Home looked...different. AEGIS had gotten right back to work putting up fences and trenches, and there were two of what looked like auto-turrets on the roof, with a third under active construction, DOG-Os crawling all over it with tools and bits of parts in their graspers.

I shook my head and headed in, to Lia's and my room, I guess.

Everyone kept telling me to prepare for a fight, but I didn't know how. I was a football player, my idea of being prepared was making sure the team worked together, we knew our plays front to back, and everyone was in fit condition. Here, it felt more like we were supposed to dig up the field and put landmines in our endzone, fill the ball with toxic gas, and sneak some new words into the rulebook.

This far, I'd been able to ride out fights by making good calls and keeping my eyes open and my head down, like coach told me a thousand times. But what good did that do against a thousand guys with tanks and guns and VTOLs? There was no preparing for that.

The elevator opened, and I found two new surprises. One was a shiny new bench and table, suspiciously identical to the one AEGIS made, destroyed, and then promised we wouldn't be getting soon. For all her pragmatism, she was still sometimes a softie.

The other, and far greater surprise, was who was sitting at it, looking aggressively restless. Karu, in jeans and tee shirt, gear under the table, sitting with arms crossed, knee bouncing staccato as she tapped her heel on the floor. A huge scowl completed the out-of-place appearance.

"Hey, Karu. Didn't...think I'd see you here," I said with a small wave.

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Your AI saw fit to invite me over. She said it was strategically sound for all of our forces to be in one place, in the event the XPCA should arrive, none will be taken off-guard."

"You don't um, look to happy about it."

"Well, she is right. That's why I'm here, it is the strategically correct option. I believe I have made it clear however, that I distrust the AI. And more…" She took a deep breath. "I find myself concerned by the possibility that the other Exhuman would also join us for similar reasons. I could not abide this."

"Don't worry, Saga wouldn't come here."

"You seem so certain."

"Well, first off, she's a lazy-ass. I don't think she's moved more than twenty feet since we pulled her out of there. Second, she isn't helping in the fight, she said--"

"She what?"

"She said she's going to try things my way and handle it pacifistically. I'm kind of proud."

"But we will also be kind of dead, as it were. She is unquestionably the strongest of us in this kind of conflict."

"Yeah."

"Accursed Exhumans, just when you think there is no deeper depravity to which they can sink, they then actively refuse to go on killing rampages when it is most inconvenient."

I changed the subject. "Karu, aren't the XPCA your allies?"

She glared at me. "I assume you have some deeper meaning here. They are coming here to kill me. That is not typically how allies behave."

"I mean, the Hunters Association and the XPCA exchanged knowledge and resources, they were your biggest client, you worked together with them on joint ops. Weren't you friendly with anyone over there?"

"I see. There is no deeper meaning. You are simply being an idiot."

"I'm serious. No colleagues even?"

"Of course there were colleagues. Mostly dispatchers with whom we related frequently. Some of the other hunters, certainly. I also knew several individuals on the data warehouses, who were valuable assets in chasing down specific information if I needed it. A few of the higher-ups, commanders and the like, whom we had to kiss ass, as it were. I believe they liked me far more than I liked them, but that was because my job was often contingent upon their approval."

"What if...the XPCA came tomorrow, and you saw someone you knew? One of your friends at the data warehouse got roped into being a field intel agent. I don't know how realistic that is--"

"Entirely unrealistic."

"--but just pretend."

"Okay. I am pretending. The difference it makes is there is one different face behind a faceplate opposing me."

"You wouldn't feel bad killing that guy?"

"Ashton, let me stop you there and ask you a question instead, if that is not intolerably rude."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"What do you think of me?"

I looked her up and down, blinking a lot, and trying to figure out the question. "Uh, you're great? There's a lot of things I love about you. Some I could probably--"

"I mean to say, on a holistic level, do you think me a good or bad person?"

"Aren't there a lot of shades of grey in between?"

"I do not particularly think so, but you are the one answering."

"Okay, well, I think you're a good person."

"And yet, I am a killer, of many. How do you reconcile this conundrum?"

"I think...you don't go around killing people just because you want to, you do it because you think it makes the world a better place, or because it's your job, and on the average, your job does good in the world."

"Thank you. Precisely the words I am looking for. I do not want to kill people, Exhuman or otherwise, I do it out of necessity, because it is the right thing to do, and I must do right. So to ask me how it makes me feel were I to strike some XPCA soldier down, whether he is a man I know or not...it is an irrelevant question. I feel nothing, because I must, in order to do what I must, in order to be what I must."

"Aren't you supposed to feel bad though? Isn't that like, a way of keeping people personally accountable?"

"Ashton, murder was my dayjob. It was a business. The only times personal accountability comes into business is when the business has erred and is looking for someone to sue or fire."

"But you're not anymore. You're...free, you're you, now. You don't have to kill people anymore."

"Supposing you were right, which...is a large supposition. I am sweeping almost everything aside to meet you on this point, so please do not take this as your arguments being anywhere near successful. But supposing you were right, you are still miscalculating because the forces we will face are the same bureaucratic, faceless entities you claim I am now not. Even if, by some perverse miracle of chance, I do decide to throw down my arms, they, as a cog still caught in the murder machine, as it were, have no reason to do so."

She gave me a small sardonic smile. "Unless you believe the XPCA does not execute surrendering or captured prisoners."

They did, I knew that from experience. How many of them died because they had to shoot me on the spot instead of just putting me in a van.

"Maybe I'm immature, or naive or something, but I was taught that killing people is bad," I said stubbornly.

"It is," said a voice from behind me. AEGIS and Lia stepped off the elevator. I saw the corner of Karu's lip twitch for a moment, but she maintained her professionalism and stuck with merely a sour, impatient look. "Murder is wrong," AEGIS continued "but especially so when they do it to us."

"Haven't heard that two wrongs don't make a right?" I asked.

"This is more a case of one wrong stopping another wrong from happening. So you get to choose which wrong you think is...wronger."

"Athan, are you still on about this, dude?" Lia asked with an overblown sigh. "We just talked about this, I thought we had it all sorted. You've got some new attacks to practice working on, and by the time you master those, we'll have company and you'll get to spank 'em with your fancy new moves."

She smiled at me. It was a fake smile.

"Yes, Lia just told me you had given her your word that you would fight with all of your strength. I am relieved to hear it," AEGIS added.

"He did? That is a relief to me as well," Karu said.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

It was weird to hear them all agreeing like this. It was weird in general.

"Even if that is the plan, I think it's a good idea to take a step back and reflect before we do anything crazy. This is a big step we're planning on taking here."

"I am not certain that is necessary," Karu said evasively.

"Yeah, you really should be focused on training right now," Lia agreed.

"You are much more likely to die if you walk in underprepared," added AEGIS with a nod.

"Are you guys hiding something from me?" I asked. "This seems like an awfully coordinated agreement."

Lia laughed and then her holo paged her and she excused herself. Karu sat impassive suddenly, apparently now completely fine with her previous irritation. Only AEGIS seemed unphased by my question.

"No, why would we?" she asked. "You know everything we know."

"AEGIS, if you're hiding something from me…" I said half-threateningly. No reaction at all. "Do you remember last time you made plans behind my back? Did that end well? Can't we just have an open discussion about things?"

"Ah, you're referring to when I almost killed you. Yes, that was a less-than-desirable outcome. However, looking at our current situation, you could say that if I had been successful, then, we would not be in our current predicament, yes?"

All the weirdness in the room suddenly seemed to gravitate towards AEGIS. All three of us were now looking at her and exchanging looks which amounted to: 'did she really just say that?'.

"Um, AEGIS, are you okay dude?" Lia asked, the first genuine-sounding thing she'd said in the room.

"I don't understand. I'm completely fine, as I have been."

"Is there something wrong with Rua?" I asked.

"No, there isn't anything wrong. I'm not sure where all this uncertainty is coming from all the sudden," she said.

"You merely mentioned that perhaps killing Ashton was anything other than a grave mistake," Karu said, now standing, the bench spinning and clattering on the ground behind her. "I request you clarify that statement or else there may be some amount of hell to pay. As it were."

"Karu, we don't need threats now. Remember the bigger picture guys," I said, looking back and forth between the two. Karu looked livid, but AEGIS was still cool as ever.

"I was just looking at our current doomed condition rationally," AEGIS said with a shrug. "If Athan had died, I would have moved on to Saga next, you would have no reason to be here, and would not be in trouble with the association, and there would be no XPCA coming."

"I...see. It appears I was not mistaken, you do need to be destroyed," Karu said, picking up a wrist-weapon from under the table.

"AEGIS, I don't understand," Lia said, tugging on her arm plaintively while I tried to intercept Karu. "You said trying to kill Athan was the worst thing you'd ever done, that it tore you up inside, that you'd rather die than even think about doing it again. And now you're here...thinking about doing it again...and saying there's a chance you were wrong?"

"In light of new data, yes, apparently. I did say and mean all those things at the time, but that's not how I feel now," AEGIS said, glancing between Karu and me. "If the hunter wants a go, she should know that this is my facility, and she will not be leaving alive."

"Karu is not having a go," I said firmly. "Karu, what the heck man."

"Are you not hearing what she is saying? How can you suffer such a two-faced being to live?"

"I don't know what's wrong with her either, but right now you are the one escalating this situation, so put your guns down and we can talk and find out."

"What, like your big plans with the XPCA?" Lia said. "Gonna talk to them too?"

"Lia, are you trying to get Karu to shoot AEGIS?"

"No...I'm just...so sick of hearing you talk about how peaceful everyone should be all the frogging time. God! You're like a freaking baby!"

"Lia, not a good time. Karu, put that down! Do not shoot a damn thing in here. What the fuck is wrong with you people. There's an army coming, this is not the time for everyone to go crazy."

Karu glanced at me sideways for a moment and then lifted her weapon anyway, pointing it at AEGIS. I stepped in between.

"Ashton, you are protecting a rogue AI who has just professed that it does not hold your life with any value. Stand down."

"AEGIS happens to hold my life in a lot of value. More than she should, maybe. Do you have any idea how much I tore her apart by...when we--"

"Do not bring that up, Ashton, or I will be shooting you instead. That was a mere moment of weakness and nothing more, as you have made perfectly clear."

"Actually, Athan," AEGIS said from behind me. "I'm fine."

I risked a glance. She was just...standing there. Smiling weirdly. No reaction, no aggression, nothing. I didn't understand.

"You mean...if she shoots you you're fine?"

"No, the Rua Mk.1 does not have most of the combat features I hoped to ultimately include. I would not be able to compete physically with Karu, and would likely be destroyed, though with high probability my consciousness would remain intact until the base defenses killed her, and I would be forced to build a new body. Rather, I meant, I am fine on an emotional level after your transgression. I have...gotten over it."

She didn't look like she was lying. She looked completely fine, sounded completely fine. It was just a couple days ago when she was crying and screaming at me, crushed a damn bench and threw a tantrum because she was so mad. How could she just...change so suddenly. Like someone had flipped a switch.

Oh shit.

"Lia, Karu, I uh. I think I know what's wrong with AEGIS. I need you to trust me, okay?"

Karu gave me a dead glare and then tried to aim around me.

Well fuck her. I concentrated for a second and then clapped my hands, blowing up small EMP right in her face. The threatening thrumming and various indicators on her wrist-gun shut off.

She sighed, and then surprisingly, she smiled at me and took the gun-arm off. The fuck was up with all the women today?

"Guys, when I broke AEGIS' heart...she said she was shutting down her emotional drives--"

"Emotion indices," AEGIS corrected, still with an unnerving smile.

"--yes, those, so she could focus on the XPCA coming."

Karu blinked. "Yes, the only reason for her to see merit in your existence is in the fragile web of emotional longing, and without that, you are a meaningless pawn to her, worth more dead than alive. It makes sense."

"Are...you sure you're describing AEGIS and not yourself?" Lia asked her.

"So how do we fix this, AEGIS?" I asked.

"Fix what? You keep insinuating that I am somehow unwell, but I'm failing to see it."

"AEGIS, you have to turn your feelings back on."

"Hmm. No. I have determined via previous experimentation that feelings provide nothing but pain currently. I have no interest in suffering needlessly." She paused. "If you are interested in experiencing suffering, might I suggest that it may be you who's currently broken and not me?"

"Do we really, truly, desire to have her emotions return?" Karu asked. I glared her as nasty a look as I had. "I do not say that as a romantic rival, but...she disabled those feelings to increase her competency in dealing with the XCPA. They are still a threat, and she is still working to counteract them. Already, her anti-air defences will demand they commit to a ground assault. What else would she achieve, given whatever remaining time we have, without the distraction of emotion?"

"Well, she might just kill you and Athan and send them the bodies," Lia said flatly.

"I had considered it," AEGIS said. "Though, I believe I was supposed to protect you? I'm unable to ascertain where exactly in my memories that became such a pressing prerogative. I've been looking through them whenever I have a free moment but have yet to find anything concrete."

"So, basically, once she finishes going through all her memories, she is going to kill us," I said.

Karu frowned. "A fair point. I cede that there is some merit in restoring her emotions."

"Well, AEGIS...I don't know how to do much but make an emotional appeal. I can't tell you to do it logically, because logically, well, emotions suck. And an emotional appeal won't work because you don't have any emotions to appeal to."

"You do seem to be in a difficult spot," she agreed. "I guess I'd advise waiting until I have finished parsing all memories for relevant data, and then I will draw a conclusion on my own. There is no need for you to intercede."

"And that conclusion will probably be for you to keep your emotions off and kill me and Karu."

"I wouldn't say 'probably', as there's a lot of data to get through here. You and I have done so much together," she said, almost happily. "But yes, as the time of the XPCA's approach comes nearer, I am further incentivized to turn you two in and avert this entire catastrophe."

"Why is she even telling us all this stuff?" Lia almost-complained.

"I'm sorry, I explained that before as well. This is my house, and I'm confident you don't leave unless I let you. I was hoping to provoke a reckless attack to confirm that you should be eliminated, as it would save me a lot of work in deciding whether or not to continue protecting you. The loss of this body would be a reasonable trade for clear confidence in that decision, I think."

This wasn't the time to I-told-you-so Karu, but I made a mental note to do it the second the XPCA left, or we were both laying there dying.

"AEGIS, you're working with incomplete data, and you know it," Lia said. "All the things which used to be important to you, they don't make sense to you anymore because you're missing the emotional component. That's missing data, and you can't make an accurate conclusion without that data."

"Sorry, incorrect. I can make a conclusion, and it will be logically sound."

I cut in. "But when you finally do turn your emotions back on, don't you think you'll regret the decisions you made without them? If I was the most important thing in the world to you back then, what will you feel if you threw that away?"

"Hmm. But that's easily fixed by simply never turning them back on again."

"So you're shutting down parts of yourself just because it's simple and easy? Those are parts of you, AEGIS, you were built from the ground up with those parts in you by design. They're a critical component of who you are."

"That's right," Lia said. "What would your creator think?"

"Or, more logically, don't you respect the decisions your creator made? Doctor Cross, I think you said?" She gave you emotions for a reason, and you respect her intelligence, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but she isn't here, she doesn't have the breadth or minutiae of details that I have currently. I can't be certain that she wouldn't do the exact same as I in this situation. This is a crisis, after all."

"I cannot believe I am hearing this." Karu's turn apparently. "You are a rogue AI, you understand that? You are now deliberately choosing to disobey the spirit of your creator's wishes because you do not want the discomfort of feeling sadness? You do know the world's opinion on rogue AI?"

"An insubstantial argument. By the very merit of knowingly coexisting with not one but two Exhumans, the world would already see me as rogue, regardless of how true to my original directives I was staying. In fact, the world would probably have a better opinion of me if I were to turn all of you in, if that is your argument."

"Urk, maybe I should leave this to you Ashtons," Karu said. "Maybe I have erred in coming here at all. I shall take my leave."

The door to the room slammed shut with a heavy metal shutter. "I believe I made it clear this is my house and you may only leave at my discretion," said AEGIS with the same unnerving smile. "Unfortunately, as you are now aware that you have the potential to act as a bargaining chip, I cannot simply allow you to wander off. Please remain comfortably in this room until I have finished making my decision."

We looked at one another. Somehow this conversation just kept getting worse.