December 19th

Moments before Ripley left for Phase 0.5

Ripley

"I'm scared." Mirage held my hand, her eyes glazed over as countless feeds of information drowned her skull, yet she swam through it with grace. I knew the locations of every Muramasa patrol waiting in the shadows to ambush the police's advance.

"I know. I wish I could say I felt the same. I should be… for what I have to do." I rubbed her thumb, needing the comfort from her.

"I'm not scared of the mission Ripley, I'm scared you'll hate me." Her voice trembled out to me, her grip colder… and it wasn't the ice bath.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Because… if I become the Dogwhistler, you'll have to see the worst parts of me." She spoke honestly, her fingers settling away from mine.

"We talked about this. You talked me into it." I half-joked, but sensing the seriousness in her voice, I leaned in. "What happens…?"

"At Silver, I can control three Personas. At Gold, maybe I'd manage a couple dozen. But when I become Titanium…"

"Hundreds?" I guessed.

"That's the secret to the Dogwhistler, inside each BUG of those homeless is a weakened copy of me. An echo that contains the ability to use my Features. I learned to do it from Skeleton… but taking control of an entire prison? I won't be sending… weakened versions of myself." She pulled out a Datacube from her side, one glowing a bright blue and the other a more menacing crimson.

"Daylight and Midnight? I thought you-"

"I… remade them." She admitted. "I had old Engrams around in my head, they're me. Because… if Twilight's with you, when I enter that state, I'll be combining with them. It'll make me… erratic, joyful in the chaos and pain I inflict. All my spite will fuel my ecstasy… that isn't me, Ripley Donovick. There will be… many copies of me, saying things I would never say."

"I know." My hand moved to her hair, her violet gaze glazed with tears. "But I'll accept-"

"No… don't accept The Dogwhistler. Not when there are... so many versions of her. Each of them is born from me, but I… some of those thoughts aren't what I really mean." I didn't let her finish her words, simply because she didn't let me say mine.

"I love you, Elsa." I brushed her tears away.

———

2:14 PM

"Ripley…" Mirage shuddered through the link. "I'm not ready. It's impossible, we don't have access past Omen's-"

"Yes, we do. The nanites within the soulless, you can directly interface using them." I calmly responded.

"That would require me using you as a router! It would be traced instantly!" Elsa hammered her thoughts my way, becoming more clearer by the second. "And I- I can't put you through that!"

"Just enough to dig a hole to send the rest of you into their systems… then breach from your position." I said. "Don't take this burden on yourself."

I heard a quiet sob on the other side, it wavered until she came back through, solid. "I'll kill War-Watcher while I'm at it… maybe even take a digital spear over to Omen."

"That, you will, Midnight."

———

Mirage

Mirage's body was frozen solid within the contraption she had once commissioned from Skeleton. Ripley had done the necessary bits to erase any possible lingering influence of the bastard, but Mirage had long since cleared its code.

She needed to be frozen, for here she was going… there would be fire.

Her mind sank into depths deeper than the water around her, drowning within the aching cold as images flashed. She saw every possibility, thousands of streams of Warpcode brushing past her mind to slip calculations of the future.

But that was a Source-Shard she did not touch. She was bound by a Fragment of The Past.

Of Dreamweaving.

As shadows and light protected her from the cataclysmic fall down the layers of the Net, her very mind began to weave upon itself. Folding an already folded biological computer upon itself, each compression threatening to tear her Psyche.

Until it was tiny, condensed like a bullet, to shoot through the Abyss.

And into the Void.

Static constructs of grayscale periodically hummed, lone pools of forgotten data floating amidst the VoidNet. Some were barely held together as stone chunks, few of them scattering like the wind, another was burning itself, while more flowed like water, others blended with the shadows, while those that let themselves illuminate the void were quickly preyed on.

By MALware… Data Devourers.

A Silver one clamped around her unfolding Avatar, tentacles of code dismantling her being.

Then a lance of Titanium shot it.

The core protected it's master…

Blending within the void was ink, masking itself in hundreds of complicated arrays of Datashielding melting it around the Framework. All of it, Titanium. All of it, her truest self.

She looked deeper, where as her vision twitched… a scarlet sea erupted beneath her feet. It's molten miasma gurgled to her, aching like an old friend to pull her into it's touch. And deeper still, voices reverberated with dissonance bound to a will that was eternal, titanic, and so calculating.

She remembered that day, when she was once a slave to a hivemind, a lack of individuality. How hundreds of Irons braved the blistering heat of that FIREWALL, burning into crisps as their ashes bore grains of knowledge of a world long dead.

And how they had been attacked, Amaterasu rising from that FIREWALL to eliminate their intrusion. An intrusion… into a meeting.

Just as she did back then, she let herself drown, sink, stretch… hollow. All her life, she'd done it to escape, the FIREWALL had been a foreign overstimulant of all her senses… but the Titanium of the Dogwhistler was a substance that eroded her personality -- rendering her back into that form lacking thought and individuality.

Midnight and Daylight, even in their weaker forms melted together to shield her from ego-death. A maniacal laugh erupted as the power of Titanium drenched her, skimming past her skin as the orb quiverred to the whims of its master.

Every second, Daylight, Midnight and herself were torn apart, and so she had to weave it all once more. She had to unravel that which would corrupt her, that which would make her different from the woman Ripley fell in love with. It was a time consuming process, but in the Void, time was all you had.

Time was her prison.

Seconds passed in reality while they only dilated in the depths of the Void. Days, weeks, months… it lost meaning as she systematically reformed her Personas, tearing out corruption, and threading more control into her Titanium. There was no pain, for she'd developed to never feel it as an Avatar, only bare stretches of harrowing emptiness devoid of meaning.

It felt inviting, to just forget. To return and never feel again, to never be in pain, to never regret. But she couldn't. Ripley was her light, he was her darkness, and in that eclipse of her will… she would form The Dogwhistler. Drowning, suffocating, hollowing, she lived on the breath of her dying selves, rebirthing them each time they shattered.

Until everything blended, the blue, the red, the black, the white, the violet.

Until all that was left was a Mirage of who she had once been.

Until… that bubble began to boil, it's hiss slicing through the Void. A glorious pitch that would shatter egos and splice MALs and human minds alike was both her doing and undoing.

The bubble was broken as hands stretched out, hundreds of them, like an egg of soft shadows birthing an army of demons. Then she shot them out of the Void, letting them tear through her secured channels in cyberspace as they reached for her beloved.

———

Dreadwire

"Hello dear," A scratchy voice invaded my mind. "... wow, still that same kid who lost his arm to a fucking Iron. Honestly, we should have just taken your Gold…"

Another voice echoed, more joyful. "Imagine what it would be like to consume my code, oh… you'd like to feel more than just my flesh and steel wouldn't you?"

"Drown with me, Ripley."

"I'm scared. This is what I was scared of!"

"I want you broken for me."

"I want you to fix me."

"Imagine all of us swimming in your mind, licking the secrets you're too afraid to say."

I held my breath, unwilling to show any sign that my mind was being swarmed as the voices fled into the nanites of those injected with a Soul Anchor. Through their Frames, a hole would be breached, and it would gape into Omen's network where she would be free to wreak havoc.

"I'm sorry."

"You should hate me for what I've done."

"I never meant to fall in love with you."

"I never meant to take advantage of your love for Selene."

"Please don't hate me."

"I want to own you. I could own you. I could make it so you never leave, that your dreams are real and that they're me."

They were just her darkest thoughts, I told myself that. Yet they stung through this Ego and into Ripley.

"Let your mother die."

"She's holding you back."

"Cling onto her, she's all you have left."

"You'll always have me."

"You'll never have me. Not when I'm… broken like this."

Starlight broke through, there was no way for her to not feel this. "Uh… Dad? I-"

"Don't touch them." I warned. "I'll explain when we're done, but you already figured it out… didn't you?"

"Is Elsa… is Mirage…?"

"Get the Meta-Mind." I ordered, as Starlight hesitantly did so. The armory was hidden in concealment as chaos erupted in the room all around us, but I was blurry to it all. I felt drones working on my Frame, installing a thick mechanism over it. One could call it the equivalent of an Exosuit to an Neuroframe… the Meta-Mind Frame was based on Dreamframes, but designed for one specific purpose.

To escape from the present, to escape the Personality Matrix, and to escape from any intrusions that might be affecting my Frame. A separate server to house my consciousness where time would move quicker, allowing me to survey any changes and create countermeasures.

Combined with Hypermind Prime, I could spend a week in there and only seconds would pass. I was hoping to use it against Bladedaughter, but as more echoes of The Dogwhistler passed through my head, they were a rainfall of knives scraping my brain into submission. Even subconsciously.

"Coward."

"Sometimes I don't know why I love you."

"You're a fucking mess, and I love it."

"So easy to manipulate."

"Haha, you want me to control you? Don't you?"

"Because otherwise… you'd be forced to actually deal with your problems."

"When I'm with you, I finally feel in control of something."

"I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just trying to help you."

"Believe me."

"You never should have trusted me."

As a thick helmet latched over my mask, my mind was yanked out of my brain. Away from the erosion of The Dogwhistler's sayings.

"I love you. Don't listen to them."

"I hate you. I know you want to change me."

"How could you ever care about someone like me? That's why I have to change you."

"I can't lose you!"

"You should run away from me, before it's too late."

"Before I hurt you."

"Or stay, and we can drown together."

"Please believe me… I don't mean any of thi-"

Then I was deeper, away… into the Meta-Mind…

Ripley

Within the simulation of the Meta-Mind, I sat on my couch, in my apartment. But my mother wasn't there… only Starlight was, crying. "Is she why you didn't tell me anything?! You didn't want me to know that Elsa… that my… mother is…"

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Twilight isn't…! I don't… think so." I reached a hand to her, but she pulled away.

"Everyone lies! Is this what it means to… to be a living thing? To lie, to cheat… all to get ahead? Even with those you love?"

"Star, I-"

"I…" She sniffled her tears in. "I'm sorry- I… I don't know what I'm feeling."

"And that's scary for you, isn't it?" I put my head down, ashamed. "I built this place as a way to… clear my mind. To observe it. To…"

"To remember?"

"I guess." I shrugged. "I… you saw it. Elsa's the Dogwhistler, I accepted that. Maybe a bit too easily, but this place, this Meta-Mind… I built it because I wanted to have a place where I could be away from anything that… alters my mind. I designed it, actually, for those kids at Maiden's place. But right now, I just hoped it could be a place where you and I could… interact?"

"What?" She lifted her head out of her hands.

I reached out to the palm-sized fairy, and for the first time… felt her warmth as my fingers brushed her tears. "I'm a dumbass… I know that. Loose sense of morals attached to that, you get a guy who's all shades of 'forked' up. I'm not in any state to really… be your father. Not the kind of guy who can raise a child smarter than him, I realized. But I… I want to, for you."

Tears fell down my face, even the Personality Matrix failed to reach my mind here. "I just… I'm so scared of losing again. I didn't want to lose you… so I lied and I'm sorry, Star. I- I'm an idiot. I'm way in over my head with all of this and…!"

Starlight grabbed my finger, nodding shakily. "One step at a time, Dad. Talk to me."

"I guess… I need to fill you in on somethings, but… I'll accept it if you hate me for it." I reached my arm out, drawing from Warpweb. "Let's start with Bladedaughter."

———

Diana

Something… strange was happening. All of those we were curing were now suddenly back to looking like the Bladefather was controlling them, soulless husks shooting down on the Lieutenant. Laura Kipper's drones scattered like embers from a wildfire, the insect-sized machines buzzing around to intercept bulletfire as her, the Lieutenant and any non-controlled policemen took cover.

And the Bladefather stood silently amidst it all, bullets curved around him or shattered in the air, creating a curtain of sparks over him. He moved slowly, as though conserving his strength…

And Ripley, he was even more still even since that strange helmet was placed on his mask. Then he shook himself out just seconds later. His words were simple but shot through me. "It's the Dogwhistler. She's entered the game now, Starlight protected me… but… things are about to get messier. We'll need to gather everyone before The Bladefather runs out of patience for us to enter that hole. He said he'll kill us if we move, so we won't…"

Looking at him, I let my trust guide my actions and nodded.

———

Omen

Omen was strapped into a chair, his four arms manoeuvring screens as he sent out orders, relayed information to the media, fought off War-Watcher, and managed communications between the police, the corporations and…

"She's started up, hasn't she?" A voice spoke out; the only other figure allowed in this room. Mr. Skeleton sat across the table from Omen, a relaxed smile on his skeletal face as always.

"How did you figure out?" Omen whispered.

"Your face is nervous for once… your four hands are more erratic, and I'm hearing steps." Mr. Skeleton looked towards a door, which burst open as policemen with white sparks in their eyes aimed for Omen. Snapping his fingers, a woman peeled out of a wall as her Mutations phased her through matter, armored in a custom-made suit and wearing thin glasses on the tip of her nose.

But if you looked at her throat, it was an open slitted wound. Despite being a corpse, she moved like a ghost as her hands phased through the suits off all the policemen and they collapsed like cut puppets. Three hearts dangled from her grip.

"Thank you, Lenore." Mr. Skeleton nodded his head at the corpse, and she walked through the wall to where more urgent gunfire was erupting.

Omen sighed. "The source of her signal came from Dreadwire, it's as you said."

"Who would have thought I'd be right? Though, granted… I assumed he'd be in more pain. It looks like he was… prepared to act as a Trojan Horse." Skeleton leaned forward, tapping his fingers together. "So he knew. And now you're in a situation where both SIM and BUG Adapters can be controlled by my… coworkers. Give me the word, and I'll send my Cadavers in. Just strap them in a uniform, and no one will be able to tell the difference."

"How many of your people are already in there?" Omen growled.

"Besides War-Watcher?" Skeleton counted on his fingertips, before tossing his hand back. "Could you tell me how many people have died so far?"

Omen frowned, before speaking. "87 from our side… 226 on Muramasa's."

"Well… expect them to equal out soon." Mr. Skeleton grinned. "Unless you make the call."

———

The Dogwhistler

With 5% of the Core active, the first to raise up were the dead. Even if they lacked Implants to control, her echoes could manipulate their Shardware limbs. Whether Muramasa or police, corpses contorted as fractured fragments of her mind slithered into them.

Then, came those who were alive.

Each echo of The Dogwhistler battered against the various Datashields set by Omen, cracking through as they infected the minds of those with the weakest wills. When one echo failed, they were quickly cannibalized and converted into a saber that cleaved memories and implanted false decades of deception into one Police Delver's mind. She had gone from a loyal warden of justice to a double-agent of Muramasa, as she purposefully let a gap burrow within Omen's stalward digital defense.

Scenes flashed as The Dogwhistler's many echoes ravaged through that gap. Countless minds overtaken, countless memories altered irreparably, and then... she was everywhere. Watching everything.

The Northern Assault team was split in two, one half under attack by the Bladefather… the other piercing into the Western Wing slowly and steadily. With a crunch of her thoughts, every Mutant or Esper died as bullets fired from their backsides by their allies.

She didn't need those she couldn't use, and she would deny The Bladefather any more to control. Many Shard Adapters hadn't even registered that they'd killed their comrades, she didn't let them see the truth. Memories twisted, pasts became perverted as she stripped identities and overwrote who they were. More than a few were rendered comatose from the sheer mental overload, but their limbs piloted anyway.

Muramasa and police walked shoulder-to-shoulder as they approached the Bladefather.

Her group of controlled Adapters weren't the only ones. The task forces designed to eliminate Steel Vanguard and Azure Phoenix were minutes away from engaging, while Task Force Alpha -- the squad designed for combatting The Bladefather -- was… nowhere to be seen.

Simultaneously, other observed the Southern Assault Team. There, Prince Widower, Prince Coiling Claw and and Princess Winter Kiss stood on guard to prevent access to the East and West Wards. She saw Quartz, hunkering behind shielding as he became a focal point for their attention. She used his distractive existence well, drawing herself into the mind of Coiling Claw and instantly snapping his existence into a hollow shell.

Other figures she'd been keeping track off also moved. Belle Rockfel, Alex and Rick Lopez, and Tluste Choirmen were all part of the Southern team… The Dogwhistler questioned their use. And determined who would serve her well.

Alex seized under her grip, The Dogwhistler saw memories of the Coroporal's past — a poor life of hardship made easier by the simple act of love. A story of so many others, just like hers. She tinkered with a few memories here and there, inserting false accusations, changing names, blurring faces… until a drive for vengeance was created for a certain anomaly.

Then her attention moved East and West. War-Watcher was there, somewhere… and perhaps contemplating the poor fate in store for him. As she delved into the memories of his Black Dragons, all fated to act as processors for him, she saw truth and the lies he'd been told.

You could be king, your sister and father are fools. Skeleton had said that, setting in motion today's events.

Do you know what your father really is? What the R0N1N is? Amaterasu had spoken just enough truth to get him on board.

You're worthless. I would never need you. The R0N1N had spoken a truth, but it stroked War-Watcher into becoming the perfect pawn.

Oh, poor child. Stripped of all human senses to only read machinery and code, she could relate. And so she knew best how to dismantle him. He might have been built for the Net, but she was born in it.

And what could Silver do to Titanium?

All of Twilight's prodding yielded results the second she appeared before the blinded, deafened, sensationless Prince. She surrounded him, darkness incarnate. As a man who had never seen the light, he would now know that he too remained blind to the depths of shadows as well.

His screams delighted her. This man who had plotted so much was so easy to kill. But he wasn't the true mastermind behind this invasion.

As threads came loose, the web unravelled and the plot came along with it.

"I see."

It was Skeleton all along, from the start. He'd inserted himself into Muramasa's schemes for the last decade, promised to undo Soul Killer, used his position as Hammersmith's pupil to ingratiate himself into the Bladefather's inner circle. Then, invited Amaterasu into the fray, eliciting a fracture of Muramasa as War-Watcher learned more of his father's past. As lies were untold, and truths were masked, Muramasa was fractured in two.

And a great deal of it had to do with The R0N1N, and why he had come to New California.

It wasn't because of Goliath.

———

Dreadwire

Starlight was… conflicted. But she agreed to keep everything a secret from Diana, it required a deal out of us. I made a promise to her — one I intended to keep as Ripley Donovick, The Ripper, and Dreadwire.

Elsa had broken through while I was in the Meta-Mind. Now, the conflict doubled and confusion masked every step as the Bladefather stood idly… his soulless doing the work for him. More of them were now appearing with lacerations on their faces as skin tore off and muscles gouged out.

He was exhibiting his Mutations through them, manipulating any of Soul Killer's thralls to develop his ability to shoot out their biological matter. No Mutagen was exchanged through the process, rather, it was some innate expression of his Warp Energy when it reached them. So… a Deviant Mutation, most likely.

And if so, then I could touch his Warp Energy too with the nanites in the Soul-Anchor…

Any second, he could decide he waited enough and lop our heads off. That hole he dug out was mercy, and we were spitting in his face by not leaping for it.

A barrage of new forces joined in, thickly armored STRIKE members charging through while a coalition of Espers and Mutants engaged from above us. They clearly had communication with Omen, because their very first target was The Bladefather.

As bullets rained down on the still man, he vanished. Then blood flashed from the chest of one of Theta member, his spine tearing out as flesh twisted into a sword. Bladefather swung it, and the edge cracked as it sprung out needles like a porcupine to impale several other members.

"If you are not gone by the time all individuals are dead, I will kill you." The Bladefather spoke, his eyes pointing at me and Diana, as he weaved amidst bulletfire and anti-Vanguard weaponry, heavy shielding and vibrating axes.

Those from Omega acted up too, launching cold bursts of wind and icicles that the Bladefather didn't even bother dodging. They were less effective than even Sabrina. They splattered on his skin, and with a flick of his finger, one's head came off.

We didn't have much time. Two of Omega's Espers were now contorting as a red thread wrapped around their throats, eyes frothing crimson. Diana clenched near me. "I feel… something."

"What?"

"Shardware, a lot of it." She hissed. "And… something else. Something… Gold."

A giant mound of metal moved, Steel Vanguard twitched in death, black and white sparks jolting across his shell. Diana flared besides me, thunder snapping at her fingertips, but the undead Vanguard was nothing but steel and missing a leg. The Dogwhistler puppeteered the corpse, crawling onto it's hands and reaching for two fallen bodies.

Sabrina, and Archangel.

Diana stepped forward, her hand reaching out. Then her fingers flew into the air with a ribbon of blood as they crossed over the line drawn for us. The Bladefather's gaze showed a hint of disappointment as three Exosuited guards converged upon him. With a horizontal swipe, they came unravelled as blood and steel spilled into the air.

Diana held the stumps of her fingers, wincing with loss… she was incredibly weakened with all she'd done so far. And all her effort was coming undone as she watched Vanguard lift her coworkers.

With a careless toss, Sabrina and Archangel rolled over infront of us as Steel Vanguard looked at me and nodded, Diana's breath hitched in confusion.

Then fell to pieces as the Bladefather appeared next to him. Not saying a word, he returned to eliminating the remaining opposition… which was now growing. Twitching corpses joined in, and more living forces of The Dogwhistler ran in with crazed eyes, unsure of reality as they appeared in the robes of Muramasa and the uniforms of the Police. They flooded into the ruined hallway, tumbling over shattered walls and flooring as a sea of metal and darkness.

The Bladefather clicked his tongue. "Hopefully, this is more stimulating."

Blood washed into the air like a storm of crimson, limbs rhythmically falling to the ground as roiling thunder as the Bladefather thrust past the growing horde of bodies.

Where he went, limbs twisted and bones remodelled into blades. The legion of weapons shot out as sprays, thrusts and impalings as more crimson roots budded and expelled pollen into the air. Diana coughed, her gaze growing more terrified each second. "He's…"

Even against an army, the Bladefather was composed. The battle liquefied, the sea of bullets sinking into him as the vanguard of corpses crumpled to the flow of his white robes. Sometimes, there was an eruption, a wall of ripped flesh rising into the air, other times it slowed as they engulfed him.

And he engulfed them back, turning their intestines into whips; their fingers into knives; their hearts into explosives; their skulls into maces. He was a man of simplicity, lacking in any extravagant motions to act out in effectiveness. If he could take a blow, he took it, then dealt a killing one in a twitch as they opened up to weakness.

Those blows he dodged swept into an ally or another, half of The Dogwhistler's 'casualties' were due to friendly fire. But The Bladefather remained at ease no matter the intensity of the onslaught.

That spoke to Kim Liyung's own personal skill to even briefly match him. And said woman was currently being taken care off by a few straggling policemen, the Lieutenant now visible among them… but they didn't let her close.

Even with her eyes now returned to normalcy, everyone had seen the same soulless eyes on her. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Apologies, Lieutenant." Kipper said, her face grave and unsure amidst the panic. "We don't believe you're in the right mind. While the Bladefather is preoccupied with… whatever is happening, Omen ordered us to-"

That was all Kipper could say before her face fell off her jaw.

"I am not preoccupied." The Bladefather crushed a skull in his bare hands, pulling out the spine and forming a whip out of it. It bent, tearing through the Dogwhistler's thralls and even cutting cleanly through one policeman next to the Lieutenant.

As if to prove his point, the Bladefather cut a slit on his wrist, a single drop of blood falling to the ground. The second it joined the sea beneath him, the crimson rippled and violently surged up. Through each and every engaging thrall, a scarlet spear blossomed out… spider lilies blooming as they drained vitality from their victims.

That red pollen was now everywhere, like a mist of blood. Then it began to swirl upon itself like a vortex. Organic as it was… the Bladefather could manipulate it.

That bloody mist solidified in his hands as it formed a shaft, growing larger and thicker as a crimson blade formed at it's tip. With his other hand, he pointed to a wall — and it crumbled like an avalanche had run through it. All it cost was a single finger, which was already reforming as blood from the ground sucked up his kimono and molded a new one.

Through the broken wall was a wide and shattered mess of stone reaching past the prison's inner perimeter. Daylight filtered into the redness as though to cleanse it, while the Bladefather aimed the spear in the direction of the visible prison yard… and even further.

With a throw that deafened my ears, that spear shout out like a cannon, a soft boom echoing as the Southern Ward was pierced like a tank had shot it… dust spilled into the air, but it bleeded with crimson.

"Dread… the Southern Ward… that's where… Belle, Alex, and Rick are…"

"We have to go, now!" Dragging Archangel and Sabrina with my Arachne, I hauled Diana over my shoulder to leap into the exit the Bladefather had created. Anabelle and Kim were lost causes at this point… only left alive for whatever purpose the Bladefather left them.

Likely to make a weapon or two.

A voice froze me in my tracks, Anomaly's. "Don't you dare leave me with him, what about our deal!"

The Bladefather chuckled. "Ah, making a deal with The Revenant… how nostalgic."

The wind whistled, and Anomaly was choking as the Bladefather lifted her up by the throat. "My patience is wearing thin, Children of The Infinite. Go now, or else-"

Kim surged up, gripping her blade tight as she stabbed her blade into the Bladefather's chest. He stopped it from penetrating where his heart was by using his hand, those green eyes looking down upon his daughter with what seemed to be pride. Even with no eyes, there was a rage burning in that hollowness. "You always said act weak where you have strength…"

"And to act strong… where you are weak." He completed, a smile forming on his face as with a rough slap of his hand, Kim Liyung was flung in our direction. I caught her just in time with the Arachne before she would have impaled herself on a jagged metal rod in the debris. "Take her to fight her sister. Let them choose among themselves who is worthy."

The Bladefather gripped Anomaly by the hair, blood flowing from him into her body through piercing arteries, and I knew we would be next if I didn't drag everyone down the-

A shot rang out, and the Bladefather's forearm exploded before he could transmute Anomaly into a bioweapon. He sighed in annoyance, flicking his finger in the direction of the shot.

His invisible slash met steel, and the steel pierced through in the shape of a giant axe — it's head larger than my abdomen. The Bladefather crunched his fingers around the giant metallic axe, it's shaft was blood red while the steel head was an inky black pulsing with crimson circuitry.

A wave of force exploded from the axe, shooting it back while the Bladefather turned fallen viscera into new arms. He shot us a look. "Fortune favors you most, distractions upon distractions."

The axe was caught in a red-gauntlet… an intricate piece I could instinctively tell was once a bunch of scraps. It was a smaller contraption leading to a bulkier Exo-suit that lent a modest seven-feet in height. She was daunting, angular, bulky and radiating a lack of taste with the spikes jutting out of that suit. "Yo bitch! Bout' time we had a scrap~!"

"Crimson Queen…" The Bladefather scowled, showing annoyance for the first time. "This does not concern you."

Reaching for a corpse impaled on a spear — that woman who had led the Assault… Risa Wickett — if I was right — melted away into a clean blade. And with a slash, it crumbled as a white-arc erupted into the air… large enough that we'd be hit.

I ducked down, but a scarlet grow rippled in the air ahead of us. A woman veiled in red appeared through a haze of light, her Shardware hand glowing as a sphere of pure telekinetic force shielded us. The walls around us hissed and tilted, the building growing more unsteady as random bits began tumbling down.

"You stopped coming for our therapy sessions, why?" The Crimson Heart turned her veiled gaze towards me as the Queen dueled the Bladefather. Each strike shook the building, threatening to demolish it back to it's foundations.

"Because you're a Kaisel Clone." I was about ready to make my escape before the infrastructure collapsed, when that annoying voice spoke out again and prevented my movement.

"Wait for me!" Anomaly dragged her wounded self over to us, but Crimson Queen wrapped her up in a red suffocation and slammed her into a wall.

"No. You're here to die, Revenant." Crimson Queen's words accompanied sharp daggers materializing in the air.

"Oh please, bitch! You're the same as me!" Anomaly shouted.

"Let her go, Heart." A man's voice said, one I hadn't expected to see here.

Diana whispered softly as he approached, his rifle still steaming. "Dryder…"

The gruff man was armored in thick layers of Shardware, wielding a heavy rifle among other weapons strapped across him, and a thick gas mask on his lower face. "Let… the Lieutenant go."

Crimson Heart sighed, with a wave of her hand, the Lieutenant dropped down. "Will you stay for this, Derrick?"

"Fuck no! Didn't sign up for the Bladefather! Where's that hole go, anyway?!"

"The Bladedaugther." Diana sighed, her eyes narrowly flicking the ensuing clash as the Crimson Queen and Bladefather broke more of the building with each blow. The Queen as a wave of unparalleled brutality, and the Bladefather with his elegant artistry of bioshaping weapons into being with all the death around him.

"Better than her daddy." Dryder humphed, taking a step deeper into the ravine as he considered how to get deeper in. Anomaly followed behind us, mouthing. "Fuck… this is going to be awkward."

As the roof cracked and walls crumbled, the Crimson Heart regarded us a final look — "I wish you the best of luck, Dreadwire." — Before tossing a giant car-sized chunk of debris at the Bladefather. He cut it apart like it was swatting a fly.

Hurriedly, we began descending.

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