Chapter Text
After its loss against V1, V2 fled further into Hell, fuming at its inadequacy against the elder machine. He was made for peace, and it showed in how he fought. He was very capable against regular husks or standard issue machines, but V2 was no match for its superior. V2 was given a mind, the intelligence akin to a human, while V1 was made for senseless violence.
Its ego was bruised, and despite how it tried not to kill unless necessary, it was determined to get back at V1. It took scraps from non-functional machines to rebuild its lost arm, "The Whiplash", it called it.
The descent through Lust was quick, or as quick as V2 could make it. It tried not to dwell, to not catch the attention of the behemoth that King Minos left behind.
Gluttony, however, was a different beast. The acid, the difficult terrain, those damned mind flayers, V2's pace was slowed to a crawl. Husks littered the place, making it very difficult to get through some rooms unscathed. As frustrated as V2 was with its much slower pace, it still decided to leave the damned souls unharmed. They acted on primal instincts, he couldn't blame them much.
The horrors in the body of Gluttony were expected, teeth, meat, bones, they weren't surprising. V2 had read the terminal entries about the layer briefly, but one thing that had changed was the eyes in some rooms. They watched V2, their bright blue irises gazing down at the crimson machine. V2 paid them little mind, Hell was a superorganism, capable of just about anything if it thought it was entertaining.
That was called into question as V2 made its way across a long bridge of flesh, and a voice boomed from above, nearly making the machine jump out of its steel casing.
"Halt, infernal machine! Your kind are not welcome here. Leave this place, lest I have to strike you down with the will of God," a confident man spoke, his voice seemingly coming from where an eye stalked V2.
The infernal machine continued onward, a huff coming from its engine and it slid across the rest of the bridge. It had to keep moving forward to get its revenge on V1, and some eyeball proclaiming to have the will of God wasn't going to stop it.
As V2 crawled through the tight passage after the bridge, the same voice spoke out again.
"You've made your decision, and I shall not apologize for returning you to scrap."
Quite the ego, this guy has. V2 can take down any sorry soul in its path. Well, aside from V1. His steel plates still looked right out of the factory, hardly any scrapes or scuffs. And it ran much better than machines who had delved down here far after it entered hell. It'd take the power of an--
Holy mother of God.
"BEHOLD!" the voice screamed out, a bright beam of light enrapturing the figure as he materialized in front of the machine. With a shining halo, two bright blue wings, and polished gold and silver armor, V2 was staring up at an angel.
Without a second thought, before the shining figure could speak again, V2 kneels. No, no it wasn't going to fight an angel, it wasn't stupid. "God, if you're up there, just let me pass", V2 prayed in the back of its mind.
"Cower only now? Have you no shame?" the angel bellows, his voice echoing off the empty flesh walls.
V2 stood still, not daring to look the glowing knight in the eye.
"You're braver than the rest, I'll give you that, machine," The angel admits, his radiance growing closer, though V2 can't see his feet on the ground. "Most would have tried to fight their way past me, but you're different."
Silence again from V2, just a simple nod in response to the angels.. compliment?
"Stand. Look at me, metal beast," he commands, and without another second, V2 is on his feet, looking up at the glowing figure. The cross on the face of his helm is noticed immediately, then the 3 tiny holes on either side of where the cheeks would be. He has his arms crossed over his chest, the armor beneath being very delicately carved.
"What business do you have here? Why should I not carve out your wiring and leave you for the scrap heads?" he asks, gloating his superior power level with his voice.
The machine stares blankly at the angel for a moment before speaking.
"I WAS BESTED. I INTEND TO HAVE MY REVENGE, AND I NEED PAST YOU," he answers, the emotionless, robotic voice echoing off the walls much like the knight's.
"Bested by?" The angel inquires again, before glancing down and noticing the label of V2's model name on its chest piece. "By your progenitor, I'd take it? Well, it has not passed me, so you can whir off elsewhere."
"I NEED BETTER PARTS. THIS ARM IS MERELY PLACEHOLDER," V2 retorts, maintaining eye contact perfectly. It'd seem completely calm on the surface, but it was preparing to defend itself if need be.
"Find better parts elsewhere. As the righteous hand of the Father, I forbid your presence in the deeper layers of Hell." The angel leans in further, a slight hint of anger bubbling in his voice.
V2 takes a few beats to think of a response. Running back with his tail between his legs would be cowardly and wasn't an option. But this guy wasn't going to just let him through either, and fighting was just going to get him terminated for good.
Then, an idea sparked.
"YOUR HIGHNESS, I UNDERSTAND YOUR MISSION STATEMENT, BUT MY HONOR HAS BEEN SOILED. YOU SEEM THE TYPE TO RESPECT HONOR, CAN YOU NOT SYMPATHIZE?"
"I would if you were not a war machine. Blood stains your hands and yet your thirst can never be quenched. I have no respect for your like, let alone sympathy," the angel snaps back, much more conviction in his voice.
"DESPITE HOW I WAS MADE, I CHOOSE PACIFISM WHERE I CAN. THE ACT OF KILLING IS SOMETHING I FIND HORRID. I WAS MADE TO ENFORCE PEACE, AND I DO SO WHEN ABLE." V2 lowers its head a little, breaking eye contact with the angel. "V1, HOWEVER, WAS MADE FOR WAR. I STAND AGAINST EVERYTHING IT WAS BUILT UPON. I WANT TO TAKE IT DOWN AS MUCH AS YOU, SO PLEASE, SEE REASON."
"Why should I take your word on that? You could be lying. Your promises mean nothing to me," the angel grunts, his body tensing with his increasing frustration with the machine.
"STRIKE ME DOWN IF I PROVE A LIAR. I'D BE NO MATCH AGAINST YOU, IT WOULD BE FOOLISH TO LIE TO YOU ABOUT SUCH AN IMPORTANT MATTER."
The holy knight lowers himself to the ground, taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly.
"I would like to see a change in your kind, so I will keep watch of you in the lower layers. Don't make me regret it," he sighs, tucking his arms behind his back.
"THANK YOU, SIR. I PROMISE, I'LL STICK TO MY WORD." V2 bows gratefully, skidding around the knight's larger frame to get to the exit. But before it drops down, it turns around to look at the angel again.
"YOUR NAME, IF I MAY ASK?" the machine beeps out, crouched next to the hole in the ground.
"Gabriel, Judge of Hell, if you must know."