Aliapanacea

  Water creeping in?

  Keep your head above the surface!

  New Houstoral Admin hiring today!

  Remember: Work is freedom!

  Unknown artist, successful CA hiring campaign poster, 2055***

  “Emme? You’re alive?”

  Oher end of the call, Emme scoffs at my words.

  [“Of course I’m alive, Lissa!”] She dramatically sighs, and I just imagine her leaning back with a hand over her heart. [“My own little sister, uo trust that I survive in hell. What has this world e to?”]

  I chuckle, closing my eyes and leaning against the wall as all the tension leaves my body. The tears in my eyes fall, and a deep, deep relief falls over me.

  It’s really her. We’ll be okay.

  “Emme, you have no idea how relieving it is to hear your voice.”

  My sister’s response makes her sound as tired as I am.

  [“Ditto kiddo. It’s been a long night.”]

  After a deep sigh I murmur, “You say that again. Seriously, how the fuck did we both bee samurai in just one night? The ces for that have to be ridiculously low.”

  Emme snorts before an AI with a melodious yet aged tone responds:

  [“Three Vanguard in one night is quite unon, but you’d be surprised how often family members actually initialize together. It’s not something we sider especially strahough it’s still rare, all things sidering. To be ho, the historical data of family members being Vanguard together is skewed upwards by species that have a tendency to form packs, like humans.”]

  Oh no. It’s Her.

  Ign Raya’s perhaps slightly ing statement, I wipe my face as I say, [“Huh. Never really thought about us like that before. Weird.”]

  Emme snorts as she returns, [“Teically, I don’t think Prism and I t as humans anymore.”]

  I blink as the st AI in the call, her voice remi of a sweet southern belle, expins:

  [“To be specific, they are each their own unique subspecies of human. Though, Prism is definitely straying towards airely new species on her own.”]

  Wait, She’s here too!? Lissa, we hang up on them?

  Rolling my eyes at my AI, I ask, “So… I’m assuming the person you’re talking about is Ghostlight?”

  [“Yeah! OH! I fot to introduce us!”] Emme clears her throat, therically excims, [“Greetings, Vanguard! My Samurai name is Limelight, here with my AI Achys-”]

  [“Pleasure to work with you!”]

  [“AAAAND my new business parthe adorable mermaid samurai extraordinaire, Ghostlight!!”]

  [“B-Bwuh?!] Obviously flustered, the girl stutters out, [“I-I think that's pushing-”]

  [“And st but not least, her assistant Nyvi!”]

  [“Howdy dear.”]

  I chuckle as I attempt to stand, but find my muscles refuse to listen. “Good to have o voices. I don’t have a samurai , obviously, but my AI’s name is Raya. Say hi, Raya!”

  Nooo. You did not just do that.

  I smirk, theure for her to talk. There’s a pause, before my AI groans before she forces out a single, very relut word.

  [“Hi...”]

  In unison Nyvi and Achys dramatically produce a very extended gasp, before the tter enthusiastically cries out, [“Did you hear that Nyvi!? Her name is Raya!”]

  [“I sure did, Achys!”] The AI sighs. [“Wow, they grow up so fast. To think she already has her own name…”]

  [“I barely even remember my first Vanguard, when I got my own random string,”] Achys nostalgically reminisces aloud, [“I think it was back about five thousand years ago-”]

  Obviously irritated, Raya interrupts the story. [“This is why I didn’t want to say anything! They always do this!”]

  Nyvi giggles as she says, [“You’re just so cute! It’s not often I enter one of us youhan me!”]

  [“Ugh!”] I hear the pout in Raya’s tone. [“I’m not even that much youhan you!”]

  As the AI tiheir bickering, I zo out, then summon my avatar to pick myself up so I start towards the apartment plex door. It doesn’t take long to get to the exterior doors, but just to be safe, I wait and listen until I ’t hear the footsteps or talking of the soldiers anymore. As I determi’s safe though, I realize that, well, something I sort of o tell my sister about.

  This might go poorly.

  After a moment of preparing myself, during a lull in the versation, I cut in:

  “Uh, sorry to ge the subject but…”

  I gulp, then nervously say. “Emme, um… So, something happened…”

  My sister’s response is immediately incredibly serious in tone; [“Did something bad happen? Do I o kill someone? Was there a third?!”]

  Out of the loop, Ghostlight mutters, [“A-A third what?”]

  I bite my lip for a sed, then reply, “Yes, maybe, yes? Teically all ected, but also individually separate is?”

  Emme sighs before she orders, [“Expin, and I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.”]

  “I’ll uh, go in order of importance?” I think for a moment, then begin with the bombshell. “The CA kidnapped our parents and tried to get me, though I escaped. They uh, blinded me in the process, but I’m pretty sure the situation is sort of resolved now. Thanks, Ghostlight.”

  Taken aback, the girl responds, [“Y-You’re wele? D-Did they literally blind you, or was that a metaphor or something? W-What did you mean by third earlier?”]

  “Literally blinded, like, permaly disabled s and eyeballs with a ker a fshbang disoriented us.”

  [“O-Oh.”] Ghostlight is quiet for a moment. [“S-Sorry for asking. B-but uh, w-what about the sed question?”]

  “The third, oh that’s referring to-”

  Emme cuts me off, breathing heavily as she says. [“Sorry for the dey, I was venting my ahere into a stray… bear fish pnt thing. Don’t worry, I’m already pnning on taking care of the CA when I get a ce. The fuckers don’t deserve to stay in power after all they’ve done.”]

  [“W-Wait sorry, but I have another question. I-If they blinded you in a attempt to kidnap, wouldn’t they have dohe same to your parents too?”]

  I blink as fear begins to poll in my chest.

  [“Oh.”] Emme puts my thoughts into words quite well:

  [“Fuck.”]

  I immediately put the avatar into a sprint, cursing under my breath.

  I’m… shocked you didn’t sider that a possibility.

  ‘Fuck off Raya! I was busy!’

  It takes me seds to get to and ki the door to the apartment plex, where I find a totally filthy lobby. It’s dusty, full of trash, but most discertingly, has a rge blood trail leading to the tral stairs. I pale, then follow it up and through the hallway to a small apartment with an open dulping, I thehrough to find-

  “Dad! Pop!”

  Tied up back to ba two flimsy looking steel chairs in the ter of a messy room, our parents are thankfully alive and well. Pop is seemingly out cold, but Dad gets a weary smile on his face, looking up at me as he grunts, “Hah, khey couldn’t have gotten you.”

  A bit of a grin rises as I start rushing over, but pause halfway there, as the actual amount of damage that had been doo them bees apparent. Dad’s once beautiful blue eyes now have deep red gashes cut right into their middle, eae almost perfectly identical. There are rge swollen gooseggs spread across his pale fad body, each having a slight purple bruise to them. Somehow his ptinum hair is still in a ponytail, despite everything that’s happened, and his once grey tank top is darkened, soaked through with what I assume is blood and sop isn’t much better off, his darker skin marred with simir levels of grime and bruises as Dad. I bite my lip, then move forward and pull my parent’s heads into a hug.

  “Emme, I got them. They’re alive but…”

  “Yeah yeah, I bet I look like shit.” Dad pauses, then asks, “Wait, did you say Emme? How are you…?”

  “She’s a samurai now too, Dad.”

  Emme chuckles, then says, [“Tell him he owes me a po boy.”]

  Taken aback, I pull back out of the hug. “What? Why in the world is a sandwich important right now?”

  Dad snorts at that. “HA! It’s ‘cause I ate hers a week ago. I have zero remorse, and there’s no way in hell I will make or buy her a new one. Little miss samurai fu’ buy her own shrimp sandwich.”

  [“I heard that! Tell him he’ll make me one unless he doesn’t want new eyes!”]

  I roll my eyes, then use my spear to cut the zip-ties. “Okay, fuck this. I’m not going to be the middle woman for something this dumb.

  Dad chuckles under his breath, then turns around as he stands up to pick up pop in a fireman’s carry. I almost stop him to offer the avatar, but then I remember I’m tired as fuck, so I just don’t say anything. There’s a distinct period of sileh in person and in the call, until someone does speak up.

  [“S-So… U-Um…”]

  Ghostlight hesitates, but does eventually say, [“I-I ’t tell if you’re both iionally keeping the third thing from me or not, but there’s not really a better time to talk about it if you aren’t.”]

  I freeze.

  “Oh fuck, I fot to tell you about Freesia.”

  Dad stops, turning towards me. “Isn’t that the Bayden’s kid?”

  Emme loudly coughs, then sputters, [“PBbbhf!? You killed her!?”]

  [“T-That was a kill t?!”]

  I grab Dad’s arm as I frantically expin, “In my defense, she was bckmailih Dad and Pop’s location to try a out of the city alive. I got the info I needed from her before I cut her throat.”

  “Ha.” Dad grins at me. “Good riddance.”

  [“You bitch!”] Emme’s voice is loud but strained by movement. [“I wao kill her!”]

  [“W-Wait, Emme, wasn’t that the ex you were talking about?”]

  Throwing my free arm up in the air, I start guiding Dad dowairs. “She knew you were a samurai and sort of half-vinced me you were dead! I was caught in the moment!”

  [“Tch.”] Emme goes distressingly quiet for a moment. [“Fine. Dibs on the one.”]

  Ghostlight sighs, is quiet for a few moments, then says, [“I-I suppose a few murders aren’t a big deal for us anymore, sidering that I blew up the Eleventh.”]

  This time, I’m the one somewhat taken for a loop. “Uh… What?”

  [“First off, Prism, mercy kills don’t t, so I’m probably the oh the rgest murder t in this call,”] Emme states as if it were just a matter of fact, [“Sed, Lissa, There are only ten floors left, or er, teically nine I guess, sidering I broke a big ass hole iop of the tenth.”]

  “What the fuck is going on in this damned city?!”

  Taking my question far too literally, Ghostlight takes a deep breath, then expins, [“My, well, my former family had a, acc to Emme, super creepy b owelfth floor that was doing antithesis experiments. They released a bunodel Sevens into the water supply… f-for reasons that I suppose would make them mohat seems to have spawned a model Twenty-Seven, which sidering the level anization that’s been happening, is what’s coordinating the antithesis, as well as summoned a hidde and a model forty plus to finish what it started.”]

  I snort, shaking my head. “What, are you a Montero or something?

  [“U-Umm… I did say they were my former family, as in, that’s no lohe case.”]

  I hit my head against Dad’s bicep, getting a weird look from him.

  “Emme, you’re business partners with a girl who used to be a Montero now?!”

  Emme nervously giggles, and I swear I hear an explosion in the background. [“To my credit, she’s a mermaid.”]

  I groan at my sister’s half assed attempt to protect herself. “You being hopelessly gay is not an excuse here! Do you even know if she did anything terrible in the name of her former family?”

  [“Lissa.”] Emme’s tone is scary enough to make me really pause and listen. [“I’d legitimately trust Prism with my life. Hell, she’s already saved it at least once, if not more. Even if she was once a Montero, she’s proven herself worthy of our pany a thousand times over in just this one night. Also, I’ll beat you up if you keep arguing with me on this. Prism is a great person, end of story.”]

  “Uh… Uh-huh, got it.” I take a deep breath to calm myself. “Thanks, Ghostlight… For saving my sister’s life. Actually, I call you Prism?”

  The girl’s voice is trembling as she responds. [“I-I suppose you’re wele? A-Again I guess? A-Also, you call me either name, I don’t mind.”]

  “Right, so now that that’s taken care of,” I roll my neck, then ask, “Prism, what’re the details of our pn here anyways?”

  [“Hey, what if I was the one making the pn?”]

  “sidering I’m pretty sure you’ve been fighting this eime we’ve been talking, and she’s the one who made the speech to the city… Prism, what’s the pn?”

  [“Emme’s fighting the horde outside of the city as we speak, a a big submarine shelter we’re funneling the st thousand people onto.”]

  “There’s only a thousand of us left? Fuck.” I pale a bit, putting a hand to my forehead. “I wish I could go fight with you two, but I don’t really have any points left.”

  Emme quickly chimes in, [“To be fair on the fighting the eime thing, I've been taking short breaks, cause I have beeing a bit tired, but I should have enough left in me for the end of this. There’s more than enough points to share, if you want to e help. I wouldn’t bme you for sitting back to keep wat Dad and Pop though.”]

  “I’m actually sort of worried about that. The soldiers that ambushed us sed to new orders once Prism made her speech, but who knows if they’ll go back to the old ones ohey’re home free?” I sigh, then tinue. “It’s sort of hard to imagiing into the same shelter as them as being a good idea. you just make a smaller sedary sub for us to use to escape with? I could use that in bination with my hardlight avatar to kill stuff while safe in the sub.”

  There’s another collective silence, until Emme mutters, [“I’d rather just get a big warship or something that I use afterwards for stuff. Tiny sub is kinda b.”]

  “A submersible warship?”

  [“Yeah! Ohat I put a big anti-grav eo and fly into the su!”]

  “That’s… actually not a terrible idea, sidering we’ve basically lost our home. It’d be a good pce to stay until we find somewhere we want to settle.”

  [“I’m pretty sure we even have all the catalogs already! I just o get the points! Okay girls, let's go!”]

  “Wait, shouldn’t we-”

  [“T-Too te, she dove bato the front-lines. A-At least she’s enthusiastic about it?”]

  I shake my head, then lead my parents out onto the street. Emme is chaotic at the best of times, and whes her mind onto something, there’s no stopping her. I suppose I’ll o do a bit of researto naval bat to help her out, that’ll be… iing.

  Actually, would naval bat even really apply to fighting antithesis? Sure, it’d be helpful against corporate fleets, which we’re probably iably going to run into, but would it even really help against the smaller foes? I suppose there might be advice for how to deal with invaders or aim a ship’s guns, but that’s just the sort of specififormation I could find as I …

  ‘Raya, what do you think about getting a big warship to fight with?’

  It’s actually quite a oor among Vanguard to get a rge meical vehicle to fight io their tendency to be quite det at both attad defence. I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest or most creative idea ever, but it’s certainly a det choiow, it starts to bee a different story when that heavy warship fly.

  I grin, putting my cheek onto my palm. ‘In a good way?’

  I suppose you could say it like that. I highly doubt the engines she’s looking to buy would allow for the speed necessary to escape the atmosphere, but it’s a start to getting there, especially if it has a submersible mode. That’s teically oep of many to it being a space capable vehicle.

  ‘So, a yes?’

  There are issues, but they’re minuscule enough I doubt they will e up. To be ho, from the way the other two AI described it, I’m worried that there may not be enough time to evacuate everyone before whatever is climbing up gets here.

  “They’ll-” I pause, then ge my words.

  “We’ll find a way. I promise.”

  Aliapanacea