Murky dreams filled my mind as I slept. I felt my life, my memories, reel before me. Perhaps, then, I wasn’t sleeping, but dying. Every fragment I saw that shaped me, every sadness that I cried with, every smile that warmed my heart, and a few guilts that weighed on me. I wished I could have been with Mom and Dad at the end. Suzanna Todd, my sister, had always said that I should visit more, even though she rarely visited our parents despite being in the same city.

I always loved her cooking. I loved Mom’s stern measure whenever she told me to ‘be an honest, good person,’ or when she asked if I had a girlfriend yet. I loved the way Dad smelled like a maple tree in spite of working as an accountant, the way he emphasized that my going to school was something he was proud of.

I hated that they were gone in a flash. A meteorite had taken them along with the rest of Damond. That same meteorite skipped and soared another several miles toward the Gilramore, the city I was in, like it was trying to get two for the price of one.

Killing that hive hadn’t brought a damn piece of calm to me. Closure? Hardly enough of it, but they’d died as abruptly as my family had. Killing just the one hive wasn’t anywhere near enough.

Burning them out of every hole wasn’t enough.

Destroying every last one of them might just get there though. Watching as their ashes and parts disintegrated, tearing them limb from limb, bathing them in an eternal flame as they died in agony--

I woke with a start, bolting upright in cold sweat. It felt like something was gripping my heart, my breathing came in shallow, ragged waves. The feelings I felt were intense, an anger deeper than anything I’d felt.

Before, I thought I understood hatred. But the slightest sip of whatever that had been set me to shudders, my guts cramped up as I worked to steady myself. After a few seconds, I managed to stabilize my breathing, working out from there.

My body wasn’t in pain, surprisingly. I looked down, seeing bandages along my left shoulder. I had no shirt, having been completely removed, my pants had been left, at least. I shook in the wake of a cold sweat though, one that had nothing to do with physical injuries.

It was an operation room in the hospital. Less useful these days with the lack of electricity, but I was stunned to see plentiful antibiotics and medicine next to my bed. Any one of them was worth its weight in gold now, and many of them weren’t things that I’d really end up seeing, even if I was in critical condition.

On that note, how was I even alive?

I rose, feeling… fine? My body felt more than fine, I felt alive, like every nerve was a live wire. I bounced on balls of my feet momentarily, shocked to find that I seemed to feel as light as a feather. After seeing that, I managed to calm my breathing once more, the shaking slowing now too. That explosion of emotion was a fair dose of disquiet to my overall condition, like there was another me that I didn’t know.

The thought reminded me of the battle against the wolves. That other feeling within my mind and body.

Quickly I moved to a mirror nearby, stripping the bandage off of my skin, ignoring the slight irritation of the sticky tape against the hairs of my skin.

And all of my work controlling my breathing came apart instantly.

“Holy shit, holy shit, hooooly shit what is this?” I nearly hyperventilated, seeing what had been a bite wound from a wolf. It would be one thing if I’d woken up to a gnarled mess, stitches and such.

There was black steel in place of flesh. It replaced my collarbone, and layers of a metallic substance worked to cover it. Even with the layers forming, I could clearly tell that my bones there were stronger, the flesh was remade in the form of metal.

“What is this?...” I murmured weakly.

[That is biosteel, albeit crudely put together.]

I spun, startled by the voice. It didn’t take long to realize that it came from within my head.

“Alright. I’m going to take a breath, to have a moment to collect myself.” I managed, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. The voice didn’t return, giving me the time I needed. Steadily, I sat myself back down on the bed.

“Who are you? Or, what are you I guess?” I uttered, keeping quiet lest I attract attention from outside of the hospital room.

[Hmm… I suppose it’s a little bit of both questions. As to who I am, I’m you, or at least, I’m a Reaper A.I. that cultivated itself from your memories.] The ridiculous words seemed to settle gently within me, and the deep voice was quite successful at calming me in spite of the panic I’m sure I’d have otherwise felt. [And, so, the next logical question is; Why am I here? Would you like to know, young man?]

“Yeah, that’s right... Aside from that though, what’s with the ‘young man’ thing? You’re younger than me if you were made off of my memories?” I tried to apply logic, still working to stay calm.

[Ah… did I misunderstand? I thought your first impression of me was a grandfather type, would it please you that I say something else?]

“Well… I guess it doesn’t matter too much, but my name is fine too. What do I call you, by the way? Since I don’t think you’re going anywhere anytime soon.”

[Hmm, alright then. And quite astute, I’m inseparable from you at this point. And… I don’t have a designation yet, but perhaps…] It considered, and then chuckled, [Perhaps Chironex would do well?]

“Uh… you’re sure you’re modeled after me?”

[Absolutely positive.]

“So you’re saying, in a way, I came up with that edgy name?”

[Hmm... an alternative then.] The voice seemed to cough, [How about Smith?]

“Uh… that’s quite the one eighty, but sure, Smith seems… fine?” I was having a conversation with an A.I.?

[Very well, I’ll designate myself as Smith Chironex, as I’m attached to having that name. It means ‘Hand of Death’ or some such by humans, from what I’ve seen. As I’ll be your aid for the foreseeable future, I find that Chironex would be a shame not to have in my name.]

“If you insist,” I shrugged, “So, back to the main topic?” Remarkably, I was much calmer now. Perhaps the A.I. - no, it was Smith - intended that?

[Yes, of course. You could say that I’ll be your other self from now on. At least, until the time when your mind inevitably incorporates my systems into yours. Do not be unsettled,] it quickly added, [This process is seamless and is intended to enhance cognitive and physical functions.]

I sat there, stunned once more, “And why would I need that?”

The joviality in the voice vanished with a cold cadence, [To destroy biotics, of course.]

We spent the next thirty minutes talking, going back and forth over what that all exactly entailed. I was most concerned with what would be happening to me, afraid that I was going to be brainwashed.

It apologized for the overwhelming emotion I’d felt earlier, no two species responded to emotions the same way. Hatred was only useful in small doses on humans, and apparently other species handled it far more constructively. We, according to Smith Chironex, literally lost the capacity to reason with too much of that particular emotional state on the brain being rampant.

Moreover, it explained that parts of my body, damaged as they were, had been replaced by biosteel. Later, if I wanted, I could replace the biosteel with a form of biometallic substance that would more closely resemble flesh, and then from there let my body slowly heal and replace the biometal as it did so.

It would be weaker than the biosteel, and also weaker than normal flesh, and for the time being I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to let it heal. I’d been unconscious now for eighteen hours, and now we had even less time for our Bounty Hunt. It was down to a little over two days to go.

“This stuff’ll hold, right?” I touched the biosteel, feeling the touch of my fingertips in spite of the fact that it was mostly metal. How the hell did that work? Granted, it was greatly numbed, I could only tell by the slightest tingle of sensation.

[It’ll hold, biosteel is strong. I presume you’d like to only use full conversion for severe injuries?]

“Yeah, I don’t want to be a walking girder, thanks.” I looked to the injury, “Was it that bad? I… I didn’t realize.”

[Your collarbone was crushed, much of your shoulder was shattered, not to mention a slew of blood vessels ruptured. A normal man would have died from blood loss, and been at severe risk of infection. As is, much of your blood needed to be replaced, along with bones in the area, as you can see. Your biology is incorporated into the composition, though it’s going to be quite rough until it’s built up more.]

I felt my heart hammer a little harder, “What do you mean about my blood?”

[You lost a great deal of it, I’d say about 3 liters. I had to reconstitute blood from your marrow, but the process required converting much of your marrow into a biosteel substitute to keep up with demand. I assure you, you’ll find it superior. Of course, the process to reverse this is still the same.]

With a cold lump in my gut, I laid back down on the bed. Half of my blood? Half of my blood was gone?

I should be dead. I would be dead if I didn’t have this class.

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How stupid could I be? Obelisks descended from the sky and suddenly I thought I could do something. The first thing I did was buy a nuke. The second thing I did was nearly get my throat torn out. What was the point if I couldn’t even keep myself alive.

[Young man… it isn’t about what happens to you. It’s about what happens to everyone else.] Smith’s gentle voice like a rolling soft thunderstorm rang in my head, [You saved your friends. That bear wasn’t going to die without your help. Remember what you’re fighting for. Hatred might not be an easy thing to use for humans without moderation. That moderation is your love for what family you have left, isn’t it?]

I thought of Daniel and Fran.

[There’s no shame in having more family. There’s no shame in moving forward. And move forward you must. Not just because you’re a reaper, either.] It almost felt like a hand was on my shoulder, as weird as that might be, but it calmed me. [But because you’re a human being. So, pull yourself together and dust yourself off. You got knocked down, but that’s not losing, staying down is losing.]

I smiled, wiping a tear from my eye. It was uplifting, and the fact that it was another estranged version of myself doing the uplifting didn’t hamper it.

Although…

“Did you have to use like three quotes back to back? Man, that’s cheesy as hell.”

[You’re welcome.] It chuckled, [Give yourself some credit. You’ve learned more from this incident than you think. Trust me, I would know.]

With a whoosh of air from my lungs, I calmed myself the rest of the way. I sat myself up from the bed, leaving the bandages off. Staring at the ceiling, I thought of what I needed, what I had to do. Biotics needed to die, even without the Bounty Hunt system, they were still far too prevalent a threat to let go unanswered.

I’d need to make some changes to my equipment. Most of my weapons were shredded, I didn’t even know where the pistol had gotten off too.

As I thought of that, I heard talking from the other side of the door.

“He’ll be fine, right?” I could clearly tell it was Daniel’s voice, though it was uncharacteristically nervous.

“I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening to him. Then again, I’d never seen aliens until six months ago,” an unfamiliar voice spoke, “Go in and see for yourself. We didn’t even need to use the medicine Doug Vanderhew passed to us.”

“Wait, the councilman?” Fran’s voice, confusion clear in her tone.

“Ah, yes, he said something about asking forgiveness for his rudeness from before? Either way, if you guys don’t need them, I’d like to keep them for other patients.”

“I’m sure Matt’d be fine with that, if he’s okay.” Daniel spoke, “Thanks for taking us here.”

“Sure, just… don’t stare, some patients with disfiguring injuries could take it badly. Especially with such… well, you’ll see.”

Wow, thanks doc. I rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling self conscious about the whole thing. They’d find out sooner or later, better to get it over with now.

The door opened up steadily, and a gentle lamp light illuminated the dimness of the room I was in. It was only then that I realized I’d been sitting in perfect darkness, though I couldn’t tell with my reaper eye.

“Matt? You awake bud?” Daniel called low.

“Yep.”

They both jumped.

A grin spread across my face before I suppressed it, “Why are you both jumpy? Don’t tell me I’m horribly disfigured or something.”

Fran paused, her expression whosing a bit distress. Daniel likewise looked like he’d swallowed quite the bitter pill.

“U-uh… Yeah, right. So man, how are you feeling? You… hurting anywhere?”

Okay, the joke wasn’t funny anymore. “Relax guys, I know I’m pretty jacked up. Sorry, that wasn’t funny.”

I sighed, sitting up and hanging my feet over the edge of the bed.

“You shouldn’t move around too much,” Fran voiced her concern, and then, with a tone that suggested she was about to punch me in the face, “And that’s an awful thing to joke about.”

“I know, I had to though. I’m not made of glass. And I don’t want you guys pitying me,” I sighed, “But thanks, I’m glad you were worried about me.”

As I stood up without a problem the both of them blanched, “In fact, I suppose you could say that, instead of being made of glass, I’m made of something more like steel, now.” I grinned, my shoulder, clearly showing in the light, a black metal.

“What the hell?” Daniel walked up, “That’s freaky as shit.”

Fran hit him in the ribs with a punch, “What he means to say is that you look like you’re holding up well.”

“R-right, that’s what I meant.” He wheezed from the hit.

I couldn’t help but to laugh. “Yeah… I’m okay. Smith let me know what’s going on in my body. I should have died, right?”

They were a little quiet, finally, Fran spoke up, “Yeah, you almost died. It’s because I ended up needing more help.”

Daniel spoke up, “No, I shouldn’t have over reached. It was my fault they could even get close enough to you.”

“Guys, I’m not blaming anyone.” I walked up to the both of them, putting a hand on their shoulder. “I’m just glad we’re alive. We’ll learn, we’ll refine, and next time we’ll win, cleanly.”

“You… you’re sure you can go out? We can figure out how to do the bounty, you can sit it out?” Fran asked, momentarily looking to my hand on her shoulder.

I let my hands fall casually, “Nah, that might not even work. Besides, Smith let me know that the stuff is pretty much a ‘you get what you see’ deal, it’s like steel.”

“Who is Smith?” Daniel looked around, as though he expected to see someone else in the room.

“He’s an A.I. in here,” I gestured to my brain, “Tailored specifically to me, pretty much. He understands all of the… Reaper, stuff…”

They were notably perplexed, but finally said, “Alright, I have no idea what the hell that means, but I’m just going to guess that it’s fine if you’re fine?”

“If… Smith, if it… he is saying that it’s fine, then... “ Fran was no less perplexed.

Then I noticed a bag in both of their hands. After they followed my gaze, they remembered something.

“Ah, right, well, we brought you a shirt, since the other was was pretty much ruined.” Fran handed me the bag in her hand.

“Oh, thanks, good idea,” I pulled out a oversized sweater. An eyebrow tilted, I looked back to her.

“It’s Daniels,” she supplied.

“You guys at that stage already?” I pretended to mumble it, just loud enough for them to hear it, intending to tease them.

Daniel went red, “Dude, rea-”

“Not yet.” Fran chuckled, flooring me.

They had the turn to laugh at my response.

“W-wait, since when?” I fumbled, composure gone, “When I was out? Did you guys start dating? What?”

“Oh, no, it’s been a while, but we were keeping it quiet.” Fran chuckled at my complete lack of cohesion.

Daniel scratched the back of his head with a dopey grin, “Yeah, we didn’t want it to look like she was giving us any extra treatment.”

“B-but… everything… You’re not just screwing with me right now?”

“Well, we were only somewhat seeing each other,” Fran looked to Daniel, “But… what happened to you made us realize it was silly, considering that any of us can die at any time with all of this going on.”

“So it was while I was knocked out!” I put my hands to my head dramatically, “Oh, alas, the torments of love, that I did not get to see Daniel squirm!”

Daniel thumped my skull with his fist, “Alright, alright, shaddup.” He blushed fiercely.

Fran leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

He went from a blush to a crimson rush that made it look like his head might explode.

“Oookay, behave,” I shook my head, though I was glad for them. It did remind me that I was alone. Wait… didn’t this reaper thing kind of disfigure me? Damnit! My eyeball alone was crazy looking! How am I supposed to find a date now!?

Well, jokes aside, if there was anyone that I trusted watching mine and Daniel’s back, it’d be Fran. So, that worked pretty well.

“Alright, alright, so what’s in the other bag?”

He opened it just a pinch, after he stopped as red as a rose.

The smell hit me.

“Ooooh is that?... Oh my god. A pizza calzone.” An intense rumble rolled out from my stomach. Right. I hadn’t eaten in twenty four hours.

I very nearly inhaled the deliciously cheesy, meat, tomato, olive, onion, and marinara sauce goodness. I did accidentally inhale the cola. That stung, and I moderated immediately afterwards.

“Ohhhh man… Sorry you had to use more of your points, Fran, I know we’re poor right now, but I’ll pay you back.” I positively gleamed after the meal.

“Oh, that wasn’t mine, Daniel’s got points.” Fran laughed, “But feel free to treat me for earlier sometime.”

“Dude, you should have like a hundred and seven M.E. from what we did. The bounty already rewarded us for the bear, and it was pretty heft on its own. We all got the same.”

I blinked and the overlay popped up, “I’ve got a hundred and five M.E., so that’s pretty nice.” I considered the number and then realized where the two M.E. went. “I’m pretty sure I used the other M.E. on… err… my repairs.” I cleared my throat.

“I guess that’s kinda handy, you just kill more biotics to repair.” Daniel nodded, “Though, you’ll look all patchwork at this ra-”

Another hit from Fran. “Well, at least you know. So, lets go rearm. We’ve gotten plenty of sleep, and I’d like to check out the obelisk and see what else I can get. I’ve practiced with these too.” She gestured to the wings, which popped out smoothly, the feathers floated away from their braces a few inches before sinking back to them as they folded. It was pretty awesome to see, some really sci-fi looking stuff.

“I learned too, Dreadnought’s looking good after repairs. But I wanted to wait to do upgrades for when you were awake or if we needed to head out.”

I nodded and smiled with the both of them. We headed out, moving through the hospital. To my surprise, there were several small stations being actively manned now, and people were being treated with medicine more easily.

“The obelisk was adopted officially while you were out. Apparently Daniel made a great case among the aspiring hunters.”

“Hunters?” I frowned, “The heck’s the hunter thing about?”

“That’s what they’re calling the three of us, and people like us.” Daniel grinned widely, “We’re celebs now. It’s not safe at all, and most people stick to the city limits and clear just out of it, but it’s starting to come together.”

“There’s even an economy popping up. Credits are being used still, but we’re using M.E. to back it. You trade M.E. for credits, the Bulwark uses the obelisk to become a middle man, and arranges basic goods and resources.”

“That sounds… complicated as hell.” I shook my head.

[She refers to the function that the obelisk system has to incorporate localized currency in order to stimulate economic growth.]

“Oh, that’s cool.” I put a hand to my chin thoughtfully.

“What the hell just talked?” Daniel stopped, and Fran likewise looked around in wonderment.

“Wait, you heard Smith?”

“The deep ‘I could tell you I murdered your whole family and you’d be calm because of my voice’ guy?” Daniel gesticulated wildly.

“Uhhh… sure?”

[While partied with us, you’ll be able to hear myself and Matthew independently. Please, don’t mind me, I’m here to assist Matthew in this transitional period.] It almost felt like Smith bowed resplendently.

“Quite eloquent,” Fran chuckled.

“Let’s re-arm. I feel… naked now without a weapon.” I shifted gears, moving quickly.

As we left the building, Daniel moved around the corner, getting into his mech suit.

“Alright, let’s make our purchases.” Daniel’s mech was painted black almost fully now, with exception to a handful of slash marks rendered in vibrant amethyst purple, especially across the chest. It looked similar to what the bear would have done to him, and I thought it rather fitting that he commemorated the moment of learning with that.

I watched the both of them access their screens, at least that’s what I imagined what they were doing.

“Uh, the obelisk isn’t anywhere near here.” Confusion and exasperation nearly overtook me.

“Of course not, but it doesn’t matter.” Fran knowingly smiled, “The range of the obelisk has increased dramatically, it extends over most of the inner city.”