Thirty-Seven vol.2

In the dead of the night, as Rose's heart ignited with a quietly building flame—a desire to reach higher heights of strength to protect a future unknown to her, to safeguard a total freedom she was set on earning—her ears twitched. She turned to the apartment's door and, a moment later, the sound of knocking rang. Rose squinted, hearing the shuffling of feet outside in the night; though extremely light, as if the person was used to carefully watching their steps.

'Someone well-trained,' She thought as she walked to the door, 'But who comes knocking in the middle of the night when most should be asleep? The only way this makes sense is if it's someone who knows I'm here. . .that I'm a homunculus that doesn't sleep. . .'

They hadn't used the doorbell either, so they came in secrecy with the intention of meeting her and only her.

She reached the door.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Shana Striker." The voice of the girl she knew as a Reaper paused. "I'm not here to harm or capture you. In fact, I've got something urgent to talk to you about. Something I must do before my next move."

Rose was surprised. How did the girl find her? What was she doing here? She took a step from the door as <Igris> appeared in her grasp.

"To be fair." There was a chuckle. "I understand it seems suspicious, doesn't it?"

The girl was adept, she could tell Rose had stepped away in caution.

"It does," Rose replied, her blade lit with orange flames.

"Honestly this reminds me of last time, we were both way too tense when we first met, which was mostly my fault." There was a sigh. "Think about it. If I really wanted to capture or kill you, I could just as easily break in and disable you like before, no?"

Rose shrugged. "You might have a harder time doing that now. I'm stronger than before."

"Oh? Now that sounds interesting." The girl didn't sound particularly surprised. "I hope you've been living instead of only training though."

". . ."

Rose opened the door.

Shana Striker stood outside the apartment, her face aloof but carefree as her brown hair blew in the night's wind. She was dressed in a familiar spandex of black--a tight one piece that reached her thighs and neck--almost blending into the atmosphere, save for the glimmer of her mechanical right arm, and the weapons attached to her leg and clipped onto her back. Yet, she was missing her blue jacket, missing the insignia unique to a Reaper.

"It's good to see you again, alive and well," The girl smiled softly, hazel eyes staring down at Rose.

Rose looked her over. There were several holes in her attire that were visibly repairing themselves. Slow, but noticeable. A part of her hair looked as if it had been sliced by blades, and there was a noticeable scar at the nape of her neck. Most telling, however. . .

"You're limping," She muttered as her sword disappeared from her hand and Shana stepped into the apartment, closing the door. "Injured?"

"I've gotten rusty fighting without a fighter jet, but I should be good in a bit," Shana laughed and sat herself down, "I just finished fending off an attempt on my life by both the army and an Urban Reaper."

Rose sat next to her. "How did you find me?"

The mechanical arm of the girl moved and took out a cube of metal from a satchel strapped around her waist. She tapped the top surface thrice with her her left hand and the thing glowed blue.

"A Com Breaker," Shana explained as Rose focused on the thing, "It scrambles the mana in the area for about ten minutes. Not enough to negate weapons that use it, but enough to stop information from entering in and out of this room. Your pad probably wouldn't connect to the mana web if you tried."

She placed the item on the table before them and Rose immediately focused enough to hear the hum of mana around them, erratic. 'She's cautious,' She thought.

Shana glanced at her and took a breath.

"To answer your first question. . ."

She grinned.

"Just recently, I was a Reaper. I might have been an Outrider, but I've been trained to take up the roles of the others if the need arises. Tracking someone down isn't impossible using my skills and connections, especially if I've met them once before, and if they don't know I'm doing so."

Rose nodded. The girl had once tracked her down in the slums, after all. And, as she found out, Alos was a city with a lot of hidden eyes. "How did you know I was in the city though?"

At that, Shana frowned. "That was a coincidence. . .but it's also why I came here. . ."

She paused. Then she leaned forward on the couch, staring at the wall ahead, hazel eyes calm and determined.

"Imagine my shock when I found out, to retire from being a Reaper, you had to have your memories of your time as one wiped clean?" She mouthed. "Something like that. . .something like that is usually what happens to homunculi. I didn't even know we had the technology to do the same thing to a human. We shouldn't, as much as we shouldn't do so to someone like you."

Her collapsed hands fumbled about momentarily.

"Don't get me wrong," She clarified, "We shouldn't erase memories, from humans or homunculi. At least, that's my belief. I don't think it's the job of the state to determine when it's time to erase what makes a person."

She smiled.

"I'm not losing myself so that the state can keep its secrets, so I refused to go through with the procedure and broke out. And now, well, I'm on the run from Alos. A criminal."

"Shouldn't you get out of the city then?" Rose asked.

Shana chuckled.

"I will, sooner or later, but I have a lot of things that I still have to do here, a lot of people to meet, and I found something interesting."

"Which is?"

The girl turned her eyes to Rose.

"Before I left, I broke into the military's systems, at least, as much of it as I could," She said, furrowing her brows, "And I was quite surprised to find the name 'Rose: project WRATH' show up within the Reapers branch's database. Specifically, inside that of the Urban division, as a high security case, protected, even. I couldn't access much information, but the bits I did had a picture of you, naked and inactive with Bianca Blake standing before you with your core glowing in her hand--I'm guessing it was taken right before you were fully created--as well as your current location marked as 'within Alos'."

As Rose jolted, Shana paused once more, as if collecting her words carefully.

"I don't know how, I don't know why, and I don't know to what extent, as I couldn't dig deep enough before I was found out, but you're attached to Alos in some way, Rose."

Shana shook her head, rephrasing herself.

"Or, I should say, to a part of Alos."

Rose frowned, her hand twitching momentarily. In a split second, thoughts were flying in and out of her head, the core within her heart automatically beginning mana channeling to increase her processing speed. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Her golden irises jumped about, observing Shana and her expression.

'Her facial expressions seem genuine, and I can't spot any logical fallacies in her words. . .' Rose thought. She was tied to Alos? That seemed interesting. It seemed like another weight on her. She would have thrown the thought out of the window, but there was no reason to ignore it as of yet.

As the world regained its speed, Rose spoke.

"Do you know anymore?"

Shana shook her head.

"If I did, I'd tell you. If we want more information, we'd have to break into the military's database again, and that's a tough thing to do. I barely got out with my life."

Rose nodded. Though disappointed, it wasn't unexpected.

"Then tell me more about the military," She said, "Tell me about the Reapers."

As she saw it, if they had even a possibility of being her enemies, then she had to gather more information on them, starting with the most obvious.

"There are 5 types of Reapers," Shana held and spread a hand in the air, "Outrider. The division I'm a part of. Reapers connected to the military's Airforce. We pilot the most advanced fighter jets and mainly deal with missions away from and surrounding Alos's outside environment, sometimes even acting as human envoys. Additionally, we have a partner in our ears."

She dropped a finger.

"Urban. Reapers connected to the military's Police force. They are the fists and dogs of Alos, operating within the city itself. They deal with missions of safety within the circular walls of the state and also help with dungeon breaks, though they specialize in taking down rogue Geared and dangerous criminals. They can work in groups or solo depending on their ability in relation to the mission."

She dropped another.

"Field. Reapers connected to the Army branch of the military. They fight on the battlefield, within conflicts with other cities or other standard battles, and usually work as a small, highly skilled, platoon. Like dropping a surgical knife in the middle of a war of butter cutters."

She took and released a breath as another finger fell.

"Logic. Reapers connected to the Airforce, same as my division. They deal with the cyberspace, the mana web, info breaking, communications, and espionage. Though their main mission is helping all divisions of Reapers, whether through intel or providing off-city support, they are most connected to Outriders as they are where we get our partners from."

In the end, only one finger remained.

"Last but not least," She paused, "Vagabond. Reapers that mostly deal with assassinations. Though they can do other things, they are trained to be sent out into the world, seek their target in secret, and kill them before regaining contact with a Logic stationed most closely to the area—thus the city—and returning. Confidential missions, essentially. Tied to no branch of the military, they are the most secretive division that works with little interference from all others."

She let her closed fist fall to her lap.

"So Samuel is most likely a Vagabond," Rose muttered as she thought, then extrapolated. 'Sent to kill Paul Walker and the slum lords to make the acquisition of the slums easier, and chosen specifically for the task because he had previous relations with him. . .'

Rose paused as Shana watched her. A deeper, more unsettling thought had struck her. She grew suspicious, the image of a dark elven homunculus in her mind. The image of a cheeky girl who led her through much of her key experiences in the slums. From meeting Samuel to the S.O.S, through much of the war itself and siding with Brian Chaz and his sister, she was in the shadows alongside her.

"Is there. . .is there a Reaper called Mare?" She asked, "A Logic, perhaps?"

Shana shrugged. "I'm no walking database. I don't know every Reaper."

Rose nodded.

Yet, the thought didn't leave her mind.

Mare was freakishly good at collecting information, knowing the ins and outs of the slums even better than a slum lord. Not only that, she had an underground base she termed 'Rat Cave' full of tech, something she claimed was from her father, which Rose now theorized didn't make sense. How could one man living in the slums—granted, an info broker—have built something like that? There was also the noteworthy point that she had information on how to get into contact with an officer in Alos and enter the city. . .though she did have a reason for that as well.

'There are holes.' Rose thought about the barriers to her hypothesis, 'Firstly, she's a homunculus. Secondly, she's also looking after a woman she claims is her mother, who seemed genuinely sick. Thirdly, she seemed fully capable of snooping in the night and day without tiring. And, lastly, the mere possibility of a different situation does not nullify the trustworthiness of the current situation.'

She paused her thoughts.

"Can homunculi become Reapers?" She asked.

Shana waved her hand. "No. At least, not officially. They might be used but not given the title."

'She could be an exception,' Rose thought, 'Though, she could also have lied to me and her clients. I never did feel any energy readings from her, but I thought that would simply be due to a core barrier like I now have.'

Rose also realized she never bothered to focus on the girl with <Igris> in her grasp to check if she had a heart beat. After all, she had never suspected her of faking her being, and she had never suspected the memories she obtained from Maria as being false.

In the end, Rose decided she had too little information to determine a conclusion. She would simply have to be more cautious around the girl if or when she next met her, as well as test her hypothesis.

"By the way. . ." Shana continued, "While she shares leadership over the other branches with the Senate, the city lord is in sole charge of the Police branch of the military, and thus the Urban Reapers. So, she should also know about you."

"Alright, Rose nodded. 'So not only is Bianca connected to the elves and the highly influential class of the city, the Urban Reapers, but also to the city lord.'

She sighed.

"Sounds like you have bad luck all around," Shana spoke incredulously.

"Yeah. . ."

"On a plus side, you're the most interesting homunculus I've ever met, and not just because you have a Gear."

Rose didn't feel much too comforted by those words. Instead, she pursed her lips.

Shana chuckled. "Now don't do that, that just reminds me of an old friend."

"Oh? Who?"

"Banri, a homunculus that used to be a part of my platoon when I was a captain. . ." She muttered, "Chirpy boy, always clamping his mouth on food though, my food. Way too cute for his own good. . .and way too kind to be firing weapons. They all were."

She sighed and kicked back, relaxing into the couch as she stared at the ceiling, thinking about her past.

"An untimely dungeon break almost wiped us all out. I could have died. I should have died. But they gave their lives, saving me without my command. In the end, I walked away with only a missing arm, too much mental baggage, and an opportunity at a promotion," She chuckled, "Honestly, I only became a Reaper so I wouldn't have to lead homunculi to their deaths again. And I only chose to be an Outrider because that division was the one that picked me up before I could bleed to death."

She paused.

"I still thought I was doing good. I still thought I was serving my city well. Until I met you and the memories came rushing back, more painful than any previous times. At that point, I couldn't bring myself to capture you. It felt as if I would be going against my old friends."

Rose watched the eyes of the girl tear up, bags of black beneath the paths left by the water droplets.

"You sound like you could use a rest, why don't you stay the night?" She asked, "I could make you a cup of Rose Tea, perhaps?"

Shana Striker shook her head and stood, picking up the Com Breaker from the table before returning it to her satchel.

"Thanks for the offer but no," She said, already pacing towards the door. "I don't want to intrude. And I've got business to take care of, and running to do. If I stay in one place for too long, I could tangle the people around with my troubles."

She paused and glanced back at Rose as the homunculus followed her.

"Can you believe my previous teammate is the one heading the chase after me? He used me running away to get a promotion of all things!" She chuckled, finding it humorous. She sighed, suddenly tired. Then muttered, "If he was here, John would knock some sense into such a blue falcon. . .honestly, they all would."

Rose frowned, seeing the girl flicker so easily between emotions. "You really need a rest."

Shana waved her hand behind her as she opened the door.

"If I always did what I was told, you wouldn't be alive and standing there right now," She replied.

Rose could only shrug. "When will I see you again then? Alive, hopefully?"

"Oh, I'll be alive, no doubt about that," Shana spoke as the night's wind rustled her hair, gazing pass the houses across the street and the city in quiet contemplation, "You'll see me again. Soon enough."

A moment later, her figure morphed, shifting into a luminescent bird glowing with multiple colors.

"I've done what I came for. See you later, Rose."

The bird flapped, blowing a gust of wind as it ascended into the sky.

'So she's a Hollow. . .' Rose thought, watching its flight and realizing the girl had not used her full capabilities to take her down during their fight.

The bird disappeared, its color changing to darkness as it blended with the night sky, flying out of her sight. Rose watched, thinking about the days ahead before turning back inside.

"Until next time, Shana."

She didn't know when their paths would next cross, but she had a feeling it was only a matter of time.

'For now, I still have a dungeon to climb and other mysteries to solve.'