Chapter 18 – Nightmare Nota bene

Where Thatti’s tale began

 

Becca looked around, her eyes darting to each side, her stomach clenching and her arms shaking. It'd a hot minute since she had a body. She didn't remember what happened, something about a deal? All she recalled was being told she'd have a second chance, and waking up here, in this strange chamber. The stone wall around her felt smooth, yet jagged, the chamber itself almost like a labyrinth. The only light that could be seen was from above, in the shape of a crystal dome that let down beams of light onto her. What had happened?

Then she remembered. She remembered she'd gone to the forbidden library to take it, just like this. But, that wasn't really her? It felt like absorbing the ghost of someone else's dream, a memory shared with someone else. A single name came to mind. "Thatti." She gasped, clenching her fist in the gloom of the room, then holding up the wand in her hand. She recalled grabbing this from its pedestal. A glimmer of recognition, a hazy, golden aura around the wand. Slowly it began to turn on its own, as if alive. "H-huh? What the.." Thatti screamed. She couldn't comprehend the confusion confronting her. "I'm.. a wand." "Who's that?" Becca said, her face whitening with fear as she looked at weapon. "Are you.. Thatti?"

Thatti looked at Becca and smiled. "Yeah, it's me. Who are you? And why am I.. this?" She asked.

Becca said nothing, her silence giving Thatti an answer. "I see," She said, looking at her reflection in the crystal.

"Huh." The wand, sensing her thoughts, responded to her. "You're Becca then, aren't you? This is your second chance at life!" She announced proudly. "I, I don't know how I know that! Did we share amemory?"

"Tsk. Apparently, I'm a weapon!" She looked at Thatti in her hands. "But, you're my owner? And we can switch bodies. Er- shared body. Yours." All this intuition seemed to come with Headhunter, in a way she wasn't really sure she understood.

"Yeah, makes sense." Thatti said, her voice losing its excitement. "Do you remember anything else?"

"I, I used to be a human, a chromed-out human. I had a lot of chooms, and.." She stumbled. "A brother, once. A team. A boy I liked. But then, things.."

Becca was too emotional to see Thatti's expression as she spoke. "..happened." Becca choked, her lip quivering. Thatti's expression changed.

Thatti chuckled. "It's okay, becca. Becky? Uhh, I have a brother too! And a boy I like, a gem! Hyde whose really cute, and uh.."

Thatti looked around at the darkness, seeing the light from the sun. "So, what do we do now? Is there uh, a way for me to turn back?"

"Get out of here, quick," Becca said. "I mean.. don't you have class or something?" She said.

 

Suddenly a girl approached, her heels clacking. Jetblack hair, numchucks, a skirt-swirling with stars. Jetti leapt in front of the girl. "By Granny Grim! I've finally found her."

"Huh, she one of your chooms?" Becca asked. "Not mine."

 

"I am a representative of the Onyx project. I'm here to punish you on behalf the stars! Code 18: Mindstar." A purple star-shaped beam shot from her forehead and struck Thatti in the chest, knocking her into a wall and creating a star-shaped crater in said surface.

Thatti smiled weakly, spitting out abit of blood. "Hey wait, you're a member of Glitterkiss?"

"Xi division!" Jetti announced. "Your fate will result in murder of the innocent, you are sentenced to a thousand years of punishment! The Onyx project, as well as other divine arch- agents , bestow their judgement upon you!" A rain of stars poured down on Thatti, burying her head in shards of glass and sending shocks through her body.

Becca seemingly had blocked the attack this time with the shield she now held in her hands. Becca tried to flee.

"Huh? What happened?" She asked. "I transformed!" Thatti told her. "Quick, think of another weapon, I'll change fast!"

"Code 21: Xi-6! Starburst!" She said, sending an explosive barrage of stars at Jetti, which was countered by the magus. Jetti shot a powerful beam that hit Becca and pushed her away from the door. When the smoke cleared, Thatti had turned into an AiX-49 Assault Rifle.

"Eey, now we're talking!" She said, giving a maniacal laugh. "Now, it's time to teach that jerk some respect!" The rifle fired an orbital barrage at her, hitting her squarely in the chest and pushing her out of the room. The girl got up slowly, muttering a healing spell. Jetti started up the stairs, shooting at Thatti's legs. Thatti fell, and rolled down to a lower step. "Cool, now I got you!" She said, firing an array of shots that Jetti rolled out of the way of, landing on her feet.

The room became a nonstop intense shootout, and for the first time Becca could even remember, she finally felt alive once more.

 

 

 

Where Becca’s tale began

 

NeoCity lights shimmered off her chrome arms, a twisted mockery of beauty on display as she rocketed towards Arasaka Tower. She watched him, her one puerile love, the cyborg boy like a wraith fueled by desperation, ripped through traffic, every fiber in his body screaming

cyberpsycho. Kiwi's betrayal echoed in her gut. The ragtag crew charging headfirst into Arasaka's maw. Him.. "I will bring you back. I swear it." She thought. "I, swear it." She whispered, then looked up at the night, the endless sky filled with the spark of constellations as destiny came calling to Xi. This was what the Sentrimate had seen, throwing popcorn into his mouth while this ragtag crew of runners fended for their lives. It was simple mission, retrieving contraband for the Merchant’s Guild from an A.I.M. protected corporation, private security teams were what they excelled at. Bullets rained down, Militech goons snapping at their heels like rabid dogs. The winged boy smiled, the carnage, it was a drug. Like the blood thirst for his wicked soul. This was what she lived for too, Becca seemed to delight in the edge of death as a tantalizing deadly dance. But then, that metal monster appeared. They fought, a desperate battle. A hopeless struggle that came to its logical conclusion in the deathtrance of the night. The boy in the yellow jacket fought his best, perishing in the encounter. His steel and chrome was powerless against brutal strength. And when they'd had no choice but to turn away from it, to run or die, he chose to die. Hermes rewinded and replayed it over and over until he lost track, the moment of the minty girl’s death. Becca looked up, the metal beast from out of the city's dreaded nightmares. Suddenly, Becca flew. The world shifted, twisted upside down, as steel jaws clamped shut. Pain exploded, a white-hot inferno consuming her vision. Then, darkness.

The next thing she knew, she was cold, vision blurry. A single name on her mind. Another boy was in the room. He spoke, his words muffled, but one was clear, a promise. Becca got up slowly, greeting the winged child. Hermes, he introduced himself as. The boy's eyes burned blue, the same as her lost love. Was it real?

"Becca." He said, "I'm here to give you your second chance."

 

Her vision became clear, Hermes offering his full hospitality. Introductions became like a dull fog, passing through in Herme's little pocket dimension, minutes becoming hours, then days. Clarity turned to grief, as she learned the fate of the rest of her crew, of the centuries in Xi since.

He'd explained the circumstances, she would get another body, he just wouldn't say which. The only string attached, would be he'd come with her, reborn in different conditions but destined to meet. Neither would remember this exchange. He mused on who his identity should be, perhaps a schoolboy? Schoolgirl in disguise even? A friend she'll meet.

Caitlyn. That sounded sweet, almost cute to them.

 

"It's worth it," She said, her eye widening. "I will make this chance count. I swear it!" The woman took a deep breath. "Okay, now. Let's do this." She held up the mirror, focusing her thoughts as she gazed in a nearby dual-mirror at the mystical reflection of her dead brother on one side, and her dead would-be lover on the other, the reckless boy she’d foolishly let slip away. Hermes was smiling at her, his wings sparking with an eerie blaze. "Alright, now." He said, shaking her hand. "Let our pact be our bind. Bon Voyage, Thatti-kins."

The two blurred, a flash of golden light fading out all.

 

The world shifted again, this time to another present, with Caleb, in a different body, standing in his dorm. He got up, pants unzipped, a series of Galanet's finest Pop-Idol erotic rigs. "Oh shit, was I jerking off?" He zipped quickly, hoping he didn't oversleep.

 

 

 

Months again

 

Jetti arrived at the Headmistress' office, in a fury. "I-it can't be! I saw her turn into.. Headhunter!" She said, her numchucks twirling.

The Headmistress shook her head. "An Xi-division student, making trouble in my school? I'm going to file a formal complaint at once." She said, groaning. Jetti and Thatti sat on opposite ends of her office, both their wrists tied up with light-cuffs, l+

ike prison bands. The Headmistress was annoyed. The two were chatting giddily, as if they didn't understand how the Headmistress felt. "What a bunch of pests!"

"So, the girl's got a wand!" Jetti said. "Headhunter!"

 

The HM said, tapping her foot. "Now.. Ordinary the punishment for fighting on campus like this would be, expulsion. But given the extraordinary circumstances of your, gifted nobility, and the rarity of someone awakening the Rose of Joining. I propose.." She sighed, as if deeply regretting her next words.

"...a single lesson of detention. For both of you." The two girls groaned, looking at each other.

"B-but! The girl's a weapon, and me, I can summon one!" Jetti said, holding up Spirit-Chaser in her hands.

The Headmistress sighed. "You should be glad I'm not asking you to dispose of your weapon. I'll be contacting the relevant authorities in Xi's Glitterkiss branch to deal with you, Jetti. Otherwise you'd be out of here. I'll be seeing you on the first bell." The Headmistress sent them both out, and closed the door.

Present

 

Becca backed away, seeing the face of the brother Thatti had sworn to avenge. Becca's eyes widened. "Why? How?" Flames ignited in her eyes. The girl began to turn red, the very skin of her face burning, she raised a hand to strike and then froze. The door opened. Hyde walked in. "In order to save Thatti, he had to fake his death." Becca was furious, he grabbed Hyde's neck. "You fucking BUFFOON. He just forced her to kill herself!!"

Hyde choked, "B-but.. He promised me-"

Nathan paced back and forth under a golden arch, the crisp air cold around him. Orchid was his. He could tell, the signs were here, everywhere. The stars aligned around him, he could see the fate of others, all those that lived on in the stars, all the dead. That city he'd left behind was his now. The world was calling to him.

"NATHAN you're a fucking psycho bastard!" Becca ran forward to sock him, he caught her wrist and began to laugh. "Easy, you don't have to worry anymore. It's OK! I You're finally here! We made it!"

"W-what?" Becca was confused. “Made what?”

 

“Made our way here! It was a rough road, I mean you and me having to go through these bodies and live fake lives but, we can take ours and get back on track! It’ll be just like the old days. Wait until you meet my new crew, they rock.” He smiled.

"Have you gone insane?" Becca felt a sense of dread suddenly.

 

"I did this for you. For us, Becca. When you see, you'll believe me!" He said, holding his hand out.

When she didn't move, he grabbed her and forced her to hold it. "It's not a dream. It's real. We're, together again. Alive, and over the moon! This is our victory, we won! Real shit!"

"The fuck. Are you talking about? What happened to you?" She was getting more and more unnerved, every seam of her sense tearing asunder.

The boy smirked. He gave her headpats. "Remember me? The kid from Arasaka? No, not that Nathan loser! The kid from NeoCity!" Nathan's face shone, he'd always wanted to be someone more than himself. “Your old Choom.”

She began to shake, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "Shutupshutupshutup." Her hands clutched her own ears. "SHUTUP NATHAN!"

He scowled, holding her shoulder so he was sure she understood. "My name.. Is not Nathan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where his began

 

"Rough night in NeoCity, huh? You gave it your best, who hasn't played the dice with death and lost? I know by the nines I have, she's a hard mistress to beat when it comes to gambling, pitiless even. But hey, don't fret, darling. Me and my siblings know a thing or two about second chances. "

In a crimson velvet room a boy laid on the stool, another androgynous figure poured him a drink of brandy. Auxilitrix, sat patiently, arms folded. Inside this little devil's lounge, the girl's eyes shimmered silver, pupils like upside down stars. On the opposite couch were two weapon with ambient purple eyes and ashen skin, they appeared to be twins. "Now, I ain't sayin' I can bring ya back whole, mind you. That chrome skeleton of yours ain't exactly built for paradise. But a piece of you, a sliver of your essence, that I can coax back from the void. Put your soul in a classier getup, give lil ol' you the ritz."

Shion-O turned to Auxilitrix and nodded. "Of course, deals don't come cheap." "Right you are my sister!" He said.

The boy on the chair looked up, the pangs and delusions of cyberpsychosis long gone.

 

“Of course, I wouldn’t have expected any less from my son dearest. Daughter of the devil right now, is she? That’s all fine and well. She can play her little games, while the adults get work playing adult games, the type of games no kid should ever know about. The kind that a gambler like me and storyteller like you sister..” Lucy kissed Shion-O’s hand, then Shion-C’s after, watching them snicker and admire their sense of showmanship. “That we are playing. The kind

that’s best kept secret. My job? It’s to turn this world upside down, just like you’re in right now, and let the pieces fall however they may. Afterall, you always wanted to make it to the top, didn’t you? Not a street rat, not an ingrate dying in the dirt. Who knows, if you play your cards right you might roll better this time. Perhaps you’ll even find a way to become an Elderdragon or a Nebula- or oh, oh I know.” He smirked. “How about, a Domina? Reach for the top, right?”

"What'll it be chap? Want another chance, Nezra?"

 

"Fuck you!" He yelled, his voice echoing out of control, a strange sensation in his head that he was being screwed with. “I don’t make deals with suits.”

"We have other uses for ya, I know this is what you really want. Now it's time to make a deal." Auxilitrix revealed a glass chamber just beyond her bar stool, the Shion sisters helping cart it for the departed soul to see. They wiped the fog from the glass and let him inspect close. "You're gonna wanna come see this, s'what I'm offering you. And the only way you'll get it dear boy is by rolling the dice again. I have need of a dog like you."

"I’m not a dog you asshole.” His attention turned to the side. “T-that's.." Eyes widened. The boy’s entire world froze. Inside, the unconscious soul within was unmistakable. "Lucy?!" He yelled, unable to restrain the scream inside him. His hands reached out to the glass, the soul of Lucy was there, he could feel it. Her white hair, the girl’s gentle features, all surrounded by the faded reflections of the three Novus standing behind him, quill in the Novus of Pain and Pleasure’s hands.

"Indeed." Auxilitrix said. "Ready to do what I say? It'll be fun, just a little game." The boy held out his hand, eyes like a million stars.

Auxilitrix smiled, she raised her fingernails and sliced open his hand. Blood bubbled up, her own glowing essence coated into the blood pooling from his wound. "Just imagine, you two

could live a life of paradise together. I'll give you what you want. But first, give me what I want." She took out a scroll, and floated his blood into a materialized black quill pen.

The two Shion sisters leaned in closer, Auxilitrix's eyes twinkling with a cruel delight.

 

Goliath mustered all his resolve, and under all the pressure of doubt fighting against his throat, he bit his next cruel words.

"Whatever I need to do.. I'll do it."

 

“Attaboy.” Auxilitrix flicked him the blood-soaked pen. The devil had found their champion.

 

 

 

 

Present

 

Becca's head was getting dizzy, the instincts she trusted so long now felt like gnats swarming around in her head, eating her alive. Nathan- no, that name ringing hollow now, the boy in front of her stood with mindsight ablind pithy the better part of the reminiscence she knew. His eyes like cold marble, and his skin ice. Goliath walked forward, hand outstretched. His reflection was beautiful, an otherworldly glow of power that promised a glorious future, but one so horribly wrong and devoid of any sense. "We have so much work to do." The boy from Nightcity said.

She struggled, every bone in her body wanted to turn and run, but when she could do that? Her arms turned numb, her legs lead. "No.. This isn't happening. This CANNOT be happening. Don't do this.." Her head shook in denial. "None of this is right." Her voice became hysteric. "Just, WHY?! Why would you do this to me?" She sobbed. "You can't be REAL DUDE."

He was confused. "It’s me, your friend! I saved you Becca. I did this for you! So you could have a body again! So we could-"

"SHUTUP!"

She screamed, the sound like a siren's wail. "You can't! I don't need this! This is wrong! This isn't you! You're not here! None of this is real! I won't.." Her voice was breaking, heart following suit. "You hurt her, took her from me.."

His expression had a sudden change. "Thatti was-“ “DON’T SAY HER NAME!”

She began to scream, a wordless gurgle that was pure desperation, a voice that sounded like the stars in their coldest moment, a voice like the void of a forgotten hell. "No.." Her voice cracked with a sob that made it sound like a demon whimpering, a whine from the bowels of the night. The words like a dying animal, and the air began to bubble. “FUCK.” Her voice became inhumanly loud, a cracking wail that set the night world on fire. "You lied!" She shouted. "You LIED TO ME, TO HER! KILLED HER!" Her scream was the sound of death itself, an incantation that rang in the very marrow of the universe, and caused a new constellation of stars to flicker out from the sky above. She charged and tackled him, hands emerged in a thrust to clutch his head. Her palm began to glow a neon blue that overcame his vision and blinded all else.

"MEGA GIGA ABSOLUTE ULTIMATE FUCKING FORGET."

 

The boy looked up, staring into an endless sea of gilded wonder, and all went blank in his resolution. Becca's scream was as loud as the heavens. The stars Goliath Nezra saw were an echo in the void.

And then just like his memories, they were gone.

 

Thus, begins a tale of conspiracy, deception, and betrayal, all forged by he who wishes to become something more than mortal man, and she who wishes to define her own fate.