DB FE: Launching Anarchy
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Chapter 1: A Wonderful World
Zakuul, Present Day
In a run down section of building deep within the downtown sectors of Zakuul, an elevator rocked along as it shot upwards in its ascension. The rickety shaking of the elevator did little to throw the single man standing in the center off balance, his body swaying a bit as he hummed a small tune to himself along with the little bit of elevator music coming from the monitor barely hanging up in the right hand corner. His eyes were shut, his humming a bit off from the actual melody that the monitor played, only stopping to occasionally sing lyrics.
"I see trees of green..."
In a run down section of building deep within the downtown sectors of Zakuul, an elevator rocked along as it shot upwards in its ascension. The rickety shaking of the elevator did little to throw the single man standing in the center off balance, his body swaying a bit as he hummed a small tune to himself along with the little bit of elevator music coming from the monitor barely hanging up in the right hand corner. His eyes were shut, his humming a bit off from the actual melody that the monitor played, only stopping to occasionally sing lyrics.
"I see trees of green..."
The images in the man's mind flashed in his closed eyes, featuring a typical oak wood forest of trees being decimated by a wildfire. The images had no sound in the man's mind, and his swaying continued as he happily sung the words despite the image in his head.
"Red roses too..."
His mind switched scenery, the trees that had been alight now a burning city in familiar Earth fashion. Unidentifiable bodies lined the street, streams of blood flowing freely into the gutters as his perky voice continued.
"I see them bloom..."
The man's mind shifted again, his eyes turning down and his hands lifting up with a woman's corpse in his arms. His voice dropped a bit, losing a bit of enjoyment in the next line.
"For me and you..."
His voice returned, his peppy humming ringing out as if nothing had happened a few moments ago. His smile lifted slightly at the final bit, the elevator rocking violently as he slowly turned his head towards the monitor.
"And I think to myself..."
The melody from the monitor shut off entirely, leaving the man to complete his singing to his own devices. An image of two humans, one male and one female, sitting at a desk fro a news station appeared on the monitor. Both smiled brightly into the camera, nearly matching the man's enthusiasm despite lacking his narrowed eyebrows that accented his glare at the monitor.
"What a wonderful world."
The man in the elevator stopped his motion, brushing his short black hair on the left a bit before the male news caster on the monitor spoke up.
"Gooooood morning, Zakuul! It's another beautiful day here in the metropolis, sun is shining and temperatures set to sit in the 70s all decade long! Our first breaking story of the day features Emperor Arcann himself, paying a tribute to the local veterans facility."
The man stifled a small chuckle, staring up at the video footage of Arcann helping an elderly man walk through the busy hallway of the facility before lightly flinging his wrist up, firing off a small blast of golden energy that vaporized the screen.
"Typical. Can't ever report the negative without big boy's approval."
The elevator doors shot open, the man stepping into the lavish penthouse that contrasted the rickety elevator he just departed. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head, frowning a bit as he glanced around.
"C'mon Scorpio, I trusted you to get that anthrax through ZNN's firewall. If only twelve people die, they'll just cover it up! We've been over this: sixty seven is the magic number!"
A robotic feminine voice rung out in the house, coming from no where in particular.
"My apologies, sir. Overwatch got to the mail first: you know how administrator Tayvor is."
The man dismissively waved his hand.
"Yeah yeah. He won't ever let us have real fun around here."
Scorpio's voice came out flat again, the meaning sarcastic but her tone empty of emotion.
"Might I suggest outlining your specific kill list to the administrator next time, Lapis?"
The man scoffed, dropping his arms.
"Firebrand. Don't mention that name again unless you want me to turn you off for another year, hun."
He lept up, landing butt first into a large chair sitting in front of a large, yet intangible monitor. He rubbed his chin for a moment, sighing to himself.
"Hmmm...that was the best idea I've had in a long time. I spent months digging up that old virus from Earth...and it doesn't even make the headlines in the news."
He lifted his chin up.
"Scorpio, how relevant do you think I am to the population nowadays?"
There was a small pause, the mechanical voice ringing out.
"You are currently maintaining your five percent population influence, sir."
The man perked his eyebrows, resting back in his chair.
"Oh, it's not as bad as I thought."
"Sir, might I suggest taking on the lucrative seven percent plan that you drew up three months ago? Now would be a perfect time to expand your influence on the citizens."
The man waved his hand.
"Naw..we don't need to go that far yet. We probably have at least 90% of the population knowing my name. I don't wanna put too much fear into them."
He perked his lips.
"How about another manifesto? Those kids will eat up another essay about the shackles of authority, don't you think?"
Scorpio didn't reply for a few seconds, prompting Android 17 to raise an eyebrow at the screen.
"Uh? Scorpio?"
Android 17 blinked hard, retreating back in his seat as a sudden wall of text flashed onto his screen. He barely registered what was flooding onto his computer screen, only focusing in once the big bold letters flashed across the center reading:
C͔̳̤͍O̴̮̲͚̹̙D̴E B̹̖͇̭L̷̼̳͖A͙C̯̖̩͎̱K͏̤͓̬ͅ
"Red roses too..."
His mind switched scenery, the trees that had been alight now a burning city in familiar Earth fashion. Unidentifiable bodies lined the street, streams of blood flowing freely into the gutters as his perky voice continued.
"I see them bloom..."
The man's mind shifted again, his eyes turning down and his hands lifting up with a woman's corpse in his arms. His voice dropped a bit, losing a bit of enjoyment in the next line.
"For me and you..."
His voice returned, his peppy humming ringing out as if nothing had happened a few moments ago. His smile lifted slightly at the final bit, the elevator rocking violently as he slowly turned his head towards the monitor.
"And I think to myself..."
The melody from the monitor shut off entirely, leaving the man to complete his singing to his own devices. An image of two humans, one male and one female, sitting at a desk fro a news station appeared on the monitor. Both smiled brightly into the camera, nearly matching the man's enthusiasm despite lacking his narrowed eyebrows that accented his glare at the monitor.
"What a wonderful world."
The man in the elevator stopped his motion, brushing his short black hair on the left a bit before the male news caster on the monitor spoke up.
"Gooooood morning, Zakuul! It's another beautiful day here in the metropolis, sun is shining and temperatures set to sit in the 70s all decade long! Our first breaking story of the day features Emperor Arcann himself, paying a tribute to the local veterans facility."
The man stifled a small chuckle, staring up at the video footage of Arcann helping an elderly man walk through the busy hallway of the facility before lightly flinging his wrist up, firing off a small blast of golden energy that vaporized the screen.
"Typical. Can't ever report the negative without big boy's approval."
The elevator doors shot open, the man stepping into the lavish penthouse that contrasted the rickety elevator he just departed. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head, frowning a bit as he glanced around.
"C'mon Scorpio, I trusted you to get that anthrax through ZNN's firewall. If only twelve people die, they'll just cover it up! We've been over this: sixty seven is the magic number!"
A robotic feminine voice rung out in the house, coming from no where in particular.
"My apologies, sir. Overwatch got to the mail first: you know how administrator Tayvor is."
The man dismissively waved his hand.
"Yeah yeah. He won't ever let us have real fun around here."
Scorpio's voice came out flat again, the meaning sarcastic but her tone empty of emotion.
"Might I suggest outlining your specific kill list to the administrator next time, Lapis?"
The man scoffed, dropping his arms.
"Firebrand. Don't mention that name again unless you want me to turn you off for another year, hun."
He lept up, landing butt first into a large chair sitting in front of a large, yet intangible monitor. He rubbed his chin for a moment, sighing to himself.
"Hmmm...that was the best idea I've had in a long time. I spent months digging up that old virus from Earth...and it doesn't even make the headlines in the news."
He lifted his chin up.
"Scorpio, how relevant do you think I am to the population nowadays?"
There was a small pause, the mechanical voice ringing out.
"You are currently maintaining your five percent population influence, sir."
The man perked his eyebrows, resting back in his chair.
"Oh, it's not as bad as I thought."
"Sir, might I suggest taking on the lucrative seven percent plan that you drew up three months ago? Now would be a perfect time to expand your influence on the citizens."
The man waved his hand.
"Naw..we don't need to go that far yet. We probably have at least 90% of the population knowing my name. I don't wanna put too much fear into them."
He perked his lips.
"How about another manifesto? Those kids will eat up another essay about the shackles of authority, don't you think?"
Scorpio didn't reply for a few seconds, prompting Android 17 to raise an eyebrow at the screen.
"Uh? Scorpio?"
Android 17 blinked hard, retreating back in his seat as a sudden wall of text flashed onto his screen. He barely registered what was flooding onto his computer screen, only focusing in once the big bold letters flashed across the center reading:
C͔̳̤͍O̴̮̲͚̹̙D̴E B̹̖͇̭L̷̼̳͖A͙C̯̖̩͎̱K͏̤͓̬ͅ
17 blinked hard once more, frowning a bit.
"A code black?"
Scorpio's voice soon followed.
"This was just issued from Overwatch HQ. An anonymous tipped just circulated through, warning of a potential break-in to a facility located within the inner city."
17 touched the screen, pulling up an image of the skyscraper. The building blended in well with the rest of Zakuul's city skyline, 17 raising an eyebrow while he studied the outside image.
"A code black though? They've never issued one of those before...what is this building? An armory?"
Scorpio's voice remained flat.
"The information records require a clearance beyond even Adminstrator Tayvor's credentials. According to the permit records, this building technically does not exist."
17 narrowed his eyes, studying the image for a brief moment in confusion. His body shook, however, at the sudden explosive rumble of the city nearby. A flash of smoke, fire, and debris caught his peripheral vision, prompting him to slide across the floor with his chair to the nearby window. The debris of glass and stone continued to rain down, no indication of a source nearby. His eyes shifted up after a few minutes, watching on as three Zakuul gunships descended down from the sky above to surround the small hole left in the building.
What the hell?
17 gasped, the sound of the nearby elevator doors instantly slamming shut. He glanced around, watching most of the doors in the penthouse leading to an exit in the building locking tightly without his input or control, prompting him to lift his head up.
"Scorpio, what are you doing?"
"This is not my action, sir. Overwatch has just initiated the Safeguard protocol."
17's head stayed turned up, listening on as a firm, militaristic voice rung out over the intercom in his apartment.
Attention, Citizens of Zakuul, this is not a drill. Operation Safeguard is now in effect: all pedestrians are to report to designated safe shelters and avoid contact with any unknown individuals. Please do not tamper with locks to your homes and wait for a Knight to lift the safeguards once the emergency has passed: any damage found to electronic safeguards will warrant immediate execution. Thank you for your cooperation.
17 rubbed his chin, his eyes staring out the window to the ruined building across the way.
"Scorpio, how long will it take you to break through this lockdown?"
"The code is primitive, estimated completion time is four hours."
17 rose out of his seat, turning on his heel with a small smile.
"Perfect. It'll give me enough time to pick out an outfit for my first evening out on the town."
He chuckled to himself, momentarily humming the melody he sung earlier yet stringing the words in a simple sentence while he walked towards his bedroom.
"What a wonderful world."
"A code black?"
Scorpio's voice soon followed.
"This was just issued from Overwatch HQ. An anonymous tipped just circulated through, warning of a potential break-in to a facility located within the inner city."
17 touched the screen, pulling up an image of the skyscraper. The building blended in well with the rest of Zakuul's city skyline, 17 raising an eyebrow while he studied the outside image.
"A code black though? They've never issued one of those before...what is this building? An armory?"
Scorpio's voice remained flat.
"The information records require a clearance beyond even Adminstrator Tayvor's credentials. According to the permit records, this building technically does not exist."
17 narrowed his eyes, studying the image for a brief moment in confusion. His body shook, however, at the sudden explosive rumble of the city nearby. A flash of smoke, fire, and debris caught his peripheral vision, prompting him to slide across the floor with his chair to the nearby window. The debris of glass and stone continued to rain down, no indication of a source nearby. His eyes shifted up after a few minutes, watching on as three Zakuul gunships descended down from the sky above to surround the small hole left in the building.
What the hell?
17 gasped, the sound of the nearby elevator doors instantly slamming shut. He glanced around, watching most of the doors in the penthouse leading to an exit in the building locking tightly without his input or control, prompting him to lift his head up.
"Scorpio, what are you doing?"
"This is not my action, sir. Overwatch has just initiated the Safeguard protocol."
17's head stayed turned up, listening on as a firm, militaristic voice rung out over the intercom in his apartment.
Attention, Citizens of Zakuul, this is not a drill. Operation Safeguard is now in effect: all pedestrians are to report to designated safe shelters and avoid contact with any unknown individuals. Please do not tamper with locks to your homes and wait for a Knight to lift the safeguards once the emergency has passed: any damage found to electronic safeguards will warrant immediate execution. Thank you for your cooperation.
17 rubbed his chin, his eyes staring out the window to the ruined building across the way.
"Scorpio, how long will it take you to break through this lockdown?"
"The code is primitive, estimated completion time is four hours."
17 rose out of his seat, turning on his heel with a small smile.
"Perfect. It'll give me enough time to pick out an outfit for my first evening out on the town."
He chuckled to himself, momentarily humming the melody he sung earlier yet stringing the words in a simple sentence while he walked towards his bedroom.
"What a wonderful world."