When their ship arrived at a local spaceport in Adryn-VI, Nya, Merlin, Kiva and Amara disembarked.
"Keep out of trouble and be ready for immediate pickup." Amara instructed her lieutenants via comm.
As not to attract attention, they were traveling incognito. One of the benefits of the biotic suits was that they were fitted and inconspicuous, allowing their wearer to blend in. Since their discovery, it had been the staple uniform for Nya and her Jaegers.
"Okay, where too?" Kiva asked
"First, we gather information," Nya ordered, "find out if anything out of the ordinary has taken place recently."
[Obvious suspects would be adepts,] Merlin said, her projector reformed disguised to appear as a simple drone, [so, should we check the adept towers?]
"They don't have a local adept temple," Nya said, "High-class adepts are sent off-world for formal training elsewhere… at least that how I remember it."
"What about the other adepts who can't be sent off-world?" Amara asked
"They were left to fend for themselves," Nya said, "I once heard rumors that some formed their own temple."
"Self-taught adepts, that's a very dangerous thing." Kiva gulped, "They could blow themselves up, or worse,"
[I believe we should meet with the local governor first,] Merlin suggested. [surely they'd have some way of monitoring and regulating this sort of thing?]
"Alright," Nya said, as she leads her group from the space port.
* * *
The planet of Adryn-VI consisted of a singular massive continent, divided into half a dozen regions, each region was under the control of a governor. Adryn-VI was too far from the center of the galactic cluster to be directly affected by the squabbles of the nobility, so it enjoyed moderate autonomy and could continue its work in peace. Adryn-VI was famous across Hyperion for its revolutionary genetic labs, with the very rich from across Hyperion visited for everything from gene-mod plastic surgery, to life-extending rejuv treatments, and even designer baby fertility clinics.
Because of its economic success, there was a great chasm between classes; the elite 1% were shareholders in the different gene clinics, and bio-tech firms that the planet was famous for and lived in lavish upper-cities, floating metropolises that stood above the clouds, bound to the planet by large anchors, and the commoners were the majority of the population, everyday citizenry who lived in the lower-cities around the anchors of the upper-cities and fulfilled the menial jobs that kept the planet functioning, with only a privileged few could work in as nurses, assistants, security or other such roles for the elites.
The governor estates were the most grandiose location in the upper-cities, and were garrisoned by full complements of constables. To even be allowed beyond the gilded gates required one to possess extravagant wealth and influence, or have an official invitation.
Right now, the guards of one such estate were skeptical when four strange women approached, asking for an audience with the governor.
"You want a meeting with the governor?" the guard captain asked, "sure, and I want to fuck a noble, two things that ain't happening."
"We're being serious," Kiva said,
"Then you must be crazy." The captain said, "why would the governor give two shits about a couple of random strangers that just show up at his gate?"
[Because we have urgent business that we must speak with him about.] Merlin said approaching the gate, [if he could just hear us out,]
"Step back." The captain ordered, leveling their weapons at the small group
For the majority of the conversation, Nya had remained silent, not wanting to attract attention to herself, but the situation was deteriorating fast. She pulled down her hood and stepped forwards.
"I said step the fuck back!" the captain yelled
"My name is Nya Crimson," she started, "I have a matter of vital importance to discuss with the governor. If you continue to ignore me, I will let myself in, forcefully."
"Looks like we got ourselves a big shot here?" the guard captain said mockingly, some of the other guards chuckled dryly, but most couldn't shake the ominous feeling of having heard that name before.
Then, the guard captain received a call, answering it made him turn pale as he looked at Nya with fear and dread.
"Y-you heard the lady. Open the gates, let 'em in."
The garrison, confused by the sudden attitude change complied, standing down and letting them through.
"T-the governor is e-expecting you, Grand Marshal." The guard captain stammered, bowing his head.
Inside, they were taken to a lavish waiting room, and served refreshments by nervous servants. Their augmented hearing made them aware of the fact that the servants were talking about the brutal Grand Marshal from some far off world who fought off a Baron's forces was now in their presence. Nya chuckled at the rumors they were spouting; like how she bathes in the blood of her enemies, or how she rules her planet with an iron fist, and the most hilarious being how she was just the puppet of a strong noble working behind the scene.
Finally, the governor was announced and entered the meeting room, a short portly man, with a jolly face fancy mustache and receding hairline,
"Grand Marshal Mia Crimson, it is such an honor to meet you!" he bellowed
"Uh, it's Nya," Kiva corrected him, "Nya Crimson,"
"Right, sorry." The governor said nervously, "May I introduce my lovely wife, Stella."
He gestured behind him, to a woman who was no doubt a patron of the gen-mod surgeries, and had become a walking Barbie doll with smooth fair complexion with shiny golden blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She had a round face with bee-stung lips and a beauty mark under her right eye. Her body was equally well-sculpted, with breasts as large as basketballs, an impossibly narrow waist and wide hips giving her a perfect hourglass figure. She was dressed in an elegant yet revealing evening gown that left little to the imagination.
When the woman locked eyes with Nya, she halted her advance, looking at her as if she were a ghost, "I-Ilya?" her voice wavered
Nya raised an eyebrow, the name didn't sound familiar and she was sure she had never met the woman before, but there was a nagging at the back of her mind.
"Ilya, is that you?" the woman said
"No honey," the governor said, guiding his wife to her seat, "This is that Grand Marshal woman we heard about on the galactic news, the one who fought off the Baron's invasion, Nya Crimson."
"No!" Stella snapped, "That girl right there is my daughter, Ilya, I know it is!"
Everyone turned to Nya, whose face was unreadable as she took a quiet sip of her tea.
"I'm sorry ma'am, I think you have me mistaken with someone else," Nya said with a very measured voice.
"I'd recognize my own daughter, no matter how much she's changed." Stella said defiantly,
[The Grand Marshal is a vampire,] Merlin lied, [from the world of Avalon. She's never even been here before.]
"I don't know about all that, but I recognize those freckles on her nose and that birthmark by her left eye." Stella said,
"If I were your daughter," Nya started, "and that is a very big 'IF', shouldn't you know where I am, as my mother?"
Stella lowered her head, ashamed, "We… I wasn't good to you when you were younger. I knew what your father was doing to you and didn't do anything to stop it, I even blamed you for it. Is it any wonder you ran away?"
"Yes, is it?" Nya said coldly, looking her right in the eyes, "I am sorry for your loss ma'am, but your daughter is most likely dead or working in a brothel somewhere in the lower-cities. I am not her, and I will never be her, no matter how much you may want me to be."
"No, y-you have to be her," Stella sobbed as her husband tried to comfort her, "You have to be, or else this pain won't ever leave me."
"Good," Nya said, "It sounds like you abandoned your child, I have a similar experience, and I know that if she were here right now, she would despise you."
The woman broke out into a full crying fit, so terrible that they had to leave the maids to console her while they proceeded to another room to converse.
"Apologies, Grand Marshal," the governor said, "My wife is a bit of a handful sometimes; always looking for her lost daughter."
"I would assume you're the father?" Nya asked
"Oh heavens no. I do not have children, and I would certainly never treat them like that." The governor rebuked, "it was her ex-husband. He was a dreadful man who died years ago. Stella and I met after she started working as my assistant and we've been together ever since."
"Quite the tale," Amara said, speaking for the first time, glaring at Kiva, "very romantic."
Kiva averted her eyes and tried to put Merlin between herself and Amara's gaze.
"Anyway, what can I do for you today?" he asked, finally getting to the point.
"We wanted to know if there have been any powerful adepts in your state recently," Kiva asked, "We picked up a powerful psionic energy surge and traced it here, and the Grand Marshal would very much like to identify its source."
Nya could see it in his eyes, he was measuring whether he could use this to exploit her, "Sorry, I'm not sure who it was." The governor said, "We don't know of anything like that here in the upper-city, but I've been getting reports of blackouts along the lower-cities across the state, probably some self-taught adept trying to syphon power from a major junction box."
"Yes… probably." Nya said, reaching into the Crimson Void, she pulls out a purse and places it on the table before the governor, "a gesture of thanks for being such an entertaining host."
Inside the purse were gold bars, while the Hyperion Credit was the sole recognized currency accepted across all galaxies in Hyperion space, gold and other precious minerals were always a close second.
"You honor me with such gifts," he said thanking her fervently
[I suppose we should be on our way,] Merlin said as they all got up, [Thank you again, governor for your hospitality.]
"It was my pleasure,"
"And governor?" Nya said turning back to face him, "Please give your wife my regards. Tell her I hope she never gives up on looking for her child."
"I will give her your kind words, Grand Marshal," the governor assures as they leave the room.
"I hope you do," Nya says with a wicked smile on her face.
Once they leave the estate, the walked the streets of the city, it seemed like a mix of futuristic technology and Victorian era English aesthetics, with people dressed in fancy suits and dresses, riding around in automated carriages with servants. Nya and her entourage looked out of place compared to the rest. "How come you didn't tell us your mother was the governor's wife?" Kiva demanded, "that would've been useful information before we got there."
"I had no idea Stella was married to the governor." Nya said, "she was irrelevant to my agenda, so I didn't give her any thoughts after leaving this planet."
[It is a pity your father is already dead,] Merlin said, with anger in her voice, [I would've loved to meet him.]
"It's a non-factor now," Nya said, "We need to check among the local authorities of the lower-cities."
As the rich and famous flocked to Adryn-VI for its genetic treatments, they brought with them their desires and perversions. While the governors focused on the upper-cities, they had representatives who managed the lower-cities, these representatives were more often than not corrupt and, seeing the opportunities to profit off the elites even more, ran underground services that catered to the vices of the wealthy; gambling, prostitution, drugs and the likes were all operated within the lower-cities, under the authority of the representatives of the lower-cities who were known as 'bosses'.
Passage from the upper-cities to the lower-cities were possible through high-speed trams. Exiting the tram station, Nya and her group were greeted by a government official, one of the lackeys working for the bosses.
"Welcome, Grand Marshal Crimson and company," the woman greeted offering a professional smile, "My name is Malia, and I will be your escort in the lower-cities."
She then handed them each a pamphlet, each one showing a list of activities offered that night,
"Grand Marshal, if you feel your thirst rising, we have a selection of blood banks with fresh deposits, or if you prefer the hunt… we do have a number of approved slums for you to visit."
Nya felt her blood boil, literally, her blood aura was visible though her veins. Had those vampires who raped and turned her also gotten this same kind of service?
[No,] Merlin said, [the Grand Marshal prefers a synthetic blend. What we could like is a tour of the lower-city.]
The escort didn't bat an eye at the request, "Ah, a lot of our clientele like to roam as well. You want the full lower-citizen experience?"
"Yes." Nya answered
"Follow me, please." The escort said,
"Where is the city representative's office?" Amara asked
"That is in the town hall," Malia replied, "unfortunately, the representative is unavailable after-hours."
Nya grabbed Malia by the shoulder, and whispered something into her ear, the escort blushed, then as the whispering continued, the color drained from her face.
"Uh… n-no, I don't think so." She said nervously, "But I-I can check with the office if you'd like."
"Yes, please," Nya said, and the escort ran off to make a call
"What did you ask her?" Kiva asked
"Nothing much," Nya shrugged, "The important thing is that I bugged her. She now has a tracking device on her so I can see where she's going when she's done with us."
Before more could be said, Nya grunted in discomfort as she held out her arm. Her skin was clammy and blotches marred her porcelain skin. As she flexed a muscle, the skin tore and a burst of blood aura spewed from the breach.
"Nya, what's wrong?" Kiva asked horrified
Nya strained, as her skin threatened to shred under the immense power that was pulsating through her. Merlin appeared beside her, pulling something from Nya's belt and jabbing it into her neck. After a few moments, the energy buildup subsided and as she exhaled, her skin took on a greyish hue as she seemingly repaired herself, less than thirty seconds after the incident began, she looked back to normal.
"Bytes, such ingenious little things." Nya sighed with relief, "thanks for that, Merlin,"
"You have bytes inside you?" Kiva asked feeling her skin crawl at the very idea.
"As you know I've been studying the Praxians, I've learned a lot about them and their technology, like how the Praxian were techno-organic in nature, the bytes are actually encoded with Praxian DNA so…"
"So you absorbed it?" Amara said, "But what does that have to do with what we just saw?"
[Her physiology is constantly shifting and adapting itself. When a radically different genetic sequence is introduced, like Praxian DNA, her biology reacts violently as it tries to acclimate to the new sequence.] Merlin explained, [I've dubbed this condition Mutagenic Adaptiod Rampancy Syndrome, or MARS.]
"Is-is she dying?"
[Hardly, by my estimations, the condition is manageable given proper gene therapy. Right now she's going through a major metamorphosis, but once the Praxian genes have settled inside her, the violent symptoms should subside.]
"That is so wrong," Kiva said shuddering in repulsion. Elves were known to be massive technophobes, they were repulsed by most technological development, and embraced a more alternatively rustic lifestyle, which was one of the many reasons they didn't interact with the wider cosmos. But that was not to say they were simple, they had cultivated their own form of advanced civilization with magecraft, with cities, space stations and starships developed through sophisticated and elaborate magitek.
Kiva was one of the most liberal elves Nya had ever heard of, since she was working of a sweeper when they first met, and was even a certified stellar engineer, but even she had her limits it appeared.
Their escort returned shortly afterwards and led them towards a waiting carriage.
"We'll begin our tour with the finest café in the lower-city," she said.
As the carriage ride went on, Malia spoke, detailing the history of the lower-city and all the interesting facts about it. Nya drowned her out, looking out the window, when they passed a wall full of posters, Nya's attention was caught
"Stop." Nya said, bursting from the carriage to inspect the wall, it was covered in children's missing posters, dozens of them, fresh missing posters covering old missing posters that covered even older posters.
"What is this?" Nya demanded, counting the different posters
"Uh, missing posters?" Malia asked, "they are quite common here,"
"The governor didn't mention them having a child disappearance crisis," Amara said
"It has been going on for years now," Malia shrugged, "it's just a regular thing, tragic really,"
"You allow this?" Nya seethed, her voice taking an inhuman tone.
Kiva, Amara and their escort flinched, because they could sense it rather than see it, a quiet anger had suddenly built up within Nya, from looking at these posters.
"Do you sell them to your clients? Pluck them from their homes as soon as someone rich enough pays you?" Nya snarled at the escort, who backed away terrified.
"N-never!" the woman cowered, "t-there are limits to what we accommodate."
"All these kids and no one's been doing anything to find them?" Amara demanded, getting between Nya and the escort before Nya kills her.
"We can't watch everything, I've reported the rise in missing kids to the office, but they told me that the matter was already being investigated, but it wasn't top priority."
She flinched when she heard Nya growl at her words.
"You need to go," Kiva said, "now,"
"W-wha? But w-what about y-you?"
"We'll be fine," Amara said, "but you need to leave before the Grand Marshal kills you."
Malia didn't need any more encouragement and jumped back in the carriage, racing off the way they had come.
[I didn't expect you to feel so strongly about this.] Merlin said, appearing in her physical form and holding Nya back, [you are usually apathetic to the plights of others when they don't concern you.]
"This is different, this isn't some pathetic asshole struggling to find money and bitching about their unfair life," Nya sneered, "somebody is preying on children. Innocent, defenseless children, for some sick perverted ends. I was once one of those overlooked children left to fend for myself and I will not stand to let it continue."
Amara was a bit taken aback, for years she had resigned herself to working for the devil, an uncompromising evil that would press forward caring nothing for the obstacles in its path, or the devastation left in its wake. But seeing her so visibly shaken because children were missing made Amara wonder if this devil had a soft side? Was this why Nya had dedicated so much time and effort into the education sector back on Avalon?
"C'mon," Nya said walking past the posters.
"Where do we go now?" Kiva asked, "You sort of scared off our tour guide."
"We don't need a tour guide, I'm from here, remember?" Nya said
After an hour of walking around, they eventually found themselves in the seedier part of town. They walking past old building, most looked condemned, but still had light inside and there were subtle sounds that indicated they were still inhabited.
"Evening ladies," a gruff man called as he walked out of one building, "A little late for you all to be out and about. These streets aren't safe at nights."
Nya, still very upset and not having time to bother with the usual intimidation tactic, simply extended her hand and pulled the man into it. "What's been going on in this city?" she demanded
"Hey, let me go you crazy bitch." The man yelled, as several people poured out of the building, due to the commotion.
"Tell me! Where are the adepts?" Nya demanded, her blood aura igniting her hair.
"There are no more adept in the area," the man said, "Most of 'em used to work for the bosses, but they were all cleared out about ten or so years ago."
"Why?" Kiva asked a little calmer
"This rich guy came to town ten years ago, not like the rest of the elites, he bought up a lot of old property," the man explained, "then adepts started turning up dead, the rest left soon after that, none of them wanted to be anywhere near the area."
"What else?" Nya demanded, "Why are there so many missing kids?"
"I don't know, but it's been mad here for years. No wonder money stopped coming in and the boss pretends this part of the city doesn't exist; kids disappearing, adepts dying, strange blackouts, and all these ghost sightings."
"What ghost sightings?" Amara asked
"People have been claiming to see this living shadow snatching people up or killing them."
"The children?"
"No, regular people out at night," the man said, "that's why I was warning you; it's not safe to be wandering these streets at night,"
Suddenly, Nya was stuck with a more intense mental strain. She dropped the man and stumbled into Merlin as a black figure dropped out of the sky.
"It's here!" someone yelled terrified, "the ghost, it's here!" the group of men scattered, along with the man that Nya had accosted, leaving just Nya, Amara, Kiva and Merlin.
The 'ghost' was hard to pin down, constantly moving and keeping to the shadows, and the fact that it was covered in all black made identifying it nearly impossible. Nearly.
"I got it," Amara said, drawing four plasma pistols, and firing bolt of burning energy at the slippery foe. Her marksmanship was second to none, and since she was knighted by Nya, her strengths had been boosted and her limitations compensated, so she had no problem seeing in the dark, but this ghost was almost impossibly agile. One second it would be dead in her sights, the next it would pull off an impossible evasion.
"I'll back you up," Kiva said as she raised her hands, red circuits glowed underneath her skin as she activated the ambient mana and drew it towards her, strengthening her body, then she charged at the approaching enemy. Just like with Amara, the ghost evaded all of Kiva's quick and fluid attacks, as if it were actually a shadow.
As the ghost launched its own attack at Kiva, striking with something sharp, Amara pushed her out of the way, taking the brunt of the attack across her neck and chest.
"Amara!" Kiva screamed as the Jaeger collapsed into her arms.
"That's enough!" Nya roared, getting up. The thrumming in her head confirmed what she needed to know, "It's you, isn't it? The adept that attacked me?"
The ghost seemed to hesitate to approach Nya, and that was all the time Merlin needed. Instantly, her drone construct burst into a cloud of tiny bytes and attacked the ghost like a swarm, and while it was distracted, Nya lunged at it, attacking with a burning right hand made from her blood aura. She swipes at the ghost's torso and it is too distracted to evade, so her energy claws rip through the black material covering the torso of the ghost to reveal, breasts? Still within range, Nya then delivers a crippling gut punch to the ghost and can feel the force from her knuckles disseminate across her opponent's form. the ghost is winded instantly and then rendered unconscious soon afterwards.
"Watch her," Nya orders to Merlin,
[Of course,] the prime obeys
Nya then goes to check on Kiva and Amara, Amara is lying on the floor, bleeding from what look like claw marks across her neck and chest, while Kiva is trying to heal her.
"Dammit, why isn't it fucking working?" Kiva swore. Her hands were trembling as she tried to force the healing magecraft into Amara.
Nya leans down next to her, "she needs proper medical attention, quick. Hold onto her."
Kiva grabs hold of Amara's hand, while Nya grabbed her shoulder and the three of them slip into a spatial distortion.
Hours later, back onboard their ship, Amara wakes up in one of the cabins, with Kiva sitting down next to her, sleeping. She feels a bandage wrapped snugly around her throat and torso.
"Hey," Amara croaks, her throat felt so dry, but it was enough to wake Kiva up.
"H-hi," Kiva says, rubbing her eyes, which had evidently been crying, "You shouldn't try to talk much, you took a serious slash to the throat."
"It was going to hit you," Amara admitted,
"But it was still a stupid thing to do, jumping in the way," Kiva chastised, "I thought you were going to die."
"But I didn't," Amara said with a weak smile, which caused Kiva to blush
"Only because Nya brought you back here, where the medic could patch you up."
"I remember you trying to heal me," Amara said,
"It wasn't working," Kiva replied with a shiver, "I was never really that good at healing, and being nervous just made it worse."
Amara chuckled a bit, instantly regretting it when the pain started.
"I find it hard to imagine you getting shaken up that much," she said, "the wound wasn't that bad,"
"It wasn't just seeing you being wounded," Kiva admitted, "For the past year I thought you hated me. Then you do something like this,"
"Who said I hated you?" Amara asked
"You did when you broke up with me." Kiva said, her eyes welling up with fresh tears, "We had a fight, and I said some horrible stupid things to you at Vulcan, but then you just left me and I just broke apart. I had to live with Terror and Mari for a few weeks because I couldn't step foot in our old apartment."
"Look, I'm sorry I broke your heart," Amara said, "It's just that, at the time, I was doing a lot of thinking about what you said. I was hurt and angry, and after agreeing to be knighted by Nya, I think I blamed you for that too. It wasn't fair and I apologize."
"Why were you angry?"
"What you said hurt, but I couldn't help thinking that you were also right," Amara explained, "you're an elf, and are going to live for at least a thousand years-"
"10,000 years," Kiva corrected, "I'm a high elf, with a longer lifespan than a regular elf."
Amara just blinked, "…anyway, it got me questioning what I wanted, I didn't know what was the right choice anymore, so I needed to figure things out on my own. But then I saw the ring on your finger, and figured it was too late. From then on, I just acted out of spite."
"This ring?" Kiva took off the gold ring on her ring finger, "it was just a prop, I bought it to make you jealous, so I could get over you. But I couldn't stop caring about you."
Amara reached out a hand to hold Kiva's, "I hadn't stopped caring about you too." She said tenderly, rubbing her thumb against Kiva's knuckle, "I want to give us another try."
Kiva smiled, "I'd like that too." Leaning in to kiss Amara on the forehead.
In the cargo deck of the ship, the ghost awoke to find herself completely naked and tied to a chair. Before her were two women that looked strikingly similar, except one had shorter hair and the other had much scarier eyes.
"Who are you?" the one with the scary eyes asked, "Why were you trying to kill me? How did you reach me from that far?"
[Nya, calm down] the one that was completely red with white eyes said, calming the scarier one down, she then bent down to look ghost in the eyes, [Hello, my name is Merlin, an advanced machine consciousness entity, and that person over there is Nya, my host and master. She felt you in her head a few days ago and wanted to know how you could do that, and why.]
Ghost hissed at the one named Merlin, she was nice to her, but then, so were those other people, right before they started hurting her.
Merlin ran her hand over the ghost's face, scanning her. [Curious. Her vocal chords have been severed, so she can't answer us even if she wanted to.] Merlin said, turning towards Nya, [whoever worked on her was very thorough with their work, though.]
"You're saying someone experimented on her?" Nya asked.
[Yes, she bears the mark of having been genetically tampered with. Her face does also match one of the earliest missing posters we saw.] Merlin said. The girl in their custody was about sixteen or seventeen, her hair was short and choppy dirty gray color, the same gray as her eyes, only that one of her sclera was black. She had faded surgery marks across her naked body and had strange scars across her arms and torso. She looked a little malnourished, but her physique was in prime condition with well-developed muscles and a nimble build. A number was tattooed onto her left breast; B-017.
"So she was one of the missing kids?" Nya asked, looking at the girl before her, "And we can't find out anything about what happened to her because she can't talk,"
[She may not need to.] Merlin said, [The two of you seem to share a psionic wavelength for some reason, I sensed it when she first arrived. I should be able to use that to link your minds together.]
Nya grabbed another chair, setting it in front of the girl and sitting down, "Do it,"
[Just know; once this psychic link is open, I have no control of what happens.]
"Do it," Nya said again, looking the girl in the eyes.
Nya wasn't sure what she was expecting, but as soon Merlin touched both of their heads, Nya was instantly assaulted by years' worth of memories of torment and pain. Nya's mental fortitude allowed her to push through the trauma and she then found herself in at the gardens of liberty park on Avalon, sitting opposite her was the girl, who looked around in alarm.
"Relax," Nya said, "Right now we're in my mindscape. This is where I come when I meditate."
The two of them are seating on special mats underneath a shady tree, looking out at the capital, the Throne of Valor stands resolute, right at the heart of the city.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Nya said admiring the view, "I would never admit this to anyone; but I've come to love this place. I put in a fuck ton of effort to get it looking like this, so I think I deserve to enjoy the end result."
"You… built this?" the girl asked, then was surprised that she could speak
"We're inside my head, your thoughts are free here." Nya said,
"What are you?" the girl asked, "why do I feel you?"
"My name is—"
"Nya Crimson," the girl said, "I know your name, we all do… that name, and all the other names as well."
"What other names?"
"Ilya… Patrelli… Var… Corma… Josa… all the names inside your head." The girl said.
Nya was shocked, those last three names were three people she had killed and absorbed, they were a part of her, she even knew the original names of her body and soul, but how?
"Who else knows the names?" Nya asked
"My… friends," the girl said
"What is your name?"
"Va…nya… I think my name was Vanya, I don't really remember," the girl held her head, "they did so many things to us at that place."
"What place Vanya, who did this to you?"
"I don't know, they just call him 'sir'. I was the oldest survivor, they made me train the others, teach them to use their power, to hurt and to kill each other. But I escaped, I… I need to go back for them. They will be punished!"
The world around them started to distort as Vanya got more and more upset.
"Vanya, calm down," Nya said
"NO! This is all your fault!" she yelled, "You're the reason I'm like this! What are you?"
A shrill ringing noise was resonating over the entire area as more and more voices suddenly appeared, joining with Vanya's,
"AAAARRGGH!" Vanya screamed along with the cacophony of other voices, dissolving the entire world.
Nya and Vanya were shocked back awake, with Nya falling out of her chair and Vanya thrashing violently. They were both dazed and confused
[Apologies for terminating your session so abruptly, but you were both having a seizure,] Merlin said, [While you were under, I did some digging.]
"Into what?" Nya asked calming herself down
[Into her,] Merlin pointed at Vanya, [her composition is basic fae, however, she does share a 19.27% match with you.]
"What?" Nya asked, her head still too groggy to understand.
[Your DNA has been spliced together with hers, rather crudely I might add,] Merlin said looking at the girl, [I mentioned earlier that she had undergone genetic modifications, well she was genetically modified with a piece of you.]
"How did this happen?" Nya demanded, "Who did it? Why?"
[It seems somebody was attempting to make more of you.] Merlin surmised, [And she was the result.]
"She wasn't the only one," Nya said.
It was at that moment, that Kiva came down into the cargo bay, walking hand-in-hand with Amara.
"What'd we miss?" Kiva asked
"Amara. Before the revolutionary war, when I was still a prisoner of Davos, was there any genetic samples taken from me?" Nya asked
"Uh, y-yes, I think." Amara tried to remember, it was over ten years ago, "you were an unquantified entity, you were to be studied, examined and assessed. They would've drawn samples from you for testing, why? Don't you remember?"
"No, I was too busy plotting a rebellion." Nya snapped
"What's this about?" Kiva asked
[The girl that attacked you has Nya's DNA spliced into hers.] Merlin said, [And I see the two of you are back together. That's very good; I always thought you made a cute couple.]
"No you didn't," Kiva said
[You're right, but it thought lying about doing so would make you feel better.]
"Who was in charge of it?" Nya asked, "who handled the results of my examination and assessment?"
"Uh…" Amara hesitated
"WHO WAS IT?" Nya yelled grabbing her by the collar and raising her up.
"Nya! That is not helping." Kiva chastised her
"H-his name was Dezrrit Kahl," Amara answered, remembering her fear of Nya, "H-he was one of Davos' top scientific minds. He quit after you took over, left the planet."
"Well he didn't leave alone," Nya fumed, letting go of the Jaeger. She held up her arm and from the band on her wrist, a holographic screen appeared showing the image of the previous World Lord and all his ministers.
"Which one is he?" Nya asked
"That one," Amara answered pointing at the gray-skinned kobal at the back, "Do you think he was involved in this?"
[The evidence does conclude so.] Merlin said, noticing the distress in Amara's body language, [Why do you seem perturbed?]
"B-because he's my father," she revealed.
They all paused and looked at her.
"What?" Nya asked,
"But I met your dad," Kiva protested
"That was my stepdad; my mom's husband," Amara admitted, "Minister Kahl was the respected elder who knocked her up before she got married. She never told anyone about it, I only found out when she died. Before you came to the planet, I was trying to track him down, it was the reason I joined the World Lord's regime in the first place,"
[I did not see that coming,] Merlin said,
Nya walked back to Vanya and showed her the image, "Is this the man that did this to you?"
She nodded her head,
Nya turned towards the others, "Ten years, sometime after he left Draxia Urma, he came here and experimented on children?" there was a pain in her eyes that none of them were familiar with, "I'm going to kill him Amara, I will not let you or anything else stop me."
Amara just gave a quiet nod, not meeting her eyes.
Nya released Vanya, the youth eyeing her suspiciously.
"Vanya, I am so sorry this was done to you." Nya said, taking a knee before the girl and holding her hand, "I will make this right."
Nya pulled a patch from her belt and placed it on the other woman. Instantly it spread around Vanya, forming a new biotic suit around her.
"We're going to save your friends." Nya said
"Friends?" Kiva asked, "How many?"
"I don't know, I felt a lot of them when we were in the mindscape." Nya said,
[I'd guess somewhere in line with all the missing posters.] Merlin said
"Where are they?" Amara asked
Vanya just shook her head,
[I don't think she knows.] Merlin said,
"We need to find them now," Nya said, "But don't worry, I think I know someone to ask."
Elsewhere, Malia was attending to a wealthy businessman who wanted to visit a local brothel.
"Well, Mr. Fich, our brothels cater to a variety of tastes; human, harpy, taurus, kobal…"
"Hey!" Nya called with her and her group, plus Vanya, exiting a wormhole
"Oh gods." The escort trembled when she saw the crimson haired vampire, "oh gods, no."
She tried to run, but suddenly found herself within Nya's telekinetic grasp, "You aren't going anywhere."
"Why are you doing this?" the woman sobbed
[We need your help, and you are the escort tasked with serving us.] Merlin pointed out
"W-what d-do you want?" she asked
"We're looking for a friend." Nya said.