September 9th

Ripley

It was hard to believe it had been nearly two weeks since we raided the Yuzhou facilities. I couldn't help but feel disturbed by how… normal everything felt once again. Besides my mom's worsening condition and the threat that I'd pissed off the currently wounded R0N1N, life was set to return to its normal pace. I would be going to Harold's gym tomorrow to pick up the slack of my month off, Hoaqin had invited me over for a bar crawl and Elsa… I was with her right now.

She nuzzled up close to me, her face fitting perfectly into the crook of my neck as we cuddled. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." I pulled her in close, needing her to remove my mind away from these harrowing thoughts. "I… I thought you all gave up on me."

"Stop it, Ripley." Her eyes pleaded up to me. "We never gave up on you for a second… we just… seriously couldn't contact you."

"Have you figured out why…?" I pulled myself up. "Shouldn't that be our main focus right now? What… where even is Twilight?"

Elsa's gaze shifted to the floor of my apartment for a moment, she took in a deep breath before speaking. "It's the new DataShield in your head, while it allows transmission of any… normal data in and out of your frame. It's been designed to prevent conscious external Adapter-origined Warpcode from interfering with you. It's identical to… The FIREWALL."

My jaw clenched, the very same Firewall that Mirage had been tasked with breaching all those years ago. "And Twilight…"

"Was corrupted by it…" She held my hand tighter. "And it can spread… Daylight and Midnight are at risk of being damaged too, even I could be harmed by Warpcode like that. And I already know what that was like. I've isolated her for now… but she's not showing any signs of improving."

"You mean…?"

"That in all likelihood, I'll need to reset her completely. I'll try to keep what I can of her, memories of you for example, but… she needs to be rebooted." Mirage's words soaked into me like rain, no, acid rain that burned deep into my heart.

I knew what I should have been saying right now, yet my brain refused to think that way, like it wasnt allowed to. And just as quickly, I'd forgotten about my inability to weave that thought. "Can I say goodbye to her?"

"Of course, Rip." She gripped me tighter, but I could see the pain in her eyes, the tears she had been hiding from me.

———

September 10th

Twilight was kept contained in a Warpcube that had no digital outlet. She must have been trapped there ever since she made contact with Diana. Left in a void of ones-and-zeroes, alone and vulnerable as a digital entity. In some ways, I could understand her better now, and I wanted to be there for her. I extended one wire out from my hands, Elsa already plugged into the cube as she prepared Twilight.

"Ripley? Is that you?" Her avatar began to form over my vision, but she looked different now. If I had to choose the word, it would be healthier. The light radiating off her was a warm and supple glow that calmed me, the seams and curves of her avatar appearing more defined — nearly human. Her clothes carried a more physical weight, like the material themselves were tangible.

"It is me." I nodded.

"He's here to say goodbye, Twilight." Elsa said softly.

"Oh." Twilight nodded, but her hands clenched up, and even through this faint connection her emotions were palpable. Like they were a second voice within my head.

She felt scared.

She felt angry.

She felt guilty.

"I…" She rubbed her eyes. "I don't know why I'm feeling so much right now. I shouldn't be…"

Elsa nodded, a saddened expression on her. "That's the issue."

"I feel… alive for the first time forever and- now it's going away." Twilight covered her eyes, her voice breaking. "I… I thought I could spend more time with you… I- I don't want to…"

Then don't-

-Why… why wasn't I able to think what I wanted to think. I… what? What was even thinking about?

"Twilight…" Elsa's voice grew heavier. "It's getting worse… I can't let you talk to him for any longer. Please."

Twilight sniffled, sharing one last glance with me. Then she floated up and kissed me, and I felt literal sparks dancing on my lips. She felt so real, so-

"Where'd she go?" Elsa said in a panic. "I can't sense her."

"She's still here, what do you mean?" I responded back, but Elsa didn't respond, her mouth moving in slow-motion.

What? Why did Hypermind activate?

"Sorry." Twilight whispered. "I took the liberty to use that neat trick of yours."

"Why?"

"There's… something inside of you. Something not right." She looked so wound up, like her emotions were constricting in on her. "I… it's my fault."

"What do you mea…" I blinked, obviously I knew what she was talking about. "Of course, there's a slice of The Firewall in my head."

"No… while that is something there, that's not what you should be concerned about." Twilight's arm reached into my cheek, and flashes of hot white memories burned at the tip of my eyes.

A headless body. Pink hair. That smile which always cheered me up.

It all drowned down in thoughts and memories, and in the dark moonlight reflecting on that scattered sea of stars only Elsa reflected to me.

Questions I didn't know I had surged up. What was Elsa's relationship with Mr. Skeleton anyway? She was the one who let him into a seat of power anyway? Wasn't Skeleton the enemy of Missy's group?

Then another burning vision seared into me, literally. My entire team of DataDelvers was dead, something had breached through The Firewall, moving with surgical precision as it dismantled those under my Proxy Network.

Then it stared at me, a being made of holy flame. A guardian of the Firewall, then it struck me.

"Stop!" I screamed back at Twilight, the aching was so intense and my inability to breathe with this warped timespace left me in agony that sprawled endlessly.

"Oh…" Twilight pulled her hand out, it was like it had been stuck into a fire, charred and blackened by something vile. "I can't be the one to undo it… but… Ripley?"

"What?" My mental voice was strained, like it had been scratched apart.

Twilight's hand was stretched out to me, and I felt an inner piece of my mind move towards her. A bright white spark flowed out of me, around the width of a finger — it was like a tiny star. Twilight gasped as she saw something in it that I didn't.

"It's… beautiful." Tears began to stream down the sides of her face, their droplets fading away into tiny sparks of violet. "I guess I won't be leaving you forever then… when the time comes, I'll need you to trust me above everyone else."

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My answer was quick. "I trust you… all versions of you."

She held her hand close to her heart, a wide smile forming a basin for her tears. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Her fingertip sunk into the orb of white, streams of her body's avatar slipping off like her form was unraveling. She stopped the process before I could ask anything, what was she doing? With that, time flowed back to normality, my lungs gasping for breath as I stared at the fading image of Twilight.

"Goodbye Rip… you'll see me soon. Don't worry too much. And… I love you."

"I… love you too." Before I could finish speaking, she had vanished back into the cube, the transmission forcibly cut by Elsa. My girlfriend looked at me with… fear.

"What happened, Ripley?" She immediately came to my side, my breathing still not even.

"I… I don't know. When we touched, I felt… a lot of things."

"Then you can see why…" Elsa looked too pained to continue that sentence. "This is difficult for me, too… but I'm glad you got to talk to her one last time."

"I didn't get to say everything." Guilt was swallowing me whole. I wanted to say so much more to her… but, my mind was a mess right now. Like it was being knotted up and memories were sinking down where I couldn't see them.

I'd seen something… I had. But I couldn't remember anymore, Twilight had activated Hypermind and then… the rest was a blur.

"I think I'm just overwhelmed." I was too tired by all that was happening, too confused. And even with my stint in a holding cell, I hadn't yet relaxed an adjusted to my status as a Tier II Adapter…

"I gotchu, Rip." Mirage smiled at me, her hand linking with mine. "And… I think Twilight knew what you wanted to say to her."

"I hope so…"

Her fingers rubbed over my hand for a few quiet seconds. "Should we watch something? Maybe that'll cheer you up?"

I sighed. "No… I think I need to go home. I'm meeting R0N1N tomorrow… I need time alone to think everything through…"

"I understand, Rip." She kissed my cheek, but behind every motion of hers was a burdened pain… she was effectively going to have to kill her friend. My friend.

And who knows how many more times she would need to do it?

"I'll miss you." I kissed her back, my fingers rustling through her hair. "We should… we should find something fun to do, later? Once I'm feeling better."

"Definitely…" Then her eyes grew a little mischevious. "What kind of fun?"

"Get your head out of the gutter, Elsa." I shook my head. "See you later, princess."

She cooed, making my heart just a little better as I stood up and walked to the exit as she followed me with our hands interlocked. She abruptly stopped, her eyes not exactly meeting mine as she spoke. "Did Twilight say anything, by the way? When I… couldn't feel her?"

"Not really." I scratched my head. "Just… something about her not being able to do something by herself? I think?"

"Oh… there's a lot she feels like she couldn't do." Elsa frowned, but there was a stiffness there. "Nothing to worry about, I'll make sure that when she comes back, she's not too different."

The door opened, but before I could even move an inch Elsa grabbed me and pulled me in for a steamy kiss. "Take good care of yourself Rip and… I love… you."

I held my forehead against hers, content. "Same here. Love you too."

———

Alone in that elevator descending down the mighty skyscraper, I found myself feeling for the Warpcode within my Implant and frame. A raging swirl of flame circulated around the edges of my Neuroframe, and deeper down was a rising tide of Gold Energy.

And within that tide… was a sparkle of white. And a faint glimmer of violet within it. Reaching in… for the Information Seed, I manifested a visual interpretation along my optics as a holographic image of a white star with violet sparks twisting within it's glow.

Information Seed:

Tier 0: 52%

Current Focus: Data Mimicry [28%]; Persona (Twilight) [24%]

Trust her… above everyone.

Sounds easy enough.

———

Walking through the streets, my eyes honed in on the people around me. I'd taken a detour, my steps purposeful and my gait calm and confident. That was needed for alleys like this.

Dozens of homeless and Scrappers exchanged looks with eachother at my presence, but today I wasn't wearing the face of Ripley. The mask of Dreadwire struck into each of them, and fear wasn't the only thing rising in their expressions. There was also respect.

Footage of my… achievements had circulated around the city. None brighter than my takeover of two Shandian aircrafts that I caused to crash into each other, and my little street race towards the facility was also quite the headliner among the forums. Unlike other mercenaries, I wasn't bound in the secrecy of the AbyssNet, the SurfaceNet talked about me just as much.

Some hated me, called me a terrorist. Others… seemed wierdly enamored with my presence, I was Gold and admittedly quite the show-stopper.

Point is, they knew who I was. And that was a different kind of respect, not the one that grows from the day to day, but an instant recognition that they were out of their leagues. I loved it, perhaps more than it was healthy to.

I didn't care, my eyes scanned them and my steel-coated voice rattled into them. "Which one of you has a dog tag tattoo?"

They flinched, some reaching for makeshift weapons, but one of those brave souls pointed to another. I tilted my head towards the woman who held a half-dismantled pistol close to her chest.

My mask reflected in her shaky eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I do want to ask you some questions."

Her gun went off, the bullet and smoke firing away. My palm was stretched out, it's shell engaged, and the spark preceded a single round cluttering to the floor. "That wasn't wise."

My Arachne arms exploded out from the inactive stealth suit I wore, two spear tips launching away as I grabbed the woman. And zipped her struggling body away.

I landed on a nearby roof as she pounced off me, this area was also inhabited by the homeless and other unfortunate souls. I glanced at them, but knowing that wouldn't be enough I tossed off around ten Iron Shards. "Give us privacy."

They scattered off the roof like terrified ants, leaving me alone with the equally terrified woman. "Who- I- I've seen you in the Net, Dreadwire... right? I don't want any trouble."

"Well, you did shoot me." I pointed out her gun. "But I can let that slide, do you have the tattoo?"

She held her breath, raising her torn jacket from the side to expose an iron-shaded ink sketch identical to Nathaniel's from a few weeks ago. I'd also remembered very quickly what happened to Nathaniel, and knowing that Soul Killer had a way to turn these Implants into… well… MALs, I wasn't unwise to say the next thing. Diana had said… The Dogwhistler could take control.

"I know you're in there. I want to talk."

The woman shuddered, her hands gripping her head as she fought to remain in control. Then it arrested into a laugh out was dark and heavy like bass, a maniacal grin forming over the woman as she spoke to me. "Hello, Ripley. I don't believe we've ever had a conversation face to face. Then again, not quite my face, am I right?"

"What is up with you freaks? Why do you all find it so necessary to quite literally take control of other people?" My mask stayed on, something about wearing it instilled a confidence in me. A smart confidence, one that let me say the things I wanted to say.

"Oh, it's perfectly reasonable in this world. But rest assured… you're not one of those I want to hurt. In fact, out of both of you… you're my favorite." Dogwhistler smiled through the woman, a crooked smile that forcibly twitched.

"I figured some out from Diana, you Uncaged freaks aren't particularly able to kill us because of our Implants and an order from this Mr. R guy. But that doesn't stop you from meddling with us for your own goals, that's the real issue here. What exactly are you, Skeleton and Soul Killer planning with all of this, planting seeds of control among the masses… building an army?"

"Of sorts." She shrugged. "It's complicated, neither of us really get along. Other than when Mr. R… The Sin gives us our orders."

"Well, whatever it is, I don't like it, but I came here to say… I don't think I want to get involved with it. So let's make a deal, I'm only going to continue with all of this crime and underworld bullshit until my mother's okay, then… I'm going to give her the life she deserves."

"Right… one step at a time." She slithered out of her mouth, making me freeze.

How… how did she know that?

"Face the facts, Rip. You're not going to be done with this life, we see it in you. The potential, or at least… I do. After all, you're going to one day kill Diana and take her SIM for yourself, why else would I have gotten her out of The Revenant's clutches?"

Diana didn't know why she was saved… but now it was confirmed. "You, Himiko… I don't know why you two both think I'll just-"

"Don't compare me to that caged dog." Dogwhistler's voice was cold. "She's nothing but a tool that doesn't know her place."

"Is that why you scorned her by rigging the deal for my Implant? Some personal vendetta?"

"Not entirely false." She chuckled. "But I don't mix business and pleasure. What my boss wanted out of that deal, he got it, and now I continue to perform my duties."

I gritted my teeth. "What a good little dog you are."

The woman's face was slightly stunned, but her laugh was far from the reaction I wanted. "Oh that's why I like you so much Ripley, ever the charmer. You know... more than anyone, you should be on my side. I'm the reason that MAL ended up in the Toxin Club in the first place..."

I had enough of this… "Alright, I've heard enough. It's clear you're going to do nothing but lead me in circles."

"Ah, leaving so soon?" She opened her eyes wide. "Or is that just some ploy so you can look into this woman's memories once I leave."

My bones chilled. "You… how do you…"

She tapped her frame, the flow of Warp Energy in the woman's body growing louder to my senses. What I thought was Iron suddenly exploded into Bronze, burning ever more brightly as it all concentrated onto… her frame?

"Just a little precaution. Don't want this dog barking too much." Dogwhistler smiled. Then the woman's nape exploded into a burst of blood and steel. I jerked back, the corpse falling too the floor to reveal a gaping wound where her frame had been.

The Implant within was… utterly shattered.

I didn't know what to think, but only one stream of thought remained stable. Dogwhistler knew about my ability to look into memories… and… only Diamante and Mirage had known, R0N1N later until Topaz revealed that to Missy and Twilight.

Someone had leaked it to The Dogwhistler… one of them wasn't on our side.

Before I knew it, I was lying down on my couch… the internal walls of my skull containing a rampant storm of theories and thoughts. The chaos was too much at times, but it tired me out and eventually, my eyes closed for the night.

From tomorrow onwards, I would rebuild Dreadwire back to functionality. I would get my ass ready to be the mercenary the world thought I was…

All the while, Ripley Donovick would be hiding in the shadows… breaking the very foundation of Implants. My first step would be getting answers from Missy, and hopefully not dying to the R0N1N.

I had to figure out what The Source was.

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