A sudden wrenching sensation throughout my entire body roughly pulls me out of my sleep. As I gasp and begin coughing to clear my throat, I feel my muscles begin to knit together as invisible rivets begin drilling deep into my body, fusing flesh and bone securely together. An electric shock is then sent surging down my spine, bringing irresistible pain with it, but also rousing me to full alertness.

"Transmigrator, awaken." The Voice rasps urgently from the earpiece, "I am repairing the body as fast as possible. You must be ready to deploy immediately."

"What in the world?" I hiss in pain as I drag myself up from the mattress. All around me, the lights mounted on the ceiling of the pit bloom to life, causing me to squint in discomfort. As my eyes open and shut, a sinking feeling hits me. One of eyes is still blind. The Voice has not managed to solve the problem afflicting it.

"We are going to be under an imminent attack from the Matsui." The Voice rumbles hurriedly, "I have spawned your gear on the desk. Prepare yourself and wait for further instructions."

"No way!" I shout and immediately leap to my feet, wincing from the soreness in my muscles, "I thought you said that the Pit's a safe place?"

My eyes turn to the desk and find the set of clothing neatly folded on top of it. Black hood, black trench coat, black trousers and don't forget black boots and gloves. The Voice's tastes in fashion swung evenly between 'bad' and 'hilariously edgy'. Leaning against the foot of the desk and completing the ensemble is a familiar double handed sword. The laptop sitting in the center of the desk boots up and its screen flickers to life, displaying a montage of security footage selected from cameras throughout Six Trees Hills.

The camera footage shows an unending swarm of men and women storming into Six Trees Hills, fanning out methodically searching the complex floor by floor. Whenever they are foiled by a locked door, the intruders vigorously pound it into splinters before resuming their mission. The laptop then focuses on the cameras around the basement parking area. The place has been plunged into darkness, likely from a power outage, with no cars going in or out. The Matsui have thankfully not begun searching the basement yet, but they have posted guards around the main exit and the fire escape staircase, bottling me in.

The Voice explains, "Six Trees Hills is being invaded by the Matsui. From the numbers they have deployed, a fair assumption would be that elder Matsui has dispatched his entire organization against you. I have lured the Matsui away from the basement through a series of red herrings on the upper floors, but this will only buy us time. The Matsui will sooner or later search the basement parking area."

"Can't we wait them out?" I question while putting on the armor, "Six Trees Hills is big. Its already five am. The Matsui can't play at being storm troopers during daytime."

"Numbers, Transmigrator." The Voice unhappily answers, "By my estimate, the Matsui have enough men to perform a rough sweep of the upper floors within one and a half hours. After that, it is likely they will turn their attention to the basement. Though they may retreat once the sun breaks."

"Cutting it real close." I swear, "I could roll the dice and stay hidden, but the Pit would only be safe for probably one more day before the Matsui return the next night to complete their search. Or I could chance it and attempt to break out now while they are distracted. Is that what you are saying?"

"Yes." The Voice confirms, "We need to avoid this turning into a siege scenario where the Matsui will be able to grind you down through attrition. Nevertheless, how did the Matsui manage to track you so quickly?"

I click my tongue in annoyance, "Fate's got its red thread all over the surface. I thought that I was safe after beating down the Matsui ambush, but it looks like Fate had been keeping tabs on me all this while."

"Annoying." The Voice harrumphs, "I was hoping that we would be able to act more freely, but -"

"What's wrong?" I ask, taken aback by The Voice's sudden silence.

The Voice rasps, "Commander Hernandez is on the line. Connecting you now." I grunt in confirmation and there's a static pop as The Voice leaves the conversation.

"Smart ass." a whispered, high strung hiss sounds through the earpiece, "Can you hear me smart ass?"

"What's up, Commander?" I quip, trying to put the encroaching Matsui on the back burner of my mind.

"There's a skinless freak in the station." Hernandez's whisper becomes shrill before he manages to get in control of himself, "A skinless freak with a veil on its face. Its taken control of everyone here."

Veil on its face? No way. This better be not what I think it is. I hear a sharp intake of breath from The Voice as a sense of disquiet falls upon both of us.

"Will you just relax?" I urge Hernandez, "Take things from the top so that I can understand."

"I went to meet your boss right?" Hernandez mutters, "Can't remember everything that happened, but I think we talked and things become hazy after that? I only really came to once my car was parked in the driveway of the house."

"Don't worry about it. What you experienced is just a security measure." I explain, "What happened after that?"

Hernandez swallows audibly as he continues, "Got a call from HQ on my mobile, wanting me to head back immediately. So I started driving back, but those dip shits didn't know that I was driving an ORPO squad car, not my personal ride. When I was closing in on the station, I heard the order go out through the dispatcher's general frequency. ORPO knows that I let you go Gallant. There's an arrest warrant out for me."

"What!" I exclaim, "You're the bloody Commander of ORPO. How could an arrest warrant be issued against you of all people without any prior warning?"

"That's the thing." Hernandez growls, the tension edging into his voice again, "Its impossible for ORPO to get a warrant out against me at this time of the night. All the magistrates that can issue one are sleeping right now. And I sure as hell did not sign a twenty four hour remand order against myself. The warrant's bogus, someone wants me to be put away. Or maybe even disappeared."

The Voice rasps, "The Commander is correct, Transmigrator. I have managed to restore my link to ORPO's systems and am performing a search right now. There is no such warrant issued against him."

"OK." I say as calmly as possible, my grasp on the situation slipping away at a dangerous pace, "So where are you now?"

Hernandez goes back to his hoarse whisper, "Hiding right under the candle flame. ORPO can track its squad cars, so I had no choice but to complete my journey to HQ. Doing anything else would raise immediate suspicion. The rear windows are heavily tinted though, to prevent passers-by from seeing any prisoners we are transporting. I have been hiding in the car and listening in to the dispatcher all this while."

"Haven't pissed or shit yourself yet?" I joke, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Har de har." Hernandez snaps, "Look, this is serious Gallant. I need help here. Around half an hour ago, Godfather Matsui's limo pulled up in the parking area and that skinless freak walked right out and into the station's elevator. Then all I hear from the dispatcher is praise the goddess this and praise the goddess that. The noise in my head has also gotten worse. Much worse."

"Tapping into the feed from ORPO HQ's cameras." The Voice immediately rasps as new windows begin popping up on the laptop's screen.

And I see it.

A raw, bloody figure strides confidently down the halls of ORPO HQ, a shabby veil is sloppily placed over its head and its body clad in an ill fitting evening gown. The dress is clearly meant to show off some skin, but from the camera feed, all I see are bloody red patches both muscle and exposed organs pumping away, peeking coyly from under the provocative cut of the gown. A pair of bony wings with a scanty few feathers growing on them twitch restlessly from the figure's back. Hernandez is right. This thing is a real freak.

"What do you expect me to do?" I ask while staring transfixed at the video feed, now showing more and more ORPO officers falling in behind the skinless freak as it continues its circuit around the station.

"I need you to get me out of here!" Hernandez blares before stifling his voice, "Just get over to the station and do your thing, OK?"

Then the call is abruptly cut off.

"There is an urgent matter that has been brought to my attention." The Voice pronounces, "I will provide assistance to Commander Hernandez as far as possible, but he will have to sink or swim by his own strength. We have a larger problem to deal with."

"Do tell." I sigh. The Matsui problem is not yet dealt with and now another mountain of shit is crashing my way.

The laptop now displays the ORPO officers gathering in a large room serving as a bay for the mech suits. Another window opens and shows large numbers of officers arming up in the HQ's arsenal.

"Intercepts from ORPO's systems indicate that they are preparing a strike right now." The Voice states, "A strike involving as many assets as they can summon on short notice."

"How many officers are we talking about?" I question, eyes narrowing.

"All dedicated special tactics units, so effectively all ORPO mechs and paramilitaries will be participating." The Voice rasps, "Any available patrols are also being stripped from the streets and ordered to join up with the attack force."

"That's like, almost everything ORPO has in terms of firepower." I muse, "And the target of this strike?"

"The Sarcophagus." The Voice rumbles, "More specifically, my place of power there."

"Shit." I mutter.

"Indeed." The Voice agrees, "Now you understand the severity of the situation. I cannot lose the hub as it would mean losing my only means of maintaining a presence on the surface. The choice has been made for us Transmigrator. You must break out of Six Trees Hills and assist in the defense of the Sarcophagus."

"You can't deal with ORPO flatfoots by yourself?" I ask, disbelieving.

"There are other factors at work here." The Voice evades, "My reading of the Crossroads tells me that the forces arrayed there will not be enough to secure our victory."

"That freak we saw on the video. What was it?" I press, "And answer me honestly."

"I do not wish to speculate." The Voice demurs.

"But you know." I insist, "Or at the very least can make a very good guess."

Silence is all I receive, until finally, The Voice deigns to reply.

"An old rival has decided to make an appearance."