Maniac's continued predilection for violence has started to make everyone fear her even more. The crazy, psychotic samurai has been seen attacking everyone who stands in her way, be that a civilian guard or an important manager. "She does not seem to care. And that, coupled with the fact that she keeps showing up in random places, makes her hard to track.". Even PsyCo, her presumed friends, can’t seem to track her down properly.

Other samurai have warned to stay clear of her until the situation is fully understood and under control.

-- a public service message posted on The Purple Truth website 34 minutes ago.

I freeze for only a moment, trying to think of something before I start moving. I quickly take off my mask and dismiss the illusion, making my face return back to normal. I am about to open the door when I notice the boxes.

‘Lyssa, do you have any way to get rid of these boxes?’

Lyssa can recycle them for a small fee.

‘Just do it. And did you give the mask’s storage any thoughts?’

Lyssa did. Activating storing capabilities now.

My mask starts to contort in on itself and wrap around my wrist, turning into some kind of smooth round bracelet. I quickly head over to the door and open it with a nervous smile. Outside is an older girl, or maybe a woman, the distinction between the two is a bit lost on me, waiting for me. She looks really tired, with big bags under her eyes.

“Sorry for taking so long. I got lost in thought,” I say, as I try to move out of the way, my face being flushed with heat.

“It's fine. You must be the new girl. I am Amira. I help take care of the children. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask”

“Oh, right, thank you. I am Evelin.” I say as I walk back to the living room.

I sit on one of the couches, an old thing, with some fading in certain areas, but still in a good enough condition to sit on. Well, that was awkward. I guess I should get out of here soon. I don’t want to take up too much of their resources.

I am taken out of my thoughts by the woman’s voice. “Ooh, you are still here. I thought you would have gone back to bed.”

“I am not tired. I went to bed early yesterday, so I am all good now. Just thinking of where I should go next.” I say, looking up at her.

“You know that you can stay here, right?”

“Yeah, but I am not a kid, so it feels unfair.” I say.

“If you're sure. Anyhow, now that you are awake, you can help me with breakfast.” she says, giving me a big smile.

I nod and follow her to the kitchen. There, she gives me a knife before she yelps in surprise.

“Sorry, I thought Father Donovan said that you were missing some fingers.” she says, pointing at my hand.

“I did,” I say, pulling up my left hand. “But I am quite resourceful and heal quickly.” I say with a smile.

“Is that something your patron gave to you?” she says in a soft, unsure tone.

I pause, not sure how to react to that. “What do you mean?”

“I am sorry if it is a touchy subject, but Father Donovan explained a bit about your circumstances.” she says, giving me a kind smile.

“Can you elaborate? I don’t think I actually said that much to him.”

“It is more how you look. You are pretty but unnaturally so, meaning that you have probably undergone some cosmetic surgeries,” she says, looking at me.

“That is right,” I say, still staring at her, trying to figure out where this is going.

“But seeing the quality, it is only something you can afford if you are rich, but you don’t give that “I am rich” vibe, so the logical conclusion is that you are… uhm … someone’s…”

“Someone's sex toy.” I say, hoping to end this conversation.

“Uhm, yes, that. And you know, Father Donovan takes pity on people like you, so you are more than free to stay here for as long as you need.”

I smile at her “Thanks, but I know how to take care of myself. Just give me a day or two, and I will have found a way to earn my keep.”

“Yeah, right. Sorry, I did not mean to be rude.”

“You are not. You are very kind. It's just I don’t live that life anymore, so I won’t be needing your protection anymore, either.”

She blinks at me. “You ran away?”

“Not really, but close enough. I learned to protect myself and to become irreplaceable for important people. Meaning that, I am mostly free to do what I want, if I am not stuck in a place like this.” I say, looking down at the ground.

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“Don’t worry. The saints will come up with a solution.” she says with a smile.

We continue making breakfast while chatting away about unimportant things, which consist mostly of making omelettes out of eggs that come out of some kind of juice box and some ration bars diced up and roasted to create some kind of bread-like substance. Most of the kids filter out when we are almost done, and soon we have a bunch of mismatched tables shoved together to have our meal at. I am the last person to sit down, and as I sit down, Skylar and Amira grab my hand as Father Donovan leads us in prayer.

“Dear lord above, thank you for sending your saints down to protect us so that we can have this meal together. May they be saved on their holy mission to vanquish the enemy.” Father Donovan prays.

“Amen.” everyone says in unison.

It has been a while since I prayed for anything. It is a weird feeling, old but familiar. I smile as I start to eat. The taste is okay, but they could use some extra spices. I think pepper is what I am missing, and whatever they do to the eggs to pasteurise them gives them a bit of a funky taste. But it could be a whole lot worse, that is for sure.

“Evelin, have you got used to the place yet?” Father Donovan asks.

“Ooh yes, everyone is really kind here. It kind of makes me feel bad for taking your food,” I pause to think, then come up with an idea. “Give me one second.”

I say as I rush to our room and pretend that I am rummaging around for something.

‘Lyssa, can I buy a bag of sweets like lollipops or something? I want to give the kids something nice.’

On it, hold out your hand.

I do as she says, and a lime green package appears in my hand. It is filled with several kinds of lollies. This is perfect. I head back out again, smiling brightly as I enter the room.

“Found it!” I say cheerfully as I give the bag to Amira. As the caretaker for the children, she should be more than capable of dividing the candies.

Amira looks at me wide-eyed “What is this?”

“It's candy. It has been a while since the kids had any. Feel free to give some out when you find a chance.” I say with a smile.

“Are you sure? These must have been expensive,” she says, still looking at the plastic bag in wonder.

“It is fine, you gave me a place to stay, that is worth more than some snacks, especially if it can give you happiness,” I say.

“Alright then.” she says with a smile, “You hear that, children? If you can get your jobs from the chore chart done, you will get a piece of candy.”

I look to the side, spotting a small wide board with different names on it and the job they are supposed to do for that day. I scan all the jobs and see that both Skylar and Ashley are supposed to go shopping together with some boy named Roy, or at least I assume they are a boy.

I turn to Skylar. “Do you mind if I come shopping with you? I would like to figure out this area a bit more before I commit to anything?”

Skylar looks at me, a bit unsure, so I lean in and whisper, “I have another bag of candies we can share while we are out.”

Skylar blushes before she starts to nod. “Yeah, you can come. We will do our best to show you around.”

I smile and continue the rest of my breakfast. Once breakfast is done, Ashley drags me back to our room and gives me an assessing look before shaking her head.

“I am not sure if this is a good idea.” she says after a while.

“If what is a good idea?” I ask, a bit confused.

“You going out. You kind of stand out. I mean, I can give you some of my clothes, but you are still too pretty, even with your injuries. People will notice,” she says, studying my face.

“Aw, thank you, but I might have a solution to that,” I say as I tap my bracelet twice, turning on the disguise that Maniac made for us this morning. “How about this?”

Ashley stares at me with her mouth wide open. before answering. “That would work, but how did you do that?”

“Hologram tech. Isn’t it neat? It will hold a charge for about six hours, so that is how long we have before I become normal again.” I say.

“That is plenty of time. Let me give you some clothes, and then we can leave,” Ashley says with a smile.

It does not take long for me to get some clothes. A beat-up pair of loose-fitting jeans, a tank top and a dark jacket made out of some kind of fake leather is all I need to fit in with the locals. Once everyone is ready, we head out, and Skylar is almost immediately at my side, looking at me expectantly.

“Alright, alright. Here you go.” I say, taking a piece of candy out of my pocket and giving it to her.

She smiles before sticking it in her mouth. “So is this a different you than before?”

I pause, a bit surprised. “No, it's still the same old me. Why? Did you want to talk to her?” I ask with a smile.

“No, it is just you feel a bit different compared to yesterday.” she says.

“Ahh, I see. I mean, yesterday, I was just really confused. I did not really know how I got into the undercity and was just really tired, so I wanted to sleep.”

“I see then. Does your alter not come out often?” she asks, looking at me in surprise.

“No, she does, but she is more of a fighter, showing up whenever there is a need to fight rather than talk things out.” I say, flexing my non-existent… Wait, I have muscles now. When did that happen?

“I see. Is she a good fighter?” she asks, curiosity in her eyes.

“Not sure. You tell me, I feel like I was in a bit of a rough shape when I got here.”

She laughs, “Yeah, but you did come from outside the safe zone, so that means she can at least keep you alive.”

“Hey, slowpokes, get over here before we leave you two behind.” Ashley shouts from up ahead.

“Guess we should not keep her waiting.” I say with a smile.

We continue walking the streets, and they do appear to be a bit more lively than what I would expect from the undercity. There are a lot of people walking around, some are even smiling. There is still an undercurrent of danger and I see several pieces of clothing that are probably related to some gang, but for now we can walk the streets without there being any trouble.

Ashley suddenly stops, and I almost walk into her. “We are being followed.” she says in a low whisper.

I nod. “What is the plan? Do we beat them up, or do we shake them?”

Ashley turns around and looks at me in surprise. “You can fight them?”

“Depends on the number, but probably.” I say.

“Well, there are two of them following us, but I saw another one run ahead of us just now.”

“So getting a backup then. I guess whatever we do, we need to do it quickly.” I say.

“Hey there, girlies, what brings you all here? Are you lost? Do you need me to show you the way to the nearest whore house.” a jovial voice says in the distance.

I look to where the voice came from, seeing a large man wearing some kind of green bandana and sunglasses. “And who are you supposed to be? Arnold's malformed younger brother?” I say as I sneer at the man.

The man frowns, “I am going to have fun playing with you.”

I smile as I walk a bit away from the group. I take off the fake leather jacket I was wearing and throw it to Ashley, assuming a crouched stance, and activate my crystal blade. “Good, I was thinking the exact same thing. Now let's play.” I say, as my body grows cold.