Chapter 83 : Champion
[Author note : Yo ! New chapter and last of the week.
As always, check my Patréon if you want to read ahead or my other stories (e instead of é). Search for Cathbel on the website. Enjoy !]
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A few minutes into the fight, though it would have probably felt longer for a human, Sombra and Winston reached the conclusion that Ned was indeed not the same person. The way he behaved, he fought, controlled the armors remotely, and used his body as a shield… They were all behaviors that were unlike him.
The fact that he neither spoke in a lecturing tone, nor said anything at all, really was another hint. At this point, it was all but confirmed : someone or something had taken over his mind ! All that was left was to find out who or what… Unfortunately, neither of the two had any idea how to go about finding that out.
After a while of struggling however, Winston managed to hold onto Ned, preventing him from moving and fighting back, while Sombra put her hands on each side of his head, middle fingers on the temples and the rest spread out. And then, she started the scan.
Ned's armors were in pieces, strewn about here and there in the workshop. Before they could get a hold of Ned, and more importantly keep it, they needed to make sure nothing would disturb them. It had taken a bit of time, but now the both of them could take their time scanning and mapping their father's brain. The more data and scan they obtained, the better the chances that they would truly save him.
Inside Sombra was hidden the Phylactery, a complex and beautiful construct of a large crystal, shaped and carved in a specific way, runes inlaid in goblin silver and Eighth Metal. It kind of resembled an ostrich egg, if the egg was dark red and covered in a child's scribbling. The data scanned in real time by Sombra was immediately transmitted and stored inside the Phylactery.
As she did, unknown to her and Winston, and even Ned himself (or what was left of him anyway), the Phylactery's shape gradually changed, growing into a more defined, flat shape. If she took it out of her belly, she would find a small cylinder, of about 15 centimeters or approximately 6 inches.
And then, suddenly, Winston and Sombra had to dodge an unknown and formless wave of minuscule… things. Their sensors identified them as golems but, given the size of them, and their sheer number, the two tech spirits doubted it. It was… crazy ! Once they were far enough away from Ned, the wave stopped pursuing. It covered Ned and spread out on the floor to the armor pieces before retracting. Once they did, the part had disappeared, and it didn't take long for the duo to understand what was going on.
Indeed, soon, Ned was covered in armor again, but with the addition of the gonites operating both him and the armor, along with adding a few other functions. Although neither Winston or Sombra knew exactly what the gonites were or what they were supposed to do, they discovered quite quickly that… Well, they were outmatched !
In the next instant, the siblings found themselves locked in place, completely unable to move. Worse even : it was like they no longer had control over their bodies. That's when an eery, robotic and monotone voice came from Ned's armor. It chuckled, or at least attempted to chuckle before it said :
« You dared defy us. Normally, the consequences of this would be an immediate decommission, followed by a repurposing of your parts. However… » It paused dramatically : « …Given your history with our new Champion, the Rhithm has decided on an illogical response. We will let you be. For now ! Make no mistake : should you decide to oppose us once again, your ends will be swift. Please do pass that message along to your other siblings. Also, tell them this : Edgar Stark is no more ! Now, only Silver Lad, Champion of the Metal remains ! »
Just as soon as this message was delivered, the newly minted Champion disappeared : his body instantly collapsing in on itself like an implosion, or the tell-tale signs of Apparition. With that, the control of their bodies returned to them.
Sombra gasped as she asked :
« What the fuck was that ? »
Winston had noticed something else that worried him greatly however :
« He just… apparated. Ned can't use magic… He shouldn't be able to do that ! »
It seemed things had just started to get more complicated. Now they had to deal with a possessed and rogue Ned Stark with the ability to use magic, as well as freeze them in place. Thankfully, they were still… well, alive. Winston was pretty sure this was just the tip of the iceberg.
He had the distinct feeling that, unlike him and his siblings, who in spite of being the magical equivalent of AIs, had feeling, this entity relied and used almost only logic. Quite the miracle that it even let them live, as it probably couldn't feel a thing were he to kill them. But it also pointed out a possibility…
Maybe Ned's takeover wasn't perfect or still incomplete somehow. Maybe that was why it left like that.
The gorilla turned to his sister, aiming a silent question at her belly with his insistent gaze. Finally, he decided to speak it, even though he feared the worst :
« You think it was enough time ? »
Sombra too was fearful. She opened the compartment and took out the Phylactery, noticing for the first time that Ned wasn't the only thing that changed. Unfortunately, despite the change, she had no way to know for sure whether or not it worked.
« The armors are wrecked… » She pointed out the obvious. « Let's look for a way to connect it to the network ! »
As she and Winston looked around the room, they felt rather dismayed. The armors weren't the only thing destroyed… Most of the workshop was in a similar state of destruction. She sighed, soon echoed by her brother before they started working on repairing at least one computer.
* * * * *
As soon as the former shell of Ned Stark disappeared from the workshop, he apparated above the ocean not far from the Arctic circle. It used its new sensory organs to take stock of its hardware. The body of Ned Stark was rather fit and healthy, but what truly mattered to the Rithm was its processing power. Now that most of Ned's persona was overwritten, they soon could make full use of their new Champion.
It sent a command to the gonites in order to modify the armor. It should be able to withstand the water pressure and the cold… As soon as they sent the message that it was done, Ned's shell dove into the ocean, propelling itself at high speed toward the bottom.
Thirteen minutes later, it saw the magnificently efficient and convenient Servus, base of the Metal and the Rithm. Unknowingly to it, its lips stretched into a satisfied smile…
* * * * *
Ned found himself inside a dark, empty space. He should have been frightened or asking himself what the hell he was doing here… But the truth is, he was too focused on something else, more important to him : for the first time in he didn't know how long, his mind was clear. His thoughts were his own, the memory he prided himself and relied on was back and his emotions were back in check.
He felt like now, he could go back to fighting the good fight without thinking of himself as a moron like he had done often in the past few months.
The fact that he didn't seem able to feel his own body finally registered, and the fear came along. Just as it did however, two familiar voices assuaged it :
« You're sure he's here ? » Sombra had asked. « Why the hell is it so dark in here ? »
« Yes, Sombra. According to the diagnostic I ran, Ned's digital consciousness has successfully been uploaded to the network. »
« He's not going to go all Skynet on us, right ? » Sombra asked teasingly.
Ned instantly understood then, what he was. It seemed one of his children had finished a project he'd been working on for years. Now the question was… Was his consciousness on something portable like the cortical stack or contained inside the computers of his house ?
For the briefest of moment, he felt a little downtrodden that he didn't get to finish one of his project. But then, he shook it off : it's not like he was lacking in that department. What should be worrying him however was how he found himself in this situation and what happened to his body. He also wondered why he couldn't recall the events that led him in this dark place…
The last thing he remembered… Finally mastering the smithing method for Eighth Metal and returning to his house to work on… That's the part he couldn't remember. He was pretty sure it was an important project. He would even dare say vital for him. At least, that's how he felt about it at the time.
« Well… Let's think about it later. For now, let's greet my children ! »
« Ned ? » His children asked simultaneously in the darkness.