[] Take the hint, force the enemy to focus on Murray while you retrieved that sword you found before. He seemed capable enough.
You hesitated as you eyed the massive hostile before you, gauging its armaments it must have been a repurposed military Doll. You held your gun before you glanced at the man by your side, his eyes on the same enemy before you. However his eyes turned to you for a moment and you understood what he wanted.
If it's a sword he wanted, you knew where to get one.
Priming your body, you felt power surge through your entire frame. A soft breath left your lips as you dashed for the enemy's left side. Almost instantly, the Hovering Machine aimed one of its arms towards you, lasers fixed upon you as you ran. You grit your teeth as you tried to outrun whatever was coming, only for Murray to sigh.
"HEY! Eyes on me," he shouted as he held the black spike in his grasp, stepping forward and throwing it. A violent blast occurred, the black spike flying through the air and smashing into the Hovering Machine's arm knocking its aim upwards.
Your eyes widened at the sight as the ballistic blasts which erupted from the machine's arm fired at the ceiling. You kept moving, rushing through the warehouse past the vehicles and crates as the machine faced the man who interfered. Murray looked at his metallic arm and grimaced at the sparks which coursed through it.
The Hovering Machine opened up its back and unleashed a cluster of missiles to take to the air, homing in down on the man as he dashed. He moved fast, evading and keeping away from the explosions while you made your way to one of the storage rooms. You saw the black sword encased in the center before hacking through the system which held it in place.
Breaking down the security, the case fell down with a thud. Sliding to a halt, you listened to the crashes and explosions behind you as you grabbed hold of the locks and tore them off. One by one, you ripped them right off before grasping the sheathed blade, an unconventional blade which had its sheathe locked from outside access.
You then took it with you as you ran back outside. You watched as the Hovering Machine unleash blasts of flaming winds at Murray while he used a pieces of metals as shields. Upon coming to a halt, he swung hard and threw the shield into the enemy's head, the piece of metal was shot out of the air.
Running forward, you open fired with one hand. Bullets bounced off the enemy's armor as you held the sword in your other hand.
"HERE!" you yelled.
The Hovering Machine swept a blast of superheated laser through the air, prompting you to slide beneath it and sending the sword across the ground. It went underneath the enemy while you took aim at its propulsion mechanisms and concentrated fire on those sections.
Murray picked up the sword just as you sent the machine down on the ground. It recognized you as a threat and unleashed another volley of missiles through the air.
"Can you keep up, Doll?" Murray asked as the missiles flew towards you.
Taking aim, you shot them all down one by one, causing the air to bloom with orange flames. Embers danced as the machine aimed its arm at you, firing off another blast of heated wind. You dashed to the side to evade, giving you an opening to concentrate your fire on its side, its weaknesses being highlighted by your digimind.
Murray unlocked the sheathe and you detected a concentrated spike of energy within the area.
"Alright, let's rock and roll," Murray declared as he wore a grim expression. The Machine turned to face him but the man had the weapon on his hip, his stance practiced as his eyes widened.
He drew just as the machine was about to fire at him.
SCHWING SCHWING
Light.
Light cut through the air faster than your eyes could follow and in the next moment, the machine's arms were sliced right off. Slash marks carved themselves upon the walls before you saw the machine pause to process what just happened. Murray for his part was not unscathed, his augmented arms smoked as he fell down his knees.
"Shit, I missed," he growled.
"Commander!" you cried out to get his attention.
"Just give me a sec," Murray grunted as he got up his feet, only for the machine's eyes to flash red and a blast of laser fire towards him. He was forced to dodge out of the way before missiles took to the air.
No time to reload.
You switched to your sidearm and picked off every missile in the air.
"Fuck, drugs haven't worn off," Murray growled as he held his head, eyeing the enemy as he sluggishly got to his knees. He then turned to you, "HEY! YOU! THINK YOU CAN HANDLE IT?!"
A dumb question...
You rushed forward as you holstered your sidearm and reloaded your primary weapon. The Machine sensed your approach and directed its next laser towards you. You then tore off your cloak, tossing it into the air as the laser pierced it. Kicking off the ground, you jumped high and bit off the pins to your incendiary grenades.
With two canisters in each hand, you send all four of them flying downwards, casting a fiery inferno to blaze around the enemy. The flames danced and began to consume everything, leaving the Machine with little information to track you with. However you got close enough, using the flames as a curtain and as a means of attack.
You got close enough to it that you were able to step on its body and take a frag grenade and jam it between a crevice of its chest and armor. You then kicked off its body and launched yourself through the air. The grenade detonate and blew a piece of the enemy's armor off, revealing its core as Murray got to his feet.
"One more time," he breathed as he held the sword's grip and moved.
SCHWING SCHWING
He slashed once more, light streaking through the air as the Machine was cut and split before being blown apart. It was here the man let out a breath as his foe was cut, sheathing his crackling sword and locking it. He fell forward but you managed to catch him before he fell. His scarred face was contorted to one of pain.
"Commander," you called out to him.
"I haven't accepted it yet. Even if there is a transfer of power..." Murray said as he glanced your way, "But I do need your help. Let's bail. Take the armored truck out of here. Go!"
You nodded as you supported his body and dragged him to the nearest vehicle. You managed to undo the electronic locks and shove the man inside, his arms still smoking and the distinct stench of burning meat filled the air. You shut the door and saw guards begin to appear. They saw you and open fired your way as you tossed out a grenade their way.
You then got in the driver's seat and checked everything that was there. Fuel, start up, you initialized its systems and started the armored vehicle. You then began driving, reversing backwards first before driving through several burning crates. You made your way through the warehouse area and found a path leading upwards.
The emergency doors were being shut but you kicked the gas and shot forward, moving through the road and launching yourself into the compound. Several guards open but the armored plating on your vehicle managed to bounce their projectiles off the surface.
"Where to?" you asked as you glanced at the man behind you groaning.
"Get us through the slums. Out of the Upper Streets. They'll give up once we're another asshole's territory," Murray said as he caught his breath.
You kept your hands on the wheel and kept driving. The vehicle lurched forward and sped up, trailing through the city.
.....
....
...
You stopped the vehicle through an abandoned dumping site. You let out a breath before glancing at the rearview mirror that the man you had saved was unconscious. You grimaced before stepping out of the armored van and surveyed the area. There were no hostiles that had come to pursue you this far. Checking the van itself it didn't seem like a transmitter was attached to it for you to be tracked.
You should be safe... For now.
You perked up once the side door slid open and Murray stepped out, one hand still carrying the sheathed sword in his grasp.
"I should go. Thanks for the save," he said as he glanced your way.
"I still have my mission. My orders were to find you and deliver to you information. With the transfer of command-" you began but the man cut you off.
"It doesn't matter. If you're such a stickler for orders then I'll give you one. Fuck off," Murray said as he shook his head, "Your Commander... That woman. She's got nothing to do with me. I'm not about to do what she wants just because she asks. Especially not when she sends scrap like you to do it instead of finding me herself."
"Had the Commander desired it she would have but as you may have ascertained, she is... compromised. Griffin and its entirety has been compromised for a total of three weeks now," you explained with a grim tone.
"And you don't know?" the man asked.
You blinked before looking to the side, "I... I was not involved with the campaign Griffin had led."
"It was all over the news... Doesn't matter. Well then, what did that woman want to give me?" Murray growled.
You took out another chip you recorded the encrypted file in. There was a passcode which even you were unable to crack so you handed it over to him. The man took the chip and slotted it in his wrist to peruse it.
You staggered back holding your gun before asking, "What was your relationship with the Commander?"
"Partner. We used to run a Mercenary Company back in the day," Murray replied as his eyes stared at empty space, "That was until she shot me in the back and left me for dead."
Escape
[] "You probably deserve it." (You didn't trust this man.)
[] "That's... Unfortunate." (Perhaps if you're going to work with him, some rapport would help)
[] "It seems like you have a history." (Show interest. This you have to hear.)
[] Write in...
