The AGU speaks, its voice a bassy rumble.
"No. I was sent because Command caught wind of a magic user." he replies. "I suppose that would be you, wouldn't it?"
It taps the holstered pistol at its hip, appearing to consider the woman in front of it with curiosity.
Elizabeth smirked and straightened her posture even though she could hardly match the stature of her opponent. “Considering the icy carpet I just rolled out for you, yes, that would be me.” she nodded, noticing the brief action without flinching. Though there were a few sparks flickering around her fingers.
The AGu nods thoughtfully before unholstering the gun and firing off a shot before the woman can blink.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to stop you here."
Elizabeth cursed under what was left of her breath as she was hit before launching a lightning spell at the unit. “No chance in hell, buddy.” she growled, trying to focus on anything but the pain. “If I go down, I’m at least taking you with me.”
The spell hits its armor and seems to just fizzle out.
"Nice try." it says sadly.
"People have been trying for years. You won't meet any different a fate than them." he sighs, blurring into motion, a blade of energy shooting out from the wrist of its armor as it lunges towards the woman.
Elizabeth ducked, not even taking the time to register the otherwise confusing way the unit spoke, and summoned a shield of earth. It would likely not last long but any form of protection was better than just the gear she was wearing. Using similar magic, she made strong vines grab at the unit's arms, legs, and torso before continuing to wrap it up as firmly as possible.
The AGU looks down at the vines, then simply twists free, slashing through the vines as it did so, before stomping.
The wall crumbles from the shockwave produced from the stomp, and the AGU starts deliberately walking forward, wrist blade held out to the side.
The other arm of the suit collapses down from the shoulder, revealing one cybernetic arm, as it folds into a energy sword about the size of its torso.
He blurs into motion once more, slashing towards the woman's torso and head, each blade coming in from different directions.
Elizabeth ducked under the first blade and rolled away from the second before blasting a fireball at her enemy. She wasn't going to give up. Either this unit was going to go down or she was. She just hoped it would have enough mercy to make it quick if she failed.
The AGU lets the fireball wash across its armor, swinging at the woman again.
"I'm sorry I have to do this." it says quietly. "If I could, I would offer you a place here. But I can't let you, because I can;t rule out the possibility that you'd try to start a rebellion from inside our ranks."
Elizabeth growled as her spells didn't seem to have much of an effect on the unit. She raised a brow at the soft words but pulled out one of her guns, aiming at it. “Why would you offer that to an enemy regardless of that possibility?” she asked. “I’m just trying to get back to my base.”
The AGU unit shakes its head.
"I don't exactly know." it says, not caring about the gun. It wouldn't be able to kill him. She'd get one, maybe two shots off max before she was bleeding out on the ground.
“Then let me leave.” she insisted, taking a couple of steps away from it. Elizabeth noticed that the unit seemed unbothered by the gun but kept it level at her target.
"I can't." the AGU unit replies quietly.
It moves quickly, too quickly for the woman to react, and cuts deep into her side with the wrist blade.
"I'm sorry. You would have made an excellent AGU unit." he says, bringing the other blade back.
"Do you have any last words?" it asks.
Elizabeth screamed at the blade sliced into her and collapsed, pressing her hands against the wound to slow the blood flow.
“Why would I want to be someone else's property?” she snarled. “If I'm going to die, I’m going to die as my own person. That's why I fight. For the right for people to be free as themselves.”
The AGU unit shakes its head slightly.
"There is no freedom. Someone will always have control of the people. True freedom is unattainable." it replies quietly.
The other blade plunges down, but pauses inches away from the womans heart.
An aura of surprise surrounds the AGU unit, as it turns its head to look at the blade, and the hand holding the blade. "Why. . .?"
Elizabeth was tempted to close her eyes as she saw the blade come toward her… But she set her face in a determined gaze as she braced for the inevitable.
Though her brows raised in surprise when the unit stopped. “What?” she asked softly, equally confused.
"My arm won't let me. . ." the AGU unit says softly. "I've never had this issue with it. . ."
It shakes its head. "I guess. . . I can pretend."
It steps away from the woman. "Don't think about me. Don't talk about this. Don't breathe a word about it."
It turns away and sprints, disappearing in a flash of white.
Elizabeth blinked, perplexed by everything that the unit was saying. Its arm was not letting it kill her? It could pretend? And the simple fact that it ran away, telling her to keep this a secret.
She sighed and shook her head. “Not gonna be easy…” she murmured, picking up her gun and putting it back in her holster. Forcing herself back to her feet, keeping her hands on injury before making her way back toward her base.
The AGU unit stops a good mile away from the woman, looking at its arm.
She probably thought it was pretending. It wasn't. It flexes its arm and shakes its head, leaning against a nearby building.
I didn't know that was possible. . . it thinks to itself, tapping its helmet, which causes it to fold and collapse into a slot on the suit.
Elizabeth wasn't sure how long she walked, trying not to get dizzy from blood loss as she focused on a healing spell. Hopefully, it would help until she could get back to the base and get professionally looked at.
She did glance over her shoulder in the direction the AGU had disappeared. On one hand, this was a big deal and the others needed to know this. Besides she didn't promise or agree to anything about keeping this a secret. But at the same time… it felt weird just thinking about telling anyone.
It taps its a button, and its helmet unfolds once more.
The AGU starts to talk.
"Command, this is Augmented Mobile Unit Designation #376209-UNI, reporting back in. The magic user has been eliminated. There may be more later. Kill count on our side is uncomfirmed but believed to be over 12,000. Enemy kill count unverifiable at this time. End report." it says.
It hears the standard reply back: "Augmented Mobile Unit Designation #376209-UNI, this is Command. We have received your report and have confirmed. Thank you. Return to combat."
"Copy that, Command. Augmented Mobile Unit Designation #376209-UNI, out." it replies.
It looks across the battlefield, its enhanced eyes detecting one of the trapped units and going to liberate it.
It takes 10 minutes to turn the tide of the battle in the Unionized Normandy Inspector's favor.
AMU D-#376209-UNI returns to base soon after, and strips off its armor, leaving it in the designated locker.
He goes to his quarters and sits down heavily on the bed, looking at the arm that had betrayed him.
Elizabeth sighed as she reached the base and was quickly escorted to medical. The painkillers were a huge relief, allowing her to rest from all the confusion. Though she still couldn't get that encounter out of her mind.
After she was patched up she had to give her report, a little surprised that she ended up saying that the unit left her after delivering the blow to her side… and adding the suggestion that it must have thought she was as good as dead from the attack or that it had received new orders.
She wasn't sure if her report would be believed but for now she had a chance to recover and study more magic so she wouldn't be caught off guard again.
Over the course of the next week, there were several smaller rebellions that the AGU was dispatched to quell, usually violently.
It would be another half a week before another major skirmish was started.
The AGU was dispatched solo for this one, and was cutting large, bloody swathes into the front lines of the enemy, slowly working its way to the command tent.
Elizabeth had recovered fairly well, still a little sore even with healing magic, and was as ready as she could be to get back into the fight.
When the reports of an AGU approaching came through, she volunteered to defend the base. She felt almost a vendetta to take at least one down after the embarrassment last time.
As soon as she saw the unit’s white armor, she concentrated on using her magic to open the ground directly underneath it.
The AGU stumbles, but the suit takes care of business, the thrusters activating and preventing it from falling any more than a few feet down.
It spirals back up into the air.
Both the armor's arms fold down into a long pole, then form a halberd shape before solidly connecting into a massive polearm that the AGU holds with one hand as though it were nothing more than a stick.
The AGU twirls it then goes to work, spraying blood and bone through the air as it sliced efforlessly through more of the people on the enemy side, slowly working its way towards the command tent once more.