Consequences

The Twin Dragon, Demeter's former mothership

Kari Zel can feel the ship has landed, but she has no idea where. Talas Khanos hasn't told her anything, and she doesn't know if she can trust Elytra, the Lampyrian who hijacked the vessel.

All she knows is that she ceased to be useful to her captors days ago, which knowing Khanos means he's just waiting for the best moment to kill her.

The door opens. The man approaching the cell wears an uniform, but it's very different from Elytra's…not just because of the gender and the absence of holes on the back for the bat wings.

It's an orange form-fitting armor, seemingly made of metal but as thick and flexible as silk.

Hands on your head and no sudden moves – he orders; he's holding a pair of handcuffs.

Kari obliges, assessing the situation: the only weapon he carries is a knife.

<Where are you taking me?> she asks when he opens the cell's door.

He's too slow to avoid Kari's sleight of hand: with one swift motion she handcuffs him to the prison bars, then steals his knife before he can do anything about it.

<Amateur. Never escort a prisoner alone> she comments. Years of avoiding Oracles finally pay off.

<I'm never alone> the man answers. An exact duplicate of him appears behind Kari.

She headbutts him so hard that the duplicate disappears; just in time, because a second later she's faced with another three duplicates.

She's fought plenty of Myridians before, of course, but with the Agony Ring on her neck she doesn't have the luxury to create her own duplicates this time.

"It's gonna be fun" she thinks before ten male duplicates jump on her.

Bangkok, Thailand

There is a large silent explosion in the middle of the street, leaving a gaping hole in the ground.

Quantum retakes human form, gasping for breath: this is getting harder every time.

He watches the rain of blue goo which not long ago was a true army of soldiers marching towards the City Hall.

He touches his right ear with a finger, as if to touch an invisible headplug, and asks:

<Quantum to Null, are you getting this? Hello?>

<You don't have to say anything, Max. The Neural Headset translates your brainwaves into radio waves>a familiar female voice in his head answers.

<Yeah yeah, I still think it's creepy. I've dealt with the Blue here, can I go home now?>

<Not just yet. Follow the signal to Vesta and Torn's location, they need your help.>

<The invulnerable goddess and the proud warrior guy asked for help!?>

<I didn't say they asked.>

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Vesta's fist is on fire when she punches the Blue, but it doesn't matter: at this point, the Blue are completely fireproof. Luckily, they are vulnerable to being punched into the stratosphere.

<This is starting to be really, really annoying> she complains when twelve new Blue charge her.

<Why? CUT OF A THOUSAND DEATHS!> Torn shouts, releasing a stream of red energy daggers that obliterates the Blue.

<Are you kidding me? This the fifth Blue attack this week!>

<I know. This planet is growing on me> the man with the red skin notes, coming dangerously close to smiling. Quantum appears right by his side.

<Hey guys. I see you've got everything under control> he notes, interrupted by Noriko's voice.

<They don't. Vesta, the Blue have set fire to an oil field 400 kil…250 miles south of your position.>

<Oh Gaea, another one!?> the goddess complains before taking flight.

<Max, I think the Blue are adapting to Torn's power. Gather as much as you can and sterilize the remains with high-energy gamma rays. Torn, the authorities will try to get their hands on them, try to dissuade them.>

<Can I fight them?>

<Not this time, Torn. I've got enough international accidents on my hands as it is.>

<Look at this mess> Quantum says looking at the city: it looks like a warzone <Your mother must be really pissed off that you stole her company.>

Null Tower, New York City

Noriko Null takes a step back from the holographic display and sighs: Quantum is right, the Blue have intensified their attacks after she acquired Scion Corporation.

She still doesn't understand why; what good is all of this chaos to Leiko? Does it have anything to do with what she saw during their brief telepathic contact?

<Mistress, the President is calling on line three. Shall I put him on speaker?> asks the Tower's artificial intelligence.

Noriko looks at the hologram of the planet: it's full of red points, indicating where the Blue have attacked. She also hasn't had the time yet to deal with the acquisition of Scion Corporation or the mess left behind at Null Technologies during her disappearance.

<I already have eighty-five callers on hold, I.R.I.S. Tell him I'll call him back.>

<Mistress, you have requested to be reminded not to hang up on him again. The last time>

<I'll call. Him. Back> Noriko punctuates. Her silver eyes shine in anger and frustration.

<Very well, mistress.>

Noriko closes her eyes. It's going to be a rough day.

"So we're not going to acknowledge what we've seen in mom's mind?" a voice in her head asks.

"Don't call her mom. She just gave birth to me to gain access to the Heart of the Universe"

"Yeah, whatever, but what about that Nexus thing she put inside us?"

"It doesn't show up in any kind of test I can think of. Even the Oracle on Myridia that examined me didn't seem to find it. Although it does explain why Athena chose me: she didn't give me any power, she just unlocked it"

"And here I thought we were just that awesome"

"You're just an alternate personality. I'm the awesome one. I am…"

"If you say "I am Null" I'm gonna give you the worst headache ever. So Athena activating the Nexus is what made you super-smart, I get that. But why did mom put it there in the first place?"

"We'll deal with that later. I'm kind of busy now"

"I want to know what else you saw during the psychic link; I know you're hiding something"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"I'm you, remember? Well, the part of you that isn't a total b##ch, anyway"

"You won't go away until I show you, isn't it?"

"Yep"

"Remember: you asked for it"

Eighteen years ago

Leiko might be the coldest person in the world, but her father was absolute zero. Daichi Tanaka didn't show the slightest emotion beating her fifteen year old daughter, nine months pregnant.

<I told you not to get involved in my business> he said, kicking Leiko in the face.

<You've been exposed to the Core too much; you're not thinking rationally> she said, defiantly.

Her reward was her own father almost breaking her right hand by stepping on it. She kept talking through the pain.

<Drylon technology...causes...emotional detachment...delusions of grandeur...adult brains...can't adapt...that's why mom went crazy...why you can't see...the bigger picture...>

Daichi rolled Leiko's body over, moving his foot over her belly. She felt the baby kicking.

<This bastard child. Will he be able to adapt to what you put inside him?>

<Her. It will take years...the Nexus needs time to mature...and she must be away from the Core.>

<Will we be able to extract the Nexus after it's active?>

<Not without killing the host.>

Daichi seemed to think it over for a while, while Leiko moaned in pain. Finally, he snapped his fingers to order one of his men to open the door.

They let a Japanese girl in. She didn't look like Leiko at all, but she was fifteen and pregnant.

<This is Haruka Yukimura. Records will show that she is the mother of the bastard child of the American. None of you will see the baby after the birth. Understood?>

<Yes father> Leiko said. But Noriko can also hear what she thought:

"You will die before the Nexus is active. I will make sure of it".

Noriko opens her eyes again. The flashback is gone; this is the extent of what she saw.

"Oh my God, that was...Haruka Yukimura. Isn't that..."

"The name shown on my birth certificate, yes. Left the United States after my birth. Died a month before I met Leiko the first time...a car accident, officially. Daichi died a year ago"

"Did Leiko kill them both?"

"I'd be very surprised if she didn't. And after what I've seen, I can't say I'm overly sad about it"

"I understand why you didn't show me that memory. We come from a family of horrible people"

"A family with connections to the Mortal Liberation Front. I don't know if Leiko is working for them or just using them, but it's not a good sign"

"Still, it's nice to have at least some answers about our past, isn't it?"

"I suppose"

Noriko approaches the holographic display again, struggling to maintain a professional detachment.

"Noriko...about the whole "Drylon technology makes you insane" thing..."

"I don't wanna talk about it"

The Twin Dragon, Demeter's former mothership

Kari adjusts the orange uniform stolen from the guard, admiring how it adheres perfectly on her body. A big step forward from her pink dress.

<Not bad. Wish it came in another color.>

<He should be out cold for a few minutes> her duplicate says, adjusting the Agony Ring on the guard just to be sure he doesn't create more copies of himself.

<Let's hope this thing doesn't have some sort of locator or this will be a very short escape> the first Kari says, activating the helmet that grows from the uniform to completely cover her head.

The other duplicate is handcuffed and escorted out of the ship. It's a very easy trip…there seems to be nobody else on the Twin Dragon.

Everything changes when she steps out of the ship via the cargo bay. There are two other guards, a man and a woman, with the same uniform Kari is wearing. Only they don't have the helmet on.

Both the Kari wearing the uniform and the pretend prisoner act casual, but the woman stops them.

<Hold on. Where do you think you're going?>

<I'm escorting the prisoner. Captains' orders> Kari answers. Luckily, the helmet distorts her voice.

<Varesh Yel was supposed to do it. Where is he?>

<I don't know, ma'am. You should check with his direct superior.>

<I am his direct superior. Who are you? Why are you wearing the helmet indoors?>

<Look, I'm just following the captain's orders.>

<So am I. Varesh, this is Zvareya, do you copy?>

<Varesh, this is Zvareya, do you copy?> the radio on Kari's belt repeats. The two guards immediately draw their weapons, and both Karis sigh at the same time.

There are very few people alive who can defeat Kari Zel in hand to hand combat, and these two certainly aren't among them. Before they can sound the alarm, they're knocked out by a punch in the throat, a kick in the groin and an elbow blow at the base of the skull. All at the same time.

<It won't be long before they start looking for me> the Kari in uniform says, discarding the radio and stealing the guns.

<They're gonna have their hands full> the prisoner Kari says, before creating a hundred duplicates.