[Battery: 97%]

Chase knew about the robots and only expected a few small machines that were only meant for utility purposes, but not an entire army of war machines. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought that Marcus was preparing for some kind of war…actually maybe he is. He’s oddly obsessed with manufacturing and inventing new weapons, but who needs this many weapons of this...level of intensity.

"You're surprised by this too, aren't you?" The Technician's mechanical voice echoed inside the vault. Chase tried to crouch lower into the shadows but it was no use, he already knew. "No use hiding from me, I had sensed your presence long before I got here. And I'm not surprised that you were able to recover from your injuries, in fact I'd be disappointed if Marcus lost his touch."

"You know Marcus?" Chase stepped out to face the robot, hands gripped tightly around his sword.

"Know him? Hah! I knew him better than even his own parents."

"That’s hard to believe. How come Marcus has never talked about you, or even mentioned you? You’ve also never been documented before, if you knew Marcus then he should've known about something as unique as your powers."

"And what if I told you Marcus has talked about me before?"

"What?"

"Chase, you're all about justice and arresting criminals, correct?" The Technician grazed a hand across the mech's giant leg. "But in order to achieve that you'll need to know the truth of the entire situation, so that you can make an objective decision of who really deserves to be punished...or...are you the type to simply follow orders and trust that whoever's giving them out will be right?"

"Where is this going?" Chase didn't take his eyes off the Technician, watching for any tricks or missteps.

"What I'm saying is have you ever tried to figure out what my motives are? Why am I doing what I'm doing? Have you ever asked yourself that?"

"Are you going to tell?"

"That depends, do you care enough? Do you care enough to try and find alternative ways of resolving our conflict?"

"Why are you asking me this now?"

"Well, after our battle last time, I've realized that, although I can simply destroy you with ease, I don't actually want to do that. You're not the one who I want to destroy, in fact you'd be a waste of a miracle, and I figured I could give you a chance to understand me so that you can step aside from my path…before I run straight through you."

Waste of a miracle? How was he a miracle? Unsure of what else to say, Chase was tempted to just attack him now, but he already knew what would happen if he did. He ran the possibilities down, and every fight would end the same, he had to do something else. He can't beat everything in a fight, that part he had learned the hard way, but the Technician already gave him his other option. And admittedly he was curious of his connection to Marcus, who really was he. "Fine then, why?" Chase finally said.

The Technician's green orb glimmered. “For starters, you should know that Marcus is a dirty snake."

One thing was confirmed for Chase as the Technician spoke, he really didn't like Marcus. Is that why he's been targeting only Zone facilities? "You seem to have a vendetta against Marcus," Chase said.

"Yes, but I'm sure you would hold the same feelings for someone who has taken everything from you. I was the greatest scientist the world has ever had the honor of knowing, studying every facet of the Network so that the world could advance. But Marcus grew jealous of my talents, of my accomplishments, and he betrayed me. Before I knew it, he threw me into...well I'm not even sure what it was. An explosion, a beacon of searing hot light, or a rift, a tear in the very fabric of reality. Yes, that can be the only possible explanation, I was sent through a portal to the Network, a feat that I never even knew was possible. But do you know what happened after that? I see now that Marcus had simply stolen all my years of research and made a name for himself, a name that should've been mine. And while that happened, my body was broken apart, piece by piece. Every atom of my body was converted into data, my identity was nothing more than a digital footprint in a technological realm where it would be very unlikely that anyone would ever find me again, but I was strong. No, I was smart. My mind was the only thing that stayed intact and I learned. I spent years in the Network trying to figure out how everything worked, seeing how I was given an opportunity that NO ONE could ever dream of having! My power grows stronger with every bit of information that I absorb, and now I'm here to take back everything." The Technician voice became more menacing, more metallic and artificial, as the air around him sparked and sizzled, clenching his fist with ambition.

What was he feeling right now? Confusion, anger, pity, fear? Was the Technician telling the truth? Had Marcus really lied to him all this time? But how, no, several points didn't add up. Chase knew for a fact that Marcus was an intelligent engineer, he had seen him work on all those devices, the weapons, tools, machines, even himself. Chase wouldn't even be here walking had it not been for him, and yet...he still wasn't sure.

"So, you just want revenge?"

"That is one of my plans, yes."

"Then maybe you should take that up in court instead of attacking people and damaging the city."

"Ha!" The Technician laughed. "And what? Wait several months for those old buffoons to deny my case? As far as they can see, I'm some crazy robot going against the CEO of Zone Technologies, the so-called great scientist who led the world into a new era of advancement. And of course they've all but forgotten about the real scientist who made it his life to accomplish his feats. Despite my return, I am still only a fraction of what I once was. No face, no reputation, and no appreciation."

"You were one of the scientists in Project Zonar?" Chase said, remembering the research project that Marcus mentioned years ago. It was a major project that Marcus both loved and hated, working with what he said to be the greatest minds in Coresia.

But everyone knew about the disaster that prematurely ended the project, resulting in the several deaths including the scientists, but Marcus was the sole survivor. As suspicious as that might seem, Chase never dwelled on that, it was an event that happened several years ago and it was one of the few things in Marcus's life that he never liked to talk about, so he just never pried any further - although maybe he should've.

"So, you do know about that." The Technician gave a thoughtful nod. "Yes, I was actually the leading scientist for the project."

"But Marcus was also working on that project with you right?"

"I suppose."

"Then he had put in as much effort into your work as all the other scientists. Claiming everything as yours only would be just as dishonest..."

"I don't have time to get into all the details. Marcus took everything from me, and that’s all you need to know. Now kindly leave me to my work, or are you still going to defend the corruption that's been brewing right under your nose?"

The Technician wasn't going to change his mind, or at least Chase wasn't going to. The mental walls around him felt like they were going to collapse, more lies, more uncertainties, and it seemed like this entire case was way bigger than he expected. He was already dealing with so much before, and now the pressure around him felt even heavier.

The image of the champion, with a serious expression this time, flashed in his mind. What would he have done? Has he been fighting the wrong criminal this whole time? The machines of destruction that lined the walls were still there, all the possible devastation, the damage and lives lost that Marcus could’ve caused, but no. None of this justifies the criminal in front of him. Chase took a breath, even if Marcus had these dark secrets, he couldn't let the Technician go forward with his plans. It was his duty, it was his life, and he'd figure something out. He needed to.

"If what you said was true, then we'll bring justice wherever it needs to be. I’ll make sure of it. But I can't let you go." Chase said, and the Technician's face darkened as he started to walk backwards. He stepped forward and raised a hand, "Come with me peacefully, and we can work things out. I'll help you. But I can't let you hurt the people in this city, I swore to protect their lives with my own, and I don't intend to change that."

"How honorable, but honor won't get what I want." The Technician was standing right next to the giant, four-legged mech and slammed a hand against one of its legs. Chase reacted quickly and threw a pair of electric handcuffs which clasped onto the Technician's hands and bound them together.

But it was useless, the Technician laughed and looked up toward the looming mech, as its body started glowing green and black. The Technician's green orb glowed brighter as the giant mech activated on its own and started moving towards Chase. "I'll let you handle this one," the Technician then promptly broke out of the handcuffs with ease and ran out of the vault. And Chase was helpless to stop him as the huge war machine fired a heavy plasma blast right at him.