Chapter 28: Twenty-Six

When she pulled up to the shack, there was a girl there, staring. The first thing she noticed was a blue vest-like jacket with only the left arm, a one-piece swimsuit-like outfit underneath, and a mechanical right arm shooting out of the right side of the ripped part.

"Oh?" The person turned towards her when she was noticed. Rose saw her eyes widen, eyebrows rise, then a soft frown came upon the brown-haired girl's face that quickly returned back to normalcy.

She kept her hands on the steering wheel and looked her over. There was an odd feeling inside of her, maybe an instinct, that told her she wouldn't much like to interact with the girl. There was a white insignia on her breast pocket—a circle with three rings and a line struck through diagonally. Finally, there was an overlay of a thin needle upon that image.

Rose looked around, noticed the slummers all but ignoring her with eyes peered at the girl—her jacket in particular. That was a bit interesting.

"Who are you?" She asked, turning her eyes back. "What do you need here?"

The lady smiled. Rose noticed even more prominently the rifle attached to her back and a pulse pistol to her thigh as she walked closer. It wasn't an unusual fire power to have, but their quality was above what she had seen within the slums.

"I'm looking for Lux; business."

"What business?"

The girl tapped on her pad.

An image of a brunette headed man popped into the air, there was a thin smile on his face, it was a recording.

"Tell Lux to hand over my money to her." Paul Walker said through the video. "Two months is a little late, don't you think? You do it for him if he can't afford it, or I'll bulldoze that shack of his."

'So, she knew Lux was likely not to be here,' Rose thought.

Something felt wrong.

She opened her lips, "Alright, I'll hand it over, a thousand Lixels right?"

The girl nodded with folded arms. "A thousand and nothing more."

They connected their pads and Rose sent the money over, bringing her down to 4k lixels even after she had just submitted her hunt.

"Anything else?" She asked after the transfer.

"Yes." The female smiled. "I'm still looking for Lux, this time, for something personal."

"And what might that be?"

"I'm an old friend of Lux, I don't think I have to explain everything to you now, do I? Could you let me in to meet him?"

An old friend collecting debt? She raised an eyebrow.

"He never mentioned you before."

The girl laughed and waved a hand. "You can't expect everyone to talk about their past so willingly. Besides, I don't come here often."

"But you come here often enough?"

"Right." The female nodded. "The last time I came was about a year ago, then two years prior to even that."

"Hmm, I see."

Deep inside of Rose, her Core hummed silently as she realized Maria's memories had nothing on this woman. There would have been something, anything, if she had visited this shack within the last few years, but there was nothing. Not a mention and not a sight. At least not within the last 5 years. She was clearly lying.

"Well, I'm sorry to say but, Lux has already died. . ."

"Died? Died to what?"

The homunculus noticed the hand of the girl moving to her thighs.

"A sandworm," She replied back.

'For now.' Rose kept her hand on the steering wheel of her motor as she made an instinctive decision. 'I have to get away from her.'

"Right. . .of course."

"You don't seem to care?"

There was a laugh. "It is awfully dangerous in the slums, after all."

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The hand had now wrapped around the pulse pistol. The engine of the dune-buggy revved, and she found a muzzle turned to her head.

"N. Series number 37, Rose, by Law of Alos, I am to bring you back for reconfigurations." The female said, hazel eyes having traced cold. "I would very much like it if you could come with me in peace."

Rose's eyes widened as her breath skipped. Brought back? To be reconfigured? Her foot had already slammed the pedal.

"Why you—"

Before the words of the girl could even fall, Rose accelerated out of the shack's surroundings and into the streets of the slums.

"Fine, the hard way it is!"

She looked back to see a jet uncloak itself from within the sky—manifesting as if from nothing as mana rolled—and the woman jumping in. There was a small blue light before its hovering turned to movement.

'A Reaper!'

She remembered the words of Elsa. She remembered the fire power she had once seen light up the sky and slay a blaze falcon with ease, and she suddenly felt the threat of such a thing chasing after her.

The girl knew her name and the girl knew her words were lies as well, she had definitely only chatted with her for an amusement of her own. No matter what, at the sound of 'reconfigurations', and the information of homunculi in her mind, Rose did not quite like the idea of being caught by that individual. The freedom she had gained. . .she tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

She swerved, the motor skidded against asphalt and found its way bouncing through the slums as voices yelled to her in protest.

"Shana Striker reporting to base." Shana held the yoke of her weapon with narrowed eyes, looking down at the feed of the screen before her that followed a dune-buggy. "I'm currently chasing the homunculus, requesting an additional day for capture."

The shock of seeing the supposedly dead homunculus back up and walking was still swishing inside of her. Even if there was a mage within the slums that could fix it, with their expected skill level, it should have taken months to years.

"What? The slummers aren't giving it up?!" Arthur's voice rang back with shock, which idiots defied a Reaper's orders? "Those damn—denied, your request is denied, fire at them if you have to, I'm not risking my job for slummers! Bring the homunculus back!"

Shana frowned.

"I can't get a clear shot, there are civilians in the way. Once again, I am requesting an additional day for tracking and capture," She replied over the com, her lips twitching in irritation at having repeated herself.

"Civilians? Did you forget your orders? Those are not Alos's citizens, bring the corpse back no matter what, Striker. You have the authority to fire at will."

There was a twitch of her eyebrows and she pulled up on the yoke, bringing the jet higher into the sky.

"I refuse, I won't kill people so needlessly."

"What the fuck are you saying? They are slummers! If you don't bring the homunculus by night fall, the state will demote you and me to smithereens, you're already on thin fucking ice!"

"Let me be demoted," The girl said, "I may be a soldier, but I don't slaughter innocents."

"Motherfucker, Shana. . ."

"I'm not backing down from this, Arthur," She sliced him off, "I didn't join the military to kill, I joined to protect. Just because I became good at it, just because I advanced to Reaper, doesn't mean my reasons have changed."

"You're going to get me demoted too—"

"I do not care."

She cut off the com link, ripped the thing from her ears, and threw it aside. She sighed, picking up the jet and flying into the skies. As she entered hover mode, she released her hands and dropped further into her leather sit.

'That homunculus ran away so fast.' She remembered those eyes as her pad blinked in front of her with the image of a younger self surrounded by soldiers, soldiers she had led, soldiers she had bonded with.

'Even when they were only following orders, their emotions were genuine.'

The platoon of Sol.Series homunculi she had once commanded was no more. Watching their death had been the only reason that pushed her to take this job as a Reaper, else she would have much preferred a normal operative's job.

The pad blinked off as she stared at the white clouds around her. There was a screech as a blaze falcon flapped its wings and flew by.

"Dammit."

No wonder no other officer had bothered to keep their soldiers emotions un-suppressed. She had been too naïve. Too wishful. They had looked human, acted human, and she had thought to treat them as human.

She took in a breath and gripped the yoke of her jet.

'Alright,' She thought, 'Let's finish this then.'

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