Chapter 61: Little Requiem’s New Hobo
Jacob Grazhe’s recording of his daughter, Annabelle Grazhe’s — Staff Sergeant of the Intelligence Division — speech discussing Criminal Development in the light of Little Requiem’s shift in control.
2492 March 21st, Biannual Westbrook Police District’s Spring Conference.
”Latest developments regarding Criminal relations were shifted by last year’s Little Requiem conflict. Already long standing as a criminal haven right under our feet, the place has only grown more chaotic by the abolishment of Las Diablos as their de-facto head. We have information that their systems were hacked by a Data Delver going by the name ‘Mirage’, but one who no doubt used this opportunity to sow their own control in the haven. As it stands, we do not know who is the current reigning leader of LR, but research suggests that it is a neutral power between the four major gangs of Westbrook.
As for how they’ve reacted to the situation, Metal Heavens’ Orthodox faction has virtually shifted all of their resources and manpower into LR, while the contemporary faction continues to remain in large for a majority of Westbrook’s illegal firearm, Shardware, and Daemon trading.
Their rival, Las Diablos, have only grown more active since their loss of control over the region. They were quick to evacuate their resources and manpower once they had lost control, letting the fighting occur between the other powers. As such, they took control over old Orthodox Metal Heaven controlled areas of the District.
Muramasa Dynasty has largely remained neutral in the conflict, but they’ve made further advances on corporate sabotage and police homicide, which they are the leading group of. It seems that they are confident about the current situation, taking a lead on upholding the strict no-police ruling on Little Requiem’s borders.
Crimson Soul were the most active during the conflict, reigning in their forces to siege the area even before Los Diablos’ systems were attacked. It seems like they were instrumental in coordinating the assault, and as such it should be of utmost importance that the police focus their efforts on containing their growing power. Just because they are a relatively new force among the standing powers, does not offer the clemency to take them lightly as though they are the Snake Fangs.
As always, remain vigilant. The Fifth Swarm approaches us, we are split between focusing our attention within and beyond the city. Westbrook will be the vanguard for the rest of New California, and we will show them that this District is not led by the criminal influences hiding within it.”
August 1st
Ripley’s second day as… a Vulture again?
Okay, so I wasn’t entirely homeless. I decided to camp up at my grandpa’s storage locker, unloading my goods for the day and updating my mother.
“So good news, I got an Arachne leg, two of them. And some internal circuitry, I’ll scan them and send them over for you to look over.”
“Ripley… do you know what time it is… wait already?!”
“Yeah… outdated though. Should help us learn the general internals of the thing.” It took a few minutes to send the schematics over, but by the time she got back to me I was asleep on the old sleeping bag I’d left here. My snores reflected back to me in the quiet locker.
I don’t remember what I dreamed off, but I felt… guilty. Dreams had a way of slipping your subconciousness into their confusing cocktails of imagery and sounds, but I knew what I was feeling guilty for. The death of the Metal Heavens Priest.
It was laughable. To think I’d ever feel guilty for one of those bastards dying, they were the devils to Shard Operators. Poached our kind and harvested our brains. Yet, for a moment, he didn’t see me as a Shard Operator.
But as someone needing help.
Maybe I was too proud to admit it… especially since it was a Metal Heavens priest… but maybe he was right.
The Personality Matrix… you know something’s fucking you up in the head when those steel-addicts tell you it’s wrong. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to close it. I couldn’t… let myself sink into those depths.
Because I didn’t know how long it would take for me to crawl out.
Not now… later… I promise. I…
I can’t let myself become weak. I’ll get rid of it one day… but not now.
———
7:44 AM
Early in the morning, I waited for a while this time before heading to a new Vulture spot. This time the only gang war I faced down was between fellow vultures, several of them arguing over the body of a fallen Bronze Crimson Soul. I eyed his BUG, while another man eyed the fallen lady’s guns… we teamed up by accident. It worked out in the end.
Anyways, he invited me out for drinks, and it turns out he was a Crimson Soul man himself and that the gun was some sort of heirloom to the fallen woman’s family that he wanted to return to her next of kin. I respected that, and he made pretty good company. He teamed up with me twice more for other Vulture runs. They ended up pretty good, I got some BUGs and he was mostly interested in the weapons they carried.
I got his name, Keyleth, and he said to come over to a party his friend was hosting that night…
Was I really going through this again? Yeah, I was.
So yeah, we danced, drank and got to know each other. I made fun of Keyleth for failing to pick up this Metal Heavens chick who had a banging set of legs — cybernetically, I mean. It was all going pretty good until one of them strung me along on a plan they had to rob a police prison convoy, a fairly simple one. They were just trying to break out one of their friends.
An offer of 10,000 was struck and I took it. Payment immediate. Then oh, it went oh-so horribly wrong. Turns out they really undersold what they were attacking, an entire fucking police truck filled with transferring inmates. Keyleth, turns out, had a knack for turning ammunition into explosives with his Technician, he blew out the wheels of the convoy and then we charged gung-ho. That wasn’t the bad part, they managed to blow a hole through and get their friend out and we were long gone before reinforcements returned.
Except… it turns out the woman they were saving was Razorpede.
Yeah, that one. Whose arms I tore off with Diamante, needless to say I tried to make my escape quick… but she recognized my Shardware. Called me ‘Rippy’ which was too close to my real name for comfort. I could be caught red-handed, but I wasn’t going to let them go around thinking I had once named myself ‘Rippy.’
Instead, I said she probably got a concussion from when a car hood smacked her head. ‘Dreadwire’ was always my name. She didn’t appreciate the reminder, so I was forced into a fight. I tried to get Keyleth on my side, but he shrugged and turned on me without a care. A fight that I promptly ended by locking my target onto Keyleth’s bag of explosives, yeah that one went dirty. Razorpede scurried off somewhere as the dust settled, swearing revenge once she got new Shardware.
In memory of the friend I’d made and gone too soon, I absorbed Keyleth’s Technician BUG.
Technician V.1.13 has Updated V.1.14
Effect: Increased understanding of explosive creation using Shardware Materials.
August 2nd
Ripley’s Third Day as a… Muramasa Adept??
How was I getting myself in these situations? You sell off a few guns in Little Requiem and hand one Spine over to one of Mr. Skeleton’s people and then everyone starts clamoring to you with their own offers. I knew a scam where I saw one but then… god, I’m an idiot. Smart as I was with Shardware, I was willing to admit I could be a fool when it came to many other things.
I entered a BUG cage fight for a fifty thousand prize pool. Tier Ones only. No weapons, just your Shardware, and my first three bouts went about as smoothly as I could get them to be. First round, I pulled out my arm-blade and used its self-heating mechanism to slice through the man’s own bladed Shardware. Second fight, I shot my claws and destroyed their rocket-like legs. Third, my own legs sharpened into sickles and gouged a mean kick into someone’s flame-bellowing stomach. They were beginning to call me a swiss-army-knife in a human body. Didn’t help that I used my arm’s laser cutters at one point to blind the second fighter’s eyes.
Then an assassination attempt occurred on me, apparently I ruined the heavy better’s day by giving them three sore losses in a row. I was only saved because a Muramasa Black Dragon was watching, Black Dragon Long. Said he’d save me if I pledged to serve his cause. I agreed obviously at the moment, eying the ridiculously Warp Energy packed sword he was carrying as the three assassins attempted to shoot or stab me down.
Oh yeah, side-note. That Priest was sitting on a good fucking BUG. The Network Function allowed me to sense a resonance with Warpcode and Warp Energy, to passively gauge an enemy’s Tier and vaguely guess their compatibility. Sometimes it seemed like there was a lag between their own movements and their Warpcode, and I could track how efficient they were being — mine was immediate. Despite that, I couldn’t exactly feel for grades but it was a great measure of development. As for his Analyze Function, talk about mind-reading, it specialized in deciphering all sorts of minute body-language tidbits. It was partially why I was so good in the ring, half of the time I had stepped past an enemy’s attack before they even launched it.
So yeah, Black Dragon Long struck down three guys with a single strike from his sword, their wounds gushing out way too much blood for the small strikes. In fact, they almost seemed to necrotize. Funny thing was that I noticed he tended to lean his shoulder in whichever direction he struck, and that his nose crinkled the second he would strike out. So once we were home free, I struck a bet with him in front of all of his Muramasa buddies.
If he could hit me, then I’d pledge my allegiance as his personal Shard Op’ no questions asked, but if I won I got freedom and his sword in exchange. Apparently, that was a very big insult to ‘One-strike’ Long, so he said such a deal required my own weapon to be on the lines. My claws. I obliged.
He primed his sword up to me, and I kept my focus on Data Mimicry and Thought Multiplier. ‘Nose Crinkle’ x ‘Mimic switch to Overclock’. Cue shoulder lean, nose crinkle, mimic switch and I… actually dodged it as the blade swung and mine twisted. By a hair, he was fast, incredibly so.
So yeah, he smiled, and gave me his sword in good faith.
———
I had been hunted down in Little Requiem for the last nine hours.
Apparently, Long put a 120,000 Shardyne bounty on the weapon minutes after he gave it to me, and was having a laugh at my pities… so you know what?
Fuck you, Long!
He never asked for my head, so I did what every good Shard Op’ does and broke shit apart. When the seventh Bounty hunter tracked me up to an abandoned rooftop, I left a half broken sword with the engraving. ‘Long sucks long dick.’
I now have a bounty on my head.
25,000. I’m insulted honestly, how am I worth less than a sword? At least, I got some Updates from the BUGs I’d… acquired today. Thank the Founders I could somewhat feel people creeping up on me now.
Data Mimicry V.1.05 has updated to V.1.06
Effect: Quicker switching between multiple Features on the same BUG.
Energized V.1.11 has updated to V.1.12
Effect: Increased localized manipulation to weaponized Shardware.
Energized V.1.12 has updated to V.1.13
Effect: Warp Sink can be used to greatly increase the material integrity of your own Shardware.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
———
August 3rd
Ripley’s fourth day as… a bounty hunter?
Ohhhh… so that’s why I was worth less than the sword? Turns out the weird green rust on the edge of the blade was actually a Warp Material with poisonous properties called Necrotium. And I just returned half of that to the owner… perfect. I got it tested out at a weapons dealer Twilight had pointed out to me in a brochure she made for me about Little Requiem’s attractions. It was really sweet actually, and quite interesting.
So yeah, turns out the half of the sword I carried was worth 110,000 Shardyne in Necrotium alone. That was just at Iron-Grade too. Apparently, as long as the poisonous metal hit the organic flesh of someone, it would cause immediate apoptosis of the flesh around it and the wound would explode. It was also pretty damn brittle, hence why it was only a surface level coat.
Adopting the same idea, I bought a spare Shard Op’ claw and coated one finger’s worth of the material. Selling the rest for a whopping 90,000.
Not curious to test it out on myself, I decided to look up the Bronze and Iron Grade listings of bounties. Theoretically, a Bronze bounty could go up to 200,000 Shardyne or even a rare half-a-million, but they were usually that high only if the Adapter had a reason to stay hidden from the issuer, usually corporate knowledge or a very intense grudge.
I actually smirked at seeing how Twilight, Daylight… and Midnight each had three separate bounties to be captured alive for 2Mil, 1.2Mil and… 6Mil… while Mirage’s own bounty was unlisted to my access level. Like Diamante’s and Missy’s.
The R0N1N’s wasn’t, it was basically plastered everywhere. Three-hundred-and-ninety million.
So after looking through the various bounties for hours, I finally found a price I was willing to kill for. Seventy thousand for Bronze Tier One, Abelson Ulgaye. Bounty explicitly stated that Abelson was a music producer in Los Diablos, and had stolen beats off a Crimson Soul production. I wasn’t aware music-related gang struggles were a thing, nonetheless, he also had counts of murder, rape, assault, driving under the influence, illegal implant trading, and firearms trading.
So… it wasn’t a very difficult decision. Alas, he was under constant watch at a club known as Los Hermanos Diablo within LR, Equally known for its chicken wings, latin music, and drugs. And strippers.
And yeah, it was a brothel like the Toxin Club was. At least I was in familiar territory.
———
August 4th
Ripley’s fifth day as a… bouncer?
Don’t get involved, someone scream that in my face. Mimicking an Analyze feature had been my go to ever since I’d had a string of bounty hunters attack me, but it also made me very keen as to when drunk people were going to get rowdy.
Naturally, I see a beautiful girl teasing a drunk guy too much to the point he tries to grab her… I’m going to try and warn her a bit. Then said man gets pissed at me, tries to punch but he’s too drunk to even walk so he stumbles.
Bartender thanked me, said I had better instincts than half the dimwit bouncers there and I joked about how much they pay. They get paid five hundred per person thrown out of the club. Just in one hour, combined with the drugs and overall raunchy vibe of the place, men were being kicked out as much as they were getting let in. Apparently, they had a stripper go around and steal their valuables, like rings or watches to compensate for it. Though the bartender insisted it was only those who ‘deserved’ it.
I decided to give it a go for a night, since being a masked bouncer was a pretty common thing in this neighborhood. Yeah, I was good. I could spot them a mile away with this BUG. The bartender patted me on the back and said I was showing off as he paid me 3,000 for the six men I’d gotten out. The pay was good, but I decided I could get money a different way. I began tipping the strippers off on patrons too drunk or drugged to keep track of their belongings, only the ones who ‘deserved’ it of course.
I admittedly got so into it I sort of forgot about my assassination mark until we entered the washroom at the same time. He saw my bouncer-badge, nodded and asked how the night was going, I said it was my first night and then he asked about that. Conversation didn’t go long, he needed to take a shit, so I… entered the stall next to him.
And swapped out my pointer finger on my left Claw for one coated in Necrotium. A quick shine of Gold Warp Energy turned the rust a sickening green-purple, the very colors of decay. Now, Abelson was a SIM User, so he was all flesh, apparently most of his Mutations went into his voice. So a quick hop on the toilet seat gave me ample view on his… business.
I aimed with my pointer finger, and fired. The jagged finger stabbed into his neck, the necrotic effects of the finger quickly spreading as a violent crawl of black tendrils that usurped his flesh. Into a very violent eruption, I’m pretty sure parts of his tongue splattered on my face. His eyeball was on the ceiling if that gives you a proper idea of how bad it was.
And oh boy, was the screaming bad.
Turns out assassination is not for me, very much a Topaz thing. Especially since while I was standing on the toilet seat, I was in full view of one of Las Diablos’ Fiends, a Fredrick Jeremiah. My finger bloody… face smeared with tongue, I was the image of guilty.
So I pulled a Keyleth, may he rest in peace, and threw a smoke grenade I’d prepared on the floor.
Escaping the place had been a bit difficult, crowded as it was, but the good news was I didn’t have any guns to contend with. Angering yet another gang, I now had a bounty of 90,000.
That was more like it.
August 5th
Ripley’s sixth day as a… bounty target?
Here I thought the morning rooftops of a tilted, half sunken building would be a fine place for a nap. Then I get awoken by a fucking spear whistling through the air, taking a third of my leg in one swoop. It was mostly the protective casing and the scythe knee, but who on earth fought with a spear in this day and age?
I scanned as far as I could see, but I didn’t have any ocular Implants to help with that. Next thing I felt, my knee was shattered as the spear that had been thrown flew and swooped through it with a sharpened edge, flowing right into the hold of a masked woman who looked almost like an android.
Hoppling on one leg, I very quickly realized the severity of my situation. “Hold on, hold on, I surrender!”
“Ripley?” The female android said in a way I recognized, it was a rather rough tone for such a beautiful figure.
“Uh… hello?” I tried to stay balanced on one leg, but that figure just skated closer to me like a ballerina.
“Rip. Riprip. Ripriiiip. Riprip.” The mocking tone in there could be recognized anywhere.
“Diamante… when did you change genders?” I stared the weird switchup of… bodies? “Uh, not that I’m complaining. You do you.”
“Nothing like that. This is just a spare suit of mine for when there's too much heat.” His actual voice filtered out of the feminine figure. “What the hell happened to you? You look like shit.”
“Survival.” I motioned to the fallen third of my leg. “Can you get that for me?”
He kicked it over, I stared at him with dead eyes from behind my mask as he just shrugged. “I can tell. How’d you get a bounty so high? 180k in a week? Sheesh. Probably something stupid, for as smart as you are with Shardware you're the biggest dumbass I ever met.”
“I'm... working on coming to a balance between the two. I think that's what I've learned the last few days... wait? My bounty is a hundred-and-eighty thousand now?” I fastened the crumpled joints of my leg together, fortunately that slash hit just below the knee joint so I could realistically put it back together. Just needed to replace the scythe.
“Metal Heavens put out a Dead or Alive for a… Deadwire? I assumed it was different from that stupid name of yours, Dreadwire.” He explained, the spear in his hands breaking into segments that fasted as circlets running up his arm. “You disappeared on us for a few days, why?”
“I was… trying to see what I was missing. There’s way more freedom in this world than I thought there was.” I sighed. “I slept in a Metal Heavens chapel, and one of their priests tried to convert me.”
“Been there.” He gave a tired sigh. “Also you might as well be introduced to this suit of mine, Angelina. She handles bounties when Diamante is too much of an eyesore.”
“Angelina? I don't really get how you have multiple bodies at once.” Everytime I thought I had finally gotten a grasp over Diamante's Shardware, my world view would shatter. “Is it related to a Proxy Protocol or something? Didn’t take you for a Network User.”
“Nope. Accomodation, Analyze and Overclock.” He said it so casually I didn’t even process he’d just said his Features out loud to me. “What? We’re going to be working together now so it’s better you actually know what I can do.”
“Yeah, so how does the… multiple bodies thing work?” It seemed like an understandable question. “Razorpede mentioned something you not wearing that body? The Iron Devil?”
“Easiest way to say it is that the only real organic bit of me is my brain, I have a method for moving it into different suits.” He knelt down, tossing me one important screw to hook my knee together. “So, what’s up with the bounty?”
“Metal Heavens knows that ‘Deadwire’ has a Gold Implant. I also may have killed a Priest of theirs.” I fumbled with my leg until it could at least support my weight, but I’d need to do more extensive repairs with materials I had back at the storage unit or Anderson’s gym.
“Killed a Priest? Good riddance." There was palpable spite in his voice. "Still, if your dumbass wanted to do something stupid and dangerous, we could have hooked you up with a Fixer and gotten you an actual gig.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about asking Missy or Mirage that, though this has been a good run for me. I’m finding things that money can’t buy, hell, I’ve even got a Necrotium-coated finger now.”
“Oh shit, I’ll buy it off you for 70k.” He helped me up.
A vein could have popped in my head. “70k? I sold half a sword’s worth for 90k!”
“You got scammed.” He said plainly. “Truth is, I was lowballing too. Necrotium can only be harvested in mines located in Old India, even breathing it can kill you but the caverns are infested with MAL up to the Gold Grade and the material itself is stocked in impurities that took half a century to learn to remove. Even Iron-Grade Necrotium could sell upwards of 100,000 a gram.”
And my Claw used what I weighed had to be 3 grams… maybe I could shave some down. I coughed, trying to focus on something other than the treasure trove resting on my finger. “So… how’s your guys’ side of the mission going?”
“Recon for now, Mirage and Topaz are handling that. Missy’s calling in favors to pressure Yuzhou from all sides, plus she’s inciting some internal strife within Muramasa using the Bladedaughter. Me, just a little more fund collection, my repairs are expensive… Silver-Grade Shardware can cost millions a piece.”
“Right. I’m working my way to 80%, it’s difficult, each Iron BUG barely gives even a single percent now that I’m 42%, waiting on a Bronze that’s got something worth absorbing.” I scanned my current repertoire of BUGs, most of them were sent off over to the storage unit using one of the trusted courier services of Little Requiem. I sat on one Bronze BUG of Integration and Sustain while the remaining twenty-three Iron BUGs were an assorted bunch.
“Your funds?” Diamante asked.
“Getting close to 300,000. Thinking of spending it soon, but I’m not sure if I want to give it to Mr. Skeleton.” I was honest. “You said you were willing to sell from your armory, anything worth something to me in there?”
“Ripley, that’s…” My Analyze Function read his slight mannerisms as his mechanical eyes twitched closer to the floor. “Everything there was built on human experimentation, Metal Heavens used to buy children, men, women… whoever was desperate or unfortunate enough to be taken in by them. A part of their ritual involves allowing some Priest to experiment with their own designs on your body, to push the boundaries. A lot of what was locked up, it once killed someone. If you really want to pay for dangerous, untested tech, I won’t stop you, just wanted you to know what you’re getting involved with.”
I considered it. “Right, as much as that sounds tempting. I have an idea of what I want, better I keep focus. Unless you have an Arachne locked up in there?”
“An Arachne?” He raised a steel eyebrow. “Where are you planning on putting that? Those are big things.”
“My back.” I tapped it. “Got a spine lined up for it.”
He stammered. “You… you know how brittle they are? Right?”
“I have an idea for that, but for that I’ll also need the funds for a material fabricator. Bronze… maybe Silver-Grade?” I hoped he knew where I was leaning with this.
“You want to make more of that Livewire?” He chewed that thought. “Fine. You can borrow mine.”
My eyes might have exploded with how much they lit up at that. “What happened to Diamante? Who are you and why are you so nice?”
“Hey. You’re willingly throwing yourself into the deep end for this mission, you’re an asset to us like-it-or-not. Besides, you’re only borrowing it. No permanent access, a single fabrication costs hundreds of thousands in Warp Energy usage.” He stared at me with a serious smolder. “But… you said you were worth something that’s priceless. What was it, diamond in a coal mine?”
“Something along that.” I stared at my claws, they’d taken me further than I ever could have expected. “I’m intending to live to that promise.”
He chuckled, before some deeper thought rumbled him out and he gave me a wary look. “You should know.”
“Know what?”
“Diana.” He sent me over a screenshot, it was a bounty poster but only available to those with a Gold Access to it’s boards. “Stay away from her now.”
Gold-Grade Bounty: Diana Ulrich (Third-Rank Police Investigator)
A young police Investigator known to publicly possess a Gold-Grade SIM thought to have been recovered from the Gold MALignant that attacked the Toxin Club on June 1st. The daughter of Brian Ulrich, the New California Police State’s Corporate Consultant, she has high value both in her SIM and as a potential hostage. Currently working within the Westbrook Intelligence Department under Squad 13, she has shown combat capabilities of a low-developed Tier II.
Powerset: Can absorb and control vast amounts of electricity within her body, and is able to use it to augment her strength, reactions, and regeneration. Mutant/Esper.
Type of Bounty: Captured alive
Award: 35,000,000 Shardyne
Issuer: Mr. Skeleton
Notes: Additional Award of Ten Million regarding knowledge of the Gold BUG from the same MAL.
“Thrity-five million?” I gasped, my eyes open wide at the six zeroes. That type of bounty was to ensure no one killed her and took her Implant. “This is… what’s he planning? He knows that I have the BUG.”
“I don’t know what that bastard’s planning.” Diamante said lowly, a venom in his voice.
“If he wanted this to be seen, then it would’ve been Silver-Grade information on LR’s local Net. Gold-Access to see bounties like this are only earned on reputation, so it’ll just be the high scions of the criminal world who know about her. I’d wager they’ll begin getting their underlings to attack her, but not disclose the reasons why.” He pulled the image away from my sight, but it was burned in my head. “Still, a known association to her can endanger you.”
“Metal Heavens knows I’m out here. With a Gold BUG.”
“They know that Dead… or Dreadwire has one. Not Ripley Donovick, that’s what’s saving you. And your mother.” I understood the subtlety there. “Ripley, I’m not asking you to abandon your connection to Diana, just be strong enough that you can protect the ones around you.”
I felt my Matrix flare up. “I will.”
“Tch.” He smiled. “Then I’ve got a good gift for you. Come with me.”