H Y PE R-VELO: CITY

While Girl and Alfaic plunged through the chute at the speed of sound, the rotting creature soon followed in their wake, crumbling the disc's interior structure by gliding down with its massive blades jabbing through the non-propellor side. Girl maintained a proper steady form as she dove through the tunnel. The intricate system of propellers and energy generators discharging from all sides indicated that it was increasingly dangerous to land on any side nor go hiding, for the beast could sense their presence from anywhere they hid.

"I can't take this anymore, Girl!" Alfaic yelled mid-flight. "Grab my handle!"

Girl turned her back to free fall while facing the rotten beast. The blood-curdling beast did not harm in frightening her in any manner; she still maintained a neutral expression as she wrapped her hand around Alfaic's handle.

A radiant golden energy discharged from the blade, enveloping and destroying her raven feather attire and replacing it with shimmering jet black, ivory white, and pure golden futuristic armor that covered Girl from neck to toe. Individual intricate machines within Alfaic's designs sheltered Girl's skin with a sleek chromium alloy that could withstand the rising temperatures and velocity that they traveled within. The armor's lightweight alloy provided enough flexibility for Girl to move freely as if she was traveling without a single burden on her shoulders.

"Like it or not, we're changing this up!" Alfaic's voice was heard through Girl's armor, near her heart. The sentient blade dipped itself behind Girl's back, transforming into a liquid-type of gel that passed through her. Alfaic reappeared at the bottom of her two feet, transforming into two jet-propelled hover boots that could be controlled by Girl's sentience as well. "Now, get us the hell out of here, Girl!"

Girl spun back and activated Alfaic, propelling her through the chute at even faster speeds. At first, controlling the boots caused her to sway across from a certain straight path, but with enough practice, Girl became accustomed to it in a matter of a few seconds. The beast, whose eyes were already dead set on the two, reared its jaw back and lunged forward for a quick bite to devour them whole.

Without needing to retaliate, Girl's body expunged itself from her back, revealing multiple sharp blades from Alfaic's features to brush back the monster. A single bite injured the rotten creature's mouth, rearing it back as it whimpered with its wings out. The monster held back to recover while Girl and Alfaic continued propelling forward.

A slab of debris struck Girl on the back of her shoulder as the tunnel caved in. Girl launched herself down toward the electrifying generator floors as Alfaic attempted to adapt to the change in a nanosecond. She glided across the electric propellers attempting to balance herself by shifting her legs back and forth as they continued moving at hyper-velocity.

A distant explosion from the far side of the tunnel led the two toward an escape path away from the action. Girl and Alfaic leaped down into the hole, finding themselves in the opening of a transportation factory with old canisters of liquid nitrogen surrounding them. Girl rushed toward the back of the factory as the tunnel's debris collapsed through the hole to seal it. She cartwheeled once more and landed directly on her feet.

"I can't believe we actually survived that," Alfaic stated in a panicked state. "No doubt, with my help, of course..."

Girl paused to look at herself; she stared at her chest, where Alfaic's voice originated from. She then looked at her wrists covered in alloy armor, followed by the rest of her lower body. "Blade. What is this?" She asked, examining the intricate design.

"That's just one out of many things I can do," Alfaic explained, reappearing behind Girl as the original blade. "Well, I guess one of my memories just came back, because I remember I would do the same for my lord. Since you're trying to take me back to him, no doubt I'd do the same for you. But don't think I'll do it forever!"

Girl took another glance at her left wrist, revealing two hovering golden halo rings circulating the circumference of her arm. She tapped on them and rotated her arm around, realizing that the rings could spin and move in unison. "What is this?" Girl asked.

"Stop touching those," Alfaic requested. "They're... sensors. I can feel how cold your touch is whenever you poke them. Knock it off."

"Sensors. Okay." Girl said. She cocked her wrist to the side to allow them to fall toward the ground. Alfaic prevented them from doing so.

"What are you doing!?" Alfaic shouted.

Girl lifted her left hand into the air, and the halo-designed sensors followed through. She swept her left hand in the air to drag them behind her back. She closed her eyes and tied her hair into a long side-swept ponytail before letting the two glowing halo-shaped sensors tie it into place. Her hair fell back against her hips as she opened her orchid-gleaming eyes. The patch on her left armor encased in Alfaic's alloy armor opened up, revealing her tattoo of LYNBG52 etched on.

"You're just dying to make me upset, aren't you?" Alfaic's voice rang loud and clear through Girl's armor. "I offer you a way to survive, and you use my sensors as a hair tie?"

"Silence," Girl said. "I condemn your backtalk."

"My... backtalk?!" Alfaic retorted aggressively. "No more bullshit, Girl. I want answers. Who the hell are you and how are you capable of doing all of these things?"

"Are you not the one doing this?" Girl asked, showcasing her new armor to Alfaic.

"Well, somewhat, but the wielder usually can't be pathetic. But you're not. You're the opposite. How is this possible? My lord wasn't capable of..."

Girl stopped Alfaic's train of thought by turning her head. The halo-shaped sensors on her fluffy ponytail hair prickled and tickled Alfaic. Although he was a sentient blade, the sensors had a certain depth that only Alfaic could feel to the touch, which was a rare occurrence.

"That tickles, stop...! Okay, stop doing that! You're doing that on purpose, aren't you? Trying to mess with me, huh?" Alfaic giggled.

"I do not know what you are talking about." Girl replied, examining the transportation factory.

"Hey... did I detect a hint of sarcasm?"

"I do not know what that is." Girl replied.

"Okay, you don't know what that means, nor do you know what it means to be a girl... so, what do you know? Besides the fact that you have to kill your... forebearers or whatever?"

Girl glanced toward her patch on her left arm. Without much apparent thought, Girl replied with an unsatisfying answer. "I do not know anything else. I know you exist. I know we are trapped. I know that I am LYNBG52."

"Ever wonder why you look the way you do? Don't you have parents?" Alfaic asked.

"I do not know what that is."

"You don't know what parents are? Haven't you got any?"

"No."

Alfaic sighed. "What do you remember? I guess I can't really dial your memories back, but maybe if I simplify it a little more, it'll be better on your head."

"I remember nothing," Girl replied. "It is not a secret, nor am I aware of why I am the way I am."

"Hmm..." Alfaic hummed. Girl kneeled to examine the rusty canisters of liquid nitrogen. She placed her slim hands on the casing, still sensing the bottled-up freezing temperatures that lay within. "Well, let's change that, shall we?"

"Change what?" Girl asked.

"Let's make some new memories for you, just so you have something to work with," Alfaic stated. "For instance, I don't want to call you 'Girl' anymore. I don't think it suits you very well. I still think you are a girl; otherwise, you wouldn't look the way you do now."

"I care not for memories." Girl replied.

"Well, that's because you haven't tried to care!" Alfaic exclaimed. As Girl paraded across the transportation factory seeking a way out, Alfaic continued to ramble on. "My lord had a very sophisticated name, so that's not something that I want to do for you. Hmm. How about... Sigma? No, wait... that's just confusing if I try to reference the land and you. Oh! Or... Tickle? Well, now that's just because I felt you tickling me. Or, how about..."

"Blade," Girl stopped his ramble. "I require your weapon."

"Oh, right, sorry..." Alfaic replied, morphing back into the ornamental sword it introduced itself as. Girl grabbed Alfaic and stabbed it into a defective lever to use it as a replacement level. Girl pulled it back as hard as she could, but there was no effect. "No luck. Guess we're going to have to find something bigger."

Girl attempted once more, but a roar in the distance stopped her tracks. She turned around with Alfaic as the rotten beast returned to seek revenge, crashing down to the transportation factory with deep arousal for Girl's blood. As it approached the two, the rotten beast's head split apart in two, revealing a massive lump of worm-like tentacles controlling the beast from within that sprouted and flailed rapidly. The miniature parasites screeched as its flesh and skin tore off, no longer resembling a majestic lion, but an encapsulation of someone's worst nightmares.

"Oh, god...!" Alfaic cried in utter disgust. "Get me away from-"

Girl stopped Alfaic in its tracks, gripping its handle tightly to unleash its electrifying capabilities. The golden aura circulating Alfaic's blade and her armor began to glow immensely. She prepared a combat stance that had her right leg slipping back with her left knee slightly bent. Her posture was perfect; almost robotic-like for how flawless and beautiful she appeared. Even Alfaic admired her gracefulness and majestic stance, refusing to say anything she prepared herself.

Multiple parasitic tendrils launched forward to grapple onto Girl, but she counterattacked with ease. With a single swift slice, Girl completed a full 360 rotation in the air as she sliced the mass off gracefully. Alfaic was not controlling her movements; it only provided her with the tools to slay the beast. The beast cried out in anger as it retracted the torn-apart parasites, watching it flail until death on the ground.

Girl landed on the ground, doing a complete split and disregarding the beast's intimidation. The beast retaliated by attempting to grab Girl, but she swept through the floors once again one step ahead, reappearing behind the rotten beast to slice off its entire left paw. The sword attached to the paw detached itself as well, leaving it open to be used.

"Blade!" Girl shouted, reaching for her halo-shaped sensors behind her ponytailed hair. She tossed them at the beast's fallen blade, leaving Alfaic to attach itself to it.

"How did you know I could..." Alfaic's voice cut off as Girl rushed toward the wounded beast. She leaped into the air and plunged Alfaic into the beast's brain, lodging it inside to electrify it from within. She then recalled Alfaic's sensors to launch the giant blade toward the inside of the beast's opened parasitic weak point, piercing through to create an entire rain of blood swarming down upon them.

Girl managed to slay the beast in a fiery sea of blood, but before she could escape, the beast's remaining paw swiped down on her body with its predatory claws. The impact sent Girl flying toward the ground as she collided with one of the liquid nitrogen canisters. The impact exploded a canister, firing a spray of it toward Girl's left arm to freeze it entirely. The beast collapsed on the ground as it screamed its last cries, dead upon the parasite's destruction.

"Holy... you did it!" Alfaic cheered. "But... your... your arm... what are you going to do about-"

Girl did not hesitate once more. She tore off her left arm completely and tossed it on the ground, watching it shatter into multiple pieces of bitter icy flesh. Alfaic shouted in complete and utter disgust, leaving an emotionless Girl to close her eyes as an unknown congealed gray liquid spouted out of her arm to substitute blood.

"WHAT... What are you...?" Alfaic asked.

In the blink of an eye, Girl regenerated her entire left arm like a sprout becoming a full-fledged tree. Even the tattooed patch of LYNBG52 returned as well to supplement her torn arm. Alfaic regenerated its golden armor over her left arm, revealing the tattoo through the opened patch. Girl opened her eyes and kneeled to inspect it.

"You really aren't human..." Alfaic stated. "Wow. I don't know what to say besides... well, it's actually kind of... terrifying."

"What is terrifying?" Girl asked.

"You just tore off your entire left arm. Didn't you feel scared?"

"I did not feel anything. What does it mean to be scared?"

"Scared?" Alfaic asked. "Well... from previous experience, it means when you feel... well, how do I simplify this in a way where you can understand? Being scared means you don't want to do something because you're afraid of what will happen. Whether that's dying, or dealing with the consequences of your actions."

"What does it mean to be afraid?" Girl asked, rotating her left arm.

"It means exactly that. Not wanting to do something because you think something bad will happen. Normal people don't tear off their arms like that and walk it off. Humans... humans don't tear off their arms. If they did, they would die."

"What does it mean to be human?" Girl asked, looking down at her chest.

"That's an entire question that I can't answer right now," Alfaic said. "I'm a sentient sword, for God's sake. But it's funny how I can remember the concept of humanity even as a sword. It just means that I retained a lot of memory from my time with my lord. I haven't lost everything. Not yet."

Girl recalled the halo-shaped sensors and placed them back on her hair as a tie. She then stroked the back of the sensors and her hair to stun Alfaic with even more tickles to distract him. "No. You will answer me now. What does it mean to be human?" She asked.

"Stop doing that!" Alfaic cried. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you just one thing, and we can save the rest for later. You have to bring me to my lord, after all."

Girl looked down at her sensors and listened to Alfaic.

"Being human means... you feel something rather than nothing. You can become happy, sad, angry, jealous, or a million other emotions. And it's a natural feeling. And the feeling is when you have a certain idea in your head or your heart that makes you who you are today. But nobody wants to be sad or angry. We all strive toward the path of happiness." Alfaic explained.

"Happiness," Girl said. "I have heard of this word before. But I have never experienced it before."

"It's when you feel... good," Alfaic continued. "Good about yourself, the world, or anything in general. Haven't you felt good about anything?"

"No," Girl replied. "I have not."

"Well..." Alfaic experimented. "Does being with me make you feel happy? Would you rather be with me or alone?"

Girl did not take time to think. "Either." She said.

"I won't take that personally," Alfaic replied. "So, it looks like your body is just incapable of producing happiness. Well, then I have just the key to help you out. What if I told you that being with you, despite being a complete stranger, makes me happy?"

Girl blinked her eyes, unsure of what to think. She looked at her arm and questioned herself for a brief moment. Her orchid eyes traced off into the distance, where the jammed door began to open on its own after the shattered lever began to work its circuitry from the backup generators underneath the disc. But she did not mind that. "I... make you happy?" Girl asked.

"Well, yeah! I mean, you just kicked that thing's ass! You're also helping me find my lord, and you got me out of that cold chamber. Who knows how long I was stuck there, right?" Alfaic replied.

"But, why do you feel happiness, and I don't?" Girl asked.

"Maybe because you're not human," Alfaic said. "Wait, did I just imply that I was a human? Man, I'm learning something new every day. The memories are coming back to me, I swear... I can't be saying this kind of baloney if I'm a sentient sword. Act like one, you know what I mean, Lyn?"

Girl grasped Alfaic's pure self, the blade that seized her victory from the rotten monstrosity. She looked at it and examined its details, pondering in thought. "What did you call me?" She asked.

"Oh, you noticed, huh?" Alfaic chuckled. "That's right. I've decided that I'm going to call you Lyn. I mean, part of it IS tattooed on your arm after all. Those first three letters are perfect for you, and it does sound like a feminine name. What do you think?"

Girl closed her eyes and searched for a single ounce of emotion in her body that responded to it. But before she could do so, the same female that she made a carbon copy of reappeared in her mind; the white vista where her gleaming exterior smiled back upon her memories exerted a small ounce of a feeling she was introduced as happiness. The smile of the unknown female in her mind made Girl want to copy it as well.

"Are you... smiling?!" Alfaic asked, astonished. "Did you like it that much?"

Before she had known it, Girl lightly smiled at her new nickname. "Lyn, then." She reintroduced herself.

"So... you really are capable of feeling something," Alfaic said. "I guess that's a good start."

"I don't know what you mean," Lyn said, standing up and placing Alfaic on the back holster of her slim armor. Her face retracted into her usual neutral expression. "I only imitated what I saw."

"What you... saw?" Alfaic asked. "Okay, now you're speaking in riddles, Lyn. Let's just get out of here..."

Lyn stepped out of the gigantic door and found herself at the very bottom of the disc's pathway. She found herself staring toward the lush green skyscraper in the distance before shutting her eyes.