Chapter Text
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"Remember to get back before King notices, and can you pick me up a bag of your chips, Hana? They got a new limited edition flavor and Casino won't share."
Hana huffed and stuck her tongue out at her long time friend and mechanic. "I know. It's just the GS25, and also, you really want me to bring you chips when I am like this?" She motions to her arm and leg which are still in casts. It's been a little over a month since the Gwishin incident so her limbs were not 100% yet. Another month, maybe two, said the doctor. It annoyed her because it meant she was basically under house arrest. "You know I can just call the sponsor and have it shipped to us in less than an hour, right?"
Dae-Hyun simply smiled before slipping his welder's mask back on and firing up his tools to continue his work on one of Tokki's fusion blasters. "I know that but you have been sulking all week, and who knows, I thought you'd enjoy a bit of the fresh air. Besides, if I hear another sigh I swear I will throw a wrench in your general direction."
With a mock gasp, Hana gingerly got down from the table she had been using as a seat, "You wouldn't dare!" He won't. They both know this. Maybe a paper ball but a wrench? Ha! Those were his precious tools. Their precious tools actually. No, she lied, those were hers. That Dae Hyung was using because the others in MEKA had given her the longest lecture after The Incident. So she was forbidden from even touching Tokki.
"Tick tock, Song." He waves the wrench in a comically menacing way, and she is the one who throws an empty can of NanoCola at his back.
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The ferry ride is quick and she's sure to turn up the collar of her coat and readjusts her facemask to better hide her identity. It's mid dusk so the streets have a little less traffic, which Hana is grateful for. The less people the better. It's not that she doesn't love her fans, but the fact that Hana had nearly died was severely downplayed by both the media and her team.
So less people, less stress and less of a chance to be hounded when she's supposed to be resting. Slow hobbled steps with her crutch, and the few people she does meet on her way are polite enough to give her room. In no time at all she has secured her prize from the convenience store: a couple of her sponsored ramen cups, two cans of NanoCola and Dae-Hyun's chips.
While she's making her way back to the ferry station, she noticed a small crowd gathering around one of the new karaoke bars that is holding a grand opening. With a weary smile, Hana takes out her phone to see if she can take a side street, and luckily there is one.
"Lucky rabbit indeed."
If only her luck had been better a month ago. She'd be bantering with D.Mon on patrol right about now. Or kicking King's butt in the new Fighters of the Storm DLC and streaming it to her viewers. Yet here she is, taking a side street on a little errand, hiding from the world. At least the weather was nice. Small mercies.
A few meters down the street and she stops, her bag dropping to the ground because of the sight she sees.
There is an omnic laying against the wall. Or...half of one? They seems to be missing almost all their limbs. Both arms and a leg. The one remaining is barely hanging on by a mess of wires and fiber optics. She cautiously approaches them, unsure if they are still functioning or if this was some cruel murder she had just stumbled upon. Thanks to the constant threat of the Gwishin, omnics were often discriminated against in some parts of Busan and this poor omnic could have been caught in the crossfire.
Holding her breath and minding her injured leg, Hana knelt down in front of the damaged omnic, trying to access the extent of damage. Aside from the missing limbs, their faceplate seemed to have been spared, so perhaps...
A trembling hand reached out to touch them, and then she was met with a crackling hiss and a terrible scraping sound. The sound of the omnic trying to move. The nine markings on their face flashed red and she let out a startled cry.
Of course, the omnic could not do a thing. No limbs and a leg that cannot support their weight poses no threat to her. They cease their struggle almost immediately and Hana could feel their 'eyes' piercing her. Another hiss escaped from where their voicebox would be, questioning.
Hana held her hands up, making a placating motion. "Easy, easy. I don't mean you any harm, I swear!" There was a crackle and she frowned. "Hey, I was just trying to help, I thought I would need to call the cops or something." Not that she wanted to either, she would probably be questioned and then her team would need to be called and that was too much trouble to think about.
"....."
But she can't leave this omnic like this. They were still alive, and if someone else found them like this, they'd be easy pickings. Hana gnawed at her bottom lip, trying to come up with a plan to rescue them. It wasn't like she could pick them up in her current state (and on closer inspection, she's sure she still wouldn't be able to even if she wasn't injured. Their chassis was larger than any omnic she had seen aside from the Gwishin.)
A neon sign overhead flickered to life, bathing both young woman and omnic in flashes of yellow and pink. It was getting late and if she didn't get back soon, she'll miss the ferry and then she would have to ask Dae-Hyun to pick her up and-
Wait.
"Of course! Listen, Miss.....ter.....mister? miss? omnic, how about I take you home and see what we can do for you, okay? Okay. Great. Just gotta..." with her tongue between her lips, Hana searched through her contacts and dialed.
He picked up after two rings. "Hana?"
"Dae-Hyun...I think I need your help."
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The plan had been to come to South Korea and negotiate with the Gwishin, but just like in London, his plan had backfired. The Gwishin wanted nothing to do with Null Sector.
He had severely miscalculated their willingness to cooperate. A pity. They would have made excellent footsoldiers for the plans he was molding. No matter, this was just a minor setback, being unable to recruit the Gwishin was of little importance in the grand scheme of things. For now, Ramattra needed to get back to his temporary holdout, far from the coastline, lest he risk suspicion on himself.
A feat in itself, honestly, given how R-7000's had all but disappeared, except for him. He knew that maybe two or three still existed elsewhere in the world, but from what little knowledge he had been able to dig up, they were not as free as he was.
Free? No, the reality of the situation was that he wasn't at all. From his creation to his entrance to the Shambali, to now in this dingy street in Busan, he's not been free from the ghosts of his past. They cling to him like the fog that is surrounding him. Somewhere from the deep recesses of his firewalls and memory banks, a chuckle escapes him. This world wasn't kind to him or his people. He knows that he's had a part in humanity's hatred towards omnics. He remembers the pain and suffering he had wrought. The once leader of a troop of B73's and OR14's.
Oh but that was many years ago. He wouldn't say that time drastically changed him much other than a few upgrades to himself. Better tech and with Aurora's 'gift', a much better understanding of what he was. Pausing in his tracks, Ramattra would have smiled if he could. Yes, he knew what he was and what he was capable of. Of what his purpose was to be, but first there was a little matter that needed his attention, and it was not but two meters from him.
A trio of humans blocked his path. Vagrants who surrounded a different omnic. One that would probably be a caretaker of human children if Ramattra wasn't mistaken. "Have you nothing better to do, humans?" His voice commands their attention, enough that the terrified omnic spares him a small grateful nod before bolting to the safety of more crowded streets.
"What's it to you, tin can?" says the one closest to him. The man is doing his best to look intimidating but it's laughable how he immediately shrinks back when he takes his first good look at Ramattra. What he would give to know the thoughts of this human.
The other two have a little more bravado, one even lifting a metal pipe to brandish as a weapon. How juvenile. "It's everything to me. Are we just your playthings that you can freely abuse? Do you enjoy lording over us so much that you would beat a defenseless omnic?" The grip on his staff tightens and he taps it to the ground.
"Always so violent, so predictable."
The men still are holding their ground, the one with the pipe also tightening his hold on his weapon. Neither humans nor omnic move closer to the other though. One side intimidated, the other is calculating his odds.
Another second ticks by, he can sense their heartrates speed up, anticipating, they wanted so badly to take him on but he knows they've not seen an omnic like him before. Then the third man who has been quiet for some time takes a deep breath and sneers at him.
"Don't matter how big he is, there is only one of him. Let's go!"
They advanced and Ramattra readied his staff, focusing energy at the crook to knock them back. So focused was he that he failed to notice a fourth human approaching from behind.
Then darkness until he sensed something trying to touch him.
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The journey back to the MEKA base was...interesting, to say the least. The humans had argued with each other, but Ramattra was too busy trying to do a diagnostics check on himself. A ruined voicebox? That was easy, not like it hadn't been damaged before. The matter of his missing limbs was the bigger issue.
Since most of his particular kind had been 'discontinued', he knew that repairs would be more difficult to do. R-7000 parts were among the rarest to find and not always in the best of conditions. Even he had had trouble securing parts back at the monastery.
For a moment, Ramattra wondered how his closest brother was doing. From his position, he couldn't even turn his head to look at the sky. Instead, all he could see was the distorted image of the back of a hover bike. How disgraceful.
So he returned his focus on the humans. Specifically the one that had found him. A young woman with one of her arms in a full cast as well as one of her legs. Must have suffered an accident recently. Reckless child. Shouldn't she focus on herself rather than him?
She was speaking to her other companion, while making sure the straps securing him to the bike were still holding strong.
"-and just leave them there? I know we're at war with the Gwishin, but that doesn't mean all omnics are bad! Don't you remember JeongHui's caretaker? What was her name....uhm...Ari! She was the nicest omnic I ever met-" the girl prattled on about 'Ari' while her companion kept his concentration on the road.
After a moment, the young man sighed and cut the engine. "Look, we just..." he sighed and tried again. "Hana, we have to be careful, this...I've never seen an omnic like this. What if-"
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Hana held up her hand. "Stop. If we assumed everything about anyone at first glance our world would be even worse than it is now. Let me try to help them. Please Dae-Hyun." Glancing back at their 'cargo', she tapped her fingers together, and grinned. "What if I hook you up with all the new limited edition samples? You'll get them first before anyone else, just can you keep this a secret between us. For now? Pleeeease?"
The look Dae-Hyun gave her was incredulous. "You really think you can buy my silence with chips?"
"Yyyyyeeeessss?"
Crossing his arms, the mechanic looked up then sighed. "Damn it, you're right. Fine. But I don't think this guy will stay ""secret""" he mimicked air quotes. "for long. I'll keep quiet though."
"Deal then. Now...how are we gonna sneak past everyone is the real question..."
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Fairly easy was the answer. There were some old maintenance tunnels that hardly anyone ever used because there were certain walkways that were exposed to the sea. Hana studied the omnic's face as Dae-Hyun wheeled their guest over one such walkway, her face scrunched up as she tried to ignore the pain of her legs from too much walking.
The shape was so...menacing, at least compared to other omnics she had met. Nothing like the Gwishin though, so for now she felt that they were safe enough. Given the damage sustained, it wasn't like the omnic was a threat.
Other than the occasional hissing and crackling noises, that is. Like right now. Her hand was a little too close to the faceplate and she instantly retracted her hand, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, was just wondering what uhm..." she hesitated on saying 'model' since that seemed to be a touchy word amongst omnics that had sentience. "I've just never seen someone like you before."
God, even that sounded lame to her ears. Hana was quick to look beyond the omnic, straight at the back of Dae-Hyun's head who turned and shrugged at her. "Don't ask me, I know how to fix mechs, cars, and maybe do a little coding, but omnics is not what I studied."
Finally they reached their destination, her own personal workshop. Every member of MEKA had one. It was were they stored their spare mech parts and did repairs. Tokki proudly stood in the middle of the room, though it had definitely seen better days. Still bearing the scars from that fateful night.
Dae-Hyun looked around awkwardly for a moment, before clapping and rubbing his hands together. "All right, so let's get him up on the table and see what we can do."
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