Chapter 27 – k_OS

The hinges of the metal door quietly creak open, the Orbeetle stirring from his slumber as his lazily spins around in his chair, his workplace clean, organized. Such as a place needs to be, given his line of work. Various parts and other such cybernetic commodities were hung up on the walls, showcasing what could be achieved with the power of science and a knowledgeable mind.

The spotted wings on his back slowly stretch open, fluttering a bit before closing back up, his chair creaking as he squints his eyes, making out the silhouette of a robotic Eevee standing at the entrance to his workshop. He has to really stare for a few moments, making sure he’s not just imagining things as the figure steps inside, the light shining down on its brown, metallic body.

The Orbeetle muffles a laugh, leaning forward in his chair as it creaks quietly. “Well now… Isn’t this an interesting sight? I haven’t seen one of you show up at this place in ages.” He narrows his gaze a touch further. “And your kind usually tend to show up to shops like these with only one express purpose in mind.”

“Recent efforts has proven my body isn’t as capable as I would like it to be, concerning two individuals. It is strength I seek,” The Iron Slate smirks, pulling out a small, yellow, pulsating cube, the sounds of gear turning rhythmically able to be hear from inside. “And it is power you shall give me.”

“Only if you are willing to give me Pulsars in return.” The Orbeetle leans forward. “I don’t do this free of charge, you know.”

“And you’ll be paid plenty, Doctor. The Sotensoft building still has a good supply of Pulsars locked away all these years later, just waiting to be exchanged.” The Iron Slate sets the Hadron Engine down on the Orbeetle’s table. “But that will be after the deed is said and done. I suspect I’ll be followed. The Iron Serpent I stole this from is still living and breathing.”

The Orbeetle’s eyes widen as he glances at the Hadron Engine, then back at the Iron Slate. “I’m not sure what’s more ridiculous, the fact that you took an Iron Serpent head on, or that you security models are still kicking all these years later.”

“It was in its driving mode, it could do very little against me.” The Iron Slate chuckles softly, sitting down on the operating table. “And you’d be surprised just how long Neurachem reserves can keep a machine after, Doctor.”

The Orbeetle scoffs, rolling his eyes as he slowly stands up from his chair, heading to one of his multitude of drawers, digging through a variety of tools. “You are aware this’ll make your body more susceptible to damage, yes? You’re still entirely sure about this?”

“As long as it gives me the power I need to accomplish my goals, then yes.” Iron Slate nods, laying down on the table. “…Which is why I request that you fight with me. You could heal any damage done to me, keep my body working while I fight.”

The Orbeetle squints at the Iron Slate, stopping mid-search. “Now you’re starting to ask a bit much of me. I’m a Fixer, not a fighter. You can’t possibly expect me to-“

“You will be paid triple after the job is done.” Iron Slate lays down on its back. “And it will be done. There’s no way a mere Skitty and Riolu could stand up against a Dracoslate.”

“Triple the offer, hmm…” The Orbeetle’s eyes narrow, a small smirk curling up on its lips. “You’ve got yourself a deal. Go ahead and shut yourself down for two hours. Should be done by then.”

“Understood.” Iron Slate nods, the glow around its neck ‘fluff’ slowly dimming. “Shutting down…”

---

The sky had grown dark and hazy, some clouds beginning to roll in overhead as the city bathes in its nightly glow, the humming of streetlights only amplifying the jarring lack of music in the Industrial District.

Rickety and Lexxi, finally regaining consciousness, groan as they stand back up, Rickety leaning against one of the street lamps for support, holding his head. “Uugh… The heck just happened? Did we crash into something?”

“It all happened so fast, I couldn’t even tell what happened.” Lexxi shakes her head, rubbing at her eyes. “It’s like something jumped into the road. I didn’t get a good look at it but…” She furrows her brows, trying to think back. “It… Kinda looked like a Sylveon?”

Miraidon can be heard groaning in the road, his body shaking as his eyes slowly flicker back on. His movements are much more strained than Rickety and Lexxi’s, and the two even rush over to help him back up to the best of their abilities. _{Robot bikes are very heavy.}

Miraidon pants heavily as he tries to regain his bearings, standing shakily on his legs, managing to look pale despite being made of metal. _{“It’s… It’s gone.”}

“Huh?” Rickety tilts his head, looking a little concern. “What’s gone?”

“My Hadron Engine.” Miraidon mutters weakly, having to lay back down to catch his breath. “The main source of my energy. I-I’m running on a backup engine now, I should be okay for a while, but I can’t do anything in this state.”

Rickety’s brows furrow, his face seeming to grow more concerned the more he thinks about it. “We didn’t just run into that Pokemon, they purposefully attacked us. Probably to steal your, uhh, Hadron Engine thingy. _{Eesh, it’s like having your heart ripped out.}” Rickety winces, shivering at the thought.

“Why would anybody steal it, though?” Lexxi’s ears droop. “That’s a part of you, right? How can someone just take that?”

“Pulsars, most likely.” Miraidon says, still breathing a bit heavily. “Our parts sell for high prices behind closed doors, stripped and used for upgrades. They’re usually taken from decommissioned models, though, not just… Stolen like this.”

Rickety paces back and forth a bit, scratching at his head, trying to think of something. He can’t keep letting his fears get in the way, they have to do something. Miraidon said he’d be fine for now, but what if that backup engine runs out of energy? What then?

Rickety turns back to Miraidon, a determined expression on his face. “We’ll get it back for you. Whoever took it couldn’t have gone that far. “

Miraidon turns his head to Rickety, surprised. “You’d do that for me?”

Rickety nods firmly with a determined smile. “We’ve put ourselves in harm’s way plenty of times for the sake of others. What’s one more?”

Lexxi muffles a giggle on the side, walking up to Miraidon as she nods. “Yeah, what he said. We’ll get your Hadron Engine back for you in no time.”

A smile curl’s up on the robo-lizard’s lip, chuckling softly to himself. “I’ll have to pay you two back if I ever get the chance.” He stands back up, going back into driving mode. “Hop back on. The engine is still active so I can track down exactly where the thief went.”

“Then what’re we waiting for?” Rickety quickly hops back onto Miraidon’s back, pulling Lexxi up to sit behind him. “Let’s go!”

---

The more they tracked down the engine, the more grimy and shady their surroundings became. Heading just outside the boundaries of the Industrial District, the familiar neon signs slowly dwindled in quantity, the group reaching a rather rural area with very few natural light sources, lit only by a couple of street lights and the lights from inside the buildings themselves.

_{“I know it’s not the same as Mystery Dungeons, but I feel like these dark, back alley places are really starting to give off the same vibes as the “creepy places we keep ending up in for some reason.”} Rickety says as he glances back at Lexxi, a little on edge from the change in scenery.

Lexxi gives a shaky nod of her head. _{“Yeah. Feels like if we got lost back here, nobody would ever find us.”}

Rickety’s muzzle scrunches up, shaking his head. “Eugh, don’t wanna think about it. Miraidon, how close are we?”

“Should be at the end of the road.” Miraidon says as he rounds a corner, still in a weakened state, but holding up better than he was earlier. “This isn’t where the shops are, these look like the slums. Why would they bring the engine here?”

Off in the distance, towards the end of the street, a door opens. Out walks an Orbeetle, stepping to the side of the door and someone else. A familiar face. Lexxi squints her eyes as she peers over Miraidon’s head, looking at the two as they approach, recognizing the Iron Slate that they’d fought only hours earlier.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Rickety mutters under his breath, the two hopping off Miraidon’s back as they approach the end of the road, walking towards the Iron Slate and the Orbeetle. “You again?”

The Iron Slate smiles smugly. “I have to admit, after you two took me out, I felt something… Change within me.” It tilts its head, turning its body, a slew of new fans lining the sides of its body. New materials, must’ve been upgraded. “Things I hadn’t felt before. I’d broken away from my autonomy, seeking to take you out not from a sense of righteousness, but something more personal.“

“Personal?” Lexxi tilts her head to the side, a confused expression crossing her face for a few moments, before seeming surprised. “You do seem a lot less drone-like than before… You want revenge? Then what did taking Miraidon’s Hadron Engine have anything to do with that?”

Iron Slate turns back to face Lexxi and Rickety, smirking at them. “Because I realized that it had something I needed if I were to take you on. If the two of you could take me out in my base form, then I needed to become stronger. I needed to Overclock.”

_{“Overclock?”} Rickety shares a confused, but concerned glance with Lexxi, slowly turning back to Iron Slate.

“Perhaps I should demonstrate.” Iron Slate’s smirk grows only wider, taking a firm step forward with a loud, metallic clank. “Switching to Dracoslate!” Iron Slate’s body is enveloped in an even brighter light than before, Rickety and Lexxi having to shield their eyes, even Miraidon instinctively having to look away from the sight.

When the light had finally faded out, they couldn’t believe what they saw. The Iron Slate now bore an uncanny resemblance to Miraidon, but still had the distinctive characteristics of an Eevee. It’s metallic body now had the same colors as Miraidon, a deep blue, the same sparkling grey and yellow on Miraidon’s wheels now present on the Iron Slate’s- or, ‘Dracoslate’s’ chest and forehead, even with those same markings.

Jet turbines were attached to both sides of its body, bat-like wings of pure energy sprouting out from them, the Dracoslate’s ears also made out of that same, sparkling energy just like its wings. It’s body was much bulkier, the joints visible through tough glass in the tops of its legs, its chest ‘fluff’ now jagged and pointed, its tail more serpentine, ending in a flame, also made up of energy, sharp claws attached to its paws.

“Altered state of consciousness achieved!” The Dracoslate exclaims, baring its sharp, metallic fangs through its smirk. “This is so much better from being a mere patrol drone. The sheer amount of energy, the self-awareness, the desire to strike out and attack, it’s absolutely intoxicating!” It takes another step towards Rickety and Lexxi, its wings flaring out as the jet turbines begin to roar. “And you two will be just the first I strike down!”

It launches itself towards Lexxi and Rickety, its energy wings flapping and crackling with electricity as it flies at them with remarkable speed. They just barely have enough time to dodge out of the way, Miraidon having taken cover back in an alley, unable to fight or assist in the current state he’s in.

Rickety clambers back onto his feet, getting up just in time to see the Dracoslate barreling towards him, cloaked in a menacing energy enveloping its whole body, but not in time to dodge out of the way a second time. He takes the full frontal force of the attack, trying to endure it to the best of his abilities as he’s slammed back into a concrete wall in one of the alleys, leaving a distinct Rickety-shaped indentation in it as he collapses to the ground.

“You should accept the fact that neither of you stand a chance.” Dracoslate says as it begins stomping its way towards Rickety. “I have the power of an Iron Serpent coursing through my body, among the strongest Pokemon in the world.” It begins rushing towards him, its claws outstretched. “You would be fools to go against me!”

Rickety seeing the Dracoslate running in his direction, he stands back up and quickly crosses his arms over his face, taking the full brunt of the attack, using the power of the force to land an equally powerful counterattack, decking Dracoslate straight in the muzzle. “And you’re out of your mind if you think we’re gonna give up!”

Dracoslate staggers, its wings flapping haphazardly as it tries to regain its balance. It glares at Rickety, its turbines whirring loudly as it launches itself towards him once again, grabbing him tightly as it flies up into the air, the two engaging in a struggle above street block.

Lexxi, meanwhile, was preoccupied with trying to take out the Orbeetle, its constant psychic type attacks leaving having to dance and skirt around the field as it kept pelting her with psychic beams one after the other, leaving her very little room and very little time to actually attack, only leaving her to close in the gap between them, but it was hard finding the right opportunity.

The Orbeetle seems to stop attacking just for a moment, as if to recollect its energy, and sensing this as an opportunity to rush in and strike, Lexxi rushes towards him, ready to strike him with her tail, but it was a trap. He quickly and swiftly strikes her with a powerful, charged up Psybeam, catching her off guard and sending her tumbling to the ground, back against a street lamp.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Rickety and Dracoslate were involved in a powerstruggle, Rickety wriggling to break free, and swinging his arms trying to land a blow on the Dracoslate, while the Dracoslate kept swerving around, flying all over to place as if to try and disorient the Riolu.

Rickety does eventually manage to land a blow straight to the Dracoslate’s face, wincing because he was punching hard metal, after all. Still, it seemed to stun the Dracoslate, halting its flight and sending them down to the ground. Rickety tried to break free once they’d gotten lower, but the Dracoslate kept its grip tight, crashing Rickety into the ground with it, only then breaking free from its grip as the force sends him flying.

A loud, violent creaking noise can be heard coming from the Dracoslate’s body, Lexxi and Rickety recovering just enough to notice that one of the fans in the side of its body had stopped working, a rather worried expression crossing its face. Panicked, even, almost? The Orbeetle’s eyes glow, and just a few seconds later, the creaking noises stop, the fan going back to its full power.

Lexxi and Rickety share a glance with each other as they get up from the ground, nodding understandingly at one another, their strength for the fight renewed. Rickety starts making his way back towards the Dracoslate, who had begun to charge after him anyway, while Lexxi starts taking on the Orbeetle once again.

As the Dracoslate starts charging towards Rickety, he tries to channel that same state he did back in the factory. Just focus, just let everything flow by. Don’t think about what you’re doing, just go. He allows his body to carry him through with the motions, swiftly dodging out of the way as time slows around him, sidestepping the Dracoslate and laying into the side of its body with a series of kicks and punches, all one after the other.

Coming out of the flow state, the slowdown seems to deactivate on its own accord, the force of the blows all catching up with the Dracoslate at once, that loud creaking returning once again, two of the fans having seemed to stop functioning, the Dracoslate much angrier now, its attacks much quicker and more fierce, as if trying to take Rickety out before he could disable the other fans.

Lexxi, meanwhile, kept hopping and weaving, dodging every attack the Orbeetle threw at her, acting as a distraction while Rickety took care of the real issue. Lexxi tries to throw off the Orbeetle, misdirect him through her dodging. Dodge predictably, then try to dodge in a different manner than before. Not just left and right, left and right, up and down, diagonally, all over the place, make sure he doesn’t know where she’s going to move next.

_{“Little brat, really giving an old man a workout, huh?”} The Orbeetle mutters, his eyes still following Lexxi to the best of his ability, but her darting all over the place was starting to make his focus wane. Powerful of a psychic Pokemon he is, repetition of any kind can make a mind weary and exhausted. One slip-up is all it takes, one misfired attack, and the next thing he knows, the cat is rushing straight towards him, smacking him with her tail and knocking him out on the spot.

On the other end of the block, Rickety is just taking care of the Dracoslate, enduring attacks in any way he can, though his movements were getting a little sloppier from how much he’d been getting struck. But there’s just one opening that he can use to his advantage. As the Dracoslate swipes at him, he enters that flow state once again, necklace glowing, his surroundings slowing down.

Swiftly dodging out of the way, he lands one last series of blows into the Dracoslate’s side, striking each of the fans with as much force as he can, one after the other. Coming out of the flow state, the necaklce’s glow fades, the Dracoslate’s body slamming against the wall, causing the rest of its fans to disable, the creaking noises louder than before.

The Dracoslate’s eyes widen in panic, desperately looking to the Orbeetle, only to see the tiny Skitty standing over its defeated, unconscious body. “BODY OVERHEATING! ATTEMPTING TO- GGHG-HGHG-HGHAAGHH-!”

A series of electric sparks start shooting from the Dracoslate’s body as it twitches violently, its body starting to combust as flames can be seen shooting from the fans. Its eyes go blank and its body collapses to the ground, changing back to its default Iron Slate form.

Rickety lets out a sigh of relief as he watches the Iron Slate collapse, looking over to Lexxi with an exhausted smile. “Heh… Think that’s enough fighting for one day, don’t you think?”

“You’re telling me.” Lexxi steps away from the Obreetle, walking over to Rickety, staring down at the Iron Slate. “…You think this is our fault?”

“Hmm?” Rickety arches an eyebrow as he turns to Lexxi. “How come?”

Lexxi grimaces a bit as she looks down at the defeated robot. “I mean… It said itself that it felt a need to show us up by becoming stronger. If we defeated it and it felt strongly enough that it gained self-awareness…” Her ears droop down.

Rickety gives an awkward shrug, shifting uncomfortably in place. “It made its choice, right? It did this of its own accord. We just dealt with it however we could.”

“Yeah, I know.” Lexxi sighs softly. “I can’t help but feel bad for it, though…”

---

Not too long after, everything seemed to be under control. A Magnezone and one of those Virizion-bots- Iron Leaves, as they were called, apparently- Were on the scene and taking care of everything, a small group of Magnemite keeping hold of the Orbeetle, while another group of Magneton were carrying the Iron Slate’s still nonfunctioning body.

“We appreciate you taking care of the situation, though we apologize we couldn’t have arrived to help sooner.” The Iron Leaves says, glancing at the groups as they haul the Pokemon away. “We’ve been getting swamped as of last night, and it’s been getting harder to keep track of eyewitness reports.”

“Uhh, it’s fine.” Rickety stammers, rubbing at the back of his head as he watches the Orbeetle and Iron Slate get carried away. “What about Miraidon? Is he gonna be alright?”

“”ZZZT! Miradon will be perfectly fine. Now that he has his Hadron Engine back in his body, he’s back to full power again. ZZZT!”

Lexxi lets out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.” She peers back at the Iron Slate, expression seeming a bit concerned. “…Whare you gonna do about the Iron Slate, though? How do you, umm… Normally handle robot criminals?”

“Iron Slate will likely either be decommissioned or factory reset.” Iron Leaves says plainly. “Given it is a security model breaking its line of code, its punishment will be much harsher than if it were a normal machine.”

Her expression falls a bit. “Isn’t that like… Killing it? Can’t find a way to leave it self-aware without it being able to cause trouble?”

“To do such a thing would involve wiping its memory to a blank state. A partial reset to its systems. Though, this would involve its years of patrolling and its recent-“

“It’s better than breaking it down for parts.” Lexxi says, Rickety staring at her as she speaks up to the Iron Leaves and Magnezone. “Please, just, don’t break it down, it hurt us, but it deserves another chance.”

The Iron Leaves and Magnezone exchange a glance with each other, before Magnezone turns back to face Lexxi. “ZZZT! We will… Consider it, though we will make no promises as to its fate. We can try to persuade the decision, but we don’t have much choice over the matter. ZZZT!”

“That’s fine.” Lexxi nods, smiling a bit. “Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”

The Magnezone and Iron Leaves nod, making their leave as they follow the rest of their squad out.

“That’s… An interesting choice, Lexxi.” Rickety stares at her curiously, arching an eyebrow a bit. “Saying it’s better for Iron Slate to lose its memory, when you lost your memory too?”

Lexxi glances over to Rickety, shrugging awkwardly. “It’s not the greatest decision, but it’s the only decision that could be made without it turning back into a mindless drone.” She glances away a bit, looking up at the starry, translucent green sky above. “As weird as it sounds, I’ve found a weird comfort in not knowing who I am. The more I learn about humans, the more worried I become about the kind of human I was.”

“Hey, come on.” Rickety leans down to Lexxi. “Just because a lot of humans were kinda bad doesn’t mean you were one of the bad ones. You could’ve been one of the good ones! You’ve been nothing but kind to me and everybody else. How could that be bad?”

“That’s just because I didn’t know who I was. What my life was, what my motivations were.” Lexxi says, ears drooping. “You found me, and you happened to lead me down a path where I found happiness in helping other Pokemon. But imagine if Team Skull had found me and brought me into their team, I could’ve turned into somebody totally different. But for all I know, I could’ve been one of the worst humans imaginable.” She looks back down, pawing at the ground. “…Maybe I’m better off not knowing who I was. If I don’t know I was bad, it won’t hurt if I don’t learn.”

Rickety’s brows furrow, feeling a tinge of pain as Lexxi talks about herself like this. He places his arm around her, pulling her in for a hug. “Don’t think about yourself like that. You’re a good person. I know you’re a good person. A good person wouldn’t be doing the things you’ve done.” He smiles softly at her. “If it somehow turns out you weren’t a good human, what matters is you’re making up for it right now.”

Lexxi stays silent for a moment, sighing as she looks down at the ground, before eventually looking back up at Rickety, a faint smile on her face. “I thought I was supposed to be the one giving the emotional pep talks.”

“Oh, come on.” Rickety chuckles, ruffling the fur on Lexxi’s head. “You telling me I can’t be inspirational every now and again? That’s harsh.” He jokes playfully. “But seriously, Lexxi. You’re a good person with a good heart, no matter how weird or strange humans are.”

“…Thank you, Rickety.” She muffles a laugh, breaths a bit shaky, taking a deep breath before letting it out. “Let’s… Let’s head back to Rodent’s Sanctuary with Miraidon when he comes back. Current’s probably wondering where we’ve been all day.”