The Animals of Anabhraka - Part 3

“Beginning preparations.”

Vladimir pulled a lever on his console that faced the operating room. The sharp arms above lowered down with the tip glowing as the instrument began to heat up. This is followed by the bottom arms that similarity opened as they both surrounded Ana in a cage of metal.

He twisted a handle and pulled out a capsule out of a chilled container. It contains a black liquid with spots of red light that pulsed like a living animal.

“Inserting Nanomachines.”

*Click*

The capsule slotted into a hole next to Vladimir's console and with a press of a button the contents were quickly drained into tubes that flowed into the various arms of the operating room.

“Let us start!”

A blue holographic display of Ana’s body appeared in front of Vladimir as he began to hurriedly press the buttons on the console.

*Tzzzzzzzz*

“AGGG@#$%$@GHHH$@#HHHH!”

The metal churned to life spinning around with yellow bolts of concentrated lasers. The holographic sensors did more than cover her exposed figure but the gruesome reality of augment surgery.

Vladimir is unfazed by Ana’s screams and focuses on his work. He operated as if he was designing a piece of art, erasing and redrawing parts of Ana’s body. The bright screen showed Ana’s overall health conditions as well as her body to metal composition which states a shocking number: “100%”

‘Amazing, I have never seen something like this before. You’re no Cyborg, every part even seemingly organic is astonishingly the opposite. I don’t even know where the human you begin or ends.’

Vladimir realised that this surgery is akin to him working on his mechs. A piece of nostalgia and a part of him that will never be lost. He is fired up and focused even harder on his work.

‘With this I can do the impossible. Integrating the nanomachines within the body itself. In theory this would create a near perfect fusion with her mech. A modern day take on mechanized interhuman integration unheard of before. A mere human would die from this process but not her.’

“AGG@G@#HHH$HHHH!”

“Please bear with me!”

‘Her skin is as hard as diamonds but everything about her mimic’s humans to an extreme extent. Pain receptors are even tuned to be exactly like ours. Please hang on, we are nearly there!’

***

A soldier in full military defensive gear handed Shori a glass of water.

“Doctor, Mihara refreshments?”

Shiori sat within the hangar of a transport plane. She was not in handcuffs but her face painted a deep feeling of discontent and guilt. They had given her back all her clothes as she wore her common white lab coat now sullied with stains of grime.

“No thank you.”

The soldier exited sitting down quietly by himself while another chimed in.

“How exactly do you know that she will be in Chelyabinsk? She should be deep into enemy territory by now but why stay within the confines of No man’s Land. We have Chelyabinsk surrounded in all areas and it won’t be long before it falls.”

Shiori looked down on her lab coat, fiddling it with her fingers as she spoke.

“Having lost to her own army and declared as a traitor there isn't anywhere else for her to go. In the west at the ruins of Moscow she will face the full force of the REC. In the East further within inner Russia, she will be executed as a traitor to the regime.”

*Alarm Alarm Alarm*

[“Entering Imperial airspace”]

The plane interior dimmed with red lights and flashing warning signs that hung above.

Shiori looked at the soldiers that sat around her, they had a naive demeanor of calmness that opposed her inner feelings of fear. It felt as if the powers that be were doing everything necessary to mock her.

“You should be more worried about being in a flying death cage deep in enemy territory without any support. Looks like they are sending you along with me to my grave. How nice of them.”

The soldier in front of her simply smiled.

“Oh, don’t you worry, your friends from Anabhraka made sure to give us some presents. A special collaboration between our two nations, years in the making.”

Shiori’s face turned pale and her eyes widened.

“Mayeda, you damn fool don’t tell me you—”

***

The transport drone flew under a blanket of grey stormy clouds. It had a bulky and bulbous design with four wings that held spinning rotary disks that pulsed with blue energy. The hundreds of red eyes at the centre moved independently scanning the best approach through the storm.

The clouds began to grow darker with an eb and flow of red lights appearing in the distance. Soon it became clear that this was no storm but a swarm of black drones moving erratically creating a giant wall that blotted out the entire sky.

*Woosh*

Out of nowhere four dark grey fighter jets appeared behind with a trail of flames roaring from its afterburners. This was no ordinary fighter but was a humanoid mech folded neatly into the frame of a plane. The wings expanded outwards with two jet engines on the back that propelled the craft with gusts of blue. The main body hid within the confines of the wings as the overall silhouette was triangular in shape.

*Bwoomm*

The jets simultaneously let out a shockwave of blue energy that surrounded the craft like a bubble. This energy easily pierced through the wall of drones as each melted from just a touch.

*Bwooom*

A secondary explosion expanded outwards as each orb connected with the four drones clearing the darkened sky.

*Wooosh*

The strange jets zoomed out of sight as fast as it arrived.

***

*Whirrr*

The slow humm of machinery sounded as the operating chamber winded down. The many arms collapsed back to its slots with smoke that filled the entire room.

Ana raised her arm slowly examining all the new intricate cuts and grooves that were now on her arm. Her appearance was now more mechanical with shapes denoting and separating each part of her body with several holes all around her body especially in her back.

Faint red spots of light rapidly populated her arm as a flood of white metallic liquid flowed throughout her body morphing and forming a skin tight suit. The suit throbs with a red energy as if it was a living breathing creature that had fused along with her. The suit had a sheen of white porcelain with little glimmers of metallic glitter and faint glow of crimson. At the centre was glowing red eyes that made the core of the suit.

Ana gave a pained smile of ecstasy from seeing her new form. This suit was not simply a suit but was another extension of her body. Another billion of mechs that were now at her command.

Vladimir walked over to Ana all sweaty and tired.

“I added something extra. Nano-tech for your interface suit which would give you more control over a normal boring one made from real fabric.”

“Wow Vladimir, this is amazing I… I don’t know what to say….”

“We’re not done. Follow me to the Hangar.”

Ana wore her coat back on as well as her cap. She walked with Vladimir into the vast hangar and at its centre was Ana’s drone newly shaped and was bigger than before.

“As requested, I re-fitted your drone. This was easily done and automated so I did it while operating on you. I simply reused my older drone’s cockpit and fuzed them together with your drone with the addition of Nanomachines to link with the ones in your body.”

Vladimir slammed the leg of the drone.

*Tsss*

The metal carapace of the drone opened in a three-way motion. Inside the drone was a seat surrounded by hundreds of holes all around.

“It may not be as flashy and big as the drones of old but it will do.”

“This is amazing! You are a genius Vlad!... here before I forget our payment. You deserve it and more.”

Ana reached for her pocket and attempted to hand Vladimir a metal chip. Vladimir simply raised his hand and refused.

“Why? It should be enough here.”

“You bringing back a long dead part of me was payment enough. Please I cannot take this.”

“I insist please you need it more than I do.”

“Ok, ok we will discuss payment later but first please try out your mech.”

Ana happily nodded as she entered her drone.

*Tsss*

The drone closed, sealing shut and from the darkness, screens lit up with pixels that showed the outside world.

Ana could hear Vladimir in a distorted voice.

“Now try—”

“...”

“...”

‘That's odd? Did it malfunction?’

The screen froze completely as Ana was left confused.

***

*Wooosh*

Out from the skies four jets roared in with the deafening buckle of thunder. Each of them transformed out of their wings and landed on the metal bastion with sharp metal talons. The wings now sat hanging down like sharp metal capes. They were vampiric creatures with red eyes that were spread out like menacing spiders.

The mechs slid across the roof as they one by one dismantled the defences by kicking and grabbing them, crushing it like it was nothing. These mechs were gigantic being the same height as the wall itself.

A few of the turrets still left began to fire at one of the mechs. Its left arm split open folding as several metal rods flared outwards. A shield of blue energy formed in the shape of a rectangle.

*Ding*

*Ding*

*Ding*

The bullets simply melted upon contact with the blue shield causing no damage to the mech. Similarly, the right arm split open as a rectangular barrel appeared from within.

*Pwoosh*

A flash of blue plasma accelerated and punched a clean hole through the turret causing it to explode.

The four mechs all simultaneously fired their plasma projectiles towards the city indiscriminately as faint cries and screams could be heard.

The mechs slid across the roof kicking off the defences as well as grabbing them and hurling them towards the city centre.

The shooting stopped as one of the mech began to scan through the city. WIthin its vision a red static crosshair moved through the flaming wreckage and burning buildings. It zoomed into a destroyed warehouse and inside the wrecked hangar was a singular drone under rubble. The crosshair glowed as it locked onto the drone.

“Target Confirmed: Code - Prophet.”

*Wrrrr*

The jet engines of the mech erupted in blue flames as it jumped down flying towards the wreaked warehouse. Its talons grabbed the drone as it flew into the air and arrived at a secluded snow field. The great walls of the city could be seen in the distance.

*BAM*

The mech landed cracking the white ground. The talons clenched onto Ana's drone as it ripped it apart. The leg kicked the drone aside as Ana could be seen clinging onto for dear life. She exited the drone and began to run.

The mech jumped into the air and landed in front of the drone and behind Ana who was knocked down by the shockwave.

*Tsss*

The mech crouched as it powered down. The chest extended outwards as a person could be seen exiting.

A woman dressed in a black skin tight suit similar to Ana’s own suit. She had long tied up white hair and red eyes that glowed along with her fierce appearance.

Ana coughed, unable to get up quickly enough as the woman approached. She held Ana by the top of her throat as she proceeded to kick her in the stomach.

“AH!”

The woman yelled as she continued to beat Ana senseless. This woman’s strength matched Ana’s durability as each hit knocked the wind out of her leaving her unable to counter attack.

“No more games! You will come with us or I will drag you there even if I have to tear that pretty head of yours apart”

“Wh… WHo the hell are… You! The… Hell did you just do?”

The woman held Ana by her hair with a look of shame.

“Ah dear Sister, dear Sister mother has called and it is time to go home!”

She kicked Ana again.

“Ah!”

“They send you off to Neverland and you are busy playing pretend? Oh poor Sister look how they treated you. Knowing nothing about the world and sent hurtling from one place to the next like a confused goldfish.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that all will be revealed if you come with us. Please don’t make it harder than it is.”

“I’m not going!”

“Oh what is wrong with you, why are you so stubborn! They bare their fangs at an imaginary war while ours has just begun!”

Ana stumbled upwards with a bleeding nose. She had a look of determination as her left eye illuminated red.

“I don’t know much about this world. I don’t know anything about me and why I am the way that I am. Everything still confuses me but there is something that I know in my heart. No matter what side you claim to fight for even if you are like me….”

‘Vlad I am sorry! Everyone, I am sorry! For the countless pain that my presence has caused!’

The mech behind the Sister quietly rumbled to life as strings of metallic worms moved from Ana’s destroyed drone and into the unoccupied mech.

“Anyone who hurts the innocent doesn't deserve to walk on this earth!”

Like a corpse on strings the mech’s arm moved splitting in half as a rectangular barrel appeared. The massive barrel was placed on the Sister’s back as her expression turned from smugness to a pale look of dread.

“SEIKE FIRE!”

*Vrrrrr*

*BWOOOOOOOM*

Ana lunged to the side as a condensed beam of blue energy ripped through vaporising the surrounding in an instant. A torrent of energy hurled out like a stream of water.

The energy soon dissipated as the barrel cooled down.

Ana stood up injured but with a new look of resolve. Her fight was just beginning.