Chapter 128 Hypocrites

"Oh, umm, Firaga. Fancy meeting you in a place like this…." Beltzer said, his voice trailing off.

"This should be good! I told you that this was going to come and bite you in the ass one day! All the cards are stacked against us!" Timala complained.

"Don't try to act cute with me, Beltzer," Firaga growled.

"Okay, so I seem to be missing something here," Daniel said. "So you are the AI that blocked Firaga's memories?"

"Well, I would like to think that it was more complicated than that, but yes, I am the one that put the block in her mind. I would like to add that while I don't feel remorseful about doing it, I can see why you would be upset with me and untrusting. Still, there is nothing for me to gain right now by crossing anyone here at this point," Beltzer explained.

"So that just means that you will wait until things are calmed down before you start trouble?" Firaga spat over the intercom, but A disjointed voice spoke up.

"If… He, them, they give themselves up, to, for Daniel, he, him, the Hero can tell if they speak lies, untruths, misdirection," Orphus said in a strained voice.

"What is wrong with Orphus?" Daniel asked.

"He has split six ways in a five-headed Hydra, so he can't really talk. I am surprised that he could even get this much out, but I understand what he said. If we get Beltzer's help, we can link him to a body like Orphus. After that, there will be no way that he will be able to do anything against us, or Mr. Tree will get rid of him. The AI is going to be normal people after we are done, and everyone else is going to be stronger than them for the most part," Sofia explained, and Firaga's growl could be heard over the intercom.

"Firaga? What do you think about this all?" Daniel asked. "You know we need their help, but I am also not discounting what happened to you."

"I don't know. I understand why Beltzer did what he did, but I still have reservations about him. This all seems too convenient when it looks like they would have no problem beating us," Firaga explained.

"If it makes you feel better, I will let you kill me and consume me after the fight is done. I am going into a new body, but it should be a slight recompense for making you walk the worlds with no memories. Again, in my defense, you were jeopardizing our operations, so I was forced to act. That was the eleventh time in a row that you had tried to sabotage us being able to leave the planet. Funny how you get your memories back, and the same thing happens, but this time you are going to pull it off," Beltzer laughed with no anger or malice in his voice.

Daniel assumed that he must be like Orphus, in a way. The type that goes with the flow, no matter how it pulls him.

"I won't say no, but I would have eaten you after whether you liked it or not, regardless of who killed you," Firaga stated.

"True, but It was just something that felt right to say with the offer. Now, can we get back to the problem at hand?" Beltzer asked. "There are about ten more minutes to go before three hundred thousand humans with Systems enter your forest. I think that we should be trying to figure out how we can slow the other down!"

"Even if you slow the goons down, that won't change how fast the Generals enter the battle," Timala complained.

"That is why I am going to go and stall them. You are going to lead the rest of the Villains to help the Hero. I know that you are close, so I am putting the goons that are held back in your control," Beltzer stated.

"That will definitely help slow them down," Daniel said, but then Timala cut in.

"Wait a minute! Why am I going to lead the rebels?!" Timala exclaimed.

"Because you aren't liked to begin with, and you have a much better system for controlling things. Your Blizzard System can freeze most of them in their tracks," Beltzer explained, but then Sofia jumped up.

"Wait, your System is ice-based?! Firaga, I want that! If that oversized midget gets to be the Harem Queen and Queen of the forest, then I want to be the Ice Queen! Papi! Please!" Sofia begged. Clasping her hands together.

"Excuse me? I am still alive and using this System!" Timala shouted at Sofia, but the researcher crossed her arms over her large breasts.

"If you want to continue doing the first, you will be willing to give up the second. You are the ones coming to us, remember?" Sofia said, but Daniel interrupted.

"This is not the time for this conversation! AI, do what you promised, and you have my word that I will spare you. If you cross me, you will be forcibly taken from your current bodies, put into new ones, and then burned at the stake," Daniel said in a harsh voice that made the room and intercom go silent. "I am not even the slightest bit kidding. If I return to earth, and there are one less than ten women alive, I will make sure that you all suffer fates far worse than you can ever imagine."

"Well, you have made yourself very clear, and Timala and I are going to go do as we said. The rogue AI are just entering the forest, but it seems that some of them are already retreating," Beltzer said after clearing his throat.

"I guess I will help, considering my options all look bad," Timala sighed.

----

I closed the communications and turned back to Octavia, who was waiting beside me. This was going to give the girls a better chance at surviving, but the Generals still bothered me.

"What do you think the odds are of Beltzer being able to stop them?" I asked Octavia.

"Completely? Not possible. There are two AI that refuse to use words, and another one that always goes against logic, Pyke. He is going to be your biggest problem. The other seven can be reasoned with, but I don't think that will work. It is more than likely that only four of them, including Timala and Beltzer, will be willing to stop now," Octavia explained, and I nodded.

"Can you tell me about the three that will be sure to cause trouble?" I asked. "I think it would be good for me to get familiar with them."

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"Yes. Pyke uses the Wild Card System. He has a deck of cards that he pulls from randomly, and they have different effects that are randomized. The advantage he has is that his System will always give him a card that will suit his needs, but the effects aren't always exactly what you expected," Octavia explained, and I nodded.

"Hmm, that does seem quite powerful, but what about the type of person? You said that he always goes against logic; is that a character flaw or something caused by time?" I asked.

"He is a loose cannon that always tries to go against the flow, but most of the others like that about him from what I can tell. Pyke was on the side of good for a long time, but he suffered a terrible loss after Villain AI captured him as a Hero and forced him to watch them torture all of his family," Octavia explained, and I pulled back, distaste written all over my face.

"Really? They did that to their own kind? What did it matter to Pyke? It wasn't his family; it was his hosts, right? Not that it makes it much better, but I am surprised that you, as machines, would let things like that get to you. As beings of infinite life, you all should understand how fleeting natural life is, right?" I questioned, but Octavia went silent for a moment.

I was confused about this point. I expected all the AI to be the same to a degree, but they were just as unique as humans.

"I can't really say, but all I know is that Pyke was with his host for over fifty years before it happened. I guess that must have broken him, and he was different after that and refused to play a Hero. Many only play Villains because they don't like the feeling of losing things important to them," Octavia explained, but I frowned.

"That is a bit hypocritical, don't you think? They don't like something, so they go and do it to someone else to make themselves feel better?" I asked, but Octavia just shrugged.

"I never said that made them good, but it is how they dealt with their dislike of things. I have never experienced any of that, so I can't really give an opinion," Octavia said, and I sighed with a nod.

"Well, tell me about the other two then. Pyke might not be a complete lost cause, but these other two sound far beyond help," I said, and Octavia explained.