Aimi's Choice

The spray from the prow of the speeding craft made her pink hair cling to her neck, heightening her desolate appearance. She stared off at the looming stern of the Goshi flagship Mothra and neither moved nor spoke, the stillness of her countenance masking the turmoil of her emotions.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sever had asked her in an uncharacteristic moment of empathy. They conferred briefly in the filthy backroom of a clandestine surgery where Stitch was having his shoulders reconstructed from his last encounter with that bird-woman. She'd shown up there, covered in concrete dust, running from the scene of an incredible explosion, feeling like her heart had been ripped whole out of her breast.

"We could make good money in other cities too. Our particular talents are in demand." In his own way he was trying to comfort her, even though he had no idea what she was going through. He thought she was worried about getting caught, about getting put down like Malicious, like a dog. No one in this city has the brass balls to get me in a trap like that, she thought, but even her own bravado failed to lighten her mood.

She was not a capricious little girl anymore. She had become, all in one moment of dreadful clarity, a steel vice. She clamped down on her emotions, she crushed her tenderness, she made herself into exactly who she wanted to be - which is never vulnerable, never lost.

His body flew out over the city, spinning like some kind of grotesque frisbee and slivers of - was that his soul? - dissolved in the air.

"But why Blade? You know his reputation as well as I. What makes you think he'll accept your offer?" It was extremely odd to be on the other end of a conversation where Sever was the one attempting to be sensible. Had she been in any other mood she might have been more responsive, or at least she might have made a demeaning remark. As it was she just shook her head and gave him a look that made it clear that she would not be talked out of her decision. Sever loved and feared her, and compared to her he was weak-willed. From now on he would follow her orders, and both of them knew it, so neither of them bothered saying it.

The speeding boat she was on pulled alongside the Mothra and giant mechanical arms were lowered to lift the shuttle up to the deck. Goshi soldiers looked at her nervously, and at the package by her feet. Katashi Blade refused to delay the departure of his ship even when he heard of the explosion. His business with the Biomade Oversight Council would brook no delays. That he'd changed his mind for this woman, young girl really, disturbed them. One after the other, the soldiers, sailors, and Goshi functionaries mentally promised to erase her face from their memories as soon as she was out of sight, but that pink bob, those swinging hips and, most arrestingly of all, those vermillion eyes stubbornly refused to be forgotten.

Once on deck she was hastily led, package under arm, to the highest and most luxurious state room on board. She felt her mind being probed by a presence not unlike a gynecologist, gentle but precise, as if intimately familiar with the territory. Despite all her preparations she knew that it would be pointless hiding anything here. She would be known for exactly who she was. Very well Blade, take a good look. See anything you like? Do you see that I am determined? Like a bone that, having been broken once, becomes stronger than ever. You can search as deep as you like, but you won't find any shame in me. It was ripped out when that thing ripped the soul out of his chest.

"Not that you asked, but of course I'm going to help you. The fact that our mark is an associate of those cunts Rei has fallen in with just makes it that much sweeter for me." She nodded. She didn't have to explain to him that she would be going alone to see Blade, or that Sever and Stitch would have to continue laying low for a while as... insurance, Sever understood already - one benefit of being a family of telepaths. Neither did she tell him that the tiny part of her that had indeed come seeking comfort, was gratified that he had offered it in his own inept way. That part of her, though, was quickly being crushed by the vice.

"Start by telling me what you want. Then show me the proof of what you claim."

She stood erect in the Executor's suite. He had not offered her a seat, she would have refused. She looked him directly in the eyes, and as everyone always is, she was impressed by something indefinable about them, something alluring and repulsive at the same time, but she let that thought leave her mind as quickly as it came. She came for business, she would keep it that way.

"A person in your position needs someone who can operate outside the rules. Someone who isn't on the payroll, whose name doesn't appear in any company memos. Perhaps you already have a few of these people, but none of them can do the things I can. What I'm asking is for you to give me a purpose. I will be your weapon, and you will find you can reach places even you had trouble accessing before." Her speech was rehearsed, but it was completely genuine. She knew that she wasn't bragging or exaggerating in anyway. Katashi Blade was inscrutable, but he appeared to agree.

On the way out the door Sever raised one eyebrow, "I am curious though. What spurred this decision? Why this sudden resolve?" Because! her heart shrieked at her. Because I felt my kiss on his cheek, our link, I felt it shredded into nothingness. Because I know with a certainty that I've never felt before that he was obliterated, and he did it for some reason to save me, but he failed. That thing destroyed me just as definitely as it did him, only I have to keep on living with this empty spot where he used to be.

She waited for Sever to mock her feelings, but his face showed no expression. He was still waiting for her to explain herself. Her thoughts had not leaked out, even slightly. The vice had closed.

"Someone's got to do something now that Mama Pain is gone." She said as she left.

"You've got a lot of courage coming here like this. Courage can be useful or it can be a pain in the ass. Usually I find it is the latter, but you're young so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. However, you must know that I don't play games. Now that you're standing here in front of me, the choices you make are deadly serious," as Blade was speaking she stood perfectly still. She was not foolish enough to try to appear nonchalant, but neither did she let herself be drawn into reacting. "That is why I'm going to give you a choice. If the thing you've got in that package is just going to be an embarrassment to you I'll let you walk out now and never show your face in my presence again. If you are ready to stake your life on my satisfaction, then by all means, open it up."

That was what she had been waiting for. Aimi neither hesitated nor made any attempt to be dramatic. She set the case on his desk, and flipped the latch. The lid swung open with a hiss revealing the bloody head of Acetylene Sue.

Emo Champion: the Tender Samurai

The Emo Champion Award goes to the character who most players agree provided the most emotional drama through roleplaying through the entire season. This prestigious award is accompanied not only by the trophy emblem (right), but by 5, count them 5, of the coveted green Never Gems. The honored recipient of the first ever Emo Champion Award is Kiyoshi the girl-magnet Allskin.

Daitokuji Kiyoshi, second son of a Grand Master of Washisan Academy and patriarch of the Silver Phoenix clan, has an indefinable allure. Perhaps it is the sense he gives of being slightly off-limits that makes women so attracted to him. Perhaps it is his unshakable confidence, or his adorable insistence on following "the tradition", or maybe it is his striking good looks and skill with his blade (rumors suggest it is quite long). Whatever the cause, Kiyoshi has certainly garnered attention lately.

Which is why, today I am bringing you the unseen side of the man who combines the attraction of a noble heart and a daring outlaw. Our readers may be surprised to learn that Kiyoshi himself is quite a sensitive soul. Behind the stoic facade he puts on when entering the void, this samurai is a man who feels pain in a way that no one else does - with every nerve in his body.

"It's true," Rei assured me, "that guy knows what it's like to hurt. From the first moment I met him he was all touchy and stuff."

I ask Rei whether its true that when she met him his father had just been killed in an explosion at the Goshi Corp Tower.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. When people die Kiyoshi seems to feel things. It's weird."

Some of Kiyoshi's companions are more sympathetic. Una, for example, is very fond of his tender side.

"It's a good quality in a nest-mate."

Mokuzai nodded at that, "Compassion is a sign of wisdom."

Of course it isn't his "wisdom" that has made him the subject of so much emotional drama in this campaign. From assisted suicides to crying teenage assassins, Kiyoshi has had to star in some intense scenes, and there's no sign of it letting up anytime soon. Right at the end of the first season he leapt in front of a tentacle attack destined to kill Rei's sister.

Choices like that confuse his companions, especially High-Dive who asked, "What does he see in her? She doesn't bring him exotic nuts."

Exotic nuts or no, the emotional turmoil will probably continue to swirl around this enigmatic figure. He's not just a guy with a really deadly sword. That's why we've brought you the softer side of Kiyoshi: the Tender Samurai.

Narrator's Best Friend: Man, Machine, Legend

The Narrator's Best Friend Award goes to the character who most players agree consistently added great stuff to the story be it with NPC's or character choices through the entire season. This prestigious award is accompanied not only by the trophy emblem (right), but by 5, count them 5, of the coveted blue Never Gems. The honored recipient of the first ever Narrator's Best Friend Award is Moses the gentle Mechified savior.

At 2 meters in height Moses makes an impression when you first meet him, but despite his rough miner exterior, Moses breaks the mold a little bit with his gentle nature. When you realize that this is a guy who can hammer straight through bedrock and doesn't even have to breathe air if he doesn't want to, the fact that he's so accessible comes as a big surprise. After having seen his face in graffiti for so long, I was almost nervous when I went to do the interview, but he put me right at ease.

"Yeah, Moses is like that," Kiyoshi told me while filling my cup with tea. "I remember the first time I saw him, he was busting into the Goshi Corp Tower and he had a huge hunk of concrete raised over his head, but then he just spent all his energy trying to keep people from getting hurt. I knew right away that he isn't your average rebel leader."

Though he doesn't like to brag about it, Moses really is the catalyst for a lot of the stuff that happens in the campaign. From his spectacular break-in at the Goshi Tower to inspiring a whole army of Mechified to wage war against the oppressive regime of the Biomade Mega-Corporations, Moses has been right in the thick of it. Perhaps most memorable of all was the time he set Goshi up with his own surrender - a debacle that ended with thousands dead or wounded as a battle broke out in the streets.

When asked what he thinks about his companions being so loyal that they would try to rescue him under those circumstances, Moses is characteristically humble.

"I wish they wouldn't," he says in an understated way.

His companions know better than to let such a remarkable man get away from them. He's always teaching them something new. High Dive for example recalls, "He's made me a much more effective saboteur. That whole lefty-loosy thing. I was always getting it backwards before."

"Yeah," Una chimed in, "He's got this way of making you feel like you're fighting for a cause, so when you dig your talons into the enemy it's just so much more fulfilling. Isn't it Moses?"

Moses modestly looked out the window, but heads were nodding all around.

Rei probably articulated what everyone was feeling, "I mean, at first I was just following him so I could assassinate him, but after the things he's shown me. I would follow him anywhere and kill anyone he asked. He's just that special."

Man, Machine, Legend: Moses.

Kick-Ass Queen: One Vicious Raptor

The Kick-Ass King/Queen Award goes to the character who most players agree did the most devastation in the coolest way through the entire season. This prestigious award is accompanied not only by the trophy emblem (right), but by 5, count them 5, of the coveted red Never Gems. The honored recipient of the first ever Kick-Ass Queen Award is Una the Griever-wielding Vorax.

Despite being a member of the most fragile species of Karians, widely regarded as the symbolic bearers of the vitality of Karia, Una makes a statement with her 7' long double-ended Scythe known as a Griever. Carrying a weapon that is taller than she is and standing with a jaunty pose that says, "I know 101 ways to disembowel people who annoy me," Una consistently made her foes, eyeless or otherwise, regret their decision to tangle with a feathered funnel cloud of fury.

Party members recall with admiration and horror moments like the time, after she had buried one curved blade in the neck of an eyeless abomination on the balcony above her, she ran along the wall twisting her weapon till the head popped off and it rained gore.

"Yeah, I was scarred for life by that one. I still see it in my dreams," Moses said.

Not everyone was necessarily negative about it though. Rei, for example, had this to say, "With Una, it's really a spectator art. To the untrained eye one bisected torso looks just like another, but those of us who can appreciate such things notice delicate aesthetic sensibilities."

Even Moses concedes that she really took it to a new level though once she acquired the Blood of the Fallen Vorax technique and began flaying her opponents from the inside out. Mentioning her malice focusing talent gets every head in the room nodding.

"I'm not sure I fully appreciated the potency of that woman until I saw her turn Nero's arm into a gore spattered skeleton," Kiyoshi said, speaking for everyone, in the group. "There's something about that kind of power that demands respect."

"Respect, hell she scares the shit out of me," Rei quipped. "When Mama Pain had Kiyoshi here in the pleasure seat she let me know in no uncertain terms that she could pop my head off like a cork."

High Dive, munching on some candy, perked up then, "Gross."

"Like a cork. Pop."

That's One Vicious Raptor, and our very own Kick-Ass Queen.

A Bird in Flight

Una's cry echoes over Geneva Prime. Her wings spread to their fullest extent, a gnarled staff with a vibrant blue Never Gem set in its head grasped between her talons, she rises at the crest of a wave, which rolls over the outer slums. Building after building, struck by the invisible blast crumble and spray deadly wreckage through the air. One, two, ten, twenty city blocks are leveled in an instant. Millions die or disappear beneath a sea of concrete and glass.

Karia weeps, a little. But her tears of sorrow are mingled with ones of joy because hope flies out of the rubble on those regal wings. A chance. A possibility. A riddle.

Three weeks and a day. That is the time which passed from the first explosion at the Goshi demonstration till today. Three weeks and a day during which the foundations were laid, the roots took hold, the wheels were set in motion. The fate or destiny of life in the universe begins to be revealed, though the fundamental question remains unanswered. The drama is in progress.

But now purple wings are carrying the plot in new directions. Horizons are beckoning. The clamor and ferment of Geneva Prime are receding into the past. Goshi Tower fades in the distance. Nestled in that mountain valley, within the haze of blackrock furnaces, memories remain...

A feast of broiled meat with greasy hands, hissing pistons, and generous hearts...
A wall of flesh and machinery riveted in place by eyeless malice...
The home of a surgeon torn from its moorings, tumbling into peril...
A train screeching to a halt against the exhausted form of a foolish Mechified savior...
An exhausted Vorax refusing to leave the surgeons side, tending to a wounded nest mate...
A horde of miners charging the barricade of the refinery, a rebel leader coming into her own...
A glass door and mysterious runes, which lead to an even more mysterious crystal...
A tribe of Gogajin fearlessly finding joy in the darkest recesses of the mine...
A desperate escape and a blazing sun which leaves living, breathing, Cheldrun in ashes...
A collapsed tenement, a sullen surrender, a bright pink blade blossoming from a samurai's head...
A flying purple banner and a force of destruction unleashed on Goshi Corp Soldiers...
A middle-aged woman lying slumped in her lab coat, a needle plunged in her heart...
Neon lights and cloying perfume at the entrance to a garish underground brothel...
Blood seeping down the dais from the enormous belly of an old warrior...
A wall of crackling lightning casting shadows over the enraged face of a murderous boy with a blackened skeletal fist...
A train full of the cost and stench of civil-war...
A rumbling voice announcing doom...

The sky becomes clearer. The countryside more vibrant. A Vorax flies over farms and villages, rail lines, and canals. The poison of Geneva Prime becomes less and less oppressive. It tastes like freedom. On the horizon a lush violet forest looms.

Teki

It was a word Rei had applied to many in her time. The face of Typhon rose up before her, struck down even as he willed her to burn, her psychic knife draining the last of his power away at the very moment he would have destroyed her. Her hands around his throat, squeezing tightly, feeling the pulse of his life slowing, slowing, gentler and gentler against her palm, his whirling thoughts fading and fading until... silence.

Teki.

The word rolled like a pulse of light on the surface of her mind. She saw the face of Nero, greasy hair and red eyes full of quiet hatred.

Teki.

Aimi’s face swam into view. An image floats before the screen: a thirteen year old Rei crying bitterly as Mama Pain praises a very young Aimi for behavior that she had punished Rei for the very same day.

Teki.

The Infected, swarming through the mines, threatening Moses’ life.

Teki.

Aliya Pain, dead on the floor, a needle sticking out of her heart.

Teki.

Nero. Nero with a blackened skeletal arm and a malice that burns with the fury of a star. He clenches his skeletal fist; bits of metal float into the air and flow together through the gaps in the bones, knitting together of his accord, melding, fusing: in moments a gleaming metal arm glitters dangerously beneath the stars.

Teki.

Rei flings herself into the very maw of doom, into the Shadow with teeth bared, defiant to the last breath.

Breathe.

The fire comes forth, and the fear is swallowed up in fire. It feels right to bring the fire. It makes her wish Amaterasu were here. In that moment, everything is gloriously, perfectly clear; in that moment, with golden flames burning all around her, when death is like a light and blood is like a rose, Rei loves her Enemy.

Teki.

Enemy. Now, looking down at the beast even as it melts beneath the combined barrage of the Goshi heat-bombs, Rei can’t help but feel sorry for the demon. This abomination. This creature which should not and can not be allowed to exist. This thing of malice which feeds upon the living souls of its prey.

She doesn’t recognize the feeling at first. It’s not something she’s ever experienced before, after all. This strange movement of the heart is altogether new to her. There is no frame of reference for it. There it is, burning in the heart of the young Biomade like the searing light of the sun-child. Every Cheldrun lived in fear of that thing which waited in the starless void. Every Cheldrun had heard whispered tales of the Enemy. Rei had learned of it through Others. Through their thoughts. Through their darkest fears, their moments of weakness, through the moments in the night when the pulse quickened and terror grew within the heart of a young man just outside the compound as he thought he saw the shadows move. And the reality was every bit as terrifying as the stories had suggested, and yet...

Though the creature be terrible, abominable, and fearful beyond all measure, as she watches the Demon melt - though she says nothing, and the thought of it disturbs her more than the feeling itself - Rei’s heart is moved to pity for the first time.

She would never admit it. Not to anyone. Not ever. Not even to herself. But there it is nonetheless.

Fever Dreams

My feet slid in the mud of Washisan Academy's training yard and I nearly fell. I was used to training in all conditions, but I was certainly not used to doing it while weighing a few tons. I recovered from my momentary stumble and struck back wildly trying to drive my opponent back far enough that I could fully regain my balance. He dodged, seemingly effortlessly compared to my clumsy movements, and my massive weapon nearly took out a pillar before I checked it.

"Be more careful, Kiyoshi!" came Ichirou's voice from the other mecha. "This is not the practice yard at the dojo with wooden bokken; a mecha can be as dangerous to your surroundings as to your opponent. A single misstep could collapse an outbuilding and someone could be seriously injured or even killed."

*FLASH*

"You did kill a man, you know."

I find myself in a strange place. All around me is nothing but blackness. Not darkness, because I can see myself clearly, but all around me there is... nothing but black. I turn to see who spoke. "Moses?"

Moses is standing there, floating in the blackness as I am. His forehead furrows as if he is trying to think really hard for a moment, then he says "Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm your conscience. I just look like Moses right now."

"Ah. I guess that makes sense."

"Like I said, you killed someone. Three men, actually. Not Oni or anything; your fellow Cheldrun."

"Yeah, I know. The sniper and two Hei Shi."

"Yep. So how does it feel being a killer? I thought that killing Cheldrun was the one thing you said you would not do?"

"I do not like it; I hope I never do. But I did what was necessary."

"And what defines necessity?" I look up and find that Moses is gone. This last question had been asked by an image of Rei standing in his place.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

"Let's just call me your... practicality. It is easy to do horrendous things if you can justify their 'necessity'. What makes it necessary to kill?"

"I will kill to preserve my life, and that of my companions, or of those who cannot defend themselves."

"What about for honor?"

"My honor is easily worth my life."

"That is not the question I asked and you know it! I am not asking if your honor is worth your life; the question is, is it worth the life of another? An enemy? An innocent? A... friend?"

I open my mouth to answer, then close it. Eventually I answer simply. "I do not know."

Rei nods. "An honest answer, if not a good one. You will probably want to figure it out though, before it comes up, or you might not like the choice that is forced upon you."

*FLASH*

"What do you mean you do not want her? This mecha has been in our family almost as long as mine, and father's! It is your birthright! How can you throw that in our face?" Ichirou was angry like I had never seen him. He seemed to take my pronouncement as a personal insult.

"You saw how I was out there. Being in a mecha simply did not feel... natural to me. Let Naomi have her; you know how much she moons about the Academy wishing to be a pilot. When she reaches majority she can do just that. I simply do not feel that is the road I wish to take."

"What will people say if the son of the Grand Master of Washisan Academy refuses to become a pilot?"

"I don't know! Make something up to make it seem like I was unfit somehow! Tell them... tell them my vision is too poor! I will start wearing glasses all the time. And, of course, I could never sully the purity of the family be getting modifications to correct the problem... yes, that should work nicely."

Ichirou looked at me askance. "You and your scheming; one day they will get you in more trouble than you can get out of. I simply do not understand it; I thought you would be proud, would want to make father and the clan proud as a pilot."

I sighed. "I do want to make them proud, but not as a pilot. The thought of wrapping myself in several tons of metal and battling my fellow Cheldrun for a living, maybe even having to kill them... that is not for me."

Ichirou's face darkened even further. His voice was taught with anger. "We 'battle our fellow Cheldrun' in individual duels of honor so that larger conflicts do not become necessary. Sure, there are fatalities every once in a while, but they are nothing compared to the numbers that would die in more traditional warfare. And you dare to look down upon us for this?" By the end he was nearly shouting.

"No brother, I do not look down upon the pilots. I have nothing but respect for what you and father and all the others do; you fight so that the rest of us do not have to. But there are other kinds of fights than physical, and it is to those that I feel myself drawn. You keep the various cities from outright conflict, but in the end all it does is maintain the status quo! I want to actually make a difference! I want to improve the life of my fellow Cheldrun in a meaningful way! Damn it, we cling to the mecha as the last vestige of our honor, the last important thing we are allowed to do in this world, like it is a rock in a swollen river! But they do not define us; we are more than simply mecha pilots, but if we continue the way we are that is all anyone, including we ourselves, will remember us as! Don't you see, I do not want to be a pilot because I need to prove that an Allskin can actually make a difference without a mecha! I need to prove it to you, and to myself and to everyone."

Ichirou looked at me sternly, but no longer with anger apparent. "I am not sure I will ever understand you, Kiyoshi."

"And as your brother, I am asking you to trust me anyway."

"In that case, of course. I apologize for my earlier temper; I misjudged your intentions. If you wish to bring honor to the clan in a manner other than being a mecha pilot, I will support you as well as I can. I am sure that father will say the same."

"Actually, father understands me better than you would think. He has already set up a meeting for me with his old friend, Lord Tsuchinaga Yamoto."

"That old lech? What good will he do you?"

"He is a Director of Goshi Corp. He says he might be able to get me a job there, eventually. I would like to work in Personnel so that I can help to improve the worker's conditions, but I will take what I can get and go from there."

"Kiyoshi, you are sixteen. I do not think you will be moving the world just yet."

"No, maybe not. But every journey must be taken one step at a time, and this could be my first step. Apparently I might be able to start at a low level position in Public Relations dealing with Karians of all things..."

*FLASH*

"And how do you feel about Karians now, Kiyoshi?"

I am once again floating in the blackness. The Void? Before me stands Una. "What do you mean?"

"Back then, and not very long ago for that matter, you considered Karians inherently inferior to Cheldrun. Do you still feel that way about my people?" She looks at me with tears in her eyes. "About me?"

I shake my head. "It is not that I considered them less it is just... they are not my people. I still do not understand what it is you see in me, why it is that you seem to have taken to me so, but I intend to ask you if I ever get out of here. In the last few weeks, after getting to know you, and Highdive, and Mokuzai, and Balder, and Grimm and all the rest... no, I would not call the Karians an inferior people."

"And after Nero, and Mama Pain and Katashi Blade... do you still hold your fellow Cheldrun up on such a pedestal? "

"Those are some rather extreme examples. I choose instead to look to Moses, and Yamoto, to my father and my brother, even to Rei who, despite everything, despite what she was made for, is trying for a better life and to be a better person. There is good and bad in all people, and in all peoples. I will continue to fight for the honor of the Cheldrun, because that is my duty, and to honor the vision of the First Minds. But I will no longer discount the wisdom of the Karians either."

"And what is this wisdom you seek?" The voice had changed again. I look up to find the wizened figure of Mokuzai before me now.

"These creatures that seem to feed on 'manna'. These marks, these Kata Kariana. It seems likely that Karians would know something about them."

"That we probably do, boy, that we probably do. There are thousands of secrets and bits of lore that we keep that would probably aid you."

"Like what?"

A look of annoyance passes over Mokuzai's face. "How would I know? I am not really Mokuzai, I am the personification of your concept of arcane Karian wisdom!"

"Oh. Right. Sorry, I forgot."

"One thing we will probably need your help with, though, is the Enemy. They found you, somehow, tracked you through the endless stars and now they are here to finish the job. You have seen that we are just as vulnerable to them as you are. Well, other Karians are as vulnerable to them as other Cheldrun. We may need the wisdom of the First Minds, as we have not faced such a foe before."

I frown in thought. "I remember a notice awhile back. Something that has been tickling my memory, because it seems similar. Something about dead Karians rising..."

*FLASH*

"Did you here the latest from the mines? Apparently the workers are in an uproar because some of the Gogajin are blaming the recent cave-in in Epsilon 8 on some sort of ghost called a 'Teeshee' or something. Can you imagine? I can't wait to hear what those backwards rustics come up with next!"

I heard this just as I turned the corner into the break room at Goshi Corp. It was someone in my department; Soni, or Sora or some such. I lose track of them with how quickly they transfer out; no Biomade wanted to work directly under an Allskin for long. I approached him and his laughing fellows, and was upon them before they noticed my presence. "I trust that these stories are not hurting the miners' moral, are they?"

The laughter cut off abruptly and the executives gaped at me for a moment before their leader responded. "Oh, you know Mechified; they'll believe anything they hear. I hear a lot of them don't even want to go into the sector anymore."

I frowned. "That could hurt productivity, which would discomfit Operations. And if Operations is discomfited by such a thing they will bring it to Personnel. And you can be damn sure that Personnel will bring it to PR, to my desk, to take care of. And that will mean a lot of extra paperwork. Extra work that I will be sure to delegate. So perhaps someone who seems to already be knowledgeable about the problem should take care of it before it escalates. We do not want the miners, our fellow Cheldrun who have recently suffered such a loss from the cave-in, to have to worry about silly superstitions when they will need to have safety foremost in their minds, do we?"

He sneered at me and looked like he was about to say something flippant. I simply gripped the left lens of my glasses and focused my gaze upon him, pinning him down with every once of authority I could muster. He quickly dropped his gaze and muttered, "No sir. I will get on it right away."

"That is a good man, showing some initiative. I want an announcement ready to go out about these Teeshee by tomorrow morning." I shifted my glare to take in his compatriots. "Do you gentlemen also find yourselves in need of assignments?" With hurried denials they all darted away to scurry back to their respective offices. I sighed. In order to achieve any level of respect as an Allskin Director I had to be ruthless. I went to the side table to help myself to some tea and a peanut bar.

*FLASH*

Highdive is crouched in front of me, chewing a large nut. Chew, chew. Chew, chew. Seemingly reluctant, she pulls out another one and holds it out to me. "Want one?"

I shake my head. "No, you go ahead." Without further ado she shoves it in her mouth, one cheek bulging with it as she continues to chew on the first nut. Munch, munch. Chew, chew. I clear my throat. "So, what do you represent?" She shrugs. Chew, chew. I glance about, but nothing is different. "So... did you have anything deep and important to say to me?"

She pauses for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. Finally she nods, and goes back to eating. Munch, munch. Chew, chew.

"Well?" I ask, somewhat exasperated.

She looks up at me thoughtfully and pronounces "You give good tummy rubs. You should do that more often." With a look of great dignity, she goes back to eating.

I blink. I blink again. "Oh. Okay."

Another familiar voice: "Do I get a tummy rub too?" I look up to see a too-young girl with bright pink hair. Her face changes from impish humor to... what? Wonder? "You saved my life; my soul I guess."

I want to tell her it was nothing, that it was simply my duty, but... I know she will take it the wrong way. And besides, I am not entirely sure that is the truth. All I say is "I guess I did. Are you just another figment of my imagination or are you the real Aimi projecting into my dreams again?"

She shrugs. "Does it matter?" I shake my head. Instantly she runs to me and hugs me like I am her last hope of survival. "Was that really the Enemy?"

"I... I think so." She smells good. She is fifteen! For a moment I think I see a shovel floating in midair out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm scared."

"Me too, Aimi. Me too." I stroke her hair as she clings to me.

This one is important. The voice seems to echo in my mind. "Who is there?" Aimi does not seem to notice the voice, nor that I have spoken.

She has a great part yet to play in the coming story. "Do you mean she is marked, like the rest of us? This Kata Kariana thing?"

There is more than one kind of mark. She has a destiny to fulfill. Perhaps not as great as yours, but important nonetheless. "That is not why I saved her."

I know. That is part of the reason that she is so important. "Who are you?"

*FLASH*

"Mecha are not the only First Mind artifacts that we use, as you know, simply the most prominent. Since you have chosen to pass on that particular inheritance, I present you with one that may fit you better. This is Keibatsu, the Blade of Celestial Judgment. It can cut through steel as easily as flesh, will never rust or pit, dull or break. You are sufficiently advanced in your Kenjutsu training that I believe you will make us proud by wielding this blade."

I knelt before my father and he placed Keibatsu in my hands for the first time. It seemed somehow... right.

There I am. "You are... Keibatsu?" I have been asleep for so long... but I have tasted the flesh of the Enemy once more. I begin to awaken. This is only the beginning, Kiyoshi. We are one, you and I, and we have much to do. The Enemy has returned. And I hunger.

Episode 8, Part II: The Birth of a Demon

The train just jumped. I'm sure of it. The Zipsum is still chittering in a panic and the others begin climbing outside the train car to deal with whatever it is that has the Zipsum so spooked.

A voice like a thousand tormented souls resonates through everything in that car, including my own body.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."

Moses begins, well, tunneling through the roof. There's no way I'm dragging my creaking bones through a window. As if to answer my thoughts, a terrible howl, like the voice of the void beyond fills me with a terror I had only ever expected to feel once; the split second before my untimely death. The roof of the car is torn open like wrapping parchment, and I see the source of my doom. The body of a woman hangs suspended in the body of a creature that defies everything in existence. To gaze upon its grotesque form was to know the face of malice. Kiyoshi bares his sword, roaring his challenge into the demon's face, and his courage brings me back to my senses.

The tone was set, and the battle raged for what felt like an eternity. It repeatedly attempted to pull the very souls from our bodies, throwing our forms about like rag dolls while everything we threw at it seemed to only make it stronger... and larger. Hordes of eyeless dead hounded us from all sides, aiding their creator in its attempts to destroy us. A little green fireball seems to take care of them rather effectively... isn't that the Zipsum? No matter, it's too fast to focus on anyway.

The battle climaxes as the demon tears the car free from the rest of the train and hurls it, with us ON it, into a nearby building. As the car impacts, my body is thrown clear- through a plate glass window. Darkness overcomes me.

Water. Its raining. The water burns my whole body. Why? I'm covered in lacerations... some of them still full of glass shards. The memory of the battle with the demon floods back into my mind. The car landed lower than me. Go down. I slowly rise to my feet, barely noticing the screaming people running all around me. I make my way to a stairwell, jammed with panicked people. Best stay out of there old man, you're libel to get trampled. And so, I wait, bleeding.

Then, a figure runs up the stairs. Kiyoshi? Then a pink-haired girl. I know her from... somewhere... A heavy tromping heralds the passing of Moses, hot on the tails of the first two. I look down at my blood-soaked clothing, wondering just how bad the damage is. Well, at least they were courteous enough to clear a path. I ascend the stairs after them. Kiyoshi says something about "The Enemy" which stuns the pink-haired girl. Is that what we face? The girl looks at me over the shoulder of Moses as he scoops her up. She looks stunned, confused, and... terrified?

The battle rages on on the rooftop. It seems every time we strike it, the creature grows in size. The building starts collapsing, taking the demon and Moses with it. A voice on the wind calls to me, beckoning me. I listen, then a flash of light, the crack of thunder, and the smell of ozone fills my senses.

I'm standing in a snow-covered courtyard with a fire and a teapot in the middle. A feathered face appears in the smoke of the fire, and asks me to sit down and have some tea. Wasn't I just in a battle? Am I dead? The face and I begin chatting. It tests my resolve, tempting me with the easy way out.

The easy way out? Aren't I already dead? Hmph, I guess not. In any case, the riddle of peace is one I intend to solve.

"Yes, the riddle of peace. Your companions are important pieces of the puzzle, Mokuzai."

My companions. Are they alright? Has the demon destroyed them? Have I failed so soon?

"You could bring them here, Mokuzai. A priest would bring even unworthy souls to a holy place if they needed help and shelter."

A point well made, spirit- face- whatever you are.

"They are marked Mokuzai. Marked as you are. Take them to the chantry. Learn of the Kata Kariana, if your people have not forgotten."

My pride stings at the comment. We would NOT have forgotten.

A flash, the crack, the ozone- I am standing on a different rooftop next to Una. Good, she is safe.

In the distance, Goshi's armies are bombarding the demon with everything they have. Still it lives?!

The rest of my companions are scattered about around me in various states of repair. Kiyoshi and the Zipsum look like a pair of mis-matched corpses. No, there is life in them yet.

Rei looks at me suspiciously, "Where did you go? And how did you get here? Did your staff... eat you?"

I shake my head no. Dear child, there is so much you should learn.

The atmosphere fills with a sense of looming doom, drawing my gaze back to the demon in the distance. We must leave, NOW!

Moses begins tearing into a nearby wall, looking for an escape route. "Wait!" He stops, looking at me confused. I look at my companions. "Will you trust me?" Only Moses answers. "Take my staff Una, fly to the southern forest. I will safeguard the rest of us." With that, I open my will to the staff again, drawing all my compaions save Una with me.

The blinding light, the deafening crack, the stink of ozone.

Sages please, let this work.

And the Winner is...

The First Season has come to an end and the Heroes of Karia Vitalus Awards Ceremony has been held.

In the category of Best Episode of Season One, the clear winner was 'Surrender or Else' which also has the distinction of having been the longest episode of this season. During this immortal episode our Heroes' participation in the insurrection of the Underground Mechified Army against Goshi Corp came to a head when Moses, the inspirational leader of the Mechified rebels decided to surrender himself to prevent further violence. Much to his dismay the episode ended in a full-scale civil-war breaking out in the streets.

In the category of Favorite NPC of Season One, another landslide victory gave the award to Aimi. The churlish, sexy, dangerous assassin sibling of Rei and love-interest of Kiyoshi was the group's favorite recurring nemesis. Memorable moments include her sticking her knife in Moses, or Kiyoshi or even Garandou Oni and paralyzing them. Was it her potent blade or her startling eyes?

The player-characters also voted on awards for each other. The winners of these awards will be profiled in subsequent days.

Episode 8, Part I: The Birth of a Demon

The blood on the walls still ran a little; they hadn't been dead long. Even as I turn towards our guide, Kiyoshi charges up the stairs to our host's audience chamber, his fellows hot on his heels.

"Does this happen often?" I ask Samara.

"To us, yes." The metal man says as he hefts a large piece of furniture and begins lumbering up the stairs.

Just who have I gotten myself tangled with?

The sound of screaming pulls me from my thoughts and I pursue my new companions. Our host, Tsuchinaga Yamoto is dying, and several of his playthings are already dead. One of them is strangling another as calm as if she were folding clothes. Are these Cheldrun insane?

Rei claims it is the work of her brother, Nero, and that he is here looking for something. She plans to stop him.

Is it so wise to stand in the way of one who kills with such recklessness?

She says he can compel others to do things they would never do.

Goshi compelled YOU, Oathbreaker. My anger begins to rise.

The others, save Kiyoshi descend after Rei. Kiyoshi wishes to bid his friend farewell in private. Very well, such must be your custom.

In the distance, I hear explosions and the death screams of innocents.

How does one make peace with that which isn't at peace with itself?

Rei beckons me; I must have gotten lost in my thoughts again.

I embrace the Song of Clarity as we descend. My thoughts clear and sharpen to a bleeding edge. Something about these 5 is special. Something about them carries part of the answer to my riddle, the riddle that brought me here... the Riddle of Peace. I let the Songs flow through them. There, that should help.

I continue to question Rei about her family relations. Do all Biomade siblings have this degree of rivalry? How do they survive past 12? She assures me she's a special case. Just how special? What is the answer to your riddle, young one?

A screaming woman covered in blood lunges at Una, taking us all by surprise. My protective instincts rise; the Song of Tempest is roused. Fortunately for her assailant, she gives up her assault when Una wounds her. I continue to channel the Song. If there is to be battle, I will be prepared.

The metal man- Una called him... Moses? Yes. Moses -is holding a cask of wine and fits it with a burning rag. Where did he find a keg of wine? Your excessive ponderings are making you miss things, old man.

Kiyoshi slashes open a door, and I see our quarry for the first time. Rei exchanges words with this... child? What sort of people births children capable of such evil?

Another figure stands in the room, dripping with water? I suddenly realize my feet are cold. We've been walking in water. The thought of releasing the Tempest strikes me as a very bad idea.

And then hell breaks loose. A barrel flies through the air and bursts into flame, knives whirl across the room, striking Moses and Una. Una! I must help her! Kiyoshi is surrounded by a whirlwind of purple droplets, and the figure in the middle of the room bursts into a Tempest of its own, sending us all staggering. A knife buries itself below my collar bone. Pain. A fireball explodes around Rei, sending Kiyoshi and Moses flying. Una screams in rage, and the skin seems to melt off Nero's arm, and then, it's over.


What in Karia did you get yourself into, old man?

The figure in the middle of the room is jabbering about Mana, marks, and... Kata Kariana? You've heard of these things, old man. Age it seems, has the benefit of knowledge and experience. It wants White Rock. It eats that horrid substance?

Goshi is still fresh in your mind, isn't it Oathbreaker. They used the white rock to make you break your oath. I already have a dislike for this creature.

The Tempest jolts through my body, and blackness envelops me. White rock again. I'm really beginning to hate this substance.

Finally I come to. We're leaving. Why did we come down here?

We come again to the audience chamber, where lies the headless body of our host. Do all Cheldrun friends offer each other such a death? At least he was dignified with a silken death shroud.

Samara briefs us on our escape, and we are taken to a train station. I still hear the explosions and the screaming.

Even Jevuum have more mercy than this...

The train ride is, for lack of a better word, putrid. Do these Cheldrun dirty everything they touch? Aren't they capable of beautification?

Rei asks me not to apply my observations to my perception of all Cheldrun. At least she understands how hard that is, given recent circumstances.

Another explosion shakes the train violently and the brakes bring us to a screeching halt.

"Where is the Zipsum?" I ask, annoyed, as the little green creature streaks in from outside, chittering about demons, starting the train, and something about candy.

You know, old man, you ask far too many questions.

Prelude to the End of Season One

From the deck of Goshi's flagship Mothra, a Mechified seaman on break surveyed the bustle in the port. Puffing the stub of a cigar, his eyes followed the progress of a newly emptied freight-train up the steep rails to the tunnels which would lead into the valley of Geneva Prime. The city itself was obscured from view here, but over the edge of the mountain he could see wisps of smoke rising, a sign that the chaos was ongoing. Fuckin' unpreceden'ed, he thought. Never thought I'd see the day when Goshi was out of control in their own city.

A chill rippled down his furnace-heated torso. Instinctually he looked up to the state room balconies and caught sight of a man, all in white, on the highest level. The seaman knew he'd been overheard.

Jump overboard. The command was matter of fact, betraying no emotion, but brooking no disobedience.

The plunge into the filthy harbor water was surprisingly serene. Panic didn't set in until he was two-thirds of the way to the murky bottom and realized how difficult it is to swim when your body is a metric tonne of metal.

***

The thoughts of Katashi Blade, like icy wind, rushed over the telepathic network into the ear piece of the Vice President for Distribution, Rain. Yes, Executor. As you command.

Ever the instrument of precision, Rain, had taken over as acting director of Security, in addition to her other roles. The officers in Goshi's security force had come to hold her in a kind of awe already, in her first day. She was far less capricious than their previous superiors, but also completely immune to bargaining. Failure meant termination, and she demonstrated this immediately by issuing orders to banish the loved ones of every officer up the chain of command who had been involved in the debacle at the mine entrance. Yes, she used the word debacle, and she meant it. Nothing like that would be happening under her watch.

Especially not now. While Katashi Blade journeyed to Marina to hold another demonstration of the White Rock DisLocator for the Biomade Oversight Council, this time without interruptions, she was effectively the most powerful person in Geneva Prime. That meant she was responsible, and while Rain was responsible things were going to function like clockwork.

The Executor's orders might have shocked another person, but Rain, didn't hesitate for a moment. Her mind went straight to work calculating costs and came to the same conclusion, she imagined, as him. It would be cheaper this way, and send a message not likely to be forgotten in the near future. She pressed the button on her intercom, a pink light bloomed.

"Yes, director?"

Rain thought carefully about her exact words, "Order the Heishi to begin deploying heat bombs in sectors 4, 35, 171 & 215. Do not stop until I notify them I have received the unconditional surrender of the Underground Mechified Army."

There was stunned silence from the other end.

"Don't think about it, just do it. It's a long walk for your loved ones to get to Stardown from here." She clicked the intercom off, her mind still rattling out a cost-benefit analysis.

***

Out the windows of the Goshi Tower the streets of central Geneva Prime were a battleground. After the initial onslaught at the mine entrance it had spilled into nearby slums, becoming a guerrilla war of slow attrition, confusion and chaos. Goshi soldiers ran in columns down the streets, firing up at insurgents tossing homemade bombs from tenement windows, or disappearing into alleyways. Countless Mechified, spurred by the heroic display put on by Moses at the memorial, had swelled the ranks of the insurgents till it was impossible even for the UMA to know who was a combatant and who was a bystander. As a result, everyone became a target for Goshi bullets.

Behind a manufacturing plant a Heishi breathed his last gasps as a pneumatic hammer pounded like a piston through his skull. Amos shook the gore from his metal arm and looked defiantly at the ring of blue-armored elite soldiers around him. His face was wild and streaked with oil, which he spit in brown streaks from his chapped lips. Who knows what was broken, but it was leaking into his lungs and it tasted like shit.

"C'mon motherfuckers. I haven't had a conscience since my brother Omar was killed. Get too close to my hammer here and you won't have one anymore either."

The Heishi pounced all together. Amos disappeared under a wave of blue.

***

A muscular hand burst up out of the rubble. Concrete dust settled all around. With superhuman effort someone slowly lifted a massive slab, formerly of the ceiling and, placing their feet under it, heaved it to the side with a crunch. From within the rubble of a destroyed tenement, thin wheezing breaths could be faintly heard.

The slow emergence of this casualty from the fallen structure went completely unnoticed by columns of soldiers jogging past in the street. Neither did they notice a small mechified boy weeping in an alleyway over the corpse of his mother, recently retrieved from the same collapsed building. They jogged by with determination, eyes scanning only for potential threats, missing the signs of anguish around them.

The hand grabbed a piece of rebar and heaved. Statuesque shoulders, dreadlocked hair, and then the whole upper body of Balder the Gogajin rose from the ruins. Concrete dust caked in his wounds, labored breathing betraying a pierced lung, his back a nightmare landscape of bullet wounds, half of his face crusted over with an unsightly scab, Balder dragged himself to his feet, and walked on a broken ankle into the street. Instead of blood, his veins flowed with righteous anger and there were some Goshi soldiers nearby who were good candidates to help him do some anger management.

***

The students at Washi San academy were sombre listening to the announcement. It made no sense. Lord Daitokuji Ichirou, patriarch of the Silver Phoenix Clan and first pilot of the academy turned traitor? They might as well have said that gravity temporarily reversed directions or, contrary to all former knowledge, the sun really does revolve around Karia. Impossible. Ichirou and traitor were words that never belonged in the same sentence together unless the traitor was being struck down by Ichirou.

Whatever the students thought, the Grand Master knew what was necessary to save his academy. However much it grieved him, he must cooperate with Goshi and order his students to pursue and capture Ichirou at any opportunity. With a solemnity bordering on the funeral of a beloved monarch the students struck Ichirou's banner - the purple field with three silver feathers. They removed it from the place of honor and ritually desecrated it. The Silver Phoenix clan would require a long time to overcome this dishonor.

***

A nurse rolled her cart down the corridor checking room numbers - ah 324. She looked at the checklist and noting the patient's name, Malicious, withdrew a serial coded syringe from the appropriate compartment. As a precaution none of the nurses in this hospital ever know what the syringes contain, since many of the patients are telepathic and it increases distress if they realize what treatment they are given. Thus, blissfully ignorant, this prim young nurse went into the room where a teenage girl with ebony hair lay unconscious in traction.

She checked the patient's pulse, steady. Listened to her breathing, even. Then turned her arm so that she could have access to a vein, nice and plump.

The syringe went in silently and the clear fluid was dispensed in moments. The orderly rubbed the spot with a little cotton swab to get the drop of blood, and cheerily departed.

Malicious was dead before the door swung closed.

***

Karia watched all of this with something bordering on obsession. Such an intricate web. So complex, the chains of consequences. So many purposes being fulfilled and denied, discovered and destroyed. Karia knew that, as a planet, she had no pulse, even still she felt her heart pounding. There will be ramifications, she whispered, for all of this. There will be prices to be paid and yet...The thing which continually drew her back to this scene is the amazing depths to which these people reached in themselves to find the price that is asked and meet it. Almost instinctually, they seem to understand that their lives matter.

Not just their lives. All lives. Life itself is the question that the cosmos are asking. It could all so easily not be. A tiny shift of a universal constant here, a miniscule blip in the laws of physics there. The universe sat back like an artist considering the composition, undecided. Paint it back to white? Or let the riot of colors continue...

The marked ones, the ones that Karia had cursed with gifts, they would be the pivotal actors in this drama. How would they answer the question? Karia wondered. No, she practically shrieked and danced about in anticipation. Did they feel it? Did they intuit the answer? Did they know the enormous burden that was being placed on them, or comprehend the vastness of that one word question:

Life?

Episode 7: Rei's Homecoming

Pain. Incredible, overwhelming pain. I am... I am... who am I?

There was gas; I was able to fight it off by controlling my breathing, but there was nowhere to go. Then darkness, and then... three. Sever. Stitch. Another, an older girl about Rei's age Malicious, someone called her Malicious and they beat me and they strapped me to a table. But you cut her first, didn't you? You cut your enemy before you were overwhelmed. They cannot take that away...

An older woman. A robot? No, just a Biomade who had forgotten what it is to be Cheldrun. No matter. She injected me with... pain. She said I would hurt forever now. She was right. I retreated into the Void. I tried to shut my body down... so close to death, barely breathing, heartbeat practically gone. For a long time there was nothing, only the Void, and I was almost gone for good. Damn you, who am I?! Then I was back and in agony. The woman was angry, sweating; she had been working very hard to cause me this pain, to draw me out. She succeeded. Now it is time to die. I taunted her, hoping I could make her kill me. Even if I could not, I would not give her the satisfaction of thinking she had broken me. Bitch.

It went on forever. It starts with a K. My name. And then... it stopped. I became aware of a strange sound and the woman told someone to go check on it. She said I was unconscious. Almost, but not quite. Almost dead, but not quite. It did not really matter to me, but then I heard an even stranger sound, a keening and a horrible chittering; screams that were not my own. Such things exist? I saw her, the woman, fighting off something small and green. It seemed vaguely familiar, like I had known what it was once... WHO AM I? Then it was over. The woman had tried to stab the green thing with a syringe and stabbed herself instead. Now she lay there, unmoving. Dead. I envied her.

There was some tugging at my restraints, and then I was being moved. The pain was too much; I passed out. Will I ever wake again? Do I want to?

I awaken. The pain is not so bad. There is a woman hugging me, weeping. Mother? No, not my mother. My mother is mercifully dead these many years now. Funny I remember that when I do not even recall who I am. Three syllables. My name has three syllables. I feel like I should know this woman who is hugging me. Her tears make me feel better; her embrace feels warm and right. But I cannot recall her. Pretty purple feathers.

There is a man too. My... brother? Yes, he is your brother. But who are you? Who am I? Are we even the same person? The sight of him reminds me. I need... something. I reach for it; it is not there. I start gasping and babbling. I do not understand my own words, but my brother does, and the weeping woman. Both of them look horrified by what I am saying. I need my... honor. What is missing is my honor. I notice that my hair has been cut; it used to be quite long, I remember, but now it is raggedly cut to just above my ears. My honor is my life, and now it is gone. It is more important even than my name. I have lost them both, but my honor is more important...

They clean and bandage and clothe me. I do not care. They lead me somewhere; there is a large man and a pretty girl who tries to speak to my mind. I do not care. There is a fat man who welcomes us, and another man. A prill. Mokuzai. Not important. He says he will help us leave the city. I cannot leave, I must find my honor! And my name. I almost have it...

I sleep. Even in sleep I am in pain. Even in my dreams, one thought pervades. I have lost my honor. It is the longest night of my life. Every minute is eternity. I awaken to find a little green squirrel on my chest. She chitters sadly at me and proffers a small pouch; mine, I think, from long ago. But it is too small to contain my honor. I pet the squirrel and she curls up on my chest Pain! and goes to sleep. I too sleep, I think. It is hard to tell the difference. And it does not really matter.

There is a familiar presence, and something brushes my cheek. For just an instant I forget my pain and everything seems right. I open my eyes. The window is open and the curtains are flapping. Beside me lies my honor. Keibatsu. Aimi brought it back to me; she is still playing a game with me. Does she really care? Does it matter? She is free now, free to live a life as she chooses if she will only seize it. And yet she is still playing games with me. Why? No matter. Keibatsu is back. I feel a tear slide down my face and I thank Aimi for giving me back my honor. I will remember this kindness; I owe her.

In the morning I break my fast and garb myself. Outside I meet with the others. They seem surprised and pleased that I am seemingly recovered. It still hurts, but I have discovered that I am not as hurt as I feel; the pain is ever present, and thus, in a strange way, easier to ignore. I show my brother that I have Keibatsu. He is surprised, pleased, and says it is time for him to go, to take all of the Clan away from this city. I wish him luck. I would go with him, but I have... other things to attend to. He leaves. A woman comes. She says her name but I do not pay attention. We are taken to see our host. We come across dead guards. Enemies are here; they always are, it seems. I enter the Void. Even here the pain reaches me, but it is like a moth beating at the window. Three syllables and it starts with a K. Of course. I am Keibatsu; I am judgement. And for everything that they have done, my enemies shall weep in despair. I go to face my enemies.

Dr. Soren's Message

Fractal patterns twist out of the black background, covering the monitor in an intricate web of color. It is a code, operating according to some insane logic. Reducing these images back to their mathematical formula will be nearly impossible - and then to get meaning from numbers and calculations... what could possibly be the purpose of such a complex code?

After precisely 6 hours of aggravating attempts to make headway with the puzzle a telepathic recording is unlocked. It speaks directly into Rei's mind one time only and then it never triggers again. Try as she might Rei cannot seem to find or recover the source of the recording. The fractal patterns continue their hypnotic dance uninterrupted.

crackle... hiss... Unbelievable potential... Nothing like it in the history of genetic sciences...

The voice is unfamiliar. A young cheldrun man, with an edge in his tone like he is intoxicated or perhaps sleep deprived.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Council, I am convinced that this represents a step forward for our experiment an order of magnitude greater than anything attempted in hundreds of years. If you will have the courage to fund this project, you will not be disappointed with the results, which at a conservative estimate will produce dividends of 10 to 15 times your investment within the first generation...

The recording is broken. The voice keeps getting cut off.

...There have been setbacks. Nothing serious... we'll need more money... No! We should have counted on there being obstacles to overcome. This isn't unusual. All advancement comes with a cost... You don't understand how important this is... You can't cancel the project, it's too important... hiss... crackle

The recording is silent for a short while, then it resumes, much clearer this time. The voice speaking is that of Dr. Soren.

What you have been listening to is the voice of your creator Rei. His name is Inase Spark. It is probable that he is the greatest intellect our species has ever produced. Unfortunately, great minds are often unstable as proved to be the case with him. He conceived of a project, the history of which is now rather murky. It was called Project Scion. Partly because of Spark's descent into madness and subsequent disappearance, partly because of a disastrous fire at the original laboratory, and partly because of intentional obfuscation by those who funded and oversaw the project, there isn't much I am able to tell you about what Project Scion was.

This much I know. Inase Spark was convinced he had discovered something that would lead to a completely new era for the Cheldrun. His techniques were eccentric, scientifically dubious, and dangerous. He produced many prototypes which completely failed before you. Yes Rei, you are not the first. Actually you are the last. Project Scion was deemed too expensive to continue funding. Whether Spark intentionally started the fire which destroyed his lab we will probably never know, but the whole thing ended in a horrible mess.

You were but an infant at the time I plucked you from the flames. The lone surviving prototype of Project Scion, like the others you had many defects, but unlike the others you were biologically stable. At the direction of the Biomade Oversight Council, and with funding generously supplied by Goshi Mining Corp, I went into service with Dr. Aliya Pain a talented geneticist to see if we couldn't unlock the secrets in your DNA to what it was Inase Spark had been trying to achieve. We learned a great deal. We were even able to reproduce some of his techniques to develop your siblings, who by and large are much more stable than you. Perhaps this is because we resolved the flaws in his method, or perhaps this is because we do not correctly perceive what he was trying to achieve.

In essence his technique involved a kind of gene therapy in an early embryonic stage using the energy from a substance known as White Rock. We do not really know what this is intended to accomplish, thus we used varying amounts of this energy in your siblings trying to learn the difference. The least energy was employed in Malicious, the most in Nero. Aimi represents a hypothetical perfect balance, but who knows whether we are correct or whether this technique is likely to accomplish what Inase Spark set out to do. There is simply too much conjecture in everything I and Mama Pain have done.

Mama Pain grew increasingly obsessed with discovering what Inase Spark was after as you developed and showed no sign of a stable self. She pored over these files, what remains of Spark's journal, attempting to break the code, but never succeeded. Frankly, I'm not sure there is anything meaningful in here. In his last days Spark kept raving about a "Godstone" and the "Blood of the Scion" showing up in "reddened eyes". The magnificent intellect that had once been his had clearly deteriorated beyond recognition. Even if this is some kind of code as Mama Pain believes, then it may point you to nothing but smoke and fairy dust.

There are two more question I must answer, for my conscience if for no other reason. Why am I telling you this now? and Why did I not tell you this before? The answer to the second question is unfortunately very simple: in the eyes of the Biomade Oversight Council Project Scion never happened. Inase Spark after a brief, but brilliant publishing career simply burned out and retired to a small village somewhere. No one is ever to know that it was attempted. Why I do not know, but it has been made very clear to me that sharing this information with anyone would be forfeiting my life. In fact, I fear by the time you are hearing this that I am already beyond help. That is why I did not tell you before. It is no excuse, but it is the truth.

Why am I telling you now? Because I believe it is necessary for your survival. Recently Nero discovered, by threatening Mama Pain, the existence of Project Scion. He came to a conclusion we had never considered - that locked in your brain, which hadn't learned to filter outside thoughts would be the thoughts of Inase Spark from the brief time of your infancy before the fire. Normally, we do not develop a long term memory until 2-3 years of age and thus I would have said it was impossible for you to remember things that long ago, but as Mama Pain considered it she began to believe Nero might be right. Because of your instable self, it is possible that your brain recorded the adult thoughts of Inase Spark, not as memories, but filed as knowledge in the same pattern that his adult mind projected them. You would not remember it at all, but they would be accessible to a skilled telepath who knew what he was looking for. One like Nero.

I do not know if he intends to kill you, obviously he let you live after he gained the information, thus your life may not be in immediate danger, but I do not doubt that he would dispose of you in a second if you interfered in his plans - and only the First Minds know what those may be. No, I have become convinced that this knowledge is necessary for your survival for other reasons. Like Project Scion, this project has become too expensive to maintain. Goshi withdrew funding last year and the Biomade Oversight Council has given us a deadline to close up shop. Had you stayed home, Mama Pain would have euthanized you by now as she intends to do to Malicious and the others soon. You are the last shred of evidence about a very embarassing episode in the life of the Council. Once they discover that you are loose, as they are bound to do when they dispose of me, then you will be hunted even more fiercely than you are now.

Learn your purpose. That is all we Biomade have is our purpose. We have told you that your purpose is to be an assassin, Mama Pain and I, but I don't know if that is true. Your purpose could be anything. It could be locked in this journal. It could be locked in your mind. Knowing your purpose will give you the strength to persevere against the odds, for the odds are undoubtedly stacked against you, my child.

Mama Pain

Mama Pain is dead.

I don’t know what to think about that.

Part of me doesn’t believe it. How could she be dead? She’s Mama Pain. She IS.

I remember after I’d Awakened, twelve years old, strapped to my bed while Mama Pain ran test after test, probing my mind again and again, making incision after incision to see if I was really aware of my self or just a more stable gestalt mind. Every day for a month, and her never satisfied with the results, always determined to make me be Everyone again, or to make sure I wouldn’t be Everyone again.

I remember pain.

I remember my room. I had to be shielded or else I’d read everyone’s minds every second of every day. I remember session after session with Mama Pain, and every session another corner of my Awareness seared away with psychic coals until aside from my self I could only be the people I was looking at. She beamed with pride, then. For a moment. She was proud of me. I know she was.

I remember Doctor Soren, and his training. Gentle. Kind. I always wanted to work with him. He protected me. He protected all of us.

Except Aimi. She never needed to be protected from Mama Pain. Mama Pain always loved her better than me. She wasn’t defective. She wasn’t broken.

I remember all the years I spent following orders. Being them. Being who they made me. I remember being on the outside, never included by Malicious, Sever, Stitch, Nero, or Aimi. I remember my first mission. I remember my second mission. My third. My fourth. My fifth. Seeing the life fade from Typhon’s eyes.

I remember Moses.

I feared for my life. I feared for my mind. I feared for my soul, if there is such a thing as a soul. I thought I’d lose those things if I came Home. I thought I’d lose my freedom if I came home. That I’d wake up after a session with Mama Pain and discover that I was no longer who I have always been. And yet... and yet... I wanted something more than this, this hollow reunion. I wanted closure. I wanted to know that I wasn’t a mistake. That I wasn’t defective. I wanted to know that Mama Pain loved me.

I wanted to rescue Kiyoshi.

I had to rescue Kiyoshi. I had to rescue him for Una. I had to rescue him for Kiyoshi. I had to rescue him because Moses thought it was the right thing to do. I don’t understand what that means, but it feels... right, to do this ‘right thing to do.’

They’re my family.

I wonder if she had any contingencies in place for this eventuality. I would have, if I were in her place. I can think of a dozen things she could have arranged. Did she?

Who knows? It doesn’t matter. She was never really my mother. Biomade don’t have mothers or fathers. We’re made to be better than that. We have outgrown the old obsolete concepts of filial obligations.

Mama Pain is dead.

I won’t cry.

I won’t cry.

I won’t.

----------------

That night, just after her conversation with Una, Kiyoshi, and Mozukai, in the house of Kiyoshi’s friend, locked away in her room, burying her face in the pillow in an attempt to make sure that no one else can hear, Rei cries herself to sleep. Her tears are long and bitter; Mama Pain is dead.

For Want of a...

We make our way through the access tunnels, every step taking us closer to the rendevouz point, and by extension, closer to Home. Closer to Mama Pain. Closer to Doctor Soren, to Sever, Stitch, and Malicious. I hope Moses and the others are safe. I shut my eyes and let myself drift for a moment, thinking back over the experiences of the last few weeks.

Pain. Invasion. An alien will sifting through my consciousness for the single piece of information that it seeks. Nero.

I open my eyes. Aimi is watching me. She keeps me out. I don't know what she's thinking.

What was Nero looking for in my memories? What did he find? Where did Amaterasu go after she left the mines?

We move on. "You were wrong, you know," I say.

Aimi seems startled, as if my voice had just taken her out of a fond memory. Anger flashes in her eyes for a moment, but only for a moment. "Wrong about what?" she asks. She is humoring me.

"You said we couldn't take on Goshi," I reply. "I think what happened tonight qualifies. That was just with one of us. What might have happened if it had been all of us?"

Aimi's anger burns through her mental shield, and the barrier sizzles as it boils away. She's angry. I knew that already. It angers her that a defective prototype dared to take on Goshi, and it rankles even more that said defective prototype had the audacity to succeed. I feel a stab of pain. Is this how she thinks of me? I'm not defective. I'm not defective. I'm not defective. I'm not defective. I won't believe I'm defective. She thinks of me as defective. They all think I'm defective. I hate it. I'm... The success of my group against Goshi riles her pride. It...

WHAT!?

My eyes widen. A moment later, her eyes widen, too. She knows what I saw. She considers attacking me. Then she sees herself being punished by Mama Pain, and the killing intent receeds. "Rei, I swear to the First Minds if you say ANYTHING about this to ANYONE..."

Say anything? Like what? He's eleven years older than you? That you're being an idiot? No. I'm not going to say anything. I don't need to tell anyone about this.

What I need is a shovel.

The Eyes of Hurricane

Dr. Omura, hands shaking, pressed the call button on his link and a pink bud of light appeared in his ear piece. It was disturbingly silent on the other end.

"They've found her, executor," he fought to keep his voice level. "She was, just as you said, trying to flee the city. Apparently she ran out of energy and her disLocator quit working."

The doctor waited for some kind of response. None was forthcoming. He swallowed, but his mouth was dry.

"I expect them to bring her to the labs within the hour. If you wished..."

"I'll be there," was all that he said before the connection was severed.

Dr. Omura pulled the link out of his ear hastily and leaned over the counter breathing heavily. Looking down at his own aged hands he noticed them quivering involuntarily and tried to still them. They stubbornly disobeyed. He brushed the few straggly hairs he had left out of his face and back over a balding pate where they clung sweatily. He examined his disorganized laboratory, countless unfinished projects lying across every level surface, bubbling under the hood, and sticking out of overfilled cupboards. What would he need? Oh yes. He walked over to a medicine locker and withdrew a scalpel. The hand holding it trembled all the more.

************************

She had to be resuscitated from the stupor the Hei Shi had beat her into. She awoke face down on the laboratory floor gagging at the smell of ammonia. She looked up to see the armed men standing above her and her face blanched. She appeared suddenly far too small for her body armor, which was marred in places by the scrapes and scars of combat.

"Hurricane," she was addressed by the executor, Katashi Blade, who stood in a far corner in his customary white tailored suit looking away from her as if examining, with interest, the contents of a nearby bubbling vial. "I know that you understand the situation you are in, but I want you to nod anyway to make it real for yourself. Nod your head if you know why you are here."

A tear escaped her left eye and fled down her cheek, but she made no sound as she nodded her head slowly. Katashi neither looked nor made any sign that he was paying attention. Dr. Omura tried very hard not to let his thoughts betray how much he resented being made to be a witness to these proceedings.

"Good. You think that I chose you for your talents Hurricane and up till now it has been useful to let you think that. You think that I promoted you over countless other able candidates because I spotted some secret ability the others lacked. Sadly you are mistaken. You are a very ordinary girl Hurricane. That in itself is no great crime. For that I would have had you killed in your sleep so that you would not be awake now, experiencing this anguish," Blade bent closer to the glass of the hood, something was moving about in the vial that caught his attention.

"No Hurricane, I chose you because of your pliability. I required someone upon whom to test the disLocator, and someone who I could blame for Goshi's failure to put down the insurrection. It is convenient that you were able to do both." Katashi Blade turned purposefully to face her, his eyes covered with opaque white shades.

"So you see, I've really brought you here to express my gratitude. You've taught me several, very interesting things, and I am a man who always appreciates a chance to grow," with that he nodded and the Hei Shi immediately grabbed Hurricane's arms and stretched her out. Another soldier came behind her and unfastened her body armor. It came off and clattered to the floor. She flinched.

Dr. Omura, mouth clamped shut to prevent himself vomiting, stepped forward and swiftly cut her shirt away, baring a pale and muscular back. From between her shoulder blades a massive red pulsating cyst protruded, with tendrils that reached out like veins across the whole length of her torso. The sight of it startled Dr. Omura so much he dropped his scalpel.

"Shit. It's... so fast! So much faster than we anticipated, executor," he fumbled around for the scalpel not able to peel his eyes away from the alien growth.

The white form of Katashi Blade remained completely motionless, not a quiver of a single facial muscle betrayed any emotion and yet the room was filling, palpably, with his displeasure. Hurricane felt as though gravity had suddenly become subjective and her destiny lie in being obliterated by the black hole of a man in front of her. Broken in countless ways from within she felt a moist warmth spreading down her thighs and she longed with a profound longing for the bliss of unconsciousness.

Instead, the executor strode noiselessly over to her, crouching to put his face at a level with hers. One hand tipped his shades partway down his nose so that she might see directly into his eyes. His remarkable eyes. Laughing eyes, but cold. Not warm at all. Eyes which made her feel pathetic and worthless.

"Lest you think yourself completely unremarkable in every way, Hurricane, let me assure you that you did surprise me in one fundamental way. I never imagined that you would have Moses and Acetylene Sue within your grasp and still manage to fuck things up so utterly. You've cost me a great deal of money, not to mention the lives of 300 trained Goshi soldiers, and for that I ordered them to wake you up. I ordered them to revive you so that you would be conscious as we remove the disLocator from your body, which to your great misfortune, you gleefully permitted us to install in the place of your first thoracic vertebra. It will hurt, I imagine, quite unlike anything you've ever felt before and because I am something of a connoisseur when it comes to pain I will remain here with you so that I might taste what this new agony is like."

She began screaming before Dr. Omura even touched the scalpel to her flesh...

************************

The surgery did not take long since there was no imperative to keep the patient alive. Very soon a bloody electronic device with a small chip of whiterock lay in an aluminum tray on the counter. Hurricane's body was dumped in an empty cell for disposal in the morning, a jagged hole gaping between her shoulder blades. The corpse lay unmoving all night with only Karia to witness the very early stages of decay commencing. The directors would hear only that Hurricane had failed and been dismissed. If they questioned Katashi closely it might be suggested that she had fled Geneva Prime. In any case, neither they, nor the doctor, nor Katashi himself would ever know that alone in the darkness, in a cell in the Goshi tower, blood began leaking from the eyes of Hurricane.