November 7th 11:55 AM

Diana The Central Precinct tower was the tallest in the First Precinct, and here I was at the pinnacle of the obelisk. The Pleasure lanes sprawled under my feet as I gazed out the window, even Aerodynes flew beneath me, curving between buildings and landing on specialized highways built for them.

In fact, the meeting I was scheduled to have was on such a highway, where a large vehicle — angular and glowing faintly blue under an intense electromagnetic field — floated just an inch off the ground. Steps were laid bare for my welcoming.

As I got into the vehicle, I saw a meeting table around which several high-class heads of the District were sitting around. No fucking wonder I felt… Gold Energy throughout my climb here.

Captain Ishram Krishav was a staunch and bearded man, power dense in every fiber of his body, like a mountain, like Inquisitor Tusk. Few in this City were above him. Gold, Tier IV. Said to be a legend of the Fourth Swarm and commanded charge of police activity throughout this District.

Yet my father was sitting beside him, ease running in his face. Titanium. Tier III. Corporate Advisor, the man the government hired to act as intermediary between them, Yuzhou, and SynTec.

Across from him were two representatives from those corporations. Both Gold. Both Tier III. The first was a man in a suit, his blue and white clothing indicating he worked for SynTec. The second was… a Yuzhou woman. Visor on her face and elaborate red and black in her dress that flowed up to veil her mouth.

Ms. Himiko… Amaterasu. I just knew it.

The final man, I barely felt anything except fleeting remnants of a whisper of Gold. Like a shadow that remained clinging to a surface even as the sun bore new heat onto it. He was the most delighted and the one I feared the most.

Mr. Skeleton smiled at me as he gestured to a free seat.

I took that seat next to my father, not a word coming out of me. Ms Himiko extended her hand, calm and steady when my heart was hammering. "It's delightful to meet you again, Ms. Ulrich. Since we last met, you've certainly carved a reputation, trust that I've already made a healthy donation to your Foundation."

Not trusting her or her money, I still shook her hand. "Do they know what you are?"

Starlight was silent in my head. This was technically her first time meeting her mother… albeit, indirectly. And hidden.

"Amaterasu." The SynTec man chuckled, a thick accent like those from westerns blowing out. "Yuzhou kept her a secret from us for centuries, but when you're damn on the Net consistent as she is, you can trace the echoes. Leopold Hackridge, head of Counterintelligence for SynTec's Westbrook branch. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Diana 'Silvereye' Ulrich."

A surprisingly mellow and calm voice came from my Captain, not unlike the pounding voice of law and order I knew from videos of him. He was big for me. Captain. As in… not just my Precinct but the first four, more than a third of Westcrook's entire Police force was under his command. But due to the Swarm's nearing, he was given authority over all ten Precincts as the other Captains set up Siege Capitals.

"Diana Ulrich. I've been watching you, you're good. If half of my recruits had your balls, we'd have crime gone in a night." Captain Krishav's oceanic eyes were like a draw of tidal energy, right… how the fuck could I forget. He was a Dual Adapter. Strangely, I barely saw any Shardware on his body save for his Frame. Rather I felt electricity and metal run consistently through the Leviathan.

Nanomachines. Like Ripley's… but… everywhere. Every cell. Every fiber of him was as machine-like as it was organic.

Mr. Skeleton was the last to address me. "Remain comfortable, Diana. You have a big role to play today."

My thoughts pounded into my skull like a damn bull was trapped in a cage. Thankfully I had someone to calm them.

"Uh… this looks big, Diana. You sure you want me to be here?" Starlight questioned my judgment, so was I right now, but I needed someone like her to record everything here. To get it to Ripley if things went south. He failed to listen to Anthony, but this was Starlight.

"Shall we start?" My dad closed the door to the Aerodyne, the inside brightening as lights illuminated, and I felt the vehicle lift into the air. All around us, the floor unraveled as it became see-through, and the city streets and tips of skyscrapers, in all their glory, stood beneath us.

"Of course." Mr. Skeleton tapped the table, and out shone a video of… the auction I had been sold at. Of Lieutenant Anabelle Grazhe with soulless eyes, giving me away to Soul Killer. "Now, Ms. Himiko, give us a detailed explanation of this event as you understand it?"

"Of course." She smiled, a red corruptive light shining through the display. "Diana Ulrich came into contact with the entity known as 'Soul Killer' by happenstance of your warning to Tonguelasher on keeping away from Simon Jugosla. From then on, she implored to NeoCore Enforcer Alisha 'Archangel' Noori for information. This led her to concoct a scheme with Investigator Anthony Grazhe to visit Simon Jugosla's restaurant. Are we in the clear?"

Everyone nodded along. "The issue, therefore, starts with Anabelle Grazhe."

Her profile appeared, with detailed and private information about my Lieutenant spilling in paragraphs before my eyes. "Anabelle and Juliet Grazhe are the daughters of the former Lieutenant Jacob Grazhe, who was killed during the event that spurred your Implant, Diana, into existence. Truthfully, that was coincidental — on my end — but not to the workings of another being."

"The Allseeing." Brian Ulrich said. "A MALtitan capable of calculating the depths of the ocean from a bucket of rain."

"Indeed." Ms Himiko tensed. "An enemy of mine, and an ally of The Uncaged."

Mr. Skeleton corrected. "An ally of my patron, Mr. R."

"Why don't you just cut it short." Hatchwick said. "It's The Sin, the same one that turned two other Free Cities in Europe into a warzone. New Troy and Polaris, Lady Ulrich, you heard of their war?"

"Read about it, it happened around the time of our earthquake." New Troy was a port-city located near the Mediterranean Ocean around Old-World Turkey, while Polaris, or the Northern cities, was a group of city-states that stemmed from Ukraine to the Netherlands. After the war, they were collectively known as Great Troy.

Hatchwick continued. "The Sin, for lack of a better word, is a conspirant against the Founders. He used the term "The Uncaged" for numerous anti-Founder groups throughout Europe and Africa, disappearing as soon as war and order settled in one part of the world… and began anew here."

Three profiles lit up. Captain Krishav detailing them.

"Soul Killer; Titanium, Tier IV." Hundreds of people with red eyes flashed through the screen. "We have reason to believe that the entity was born of corporate experiments conducted in the Floridian Free City; their research into three MALtitans, particularly: The Typhoon, The Mother, and The Terror, resulted in their creation."

I completed it. "Those Titans: wielders of the Shards of Release, Division, and Oblivion."

Captain Krishav nodded sternly, while my father looked at me proudly. Amaterasu cupped her hands and spoke."Correct. The result of such a combination is what we call a psionic cancer. Soul Killer, over time, has learned to harness their chaotic Mutations into something representative of an order. Three Mutations lie at the center of this control. Soul Nexus, born of Release, coordinates its influence around a singular mind in a series of networks. Soul-Forfeit of Division causes those infected to join their hivemind by creating an opening for The Revenant to infect with, and Soul-Death, from Oblivion, in turn corrupts humans and turns them into MALs."

Mr. Skeleton sat silently as he let the others explain. I still didn't know what he was doing here.

Captain Krishav took a deep breath. "We first made contact with Soul Killer back when the only term for them was 'The Revenant'. This was prior to the earthquake. We even managed to contain some of his Nexi… all contained beings have since let themselves die, and their death-manifested Implants have since been... disposed of by Former Lieutenant Grazhe. Post-earthquake, Soul Killer only further infiltrated into Westcrook using an alliance with Muramasa, but reached a deal with Lieutenant Jacob Grazhe, as Skeleton has told us."

Pictures shown out, Jacob Grazhe seated with multiple crimson-eyed soulless.

Krishav's voice was heavy and grave. "Back then, I hadn't been given jurisdiction of the First Precinct. Had I known about what a friend of mine had done, I'd have executed him myself. He struck a deal with Soul Killer, in exchange for reconnaissance within gang activity post-earthquake… Soul Killer would remain untested by the police. Any look into them would be silenced. Any deaths caused would be forgiven. This remained in place for more than thirty years until… Juliet Grazhe."

Anthony's mother appeared in view. "She would discover her father's dealings with Soul Killer and come into contact with none other than Mr. Skeleton."

Mr. Skeleton tapped the table. "This was… an in-between period of my life. I had not yet taken control over Little Requiem, and I was just about beginning my second lease on life. A lease gifted to me by Soul Killer… ironic as it might be. For Soul Killer had found me on orders of The Sin, nursed me back to health before leaving me to my own devices… and a leash upon my life."

Mr. Skeleton's head opened up, a brain appearing in its socket… red veins tangled upon it as though to strangle his mind. It closed just as quickly. Perhaps he knew what I was thinking.

I could end it now. This was his original body.

He chuckled. "I am not under their control… but Soul Killer does have a certain sway over my existence. One I detest. When Juliet Grazhe came to me, I saw eye-to-eye with her, but she would also come into contact with my former allies. In the end, she chose them over me… but the fact remained, she knew I had my grievances with The Revenant. And when her Investigation led her sister to be infected by Soul Killer, and her father did not protest the loss of his own daughter… it was I whom she turned to.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I offered her a simple power, one drawn from my connections, and let her high compatibility gift her with the power to combat Soul Killer's devious means. She still didn't trust me, which I mourn, instead working with Missy to get infected bodies delivered to a clinic she then worked at… where she mercifully ended their existence, while studying the Implants. This information, what she gathered, has now been lost. It is presumed that Soul Killer took her life by means of an organic viral-bomb… delivered by Muramasa agents." Mr. Skeleton sighed, as though he regretted her death.

"However," Captain Krishav said, "we have proof of her research bearing fruit. Her sister, Anabelle, while infected… is a singular entity. She is not connected to Soul Killer's chain of Nexi. She might lose consciousness to that other mind and become Soul Killer at moments, but that iteration remains out of the grasp of the hivemind. It is why we keep her in the police force, for information, as she remains incapable of being a method of intrusion into our security. She is always monitored, her memories kept at bay. Then, we have the aid of our second tool against Soul Killer."

Mr. Skeleton slid a dial, and out came the image of a Kaisel clone. "Kaisels… they're a remarkable piece of organic cloning technology. Utterly nothing exists like them, humans capable of drawing upon Warp Energy without needing an Implant. They are all innate extensions of Soul Killer, made from their flesh and shaped as vessels… except, what happens when one of them does ingest an Implant? Soul Killer experimented, and she was the result."

The image changed, showcasing a classified file on… The Crimson Heart. Starlight shrieked weirdly at that news.

"She is a Kaisel Clone, but wields a BUG. Despite her cybernetic gift, it is her mutated Psionic prowess we are fearful of." Skeleton chuckled. "And an ally to my cause. A portal into their hivemind yet entirely immune to their intrusion. This does not come without its drawbacks for her, which I am not liable to discuss. Yet, now we have one weapon… and another shield. A vaccine could be created if we were to find Juliet's research, and an immune response is viable from Crimson Heart's end. And the final piece of the puzzle…"

Another picture showed Olivia. My heart froze.

"…is your ability to cure Soul Killer's infected. Combined, we can root them out." Skeleton laughed. It was too human for how he looked. "Now, remember how you owe me one? Diana? For letting you in and out of Little Requiem?"

"I… I do."

Skeleton put a vial on the table, a thick needle sticking out and many complicated mechanisms latched all around it. A Mutagen Extractor.

"Your Mutagen." He chuckled. "Not debilitating amounts… but rather… enough to warrant further research based on your dear Dr. Faltest's notes on Unstable Biology and Mutational Synergy."

Of course he would know about that. I wouldn't be surprised if my father outright told him.

Reluctantly, I stuck the vial into my forearm, my gaze burning as something profound was torn from me. Golden light mixed into the blood pouring out, rich and vibrant like ichor.

Mutations are being extracted from the Adapter…

I plucked it out, my breath weak and light like the oxygen had been drained out of the air. I rolled the vial back to him, fire burning in my eyes. It had absorbed a few percent of progress across the board for my Mutations.

"Be glad, Diana." Skeleton chuckled. "You're getting what you want, aren't you? The beginning of the fall of The Revenent."

"Shut the fuck up." I stared at him, then I stared them all down. "I don't get this. Isn't he an enemy too? He's fucking raising the dead as MALs."

"I am. Quite revolutionary, isn't it?" Skeleton chuckled, looking into the vial as if it reflected a century of life to be gifted. "I hope to cut Soul Killer out of the equation soon enough."

I nearly flew out of my seat to lunge at him. "And none of you see the problem with that?!"

"That's the thing…" Hatchwick mouthed, looking up at Skeleton with… respect? "It is revolutionary. SynTec wants their hands on it."

"As does Yuzhou." Himiko's mouth grew a predatory smile. "Never has a MAL been controlled by a human mind before, Skeleton, although… a perplexing figure… is resourceful."

"And the best thing?" Skeleton tapped his skull. "I'm the only one who knows how; there is no external database and no way for that data to leak. They want me? They need me."

I looked up to my false father, unbelieving in his compliance to this. "And you, how do you play a role in this?"

"Power, darling." He ran a hand into my hair, like I was some fucking child. "The mayor knows all about this. Soul Killer's death is now valuable to us instead of a threat. It means having an army of monsters on our side. And against a Titan… we'll need all the help we can get."

"Ah, the mayor…" Skeleton turned to Hatchwick. "He was so easy for us to convince. All it took was me sneaking some flowers into his niece's lunch. She was Soul Killer's by the time her school bell rang, and of course, a very confused Soulless away from any Nexus."

Thunder ripped from my voice. "What the fuck is this game you're playing? What is wrong with all of you?!"

"Ah, you're right, it is a game." Skeleton flicked a finger against the vial of my mutagen. "And this is how we win the game of blood and steel."

Krishav sat silently… deep within, I could feel something biting at his Soul to act up. I felt something wanting to trigger in mine. A threshold burning away.

"Diana, calm down… or you might blow this AV apart!" Starlight warned.

Good, I think I want to.

"Diana… don't make me do it."

What?

A memory hit me, of me resting on top of Ripley after our minds had melted into one another, the calm peace that hit me as I stared into his eyes. I shook my head, my gaze carrying into the nonchalant faces of this scheme. "So what's the end goal, Skeleton? I know you're at war with the other two. Why?"

Mr. Skeleton didn't meet my eye, too busy ogling at the Mutagen in his grip. "The Sin knows the 'why', I've learned not to question it. When a Titan sees a foreseeable outcome from free will, best not to chain yourself to the constant act of contemplating prediction and reaction and questioning self-existence. I am simply who I am. A skeleton buried in everyone's closet… and soon… a man of great power."

"And Dogwhistler…"

"She is troublesome." Himiko answered. "An entity with no clear origin, except a date."

"A date?"

"Oh… I wouldn't tell you, otherwise my child would know then. She'd mess things up. All I'll say is… some coincidences are at play, manipulated by a certain Titan." Himiko smiled at me, a knowing smile. "And I'm curious, what did he name our child?"

"Uh… do you think she knows?"

I don't think so. Should I tell her?

"Erm, sure?"

"Starlight." I said quietly.

Ms. Himiko laughed, a genuine laugh I didn't think was possible from out of her mouth. "Starlight? Oh… oh no… he named it after Mirage's Personas? Oh, that is… certainly something."

"What's wrong with my name?"

"Enough. I fear I've said too much." Himiko turned to Brian Ulrich. "Let her know about our next phase."

Brian kept a laugh hidden to himself. "Oh, she just has to ask about it."

"Ask? Ask about what?" I didn't get any of this.

A visual burned into the hologram.

Official Recognition of the A.S.K Task Force [Anti Soul Killer]

Anti… Soul Killer Task Force. It was real? I stared up at it, my name was right there.

Head of Operations: Brian Ulrich

Leading Investigator: A.S.I Diana Ulrich

"And you said we were fuckin' useless?" Brian said with enough smugness to threaten Skeleton's hold on the word. "Give me a nod, and you won't be an associate Special Investigator."

"This is... not what I wanted." I said in utter, raging disbelief. "You think I'm an idiot... that I can't tell we're only doing this so Skeleton can get what he wants?"

"What I want..." Skeleton said, "is what The Founders want. Besides, you were complicit in a previous dealing of mine."

"And you shot me in the head." I spat, looking at my father for some hope of support.

Brian Ulrich put a calming hand on my shoulder. "The orders came from above, it wasn't him... not exactly."

"And what?!" I spat at him. "You let him?"

"No. I did." Himiko said, a hint of... surprise flaring from what dull emotions I could sense from her. "That Necrotium bullet wouldn't have killed you, not entirely, merely it was a... test of sorts."

The mention of that bullet caused every single one of them to feel a certain way. Confusion and dissatisfaction. Except, my father had the stirrings of relief inside him. Soul Resonance picked it all up and twisted it into my own heart. "A test?"

"Of both you and Dreadwire." Hatchwick said. "He's... more troublesome than we thought. But... I see an opportunity in him."

I slammed the table, every word they said only pissed me off. "So, tell me, what exactly was your company doing with a Soul Killer Nexus in their basement?"

"The Rat King was a hostage." Hatchwick shrugged. "Tried to learn how to disconnect them from the hivemind, but the thing was dying... slowly. Long as we had it, Soul Killer agreed to send us fresh samples of their Mutagen as long as we refrained from... drastic methods of interrogation."

Skeleton chuckled. "Did you know that if you torture one Nexus? All of them feel it?"

"Point of it," Hatchwick sighed, "when you took that down that lab in September. Soul Killer tried hiding and that Rat King Nexus we had was determined to kill itself. So the Crimson Heart disconnected it... and for once, a fear of death was born in the thing. It panicked, and retaliated. But thanks to Dreadwire and this... Lilian Rose, it was dealt with before it could overblow into a public scandal."

This time, I sensed some... aggravation from Hatchwick towards Skeleton. Right, each of them had their own agendas... there were cracks for me to exploit. But the question remained. "What was your goal?"

"To spark fear." Brian Ulrich said. "To stir up the pot. A MALterrorist attack at a food plant? That would get the public thinking."

"You..." I chocked in realization. "You want to make Soul Killer's presence known to the public?"

"Slowly." Hatchwick raised his hand. "Build some paranoia, get them on our side... then we can begin changing up the laws around here to ensure this city remains safer."

I see. They wanted to not just extract Soul Killer's mutagenic strength, but to... use them as a political tool.

"And how do I fit into this?"

"You're the face of this war." Skeleton smiled. "Silvereye is the only one who can cure those who have lost their souls, guiding them into an era of prosperity for New California..."

He reached into his suit's pocket and retrieved a vial of… Mutagen. It rolled to me and was labeled 'Kinetic Release'.

"…You'll need it in about five minutes." He finished.

"Five minutes?" I stammered.

"Last time, it didn't go as public as we wanted." Skeleton chuckled. "Crimson Queen's ETA in 5 to disable another Nexus from the hivemind. A Nexus right in the center of the Pleasure Lanes. Inject it, and wear your new suit."

"What?" What on earth was happening right now? "Pleasure Lanes… you mean… in public?"

Hatchwick yawned. "Don't want anyone to get hurt now, do we? Fortunately, Silvereye arrived right in the nick of time, protecting civilians and taking out the deadly MAL threat."

"You're all… insane." I gripped my head as my dad opened up a briefcase. It expanded as folds of metal grew and blurred into shape, becoming a suit of sorts with my exact measurements… I scowled, looking at the design. It was akin to the costume Olivia and the other children had made for me on Halloween. "And… I hate all of you so much."

"Doesn't make a difference." Brian tapped the suit on the Shoulder, before pulling out a mask. It was like two lightning bolts fused together to make a pair of wings. A part of it even expanded to cover my mouth and a flicker of light formed some holographic hood. "Now get ready. You're about to fight more than a few villains and embrace your life as a heroine, Silvereye."

Grunting, I stabbed the Mutagen into my thigh. Starlight hummed as she somehow managed to settle the genetic disorder into a form suitable for me.

[Gold] Mutagen: Energetic Release has been acquired. [GC 25(24)]

This Mutation uh… sort of like takes everything you've collected and focuses it onto a singular output. It also

really

maximizes the conversion between kinetic, thermal and electrical energies. I think it's sort of like the only way you'll survive a fall from this height.

Fuck it. Like it or not, I had to help people. I stood up, putting my sleeves into the suit as its inner lining perfectly fit over the uniform I was wearing, becoming a third layer of protection. It was also brazenly showboaty, designs of white and blue electricity inspired by a need to be marketed.

Skin-tight, it showed my curves off — accentuated them — yet remained a solid armor as it passively conducted the electricity born of my body. Silver-colored steel shaped across my arms and legs with minimized compartments that felt packed with condensed tech around my wrists and back.

"Oh, we're going to get so many action figures made of you." Hatchwick chuckled. "What do you want your movie to be called? The sequel has to be: Lightning Strikes Twice."

I flipped a middle finger as the Aerodyne doors opened to a storm of wind blowing inwards. I was so high up that the people below all blurred like a sea… I couldn't let it bleed crimson.

An alert beeped behind me. Skeleton clapped his hands. "Soul Killer just got disconnected, expect their insanity to create more than a few MALs."

I had no choice. I had to save people.

Well then, fine. They wanted to puppeteer me? I'd make those strings as tangled as possible. The world turned beneath me, the planet wielding gravity against all who lived on it.

This Aerodyne was a betrayer of that fact… and I stepped out of it.

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