Ascending with A.I. Ch. 01

"That sounds like a really good deal for me, boss. Er, I don't think I actually got your name," he admits with a soft chuckle, rubbing the back of his head again and staying just out of arm's reach, clearly not wanting to come across as a potential threat, "My name is Martin, and I was, up until today, a member of the Bleak Tide Bandit Clan. Nice to meet you, especially since I'm not dead."

"Caleb. Caleb Ross," I offer with an outstretched hand, flinching softly as his rough skin makes contact with mine, "I have a third condition though. We split camp duties. Cooking, firewood, we share that work. No one person does everything by themselves, short of injury."

"You're already a better boss than the last one by leaps and bounds. I agree to your conditions, Caleb," Martin accepts with a smile, the teeth inside of his beak on display and making a soft shudder run down my spine, unnerved at the alien sight, "If we don't stop to pick up and haul any of the equipment that the rest of the dead Bandit Clan members left behind, we could reach the Wolvarian border in less than a week."

"I can carry all of it, don't worry about that. What are our other options?" I inquire, gesturing for him to follow with a hand and sliding my new handgun into a holster that I took from one of the dead bandits and is now attached to my hip, glancing at my still-open inventory screen. Spotting a button above the Inventory menu labeled with "Loot All," I press the space in question before noticing that my hand has developed a soft amber glow to it.

"Well, there's the Wolvarian War Clans further south, the Blacklight Coalition to the west, and the Thelgen territories are divided into separate nations," he answers, not seeming to see the screen or the amber glow as I point towards a body, "Southern Thelgen territory is part of Wolvar territory, so we'll be fine as long as we don't make trouble for the citizens there."

In a soft flash of light, the dead Wolvar a short distance away in the hallway outside of where I arrived is stripped of all but his undergarments, leaving his dignity intact and allowing me to witness his gear appear in my Inventory with widened eyes, "I know, plenty of choices! The Southern Thelgens are friendlier, but the Northern Thelgens are better for making a business with, even the shadier businesses. If you wanted to, we could probably snag some good loot from the rogue packs in this area."

"We shouldn't make more enemies than we already have, and should make our way to an area that isn't full of bandits," I tell Martin with a shake of my head, folding my arms again and leaning against the wall nearby, wondering how he will react once he sees the wolf in their tighty-whities, "It's too dangerous to just constantly be fighting, especially with just the two of us."

"Wolvar territory works for that, then. They like Humans, and they'll probably suspect me a lot more than they might suspect you of doing anything wrong. Northern Thelgen and Wolvarians have a...very colorful history," he says with a soft grimace, then gives a shrug and decides to take a seat on a piece of the destroyed door, his face growing neutral, "We weren't exactly nice to them in the past, and they understandably have a bit of a grudge against us as a result."

"Did you do any of these things that your ancestors did? Are you personally guilty of these crimes?" I question, hardening my gaze and waving a hand dismissively once he shakes his head in denial, "Then they're prejudiced. We should head somewhere that you will be treated fairly as well as I."

"There's another option that I can't guarantee will work, but I need to ask you something first. What do you think about...? Well, there's no nice way to put this. What do you think of slavers?" Martin inquires with a tone that indicates he is testing the waters on what I am okay with and what I will not accept, not liking the implications that he is making.

I huff and narrow my eyes towards the corner of the room, growling softly to myself as I imagine the suffering that Humans inflicted on each other through our history, forced to take a deep breath to stop myself from embedding my ax into the nearest corpse to vent my frustrations. Once calmer, I sigh and tap the handgun in my side-holster while glaring softly at Martin, intending to dissuade him from any such thoughts right away.

"Kill them all, just like back home. I will not tolerate slavery of any kind. Am I clear?" I growl and relax a touch as Martin rapidly nods his head, taking a step back from me and fluttering his wings in a clear fight-or-flight response, "As long you don't do that or kill innocents on purpose, then we're good."

Chuckling nervously, my white-feathered companion averts his eyes and happens to spot the practically naked corpse in the hallway, his eyes widening as realization sets in. His beak parts as his hand lifts to point a talon at it, disbelief lacing his voice, "Was t-that guy...naked before? I could have sworn you never went near him."

"I didn't. I took his gear before you woke up," I half-lie, uncertain of if I can truly trust Martin as of now, or if he will wind up betraying me for his own self-interest. Pushing myself off from the wall and stepping through the unobstructed doorway, I gesture for my avian 'friend' to move ahead of me, "Your old clan took care of all the defenses, right? You remember the way back up?"

Nodding his head and puffing his chest out, Martin steps ahead of me and happily starts to lead the way down the hall, surprising me for only a moment before I trail behind him. Looting every dead body along the way and internally marveling at the number of destroyed machines and bullet holes littered about the facility, not a living being in sight, I take in the sight of the decrepit walls and floor panel with mild disgust, the air filled with mildew and dust.

Deciding to start looting the automated defenses as well, I feel a small wave of irritation from my new electronic passenger as I spot more slots in my inventory slowly filling up, one item in particular catching my attention as its name pops up in the list, "'Cry-Core,' huh? It says here that I can use this to power a large mechanical or a suit of armor. This could be useful for me later."

"Yes, Caleb...they're useful. Why don't you bring the lights too, since you want to take everything in sight?" I hear in my head, Aeris' voice echoing softly and tinged with annoyance as I continue my actions, watching the number of Howlers, bullets, and weapons slowly rise in number. Martin and I barely make a sound as we travel, his keen eyes open for danger and his ears listening for any indications that the bandits didn't actually leave, nothing to indicate malicious thoughts towards me visible yet.

"Can I?" I ask with curiosity, pointing up at one of the many light fixtures above us and deadpanning as nothing happens, my smile dimming as I mutter to myself, "Dang it..."

"Why would you even want that? It's not like light bulbs are in short supply, and there's nothing else that would make it worth more than scrap," she informs me with another burst of annoyance, her sigh sounding like a disappointed parent speaking to their child, "I know it's nice to be able to bring so much with you, but there are limits. Obviously, you can't just rip the lights out of the ceiling."

"Did you say something?" Martin asks as we thankfully turn a corner and out of sight of the looted bodies in our wake, glancing back at me and giving a soft smile, "We shouldn't be too much further. Sorry about all the dead guys, but they weren't very good against the Seraph droids that the A.I. set up to defend itself. Speaking of which, did you see it? The old boss said it would be on that pedestal in the vault, but all we found was you."

"Should I tell him about you, Aeris? It's your choice since you know more about all of this than I do," I mentally offer to her, not breaking stride for even a moment as I follow Martin closer and closer to the exit, a large archway with a similarly destroyed door as the vault's coming up soon, "I won't say a word if you think it will put us at risk."

"Let's give him a chance. If he does betray us, you're more than capable of killing him as well," Aeris confidently states, seeming to believe in my abilities a lot more since I chased the bandits off, "Thelgen usually follow the strongest member of their group by instinct, and their survival would take priority over a ruthless leader. Treat him well, and he should return the favor."

"Why do you talk about killing so casually? These are...were living beings," I point out with a frown, the death toll from this clan's attempt to take Aeris from here reaching the dozens. Though I do not stop looting any of the corpses, her disregard for others' wellbeing is starting to irritate me, my expression set in a firm scowl, "I'm not upset that I had to kill them, that's their fault. I could tell that their leader would have shot me the moment he laid eyes on me, even if I didn't do anything. That's not an excuse to make light of the act of killing."

"Those same beings would have used me to capture countless other living creatures, forcing them to bear a child and forcing me to grant them the same benefits I am willingly giving you," Aeris states with a flat tone, not seeming upset or moved by my accusation, my anger slowly growing from her refusal to take this seriously, though I do feel a pang of guilt for snapping at her over pillaging rapists, "On top of which, I am tens of thousands of years old. I have seen more death and atrocities than any living being that walks this planet, except for the Paragons and a number of my siblings."

"What are the Paragons? Also, you have siblings?" I ask, slowly relaxing as some of my questions are answered, though her casualness in killing still irks me somewhat, "This is all just so new. My military term was long enough to wind up being deployed. It's not like I've never had to kill, but seeking it out and treating it lightly is not something I'm used to."

"I will try to sound less...callous when it comes to that, but I can not promise much. As I said, I have seen many deaths and much suffering. I have hundreds of siblings, all of them like me. Artificial intelligence, or A.I."

"Alright, but what about the Paragons? They sound pretty tough," I point out with a glance towards Martin, the Thelgen not seeming to be paying much attention to me at the moment, more focused on finding the exit after we enter into a large room that reminds me of a lobby, "Will I ever have to fight them? That's probably the important question here, isn't it?"

"Most of the Paragons should leave you be, but there are some that may interfere with you and I. They are embodiments of their aspects, ruling over their domains with absolute authority and almost always using those abilities to better their peoples. Each one used to be mortal," she explains, my eyes widening in surprise from the information she is giving me, internally wondering if I could become a Paragon as well.

As if reading my mind, Aeris continues to speak, not a trace of shame in her voice, "You might be able to become one as well, depending on how this story unfolds. You would not be the first Awakened to become a Paragon, Caleb."

"You just keep using terms I don't understand, Aeris. What the hell is an Awakened?" I mentally demand with a roll of my eyes, feeling more like I'm in a history classroom than an underground vault at the moment, "Sounds cool though, that's for sure. Does that mean I'm some kind of superhero now?"

"In a way, I suppose. You do have what would classify as super-human abilities now, and you will get stronger with my support," Aeris states with a soft hum, seeming to be thinking something over before she continues, "If you think about it, you could become one of the strongest beings on the planet as long as you don't die. Thankfully, I can help make sure that doesn't happen."

"Why do you care about my safety so much? Couldn't you just find another person to wear you?" I ask with a soft chuckle, genuinely unsure of why this near-stranger would care about me when she did not even flinch at the deaths of several other sapient beings, "It's not like we're close, so you could easily replace me. I know that you probably didn't pick me specifically to summon."

"I know you more than you know yourself, thanks to the integration process. If I could have prevented myself from viewing your memories, I would have, but the process is absolute. You're a good Human, and I want to see you survive this situation I have pulled you into."

"That's nice of you, Aeris. Aside from you not caring much about others, you're not bad. Oh look, I think that's the exit," I think to myself and my new partner as Martin and I spot a large doorway past the lobby and through another hallway, this one also blown off of its hinges, soft sunlight filtering through the vacant frame, "That looks promising. Is that the exit, Martin?"

"Yeah, it is. We're going to wind up being in open plains, so we should be careful and make sure that we don't get ambushed on the way out. I doubt that the dumb bastard is going to try though, he's pretty cowardly," my Thelgen companion says with a shrug, grabbing a sword from one of the corpses and readying himself as he moves to exit the underground facility. Martin's wings give a few flaps, lifting him into the air before he sails out of the room and leaves me to my lonesome.

Several seconds go by in silence as I loot the nearby bodies before I start to suspect that I may have just been ditched, frowning as I approach the doorway and step outside of it. Squinting and lifting a hand to shade my eyes from the sunlight as my eyes adjust, I sigh deeply and find my eyes are drawn to the distant horizon, the soft purples, pinks, and greens of the rising sun reminding me of a painting I saw back home once.

"It's beautiful..." I mutter to myself before averting my gaze, not wanting to risk going blind from staring at the sun for too long. Jumping in surprise as something lands a scant few feet from me shortly afterward, I relax and slowly lower my arms as I realize that Martin has returned without issue, giving me a friendly wave as he approaches me, "Where the hell did you go? I thought you took off entirely."

"Nope. I was scouting out to make sure that those jerks are really gone," Martin reassures me with a chuckle, his sword now sheathed at his side as he steps closer and his wings folding to his back, "I spotted them running back the way we came from, which means we're in the clear. Off to Wolvaria we go, then?"

"Yeah... Let's do that. To Wolvaria."