“Oi, you saw Bahamut’s giant dragon, right? Shiarex, I think it’s called?”

“Yeah, I saw it alright. And that weird… whatever the fuck that other Samurai uses to fly around, what was he called? Gubbler?”

“Glubber. There were a lot of Samurai heading towards that tower. Think something big is going on?”

“Nah, probably just figuring out how to get the city up and running again. We don’t have many Samurai, so they probably all need to help a little.”

“Yeah… It’s kind of interesting though. NS doesn’t have many Samurai, but if you check the charts ours are pretty high up on it.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. It just means they’re well liked. Honestly, I’d feel better if we had more Samurai like Deus Ex around. Now that’s a powerhouse.”

“I wonder what happened to the others. We had a lot more a couple years back.”

“Probably buggered off to greener pastures. NS isn’t exactly the center of civilization, mega city or no.”

- Overheard conversation between two residents in the inner city, near the Family Headquarters of NS

“To make a very long and boring meeting short, there are some hives outside of town,” Jenna said, still gently rubbing our arm.

“Blitzer mentioned something along the lines,” we said, “He also said that the Dragon Queen was dealing with it.”

She nodded, a few of her hairs trickling over our face. “Yes. She was out there alright. The hives themselves have been there for quite some time. Normally they would have been dealt with long ago, but there were some complications and whatnot, I’m not sure I got it all. Anyways, some time ago a couple of our high ranking Samurai here in New Savannah moved out to deal with it, but they didn’t come back. It’s why we have so few Samurai in the first place.”

She shrugged, looking down at me, “The idea of nuking them was of course suggested. And rejected. The idea to hit them with Rods from God was suggested, then also rejected. The problem with these hives is that they have burrowed deep. Very deep. It’s making things very hard to deal with, without outright bombing the place into next week, which Glubber, the Samurai who had led the meeting, and his Family associates weren’t a big fan of. They are afraid that it would just scatter huge amounts of antithesis biomass over a wide area, which could then sprout new hives.”

“Sensible approach,” we replied with a nod, “We don’t need more hives to deal with if we are already low on Samurai.”

“Exactly, otherwise they would have done so already. Bahamut, or Dragon Queen, she kinda uses both names, has been outside of town, pruning them as best she could. But she hasn’t been able to deal with them entirely. That’s where we come in. She, and the Family analysts, have deemed them sufficiently weakened to let the newbies have a go at it, mainly for us to get more points. Their goal is to basically powerlevel us so that we have sufficient Samurai firepower to deal with any future complications. It wasn’t said outright, but considering the way they talked I’m betting they know something and are trying to prepare.”

“Huh… That’s not a good sign,” we said, frowning at the news. If they knew something and tried to make sure there were as many powerful Samurai as they could manage, that meant something big was afoot.

“It’s not,” Jenna agreed with a similar frown on her own pretty face, “To that end they put us into separate groups, each attacking one of the hives. The hives themselves shouldn’t be too dangerous. Cleopatra said they should have the same models as the undercity hive, sans the Twenty’s of course, but a lot more of the small critters. That’s where most of the danger comes from.”

Then her frown deepened a little, “What I’m mostly worried about is that they asked for the two of us specifically to try our best to make as many points as we can.”

“Wait, what?” We sat up, looking at her directly now, trying to find the logic in that particular piece of information.

“Yes. Since we are both focused on drones and can take care of a large area alone, they want us to get as many points as we can get our hands on. Specifically, they want you to be able to churn Najav’s out like basic units, and for me to be able to fortify an entire city in an afternoon if we could manage. Many probably took that as exaggerations, but I’m not exactly sure about that.”

“That doesn’t sound good. Like at all.”

She nodded, “Chloe and I said the same thing. We are on one team, by the way, they wanted to split us up for better point gain, but Chloe told them to stuff it or we would be out entirely.”

That made us smile warmly.

“Anyways, we’re not exactly sure what they are preparing for, but I would bet my last pair of panties that it isn’t anything good. But it does mean that we basically have first right of refusal on any point gain opportunity. Not sure if we should abuse it or not. We do have quite the points to spare, and there were some who were still running around in basic gear.”

“I’d say we take what we can get, while leaving enough for the others. If they want us specifically to get points, then they will have a reason for it. That said, I’m not going to tell some newbie who is probably scared shitless if a Fifteen or higher shows up that they can’t have any points. Not only would that be rude, but we might be depending on exactly that specific person later on. And, not to put too fine a point on it, I’m still not entirely certain about the Family and would rather not piss off every Samurai in the city. Orders or no.”

“We thought the same thing,” Jenna agreed, “Points are nice but we aren’t the only ones who need them.”

We were interrupted by Chloe’s arrival, who, similar to ourselves, only wore an oversized shirt, although maybe with panties on, it was impossible to tell from here.

“Morning,” she mumbled, slouching over to the kitchen in that pre-coffee zombie mode so many people tend to portray.

“Good morning,” we replied, and Jenna joined in.

“Sleep okay?” we asked with a smile.

“It would have been warmer if you hadn’t left at some point,” Chloe muttered, busying herself with the daily ritual of preparing coffee.

We chuckled at that, “To be honest, I was kind of surprised that we were both naked in the same bed.”

Chloe stopped, then slowly turned to us, a partly horrified, partly cheaply guilty look on her face.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

She couldn’t fool anyone and both Jenna and us started to laugh at that.

“Anyway, Jenna told me about that meeting,” we said, nestling back into her warm side and enjoying the comfy presence.

“Yeah… Three days, big hives, many points. Something something possible looming threat, I remember,” Chloe said, turning back to her coffee preparations.

“Yeah. Makes me wonder though,” we said, turning to Jenna, “You wanted to get the Corvette thing soon, right? Maybe we should do it early, pack it with materials so you can churn out Sentinels while we wait? I might be able to do something similar, maybe. It would at least give my Reavers a place to settle down and eat their fill.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, “That actually does sound like a decent plan. With your addition to the project I should even be able to give it stealth capabilities. Not perfect ones, not for something that size, but it would at least hide it better.”

“Why would you want to hide it?” Chloe asked, standing next to the now happily humming coffee maker, “I would show it off. Not only because it’s a damn fine piece of tech, but if people see it they take you more seriously.”

“True,” we said, nodding our agreement, “And if it’s already there if and when something goes down people would feel a little better and protected.”

Jenna looked at us each in turn, then shrugged, “Bahamut hides her dragon if it isn’t required.”

“Wait, dragon?” we asked, trying to think about what she meant.

“Shiarex,” Chloe explained, “That’s how she calls it. Huge fuck off mecha dragon. Quite the sight to behold, to be honest. Makes me wonder how much she put into that thing.”

“Close to 300k,” Jenna said, “I had some opportunity to talk to her, if only briefly. She’s been a Samurai for a long time.”

Our eyes widened, “What, 300k?? And it can’t deal with those hives?”

“It’s a matter of tech put in there. The main reason it’s so expensive is because of the reactor powering it, the anti-grav tech, the stealth tech, and the rather unique weapon systems, all of which are Class 3. She put the majority of her points into it. Where we focus on a myriad of drones, pun not intended by the way, and Chloe into a collection of different weapons and one time use consumables, Bahamut put all her stock into one huge mecha to deal with the big models. Not exclusively of course, she can do stuff on her own. But that thing can eat a Twenty-One for breakfast. Even a Twenty-Two for that matter, which is most of what she’s been doing to keep the hives pruned.”

“Now I’m mad that I missed it,” we said, then shook our head.

Getting up we stretched, and I took the time to slowly emerge from the chorus. With Chloe and Jenna now awake I didn’t need to depend so much on them, and it made me a bit more comfortable around them since they still weren’t entirely onboard with my swarm.

Not that it changed anything, obviously. I was still Myriad, and we were one, but I felt better focusing on myself when around these two.

Then again, to say I emerged from the chorus was wrong. It was still there, everpresent, but it was a good enough descriptor for the difference between actively listening to them all the time, and more focusing on myself.

“So,” I said, “What are we going to do today?”

“Shopping,” Chloe said, still waiting for her coffee.

“Oh yeah, you did mention something like that yesterday.”

“Yeah. Are you up for a trip outside? You were pretty out of it yesterday,” she asked, glancing at Jenna behind me for a moment.

“I think I am. Kaysa and I had a talk earlier. The wound is still there… fresh. But I don’t think sitting around and brooding would help me much. I much rather spend the day with you, in whatever capacity I can.”

“Such as going shopping,” Jenna said, getting up behind me.

“Yup. Now, what should I wear for today?” I said, more to myself, “I’m not feeling my combat dress and honestly I’m not in the mood to show off that much.”

Jenna hugged me from behind, surprising me a little. She put her chin on my head, right between my ears, both instinctively moving to the side to give her some room.

“Hey,” I said silently, putting my hands on her own, “What brought this on?”

“I’m proud of you, Seraphine,” she said, “That you are this resilient. I honestly feared for the worst after you completely shut down like that yesterday.”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I didn’t, simply glancing at Chloe who gave me one hell of a smirk.

“I know I said I’m not quite ready for… more. And I’m not. But I also have a bad habit of pushing people away long enough for them to think I hate them. I’m simply making a point of not having that happen again. I’m here for you. Both. If you need something, just ask. Just… don’t push me, okay?”

“Of course,” I said.

My heart was racing in excitement. Probably much too soon, since she did just tell me again that she wasn’t ready yet, but it was so incredibly nice to have her hug me. It made me giddy to a stupid degree.

We remained like that for a moment longer, before she let go, and moved towards the door.

“Now, I’m going to take a shower and get dressed.” And with those words she vanished, leaving me standing there with a grin that would probably scare some people off.

“You really were hit in the hormones with that upgrade, huh,” Chloe said, still smirking.

“You have absolutely no idea,” I replied and she laughed.

Chloe turned to the coffee maker, which had just signalled its readiness and poured herself a cup. Straight black, no sugar or milk.

I took the time to walk over to her, and this time I was the one to hug someone from behind.

“Careful,” Chloe said, paying close attention to the cup in her hand, “This stuff is hot.”

“So are you,” I replied, without even thinking.

It only registered in my mind when she sputtered, freshly brewed hot coffee spraying all over the kitchen counter. “Seraphine!”

I laughed out loud, and when she turned around to glare at me, I simply disarmed her with a fierce vice hug.

“Seriously,” she said with an angry tone that was already abiding.

A moment later she placed the cup down, and returned my hug, making me even happier.

“How’re you doing?” she asked, gently.

“Much better already. I know…” I stopped, then continued, “I know you both said to wait. And I do try. But it’s very hard and I hope you don’t mind if I come for a hug now and again.”

“Of course not,” she said with a smile, then hesitated, something I again only picked up with my echolocation.

“Seraphine,” she continued eventually, “I would like to talk to you about your Hive. I realise right now might not be the best time but…”

I shook my head, rubbing my face into her chest for a moment, “It’s fine… I need some distraction after yesterday. It… It still hurts… A lot… It’s much better with you and with Jenna… But I don’t mind talking about it. Okay, I mind, but not because now is a bad time. I… I’m afraid that I might scare you off.”

“It’s okay, Seraphine. And thank you,” she replied, squeezing me gently but a little more tightly into her, “I talked to Atlas about it, as I said… It’s been a bit of a topic on and off. After yesterday… I’m sorry, Seraphine, but I have to admit that I’m a little… afraid what might happen if you ever break down like that without anyone there to catch you. I know it sounds harsh, but I was prepared to chain you to the bed today, if I had to.”

I winced. She was right, that was harsh. But I also knew she only said it because she was worried about me and for me. She didn’t want to hurt me, just ensure that I didn’t do anything I would regret, and that made the pain I felt at the comment infinitely better.

And I had to admit, the thought of being chained to the bed by her wasn’t a bad one… Even if things most likely wouldn’t have been as pleasant as I imagined them right now. But those thoughts didn’t matter right now.

“I’m not quite sure… I’m not quite sure what I could tell you to make you less anxious, to be honest. Truth be told, I know very little myself, and apart from how I feel, which is kind of impossible to really explain, I don’t know much more about Hexclaws than you do, and what I do know probably won’t make your fears go away.”

She smiled, ruffling my hair, and I took a moment to enjoy it, even if it meant straightening it out later. “I know. But I want to know more. I want to know you, Seraphine. I…”

She stopped, blushing fiercely and carefully picking her words, “I’m… not… opposed… to the idea… for us to… you know… I like you, a lot. Maybe more than that… If it weren’t for that Hive thing, I don’t think I’d be even remotely this hesitant… But it’s there. And I want to know what I’m getting into, if and when. You’re… very… strange to me. I want to know more.”

Her blushing and her stuttering had me giggling despite myself, and I reached up to give her a peck on the lips, which made her blushing not better, but she didn’t retreat or react otherwise. “Of course, silly. Kaysa? I can explain some to her, but is there a way to make it more easily understandable?”

Kaysa, of course, inhabited the nanite drone and appeared next to me, still a perfect copy of myself. She looked at me, then Chloe, before she nodded. “Of course. With the help of Seraphine’s implant, I can host a private mesh space for you to dive and to learn and experience what it is to be in Seraphine’s shoes. Be aware, however, that it is unlike anything you know and that it might be a lot to take in.”

Chloe nodded in turn, taking a moment to respond. “That much is clear. But I also feel like I have to. Mainly because as things stand, I wouldn’t know how to help her if she needed it. That whole Hive thing is… It’s been eating me up inside. After yesterday… I’m scared. For more reasons than one. It’s so strange that I can’t even begin to comprehend, and I don’t know how to deal with it, not unless I can somehow understand.”

She sighed deeply, before she gave me a complicated glance. “I’m sorry, Seraphine… I know you just went through some stuff and here I am pushing. I know I shouldn’t…”

“It’s okay,” I replied with a soft smile, “I know you do it because you care. We can do it after breakfast, hm? That way Jenna can join us too.”

She gave me a smile that couldn’t hide the uncertainty behind her eyes, but she nodded slightly and squeezed me closer for a moment, “Okay. Sounds good. Thanks, Seraphine.”