ANALYZING SUBJECT...
...
ANALYSIS COMPLETE. SUBJECT CONFIRMED DECEASED.

______ stood inside of a politcian's office, holding a knife in their hand. Blood dripped down the edge of the blade, falling onto the carpeted floor drip by drip. The machine stood with its back to the corpse, which lay in an office chair with a visibly slashed throat.

The corpse in question was a corrupt politician who actively participated in dealing weapons to groups who insisted on using them in the Outer Ring. By pushing these weapons and lining his pockets, the politician was also helping to ensure that the poor remain poor without any hope of leaving their circumstances. To try would result in encountering these groups, more like than not.

At least, until ______ stepped in.

Checking a police scanner, it only took mere moments to know that the kill had gone by silently and no one was on the way. It meant it would be an easy night, at the least.

It was strange. You'd think that after five years, the prospect of taking a life would be utterly desensitized.

No. ______ felt it just as much as the first time. Since the poor boy who's life was cut tragically short. Every life rattled as much as the last. Every death felt haunting.

But it had to be done. Their quarry was still out of reach.

Heavy boots would walk towards the window of the office, staring down into the streets. On the surface, Hiraeth City looked completely normal, like any other city. But underneath that surface was a festering rot that only grew more powerful no matter what was done. In five years, no other tech produced by MT had even come close to what this exosuit was capable of, but even it didn't feel like enough to wipe the city clean.

It didn't matter, though. ______'s goals would never be deterred.

Looking down further, the machine would spot what looked like a woman who was at the dead end of an alleyway. And approaching her was two other figures.

ANALYSIS... The suit spoke once more. A myriad of lights and text flashed across ______'s visor. ANALYSIS COMPLETE...

Even from this distance, ______ could now make out that the woman was holding a knife in self-defense. It meant one last detour before retiring for the night.

Opening the window with a swiftness, there was no hesitation as the exosuit leapt from the building and onto a nearby fire escape. Jumping from rail to rail, wall to wall as it made its way down swiftly, it would land with a loud thud against the concrete, between the woman and the two assailants. Landing in a crouch, it would rise up slowly, turning to face the men. Blue lights would flash from its eyes, and ______ would stare at them without a word before pulling a pistol from a holster at its side and pointing it towards the men.

No shots would be fired. Not yet. They had a chance to run. If necessary, they would be hunted later to be purged away from where the woman could see.

Soile

It seemed that one of them truly was stupid, or was far more confident in himself than he should've been. He came in to attack the exosuit, and ______ would merely stand there and tank the blow unflinchingly. In response, they would slam the barrel of the gun hard and painfully into the goon's forehead, cocking it as the sound resonated across the alleyway. They didn't fire, but it should be more than enough to make their point.

"That's strike two. Leave now, before the walls get a fresh new coat of red paint." A distorted voice would come forth, disguising itself digitally.

If the point still wasn't clear, ______ would advance on the goon before them, lifting him into the air with both hands before violently throwing him after his running friend. If, however, he got the point and decided to run, ______ would continue to watch until they were out of sight before turning to face the woman before them.

The machine would stare in silence for a few moments, the woman's face seeming awfully familiar...

ANALYZING...

If she looked, she may have seen the blue, glowing eyes widen for a split second.

ANALYSIS COMPLETE.

Images of a missing person's poster would temporarily flash across their visor, comparing the facial features and showing an exact match.

"You are..." The machine looked down briefly. "You are... Soile Nyland...?"

What a strange twist of fate, to find the once lover of their first victim in such a manner. Was this a coincidence, or were the gods playing their games with them?

Looking back up at her, ______'s masked face displayed no signs of emotion or feeling.

"Time looks like it's been kind to you." They would say finally, awaiting her answer and subsequent confirmation of her identity before continuing.

Soile

Her words were surprisingly nonchalant and calm, though her body language told a different story. The machine's eyes darted to observe her closely. She was afraid. Reasonably so. Whether she recognized the armor or not, it was an unusual sight. And if she did know of it, then there was only one explanation for the terror she must have been feeling.

The boy's death lingered on ______'s mind. Soile Nyland was still amongst the living. The boy's fate might have been averted had he only known. He might've chosen a different path. They might have had their future together. ______ might not even have existed in this manner.

The boy died for nothing.

Nothing.

"I saw your weapon before I even approached." They admitted. "I assure you, it'll be ineffective and would break against this armor."

Their eyes stared at her, as if lost deep in thought. She didn't belong in Hiraeth. She didn't deserve to live with any of the grief they had wrought upon her. If ______ was a product of their own circumstances, then what did that make her?

Their hand would raise once more with gun in hand, this time towards Soile. Lightly flipping the gun in their hand, they would catch it by the barrel and hold the grip out towards her.

"Perhaps this would suffice." The voice said, offering her the weapon.

Their mission took precedence.

But the wheels of fate are ever turning unexpectedly.

Soile

The anger and grief was made apparent in her eyes. Her hands shook. ______ prepared for her to pull the trigger.

It wouldn't have been enough to kill them, but it was nice to think that the suffering could ever end.

And yet, the unexpected happened.

It all happened in a flash.

Soile turned the gun on herself, and ______ moved forward in an instant. An armored hand would place itself between the gun and her chin, and as the trigger was pulled, the sound of gunfire would be muffled by the hand gripping the barrel tightly. A somewhat audible yelp of pain could be heard from ______ as the bullet lodged into their hand, but was stopped by the exosuit before it could actually harm Soile.

From there, the machine would pull away the gun, taking a step back. Blood would trickle down the side of the gun as they held it, and they would stare at Soile once more.

"It seems the love you shared runs deep..." They said after a while. "But it would do no good for you to die too. There would be no justice."

Their hurt hand was trembling, but they would act as though they were not phased. Instead, it looked as though they seemed far more concerned for the woman in front of them, despite her obvious hatred for them.

"Why did you not choose to shoot me, instead? I am the object of your sorrow."

Soile

The machine watched. The gun dropped. As did she. She took their injured hand in her own as she fell to her knees, and they felt pain shoot through their hand further. They remained silent, not betraying that they had felt anything, but the trembling was difficult to feign through.

Why did ______ save her, indeed? Behind a mask, they closed their eyes. They saw flashes of what was, long ago. There she stood, with the boy who adored her like she was everything in the world. And how that vision was torn apart because of the exosuit before her.

"But you meant everything to him." ______ spoke after a long pause. "Before his end, he confided in me all of his hopes and joys. They concerned you."

They did nothing to move their hand away, and instead opted to look at Soile as they spoke quietly.

"But this is not the place to discuss such things. The night is young, and yet dangerous. I will see you safely to a place of your choosing."

They weren't sure if they were trying to escape from this conversation or finding a safer place to discuss it. Either way, Soile did not deserve to suffer. ______ was the cause of much of her grief, but they would not see her meet her untimely end in the same way.

Sometimes they felt like more than just a machine.

Sometimes they could remember what it was like to be a human.

Sometimes they could remember the life they had before they put this monstrosity on.

Sometimes they reminisced on what it was like before they took that first life.

Sometimes.

Soile

Back to her apartment? It took a moment for the machine to process. There weren't any logical conclusions they could come to about why she would invite them home of all places. ______ was the one who killed her beloved. By all rights, she should've turned the gun on them and achieved justice at last. Part of them wondered if she had thought of a better vengeance, yet she also tried to take her own life right before them. Blood trickled down their fingers, and they would take a look at the place where the nano-mesh had covered the wound in an attempt to stall the bleeding.

"ANALYSIS... BULLET LODGED IN THE CENTER OF SUBJECT'S HAND. IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION RECOMMENDED. FURTHER USE IS NOT RECOMMENDED. CHANCES OF FULL RECOVERY ESTIMATED TO BE 55%."

The voice in the helmet spoke as it examined their wound. Those chances weren't as great as they had hoped, but ensuring Soile had survived her stunt made it a small price to pay.

Reaching down to pick up the weapon, they would struggle to place it back in their holster for a moment, finally situating it before they looked up to see Soile walking. ______ stood in silence for a moment, stopping to think on the best course of action. Within moments, they began to follow behind. They promised her safe passage to her home, but the thought of going in so she could tend to the wound...?

The machine did not deserve that.

She should've left it to bleed at her mercy.

They would follow along in silence, making their way through the alleyways as they trailed close behind. Travelling through the alleys was a clever idea, as it was difficult to mask their presence while ensuring they stayed close enough to keep her safe should anything happen.

Thankfully, the trip seemed rather uneventful.

"Why would you invite me in? My injury does not please you?" They would finally ask after some time. They were truly curious.

Soile

It wouldn't be right.

She was saying that to the machine that ruined her happiness.

It was amusing, in its own sad and tragic way. She had every reason to hate ______, and very likely did. Immensely. Yet, she still possessed a heart of gold in spite of it all.

An angel. Too pure for the wretched and festering rot that Hiraeth had become. Her light was not to be extinguished, and it was the least that ______ could do was ensure that much.

When they arrived to her apartment building, masked eyes would look up at the building, unsure of what they were expecting. An ordinary place was before them, and they stood in silence for moments.

Looking back at Soile, they were close to turning and leaving now that she had been seen home safely, and they were prepared to walk away wordlessly when she had asked if they could stay.

______ looked away, towards the ground. She had good intentions. But they were undeserving of them. It was wrong for them to be around her. She invited too much chaos into her life by even being around this monster. Her heart must've been in complete turmoil.

"I..."

They began, prepared to say no. Their mind flashed to her pulling the gun on herself, and they shut their eyes as they steeled their resolve. After that display, it was far too risky to leave her on her own for now. Perhaps it was best to take her up on her offer anyway.

And there was the chance they would never see each other again, but it might have been for the best. Hesitantly, they would look up at her eyes once more.

"... I accept."

It was strange. But a part of them sought comfort in the small care she took despite who they were.
Soile