3:15 PM

November 10th

Dreadwire

"You know your target?" Elsa… The Dogwhistler spoke into my mind.

"Extracting a SynTec scientist for Yuzhou, only for Yuzhou to betray me as soon as I get them the target, they want Goliath back." I responded, letting the shadows of the alleyway consume me as I neared the target. Teresa Raven. She got out of a bar, her steps a little unsteady as she moved closer to an automated taxi.

Casting a moment of invisibility, I swept closer in a dash, merely swiping my hand over the car's metal as Elsa's Warpcode flowed through the newly enhanced fingertips of my Claw. Made from Elsa's own extremely responsive Warpcode transmitters, they perfectly sank in as she acted through our network to corrupt the taxi.

It drove off, and I moved to it's destination.

It stopped by a pier, masked Yuzhou soldiers waiting as the taxi carrying a very drowsy Teresa as the reward. I'd been in that bar as Ripley while she was enjoying those drinks, and slipped a sedative into her with my finger's needle to prompt he coworkers into sending her home. Ripley would have never been allowed into a bar favored by corporates, but the Dogwhistler had ways of changing things.

My voice radiated from the car's speakers as the Yuzhou guards confirmed it's contents. "Payment, or the car explodes."

"Bastard," One of them whispered, scanners looking for where I really was. "Get him his payment."

300,000 Shardyne registered into my wallet. And immediately, my body was detected as one heavily guarded man found me with his ultra-sensitive eyes. Even invisible, the rough refraction of my being was enough evidence as his rifle aimed towards me.

The car exploded, a beautiful flame rising out as shrapnel and force took them off their feet. My body twisting into the air near them, as the scrapgun on my wrist rained down hellfire on them. Armor crumpled and splintered as blood and steel painted the ground.

They were weak… too weak.

"Distractions." Elsa whispered, her voice a growl. "Leave, they're going to follow you until you've settled down and remove your armor to get your identity."

"Follow me?"

"You'll see." She cackled, my body flying into the air as I parted between buildings and alleyways. I could feel something, something invisible stalking behind me through Frequency Sync. Hissing, the Arachnodyne picked up speed and curved corners like a thread through a needle.

The Shadow Tendency had the effect of adding a subtlety to my Warpcode, it was the antithesis of Spark, which was bright and empowering. Shadow's power was in subterfuge, in masking the true depths of your ability and slipping it into others unnoticed as poison and dagger. It had been how Elsa hid from the others her true strength as The Dogwhistler.

Combined with the Water Tendency's ability to improve control, I was a master in weaving unforseen alterations to myself through their combination into the Thread Tendency. Retrofit channeled into my Shardware, my plating adjusting as Shriekstone cores made minute and physics defying adjustments to my motion. The invisible assassins behind me were keeping up with my speed, they had to be flying through some method.

They were in motion as I cut mine. Momentum carried them forwards as my Livewire snagged to the sides of buildings, sharp and tight. One of them flew right through it, the invisibility fading as they were sliced in half by their own speed. Another immediately opened fire, bullets shooting from their feet.

No. Under their feet. They were flying with their feet planted on a drone that was flat and large enough to propel them to match my speed.

They really wanted Goliath back.

"Shit, they sent The Oni after you! They're some of Yuzhou's elites! There'll be more than two!" Elsa warned, then laughed as she saw them for what they really were. "More for us to take."

Four soldiers formed from the light, their suits heavy and built for stealth, war, and death. They were only coffins under my gaze. Each of them were only Tier II, at Silver Grades. Was I not worth a Tier III… or was this a test to my skill?

Likely, it was a precaution. Amaterasu knew I could grow at immense speeds, unparalleled to any standard Adapter — they didn't want to feed me too much. At the same time, she knew my identity, but for all intents and purposes went through this charade as though she didn't. Likely... she was keeping it a secret from her own company... so then, were we both playing to a false stage and script?

It didn't ultimately matter, for I simply had enemies to deal with.

"So, you've come to claim your precious nanites, what's your price for them?" I shot glances at each of them as the gun-barrels of the drones by their feet rotated with empty promises. I looked down upon the one that had been bisected, that one was bronze. Brazen, and perhaps in training…

They were now dead.

But a drone lay still magnetically bound to his lower half, as though they dug through his feet and all the way up to his spine. My eyes were already dissecting ways to implement that tech for myself.

"We will take them, and R0N1N's life. Along with yours, Dreadwire." Their leader responded, the voice was inhuman and shrill. Three red lights in the center of their mask pointing at me.

"Then follow me into the light, if you dare." My Arachnodyne lit with golden energy, their invisibility masking them as bullets from no source lit up the tight alleyway around me. Each aimed with such precision to leave no path of mine available for escape.

But I wasn't seeking sanctuary. I was seeking ruination.

A gray haze erupted around me, a weaker version of Maiden's hybrid shielding just enough to protect me from the bullet streams that were least deadly. Embers sparked off me and metal weaned as I protected my vitals by constricting myself, but I'd found the origin of one machine gun. And gladly raised my claw to the soldier who stood atop it.

A thick wrapping of gray formed at my palm and burst out as a cone, their concealment washed away before I grabbed them by the throat. Bullets continued to rain down on me, intending to silence my life even at the cost of their comrade.

Instead, I let The Dogwhistler act through my claws. From deep within the VoidNet, an entity materialized brief threads of black into my hands, crawling and weaving inside of the throat-held Oni's armor. Bullets shredded them to reach me as I pivoted behind, blood washing over me and plating dislodging from my suit.

My own invisibility was shattered. It didn't matter.

Shot with holes and gagging, the man should be dead and immobile. Not that he could, when shadowy puppet strings bound their Shardware to the power of my Delver. Even as a corpse, the Oni turned to me, and followed me as I exited the alleyway.

The Dogwhistler relayed the secrets of their communication to me.

"How is he moving?"

"His Shardware is being manipulated by another."

"He's following Dreadwire into the public, shall we follow?"

"Negative. Yuzhou wants discretion, any more of us in pursuit would be foolish."

"Order confirmed from Amaterasu."

This battle had already been won. My Shardware, as it was, would not survive an assault against four Silvers with military weaponry — specialists in assassination. Their retreat was the criteria of my victory, and their loss of protocol.

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The corpse followed me brazenly into the city lights of the winter's approaching cold. Thin curtains of snow scattered into the air as Elsa raised gunfire, while I was shouting caution to the onlookers below. Tonight, they would see Dreadwire chased by corporate assassins.

Tonight, they would be the collateral to corporate greed.

Would be. Had I not saved them.

"Shall I use missiles?" The Dogwhistler asked in my head, and I was both wary and anticipatory to her enthusiasm.

Silent rods pulsed with light from behind me. A visual feed of surrounding cameras hacked by her rendered me their false paths, and an easy swerve of motion evaded two of them. Dozens of civilians in traffic screamed as the impending cylinders of death rocketed down to them, but my Claw tips caught them just in time, and a pulse of Gold jolted them neutral.

One just grazed the roof of a car, and I swung the twin explosives down into the hold of a stunned police patrol. My voice, loud and clear, I sent a claw down to hack into their car speakers. "Bomb squad. Now!"

Bullets continued to follow me, their path known as I lowered myself to pull civilians out of the rain of destruction. One took a painful severing of their flesh arm, a car swerved as their engine caught on fire, and another man's steel legs shattered.

"Elsa…" I warned.

"Relax, non-lethal shots. Need to make this convincing." She said easily, feigning a reload as the puppeteered corpse continued to chase me. This was the moment I ended things. My left arm grew a singular serpentine blade as my momentum stilled in the air.

What a farce. The Oni was already dead.

I just needed the public to believe it, so with a twist of my arm, I snapped the whip-blade right into their head and cracked a kinetic burst to bend their neck sharply. The truth of the matter was that it hadn't been lethal… their armor reinforcement was startling.

I'd make good use of their suit. As Elsa turned the body limp and I caught it, the drone beneath me lifted us into the air and away. Somewhere to send a message.

———

7:40 PM

Ripley

I hadn't gone back to Elsa's apartment, nor Maiden's shelter, nor Diamante's mall… nor my building. Instead, I went to my base of operations, Elsa had bought it in my name just yesterday.

It was a dump, half-renovated after a MAL tore through it but sizable enough that over time we could give it some proper purpose. It was a costly three million to even buy it, but that was considered cheap for the location, maybe even expensive depending on your view of this demented place. It was deep in the heart of the First Precinct, nestled between the corporate side of the Pleasure Lanes and the criminal half that led to Little Requiem.

It was the place that started it all, and it was mine now. I stood at the top of the office with a shattered window, one time… I had jumped down this to face a monster that had brought shadows and light into my world. This office was where my life hung in the balance of opening the confinement of that monster, and beneath it all was a tiny little room me and my mom spent days toiling in to do meager work for meager shards.

This was the remnant of the Toxin Club. And now, I owned it.

Elsa stood by my side, holding me dearly as I looked down upon bloodstains the city hadn't bothered clearing up, rubble that was mostly moved aside by Vultures who were digging for bodies. This place, that cultivated a blend of control and passion was everything I hated.

Now, I would use that hate to transform it. Into a wondrous factory of my power and ingenuity.

"Speaking of property…" Elsa opened up an image in my lenses, a castle of dust and decay sat along various contraptions of metal that would once give thousands a thrilling ride of their lives. "Adventure Kingdom. A theme park that went defunct after the earthquake, I actually bought it around a year ago. It's a few hours of a ride away from here, but we've got a whole castle to ourselves too."

"A theme park," I studied the establishment in confusion. "What'd you buy it for?"

"Honestly, I just wanted the castle. Was thinking maybe I'd make it a home one day, after the Swarm. Bought it early before the price would rise." She had a sad look in her eyes, but it turned reassuring as she tightened her hand with mine. "I'm named after a queen, might as well be one. If you'll be the king, of course."

"A castle…" I mouthed, it was unbelievable of her. "I'd be delighted to share it with you — but you're more of a princess to me."

Her eyes lit up with embarassment, a warmth as she leaned into my shoulder.

"Of course, one day. For now…" She turned her gaze down the window, men filed in as she wore her dark mask of a wolven queen, a visor popping out to cover her eyes with black and white stars. "Let our subjects clean the trash."

Each of them were lost under her will, homeless or Metal Heaven goons who had given up their Shardware to her in exchange for a moment of peace. They began removing the rubble, clearing out space and organizing various machinery.

The Dogwhistler, my beautiful queen of dark and light, stood by my side. "Let's turn Dreadwire… and The Ripper, into forces this city isn't prepared for."

———

Diana

"I don't get this." Starlight pouted, grumbling as she maneuvered various case files in order. "My dad! He hasn't tried pulling me back ever since he asked for some alone time with Mirage!"

"Oh?" I leaned in, my chest pulsing a bit. Did something happen between them?

"I don't know… all I do know is…" She took a deep breath, then looked at me and held her gaze as though confiding in me. "I… I don't think I like my dad's girlfriend?"

"Honestly…" I shrugged, hiding away my excitement. "I don't get what he sees in her."

"Exactly!" Starlight was music to my ears. "Like, at least choose someone who isn't crazy! Who on earth splits their mind like that?! (Even if one of those quarters is my mother) but like, she's very clearly not mentally sound!"

"Oh… tell me more." I leaned in.

Starlight sighed. "I- I can't. She has also had a hard life and it isn't mine to tell. I don't blame her for being who she is, I can feel it from the parts of me that were made by Twilight. I know she loves him, I know… she's gone through a lot. They've helped each other get out of it."

"Oh." I sat back, a little deflated. "Um… good for them."

Starlight gave me a side-eyed look. "You know your crush on my dad is really obvious, right?"

I peeped, a tiny inaudible noise that was much more of a shrill in my heart. My voice came out, rough and strained. "Uh… what do you-"

"Everytime I mention him, you smile a little. Plus, I am quite literally connected to your body, I can feel your heart quicken." She poked my chest. "Just… keep your feelings under control, he's my dad and when you feel them, I feel weird. You know?"

"Yeah." I strained out. "Will keep that in mind."

"But I support it, I totally ship you two together."

"Ship?"

"Yeah, I'm really active on the Silvereye X Dreadwire forums. There's nothing that gets the public's eyes like a forbidden love." Starlight floated up and pulled out a forum, on which there were… vivid discussions about me and Dreadwire based on the one time we were out in public.

I paled when I made the regretful decision of opening up what was labeled as 'fanfiction' and flicked my eyes across the descriptions. I covered Starlight's eyes, but I kept on reading… just a little bit.

"You know I'm still seeing through your eyes, right?"

At that, I quickly scrolled away. I had cases to get to, not… this.

I would look at it later. In my privacy. It was around an hour later when Sabrina hurriedly knocked on my office door and I let her in, her voice hurried as she shared a visual with me. "So, you gonna hurry out to help your work husband?"

"Sorry?" I looked up, confused.

A visual formed, Dreadwire was being chased on the street by some madman on a high-tech drone launching missiles and bulletfire out to the public. Ripley saved many with his quick maneuvers, something that me feel a little proud. "What is he…?"

Sabrina sat on my desk, she'd been hounding me day and night over the last three days about my 'betrayal' of keeping the connection between me and Dreadwire a secret. I tried to feign it like it was a recent endeavor, but she was unconvinced. "Oh, don't act like you didn't know?"

"I don't!" I protested, she was one of many voices eager to get a statement out of me of the supposed mercenary with a heart of gold. "He… urgh, I've only talked to him… for just a few days. I really don't know much about what's going on under that mask."

"Uh huh." She swiped the screen away. "But like… still. He's my case, c'mon let me meet him! I'm practically his biggest fangirl right now!"

"You act like I can just call him up whenever I need him." I said sternly, knowing I could very much do that.

"You just want to keep him all to yourself." She frowned, pushing forward on the matter. "But at least, tell me… are the rumors true?"

"No, I am not in an affair with him." I said with resolve, before lowering my voice. "My crush is… on someone else."

It was a good tactic of mine, using the fact that since I had a mysterious crush on a Shard Operator, it wouldn't make sense of me to go after Dreadwire. Unless, of course, the two were the same person… besides I liked… who he was under the mask, anyway.

"Fine, I'll choose to believe you." She sighed. "I actually came with another news."

She swiped a record of a business deal, it was some random local company I didn't know, and they bought… The Toxin Club. Sabrina puckered her lips. "What do you think, should I make a visit? Apparently, it's a Shard Operating business now. Company's got heavy stakes bought out by SynTec, but is more or less local."

"Looks legit." Pouring over the contract, I didn't find anything off with it.

"It does, but… you know, I have a knack for sniffing things out." She pinched her nose, before rubbing my arm with a smile on her face. "By the way, you look happier now."

That took me for a little bit of a surprise, but I let a grin slip from me. "I guess I am, I feel like I'm finally making progress and… I'm making an effort to be open with others again. You helped with that, honestly."

She returned my smile. "Still joining me and Belle for dinner at my mom's?"

I nodded, and with a twirl, she left my office as I thought over the words in my head. Finally making progress…

I looked at the briefcase under my desk, my Silvereye suit. According to my squad's Shard Operator, Trixie, it was a marvel of modern-day engineering. Built to resist Silver-grade attacks and streamlined for manoeuvrability and defence. That was just one of the keys to progress.

The other was the Anti Soul Killer Task Force. I was the only name attached to it besides my father's… but now, I had direct permission from even the Captain of my District to oversee an assault against Soul Killer.

I had to be patient, Moira was still busy working on decrypting Juliet's findings alongside Starlight, but as soon as we had vaccines in circulation… we could fight back. And the first step was clear; I was planning to remove Anabelle Grazhe's affliction from Soul Killer's Mutation… and reunite her with Dryder.

With Derrick.

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