Nothing but gore and destruction, blood and death.
It didnÆt matter if they fought or if they ran û people would die, cities would be taken. The only difference was in the details û which people, which cities.
They didnÆt fight because they wanted to. æBecause I want to help my countryÆ, æSo that I can protect my loved onesÆ û these reasons never passed their minds.
They fought because they were ordered to. They fought because the were programmed to, because they were made specifically to fight in this Little War.
æThe Little WarÆ, it was called, because none of the main powers were involved. It was just a small group of small nations, all fighting in a battle royale. Two years have passed, and yet only a couple ten thousand dead. It was nothing when compared to what occurred when countries with power fought.
But wars were wars. Every day, they saw people die û they forced people to die.
------------------------
They loved their æfatherÆ for giving them morals, but they both knew that it was terribly inefficient of him.
Weapons had no need for morals û it was a hindrance. They werenÆt soldiers û soldiers were given orders beyond ægo here, kill everyoneÆ.
That was all they did in The Little War. Extermination. There were always survivors, but it was never because for lack of trying.
Their father claimed that their moral cores were to ensure that they never berserked, never attacked a civilian or one of their own. It was a redundant, but wasteful system. They could be turned off with a push of a button, and it was standard protocol for their handlers to disengage the energy systems that made them so useful. Soldiers in the area were assigned markers that made purposeful attacks on them impossible. If all of these checks had failed, then it stood to reason that the core would have failed as well.
And regardless, the core was turned off when they fought. If it was not, they wouldnÆt be able to fight û the core would just shut them down if they tried.
At the moment, their morals could not be changed via force û they could only be temporarily shut down.
But, after the fighting was done, the cores would be switched back on, and theyÆd both run for the bathrooms.
How many times have they thrown up? How many times have they scrubbed to get the blood off?
------------------------
They couldnÆt quit. They werenÆt allowed to. In battle, energy fields were set up, partly to ensure that they did not destroy everything just to chase down one target, partly to ensure they did not run away.
Outside of battle, nearly all of their abilities were shut down. æNearlyÆ, because that way, they could still fight in case of an attack on the base.
They could still use summon their rifles, their energy swords û but they lost their agility, their energy shields, the computerlike precision needed to use their weapons the way they did.
They retained the training they received, equal to the training all of their soldiers received. Even without their powers, they still commanded fear from everyone they faced.
But two kids versus an entire military base? No contest.
So why did he try to run?
------------------------
She was the first one to catch up to him. No û she was the only one who could catch up to him. Normal people canÆt fly through the sky.
He had knocked out his handlers, re-activated his combat abilities, and ran. He destroyed the control room, so that they couldnÆt deactivate him from the base.
But, they had planned for this. She was ordered to attack first.
So she did.
Five missiles began tailing him, but they were destroyed by a sword wave as soon as she created them. He had to slow down to use his weapons, to divert the energy to where it needed to go, but the frame of time was too short for her to activate the field.
She needed to stall him. Otherwise, sheÆd give him too much time to run away.
ôWhy are you doing this!?ö It was a stall tactic û everyone at the base had already pinned down the possible reasons for desertion they could use.
ôYou know why! And you canÆt stop me!ö He turned and fired his rifle, but she lowered her altitude, let the blasts dissipate above her, and never stopped.
ôHow are you doing this!?ö This was a valid question. They knew thoughts of desertion occurred, but couldnÆt see how he could pull it off. If nothing else, his core should have stopped him from leaving.
He knew what she was thinking, and stopped, for just an instant û an instant enough; she activated the field, trapping them both.
If one didnÆt convince the other soon, a fight would break out. He would have to kill her to escape. She had to hold out until backup arrived.
He floated to her level, made no move to draw his weapons. Her rifle was trained on him û if it came to blows, she would land the first blow.
ôàIs running away really a sin?ö Let him rant, itÆll give them more time to get here.
ôIf I leave, nothing changes for the worse. You could win the entire war by yourself. Without me, they would have to rely on you more to cover the slack û which you can do. Projected deaths for all sides remain the same. I can run because my morals are telling me it is the right thing to do.ö
Argue back, but stay calm. ôWhat a ridiculous statement. You donÆt want the enemyÆs heads on your conscience, but what weÆre doing is the right thing. By killing them, we make sure other people donÆt have to die. YouÆre just being selfish.ö
ôThen I guess IÆm selfish! I donÆt care!ö He shot a missile, she pulled the trigger û the missile blew up, and he was flying away from her.
He fired at her. He fired at her. It didnÆt connect, but -
She screamed, charged, slammed him into the sphere wall, destroyed his shield. She wasnÆt slashing at him, didnÆt shoot at him û just punches and slams, over and over.
ôSelfish bastard! Fucking coward! Go to hell go to hell go to hell!ö She screamed insults with every punch, swore at him every time she rammed him against the æwallÆ. The field was draining him with every touch, making the attacks hurt more with each passing second.
He couldnÆt fly now. She grabbed him, threw him towards the ground û he hit the bottom of the sphere, unable to move at all.
She stopped flying, allowed gravity to take her. Sword in hands, raised high, ready to stab down as soon as she could û
She couldnÆt. Not yet. She stopped, glowing blade inches from his heart.
ôWhy...?ö She had hated it just as much as he did. She hated what they were ordered to do, hated destroying, hated killing, hated each and every second.
No time for apologies, no time for proper burials, no time for anything, except for burning it all to the ground.
ôWhy didnÆt you take me with you?ö It was a pointless question û she knew that she would have turned him in if he had told her. To him, running away wasnÆt a sin. To her, it was.
But she wanted to hear his answer.
His arms and legs were fractured. He probably had a concussion. His eyes were glazed over, and he was struggling to breathe.
Despite all of that, he could still talk. He could still explain. He could still make everything right.
But he didnÆt.
ôàI donÆt want to kill you.ö
She wanted him to say something, anything. She didnÆt want his last words to be æI donÆt careÆ.
ôàIÆmàIÆm sorry.ö
He wasnÆt going to try and stop her. So she didnÆt stop.
Stab through the heart. Move diagonally, up the neck, to the brain. No blood, since the swordÆs heat cauterized the wounds.
No more hostiles, no more field. No more field, no more body. His corpse fell through the clouds, into the ocean.
She didnÆt want to retrieve it. They would have dissected it, studied it, and burned it once they were done ripping it apart.
But a burial at sea was still a proper burial.
It didnÆt matter if they fought or if they ran û people would die, cities would be taken. The only difference was in the details û which people, which cities.
They didnÆt fight because they wanted to. æBecause I want to help my countryÆ, æSo that I can protect my loved onesÆ û these reasons never passed their minds.
They fought because they were ordered to. They fought because the were programmed to, because they were made specifically to fight in this Little War.
æThe Little WarÆ, it was called, because none of the main powers were involved. It was just a small group of small nations, all fighting in a battle royale. Two years have passed, and yet only a couple ten thousand dead. It was nothing when compared to what occurred when countries with power fought.
But wars were wars. Every day, they saw people die û they forced people to die.
------------------------
They loved their æfatherÆ for giving them morals, but they both knew that it was terribly inefficient of him.
Weapons had no need for morals û it was a hindrance. They werenÆt soldiers û soldiers were given orders beyond ægo here, kill everyoneÆ.
That was all they did in The Little War. Extermination. There were always survivors, but it was never because for lack of trying.
Their father claimed that their moral cores were to ensure that they never berserked, never attacked a civilian or one of their own. It was a redundant, but wasteful system. They could be turned off with a push of a button, and it was standard protocol for their handlers to disengage the energy systems that made them so useful. Soldiers in the area were assigned markers that made purposeful attacks on them impossible. If all of these checks had failed, then it stood to reason that the core would have failed as well.
And regardless, the core was turned off when they fought. If it was not, they wouldnÆt be able to fight û the core would just shut them down if they tried.
At the moment, their morals could not be changed via force û they could only be temporarily shut down.
But, after the fighting was done, the cores would be switched back on, and theyÆd both run for the bathrooms.
How many times have they thrown up? How many times have they scrubbed to get the blood off?
------------------------
They couldnÆt quit. They werenÆt allowed to. In battle, energy fields were set up, partly to ensure that they did not destroy everything just to chase down one target, partly to ensure they did not run away.
Outside of battle, nearly all of their abilities were shut down. æNearlyÆ, because that way, they could still fight in case of an attack on the base.
They could still use summon their rifles, their energy swords û but they lost their agility, their energy shields, the computerlike precision needed to use their weapons the way they did.
They retained the training they received, equal to the training all of their soldiers received. Even without their powers, they still commanded fear from everyone they faced.
But two kids versus an entire military base? No contest.
So why did he try to run?
------------------------
She was the first one to catch up to him. No û she was the only one who could catch up to him. Normal people canÆt fly through the sky.
He had knocked out his handlers, re-activated his combat abilities, and ran. He destroyed the control room, so that they couldnÆt deactivate him from the base.
But, they had planned for this. She was ordered to attack first.
So she did.
Five missiles began tailing him, but they were destroyed by a sword wave as soon as she created them. He had to slow down to use his weapons, to divert the energy to where it needed to go, but the frame of time was too short for her to activate the field.
She needed to stall him. Otherwise, sheÆd give him too much time to run away.
ôWhy are you doing this!?ö It was a stall tactic û everyone at the base had already pinned down the possible reasons for desertion they could use.
ôYou know why! And you canÆt stop me!ö He turned and fired his rifle, but she lowered her altitude, let the blasts dissipate above her, and never stopped.
ôHow are you doing this!?ö This was a valid question. They knew thoughts of desertion occurred, but couldnÆt see how he could pull it off. If nothing else, his core should have stopped him from leaving.
He knew what she was thinking, and stopped, for just an instant û an instant enough; she activated the field, trapping them both.
If one didnÆt convince the other soon, a fight would break out. He would have to kill her to escape. She had to hold out until backup arrived.
He floated to her level, made no move to draw his weapons. Her rifle was trained on him û if it came to blows, she would land the first blow.
ôàIs running away really a sin?ö Let him rant, itÆll give them more time to get here.
ôIf I leave, nothing changes for the worse. You could win the entire war by yourself. Without me, they would have to rely on you more to cover the slack û which you can do. Projected deaths for all sides remain the same. I can run because my morals are telling me it is the right thing to do.ö
Argue back, but stay calm. ôWhat a ridiculous statement. You donÆt want the enemyÆs heads on your conscience, but what weÆre doing is the right thing. By killing them, we make sure other people donÆt have to die. YouÆre just being selfish.ö
ôThen I guess IÆm selfish! I donÆt care!ö He shot a missile, she pulled the trigger û the missile blew up, and he was flying away from her.
He fired at her. He fired at her. It didnÆt connect, but -
She screamed, charged, slammed him into the sphere wall, destroyed his shield. She wasnÆt slashing at him, didnÆt shoot at him û just punches and slams, over and over.
ôSelfish bastard! Fucking coward! Go to hell go to hell go to hell!ö She screamed insults with every punch, swore at him every time she rammed him against the æwallÆ. The field was draining him with every touch, making the attacks hurt more with each passing second.
He couldnÆt fly now. She grabbed him, threw him towards the ground û he hit the bottom of the sphere, unable to move at all.
She stopped flying, allowed gravity to take her. Sword in hands, raised high, ready to stab down as soon as she could û
She couldnÆt. Not yet. She stopped, glowing blade inches from his heart.
ôWhy...?ö She had hated it just as much as he did. She hated what they were ordered to do, hated destroying, hated killing, hated each and every second.
No time for apologies, no time for proper burials, no time for anything, except for burning it all to the ground.
ôWhy didnÆt you take me with you?ö It was a pointless question û she knew that she would have turned him in if he had told her. To him, running away wasnÆt a sin. To her, it was.
But she wanted to hear his answer.
His arms and legs were fractured. He probably had a concussion. His eyes were glazed over, and he was struggling to breathe.
Despite all of that, he could still talk. He could still explain. He could still make everything right.
But he didnÆt.
ôàI donÆt want to kill you.ö
She wanted him to say something, anything. She didnÆt want his last words to be æI donÆt careÆ.
ôàIÆmàIÆm sorry.ö
He wasnÆt going to try and stop her. So she didnÆt stop.
Stab through the heart. Move diagonally, up the neck, to the brain. No blood, since the swordÆs heat cauterized the wounds.
No more hostiles, no more field. No more field, no more body. His corpse fell through the clouds, into the ocean.
She didnÆt want to retrieve it. They would have dissected it, studied it, and burned it once they were done ripping it apart.
But a burial at sea was still a proper burial.