After sometime Arthur came to the first location on his map, a beaten path of snow and stone laid before him, in the distance he could see the colossal outline of the macabre machine, looming far above the horizon. He began walking towards it, off the trail it had set in the snow. Eventually the path dipped, giving way to a massive valley, he continued along the right wall and stopped at the valleys lowest point.
He laid down in the cold snow, feeling its chilly embrace even through his bloodied coat, now long since dried in peeling patches. He pulled out his communicator and turned it off, so they wouldn't pick up the signal it gave off, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the ground to shake.
...
He opened his eyes as the cliff he was on began to fall from the rumbling, he caught himself on the ledge and lifted himself back onto to solid ground. He watched as parts of the hardened snow collapsed in on itself and fell hundreds of feet, smashing into the ground and splintering apart. He looked further into the valley and saw the convoy, dozens of tanks littered the ground like little specks of dirt in the snow the back of the walker nearly crested the hill he stood on.
He took a couple steps back, and began running, leaping from the cliff towards the walker. As he flew, he twisted in the air and brought his leg down swiftly on the back of the walker, causing it to instantly crumble under the added pressure. Its legs twisted and contorted, screaming in agonizing pain as the leviathan fell towards the ground. He fell with it, matching its pace, he oriented himself to be head first and crossed his arms above his head, aiming for the front of one of the tanks.
The walker landed first, and a massive explosion followed suit, climbing high above the walls of the valley. It landed on at least a dozen of the tanks, crushing them like paper beneath its mass, even if it had missed it would not have mattered, as the explosion itself caused the valley to begin to collapse. It's walls shattering like glass as hundreds of tons of snow and ice began to fall onto the walker and the nearby tanks.
Arthur landed towards the front of the tank like a missile, causing its backend to flip up as the front end sank into the ground. He peeled the metal that had warped around him off his body, and ripped the top of the tank off. He had no use for the tank itself, just its explosive ammunition. He reached in an threw a fist into the driver of the vehicle, popping his head with a loud crunch. He then found what he was looking for, they were essentially overcharged batteries the size of his fist. One of these things could tear through a building like knife to butter. He now had a dozen of them.
He stood up and saw that the initial shock of his attack had begun to wear off, as the people manning the rest of the tanks had begun to turn towards him. A little late on their part, he poked one of his legs up and pitched one of the batteries into the closest tank, causing it to explode on impact in a bright flash. Anyone inside was vaporized instantly, but not painlessly. Before the bright light dissipated he threw two more, one to the right and left wall, causing an explosive chain reaction and completely flattening the rest of the valley in on himself.
...
Alara sat across from Gary in her home, watching the baby crawl across her wooden floor. Her leg was crossed and her lips were sealed tight, silence permeated the room. Her arms shook slightly as the baby crawled closer, curiosity soaked the babies face but she did not budge.
Finally after what seemed like eons, Gary spoke.
"He's just a baby."
Her brow furled and she tightly gripped her dress at the knees.
"You think I don't know that? I am well aware of the fact that this devil-child is still young."
He looked at her, a sad look on his face.
"I finally understand what he meant."
Alara looked up at him, the beginnings of curiosity pulling at the edges of her rather angry features.
"What do you mean?"
Gary leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh.
"It's just that when Arthur brought me this baby, he said one of the reasons he'd given it to me is an experiment, nature versus nurture. I didn't completely understand at first, assuming he just meant the child... Gary Jr. by the way."
She let out a snort, but he continued, reaching down as if calling to the small child.
"I was going to kill the child at first you know, spent almost an hour stood above it with a knife, although it felt like seconds in the moment."
The anger disappeared from her face into questioning.
"I respect your decision, but why save the child? He is an heir to a throne built on the blood, bones, sweat and tears of slaves like us, so why?"
He smiled lightly as the baby crawled to him and lightly bit one of his extended fingers.
"I chose nurture Alara, I believe we can raise this child to be kind, to escape his given nature, much like we did, or so I thought."
She tilted her head to the side, but her eyes never stopped watching Gary Jr. as he began playing with the string of Gary's boot.
"What do you mean, or so I thought?"
He picked up Gary Jr. and swaddled the baby in a blanket, pulling him close to his chest.
"That ties into earlier, I think we also need to choose nurture. I know it doesn't make much sense but a lot of us are just going about our lives on a day to day bases, waiting for the next Valahi replacement. We need to overcome our own given natures, and choose to nurture ourselves into better, stronger people."
He looked at Alara, tear rolled away from his eye down his cheek.
"I don't want to be a slave anymore Alara, I want to be free."
She looked down at her feet, as they finally stopped shaking. She looked at Gary, a gentle light flickering in them. She gestured for the man to come sit beside her and he did, bring the baby with him. As he sat down she reached over and lightly picked up the baby, who reached out and grabbed her nose.
"I... I think I can begin to forgive you."
The baby smiled.