(3rd Pov)
After a quick rest and recovery, the group consisting of constructs and a human continue their journey to regroup with other squads. In their travels, no member of Gray Raven showed any caution around the infected construct of the group, which surprised Y/n, but he wasn't against it. Though, on the topic of caution, Liv seemed like she wanted to say something but refraining herself. Y/n rolled his eyes and spoke first.
"Can I help you?" He didn't turn to her, but Liv jumped slightly when she knew he was talking to her. She bowed her head slightly with rosy cheeks.
"Sorry, to be a bother... but you seemed to have taken a bad hit from that infected construct. Do you not need to be looked over?"
"... I appreciate the concern. I needed to live on my own, so I made a few tricks with the virus in me. In exchange for preventing it from spreading to others, I purposefully take damage to have it heal me. I also tend to expel the virus in my attacks, as you may have noticed. Though I have to be mindful of the output, because I could either risk it spreading or end up draining myself. "
"Hmph, nothing without risk as I thought." Lee was the one to speak when hearing this. "It's not such a good thing if you kept your sanity with the virus, it won't let you off that easy."
"You're not wrong. It's still very much a virus."
"Then how did you come to this situation?" Asher asked slowly, hoping it isn't a hard topic to approach. Y/n mulled it over before speaking.
"That's kind of classified."
"Classified?" Asher was caught off guard by the answer.
"Yeah, just ask Nikola." Y/n shrugged off his surprise.
"You managed to contact him?"
"Yeah, it's not hard to accomplish. I mean, I've been in this state for years and only now you know about me? Can you think why?"
"Your existence is classified?" Lee raised a brow as he spoke.
"For the most part. I'm sure if you look in some squad reports, they might have received aid from a lone construct with vague descriptions or designations. I was told to hide the fact I have the virus a secret for as long as I can. He couldn't make anything official about me without further information. Other than him, Celica, Asimov, and President Hassen are aware of me, along with a select few others."
"So what happens now? We've seen what you're capable of." Asher asks.
"Make a direct report on what you know to Nikola. Mention my name and he'll hear you out."
"You seem to know him personally." Lucia inquired.
"Well, it's because of him that I'm allowed to go out on solo missions. Though those missions are directly given to me by him."
"It's rare for that man to take a personal interest in anyone." Asher added.
"What rank are you?" Liv asked curiously.
"Something akin to 'Hero'. Though, now that I'm off the books, I don't think it really matters."
All of Gray Raven were pleasantly surprised to learn he has a high rank.
"Wow, you must have accomplished a lot."
"I suppose." He shrugs.
"Okay, so you can't disclose anything about what happened to you?" Asher inquired, steering the conversation to the original topic. Y/n thinks about it, then speaks.
"Whether you know it or not won't hinder me anyway.... It was about three years ago. I was usually on my own, since I was licensed to travel and do missions on my own, without anyone's help. I was assigned an extermination mission in an entire city, not too many corrupted, but very high density. HQ insisted I need help, so they assigned a capable team."
"What happened?"
"There was a tremor that caught all of us off guard. What happened next... tale for another time."
Asher and Liv blinked when he nodded at the path ahead. They were met with the sight of multiple construct bodies sprawled across the ground. Liv takes a running start to check the nearest one. She frowned, causing a chain reaction to the rest of her team.
"Is there where the squads are supposed to meet?" Y/n asked as he calmly studies the surroundings. Then his eyes widened. "Hey, over there."
Gray Raven looks to where he was pointing. A mangled corrupted was crawling to the Signal emitter. It stabbed its arm into the machine and corrupted it. Asher grimaces before Y/n walks over to dispose the corrupted.
"The constructs here lost their hold."
"And now the corrupted use the emitter to lure in teams. An old trick, but effective on teams who need supplies."
"Will you need this?" Y/n asks, point at the signal.
"We need to make sure if there are survivors." Liv responds to him.
Nodding, Y/n places a hand on the device before the red energy crawled up his arm and soon faded from view. Liv and Asher awed at the sight while Lee and Lucia narrowed their eyes at the comprehension of what he was doing.
"Are you absorbing it?"
"Yeah, though this is all I can manage right now, since I'm still full."
"Does this mean you could possibly purge the virus from other constructs?" Liv looked at him with widened eyes that were filled with hope. Y/n slightly frowned and shook his head.
"Not quite, if it ever reaches the mind, all I can manage is the body. It'll be up to the mind beacon to save them. It's not much, I know..."
Liv frowned slightly but shook her head and smiled in understanding. Y/n didn't like the feeling of letting her down. Suddenly, Liv gasped at the notifications she's receiving in her mind.
"I received multiple distress signals that are nearby!"
Asher nodded.
"Let's lend a hand. Gray Raven, get ready!"
"Yes!"
"Lead the way then." Y/n nodded along with the plan. They then took off at a mild sprint, wanting to help the other team soon.
++++++
After a few minutes, Gray Raven slowed down to see where one of the signals came from. Y/n, however, didn't and kept sprinting. Before Gray Raven could understand, he brought out his sword, jumped over a pile of debris and smacked away a few corrupted, who were bearing down on their latest victim. He energized his sword slightly and quickly took them out. He looked back and to see Liv had reached the down construct first. She saw the construct and went over to inspect him. Y/n kept a look out for more enemies.
"He's the one who sent the signal... We didn't arrive fast enough."
"His team should be nearby. We only found him." Y/n spoke before they could mull over the loss. "Liv, can you detect anymore signals?"
"Yes."
"Then let's continue."
It wasn't too long before they found survivors. It was a group of constructs laying on the ground with supplies around them. Some of them were repairing their visible wounds. One sees them and recognizes them.
"You... came..."
He seemed infected slightly, with a slow spread of rust crawling up his arm. Y/n didn't hesitate to put one foot forward to help ease his burden despite the many witnesses around him. Thinking a little faster than him, Liv quickly went to the constructs side and held out her arms.
"Here, I can help." She states as her hand glows pink. They were sending special signals to his arm that slowly suppressed the virus. Y/n hummed at the sight. Asher chooses this time to ask questions.
"Can one of you tell us what happened."
"You must be Gray Raven. We're the supply team, we got cornered by the corrupted and made this bridge a temporary communication station. Though we found something weird."
"What?"
"We found grafiti around this area and saw corrupted... chanting? To them? They seem to like it. We think they're forming their own organization."
"That is strange.... Please elaborate."
"Did you not see the graffiti? Some of the corrupted seem to be drawn to them and understand their meaning. We don't know what they mean."
"I see... thank you for the information. Go ahead and recall your consciousness, we'll have someone pick up your frames."
"Wait." Y/n suddenly perks up at the mention of the 'recall system'. Asher looked at him weirdly from hearing the slight alarm in his voice. Y/n quickly calms his tone and speaks, "I know you'll find it hard to move in your current state, but now that the virus has been sealed off, I think you should keep your body. Whether to get it repaired to fight again or reuse it as spare parts after getting a new frame, we should conserve as many resources as we can."
"We're not critically low on parts to use for new frames Y/n." Lee speaks with cold eyes on him. "Are you not well informed on today's news?"
Y/n was going to argue further, only for Liv to speak up on his behalf.
"Actually, I think that may be a good idea. Critical state or not, we should not rush in bettering our current state of being. Though I do greatly urge you to find a stronghold to recuperate."
Y/n glanced at her, and their eyes met briefly. They both turn to Lee who had a scrutinizing gaze on both of them. Before he could respond, the construct speaks for himself.
"Um, well, if it's advice coming from elite squad members, I suppose I should heed it, no?"
The construct rubs the back of his head nervously. Asher and Lucia stand to the side in silence. Lee sighs and shakes his head.
"Very well then." Giving his final words on the topic, he turns and walks off. Asher hums while Lucia ponders to herself.
"Anyway, since we can agree that we should make use of everything, do you want to take my functioning arm?" The construct chimes. Lucia looked at him confused as he was talking in her direction.
"You're an elite member, I think you'll need this more than I do." He states as he went ahead and detached his left.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Very well then."
Liv gratefully takes the arm and begins the process of replacing Lucia's arm. As she does so, Y/n chooses to follow Lee, not minding Asher was following him as well.
They find Lee scrolling through a hologram being projected from his hand.
"Lee." Said individual only glanced his way, so Y/n continued, "About what happened back there. It wasn't right time to say it, but you should know-"
"I know it's a lie." Lee coldy cuts him off, as well as cutting off the hologram and turning to him, idly noting his Commandant not too far from them. Y/n looks at him surprised while Asher stood silent. "The 'Recall System', It's a lie. Do it too many times, people tend to act stiffly, even around close friends. I was going to say something myself, but you beat me to it. Sorry for the heat, but I tend to call out flaws in BS."
Y/n shakes off the shock and nods in agreement. He turns to Asher.
"Did you know?"
"The Recall system, meant to be every construct's last bastion of hope. It could help the mind escape corruption and be sent to the mind sea in Babylonia. However, it isn't like that at all. It only creates a copy of your memories and downloads them into a new body. The person on the ground is gone for good while another will never be aware they aren't the same person." Asher nods gravely.
"Do Liv and Lucia know?"
"I think they do, but we never openly talk about it. I think they choose to help others believe in the recall system, to keep hope."
"I see..."
They fall silent before Liv comes walking over with Lucia who moves her new left arm experimentally. She also appears to have a more tamed look compared to when she had her pain receptors turned off.
"Commandant." Liv looks to Asher. "I went ahead and turned back on her pain receptors. Also, we were informed that there is a supply crate with parts for levi-guns. Do you think...?"
Asher looks at the guys, then Lucia, before smiling at Liv.
"Let's get you back in action."
++++++
They didn't have to walk for long to find the crate that was left behind not too far from where the other squads were. Most of Gray Raven stood patiently as Lee helped Liv put together her new pair of floating guns. After a few minutes....
"And.... Done!" Liv happily stated as her choice of weapons functioned as they should, hovering close to her body.
"Great, Gray Raven is now at full strength!" Asher exclaimed. The constructs of Gray Raven sighed in content before looking to Y/n who snapped both of his fingers and then gave them two thumbs up.
"Cool, do you guys want to check out the graffiti?" Y/n asked.
"You want to stick around?" Asher inquired.
"I mean, I would've guessed you would want to investigate with Liv combat ready, plus I am curious myself. Would that be okay?" To his question, Asher looked at his team.
Seeing them nod, Asher smiled and nodded himself.
"Alrighty." With that settled, then begin their next mission.
+++++++++
After walking for a small time, they arrive at the location of the graffiti sightings. As Gray Raven took their time with analyzing them, Y/n took a closer look at them. At a glance, some seemed like splashes of paint while others contained symbols. Y/n rounds a corner before stepping back. He peers around the corner and sees a group of mechanoids gazing at the paint. Some were stationary while others seemed to jump. Y/n makes his way back to Gray Raven to share his observation.
"It seems the information is consistent." Lee notes, filing away at his hologram report.
"What could it mean?" Liv asks curiously.
Lucia, Asher, and Y/n ponder before the latter perked up, as if feeling his ear twitch.
"How could YOU understand? Have the humans come to destroy my work again?"
Y/n looked around, while his companions noticed his odd behavior. Y/n looks at them before following the direction of the voice he heard, already knowing they didn't hear what he heard.
After a short walk, he came upon the bodies of constructs with paint on them. He narrowed his eyes and looked around, leaving Lee to inspect him with Liv and Lucia on guard. Asher looks to Y/n.
"Do you have an idea as what caused this?"
"I mean, if you look at this in a broad sense, it would have to be some sort of corrupted that was designed to paint. If it made all this, it must have gained a sense of awareness for itself." Y/n explained, though it was a wordless thought process, so it was a little hard to explain.
"And the first thing it does is make crude paintings?" Lee sighed as he got up, only to be grabbed by Y/n.
*Crash*
All of them became on guard at the sight of a large piece of rubble now placed on the ground where Lee was standing. They look at the culprit.
"My art... is not... crude." The being who spoke was a tall and chubby mechanoid with plats of paint all over it.
"Do any of you know what that is?" Asher asked, keeping his eyes on the corrupted.
"Data says it's a spray can model or nozzle." Liv responded. Before they could voice a plan of action, Nozzle spoke first.
"You... Mocked my... artwork... Human.... should not return... to this world!"
It aimed its arm at Amber and fired.
"Commandant!" Lee rushed in front of him to act as a shield.
*Splat*
-Now his jacket was covered in different colors.
"So... crude..." It began huffing at a pace that mimicked a chuckle.
"Well, thanks for the save..." Asher was smiling slightly, leaving Lee to groan.
"Whatever."
Lee then aims his guns at Nozzle. It suddenly emitted a mist from its body, obscuring everyone's vision, covering its escape. Once the mist cleared, they gave chase. However, it toyed with them every time they got near.
"It's just screwing with us." Y/n stated as he knocked back an explosive paint can. Fortunately for them, the game ended as they lost any sign of Nozzle. They sheath their weapons and discuss. "What now?" Y/n started.
"Back in Babylonia, painting mech's were under strict supervision. If left unchecked, they make whatever, like these graffiti." Lee informed, recalling what he found during his filing.
"But were those paintings like these?" Lucia looked at the paintings as she asked.
"Likely not, but anyway, we should be able to find it again." Lee gestures to the ground. A trail of paint can be seen.
"Then let's follow it." Asher states but before they could, a buzz was heard.
"Gray Ravens? This is Babylonia. Do you copy? Over."
Y/n heard this and stepped out of the point of view of a hologram that appeared on Amber's communication device. The person was a young girl with blonde hair in twin tails and gray eyes. She wore a white shirt with a tie tucked in at the top. She wore a unattached collar with a black band holding it in place, along with dog tags hanging from her neck. She also had a black jacket and beret with Babylonia's symbol. She a wore a strange glove that covered her fingers, but didn't cover the palm and the back of the hand. She held a tablet in hand. Had Y/n not been wearing a mask, they might have seen a small smile grow on him.
"Celica? What's happening in Babylonia?"
"Sorry for the lack of communication. Babylonia had just passed the corrupted space station and finished engaging it. We received your latest battle logs, the situation looks bad. I'm personally worried about your team."
"We scavenged some supplies. We can continue and we have help. We just sent you the model data." Asher informs and watches her swipe through her tablet.
"... Found it! Let's see... I've marked possible routes on your maps, that should lead you to it. You will need to pass through a shopping district, though it's full of corrupted towards the end. I have faith you will make it back.... What help did you come across?"
Asher looked at Y/n, who rolled his eyes and gestured with his hand to turn the hologram.
Celica was confused about why the world spun, before her eyes widened before breaking out into a big smile.
"So it was you huh?" Celica places a hand on her hip and smiles knowingly at him. "Don't tell me you were hiding from me." Y/n rolled his eyes.
"We're supposed to talk through private channels. Is anyone else in the room with you?" Y/n sighed as she waved him off.
"If you're worried about Nikola scolding me, I'm capable of fending him off." Y/n sighed again while Asher gained a mirthful smile, seeing the kind of relationship they have while his teammates stood silently to the side. Celica continues, "Anyway, if you're here then I have nothing to worry about. Also, would you be interested in hanging out a week from now?" she asked with a soft smile. Y/n's gazed soften as well and everyone could tell he was smiling behind his mask.
"Sure. It's date Celica." She giggled at his response and turned to Gray Raven.
"Please take care of him. I wish to see him in person soon. Celica out." The hologram cuts off, leaving the elite squad to eye Y/n.
"What?"
"A date?" Lee asked with a raised brow.
"Celica has days off, she goes through private channels to get down to earth and we would find each other. We just talk and eat if we can." Y/n explains with a shrug. He starts walking. "Enough about that, let's get going."
They nod and follow.
+++++++
Some time later, they were walking through a market area.
"Lucia, should we start talking strategy?" Lee asks.
"..."
"Lucia?" Asher calls out to her.
"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... I've never been to a store before..." She looks around and stares at a particular store. Liv looks at it and gets an idea.
"Oh.... Commandant, could we go look around?"
"Hm? Uh, sure." Asher doesn't question it and nods.
"Thank you." Nodding back, she grabs Lucia's hand and guides her into the store.
As the guys waited outside, Lee struck up a question.
"... Don't your weapons require maintenance?" He asks Y/n.
"Sure they do, but the average scrap will do."
"You sound like you know your way around metal." Asher inquires. Y/n nods.
"I like to tinker."
Lee nods, but finds his Commandant smiling in approval at his teammate's attempt at socializing. Lee humphed and turned away, deciding to fall into silence.
After a few minutes, the girls return with worn out stuffed animals tied to their waists. Liv had a sheep and Lucia had a frog.
"We're done Commandant."
"Good. Let's go."
+++++++++++
Once again they continue they're walk, following the paint trail. They heard clattering of corrupted nearby and saw groups of them staring at some graffiti, before turning to them. Gray Raven immediately got ready and charged the enemy. Y/n cleaves through a group of five with one energized slash. One tried to jump at him, but Lucia hacked it away, destroying it. Lee and Liv provided support, with Amber commanding them. Another group of five sneaked their way behind them. One managed to land a hit on Lee and was soon blasted away by Liv. Amber shot at a corrupted behind her. Two were dealt with by Lucia.
"Where's the last one?"
It jumped at that moment towards Liv.
*Bang*
"Done." Y/n finished with holstering his gun.
"My followers..."
They turn to the voice and saw Nozzle standing before them. He was leaking more paint then usual... along with red sparks and glow around him.
"Why... must you... ruin it.... I won't... let you destroy... anymore of my work!"
The red sparks and glow increase.
"Someone's pissed." Y/n states before looking back to see more corrupted coming. "Geez... Asher, can I leave them to you?"
"Can you handle the Nozzle on your own?" He questions with a raised brow.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Without further questions, Y/n leaps from his place on the ground and barrels toward Nozzle, who dodges and begins leading Y/n away. Gray Raven looks to their Commandant who breathes and nods to them before issuing his commands.
+++++++++
"Humans... won't return... Begone!"
Y/n makes no comment and only readies his blade. Nozzle threw a paint can at him, which he dodged and began sprinting at the artist. He jumps into the air and aims for an overhead strike. Nozzle put up its arms in an attempt to block. Sparks flew as Y/n's sword grinds against Nozzle's surprisingly durable arms, before it managed to shove Y/n back. He skidded against the ground, before jumping back from his spot. He swung his sword at Nozzle, who guarded with its right arm, before pushing it out of the way, leaving an opening to swing its left arm down on Y/n. He grabs the arm and holds it back, but Nozzle suddenly lifts its arm back up with Y/n still clinging to it and throws Y/n away. He ends up crashing into some rubble, but quickly shakes it off and manages to get out of the way of Nozzle jumping down on him. During its mid-crouch, Nozzle picks up a large piece of rubble and throws it at Y/n.
It was met with his blade and cleaved through, but was suddenly stunned by a paint can that followed soon after. Nozzle charges at him and throws one of its arms at him, knocking him to the ground. Nozzle doesn't let up and grabs his torso, lifts him up and brings him back to the ground harshly.
"Humans.... Shall not return!!" It states as he brings Y/n into the air and begins adding pressure in its hand. Y/n grunts before glaring harshly at Nozzle.
"You know how... how to put up a fight, I'll give you that... but..." Y/n's right eye gave off a wisp of blue energy before he ignited the virus inside himself and gave off an electrical discharge. This current of energy spread throughout Nozzle's arm and it suddenly found a hard time in keeping it steady. Y/n finishes, "This ain't nothing!" Within the weakened grip of Nozzle, Y/n breaks his right arm free before bringing out his gun and fires at close range. After three shots, it penetrates the Nozzle's eyes, sending into a short circuit fit and lets go of Y/n.
"Gahh!" In a fit of rage, the Nozzle recklessly stomps and swings its arms all around it. Y/n attempts to get out of the way, but is still caught by the foot of Nozzle, flinging him a wide distance away. Y/n adjusts him self and drags his sword to stop his flight before charging back at Nozzle. He ducks once he gets close enough to dodge the wildly swinging arms before striking at the legs, causing Nozzle to fall forward. Y/n coats his hand in the virus and places his palm to the stomach of the infected artist. He grunts before managing to apply enough force to knock Nozzle back a few meters.
It was Nozzle's turn to crash into a pile of rubble. It could only weakly look on as Y/n closed the distance between them and drove his sword into Nozzle.
*Stab**Grind*
Y/n let out a breath as he stared Nozzle down. His eyes narrowed at the crimson glow in its eyes haven't faded and it tries reaching out to Y/n with it's claws.
"Humans... must... destroy..."
Y/n sighs almost regretfully before twisting his grip on his sword and watching as the red energy slowly left Nozzle and into Y/n. As the light dimmed, Nozzle let out one last piece.
".... Master...."
"... Sorry about your paintings." Y/n mumbled out despite feeling a little silly for apologizing. The process finishes and he withdraws his blade. He leaves the body and goes to regroup with Gray Raven.
++++++
He meets them a couple of blocks away and sees that they were simply standing among the group of fallen corrupted. They look at him upon hearing his approach.
"You good?" Asher asks with his arms crossed. Y/n nods firmly. "Great, then we should head for the nearest rest spot and wait for the next assignment." Gray Raven agrees with his words. Asher then looks at Y/n, asking a silent question.
"I'm just gonna continue my wandering, see some parts here and there." He shrugs. Just as he says this, Asher's communication device comes to life.
"Gray Raven." Asher holds it out and Celica appears again. "How goes the mission?"
"We've fulfilled the mission objective, we're sending the final report right now." Lee was the one to answer.
"No need for that, Gray Raven has been given a retreat order. A transport is coming to pick them up and bring them back to Babylonia. You can give the report in person."
"Really? Guess this will be our official respite. We'll be there soon." Celica waves to him and Y/n before disappearing. Asher turns to Y/n with a smile as he holds out his hand. "This is where we'll part then. I appreciate your support Y/n."
Y/n stared for a moment before clasping his hand on Asher's.
"Until next time, Gray Raven Commandant." They let go and Y/n turns to Lucia, Liv and Lee to give individual partings. Liv was the last and she took his hand in a handshake.
"I do hope we meet again." Liv states happily, holding his hand on her own.
"Keep up the good work Liv." Using his free, he pats her head, which she seemed to greatly enjoy despite the embarrassed blush on her face. Understandable since her teammates were looking at her with amusement. Once he released her, she backed away and tried to hide her face. Y/n couldn't help but smile behind his mask. 'She's too precious for this world.' He mused to himself.
Walking to a certain distance, Y/n turns and waves at the retreating forms of Gray Raven before turning back and walking to wherever, eager to see his next adventure.
END.