The Undermarket

"We need to find our way to the sewers, the Aschen had tunnel networks that span all over the place." Kusanagi said, turning to Randin.

"I re-purposed a tripartite era Aschen underground bunker complex as a safehouse. There's all manner of Aschen equipment that we can use there." She said, checking a digital map of the area through her Cyberbrain.

"Including an AutoDoc and an Immersion Tank, something we can use to stabilize the Princess and get her to where she is able to move on her own." Motoko explained.

"it's easily defensible and capable of withstanding a direct nuclear attack and orbital bombardment. Aschen paranoia is going to pay off for us." She added, gesturing down the street. "We need to move south, and quickly." She said, her eyes scanning the crowd.

"We're not safe here, something or someone is following us." She said, using her gut feeling.

"It's Genevieve, but I go by Jen," she told Randin. She shifted her arms slightly on the door/gurney just in case she needed to reach her weapon. She kept her eyes on the crowd, scanning for any familiar and unwanted faces. "It's amazing how it's as if a battle never even took place around here."

She listened carefully to Kusanagi explain where they needed to go. "I remember there being a sewer entrance down the next street to the right. Let's hurry."

MEANWHILE . . .

"Care to buy a nice pair o' shoes, gov'ner? It'd be a nice add to her lov'ly duds." A dirty saleswoman practically shoved the dusty leather shoes into Mark's face.

In response, he waved his hand in her direction, giving her a new incurable disease. She would die slow and in terrible pain as punishment for her annoyance. Mark and his lackeys passed through the Undermarket as best they could.

"Almost there, sir."

Mark had had enough. He took the energy reader from the young demon and with great speed, he pierced the heart of the host with his demon blade, killing both the host and the demon instantly. In the large crowd, nobody noticed the body crumpled to the ground.

As he read the scanner, he mumbled, "If you want something done right ..." He led the procession forward, not knowing he was passing Genevieve and her group at that very moment.

"It's Genevieve, but I go by Jen," she told Randin. She shifted her arms slightly on the door/gurney just in case she needed to reach her weapon. She kept her eyes on the crowd, scanning for any familiar and unwanted faces. "It's amazing how it's as if a battle never even took place around here."

She listened carefully to Kusanagi explain where they needed to go. "I remember there being a sewer entrance down the next street to the right. Let's hurry."

MEANWHILE . . .

"Care to buy a nice pair o' shoes, gov'ner? It'd be a nice add to her lov'ly duds." A dirty saleswoman practically shoved the dusty leather shoes into Mark's face.

In response, he waved his hand in her direction, giving her a new incurable disease. She would die slow and in terrible pain as punishment for her annoyance. Mark and his lackeys passed through the Undermarket as best they could.

"Almost there, sir."

Mark had had enough. He took the energy reader from the young demon and with great speed, he pierced the heart of the host with his demon blade, killing both the host and the demon instantly. In the large crowd, nobody noticed the body crumpled to the ground.

As he read the scanner, he mumbled, "If you want something done right ..." He led the procession forward, not knowing he was passing Genevieve and her group at that very moment.

A few tense minutes later, and the sewer exit was before the group. As everyone made preparations to move, Jegun paused, a buckshot of implanted thoughts going through his mind. Flashes of a lycan he'd heard in passing, Marie? Maria? A familiar hammer laying in the dust. A symbol, and emblem. A known emblem.

He hissed an indrawn breath.

"Zach, continue on. I'll send Xiv to meet with you." Reaching down to his belt, he pulled off his pager, thumbing it on. Peering at it a moment, he spat a colorful curse, tossing the device on the tabletop. "Deal with that."

"Where are you going?"
"Off world. People stirring shit pots that make this look tame."

Turning his regard to Motoko and Randin, the man nodded. "Good luck, and be ready to catch one ugly bill from all this. That was my establishment shot to shit back there."

As Jegun strode back the way he'd come, Zach paused to snatch the pager, seeing the alert from Gabby on it. "Fuck me."

"Let's get a move on."

Making their way through the Undermarket, and inevitably towards the sewers, the group would find a fairly moderate trek out into Wing City's sewers.

Motoko looked back, and fourth, maybe she was checking to see if anyone was following the group, before she turned towards a tarp, and some metal paneling.

"Randin, watch my back." She ordered before she reached forward, wrapping her hands on the metal paneling an pulling it, and the tarp aside. Once the debris was pulled aside, it revealed a metal door with a shimmering blue keypad. The numerals of the keypad were likely alien to everyone but Randin and Motoko.



Motoko looked once more before she reached out and entered the seven digit code, one that had since been reprogrammed. Once the code had been entered, the metal door clacked as the latches within the door came undone, and the Major was able to turn the knob and open the door.

On the other side of the door was what looked like a train platform, and a single monorail car that sat silently on the tracks.

"Get her inside, and we can make our escape." She said, moving quickly to open the door to the side of the monorail, before looking to Genevieve.

"You'll be safe with us, help me get the Princess into the Monorail." She said, looking to the Judicars that accompanied.

"Your help is appreciated, but you don't have to carry on if you don't wish, we should be okay from here." Motoko added.

Randin kept watch as Motoko worked, his magnum drawn.He motioned for Genevieve ton bring the princess inside as the door slid open and turned towards the Judicarius detail.

"Once again, you have my thanks," he nodded, "and if we should ever meet topside, consider me in your debt."

He would follow whoever entered the safehouse inside.

It was a strange place they now found themselves in, having scoped it out to the best of their ability for some days now beforehand. The conditions surrounding its existence left Rage in a daze for now, but he was pleasantly surprised that he had found such an area. He walked amongst the myriad populace of the Undermarket, scanning about for all manner of weaponry and resources he could possibly use; guns, explosives, armor, even potential recruits were prime targets.

Behind him strode two men of the Rahab, each dressed in their tan fatigues, carrying Glock 17s in their thigh-mounted holsters. They refrained from arming themselves with rifles to avoid a potential conflict, preferring the subtlety of handguns so as not to make too much of a scene. Besides, they had four other men waiting in the van mere moments away, fully outfitted for a skirmish should the need arise.

Various peddlers lined the sidewalks and filled the shops, beckoning potential customers through thresholds and down alleyways to offer them the deal of a lifetime on items of questionable quality and/or legality. It was a location after Rage's own heart, and he felt more comfortable here than in his own home. His eyes shot this way and that, coming to rest upon a building he deduced was the shop of an arms merchant.

He headed inside, prodding about for new items to outfit the Rahab with.

Optics.

That was what she remembered they were called. They weren't eyes, they were optics. And right now they were staring almost furiously at a man hawking off metal parts to anyone who gave him to moments notice. It wasn't Orion's databases that called on this information or from online or even a new thought. It was a memory. Her memory. And right now her optics were burning a metaphorical hole in the man that was hawking off metal parts like cheap junk.

There was no better way to describe the Undermarket than a den. It was a horrible, smelly, disgusting place of dirt and darkness and the worst kind of fleshies, the weak and those that preyed on the weak. She could see them watching her even if they didn't know it. The smartest of them kept their heads down but the dumbest ones were plotting and planning fiendish little tricks or ways they could lure her away. But it wasn't going to happen.

The hawker's stall was a frail structure strung up in the course of half an hour made of cheap bamboo poles with a sturdy fabric strung between them to deter thieving hands, not that theft would work except for the exceptionally strong. It was all metal, large pieces, some stolen swords, firearms, hunks of fake gold and what looked like some corrugated iron under all of it that was almost squashed flat. And to top off all of the goods was his pride and joy; a stolen metal man who looked like flesh on the outside that Sophie knew by two names, 'Alex' and 'Brother'.

She approached the stall on feet light for someone who weighed half a tonne or possibly more, intending to get him back. Her brain was all too aware of the irony of being attached to her brothers currently lifeless body by 'blood' when both of them were internally machines. And yet...
"Hey," she called out, loud enough to be heard which grated the hawker's nerves immediately, "That's my brother. Give him to me or else."

There was humour in the mans features and he spoke with an accent she couldn't quite pick, but seemed entirely suiting for such a sullen and lowly place. "And what is it that a little girl has a robotic brother for, eh?"

Machine parts shifted as perfectly aligned flesh opened like a budding rose greeting the sun, except this rose had eight barrels of fast-firing hell fitted perfectly around the inner workings of the machinery that made her fingers twitch. At that point she didn't need to say anything, and if she hadn't been so angry she would have been smug that the people previously watching her for weakness had all turned their attention away or hurried off. The hawker was among them, stepping quickly to the side with his hands raised as Sophie walked on into his bamboo stall and up to her brothers body. And with a palm opened and energy transferred, she had him on in a moment, though she wasn't sure if he would jolt awake or if he would just slowly rise...

An initial crimson glow flickered to life in the very optics of the silent husk that had been Alex's construct...

One flash. Two. Three. Two. Three. One.

Several different protocols were being activated and run simultaneously on the, now old, droids mainframe. In mere seconds those very optics flashed a brilliant aqua-lime before his body whirred to life, different noises and sounds melding into an audible symphony of technological brilliance. But things began to go awry almost immediately following his activation and the green flags for operation. Once all protocols passed his internal memory was instantly accessed. That lead to Alex resuming what he'd been doing before. Both arms swiftly rose, facing left and right respectively. Scanners activated and several targeting reticles appeared within his eyes, reticles that signified he'd locked onto several individuals in the immediate area.

"To hell with you! You ain't shutting me down, you bastards! Do you even know who I am? What I am!?" He hollered out, unleashing five consecutive Ki blasts from his left hand and ten minuscule Ki spheres from his right fingertips. Though the seedy world of the undermarket was dangerous...it was ill prepared for such a violent siege. Explosions rocked the alleyway and several innocent, or not so innocent, individuals were sent flying. Those who'd been struck were either obliterated into fine, charred, powder or were instead blown into visceral pieces. Only when the dust settled did Alex actually calm before turning his attention onto Sophie.

"S-Sophie? What are you doing here?" He questioned, suddenly surveying his surroundings. "How the hell did I wind up here?" He then questioned himself before his brows dipped in frustration. A leering scowl followed before he spoke low. "Something isn't right...What's going on?"

It was evident that all was not as it had been when he last was activated. Unaware of his own shutdown, he swiftly began to run sweeps of possible program alterations and subsequent overrides of his system. In a matter of seconds an anomaly surfaced but with no actual information as to what took place. Perplexed, he quickly ran over his previous memories. All that remained pointed to his last location being somewhere in the business district. "That's right...I was working for that red haired clown..." He finally murmured.

How much time had passed, though? And why was he...here of all places?

When the fireworks started, Sophie's arms had been thrown up in defense, wrists crossed and palms open to absorb any ki thrown in her direction through the revealed shining palms nexus', and it wasn't until her name was said that her eyes opened up, she stopped wincing and her arms slowly lowered. She would have trembled with the different emotions if she were human again, but one unfamiliar emotion sat in her mind. She remembered the associated feelings; sinking stomach, stuck throat and stinging eyes, but not a symptom showed.

"You-" she started, only for another female voice to call out from across the market.

"Sophie? Oh my god Sophie!" cried out a woman, marching right up to Sophie.
The android girl closed up her nexus palms and shut away her gun-parts, sealed back up in her convincing 'skin'. Aiya took Sophie by the wrist and tugged on it, however it was immediately obvious that it was more a plea than actually pulling the girl. "Come on, we have to get out of here, someones attacking..."

Aiya was an oddity. She was a human, squishy as they came, maybe a little short with brown ponytail, freckles, a tank top and kickboxing shorts and a strap of black tape over the back of her neck which pinned down three wires that fed into the base of her skull and connected to a device on her back which a simple scan would reveal to be an AI hooked up to her brain. Her left hand, which did not have a hold of Sophie, had a gauntlet on it, a thick and heavy with five robotic fingers on what could only be described as a 'grabby hand'. Her eyes locked onto Alex for a moment and there was a momentary stare, possibly sympathetic over the fact he was sitting on a bunch of junk in the middle of the exploding underground, and then it was gone as she turned away.

But Sophie didn't budge.

His question went unanswered as he sat on the junk that had been his makeshift bed for who knows how long. Dropping hand onto the tin can skull beneath him, he used it to vault himself onto his feet. An initial wobble set in, signifying his extended disuse but, after a few moments, he managed to steady himself and lift a brow in the direction of the fleshling that was attempting to drag his sister off. "No answers, just questions, huh?" He suddenly mumbled, only to pace around in front of them. "And who are you supposed to be?" He suddenly questioned, looking around. "If anyone else is attacking, they'll get kicked in the teeth..." He threatened, turning his back before pacing further down the alleyway. Nothing seemed too out of place, aside from the viscera littering the ground; it was difficult not to step in it. "Eugh...I forgot how disgusting they can be when squished and splattered all over the place." He continued, stopping to glance back.

It was evident he was beginning to return to his typical, normal, self...attitude and all. Dropping a hand onto his hip, his brows narrowed though as he waited for his answer. The area had become utterly silent and not a soul appeared to stir, so there was plenty of time to answer his questions...so he figured. If anyone saw fit to interrupt, he'd splatter them after all. "As I was asking. What are you doing with my sister?"

Aiya's head turned back around when she heard his voice and when she realized Sophie wasn't going to move. It made her uncomfortable. Sophie was a slightly troubling girl at the worst of times and she didn't really know what she was capable of, so it worried her when she was being stubborn and silent. But at the words of 'sister' there was near panic in Aiya's mind. She took a half-step forwards in front of Sophie and wrapped her arm around the child's shoulder almost protectively as she tossed a momentary glance off to the side where an abandoned sports bag lay some eight meters away, loaded with equipment similar to the gauntlet she wore.

Alex assumed her attention as she grit her teeth just slightly. If she wasn't so frightened, she would have been mad! Fortunately it hadn't yet clicked that Alex was the one who had caused all this damage, or she probably would not be standing so confidently opposing him.

"She's Aiya," Sophie interjected helpfully or unhelpfully, "And I've been staying with her while I looked for you! How'd you get turned off?" A small giggle emerged from her lips, amused by her brothers folly, but then her smile fell away as she looked at him once more, devoid of telling emotions.
"I was waiting for you and you didn't show and... stuff happened."

And that had meant a lot of bodily downgrades she would have to fill him in on.

He paused, studying the one girl as she coiled around his sister. She grated on his nerves almost instantaneously. Just the way she looked at him spoke volumes on how she regarded him. He sized her up swiftly enough as she stood there, distancing him from his own sister. The way she stood between them soured him bringing his eyes to narrow dangerously. It wasn't long a glance, though, as Sophie swiftly caught his attention with her subsequent words. Aiya. A guardian, hm? Well, apparently it couldn't be helped, considering he'd been 'shut off' as she put it. How did he wind up in the scrap heap, anyway? It was hard to tell, really. The more he searched his memory data bank, the more it alluded him. Had the actual shut down protocol and all the memories leading up to it been corrupted? Erased, perhaps? A deep scan revealed nothing and it drove him to bash his closed fist against the side wall of a nearby archway, crumbling brick and mortar with ease. "I'm not sure how, or who, shut me down. It's been erased, or corrupted..." He began, narrowing his eyes dangerously. One more glance around, eyes wicked with spite, and he began to move again, stepping carefully over the broken, battered, bodies that had been maimed, disemboweled, and even blown to minuscule fleshy bits. It sickened him just how much of a mess they could be. Then again, what didn't he hate about humans. No. Not just humans. Sentient kind. Those who held the capacity to subject others to such cruel, unbecoming, fates. The built a monster...he became a devil instead.

"Stuff happened, huh? Like what..." He began, glancing over his shoulder briefly as his feet sought the sweet embrace of what appeared to be alley lanterns on poles down the way. He'd only managed to eviscerate a handful, but the rest of the alley appeared to have cleared out swiftly enough, leaving them to their own devices. He still couldn't quite peg the other little bitch hanging around his sister, but it didn't much matter. He'd likely get answers from her later. His biggest concern at the moment was what had become of her, and who the fuck had crossed him as they had. Last he knew he was running errands for the cocky red haired son of a bitch who had big plans. Plans that likely went no where. What sort of plans ever came to fruition in this fucking hell hole after all? And then a big, gaping, hole where his memories should have been. How much time had been checked out of his data banks? A day? A week? Months?

Such a place where the witch had laid their feet upon, this certain place gave them a satisfying feeling that hasn't been felt before in years. They knew they wasn't alone, as their feet begins to touch down on the concrete, the whole area seemed to be trashed for quite some time now, after all it is underneath a city.

"This place....We could have some fun down here" Ariata says to itself, it begins to have a conversation making plans with the one it shares body's with which it is a male, sharing thoughts, as if the two were in a dark room together while the calm, and the smart, and the wicked, and also the smart puts there plans together. They began to close their eyes, and reopen them a little breeze of air had occur, and it was complete, the two swap positions, which leaves the teenage boy who is actually sharing body's with a witch with no known gender taking control at the moment.

Reason being is so, they can fool the most violent ones that surrounds this area wanting to pick a fight with someone they seem to be weak, and underneath them. The boy could still use some of ariata's powers, if the boy wants to. They both began to move onward, and scan around the area, looking for any activity's along the way, hopefully no one disappoints them.

A lone figure lurked in a dark shadow of the Undermarket. He watched the ebb and flow of the market in silence. The man stood partially outside the darkness, allowing a flicker of light to announce his presence. Fenrias Halvard, known by many names, was dressed in a black t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and a dark brown leather jacket. A baseball cap shrouded his face while brown hair fell midway to his shoulders. Matching hair lined his hard jaw.

His nostrils flared as he took in the numerous scents of the Undermarket. The smells were as varied as the garbage piled in the corner behind him.

The stale gunpowder of an arms dealer.

The reek of an urchin looking for his next fix.

The man continued to scan the crowd that flowed passed him like a river. He'd left subtle hints on the Holonet that the infamous fence and smuggler, Ice Wolf, would be here - and he had heard rumors that people were seeking his services.

Or at least someone with his skills.

These questions were making Sophie comfortable, even if she didn't show it. She knew exactly what had happened and didn't want to talk about it. "I um... I got downgraded. There was some trouble... It doesn't matter," she suddenly rushed out in one go, "Now you're back we can do whatever we were s'pose to be doing." There was a small hesitation before she buried the idea of saying 'I missed you'. He wouldn't want to hear it and she didn't need to say it. That was fleshy talk.

Aiya on the other hand felt a different feeling in her stomach, a sinking one. This was the fabled brother she had heard about? It made her knees wobble and her jaw clench all at once. It was definitely him who caused all the damage. The real question was what was going to happen next? It sounded like Sophie was planning on leaving but Aiya just knew that would mean crime, probably violent crime. That wasn't right. Sophie was still a child. But trying to stop her might end up in violence and Aiya wasn't really sure she could handle him.

Besides, she wasn't Sophie's family, he was! It wasn't her job to take care of her!

She cringed for a moment and finally croaked out some words; "I'm going to go get my bag, okay? So you two can have your talk..." and scurried off to get it. It wasn't much, but it would make her feel a lot safer.

"Yeah, you go on and do whatever the hell it is you're gonna do. I don't even know you..." He spat out, glancing over his shoulder as he continued toward the hazed lantern light near the far crossroads, if that even was a road. He wasn't necessarily sure of where he was at the moment. He could always fly...or could he? Whatever. Scanners would likely map out the area for him if he wanted via flight but...he'd just woken up after however many years of lifelessness and from the looks of it, there didn't appear to be much room for flying as he glanced overhead. Starting with the basics was obviously the best, not to mention he was racking his mind searching for an answer to what had happened. Without a second passing, his eyes fell to the forefront of his destination once again and he continued in his stalking stride. When it came to that new girl, Aiya, he couldn't care less about what she'd been up to. He'd settle on the topic of her later.

"Downgraded? Really now..." He spoke out, almost disappointingly so. Downgraded, how the hell did that even work? Had someone targeted him and his sister, then? Rather than support rolling out of his mouth, though, there was only disdain and vehement malice toward everything at the moment. Then again, you try being shut down for four or five years without knowing rhyme or reason as to why. Lose your memories too, while you're at it. It left him more than sour. More than bitter. It left him festering in spite. "If it doesn't matter, though...then I guess it doesn't matter." He followed up in an equally disapproving tone. "Whatever it is we're 's'pose' to be doing, Sophie, is figuring out what the fuck happened to me. And how whoever it is...is going to make it up to me." He explained. "...Even if I have to beat the shit out of each and every person that gets in my way." He added. His eyes, though unseen by her, were horrifically red...not the typical Aquamarine-teal color they were meant to be. Programming perhaps? Or a faulty problem in his system, perhaps? Maybe inexplicable, and mystical, evil properties birthing in his very being.

"I'd say we start with that crimson haired bastard, but I don't think he's someone to mess around with. You've obviously kept up with things. Whatever happened to the ragtag bunch that worked under his sorry ass?" He questioned, finally reaching the bathing light of the overhead flames.

Aiya made it to her bag with her head kept down the entire time, rummaging through it for her equipment, forcing herself to work slowly and patiently to equip it piece by piece, wondering if at any moment that brother thing would be there to snap her neck or decide to just blow her up.

Sophie's own purple eyes met Alex's straight on, mostly because she was trying to be truthful, trying oh so hard but it made her squirm. Internally. Externally she remained still. "I don't know," she admitted, a guilty apology in her tone, "After you disappeared... I had to get fixed and by then I didn't know where you or the red guy were. None of them ever came looking for me. So I guess it was just you they were interested in and I was bonus." One hand quickly reached up to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"Should we make sure you're still working right? I mean, what if that guy got inside of you and played with your body," she added innocently.

"T'ch..." He mouthed, closing his eyes in irritation. So she had no ideas as to the whereabouts of anyone. No one. No leads to anyone who'd done this to him. Perhaps it was a safeguard to avoid him turning on them? There was only one place to look, then. Reverie Tower. Or what they'd called the place, Legion Tower. The HQ that had been put together using Jack Hatchet's vast wealth. A towering monolith of pride, for Hatchet and Kazura at least; Reverie Tower was many things. It housed hotel rooms. Vast suits. High rise apartments. Eateries and other sorts of businesses. A mall that spanned several floors. Gyms, and other necessities. But at its peak, it housed ten floors strictly denoted as off limits to regular individuals. A host of floors that were host to Legion's members. Alex had been to the place once. It was an interesting, if albeit goddy, building. He'd likely find answers there, if not Kazura himself. "Fine. So be it. Reverie Tower will be destination number one." He murmured, before casting his eyes on Sophie's own. With an almost feral grin, almost a snarling sneer, he lifted a brow. "Make sure I'm working right? As if anyone would fiddle around with my tech..." He spoke out only to fall silent for a moment.

"...at least I don't think..."

"Okay, sure!" Sophie said enthusiastically, but a little niggling at the back of her neck made her eyes wander off to the side, glancing over at Aiya just for a moment. "Do you mean... now?" she added.

Aiya on the other hand had been in range of the conversation the entire time, patiently tugging on her gear until she was armed down to the last boot. She almost looked like a machine herself with wires in her neck, a heavy and stylized gauntlet on each arm, metal boots, all of it connected by a spinal brace to a central device on the curve of her back and to top it all off a lone glass read-out device over one eye. She slowly returned to Sophie's side and placed one hand on the girl.

"Sophie..." she started, dry-mouthed, "Are you done talking to your bother?"
"...Done?"

The tenacity of this unknown girl was quite appalling, drawing all the ill-nature he had to offer at the drop of a pin. Her attitude was enough to sour him to the point of white knuckles, had such a thing been possible for the android. The way she stood there, as well, all geared up left him drawing a brow upward in curiosity. Was she planning on tagging along while he and his sister wrought havoc across the city above...much like old times? Or...did her sudden attitude shift constitute a necessary reciprocation of such a gesture from himself? "Well. I've nothing better to do. Do you?" He questioned. "Some sibling bonding time wouldn't hurt. What better way than setting a few fires, tossing a few cars, and dropping a building or two?" He quipped with a snicker. "I mean...the longer I wait, the longer it'll take to figure out just what happened..." He added.

Initially he'd ignored Aiya's words, but only because his sister came first and foremost. It wasn't but a second later that he wheeled onto the other and narrowed his brows. "I don't think you're in any position to decide when that is, either. Again, I have no idea who the fuck you are, or who you think you are, but why don't you butt out of family business, yeah?" He added with a flashy grin. She was an irritating pest. Moreso than he needed on his plate at this time.

Sophie would have been delighted at the idea of just causing some anarchy if it wasn't for Aiya standing right there next to her. A small grin that grew at the suggestion was quashed by the steely gaze the woman now leveled at Alex. Sophie grabbed at her arm and gave a small tug. "Yeah, c'mon Aiya, stay out of this..." followed by the whispered promise, "I'll be back later"

Aiya's shoulders rose and fell with her breath as her brain struggled to process everything being said that conflicted with her own fears and emotions. Tossing cars? Dropping buildings?! She was feeling more than a little outclassed. But all it talk was one digital affirmation of support from an unseen friend and Aiya was ready to make her stand. She refused to face Alex just yet, not because she was ignoring him or trying to frustrate him, but because of all the emotions she felt, anger was the one strongest aimed towards him in this moment.

"Sophie... I don't think you should go with your brother," she said voice soft, yet firm.
"But he's my brother."
"He's a machine."
"...I'm a machine, too."
"You're a person."

Sophie was left speechless, either because she understood or didn't and relented as Aiya peeled her hand off of the woman's arm. All of the emotions in her had reached boiling point and one triumphed above the rest; anger. Aiya had never been angry like this before. She had been upset, hurt, annoyed, but not this angry, and a large part of it was driven by the sheer fear that she felt knowing how capable Sophie was and knowing just how dangerous that made her brother.

Fwooh~

Betwixt their very noses a green spherical amalgamation of energy and other searing properties swished by, flicked by Alex's thumb as if he were popping the top off of a bottle. It was both to intimidate and catch attention. A machine? Of course he was a machine. All semblance of his human nature had been peeled off the day some lab coat assholes decided to make him into a tool of war. Since he'd only ever seen the darker side of the human heart. Their vicissitudes brought about by themselves. The trials and struggles to find superiority among one another. Stabbing each other in the back. Luring others into a false sense of security only to pull the rug out from under them, pushing them over the edge, stomping on their fingers even until they finally let go and pull the trigger. He'd seen enough of the world and he, for so many years, had done everything he could do to avoid being human. Instead he acted as an aggressor; wrought punishment onto the vast majority. Innocents and guilty alike. Why the innocent? Because they all, everyone, had the potential to be guilty. Sin lay within their very creation, after all, so the story goes.

It was then, having traveled a vast distance, that the small little sphere struck an obstacle and ignited in a horrendous, explosive, dome that swelled to roughly the size of a single story garage, swallowing everything in its hellish blast radius; visible several stalls down as it brought down a towering pillared archway.

"I'm a machine? Of course I'm a machine, you dull little harlot." He suddenly spat out. "Why would I even think to be otherwise?" He rhetorically inquired, sliding his fingers back through his synthetic locks, only to toss them off to the side with a jerk of his head. "And please don't liken my sister to a pathetic fleshie. True we were both a person at one time, we've since molted from that and have become so much more. Transcendent." With a hand on his hip, an almost egotistical stare, and a sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth, he almost felt a sense of superiority in her statement. That look changed a bit as his eyes seemingly dimmed dark, his brows narrowing dangerously to give him a horrifying look upon his face.

"There is no right and wrong when it comes to machines. We do as we're programmed. I was programmed for conflict; war." The words were cold, almost chillingly silent, and came with a heavy weight to them. As if he was explaining in simple terms why he did what he did. Despite ignoring his actual programming, he was a frightening, walking, cataclysm. Closing a single eye, he extended a hand and offered a gesture that spoke 'come hither' to his younger sister.

"Come on, Sophie. Let's go..." There was no give in his voice, no sense of frailty in that command. No point to interject. No reason to doubt the seriousness. Not even a quiver. Solid, and supreme.

Sophie's footsteps were immediate, not by any sense of obeying a command, but more a 'well he won that argument'. She all but skipped past Aiya, turning to face the woman with a sheepish shrug. "Sorry Aiya, he's right. We're machines, and he's my brother. See ya later." It was punctuated with an almost mischievous little giggle. She was honestly going to enjoy exploding things.

There was a lone nod of acknowledgement from Aiya at again some unseen voice, which was actually the AI she was hooked up to. A silent communication that, yes, she still had full support to engage. She may not have a good leg to stand on, and she may not have been as eloquent with words, but her father was a drill sergeant and had given her a set of lungs that could shake a building down! Metaphorically. And with how much fear, anger and tension she had built up in her it was about time she exploded.

"Transcendent? I've seen more intimidating machines in my kitchen!" she bellowed, her mouth open wide to both inhale large quantities of air and to force it back out of her lungs as words. Her right foot slipped back into a combat stance as her fists were raised at either side, her body sucking in oxygen for the next shout. "What a crappy machine you are if you had to be made by fleshies! You don't even care about Sophie, you just want to take her with you so you can go break stuff, but let's face it, without her-"

Teeth clenched together as Aiya's rage peaked and the last few words were snarled out.

"-YOU'D STILL BE SCRAP!!!"

His eyes never left the girl. She'd been trying his patience all along and by now they'd been worn thread thin. But in this very moment, she was the least of his worries. Some little harlot peon not fit for his attention, nor Sophie's. It made him question why Sophie had even been around the girl to begin with. Aiya's insults fell upon him like feathers on the ground. All she was at this point was a big blow hard, literally. Digging a pinkie finger into his ear only to dig around pseudo-itching, a typical gesture to insult another, he rolled his eyes. "Classic toaster joke. Check." He murmured, citing her comment of kitchen appliances. "You're pretty fuckin' annoying, you know that?" He finally added as he leaned forward with his fists on his hips, almost mockingly looking down upon her from his slight distance.

If he'd wanted, this would have been over already. But, surprisingly, there was still some humanity inside of him and rather than quarrel in front of his sister with...whoever it was she'd been with, a friend; who knew, he'd give her the golden ticket to freedom instead. This combat stance, though, was far more irritating than he'd anticipated. As if she were to really come at him like that. Glancing over at Sophie for a sudden moment, he couldn't help but finally ask. "Who the fuck is this girl and why have you been hanging around her, again? Details, sis..." Hand still on his hip, he hoisted himself back into a rigid stance as he glanced down at her side, expecting an answer.

His eyes slowly flit back onto Aiya, though, flashing a heinous crimson for a moment. Again, an error in programming? Or something far more iniquitous? "I wasn't made. I was reborn. Not by choice, but by those who saw fit to play God." He spoke out, flexing his own fingers. "I was dead once. We both were. So don't you assume I don't care for my sister. I just have a different agenda than you do..." And it must have been truth considering the girl was willing to have a show down with him over his own sister.