Moving through the downtown area during the day gave me a certain sense of desolation. The signs that shone in bright, neon colors during the day were turned off, and the bustling activity that usually clogged the streets was nowhere to be found.
In its place were the dried, scattered pieces of trash from the night before, and various droids that were sweeping the streets.
I had moved in front of the door of Leray’s establishment, when the door swung open, revealing a somewhat-disheveled Lilian. “Oh, hey Master Joshua. I’ve come to retrieve Raiden like you asked. Only, he was a little tough to get out of bed.”
“W-what are you doing here?” Raiden was leaning on Lilian’s shoulder, not completely able to stand and walk under his own power.
“Raiden, let me ask you a question.” Seeing that what I had said wasn’t a request, but rather, a demand, the princeling nodded his head meekly.
“Why did you bother disabling your nanites yesterday? Getting drunk for the sake of getting drunk is a stupid action, and one which could become your downfall should you do it around the wrong people.”
Raiden’s nostrils flared as he said, “You wouldn’t understand!” He shoved himself off of Lilian, and got up in my face. "Drinking is the only time I can have fun and be myself! No one judges me as a prince in the bar, but-”
Raiden slumped over and fell into my chest, unconscious, as X had followed my orders and performed a remote injection of a tranquilizer serum into his bloodstream. “It seems that Raiden had too much of a wild night, Lilian. Can you please take him back to the Palace?”
“With pleasure, Master Joshua.” Lilian gave me a stiff salute as he slung Prince Raiden onto his back, and started walking back towards the castle.
“Oh, Lilian, before I forget, I need to tell you something.” He turned and waited for me, readjusting Raiden on his shoulders.
“Make sure you report directly to the king about this matter, and tell him everything truthfully if he so asks. The king, and only the king. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. What should I do if I am accosted by people other than those who serve the king?” Lilian asked, a complicated smile on his face.
“I’ve already informed the guards that work for us that you’ll be coming. They’ve moved their shifts up to meet you and get you in.” Lilian nodded, then I switched to sending him a private message.
“If any of the queen’s personnel try and detain you, have Three incapacitate them. Claim that it’s from my own powers though, since the king and queen don’t know about the existence of other Judgment users yet.”
Three appeared beside Lilian, a veil now covering the lower half of her face. She bowed, earning her a questioning look from me. However, I said nothing, and Lilian bowed briefly before resuming her walk down the street.
“Well, I suppose all those lessons taught to Three didn’t exactly go to waste.” X said, the A.I. watching Lilian’s retreating figure.
What lessons? Did you do more than torture her that one time? X tapped her finger to her lips in thought, before shaking her head and disappearing back inside of my panel.
“Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn’t. Regardless, you can’t say that what I did to her didn’t bear any results.”
---
I opened the door and walked inside the bar to find Leray at the front desk. Her back was turned to me, so she didn’t see who I was when I walked in.
“Good morning! We’re actually closed during these hours, that man you saw earlier stayed here for the night.”
When she didn’t hear my footsteps leave, she sighed. “Alright, I can see you won’t take no for an answer without getting a drink first. How can I help-” Her voice stuck in her throat as her gaze met mine, and she dropped the plate she was holding.
It hit the ground, shattering into hundreds of pieces, and Leray shrieked. “I-I didn’t have anything to do with it, I swear!”
“Leray, I know it was you. I had a military expert confirm your assassin’s fighting style, and trace it back to the Strafe family, who,” I paused, walking closer to her, “are known to hang around your little bar here.”
I paused when we were inches apart and whispered to her, “In fact the King himself debriefed me on what the royal guard have found, and they concluded something very interesting, Miss Leresa.”
She began retreating toward the kitchen, and I started to follow after her when I heard heavy footsteps from the stairs to my left. “Raaaagh!”
The cloaked figure from last night lunged at me, a dagger in their hand. I had X dilute time for me, so the cloaked person looked as if they were swimming through space itself.
Using the extra time X had afforded me, I started positioning myself to intercept the woman, only for my time dilation to be cancelled midway through my movement. I barely had time to register the black man at the top of the stairs, looking down at me with a wary look before the would-be assassin collided with me.
We fell to the floor in a pile of limbs and fabric, and my attacker’s knife ended up sailing through the air and impaling itself into one of the storefront’s windows. Leray shrieked as my attacker and I wrestled on the ground and jockeyed for position.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
We both grunted and groaned as knees dug into flesh, nails clawed and we carelessly threw around headbutts. During our scuffle, the attacker’s cloak came undone, revealing a black mask shaped like a skull, with pale blue colored protection over the eyes.
Finally, I came out on top, and sat on top of the cloaked figure, pinning its arms above its head. I stared deeply into the mask’s eyes, and I saw eyes staring back into mine.
We both stayed still for a moment, catching our breaths. Leray peeked out from the kitchen, and ran over to us screaming, “Winter! Paladin Cole, stop!”
The Felis knelt in front of me, her ears pressed flatly against her head. “Stop, Paladin. I’ll tell you what you wish to know. Just please, get off of her and let her go. She just had surgery last night because of your gunshot.”
I narrowed my eyes, but remained on top of the cloaked woman. “Leray, she tried to kill me twice in the span of twelve hours. I’m not going to get off of her until I know that I’m not in any danger.”
Leray looked back and forth between Winter and I, and finally, she sighed in defeat. “Fine. What would you have me do so that you can trust Winter?”
I looked up the stairs, where the specter of Atlas Strafe was watching his disciple with a bemused smile. “I want her to hand over her Judgment Program.”
Leray tilted her head. “Winter with a Judgment Program? Aren’t you the first in the world to have that? Winter here is just a Neuromancer. Nothing more, nothing less.”
I looked at her, a blank expression on my face. I stuck a knee into Winter’s ribs, eliciting a metallic groan of pain. “Don’t lie to me, Leray. Not when I can see the fucking program at the top of your stairs.”
Leray ground her teeth, while Winter jolted her head to stare at her program. “Founder!? Why the fuck did you not stay hidden like I asked!? You’re in danger!” Her metallic voice was the prelude to the hearty laugh that Atlas gave.
Atlas Strafe showed a large smile, and clapped his hands. “Oh Winter, we’ve been over this before. I am but a mere shadow of Atlas, still, a king, a rightful leader nonetheless!”
My gaze went from Winter, to Atlas, and back to Winter. “What is going on here?” I asked, and Winter sighed.
The mercenary turned to Leray, and said, “Leray, can you go prepare us some tea? Please, don’t bother us while we’re talking. The less you know, the safer you’ll be.”
The Felis’ ears pricked up, and she nodded at Winter. She gave me a parting glance before she left the room, and went back into the kitchen. “Are you going to get off of me?” Winter asked with an annoyed tone.
“Nope, don’t trust you yet.” I said, and readjusted my grip on her, so I was holding both her wrists with my left hand.
Atlas moved closer to us, until he was hovering above Winter’s head. “Oh, are you going to strip her? I usually watch her when she takes a shower, but seeing her clothing removed by another man is interesting in its own right.” Atlas said, and Winter looked at him in horror.
“Founder! That’s disgusting!” Atlas laughed, and turned to face me. “Go for the mask first, my grand-disciple is a real looker!”
I didn’t know how to react to Atlas, who had been different from the only other two Judgment programs I had interacted with. Deciding to table that thought, I reached for her mask, and stripped it off of her, eliciting a sigh from the woman herself.
Pure, long white hair spilled out of the skull as I removed it, and it landed on her chocolate skin. Even her eyebrows were pure white, and rested above her clear, blue eyes. Her look was complimented by a button nose on top of a round face. “Are you satisfied?” Her voice was breathy without the modifier in her mask.
“Isn’t she lovely!” Atlas grinned, and Winter rolled her eyes. X, position yourself to consume Atlas’ data.
“Yes, Master.” X appeared behind Atlas in VR, while a beam of data shot from my device to Winter’s.
“Ok, now I can let you up.” I got off of Winter, and she slowly picked herself up off the ground, clutching a hand to the ribs that I had kneed earlier.
“What did you do to me?” Her eyes glanced from X to me, and then landed on Atlas Strafe. Winter leaned against the bar, and took a seat on the nearest stool.
I took a seat opposite her, and put my legs up on the bar, trying to appear as relaxed as possible. “To you? Nothing. I just wanted some insurance. As per the Trials of Damocles, X is ready to consume Atlas should you try to harm me in any way.”
Winter snorted and Atlas laughed. “Ha! Listen to this kid! Can we keep him, Winter? His threats are adorable.”
Atlas turned to me, and gave me a derisive sneer. “I hate little children playing pretend. You need us and our information network, so just sit there like a good puppet and keep us alive. Ask your questions, and be on your way, before you do something you truly regret.
I was annoyed enough because of the queen’s betrayal, and Atlas’ condescending attitude was the last straw.
Do it. I mentally commanded X, and she tilted her head in confusion. “Master, are you sure? Hostage situations don’t usually go well unless you have a hostage.”
I waved her off. Yes, I’m sure. If shit with Winter goes sideways, we can always kidnap her under the pretense of arrest, and interrogate her later. It’s not like she’ll be an actual threat without her Judgment.
X sighed, and forced a hand through Atlas’ back and out through his chest, where she clenched a small, white cube that was being orbited by countless lines of code.
Winter was about to say something, but her breath caught in her throat and Atlas looked down at his program file. “Huh?”
That confused sound was the last Atlas let out before his body disintegrated into nothingness. I immediately flicked my vision to Winter, preparing to fight her off if I needed to, but she just slumped in her chair and sighed.
“I can’t believe he was actually right. Starlords bless the founder.” She rubbed her temples vigorously, and I was about to ask what she meant when a booming voice interrupted me.
“Haha! I knew I liked him, Winter! What a great mind for war, clear-cut and decisive. No hesitation on his part!” X’s eyes widened and she hunched over, clutching at her chest. Her figure blurred until there were two of her.
The X on the right looked up in abject horror, while the X on the left morphed, losing her breasts, slender figure, and grew taller. Atlas Strafe stared back at me, a wide grin on his face.
“Ah, it’s good to be back. Did you miss me, grand disciple?” Winter shook her head, and merely picked up the cup of tea that a floating tray bot had brought out from the kitchen.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “I believe you want some answers, Master? Don’t worry, I can provide them. I am quite fond of your naming convention for us Judgments, though… I know, let me give you a hint.”
The hologram of the black man twirled in place, and was soon wearing a butler’s uniform with a pair of shades on. “You may call me by my program title, Judg3ment_01.svnt. Or, as you would name me, Un, the first Judgment.”