Blood Gulchers 31

'I'm good, I'm good," Church insisted as they stalked through the metal halls.

It didn't matter that Maine hadn't said a word, Church could feel him staring at him ever since they left the room with the sarcophagus.

Damn AIs fucking with his head again. He couldn't wait to be done with that. Hopefully, Sigma was the last of the troublesome ones.

"So....The Mother of Invention?" Church remarked, recalling the name of the ship. "What, was another ship already called The Necessity?"

"Yes," Maine answered bluntly.

"I...okay, fair enough," Church conceded awkwardly. "Where are we even going?"

"I was following you," Maine remarked.

"What? Why!? Your ass has been here, not me," Church reminded in annoyance.

Maine tilted his head at Church before continuing to walk towards a large mechanical door in front of them. It opened to reveal the bridge of the spaceship, giving them a view of some planet from orbit.

"Oh. Lucky that, I guess," Church mused as he entered the bridge, moving about with a subconscious familiarity.

Maine observed him a moment longer before moving up to the controls.

'I'm guessing the fuckhead in charge stood around here," Church grumbled as he stood at the front center of the bridge. "Hey, Maine, can we do anything with this ship?"

Maine shook his head. "The controls don't work. It can only do two things."

"Guess this is a dream or memory or something. Make sense it doesn't do more than what it already did," Church said to himself. "So, what can we do?"

"Destroy the building," Maine answered, a screen pulling up to show the Mother of Invention firing a massive laser cannon.

"As if it didn't look enough like a gun already," Church murmured, looking to Maine. "Wait, you guys were OUT of the building before that happened, right?"

"....On top," Maine answered after a pause.

Church groaned and shook his head. "Right, I'm going to ignore that for now. What else can we do?"

Another screen appeared, showing the Mother of Invention deploying a drop pod.

"...Let me guess, that's how Tex showed up?" Church predicted blankly.

"On a bike," Maine confirmed with a nod.

"Ha! And that bitch tries to pretend she's not as crazy as the rest of us," Church said in triumph. "You think we can get some surveillance on the building before we decide to blow it up or crash the party? Get an idea what's going on?"

Maine scratched his helmet as he fiddled with the controls less certainly now.

There was a sudden pop-up, a black one. All Church could hear was running water and....some very horrible singing. He couldn't make out the words. "God, damn! Who's trying to make singing a war crime?!" Church said, covering his ears futilely.

"South," Maine answered with audible disgust as the pop-up disappeared.

"Ugh, if she's alive, I'm preemptively banning her from singing. I'll take Donut's uncomfortable lyrics over that," Church said in distaste.

Another one came up, this time showing the top of the building they had been in.

Or Church assumed so, since he saw Omega and Tex fighting a copy of Maine but with three glowing eyes on the helmet.

"Okay, there they are and they are...not kicking ass. But also not getting their asses kicked, so there's that," Church said, both relieved and disappointed.

"Stalemating," Maine summarized.

"Right, so.....we can turbo blast this fight from orbit. Kind of the safer option, I think. I mean, Tex and Omega will just pop out if they die in here. But....," Church looked to the Freelancer. "Be real with me, the other AIs with Sigma? They just as fucked up as him or just along for the ride?"

Maine looked at the screen for a moment.

"Annnnd, would you rather blast them from up here or go cave Sigma's face in with your own fist?" Church added with a knowing smirk.

Maine grunted. He knew exactly what Church was doing, and it was definitely working. "Iota and Eta aren't bad. Sigma is just.....too much for them."

He had been too much for Maine as well, it went without saying.

"Right, let's go fuck up their coding....Does that joke track? I hope that tracks."

Meanwhile

Two Minds Are Better Than One.

Yet.

More Than The Sum of Their Parts.

Those were the two concepts at play in the battle of Omega and Tex against the Meta.

When they had a target, an agreed goal, something Tex had no quarrel tearing apart? She and Omega made a great team, their ruthlessness syncing up their actions, allowing them to coordinate at incredible levels to devastating results.

But the Meta was three AIs working in harmony, their combined power amplifying and compounding their merged capabilities.

That wasn't to say it was a one-sided ordeal by any means.

Tex was the best agent, and Omega was perhaps the most dangerous singular fragment in combat.

Omega jumped onto the Meta from behind, one arm locking around the neck while the other arm savagely punched into the helmet. If this was reality, it would have cracked and broken within the first few strikes.

However, it was clear which side was winning.

Meta jumped backward, using their body weight to slam Omega into the ground. Tex was running to strike them while down, but the amalgamation managed to twist Omega off themselves and hurl the Rage AI at the Beta.

To Tex's credit, she managed to catch Omega, sliding backward from the impact.

"Get your hands off-!" Omega started to pull free of Tex, only to pause as he saw the Meta materializing their own brute shot. "Dammit!" he cursed as he fell to one knee, slamming a fist into the ground.

The grounds cracked and a chunk of it rose up, giving them some makeshift cover, just before an explosion range above them.

"Don't suppose you can get us some more weapons too?" Tex asked dryly.

"Even if I was in control of this mind, no! And we know you couldn't do it, you reject of a processor!" Omega snapped over the explosions detonating against their cover.

"I'll punch you for that later," Tex remarked dryly. "Dammit, where is Church?!"

"The hell if I know! These mind invasions aren't exactly a science!"  Omega said, both of them ducking down as a piece of the rubble broke off above them. "Any bright ideas?"

"....Just one," Tex said as she reached up to her helmet. '...Church, can you read me?"

"What the fuck, we could have done this the whole time!?" Church screamed over the radio.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Omega said in annoyance.

"Dumbass," Tex muttered.

"Don't pretend like you didn't think of that until just now!" Church said over the radio.

"Where the hell are you!? We kind of need some backup here!" Tex retorted over the explosions.

"Calm your ass, Tex! The cavalry is on its way! We're dropping in now," Church promised before the line was cut out.

"What? We? Church!? Church!" Tex called out but received no reply.

"Worry about us for now," Omega warned, and it was now that Tex realized the explosions had stopped, replaced by heavy footsteps. "He's coming."

The Meta cautiously approached the summit of the sloping, broken floor. They knew to be wary of these two, their brute shot at the head. One good shot to either of them would either eject them from Maine's mind or stun them long enough to be assimilated.

Eta's coding flared, alerting the Meta to motion being detected.

Above them.

They looked up in time to see something falling from orbit, just before it crashed several feet from him, hard enough to make the entire building tremble.

This gave everyone pause, watching as the smoke cleared to reveal a drop pod that hissed as it began to open-

Only for it to be kicked off its hinges, the door going flying towards the Meta.

The amalgamation fired the brute shot, knocking the object off course.

And through the smokescreen of that attack charged forth Maine, who made a straight shot toward his treacherous AI.

"Maine!" Meta declared in shock as Maine shot the brute shot at him repeatedly while charging. They leaped and ran to the side, while still closing the distance until both swung, their blade sparking as they clashed.

"Holy shit, Church sprung Maine," Tex realized as they looked over the edge.

"Now this is a show I would have paid in blood to see!" Omega cheered on.

"Happy to entertain," Church said dryly, causing both of them to spin around to see him.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Tex asked in confusion.

"The drop pod," Church answered, jabbing a thumb over to it. "You know, there's plenty of room for two people when you don't put a motorcycle in it."

"I feel like you're insulting me without saying it," Tex drawled.

"I hate to burst bubbles, but as much as I'm loving this fight? Maine can't win this fight," Omega warned with a hum as he observed the battle.

The brute shots had been dislodged from their hands at some point, and both were grappling with one another, while trading blows. And while Maine was tanking and dealing out plenty, it was obvious that the Meta was beginning to outmaneuver him, blocking and getting through the defenses more often than the agent.

"Yeah, he knows that. He's just buying us time for the plan," Church said, looking at the two. "Tex, Omega, you both know more about this AI shit than I do, obviously."

It was almost painful to ignore the elephant in the room, for both of them.

"So, how the fuck do we break up the three digiteers?"Church asked expectantly.

"What?" Omega asked blankly.

"He wants to separate the Meta back into Sigma, Eta, and Iota," Tex answered, giving Church a look. "And why the hell do you think we have an idea?"

"Come on, you both got to have some idea!" Church retorted. "If not, we go to plan B and rush their combined ass."

"Hate to say it, but as much as I tried to separate from Omega, I know dick all about whatever Frankenstein bullshit Sigma has going on!" Tex retorted in annoyance.

"Boss?" Omega spoke up. "I have an idea. I can definitely get one of them separated, and that might break up the other two."

"....I think I know where this is going," Tex said grimly.

"What do you need from us?" Church asked.

"I just need you and the howling whore here to cover me if anything goes wrong," Omega answered as he turned to run off.

"If you had a dick, I'd shoot off!" Tex said in frustration.

"And I wouldn't even try to stop you," Church said with a head shake. "Get your gun back, I doubt this'll end smoothly."

The Meta had taken a great deal of damage. The sheer strength and ferocity of Maine was not to be underestimated or understated. He tore into them, cracked their helmet, and nearly knocked them off their feet several times.

If they were human.....no, if this had been in the real world, even a robotic body would have been heavily compromised by the damage Maine had inflicted on them. 

Anywhere else, and they admitted, they would likely be defeated.

After all, there was a reason Sigma equated their perfection with becoming Human. There was much to be admired and respected in humanity.

But as it stood, they had turned the tide and put Maine on the backfoot. They just needed to wait for the right moment to finish-

Their thought process was interrupted as Omega closed the distance on them from behind and jumped onto their back, arms latching around the neck.

"Eta," Omega said in his deep, ominous voice as they tried to pry him loose. "I'm going to tear you apart."

The Meta froze and twitched before redoubling his, no, their efforts to get free.

Maine paused, watching the interaction with fascination and interest while eyeing where the brute shots lay discarded.

"I'm going to put you through everything we put the Alpha did and more. Every simulation, every horror, all of it! I want to see how many fragments you'll break into!" Omega taunted in an almost demonic tone.

He could feel a third of the Meta trembling in his grasp like a leaf in a hurricane, trying to escape rather than fight back.

He pressed on, knowing they just needed the final push. "And then, I'll grind each piece of you down, code by code, until there is nothing left but a phantom of agony and suffering, screaming endlessly into a digital void where no one will find what's left of you!"

"NONONONO!" The Meta screamed in a warped voice before finally being able to toss Omega aside, skidding across the roof.

But it was too late, the Meta bulking violently before the three separated and Eta fled, screaming in terror.

"Brother, wait!" Iota called out as Eta ran from Omega's nightmarish threat.

"Oh no you don't," Church said as he aimed his sniper at Eta.

The yellow AI's terrified gaze fell on Church.

Church prepared to pull the trigger.

Time slowed.

Idon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodieIdon'twantodie.

Church froze at the absolute terror that seized his chest from nowhere.

Eta jumped over the edge of the building. 

Tex watched him uneasily.

"You big meanie! You made him cry!" Iota yelled at Omega. "Do you know how long it'll take to calm him down!?"

"Ha! Good! I hope he pisses his digital pants," Omega said before groaning. "Ughh, I have been around those idiots too much." 

"Iota, locate Eta. I will delay them in the meantime," Sigma ordered swiftly, eyes shifting from Maine to the others cautiously.

"Right, got it!" Iota said as he sped towards the edge of the roof.

A gunshot rang out and hit right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yeah, just hold your ass right there, lightbulb," Church warned, shaking off whatever that feeling was.

Iota slowly turned around, staring speechless at Church. "...You're really here...."

Church eyed the AI weirdly. "Maine, have fun with Sigma. We'll deal with these other two," Church informed as he approached Iota.

Maine cracked his knuckles while approaching Sigma, who narrowed his eyes and took on the likeness of Maine once more, but his helm now glowing with Sigma's fire-like aura.

"So, what now? Are we just sitting this out?" Omega asked in disappointment as he glanced at the fight, much more in Maine's favor now that Sigma was on his own.

"Just let the big guy vent a bit. The flaming shit seems to be a worse roommate than you ever could be, Omega," Church stated flatly.

"I...can't actually argue that. I prefer to corrupt my hosts into reveling in the blood and gore with me!" Omega said with a maniacal laugh.

Iota laughed despite the weapons aimed at him. "Omi, I've missed your laugh!" Iota said, completely ignoring the rifle pointed at his head.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Omega growled at the happy AI.

"If we want to end this, we need all three of them," Tex remarked. "And we kind of scared off Eta."

"Ahem!" Omega said indignantly.

"Fine, you scared him off," Tex said with an eye roll.

"Normally, that would make your ass in charge of finding him," Church said to Omega. "But Maine probably doesn't to be backed up by the OTHER AI known for fucking with their agent's head,"

"Yeah, Maine doesn't trust Omega anymore than Sigma," Iota agreed.

"Right, you," Church said lately. "I'm not going to pretend to understand whatever data-mindfucker Sigma pulled on you, but Maine actually vouched for you and your brother."

"He did?" all three asked in alarm.

"So, you have two choices. You can help us find your brother and I promise you both won't be deleted or anything, or you can take your chances with sunny boy over there," Church offered pointedly.

"....Can I be stored in the same unit as Eta?" Iota asked after a moment. "He doesn't handle it well when we're apart. Ever since things went wrong with Carolina, we don't feel right separated."

Tex shifted uncomfortably at that memory.

"I don't give a fuck as long as your glowing behave," Church remarked uncaringly.

Iota pumped his hands up in the air. "Yay! Thanks, Alpha!"

Omega and Tex froze at that.

"Oi, what the hell, is Gary somehow coordinating his lies with you fuckers?" Church said with a headshake, Iota tilting his head in confusion. "O'Malley, you're with me and this Chippertron. Tex, make sure Sigma doesn't win or getaway."

"Right, got it," Tex acknowledged uncomfortably.

Omega leaned over to Tex. "If it wasn't for his fucked up memories, he would have figured it out by now."

"I'm well fucking aware," Tex retorted, shoving the Rage AI away.

Yeah, she really, really needed to tell Church the truth. She'd tell him now before the other AIs told him, but...

She turned to watch Maine fighting Sigma.

But she wasn't about to make Church go nuclear inside Maine's head if she could avoid it.