Aliapanacea

  Within the halls of the Flowing Neon, I sit gring at a jumble of code the fox sisters serying to my head around it. They introduced it to me as a ‘beginner framework’ for the cept of viruses, but I just ’t seem to figure out exactly why. Programming has always ied me, but the other me has always been more attuo the practiow that I’ve actually got something iing to do with it, I’m really regrettiher of us actually putting time into learning it earlier.

  Shinon and Shinobu sit across from me, taking sips from their drinks as they watch me scroll through the lines of code. Holy, the girls are pretty iing, and cute to boot. I’m gd they’re the ones I met first, but even a precursory che the samurai they call their Moms, and I ’t help but look at them in a slightly different light. Actually, speaking of that…

  “Hey you two,” I say actively ptily how I want to word this as I do, “What is w with Psy-d Maniac actually like? Our little group is trying to figure out what exactly we want to be doing, so looking at our preight help out.”

  “It’s an iing question but we ’t reeeeally give you a straight answer?” Shinon scratches her head, thinking surprisingly hard about this.

  Shinobu tinues as her sister then takes a sip of her drink, “Yeah. We’ve never really been on an actual mission before, but Mom is… Well, you’d be surprised how sweet she is based on what you hear about her o and all that.”

  “The one who usually hands out missions is Yun Min, though she said she has something for us in the near future? So we will be able to tell you more after that, but based ouff we were taught? There is a lot of iigating and what not," Shinon finishes.

  “Huh, woulda thought you had more to do there…” I defte a bit, mind wandering. “We didn’t really have a choice about w in New Houston, it was either do the job they tell you to or your family will never be able to be happy. I was fortuo be assigned one I didn’t hate.”

  “That…” Shinon trails off.

  “Wow…” Shinobu says, a fbbergasted look on her face, “Sounds like the pce was run by a tyrant.”

  I snort, a particur propaganda poster I used to have to stare at ing to my mind. It wasn’t really anything that special, just a simplistic top view of Steel Hound as a dog beaten and bruised proteg a small child against a paodel Threes. It read, ‘Work is Freedom. Freedom fights for you.’, I didn’t know what it was implying until ter, but it still sets a fme of rebellion burning into my heart whenever I think about it now that I do.

  “Yeah, that’s definitely one way of putting it.” I tap my fingers against the table, then flick the code with a sigh. “Desmond Montero embodies an unfortable brand of fascism I don’t really like to think about.”

  “A Nazi and a piece of shit is what he is.”

  All three of us flinch as an arctic fox suddenly leaps up onto the table, quite a serious look on their furry little face.

  I blink, taking a moment to process what is going on. “You know, I sort of fot people be non-human in the mesh.”

  “Sometimes I fet too.” Shinon says then picks up the fox and starts patting it.

  A quice at the new foxes' publifo, something the girls taught me how to do a bit ago, I find their o be ‘0x466F786D6F6D’, which is sort of not helpful at all iifying them.

  “I… Who are-” Shaking my head, I decide quickly to just straight up ask, “Sorry, what’s your name, little fox?”

  “Oh that taglihe fox turns to me, a foxish smirk on her face as she puts her paw on her chest. “That means Foxmom but my friends call me Luna. This is a friend, right Nonon, Boo?”

  Shinon giggles as her sister gives the fox some scritches, then says, “GranLuna I told you that username will fuse people, and yes. She is frien.”

  Luna shakes her head. “That’s the point! If I wanted everyoo know my name I’d just call myself Luna. If you wanna know my name, call me old-fashioned, but I at least gotta check your knowledge on hexadecimal eng and Ascii.

  The fox pauses, then asks, “Why were you talking about that priyways?”

  “Oh, I’m from New Houston, so I’m intimately familiar with how absurdly terrible he and his ies are.” I put up a finger, grinning as I close one of my eyes. “Though, to be fair, one of the members of my group did mao sp him befouging his eyes out in a fit e. It’s not really enough for the shit he’s done, but it was definitely cathartic as fuck.”

  “Niiice,” the fox almost glitches out as she starts ughing, “I like that member of yroup already.”

  In a more somber tone, Luna adds, “Also I am so sorry for your loss. I heard what happened and you probably lost your home and whatever meager possessions you were allowed to have. And way too many people.”

  She sighs, “I warned him. Told him building a city on the o was a terrible idea. Asshole ughed in my fad called me a hypocrite.”

  “Sounds like him.” I defte a little, putting my elbow onto the table aing my head in my palm. “We did lose where I had lived my entire life, but holy we sort of are better off now than we were. Me and my sister both initialized, she mao find a girl that I’m vinced she’s already basically uhauled with, and we have a flying warship with the most fortable amenities we’ve ever had access to.”

  “Omm, I don’t want to rain on your parade, but statistically speaking, that says more about your past living ditions than your current ones.” Shinon spoke up.

  All I do is shrug. “For all Ameriorth Korea was terrible, it was also sort of fy that you had a purpose. I’m sort of overwhelmed with the sheer amount of options I have now.”

  “I get that,” Luna nods in uanding, “It be extremely overwhelming, especially at first. Don’t really have any advice for this either, besides ‘Do whatever either feels right, or you won’t regret tomorrow.’

  “We get it too, we broke down g the first time we were told that we have ice cream, or just a sed serving of food.” Shinon says with a soft smile, reminisg. “We had it rough too as kids.”

  I take a moment to parse what they just said, then slowly mutter, “Wait, is ice cream real? My sister and I thought it was a multiversal tinuity thing in old media.”

  Luna blinks. “Do you mind me asking you where you are right now irl and if I drop by real quick? I o fill in a very important gap in knowledge. And yes Nonon, Boo, that means I will be buying more Css III ice cream and yes, if yood a ygies, I’ll save you some.”

  The sisters gh a range of emotions that be described as the five stages of grief but starting with happiness, and ending in quiet resignation.

  “Uh…” I pull up my interface, flig around to find a map. “Raya, help me out here?”

  Beside me, a little hedgehog materializes, a very unimpressed look on her face. “You do know that letting a random stranger kly where you are is a bad idea for you and your family’s safety, yes?”

  Stig out my tongue, I poke my AI on the nose. “I trust Shinon and Shinobu, so their grandma should be fioo.”

  “You know, your AI does have a point.” Luna sticks a paw out at me. “I do not have any ill iions aher does Nonon and Boo, but you ’t knooint being, please for your own sake, be safer online iure.”

  “What she said.” Nonon points at the fox. “We already gave you the lecture about names, and this is right up there with that.”

  “Fiiiiihis is the only time without vetting first.” Then, I grin when I find the gps data. “Okay we’re… Huh, currently stationary fifteen thousa above the great pins of North America. Raya, you sehe coordinates for me?”

  “Ugh. Fine.” Raya taps her feet on the ground, then hops down onto the ground and starts waddling away from us. “I’ll be pining to Nyvi and Achys about you, if you need me just call.”

  “Huh.” I watch the hedgehog as she disappears through the fog door. “I wonder where our AI hang out.”

  “Hmmm okay so ten mio get there, forty five mio vince Cierra to let the girls tag along, six hours subsonic flight give or take, uhhh… Sorry kids, I think you’ll have to sit this o.”

  “ime then, ooooooor you all could e here to Europe.” Shinobu grins.

  I hum, putting a finger on my . “Weellll, I think my sister’s partner did mention something about Europe? I’ll have to ask, we’re currently on a mission to destroy the Montero glomerate though. Maybe they have a branch there.”

  “Holy? It would not surprise me if they did.” Boo deadpans.

  “Who knows…” I scratch the bay neck, then mutter, “I suppose I should go eople about Luna showing up… Thanks for hanging out with me for the st few hours.”

  “Wait, before you go!” Luna jumps oable again and slides a paper folder which materializes from nowhere over it. “Feel free to add my tact details and call me if you need anything. Also if people decide they don’t trust me and I should stay home.”

  “Oh, us too.” Shinobu says, then flicks her fi the table, materialising an ami ailed fox.

  A giggle materializes as it leaps up onto my shoulder, nuzzling my cheek before depositing the info into my system. I grab the paper folder as a warm fuzzy feeling envelops me, stiffly standing up before looking down owo sisters.

  “I’ll uh, call you.” I say, then turn away as a bit of heat rises in my cheeks. “I really wanna talk to you two more ter.”

  Before they say anything in response and I get a ake even more of a fool of myself, I log out, gasping as the mesh falls away around me, materializing into my bedroom once more. I reach up and brush my fingers against the sy face, then cover my face as I quietly scream.

  Smooth one, hotshot.

  “Fuck off, her of us is good at making friends. That was unfortunately, not the worst exit I have made.” Ign Raya’s s that, I roll my shoulder as I hop off the bed. “Where’s Emme? o go talk to her.”

  In the aer with Prism reading files they mao steal from the Montero-Wisteria Labs.

  “Uhh…” I run through the ship’s yout in my head. “Right, I think I know where that is.”

  I step through the door, then rush up a set of stairs to the room across from the captain’s . I step through, but pause when I do, finding my attention stolen by the seemingly high-tech equipment scattered around the room, a lot of it entirely alien to me. Well, except the ship’s wheel and the terminals around that, I assume I kly what those do.

  Emme and Prism are sitting beside each other at one end of the room, huddled around a surprisingly small little mae. I move over to see what they’re doing, just to find them staring at a single dot in silence, forlorn looks upon their faces. her of them seem to notice me, so I, of course, sloroach my sister, then pull her into a headlobsp;

  Both girls visibly jump in their seats in shock at that, and I swear I see actual terror in Prism’s eyes for a moment, before it fades into relief when she reizes it’s me a sed or two ter. Strahat she didn’t actually instantly realize it…

  “Lissa-” My sister wheezes, tapping my arm. “You win- ’t breathe-”

  After a moment of sideration, I let my sister go, then put a hand on my hip as I ask, “So, find anything damning in there?”

  “U-Um…” Prism awkwardly wrings her hands. “I-It’s a lot. W-We ime to gh it all.”

  Emme presses a few buttons on the puter at that, then grins up at me as I get the message she sent. “Read through that when you get a ce, I want your opinion on it.

  “Sure whatever.” I pause as I pull it up, then close it when I remember what I actually came here for. “Uh, by the way, a senior samurai is ing to the ship soon, her name is Luna and she’s bringing ice cream?”

  Emme looks at me like I’m crazy. “Ice cream is real?”

  I point at my sister, a smile rising on my face. “That's what I asked, and then she just said she was ing to fix it!”

  “E-Eh?” Prism’s eyes shoot between us with pure fusion in their depths. “H-Have you two not had ice cream before? H-How is that even possible?”

  Emme throws her hands up in frustration. “I mean, there wasn’t any on the fourth floor, and I never bothered looking for it above cause I didn’t think it was a thing!”

  Prism begins to rapidly tap her fingers against her tail. “T-This is an e. W-We must amend this travesty as soon as possible.”

  Groaning, I put my hand on my forehead. “Well, she won’t take long, we should probably greet her at the door.”

  I turn to start walking, before Emme leaps up to grab my wrist.

  “Wait! You ’t meet someone looking like that!”

  I grimace, looking down at my clothes then back up at my sister. “What? I look fine.”

  “I-I’m not seeing the problem either, Emme.” Prism floats over, her tail swishing behind her.

  Putting her hands on her hips, Emme grins. “If we’re meeting someoh a bit of preparation time, we o coordinate! I have the perfect idea for what we should do!”

  ***

  My name is Jeremiah Greenwood, Head Stist of the New Houston Montero-Wisteria Laboratory. This is the first research log for the Davy Jones project, the date is January First, Twenty Fifty-Five.

  Today was absolutely chaotic, with many of our junior staff having to be ‘id off’ due to disagreeing with the ethics of this project. It’s mostly a result of the ‘higher ups’ demanding we immediately get started, regardless of whether approval for the research is granted by the tral administration. They said they would cover for us if it is discovered. I have my doubts, but in the end, the boss is a member of the Monteros themselves, so I suppose it is not too much of a stretch.

  Let’s get to the point of this project shall we? Retly, a small team of miners from the Eleventh were wiped out by a new variant of Antithesis Model Seven they entered in their excavation of the seafloor.

  It’s a fasating evolution of the Xenos, in my opinion; The worms are quite a bit smaller than the norm, but have a few restris that make it clear they were designed for use in aquativiros. For ohey do not have the capability to survive for extended periods of time outside of liquids from what we have seen, though there is a theory floating around that we might be able to supplement that through use of humidity chambers. Testing required.

  The current standing hypothesis is that these worms have adapted the form of a species of aquatic moth, though we have no idea ecies. There are multiple reasons for this, from their diminutive size to the fact they are attracted to the testing chambers lights, but there is one particur factor that has led to this theory. It’s been shown that when enough of them gather in ahey have a tendency to clump together and begin to form a silk-like co of flesh, remarkably simir in structure to the birthing pods that be found within hives. We have interfered in every attempt they have made to do this so far, in hopes of stopping a tai breabsp;

  The silk-like material they use is stra has some of the properties of silk, yet eerily has the ability to grow naturally by itself seemingly without a energy source to draw upon. There has beeement over this among the staff as one of the junior researchers wove a bit together and found that it keeps the structure as it grows, meaning that it perhaps could be utilized to create self regeing biotic muscles or something simir. I pn ing this up with the higher-ups ter.

  Unfortunately, just researg this particur variant isn’t the point of Project Davy Jones. No, what we are doing is far more sihe b is ected to every floor’s water system, and we trol where the water goes from here. Essentially, they have created a framework for a on that could artificially deposit Model Sevens into any dwelling within New Houston that they wao.

  Our true job?

  Figure out exactly what the worms do to their hosts, how difficult it is to remove the victims from their now vat homes, and how much it costs every time it occurs. I suspect there are other reasons for this b being here as well, but for now it’s just that. I o do researto the previous boratory locations before I share those suspis. Log end.

  Audio Rec recovered from the data disk stolen by Emmelyn from the Montero-Wisteria Laboratory owelfth floor.