Machine Story

Into the Warship

As David set foot on Sibleon’s warship, he was met with a welcome party of Metadross. They came rushing in but they were no match for David, as he easily casted them aside. With each enemy he took out, he was one step closer to reaching the core of the ship, where he knew he would encounter Sibleon.

After taking out all the enemies that were sent against him, David had arrived into the control room. He was searching for a way to give Siri access to the system of the ship but before he could find it, Sibleon appeared.

Sibleon saw his opponent before him and he held out his arm in an attempt to control David. Suddenly, David was moving under Sibleon’s will. “Ha, silly humans, they thought they could use my own weapon against me…”

Before Sibleon could finish his sentence, David fired a plasma beam that just missed his face. Sibleon was in shock, “What? How are you able to resist? Wait, you are from back in the desert.” As he continued to talk, David dashed up to him and landed a right uppercut.

Sibleon was sent back a few meters. David cracked his knuckles and signaled to Sibleon that he was ready for another round. Realizing how much stronger David had gotten, Sibleon knew he couldn’t fight David at his current state. He pressed a few buttons on his arm and suddenly the warship began to shake.

A giant 15-foot Metadross mobile suit appeared and Sibleon went inside to pilot it. Not wanting to give Sibleon time, David launched a preemptive strike. However, Sibleon's new mobile suit was able to swatted David away, sending him hard against the floor.

David instantly got up and turned both his arms into plasma cannons. He charged them before releasing the full blast against Sibleon. Unfortunately, the attack was completely neutralized by a force field created by the mobile unit. “Is that all you got?” Sibleon asked. David said that he still had plenty of firepower but deep down, he was just stalling, hoping Siri would find a solution to their problem.

David tried everything in his arsenal to break Sibleon’s forcefield. He used missiles, lasers, and even melee tactics but it wouldn’t crack. After exhausting himself, Sibleon threw one kick his way, sending him smashing through all the objects on the warship.

Siri warned David that his body had sustained major damage but David told her not to worry. He wanted her to focus on finding a solution while he would do his best to stall for time. As he got back up, Sibleon walked slowly towards him, ready to land another devastating blow. David thought fast and asked Sibleon a question that had been on his mind.

“Why? Why are you doing this?” Sibleon was intrigued by David and respected his strength so he decided to answer. “The human race can’t be trusted. I have watched them over the past few centuries. They have done nothing but cause sorrow and misery to other races, the planet, and even themselves.”

“I agree, humans make a lot of mistakes, but there are good people!” David argued. “You are correct. There are some that deserve mercy. That is why I have asked some of those humans to join me in my cause to rid the world of those unworthy to live.”

“Asked or forcefully manipulate them?” David asserted. “Enough! My purpose is clear, and truer than yours!” Without warning, Sibleon thrusted forward and slammed into David with his shoulder. David sustained another heavy hit but still managed to get back on his feet.

“David! You have to avoid taking hits like that. Another two or three of those and your systems are done!” Siri alerted him. “Geez, thanks Siri. It's not like I’m trying to get hit on purpose. Give me a break here.” David replied. He was ready to go back on the defensive until Siri spoke again, “I analyzed the data, I think I know how you can beat him!” David was all ears, “Let’s hear it!”

Sibleon reached out again with his right claw but David was able to jump back and evade the attack. As he landed, Siri finished explaining the strategy they were going to use to defeat Sibleon. David thought the plan was risky but Siri’s plan was all they got.

David transformed his right arm into a laser cannon and he aimed it towards his target. “You’ve already done this before, how pitiful. I thought you were different from all my other opponents.” Sibleon said in disappointment. As the laser was fired, the forcefield came up to block the attack with ease. After the attack, Sibleon began to lower the forcefield and was ready to counterattack but suddenly, David appeared in front of him without warning and threw a punch right at the face of the mobile suit.

Sibleon swiped back but David dodged his arm and backed away. “Lucky shot.” Sibleon thought to himself. However, David fired another quick shot with his right cannon, forcing Sibleon to use his shields again. After the attack, Sibleon let down his guard and once again David appeared in front and landed another uppercut.

This repeated a few more times to the point Sibleon was on the defensive and his mobile suit was beginning to sustain heavy damage. “How is this possible? No human or cyborg can have this sort of power!” He said in disbelief. “Unlike you, I don’t fight alone.” David continued his relentless assault. The Metadross suit took all the attacks from David and was at the point beyond repairs.

After receiving all those hits, Sibleon finally realized what was going on. “So that’s how you are doing it. You managed to harness the power of your A.I.” David nodded, “That’s right, my A.I. noticed that it's impossible for you or me to switch between offense and defensive without delay. So while I focused on offense, my A.I. can handle defense, allowing compromise in timing. You unfortunately don’t have that luxury.”

Sibleon seemed impressed but David continued. “I can’t take the credit for it. I had help from someone named Rice, and my A.I. came up with this idea.”

“Rice? Ha, now there’s a name I never thought I would hear again.” Sibleon’s words caught David’s attention. “Wait, how do you know him?” Sibleon laughed, “Ha if you are listening to him, then you are a fool.” David was confused and so he dashed right at Sibleon’s suit to smash it open and pull him out to answer his question.

Unfortunately, David wasn’t thinking clearly and Sibelon ejected out of the suit as David held on. He then pressed a button on his arm that caused the suit to explode. Thankfully, David managed to escape the explosion with minimal damage thanks to Siri’s quick reaction. However, Sibleon was now at the control panel allowing him one last activation.

The entire ship began to glow red and alarms blared. “What have you done?” David asked sternly. “All Metadross will fight until they destroy their enemies or self-detonate trying.” David began to bite his teeth. “What about all the humans that are under your control?”

“They too will meet the same fate, it can’t be stopped.” Sibleon relayed. David didn’t believe him but Sibleon pulled out a screen that showed multiple cameras from his skyscanner watching the battlefield. David could see the Metadross going into complete frenzy and his comrades were doing their best to survive.

Atana, Anaya, and Samiya continued evacuating the slums while Sonia, Priya, Addison and the amazons were holding off the Metadross for them. Shaan, Viraaj and Jovin were riding on Rocky and trying not to get surrounded by their foes. Roop was having difficulty taking on two elite units while Paco and Mya were preoccupied with the smaller units. Finally, Niall was beginning to feel overwhelmed against his sister even with the reinforcements of Roman, Ajay, Anusha, Kaviya and the army of Colony Five.

After witnessing it all, David was about to rush out of the warship in an attempt to save everyone. “Oh by the way, this warship is set to crash into the slums. I hope your friends have enough time to evacuate in time.” Hearing those words drove David into a rage. He charged at Sibleon and grabbed him. David dragged him across the ground going at an incredible speed and then slammed him hard against the wall.

“Stop this ship and call off your minions!” David threatened. “Or what?” Sibleon replied confidently. David was at a loss for words as he realized he had nothing. Despite being heavily injured, Sibleon smiled, as if he had already won.

David dropped Sibleon on the ground and held his head with both his hands. He felt immensely overwhelmed. Who should he save first? What was the most important task? What was the right decision? All these thoughts raced through his mind.

“David!” Again in his darkness moment, Siri calls. David responded to her voice and listened. “Remember the plan before we got on this ship?” David nodded “We are going to have to do it now! Get to the control terminal and give me access to it!”

David froze in hesitation because he knew the risk that came with the plan. “David we have to do this, if we don’t more people will get hurt.” she explained. David still refused but Siri spoke, “David I know. I heard what Rice said and it's okay. You have done so much to protect everyone, it's my turn to protect all of you.” David was silent, he so badly wanted there to be another way but without any alternative, he ran to the terminal.

David’s left arm transformed so it could plug into the control terminal and give Siri access to the entire system. As Siri began working on a solution, a squad of Metadross appeared behind David.

Only able to fight back with his right arm, he took aim and fired at as many Metadross that came his way. Although he took out a fair amount of units, the overwhelming numbers proved too much. Eventually the vast numbers swarmed David, pulling him away.

David fought hard to remain near the terminal. He kept struggling by punching and elbowing as many of the enemies as he could but eventually they had him completely restrained. His left arm was beginning to disconnect from the control terminal.

Seeing the cords on his left arm begin to tear, David shouted for Siri in hopes she could hear him. After letting out a warcry, David’s body began to store up a massive amount of energy. When it reached maximum capacity, David unleashed a massive pulse, causing all the Metadross within his vicinity to malfunction and fall to the ground like useless junk.

Unfortunately, the attack left David drained and there were some Metadross that survived the blast. They slowly walked up to David to finish the job. David tried to move his body but it would not respond. He refused to give up despite his enemies closing in.

As one of the bruiser units reached out to attack, it stopped just shy of connecting at David. Not just one but every single Metadross in the warship was no longer moving. David jumped back up to take a look at the screen.

Outside the warship, all the sky scanner units stopped floating and fell to the ground. The bruiser units powered down and could no longer harm anyone. The colossal siege units were unable to fire their explosive artillery. Even the elite Metadross that were piloted by humans were unresponsive.

Atana, Anaya, Samiya, Priya, Addyson, Sonia, Paco, Roman, Ajay, Anusha, Kaviya, Viraaj, Jovin, Shaan, Mya, Niall and all the soldiers of Corrinth were no longer threatened by the forces of the Metadross.

David could breathe easy after what he saw on the screen. “Siri you did! You saved everyone!” As he cheered, the ship’s alarm system still sounded, “Warning, self-destruct sequence imminent. Preparing for an emergency crash landing in T-minus 10 minutes.”

“David! I managed to shut down the Metadross control but I haven’t figured out how to stop this ship from crashing!” David wanted to ask if there was anything he could do to help but suddenly, he lost contact with Siri. As he tried to reestablish connection, someone appeared in front of him, a familiar face, Rice.

“Rice! You got here just in time, the ship is about to crash into the slums, we have to find a way to evacuate everyone and…” Before he could finish Rice held up his hand to stop him. “You have done very well, David, but now you are exhausted and you should rest.”

David was confused about what Rice was talking about. “People are still in danger, I got to save everyone and…” Finally, Rice grabbed David’s shoulder and suddenly, David lost all his strength as his mechanical systems completely shut down.

“Wait, what are you doing?” He asks frantically. Rice pulled David’s left arm from the control terminal, severing the connection. Then he attached a jetpack on David and secured it tightly. “Saving your life for the last time.” He smiled.

“But I thought you needed my help and my A.I. …?” Rice responded, “I need to know that you were willing to accept the risk of the mission. And you passed! You truly were willing to risk it all. So because you were willing to lose it all, it won’t be required of you.”

David wanted to speak but Rice’s left hand transformed and he connected it to the control terminal. “Wait, if you are connecting to the terminal, that means you have an…” Before David could finish his sentence, Rice pressed the button on the jetpack.

David was blasted out of the warship and into the atmosphere. Thankfully the jetpack was going on a decline so he eventually crashed down to the ground. His mechanically armored body was still durable enough to break his fall and prevent any major damage to his body. He attempted to get up and return to the ship but his body was far too exhausted. By the time he pulled himself up, he saw the warship steered away from Corrinth, out of blasting range from the city.