Act 3

 

Trilogue

 

Becca sat on an unfolded lounge chair, the sunrays on her face from the sun above on the shores. The sand felt nice between her fingers and toes, like powder, so she let herself loose and let out a sigh. It was a sigh that felt as light as a piece of fabric, but as heavy as a noose constricting about her neck. The warm salty breeze, the serenity offered by an artificial breeze, letting her forget there was ever an entire station with a million mouths to feed outside. If it meant she could put aside her traumas for a few minutes, she'd gaslight herself into forgetting the world.

She'd pretend they were all gone, because she had nowhere else to go. What else could she do?

"Having fun are? Gssskhihihi." A voice, dripping with sadism and playfulness said near. Becca tilted up her shades, observing Jack in a yellow swimsuit and sunhat, in contrast to her own blue-and-white striped leotard. The obsidian gem reached into a basket of white petals and threw them over her, as if celebrating a wedding.

"Hakkkyahaha. Waaow, you're sure in heaven when in a stupid program like this sugah. Long nights in jail getting to you?" Becca rolled her eyes but smiled back at Jack, getting up slowly. They walked towards the shore and, as the water reached their ankles, paused for a moment to observe the white foam being created by the waves. It seemed so nice to have a break, even if it was just for a few minutes. The holographic water and sky flickered, breaking into a green and black grid.

What in God's name are we doing here? Becca thought. The entire scene dissipated, grid folding like a collapsing tent when three figures stepped forward. "You've been in there forever, we reserved the holoroom." A deep voice said, which she recognized as a Llavalite, with her a Draxorian and a synth lady standing bulky and bulwark overhead. The trio pushed Becca to the ground. "Risen, haven't we gone through this enough?" Becca asked. "Yes, we've done this more times than I can count, it's practically our job to keep holo-hogs like you in your place." said the Draxorian, "Now, stand still and allow us to do our jobs." She grabbed a pipe and ran forward to smash it over Becca's cheek.

"You know," she said, her voice tinged with a weary amusement, "it's funny how they think this is going to distract us. It's like they've forgotten I once lived in NeoCity, and this is just a pathetic imitation." Becca leapt back and slammed her head at the girl's scaly green forehead. "Bitch!"

The Llavalite threw her fists at the girl, who dodged and bit her wrist. The synth lady had a plank weapon ready, though, and Becca took the full brunt of the attack, going down to the ground. She was still conscious, but her limbs were numb and her ears were buzzing. It was all coming back to her, the constant fights. It was so exhausting. Stars did she miss it.

"Get up!" The Llavalite yanked at her wrist, but Becca could feel herself getting heavier. A voice behind shouted. "That's enough! Everyone, back to your cells." The figure arriving was a

black hollyblue, a familiar face. Becca could see the Draxorian and the Llavalite scowl, before stepping back. The supervisor walked near, giving Becca a hand, helping her stand up.

"Becca! Long time no see, huh?" She didn't even look at the person helping her up. "I see your respect is as on point as ever." The gem said, her voice full of sadness. "I hope you have an excuse, but we'll spare that lecture. It's time for your weekly checkups." The woman let Becca up and they walked into a clinic. The black gem took out a set of syringes from her pocket and read the instructions, while Jack was guided down to her cell, back against the leathery wall and floormat.

The syringe was injected into her arm, and she was feeling better already. "What are you doing?" The voice behind asked. The dark gem smirked. "This is a special antidote I've been using to keep you alive. You are free to get it any time you want. I hope this clears your mind of your violent urges before the Medical Advisor sees you." "If anything, it only makes me angrier." Becca shot back. "If you have nothing to say, try getting back to your cell." She didn't respond, as much as she wanted to. The gem sighed and started to walk out, when Becca stopped her. "This isn't jail, this is purgatory. The Xistress said I could leave anytime I wanted, as long as I agree to get shipped off to Orchid and never return." Holly Black sighed. "I know. So why are you still in here?"

Becca shrugged. "The fuck would I want to go back there for? Far as I'm concerned, I get 3 meals a day and it's a bloodbath out there. Civil war in Orchid dragging negotiations down?" "And you think you can just live out like this forever?" Holly folded her arms. "Who knows, maybe I can." Holly sighed and left the room, leaving Becca to her thoughts.

Soon a woman with two purple pigtails and a labcoat came in, arriving with clunky equipment that extended to a dozen metallic arms from her backpack. "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii test subject!" Entrapta cheered, sitting on a slided chair and positioning the equipment, Becca on a chair, legs spread, ready to be assaulted by more tests.

"Now, let's see if we can shed any light on the enigma in your fleshy chassis this morning!" She took out a power saw and drill and began to prod at her arm and chest. "No pain, no gain!" She cheered, as Becca braced herself. "Eh hehe. You have a very interesting body. I'm sorry we only get 20 minutes to study you, I was hoping to find any anomaly of interest in that time." She smiled at the girl, before taking out a vial and rubbing the contents on Becca's forehead, before the entire station flickered like a damaged circuit board. "Tsk, those backup Ion- generators sure aren't doing their money's worth." She started to cut an insection into Becca's chest, observing implants she'd surgically put in herself prior. "You know, if you behave real nice and wait a few weeks, I have a very special gift for you, think you're gonna love it!" Becca snorted at that. The purple haired scientist put the equipment away, and smiled a very sadistic smile at the girl. "I know, I'm really doing you a favor by doing this." She turned around and left, Becca following to her cell. "Holly, get me out of here, please. I'm done." The black gem turned around and escorted Entrapta out, a smirk on her face.

Becca, seated on the grimy cot, stared at the plush padded wall, her gaze fixed on a single speck of rust peeling from the metal. Her missing arm throbbed with phantom pain, a constant reminder of her current predicament. Across from her, Jack, clad in an obsidian latex jumpsuit, bounced a rubber ball against the cell bars, her face a mask of boredom, eyes changing colors every few seconds like an eerie lava lamp.

"I didn't want to be alone. I thought I could make things right. I thought I could protect them. But... I ended up hurting everyone. And I don't know what to do."

The voice that came out of her was so faint, it was barely audible.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk to me sugah." The black gem replied, but Becca just walked and sat in her cell, watching the floor crumble under her. "Talking to me would make things easier. Talking to me, you won't feel alone."

"Don't play me. Tell me who you're working with, I know you're not just here by accident." The black gem snorted. "What do you want to know? My middle name, my address? Tell me, how much do you know about me, really?" Becca laughed at that.

Becca choked back a sigh, her heart sinking at the casualness of the confession. "You really don't remember anything do you? That night with me, Nathan... yeah, you killed him. You killed both of us. Remember?"

"No, no, I don't think I did," Jack said, her expression genuine. "I've been killing a lot of people lately. It's hard to keep track." Her voice held a hint of a mischievous grin.

"You really could care less about human life, that's why its a pain. A ghost haunting the halls of this prison. You want to kill me, to kill my friends, that's not why you're here."

"Humans?" Jack's voice rose a pitch. "Why are you saying that? I'm a Gem. I've been a Gem my whole life. And it sounds like you're saying you knew me... but how? And I'm not here to try to kill you, silly. It's been two years at this point, wouldn't I have bonked your silly head by now?"

Becca felt a pang of frustration. "If you could, I'm sure." As much as she disliked the woman, she didn't feel the same risible anger that Thatti did for whatever she did with Nathan, knowing what she knew. The only regret she had was that Jack only pretended to kill Goliath, she didn't do it for real. "How did you guys fake Goliath's death anyway?"

"We used my Cascade to slow his regeneration temporally. He has the same powers I have, so once he was buried we undid it and he healed right up." Jack shrugged. "I'm not the biggest murderer out there. And you're so nice right? How many people have you killed sugah?"

"I only want to kill that sonaofbitch Nezra. Don't judge me for my past." "Likewise

dear."

She got out of her cot and paced, Jack following behind her from her cell and watching, but

not saying anything, which Becca appreciated, as it gave her time to think.

Jack kicked the bars. "I haven't gotten to know you, haven't done anything to piss you off in 2 years. You want to know who my only friend is? My mom. And he tried to kill her." The black gem sighed. "I don't even know if she's alive anymore. Its a sucky feeling.."

Becca didn't answer. For such a psycho, hearing them pretend to care about anyone twisted her in knots inside. She walked back to her cot and sat on it, her arms crossed, eyes shut, trying to avoid her tormentor's gaze. She was surprised when the woman knelt before her, looking her straight in the eye.

"I get that look. I want to know too. If you're even a fraction of the person you used to be, you can change. We can both find our way, bless our hearts. I'm not a big murderer, just a little murder. A murderer petit!"

"Killing never makes you stronger." Becca folded her arms together.

"Sugah, it makes you tougher. The more you can get through, the more you're able to handle. What happened was you got stuck, and they just kept pouring more shit onto you." Jack folded her arms together.

"So. It seems we're a lot alike." The black gem whispered. "How so?" Becca asked.

Jack pondered for a moment. "I think maybe you're looking for the same thing as me. We're both... looking for a reason to go on living." Becca scowled.

Becca stood up. "Whatever. I'm not a little murderer either. I'm not here for some pathetic excuse for a rehab. And I'm not a bitch to play with. If you're really trying to get on my good side, please just get me out of here." "You know they'll let you leave anytime right?" Jack raised her brow.

"I meant get me out of here the 'correct way.' I'm not being shipped back to Orchid, you know why."

Jack sighed. "Jailbreak?"

Becca nodded. "Jailbreak. We're escaping TONIGHT."

"I'm not getting you a warp ticket once we're out of here." Jack winked at her, throwing her ball at Becca only for it to bounce inbetween the bars.

"I can take care of myself." Becca sneered. Time froze.

She blinked. Everything before her, her own thoughts, the walls around her, and the cellmates in their cots. All of it was gone. She was in a white void. Empty in every direction, save a descending black shadow. Becca frowned at the sensation. Flying on wings with Spirit-Chaser, was Jetti. Another Glitterkiss trick, or so she assumed. Jetti's jetblack hair flowed like ravens in the white void, a look of contempt on her face.

"You know they allow visiting hours right?" Becca scowled.

"This is a Glitterkiss hex that activates upon certain triggerwords. Like you know, discussing plans of escape." She replied. "The Xistress has Raquel record every word you say. You're NOT coming back. You're stuck here, right where you belong!" Jetti yelled her.

The minty girl sighed, smiling. "Are you really satisfied with leaving things like that?" She whistled and looked around the void. "You've had eyes for me since the day we met. Doesn't seem like a very satisfying revenge to me, leaving your worst enemy to relax in a cell. Complete with, luxury meals and a gym membership no less." Becca frowned. "Isn't that what we do, you know, fight each other? Isn't that the game we play? Why should this be any different?"

Jetti stood her ground. "You won't bait me. Your world is crooked, Becca. I don't have the patience to babysit your childish antics any longer." Her weapon rattled in her hand, sensing

her growing unease. "Keeping you locked in here is justice enough."

Becca sneezed. "Bullshit." She sashayed back and forth around Jetti. "You're just jealous of what I am."

"And that is?" Jetti asked.

"Someone free to decide their own future. I've let go of the past, you're still clinging to your dead sister in a literal lifetime ago, when you were a different person. Oh yeah, Jack told me all about that. You'd do anything to wring my neck right now, wouldn't you? You prattle about justice, but all you want is revenge I can taste the sourness in your mouth as if I've sucked you off. "

"You're not getting to me." She hissed.

Becca went right up to her face. "We've got plenty of history, and I bet you'd be more than happy to do the deed yourself. No one's stopping you. I'm unarmed- one, singular arm. You have time stopped, you've got Chaser with you. What could I do? Go ahead. Take your shot." Jetti glowered at Becca, her smile becoming thin. She sneered at the green-haired woman, but stayed quiet.

"Kill me right now. Or I'm just going to escape, I promise you that.." Becca told her. Jetti glowered at her. "Did you know, someone who murdered me in cold blood once has hung out just a cell over? I don't feel any animosity, as much as I thought I would. Not anymore, not towards Jack, or you. Because you're too small, to see me as a threat. You're small and petty and shallow, like a little girl mad over burnt plastic and torn doll hairs. You never tried to move on, you never tried anything. So obsessed with me that-" "SHUTUP THE FUCK UP-" Jetti blitzed

infront and slapped her to the ground.

"We're done." She said, a voice like sludge. Jetti laughed. "Don't think this is over. Not as long as you still breathe." Jetti turned around and she faded. Time resumed.

The void disappeared in an instant and she was back to her cell. She felt her hair ruffle, before going back to her cot. Becca let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, whatever Jeejee." Becca quietly explained the Hex.

"Well, what do you think? Should we try to ex-caycay?" Jack asked, seconds passing from

before.

"No. Forget it, let's stay and caycay later. They're onto us now, so we need to take careful

measures." Becca said. Jack nodded. They laid in their cells, starting to plan and bide their time.

Back in Echostar, Caleb and Jetti were in a fashion boutique full of formal latex wear. "Does this dress look good for a graduation? You're only coming as a guest speaker, but having Glitterkiss host a ceremony seems like a big deal, right?"

She kissed his cheek. "It's beautiful hon."

Caleb gave her a peck on her lips, a soft one. "It makes me happy seeing you smile." He said, a smirk on his face.

"I've never been happier in my life. You've made me a far better person than I was before." She took his hand and spun.

"You're being awfully quiet. Everything's going alright, right?" She nodded. "There's some noise with Becca, Goliath still wants me to keep an eye on her. He has other eyes over there but, she's a little bitch, always trying to start something."

Caleb frowned. "Are you sure we shouldn't do something about her babe?"

Jetti scoffed. "What can she do? It's been years sweetie. She'll be going off to Orchid soon as she cracks and then the Dominus can deal with her. We-" She put her two arms around Caleb and soothed into his backside. "Just need to worry about looking sharp tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow's going to be the best day of your life." Caleb squeezed her hand.

"It already is." She smiled and hugged him, going back to the mirror to hold the shining dress in front of her.

 

 

Weeks passed, Becca and Jack began making plans, keeping silent and communicating purely with non-verbal language and hand signals. Others inmates began to take notice, gathering near.

They had to keep their plans under wraps.

The day of the ceremony came. Jetti looked at herself in the mirror, the diamond-studded gown fitting perfectly onto her shoulders. It was a simple design, with a red and black color scheme.

The red star of Xi was printed center most on her chest, shining with the rest of the dress. "Looking good on graduation day, Missy?" Caleb's soft voice asked from behind. Jetti

blushed. The two looked out a curtain at Echostar's graduating class, thousand students awaiting her speech.

"We've made it." Caleb said, wrapping his arms around her. "You're going to help shape an entire new world."

"I hope I can make it up to you later." Jetti purred.

"Shut up. I only care about you." Caleb said, burying his face in her neck. Jetti smirked. She started to kiss Caleb's neck.

"You need to give your speech first, hon. We can play later." She pulled away. "Shall we?" The two beamed, held hands and walked out into the starlight of Xi.

The ceremony proceeded as planned. Crowds cheered. Jel, Sunny and Veronica accepted their plastic Stars like everyone else. Hours later they were thrown high into the air, cast among the blackened skies ceremoniously, turning to gleaming fireworks in the night.

Caleb and Jetti smooched onstage.

He kissed her on the lips and whispered in her ear, his soft breath caressing her cheek. She smiled at him, feeling her insides glow. "That's my girl." He said, a smirk on his face.

Becca was called to the visitor center, a laser barrier of translucent light between her and the sissy in a red wig, lipstick, petticoat dress and white gloves. They put her on the phone to the other side. "I see you've improved your disguise, Edric." Becca said. "Very funny." Blight responded, shuffling his wig and fixing up his lipstick. "We've been trying to work on the 'Deadbeat worm' solution, but a little eagle appeared and we haven't been able to get past it."

Outside of Citadel Node, White Nebula and Diane looked at the structure's entrance and shafts. Flying around in patrol and lounging abit, was Mercy and her fellow Void Queens. "Do you think you can take her?" Diane asked. White zoomed in on Mercy with her visors, scans reading her until numbers elevated beyond measure. "Not without backup. I get why you'd be tempted to, but I doubt we could do it alone. Not against someone as strong as her."

Diane nodded. "They have some sort of Hex enchantment around the institution. Cascade abilities, portals, teleportation, most of it won't work. We cannot just warp in there and expect to get anywhere." Diane clenched her fists. "She's the only thing keeping us out of these facilities."

She gestured at Citadel Node.

Becca sat in the visitor center, being handed a gift package by Edric, or 'Elria Monica' as she went by. "A cake. For your birthday! White said it'd be good to find your presents later." He said. "We'll keep looking for a good gift for you in the meanwhile, the Gifting tree needs its stuffers. I think we could really use someone like you to make our way out of this mess." Becca took the cake. "You said you were 'working' on it, what's your plan?"

He sighed. "Just stay in limbo until holiday, don't throw up yet."

Becca glared at him. "That's a terrible idea." She scowled, her hands shaking in front of the laser grid. Edric tapped the hologram window and the barrier vanished for a few flickering seconds. "I'll get my own gifts, don't keep coming back. I'm going to ex-caycay anyway on my own vac-caycay. Oh, and make sure you get a better disguise next time." She said, hanging up. Edric sighed. "Why does she hate me so much."

Minutes later back in her cell, she took a bite of the cake, before digging into it and finding a small handheld device. An Analemma. She sighed, before wrapping it around her wrist. She went out to the holoroom. "Do you really think you can get out of here with what we've got now?" She asked Jack in a simulation of an old vintage diner with a jukebox, loud music playing as they tilted in and whispered. Several other Obsidian gems were close.

Jack folded her arms, looking to the side. "We've got a dozen entree keys." She showed a bag of Peridot hands she'd secretly decapitated and kept in her gem's inner storage space, before putting it back into her eyes. "Weapons and exits won't work unless you’re staff, but I've got a cunning plan. We'll by disguising ourselves as guards ourselves. Once we get to the armory-"

The holographic diner was disrupted as three figures came in. The blockheaded trio marched forward. "We RESERVED THIS HOUR. How are we supposed to forget our stomach pain of Citadel food without a good DJ lounge?" The Draxorian yelled, her llavalite backup punching her fists.

Jack and Becca both sighed. The former stepped forward. "Soooo sorry guys. My my, I'd hate to ruin ya day!" The blockheads nodded. "We didn't think about the hour. I got a better idea guys, here's a sure way to make ya forget about the stomach pain." Jack picked up a chair, and carrying it forward, then slammed it down on the Draxorian's toes. She screamed, fire blazing from her screech. "YOU B-" The chair was jammed over her forehead. Becca was immediately tackled by the Synth and Llavalite, while the 8' Draxorian grabbed Jack by the neck. Becca struggled to fight off the two, until the Llavalite slammed down onto her back and she was flattened. The hologram dissipated, the rest of the inmates had a clear view from the surrounding room. "SMASH THEM TO PIECES!" "FIGHT!" "HAVE JACKS BACK!" They cried out.

The guards were alerted. Holly black came running to pull the group apart.

Becca was tackled and handcuffed, before being dragged along to her cell. The other Gem inmates began to clamor in the halls, chanting her name. "Becca! Becca!" They chanted. Jack was dragged along, too, the Draxorian spit out a chunk of blood along with three teeth and a broken jaw. Holly Black looked back and forth between the two, before sighing. Everything was a murmur and a then whistling whispers for the following hours.

Holly Black opened up Becca's bars. "Come with me. Entrapta wants to see you in the lab." She led her down the hall, a line of several prisoners still cheering her. "Seems you're becoming rather popular around here.

Becca took a deep breath, trying to get her head in a better place. She was taken to a small medical room where Entrapta was waiting with a sedative syringe and full rack of electric drills, lasers, circuits and metal tools.

"Heyyyy Becca." Entrapta waved. Becca glared. "Hi there."

"What a long journey we've both taken to get here." She said, holding the syringe up. "I just want to say I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd be getting to use this. The Xistress said I couldn't kill anyone, I've been on ice for years. And I couldn't give you a more fitting reward." She injected into Becca's neck as she sat on the counter and put down the syringe. "I thought you'd love it." She picked up power tool.

Becca paused. "I have your word this won't kill me?" She said as the drugs started to pull her under.

"Science makes no promises! Only, discovery." Entrapta began to operate on her. The drill began to cut through her shoulder, lasers and metalliferous polymers being meshed and soldered together. Becca screamed at the top of her lungs, the worst pain she'd ever felt came to life and sent her into a nightmare of exposed nerves, hard surgery and electrical grid being soldered into her nervous system.

Hours later she woke up in a new room, her right shoulder completely covered by a blue metallic shell, a red-and-black plastic clasp holding it in. Her new fingers were covered in blue plastic as well, the same colors as her new metallic skin grafts around her shoulder, ribs and neck brace.

She raised a metal hand.

"Ha.. hahahaha! This feels great!" Becca cried out, laughing hysterically while embracing having two arms once more. Becca smirked, seeing her new metallic hand clasp with the

black and red emblem of Xi in the back of her hand.

"A light-weight model of my own personal design, for a directive touch. I did the redesigns of the carbon-tubing, graphene chassis, the programming and and everything! A metallic skin graft, with a few little add-ons. Like this one. As light as air and hard as Atlas steel. It's a new technology I just started with the Xistresses permission." Entrapta said, adjusting the new prosthetic.

"Can I really use this?" Becca held it up, fingers wriggling. Entrapta nodded.

"That's more of a test. The Xistress is always interested in new scientific experiments and

new ways of rehabilitating. She also had me do it as a punishment for letting you roam free, no

painkillers or anesthetics. I did it with 80% precision on my first try too. She's not letting me experiment as much as before, with the Holodive anomaly and all that." She said, tinkering the graft's with airbrushing as she adjusted.

"So what's the punishment?" Becca asked, snickering. She was still sweating from the intensity, but it all hardly seemed to register with her after the shock of waking up with a

new arm and two hands for once.

Entrapta looked both ways, then snuck in a beer. "Sshshs! My treat." She poured a little on Becca's shoulder near the steaming, still-sore areas uptop, then handed Becca the cold bottle. The feeling of alcohol relieving her nasty aches, the taste of it down her throat, holding it with a new metal arm?

Becca began to giggle, a real deep snort of a laugh, as if she were drunk with a new found love and happiness, finally complete, finally able to control her own life again. She smirked and winked at Entrapta. "Thanks honey." "Don't mention it. I do whatever I want now! And so do you." She said, giving her another can of frosty beer.

 

 

The next day

In the Citadel Node, the tension continued to build. Becca and Jack, along with a small group of trusted inmates, were finalizing their plans. She flexed her metallic fingers, the smooth blue metal cool against her skin. The plan had been meticulously crafted over weeks of covert communication and silent rehearsals. Within the holoroom, the group played videogames in an arcade and chatted, Becca driving a wheel.

"We'll start a distraction in the mess hall," Jack continued, outlining the plan in hushed tones. "That should draw most of the guards away from the main control room. While they're occupied, we'll slip through the maintenance tunnels and access the security system. We can deactivate the safeguards on the armory and remotely access the high-tech cells on the lower floors. Once they're unleashed the alarms will go off into a full on riot. While they're focused on the prisoners escaping below, we head to the upper floors disguised as guards and make our way to the docks."

"There's a huge setback." Becca replied, turning the wheel as her seat tilted accordingly. "Waiting outside the prison is the most powerful woman in the galaxy right now." Images of

Mercy flashed in both their minds. "If she spots us, we're done."

Jack nodded. "I know. I only have faith she won't be looking up at us. This is the moment of truth." Suddenly the game was unplugged, the screen turning black, an android holding the plug. The two looked behind them, a Draxorian and a Llavalite standing behind them.

"Dickhead." Becca said. "Let's fucking go." The two began to brawl, throwing each other at, Becca slamming their newly acquired prosthetics the Draxorian's head and throwing her like a weightless toy. "Ah ha! This arm is amazing?" She said triumphantly, before pressing her boot to their chest. "W-wait, we didn't come here to fight! Somethings going on, we know you're planning a j-" Becca muffled them quickly, letting a moment of silence. "Ssh. Watch for triggerwords."

They sat back and began to talk near a bowling alley, throwing balls into the pins within the holographic theater. "You have to listen to us and help us, leave." Jack said. The three looked at one another, taking in the plan after a long explanation.

"Oh god. No way we can take her down. She'd snap our necks." The Llavalite said. "About the girl inside. We may have someone... something who can help deal with that." The synth told them.

The Draxorian guided Becca and Jack through the vents, eventually sliding two floors below to a where the trio could look out an air shaft. On the otherside was a locked chamber with a gigantic vault, two psii agents always standing guard at all times. "They say beyond that gate, what's on the other side is the most dangerous prisoner they've encountered yet." The draxorian whispered. "Some rumors say it's a secret experiment, others it's some sort of unstoppable monstrosity they created a few years back that came back to bite them in the ass. My scales get chills thinking about it. She's never left the cell since we've been here." They said.

"Who the fuck is on the other side to need that much security?" Jack asked.

"We do NOT KNOW. That's why it's kept on lockdown. No one knows." The Draxorian said, the three trying to listen in. "No one at least, except apparently the Xistress. No one's dared enter, no one has passed the wards yet." The Llavalite shushed them to keep quiet. "Anyway," The lizard girl kept her voice down. "They keep 8 rotating Psii agents at all times, 4 at any given moment just to keep the prisoner mentally pacified. But look at the size of that vault, who needs 3 meters of Atlas Steel walls to keep them in? If that juggernaut bitch gets out, it's over. They won't ever stop her if she goes on a rampage." The three nodded, the image of Mercy standing on Citadel Node's docks playing in Becca's mind.

"So we just, let them out?" Jack asked.

"If any of this is true, there's no way even Mercy can stand sentry outside the Citadel. We can make our break while that thing in there is wreaking havoc." Becca said.

"Is it really that simple?" The Liz asked. "If it can threaten Mercy it can threaten us." The liz

replied.

"We just, have to take that chance! Can you get us in?" Becca asked. The three conferred

with one another for a moment. "We can get in the door, but not the vault. You're going to need a plan B, to get in the goddamn vault." The scales said.

Jack nodded, schemes brewing.

"I have a way we can get break open the vault. They took my umbrella into the Armory..."

The next day

The air in Citadel Node crackled with a nervous energy. The lights went off, Becca and Jetti both in their sleep cells, and the others, too. Alarms blared, their piercing wails echoing through the sterile corridors, while guards scrambled to contain the chaos, their shouts barely

audible over the cacophony. Becca and Jack looked at each other. “I’m not sure what’s going on but, we need to move NOW. We’ll commence Operation Hummingbird early.” Becca told her.

Jack reached for her left arm, and the two began to glow as Jack Rhosella’s body melted over her,

sliding and squelching into a sticky, flowing sliver around the girl’s form.

 

 

1.7 years ago

The cell door clanged shut, echoing the metallic despair that had settled upon Becca. She stood there, her one remaining arm wrapped in bandages. The air inside the jail's dining lobby was thick with the reek of sweat and fear, and the other prisoners, a mix of misfits, criminals, and the unlucky, stared at her with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. Each of their latex uniforms shone white and clean, an impossibility, for the only thing white inside these walls were the bones of their victims. She sat down and began to eat her liquid slop bubbling in her cup. Suddenly, Jack slammed her tray on the opposite side. "Room for one more sugah?" She asked, Becca grunting and ignoring her.

"So, first time in a jail? Citadel Node has it going on don't it?" She smiled cheeky, eyes changing colors slowly as they kept on Becca. The green-haired girl refused to respond. She picked up her tray and attempted to go to the seat across the room, Jack following her. "How you gonna feel, babe? Your first taste of prison? It's exciting, right? You in the mood for something rough?" Becca took a bite of slop, swallowing, and then turned to Jack with a sneer. "Will you shut up and leave me the hell alone?" She asked sharply.

"What are you going to do, babe? Fight me? Because I could snap you in half like you are." "Shut up and get bent you psycho, please." Jack grinned, the teeth looking like jagged knives. "I don't think you know who you're talking to, darling. The only thing I won't eat around here are these dumplings. You, on the other hand, I would like to devour." The guard, standing idly, approached the table and said, "Miss, I think it's time for you to get back to your cell." Jack looked at the guard with her rainbow eyes. "But I haven't finished eating."

"You can eat back in your cell." The woman said.

"Nah.." Jack held up the metal trey. "You can KEEP IT." And smashed it against their face, the painful process sending them flying onto the floor with a bloody lip. Jack held the guard at the jaw and screamed in her face. "The universe is composed of a system of impartial elements sugah, you want moral value? Then you have to give moral value to yourself."

The guard whimpered, her eyes wide, and Jack released her. Becca stared back at her, trembling. “What did you do to get in here?” She asked. “I didn't do anything, that's why

they

sent me here.” The door clanged open, and Holly Black motioned for Becca to come

hither for her examinations. Jack sighed as she returned to her table. “Well, I’ll see you later, doll." She

flashed her teeth.

Weeks gradually passed, Becca trying to avoid the obsidian gem whenever she could. While in their cells, the latter would throw crass jokes a but Becca only sneered at her. "So, when we get a cell together you wanna become prison gay or what?" She snickered, licking

between her fingers. Becca cringed. “I’m not your little side bitch, and you can keep your weird ass thoughts to yourself.” She turned around in her bed. This was the girl that had brutally brought her crowbar on Thatti's body, Goliath's little murderous imp. A monstrous freak that didn't even

remember the sort of person they used to be prior. She absolutely couldn't take any chances with her, Becca reminded herself. "Don't push your lick with me- I mean luck with me." She decried. Jack blinked, then shook her head with a huff, then fell back on her own bunk. "It's a good thing I don't have to push you like that, because my orgasm game would bend you in two."

The girl was called to another examination as before, Entrapta waiting with scanners, syringes to draw blood and an assortment of monitoring equipment. She motioned for Becca to have a seat in the chair and began taking readings of her body. "Outside a few prison pounds, no major changes where the Enigma is concerned! You do seem to have a strange temporal fluctuation however." "Temporal fluctuation?" Becca asked, sitting forward. "What kind of temporal fluctuation?"

"Seems to be from some sort of energy burst. Some kind of anomaly in your energy field that's causing some time distortions. We need to a deeper investigation, I'll do a biopsy. Just hold still while I get a tissue sample." Entrapta's backpack pushed out a round saw and began to spin it near, sparks flying as it buzzed around Becca. "Just a tiny bit of skin to examine the tissue, I won't harm you, I swear." She said. "Get that THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Becca screamed, kicking the mechanical arm until it swerved and cut the top of Entrapta's forehead. With a yelp she fell back, a small splurt of blood splattering. "OW! You want to cut me? No, we are not going to have any of that." She pressed a button on her panel and guards came running in, Holly Black restraining Becca upon seeing the injury.

"Let me go, I'll kill you!" "No, you won't." Holly warned. "50 days solidary. And until you learn some respect, don't expect a bite."

Becca was left at the bottom of a dark vertical tunnel, the 50 days of solitary confinement feeling like an eternity. She spent the days staring at the wall, unable to move, and only eating the bare essentials at first. When Holly Black had demanded she say 'please' two weeks in and apologize, she absolutely refused and no further food came with every visit. It felt like the universe was conspiring against her, the world collapsing and her dreams fading like a dying star, no one could help her. She'd lay on the floor staring up and reflecting on everything that had transpired.

The way she had grown to hate herself, the way she had been given her powers from Headhunter and how Goliath had destroyed her, the way she had lost everything she had ever had and loved and lay desolate at the bottom of her cell.

Her stomach growled. Her body's nutrients drained. A loud crash came from above, and she heard scurrying, then the echoing of boots. A single apple fell thru the grates of the tunnel. She picked it up, looked at it suspiciously and took a bite. It was delicious, and made her weakened body feel better.

As the weeks passed, Becca would go days without food, only the occasional fruit or snack falling from the grate. Sometimes a nutribar, others a single pear. She took what she could get and gobbled it greedily like a gremlin. She'd maintained her pride to get through, accepting the solitary confinement as the only way out and not uttering a single word to her captors. Holly Black after 51 days said she could leave as long as she apologized to Entrapra. She gave them a rude gesture instead.

"Fuck off, I'll never apologize to you, not even if I'm dead." Holly sighed, motioning to the floor for Becca to lay down. "We'll see about that." "I can do this for lifetimes, I'm a master at enduring pain." She challenged.

Becca was left alone in the cell, alone with herself, her powers and her sanity. She did

what she could to endure, she had a lot of time to think. She'd tried hard to keep from thinking of all that she had lost, the pain from knowing that none of it had been worth it. And the way things had turned out... She tried to remember all of the good times with Goliath before he had betrayed her and they had become enemies. She tried to think of something to hope for, something to cling to and remember how she had always been the master of her own destiny.

Thatti? She was in a million pieces being collected like an art project from a deranged killer. Lake’s whereabouts were unknown. Caleb and his friends had abandoned her. Goliath was ruling from his golden throne his eyes gleaming with the fire of his newfound power. "I'm better than this." She whispered to herself. "I'm better than all this bullshit!" She sat up, determined to figure out the answer to everything. What could possibly save her? What would turn everything around? Where was the light at the end of the tunnel?

A light was thrown into the tunnel. Blinding, blazing. Ripped with coiled explosives.

Becca leapt back as coils attached to fuses were tossed down below with her, the sparks and fire quickly spreading around her area. "Oh come on." She looked up, four prisoners grinning above. "Holly gave us visitor hours for good behavior. Thought we'd burn the stink out of the little grounded broad." "Living a dog's life these days huh?" " "A bitch's life, to be specific." "Hey, I wanna pet it." They laughed and the flames spread.

"SCREW YOU ASSHOLES!" Becca said, the flames licking at her feet and smoke rising to the ceiling grate. Ida, Cayleigh, Tiff, Aly and Kelsey. They were known as 'The Valkyries' by other prisoners, a pack of girls that had done their time together for various charges and had taken to harassing and assaulting the other inmates. Ida pushed her head below the top of the metal tunnel, a lit torch in her hand. "Why don't you burn youself sweetie, let me see those pretty ass cheeks all roasted and flaming!" "Yeah, I bet you’d look fine as as a toaster strudel." They snickered as the flames leapt towards the floor, licking at her skin. She stared them with a glare. "Why don't you all fuck off!?!" They grinned wider, flashing their lips, and jumped back as something was tossed at them. Becca couldn't make out what, simply that a rainbow jewel fell thru the gate and strange black fluid soon dripped around it, followed by a series of metal

silverwear. Cayleigh fell as a black claw clung to the grate, the metal bending and shuddering as a series of black tentacles exploded out of it and quickly seized around her like vines. "What the fuck is going on?" Ida screamed.

Becca heard a chilling voice from the multicolored jewel. "Pick me up and put me to your shoulder if you want to live." She recognized it immediately and shuddered. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME-" The coils exploded louder, creating larger bursts of flame and nearly knocking Becca into a wall. "Okay okay!" She picked up the jewel and held it up her broad soldiers. "This is going to tickle. Fusion always does." A secretion of jetblack ink began to flow from the jewel, forming an arm that quickly latched onto Becca and went further, sealing her in an inky, latexy carapace like layer that began infecting her torso and chest down, soon covering her whole.

The Valkyries looked down. A woman appeared from the tunnel, her face hidden in darkness, eyes glowing cerulean, violet, emerald and crimson in shifts, her voice reverberating like thunder, yet somehow calm and controlled. She picked up a metal spoon and knife and began stabbing them into the walls, using them as climbing equipment to quickly push her way out.

The group panicked as she pushed the grate out from the bottom with a punch and climbed to freedom. The girls began to run in fear. "Stop this! Stop right there!" The woman said, holding up the spoon and knife like they were weapons and making to approach the rest of them. "How about

we not?" Cayleigh said. The woman stepped into their circle and held out a spoon and knife, her arm wrapped in a tight rubbery layer. She dropped the utensils, ripped apart the knife and tossed it like a violent frisby until it smashed against Tiff and Aly's faces, ricocheting until it knocked out Ida. The prisoners looked at her in fear. She bashed Cayleigh and Kelsey's heads together with her hand, causing them to go unconscious. Then, without any warning, the

entirety of the confinement tunnel exploded behind them. She flew into the air, a cloud of black smoke filling the room as everyone coughed and gasped. The explosion was so large that it made an imprint in the tunnel walls, with black scorch marks and fissures remaining on the concrete. She stared at them with wide eyes, the remaining Valkyries looking away and holding their ears. The woman spoke again.

"I hate people."

She screamed, a multicolored blast unleashing a shimmering light that engulfed the Valkries and reduced them to a bloody burnt smudge.

The woman soon wandered off after the escape, her eyes blazing rainbow in the blackened halls until she was alone in a darkened chamber. The rest of the body of the woman was a mix of latex and rubber with an emerald in her palm where her arm was missing before. She began to slide off Becca and divide, splitting off from Becca and freeing her from their fusion, the latter hacking in a coughing fit upon gaining her freedom.

Jack’s her legs trembled, every step had her head pounding and her mind whirling. She felt lost, abandoned. She slumped against the wall, the pounding getting louder and louder. Jack, began to reach into her ear, reaching so far that they bled her eardrums and pulled something wriggling inside, ripping out what appeared to be something she shouldn't have even had left in the first place. Her hand punched harder and harder, cracking her own bone, ripping through flesh and hard plates, tearing right through her physical structure to tear apart her head from the side in a morbid, violent tear. “W-what are you doing, stop it!” Becca yelled.

Jack’s eyeball nearly popped out as the top of her cranium was cracked and burst into a gushing black waterfall of blood.

The seeping gushing residue and torn flesh poured out, covering her hands in a sticky paste as she tried to claw it out. The voices wouldn't stop, and she dug further and further, smashing her own head father and farther until her hands were stained black, a golden glowing parasite with moth-like wings and dozen tendrils that wiggled from the wound. With great difficulty, the gem began tearing at the parasite and ripping it out of her bleeding brain, until it tore out like steel trap, taking half her torn face, her cheeks, chunks of braingoo and entire jaw with it. She shoved the gleaming flapping thing to the floor and smashed it under her boot.

The sound of the dead entity gushed and bubbled on the floor, intermixed with the red electricity of Jack’s slow regeneration, until the lethal fissure had completely repaired itself. She clamped her jaw and face back into place.

Her head went still, quiet, eyes going wide as she stared at the walls. "J-Jack?" Becca said, Jack slumped down against a wall and breathed heavily.

"What, what the hell did you do?" Becca asked.

"Fusion, for Obsidian gems is pretty rough. But it comes in handy." Jack said, then looked

at her. "You want a gun? I can turn into one of those things and blows their brains out and-" "Stop. Just stop." Becca gasped, waggling her new arm that Jack had just been merged with moments ago.

"What was that, shitty thing you just pulled out of your ear?" She asked. Jack snorted. "Mom put that in there, bless her heart."

"A-astrid?" Becca asked.

"Her. I got, abit hard to control growing up. What teenager doesn't have a phase? Some poor excuse of a parasite designed to make me her good little girl." Jack spit out a wad of black goop.

Becca sat with her and pulled her head against her shoulder. She began to slump back against the wall aside and sit down with her.

"Jack... why are you really here?" She asked.

Jack, her voice unusually calm looked at her with those eyes. The light still shone in them.

 

 

A few months prior

Goliath whispered into Jack's ear, looking at Becca over in the Glitterkiss base, Goliath smiled, looking back at Becca's broken body. "Jack, I need you to do a big favor for me. No, not a favor. A promise. I need you to stay with Becca."

"Wha-what?!" Jack shook her head, looking at her.

"I'm ordering you to keep her alive. Promise me you'll protect her with everything you have. I need her alive Jack, she means more to me than the world. So promise me you'll stay with her. I need you to do this, to survive, to make it. Without her it's all over. Do you understand?" He cleared his throat.

“You have two promises you must keep, and absolutely never break. The first, is to obey whatever Becca says, no matter what it is, no matter what she needs, unless it contradicts the second. Secondly, occupy her and keep her safe at any and all cost. I’m telling you your purpose from this day forth is to keep these two promises to me, do you understand?”

Jack gave a good long look at Becca, breathed deeply and then giggled. "Promise! You got it sugardaddy!"

He gave her a fistbump.

The present

Becca paused after hearing Jack's confession. "So he asked you to watch me? So what." Jack laid on the floor and Becca looked down over her. "I don't care about you. I didn't care about you before and I don't care now. If you have to keep me alive for the sake of it, don't be a bitch about it, and I'll be a good girl for your precious fucking deadbeat dad." Becca seethed.

Jack sat up, looking at her. "I know a lot about you, Becca. I know what you feel, and what you want. And I know something else.." She said. "What the hell is that, what do you know? I'm not talking to you anymore!" "I know you want to save auntie Thatti too!" The gem cried out.

"Do I look like I care about that right now?"

"You do. What you feel now is-?" Jack tried to console her.

"-is despair and loneliness and anger and I don't want it! It's over, and I'm not coming back!" She grabbed a stray shard of glass from the floor and began to carve at the wall, then feeling the cold glass cut into her skin until her palm bled. "Just leave me the fuck alone."

The room entered a long silence. Eventually Jack sighed. "And I thought the little fruit basket every evening would help cure your grouch."

"Fruit? Wait, that was YOU throwing food down there?! Tsk." Becca felt her stomach tie up in knots.

The room began to fill with a golden light as Jack took out of her eye a golden shard. "I kept this. A little piece of Thatti to remember her by. Consider it an offering of goodwill." She dangled it in front of Becca's face. "Anything you need safekeeping, I'm your safe sugah." She winked, before placing it into her eye and storing it away until the golden light faded from the room.

She reached for it. "Really?" She asked. "You're going to stay with me forever and watch over me even if you don't want to?" "I'm saying I'm not going to stab you in your sleep." Jack smirked. She offered her hand out to Becca from the floor.

"So, yeah, I'm going to stay with you. And I'm gonna make sure you can get back to the surface. No funny business, no backstabbing. But you have to start trusting mememeeeeeeeeeeee, that's the first step, becca."

"What, are you serious?" Becca felt like she was being convinced to lay in a grave, she couldn't believe it'd come to this.

"I am." She said, standing over her. "You gotta work with me a little."

"Okay.. fine." Becca took her hand and helped her up. "You're a crazy bitch, but I'll try to do what you say." Jack laughed and hugged her, leaning in close. Becca pulled back and slapped her in the face. "Hey, don't you dare try to go kiss me you fucking nut. Or anything weird, I'll-" Jack grabbed her and shoved her to the wall. She grinned. "We can do it if wanna try fusion,

Becca-loo. But I'll leave that up to you."

Becca looked at her in disgust. "Just help me find Thatti. Help me get out of here. I still don't trust you. Not yet anyway." It freaked Becca out, having to enter an alliance with this, petite, feminine form of what was once Nightborg. "Do I need to be nicer? Is that it?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I'll do that to convince you." She licked her lips and leaned in close, pressing up against her. "I'm sure you'll appreciate it, Becca." Becca gave a wince. "Gross, you're sick. Just help me." Jack giggled, gave a wink and then started to change into the form of her 'arm'. They began to sneak back into the confinement room the where Holly Black was waiting, shaking her head.

"The guards say a big creature escaped the other tunnel and tore through the whole area,

leaving behind nothing but ashes and wreckage." She walked over, looking down at her new slick obsidian 'arm.' "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that?" She asked.

Becca grinned. "I know nothing about any of that." She held up her hand, revealing Jack's rainbow eye on her palm which proceeded to wink.

 

 

Present

Operation Hummingbird

 

 

"Showtime," Jack muttered, a mischievous glint in her ever-shifting eyes. She deftly palmed a Peridot hand, its severed fingers twitching as she pressed it against a security panel. The door leading to the maintenance tunnels slid open with a hiss, revealing a dark and grimy passage.

"You know I can’t hack. That’s your specialty.” Jack said. "And I'm going to unleash the prisoners. “

With a gesture of her hand, Becca activated a hidden pocket device, a small cybernetic implant designed for hacking, a remnant of her days as a runner. As the screens flickered and pulsed, she skillfully bypassed the prison's security system, deactivating the safeguards on the armory and the high-tech cells that housed the most dangerous prisoners.

"The doors are open," Becca announced, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Now's our chance."

The alarms blared as the prison doors swung open, releasing a tide of desperate and vengeful inmates. A wave of humanity crashed through the corridors, their cheers and screams reverberating through the halls.

Becca and Jack emerged from the maintenance tunnels, heading for the docks. They could hear the prison guards struggling to contain the rioting inmates, their shouts drowned out by the escalating chaos.

"Now's our chance," Jack hissed, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of exhilaration and malice. She palmed the Peridot hand, its severed fingers twitching, and pressed it against the security panel, opening the doors to the upper levels of the prison, and heading towards the armory. The group quickly gathered as many weapons as they could, Jack taking her umbrella in the far back. "I missed ya missy." She gave it a kiss, and returned to Becca. "Final step, gotta unleash the big one. Before that blond bastard outside gets in here and starts shutting us down."

As they navigated the darkened corridors, the rhythmic clang of metal boots against the cold floor echoed through the halls. The air crackled with the tension of imminent danger.

"We're almost there," Jack said, her voice a low murmur. "Then we'll be free."

They reached the level where the most dangerous inmates were kept. The corridors were deserted, the heavy metal doors of the cells ominously silent.

"Now or never," Jack whispered, a cunning glint in her eye.

They strode towards the Atlas vault, the air thick with the acrid scent of gunpowder. As they

drew near, the Peridot hand trembled in Jack's grasp, her movements growing more erratic with each step. The four psii agents stepped up, looking panicked as Jack ran towards them with the green hand. They rapidly slapped them every which way until they were all unconscious, the four agents falling to the ground. She then handed Becca her umbrella after transforming it into a crowbar. "Would you like to do the honors?" Becca took it and made her way to the vault, slamming the powerful Perceptcival device between the wedged space. Despite her best pull, it remained thickly shut. "Going to need a hand." She said. Jack threw her arms around her and began to shapeshift, latching onto her shoulder and transforming over her artifical limb, her entire body fusing atop the prosthetic and adding to its strength. With great difficulty, Becca put her every muscle into prying it open. The metal vault shook and began to crack.

The sound of the creaking reverberated through the entirety of the prison.

The metal gate began roaring as sparks flew out and erupted through the airwaves. The guards on the upper floor, having been overwhelmed by the inmates, couldn’t stop the breach. A surge of chaos flooded the citadel streets as the prisoners tore through the barriers in dozens of buildings miles elsewhere, leaving destruction in their wake on Citadel Node. With a loud clang, the vault finally popped open. The entire crowd looked up and watched as a massive hunched back shadow descended upon the gang.

Becca looked up to find a giant humanoid shaped tiger with an overgrown spiked mane and dark stripes over yellow-orange fur, their irises leaving a glowing light like a scintillating set of daggers, eyes shining, glowing bright green and white with psionic force. Her tail swished about, the size of one's torso, it made tremors when it slammed across the floor. A Set. They'd freed some kind of Set, none of the prisoners had ever seen one that large or muscular, covered in battlescars, from her overstocked biceps to her sizable breasts. With a thunderous boom, the giant descended, stomping out of the vault, head leaning down to betray how tall the beast truly was. It snorted, and a small mist rose in the air and quickly vanished.

"We uh.. freed you." Becca said nervously. The last time she'd faced up with a figure as imposing, the girl was face to face with Nightborg. She looked at her fused Jack-Arm, thinking to herself this one was much larger than even ol' Adam.

The creature growled again, and clawed a massive fistful of the stone from the tunnel wall, throwing it aside. Becca and Jack looked at each other, then Jack's fist closed tightly.

"That is-" Jack began to speak, "a huge fucking-" Becca took a deep breath and cupped Jack with her other working hand. "Shshshhh." She looked up. "The guards here will definitely want to keep you trapped in that vault. You need to-" Her voice squeaked at the end. The Set grabbed her with its paw and held her up, breath like acidic fumes, teeth like knives.

"-riot and get out of here." Becca whispered to the Set.

She looked up. "You can call me R-Becca." The creature nodded, and shook the dust and stone from its fur.

"This one is.. unit Akura-778519." The Set rumbled, its voice vibrating through the ground. "Akura?" Becca asked. Jack vibrated abit in response. "That is, '良'. The name of the Set

deity they worship. The Set believe Akura created the universe with the power of Cascade to flow

reality through time.. they think god is some kind of cat."

"So they literally call themselves God. Great." The mint girl rolled her eyes. "Can you get us out of here?" They asked.

The Set looked ahead, a single guard coming. They opened fire, plasma ripping through the air. The Set lumbered forward and blocked it with their arm, a series of tattoos glowing across their arm, forming some sort of barrier that absorbed the shots. They squeezed their paw, clawed outwards and pointed a single finger at the guard- a charged shot of thunder breaking the silence and slamming them into a wall electrified.

They looked at Becca, the dark shadows across their face looking like a mountain standing bulwark. "Come." The air crackled with anticipation. Becca, feeling a strange mix of fear and excitement, took a step forward, Jack’s form shimmering and merging with her again, providing a sense of strength and power. They were going to escape.

From behind a concrete column, Entrapta hid undetected and radio'd in. "Hello, please connect me to Ameisa Byte. We have a Code-9, I repeat, a Code-9!"

 

 

 

"Xistress, we have a situation," Ameisa's voice crackled through the comms, her tone clipped and urgent. "Citadel Node. Breach detected. We're receiving reports of widespread chaos, prisoner escape, and…" She paused, her voice laced with a tremor of disbelief. "…a rogue subject."

Sandra's brow furrowed. "Rogue? You mean, the one we've been tracking, that Entrapta has been studying for years?"

"Yes, Xistress," Ameisa confirmed, "Entrapta's reports… her observations… they've been validated. The subject has escaped, along with... It."

The woman's blood went cold, her eye twitching in place. "It?" She asked. "This is what Entrapta has reported," Ameisa said, her voice strained.

"IT?" Sandra repeated, her voice a harsh scream, her lips pursing as she processed the news.

Ameisa nodded her head. The Xistress was taking no chances. "Of all the inmates to escape.." She pointed to a Peridot technician in the room. "YOU THERE. Get my Mech ready in 5 minutes.

Not 6, not 5 and 10 seconds. FIVE MINUTES." "Yes Xistress!" They saluted.

 

 

 

The group of prisoners began to head towards the upper floors, passing halls where prisoners were escaping on every floor. On the other side guards armed with digital-barriers and stun rifles shot into the crowd, their barriers forming a phalanx that pushed the crowd forward.

Melee pushes, thrown bottles and knives and even gunshots were all repulsed by the dozen barriers from women on silver floating scooters, their helmets hiding any visage of a person but raw machinery. "Fall back!" A voice yelled. Numerous obsidian gems were pushed and mowed into a

moshpit, making them easier for shots to descend upon them.

Becca hopped on the Set's shoulders and looked ahead. "Stay." They said, putting her down and then beginning to crack their neck around their hulking shoulders. They flexed and marched to the front of the blockade, pressing both arms against their chest and then forming a one- woman barricade. The entire half of the room went silent as she began pushing the phalanx back, taking lasers, tasers, stun rifles and even batons without breaking their step. "This is-" A voice said. "Impossible." One of the guards shouted.

Akura-778519 smashed through their barrier, picked up one of their scooters and began swinging it like broom to bat at the others. They charged forward, knocking out the entire brigade and breaking the phalanx formation. The roar of the rioting prisoners behind them

echoed in the air, a symphony of anger and desperation. A wave of defiance washed over her. It had been years since she’d felt this alive, this dangerous.

The entire group stepped up and the prisoners began charging into the upper floors, a mix of roars and screams and whoops of freedom. Becca sat on Akura's arm and began to climb the stairs, reaching just a dozen hallways from the docks. In the next room, Mercy flew down, over 50 prisoners behind her knocked unconscious. As they reached the edge of the open space, a deafening roar echoed through the corridors. They turned to see the formidable figure of the Void Queen approaching. Mercy's deathlock form shimmered with a chilling black-and-gold aura around her arms in fancy patterns, the power of Grahim's contract coursing through her and the air around her crackled with an almost tangible energy.

"The party's over," Mercy said, her voice a loud, cheery rumble. "Go back to your cells, and you'll still have time to catch supper, ka'piesh?" She taunted.

A set of voices echoed through the corridor, a loud, rumbling laughter that reverberated against the walls. The Void Queen's face darkened as the prison's speakers crackled to life, "We've taken control of all control hubs, this shigdig is our rally now!" The voice of a Draxorian announced, Becca recognizing it from the trio before.

"So what do we do?" Mercy roared, her form crackling with electricity, "They're trying to talk us into surrendering!"

"Do nothing, your orders are to stand down!" The voice of an Inner Circle Guard captain echoed, "We will open the docks and release the prisoners, stand down and surrender!"

Mercy flew towards them with a glare that spelt out 'Are you serious?!!?' and with a flick of their fingers, sent the guard captain flying into a wall. They then turned to the group, winding up their fists, 6 black wings growing out behind them. 778519 extended two arms out, their ripped musculature gripping Mercy by the neck. and shoving them up against the wall.

"Akura?!" Mercy roared. Becca looked at them, her heart was leaping. "Who let you out?!" "Where is she?" She replied.

Mercy smirked. She felt the wall begin to give way. With both the markings on their respective arms beginning to glow, Mercy felt a burst of energy come from her hands and they began a violent struggle with Akura, their paws writhing to break free of her grasp. The wall cracked, and the Set with an infusion of inhumane strength and Psii, tossed them like a missile through the ceiling and out the Citadel, the atmospheric GAP-engines already plugging the hole to

keep the facility's vacuum intact. Mercy was launched into the air, their screams of surprise and pain dying out as she soared through space. 778519's eyes gleamed with a single flash of light, the markings on its arms flaring to gold. It was a moment of triumph.

"Mercy-Kura will be back, secure exits while this one handles her." She looked up at the hole in the ceiling and with a reinforcement of her legs, leapt out through it to go after the winged prophet.

Becca turned away and ripped off Jack, who resumed her shape. "Jack, head to the docks." She gave them a smirk. "Go with them." She pointed to the trio of Obsidian gems who were accomplishes. A crowd of prisoners cheered as they neared the docks, pushing and shouting to get through. A series of figures stood in the middle of a huge group of prisoners, surrounded by a small circle of tied up guards. Becca squinted to see who the figures were, and suddenly her heart swelled. "What, the fuck are you doing here?"

Standing ahead was a young man, a dark haired girl with a short black sharp bowlcut and an Xi Glitter-kiss uniform, a Llavalite and a girl in a white suit.

Caleb. Jetti. Jel and Veronica.

Becca pushed through the crowd of prisoners, breaking her own way through the chaos to approach her friends. Caleb noticed and smiled, holding out a hand. "You're way late for a rescue!" Cal rolled his eyes, and when she came close, he yanked her arm and slapped her hard. "Ain't nobody's going anywhere now, we have security." He grinned. "We did come here. But not for you." He told her. The girl looked at the group- Jel holding a rather powerful pulse-rifle in back, Veronica wearing what looked to be Aphid gear underneath her suit. Caleb had two drones above his shoulders, both with turrets.

"You've gotta be shitting me. Is this some sort of joke?! Jet? What are you doing with, her?" Becca replied, crossing her arms. She looked at Jack, who gave her a shrug. The guards who weren't pinned down and pushed back were firing warning shots to keep the prisoners back. "But now they're calling the reinforcements."

"That's... great." Becca replied, looking at Caleb. "What are you weirdos doing here then?" She asked.

Caleb grinned. "We're a rescue crew." He said. "But we ain't here for your ass." Becca made a 'wh?' sound. "Look. Mercy-Kura is going to come back here, and she's not going to like it if the prisoners take her ship. The Void Queen is no joke."

Cal and Jetti looked at each other. "Oh, we don't think she'll give us much trouble. In fact I doubt she'll do anything to stand in our way at all. Now, we have work to do." He announced. Jetti took out Spirit-Chaser and turned it into a long scythe, sweeping playfully to push back the crowd. "I was told if I came across you, to ditch my feelings and cut you loose. The mission comes first." Jel scoffed at her.

"What mission? I-" Becca shook her head. "You know what, fine fuck it. Screw you guys, go do whatever. Are you just going to stand in our way or what?" She asked.

"YOUR GOONS HERE ARE THE ONE'S BLOCKING THE WAY. LET US THRU!"

Caleb shouted.

Becca gave a groan and looked at Jack, who shrugged and smiled.

"Let'em thru boys." Jack said, allowing the entire group to form a path where the 4 strolled out, heading downstairs back into the floors they'd just escaped from. Cal turned around. "Look. Let's just say we have to get somewhere. No hard feelings." He said, giving Becca one last look. "Next time, you'll have to deal with me. Good luck with that." Becca raised a middle finger.

Caleb and Jetti laughed and waved at her, heading down the stairs, Veronica and Jel in tow. The prisoners finally swarmed the docks and started to fill out as many starships as they could, using the green Peridot limbs Jack had distributed earlier as easy-access tools.

 

 

A week ago, Prospit

Goliath sat in his council room. He had to deal with this now, his face looking tired and tired of dealing with this managing the rebellion. The past two years a flurry of assassins had been sent after him, usually easily disposed, but taking up precious time and concentration against his war effort. Inbetween, he’d spend long stretches of time looking out over his golden city, the massive chain against the moon missing a chunk where his sword had struck it two years ago and sent the structure plummeting to Gaia’s depths. He remembered the night when his two new BLF officers, Gad and Dante had come to him to discuss the plan to attack the two grand fleets of their enemies directly- Dante trying to persuade him of his plans to win swiftly and bring victory and order and safety to the world, something most mudmen . He’d been too busy for that shit. He hadn’t cared what the citizens were thinking- all they did was moan and groan, talk of their lost children and husbands and brothers and friends, and the only thing they did was complain. All they wanted was for the war to end, but Goliath refused to compromise. Their sacrifices were so minuscule to what was at stake.

Around the room, Ramona, Paradox and Melanie sat about. Missing noticeably, was Mercy who had been tasked with watching over the prison citadel around the clock to prevent Becca from escaping or anyone from attacking the facility, and less noticeably Astrid who the others had accepted was outed from the group since her incident. At the opposite end of the rounded golden table was Caleb and Jetti.

He turned to Cal, taking note of how much older and taller he’d looked in the years since they’d met, the boy now graduated and having attended to the Dominus more nowadays.

“Whaddaya got for me, girly?” Goliath often said girly when he was feeling less patient and more distraught than usual. Jetti looked at Caleb and then looked back. “It’s not, looking good right now. Our Set liaison was cut off contact in the Luminary Galaxy. And as for our Xi subterfuge project..” Goliath said, his face tight and his teeth clenched together. The room was silent.

“She’s not making the headway we’ve thought.”

Caleb flipped a tablet, showing a woman with dark-blue hair and round spectacles, in a shimmering blouse and neon-blue tights. “Aiyyah Dominque or ‘Miss Dom‘ as she’s well known throughout Xi, an ex-Dolorite Starcharity veteran and around 2nd in command. We found out she managed to be one of the Premiers anti-loyalists after the breakout, but Sandra kept her from the previous regime for reasons that seem politically motivated. She sold out the Premier and the rest of the XU loyalists ages ago, and the public perception is she was rewarded for it with a hefty installation into the civic council. As Harmony Secretary of XU, she was re-instated as the General Secretary in Xi’s prestigious civic body, second only to the High Fleet, military and Elderdragons, but has become rather outspoken against Sandra and the exile of-“

“Slow down.” Goliath said, trying to wrap his head around all this. Xi’an politics always hurt his head. “Why did we lose the Luminary angle?”

“She cut ties with us. I think they’re going through a lot of tensions with Caldari right now and the Alpha is under a ton of scrutiny. Discovering she was had any contact with us would kill her reputation.” Jetti said simply. The others looked around the room, before deferring their attention to Goliath.

“And Miss Doma, why did subverting and depending on her assistance fall through?” “We’re not sure, but she’s facing similar scrutiny. She’s been blasting Sandra for her

handling of the ENIGMA, and it’s well known she’s always been a proponent of the freeing of XU’s

political prisoners, although we believe that’s just a front.” Jetti shuffled her papers.

“Right, no one would willingly advocate for the return of the former regime without some serious backage. She does infamously have connections to Merchant Guild lineage, so it’s likely s he’s connected to Caldera and the Reformist movements that want Sandra to step down and the entire Ximperium reformed. That’s why we suspected she’d be a good choice. However..” He placed his tablet towards the center of the room, displaying a newsfeed of Sandra in a press briefing.

The Harmony Secretary stood, her glasses so fogged as to remove any sight of her vision underneath. But behind their perception most knew she was sharp.

“Your Xistress, over 6 billion individuals have perished from resulting shortages, technological malfunctions, satellite crashes and ship implosions and Cascade-related meltdowns. That’s 6 billion people dead under your watch, how do you expect Xitizens to feel safe with the growing cataclysm of the Enigma? The economy is facing record unemployment and Escapism is at an all time-high. The advent of terrorist attacks last month indicates Reformist groups have been en vogue, can you assure us you will remain in control of Xi and quell the growing violence and threats to your rule? Finally, how can Xi be able to continue to provide supplies and assistance to the other Empires?” The crowd’s cheers grew and people began clamouring for interviews.

Behind the camera, a group of reporters took note.

Sandra’s face turned to a scowl. “Oh FUCK OFF, give me a break. 6 billion, that’s a negligible statistic equivalent to dick-choking incidents. In an Empire of a hundred billion, that’s a fraction of the population and no one in their right mind is going to say that represents the total number of citizens who’ve perished. The truth is that Xi is at war and it’s only natural we should be facing this chaos. Now, if anyone’s going to go around shouting about the death tolls I bet it’s you. Didn’t I put you in charge of Civic governance and public safety? Why aren’t you doing your part, you expect a bunch of military officers and diplomats to solve your problems, Dominique? I’m sure your beloved Big Sys would be able to trust you to handle it better- Oh wait, I forgot. She deemed you the biggest failure and worst regret of XU’s regime the Premier ever made. If you’ve got solutions instead of accusations than spill’em and get cracking. Now you can kiss my ass.” Sandra’s mouth smirked, and she put her microphone down, returning to the chair as it was pushed away from her.

Goliath watched the briefing and let out a growl. “What? This isn’t good.” He rubbed his

chin, the hologram turning off.

Jetti nodded. “We cannot make any headway like this. She seemed a sensible candidate to lead the planned resistance. Aiyyah shows shrewdness and great political intelligence, but she’s too cautious for a real powerplay. Underneath the General Secretary’s vocal opposition, she’s still playing politics and would never truly be corruptible.”

They all looked at each other, wondering what was to be done. Caleb cleared his throat, as if to save face. “I do have another idea. Please hear me out.”

Ramona kicked her legs back, Melanie leaning her antlers forward. Paradox as cold and sterile as ever folded her arms and said nothing.

“We’re listening.” Goliath said.

“I think we should oust Dominique instead of the Xistress and take charge of the Civic Body.” Caleb boldly announced to the confusion of his partners. “What? Cal, we’ve been over the plan. We need their military, the High-fleet to come to our aide. Not their taxes or flowery bureaucrats. What good would ridding Dominique do?”

He brought out a manilla folder and laid it on the table. “We found top-secret documents in the Glitterkiss registry. Have you ever heard of ‘Project Starbreaker?’ We would like to propose an untested but highly classified theory of praxis put forth and developed by the previous Premier, called the Auto-immune Protozoan Politik Protocols, or A3P for short.”

Everyone listened intently as Caleb explained his plan.

 

 

 

Present

"I hate that kid." Becca said. Jack frowned at the thought. "Don't get too attached to 'em or anything. He's got that same, ugh. Proud jerk face, but he is pretty cute sugah. How did you feel when you saw them?" She asked.

Becca hit her gut. "Queasy." She replied.

Suddenly the ceiling erupted again, the barrier quickly closing when the Set warrior crashed down, blood dropping from their forehead and arms.

"She was stronger than this one anticipated." 778519 wiped some blood from their brow. "We were fortunate, some other figure appeared and started fighting her, someone strong assaulted her and her companions. She won't be coming back, not uninjured at this point." They spoke.

"Great! We just have to hijack a ship and leave." Becca said.

Jack looked at the lumbering Set, then at Becca. "See sugah, that's a part of the plan we haven't figured out yet. The Enigma has knocked out galactic satellites, sensors and monitoring arrays, but any engine here comes built with a tracker. And no offense doll but you're target 1#, along with Frankenstein's whiskers here." Her fist knocked on the Set's hips, barely coming up to her waistline.

"Cannot we just take it out?!" Becca screamed.

"Only if you have 50 hours, a PhD and a junkyard to disassemble an entire Cascade Engine.

We'd better have something else."

Becca looked around. "Ugh, this is going to be so fucking stressful. We'll have to do something drastic." She paced back and forth, ready to tear her hair out. Could she risk simply fleeing with the entire High-Fleet on her tail? They were going to have to risk it.

"I've got it." Becca began to speak, a smirk of satisfaction on her face. "Can you still, uh, become a ship or something?" Jack just blinked, staring dumbfounded. "What?!"

"Your shapeshifting, can you turn into a vehicle and fly us out?"

Jack wacked her with an umbrella. "NO Dumble-dofus, I can not just 'turn into a ship', that's

not how Obsidian gems work."

"There is another way out." 778519 said. She turned to them both. "Down in the ship Armory, by the auxiliary docks. There is a vessel there, it belongs to me. No tracker. I can fly us out."

Becca paused, looking at many of the prisoners beginning to take off and make their leave. She took a deep breath.

"We have to risk it." Becca began to walk forward, heading down the hallway to the ship Armory. "Come on Jack, we're going for a ride." Jack began to smile.

Becca turned. "You just let me know if anything goes wrong." She looked at her shoulder, then felt around for her arm, and realized Jack wasn't there.

"Behind ya." She whispered.

The mint girl turned, and looked at Jack merging into her again, fusing and slithering into her mechanical arm.

"Aw yeah!" She replied. The group began to walk down the hall, Becca looking around, feeling her face begin to flush. Soon they came across an escalator, and from a window could see a huge domed building in the streets across the Citadel that looked to be three dozen stories tall. "There." 778519 said.

Jackhand pressed the button several times. "Elevator's out, the emergency power reserves must've not reached every floor."

"Hold on." The Set said, picking up Becca, grabbing a steel cable and sliding down it until they reached the bottom. She clawed through the steel entrance and sent it flying like scrap, before strolling towards the dome. Gardens, barracks, a several trees and high concrete walls were passed in a quiet hike towards the dome. The Set clawed through a door and entered in.

Within the ship Armor, numerous vehicles were seen in what appeared to be a hangar. A huge 6- winged, high-speed starship of metal and glass was visible in the corridor, taking up most of the space. The mint girl's jaw dropped. "That's a G-Star?!" She asked, pointing to a 7-person starship in the corner. Jack looked at it and began to grin. "I mean, s'cool ride and all but that's clearly a Starguard vessel, it's bound to be tracked. What's the gameplan?"

"No. The vessel is inside." She began opening the massive back trunk by force. A silhouette, about 5m high, of a Mech with golden armor overtop a tungsten frame, sharp sensors shaped like cat ears. Triangular plates shielded the shoulders, joints and chest, the mech's helmet shaped like a visor. Nine engines had been installed in back, a complex Cascade Array hybrid with binary Writ inscriptions scross the back and arms. "Gigant Figure-8 Model, of project Lionspear: Kamikatzi."

"That's-" Becca began to say. She could feel the hairs on her head raise. At the front of the Kamikatzi, were 3 golden shards. Jackhand immediately moved to her lips, attempting to

muffle her. "Don't say it, don't say it, don't-" She began to move her hand to her lips but the merger broke, the arm sliding off her lips and falling to the floor.

The Set turned around, her arms in a perfect position to crush her like a grape as she opened

the chest entrance.

"That's-" Becca began to speak, cutting herself off just barely. "That's a g-great way to escape.." Becca looked at her metallic black hand and nodded, her heart beat slowing and calming down.

"Kamikatzi. It was used to attack Luminary. It still has a full complement of weapons. It is fully capable of interstellar space flight and taking on entire battalions by itself." The Set replied, climbing down and heading into the Mech. 778519's golden markings appeared as she pushed the two accelerators to full charge, and the machine began to light up matching the golden aura of her tattoos.

"Becca.." Jack replied, sensing her discomfort. Becca was speechless, the shards still on her mind. "Yeah." She replied, her expression turning serious. "This is the best way to save Thatti, and everyone. To stop Goliath. This girl is strong." She said. "I hate it but, having someone like this on call.." The mint girl nodded. "Jack. This is it, okay? I'll be fine." She said.

Jack sighed as Becca crawled into the Mech, squishing atop of 778519's shoulder. "Alright, we're set, you're in command, sugah." The Kamikatzi roared and the engines on its back ignited, the ship hangar shaking from the force of the Mech's takeoff.

Becca looked down, feeling a rush of adrenaline, the roar of the engines sending wind through the dome. "Jack." Becca spoke, sitting and feeling the g-force push her into the Mech's shoulder. "I don't have to be afraid of.. anything." She said, the world becoming a blur as the Kamikatzi broke numerous surfaces, guided past the auxiliary docks and made its way out of the Citadel. The city within became a distant memory and the depths of space were visible out the Kamikatzi's windows.

"No." She whispered. "Not anymore." She clenched her fist. "I will survive."

Seconds later, a steaming red stream of photons, coursing like a comet slammed into the Kamikatzi from behind, blowing three of the 9 engines on the spot and sending the mech into a smoking roll. The weapon stumbled through the stars, finding itself face to face with Sandra's Red Starbuster III, the entirety of the ship Armor shaking.

"KURRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAA!!!!"

Sandra screeched at the top of her lungs.

"XISTRESS-XI." 778519 shouted, throwing the mech into a roll in order to right herself. Becca held onto the seat as her arm, leg and face were pummeled against the walls of the

Kamikatzi. A loud crack followed by a sharp pop could be heard as the mech made its escape.

"GET BACK HERE BEFORE I CRUSH YOU LIKE A ROACH!" Sandra shouted from

within her Mech, bio-mechanicals and Aphid gear connecting her neural signature directly into the robot's reflexes and weapons. Multiple streaking hot red beams began to fire, Kura drawing out the Kamikatzi's claws which formed dagger-shaped barriers to deflect them.

Becca could see Sandra's face through the cockpit, teeth clenched and eyes burning a red

color.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!" Sandra

roared, and a

multitude of attacks swarmed the Kamikatzi from the High Fleet approaching the Citadel. A blinding purple flash erupted, and Becca felt the Kamikatzi shake from the shock. Hundreds of warships closed in, their bug-like eyes, tendrils and antennas wriggling underneath armor chassis as they all opened fire at once, bombarding the Set's mech. Two more back engines burst into flames, leaving 4.

"Shit shit SHIT!" Sandra felt like she was going to barf.

"Hold on." The Set said, pushing the levers father and pressing a black button. Sigils and glyphs around the mech's binary-incriptions began to generate a dense field of Ions. Beneath the Kamikatzi, a series of lights flashed on within the Set's body. "Need to take out the rift-raft." With a blinding incursion into the High Fleet, the golden aura began to disperse everywhere as they flew around numerous ships, the claw-shaped barriers becoming an offensive projectile dragged along the fleet. The entirety of the starships shook as the Kamikatzi sped through the fleet, firing blinding golden triangle-shaped vector blasts and claws to tear apart the ships, ramming through many others at full charge and coming out unscathed. Within minutes the battle was over, and a significant fraction of the High Fleet sent had been destroyed by a single Mech.

"AAAAaagh." Becca whispered, her teeth almost clenched. The world around her felt like a pinball, her breath beginning to become erratic as she felt the sweat run down her brow. She reached up to touch the Kamikatzi, and felt the vibration of the engines, the immense g-force on her body.

Sandra's Starbuster returned, a gigantic whip multiple miles long cracking through space and wrapping around the Kamikatzi. It tightened like an ironvice as her mech held her electronic railgun up, a silver spear firing and breaching the front- Kura was impaled in the right of her chest, spurting a chunk of blood.

"Ugh, ugh, FUCK!" Becca screamed.

Jack looked from the merger and frowned. "What is it sugah?" She asked. Becca let out a shout of frustration. "We have to retreat!" She yelled.

"Retreat? What HERESY. SHE'S RIGHT HERE. WE'RE RIGHT HERE. I CAN END THIS." She

fought through the pain and bloodloss. "I CAN END HER."

"Gotcha, now fry kitten. You never learn." Sandra twisted a switch, the glowing red rip sending an overload of currents into the Kamikatzi. A loud crack could be heard. She fired a high- intensity blaster directly at the electrified mech, sending explosions rocking it on every side. The Kamikatzi's metallic body bent as 3 more engines were completely erased by the shockwave, the golden light around it fading from the force. Sandra's mech flew in close in no time at all, lifting up the top chestplate and revealing the 3-godshards placed on every side underneath in a triangle- position mold. "THIS IS WHAT THEY HAD UP THEIR SLEEVE? UNBELIEVABLE."

She placed her palm's propulsion powered electron-igniter, a blast leaving the Starbuster's hand directly onto the cat-shaped fighter. The Kamikatzi spun, sending the red mech into a spin with it and the entirety of the last remaining back engine shattered, sending the mech into a

skidding halt.

With the motion gone, the Starbuster began to pry into their chest reached for the Godshards within. Akura-778519 felt the world around her begin to spin, her vision going blurry, the pain on her chest and shoulder becoming sharper, the blood drying up as more split over it. "This one.. Can't do this anymore.." She thought, feeling her heart race, the Kamikatzi slowing down. "Sorry.. Mom." She lifted a glass case with a cat-shaped skull on it and pushed a lever, the collective energy remaining beginning to overload. The Shards within began to glow bright, crackling with a series of sparks and beams, Sandra's monitoring systems warning of the incoming danger. Sandra attempted to reel back. "Fuck this." A single arm from the Kamikatzi reached out, metal claws stabbing in and pulling it back and holding her close in the glowing, growing detonation.

A gigantic crack of light flashed out of the Kamikatzi's chest, a flash so large it could be seen from the nearby planets, a force wave and massive beam erupting from the cat-shaped Mech. The High Fleet collectively screamed and was scattered as nearby ships within solar-system range shut down, the fleet's sensors overwhelmed by the beam.

Sandra and the Starbuster within felt like they had been sucked into a rift and smashed into a spherical wall, the explosion of light imploding and suctioning inwards at the epicenter, breaking the divide space-time and folding up all around it. The force was immense, the entirety of the ships within the Fleet having the began to seize up and overload, multiple of which exploded in one massive bang.

The world around the Set went blurry, her chest still on fire as the Kamikatzi re-entered time itself and crashed, finding itself set ablaze as rubble in a dense swamp. Teleporting nearby, was the wreckage of the Starbuster, Sandra hitting tiny airbags as she lost consciousness.

Becca was knocked unconscious by the crash, the mint girl collapsing on her side as g- force pushed her into the mech's metal. The Set, on the other hand, was feeling a sort of dazed euphoria. They'd survived, they'd done it, they'd done.. They'd defeated the Xistress... finally.. Her vision swirled into darkness as she succumbed to her wounds and closed her eyes.

Jack, unmerging with Becca's arm and climbing out of the destroyed Kamikatzi looked at the smoldering wreck. It'd lived up to its name. She took a deep, long breath and howled with maniacal laughter.

"God, what a wild shitshow.."

The mint girl coughed, sitting up and pushing herself away. She looked up, and her eyes began to open.

"You okay, sugah?" Jack looked over, smiling. Becca felt a tingle of nervousness and excitement build up, as she walked over and looked around. The Kamikatzi was still burning like hell in a swamp. The mint girl walked forward, looking up at a massive wall of purple fog. Above the purple was a dense rainbow of colors in the night sky, the stars were beginning to turn.

"We're alive." Becca whispered. "It's over." She said, and began to laugh with Jack, the two hopping on a giant lilypad and laying on their backsides at the immensity of the stars above.

"What now, chief?" Jack asked, looking at the Set's bleeding body and the Xistress's face peeled to her cushions in the wreckage.

The nightrunner made a circle with her hands and closed one eye, looking out the hole into the night.

"Let's just see where the river take us."