The Provvidenza goon swung a baton at Bruno’s skull, but he quickly ducked under the blow, seizing hold of the man's collar as he did so. A single punch -- bolstered by a forcefield serving as a knuckle duster -- was enough to put him down for the count.
Bruno tossed him onto the pile with the rest, a mound of groaning footsoldiers, all immaculately dressed in white-and-gold… if a bit tarnished by the mud they'd been thrown into. The fields the farmers here had once grown crops in had been ruined long before Bruno had arrived. You wouldn't even know the place had been a farm if not for the massive automatic harvesters that still loomed over the landscape, long since drained of power.
Do you think everyone else is okay? Serena asked, concerned.
Bruno's eyes flicked up to the jagged hole in the top of the dome -- the entrance that Ruth and Rex had made for themselves.
"Don't know about Rex," he muttered. "Or that Pirouette woman… but Ruth's strong. I'm not worried at all."
All things considered, the one they really should have been worrying about was themselves. They were being snuck up on, after all.
"If you're going for a backstab," he said casually, turning his head. "You should know you're really bad at it."
That's not fair, Bruno, Serena admonished him. We know an expert.
Bruno just barely managed to suppress his smirk as he looked up.
Standing atop one of the harvesters was a girl in a Provvidenza trenchcoat and fedora too big for her, silhouetted by the beam of moonlight that had managed to infiltrate the farm from above. Dark baggy eyes and messy brown hair, cut short. She seemed a little familiar… but not that much. She looked a good few years younger than Bruno and Serena. Maybe an underclassman?
Annatrice del Sed Provvidenza.
She cocked her head, frowning down at Bruno and Serena. "That you, Yakob?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Who's Yakob?" Bruno asked.
Her gaze did not flicker. "Don't bullshit me. I saw your powers on the security footage. Small world, huh?"
Annatrice's voice was… strange. It wasn't a monotone, for sure -- but there was only the slightest hint of emotion elevating it above that, and even that seemed like it took active effort. This was someone who really had to try not to sound like a robot.
"Guess it is," Bruno said, taking a few steps towards the tractor. "Don't suppose I can convince you to let me pass easily? For old time's sake?"
"Sorry," Annatrice said, dark eyes glaring down at Bruno. "I've got my orders."
Without another word, she seized the shoulder of her trench coat -- and threw it off to the side, where the garment was quickly seized by an artificial breeze. Bruno could see what Annatrice had been wearing beneath it now: a black skin-tight bodysuit of some kind, artificial musculature traced by thin white lines. A sword was sheathed at one hip, and a pistol was planted in a holster on the other one.
Then, for no clear reason, Annatrice threw the hat away too.
"Nice suit," Bruno nodded, invisible shields already generated over both his hands. "Where'd you get it?"
"Single-layer power armour," Annatrice said matter-of-factly. She stepped off the tractor and landed on the ground before Bruno. "Courtesy of Halcyon Interstellar."
"Wow," Bruno said. "They're selling to the Provvidenza?"
"No."
Bruno supposed it would be hypocritical to judge anyone else for theft. Better to just jump right to assault. As the forcefields focused into swords in his hands, Bruno charged forward, aiming his swings for Annatrice's arms.
Annatrice del Sed Provvidenza made no move to dodge.
She just stared at Bruno as he lunged for her. She just stared at Bruno as he swung at her. She just stared at Bruno as he went to kill her.
And then… she said four words.
"Ego Emulation: Nigen Rush."
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No two cases from the Sed were alike.
The ultimate purpose of the secret institution had been to narrow the gap between the UAP and the Supremacy's Cogitant populations. For various reasons, the population density of Cogitant's in Supremacy territory was far higher than anywhere else. It was hoped that the creation of artificial pseudo-Cogitants could give the UAP an advantage over their eternal rival.
Actual genetic manipulation was out of the question, of course, but the Sed left no other stone unturned. Invasive brain surgery, experimental drug regimens… whatever could be leveraged to transform the children of the Sed into weapons. Some died from the experiments themselves, others on the missions they were sent on when they were deemed 'complete'.
Yakob del Sed would have been considered one of the fortunate ones, relatively speaking. Better tortured to non-existence in a Supremacy cell than the fates some others suffered. Every graduate of the Sed was different, because each del Sed had been the subject of a different experiment.
Their caretakers were not the sort to put all their eggs in one basket.
Yakob del Sed had been asked to become two people.
Annatrice del Sed had been asked to become everyone.
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Serena put a hand to her throat as she landed on the ground. She'd moved on pure instinct, taking over the body and leaping backwards the moment she'd felt that terror crawl across her back. It was a good thing she had, too.
She hadn't even seen the attack. Serena and Bruno's swords were invisible because they were made from forcefields. Just now, Annatrice's blade had been rendered invisible by sheer speed.
Serena pulled her hand away from her neck, and saw that it had already been painted red. Alarm spiked within her brain. Had Annatrice cut her throat? No, no, she would have realized already. It was a shallow cut.
But still, that was terrifying. If Bruno had just been a centimeter or two closer, if Serena had just been a second or so slower… their head would surely have been sent flying off their shoulders.
Steam rose from Annatrice's bodysuit as she returned the blade -- glowing red with friction -- to its mechanical sheath. It seemed even the equipment she was using hadn't been able to handle the speed of the attack. Was that the purpose of the equipment, then? To protect her from the backlash of her own physical prowess?
No… this girl was from the Sed. It wouldn't be something so simple.
"Shame…" Annatrice muttered, steam even rising from her lips as she spoke. "I was sure Nigen would have killed you there."
That was right. There was the name of what Serena assumed was her ability: Ego Emulation. She'd been emulating someone else's moves? It made sense.
Nigen Rush… it was a name Serena knew well. He was some sword guy. Actually, she didn't know him that well. But she felt like she was getting the gist of things, anyway.
"So you're a copycat?" Serena asked, kicking up some dirt and catching the resultant sword in her waiting hand. "That's kind of lame, don't you think?"
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
As Annatrice's armour stopped steaming, she took a step back, her wary eyes watching Serena like a hawk.
"It's not copying," she said quickly, defensively. "Ego Emulation is on an entirely different level. Right then, that was Nigen Rush you were fighting. Since I don't know him well, and there's a big difference in strength, I could only bring him here for about a second… but he's fast enough to make that second work."
From the way she was talking, it almost sounded like she was being possessed by the person she named, then. Was that even possible?
Possible or not, Bruno said. We can't let her get close to us again. If she uses Nigen Rush, there's no guarantee we'll be able to dodge.
Serena subtly nodded, and the dirt-sword in her hands shifted shape into a throwing spear, the traces of stone forming the glinting head of the weapon. Not ideal materials, but with her physical strength and infusion it was sure to do some damage. She'd use this first spear as a distraction so she could get to one of the tractors and make better weaponry. It was the obvious move.
It seemed Annatrice could see that too. A smirk tugged at her lips -- not a genuine smile, but something that seemed… practiced.
"So you're going to keep your distance?" she asked. "I know someone for that too. Ego Emulation: Samael Ambrazo Zakos."
Serena's eyes widened.
Uh-oh.
Piss-yellow Aether sparked.
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Ego Emulation's efficacy was based on two main factors: how deeply that girl understood the personality of her target, and the difference in strength between them and herself. If one of those factors was lacking, she could only call them for a short time. For Nigen Rush, that amounted to barely a second, but he was an outlier. Usually she could manage to become them for a minute or two.
And, of course, there was a third thing to consider: the person she became had to be dead.
Samael Ambrazo Zakos grinned, raising his hand up at the enemy opposite him. He was someone that girl had researched, and they were similar in strength, so he could exist pretty much indefinitely. That was good. No, excellent, in fact. His ability was one that was useful -- one befitting of a Special Officer, one that could be used to punish the enemy.
He narrowed his eyes as he saw the person opposite him. Was that…? Oh, now that he thought of it, it was! How splendid! What auspicious fate! What delicious fortune!
Yes… the world had arranged itself in a way befitting him.
"I see, I see," he chuckled, golden Aether -- the same colour as the Supreme, in fact, the colour of champions -- sparking around him. "Yakob del Sed, is it? I missed you on Yoslof, didn't I? Is that Cogitant brat with you? Oh, I'd dearly love to see him again."
There was that red shadow too, the informant from the GID. The one who had… killed him. Hot anger ran through his brain as he considered it -- the humiliation, the indiscretion, the desecration! An unacceptable atrocity. One that had to be avenged, or every other Special Officer would feel the black stain of the same dishonor.
But her face… her name… it escaped his memory. Like he had been translated from another language, and some things had been lost. No matter. It was a mystery to pursue once this pest was dead, perhaps.
Del Sed narrowed their eyes. "You're…"
Zakos' grin widened. "What's wrong? Don't recognise me? Although we haven't yet met, I know you've seen my face. Perhaps they showed you my body, hm? Or perhaps… this will jog your memory a tad?"
He thrust his hand forward, and golden Aether surged.
Samael Ambrazo Zakos' ability was his own unique twist on Quantum King -- the iconic push-and-pull ability, used by the mad Supreme known as Damon the Devilish nearly two-hundred years ago. Zakos' variation latched on to an object or several similar objects in his sight, pulled them towards him -- and then, once they'd reached him, he could push them away again at great speeds. A simple power, to be sure… but one that had so much potential.
After all, right now… Samael could see quite a few of those massive harvesters.
The colossal automatic slammed into del Sed from behind, forcing them towards Samael as the machine was pulled in. An ordinary person would have been reduced to a smear merely from the impact, but del Sed's infusion was such that they remained intact, if forced into a spread-eagle position against the automatic's surface. As they flew towards Samael, chunks of metal peeled themselves free from the machine behind them and warped into twin hatchets in del Sed's hands.
Ooh. Far too dangerous.
Samael canceled his ability and leapt to the side -- the momentum sending the harvester flying off into the distance. As the force on the machine was reduced, however, del Sed was able to break free and run atop it like a mobile pathway. With twin bursts of purple and violet Aether, they leapt off the end of the harvester and plunged downwards, their blades aimed for Samael's throat.
As if he'd ever be caught off-guard by such a petty maneuver.
Throwing his hands downwards, Samael pulled the rocks out of the ground and into his grip -- then pushed them towards his incoming opponent. The stones pelted at their body like the pellets of a shotgun, and in that moment Samael knew their focus would break. How could it not? They were facing death at the hands of one of the Supremacy's finest. The sheer mix of despair and gratitude would be enough to make any mind delirious.
Samael took advantage of the masterful opening he'd created, slamming an Aether-infused fist into del Sed's stomach. However… neither the satisfying give of ribs or the scream of pain he'd expected manifested. Instead, Samael was the one to feel pain -- as his fist struck an invisible surface that felt like a brick wall.
A barrier?!
Alarm spiking in his mind, Samael leapt backwards -- and del Sed pursued, swinging their metal hatchets like a chaotic dervish. It took all the skill and experience Samael had accumulated over his long years of service to the Supremacy just to avoid being chopped into pieces there and then. A cowardly and unscrupulous enemy, to use such underhanded tactics against him. It was not something he could forgive.
Dodging another swing of the hatchets, Samael kicked up a great geyser of dirt -- and, using his ability, immediately pushed that dirt into del Sed's eyes. This time he had created a true opening. He hadn't gone easy on them, as he had the first time. Those damnable eyes squeezed shut in exquisite pain, blinding del Sed to the world they had trespassed against.
Samael laughed uproariously, lunging through del Sed's blind swing and seizing them by the leg. With but a fraction of his true strength, he swung them upwards like a doll and smashed them against the ground, the impact knocking all the wind out of del Sed's lungs.
They'd have no time to rest. Before they could get back to their feet, Samael stomped on their chest, pinning them down to the ground.
"Creating weapons from raw materials and erecting invisible shields," he mused, running a hand through his hair. "Is that all you're capable of, Yakob del Sed?"
Del Sed gritted their teeth, face forced down into the dirt. "Yakob's… gone…"
Samael's grin widened, his lids falling heavy over his eyes. "Oh, is that so?" he said mockingly. "My condolences. Perhaps I'll be magnanimous and allow you to --"
Danger.
Ego Emulation: Nigen Rush.
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Nigen Rush turned and struck once with his sword, shattering the invisible sword that had been about to impale him from above.
It didn't even take a second.
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Annatrice blinked as Nigen faded away -- but before she could do anything else, she was forced to dodge. Del Sed, taking advantage of her movement, kicked at her as he rolled back to his feet. As Annatrice jumped back, putting distance between herself and her opponent again, she could see they were already clutching a new pair of stone swords.
This wasn't good. The blade of her own sword was all but melted from the heat, and the suit was on the verge of collapse. Nigen Rush was just too damn fast, and too damn strong. She wouldn't be able to use him again.
"You know," del Sed spoke, rising to their feet. "If you go and copy a guy like that, you'll just end up catching his incompetence."
He wasn't wrong. The only reason she'd researched Zakos enough to get such an accurate image of him was because of his useful power, but his personality was atrocious. She was surprised a man like that had been able to pull off a nameless ability in the first place.
If she brought him out again, he'd have been so humiliated by that last near-miss that he'd make sloppy mistakes. So he wasn't an option either.
But… this person had said something, hadn't they? They'd said something to Samael, right before that last attack? Annatrice's lips curled into a humourless smirk.
Yakob's gone, they'd said. That was right. Yakob had been the one with multiple consciousnesses -- those extras were the ones she was fighting right now.
But that also meant…
"Ego Emulation," she said -- and del Sed's eyes widened as they realized what she was doing. "Yakob del Sed."