October 24th

7:41 PM

Ripley

Holding the infected BUG in my hands, I put it on the table alongside the Revenant Serum sample. "So… let's start from the beginning. To be able to figure out what The Uncaged are doing, we need to track their formation throughout the city. Their origins. First up is the oldest of them—" I picked up the vial, "—Soul Killer."

Diana nodded along, putting her information out onto a board that Starlight was cataloguing information on. "Based on my research with Dryder, they first appeared in this city following the Fourth Swarm… now that we know that his Central Nexus is somewhere in the unclaimed American wilds… we can assume that they might be linked to one key event."

"The Infinite's attack on the Eastern Coast," I concluded, and Diana nudged her chin in agreement. "They likely originate, in some capacity, from The Free City of The Floridian Gulf. And following its destruction from the Titan, snuck Gold and Silver Nexi into New California during the refugee crisis. And to facilitate this connection, they likely have Nomad Clans housing Nexi to act as relays of their influence from Florida to California."

Quartz shook his head in confusion. "What are you two doing?"

"Figuring out how everything's connected." I smiled, moving the map. "From then, Soul Killer set up his labs across the District for the purposes of experimenting with Implants. They'd have access to information hidden away in the minds of black-market scientists and corporate archives depending on who's in their hivemind."

Who knows how many people in Westcrook were infected by him…

"What one Soul Killer knows, all of them know. To be able to handle that extent of sensory data in memory is done by forming a hivemind — and according to what you said, the Titanium Central Nexus is what coordinates the Golds, which coordinates the Silvers, which coordinates the individual Soulless. Even if the Titanium Nexus is killed off, it would result in each Gold becoming their own individual and creating… rival Soul Killer groups."

"A Proxy Network, psionic, spiritual or… mutational." Diana… sighed. "Likely similar to how The Dogwhistler operates."

"Who, as we understand…" I started, Starlight drawing a rough dog mask on the hologram with a gap between her and Soul Killer's flower. "Is the most recent addition to The Uncaged. Largely active for about the last decade or so."

"In between them," Diana spoke, and Starlight was quick to draw a skull between the flower and dog mask, "was Mr. Skeleton. Former member of the Misfits with Diamante and Missy until twenty years ago when… I suppose internal conflict resulted in his supposed death. He disappeared for a few years but came out of hiding when Little Requiem was established under his control."

I nodded tightly, knowing that my girlfriend was part of that, before continuing from where she left off.

"Now, something that confuses me… is that all three of them act on the premise of controlling multiple bodies at once." I pointed to the BUG. "And of course, turning humans into MALs. Soul Killer through the Mutation: Soul Death, sourced by their Revenant Serum, turning Mutants into Parasytes which they can psionically manipulate. Whereas, in the case of Dogwhistler and Skeleton… they have personal samples of the Serum so that the Soul-Death Mutation could be injected into these BUGs. Direct ingestion results in Parasytes, whereas their method allows for an instant switch to turn the Adapters using these Implants into Fractured MALware"

"And it's not limited to living people," Diana said, jaw tightened. "These infected BUGs even attach to corpses: Shard Adapters, Mutants… Espers. The latter of two effectively creating MALignants despite only using a BUG."

The twins listened intently.

Diana sighed. "Now, what's interesting is that the information given to us about the meat lab was sourced by Mr. Skeleton. But why? Why send us against one of their own?"

I spoke decisively.

"Because they're not working together, not anymore." Starlight drew a 'vs' symbol in between all three Uncaged. "They're entering a period of infighting, of war. According to Mirage, Skeleton's even planning on cutting the Dogwhistler out through their Dreamframe project. They've been planning on going their separate ways for a while."

"So then…" Diana lifted the infected BUG up, "Skeleton's usage of these Infected Implants is probably going against Soul Killer's wishes. He even asked to keep the body of the Nexus in the meat lab for him to take, if I were to assume… he's going to make a MAL out of it. And according to your information, Quartz, Aether remains trapped in the body even after it dies, which would cause this MAL to be-"

"A Soul Poison." Quartz's eyes opened. "Connected to The Revenant's spiritual network, the MAL would wreak havoc on the Gold Nexus it is bound to."

Diana's face paled, but there was some part of her I knew saw that as a good thing — but it was just as big of a potential threat. Soul Killer was bad, but a Parasyte version of them? I contemplated the idea out loud.

"I don't know when Skeleton will do it, but if he has enough Nexus MALs act up at once, it could be catastrophic to Soul Killer. But we can't deny that it might result in his other Nexi becoming Parasytes themselves in a chain reaction. Or worse, turning Soul Killer into a MAL. A psionic hivemind MALformed of their Grade could cause havoc that devastates this city."

Diana bit her fingertip. "It's like a Data Devourer MALware… but psychic."

Topaz's eyes suddenly lit up. "Huh, so then we could just let Skeleton do our job for us… but I get the sense it's not that simple."

I sighed. "A while ago, when I first read the memory of one of Dogwhistler's thralls, I heard a phrase going along, figuring out how someone did it. I think that someone is Soul Killer… presumably about Implants."

Diana suddenly had a deep glow to her eyes. "Implants… but what about the lack of one? Do you guys know about the Kaisel clones?"

Topaz and Quartz nodded. "Clones of a brown-haired woman who usually acts as Soul Killer's officers and can show you your memories, typically go by the last name 'Kaisel, yeah?"

Diana leaned in. "Ever killed one?"

"Missy has." Topaz shrugged.

"The clones don't produce an Implant. Somehow they have mutations solidified in them without one." Diana said, which made no sense to me.

Quartz stilled, his visor turning to Topaz. "That… would have to be impossible. Unless somehow, somewhere, humanity has discovered a way to bypass the need for Implants."

"Dryder and I don't know the full story of how the Kaisel clones came to be," Diana muttered. "But being able to clone Adapters has always been known to be impossible. You can't clone a body touched by Warp Energy. Even with revolutionary developments in Cradle tech… it would have been done decades ago to create an army."

"Unless the resources are heavy…" I looked at my claws. "Or the information is highly restricted. If they have powers without Implants, that would make them more like the MAL than humans, but even the MAL have a core."

Quartz nudged a little closer. "Cloning Adapters, that could be it… what Skeleton wants. How much do you two know about his… current state? Or his abilities?"

"Not much," I said, my heart pounding to know more.

Topaz sighed. "Shortly after Missy saved us from Soul Killer, we arrived at Westbrook for the first time. It was… different back then. The group was only Missy and Diamante, and there was a void in their hearts. We were children but… Diamante said something along the lines of 'these two won't fill the void Mikail created', but Missy was adamant about keeping us close to them. When Skeleton took control of Little Requiem, Missy and Diamante were shocked. Genuinely shocked, because they believed him dead… and Diamante muttered 'that bastard copied my tech'."

Copied his tech?

"You mean how Diamante is a brain in a robot body?" Diana said before me.

"I don't know for sure…" Topaz said quietly. "But it could be, Missy and Diamante aren't one for taking half-measures. If they believed him dead, they dealt a fatal wound."

"Shit… then he has a Network Feature to connect multiple bodies to him," I said, but something didn't hit right. Because I had Diana's files now on her discoveries on Skeleton's bodies…

"His drones don't have a receiver for any signals to the Net," Diana muttered. "Utterly none, less than even a scrapped Frame. It's left the SIO puzzled for years as to how he controls them."

I paced the flooring. A body being controlled by Skeleton was still bound to his mind, but had no way of being connected in real-time. And getting signals to and from Little Requiem was difficult. Looking at Starlight, a theory came to me.

"What if he isn't sending signals to them?" I asked. "What if… he's downloading a piece of himself into them, like a Persona? Uploading his consciousness — or a copy of it — into each drone?"

Mirage had said Skeleton helped her control Midnight, but how would he have any idea about how a Persona works in the first place? Unless he knew something about the art of digitizing minds. A shudder of breath tore out of me.

"That could certainly be a way, but wouldn't that mean…" Diana furrowed her brows. "…that any of his bodies could turn against him? How does he gather information then, or use his Features? Or… doesn't that mean every time one of his bodies is destroyed... its like he dies?"

"He is named Skeleton after all," was all I could say. "Okay, let's put that aside for now. What we do know is that the Uncaged were learning from each other. Skeleton and Dogwhistler worked together to adapt Soul Killer's mutations for their own needs. Soul Killer's motive seems to be in line with a mad scientist; they want to learn more about Implants to an insane degree, even if it means creating MAL, and Skeleton might be vying to use Soul Killer's cloning tech to… give himself a new body? Heal his original form?"

I looked to Topaz and Quartz for any confirmation, but they gave no direct one. "That leaves the Dogwhistler, the most enigmatic of the three. No clear motives, and no clear abilities… she acts as an oracle to Orthodox Metal Heavens due to possessing a connection to The Allseeing, but no evidence of her has ever been found on The Net."

I paced the room. "No known Avatar, just whispers and rumors. She uses a Proxy Protocol similar to how Ms. Himiko does it, and is estimated to be at either Gold or Titanium considering her proficiency."

"No motives…" Diana chewed her lip. "She helped me get out of Soul Killer, sent a message on my behalf. She's sort of like… a massive conduit of information between Soul Killer and Skeleton, not directly working with any of them but playing by her own rules. It's also she who was trusted by Mr. R to deliver the box of our MAL-seed to Missy and Diamante. She can control the homeless and… has a safeguard over their Implants with what you called the Revenant Code, right? And how do both her and Himiko connect to Proxies? Last I knew you had to carry a huge briefcase called a Proxy Translator to do it."

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"Yeah." I nodded. "Revenant Code, it's installed on their Frames. Another strange thing about it is that, like Mr. Skeleton's bodies, they don't have anything coded in them to act upon a specific signal received from the Net. Maiden's confirmed that, but they should have some form of activation?"

Confused, I turned to Starlight. "Hey… pull up the details the Shardware her thralls use."

"Of course." She happily smiled, displaying on the projector.

Dogwhistler thralls Shardware:

All of Dogwhistler's thralls incorporate Shriekstone into their Shardware, typically as a means of offensive kinetic weaponry. This is done through the usage of Sonic Carbines, high frequency blades, sonic repulsors, and kinetic amplifiers. Other Shardware present on her thralls are deep spinal Neuroframes connected to the brainstem and cerebellum, along with cochlear Shardware in their inner ear. All of this Shardware is concealed as human as possible.

"She has these guys being modified somewhere and…" My eyes opened up. It was so obvious. "Cochlear Shardware… and sound? The connections of the Frame, where are they located, which cranial nuclei do they connect with?"

"One second… ah, the vestibulocochlear nucleus."

I slapped my knee, laughing as I did. "Dogwhistler… all of her thralls use a Warp Material that produces sound. They don't receive a signal from the net. There's a program in them that automatically triggers the Shriekstone to create a unique sonic frequency. That's what triggers the Revenant Code! It must be out of our hearing range, but not out of their hearing range."

"Shall I try to find out the specific frequency?"

"Do it, Starlight." I was still laughing. "But then that just leaves her and Himiko's methods of the Proxy Protocol… Though I do have experience with someone else taking physical control of my body, Twilight. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Dogwhistler has capabilities comparable, but then again… Twilight was actually in my Frame. How the hell does The Dogwhistler get in their Frames with no trace of activity in the Net?"

Diana leaned closer. "Have you figured out anything about the Implants they use otherwise?"

"Just that it has a Dataweaving Feature." I picked it up. "And that… huh, you know I kept my probes gentle in the case that it has a self-destruct method installed into it, but now that I'm thinking about it…. For that to be the case means that Dogwhistler would have modified the Implant-Coded Data within it, which means traces of her should be in there."

It wouldn't be too out of bounds for the Uncaged's resident DataDelver to be able to manipulate Implant-coded Data just as I could. A product of a Unique Feature. The entanglement of the issue was the relationship between Skeleton, who possessed this Implant, and what exactly he was doing with the Dogwhistler's modification of it.

"Assuming she made this Implant and not Skeleton, it would make sense, but maybe Skeleton stole this from her and was planning on using it on a Dreamframed kid to figure out what she put on it. After all, the Revenant Code wasn't on those Dreamframes, so it wouldn't have been possible to activate the Mutagen. Maybe he was trying to understand the Implant?"

I fishhooked Starlight into my head, letting her mind synchronize with mine and act as both shield and cleaver. Then, my Gold swam through the infected Implant, Data Mimicry working its deepest to read everything about it.

At just Iron, it should be easier, but Implants were complicated and then some, otherworldly sources of information. It wasn't just enough for me to read; I needed to become one with it and submerge myself into it's deepest secrets. So I reached into Database, for a protocol that was still unfamiliar to me, but was, in fact, the very first Protocol I had ever gained for it.

Conciousness Link. I pushed further, watching as a crack formed on the surface of the Implant like shattering glass, but I delved into that breach.

My mind dove into the BUG, my consciousness submerging as I held my breath.

The deeper I went, the more reality began to fade, as though I was being wrapped in some other form of existence. Eventually, I didn't even feel my steel hands anymore, just an endless, vast sea of darkness that plunged eternally outwards into the beyond.

But Starlight was here, a singular focal point of light that illuminated these shadows. She did more than just Synchronize with my mind, she reached into the Implant, through my Data Mimicry and Consciousness Link, and forced the truth of this Implant to reveal itself. The darkness disappeared, and suddenly I was drowing in a sea of flowing steel.

For a mere Iron, it was overwhelming to my Gold, reactive and rejecting me. A natural immune response to one who sought to control it, but where I lacked skill… I relied on authority. Data Mimicry and Shardweave pulsed, my two Unique Features, both created by a Fragment of The Source-Shard of Change.

I felt the Iron quiver in fear, but then… it suddenly stopped. It parted, almost invitingly, and then I heard a voice. Female and sweet.

"Look who we have here… it took you long enough, Ripley."

Both Starlight and I were pulled under, deep into the realm upon which this Implant was written.

———

I heard a sea of voices, it was shallow here. Gray, so much gray. Energy swam in currents and ripples, lost and flowing but not as water. It wouldn't even be fair to say it flowed. It just appeared, and moved, in irregular patterns that had no care for the laws of motion.

Upon this sea, a figure stood basked in Shadows. She was radiant and beautiful even if not an inch of skin was on her, smooth as code. Only a mask shaped like a wolf's maw rested on her face. And these were not shadows…

This was Titanium Warpcode. A small drop in the face of this Iron ocean, but nonetheless in control of it.

"You found me." She said, her mask muffling her voice, but not fading away the etheral beauty behind it. "It was a matter of time, I suppose. Skeleton's likely been preparing, and now given you an Implant… or… ah, no, he never gave you one. I can see it in you."

You can read my memories?

"You're not the only one to have divulged into BUGs, their draw on our consciousness. They record and vigilate every thought we've ever had, drawing power from a source unknown to humanity. Yet, you've come to me, Ripley Donovick. To ask questions, I assume."

I have a lot of questions for you. When was this Implant made?

The shadowy woman scratched her chin. "I had a new batch prepared roughly late September, as for what has happened since then… I wouldn't know unless I had read your mind. Yet… parts of it are unclear to me. What is that?"

A fairy of pink radiated in my view. Unable to brave that sea, her glow cast around me like a shield to protect me, as she proclaimed to the shadow woman.

'That' is named Starlight! And you must be the big scary Dogwhistler, gotta say… you're odd.

The Dogwhistler, this iteration of her, laughed. "I am nothing but curious. I am formless thought severed and coalesced into a method for my greater self's schemes… She dwarfs you, Starlight. You think Gold is powerful, you haven't faced Titanium that has had mental centuries of tempering. In fact, I would delight in breaking you myself."

Starlight's glow over my… formless consciousness solidified, unbacking.

Just try it.

Enough… you're a piece of her will? I have to know… is this related to Skeleton? How does he control his drones? Did you learn from him how to do this?

"Ah, you're astute. I see you came to a solid conclusion on Skeleton's ability, yes. I have adapted this method from him, it is subtle… and it also one so close to this power you're using to speak to me with. Albeit, he does not merely use a Protocol, but a Unique Feature."

Huh, well since you're going to war with hi-

"Soulbind. That is its name, born from Fragments of the Source-Shards of Connection and Understanding… derived from Founder of SynTec, Nolan Trask, and Founder Beauregard Mazhyr, respectively. He can bind his presence into technology without using the Net, albeit it's in fact a combination of two prior Unique Features, Imprint and Psychometry. One gifted by his Implant, while the other was the reason of his 'death'. You see, he stole it from someone who was dear to Diamante and Missy. Especially Diamante."

Oh… okay, why are you being helpful?

"Because we are allies, Ripley Donovick. Fated to be allies forever. You do not know it, but you made quite a good impression on me. I would much rather have you… on my side than anyone else. So, you seek to know how I control forgotten strays of humanity? The answer is simple. I am but a severed fragment from my greater consciousness pieced within these Implants. When the time is needed, I create a pathway through the Net, binding to my greater self. And erasing it when unneeded. Imperceptible really, even if you know about it, you wouldn't be able to stop it."

Alright, then would you tell me what your Unique Feature is?

"I won't, but perhaps I'll give you a hint… The Source-Shard of The Past. I derive my Fragment from none other than the Founder of NeoCore, Michelle Silvha. I reach into the furthest corners of a person's mind, their subconscious… and ease them. Honestly, it's like therapy, like yours. Albeit with so little of me here, I can't do as much as I want. But for moments, I return purpose to these people. They thought they were lost, but with my Implants and time, I can turn them into the warriors they once were. No longer are they shells of power, but vessels of it."

You mean… all these veterans who've had their Implants taken from them?

"You would be surprised, but most of them agreed to this. When I take over, they live their dream lives, happy and free."

I don't think you're that much of a philanthropist… but… You confuse me. You helped Diana escape Soul Killer. You claim I'm your ally, yet you're always sneaking around and doing things that don't make sense.

She laughed. It was like music. "Why would I ever want that crazed genefreak maniac growing more powerful? As for us being allies, you'll understand one day. I am simply the will of a power that exceeds everyone's awareness."

The Allseeing?

"No, though, he does confer with it from time to time. Mr. R… The Sin of The Founders. He has given three of us a purpose, and it is time we make do with the gifts he has bestowed. Time for us to become the weapons required to win this war."

By fighting with the other Uncaged? And who is this war against? Anyway?

"Our war with each other was bound to always happen. Mikail and The Revenant each have their own views on how to better humanity. As for the grand scale of our endeavors, we are at war with humanity's greatest sinners. The Founders. We shall usurp them and restore rightful order in his name. The Sin shall forge the empire that spans across space and time, across worlds… and bring peace to both humans and MALs. You are but a small ripple in the tide that is to come, and under my company, will rule what is rightfully yours. Both you and your mother. You seek protection for her; I can grant it.

…

And what about Mirage? Missy, Diamante, Maiden, Topaz, Quartz… Diana?

"I do not care for Diana." She clicked her tongue distastefully, "the laws of this game dictate that you two are to fight, it is destined. Become a Dual Adapter, take from her that which is yours, and you shall be a king to rule kings. As for the rest, it is their choice for who they align with, if they are my enemies… they shall fall. It is only you whom I want on my side. Alas, you cannot give your answer now, for I will be gone as soon as you retract your mind from the Implant."

Alright, fine… I have one last question. Soul Killer's Mutagen, it's in these Implants… how did you learn to do it?

"Ah, that instantaneous on-demand Soul-Death strain was a joint project between Soul Killer and Skeleton. Their last one. Although... I was the one to be able to sediment it into perfection. SIMs, BUGs… they aren't as different as they appear. Both bind your Soul to Aether. The only difference is the path. One seizes the physical body, while the other binds to the mind… yet, there is only a unique presence, as Quartz called it. Experiment and further yourself. I believe you are on the right path to saving your mother, Ripley."

As she said, the Iron Sea began to bubble and form black threads. They tightened and constricted until they unraveled the Sea, revealing a pulsing heart of crimson beneath all the gray.

Then that crimson erupted.

———

Pulling back with heaving breaths, I was dismayed to see ashes where the Implant once was while my heart beat out of my chest. "Uh, okay, so Dogwhistler was inside there. Some sort of lesser piece of her will. I think she's always watching through these Implants, and when she needs to connect to the main Dogwhistler, she…"

I turned to them. They were all asleep. Looking at my clock, several hours had passed by.

———

Leaning on my log, I looked at the list I made. It would be instrumental to everything I needed and wanted. The Source-Shards. Six Founders, five MALtitans… but I'd put together enough to learn that something was odd with the number. Quartz had stated that Containment and Release were antithetical to each other; they served opposite functions.

All Source Shards had an antithetical opposite. There had to be twelve of them. So Six Founders and… Six MALtitans. Not five.

One of them was never discovered, but had to be known about by The Founders.

Source-Shard Pairs:

Known Pairs:

Containment [???] X Release [The Typhoon]

Connection [SynTec] X Division [The Mother]

The Past [NeoCore] X The Future [The Allseeing]

Unknown Pairs:

??? (Stagnation?) X Change [The Infinite]

??? (Creation?) X Oblivion [The Terror]

Understanding [Mazhyr] X ??? (Obscurity?) [Likely Sixth MALtitan]

Putting some things together, I shuddered as I thought about the possibility of there being an undiscovered MALtitan under our noses. It seemed impossible, yet the more I learned about The Source…

If the world were written on rules, then Warp Energy was the pen, and the Source-Shards were the hand.

They could simply rewrite what reality was. What it had been. What it could be.

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