mani4c]

Cinder and Frost looked at one another gravely, they'd all been trying to find a way out of this for ages, and every time it just resulted in nothing but more failures.

The man in the other cell huffed in amusement, his tone dry and sarcastic. "That's because Halberd is a brute with no intelligence or creativity...that doctor's designs and methods are crude, but he's innovative in a deranged way, as for that woman...well, she's a sort of "muse" for Halberd or something, at least from what I could gather."

The man became silent again, the only sound he made was that of his shoes clicking softly against the floor as he walked to the barrier of his cell. "Goading that idiot worked perfectly though...never fear friends, I'll have us out in a moment...and don't mourn TOO heavily for our friend, after all...he was just a decoy.~" The man's tone had a knowing tinge to it, and soon the sound of him fussing with the cell could be heard, though he hadn't tripped the alarm thankfully.

"Did you know that outside programs like key data aren't as well protected by an avatar's integral firewalls? Why, anyone with some basic hacking knowledge could snatch or copy a key code from an avatar, it's just harder to do without getting caught, like pick pocketing in the physical world."

[Saber]

Saber studied the man in the other cell, watching as he was pacing around his cell, as if he knew something. And his talk about key data and insecure programs being easy to steal, it was clear that infiltration was a strength of his "...You're a hacker then? No wonder Halberd tracked you down, I doubt he would want anyone finding out what he's planning before he makes his big move...whatever that may be."

[Mani4c]

The man remained silent, looking for...something in his cell. "Now now...where would he...ah, of course, I should have guessed." The man looked at the key and started tampering with it, opening the program's properties and fiddling with something. "This key is quite ingenious, it's range is so short that even from inside the cell, the lock is out of reach...unfortunately for them, I know how to tamper with such a simple property value without needing tools...aaand...there.~"

The man's voice became decidedly smug as, with a soft thunk, his door and the other's popped open, the barriers falling as he stepped out and revealed himself for the first time, and showing just how virally afflicted he was with just a look at what his face looked like despite his smooth voice and polite mannerisms. "Good to finally meet you, my name is...well, for the sake of brevity lets just agree to call me B0nz for the time being, shall we?"

[Saber]

Smoke looked at B0nz for a few moments, arms crossed and not really buying his kind demeanor. Still, if this man could get them out of the situation they were in, then this was as good a time as any "Okay then 'B0nz', I take it you got a plan to get out of this place? It's not exactly like they'll be appreciating that we just waltz out the front door you know."

[Mani4c]

"B0nz" just chuckled, fiddling with the key in his hands. "Well, this key was taken off of the squad's leader, which means this should open every door in the complex barring the personal quarters for anyone who works directly under Halberd, but the labs, Barracks and yes, even the front doors and exits should work with it. But for starters, we should get out of this cell block, the walls here block signals outside of this level, and I need to transmit something to set up our escape, a distraction."

[Saber]

Saber stepped forward, placing a hand on the cell door and looking 'B0nz' straight in the eye "Before we escape, I need to know exactly what's happening in this facility. I need to get some sort of intel on what is happening down here, so I can reach out for help."

Smoke stepped up and grabbed Saber by the shoulder, irritated and anxious "And how do you expect to do that with your programs locked down and your strength reduced to nothing? I've seen avatars smart enough to remove the virus, but all of these guards are equipped with the same code in their sidearms. There's at least three of them for each one of us, riots get shut down in seconds!" Saber gently brushed off Smoke's grip, calmly looking the anxious avatar in the eyes "I'm capable of handling myself, I'm a specialized combat avatar, and I work...closely with the NPD, in between my tournament debuts. If there's a way I can get their help to shut this place down, I have to take the chance."

Smoke was about to retort, but Tesla walked over and grabbed Smoke's shoulder, giving him a silent nod "If you're planning on gathering and transporting data, then I'll help you out, I'm pretty good a procuring data and delivering it to people over long distances. Smoke, you and Cinder handle the distraction with our friend there, Frost and I will help Saber with his espionage work."

[Mani4c]

B0nz just chuckled and nodded, tossing the key to Saber. "Use that, once I start the distraction you're going to need to get out quick, and that should open any doors that lock down due to the alert. As for me, That "doctor" took several experimental files that I'd drafted, the work is incomplete, and I don't expect that meat shaper to understand the fine details of my programming."

Cinder growled softly. "Now you want to go into that crazy fucker's lab!? You keep moving the goalposts Bojangles..."

B0nz just looked at Cinder with a calm, yet somehow condescending gaze. "I never set any goalposts, and if that raving, narcissistic lunatic gets his hands on even half finished versions of my designs, he'll have more than just these cannon fodder to play with. So if you'd like to survive as more than party favors for some of his more "equipped" goons, shut up and do as I ask, please."

Cinder grit her teeth and clenched her fists, but Frost put her hand on the woman's shoulder. "Cinder...listen to him, he may be...insufferable about his points, but he's right, we can't just look out for ourselves, that's why this Saber guy is taking such a huge risk."

B0nz nodded. "Indeed, I apologize for my short temper...that man is hurting innocent people using MY work, everything from the guns these men use to their armor is reverse engineered from incomplete blueprints I'd created for the NPD...or for any third party that wasn't the fucking mega corporations."

Frost looked at B0nz quizzically. "An entrepreneur?"

The man just adjusted his hat and tapped his lips, smirking softly. "Of a sort, I fancy myself a mover and shaker, I wish to change the world through my creations, but what man of science and/or art doesn't?~"

Cinder just sighed and nodded, "Yeah, yeah sugar, let's get this shit started already."

B0nz nodded and started up the stairs, pulling a small remote from his pocket. "I'm going to count down from 10, ON 0, not 0 then go, ON 0, run as fast as you can, that big friend of mine that they dragged off should be right in the center of this damn server by now...highest population density."

[Saber]

Saber looked at B0nz as he was talking about his 'friend' that was going to be in the center of the server, glancing at the key and pocketing it "Something we should know about with this 'friend' of yours?" He had dealt with the scientific and experimental sorts before, he knew that some of them could get rather out of control with their experiments, and the ones that didn't, were too crafty and discrete with their skills for his taste.

[Mani4c]

B0nz smirked. "A prototype, one I laid out and activated when I discovered that Halberd's men were tailing me, a solid state drone program with a limited arsenal, but it's true purpose is to act as a decoy. Large, burly avatars with huge power require a large amount of men or at least an equally powerful avatar to fight...and I packed a little surprise within his core.~"

Frost's eyes widened. "Y-You made a living bomb!? That's...what the fuck!?"

Even Cinder was taken aback, a disgusted expression on her face. "That's just...evil."

B0nz just rolled his eyes, any kind of charm or hint of politeness vanishing from his speech like a snuffed flame from a candle. "He's not truly intelligent. He does what I say and speaks in whatever way I say to. He's a drone program, no more intelligent than the dumbest domesticated animal. He has no higher brain function, no true personality, he is, in short, a very very convincing holographic puppet. I may be dubious, but I am no monster Miss..."

The maimed avatar actually sounded angry, his polite baritone gaining a hard, intimidating edge that was only amplified by his ghoulish features and deep, smooth sounding voice. He was intelligent, but ruthless, possessing a morality but perfectly willing to skirt to the very edges of it while remaining confident that he hadn't broken his own rules yet.

This avatar was what would happen if one took Bit's almost emotionless dedication to scientific advancement, Noxus' drive for results, a bit of 1337's "creative madness", and then garnished it with the tiniest speck of Halberd's ruthless ambition. B0nz was on their side, but he was goddamned DANGEROUS, the very extreme of what a grey hat could be and still have that title...and even then, that could be disputed given one's take on right and wrong.

The viral avatar adjusted his tie and exhaled slowly, flipping up the remote before heading up the stairs. "Be ready, I won't wait for you to catch up if you dawdle, there's too much at stake."

There was a moment's silence, and then B0nz started counting, he hadn't been exaggerating in the slightest in regards to his not being willing to wait! "3...2...1..."