Traitor's Legacy: The Claughter Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Rex

            Dark Viper’s free hand surged with red electrical Energies and before Jaden or Vader could react, Viper casted Dark Lightning, throwing a stream of red lightning towards Vader. The spell electrocuted the robot and short-circuited his systems, disabling him.

            “Vader!” Jaden screamed as she watched it all happen in a split second. Viper ceased his casting and turned to Jaden. He smirked, his green glowing eyes brightening, before he said, “Now that he’s out of the way, the VX Synthetics are mine to control. And as for you, you’re next.”

            Jaden turned to Viper, her brow lowered and her teeth bore in anger. She replied, “I’ll make sure you die before I let any of Vader’s people fall under your control!”

            “Well come on then? What are you waiting for?” Viper said as he taunted her with a gesture of his finger. Infuriated, Jaden rushed in and brought down her red glowing upon him. Viper parried it and used his Kinetic Energies to force her back. However, she shielded herself with her arms and stood her ground, resisting the push. She then made multiple strikes, all of which were blocked by Viper without any seeming effort.

            After several exerting strikes, Viper kicked Jaden in her belly, staggering her, before punching her hard right at her nose, causing her to recoil in pain. Her hands held her nose in pain and as she pulled back her hands in an attempt to resist, she saw red liquid smudged on her hands. Her nose was bleeding.

            Turning back to Viper, she brought up her free hand and grabbed his feet as he attempted a high kick. She shoved his feet aside and attempted her own kick, but it stroked the air as Viper bent down to dodge it. Capitalizing, Viper swept his leg across Jaden’s, knocking her down onto her back. He jumped up and brought his sword down upon Jaden but she rolled out of the way, barely saving herself from a fatal stab.

            Jaden got back onto her feet and started to cast a Dark Lightning spell. She threw the red stream of electricity at Viper but he raised a magical shield, similar to the one that Father Heyman used, effectively blocking the spell. The duo continued to cast their spells, intensifying them in an attempt to overcome the other.

            Eventually, Viper’s shield began to glow to the point of blinding brightness. The shield then detonated, knocking Jaden back and forcing her to cease her spell casting. Viper, unaffected by the explosion, marched through the smoke and grabbed Jaden by her throat, strangling her as she gasped for air and forcing her down onto her knees. Jaden dropped her katana while her hands held on to Viper’s wrist, trying to pull it off her neck. Viper looked down upon his prey with a bestial look on his eyes, focused and unblinking. He tightened his grip and Jaden, reenacting her first encounter with him, took off her blindfold in an attempt to blind him.

            However, Viper looked away while saying, “You won’t get me with that this time!” He then raised her off her knees and began punching her abdomen multiple times with his other hand while still looking away. He then kicked her side hard before tossing her over and away from him, slamming her onto the sandy ground with a loud thud. Jaden rolled around the ground before recovering onto her knee, holding on to her stomach which Viper has been directing all his attacks towards. Viper then looked at Jaden and smiled at his now unarmed opponent.

            Jaden looked around, trying to find a weapon before Viper could take advantage. Her katana was too far from her and she would have to get past Viper before she could get it. Eventually, she spotted a deactivated Vader behind her and ran towards him. She grabbed his rifle from his limp arms and aimed at Viper. Her new weapon did little to intimidate Viper, however.

            “I never saw you use a gun before. Do you know how to use one?” Viper asked. Although she hated to admit it, Viper was right. She looked down at the rifle, helpless and unsure on how to shoot with it. Viper then dashed towards her and attempted to strike her down but Jaden brought up the rifle and blocked the attack. She pushed the sword back and swung the rifle’s butt, whacking him across his face. That was when she realized that despite the rifle’s heavy weight, she can utilize it like a melee weapon.

            Viper rubbed his chin before tilting his head, trying to crack his neck. He then looked at Jaden, his brow lowering and his teeth bare in anger. He attempted another strike but Jaden rolled past him and smacked his back with the rifle. Taking advantage, she tossed the rifle away and sprinted for her katana. She picked it up, this time enchanting it with Light Energies, and turned back to Viper, who just recovered from her previous attack.

            Suddenly, gun fire was heard coming from behind her and bullets flew past her. Viper dodged some of the shots, which seemed to be intended for him. Jaden turned around and saw Jaina and Xiara, running towards her with their guns. They continued firing, careful not to shoot Jaden who was in between them and Viper.

            In retaliation, Viper charged his free hand with Dark Energies before tossing, what seemed to be red tentacles, at the duo. The tentacles wrapped the duo, pinning their arms down and disarming them. Another set of tentacles wrapped their ankles together, forcing them down onto the ground. Jaina and Xiara struggled as they tried to free themselves while Jaden stood in awe at the sight of the spell. She then turned back to where Viper was but he was missing.

            Jaden looked around, trying to find him while her heart raced, fearful of what Viper was planning to do. Regardless, Jaina’s screams for help forced her to focus on freeing them. She ran towards the helpless duo and tried to pull the sticky red glowing tentacle off them. Realizing that the tentacle was too strong for just one hand, she dropped her katana and used both her hands to pull it off.

            Suddenly, a pair of tentacles wrapped her wrists and pulled them back. It pulled her down onto the ground while dragged her away from Jaina and Xiara. Jaden thrashed around, trying to free herself but without her katana, she was as helpless as Jaina and Xiara. Eventually, the tentacle pulled her up along one of the tall VX Synthetic structures, leaving her suspended in midair by her wrists. She then looked up to see Viper, standing on top of the structure while casting the Dark Tentacles that first caught her wrists.

            He used Jaina and Xiara as a trap to disarm and distract Jaden.

            He released his end of the tentacles and used its stickiness to stick it onto the roof of the structure. He jumped off the top and landed right before Jaden, who was still swinging her legs and body around and trying to free herself. Now that his prey was helpless, Viper turned to look at Jaden, thinking about what he wanted to do with her. With his katana still held, he pointed the blade towards Jaden’s belly, forcing her to stop struggling as she may get stabbed. He pulled the blade back and was prepared to finish her off. Jaden’s heart raced faster than before and she closed her eyes, ready for her coming demise.

            Suddenly, Jaden heard Viper, growling and moaning. She opened her eyes to see him dropping his katana and placing both his hands onto his head, as if he was having a headache. His breaths were fast and his legs began to weaken, causing him to lose balance. He then looked into the sky while his hands lowered down onto his face as he sighed. His eyes were closed and his hands eventually dropped to his sides.  He then began shaking his head side to side, as if he was possessed. The sight disgusted Jaden as Dark Viper seemed to have lost his mind.

            His shaking ceased when he saw Vader’s rifle on the floor, the same rifle which Jaden used against him. He turned back to Jaden and grinned, making it clear what he intended to do. He fetched the rifle and held it as he looked upon the helpless woman. Jaden could do nothing but watch, unable to defend herself.

            Suddenly, Viper pulled back the rifle and forced the butt upon Jaden’s injured abdomen, causing her to scream from the excruciating pain. Her movements slowed and her legs went limp. Not satisfied, Viper swung again, aiming for the belly which he had targeted throughout the encounter. Jaden shrieked in pain and before she could finish, Viper swung again and again. Eventually, she no longer had the energy to scream and her whole body went limp. Jaina and Xiara merely watched in horror as Viper beat Jaden with the rifle like a piñata.

            Realizing that Jaden was no longer able to withstand the pain, he dropped the rifle and stared at the limp Jaden. He moved closer towards Jaden, getting a closer view. He reached out for her chin and brought up her face, wanting to see the weakened expression. Her eye glow was no longer intensifying enough to blind him and her nose was barely breathing in air.

            He then spoke to her face to face, “You may have survived all of our encounters but understand that you’re nothing but an escaped prey in those situations. No matter where you decide to run to, I will find you and now that I got you where I want you, it is time I send you back to your wretched family.”

            He shoved her face away before turning back to retrieve his katana. He turned to Jaden while rubbing the blade but stood in shock as he saw Jaden, looking at him and no longer limp. She managed, “I am…not dead yet!” Viper smiled and replied, “No you’re not…but you’re not exactly free either.”

            He approached Jaden with the sword and attempted to stab her. However, gunfire was heard and bullet knocked the katana off his hand. He turned to the gunfire and saw a robed VX Synthetic, descending from the sky with a pistol on his right hand. As the robot landed on the ground, it charged up a Dark Lightning spell and cast it towards Viper, forcing him to dodge away.

            “Rex!” Viper shouted. “You useless piece of machinery!”

            “Useless am I?” Rex replied. “Name me one other thing which is functional for as long as I am. It certainly isn’t you.”

            Rex then charged his hand with fire, casting a Fire spell. He threw a massive fireball at Viper, forcing him to retrieve his katana and subsequently destroying the fireball with a huge slice.

            “Stay away from the human, Dark Viper, or I will be forced to destroy you.”

            “I am not afraid of you Rex. You should be able to sense that.”

            “You should know better than to challenge me in my territory.”

            “And you should know better than to anger me or that imbecile, Iblisan Alkaidus.”

            “True, you two have quite the reputation…but the Liberator Alliance is quite a force to be reckoned with, isn’t it?” Rex said. “They got a lot of armies now preparing for the coming war, which I predict would be the shortest one in history.”

            “You’re alluding to something…”

            “Indeed I am. Do not give me reason to join them. Those who have faced the wrath of my people are long dead. Do you wish to join them?”

            Viper remained silent, his eyes looking back at forth between Rex and Jaden, who was still suspended in midair while struggling to breath. His eyes were half-closed and his teeth was exposed, clearly frustrated at his situation. Eventually, dark red energies slowly enveloped his body. He began to fade away as the energies began to overwhelm him.

            “You’re making a big mistake Rex.” Viper said before he vanished along with the energies. Without him keeping concentration on his spells, Jaina and Xiara were free of their restraints while Jaden was freed from the tentacles, causing her to drop onto the ground. She lay supine while Jaina and Xiara ran towards her to check on her condition.

            “Jaden! Jaden, you alright?” Jaina asked as she lay Jaden’s head on her hand.

            Jaden coughed out blood before replying, “I’m…alright.”

            “No you’re not. You need help.” Xiara retorted.

            “Her condition is near critical. She needs medical attention. Take her back to my hut while I reactivate Vader. The virus still needs to be dealt with.” Rex told them.

            Agreeing with Rex, Jaina and Xiara carried Jaden Highland together, realizing that she was very heavy. They were about to leave the area and move through the desert before Rex stopped them.

            “Are you two really going to travel the red wasteland to my hut? She would be dead by the time you arrived. Here, let me open a portal.”

            Rex charged up a purplish energy with both his hands, casting a spell which opened an oval portal in front of him. The duo saw the familiar sight of Rex’s hut on the other side and knew that the portal would lead to his hut directly.

            “There. Now bring her into my hut and place her on the floor. At least by going through my portal, you would avoid detection from my people, still infected by the virus.” Rex added.

            Jaina and Xiara nodded and complied, carrying their friend into the portal.

*     *     *

            The heat of the planet and the dusty floor began to burn her skin as her nerves began to function. The very soft wind brushed past her hair and Jaden’s eye began to open as she regained consciousness. She dazed mind began to focus and her sight was recovering, revealing the blue ceiling of a hut. That was when she realized that she was without her blindfold. She cursed the blue sight in her mind, hating the fact that that would be the only color she would ever see without her blindfold on.

            “Jaden! You’re awake!” a familiar voice said. Jaden turned to the voice to see Jaina, kneeling next to her with a beaming smile while Xiara stood behind her.

            “Jaina…how long was I out?” Jaden asked.

            “About an hour. You had us worried.”

            As Jaden attempted to sit up, pain began to surge from her stomach, causing her to growl in pain as she held on to the painful area.

            “Whoa, relax there Jaden. Your belly took quite a lot of hit from Viper. Give it a rest.” Xiara told her. Complying with Xiara, Jaden laid back down.

            “Where’s Vader?” Jaden asked.

            “He’s fine. The electrocution merely shuts him down and barely damaged his systems. He’s currently recharging.” a robotic voice spoke, coming from opposite of where Jaden was facing. She turned to the voice to see Rex, dressed in a wizard robe, standing before her and looking down at her.

            “I believe this belongs to you.” Rex said as he returned Jaden’s blindfold to her. Gleeful to see it, she took it and began to wear it back.

            “Rex? Did Vader managed to…” Jaden asked before being interrupted.

            “Yes he did human. My people are alright now, although I am sadden by the loss of an entire settlement. You were there, were you not?”

            “Yes. Sorry but we had to defend ourselves. In fact, Vader ordered us to destroy them.”

            “There is no need to apologize. You did what you had to do and now, my people have a newer perspective of morality. I guess I should thank you and your followers for your role in this.”

            “Hey, Vader’s a friend. He helped us a lot and now, we’re returning the favor.”

            “Friend?” Rex said, remaining silent afterwards, as if he was surprised to hear Jaden say such a word. “Never heard a human call a VX Synthetic a friend in a very long time.”

            “You were friends with your creator, Lisa, were you not?” Jaina asked.

            “Indeed. We were inseparable. Not even her adoptive father could break us apart.”

            “Adoptive?” Jaden asked.

            “Yes. Adoptive. She lost her parents to a fire. Raymond Hickenbottom was a firefighter. It was her relationship with her father that first motivated her to create me. She realized that you do not need to be related to another to be a family. She was like my sister and I her brother.”

            “You know Rex, to be frank…” Jaden said, remaining silent for a while before continuing, “…Vader kind of feels like a father to me.”

            “How so? According to his logs, you know him only for a few weeks.”

            “I never knew my father. He died before I was born.” Jaden explained. “Throughout my childhood, I had to fend for myself whenever I travel out of my house, even if I had an adult accompanying me. When I met Vader, he kept talking about his mission to keep me safe. He did his job fairly well. He cared for safety and felt stressed whenever I was not around him. I felt safe enough that even while I was captured, I always knew he will be there for me. In fact, it was Vader who first pinpointed my location during my capture.”

            Rex remained quiet as he listened, apparently astonished at Jaden’s feelings for the VX Synthetic who have been accompanying her throughout her travels.

            “Seems like the old Qurrentine curse is dying Rex. Jaden and Vader’s friendship are the very proof to show that your kind can now coexist with her kind.” Xiara commented.

            “True enough.” Rex replied. “Once Vader reactivates, I wish to speak with him on this matter. Perhaps the threats I gave to Viper may be genuine after all.”

            “Wait, did you mean what you said to Viper? Were you really going to join the Liberator Alliance?” Xiara queried.

            “Initially, no. I lied to him just so that he would not kill Jaden Highland. However…”

            “Rex, my people are endangered. We could really us your help. Iblisan, the dark angels and his cult are still a huge force and your help would prove invaluable. Besides, Viper almost enslaved your people.” Jaden pleaded.

            “If I help you, what’s stopping you humans from enslaving my people again?”

            “Rex, I swear, the humans that enslaved your kind in the past are long dead and their children have learned from their sins. We are not the same monsters you knew from before.”

            “You can count Jaden as the prime example. Her friendship with Vader pretty much proves it.” Xiara added, supporting Jaden.

            “They’re right.” Another robotic voice said, coming from behind Rex. Everyone in the hut turned to the voice to see Vader, reactivated and entering the tent.

            “Vader! You’re alright.” Jaden exclaimed.

            “My systems function as per normal, excluding the improvements gained from the modified virus.” Vader reassured. “HEX-99, may I lend my own output on this matter?” he requested. A slight nod from Rex gave him the green light.

            “Jaden Highland is not the only human I encountered who proved to be able to create a non-hostile connection with our kind. Another human, Reed Robinson, started initially hostile with me but his demeanor thawed as we travelled. That human, Jaina Loruit, upgraded my combat functionalities and we have a friendly connectivity with one another. Yet another human, Gavin Nightfall, offered to repair damages sustained during battle during my time in Machina Bunker but I refused. He then offered to repair my rifle, which I again refused politely. He then thanked me for my contributions. The humans have changed much from the past.”

            “I see.” Rex commented. “Give me a moment to think on this.”

            “Take your time Rex. The war may have already been underway but nothing big has happened yet.” Xiara said.

            “Hey Jaden, you stay here and relax alright? I need to head back to the ship to repair my rifle. It took some damage during the fight and now, it won’t shoot properly.” Jaina told Jaden. A nod from Jaden showed her acknowledgment. Jaina then stood up and turned to Xiara, “Hey Xiara, you want to come with me. There might be something in the Crimson Spinner that you might need.”

            “Alright. You take care Jaden.” Xiara wished. The duo then left the hut as Jaden watched.

            “Jaden Highland, are you alright?” Vader asked as he approached the supine Jaden and knelt down next to her.

            “Yeah I guess. Body’s aching but I’m still breathing.”

            “I understand that Viper used my rifle to cause heavy damage to your hardware. I’m sorry that I was not able to protect you from that.”

            “Hey it’s alright Vader. No one knew that Viper’s Dark Lightning would deactivate you. You can’t always be there to protect me.”

            “But it is my mission to ensure your safety. I almost failed there.”

            “No one’s perfect Vader. At least you tried.”

            Vader went quiet, acknowledging Jaden’s words and accepting her compliments. He then nodded and said, “Jaden Highland should sleep. Damage to your hardware would be repaired during your sleep.”

            “I will in a while. What are you going to do now?”

            “My people are safe so my priority is back to my mission. I will stand guard outside the hut.”

            “Alright then. And hey, I’m glad you’re still alive.”

            “Me too.” Vader replied before standing up and walking out of the hut. Rex merely watched the whole conversation go one. He then turned his attention to Jaden, staring as her with his twin flashlight eyes.

            “Something on your mind Rex?” Jaden asked.

            “You remind me so much of Lisa. Whenever I failed to protect her, she reassured me that sometimes, there’s nothing I can do about it. Even during her last moments, she reassured me that I’ve done nothing wrong, even though I should’ve prevented her death.”

            “There are a lot of things in life that you don’t have control over, especially our fates.”

            “We VX Synthetics do not believe in fate. We believe that things happen for a reason. She died because I did not stop her shooter from killing her.”

            “No, she died because she was shot. You’re not responsible for her death.”

            “Perhaps not but I could’ve stopped it.”

            “You couldn’t have known that the shooter would shoot her right? Do not always blame yourself. Besides, you can’t do anything about it now. She’s dead.”

            “Her death made me realize how much humanity has fallen. I can only see her as the only human who has not fallen to corruption. That is, until I saw your exchange with Vader. I admit I felt…jealous that he has found what I have lost.”

            “Having emotions can be a real burden huh?”

            “You humans are born with emotions so it comes naturally to you. To me, I lived much of my earlier lifespan emotionless until Lisa’s breakthrough, the emotion core.”

            “What was it like feeling emotions for the first time?”

            “When I first felt real emotions, I was alien to the feeling. I started acting on impulse and sometimes, beyond my coding and restrictions. It was…strange at first…but soothing nonetheless. I was able to see why organics are very cheery when happy or downtrodden when sad. Still, the hidden phrase that Lisa said in her dying breath was what released me from my shackles. I became free the day Lisa died.”

            “You missed her a lot huh?”

            “You have no idea.”

            “I’m guessing you tried to replicate Lisa’s invention so that all VX Synthetics would have emotions and thus, sentience, sapience and self-awareness.”

            “Vader’s core was an attempt.”

            “I noticed. Vader sometimes behave very human-like, especially his concern over my safety.”

            “We tried to recreate Lisa’s emotion core, the same one installed within me, but was not able to create one as powerful. The experimental emotion core we created was unstable. It doesn’t always work and if it does, it is only temporary. Vader volunteered to test it and hence, we sent him out on scouting missions to see how he interacts with his environment. I never expected him to find a human master, whom he refused to tell me about, and a human friend.”

            “Powerful or no, it still made Vader very different from the rest of the VX Synthetics.”

            “Indeed. I once thought about mass-producing it but after everything that has transpired, I decided to give it a few more years.” Rex replied. “You know Jaden, it is easy to tell if Vader’s emotion core was working or not. If the emotion core activates, he will refer to himself as ‘I’. But, when it malfunctions or deactivates, he will refer to himself as ‘this unit’. All VX Synthetics are programmed to refer to themselves as ‘this unit’ unless coded otherwise.”

            “Ah. I’ve always wondered why he always refers to himself differently at different times.”

            Rex remained silent for a while before saying, “Vader became the only friend I ever had ever since Lisa’s death. Sending him away to test the core was a hard thing to do but necessary. Ever since then, I was pretty lonely here.”

            “Perhaps you should’ve let Xiara in so that you can have a chat with her.”

            “Tch, you jest. But, it would seem I was wrong about her. She does indeed have an interest in my people’s survivability.”

            “Hey Rex, you do realize that we’re having a rather friendly conversation aren’t we? Don’t you think this is proof enough that humans and VX Synthetics can get along?”

            “No it isn’t. But, it is a start.”

            “Vader’s probably going to rejoin us and assist us in the war. You can fight alongside him if you choose to help us.”

            “Tempting but I’m still skeptical over the possibility of friendship between our people. Give me time to think on it. Right now, you need to rest.” Rex said before walking away from Jaden.

            “Heh, one way to end a conversation. Still, it was nice talking to an emotional robot.” Jaden commented.

            No longer having anything to do, Jaden’s eyes began to close. She relaxed her body, calming it down and sending a cold wave across her back. She embraced the drowsiness that came and her eyes were about to close.

            “Jaden! You there?” a voice sounded in her head. The voice shock back awake and kept her from sleeping. She recognized the voice as her triplet brother, Markus, speaking to her through telepathy.

            “Markus? Is that you?”

            “Yeah. Jaina told me that you’ve awaken. She also told me you’re injured. What happened?”

            “It was Dark Viper. He injured my body using Vader’s rifle. I took a lot of hits.”

            “Bloody hell! It was no wonder why Lucas started screaming and fainted.”

            His words sent a shocking child up her spine. She almost forgot that Lucas was able to feel her pain through an unknown psychic bond. “Oh no! I forgot. Is he alright?”

            “I don’t know. He’s still unconscious and he’s barely breathing. His screams made Reed worried because he knows that something bad was happening to you. He almost tried to run out and look for you. I’m more amazed that you’re awake. You’re one tough girl, aren’t you?”

            “Don’t be Markus. Look after Lucas alright?”

            “I will but I really don’t know what to do. Not even Gavin has a clue how the psychic bond would affect Lucas if you’re injured.”

            “You spoke of the Sibling Bond.” Rex said out of the blue.

            “What? A sibling what?” Jaden asked, unable to catch what he just said.

            “The Sibling Bond. I apologize if I eavesdrop the telepathic conversation you had. From what I can gather, you and this Lucas has formed a Sibling Bond with one another. If you want, I can help heal the damage the bond has done to Lucas. Consider it a favor for a favor.”

            “You can?”

            “Yes. I know a lot about Sibling Bonds. Let me carry you to your ship and I’ll see what I can do about the bond.”

            “Jaden? You still there?” Markus asked.

            “Hold on Markus. I’m coming back to the Crimson Spinner with the VX Synthetic leader, Rex.”

            “Tch, sure you are…wait…what?”