Post by Man on Apr 4, 2015 1:43:26 GMT -5
“Kill him.”
…
Model Zero stands silently within a vast meadow that spanned as far as the eyes could see, but his eyes were leveled at the ground, where the blades of grass fluttered without a care in the world. He hadn’t noticed when the simulated breeze rushed over him and caused his golden locks of hair to dance. His mind had been deep in thought, delving into the not so distant past. Ever since Ivan assigned himself as the new ruler of Lupin IV, he had neglected the android and focused on political matters. There was still much to do before they could move on and permanently ordain themselves into the planet’s people. Prisoners of war must be judged, and heretics captured. Ivan needed to study their laws and adjust them accordingly. The people of Lupin IV desired to become involved in their fates and take part in maintaining the order and health of their civilization. If Ivan dismissed their wishes without consideration, the people would promptly oppose him and classify the scientist as another oppressive ruler. Much had to be done, but Zero had no part in it. He was but a weapon to be used if the situation called for it. Nothing really changed, only their location. Everything was still the same… or… not quite…
With lack of orders and direction from his master, Model Zero took it upon himself to continue training so he may become stronger. The meadow surrounding him was only a construct generated by the simulator, however, it was not just any replication. Behind him was the start of a depression on the ground which originated from a spacepod embedded in its center. The crater was freshly produced as implied by the steam that rose from its scorched soil. The laminar fluid flows in a straight line before dispersing in a turbulent manner and dissipating. Zero looks away from the scalding vessel to meet his visitor as he draws his blade. The sword hisses as pulled off the scabbard and swung sharply beside him. The man glared at him with defying eyes. His long red hair exalted his status as native of the planet, sharing the royal shade of the grass that caressed his boots. However, it was harder to tell during the night, as the grass seemed purple under the light of the multiple asteroids that orbit the planet.
“Who are you!” the man demanded. Zero hadn’t drawn his sword. His gaze remained steady and empty, his greyed out visage obscured and lost in the view. He had recreated the moment at which he arrived to Lupin IV. In this scene, replayed differently by the simulator, the android had just landed after Ivan and The Doctor were captured by the Lupin Space Station. This time, however, nothing would interrupt what could have been their fight. This reproduction had been furnished by the simulator with intent to slightly surpass Model Zero’s strength; topped with the increased gravity and heavy weights, the android’s performance was diminished to give his opponent the upper hand and maximize the result of his training.
”Hey! I’m talking to you!” the man insisted, but Model Zero still did not answer. The android steps forward. His legs were heavier, as expected. He would have to output more energy and effort if he were to stand up to his opponent. The simulator had duplicated every technique the man possessed when he lived –at least, the ones Zero had witnessed. The android had recognized the man’s undeniable talent. As they fought Goliath, he found himself wondering how a fight between them would turn out if presented with equalizing conditions. The android was clearly superior through power-level alone, but what if the man had been given a chance to catch up and meet him at eye level? What if they shared the same power-level? Who would then come out victorious? Honestly, Model Zero was not sure…
”Wait, what are you doing?” he inquired, stepping back as the android approached him. The terror in his face flashed back in his mind and replayed itself like a recording.
Model Zero, eyes still slanted at the man’s feet, walks towards him. The man prepares his blade for any attacks and steps back as the android quietly approaches. He must have been confused and threatened, but his resolve was unfaltering. Zero could not understand what it was that his body was experiencing, but it was outright bizarre and strange. He could only describe a storm raging within his chest. Perhaps he should ask Ivan to take a look –or Ona, he thought. Every time he looked at the man’s face, the hero of his people, something inside him convulsed. This man was their valiant savior, slayed by the android which now donned the tile of Knight before the new order. Ivan glimmered in the hero’s despair and took fruit of his efforts.
”Stop, or I’ll…” the man threatened. However, Zero did not heed his words and instead reached out to touch the man’s face. The android’s gaze would lift and stare with a trouble expression he was unfamiliar with. If he had looked in a mirror, he might not have recognized himself, but he looked at the man as if wondering whether he was real and yearned to touch as a confirmation of his presence. Regardless, he knew the man was not real. He created him after-all. He was only a reconstruction of Zero’s memory –the way he remembered him. That’s right, he thought. A figment of his memory. Memory. Something the android had not considered until he met the konatsian. It was during the night they gazed at the stars and studied the asteroid belt that orbited the planet, then, that his eyes were opened to a different perspective…
”So, Zero,” the man started, his eyes never leaving the skies. “What’s your story?” The android looked at him. He had never been asked such a question and found it curious. Either way, there was nothing to tell. There was no story. Zero’s past was nonexistent.
“Why would you want to know that?” he inquired. Plation met the android’s gaze with that same smile he always wore.
“Because, it’s worth being heard. Whether you accept this or not, you saved Cayu and I, and now you’re helping us free our people. It’s only natural, I think, that we’d want to learn about you. It’s the least we can do…” he explained. Cayu, spitting image of his brother, slumps down between them. “Yay! I want to know more too!” he exclaimed.
Zero turned towards the sky and closed his eyes. “Well, there is no story. I was manufactured in a laboratory. I have no past.”
Plation chuckles. “Really!? I’ve never met someone without a past before… Tell me Zero, what was your morning like?”
The android looks at him.
“I’m no scientist, but even I can tell that time is constantly flowing. Although we seem to be stagnant as we lay on this grass, our bodies are forever moving forward. The present is only a fleeting instant because we are constantly heading towards the future and creating our past.”
“I suppose your right,” the android conceded. He had never thought about it in that perspective, but he was right.
“So!” he continued, “how about it?”
The man was utterly confused as the mechanized being approached him. Closing his eyes out of instinct, he steps away from Zero’s hand as he reaches out towards his face and lashes out. “Stay away!” he exclaimed, thrusting his sword out. The edge of the blade made impact with Zero’s arm and shoved it out of the way. Ivan had modified the android’s body to increase its resistance. The blade still inflicted damage on his arm, but it was dismissed as a lean graze. Zero snapped out of his hypnotic state, the shadow of his eyes disappear as he comes to the face of a disconcerted man. However, the image of this man flashes back to an angered face and words repeat themselves in his mind.
”Sorry!?” Plation grimaced. “It's so easy that way, isn't it!? Hiding behind your master's orders, just so you don't have to take responsibility for your own actions!"
Zero frowns. Plation braces himself as the android charges at him. “HYAAAAGH!” he cries, pulling out his saber as it buzzes to life. The konatsian intercepts it with his sword, playing the defensive as the android attacks him. What’s going on? This isn’t like yourself. What if Ivan sees you? Model Zero swings his saber without its usual rhythm. There was no calculation or prejudice behind his strikes, they were just mindless thrusts without meaning. Androids don’t fight like this. You’re being unreasonably human. Perhaps you should have yourself checked. No doubt there’s a bug in your processor. The android continues to yell incessantly. Why are you yelling? What does that accomplish? You are wasting energy unnecessarily. Are you mad? Hah! Zero thrusts his sword again. Plation evades it and counters, promptly after capitalizing on the android’s opening. Zero recovers and intercepts the konatsian’s attack. Androids don’t have emotions. They do not possess hearts. You don’t understand the meaning of anger. Despair. Why are you pretending to be something you’re not?
Model Zero ascends to his override strike. Teal eyes resonate with the crystal embedded on his head, glimmering for an instant before dissipating. The simulator instantly adjusts’ his opponent accordingly, forever matching the android blade per blade. However, Zero movements were slower, heavier, and frenzied compared to his opponent. For once, the android seemed to reflect those he deemed inferior. His eyes were open, set on the foe, but they saw nothing. They perceived nothing. He might as well been blind; like a fog dampening the clarity of his consciousness. Is- is that what anger is? The description seemed so similar. It fit perfectly in the image he displayed, though it was also impossible that he could experience mortal emotions. Why are you angry? He didn’t do anything… You’re the one who betrayed his trust. So why are you yelling?
“Zero!”
The elven man notices a pattern in the android’s hectic onslaught and stills his blade for a millisecond. Effectively changing his timing, Plation gives Zero’s saber a slight nudge, diverting its path as the sword slices through the air. In that moment, the android had been left wide open and the konatsian strikes up with his sword. Zero is knocked back. The blades grind with his armor as sparks crackle. Model Zero promptly regains his balance and whips out his pistol. Energy bullets ripple through the nozzle of his gun, compressed spheres of ki generated by the weapon, Plation intercepts each bullet with his sword. Impeccable, the konatsian’s technique was masterful and precise, something only one like himself could only obtain through years of practice. Unlike, the android, who seemed to be programmed to learn abilities through coding alone. Zero didn’t know how, but the moment Ivan gave him his saber, he already knew how to use it without much foreplay. It was the same for his pistol, and his reflexes, they were all handed to him. Plation, on the other hand, worked for the strength he now possessed and Zero washed it away with a flick of his sword.
The android pulls the trigger one after the other as if every bullet gave him some sense of ectasy. He charged as he did, keeping his opponent occupied as the android approached the konatsian and thrust his saber. Plation weathered the barrage of energy bullets, knowing full and well that lowering his guard for a single instant would mean getting purged by the piercing spheres of compressed energy. It was amazing how the simulator could even replicate the sense of urgency a biological being experiences when their life was in danger. It’s a rush of energy the android would never learn for himself as adrenaline flows through the konatsian’s vains. Even when the android closed in and lunged at the elven man, Plation was able to divert Zero’s saber. Perhaps the android was just a little too slow and his attacks a tad too heavy. Unfortunately, for Plation, that last thrust was a fake-out.
Just as Zero lunged in and he veered around the eminent blade, Plation’s blade was up and ready to strike down. However, the blade would pass through a scarlet silhouette of the android’s image as Zero seemed to dash through the man’s body. Confounded, the konatsian panics, looking around for any sign of his opponent. Zero had been standing behind him all along. The android whips his saber up the small of his back in a straight line. ”Augh!” the elven man yelps as he staggers forward and leaps to a safe distance. His brown tunic was ruined. Blood began to trickle from the long gash the android left marked on the man’s back. He winced, tears in his eyes as he fought to cope with the sharp pain. Angered, Plation grimaces at the android and holds his sword diagonally in front while chanting words in his elven tongue. A transmutation circle manifests before him and promptly casts a barrage of fireballs upon the android.
Model Zero rushes into the fray. It would be difficult to evade the flames with his heavy weights and the increased gravity slowing him down. The android ducks under the first, narrowing passing over his head, but is forced to block the second with his sword. Having lowered towards the ground, it became increasingly difficult to pull himself back up and so the flame engulfed him. Zero staggered back, landing on his bottom. He promptly rolls to the side as another ball of flame targets him; instead, it connects with the ground, leaving the patch of grass in its perimeter scorched and blackened –most of it disintegrated. Climbing on his feet, Zero dashes through the next ball of flame. He realized now that momentum would play a big role in escaping the barrage of fire balls. If he ducked, it would just become harder to pull himself back up, so he needed to make wiser movements that add to his momentum instead of interrupting it.
The fireballs were halfway through and Plation had already cast another batch to separate himself from the android. Zero would not be able to reach his opponent with the wall of fire that now threatened to smolder him into bits. The android danced with the fire, maneuvering his small frame around the subtle openings between the balls of fire. He took one step forward, tilted slightly to allow two of the spheres to pass by him as he stood in between. Shifting his weight on the front leg and sliding his back leg ninety degrees counter-clockwise, his weight follows the movement and his leg follows; successfully evading another fire ball. The android swings his saber to intercept one of the spheres, as there would be no way of evading it without disrupting his strategy. The fire dissipates. In that moment, Zero could see the elven man past the rain of fire. Before his vision was obscured once again he witnessed Plation embedding his sword on the ground beside him and pressing what appeared to be his ocarina against his lips.
Next, as he soon guessed, the android could hear the tune of his ocarina playing while he attempted to drive away the balls of fire. Futile, the android thought. He knew what the elven man was trying to do, but it would not work on him. That technique was the very reason they were able to defeat Helios as soon as they did, because it did not affect Zero. Plation must have felt really confident and safe at the other side of the battlefield. There was still much Zero did not know about the ocarina the elven man played, but he learned it possessed a mysterious power. Depending on the notes the man played, the melody casts different kinds of spells. The spell he was performing right now was a capturing spell designed to paralyze anyone with ears. In spite of this powerful spell, it had a very big weakness. As long as the foe has any kind of object between the sound waves of his melody and their eardrums, the spell was nullified; not to mention, the caster was also effected. Then again, people didn’t usually walk around with earplugs. It was mere coincidence that Model Zero just so happened to wear a helmet that covered his ears –if he had any to begin with.
Plation must have thought that paralyzing himself would be of little consequence. If Zero’s movements stopped, the android would be struck by the multiple balls of fire. The result would halt the android long enough for him to regain composure. In which case, Zero decided to lead him on. The android stopped on his tracks and allowed the fire balls to approach him. The jewel on his forehead resonates as a red barrier forms and expands around him. The fire balls clash with the barrier, reduced to nothing but smoke. Either opponent had their vision completely obscured at the moment with the sheet of forbearing smoke shifting before them. Model Zero had the advantage. It did not matter who it was, even the simulator couldn’t grant his opponent the ability to sense android’s without a scouter and the elven man must have been petrified by his own attack. The android had, perhaps, five seconds before the spell wore off. Plenty of time, he thought, pin pointing the konatsian’s energy signature.
"Zero has no feelings. He has no consciousness. Everything he thinks, does, and says are all predetermined by his core programming that – I – his creator, developed. Your plea falls on deaf ears."
"Zero is a drone, like the Gors. He does anything and everything I ask him for…"
“Sorry!? Tell that to Cayu when you go back down and enslave my people!”
“It's so easy that way, isn't it!? Hiding behind your master's orders, just so you don't have to take responsibility for your own actions!"
“Zero.”
“Zero!”
”RAAAAAAAGH!” Zero roars, lunging towards his opponent in an inexplicable manner which could only be described as fury. There was no telling why he was so determined to destroy Plation a second time. Perhaps he wanted to prove himself and defeat the man whilst on equal terms. Maybe, he thought, that by severing the man’s throat, he could sever their bond, and the raging storm in his chest would go away. There was no explanation for his behavior, something he could not understand himself, or perhaps he did not even notice he was acting in such a manner. Androids. Nothing but tools to be used by the creatures deemed inferior to them. He lives for Ivan, because of Ivan… His beloved master. Beloved? Love? Blasphemy. Loyalty at best –if it was possible for a machine like him to experience such a thing. Who are you to yearn for emotion? Who are you to pretend to be human? To pretend to have feelings? To pretend to have a heart? Where do you get off at demanding for anything more than what is given?
The android emerges from the cloud of smoke, disturbing its smooth and laminar flow with a turbulent stream which follows him from behind as the android leaps across the battlefield. However, the one who had been surprised was not the konatsian. Plation was standing in the same spot as before, over a transmutation circle that originates from his center and expands radially around him. His sword raised high towards the sky; the blade was blanketed by a mist-like sheet of energy that surged towards the tip. Zero knew this technique. He had witnessed it before –else, the simulator would not have been able to replicate it with due perfection. Looking more closely, this simulation was not a perfect duplicate of the late Plation. This one possessed a discreet gadget in his ears which seemed to have blocked out the melody of his spell. The simulated man had perfected the technique from Lupin IV’s hero and savior. Now, Zero was about to be struck and dismembered by that same technique. The android cringed as Plation lowered his arm to unleash the mighty wave.
“Zero.”
Comments. PL. Heavy Weights. Simulator. Gravity 55x.
…
Model Zero stands silently within a vast meadow that spanned as far as the eyes could see, but his eyes were leveled at the ground, where the blades of grass fluttered without a care in the world. He hadn’t noticed when the simulated breeze rushed over him and caused his golden locks of hair to dance. His mind had been deep in thought, delving into the not so distant past. Ever since Ivan assigned himself as the new ruler of Lupin IV, he had neglected the android and focused on political matters. There was still much to do before they could move on and permanently ordain themselves into the planet’s people. Prisoners of war must be judged, and heretics captured. Ivan needed to study their laws and adjust them accordingly. The people of Lupin IV desired to become involved in their fates and take part in maintaining the order and health of their civilization. If Ivan dismissed their wishes without consideration, the people would promptly oppose him and classify the scientist as another oppressive ruler. Much had to be done, but Zero had no part in it. He was but a weapon to be used if the situation called for it. Nothing really changed, only their location. Everything was still the same… or… not quite…
With lack of orders and direction from his master, Model Zero took it upon himself to continue training so he may become stronger. The meadow surrounding him was only a construct generated by the simulator, however, it was not just any replication. Behind him was the start of a depression on the ground which originated from a spacepod embedded in its center. The crater was freshly produced as implied by the steam that rose from its scorched soil. The laminar fluid flows in a straight line before dispersing in a turbulent manner and dissipating. Zero looks away from the scalding vessel to meet his visitor as he draws his blade. The sword hisses as pulled off the scabbard and swung sharply beside him. The man glared at him with defying eyes. His long red hair exalted his status as native of the planet, sharing the royal shade of the grass that caressed his boots. However, it was harder to tell during the night, as the grass seemed purple under the light of the multiple asteroids that orbit the planet.
“Who are you!” the man demanded. Zero hadn’t drawn his sword. His gaze remained steady and empty, his greyed out visage obscured and lost in the view. He had recreated the moment at which he arrived to Lupin IV. In this scene, replayed differently by the simulator, the android had just landed after Ivan and The Doctor were captured by the Lupin Space Station. This time, however, nothing would interrupt what could have been their fight. This reproduction had been furnished by the simulator with intent to slightly surpass Model Zero’s strength; topped with the increased gravity and heavy weights, the android’s performance was diminished to give his opponent the upper hand and maximize the result of his training.
”Hey! I’m talking to you!” the man insisted, but Model Zero still did not answer. The android steps forward. His legs were heavier, as expected. He would have to output more energy and effort if he were to stand up to his opponent. The simulator had duplicated every technique the man possessed when he lived –at least, the ones Zero had witnessed. The android had recognized the man’s undeniable talent. As they fought Goliath, he found himself wondering how a fight between them would turn out if presented with equalizing conditions. The android was clearly superior through power-level alone, but what if the man had been given a chance to catch up and meet him at eye level? What if they shared the same power-level? Who would then come out victorious? Honestly, Model Zero was not sure…
”Wait, what are you doing?” he inquired, stepping back as the android approached him. The terror in his face flashed back in his mind and replayed itself like a recording.
Model Zero, eyes still slanted at the man’s feet, walks towards him. The man prepares his blade for any attacks and steps back as the android quietly approaches. He must have been confused and threatened, but his resolve was unfaltering. Zero could not understand what it was that his body was experiencing, but it was outright bizarre and strange. He could only describe a storm raging within his chest. Perhaps he should ask Ivan to take a look –or Ona, he thought. Every time he looked at the man’s face, the hero of his people, something inside him convulsed. This man was their valiant savior, slayed by the android which now donned the tile of Knight before the new order. Ivan glimmered in the hero’s despair and took fruit of his efforts.
”Stop, or I’ll…” the man threatened. However, Zero did not heed his words and instead reached out to touch the man’s face. The android’s gaze would lift and stare with a trouble expression he was unfamiliar with. If he had looked in a mirror, he might not have recognized himself, but he looked at the man as if wondering whether he was real and yearned to touch as a confirmation of his presence. Regardless, he knew the man was not real. He created him after-all. He was only a reconstruction of Zero’s memory –the way he remembered him. That’s right, he thought. A figment of his memory. Memory. Something the android had not considered until he met the konatsian. It was during the night they gazed at the stars and studied the asteroid belt that orbited the planet, then, that his eyes were opened to a different perspective…
”So, Zero,” the man started, his eyes never leaving the skies. “What’s your story?” The android looked at him. He had never been asked such a question and found it curious. Either way, there was nothing to tell. There was no story. Zero’s past was nonexistent.
“Why would you want to know that?” he inquired. Plation met the android’s gaze with that same smile he always wore.
“Because, it’s worth being heard. Whether you accept this or not, you saved Cayu and I, and now you’re helping us free our people. It’s only natural, I think, that we’d want to learn about you. It’s the least we can do…” he explained. Cayu, spitting image of his brother, slumps down between them. “Yay! I want to know more too!” he exclaimed.
Zero turned towards the sky and closed his eyes. “Well, there is no story. I was manufactured in a laboratory. I have no past.”
Plation chuckles. “Really!? I’ve never met someone without a past before… Tell me Zero, what was your morning like?”
The android looks at him.
“I’m no scientist, but even I can tell that time is constantly flowing. Although we seem to be stagnant as we lay on this grass, our bodies are forever moving forward. The present is only a fleeting instant because we are constantly heading towards the future and creating our past.”
“I suppose your right,” the android conceded. He had never thought about it in that perspective, but he was right.
“So!” he continued, “how about it?”
The man was utterly confused as the mechanized being approached him. Closing his eyes out of instinct, he steps away from Zero’s hand as he reaches out towards his face and lashes out. “Stay away!” he exclaimed, thrusting his sword out. The edge of the blade made impact with Zero’s arm and shoved it out of the way. Ivan had modified the android’s body to increase its resistance. The blade still inflicted damage on his arm, but it was dismissed as a lean graze. Zero snapped out of his hypnotic state, the shadow of his eyes disappear as he comes to the face of a disconcerted man. However, the image of this man flashes back to an angered face and words repeat themselves in his mind.
”Sorry!?” Plation grimaced. “It's so easy that way, isn't it!? Hiding behind your master's orders, just so you don't have to take responsibility for your own actions!"
Zero frowns. Plation braces himself as the android charges at him. “HYAAAAGH!” he cries, pulling out his saber as it buzzes to life. The konatsian intercepts it with his sword, playing the defensive as the android attacks him. What’s going on? This isn’t like yourself. What if Ivan sees you? Model Zero swings his saber without its usual rhythm. There was no calculation or prejudice behind his strikes, they were just mindless thrusts without meaning. Androids don’t fight like this. You’re being unreasonably human. Perhaps you should have yourself checked. No doubt there’s a bug in your processor. The android continues to yell incessantly. Why are you yelling? What does that accomplish? You are wasting energy unnecessarily. Are you mad? Hah! Zero thrusts his sword again. Plation evades it and counters, promptly after capitalizing on the android’s opening. Zero recovers and intercepts the konatsian’s attack. Androids don’t have emotions. They do not possess hearts. You don’t understand the meaning of anger. Despair. Why are you pretending to be something you’re not?
Model Zero ascends to his override strike. Teal eyes resonate with the crystal embedded on his head, glimmering for an instant before dissipating. The simulator instantly adjusts’ his opponent accordingly, forever matching the android blade per blade. However, Zero movements were slower, heavier, and frenzied compared to his opponent. For once, the android seemed to reflect those he deemed inferior. His eyes were open, set on the foe, but they saw nothing. They perceived nothing. He might as well been blind; like a fog dampening the clarity of his consciousness. Is- is that what anger is? The description seemed so similar. It fit perfectly in the image he displayed, though it was also impossible that he could experience mortal emotions. Why are you angry? He didn’t do anything… You’re the one who betrayed his trust. So why are you yelling?
“Zero!”
The elven man notices a pattern in the android’s hectic onslaught and stills his blade for a millisecond. Effectively changing his timing, Plation gives Zero’s saber a slight nudge, diverting its path as the sword slices through the air. In that moment, the android had been left wide open and the konatsian strikes up with his sword. Zero is knocked back. The blades grind with his armor as sparks crackle. Model Zero promptly regains his balance and whips out his pistol. Energy bullets ripple through the nozzle of his gun, compressed spheres of ki generated by the weapon, Plation intercepts each bullet with his sword. Impeccable, the konatsian’s technique was masterful and precise, something only one like himself could only obtain through years of practice. Unlike, the android, who seemed to be programmed to learn abilities through coding alone. Zero didn’t know how, but the moment Ivan gave him his saber, he already knew how to use it without much foreplay. It was the same for his pistol, and his reflexes, they were all handed to him. Plation, on the other hand, worked for the strength he now possessed and Zero washed it away with a flick of his sword.
The android pulls the trigger one after the other as if every bullet gave him some sense of ectasy. He charged as he did, keeping his opponent occupied as the android approached the konatsian and thrust his saber. Plation weathered the barrage of energy bullets, knowing full and well that lowering his guard for a single instant would mean getting purged by the piercing spheres of compressed energy. It was amazing how the simulator could even replicate the sense of urgency a biological being experiences when their life was in danger. It’s a rush of energy the android would never learn for himself as adrenaline flows through the konatsian’s vains. Even when the android closed in and lunged at the elven man, Plation was able to divert Zero’s saber. Perhaps the android was just a little too slow and his attacks a tad too heavy. Unfortunately, for Plation, that last thrust was a fake-out.
Just as Zero lunged in and he veered around the eminent blade, Plation’s blade was up and ready to strike down. However, the blade would pass through a scarlet silhouette of the android’s image as Zero seemed to dash through the man’s body. Confounded, the konatsian panics, looking around for any sign of his opponent. Zero had been standing behind him all along. The android whips his saber up the small of his back in a straight line. ”Augh!” the elven man yelps as he staggers forward and leaps to a safe distance. His brown tunic was ruined. Blood began to trickle from the long gash the android left marked on the man’s back. He winced, tears in his eyes as he fought to cope with the sharp pain. Angered, Plation grimaces at the android and holds his sword diagonally in front while chanting words in his elven tongue. A transmutation circle manifests before him and promptly casts a barrage of fireballs upon the android.
Model Zero rushes into the fray. It would be difficult to evade the flames with his heavy weights and the increased gravity slowing him down. The android ducks under the first, narrowing passing over his head, but is forced to block the second with his sword. Having lowered towards the ground, it became increasingly difficult to pull himself back up and so the flame engulfed him. Zero staggered back, landing on his bottom. He promptly rolls to the side as another ball of flame targets him; instead, it connects with the ground, leaving the patch of grass in its perimeter scorched and blackened –most of it disintegrated. Climbing on his feet, Zero dashes through the next ball of flame. He realized now that momentum would play a big role in escaping the barrage of fire balls. If he ducked, it would just become harder to pull himself back up, so he needed to make wiser movements that add to his momentum instead of interrupting it.
The fireballs were halfway through and Plation had already cast another batch to separate himself from the android. Zero would not be able to reach his opponent with the wall of fire that now threatened to smolder him into bits. The android danced with the fire, maneuvering his small frame around the subtle openings between the balls of fire. He took one step forward, tilted slightly to allow two of the spheres to pass by him as he stood in between. Shifting his weight on the front leg and sliding his back leg ninety degrees counter-clockwise, his weight follows the movement and his leg follows; successfully evading another fire ball. The android swings his saber to intercept one of the spheres, as there would be no way of evading it without disrupting his strategy. The fire dissipates. In that moment, Zero could see the elven man past the rain of fire. Before his vision was obscured once again he witnessed Plation embedding his sword on the ground beside him and pressing what appeared to be his ocarina against his lips.
Next, as he soon guessed, the android could hear the tune of his ocarina playing while he attempted to drive away the balls of fire. Futile, the android thought. He knew what the elven man was trying to do, but it would not work on him. That technique was the very reason they were able to defeat Helios as soon as they did, because it did not affect Zero. Plation must have felt really confident and safe at the other side of the battlefield. There was still much Zero did not know about the ocarina the elven man played, but he learned it possessed a mysterious power. Depending on the notes the man played, the melody casts different kinds of spells. The spell he was performing right now was a capturing spell designed to paralyze anyone with ears. In spite of this powerful spell, it had a very big weakness. As long as the foe has any kind of object between the sound waves of his melody and their eardrums, the spell was nullified; not to mention, the caster was also effected. Then again, people didn’t usually walk around with earplugs. It was mere coincidence that Model Zero just so happened to wear a helmet that covered his ears –if he had any to begin with.
Plation must have thought that paralyzing himself would be of little consequence. If Zero’s movements stopped, the android would be struck by the multiple balls of fire. The result would halt the android long enough for him to regain composure. In which case, Zero decided to lead him on. The android stopped on his tracks and allowed the fire balls to approach him. The jewel on his forehead resonates as a red barrier forms and expands around him. The fire balls clash with the barrier, reduced to nothing but smoke. Either opponent had their vision completely obscured at the moment with the sheet of forbearing smoke shifting before them. Model Zero had the advantage. It did not matter who it was, even the simulator couldn’t grant his opponent the ability to sense android’s without a scouter and the elven man must have been petrified by his own attack. The android had, perhaps, five seconds before the spell wore off. Plenty of time, he thought, pin pointing the konatsian’s energy signature.
"Zero has no feelings. He has no consciousness. Everything he thinks, does, and says are all predetermined by his core programming that – I – his creator, developed. Your plea falls on deaf ears."
"Zero is a drone, like the Gors. He does anything and everything I ask him for…"
“Sorry!? Tell that to Cayu when you go back down and enslave my people!”
“It's so easy that way, isn't it!? Hiding behind your master's orders, just so you don't have to take responsibility for your own actions!"
“Zero.”
“Zero!”
”RAAAAAAAGH!” Zero roars, lunging towards his opponent in an inexplicable manner which could only be described as fury. There was no telling why he was so determined to destroy Plation a second time. Perhaps he wanted to prove himself and defeat the man whilst on equal terms. Maybe, he thought, that by severing the man’s throat, he could sever their bond, and the raging storm in his chest would go away. There was no explanation for his behavior, something he could not understand himself, or perhaps he did not even notice he was acting in such a manner. Androids. Nothing but tools to be used by the creatures deemed inferior to them. He lives for Ivan, because of Ivan… His beloved master. Beloved? Love? Blasphemy. Loyalty at best –if it was possible for a machine like him to experience such a thing. Who are you to yearn for emotion? Who are you to pretend to be human? To pretend to have feelings? To pretend to have a heart? Where do you get off at demanding for anything more than what is given?
The android emerges from the cloud of smoke, disturbing its smooth and laminar flow with a turbulent stream which follows him from behind as the android leaps across the battlefield. However, the one who had been surprised was not the konatsian. Plation was standing in the same spot as before, over a transmutation circle that originates from his center and expands radially around him. His sword raised high towards the sky; the blade was blanketed by a mist-like sheet of energy that surged towards the tip. Zero knew this technique. He had witnessed it before –else, the simulator would not have been able to replicate it with due perfection. Looking more closely, this simulation was not a perfect duplicate of the late Plation. This one possessed a discreet gadget in his ears which seemed to have blocked out the melody of his spell. The simulated man had perfected the technique from Lupin IV’s hero and savior. Now, Zero was about to be struck and dismembered by that same technique. The android cringed as Plation lowered his arm to unleash the mighty wave.
“Zero.”
Comments. PL. Heavy Weights. Simulator. Gravity 55x.