December 19th

Diana

We'd heard the explosion nearly half an hour ago, and our coverage of the prison had been meager since then. Between heavy-duty barricaded doors, the ground giving way at several instances, and more than a few prepared groups of Muramasa guards; we were being whittled down at every turn. Kim said that the ground giving way was likely a combination of Shadow Son detecting us and War-Watcher triggering explosives that destabilized the concrete under us.

Even as SI Ahmed Koli disabled the cameras from a nearby security terminal we happened across, they still had methods for observing us. Shadow Son was supremely adept at detecting vibrations through his hair, and used some sort morse-code based language to communicate between him and his followers according to Kim.

A former Muramasa Princess, she allegedly betrayed them shortly after Sabrina infiltrated their organization while undercover. Very little information was available about that event. Whether she was apprehended or turned herself in, Sabrina might have been the one who knew best, but she refused to share details about her ex, not even a bit of slander.

I respected that. I also really hoped that she wasn't getting into too much trouble with Ripley.

———

Dreadwire

Now, the cords of shadow-like hair were thick, coiling wires that pulsed with a dark Energy. Shadow Son knew we were getting closer, but did not try to deter us. It almost felt like a trap, but my memories of the six-armed dragon made me reconsider. Shadow Son was expecting himself to die, why?

What did Muramasa gain from sending one of their own royalty to perish?

Shadow Son was a valuable agent of theirs, capable of accurately absorbing information across a complex network of his shadowy hair. It made no sense to treat him like a sacrificial lamb.

This entire operation was like Muramasa wanted themselves killed. Antagonizing the police, the corporations… and likely even other gangs. They'd become the public enemy of the entire city, but in doing so… had garnered fanatics onto their side. Even if it was plain to see that killing over a hundred officers and stealing cargo from NeoCore was an unjust act, the grandiosity was remarkable, enough that many people sided with Muramasa just for that fact.

Mirage and I were gaining Bladedaughter as an ally, but what was she gaining from all of this? Reign over Muramasa, one not led by the Bladefather, but she'd lose countless elite officers and even her siblings… was that worth having control over the gang? Would Muramasa even be Muramasa without the Bladefather?

Then again, it was labeled a Dynasty.

That was why the call to exterminate Muramasa demanded the inclusion of the death of all of his children. Sabrina sniffed the air, belching as she turned one corner. "What… is that?"

I smelled it too, a familiar stench of corpses and chemicals used to preserve them. Harold Anderson and I commonly used them for when we had a large volume of corpses to scrap. "Formaldehyde."

"Don't like it." She pinched her nose, her gaze following me. "So… Ripley, would you ever turn yourself in?"

"Would Yuzhou even allow me to?" I responded.

"Right, you really ruined two of their facilities… I dunno, maybe Diana's dad could figure something out?"

"I'd likely have the R0N1N hunt me if I turned into a corporate workhorse." And besides, I still technically had the job of designing him new Shardware based on Livewire. It was still a work in progress and would require a substantial amount of funds to produce.

"So complete disappearance, then." Sabrina chewed her lip. "Aw, I didn't even get to shoot you in my manhunt. And just when I was practically sure about your whole life story."

I ignored her for the most part, but I couldn't help but think that if one Special Investigator's late caffeine-fueled nights could discern my identity, then what about the corporations. "You wouldn't have landed a shot."

"I'm no Silvereye, but I'm still good with a gun."

"How many of your targets strike from above?" I said, still thinking. It was likely that many already knew, but no threat was ever sent regarding it. They didn't want me to know I was compromised. But why?

"How many of your targets can freeze your own lungs?" She snapped her fingers at me before her face scrunched up. "The smell's getting stronger."

"We're close." I readied my gun, signaling the Mazhyr Interloper to return to its pistol shape as nanite-filled bullets locked in. The shadowy hair grew thicker, the bundles twisting and merging like roots tangled upon each other… until they were soaked in blood.

All connected to a cocoon of shadows and blood floating above dangling corpses that were too disfigured to make any sense of who they were. I hadn't seen this in the memory… but I'd also remembered that it was almost an hour ago.

The shadowy hairs wriggled to life, twisting up from the ground and taking the shape of a child that held a machine. They tapped the machine a specific way, and a mechanical voice came out. "Hello, Dreadwire, are you here to kill me?"

"We are." My Arachnodyne, poised to strike at the heart, tightened.

"Ah, would you hear me out first before we fight?" Shadow Son's speaker emitted.

"No." My Arachnodyne fired four javelins at the cocoon, pulling me towards the mass of hairy threads of darkness now fraying up as though in pain. I slashed inwards with my claws, blood spilling from the cocoon before a massive arm crumpled my chest armor and sent me back to the ground.

Dazed, I looked up to see a… beast clawing its way out of the cocoon, massive and hulking with multiple limbs of shadow-like hair and bulging red musculature underneath.

It wasn't a MALformed. This was… human?

"My father turned me into this." The boy said through the machine. "In cooperation with Soul Killer, I was subjected to Mutagen that forged me into this."

"Dreadwire… are we supposed to kill that?" Sabrina's eyes were plastered on the still-forming beast of blood and shadows dripping down to the ground.

"Soul Killer was the first of my father's sins." The boy said. "After that, he joined with Skeleton, even promising our first sister to him."

Why tell me this?

"The Revenant was chaotic, self-serving and unstable. Skeleton was everything my father needed in a partner; intellectual, scheming, someone who could grasp the bigger picture — and most importantly, desperate. Once. Through that partnership, my father abandoned The Revenant; in return for the betrayal, they corrupted one of my brothers and forced him to commit suicide publicly."

The boy pointed to a twitching body dangling in threads. It had chunks of flesh and was in no state to even be alive. "The Revenant left my brother for the Vultures, but an even greater schemer sought his corpse. Skeleton revived my brother as a Fractured MALware,.Do you feel it?"

I did, the corpse had a weak Silver frequency of shrill screams in madness.

"It was to be our weapon against The Revenant, and I was to be the guardian of my deceased brother. Or so, that's what I thought… my father instead commanded me to consume the flesh of my brother, to wield him. This monstrosity is the result of that."

Sabrina gripped her head, a feral look in her eyes I didn't understand. Not until I noticed the shadowy tendril digging into her ankle.

"I am, in a certain way, Soul Killer's protege." The boy said, as the shadowy monster took stock of its new body, each limb rippling with power as various tentacles swam through the air like probing antennae. "As a result, I have been locked in here for three months. Commanded to harness my new form. But the Revenant is impeccable… while my mind remains — my body has been lost to me. What you see in front of you is a Soul Killer that... you just awakened because you refused to listen to me. Should it escape, it will rejoin with a Nexus and only empower that Revenant. Then, my mind will be truly lost."

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Fuck.

"So kill it, even if my mind must go with it. The best way would be to-" The boy suddenly unraveled as the beast roared, as though the beast's rageful awakening suffocated the Shadow Son's presence. The Bladefather developed an anti-Soul Killer weapon, but it turned back on him…

And turned Sabrina against me, as soulless eyes stared at me before she charged like a beast.

At the same time, a more literal beast sent drilling tendrils of shadows towards me. My Arachnodyne blades severed them with ease, but faltered as Sabrina came pounding into me. Her physical strength was lacking, but a chill aura condensed around her body, seeping into me.

I could kill her. I should kill her. Amidst shadows, this was a viable reason to kill her.

Yet, I instead plucked a vial from my suit and sank it into her neck. I needed a test subject, after all. She pulled back, groaning in madness as the beast shrieked in pain, launching with its thick, ropy limbs as claws of blood slapped against me and sent me thrashing into a wall.

It roared, and the ground rose with it, thick spears of black lurching towards me. I kicked up, and they curved, so my blades followed to slice them. Except I was surrounded, and they were too numerous. They struck me from everywhere, tangling into my limbs but failing to pierce through the armor.

That wouldn't stop it from tearing me apart.

Twilight slowly awoke in my head, her eyes growing wide as she made out the scene in front of her. "What the fuck!"

Take control of my drones.

"What do you need me to do?" She didn't hear that request, right… Only Starlight could detect my thoughts.

"Drone." I whispered. From my lower back, two plates emerged that developed into drones, which immediately began pelting the various tendrils around my Arachnodyne with shocks of electricity.

They let go of my bladed limbs, but strangely no tendrils went after the drones… I put that thought into consideration as I swept my Arachne around and severed every tendril with the use of Hypermind Prime. Ensuring none were left to tangle me.

My Arachnodyne landed on the ground while my body hovered in the air, carefully making sure none of the limbs were in contact with the corruptive vine-like overgrowth of shadowy hair. The beast's many tentacles continued flowing around, and now I understood its senses.

It was blind, relying on physical contact with its shadowy hair, able to detect minute vibrations like an antenna. Staying utterly still, I surveyed the scene… There was a human mind in there, but what was corrupting its body? What was the purpose of these dangling bodies, each kept within an inch of life?

"Dreadwire… What's going on?" Sabrina seemed to have broken out of control, but it was the improper moment as she stepped on one of the beast's tendrils. It immediately swept her into the air, and unlike me, she'd be speared to death instantly.

Again, the thought of letting her die as she wanted darkened my thoughts, but I was already intending to commit sins tonight. My Dreadshot marked for the beast and gouged through it before the spears could commit. They lurched towards me and the sound, dropping Sabrina.

I hopped again, Twilight using my drones to counter a few spears while I sought a new purchase to remain undetected. The beast pounced and tackled my intended position before I burst kinetic force off my legs and kicked away, but doing so only sent more swarming shadows after me.

Sabrina unleashed a wave of frost, the hair freezing moments before I would be entangled. She threw one of her grenades into the beast, chunks of blood and shadowy hair blanketed with a white frost that lent me enough time to experiment.

A whip blade extended from my left arm, and I severed a black-webbed woman of inhuman proportions. She fell to the ground, mantis-like limbs propping her up as she grew panicked. "No… why would you- I need to protect my sire-!"

Shadows tore her in two, as I felt a sickening power spill into the air… the beast shuddered as more black ropes came to life. They wrapped and hardened around the beast like set of armor, and the spears only grew more vigorous.

So these bodies were tethering the prince of shadows to some sanity.

Then what about the corpse of the MAL? Of the fallen prince?…

Something was controlling that body while all these other bodies stabilized the mind of the Shadow Son.

I understood now. Shadow Son lacked protection because there was no need for it. Attempting to kill him would have awoken the part of Soul Killer overtaking his body. To let the Shadow Son live even if his surveillance would be a hindrance wasn't worth awakening The Revenant.

But I hadn't listened to his attempts to sway me… I wouldn't have, anyway. Not when killing it was so simple.

All I had to do was this.

My Arachnodyne pulsed into the air as Hypermind took over, speed ravished me while dozens of living shadows sought to disturb my path. I slashed through them, letting none stay to ruin my trajectory.

A wall of darkness rose, but my legs kicked a flat wall of force to rebound me above them, and the beast realized, instinctively, what my plan was. There must have been a reason why no one disconnected Shadow Son from his fallen brother, and now the answer was simple. Attempting to sever the Prince from the MAL his brother had become would awaken the beast; it must have had some self-preservation instinct as a Silver MALware.

So they contained it instead. Sacrificing their own minds and flesh to satiate the beast their prince had become.

I would read more memories soon, to know the truth of this — for now, my Arachnodyne severed the black thread tethering the beast to this madness.

The MAL's body fell to the ground, its withered appearance suddenly twisting as it began to transform. I didn't let it, slashing my blade right where I felt its Core.

At the same time, the beast howled and collapsed, its body melting as threads snapped and revealed a multitude of husk-like corpses interwoven within itself. They all linked to the singular living being inside, a man who could barely be called human. His shadowy limbs twisted like ropes and slithered through the corpses around him like worms in decaying flesh.

"Thank you…" Came the weak groan, jade eyes the only color visible beneath all that darkness. "…ah… I hoped I would remain alive after this, but the toll… this is the price of working with The Uncaged."

His jade eyes met mine with warmth and a hint of regret. "Can I have but one request of you?"

This time, I let him speak his mind, only nodding.

"My servants, let them live. They have already been tortured enough." With a weak rise of his hands, the other dangling bodies descended to the ground as the wiry darkness fled their flesh. "I… do not wish to see them harmed — not after how much they've struggled to live."

I processed that request, coming to my conclusion quickly.

"Your wish conflicts with my directive." I strode up to the dying Prince. "I understand what you are. You, who have lived in the shadows and sought to protect others within your care. You and your people have known hatred and prejudice, but I hope you find some comfort that, tonight — that is not the reason I shall take your life, or those you cared for."

My mask slid back. At the very least he deserved to know what his killer looked like.

———

Ripley

My voice was heavy and guilt-ridden. "It's simply my job."

I didn't feel the recoil of my gun, and the guilt soon slid away as my Personality Matrix buried it. Sabrina watched in silence as one-by-one, I shot the rest of his servants who dedicated their lives to save him from the corruption his father forced upon him.

Silence weighed heavy as I turned a cold gaze to Sabrina. "You already figured my identity. Consider this a token of our agreement. Right now — blood sample, I need it."

"My blood?" Her hesitation was clear.

I spoke as I collected the Implants from all the fallen foes. "He infected you, likely not as powerful as the true Titanium Mutagen. It was probably Silver… you were resisting it using my Soul Anchor. I put an experimental cure into you, so I need to know what its effects were."

"Right." She nodded, her legs shaking. "I- I didn't even realize I was-"

"That's the enemy Diana faces." I walked up to her, my claw shifting as a needle and an empty vial revealed themselves. "Soul Killer. It seems like… this prison... it wasn't just a stronghold they controlled, but ran experiments in. The Bladefather. He experimented on his own kids to turn them into weapons against his enemies."

She winced as the needle slid into her arm. "And now… what does that mean?"

"I don't know, I think…" I paused, what was happening here? "…that his children are getting revenge by bringing an army to him."

———

Diana

Huddling inside a prison cell, we were taking stock of our weaponry. Already, our ammo was running out. We needed to get the assault front moving in soon to restock. Starlight was piloting Ripley's armory, but said this was all special equipment we'd need for Bladedaughter — nothing that could help us right now.

So we resorted to stealing Muramasa's guns, SI Koli was busy jailbreaking them to work with our systems, while Starlight assumed the role of ensuring War-Watcher couldn't slip his way in.

"Never seen an Emulect before," Koli murmured with an amused smile as he poked her drone. "You a real person, or just believe you're one?"

Starlight spoke from the robot, a teasing charm in there. "What if I told you that all of reality is just an illusion and that your real bodies are being used as batteries to power an alien hive-mind?"

"Wait, what?!" Koli stopped tinkering with the gun.

"Just kidding!" Starlight then paused. "Batteries are so dumb, it would be much more efficient to use you as computers."

"You're not serious, right?" SI Rachfeld interrogated the drone.

"She's talking about an old movie." Kim said harshly. "Something about a matrix, my father liked them."

"Damn, way to ruin my fun!" Starlight imitated crossing her arms with the spiderlings arms. "What was it like growing up with him as a dad, anyway?"

"He made me kill my foster siblings after a madman gunned our orphanage down." Kim said as though it didn't affect her. "Then tore me apart and implanted new organs and Shardware to better fit me. All before I was fifteen. Made me stay awake as it happened."

"Oh…" I mouthed, while Kim had a stern look, otherwise. This mission was deeply personal for her. "I'm sorry you went through that."

"I was one of his favorites." She looked beyond the cells. "I got it easy… my siblings suffered worse."

At that moment, a ragged Sabrina stumbled out of a door, bleeding from all over as she collapsed. I hurried instantly, feeling her soul grow so weak. "Sabrina?"

"Dreadwire." She coughed a mouthful of blood, her eyes glazed over, and her Frame torn off to leave a bloody wound on her neck. "He- he's working for… Mura…"

Her hand fell down — cold and weak, as her soul slipped away from mine. A few seconds later, a Silver SIM slipped out from her arm.

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