ã€ŠThe Altered, The Augmented, And The Ascendedã€‹


 Chapter 1

    "Father please. We must leave," pleaded Euna.

    The chief of the village shook his head slowly as he gazed at his people. "For centuries this has been our home, Euna. But did you know Euna, before this, we had nothing. You do not know because you weren''t born yet. Our ancestors fought with their lives to make this forest a home for us. If we leave now, and abandon what we have, then we will be throwing away all that our ancestors have done for us."

    Euna turned her gaze to the horizon. Far above the lush green forest, looming over the horizon like a storm, was a fleet of ships.

    "But father! If we don''t leave, what will we do? We''ll be slaughtered!" Euna cried as she tugged at her father''s arm.

    For a moment, the village chief displayed sadness and pain in his expression as he watched his daughter. But then he turned his gaze to his people, and saw. Unwavering courage and determination glistened in their eyes like fire. They would not yield. They would fight. Even to the death.

    The chief spoke, a steadfast voice that carried its way to the crowd that had gathered. "Even if we run now, sooner or later they will come for us. I will stay and fight. Those who will standby me... step forward."

    And with those words, everyone stepped forward.

    Euna watched in silence as her people began to roar, a warcry that would be heard by the fleet of Augmented. She had heard the stories. The Augmented lived in colossal mechanical cities. Spires of machinery and technology that vastly outpaced the rest. They were, by far, the largest race to emerge from Humanity. Vastly outnumbering the rest. Then came the Altered, who were the epitome of genetic phenomenon. For a time, the Altered were superior. A single Altered was capable of taking on a troop of Augmented. But the Augmented learned, and grew mechanically. Devising weapons and defenses that became more devastating and effectual with each fight against the Altered. Then there was the Ascended, but most say they were merely fables. That none really existed. But some say that the Ascended were everywhere, that they were a collective of many that existed as a singular, all-encompassing entity. That they were virtually, a god.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    For all of her life, these stories were - just that, stories. But now she saw. Beyond the verdant glade that their village had nested peacefully for centuries was now a force of machinery that would eliminate their village more efficiency than any force of nature.

    She didn''t understand. What could a village of Altered hidden in the forest for centuries do?

    Then she saw.

    Her fellow villagers that she had known all her life as simply beautiful and graceful in appearance, suddenly changed into beings of hulking absurdities. Malformed wings of scale and feathers sprouted, as limbs grew into trees. They''re eyes shifted, and suddenly they were eyes of crimson and pupils like slits. They were taller than the trees now, but one of them towered above the rest.

    It was her father.

    A golden mane rested on his shoulders. His lips of stone yawned open to reveal teeth like diamonds. He spoke, an unearthly and unfamiliar voice. "Take flight my angels."

    And with that, they flew. They flew into the horizon where they would meet death.

    Euna cried as she watched the first Altered fall out of the sky. Wings singed and head incinerated into nothing. The village, her family, they were all going to die. Her heart hurt, and she let anger erase the pain. She let herself change. Euna would fight. And she knew that she would probably die the same way.

    But a voice spoke. A voice that was many but at the same time, it was one.

    ''A Way'' it whispered into her mind.

    Her vision distorted. Suddenly, she could see beyond the horizons. She could feel her mind dip into a well of memories. And suddenly, she knew what she had to do.

    Euna took flight.

 Chapter 2

    Regulus cried in anguish as he watched his brethren fall out of the sky. In an instant, his eyes had snapped to each one of them as they fell, recognizing them with a mere glance.

    Luckos.

    Vremi.

    Lika.

    Isaiah.

    The names went on... each one bringing more pain than the last. He was the village chief and he knew each of their names from the bottom of his heart.

    And now they were dead. Gone from this world. But Regulus would remember them. His memory of each of them, carved into his soul, bringing new scars on top of old ones. Old scars from a war long ago. This was not the first time that Regulus had warred against the Augmented. He was not village chief for no reason. He was the oldest among the Altereds that lived in the village and he still remembered the last battle against the Augmented like it was yesterday. It was the battle that had taken Klara¡¯s life afterall.

    This battle, however, was different. This time the Augmented had prepared. Six spires of mechanical marvels floated effortlessly in the air as they advanced over the horizon. Regulus could not have mistaken them for what they were. They were different - larger in size, and slightly different in shape, but he was sure. They were Carriers. They were more than just floating fortresses. Each one of them contained Vessels, and by the size of the Carriers, he was sure that each one of them numbered more Vessels than his entire village alone.

    And as village chief, Regulus knew how many people he had. A hundred-and-seventy-three. And that number just turned to a hundred-and-fifty.

    ¡°Chief! Watch out!¡± a voice shouted and suddenly Regulus was shoved aside.

    In his place, an Altered had appeared and was immediately struck by a high-velocity projectile.

    Regulus recognized him immediately.

    It was Vale, one of his younger council members and one of the fastest of the Altered. A searing hole had opened up in the center of his chest. Vale gasped for air, as his massive black wings folded before falling limply through the sky.

    Regulus did not waste a second. He dived forward, and caught Vale in his scaled arms.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Vale, focus!¡± Regulus growled through his abnormally sized jaw.

    Vale blinked, then closed his eyes.

    New flesh began to grow and a new set of lungs took form within his chest. A few moments later, the wound was gone, his organs and spine fully regenerated.

    Vale breathed.

    ¡°Thanks chief,¡± Vale grunted before unfolding his wings and taking flight again. He hovered next to the chief awaiting his orders. ¡°What should we do?¡±

    When Regulus had led the Altereds to the skies, the Augmented had opened fire first. It was from an outrageous distance that he had never seen before. This was something new. An Augmented weaponry that Regulus had not faced before. A volley of projectiles propelled at speeds which had incinerated their scales and carapace instantly. He had watched with disbelief as the carnarge unfolded around him. The first volley had immeditately inflicted death on his kin and massive debilitating wounds to many that were caught in the barrage unaware. Still distraught and in disarray from the first volley, the second had immediately followed after a deafening explosion of sound. The second volley brought even more devastation to the flock of collosal Altereds.

    By the third volley, the Altereds had learned. Insteading of advancing as a flock, they scattered into the errant winds, making themselves scarce. They dived and soared through the clouds, looping backwards and around in order to reduce their chances of being struck. No longer were the Altereds sitting targets, but their advance had been halted.

    Now, they looked to their chief, awaiting his command.

    Regulus narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell on the Augmented fleet.

    Dominating the horizon in front of them with the setting sun at their backs, were six Carriers lined up in a ¡®V¡¯ formation.

    Resolutely, he turned to look at his people.

    There was only one thing really for them to do.

    Regulus raised his gargantuan arm, and every Altered in the sky - even those that were a thousand meters away - saw it clearly with enhanced eyes. He had pointed forward.

    The army of hulking angels dived towards the Carrier closest to them, following Regulus, a giant among giants and their unwavering leader.

    Another volley of projectiles ejected from the Carriers, searing a path through the air before perforating the army of Altereds.

    Regulus didn¡¯t even flinch as he felt parts of his flesh vaporize before feeling the scorching heat and the cold air travel through his innards. But it was not lethal. Anything that didn¡¯t obliterate his brain instantly would not kill him.

    Before long, Regulus slammed into the hull of a Carrier. His army of Altered followed like a swarm, crashing into the ship, and denting the exterior.

    Their close proximity made it impossible for the Augmented to fire at them.

    Regulus looked at his arm and focused. He stirred the genetic pool of varying compositions within him and selected. By his will alone, his arm began to change, the carapace and scales melting away, where new material grew. An ebony black lance formed, its length nearly as tall as himself.

    Regulus spared a quick glance at his brethren. They too had changed. Their dense carapace, and tree-like limbs transformed into barbaric weapons.

    Now it was the Altered¡¯s turn to wreak havoc.

 Chapter 3

    ¡°Targets are out of effective range!¡±

    ¡°Negative on support fire! The Vanguard will be caught in the crossfire!¡±

    ¡°Impact to hull and hanger doors! Currently undergoing damage assessment!¡±

    ¡°Requesting reinforcements!¡±

    Commander Gant stood up slowly from his seat as his men frantically shouted over the blaring of alarms and damage reports from the system.

    Suddenly the room shook, a violent tremor running its course through the entire ship but Gant stood firmly in place. He could feel the bones in his body vibrate and he didn¡¯t have much of those.

    One of his men twisted around in his seat, and looked Gant in the eye. ¡°S-sir!¡± he stammered and then paused to compose himself before the commander. ¡°Hull has been breached.¡±

    With those words, silence fell on the group of Augmented soldiers. They were waiting for their orders but Commander Gant was silent. Nearly motionless, if not for his one biotic eye that constantly swiveled in its socket, relaying crucial information across all of the Augmented fleet.

    One of the men spoke up. ¡°Sir, what are our orders?

    Gant didn¡¯t respond. He didn¡¯t even blink. He was expressionless and his partially mechanical face didn¡¯t help.

    ¡°Sir? Should we deploy the Vessels?¡±

    Finally the commander spoke. ¡°It¡¯s too late.¡±

    Another tremor.

    ¡°Hangar bays one-to-four have been compromised!¡± a soldier behind Gant reported.

    It was just as Gant had predicted. It would only be a matter of time.

    More tremors. Each one more louder and violent than the last. Then stillness. For a moment, all was calm. But commander Gant knew it was merely the calm before the storm. And just as one of the men relaxed, reclining in his seat, a sharp point penetrated the wall, making an exit through the Augmented soldier¡¯s torso. The ebony black spear tip retreated back into the wall. The soldier looked down at the gaping hole where his torso was, and then before he could say anything, the spear tip came again, this time running its course through the entire room.

    Gant had managed to avoid the spear tip in time, leaping away just a split-second before it bisected the entire control room. He stood up slowly and surveyed the room. Some of his men weren¡¯t so lucky.

    Gant turned his biotic eye to the ceiling just as it began to tear away. A massive clawed hand with streaks of gold fur on black scales appeared, then a face that made Gant shudder. It was a face that Gant recognized from the archives.

    The King of Calamity.

    ¡°You abomination,¡± Gant uttered as he stared up at the Altered with crimson eyes and a golden mane.

    Regulus roared in response, a deafening howl that shook the room.

    The men who were still conscious, raised their metallic arms and fired, but as the smoke cleared, they saw that the bullets and explosives had no effect. Then they saw it. A murky yellow haze oozed languidly from the orifices of the Altered. Regulus exhaled and within seconds, the room was smothered in corrosive gas.

    Gant rushed to his seat, stumbling over the debris and bodies as he held his breath. He saw the giant ebony spear. It was lodged across the center of the room, and now obstructed his path to his commander¡¯s chair. Gant had no choice but to climb over it, and as he did, he felt his mechanical limbs slowly begin to melt. By the time Gant had made it to his chair, both his legs were gone and only one arm remained functional.

    ¡°Long live the Empire of the Augmented!¡± shouted Gant before connecting his hand into a slot on the side panel of his chair.

    ¡°Command to Self-Destruct Engaged,¡± the system intoned.

    Commander Gant turned to laugh at the giant monstrosity, but only saw a hole in the interior of the ship.

    Regulus was gone.

    A bright yellow flash illuminated the twilight sky. When it finally faded, there were thick plumes of smoke billowing out of the Vanguard as it began to slowly tilt, capsizing in midair.

    For a moment, many of the Augmented felt despair as they watched the first carrier from their fleet of six fall out of the sky.

    And for the Altered, there was hope.

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    <hr>

    Hiro blinked as the display feed ended. The last thing he saw--what commander Gant had seen in his last moments were the eyes of the King of Calamity. Two massive orbs of swirling blood and fire. It was something that Hiro would never forget. The Augmented had angered a being of genetic supremacy, and they would pay for it with their lives.

    What have we done? Hiro wondered to himself as he stood silently among three hundred Augmented soldiers waiting for their commander¡¯s orders. He wouldn¡¯t dare voice his thoughts aloud. He was just a basic Augmented soldier who couldn¡¯t even pilot a Vessel afterall.

    ¡°Sir! Carrier 0381, the Vanguard has executed Protocol Nine!¡±

    ¡°We''ve lost all contact with the Vanguard!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re on a crash course for the mountains!¡±

    Status reports buzzed endlessly through the comms. Suddenly, all the channels went silent. They were being forcefully muted and only one person had the authority to execute such a command.

    General Corax.

    ¡°Deploy all Vessels."

    <hr>

    ¡°Well Hiro? You ready?¡±

    A mechanical hand clasped Hiro on the shoulder, startling him. Hiro turned around to glare at his squad leader.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re already pissing your pants,¡± Ray remarked, disdain abundantly clear in his tone.

    The squad of Augmented soldiers laughed.

    The squad leader began pacing around Hiro. ¡°What¡¯s your Augmentation Class?¡± Ray asked.

    Hiro sighed, ¡°Sir, like I said, I was only a cadet less than a month ago. I shouldn¡¯t even be here.¡±

    ¡°Just answer the damn question man,¡± one of soldiers grumbled from behind Hiro.

    Hiro glanced at the floor. ¡°Basic. Just basic. No advanced Augmentations or specializations yet¡­¡±

    Ray shook his head slowly then resumed his questioning, ¡°How many neural connections?¡±

    ¡°...Four,¡± Hiro said bluntly.

    ¡°How in the world did you end up in my squad?!¡± Ray threw up his hands.

    Hiro shrugged, ¡°uhh, just following orders?¡± When Hiro saw that Ray wasn¡¯t satisfied he added, ¡°Look, it¡¯s what the designation command says.¡±

    Ray narrowed his eyes as he stared at the hologram, then threw up his arms. ¡°Alright, alright. What¡¯s your synchronization rate?"

    Synchronization rate... Hiro took a moment to recall what that was.

    "S-sixty-percent?" Hiro said.

    Ray nodded in approval. "Not bad."

    "But with a--"

    Training Vessel, Hiro tried to add but didn''t get the chance.

    "Shit!¡± Ray shouted as he brought a hand to his ear. ¡°Looks like the bitches are headed our way. Everyone suit up!¡±

    Hiro surveyed the hanger bay, and already he could see squads of Augmented jumping into their Vessels. Massive exoskeletons made specifically to combat the Altered. Eerily humanoid in shape and design, the Vessels consisted of massive chrome silver plates and fibers that made them durable and at the same time, remarkably flexible.

    Hiro climbed into his designated Vessel gingerly and began inserting each of his limbs into the sheathes.

    "Hey!" a voice shouts from above.

    Hiro looked up at a ''live'' Vessel. Then he noticed the boisterous din of hollering and cheering that was suddenly rampant.

    ¡°It''s finally time for some action baby! I''ve been waiting for too fucking long!¡± a voice boomed.

    "Fuck Yeah!"

    More Augmented soldiers cheered and grunted in approval.

    "You might wanna take some of this," she said before sticking her hand out past the metallic rib cage that was essentially the cockpit.

    Hiro hesitated as he eyed the metallic syringe with black fluid swishing within. Augmentation fluid. It was what gave the Augmented an edge in battle. Enhanced reflexes and senses, but it also came with a preset rush of hormones. It was what the Augmented soldiers in the hangar bay were probably riding the high of right now. But Hiro also knew what the fluid could do to a brain with repetitive use.

    "God you''re such a pussy," she complained before tossing the syringe at Hiro.

    Hiro frowned, curious. Who the hell is she?

    She turned around, her Vessel moving fluidly, imitating human movement almost too perfectly. Then he saw the array of neural connections on her back. It was more than he had ever seen. Hiro began counting but before he could get to twenty, the Vessel''s outer armor sprouted and assembled itself over the exoskeleton.

    Hues of green lit up the entire hangar bay and suddenly everyone was silent. ''Deployment Imminent'' a system message intoned from the interior of his Vessel.

    Hiro didn''t waste a second, he hunkered up into the inner frame within the exoskeleton of his Vessel, pushing all of his limbs into sheaths of fiber. But before he could finish initiating neural connections with the Vessels, the floor of the hangar bay disappeared.

    For a moment Hiro was falling, then he activated his thrusters and flew.

    The first thing he saw was the Vanguard. The sixth carrier of their fleet descending with the sun, sinking into the horizon of forests and mountains. Then he saw the winged abominations. Each of them nearly twice the size of a single Vessel, but the army of Augmented vastly outnumbered the Altered. It was an aerial battlefield. Vessels swarmed the skies in clusters as the Altered fought individually. As Hiro watched the chaos and carnage that unfolded before him, he suddenly found himself on a direct course with an Altered.

    Hiro crashed into a colossal Altered with massive dark wings, and before he could respond his limbs were torn away along with his Vessel. It had all happened so fast. He couldn''t even process what had happened. He blinked a couple times as he stared at the clouds and listened to the winds rushing past him. Then he realized it. He was falling. Limbless. Just a torso and his abdomen. It was pitiful. A terrible end for a Hiro.

    Hiro.

    I''ve always hated that name, Hiro thought to himself.

    He was no hero, and he knew that all too well. A coward. That was what he was and he had made his peace with it long ago. All he wanted was a simple and ordinary life but he was given a name that would never let that be. ''A Hiro is meant for great things'', his grandfather who was also named Hiro, would always say. People expected great things from him, but all he had ever done was let people down.

    Now Hiro would die not having accomplished anything of significance. All he could do now was stare at the faintly shimmering stars and wish that he wasn''t Hiro.

    He laughed as he watched the horizon loom higher and higher over him. He would hit the ground soon.

    Even Commander Gant had died gloriously, Hiro thought.

    Suddenly Hiro lurched forward. He was no longer falling, he was flying - but how? He wondered.

    Then he saw. It was a girl. Her features were otherworldly. Deep violet eyes that glistened like sapphires under the twilight. It wasn''t perfect like the faces that he saw in the hologram posters back home. Not perfectly sculpted or designed but for some strange reason Hiro found it... simply beautiful.

    She held him in her arms meekly. This girl had savedhim, Hiro realized. Then he saw her wings, flapping gently in the wind.

    She was an Altered.

 Chapter 4

    Euna glanced down, and then frowned. Struggling feebly in her arms was an... Augmented soldier. She had never seen a man like this before. His limbs were torn away and yet... he didn''t bleed. There was no blood, or muscle tissue. Not even exposed bone. Just cable-looking fibers hanging limply from sockets and the occasional spurts of translucent fluids.

    "W-what are you going to do with me?" the Augmented soldier whimpered.

    Euna blinked. That was a very good question.

    What am I doing? Euna wondered as she flapped her wings of feathers and scale, keeping her just above the canopy of trees.

    "I get it," the soldier mumbled to himself. "A hostage--wait, no. That would be foolish. I''m worthless... and the Augmented Empire would never negotiate, and..." he trailed off.

    Euna tried to remember the visions she saw. She winced, shutting her eyes tight. It hurt every time she tried to recall the voice and the--

    "Watch out!"

    Euna''s eyes snapped open in time to see a barbed tree limb pointing her way. She folded her wings and twisted in midair, just avoiding being skewered, then followed up with a dive towards the floor of the forest. Just before she hit the ground, she unfurled her wings and slammed her feet into the dirt. It wasn''t enough to slow down her momentum, so she skidded forward into a roll and then a handspring into the air before landing on her feet. Although she had never particularly trained herself in acrobatics, her body had reacted with a catlike litheness that was naturally inherent in all Altereds.

    Euna brushed off a leaf on her shoulder and then realized that her hands were empty. The Augmented soldier was gone.

    "So this is it huh? This is why you caught me?"

    Euna perked her head up at the voice.

    "To make me a display - a warning to all of the Augmented Empire. Behold the Augmented shish kebab!" he flailed his metallic stumps dramatically.

    Hanging helplessly from the limb of a tree poking out of his shoulder, was an Augmented soldier. It looked bad but if he could make a joke, then it must not have been a life threatening injury, thought Euna. But above all else, it was a pitiful sight indeed and Euna couldn''t help but end up stifling a laugh, then shouting up at the poor soldier.

    "Um, I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean to!"

    The soldier frowned, speechless for a moment.

    "You''re... sorry?" he said to himself, barely a whisper but Euna''s inherently altered ears heard.

    She nodded, then began climbing up the tree. It was at least a hundred meters tall, and its massive branches extended outwards viciously, joining the canopy of trees in the forest. Euna could tell that the tree was old. Ancient even. She could feel it as her claws cut into the bark. It didn''t take long for her to make it to the top. From there she crawled gracefully onto the branch where the soldier hung.

    "Sorry, I didn''t mean to skewer you on this tree. Here, let me help you."

    The Augmented soldier eyed Euna cautiously, slightly startled by her gracefully swift display of tree climbing. He leaned back and tried to raise his arms defensively but then he remembered that he didn''t have any limbs.

    Euna twisted the barbs off of the branch, then yanked the soldier''s torso. He slid off and she caught him before he could fall. Once again, the soldier found himself cradled in the arms of an Altered.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    "What''s your name?" Euna asked.

    "M-my name?" he stammered and paused for a moment, deeply in thought. Then he finally answered. "It''s Hiro."

    "Hero?" Euna wondered aloud.

    "Not that Hero, H-I-R-O, Hiro."

    "Oh. That''s a... weird name."

    "You''re the weird one," Hiro snapped. "First you saved me, then you skewered me, then you apologized and now you ask me for my name? What kind of Altered are you?" Hiro asked, bewildered.

    Euna flushed, "W-what do you mean?"

    "I mean... why are you not a monster? Like the ones flying above us," he pointed his stump at the sky.

    Euna paused for a moment. She was surprised too. Her father had never altered his body to the degree that she had saw today. Nor did any of the villagers. Even more so, she was disappointed in herself. She hadn''t disagreed with Hiro that they were monsters. When everyone including her father had changed into hulking amalgamations of nature, she had been afraid. Afraid that the people she had lived with all her life was a lie. But her father spoke, and even though his voice had changed, it was still him underneath all the twisted mass of flesh and sinew. She couldn''t change like them. She could feel it and she didn''t know why. Maybe it was because she was still too young. Regulus always said that with time she would obtain new Alterations. But above all else, Euna felt a dissonance with herself and her people and it saddened her.

    "I can be monster if I want to be," Euna lied.

    "Oh. Okay, that''s... great," Hiro said cautiously as he nodded, then he lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes, "but why did you save me? Aren''t you going to kill me?"

    Kill? Euna thought, and then she remembered. It was like a memory that had been with her since the beginning.

    ''Aren''t you going to kill me?'' the man in her arms asked.

    And then the world started spinning, her vision suddenly becoming hazy and blurred.

    Voices. They were different this time, like a faded memory.

    ''How naive can you be?!''

    Blinding lights and the smell of burnt skin.

    ''-before we uncover the mysteries of the Genetic Alteration matrix!''

    ''W-what have you done!?'' a man with ageless eyes shouted.

    A metallic syringe lay motionless, a sliver of black refracting light.

    ''No... This... this is what I wanted. To just be a -''

    Euna blinked. She looked around quickly, and then saw Hiro starring up at her quietly. Suddenly, she knew what she needed Hiro for.

    "A-are you okay?" he asked nervously.

    Euna looked up at the sky. It was too quiet. Night had fallen, but she could still see the clusters of Augmented Vessels with her enhanced vision. Their thrusters were on full throttle as they tried to engage on the Altered who have scattered into the night, turning the fight into guerrilla warfare.

    "Bring me to General Corax," Euna said.

    "W-what?! How do even know General Corax?" Hiro exclaimed, incredulous.

    Euna pointed into the night sky. "Which one?"

    Hiro took a moment before he answered. "It''s too dark, I can''t see."

    "Liar," Euna snapped. "Look at the state you''re in. You''re practically a walking machine if not for your missing limbs."

    "Look I''ve only got basic Augmentations. That means general-grade Augmentation limbs, organ and bone structure reinforcements. That''s it. These eyes I have? They''re all natural," Hiro smiled.

    Euna lifted Hiro away from her chest with one hand clenched around his neck. "I could drop you right now, or even worse, I can stick you back on this tree."

    Hiro made an unpleasant face, then sighed. "The one in the very back. That''s where General Corax should be."

    "But how do I get in?" Euna said quietly.

    Hiro frowned at that, but continued. "Can''t you just break your way in like--Oh," Hiro nodded understandbly, "You wanna do it like an infiltration mission. That''s cool. But that''s practically impossible. I mean like--what could you possibly hope to achieve on your own? Against hundreds of Augmented soldiers and Vessels? And getting through the defenses and bypassing security?"

    Euna smiled.

    "You''re going to help me Hiro."

    Hiro took a moment to process that. "I don''t have a choice do I?"

    Euna wasn''t sure what to say. Does anyone really have a choice in what they do? she wondered, then answered on impulse.

    "You do."

    "Clearly, I don''t," Hiro said as he waved his stumps dramatically.

    Euna laughed, then tossed Hiro over her back and secured him to her using vines she had extracted from the tree.

    "But what are you going to do if you make it to General Corax? Negotiate? Execute him? Use him as a hostage?" Hiro asked.

    Euna looked at the horizon where the forest met the sky. For all her life this was her home. Now it was a battlefield. "I-I don''t know," she said honestly. "But I just want this war to end. I want my life back."

    Hiro couldn''t see, but he could feel Euna stifle a sob as they took to the skies.

 Chapter 5

    Euna soared high above the clouds at an altitude she had never dared to reach before. She held her breath as she gazed at the ocean of stars that illuminated the night. The stars... so close that she felt like she could simply reach out and touch them, but Euna knew better. Her father had told her that they wereworlds away. Farther than she could possibly imagine.

    "Re-remember," Hiro shivered, his voice quivering and barely audible. "Gr-green lights, hex-hexagonal pattern. The entrance... You can''t mi-miss it."

    Euna nodded, then narrowed her eyes. Her vision becoming sharper and clearer despite the darkness. She gazed through the gaps in the clouds as she flew, searching for her destination. Euna had ascended the skies at a considerable distance from the fleet, becoming but a speck of shadow hidden above the clouds. Now, an hour had passed and she was still searching as she drifted in circles above the clouds. She only had one shot at this. She couldn''t afford to mess up.

    Another heavy gust of wind battered her, pushing her off course. She folded her wings, diving lower in the sky before finding a warm current to lift off higher again. She could feel Hiro''s body shiver more fiercely with every passing minute. She wondered how much longer his body could endure the atmospheric conditions of their altitude.

    There.

    At the far back of the Augmented fleet, one carrier floated outside of the ''V'' formation. Her vision lasered in on the hexagonal entance. She made a sharp turn, adjusting her position in the sky.

    "Y-you didn''t te-tell me your na-name," Hiro sputtered into the winds.

    She folded her wings as she answered Hiro. "Euna."

    Then she fell.

    Now she would descend, free-falling right into the heart of the Augmented fleet. Hiro had told her that it would be virtually impossible for her to infiltrate an Augmented Carrier. That the second she entered their air space, she would be shot down by the very same weapons that had slaughtered dozens of her kin at the onset of the battle. But Euna had Hiro, a designated Augmented pilot of a Vessel and was registered as a friendly on their automated defense systems. Now it was a matter of luck. A matter of not being spotted by a ''live'' Vessel, and there were hundreds of Vessels flying in clusters around the fleet. Most of them, however, were engaged in feverish combat with the Altered.

    Euna closed her eyes, letting the rush of the winds monopolize her senses. For a moment there was only serenity... then she broke through the clouds and saw chaos. Massive frames of armored plates and fibers, the Vessels shot through the air at full throttle, leaving behind blazing trails of fire. They flew in clusters following the Altered but keeping a distance. They swerved and flanked, looking for openings or weak points to focus their fire on. Euna could see the arsenal of weaponry that they had on display. She had heard the stories, but never had she seen the Augmented weaponry in action. A stream of gunfire and projectile missiles ejecting from shoulder mounts, littering the air as they fired on the Altered. They weren''t enough to kill an Altered outright--she could tell. But then she saw, falling out of the sky, the carcass of a monstrous angel decimated beyond recognition.

    How?

    Euna clenched her fist as she caught a glimpse of the lone Vessel responsible for the murder of her kin. Hanging from its armored fist, the head of an Altered, raised into the air like a trophy.

    "W-watch out!" Hiro shouted for the second time that day.

    Euna eyes flicked away from the lone Vessel and to the quickly looming hull of the Augmented Carrier. She spotted the green-lit hexagonal gates sitting on top of spires that protruded upwards from the Carrier. There were more than one of them, at least eight from what she noticed.

    "Hiro! Which one?!" Euna shouted.

    "Any!" Hiro answered.

    Euna unfurled her wings, slowing her descent as she steered her fall towards the closest one. The gate was closed, but as she drew closer, the metallic wall retracted almost instantaneously.

    Euna breathed a sigh of relief, then she saw more gates. Each one, however, began to retract until Euna could see the exit at the bottom of the hexagonal corridor; the interior of the hanger bay. Euna immediately began to change, her wings of scale and feather molting and shrinking until they were no more. Then she slammed her claws into the walls as she fell. Euna crawled her way down until the corridor gave way to the large interior of the hanger bay. At the edge between the ceiling and the entry corridor she was able to survey the hanger bay with a bird''s eye view.

    Euna was dumbfounded as she scanned the massive room, taking in the details. She had never seen anything like it before. Technology at a level that was perhaps centuries ahead of her village. Massive display panels hovered around columns of intricate machinery. These columns were connected to the upper and lower floors, and seemed to provide a way of passage between the interior of the ship. There were complex sequences of numbers and symbols littered on the displays and they were constantly shifting and fluctuating. All of which, was meaningless to Euna and only served to confuse her further. It wasn''t that she didn''t know how to read - her father, had made sure that she had appropriate instructors in all subjects of significance--but it seemed like the Augmented Empire had created a language of their own.

    Then she saw. Real live people.

    So many, Euna thought. No.

    It wasn''t that they were any more real than her people She knew that the people below her were Augmented soldiers, it was just that Euna had never seen people besides the villagers that she had grown up with. For all her life, she had wondered if there were really others besides the people in her village. Yes, there was Hiro, and he was bizarre - there was no question about that, but this was Euna''s first time seeing so many Augmented people in one place and it startled her. In truth, the Augmented didn''t look remarkably different from her people. Just like the Altered, there were people of all sorts of sizes and colors. Their features were of perfection, but it was to a degree that seemed too exaggerated and artificial.

    "You shouldn''t stay here too long," Hiro murmured.

    "Why''s that?" Euna asked, upside down with her head peeking out into the hanger bay.

    Hiro began to explain, but Euna was too focused on the scene before her.

    There were several dozens of partially destroyed Vessels lined up in the hangar bay and just as many--if not more --wounded soldiers strewn everywhere. Even more Augmented soldiers wearing different uniforms scrambled around the hanger bay, some of them tending to the wounding and most of them in the process of repairing the damaged Vessels.

    Suddenly the gates that had closed above her, began to retract. Euna blinked once, then twice, and then it was too late. A Vessel loomed above her, quickly descending towards her. Already she could feel the scorching heat from the thrusters of the Vessel.

    Euna could hear Hiro screaming something into her back but now she really was too distracted to listen.

    Euna made a split-second decision. She crawled upwards, heading straight for the Vessel.

    <hr>

    "W-what the hell are you doing?!" Hiro screamed for dear life. "We''re going to be toasted alive!"

    Euna didn''t respond, but Hiro could feel her muscles tensing up, and of course--the violent wind pressure of a Vessel''s thrusters, threatening to turn Hiro into a roasted shise kebab.

    Yes, Hiro was not skewered on a tree this time but this? He was strapped onto an Altered girl, forced to do her bidding and now he was going to be roasted alive. Hiro thought back to his previous close encounters with death. Falling from the sky without his limbs and then plummeting into the arms of an angel. Being skewered onto a tree, nearly puncturing his heart and then being held by the neck and swung around like a plaything for an Altered girl.

    ...I-it could have been worse right?

    "Hold on tight!" Euna shouted.

    If only Hiro had hands.

    Even one hand, Hiro ruminated of the possibilities.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Then she leaped, arms outstretched in front of her as the Vessel descended the entry corridor and to Hiro''s surprise, she managed to latch herself onto the Vessel without being incinerated from the thrusters. As they descended, Euna could hear Hiro''s cursing being drowned out by the roar of the Vessel''s thrusters.

    As the Vessel landed--or more aptly, crashed into the floor of the hanger bay--Euna retracted her claws and leaped off quietly.

    "Medic! Please! I''m dying!"

    "I need a fucking medic now! God damn it!"

    "Vessels D-391 and A-089 out of commission! They are beyond repairs, Sir!"

    The hanger bay was filled with shouting, cursing and groans of agony. Engineers and medics scurried around tending to the Vessels and the wounded. Hiro was surprised that there were this many soldiers that had actually managed to make it back, and not being outright demolished like he did by the Altered. But more surprising than anything was that he was back. Hiro looked around him in disbelief. There were the general designation displays hovering on the columns, the soldiers and the Vessels. He was actually back in an Augmented Carrier--he wasn''t in one piece, but he was alive. He had thought that he was a goner.

    Still strapped to Euna''s back, Hiro was still limbless and unable to move around freely.

    Currently, Euna was keeping a low profile, crouching next to the Vessel that had landed and staying in its shadow.

    For a few moments, Hiro observed Euna. He wished he could see the expression on her face right now.

    Like a child in a new place, she peeked her head out sheepishly around the Vessel''s leg and withdrew quickly whenever it looked like she would be spotted. Hiro was still strapped to her back so he had to endure about fifty peek-a-boos with Euna before he had had enough.

    Hiro nudged Euna, and then whispered, "Uh, your clothes... If you can find a uniform to change into..."

    Euna glanced down at her attire, then at the Augmented soldiers rushing to the aid of others around her. She wore a tattered hand-woven linen that draped over her shoulders loosely, exposing most of her midriff and back, along with a pair of shorts. It was a stark contrast to the Augmented uniforms which were full bodied skinsuits.

    "You stand out," Hiro said.

    Euna nodded in agreement as she undid the makeshift harness that Hiro was in and placed him on the floor.

    "A uniform," Hiro said, "you need--"

    Without a second thought, Euna tore her clothes off flashing Hiro the full glory of her nude body.

    "Oh my," Hiro flushed with surprise before looking away.

    "Now I don''t stand out as much, right?" Euna asked.

    "Right."

    "I''m going to see if I can find something," Euna whispered.

    "Okay," Hiro nodded absentmindedly. And then it hit him.

    What have I gotten myself into? Am I a traitor to the Empire now?

    Hiro knew the consequences for betrayal or desertion. The notorious Unaugmentation ceremony, followed by public execution. All family and relatives would be blacklisted-- effectively dropped into the lower rungs of society, and some would even be forcefully moved to Augmented factories where they would spend the rest of their live manufacturing parts for the Empire.

    Suddenly, an Augmented soldier crawled out from the severely corroded Vessel and plopped out onto the floor in front of Hiro.

    "Fuck! Th-that abomination! It spat on me!"

    The wounded soldier had one hand over his abdomen, keeping his innards from spilling out as he began crawling but it looked more like he was clawing at the hard floor. Most of his skin had melted away and his excessive movement only exacerbated his injuries.

    "I-I can''t see anything, my eyes! Som-someone help!" he screamed, his voice raw and hoarse.

    Hiro baulked, scrambling away from the blind buffoon who kept coming closer. "Ba-back off! I''m in way worse condition than you!"

    "Y-you! Ple-please save me! I''m--"

    Suddenly, the soldier began convulsing and puking blood and bile as pus oozed out of his eye sockets.

    Horrified, Hiro scurried away from the dying soldier with his stumps, not wanting to catch anything infectious. He let out a breath of relief after he had moved himself a good distance from that cesspool of blood, guts and unknown fluids.

    "Designated code and squad number?"

    Hiro froze.

    "Soldier, don''t make me repeat myself, or have you lost capability of speech or thought?"

    Hiro twisted around, trying his best to stay upright without limbs. "Oh no. I mean, yes, I can speak. Code: 7H14093Q8G3H. Squad, DZY-012."

    Where did Euna go? Hiro wondered.

    He looked up at the woman wearing a medic uniform. Her eyes narrowed as her eyes skimmed over the hologram display on her wrist. "Hm, it seems like your squad lost contact with you not long after deployment. Vessel Status: destroyed, Pilot status: undetermined, KIA or possible desertion. Hmm."

    "No, no, nothing like that. As you can see my body, along with my Vessel was ravaged by one of those abominations of mankind. My comms equipment was torn away from me in the process and I was virtually naked ma''am."

    The medic frowned, perplexed by something Hiro had said. "Hold on. Something doesn''t seem right here. How in the world did you make it back here with out a Vessel?"

    Oh shit.

    "Urm... you see... uh."

    "Wait... is that a feather in your hair?" she reached down and plucked a deep violet, almost black feather out of Hiro''s hair.

    "Oh wow, how did that get there huh. Oh, I remember now. It must have gotten there when I was all tangled up with the abomination. You see, it was a very, very fierce fight," Hiro waved his stumps at the medic dramatically.

    Her eyebrows rose, "Wow, you really got that close? Tha-that''s amazing... I wish I could go out there and be a part of the fight too but... I couldn''t make it pass the first Vessel Augmentation test..."

    Me too! Hiro restrained himself from voicing that particular thought.

    "I''m Sarah. What''s your name?" she asked as she got on her knees and began inspecting Hiro''s body.

    "Hiro," Hiro smiled confidently--well he tried, but it wasn''t easy when he was just a torso and an abdomen.

    "Low internal temps, Low body fluids. Minor puncture wound, but you''re stable for now. We can get you aug-limb replacements at the infirmary, I''ll put you in queue but it might take sometime,," she said, as she gestured at the general disarray that was currently unfolding in the hangar bay.

    "Oh, that''s fine. Well, thanks for the help," Hiro said.

    Sarah stood up. "Can I keep this feather? I wanna show it to my kids one day, if I do have any. But I would need a partner for that haha."

    "Oh, of course! I''m sure I''ll find plenty more," Hiro said--this time with real confidence.

    "Oh wow, you''re a fighter aren''t ya," she winked at Hiro before turning around, ready to tend to the next soldier nearby.

    Hiro was amazed. Somehow Sarah had forgotten the unsolved mystery of how Hiro had made it back to a Carrier whilst being virtually naked and without a vessel.

    "Wait!" Hiro shouted suddenly.

    Sarah turned around, a smile already on her face. "Yes?"

    "Can I borrow your Comms device? Just a moment will do."

    <hr>

    Do I look weird? This doesn''t seem right. Euna wondered as she struggled with the zipper of the Augmented uniform.

    Euna shook her head, putting the thought out of her mind. There were more important things to think about. Like how she would single-handedly take over the Augmented Fleet. And then there were the visions.What did they mean? She couldn''t make any sense of it, and thinking of it only confused her mmore.The voice that had spoken to her, that had shown her ''a way''. She could remember how it felt but it hurt to think about it. No, it wasn''t like physical pain. It was something else entirely. It was something she had never felt in her life before, like the world was suddenly splitting apart.

    Euna gave up on the zipper and turned around, facing the direction where she had left Hiro.

    Hiro.

    She was sure now that he was important. He had fallen out of the skies, miraculously landing into her arms. At first, Euna was doubtful but Hiro didn''t seem to be hostile. He was bizarre, no doubt about that, but he wasn''t callous, or a bloodthirsty warmonger that she had expected the Augmented soldiers to be. She wasn''t sure why but she felt like she knew Hiro and that somehow he would help her see the ''way,'' if there was a way in the first place.

    Euna started walking, not too fast, lest it would attract attention and made sure to stay out of the peripheral visions of the medics and engineers as much as possible, but it wasn''t much of a deal, with them being too distracted with their work. Finally, she made it to Hiro without attracting any attention. As she approached him, she saw that he was treated. A bag of fluids lay on the floor next to him, a tube running into his neck. The loose fibers and broken parts of his mechanical limbs were removed, revealing smooth metallic slots. He looked a lot less paler than before.

    "Euna," Hiro said quietly, "You''re back, and you''ve gotten yourself a... uniform."

    "Yes. I did. It wasn''t too hard. But look what else I found," Euna handed Hiro a mechanical arm and leg. "I found a leg and arm for you."

    Euna smiled brightly.

    Hiro''s eyes went wide, then he sighed. "Okay first, where did you find these? Second, what the hell am I suppose to do with one leg and one arm?" Hiro shook his head. "And third, you''re wearing it backwards." Hiro pointed at Euna''s chest. "The zipper should be..." Hiro averted his eyes, "at your back, not the front Euna."

    Euna flushed, "Oh."

    Damn it, I knew something was wrong. What kind of outfit has the zipper at the back?

    Then she began zipping down but Hiro held up a hand.

    "God damn it Euna, forget the uniform. You should just leave."

    Euna frowned. "What do you mean? Aren''t you going to help me?"

    Hiro looked away, his gaze to the floor. "You should leave now. Use me to get pass the gates. You can drop me on your way out. I''ll be fine."

    "No... No, I can''t do that. I''ve gotten this far Hiro."

    "Well... that''s unfortunate," Hiro said, still refusing to look Euna in the eyes.

    "Hiro, you''re suppose to show me the way to General Corax," Euna said softly.

    "How naive can you be?!" Hiro snapped and brought his gaze to Euna''s, "I''m not suppose to do anything! I''m your fucking enemy you idiot! You''ve literally walked yourself into the stronghold of your enemy! Do you even realize what you''ve done? You''ve trapped yourself here," Hiro muttered, shaking his head.

    Euna turned her gaze to her surroundings, afraid that Hiro''s voice had attracted attention. Then she noticed. Euna was suddenly surrounded. There were too many and too soon.

    "Wh-what did you do?!" Euna shouted at Hiro.

    "The only logical thing a soldier would do, when an enemy boards your ship," Hiro said, his face dark.

    The soldiers were armed and fully suited for battle. Euna could hear one of them speak, an Augmented Captain giving orders out to his units. "Subdue her. Non-lethal weaponry only. Doctor Nequiv would be pleased to have a new specimen."

    "Yes, Sir!"

    Euna took a step back slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the soldiers, watching for any sudden movements.

    "Why did you even save me? You should have known better," Hiro muttered quietly.

    The soldiers raised their rifles at Euna and aimed.

    "Surrender yourself monster. Your false imitation of humanity disgusts me," the Augmented Captain said.

    Euna closed her eyes for a moment.

    Where did things go wrong? Why are we the monsters?

    The Augmented were the ones who came to bring death and destruction to their home. They were the monsters, Euna thought.

    Euna opened her eyes that were now the color of blood, only a tint of violet remained. Her pupil turned to slits.

    ''A monster you will become,'' the voice echoed.

    "Yes, a monster I will become," Euna agreed.

 Chapter 6

    It only took Hiro three words to bring reality crashing back into his world.

    "Protocol twenty-seven."

    Hiro had enunciated the protocol that would lead to Euna¡¯s demise into the integrated Comms on Sarah''s wrist.

    Hiro sighed deeply as his vision waned and the world became darker and hazier. He was exhausted and his body had been deprived of nutrient-rich fluids for too long. And it also didn¡¯t help that the fluids that he was being fed through the tube was slowly sedating him. But none of that mattered now. Hiro was safe. He wouldn¡¯t be condemned to the Unaugmentation ceremony, nor would he have to be executed.

    ¡°You did a good job Hiro,¡± the Augmented Captain had said before patting Hiro on the back briefly. ¡°You will be gloriously rewarded for your efforts.¡±

    I am a soldier, thought Hiro.

    This was what he was. A soldier. This was what he had to do.

    But still, Hiro felt something like a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something that didn¡¯t sit right with him.

    Now, he willed himself to stay awake as he watched the Augmented soldiers fan out, making sure there were no gaps in their encirclement of Euna. Hiro hoped that she would surrender peacefully. He had even pleaded for Euna, asking the Augmented Captain not to take her life. Euna had afterall saved his life, it was the least he could do.

    HIro sighed as he felt his eyelids becoming heavier with each blink.

    He didn¡¯t want things to end this way, but this was how reality was. Much of the things in life were just...

    Hiro glanced down at his armless stumps.

    ...Out of my hands huh, he chuckled.

    <hr>

    The Augmented soldiers shuffled nervously as Euna''s predatory gaze swept over them, glowering and hissing like an angered lioness. Euna was slowly being cornered, but still she could smell the fear wafting from the soldiers as they tried to keep their aim steady. They were afraid, and rightly so, for they had seen what a single Altered was capable of. The dozens of grievously wounded soldiers laying incapacitated in the hangar bay--not counting the hundreds who have died in the battlefield--was evidence enough of their terrifying savagery and ferocity.

    "Ca-captain Armstrung, I don''t think she intends to surrender," a soldier commented quietly into his Comms.

    The Augmented Captain stood tall and proud with his two massive Augmented arms crossed over his prodigious chest. They were custom made by Doctor Nequiv himself, the highly esteemed Augmented-Smith whose creations and technological breakthroughs in Augmented-tech have established his name as one of the Great Augmented Founders within the Augmented society.

    Euna crimson eyes met Armstrung¡¯s and for a moment there seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the two.

    Blood would be spilled.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Armstrung grunted and then unfolded his arms that were made of highly durable synthetic material that gave off the appearance of chrome steel. Luminous blue lines of complex circuitry could be seen running down his limbs. His arms were Augmented with miniature thrusters at the elbow for added ''impact''. ¡°Very well. Everyone¡­ fire at will!¡±

    The squadron of hastily organized soldiers fired at Euna. Hundreds of tranquilizer darts--each of them potent enough to sedate Whalemoths--flitted through the air, but none of them found their mark.

    Euna was already aloft, spinning lithly in the air as her malformed wings blossomed outwards from her shoulder blades. When she landed, it was on the back of a soldier, her claws digging deep into his synthetically reinforced neck before eviscerating his exposed jugular. Euna¡¯s hands came free and what followed was a shower of rich crimson mixed with translucent fluids splattering everywhere.

    For a moment, Euna was reminded of her first time hunting animals in the forest. Then she remembered peaceful times as blood and fluids rained onto the fear-stricken soldiers. The village feasts that they had every week, the hunting expeditions that she participated in with the Hunters, the lectures that the village teachers forced her to listen to. And above all else, she cherished her time with her father, Regulus who would tell her stories while they sat in the warmth of a bonfire, bestowing upon her wisdom and knowledge from a time before her.

    Now she had taken the life of a man. Not an animal to be hunted and eaten, but a person. A person that could think and feel just like her. Euna could feel an ugly and raw feeling stir within the pit of her stomach, like she had eaten something putrid.

    "Fire you cowards!" the Augmented Captain bellowed at his men.

    The squadron of fifty Augmented soldiers awoke from their brief stupor, and began firing erratically at Euna.

    But Euna reacted instantaneously, folding her wings tight and sprinting with inhuman speed as she zig-zagged between the gaps in the soldier¡¯s formation.

    ¡°W-wait!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot-¡±

    Dozens of soldiers collapsed into a deep slumber.

    ¡°You fools! Hold your fire!¡± shouted Captain Armstrung but it was too late. The damage had been done. More than half of the squadron were incapacitated from friendly-fire.

    ¡°Gahh¡­¡± Captain Armstrung sighed deeply before stepping forward, pushing his men aside. His hastily organized soldiers--most of them recruited from the wounded in the hangar bay--were far too incompetent. Armstrung had to take matters into his own hands now, before he lost the rest of his men.

    ¡°Stand behind me!¡± Armstrung commanded.

    The Augmented soldiers who were still standing, promptly moved themselves into an orderly formation behind their Captain.

    Euna straightened up from a crouch to meet the Captain¡¯s eyes. Once again they found themselves in a stare-off.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Armstrung looked at the Altered girl who only stood as tall as his waist.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you shed your human form?¡± Armstrung asked inquisitively. ¡°Perhaps you are still nascent?¡±

    Euna glared at the Augmented Captain, ignoring his questions, then demanded, ¡°take me to General Corax. I don¡¯t want to kill anymore of you... Please.¡±

    Armstrung broke into a laughter bordering on hysteria. ¡°How ludicrous! You monsters have slain tens of thousands of us like flies. Your hands are soaked in blood and yet you speak of mercy?¡± Arustrung spat, then began pacing around Euna. ¡°Your words are an insult to all the brave men and women who have died before me. Your kind is smeared in the blood of my people. Your attempt at nobility disgusts me. This is a war that will never end until the Altered are eradicated from this land.¡±

    Euna stared at her blood stained claws.

    War..., Euna thought. This was what it truly meant to be at war? To ruthlessly slaughter the opposing faction until none remained. It seemed so irrational, so mindless and¡­ and stupid.

    ¡°What is your name?¡± Armstrung asked, still pacing around Euna.

    ¡°Euna.¡±

    ¡°Euna, I¡¯ll remember you. You are a strange one indeed. I am Armstrung. Helick Armstrung. My family have served the Augmented Empire for many centuries, fighting and dying to you monsters, but today¡­ Today I will have myself a new Altered trophy.¡±

    Before Euna could even respond, Armstrung suddenly flew. WIth a explosive burst of ignition from Armstrung¡¯s elbow and ankle thrusters, he was suddenly in front of Euna, closing the ten metre gap between them almost instantaneously despite his bulky figure.

    Euna, caught by surprise and at the same time, confused by the sudden speed of the Captain, only managed to raise her arms in defense.

    Armstrung punched with the weight of his entire frame combined with the force of his rocket propelled velocity. His fist connected with Euna¡¯s forearms, instantly pulverizing her bones, then crushing her internal organs before launching her flying across the hangar bay.

    Euna¡¯s limp body smashed into a half-destroyed Vessel, stopping her momentum before falling directly onto the floor.

    Silence pervaded the room as Euna lay unmoving.

    ¡°Is she... dead?¡± a soldier asked curiously, breaking the silence.

    Another soldier stepped forward, dragging a heavy jumble of carbon fiber cables. ¡°sir, shall we restrain her?¡±

    Armstrung raised his arm to the side, stopping the soldier. ¡°Fool, do you want to die? An Altered won¡¯t go down this easily. Look carefully.¡±

    Euna tried to gasp for air but found her lungs crushed and her heart demolished. She could feel her body screaming from all the pain and carnage that her body had suffered but she knew not to panic. Regulus had always told her that the Altered must always have full command of their body, that their mind and body must be one. Euna focused, clearing her mind of emotion, letting herself fall into a deep meditative state. Slowly Euna could feel an empowering somatic sense of every fiber in her body, a distinct and individual sensation for every cell condensed into her singular mind. It was overwhelming, an explosion of stimuli at a level that Euna had never reached before. By subconscious thought alone, her cells became subservient to her will, multiplying and repairing her ruined organs even without Euna¡¯s deliberate control or understanding of the fundamental processes in motion.

    Euna stood up, lucid and fully recovered from injuries that would have been fatal for an ordinary human being.

    This¡­ this is what it means to be an Altered, Euna thought. To defy the laws of biology. Beings that are the epitome of genetic phenomenon.

    She had never suffered wounds this severe before and yet she had recovered in a matter of seconds, now standing tall and steadfast as she observed her clawed hands. Extending out of the ends of her fingerips were sharp, bladelike nails that were as long as her hands.

    Euna steered her gaze around her, seeing the world through a haze of red. She saw the wounded Augmented soldiers cower from her, then laid her eyes on the Augmented Captain that was now a distance away.

    Armstrung¡¯s strength was fearsome, Euna acknowledged. He could kill her, easily, thought Euna. A blow like the one she had taken, but to her head? It would be fatal.

    Now of all times, Euna yearned to be like her father. Regulus¡¯s Altered form, a colossal titan of monstrosity. Massive scales and diamond-hard carapace weaved around his body like armor, it was a supernatural phenomenon, a genetic warping of nature¡¯s natural defenses. She was weak. Nothing like her father, and it baffled her. Surely, if her father could produce genetic Alterations of that magnitude, then she too, should be able to do something similar to an extent.

    Armstrung broke into a sprint towards Euna, leaving his soldiers positioned behind him. His thrusters activated and suddenly he was half-running and half-flying towards Euna.

    Euna didn¡¯t hesitate this time. She tapped into the pool of genetic Alteration Codes and transformed, her legs becoming the hind legs of a quadruped, her malformed wings becoming a fan of blades and her hands morphing into massive ivory claws that were as long as her forearm. She leaped forward to meet Armstrung with even greater animal agility than before.

    As Armstrung approached Euna, he swung a rocket propelled hook aimed at her side, but Euna became a blur, zipping and dancing around the bulky soldier as an elegant storm of blades eviscerated the man.

    Armstrung didn¡¯t even flinch, he barely seemed to register any pain at all as his body became nicked by Euna¡¯s blades.

    Too shallow, need to cut deeper, Euna thought. Armstrung¡¯s skin seemed to be reinforced with synthetic material of a different caliber than the rest of the soldiers.

    Suddenly Armstrung spun around, his thrusters already in ignition. He lifted his elbows towards Euna and a blazing blue stream of fire flared towards her. Euna felt the scorching heat lick her back as she dashed to the side, already she could smell her skin being cooked.

    Euna circled around Armstrung wary of the flames. She feinted an attack or two, but the Augmented Captain seemed content to wait for her to attack. She obliged, closing the distance between them.

    It was at the same moment that Armstrung decided to attack, leaping forward before throwing a spinning round kick. Euna slid under the man, then twirled, her wings reaching upwards like claws and lacerating Armstrung.

    Armstrung spun around again, another hook flew towards Euna, this time aimed at her head. She ducked, dodging the blow by a hair¡¯s breadth. Almost simultaneously, Euna had counterattacked, her massive claw extending towards Armstrung¡¯s heart. It was a lethal blow that Armstrung accepted.

    As Euna¡¯s clawed fingers perforated his chest, Armstrung grabbed her by the wrist and simply yanked her into a bear hug. The massive man tightened his grip, squeezing and compressing Euna¡¯s torso.

    Euna screamed, a raw and guttural cry as she felt her spine snap, her ribcage shattering and puncturing her own organs like shrapnel.

    ¡°Come on!¡±, Armstrung shouted at his men, ¡°fire you cowards!¡±

    Euna¡¯s mind was overcome with pain, her entire world flooded with overwhelming stimuli. She closed her eyes, clearing her mind of all her physical senses. She could still feel the heightened somatic sense within her. She attempted to flare it, pushing it up a notch.

    ¡°Is she out cold?!¡± a soldier yelled but received a sharp rebuke from Armstrung.

    ¡°Keep firing you fools! You two, get the restraints on her!¡±

    Euna¡¯s world became pitch black, but somehow she felt more awake than ever before as her somatic sense intensified, she could suddenly feel something distinctly familiar and at the same time, foreign deep within the pool of genetic code that she had learned to tap into since she was a child. An ability inherent in all Altereds, it was what allowed Euna to grow malformed wings, enhance her senses at a whim, and turn her fingers into razor-sharp claws that aided her in hunting prey. She reached out, her consciousness expanding within the void of her genetic pool and saw thousands, millions of possibilities. An incomprehensible matrix of genetic sequences that would take her an eternity to decipher. But within that pool, Euna could feel selections and mixtures of chromatin that were coherent, familiar, and accessible to her through a long chain of genetic memory ingrained into her from generations of Altered before her.

    This is it, Euna realized. Euna could feel it all come together. It was all within her grasp. A touch away from reaching a higher plane of Alteration.

    Then Euna remembered the fear she felt when she saw her father and villagers change into beings of hulking absurdities.

    A monster. Is that truly what I want to become? Would being a monster help me end this war? Euna wondered.

    Suddenly Euna could feel the presence of something foreign within her, but her mind was transfixed by the incredible beauty of the transcendent genetic matrix. Allured by the prospect of power, Euna gave in.

    Euna ¡®touched¡¯ with her somatic sense, the Alteration code that would give her the strength to end a war.

    ¡®Finally,¡¯ the voice within her uttered.

    Euna¡¯s world turned white.

 Chapter 7

    Hiro awoke to the sound of rhythmic beeps from a heart-rate monitor. Then he saw the blinding white lights and the glossy pristine walls that were so clean, there were a reflective sheen to its surface.

    The infirmary, Hiro immediately recognized.

    Still drowsy from sleep, Hiro brought his hand to his eyes, hoping to rub the weariness away.

    Huh?

    Hiro paused, his arm frozen in mid-motion as he inspected it. He had arms. Then he looked at the rest of his body and saw that he had been equipped with new Augmentation legs as well. They looked like his old ones, the basic mass produced Augmentation limbs that most soldiers were equipped with. Appearance-wise, they looked similar. Synthetic material that imitated human skin, layered over intricate machinery and fibers. There were thin gaps on the arm--complex labyrinthine lines of circuitry--where the glow of teal-blue could be seen. He flexed his fingers slowly and noticed it immediately. These limbs were different from his old ones. He could already feel it. There was a much more refined and acute sense of maneuverability to his new limbs.

    ¡°Code: 7H14093Q8G3H. You have awakened,¡± the monotone voice startled Hiro due to his proximity.

    Hiro turned his head to the side, looking up at the Augmented engineer who was busy tapping away on a hologram display interface. Luminous goggles with a tint of teal obscured his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten new limbs,¡± Hiro remarked offhandedly.

    The Augmented engineer turned away from the display and addressed Hiro. ¡°Yes, I see that you have noticed. I am Buford, Aug-Tech specialist. It is nice to meet you sir.¡±

    Hiro reached out tentatively to shake Buford¡¯s already extended hand. ¡°Hiro, nice to meet you too Buford.¡±

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve already acclimated to your new Aug-Limbs. That is very good sir,¡± although the man spoke with little emotion, he seemed to speak to Hiro in high regard.

    ¡°Sir, you have been re-initialized into a new Augmentation tier. Your Neural Firmware has been updated along with your new installments. You¡¯ve been equipped with our latest Advanced-Grade Augmentation Limbs. They¡¯re far stronger and durable than your previous ones and at the same time, retaining even greater sensitivity and precision. Their performance, I assure you sir, will be supreme,¡± Buford declared with confidence.

    Hiro nodded absentmindedly, still dreary from the sedation.

    ¡°Additionally, each limb has an Augmentation Capacity of two. Sir, you can select which auxiliary enhancements you desire later on, but for now you¡¯ve been equipped with the default enhancements which are¡­¡± Buford¡¯s technical explanations trailed off as he began listing a multitude of enhancements and functions.

    ¡°Oh Hiro!¡± a familiar voiced intoned nearby. ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡±

    Hiro turned his head slowly to the other side and saw Sarah standing several beds away, tending to one of the many patients in the room.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move around too much, you¡¯re still plugged in,¡± Buford warned quickly as Sarah began making her way to Hiro¡¯s bed.

    Hiro looked around him and saw the multitude of thin cables plugged into his body. Then he saw the dozens of Augmented soldiers in deep slumber around him. Their faces, so serene and tranquil, it seemed bizarre. It was almost as if they were dead, Hiro thought.

    ¡°How are you doing?¡± Sarah asked from the end of his bed.

    Hiro shrugged instinctively, unsure of what to say. His mind felt sluggish and it felt wierd to suddenly have limbs again.

    Buford stepped away from Hiro¡¯s bed, giving the two some privacy.

    ¡°You have new Aug-Limbs now! You look much better now,¡± Sarah smiled. ¡°Apparently you¡¯ve been promoted. Congratulations Hiro!¡±

    Hiro was speechless. He didn¡¯t know if he should feel happy or not. He was confused, his mind a jumbled mess of memories and the languid haze enveloping his mind didn''t help. The sedation must not have worn off yet, but slowly his memories became clear.

    It wasn¡¯t long ago, that he was treated like a newbie, then an expendable unit sent unwillingly to the frontlines, only to find himself plummeting to his death in his first deployment. His encounter with the dark winged Altered which had torn him apart, came back to him like a nightmare, inducing a bone chilling shudder.

    ¡°I-I should be dead¡­¡± Hiro mumbled to himself, barely audible.

    Ho-how did I survive? Hiro buried his face in his hands as he struggled to sift through the bog of hazy memories in his head.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Sarah took it as Hiro being overwhelmed by the good news and the the feeling of his new limbs.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Second-Tier Augmentation soldier now, an Officer and only one rank below that of a Captain! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Sarah clapped excitedly as Hiro lifted his face from his hands and proceeded to stare at his hands with a blank expression.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Sarah asked, still smiling.

    Then he remembered. It all came back to him in a epiphanic rush. He was saved by an angel. No, Hiro corrected, an Altered. And her name¡­ It was Euna.

    And he had turned on her. All she wanted was to save her people. To end the war, but that¡­ that was foolish. Naive. Hiro had called her that and he had even given her a chance to escape. But she had refused in her own folly. She had doomed herself. It wasn¡¯t on Hiro, but why¡­ why did he feel like he had made a mistake? Like he had done something so terribly wrong?

    Hiro hung his head, overcome with emotion.

    ¡°Are you okay? Is it the limbs? Does something feel off with your neural circuitry?¡± Sarah asked.

    Hiro shook his head. ¡°Just¡­ Just give me a moment Sarah.¡±

    Hiro sighed as Sarah turned away quietly.

    There was something that his grandfather--also named Hiro--had always told him, when Hiro was a child. That a hero should never feel remorse, that even a seed of doubt is a sign of a path tread wrong. Hiro remembered his grandfather¡¯s words like a mantra.

    Do what you believe is right, Hiro, not what you know is right.

    Suddenly Hiro¡¯s heart began pounding against his rib cage as he remembered the gruesome sight of Euna eviscerating one of the soldier¡¯s throat. That could have been him. Euna could have killed Hiro easily at any moment she wanted, but instead she had saved him, and even brought him back to an Augmented Carrier. Then he remembered the bone pulverizing punch that Euna had taken from Captain Armstrung. It was a deadly attackt that Hiro knew would have killed him instantly, even with his reinforced bones. It had sent her flying limply across the hangar, and at that moment, Hiro had thought Euna had died. But she had stood up, fully recovered. Almost as if, she had never been injured in the first place. Then he remembered the breath-taking fight that ensued afterwards between Euna and Captain Armstrung. It was on a level that Hiro knew he could never reach.

    It was then that Hiro had blacked out, faceplanting the hard floor with a thud.

    Euna¡­ What happened to her?

    ¡°How long have I been out?¡± Hiro called out to Sarah who was several paces away.

    Sarah held her wrist up, as hues of blue and green were emitted from a slot, then a hologram display materialized. ¡°Approximately, a hundred-and-seventeen minutes,¡± she read aloud.

    Hiro began yanking cables and tubes out of his body.

    ¡°W-wait Sir!¡± Buford called out from a couple beds away, ¡°You still need minor adjustments for your new limbs and some preliminary and neural compatibility-stress tests!¡±

    Hiro ignored Buford, ripping out another fluid filled cable out of his shoulder. Then he looked up at Sarah, and what she saw startled her.

    ¡°Where is Euna?¡±

    <hr>

    Silence.

    A deathly silence claims this world of white and black.

    A breeze. An errant wind, whispering softly, beckoning me. I can hear it. ¡®A way,¡¯ it echoes into my mind, over and over again. A distant and foreign voice, and yet I found it familiar.

    I don¡¯t understand, but I step forward anyway. I step forward in a world of ashes and ruins. A world shrouded in perpetual darkness.

    There are dense black clouds, blanketing the skies, for as far as I can see. A barren desert of bone colored ashes stretching endlessly into a horizon of black.

    Where am I? I wonder.

    A foolish question. There is nothing here, I realize. Yes, nothing of significance here. Even my presence here is but a fleeting mote of life, a ephemeral moment, waiting to be extinguished by the passage of time.

    This is a world devoid of life, except for my singular existence disturbing this unchanging world.

    ''Beautiful''.

    A feeling of awe dwells within me. Strangely, I found myself agreeing with the voice. Yes, this is beautiful indeed.

    Perhaps this is the kind of world that should be. A world where there is no conflict, no pain, no suffering. A world where there is only the tranquil silence of peace.

    Who am I? I wonder, but that question is quickly put aside by an unbearable pain. A physical pain, that shouldn¡¯t exist in this world.

    My naked body is coated in crimson, and yet there are no visible injuries.

    ¡®Cast your body aside,¡¯ the voice urges, but I don¡¯t know how.

    The pain continues. Killing me, but at the same time giving me an acute sense of my body.

    I am alive, I realize. Alive.

    With each step I make, I feel my body being torn apart. My innards being prodded and sliced, repeatedly, senselessly.

    But still, I walk, each step more painful than the last. I scream, but nothing is heard in this silent world of ashes. Angered, I break into a run.

    There is something that is calling me... Something that defies the logic of this world.

    I can feel my organs spilling out as I run.

    Then I see from the ledge of a falling slope, at the epicenter of a massive crater, a mountain covered in ashes. Then I feel tremors. The ground - no the mountain was moving, shifting the landscape itself. Ashes fall, then I see the intricate layered scales and the familiar weave of stone-like carapace. Decayed and rusted, a gigantuan caricature of indistinct and bizarre forms. It could have been humanoid, the resemblance was there, but it could have been just my imagination. There were a multitude of jutting precipices that extended from the body like varying shapes of limbs or wings.

    A monster. That was what it was.

    Suddenly, rocks and ashes shift, a lid opens revealing a massive crimson orb, the size of a moon. It stares at me, unblinking,

    A deep moan, or a howl, almost as if the earth is crying.

    My name, I realize. It is calling my name.

    Euna.

    That was my name. How could I forget? A sudden and terrible pain ravages my mind, a storm of cold steel sundering my skull apart.

    I grit my teeth as I fall onto my knees, cradling my tender brain.

    Finally, I remember everything. That I¡­ I was an Altered, only seventeen-years-old and... dead?

    ¡®No,¡¯ the voice answers.

    An obscured figure materializes suddenly and looms over me like a shadow.

    ¡°Ascended,¡± the figure of the Voice corrects me.

    ¡®Who are you?¡¯ I try to ask but realize that it was impossible without a tongue, or was it my throat that I was missing? I couldn¡¯t tell.

    The figure seems to take a moment to itself, before extending an obscured and tenebrous hand towards me.

    ¡°Let me show you.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Helick Armstrung let out a groan as his mind slowly stirred to lucidity. As he opened his eyes, Helick recognized his immediate vicinity by the appearance of the ceiling alone. A multitude of specialized mechanical equipment hung from the ceiling like limp arms, waiting to come to life. Throughout the compact room were a mass of cables sprawled across the ceiling like black tendrils. Some of it came loose, hanging from the ceiling like loose appendages.

    This¡­ this is Dr. Nequiv¡¯s personal lab. I have been saved, Helick realized.

    ¡°How reckless of you Helick. To allow yourself to take such a degrading blow to your artfully crafted body¡­¡± Dr. Nequiv reprimanded the Captain who lay indisposed on the operating table without turning away from his work.

    Helick closed his eyes in shame. ¡°My apologies Doctor. It was a spur of the moment decision, I¡¯m sure I could have avoided such an injury if I was given more time... but alas, having a prolonged fight with an Altered is never a good idea. I was reckless. Too eager. And for that, I recognize as incompetence on my part and will take into deep reflection for the future.¡±

    Armstrung then examined his body. His chest was partially exposed, revealing the intricate inner circuitry of his body and an angry congregation of cables that were jammed into his new artificial heart.

    ¡°Your heart was perforated. It would have been more effort to repair it than to build a new one,¡± Dr. Nequiv motioned to the side, his back still facing the Captain.

    Sitting on a metal platter next to Armstrung, was his old heart. An ugly mass of torn fibers and soiled synthetic material gave way to a gaping elliptical hole that stretched from one end to the other like a tunnel.

    ¡°Your neural circuitry around your chest cavity also had to be replaced before I installed your new heart,¡± the doctor informed Helick without a hint of emotion in his words, almost as if he was forecasting the weather.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me doctor,¡± Helick said, his voice stern and sincere as he tried his best to bow while laying sprawled on his back.

    ¡°Please, just refer to me as Nequiv. How many times have I told you to do so?¡± Dr. Nequiv grumbled in a rebukeful tone.

    ¡°The Armstrung family will remember this debt to you, Nequiv. I will make sure of it. Our house will continue to be in your favor for centuries to come. Say the word, and my family will be at your service in your time of need.¡±

    Nequiv nodded, pleased by Helick Armstrung¡¯s words of extended allegiance.

    ¡°Now, how did you manage to take such a dangerous blow?¡± Nequiv asked suddenly, finally showing some interest in their conversation.

    ¡°I was brash and foolish, I must admit. The Altered girl was proving to be a nuisance. Too quick and spry. I don''t think I could have caught her if she chose to flee. And so, I made a rather dangerous maneuver. But¡­ It had worked out in the end.¡±

    Helick closed his eyes as he remembered the Altered girl that he had fought with.

    ¡°What is your name?¡± Captain Armstrung had asked proudly, as he paced around the Altered girl, measuring her up.

    ¡°Euna,¡± she had answered softly in a dainty and sonorous voice that was almost otherworldly.

    Euna. That was her name, Armstrung acknowledged as he lifted his hand wearily to his chest and carressed his new artificial heart. A formidable foe indeed.

    The Altered girl was strange. Quite unlike any of the Altered he had seen before. When Helick had first received the alert, a blinking notification that displayed, ¡®Protocol Twenty-seven¡¯, which summarily meant that an intruder had infiltrated the Carrier, Helick had thought it impossible.

    That an Altered, the massive abominations that he was currently watching on the Combat Display Interface, managed to get past five of the remaining Carrier ships and avoid all of their sensors without getting shot down and not to mention, enter the interior of their ship without tripping any of their entry alarms?

    No living being could enter an Augmented Carrier without the mutual acknowledgement between the Neural Firmware installed on the neural circuitry that every Augmented soldier possessed, and the ship¡¯s neural network.

    But when Helick had found the Augmented soldier who was responsible for the broadcast of Protocol Twenty-Seven, he quickly came to a plausible hypothesis. Code-7H14093Q8G3H had been compromised by the enemy and had been forcibly used as a crucial tool to infiltrate their impregnable ship, the Abjurer. But Code-7H14093Q8G3H had ,through his valiant efforts despite his crippling injuries , managed to warn them of this impending crisis. Helick had listened to the crippled soldier describing the Altered girl and felt relief wash over him as he listened to the ramblings of the half-lucid soldier. There was only one on-board, and it was very possible that it was a Nascent Altered. Just imagining what kind of mayhem a Nascent Altered could still unleash within the confines of this ship frightened Helick, but audacity was the defining characteristic of the Armstrung Family. Where soldiers would tremble and cower in their spots, Helick would be steadfast and unrelenting. He would engage the Altered alone if he had to. But this was a invaluable opportunity. This was a chance for Helick to reap glory and greatness for his name and bring immense clout to his family. Helick, the Augmented Captain who halted an enemy infiltration and averted potential disaster for the Abjurer and even the entire Augmented fleet, for the Abjurer was the ship which General Corax was currently on-board.

    Helick had commended the limbless soldier who rested on the floor. It was a pitiful sight to behold, but Helick was finding himself grateful that Hiro had brought this creature on board. Then he waited with his squadron of hasitedly recruited soldiers. It wasn¡¯t long before he spotted the Altered girl approaching Hiro.

    From there the situation quickly deteriorated into disarray.

    Helick could still remember the final moments of his fight with Euna vividly as he rested on Dr. Nequiv¡¯s operating table. He remembered the sensation he felt as Euna¡¯s clawed finger, a curving ivory point, penetrated his artificial heart. It had given him an euphoria he hadn''t known before, a rush that pushed him over the edge as he crushed the Altered girl¡¯s lithe and thin body in a crushing embrace. He could still remember the screams as he snapped her spine, echoing in his head even now. Then he felt the Altered girl halt, her thrashing and screaming suddenly ceased. Helick could feel her body slacken, and suddenly the room grew quiet. Only the sound of panting from the handful of soldiers he had left, and the firing of tranquilizer darts flitting through the air could be heard.

    <hr>

    ¡°Hold your fire!¡± Helick roared.

    Helick released his hold on the Altered girl and she fell limply onto the floor. It seemed like the tranquilizers had taken effect. The soldiers had fired at least several dozens of them, and some of them had even hit Armstrung himself. He made sure to remember the faces of the incompetent soldiers who couldn''t even aim properly at nearly point blank range.

    ¡°Sir! Restraints have been applied!¡±

    ¡°Automatic compression engaged, electric field activated!¡±

    The soldiers all stepped away slowly and cautiously from an Altered girl entirely wreathed in winding mesh and wires that glowed with a shimmering blue hue. There was only the hum of an electric field permeating the silence in the room now.

    ¡°S-sir you¡¯re hurt!¡±

    ¡°Sir you need to medical attention asap!¡±

    The soldiers watched with their mouths agape as spurts of fluids and discharge erupted from Captain Armstrung¡¯s chest in measured intervals.

    ¡°Sir, are you okay?!¡±

    ¡°Captain Armstrung? Can you hear me?¡±

    Helick didn¡¯t respond, but he could hear their voices calling faintly. He was still stunned by the ordeal that had transpired, staring in disbelief at the motionless body wound in synthetic fibre that would expand and compress to accommodate any variable change in size. Helick could feel his mind slowly fall into a tranquil lull, the tranquilizers were quickly shutting down his system, and yet he watched, waiting for the Altered girl to somehow burst out of her containment.

    But she didn¡¯t.

    I¡¯ve¡­ succeeded. I¡¯ve captured an Altered.

    Helick felt joy begin to blossom in his heart, and yet, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was amiss. As the world became a haze, the edges slowly becoming indistinct, he could only wonder what it was that he had heard. He wasn¡¯t sure what, only that there was a vague, indistinct voice, like an echo that he had heard, or more precisely felt when the Altered girl had suddenly slackened in his arms. Something that echoed into his mind like an afterthought. A single spoken word that was incomprehensible to Helick.

    He wasn''t sure what it was but as darkness permeated his vision, a single word reverberated in the confines of his mind.

    ¡®Finally.¡¯

    <hr>

    Helick shuddered, his reverie broken.

    ¡°Indeed it did,¡± Nequiv agreed.

    All had turned out well in the end, for the Doctor had been busily working on his new specimen the entire time. Once he had stabilized Captain Armstrung, Dr. Nequiv had wasted no time in taking the Altered girl apart.

    ¡°Look at this Helick. Isn''t this the most peculiar thing?¡± Nequiv beckoned with enthusiasm.

    Helick pulled himself off the table slowly, his body still connected with dozens of cables. He walked up to the doctor¡¯s side, and together they stood at nearly equal height. Although Helick was much larger in stature, the doctor ¡®stood¡¯ with the help of a mechanical contraption which was essentially his lower body. Four elongated, metallic limbs that elevated him to any height that he desired.

    ¡°What am I looking at doctor?¡± Helick asked after giving himself a few long moments to figure out what he was looking at and still coming up with nothing.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°This is an Altered¡¯s chromatin cell.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ I see,¡± Helick nodded as if he understood.

    Helick didn¡¯t have a clue of what he was looking at. All he saw was microscopic organisms moving in an erratic pattern.

    ¡°The Altered. What makes them so different from us?¡± Nequiv asked in a tone of a lecturer asking his students a question.

    ¡°They are monsters,¡± Helick replied without even a moment¡¯s thought.

    Nequiv sighed, disappointed in Helick¡¯s simple-minded response. It was understandable. The Altered were undoubtedly monsters. Genetic phenomena that defied even logic itself. Perpetually regenerating cells, each individually sentient, allowing controlled growths and complex molecular synthesization. Age, size, mass, molecular structure altered at a whim. They were biologically immortal, unaging. Such bizarre and unexplainable genetic alterations mystified the minds of scientist for centuries. A puzzle that baffled even the greatest minds. Dozens of theories have arisen over the tyranny of the Augmented empire, attempts at solving the mysterious puzzle. The Augmented Archives was infested with theories, most of them dismissed and forgotten with time but some remained. They gained traction, and some even became prolific enough for the High Council to step in and contain. Among the multitude of theories, one conclusion was shared by them all. The Altered were not human. But they must have been at one point, human, just like the Augmented who were for the most part, genetically identical to humanity. The questions that remained elusive however, was when and how?

    When did the humans of old unlock the secrets of the human genome? And how did they do it?

    Such questions were pondered by Nequiv every night, keeping him awake and sleepless.

    ¡°They are abominations in the guise of humans,¡± Helick continued. ¡°We are, after all, the singular remainder of Humanity. When the Great Collapse--that was foretold six centuries prior--ccurred, we were the ones that emerged supreme. Billions of humans succumbed, unable to survive in a ruined world where the only source of nourishment was your own family.¡±

    Nequiv nodded solemnly as Helick recited the core beliefs and historical foundations of the Augmented Empire.

    Helick continued, his chest inflating with fervor, his heart stirring with passion. ¡°But among the dregs and the filth, we endured and we adapted. We mechanized our bodies. We changed the fundamental needs of Humanity, becoming systematic, efficient and at the same time dynamic. We enhanced and conformed our bodies to meet any task or demand.¡±

    Helick took a moment to inhale another breath, then with distant eyes gleaming with pride, he spoke, ¡° we became Augmented.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Indeed,¡± Nequiv nodded solemnly, his eyes also glazed over with swelling pride.

    Then Helick¡¯s face took on an ugly expression. ¡°But of course, the transition of our race into the Augmented glory that it is today did not come without impediment. There was after all, the Altered Pandemic.¡±

    Nequiv nodded, his eyes gazing at a past faraway.

    Not long after the Great Collapse, the Altered had suddenly appeared. According to the Augmented Archives, there was a mythical, individual who was purportedly immortal. Most likely, the first Altered. Nequiv had scoured the Augmented Archives, searching for what clues he could of this particular person who was essentially the first Altered. It was with his appearance, that the Altered Pandemic had followed. Like a disease, there were purportedly sudden and violent cancerous growths, altering the body at the genetic level, transforming those who were afflicted into malformed caricatures of what they once were, bringing agonizing and grotesque deaths to humanity. Among those that survived, arose beings of genetic supremacy.

    Nequiv spared a moment to look at the Captain who was now quivering with anger.

    Suddenly both Armstrung and Nequiv became aware of a rhythmic electric chime permeating the crisp silence of the lab.

    ¡°Is it General Corax? Am I to return to the battlefield?¡± asked Helick urgently.

    ¡°Hold on lad,¡± Nequiv said still bent over and diligently at work. ¡°Hm, it seems like we have a visitor. Says his code is 7H14093Q8G3H. Know who this is?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes doctor. It is Hiro,¡± Helick answered.

    <hr>

    ¡°I am Code: 7H14093Q8G3H, Ranking: Officer and Augmentation Tier: 2. Name, Hiro. Now move aside maggots,¡± Hiro barked at the Augmented soldiers obstructing him to his destination.

    When Hiro had--in his frustration and panic-asked Sarah where Euna was, she had simply frowned, answering, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    It was only after a exhaustive explanation from Hiro that he had managed to get at the core of the apple.

    ¡°Oh, the Altered monster? How do you even know its name?¡± the medic asked, inclining her head.

    Hiro let out a breath of frustration, his patience running thin. ¡°Nevermind that, do you know where she is or not?¡±

    Sarah frowned at Hiro¡¯s strange behavior, referring to an Altered monster by name. Seeing Hiro grow increasingly restless, Sarah, the benevolent medic relented.

    ¡°Doctor Nequiv¡¯s lab obviously,¡± Sarah divulged at last with a puzzled expression, still unsure of why Hiro was so obsessed with this particular Altered monster.

    Now, Hiro stood at the entrance of Nequiv¡¯s lab, located near the summit of the gargantuan spire that was the Augmented Carrier.

    He stood, glowering at the Augmented soldiers in a narrow, winding, concentric corridor that ran the entire circumference of the ship. An entire floor of the ship dedicated to the needs of one man. The small squadron of Augmented soldiers were standing guard outside a massive sliding door. Hiro was eyeing the whimpering men and women before him, who stammered apologetically and looked to one another for salvation. Only hours ago, Hiro was merely a low ranking grunt, just like the gathering before him. Now Hiro was stepping all over the soldiers. He had wanted to test waters, seeing what kind of clout his new ranking had brought him, and as soon as Hiro had mentioned his tier and ranking, the soldiers had turned stiff and apologetic, quivering nervously in their Augmented limbs.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry Sir,¡± the soldier at the fore of the group whimpered, ¡°b-but like I said,¡± he swallowed nervously, wondering which House, this new and unknown personage belonged to. ¡°You need special clearance to enter this lab¡­¡±

    Hiro had sauntered into the corridor so confidently, and had spoken with such a domineering and imperious tone that the soldiers had assumed Hiro would be on the list of authorized personnel. But when Hiro tapped his wrist against the panel to Nequiv¡¯s lab, an angry buzz had sounded along with the glow of a red light that smothered the narrow corridor in a crimson hue.

    ¡°And I¡¯ve already checked the list, your designated code is not on the-¡±

    ¡°Check again!¡± Hiro commanded.

    ¡°B-but Sir, I¡¯ve already checked multiple times and have notified the-¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I should have your eyes replaced with recycled Ocular Aug-Eyes. Or better yet¡­ do you know what an Augmented-Shish Kebab is?¡± Hiro asked with an arched eyebrow.

    The gathering of Augmented soldiers shook their heads nervously, as they observed the unknown ¡®high-ranking¡¯ officer before them. His name was Hiro and even though they¡¯ve never heard of such a name before they were slowly, and subtly beginning to believe that maybe there really was an Officer named Hiro. The man before them had a peculiar sort of charisma to him. He stood before them in a uniform that was sullied and torn beyond recognition, as if he had engaged with an Altered in hand-to-hand combat. There were still flecks and splatters of dried fluids here and there, some of it blood and some of it--especially near the nether regions¡­ well, better left unimagined. The sleeves of his uniform were torn off, revealing his Advanced-Grade Augmentation limbs. The profoundly complex and intricate circuitry that ran down his arms in the glow of teal-blue cued the soldiers to the fact that perhaps the man before them was affiliated with the elite Houses. By the end of their observation, the vague awareness of this Officer named Hiro had suddenly turned to concrete belief that he was somehow connected with one of the Great Families.

    ¡°Oh no Sir, we have not heard of this¡­ Augmented-Shish Kebab, Sir,¡± said the soldier at the fore, who then proceeded to give his fellow squadmates behind him, a confident smile, a look that said, I got this.

    The soldier at the fore then lowered his head with respect. ¡°Pray tell, what is it?¡±

    Hiro took a moment to gather his thoughts. He hadn''t expected his hastedly self-imposed charade to actually work. He had no clue where this was going but he had to keep up the facade. Hiro began explaining. ¡°It is a humiliating ceremonial execution practiced by the Altered to captives of the great Augmented Empire¡­¡±

    The squadron of gathered soldiers leaned in closer as they watched the Officer before them begin to thrash his arms dramatically, as he explained a purportedly first-hand experience of this horrendous ritual.

    A sudden hiss, of depressurizing air filled the narrow, winding corridor and the door to Dr. Nequiv¡¯s lab slid open.

    ¡°Greetings Officer Hiro,¡± a deep, empowering voice boomed over the gathering of Augmented soldiers.

    The Augmented soldiers quickly dispersed, returning to their patrol, leaving only two behind who would stand guard outside Dr. Nequiv¡¯s lab.

    Hiro glanced up at the towering man who had suddenly made his appearance.

    Hiro had almost forgetten his place and immediately stood up straighter, his back stiff and saluted with an arched hand over his forehead. ¡°Greetings Captain!¡±

    Helick Armstrung¡­ Hiro thought. What an imposing figure.

    The man who had subdued Euna smiled generously at Hiro. ¡°Ah, no need for formalities Hiro. You have done a great service to the Armstrung family today. Your performance on the battlefield may not have been¡­ stellar, but your loyalty and courage is a refreshing sight to behold.¡±

    Hiro nearly choked. Loyalty and courage? That couldn¡¯t have been further from the truth. Hiro was a coward through and through.

    ¡°Why thank you, Sir. It was nothing,¡± Hiro said, his tone in equal measure gratified and reserved. ¡°Your words are too generous.¡±

    Captain Armstrung smiled at the young soldier¡¯s humble display. ¡°You can refer to me as Helick, Hiro.¡±

    ¡°Yes Si- Erm, I mean Helick.¡±

    ¡°I see that you have recovered. I presume you have already become sufficiently acclimated to your new Aug-Limbs?¡± Captain Armstrung enquired offhandedly as his eyes roamed up and down the young soldier before him, measuring him up in new light now that he was equipped with Advanced-Grade Augmentation Limbs.

    ¡°Yes, these Aug-Limbs are proving to be quite the work of art,¡± Hiro remarked as he clenched and unclenched his fist in a exhibitory manner. ¡°What about your wounds Helick?¡±

    Helick motioned to his body, fully uniformed, and unfaltering. ¡°Fully recovered.¡±

    Soon Hiro found himself looking at another mechanical door, which slid open as they approached. A smaller more compact compartment within the lab itself. Inside, Hiro found himself in a room of blinding lights and the smell of burnt skin. Several paces in and Hiro was halfway through the room. He could see a man at the other end of the room who must have been Dr. Nequiv. He was a small man, mostly because he only had half of his body. Starting from below his waist, he was entirely machine.

    Nequiv was bent over, his arms inserted into two large sleeves that traveled inwards into a control module, not unlike the control interface of a Vessel. Via the control modules, Nequiv was manipulating four different mechanical arms, all of which in simultaneous operation.

    As Hiro approached with Helick next to him, he could already hear the older man, mumbling to himself in ecstasy.

    ¡°How fascinating.¡±

    Hiro caught a glimpse of plumes of thin trailing smoke coming off of flesh.

    ¡°Remarkable.¡±

    Armstrung cleared his throat and spoke up. ¡°Hiro meet, Doctor Nequiv. The one and only. The highly esteemed Aug-Smith whose contributions led to everything that we are today. Your limbs, mine, and even the Vessels, all of which were in part, engineered, and refined to the perfection that it is by this very man,¡± Helick motioned to the man who seemed too occupied with his work to even turn around.

    Hiro could suddenly feel his blood run cold.

    ¡°And Nequiv, this is the man who brought us the very specimen that you are working on right now.¡±

    Hiro was suddenly speechless, clenching his Augmented fists so tightly he could feel the synthetic fibres go taunt from the strain and the physical exertion that was being outputted. It was all he could do to not fall on his knees and begin hurling his stomach fluids. Hiro watched as Nequiv began cutting through a milky white, and supple thigh, exposing the bone and muscle underneath. Then he moved on to another part of the leg near the feet where there was thick sinewy hide that gave way to protruding ivory armor which extended into clawed toes. A prehensile arm held the leg securely in place as another mechanical arm drooped low, and suddenly igniting the flesh. A fine, pinpoint laser ran its course down the calf, exposing more of the raw and supple flesh beneath.

    ¡°It has been so long since I¡¯ve laid my rusty hands on a nascent Altered. Unlike a fully matured Altered, who can often atrophy their cells at will or even subconsciously, this one cannot. And thus¡­ makes for a very, very productive dissection,¡± Nequiv commented sternly.

    Behind the glass wall, on a raised and elaborate operating platform, was the desecrated corpse of Euna. Systematically dissected, limb from limb, organ by organ, everything extracted and arranged in its own orderly manner. Hiro didn¡¯t even know what he was looking at anymore. All he could see was blood, flesh and Euna¡­

    The image of an otherworldly beauty, with mesmerizing, violet eyes that stunned Hiro everytime he met eyes with her. Her long silky, dark violet hair, that cascaded around her elegant nape and the swell of her pale, supple chest. All of Euna, everything that he could remember of her, all reduced to orderly, dissected chunks of flesh.

    ¡°This¡­ this is indeed a rare specimen. Though she is Nascent- No, not quite it seems. Perhaps¡­ she was on the verge of maturation?¡± the Doctor mused to no one in particular as he extracted what appeared to be ovaries and set it aside.

    Hiro felt his heart lurch up in his throat. Unable to breathe, let alone speak, he found himself staring at Euna¡¯s remains, unable to peel his eyes away.

    What have I done? Hiro lamented in anguish.

    ¡°Well done Hiro. I am very pleased with your involvement in the capture of this Altered specimen,¡± Nequiv said with warm gratitude, then added for emphasis, ¡°You¡­ You have done well, indeed.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Euna awoke to a heavenly hymn. A faint and ethereal voice carried its way into her abode like a whisper from the wind. It¡¯s sweet and alluring melody aroused her from her deep slumber, calling for her attendance. But before she could even open her eyes, she felt something terribly wrong with her body. A strange and unbearable pain assaulted her in sporadic intervals. She grit her teeth as a sudden searing sensation coursed through her, as if her nerves were on fire.

    Then the pain disappeared. It was as if it was never there.

    She sat up from her bed and checked her body thoroughly, but there were no visible injuries. She brought her hands to her face, and they came back with tears, sweat and drool. Snuggled in her hair which was damp with sweat, was Teal. Teal was a lynx with a furry coat of vibrant teal and pattered dark spots. For a few moments, she sat there deeply confused as Teal licked away the tears and sweat. Her memory was hazy and all she could remember was pain¡­ and blood. Lots of blood.

    A nightmare? she wondered.

    But it came to her as clear as day. Beyond the pain and blood she could remember the Augmented fleet looming over the horizon. Her father and the villagers flying to their deaths.

    Euna shivered.

    A dream. It was just a dream she thought, dismissing the memories from her mind.

    She slipped out of her bed, Teal following close on her heels. She stepped out of her makeshift shelter which was perched precariously within the massive trunk of a Behemoth Tree. After countless hours of painstaking carving, the hollowed trunk had become homely enough to serve as a place of rest and shelter.

    Here, she was at peace. Deep within the forest which she called home, and in her private hollowed-out enclosure. She could still hear Lyria¡¯s sonorous voice, singing and calling for the villagers to gather.

    Finally, after spending too much time dwelling on her thoughts she decided to move on. There was a lot to be done.

    Euna¡¯s makeshift hut was her very first endeavor towards independence. Having a shelter that you had procured through your own laborious efforts was a mark of self-sufficiency among the Altered and not having one was simply social suicide. Euna had spent far too many years nestled in her father¡¯s hut. So when she had learned to tap into her sense of Alteration, the first thing she learned was to alter her hands. She would need very sturdy claws if she wanted to carve a home out of the notoriously esteemed Behemoth trees. They had told her that only the sharpest, and most durable of claws would scratch the Behemoth Tree. That many have tried and failed but that didn¡¯t deter her. It was only when she had begun that she had discovered the colossal task that she had ignorantly plunged herself into. There was an enormous error in her judgement. The most difficult part of the ordeal was not being able to scratch the Behemoth Tree, but being able to endure the extensively lengthy process. Even the sharpest of claws would dull after repeated use. She had assumed that the task would take weeks, not months. Euna had to constantly grow, and reshape her claws in order to maintain its sharpness. The task had exacted a exhaustive toll on her pubescent body and a good fourteen months of her life, but it had tempered her somatic sense to a acute degree that was remarkable for her age. But alas, she was still a novice compared to her brethren in the village, and to make matters worse, she was a nascent. She was the only Altered in the entire village who hadn''t undergone ''the awakening'' yet. An event which her Alteration teacher Miizen had described as ''transformative'' and ''you''ll know it when you see it'' which didn''t really tell her much.

    Euna began walking purposefully down the massive tree limb, carefully maneuvering around other wayward branches and leaves. Teal leaped off into the branches below, chasing after a bird. They were easily over 200 meters from the ground but navigating the perilous heights of the Behemoth trees came easy for Euna and Teal. Finally, she reached the very tip of the branch where she was greeted with the full glory of the morning sun. A gentle breeze caressed her briefly, threatening to topple her before slipping away. Here, she had a glorious overhead view of the forest in its entirety. A thick canopy of teal-green stretched endlessly in all directions. Looming above the horizon, were mountains that gave way to the ocean in the west. Spread sparsely, and visible through the gaps of the canopy, was the village in its entirety.

    Euna let out a breath of exhilaration and awe as she appreciated the vista before her along with Lyria¡¯s melodic hymn.

    ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it?¡± a husky voice remarked near her.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    <hr>

    ¡°You see,¡± Dr. Nequiv gave his audience a sidelong glance, making sure that they were paying attention. ¡°When the brain is separated from the Altered¡¯s body, intact and unharmed... something strange occurs.¡±

    A mechanical appendage rotated, then lowered itself incrementally until it joined the cluster of actively moving mechanical arms.

    Next to Dr. Nequiv stood Captain Armstrung who listened attentively, nodding and grunting at the doctor¡¯s every word. And not too far away, still frozen in his spot, was Hiro.

    ¡°Something that should not be possible according to what we know of human biology,¡± the doctor continued.

    A thin, razor sharp scalpel extended outwards from the appendage, and then began slowly slicing through thick strands of flesh. Blood, and transparent fluids oozed slowly out of the severed strands, painting the metallic surface with splotches of deep red.

    Hiro swallowed, pushing back bile down his throat.

    Another mechanical appendage began moving, this time towards a different section of the operating table. Nequiv repeated the procedure, slicing another thick strand of flesh.

    ¡°Without organs, the human body loses it ability to function. The lungs for the intake of oxygen, the stomach for the digestion of substance and nutrients, the heart and blood vessels to circulate vital resources--without any of these¡­ the human body would fall apart. ¡±

    Another slice.

    ¡°But most of all," Nequiv lifted a quivering finger, becoming more enthralled as he spoke, "the most essential, the crux of human biology, the epitome of complexity and mystery... is the brain. Without it, we lose not just what we are, but who we are. The brain is where information, our memories, our experiences, and personality is stored. And yet, this Altered remains¡­ functional,¡± Dr. Nequiv exhaled a breath of astonishment. ¡°No. Functional wouldn¡¯t begin to describe this. This is--¡±

    ¡°Monstrous,¡± Helick interjected.

    Dr. Nequiv chuckled.

    Hiro watched the peculiar exchange in silence, but inside, a storm of violent emotions churned ceaselessly against his heart. He turned his attention back to Euna¡¯s desecrated body.

    Behind the pane of glass, strewn across the operating table were segments of Euna¡¯s body, divided and arranged in an orderly fashion. As the dissection continued, excess material was excised and funneled into a large metallic container positioned around the edge of the hexagonal table. The outer layers¡ªplated scales, shells of ivory carapace, hair and skin, along with any excess bone, extremities, Euna¡¯s bladelike claws and wings¡ªall of which were dumped over the edge of the table. Finally, what was left on the table were organs, parts of Euna¡¯s torso and abdomen, limbs and a skull bereft of its brain.

    Hiro struggled to discern one organ from the other with all the blood, unknown fluids, and the mounds of flesh and muscle splattered everywhere. Amidst the mounds of blood and flesh, he noticed that there were thick strands of arteries and veins, stretching like a web across the organs scattered across the table.

    What the hell am I even looking at? Hiro¡¯s mind turned inside out as he struggled to comprehend the aberration before him.

    Sitting in the center of the web of crimson strands was a large dome-shaped, pulsating organ.

    Somehow, Euna was alive.

    <hr>

    "Beautiful couldn¡¯t even begin to describe this¡­" Euna said. She could never get enough of this sight. It was why she had chosen this particular Behemoth tree as her place. "Oh," she flushed as she spotted Vale. "I didn''t notice you up there."

    Perched gracefully on a branch above her was Vale. He had recently been inducted into the village council, and was something of a stern older brother to Euna but only because he was vying for her father''s attention. Apparently running errands and babysitting the village chief''s daughter are a must to gain the chief''s favor.

    "You''ve been out flying again? Enjoying the morning sun?" she asked. "Or are you are here to pester me in place of my father?"

    "I hear you have been late to lessons this past week," Vale noted as he stared off into the horizon, completely ignoring Euna''s questions. "Now I see why. It''s hours past sunrise and now you''re getting out of bed. This is unbecoming of you as the Chief''s daughter."

    "Oh come on, it''s a weekend and I don''t have lessons today."

    "Weekend or not, you shouldn''t be the last one in the village to rise, especially when Lyria is calling for a meeting."

    Euna pouted her cheeks quietly, then let a pained sigh.

    Vale stood up and glanced down at Euna as his wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. His wings took on the shade of night under the shadows and a glistening deep blue when basked in the sun. "You alright?" Vale asked as he observed Euna.

    She paused.

    "You don''t look good. Is something wrong?" Vale questioned.

    "Actually... I had the weirdest dream," she glanced at Vale who motioned for her to continue. "It was really... vivid, unlike any I''ve ever had before. A fleet of flying fortresses attack us," she pointed to the horizon, "It was the Augmented Empire. There were so many of them. It was a war. Many of us died and... I think I died too."

    She watched Vale as his expression changed from neutral to concern. "Have you been indulging yourselves in Jilsa''s history books? Or was it Miizen''s war stories, or was it from th-th-th-"

    Euna watched in horror as Vale''s face contorted and glistened as a translucent film slowly shrouded his face. Only vague outlines of his facial features remained.

    His lips opened slowly, and what came out was a very familiar voice.

    "A Dream? No, your interpretation is incorrect."

    Euna''s mind went blank. She was shocked and confused. Her reality shattered once again, but this time she was ready. So many questions lingered on the edge of her mind, but before she knew it her lips were moving. "Then, wha-what is it?"

    "A simulation."

 Chapter 10

    Nequiv peered through the transparent pane of glass, taking in the incredible phenomenon in stark display before him. He exhaled, letting out an exhilarating but measured breath that bordered on ecstasy.

    How long has it been since I felt like this? Nequiv wondered as he quivered with excitement.

    For the first time in a long while, Nequiv had to struggle to calm his nerves. The jittering of his nerves were taking a toll on his vast neural circuitry which was currently interconnected with an arsenal of at least several dozen mechanical limbs. Nequiv had long parted with most of his human body, and had since adapted to a multitude of mechanical limbs that required a mind capable of multi-managing several thought processes at once with ease.

    How many years did it take him to reach the point that he was at now? All the resources and men he needed at his disposal, his name carrying a cumbersome weight among the Augmented society. His every whim indulged despite how ludicrous it was to the council of elders. And now the nascent Altered before him. Nequiv was glad he had requested to join this military campaign. Finding a Nascent Altered was rare, and even more rare was an Nascent altered on the verge of maturation. Now he could test his life-long hypothesis that he had harbored within the depths of his mind for so long.

    Five centuries, or 493 years to be exact. That was how long Nequiv had lived. His fateful death was long overdue, endlessly delayed by repeated life extension surgeries and advancements in Aug-Tech¡ªmany of which engineered by himself.

    In truth, Dr. Nequiv cared little for the war. The long harbored hatred between the two races, the cycle of violence and vengeance carried out by the two races over the past millennium. History of a feud that ran deep in their blood.

    Dr. Nequiv was merely a man of science, nothing more.

    He furrowed his brows, ruminating over the countless unanswered questions looming in the depths of his mind since his early days. There were so many questions he yearned to solve, and even more questions that he had yet to even conceptualize.

    Why are their brains vulnerable?

    They can physically transform their bodies to drastic degrees and yet they cannot evolve themselves beyond the limited capacities of a brain. Why?

    If they can alter their bodies at will, why do still retain biological semblance with humanity?

    Why can''t we replicate the Altered biological phenomenon. What is the missing key?

    ¡®The Altered. What makes them so different from us?¡¯ Nequiv had asked his loyal ally, Captain Armstrung after he had awaken.

    ¡®They are monsters,¡¯ the ignorant Captain had replied.

    Nequiv chuckled to himself, then steadied his mind as a mechanical limb veered off course, jerking sideways and cutting too deeply into flesh.

    There was something far more sinister at play here than mere ¡®monsters¡¯.

    Experiments and attempts to dissect, reverse engineer and eventually replicate the biological phenomena had all resulted in catastrophic disasters. The Altered body, every individual cell seemed to have a will of its own. Something crucial was missing in their technological understanding of Altered biology. Something that they could not perceive with their current technology and yet was very real. Nequiv suspected that solving this biological phenomenom required distancing oneself from the limited confines of the established laws of even physics itself, that it perhaps boiled down to something even below the quantum level.

    The Genetic Alteration Matrix.

    That was the term that Nequiv had publicized and effectively coined according to the Augmented Academia. That after numerous experiments and dissertations, the phenomonom of the Altered biology crystalized into a theory. A theory that the Genetic Alteration Matrix was the key to solving this biological mystery. Much of the general consensus had met Nequiv''s work regarding the Altered with conflicting feelings. There was zealous piety and there was also outright repulsion. But in all of the centuries of investigation, contemplation, discourse, and dissection, none have ever found veritable proof of the physical existence of this ''Alteration Matrix''. Eventually even the Augmented Academia had come to shelve the theory, letting it eat dust along with the many others in the depths of the Archives.

    Where was the Genetic Alteration Matrix located, and what exactly was it?

    He believed that the ''key'' was connected to the fables of the Ascended. That humanity had long departed from this realm of mortals. That they had ascended to a collective, all-encompassing entity which existed beyond reality.

    Nequiv grinned. He had a feeling that today he would be unraveling the secrets of the Genetic Alteration matrix.

    Suddenly he could hear Armstrung clear his throat. ¡°¡ªHiro meet, Doctor Nequiv¡­¡±

    Nequiv realized that he must have been ranting out loud again. He turned his neck slightly to address Helick and his companion.

    <hr>

    Hiro couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The brain? No. It¡¯s size was far too large to be a brain.

    Hiro watched silently as Dr. Nequiv delicately maneuvered a mechanical arm with three prehensile fingers towards the dome encased in a membrane of translucent flesh.

    The mechanical finger prodded the soft membrane.

    As if it was alive, the dome responded with an audible ba-thump and an arterial spurt of blood.

    ¡°Gah!¡± Hiro yelped as the spurt of blood shot out towards him, smearing the pane of glass between them. After recollection his wits, Hiro stalked closer. On closer inspection, he realized that it wasn¡¯t merely blood. He watched in horror, as the thick sludge of black-crimson uncoiled until it took on the shape of a worm-like tube.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°There!¡± Dr. Nequiv exclaimed excitedly. ¡°You can see the budding material of the metastasizing, and metamorphosing cells. It¡¯s almost as if the cells have a mind of their own.¡±

    Then it began stretching, becoming thinner and longer, until it was finally more than two meters in length. The blood soaked tube, upon reaching its full length, went taut, making the pink fibers on its outer layer visible. Then it fell, slopping onto the table where it joined the web of interconnected organs.

    Dr. Nequiv laughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t this fascinating?¡± the doctor asked with raw excitement in his voice.

    ¡°Affirmative doctor. This is very fascinating,¡± Helick answered with steadfast precision.

    ¡°What do you think Hiro?¡± Dr. Nequiv asked. ¡°This is your first time seeing a ¡®live¡¯ dissection I presume?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes sir,¡± Hiro replied as he straightened himself. ¡°Thi-this is a rare opportunity¡­ to witness your work with my own eyes... it¡¯s something that many would¡­ kill for, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    Dr. Nequiv chuckled.

    ¡°I, myself,¡± Helick said, ¡°have never seen a dissection progress to this degree¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is an extremely rare occurrence¡± Nequiv said. ¡°Nearly all of the Altered I have dissected before would either resort to aggressive and perpetual metamorphosis or simply enter a state of complete apoptosis where systematic cellular death would occur uniformly until the Altered had all but broken down into a mass of waste.¡±

    For several minutes Nequiv continued his lecture, recounting the disasters that had taken place during his past dissections. Apparently all sorts of biohazards had taken place. There were times where Nequiv had to quarantine his lab, completely vacating the entire premise of personnel before incinerating everything to ashes. Hiro had no choice to but to simply listen quietly as Nequiv simultaneously dissected and spoke of his tales with fervor and nostalgia. Nequiv even laughed as he recounted a time where an Altered carcass had exploded in his face. Hiro didn¡¯t find that part particularly funny but Helick did as he joined the doctor in their laughter.

    ¡°Nequiv,¡± Armstrung cleared his throat loudly, regaining his composure from his fit of laughter. ¡°I must ask a favor of you if you would allow it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, out with it Helick.¡±

    ¡°It is with these very hands that you have artfully crafted that I have seized this monster¡­" Helick flexed his massive chrome hands. "Yet, I must ask of you to bestow upon these hands, the spoils of this Altered creature.¡±

    Hiro nearly snorted. He gave Captain Armstrung a skeptical glance. Really? Hiro was astounded that despite the visceral scene they were currently witnessing, all the Captain cared about was his ''Altered trophy''.

    ¡°Ah. Hmm,¡± Nequiv narrowed his eyes as he cleared his throat, which sounded like fluids being flushed down a pipe to Hiro. ¡°Which parts of her do you desire?¡±

    ¡°The wings. And her claw. The one from her right arm.¡±

    ¡°O-of course,¡± Nequiv sighed a breath of relief, apparently content to part with those parts of Euna. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Her right arm?¡± Nequiv raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why not the left? Or both?¡±

    The Augmented captain cleared his throat awkwardly. ¡°It was the claw from her right arm which I had received that grievous injury. If it were not for you Doctor, I would not be alive right now,¡± Helick solemnly placed his hand over his metallic barrel chest. ¡°I would like it as a momento to remember this day, and to show my children and their children of the monstrosity that the Altered are.¡±

    An image of miniature Armstrung kids playing with Euna''s claws and wings surfaced in Hiro''s mind. He had a feeling that Euna''s body parts would serve more as a toy than an ''Altered Trophy.''

    Nequiv didn¡¯t quite understand the sentiments of the Augmented Captain but nevertheless, he complied. ¡°Of course,¡± the doctor then turned to address Hiro. ¡°And Hiro? Do you also have a desire for the spoils of this creature?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Hiro intoned with surprise. ¡°Um... I don''t know if I deserve such a..."

    ¡°You deserve it Hiro,¡± Helick nudged him with his elbow nearly toppling him over. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve got dibs on the the wings and claw.¡±

    ¡°Hiro, is there any part of this creature that you desire?¡± Nequiv asked again, this time with less patience.

    He turned his attention back to Nequiv. The doctor observed Hiro curiously, one eye trained on him as the other focused on Euna. Hiro quickly felt a sense of urgency swell within him, as if the doctor would realize that something was amiss here. That he was not who Helick had portrayed him to be. A courageous Augmented soldier who risked his life to capture the ''nascent'' Altered currently on the table. It was far from that in fact. Hiro was not here to admire his courageous efforts or gloat about his success in capturing Euna. For a moment Hiro wondered why he was even here. He had stormed his way Nequiv''s lab to see if Euna was okay. When he had arrived he was devastated to discover that Euna was dead. Remorse and guilt had wracked him, but he had quickly accepted it as his punishment. But now things were different. Euna was alive, and her unconscious body was struggling to put itself back together. Nequiv was practically toying with Euna''s body and all he could do was watch. Now he was in even greater turmoil than before he had thought that Euna was dead.

    What do I desire? Hiro asked himself. Should I ask for Euna''s other claw? Or her leg? And be done with it?

    He shook his head slowly. That was what the coward in him wanted. But that would simply not do.

    "No? Are you sure?" Nequiv asked.

    "Hiro," Helick placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Allow me to propose a suitable trophy to collect."

    Hiro nodded as Helick proceeded to suggest specific body parts and bones to him.

    "Yes," Hiro answered. "I want-"

    Suddenly a ping interrupted the trio. Both Nequiv and Helick perked up.

    "It seems General Corax requires my presence," Helick announced. "I have strayed from the battlefield for far too long. I presume it is time for me to return to the front lines."

    "This military excursion is taking longer than I anticipated," Nequiv noted. "This battle should be nearing its final stages by now. Once I return to the Capital I will be able utilize the full resources and equipment back in my personal Labs. This lab is too cramped for my taste."

    "I''m sure the end of the battle is approaching," Helick nodded. "I must be there when the time comes."

    Helick turned to address Hiro.

    "Hiro, do you want to meet General Corax?" Helick asked. "I can put in a good word for you."

    Hiro looked up at Helick with wide eyes. A chance to meet the General? This was an opportunity that many Officers of his rank would kill for. It would potentially further his military career, allowing him to climb the ranks with the backing of a Captain and the acquaintanceship of A General.

    "I-I don''t think I''m ready Helick. It is not my place to claim such a prestigious opportunity. It would be unprecedented for someone of my... upbringing."

    "Hm," Helick grunted affirmatively as he placed his hand on Hiro''s shoulder. "Very humble words. I see that I have not erred in promoting your rank to Officer. Very well. You will stay here and pick out your Altered Trophy. I''m sure you will need the rest. However, be mindful that you may be called upon to return to the front lines as we approach the final stages of our assault. Be prepared Hiro."

    With a brief salute to Nequiv, Armstrung was dismissed.

    Hiro felt his pulse quicken as he watched Captain Armstrung leave the room. He watched the doors close as Helick disappeared from sight before turning his attention back to Nequiv and then Euna.

    Nequiv had already returned to his dissection. His shoulders hunched over as he fully devoted his attention to his work.

    Suddenly, Hiro felt very alone in Nequiv''s lab. A mad scientist who was obsessed with his work and a desecrated body that could at any moment become volatile. He knew that this was very likely the only opportunity he would ever get to save Euna. He would likely never be this close to her again. He would be sent to the front lines again and he would either die as mere fodder to the Altered force or eventually--after the Altered from this village are exterminated--be returned to his proper place within the chain of command and be deployed elsewhere. He would never set foot in one of Nequiv''s lab again unless he was a highly distinguished Captain himself.

    "Hiro," Nequiv beckoned with his voice. "Have you decided?"

    Suddenly, before Hiro could even consider anymore he found himself punching in commands on his wrist display modular. His hand snapped open as intricate machinery reformed, before revealing a metallic silver barrel at the wrist.

    "Her name is Euna and I want her back," Hiro said. "All of her."

    Hiro pointed his Auxiliary wrist-cannon at Nequiv and fired.

 Chapter 11

    A steaming hot cartridge ejects itself from the top of Hiro''s forearm as black smoke lingers in the air from where the projectile slug had incinerated synthetic fibers and alloys on impact. As it clears Hiro could see that Nequiv was still standing, albeit, it was unsteady and wobbling.

    Through the lingering wisps of smoke, Hiro''s eyes met Nequiv''s. Confusion and surprise was plastered on Nequiv''s face. Ironically, Hiro was just as surprised by what he himself had done.

    Then Nequiv''s face contorted into an angry snarl. The synthetic skin on Nequiv''s face was pulled taut as he seethed with boiling rage.

    ¡°Yo-you dare fire at me?!¡± Nequiv roared.

    Hiro flinched from the ear-deafening volume produced by Nequiv¡¯s artificial voice. Then the panic began to set in as he realized the severity of his action. He had just opened fire on a fellow Augmented comrade. A highly esteemed Aug-smith of the Augmented Empire. His punishment would be grievous. Only the utmost vile execution would be reserved for him. But not before a grand Unaugmented ceremonial display was made of him first.

    His action was tantamount to suicide. There was no going back now for Hiro.

    ¡°You imbecile,¡± Nequiv quivered with anger. ¡°Have you any idea what you have done?!¡±

    The doctor didn¡¯t seem to be fazed by the smoking bullet hole in his back. One of his mechanical limbs seemed to be malfunctioning from the damage, but that didn¡¯t seem to hinder the doctor. From below the waist, he still had three more mechanical limbs that seemed to be functioning smoothly.

    Hiro mentally pulled the trigger seven times consecutively without pause. Neurons fired off within his neural circuitry, then instantaneously processed by his Neural Firmware which effectively did all the work. Within a split-second he began unloading a barrage of incendiary slugs at the limping doctor.

    Nequiv was already in motion, leaping from wall to wall like an insect with his sleek and pronged metallic limbs.

    Hiro was surprised. More than he would like, as he processed the information he had observed.

    Nequiv was susceptible to damage. He had expected that an Aug-smith of his caliber would be near invulnerable, but perhaps the doctor had not expected to engage in any form of combat. No one would dare attack him, and he was confined within the walls of his lab, not on the battlefield. Although Hiro had managed to land a surprise shot, it was clearly not enough to outright kill him, but it was enough to damage his neural circuitry, effectively crippling his one of his Augmented limbs at least. Despite this, the doctor, even with his remaining Augmented lance-limbs, was still astonishingly nimble.

    Hiro did his best to keep his auxiliary wrist-cannon trained on the scampering half-man and insectoid machine as he unloaded projectile slugs one after another. He could barely feel the recoil from firing his auxiliary wrist-cannon. Most of it was dampened by the mechanisms built into his arm. All of his years of cadet school, and military field-training since he was a child was put into work. But even with highly disciplined markmanship and near flawless mechanical reflexes, Hiro could not land a single clean shot on the doctor. Shot after shot impacted against the back wall of the lab creating an explosion of sparks and black smoke.

    ¡°Who sent you?¡± Nequiv was latched onto the ceiling now as he questioned Hiro. ¡°Which House do you belong to?¡±

    Hiro quickly contemplated his options. He wasn¡¯t landing any more shots on Nequiv other than his first and ammunition was limited. Quickly, he eyed the display modular on the back of his wrist. Twelve more shots left, Hiro noted. He needed to somehow immobilize the doctor. Suddenly, Hiro recalled the words that the Aug-Tech Buford had told him.

    ¡®Additionally, each limb has an Augmentation capacity of two. Sir, you can select which auxiliary enhancements you desire later on, but for now you¡¯ve been equipped with the default enhancements which are¡­¡¯

    Hiro looked up and locked eyes with the doctor. ¡°Which House do you think?¡± he asked as he spared a brief second to bemoan his lost opportunity.

    The default auxiliary enhancements and add-ons were lacking to say the least. Grappling Extensors in each arm, electric taser, and finally, the only lethal auxiliary, the wrist-cannon. If he had taken the time, he was sure he could have gotten something useful or even devastating if he recalled the plethora of advanced-grade Augmentations he had seen in military field manuals. Time also wasn¡¯t on Hiro¡¯s side, he had to act quickly. So far the doctor had not bothered to call for reinforcements, but if he did then Hiro¡¯s fate would be sealed.

    ¡°House Stiel?¡± Nequiv ventured a guess. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it past them. They are sly, wretched, cunning thieves.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps?¡± Hiro said ambiguously.

    ¡°No, they wouldn¡¯t be that foolish. It must have been House Ireaud. They are as foolish as they are ambitious. Only they would be desperate enough to resort to such depraved conduct.¡±

    Hiro blinked his eyes at the doctor innocently. ¡°You don¡¯t say? I mean, I guess they are a bunch of assholes.¡±

    ¡°Enough of this,¡± Nequiv frowned. ¡°I had my suspicions when I first saw you. Who are you really? Do you really think you can-¡±

    Hiro¡¯s wrist-cannon snapped upwards at the doctor before firing another projectile slug.

    Nequiv skittered aside, avoiding the projectile with ease, then laughed. ¡°Did you really think that would-¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Another explosive boom resounded through the room as Hiro fired again, and again.

    As Nequiv evaded the projectiles, he found himself being forced closer and closer towards Hiro.

    Still firing without pause, Hiro quickly leaped upwards hoping to catch Nequiv by surprise. Still unaccustomed to his new augmented limbs, and without any prior testing at all, Hiro had miscalculated the explosive strength of his legs. Instead of soaring in an arc towards Nequiv, he simply shot upwards headfirst into the ceiling of the compact lab. Just before colliding, Hiro had a flash of brilliance, an almost instinctive reaction. He began to reorient himself in midair as he whipped his free hand forward as if reaching for purchase. Hiro''s hand ejected itself from his wrist, a metallic cable trailing it as it flew past a startled Nequiv before latching onto a bundle of free-hanging electrical cables.

    Suddenly, Hiro was hurtling through the air towards a startled Nequiv.

    Nequiv had watched Hiro--no, he wasn¡¯t even sure if Hiro was really his name--nearly face-plant the ceiling in some amateurish stunt-like jump. It was a bizarre sight and almost comical to watch, but Nequiv had decided to end this farce. Still latched onto the ceiling with prehensile mechanical limbs, Nequiv had charged forward towards the assassin of unknown affiliation, ready to disassemble this Augmented fool part by part until he spilled everything he knew. It was at that precise moment--much to Nequiv¡¯s surprise--that Hiro had suddenly expertly maneuvered himself from a collision with the ceiling to a imminent crash course with the doctor himself.

    Hiro¡¯s mechanically augmented body crashed into Nequiv''s surprisingly light body despite the numerous mechanical limbs, and dislodged the doctor from the ceiling and into free-fall. He could feel the doctor struggling incessantly as his limbs flailed against Hiro''s back struggling to prod and tear him off. Hiro held on for dear life, as his arms wrapped around Nequiv''s sleek mechanical body.

    They fell as a tangle of limbs in the air wrestling for dominance.

    Suddenly, just as they hit the floor, there was an audible crackle of static electricity, a brief surge of neon-blue and the sound of convulsing.

    All movement ceased.

    Hiro groaned inwardly as he sniffed burnt synthetic fibers and circuitry. Then he began to move, removing his glowing blue finger from the bullet hole in Nequiv''s back, then clambering off of the motionless doctor.

    Did I get him?

    To his dismay, Nequiv''s mechanical limbs whirled to life. A razor-sharp limb snapped up and stabbed at his eye. Hiro batted it aside with his backhand, then aimed his wrist-cannon at Nequiv''s face.

    ¡°Don''t move. The next one will take your head off.¡±

    <hr>

    Euna followed the line of villagers, going through a maze of winding trees until everything gave way to a large clearing of grass and exotic flowers in full bloom. A single Behemoth tree stood out in the centre, where a gathering of over a hundred were already present. She eyed the villagers warily. She knew them all. Maybe not by name, but by face. They were her family after all, and so was Vale.

    Thinking of Vale, she recalled the brief conversation she had with the faceless voice.

    ¡®A simulation,¡¯ it had said.

    The word haunted her mind.

    Then just as suddenly as it came, the faceless voice had disappeared. The translucent film falling away to reveal Vale¡¯s concerned face.

    ¡®What¡¯s wrong Euna?¡¯ Vale had asked.

    ¡®No-nothing.¡¯

    Euna had quickly composed herself and told him she had to go.

    Vale had taken off, leaping off into freefall as he always did before unfurling his black wings.

    Now Euna was standing among the gathered, listening in to the small talk made between the villagers as she steered her gaze among the crowd warily. The thought of someone suddenly turning into the faceless void constantly lingered at the edge of her mind. Above the din of incessant chattering and laughter, Euna could still hear Lyria¡¯s singing voice. Her eyes fell to the Behemoth tree in the centre.

    Perched delicately on a massive root, near the base of the tree, was Lyria. The Siren. The singer with a voice of an angel.

    Euna¡¯s eyes met Lyria¡¯s and the singer waved enthusiastically.

    Euna smiled and waved back in exchange.

    It was then, that the crowd began to quiet. She looked up and saw her father swooping down from the skies. He was unmistakable with his golden mane, and crimson wings. Following behind closely, was his retinue of council members who helped him govern the village. There were eight of them in total, including Vale who was easily the youngest.

    The village chief raised his arm, calling for attention and silence.

    ¡°Good evening my fellow Altereds. First of all, please excuse my tardiness,¡± Regulus bowed deeply to the villagers who forgave him with a bright smile and a chuckle. ¡°Today, is a very special day,¡± Regulus beckoned with a wave of his hand and a couple stepped away from the crowd.

    A man and women stood on each side of the village chief with gentle smiles on their faces.

    ¡°We will be celebrating the life and departure of Erika and Javier,¡± the village chief announced proudly.

    The villagers applauded and shouted their support in harmony.

    Euna watched as Erika and Javier, her teachers of botany when she was younger, stepped forward and began to tell their story.

    By the time they had finished, the sun was hidden underneath the mountainous horizon and only a sliver of sunlight spilled forth into the looming night sky.

    ¡°From the earth we rise, and to the earth we return. Let our farewells be brief as we will meet again,¡± Regulus announced with deep solemnity in his voice. ¡°Let this ending be the birth of new beginnings.¡±

    Lyria sang. She sang and sang, her song never ending. A melody to mourn the passing, to remember the living and to celebrate the coming of new life.

    A farewell ceremony for an Altered who had chosen to return to the land.

    Euna cried as she watched her teachers slowly turn to ashes, but as she turned around, she saw smiles. Although there were tears, there was also happiness. She didn¡¯t understand.

    Then she saw.

    As the ashes seeped into the earth, flowers began to sprout. Taller and more vibrant.

    Suddenly, Euna¡¯s world began to spin. She fell onto her knees as a wave of nausea assaulted her mind. Day turned to night over and over again in a blink of an eye. People came and went, flowers bloomed and wilted. It all happened so fast it became a blur to her eyes.

    ¡°Euna!¡±

    A familiar voice shouted.

    ¡°Eunaaa!¡±

    Again.

    The world stopped spinning.

    Underneath the tree, amidst a bed of exotic flowers was a translucent shell. It pulsated, beating like a heart.

    Suddenly, a man appears in the distance. Black hair, dark eyes, and limbs that had glowing blue lines running through them in a strange, complex pattern. He turned his head in confusion and distraught, then spotted Euna. He began running towards her.

    ¡°Euna!¡± he shouted again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Euna blinked, but suddenly found it hard to open her eyes. Something wet and sticky kept her eyes closed. Despite this, she could still see Hiro running, trampling over the flowers as he made his way towards her.

    She tried to speak but couldn¡¯t breathe. Suddenly her world turned black.

    She felt something cold and metallic brush over her eyes gently. She could open her eyes now, and when she did, she saw that she was no longer in her village. Pristine white walls surrounded her. Mechanical prehensile arms dangled from the ceiling as metallic cables ran along the walls like vines. Looming over her was a man. Although he looked different and had limbs now, she could still immediately recognize his face. It was a weird face.

    ¡°Hi-hiro?¡±

 Chapter 12

    The blast doors slid open with an audible hiss of the containment zone becoming depressurized.

    Hesitantly, Hiro took a step forward into the room. Frigid moisture latched onto his synthetic skin as the pungent smell of blood assaulted his nostrils.

    ¡°Who do you work for? What is your objective? Sabotage?¡± Nequiv pestered incessantly. ¡°It¡¯s House Ireaud isn¡¯t it? You must know that anything they can offer you, I can offer far, far greater."

    I work for no one, Hiro thought, not willing to voice that particular thought aloud. Telling the doctor that would only complicate matters and keeping him guessing was actually giving him a lot of useful information.

    Amused, Hiro glanced down at the punitive man dangling helplessly from his right hand. Hiro¡¯s wrist-cannon had snapped back into his wrist, allowing the hand to reform and once again provide prehensile utility. Now it was being used to hold a mutilated Nequiv. It was being put to good use.

    After knocking Nequiv off the ceiling and holding him at gunpoint, Hiro had begun shooting commands at the singed and impaired Aug-Smith. Nequiv being at his mercy had reluctantly obeyed. With a sour expression, the doctor had begun extricating himself of all Augmented enhancements. Parts and components-- including his Comms equipment--were forcibly removed from his sleek mechanical frame and immediately crushed by Hiro¡¯s mechanical foot. Eventually the doctor was left naked with only his custom crafted Aug-frame which consisted of his limbs and lower-half of his body. At this point, Nequiv stopped. All had gone well so far for Hiro and so, he demanded that Nequiv continue dismantaling himself.

    With an indignant face, Nequiv had refused.

    It was only after Hiro had fired off an incendiary slug into the air next to Nequiv''s face, then threatened to yank off each of his limbs, did Nequiv finally capitulate.

    With an indignant glare at Hiro, Nequiv had continued his disassembling of himself. While mumbling something about basic decency and a man¡¯s dignity, Nequiv began a complicated procedure of extricating himself from his mechanical frame of a body. Finally detached from all his limbs and the mechanical harness of his lower body, Nequiv was merely a disfigured torso and a head.

    After Nequiv was effectively disabled and rendered impotent, Hiro had moved on to the containment room where Euna¡¯s dissection had been put on hold. With Nequiv¡¯s identification code and neural imprint, Hiro had effectively gained administrative access to Nequiv¡¯s lab. He no longer had to worry about any guards barging into the lab, but Hiro doubted that any Augmented soldier would ever dare to enter Nequiv¡¯s lab without his express permission.

    Now, there was nothing standing in between Hiro and Euna. No glass wall or blast doors, just air and a very palpable yet non-existent pressure. Only a few paces away, was the operating table where Euna''s mutilated body lay, and yet Hiro was feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was a feeling that he was unaccustomed to after all.

    No. It was a feeling that he had tossed away long ago in order to survive the cold as steel, cutthroat society of the Augmented Empire. The burden of moral obligation. Hiro had learned of it from his grand father. He had never understood it anyway. But now, for the first time in Hiro''s life, he was acting on the will of his own. His desire to save Euna, an Altered who was the enemy to the Augmented Empire, it was irrational, illogical and most of all suicidal. And yet, here he was, doing something he would have never seen himself doing only a week ago.

    With dilated pupils, Hiro surveyed the grotesque display before him. Nequiv was no longer manually operating the mechanical arms, but regardless, the cluster of mechanical arms continued their work without pause. Mechanical appendages with lasers spliced away at the web of congregating organic mass as prehensile arms picked up and discarded the organic material.

    "Are you here to sabotage my work? Or perhaps you''re here to steal it?" Nequiv asked cautiously. After figuring out that Hiro was not here to assassinate him, Nequiv had started questioning Hiro incessantly without a care in the world for his own safety. With each question, Nequiv seemed to become more concerned and invested in what Hiro was doing. "Surely, there must be a--"

    With a flick of Hiro''s wrist, Nequiv was suddenly flung to the corner of the room.

    "Stay there, and don''t move," Hiro said as he began walking up to the table where Euna was. On the center of the table was a large pulsating mass with a translucent membrane that revealed dark congealing blood and fluids within. Wary of the mechanical arms, Hiro hunched over and peered deeper into the mass.

    There was movement.

    The Altered were virtually immortal. Hiro knew that much. He wasn''t an expert on Altered biology like Nequiv was but he knew enough. They possessed unparalleled regeneration and he had also witnessed this first-hand when Euna was locked in mortal combat with Helick.

    But what the hell is this? Hiro wondered. This was something beyond him.

    "Oi, Nequiv. What the hell is going on here?" Hiro ventured a question to the esteemed Aug-Smith.

    "What will you do if I tell you?" Nequiv questioned back.

    "Hey, I''m the one asking the questions here," Hiro snapped.

    "As if you would understand, if I told you."

    Hiro turned around and glared at the doctor. For a moment he contemplated torturing the man, but Hiro simply didn''t have the time. Sooner or later, someone would attempt to contact Nequiv or even Hiro himself. Helick had warned him that the battle was drawing to a close and that Hiro would likely be summoned to the front-lines.

    Hiro raised his hand towards Nequiv, and with a single thought, his hand transformed. "Start talking."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Nequiv stared down the end of a metallic silver barrel. He laughed.

    "Old man, do you not value your own life?" Hiro asked.

    Nequiv shrugged. "I''m afraid that you have to come to a slight misunderstanding, Hiro. My life has ended long ago," Nequiv''s eyes turned dark as he lowered his head. "The only value this life retains is its merit to the Augmented Empire and that is quite significant I would think, but I daresay that I am but a pawn in the greater scheme of things."

    Hiro narrowed his eyes, slightly perplexed by the doctor''s change in demeanor. He hadn''t expected Nequiv to speak so cynically of his own life. Killing the doctor would also do nothing but sour this whole situation. Hiro''s wrist-cannon snapped back into his wrist as his hand reformed.

    Seeing Hiro''s silence, Nequiv continued. "Do you really think that the age-old Augmented council sent us all the way out here just to slaughter a village of Altereds? I believe that there is something else at play here. Something greater than even the Augmented Empire."

    Hiro''s eyes went wide as he looked around the room out of sheer reflex.

    Never question the will of the Augmented Empire for it is supreme. That was something that was ingrained in Hiro since before he even learned to walk. But to speak ill of the Augmented Empire, even if indirectly... That was almost akin to suicide.

    Nequiv chuckled. "Relax Hiro. This room is free from any unwanted surveillance. And neither of us have neural-linked Aug eyes do we?"

    Hiro just stared at Nequiv with a blank expression as paranoia took root.

    "For so many centuries, we''ve waged war against the Altered. Have you ever wondered why?"

    That was obvious to Hiro. It was basic history that every Augmented citizen had learned immediately after learning to walk. The Altered has always been the enemy since the start. Ever since the collapse of humanity, the Augmented Founders had found that they were not the only ones vying for dominance on a ruined planet. The appearance of the Altered Pandemic, and then the aftermath had brought catastrophic destruction upon the newborn Empire of Augmented. Ever since then, endless strife had persisted between the two races. It had become common knowledge that Earth only had enough room for one of the two races.

    Hiro frowned. "That''s enough Nequiv. I wasn''t born yesterday. You''re just stalling now."

    "Ignorant peasant," Nequiv noted. "It appears that you''ve never bothered to question Augmented history."

    Slightly irritated, Hiro drew in a breath "If nothing useful comes out of that mouth of yours within the next sec-"

    "Have you ever heard of the Genetic Alteration Matrix?"

    "Nope," Hiro said irritably, as he lifted his right hand towards Nequiv nonchalantly.

    "This Altered, I believe, is in an extreme state of metamorphosis right now..."

    Hiro narrowed his eyes, but didn''t interrupt Nequiv.

    "You don''t want to tamper with it without knowing what you''re doing. This is something even I have never seen before--not of this degree that is-- and I believe that right now, the girl is in a very, very fragile brink of life and death. I daresay, that what we are witnessing is abiogenesis, a phenomenal that no individual has ever witnessed in history-- no, even ancient history. W-we are witnessing this to-together," Nequiv stuttered with excitement as he continued, "and wh-what could be responsible for this? The Genetic Alteration Matrix, it has to be. A nascent Altered at the brink of maturation, with no contol and..."

    Hiro stopped listening, as he muttered, "English... maybe?"

    Guess not, he thought.

    Hiro turned back to the table as Nequiv continued ranting. He was mumbling about a higher dimension or reality, about the Genetic Alteration Matrix being invisible to the eye and something about the Ascended. The way Hiro saw it, Nequiv has gone nuts and was now spouting esoteric and blatant heresy right in front of him. If the Augmented Council of Elders ever got wind of the stuff Nequiv was saying, Hiro was sure that the doctor would be sentenced to the Unaugmentation ceremony and some immolation on the side.

    Hiro glanced up at the cluster of arms still in activity. He reached up and began yanking at one of the arms. They were sturdy and quite difficult to actually break, but Hiro simply tore the entire mechanical appendage out of its socket.

    "Stop!" Nequiv shouted suddenly. "You don''t know what your doing!"

    Hiro continued his sabotage, without pause. One by one he tore the arms away without any physical exhaustion, until there were seven mechanical arms laid uselessly on the floor. There was still three more to go.

    "No! Stop this!" Nequiv screamed. "Not before we uncover the mysteries of the Genetic Alteration matrix!"

    Hiro reached up, then felt something pinch his lower back. He turned around in time to see a winged mechanical insect latched onto his skin. A stinger was inserted through the fabric of his uniform and into his skin. With a swat from his hand, Hiro dashed the mechanical insect to the floor where it exploded into smithereens. He lifted up his already torn fabric and saw excess liquid ooze out of the small puncture point. It was bright green, almost glowing.

    "Wh-what the fuck?!"

    Hiro looked at Nequiv in time to see another insect crawling back into the doctor''s metallic throat.

    Nequiv snickered. "Don''t move, you''ve been injected with nanobiotic nitroglycerin. A potent liquid explosive that is circulating through your system as we speak. On my command, I can have your heart incinerated. Now-"

    Hiro shoved his finger into the puncture point. A torrent of electricity surged into his body frying his neural circuits and searing his flesh and organs. He knew that it wasn''t enough. If he wanted to completely fry all the nanobots he would have to increase the voltage. With a thought, Hiro began upping the voltage until he began convulsing. His vision turned black.

    Then the world turned white. Slowly, Hiro opened his eyes to find himself in a field of exotic flowers. It was so vivid, so real. He could smell the flowers and feel the wind on his skin. A massive tree stood in the center. He steered his gaze around him, surveying the edge of the forest glade then spotted a lithe and familiar figure. It was Euna. He called out to her, but she didn''t seem to hear him.

    He blinked, and suddenly he was back in Nequiv''s lab. Hiro looked around and saw that the doctor was no long in the containment room.

    Then Nequiv appeared behind the thick pane of transparent glass. His body was reconnected to his Aug-limbs, and was furiously punching commands into the control console.

    Hiro stood up and nearly toppled over. He braced himself on the table, then he saw. The dome-shaped mass had grown considerably. From the size of a slightly larger brain, to at least a meter-and-a-half.

    Mechanical arms whirled into action above him, threatening to dismember him and return to dissecting Euna. In a panic, Hiro aimed his wrist-cannon and began firing the rest of his ammunition. Parts and debris from the mechanical appendages fell onto the pulsating mass, tearing a hole in it. Hiro cursed and clambered onto the table to further inspect the tear.

    Through the hole, Hiro could see an appendage within a cesspool of blood, fluids and sinuous flesh. Hiro froze, seized by fear. For a moment, his mind wandered. Images of some fleshy, horrifying monster flitted through his mind. Then he thought of Euna. He swallowed his fear and touched the mass.

    Hiro blinked. His vision distorted, and suddenly he was standing in the field of flowers again. He spotted Euna again, still standing in the same place. He shouted her name and started running towards her.

    Is this the afterlife? Hiro wondered. I guess I better apologize for getting her killed.

    Suddenly, his world shifted back to Nequiv''s lab.

    Apparently, he had torn away the outer translucent membrane, revealing a naked human body in fetal position.

    "Euna," Hiro breathed.

    It was her. There was no mistake. Though she looked smaller, and had very short hair, he couldn''t forget her distinct facial features. Gently, Hiro brushed away sticky residue from her face.

    Suddenly she opened her eyes. "Hi-hiro?"

    Yep, that''s her alright.

    <hr>

 Chapter 13

    ¡°Wh-where am I?¡± Euna¡¯s voice came out weakly. Her words were slurred and her tongue felt numb and sluggish, almost as if she had awoken from a yearlong slumber.

    ¡°We''re in doctor Nequiv''s lab,¡± Hiro answered quickly. There was a tinge of anxiety or panic in his voice. ¡°H-how are you feeling?¡±

    Euna blinked again as she was distracted by the bizarre sight before her. The ceiling was a canvas of rampant destruction. What was once pristine white was tarnished by black smudges. Entangled jumbles of partially destroyed cables and mechanical appendages hung limply from the ceiling. But apart from the destruction, what disturbed her even more was the strange translucent membrane that she was partially encased in and the fact that most of her body was submerged in a warm sticky fluid. She tried to move but felt little sensation in her limbs. She had to exert a considerable amount of effort just to raise her arm out of the red viscous fluid and when she did, she noticed pink sinewy fibers attached to her skin.

    ¡°Um, here. l-let me help,¡± Hiro said as he reached down and tried his best not to manhandle a butt-naked, smaller version of Euna. With Hiro¡¯s help, Euna managed to prop herself into a delicate sitting position where her lower body was still submerged in the cesspool of blood, fluids and flesh. Sitting up, and being on the table, Euna was now observing Hiro on an eye-to-eye level.

    She noticed immediately that he looked different. He was noticeably taller, but that was mostly because he had legs now. She had kind of gotten used to looking down and seeing a diminutive Hiro with stumps flailing around as he spoke. Hiro was still wearing the ragged and torn uniform he had on when she had saved him from plummeting to his death. His legs and arms were exposed allowing her to observe the glowing lines running down his limbs in circuitry-like fashion. On closer inspection she could see that they were super thin gaps where the glow of teal-blue could be seen emanating from beneath. Then she noticed the decrepit state that he was in. Hiro was battered and bruised, his hair singed in places and patches of his skin was raw. As she observed him, she noticed Hiro nervously avoiding eye contact.

    ¡°W-what happened?¡± Euna asked.

    ¡°Y-you don¡¯t remember?¡± Hiro frowned, deep in contemplation. ¡°You were captured, Euna. I wasn¡¯t awake to see it happen, but you lost to Helick, the Captain. You were sedated and brought to Nequiv¡¯s lab. I thought you were dead. Nequiv, the doctor, he¡­¡± Hiro paused abruptly as images of Euna¡¯s dissection surfaced. He wasn¡¯t sure how he was going to describe that to Euna. ¡°Actually, what do you remember?¡±

    Euna frowned as she scoured her memories. Although they were hazy, and it felt like it had all happened so long ago, it was now slowly coming back to her. She had been defeated in her fight against the Augmented Captain.

    Euna cursed, and mentally chastised herself for her shameful defeat.

    How could I be so foolish?

    The Augmented Captain exposing his heart--a vital organ for her to attack--was just a ploy to catch her. She had been deceived like prey to a lure.

    Then with a jolt, she suddenly remembered. Before her consciousness had turned black, before her body and senses were inundated with a numbing sensation, she had touched with her somatic sense, the Alteration Code that would bring her to genetic supremacy. She had understood it as soon she had felt it within the endless depth of the pool of genetic code. Unfathomable power at her fingertips, so close that it was intoxicating. And yet, here she was feeling feeble and weak like a newborn.

    ¡°Euna, we have to go, we don¡¯t have time,¡± Hiro¡¯s eyes were fixed on the adjacent wall where she noticed a thick pane of transparent glass and behind it was a man who towered with three sleek metallic limbs. Next to the window, on it''s left, were a set of massive doors. They were more like two thick slabs of chrome metal.

    ¡°Are we in danger?¡± Euna asked as she observed the man who was quietly observing her as well.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Hiro nearly shouted the word. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t obvious, yes, we¡¯re in big fucking-¡±

    Suddenly, through the glass and behind the doctor, Euna could see another set of doors slide open and revealing more of the pristine white interior. Even further away there was another set of doors and they were already open.

    Augmented soldiers were already streaming in, one by one.

    That must be the way out, Euna noted.

    ¡°Trouble,¡± Hiro stated wearily. ¡°Shit.¡±

    Euna''s attention returned to the doctor, and the staring contest promptly resumed.

    ¡°He seems upset about something.¡±

    ¡°Euna?¡± Hiro said her name cautiously. ¡°Did you forget that you¡¯re inside the stronghold of the enemy fortress? Think of this place as the torture chamber where they do horrible stuff to you and that man by the way is the asshole who completely manhandled you inside-out. Literally.¡±

    Euna scrunched up her face in disgust. Although she didn¡¯t have any memory of it, it sounded unpleasant.

    ¡°Including your ovaries too,¡± Hiro added.

    Euna narrowed her eyes, still glaring at the doctor. ¡°What¡¯s ovaries?¡±

    Hiro smacked his head. ¡°Nevermind. What''s more important is that he dissected you, and well, I stopped him. Now we¡¯re in grave danger. Please tell me you¡¯re going to start changing soon.¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    Suddenly, Nequiv¡¯s voice boomed through speakers. ¡°Surrender. You are surrounded, trapped, and at my mercy.¡±

    Behind the doctor stood twenty Augmented soldiers in organized formation. All of them were toting rifles and a few were carrying nets.

    ¡°There are various contingency measures in place that I have not bothered to engage. I would very much prefer not to have everything incinerated. Hiro, disarm and disassemble yourself. Altered creature, please allow yourself to be subdued. I assure you, that if you obey, you will be dealt with leniently. Otherwise, things will turn very ugly. I am a man of my words. You will have a minute to make your decision.¡±

    Euna turned away from the window and found Hiro with a distressed look on his face.

    ¡°Euna¡­ You''ve no idea of the things this man had done to you while you were sedated¡­¡±

    Although Euna wasn''t conscious through the dissection, she did remember being acutely aware of an array of painful sensations sundering her body apart. Accompanying those painful sensations were a deluge of dream-like memories that were so vivid, she had assumed that they were real. But that simply couldn''t have been possible, she realized, for she was physically and mentally here. Not in a world of ashes, nor in the forest where her home was but here, where the Augmented fleet had attacked her village.

    She was here to end a war.

    ¡°If he got his hands on you again¡­¡± Hiro shook his head, then continued speaking hurriedly. ¡°Nequiv wouldn''t activate the incinerators. He wants you alive. They''ll have to come in or somehow force us out. I believe our only option is to fight and I can¡¯t take them all on by myself. I need your help. I know you probably don¡¯t trust me after what I did to you. This is my fault after all--¡±

    ¡°Half a minute,¡± Nequiv¡¯s voice sounded through the speakers.

    ¡°but I¡¯m in this with you now," Hiro said. "I¡¯m a traitor to the empire. Th-this is all very weird for me still, but I think¡­ I think this is right. It feels right. I don¡¯t say this very often but¡­ my life, my fate¡­ it¡¯s in your hands Euna,¡± Hiro lowered his voice and added, ¡°and please tell me you¡¯re not permanently this tiny.¡±

    Euna didn''t speak. Her eyes were closed and her mind was already deep within a meditative state. To her surprise, it only took a brief instant, for her to awaken her somatic sense. Unlike her past, it would usually take half a minute or less if she was more focused. There would be long moments of darkness where all her physical senses were muted, then the slow rising sensation of every fiber in her being, flaring up one individual cell at a time. Now it was almost instantaneous. An overwhelming explosion of stimuli flooded her somatic sense all at once, threatening to combust her mind into unconsciousness. She gasped as she felt her mind reel painfully from the surging fire of sensations. Promptly, Euna began to repress her somatic sense lest her mind become rendered insensate.

    Euna opened her eyes and saw Hiro lowering his stance in front of her, getting ready to fight.

    "Of course not," Euna said in reply to Hiro''s concern.

    She brought her hand out of the pool and observed with her somatic sense. Her body was like a newborn. Delicately soft skin, undeveloped muscles, and flimsy bones. But she was sitting in a pool of nutrient-rich soup. The mass that had birthed her, was in essence a part of her. She was connected to it via hundreds of tube-like tissue. With a thought, her body began absorbing the soup, and mass.

    "Your minute is over," Nequiv announced into the intercom. ¡°How unfortunate, it seems that we must do things the old-fashioned way.¡±

    Euna felt her bones twist and contort as they grew. Within seconds she had gone through puberty, and reached adulthood for the second time in her relatively short life.

    Suddenly, a murky yellow gas began seeping into the room, circulating and smothering the room until everything was a thick fog of white-yellow.

    One sniff and Euna could feel a numbing sensation swell in her nostrils. She brought her hand to her nose to block the gas but then felt the numbing sensation disappear. Puzzled, Euna looked inward with her somatic sense and observed her overactive immune system neutralizing the foreign substance. This was something that she had never seen her body do on its own before.

    ¡°Par-paralyzing gas,¡± Hiro coughed. Euna couldn¡¯t see his face through the haze but she could hear Hiro wobble unsteadily.

    Euna simply breathed it in, letting her body neutralize it on its own.

    Still enthused with her newly heightened somatic sense, Euna took in a breath of anticipation and peered into the pool of genetic code that would allow her to alter her biology at a whim. Her mind reeled as an explosion of genetic codes blossomed outwards in the void of her mind. With a clarity she had never felt before, Euna glanced into the matrix and immersed herself in a universe of helices unraveling and weaving together endlessly to form infinite possibilities.  Even more sequences that was mostly incomprehensible to her before was now suddenly comprehensible.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Once again, Euna found herself transfixed by the incredible beauty of the Genetic Alteration Matrix. But then she remembered the disaster that had taken place the last time she had reached this stage. Although she wasn¡¯t entirely certain of the true cause of her incapacitation, whether it was the tranquilizers, the Alteration Code, or something else entirely, she chose to avoid the Alteration Code that she had selected last time. Euna accessed with her somatic sense a selection of simpler and more familiar codes.

    Euna opened her eyes and observed her body begin to change. She wasn¡¯t sure how long she had spent in the depths of the matrix, but Hiro was still standing--although with his hand on the table for support--with his breath held, as the gas continued to smother the room. Within moments, she had sprouted wings that were more akin to massive claws, her legs had taken the form of the hind legs of a quadruped, and her hands had morphed into razor sharp claws that were as long as her forearm. Then her skin began to peel off making room for cancerous growths which formed plate-like scales that took on a reflective obsidian quality. Euna took a moment to appraise the crystalline scales that were forming over most of her body. It overlapped in certain areas such as her torso and back, and protruded like spikes in other areas. Everything from her ankles and to her neck were wreathed in scales.

    ¡°C-can¡¯t take anymore,¡± Hiro muttered before taking one last breath and collapsing onto the floor.

    Just as Hiro fell, the blast doors to the containment room opened with a hiss. Augmented soldiers began to stream into the room.

    Euna could see the trails of glowing blue lights through the yellow haze as they swarmed in and surrounded her. As some of them came closer she could see that they were wearing metallic masks which filtered the gas for them.

    ¡°Fire at will!¡± one of them shouted.

    With a thought, obsidian scales grew from her neck and snapped over her face like a mask, before enveloping the rest of head.

    Euna watched with amusement as the tranquilizer darts bounced off her body.

    ¡°Ineffective! I repeat ineffective!¡± one of the Augmented soldiers shouted, almost whimpering.

    No one listened as they continued to fire repeatedly at Euna. Most of them simply too afraid to do anything else as they spotted crimson eyes peering at them from within the sleek armor of black scales.

    ¡°Fuck this! I¡¯m switching to live ammunition!¡±

    To the detriment of having super acute senses, Euna flinched painfully when a deafening ear-splitting boom resounded through the room, followed by a projectile slug tearing through the air audibly before slamming into her chest with enough force to send her off her feet.

    Groggily, she shook her head, and glanced down at her chest. Her scales had taken most of the impact, crumpling inwards from the force and leaving a small indent where the shell had smashed into her body without actually penetrating her flesh. Although there was no penetration, she could feel several broken ribs and flesh that had been severely cooked from the incinerating heat.

    Still a long way from father, Euna noted.

    Although she had managed to cover most of her body in scales, she knew it was but a fraction of durability compared to the sheer volume of her father''s.

    Not wanting to take another shot, she quickly got up and pounced at the Augmented soldier who had shot her.

    In a panic, the Augmented soldier began firing erratically.

    Euna shielded herself with her scaled wings as she lunged lithely through the air. Her entire forearm went through his chest, cleanly tearing his heart out.

    The soldier glanced into her eyes as he sagged on her arm, dying.

    Euna merely blinked.

    She moved onto the next soldier who also began firing at her with lethal weaponry. By now, most of the Augmented soldiers have gone into full panic mode, pulling out everything in their arsenal just to survive.

    By the time the yellow haze had lifted, Euna had dispatched most of the soldiers. Only those who had tossed their weapons and yielded in cowardice, remained standing.

    Euna glanced at Hiro who had peacefully slumbered through the entire ordeal underneath the safety of the table. She then turned her attention to the thick pane of glass where she spotted the man who Hiro called Nequiv, punching in commands on the control console hurriedly.

    The hiss of the blast doors was hint enough for Euna. He was closing the doors.

    With a single stride, Euna bounded towards Hiro and hefted him over her shoulder, then with three easy strides, made it through the doors before they could close.

    "Ah, how unfortunate," the doctor made a disappointed expression as he put his hands in the air. "It seems you''ve matured magnificently into a monster."

    Euna tried to speak, but forgot that her lips had morphed into a part of her scaled mask. With a thought, the scales on her face peeled away like a mask, revealing a pink and raw face of flesh and muscle. New skin soon began to grow in. "You''re Nequiv?"

    Nequiv nodded.

    "I don''t know what you did to me... I wasn''t conscious for most of it, but I believe I felt it. It was..." Euna paused, not knowing how to put the unimaginable pain she had felt into words, but she knew how to communicate it through action.

    With a flick of her wrist, she raked her claws through Nequiv''s abdomen, carving multiple crevices into his partially synthetic and mechanical body. It wasn''t deep enough to separate him from his lower half, but it was deep enough to leave him hanging off of his waist by the thread of his synthetic skin and fibers.

    Nequiv didn''t say anything. He only looked at Euna dispassionately as he hung from his waist. "Are you going to kill me?"

    For a moment Euna observed Nequiv. Although she had sheared him nearly in half, she knew that this was nowhere near actually killing him.

    "I should," Euna answered, but shook her head slowly. Slaughtering someone who couldn''t fight back was frowned upon among the Altered. Regardless of how wronged she felt, Euna still had principles that she would prefer not to break. "You call me--you call us monsters, but how are you any different?"

    Nequiv gave himself a look-over and chuckled. "I guess we are both monsters, huh."

    Euna was not amused. "I heard you manhandled my ovaries."

    Nequiv made a weird face. "Hiro told you that?"

    Euna nodded.

    "And... wh-what of it?" Nequiv asked cautiously.

    "What are ovaries?"

    <hr>

    Hiro woke with a throbbing pain on his cheek. As his eyes opened wearily, he found himself entranced by swirling marbles of lustrous violet and blood. Euna''s face was hovering close enough for him to smell her breath. He saw his own face trapped within her eyes. Patches of skin on his neck and cheek were pinkish raw, there were yellowing bruises on his temple, some of his hair and one of his eyebrows were singed off. Not both, but one eyebrow, which made it asymmetrical and all the more appalling according to Augmented beauty standards. All in all, it wasn''t a pretty sight. He would need extensive reconstruction when he returned--that is if he ever returned back to the Augmented Empire.

    "What''s up?" Hiro broke the silence first as Euna was being characteristically quiet as usual. Then he noticed it. Euna was wreathed in dark crystalline scales that covered her from her ankles and up to her neck, cutting off abruptly around her jawline. And she was now just as tall as him.

    Euna drew herself away. "There''s nothing up."

    Hiro frowned. As expected, there seemed to be a discrepancy in their vernacular. "I meant, what''s going on? Seeing that I''m alive, it means that you must have dealt with the soldiers. Did you kill Nequiv?"

    Euna shook her head.

    "Seriously?" Hiro sat up alarmed. "He''s going to have the entire ship on our asses. We''ve got to get moving."

    He looked around and quickly took in his surroundings. They were currently sitting in a large ventilation tunnel that ran in between the floors of the ship. Not too far away and on the ceiling, was the offending hole where Euna had apparently torn through to reach this compartment of the ship.

    "We?" Euna intoned as she glared at Hiro.

    Uh oh, Hiro thought.

    "Did you think I forgot what you did? You alerted your comrades, and they attacked me, captured me, and mutilated me."

    Hiro turned away from Euna, and scratched his head. "Hey, didn''t I apologize already? If it helps... I''m sorry. I''m still really confused about everything. I don''t even know what''s going on anymore."

    Hiro gave Euna a sidelong glance and found her still staring at him. Apparently, an apology wasn''t enough. Of course it wasn''t. She saved my life and what did I do? I got her killed. Almost.

    "I won''t blame you if you''re mad at me. If... If you want to kill me," Hiro said calmly, "I wouldn''t be able to stop you. What Nequiv did to you was unforgivable, and I was there to watch it happen. It was my fault..." Hiro clenched his hands. "I-I thought you were dead Euna. Actually, I still can''t believe that you''re alive right now. I''m not even sure if this is real anymore."

    "I''m not mad at you," Euna said.

    Hiro blinked sheepishly at Euna. "Umm, but you look mad."

    "No, I don''t."

    Not wanting to provoke a girlwho could easily rip him apart, Hiro conceded. "Y-yeah, you''re right. Never mind then."

    "I saw it, Hiro. I think I knew you would help me, that you would stop Nequiv. I feel like I''ve seen him before."

    Hiro narrowed his eyes.

    "You think I''m crazy?" Euna asked.

    "I... I wouldn''t be so certain. When I was in the lab, when I stopped the dissection and touched--whatever that was--I found myself in a place I''ve never seen before. Flowers. Flowers everywhere, and a massive tree in the center. Then I saw you standing there all alone. I even called out to you."

    "In-interesting," Euna''s lips quivered. "So, I''m not the only one?"

    Hiro shrugged.

    "When I was being dissected, I-I saw a lot of things. I was back home in my village and there was no war. No Augmented Fleet came, and I was safe. We were safe. Everything was as it should be. But I was also told strange things by a voice. A voice that lurks in my head. I-I don''t know if it''s real or not, but it told me that we''re in a simulation."

    "No," Hiro shook his head almost as if denying it would make it less credible. "That doesn''t make any sense."

    "I know," Euna agreed. "The thing is, that voice is what lead me to you. I think. Somehow, I knew you would help me. But what I don''t understand is... why? Why did you do it Hiro? Why did you suddenly turn on your own people in order to save me?"

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Hiro pondered for a moment. ¡°why did you save me?¡±

    "I told you. The voice. I just knew that saving you would provide me some form of return in the future."

    Hiro smiled. "Nah. I don''t believe anything of that for a second. Sure, maybe, just maybe all the stars aligned and you could see what kind of outcome would come of out your every move and you knew that saving me would end up benefiting you, but you," Hiro pointed, "are the one who decided to do the things you did. At any moment in time you could have chosen to kill me and move on. I don''t believe the future is set in stone Euna, it can''t be, otherwise... there would be no point trying. And besides, even if it is set in stone, stone can be broken."

    Euna laughed, "You still haven''t answered my question."

    Hiro shrugged as if it wasn''t a big deal. "I guess it was a spur of the moment decision. I saw you getting cut up and it really sparked something in me."

    "You think I don''t know what sarcasm is?"

    "I''m serious," Hiro said with a deadpan expression. "I was never cut out for this sort of thing. I was supposed to be sent to the capital where I would spend the rest of my life as a basic grunt, but somehow, I was recruited into the Augmented Empire''s 57th military campaign. Yeah, I''m a coward, that''s the gist of it. I guess they needed some expendable grunts and I just happened to make the cut. That''s how I ended up here. I should be dead right now, and even if I wasn''t, they would send me out there again where I would become fodder once again. I guess something in me just snapped."

    Euna watched silently as Hiro shrugged again, but the expression that he made, it was a bitter one.

    "Why are you so different from your people?" Euna asked suddenly.

    Hiro laughed. "I''m different? My god, you should look at yourself."

    "What, am I that monstrous?"

    "No, not in that kind of way. More like you''re a walking angel of destruction. I feel mundane standing next to you."

    Euna stood up, taking a moment to let that sink in without showing any emotion on her face. "Alright. Time to go."

    Hiro stood up quickly, following after Euna. ¡°Wait, where are you going?"

    "To find General Corax."

    "That''s suicide. The entire ship is probably looking for us right now. Look, if you can just give me a few moments to formulate a plan. If we can just get to the hangar bay without being spotted then we can hijack a vessel and bust our asses out of here. I just need a moment to go through the map layout and find the safest route there. As long as we make it to the hangar bay we''ll be golden.¡±

    ¡°Not yet. I still haven''t accomplished what I set out to do here. I''m sorry Hiro but this is the closest I''ll ever get to the general. My family are fighting out there and dying. I can''t just sit around and run for my life when there''s danger. They would do the same for me."

    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Hiro shook his head vehemently. ¡°After the trouble I went through to save your ass, you want to go back and get yourself killed again?"

    "Things will be different this time. I won''t be killed."

    "People who say that often get killed," Hiro retorted.

    "Shut up."

    Hiro reached for Euna''s shoulder, then stopped short as Euna wheeled around on him before staring into his eyes. Just as always Hiro was literally stunned for a moment.

    "Hiro," Euna said. "You''re free to run for your life. You''re not obligated to me in anyway understand? I never asked or expected you to do the things you did."

    Hiro watched Euna walk off as her words sunk in. That''s right. Who am I to even try to stop her?

    Euna was underneath the hole that she had created in the ceiling now.

    Suddenly, Hiro found himself smiling. ¡°Do you even know where he is?¡±

    Euna paused, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then how are you going to find him?¡±

    "Shut up."

 Chapter 14

    ¡°Access Denied,¡± the system intoned.

    Euna hissed at the control console, baring her fangs and raising her claws to strike.

    ¡°Ho-hold on!¡± Hiro raised his hands in a placating manner. ¡°It¡¯s just an artificial voice produced by the system. It¡¯s not actually alive Euna,¡± Hiro waved his hand over the console and sure enough the system repeated the same message along with a flash of red light.

    Euna lowered her claws and stepped back, all while eyeing the control console suspiciously.

    ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s safe. It has no means of attacking us anyways,¡± Hiro reassured with a confident smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m not worried,¡± she folded her arms over her chest, ¡°now explain to me why we¡¯re here Hiro,¡± Euna commanded.

    ¡°To check if they had rescinded my access authority, and unfortunately¡­ they have.¡±

    ¡°Why do you need this access authority?¡± Euna asked as she measured up the hefty metallic gate before her. ¡°I can tear through this.¡±

    ¡°There are multiple composite layers of metals here¡­¡± Hiro glanced at Euna¡¯s claws.

    From her wrist to her disproportionately enlarged hands were scintillating black scales that gave way to claws that were as long as her forearm. What was ivory in color before--the last time Hiro saw Euna before she was dissected by Nequiv--was now a deep ebony that had veins of dark crimson running through them. They were hard to notice but they were there.

    ¡°...You probably can, but it¡¯ll take too much time. Especially when we¡¯re on the run, we can¡¯t be making stops so that you can whack at the door until it tears. And there will be plenty more on each floor.¡±

    ¡°Okay. What¡¯s the plan then?¡± Euna asked and just as she did, her head perked up. She could feel the reverberations in the floor and walls. ¡°Hiro? Incoming. Two of them,¡± she announced as she glanced down the corridor.

    ¡°Ah. My identification code must have alerted the system when I attempted to access the door,¡± Hiro explained. ¡°Everyone on the ship should know our current location by now. The two heading this way are probably the first to respond to the alert due to their proximity.¡±

    Euna turned and glared at the control console. ¡°I knew it, you should have let me destroy this thing. Stupid Hiro.¡±

    ¡°No Euna, this is one of the projected scenarios that I¡¯ve already planned for,¡± Hiro wagged his finger at her while smiling mischievously. ¡°This should work well in our favor¡­ If you can pull this off right.¡±

    Euna rolled her eyes impatiently. ¡°Next time tell me your plan before you actually do it. They¡¯re almost here. Twenty seconds give or take. Talk.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just waltz in to General Corax¡¯s quarters without a few¡­ assurances.I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll run into some obstacles and security on our way there but right now, a good chunk of the Augmented troops are deployed out in the battlefield as we speak. We¡¯ve actually got a good shot at this. Also, we need a means of freely traversing the ship. Okay, firstly, I¡¯m going to need you to avoid killing the two heading our way. Knock them out or whatever, but keep them alive. We¡¯re going to need them.¡±

    Just as Euna had claimed, the pair of Aug-soldiers soon appeared in sight from around the winding corridor. They were attired in the basic Augmented uniform, a skintight suit for maximum flexibility. Upon seeing Euna, they froze up for a moment, conversed with each other, then began moving forward cautiously as they armed themselves.

    Euna stood stock-still as she silently assessed her prey, letting them encroach closer at their own leisure. Other than the scales wreathed around her body, her appearance was mostly humanoid. Her claws, wings and legs had degenerated into her body after she had taken a temporary respite in the underground tunnel she had burrowed into. When not in combat, the adults in her village often reverted to a more civil and human form. It was a custom and habit that had been ingrained in her since she learned to Alter her body. Euna would have degenerated her scales away but Hiro--being weird as he always was--had insisted with a flushed face, that Euna keep the scales on.

    ¡°Halt Altered monster!¡± one of them called as he trained his rifle at her.

    Hiro quickly noted that these two were just basic Aug-soldiers on patrol, who probably hadn¡¯t seen any action.

    ¡°Um, go easy on them?¡± Hiro suggested.

    The other one stepped closer totting his rifle over his shoulder. ¡°Surrender or we will-¡±

    Hiro merely blinked, and suddenly Euna was no longer next to him. She reappeared next to the pair of Aug-soldiers. The one that had stepped forward confidently was already on the floor, out cold. The remaining Aug-soldier was stunned for a moment but quickly made the good judgement between a fight-or-flight scenario. He leaped backwards, dropping his gun in the process, and began running full pelt down the corridor.

    ¡°Pl-please! Spare my life! I don¡¯t get paid enough for this shit!¡± he screamed as he ran.

    ¡°Hiro,¡± Euna turned around, ¡°do we need this coward too?¡±

    Hiro felt a pang of guilt as he sympathized with the Aug-soldier running for his life. ¡°Yeah,¡± Hiro answered unenthusiastically, then called out to the Aug-soldier, ¡°sorry mate!¡±

    Euna broke into a sprint, chasing after the Aug-soldier. It didn¡¯t take long before she also incapacitated him. She then collected the Aug-soldiers and dropped them in front of Hiro.

    Hiro hunkered down and motioned for Euna to come closer as he began fiddling with one of the Aug-soldiers'' wrist.

    Euna tried her best to stay attentive as Hiro launched into a lecture. He started off with illustrating their current location as he tinkered with a hologram display from the Aug-soldier''s wrist. Euna watched as he cycled through different color codes, icons, and layers of the miniature projection of the ship¡¯s core layout. He pointed to the fore of the ship where there was a circular disc. This was the bridge, which Hiro elaborated was essentially a control room. Then he pointed to a compact room elevated directly above it. The commander¡¯s cabin, Hiro called it. Here was occasionally where the highest ranking soldiers would confer privately but would otherwise be served as a private quarter¡¯s for the highest ranking Aug-soldier on board. In the heat of battle, the commander would usually oversee the operation from the bridge, where he can observe the battle from the display feeds and issue commands as he saw fit. These two areas, Hiro explained, were most likely where they would find General Corax.

    Euna had nodded blankly as she observed the partially see-through, three-dimensional geometric shapes floating in the air, giving off a fluorescent glow. Even though Hiro had dialled the hologram to the simplest setting, it still appeared like a complex labyrinth of intermingling shapes and layers.

    ¡°What if he¡¯s not there?¡± Euna asked.

    Hiro shrugged. ¡°If Corax isn¡¯t there¡­ then it''s beyond me. Where he stays and goes is information that I wouldn¡¯t have access to. The more pertinent question however, is what we¡¯ll do once we do find him?¡±

    Euna avoided Hiro¡¯s pointed gaze. She still didn¡¯t have a clear picture of what she was going to do, but Hiro and Euna both knew it wasn¡¯t going to be friendly banter.

    ¡°What the hell do we need these two for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain that in a moment, but first...¡± Hiro stood up and motioned for Euna to come closer as he began fiddling with his arm. ¡°I need you to take my hand and don¡¯t lose it.¡±

    <hr>

    A lithe shadow with dark scintillating scales leaped into the air as another projectile whistled past, missing the target by a narrow margin. Slung over her shoulder was a limp body that was being held in place with one arm.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Tailing close behind Euna in hot pursuit was a squad of Augmented soldiers.

    ¡°Incendiary slugs proving ineffective, Squad DZR-044 alternate to homing missiles and shock-nets!¡±

    ¡°Targets sighted at sector corridor 3-7! Requesting for reinforcements to intercept at 3-8!¡±

    At the peak of her leap she unfurled her wings, altering her trajectory preemptively and avoiding another projectile as she dived to the opposing wall of the corridor. The corridor that she was speeding through was hexagonal in structure, allowing for her to easily scale the walls in haphazard fashion.

    As Euna soared through the air in mid-flight again, she spared a quick glance at the unconscious Augmented soldier slung over her shoulder. No, this was not Hiro, but the unfortunate Aug-soldier that had foolishly confronted Euna and was consequently conscripted for Hiro¡¯s stupid plan. To the squadron chasing her, the Aug-soldier she was carrying would appear to be Hiro, who was last seen on her shoulders when she had escaped from Nequiv¡¯s lab.

    Euna wrinkled her face in distaste as she remembered Hiro''s smug smile as he elaborated on his plan.

    ¡°Yes, Euna. I meant it literally. Take my hand and run it through as many checkpoints as you can. I want you to lead the Aug-soldiers on a wild goose cha--no, a wild Altered chase,¡± Hiro corrected himself with a smile. ¡°Oh, and you take this guy, and I¡¯ll take this guy. Think of them as tickets. They¡¯ll allow you to bypass the doors when the sensors pick up their neural signature.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± she had asked.

    ¡°Me? Uh, well, I¡¯m going to make a visit to the Armory,¡± Hiro had answered.

    The squad of Augmented soldiers had been chasing Euna for at least a good ten minutes now. They fired at her haphazardly as their sleek and aerodynamically designed Aug-legs went into overdrive in order to keep up with Euna¡¯s spry pace. They leaped and sprinted after her with reckless abandon and near limitless endurance. The painful sensation of lactic acid saturating muscle, was a trait that the Augmented did not have to endure. Their only outward limits would be the malfunction of their Aug-limbs via overheating, or incurred damages. Other than that, it was mostly the neurological and mental limits that an Aug-soldier had to acclimate to. In this case, the Aug-soldiers were almost visibly fuming with uninhibited motivation. The prospects for re-capturing an Altered were a blindingly bright future. To be showered with accolades, wealth, and a well-to-do position in the higher ranks of the military was an aspiration shared by all within the Augmented Empire. Although their target was a dangerous Altered, they had less to fear since Euna was a target that they had already managed to capture once. It meant that there was less danger overall.

    In addition to all of that, there was an Augmented soldier by the code of 7H14093Q8G3H who has been charged with desertion, insubordination and mutiny. Their orders were to capture him dead or alive. His charges were heinous and nerve-wracking for the fifteen Aug-soldiers within squad DZR-044. His punishment would be supreme. That was unquestionable. When they had heard the charges against what Code-7H14093Q8G3H they had shuddered and wondered what in the world had went on in Code-7H14093Q8G3H¡¯s mind when he had carried out his heinous crimes. It was a mystery that would become mouth watering gossip for the bulk of the Aug-soldiers within the lower rungs of the military.

    Euna could hear the missiles trailing close behind her despite her attempts to shake it off. She turned and caught sight of one of the missiles pulling ahead of the cluster. It was a sleek and compact projectile with tiny thrusters propelling it alarmingly me close to her face. She swiped at it with her wing, derailing it from its trajectory. It spun out of control before colliding with the adjacent wall. It detonated, catching the cluster of missiles within its radius and causing a chain reaction of snowballing explosions.

    Euna remained calm as she felt her body being forcefully launched into the air by the tempestuous shockwave. She braced herself, riding the shockwave with her limbs tucked close to her body before springing into a dive. She landed on the ground skidding a few meters before breaking out into a full sprint again. Flying wasn¡¯t a viable option for her, since being indoors meant that there was little to no winds. Flying would simply be too slow. Euna had to resort to erratic zig-zags and an occasional leap to evade the incoming projectiles.

    ¡°Where do I go next?¡± she shouted into Hiro¡¯s detached hand which she held firmly in her hand.

    After a moment, Hiro¡¯s voice came through. ¡°Keep going straight, you¡¯ll see doors ahead soon. Turn right after you pass the doors.¡±

    Euna was still disgruntled by the fact that Hiro¡¯s voice could come out of his hand, but the fact that she could speak with him despite their distance was outrageously convenient.

    Before long, she could see the gates pop into view from around the winding corridor. Then her momentary respite ended as the shrill sound of a whistle heralded the arrival of more homing missiles. Not wanting to deal with them again, she closed her eyes momentarily and gazed with her somatic sense, the Genetic Alteration Matrix. Her mind brushed over the mass of genetic sequences and immediately gained comprehension of each of their effects. Then she selected.

    Euna opened her eyes and felt the change immediately. Her spine began contorting as it lengthened. The joints in her arms twisted backwards becoming the hind legs of a quadruped. Her tailbone grew, as her neck extended forward. Her facial structure changed, elongating slightly until it was reminiscent to a snout.

    In the next moment, she was springing down the corridor on all fours, each stride of her lithe legs carrying her bounds and leaps further than before. The walls around her became a blur as her vision focused on the doors in the distance. The sound of the homing missiles were now a distant memory as she sped down the corridor. Within seconds the massive doors were looming before her, and for a moment she panicked, afraid of crashing head first into the heavy doors. But as she came close, a green light signalled and the doors slid open just enough for her body to clear the gap without slowing down.

    Oh shit, Euna thought, as she zipped past the corridor that she was supposed to turn into. Instead, she had went straight on ahead.

    ¡°Umm, I missed the turn, I¡¯ll turn back,¡± Euna spoke into Hiro¡¯s mechanical hand which she now held with her wing instead of her hand.

    After a few moments, Hiro responded, though he was slightly out of breath. ¡°Th-that¡¯s fine. Keep going straight and turn left at the next corridor you see. It¡¯ll be farther from me but I¡¯ll come to you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    She decided to slow down so that she wouldn¡¯t miss her next turn but as she went further down the corridor, a blockade of Augmented soldiers popped into view. This time they were armed and ready. This squadron also had fifteen Aug-soldiers and they all stood in formation behind a pulsating electric field. Placed on the floor were four cylindrical pylons that spewed arcs of blue interlocking lightning.

    Great.

    Euna slowed to a crawl as she informed Hiro.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Hiro pondered audibly through the Comms for a moment. ¡°You need to get past them in order to reach the next elevator shaft in the left corridor.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I can do it.¡±

    ¡°Wait. You shouldn¡¯t take the risk of getting caught again. How about turning back? The last corridor you missed also has an elevator shaft that you can take. It shouldn¡¯t be that far away.¡±

    She glanced behind her and spotted the squadron that she had left behind come into view. She also noticed that she had a long serpentine tail that swished languidly from side to side.¡°Umm, I¡¯ve got more on my... tail, but I can handle them.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Hiro said, ¡°I trust whatever decision you make, but please try not to get caught again.¡±

    Euna¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°You know what? I think I¡¯ve had enough of running around as your personal decoy. Maybe if I start tearing the place up, then Corax will come to me.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m on your side, don''t get mad at me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not mad,¡± Euna said as her tail lashed out against the floor audibly.

    ¡°Lo-look, sorry if I offended you, but tearing the place up is not a good idea. They could have an entire squadron of Augmented Vessels descend on you in a matter of seconds.¡±

    ¡°Good. That¡¯s what I want. The fewer there are of them out there, then the better it is for my people.¡±

    ¡°Euna¡­ don¡¯t do anything rash,¡± Hiro advised through the Comms.

    Suddenly, Euna whipped around and hissed at the squadron of Augmented soldiers that were now cautiously creeping closer.

    They froze as if paralyzed by fear, but their expressions were not of fear. They were a twenty odd meters away, which was ample room for them to start firing away. But they hadn¡¯t.

    Euna soon learned why.

    One of the Aug-soldiers sauntered forward arrogantly. ¡°Stand back guys, this one¡¯s mine. My name is Lenveer. What is your name Altered monster?¡±

    Euna glanced behind her. The blockade of Aug-soldiers with the electric field hadn¡¯t moved an inch.

    She turned back to the Aug-soldier who had asked for her name. ¡°Euna,¡± she answered with a sweet smile.

    The last time someone had asked for her name was before a bloody melee had ensued. And she had lost.

    No, not this time.

    ¡°Whatever it is that you''re doing Hiro¡­¡± she whispered into his detached hand, ¡°it better be good, because I¡¯m about to tear some of these Aug-soldiers a new hole.¡±

    ¡°Euna?" Lenveer tasted the name aloud. "Interesting name for a monster. I shall decimate you, and with your blood and remains I will put them on display for all of the Augmented Empire to see.¡±

    Lenveer tossed his rifle to the floor, and reached behind his back. He withdrew a short metallic rod and a compact, elliptical object. With a twist, the rod extended outwards until it took the form of a spear. The elliptical object opened up like a flower with metallic plates jutting out like petals. Lenveer wielded it like a shield.

    Euna coiled up, waiting patiently for Lenveer to make the first move.

    With a war cry, Lenveer charged forward.

    Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the entire corridor. Everyone froze, as if bracing for impact. Euna merely gazed around confused.

    Another tremor. This one closer and more violent.

    The Augmented soldiers had turned to look at each other with faces stricken with fear.

    "Eu-euna," Hiro''s voice trembled through the Comms. "Can you hear me?"

    Euna nodded, then realizing that Hiro wasn''t actually next to her, answered, "Ye-yeah?"

    "An impact of that magnitude, I think-"

    Suddenly, the shrill blaring of alarms sounded across the ship. Red lights flickered, coloring everything with a deep red hue.

    "Hull breach!" the Aug-soldiers frantically relayed the message they had heard through their Comms to each other.

    Suddenly, with one deafening crash of sound, Euna found herself aloft in the air. The walls had come apart, and the floor was no longer below her.

    The next tremor had completely demolished the entire corridor.

 Chapter 15

    "...Euna! Euna, can you hear me?!" Hiro shouted into his left wrist.

    There was no response.

    Hiro checked the hologram map being projected out of his wrist. The green blip that represented his missing hand, which Euna was in possession of, was unmoving.

    After the last tremor, which had shaken up the entire ship, Hiro had not heard anything from Euna. The tremors... they brought scenes of Commander Gant''s demise to Hiro''s mind. The multiple tremors signifying the breach of the layered hull of the ship was what lead to the destruction of the Carrier, the Vanguard. It had taken the position in the fore, and was first to fall.

    Hiro had wanted to warn Euna that the only feasible explanation for the tremors... was that an Altered had breached the ship, but he never got the chance. A quaking tremor had shaken the ship, then a deafening rumble had exited the audio output before it went to silence. Something had gone terribly wrong. Wrong enough that Euna had dropped his hand even though he had specifically told her not to.

    "Shit."

    Hiro stared down at the cold floor as he wondered what to do. Then, he looked at the unconscious Augmented soldier that he had brought with him to the Armory. Hiro had torn away his limbs, not wanting to carry the excess weight. The unconscious soldier had served as his neural access key, allowing him to traverse the corridors of the ship unmolested by the system. His own neural signature had been flagged and deprived of his access authority rights. With nearly all of the Ship''s guards sent to hunt Euna down, Hiro was given enough breathing room, to navigate the corridors and eventually reach the Armory mostly unimpeded.

    In relation to where Euna was last seen on the hologram map, Hiro was two floors down and in the center quadrants while Euna was closer to the southeast quadrants. Directly above him, was the hangar bay and he would have to take the closest elevator shaft up and past the hangar bay to reach Euna''s floor.

    Hiro looked around the Armory idly as he considered his options.

    Was he to continue with his original plan? Helping Euna reach the bridge and deal with General Corax was still a stretch in Hiro''s mind. Bypassing the security measures in place, getting past elite Augmented guards and finally reaching Corax himself wouldn''t be anything short of impossible. That is if this was a generic scenario. They were currently facing a Protocol Three crisis while also orchestrating the entire fleet in an organized assualt against the Altered horde. There was no doubt that security would be lax, and considering they needed every soldier out and contributing to the war effort, the Augmented commanders, including Corax, must be having a field day. With Euna, breaking into the bridge shouldn''t be a problem. The real problem was Corax. Hiro still wasn''t sure how to deal with the General other than outright killing him. If Euna didn''t want to kill Corax, then whatever she had in mind was simply beyond Hiro. Hiro wasn''t keen on talking, or negotiating if that was what Euna planned to do. The Augmented Empire would never negotiate or bend the knee in any sort of way.

    If worse came to worst, then Hiro would have to come up with something.

    But now, with the arrival of another Altered onboard, things were different. Much different. A hull breach was a huge deal. Especially a hull breach of the commanding ship of the fleet. It signified a lot regarding the current state of the battle outside. If the Altered could get past hundreds of Vessels and past four ships to attack the Abjurer, the ship which Hiro was currently on-board, then maybe the Altereds weren¡¯t losing as bad as he had thought. Maybe they had somehow turned the tide of the battle, and were now gaining the upper hand. Maybe they had already destroyed most of the Augmented fleet, and was now sending one of their Altereds to single-handedly execute the last remaining Augmented Carrier.

    Hiro shuddered as he imagined what kind of death he would face at the hands of the Altered creatures. At least it would be swift, compared to the Augmented Empire.

    The ceiling of the entire Armory quaked violently again, erupting a cacophony of metallic clinks from the stockpiles of ammunition and armaments. He winced at the sounds as he turned his gaze to the ceiling. This tremor was different than the prior ones. It wasn¡¯t as violent as to have shaken the entire ship but it was close. Yes, very close. Directly above him in fact. There was no doubt that whatever had breached the hull, was currently located in the hangar bay. If he listened carefully, Hiro could even hear the sounds of muted gunfire and artillery. Most of it however, was drowned out by ambient background noise from the core engine, a loud and constant hum.

    He took one last look around him. The Armory was one massive floor that was directly connected to the hanger bay via massive cylindrical columns that doubled as personal and armament transport. Even now, Hiro could hear heavy thuds from the heavy ammunition crates being deposited onto converyor belts and being shuffled into the transport columns

    Hiro took another look around the Armory, double checking for the last time. There were enough explosives in here to build a mountain. He hoped it was enough to bring a fortress down. After giving the place another look, triple checking for the last time, he patted himself down, making sure he had everything he needed then proceeded to the nearest cylindrical column.

    He gave himself a pat on his back. He had accomplished what he had set out to do here. Now he had to check up on the hellish racket taking place upstairs. He had a feeling that he might find Euna there.

    Suddenly, Hiro could hear the sound of movement behind him.

    ¡°Aughh¡­ wha-what the¡­¡±

    Hiro froze, dumbfounded at the sound of the voice. Then it hit him.

    Oh shit.

    His ¡®ticket¡¯ had awakened. He had almost forgotten about him. Hiro began to walk away faster, wanting to leave, then stopped.

    ¡°Why¡­ am I¡­ the Armory? Fuck! Where¡¯s my Aug-limbs?!¡±

    Hiro turned around with a big smile on his face, keeping calm as he approached the soldier. ¡°Hey there! Looks like you just woke up! How was your nap?¡±

    The limbless Augmented soldier had managed to prop himself up. He turned around and looked up at Hiro. When his eyes reached Hiro¡¯s face, they went wide.

    ¡°Yo-you¡¯re designated code: 7H14093Q8G3H! Pl-please spare me!¡±

    ¡°Sorry mate,¡± Hiro said flatly with a resigned face, ¡°but do me a favor and go back to sleep.¡±

    Hiro raised his hand, ready to strike. After knocking him unconscious, Hiro would at least bring him outside the Armory where he would have a better chance of survival. He couldn¡¯t leave the poor guy to succumb to such an ill-fated death.

    Hiro swung.

    ¡°Wait!¡± the augmented soldier flailed his stumps, ¡°I-I¡¯ll do anything!¡±

    Hiro''s hand halted above the soldier''s neck.

    "Anything?"

    <hr>

    When Euna came to her senses, all she could feel was pain. Instinctively, her body began to repress the pain receptors. With the pain gone she could feel a constant, insurmountable force crushing her body. She tried to move but her body was pinned against a hard surface. She tried to open her eyes but only darkness came. She blinked, but everything remained smothered in darkness.

    For a moment, Euna panicked. She sucked in a breath and immediately began coughing incessantly, trying to expel the dust and debris that had clogged her throat and nostrils. She focused, drawing herself inwards and allowing her somatic sense to suffuse her mind. She noticed immediately, that her body was severely damaged. She was regenerating but it was slow, impeded by the crushing pressure on her body. She realized that she couldn¡¯t see anything because most of her face had simply been mashed to paste, including her eyes.

    Her first objective became clear. She had to somehow relieve herself of the constant weight on her body. Feeling for her arms and finding them lacking, Euna focused her regeneration into growing new limbs. Soon she began pushing against the weight on top of her but it didn¡¯t budge. With her somatic sense she picked a sequence. She felt her body grow additional limbs, but even with the combined strength of all her limbs could not move the massive structure on top of her. Gritting her teeth(whatever was left of her mouth) in anger and frustration, she made one final push against the insurmountable weight.

    It didn''t budge.

    This what stops me from saving my people? A stupid pile of rubble? Euna lamented as she let out an exasperated breath.

    Feeling dejected and at the brink of despair, Euna stopped pushing and laid motionlessly against the hard surface pondering her current predicament. Miraculously, the weight on top of her had fallen firmly into place with enough room that it hadn''t crushed her completely. As Euna''s sensory organs slowly regenerated she could suddenly feel heavy reverberations from the floor. Her ears picked up a loud, monotone voice constantly speaking in the background. She could hear the muted cacophony of gunfire and explosions punctuating every other moment. The sounds left little doubt that the Augmented were being attacked. Even without seeing, Euna knew that a fierce battle was taking place right outside the rubble and only an Altered could incite that much hysteria and pandemonium from the Augmented soldiers.

    But who could it be? Is it¡­ father?

    Images of Regulus in his Altered form fighting the Augmented soldiers surfaced in her mind. Her chest tightened with excited anticipation. She wanted to help him, to join him in battle side by side. But more than anything, she wanted to see him and know that he was alive and well.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    With renewed vigour, Euna infused her mind with her somatic sense and selected an Alteration code. One that she had never used before. Immediately she felt a sense of inundating nausea as her physical body began to change drastically in short spurts. Her limbs began to degenerate as her spine began to twist and lengthen. Bones broke apart into smaller segments and joints. She felt like she was shrinking but her somatic sense told her that her body mass had remained roughly the same. Euna peered through the darkness at her limbless body that had contracted and lengthened into a form that was akin to a serpent. She had retained her scintillating ebony scales and had grown a set of fine groove-like muscles that ran the length of her body.

    If she couldn¡¯t push her way out with brute force, then she would have to resort to more cunning methods. Her metamorphosis finally complete, Euna began to slither forward--well, she attempted to, but only managed to wiggle around awkwardly as she struggled with muscle groups that she had never used before.

    Oh, this is harder than I thought. This is going to take some getting used to.

    Similarly to when she had first managed to morph wings, it took a substantial amount of time to grow accustomed to foreign and exotic limbs.

    Euna blinked despite already having a third transparent eyelid as her acutely sensitive tongue caught wind of an air current. She followed it, wiggling further through the decrepit maze of debris. Soon she reached a tiny gap where a ray of incandescent light had pierced through, bathing the area in faint light.

    She pushed and some dust came loose. But the gap had widened. After a few more pushes, Euna managed to dislodge the rubble enough to poke her head through and see the ceiling outside.

    She found herself in a massive enclosed area. Up on the high ceiling, were hexagonal holes which she recognized were entryways for the Augmented Vessels. It took her a moment but she soon realized that she was in the hangar bay. Although the area around her looked different from what she had remembered, she could still recognize the distinguishing features of the massive room. There were columns of intricate machinery that were connected from floor to ceiling with giant luminous displays hovering around them. Protruding out of the mountain of rubble that she was currently buried in, was a partially demolished metallic column. She quickly made the connection that the destruction of the column had resulted in the partial collapse of the corridor that she was in.

    ¡°...repeating. This is protocol three, all non-combative personnel evacuate to quadrants 2-1, and 4-1. Containment protocols are now under effect. Repeating¡­¡±

    Over the blaring sirens, Euna recognized the loud monotone voice that she had heard while buried in the mountain of rubble. It was the voice that Hiro had said belonged to the ¡®system¡¯. It was repeating itself over and over again.

    A deafening clash of metal rang out behind her as multiple quake-like reverberations travelled through the floor before reaching Euna.

    She turned her gaze around to the source of the sounds, then caught her breath.

    Near the center of the hangar bay was a squad of Augmented Vessels engaged in a cataclysmic melee with a colossal Altered. One of the Vessels was literally hanging by the leg out of the Altered¡¯s elongated jaw. Scattered across the floor of the hangar bay were dozens of partially destroyed Vessels. Some of them were freshly decimated as evidenced by the gnaw marks, massive indents and plumes of smoke spilling outwards, but most of them were simply out of commision from prior confrontations.

    Scurrying like insects on the floor were squadrons of Augmented infantry who aided the battle with long range weaponry. They peppered the colossal Altered with streams of blazing red projectiles as homing missiles rained down on the monster''s shoulders. Here, Euna noticed that they were maintaining a higher trigger discipline than what she had witnessed when she had been ambushed by Captain Armstrung and his squad. The squadrons fired in an organized manner, firing in short bouts in order to avoid friendly fire.

    Nothing seemed to have any effect on the thick stone-like husk of the Altered and only seemed to irritate the massive fiend even more.

    Immediately, Euna noticed the lack of a distinctive golden mane that was a part of Regulus¡¯s Altered form. To her dismay, she had no idea who the Altered before her was, only that it was likely not her father. Regardless, she was relieved to see someone from her village alive. This Altered was also noticeably shorter and bulker than what she remembered of the people in her village when they had transformed to meet the Augmented in the sky. But this seemed to be mostly due to the fact that the Altered was hunched over and dragging its disproportionately massive arms along the floor. Even so, the Altered stood shoulder and head taller than the Vessels that were currently trying to avoid being clobbered by the Vessel-turned-flail in its jaws.

    With only her head sticking out of the rubble, Euna lost sight of the Altered behind the broken column as it clambered around on all fours, swinging the Vessel in its jaws and catching one of the surrounding Vessels in the chest. Most of her body was still trapped in the mountain of debris from the ceiling above and the base of the partially destroyed column. After a few moments of struggling, she finally managed to wiggle free. After regrowing her limbs, she climbed up the mountain of debris just in time to see a Vessel being flung into another. They collided with an audible clang of metal before skidding to a screeching stop a distance away.

    Now that she was on higher ground, she immediately noticed the offending breach at the far end of the hangar bay. The massive gaping hole was at the edge of the ceiling, near one of the entry corridors. Multiple layers of reinforced wall had been sundered apart by sheer force of impact and exposing the interior of the hangar bay to the twilight of the early morning sky. Euna was stunned in awe, wondering what kind of Alteration trait had allowed the Altered to rip apart the hall of the ship with seemingly devastating ease.

    Euna turned her attention back to the ensuing melee between the sleek skeletal frames of the Vessels against the disproportionately bulky frame of the Altered. The Vessels were arranged in a loose circle around the massive Altered, who she came to conclude was one of the male villagers by the thick, wiry hair on its elongated face. The silver-grey hair, rugged carapace-like armor and milky white eyes gave the Altered a sagely appearance.

    For some reason, the melee had reached a standstill.

    The stocky frame of the Altered was rock-still as its gaze swiveled around the hangar bay looking for something. The Vessel that he had in his mouth was no longer there.

    The Vessels gave him a wide berth, choosing to skirt around the oversized and cumbersome Altered as they waited for an opportune moment to strike. They wielded a rectangular bulwark which was lifted defensively and seemed to serve as a shield according to what Euna saw of Lenveer. In their other hand was a straight-edged saber with intricate mechanical designs running along the flat of the blade and grip. Overall, the weapon seemed dull and ineffective to Euna. She doubted that the weapon would actually be able to do any damage.

    Silently, the Altered glared at the Vessels who continued to encircle him.

    Euna watched the stare-off with bated breath. The tension between them was nearly palpable, almost as if any sudden movement from the Altered would set the standstill into a frenzied bloodbath.

    Suddenly, the Altered moved, lifting his bulky armored leg forward.

    The Vessels reacted immediately, those facing the creature stepping back and those on the other side stepping forward. They seemed reluctant to engage the Altered and more inclined to maintain their enclosure around him.

    The Altered lashed out, roaring as he swung his unequally massive arms. His arms extended unnaturally, exposing the thick sinew stretching taut underneath the jagged and segmented, stone-like carapace. At the ends of his massive arms were armored hands that were even more disproportionately large. Closed like a fist, they were like boulders swinging violently through the air.

    The Vessels promptly took evasive maneuvers. Those in the front sprang backwards using their thrusters to propel themselves quickly out of range.

    Euna soon got a demonstration of the metallic sabers, when one of the Vessels at the Altered''s flank suddenly lunged forward. The entire blade lit up like an overheated metal, burning bright yellow as thrusters running along the back end of the blade propelled the saber forward. Trails of embers followed the saber as it began cutting a high-velocity arc towards the Altered. The cutting edge of the blade glowed a white-blue, reaching maximum temperatures as it sliced into the armor of the Altered before biting flesh.

    The Altered howled an ear-splitting screech before rearing back and snapping its massive jaw over the attacking Vessel¡¯s sword-arm.

    Following in quick succession, the rest of the Vessels made use of the opportune moment. They surged forward collectively before striking the Altered in a similar fashion. Not wanting the Vessel caught in the Altered¡¯s jaw to be used as a flail again, one of the other Vessels in the squad took action by simply slicing his comrade¡¯s Vessel at the shoulder, detaching him from his entrapped arm.

    The Altered had shielded its head with its arms taking the brunt of the damage before swinging wildly and catching a few of the Vessels around him. Most of them had already retreated, yanking their blades through flesh and drawing deep red ichor from the creature as they leaped away. Glowing hot grooves were left on the Altered where the armor had instantly melted into plasma from the heat. The Vessels flicked their sabers towards the floor, the thick ichor of the Altered was incinerated on the blue-hot edge of the blade, plopping onto the floor as black sludge. The resulting wounds from the weapons were difficult to regenerate with the mass of charred tissue left deep within the gashes.

    The Augmented infantry on the ground took this chance to redouble their efforts, unloading more long range artillery on the wounded Altered. Some of the Vessels joined in, unleashing a barrage of missiles from their shoulder mounts and steady streams of high-caliber rounds from their wrists.

    Watching this, Euna hissed in anger, wanting to slaughter the army of grunts unleashing hell on her kindred.

    Suddenly, the Altered let loose a blood curdling roar as he pounded his massive arms against his chest. Instead of regenerating his wounds, he chose to grow more carapace over his body, becoming even bulkier. He clambered forward on all fours, starting off slow, then accelerating like a battering ram.

    The Vessels quickly scattered, using their thrusters to launch themselves aside and into the air.

    One of the Vessels was clipped in the shoulder and consequently sent spiraling out of control towards the ground. Another was caught in the Altered''s grasp, as his massive arm had suddenly extended upwards, plucking one of the Vessels out of the air despite the distance. The Vessel struggled in his grip, flaring it''s thrusters in an attempt to break free.

    The Vessel¡¯s frame twisted and imploded into a compact ball under the pressure of the Altered¡¯s immense grip. The Altered strided forward, building up momentum as he dragged the compressed Vessel against the floor igniting sparks before thrusting his arm out in an underhand motion and releasing the Vessel. Like a missile, the Vessel-turned-ball shot into the air colliding with other Vessels before crashing into the far wall of the hangar bay and shattering explosively from the sheer force of the impact.

    The Altered continued its rampage, lashing out violently as it chased the now disorganized Vessels all scrambling away.

    Euna quivered with anticipation as she surveyed the battlefield. She noticed Vessels lying motionless on the floor from the recent exchange. Most of them seemed too critically damaged to continue and no one came out of those, but some of them had only received moderate damage, a destroyed limb or pulverized chest plating. For those ones, she watched as several Augmented Pilots emerged. A chest compartment had opened up revealing the Augmented soldier within who proceeded to climb out and fall onto the floor. During the battle, Euna had even seen Augmented soldiers being ejected from their Vessels, abandoning their metallic machines when it looked they would not escape the onslaught of the Altered.

    As the colossal Altered trampled about, taking on the quickly decreasing number of Vessels, Euna spotted Augmented soldiers sprinting down the hangar bay in the periphery of her vision. Focusing on them, Euna noticed that some of them were in fact heading towards inactive Vessels that seemed to be out of commission.

    Oh no you don''t, Euna thought as she narrowed her eyes. There was no way she was going to let more Vessels join the fray.

    She couldn¡¯t stand by and watch any longer. It was time for her to join in as well.

    Euna glanced down at her serpentine body. Although she had grown limbs, to aid her in climbing, she was still sluggish and simply too inept with her current Altered state.

    She sucked in a breath and steeled herself, then began to alter her body again.

 Chapter 16

    Eunaleaped down the mountain of rubble. By the time she reached the floor of the hangar bay, she was fully transformed. She had taken on the quadruped form from the time that she was leading the Augmented soldiers on a wild chase through the corridors of the ship. Since most of her body had broken down when shewas trappedunderneath the rubble, sheregrewa new set of obsidian scales which wreathed and curved to suit her current form. Of all her Altered forms, the quadrupedwas unmatchedwhen it came to speed and agility. With a few strides,Eunawas suddenly bolting down the hangar bay and into the fray.

    Before long,Eunahad entered the periphery of the battlefield. To her far left, near the center of the hangar bay wascurrentlywhere themeleebetween the Altered and the Vessels were taking place.Eunawascurrentlysituated near the outskirts of the battlefield and closer to the massive walls of the hangar bay. All around her were debris, droves of Augmentedpersonnelrunning to and fro, and carcasses of Vessels in various states of destruction. As she moved through the battlefield, she could pick up sounds of distressed shouting from the Augmented soldiers.

    ¡°Engineers! Medics! To me! Evacuate to designated quadrants!¡±

    Eunanoticed that some of the Augmented soldiers were not combat types and were fleeing from the general mayhem in the center of the hangar bay.

    ¡°Extract the wounded and evacuate now!¡±

    Some of the Augmented soldiers in white uniforms were racing across the battlefield towards incapacitated soldiers on the floor and some of them were even running towards the destroyed Vessels. Most of the Augmented soldiers, however, were swarming towards the massive, intact columns whichEunaassumed was where the ¡®evacuating¡¯ was taking place.

    Occasionally, she would zip past a stray Augmented soldier, eliciting a fearful yelp or two, but most of the time she went relatively unnoticed. With all the chaos and destruction that the colossal Altered was creating,Eunawas not surprised.

    The path that she had taken through the battlefield was away from themeleeand directly towards the squadrons of Augmented soldiers thatwere spreadsparsely around themelee, keeping in tight clusters that were a good distance from the destructive battle.

    Soon, she was close enough to hear the Augmented soldiers shouting and giving out commands as theypreparedto unleash the next barrage. With all of their concentration focused on themelee,Eunawas merely a blur in the periphery of their vision.

    ¡°Hold steady! Prepare for the next barrage!¡±

    ¡°Heavy artillery, requesting for more ammunition sir!¡±

    Most of the squadrons of Augmented soldiers providinglong-rangesupportwere huddledaround large mechanical contraptions that shook violently as it unleashed a barrage of homing missiles or a steady stream of gunfire.

    Eunadecided that destroying those weapons would probably be a good idea. She made a slight detour in her path, prowling towards the nearest squadron while staying out of their line of sight as much as she could.

    As she came closer, she saw that some of the Augmented soldiers were splitting off from the squadron shouting, ¡°Sir! Some of these Vessels are in operable condition! Permission to pilot one of these Vessels and join the fight!¡±

    ¡°Granted! May the Augmented Empirereign supreme!¡±

    Two Augmented soldiers sprinted off from the group asEunacircled around to the flank of the squadron, then slowing to a crawl with a scowl on her face. Their obsession with honor and glory left a bad taste in her mouth. She didn¡¯t want thesepropagandizednutjobsin a Vessel and ¡®letting loose¡¯.

    But first she would try to unleash as much destruction as she could quickly on this squadron. She pounced on the squadron, wasting no time in tearing apart the first Augmented soldier that she had landed on, before moving on to the next. She leaped from target to target on all fours, sinking her claws into their bodies and ripping chunks out of them as she moved on.

    One of Euna¡¯s victim screamed out as he died, ¡°Watch out! Altered beast on our flank!¡±

    Augmented soldiers wheeled around, aiming their rifles and wrist-cannons atEuna.

    Instinctively,Eunalashed outwith her serpentine tail which to her surprise had a glossy, obsidian blade protruding out of the tip of her tail. Like a whip, her bladed tail thatwas curvedinwardlike a scythe, swung in a wide arc, slicing through arms and hands of the Augmented soldiers around her. Translucent fluids sprayed outwards as synthetic fibers and neural circuitrywas torn. They dropped their weapons as their maimed arms failed to respond.

    Eunathen bounded forwards on all four,barrellingthrough the soldiers as her tail continued lashing out wildly,scythingunsuspecting targets as she reached one of the artillery armaments. She reared back before thrusting her clawed hand into the armored plating of the weapon. The metal surface was sturdy and only dented inwards from Euna¡¯s strike. After multiple successive thrusts, her claw finally perforated the armor and delicate neural circuitry.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    After destroying another of the artillery weapons,Eunapromptly moved on to chasing down the Augmented soldiers who had sprinted off to find themselves a Vessel.

    To her dismay, there were already a handful of Augmented Vessels mobilized and making heavy strides across the hangar bay towards themelee.Eunacursed inwardly. She had failed to stop the Augmented soldiers that she had seen earlier from joining the fray. There were still more inactive Vessels in various states of repair strewn around the hangar bay and she could see many more Augmented soldiers sprintingin the direction ofthese Vessels.

    She spotted the two Augmented soldiers who had broken off from the squad she had dealt with, sprinting close to each other in the distance. She pumped her beast-like limbs into overdrive and closed in on their heels.

    ¡°Behind you!¡± a voice shouted, warning the pair.

    AsEunalunged at the Augmented soldier closest to her, he glanced back, doing a double take with wide eyes and then stammering, ¡°wh-what the--¡±

    Her claw perforated his chest, inducing a gurgling fit from the Aug-soldier.

    The other Augmented soldier, a woman with bright blue hair tied back, screamed, ¡°M-mark, no!¡±

    Despite the blood and fluids, exiting his mouth, the dying man managed to utter a few words. ¡°Vi-vicky¡­ R-run. R-¡±

    Eunaripped out his heart, cutting hisfinalwords short.

    ¡°No! Fuck!¡± Vicky shouted in anguish.

    Eunaturned her sight to Vicky, who had picked up her pace, firing her wrist-cannon behind her haphazardly as she sprinted to the nearest Vessel.

    Eunaevaded the projectiles, leaping from side-to-side as she followed.

    Suddenly, in the periphery of her vision, she saw a squad in the distance turn their sights towards her. Her presence on the battlefield, which had gone mostly unnoticed so far, was now attracting glances from Aug-soldiers all around her.

    ¡°Altered monster sighted! Fire at will!¡±

    One of them screamed while swiveling a mounted turret in her direction, ¡°kill that motherfucker!¡±

    Some of them were even chanting, ¡°Die! Die! Die! Die!¡± as they laughedmaniacally.

    Within seconds,Eunacould hear the first barrage of bullets whizzing through the air. Most of themimpactedthe floor, causing explosions of sparks around her but a good handful landed on their mark, punching in smoking indents on Euna¡¯s scaled armor. She winced as she felt her flesh being cooked from the heat, then gritted her teeth and sped up, focusing all her attention on avoiding getting shot repeatedly. She dashed in erraticzig-zags, taking cover behind debris, destroyed Vessels and then columns.

    Before long, the bullets stopped flying her way. She figured that, either she had gotten out of optimal range, or they were turning their attention back to thecollosalAltered. Or they were out of ammunition,Eunadecided.

    When she turned her attention back to the Augmented soldier shehad been chasing, she saw that Vicky was already a distance away and wascurrently approachinga nearby Vessel. This Vessel was one among many of the partially damaged Vessels spread sparsely throughout the hangar bay, and was in a halted state of repairs. The right side of Vessel seemed to have sufferedconsiderabledamage, and was missing large portions of plated armor, exposing the sleek inner exoskeleton and cables within.

    Eunacaught up to the Aug-soldier, leaping onefinaltime into the air for the finishing blow. AsEuna''sclaw was about to perforate skin, Vicky suddenly lurched forward into the air, flying towards the Vessel.

    For a second,Eunawas confused, then she saw the sleek cable extending out of theAug-soldier''swrist. The cablewas stretchedtaut through the air and the other end of the cablewas latchedontothe Vessel and reeling her in.

    The Aug-soldier was hurtling through the air, and by the timeEunareached the Vessel''s feet, the Aug-soldier had already climbed into the cockpit.Eunacaught a glimpse of theAug-soldier''sface as she looked up into the dark and compact interior of the Vessel.

    ¡°You''re screwed bitch.¡±

    Large metallic plates slid over the chest cavity, concealing and securing the pilot within the armored confines of the Vessel. The machinewhirledto life with an ambientthrumof the engine. The Vessel stood up to its full height, flexing its joints and limbs before looking down atEuna. The plated armor that framed the Vessel¡¯s visage gave it an angular and regal appearance.Eunalooked up at its eyes, two horizontal slits that lit up into an intense cyan blue.

    The Vessel pointed its hand at her, then unloaded a fusillade of high-caliber projectiles. She leaped away, but not before she felt bullets the size of her claws impact her flank, followed by a searing sensation. When she spared a quick glance at her behind, she noticed immediately that her hind leg had literally exploded. Scales, flesh and bonehad been blownoff, leaving behind a scorching stump right above the knee. She also noticedtwo smoking holes; one on her waist, and the other... on her ass. The projectiles were powerful enough to punch through her scaled armor and all, perforating through the insides of her body and exiting out the other side.

    Failing to adjust to the sudden loss of a leg, and cope with her injuries,Eunaface planted the floor a distance away as she landed.

    Vicky sauntered forward confidently in her Vessel, aiming her hand atEunaagain, but only a mechanical click could be heard. The Vessel reached for its back with its other arm, then suddenly halted. There seemedto besome malfunctioning of its shoulder joint frompriordamage.

    Euna''sinjuries were nowhere near fatal, and her body was already subconsciously repairing the damage. Her stump, however, still hadn''t fully reformed into a leg. She was standing on three legs as the Vessel approached, drawing a metallic and hexagonal shaft from its back with its functioning arm, before brandishing it like a sword. Within seconds, the rod-like weapon transformed into the sabers that she had seen from themelee.

    Eunacaught sight of another Vessel in the background. Then another. There were more active Vessels on the battlefield now. One of them in fact, had noticedEunaand Vicky, and was heading their way.

    Shit,Eunathought. At this rate, I''m goingto besurrounded by Vessels.

    Euna''splan to stop as many soldiers from joining the fray had failed miserably. There were simply far too many and too much going on for her to handle alone.

    The Vessel being piloted by Vicky lunged forward at a distractedEunawith it¡¯s saber. At the same moment, a red-hot blade erupted out of the chest of Vicky''s Vessel, halting her attack in mid-motion. Vicky''s Vessel sagged, then slid off the blade before crashingontothe floor bodily.

    Standing over the Vessel was another Vessel, the one which she had noticed coming her way.

    The backstabbing Vessel, then gave her a thumbs up as its chest compartment slid open, revealing a smiling Hiro and a limbless Augmented soldier squished behind him.

    ¡°Oi, what''s up?¡±

 Chapter 17

    Euna didn¡¯t fall for it this time. She didn¡¯t look up at the ceiling to check what was ¡®up¡¯. Instead, she gave Hiro a cold and almost menacing glare that screamed, ''explain yourself now.¡¯

    Hiro''s cheerful smile promptly disappeared. The look that Euna was giving him, was scarier than any drill sergeant he''d ever met. Even though the features on her now elongated face were hidden behind sleek black scales, a pair of blood red rubies glared up at him. He noticed that Euna''s body had changed drastically again. Her body was now akin to a four-legged beast, armored with the same obsidian scales that wreathed around her long and narrow frame. In addition to her claws, Hiro noticed a nasty hook-like blade at the end of a serpentine tail that swished languidly from side to side.

    ¡°I wasn''t sure where to look, since you lost my hand, but I had a feeling I would find you here,¡± Hiro said. ¡°I was doing a bit of sabotaging, I''ll explain more later. First, you--¡±

    Hiro suddenly noticed green-yellow pus and thick sanguine fluids leaking from some exposed pink flesh on her behind. He cringed inwardly at the grisly sight.

    That might explain why she looks like she wants to tear me a new one, Hiro concluded.

    ¡°You okay?¡± he asked, then addressed the Aug-soldier behind him. ¡°Lower us down.¡±

    The Vessel kneeled down on one knee, and as it did, the saber in the Vessel''s hand inadvertently drew close to Euna.

    Euna growled, a deep grating rumble that made Hiro wince. It didn''t help that the Aug-soldier behind him was shaking in fear, causing the Vessel to jerk around wildly and making Euna let out another rumbling growl.

    ¡°Wh-what the fuck man! You said she was friendly!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Greg,¡± Hiro said hurriedly. ¡°You''re going to destabilize. Look your sync-rate is plummeting.¡±

    ¡°Screw you! And my name isn''t Greg, it''s Geoff!¡±

    Hiro paid him no mind, turning his attention back to Euna.

    Segments of her scaled face had peeled away, exposing her lower face.

    ¡°What¡¯s the hell''s going on?¡± Euna almost growled the words at him. ¡°What is he doing?¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry about Greg. First, we need get our asses moving before someone catches on,¡± Hiro said. ¡°Hop in, I¡¯ll explain.¡±

    Euna looked up at Hiro, and at Geoff. It was clear that she was hesitating.

    Jumping into a dark and compact space with two Augmented soldiers wasn''t the exactly the most enticing idea, Hiro surmised.

    ¡°Euna¡­ Do you trust me?¡±

    Euna didn''t answer. Instead, she hopped onto the blunt edge of the saber after taking one last look around her. Currently, there weren''t any other Vessels running their way. Most of the Aug-soldier''s on the ground were too occupied with the colossal Altered. Vicky¡¯s Vessel was still motionless on the ground.

    Euna clambered up the narrow blade with a careful grace. Upon reaching the sloping forearm of the Vessel, she sped up then sprang off of it when the incline became nearly vertical. She twisted around in mid-air and landed on the raised knee of the Vessel. From there she approached the cockpit.

    Hiro could feel Geoff shaking behind him.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re crazy,¡± Geoff said. ¡°You wanna hunker down in here with that? We''ll get eaten alive after she rips us apart!¡±

    Euna tilted her head at the limbless Aug-soldier as she peered into the cockpit dubiously.

    ¡°I wouldn''t eat you,¡± she said reassuringly. ¡°I''ll just rip you apart.¡±

    ¡°Greg,¡± Hiro sighed, ¡°You''re only egging her on. She''s harmless. In fact, she saved my life. I wouldn''t be here, if not for her.¡±

    Geoff made a doubtful expression before conceding. ¡°Whatever you say. Just remember our deal,¡± he reminded Hiro, then added, ¡°And there''s not enough room for her.¡±

    Hiro knew Geoff was right. He could barely manage to fit in here with him and Geoff was currently bereft of his limbs. Even tossing Geoff out might not make enough room for Euna.

    ¡°You''re right. There''s not enough room¡­¡± Hiro grinned, ¡°but Euna has a cute mini-form.¡±

    Hiro watched as her body went stiff, but her tail remained in motion, maybe even wagging a bit more fiercely.

    ¡°Wh-what? C-cute mini-form?¡± Euna stammered confused. She was poking her head into the cockpit, trying her best to squeeze in when it had dawned on her what Hiro meant. ¡°Oh¡­ You mean that?¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Yes. Quickly.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After Euna devolved into her mini-form but with scaled armor, Hiro picked up Euna by her wrist, and deposited her into the crevice on Geoff''s left side. With Hiro on the right, Geoff in the center, and mini-Euna on the left, the hatch of the cockpit slid closed, smothering the compact interior in darkness.

    Euna was about to mention something about lights when hologram displays lit up around them, giving them a real-time visual experience of the hangar bay around them.

    Complex shapes and numbers mixed with letters that were highlighted in an assortment of colors littered the images. A bluish green glow illuminated the interior, giving Euna the chance to examine the interior of the cockpit. She noticed several black cables plugged into Geoff''s back, most of them concentrated around the neck and spine.

    ¡°Greg? Remove HUD.¡±

    Euna could hear Geoff muttering something about ''it''s Geoff¡¯ under his breath.

    The numbers and shapes disappeared, leaving a crisp image of the outside. As Geoff stood up and turned around, the scene shifted, focusing in on the melee between the colossal Altered and the Vessels. Everything they were seeing was essentially a duplicate of what Geoff was seeing through the Vessel''s eyes and sensors.

    Watching the display, Euna was able to assess the current state of the hangar bay. In the amount of time that had passed since Euna went on the offensive, the colossal Altered had laid waste to at least another dozen Vessels. She could see them at the other end of the hangar bay. Freshly ravaged and mutilated, they were strewn on the floor like bodies as plumes of smoke and fire marked their graves. Four more columns had been demolished and even more of the upper floor had fallen apart to form mountains of rubble in the hangar bay. The Vessels currently fighting, were even more defensive now than before. There were even fewer of them, and most of them were desperately in need of repairs and resupplying. Euna counted about nine Vessels at the moment who were actively engaging the colossal Altered. It was clearly not enough.

    The colossal Altered was currently stampeding down the hangar bay on all fours, towards another column in the distance.

    The Vessels followed, splitting up and repositioning, preparing to intercept.

    Euna noticed the colossal Altered occasionally arching and swiveling it''s massive head around in search of something before continuing it''s destructive rampage.

    She frowned. She found it strange that the colossal Altered was limiting his destruction to the confines of the hangar bay. It seemed as if he was mindlessly attacking anything and everything around him.

    Euna narrowed her eyes skeptically as she examined the colossal Altered.

    Am I imagining things or did he get¡­ bigger?

    He seemed to have grown even more bulkier, with more layers of stone-like carapace.

    Confused and astonished at the same time, Euna had to confirm from a closer distance. The hangar bay was huge, and it was hard to get a sense of scale.

    ¡°Move closer,¡± Euna said.

    ¡°No way,¡± Geoff promptly refused. ¡°There''s no way I''m getting closer to that thing.¡±

    ¡°Do it,¡± Hiro waved his wrist-cannon at Geoff. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you know that Altered over there?¡± Hiro asked.

    Euna shook her head slowly as she watched the hologram display move forward along with head bobbing motion. ¡°I''m not sure,¡± she said, feeling a little queasy.

    Hiro frowned. ¡°What do you mean, you¡¯re not sure?¡±

    ¡°He might be from my village but I don''t know who he is exactly.¡±

    Hiro took a glance at Euna. He could see her glance down, but couldn''t really make out her expression with Geoff''s torso in the way.

    ¡°The truth is¡­¡± Euna said quietly, ¡°Up until yesterday, I''ve never seen the people in my village alter themselves into something like that,¡± she pointed to the colossal Altered.

    Hiro took a moment to let this sink in. He had never considered that Euna was this green. He didn¡¯t know how old she was exactly. She could have been over a hundred and you wouldn¡¯t be able to tell with an Altered.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry, him being here is a surprising turn of events but a good thing nonetheless. It would only make sense that your people had planned an assault at the commanding ship of the fleet, afterall. There''s a good chance that the rest of your villagers are doing well out there. If an Altered managed to get pass five carrier¡¯s worth of static defenses and platoons of Vessels... then who knows what else General Corax has to deal with out there. Right now, he¡¯s got bigger problems to fry than just us," Hiro said, then turned to observe the Altered. "This colossal Altered seems to be really letting loose, I mean, at this rate he might even tear this entire floor down.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, but it doesn¡¯t seem that way to me,¡± Euna said as she observed the colossal Altered. ¡°He seems angry and lost. Father wouldn¡¯t let one of his own be put in danger like this, he would take things into his own hands and come himself. This doesn¡¯t seem like something that was planned by father. And you still haven¡¯t explained yourself. What were you doing while I was getting chased around?¡± Euna asked in a rebukeful tone.

    ¡°I was in the armory. A floor below us. With the time that I had, thanks to you of course, I was able to mess around with some of the explosive munitions. If things go right this whole place should go kaboom.¡±

    Euna''s eyes went wide. ¡°You mean like how the first ship exploded?¡±

    ¡°Um. Not really. I may have exaggerated a bit. That was a system initiated self-destruct powered by the energy stored within the core engine, it¡¯s nowhere near that level. At worst, it will serve as a distraction. At best, we''ll have destroyed crucial supplies and equipment, and caused some considerable damage to the ship. Anyways, we need to get our asses out of here while we can.¡±

    Just as Hiro finished talking, the colossal Altered collided with another column, displacing another chunk of the ceiling and exposing the upper floor. Then, without any warning or sign, it suddenly leaped upwards into the hole, disappearing behind the ceiling.

    Hiro frowned.

    ¡°Which direction is he headed?¡± Euna asked. ¡°Is it towards the bridge?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah,¡± Geoff answered. ¡°So we¡¯re leaving now? Cause I don¡¯t want to be on this ship with that thing any longer than I need to be. All the Vessels are following in pursuit, if we don¡¯t move soon we''ll stand out.¡±

    Euna ignored Geoff. She glanced at Hiro, waiting for him to answer.

    ¡°Uh, yeah. The direction he¡¯s headed is¡­ a bif off, but that¡¯s towards the bridge. We¡¯ll take the nearest exit chute,¡± Hiro began scanning the hologram display. ¡°God damn it, all this rubble, I don¡¯t think those ones are even functioning.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I see one,¡± Geoff voiced. ¡°Hope it works.¡±

    The Vessel they were in turned around, then began running full pelt towards the far wall of the hangar bay, where there was a large hexagonal floor panel.

    Suddenly, a loud crash reverberated through the room.

    Geoff turned the Vessel around to the source of the sound, and together they saw that the colossal Altered had returned, along with a pulverized Vessel that was flattened underneath his feet. He once again began to look around with milky white eyes.

    He''s blind, Euna realized.

    ¡°Shit, shit, shit, I think it¡¯s heading our way!¡± Geoff shouted, then began running towards the exit chute.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Euna yelled as they approached the hexagonal floor panel. ¡°I.. think he''s blind. I need to help him. Guide him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s ridiculous. And how can it be possible for an Altered to be blind?¡± Hiro questioned.

    Geoff turned the Vessel around to spare a quick glance at the Colossal Altered. The Altered was looking straight at them, moving with a slow gait, but steadily increasing its speed. Then it stopped abruptly for apparently no reason and arched its head upwards.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Hiro said.

    ¡°Reinforcements,¡± Geoff exclaimed with relief. ¡°And they¡¯re the Elite¡­ I think we¡¯re saved.¡±

    Euna watched as squadrons of elite Vessels descended from the entry chutes with thrusters blazing as they slammed onto the floor one by one. As they dropped down, they tossed their Altered trophies onto a heap on the floor. Severed limbs, wings, ivory claws, clubs and blades made the majority of the heap. The rest of the heap were mostly blackened chunks of flesh, some of them still raw with crimson ichor and fluids gathering into a large putrid puddle. Euna¡¯s stomach lurched as she realized what the sagging, disfigured masses of flesh were. They were decapitated heads of Altereds.

    There were at least several dozen Vessels, but Euna immediately noticed that twelve of them stood out from the rest. Their armor were painted a regal white with black and cobalt trimmings. On their chests and shoulders were extravagant and colourful symbols.

    ¡°That¡¯s the crest of the Armstrung house,¡± Geoff said. ¡°The Ireauds, the Stiels... All of the twelve houses are here.¡±