The First (Re-)Encounter
A black-clad figure, face unseen, walked slowly through the empty and forgotten streets of the city of Agnos. He avoided no one, not that there was much life left around, but he managed to pass through unsee through what little was left around without getting their attention. Eventually the figure reached what liked like a hole carved on the side of a building which led to a dimly light reinforce concrete hall
Once in front of the hole he placed himself just in front of two cylindrical robots standing still with long assault rifles being held, their eyes, a simple red crystal ball in the middle of the cylinder, produced mechanical winces every now and then as if looking for something, their bodies or extremities not moving.
“I must speak with him” Said the figure covered in dark robes, his voice was deep and strangely hollow, when he spoke his squared jaw was slightly visible, a marking glowing when light hit, then it was all back to darkness. When he spoke the robots immediately pointed their rifles at him, the one on the left turned on floodlights on his shoulders in order to blind him and submit him but as soon as he approached the figure gave a few steps back. “I must speak with him” He repeated and the robots remained still.
“Entrance is forbidden” Replied the robot on the left with an almost human voice, his rifle still pointing at the robbed figure and almost eager to pull the trigger. “No humans allowed, leave”
“Calling me human is slightly offensive but I will let this pass, this time” Replied the figure again and raised his right arm, a sleeve with two white lines at the end of them came down to reveal an almost bone like hand with silver like markings that glowed with the light. “I must speak to him out of an old promise and business that we accorded a long time ago”
“Entrance is forbidden, fleshling” Replied the left robot and before he could continue the figure interrupted him.
“Stop waisting my time!” The robots fired a couple of shots at him but nothing happened, it was as if they had gone through him with no effect, the sensors on both units indicated there had been rapid movement for an instance but it was too fast to calculate the trajectory, by the time they tried to release a second burst the right unit had suddenly been pushed against the concrete wall with arms and legs dismembered, the left unit floating slightly above the ground with no arms or legs either. “You will serve me well”
“Stop this, I order you to stop this” Said the left robot in a strangely preoccupied tone, the figure laughed at the request and walked towards the hallway, the robot went in first before the figure managed to reach the entrance and violently flew through the hallway triggering machine guns and lasers to fire at him as he crossed, by the time the robot hit the ground it was nothing more than a bunch of scrap metal.
“Paranoia is the drink of mad kings” Said the figure as he crossed through the hallway without any sort of response from the mechanisms installed throughout the hallway, he kept going through the bunker like structure until he reached the end, into what looked like some sort of vault that could withstand a nuclear strike or something of the same caliber, inside of it strange filaments hung from the ceiling and the walls, their neon purple and blue pulsated rapidly as if they were sending something to a central monolith like structure that glowed in a strange yellow and green pattern, a massive humanoid like figure standing just in front of it as if it was examining the structure for something, it was covered in giant slabs darkened metal and unknown white markings, on his right hand he held a long staff with a golden sphere on the top that swirled, clock-work pieces moving slowly and ticking at strange seconds with a white glow produced every time they moved.
“You” Said the humanoid figure in a strange mechanized voice with no visible accent, he turned around and hit the ground with his staff, at the center of his chest a steel circle covered in some sort of transparent glass and inside a swirling dark sphere, his face seemed human but as his chest, arms and legs, it was covered in the same type of pulsating filament surrounding the room. “What do you wish of me, Prophet? Your time is long gone in this world and the other”
“How long has it been, Lord of Machines, was it since the Battle of Agnos that we have not seen each other?” The Lord of Machines remained silent, it gave a few steps towards the dark-clad figure and hit the ground with his staff.
“When you betrayed us” Replied the Lord of Machines in a sober tone, the dark-clad figure laughed and walked towards the Lord of Machines who did nothing in return.
“Lord, I did not betray you, I gave you the possible outcome of the battle if you followed through with what I had proposed, not if you did what you deemed logical or fit in your situation” The dark-clad figure went around the Lord of Machines and then stood a few feet away from the monolith, standing still in front of it he removed his hood to reveal a face made of pure evil, skin sticking back to the skull, beard reaching almost the upper part of the chest, eyes with nine iris forming a cross of sorts, elongated eyebrows and a series of silver like dots surrounding his eyes, nose gone and instead a small hole in its place, ears sticking to the back of the head as if held by something and hair reaching below his shoulders. “You did not forget your end of the bargain, did you?”
“The treaty became null the moment you betrayed us” Replied the Lord of Machines, the Lord walked towards the figure and stood next to it also looking at the monolith.
“Following orders is a basic necessity for the success of the plan which in turn takes me to the reason of my visit. I need the favor repaid and before you say no I have a proposition for you”
“Continue”
“It has been a long time since the Battle of Agnos and I know you with to have complete control of it, for the last five hundred years it has been your only purpose and I can help you achieve it”
“I will not be led into another trap”
“It is that or nothing, Lord, and at this point in your career there is little space for you to negotiate. Should I keep you calling Lord of Machines or shall I baptize you as King of Nothing?” The Lord of Machines violently hit the ground with the staff, breaking a small portion of the concrete, his right arm shaking from the impact as the staff kept vibrating in position.
“State your business then!” Replied the Lord of Machines seeing the man at his left side.
“It is time to fully claim your title, Lord of Machines” The man grinned as he turned to his right side to see the massive hulk standing next to him.
“For what purpose?”
“I need you to come with me to another planet, we have chaos to bring forth and you are the agent of destruction that I need. Imagine, a new planet, resources to bring forth your Empire to others, subjects to do this task for you, what else could you ask for?”
“Your inhuman age and purpose have always intrigued me, you are indeed the Destroyer if you wish me to come forth with said purpose. Tell me, how do you plan for this to happen?”
“In due time, Lord, in due time you will come to fully understand my powers at full capacity. For now I ask you to gather all your troops and get ready for the incoming battle to retake Agnos”
“Words come easy out of your mouth”
“Words are simple connections of actions, metaphysical taken to the realm of possibility, what I say is true because I have said so”
“I remember the same five hundred years ago but not the same result you proposed”
“Proposing” The Destroyed walked to the monolith and turned back to the Lord of Machines. “Is not what I do, I give you facts that if run through as I speak them will give you what you wish for. If you do not follow through as I state then only doom awaits”
“Following through with your plans is illogical, the end result is not what you promise” The Destroyer smiled at the remark and while doing so shook his head.
“It never ceases to amaze me how mechanical and cold you are, doing the logical thing is not always the answer to a problem, a problem has many solutions not just the one that seems the obvious to you”
“Logic and mathematics are the key cornerstones of the universe, everything else is just a flaw with poor to no results obtainable”
“While I do not debate either one of them you are to fight as I tell you in order to win, if you win at Agnos you win at Apacea, if you win at Apacea you win at Emersons Gate and if you win at Emergons Gate you have an open road to Cydonia”
The Lord of Machines remained silent, he processed the idea of slowly managing to obtain those victories and eventually pushing through to Cydonia and then out of Mars. Mars had become a human colony hundreds of years ago and while devoid of the most important minerals it served as a base of operations for further exploration of the galaxy, it also served as a safe-zone for dangerous theoretical experiments that could produce cataclysms on Earth. One of the most important experiments was undertaken by a group of scientists at Cydonia which managed to create a sort of two-way gate to travel through to unknown spaces, the problem with the gate was the consumption of energy and becoming unstable too fast for long travels, that taken into consideration it was a one way trip for the Lord of Machines and his army, if they could produce enough energy and maintain it stable for long enough it would be no problem to go through with this plan.
“What is your grand plan?” Asked the Lord of Machines, no tone of excitement, intrigue, nothing, a plain monotone tone of voice.
“Settle the dispute in Agnos first and then we shall speak about ”
“You are, in human terms, a despicable creature who gives drops of water to a thirsty traveler of the deserts. In time we shall see if what you speak is true”
“Have faith, Lord, for it is a necessity that drives me to you and your success is part of that necessity, deliver to me this first instance and I shall reward you accordingly” The Destroyer covered himself again and walked back to the hallway. “End the dispute, unite the greater race of the machines and destroy all living things”
“You mentioned that the last time, your failure to end the human race means only victory to us” Replied back the Lord of Machines, silence. The Destroyer disappeared in the hallway, the Lord of Machines could not sense him further down or across the hallway, he had banished just as he had done the first time they had met.
[[MESSAGE TO: (ALL), GATHER AT ARMORY, LOAD ALL WEAPONS, BRING ADDITIONAL AMMUNITION, HEAVY ARTILLERY AT THE READY, GATHER THEN AT THRONE ROOM. END OF MESSAGE]]
Once in front of the hole he placed himself just in front of two cylindrical robots standing still with long assault rifles being held, their eyes, a simple red crystal ball in the middle of the cylinder, produced mechanical winces every now and then as if looking for something, their bodies or extremities not moving.
“I must speak with him” Said the figure covered in dark robes, his voice was deep and strangely hollow, when he spoke his squared jaw was slightly visible, a marking glowing when light hit, then it was all back to darkness. When he spoke the robots immediately pointed their rifles at him, the one on the left turned on floodlights on his shoulders in order to blind him and submit him but as soon as he approached the figure gave a few steps back. “I must speak with him” He repeated and the robots remained still.
“Entrance is forbidden” Replied the robot on the left with an almost human voice, his rifle still pointing at the robbed figure and almost eager to pull the trigger. “No humans allowed, leave”
“Calling me human is slightly offensive but I will let this pass, this time” Replied the figure again and raised his right arm, a sleeve with two white lines at the end of them came down to reveal an almost bone like hand with silver like markings that glowed with the light. “I must speak to him out of an old promise and business that we accorded a long time ago”
“Entrance is forbidden, fleshling” Replied the left robot and before he could continue the figure interrupted him.
“Stop waisting my time!” The robots fired a couple of shots at him but nothing happened, it was as if they had gone through him with no effect, the sensors on both units indicated there had been rapid movement for an instance but it was too fast to calculate the trajectory, by the time they tried to release a second burst the right unit had suddenly been pushed against the concrete wall with arms and legs dismembered, the left unit floating slightly above the ground with no arms or legs either. “You will serve me well”
“Stop this, I order you to stop this” Said the left robot in a strangely preoccupied tone, the figure laughed at the request and walked towards the hallway, the robot went in first before the figure managed to reach the entrance and violently flew through the hallway triggering machine guns and lasers to fire at him as he crossed, by the time the robot hit the ground it was nothing more than a bunch of scrap metal.
“Paranoia is the drink of mad kings” Said the figure as he crossed through the hallway without any sort of response from the mechanisms installed throughout the hallway, he kept going through the bunker like structure until he reached the end, into what looked like some sort of vault that could withstand a nuclear strike or something of the same caliber, inside of it strange filaments hung from the ceiling and the walls, their neon purple and blue pulsated rapidly as if they were sending something to a central monolith like structure that glowed in a strange yellow and green pattern, a massive humanoid like figure standing just in front of it as if it was examining the structure for something, it was covered in giant slabs darkened metal and unknown white markings, on his right hand he held a long staff with a golden sphere on the top that swirled, clock-work pieces moving slowly and ticking at strange seconds with a white glow produced every time they moved.
“You” Said the humanoid figure in a strange mechanized voice with no visible accent, he turned around and hit the ground with his staff, at the center of his chest a steel circle covered in some sort of transparent glass and inside a swirling dark sphere, his face seemed human but as his chest, arms and legs, it was covered in the same type of pulsating filament surrounding the room. “What do you wish of me, Prophet? Your time is long gone in this world and the other”
“How long has it been, Lord of Machines, was it since the Battle of Agnos that we have not seen each other?” The Lord of Machines remained silent, it gave a few steps towards the dark-clad figure and hit the ground with his staff.
“When you betrayed us” Replied the Lord of Machines in a sober tone, the dark-clad figure laughed and walked towards the Lord of Machines who did nothing in return.
“Lord, I did not betray you, I gave you the possible outcome of the battle if you followed through with what I had proposed, not if you did what you deemed logical or fit in your situation” The dark-clad figure went around the Lord of Machines and then stood a few feet away from the monolith, standing still in front of it he removed his hood to reveal a face made of pure evil, skin sticking back to the skull, beard reaching almost the upper part of the chest, eyes with nine iris forming a cross of sorts, elongated eyebrows and a series of silver like dots surrounding his eyes, nose gone and instead a small hole in its place, ears sticking to the back of the head as if held by something and hair reaching below his shoulders. “You did not forget your end of the bargain, did you?”
“The treaty became null the moment you betrayed us” Replied the Lord of Machines, the Lord walked towards the figure and stood next to it also looking at the monolith.
“Following orders is a basic necessity for the success of the plan which in turn takes me to the reason of my visit. I need the favor repaid and before you say no I have a proposition for you”
“Continue”
“It has been a long time since the Battle of Agnos and I know you with to have complete control of it, for the last five hundred years it has been your only purpose and I can help you achieve it”
“I will not be led into another trap”
“It is that or nothing, Lord, and at this point in your career there is little space for you to negotiate. Should I keep you calling Lord of Machines or shall I baptize you as King of Nothing?” The Lord of Machines violently hit the ground with the staff, breaking a small portion of the concrete, his right arm shaking from the impact as the staff kept vibrating in position.
“State your business then!” Replied the Lord of Machines seeing the man at his left side.
“It is time to fully claim your title, Lord of Machines” The man grinned as he turned to his right side to see the massive hulk standing next to him.
“For what purpose?”
“I need you to come with me to another planet, we have chaos to bring forth and you are the agent of destruction that I need. Imagine, a new planet, resources to bring forth your Empire to others, subjects to do this task for you, what else could you ask for?”
“Your inhuman age and purpose have always intrigued me, you are indeed the Destroyer if you wish me to come forth with said purpose. Tell me, how do you plan for this to happen?”
“In due time, Lord, in due time you will come to fully understand my powers at full capacity. For now I ask you to gather all your troops and get ready for the incoming battle to retake Agnos”
“Words come easy out of your mouth”
“Words are simple connections of actions, metaphysical taken to the realm of possibility, what I say is true because I have said so”
“I remember the same five hundred years ago but not the same result you proposed”
“Proposing” The Destroyed walked to the monolith and turned back to the Lord of Machines. “Is not what I do, I give you facts that if run through as I speak them will give you what you wish for. If you do not follow through as I state then only doom awaits”
“Following through with your plans is illogical, the end result is not what you promise” The Destroyer smiled at the remark and while doing so shook his head.
“It never ceases to amaze me how mechanical and cold you are, doing the logical thing is not always the answer to a problem, a problem has many solutions not just the one that seems the obvious to you”
“Logic and mathematics are the key cornerstones of the universe, everything else is just a flaw with poor to no results obtainable”
“While I do not debate either one of them you are to fight as I tell you in order to win, if you win at Agnos you win at Apacea, if you win at Apacea you win at Emersons Gate and if you win at Emergons Gate you have an open road to Cydonia”
The Lord of Machines remained silent, he processed the idea of slowly managing to obtain those victories and eventually pushing through to Cydonia and then out of Mars. Mars had become a human colony hundreds of years ago and while devoid of the most important minerals it served as a base of operations for further exploration of the galaxy, it also served as a safe-zone for dangerous theoretical experiments that could produce cataclysms on Earth. One of the most important experiments was undertaken by a group of scientists at Cydonia which managed to create a sort of two-way gate to travel through to unknown spaces, the problem with the gate was the consumption of energy and becoming unstable too fast for long travels, that taken into consideration it was a one way trip for the Lord of Machines and his army, if they could produce enough energy and maintain it stable for long enough it would be no problem to go through with this plan.
“What is your grand plan?” Asked the Lord of Machines, no tone of excitement, intrigue, nothing, a plain monotone tone of voice.
“Settle the dispute in Agnos first and then we shall speak about ”
“You are, in human terms, a despicable creature who gives drops of water to a thirsty traveler of the deserts. In time we shall see if what you speak is true”
“Have faith, Lord, for it is a necessity that drives me to you and your success is part of that necessity, deliver to me this first instance and I shall reward you accordingly” The Destroyer covered himself again and walked back to the hallway. “End the dispute, unite the greater race of the machines and destroy all living things”
“You mentioned that the last time, your failure to end the human race means only victory to us” Replied back the Lord of Machines, silence. The Destroyer disappeared in the hallway, the Lord of Machines could not sense him further down or across the hallway, he had banished just as he had done the first time they had met.
[[MESSAGE TO: (ALL), GATHER AT ARMORY, LOAD ALL WEAPONS, BRING ADDITIONAL AMMUNITION, HEAVY ARTILLERY AT THE READY, GATHER THEN AT THRONE ROOM. END OF MESSAGE]]
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