On a chilled spring morning, half a dozen children stood on a plateau outside a complex built into a mountain. They paired off across one another in two perpendicular rows before moving into combat stances, each brandishing transarm knives. They all had white hair and purple eyes. Scars in various stages of healing glimmered in the morning sunlight, littering their small bodies. Several adults with the same hair and eyes stood some distance away, conversing. A boy and girl pair farthest from the adults gestured to one another. The boy mouthed ‘please’ with a pleading expression. The girl exhaled and closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them, glanced at the adults, then gestured to her forearm and mouthed ‘cut’. The boy nodded.
“Begin!” a man shouted.
The children crossed blades as they fought one another. After a brief time passed, the boy slashed the girl’s arm where she had indicated prior.
“You motherfucker!” the girl screamed. Over the course of the next few seconds, the boy blocked only a few lethal strikes until the girl’s blade pierced his chest. He spit up blood onto her shoulder.
“Tha…nks… y zero,” the boy whispered as the life faded from his eyes. The girl pulled out the knife as she shoved him away.
“God damnit, Y074, again?” a man shouted as he rushed over. The girl stood with a resolute expression as she wiped the blade on her shirt.
Nah, he doesn’t need to know that crap, Yuna thought.
“Hello? Yuna?” Dante asked. Yuna’s mind returned to her current self in ALTR. She opened her eyes.
“Hold on, thinking of where to start. Was just remembering something I hadn’t thought of in a while. You gonna complain if I stick to broad strokes?”
“Uh, I guess not?”
“Good. So, the Hrewim were a bunch of fuckin’ dipshits. They were a minuscule ethnic group that had a unique reaction to the Aegis virus. Hence the hair and eye color.”
“No kidding? Funny how much people used to care about color. Though they just found other things to be tribal about.”
“People will always suck, but don’t interrupt me, ass, I’ll lose my train of thought. The important part is that most of them proved immune or whatever to the changes. I don’t even know how it all started and couldn’t care less, but the pack of morons convinced themselves they were special. Some kids, like me, did however get the fancy bulletproof, etcetera skin. I really only know this junk after the fact, obviously. I never met any parents and my earliest memories are training in a secret mountain base. Yes, really, and no, I’m not going into detail. I assume the leader was pretty charismatic because the instructors would harp on about stupid chosen one shit even while they abused us. Religious tones, I guess? They were definitely cult-y. I’ve seen enough dramas to recognize that by now. Couldn’t tell you specifics even if I wanted to. If I ever knew, I’ve forgotten and have no interest in remembering. Blah, blah, blah; they were training us to be assassins for the cult.”
“Whoa, damn, really? That sounds similar to one of my favorite shows, The Shadowed Chronicles.”
“Probably’s loosely based on it. I’ve avoided such media, but someone churned out a bunch of crap about the Hrewim. Reina told me they were the perfect bad guys for a while. Racial supremacists, a cult, terrorists, whatever else.”
“Damn, sorry. I never realized.”
“I really can not emphasize more how much I don’t care. Val became really fucking annoying for a while after I told her this stuff. You better not do the same.” Yuna pointed at Dante.
“Okay, okay, I got it.” Dante made a submissive gesture with his hands.
“Wait, that shadow whatever shit’s a favorite show? How didn’t you realize, then?”
“Huh? Oh. Uhh. I’m kinda always moving on from world to world. I rarely look into behind the scenes and whatnot. I’d forgotten about the show until just now, honestly, even though it was one of my favorites.”
“Hmph.”
“So, a child assassin, huh? Crazy. Is that how you got all those scars?”
“Some, yeah, you’ve gotta cut pretty deep. They tested on us. Or punishment.”
“Goddamn. Makes me feel like a real asshat thinking my childhood sucked.” Dante shook his head.
“Last warning to avoid pitying me.”
“Right, right. I was kinda afraid to ask, but I’ve been wondering about something since I saw them. How come you haven’t just got them removed? At least, I think it’s kinda painless these days?”
“I promised Reina I would, but only after she gets a new, or repaired, body. I’m not wasting money on superficial nonsense until then.”
“Wow.” Dante shook his head.
“What is it now?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just I legit can’t fathom being so close with one of my siblings. And, you’re not even blood-related, turns out.”
“I don’t get what blood has to do with it, but I wouldn’t even be here without her.”
“Nevermind. I’m real curious now though how you ended up with the Vyx. Were you, like, sent out to assassinate Leon and failed, but he thwarted the attempt and then took you under his wing?”
“Why would you say that?” Yuna had a surprised expression.
“It’s a trope I’ve encountered a few times in stories. Always thought it was kind of unrealistic, though.”
“Well, it’s not too far off. But. We’re stopping.”
“Huh? No way, why?”
“You only said ‘more’. So, if you want even more, you’ll duel me again.”
“I mean…” Dante recalled his offer. “Technically, that’s true, but come on. Thought you said you weren’t a sore loser?”
“Not my fault you weren’t careful with your words. I’ll gift you another tidbit, I don’t give up. It took me hundreds of tries to get the drop on Pops, but I did.”
“Let me guess, countless of those morning sparring sessions, too?”
“Yup.” Yuna jumped to her feet and stretched.
“Fuck. This is what you meant by ‘regret’, isn’t it?”
“Yuuup.”
“It’s gonna end just as quickly. Do we really have to? And, you know stretching isn’t doing anything, right? Even if you can feel it.” Dante stood.
“Yes. And I’m not that dumb, ass. It’s a concentration thing.”
“Damnit, fine, let’s get this over with.” They moved to their positions while Dante instructed Allie again. “Hey, will you at least turn off the bone breaking and turn down the pain? Otherwise, I’m going to feel like a sadist.”
“Such a lil’ bitch. Fine.” Yuna brought up the settings and made some gestures.
Their duel soon began again, playing out almost the same. Yuna defended a bit, absorbing a kick from Dante with her arm. It fell limp, clearly broken, after. Then, a split-second before he dealt a final blow, she landed a kick to his side that went unnoticed.
“Victory!” announced a voice.
“Huh?” Dante glanced at his HUD. He noticed a chunk missing from his health bar. What the? She seriously landed a hit? He glanced at Yuna, who sat upright a short distance away. Was it just a fluke? Surely her sync rate couldn’t have improved so much? It already seemed abnormally high. She gestured again for him to sit. He meandered over.
“It’s a shame you don’t have that body in the real world. We could have some real fun,” Yuna said. Dante sat.
“Hard pass.”
“Figured. Anyway, where were we?”
“How you met Leon, I assume. Wait, uh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. Did you, you know, assassinate anyone?”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Alright. I didn’t, technically. Around the time they were going to send me out, I was the only one left at the facility. Turned out, the pack of morons pushed their luck way too far. I only learned this later that they killed some corpo’s kid in a bombing. So the gov and corps created that coalition your maid mentioned. Don’t much care to know all the details myself, but the merc groups wiped out most of the Hrewim real quick. Some retreated to my facility and were in a constant panic. None of it really registered to me at the time. It wouldn’t have been the first of their attacks at this point. And, before they even knew what hit them, boom! Mercs raided the place and did me a real favor. Head asshat instructor ordered me to protect him, can’t even remember his name, or face anymore. Saw my chance. Slit the fucker’s throat and escaped as the rest of the dumbasses were gunned down. The end.”
“Damn, that’s crazy. Can’t even imagine. Wait a minute, ‘the end’? What about Leon? Didn’t he show up?”
“He was probably there, never have actually asked. It’s time for round three, if you want to know more.”
“Oh, come on. That wasn’t even that much! You barely talked for a few minutes.”
“Never claimed I was a good storyteller.” Yuna shrugged with a smirk as she stood.
“Sonuva bitch. Well, you sure leave out a lot, but you’re good at cliffhangers, jeez. So does that mean Leon was part of the merc groups, then?”
“Yeah. He was the leader of one. Wasn’t that mentioned to you already? Whatever. Forget their name. Pretty legendary group, though, supposedly.”
“How don’t you know?” Dante stood and moved to his spot again.
“I do, or did. I forgot. Plus, Pops isn’t much of a talker if you hadn’t noticed.” Yuna moved to her spot and into a stance, gesturing to begin. “And I’ve always sensed the past should stay where it is from him.”
“True. Uh-uh. Don’t think I didn’t notice last match. I don’t care if you’re a masochist. I’m not okay with dealing out that pain. Allie! Admin override. Set user ‘Yuna’ to profile D.”
“Oh, come on, you bitch. It heals up right after. What’s the big deal? It’s a great teacher.”
“I left it at fifty percent, alright? This is way too one-sided to continue like that.”
“What’re you at?”
“Five.”
“What a wuss.” Yuna turned away and opened the settings.
“Don’t bother, they’re locked. Let’s get this over with.”
Yuna initiated the duel this time, sprinting toward Dante. However, he met her with a lightning-quick strike. A short time passed as a similar fight to the previous played out. She sat waiting nearby, having been knocked away again. He walked over.
Two hits and almost a third, Dante thought. How’s she improving like this? Is she speeding up her sync rate through sheer will? Is that even possible? He shook his head as he sat again.
“They taught some basic skills for the outside world, for blending in and whatever, you know?” Yuna said. Dante appeared startled for a moment at her beginning without prompt. “So I wasn’t a complete numbskull, but it was still pretty rough entering a city for the first time. Didn’t take long to realize I had to cover up my looks, took a few rocks to the dome. Got reported to police a bunch. And so on. Did some dumpster diving, wasn’t a fan. Then I realized I could get some credits with threats, or at least something to pawn. Setup shop in an abandoned warehouse. I think I’d gotten pretty cocky at that point with my methods. Still pretty dumb though, since it should’ve been obvious that hitting the same area over and over would get me found. That’s when Pops came a knockin’. They’d tasked him with cleaning up remnants, and I wasn’t careful enough about hiding my appearance from my victims. He raided my base with one other, but I had the foresight of a warning system, at least. Caught the other guy off-guard with a sneak attack. It was my first real duel.” Yuna explained the fight in excited detail. She then mimicked movements until Dante interrupted.
“I get it!” Dante said. “I didn’t need a play-by-play. That’s what you choose to be detailed about? Seriously?”
“What can I say? You always remember your first.”
“That’s not how that saying is used.”
Yuna shrugged. “Fine. Anyway. I won just as Pops showed up. My memories are hazy though, so it’s mostly Pops telling me what happened. I ran at him like a wounded, feral animal, I guess? Slashed at his face, then I got knocked out cold.”
“You’re the source of Leon’s scar?”
“Yep. I eventually worked up the courage to apologize for it and he laughed me off. Said he was glad for his deep-set eyes and he was keeping it as a ‘memento’.”
“Wow. Yeah, didn’t even occur to me how his eyes themselves look fine in comparison. Can’t say I get ‘memento’ though?”
“Me either. Alright, time for round four.”
“I’m… not gonna bother complaining this time.” Dante sighed as he stood.
“Good. I’m getting the hang of this.”
The pair repeated another duel. Yuna’s movements appeared less sluggish than prior. They returned to their seats.
“Slipped my mind, but I could get us some more comfortable seating, you know. Pretty simple,” Dante said.
“Nah, this’ fine. Kinda great, actually. Think I’d forgotten how nice grass and dirt feel. Even the smell’s wonderful. Don’t want to think about how. That’ll make my head hurt.”
“Careful, might become an ALTR convert.”
“I’ll admit there’s some value here, but not happening.”
“We’ll see.”
“So, what I do remember is waking up tied to a chair. Of course, didn’t know at the time, but it was a basement room of what became Vyxora. Then I met Mom.”
A young, bloodied, and tattered Yuna sat tied to a chair in the middle of a small, almost empty room. Some general storage lay against the walls. A solitary light hung overhead. She awoke in a daze, looking around. After realizing she’d been tied up, she struggled in vain until falling over. As the chair scraped further against the floor, the door opened. She thrashed even harder at the sight of someone’s feet.
“Settle down, hun,” Celeste said. “Yer gonna hurt yourself even more. You’re already banged up enough.”
Celeste set some things on a nearby table and rushed over. Yuna thrashed more. Celeste grabbed Yuna’s outer shoulder and reached across for her other. Yuna opened her mouth wide and chomped hard into Celeste’s forearm. Yuna blacked out.
Yuna awoke after some time passed. A mechanical sparrow fluttered around her. Its movement intensified her stupor.
“Oh! You’re awake.” a young girl’s soft voice emanated from the sparrow. Yuna looked around in confusion until turning back to the now hovering bird. “My name’s Reina. What’s yours?”
“Am I dreaming?” Yuna asked. “A talking metal bird? The fuck?”
“Ah! Sorry! You’re not dreaming, I swear! I can’t come to you physically, so I’m remotely controlling this little guy.”
The sparrow swooped and fluttered about for a few moments. Yuna shook her head, then glanced around as her eyes focused. She realized she sat upright again, still tied to a chair, but the woman had dressed all of her injuries. Her eyes widened in surprise at the bandages.
“Mama patched you all up. You sure have a lot of wounds. I’ve never seen so many. What’s your name?”
“What? ‘Mama’? Why am I even still alive? The fuck’s going on?”
“Shhh. Don’t yell, I’m supposed to be asleep,” Reina said. Yuna had a dumbfounded expression. “What’s your name?”
“I don’t have a name.” As Yuna fought against her restraints, she realized that more had been added.
“Please don’t move too much.” Reina drew closer as Yuna moved further. The chair rocked. The sparrow pecked Yuna’s forehead, and she stopped. “Quit it. You’ll ruin Mama’s hard work.”
“You lil’ cunt, that fuckin’ hurt.” Yuna tried to bite the bird out of the air. She missed.
Reina giggled. “That’d hurt you way more than me, dummy.” She slipped into a laughing fit until the sound cut out. Yuna had a bewildered expression.
“The hell’s with you? What’s so funny?”
“Sorry.” Reina coughed. “I’ve never been called such a naughty word before. It made me laugh for some reason. And! You’re like some kinda wild animal. Can’t believe you tried to bite me out of the air. I’m metal, you know? That’d really hurt! Maybe Mama shoulda muzzled you?” She giggled.
“Enjoying my suffering, you bitch? I’ll make you regret this.” Yuna spit at the sparrow, almost hitting it.
“What? No, no, no,” Reina pleaded, fluttering about. “I’m so so so sorry! I planned this out in my head, but you wouldn’t tell me your name! And, and, I’m not good with new people. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to tease you. Please forgive me.” Yuna blinked, appearing awestruck. “You’re just so pretty and interesting. I didn’t mean to offend. I’m nervous. Please don’t be mad. Please?”
“Settle the fuck down. I can’t keep up with you. You’re making my head hurt.”
Audible cries emanated from the sparrow. “You hate me now, don’t you?”
“Now you’re even crying? Am I really not dreaming?”
“S-sorry.” Reina sniffled. “Do you hate me?”
“I—. No?”
“Can we start over, please?” Reina asked in a tender voice.
“I…” Yuna’s stomach growled.
“Oh! I heard that. I’ll be right back!” Reina disappeared into a vent.
Back in ALTR, Yuna leaned back onto her hands with an exhaling breath as she looked into the sky.
“Even now, I still remember that jarring feeling,” Yuna said. “I’d never had a single soul think about me before that. She was such a little whirlwind in that moment. Still is strange to think about, I consoled her? Anyway. You know the drill.” She jumped to her feet effortlessly.
Dante grumbled with a sigh. They dueled again. A short time later, they returned to the spots and Yuna continued.
“The goofball returned with some kinda bar, I don’t remember,” Yuna said. “But it was so heavy, I could hear her banging into the vent walls on the way. Then, get this, she’d forgotten I was tied up, so she had to peck off the wrapper and feed it to me, after she made me promise not to bite her.” Yuna gave a hearty laugh. “Much, much later on, turned out Mom and Pops were recording. They’ve teased us with it to an annoying ass level. Reina gets embarrassed at her clumsiness, and I cringe at myself, but I love it.”
Reina hovered in front of the young Yuna as she swallowed the last bite.
“I can get more, if you want?” Reina asked.
“I’m okay,” Yuna said.
“What’s your name? Please?”
Yuna sighed. “I don’t have one. I didn’t lie. I only have an ID.”
“Is that what you were called by, then?”
“Yeah. Y074.”
“That’s a mouthful.” Reina landed on the table and started mumbling. “Y074… y074…”
“The hell’re you doin’?”
“Yuna!”
Back in ALTR, Dante leaned in.
“Whoa, you’re telling me Reina literally named you?” Dante asked.
“Yep,” Yuna said. “It was already the longest conversation I’d ever had. I answered her questions without hesitation, couldn’t really tell you why, and even started asking back. You mostly know the content of both. Back and forth we went for hours and hours. It only truly dawned on me much later, but she accepted all of me. I definitely didn’t understand that back then because I told her everything. And I mean everything. Even how I’d killed all the other kids at their own requests. Reina still accepted me.”
“Uh, you did what now? Did I mishear?”
“Huh? Oops, forgot I meant to leave that part out. Ehh, story for another time. You get the gist, right? I don’t like talking this much. At least about this kinda crap, anyway. Long story short, Reina saved me. I def woulda made Pops kill me otherwise.”
“Well, I’ll concede it surpassed any expectations I had, though still have a lot of questions.”
“If you wanna keep going, one fight per question.”
“Your serious?”
“Yep.”
“Extortion.”
“Boo-hoo,” Yuna mocked. “That’s what you get for wanting to know more about me.”
“Weird taunt.” Dante shook his head.
Many duels later, Yuna had around ten percent health remaining, while Dante had a quarter.
“Yuna!” Reina called.
Dante turned to the source of the voice. Yuna pounced, delivering a series of blows and sending him flying. He sat up, seeing a petite girl draped over Yuna.
Really was Reina, Dante thought. We must’ve been in here a long while. Good timing to fake a fall. I can not let that psycho Yuna know I’ve been holding back all this time. Time? Oh shit! My guilds gonna be pissed.