Underground Lake
Stormer looked at the now paralyzed mecha that stood before them.
"So...", he said to everyone else present, "How are we gonna get that weird cube out of that thing's chest without damaging it or triggering the killswitch?"
"Never let anyone tell you that something is impossible." - Monty Oum, 1981-2015Main Chamber
"Anyone still calling for torture? No? Yeah, I don't think so," said Ai.
She let go of Charisse's hand, and gently tapped Alexia's shoulder. "Let's go have a talk with him, then. Gotta do my best disappointed mom voice."
Ai walked over to the bewildered Epsilon and crouched down onto her knees right next to him.
"I guess you thought you lured us into your home court advantage," she said. She gave Epsilon a patronizing smile; the same smile she would use on her little sisters when they misbehaved. She inherited it from her mother, who used to do the same thing to her. "But what I think is that you did that because you couldn't come to us. In the Judecca, you're way too big of a target that you'd never succeed outside. I mean, you'd be up against the Vale Royal Army for making an attempt on the future queen's life."
She paused.
"Basically, you only had a shot at success in this tiny little bubble of yours. Sucks, huh?"
Main Chamber
Belle stared at Epsilon for long time. It was disgust on her face. It was utter hatred for everything that he had come to be, and for the fact that he was just a kid. He was just some kid, and he had dared to harm her beloved, and her friends. And now she couldn't possibly take her revenge without compromising who she is. He was a weak little worm with no future; fate would not be kind to him.
Eventually she opened her mouth. "Its over Shane. This game is over. It was never one you could win. If you want my suggestion, preserve some of your dignity and undo what you did by yourself."
PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850Ayers raised a hand. Thryth specifically. "I actually got an ideer, ma'am." He pulled his mask off and let it hit the ground. His face was streaked with dirt, sweat, and a little blood, but it was still recognizably serious. Thoughts rattled around in his head; anger that this was just a kid, and further anger that this supposedly excused him.
"I'm calling bullshit on yer lovey-dovey ending." Thryth split apart into ten fingers. They twitched erratically, reconfiguring into multiple shapes and contortions. "And ain't nobody gonna rest easy without no closure." Ayers slid Hrunting into his belt and placed Naegling on Thryth's throttle, pulling back a tiny bit. Thryth's fingers finally resolved themselves into a solid position: four fingers pressed together, forming a cross. Thryth heated up by marginal degrees as the throttle stayed open. "I'm just saying, when steers don't act nice we typically let anyone we sell'em to know the deal. If'n y'all're innerested, you could just gimme his hands and it'll be over right quick."
[INTERNAL CONFLICT INTENSIFIES]
...deep breath.
"Ayers, drop the thingamajigger. We need him unscathed. For now." She declared slowly before getting herself some place and letting Anima fold back into her wheelchair form. She looked at Epsilon with disdain, trying her best to not show disgust for the brat that almost killed - no, that could still kill - people dear to them.
Ideally, they could appeal to whatever shreds of morality he had left, but Hope quickly deemed the idea beyond success. For someone willing to kill just to acknowledge his existence... any morality would be lost. Killing him would kill the girls and most likely Yun and Imuka as well. Tortures, as Ayers suggested? Won't phase him. She knew it.
...what could be done to appeal to him then?
"...all rules of your game have been abided by us. You have lost, fair and square." She droned, looking at him intently, gauging his reaction. "It is only fair that you abide by Belle's words and undo the killswitch."
edited 16th Apr '15 1:53:13 PM by FergardStratoavis
Main Chamber
"Shit. Ain't gonna be as easy as Ah thought." Noa muttered. She thumped Ayers on the shoulder with one hand, scowling as she did. "Back off, hoss. Brat's a Grade A shitbag. Ah wanna squash 'im, but we ain't gonna get tha chance. Thinkin' on dat, ya really wanna be tha first he comes aftah if he busts outta prison?"
She tapped her own head, staring Ayers in the eyes as she did.
"He's got this, ya know. Ya ain't tha only one who can make dem tin-can arms. Don't be givin' him excuses ta getta pair o' his own. Who knows, they might be bettah than yers."
edited 16th Apr '15 2:56:59 PM by D4C
Underground Lake
Sampi felt smirk blossom on his face as Caina lay paralyzed. Well, the scrap heap's down, and I can't really stick around for much longer. the AI thought to himself as felt himself being drawn back Yun's subconscious. Ah well, it was kinda fun while it lasted...
...
...the...hell?
Yun stared down at the Caina with an odd expression on his face. The last thing he remembered was storming down to the boat, then...he found himself on an underground island, standing on the torso of a robot, and a few instants of memory to connect the two events.
The boat... brought us here, and then we...fought this thing...did we? He grimaced as the last of the mental flashes passed. Hope mentioned I had...an AI...in my head. Did it have something to do with the gap in my memory?
Yun made a mental note to find out what happened, and deal with the problem accordingly-or at the very least, deal with the memory issue. If he kept blacking out before fighting started, it was going to get him killed sooner or later.
Hearing Stormer mention something about a cube and a killswitch, Yun turned his head towards the hat-wearing teen. "What was that about a killswitch?" He asked, crouching down near the cube on the robot's chest. "And can someone fill me in on what the hell went down after we got on the boat?"
edited 16th Apr '15 5:51:10 PM by svenorzokarkoff
The Lake
Oh, this is going to be annoying to deal with if we have to do it all the fucking time we get into a fight now.
"The most important detail is do not shoot the cube. That will activate a killswitch to murder our friends. Do not shoot Epsilon. That will activate a killswitch to murder our friends. Do help us hack the cube if you can. That might deactivate the killswitch to save our friends."
Epsilon looked sullenly at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.
"....Fine. I got it. I lost. I don't give a damn what you do to me. Can't be worse than what Luna already did."
"....I'm a man of my word."
Epsilon frowned, concentrating. Meanwhile, in the lake, the Cube stopped glowing.
"What was that?" asked Alexia.
Epsilon smiled. "That was me. It was always me. Those arrays and whatnot? Red herrings. I'm a technopath. It's what I do. I connected myself to Luna's systems."
"So. Are you going to kill me? I'd welcome it. I did what I wanted to do, anyway. There's no way any of you are going to forget me anytime soon."
Victory?
"...forget you? I will make an effort to erase you out of my memory bank completely." She spat out, her hatred slowly seeping out now that the deed's been done and there was no need to be polite. "You were an event. A thunderstorm. And just like that, you will be forgotten. You will disappear, the very last remnant of whatever the hell Luna was."
"...nobody will shed a tear. Nobody will go back and think "Man, that Epsilon guy was a tough one". You were, are and will be nothing." Hope took a deep breath, kicking herself for letting this rant lead her. "...and I hope you are pardoned, if only so you can live with that realization until it eats you from the inside out." She wheeled away, turning from the commotion.
"...gonna need someone to help me blow up this Defective Clone Disposal place to high hell. Any volunteers?" She asked back in her normal drone, the wheelchair transforming back into Anima.
Victory
Imuka continued to wait outside the main are, still feeling unwell, although likley starting to get some of her strength back, she internally wondered what was happening with her friends, should she be worried? What are they doing, but she did not want to venture inside and become a liability until she knew for sure.
Epsilon shrugged at Medus. "...Whatever. I don't care who does me in. It's all the same to me."
He laughed at Hope's words. "You just proved my point. Look at how much you hate me. Admit it, I left a mark on you-! I'm going to live on in that hateful little heart of yours-!"
Smack.
Epsilon reeled. Alexia had slapped him. She glared at him...then embraced the sad, pathetic little boy. Alexia...wasn't angry. She didn't see a monster. She saw a victim. She saw Alice, Beth and Carol from months ago.
"Enough now, Shane. I...forgive you. I acknowledge you. You're a human being. Not a tool, not Epsilon. Live your life free from now on."
She smiled at him gently.
....Epsilon was speechless.
Outside The Boss Room
Hope, now back in Anima, moved out of the room, shaking away bad thoughts. Whatever happened to Epsilon didn't matter to her. Honestly, even killing him now seemed like a chore she didn't want to fulfill. Epsilon's taunts and subsequent Alexia's words annoyed her, but... it wasn't something to be mad about.
She was just glad it's over.
Seeing Imuka waiting there she gave her a small wave. "Yo. We did it." She spoke in her usual drone. "...how are you feeling, Imu?"
edited 16th Apr '15 6:41:58 PM by FergardStratoavis
"Yeah. Epsilon turned off the killswitches." After a moment of hesitation, the giant frame of Anima gently embraced the Fox Faunus in a hug. "...I'm sorry for the last couple of weeks. For neglecting you all."
Letting her go Hope nodded. "I think Ayers and Ieria got badly bruised, but otherwise everybody's fine." She replied to Imuka's question, glancing back into the room she walked out of.
edited 16th Apr '15 6:49:00 PM by FergardStratoavis
Epsilon looked dazed, completely out of it. Alexia smiled at him again, and then contacted the others at the lake.
"We've secured Shane Mauve. Mission accomplished, it's over. We can go home." she announced happily.
Meanwhile, outside the chamber, the elevator door opened and out popped Beryl/B2, looking surprised.
"Huh. They actually did it."
Stormer then got Alexia's message.
"You hear that, guys? Mission accomplished!", he said with excitement, "See, I told you guys we'd win."
"Never let anyone tell you that something is impossible." - Monty Oum, 1981-2015

Alexia smiled gratefully at Ai. Then, she turned to look at all the others. She prayed for strength.
"No one dies. There's been enough hatred already. Capture him, jail him if we must...but I don't want to see anyone else die."
When Alexia had finished talking, the others had managed to get Epsilon out of the machine.
Alexia gasped. The boy dressed in a bio-suit, with tubes and wires connected to his back, and looking utterly flabbergasted...
....Epsilon couldn't have been older than thirteen.
The Caina...fell, with its means of movement gone, it was basically paralyzed...
....Although its armor was still far too thick to pierce.