October 24th

1:34 PM

Diana (Lilian Rose)

It had been a bit hypocritical of me to take a few days off when I'd boasted about having a day job to Tremble. But certain situations called for me to reorient my priorities. I just told Corporal Alex I had business with my father. She didn't need any further explanation.

Hopefully, tomorrow's mission would be quiet. Also, did Ripley not have a car? Why did I have to pick him up?

Wasn't this some place he could get to by the metro? Parked outside his building, I checked the mirror to see if my Lilian Rose appearance was stable. Grayed skin, black hair, red eyes, and a hint of fangs… it was the opposite of Silvereye's perfect capture of elegance.

Perfect.

Ripley knocked on the window several minutes into my waiting, getting in the passenger seat as he sighed. "Okay, where is the place?"

"Why are you asking me?" I gave him a weird look.

"I'm not." He turned to the backseat, but no one had gotten in. Regardless, I turned back and saw a man waving his hand at me.

Dark skin, buzzed blonde hair, and a whole lot of piercings. He was the picture-perfect delinquent that every parent told their kids to stay away from. With a flick, I aimed my gun at the intruder.

"Woah, woah!" He leaned back. "Chill, don't you recognize me?"

"I have no clue who the fuck you are," I said sharply.

"Well, I recognize you, even if you're Lady Dracula right now. But, you sure you don't? Not even from a certain hotel terrorist attack?"

I squinted my gaze. "You… you're that guy I couldn't sense. You were helping The R0N1N?"

Ripley sighed. "Diana, meet Topaz. Topaz, meet Diana."

"How you doin'?" He raised his hand for me to shake.

I didn't take it. Something was off about him. He was like a void in my senses, no Soul Resonance whatsoever.

He shook his head. "Relax, I'm not as perverted as Mr. Shard Operator here, besides I swing the other direction."

I shook my head. "That's not what I'm-"

"What the fuck do you mean: perverted?" Ripley raised his voice.

"Just sayin', man, you worked at a brothel. I bet you got to see and touch a whole lot of women there, besides, the things you and Elsa whisper about when you think I'm not there-"

"It was mostly men at the club, actually!" Ripley corrected. "Lucille had a lot of the girls go to specialty cosmetic Operators. Though I still… fine-tuned them."

"Okay." I interrupted. "Can we put this weird conversation aside for now? Where are we supposed to go?"

Topaz grumbled to himself, sending something over to Ripley, who then forwarded it over to me. We both blinked when we looked at the location… it was south-east in the Ninth Precinct… so far south-east that it was just on the border of New California's territory. Technically speaking, though, the Swarm-walls would rise more around their central territories. And it was a five-hour drive.

"You can't be serious," Ripley said to himself. "Your brother is a Nomad?"

Topaz shrugged. "Not exactly, though some do hang around that area for trade. He's not really a people's person, let's just say."

I rubbed my eyes. "Whatever, I'll drive quickly. Shouldn't be much police patrol on the way there… but I don't exactly have a driving license under this identity."

Ripley took it the wrong way, however. "Yeah, no. I'm not risking getting arrested again. The last time that happened, my mom threatened me. Get out, I'll drive. Elsa hooked me up with permits for everything you could think of."

"Huh, why not me?" Topaz pouted.

"Remember the motorbike?" Ripley drew a sharp glare. Topaz feigned knowing what he was talking about.

"You're the one who ended up tossing it at Yuzhou," Topaz mumbled.

Begrudgingly, I swapped seats with Ripley. True to what Topaz had said, I'd seen Ripley pull off some insane tricks with his motorbike a month ago in those clips of how he maneuvered with the help of his Arachne. Getting his hands on the steering wheel, Ripley took a deep breath. "Okay, first time's the charm."

I paused. "Wait, you've never driven a car befor-?"

He reversed, and we scratched the car next to us with a shrill shriek. It took everything in me not to electrocute him. He sheepishly rubbed his neck before nodding away at no one. "Uh, Starlight… think you could play some racing games real quick?"

———

4 Hours and 50 Minutes left to reach Quartz.

A pink fairy-like child sat on the screen of my car's console, holding a digital steering wheel that mirrored my physical wheel when turned. I would have taken the car back, but Starlight proved… a really good driver.

"Remind me," Topaz spoke up, startling me as I forgot he was there. How is your barely two-week-old AI daughter better than you at driving?"

"She's a quick learner, gets that from me." Ripley looked through the window mindlessly before turning to me. "So… I saw you on a Netcast yesterday. Impressive stuff, didn't think you could smile that much."

"Hey, I smile plenty." I scowled.

"Alright, I believe you." Ripley put his hands up. "Just saying, that was a badass line from yours: 'I've struck once. I'll strike twice. Strike until silence breaks — and the thunder you hear will be this city waking up.'. Not gonna lie, chills."

I turned my head away, honestly a little embarrassed. "Yeah, what's yours then?"

"Mine, I guess you mean Dreadwire…" He looked outside the windows in thought. "How about—" he deepened his voice "—In a world that is warped, I'm the constant you should fear."

Topaz chuckled. "That is not a Dreadwire line, that is such a lame Ripley Donovick statement."

Even I chimed in. "Could use some work, I don't really get it."

He breathed out, searching with his hands for a way to answer. "It's because of how Warp Energy works, you know there's like physical rules of space-time and chemistry… its all based on constants, but Warp Energy changes those."

"Even for Espers?" I turned an inquisitive eye on him.

"Especially for Espers, you guys are walking middle fingers to the rules of reality." He raised his finger up at me. "You didn't exactly think normal physics allowed you to shoot out electricity and lift metal, right?"

"Not… exactly," I said under my breath.

He then went on to give a long-winded explanation about his theories about my cells, stating that I had to have some weird metabolic electrogenic properties within me that caused my body to create chemical reactions and draw electrons from them. It made sense; I just didn't understand it.

"God, I quit studying stuff like that for a reason." I trailed on, trying to feign some boredom even if his excitement was oddly endearing.

"You did, since when?"

"Before I got… readopted. Funny, I was actually studying to be a Shard Operator." It felt like so long ago.

Ripley held back a laugh. "You?"

I felt offended by the humor he felt. "Hey, what's funny about that?!"

"Nothing, nothing…" he wiped tears, only pissing me off more, "just didn't expect that."

"Why, because I don't need it? Better off an actress am I?" My eyes narrowed in on him.

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"No, because you're like… a different kind of smart. Not street smart, exactly, but like… instinctually gifted. I guess. You don't hesitate to make quick calls even when you lack information, I tend to analyze every possibility and try to ensure the best one. You just act. When I trust my instincts, it doesn't usually end well."

A challenging smile carved up my lips. "So you're calling me impulsive, and yourself intellectual."

He blinked. "No, I-"

"I'm just kidding." I let out a snicker before my eyes turned to remembrance. "I can see it, hell… I remember it. Back in that club, I didn't know what to do, I was just… so short-sighted. Insane, honestly. What officer with no-Implant hauls a Plasma Rifle and takes the fight to a damn Gold MALignant?"

Ripley droned out a sigh. "You're acting like I was in my right mind, too. I ended up taking too long to make some decisions. I get so trapped in my head that sometimes I make the wrong ones. I saw people getting hurt, and I… jumped down after you."

He pursed his lips, as though confused why he did that… I shuffled deeper into my seat. I knew why… his Personality Editor, it made him forget that the reason he jumped down was because of... Selene. Remembering what Dreadwire said, I changed topics, unsure if any mention would only aggravate his mind. "So, how'd you end up building your Arachne back so quickly?"

"Arachnodyne." He said firmly. "'Dyne' is used to indicate it generates lift and power to carry me through the air. As for how, a lot of money."

"What, like fifty thou?" I guessed.

"Multiply that by around twelve." He seethed.

"Huh?" I felt my head sink into the leather cushions. "God, why do people even become Shard Adapters if they can damage their stuff so easily? It's so much easier with Mutagen, you stick it in you and it's yours permanently."

"Right, but if you stick the Mutagen in and it doesn't give you what you want, then you're fucked. Got a permanently bad power." He argued.

I argued back. "Well, I happen to be an exception to that."

"Ah, you know what I also happen to be an exception to? I can analyze and decipher Implants, I doubt a SIM can help you understand them the way a BUG does. After all… you needed me for this."

"That's because you're a nerd." I spat out, not offensively.

"I choose to take that as a term of endearment… DJ."

Oh, this cunt. "Sure thing, Rippy."

Topaz whistled from behind me. How did he make his presence vanish? "You guys got tension, you know that?"

I snapped back, uncomfortable heat in my ears. "Oh yeah, what kind of fucking tension?"

"Oh, let me guess! Uh… let's see, coworkers who hate each other but actually have some respect?"

Ripley didn't seem to get it. "I… that's more in line with me and Diamante."

I took a guess now. "I dunno, I guess we are facing some super-evil guys who hide under the public's noses."

"Oh, no… Starlight was closer." Topaz said. "Welp, those were your guesses."

Whatever, I sighed, this was going to be a long ride. Turning up the car's music, a song started playing.

"-A web of dread's what you're after, and I'm strappin' to kill."

"Huh." I chuckled, amused. "Almost sounds like a song about you, Ripley."

Topaz cackled from behind, as Ripley turned red. "Oh, do I have something to tell you, Diana!"

———

4 Hours and 30 Minutes left.

Watching the music video, I had my mouth permanently affixed open by the end of it. "Those were some… really graphic special effects."

"Oh, yeah… special effects. That's what they were." Starlight chuckled, but was she nervous? Could an AI even be nervous? And Dreadwire had told me to take Starlight from Ripley if he ever…

"So, what are you, Starlight? Like a piece of Ripley's mind or…" I leaned closer to the cute child-like… digital fairy.

"Oh, I guess I'm sort of like his daughter, in terms of where my source code came from. I'm like… seventy percent him, and thirty percent Twilight with my base coding utilizing Amaterasu's leftovers." She explained, I didn't understand what that meant.

"I see… so… Amaterasu helped make you?"

"I promise you, we've done the scans," Ripley said. "She looks to be clear of any... problematic coding."

"Well, other than the stuff I got from you, Dad." Starlight flashed a mischievous grin that Ripley rolled his eyes at.

I chuckled to their dynamic, but I was also curious. "How does it feel to be an AI?"

"Well, I'd imagine you'd find it weird if your mind suddenly ran on Warpcode, but for me it's normal. I have no frame of reference to compare, even when I synchronize with Ripley, I'm still a separate entity. Just capable of interacting with his Implant a bit more."

"That's interesting, so… do you sleep? Eat?"

"No. But I do regular maintenance where I enter a temporary off-state to make backups of myself." She pulled out an outline… her outline. "Though I do get hungry occasionally, it's more like a drive for information and action. All I do is think, really. I have no physical vessel and biological needs to tend to."

"Huh, I guess I'm kind of the same. Sitting still doesn't work for me."

"Yeah, I can tell. You've been shaking your knee since the ride started."

I looked down, oh shit. I was.

"Actually, when I get bored. I just play games with Seraphim, she's really good at them, Maiden doesn't mind — says it's a different kind of training for her. Pattern recognition and problem-solving skills. We're currently playing through The Stitcher series together." Starlight pulled up a picture of a white-haired man with stitches running under his eyes to lift a giant needle and spear it into a monster.

"Wait, what?" Ripley shot up from his seat. "That game is for adults! You can't play that! It's violent and will mess your coding up!"

"Uh huh…" Starlight folded her arms. "You say that, but you're the one who makes Dreadwire go around and-"

She swiped her hand across her neck, making a choking sound as her golden eyes turned to x's.

I gave an accusing look to Ripley, as my lips curved to accuse him. "Hey, really? Shame on you for being a bad influence."

"Hey, I- you know how hard it is being a dad to someone who lives in your skull? I have like three different privacy filters now just so that she doesn't get traumatized by everything I've gone through!" He complained. "Starlight's… smart, but she's still young. I'm in a conundrum of parenthood and… I know the things I do as Dreadwire are bad."

He took a deep breath, gazing intently at Starlight. "They're bad, Starlight. I hurt people and… I know its for the sake of my mother, but…"

She had a naive smile on her face. "But you'll stop and become a good guy once you help her!"

Ripley stilled, waves of his Warp Energy betraying me something akin to hesitance, but whether to convince himself or appease Starlight… he nodded. "I will, and… that goes for you too, Diana. I… I don't want to be a bad guy."

"Well, at least you're present in her life," I said, my mind still unsure of who exactly Ripley was as a person. He'd proven strong, capable, smart… but it was clear, based on what I knew of him, that he was deeply wounded. Unstable. A walking risk. Yet, I'd seen motivation ripple through him, something had to drive him to develop into Dreadwire so quickly, and… it was easier for me to think it was for love rather than greed.

Not to say he wasn't greedy, but he had that sort of greed of someone who sought the unknowable. Maybe it was strange, even hypocritical, but I trusted that aspect of him far more than any of my police pals.

I was staring for a bit too long, so I changed topics. "Starlight… fuck it. I'm bored, if I connect my Frame to the car, then can you put some fighting games for us to play?"

"Oh, sure, which one?"

"Mutant Kombat, the newest one. My dad said it was too bloody, that was why we played it together." I snuck some more taunts towards Ripley.

"Fine, you know what. I'll join in too." Ripley said, his eyes lighting a muted pink — slapping some controls on my frame's display, I selected to connect to the car.

———

3 Hours and 30 Minutes left.

Ripley slammed his head against the steering wheel, resulting in a loud honk after losing to both me and Starlight for the twentieth time in a row. "You know what? It's because we're playing Mutant Kombat. Put Shard Fighter on right now!"

———

3 Hours left.

Ripley slammed his against the steering wheel again, turns out I was just better. And… Starlight was even better. I'd only won against her once, and that was because she was simultaneously fighting me and running a street race with some random biker who passed us.

She won the race as well.

———

30 Minutes left.

Ripley decided to sleep his woes away, snoring in the driver's seat. Meanwhile, Starlight and I were watching a movie. An old one, an old-old one.

Indiana Jones.

"I ran the calculations… there is no way he could have survived a nuclear explosion by hiding in a fridge. There's direct evidence of that from The Collapse!" Starlight was clearly the type of watcher who dissected every inaccuracy in a movie, I got the hint she derived that from Ripley.

As the movie finished, I felt a pair of hands sneak up behind me and tangle into my hair. Topaz took me by surprise once again, and I nearly elbowed his face. "Okay, what the fuck! "

"I'm just bored… but you know what? Watching that movie gave me an interesting thought." He had a shit-eating grin pour over his face.

"What?"

"I bet plenty of guys would want to be in-Diana-Jo"

"Just because you're gay doesn't mean I won't zap your balls off, did it once to a guy who was too wise for his own good."

I warned, and he shrank away.

"Okay, okay… fine!" He tapped his head against the window. "We'll go to the true and trusted way to solve boredom between strangers. Let's discuss what type of guys we like."

"No," I said quickly. "The last time I had that conversation, it didn't end up well with that person…"

"How so?"

"Indra Harmony."

He shut up quick after that, though I wasn't done talking to him. "Okay, for real… I have an innate ability to detect people's presences, but I don't feel anything from you. It's like you're not there unless I'm in constant awareness of you."

"Don't forget in a small crowd." He said, as though giving me a hint. "Honestly, yeah, felt a weird tingle trying to reach my heart. That must've been you."

"You could feel that?"

"A Deviant Mutation, right? Some of them are really weird."

Ripley's eyes shot open at that, his voice slurring out from his sleep. "Holldd onnh, Topazh… you have a Deviant Mutation?"

"Do you think any random Mutant can just appear invisible without being invisible?" He chuckled. "Yeah, my brother and I both have one."

"Huh," Ripley muttered, "makes sense."

"No… it doesn't." I seethed, Soul Resonance doesn't work on Topaz, how on earth could that work? Topaz returned Ripley with a devilish smile.

"It doesn't, if you keep on thinking of Warp Energy as something scientific." He grinned. "Sorry, Mr 'Explaining the laws of pseudo-science Energy'."

"Explain." He barked.

"Souls are a real thing." He said easily. "My Soul is just permanently kept in a jail cell."

"Uh huh… and your brother?" I leaned in.

"Oh, his soul is like a star, can't miss it." He then pointed to an off-road path.

Continuing on that path, I wasn't sure what Topaz meant by that, but even as we strayed far from asphalt and onto desert stone and sand… I had my mind wrapped around the concept of… souls.

Was Soul Killer's name not just a metaphor?

Then… I felt it. It was like a bright spark of light beaming into my eyes — even Ripley flinched — so powerful and radiant I could tell where it was coming from without needing a map. An engulfing mass of pure presence suffocated me, making it difficult for my mind to think of anyone or anything else.

And then I shivered, realizing that this was just… Iron. I'd expected something like Gold from this radiance.

Parking the car, I saw that the house was a large tent with a generator hooked up to it. Walking in, there were discarded snack boxes all over the floor, and littered trash piling up throughout the room. Until finally, we saw Topaz's brother. Quartz.

He sat on the far edge of his bed, his body covered in cloths and scarves that concealed every inch of his skin. His warning was clear through a muffled voice.

"Don't come any closer."

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