The stars calmly twinkle as the night grows ever deeper.
"Oh. Here they come," Rurin says. Then Vernicia and Travis land on the platform.
"Hey, guys. Guess what happened," Vernicia says. "Here's a hint: it was awesome!"
I shift slightly from my face-down position. "Don't wanna. Leave me alone."
Travis looks at me. "What's up with her?"
"Shurikit demanded a race," Larry begins, but they both immediately nod in understanding.
"I've seen this before," Vernicia says.
"She'll get over it," Travis agrees.
"You guys want donuts? These things are the bad kind of good," Rurin offers.
"What does that even mean?" Vernicia chomps on a donut, then immediately spits it out. "Ugh! What the… people eat this? I need a palette cleanser."
"I dunno, I don't think it's that bad," Travis says through his own mouthful. "Kinda heavy. Real sweet coating. Maybe it's an acquired taste."
Vernicia rolls her eyes. "Acquired taste is basically Stockholm syndrome for your tongue. Forget about it."
Getting an idea, I quickly jump to my feet. "Let's go swimming somewhere."
"Hey, good idea," Travis agrees. "There's a coastline east of here."
"With waves and salt water, yeah? I've always wanted to ride a real wave," Vernicia excitedly says. "Let's do it!"
"Seconded," Rurin cosigns.
Larry stops us– "This late at night? Do you guys ever sleep?!"
I give him a derisive look. "Oh… is that cold feet I smell? WE can go for days without sleep," I brag.
"Swimming in the sea is always better during the day," Larry states. "And besides, you guys need swimsuits. We can do all of that tomorrow when the shops open."
"Swimsuits, huh…" I twirl a ponytail, now lost in thought. I read somewhere that they reveal a person's true self… this time, I won't lose.
"It's true all the good shops are closed this late," Vernicia says.
"Might as well relax, then." Travis lays down on the platform next to Rurin. The rest of us also follow suit, except for Larry.
"Um… don't you want to go someplace more comfortable?" He asks.
"What, were you raised in a house or something? This spot is great," I reply. "Nice breeze, solid flooring, no random noises. Leagues better than the barracks."
"I heard a researcher say once that it isn't the house you pay for, but the land it's on," Rurin says.
"Is that why tall buildings are popular in places like this? They'd be super cost-efficient," Vernicia notes.
"Sigh… fine," Larry concedes, laying down alongside us. "We'll head out at sunrise, then."
The night calmly goes by. It's strange, just sitting and waiting for sunrise without doing anything. Strange, but new at least. Still, I find myself feeling restless.
Current altitude, 333 meters. Systems normal. Now's as good a time as any to see if my thing still works… I have to get out of here.
Warning! Abnormal condition detected. Overriding. This is getting annoying. Updating status… what's a good name to use… I forgot what the procedure was called, but it basically makes me a ghost. So…
Status updated. Abnormality conditions updated. Ghost mode is currently engaged.
I float into the air, leaving my body behind. I can't feel the breeze anymore, but I can still sense the chill kind of.
As I'm floating around, I suddenly get the feeling someone is looking at me. Another ghost, maybe? Is that how it works? I try to pinpoint it, but… how do senses work when you're not in your body? I can see and hear, but not touch or speak. Or maybe I can speak but no one can hear me. But can other ghosts hear me if I'm not technically dead? Let alone see me. There's not much that makes sense about this.
The presence disappears. At the same time, I feel my own presence slipping–
WHFF!
My eyes pop open. The sun is up.
"You ready?" Larry asks. "Once everyone's up, we'll get some swimstuff and head up to Bread Reef."
"Y-yeah," I nod.
Getting swimwear is somehow more of a hassle than getting regular clothes, even though swimwear uses way less fabric. It's honestly such a pain.
Eventually I just get a sporty-looking orange one-piece. Light, functional, hydrodynamic.
"Don't be lame," Verni chides. She's holding a dark blue and grey two-piece somethingorother.
"What? Trav and Ru got one-pieces," I reply.
"Ugh, boys are different, Kit! You need to quit forgetting you're a girl. Mark my words, I'll teach you the power of sexy sooner or later," she tells me, now thoroughly annoyed.
"What…"
Bread Reef is fun, at least. It's on a rocky coastline north of the city, with no people anywhere nearby. The lagoon is full of crags and crabs and fish.
"I wonder if you can drink this," I mutter, bringing some seawater to my mouth. A moment later, I learned exactly why people purify the stuff.
"How'd it taste?" Larry casually asks. He's sporting an airy t-shirt and green trunks.
I immediately dropkick him into the water. "You knew all along, didn't you?! You prick," I yell.
"Man, this sucks," Travis grumbles. "Our wings are basically dead weight in water."
"Nah, you just gotta know the right tech. Look, if you shape them like this–" Vernicia adjusts her wings– "They should work as flippers."
"Oh, interesting." Rurin tries it himself.
"I know. We'll have a diving race," Vernicia decides.
"What, past the reef?" Rurin shrugs. "I'm not gonna race, but sure."
Verni sticks her tongue out at him. Then they both swim to the crest of the reef a hundred or so meters out. Then, splash– they're gone.
"Larry! These fish keep bumping me," I call. "I thought they avoided people!"
"They don't avoid me either," Larry replies. "Maybe we give a different vibe from regular humans."
"I'm gonna scare them off. I bet our screemers will work in water," Travis decides.
Larry gives him a look. "Just where do you get such bizarre ideas?"
Screee!
"Impressive," I say approvingly. I had no idea fish could move so quickly.
Travis and I start racing each other across the lagoon, while Larry heads to the shore and opens a laptop, setting up shop on a boulder. Ten minutes pass.
Larry, now looking around, mutters, "It's been a while, hasn't it? Maybe they found…"
"Ah, don't worry about them. Our lungs are great," I reply. "Not to flex, but my breath-holding PB is 17 minutes."
"Verni and I can do 20 minutes," Travis supplies. "I think Rurin's PB is 25 minutes."
"Tch." I roll my eyes.
"Well, that's still great, don't get me wrong," Larry states. "It just makes me wonder why they didn't also give you guys aqualungs."
"What's an aqualung?" I ask.
"It's supposed to let you breathe in water. That's all I'll say about that."
What's with that look on his face? Meh, whatever. "Hey Trav, how deep do you think we can go without getting crushed?"
"The only way to know when we'll get crushed is to actually get crushed," Travis answers. "Not it, by the way."
"Coward. Hey, are the crabs back yet? I want to hunt crabs."
Larry looks up from his laptop. "You should be good. They aren't as paranoid as… umm, never mind."
Thirty minutes later, I stand triumphant, tossing a crab into the large stash I'm carrying in my wings. "Hah! Found another one. Maybe we should cook 'em."
Travis looks out past the reef, then says, "Verni and Ru."
"Uh-oh." I drop my crabs. "Larry, we're diving! Keep a lookout for hostiles."
"They're fine," Larry replies. "There's a–"
"We don't have gills, idiot! Come on, Trav."
The two of us swim to the reef's crest and submerge. They were diving last I saw, and I can't see them among the shelf's bright colors and sea life…
The reef's wall drops down into the depths, where the coral and rock fades into endless blue-ish green.
They couldn't have… could they…?
Travis points at something on the reef wall. It looks like a cave, but it's perfectly round– wait, are those windows?
I look at Travis and he nods.
We swim into the hole, soon surfacing in a dark, cave-like environment.
I blink, activating my night vision. "What is this place?"
Travis looks behind him. "Kit! The exit sealed itself behind us!"
"Crap! Should have known this would screw us over," I grunt. "I'll start looking for other openings. Maybe there's a chink somewhere we can break through."
"Kit, there's a hatch on the ceiling," Travis reports. "The ladder goes straight to it."
"What? There's a ladder?" I follow his voice, and sure enough, there it is. Just what is this place?
CREEEK– Travis opens the hatch. Light streams in, illuminating the cavern with a white-ish glow.
"What the…" I climb the ladder after him, and we emerge in some kind of antechamber. In front of us is a door, square and metallic.
"This door seems tough." Travis knocks on it a couple of times. "Think you can do it?"
"Hmm…" I roll on my heels, then feel the door myself. "I'm barefoot right now, but I should still be able to, probably. Maybe if I go for—"
WHUUM! The door slides open.
"Oh." I lower my foot. Standing past the threshold is a rugged-looking woman with short brown hair and reddish skin. There's a grey blanket wrapped around her.
"Man, I'm getting all the visitors today," she says. "Well, come on in, I guess."
"Um. Thanks," I mutter, glancing over at Travis. He shrugs.
Past the threshold is… well, it looks like a house, but smaller. Or maybe more cramped? Definitely less stuff than in a house, but still house-like.
I look back at the antechamber's now-closed door, then back at the woman. Travis speaks first: "So, ah… you're not hostile, right? What is this place?"
"Ahem! Welcome to Hideout 3, a Gen 1 strategic point against A-Tech's forces," the woman announces with a bow. "Welcome to the fray, fellow escapees."
"A pleasure," Travis nods.
"Ehm…" I cross my arms. Did we escape? Joseph didn't really try to stop us, now that I recall.
"By the way, have you encountered any I-bots?" the woman asked. "I shook off the ones on my tail, but did you guys cover your tracks?"
I twirl a ponytail. "You mean those tall, annoying machines, right? I hate how they just grab us like it's the easiest thing. They've gotta be cheating somehow."
"Well, they are designed specifically to subdue aeronauts. That just means they're doing their job," the woman replies.
"Y'know, this flat is nice, but I'm a bit curious– how'd you furnish this place if it's underwater?" Travis asks.
"No idea. Not that I'm complaining," she replies. "It's comfy, I guess, but really chilly. I've been stationed here for maybe a month, and I still haven't figured out how to heat up the air that filters in."
"I can't really tell. But then, it gets way colder in the badlands," I tell her. "The temperature fluxes are actual hell, but they'll just throw us out there and call it training! You must have it made if you think this is cold."
"You guys were moved to the badlands? No wonder we couldn't find you," the woman notes. "Well. That had to suck, but it looks like you turned out stronger for it. I guess I shouldn't complain… but I've been a Pexsicle for way too long, so I'm gonna."
"A what?"
"Oh yeah. Pex is my name. Fastest flier in Gen 1."
"What! Faster than Larry?!" I yell.
"Ahem! I'm Travis, and she's Shurikit," Travis cuts me off.
"So, you along with the ones in the other room makes four total. Checks out," Pex states. "Gen 3, I presume?'
"Y-yeah," I reply. "Where are your wings?"
"Under my blankie," Pex answers. "I notice you don't fold yours. Or is that on purpose?"
I start to feel uncomfortable. "Uhm… it's fine if they're hanging flat, right? Even while we were in the city, no one seemed to notice."
"If you're talking about Chandonis, the people there don't notice anything," Pex remarks. "Shit's bizarre. Regardless of that, though… I guess if you don't know they're wings, it kinda just looks like a cape." She opens a laptop that looks just like Larry's. "The second set had folding wings too, though. Wonder what changed."
Travis perks up. "You know about Gen 2?"
"Yep. I finally cracked this file like half an hour ago," Pex nods. "I already commed with Larry about it, but I think Roy forgot his computer somewhere. Or he's busy."
I suddenly recall Larry's words: they're fine. Maybe he's trustworthy after all.
Vernicia and Rurin enter the front room, also wearing blankets.
"Oh hey, you found the hideout. Neat place, right?" Vernicia calls.
"We were just about to head back, but since you're here…" Rurin raises his blanket. "Wanna cuddle? There's more in the back."
"Later." I sit down on a chair. "Pex is gonna tell us about Gen 2."
"She said she was gonna tell us, too, but then went out to get more cocoffee… and never came back…" Vernicia sits next to me and glares at Pex.
"Ah-HEM! Now's as good a time as any, right? Gen 2! The analysis calls them marvels of bioengineering. They had perfect aqualungs, high-performance scales, camouflage capability, and optimal speed and strength for their planned use, which was… ugh, redacted." Pex clicks on something else. "Um, I guess I should mention that half of their capabilities were also redacted."
"So many perks… If they're such paragons, then what happened to them?" Travis asks.
"Hum, let's see…" Pex scrolls down a bit. "Oh, found it. They died."
"Really? Weird," Travis mutters. "They must've done something to really piss off A-Tech."
"Hm? Says here they just suddenly died of an infection one day."
"All four of them at once? I don't buy it," Vernicia says.
Pex looks up from her computer. "You think so?"
"Yeah! This stinks of 'swept under the rug'," Vernicia figures. "They wouldn't just let the perfect culmination of their investments die to some infection. I bet Travis is right on the nose."
I raise my hand. "So… you mentioned they had perfect aqualungs. What's an aeronaut supposed to do underwater?"
"Don't ask me," Pex shrugs. "Everyone in Gen 1 got them, too. But then, only Roy's actually work right, and all of Gen 2 ended up dead, so it was kind of pointless."
"Really…?" My gaze drops to Pex's neck. There are a few dull grey lines running down either side, disappearing past her soft covers.
"So they ditched that feature for our generation, looks like," Travis concludes. "A pity."
Pex looks over at a kettle. "Hey, cocoffee's ready. Want some? It's bitter, but stimulating."
"Hmm?" I look over.
"W-wait," Vernicia begins, but it's too late.
As she pours the black liquid into a mug, I force myself to look away so I don't lose it immediately. I still get flashbacks, though – burning throat, vomiting, fainting… they even switched to syringes when I started flat out refusing to drink that stuff…
Pex throws us a concerned look. "Er, everything alright?"
I quickly stand up. "N-no thanks. We should go back, guys. Right now."
"Yeah, there it is," Travis sighs. "Man, I wanted to try some…"
Pex raises the mug. "Did I miss something?"
"Nope. Come on, Kit," Vernicia says, ushering me to the antechamber. "We'll see you later, Pex."
The four of us surface, swimming back to Bread Reef's lagoon. Larry is still sitting on his rock, typing something on his laptop.
"Yo! What's the news?" Vernicia calls as we fly up to his perch.
"Look. These are personnel from a free-range research facility known as the House of Steel." Larry pulls up a photo on his screen. "You know any of them?"
We observe the spread of people – there were about a dozen total, and the photo looked recent.
"Hmph… there's the Guy," I point out. "And… Joseph? I thought he was with A-Tech."
"I thought so too. Though if I may ask, how do you know him?"
"He's our keeper," Rurin supplies. "Maybe he's a double agent?"
"Doubtful. And anyway, it isn't unheard of to have personnel move between multiple locations. Especially if they're high-ranking." Larry clicks on something else, pulling up a blueprint. "I also extracted a proposal document containing schematics for the I-bots… rather, the I-series debilitator. The project's sponsor is listed here too – Atticus Blaner. No picture, but it's something."
"So, what, Atticus is Joseph and the Guy's boss?" I ask.
"Sponsor doesn't necessarily mean boss," Larry replies, "but if he's been investing in A-Tech's research, then maybe…"
"I'm more interested in the I-bot stuff. Show me the weaknesses," Vernicia requests.
"Seconded," Travis says.
"Right…" Larry pulls up some sub-schematics. "Their heads contain high-range compound audio-visual sensors, which can accurately ID a target from up to 500 meters away and detect high- and low-frequency noises in a 20-meter radius."
"Which means they're sensitive," Vernicia deduces.
"And fragile!" Travis pumps a fist. "It's headshot season, comrades!"
"What? You aren't even good with guns."
Splash – Pex suddenly surfaces, flying into the air straight out of the water.
"Hey! Larry," she calls, flying towards us.
"Hm?" He stands up as Pex lands in front of us. "What's up?'
"The sensor got a ping from the south."
Vernicia looks in that direction. "Uhm… are you perhaps referring to the six aircraft flying right toward us and entering a battle formation?"
"Crap. An unscheduled sweep," Larry realizes.
"Can't hide forever," Pex shrugs. "Prepare for combat, guys!"
I look at my gauntlets. "Maybe I should've taken those knives after all," I mutter.
"You got ahold of Macy's battle gauntlets and didn't bother learning how they worked?"
"Huh?"
"It isn't just for protecting your punches, y'know. Do this with your wrist," Pex instructs. "Quickly, they're coming!"
"Umm… aha!" A strange sensation courses through me, then transparent vibroblades appear over my armored hands. "W-whoa. What was that feeling?"
"That's normal the first few times. The blades are crazy sharp, you'll love it," Pex told me. "As for me…" she draws two long, slim daggers connected by a metal wire. "These do the job fine. Alright, look alive!"
The squadron stops overhead, then begins dropping I-bots into the lagoon. Some land on the rocks, while others splash into the lagoon. Unfortunately, they do not break or malfunction.
"Okay…" I raise my wings. "Let's do this."
We attack the I-bots, dodging their grabs and breaking their heads. I look up at the aircraft and notice the lines of energy running between them. "What the… a shock grid?"
"The I-bots are all using nerbo, too. They still want us alive," Travis observes. Then an aircraft fires an electroweb at us, forcing us to scatter.
"There's a lot of 'em. They might actually catch us at this rate," I growl.
"There's too little room to maneuver," Larry calls. "We need to escape before they drop the shock grid on us!"
"Hmph… you know what, let's stop playing their game. Everyone, underwater," Pex yells.
"Huh?!" I look over at her.
"Let's do it! Before they catch on to our plan," Larry says, diving into the water.
We quickly follow him down towards the hideout as the I-bots give chase.
I know I should trust them, but that doesn't stop my mind from running. What's trapping ourselves deeper gonna accomplish? Out of the frying pan, into the fire, back into the frying pan, what? I guess it's good these I-bots weren't originally designed with swimming in mind, or they'd have caught us by now…
Soon the hideout's exterior entrance seals shut. As we enter the hideout proper, the aquatic I-bots start crowding the windows.
"Now what?" I ask. "There are too many out there to avoid!"
"True. But now that they're all in one place… hoho, I've been waiting for a chance to use this," Pex giggles, walking over to some kind of circuit board. Then she pulls a lever on it–
BZZZ-POW!
A powerful discharge bursts from the hideout, knocking out the I-bots, the hideout's power, and every sea creature in a 100-meter radius.
Soon greenish backup lights flicker on.
"Uhh… that's cool and all, but…" Vernicia looks out a window. "The fish…"
"I'm more concerned about the power," Rurin says.
"Don't worry! The airlock uses hydraulics so it should still work," Pex assures us.
A fish floats upwards past the window. "It really did kill all this wildlife… I hope no one comes after us for it," Vernicia mutters.
Pex runs a hand through her hair, trying to act casual. "We won't get caught if no one knows about this hideout, yeah? We'll be fine. But I agree, we should ditch."
"I was thinking we could take some fish with us," Travis suggests. "I bet it's already pre-cooked."
"Trav, what? Let's just go."