“Change is inevitable. You can try to prevent it, but it comes anyway. With the speed the antithesis evolve, samurai must adapt their fighting styles to keep up.
Who knows what that’ll look like tomorrow.”
* Sharron “Humboldt” Brooks, Late 2056
“What the fuck are you even talking about?”
* Evelyn “Teddy” Claire, in response.
***
After I spend a little while burning off my giddy energy, I dive down, getting closer and closer to the bottom of the ocean. About halfway down though, I pause, taking a moment to just scan the sands below. I’ve been this deep before, but always in a submersible; It was quite different to experience it myself. I don’t think anyone could prepare me for how disgusting we were to this beautiful place.
The absolutely humongous twelfth floor, infamous for its pipes and factories, was completely split open. The many chemicals once used to make products for our pleasure freely leak out into the salty depths, marring the water with a ominous dark miasma. I am almost grateful that the Antithesis wiped out nearly all of the sea life over the last thirty years.
Almost. I'm still angry that I'm never going to be able to see a whale.
Whales were cool.
I continue my descent, but as I near the city proper, I make sure my harpoon is ready to fire when I see movement around the hole in the twelfth floor. I cautiously get closer, squinting the whole way, then end up just gawking at the sheer number of Antithesis funneling into the city out of a small hole in the ground.
‘Nyvi, this is absurd!’ I hiss, glaring down at the hordes roving across the sandy seafloor, ‘Where are they even all coming from?!’
Considering the Model Eighteen-A we encountered, they likely have a mega-hive deep underground. This entire area might need to be condemned now. It’s best you go check the eleventh floor for now, the section that was breached might have survivors.
I bite my lower lip, but nod as I rush towards the blatant hole in the wall. My tail swinging behind me, I dive inside, a bit of relief filling me at the fact that seemingly no antithesis spotted me. I really don’t know if I could handle fighting that many at once, five was bad enough. After a moment of careful watch, I take a look behind me at the ramshackle favelas that make the eleventh floor what it is.
This entire floor of the city is dedicated to staffing the tenth and twelfth, and it definitely suffers for it. The multitude of buildings are just a mix of scraped together sheet metal and painted concrete squished together into crooked towers that cover nearly every foot of the floor they can. The place is a veritable maze, the only way to get around the makeshift roads in between the walls of homes.
At a snail's pace, I float into one of the haphazard gaps of the labyrinth, the only noise around me the pitter patter of my heart. I run my hand along the wall, trying my best to just focus on the coarse texture of the concrete beneath my fingertips. Entering into a small plaza, I spare a few glances at some ruined furniture, tables and chairs crushed against a wall, before I cautiously push myself up toward something that catches my interest.
Originally only accessible through a ladder, the tiny single room apartment I peer into is seeming set up for a child. Or at least before the flood, as all of the faded yet still colorful blankets and toys are pushed up against the wall. I slither inside, moving over to see a seemingly uneaten yet completed meal floating around the kitchenette. Biting my lip, I dip out back into the streets, frantically swimming around in a vain attempt to find any sign of life. A twist, a turn, then many sharp corners later, the reality of the situation begins to sink in.
There’s simply nobody left.
I decide to cut my losses, once again returning to the breach, looking down at the marching plants below.
‘It just doesn’t make sense to me,’ I breathe out, anxiously clutching then clutching the harpoon, ‘Where did they all go? There weren’t any Antithesis in the Favelas.’
Do you see how the breach is curved? It burst from the inside. If I had to guess, this is where that Model Twenty-Seven T formed, and the survivors fled to the other sections of the floor.
Hugging myself, I try to push down the rising sorrow in my head.
‘Nyvi… I just…’
Don’t like your home being destroyed?
‘I could honestly care less about New Houston,’ I mutter, then glance behind me at the flooded ruins, ‘Do you know how many people lived in this part of the Eleventh?’
I do understand that is a rhetorical question, but my info says the floor has about two hundred thousand residents in total. Considering there are four quadrants and this was one of the two larger ones, I’d estimate forty percent of the total.
‘Yeah,’ I mutter, clenching my teeth, ‘Do you know who designed the floor?’
…Prism, I get your point, I do. You just can’t-
‘Can’t what, Nyvi? I can see the writing on the wall y’know!’ As the whirling mix of rage and sorrow collide in my chest, I can’t help but flail my tail. ‘It’s… It’s…’
Take a deep breath, honey, you’re hyperventilating.
I… am?
I move my hand a bit, and sure enough, she’s right. My chest rapidly heaves up and down, my heart slamming in my chest. Remembering what I read in New New York, I slowly breathe in, then out.
‘I’m…’ Shuddering, I inhale once again, then exhale. Inhale, then exhale. ‘Sorry Nyvi, I shouldn’t have snapped like that.’
It’s a harsh situation, but it’s not over. There is something you can do to protect the remainder as best we can. You know the Stairlocks right?
I slowly nod, then open my eyes a bit in recognition. “We could destroy them, isolating the Twelfth so that the Antithesis can’t use them!”
Good catch, honey. It’s not a permanent solution, since they can easily just pile material or themselves up to climb in regardless, but it will slow them down enough to maybe make a difference.
I clench my fist, collecting all the resolve I can. ‘I’m in. Let’s do it.’
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
The laser isn’t going to be able to break in fast enough, but the Axonfin General Technologies catalog does have specialized depth charges within.
‘Got it.’ I shoot out of the fracture in the steel, arcing towards the closest stairlock. It takes a couple minutes, but I do eventually arrive, the cylindrical pillar connecting the two gigantic plates of New Houston looming in front of me. ‘Shit, Nyvi, I just realized, how do we even know if someone is still in there?’
Without purchasing something, it’s not possible. Thankfully, it would be rather simple to fix, thanks to the other Axonfin catalog you have. For five points you can buy a Subaquatic Drone with a detector built in that will be able to accurately detect what is beyond the steel.
“That and the explosive please,” I grunt as I warily peer around, doing my best to make sure I catch any stray Xenos that come at me.
New Purchase!
1x SAD (Detector Config)
Cost: 5 Points
1x DDEC-LCP Diode
Cost: 5 Points
Remaining Total: 15 Points
Two things appear in the water above me, one of which I reach up to grab, a large glowing white orb apparently similar to the ones on my harpoon. The Subaquatic drone Nyvi was talking about turns out to be a series of sharp geometric shapes connected together with glowing strands of light, all arranged into a rough facsimile of a remora. The little fish immediately swims up to the pillar, attaching itself to the steel before it suddenly begins to glow blue.
If you had augments that I could display information on at the moment, I would be able to show you the inside in rather vivid detail, but for now I will just have to tell you. There is no one inside, but the Antithesis seem to be in the process of bashing down the door. It’s best you use the charge sooner then later honey, otherwise it won’t have the same level of strength.
I nod, swinging my tail until I reach the place where the stairlock meets the eleventh floor, then cautiously place the orb against the metal surface. ‘So how exactly does this work?’
You’ll probably want to get away first, so you aren’t sucked into the tiny hole it will create. Otherwise, just tell me when you want me to use it.
I shrug, then after getting a rather safe distance away, mime out clicking a detonator. The sphere begins to spin, the white light shifting into a vibrant rainbow as it goes. For a moment I am unsure of when it’s going to pop, then the exact next second it does. There is a deafened crack as the sphere flashes, then disappears completely as the entire stairlock implodes in on itself.
Before I can cheer at the success though, there is a second explosion, this one not my fault.
The other pillar I was planning on getting rid of literally bursts outwards from the middle, the now two distinct halves split into what sort of resembles a half peeled banana, just without the actually edible part. The shockwave in the water hits me only moments later, powerful enough to push me back a few feet through the liquid. I gape at the destruction for what has to be a few seconds, before I frantically swim over to see if I can figure out what the fuck just happened. The little Remora floats up to me, latching onto my back to stay close.
Well, the SAD picked up a rather ludicrous amount of gravitational waves from that burst, which can only mean one thing. It seems you aren’t the only samurai active in New Houston tonight after all.
I let out a shocked chuckle, then murmur, ‘Who woulda’ thought. Nyvi, can we contact them?’
We should be able to with the SAD, but they may not answer.
‘They better, else I’ll, uh…’ I pause, then shake my head. ‘Doesn’t matter, I’ll get my revenge if they don’t.’
Marvelous, let’s get started. Can you take the drone up to the bottom of the plate for me?
I oblige the request, taking the Remora and slapping it flat onto the steel. It lights up again, an agonizingly slow second passes, then Nyvi cheerfully chimes up in my ears.
Good news! They wanna talk, we just need to go to a better place to do so. There’s a large porthole on the edge of the plate we can use. Follow the SAD, if you will.
I grin, putting my hand on my hip. ‘Really, you can call it things other than ‘the SAD’ you know.’
Bah, let me have my fun, Prism.
I can’t help but snicker, but follow the drone regardless, and when we turn the corner I immediately know where we are going. There aren’t many windows on this floor at all, and the one that catches my eye is basically a spotlight in the murky deep. I begin to swim over, watching as the SAD Remora clicks onto the glass. I cautiously look inside from just beyond the glass, squinting to try and see anything inside despite my newly acquired short sightedness.
I watch for a few minutes, wondering where they were, then smile when a blurry figure finally walks into view. Despite their fuzzy image, it’s easy to see the confidence behind their every step. When her radiant form finally becomes clear, she actually pauses, letting me finally get a good look at my fellow samurai.
The woman wears a seemingly fantastically well made crimson Maid dress, the lines of which accentuates her rather nice figure in a way that makes my heart rebel. Her skin, the parts of which that I can see at least, are incredibly pale, accented by her light gray hair, which stretches almost all the way to her hips. As a small red and blue bird lands upon her shoulder, despite my mind telling me otherwise, I can’t help but deeply inhale at what I momentarily see.
For just a split second, one that I cannot possibly ignore, I swear I see a set of breathtaking sapphire through the blur that is her face. It vanishes before I know it, but I find myself spellbound, unable to look away in the hope that I would see them once again. We both slowly inch closer to the glass, then simultaneously reach out, our palms mirrored as they nearly come together, yet remain frustratingly separated. Naught but flimsy glass separating our reflected hands, we stare at each other, completely entranced by the other for what feels like an eternity.
Then the moment ends as a beautifully feminine, harmonious voice echoes out within my head, whispering with a awed tone:
[“Beautiful…”]
My face immediately turns into an inferno, and I can’t help squeak as I pull my tail up to hide behind. The voice giggles, and the woman takes a step back, then gives me a curtsy.
[“It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Madam Mermaid,”] She says, then exits the formal greeting as she states, [“My name is Emmelyn Seras, I only initialized around three hours ago. May I have your name?”]
I blink a few times, fruitlessly waiting for the fire burning in my head to cool down, then start looking around for speakers. “H-How in the world can I even hear you?”
I am simply playing the audio from the SAD into your head in the same manner that I speak to you. She will be able to hear you the same way, though I will be filtering the audio to correct your voice for her.
[“I dunno,”] She says, obviously absolutely elated, [“but I’m really glad you can.”]
I hold back another squeak, her sheer exuberance making my heart skip a few beats. It takes a few seconds, but I manage to stutter out, “M-My name… i-is Prism.”
The girl claps, then exuberantly says, [“Prism! I love it! Do you perhaps have a family name?”]
I freeze, then vigorously shake my head. “N-Nope! J-Just Prism! N-No samurai name yet either!”
You do know that’s going to cause problems later right?
I willingly ignore that statement, watching as Emmelyn takes a second step back, her hands behind her back. [“Hmm, well that’s very, very suspicious! We can talk about that later though! Actually, Achys, can you get us a way to chat without having to get close like this?” ]
To my surprise, it’s the bird on her shoulder who speaks. [“I can, but it’ll cost a bit. Due to the unfortunate nature of where we are, it’s difficult to get communicators that work well.”]
The Remora’s glow shifts to a nice lime-green as it vibrates, and I hear Nyvi’s voice come out as actual sound, though it’s distorted by the water. “Prism currently is extremely low on points, so it will likely need to be a purchase mostly shouldered by you, though in exchange we offer use of our catalogs as well. Is that fine?”
The girl scoffs, dismissively waving her hand. [“I have more than enough to spend a bit on a new friend! Ooh, can we have it in an animal form like your body, Achys?”]
The bird lifts its wing up to its chin as if thinking. [“I don’t know, Emme, to pull that off would probably cost a lot of your points. We could definitely get something for far cheaper.” ]
Emmelyn hums, playfully tapping her arm.
[“Well, that’s unfortunate…” ]
She suddenly snaps, then points a finger gun at me.
[“I got it! Prism! If you let me give you a Samurai name, I’ll take that investment!”]
I gawk, then quietly mutter, “I-I guess? I-I do wanna talk to you more, s-so I’d take whatever you give me.”
Loudly squealing in excitement, Emmelyn jumps up, then walks back up to the window looking down at me.
[“This’ll be great! I had a fitting name for you the second I saw you!”]
She gives me a thumbs up as she proudly announces:
[“It’s nice to meet you, Samurai Ghost-Light!”]