[12] Android 17

[Burter Jr]

6. Android 17

Seventeen could hear them even after his brutal fight. The demon army was moving. He could see them in the distance.

It would be suicide to fight them on his own...he would have to warn Gabriel.

War was coming. Very very soon.

[Android 17]

Seventeen was unable to tell from whose mouth the piercing scream came from, yet when he landed in a crouch a few feet behind his demonic antagonist, it was the android?s sword that was dripping with fresh blood. The machine-hybrid, his breathing labored, listened as his demonic adversary fell to his knees. The sound of Azrael collapsing to the ground triggered a relieved sigh to escape the android?s charred lips. Android Seventeen cautiously turned around, his gaze immediately moving down to the demon. The crimson warlord was still sporadically twitching even as his life poured out from him in rivers. The avatar?s sword had cleaved through the demon?s thoracic cavity, and then out its side, ruining the chief workings once guarded underneath the general?s now shattered ribcage. Still, Azrael was fighting his forthcoming mortality. The once valiant, malicious warlord was now reduced to a broken, bloodied mess.

?You fool,? the dying demon gurgled, his words inadvertently throwing blood over his face, ?my death is superfluous, in due time stronger representatives of my kin will come to consume this asteroid. By fortunately managing to end my stay on this plane, you have done nothing but hex the lives of everyone on this forsaken rock?? the warlord?s words, slurred and barely coherent, had lost their intimidation factor. Android Seventeen stepped forward, his white knuckles lifting his heavy sword from the ground in the same motion. The android buried the blade?s apex into the demon?s neck?Azrael?s arms stirred weakly, his eyes flared wildly, yet he made no effort to curse or fight the final, lethal strike. When the last signs of life left the demon, the crimson warlord erupted in blaze of fire. The entire form of the general was cremated by the surge of hellfire, and in a few seconds, nothing remained of Azrael but a faint, ashy outline on the dead earth.

With a final victory over the almighty hell general, Android Seventeen fell away from his sword, landing on the ground, the slightest hint of a smile stretching across his burned, battered features. The battle had finally concluded, and the android could not have been more satisfied. Although his body had been substantially tarnished by hellfire, the android?s internal cybernetic workings had regained order; however, his moment of gratification was ephemeral?an abrupt chorus of war drums shattered his bliss. The machine-hybrid groaned heavily as he recovered a vertical position. Just the uncomplicated act of standing up was taxing on the cybernetic warrior?s diminished physical capabilities. There was a flash of bright whites and blues at the android?s feet?the calling card of his divine ladyfriend. When the celestial flair faded, Seventeen kneeled down; the punished muscles of his back cursing him the entire time. The android collected the burlap sack deposited at his feet. He disregarded the remote drumming for a moment as he verified the contents as his effects?the same one?s he had accidentally left behind near the pinnacle of the Kala mountain range.

The android removed the sleek battle visor from the satchel before drawing the bag shut. After tying the pouch to the tattered, smoldered remnants of his blue jeans, Seventeen slid the visor down over his blackened, bald cranium and on top of his ears. The icy steel triggered a wave of shivers to cascade down his body, but with most of his outlying nervous tissue charred beyond all working capacity, most of the impulsive chill went ignored. With the press of the apparatus? sole button, the machine-hybrid initiated a massive influx of information to fill the small, emerald display. Android Seventeen tried to sort through the clutter of text boxes to weave out the more noteworthy sources of power, but he still was left with an immeasurable listing of ki signatures even after he decreased the detection range for the visor.

With a defeated groan, Seventeen deactivated the piece of equipment and stashed it back in his side pouch. The android collected the blade of the avatar?the usual shine of the weapon was masked under a thick layer of demon blood. The cybernetic warrior, his respiratory track damaged during his tryst with the late Azrael from the fury of the demon?s hellfire, struggled to breath in the freezing air. Each lungful of air was a struggle itself. Even worse, maintaining his focus in the sky as he fought to respire rapidly became far more complex then combating any demon. Android Seventeen, inspired to hunt down the supply of all this noise and energy, slowly began to scan the horizon for the basis of all the commotion.

Even with all the strain on them, the android?s eyes still managed to grow wide enough to absorb the full intensity of what he saw in the distance. The realization was not one he was sure he wanted to accept, but no matter his own personal fears, a massive army of demons was marching across the wastelands. As Seventeen weakly gawked at the demonic military, his initial thought was to immediately flee the scene to seek out a place to hide, but he knew that his turning tail and running now would be a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his days. The android understood that he had to notify the archangel Gabriel of the movement of Satan?s forces, yet Android Seventeen also realized that he did not have sufficient intelligence on the troops of this demonic crusade. If the cybernetic warrior could just discover and impart even just one tiny morsel of information on this army to the seraphs, he knew that would decrease the casualties?even if just by a few persons.

With his ki veiled naturally by his cybernetic components, Seventeen was able to carefully approach the demon army from the ground with a little less fear then usual. As he snuck closer, the android tried to find out as much information about the overwhelming force of demons that was now only a few hundred yards away. Finally, the android managed to find the perfect cover from which to scan the passing army. Now perched behind a stout rock, the machine-hybrid eyed the particular, upper-class demons marching in front of each of the lines of troops. Even though Android Seventeen was ignorant to the specifics of Hell?s military forces, he had enough know-how to pick out a leader when he saw one. Even with just his basic ability to sense energy, the cybernetic warrior could pick apart the elite hell spawn from their subordinates. They marched proudly, their scarlet bodies encased in a dense suit of bony or black armor. Crimson flames, by-products of the immense power each of them was emanated, licked and saturated the entirety of their massive bodies, and each of them wore shapeless black cloaks over their armored forms.

Seventeen tried to pick out the demon that the angels had labeled Satan?he was the leader of all the demons slowly marching passed the android. As much as he tried, though, the machine-hybrid just lacked the aptitude to detect the differing values of energy within the giant, almost mob-like entity. Android Seventeen leaned forward, sacrificing his cover in order to get a closer look at the close-by troops. In a move of utter idiocy, the cybernetic warrior overextended his body from the rock, and then he stumbled, croaking loudly as he tried to stall his downward plummet. Just as he was about to rendezvous with the cracked, dry ground, Seventeen managed to react violently enough to pull himself back behind the cover. Now leaning against the back of the rock, his chest weakly rising and falling as he wheezed nervously, the android listened as several demons started to talk. It was nearly impossible to hear the exact words over the resonance of the war drums and the sporadic chants of the demonic choir.

Like a deer gawking at the headlights of its encroaching doom, the machine-hybrid never faltered from his now defunct hiding spot. The sounds of boots striking off dirt grew closer and closer to the android as he quickly tried to figure out what to do. Android Seventeen could count around three different sets of feet, but he couldn?t trust his senses quite as much anymore?there was no telling how much damage his ears has sustained during his brush with Azrael. Seventeen hoisted the avatar?s blade from his side and held it slightly above his chest as the footsteps grew near. With a raspy shriek, the cybernetic warrior stepped out from the covering of the stone spire. Instinctively, the android jabbed the sword forward and up, tearing right through the neck and head of the demon that had unfortunately been the closest to him. The unholy crusader was unable to react quickly enough, and the tip of the cold steel swiftly him back to the abyss that had spawned him.

Android Seventeen pivoted, swinging the blade as he spun to face any attackers from the other direction. Another one of the ill-fated demonic soldiers found its neck in the path of the avatar?s sword. The android watched the severed demon?s cranium tumble off it shoulders, unleashing a few spatters of blood from the multitude of severed blood vessels before both body and head collapsed to the lifeless earth. Seventeen, adrenaline quickly overriding any physical impairments from his spat with near death, took to the sky in a flash. Several more of the hell spawn had broken rank, rushing over to see the murderer of their fallen brethren fleeing the scene.

A group of the demons had already exploded into the air after the android by the time a commanding officer arrived to establish some form of order. His presence alone was sufficient to pacify his lingering subordinates. Without words, the demon elite reached into the depths of his shroud, unveiling a small vial. The cork on the cylindrical tube was torn away by clawed fingers, and the black contents were emptied onto the ground. Black bubbles simmered on the surface of the wide puddle the material inside the vial had created. A second later, the viscous ebony pool was gone?absorbed into the broken floor of the wastelands.

?What are you waiting for!? the elite demon screamed at his nearby subsidiaries, ?do not allow Gabriel?s runner to survive his voyage back to that watchtower! I will not allow our mission to be botched up?everything has been going smoothly, and I want it to remain that way!? the demon?s roaring commands stirred the rest of the surrounding soldiers to attention, and without a second word, they gave chase to the retreating machine-hybrid. As the small group of troops moved to quell the havoc that the mortal had created, the demon elite turned around, barking at the still gawking soldiers to resume their march towards the angel?s stronghold.

A fit of coughing is what forced Android Seventeen to halt his airborne escape. The android literally toppled out of the sky?he hit the ground and rolled a few times before flipping to a defensive position. With a backwards glance, the machine-hybrid noticed the small detachment of grunts that had been sent to slay him. Even in his diminished physical capacity, the android knew he was fully capable of disposing of all the cannon fodder touching down around him. For a few seconds, there was an ominous silence as the cybernetic warrior sized up the half-dozen demons that had attempted to surround him, and then the group of crusaders pounced.

By the time any of them had landed back on the earth, Seventeen had already taken aim and leaped. The android landed a few yards outside of the small ring of soldiers and turned to see one of them fall apart?very much dead. Still wheezing heavily, the machine-hybrid rushed into the group of stunned demons?cleaving apart two of the unintelligent troops before about four fists sent him flying through the air. As he sailed backwards, the android, still running on a full tank of adrenaline, managed to right himself in mid-flight. Spinning and twirling as he glided backwards, Seventeen landed in a crouch; however, his sword had fallen from his grasp, hit the ground, and slid several yards away from his position. The trio of demonic grunts attacked, one of them underwent an amputation procedure in midair as a shimmering yellow disc completely severed the limb at the shoulder.

With an inhuman shriek, the targeted demon tumbled from the sky, striking the earth and rolling for a few yards. He finally came to a stop after only a few feet, but he made no immediate move to rejoin the battle. Still, his two colleagues, having seen the deadly ki projectile, had managed to alternate their trajectories to avoid the same fate as their friend. Android Seventeen?s burnt lips curled up in an expression of glee. The android fashioned a sapphire saber of ki in each hand and went after the enduring grunts. It took only two stabs to terminate the life processes of the closest demon. Seventeen turned around to deal with the final demon, but he managed to only receive a clawed fist to the face. The impact was staggering, but the cybernetic warrior had been dealing with far worse over the last few days. He managed to shake off the pain and darted forward?impaling the energy swords into the unholy crusader?s gut.

The demon?s eyes widened, but before he could protest, Seventeen pulled his ki weapons outward, effectively slicing the creature in half. As the corpse fell away from the android, he quickly made his way to the grounded demon with one arm. To finish the job, Android Seventeen drove the entire length of his ki sabers into the wounded soldier?s skull, instantaneously liquefying his brain and ending his life. Seventeen turned away from the corpses, opening his hands and releasing the two blue blades. The weapons stayed solid for a few seconds, but they returned to nothing but a few heartbeats later. With another short, raspy sigh, the android scanned the horizon for any signs of the demonic army, yet what he saw mitigated the hopelessness of his situation by leaps and bounds.

The watchtower was visible on the horizon?it may have just been a tall black shape, but for the weak, burned, and battered machine-hybrid it represented safety and hope. Plus, now he could inform the others about the army. Yet, before the cybernetic warrior could take to the sky, a sound very familiar to bubbling water caught his ear.

OOC: Alright then, my next post will be in Reijin and Bardock's thread, the one at the watchtower.