Prologue:

October 1st

Diana

I… couldn't quite believe that I was back here. This same bar meeting that same damned lie of a human being. Archangel, a NeoCore Enforcer otherwise known as Alisha Noori. She wasn't sitting inside the building, rather, she hobbled on crutches outside the doorway. Surprised to see that her legs hadn't healed yet, I tried to put on an unassuming face as she guided me into the bar.

"It's been a while." Archangel found us a table to sit on, it must have been easy since she had basically told me the last time that she owned this place.

"That… it has." I unsteadily took my seat, eying the woman in front of me with distrust.

"So… I'll be blunt." Archangel leaned her arms over the table, her beautiful bronzed skin reflecting under the tasteful chandeliers of the establishment. "Ever since our last meeting, I've been keeping an eye on you, of sorts."

I wasn't surprised, it seems like everyone was interested in following me nowadays. Including my new coworkers. "And let me guess, you lost track of me when I was kidnapped by Soul Killer?"

"Ah." Her voice heightened in surprise. "Is that what happened?"

"You were the one who led me on their trail."

Alisha bit her lips, she seemed different today compared to the last time, but it was hard sometimes to remember that she had grown up as an actress. "Right, right… Soul Killer. Were my files helpful?"

"Not exactly." I grunted, remembering the torment I'd gone through.

"Diana… I'm going to speak as Alisha — not Archangel — I need to know everything that's happened… preferably from the start. My boss is on my ass, because he thinks that your Implant is special. Now that everyone knows that you have a Gold, it's beginning to become real difficult to-"

I raised my hand up, interrupting her before she rambled further. "You want to know it all from the start? Okay then, yeah, four months ago I was tasked with infiltrating a club owned by The Snake Fangs since there was intel regarding some exchange between them and Yuzhou high-execs. There, I stumbled onto said deal, except as you know… it was a farce from the get-go."

"Right, you said they were planning to open the box in the first-precinct's center."

"And release a MALignant there." Just a taste of what would come three years from now with the Fifth Swarm.

"The same one that's sourced your Implant." Archangel smirked. "Golden in virtue… and in power."

I scowled, so she'd read about me in the papers. "Right, and then your boss tried to crush my head."

"Did he?"

"Yes."

"Oh… Tusk isn't known for his friendliness."

I expelled a tired breath. "Moving on, from then I joined Intelligence Squad 13 as a Third-Rank Investigator, it was was around when I'd just finished converging that you and I met. A whole lot happened, and combing through a few of the clues that Ripley said to me, combined with your report. I concluded that other than the Dogwhistler, there were also figures known as Mr. Skeleton and Soul Killer who operated within the shadows of Westbrook. Behind even the puppeteers."

"And naturally, you dove face first into their mess. Without inserting that handy little chip into your skull so I could find you if you died."

"Well that was never in the plan. Dying." I coughed out… those early days of my Implant, it had been troublesome adjusting to the power. But in hindsight, it was probably the happiest I had been in a long time…

Alisha picked up a tablet on her side. "You know, I have a long list of some of the crazy things you've done. Killing Tonguelasher, aiding in direct interceptions of Crimson Souls arms deals, witnessing The R0N1N firsthand during a hotel hostage scene, assaulting a Metal Heavens base in Little Requiem of all places… oh, sorry shouldn't touch on that last one."

I gritted my teeth, she was right. "It's unrelated, a coworker found out about my Implant and kidnapped my best friend to get at me. I- I couldn't save either of them."

Alisha nodded, a faint bit of genuine sympathy shining in her eyes. "The world's not a pretty place. Diana… but I think I'm the last person who should tell you that."

"Yeah, during all of that mayhem I was… well, the lieutenant knew about my Implant the entire time. Led me down a rabbit hole known as Simon Jugosla, a freak who sold MAL-based cuisine to the highest bidder. Landed me an invite to an auction where I…"

A lot happened at the auction, for one I had met Ms. Himiko. The sentient AI who had attempted to buy my Implant in the first place. She'd revealed a lot to me, but only with Ripley's aid later had I figured out my Implant was related to a MALtitan — The Infinite.

But the most important fact was… "It was where Soul Killer and I first met."

"Oh, what did they look like?"

I stared at her deeply, questioning how much I should reveal to her… but like it or not, having NeoCore as an ally was something I couldn't give up. "Soul Killer isn't a person. Rather they're a hivemind of sorts that works by transmitting their Mutation through the pollen of flowers resembling a Red Spider Lily. Upon ingesting that Mutagen, your brain structure alters, allowing them permanent access to your body via a Psionic Nexus — a highly developed host that keeps these various Soul Killer minds… cohesive with each other."

Archangel's eyes opened wide. "Oh… that… that doesn't sound good."

"They're Titanium too, I was almost sucked into their control but… I guess you can say I've developed an immunity to it. No thanks to being locked up and tested on for more than two weeks in an abandoned MAL bunker."

"Which you then broke out of all by yourself."

No… It was only later that I'd figured, but my father had worked out my freedom when his agent was captured. Soul Killer just took his precious time giving it to me, and then they took Anthony… which led Dryder to me.

"It was a complicated mess…" I clenched my fist, what even was Alisha's goal? "What do you exactly want? I mean last time you said you either needed my Implant or to figure out where it came from."

"Well, it looks like you're making good progress on the latter front." Alisha smiled. "But if you ever do want to take that contract, it's still open. Hell, we could negotiate it—"

"I'm not giving you my Implant." I steeled my voice. "But seriously, why is Tusk so hellbent on recovering my Implant?"

I was pretty sure I knew the reason, but this was a test to figure out how much Alisha knew. "Oh, well… Let's just say it's a very special Implant even as a Gold."

"You don't even know what makes my Implant so special, do you?"

Her eyes crossed, anger flashing up before she stirred them calmer. "I- look, whatever your Implant is, the MAL it came from caused irreparable damage to my BUG. I don't know how or what that means, but it should be impossible. Do you know how frustrating it is being unable to walk?! By the Founders, Diana! My job is on the line. My life!"

"Then how will you help me?" I settled closer to her, my voice growing colder. "If you're that desperate, then you'll help me get rid of Soul Killer."

Alisha clenched her jaw. "I wish it was that simple, but you're acting like I can drag all of NeoCore into this mess. I can barely get my own boss to respond half the time!"

I sighed in frustration. "Have you ever heard of a group calling themselves The Uncaged?"

"The Uncaged?" She repeated in recognition. "Yeah, old MALterrorist cell active from out in Africa and Europe. Was before my time. Why?"

So The Uncaged was active in other continents? Or was this some other splinter group based in New California?

I sighed. "They're the ones who had my Implant's MAL initially. And all those big shady figures like Skeleton, Dogwhistler and Soul Killer are the ringleaders."

"Oh… oh." She gulped. "I won't claim to be an expert, but from what I know, The Uncaged was a name many resistance groups and criminal gangs banded themselves under post-Fourth-Swarm. Their influence didn't touch this continent once, besides, NeoCore practically stomped their influence out."

I digested the information greedily. "The leader of whatever operations are happening here is known as Mr. R, ring a bell?"

"No… The Uncaged that I knew worked under someone calling themselves, The Sin, but this was more than a decade ago."

The Sin… and Mr. R, to my knowledge, were likely the same individual.

I clenched my fists until they turned white. "Which would time up perfectly when new threats in Westbrook began appearing, namely Skeleton and later Dogwhistler."

"Shit." Archangel bit her thumb. "This just got complicated. I'll… try and see what I can do."

I chuckled out my spite. "They played this clever didn't they, waiting until the Swarm is practically hovering it's shadow over us before ramping up the chaos they're causing. And from what I know, they're partially the reason NeoCore is sending reinforcements to New California."

"Almost like they want us to fight them." Archangel sulked. "But could it be a distraction from something else… or?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that the police have been infiltrated with Soul Killer's presence. Now since your friends are planning on working with us, I'm sure they'd appreciate an untainted police force." I left an equal amount of threat in my voice.

"Those reinforcements won't be arriving for a while, at least another few months." Archangel rubbed her temples, anxiety creeping in. "Being straight with you, I'm capable, but I'm… not as active as I can be. Tusk is off-city setting up the Siege Capitals, making me the only NeoCore personnel in this entire District. I can take on a Silver unscathed, but I can't help you deal with this interpersonal conspiracy relying on gang politics and-"

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"Ah right, Soul Killer has the ability to turn the people they infect into MALs, which they can also control."

Archangel stiffened. "Elucidate."

I smirked, the cat was in the bag.

———

There was a lot I couldn't say to Archangel. She had more or less hinted that she was aware I possessed what was called a Deviant Gene, but something in me could feel that her understanding was only half-baked. That she didn't know the origins of where these unique Mutations came from.

The Source. Or at least, a fragment of it… whatever that cryptic authority may be, it allowed Implants to bend their own rules. And my fragment of The Source came from The MALtitan known as the Infinite. I wasn't sure if Tusk knew that exact fact, but he clearly had an agenda with acquiring my power.

For now, I had better things to get to. Slowly, me and Dryder were creeping up on Soul Killer's involvement with the underworld, but at times where I wasn't crashing at his office, I was here.

Besides Anthony.

The hospital room was quiet, but the thrum of his biomonitor kept me connected to him. Staring at his sleeping face, I rubbed the Nexus SIM Dryder had given to me, my mind searching the hospital floor for any of Soul Killer's influence.

For Anabelle Grazhe.

I didn't know the exact details of how Anabelle's infection was different from the others, but she was most likely a victim of Soul Killer's around the time Anthony's mother, Juliet Grazhe, had died. A decade ago.

That whole mystery was still unexplained, but I knew Dryder was a close affiliate of Juliet's, and her death appeared to be part of the reason why he was so hellbent on ending Soul Killer.

I could relate.

———

October 1st

Ripley

Cold liquor burned down my throat, some expensive malt that would get even a Tier II loose with a few shots. Warp-enhanced alcohol was a business of its own in the underworld, and Shaun from The Snake Fangs was notorious for having parties where he lavishly spread the gift around to make allies festive and his enemies unaware.

And clearly, Hoaqin had picked that up from his uncle.

The tall sack of meat and steroids was flush from the drink, but his next few words came way too seriously. "Ripley, you're Dreadwire aren't you?"

Many thoughts crossed my mind at this moment, from the possibility of having to kill my friend, to if Shaun already knew… but staring at the man who was shaking with what he had said, I realized that he was… scared. Being Tier II enhanced my processing of information, but the sweat pricking his eyebrows and slight tremble of his lips was an obvious tell.

I sighed out, just glad I didn't need to lie anymore. "So, I am. What gave it away?"

"A few things." Hoaqin shuddered. "For one, if there was anyone as obsessed with an Arachne and turning it into a weapon, it would be you, hermano. Then there's the fact that a Gold Merc pops up a few months after we had one in our club but also… it was the way you dodged in those Vulture vids of you that leaked."

"Dodged?"

"Yeah, it was the same way you used to do during our sparring matches, grew a a weird tilt on your right side since your hand was made of metal and heavier." Hoaqin took a gulp of a weaker brew to embrace his snitching mouth.

"Damn." Looks like you didn't need an Implant to identify tells, I would need to work on my dodging. "Well, yeah, you figured me out. Got the Gold and dove straight first into a criminal conspiracy. Any questions?" I knew I was coming off as casual, but better that than blow this out of proportion in a public club.

Hoaqin gulped the burning drink down.

"First. How on earth did you even meet The R0N1N?" Hoaqin slurred into me, his voice equal parts curious and worried.

"That's a long story, at first he just needed me as an on field mechanic. But it was some mercs who helped me settle in who introduced me to the guy, he's terrifying." I chose my words carefully. I needed to gauge how much Hoaqin knew.

"Right… these other mercs, were they the ones also there in the raid? Don't tell me you know The Iron-fucking-Devil?!" He whispered in a scream, but the corner of this club was secluded in sound-proof walls — a little VIP section where one could say the things they wanted, exchange whatever, or fuck whoever.

Not that the last one was happening tonight.

"Yeah, I know him. A real sweetheart." I smirked, thinking about how pissed Diamante would be if he just heard me.

Hoaqin groaned as the severity of it all hit him. "Okay, okay… but like how?!"

He stared me up and down. "How on earth did cute little Ripley go from shivering in our basement to giving Yuzhou the fucking finger by crashing their Aerodynes into one another? What the fuck happened in these last four months?!"

"A lot." Where to even begin… "Yeah, I met a helpful folk. They helped me adjust to life with an Implant, hell, they helped me understand just what kind of life they've been living. Made sure I worked my Implant to the Warpcode by pushing me to my limits, both as a Shard Operator and a… well, newly bountified Merc."

"I want to know… everything." Hoaqin said with wide eyes, before correcting himself. "Everything that won't get me killed."

That made things easier. "Well, to start off. I got ahead of myself, made a few improvements to my Shardware from some scrap I found in Little Requiem and it ended up with me losing my left arm after a brawl went wrong. From then, I managed to prove myself to Saint Yorinobu's sole Shard Op', Harold Anderson — tough guy."

"Right… I've been thinking of getting membership at the gym." Hoaqin blurted. "Could you get me a discount?"

I scoffed. "I'll try. Where was I? Right a new arm, a new liver… and also- yeah, I forgot. Turns out my grandfather has a bit of a history with my boss, don't know exactly what, though he was much better of a Shard Op' than even my mom knew. Nothing too major, but my old man helped me by giving some much needed insight into Operating."

I lied the entire time, because my grandfather was in fact the notorious world-infamous Titanium Shard Operator known as The Hammersmith. That was practically the extent of what I knew about him, other than that Little Requiem's big honcho, Mr Skeleton, was infatuated with all of my grandfather's works. Missy had said something about him being the second pup my grandfather brought to her, after Diamante.

Thus, making the skeletal mob boss a personal figure for both me and Missy, equally dangerous and mysterious with agendas I hadn't quite yet weaned out. Except for the fact that he was dangerous, a part of The Uncaged.

"Oh… I thought your granddad was dead?" Hoaqin blurted.

I lied. "Yeah, he is, but he left some stuff behind for my mom. Found his research notes and Shardware."

Like an Endoskeleton that was now partially inserted into my body. Just the hips, ribs and skull were left.

Hoaqin took a deeper gulp. "Still doesn't explain how you became so… badass."

"Well… this city has a deep history. And the guys I was running around with are pretty fucking important to it and uh… well, you remember Diana?"

Hoaqin clenched his glass a bit harder. "How could I not?"

I was going to say that we were working together trying to uncover the secrets of our Implants, but I got the sense that wasn't a good idea anymore. "…well, I was keeping an eye on her because she… you know…"

"Has the other half of your Implant." Hoaqin basically spat into his cup.

"Right, point is that I involved myself in some pretty dangerous shit. Forced me to adapt, grow stronger, mostly leaned on my Implant for a long time, but slowly I caught up to the insanity of Gold." I had made some pretty stupid mistakes, most glaring had to be my first attempt at a fight without Twilight. Taking down even a weak Iron Tier I drug-dealer had cost me my organic left arm. It had also… revealed to me the consequences of the path I had followed.

"Slow?" Hoaqin stared at me with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, it was pretty fucking quick. But the point of the matter is, I killed people within days of getting my Implant, hell, helped take out a Bronze too. Not that the Iron Devil even needed it, he was testing me. I guess I was just clever enough to find shortcuts."

Like being able to absorb Warpcode without any loss, multiplying my thoughts, having a damn Shardware-building simulator in my head, or learning how to create Shardware by breaking it apart. And perhaps the greatest of my abilities, to mimic the Features of other BUGs and use them like my own — a power now evolved to grant me some mild modifications of the Implants themselves.

Oh, and my mind basically reacted to any threats for the sake of preservation, which I was now thinking might be an issue considering my Personality Matrix and it's… probable memory loss issues.

There were more cheats at my disposal, but this drink was getting to me so now was the time to hide my cards. "So yeah, a while later I met The R0N1N and heard about this plan of his. That ended up with me spending a month on the streets, which was tough as fuck, but it helped build my character. Stole a lot of tech from various peeps, and ended up with me crafting my own Arachne."

Yeah, I conveniently left out the part about me getting the Arachne itself gifted from my grandfather. Oh, and that I had a lot of help building it.

"That… I heard about it. Really early footage of you leaked out, you really were running with the vultures?"

I still was, when I had the chance to. Except now, they ran from Dreadwire.

Or tried to sell stuff to me.

"Yeah, that landed me into many uncomfortable situations. All worked out in the end though. Raided that Shandian facility, had one hell of a bike ride through the city, raided another facility and got out."

"Geez, what was even the reason for all of that?"

"This is the part where I don't speak and you won't have a Yuzhou-hating Gold Mercenary splitting your neck open in your sleep." I joked, but Hoaqin grew pale.

Honestly, I would've as well at the thought of The R0N1N being an enemy.

But what we'd stolen was now laughing matter. Goliath. A nanoswarm that now resided in my bloodstream, inactive for the moment, but I was deathly aware of those robots. Built out of a unique Warp Material capable of transmuting organic matter into metal, it was able to reap massive returns if it were to be allowed to grow in number.

That was just one of the many secrets I kept in me. I didn't say a word about The Source, or Dogwhistler — who had a network of the homeless that she could take control of at any moment. And turn into mindless MALware, just like Diana had confirmed to me was in Soul Killer's ability.

The Uncaged… They were a nasty presence in this city.

But they couldn't be my focus, not now.

"If you really why I want to know why I'm doing all of this…" I started.

Hoaqin finished. "I know Ripley, your mother."

Silence brewed between us, and I felt the need to continue saying something. "She's gotten worse, half the reason I needed this drink in the first place. She'll be… she won't survive next year. April's the limit."

"I understand… after what you've been through. After S-/////, you… must really want to save her." Hoaqin put the cup down, giving me his full attention. "I just… kinda feel like we've been letting each other down lately. You've been busy with all of this while I- I've been dealing with my uncle and the gang."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for not really staying in contact much." I took a sip, basking in the dull warmth the alcohol spread through me. "Well, you heard my secrets, what's up with yours? I thought you guys were strapped for money, but here you are spending on drinks like this."

Hoaqin stared at me, then the cup of liquor. He gulped down an entire mouthful of it like he was trapped in a desert for months, before his tongue loosed enough for him to speak. "We met up with an arms dealer, who sort of took us under his wing. Mr. Skeleton. Pay's good and doesn't ask too much of us like 'Masa does… so… we're recovering."

My breathing and body language eased on as normal, for my mind had jerked before my body had the opportunity to. I looked at my own auburn liquid, and sunk it down my throat.

"Yeah… I've heard of him."

Mikail Almajali. The creepy bastard had tried multiple times to trick me into giving him my grandfather's possessions, and I suspected he already had some paraphernalia that was rightfully my mom's.

Not willing to risk my tongue getting any looser, I passed the drink aside and looked at Hoaqin, my eyes gently focusing on him with sharpness. "So Hoaqin, I've more or less confirmed things you've already suspected. Now… no one else can know about this."

Hoaqin chuckled. "Jesus, Ripley, you're friends with The R0N1N. You, I'd make an enemy any day but… like you said, want my throat intact."

I nodded. "Glad we have an understanding. Now… enough about my weirdass Implant. How's yours coming along, finished converging yet?"

Hoaqin stared at me like I'd said something utterly stupid. "I uh… I'm only 60% of the way through."

Ah. I may have forgotten, Tier 0 was supposed to take roughly a year for Iron Grades, and maybe 7-8 months for Bronze Grades like Hoaqin. "Yeah I'm just kidding, but still, you're running ahead of the curve."

"Skeleton brought us a whole load of parts and Shardware." He explained. "I got to start tinkering with them for my Technician, but Integration's coming up a lot slower."

"Well just keep on working on it."

"What about you? Don't tell me you're already in Tier II?"

I am… but… he didn't need to know that. "Still working on the final stretch of Tier I. Honestly, this is a little secret between you and me, but I had a little help with my mental faculties for most of the Yuzhou raid. A handy program was making me think quicker."

"Ah." He nodded. "That… explains quite a lot."

Looking back at my cup, maybe I did need just a little more.

———

Sitting my ass down on the metro, I was sorely missing my bike. Not wanting to wallow up in the drunken grief of it, I stirred my Warp Energy through my liver. I'd need to upgrade it soon anyway, but all of my tossing around the last few months had alerted me of micro damages occurring through its structure.

I sighed, just another pile on my to do list.

Life had certainly changed. All of this bullshit with The Source and The Uncaged, all linking back to this Mr. R figure… sometimes I wasn't sure if I ever wanted this Implant in the first place.

Okay, that was a lie. I never regretted it for a second.

Thanks to it, I'd achieved incredible things in such a short time span. Or, maybe it was right to say that I was the right vessel for it, that we were meant to coexist.

I'd done a lot in four months, with six more on the timeline… I would need to put everything I had into this. Everything.

And so begins, the story of Thunderous Omens and Webs of Lies.

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