06-11-2007, 09:16 PM
(OOC: First part. Split this post so it wasn't one long read. Once I finalize it, a shorter follow-up will, ere, follow)
Lost in the darkness,
Silence surrounds you.
Once there was morning,
Now endless night.
Moaning like a skewered farm animal, the cyborg repeated the stanza in his head as he stumbled forward and collapsed to his knees?his hands shooting up to the twilight sky in search of salvation. A cry escaped his bloodied maw as he stared into the black abyss stretched out over his head. One by one, stars were blinking on as the day reached its terminus, and with each new light that surged into existence, the machine-hybrid drew closer to his conclusion.
?I can?t stop,? the cyborg cried, clutching both sides of his head as he knelt in the middle of the dirt walkway. Words and thoughts were racing through his mind as he struggled with his decaying grip on reality. All around him, the colors were slowly beginning to lose their sheen. Within moments, the lush green forest that surrounded the cybernetic warrior was nothing more than a grayscale prison for his decomposing sentience. A bolt of pain surged through the warrior?s body?causing him to writhe in pain.
?I won?t let you down, Paige,? the android whimpered as he began to crawl across the harsh terrain, once again pulling his unreceptive legs as he had done days prior. Despite the similarities, this was not the same man. No?not by a long shot. What wriggled across the island?s forest floor was nothing more than a glorified corpse?a fatality waiting to happen.
The raven-haired fighter knew that his absolution was on its way, and with that thought in mind, he pressed on harder than ever. With a groan, the cyborg collapsed near the rim of a small puddle in the crude path. Staring wearily at his reflection, the cybernetic warrior began to weep as the mirrored image started to snicker at him.
?You?re not taking me,? the cyborg spat, rolling away from the hole and drawing the ki sword he had taken from Super Buu. With a swift motion, the youthful warrior activated the elegant weapon and prepared to end his life with one fell swoop. Before the machine-hybrid had the chance to save his mind and soul from their encroaching doom, a pale hand shot out and locked around his wrist like a vice.
?All that you are is the end of a nightmare,? the cyborg spat, flailing his hand in a defiant effort to escape the grip of the beast looming over him. ?After tonight, I shall end this demon dream!? The frail man squeaked as he was quickly overpowered and disarmed by his malignant replication. Turning off the weapon, an all too familiar attacker?a malicious personification of the heartless machine operating within the man?s failing body?discarded it and placed the side of his boot upon his victim?s throat.
?This is not a dream, poor Junanagou,? he uttered?his voice an emotionless tone akin to something one would expect from a crude TTS converter. Upon hearing the seemingly foreign name, the raven-haired fighter suddenly felt a strange connectedness to it. Noting the expression on the youth?s visage, the machine?s lips curled up in a faint smile.
?Junanagou?? The dying man gasped, his breaths coming only after compounding effort. ?Why is that so familiar? Tell me!?
?That is your name, my poor, carbon-based component. The name you went by before our union?the name you parents gave you before they gave you up. You didn?t think you were named after a number, did you?? The machine continued, flashing another wily smile at the fallen warrior.
Unable to give himself into the monster perched over him, the man?Junanagou, as it seemed?reached down to his belt with his trembling hand and yanked his ki pistol from its holster. In the end, all he had left was his humanity, but he would embrace it until his final hour. Android Seventeen, the moniker of his cybernetic component incarnate, merely sneered at the pathetic reaction.
?If I die, you?ll die too!? He whimpered as his trembling fingers wrapped around the trigger of the advanced piece of weaponry. There was no way that he had come so far and suffered so much just to fall in battle to part of his own existence. Especially after being taunted with knowledge he had yearned for years to know. As Android Seventeen watched on, his organic component placed the barrel of the gun into his mouth.
?You?ll die in me,? the living nightmare of steel and machinery hissed, smiling as he stood over the frail little man. As he continued to converse, the machine?s ability to speak evolved as it tried to replicate the voice of the dying warrior. ?I?ll be you,? the beast?Android Seventeen?snickered.
?Leave me be,? Junanagou wailed, threatening to pull the trigger and blow his brains out through the back of his skull.
?Can?t you see? You are me,? the machine whispered, pushing his boot down into the man?s throat?crushing his Adam?s apple beneath the pressure.
?Take all your evil deeds and rot in hell!? The panicky warrior croaked as he clenched his eyes shut?unable to stare the beast in the face any longer. A gunshot suddenly echoed through the gray forest, and with a yelp, Junanagou opened his eyes and gasped as he pulled the gun out of his mouth. Struggling to breath, his gaze fell upon the hole that had been blown through his heart. As his world began to fade to black, the raven-haired fighter looked up to see the machine he had tried so desperately to avoid holding an outstretched pistol. He wore a sinister smile across his face?his victory was at hand.
?I?ll see you there,? Android Seventeen uttered as the man lying at his feet drew his last feeble breaths and uttered one final, desperate word before falling silent.
?Paige?? Junanagou whispered as darkness swallowed his world and death numbed his senses. At long last, the man was no more, and the way for a new era had been paved. No matter what moniker you called him, whether it be Junanagou??Seventeen??machine-hybrid, his fate was the same
One era had come to close and in its place, another would rise from its ashes. Such is the way of life.
Lost in the darkness,
Silence surrounds you.
Once there was morning,
Now endless night.
Moaning like a skewered farm animal, the cyborg repeated the stanza in his head as he stumbled forward and collapsed to his knees?his hands shooting up to the twilight sky in search of salvation. A cry escaped his bloodied maw as he stared into the black abyss stretched out over his head. One by one, stars were blinking on as the day reached its terminus, and with each new light that surged into existence, the machine-hybrid drew closer to his conclusion.
?I can?t stop,? the cyborg cried, clutching both sides of his head as he knelt in the middle of the dirt walkway. Words and thoughts were racing through his mind as he struggled with his decaying grip on reality. All around him, the colors were slowly beginning to lose their sheen. Within moments, the lush green forest that surrounded the cybernetic warrior was nothing more than a grayscale prison for his decomposing sentience. A bolt of pain surged through the warrior?s body?causing him to writhe in pain.
?I won?t let you down, Paige,? the android whimpered as he began to crawl across the harsh terrain, once again pulling his unreceptive legs as he had done days prior. Despite the similarities, this was not the same man. No?not by a long shot. What wriggled across the island?s forest floor was nothing more than a glorified corpse?a fatality waiting to happen.
The raven-haired fighter knew that his absolution was on its way, and with that thought in mind, he pressed on harder than ever. With a groan, the cyborg collapsed near the rim of a small puddle in the crude path. Staring wearily at his reflection, the cybernetic warrior began to weep as the mirrored image started to snicker at him.
?You?re not taking me,? the cyborg spat, rolling away from the hole and drawing the ki sword he had taken from Super Buu. With a swift motion, the youthful warrior activated the elegant weapon and prepared to end his life with one fell swoop. Before the machine-hybrid had the chance to save his mind and soul from their encroaching doom, a pale hand shot out and locked around his wrist like a vice.
?All that you are is the end of a nightmare,? the cyborg spat, flailing his hand in a defiant effort to escape the grip of the beast looming over him. ?After tonight, I shall end this demon dream!? The frail man squeaked as he was quickly overpowered and disarmed by his malignant replication. Turning off the weapon, an all too familiar attacker?a malicious personification of the heartless machine operating within the man?s failing body?discarded it and placed the side of his boot upon his victim?s throat.
?This is not a dream, poor Junanagou,? he uttered?his voice an emotionless tone akin to something one would expect from a crude TTS converter. Upon hearing the seemingly foreign name, the raven-haired fighter suddenly felt a strange connectedness to it. Noting the expression on the youth?s visage, the machine?s lips curled up in a faint smile.
?Junanagou?? The dying man gasped, his breaths coming only after compounding effort. ?Why is that so familiar? Tell me!?
?That is your name, my poor, carbon-based component. The name you went by before our union?the name you parents gave you before they gave you up. You didn?t think you were named after a number, did you?? The machine continued, flashing another wily smile at the fallen warrior.
Unable to give himself into the monster perched over him, the man?Junanagou, as it seemed?reached down to his belt with his trembling hand and yanked his ki pistol from its holster. In the end, all he had left was his humanity, but he would embrace it until his final hour. Android Seventeen, the moniker of his cybernetic component incarnate, merely sneered at the pathetic reaction.
?If I die, you?ll die too!? He whimpered as his trembling fingers wrapped around the trigger of the advanced piece of weaponry. There was no way that he had come so far and suffered so much just to fall in battle to part of his own existence. Especially after being taunted with knowledge he had yearned for years to know. As Android Seventeen watched on, his organic component placed the barrel of the gun into his mouth.
?You?ll die in me,? the living nightmare of steel and machinery hissed, smiling as he stood over the frail little man. As he continued to converse, the machine?s ability to speak evolved as it tried to replicate the voice of the dying warrior. ?I?ll be you,? the beast?Android Seventeen?snickered.
?Leave me be,? Junanagou wailed, threatening to pull the trigger and blow his brains out through the back of his skull.
?Can?t you see? You are me,? the machine whispered, pushing his boot down into the man?s throat?crushing his Adam?s apple beneath the pressure.
?Take all your evil deeds and rot in hell!? The panicky warrior croaked as he clenched his eyes shut?unable to stare the beast in the face any longer. A gunshot suddenly echoed through the gray forest, and with a yelp, Junanagou opened his eyes and gasped as he pulled the gun out of his mouth. Struggling to breath, his gaze fell upon the hole that had been blown through his heart. As his world began to fade to black, the raven-haired fighter looked up to see the machine he had tried so desperately to avoid holding an outstretched pistol. He wore a sinister smile across his face?his victory was at hand.
?I?ll see you there,? Android Seventeen uttered as the man lying at his feet drew his last feeble breaths and uttered one final, desperate word before falling silent.
?Paige?? Junanagou whispered as darkness swallowed his world and death numbed his senses. At long last, the man was no more, and the way for a new era had been paved. No matter what moniker you called him, whether it be Junanagou??Seventeen??machine-hybrid, his fate was the same
One era had come to close and in its place, another would rise from its ashes. Such is the way of life.
![[Image: A17June08.jpg]](http://frozendust.com/sig/A17/A17June08.jpg)