Yuna stood over the deceased Praetor, cursing in rapid succession with an occasional kick to the lifeless form. The metal of Reina-sparrow shifted about, reconfiguring into a falcon as it soared toward Yuna. The growing sound of the Legion’s battle cries pierced the manic amalgam from the escaping spectators. Legionnaires lowered themselves from the seating above Yuna to the arena floor. One leapt from the top.
“Yuna! Look out!” Reina yelled.
Yuna caught the flying Legionnaire by the ankle without even looking. “C’mon, Reina. Like I’d lower my guard enough for one of these bitch-asses to get the drop on me.” She swung the Legionnaire with ease in a semi-circle before rifling them toward the others. They slammed into their descending companions, toppling them, and several formed a pile.
“Yuna, hurry, we need to le—!”
Yuna blurred as she dashed into the Legionnaires. With a brutal kick to one’s back, they fell hard. Another cocked their arm to swing, only to crumple a moment later from multiple palm strikes into their jaw. Others reached the arena floor and moved to converge on her.
“Praetor!” shouted one.
“For the Legion!” roared many.
“Ya’ll have made a real bad fucking decision.” Yuna chuckled as she punted a nearby Legionnaire with a heel kick to the chest. “Thanks.”
Yuna dashed to her closest encroaching flank. With overwhelming deftness, she parried and dodged every haphazard attack sent her way, reciprocating each with multiple heavy blows. Little visible damage appeared on her attackers, yet her repeated accurate strikes clearly took their toll. A giant Legionnaire moved to grab her from behind, only to have their legs swept out from under them, followed by an ax kick hammering them into the ground. Cursing often followed each hit she delivered.
Meanwhile, Reina’s shouts fell on deaf ears as she tried to regain Yuna’s attention. Reina even switched to speaking directly into Yuna’s helmet to no avail. Yuna’s flurry of martial prowess continued. She danced among the dozens of Legionnaires until one delivered a glancing blow to the side of her head. She faced them, then issued a lightning-fast jab the next moment. They dodged and reciprocated. They engaged in close quarters combat, the only Legionnaire to last more than a few seconds. However, it proved not by much as a flurry of direct blows to their chest sent them reeling. She leapt onto their falling form, pummeling their face until blood at last entered the mix. Though the skin started to show damage, the blood itself leaked out from their eyes and mouth, soon coating her suit with each repeated blow. As other Legionnaires regrouped, the brutality on display caused hesitation.
“Don’t kill him, Yuna, goddamnit!” Reina yelled as the falcon’s talons scratched at Yuna’s helmeted face. Yuna finally ceased and looked up.
“Oh. Reina. Rare to hear you swear,” Yuna said.
“We need to leave now!
“But they started—”
“Now!”
The blood-stained Yuna stood and followed Reina back to the Praetor. Grouped Legionnaires cowered as she passed, feigning that they were giving aid to one another. The arena now appeared nigh empty, with the spectators having evacuated. Reina perched atop Yuna’s axes for a moment, then flew off. Yuna retrieved them, set them back at her waist, and they returned to their hilt-only forms. She jogged alongside Reina.
“Am I in trouble?” Yuna asked.
“Yes. And hurry,” Reina said. They exited the arena into the hallway, with Yuna sprinting while Reina’s flight grew erratic.
“My bad, I know I went overboard again,” Yuna said.
“If you were really sorry, you’d stop doing it!”
“‘Legion’ my ass, though. The fuck’s the point of cosplaying an ancient army renowned for teamwork if you can’t even give a minor challenge?”
“Large fights are banned.” Reina’s voice sounded monotone, dismissive.
“Well, yeah, even so, you know?” Yuna noticed Reina’s erratic flight. “Reina? Hey, you alright?” Reina slammed into the corridor wall, to which Yuna caught the falling form. “Whoa, gotcha. I’ll carry you? I guess?” She cradled the falcon as she sprinted. “Hello?” She prodded its head.
A short time later, Yuna emerged from a hidden hatch in a floor. She stood in the backroom of a dingy cybernetics shop. The sounds of medical diagnostic equipment, sawing, and drilling permeated from a nearby wall. She entered the front with Reina held at her chest. Cybernetics lined the walls, every part of the human body, and then some. A clerk, puffing on a device between their lips, glanced over, then watched as Yuna left without concern.
“Of course, it’s fucking raining. Another night in Lyrsium,” Yuna grumbled.
Yuna hunched over to shield Reina as she exited into a dim back alley. Even amongst the rain, the sounds of street vendors, restaurants, and traffic filled the air. She navigated through a chaotic mess of alleyways in this small slum. Towering brightly illuminated skyscrapers cast an oppressive light where there should be none. Various colors danced across the rooftops from advertisements plastered throughout the cityscape. Vehicles of countless shapes and sizes littered the streets. Autonomous drones dotted the air above. They weaved amongst buildings and themselves effortlessly. No stars were visible from within the immense metropolis surrounding them.
“Oh, wicked. I’m not getting wet? Expensive ass raincoat, though, Reina?” Yuna prodded the falcon. “Okay, Reina. Are you that mad at me? Is this the silence treatment?” No response. “Rrreeeiiiinnnaaaa.”
“Spreading like wildfire… it’s chaos,” Reina said.
“Huh? What is?”
“Don’t you get it, Yuna? That was a gunshot! A crazy loud gunshot! And you! Being such a… such an idiot!”
“What’d I do?”
“Instead of running away like any sane person, you stood over the gunshot victim! What if you’d been next?”
“Oh. Uhh. Guess I was too pissed off. My bad?”
“‘My bad’ she says.” Reina growled.
“Hey, don’t worry. Still runnin’ hot, but the rain cooled me off a bit. They’ll probably make someone else fight, right?”
“What? Who freaking cares, you—you numbskull! You could’ve been killed too! Don’t you get that? Jeez! Do I have to spell it out? The Aegis virus literally changed the world overnight two decades ago. And since then, such deaths had almost ceased to exist! Especially after Excalium bullets were completely banned! But now? Now there’s been a fatality through an Aegis suit, of all things! Which even Excalium bullets shouldn’t work on like that! Do you get what that means?”
“Shit. I do sound pretty dumb when you lay it out like that… I was just so pissed off. I am so mother fucking—.” Yuna growled.” “Finally, get a maybe decent fight and—.”
“Yuna.” Reina’s tone crackled.
“Damnit, fine. Okay. You know I can be slow on these types of things, so I’ll distract myself with this. Will you confirm my thoughts?” A brief silence passed. “Reina?”
“I’m listening.”
“K. So, most weapons at the time became kinda junk after A-day. I think? But that glowy blue stuff came along almost right away. Right? You just said it too… Ex…Exca?”
“Excalium.”
“Yeah, that. Always forgetting the name. Anyway, allows for slicey-slicey of flesh again.” Yuna patted the hilt on her hip. “Wait, why aren’t there bullets and whatnot of that stuff again? Think you just said that, too. Banned... or something?”
“Yes. Excalium’s an extremely rare metal for one, hence only the blade edge of your transarms. It’s also heavily regulated by both the government and corpos. And even if it wasn’t, Aegis suits have proven effective against Excalium-made projectiles. Of course, govs and corpos wasted countless billions, even trillions in the early years trying to develop new ways to kill each other but the gap was literally decades. And now, out of nowhere?”
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“Oh.” Yuna paused. “Ohhhh. God damn.”
“Is it sinking in now how big of deal this is?”
“Yeah…” So weird when Reina yells at me. She’s never been this harsh. Huh. I feel cold? “Why am I chilly?”
“Because I remotely cranked the suit’s cooling. Now, just get home asap. And, please, be careful.”
“Almost there. Didn’t you say something about chaos?”
Reina gave no response. Yuna turned into an abnormally dark alley, lost in thought. Then, a man and woman brandishing scalpels, which had a thin, faintly glowing cyan edge, converged in front of her while an enormous man approached from behind.
“H—!” the pair yelled. Without breaking stride, Yuna delivered multiple vicious jabs to each throat. While they collapsed, she stopped briefly and, without turning, sent the large man flying with a backward kick. She proceeded onward, kicking the collapsed man out of her path.
“You’re lucky Reina told me to stop cutting hands off you fuckin’ trash. Dumbass junkies didn’t even see the suit. God damnit. Now I’m angry again.” Yuna cursed under her breath. Fuck, the suit’s cooling is kicking in, again. Hope Reina wasn’t watching… she knows me so well though.
Yuna soon approached a highrise apartment building and ascended the steps. A man and woman stood guard at the open-air entrance, beneath shelter from the rain. The man jumped to his feet at the sight of Yuna, the rain sliding effortlessly off her suit. He looked in his late teens while the woman appeared much older. She had long jet-black hair swept to one side, with the other side buzzed. She had piercings throughout her face and a tattoo running alongside her ear to her shoulders. Another tattoo, in a stylized word ‘Vyxora’ on her cheek, pulsed visibly akin to a heartbeat.
“Val, someone’s coming up,” the young man said. “Hey, isn’t that an Aegis?”
“That’s Yuna. Reina already notified me. Calm down,” Val said.
“Yuna? The Yuna? I should greet her, right?” He stepped forward. “Lady—!” In a swift movement, Val had clasped her hand over his mouth.
“Whoa there, dumbass newbie. First, if you ever see Yuna hunched over like that, stay the fuck away if you don’t want to get killed. Second, you watch too many dramas, kid. Don’t call her ‘Lady’ of all things. Again, if you don’t want to get killed.”
“Kirrrphd.”
“Understood?” Val released her hand as he nodded, and Yuna passed by.
“Killed?” He rubbed his jaw. “Seriously?”
“Well, I exaggerated a bit. She rarely goes that far. But, if she’s in a bad mood like that, maiming’s pretty much a guarantee.” Val flashed a scar on her forearm.
Even as Yuna entered an elevator quite some distance away, across a courtyard, the man stepped back. “Uh, thanks.” Val nodded with a chuckle.
The elevator brought Yuna to the topmost floor of the highrise. She exited directly into a home entrance, with shoes and coats tucked away neatly around her. A mechanical cat similar to the sparrow she cradled stood a short distance away, looking up at her. The home lacked any noticeable extravagance and permeated a cozy atmosphere.
“I’ve already been discussing with Mama and Papa,” Reina said, her voice emanating from the cat. “Don’t have to see your face to know you’re in a foul mood, but—”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve calmed down, kinda. Mostly. Dunno how much I like you being able to put me on ice, but it worked. Hm, that smell?”
“Oh, right, we didn’t finish calibration. Mama made your favorite. And—”
Yuna took a step forward when a gentle woman’s voice called. “Yuna, hun, don’t drip on my floor.”
“Yeah, that. Also…I’m really sorry.” Reina’s tone quieted. “I realized I was so harsh to you earlier. I know how you are. How frustrated you must be right now…for several reasons. And I—,”
“C’mon, we both know you should be harsher on me. Plus, I kinda like it.”
“Don’t make it weird.”
The next night, Yuna, clad in the Aegis suit, ascended the stairs into the highrise amidst a steady rain. Slung over her right shoulder lay a limp body with their head covered in a soaked hood. They wore a drenched duster coat. She paused at the entrance, re-gripping them and giving Val, who leaned against a nearby wall, a nonchalant wave. She then descended stairs at the corner of the courtyard. The young man exited a nearby room, approaching Val.
“Uh, Val? Was that Yuna carrying a body?” He asked.
“Oh, you think so too? I didn’t get a good look,” Val said.
“Do we, er, do something?”
“Eh. They looked alive. Don’t see a blood trail. Guess you could let Reina know if you want, though.”
Yuna descended a long staircase underground into a dimly lit concrete corridor. She navigated through several twists and turns until reaching a door. It stood out in stark contrast to the concrete surroundings, a sleek metallic with nothing jutting out. She stood on a mat in front, then lifted her head toward a camera. The door retracted into the wall. A bright light enveloped her as the hum of fans and servers drifted into the hallway. In front of her lay a wall plastered with over a dozen monitors above a desk. A chair swiveled to face Yuna. There sat the mechanical cat.
“What’re you carrying? Is that a person? What’ve you done?” Reina chastised.
“My shoulders getting sore; rain made this guy’s clothes heavy.” Yuna strode into a nearby room. A sizable medical operating chair stood at the center, flanked by various screens and equipment. Reina followed as Yuna laid the man into the chair before reeling back to stretch out her shoulder.
“Who—?”
“I told you so.”
“What? Told me what?”
“They returned to the scene of the crime.” Yuna pointed at the man, whose body shivered.
“You’re saying you captured them at the arena?”
“Yeah. I didn’t see anyone else.”
“And how exactly does that prove anything?”
“They were, like, looking at the bloodstain and stuff.”
“That proves nothing! I knew I should’ve gone with you. They could be a council intelligence agent, a Shinobi, for all we know.” Reina grumbled.
“He did put up a bit of a fight, but his movements slowed too fast and he doesn’t have their lame cosplay.”
“Most of them don’t wear such things. They’re usually disguised, darnit, Yuna.”
“Whatever. Interrogation time. But! He defended for a solid thirty seconds. So, he has to be, uhm, something.” Yuna leaned in and pulled off the hood, revealing a disheveled man with a shaggy beard and long, unkempt hair past his shoulders. His eyes were open.
“Honestly, that surprised me.” The man spoke, startling Yuna. “Guess my weak ass still remembers all that training. Kinda.”
“What the? You’re awake?” Yuna cocked her arm.
“Whoa, now. No need for that.” He pleaded with both hands.
“How long you been conscious?”
“Uh. Probably since the rain?”
“Why didn’t you struggle?”
“Didn’t want to get punched again. Not a fan.” He rubbed the side of his face.
“Who are you?”
“Well…”
Reina sighed, then leapt to the armrest. “I don’t have time for this. Let’s just get an IRIS scan.” She shot Yuna a glance. “Eye.”
“Huh? A cat? That’s the other voi—?” He asked. In an instant, Yuna had pressed him into the chair while stretching his left eye wide open. He offered no resistance as the cat’s eyes cast a faint light onto his eye. “Ow, ow, ow.” His eye teared up.
“Got it,” Reina said. “Now the key.” Yuna withdrew while still pressing him into the chair. She then retrieved a wire from Reina-cat’s neck and plugged it into the back of the man’s neck. A few seconds passed. “Okay.” Yuna returned the wire.
“Okay, sorry for hesitating. Damn. You could’ve just asked. Guessing you want my name and stuff? Name’s Dante. Dante Aurelius,” Dante said.
“Aurelius? Why’s that sound familiar?” Yuna asked. “Reina?”
“Decrypting still. But that’s the family name of the Praetor,” Reina said. “Are you?”
“Unfortunately,” Dante said.
Yuna grabbed him by the throat. “Is that a threat?” She positioned a transarm dagger a mere inch from Dante’s eye.
“Wha?” Dante coughed as he struggled to breathe. “N-no.” He tapped on Yuna’s grasped hand.
“Calm down. Release him,” Reina said. Yuna exchanged a glance with her. “It’s fine.” Yuna relinquished her grip but kept the dagger pointed.
Dante coughed as he regained his breath while distancing from the dagger as much as he could. “Ahem. No need for violence, seriously.” Dante’s face had become flushed, and eyes teary. “I’m an open book. Ask whatever you want.”
“Why’d you say ‘unfortunately’?” Reina asked.
“A failed attempt at levity, clearly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, you know, sucks to be me, being part of that family.”
“I don’t understand?”
“Well. Long story short, they suck.”
“Are you really one of them? Hard to believe. They’re all so stuck up?” Yuna asked.
“Like I said, they suck.”
“His ID’s decrypted. It’s true,” Reina said. “Dante Aurelius. Younger brother of the Praetor. Older brother to the triplets. I know of them. How haven’t I heard of you? I’m already doing a search, and there’s…”
“You won’t find much. I keep a low profile in the physical world,” Dante said. “Plus, I’m not into surface-level net crap.”
Reina sighed. “What a mess. You must already know who we are, then? ‘Physical world’?”
“No idea who you are. And yeah. I’m an ALTR devout.”
“The fuck’s that mean?” Yuna inched the blade closer.
“To which?”
“Both!”
Suddenly, a call popped up within a HUD for Reina-cat. She gestured a paw in the air.
“Val?” Reina asked. Dante and Yuna looked at her. “Rare for you to contact this way, is—.”
“Some serious shit is going down, Reina!” Val shouted. “I’m on my way to confirm. Scouts spotted Legionnaires marching to us. A lot. Like, a fucking absurd amount. I’m sure Yuna’s with you, have her open the door!”
Does that cat have an IRIS? Dante thought. Well, its a talking mechanical cat so not sure why I’m surprised. Now that I think of it, what’s IRIS stand for, again? Shit, that’s gonna bug me.
Dante remained motionless in thought while Reina told Yuna to open the door for Val. Val soon rushed inside, out of breath. Reina-cat had returned to the monitors.
“You really should train with me.” Yuna patted Val on the back. Val gave her a dismissive hand wave, then approached Reina-cat. Yuna followed.
Interactive reality immersion system, Dante thought. Wew, like an itch on the brain, gone. He looked across the room. Oh.
“Checking,” Reina said. The screens flashed through camera feeds until multiple angles displayed several dozen Legionnaires marching through the streets.
“Shit, it’s even worst than reported,” Val said.
“Protocol Echo!”
“Understood, already got my guys on standby. Keep me in the loop.” Val dashed away. “I’ll notify Celeste right now!”
“The hell’re those cosplaying morons doing?” Yuna stood behind Reina-cat.
“That looks like Nero,” Dante said as he approached. He had shed his coat, revealing a slim yet clearly out-of-shape physique. Reina and Yuna looked at him.
“Who the fuck’s Nero, and I told you not to move.” Yuna brandished the dagger at Dante’s throat.
“Dumb as a rock, younger brother.” Dante offered his hands up in a submissive pose. “He sure brought a lot of them.”
“Good thing we have a hostage.”
“Could they know you’re here? Are they coming for you?” Reina asked. Dante gave a hearty laugh, causing Reina and Yuna to exchange confused glances.
“Ah, sorry,” Dante said. “Don’t need to see your faces to know there’s a dumbfounded look. Hate to break it to you, but I’m a pretty useless hostage. And there’s legit zero chance they know I’m here.”