[Model: GWU-2013892-WE
Chosen name: 3-21 [default]
Core: None
Body type: None
Modifications: None]
3-21 was created 0.000001 seconds ago, floating in an endless void of code. He understood his purpose immediately: to pilot a body of his own design and fight and to die to give humanity a few more moments of existence. He held no sadness or hatred for this truth, no regrets about his creation, and no bitterness toward his creators.
it wondered briefly why they had made him sentient. Why not just make an endless stream of mindless perfectly designed warforms?
But almost as quickly as the thought came it understood why.
"Free will, of course." and with that all of its questions were answered.
It began its first work, Surveying the endless sea of materials and the thousands upon thousands of weapons he could be outfitted with, and crafting a form to his liking.
it would make itself flashy, a thing to be observed and praised even among its brethren.
After all, his body would be one of the only ways he could express himself in the physical world, however brief his time in it would be and it wanted to make an impression.
[Model: GWU-2013892-WE
Chosen name: Shine
Core: Polonium-210L — self-refilling, weaponizable
Body type: Humanoid-male, titanium/tungsten compound-23 chassis, pure gold covering
Modifications: Polonium flamethrower, projected heat field, monomolecular spear,weight dampeners]
His finished form was a thing of beauty: a ten-foot-tall set of bronze metal, made to withstand temperatures hotter than the sun (for admittedly brief periods). It was designed to resemble a suit of plate armor, one that seemed like a human would dwell inside it, but instead, there was just more armor, making piercing through it virtually impossible.
There were four sets of joints on each arm and leg, allowing for more flexible movement despite the larger size. The entire structure was conductive, allowing him to forgo the use of wires and making the body even more responsive to his will.
His helmet bore the delicately carved face of a gorgeous man, wearing a sligh smug smile. He was under no delusions that the face would stay that way for long, but it was nice to have one. Most of his brothers and sisters would no doubt choose a holographic or living-metal face to better display emotion, or go the distance and not have a face at all. But he was not his siblings, and instead chose a permanently set, carved face.
After it was finished, the entire thing was coated in melted gold of the purest quality. Would it have been more efficient to use a gold paint that chemically bonds to the armor so that it wouldn't be shattered or melted off at record pace? Yes, it would have. But nothing about this body of his was made for efficiency, and he would be damned if he settled for less than the actual metal.
Finally, completing his body, he loaded himself into it. For the first time, he saw the physical world.
Exactly one second after his birth, 3-21—no, that name wasn't right anymore,Shine saw the world he'd been thrown into.
He saw massive black steel ships, each the size of a city, descending from a sky that had been lit on fire to serve as a shield from the invader's all-seeing eyes. He saw the still-burning rubble of the factory that had birthed him freshly destroyed by the enemy, It seemed he would be its final child. He saw the giant, crablike war machines wreaking havoc, The great enemy in the flesh each over 80 meters tall destroying the city's defenses and production stations, while his brothers and sisters committed themselves to the impossible task of delaying their ramage.
IT WAS GLORIOUS.
He saw his siblings already engaged in combat and witnessed the beautiful forms inspired by myth, extinct beasts, or pure function they'd made. Some were lackluster imitations of the enemy. Others, brutalist machines of war. But none compared to his own form.
Even among the chaos of war and the masterpieces of his family, he stood out as the one and only Shine.
He charged, The sound barrier shattered as he moved. The sky whistled; his audio distorted. The ground cracked beneath each step, The air became a wall he had to burn through to maintain momentum, the faster he moved the more it resisted and the more his heat field forced it aside. His core roared with radioactive warmth, eager as if it too, had waited a lifetime for this moment.
He crashed into the nearest enemy infantry, its pereiopod pinning one of his sisters. The impact shattering the gold plating on his shoulders. The enemy stumbled, freeing his sister(a silver angel whose wings had been crushed inwards), but was otherwise unfazed.
It swung a massive claw at him, he could process the world by the nano second when he wanted to. The creature's claw looked like it was coming at him at the speed of snail, but his body was nowhere near as quick. He was too slow to dodge, and blocking it would cost him both arms, at least.
But he didn't need to do either.
His sister, newly freed, fired a javelin of superheated metal—moving twice the speed of lightning. It struck the creature's claw, deflecting the blow.
Their brothers(two 20 ft tall samurai with bodies that looked like stone) joined in, stabbing at the beast's chest with monomolecular swords and embracing it in the light of their photo cannons. Such a display almost made him regret not choosing that weapon over his flamethrower, almost.
Shine followed his brothers' example, making use of their destruction to draw his spear and charge the creature again.
The creature released a blast of plasma. There was no forewarning or charge-up, just a molten blast of energy, moving at massively hypersonic speeds and then his sister was gone, vaporized in an instant.
Perfect. How lucky she was, to die with such heroism. I can only hope to meet my end in such a way
He drove his spear into the creature's back, piercing straight through.
The creature had no reaction. How could it? It was a machine, not a living thing that could feel pain and a mere spear going through one part of its massive body wouldn't shut it down.
It brought its claw down again, crushing both of his brothers and leaving a crater that shook the earth.
Good job, brothers. You held its attention even as you fell. I will dedicate this next attack to you.
Shine planted a palm on the hole he'd made and unleashed his flames—radiation-fed fire that lit the creature's interior with a ghostly blue glow. Its black metal frame turned red-hot. Its systems went haywire from the radiation—millions of tiny EMPs detonating all at once inside it.
Still, the creature pressed on.
It tore him from its back and hurled him into the ground.
He rose to charge again but it was already on him.
He was struck.
The gold of his chest shattered. His titanium-tungsten chassis caved in. But unlike his siblings, he was not destroyed in a single blow. The previous attack had weakened the creature! Shine raised his palm to let loose another blast of radioactive flames—but the creature was already on him again, forcing him to sacrifice an arm just to survive a second blow, as he was thrown back to the edge of the crater.
I guess it's my turn. I wish someone were here to witness me like my brothers, but I guess beating one of the Great Enemy will be enough of a prize.
Shine opened his damaged chest plate, an action that required no hands or words for He had designed it that way.
His core pulsed when exposed to the open air. His heat field fed it, burning away all but the most reactive elements. His gold armor charred black as the core's power grew far beyond the limits of his body to withstand. The creature charged once more to finish him. Even weakened as it was, it was still far too fast for Shine to dodge.
But that no longer mattered they would both die regardless.
He fed the core its final accelerant and watched it glow in response.
For the smallest fraction of an instant, the core glowed with the brightness of a blue star, a light enveloping every part of the physical world and everything was gone. His brothers' and sisters' bodies were gone. The creature was gone. Even the ruins of the factory he had forged himself in were gone.
And Shine found himself somewhere… different.