ã€ŠGun X Princessã€‹


 Vol 1 - "Princess Royale" - summary

    Volume 1 - Princess Royale

    Volume 1 of Gun X Princess has been released on Amazon Kindle Direct as Princess Royale. In accordance with the digital distribution agreement, Volume 1 has been removed from RRL.

    In its place,this summary serves as an introduction to the series.

    Those of you that wish to read the complete novel can find the Kindle Edition of Princess Royale for purchase here:

    https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0178NWM4I</a>

    <hr />

    Summary

    On the colonized and terraformed world of Teloria, in the coastal city-state of Ar Telica, sixteen year old high school student Ronin Kassius is ditched on a Friday afternoon after school by his best friend, Tobias Mateus Praetor, in favor of a date with the eminently perky hottie, Toni Sheffield. Ambling off on his own to enjoy an afternoon of solo gaming at a popular arcade, Ronin racks up a new high score on a zombie killing first person shooter that employs holographics rather virtual reality. But his afternoon is off to a strange start. The game doesn¡¯t play the way he remembers it. It plays way too real for comfort.

    Receiving a brusque email to return home from his elder sister and legal guardian, Erina Kassius, Ronin makes his way to his student apartment when he¡¯s suddenly caught up in a phenomena that leaves him alone in a dead and deserted Ar Telica. His afternoon grows from bad to worse when his body begins to decay rapidly. However, before he dies he witnesses a strangely armored girl arrive to save him moments before he loses consciousness

    Waking upon on Monday morning, Ronin wonders if last Friday afternoon was all a dream. However, he is unable to explain what happened to his weekend. Nonetheless, he decides to attend school at Telos Academy which is situated on Telos Island out in the large bay encircled by Ar Telica.

    At the shoe lockers, he runs into the class rep, Anri Shirohime, who promptly delivers punishment for shamelessly ogling her impressive bust. Witnessing the encounter, Tobias pokes fun at Ronin who casually knocks the taller boy on his ass. Surprised by his strength, Ronin tries to hide it, but is troubled by the loss of the weekend and the behavior of his body.

    Matters come to a head during lunch break at the cafeteria. Ronin hears a voice in his head introducing itself as a Maestro, something of a personal assistant, who then quickly shocks Ronin to the core by revealing that he died last Friday, and his consciousness was transplanted into a temporary body ¨C a Simulacrum ¨C that resembles Ronin on the outside but is somewhat different on the inside.

    At first disbelieving the Maestro, the more Ronin listens to the voice in his head, the more anxious he becomes until his emotions burst out in an angry display that culminates with him tossing a cafeteria table over the side of a balcony. Witnessed by hundreds of students, including Tobias and his new girlfriend Toni, Ronin flees the cafeteria and seeks solace elsewhere on Telos Island.

    Ronin names the Maestro, Jive, and listens to the latter explain that Ronin is occupying a temporary body while parties Jive cannot reveal are keeping his real body safe. His remains are being stored for regeneration, but Jive then explains that Ronin¡¯s nameless benefactors expect him to compete in the Princess Royale, a virtual combat tournament watched by millions. However, the reality is that the tournament is not virtual, but real, and makes use of a technology that copies slices of his reality ¨C his environment ¨C into confined regions called Slivers. These Slivers are then transplanted into a realm known as Decaying Space.

    Jive explains that last Friday, Ronin was scooped up into one of these Slivers, and he was dropped into Decaying Space where his organic body subsequently decomposed and almost died. However, he was saved by a Gun Princess, and because it was deemed an unfortunate accident, Ronin was compensated with a new body, but his benefactor will expect him to participate in the Princess Royale, while his original body is regenerated by unknown means.

    Adding to his woes, Ronin learns that the competitors of the Princess Royale are girls called Gun Princesses, which means he¡¯ll be fighting in a female body, and his first match is scheduled for that evening against the reigning Gun Queen of Ar Telica.

    Rattled by what he¡¯s learnt, Ronin turns himself into the academy administration where he learns he won¡¯t have to pay for the damages but will be attending detention for a week. Returning to afternoon homeroom, Ronin argues with Tobias and the two friends part ways less than amicably. However, on his way to serve his detention, Ronin encounters a trio of students and fellow detainees, who are ardent fans of the Princess Royale. After detention, the trio of second year high schoolers give Ronin the low down on the Gun Queen, unaware that Ronin will be taking part in the upcoming exhibition match.

    Before Ronin can leave the detention room, the school is copied into a Sliver, causing him to disappear into thin air before the three students. Jive wails in despair, wondering how they¡¯ll fix that problem, then quickly focuses on summoning Ronin¡¯s sarcophagus which contains the Gun Princess body that he needs to ¡®transfer¡¯ into. Things don¡¯t go to plan, and the massive sarcophagus crashes into the room, trapping Ronin under the rubble. Unable to free himself while his Simulacrum body rapidly decomposes, Ronin faces certain death until a girl in a black bikini, black shorts, and black coat arrives upon the scene. Wielding an enormous shotgun rifle, the girl blows Ronin apart, freeing him from the debris, and then tosses the upper half of his torso into the open sarcophagus.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    When he regains consciousness, Ronin finds himself outside the sarcophagus and standing on a mountain of rubble inside the remains of the detention room. His consciousness has been transferred into the body of his Gun Princess name Mercedes. Jive painfully establishes contact with him, and the Gun Queen who has been waiting patiently, gives Ronin/Mercedes a five minute head start. However, while she won¡¯t chase him for five minutes, she does shoot at him with the massive shotgun, forcing Ronin to flee.

    Armed with two rail-guns in the shape of two-foot long heavy rifles, Ronin/Mercedes decides to face the Gun Queen in a stairwell. But the ensuing shootout leaves the stairwell in ruins, and Mercedes heavily concussed. She does manage to land a solid hit on the Gun Queen, but is forced to flee yet again. Making her way outside the school by climbing out of a classroom window, Ronin/Mercedes is hunted down by the Gun Queen who resembles a walking corpse as a result of the damage she sustained.

    A second shoot out takes place on the cafeteria balcony and the Gun Queen succeeds in firing heavy concussion grenades that knock Ronin/Mercedes through the cafeteria glass wall and into the interior. However, she is able to turn the tables on the Gun Queen by using the rail-guns to destroy the Queen¡¯s shotcannon, which explodes and rips apart even more of the girl¡¯s artificial body.

    Having been disarmed by Ronin/Mercedes, the Gun Queen flees the cafeteria balcony and runs into the school gymnasium. Pursued by Ronin, a third battle takes place on the gantries above the gym that ends with Ronin/Mercedes crashing to the floor and losing track of the Gun Queen.

    Returning to the academy building, Ronin/Mercedes believes the Gun Queen will want to end this by sniping him, as sniping rifles are her secondary weapons of choice. Wracked by indecision, he eventually climbs onto the academy rooftop where he is lured into the open by the Gun Queen who has been watching him from her position on the roof of the administration building. Narrowly avoiding sniper shots, Ronin/Mercedes flees back into the academy building and runs down the curved inner corridor. As he arrives at the administration faculty building, the Gun Queen lands a hit on Ronin/Mercedes that rips through her left arm. However, Mercedes continues onward and engages the Queen in a final shootout in the top floor of the admin building that ends with the Queen falling four stories off the building.

    A heavily injured Ronin/Mercedes exits the admin building and approaches the critically damaged Gun Queen that by now resembles a corpse with an alabaster metal skeleton. Ronin sees for himself that the Gun Princesses are mechanical monstrosities resembling hot girls on the outside. After destroying the Gun Queen, Ronin/Mercedes limps back to the waiting sarcophagus as the Sliver begins to collapse around him.

    Waking up in the comfort of his student apartment, Ronin discovers he¡¯s still in Mercedes¡¯s body and falls into despair that is interrupted by the arrival of his sister, Erina. To his shock, he learns that Erina and her team at the Telos Corporation are responsible for creating Mercedes¡¯s body. They are also responsible for putting him inside the Gun Princess, and Erina reveals that his benefactor wants to meet him.

    Together with his sister, Ronin travels to a hotel-resort on the outskirts of Ar Telica city where he meets a man who introduces himself as Simon. He learns from Simon that the Princess Royale is a form of bread and circus to the people of his reality ¨C his parallel universe. Simon explains that humanity in his reality is centuries more advanced than the people in Ronin¡¯s universe. As a result, they created the means to travel between universes, and established contact with elements of society on the terraformed world of Teloria.

    Simon explains the importance of the Princess Royale as a means of keeping the masses happy in his universe, and to that end he wants Ronin to continue competing in the brutal tournament. The people he represents, House Alus Novis, have invested considerable time and resources in the creation of the next generation of Gun Princesses, namely, Princesses like Mercedes that are organic as opposed to inorganic machines like the Gun Queen.

    Overwhelmed by what she''s learnt, Ronin/Mercedes runs away from the resort, but Jive convinces her that for now her best option is to do as Simon says. Jive also reveals that Simon wasn¡¯t entirely truthful about the technology behind the creation of the Slivers and about travel in the multiverse. He vows to protect Ronin/Mercedes, and that he will not leave her side. Ronin/Mercedes realizes that for now she has no viable choice but to follow Jive''s advice.

    She finds her sister Erina waiting for her, and after a short exchange of words, Ronin/Mercedes climbs into the car with Erina, and returns to Ar Telica.

    With Jive as her ally, Ronin/Mercedes decides to accept her new fake identity of sixteen year old Cassidy Reynier, who has been entered into the citizen registry as Erina¡¯s faux younger cousin.

    Unfortunately, part of living his new life as Cassidy requires Ronin attend Telos Academy as a female student.

    Ronin Kassius¡¯s life at Telos Academy has come to a temporary end.

    But Cassidy Reynier¡¯s high school life is just beginning.

 Vol 2 - Prologue.

    Prologue.

    I don¡¯t know which was harder.

    Facing that mechanical monstrosity, the Gun Queen of Ar Telica, in a shootout that took place over half Telos Academy.

    Or standing outside room One-Cee during homeroom, waiting to be introduced to my former classmates¡­as a girl.

    Anri Shirohime, the class rep, who had accompanied me for much of the morning, had entered the classroom before me, and left me outside to wait to be called in.

    I reached into my dress¡¯s right pocket and fished out the strip of Cherry Princess gum.

    Unwrapping it in a hurry, I tossed the pink gum into my mouth and chewed on it.

    The sexual deviant, the School Council President, was right. The gum was good.

    I chewed on it, and tried to regulate my breathing since I could do nothing about my racing heart.

    I looked down at my hands. They were trembling faintly but at least they weren''t sweating.

    I frowned, wondering if this body could even sweat. Then I reached up and cupped my Dee-cups under my blouse and blazer, remembering how they felt in the President¡¯s hands.

    That was an amazing experience only soured by the fact that at the time I was being molested!

    I frowned inwardly this time, and wondered what else this body could do.

    I realized what I was doing and dropped my hands while my shoulders sagged.

    What was wrong with me? How could I think of molesting myself? Seriously, I have issues.

    Of course, they were understandable issues since I was guy whose mind was now occupying the brain space of this female body ¨C Mercedes, the Gun Princess.

    I straightened my back, continued chewing my gum while straightening my dress, my short white tie, and my white blazer. I tugged the skirt down to no avail, unhappy with the manner in which it constrained my breasts.

    Then I heard my name ¨C my new name ¨C called out through the small speaker above the doorway.

    I slid the classroom door open, stepped inside, and walked as casually as I could manage over to our homeroom teacher, Miss Serene Marisol, was standing at her teaching lectern. I watched her frown at the lectern¡¯s smart screen a few times, tapping away at the menus, before sighing visibly in relief when she got what she wanted.

    I wondered if I should help her with it. I bit my lower lip and decided that I would.

    ¡°¡­she¡¯s munching gum¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­yeah¡­on her first day¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­I wonder what flavor¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­I wanna be that piece of gum¡­.¡±

    I stopped munching on my strip of Cherry Princess as I realized I was already making an impression, and probably not a good one.

    ¡°Miss Reynier.¡± My homeroom teacher pointed at her mouth. ¡°No chewing allowed during class.¡±

    I gave her an apologetic look. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    I took the gum out of my mouth, then wrapped it into a tissue Miss Marisol handed to me. I half turned and tossed the bundle into the refuse bin near the classroom¡¯s entrance. A three pointer on my first attempt.

    Hmm, not bad if I say so myself. I guess Mercedes has better hand-to-eye coordination than Ronin ever did.

    I should add that to my wishlist of improvements.

    Dusting my hands, I turned back to the classroom and noticed the mixed looks from the girls, and the grins from the guys. Then my gaze fell on my empty smart desk, and on the boy sitting at his desk in front of it.

    Tobias wasn¡¯t looking at me but at his smart desk screen, and with a faintly distant expression.

    I frowned at him inwardly.

    What¡¯s got your jammers in a bunch, ¡®Mat¡¯? Aw, are you missing Ronin already? Hmm?

    I cleared my throat before taking a long deep breath while shoving my hands into my blazer pockets.

    ¡°My name¡¯s Cassidy¡­Cassidy Reynier.¡±

    More mixed looks from the girls, and some whispers from the guys.

    But half my attention was on Tobias, who blinked slowly, and began looking my way.

    I waited for him to look at me properly, before casually adding, ¡°That¡¯s Cassidy with a Cee.¡±

    Tobias was definitely staring at me now as though seeing me for the first time. A look of confusion began to spread across his face.

    I grinned at him, faced the class, and finished off my self-introduction. ¡°And my favorite gum is¡­Cherry Princess.¡±

    That brought some snickers from the guys, and a few frowns from the girls.

    ¡°¡­isn¡¯t that what the President chews¡­?¡±

    ¡°¡­I heard the President likes to chew on other things¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­and that she groped one of the girls in Class One Eff¡­.¡±

    My eyes widened and I pointed at the girl who made that last comment. ¡°Hey, you. Twin Tails. Is that true? Did that pervert really grope a girl?¡±

    The girl looked stunned. ¡°Who are you calling Twin Tails?¡±

    I knew her name was Talia Trivette, but I couldn¡¯t exactly call her by her real name. ¡°You.¡±

    The girl stood up. ¡°My name is Talia. Okay, remember it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s Twin Tails. Now answer the question. Did the President grope another girl?¡±

    Talia started to seethe. ¡°Yes. She groped another girl. What of it?¡±

    My mouth fell open. ¡°So she really is a sexual deviant. I thought she was picking on me because I kicked her ass.¡±

    ¡°¡­huh¡­?¡±

    ¡°¡­what did she say¡­?¡±

    ¡°¡­she kicked the President¡¯s ass¡­?¡±

    The girls continued muttering between themselves, while the class rep found something interesting in her smart desk to look at.

    But I was clouded by my anger and clenched a fist while growling, ¡°I am going to pay her back! I am so going to thump that metal whore!¡±

    A loud gasp sounded from my homeroom teacher. ¡°Miss Reynier¡ªsuch language will not be tolerated!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I blinked quickly and looked around at the classroom.

    The guys were grinning again, but the girls were frowning at me in united criticism.

    Ah, Hell. I was really making an impression on Class One-Cee.

    I noticed the look Tobias was giving me ¨C one of dismay and disbelief.

    I sighed heavily, turned to Miss Marisol, and bowed politely. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I got carried away.¡±

    ¡°Miss Reynier, I don¡¯t know what disagreement you have with the Student Council President, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°She groped me.¡±

    ¡°¡ªah¡­she what?¡±

    I raised my hands and made kneading motions. ¡°She groped me. She molested me. She wanted to know if my Dee-cups were real or not.¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­did she now¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so the next time I face her, I¡¯m going to blow her away.¡± I made shooting actions with my hands, realized what I was doing, and stopped quickly.

    What the Hell is wrong with me?

    Why the Hell am I behaving this way?

    I pressed a hand to my temple, and tried calming down.

    This isn¡¯t like me at all. Is this me or is this¡­Mercedes?

    I stood still and breathed in slow and steadily for a short while. When I felt I was in control again, I hefted the straps of my carry-bag and quietly asked, ¡°May I sit down now? I¡¯m still traumatized from this morning¡¯s experience. I¡¯ve never been sexually molested before. I¡¯ve been slapped a few times but never molested.¡±

    Without waiting for a reply, I turned and walked across the classroom, then over to my old smart desk. I sat down and booted up the desk, entering my old password automatically, surprised to see the smart desk hadn¡¯t been reformatted and that my old account was active.

    What was the info tech department doing these days?

    I was already logged into the system when I felt the gaze of my thirty odd classmates affixed upon me.

    They were looking at me curiously, but one boy was giving me a hard glare, and that boy was Tobias Matheus Praetor.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked, keeping his annoyance in check.

    I regarded him flatly. ¡°I¡¯m sitting down and logging in. What does it look like I¡¯m doing?¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t your smart desk.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­well it is now.¡±

    He leaned toward me. ¡°There are other spare desks. Find another one.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with using this one?¡±

    ¡°It belongs to someone else.¡±

    ¡°No, it belongs to me.¡±

    He was starting to rise from his chair. ¡°That belongs to my friend.¡±

    I started to rise too. ¡°Well your friend isn¡¯t here, is he?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be back.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s going to be a while.¡±

    Oops. I slapped my hands over my mouth, but it was already too late.

    Tobias¡¯s expression hardened while he narrowed his eyes. He was on his feet properly a moment later. ¡°What do you know about Cas?¡±

    Carefully, I lowered my hands. The damage was done. Time to move on. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my friend, so it is my business. I want to know what you know. I want to know why he transferred away without telling me.¡±

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    I arched an eyebrow at him. ¡°Feeling guilty about something?¡±

    He planted his hands on my smart desk. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask you again.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t because my lips are sealed.¡± I quickly made a zipping motion across my mouth, then leisurely folded my arms under my large breasts. I made sure to add a smile to my face as I pushed them up.

    To my surprise, he kept his attention on my face the whole time.

    I felt a little disappointed at that, then felt annoyed for feeling disappointed.

    Okay, something was definitely wrong with me. Maybe I should call Erina later and ask her if all my ¡®systems¡¯ check out.

    Also, I was concerned that Jive was keeping quiet inside the confines of my head. I wondered if he was up to something in there.

    ¡°Mister Praetor. Miss Reynier. Please stand outside in the corridor.¡±

    I turned to look at a quietly steaming Miss Marisol standing behind her lectern at the front of the classroom.

    Her shoulders trembled. ¡°Both of you. Now!¡±

    I swayed in a circle for a moment before stepping out from behind my smart desk, and then walked across the classroom with my arms rigid at my sides.

    Behind me, Tobias stomped angrily in my wake.

    I stopped at the door and slid it open, then turned smoothly to graciously wave him through. ¡°After you.¡±

    He came to a halt a couple of feet away with a dark glare on his face. ¡°No, after you.¡±

    I clenched my teeth and hissed, ¡°I insist.¡±

    ¡°So do I,¡± he retorted.

    ¡°Ladies first.¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling a lady?¡±

    ¡°You, dumbass.¡±

    He stepped closer. ¡°Why do you want me going through first?¡±

    I stepped closer. ¡°So I can kick you on the way out.¡±

    He cracked his knuckles. ¡°Wanna give it a try?¡±

    I cracked my knuckles too. ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to hear.¡±

    I was almost as tall as he was, so we glared at each other nearly at eye level, our noses only inches apart.

    Tobias narrowed his eyes. ¡°One way or another I¡¯m going to find out what happened to Cas.¡±

    ¡°What do you care? You treated him like a little sidekick and he got fed up with you and left.¡±

    I watched him jerk back aghast, and swallow hard before shaking his head. ¡°No, that isn¡¯t true.¡±

    I flipped him the bird. ¡°Sit and spin, and wonder all you like.¡±

    ¡°Miss Reynier¡ªthat¡¯s enough!¡±

    I ignored Miss Marisol and walked out of the classroom, rounded the corner, then quickly slammed the door shut in his face before he could follow me out. After that I angrily planted my back against the wall, and stared at Academy interior grounds through the corridor''s floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

    A long moment went by before Tobias opened the door, and stepped out into the corridor. He closed the door behind him less forcefully than I did, then picked a spot on the opposite side of the entrance to Class One-Cee.

    I shoved my hands into my blazer pockets and tossed my head back, while he chose to wait with arms folded and head bowed.

    And that¡¯s how we remained for a long, long while, with a heavy silence between us.

    I bit the corner of my lower lip, and listened to the sounds of the school around me. Mercedes had far better hearing than humanly possible so I could hear quite a bit of the on-goings along the second level.

    Inwardly, I kept wondering if I was experiencing another form of mental instability within my neural matrix.

    I wanted to talk to Jive, but with Tobias standing nearby I couldn¡¯t speak to him. Furthermore, Jive wasn¡¯t offering his usual pearls of wisdom. Not even a wisecrack at my expense. What the Hell was that Maestro up to?

    I heard Tobias clear his throat.

    ¡°Hey¡­just tell me one thing,¡± Tobias muttered, sounding a great deal calmer than minutes ago.

    I exhaled loudly and dramatically. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask how you know him. I just want to know if he¡¯s okay.¡±

    In the corner of my eye I could see him watching me, and he was looking at me properly now¡­from head to toes.

    I folded my arms under breasts, again pushing them up. Then I shook my head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not telling you anything.¡±

    He turned toward me. ¡°Why not?¡±

    I turned only my head, and faced him. ¡°Because I don¡¯t have to.¡±

    Then I turned away and resumed regarding the Academy inner grounds, my gaze settling on the penthouse level of the administration building that jutted into the horseshoe shaped school building.

    I heard Tobias exhale loudly, and thump the wall with his back.

    ¡°You¡¯re a real piece of work,¡± he muttered.

    I snorted.

    No, I¡¯m a state-of-the-art Gun Princess, and a prized piece of fine engineering that I¡¯m being forced to inhabit while my real body is being held to ransom.

    That¡¯s what I am.

    The door slid open between us, and Miss Marisol stepped out.

    She sounded calmer as well. ¡°Both of you inside. But before you do so, let me warn you. I will not tolerate that behavior again. The next time you square off in my class, you get detention. Is that clear?¡±

    I faced her and bowed politely. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    Tobias did the same. ¡°I¡¯m deeply sorry for my behavior.¡±

    Miss Marisol regarded me for a moment, but gave Tobias a long, studious look. ¡°Mat, I know he was your friend. But truthfully, you are behaving inappropriately.¡±

    I tried not to look at his face, so I watched him in my peripheral vision.

    He shrugged a shoulder. ¡°I said things to him I regret. I just wanted the chance to say I was sorry.¡±

    I realized I was clenching my jaw so I relaxed it and quietly stepped around Miss Marisol and back into the classroom.

    Ronin might have forgiven him, but there was no mercy in Mercedes, at least not while I was acting the way I was.

    Ignoring the looks I garnered from my classmates, I sat down at my smart desk, and began sorting through the accumulated mail in Ronin¡¯s account. Then I logged out of the system and logged back in as Cassidy. I had to wait for the system to acknowledge me, then install a new profile on the smart desk.

    I sat back in my chair, and watched the screen run through its menus.

    For now, I needed to close the lid on Ronin Kassius, and focus on being Cassidy Reynier.

    And somehow, I needed to figure out why I was behaving like a total bitch.

    If Jive was going ignore my situation, then I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.

    I pulled out my phone and sent my sister ¨C I mean cousin ¨C Erina a message.

    I quickly pressed send before I could change my mind.

    #

    (Erina)

    I listened to the members of my division arguing across the table.

    This was turning out to be a long morning, and it wasn¡¯t even nine am yet.

    On the table before me, my phone¡¯s screen flashed and went dark. I picked it up and read the message that landed in my inbox. To my surprise, and sudden concern, it was from Mercedes¡­I mean, Cassidy.

    The subject was alarmingly straightforward.

    HELP! THERE¡¯S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME.

    I stopped chewing on the lollipop in my mouth as a chill ran through me.

    I was reluctant to read further.

    In front of me, the arguing was reaching fever pitch. I knew that I needed to read Mercedes¡¯ message, but I couldn¡¯t do so with the ruckus in progress around the table.

    Leaning forward sharply in my chair, I yelled, ¡°Everyone, shut up!¡±

    The arguing came to an abrupt end.

    A dozen shocked faces stared at me.

    One young male biomech engineer blurted out, ¡°Chief, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I swallowed hard and stared at their faces. ¡°It¡¯s Mercedes. She¡¯s reporting a problem.¡±

    Another young man, a senior technician and an Alpha, leaned over the table. ¡°What? Already? What¡¯s happened to her?¡±

    Mia, a young female bioengineer sitting to my left, asked with concern, ¡°Is she in pain? Is she feeling any discomfort?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    I tapped the message with my thumb and read it aloud¡­much to my immediate regret.

    ¡°Big cousin. Help. There¡¯s something wrong with me. I need to know why I¡¯m acting like a total bitch!¡±

    I heard styluses fall from limp fingers.

    Someone snorted and was smacked for it.

    Mia swallowed loudly and hesitantly asked. ¡°Is¡­is there anything else?¡±

    I looked at the nonplussed faces around me, took a deep breath, and read out the final line.

    ¡°Am I having my period?¡±

    Someone laughed and was punched for it.

 Vol 2 - Chapter 1 - Part I

    Chapter 1 - Part I

    (Erina)

    I lay back in my chair in my office.

    The morning meeting hadn¡¯t gone well. It didn¡¯t help having Mercedes send that strange message that nobody could take seriously.

    Nobody except the psychoanalyst in my team, Doctor Uma Pearson, who asked to speak with me in private.

    I looked at her as the young blonde woman my age stood before my crescent shaped desk, and I tried not to sigh.

    ¡°Alright, tell me.¡±

    ¡°Her data indicates wild fluctuations between her personalities.¡±

    ¡°And how could there be a second personality. That simulacrum was blank. Its mind was blank.¡±

    She took a deep breath. ¡°Yes. It was blank. I didn¡¯t word my statement properly. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Fine. Then what did you mean.¡±

    ¡°I meant that her two identities are in conflict.¡±

    I stared at her for a moment. ¡°Huh?¡±

    Uma¡¯s mouth twisted into an odd shape, before she launched into an explanation. ¡°Erina, you¡¯ve put a male mind into the body of a sixteen year old girl. The simulacrum was blank, but the underlying genetics governing the structure of its brain is female because we used Mercy Haddaway as the genetic template. And, male and females of the human species have different brains.¡±

    ¡°I know that, Uma.¡±

    ¡°Then can¡¯t you see the problem?¡±

    ¡°You mean fitting a square peg into a round hole? That problem?¡±

    She looked annoyed with me. ¡°You¡¯re taking this too lightly.¡±

    I swiveled in my chair and faced her directly. ¡°That is my brother¡¯s mind in there. I am not taking this lightly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not his mind. It¡¯s a copy of his mind. A very, very detailed copy produced by a means we lack.¡±

    ¡°Tell me something I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you something you need to accept.¡±

    I frowned at her. ¡°And that would be?¡±

    Uma shook her head sadly at me. ¡°Erina. You need to accept that your brother is lying in a regeneration tank in a facility run by House Alus Novis. Your brother is not in this realm. The only part of him here in this universe is his neural map which you downloaded and superimposed in a hurry into that female brain.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes at her. ¡°You don¡¯t agree with what I did?¡±

    ¡°No. I never have.¡±

    I tapped my desk with a fingernail. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you leave the team?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t turn my back on my friends¡­and their family¡­regardless of how misguided they may be.¡±

    I turned away. ¡°Get out.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°I said, get out.¡±

    ¡°Erina, you need to hear this!¡±

    I stood up and glared at her. ¡°Hear what? That the longer that copy of his mind is in there, the more female it will become? Isn¡¯t that what you told me before?¡±

    She nodded brusquely. ¡°The longer it¡¯s inside Mercedes, the less likely it can be returned to his body!¡±

    I swallowed hard. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better that way.¡±

    She looked at me in dismay. ¡°How can you say that?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s just a copy.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s real to him¡ªto her!¡±

    ¡°House Alus Novis will restore my brother to life. They¡¯ll regenerate his body and his brain.¡±

    ¡°A brain which suffered detrimental decay. As a result the neural map they gave us was incomplete.¡±

    ¡°His core identity was not damaged. Everything that makes him the person he is, was not damaged. He may have lost memories, but nothing he can¡¯t live without when they return him to life.¡±

    She sucked in air slowly. ¡°Everything that makes your brother the person he is was mapped into that girl¡¯s mind. Your brother is still be the person he was before, but before long it will be as if he¡¯d been born female.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I know that. We¡¯ve covered that issue already. For that reason, it¡¯s better if we can¡¯t return the copy of his mind that¡¯s currently in Mercedes back into his organic body.¡±

    Uma gave me an unreadable look that turned dark. ¡°You bitch.¡±

    I stared flatly at her.

    She grew angry. ¡°You bitch. I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so angry? We¡¯ve all considered the possibility that his mind couldn¡¯t be reintegrated with his original body. In that event, even if he lost a year''s worth of memories, wouldn¡¯t that be better? How awkward do you think it would be for him to return to a male body after having spent a year or more as a girl?¡±

    ¡°Then what happens to Mercedes?¡± She shouted the question at me, almost forcing me to take a step back.

    I saw anger and disbelief warring on Uma¡¯s face, and decided to tread carefully.

    She glared at me with a furious light in her eyes. ¡°What happens to Mercedes once your brother is regenerated and awakened. What happens to her when he¡¯s brought back to life? You¡¯re going to have your brother and Mercedes around. How do you think they will cope? How do you think she will cope?¡± Uma raised her chin at me. ¡°Or don¡¯t you care?¡±

    I swallowed and cleared my dry throat.

    ¡°That girl is not my brother. She¡¯s a Simulacrum that we took and upgraded with the Angel Fibers. She¡¯s not human. She¡¯s not family. What do we do with items that outlast their purpose?¡±

    Uma was breathing short and fast. ¡°You would dispose of her without a second thought?¡±

    ¡°She is not family, Uma. She is a product. Nothing more. All I want is my brother back, and that¡¯s what I¡¯ll have. And I will use Mercedes to make that possible. She is a tool¡ªa means to an end. Nothing more and nothing less.¡±

    Uma moved so fast she surprised me. With one sweep of her hand, she cleared half the contents of my desk onto the floor, and then leaned onto my table as though heartbeats away from leaping over it.

    When she spoke, it was through clenched teeth. ¡°You look that girl in the eyes, and you tell me afterwards that she¡¯s nothing but a product¡ªnothing but the fusion of the organic with the inorganic¡ªa biomechanical lifeform. I dare you to do that after looking into her eyes.¡±

    I leaned toward her. ¡°When this project was initiated, you promised me you would keep your personal feelings out of it. You lied to me.¡±

    ¡°She is not a product, Erina. She is a girl. She is a sixteen year old girl.¡±

    ¡°She is two weeks old. Not even that.¡±

    ¡°Her genetics say otherwise and so does her mental profile.¡± Uma looked ready to strike me. ¡°That is a living, breathing teenage girl. She may have the mind of a male, but soon, inevitably, it will adapt to its environment. That girl is your cousin, whether you like it or not. The minute you imprinted his mind into that simulacrum, you turned something lifeless into a living entity. You gave it a mind, a consciousness, and a will of its own.¡±

    I wanted to throw something at the glass surrounding my office.

    I wanted to break something¡­because I knew Uma was correct.

    My throat grew tight, and I planted my palms on my desk, leaning upon it heavily as I fought back the despair welling up inside me. It strangled my voice, dragging it down to a whisper.

    ¡°If only he¡¯d been my sister, and not my brother, the return imprint wouldn¡¯t have been so complicated.¡±

    ¡°Your brother in other realm¡ªthe other universe¡ªis not the issue. Mercedes is the issue, and what will happen to her if and after she wins the Princess Royale. What happens to that girl after that? Will you really dispose of her?¡±

    I looked up at Uma. ¡°Mercedes¡¯ fate is not in my hands. Her disposal is not up to me. It¡¯s up to them. House Alus Novis will determine what happens to her when her usefulness is at an end.¡±

    Uma closed her eyes, then squeezed them shut, but it didn¡¯t stop the tears that ran down her face. ¡°I cannot do this, Erina. I cannot abide with this. It is not a disposal. It is murder.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not human, Uma. You can only murder someone that¡¯s human.¡±

    ¡°That is pure sophistry, Erina!¡±

    I straightened and yelled, ¡°Then what would you have me do?¡±

    ¡°Protect her. Don¡¯t abandon her. For the love of everything that is good in you, don¡¯t abandon that girl because she needs you! For better or worse that child is your cousin! She is a part of your family.¡±

    I palmed my face and turned away from her, reaching out to the glass wall of my office overlooking the circular lab below.

    I palmed my face so that she wouldn¡¯t see my tears.

    But I couldn¡¯t block out her words.

    ¡°We gave her life, Eri. We all played a part in her development. Please. Don¡¯t tell me that girl doesn¡¯t mean anything to you.¡±

    I squeezed my eyes shut, but I couldn¡¯t stop my tears.

    The moment I saw her in the rain, standing on the highway sidewalk, I knew that she was alive.

    In that moment, she ceased to be a simulacrum, and my mind accepted her as a living teenage girl.

    I covered my face, and I sobbed into my palms.

    I felt Umi¡¯s arms around me, turning me around so that I could cry against her shoulder.

    I buried my face into her shoulder, muffling my cries. Eventually when I ran out of tears, her shoulder muffled my dry sobs.

    It was a long while before I recovered any of my voice, but I managed to squeeze out a few words.

    ¡°¡­what have I done¡­Umi¡­what have I done¡­?¡±

    ¡°You gave life to a very beautiful girl.¡±

    My breathing was ragged, and though I was out of tears, it was a struggle to calm down.

    I swallowed a few times, and whispered, ¡°Forgive me God, for I have sinned¡­.¡±

    Uma¡¯s arms tightened about me, and she swayed me gently. ¡°We have both sinned¡­but we can both make this right.¡±

    I drew back from her gently, and saw that her eyes were as red as mine felt.

    But she was thoughtful. ¡°You called them Angel Fibers for a reason.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    She added a smile to her thoughtful look. ¡°Why was that?¡±

    She knew the answer, yet she was asking me so that I wouldn¡¯t forget.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    I swallowed and straightened while drawing back a little more. ¡°Because they came from an Angel¡­at least¡­that¡¯s what its remains resembled.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it was an Angel. And if so, I choose to believe that God won¡¯t abandon that girl. I choose to believe that God won¡¯t allow us to abandon her¡­or your brother.¡±

    My breathing continued to grow less ragged and calmer.

    Uma released me from her embrace. ¡°Eri, listen to me. The change won¡¯t happen overnight. It will be gradual. Very gradual.¡±

    I swallowed again, and allowed a shudder to run through me, rather than hold it back. ¡°How long? How long before his mind adapts?¡±

    She sighed and glanced away for a long contemplative moment. ¡°In all my simulations¡­even with outside influences such as his school life, and his interactions with people¡±¡ªshe shook her head slowly¡ª¡°the first noticeable changes didn¡¯t manifest until six months at the earliest.¡±

    ¡°Six months?¡± I wanted to cry again. ¡°That¡¯s too soon. He needs to win that damn Princess Royale and be crowned Gun Empress. That will take a year.¡±

    ¡°Eri, listen. Those were just predictions. Worst case predictions. Seventy percent of the simulations indicated his mind wouldn¡¯t start becoming feminine for eight to nine months. And even then, there was something else we need to consider.¡±

    I shook my head weakly. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The Simulacrum¡¯s brain is genetically female, but it¡¯s not exactly human. As a result, it¡¯s more pliant, which means that Ronin¡¯s mind could end up influencing his female brain. His neural map could end up rewriting Mercedes¡¯s neural matrix to suit him rather than her.¡±

    ¡°Why is that a problem? He would remain male in mind then.¡±

    ¡°If the process doesn¡¯t progress along far enough, it could be a problem because it could result in a mutated form of gender dysphoria where his mind and body flip-flop between wanting to be female and wanting to be male.¡±

    I felt faint and reached for my chair but Uma grabbed my arm and held me upright.

    ¡°Eri, there is third possibility. Your brother¡¯s mind¡ªhis neural map¡ªcould end up an amalgam of both. He could end up asexual. Neither a male nor female mental model but something gender neutral.¡±

    I stared at her in faint horror, and began shaking my head at her. ¡°No. No, I won¡¯t allow that. I¡¯d rather his mind became female in that case. I¡¯d rather find a way to protect Mercedes, and not attempt to integrate Ronin¡¯s mind into his original body.¡± I swallowed hard. ¡°And that¡¯s even with the assurance that they will return his body to me.¡±

    Uma frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not exactly something we can go to court over. I have no leverage over House Alus Novis. Also, do you think the Telos Corporation¡¯s upper echelons would support me if House Alus Novis chose to forfeit on their end of the bargain to me? Would they even care? To them it¡¯s about the research. They want to know what the Angel Fibers can do for their interests.¡±

    ¡°In other words, the military applications.¡±

    I nodded tightly. ¡°Of course. Humanity decided to stamp its mark in the galaxy, and as a result we pissed off some of those little grey men. Most of them didn¡¯t care what we did, but some of them did. And now the Commonwealth of Colonial Systems is having to back up their tough stance with some real military muscle.¡±

    Uma¡¯s jaw clenched for a heartbeat. ¡°Eri, you don¡¯t have to remind me. I have two older brothers, remember? Right now, they¡¯re out there aboard an Archon Epsilon class superfortress patrolling our borders. They¡¯re inside a mile long mountain of metal and armor and guns.¡±

    I bowed my head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be. You didn¡¯t say anything wrong. I know the value of the Gun Princesses. I know what they could mean to our military.¡±

    I nodded faintly. ¡°And so do the people on the other side of the multiverse bridgeway. But I don¡¯t believe they care much about what happens to us on this side¡ªin this universe.¡±

    ¡°Not surprising.¡±

    ¡°But I believe they care about what happens to the Gun Princesses.¡±

    Uma eye¡¯s searched mine. ¡°What are you saying?¡±

    ¡°The Telos Corporation wants to know what military applications the Angel Fibers possess. But they¡¯re terrified of this research being leaked so only our division knows of the Fibers.¡±

    Uma looked confused. ¡°But their research is out there walking and talking in the body of a sixteen year old girl. If they¡¯re so terrified of being discovered, why would they allow something like that to happen?¡±

    I stepped closer to her. ¡°Because of House Alus Novis.¡±

    Uma frowned faintly. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°Jive has been sneaking peaks at the other side.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°By using Simon as a medium¡­or host.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    I stepped closer to her and lowered my voice. ¡°Look, I can¡¯t tell you much. All I can say, is that an element of Jive has been travelling back and forth with Simon. Every time Simon crosses over to meet with us, that piece of Jive relays information back to big Jive who¡¯s been putting it together in secret.¡±

    Uma frowned and narrowed her eyes. ¡°And what has it found out?¡±

    ¡°That the Gun Princesses are more than just competitors. They are House Champions. The Houses of the Alus and Bravita Tiers are using the Princesses to jostle for power and position. Those girls, machine or otherwise, are of great value to the Houses of the Terran Imperium.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s your point?¡±

    ¡°That House Alus Novis has leverage over the Telos Corporation, and they¡¯ve decided that Mercedes serves them best by having her out there experiencing life, rather than locked away. And they¡¯ve twisted the Corporation¡¯s arm, forcing them to agree with their point of view.¡±

    Uma bit her lower lip for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s awfully¡­benevolent of them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± I took a long breath. ¡°Umi, I believe House Alus Novis could turn out to be Mercedes¡¯ best chance for survival¡­in the event that I cannot return her mind into my brother¡¯s body. It could be a stretch. I could be wrong. But my gut¡ªmy woman¡¯s intuition¡ªis telling me that girl has a future with them. A future she may not have with us.¡±

    Uma ran her tongue over her lips. ¡°I see. You could trade Mercedes for your brother.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and thus keep them both alive.¡±

    I watched my best friend since our days at the Academy step over to the glass wall overlooking the laboratory.

    ¡°Eri¡­we keep this a secret from the others in the team.¡±

    ¡°Yes. That would be safest.¡±

    She nodded faintly. ¡°Good, because I don¡¯t trust them. So I¡¯ve decided to use the means at my disposal to watch over them. I could do with Jive¡¯s help.¡±

    At that moment the cube winked to life inside a holovid bubble.

    ¡°Doctor Pearson, am I to assume you have Mercedes¡¯ best interests in mind?¡±

    Uma turned around and regarded the purple and pink cube that occasionally flashed orange.

    ¡°Yes. I do.¡± She crossed her heart. ¡°Or so help me God.¡±

    I released a heavy breath, then turned my head to regard Jive.

    The cube had taken on a faintly golden aura, though its walls had turned gunmetal grey. Jive spoke in a very formal tone. ¡°Very well. As you watch over us, I will watch over you. I will not tolerate betrayal.¡±

    Uma smiled. ¡°Neither will I, Jive.¡±

    The cube¡¯s golden aura turned pink. ¡°Then we are in agreement.¡±

    I spoke to the cube, concerned by its gunmetal sides. ¡°Jive, is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Something unexpected has occurred to Mercedes.¡±

    I frowned and hesitated to ask, remembering what happened back at the meeting. ¡°What¡¯s she complaining about now?¡±

    ¡°She is not complaining, Doctor Kassius. She is unconscious in the infirmary.¡±

    Uma¡¯s mouth fell open, and I felt my heart stop for a good long second.

    ¡°Jive¡ªwhat happened to her?¡±

    ¡°Something no one considered. Something so obvious about her circumstances that it eluded me as well.¡±

    ¡°What Jive? What? Tell me!¡±

    ¡°The neural headset employed at the Academy¡ªat all the academies¡ªhad a detrimental effect on her neural matrix. She was knocked unconscious and was thus taken to the Academy¡¯s infirmary.¡±

    ¡°Oh, my gods.¡± I threw off my lab coat and hurried past Uma to where I¡¯d hung my suit¡¯s dark grey jacket. ¡°Jive, can you wake her up?¡±

    ¡°I will try. I have been trying. However, I am running out of time and need your assistance.¡±

    ¡°You need to get her out of the infirmary. They can¡¯t scan her body.¡±

    ¡°I will continue to attempt waking her, but she may be too weak to leave of her own volition. As I said, I need your assistance.¡±

    I searched around for my purse and my car keys. I would forgo using my driver and operate the car myself. I found both items on the floor.

    Uma knelt and began placing items back on the desk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll fix this up.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I need to call the Academy and tell them I¡¯m on my way.¡±

    Jive said, ¡°I can do that for you. I will impersonate your secretary and ring them on your behalf.¡±

    ¡°No, you worry about waking up Mercedes¡ªI mean Cassidy.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    I left the office in a hurry, rushing for the elevator at the far end of the lab, fear pushing my heart up into my throat.

    As her registered Citizen Guardian, I was responsible for Cassidy, and the Academy wouldn¡¯t question my sudden appearance at the school. The problem would be explaining how I found out about her condition.

    As I waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive, I prayed that no one discovered Cassidy was not your average sixteen year old girl.

    <hr />

    <hr />

    Authors note: rewritten to clear up confusion regarding the subject of the conversation. This part was initially released too early. As it is now, it reads the way I originally intended for it.

    Thank you.

 Vol 2 - Chapter 1 - Part II

    Chapter 1 - Part II

    ¡°Princess, wake up.¡±

    Nothing but darkness behind my eyelids.

    ¡°Princess, wake up. You have to wake up now.¡±

    Nothing but darkness...and an annoying, insistent  voice between my ears.

    ¡°Mercedes, wake up now!¡±

    Something akin to a sharp headache stabbed my skull, and forced my eyelids open in a hurry, however it took a long while for my vision to clear up.

    I had to blink and squeeze my eyes numerous times before I realized I was lying on my back and staring up at a white ceiling.

    ¡°Where am I?¡±

    My voice sounded worse than raspy and I noticed my throat burned.

    Then a sudden swell of nausea overwhelmed me.

    ¡°Oh gods¡ªI¡¯m going to be sick.¡±

    Instinctively I rolled over onto my belly, vaguely aware I was lying on a bed, and retched the contents of my stomach into a pan someone was holding up for me.

    Then I dry heaved as the nausea settled between my ears. To my dismay it wouldn¡¯t leave even after my ribs ached from all the muscle compressions they were enduring, as I continued to heave into the pan.

    I don¡¯t know how long I lay with my torso over the side of the bed, but when I finally rolled onto my back, I could barely breath from the agony surrounding my ribs and midriff.

    I sucked in air for a while, then carefully rolled my head over to my left.

    Our class rep, Anri Shirohime, sat on a chair beside the bed. She studied me for a moment, then rose and walked out of view. I heard water running, and after a minute or so, she returned with the pan.

    She sat down on the chair and resumed watching over me.

    I swallowed what saliva I had left in my mouth, but it didn¡¯t little to soothe my throat. A few moments later, class rep had a cup of water at my lips. I drank down the contents cautiously, then with a little more courage when I felt my body wasn¡¯t going to reject it.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I croaked. ¡°What happened to me?¡±

    She held onto the cup as she sat down. ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡±

    I refrained from shaking my head. ¡°No. I have no idea how I got here.¡±

    ¡°You put on the neural headset as class commenced. First period is language studies. Do you recall that?¡±

    ¡°¡­sorry¡­doesn¡¯t ring a bell¡­.¡±

    ¡°A few minutes into class you complained about a headache, then vomited over your desk.¡±

    ¡°¡­oh, great¡­then what¡­?¡±

    ¡°You staggered to your feet, swayed in the aisle, then fell to the floor unconscious.¡±

    I sat up slowly, but Shirohime worked the bed controls and elevated me to a semi-sitting position. She handed me the cup, and I drank the remaining water.

    I asked her, ¡°How did I get here?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Praetor the Third carried you here.¡±

    I almost spewed the water in my mouth, and had to swallow in a hurry. ¡°What? He what?¡±

    ¡°I carried you here.¡±

    I froze and looked toward the foot of the bed where the curtains had been drawn, forming a perimeter around me.

    Tobias stepped around the corner, arms folded, with an unhappy look on his face.

    I grimaced loudly. ¡°Ugh¡­I¡¯m going to be sick.¡±

    Shirohime held the pan ready.

    Tobias scowled. ¡°Hey, you asked for my help, and this is the thanks I get?¡±

    My grimace contorted into disbelief. ¡°I what?¡±

    Shirohime nodded. ¡°Mr. Praetor the Third speaks the truth.¡±

    I gave her a twisted look of confusion. ¡°He does?¡±

    Tobias made a strangled sound, then stepped up to the bed. ¡°You said, ¡®Mat help me¡¯, then fell flat on the floor.¡±

    I grimaced again and shot class rep a questioning look.

    She nodded. ¡°You did. I heard it quite clearly.¡±

    I regarded Tobias with his unhappy look plastered on his face. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave me there? Wasn¡¯t it obvious I wasn¡¯t in my right mind asking you for help? Didn¡¯t your mother tell you not to listen to strange girls?¡±

    His unhappy expression melted into disbelief. ¡°You are unbelievable.¡±

    I waved a hand at him. ¡°Shoo, shoo. Go away.¡±

    His hands clenched but then he bowed his head and stood still for a long while.

    I cocked my head at him. ¡°Why are you still here?¡±

    He shook his head slowly. ¡°I have no idea what I was thinking. For one freakish moment that I¡¯ll regret forever, you reminded me of him.¡± He shook his head some more. ¡°I have no idea why I saw Cas in you. I must be losing my mind.¡±

    He turned and walked away, rounding the corner formed by the drawn curtain without a backward glance.

    I listened to his footsteps fade away as he stepped into the corridor.

    Shirohime regarded me with faint disagreement. ¡°That was uncalled for. You were unduly harsh to him.¡±

    Before I could reply, Jive cut in. ¡°Princess. You must leave the infirmary.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I looked about me, taking in my surroundings properly, and felt my stomach sink as the implications landed on it. ¡°Oh, crap. I can¡¯t be here¡­.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Jive intoned. ¡°So, get up. I will try and continue stabilizing your matrix from my end. I have damped your nausea, but you may feel uncoordinated for a few minutes.¡±

    I started to swing my legs off the side of the bed. ¡°Can I walk?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­you will have to give that a try.¡±

    I noticed the baffled look I was receiving from the class rep.

    Her mouth was open as though she was trying to speak, but was being repeatedly cut off.

    I swallowed and said, ¡°I need to go.¡±

    Her eyebrows pitched downward. ¡°May I ask why?¡±

    ¡°Because I can¡¯t be here.¡± I climbed off the bed, but my vision swam and my legs gave out from under me. I fell to the cold linoleum floor like a marionette with its strings cut. Class rep was at my side a few seconds later. I could tell she wanted to put me back on the bed, but I resisted her attempts.

    ¡°Princess, we don¡¯t have much time. I managed to distract the nurse by faking a medical equipment failure. After the failure of the third scanning wand, she went to the storehouse to pick up a new one. She¡¯ll be back any moment now.¡±

    Shirohime helped me sit on the edge of the bed, as I softly asked, ¡°Jive, what the Hell is wrong with me?¡±

    ¡°The neural enhancer caused a destabilization of your neural matrix. In other words, it messed with Mercedes¡¯s head.¡±

    ¡°Am I going to get better?¡±

    ¡°Yes. You are going to need time, but remaining here is not an option.¡±

    I shook my head slowly, regretting it when my vision swam again. ¡°I have to get out of here.¡±

    Class rep was eyeing me with a puzzled expression. ¡°Why do you need to leave? Don¡¯t you want the nurse to attend to you?¡±

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t. I need to leave before she comes back.¡±

    I tried walking again, and this time succeeded in standing upright. Carefully, I began walking to the foot of the bed, while class rep held onto my left arm and shoulder.

    Shirohime said, ¡°Your indoor shoes are there.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    I threatened to topple over, so class rep insisted I sit on the edge of the bed again while she slipped my feet into my indoor shoes.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said gratefully. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I¡¯m causing you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the class representative so this is part of my duties. However, I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s wise to leave the infirmary before the nurse can examine you.¡±

    Jive said, ¡°We cannot wait. We need to go now.¡±

    ¡°Go where?¡± I questioned him. ¡°Out the window?¡±

    Class rep leaned toward me. ¡°What do you mean out the window? Who are you talking to?¡±

    I swallowed quickly and replied, ¡°My invisible friend.¡±

    She blinked quickly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Would you repeat that again?¡±

    I replied sincerely, ¡°I have an invisible friend who doubles as a headache and royal pain in the ass.¡±

    Jive complained, ¡°This is my thanks for looking out for you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thanks for warning me about the neural headset. Great start to the day.¡±

    I took a deep breath, then forced myself onto my feet. This time I managed to stand on my own, though class rep was only a heartbeat away.

    Jive sounded contrite. ¡°You have my sincere apologies. No one anticipated your adverse reaction to the learning aid.¡±

    ¡°We can talk about it later. For now, I need to get out of here.¡±

    Class rep¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Are you talking to your invisible friend?¡±

    I nodded guardedly. ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s not being much help.¡±

    Jive snorted loudly. ¡°You would be lost without me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in this mess because of you.¡±

    Class rep pointed at herself. ¡°Because of me?¡±

    I shook my head and waved a hand quickly. ¡°No, no. Not you. My invisible friend.¡±

    She reluctantly asked, ¡°Does your¡­friend¡­have a name?¡±

    ¡°I call him Jive.¡±

    ¡°I see. Does that stand for anything?¡±

    I walked carefully in a tight circle, testing out my balance. ¡°Just the literal meaning. He¡¯s a taunting bastard.¡±

    Jive snorted again. ¡°Princess, I will not be responsible for what happens next. I strongly recommend exiting out the window.¡±

    I stood and looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°You are on the first floor. The drop outside should not be too high, even for your current condition.¡±

    Walking out of the space enclosed by curtains, I swept my gaze over the rest of the infirmary, and saw the other beds were empty. The large wide window was about ten meters away to my right. The wide entrance to the infirmary was five meters to my left.

    I chose to go left, and traced a drunken path to the open door. Leaning on the doorframe, I peeked out into the corridor.

    Rounding the curved corridor with boxes in her arms was the school nurse.

    Jive made a surprised noise. ¡°It would appear she came back with every medical wand in storage.¡±

    ¡°Not good,¡± I murmured, realizing I would be spotted as soon as I left the infirmary.

    I decided to go with option two ¨C exiting out the window.

    Turning as quickly as I could safely manage, I walked in a ragged line down the length of the infirmary toward the window. I was halfway there when Shirohime grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. She grunted audibly in her effort to halt me.

    ¡°Miss Reynier¡ªwhere are you going?¡±

    ¡°Out the window.¡±

    ¡°What? Surely you¡¯re not serious.¡±

    ¡°Totally.¡± I resumed walking and Shirohime was pulled along with me. ¡°Class rep, can you please let me go. I¡¯m indebted to you, but I can¡¯t let the nurse scan me.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    For a handful of heartbeats, I debated various answers by blurting out, ¡°Would you believe I¡¯m boy and not a girl?¡±

    ¡°I most certainly would not.¡±

    ¡°Okay, would you believe I was a boy in a past life?¡±

    ¡°How is that relevant to the present situation?¡±

    ¡°More than you can imagine,¡± I replied sourly.

    At the window, I unlatched it and quickly opened it by sliding it aside.

    Shirohime gasped weakly. ¡°You truly intend to do this?¡±

    I glanced back at her. ¡°Yep¡ªoh no!¡±

    Appearing a little exhausted under the load of boxes she carried, the nurse rounded the open door and stepped into the infirmary. For a moment we both regarded each other in shock. Then she dropped the boxes without a thought, and started walking fast toward me.

    ¡°Young lady¡ªwhat do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m running away.¡±

    Turning back to the window, I climbed out easier than expected. I was relieved to feel my sense of balance returning as I stepped down onto the ledge, and then quickly moved away from the window.

    The school nurse gasped in shock as she leaned her upper body out the window. ¡°Young lady, get back here now. You¡¯re quite clearly ill. You shouldn¡¯t be up and about. You shouldn¡¯t be standing on a ledge!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Doc. But I¡¯m afraid of needles.¡±

    I jumped down to the grassy lawn surrounding the building wall some ten feet below the ledge. In typical Mercedes fashion I landed poorly and rolled along the grass a few times before coming to a stop spread-eagled on my back.

    The nurse gasped again. ¡°What are you doing? Are you insane?¡±

    I muttered under my breath, ¡°Blame my invisible friend. This is his fault.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m reporting this to your teacher. Damn it, I¡¯m calling your family right now. No¡ªI¡¯m calling security. You are not running away.¡±

    ¡°Crap,¡± I muttered.

    Regaining my feet, I brusquely dusted myself down and shook off the grass sticking to my dress. Then I gained my bearings by using local landmarks. I began walking quickly to Telos Island¡¯s north shoreline. The longer I walked, the better I felt, and soon I was jogging quickly along the grass.

    Indoor shoes weren¡¯t the best choice for running, so I stopped and took them off. Then I slipped off my ankle high white socks, as there was no point getting them dirty.

    A short while later I was running barefoot with my shoes and socks in hand.

    Jive declared, ¡°I fear this will have repercussions on your school record.¡±

    ¡°This was your idea, remember?¡±

    ¡°I do indeed, and I am deeply sorry for it. But there was no choice.¡±

    ¡°Well, too late for regrets now.¡±

    I ran toward the edge of the island where the seawall rose several meters above the water, yet only a meter or so above the island interior. I took a running leap, one which cleared the top of the seawall, and landed lightly upon it. When I looked over the ocean¡¯s side of the wall, I saw the countless tetrapods arranged against it and wondered if I could use them to hide myself from pursuit.

    Jive whined. ¡°This is a foolish venture. Maybe it is best you return and face the music. I will take responsibility for your actions.¡±

    I resumed running north. ¡°Oh, how do you plan on doing that?¡±

    ¡°I will appeal to your cousin, Doctor Kassius, and explain the situation. As your registered Guardian, it should be possible for her to prevent the nurse from running a medical scan on you.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I glanced over my shoulder at the Academy building some distance behind me, and glimpsed men in dark clothes moving about.

    Damn, that woman really did call the security guards.

    With a hiss, I climbed down off the seawall, and carefully stepped into the thick layer of permacrete tetrapods bordering the island. Making my way north, I began circling the island shoreline. If I continued this way, I would arrive near the bridge connecting Telos Island to the rest of Ar Telica across the bay. I would then have to decide whether or not to flee the island for the safety of Ar Telica, or continue to play hide-and-seek with the security personnel.

    ¡°Princess, please stop. I urge you turn yourself in. At this rate you will be handed detention.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve come this far. I¡¯m not stopping now¡ªyikes!¡±

    I came to a swift halt when I saw someone sitting casually on a tetrapod in front of me. For a long moment I was at a loss to rationalize what I was seeing. I blinked quickly and gave the individual another cursory look.

    He was an Academy student, probably a senior. I couldn¡¯t be sure because his blazer was off as he relaxed on a tetrapod with his feet braced against another.

    He looked at me, and I looked back at him.

    I grinned sheepishly. ¡°Sorry. Just passing through.¡±

    He nodded, and gave me a nonchalant shrug.

    I considered the best way around him, but to my surprise he reached into a trouser pocket and offered me a small white rectangular packet.

    ¡°Want one?¡± he asked.

    ¡°One what?¡±

    ¡°A cigarette.¡±

    I stared at the packet. ¡°Uh¡­I don¡¯t smoke.¡±

    He shrugged and pulled out a cigarette stick from the pack. After lighting it up, he took a long drag from it.

    Jive sounded disgruntled. ¡°A young man should not be smoking at his age. Even with modern medicine it is still harmful to his health. He should be reprimanded. You were wise to reject his offer, Princess.¡±

    I bit the inside of my mouth, feeling a surge of irritation toward Jive.

    Mindful of my footing between the tetrapods, I made my way over to the male student. ¡°Hey, I changed my mind.¡±

    He studied me for a quiet moment, then offered me the pack again.

    I took one of the cigarettes, and stuck it in my mouth. I leaned forward so that he could light it for me.

    I had no idea what to do, so I watched him, and then imitated his actions.

    The smoke or something like it filled my lungs. I belched it out and coughed loudly for a long while, afterwards taking several gulping breaths. When my coughing had eased, I dragged on the cigarette more cautiously the next time.

    By my sixth attempt, I wasn¡¯t coughing as badly and could pass myself off as a novice.

    I heard Jive sputter in consternation. ¡°Princess, you are going to be in so much trouble. Just wait until I tell your sister¡ªI mean cousin!¡±

    ¡°Bite me,¡± I murmured out the side of my mouth.

    A took a few more puffs, each one a little bit longer and slower than the last. It was strange, but I felt myself grow calmer, and then languid. In a state of growing laziness, I regarded the male student.

    Dark blonde hair, tall and trim, with very decent features. He looked out at the ocean with cool blue-grey eyes, while leisurely nursing his cigarette.

    I mimicked the way he flicked away the ash.

    He noticed and laughed faintly under his breath.

    I shrugged and turned away, sweeping my gaze over the ocean and far horizon, growing more indolent by the moment.

    I was wondering if the cigarette was having this effect on me, when I heard him ask, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Facing him, I met his gaze through eyes growing lidded. ¡°Cassidy¡­Cassidy Reynier.¡±

    ¡°Nice name. It suits you.¡±

    Sleepily, I frowned at him. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It has a nice ring to it.¡±

    I shrugged, glancing away for a heartbeat before asking, ¡°So, do you have a name?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do have a name.¡±

    ¡°So let¡¯s hear it.¡±

    ¡°Crais Shepherd.¡± He offered me his right hand in greeting, and I shook it after a contemplating it for a long moment. ¡°Nice to meet you, Cassidy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well I¡¯m just going to say the jury¡¯s out on that one.¡±

    He snorted in amusement, and drew back his hand. ¡°You¡¯re funny.¡±

    I eyed him for a short while before asking, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t smoke on Academy grounds, but it¡¯s cool out here. Technically we¡¯re not on the school grounds.¡±

    ¡°But classes are in session.¡±

    He shrugged lightly. ¡°I know.¡± A moment later, he gave me a sidelong look. ¡°And you? What¡¯s your excuse?¡±

    ¡°I had an adverse reaction to the neural headset, passed out, and was carried to the infirmary. I ran away from the school nurse, and now security is hunting me.¡±

    His eyes narrowed a fraction. ¡°Why¡¯d you run away?¡±

    ¡°I did so on the advice of an associate of mine.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like good advice.¡±

    I lazily shrugged a shoulder. ¡°He suggested it on medical grounds.¡±

    ¡°That really doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    I took a quick drag on the cigarette, then blew out the smoke through my nose. It was getting easier to do so. ¡°It¡¯s a long complicated story.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­.¡±

    We fell silent, and continued smoking together. Eventually our cigarettes shortened to stubs. I was about to flick mine into the water when Crais offered me something I didn¡¯t recognize. It resembled a thick penlight made of brushed silver.

    ¡°Pocket ashtray,¡± he said. ¡°No littering allowed.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Are you serious?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. Stub it out, then put it inside.¡±

    I sighed, crushed the cigarette out against a tetrapod, then dropped it into the pocket ashtray.

    He did the same with his cigarette, pocketed the ashtray, then stood on the tetrapod. With his school blazer tossed over a shoulder, he jumped the tetrapods and onto the seawall whereupon he turned to look down at me.

    ¡°You coming?¡±

    I blinked sharply, then took a deep breath before climbing onto a tetrapod and used it to jump onto the seawall. It was a little awkward because I carried my shoes in one hand, and I was feeling noticeably lethargic.

    Standing on the seawall, I caught sight of Crais studying my toes before working his gaze up my legs.

    ¡°Your dress is a little short,¡± he observed.

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°And tight too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, seems that way.¡±

    I scowled at him weakly. ¡°Stop staring at my chest.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t staring. I was admiring. It¡¯s a sin to ignore such a good looking chest.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± I stopped, realizing he was simply throwing my own words back at me from a time when I was male. I gave him a sour look. ¡°You¡¯re not admiring me. You¡¯re disrespecting me.¡±

    He blinked sharply, and after a moment, he gave me a tight nod. ¡°I apologize.¡± He offered me the pack of cigarettes. ¡°Here. My way of saying sorry.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want them. I don¡¯t plan on making this a habit.¡±

    Jive sounded pleased. ¡°Well said, Princess. Well said.¡±

    Stepping up to me, Crais smoothly grabbed my free hand and placed the packet on my palm. ¡°Tell me you didn¡¯t enjoy it, and then toss them away.¡±

    I glimpsed movement off to the south, and saw a trio of security guards running toward us. ¡°Ah, damn it. They found me.¡±

    ¡°They might have been looking for me.¡±

    I shot him a questioning look. ¡°Huh?¡± When he stepped away, I quickly thought about tossing the cigarette pack, but then decided to pocket it instead.

    Jive pleaded, ¡°Princess, do not run. Turn yourself in.¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± I whispered, then went about putting on my socks and indoor shoes, aware of Crais eyeing my every move.

    He jumped down off the seawall and onto the paved path running beside it. Then he turned and offered me a hand down. ¡°Well, shall we face the music together?¡±

    I stared at him for a short while, then jumped down on my own since I really didn¡¯t need his help.

    ¡°Whatever¡­,¡± I mumbled, and waited with my hands on my head for the security guards to arrive.

    Crais offered me a stick of something I quickly recognized as gum. ¡°Here, you might like it.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Cherry Princess. The Student Council President swears by it.¡±

    I exhaled long and loudly, then took the gum, unwrapped it, and tossed it into my mouth. Seeing as he was watching me, I pocketed the used wrapper into my dress.

    The guards arrived shortly afterwards, looking a little out of breath.

    The lead guard, a rather large burly man with a faintly receding hairline, walked toward me but stopped sharply at sight of Crais standing beside me. He looked less than amused. ¡°Mister Shepherd, fancy meeting you here.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Bertus. How¡¯s the wife treating you?¡±

    ¡°Better than your mother,¡± the guard retorted.

    Crais shrugged easily and then slipped on his blazer. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see her that often¡ªnot since she found herself a boy toy and left us in the lurch.¡± He stopped suddenly in thought. ¡°I heard her new guy is around my age. Really, a woman her age? She really has no shame.¡±

    He released a short laugh, and shoved his hands into his blazer pockets. He may have laughed, but he didn¡¯t sound happy to me. In fact, he sounded rather bitter when he said, ¡°I guess my parents really are cut from the same cloth. They¡¯re both lusting after people younger than them.¡±

    Bertus took a deep breath, puffing out his barrel chest. ¡°Watch your tongue, lad.¡±

    Crais rolled his eyes wearily.

    That seemed to anger Bertus. ¡°I¡¯d cut you some slack but this is the fifth time this month, Shepherd. Your father¡¯s given instructions. He¡¯s not going to tolerate you skipping any more of your classes. Not this year.¡±

    ¡°Bertus, I finished all those classes last year. To me their like a refresher course. I should have graduated by now.¡±

    ¡°Blame that on your attendance record!¡±

    Jive whispered in my ears. ¡°Princess, I searched the Academy registry I downloaded last week, and found out who this scoundrel is. You are ¡®not¡¯ going to believe this!¡±

    I made a soft shushing sound, and whispered, ¡°Not now¡­.¡±

    ¡°But Princess, this guy is¡ª¡±

    ¡°Not now,¡± I hissed out the corner of my mouth.

    Bertus gave me a curious look that grew into displeasure. ¡°Young lady, a word of advice.¡±

    I cringed inwardly at being called ¡®young lady¡¯ for the umpteenth time today. No amount of repetition was going to make me accept it. With a disgruntled sigh, I folded my hands behind my back and slurred, ¡°Yes, sir?¡±

    ¡°Stay away from this kid. He¡¯s damaged goods.¡± Bertus looked disappointed. ¡°He used to be such a promising young lad. Now look at him.¡±

    Crais snorted, then laughed again, and regarded me sidelong. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s good advice. If you hang around me, you could end up with a bad reputation.¡±

    I turned my mouth into a frown. ¡°I already have one. I started on it as soon as I walked in this morning.¡±

    Crais looked surprised then frankly amused. ¡°Really? Cool.¡±

    The guard coughed loudly. ¡°Alright, enough with the flirting. You birds of a feather come with me.¡± He gave Crais a meaningful look. ¡°Your father wants a word with you.¡±

    ¡°Really? You mean he¡¯s found time for me in between banging my cousin.¡±

    Bertus looked incensed. ¡°That is a rumor you started¡ªone that is completely untrue!¡±

    Crais shrugged a shoulder. ¡°Well it spread like wildfire. I wonder why. Maybe because everyone believed it.¡±

    The burly guard took long steps up to Crais, then yanked him closer by his blazer until their noses were millimeters apart. ¡°You sully your father¡¯s good name, and his good reputation. It¡¯s bad enough what happened with your mother, but you had to go and make things worse for him.¡±

    In the man¡¯s grip, Crais turned away and made a show of nonchalantly looking out across the bay.

    I had trouble keeping my expression neutral as my thoughts began to paint a torrid picture.

    ¡°Princess, listen to me¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± I whispered tautly.

    ¡°No, you must listen to me! This uncouth youth¡ª¡±

    ¡°Jive¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ªis the Principal¡¯s son!¡±

    I choked and stepped away from Crais and the guard. ¡°You¡ªyou¡¯re¡ªyou¡¯re his son?¡±

    They both looked at me.

    I swallowed and added, ¡°You¡¯re the Principal¡¯s son? But his last name is Huxley.¡±

    Crais smiled regretfully at me through lidded eyes. ¡°Guilty as charged. The great Vernon Huxley Shepherd the Fourth is my old man. He hates his last name. Doesn¡¯t think its suitably upper class.¡±

    Then he swirled his arms and smoothly freed himself from the guard¡¯s hold. In the blink of an eye, he was standing behind the guard with a lock on the man¡¯s arms.

    Over Bertus¡¯s shoulder, Crais Shepherd grinned at me. ¡°And this old fart is my uncle.¡±

    Bertus freed himself, tossing Crais over his shoulder, but the latter landed on his feet and the two men separated smoothly like skilled combatants.

    I didn¡¯t know what surprised me the most, learning the men were related, or that Crais was the Principal¡¯s son. But admittedly their display of martial arts prowess was impressive, and it sparked a fire in Mercedes¡¯ neural matrix.

    As they warily eyed each other like two fighters in a square ring, I stepped between them and stared intently at Crais.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I snapped at him, waving my hand before his eyes, and grabbing some of his attention.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Look at me when I talk to you.¡±

    He glanced down at me a few times, each time a little longer than the last. ¡°Sure thing, Princess.¡±

    I took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll let you call me Princess on one condition.¡±

    ¡°And that would be?¡±

    ¡°Will you teach me how to do that?¡±

    Crais Shepherd looked startled, then fixed me squarely in his sights. ¡°Huh¡­?¡±

    A grin spread across my lips as I stepped closer to him. ¡°Teach me how to fight.¡±

 Announcement - volume 1 replaced by a summary

    With Gun X Princess volume 1 released as Princess Royale on Amazon Kindle, the material has been removed from RRL and replaced with a full summary.

    Originally the release was to take place on Friday 30th of October, because Kindle states that it takes 72 hours for a book to be uploaded and made available.

    However, it only took 6 hours which means that the book is available right now.

    Those of you who wish to read the complete novel, which has been extensively revised and updated for its market release, can purchase it from Amazon Kindle Direct.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.The link to Amazon U.S. is here: https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0178NWM4I</a>

    Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I thank you for your support.

    Best wishes,

    _________________

    Simkin452

    <hr />

    FYI

    Book Two, the sequel to "Princess Royale", is tentatively titled, "Cherry Princess".

    Book Three (Volume 3) is being developed under the title of "Gatling Princess".

    Ciao,

    _________

    Simkin452

 Vol 2 - Chapter 2 - Part I

    Chapter 2 - Part I

    While Crais Shepherd the First was dealt with by his father, the great Vernon Huxley the Fourth, I was delivered into the care of the Vice Principal, one Mr. Joseph Vaucluse.

    Under the watchful eye of his middle-aged demure secretary, I sat in the waiting area outside his office, and looked down at my hands.

    They were steady.

    Was the cigarette responsible for that? I would need to ask Erina. I was convinced the cigarette had left me in a languid, calm state. Maybe this body was missing something?

    Shaking my head inwardly, I sat back and closed my eyes, wondering how much worse my day could become. For that matter, I had consider how much of my troubles could be laid at my own feet.

    My thoughts were intruded upon.

    ¡°Princess, your sister¡ªI mean cousin¡ªis on her way.¡±

    I nodded but didn¡¯t reply, assuming Jive would ¡®sense¡¯ my nod for what it was.

    ¡°I have explained the situation to her, though I omitted informing her of your smoking activity.¡±

    Conscious of the secretary watching me in the corner of her eye, I discretely reached into my dress¡¯s skirt pocket and my fingers touched upon the cigarette pack. I needed to return it to Crais Shepherd at the earliest convenience.

    ¡°I will give you the opportunity of telling her yourself.¡±

    I sucked in air noisily through my nose, and averted my gaze when I attracted the woman¡¯s attention.

    Maybe I wouldn¡¯t return them after all. In that case, I¡¯d need to buy myself a lighter, and one of those damn pocket ashtrays. Ah, to Hell with the ashtray. Me girl. Me litter.

    The door to the Vee Pee¡¯s office opened smoothly.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what he expected to encounter when he stepped out of his office to order me inside, but he was certainly surprised to see me. His eyebrows rose quickly and he studied me from head to shoes twice before asking, ¡°You are Cassidy Reynier, from Class One-Cee?¡±

    I stood up quickly, and faced him with a bow. ¡°Yes, sir. I am sir.¡±

    I heard a quick whisper in my ears, and chose to ignore it. ¡°Princess, straighten your dress. And your tie as well.¡±

    I left everything about my attire exactly the way it was.

    The Vee Pee pointed at me. ¡°Tidy up your uniform.¡±

    Jive sighed loudly. ¡°I told you¡­.¡±

    I bit my lower lip hard to refrain from retorting, and then quietly fixed up my dress, my tie, and my blazer that was noticeably rumpled after I rolled on the grass upon jumping down from the ledge outside the infirmary.

    Once I was tidy, I looked expectantly at the Vee Pee, who gave me a veiled scowl, and waved me into his office.

    I stepped inside, then stood before his beige mahogany desk, while he sat down on his high backed executive style chair.

    Jive advised, ¡°Princess, you should stand at attention. Be respectful. Remember, you want to avoid being handed detention.¡±

    Again, I bit my lower lip hard, and shoved my hands into my blazer pockets.

    Damn, I wish had a piece of gum to chew on.

    Jive sobbed softly. ¡°Princess, bad move¡­.¡±

    The Vee Pee stared at me bluntly. ¡°Miss Reynier, I don¡¯t appreciate your attitude.¡±

    I frowned for a heartbeat. ¡°Sir?¡±

    ¡°Stand at attention.¡±

    I took a deep breath, then folded my hands behind my back, straightened my body and stared at a point above the Vee Pee¡¯s head.

    ¡°Much better, young lady.¡±

    I wanted to growl, but instead clamped down on my jaw while digging my fingernails into my palms.

    The next person to call me young lady was going to get hammered by my foot.

    The Vee Pee leaned forward on his chair, and rested his elbows on his desk, while studying me coldly. ¡°I cannot speak for your old Academy at the city of Pan Teloria, but here at Telos Academy, we do not condone students dying their hair¡­emo style.¡±

    I blinked slowly, then quickly added. ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t dye my hair. Honestly.¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Are you telling me this is your natural appearance?¡±

    ¡°Sir¡­?¡±

    He touched the surface of his desk, and a holovid window appeared off to my left. It offered a view into the office that was akin to a mirror.

    I saw a beautiful girl standing a couple of feet in front of a light beige executive desk. She looked a little unkempt, and her uniform was rumpled. Her dress appeared noticeably short, probably because it was a size too small, thus she was revealing a lot more leg than she realized.

    But what grabbed my attention was my hair.

    The Vee Pee was correct. It certainly appeared to have been styled ¡®emo¡¯.

    Black streaks ran through Cassidy¡¯s blonde hair, as though Mercedes was trying to come through. It was as though the transformation between my two states had halted halfway, resulting in a black and white, zebra hairstyle.

    Recovering from her surprise the girl in the holovid reached up and touched her hair nervously.

    I looked back at the Vee Pee, but I had no idea how to respond.

    How could I explain what I was?

    He continued studying me quietly for a few seconds, before breaking his silence. ¡°You will restore your hair to its natural color by tomorrow. Is that clear?¡±

    It was clear, but how could I tell him I had no idea what to do about it? Should I try dying it? Would that work on Mercedes¡¯s hair strands?

    Jive whispered, ¡°Princess, tell him you will do it. Just tell him. We will determine a solution later.¡±

    I swallowed and nodded unevenly. ¡°Yes sir. I¡¯ll attend to it when I return home.¡±

    So this is why he was mildly shocked to see me. He was taken aback by my appearance, and instantly labelled me an ¡®emo¡¯ girl with ¡®issues¡¯.

    No, today was definitely not going well.

    He shook his head in displeasure. ¡°In the meantime, young lady, you will remove those contacts. Now.¡±

    ¡°Sir?¡± I shot my appearance another look and saw that my eyes weren¡¯t hazel-green, but had become a mauvish color. ¡°Oh no¡­.¡±

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°No sir.¡±

    ¡°Then remove those contacts from your eyes now.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I can¡¯t. This is my eye color. It¡¯s my natural eye color.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    I thought fast. ¡°Sir, I wore contacts to make my eyes look normal. If I didn¡¯t I would be teased by my classmates.¡± I reached up and touched my zebra locks. ¡°The same with my hair. I had to dye it either blonde or black in order to hide its pattern.¡±

    He gave me a dubious look, then sat back in his leather chair. ¡°I would like proof of this, before I accept your explanation.¡±

    I sucked in air through my mouth and kept my hands behind my back.

    ¡°Sir, this is the way I am. You can either accept it, or allow me to hide it. The dye in my hair faded, and my contacts must have fallen out when I jumped out the window. And that is all I have to say regarding my appearance. Reprimand me if you wish, but I¡¯m offering no other explanation because I have none¡­sir.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯m sorry, sir.¡± I heard Jive talking to me in my ears, and then quickly added, ¡°Sir, my cousin Erina will vouch for me.¡±

    ¡°Your cousin will?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. She is an alumni of this Academy. Erina Kassius.¡±

    He nodded barely noticeably. ¡°Yes. I am aware of that. However now, we are discussing you. I¡¯ve perused you academic record at Pan Tel Academy. Nothing outstanding, but then again, you are described as a quiet and modest girl, who keeps to herself and out of trouble. You had few friends, and no discernible relationships with members of the opposite sex.¡± His gaze ran over me again. ¡°Reading that, I¡¯m forced to question your current behavior on your first day of attendance at Telos Academy. Are you expressing a form of rebellion now that you have transferred out of your Academy in Pan Teloria?¡±

    ¡°Sir, all I did was flee from the infirmary.¡±

    ¡°And why did you do that?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t like needles.¡±

    He grew silent for an uncomfortably long moment. ¡°Miss Reynier, you landed in the infirmary after an unexplained reaction to the neural headset. Miss Valeria, our medical officer, was following procedure by having you scanned, not jabbed, in order to determine why you suffered such an adverse reaction. She was doing her job as per the regulations of this Academy, and you chose to jump out of a window. Explain yourself.¡±

    I clenched my hands behind my back, digging my fingernails in deeper. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    I shook my head weakly. ¡°I can¡¯t explain myself.¡±

    ¡°That is unacceptable.¡±

    I kept my attention on a point above his head and out the window behind him. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s the only answer I have. I will accept a reprimand, detention, and a demerit on my record, but I have no other answer I can give you.¡±

    ¡°You will have no choice but to accept all three, Miss Reynier, and your reticence to cooperate will be duly noted.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking you a question.¡±

    I kept my silence this time around, then peeked a look at myself in the holovid window. My hair appeared stuck in its zebra style. However, to my relief it wasn¡¯t progressively become either blonde or black. It would be a problem if it started to change while I stood in his office. However, it begged the question of what was wrong with me? Or rather, what was wrong with Mercedes¡¯ body?

    Damn. I really needed to talk to Erina. Where was she? What was keeping her?

    I dug my nails into my palms, and prayed she would arrive sooner rather than later.

    Jive whispered loudly into my ears, ¡°She¡¯s here!¡±

    A moment later, I heard a commotion outside the Vee-Pee office.

    ¡°¡­you cannot go in there¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m responsible for my cousin¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­yes but¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­out of my way¡ª¡±

    The door burst open and a harried looking Erina ran in while the Vee Pee¡¯s secretary bounced from foot to foot, uncertain of whether she should give pursuit.

    Erina¡¯s normally crisp appearance was less than so, and I noticed the top of her blouse was unbuttoned. She took a dozen steps into the spacious office, performed a double take upon sight of me, and squeaked loudly in shock.

    For a long while, she stood motionless and only eyes moved as she ran her gaze over me.

    I frowned at her.

    Didn¡¯t Jive tell her about my ¡®condition¡¯? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to play along and back me up? Instead she was staring at me as though I was an amusement park horror attraction.

    Jive whispered in a despairing tone, ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t the response I was hoping for.¡±

    I cleared my throat and said blandly, ¡°Why are you so surprised? It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t seen me this way before.¡±

    Long seconds went by before Erina recovered. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you this way since you were twelve years old and your mother brought you around and you scared the living daylights out of Ronin. I¡¯d forgotten how drastic your appearance changes when you¡¯re not dying your hair¡±¡ªshe frowned deeply¡ª¡°and wearing your contacts. What happened to your contacts?¡±

    ¡°I must have lost them when I jumped out the window.¡±

    Erina palmed her forehead. ¡°Dear gods, do you know how expensive those are?¡±

    I shrugged sheepishly. ¡°Sorry¡­.¡±

    She slowly folded her arms. ¡°So tell me. What the Hell happened to your hair?¡±

    Clearing my throat, I gave my ¡®cousin¡¯ a contrite look. ¡°The hair dye wore off.¡±

    That earned me a scowl. ¡°I warned you not to use that cheap product.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, arguments young lady.¡±

    I drew blood from my palms as I again endured being called ¡®young lady¡¯.

    Erina raised a hand sharply. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this later.¡± Turning quickly she stepped up to the Vee Pee¡¯s desk, then bowed to him at a perfect ninety-degree angle. ¡°Vice-Principal, I apologize for my cousin¡¯s behavior and for her lack of regard concerning her appearance.¡±

    I looked at the Vee Pee, and noticed he was sitting and looking straight at my sister.

    Yes, he was looking straight down her blouse.

    Ah, so that¡¯s why she unbuttoned the top of her blouse. Was it her way of softening him up?

    My sister wasn¡¯t anywhere near as busty as Mercedes, but she wasn¡¯t flat either. No, there was definitely something there for him to look at, and he was making the most of the opportunity to do so.

    I realized it was making my blood boil.

    My hands clenched at my sides, I trembled in strangled anger.

    Somehow, by the merest of margins, the skin of my teeth, I kept it suppressed.

    I turned away, and squeezed my eyes shut.

    However, I could hear perfectly well.

    My sister said, ¡°Whatever damages the academy has incurred, I will reimburse, and I ask for your leniency.¡±

    ¡°You storm into my office and expect leniency?¡±

    ¡°Vice Principal, my cousin is enduring troubled times. Family matters. She is not a bad student. She just needs a little time to adjust. You have my word she won¡¯t misbehave again.¡±

    I opened my eyes into thin slits and stared at her.

    This is all your fault, and yet you¡¯re blaming me?

    My anger simmered but it lost some of its edge as I was noticeably wounded by her words.

    Erina was standing straight before the Vee Pee¡¯s desk with a calm expression devoid of arrogance or bluster. It was one of pure sincerity, devoid of any guilt, and it must have had the desire effect because the Vee Pee sat back with a long, heavy sigh¡­and gave her a faint nod.

    ¡°Very well. We will overlook this matter. Just this once. I presume her behavior was influenced by the recent tragedy in your family?¡±

    My eyes widened a fraction. Recent tragedy?

    Erina released a heavy sigh. ¡°I know she won¡¯t admit it, but she is having some trouble dealing with recent events.¡±

    My eyes widened a little more. Recent events? Recent tragedy? Well, I did lose my human body, duh!

    The Vee Pee sighed as well. ¡°I presume she and her cousin were close.¡±

    ¡°They were close, Vice Principal.¡± Erina cast her eyes downward. ¡°Yes¡­they were quite close. In fact, she was looking forward to attending school here at the Academy with him.¡±

    I was baffled, and it shaved away more of my anger, but I had the presence of mind not to show my confusion.

    The Vee Pee regarded Erina studiously for a long moment. ¡°A most unfortunate accident, I believe.¡±

    Erina hesitated, then nodded haltingly. ¡°Yes. It was¡­most unexpected. I appreciate the academy¡¯s cooperation in not telling the students. I thank you for keeping the matter private and simply declaring it as a sudden transfer.¡±

    I frowned inwardly as my confusion grew.

    Accident? What accident? She can¡¯t possibly be talking about me being deliberately scooped into a Sliver, and eventually turned into a Gun Princess?

    The Vee Pee nodded gently. ¡°I trust he¡¯s receiving the best of care?¡±

    ¡°He is indeed. The Telos Corporation has been most kind to my family and I.¡±

    Inwardly my expression twisted into one of disdain.

    Oh, they¡¯re being most generous by sticking me inside the body of girl with a freakin¡¯ zebra hairstyle!

    Erina added, ¡°My parents are watching over him in the orbital city where the corporation has a medical clinic. I offered to watch over him here, but they chose otherwise.¡±

    Again, the Vee Pee favored her with a gentle nod. ¡°And how are you coping with your brother¡¯s accident?¡±

    ¡°One day at a time. I have faith he will make a full recovery, though it will take time. I fear he will find himself repeating a school year, but it can¡¯t be helped.¡±

    I clenched my jaw, and decided Erina and I were going to have a long, long talk. Whenever I¡¯d asked her about how my disappearance had been explained away, she would avoid the subject and remark it was all taken care of. It was time to get the truth out of her.

    But not here and not right now, though very soon.

    I noticed the Vee Pee¡¯s gaze was on me, so I turned away a few degrees and kept my expression focused on the back wall that was a wide floor-to-ceiling window much like the one in the Principal¡¯s office.

    In the corner of my eye, I watched him address my sister.

    ¡°Regarding your cousin¡¯s health scare, we need her to be properly examined before she can be authorized to return to class. Those are Academy regulations as handed down by Ar Telica¡¯s Division of Education.¡±

    Erina nodded quickly. ¡°I understand, and have arranged to have the Telos Corporation¡¯s medical division examine her.¡±

    ¡°The medical division?¡±

    She folded her hands before her midriff. ¡°As an employee of the Telos Corporation, I am able to have family members admitted to the company¡¯s medical center here in Ar Telica. It was where my brother, Ronin, was first transferred to after the accident, before my parents decided to have him brought up to the orbital city. She will get the best of service by the specialists of the corporation.¡±

    I saw the Vee Pee narrow his eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll need a medical certificate authorized by the Division of Health and Welfare before she can return to class.¡±

    ¡°I understand, and you shall receive it. However, Cassidy will need to spend time away from classes during her examination. I have her scheduled for admission to the medical center this afternoon.¡±

    He pressed his lips into a thin line, laced his fingers over his gut, then turned his head in my direction. When he spoke my name, he made it sound like a veiled sneer.

    ¡°Miss Reynier, I would appreciate you looking at me when I speak to you.¡±

    I swallowed tightly, grateful I wasn¡¯t feeling as angry as before and faced the Vee Pee with a controlled expression that I hoped appeared demure and contrite. His gaze wasn¡¯t remotely friendly, and I struggled to rein back the urge to return it.

    Keep calm. Keep calm. Don¡¯t punch his face just yet.

    ¡°Miss Reynier, I would advise you to moderate your behavior, and demonstrate the proper respect to the faculty members of this academy. Consider yourself fortunate, however, you have used up your ¡®get out of jail¡¯ card. Am I making myself clear?¡±

    I had a good idea of what he meant, so I gave him a shallow, somewhat respectful nod. ¡°Yes, sir¡­.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°You may leave.¡± He stood up, and turned his attention upon my sister. ¡°Good day to you, Doctor Kassius. I do hope your brother makes a swift and full recovery.¡±

    I thought I saw Erina¡¯s expression falter for a heartbeat, but she smiled warmly and nodded politely to the Vee Pee with more respect than I felt he deserved.

    ¡°Thank you, Vice Principal. I appreciate your kind words.¡±

    He nodded once more, then gestured with a hand that we were free to leave.

    Turning to the office¡¯s exit, I noticed the door had been closed, undoubtedly by the Vee Pee¡¯s secretary.

    Erina walked ahead of me and opened the door quickly, ushering me through without preamble.

    I bit my lower lip and stormed out of the office with my head low.

    The anger that had abated was slowly coming back.

    I heard Erina excuse herself to the Vee Pee, before closing the office door. Walking quickly, she excused herself to the secretary back at her desk, and hurried herself and I out of the office area.

    I resisted her attempts to push me. ¡°Wait¡ªwhat about my bag?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My bag and my shoes. I need to go get them.¡±

    Erina¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°We¡¯ll worry about them later.¡±

    ¡°But¡ª¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll worry about them later? Is that clear?¡±

    We arrived at the stairwell landing and came to a sudden stop she could do nothing about. ¡°Why are you so angry with me?¡±

    Her expression softened a little. ¡°Cassidy, we can talk about this later. Right now, we need to get you out of here. Just don¡¯t argue with me.¡± She gave me another push that did little more than rock me on my feet. ¡°Cassidy, please. We don¡¯t have time for this.¡±

    I tried not to glare at her, but it was hard to hold it back. In the end, I turned away and exhaled loudly before descending the steps leading down through the administration building. I managed to contain myself down the spiral stairwell, and out the building¡¯s front entrance. However, as we crossed the parking lot I decided it was time for answers.

    ¡°Erina, what the Hell was that all about?¡±

    She continued walking.

    I ground my teeth and walked beside her. ¡°What was that about me having an accident? Why couldn¡¯t you explain my disappearance as a nothing more than a sudden transfer?¡±

    ¡°A sudden transfer wouldn¡¯t have been enough of a reason.¡±

    I grabbed her shoulder and jerked her to a stop. ¡°What the Hell is that supposed to mean?¡±

    Erina took a quick breath. ¡°A sudden transfer to where? Another academy? Another school?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right?¡±

    ¡°With no Ronin Kassius to show for it?¡± She pulled my hand off her shoulder, and lowered her voice. ¡°Right now, your cover is being protected by the Telos Corporation upper echelons with an interest in your success. That means, that provided we keep Ronin Kassius in an environment controlled by the corporation, then they can cover for you. Do you understand? In addition they had to take care of the matter of your accident.¡±

    ¡°Which was?¡±

    ¡°An accident that occurred at my lab when you visited me last Monday evening. Your injuries were severe but luckily Ar Telica¡¯s Division of Health and Welfare was convinced not to investigate by the Chief Director in charge of the facility. Because everything happened within company territory, they were able to keep things quiet.¡±

    I stared at her in disbelief. I could barely wrap my mind around the scale of the deception.

    My state of mind must have been written on my face, because Erina looked regretful.

    ¡°Cassidy, do you understand the extent to which people will lie and deceive in order to ensure the project¡¯s success? This is why we need to play along. We can¡¯t risk everything falling apart at this early stage¡ªor any stage for that matter.¡±

    She turned away, and walked toward a low-slung black sedan with a muscular appearance and wide wheels.

    As we arrived at the car, my self-control faltered and my convoluted emotions burst free.

    Erina had unlocked the vehicle and was in the process of opening the passenger door for me, when I abruptly reached out and yanked her around by her right shoulder.

    I slammed her back into the side of the car.

    Her startled face gave way to fleeting fear before she regained control of her emotions. ¡°What are you¡ª?¡±

    I leaned close to her. ¡°What am I doing? I¡¯m giving in to the urge to punch you for everything you¡¯ve done to me.¡±

    Erina swallowed. Her face grew impassive but her eyes darted about searching mine. ¡°Cassidy, calm down.¡±

    ¡°You call me Cassidy, but right now you don¡¯t know what the Hell I am, do you? Am I Mercedes, or am I Cassidy? Answer me.¡±

    ¡°We need to get you back to the lab¡ª¡±

    ¡°Because you haven¡¯t got an effing idea what¡¯s wrong with me.¡± I stared at her intently, watching every minute reaction on her face. ¡°The great Erina Kassius, straight Aye student, and bootstrapped Alpha has no idea what¡¯s going on, does she?¡±

    Erina swallowed again and took a quick breath. ¡°We have an idea, but we need to get you into the lab where you can be examined properly.¡±

    With a one handed hold on her jacket, I slammed her again against the car door.

    She winced loudly, and I held her at arm¡¯s length as I pressed her into the car. ¡°Cousin dear, you shoved me into this body without knowing what was going to happen.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t true,¡± she denied.

    She replied a little too harshly for my mood, so once again I slammed her against the car door. ¡°You made this body but you don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with it. You have no idea but you think you can lie to me, and expect me to believe you just like your company lied to the authorities and pulled the wool over their eyes.¡±

    She grabbed my wrist but her strength wasn¡¯t enough to budge my hand. ¡°You¡¯re not giving me a chance. You¡¯re being totally unfair.¡±

    ¡°Unfair?¡± I gaped at her before narrowing my eyes. ¡°Unfair? Everything that¡¯s happened to me is because of your scientific greed, and you call me unfair?¡±

    Releasing her jacket, I grabbed her throat instead.

    ¡°You bitch,¡± I hissed. ¡°You effing bitch. I lost my body and I¡¯m stuck here because of what you and those other bastards who wanted to make a new kind of Gun Princess. A new effing Gun Princess. I¡¯m your effing prototype.¡±

    I heard Jive shout unbearably loudly into my head.

    ¡°Princess¡ªstop! You are killing her! Stop it, Princess. Now!¡±

    He was right. I was killing her. Erina¡¯s eyes were rolling back and she was turning grey as I steadily crushed her throat.

    Yet I couldn¡¯t stop myself.

    ¡°Princess¡ªfor the love of the gods! Release her at once. Release her or I will execute an emergency safety override.¡±

    I blinked. ¡°A what¡ª?¡±

    With one last effort, Erina swung her left hand loosely at me. I glimpsed the dark cylinder she held, a pressurized needle, and released her throat in the blink of an eye.

    I caught her hand easily, and twisted it sharply.

    There was the audible snap of tendons and ligaments as the bones in her wrist broke.

    Then Erina screamed in agony and I watched her fall to her knees.

    And yet I felt nothing for her.

    I knew that was wrong of me. I knew that I¡¯d harmed her and come close to killing her, yet I felt nothing for her and it slowly but surely scared me.

    I took a step back from her as she cradled her broken wrist, her breathing fast and labored by pain.

    The pressurized needle cartridge had fallen to the ground beside her knees.

    Regarding it a threat, I stepped on it with my right foot and crushed it with my indoor shoe.

    Then something slapped my neck the moment I heard a soft whistle in the air.

    Reaching up, I noticed something embedded against my neck, and hastily pulled it free.

    As I did so, a second something slapped my neck, followed by a third which impaled itself into the back of my raised hand. I looked down at my hand and saw a two-inch dart sticking up from it.

    A tranquilizer?

    Pulling it out without a second thought, I then removed the second dart in my neck, and dropped them to the ground. Simultaneously my eyes searched the parking lot for the culprit who¡¯d fired on me¡­and I saw her standing some fifty feet away between parked cars.

    She was clad in a black jumpsuit, and held a long, odd looking handgun aimed at me.

    With her blonde hair tied back into a high ponytail, and her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, I guessed her to be around my sister¡¯s age, though taller, prettier, and more athletic.

    My eyes caught sight of her trigger finger moving, and I darted aside less than a heartbeat later.

    But my body didn¡¯t move as well as expected, and another tranquilizer dart resembling a mini sabot round buried its tip into the base of my neck.

    I stumbled, and fell to one knee, while pulling out the two-inch dart.

    Whatever was in the darts was slowing me down, yet I refused to go down without a struggle. I¡¯d faced the lethal Gun Queen and survived. I was going to survive this.

    I had no idea who the woman was, but I wasn¡¯t going to loiter to find out.

    She was shooting at me, and that made her an opponent. In fact, the Mercedes part of me already considered her an enemy.

    Pushing myself up to my feet, I began running low around the front of Erina¡¯s parked car. My sister was still on her knees, cradling her wrist, but I glimpsed the confusion on her face, and that reinforced the notion that the interloper was foreign to Erina¡¯s planning.

    I heard an odd whistling through the air, then something struck my waist. Glancing down, I saw a bolas had wrapped itself around my waist and instantly the two balls flashed brightly. My body grew rigid as my muscles spasmed under the intense electric shock. It felt almost as bad as being shot by an armor-piercing round.

    Back then when I was shot by the Gun Queen I¡¯d been able to stand my ground.

    That wasn¡¯t the case this time.

    My legs turned watery and I collapsed bonelessly before Erina¡¯s car.

    My forehead hit the cold ground, but the impact failed to knock me out.

    I managed to hold onto my consciousness long enough to feel a handful more tranquilizer darts puncture the back of my legs.

    However, the last two were aimed at my buttocks, and they were the most painful of the lot.

    Inwardly I promised to shoot the woman with her own weapon up the butt.

    Then my world turned to black and I left the pain in my derriere behind.

    #

    (Erina)

    With a trembling right hand, I pulled out the last pressurized cartridge needle I had from an inside jacket pocket, and then injected the tranquilizer into my arm.

    It was one of two I¡¯d been saving for Cassidy in the event matters got out of hand.

    On the way down the stairwell, Jive had warned me of Cassidy¡¯s anger through the earpiece I wore in my left ear. At first I¡¯d been worried Cassidy would hear his voice in my ear, but that fear proved unrealized.

    Yet despite his words of caution, we were both caught by surprise by the magnitude of Cassidy¡¯s reaction when we arrived at the car.

    When she spun me around and threw me against the car, I¡¯d expected to see Mercedes standing before me. I was surprised when that wasn¡¯t the case. Of course, all that quickly gave way to fear when she began strangling me to death.

    As I lay on my knees, unable to rise as first the pain and now the tranquilizer robbed me of my strength, I looked over at Cassidy¡¯s body lying messily on the ground in front of the car.

    I counted nine or ten tranquilizer darts sticking out of her.

    The sound of gravel crunching underfoot drew my attention away from Cassidy, and toward the one responsible for turning her into a pincushion.

    The young blond woman, clad in her tight black jumpsuit, strode with long, measured strides toward me. She holstered the massive gun behind her back as strode by.

    I took a number of breaths before I spoke my mind. ¡°What are you doing here, Akane?¡±

    She smiled as she walked past me, then stopped to pick up the darts Cassidy had dropped on the ground. ¡°The ero midget thought you might need some help bringing her back.¡±

    I sucked in another lungful of air while dealing with my surprise. ¡°The Chief Director sent you?¡±

    Akane walked over to the unconscious Cassidy, and regarded the girl for a moment before crouching down beside her.

    ¡°Well of course she¡¯d send me,¡± she muttered. ¡°The ero midget figured you¡¯d find yourself in a mess, and she was right as always.¡±

    Akane calmly removed each of the darts poking into the girl. She pocketed the darts, then fluidly picked up Cassidy with ease of picking up a small child.

    I knew where that amazing strength came from, and it had nothing to do with external augmentation, a skinsuit, bionics, or cybernetics.

    Akane walked back to me with Cassidy folded over her left shoulder like a life-sized rag doll, and stopped at my feet. ¡°You look surprised to see me.¡±

    I struggled up to my feet, and used my car door to lean against and support my weight. ¡°I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d get you involved.¡±

    She smile became a grin that lacked humor and warmth. ¡°Well, of course, Erina dear. After all, it takes a monster to deal with a monster.¡± She shook her head. ¡°You just never learn, do you? Making one abomination like me wasn¡¯t enough. I thought I was bad, but you had to go and make an even bigger monster.¡±

    Akane¡¯s expression hardened and the grin became a bloodless thin line across her face.

    ¡°What¡¯s worse is that you didn¡¯t do it to your best friend. This time you did it to your family. Your own brother.¡±

    For a short while, my breathing became uneven and a deep pain in my heart accompanied the pain in my wrist. Silently, I weathered her statement for I had nothing in my defense.

    Akane sighed heavily and shook her head in surrender. ¡°You¡¯re beyond help, Erina.¡±

    I swallowed again and focused on regulating my breathing.

    The young woman swept her gaze complacently over the parking lot.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time to go,¡± she declared, then patted Cassidy¡¯s rump. ¡°I have to get this one into the holding cell before she wakes up. Those are the ero midget¡¯s orders.¡±

    I shook my head as I straightened away from the car. ¡°Wait. We need to get her to the containment lab. She needs to be carefully examined.¡±

    Akane nodded, and mock agreed with me. ¡°Sure. Sure. After all, your brother¡¯s welfare comes first, right Erina?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it does,¡± I hissed sharply at her.

    ¡°Well, the ero midget wants her in the same holding cell they used to contain me after I lost control. You remember that, Erina. It was when you and the other Alphas got the numbers wrong and I went berserk and almost killed half your staff. Well, they¡¯ve improved the holding cell since then. The ero midget is keen to get her inside. She wants to see if this monster can escape from it like I did.¡±

    Akane glanced up at the sky.

    ¡°What a day that turned out to be. Feels like yesterday but it was actually quite a while ago.¡±

    She shrugged, and then laughed softly, though it sounded more like a series of snorts.

    I thought I saw a shadow of despair cross her face before she shook her head, and walked away toward a row of parked vehicles.

    ¡°Your car¡¯s fitted with auto-drive,¡± she said to me over her shoulder. ¡°Make your own way back to the ship. And don¡¯t forget to get your wrist looked at by the medics.¡±

    I started following her but stopped after a couple of steps.

    Akane whistled as she made her way casually to a parked black suburban with tinted windows.

    I watched two large men climb out of the vehicle, and take Cassidy from Akane.

    They placed my brother inside the back of the vehicle, then climbed into the suburban and departed the school grounds less than a minute later.

    I heard a voice in my left ear.

    ¡°Doctor Kassius, I am sorry for what happened.¡±

    I shook my head faintly. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Jive. I should have known she would eventually reach a breaking point.¡± Taking a moment to gather my breath, I asked, ¡°How is she? Are you able to monitor her status?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Though the majority of my Awareness is operating from the sarcophagus, my link to the wetware inside Cassidy is for the most part uninterrupted.¡±

    I watched the suburban disappear from view over the bridge leading back to Ar Telica¡¯s Ring One which surrounded the bay area.

    The tranquilizer had clouded the inside of my head because it took a while for Jive¡¯s words to hit their mark in my mind.

    ¡°What do you mean for the most part?¡±

    ¡°It would appear the Angel Fibers are affecting the wetware in her neural matrix.¡±

    I felt a dull chill emanate within my chest. ¡°The fibers are expanding?¡±

    ¡°They are indeed.¡±

    This was a problem. I needed to return to the lab. However, there was one more question I needed to ask. ¡°Jive, did you inform the Chief Director of the situation with Mercedes?¡±

    ¡°No, I did not. Perhaps it was someone from your team. Or perhaps the ero midget¡ªI mean Chief Director¡ªis keeping a closer eye on you and your division than we catered for.¡± Jive¡¯s voice sounded confidential. ¡°After all, we both know she has a personal interest in the success of your research.¡±

    I swallowed tightly, and tried to ignore the pain of a broken wrist veiled by the tranquilizer, and the cold chill that continued to spread through my chest.

    I turned back to my car, eager to return to the lab.

    <hr />

    Dear RRL readers,

    I apologize but I had to delete the other chapter threads in order to start again.

    This volume was quickly driving off the road, and I needed to get it back on track especially with Book One now released on Amazon Kindle.

    A significant amount of volume 2 has changed, but a lot of the exposition has not.

    So much of the other version will remain.

    But there are differences as you will come read.

    Thank you for your patience.

    Kind regards,

    ________________

    Simkin452

    P.S. Update the blog so you can now see what Mercedes looks like a little better, thanks to figma Kuroyukihime.

    I''ll post the last of the images tomorrow after work.

 Vol 2 - Chapter 2 - Part II

    Chapter 2 - Part II

    (Whirlander)

    Seated on my multipurpose high chair in the middle of the semi-circular observation room, I studied the images projected on the curved wall.

    Multiple rectangular windows filled up the screen.

    From here, I had a perfect view of the interior and exterior of the ship.

    I could also access satellite imagery through a direct link between the ship and the Telos Corporation¡¯s orbiting installations. I could tap into security holocams keeping an eye on the city of Ar Telica, or spy through the eyes of dozens of drones flying along the coastline.

    At the moment, one very large rectangular window centered in the middle of the wall offered me a view of Akane Straus sitting in the front passenger seat of a company vehicle. The panoramic image also afforded me a view into the vehicle such that I could see part of the driver, the two men seated in the back, and a pretty young girl with striped hair sitting unconscious between them.

    I steepled my fingers dramatically under my chin as I listened to the blonde woman.

    With a playful smile, Akane waved her fingers at me. ¡°How¡¯s the view from up there, Chief?¡±

    I ignored her and asked, ¡°Did you have any trouble securing her?¡±

    Akane stopped waving. ¡°Not at all. I simply had to empty the magazine of tranquilizer darts into her buttocks. She was out like a light by the time I picked her up.¡±

    ¡°Any witnesses?¡±

    Akane looked amused. ¡°Does it matter? Well, if you must know, Erina saw the whole thing happen before her very eyes. I¡¯m certain it was a traumatic experience for her.¡±

    I refrained from exhaling heavily. ¡°You seem to have enjoyed yourself.¡±

    ¡°Shooting someone from behind is hardly fun.¡± The young woman glanced away. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind facing her properly though. Just to see what she can do in comparison to me. After all, I¡¯m something of an older sister to her¡ªseeing as I was the first attempt to make you-know-what work.¡±

    For a heartbeat, I studied the faces of the men in the backseat, but there was no reaction from them. Well, they had been informed that the girl was part of a classified research project and that they needed to be discrete. However, though the men were smart enough to keep their mouths shut, it didn¡¯t help having Akane mouthing off unnecessarily.

    I cleared my throat quickly. ¡°Need I remind you of the importance of this venture?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Then perish the thought.¡±

    Akane¡¯s smile wavered and I was certain she blinked quickly behind her dark sunglasses. ¡°Oh, is that so. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. Then again, it would be such a shame if she escaped. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    A chill spread quickly through my chest. ¡°What are you contemplating?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much.¡± She waved at me again. ¡°See you in a half hour. Make sure to have the room ready for her. We¡¯ll need to be quick since we don¡¯t know how long she¡¯ll remain in Never Never Land. Over and out.¡±

    The rectangular window vanished, and the empty space was greedily occupied by the other windows that had been pushed aside, and now vied for my attention.

    However, as I sat staring at the curved wall, I wasn¡¯t looking at any of the projected images.

    Instead, I was pondering whether Akane had outlived her usefulness.

    I sat back and steepled my fingers on my lap.

    Perhaps I¡¯d keep her around until the situation with Mercedes was stabilized.

    Afterwards, it might be time to retire a failed product.

    #

    (Erina)

    With my left wrist and forearm in a contoured cast, I downed the painkillers I held in my right palm, then washed them away with a swig of cold water in a plastic cup.

    ¡°Just tell me the final verdict,¡± I snapped at Uma. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±

    We were in my office with its glass windows and view into the lab. The giant Sarcophagus stood upright in the middle of the cylindrical lab. At six meters tall and three meters wide, it was vaguely reminiscent of the ancient Egyptian coffins of the same name.

    Usually it sat silently, drawing power from the building rather resorting to its internal means of generating power, the so-called Reflex system that had the Alpha scientists scratching their heads as they struggled to reverse engineer it. However, right now its burnished, iron-grey body was glowing faintly with an eerie phantasmal light as it hummed softly in its support cradle.

    The report had come in while I was in the medical bay having my broken wrist attended to: the Sarcophagus had begun powering up its systems without an external command from the control units attached to it. Perhaps it was more accurate to say that the device was warming up out of standby, but no one knew why.

    That¡¯s what troubled me the most.

    House Alus Novis had supplied the Sarcophagus to us, and provided sufficient information for us to learn to maintain it, and even modify it to meet Mercedes¡¯ needs, but some of its systems were locked down. If we identified a problem with that systemry, then the Sarcophagus was sent back to its home universe to be repaired or upgraded by the engineers of House Alus Novis.

    I suppose that was to be expected, since both parties to the agreement were keeping secrets.

    We hadn¡¯t given them the data on the Angel Fibers, and they were holding back on the process to manufacture Simulacrum bodies, and the innermost mysteries of the Sarcophagus.

    It was a cooperative endeavor wrapped in mutual distrust.

    I downed the rest of the water in the cup, and tossed the empty container into a refuse bin under my desk. Then I dropped myself unceremoniously into my expensive chair.

    Uma stood in front of two members of my team, including Mia, each with reports to present.

    She wore an expression of quiet displeasure at my behavior, while the others were trying to hide their unease. ¡°How many of those have you taken?¡±

    ¡°About half a dozen in the past hour.¡±

    ¡°Erina¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lecture me, Doctor,¡± I snapped harshly. ¡°This hurts like a bitch, and won¡¯t fully heal for a couple of weeks. And that¡¯s with the best tech at our disposal.¡±

    The cast was more than a simple wrapping around my forearm and wrist. It was an apparatus feeding my arm with nutrients that promoted cell regeneration. It was also monitoring the repair viruses working on the broken bone and ripped tissue. Through its adjusting of the virus code, it could program them like nanomachines.

    I refrained from cradling my left arm as I stared up at Uma. ¡°Just answer my question.¡±

    Calmly lowering the data slate in her right hand, Uma gave me a visible scowl that could be directed either at me or the subject of my inquiry. ¡°Mercedes, I mean Cassidy, is suffering from a personality imbalance that stems from your brother¡¯s repressed psyche and the fact that he is male.¡±

    ¡°This is my brother¡¯s fault?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    I glared at her. ¡°You¡¯d better explain that.¡±

    She planted her hands on her hips. ¡°Do you remember the psych evaluation I performed on your brother¡ªthe one you told me was all wrong and I didn¡¯t know your brother the way you did? Do you remember it?¡±

    I drew my lips into a thin line before replying, ¡°Yes. I remember it.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was spot on.¡±

    ¡°Oh really.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make this brief. Your brother was a wimp and a nobody that everyone ignored. As Cassidy, he¡¯s a hot babe in a killer body¡ªliterally¡ªthat makes him impossible to ignore. And he¡¯s cutting loose.¡±

    ¡°What¡­?¡±

    ¡°In short, he¡¯s going to town in Mercedes¡¯ body, like a push-bike rider now in the driver¡¯s seat of a sports convertible.¡±

    I swallowed hard. ¡°You have got to be joking.¡±

    ¡°Doctor Kassius, I never joke about my work.¡±

    ¡°My brother is nothing like Cassidy.¡±

    ¡°You mean a loud mouthed harlot who smokes in between classes and draws the eye of the number one bad boy of Telos Academy¡ªby the way I heard that from Jive.¡± She nodded firmly. ¡°Oh yes he is. Your brother is in Cassidy and the playing field has changed. The rules have changed. His inner demons have been let loose, and Cassidy is the perfect medium to express them.¡± Uma waved her slate around. ¡°This is the square peg fitting the round hole problem on a new level.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Standing behind Uma¡¯s left shoulder, Mia, the team¡¯s bioengineer stepped abreast of her. ¡°Doctor Kassius, what she¡¯s trying to say is that the problem stems from the male mind in a female brain.¡±

    I placed my left arm across my lap. ¡°Tell me something new.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. Well, how do I begin¡­?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Mia. Don¡¯t fade out on me now.¡±

    Uma muttered, ¡°That¡¯s a professional thing to say.¡±

    I shot her a quick glare, then focused on Mia. ¡°Just ignore her and tell me what you think.¡±

    Mia took a quiet breath. ¡°We found a chemical instability in her neural matrix.¡±

    Uma rolled her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s just call it her brain, because that¡¯s what it is. A brain.¡±

    I scowled at her. ¡°You call it her neural matrix all the time.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve decided to turn over a new page.¡±

    Mia raised her hands. ¡°Please, can I explain our findings?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yes, yes. Please do.¡±

    This time, Mia took a deep breath. ¡°Well, we found an influx of testosterone in her system, but her estrogen levels were also abnormally high. In addition her amygdala and prefrontal cortex were showing a barrage of activity.¡±

    Uma dropped her weight onto a hip and said, ¡°In other words, she was on an emotional overload.¡±

    I looked at her. ¡°What does that have to do with my brother¡¯s repressed personality?¡±

    Mia winced faintly. ¡°We believe the mapping of his male mind into the female brain inside Mercedes caused the differences between the two to exacerbate. As a result, where we expected Mercedes prefrontal cortex to take charge and keep her rational, Ronin¡¯s male mapping caused it to refrain from making decisions. It failed to put a stop on the amygdala¡¯s behavior. It effected a fight response rather than one of compromise. This was driven by the fact that Ronin is now finding himself in a position where he can take charge, or rather, confront his opponents head on. He¡¯s been given the means to exert himself in a fashion he was never able to before.¡±

    The more I listened to her, the more an unpleasant sensation was beginning to swirl in my stomach, but I kept my eyes on Mia the whole time. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°Well, as you know, women tend to be less confrontational than men. But in Mercedes, under the effect of your brother¡¯s neural mapping and his personality traits, she¡¯s turned out the opposite.¡±

    Uma broke in. ¡°Which serves her well as a Gun Princess, who needs to make fast decisions and take risks in the battlefield, but not as a teenage high school girl.¡±

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained what my brother¡¯s personality has to do with this?¡±

    Uma stepped up to my desk. ¡°Oh for the love of the gods¡ªI thought you were an Alpha. Think about it.¡±

    I clenched my jaw. ¡°My brother¡¯s repressed personality is screwing with Mercedes¡¯ female brain. Correct?¡±

    ¡°Bingo.¡±

    I stood up slowly. ¡°That means that unless the two adapt to each other, she¡¯ll continue to ride an emotional see-saw.¡±

    ¡°Double bingo.¡±

    I leaned over my desk and glared at her. ¡°Then by your calculations that could take up to six months.¡±

    Uma averted her eyes. ¡°Yeah, bingo again¡­.¡±

    I pointed behind me at the sarcophagus sitting in the middle of the lab. ¡°How is she supposed to function as a person and a Gun Princess under those conditions for the next six months?¡±

    The third team member standing in the background, a young bioengineer by the name of Colin, stepped around Uma and stood at a corner of my crescent shaped desk.

    He quickly brushed aside his long dark hair. ¡°Doctor, we are working on a treatment program for her that will allow her a modicum of normalcy in her day-to-day existence.¡±

    I tried not to sound pained. ¡°A treatment?¡±

    Uma inhaled angrily. ¡°Of course a treatment. We already know that the forced application of Ronin¡¯s male mind into Mercedes is mainly responsible for the problems with her behavior.¡±

    ¡°You could have told me that a week ago.¡±

    Mia squeaked in, ¡°We didn¡¯t see the problems manifest until now.¡±

    Uma shook her head. ¡°No, I saw problems but I mistook them for stress and symptoms of gender distress. When Cassidy locked herself away in her apartment, and struggled with her sudden agoraphobia, I should have picked up on the signs then. Instead, I put it down to a consequence of her inception into girlhood. But the indicators failed to improve, and today in the school environment the numbers went exponential. The fact that Ronin¡¯s male mind is suddenly feeling liberated is causing Mercedes female brain to work differently. You could say that he¡¯s forcing it against its grain.¡±

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    I wanted to hit something but knew that wasn¡¯t a good idea with my broken left wrist. Instead, I turned around instead and walked up to my office¡¯s glass wall that looked out into the immense circular lab.

    I heard Mia speak up softly. ¡°Doctor, Colin and I have been working on a chemical treatment, but it¡¯s not a cure. However, we believe it will allow her to enjoy a normal daily life¡ª¡±

    ¡°Normal?¡± I looked at her faint reflection in the glass wall. ¡°What¡¯s normal for a Gun Princess?¡±

    ¡°Then what do you propose?¡± Uma asked. ¡°I¡¯m out of options, because what happened today proves we really don¡¯t know how to handle a Gun Princess of this nature. She¡¯s not a machine, she¡¯s a living, breathing person. She¡¯s far more human than we credited her. That was a huge shortcoming on our part. But one thing is certain, we need to find a way to balance out the imbalance in her mind.¡±

    I half turned and faced her. ¡°Are you suggesting we change my brother¡¯s mental model, his neural map, to fit Mercedes better?¡±

    She paused and took a deep breath. ¡°I know how you feel about his eventual transition. However, that girl is suffering and she will continue to suffer because we can¡¯t regulate her male and female sides properly for her. I¡¯m concerned that a day, a week, maybe even a month from now her disjointed mental and physical states will cause her to break down¡­in a dangerous way.¡±

    ¡°Dangerous? Are you referring to the problem of Mercedes and Cassidy stuck half way.¡±

    Colin spoke up. ¡°Chief, we¡¯re not sure, but it appears to be a byproduct of the Angel Fibers responding to his confused state.¡±

    I regarded for a moment. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re seeing the Angel Fibers respond to his emotions, bringing out Mercedes during periods of anger, anxiety, and¡ªand whenever she feels her physical existence is threatened as it is during a Princess Royale battle. It¡¯s like a reflex reaction linked to the fight or flight decision making normally performed by the amygdala. But in her brain¡¯s confused state, the amygdala is in conflict with the prefrontal cortex, you could say it¡¯s in a tug-of-war, and its causing her to make snap decisions that are uncharacteristic for a girl. In fact, we¡¯re seeing processing in the anterior cingulate cortex is way, way down. She¡¯s not worrying about her decisions. She¡¯s just making them without a second thought. Although¡­as Doctor Pearson said, your brother¡¯s repressed state of mind has been unleashed, and that¡¯s adding to Mercedes¡¯ woes.¡±

    I grimaced and that caused Colin to hesitate.

    He took a breath and added, ¡°We believe that once he calms down or achieves a degree of emotional security, Mercedes will go back into her shell¡­so to speak.¡±

    I swallowed and asked, ¡°How is she now?¡±

    The three of them shook their heads weakly, and Uma replied, ¡°She¡¯s still stuck.¡±

    Colin sighed, ¡°And although she¡¯s much calmer now that she¡¯s sleeping under sedation, the Angel Fibers are still exhibiting heightened activity.¡±

    Mia muttered something that chilled me. ¡°It¡¯s like Mercedes is on standby¡­ready to jump in at a moment¡¯s notice to save Cassidy.¡± Uma and Colin gave her worried looks, and Mia quickly raised her hands. ¡°Ah¡ªI could be wrong. Very wrong.¡±

    I muttered, ¡°That¡¯s not what I want to hear from an Alpha.¡±

    Mia paled and bowed her head. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    I rubbed my forehead. ¡°I need to speak with him¡ªI mean her.¡±

    Uma asked, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell him the truth about his condition. Maybe that will help ease his mind. There¡¯s little worse than not knowing the state of your own body.¡±

    ¡°And then what?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking about the rift between his male and female sides?¡± I exhaled loudly, then took a quiet breath. ¡°I¡¯ll give him the options we have for now, and let him decide which one to take.¡±

    Uma¡¯s eyes widened, then narrowed as she looked away with a pained expression.

    I folded my arms under my breasts. ¡°What else can I do?¡±

    High above my desk a holovid bubble expanded quickly, startling everybody including myself until we recognized Jive¡¯s cube form. Its walls flashed silver before becoming purplish with swirls of orange and red circling over them.

    I hadn¡¯t seen that mixture before, and it made my heart skip along quickly.

    ¡°Jive¡ªwhat¡¯s happened?¡±

    The Maestro Awareness snapped out a terse, ¡°She¡¯s awake and she¡¯s not happy.¡±

    Uma muttered, ¡°That¡¯s understandable.¡±

    The cube turned around and faced her with a rapidly blinking orange face. ¡°Then maybe you¡¯d like to come down and explain the situation to her.¡± The blinking stopped for a moment, then Jive added, ¡°I meant come up and explain the situation.¡±

    I started walking around my desk. ¡°Jive, tell her I¡¯m on my way. And please, try to keep her calm.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easier said than done,¡± Jive quipped.

    ¡°Well, do your best,¡± I threw back at the Awareness.

    ¡°Some suggestions would be appreciated.¡±

    ¡°Tell her I¡¯ll raise her allowance.¡±

    Jive¡¯s voice rose to a panic. ¡°Your flippancy is not appreciated.¡±

    I stopped walking and turned to look at the cube. Its walls were beginning to melt again. I¡¯d seen this before, but this time it was a ghastly sight. It gave me the impression of skin melting off a person¡¯s face.

    Suppressing a shiver, I asked, ¡°Jive¡­what¡¯s the matter with you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s the Angel Fibers. They¡¯re¡ªthey¡¯re invading the wetware.¡± The cube struggled to retain its form. ¡°They¡¯re¡ªthey¡¯re breaking me down.¡±

    My colleagues were all staring at the displays on their data slates, with Colin confirming Jive¡¯s assessment.

    ¡°He¡¯s right. The Fibers are corroding¡ªno, absorbing the wetware.¡±

    I stared in horrid fascination at the image of the cube melting away.

    Jive wailed in my office.

    ¡°Princess¡ªstop! No, don¡¯t do it¡ªdon¡¯t do it¡ª!¡±

    Abruptly the holovid bubble burst and vanished from sight, but the sound of Jive¡¯s blood curdling scream lingered in the air.

    For an interminable length of time I stood rigid in shock before eventually finding my voice.

    ¡°We¡ªwe need to get up there.¡±

    #

    With Jive¡¯s scream echoing in my mind, I felt myself fall out of the wall and land painfully on the padded floor.

    I was so weak, so addled, I wasn¡¯t able to catch myself with my arms, and landed bodily on my chest.

    Pain lanced through my breasts, and as my chin hit the floor it knocked my head back.

    It was like being punched under the jaw, making my vision swim and double.

    For a long while ¨C I have no idea how long ¨C I lay motionless on the soft floor, breathing raggedly, until I eventually succeeded in moving my arms, and rolled myself onto my back.

    It was then that I was able to see the wall I¡¯d been contained in.

    It had sockets for my arms and legs, and was contoured for my butt and torso.

    As I stared at it, the wall began to assume an ¡®unassuming¡¯ flat surface. Moments later, after it had fully filled in, no one would have suspected it was capable of holding a person in captivity.

    I pushed myself up to a sitting position, and wondered how I¡¯d managed to break free.

    I¡¯d been struggling for a long minute, pulling so hard I thought I¡¯d tear my limbs apart.

    Then a strange, cold sensation had enveloped my arms and legs. It was as though my limbs had begun to spread into the wall. I¡¯d felt the wall resist that, but then that cold feeling had emanated within my skull. At that point, Jive had started pleading with me to stop, but I didn¡¯t know what it meant. A piercing headache swept through my mind, blooming from my temples and rushing to the base of my skull. It was so strong that I forgot to struggle, I forgot to breathe, and then with one final scream from Jive, I found myself falling free of the wall.

    Much of the headache had faded into an unpleasant memory, but some of it remained.

    However, none of this explained why I was suddenly released from the confines of the wall.

    Sitting on the floor, I looked down at myself.

    I was out of uniform and wearing the equivalent of a hospital gown. I found it embarrassing, and immediately began looking around for clothes. But the walls of the square room were bereft of any discernible features. No cupboards. No drawers. No closets. I saw nothing that indicated a door, and the ceiling was just as barren as the walls, though it appeared translucent with strong lighting behind it.

    Rising to my bare feet, I abruptly realized that I was naked beneath the gown, and shivered in shame.

    Just as quickly, anger overrode that shame, and I clenched my fists.

    Stalking up to the nearest wall, I punched it with all my strength.

    To my surprise, my fist sank into the wall. A heartbeat later I sensed the material begin harden, so I quickly pulled out my hand. The impression I¡¯d made into the wall vanished as the surfaced filled out and restored its smooth finish.

    I frowned.

    If the wall could do that, how was it I¡¯d escaped.

    Punching the wall again, I left my right fist buried into it, and waited for the material to harden around my hand. I didn¡¯t have to wait long. Closing my eyes, I first struggled to pull my hand free from captivity. When that failed, I concentrated on the feeling I¡¯d experienced before ¨C a feeling of spreading into the wall ¨C but it eluded.

    After concentrating to no avail for another minute, I decided to tear my hand free of the wall.

    That proved impossible.

    No matter how much I pulled and twisted against the grip of the material, it was as though my hand was buried in permacrete.

    My struggles grew in intensity, as did the panic I was enduring.

    I was mentally kicking myself for trying something so stupid.

    Eventually, my panic migrated into despair, and I began kicking and screaming at the wall while continuously pulling my right hand with my left.

    I screamed even as my voice grew hoarse and my knuckles became bruised.

    But the wall refused to release my hand.

    Then in a blinding wave of despair, I screamed the loudest I¡¯d ever screamed in Cassidy¡¯s body, and punched my left fist into the wall beside my captive right hand.

    I wasn¡¯t thinking of anything but the single minded desire to free my hand.

    My left fist punched into the wall, and I felt it explode.

    It was as though my fist burst apart and spread through the wall¡¯s material. At the same time, my right fist felt like it was merging with the wall.

    In my mind I had the impression that my hands and fingers were now like hundreds of tree roots growing through the wall, spreading through it an incredible rate. The shock of the experience capped my despair and choked my screams.

    Then, just as quickly as the sensation exploded to life, it came to a sudden end.

    In front of me, the wall rippled, then bulged, before exploding in a cloud of debris. There was force behind that explosion, kinetic energy that knocked me back across the span of the room, and against the opposite wall.

    I was too shocked to be relieved that the wall behind me didn¡¯t latch onto me.

    In fact, I rebounded off the wall, and landed on my hands and knees.

    As I looked down at the floor, my view curtained by Cassidy¡¯s long blonde-raven hair falling loosely, I noticed strange strands of silver hair covering my hands and fingers. Within moments, the strands turned to a fine powder, even finer than silver glitter, and completely dissolved into the air.

    I sat up on my knees, and studied my hands, slowly turning them over. Whatever the silver strands were, they were now gone, and only Cassidy¡¯s smooth, almost hairless skin remained.

    Only then did I have the presence of mind to look up at the wall.

    A huge gaping hole existed in it.

    A gaping hole large enough for me to climb through with room to spare¡­and it showed no signs of closing up.

    It took me a heartbeat to realize escape was staring at me in the face.

 Vol 2 - Chapter 3 - Part I

    Chapter 3 - Part I

    I wasted no time rushing to my feet.

    Throwing caution to the wind, I stuck my head and shoulders through the hole and peered outside into a giant spherical room with a dull grey inner wall.

    From first impressions it appeared the square room was a cube that hung from the ceiling of the sphere ¨C if a sphere could be considered as having a ceiling.

    Taking a deep breath, I climbed out of the hole and stood unsteadily against the wall.

    My fingers could just curl over the top of the cube.

    With Cassidy¡¯s enormous strength, I was able to haul myself quite easily onto the roof of the cubed room.

    Once on top, I took stock of my surroundings.

    The spherical room had a diameter of around fifty to sixty feet. It was hard to gauge accurately without a frame of reference, however, it didn¡¯t feel that large. With that in mind, I had to wonder what lay beyond the sphere¡¯s walls.

    As I¡¯d suspected, the cubed prison room hung from the sphere¡¯s ceiling by a long telescoping shaft that was roughly a foot wide where the collar connected to the cube¡¯s roof, but a foot and half at the ceiling.

    That implied the shaft would either lower the cube into the sphere or pull it up.

    Though it wasn¡¯t well lit, I studied the ceiling but didn¡¯t see anything that resembled a square that would indicated a hatch for the cube to pass through.

    Lowering myself onto my belly, I peered down at the base of the sphere, where light from the equatorial ring of strip lights barely reached.

    There was a square down below.

    Hmm. Interesting.

    I sat on the edge of the cube with my legs hanging down.

    I considered my situation.

    One. I was trapped inside a sphere.

    Two. The sphere could either be inside a larger structure, hanging from the air, submerged underwater, or floating in a vacuum.

    Three. Before I made an attempt to escape, I needed to know what was outside the cube.

    And finally four. I didn¡¯t hear any alarms, and how long before the guards came rushing in through some unknown means.

    Sweeping my gaze slowly along the interior of the sphere, I briefly considered how much damage Cassidy¡¯s body could do to the shaft, but I quickly dismissed any thoughts of damaging it. Cassidy wasn¡¯t a machine. She was flesh and blood, though a lot stronger than any person.

    Taking a deep breath, I stood up then, gauged the drop to the floor.

    It looked to be around thirty feet.

    That didn¡¯t seem too bad since I¡¯d managed more or less the same when chasing after the Gun Queen.

    Holding my breath, I dropped off the side of the cube¡­and landed on the hard metal floor of the sphere.

    ¡°Gah!¡±

    As my feet hit metal, I became aware of two things.

    One. Landing barefoot on metal wasn¡¯t like landing on grassy ground while wearing shock resistant boots.

    Two. My breasts were large and heavy. In fact, they were so large and bouncy, they smacked my chin upon landing.

    ¡°Guh!¡±

    My cry resounded inside the sphere, as I rolled onto my back, flipping over a couple of times as pain shot up my feet, all the way to my crotch.

    I came to a stop spread-eagled, my boobs wobbling a couple of times like supersized mounds of firm jelly on my chest.

    Gasping for air while waiting for the pain to subside, I truly wished I had Mercedes¡¯ clothes to wear. And her guns. And a sports bra!

    I rubbed my sore breasts, and choked back a laugh when I considered the possibility of my summoning the Sarcophagus.

    That certainly didn¡¯t seem likely, at least not without Jive¡¯s help.

    Jive¡­.

    Where was Jive?

    I cocked my head, and listened to the sounds inside the sphere, and inside my head.

    No Jive. Not even a peep from the annoying disembodied Artificial Awareness.

    I remembered his spine-chilling scream before the wall released me and I landed on the floor.

    What had happened to the Maestro? Why had he been screaming at me to stop? Stop what?

    ¡°Aggh.¡± I grabbed my head in frustration, my groan echoing a little within the chamber.

    An echo?

    Come to think of it, when I landed just now, it sounded rather hollow. There was a dull twang sound.

    I stood up gingerly, but quickly noticed the pain from my legs had vanished.

    ¡°He he he,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Way to go, Cassidy. You¡¯re one tough chick, aren¡¯t you.¡±

    However, the first thing I¡¯m going to do after getting out of here is find some clothes. This place is cold. Too cold.

    I walked to the four by four meter square depression in the middle of the floor, directly under the cubed room. Kneeling on top of it, I rapped my knuckles loudly on the metal.

    From what I could tell, it was definitely a hatch of some sort. From the edging, I surmised it probably swung down and out of the way. Then again, I could be wrong and it retracted into the sphere, though my gut told me that didn¡¯t make sense.

    Running my fingers along the dark edge, I stopped and sighed.

    I had no idea how I¡¯d managed to escape from the cube, but I suspected it had something to do with the silver hair strands that emerged from my hands and fingers.

    On a hunch, I placed my hand on the depressed hatch, and closed my eyes.

    I imagined my sense of touch expanding along the cold surface of the metal.

    I imagined my hand and fingers spreading along the metal and then into it.

    Part of me was aware it was nothing more than a delusion. But another part of me was certain I had not imagined the sensation back in the cubed room when my hands were trapped in the amorphous wall.

    I relaxed my breathing, and concentrated ¨C imagined ¨C that my hand was gently spreading into the metal.

    After a while I opened my eyes, but observed a distinct lack of progress.

    With a sigh, and another deep breath, I closed my eyes, and tried again¡­.

    #

    (Erina)

    At a near run, Mia, Uma, Colin, and I, boarded the elevator large enough to haul twelve people.

    I pressed my right palm on the scanner beside the control panel, watched it blink green when it recognized me, then hastily pushed the button to the security wing some twelve levels up.

    That alone was enough to demonstrate that the Periphery was anything but small.

    In fact, the research ship was almost four times the size of the ancient cruise ships of old mother Earth. To be specific, she was a trimaran design some four hundred and seventy meters long, and two hundred meters wide. With twenty-four levels or decks, and Rion reactors that could provide power for an entire city ring, the Periphery sailed above the waves of Teloria like a goddess of the seas.

    The elevator raced upwards on its maglev rails.

    I turned to Colin. ¡°Is Jive still online?¡±

    Colin shrugged noncommittally. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no reason he shouldn¡¯t be, unless something happened to the Sarcophagus.¡±

    ¡°Then get a hold of him,¡± I impatiently urged. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for his dramatics.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ªyes, yes ma¡¯am.¡±

    Uma stared at me.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked her.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°You think it was being dramatic?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do. The Maestro¡¯s core is located inside the Sarcophagus. It needs to be there in order to reduce the possibility of interference between the wetware in Mercedes¡¯ head, and the Sarcophagus. Of course that shouldn¡¯t be possible since it¡¯s a quantum link. But to our surprise we noticed interference when the Sarcophagus travels through Limbo yet Cassidy is somewhere else.¡±

    Uma frowned. ¡°Really?¡±

    I nodded tersely. ¡°The engineers were shocked out of their lab coats. Nothing should interfere with a quantum link, yet clearly something about Limbo introduces ¡®noise¡¯ into the proverbial line.¡± I shook my head this time. ¡°In any case, there¡¯s only a small part of Jive inside her head. It¡¯s the classic client-server approach. So he¡¯s not dead!¡±

    ¡°Okay. Okay. Calm down,¡± she retorted. ¡°I was just surprised by its behavior.¡±

    Mia muttered, ¡°It was rather scary.¡±

    I clenched my right hand. ¡°If he had a face to punch¡ªI¡¯d punch it.¡±

    At that moment a multicolored cube roughly a foot wide appeared within a holo-bubble floating just below the elevator car¡¯s ceiling.

    I glared up at the cube. ¡°You bastard.¡±

    ¡°My apologies, Doctor, but it was truly a frightening experience. I do believe I envisioned my short yet memorable life flash before my awareness routines.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t possible.¡±

    ¡°And I saw a bright light. And I went to the light.¡±

    ¡°Jive!¡±

    ¡°And I found myself back in the Sarcophagus¡ªwhich I might add is behaving in a most peculiar manner.¡±

    Everyone in the lift car stared at the cube with sudden trepidation.

    I broke the silence first. ¡°Care to elaborate?¡±

    ¡°It is out of standby mode and powering up its Reflex core.¡±

    I sucked in a lungful of air. ¡°Why the Hell is it doing that?¡±

    The cube wobbled side-to-side in an attempt to mirror a person rocking their head. ¡°If I may postulate a theory¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Get on with it.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI would say it is preparing to travel to her aid.¡±

    My eyes widened, then narrowed when I said, ¡°So there¡¯s another control system.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It would appear I am not piloting alone. I have a co-pilot, or perhaps a pilot instructor watching over me.¡±

    Uma snorted and said, ¡°Maybe you¡¯re the co-pilot, and not the captain of that coffin.¡±

    ¡°That appears to be quite likely. And may I remind you it is not a coffin. It is a sarcophagus. Sarcophagus. Repeat after me. Sarcophagus!¡±

    Uma sang back, ¡°Coffin. It¡¯s a coffin.¡±

    ¡°Gah! You detestable woman!¡±

    I waved my right hand about. ¡°Enough! Stop it¡ªboth of you. We can worry about that later.¡±

    The cube turned into an incensed crimson pyramid. ¡°What?¡±

    I glared up at it. ¡°Right now I want to know if you can regain control of the Sarcophagus. Can you get it to power down?¡±

    Jive returned to its cube form. ¡°It appears not. We must consider the possibility that our partners in crime have given it hidden directives. These directives are clearly designed at ensuring the survival of their investment.¡±

    I nodded bitterly but wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°In other words, House Alus Novis isn¡¯t taking any chances with Mercedes¡¯ safety.¡±

    The cube appeared to nod. ¡°However, should the Princess¡¯ situation improve, we should see an appropriate response from the Sarcophagus.¡±

    ¡°Too many unsaid ifs in that statement.¡±

    Jive wilted a little. ¡°My sincere apologies.¡±

    I cradled my left wrist. ¡°So, what is Cassidy¡¯s situation?¡±

    Jive was silent for a short while, its colors swirling in shades of blue.

    ¡°Jive?¡± I asked, trying not to sound impatient.

    ¡°Well¡­her situation has improved¡­.¡±

    ¡°Explain.¡± This time I tried not to sound anxious. ¡°Is she having a temper tantrum?¡±

    ¡°No. She has moved beyond the tantrum. Rather, it was not a temper tantrum per se. More like an episode of severe distress.¡± The cube performed the equivalent of a shrug. ¡°But as I said, she has moved beyond it.¡±

    I pictured a possible worst-case scenario, and the image left me feeling cold and confused in its wake. ¡°So how is she doing now? What is her situation?¡±

    Jive sounded like he was taking a deep breath. ¡°I do not know how, but during her last spell of extreme panic and anxiety that broached outright despair, the Princess was able to use the Angel Fibers to disrupt the morphic properties of a containment unit wall. As a result, she created a hole in the wall and escaped from the block.¡±

    I heard muted whispers of shock, and softly asked, ¡°She got outside¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and she is currently exploring the base of the sphere. It seems she understands that the Angel Fibers facilitated her escape. Consequently, she is attempting to reproduce the phenomenon with the wall in order to open the access hatch. Thankfully, she has not had any success.¡±

    I kept my breathing even and my voice steady as I considered the implications.

    Mercedes had a limited conscious control of the Angel Fibers. It was probably responding to her emotions rather than conscious, concerted thoughts. That is, it reacted to her strong feelings rather than her will.

    Mia sounded ill. ¡°She¡¯s accessing her latent abilities already. Not good.¡±

    Colin cleared his throat and spoke fearfully. ¡°For her to be using the Fibers now exceeds all our predictions. It is happening too early. Much too early.¡±

    I swallowed and shook my head. ¡°I doubt she has more than limited control. Barely any control.¡±

    ¡°But even so¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know it¡¯s ahead of our predictions. We¡¯ll just have to adjust our models.¡± I frowned at a sudden realization. ¡°Jive, are you back inside her head?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Though the Angel Fibers have robbed me of my ability to influence her neural matrix, and thereby her body. In effect, they have cut off my arms and legs within her brain. Now I am nothing more than a voice between her ears, though I can perceive my surroundings through her senses. That is, I can see what she sees, and hear what she hears.¡±

    Uma guardedly asked, ¡°And how is she?¡±

    ¡°Calm. She has calmed down and is attempting to draw upon the power of the Angel Fibers though she does not appear to know how. I am rather surprised to see her this mentally composed considering her despair only minutes ago. She is truly remarkable.¡±

    The interest in Jive¡¯s voice made me blink and stare sharply at the cube.

    Its colors had mellowed into a soft orange hue and it wobbled languidly.

    Abruptly, Jive asked, ¡°Do you wish for me to pass on a message?¡±

    I inhaled deeply, and gave his question some thought as I watched the elevator level indicator with growing anxiety. The elevator car was nearing the floor of the security wing.

    Was it wise to intrude upon her now?

    Without preamble the indicator panel blinked and displayed a change of direction.

    The elevator car was being redirected.

    ¡°Huh?¡± I blurted out.

    Uma and the others looked at it too. ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    The destination was presented a moment later, and my stomach tightened into a nervous little ball.

    ¡°This is bad,¡± I muttered. ¡°Very bad.¡±

    Jive assumed a melted appearance. ¡°It would appear the Chief Director would like to see you.¡±

    Uma grimaced and subconsciously crossed her arms over her breasts as she complained, ¡°What does that ero midget want now of all times?¡±

 Vol 2 - Chapter 3 - Part II

    Chapter 3 - Part II

    (Whirlander)

    I steepled my fingers under my chin as I sat in my high chair and observed proceedings within the large rectangular window centered on the immense curved wall of the observation room.

    In the middle of the screen, a girl in a hospital ground knelt on the metal floor of a giant sphere, with one hand touching a square metal access hatch.

    For the past minute she had not moved an inch.

    With her eyes closed, her expression was serene, though I doubted she was asleep. Instead, she appeared to be in a state of deep meditation.

    I clenched my jaw, then tapped an armrest control and adjusted my high chair a little higher.

    What was she up to?

    Off to my left, the sound of food crunching between teeth was beginning to grate on my nerves.

    In the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Akane toss a handful of popcorn into her open mouth.

    The young woman munched away like a bovine with flat teeth.

    I did my best to ignore her, but under the circumstances that proved difficult.

    Another mouthful of popcorn and more loud munching.

    I strongly suspected she was deliberately being obnoxious.

    Akane spoke with her mouth full. ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t that the isolation cube you built for the military so they could contain Rygellian prisoners of war?¡±

    I concentrated on the screen and proceeded to ignore her.

    She dropped more popcorn into her gaping maw. ¡°I thought you were going to put her in the same cell you put me.¡±

    I inhaled long and deep, somehow refrained from sighing, and refused to be baited.

    Akane continued eating noisily. ¡°Rygellians are ugly but very strong. It¡¯s no wonder the Ground Pounders hate them.¡±

    I considered tossing Akane into a cell full of the alien reptiles.

    Suddenly an immense box of popcorn was shoved directly in front of my eyes, filling my view of the world.

    Akane shook the box. ¡°You want some? They¡¯re very good.¡±

    I blinked slowly, then calmly tried pushing the box aside. ¡°No, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You don¡¯t want to spoil your appetite?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, Akane, I¡¯m trying to watch the screen.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not doing anything. You¡¯re not missing much.¡± She waved the popcorn box. ¡°Go on. It¡¯s a good batch. You won¡¯t get sick like last time.¡±

    Touching an armrest control, I spun the chair around to the left in order to face her. ¡°I believe I instructed you to be on standby.¡±

    She nodded while withdrawing the box from my vicinity. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here keeping an eye on the situation. You have a better idea?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely.¡± I pointed at the screen. ¡°Go out to the boarding gantry and be prepared for anything.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Akane used the popcorn box to gesture at the screen. ¡°You mean like that?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    I turned to the screen in time to see the sphere¡¯s hatch swing down like a trapdoor.

    A heartbeat later and the girl fell through the hatchway with a startled scream.

    The view instantly changed to an exterior shot.

    The girl fell through the air, but at the last moment she reached out and caught the edge of the open hatch door.

    Now she dangled in open air, hundreds of feet above the waves.

    And her gown billowed upwards in the wind, revealing her au naturel beauty.

    Akane laughed and slapped her right thigh. ¡°I told you she was a natural blonde.¡±

    I stared at the screen¡­and suffered an instant nosebleed.

    Frantically reaching for my tissue box on a tray hanging from my chair¡¯s left armrest, I pinched my nose and desperately tried to avoid staring at the screen.

    Of course Akane noticed and made the situation unbearable.

    She quickly snatched the tissue box before I could get to it.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you,¡± she laughed. ¡°You had a nosebleed from just one look? Dear gods¡ªhow depraved can you be?¡±

    ¡°Give me that back!¡±

    Akane waved the tissue box around and out of my reach. ¡°You really are a pervert¡ªan ero midget of the most perverted kind.¡±

    ¡°Akane, you are testing my patience.¡±

    She continued waving the box, an evil smile curling the ends of her mouth. ¡°Tell me something, Madam Director. Do you spy on me when I¡¯m in the shower? Hmm?¡±

    ¡°What? Of course not!¡±

    ¡°Really? Why not?¡±

    I hesitated before demanding. ¡°Akane, give me the box.¡±

    She cocked her head a little. ¡°Why don¡¯t you spy on me? Even after I put on such a show for you when I¡¯m taking a shower.¡±

    ¡°The box, Akane.¡±

    She shook it in the air. ¡°Not until you answer my question.¡±

    ¡°Akane¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for an answer.¡±

    I held my breath for a long moment. ¡°Because you¡¯re not my type.¡±

    Akane¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°Of course not. Anyone¡ªincluding a pervert like you¡ªwould be disgusted by what that they see.¡±

    She crushed the tissue box and tossed it away over her shoulder, all while still smiling.

    That made the casual gesture somewhat terrifying.

    Akane spoke softly. ¡°I do miss the days when I could wear a miniskirt, or a sleeveless dress.¡±

    Quietly and cautiously, I fished around for a handkerchief in a skirt pocket. ¡°We all have things we miss, and things we regret, Akane.¡± I found the handkerchief and quickly retrieved it, then dabbed at my nose and lips. ¡°At least you experienced what some of us never have.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t patronize me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m doing no such thing.¡±

    I met her gaze and held it, but it wasn¡¯t easy staring into Akane¡¯s turquoise eyes ¨C not when she was smiling so coldly it actually chilled the air in my lungs.

    She dropped the smile when the door to the observation room slid open and admitted a quartet of harried looking people. Turning toward the curved wall, Akane kept her attention glued to the image on the screen as she resumed loudly eating her popcorn.

    I thought she might have grimaced faintly when Erina Kassius called out to me.

    ¡°Madam Director, why did you bring us here?¡±

    Tapping the orientation rollerball embedded in the armrest, I swiveled the chair around to face the room¡¯s entrance.

    Kassius stood there, cradling her broken left arm in its regeneration cast, and a troubled look on her face. Her companions wore expressions that ranged from scared to contemptuous, especially Uma Pearson who made sure to keep her arms crossed protectively over her chest.

    Now that was one body I wouldn¡¯t mind spying on.

    Kassius distracted me from Pearson by stepping closer. ¡°Madam Director?¡±

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.I waved them to come deeper into the semicircular room. ¡°Doctor Kassius, please, please, no need to be afraid.¡±

    She took a deep breath, then stormed up to me. ¡°Director, we have a situation unfolding¡ªwhat the Hell?¡±

    She caught sight of the image centered on the curved wall and visibly paled.

    In fact, they all did.

    Kassius swallowed with difficulty. ¡°What the Hell is happening out there?¡±

    Pearson stated the obvious. ¡°She opened the hatch¡­and now she¡¯s hanging on for dear life.¡±

    ¡°What a remarkable observation,¡± I muttered.

    Pearson threw me a sneer, before facing Kassius. ¡°But how did she open that reinforced hatch? Could it be¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Let me think,¡± Kassius snapped, her eyes intent on the screen with the Princess treading air.

    I sat back in my chair. ¡°Well, Doctor. Care to shed some light on how the Princess managed to escape?¡±

    The young woman continued studying the screen, then proceeded to run her gaze on all the other screens on the curved wall. ¡°We¡¯re at sea. When did we set sail?¡±

    Akane laughed, spitting out bits of popcorn as she did. ¡°We put out to sea as soon as you returned. Didn¡¯t you hear the announcement? Just what have you been up to?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Kassius blinked as though noticing Akane for the first time. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Akane threw her a disparaging look over one shoulder. ¡°Focus on what¡¯s important, Erina dear.¡± She pointed at the screen. ¡°Or haven¡¯t you noticed that the ero midget deployed the containment sphere out over the side of the ship.¡± She tossed more popcorn into her mouth from the bottomless box she carried. ¡°And it¡¯s a long way down to splashdown.¡±

    I folded my hands on my lap. ¡°Indeed. As your colleague¡ªformer colleague¡ªpointed out, the Princess has escaped her confines and now dangles perilously high above the ocean waves. Do you care to comment?¡±

    ¡°No. I do not.¡±

    I forgot to blink. ¡°What?¡±

    With a stern expression, Kassius faced me while pointing at the screen. ¡°However, I am going to tell you to save her before you lose control of the situation.¡±

    ¡°Oh. In what way?¡±

    ¡°You know as well as I do, that with her structural strength a fall like that won¡¯t come close to harming her.¡±

    ¡°I am well aware of that. I read the specs on her.¡±

    ¡°And if she hits the water, you¡¯ll fish her out with a rescue boat ready to launch.¡±

    ¡°Quite correct.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re not the only one ready to step in at a moment¡¯s notice.¡±

    I blinked slowly. ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± I regarded the various screen windows on the wall. ¡°There¡¯s no one around us for kilometers. Why do you think we put out to sea? No one is going to swoop in and steal her from us.¡±

    Kassius swept her hand at the curved wall. ¡°You¡¯ve got eyes everywhere except the most important room in this ship.¡±

    ¡°What are you¡ªah!¡±

    The proverbial penny dropped.

    With a swipe of the trackball, I spun myself and the chair around to face the projection wall. A handful of taps later on the armrest console panel, and a second large screen appeared on the wall.

    This screen offered a view into Kassius¡¯s lab¡­and the Sarcophagus.

    Steady pulses of phantasmal emerald light swam up its burnished metal body. The visible signs of a propulsive field.

    ¡°¡­oh dear¡­.¡±

    I glimpsed Kassius nodding as she lowered her hand. ¡°The Sarcophagus is aware that Cassidy¡ªno, Mercedes¡ªis in danger. It¡¯s getting ready to make its move.¡±

    ¡°But I thought we had complete control¡ª¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve never had complete control!¡± Kassius snapped, and I heard the undercurrent of fear in her voice. ¡°We don¡¯t know what it will do if something happens to her. This is a different situation from when she¡¯s fighting in a Sliver. We don¡¯t know what directives the Sarcophagus is ready to enact should she come to harm out here.¡±

    Before I could muster any form of retort or reply, a holovid window winked to life between the curved wall and me. It encapsulated the head and shoulders of a mustached man with dark, closely cropped hair. He looked to be in his early forties, with touches of grey on his sideburns.

    ¡°Chief Directory¡ªapologies but we have a situation.¡±

    Another situation?

    I stared at my head of security aboard the Periphery with a sinking feeling while holding back the reigns of my imagination.

    ¡°Chief Director?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Go ahead, Captain Bolton. What¡¯s this about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about the containment sphere. An unexplained structural deformation of the access hatch triggered the release mechanism.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®structural deformation¡¯?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t explain it yet without having my people examine the door, but something appears to have altered its dimensions in a way that caused the safety system to spool open the locking bolts.¡±

    ¡°And this opened the door?¡±

    ¡°Yes. But that¡¯s not all. The door¡¯s failure has kicked off a security procedure we didn¡¯t know about. Well, actually it appears to be a bug in the system.¡±

    ¡°A bug? Are you serious?¡±

    Bolton nodded fervently. ¡°Chief Directory, this bug in the security protocols has triggered the emergency release of the isolation cube¡ªand we can¡¯t stop it!¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Release?¡±

    ¡°Ejection.¡±

    Kassius yelled out, ¡°Oh no¡ªCassidy!¡±

    Everyone in the room, including Bolton in the holovid bubble, turned to face the central screen.

    Within the display window, the Princess had been deliberately swinging her body to and fro as though in an effort to gain momentum. It was clear she was gearing up for an acrobatic leap onto part of the Periphery¡¯s superstructure that was out of sight.

    Suddenly the isolation cube dropped out of the bottom of the sphere.

    It crashed into her body, knocking her out of the window¡¯s frame.

    The external holocam swung its eye in an effort to track her.

    I watched in horrid fascination as the young girl sailed through the air like rag doll.

    However, before she could crash into the Periphery¡¯s superstructure, a dense white cloud burst to life and enveloped her falling body.

    The shadow of something large and dark swam through the cloud before the latter degraded down to a mist that quickly dispersed into the air beside the speeding ship.

    Just like that the Princess was gone¡­spirited away by the Sarcophagus that had vanished from Kassius¡¯s lab.

    <hr />

    End of 3.

    Chapter 4 is next.

    Cheers.

    __________

    Simkin452

 Vol 2 - Chapter 3 - Part III

    Segment was missing when I posted Part II. It leads into Chapter 4. Vey sorry! Please forgive me!

    <hr />

    Chapter 3 - Part III

    I had a horrible dream.

    A dream of being knocked sky high into the air by a giant falling cube.

    I dreamt I sailed through the air and then suddenly fell into a cloud so cold it iced my bones and frosted my bare skin.

    Surprisingly, darkness enveloped me¡­and in the darkness I heard a man¡¯s voice calling out to me as though from a distance.

    ¡°¡­princess¡­.¡±

    Gods, I really hated being called that.

    ¡°¡­Princess¡­.¡±

    Abruptly, my rhythmic heartbeat stumbled a step.

    Wait a minute¡ªwho was calling me Princess? Though the man¡¯s voice didn¡¯t sound like Jive, I was certain I¡¯d heard it before.

    ¡°¡­Princess¡­time to wake up¡­.¡±

    The voice was now much closer and quite clear.

    ¡°¡­Princess, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve slept long enough¡­?¡±

    It sounded like it was right beside me.

    Damn. If only I could remember who owned that voice.

    ¡°Very well. You leave me no choice. Time to put the fairy tale to the test.¡±

    Wait¡ªisn¡¯t it easier to just open my eyes.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    While my mind was still in the process of booting up, at the very least I had grown conscious of my body and physical orientation.

    I was aware that I was lying down on something soft, and I could feel the sensation of smooth fabric over bare skin.

    But more importantly, I was drawn to the warm and tender sensation spreading through my lips.

    I wouldn¡¯t describe it as unpleasant ¨C quite the opposite ¨C and parts of me trembled and tingled as my emotions fell into a whirlpool of shame and guilt.

    Adding to my shame, I felt disappointed when the very, very, obvious kiss came to an end.

    With my lips free, my eyelids frantically fluttered open.

    I had to blink numerous times before my eyesight cleared.

    I quickly focused on the face of the man leaning over me.

    He looked down at me, and nodded faintly in satisfaction. ¡°It would appear there is truth to the fairy tale.¡±

    I ran my tongue over my lips. ¡°You¡­.¡±

    Simon nodded again, and smiled at me in relief. ¡°Welcome back, Princess.¡±

    Despite lying on my back, I clenched my right hand into fist, and promptly punched him in the jaw.

    It was rather satisfying to see him fly backwards and out of sight, before hearing him land somewhere with a loud thud.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Princess.¡±

 Vol 2 - Chapter 4.

    Important: opening and ending scenes added (8/01/2016)

    <hr />

    Chapter 4.

    (Erina)

    On my cellphone, I listened to a member of my team, Franz Herschel, report in on the progress to reactivate Maestro Em Eighty-Three¡¯s contingency core.

    ¡°It¡¯s busy incorporating the data contained in the last incremental archive. Should be done shortly. With this it will be up-to-date to the point where we lost contact with the Sarcophagus.¡±

    I nodded unnecessarily. ¡°Thank you, Franz.¡±

    ¡°Em Eighty-Three will report in when it¡¯s ready.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I ended the call, and faced the occupants of the observation room. ¡°Since we¡¯ve been relying on the Maestro¡¯s prime core installed in the Sarcophagus, we haven¡¯t fired up the contingency core in weeks. It¡¯s having to absorb weeks of incrementally archived data. We don¡¯t know how stable the processing matrix will be.¡±

    Uma muttered, ¡°Just what we need. A mentally unstable Artificial Awareness.¡±

    The dwarfish figure of the Chief Directory had been observing the multiple screens on the curved wall, but soon turned her chair about to fix her attention upon me.

    ¡°Will we be able to use it to establish contact with the Maestro installed in the Sarcophagus?¡±

    I resisted the impulse to shrug. ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡±

    Whirlander lips drew together into a thin line, before muttering, ¡°Most disappointing.¡±

    I took a quick breath. ¡°We knew we hadn¡¯t broken down all the layers to the Sarcophagus¡¯s systemry. My team estimated we were approximately seventy-three percent of the way there, and that¡¯s when they hit a wall.¡±

    ¡°So now what?¡± Whirlander asked. ¡°Do we even know where it is?¡±

    I faintly shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s gone autistic. In other words, it¡¯s not responding to our requests.¡±

    The sound of a box being crushed drew everyone¡¯s attention.

    Actually, Akane was meticulously folding her popcorn box repeatedly in half. With her gaze on the box she was making smaller, she asked, ¡°How did you ever communicate with it before?¡±

    ¡°By quantum transceiver. It¡¯s the only way since we have no positional fix on the Sarcophagus while it¡¯s moving through Limbo. It¡¯s not like we can point an antennae in its direction.¡±

    Akane mulled over my reply. ¡°So you can talk to it, but you don¡¯t know where it is.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±

    ¡°But now you can¡¯t talk to it anymore.¡±

    I swallowed unhappily. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±

    Akane snorted out a laugh. ¡°Your day just isn¡¯t getting any better.¡±

    I raised my shoulders sharply. ¡°Shut up, Akane.¡±

    ¡°Are you losing your temper, Erina? Is that why you¡¯re not thinking clearly?¡±

    I took a step toward her. ¡°You¡¯re not helping the situation.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to know where that girl is?¡±

    The cardboard box in her hands was now palm sized but rather thick. It took considerable strength to fold it that far. Certainly far more strength than I possessed.

    I discreetly swallowed and directed my gaze upon her face. ¡°I already know where she is.¡±

    Akane folded the box one last time, then tossed it from palm to palm. ¡°So why haven¡¯t you gone there already?¡±

    I threw a look at the ero midget ¨C the Chief Directory ¨C sitting in her multipurpose chair.

    ¡°Do we take the risk?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Are you concerned with antagonizing House Alus Novis?¡± Whirlander questioned by way of reply.

    ¡°Putting Cassidy in that containment sphere was not a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take responsibility for it since it was my idea.¡± Whirlander folded her hands atop her lap. ¡°Very well, since in all likelihood our errant Gun Princess has run off to her Prince in shining armor, why don¡¯t we give them a little time alone?¡±

    I realized my mouth had fallen open, and closed it shut.

    Whirlander tapped a tune out on her thighs. ¡°We can always confirm that she¡¯s there by spying on him.¡±

    I pointed out, ¡°His luxury apartment is clean of any surveillance equipment. I wouldn¡¯t try testing whatever security measures he¡¯s brought along with him from his universe.¡±

    Akane laughed. ¡°Yes, but we¡¯re already looking through his windows and listening through his walls.¡±

    I stared at her in shock. ¡°What? You¡¯re spying on his apartment?¡±

    A terrible fear was close to being realized.

    Akane laughed again. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t¡¯ know. Jeezes, Erina, how na?ve can you be?¡± Abruptly she covered her mouth in mock startlement. ¡°Wait¡ªdon¡¯t tell me you¡¯re afraid of what you might see? The Princess and her Prince in a compromising situation?¡±

    That was one fear, but not the one I feared the most. Or maybe it was on par with my personal fear. I just couldn¡¯t decide on which of them was worse.

    I had to forcibly relax my hands and restrain myself from punching the young woman.

    Of course, with her physical abilities, any attempt I made to injure her would be futile.

    Akane smile coyly. ¡°Well, do you think the Princess will answer the call of the wild? She is a nubile young girl after all.¡±

    Whirlander whirled in her chair.

    Her fingers blurred as she entered commands at an insane speed on the armrest consoles.

    ¡°We¡¯ll need additional holocams, thermal scanners, ultrasonic sweepers¡ªah, we¡¯ll need more audio receptors! And an uprated sound system preferably with twelve channel surround sound! And seismic sentinels too. Need to capture every bedroom shaking moment.¡±

    She wiped the drool from her lips.

    ¡°Let¡¯s make this a four dimensional experience!¡±

    Uma softly muttered, ¡°The midget is really living up to her reputation¡­.¡±

    A cold sweat began to trickle down my spine.

    #

    Sitting up on the bed, I looked around quickly and gauged I was in luxurious bedroom with a double-bed, walk-in closet, and en-suite bathroom.

    The d¨¦cor was rather spartan, with lots of white complemented by shades of beige and light tan.

    Everything had rounded, beveled corners, including the bedhead.

    I peeked under the bedsheets and confirmed I was butt naked.

    With a growl, I climbed out of the bed then proceeded to wrap the top bedsheet around my body. I couldn¡¯t determine out how to tie it, so I resorted to holding it up with one hand ¨C all of which was a belated attempt at preserving my modesty since there was no doubt Simon had witnessed by naked glory.

    Then I walked to a corner of the bed and looked down at Simon lying supine and unconscious on the soft creamy colored carpet.

    My punch to the jaw had knocked him out cold.

    Thankfully, he¡¯d avoided striking anything along the way to the floor.

    I was relieved, but then angry.

    However, first things first.

    Walking around in a bedsheet in Simon¡¯s bedroom was akin to inviting disaster.

    The longer I stared down at him, the deeper the scowl that grew upon my face.

    ¡°Humph!¡±

    The sight of the open door to the en-suite bathroom gave me an idea.

    I stepped over Simon¡¯s motionless body, and walked into the bathroom. Looking about the interior, I noticed the pair of white bathrobes hanging from hooks mounted to one wall.

    ¡°Hah,¡± I muttered as I noticed one robe had a feminine cut. ¡°So he has a lady friend, but that doesn¡¯t stop him from kissing me.¡±

    I took the feminine bathrobe off the hook, and slipped into it after dropping the bedsheet from around my body.

    Walking up to the wide bathroom vanity, naturally all white, I ran cold water into the basin.

    I splashed my face, then stared at myself in the mirror.

    I was back to being Cassidy.

    Blonde hair without a single dark streak, and my eyes were hazel once again.

    I took a deep breath and sighed.

    Washing my hands and face once more, I remembered to pat myself dry rather than wipe away like a man would.

    Ensuring the bathrobe¡¯s sash was tightly done up around my narrow waist, I stepped out of the bathroom and walked up to Simon.

    I stopped beside him and watched him slowly regain consciousness.

    He uttered a low groan and reached up to rub his jaw. This prompted a gasp then a grimace.

    When he finally opened his eyes, he found me glaring down at him.

    I turned my glare into a scowl. ¡°Hello there, Sunshine.¡±

    He gingerly stroked his jaw. ¡°Nice to see you too, Princess.¡±

    The man just never learned.

    Since I was standing to his left, I planted my left foot on his crotch¡­and dropped my weight on it.

    Simon gasped and his eyes bulged. ¡°Gah¡ªwhat¡ªwhat are you doing?¡±

    I eased up on the pressure but kept my foot firmly planted. ¡°Are you looking to join the sisterhood?¡±

    He gave me a hesitant frown. ¡°My apologies. Whatever do you mean¡ªgah!¡±

    I used his groin for a stepping-stone. ¡°I said, do you want to join the sisterhood? If so, you won¡¯t be needing these.¡±

    He wheezed loudly. ¡°Stop¡ªstop! For the love of the multi-verse have mercy.¡±

    Again, I eased my weight off his crotch. ¡°Are you ready to repent?¡±

    ¡°Dear Princess, would you be so kind as to elucidate the source of your discontent?¡±

    I crushed his manhood. ¡°Don¡¯t call me Princess.¡±

    He gasped for air. ¡°Very well¡­then what¡­shall I...call you?¡±

    ¡°Right now you¡¯re talking to Cassidy. But if you piss her off her evil personality will take over and you¡¯ll be dealing with Mercedes.¡±

    He nodded haltingly. ¡°Very well¡­Cassidy dear.¡±

    I started to stand on one foot ¨C my left foot.

    Simon hastily added, ¡°Cassidy. I meant, Cassidy.¡±

    I planted my weight back on my right foot. ¡°Now then. I need answer.¡±

    He gave me an exhausted yet relieved nod. ¡°As you wish.¡±

    ¡°Where am I?¡±

    ¡°My apartment in Ar Telica¡¯s Ring Zero, District Five.¡±

    I placed it on a map in my mind. This meant the apartment was near the shore of the bay. ¡°Why am I here?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­your Sarcophagus delivered you here.¡±

    ¡°It did?¡± I frowned as I remembered the dream.

    Falling into the white, chilling cloud in my dream now made sense to me.

    It was the Sarcophagus emerging into this reality.

    ¡°Oh¡­so I was saved by it.¡±

    For some reason, the realization took an invisible weight off my shoulders.

    Having the missing pieces of the puzzle now in place gave me a sense of relief.

    I studied Simon who regarded me with wary concern, and asked him, ¡°Why would it bring me here?¡±

    Simon was quiet for a short while, and looked faintly uncomfortable. ¡°The Sarcophagus was provided by House Alus Novis. In the event of your life being in danger while in this reality or universe, it has been instructed to come to your aid, and deliver you to the House representative. That would be me.¡±

    I frowned again, then peered around the bedroom. ¡°It didn¡¯t come crashing through the walls or ceiling.¡±

    ¡°No, not at all. The emergence field was quite well modulated. The breach failed to disturb any of the furniture.¡± He raised a hand cautiously. ¡°As a matter of fact it delivered you into the living area while I was watching the evening news.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°You do that?¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°You watch the news.¡±

    He gave me a conflicted, complicated look, as though he was unsure in what way to reply.

    I raised a hand quickly. ¡°Forget it.¡± Holding back a sigh, I asked, ¡°So, do they know I¡¯m here?¡± Abruptly I gasped and asked, ¡°Wait¡ªdo you know what happened to me?¡±

    Simon blinked quickly, before pressing his lips into a worried thin line. ¡°The Sarcophagus informed me of what it knew of the events aboard the Telos Corporation research vessel. It appears someone took a special interest in you, and placed you inside an isolation block.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who that would be?¡±

    Again he looked uncomfortable. ¡°As a matter of fact, I do.¡±

    I noticed he was looking uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. However, I pressed him for an answer and leaned forward a little. ¡°Who put me in that cell block?¡±

    Simon took a couple of breaths. ¡°Cassidy, dear, if I may impose upon you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Would you be so kind as to¡­set me free? Please?¡±

    I furrowed my brow into a scowl. ¡°What was that?¡±

    He gave me a sheepish, yet discomfited smile. ¡°For my sake more than yours, I¡¯d appreciate it if you stopped doing that.¡±

    I swept a glance over myself. ¡°Doing what?¡±

    Simon looked to be edging toward despair. I could see the sweat beads running down his flushed brow. ¡°Your foot, Cassidy dear. Please, please I implore you to stop moving your foot. ¡±

    It took me a moment to realize what he meant. I was unconsciously rocking my left foot side-to-side, forward and back. The realization lanced through my mind, shocking me into a momentary loss of reason.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡ªgeh!¡± My eyes grew unbearably wide. ¡°Wh-what is this?¡±

    Simon cleared his throat and fearfully pleaded, ¡°My dear lady. I beseech you to pay it no mind.¡±

    At first I thought he was joking, but a longer look at his face strongly implied otherwise. ¡°Wh¡ªwhat the Hell?¡±

    It felt like I was standing on¡­a log.

    Suddenly the notion to look down at my left foot became unbearably terrifying.

    I began to tremble all over.

    And Simon broke into a full sweat. ¡°Cassidy. Please. Be reasonable. I entreat you to listen to me.¡±

    ¡°Listen to you?¡± Cassidy¡¯s body alternated between shivering and trembling. ¡°Why? Why? Tell me why?¡±

    Simon raised a hand, his palm toward me. ¡°My dear girl, you must understand there are certain elements beyond a man¡¯s control. Ah¡ªwhen certain tactile input takes place, a man tends to respond a certain way. I¡¯m certain you recall your days as a strapping young lad¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wrong.¡±

    Simon swallowed in a hurry. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±

    ¡°Wrong.¡± I repeated. ¡°Wrong. Wrong. Wrong¡ªthis is wrong!¡±

    Simon lowered his hand. ¡°Err¡­Cassidy?¡±

    I clenched my hands and closed my eyes as wave of shame rushed through me from head to toes. However, what really shook me was the feeling of utter humiliating defeat. A sense of complete, unmitigated loss that gurgled down into empty despair. It was like eating humble pie of the most bitter kind.

    I covered my face with both hands. I realized I was being overly emotional, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself. Maybe it was all the female hormones rushing through Cassidy¡¯s body.

    I struggled to hold back a sob, as I heard the concern in Simon¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Cassidy? Cassidy, are you alright¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I snapped. ¡°Why? Why? It¡¯s wrong and it¡¯s not fair.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­Cassidy. Please, calm down.¡±

    I dropped my hands, clenching them into fists, and glared fire and brimstone at the man. ¡°Just die!¡± I screamed.

    Then I raised my left foot high and slammed it down with enough force to crack a wooden floor.

    I¡¯d never seen a man move so fast in my life.

    The fear of losing a limb and possible death was a powerful motivator.

    Through the red haze filling my eyes, I watched Simon scoot back with the speed of a bullet, his face a mask of terror.

    My foot crushed the carpet, missing his trunk by a mere inch.

    The floor boomed and I thought the walls shook a little.

    But the Ronin elements within Cassidy weren¡¯t close to giving up.

    I stalked Simon as he scurried backwards along the floor.

    It was satisfying to hear him plead for mercy.

    ¡°Cassidy¡ªno, Mercedes. I implore you. Stop. Please stop and think about what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    The tendons in my hands popped and cracked loudly. ¡°I bet you¡¯re real proud, aren¡¯t you? Yeah, you¡¯re a real man amongst men. Or are they all built the same from where you come from?¡±

    He retreated until his back hit the bedroom wall behind him. ¡°Mercedes¡ªwhy are you so angry?¡±

    ¡°You¡ªyou have no idea how mortifying that thing felt under my foot.¡±

    ¡°Please listen to me.¡±

    ¡°Something that large should be illegal!¡±

    Simon started to raise his hands. ¡°Mercedes, let¡¯s be reasonable. Please, think it through.¡±

    ¡°Beg.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°I said beg.¡±

    Simon frowned ever so slightly. ¡°Um¡ª¡±

    I raised my chin, and glared at him down my nose. ¡°Are you too much of a man to beg?¡±

    For a long while, Simon remained as he was, his hands raised toward me, but then he lowered them slowly. The fear on his face began to ease, even if just a little.

    ¡°No.¡±

    I clenched my jaw, and a cauldron of emotions tightened my throat, making it difficult to swallow. ¡°Fine. Then today is the first day of your new life.¡±

    I started to crouch, my intention clear, when Simon surprised me by gathering his feet under him and standing up.

    He was taller than Mercedes, standing a very respectable six feet or so.

    Dressed as he was in a light summer shirt and long shorts, I gained a good impression of his build. It was clear that despite being in his middle years, he was remarkably trim.

    I found myself responding by standing at Mercedes¡¯ full five feet eight inches, but I was forced to look up at him.

    His grey eyes met mine, and he shook his head slowly. His voice was low, and quiet calm, yet I could see the fight or flight conflict warring behind his eyes.

    ¡°Enough. Do what you will, but I will not beg.¡±

    I arched my eyebrows at him, and a burning shiver ran through me.

    After a long moment, Simon swallowed and stated with firm conviction, ¡°Not all men are created equal.¡±

    Simon moved fast. But Mercedes moved faster. Yet at the last moment I gained control of the anger¡ªmy anger¡ªthat was fueling her.

    Instead of punching through Simon¡¯s stomach, I felt her fist punch through the wall as I slowed her reaction down a mere heartbeat.

    Simon tossed his body aside, and caught himself from falling by supporting himself against the adjacent wall.

    ¡°And not all women are created equally!¡±

    His cry reached me.

    I pulled my fist out of the hole in the wall, and stared at him with burning, conflicted feelings.

    Simon was breathing hard, fear warring with the severe expression on his face. ¡°Mercedes¡­Cassidy¡­you are judging me unfairly.¡±

    ¡°Do you know¡­do you know what I have found the hardest to accept these past few days?¡±

    I watched him breathe a couple more times before guardedly shaking his head. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°This¡­feeling of emptiness. This¡­sense of missing something important to me.¡±

    He did well not to frown as he stayed silent.

    I pointed down at myself. ¡°This¡­this body¡­it¡¯s not me.¡±

    Simon watched me with nearly unblinking eyes.

    I lowered my clenched hands to my sides, and I tried relaxing them. ¡°For the past five¡­six days¡­I have tried to look at myself in the mirror¡­without looking at myself.¡±

    The feelings bubbling in the cauldron deep in my chest surged against its inside wall like storm waves crashing against the breakers.

    I had to let go of the shivering building up within me.

    When it ran its course through my body, I found my voice again.

    ¡°I am not a girl. I am a boy. And this body, as beautiful as she is, is not mine. This is not who I am.¡±

    I took another deep breath.

    ¡°And I¡¯m reminded of this every single effing time I have to sit down to pee.¡±

    Another deep breath.

    ¡°And every effing time the wind blows up my effing skirt and freezes my ass and my damn cu¡ª¡±

    ¡°Cassidy!¡±

    His sharp cry assailed my ears, shocking me so much I actually trembled.

    Gone was the look of fear on Simon¡¯s face.

    Now¡­now I saw anger¡­and stark disappointment.

    He shook his head. ¡°That is unfitting for a lady to say.¡±

    I stared at him, disbelief running between my ears, and then I started to laugh.

    It was low at first, almost like a series of hiccups, but then it grew into unmistakable laughter.

    I laughed until my sides began to ache.

    I laughed but there was no mirth, no joy or happiness behind it.

    It was a deranged, despairing laughter born of the mix of unstable emotions that now spilled out of the cauldron within my chest.

    I laughed, and then I cried.

    To his credit, Simon did not move toward me.

    If he had, I was certain Mercedes would have ripped his body in half.

    Instead, he stood quietly by the wall, and watched me cry.

    I wiped at my tears, and between wracking sobs, I cried out the words I¡¯d wanted to say back then at the beachside resort.

    I made my demand loud and clear.

    ¡°Give me back my body!¡±

    I cried, and I howled, and I stamped my feet.

    ¡°Give it back! Give it back! Give it back!¡±

    I raised my fists, intending to rush him and pummel him into a bloody mess.

    ¡°Give me back my life!¡±

    At the last heartbeat I turned away and slammed Mercedes fists into the wall beside me ¨C the wall separating the bedroom from the spacious en-suite bathroom.

    And Mercedes ripped the wall apart.

    She kicked it. She punched it. She tore out pieces of it and flung them like a debris carried by a storm into the bedroom.

    Then she lost her will, and sagged against the wall, before slowing turning to face Simon.

    Maybe because he said nothing ¨C maybe because all he did was quietly observe me ¨C maybe that was the reason why I felt anger and resentment toward him.

    Maybe it was the reason I rushed him ¨C because I wanted him to flee ¨C to take a stand against me.

    But Simon did nothing but follow me with his eyes.

    Even when I pushed him back against the wall behind him, Simon made no attempt to defend himself or fight back.

    So in the end, I stood before him, my whole body trembling and shivering, with a fresh run of tears streaming down my face.

    I couldn¡¯t manage more than a ragged whisper.

    ¡°Say something¡­.¡±

    Simon pressed his lips together, and continued silently watching me.

    ¡°Say something¡­.¡±

    But he said nothing. He just stood there, his back leaning against the bedroom wall, wearing an expression that had grown unreadable.

    I drew back my right fist¡­and dropped it down to my side.

    After a while, when my tears abated to the point I could see properly again, I tried my voice.

    It was harsh, and my throat felt as dry as sandpaper.

    ¡°You people¡­took my life¡­and put me in this¡­monstrosity.¡± I swallowed a couple of times. ¡°I hate you. I hate all of you.¡±

    I turned and started walking away toward the bedroom doorway.

    ¡°Mercedes, wait¡­.¡±

    ¡°Go to Hell.¡±

    ¡°I made a promise to your sister. And I will keep it.¡±

    I stopped walking but didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°What promise?¡±

    ¡°That I would return you to your body.¡±

    I laughed and shook my head weakly. ¡°Yeah, but what kind of body will it be. Can your kind really regenerate my body?¡± I looked at him over left shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you can. I believe you lied to my sister to get her co-operation. And once you get what you want from me¡­you¡¯ll get rid of me.¡±

    ¡°That is not going to happen.¡±

    ¡°Liar.¡±

    I started walking again. Exiting the bedroom I stepped into a spacious living room that was twice the size of my student apartment.

    I felt somewhat disgusted by how large Simon¡¯s apartment was.

    However, I didn¡¯t bother wondering how he had acquired it. No doubt the Telos Corporation was involved.

    Sweeping my gaze over the expanse of the living area with its sofa seats, coffee and dining tables, shelves, and so forth, my attention was caught by the wide window wall that looked out onto the horseshoe shaped bay.

    The curtains were drawn back, and I had an uninterrupted view of Ar Telica at night.

    The city lights were on, illuminating the tall skyline and streets far below.

    I walked up to the window wall, entranced by the scenery.

    Sparing a thought for my sister, I wondered where she was.

    I was also a little unsettled by the silence in my head. Ever since Jive had wailed away in terror, there had been no hint he was still inside my head. Had no idea what had happened, nor could I explain the behavior of the Angel Fibers within my body. However, those Fibers had done something to the sphere¡¯s hatch and caused it to open.

    I was free, yet as I stared at the night skyline, I realized I was trapped.

    The freedom I was experiencing now was nothing more than a temporary reprieve from captivity.

    I heard and sensed Simon walk into the living area, and come to a stop a few meters behind me.

    ¡°Mercedes. There are some things you need to know.¡±

    I listened but didn¡¯t turn around. I could see his reflection in the window.

    Simon pressed on somberly. ¡°I disabled the wetware in your head. At the moment, they have no idea where you are.¡±

    That took me by surprise. ¡°How?¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I used the Sarcophagus.¡±

    I swallowed, and nodded shallowly. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°The Sarcophagus is much more than your personal armory. It¡¯s a safe haven. You can take shelter inside it. You can rest, heal, and regain your strength using its support functions. And you can use it to travel around. You can even travel to my universe, if you so desire, though there is a procedure¡ªa route¡ªyou must follow.¡±

    I gave him another shallow nod.

    Simon slipped his hands into the pockets of his shorts. ¡°We gave the people of your reality a great deal of access to the Sarcophagus¡¯ inner workings. We didn¡¯t give them access to everything.¡±

    ¡°Because you don¡¯t trust them.¡±

    ¡°Because we don¡¯t trust their intentions for you.¡±

    I held back a frown and slowly half turned to look at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Your people are at war with a dangerous species. You represent a powerful new technology that can be employed in the war. But it¡¯s an immature technology. Also, if your existence was discovered by the public, the repercussions are both good and bad. In other words, the people of your reality aren¡¯t ready for something like you. They are more likely to accept the cybernetic Gun Princesses, than an entity such as yourself.¡±

    ¡°An entity? Thanks. You sure know how to make a girl feel special.¡±

    I realized what I was saying, but referring to myself as male right now wouldn¡¯t have had the same effect.

    ¡°Mercedes, you are special.¡± He took a very deep breath. ¡°There are many in my reality who believe you are the Eve that will give birth to a new humanity.¡±

    That notion made me shiver and not in a pleasant way. ¡°I¡¯d rather die first¡­.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say that.¡±

    I laughed under my breath. ¡°Wait. I¡¯m already dead.¡±

    Simon stepped closer, his hands now at his sides. ¡°Mercedes, Ronin¡¯s body is safe. I assure you, it will be returned to you. You have my word as the representative of House Alus Novis.¡±

    I laughed again, tainted by bitterness. ¡°And all I have to do is fight and win. Right?¡±

    He gave me a single firm nod. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    He took a deep breath. ¡°On the surface, it¡¯s about prestige and honor for a ranked House such as mine.¡±

    ¡°And below the surface?¡±

    He shook his head gently. ¡°I cannot say.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because you don¡¯t trust me.¡±

    I shook my head back at him. ¡°And that¡¯s precisely why I don¡¯t trust you. Because you¡¯re not telling me the whole truth.¡±

    He cocked his head at me. ¡°And can I trust you if I do?¡±

    I turned round and faced him. ¡°At least it would be a start.¡±

    ¡°I can give you more control over your life.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I drew back an inch or so. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°They watch everything you do, and won¡¯t hesitate to cage you if it¡¯ll ensure they get what they want from House Alus Novis.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°By ensuring your cooperation, they get our cooperation.¡±

    ¡°And you give them stuff that¡¯ll help humanity win the war?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re dealing with a corporation. Do you think they¡¯re doing all this because they¡¯re altruistic?¡±

    I swallowed quietly. ¡°So it¡¯s about making money, rather than helping humanity survive.¡±

    ¡°But if humanity dies then they can¡¯t make money, which is what drives every corporation. They know this, and its why they¡¯re willing to deal with us, bend over backwards for us, and beg if need be in order to ensure our continued support.¡±

    I folded my arms under my breasts. ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡±

    ¡°I can use that to get you back your privacy. I can make sure you¡¯re allowed to live your life as Cassidy Reynier. I can limit their influence in your life.¡±

    I noticed I was biting my lower lip but didn¡¯t stop myself. ¡°What do you want in return?¡±

    ¡°I want you to win.¡±

    ¡°How? I¡¯m not trained to fight. I survived last time by the skin of my teeth.¡±

    ¡°You have a talent far above normal people. You¡¯re ability to process sensory data at enormously high speeds is phenomenal.¡±

    My face twisted into a full frown. ¡°My what?¡±

    ¡°When we designed Mercedes¡¯ body, we wanted to ensure that Ronin¡¯s extraordinary hand-to-eye coordination was retained. In particular, your ability to overclock.¡±

    My frown eased. ¡°I thought that was something unique to Mercedes.¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s something you could do beforehand.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ve never overclocked.¡±

    ¡°Not to the degree Mercedes can achieve. But it was indeed a latent talent we identified and incorporated into her body, now your body.¡± He took a step closer. ¡°You won your first match without training beyond what you gained in the game arcades. You have talent, and you will gain the skill.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°By training, of course.¡±

    I released my frown, and relaxed my face. ¡°And who is going to do that?¡±

    He pursed his lips together for a long moment. ¡°I have someone in mind.¡±

    If I was to fight, and win, then training toward that goal was something I couldn¡¯t avoid. It was something I¡¯d accepted a while ago, but had been too preoccupied with adjusting to life inside Mercedes to spare it much thought.

    I believed I¡¯d taken a step toward that goal this morning when I asked Crais Shepherd to teach me those martial arts he employed against this uncle.

    But should I leave my training in Simon¡¯s hands? Could I trust him?

    I wanted to know more of what he had in mind before I made a decision.

    Simon stepped closer, and I quickly raised a hand, stopping him.

    ¡°Mercedes?¡±

    ¡°I need time. Time to think about it. And you need to tell more about what you¡¯re planning for me.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± He glanced over my shoulder at the night skyline visible beyond the glass wall. ¡°It¡¯s late. Why don¡¯t I order us something to eat?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t cook?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d need to shop for supplies. However, I can indeed cook.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you well rounded,¡± I muttered under my breath.

    He placed his hands behind his back. ¡°Then what shall it be?¡±

    ¡°Clothes.¡±

    He leaned forward a few inches. ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Clothes. I¡¯d like clean clothes. And to take a shower.¡±

    He smiled faintly. ¡°By all means. I believe I have something that might suit you.¡±

    I noticed he¡¯d grown relaxed around me.

    However, before I could say anything the door bell chimed.

    Simon half spun toward the door, then spoke into empty air. ¡°Home. Corridor visual.¡±

    A holovid bubble a meter in diameter appeared a few feet away in front of Simon. He and I regarded the image outside the door to the apartment.

    He let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Building security.¡±

    ¡°Why are they here?¡±

    Simon regarded me through lidded eyes. ¡°Because undoubtedly someone made a scene, and our neighbors heard it.¡±

    I jerked back.

    He was right. I¡¯d certainly made a lot of noise, and brought trouble to his doorstep.

    I loudly sucked in air, which pushed out my breasts under the robe. Of course, Simon¡¯s attention was briefly drawn to my chest. However, now wasn¡¯t the time for me to make a snide comment.

    The doorbell chimed again.

    Growing anxious, I asked, ¡°What should I do?¡±

    He regarded me from head to toes. ¡°That look isn¡¯t going to do.¡±

    I clenched my hands before me. ¡°Then tell me what to do!¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re willing to trust me?¡±

    ¡°For now¡ªyes!¡±

    ¡°Well you¡¯re too young to be girlfriend¡ª¡±

    ¡°A wise assumption,¡± I snapped.

    ¡°¡ªso I guess you¡¯ll just have to hide.¡±

    The doorbell chimed a third time.

    I hastily pointed in its direction. ¡°But with all the racket I made, they¡¯re going to be looking for a body.¡±

    ¡°True. Though I may convince them the noise came from a holovision recording.¡±

    I stared at him flatly. ¡°That sounds even worse.¡±

    Knocking on the door succeeded in grabbing our attention.

    Simon said, ¡°Go into the bathroom and wet your hair.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Just do it. Then wait for me in the bedroom.¡± He snapped his fingers at me. ¡°Go, Mercedes.¡±

    I did as told, and hurried to the en-suite bathroom. Opening the shower head, I slipped the bathrobe down to my waist, then stuck my head under the water. Once it was moist if not wet, I turned the water off, and slipped back into the robe. When I passed by the mirror, I saw that I was once again Cassidy and not Mercedes. The frequent changes between physical personas was starting to unsettle me.

    With a loud breath, I walked out into the bedroom, and grimaced when I saw how much damage I¡¯d done to the wall.

    There was no easy way to hide it.

    I looked around, searching for furniture I could position in front of the damaged portions of the wall, but there wasn¡¯t any I could use. Hauling the bed upright against the wall wasn¡¯t an option. It would look even more bizarre and suspicious.

    The sound of voices coming from the living area caught my attention.

    Standing near the bedroom door, I eavesdropped but soon I heard Simon call out for me.

    ¡°Cassidy, would come out here, please.¡±

    Taking a couple of deep breaths, I fluffed my blonde hair a little, tightened the robe about me and then stepped out into the living area.

    The two security guards dressed in black uniforms regarded me from head to toes.

    They did well to hide their surprise, but I caught the hint of it in their eyes.

    One of the men indicated I should come closer, so I stepped up to Simon and stopped beside him. I was careful to keep some distance between us.

    The older of the two guards compared my appearance to an image on the data slate he held in his left hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re Cassidy Reynier?¡± he asked, but it sounded less a question and more like a statement of confirmation.

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°What is your relationship to this man?¡±

    I choked back a gasp, as my thoughts fell into a spin. Rather, it was like the thinking part of me was the red ball bouncing around in a roulette wheel.

    The guard tipped his head toward me an inch or so. ¡°Miss?¡±

    In my mind, the roulette wheel slowed and the ball came to rest on one particular square.

    ¡°He¡¯s my cousin¡¯s boyfriend.¡±

    The guard glanced at Simon, then asked me, ¡°Care to explain?¡±

    I folded my arms under my chest. ¡°Simon is my older cousin¡¯s boyfriend. My cousin is Erina Kassius. She works for the Telos Corporation.¡±

    The guard expressed neither belief nor disbelief, however, he did study my appearance once more. ¡°I see. Do you have any proof of this?¡±

    I sighed loudly, tossed my wet hair, and dropped my weight onto a hip. ¡°Look. He¡¯s my cousin¡¯s boyfriend, not mine. I¡¯m not having an affair with him, and if you want proof, then I can tell you I¡¯m still a virgin.¡±

    Dear gods¡ªdid I just say that?

    Ignoring the way Simon suddenly stiffened, I kept my attention on the security guard, and held up a finger. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s too old for me. Not my type. And there¡¯s a boy at my school that I¡¯m looking to make mine. So I don¡¯t have time for old guys like him. Okay? I¡¯m not doing anything wrong. He¡¯s not doing anything wrong. We¡¯re not having sex. What more do you want?¡±

    ¡°Would you care to explain why you¡¯re here?¡±

    ¡°I had a fight with my cousin, and I came here.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    I planted my hands on my hips. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? And why are you here anyway?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re investigating reports of a commotion. The neighbors heard a woman screaming violently from in here.¡±

    ¡°I told you¡ªwe¡¯re not having sex.¡±

    The guard gave me a thin look, but his partner looked noticeably embarrassed and glanced away.

    After a moment the questioning guard asked, ¡°Can you tell us about the disagreement with your cousin?¡±

    I chose to cross my arms while clenching my jaw. ¡°Why do I have to tell you anything? You¡¯re not the police.¡±

    ¡°Would you care to explain yourself in front of them?¡±

    I dropped my arms to my sides and trembled in anger that wasn¡¯t entirely faked. ¡°Fine. You want to know? I¡¯ll tell you. I found out my whore of a cousin was cheating on her boyfriend. I confronted her about it and we got into a fight. I was furious with her so I came here to tell Simon the truth. And then¡ªand then we started arguing because he didn¡¯t believe me! And he accused me of trying to break him up with my bitch cousin! And that¡¯s what happened! Are you happy now¡ªhuh?¡±

    I don¡¯t know how I managed it, but my cheeks suddenly wet with fresh tears.

    I gasped and touched my face.

    How had I become this distraught again? What was wrong with me? I was supposed to be faking my emotions yet I was crying as though everything I¡¯d said was true.

    I stepped back and covered my face for a long moment, before dabbing at my tears with the sleeves of the bathrobe.

    I wasn¡¯t looking at the guard when I heard Simon say, ¡°It¡¯s the truth. She¡¯s telling you the truth. I didn¡¯t believe her.¡± He sighed heavily, and then added, ¡°I still¡­don¡¯t want to believe her.¡±

    A heavy silence fell upon us.

    It last for a long while, until the older guard said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to enter a record of the reported disturbance. If the people who reported the disturbance choose to enter a formal complaint, we¡¯re obliged under building regulations to report this to the police.¡±

    Simon nodded slowly. ¡°I see. Then I¡¯ll have to call my legal representative and seek his advice. Is there anything else?¡±

    I had stopped crying, and my face was dry again, though my sleeves were moist.

    The guard spared me another look before adding. ¡°I suggest you keep it down.¡±

    Simon released a heavy breath. I watched his shoulders rise and fall.

    He gave the guard a solitary nod. ¡°Yes, I understand. My sincere apologies.¡±

    I bowed my head and kept my eyes downcast.

    The guard said, ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. We¡¯ll be in touch if we need anything else.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Simon politely replied.

    With my arms folded tightly under my breasts, I remained stationary when Simon and the guards walked by me on their way to the apartment¡¯s entrance.

    I refused to look at any of them, and chose to keep my attention on the carpeted floor.

    It wasn¡¯t until Simon came back sans guards, that I started to relax.

    Then I saw his disgruntled face. ¡°Wh¡ªwhat?¡±

    Simon stared at me through narrowed eyes. ¡°Your sister is not going to be pleased if she ever learns about that lie.¡±

    I shrugged, feeling a little nervous. ¡°Well, I had to think of something to tell them. Something they¡¯d believe. I won¡¯t tell her if you won¡¯t tell her.¡±

    Simon¡¯s mouth opened, but then he closed it with a weary shake of his head.

    Wanting to change the subject, I indicated the bathrobe I was wearing. ¡°Sorry, but could I trouble you for some clothes.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there anything else you¡¯d like to say to me?¡±

    I remembered the damage to the wall, and my attempt to castrate him underfoot. ¡°No. Not that I can think of.¡±

    Simon¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡ªyou¡¯re unbelievable.¡±

    ¡°By the way, you had no right to kiss me.¡±

    He blanched for a heartbeat, then sheepishly turned away. ¡°I have no idea what you mean.¡±

    ¡°I may look like this, but I¡¯m still a guy inside.¡±

    He faced me again. ¡°Are you saying that kiss did nothing for you?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°It turned my stomach.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you kiss me back?¡±

    I gasped. ¡°I did no such thing.¡±

    ¡°You most certainly did. And you seductively ran your tongue over your lips. That¡¯s something only a girl can pull off.¡±

    ¡°Gah¡ªthat¡¯s a lie!¡± I poked his chest with an iron hard finger. ¡°You took advantage of me and I¡¯m still under aged. That makes me jailbait. Jailbait!¡±

    Simon made a shushing gesture. ¡°Will you keep your voice down?¡±

    I hissed through clenched teeth. ¡°I am keeping my voice down!¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re calling yourself jailbait?¡±

    Realizing how that sounded, I blushed furiously and stepped back.

    But Simon followed me. ¡°And one more thing. I really cannot abide a woman who isn¡¯t honest with herself.¡±

    I stopped retreating. ¡°I¡¯m not a woman.¡±

    He stopped advancing. ¡°Shall we test that?¡±

    I wagged a finger at him. ¡°Don¡¯t even think of crossing that line.¡±

    Simon folded his arms across his chest. ¡°Very well. For now, we can leave things as they stand¡­with you in denial.¡±

    I lowered my voice and hardened my expression into a glare. ¡°Simon. You¡¯re treading on thin ice.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be Cassidy and Mercedes for at least a year.¡±

    ¡°But then I¡¯ll go back to being Ronin.¡±

    He took a long slow breath. ¡°You have almost a whole year to experience life as a girl. Are you going to throw that opportunity aside?¡±

    ¡°Opportunity?¡± I blinked slowly at him as I rolled the word around in my mind. ¡°Is that what you think this is?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Go to Hell, Simon.¡±

    His shoulders grew rigid, then abruptly he shrugged, and then turned away. ¡°There¡¯s no getting through to you.¡±

    I started to growl, when he suddenly strode away.

    Simon walked across the living room and disappeared into a hallway.

    When he came back, he carried a bundle of clothes and a shoebox with him.

    He dropped that bundle into my arms.

    I looked down at the clothes and shoebox, then faced him with a question on my face.

    Simon pointed to the bundle. ¡°I had that ordered and delivered this afternoon while you were asleep. They should fit you fine, including the shoes.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe my ears. ¡°You¡­you know my sizes?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± He indicated his bedroom. ¡°Get dressed. Then we¡¯ll continue our discussion from earlier.¡±

    ¡°What discussion?¡±

    ¡°About how we¡¯re going to get you trained for the Princess Royale.¡±

    I felt a little defeated hearing that. ¡°Oh¡­.¡±

    Simon regarded me with a penetrating look. ¡°Don¡¯t you want your body back?¡±

    ¡°I¡ªI do.¡±

    ¡°Then prove it. And I don¡¯t mean by wrecking another one of my bedroom walls.¡±

    I sucked in air noisily through my nose, then stormed past him, across the living room, and into his bedroom.

    With one foot, I kicked the door shut.

    The force of the impact caused the door to rebound open.

    The top hinge plate tore free of the doorframe.

    I stared at the door as it hung awkwardly from the remaining hinges.

    ¡°Cassidy!¡±

    I squeaked and fled into the en-suite bathroom.

    ¡°This is coming out of your allowance!¡±

    #

    (Erina)

    Whirlander looked up at me.

    ¡°What the Hell just happened?¡±

    I looked down over my right shoulder at where she sat on her multipurpose highchair.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not following you¡ª¡±

    Whirlander jammed a finger at the large curved wall with multiple rectangular screens peeping in on Simon¡¯s apartment. ¡°What is this travesty?¡±

    Akane snorted. ¡°I¡¯d say someone wants her money back.¡±

    Whirlander tossed her hands in the air. ¡°After everything that happened between them and this is what we get?¡±

    Uma snapped, ¡°Why are you so angry?¡±

    The diminutive Chief Director banged her hands on the chair¡¯s armrests.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the sex?¡±

    I stared at her ¨C we all stared at her ¨C and endured mounting disbelief. ¡°You are truly disgusting.¡±

    Whirlander sagged in her chair, then languidly swept an arm at the wall. ¡°All this and nothing happened. What a waste¡­a total waste of resources¡­and that girl has no idea on what she¡¯s missing out.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t contain myself, and planted myself in front of Whirlander. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t you dare talk about my brother that way! Is that clear?¡±

    Whirlander regarded me with a confused look on her face. Then her expression darkened.

    ¡°Akane.¡±

    The young woman was cleaning her nails with a butterfly knife. ¡°Yes, Boss?¡±

    ¡°Go fetch that girl.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t stop my eyes from widening, and not at the butterfly knife. ¡°Wait a moment! Just what do you have in mind?¡±

    Whirlander raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re sending Akane. That¡¯s a bad move considering Akane pumped Cassidy full of tranquilizers.¡± I tapped my chest. ¡°If anyone should go fetch my brother, it should be me.¡± I jerked my thumb at the nearest wall, not minding which direction I was pointing. ¡°We¡¯re out at sea. Allow me to use one of the Vee Tolls to fly back to Ar Telica.¡±

    ¡°Denied. Akane will suffice.¡±

    ¡°Akane will make things worse.¡±

    The young woman gave me a deep bow, with the knife pressed across her chest. ¡°Thank you for your support, Doctor Kassius.¡±

    I ignored her and locked stares with Whirlander. ¡°Cassidy will not respond well to her.¡±

    Akane straightened and planted her hands on her hips. ¡°Are you forgetting your so-called cousin tried to kill you?¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t true,¡± I retorted.

    Akane shook her head with a pitying look. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t intervened, you¡¯d be laid out on a slab by now.¡±

    ¡°She was angry, but she wasn¡¯t going to kill me.¡±

    ¡°Does the wrist hurt?¡± Akane asked. ¡°Maybe all the tranks in your system are clouding your Alpha brain, but you¡¯re in denial.¡±

    I faced her. ¡°So what are you planning to do? Walk to his apartment door, knock on the door, and shoot them both with tranquilizers when they open it?¡±

    Akane grinned wolfishly. ¡°That sounds like a plan. I like it.¡±

    ¡°This is serious. You think you can fetch her against her will. Have you forgotten she has the Sarcophagus with her? That device is a portable armory.¡±

    Whirlander nodded in agreement. ¡°Which is precisely why Akane should go.¡±

    I looked at the short woman on the chair. ¡°You¡¯re going to start a fire fight in the middle of Ar Telica¡¯s Ring One.¡±

    Uma broke into the argument with a sharp tone, and handed me her phone. ¡°Erina, it¡¯s for you.¡±

    I stared at the phone I took from her. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Just answer it,¡± she grumbled.

    I held it up to my ear. ¡°This is Erina Kassius.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Cassidy¡¯s voice came through clearly.

    I forgot to breathe, and my mind flatlined for a second or so. Then I quickly lowered the phone in my hand and activated the speaker function. ¡°Cassidy, is that you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°But¡ªbut how?¡±

    ¡°Someone called Uma Personality or something called Simon¡¯s cell phone and asked to speak to me.¡±

    I looked down at the number on the phone¡¯s flat display, then up at Uma in disbelief.

    She folded her arms and shrugged casually. ¡°Why make a mountain out of a mole hill. Isn¡¯t it easier to just call him?¡±

    I narrowed my eyes at her. ¡°You had his number? How did you get his number?¡±

    ¡°Same way you did.¡±

    I blanched then blushed hotly. ¡°Hah?¡±

    Uma peered at me. ¡°What¡¯s with that reaction?¡±

    ¡°You¡ªyou slept with him too?¡±

    Uma paled. ¡°No! I agreed to dinner and dancing! Nothing more!¡± She gasped. ¡°My gods¡ªyou didn¡¯t.¡± She lowered her arms and retreated a step away from me. ¡°I thought you were kidding when you said you went back to his apartment after your date.¡±

    I waved the phone angrily. ¡°That¡¯s because you kept egging me on wanting to know the details. And I was drunk that night. And I can¡¯t remember much about it either! I can¡¯t even remember sleeping with him!¡±

    Uma appeared to wilt. ¡°You harlot¡­.¡±

    My whole face felt like it was alight. ¡°Who are you to judge me? You used to string up men like a daisy chain during college.¡±

    ¡°That was a social experiment.¡± She tapped her temples. ¡°Mind works, remember. All part of furthering my thesis.¡±

    ¡°And how many relationships did you ruin as a result?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ruin them.¡± She pointed at Akane. ¡°She did.¡±

    At that moment something narrow and sharp flew past Uma¡¯s face, and slammed with a loud ¡®thunk¡¯ into the curved wall.

    Strands of hair drifted in the air in front of Uma¡¯s face.

    Her bangs were sliced in a horizontal line.

    ¡°Oops,¡± Akane giggled. ¡°My fingers slipped.¡±

    Uma reached up and gingerly touched her hair with a trembling hand.

    I stared at the butterfly knife impaled on the wall.

    Something went snick, and when I slowly turned toward Akane, I saw she had a switchblade in one hand and was gently running the edge of the blade over the back of her other hand.

    Akane looked at me innocently. ¡°What?¡±

    A small voice emanated from the phone in my hand.

    ¡°Erina¡­is that true?¡±

    I looked down at the phone.

    Cassidy voice grew a little stronger yet her tone was distant. ¡°Erina, did you sleep with Simon?¡±

    I swallowed again, unable to decide how best to answer her.

    Akane suddenly spoke up. ¡°Hey, Princess. Do you want to see the recording?¡±

    My heart stopped and my innards abruptly became cold.

    Akane laughed. ¡°Your cousin puts in quite the performance.¡±

    There was a dull but very loud thud.

    That was the sound of me fainting and hitting the floor.

 Vol 2 - Chapter 5 - Part I, II

    Important: Chapter 4 beginning and ending scenes added. If you haven''t read them, then please read them. Sorry. The chapter was a little too incomplete.

    <hr />

    Chapter 5 - Part I

    I stared at Simon while holding his cell phone in one hand up to my ear.

    ¡°You slept with my sister?¡±

    Simon looked confused. ¡°What? No, of course not. I respect her far too much.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s this about her being drunk on a date with you?¡±

    Simon frowned, and his expression grew distant as though he was searching for something on the horizon. Then his eyes widened.

    ¡°Oh, I see. It was that time she was inebriated and passed out. I brought her here to sleep off the alcohol.¡± He looked down at me. ¡°She slept in my bedroom, and I slept in the guest room.¡±

    ¡°Why not put her in the guest room instead?¡±

    ¡°Because it would be easier to fool her into thinking something had happened.¡±

    My eyebrows knitted. ¡°So you played a prank on her?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    He shrugged a shoulder. ¡°Your sister¡ªor should I say cousin¡ªneeds to learn to relax.¡±

    ¡°You said you respect her, but pulled this crap on her?¡±

    ¡°It was harmless.¡±

    I sneered at him. ¡°You really have no charm. And I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re lying or not.¡±

    ¡°What is it they say in your world?¡± He placed his right hand over his chest and held up his left. ¡°Scouts honor. Nothing undue happened between us.¡±

    ¡°So the recording is a lie?¡±

    ¡°There was no recording. Trust me. Even I know when I¡¯m being spied upon. For example, in three of the neighboring buildings they have people with surveillance equipment spying on me twenty-four seven.¡±

    I flinched. ¡°Eh?¡±

    He smiled down at me. ¡°Are you surprised?¡±

    ¡°Well, of course. I mean¡±¡ªI swallowed cautiously¡ª¡°doesn¡¯t it piss you off?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be more concerned if they didn¡¯t make the attempt to spy on me.¡± He cocked his head. ¡°Given the surveillance, do you really believe I would make an untoward attempt on your sister?¡±

    ¡°But you still pranked her.¡±

    ¡°Yes. And she can review the surveillance recordings any time if she wants to know the truth.¡±

    ¡°So what that woman said was a lie?¡±

    ¡°Most assuredly.¡±

    So who was that woman? And she called me Princess, too.

    I noticed the phone was creaking in my right hand. Any more pressure upon it and I¡¯d crush the casing.

    After taking a deep breath, I released the air in my lungs with a loud whoosh. ¡°Okay. That does make sense.¡±

    ¡°By the way, they¡¯re still listening in on the phone. You forgot to put them on hold.¡±

    ¡°Yikes!¡± I held the phone away at arm¡¯s length, which was a pointless act. Slowly, I brought it back to my ear. ¡°Ah¡­hello? Erina, are you there?¡±

    There was a long period of relative silence.

    Then a new voice spoke through the phone.

    ¡°Ms. Reynier, this is Peripheral Division¡¯s Chief Director Whirlander. I regret to inform you that your sister has fainted.¡±

    Simon choked, and I grimaced. ¡°She what?¡±

    ¡°It would appear that after hearing her dirty laundry aired, she was unable to cope and fainted. However, do not be concerned. I have my best people attending to her. She¡¯ll be up on her feet in no time.¡±

    I slowly turned away from facing Simon. ¡°Are you the person running the show?¡±

    ¡°On this side of the border¡­indeed I am.¡±

    I lowered the phone from my ear, and pressed on the display to enable the speaker functionality.

    ¡°Did you put me in that metal ball?¡±

    ¡°I gave the order to place you in containment.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what you call being stuck inside that marshmallow cube.¡± I paused for a heartbeat before asking, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Quite simply because you represented a risk to yourself and to others. You are a very important asset to us. We cannot have you harming others, or risk exposing your nature.¡±

    ¡°So what do you want?¡±

    ¡°We would like you to return to the Periphery.¡±

    ¡°And if I refuse?¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re just being plain silly. You cannot refuse. We own you. We own your livelihood.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not your property.¡±

    ¡°Well, in truth you are also owned by House Alus Novis. It¡¯s more accurate to say we have joint custody over you.¡±

    I noticed I was starting to pace while biting my lower lip. I stopped doing the latter. ¡°I have no intention of going back into containment or whatever you call it.¡±

    ¡°Then do you promise to behave.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°If I¡¯m in containment, how can I be of use to anyone?¡±

    ¡°That is true. In which case, if you refuse to behave and co-operate, your value to us and to House Alus Novis will drop. And an asset of no value is written off. Are you following me, little girl?¡±

    I turned my head to look at Simon.

    His expression grim, he gave me a slow nod.

    Turning away, I bowed my head for a long moment as I fell into thought.

    Then I walked to the wide window wall that looked out at the city. I touched the glass softly as I stared at the buildings around us.

    I cleared my throat quietly. ¡°In other words, I have no choice but to be good.¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll play nice. But I want something in return.¡±

    The woman sounded genuinely surprised. ¡°Oh? What would that be?¡±

    ¡°I want to know who shot me back at the school.¡±

    ¡°Oh, why?¡±

    ¡°So I can thank her for stopping me from hurting my sister¡ªI mean cousin.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­this is a surprise.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me?¡±

    The woman laughed in delight. ¡°I will do better than that. I will send her over to pick you up and fly you back to the ship. She¡¯ll be there in a couple of hours.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Well, then my dear. When you get back, we can have a more meaningful conversation.¡±

    I nodded faintly. ¡°I look forward to it.¡±

    I waited for her to end the call, then walked over to Simon and handed him his phone.

    With my back to the living room¡¯s floor to ceiling windows, I stood close to him and looked him in the eyes as I whispered, ¡°Can they hear me?¡±

    Simon turned the phone off completely, then pocketed it. ¡°The glass is soundproof, but as you¡¯ve discovered the walls are not.¡±

    I crossed my arms under my breasts.

    The clothes he¡¯d given me to wear fit me well. I was somewhat embarrassed to admit the bra was rather nice and form fitting. It was actually better than the ones Erina had chosen for me.

    Damn my sister for making me so big.

    But it was also embarrassing to the know that he knew my dimensions so well.

    As a guy I wouldn¡¯t have been bothered by it, but as Cassidy, I couldn¡¯t help being troubled.

    Simon broke into my thoughts and discomfort. ¡°Did you mean what you said to the Chief Director?¡±

    I let my gaze wander over his face.

    His grim expression was still there.

    ¡°Did I make trouble for you?¡± I asked.

    A subtle tightening of the eyes was his response.

    I lowered my gaze and muttered, ¡°You picked the wrong person for this.¡±

    ¡°I disagree. Your sister¡¯s assessment of your abilities was on the mark. Of the available candidates, you were the best choice.¡±

    I raised my head and drew back a little. ¡°Available candidates?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We had a total of six candidates on the list, and your profile was best suited for the project.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It was determined that you would adjust best to the Gun Princess¡¯s body.¡±

    Tension tightened my throat. ¡°So I wasn¡¯t the only one?¡±

    ¡°No. Your sister vouched for you, and House Alus Novis decided to trust in her judgment.¡±

    I felt the room sway a little, and bit my lip hard to keep focus on Simon¡¯s face.

    She lied to me.

    Erina had lied to me.

    I couldn¡¯t maintain my mental balance, and moaned, ¡°I¡¯m going to be sick.¡±

    A heartbeat later, I ran for the bedroom¡¯s en-suite bathroom, and emptied what little I had in my stomach into the toilet bowl.

    I sensed Simon watching me from the bathroom doorway, uncertain as to whether he should approach me or not.

    ¡°Cassidy?¡±

    I held up a hand and warded him back. ¡°Don¡¯t. Don¡¯t come near me.¡±

    Dry heaving a few more times, I wiped my mouth clean with toilet paper, flushed the toilet, then slumped back on the floor with my back against the shower stall¡¯s glass wall.

    Simon remained in the doorway. ¡°Cassidy?¡±

    I stared vacantly at the hole in the wall my fists and feet had made earlier in the afternoon.

    He broke the silence guardedly. ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡±

    Weakly, I shook my head. ¡°She told me she was blackmailed by House Alus Novis into using me. That way she would be forced to deliver results, or I would die¡­.¡±

    I heard his breath catch, and that surprised me so I slowly turned my head and faced him.

    Simon had bowed his head, and his chin pressed down on his breastbone.

    Biting my lower lip, I hesitated before asking, ¡°Did she lie to me?¡±

    He crossed his arms. ¡°Your sister said she could make the Angel Fibers bond seamlessly with a Simulacrum. Despite having other candidates, she offered you as collateral, knowing that if she failed, you would die. As a result, she strongly recommended using you rather than the other five subjects. Her choice went beyond the numbers looking good. Her choice was a demonstration of her conviction and belief that she would not fail. House Alus Novis recognized and acknowledged her commitment. We threw our resources behind her, trusting in her success, because we also knew that she¡¯d lied regarding your compatibility.¡±

    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand¡­.¡±

    ¡°According to her report, you were the best candidate just based on the analysis of your psychometric profile. There was also your unusually high hand-to-eye co-ordination and the fact you lacked a dominant eye. That made you suitable to using dual firearms. You also have a tendency to be ambidextrous. But we conducted our own analysis, and determined you would have significant issues adjusting to a girl¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°¡­you knew¡­?¡±

    He nodded faintly. ¡°Your sister was adamant she could make it all work. I don¡¯t know why, but my superiors chose not to confront her with our analysis.¡±

    ¡°¡­why¡­?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I asked but was told not to be concerned.¡± He took a very deep, yet quiet breath. ¡°My personal belief is that she knew something about you that we didn¡¯t. Something that truly convinced her you were the best candidate. And truthfully, her willingness to offer up her flesh and blood kin for the sake of the project may have resonated strongly with the elders of House Alus Novis¡ª¡±

    The moment he looked at me, his voice caught.

    I don¡¯t know what expression I was making, but Simon looked pale in a hurry, and just as quickly stepped into the bathroom and knelt before me.

    ¡°Cassidy, I¡¯m sorry. I thought you knew. I thought she had told why you were chosen, or at the very least some of the reasons why.¡±

    It was becoming hard to see him, because I was crying now.

    Yes, such a feminine thing to do, but I couldn¡¯t help myself.

    I tried to say something, but all that came out was a strangled sob.

    And then I was crying in earnest.

    When Simon gathered me in his arms, I didn¡¯t have the strength to put up a fight.

    I just did what any girl would do.

    I let him hold me while I buried my face into his chest and cried my heart out.

    #

    (Part II)

    When I eventually calmed down, perhaps after many, many minutes, Simon let me be as I washed my face in the bathroom¡¯s vanity.

    I listened to the sounds of the doorbell chiming, and Simon greeting someone at the door.

    My assumption that it was home takeout being delivered was on the money, as my preternatural sense of smell picked up the unmistakable scent of pizza.

    I heard the faint sound of the door closing, and stared at Cassidy¡¯s reflection in the mirror.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    And Cassidy stared back, her eyes red rimmed and her cheeks flushed.

    She looked terrible.

    She looked heartbroken.

    That was pretty much how I was feeling too.

    Simon called out to me. ¡°Food¡¯s here¡­.¡±

    I gave Cassidy¡¯s reflection another long look, then washed my face one more time, before patting it dry with a hand towel hanging from a nearby rack.

    Walking out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and into the living area, I saw Simon setting plates and utensils on the large oval shaped glass table.

    I stopped beside the table, and looked at the three pizza boxes laid out on the middle of the table.

    Simon flourished a hand over the table.

    ¡°Take your pick. I wasn¡¯t sure what you¡¯d like so I ordered a selection. We have Meat Lovers, El Supremo, and Total Vegetarian.¡±

    I opened up the Meat Lovers box and pulled out a couple of pre-cut slices, depositing them onto a plate.

    Sitting down by the table, I started munching on a pizza slice with small bites, but my restraint didn¡¯t last long. Pretty soon, I was wolfing the food down.

    I was hungry. The events of the day had worn me down but also burned through a lot energy. Within a couple of minutes I was helping myself to slices from the other pizza boxes.

    I felt Simon¡¯s gaze on me, but I ignored him, and focused on eating the pizza.

    The truth was, I didn¡¯t think I could look at him for a while.

    I was ashamed of my behavior in the bathroom.

    I was a guy in a girl¡¯s body who many minutes ago had finished crying out her heart while in a man¡¯s embrace.

    I was little sickened yet by far I felt embarrassed.

    Maybe Simon sensed this, picking up on my mood and state of being through my body language.

    He moved out of my line of sight, though he did take a slice or two with him, and a plate.

    I ate in silence, gathering my composure one bite at a time, until my stomach felt full.

    Sitting back, I stared at a far wall.

    I can¡¯t run away from this. I have to do this.

    Gathering my resolve, as weak as it was, I stood up and then turned away from the table and toward Simon who¡¯d sat down to eat on the sofa.

    ¡°Simon¡­about my behavior in the bathroom¡­please don¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    He turned his head and faced me. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­it¡¯s not my proudest moment.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m asking why you¡¯re so afraid of crying.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a guy. Guy¡¯s don¡¯t cry.¡±

    His expression hardened. ¡°That¡¯s nonsense.¡±

    I clenched my hands but held them at my sides. ¡°Why does everyone insist on making me believe I¡¯m a girl?¡±

    For a heartbeat, his expression wavered. ¡°You misunderstood me.¡± Before I could retort, smooth asked, ¡°What will you do now?¡±

    I was somewhat expecting the question. ¡°I have no choice but to be good. It¡¯s not like I can oppose them. I really don¡¯t want to be turned into Public Enemy Number One.¡±

    ¡°I think you misunderstand the situation.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I failed to wipe the frown on brow. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The number of people who are privy to the nature of your existence is a couple of dozen at the very, very best.¡±

    My frown deepened, until I shot a worried look at the window wall with its spectacular view of Ar Telica''s harbor and skyline. ¡°Um¡­should we be having this conversation?¡±

    From under a sofa seat, Simon pulled out a device that resembled a fat Frisbee. He placed it on the middle of the round glass coffee table, and tapped its small domed head.

    A felt something rush out of the device and run through the air, sweeping by me like a sudden breeze. Yet nothing in the living area was rustled or disturbed.

    Simon was studying me quietly.

    I swallowed and asked, ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°You felt it?¡±

    I gave him a shallow nod. ¡°I felt something spread throughout the room.¡±

    His eyes widened for a moment, before he regained his prior composure. ¡°It¡¯s a stealth-field. Surveillance equipment cannot penetrate this room because there¡¯s nothing radiating out of it. As a consequence the field can only be maintained for a few minutes.¡±

    I gave the device one more fleeting glance before levelling me attention on Simon. ¡°What were you trying to tell me?¡±

    ¡°Not many people know about you, and due to the nature of your existence, those that do know have an obligation to keep your origins a secret. In short, they cannot risk exposing you. Today was a prime example of that, and while it doesn¡¯t demonstrate how far they¡¯re willing to go, it does show they are committed to lying, cheating, and bending the rules, to keep your true nature a secret.¡±

    "What about the Battle Commission?"

    He gave me a relaxed smile. "The Battle Commission only knows of Mercedes. However, they have you registered as a mechanoid. They don''t know you''re a Simulacrum imbued with the Angel Fibers."

    "What if they found out?"

    "Then we''d be in a pinch."

    That made me wonder about the injuries I''d sustained during the exhibition match. They were different to the damage the Gun Queen had  taken. Had the Battle Commission noticed?

    I cautiously stated, "Aren''t you taking a big risk keeping me a secret from the Battle Commission?"

    ¡°We are indeed. And not just the Battle Commission, but the other Houses as well. That said, if the general public, or the city-state authorities learn about you, your life will be over.  Literally. Heads may roll within the Telos Corporation, but the conglomerate would continue. But you would cease to exist. You¡¯d become a prime specimen in a containment capsule in some unknown lab.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that risk exposing your existence, and that of the multiverse? What of the Princess Royale? Wouldn¡¯t people find out about it?¡±

    ¡°It certainly would change the playing field. It would undoubtedly cause trouble between the Houses of the Imperium. The Empress may choose to cut off ties with this reality altogether, or they could take drastic measures against your people.¡±

    A cold worry began to bloom in the pit of my stomach. ¡°Drastic measures? Like what¡­?¡±

    Simon replied in a bleak tone, ¡°Crossing over en masse.¡±

    The cold in my gut spread to my chest. ¡°An invasion?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a possibility. Facing a war on two fronts, humanity would not be in a position to challenge us.¡±

    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you done so already?¡±

    ¡°Why bother? We have no need to invade this realm.¡±

    ¡°But things could change depending on what I do.¡±

    He leaned forward on the sofa seat, while continuing to face me. ¡°They could indeed.¡±

    Involuntarily, I wrapped my arms around me against the chill creeping steadily throughout my body. ¡°Am I really¡­that important?¡±

    He nodded faintly. ¡°Yes, you are.¡±

    My eyes discerned an orange glow spreading within the Frisbee on the coffee table. I presumed it was overheating, thereby a sign that time for our candid discussion was running out.

    Taking a quick, shuddering breath, I asked, ¡°So I have no choice but to play nice.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to play nice?¡±

    I exhaled loudly. ¡°Everything you¡¯ve told me says that I¡¯d better co-operate or else¡±¡ªI swiped a finger across my throat¡ª¡°I bite the dust.¡±

    ¡°There are worse things than dying.¡±

    I slumped my shoulders. ¡°Okay, I get it. I could end up stuck in a lab floating in a container for the next century while geeks in lab coats try to figure out my secrets. Or I could end up starting a war between universes.¡±

    ¡°Two of myriad possibilities.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not helping me, Simon. You started this conversation. What are you trying to tell me?¡±

    He stood up smoothly. ¡°That you have options. House Alus Novis will support you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because you are important to our plans. Beyond victory in the Princess Royale, beyond the standing our House would gain amongst the other Alus ranked houses, you represent our future.¡±

    I tightened my arms around me. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel better.¡±

    He released a long sigh. ¡°Very well. Then how about this. House Alus Novis needs you. If need be, we would like to keep you a secret from the people on our side, as well as yours. However, if you need to gain some freedom from the Telos Corporation, then there is one clear way we can support you.¡±

    I held back a frown. ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°I can give you command of the Sarcophagus.¡±

    This time my frown slipped through. ¡°What good would that do me?¡±

    He smiled wryly. ¡°The Sarcophagus is an armory.¡±

    I blinked sharply a number of times. ¡°Oh¡­.¡±

    He dipped his head a little while holding my gaze. ¡°Let¡¯s just say, it would give you options.¡±

    ¡°You mean the threat of violence?¡±

    ¡°They would think twice about putting you in a box.¡±

    I nodded slowly. ¡°That would be nice.¡± Then I cocked my head at him. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that go against what you¡¯ve been advocating over the last few minutes, such as the threat of invasion or me ending up in a jar if I misbehave or cause a commotion that reveals what I am and the multiverse?¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll just have to tread a fine line, won¡¯t you.¡±

    I grimaced a little. ¡°You¡¯re not making this easy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you authority over the Sarcophagus. Of course, my authority will supersede yours, so what I give I can take away. You¡¯ll have to use it wisely.¡±

    I shifted my arms such that they were folded under my breasts, and lowered my gaze.

    The Frisbee on the glass coffee table was glowing a very warm orange.

    Having the Sarcophagus under my control would ensure a degree of protection against the Telos Corporation, but initiating an all-out attack on the company was out of the question. For the moment I didn¡¯t feel the need to, so how could I use the Sarcophagus to my advantage?

    Could it really keep me out of confinement?

    Even if I hadn¡¯t figured out the pros, I did feel better about having the Sarcophagus supporting me.

    I met Simon¡¯s gaze. ¡°Okay. I accept. What do I need to do?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ve already given you control over it.¡±

    My arms dropped away reflecting my shock. ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°While you were unconscious inside the Sarcophagus, I had the wetware in your head altered. The Artificial Awareness encoded into it has been disabled, but I¡¯ve re-encoded the wetware to meet the requirements to interface with the Sarcophagus. Your wetware is hardly as advanced as what my people and I possess, but it will suffice.¡± He paused before adding, ¡°If you¡¯d agree to it, I can have the wetware in your head upgraded with something more fitting.¡±

    I considered the offer for a moment. ¡°Would that take long?¡±

    ¡°Yes. So we¡¯d need to have you inside the Sarcophagus for at least a day.¡±

    Only a day? I was expecting him to say a few days at least.

    Sparing the Frisbee another look, I gave Simon a solemn nod. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    Simon smiled thinly at me. ¡°Just remember, this doesn¡¯t change the original agreement.¡±

    My mouth threatened to drop open, so I swallowed quickly and muttered, ¡°Oh¡­right. The Princess Royale.¡±

    ¡°Correct. I still expect you to win.¡± He folded his arms while smiling sunnily. ¡°Otherwise House Alus Novis will be very unhappy.¡±

    ¡°Geh¡­.¡± It didn¡¯t sound like a threat, but those words made left their mark on my composure. ¡°Yeah. Sure. Win the Princess Royale, and be crowned Gun Queen.¡±

    Simon shook his head and wagged a finger at me.

    ¡°No, my dear. Your ultimate goal is to be crowned Gun Empress.¡±

    Using my experience of the exhibition match against the Gun Queen of Ar Telica, I pictured the nightmarish year that lay ahead of me.

    A shudder broke out through my body.

    To hide it, I planted my arms akimbo and struck a confident pose.

    With my right hand, I tossed Simon a victory sign ¡°Gun Queen, Gun Empress, Gun Goddess. By the end of the year, I¡¯ll be standing at the top of the pyramid.¡±

    Simon clapped silently. ¡°That¡¯s most reassuring.¡±

    I lowered my hand. ¡°Now, can I borrow your phone?¡±

 Vol 2 - Chapter 5 - Part III

    Chapter 5 - Part II was added yesterday to Part I. It seems this didn''t generate a notification as nobody has read it. I wish there was a way to trigger a notification.

    <hr />

    Chapter 5 - Part III

    (Erina)

    Uma walked beside me as I made my way over from the Periphery¡¯s central hull to its port side hangar.

    The research vessel was essentially an enormous trimaran. On either side of the central hull, between the secondary hulls to port and starboard otherwise known as the pontoons, lay a connecting hull around a hundred and twenty meters long, half as wide, and twenty meters high. Both of these hulls contained hangars for a dozen Vee-Toll aircraft ranging from hypersonic executive jets to heavily armored transports designed with concealed armaments. The aircraft could be deployed within minutes, providing fast transportation to the Vee Eye Pee¡¯s aboard the massive ship.

    However, it wasn¡¯t just aircraft the Periphery carried. The central hull¡¯s transom contained a hangar for rescue boats and other launches, many of which were hydroplaning catamarans that skimmed the ocean¡¯s surface at a hundred knots or more.

    In essence, the Periphery had the means to get its people to anywhere in the world within minutes or hours.

    Stepping into the large corridor that circled the length of the central hull, I walked in the direction of the ship¡¯s stern.

    I cleared my throat as I headed toward the entrance to the portside hanger, cut into the corridor wall some two hundred feet ahead of me.

    ¡°She asked for me to come?¡±

    In the corner of my eye, Uma nodded just once.

    My gut clenched as I sensed hesitation in her response.

    Uma took an audible breath. ¡°She said she wanted to see you. She had something to say to you, and wanted to do so before returning to the ship.¡±

    I took an audible breath of my own. ¡°I hope she¡¯ll believe me when I tell her the truth.¡±

    ¡°About what?¡±

    ¡°About not sleeping with Simon.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­that truth¡­.¡± Though her words trailed away, Uma abruptly added, ¡°I take it you¡¯re relieved?¡±

    ¡°Of course I am,¡± I snapped, then quickly apologized. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It''s fine. You didn''t know about the surveillance recordings of his apartment. If you had, I''m sure you''d have checked  them."

    The sidelong look she gave me made me doubt she believed that.

    I rather testily stated, "Of course, I would have."

    "Well, I would have been disappointed in you if you had slept with him.¡±

    I thought she muttered something under breath that sounded suspiciously like, ¡°before I got to him.¡±

    I started rolling my eyes when a sudden question pushed its way to the front of my mind. ¡°What happened with Em Eighty-Three¡¯s backup core?¡±

    Uma shot me a surprised sidelong look. ¡°Franz didn¡¯t tell you?¡±

    I started slowing down. ¡°Tell me what?¡±

    ¡°The backup core had trouble integrating months of data, especially the last few days, so it wasn¡¯t right in the head when it came online.¡±

    ¡°Would you care to elaborate?¡±

    Uma¡¯s face bore the cross between amusement and discomfort. ¡°It started singing holiday season songs, then broke into soliloquys about teenage angst, then developed a strange paranoia that it was being watched. Then it proclaimed the end of the world as we know it, the coming of a new Adam and Eve, and began quoting paragraphs from an ancient text known as the Bible, in reference to a snake in the garden. Eventually it shut itself in and refused to interface with the outside world, stating it would wait patiently for the new age in darkness.¡±

    I stopped walking, though the entrance to the hangar deck was only a few meters away. ¡°Are you telling me the truth?¡±

    Uma halted and looked back at me over her right shoulder. ¡°Of course I am. I found out about the problem while you were asleep. I assumed he¡¯d told you by now.¡±

    ¡°No. No one has contacted me.¡± I frowned and started patting my jacket¡¯s pockets. ¡°Where¡¯s my phone? Where¡¯s my phone?¡± I patted my skirt. ¡°Where did I leave it? Wait¡ªit¡¯s in the car. Maybe. Or my office? No, I had it with me while inside the observation room.¡± I stared at the hangar entrance, then glanced at my watch. ¡°Damn it. Out of time.¡±

    Uma walked back to me. ¡°Erina, calm down.¡±

    I stopped moving and stared at her. ¡°What did you mean by other truth?¡±

    Her eyes widened slightly. ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°You said other truth. What did you mean by that?¡±

    Uma folded her arms. ¡°Well, have you told her about your parents co-operating with all that¡¯s happened to her?¡±

    I hesitated. ¡°No, not yet.¡±

    Uma cocked her head casually to a side. ¡°I think you need to come clean with her.¡±

    I resumed walking toward the hangar entrance and passed by Uma. ¡°I will. I will.¡±

    Stepping into the hangar, I was greeted by the smell of machinery and a faint ionized scent in the air. Filling the expanse were a handful of gunmetal grey and black armored Vee-Tolls, each longer than an inner-city bus, with about as much passenger space. They possessed wings that circled around turbofans that provided vertical lift. Pivoting tail thrusters with their own landing gear supported the rear of the crafts.

    Uma and I crossed the crowded expanse of aircraft. The craft appeared to be locked down for the night, but the sounds of mechanics at work drifted in from ahead of us.

    I glimpsed Uma wrinkling her nose.

    Just above the ambient noise of the hangar, she muttered miserably, ¡°This is Akane¡¯s world¡­.¡±

    We walked around a large, white civilian Vee-Toll with Telos Corporation markings, and came face to face with a black Vee-Toll with blood red paneling, and forward mounted Gatling guns.

    I shook my head. ¡°No, this is Akane¡¯s world.¡±

    The armored Vee-Toll sat on the cold hangar floor about ten meters ahead of us. Cables connected it to the ship¡¯s power grid, and a handful of mechanics clambered over its dorsal airframe, closing a number of open service panels near the engine nacelles. Oversized mini-missile launch racks extended from either side of the lower fuselage. I knew those would fold away into the body. Even with its armament tucked away, it lacked the streamlined sleekness of the white civilian Vee-Toll nearby.

    Standing idly in front of the machine were a handful of armed guards. I recognized them as Akane¡¯s team.

    They weren¡¯t the three men she took with her around noon to Telos Academy.

    These people were her personal team.

    The team that trained her¡­and the team she soon surpassed.

    I looked at the three men and one woman, then at the Vee-Toll behind them with its menacing weapons on display, and I wondered what Akane was planning¡­or expecting.

    Uma murmured, ¡°This doesn¡¯t look good.¡±

    ¡°What doesn¡¯t look good?¡±

    I turned quickly to look behind me. Uma was a fraction of a second slower, and looked startled to hear and then see Akane. In fact, she looked outright nervous. Reflexively she touched her newly trimmed bangs.

    I spared her a quick glance.

    Why had she chosen to accompany me? She¡¯d been the first to wake me up, arriving at the infirmary to deliver the message that Cassidy had called and asked for me to come and pick her up.

    Was she¡­observing me?

    The sight of Akane walking up to us pulled my faintly suspicious thoughts away from Uma.

    Akane was dressed in her covert ops skinsuit, just like the four members of her security team. The outfit was tight on her body, emphasizing her slender figure eight physique and the musculature underneath.

    She stopped in front of Uma and I. ¡°Well, what doesn¡¯t look good?¡±

    I realized I was nervous, and it annoyed me. Taking a breath to steady myself, I asked, ¡°What are you planning, Akane? We¡¯re just going to pick her up. Why all the extra firepower?¡±

    ¡°We?¡± She glanced at Uma. ¡°Are you coming along as well?¡±

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°No,¡± Uma replied. ¡°I just came to see Erina off.¡±

    Akane¡¯s eyes widened before narrowing a heartbeat later. ¡°Oh¡­isn¡¯t that sweet.¡± She smiled at Uma and I. ¡°This is just like old times. All three of us together again. Me stealing the boys you liked.¡± She rocked her head gently side to side. ¡°The good old days¡±¡ªshe faced me¡ª¡°before it all turned to shit.¡±

    My chest tightened. ¡°Akane¡ª¡±

    She tossed something at me. ¡°You left this behind.¡±

    I caught the flat palm-sized object and recognized my phone.

    Akane didn¡¯t wait for thanks. She walked between Uma and I. ¡°We don¡¯t have all day, Doctor Kassius. Get moving or I¡¯ll leave you behind.¡±

    I looked at the messages from Franz, and read the last one quickly.

    The backup core had refused to be coaxed out of its shell, so Franz¡¯s team had been forced to wipe it clean. They were going to initiate another attempt to reintegrate the archived data or memory into the core. However, I was starting to wonder if we needed it now that Cassidy had chosen to return of her own volition, even though she needed a ride back to the ship.

    I had messages from Franz, but none from Cassidy.

    I found that odd and a little disconcerting considering she''d called and asked for me to fetch her.

    Akane called out loudly, startling me, ¡°Doc Kassius, get your ass aboard the Vee-Toll, now.¡±

    Uma took a step closer to me. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡±

    ¡°Cassidy asked for me, therefore I¡¯m going.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean about going with her.¡± Her eyes darted toward the Vee-Toll. ¡°You know how Akane feels about all this.¡±

    I studied Uma¡¯s face, and read the concern there. After a deep breath, I stated, ¡°Akane may have changed, but she¡¯s still the girl we knew in college. She¡¯s still the same Akane who stole our boyfriends.¡±

    ¡°She was harmless back then. That¡¯s not the case now.¡±

    I swallowed and willed myself to meet Uma¡¯s eyes with a steady gaze. ¡°I have to go.¡±

    Uma averted her gaze and shook her head tightly. ¡°You never change.¡±

    ¡°Jeezes, Uma¡ª¡±

    Akane snapped with a piercing tone, ¡°Hey Doc, I won¡¯t tell you again.¡±

    Taking yet another deep breath, and exhaling in a rush, I gave Uma a firm look. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. In any case, I¡¯ve left instructions on what to do in my absence.¡±

    As I turned away and walked toward the parked crimson and black Vee-Toll, I realized that saying ¡®in my absence¡¯ was ambiguous but I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to be more specific. Maybe I wasn¡¯t so sure about this trip as I thought I was.

    At the boarding ramp into the Vee-Toll, I glanced back at Uma and was surprised to see her standing where I left her.

    Our eyes met, and I saw the nod she gave me.

    I nodded back, then climbed into the starkly lit interior of the armored Vee-Toll, stepping past Akane who was waiting by the foot of the ramp.

    The seats were mounted against the walls. It had been a while since I¡¯d flown in one of these, and was pleased to see that the seats had been upgraded on this model.

    I strapped myself in, as did the rest of her Akane¡¯s team. Careful not to meet their faces, I chose to look toward the craft¡¯s cockpit that was accessible through a narrow ladder.

    A soft hum permeated the interior of the passenger or troop bay, followed a couple of seconds later by a gentle thud, itself trailed by a faint hiss. That was the boarding ramp closing and pressure sealing.

    Akane strode up the length of the troop bay and climbed up the ladder, sticking half her body into the cockpit.

    The sound of another hum and thud seconds later puzzled me.

    The young blonde woman in Akane¡¯s team noticed my reaction and said, ¡°That¡¯s just the outboard launch racks folding into the fuselage.¡±

    ¡°Oh. I see.¡±

    The large man beside the young blonde spoke up. ¡°You seem nervous, Doc. Something we should know? You afraid of flying?¡±

    I started to shake my head, then stopped. ¡°No, not really. I just don¡¯t make it a habit to fly around in armored Vee-Tolls.¡±

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re accustomed to the executive lifestyle.¡± He gave me a toothy smile. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t get inflight entertainment on these jumps. And there¡¯s no food and refreshments.¡±

    His companions snorted and chuckled.

    The blonde woman eyed me. ¡°Relax, Doc. We¡¯ll be back over the coast in an hour.¡±

    I blinked. ¡°An hour?¡±

    Akane climbed down out of the cockpit and then strapped down onto the empty seat beside me. ¡°It¡¯s three hundred klicks to Ar Telica, and this puppy makes four hundred klicks an hour. We¡¯ll be back over dry land in less than an hour. You can catch a late dinner when we get back.¡±

    I studied her expression, then turned away.

    Akane¡¯s sarcasm had fled her face.

    Seeing that made my stomach clench uncomfortably.

    She was expecting trouble, and a glance at the sidearms her personnel carried suggested they were too.

    None of this helped salve my unease, which grew worse when the Vee-Toll was pushed back out of the hangar by a flat robotic tow vehicle, and was immediately buffeted by strong winds.

    Reflexively I looked up at the bay¡¯s ceiling as my gut tightened even more.

    ¡°Otto,¡± Akane said, ¡°give us weather map.¡±

    I blinked, wondering who Otto was. Could she be talking to the craft¡¯s onboard Assisting Awareness?

    A holovid screen winked to life near the front of the compartment. Studying it quickly, my stomach sank when I saw the scale of the tropical storm surrounding us.

    Akane sounded irritated. ¡°Shit. It caught up to us.¡±

    I kept my attention on the map, reading the storm¡¯s strength and direction. It was heading west and toward the coast at well over a hundred kilometers an hour. The Periphery was well within the storm cell¡¯s outer fringe, and the map indicated the ship was sailing southwest at an impressive ninety knots in the hopes of slipping free of the storm before it was caught up in the stronger rain bands.

    Inwardly, I was surprised by how stably the vessel was cutting through the water, as though untroubled by the fifteen-foot swells indicated on the weather map. If not for the weather map and the winds rocking the Vee-Toll, I probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed the Periphery was sailing through rough weather.

    Akane crossed her legs. ¡°Well, this happened because we had to wait for sleeping beauty to wake up.¡± I felt her gaze on my skin. ¡°Now we¡¯re in for a bumpy ride, Doc.¡±

    A noticeable thrum resulting from the outboard engines spooling up made the bay vibrate for a long moment. This was quite different from the buffeting the craft was enduring while sitting on deck.

    I swallowed, and tested the tautness of my seat¡¯s safety straps.

    I could hear the sneer in Akane¡¯s voice. ¡°There¡¯s a barf bag under your seat, Doc, in case you feel the need to toss your cookies.¡±

    I gave her a long thin look.

    She regarded me with a thin look of her own. ¡°What¡¯s with that stare? You forgot what happened on that flight during our school¡¯s field trip to the archipelago?¡±

    I tensed up in my seat. ¡°You¡¯re going to bring that up now?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± She turned to her squad. ¡°Hey guys. Wanna hear a disgusting but great story?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± they all retorted.

    Surprise flashed across Akane¡¯s face, before turning into confusion. ¡°Wh¡ªwhy not?¡±

    The blonde woman in her team replied, ¡°Because you can¡¯t tell a good story even if it¡¯s written out for you.¡±

    ¡°But I really wanna tell you.¡±

    One by one they started slipping on headphones and earphones and tuning into private music collections.

    Akane sounded deflated. ¡°Guys¡­this isn¡¯t fair¡­you have to hear it¡­.¡±

    I felt relief surge through me like a refreshing wave of icy water on a steamy hot day.

    Then the Vee-Toll took to the windy skies, and was soon punched sideways by the storm.

    I started reciting the number pi behind closed eyelids, while wondering just how quickly I could reach for the barf bag if the need arose.

 Romance or No Romance

    All in favor of Cassidy finding some romance?

    All not in favor of Cassidy finding some romance?

    I need to know how things stand.

    Getting mixed signals and I''m stuck with how to proceed.

    Some people appear to be genuinely put off by the idea of Cassidy finding romance.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Some are disappointed if she turns out to be "straight".

    Maybe that should be the next poll, depending on the result for this one.

    Now I''m totally confused.

    Thank you kindly for all your support so far.

    ______________

    Simkin452

 Vol 2 - Chapter 6 - Part I

    Chapter 6 - Part I

    It was a strange experience to be able to run through the Sarcophagus¡¯s weapons inventory as though I was choosing guns from a game menu.

    I was both surprised and unsettled by the variety of weapons stored inside the massive device.

    Maybe it''s bigger on the inside than the outside.

    At present the Sarcophagus was sitting somewhere in Limbo, yet I was communicating with it through a three-dimensional interface I could clearly see in my mind¡¯s eye. Simon had recommended I practice with it while keeping my eyes closed.

    I cleared my throat and spoke softly.

    ¡°Long range sniper rifles. Anti-material rifles. Some of these are anti-tank weapons. Wow¡ªI could shoot down a trans-orbit shuttle with this one.¡±

    I continued running through the list¡­and found one that was rather interesting.

    The specifications were listed alongside a detailed, rotating image of the weapon.

    I added it to my list, which oddly resembled a shopping cart.

    Licking my lips nervously, I switched over to a menu listing smaller weapons that were just as lethal at close range. A couple of semi-automatic handcannons grabbed my attention.

    ¡°My Vipers are here! Awesome. I wonder how useful they would be in a zombie apocalypse. Should I use them with a one shot one kill strategy? I think explosive tipped rounds would work best in that situation.¡±

    I opened my eyes and sent a thought to the menu, willing it to move aside so that I could look at Simon unimpeded.

    ¡°Do you have zombies in your universe?¡± I asked him.

    Simon had been sitting on the wide sofa opposite me and the coffee table, reading from a magazine sized tablet resting on his lap. His eyes widened considerably as he looked up at me. ¡°What makes you ask?¡±

    ¡°Just curious.¡±

    After an interminable length of time during which he remained perfectly still and quiet, Simon broke into a relaxed smile. ¡°Of course not. Zombies don¡¯t exist.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­cool. That¡¯s a relief.¡±

    I realized I sounded somewhat disappointed.

    Simon continued staring at me for a while longer before silently diverting his gaze toward the windows. ¡°Quite¡­a relief¡­.¡±

    I closed my eyes and focused my attention on the menu.

    I decided to go with a safe choice for up close and personal combat ¨C my trusty Viper Vanquish rail-guns. However, on this occasion I chose to equip both handcannons with armor piercing rounds fit to punch through a permacrete wall or several inches of laminated steel.

    Feeling Simon¡¯s gaze on me, I opened my eyes and instructed the menu to disappear.

    ¡°Have you made your selections?¡± he inquired.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going with the Vipers for close range, and something else for the opening shot.¡± I stood up and off the crescent shaped burgundy sofa, and looked down at myself dressed in a sleeveless blouse, tight denim pants, and stylish tennis shoes. ¡°I guess I¡¯d better change too.¡±

    He placed the tablet on the sofa cushion beside him. ¡°Are you sure this is what you want to do?¡±

    I half grimaced. ¡°I think I need to make an impact¡ªa kind of powerful statement. Don¡¯t eff with me. You know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Most assuredly¡­.¡±

    I flinched inwardly as his voice trailed away.

    I felt certain that since Simon had chosen to give me control of the Sarcophagus, he would bear the brunt of the blame over the decision I¡¯d made. My pride and sense of righteousness wouldn¡¯t allow me to dump all of the responsibility on him. I had to give something back and bear some of the blame. After all, this was the decision I¡¯d chosen to help me understand where I stood with my sister and the Telos Corporation.

    I shoved my hands into the pockets of my very feminine pants, and suddenly felt nervous and embarrassed when thinking of what I wanted to say.

    I had to take a few deep breaths, which of course pushed out my large breasts in their sexy lingerie. Needless to say, those definitely grabbed his attention.

    For a moment I felt a flash of irritation, until I remembered my response to Class Rep¡¯s amazing bust each morning during the first month of the school year.

    I sighed inwardly in disgust.

    I¡¯d be staring at this body too if I wasn¡¯t wearing it right now.

    I took in a quiet breath, and relaxed myself as much as I could but ultimately failed because I was blushing like a tulip by the time I started talking.

    ¡°Simon¡­I owe you one¡­so¡­if you need anything¡­I mean¡­if there¡¯s something I can do¡­take make things easier for you¡±¡ªI sucked in a lungful of air¡ª¡°just let me know.¡±

    ¡°Win.¡±

    Until then he¡¯d been staring shamelessly at my chest.

    Then his eyes met mine and I felt his gaze like fingers clamping onto my head, preventing me from looking away no matter how hard I tried.

    My breath caught in my chest. ¡°S¡ªsorry? What?¡±

    ¡°Win. Be victorious in every match you participate, and earn the title of Gun Empress.¡±

    I started biting my lower lip and had to force myself to stop. ¡°I¡¯ve already said I¡¯ll do it. I want my body back, remember?¡± I touched my chest, noticing my hand was trembling. ¡°Th¡ªthis is temporary.¡±

    Simon¡¯s lips drew into a thin line as he studied me for a substantial period of time. The longer his gaze scrutinized me, the more self-conscious I grew. I noticed I was inching my arms toward covering my breasts.

    Eventually he shrugged, and resumed reading the magazine on his tablet.

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    I felt released from his grip, and visibly wilted where I stood.

    Shit! What the Hell is wrong with me?

    I turned away quickly, and walked away from the living area and into the adjoining dining space where I stopped beside the glass dinner table that shared the outline of a cashew.

    After swallowing a couple of times, I spoke without turning, as I didn¡¯t think I could survive another experience like before, at least not while I was still trying to recover my composure. ¡°Simon, I¡¯m sorry if I get you in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t concern yourself with me, Princess. Just do what you need to do. Remember, I need you in tip-top shape for your first match this week. Try not to get too beat up.¡±

    He was right. My first official match in the Princess Royale was this coming Friday. I couldn¡¯t afford to get severely injured. Even if the Sarcophagus and Angel Fibers could patch me up, I would lose valuable training time prior to the match. And if what Simon told me about the woman who¡¯d shot me, Akane Straus, then I would need to consider her a threat on par with a Gun Princess.

    I looked up at the apartment¡¯s ceiling. Simon had said my sister ¨C I still couldn¡¯t think of her as my cousin ¨C and Straus were flying in aboard a VTOL transport. The apartment complex had a large landing pad on the roof, so it was likely they would touch down there.

    I needed to get going.

    At the door to the apartment, I turned round and was somewhat startled to see Simon standing in the wide hallway, watching me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get hurt, Princess.¡±

    I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. ¡°I won¡¯t¡­.¡±

    Turning away, I opened the door and fled the security of his apartment.

    #

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I took the elevator leading up to the roof and the landing platform.

    To make the lift function for me, I entered the security code Simon gave me. It was a code given to all the Very Important People that were tenants of the luxurious complex.

    Out of the elevator and down a wide, spacious corridor with low pile carpeting, I arrived at the broad door leading to the rooftop. It reminded me of a fire escape exit.

    Simon¡¯s private code worked on the door as well.

    Once unlocked, I pushed it open and stepped out onto a windswept rooftop.

    The landing pad was built atop a reinforced section of building¡¯s roof, and thus elevated from where I stood by about a half dozen feet. A wide set of permacrete stairs with metal banisters led the way up to the platform proper.

    However, I chose to remain were I was, a few feet away from the entrance, and cautiously looked about.

    For the first time, I realized I could have used Jive¡¯s help to locate the security holocams watching the roof.

    No, we¡¯re doing this on our own. No Jive. Not this time. Just me and the Sarcophagus.

    I edged out onto the roof and took a better look around.

    There was a security station constructed near the elevated landing platform. I caught the hint of movement inside, and backed away out of sight.

    Near the entrance once again, I swept my gaze out over the surrounding buildings, and made my choice for a suitable vantage point.

    It would have to be building to the west of the apartment complex, one with a tall spire all lit up with concentric arches of light that ran up the spire like brilliant pearl necklaces that grew sharper and shaper as they neared the peak.

    Suppressing a grin, I focused my attention on the spire, and summoned the Sarcophagus with a simple desire.

    *Get me over there.

    A white mist bloomed out around me, spilling over the rooftop in thick, undulating waves. The air felt strange, and my surroundings wavered in my vision as the breach opened between Limbo and this realm of existence.

    I chose not to turn around as something that felt like spidery arms latched onto me and pulled me through the breach and into the Sarcophagus¡¯ interior. Squeezing my eyes shut in fear of what I would see if I opened them, I felt myself enveloped in mild warmth, and pictured being ensconced in a fluffy cocoon. Unlike the occasion when I was severely injured by the Gun Queen, nothing clamped down on my face and forced tubes up my nose or down my throat.

    But I was quickly disrobed and I had no idea how.

    It was sufficient to say my clothes simply fell away from my body.

    My bare skin touched the interior of the cocoon before a layer of stickiness ran over my body. It was like honey was being poured all over my body, up to my neck, without the sweet smell and pleasant flavor.

    Bland, odorless honey.

    The stickiness hardened, and through Cassidy¡¯s body I remembered the sensation of the skinsuit she¡¯d worn for the exhibition match with the Gun Queen.

    As soon as I was clad in the skinsuit with its odd skirt, numerous spindly hands began outfitting me with the weapons I¡¯d requested. At least, I pictured them as hands as I felt them swarm over me, attaching the Viper Vanquish rail-guns across my back, and filling the skirt¡¯s ammunition pouches with magazines loaded with armor piercing rounds. Last but not least, I felt something long yet light delivered into the grip of my left hand.

    In the next moment, the Sarcophagus delivered me onto the rooftop of the not so distant building with the tall spire covered in illuminated arches.

    The mist bloomed all around me as I dropped to the narrow walkway running the square perimeter of the roof. A four-foot tall parapet divided the walkway from the ledge that extended two feet out from the building. The square base or foundation of the spire rose from the middle of the building in stepped layers with the well-lit concentric arches flowing over them.

    Turning around as the mist faded, I caught a glimpse of the air shimmering wildly a couple of feet behind me. Then the phenomenon vanished, and once the cold mist dispelled into the night air my view of the world was just as it should be ¨C crystal clear.

    I breathed a sigh of relief.

    Phase one complete. Now onto phase two¡ª

    Something caught my eye, and I walked over to where the shimmering had taken place.

    From the light of the glowing arches, I had a pretty good view of the rooftop and walkway ground. There was also the fact that Cassidy¡¯s night vision and clarity was far better than a human¡¯s was so I was able to see the layer of powdered permacrete that covered a narrow stretch of the walkway from the ledge to the spire¡¯s foundation.

    I crouched, and ran my gloved fingers over the powder.

    So this is what the breach between Limbo and reality leaves behind.

    Beneath the powder, faint cracks ran along the rooftop¡¯s surface. They reminded me of stress fractures and they cut across the walkway. Standing up, I studied the stepped foundation and saw that it too was cracked but only up to a height of a few feet.

    Simon said his apartment wasn¡¯t affected by the breach between realms. Was that because it took place in open air and avoided contact with any surfaces?

    Rubbing the powder between my fingers, I stood up smoothly, walked to the parapet, and looked out at Ar Telica¡¯s skyline illuminated by countless windows, complemented by the exterior lighting of the super-scrapers, as well as numerous advertisement banners projected onto the buildings by enormously powerful holo-emitters.

    However, the almond shaped airships that frequently crisscrossed the night sky, their bodies lit in bright neon lights and surrounded by holographic advertisements, were absent tonight and there was a reason why.

    The wind rushing by was anything but gentle, and I had to brace myself against it. Looking east and out over the harbor, I saw flashes of light in the far distance, lighting up the massive storm that was headed this way.

    I wondered how long before the rain started to come down, and turned my gaze back to the city, quickly locating Simon¡¯s apartment complex. For a short while, I ran my gaze along the southeast face of the building in a vain attempt to locate his apartment. Then I looked down at the pipe with trigger, grip, and carry handle that I held in my left hand.

    The launcher was three-feet long and eight inches in diameter, while the missile warhead sticking out of one end resembled a foot long pinecone. Overall, the weapon was reminiscent of the rocket propelled grenade launchers of yesteryear.

    With my gloved right palm, I touched the surface of the launcher, and greeted it with a thought transmitted from my wetware to the weapon¡¯s receptors.

    The missile launcher¡¯s Artificial Awareness returned the greeting, and began warming up the weapon systems.

    I smiled down at it.

    *So¡­wanna tell me how I¡¯m supposed to use you?

    <hr />

    I lied. Here''s part one in draft 1.0. Hehehehehehe....