《Rewired Saga》


 Prologue/Chapter 1

    <u>Prologue</u>


    In an airport, a young girl stepped out of an airplane as holograms of advertisements tried to pull her attention. She clutched a beat-up-looking teddy bear, its ears almost ripped off and hastily stitched together. She wore an old shirt with similar rough stitches, the misspelled words on the front of it marking it a counterfeit, despite the accurate image of the cartoon figure below the words.


    She was a tiny thing. Her skin was a dark tan, and her hair was long and curly, the black color so deep it seemed to shimmer in the light. Her thin arms tightened around the teddy bear as she looked around the bustling airport.


    An advertisement called out to her. ¡°Hello, sweetheart!¡± the blue-red image of a cartoon duck cried. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get your mom to take you to the world-famous Machitou Airport toy store!? All the toys you could ever want, like-¡±


    The tiny girl stepped away from the duck, wincing.


    ¡°Layla,¡± an older woman with dark chocolate skin wrinkled from decades of smiling, walked up behind her. Her palm had a small device in it that projected a hologram into the air. The image faded as she closed her fist. The woman smiled, her teeth shining. The young girl stared, fascinated by their brightness. ¡°They¡¯re on their way. You ready?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The black woman sighed, her smile fading just a bit, before it returned.


    ¡°There they are!¡±


    She snapped her head around to where the woman was pointing, her chocolate eyes staring openly.


    Three people were coming towards them. A Caucasian woman, Asian man, and Asian boy a little older than her. All were dressed in very nice clothes, though the boy had a black eye that made the small girl wince to look at.


    The woman of the group gasped, hands rising to her face. She came forward almost too fast, the small girl flinching. When the woman saw she hesitated, the man rubbing her shoulder gently.


    The woman came forward. The young girl stared at her as the woman kneeled down, the man and the boy hovering just behind her.


    ¡°Hi sweetie¡­¡± the woman¡¯s voice was soft. She slowly brought her hands forward, taking the young girls hands in hers. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    ¡°...You¡¯re my mommy?¡±


    The tiny girls eyes were wide. Her voice almost cracked as she spoke, filled with the hope of a child.


    The woman sprang tears from her eyes, clutching the young girls hands almost desperately. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! I¡¯m your mama.¡±


    The young girl stared at her. Then she smiled.


    The woman clutched her close, the tiny girl almost disappearing into her tight yet gentle hug.


    Layla was smiling, crying just a bit. Over the womans shoulder, the Asian man moved forward and shook hands with the black woman, saying something before the woman walked away from the four of them, smiling.


    ¡°Come on, sweetie,¡± her new mother clutched her close, rising up and walking away with her. ¡°Let¡¯s get you home.¡±


    ¡°Any chance I can hug her too?¡± the Asian man said. He looked serious, but gave Layla a quick wink that made the young girl giggle.


    ¡°Not a chance,¡± the woman joked. Layla played with the woman¡¯s beautiful golden hair.


    They came to a nice car. Not a hovercraft, but still very shiny. The woma-Mama, finally let go of her, gently placing her in the back. She placed a palm on Layla¡¯s cheek, the girl leaning into the feeling of warmth for a moment.


    Then everyone got into the car and the Asian man began driving.


    In the backseat, Layla clutched her teddy bear and shyly looked at the boy. His black eye looked so painful, purple at the edges.


    ¡°H-Hi¡­¡± she said to him.


    The boy didn¡¯t answer. Instead he reached into a pocket, his knuckles red and raw looking. After a moment, he pulled out something. Then he finally turned to look at her.


    He looked so serious. Was he mad at her?


    ¡°...I¡¯m Yun.¡±


    He held out his hand and placed something in her lap. A pink piece of candy. He didn¡¯t smile, but he gently patted her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m your brother.¡±


    Layla¡¯s smile was bright as the sun.


    <hr>


    Chapter 1


    <u>Yun-Seong Kaneda</u>


    I rushed after him from the rooftops as he ran down the alleyway, dropping from the six-story building to meet him.


    One arm snapped out, the familiar hiss of gas coming from my wrist. A whining sound filled the air as the metal line shot through the air, the magnet on the end of it attaching to a wall. Neon light shone down while the engine on my back whined a bit, reeling back the line through the rig going along my arm.


    All my downward momentum was converted into forward movement, swinging instead of falling.


    I shot through the air, getting pulled along at high speed. With a small flick of my wrist, the magnet on the end deactivated, the line getting pulled back to snap back into place.


    Just like that, I was in freefall. The humidity of the nearby ocean slipped past me as I dropped towards the alleyway below me. I landed in a roll, slapping the ground before snapping to my feet and rushing forward again.


    He was still running. For such a big guy, he could move pretty quick, his old bomber jacket waving in the air behind him.


    I paced myself, letting him lead the way. We crossed a street, neon lights shining down from above. A set of drones flying by moved into formation to make the images of a variety of advertisements.


    As my target pumped his fat arms, delivery guy on an old scooter almost ran into him.


    For a moment, when he hesitated, I thought he¡¯d come to his senses. Instead he booked it across the street, into the next alley.


    I moved around the scooter driver and followed. I tapped my watch, an dual-holo one with red and black to it. I spoke into it while running.


    ¡°Coming your way.¡±


    He moved deeper into the alley ahead. I knew what he was thinking. If he could make it into the next street, he could catch the eyes of a cop. They wouldn¡¯t be able to catch me, but it would keep me away from him for another day. He passed a dumpster. The lights of the next street shone on my face. His pace hurried.


    A small figure landed on him from above.


    ¡°UGH!¡± he screamed, landing on the rough pavement.


    The small figure rolled to her feet. She was a couple feet shorter than me, her blue-green hair pulled up into buns that gave her a couple of extra inches. Cybernetic lines on her cheeks, the bridge of her nose, and her throat shone in the light, and the smile she gave me was wide and infectious.


    ¡°Got him,¡± she grabbed the larger man and lifted him up, pushing him face first against the wall. ¡°Dan, what the hell are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Running, what do you think,bampot!¡± he said in a harsh Scottish accent. His black hair was filled with sweat, his five o¡¯clock shadow covered in bits of oil. He spun around and swung at her.


    I grabbed his fist and shoved the overweight man back. He slapped back against the wall, glaring at us. ¡°Damnit, Dan, you think we want to do this?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, then stop, damnit!¡± he scowled at the both of us. ¡°Layla, I used to look after you when yer parents went to work and Yun couldn¡¯t sit. You¡¯re really going to shake me down like this?¡±


    At that, Layla flinched, her smile fading. I pushed forward before he could guilt trip us further.


    ¡°Dan, we came after youbecausewe know you. Sam wants his money, and he was going to send heavy hitters after you. You want to be running frombampotswho want to hurt you, or you want to talk with us?¡±


    ¡°The fuck is the difference?¡± he leaned back against the metal behind him, glaring between us. ¡°I don¡¯thaveSam¡¯s money.¡±


    I stared at him for a moment. He glared back, challenging. His right eye was an old cyber unit. I¡¯d seen it back when it was new. Now it was scratched up, the light in it buzzing infrequently, and the grey steel around his pupil contrasting with his green left eye.


    But he was telling the truth.


    ¡°Dan¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help my disappointment.


    He flinched, losing a bit of his edge. ¡°Goddamnit. Would have been better to get jumped by Sam¡¯s boys. Rather than have you pity me.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t pity you,¡± Layla said softly. She was a bad liar.


    Dan rubbed his face. ¡°...I¡¯m supposed to get his money in a week. He tell you what to do to me if I can¡¯t pay?¡±


    ¡°Send you to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Ha. Yeah. Fair enough.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ we don¡¯t have to-¡± Layla began to say.


    ¡°Yes you do, girl,¡± Dan smiled sadly. ¡°Okay. Do your worst.¡±


    Layla looked up at me, her eyes shining with sadness. I felt the same way.


    I swallowed it down, and stepped forward. ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯m gonna do enough to bruise you. But nothing irreparabl-¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up and hit me.¡±


    Fair enough.


    I raised my arms. The sound of flesh being beaten filled the air for a moment. I tried to be quick, but it still felt like forever. Beating on someone who is trying to stand still for it is¡­ sickening.


    When it was over, Dan was on his knees. He spat out blood. The palms of my hands felt a little painful. I watched for a moment, not looking back at Layla.


    He coughed again, then struggled to his feet.


    ¡°Can you walk?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to,¡± more red shone on his teeth, and he swayed. ¡°Can¡¯t have you be seen helping me there.¡±


    I clenched my fists, then unclenched them, the movements feeling heavier than normal. I felt like I¡¯d¡­ broken something. Not on Dan. Something beyond that, between the three of us.


    Layla and I stepped aside. He struggled away, hissing in pain. We watched him for a long time, until he turned the corner.


    ¡°...Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    She didn¡¯t answer me. Just raised her hand. A line snapped out, attaching to the roof above before she was pulled up into the air. I watched her gracefully flip around before firing her line again and swinging off. I followed with a heavy sigh, watching as she flipped around like a hummingbird in the air.


    It would be worth it. Had to be.


    For now. Avoid the cops. Head home. And get some rest. Then do it all tomorrow.


    <hr>


    The first time I entered Machitou City was at night. I was flying overhead in a plane next to my , just 11 years old and still bruised up from my last fight. When we dropped out of the clouds and approached the Austrailian Coast, I think my jaw dropped. I thought the city was the most beautiful thing I¡¯d ever seen. A whole splash of neon across brilliant white and black buildings, blue lights shining alongside them, small drones flying across the landscape. All of it set against the ocean.


    I still thought the city was beautiful even now. Magnet line hopping gave me a view that only rich corpos got in their fancy hovercrafts. Whenever I was pulled up above the city and felt the line loosen up, flying over the neon set against a black background, it was like I was eleven again.


    Then I¡¯d feel gravity take hold. Pull me back down into the city. Still neon, but no longer set against black. Instead it showed the Slums in all their ¡®glory¡¯. Dark streets, cracked concrete filled in by pale white, rusted steel, and the smell of old garbage going back centuries.


    I landed on a roof and rolled forward to distribute the impact. Then I looked upwards.


    She was there. Flying overhead, mid-flip. Layla really was amazing. She treated magnet lining like an artform honestly. I never really got as into it as she did. For me, the magnet lines were just a way to move around quick. I fired a line, it attached to a building, and I got pulled forward. That was it.


    Layla was different. When she used the mag-line it was like seeing a bird in motion. I watched her almost float down towards the city, then back up as her line pulled her back, her body twisting into the air in a spinning burst of speed.


    That was my sister. Poetry in motion.


    She landed next to me, smiling. ¡°Hey. You taking a break?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Nah. I just want to walk home. Mom doesn¡¯t want us going through the window again.¡±


    Layla frowned. ¡°Oh. Right¡­ Yeah, okay.¡±


    I knew she was disappointed that we couldn¡¯t just keep magnet lining. Still. Better this way.


    We walked over to the stairs. I flipped my hoodie on and placed my hands in my pockets, keeping my gaze low. Side by side, we entered the Slums. Home.


    The bazaar was open. Then again, when wasn¡¯t it? In between the massive forest of skyscrapers above, the whole place was alive and bustling.


    Layla skipped along next to me, her turquoise hair glowing in the neon lights. The smell of food filled the air from the outdoor food stalls we passed, oil and cooking vegetables mixed with the rare smell of fish and meat, though the scent of rot and garbage joined it, the combination of sweet and sickly scents giving the air a heady feel.


    My sneakers sank just a bit too deep into a puddle, and I winced at the cold feel of water soaking into my socks. We passed by a building with pink light coming out of the door, some of the working guys and girls giving us a friendly wave. They knew we weren¡¯t buying, but they were still good folk.


    A police hovercraft floated just above the ground in front of the old ramen restaurant. Layla and I stayed close together as we walked past it, my eyes catching sight of the officers inside eating. We walked quickly.


    At the edges of the bazaar, the sounds of music filled the air. Layla gravitated towards them.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    An older man and woman sat back to back on a concrete platform. Well, I say platform. It was supposed to be a fountain, but it was missing that critical ingredient, water. So instead, it was a platform.


    The man was beating on drums while the woman strung on a guitar, singing gently. While the mans only cybernetic was his brass-colored jaw, the woman¡¯s arm was robotic, split in two at a set of hinges in the center to be able to play the dual strings. She gave us a grin, her eyes spinning briefly to focus on us.


    ¡°Layla and Yun! What are you two doing out so late?¡± she asked as Layla raised a hand and brought up her watch.


    ¡°Oh you know, stretching our legs,¡± Layla joked as she tapped at the image floating over her watch. I noted her sending the pair some money to their accounts, and their watches lit up with notifications.


    I wanted sigh. Damnit Layla. We didn¡¯t have much to spare as it was.


    Rather than commenting on that, I continued walking.


    ¡°Oy, kid,¡± the man grunted at me, still beating his drums. ¡°Too good to say hi?¡±


    ¡°Never,¡± I said back. ¡°Just need to head home. Have a good night, Raz, Damon.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± the man, Damon, waved me off, while Raz grinned, sharing a conspiratorial look with Layla.


    We walked away from the bazaar.


    ¡°...Are you mad at me?¡± Layla mumbled when I refused to look at her.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much.¡±


    ¡°Neither do they.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean we can give away what we have. It¡¯s good to help. But we can¡¯t do it if we don¡¯t help ourselves first.¡±


    ¡°Raz has payments to-¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a grown woman, with a husband. She doesn¡¯t need help as much as you-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯tneedhelp.¡±


    I shut my mouth. We continued in silence as the Slum began to darken. This far from the richer part of the city, there weren¡¯t any advertisement holograms. A few signs and posters here and there, but nothing that needed maintenance.


    It was almost peaceful. Almost.


    I heard them before I saw them. There was the sound of heavy boots on concrete. I stopped. Layla adjusted her shoulder and I heard the sound of her magnet line powering back on.


    They came towards us. Four of them. I lowered my hoodie and looked around briefly. Make that six, two more were coming from behind. Two women and four men, all older than us. One matched my height and outweighed me by a bit. I kept him in my peripherals, but also noted the woman with the wrapped fists and a magnet line of her own.


    Magnet line tech wasn¡¯t exactly rare, but it was tough to use without experience. She clearly had that experience.


    ¡°Hey you, Yun,¡± the one with the heavy boots chuckled as they surrounded us. ¡°How¡¯d the job go?¡±


    ¡°It went.¡±


    ¡°Went?¡± he laughed again. ¡°Damn, you really are an unfriendly shit.¡±


    ¡°Is that what we are? Friends?¡±


    ¡°Well, we both work for Sam, don¡¯t we?¡± he stopped, letting me see his familiar face in the light. Long purple hair. His eyes had been removed, replaced with a singular large ocular blue one in the center of his smiling face. ¡°How about work acquaintances?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯tworkfor Sam,¡± Layla snarled. ¡°You know that, Manuel.¡±


    ¡°Could have fooled me,¡± he looked between us. I kept myself quiet, leaving my hands open. I didn¡¯t bring my wraps with me. If I had to hit someone, I¡¯d do it with open palm or elbow. Couldn¡¯t take the chance they didn¡¯t have partially chrome skulls or ribs.


    ¡°So you get the money out of Dan,cholo?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± I slid a foot back and aligned myself, pretending to crack my neck to get an excuse to pan my eyes across them. The little guy in the back was shaking. His hand was also behind his back. Knife maybe. ¡°Manuel. You ain¡¯t getting anything out of us.¡±


    ¡°Nah, nah,¡± Manuel stepped forward. ¡°I kinda need that from ya. See, you poached that job from us. We were supposed to get that Scot asshole.¡±


    ¡°Then why¡¯d Sam give it to us?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe he felt sorry for your cripple sister.¡±


    Layla turned her back to face mine, her hands loose but ready, eyes on our opponents. We waited. Manuel rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t kill em.¡±


    The others hesitated. He snarled. ¡°What is the matter with you!?¡±


    ¡°I mean,¡± the little guy flinched when Manuel glared. ¡°It¡¯sKaneda.¡±


    Did he mean me or Layla? Either way, that was good enough for me.


    ¡°You piece of-¡± Manuel began to snarl.


    I moved in immediately. He who strikes first sets the tempo. Something my first master taught me. Any idiot whose talking isn¡¯t ready for a real fight. Something my current mistress taught me.


    Manuel flinched, kicking out at me. I sidestepped it and kicked at his other leg''s knee, my shin smashing into it with a satisfying feel.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± he fell back, but not far enough to avoid the tomahawk elbow to his collarbone. I followed up with a knee to the side of his chin, sending him to the floor.


    Then the guy my own size moved in, his fists raised. I quickly stepped aside as he approached, forcing him to step with me and keeping him between me and the little guy, all while trying to keep the wrist wrap girl in my peripheral vision.


    The angle also let me keep an eye on Layla and the two behind me, a scarred black man and a heavily muscled woman.


    I felt a ¡®woosh¡¯ of air as Layla¡¯s snapped out her magnet line, then was pulled into the air. She twisted around as the magnet line released, grabbing it and spinning it like a makeshift whip to wrap around one of the guy''s arms. She let the motor pull her in, coming down in a kick as he yelped.


    The guy stepped aside, barely dodging. She landed in a roll, twisting to spin around him, her line wrapping around his body. The woman tried to punch her and Layla ran towards her, sidestepping one way, then the other to dodge the overly large fist.


    At the same time Layla jumped into the air to unleash a spinning kick, I raised my hands up, palms forward, with my left foot forward, in Muay Thai stance. The man I was facing moved forward and jabbed outwards. I parried it off one arm, noting the painful feeling of metal hitting against my elbow. I brought the arm with my magnet lines rig forward. When he jabbed again, his chromed out fist smacked the metal rig along my forearm.


    I kept my hands high, leaving my ribs open. As I planned, he took the bait. He jabbed, I blocked, then a right cross went for my left ribs. I messed up. He was faster than I expected. A hard metal fist smashed into my ribs. I moved with the blow, ignoring the pain of it. His cross opened up his guard.


    My knee shot out, smashing into his hip. The blow threw him back just a bit. I saw the woman with hand wraps approach. The little guy with the knife was circling around. I had to move quick while he was still open from punching me, his face leaned forward.


    I snapped my palm out to meet that face, feeling the brutal crunch of bone crunching under it once more. Unlike with Dan, this time it was very satisfying. He staggered, and I followed by twisting my hips to launch a quick knee strike to his ribs. Fully off-balance, he tried to hit me with a haymaker. I stepped into it, letting the fist fly past my head, and smacked my palms into his ears, grabbed the back of his head, and pulled down as my knee lifted up, smashing his already broken nose.


    He fell back, but I was already forced to weave around a punch. Then another and another. I¡¯d been right to be worried about the girl with the handwraps. She wasn¡¯t just prepared, she was fast as hell.


    I began blocking quickly, then dodging, sending out my own jabs. Out of the corner of my eye, I continued to monitor Layla¡¯s fight.


    She used a spinning kick to drive back the woman she¡¯d been fighting. The guy who she¡¯d wrapped in her line tried to get out of it. Layla pulled in her line, drawing him in at speed. His face met her palm, her fingers wrapping around him before pushing him down and into the ground, his head bouncing.


    The woman she¡¯d been fighting leaped towards her, kicking Layla in the shoulder. My sister rolled with the punch. The woman tried to follow.


    Then my sister was up in the air, the woman grasping at nothing. My sister had leaped upwards with the aid of a line, twisting in the air to bring both feet down into the womans back, smashing her down.


    As Layla was fighting, I was still dealing with the fist-wrapped girl. She dodged and weaved a bit, tapping my fists to drive them away from her. I parried her own jab, took a fist to the face when I misjudged her reach, and quickly covered up.


    Then I felt pain in my left shoulder. For a second, I thought I got punched. Then I felt the pain.


    ¡°Got him!¡± a reedy voice shouted. A cold feeling twisted in my shoulder.


    ¡°GAAAAH!¡± I screamed. The small guy I¡¯d been keeping an eye on had struck. He¡¯d take the time I¡¯d been distracted to stab me in the back.


    I twisted around without thinking, grabbing him by the back of his head, then headbutting him in the nose. He shouted in shock and pain, then my elbow slashed across his cheekbone, my palm drove the breath from his lungs. I finished by grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up before smashing him into the floor.


    The woman I¡¯d been boxing tried to move in, but Layla came in with a leaping kick, forcing her back. I joined in, ignoring the pain of the knife in my shoulder to throw my fists. The woman backed away from us, Layla moving around me to unleash kicks, while I forced the woman to focus on me. Very quickly, her defense broke down.


    She was good. Damn good. But I low kicked her in the calf, Layla came in with a Superman punch to the side of her, and I drove my elbow down into her left collarbone with a crack of sound. Sensing weakness, I moved in-


    ¡°Enough!¡± the woman hopped back, raising her hands up. She grimaced, eyes hard. ¡°Damnit, enough¡­ You win.¡±


    Layla and I eyed her for a moment. Her face had a bruise on the cheek. Her shoulder was limp and I could tell it was taking all she had to keep that hand up. She kept backing away. After she¡¯d gained some distance, she turned around and fired a line, shooting off into the sky. Even with her wounds, she still got away quick.


    I kneeled down, grabbing at my shoulder. ¡°Fuuuu-¡±


    ¡°Yun!¡± Layla moved over to me, hovering her hands over my shoulder.


    ¡°Jane¡¯s!¡± I grit my teeth and forced myself to my feet. ¡°We need to get to-¡±


    Layla pushed me. A loud booming noise filled the air followed by an impact on my arm. Manuel was on his feet, holding something out. A gun. A simple, very primitive, but solid-looking, handgun. I felt my magnet line rig shatter into metallic pieces. Manuel had tried to kill me!?


    Layla moved fast as lightning, her foot snapping out to kick the gun away while he tried to line up a shot on her. The gun went off, Layla hissing in pain, before she followed with an axe kick to Manuel¡¯s head.


    As he fell, I stared at Layla¡¯s side, where a thin red line had torn across her ribs. The bullet grazed her. If she hadn¡¯t kicked it aside¡­


    ¡°A gun!? Seriously!?¡± Layla shouted, kicking Manuel in his ribs. Panting, she looked over it. So did I.


    Guns were damn near illegal in Australia. Had been for a while. It was insanely hard to get a legal to sign off on them. High-level corpos had teams of people with them, but a handgun like the one Manuel had didn¡¯t just appear in a slum kids hands.


    And yet, here it was.


    I staggered over to it, wrapping my hand in a portion of my jacket and grabbing it by the barrel. It took me a second to figure out, making sure to keep the hole end pointed at the ground, but I finally got the magazine out of the gun and a bullet out of the chamber. I staggered over to Manuel and tossed the gun onto him.


    Then I stared at my magnet line. Broken. Again. Damnit.


    I reached into Manuel¡¯s pockets. After a moment, I found his wallet and took out his cred chit, a small golden device the size of a business card. Taking a hold of one of his hands and pressing one of his thumbs to it¡¯s fingerprint reader, I unlocked it and transferred over some cash to the nearest open recipient. In this case, me.


    Noticing Layla watching, I shrugged, indicating my magnet line. ¡°I need to fix this thing.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not complaining,¡± she walked over to me as I stood and we began walking, the sharp pain in my shoulder making me hiss. ¡°Mom¡¯s going to be pissed that we¡¯re late again.¡±


    ¡°Then she¡¯d be a hypocrite. Besides, we need the meds.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± we walked together, heading deeper into the city.


    <hr>


    Author¡¯s Note:So uh¡­ original fiction. Tough prospect to recommend to folk. Fanfiction is easier to draw people in with. Hopefully, you guys are down for the ride.


    This is a Cyberpunk story. It takes place in a world where I wanted to combine elements of cyberpunk with ancient mythology and old fighting game tropes. This particular one follows Yun and Layla, a pair of siblings trained in martial arts, both adopted, one without cybernetics, one with some. The main goal of the chapter was just to introduce them, as well as the idea of them being somewhat competent fighters, and the whole magnet line thing. There are several types of personal transport in this world that kicked off as technology, but the cheapest will be magnet line. As well as the most ludicrously dangerous.


    I¡¯m hoping this goes well. For now, let me know what you guys think of the¡­ extremely sparse offerings you see


    Next chapter will be on my Patreon.

 Chapter 2

    In Machitou, there¡¯s a couple of places I consider safe. Places where cops, corpos, gangs, all can¡¯t touch them. They can come, bluster, shout. But as long as we were all polite, then we were protected.


    The bar owned by a man named Jane was one of them.


    Layla and I approached the bottom of a large structure in the center of the forest of skyscrapers around us. The old building had once been a nuclear reactor, from before the discovery of pneuma and aether. After it had been decommissioned around fifty years ago, it had been cleaned out entirely and left at the center of what would later become the slums. Then Jane bought it.


    Well, I say bought. To hear him tell the story, he won it in a Tengan Match to the death. But the name of the person he claims to have fought changes everyday, including outright champions. We all ribbed him for it, but the point was, Jane owned the bar, and no one caused trouble there if they could help it.


    We stumbled into his beat up old bar, through the old plastic swinging doors, walking across the rubber mats and random carpet he¡¯d placed on top of the concrete floors. Everyone bustled around. In a corner the chrome addicts would gather and compare their parts, one of them opening up their chest so a friend could help them with a tech issue.


    Over by the pool tables, the old timers smoked cigars or e-cigs while joking together. A couple of fancy-looking guys from downtown were flirting with a quartet of Aztec guys and girls. One girl, with arms replaced by fake stone arms, giggled, giving us a wave as we passed.


    At the bar front, Jane himself stood mixing drinks. The bar used to be a set of control panels. He¡¯d hollowed it out and slapped some fake wood across it, putting drinks in where wires and buttons had once been.


    The man himself was short, and overweight. He had red hair pulled back into a ponytail, an old denim vest over a red shirt, and a large scar across his eye that seemed to dance every time he laughed. He glanced at us as we approached.


    ¡°Oy. You two here to loiter again?¡± he scoffed. Then he blinked at the sight of a handle in my shoulder, scar dancing. ¡°Odin¡¯s beard kid, what the hell?¡±


    I leaned against the bar while Layla pulled over a stool. ¡°Can we get your aid kit?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± he turned and grabbed a big box out of the makeshift shelf behind him. ¡°Fucking hell kid, you need to go to a hospital!¡±


    ¡°You know why that¡¯s not an option,¡± I grumbled. Jane moved around the bar, waving away Layla only to see the graze wound on her side.


    ¡°Lay, what the hell?¡± he opened up the box and moved behind me. ¡°Okay. Pulling it out on three. Ready. One-¡±


    Pain.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    ¡°Language, brat,¡± Jane mumbled, tossing the knife onto the bar counter. Everyone ignored us as he began disinfecting my wound, the sting of it drawing a hiss from my lips. ¡°Who stabbed you?¡±


    ¡°One of Manuel¡¯s crew,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°Manuel? Thought that stupid asshole was leaving the city.¡±


    ¡°He must have missed the memo.¡±


    Jane scoffed. I felt a piece of cloth rub against my shoulder, followed by a pinch as a needle entered my skin. ¡°Give me a bit and I¡¯ll help you out with your cut Layla. Help yourself to a sandwich or two.¡±


    ¡°Yessss,¡± Layla hopped over the bar, grinning as she opened up the fridge and started pulling things out. I watched my big eater of a sister make herself a positively titanic sandwich.


    ¡°How the hell did you get that anyways?¡±


    ¡°Manuel shot at us.¡±


    Jane¡¯s hands froze on my shoulder. ¡°Shot at you? With what?¡±


    ¡°A gun.¡±


    "Kors I r?ven!" he let out a Danish phrase I wasn¡¯t familiar with. ¡°Are you kidding me? Where¡¯d he get something like that from? Is Sam giving his boys heat now?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Layla spoke for me, her first sandwich gone. ¡°He came at us with a big group.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Neither of us answered. Guess that was an answer in itself. He sighed.


    ¡°You pair of narhats,¡± a cold sensation filled my shoulder. He slapped some tape on top of it, then gave me a gentle tap on my head. ¡°Dumb kids. What are you doing working for Sam again? His boys are no joke. Should I tell your parents? Hell, I¡¯ll let Claire know.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I raised a hand to my watch. After a bit of working on the screen while Jane moved behind the bar again, I sent over the money I¡¯d taken from Manuel to Jane. His bar computer let out a notification sound, and he blinked at the amount I¡¯d sent.


    ¡°Damn. That¡¯s a lot of cheddar. Guess Sam pays at least.¡±


    I didn¡¯t correct him. Instead I took off my magnet line and placed it on the counter, a few pieces falling off. ¡°Just let me leave my magnet line in your printer for the night to get fixed.¡±


    ¡°You broke that again!?¡± he whistled. ¡°Hell of an eventful night.¡±


    I eyed him for a moment. His scar danced as he chuckled and took the magnet line in hand. ¡°Alrighty. Keep in mind, the old girl is running a little legal, so she might take a few tries.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get a hacker to break it again?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Should be getting a guy in. She¡¯ll get fixed, just don¡¯t expect any new ill shit to come out of it,¡± Jane looked between us. ¡°...Kids. You shouldn¡¯t be dealing with shit like this. At your age you should be going to coinkas. Feeling up brats and shit. Not getting damn stab wounds.¡±


    Layla shrugged, a bowl of ice cream in her hands now. ¡°We don¡¯t have much choice though.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit,¡± Jane rubbed his face, sighing. ¡°You¡¯re going back to school after the summer right? I can talk to Sam. You¡¯ve got your whole lives to do stupid shit, but at least wait until your balls drop.¡±


    ¡°Ewww,¡± Layla squished up her face in disgust. I got up from my seat, wincing a bit, then nodded at her. She came around the counter after dropping her empty bowl in the sink.


    ¡°Like she said. We don¡¯t have a choice. Please take care of my magnet line.¡±


    With that, I began walking off.


    ¡°You need to work on your exits! Goddamn narhat!¡±


    I ignored him. Jane had been paid and I could trust him to fix my line. In the meantime. Home.


    <hr>


    When Layla and I got to our apartment block, we entered the elevator. I leaned against the wall and stared idly at the screen at the back of it. An advertisement was playing. Layla sat down against the wall next to me and watched along.


    It was for a convention in a few months. Lots of big names in major media, as well as some folk from the indie side, streamers, cosplayers, vtubers, comic book creators, that kind of thing.


    An image of Bella showed up. A world-famous v-tuber some people thought was an ai. Blonde with pigtails and blue eyes, she was adorable. Her digital form was grinning while hugging a small bunny. I had a fond smile on my face at the sight of her. And honestly, the other folk coming to the convention.


    In a life of hardship, it was nice to see people coming together for something as simple as loving fictional universes. Or maybe I was just feeling sentimental.


    Then Layla sighed, resting back a little more loosely. I looked down at her. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ just tired. Parts are feeling a bit raw.¡±


    The elevator opened up on the 4th floor. Apartment blocks like the one we lived in were rarer in the world now. The one we were in had been built back in the 2070¡¯s and made to provide safe housing for the poor. Didn¡¯t work out.


    Cheap, cramped, concrete and steel, tall as hell, and constantly breaking down. The floor we lived in was supposed to have a walkway, another planned building going through it to allow people to cross the street. The project failed. Now we just had a big ass hole going through the center, rusting metal hanging in the center of the large clear space in the center of the building. The courtyard below had some folk smoking and eating at busted metal tables, the smell of cooking yakitori coming from the stall that was always open down there.


    We walked past our ¡®neighbor¡¯, a guy who¡¯d taken a spot in the middle of the hallway, resting inside a tent made of cloth and tarp. He was asleep, but his dog perked up at the sight of us. I scratched his ears and continued on.


    Our door was 43. I put my hand against the door and waited for it to read my fingerprint¡­


    ¡°Is it broken again?¡± Layla asked after I¡¯d been standing there awkwardly for a minute.


    ¡°You think?¡± I said with more sarcasm than needed. I removed my hand and went to pound on the door to try and get the damn thing to work, only for Layla to catch my fist.


    ¡°Hey!¡± she hissed. ¡°You want mom and dad to wake up?¡±


    Ah. Right.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just try again, huh?¡±


    She quickly moved forward and gently placed her own hand on the door. For a moment, it didn¡¯t seem to work again, but finally it opened.


    ¡°See, we just¡­ oh.¡±


    I sighed as the door finished swinging open. ¡°Hi, mom.¡±


    She must have been awake awhile. Her blonde hair was pulled into a rough ponytail, dark bags under eyes. The smell of coffee was hanging around her. Mom looked between us, then stepped aside.


    ¡°Kitchen. Now.¡±


    I didn¡¯t argue, just walked in after Layla.


    Calling it a ¡®kitchen¡¯ was generous. It was more like a counter with a sink in it. We had a toaster oven that I had to keep fixing, but nothing else to cook with.


    Mom pointed at the rickety plastic table, where two plates rested. Two blocks of kelp protein, steaming potatoes, and some charred slices of onion with butter on everything. Not 5 star, but still filling.


    Layla kissed Mom on the cheek. I gave her a hug. And we sat down. She dropped across from us, looking exhausted. She always was nowadays.


    ¡°...You okay?¡± I asked, not eating just yet.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± her blue eyes were soft. ¡°Yun, Layla, where were you? You were supposed to be home an hour ago.¡±


    ¡°Things¡­ got a little hectic.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t just ¡®get hectic¡¯. You need to call me. What, did you get lost leaving the arcade?¡± she leaned forward. ¡°We have to talk to each other¡­ Okay?¡±


    I eyed my mom for a moment. Ever since she¡¯d adopted me, then Layla, I¡¯d watched this proud and happy woman slowly get beat down by life. Over and over, someone who least deserved it, getting hit until she could barely stand.


    My nod was quick. She didn¡¯t seem ready to let it go, but sighed rather than continue. Then she looked over at Layla, who had finished her food. ¡°As for you. Have you been keeping up with your Pneuma shots?¡±


    ¡°Everyday.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ that¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Are we running out again?¡± I asked.


    Mom smiled softly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, okay? Dad and I will take care of you guys. Just stop worrying us.¡±


    ¡°Okay mom,¡± Layla said.


    She got up and kissed us on the head, walking over to her room. ¡°Good night. See you in the morning.¡±


    I watched her go, and sat back in my chair.


    ¡°...I haven¡¯t used any Pneuma in a week,¡± Layla admitted.


    I already knew that. ¡°You should.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t buy more yet.¡±


    ¡°Your chrome is gonna start running out of power if you don¡¯t recharge it.¡±


    ¡°I barely use it nowadays-¡±


    I got up and walked over to the lockbox in the corner of our living room. It was the size of a textbook, and opened with my thumbprint. Inside, tubes of violet and white liquid rested. Only three left. No wonder mom asked. I grabbed one and tossed it to Layla, her hand snatching it out of the air. She scowled at me, placing the tube on the table.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°Sam is paying us tomorrow. We can afford it. Just inject it, please? For mom and dad?¡±


    Layla pouted. But after a long bit of glaring between us, finally she reached behind her neck and opened up the port there. I¡¯d gotten used to seeing my sister open her neck up to reveal the small hole within. She took the tube and snapped it open on one side. Then she pressed it against the port.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    A sound like gas hissing filled the air. Her eyes dilated, and I watched the glow of violet-white begin to glow beneath her skin. The Pneuma flowed across her, highlighting her cybernetics as it sank into her body. It was both beautiful and disturbing, watching that stuff enter and flow through her.


    After a while, she tossed the empty tube aside, gasping.


    ¡°Feel better?¡±


    ¡°It never ¡®feels¡¯ good. Just hot and itchy around my chrome,¡± she rubs at herself for a bit, sighing. ¡°Okay. Your turn.¡±


    When I raised an eyebrow, she laughed. ¡°Eat your food. I¡¯ll see you in the morning.¡±


    She got up and walked to her room. I stared at my kelp meal for a moment. I hated kelp protein. It tasted super fishy to me. Wasn¡¯t supposed to with how they spiced it, but-


    Whatever. I needed to eat. Tomorrow was gonna be a big day.


    <hr>


    <u>Layla Kaneda</u>


    I woke up to my internal alarm buzzing in my head. Not literally. It was a false sensation, like a phantom pain, but all over me, a vibration. I got up and looked around.


    My room was really just a thin cot and a desk, but I¡¯d done my best to make it my own. Lots of stickers on the cement walls, some posters of Son Goku and a few of my other favorite heroes stuck on the wall. I rolled to my feet and sighed.


    Yun was snoring in the other room. Anyone who knew him wouldn¡¯t believe he could snore like that. He was so stoic sometimes. But after a few hours, he¡¯d start to sound like a chainsaw. The thin walls didn¡¯t help.


    I got up and changed from my pajamas to my workout gear. The chainsaw sound stopped when I was putting my sweatpants on. I tossed some of my other clothes into a bag and put my watch on. When I left my room, Yun was leaving at the same time.


    He looked tired. He always did nowadays. I looked away from him, but I think he noticed my worry.


    ¡°I¡¯m good. Just need some food.¡±


    ¡°You wanna get some yakitori before we head to Claire¡¯s?¡±


    Yun gave me a soft smile and nodded.


    We headed out. Mom and Dad would be working, mom at wherever the temp agency sent her, dad at the junkyard he worked in now. Hopefully we could see him later? I missed him¡­


    Side by side, we headed out into the city.


    <hr>


    Claire¡¯s Gym used to be a mall. That was a long time ago, but people still shopped in the smaller stores. She¡¯d bought it up after the big place got emptied and bombed out in the aftermath of the Cyborg Rebellions.


    Now a place that had once been full of clothing stores, food courts, and giggling teenagers shopping, was full of weights, boxing rings, and¡­ well, still giggling teens, but they were working out and sparring too.


    It was built at the borders of the slums, suburbs, and downtown. And people from all across the city and country visited it. The place was famous. Old school weightlifters walking next to people wearing AR goggles that made them feel like they were walking through a forest or running across the stars.


    But mostly, it was full of fighters.


    Almost everyone fights in Machitou. Almost everyone Yun and I know anyways. I remember when I was a kid and Yun first walked me into this place. The smell of sweat, the sight of bodybuilders opening up their arms to readjust their cybernetics, the sight of people entering the VR suites to fight in massive fake battles.


    I was a kid from a Morrocan orphanage. I¡¯d never seen anything like it. It was terrifying.


    Now it was home.


    A big fist flew at me. I ducked down and spun on my right foot, my left one spinning out towards Yun¡¯s face. He blocked the kick on his arm, and my other foot lifted off the floor to hit next to my left one, smashing through his guard.


    Instead of letting me kick him, he ducked down and let my second leg fly over him, then punched up at me. I blocked with my arms, wincing as I was briefly juggled in the air before landing and snapping out a small punch that he parried away. I kicked again, then stepped from his punch, backflipping to make some room.


    I think I had a dumb grin on my face. I couldn¡¯t help it! Fighting was just so¡­ fun.


    Yun and I were in the middle of a VR suite. One of the older ones. The holograms around us flickered and buzzed, so the experience kinda sucked, but at least we didn¡¯t have to pay for this one. For 20 minutes at least.


    We were in a face bowling alley, one of those ones from the 80¡¯s. Or the 90¡¯s. Or the 10¡¯s? Bowling alleys really didn¡¯t change that much back then.


    Point was that it took the look of an empty bowling alleyway, one of the free simulations that we could use. I liked it. It had lots of room, plenty of random stuff for us to interact with, and it didn¡¯t shut down as much as the Japanese shrine did.


    I jumped over one of those weird things that bowling balls came out off and put it between me and Yun, jumping off a table to come flipping forward. The exhilarating feeling of gravity pulling at me as I came down in a flipping ax kick made me want to scream with joy.


    My foot sliced through the air and smashed into Yun¡¯s shoulder. He winced as stepped aside, letting my foot continue down to crack into the floor, cracking the mat. He raised a palm and uppercut me.


    Shoot, I left myself open. I barely blocked his palm strike on my crossed arms, getting sent through the air like I got fired out of a cannon.


    I love my bro, but he¡¯s way too damn strong for someone with no chrome. I flew back into the wall behind me and tried to get my feet against the wall so I could jump forward and attack again.


    A fist was in front of my face. I snapped my head to the side before his punch could knock me out, the sound of wood cracking filling the air behind me. I kicked him in the stomach just to get him back, not able to get any real leverage to give it any power.


    He stepped into it instead of backing away, grabbing me by the neck and holding me against the wall. His other hand snapped out. I winced.


    His knuckles stopped at my nose. ¡°...Well.¡±


    I opened my eyes with a sigh. ¡°Yeah. You win.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re getting faster,¡± he let go of my neck and I landed on my bare feet, bouncing just a bit.


    ¡°Not fast enough. You still have more wins than I do,¡± I watched the bowling alley disappear into a flickering wave of false light, replaced by the empty concrete and mat covered room.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been fighting since I was eight, of course I beat you more times,¡± Yun said with his dumb logic. ¡°You win more often than not now.¡±


    Barely. Only because I got enhanced. I felt good about my chrome. It gave me a real life. But I sometimes felt like it was cheating. Without it I was a coughing mess. With it, I was faster and stronger than ever. I won before, but our fights were closer now, and it made me feel like¡­


    I pushed aside the thought to breath deeply, feeling my body cool down again. ¡°Go again?¡±


    ¡°Not right now,¡± Yun cracked his neck, standing tall and slowly calming down his breathing as he dripped sweat. ¡°We should lift a bit. Besides. We¡¯re out of time.¡±


    A loud beep filled the air and Yun¡¯s watch shone, my internal hud giving me the same message. ¡®Session Over.¡¯


    ¡°Damnit,¡± I sighed, walking next to him. ¡°I wish we got more time. Or could use one of the shinier ones. Did you hear that Claire added a program with one of those old Grimdark battlefields? We could spar in the middle of a war!¡±


    ¡°Who would want that?¡±


    I pouted at him. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡±


    Yun shrugged. Out in the main gym, more people were roaming around or pumping their muscles on the various machines. High above, some of them were hopping around the parkour obstacle course, sometimes landing in the net when they slipped.


    ¡°You going up there?¡± Yun asked me when he saw me watching a girl flipping around on a pole to backflip through the air.


    ¡°Maybe. I just-¡±


    ¡°Oy. Layla. Yun.¡±


    I stopped and winced. Uh oh. Yun was more calm, but he still stopped with me. We both turned to look at the person who shouted at us.


    Claire Koenig. Our current sensei. She was a little shorter than Yun, but tall for a woman, with tight muscles that her tank top and yoga pants showed off, her abs glimmering with sweat. Her pink hair was cut into a punk style that made her look tough and pretty all at once.


    She also had her sword at her hip. She¡¯d probably just left teaching her HEMA class.


    ¡°Hey teach,¡± I said as brightly as I could.


    Her green eyes looked between us. She looked very serious. I gulped.


    ¡°I heard you got shot at.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a dirty lie,¡± Yun said casually. Claire raised an eyebrow then looked at me. I rubbed the back of my neck.


    ¡°And you¡¯re working for Sam.¡±


    Neither of us spoke. She sighed, placing a hand on her hip opposite of her sword. ¡°What the hell are you two doing?¡±


    ¡°Working out,¡± Yun turned and started walking. I winced.


    ¡°Yun,¡± Claire¡¯s voice stopped him. ¡°I¡¯m not finished. Come on.¡±


    Her voice brooked no argument. She turned and started walking away. I followed, Yun coming along. She¡¯d done a lot for us. For me. So yeah, we followed her.


    Her office had once been a clothing store, one of those high-end ones that people paid a months rent to get a shirt in. Now it was a big open space, with an elevator in the center down to Claire¡¯s personal gym floor. She sat at the big armchair next to the elevator, looking between us.


    ¡°Do you know how many of Sam¡¯s people come to my gym?¡±


    ¡°A few, right?¡± I said. Yun didn¡¯t add anything. ¡°I spar with Cherie sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Cherie is one of two people who work with that piece of shit that I¡¯ll actually let into my gym,¡± Claire scowled. ¡°And she¡¯s a special case.¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s hot?¡± I joked. Claire smirked but became serious again.


    ¡°Because she¡¯s earned it. Anyone else who goes to work for that gangster, I kick out.¡±


    Yun stiffened. I wanted to say something, but when I opened my mouth, Claire tapped her sword¡¯s hilt. I shut up.


    ¡°You both have better reason than the rest of Sam¡¯s group for working for him¡­ Just know. He¡¯ll fuck you over. It¡¯ll come out of nowhere. You¡¯ll pay for it big. So watch your asses. Be ready for it.¡±


    ¡°...Is that why you let all the other gangs workout here?¡± Yun asked.


    Claire scoffed. ¡°The Aztecs, the Norse, the Triads. Anyone who work for them in this town have to just to make a living. I can understand that. No one joins a gang just for fun. Glory, pride, family, money, sure. But always in search of something better. I don¡¯t mind helping them get stronger. Even those corporate a-holes that show up here to pretend and lift for their socials are worth a damn. But Sam made his trade turning on people. I can¡¯t abide by him. So go ahead. Make your quick cash off of him.¡±


    She leaned forward, sighing. ¡°But pay your debts and get out before he buries you.¡±


    I shuffled a bit. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ just until we get enough.¡±


    ¡°Promise me.¡±


    Yun and I shared a look, then nodded and looked back at her. ¡°We promise.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now get the fuck out. You don¡¯t get lessons with me until you¡¯re finished with Sam.¡±


    We left immediately. Claire had made it clear a few times. When she ended a conversation, that was that. No messing around.


    No lessons with her. That hurt. Ever since I was little, Claire had been there. She was someone I looked up to. She was like a comic book hero or something. I¡¯d never seen her lose a fight. Getting taught by her was so amazing.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be okay,¡± Yun mumbled as we left.


    ¡°Yeah. But I don¡¯t want to be ¡®okay¡¯. I want to be amazing.¡±


    He gave me a soft smile. ¡°Come on. Lifting.¡±


    ¡°Musclehead.¡±


    We headed out to the weights. Then, after that. Sam. And hopefully we¡¯d get paid.

 Chapter 3

    We left Claire¡¯s Gym and headed back to the slums. Sam never really kept a base. Not one we could find at least. Any time we met him, it was in his car.


    It rested in the slums next to Sam¡¯s favorite food stall, a Korean/Mexican fusion place. His car was a hover one. Nobody knew how the guy could afford it or the rare as hell licenses that let the megarich fly through the sky. As far as I knew, only the top Corpo folk could afford it. The people who counted their money in stacks taller than me, who owned more land than some countries.


    Sam was rich, but not that rich.


    Still, it was cool, and I was kinda bouncing as we approached it. It was sweet looking. Silver and red, shining in the light, made to look like one of those ancient cars from the days when TVs were used. His bodyguard stood next to the door, watching as we approached. I stepped up with a grin.


    ¡°Hey, Cherie.¡±


    ¡°Layla,¡± Sam¡¯s bodyguard grinned back at me.


    Cherie was awesome. She was wearing her usual studded leather suit and chainmail, looking like a lady knight out of medieval fantasy, right down to the two swords at her hip and the small knives across her body.


    The tall lady''s black hair was cut short, making it easy to see her cat-like eyes and the two claw scars across her right eyebrow and the bigger one slicing across her left cheek and part of her nose. She was so badass.


    ¡°He¡¯s waiting for you,¡± Cherie said casually, her British-accented voice calm. ¡°Don¡¯t need to repeat the rules, do I?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t carry weapons anyways,¡± Yun joked.


    ¡°Except for these,¡± I lifted my fists with a grin. Yun groaned, but Cherie smirked.


    ¡°Go on in there you brat,¡± she stepped aside while opening the car door and I cheerfully hopped in. Yun followed, then Cherie. The car lifted into the air on jets of fire. But I was more focused on the inside.


    It was plush. All soft and nice looking. I bounced on the seat a bit, enjoying the feel of gravity pulling at me and finding nothing.


    Cherie took a seat on one side, next to a weaselly and sweaty-looking guy I didn¡¯t recognize. Yun sat next to me. And in the middle, at the seat of honor, sat Sam.


    He was a fit guy, with long hair slicked back from his face, a square jaw, and eyes the color of old money. He looked between Yun and me. When he spoke, it was in the same British accent as Cherie. ¡°So. Based on the fact I haven''t gotten my money, I can assume good old Daniel was disinclined to pay me back.¡±


    ¡°He was,¡± Yun said. ¡°We beat him-¡±


    ¡°You beat him,¡± Sam said to Yun, but he was looking at me. ¡°Layla here helped you catch him, but not beat him.¡±


    I didn¡¯t ask how he knew that. But I kept from glaring at him as best as I could. I love fighting. Fighting. Not beating up someone who didn¡¯t deserve it.


    ¡°Still, you did as I asked,¡± Sam snapped his fingers. Yun¡¯s watch shone at the same time that my HUD gave me a notification that funds had been transferred to me. I felt some relief. The cash would be enough for more Pneuma for my implants, for some rent, food, enough to keep us afloat a bit longer-


    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± I snapped when I saw just how much we¡¯d gotten. Or how little.


    ¡°Your payment,¡± Sam said while baring his teeth.


    ¡°We did the job,¡± Yun said. ¡°We did it exactly like you asked.¡±


    ¡°I asked for you both to beat him if he didn¡¯t pay. Only one of you did. You should feel lucky I paid you at all for now following the rules of your contract to the letter.¡±


    Like hell! That wasn¡¯t fair. It wasn¡¯t how people did things in the city. We¡¯d done our part and he was cheaping us out on a technicality! The amount was what, half the rent?


    I almost got up, but barely kept in my seat. Cherie eyed me, then looked over at Sam. The skinny guy next to her gulped.


    ¡°...Fine,¡± Yun snapped out. ¡°Then drop us off here.¡±


    ¡°In a moment. I wanted to reach out to you with a proposal anyways, so this is a good chance for it.¡±


    A proposal¡­ this bastard. He cheaped out to force this on us.


    Sam didn¡¯t flinch at the look I gave him. Just kept his teeth bared, his eyes flashing blue beneath the green from whatever chrome he had in his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good job. Better paying than the one you had last time actually. Isn¡¯t that nice? Works out for all of us.¡±


    Yun and I shared a look. Yun nodded for me to speak.


    ¡°No deal,¡± I said immediately. ¡°Drop us off please.¡±


    ¡°If you want to leave, you can,¡± he gestured outside. To the tops of buildings were flashing past as we flew dozens of stories through the air.


    I think, on some level, he thought that was supposed to scare me. I shrugged, rising up out of my chair. It might be too high to risk magnet-lining for some people, but I could-


    Shit. Yun didn¡¯t have his line. It was still being fixed.


    From the way Sam was smiling, he knew it too. He leaned forward. ¡°Tell you what. Listen to my proposal. And I think you¡¯ll find it very promising.¡±


    ¡°...Well?¡± Yun said. I sat down again.


    ¡°A smash and grab, sonny. Simple as you like. I need a heavy hitter, I need someone with all their organic parts, one more who can bounce like a damn whirling dervish, and someone with cybernetics.¡±


    He pointed at us with his ring finger. ¡°You two kill all of those little dots on my checklist. Nice right? For once, Yun¡¯s idiocy becomes a benefit.¡±


    I wanted to hit him. Yun didn¡¯t even flinch, but that made it worse. People always ragged on him for his refusal to get chromed up in any way. Not even his eyes, or basic stuff like ports.


    ¡°So you have us. Who else?¡± Yun said calmly.


    Sam smirked at me before continuing. ¡°Cherie. She¡¯s my lead on this since I can actually trust her to get the job done.¡±


    Cherie crossed her arms, the sound of leather and metal scrapping against each other coming with the motion.


    ¡°And good old Poy here! You guys know Poy, right?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yun, Cherie, and I said in unison.


    The skinny rat-faced man started. ¡°Wha- I¡¯ve been working for Sam for years! Cherie, we¡¯ve done jobs together!¡±


    ¡°...¡± Cherie looked over at Sam in confusion. He nodded, though he also seemed like he was going to bust his sides with laughter. ¡°Sorry?¡±


    Poy seemed ready to shout before Sam coughed, bringing the attention back to him. ¡°Poy is my tech expert. He¡¯ll be working on getting you all into the place. As for the actual job¡­¡±


    He waved a hand. Lights shone from the ceiling, creating a rough holographic image. Very old school. Rich people preferred catoms, the little moving robots, nowadays, since they could actually be interacted with. Guess Sam wasn¡¯t as well off as I¡¯d thought.


    The hologram displayed somewhere very industrial looking, a large building with dozens of trucks driving into it.


    ¡°Redfield Corp. You slumdogs ever hear of it?¡± he didn¡¯t stop to hear our answer. ¡°Big up-and-comer. Made by a slumdog actually! Jan Redfield. Really bleeding heart type. We¡¯re breaking into her facility and stealing her stuff.¡±


    ¡°Stuff?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No idea what it is. Just something my client asked me to take from her,¡± Sam said cheerily.


    ¡°We refuse,¡± Yun said.


    That surprised me. Yun usually at least looked at me to check if we were on the same page for these things. Then again¡­ I got why.


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Sam leaned forward. He looked almost haunting for a moment. His green eyes had shifted to a deeper blue. A sign of his cybernetics working overtime? Why? ¡°I haven¡¯t even said how much you¡¯ll be getting.¡±


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    ¡°You want us to rob a corp,¡± Yun said firmly. He was almost glaring now. ¡°We¡¯re going to our final year of school next year. This isn¡¯t random beatings, it¡¯s not covering store robberies or fighting for turf. We get caught and we go away for life. Or worse, we get spun up in a virtual unit for a thousand years.¡±


    That last one was a rumor. Ever since uploading had been created, people whispered about that idea. That maybe the same tech that could send you to virtual heaven could leave you experiencing centuries of hell in a single moment.


    Sometimes you saw people. Walking along the road. Standing on corners. Leaning against walls. Stuck in a world of their own after coming back from prison. Maybe they were on drugs. Hopefully.


    Sam looked around. Cherie was calm, but Poy looked freaked out. The British man sighed. ¡°Look mate, I¡¯d be in just as much trouble as the rest of you if you got caught. So believe me on this. I wouldn¡¯t do this job if there was any chance of me catching flak for it.¡±


    A snap of the fingers and the hologram shifted. ¡°Now I know you brats have mostly done low-key faff, so I¡¯m going to hope you¡¯ve watched some heist movies.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Just listen, you bint. Now, look. Our entrance is an employee door here. One of the ones the workers leave through and enter every day, usually to take smoke and cocaine breaks.¡±


    The hologram displayed the door, the compass on the holo showing it was on the south part of the building, away from where the trucks entered the building.


    ¡°You go in, meet our person on the inside.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Cherie asked.


    ¡°A small-time accountant I believe. A guy who works on the paperwork and doesn¡¯t get paid enough for it. The right role at the wrong time as it turns out. Always go to those types when you need a traitor. They have just the right amount of permission and get just the right amount of disrespect when you want to pull someone onto your team. Our client did just that.¡±


    No asking who the client was. No fixer worth their salt would ever reveal something like that.


    Sam chuckled as the hologram shifted. ¡°From there¡­ well. Things will get interesting. But I can¡¯t exactly explain any of that if you aren¡¯t in.¡±


    Yun didn¡¯t say anything. I took over.


    ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°2.4 mils. Each.¡±


    Odin¡¯s beard.


    Two point four million? That was¡­ impossible money. That was life-changing. Even back when mom and dad had been working for the big wigs, that was what, two, three years of their salary? No wait, he said each! Between Yun and me, that was going to be huge!


    Sam chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s going to be worth your time, right?¡±


    ¡°No amount is worth losing our lives over,¡± Yun said.


    I took a deep breath. ¡°Can I talk to my brother? Privately, please.¡±


    ¡°Boy oh boy. All righty,¡± Sam turned to Cherie and Poy with a smirk.


    Yun and I moved across the car to get further away. Not something that usually gave real privacy, but Yun put some earphones in. I called him through my implants and just like that, we had our privacy.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need this,¡± Yun said immediately.


    ¡°We need this. Yun, we won¡¯t just be able to pay for normal things, we¡¯ll be rich! We can buy a place for mom and dad, we can go back to school. You won¡¯t have to worry about me anymore.¡±


    He stared at me long enough that I started to feel uncomfortable. When he spoke again I wanted to scream at how sad he sounded. ¡°You know we- I, don¡¯t blame you. We would have been in the same situation no matter what. You getting chrome was-¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± I snapped out, louder than I wanted. Cherie, Sam, and Poy looked over at me. Sam was smirking. I ignored them to focus on Yun. ¡°I know it wasn¡¯t my fault. I¡¯m not feeling guilty. But we have to take the chances we get. Keep moving forward.¡±


    Yun leaned forward. I felt nervous. This job¡­ even if Sam cheaped out on us again, it would still be enough money to change our lives. I knew he wasn¡¯t scared. Yun wasn¡¯t scared of anything. But he was worried.


    When he finally answered, my leg had been bouncing nervously. I stopped it the instant he spoke.


    ¡°Okay. Keep moving forward. You and me.¡±


    ¡°You and me,¡± I gave him a small smile.


    ¡°We¡¯re landing,¡± Sam said. He looked annoyed, almost impatient. ¡°I need an answer.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The British fixer grinned. Cherie smiled a bit. ¡°Fantastic! Well then. I suppose I¡¯ll give the rundown on the ground. You all have your parts. First things first-¡±


    As he broke it down, an indicator on my HUD was always in the corner of my vision. The status of my implants. Including how much Pneuma I had powering them. 98 percent. But always tickling down. Just living was costing my family. With this job, though?


    Everything could change.


    <hr>


    <u>Cherie Brefutan</u>


    Cherie watched the kids step out of the car after Sam explained everything to them. For a moment, she was struck by how young they were. It never occurred to her before.


    Yun was such a massive kid. He had a year of school left and he was already impressive in height and weight, outmassing a lot of grown adults. His normal stoicism made it even easier to forget he wasn¡¯t out of his teens. Then he¡¯d get a worried look on his face, or he¡¯d smile at his sister, and suddenly the Korean fighter looked his age again.


    His sister was easier about that. Cherie liked her. She was a bundle of energy, and fought like a bird, flying about. She was easy to joke around with.


    But now, that look of determination on her face as she left behind her brother made Cherie want to-


    The door slammed closed behind them. Sam laughed.


    ¡°God. Those two¡­ idiots. Honest-to-god idiots.¡±


    Cherie¡¯s face stilled. When Sam noticed, he scoffed. ¡°Oh please. Spare me, Cherie. I don¡¯t have your obsession with strays. Just do the job tomorrow, understand?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too short notice,¡± Cherie pointed out, rather than going over the old argument of Sam¡¯s treatment of people.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s blooming short notice! But the client gets what the client wants. Poy, how are we on equipment?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± the rat-faced man swallowed when Cherie and Sam looked at him. ¡°I¡¯ll uh, have the right stuff installed. As long as your man-¡±


    ¡°Person,¡± Sam said immediately. ¡°Anonymity is everything. As far as we know, there is no person on the inside. They have no gender, no race, nothing¡­ long as the check clears.¡±


    Cherie held back from rolling her eyes. What a drama queen.


    ¡°Right, person, on the inside. As long as they are telling the truth, we¡¯ll be able to go in.¡±


    ¡°And the exit.¡±


    Something about the way he said that made her frown. There was a weight to it. An insistence.


    ¡°Uh¡­ maybe? I¡¯ve never done anything like this before.¡±


    Sam scowled. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll work with what we¡¯ve got.¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you plotting?¡± Cherie asked.


    He smirked. Money-green eyes flashed with a bit of electric blue. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cherie. Gather your bits and bobs. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll all be rich. And if all goes well, we¡¯ll be even more than that.¡±


    Cherie bit her lip. Something about the way he said that. Her hand dropped to one of the knives on her waist, tapping at the hilt. Tomorrow¡­

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    <u>Yun-Seong Kaneda</u>


    The next day, I woke up bright and early. Always did, though Layla beat me to it every time.


    Today, I stared up at the ceiling. When a knock came at the door, I ignored it. He came in after a moment.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t answer.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I know you. You were up.¡±


    I leaned up and looked over at my dad. He was shorter than me. That was the first thought that came to me. I hated it. All my life, he¡¯d been taller than me. A giant, in so many ways. Then, one day I stood up and I just¡­ towered over him.


    He was still in pretty good shape though. His black hair was thinning but his black eyes were still sharp as he looked around my room for a moment.


    ¡°Hmm. You haven¡¯t added any posters?¡±


    ¡°Not much point. We¡¯ll move out soon.¡±


    We shared a look. Neither of us smile, but I think he saw the same amusement in my eyes that I saw in his. I reached for my watch on the old wooden table next to me and tapped it. A projection popped out of it, flashing a light across the room as the clock appeared in small holographic font. It was early. I had time.


    ¡°Going out again?¡± he asked idly. I saw right through it.


    ¡°I know you want to say more than that.¡±


    ¡°Not going to allow an old man to beat around the bush?¡± he said in Korean.


    The old game. I responded in Japanese. ¡°I never saw any need to do something like that.¡±


    He smiled. It was something we¡¯d done when we first tried getting to know each other. Trading our first languages and practicing English. One of the ways to try and break the ice.


    Then he hardened. ¡°You and Layla. You¡¯ve been out later and later. Coming back bruised. And unless I¡¯ve been told differently, you dropped boxing and rugby at school and she dropped gymnastics and trick dancing, so I know you both aren¡¯t practicing with the teams over the summer.¡±


    I said nothing.


    He moved to sit in front of my desk. I rose and sat on my bed. ¡°Yun, I know this wasn¡¯t what you wanted when you first moved in with us.¡±


    Dad put his hands together. ¡°Your mom and I. When we first wanted to get you two, we promised to protect you. Give you better lives. And I¡¯m sorry to say we failed.¡±


    A little rush of pain filled me. ¡°Dad, you know we don¡¯t think that.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to. I feel that way,¡± he rubbed his forehead. ¡°I can complain about how things ended up this way. About Tengan matches and overconfident bosses. Fucking baka,¡± he winced, realizing what he said. ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard curse words before.¡±


    Dad still looked regretful but continued. ¡°Point is, ever since the first time you gave us money for rent, I didn¡¯t want to ask too many questions. But you can¡¯t just expect me to overlook this. If the social workers find out-¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t find out anything.¡±


    ¡°-if they find out, the social workers will take you away. Maybe they put you back into the system, but I¡¯m guessing it¡¯ll be juvie,¡± he snapped. He leaned forward. ¡°I know you want to help. But I¡¯d rather we live a hard life, than risk losing you. You don¡¯t have to take risks. Just go to school. Train. You and your sister can have a future¡ªa wonderful one. So, please. For our sake.¡±


    I rubbed my neck. ¡°I¡­ yeah. I¡¯ll be careful. I promise.¡±


    ¡°Are you lying to me?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I lied again.


    My dad¡¯s foot was tapping slowly on the carpeted floor. Outside, the sound of fighting in the courtyard could be heard. Thin cement walls. Everything could be heard.


    ¡°Yun, come back home on time tonight, okay?¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± this time I was telling the truth. The job today was taking place in daylight.


    Must have been enough for my dad either way. He got up, rubbing his arms. Then he shook brief. His arms stiffened. His jaw slackened. I wanted to get up and help when I watched his eyes roll upward. But the free clinic guy said this was normal. So I just waited, trying to keep calm, as my father lost control of his body. When he came back to himself, he looked horrified.


    ¡°Sorry. The shakes, sometimes I-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, dad.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll see you later,¡± his fist shook. He clenched it tight.


    He looked tired. Same as mom. Both exhausted.


    I wanted to ask him questions. If he had luck finding a new job. If mom was able to get the promotion she¡¯d asked for. More, even more.


    My eyes caught the hole in his skull as he turned away. It shone silver in the light, under his hair¡ªa space as big around as two thumbs, with metal inside. I knew if I looked deeper inside, I¡¯d see the logo for his old company just above an open port.


    I closed my eyes. Today. Today we could fix everything. Just needed to get the job done.


    Locking the door, I opened up my closet. I tended to keep anything important in a plastic bin in the back. Which included my ¡®weapons¡¯. Really just a few things I didn¡¯t want to carry around if I could afford not to. Until I got shot at yesterday. Between that and the importance of today''s job, it was worth the risk of looking suspicious in return for safety.


    First, my jacket, a thick dark red plastic-carbon thing. Cheap, but durable. I¡¯d slapped some scrap into the elbows and forearms, sewing them in. It wasn¡¯t much, but it let my elbows hit people with chrome without hurting me. I put it on, grunting at the tightness of it. I''ve gained some muscle recently. Still, it would protect me.


    Then my pants. Old military ones, something from the Cyborg Rebellions. Big thick fake kangaroo leather, with enough room for me to add more scrap metal to the knees.


    After that were my gloves. Red as well, they had thick padding on the knuckles and reached up to my forearms.


    For my shirt, I wore a black compression shirt with a hole in the side. Light enough to offset the weight of the rest of my gear while still being durable.


    Finally, I grabbed a metal stick. It was a piece of steel about three feet long. Nothing special about it. But as an old teacher taught me, a metal stick is as good as a sword in the right hands. Every weapon is a stick with extra steps. Better than nunchucks at least¡­


    When I caught myself in the mirror I wanted to sigh. I looked ridiculous. I¡¯d need to stay out of sight of the cops since my elbows and knees were clearly armored. But hey, at least they were armored. Best I could do on a budget.


    When I left my room, Layla was waiting. She was geared up as well. Her white pants were baggy up to the knee to hide the armored pads on her shins and knees, the material going from baggy white to skin-tight purple at the hips to increase her range of motion. Her boots were a thick pair of violet leather with some padding on the top. Her white jacket was zipped up, hiding the plastic plate meant to protect her heart. Like me, her hands were protected by gloves, though hers were purple and thinner.


    Our ¡®armor¡¯ was pathetic. If we ended up depending on it, it wouldn¡¯t last long. But it was the best we could do. And if all went well, our fighting skills would carry us through where our gear failed.


    ¡°Mom talked to me,¡± Layla said.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°They still here?¡±


    ¡°Had to leave for work,¡± she looked uncomfortable.


    ¡°Second thoughts?¡±


    ¡°More like fifth ones,¡± Layla sighed. ¡°You think Sam is going to cheap out on us again?¡±


    ¡°No, Cherie is going with us. She¡¯ll make sure we get paid. And even if he cheaps out, we¡¯ll still be making enough cash to help mom and dad.¡±


    She perked up at that. I eyed her again. ¡°Not taking a weapon with you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just depend on my line,¡± she patted it with a smile. She¡¯d painted it. Violet, like a large portion of the rest of her clothes. Guess she was going for a theme. The magnet line hummed briefly at her touch.


    ¡°Then let''s go pick mine up.¡±


    She grinned and pulled out her earphones from her pocket. ¡°Music?¡±


    ¡°Always,¡± with a tap of my watch, a song began to play, something old school from the 2020¡¯s. I put in my own earphones and connected both sets of them to my smartwatch. Just like that, we were vibing.


    We walked out together. I bounced my head as we walked, listening to the music. The morning was still cold, so the walk was brisk. We passed by our tarp neighbor. He gave us a wave while his dog rubbed his head against my knee. I petted him and moved on.


    Downstairs, blood was getting cleaned off the courtyards. As we passed the yakitori stand, where one of the workers was wiping down.


    ¡°Any winners?¡± Layla asked him, nodding towards the blood.


    ¡°Just the cops,¡± he grunted. ¡°Think one guy died.¡±


    We moved on.


    After a long walk, we ended up at Jane''s. He wasn¡¯t working tonight, but my magnet line was resting on his back counter, along with other people''s stuff. Other repairs at a guess.


    I put it on and sighed at the feeling of the familiar weight of it back on my back and arm. I may not have loved lining as much as Layla, but I didn¡¯t enjoy being unable to go where I wanted when I wanted.


    Being stuck in Sam''s car reminded me of that. Knowing he could just toss me out and I¡¯d fall to my death.


    From there, it was off to meet Sam. Back into the air, feeling the chill of the morning rush past us, humidity leaving us soaked.


    I watched Layla fly overhead, zipping right through an advertisement hologram made to look like a gorilla roaring in rage while holding a tube of adhesive. Moving through the brilliant neon and rusted steel of the slums.


    It didn¡¯t take us long to reach our destination. The top of a building near the Industrial District. Not the official name of the area, but everyone called it that, what with the dozens of businesses that had built facilities there.


    The building in question was among the taller ones. We had to hop-skip our way to the top, using our magnet lines to attach, pull up, detach, then re-attach and pull up. By the time we got to the top my arm was a bit sore even with my harness taking most of the weight.


    Still, we got there. Sam, Cherie, and Poy were there, looking over the edge across from us. Along with one other person.


    Layla landed next to me, her line reeling back into her harness, and the two of us started walking up to the group. Sam turned and smirked.


    ¡°Well well. You¡¯re early.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re earlier,¡± I noted.


    Sam chuckled. ¡°Well, the client wanted me to meet someone,¡± his eyes panned over to the man standing with them.


    I say man, but he looked around my age. He was around my height, maybe a bit taller. He was also wearing goddamn armor.


    As he walked up, my eyes panned across it. I¡¯d never seen real power armor outside of media. It was a deep blue in color, with black sections across it in triangle-style patterns. It was formed to his body, sleek rather than bulky.


    The man inside the armor was Hispanic, with dark brooding eyes and a smirk over his sparse beard.


    He looked between Layla and I for a moment. ¡°Really? I thought you hired the best, Sam. Not random scrap like this¡­ Good lord, that one has a stick. A stick.¡±


    I shifted my back, feeling said stick move in its makeshift sheath, taking comfort in its weight.


    Sam chuckled. ¡°I hired the people who would work for the job our mutual client hired us for. No more, no less.¡±


    ¡°For the money you¡¯re being paid, I¡¯d have expected more,¡± he watched me cross my arms as I looked him in the eyes, his own green ones flashing just a bit. ¡°Of course, I could test them a bit, see if they¡¯re more than they appear.¡±


    ¡°No time,¡± Cherie stepped in between him and us. The leather-armored woman put a thumb in her belt. ¡°I can vouch that they can do the job. Sam?¡±


    ¡°One¡¯s a barmy musclehead and the other is a softie, but they¡¯ll do,¡± Sam said cheerily.


    The man scoffed. ¡°Ringing endorsement¡­ All right. Here on out, you¡¯ll know me as Ramirez. I¡¯m your muscle.¡±


    ¡°Indeed he is,¡± Sam looked out over the rooftop. ¡°You¡¯ll also be following his lead on this.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t the plan,¡± Cherie said calmly.


    ¡°Plan changed. We might be running into mechs in there. He¡¯s the answer.¡±


    Mechs. I felt nervous at the thought. I could fight people with chrome in them. Cybernetics didn¡¯t stop people from acting human, from responding to the basic physics and impulses of humanity. But robots were a lot better at taking punches, historically speaking. Still¡­


    ¡°We weren¡¯t told another person was joining us,¡± I said slowly. ¡°Except for the person on the inside.¡±


    Sam rolled his eyes. ¡°And what does that matter? The money I¡¯ll pay you will stay the same, if you¡¯re worried about your share.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m simply stating the facts. What else will change in our plans?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Sam sounded annoyed. ¡°He¡¯s leading because he can handle the big problems. Otherwise, everyone keeps to their same jobs. Understood?¡±


    Understood.


    ¡°Everyone, link up,¡± Sam nodded towards Poy. The rodent-faced man swallowed and pulled out a tablet. He tapped at it. Moments later, a call came in on my smartwatch, with the others getting similar reactions. I answered it and listened as the others joined in on it.


    ¡°I won¡¯t speak unless necessary,¡± Sam said. ¡°That said, I¡¯ll oversee everything. Ramirez.¡±


    The Hispanic man smirked. Then he turned and leapt over the edge. There was a ¡®snap-hiss¡¯ sound, and then he had a pair of insectoid wings coming out of his back, attaching to his arms. He dived down into the buildings below.


    Cherie raised a hand. With a growling sound that vibrated the air a bit, a bike approached us from the skies, landing beside her. A dark black hoverbike, a fairly quiet example of the type, with a symbol on the side in the shape of a pegasus in flight. She hopped onto it, nodding to Poy. The man nervously got on behind her, and the two took off after Ramirez.


    ¡°Woop!¡± Layla leapt off the roof, swinging out and soon outpacing Cherie¡¯s bike.


    I took my time to look over at Sam. His eyes shone a bit as he met my gaze.


    ¡°Got something to say?¡±


    Hmm. A few things, really. But I had a job to do. I stood on the edge and fell backward. Even as he left my field of view, I could see Sam keeping his gaze on me. For a moment, just before I lost sight, he looked nervous.


    Then I snapped out my line and went to join the others.

 Chapter 5

    Moving as a group, we eventually reached the edges of Redfield Corp. Ramirez got there first, landing on a building across from it. His insectoid wings snapped back into his body as he watched us approach. Rather than joining him, Cherie parked far back on the building, the light blue glow of her hoverbikes floatation rigs fading away where they couldn¡¯t be spotted by the building''s security. I landed next to Ramirez a bit harshly, Layla joining us with more elegance.


    Ramirez eyed us while Cherie parked and Poy began typing at his computer. ¡°Huh. Thought those things were illegal. Too dangerous or something.¡±


    He was nodding towards our lines.


    ¡°They are. But so is this,¡± I noted.


    ¡°Besides, they¡¯re fun!¡± Layla said with a grin.


    He seemed amused by that. Poy came over to us. ¡°I-I can¡¯t get a hold of our person inside.¡±


    Ramirez snapped his eyes onto him. ¡°What? They¡¯re supposed to be ready.¡±


    Poy swallowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you. They just¡­ they aren¡¯t answering man!¡±


    Ramirez snapped out a curse.


    ¡°What now?¡± Cherie asked. Her fingers tapped at the sword on her waist. ¡°Abort?¡±


    ¡°No, it needs to go down today. Now. We need to break in,¡± Ramirez said softly. ¡°Poy. You need to get closer.¡±


    ¡°Clo-closer?¡± he squeaked.


    ¡°On top.¡±


    ¡°On top¡­ On top of where!?¡± I winced as his already squeaky voice became almost piercingly high.


    Ramirez scowled at him. ¡°Of the damn building.¡±


    We all looked over at it. 12 stories high, industrial and blocky in design. Besides the wheeled trucks going into the bottom, there were openings in the top floor. A single floating cargo-ship flew in from the east and entered one of those openings. Even with the sunlight pouring down, the building looked foreboding somehow.


    ¡°You can¡¯t expect him to land on the building in broad daylight,¡± Cherie said.


    ¡°I absolutely can,¡± Ramirez stroked his chin. ¡°We need him to. If he can get on top, he can access the wiring there. Then he¡¯ll have an in with the building''s security, even a way to contact our person inside.¡±


    ¡°None of which matters if he gets seen being carried over there,¡± Layla pointed out, looking around. ¡°There aren¡¯t any buildings around here tall enough to let me swing over without getting caught. And if they¡¯ve got Pnuema detectors it doesn¡¯t matter if we get seen, we¡¯ll get detected anyways. I bet everyone here but Yun has some kind of Pnuema running through them.¡±


    Ramirez frowned. ¡°Nothing in me. But my armor does.¡±


    There was nothing he could have said that would have surprised me more. A guy with power armor that expensive didn¡¯t have any chrome in him? What?


    ¡°We should wait,¡± Cherie had been watching the building calmly. When we looked over at her, she had a hand to her chin. ¡°They¡¯ve got security, but I bet that we can hop a ride on one of those flying cargo trucks. Sam¡¯s footage showed a normal route for them. One of the bigger ones will fly below us soon. If Yun goes in with a piece of Poy¡¯s tech, he can make a direct link that way. Pneuma detectors won¡¯t track one of those, right?¡±


    Poy swallowed when we looked at him. ¡°N-No. My stuff is pure electro. Only way to run as a hacker honestly.¡±


    ¡°Yun can¡¯t attach to those things though,¡± Layla said. ¡°They¡¯re non-ferrous. You know, so people can¡¯t try what we¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter from here though,¡± Poy pointed out. ¡°He can drop down from here. I¡¯ll shut down the cameras, he swings on top of the building, and we have a man inside who can talk to our person inside¡­ man, that was an awkward sentence.¡±


    ¡°Then we wait,¡± Ramirez said, giving Cherie a smile. ¡°Good idea. Once one of those things comes in on their route, you hop on top. Poy, make something basic that will let you into the system.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll put together a SD,¡± he said, sounding more confident. Poy moved into a sitting motion, and somehow stayed that way in mid-air. It took me a second to realize he had one of those wearable chair things under his pants. Or inside his legs. ¡®Chairless Chair Exoskeleton¡¯. Useful for someone who had to work at computers all the time.


    Poy took a cord from his tablet and pulled it up to attach to a port in his spine. His eyes flashed red as he seemed to lose track of his environment.


    ¡°I¡¯d have no clue where to plug it in once I got there,¡± I told Ramirez. ¡°And I¡¯m not exactly stealthy.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re improvising,¡± he said, looking out at the building. ¡°Make it work.¡±


    I wanted to hit him. Instead I sat down on the roof to wait. He wasn¡¯t wrong. It was the situation. Best to work with what we had.


    Layla drifted off with Cherie, the two soon talking. While they were far enough that I couldn¡¯t hear them, as I watched Layla mimicked a motion like she was swinging a sword. Cherie stepped forward and adjusted her hand a bit. The two grinned and Layla tried again.


    ¡°Girlfriend?¡± I looked up at Ramirez. He nodded towards Layla.


    I grimaced. Gross. ¡°No. Sister.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Got it,¡± he continued to stand, eyes going back to the building.


    ¡°...Your suit. It looks expensive.¡±


    ¡°Unlike yours? What are you wearing under those clothes, tin foil?¡±


    I didn¡¯t rise to the teasing tone to his voice. ¡°Most guys I know who can afford that kind of hardware don¡¯t need jobs like this. And have chrome.¡±


    ¡°Chrome? Oh yeah, that¡¯s what you slumdogs call cybernetics. Charming,¡± he rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not going to explain why I don¡¯t have it. Are you?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer. He finally scoffed, looking down at me. ¡°You have a problem with me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you. Sam put you in charge all of a sudden. I¡¯m not sure why. I know his usual suite of trusted folk. But for some reason, he put you above Cherie in leadership.¡±


    ¡°Probably cause of my incredible charm and good looks,¡± despite his light tone, there was a hint of something beneath his voice. Something dangerous. I was right then. There was something strange there.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with that.¡±


    He scowled at the building. ¡°Just follow my orders. All goes well, you¡¯ll never see me again after this.¡±


    ¡°What a shame. I was just beginning to like you.¡±


    A laugh barked out at that. He grinned down at me. ¡°I thought you were too stoic for sarcasm.¡±


    ¡°No one is¡­ You know how to fight.¡±


    ¡°Is this where you ask me what style I use?¡± he sounded more amused the longer we spoke. ¡°I can always say ¡®style of fighting without fighting¡¯.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no boat around here for you to send me adrift.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m honestly shocked you watched that movie.¡±


    ¡°One of the greatest men in history starred in it, of course I watched it.¡±


    He hummed under his breath. We were both quiet for a bit before he spoke again. ¡°I know the basics. The very basics. That¡¯s it.¡±


    What a terrifying set of words. The very basics could have meant anything.


    ¡°How about you?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t care about style. But we might have to brawl in there. Can you handle it? It won¡¯t just be some mook on the streets.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said simply. ¡°If I die, my family is alone. So I won¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°What a refreshing take on things,¡± he responded, chuckling. ¡°So that¡¯s why you''re doing this? For family?¡±


    The way he said that drew my gaze. ¡°You sound like you don¡¯t approve. Why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°For a greater world,¡± his eyes met mine. ¡°I won¡¯t explain beyond that. But what I do today is going to make us all better. I guarantee it.¡±


    He looked almost fanatical. Not quite. But there was a tinge of belief in his words. I went to speak, but he scoffed.


    ¡°Why do people ask that so much in this city? What style do you use? And all the martial arts battles in the streets. I feel like I¡¯m back in Africa.¡±


    I noted the final portion of that idly, but only addressed the first. ¡°Everyone in the city is a fighter. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°But you people are obsessed. Outside of Tengen Match folks, I¡¯ve never seen it to this extent. Fighting is a means to an end. Not a lifestyle.¡±


    ¡°...I believe that fighting is at the core of humanity''s soul.¡±


    He looked down at me like a crazy person. I continued. It was a theory I¡¯d had in my head for some time. I didn¡¯t share it with anyone. Even Layla. But it was easier to share it with Ramirez. After all, he was a stranger, one who would leave my life. Who cared what he thought of this?


    ¡°I think fighting, battle, strength. They have been a part of us in every way since creation. In prehistory, we fought to the death against the environment. We built social structures to keep each other safe, and we fought. Every society in history was built on the backbones of warriors.¡±


    ¡°How dismissive,¡± he scoffed. ¡°What about the great scientists who brought us to new heights? Or the farmers, builders, salt of the earth men and women who kept those societies fed?¡±


    A challenge. Not full disagreement though. After a moment of thought, I continued.


    ¡°Science elevates us. Labour aids us. But in the end, strength is the first virtue. Honor, kindness, all virtues are ephemeral without strength to defend them, to make them real and give them action. I believe that it is a mark of a society when that strength can be turned to the aid of others. When soldiers go from conquering lands and subjugating them, to protecting families and keeping cities safe.¡±


    ¡°But savagery is the core.¡± Ramirez finished.


    ¡°Savagery is the core,¡± I agreed. ¡°When you look at history, civilization is not something that comes purely off of peace. The opposite in fact. Peace is what follows when people have become strong enough to force it.¡±


    I scratched at my chin. ¡°I think everyone in this city understands that. If we want to follow our dreams, we have to be willing to fight for it. To understand battle in an intrinsic way. All humans feel that. Some run away from the fight, some towards. But we all know it¡¯s there, and that surviving it gives you a chance for something greater.¡±


    ¡°...And what about people who are weak?¡± Ramirez was glaring down at the city below. ¡°What about those who don¡¯t fit your fun little idea of strength?¡±


    I hummed to myself. That question came with more heat than I expected. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯m considered pretty weak myself. I¡¯m just trying to get stronger too. Succeeding as well, I like to think.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll fail.¡± When I looked up at him, he was still glaring at the city. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it. Time and time again. This city. Many others like it. It swallows up the weak. Worse. The strong will force them to drown. To put them under the waves and tell them they need the water. Then they¡¯ll sell them oxygen at a premium.¡±


    The vehemence in his voice. It was almost¡­ toxic. I tried to think of something to say, but what came out seemed almost weak. ¡°So what do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°Change the situation. Force things to become better.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a real answer,¡± I noted. ¡°I¡¯m really not sure what you¡¯re trying to say, honestly? I thought this was just a conversation about why people in the city like fighting.¡±


    He scoffed, losing his seriousness. ¡°You really are a meathead. I¡¯m done.¡± Ramirez crossed his arms, his armor clanking with the movement. ¡°Just keep an eye out.¡±


    And that was that. Silence filled the air between us then. Finally he walked off, leaving me. Layla and Cherie continued speaking. Poy finished up his work and stood, walking over to hand me a black SD.


    ¡°That looked tense, huh boyo?¡± he asked as he popped a squat next to me. ¡°What¡¯d you do, insult his armor?¡±


    ¡°Worse. I think he was trying to be mysterious and I wasn¡¯t picking up on it.¡±


    Poy nodded sagely. ¡°The blue boy does have that mysterious edge thing going to him.¡±


    ¡°Hn.¡±


    The weasel-faced man chuckled, moving his tablet forward. As he did, I noted the small video playing in the corner of it. A cute blonde anime girl dancing as she sang. ¡°Is that Bella?¡±


    At my question he glanced up, then seemed embarrassed. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s uh, my favorite streamer. You uh, follow streamers?¡±


    ¡°Not like I used to,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I used to watch them while I worked out and stuff. I didn¡¯t have time for games, so it was a good way to enjoy them. Or listen to music.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t take you for the type,¡± Poy rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°Last time one of Sam¡¯s guys found out about it they made fun of me.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°They¡¯re idiots. Enjoy what you want to enjoy. If it¡¯s not hurting anyone, then what does it matter?¡±


    Poy seemed to cheer up a bit at that. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah. Hey, you wanna listen together? She¡¯s doing some old school songs?¡±


    I thought about it. Well. It had been a while. ¡°Sure.¡±


    He turned up his tablet and continued typing. As he did, the clear sound of Bella¡¯s voice filled the air.


    ¡°-wait for you to come clear the cupboards


    But now you''re going to leave with nothing but a sign


    Another evening I''ll be sitting reading in between-¡±


    That was a familiar song¡­


    <hr>


    After a few songs, Cherie and Layla joined us. The armored woman sat next to us to look over the city, while Layla walked along the edge of the rooftop, using it as a balance beam and doing different tricks along the edge.


    ¡°How long on a truck?¡± Layla asked Poy, doing a quick flip along the edge.


    ¡°No clue. Flying cargo is expensive, you know? Only stuff that is either expensive or secret gets transported that way. Keeps idiots on the ground from stealing it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that makes sense,¡± Layla stood on her hands for a moment, balancing there. ¡°I wish I could fly.¡±


    ¡°You already kind of do,¡± Cherie pointed at my sister¡¯s magnet line.


    ¡°Noooo, that¡¯s not flying,¡± my sister hopped up and landed on her feet. ¡°I mean real flying. Like Parvati!¡±


    ¡°The ¡®Goddess of War¡¯?¡± Poy asked.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t like being called that,¡± Cherie said.


    ¡°...You know the Goddess of Wa-!?¡± Poy coughed and stopped himself when he realized he was yelling.


    ¡°Yes, and I know her wife,¡± Cherie continued. While he took in that information, Cherie continued. ¡°You know her wings are pretty expensive, Lay.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± my sister grinned. ¡°I want to fly though, and she¡¯s got such cool wings! One day I¡¯ll be able to get a set like them. Or even better.¡±


    I found myself smiling a bit. ¡°Maybe after this job we can buy a set. You just need a license right.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those licenses more expensive than a house in the burbs?¡± Poy asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it,¡± Layla grinned. ¡°Dreams are supposed to be big, you know? How about you guys? You have anything you want?¡±


    ¡°To buy my ancestral home,¡± Cherie said. Her smile was soft. For a moment, I felt like she wasn¡¯t looking at the city before us. ¡°I¡¯m close to getting it. And when I do, I¡¯ll rebuild. Maybe teach.¡±


    ¡°You are a good teacher,¡± Layla said warmly.


    ¡°I¡¯m buying my own VR suite,¡± Poy looked excited at the though. ¡°One of those high class ones. I can do my work from home in there, play VR games, just vibe in fake jungles or ancient castles! And even load some sex-¡± he stopped, eyes widening. ¡°Uh¡­ um.¡±


    Layla squished her face in disgust, while Cherie chuckled. I decided to save him.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take care of Layla and my parents.¡±


    I laid down, resting my head in my palms. Poy spoke up, sounding a little disappointed. ¡°That¡¯s it? No fancy cars, no big houses?¡±


    ¡°Some people fight for what¡¯s ahead of them. Some for what¡¯s behind. And some for what they already have.¡±


    Poy sighed. ¡°Lame. Kid your age should want cooler things. AR glasses or something.¡±


    ¡°Those would be nice. Good way to train.¡±


    Layla laughed, presumably at Poy¡¯s face. Poy chuckled. ¡°You know, you guys are a lot more friendly than Sam¡¯s usual guys. How¡¯d you get caught up in that?¡±


    ¡°Same as anyone like us does in this city,¡± I said. ¡°We needed money, and he didn¡¯t care we were underage.¡±


    ¡°...How old are you two?¡±


    Layla and I didn¡¯t answer. Cherie looked uncomfortable. Poy coughed when it became clear no one was speaking. ¡°Okay. In that case, if you guys ever want to meet some guys I know who are in this biz, come downtown sometime. We can meet at Shedded Grace.¡±


    ¡°The bar? Like Jane¡¯s?¡±


    He laughed. ¡°No way man. Jane¡¯s is cool, but Shedded Grace is where the big names meet up! Hell, Claire Koenig and Tate Cairn first met there! At least, that¡¯s the stor-¡±


    ¡°Look alive,¡± Ramirez interrupted, finally moving to join us. ¡°Here it comes.¡±


    Finally, the time came.


    A truck approached. It flew over the maze of pipes and streets that made up the industrial zone like a whale, ponderous and graceful all at once. I rose up to my feet.


    ¡°Poy,¡± Ramirez said. ¡°Walk him through it.¡±


    ¡°Anywhere will work,¡± he said to me quickly. ¡°Just as long as it¡¯s a terminal or PC connected to the network. Can you sent me footage from your HUD-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a HUD.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Uh, right. Then, just talk to us over the secure link and I¡¯ll let you know when you¡¯re good.¡±


    I watched the truck fly up. It was a few stories below the building we were on. Poy was tapping at his tablet. ¡°Don¡¯t jump onto it yet. I¡¯m taking care of the cameras on it.¡±


    Closer and closer. It was moving faster than I¡¯d thought. Big things are like that. Slow until you really get up to them. The truck was shaped like an upside down pentagon, giving me a good flat platform on top.


    ¡°Yun¡­¡± Layla said warningly.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    It was going by. If I didn¡¯t go soon, I¡¯d have no way to safely land on it. The truck would pass the zone of buildings around Redfield Corp, leaving me with nothing to magnet line to if I fell. I¡¯d not only be a sitting duck, I¡¯d be a wingless one. My window was closing. Move now, or I¡¯d have nothing to swing to.


    ¡°Poy.¡±


    ¡°Just hold on!¡± he spat out, shifting through programs on his tablet quickly. ¡°I need to loop in old footage of the last time it took this route. Just a sec!¡±


    I turned and walked away from the edge, licking my lips just a bit. Then I spun around and started sprinting.


    ¡°Hold on, hold on!¡± Poy screamed. I jumped. As I felt gravity grab me, he screamed again. ¡°Got it!¡±


    Then I was at the mercy of the wind. I fell dozens of feet, aiming for the truck as best as I could. My magnet line stretched out and attached to the building, catching hold and swinging me upward. I felt my stomach drop. Too far. At the apex of my swing, I wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the center of the truck. I pulled back my line and stretched a hand out. The truck passed beneath me.


    I reflexively wanted to fire my line. But like Layla said. The electromagnet on the end would find no purchase. I stretched further out, trying to will my arm to go further, to dislocate itself if it gave me even one more inch. My hand caught the back of it. I felt pain as my fingers rubbed at the rough industrial metal. I wanted to scream, but held it in.


    Before I could fall down and get us caught, I barely held on. My arm screamed, muscles in my shoulder and bicep pulling. With a heave, I pulled myself up and grabbed onto the edge with my other hand. Another heave and I was on the truck, breathing quickly. Damn. That was¡­ insane.


    I moved to the center of the moving vehicle, laying down flat on the truck. My heartbeat was steady and strong, pulsing in my chest against the metal under me. I watched the building approach. The Redfield Corp logo, a set of chains forming a sword, shone a bright red.


    ¡°Keep calm,¡± Poy said in my earpiece. ¡°Cameras shouldn¡¯t be on in the top floor. Cargo from these trucks are always confidential. Don¡¯t want competitors finding out the ingredients to some new tech, so they don¡¯t film them.¡±


    I mumbled my words, knowing my earpiece would pick them up. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about getting caught inside. Camera¡¯s are easier to trick than human eyes.¡±


    ¡°Only marginally,¡± Ramirez said back. ¡°And we knew that we¡¯d have to fight at some point. Just knock them out or kill them.¡±


    My steel staff was resting on my back as I slowly breathed. Every job was like this. Nervous energy, waiting for things to happen. Then, when the job actually started, I started to¡­ well, not calm down. Too much calm was dangerous. But it was like a fight. Once things actually got into motion, I felt much better.


    The truck approached the opening ahead. The hangers, I guess. The one the truck was headed for looked empty. A run of questions went through my head. What if there were camera¡¯s? What if Poy was wrong? What if a worker showed up there? What if-


    I shut down those questions in my mind and focused myself, breathing calmly. Meditation was never something I was good at, but it helped before a fight to release the mind of useless thought. What happened would happen. Until then, I¡¯d just do what I could.


    The truck began to enter. Even laying flat, I felt the top of the door brush the top of my hoodie as I passed, pulling just a bit before I was through. I twisted to face the ceiling, looking around tensely. The whole hangar was around the size of my apartment''s courtyard. Automated machines shaped like forklifts attached to computer monitors were going into the other trucks, pulling out pallets of materials and other items before zooming out.


    ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± I mumbled softly. ¡°What do they make here anyways?¡± I asked, watching as another machine pulled out a pallet stacked high with what was labeled as sodium chloride.


    ¡°Uh, let me think,¡± Poy mumbled. ¡°Computer chips, biodegradable containers, AR glasses, power armor, nanomachines. They¡¯re a big up and comer, so it¡¯s more like what don¡¯t they make.¡±


    ¡°You get caught yet?¡± Layla asked me, teasing but also sounding worried.


    ¡°If I do, you don¡¯t get my things,¡± I slowly approached the edge of the truck. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of automated drones.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re safe then,¡± Poy sighed in relief. ¡°Costs too much to upgrade their software to see intruders. Companies don¡¯t really invest in that kind of thing.


    ¡°No cameras on these other trucks either?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, they turn them off once they land. So you need to move so a new one doesn¡¯t film you as it approaches. Just drop down and find a terminal. You see one?¡±


    ¡°In the back.¡±


    It was the most obvious structure in the cement floored space. A large steel and glass square room, with a set of panels all along the inside of it, each panel covered in all manner of buttons and screens.


    Goal in mind, I got up and hopped off the truck, landing in a roll and jogging forward. My steel staff bounced lightly on my back as I moved to the room and noted the door handle. I jiggled it briefly. Unlocked¡­


    I held in the thought that this was too easy as best as I could.


    Entering the room, I looked around. ¡°I¡¯m in some kind of security room, or control room. Where should I hook this thing up?¡±


    Poy hummed to himself. ¡°Find a port you can slot the SD into. Should be sized for it.¡±


    I walked past a large steel container set into the back wall, heading over to the middle panel. It took me a sec to find a port to place the SD into, plugging it in.


    ¡°Okay, give me a second,¡± Poy chuckled. ¡°Man, lucky they don¡¯t security in that room, huh?¡±


    ¡°...You thought there would be? And didn¡¯t say anything?¡±


    ¡°U-Uh, well, by the time I thought about it, it was too late?¡± I didn¡¯t say anything. Poy stuttered. ¡°Oh hey, one second, I¡¯m getting a phone call!¡±


    As he pretended to take a call, I looked around. Security. Security. No cameras. So then what-


    The container I¡¯d walked past hissed. A panel slid open.


    I reached for my steel stick, stepping back.


    ¡°Good news, our contact on the inside got back to us!¡± Poy said, sounding relieved. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s good you got me a line into the system, but they can get the rest of us into the facility. Guess you didn¡¯t have to go in, but at least nothing went wrong!¡±


    ¡°Do you have access to control over the droids in the facility?¡±


    ¡°No? Why?¡±


    I watched steel, ceramic, and hardened plastic unfold over and over as it stepped out of the container. I looked up at it, it¡¯s eyes two feet above me. The Talos Mech shone white and black in the harsh light. Armor crafted to take the appearance of a Roman Centurion was set over bones of metal. Obsidian fists clenched. One hand clutched a two-foot baton.


    A whole host of sarcastic biting comments pointed at Poy, at Ramirez¡¯s impatience, at myself, filled my mind. But I didn¡¯t have time to say anything.


    ¡°Intruder Spotted.¡± The robotic voice echoed. And the fist flew at me.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    FIghting a mech is stupid. But there are levels to stupidity.


    I ducked under a fist the color of obsidian, stepping back to think fast. I didn¡¯t have time. Everyone I knew had talked about fighting mechs. Their strengths, possible weaknesses, how fast you could run-


    The sound of doors locking filled the air. Plan A was gone then.


    I continued thinking fast. I¡¯d studied mechs before. Fought fake ones in VR briefly before my free trial on the program for it expired. There were a variety of them. From sex bots, false animals, mimicry of mythological monsters, all the way to stealth killers. Talos Mechs were developed for protection.


    Tanky, strong, and very dangerous. Legally they weren¡¯t allowed to have guns. They usually didn¡¯t need them. The false muscle running through them made them strong enough to wrestle chromed up folk with ease, even fighting the giant masses of muscle that were Myostitans.


    That said, they had weaknesses. Their joints followed basic mechanics, so breaking them might give me a chance. Can¡¯t get killed by something that can¡¯t move. If I could even do it.


    Talos Mechs weren¡¯t AI. They ran off of a series of programs, algorithms, all focused on the task of protection and elimination. They adjusted to the fighting style and weapons of their targets, but without innovation. Simply pulling together solutions from a pool of already programmed responses. I had some ideas about that.


    Finally, the one weakness I wished I could take advantage of. Most mech sensors are powerful. Useful. And susceptible to having paint thrown on them. Simple household paint, splashed on thick. More expensive models had ways to remove the paint or even ignore it, but it was a low-tech solution with a good rate of success.


    For now, I had no paint. Leaving me with the other two big weaknesses.


    I took a minute to wish I had room to use my magnet line. It would have given me new angles of attack, ways to dodge it. In the enclosed space however, I would have ended up just giving the mech another thing to grab onto and pull me in. Better to keep it simple.


    The mech lifted his hands. And rather than going into my usual Muay Thai stance, I shifted to a Bajiquan stance. Knees bent and legs wide, my right hand was close to my hip holding my stick, while my left rose to my face, elbow extended out. It wasn¡¯t as comfortable for me as Muay Thai, but it was part of my plan.


    A baton came swinging at me. I noted the movement of the false skeleton under its armor, the way the various parts shifted and moved, keeping them in my mind.


    Then I dashed in, moving past the attack while stabbing forward with my stick. The mech grabbed my weapon, but I let it go, instead switching to my elbow. My armored elbow cracked into the mech''s eye.


    I twisted around, moving my shoulder to smash into the mech¡¯s shoulder. With a push of all of my weight, the mech was lifted into the air and sent back. I roared with the movement, expelling air to give me more power.


    ¡°Tetsuzanko!¡±


    The bot was off the ground and moving back. But it still had my stick. My legs were screaming from moving so much heavy material, but I forced myself to move and grab my stick again, ripping it out of the bot''s grip.


    A hand clenched on my jacket. For a heart stopping moment, metal fingers brushed against the back of my neck, getting cloth instead. It clenched tight even as it flew back, hips twisting. I was lifted up and tossed against the back wall. Air exploded from my lungs. Black dots filled my vision.


    I twisted my staff around to stab at the mech''s face. I needed to keep on the offensive. The algorithm in the mech would adapt soon enough, but as long as I was attacking it, those algorithms would default to protecting itself. It wouldn¡¯t work forever though.


    The mech parried my stick with its baton, pulling at my jacket with its other hand. I moved with the motion, scrambling to my feet and spinning to kick my left leg at its right knee. The robot lifted its leg to take the blow on its shin instead, protecting the vulnerable joint. While it was up on one leg, I stepped down hard with my left foot stomping into the floor and brought my palm into its false stomach.


    The stepping thrust strike moved the mech back just enough. The arm gripping my jacket was fully extended now. It let me bring my stick around to behind the elbow of the arm gripping my jacket. I gripped the stick, one hand on either side of it, and swung the stick up. In that moment, if the mech left its arm there, I could use my leverage to snap its elbow the opposite direction.


    It let go. The stick pushed its arm up. And a baton mashed into my ribs from its other arm. For all the makeshift armor I¡¯d put in there, I still felt my side scream in protest. Then electricity ran through the baton.


    ¡°Gaaaah!¡± I was lifted up by the blow and barely kept my stance as I landed again. Stun baton. Of course.


    God help me, this wasn¡¯t working. The longer I fought, the more chances of taking hits. I was strong, but not machine strong. I had to end this now. Hopefully I¡¯d set things up enough.


    All the while, I watched the mech¡¯s movement. The various parts of its internal structure moving as its hips shifted, each part in sequence. Just like a human, no part was separate from the rest. To get its full strength, all of them moved as one. I watched it. And it watched me.


    Cold blue eyes set into a head shaped like a Roman centurion''s helmet stayed on me. I kept my fear. That hit had shaken my confidence, but the second I let that control me, I was already lost. Pull my focus into myself, into my body, into the moment, and push my strategy forward.


    Heh. Fear is the mind killer. I¡¯d heard that from some kid who came from the Outback, still covered in sand. Had to control it. Use it to inform my actions and give me caution, without panicking.


    It punched at me. I parried the fist aside on my magnet line, then stepped in with a knee to the chest that the mech mostly ignored. I drove in with an elbow to its right eye, hoping to damage the sensor, but had to step back when it grabbed at my throat.


    Keep it up. Same strategy. Go in, over and over, and force it to commit.


    Still in Bajiquan stance, I speared forward with my stick. The robot ducked under it, swinging it¡¯s baton again. I stepped into the strike again, and was met by it¡¯s other fist punching at my chest. I barely turned aside from the obsidian slab of metal, getting grazed along my stomach, and elbowed it in the shoulder with all of my strength. I felt the shoulder barely move under my attack.


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    The bot reached out to wrap its arms around me. I waited for its arms to raise entirely, my mind racing. I needed it to commit. Its algorithms had done their work. It would grab me while I was up close, then shatter my spine while electrocuting me.


    Everything I¡¯d done had been to force it to come to that conclusion. Fighting in the straight line fighting style of Bajiquan, constantly moving up to attack it from the front, building a scenario for it to follow.


    The Talos Mech shifted forward, eyes meeting mine.


    And I stepped to its right, ducking the arm and moving behind it. The machine stalled as I went off book from the scenario it had built.


    Years ago, Tate Cairn, the Scottish Hercules, The Sunlit and Blood-Soaked, had done something similar when fighting a minotaur mech designed specifically to defeat him. Changed his style, forced the machine to adapt over and over during the course of a four hour fight, until he finally removed it¡¯s robotic heart.


    So I did something like that.


    Bajiquan was a great style, but it was not one for doing things like circling around. It was made to blast through opponents and smash them. Not dive around them athletically.


    I felt some strain at the move as I forced myself to move faster and more flexibly than I usually did, but the mech¡¯s arms closed on thin air. More importantly, I had its back. I could see the false bones in its waist try to spin it around.


    I stabbed my stick into the bot, right in-between the gaps and into the machinery. I aimed carefully. The entire time we¡¯d been fighting, I¡¯d watched the way its internal system moved. I¡¯d tried something like this in VR. I¡¯d missed then.


    Bipedal movement is complicated. Lots of fine tuning must be done to maintain balance and flexibility. Interfere with the mechanics of that, whether in a human or a machine, and you can get a lot of advantage


    This time I got the strike just right. The steel staff grinded into the system of pistons, gears, and other machinery, from the hip and down into its right leg for two feet, stopping the mech in mid turn.


    ¡°SQEEEEEE!¡± The sound of metal screeching filled the air. My staff bent heavily. I didn¡¯t have much time.


    I grabbed the left leg of the bot and pulled hard, sending it to the floor. I put one foot on its back, and the other on its ankle. My hand grabbed its knees. Then I pulled upwards, hard as I could. The machinery struggled with me. I pulled harder, sweat dripping into my eyes. I screamed.


    ¡°GAAAAAH!¡±


    The knee snapped backwards. The mech didn¡¯t respond, and instead kept fighting against the stick keeping it from moving correctly.


    Then the hand with the baton swung backwards. It barely brushed me. The electricity running through it hit me harder.


    ¡°Kuh!¡± I grunted out. I grabbed that arm by the armored wrist and pulled hard, driving my boot into its shoulder while taking the baton in hand. The stun baton was directly attached to the mech, so I couldn''t steal it. But I could smash the baton into its own neck.


    Electricity ran through the machine. I screamed when the bucking machine''s arm bounced, smashing into my left arm. I pushed the baton harder, pulled at its arm harder. The machine sputtered. Its eyes flickered. I pulled.


    The machine¡¯s arm squealed. In a single moment, the arm bent completely over as hydraulics snapped. I fell against the floor, kicking the mech away from me. It¡¯s left arm and leg now damaged, it struggled to move towards me. I scrambled away, biting my lip when I realized my left arm was screaming. Had that broken it?


    I moved away from the mech and rushed for the door. I kicked at a point just next to the handle, shattering it, and briefly glanced back.


    The mech was quickly crawling after me, blue lit up eyes flickering, but overall still able to kill me. Then it looked up. At Poy¡¯s SD, still inside the panel.


    ¡°...Damnit. Poy!¡±


    ¡°I got you kid,¡± he said, sounding like he was breathing hard. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know the mech was in there till I saw you on camera! You okay!? We¡¯re heading to meet you!¡±


    ¡°Check your cameras again.¡±


    Silence for a moment. Then he spoke again. ¡°Damn. You fucked it up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s moving towards the SD. Do you need it?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I could use it. If you can get me another three minutes it¡¯ll give me a lot more access.¡±


    Three minutes.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get you your time.¡± I walked up to the mech. It was reaching for the SD with its undamaged arm. I grabbed the arm by the wrist. It scrambled to its knee, pulling hard on my arm. I let it slide me forward and kicked it''s head. As its head, dented by my boot, reeled back, I slid around and pushed it down. My breath was harsh, pain coming from my limp left arm, but I pushed on. Pulling hard on its active arm, moving in the opposite direction it had been designed for. I felt something strain there. Its still active leg kicked at me, landing solidly on my arm. The feeling of bone finally truly breaking made me scream. One more pull, and something shattered in the mech¡¯s arm. I pulled harder, and the sound of metal bending was gratifying.


    Its leg kicked out at me again, the gears in its hip finally bending the stick I¡¯d jammed into them in half. I dodged the kick, rolling, and grabbed it by the ankle when it attacked again. I pulled hard, dragging it along, the robot kicking and scrambling along. Soon I was next to one of the pallets I¡¯d seen. The one labeled sodium chloride. The one that was around 10 feet tall.


    The drones buzzing about ignored us as I let the mech go. It kicked against the floor with one leg, moving slowly along. I moved to the other side of the pallet of material and set my shoulder against it.


    ¡°Okay¡­ RAAAAA!¡± With a deep breath and a shout, I began to push. The pallet shifted, the dozens of plastic containers wrapped up on top of it moving. I pushed harder. ¡°AAAAAHHH! COME ON!¡±


    Something shifted. The impossible weight I¡¯d put myself against fell apart. The containers, moved off-balance, began to fall over. The dozens of containers came apart and smashed down on the mech below with the sounds of containers breaking and sand falling. I pushed one more time, then backed away to watch the remains of the tower fall.


    Over a ton of material on top of the robot¡­ And I could still hear motors buzzing underneath it. Damn. If I had to guess, it would soon repair itself and come back after me. But for now, it had to dig its way out of the sodium chloride.


    Otherwise known as salt.


    My arm was broken, but I¡¯d gotten Poy his access. With the tons of salt on top of it, the mech wouldn¡¯t be able to get to the SD in time to stop it.


    Despite the pain in my arm, it felt good to have done my job.


    A door behind me was smashed open. I reeled, spinning to raise my non-broken arm to defend myself. Ramirez glanced at me. Then at the mound in front of me. Without missing a beat, he leaped into the air, his fist raised high. And came down like a missile, a burst of blue light trailing him. He smashed down into the center of the mound, salt flying upwards around us. I closed my eyes and flinched back as the powder covered me. When I was able to blink my eyes open again, the bot had been torn in half.


    Just like that. An enemy that had broken my arm, that had taken everything I had to slow down. Smashed. The upper half weakly reached out towards Ramirez with shattered arms. A boot smashed its head into pieces. The lower half, single leg kicking stopped. Pneuma, violet-white and glowing, poured from both halves like blood.


    ¡°Now was that so hard?¡± Ramirez asked me, looking up with salt all across his blue armor. He had a distinctly smug smile on his face. ¡°You got something on your face.¡±


    ¡°Same for you,¡± I noted. For some reason my calm response seemed to throw him off. ¡°Thank you for the help.¡±


    ¡°Heh,¡± he kicked the mech aside. ¡°Looks like you needed it.¡±


    I felt a shot of annoyance fill me. I hid it as best as I could. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I took care of it before you came. The assistance is still appreciated. Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°Doing the job. Come on, I wasted enough time on you,¡± he turned and started off, leaving me to follow. I carefully kept my arm as still as possible as we entered the door he smashed through earlier.


    Inside a pale gray cement hallway with the logo for Redfield Corp resting on one of the walls, three mechs lay. Each one had been ripped to pieces. One was had been smashed halfway into a cement wall, its long limbs twitching sporadically as it spilled Pnuema all over.


    Ramirez turned and smirked at me. I tried my best to stay calm, but couldn¡¯t help how annoyed that made me. I shouldn¡¯t have cared. I knew my limitations. I was a mortal fighter, a teenager at that. I knew I could fight well, and that was enough. I held my own in the slums without any enhancements. I was happy with what I could do and knew I would get even stronger one day.


    But having this guy rub in my limits made me want to punch him.


    I kept the thought away by instead focusing on the pain in my arm, controlling it. Managing the hot knife feeling from my arm helped. But I still was beginning to dislike Ramirez.

 Chapter 7

    Ramirez and I jogged down the hallways, passing doorways and a few random fake plants, our boots squeaking on the cement floor. It was unnervingly quiet. I imagined the other floors were bustling, but this top floor was meant to be empty. It was for drones and mechs alone.


    Finally I had to say something. ¡°Where are-¡±


    ¡°Yun!¡± Layla shouted, turning a corner and smiling. ¡°Hey!¡±


    A little bit of relief filled me as she moved up to hug me. Then pain. Lots of pain.


    ¡°Gaaaaah!¡± I clutched at my arm, wincing as the feeling of knives flaying my muscles filled the limb.


    ¡°Oh shi-Sorry,¡± Layla backed off, dismayed while I grabbed at my arm. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Broke my arm,¡± Cherie and Poy joined us. ¡°The mech kicked it all to hell.¡±


    ¡°Let me see,¡± Cherie moved up to me.


    I took my jacket off to let her look over my arm. I saw her eyes spin and shine a bright green for a moment as she analyzed it. Her X-Ray mod then. After a moment, she looked away while her eyes shifted to normal and reached into one of the pouches of her armor. She pulled out a wrap of black bandages.


    ¡°Do we really have time for this?¡± Ramirez asked.


    ¡°Plenty,¡± Poy said, glancing around. ¡°Our contact is going to be here in a sec. We need to wait anyways.¡±


    ¡°Waiting¡­¡± Ramirez scoffed.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡± Layla asked Cherie.


    ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s not shattered thankfully. Clean break.¡± Cherie wrapped my upper arm up. As she went around and around, each layer of bandage began to harden, the chemical mixture doing it¡¯s work when the underside of the bandages got exposed to skin. Soon a hard black cast was around my upper left arm. ¡°Should hold as long as you don¡¯t go doing any big punches.¡±


    ¡°I was hired to do big punches.¡±


    ¡°You have two hands,¡± Layla poked my forehead with a sigh. ¡°Plus, you have your knees and legs don¡¯t you?¡±


    I smiled at her, poking her forehead. As she pouted in annoyance and I put my jacket back on, a question came to mind. ¡°You guys run into mechs too?¡±


    ¡°A few,¡± Cherie said. ¡°Low level, like the ones you fought. Basic security,¡± she patted her sword with a smile. ¡°Easy to deal with together though.¡±


    ¡°And no one knows we¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°We took the stairs,¡± Poy said. What did that matter? Seeing my confusion, he continued. ¡°Our contact shut off the cameras in there for regular maintenance. So we just entered a hallway, turned into the stairwell, and ran up here. Only had to knock out a guy who was taking a smoke break in there.¡±


    ¡°I still feel kind of bad for that,¡± Layla said guiltily.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he felt worse,¡± Poy chuckled. ¡°You kicked him in the chest.¡±


    As Layla continued looking guilty, I tested my arm. It still hurt. But that was fine. I did an old mental exercise. It was something I¡¯d learned a while back. Take the pain and the weariness, and feel its place in your body. Then slowly flow it into your hands and feet. Let it flow out of you, through your heart, out of your palms and bottoms of your feet. Let it enter the earth, the air. Then keep it up.


    It was an enforced delusion at most, but it was a variant of similar meditative exercises. Just hold the pain back for now. Focus on the job.


    Cherie poked my forehead. I kept my focus but looked over at her. She smirked. ¡°That pain-flowing thing? Claire loves that kind of exercise.¡±


    ¡°It works.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Still, you wouldn¡¯t think she¡¯d be the meditation kind of gal.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Poy said, looking at the door. It was one of a few doors, all labeled with various things. This one was labeled ¡®maintenance corridor¡¯. The door opened up.


    A very tall and thin person entered. They were very androgynous, with long black and red hair hanging long, piercing features, and long eyelashes. They glanced around at us, stopping at Layla, who waved at them.


    ¡°This way,¡± was all they said, turning and moving, their black and red flowing behind them.


    Ramirez began moving after them. Cherie shared a glance with Poy, the two following him, leaving Layla and me in the back.


    The maintenance corridor was dark except for the blinking lights of dozens of server towers around us. I wasn¡¯t a techhead, but even I could recognize how much computational power was buzzing in those things.


    Hundreds of thousands of terabytes, maybe even more. In a maintenance corridor. My mind boggled at the thought.


    ¡°Which of you is the one without chrome?¡± the person leading us asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s traditional to introduce yourself before asking questions like that,¡± Cherie said politely.


    ¡°I¡¯m risking my life as it is, I don¡¯t have time to waste,¡± they snapped. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Me,¡± I said.


    They glanced back at me. ¡°Huh. Guy big as you, I thought you¡¯d be full of enhancers or something.¡± Before I could respond, they continued. ¡°Poy can shut down the electronic stuff. I assume you all can handle the physical security.¡±


    ¡°Easily,¡± Ramirez said with a smirk.


    ¡°The last defense is meant to shut down anyone with chrome. If all goes well, the most you should feel is a tingle,¡± they said to me.


    ¡°A tingle?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully.¡±


    How reassuring. We passed by a couple of doors, but they ignored it, guiding us through. As we walked I couldn¡¯t help a bit of curiosity about this person. Why were they doing this? Money, probably, but they were risking a lot for it. Enough that they were terrified about us knowing anything about them, even a name.


    My questions went unasked. The maintenance corridor ended in a large steel door. Poy sat down in front of it as the person leading us stepped aside for him. ¡°What should I look out for?¡±


    They hummed at his question. ¡°The usual stuff. I can give you some of my coworkers passwords, but Redfield puts a lot into dummy AI and firewalls.¡±


    ¡°Cake,¡± he grinned and raised his tablet. His eyes flashed and soon the battle was on.


    On the outside, it was extremely boring to watch. Just a man on a chair, staring at a steel door, eyes flickering about as a tablet shone on his lap.


    I¡¯d heard what it was like in cyberspace though. Over the years, cybersecurity had become closer to a straight up mental battlefield than anything else. People could now directly put their minds up against computer systems. The human mind was one of the most powerful computers in existence, and hackers like Poy made a living out of putting it up against the best security systems in the world.


    It was also more dangerous than ever. No more safely sitting at home sending and receiving data, using hours of research and hard work to carefully suss out answers. Failing could end in brain death, seizures, reverse hacking. There were stories about worse. About rogue AI taking over minds. Possession by demon they called it.


    I had respect for the art, even if I had no real aptitude for it.


    Poy grunted. His eye twitched, and some blood began to drip from his nose.


    ¡°Poy?¡± Layla said, moving forward.


    ¡°I¡¯m all right,¡± he grinned fiercely, some blood sliding down to stain his teeth. ¡°This thing is mean. Military-issue. And not the stuff they sell cheap either.¡±


    ¡°Can you handle it?¡± Ramirez asked.


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Ramirez blinked. He clearly hadn¡¯t been expecting that. ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°I can hold it off. If Yun hadn¡¯t put in the SD I wouldn¡¯t have a backdoor to keep the alarm from going off. But I need to stay here and fight it. I can buy you guys time, okay?¡±


    The door slid open, moving upward into the ceiling with a ¡®hissss¡¯ sound. Poy grit his teeth. ¡°Go!¡±


    ¡°This way!¡± the unnamed Redfield worker moved around him, heading into a large dark room.


    We all followed, Layla and I patting Poy on opposite shoulders. Still dripping blood from his nose, the weasel-faced man gave us a warriors smile, then focused once more. We left him in that hallway to fight his battle and moved on to our own.


    <hr>


    The dark room was large enough to hold several cars inside, but it was empty. The floor was made of thick metal, but there were a few sections of clear glass, letting us see below. The floor had dozens of vials of various types. As we ran, I could see flashes of what was inside those vials. Seeds, red liquid that I soon realized was blood, dirt of various shades. A cold white mist flowed in those sections, turning to droplets of a liquid I wasn¡¯t sure was water as it landed on the floor, walls, and us. The room was colder than a freezer, with frost all over everything.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Cherie asked, eyeing a vial full of what looked like small fruit.


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Ramirez said. Instead he focused on the person leading us, their black and red hair bouncing. ¡°Where¡¯s the security?¡±


    They laughed, sounding just a bit manic, and stopped in the center of the room. They pointed ahead. ¡°There.¡±


    A wall, with another door set into it. The door slid open. Poy, doing his work.


    Then panels opened in the wall. Over and over, until sixteen panels had opened. And out of them, stepped out mechs.


    Unlike the one I¡¯d fought, they had much more generic designs, like the police bots that sometimes backed up the cops, with large boxy heads and shiny black armor. But they still had those batons. And they still had those chilling blue eyes.


    But the room was larger than the last one I¡¯d fought the mechs in. Layla and I raised our hands. Our magnet line attached to the ceiling and pulled us up and into the air. Cherie unsheathed her sword and sped forward with beyond human sped. Ramirez leaped up in a burst of blue.


    We struck at the same time.


    Layla released her line and reattached it to the floor behind the mechs, zipping forward to land her boots in one and send it flying into the panel it had come from. Another mech swung its baton at her, but she was up in the air again, spinning around to land a roundhouse to its head.


    I tried to join in, but the mech I rushed dodged, letting me land on the floor instead. A steel fist aimed to take my head off. I leaned my head back, set my stance, and kicked it in the knee with everything I had. Its leg crunched backwards. The mech grabbed my shirt as it fell.


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    A blade swung through its arm. Cherie was there.


    She came in like a storm, all kindness gone from her expression, determination replacing it. Her sword hummed as she stepped in front of me and swung her sword again, the blade slicing through the head of the mech.


    Another one swung at her. I grabbed its arm and pulled hard, bringing it off balance. My magnet line attached to the floor behind it. The line whirred. My knee snapped forward as I was pulled in. My strength and the line¡¯s momentum combined to let me smash into the mech¡¯s stomach. My knee immediately felt sore, but I was gratified to see the mech bounce backwards.


    It wasn¡¯t dead, but Cherie ended it soon enough by stabbing it in the chest.


    A loud crash drew my attention. Ramirez had destroyed a mech that Layla had tripped up, and his blue armored fist was reaching for the next.


    Layla and I couldn¡¯t really finish off the mechs. But we could trip them up, pull them over, distract them. And Cherie and Ramirez could finish them. Perfect.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± the person who had been leading us shouted. I looked over at them. They were staring at the door we¡¯d entered through. I looked at it.


    Two men and two women in security uniforms were staring at us. One was shouting frantically into his radio.


    I snapped my line up at the ceiling, shooting into the air towards them.


    ¡°Incoming!¡± One guy raised his baton to swing at me. My elbow crashed into his chest, his baton bouncing uselessly on my shoulder. My other elbow cracked into the older man¡¯s jaw and sent him to sleep.


    Another one shot at me with a taser. I let the prongs land in my jacket, uselessly releasing electricity into my makeshift armor, grabbed the wire, and pulled as I jumped, bringing her into a knee smashing into her face. Blood flew from her nose and she dropped immediately.


    The third guard had enhancements. She moved with impossible speed as her legs glowed under his blue security uniform, her arm opening itself up to reveal a long blade within. I had enough time to raise my arm to block.


    The blade stabbed through the plastic-carbon hide of my jacket forearm and into the scrap metal beneath. My eyes met hers. She had enhancements. But her face looked very normal. Cybernetic eyes only. So I stepped into her with my head first, my skull impacting hers. I¡¯d guessed right. Normal skull. Since I¡¯d been ready for the hit and she wasn¡¯t, she reeled back. I kicked her leg out from under her, sending her to a knee.


    Before I could finish her off, a baton slammed into my arm. My broken arm.


    ¡°Agh!¡± I screamed in pain, stepping to the side. The baton was raised, the security guard looking crazed. I kicked him in between his legs in desperation. My steel boot hit him hard enough to lift him. I felt soft pressure give in before something hard stopped it.


    ¡°...ah.¡±


    His eyes crossed and he dropped to his knees. I felt bad as I roundhouse kicked him. The last woman rose up and slashed at me.


    A sword blocked her attack. Cherie smashed her in the jaw, knocking her back, leaving me to finish her with an elbow in the other side of her jaw that knocked her out. We shared a nod and looked back at Ramirez and Layla.


    Ramirez had his fist in the chest of one bot. He tossed it aside and looked over at Layla, whose boots were resting in the remains of another, then at us. The androgonous employee looked nervous, but joined him when Ramirez waved them over.


    ¡°Enough. We¡¯re running out of time.¡±


    Cherie and I gave each other a glance, walking over to him as we looked around. The mist filled room was quiet now. Almost eerily so.


    Ramirez and the employee lead the three of us into the next area. A tunnel of sorts sat there. Layla and Cherie were about to step into it, but Ramirez stopped them.


    ¡°No. This is why we needed him,¡± Ramirez pointed at me. ¡°The EMF.¡±


    ¡°They blocked this thing with an EMF? Indoors?¡± Cherie sounded unnerved. ¡°God, the amount of energy that must cost.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, my boss can afford it,¡± the employee said nervously. ¡°Come on, we need to hurry the hell up.¡±


    EMF. Electromagnetic field. In a world where every had cybernetics of some kind, they were basically a death sentence. People used to say that nuclear weapons were the greatest weapon.


    A pulse from a nuke would cause just as much damage now. People ran their brains, hearts, limbs, their entire livelihoods, on chrome. Shut that down, and even if they didn¡¯t die, they might as well have.


    I took out my phone, took off my smart watch, and passed both to Layla. She took a hold of it nervously, staring forward.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he only gets hurt if he¡¯s lying about not having any chrome,¡± Ramirez said cheerily to her. The he nodded at me. ¡°Now go. Should be a switch on the other side of that tunnel.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be on the right,¡± the employee added. They flicked back their multicolor hair after finishing, biting their lip nervously. Didn¡¯t help me feel better about my own nerves.


    ¡°...¡± I stepped forward before I could think too much about it.


    And felt the change. Or maybe the change was in my head?


    I knew the science. That on an organic human body, there were no real signs that the field would cause any harm. But I still felt strange, walking through an area filled with invisible energy.


    It was probably akin to walking through an X-Ray machine a few decades ago. You knew internally that the radiation wouldn¡¯t hurt you too much with such limited exposure. But knowing it was there still made it strange.


    I walked through the tunnel. It was made of thick transparent material, allowing me to see the violet energy swirling through it, flecks of white flickering in that energy. With that surrounding me, I walked the full thirty feet down the tunnel.


    At the end, as promised, was a simple switch. A large lever, really. Made sense. If you were going to block something with an EMF field, it shouldn¡¯t be a hackable panel. Removes the point of keeping people with chrome or tech out.


    I pulled the lever. Seeing the swirl of power in that tunnel fade away was a little unnerving. Enough energy to power all the technology in my block for a few years probably. All to make one hallway harder to enter.


    Once the energy faded, the employee walked into the tunnel tentatively, then with more confidence once their implants didn¡¯t explode. Ramirez followed after, then Layla and Cherie.


    ¡°What a chore that must have been,¡± Ramirez said to me.


    ¡°I can turn it back on and shove you in there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try that.¡±


    I glared at him as Layla passed me my phone and watch. She whispered to me. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°That guy. Something¡¯s off.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Come on. We need to finish. Then we¡¯ll never see him again.¡±


    My sister gave me a smile, then led me forward.


    We walked into the next room. The employee gestured to the center of the room, but they really didn¡¯t have too.


    It was at the back, with computers surrounding it in parallel. Atop a round podium made of white material, with a red glass blocking us from it, like a museum piece. There were two vents in the floor, and another set in the ceiling.


    Inside was something that I just¡­ didn¡¯t have any reference for beyond the sun.


    In dozens of vials set into a shelf was liquid fire. It blazed with an unnatural yellow-orange light. It seemed to explode eternally within the vials. I checked my watches geiger counter. Nothing radioactive. Though maybe that was what the red glass was blocking.


    That theory was disproved when the employee pressed something and the red glass slid up into the ceiling. Still, they were very nervous looking as they grabbed three of the vials.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Layla asked.


    ¡°Cherie,¡± Ramirez said instead of answering. ¡°Clear our exit.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± she looked confused. ¡°That wasn¡¯t the plan.¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t supposed to be found out by actual guards at this stage in the plan. Head out and make sure no one else comes.¡±


    Cherie paused. Then she nodded, walking back the way we came.


    ¡°You two, grab as many of those as you can,¡± Ramirez ordered Layla and I.


    Still feeling unnerved by all of this, Layla and I joined the employee. We took a few of the vials as they passed them to us, Ramirez grabbing four and slotting them in somewhere in his power armor.


    I took a hold of one and stared at it.


    The vial was warm. The energy within stopped swirling and pooled at the points where my fingers held it.


    ¡°You asked what it is?¡± Ramirez sounded far away. I looked around. He and the employee stood just outside the room. ¡°It¡¯s power.¡±


    A metal door was sliding down. I panicked, dropping the vial and rushing towards him. His face was grim as he watched me run towards him.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    The vial smashed against the floor. It exploded in a burst of lightning and fire. The metal door shut.


    And felt the energy in the vial fill the room. It smashed into me, lifting me and throwing me against the door. And then I felt like my skin was lit aflame.


    ¡°RAAAAAAGH!¡± I screamed, shaking as the energy flowed through the fire.


    ¡°Yun!¡± Layla shouted. I felt her grab my arm, pulling me up.


    ¡°BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!¡±


    ¡°Warning. Aether Containment Breached. Warning. Aether Containment Breached. Warnin-¡±


    Red lights shone in the room, and a blaring alarm rang. A feminine voice spoke just under the alarm.


    The fire in my body felt like it was attacking my muscles, forcing them to clench and unclench over and over. My eyes rolled without control. I felt like something grabbed a hold of my brain, pain exploding in my forehead.


    Then my heart felt like it popped before something inside me broke. I couldn¡¯t understand it. It was like an organ I didn¡¯t know I had filled up with that yellow-orange energy until it shattered apart. I felt like I was dying.


    That¡¯s when everything went black.

 Chapter 8

    <u>Layla Kaneda</u>


    I thought Yun died. It felt like he did. My hand against his chest felt his heart stop. The energy in the vial that broke kept on pouring into him and me, sliding across the floor and flowing into our skin.


    Yun¡¯s body temp was climbing higher and higher, until my HUD read his temperature as 114 degrees. One hundred and fourteen. That wasn¡¯t a fever, that was a death sentence.


    But why wasn¡¯t I getting affected the way he was? I didn¡¯t feel hot. I felt¡­


    My power levels. They¡¯d been normal earlier. But as I held Yun, they filled up, then went higher and higher. It was like I was getting charged up.


    Was this energy similar to aether? Was it even energy?


    The alarm continued to blare, and I pushed the question away. ¡°Focus, focus. We need to get out of here.¡±


    Yun needed a doc and we needed to keep from getting caught. But how? The door had slid shut. Why had Ramirez done that? Were we scapegoats?


    Probably. No, I had focus on getting us out before the security forces or worse came to grab Yun and me.


    There was the computers. I put Yun down and ran over to one, tying at it. When it didn¡¯t respond, I pulled out the cord set into my wrist, pushing it into the port on the computer.


    The first thing that happened was a blaring warning in my HUD that my chrome was getting invaded by someone. I almost pulled the plug. Then Poy¡¯s voice came through.


    ¡°Layla? What¡¯s going on? Why are you logged into the system?¡±


    His image filled my head, my HUD giving him a less detailed appearance. ¡°Poy! You gotta help us! Ramirez locked Yun and me in here!¡±


    ¡°Locked in!?¡± Poy sounded confused. ¡°Why, the plan was to get us out through the employee exit!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! We need help!¡±


    Poy was quiet. For a moment, I was worried. Was he going to leave us here? Save his own skin-


    ¡°Okay, done. Maintenance hatch near you should be open.¡± Like he said, a wall panel near me popped.


    ¡°Maintenance hatch? Why couldn¡¯t we sneak in through that?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t open it without directly plugging into the building and setting off the alarms, but all bets are off,¡± Poy said quickly. ¡°Head down it, should lead to an employee lounge with an exit. Be careful. There¡¯s some source of electromagnetic energy in your area, and it¡¯s beginning to build.¡±


    The tunnel we¡¯d gone through probably.


    ¡°Thanks, Poy,¡± I said, feeling relief.


    ¡°Thank me if we all get out of this.¡±


    I unplugged and rushed over to Yun, pulling him over in a fireman¡¯s carry.


    ¡°Damnit, bro,¡± I grunted under his weight. ¡°Wish you didn¡¯t pack on so much muscle.¡±


    I brought him to the hatch and set him down since it was only about four feet tall. I had to drag him inside. That fiery energy kept on flowing towards us even as I dragged my brother into the tunnel.


    My HUD showed that electromagnetic energy Poy talked about. It wasn¡¯t enough to damage my systems. But when I looked at my brother, the readings seemed to bounce around.


    Didn¡¯t matter. We had to get out.


    The maintenance hatch was hard to get through without me dragging my brother along. I had to crawl over pipes, avoiding wires, past panels. The fiery energy flooded in after us. It was like it was trying to eat us.


    Pulling my brother through that tight space, the ringing alarm, orange yellow fire chasing after us, feeling like any second someone would reach in and grab us. I felt like I was in hell.


    Sweat dripped down my face. Warning signs filled my vision. I just needed to get out, to escape-


    I ran into a wall. I pressed my hand against it, trying to push it. My hand found a handle set into the side. I pushed it one way, then pulled it. The wall moved with my pull, rising upwards. I moved the handle all the way, finally forcing it open, then rolling out with my brother in tow.


    The energy tried to follow. I grabbed a handle on the other side of the wall and pulled hard, closing the wall before that strange orange-yellow fire could reach through.


    The room was about the size of our apartment, with comfy chairs in one corner, tables, a bunch of refrigerators, and some holoscreens floating around. It was empty. Of course it was, with all the alarms going crazy.


    I pulled my brother back up onto my shoulders and looked around. There was a simple emergency exit door. I walked over to it and kicked, smashing it open. I adjusted Yun over my shoulder and left.


    There were alarms going off all across the complex. Screaming and piercing. Dozens of people were outside, roaming the area. I crouched. And started running.


    Someone spotted me. Shouted. I ignored them. I ran for the exit, ignoring what had to be hundreds of cameras spotting me. A guy stepped in front of me. I jumped up, smashing my knee into his face, then landing on his chest and running again. There was a pulse of energy. I felt my chrome almost shut down before the excess energy from earlier fed it again. A few vehicles near me turned off.


    I ignored it all. The only goal was out. Out. Out.


    The gate that led outside was open, people gathering in front of it. I raised my magnet line and aimed upward. The line fired out, smashing into the top of the gate.


    Yun and I flew upwards, over the crowd. I pulled the line back in and shot it out at a building at the apex of our jump, half-swinging, half-flying through the air. I let go of the line again, swinging it around to aim at the street below once we were behind a building.


    The line attached to a manhole cover. I pulled it upwards, the cover popping off as I rocketed down. I landed inside of the sewers and pulled the line again, the manhole cover smacking into place again.


    The inside of the sewer was wide and somewhat smooth along the walls, with a false river of filth running through the center. It smelled. I could hear sirens up top. Soon, they¡¯d come for us. They¡¯d send drones down here, try to find us.


    My shoulders hurt from carrying Yun and pulling off all of that magnet line tricking at the same time. I ignored it. I hefted him more carefully. Then I started running. A doc. I needed a doc for Yun.


    I had to head to the border between the tech zone and downtown. The closest doctor would be there, closest one who would operate on us at least. I disconnected everything I had from the web, then took Yun¡¯s phone and tossed it into the water. They¡¯d still be able to track us, but not as easily.


    Shifting Yun, I kept moving, trying to swallow away my fear.


    <hr>


    <u>Cherie Brefutan</u>


    Before Layla¡¯s Escape


    The alarm began to ring just as Cherie came running back from clearing the exit. She ran faster, meeting Ramirez and the androgynous employee as they came rushing down the hallway.


    ¡°We got the loot,¡± Ramirez snapped. ¡°Is the exit clear?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Where¡¯s Layla and Yun?¡± Cherie asked, looking behind the blue armored man.


    ¡°They got trapped by security,¡± Ramirez snapped.


    Cherie¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What!? We have to get them out-¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time!¡± the employee snapped. ¡°You two need to get out. I¡¯m heading to my car. If you want to stay and get caught saving two gonk trash kids, then go ahead.¡±


    Cherie felt the urge to hit the selfish jerk. She barely held back as Ramirez pushed past her.


    ¡°Come on, we need to go,¡± Ramirez said. He ran, the employee following. Cherie looked at them, then in the direction they came from.


    Yun and Layla¡­


    The alarms rang as Cherie turned and ran, swallowing. She could get them out of prison maybe. Get a crew to break them out. But for now, all she could do was run before the cops came.


    She kept coming up with more and more justifications for why she ran. How she would make up for it. It didn¡¯t help.


    <hr>


    <u>Layla Kaneda</u>


    I don¡¯t know how long I went through the sewers. By the time I saw the light at the end, it was night time already. I¡¯d never felt more tired in my life. Fighting all those bots and guards. Then carrying Yun¡¯s heavy butt. My HUD was full of warnings. Adrenaline, lactic acid build up, all the things that were burning in my body. My chrome was compensating, but it was supposed to help me be just a bit stronger than normal, not function like I was for as long as I was.


    ¡°You need to lose weight,¡± I grumbled at Yun.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ keep that in¡­¡± I almost dropped him when he started mumbling.


    ¡°Yun!?¡± I shrugged him forward and laid him against the wall. He grabbed me to stay standing. ¡°Yun! Hey, you okay?¡±


    He was still running hot. My HUD bounced every once in a while as I watched him, like there was some sort of interference, maybe from the tunnels of the sewer? Everyonce in a while it changed colors though, could interference do that?


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± His eyes could barely open. He was sweating, his hair stuck to his forehead. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ on fire.¡±


    I looked him over again. Damnit. I couldn¡¯t see anything in particular wrong with him through my sensors. I pulled his arm over my shoulder. ¡°Come on. We need to visit the doc.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    He sounded so weak. Like when he¡¯d gotten the brown flu years back. His throat had the same raw sound to it.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of that guy, the weird one between the tech center and downtown.¡±


    Yun looked confused, but didn¡¯t question it. Between us, I¡¯d seen more doctors.


    At the end of the tunnel, we came out. It opened up into a massive open space, the water from the tunnel spreading into a false lake. There were tall pillars stretching upwards for dozens of feet made of solid stone, with a huge amount of empty room in between them.


    In that room, in the ankle-deep water, a city had been made. A shantytown, really..


    The shantytown was made up of the clear plastic bubble tents sold cheap in stores, chunks of rusty metal messily welded together to create bridges over the water and small hallways of sorts. And there were people everywhere. Men, women, children, playing, talking, and sitting on old beds. Some watched us as we passed. Most ignored us.


    I guess we weren¡¯t a new sort of sight.


    One guy was cooking rabbits and cane toad legs on a spit over a fire, giving pieces of the meat to people who came up. I could see more people doing similar things.


    This place was somehow both sad and hopeful. Everyone here had even less than I did. Their clothes were ragged. Some with implants could barely move them, unable to afford the Aether to give them power maybe. There were few signs of real tech down here.


    Still. People were alive. Some sad, some neutral. And the kids seemed happy, playing in the water. It was so familiar.


    For just a second, I felt like I wasn¡¯t in Machitou. I was back in my first home. All it was missing was the smell of gunpowder.


    I pushed on, leaving my memories behind.


    We crossed the wide cistern and left that place behind us, the poor and hungry surviving as best as they could. Hopefully no one would bother them later because of us. They had enough on their minds.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Was that¡­ real?¡± Yun asked me. He sounded so loopy.


    ¡°That or a mirage.¡± I tried to joke. I looked ahead and tried to pull up a map of the city, GPS, before remembering that I¡¯d disconnected myself. ¡°Shit. Um. I know we¡¯re downtown now. But I don¡¯t know where. I-¡±


    Yun almost fell over. I grabbed him, looking him over. Dang it. He¡¯d passed out again. I pulled him onto my shoulder and kept moving.


    It was around ten minutes before I found a way out of the sewers, a service elevator. At least, I hoped it was a way out.


    I dragged Yun inside, looking over the beat up old screen on the side of the elevator. ¡°Okay, okay. They couldn¡¯t just label it ¡®up¡¯ and ¡®down¡¯?¡±


    Finally found it. Rise and descend. I smashed ¡®rise¡¯, then the button labeled ¡®ground level¡¯, and leaned Yun against the wall as the elevator shook around us. We went up for a good while, long enough for me to be worried. Then the doors opened up.


    Downtown. It had been a while.


    When I pulled at Yun, he was awake again. He pushed himself up to help me, moving out of the elevator. We left the dark elevator and entered a neon wonderland.


    Downtown always seemed to explode in front of me that way. I¡¯d want to stop and take things in like a tourist, watching the lights, the advertisements, the people.


    Everyone knew the story of Downtown¡¯s architecture. When Machitou was first founded, over 80 years ago, Keraunios Christodoulakis, the owner of Primordial, wanted a perfect city. A Greco-Roman based one.


    So Yun and I walked past massive metal skyscrapers shaped like ancient temples. Shining neon advertisements shone on the walls of the steel coliseum set in the center of the city, an image of Tate Cairn bald and bearded face grinning out at the world. The magnetic train that went over our heads was shining with the decals of an eagle.


    Even the security fit the part. Talos mechs shaped like centurions stood at the entrance to a bank we passed, joined by humans in armored forms.


    Mom once said that Downtown looked as though the Roman Empire had never died. Or if Zeus had designed a city after Mount Olympus.


    It was beautiful. And the same went for the people.


    Everyone looked so fancy. People with cloths that had constantly moving designs on them, like flames, waves, and storms. Men and women with artfully curving horns, feline eyes that glittered in the neon lights, soft looking fur or smooth scales. Some of the crowd that walked along the streets shopping had a few bodyguards walking with them.


    The guards would invariably be massive, men and women covered in muscles both real and chrome. No guns, but a few carried swords. They eyed Yun and I as we walked, while their charges ignored us in favor of talking to holograms walking with them.


    I used to love Downtown. But today¡­ something felt different.


    I couldn¡¯t explain it. There was something about the way eyes landed on me. I moved faster.


    Our destination was nearby anyway. Next to the Lila Theater. In the ¡®Norse¡¯ section of town.


    Yeah. Despite Keraunios¡¯ obsession, he couldn¡¯t control everything. A part of Downtown close to the industrial district was a sign of that. There, the Doric and Ionic pillars, the metal statues of ancient heroes, they were replaced with stave architecture, Nordic Runes carved into walls, open fire pits carved into the earth where people gathered to eat, laugh, and shop around.


    A clash of cultures. Massive Greek skyscrapers going so high we couldn¡¯t see the tops, made for Olympian gods with advertisements displaying beautiful celebrities.


    But down on the ground with Yun and I? Low slung buildings a viking would have been happy to call home, built to resemble upside-down boats.


    Like I said. Culture clash.


    We walked around the Lila Theater, leaving the bright lights behind. Lila Theater was new, a place where shows and concerts got held, but it had been built in the center of a lot of older buildings.


    We went down a set of stairs, Yun falling at the bottom. I leaned him up against the wall next to the door there and looked at the sign on that door.


    Arne and Zgura lectronic Meds. Just like I¡¯d heard, the letter E had fallen off the sign.


    I knocked on the door hard, kicking it, looking at Yun. He was laughing.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± I asked him, trying to stay standing even with all my exhaustion.


    ¡°...All those workouts and I can¡¯t even move.¡± Yun laughed weakly. ¡°Did all the cardio I could too.¡±


    I stared at him. His eyes were looking crazy. One pupil was larger than the other. And he kept flickering in my HUD.


    The door opened, and a large man with red hair and a beard poked his head out. He had an Aloha shirt on, but instead of flowers like in the movies, the shirt was splashed with different circuit boards, monitors, wires, and grids, moving across the shirt in beautiful techno patterns of blue green. He had a single tech monocle over one eye, the other a red cybernetic one. His eyes snapped over us, and I saw my name appear backwards on his monocle.


    He could find who I was with a single look? Had he known, or did he have tech that could track me that quickly?


    ¡°Godsdamned, you came here!?¡± he yelped. His voice was high for such a large man, almost screeching. ¡°Go somewhere else!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t go anywhere else.¡± I mumbled. ¡°It took everything I had to come to this clinic. Please. Something happened to my brother. Help us.¡±


    A deep and bassy voice echoed from inside. ¡°Zgura, let them in, you b¨¢ich¨©. They¡¯ll draw attention if you leave them there, we might as well help.¡±


    The large red haired man looked inside, back at us, then groaned. ¡°Aw maaaaaan. Fine! Jenny, Selego, two for pickup!¡±


    He stepped aside from the doorway. The sounds of clacking came from inside. A strange looking metal boot came out. What stepped out made me want to run.


    A war droid. Not like the Talos mechs we¡¯d fought, but the kind I had once seen-


    I clenched my fists. The droid had a single glowing red eye, panning over us. It was tall, around eight-feet, with a robust looking body. It had a big cross painted on its chest, and bits of brass on its palms, fingertips, and chest, on top of a stainless steel body.


    On its right arm, a series of symbols were painted across the brass armor. I remembered some of them from school. A Hopi Healing Hand and a Berkanen rune on its wrist, a Shou and a Celtic rune I didn¡¯t recognize on it¡¯s forearm. Further up, a Caduceus on its false bicep.


    The one that hit me hardest was the Arabic word on its shoulder. ????, or tabib. Medic. I remembered that one too.


    The droid was moving while I stared at it. It clanked over to Yun and bent to pick him up in its arms. My giant brother lifted like he was a baby. Yun groaned, my HUD flickering again.


    Another droid came out of the doorway, but this one was very different. It floated forward on magnetic jets, and had a large spider-like body painted a beautiful cream color. Long robotic limbs extended out from it, with medical tools on the ends.


    At least, I hoped they were medical.


    As Yun was carried past the floating robots, my HUD flickered again. At the same time, the floating robot dropped, the magnetic jets on it sputtering.


    ¡°Whoa, Jenny, you okay?¡± Zgura asked, ignoring my brother getting carried in.


    The floating robot had a screen on the front, displaying a simple face on it. It flickered for a moment, showing a confused :/ face, before it stabilized in the air. It turned to Zgura, giving him a , then back to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I waved the drone away. ¡°I just need to rest.¡±


    Ignoring me, the robot extended an arm with a bright blue light on it. A small scanning sound came from the arm, and Zgura scowled at the beeps that followed.


    ¡°Rest is just one of the things you need. Get in here,¡± he reached down and grabbed my arm, pulling it over his shoulder and bringing me inside.


    The store looked like it had once been a bar. It had the counter at the center of the room with shelves, but with medical equipment everywhere, and brass surfaces everywhere someone might touch.


    Yun was laid down on a table, with the war bot looking at him. A man was looking over Yun with a tablet in his hand. The man was thin, tall, with a shaved head, dark black skin, a small goatee, and some glasses. He was wearing a clean white set of robes, an armband carrying a set of syringes filled with fluid. He had a monocle just like Zgura¡¯s, and he was staring at Yun.


    ¡°Sit,¡± Zgura lowered me on the table next to Yun¡¯s and glared at me. ¡°Arne, we¡¯d be better off just leaving them on the street.¡±


    ¡°First, do no-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a godsdamn doctor!¡± Zgura said.


    ¡°I know. You don¡¯t have to help, you know?¡± The taller man looked over at him and smiled. ¡°I can handle this.¡±


    ¡°¡®I can handle this¡¯,¡± Zgura said mockingly. ¡°Like you picked up a degree in chrome fixing.¡±


    Zgura sighed, rubbing his face. ¡°All right girl, open up your firewalls. I need to dig into your hardware.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I protested, confused. ¡°Just help my brother!¡±


    ¡°Help him with what, his eating habits?¡± He pointed at Arne. ¡°He deals with meat. I deal with metal. And yer metal is looking rusted.¡±


    ¡°It is?¡± I didn¡¯t feel like I was hurting. My HUD was still flickering, so I couldn¡¯t tell from my systems diagnostic.


    ¡°Just sit there and-¡±


    Zgura¡¯s next grumpy line was interrupted by the lights shutting off. He looked around, befuddled. ¡°What the hell?¡±


    His monocle shut off as well. He tapped at it, the screen flickering, then winced. I fell onto the bed and groaned when my HUD went fuzzy. Now that I wasn¡¯t carrying Yun through the city, I felt aches and pains from all across me. My fingers felt swollen, my head was starting to hurt. And the flickering of my hud didn¡¯t help.


    ¡°Now that is interesting,¡± Arne said. I tried to listen, but it was getting harder. He spoke for a bit, before Zgura cut in.


    ¡°These two have a bounty, we should-¡±


    A bounty! What!?


    I tried to force myself to stand. The last thing I saw was Zgura frowning down at me. Then he pushed me down into the table, straps popping out and surrounding my wrists and ankles.


    My HUD flashed a ¡®Warning!¡¯ in violet across my vision, then I blacked out.

 Chapter 9

    Cherie Brefutan


    Ramirez, Cherie, and the Redfield Employee had just escaped and went back to the building they''d been waiting on originally when the last of the police arrived. Cherie helped Poy up to the roof and turned with him to watch.


    "The kids?" Poy asked her.


    "Layla swung off with Yun. They''ll be okay." Cherie lied.


    They''d been seen on cameras. Soon, news reporters would spread their photos across the city. After that, police would start investigating. At best, the kids might have to escape the city. At worst, they''d be imprisoned and take the fall for everything.


    Corps, any corp, couldn''t allow their reputations to be tarnished. They had to be seen as unassailable. If that meant claiming two punk kids were caught stealing from them rather than a group of professionals escaping them, they''d do it.


    Yun and Layla were done.


    Cherie forced that dark thought down. Focus. Move forward, get the job done. "Get on my bike. We''re leaving."


    Poy swallowed, looking over at the building and gathering news crews. "Yeah. Sure. I don''t do well with crowds."


    He jumped on behind her, and Cherie pulled back on the controls of her hover bike, pulling into the air after Ramirez.


    <hr>


    Sam was in a VR Club when Ramirez, the employee, Cherie, and Poy met him. The clubs were common in Machitou, used for everything. This one was famous for being used by the rich, the kinda place where privacy was a guarantee.


    Cherie was worried about that. They were often used for sexual things, and Sam was infamous for that kind of action.


    Thankfully, today, he was watching hockey.


    They stepped through the doors of the VR suite he''d rented out, and into a screaming crowd. The audience was made up of people both real and virtual. Cherie glanced down at herself, noting the hazy look of her body interfering with the environment. To any of the people actually at the game, they''d only see them as hazy lights in attendance. Fairy lights, they were called.


    VR Rooms were tricky. They could simulate environments the size of a city with a room no larger than a house, through a combination of holograms, moving platforms, and in the most advanced rooms, moving programmable matter. Among the consultants to make them possible were stage magicians. Experts in tricking humans into seeing the impossible even without holograms.


    Cherie didn''t understand it, but she could admire it.


    Ramirez led the way to Sam. He was leaning back in a simple floating platform, with a clear view of the rink below. Cherie glanced at the game.


    Men and women were skating through a city of ice, concrete, and steel. They were dueling within rooms, fighting past obstacles, destroying the various robotic obstacles. A woman and man, the woman biologically enhanced to be a muscular and tall behemoth, the man that seemed to be robotic except for his jarringly handsome face, were approaching a goal. The woman smashed into the goalie, while the man destroyed one of the robotic drones to pieces, then shot the puck into the goal with surprising finesse.


    "Gotta admire it," Sam said to Ramirez as they entered, the group sitting around him on the large sofa around the edge of the platform. Sam didn''t take his eyes off the game though. "The first record of hockey is from 1773. The sport would be nearly unrecognizable now. But the core tenants. Skillful skating. Quick goalies. Powerful fighters. All of it remains."


    "Gotta point to make there?" Ramirez said sarcastically.


    Sam scoffed. "Not at all. I''m sharing my love for one of the oldest surviving sports in the world."


    "How wonderful."


    Sam clenched his jaw, then forced himself to smile. He looked around. "The brats?"


    "We had to leave them," Ramirez calmly. Too calmly, in Cherie''s opinion. She clenched her fists tightly.


    "Ah. Then they''ll take the fall. More money for the rest of you," Sam chuckled. "Thank god. Never liked Yun. Kid was too damn perceptive. And Layla was too cheery for a gutter rat."


    "Sam," he looked at her. Cherie stared him in the eyes. Her hand played along her sword''s hilt. He noted it with a quick flicker of the eyes. Ramirez smirked off to the side. "They did their jobs. That should be enough. Stop."


    After a tense moment, Sam shrugged. "Fine, fine. Show us the goods."


    The employee, still unnamed, took one of the bags Ramirez and them had carried out, and handed it to Sam. He opened up the zipper and placed it on the floor between them all. When he pushed aside the odd material within, Cherie let out a gasp.


    Her HUD lit up at the sight of the vials laying there, neatly side by side. With a single bag, enough power to keep Machitou lit for¡­ she couldn''t even imagine how long, had somehow been hidden from her eyes. The fire within the vials was yellow orange, so bright that it couldn''t be looked at for long. The VR room shuddered, and Sam quickly shut the bag again before the ambient energy could interfere with the electronics around them.


    Even that moment had recharged all of Cherie''s cybernetics and actually threatened to overload some of her mechanics. She had to divert power through herself, bleeding it into canister batteries in her right leg and left arm, breathing deeply.


    "What the fuck?" Poy whispered. "That was pure aether. I''ve only heard stories."


    "It''s real. Real damn expensive," Sam said, sounding just as awed. "This stuff is everything. And if we didn''t have cybernetics, this stuff is also mutative."


    "What?" Cherie asked, stunned. "What do you mean? What the hell is pure aether?"


    "You don''t need to know," Ramirez said firmly. "Jobs done now. Sam, pay everyone out."


    "Already done," Sam said, Cherie''s HUD notifying her as he said it. "Same deal as always. None of us are to do any jobs for the next month. Live off that fat paycheck I just gave you. And if anyone asks about Yun or Layla, you never met them."


    Cherie nodded slowly, still feeling sick to her stomach. Layla was just a kid, damnit. Prison would kill her. And the kids'' parents. Bloody hell.


    She got up and forced herself to walk out. The job stunk heavily. But at least it was over. Layla and Yun would be arrested, but they''d live. She had enough cash to start the next part of her project. Cherie had to move on-


    Another notification hit her HUD. A pair of fresh bounties from one of the boards she frequented. The number for each person made her freeze, staring. Who the hell was the bounty for Cherie''s eyes widened at the names, turning back and looking at Sam.


    "Did you know?" Cherie asked, voice harsh.


    "Know what?" Sam said back. Cherie swiped her hand through the air, sending the bounty messages to him. Sam''s eyes flickered. For some reason he looked at Ramirez in shock, then turned back to Cherie. "Well damn. That''s a lot. You going after them?"


    "That''s your takeawa-" Cherie cut herself off and turned around. "Never mind. If you don''t realize it, I''ll let you figure it out."


    Cherie left Sam to his confusion. She had to get to Claire. Before Claire got to her.


    <hr>


    Poy


    Poy watched Cherie walk off and swallowed, looking back at Sam, Ramirez, and Vergil. Of course he knew the employee''s name. He''d learned it while fighting the system. Poy wasn''t sure if he wanted to reveal that though.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Sam. Do you still want me to-"


    "Yes, you idiot," Sam snarled, glaring at him, then at Ramirez. "Go. Then never speak to me again, asshole."


    Ramirez eyed him. Then he reached out and grabbed Sam''s arm.


    "What are you-GAAAAAH!" Sam screamed when Ramirez flexed his power armor enveloped hand and shattered Sam''s arm.


    "HOLY SHIT!?" Vergil screamed, leaning away from him, while Poy stared in horror.


    "Let me make something clear," Ramirez said, ignoring Sam''s whimpering as he pulled the fixer closer to him. "I don''t stand for disrespect. So if I need you again. I''ll come back."


    Sam cried out when Ramirez squeezed down on his hand. In the gaps between Ramirez''s fingers, Poy could see flesh, blood, and metal from Sam''s cybernetics. Which had somehow shattered as well. How strong was Ramirez?


    "Do you understand?" Sam desperately nodded. Ramirez frowned and squeezed harder, twisting his arm. "Answer. Verbally."


    "Yes! YES I UNDERSTAND!"


    Ramirez let him go and rose up, grabbing the bag of pure aether as he left. "Poy. Come on."


    Poy barely hesitated, following. He glanced back at Sam, who was glaring at Ramirez''s back, before they exited the VR room, Vergil breathing quickly next to Sam.


    <hr>


    Poy followed Ramirez, trying to keep calm. They headed to the rooftop of the VR club. There, Ramirez looked Poy over. "How much do you weigh?" Before Poy answered, Ramirez shrugged. "Doesn''t matter. Direct me to the dropsite."


    "What do you- GAAAAAH!" Ramirez grabbed Poy under the shoulders and took off into the air, his power armor flying him into the sky with Poy in tow.


    "Stop, stop, stop! I''m scared of heights!"


    "So am I," Ramirez said casually. "Just send me the directions."


    Frantically, Poy mentally sent the GPS code to Ramirez. The armored man zoomed over the city with Poy in his hands, eventually bringing them into the slums. The building they were heading for was one of those ones that were perpetually under construction, with open floors, concrete, steel, and plastic covering it. It had been around for as long as Poy remembered. And it was their destination, the pair coming over to the top floor.


    When Poy landed on the rusted steel rooftop, he gasped, falling to his knees and coughing painfully. For a moment, he wanted to scream at Ramirez.


    An image of Sam''s broken arm flashed in his mind, and he swallowed instead.


    "Here," Ramirez tossed the bag of pure aether into Poy''s arms. "Set it up."


    Poy hesitantly opened up the bag and looked over at Ramirez. The other man was looking down at the slums below, his eyes hard. Poy looked as well.


    Same as always. Dirty, smelly, and full of way too many people for the small space. The building was surrounded by makeshift homes, with some tents set up on one side. But it was home. People shopped at open stalls, cooked food, played games, hung out with busted VR headsets.


    Poy took his gaze away from the familiar site, lowered to a knee, and took out his pad, typing into it. In seconds, he accessed the programs of the tubes holding the aether. "What do you want?"


    "Set them to open up in fifteen seconds."


    Poy hesitated. "Open? This is unstable stuff. If I open it, there''s no telling what effect it will have on us. Plus, I thought you wanted to sell it."


    "Don''t worry. I''m going to make sure no one gets their hands on it."


    Seriously? What was he, some kind of eco warrior?


    Poy pushed his skepticism away. This guy might be crazy, but Poy wasn''t getting paid to be his therapist. Fine. Throw away the valuable material.


    Still, he backed well away. Ramirez watched him get to a safe distance before Poy sent the code over.


    "Okay. Fifteen seconds."


    Ramirez nodded. Then. Before Poy could do anything.


    He picked up the back and dropped it. Into the streets below.


    "What the fuck!?" Poy rushed forward, dropping to his knees to stare at the bag as it fell. In his HUD, he could see the seconds counting down. "Why did you do that!?"


    "I told you," Ramirez said coldly. "No one will get their hands on it."


    No. Poy watched the bag, chill filling him. It seemed to happen in slow motion. The vials within began to fall out as the bag twirled through the air. His code finished its job. The lids on the vials opened. Liquid fire spilled out. Below them, the orange-white flame spread out into the air as it fell.


    Poy could see people looking up. Then fire came down upon them.


    The screams followed. Vehicles, computers, VR headsets, all became overloaded with power, exploding apart. The energy was a living thing, leaping into people even as they were torn apart by the explosions. It burned them. It covered the streets below. Children, men, women, gone.


    One little girl was in Poy''s sight, crying in her mothers arm. Her gut had been ripped open from a car exploding near her. "Mommy, mommy, owie, it hurts, mommy-"


    The mother was screaming, clutching at her girls stomach, ignoring the other horrors mirrored around them.


    Poy felt the hot liquid dripping off his face as he stared into the carnage. "Wha-"


    He didn''t have words.


    Ramirez sighed. "Believe me. This is all for the best."


    Poy swallowed. Then he rose to his feet and faced the taller, stronger, armored man. He instinctively tried to hack the other man''s armor. Nothing. Ramirez had shut down his electronics. To keep Poy out. He''d planned ahead.


    The small man, often compared to a rat in appearance, breathed deeply. He wiped away his tears. Then he shakily tossed his pad aside. "You''re going to kill me."


    "I have to."


    "No. You don''t." Poy didn''t snap out the words, but they seemed to hit Ramirez hard. "This was wrong. You''re a monster. And I don''t care what you say to justify it."


    He squared his shoulders, swallowing again. "Fine. Do it."


    Ramirez hesitated. Poy hissed, glaring at him. "What!? Now you have regrets!? You killed them!" Poy pointed at the streets below, the blood and fire that soaked the streets. "And if you don''t kill me, I''ll let the whole world know!"


    Ramirez stared at him. His face hardened. Poy smiled. There it was.


    He felt a boot smash into his chest. Poy fell off the building. He kept his eyes on Ramirez. With every last emotion he had, he tried to make sure Ramirez would never forget him.


    Falling off that building, Poy sent out his last. He fell into the fire, his last sight being Ramirez in blue armor surrounded by orange-white flames¡­


    <hr>


    Yun-Seong Kaneda


    When I woke, I was on a slab of brass metal. My eyes hurt. So did my chest. I tried to move, but couldn''t. Something was holding my arms and legs down.


    A voice was speaking from somewhere. "-numbers are still coming in, but it''s believed that over a thousand people have died, with many more injured. Those without implants are the most devastated, with our contacts reporting on violent mutations, some of them becoming aggressive. We take you now to-"


    The voice kept speaking. I finally opened my eyes, blinking against the light that shone above. A black man I didn''t recognize moved over to me. I felt pain from my right arm. When I glanced down, he had pressed a needle into me.


    My arm was also tied down by a pale white band. All my limbs were. Fresh panic filled me. I tried to move, but he put a hand on my chest.


    "You''re fine. You''re fine. Just a precaution. You were shaking while you slept. Couldn''t operate while you were trying to hit me."


    Like I was going to trust that. I was going to try and pull my arms out of the band, but he reached to my left arm. Before I could say anything, he opened the band there, releasing it. When I stared at him, he smiled.


    "See? Now relax," he pulled the needle out of me, blood filling the syringe attached. "You''re showing some strange symptoms."


    "Layla." I said before I could think. "Where-"


    He gestured with his head to a place towards my left. I looked over.


    My sister''s chest was open. Inside, her metal lungs breathed calmly, nestled within her organs. Her throat, lined in silver, had lights going through it. A man was working on her, using tools to adjust a variety of things inside her. Her fingers twitched lightly as she was operated on, eyes staring unblinking at the ceiling.


    I reached out, grabbing her hand. Her fingers still twitched, but I imagined they calmed slightly.


    "What happened?" I whispered, trying to get through the pain that filled me. I felt like I''d been beaten, then cooked from the inside.


    "Where do I start?" The redheaded man working on my sister grumbled.


    A robot came up to him, holding a tray full of a combination of power tools and medical implements. The man took a wrench off and worked on my sister''s spine, ripping out one of the metal vertebrae and tossing it aside with such casualness. I wanted to hit him. "You fucking kids are public enemy one now."


    "Zgura," the black man said. He was taking a look at my blood through a machine that showed it on a large screen. "Gentle."


    "Gentle my ass, Arne," the man, Zgura, growled. He took a new vertebrae off the tray the robot was holding for him and with surprising speed, placed it into my sister. "It''s the truth."


    He glared at me through his monocle, then pointed to my right. When I looked, I saw the television, a beat up flatscreen. "See that. That''s all you."


    Death. The kind I hadn''t seen in years. People in the slums, some bleeding. Cars exploded. Crying children and devastated looking adults. Paramedics, police officers, and firemen, trying to help.


    I''d seen it before. But never here. And it was here. I recognized those streets. Machitou. And I recognized the fire.


    It was everywhere. That energy, the one that had seemed to fill me. That I could almost feel inside me still. It covered buildings, people, the streets. A news reporter on the scene was speaking.


    "-pure aether still fills the streets, forcing all rescue personnel to stick to only low-tech options, severely hampering their efforts," the woman with pale white fur across her face said, a lagomorph nose twitching in distress. "Any technology is quickly overloaded by the ambient energy, sometimes with explosive results. The sibling terrorists responsible, Yun-Seong Kaneda and Layla Kaneda, are still at large, but the bounty on the pair has increased to-"


    "We didn-" I shut my mouth. No point. The pair wouldn''t be operating on us if they thought we''d done it.


    "We know," the black man, Arne, said, confirming my thoughts. "You were here when the first report came on.


    "But no one gives a shit," Zgura snapped, bringing up an image of my sister''s skeletal system. "They gotta blame somebody. And you two did steal that shit."


    Oh¡­


    I laid back, staring at the ceiling. Terrorist. They called us terrorists. And a bounty. A huge one. The kind that I knew would make every person with half decent skill at fighting in Machitou turn their eyes on us. The kind I''d never seen before.


    I clenched my hands, trying to breath. Arne looked over at me. When I looked back, he sighed, turning his eyes back to the zoomed in image of my blood.


    On the screen, my cells were bursting apart. Well. That was good to add to the rest.


    "We''re dead," I whispered.


    Zgura chuckled, tossing another section of my sister to the floor. "Well hell, kid. That''s the kind of pessimism that I love."


    I closed my eyes and tried to think. We needed to leave. Immediately. Before hunters found us. Before the police did.


    Oh god. The police. Our parents. They were in trouble.

 Chapter 10

    <h2>Chapter 10</h2>


    <u>Detective Akima Nolan</u>


    Akima sometimes wondered if she was creepy. Anyone else sitting in a room watching their partner lie there and waiting for him to wake up would be.


    She just happened to be one of around 20 detectives in Machitou to have an AI partner.


    The Japanese-born detective sat next to her partner''s lifeless form. The room they were in had been specially built for him. A large violet room with a single pod in the center made of translucent plastic. She eyed him for a moment.


    Big. Around eight-feet tall, with wide shoulders, a broad chest, and massive pistons for muscles. He was all metal and polymer, armored panels covering him. He''d once explained the panels weren''t to protect him beyond the sections on his stomach where his central processing was. Instead, they were to protect civilians and fellow officers.


    His head was a block of steel barely mimicking a human head. It was apparently easier for people to interact with a very fake head than dealing with the uncanny valley of a more life-like one. Cheaper too.


    "You''re staring." A light in that head she''d been contemplating glowed and dimmed with each word.


    Akima smiled. "Can''t help it. You''re so gosh-darned pretty."


    "Should I change my personal ID to identify as ''pretty''?"


    "Only if you identify me as beautiful," Akima said. "Welcome back, Des."


    The bipedal machine rose up smoothly, the gears within him buzzing as he moved. "Hello, Akima. How are you?"


    "Caffeinated," she teased.


    "That is not good. You are often over your recommended daily intake for-"


    "Joking. Joking, Des." Kinda. "Anyways. Department wants us to do a house visit. You get the files?"


    Des'' head light buzzed a bright yellow briefly. "The Kaneda Household. The parents of suspects Yun and Layla. We are to visit the parents and follow up on a prior visit by detectives John and Samurai."


    "Yep." Akima got up, holding out a hand to Des and helping him up. He probably didn''t need it, but she needed to stretch her own cyberlimbs. "Come on, I''ll drive."


    They walked out, striding through the hallways. The department was buzzing with activity, as it always was. Machitou, as cities went, had far more crime than it should have. Holoscreens were open all across the bullpens. In one section of the department, holograms displaying images of bodies, weapons, suspects, and even crime scenes floated for detectives to study, with more waiting to go next.


    Uniformed officers with drones floating next to them walked in and out, often in groups of three to four. Safer that way.


    Just before they left, someone called out to them. "Akima! Des!"


    The pair turned around. A tall powerful man with an older model cybernetic arm took a deep puff at his vapor pen as he approached them. He was Indian, with deeply sunken eyes and hair pulled into a bun behind his head.


    "Yeah Chief Cali?" Akima asked, crossing her arms casually.


    "You got your assignment, right?" He asked as he came to a stop, puffing on his pen again.


    "Yeah, visit the Kaneda''s, ask them about the kids who stole from Renfield, see if they know where they are?"


    "Hmf," Chief Cali scoffed. "Yeah. Kids. Des, tell her about the bounty."


    "Bounty!?" Akima asked, startled. She looked at her partner, whose light was yellow. When it returned to it''s normal blue, he spoke.


    "There is a new bounty on Layla Kaneda and Yun-Seong Kaneda. Both are to be taken in dead or alive."


    "Who the hell put out the bounty!?" Akima asked, shocked. "Why would they-"


    "Wait, wait," Cali slashed a hand through the air, cutting her off. He eyed her. "You don''t know."


    "...Don''t know what?"


    Cali eyed her. "Those kids. They aren''t just thieves anymore. They''re terrorists."


    <hr>


    Later, in her car Akima held in her breath as she stared at the images before her. Her assigned vehicle, like all the others, was a four-door hover SUV, with a window capable of displaying images in the passenger seat. Right then, it showed images of death.


    The slums, on a good day, weren''t exactly pretty. Death was common there. But not on the scale she was seeing. The screen froze briefly on a police officer pulling a body out from under a car that had exploded apart. A very small body.


    "How did this happen?" Akima asked Des. He was standing outside of the car, leaning in through the window to watch with her. He probably had seen it a thousand times, but he still stood next to her, a comforting presence.


    "Pure aether." Des said simply.


    "Pure? What''s the difference between that and the stuff that runs my car? Or, you know, you."


    Des leaned in, holding a hand out. At his command, the image of dead children was replaced with a video displaying a set of chemical structures. "Pure aether is refined into a fuel source for modern technology. But before that, it''s a form of extremely dense energy. While we know how to refine it, in its purest form, it has enough power to overload any technology it encounters that is more advanced than a steam engine."


    The video showed a cartoony version of Des encountering orange and white fire, exploding apart on contact. "And its effect on living tissue is nearly as violent."


    "What are we talking about here?" Akima asked him.


    "Unknown."


    "The hell do you mean, unknown?"


    "That research is classified."


    "Classified... of course." Akima punched her dashboard. "Des, what the hell was the point of all this? Were those kids tied to any terrorist organizations? Tarturus or something?"


    "No. Yun and Layla have suspected ties to a variety of criminals, but only in the last few years."


    Images of the pair showed up. Not mugshots, since they''d never been arrested. Instead the photos looked like they had been taken from social media.


    Akima eyed them briefly. Yun''s was taken during a boxing match of some sort, his fist laying into the chin of another man. He was very big, stacked with muscle, with a very serious look in his eyes and spiky hair. She was surprised to see he was in his teens.


    "Six feet, five inches?" Akima mumbled. "The hell were they feeding him?"


    Comparatively, Layla was more normal in size. Her hair was a turquoise color, pulled up into two buns on her head, her skin more olive toned than Yun''s. She was fit, but built for speed and agility. She was photographed in a gymnast''s outfit, backflipping through the air with a wide grin on her face.


    "Augments?" Akima asked him.


    "Yun has none."


    "None? Not even the basics?"


    "None. Layla needed replacements to her lungs, throat, portions of her spine-" As Des layed it out, he displayed images of the girl in question. He finished up. "-she was raised in a warzone. Even after being rescued, biological warfare had damaged large portions of her body, so it all needed replacing."


    Common story. Akima looked between the two. They didn''t look like terrorists. Then again, what did a terrorist look like?


    "...something stinks about all this," Akima said softly. "Stealing that stuff, just to drop it on the city? That''s not something petty thieves and thugs do. That requires¡­ I don''t know. An ideaology, hatred, some kind of larger goal maybe?"


    She leaned back in her seat, thinking.


    "I concur," Des said. "I would still need to compile a psychological profile on both. However, a cursory glance does not show any signs of anarchist tendencies at the least."


    "Then we need more than a cursory glance," Akima said, straightening. "Come on. Let''s go see the family."


    Des nodded, moving to enter the car. The SUV started up, rising into the air before heading toward the exit. Exiting into the open air hundreds of feet above the city, they zipped off into the dense architecture, passing statues reminiscent of ancient gods and goddesses in flashes of light.


    <hr>


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Driving through Machitou was a struggle on the best of days. Even with the privilege of flight given only to law enforcement, corps, and the elite, it could be harrowing.


    Machitou just after a terrorist attack was easier to drive through. Less cars in the air. It was almost sad.


    Des drove them to the slums, heading directly to the Kaneda apartment building. Akima watched as they went from the tall skyscrapers that stood lonely and imposing in the clouds, to the lower levels of the city with their dark architecture and neon holographic ads flickering against the backdrop. It was almost like night and day.


    Reaching the apartment in question and parking in front of the building, Akima and Des hopped out, following the GPS directions into it. When they got to the Kaneda Apartment, a new problem revealed itself.


    The door had been broken down. Akima quickly rushed forward, Des following her with stomping steps. At the door, Akima pulled out the only weapon she had. Guns were illegal in Machitou. Only the most top level operatives could get them, and Akima was not one of them.


    Instead, Akima held onto a dark black piece of molded plastic, a handle. An opening in it folded out a long stick, finally leaving her holding a single tonfa-esque weapon with some metal inserts along it. Stepping inside, Akima called out.


    "MCPD!"


    "Shit!" Someone called from inside.


    "Come out now!" She called. "We don''t want to fight anyone. We just want to talk!"


    Des stepped in, forward. She followed him, a shadow to his much larger form. As she walked in, her eyes snapped around.


    The Kaneda''s had a smaller apartment than her. That was¡­ really sad. She lived alone, in a crappy place near the station, and this family of four still had a smaller place. The kitchen was basically just a counter and sink for crying out loud. The stove was a portable one.


    More importantly, the place had been torn apart. The couch was torn apart, shattered glass covered the floor, and the walls had holes in them. Des and Akima moved forward as one. Her shoes crunched the glass under her feet as she stalked forth. Des'' head stopped moving, but she was sure he was using his sensors as he moved. Which was why, when he suddenly spun to face the wall beside him, Akima knew to back up.


    The wall exploded apart.


    "RAAAAGH!" A man, screaming loudly, came through the wall, his eyes wild. Akima quickly noted the cybernetics of the man. His arms, chest, back, all shining with blue and red metal, his fingers extending outwards to try and grab his opponent.


    Des'' hands extended out in tandem, gripping the hands of the man. He slid back a single foot before the pistons in his arms and legs let out a loud click-clack sound as the gears within spun to compensate, grinding him to a stop while the floor beneath him cracked and split.


    With a violent pull and twist to the right, Des brought the man over his hip, lifting him into the air.


    "FUCK!" The massive chromed up man screamed before Des pushed him into the kitchen counter. The man reached up, trying to grab Des'' face. Metal fingers scratched across a featureless narrow face, unable to get a grip. A desperate punch barely shook him before Des raised his own fist.


    The false muscles in Des'' arm lit up like violet fire. They exploded and his fist shot forward. His metal knuckles smashed into the man''s skull. It was likely that, like many chromed up thugs, the man had the sort of skull lining most had to absorb damage.


    Which was why Des was equipped with Hydraulic Rams. Built to act like a jackhammer, the fist erupted forward again and again, jabbing into the face of the chromed up thug. The man tried to struggle out from under Des, but the policebot held him down and poured on the blows.


    In the few seconds it took for Des and his opponent to start fighting, another man came running into the room holding a machete arcing with lightning along the edge of the carbon-black blade. On seeing Des, he raised it high and rushed forward.


    Akima''s tonfa parried the machete aside, electricity sparking along the machete and finding no way to sink into the tonfa. She spun the tonfa around and smashed it into his elbow, forehead, then solar plexus. While he was off balance, she spun it again so the handle was out, wrapping it around the machete wielder''s right knee and pulling his leg up before kicking his left ankle out. Whatever chrome he had couldn''t prevent him from losing his balance, falling onto his back and sending the machete flying.


    With as much speed as she had, she spun the tonfa around and pressed the tip against his chest, her own weapons electricity arcing through his systems both biological and mechanical, knocking him out cold. Behind her, Des lowered his own opponent to the floor efficiently.


    "There are three more people in this apartment," Des announced.


    Akima didn''t ask how he knew that. Based on how his light was buzzing, he was interfacing with technology. "Can you shut them down?"


    "Negative. The assailant has advanced security software, and the others are hostages."


    Akima nodded firmly. Moving to the edge of the hole in the wall made by the first thug, she yelled out. "Hey! This is the MCPD! Come out quietly and we can talk this through, okay?"


    "No need," the voice that spoke was far calmer than necessary. The sound of breaking glass followed. "They don''t know where they are."


    "You want the Kaneda''s?" Akima asked, twisting to glance into the room. Three individuals. Two people were tied to a chair with black bags over their heads, and one more person standing. One of the ones in the chair, the male, was bleeding onto the floor, the red fluid dripping down. The standing figure was at a now shattered window.


    "Everyone does," the figure said. "We all had family in those slums. Best of luck."


    The figure moved. Out of the window. Des and Akima ran in, but it was too late. He exited into the open air, dropping several stories before a pair of small red wings popped out of his shoulders. He glided out into the city, disappearing.


    "Cameras!?" Akima half-yelled at Des.


    "Tracking him now, but if he is an experienced criminal-"


    "He''ll have them mapped into his systems, I know," Akima swore.


    The internet was the bane of her existence. Information free for all, including how to get away with crime.


    "How long till EMS gets here?" Akima asked, spinning to go back to the couple in their chairs tied back to back. The man was still bleeding, while the woman was whimpering under the bag.


    "Ten minutes."


    Akima ripped the bags off their heads. The woman was pretty, if tired looking, more so with tears in her eyes and snot bubbling over the duct tape on her mouth. The man looked beaten. His face was turning black and blue. Unlike the woman, he had no duct tape, so he spoke immediately.


    "No¡­ no hospital," he spat out blood. When he met Akima''s eyes, his own gaze was steadier than she expected. "Can''t afford it."


    "We still need to have EMS check you out. Sir, do you remember the date today?"


    He nodded, stating it clearly. While he did, she noticed the small hole in his head. On a double-check she almost wanted to throw up. A space about as large as two thumbs drilled into his head, with a company logo imprinted.


    "Sir, your chip-"


    "That was gone before," he said, as though that made it less horrifying. "You get used to it."


    "Akima," Des said, drawing her attention. "EMS is going to be late. They''ve been pulled into the Aether fires."


    "...Shit," Akima said firmly. With that stated she got up and moved to the machete lost by one of the perps. "Okay. We do what we can."


    She tossed the machete to Des. "You let them loose and start tying up the perps, I''ll get the FAK out of the car."


    "Will do." Des moved towards the couple. As Akima headed out, she ran through the events of the last few minutes in her head. Three assailants invading a home, beating up the father of the Kaneda''s for information. They needed to take the parents into custody. Not just to get answers of their own, but to protect them.


    Things were getting more and more complicated by the second.

 Chapter 11

    Akima returned with the first aid kit to find Des having handcuffed both perps, their chrome shut down by the sophisticated devices. Akima walked past the pair, both thugs sat back to back in the living room and into the room they''d found the parents. Des was standing silent watch as the couple hugged each other.


    Akima, without speaking, moved over to them and opened up the first aid kit by pressing a button on the large bright red case. While it did have manual clasps in case of electrical failure, the button was faster, the large case exploding open quickly with a hissing sound. Akima quickly took out some gauze and alcohol pads and began cleaning the open wounds on the bleeding man''s face, his wife watching quietly.


    "I suppose I don''t need to reintroduce myself?" Akima asked the pair. She eyed them, going over what she remembered from the file. Kaze and Jade Kaneda. Adopted parents of Yun and Layla.


    "Akima, right?" Jade asked, her eyes hardening. She looked at the thugs. "Who are they?"


    "Criminals," Des said. "Chrome jackers, mostly, but they''ve been arrested for assault, possession, and more. They are also fairly prominent bounty hunters."


    "Criminals and bounty hunters?" Kaze, the father, said with a very hazy look in his eyes. Akima wasn''t sure if he was concussed or if it was because of his chip removal. Either way, she answered.


    "It''s more common than you think. Bounties are easy cash, and there is no loyalty on the streets. They''ll turn on their friends, and have someone without a record put in for the money."


    Jade and Kaze shared a look. For a moment, Kaze''s eyes cleared, filled with warmth and intelligence before it faded. Jade turned to look at Akima, eyes still hard. "We don''t know where they are."


    Akima crossed her arms. "Not even a clue? Places they would run to if they needed help?"


    "I can think of some. But they wouldn''t go there. They care about the people who live in those places." Jade crossed her arms, looking down at the ground. Akima pretended to not see the droplet of water that slid down a cheek and landed on one of her arms. "They''re good kids."


    "Good kids accused of robbery, assault, and most importantly, terrorism." Akima regretted it, but she wanted to get a true assessment of the parents and their own impression of their children.


    "They aren''t terrorists!" Kaze snapped up to his feet, only to wobble. When Des moved a robotic arm to help him, Kaze tried to push him back, only to nearly fall over. Despite that, he kept his eyes on Akima. "I know how this looks, but they just do petty shit to help with the bills, the same way everyone in this shithole does."


    "He''s right," Jade said more calmly, though she still rubbed at her eyes before she could continue. "Everyone does it. But the stuff they''re saying in the news is insane. Yun and Layla aren''t terrorists. They just¡­ need to help us sometimes."


    Kaze and Jade shared a look. Akima tried not to read into it too much, but both looked ashamed. Akima stood up. "Can I look inside their rooms? Please? I''ll do my best for them, but I need to have some idea of who I''m dealing with."


    "S-Sure," Kaze stuttered. He reached out for his wife''s hand, clenching it tightly. "Through there."


    "Des?"


    The robotic officer nodded, rising up and joining her. They entered what must have been Layla''s room first, with a few old stuffed animals and posters of things Akima would have enjoyed when she was younger. Including an AKIRA poster.


    Taking a look around, Akima began searching the room. Quickly and efficiently, rummaging through the trinkets Layla had collected. Des went to the computer, bringing up the cheap holoscreen and hacking into it with ease.


    The impression of Layla was more normal than Akima had expected. A smart, cheery girl, with books bent towards fantasy and sci-fi on her shelf, footage of her own martial arts sessions on her pc (presumably to study and perfect her techniques) and a few awards from her former school, gymnastic primarily.


    And nothing about being a terrorist. Even ignoring the fact a terrorist wouldn''t just leave evidence laying around, Des didn''t find anything on the computer, and there were no secret compartments in her room.


    Leaving the cheery room behind, they entered Yun''s next. His room was more spartan than his sisters. No posters either. It looked almost unlived in. Just a bed and some bits and bobs.


    "We''re moving out," Akima looked over at Kaze, the one who had spoken. He was leaning against the door, smiling sadly. "It''s what Yun always says. Why he doesn''t decorate his room. Why would he? We''re going to move into something better soon."


    Akima looked around. Yeah. She could see it now. Everything was packaged neatly away, the walls were clean, and the bed was set up in a military style. There were two photos hidden away in a drawer. One was a digital video set in a durable plastic screen, showing Yun, Layla, Kaze, and Jade, all holding each other and laughing in the looping footage. The other was, to Akima''s surprise, an actual photograph, printed on instant film.


    "Jesus," Akima lifted up the photo. "I''ve never seen one of these out of old movies."


    Des walked over to look at the photo. His eyes flickered, scanning the image. "Yun and his biological mother. I estimate he was around ten then."


    "Six," Kaze said, smiling just a bit. "He grows fast, that kid."


    Akima stared at the picture, focusing on the image itself this time. Yun, as Kaze said, was large for his age, wearing what looked like Muay Thai gear, a wide smile on his chubby cheeks as held his hands up. The woman next to him was average in appearance, fit, wearing Korean military gear and kneeling next to him.


    Putting the photo down, Akima looked around as well. Des hunted through his computer while she did. In the end, nothing.


    It was possible that Layla and Yun were hiding things elsewhere, but it still didn''t add up. The attack had been vicious. Calculated to cause damage, fear, and death on a massive scale. That required more than just two random kids with a penchant for petty crimes anyone else would do for survival, that required¡­


    Conviction. Whoever had done the attack had an ideology. Even if it was just for the sake of killing people, that was still an ideology. Nothing about Yun and Layla showed they had that sort of insane conviction. To go from killing no one to killing hundreds wasn''t so easy.


    Social media agreed. Yun barely used it, but Layla still updated her own profile. Both were devoid of anything that would display any terrorist tendencies.


    Akima left Yun''s room with Des following, her arms crossed. In the living room, Jade and Kaze waited.


    "We''ll need to take you down to the station. For your safety."


    Jade bit her lip and nodded. "Okay¡­ what about our kids?"


    "They''ll¡­ we''ll find them. And we''ll bring them in alive. For questioning."


    "You believe us?" Kaze asked, a desperation to his voice.


    Akima didn''t answer, instead leading them away with Des. Her robotic ally didn''t speak, but she could feel his eyes on her all the while.


    The Kaneda kids weren''t innocent. But someone was playing a bigger game than she''d realized. That, or maybe she just felt too sympathetic.


    The ride to the station was long. It would give her enough time to think it over.


    <hr>


    Yun Kaneda


    More reports of the attack flowed across the internet. I watched them with a dead stare on the wall of Arne and Zgura''s wall. The medics were cleaning their tools, speaking softly in the background. I rubbed my face, trying to think even as my mind raced. My body felt fuzzy. Almost like I was filled with something. I''d always been very aware of my own body, but this was worse. Everytime I tried to think I''d feel some new ''zap'' sensation fill my chest.


    I looked over at Layla. She was cross legged on her own medical table next to mine.


    "What do we do?" I asked her.


    "You''re asking me?" Layla said, not looking away from the carnage we were being blamed for.


    "I can''t focus¡­ It''s like I''m still full of that stuff. It''s in my head," I rubbed my forehead, groaning. "God. How can I feel this good and this bad at the same time?"


    "Magic, probably," Zgura walked over, the large redhead slapped something on the table. "At least, that''s as close as anyone has come to explaining pure aether."


    "It''s not ''magic''," The other man, Arne, said as he walked over. The black man pulled a chair over, setting it next to us and swinging a leg over it to look at us. "Aether has consistent effects. You both are lucky. Kinda funny, you being on opposite sides of the spectrum for the effects."


    "Opposite sides?" Layla asked. I stood up and began stretching.


    "Aether, the pure stuff, is deadly. It either fills you up with so much energy it explodes your implants, or turns your organic parts to cancerous rubber," Zgura said, sitting down and pulling an e-cig out of his pocket.


    While Zgura began puffing away, Arne continued. "There are two ways to get away clean. First, have enough energy expending tech inside you that instead of overloading you just get a boost of power," he nodded towards Layla.


    "Or have nothing at all, and just the right genetics. Which, we''re guessing, you have," Zgura nodded at me.


    "The right genetics¡­" I mumbled.


    "That''s the guess." Zgura said.


    "It''s the hypothesis, one with some grounded resea-" Arne began to say before a loud snort cut him off.


    "Oh come off of it," Zgura punched Arne in shoulder. "If we knew exactly what made some people come away from the stuff without turning into giant tumours, they''d write it down. It might as well be magic. Or luck, in your case."


    I looked at them. Then at the screens displaying our images, along with desperate crying faces, before looking back at them. "I don''t feel lucky."


    "Matter of perspective," Zgura shrugged, puffing at his cig. "So¡­ I''m guessing you both are going on the run."


    "We don''t have much choice," I winced as another burst of light seemed to fill me. Like my heart briefly pumped energy instead of blood. The screen displaying news footage flickered, something it had been constantly doing. Might need fixing.


    I focused as best as I could, stretching my arms over my head. "Mom and dad are probably being questioned, if bounty hunters didn''t go after them. If we make it clear we''re leaving the city, maybe they''ll get left alone."


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Layla bit her lip. "Yun, that''s a big maybe."


    "I know. But we don''t have a choice," I looked around for my things after I finished stretching. Zgura pointed at a table behind me, where my jacket lay. I picked it up and put it on. "We can head south, towards the slums, then out into the desert. Once we''re out there, we can disappear."


    "The desert?" Layla asked, looking at me like I was insane. "Yun, we won''t have water, food, or anyone we know out there."


    "Well what do you WANT!?" I exploded in rage, slamming my fists down on the table. Behind me, the screen showing my face shut down in a flicker of sparks. I ignored it to meet Layla''s shock-filled eyes. I tried to breath, to get rid of my tension. "We don''t have any choice. We leave. Or we get caught, and sent to prison. Or worse."


    A lot of people had died. In Machitou, people didn''t wait for the police to catch the ones who killed their family. Revenge was best at your own hands.


    "We got pulled into something we didn''t expect," I took a breath again. "Ramirez screwed us over to blame us for-" I cut myself off as the screen flickered back to life behind me, the images of death shining once more. "Yeah¡­ I''d love to go back home, Layla. But we don''t have that option."


    I stand to my full height, putting my gloves on and clenching them tight. "So we run. We leave Machitou. While we run, we can grab supplies if we get the chance, maybe steal a car."


    "Oh good, they''re planning more crimes," Zgura grumbled, Arne punching him in the leg. "What? Look, you hooligans, I''m happy you aren''t going to die, but we kinda need you to leave."


    "...Okay," Layla stood up and bowed towards Zgura and Arne. "Thank you for all of your help. I''m sorry we can''t pay you back. We owe you everything."


    "You are most welcome, little lady," Arne said kindly.


    "Yeah, welcome to my expensive gear," Zgura grumbled again. "Take care of yourself, all right? I gave you some upgrades and defenses against the electrical impulses that damaged you."


    "You did?" Layla blinked, then rushed over to give him a hug. The large man grumbled again, but he patted her back with a little bit of embarrassment.


    "All right, all right¡­ And here," He reached for the table behind him and pulled a jacket out of the hole in the center, handing it to her. When she unfolded it, it was a bit too big for her, with a floppy hoody on the neck. "You''ll want to hide yourself. You''re like me brat. Distinctive hair."


    Layla put the jacket on and grinned at him. He smiled back, but quickly put on a grumpy face that fooled no one.


    "...Thank you," I say simply. Bowing to the pair, I begin walking out, Layla following. We exited the shop and I looked around, then back at Layla. "Which way should we go?"


    "South, right? That way should be good." She pointed at an alleyway. We started walking side by side. As we entered the street, I pulled my hood up, Layla joining me. Moving together, we walked through the crowds, rain beginning to fall on our heads.


    "We''re in the Norse section?" I asked, a little dumbly, as we walked past the low slung buildings


    mimicking Viking architecture. I''d been in the Norse section a few times, but not recently. I liked it more than the other downtown areas, with their shining and glittering spires stretching up for hundreds of feet, or fancy pyramids made of false marble.


    The Norse sections of the city was fancier than the slums, but it felt less like I was walking around somewhere I would get jumped by security or cops for looking scruffy.


    Layla roamed along with me, her eyes slowly looking around. I felt¡­ sad, for a moment.


    Layla came from war. Not like me, who just had a mom in the military, she was truly born in it. When she joined the family, I wanted my sister to be happy. Safe. Instead, we became criminals, and now fugitives.


    "Lay," when she looked over, I wanted to speak. To tell her how sorry I was. That I wished I could give her a better life. Instead, I said, "Your eyes are better than mine, let me know the second someone attacks us."


    "Mm, mm!" Humming and nodding happily, Layla kept her cybernetic eyes moving. I did the same with my own more human eyes.


    The crowd around us became slowly more rowdy as we walked towards the center of the Norse section, past the sloping buildings, some shaped like large boats turned upside down. We crossed over a bridge with a river running under it, with boats of various types moving under it.


    Once we were back on solid ground, we began approaching something I''d rarely seen. A Viking Ring Fortress. It stood like it was the center of the world, with lights shining from within it. I''d learned about them in school, and they dotted the Norse section. Massive metal fortresses made of fake wood, circular and imposing, with entrances pointing in each cardinal direction. The top of it, hundreds of feet up, had men and women walking along the top, dressed in similar brown furs and carrying techno swords, axes, and bows.


    I glanced upwards. Hundreds of feet up there, I saw a woman with braided blonde locks stop to look down. My eyes were good enough to see her watching the crowds roam into the fortress. She had a sword almost as tall as her, which was impressive since she was even taller than me. Her hair was shaved on one side, and her clothes were the same false fur skins the rest wore, with a cloak on her back that waved in the wind.


    For a moment it felt like she met my eyes. I looked away and sucked in a quiet breath.


    "What''s wrong?" Layla asked me when she noticed.


    "Guard up top. She''s staring at us."


    Layla didn''t look up, simply panning her eyes across the fortress ahead of us. It was an old trick, using your peripheral vision to look at something. "Oh boy. Yeah, she''s staring at you hard."


    We needed to move faster.


    Entering the northern entrance, Layla and I stopped momentarily.


    The inside of the ring fortress was like a miniature city in itself. It had to be around two miles across, sloping downwards to an open field in the center, all roads and buildings pointing towards the center in a ring.


    Walking downhill, Layla and I followed the flow of the crowd towards the center of the fortress, passing shops selling food, clothes, and electronics out of facsimiles of ancient Nordic architecture.


    I passed an advertisement shining above, displaying imagery of some kind of hovercar. That advertisement was cut off by a news report. A bounty for me and Layla, displaying our images.


    We tightened our hoodies and kept moving. "God, that''s so much money," Layla mumbled.


    "Maybe we should turn ourselves in for it," I said dryly.


    "Who can even afford that?" She asked.


    I stopped at that. It was a good point. Bounties usually were created by the government to take down bail hoppers and terrorists¡­ which, we were the latter, but still, that required time and money. Governments weren''t good at giving up either of those.


    So someone private had put out the bounty? Who?


    We reached the bottom of the ring fortress, walking across the open field of stone together, ignoring people drinking, selling food, hanging out, and playing games.


    But the longer we walked, the more lonely the field got. The crowd thinned out more and more, people stepping away, some picking up their kids along the way. Until suddenly, we had a clear space around us.


    I went back to back with Layla, looking around. The civilians were eyeing us, backing away.


    And guards began to step out from the shadows. Varangian Guards, named after the ancient orders of guards made up of foreigners utilized by the Byzantine empire, made up of Norsemen. These guards, ironically, were mostly made up of non-Norse people, men and women of a variety of races and creeds.


    The logic was simple. It was easier to be a guard towards people you had no emotional ties to. You could be cruel if need be. And these men and women looked cruel, large and covered in false furs, carrying weapons of various types, mostly swords and axes.


    "Yun¡­" Layla whispered behind me.


    "I count five," I said.


    "Eight, for me, there''s some on the roofs."


    "Kaneda''s!" A voice echoed, followed by a burst of fire in the distance. Someone came dropping out of the sky, landing heavily before us. He was tall and powerful looking, with a wide grin on his face. He was also carrying a hammer.


    Vikings are some of the toughest people in Machitou. They trained constantly, had access to the best facilities, cyberware, and teachers. Gangs feared them, police respected them, and the city loved them. They were badasses.


    They were also fucking Norse legend weeaboos. They were obsessed with the legends, and dressed up to match the mythology of it. They didn''t care about historical accuracy as much as looking really cool. The best of them carried a weapon matching the appearance of one of the gods. A spear like Odin or Loki, a blade like Baldur¡­ or a hammer like Thor.


    And this guy looked like all of the stereotypes of a Machitou Viking rolled into a single man. He had a thick scarlet beard and long hair pulled into a ponytail with the rest of his head shaven, a grin on his face. His arms and legs were all cybernetic, while the center of his chest had a single blue glowing tattoo of the Norse rune Uruz to go with all the dozens of other tattoos across his body.


    He also had a massive rocket on his backpack that he tossed aside as he approached us. "So. You two are the terrorists of the hour."


    "We aren''t terrorists," Layla spat, hands raised up as she looked around us.


    "God, I hope you are," the man said, walking over with his hammer over his shoulders. "I''ve been so bored lately. No one wants to fight anymore. I just want-"


    And suddenly I was ducking under a hammer. I instinctively punched outwards, smashing my fist into an abdomen of steel. With nothing happening. He grunted, but still grinned down at me. "-a good fucking brawl!"


    I fell back a step as Layla leapt upwards, a group of guards flying on rocket engines to meet her. Lifting my fists, I grit my teeth.


    So much for escaping without a fight.