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    Natalie’s bloodshot emerald eyes stare back at her from the mirror. Her chest burns. The towel slips from her head and her hair falls into her face. She glares at the streak of white dye. A resolution begins taking shape at her fingertips—they find their way into the drawer beneath the sink and re-emerge clutching a pair of scissors. She plucks the lock of white hair, pulls it taut and presses the scissors to where it meets her scalp. Her heart races. She grits her teeth.


    She groans, expelling a held breath, and pitches the scissors across the bathroom. They clatter against the floor of the shower. She sinks against the wall and buries her face in her hands. Her body is heavy and sluggish. A weight pours from the back of her mind and drapes over her shoulders. Why did it have to be you…? She sighs.


    Ding! Ding! A bell tone pulls her out of her own thoughts. She stands. “Coming!”


    She pulls on a loose pair of sweats and a t-shirt, then approaches the door. She taps a panel and the smooth, silver sheet slides up into the top of the door frame with a hiss. Kokona spills into the room, clutching a plastic bag full of takeout containers.


    “Heya! You weren’t answering my messages about lunch, so I figured I’d drop in!” She pauses. “Damn, you look like hell…”


    Natalie looks away. “Kokona…look, now’s not a good time…”


    Kokona smiles at her and holds up the bag. “Nothin’ a few barbeque skewers can’t fix! Come on!” She sets the bag on the desk and plops down into the beanbag. She sighs. “I really oughta get myself one of these…” She glances around. “And you really need to come shopping with me some time. If you’re gonna insist on staying here, you really oughta at least make it look nice.” Natalie shuts the door and drifts over to the bed. She sits down, crossing her arms and staring at the floor. Kokona is silent for a moment. “Still eatin’ at ya, huh?”


    It’s been three weeks since the explosion. The resulting sinkhole had wiped out most of District 43, displacing thousands of people. The Scissors denied any responsibility for the attack. The assassin called “Feng” was nowhere to be found in the aftermath. The only trace he had left was a small pocket knife with a carved handle depicting a wolf and its pup. The mother wolf had been clawed out and the blade was scored several times with one word: HATE.


    Natalie shifts further onto the bed and pulls her legs to her chest. She buries her face into her knees. “He was right. It’s my fault.”


    “C’mon, that’s not true—”


    “Yes, it is. None of this would’ve happened if I’d…” Natalie’s voice trails off. “Just forget it.” She leans against the wall and looks out the window past her shoulder. Neutroville is shining in the summer sun. “Have you guys found anything yet?”


    Kokona shakes her head. “Like Nobunaga said, your brother’s a ghost. Now Urbino is denying ever having him on their payroll. Our contact said they’ve completely erased him from their records.” She leans back in the beanbag. “Well, we did find one thing. That’s…actually part of why I came here.” She reaches into the takeout bag, produces a neat folder of papers labeled “CONFIDENTIAL”, and tosses it onto the desk. Natalie stares at it.


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    “What’s that?”


    “Lab report,” Kokona says, “on the syringe you mentioned your brother stuck himself with in your debrief. It took some digging, but we actually recovered it. Turns out it was an old experimental medicine used to treat Collapse Syndrome. It was banned before it could leave the testing phase.”


    Natalie’s eyes narrow. “What for?”


    “Well, at first they thought it was a miracle drug. It showed great results when it came to suppressing, or even reverting the effects of Collapse Syndrome. That was in the short term.” Kokona leans forward and rests her chin on her hands. “In the long term, it actually made the condition way worse. Patients became volatile and violent, their condition worsened faster, making them reliant on the drug. Out of forty test subjects, none survived.”


    Natalie’s gaze falls. “And my brother’s been using it…”


    Kokona nods. “Working theory is that Urbino was supplying it to him, as part of his contract. But, without any kind of evidence linking them to it, and without the records of him ever working for him, it’s all just empty conjecture.”


    Natalie’s head hangs. “It’s my fault…”


    “Stop blaming yourself—”


    “Who else is there to blame?! Him?! He was right! I abandoned him. I turned him into that monster.” Natalie hammers the sides of her head with her fists. “I’m a failure—a pathetic excuse for a sister.”


    The bed squeaks as Kokona settles herself at the end of it. “Not in my eyes. You left to make a better future for him, Natalie. You made a difficult decision for his sake. That sounds like something a good sister would do. You can’t control how he chose to handle it. His crimes are his own, not yours, so stop beating yourself up.”


    Natalie sighs. The tension and weight in her chest slips out on the breath. She looks back out the window, a new feeling forming in the corner of her heart. “What now?”


    “Nobunaga’s been deployed on some secret mission…something not even I’m allowed to know about. So I’m trainin’ the new girl—Michele. You should join us, some time. I think you’d get along with her.” Natalie says nothing. Kokona plucks at the coarse blanket, then stands. “I’ll…leave you to your thoughts. Just wanted to drop by, check in on ya. I’m here if you ever need me, okay? Just shoot me a message.” She starts for the door.


    “Kokona.” She stops. “Can he be cured?”


    “Natalie…your brother’s been labeled a terrorist by P.U.S…I’m not sure—”


    “Can he be cured?”


    Kokona sighs. “It’s…hard to say, really. That drug is really bad, Nat. Like, really bad. I’m not sure any of our treatments would be effective.” She’s silent for a moment, then turns. “There’s…one option, though. I know this girl…former P.U.S…she runs this place called the ‘Astral Sanctuary’, where she treats people with Collapse Syndrome. I’ve seen this girl work some real miracles. I haven’t heard from her in forever, but…look, if anyone could treat your brother, it’s her. I’ll send you her contact info.”


    “Thanks, Kokona…”


    The panel chirps. The door hisses open. “Don’t mention it.” The door shuts behind her.


    Natalie sets her eyes on the crest of Komos Tower, hardening her gaze. “I’ll find you, Kayce…” she whispers. “I’ll save you…”