Purple Earring

Nova couldn't believe the sight in front of him. While her style was different, this Shiftie had Sayaka's exact face and body structure; it was as if she had been resurrected and changed her style. He couldn't forget how her long black hair was like the night sky and how her jet black eyes looked as if they pierced through his soul.

It's just like what we had witnessed in Kori's first memory…

Was it coincidence that brought us together or inevitability?

"What's going on?" Arcturus questioned while worried about Nova's reaction. "What do you mean by this Shiftie looking like Sayaka?"

"The Sayaka Minami I met in the earring looked like this Shiftie we see before us. Arcturus, listen carefully. A Shiftie's appearance is based on people who have passed away in the real world."

Nova glanced over to observe Arcturus's reaction. He had an expression full of pure horror; it was a good mix of shock, anger, disgust and confusion. It made Nova wonder if he had made such an expression when he had deduced this.

The female Shiftie spoke up. "I don't know who this Sayaka person is. I am M541-WLF. Since it looks as if you're shocked about my earring, I'll explain. This purple earring means I am a Monarch-type, a new type of Shiftie created from the programming of Combat and Support Shifties."

Nova found the way M541-WLF spoke to be rather unsettling. She spoke normally; she had Sayaka's exact voice, yet it sounded so robotic. It was as if she was speaking, but not emotionally like a person, despite looking like one. She was completely different from the Sayaka he knew; Sayaka Minami was someone who longed for freedom; the Sayaka he saw in front of him was anything but a free soul.

"A hybrid?" Arcturus remarked.

"I'm not a Hybrid. I'm a Monarch."

"What does a Monarch Shiftie do?"

"We have the qualities of both Combat and Support Shifties. We can fight and we know how to work. That is why I can control this ship because I was trained to be an airship pilot by the military; that's my role as a Support Shiftie. However, as a Combat Shiftie, I was ordered to be the last resort just in case something bad happens to the crew I was in charge of."

Arcturus scoffed. "So, you were never implemented with the concept of 'the captain goes down with the ship,' then."

"I am aware, but that goes against my orders. I only follow my orders."

"Just what are your orders? Who sent you?"

M541-WLF uncrossed her legs and stood up. Nova had remembered Sayaka to be a rather petite girl. He could tell from a distance that the Shiftie was tall, most likely boosting up her height due to her boots.

She pointed to Nova. "I was ordered to capture the Charlatan under the command of my creator, Bellatrix Leonis."

Nova narrowed his eyes. So, this really was her doing. She is still mad after what had happened after all these years.

Arcturus was surprised to hear an unfamiliar name roll off her lips. "Creator? Shiftie technology has even reached this isolated island?"

"My master sought out Nathaniel Hope and it was through him that she learned the ways of creating Shifties. After testing and going through many experiments, I was created–I am the first of my kind. I was given at least thirty Combat Shifties to control, but they have been destroyed–all of them."

"You can control other Shifties too?" Arcturus asked out of curiosity.

"I am a Monarch; it's one of our functions."

"Well, wolves do traverse in packs, so that makes sense."

"On the contrary. Monarch Shifties will always be superior. We are the superior life forms compared to the inferior Combat and Support Shifties. We control them; they give up their lives for us. Since creation, our roles have been to dominate and control the inferior species."

Nova felt a chill down his spine. The way she spoke about superiority and inferiority felt terrifying. The fact that this mindset was programmed into her from birth was rather horrific. She looked as if she could snap and overtake humans and become the dominant race at any given moment.

This is a rather unusual case of psychopathy…

Can this really be considered so? She was given this mindset from the start of her creation. It's terrifying to know that humans can create such unsettling beings.

This feels like a mistake; can a being like her even develop a will?

Such a thought terrifies me.

"You know, for someone who boasts about superiority and so, you are surprisingly loose-lipped. You basically revealed everything about yourself and the people behind you. I guess that's a flaw in Shifties in general–that they cannot lie." Arcturus removed his linked hand from Nova's and shielded him with his arm. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you have Nova. If your orders are to capture him, my own orders are to protect him." Nova's heart skipped a beat at his gallant words.

She stared at Arcturus, as if she was scanning him. "You have an Ally Shiftie's earring, yet you are not a Shiftie. Yet, there's something unusual about that earring in itself."

Arcturus placed a hand to his earring. "This is a memento of a dear friend."

"A memento means an object to remind oneself of a person or a place. In your case, your dear friend must have been an inferior Ally Shiftie. Seeing how the earring is disconnected from the vessel, it means that the vessel is either disposed of or destroyed. A fitting end for an inferior being."

Nova couldn't believe he was hearing these words from someone that looked like Sayaka and had her exact voice. He then sensed a growing fury accumulating from Arcturus.

"How could you say that about your fellow Shiftie?" His voice was rather soft for someone so angry, but it was also a pitch lower than his usual tone. His brown eyes looked like they were glowing copper from the rage.

"Unlike you humans, we Shifties do not have 'fellows'; only superiors and inferiors. We Monarchs may have been born recently, but we are already the dominant."

Arcturus touched his bangle and a knife came out. He gripped it tightly. "Shut up about this superior and inferior shit. You're alive like other Shifties. All life is the same. You are born and then you die. That's how living works. There's no superiority or inferiority when it comes to life."

M541-WLF's gaze fixated on Nova as she pointed to him once again. "What about the Charlatan? My data on this man shows that he has been alive far longer than anybody in this world; he is also unable to die. Is he not a superior being?"

"Nova's alive. Sure, he cannot die like every other being in this world, but he's doing what he can to make up for what he cannot do."

As she lowered her hand, she scanned both Arcturus and Nova. Nova was on his guard; she was unpredictable. "My orders are to capture the Charlatan and bring him back to my master. Since he is here, I will activate the airship now." She touched her earring and a hologram screen showed up. She clicked on a button, which caused sudden rumbling.

A queasy feeling came to Nova as he knelt down. His breathing became weak; his head became lighter. Nausea came to him despite him not eating anything; he felt as if he was going to regurgitate.

This rumbling means that the airship has lifted. Does this Shiftie know about my motion sickness?

That we do not know.

He lost his balance, but Arcturus caught him in time. "Are you okay?" He looked very worried about him, which frustrated Nova because he didn't want such a wonderful person to see him in such a weak and measly state.

"You with the scarlet hair, I have no need for you. My objective is only about the Charlatan; I was told to eliminate anyone else."

M541-WLF touched her earring. Her form started changing. Her body started morphing; her limbs gathered together. Soon, her body became that of a wolf. She was much larger than the wolf Shifties from before, proving her status as the alpha.

She lunged towards Arcturus. Nova reacted by pushing Arcturus away to take the blow. He felt her strong jaw on his thin, fragile neck. The pressure was suffocating. He felt as if he was choosing whether to get killed by strangulation or choking to death; he wasn't sure why he thought about dying when he couldn't. He did feel as if his cervical spine was going to be split in half; he felt his muscles pulling apart. In a blink of an eye, he felt his neck snap.

He saw Arcturus looking at him in horror as he screamed his name.