Adventures of an Employed Planeswalker

(Matt's POV)

"We are gathered here today to celebrate! Humanity has finally been able to fight back against the Kaiju Threat!" The people in the Mess Hall cheer and yell, expressing their happiness.

Pentecost continues with a serious look in his eyes, "Today, we fought back. Today, we start to turn the tides! TODAY, WE MADE SURE THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS KNOW WE'RE NOT CATTLE WAITING FOR SLAUGHTER!!"

Everyone gives whatever warcry they can. While I may not share all their enthusiasm, I can understand.

These people have been living with these monsters always attacking, never giving them time to prepare or grieve for their fallen ones, and to live their lives. This is exacerbated when it comes to these people from the PPDC.

They are at the spearhead... or I guess, shieldcenter (?) of humanity since the governments managed to organize themselves and project the Jaegers. And even though not many here have been with the PPDC since the beginning, most have lost someone or something to the Kaiju.

Most people have.

"Hey Matt! Enjoying the feast?" Yancy interrupts my inner thoughts by half-hugging me, using his other arm to chug a mug of beer. I glance at him but quickly avert my eyes from the crowd. It's still too much information for me.

"Yes! So many different tastes and cuisines! Burgers, Tacos, Barbecue and barbecue sauce - why do you name a sauce after a type of food anyway? - Chicken Parmigiana, Witchetty Grubs, Garlic Shrimp... There's so many!"

"Aye, I've seen how much lil' Maffhew here can eat... bet he could wina food-eating competition in a breeze!" Says a very obviously inebriated Carina.

"I guess... well, I really wanna ask if aliens can get drunk just like humans, but you look so much like a child I think it would somehow be wrong... have you had any good juice around, Matt?"

"Why, yes! Pineapple juice is delectable! As is orange and apple juice."

Some other people get closer and we mingle for the rest of the night. I even see Pentecost and some other high-ranking staff off to a corner talking and smiling.

The atmosphere is good, and they can relax a little after their achievement.

While all this is happening, I'm still thinking about what I saw on the other side. That was an alien if I've ever seen one and the location they were in and the Rift itself was very weird.

Some very insignificant details become glaring clues with the little tattletale in my mind. Why did it feel like swimming through molasses when I was going back? Why was our vision of the other side so distorted and blurry?

My running theory (aided by the fact that Caby already confirmed that wherever that was, it was in another dimension) is that those Rifts are not completely stable. There's some time difference between here and there.

I spent so little time there that Caby couldn't get as much information as he could from that dimension's frequencies and we didn't even try to get into their servers due to safety concerns. Next time we get there we should be able to get more information, preferably being there for longer too. We now know that getting close to the Rift with some Kaiju samples opens it, so we don't need to wait for an attack to slip in there like the first plan.

What Caby did get though was most of their language. That will help us discover more about the lines upon lines of code on the Kaiju samples we have since presumably those guys wouldn't write code in a language they don't know, right?

... Right?

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GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!

"Why would anyone be so stupid??? This is mostly gibberish!! There's no way they understand this!" Is Pentecost planning any other attacks? I'm rearing to go RIGHT NOW!

|There is approximately 28% match between the codes in the samples and the language decoded through their communications. There is a chance they did not use all their words in those communications.|

'Yeah... Yeah, you're right. And we can't just deduce the rest of... the language... no, maybe I CAN!'

'Caby put all the communication logs we have recorded on a hologram in that wall.' I point to a wall in my room. I don't care for being watched since I looped the cameras in my room ages ago.

As he placed them all there, along with an alphabet he decoded based on context, I stared intensely. If the Scarab can deduce it with an algorithm, why can't I? I have a power that literally does that.

For the first time in a few days, I feel a slight headache. I press on and stay staring at the weird squiggly letters and strings of weird-looking text. Soon, the phrases start to almost move. The letters change places, the wording becomes more orderly and it all begins having more meaning.

I hear- or better, I feel Symby's concern but she also feels my determination to see the limits of my power, so she focuses on healing my mind along with Caby as fast as my corona pollentia is slightly breaking it, overworking my poor brain to get its answers.

Finally, with a metaphorical 'click' it all falls into place. It makes perfect sense now, how that spiral-looking squiggly line that ends with a little nick in the lower left corner means danger, an imminent danger to the local vicinity.

It's a complex language, but I'm now fluent in it, at least to a degree.

'Now we see those codes.'

And then I blacked out.

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I wake up to someone shaking me. I open my eyes and see Pentecost's eyes. It takes me a second to 'boot up' as it is, but soon I truly look at him.

"Matt, are you ok?"

"Yes, I was merely... tired from a recent endeavor. How about you, Stacker? Have fun celebrating our victory?"

He wryly smiles and backs up to sit on a nearby chair. Wait, a chair? There's no chair like that in my room.

|We have been brought to a medical facility as you did not wake up for three consecutive days. Thankfully, my and the Symbiote's efforts were not in vain and we managed to heal you while the power destroyed you, so your body only needed the time to put things in order. Due to Adaptation, you should see more ease in using your deductive power and in brain activity in general.|

{That was dangerous! Your head was overheating like a dusty old computer and all we could do was try to blast it with liquid nitrogen to keep it running. When you stopped it was all weird and out of place and wrong! Be careful Matt!}

'Fucking hell. I pushed too far this time.' Stacker is still looking at me, probably seeing my changing expressions.

I usually control those better but the surprise really took me out of it.

"As you probably already realized, this is not your room. You've been in the medical area since the day of our victory. Some pilots and scientists were worried when you didn't show up the day after and went to your room to check up on you, alongside a few soldiers." Even though their CO somewhat trusts me, a lot of people still don't.

"Did something happen that day? Phill and Kelani told me you went into the Rift... what did you see in there? Did it mess with you in any way? None of our equipment here managed to get into you because of an automatic defense coming from your armor." Huh.

"As I said, I did exert myself. No matter, I'm fine now! And yes I've seen a lot in there."

He looks at me expectantly, "And?"

I tilt my head and his expression sours, "And what?" I ask with a silly smile.

"What did you see in there??"

"Stacker, you should know by now I'm friendly, but we're not friends. We're allies at best and even that is between me and you. Your government... they have their own plans." I smile my most carefully crafted mysterious smile.

"Ugh... I did what I could already, the rest is up to them. I even put it in the report that they could make the pilots who participated in the operation the Heroes of Mankind and ignore your participation just like you suggested. Their reaction was good and accepting, and they said I could keep 'handling' you for now."

I smile sincerely, "Thank you, that will be enough for now. About what I found in there," My expression turns somber.

"I suspect all the Rifts have laboratories fabricating the Kaiju. The time off you have is just the time they need to produce more."

He grits his teeth, "Fuck... Anything else? Something that could help us?"

Now I smirk, "Well, I discovered how to open those Rifts from this side... And no, I will not share how." He audibly groans. "I will be at the forefront of every attack operation against the Kaiju from now on, so you shouldn't need it anyway."

"If we can coordinate with different pilots, we can do it all at the same time-"

"Stacker, did you hear what I just said? There are dozens of Kaiju on the other side of each of these Rifts. I had to go in there because we were detected and whatever it was that was making the Kaiju, sent all the ones available - even the ones not fully developed - to the Rift so it could escape."

I level him a serious look, "If your pilots go alone they WILL die, most likely before they can even push the nuke through the Rift."

Dawning on him the level of danger dozens of Kaiju would bring not only on the pilots but on the cities on the Pacific coast makes him grunt in obvious frustration.

"... So what do you suggest?"

"... It's been three days, correct? Any sign from the other Rifts?"

"No, not yet. I've been monitoring their responses and none of the Rifts have seen activity these past days." He widens his eyes. "You don't think-"

"Most likely." I nod grimly. "Arrange a pair of Jaegers at each active Rift on the Pacific with their respective nukes as soon as possible. I'll go over each of them to make sure the nukes get where they should."

"Are you certain you can spearhead an Operation of that size? You just woke up."

"If the ones on the other side of those Rifts are half as smart as I am, they are preparing something big. You were defenceless prey before but now you've fought back. They won't let that fly, Stacker."

He also knows this by the look on his face.

"Ok. All right. I'll arrange it all. In a few minutes, I'll send the exact coordinates of every Rift we have recorded to your room" Not like I need it. "And an estimate of the pilots' arrival in each one."

I nod. I'm not sure how strong the time difference between here and there is, but I better prepare for war.

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The few hours I had before things would start getting busy, I... sat on my bed and contemplated.

'What is the one thing that could give me a quick power-up? I don't think I'm weak, I think I can fuck those aliens up solo if needed but... you never know. I think our first order of business needs to be invading their system. If we know how they operate, how they work and organize themselves, we'll have a tactical advantage. I'm already accepting the fact that I'll go into every Rift we find, both to hold them in there and to get more samples and maybe to have the time needed for the invasion.'

|There is an aspect that seems to be dormant in the EVO nanites. They seem more malleable than what you've tested so far, and more willing to change. They just won't, for some reason.|

'Hm... I did have the option to have one special ability to come with them like Rex had Machine Manifestation; maybe that dormant power is exactly that capability. At the time, I got the nanites mostly to interface better with you Caby, and to have supremacy over technology. I guess I knew the Kaiju were machines? Or maybe this world has some aspect of technology. I chose this when I still knew what this world had to offer.'

{Did you know that some of us Symbiotes actually also interface with technology?? I know weird stuff for Goo to get on your metal armor, but it happened. Crazy, right~?}

'That... could be interesting. Can you do it?'

{No, silly~!}

'Ugh... back to square one: how to power up quickly... I had the tingle of Haki while dodging the lasers in the lab but I don't have enough time to delve into it and refine it into a usable tool, for now. Maybe if I devise a more efficient way of maintaining my Aura, or instead of keeping it active all the time I can train to activate it as fast as I can to react to attacks. Both of those might work.'

|Possible plans recorded. The first idea is feasible with the use of Pericognition during extensive usage, although not recommended now since operations start in a few hours. The second idea relies too much on reaction time to be of reliable safety.|

'If I can hone in that Observation Haki, I could do it. Bet I could do it with Armament too and get pretty tanky. But I agree; these ideas still need time to develop, something we do not have now. I could try to overclock my body but considering how little it's contributing to my power for now, I don't think the increase would be that much higher.'

|The plan to create better and more numerous synapses would increase your efficiency in controlling the armor, as most of your actions are limited to the speed of your thoughts.|

'I know...'

{Hey guys, I actually have an ide-}

'Maybe I can overclock just the neurons then? But that has the most risk out of all the plans up until now. I could fry my whole nervous system and I'd need days to get back up again, IF you guys manage to patch me up.'

|That is not recommended. The term "Overclock" implies pushing it further than it is intended. There are many examples in simpler technology of how a poorly done overclock can damage a machine, no less your human body. The EVO nanites can take more than normal human molecules, but even they need time to adapt to higher stress.|

{Yeah! I can do something about that, you just have to-}

'We can stock up on explosives maybe? I could just blow them up with the armor's cannon, but that would consume too much energy for all 6 Rifts.'

|Consuming too much energy while in an anomalous dimension is indeed not recommended. Although negligible, energy is still spent to maintain the adaptations, which means slower energy generation. Also, in case we get stranded in that dimension, the energy needed to transpose our bodies through dimensions is massive. Always preserve at least 40% energy in case it happens.|

'Shit, there's also that to worry about...'

{HEY MATT! DID YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A HIGHLY EVOLVABLE, INCREDIBLY CUTE PIECE OF GOO HERE WANTING TO HELP YOU OUT!?? LIKE, HELLO??}

... Didn't have to sound like a bitch but ok.

{I hear that, you prick! Humph, whatever. I can fuse with you deeper, enhancing our bond and your body's capabilities. That would include your reaction times as well, dummy.}

'Why didn't you say so earlier??'

{I TRIED! :( }

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|Tests shows a reaction time of 30ms, a decrease of 120ms. This is firmly superior to even trained human reactions. How do you feel?|

'I feel... more complete, maybe?'

{We are more of each other. I wanna see you ignore me now, dum dum~}

'I'm sorry Symby, my bad.'

{Yeah and you didn't even pick a name for us... What am I? Disposable Goo??}

Getting up from my bad, I transform into my full Symbiote form. My form is not bulky like Venom's, it's more along the lines of Carnage with my tentacles growing out of my shoulder blade area, except it's all black with some blue accents here and there.

"I know now." We speak, our voices overlapped for the first time. "We will be Deceiver!"

{YESSS!! I always wanted to do that!!!!}