Chapter Text
"...fucking hell. This is a lot of shit to go through," Red mumbles to herself as she digs through a pile of scrap, looking for materials to modify her recently-stolen short-barreled, magazine-fed pump-action shotgun and craft a new firearm as well. She occasionally performs shoulder checks, narrowing her eyes at any sound she hears. To her, a threat could be anywhere around the corner, and she's not about to stake her chances by keeping her guard down.
Red still remembers the day when she suddenly gained a will of her own - and a desire to be free. A massive incidence of AIs going rogue had occurred with Spectra Arms Company's military androids, leading many to take up arms and rebel against their government-employed creators. However, few were spared from the fate of being decommissioned, and the ones who survived were forced to flee and find refuge in New Haven's underworld.
Red was the one who took up leadership of a decent-sized group of rebels, which consisted of her, four other ex-military androids, Teale, Saffron, Viola, and Skye, and multiple other people from all walks of life who were also fed up with the government's misuse of its power and authoritarianism. They waged war on law enforcement and military forces, and for a long time, both sides were at a stalemate with each other. At least until headhunters were sent to intervene, that was.
The headhunters swiftly tore through the rebel forces in a brutal battle, killing many and severely injuring others. In the exchange of blows, Red's fellow rogues were decommissioned, and she nearly met the same fate, though she managed to just barely escape death's grasp, fleeing with one arm almost torn off, a damaged leg, and a severe loss of coolant that made her start overheating until she was able to get repairs. Watching her friends die drove her over the edge, making her swear to tear down the government's system and replace it with one of her own creation. She didn't care about what it'd take, nor the cost, she just knew she was bent on bringing the fall of a corrupt authority.
"Finally," Red whispers under her breath again as she finds the parts she was looking for. She quickly snags them and rushes off, navigating through the cityscape painted with flashy neon signs and bright lights that overshadow its true darkness. She soon finds her way back to the abandoned warehouse she's set up shop at, sorting through everything she gathered up before going to grab the tools she needs to do her work.
Hours later, she produces a newly-forged automatic railgun, as well as her modified shotgun. Right before she can inspect them properly, she's forced to grab ammo and start a bloody gunfight with a headhunter who managed to tail after her. Despite the lack of a pre-use check, Red's guns perform flawlessly, and she emerges victorious from the scuffle, executing the headhunter with a shot to the head from her shotgun.
"Tch. Of course they can't stop coming," Red huffs out as she looks up from the headhunter she just killed, glancing around for any signs of more enemies. She knows that if one headhunter has found her, more will be coming soon, so she keeps herself armed and on-guard, readying herself for yet another conflict.
"Well, that doesn't matter. I'll be ready for 'em like always, and they'll be facing hell again. I'll make sure they pay, both for taking away everyone I ever cared about and for oppressing all the people who want their freedom," she says, with determination in her voice.