[Time: 0:400 XCT]

[Geographical Information: North American Reform, The Lower States Technocratic Belt, Scarlet City, Low-Income Residential Sector (Beastkin Populace 33,664)]

[Weather Report: 15 Celsius, Rain-Status: Light 10cm, Low Acidity, Low Heavy Metal Particulate, Respiration Filters: Not Required. 80% Humidity, Moderate Fog]

“Oi, Liger!” A voice seated with concern called into the morning light, its echoes reaching far into a narrow street packed with abandoned market stalls and mounds of rotten produce.

At the front of a column of Soldiers, Liger marched forward, rifle raised and unflinching as the LT continued to yell in an authoritative tone.

“Pointman!”

“LT, just leave em be.” Ergo hummed as he scanned his surroundings alongside Bask taking up the rear. “Sorry for being way out of line, but the Man is still a Man; even if he’s a machine. He’s got feelings too, ain't that right, Bask?”

“I don’t think that’s the issue… Poppin' off shots at Survivors is not what we signed up for.”

“Hell, when they’re shootin’ at us first, it ain't what we signed up for neither! Aint that right, LT? That Care Package skirmish was entirely self-defense! I mean, they even had one of our Humvees!”

Trotting up alongside Liger, LT placed a hand on his shoulder halting him dead in his tracks.

“Feeling a little insubordinate, are we Tin-Man? Why aren’t you acknowledging my orders? What’s going on inside that titanium skull of yours?”

Shrugging off the gesture, Liger continued forward as he spoke.

“I do not feel at ease…”

“Is that all?” LT laughed out the corner of his mouth. “Pray tell Tin-Man? What makes a man wearing Exo-Armor marching behind a smart-rifle feel uncertain? Don’t tell there’s something soft beneath those graphene layers aching for that Beastkin buddy of yours?”

“That’s a low blow, LT...” Ergo interjected as he cracked a grin towards Bask who spontaneously found herself invested in the conversation.

“I had no intentions of breaking my promise so quickly as I had made it only an hour before it was forced to expire… but that is not it entirely. My mind is clogged with thoughts of our Mission, our Goals and what is to come of this as we continue to struggle against annihilation.”

With a few firm pats on the back, the LT chuckled as he fell behind his lead Gunner to the center of the column.

“That’s nothing out of the usual for us Humans, just don’t dwell on the grand scheme of things too much. You’re just anxious, Liger. We all are. After we reach Checkpoint Epsilon and phone back to Headquarters I'll put in a request for a respite. Maybe even our precious cargo will benefit from a little R&R.”

As the morning rain gave way to peaking beams of sunlight, the desolate labyrinth of urban roadways came to a switchback down a severe incline. At the bottom, the sparse remains of the Low-Income Housing smoldered with signs of electrical fires.

For a time, the cadence of heavy boots sealed the silence while the laser sights of rifles danced along the densely packed residences until the incline gave way to an artificial forest.

“Bogan = Prey, Pures are not our Masters, Hang-a-Human?” Ergo pursed his lips as he read the contents of a cautionary sign addled with bullet holes. “I get why Beasties hate Humans, but they do realize most of us hate Big-Pharma that shackled them just the same? It’s not like we can boot them out of meddling with politics, so the whole Master/Medication/Slave relationship isn’t the layman’s fault… oh, and; what the heck is a... ‘Bogan’?”

“Bogan is a derogatory term for Pure-Blood.” Bask rolled her eyes, hiding the truth that her nerves tingled with fear. “Most of this graffitied propaganda here is crafted up by Guerilla Factions. You have Anti-Freedom Fighters; those who openly protest non-violently, despite having such a name. There’s United Altered Lifeforms that incorporate Lilims in their rights advocacy… well for anything BUT the rights of Humans, and then there are so many smaller Sects who act violently even against their own kind if they so much as sympathize or promote a differing opinion.”

Humming to himself, Ergo bumped shoulders with Bask playfully as they began to descend the incline further into the labyrinthine residential sector.

“Sounds like you know a lot about Beasty-Political drama. I’d say how ‘womanly’ of you but sexism is so passe.”

“Saying that it's passe doesn’t make me any less offended… People have a right to be concerned. It’s modern-day slavery and racism with a title that doesn’t offend the masses - meaning us humans. It makes me think what people were doing back then to keep themselves blind to the Corporations slowly 'purchasing' the world.”

“Puh-lease, Bask; people are just bored to death with this same ole charade. I think everyone has just given up, what, now that it’s been hundreds of years since Democracy and Capitalism have proven to be one giant scam. We’re slaves just as much as the Beasts are! Dogs of the Military, Bitches to the Taxmen and Whores to the State! If nothing changed then, it ain't gonna change now.”

“And yet no one forced your hand to sign up for all this. The last draft was decades ago.”

“While I agree that what the Big-Wigs do to the Beasts is wrong, we ‘Humans’ as a whole can’t do much about it… and it's s'not like it matters any more when most of them are gonna go extinct without their DNA Stabs. Can't wait to see how all them Owners fair having to do shit for themselves.”

“Maybe this is just our punishment then…” Bask turned her eyes down, training her sights on the shadows shifting through the brush by the clouds parting overhead. “Even if this world wasn't in such a sorry shape as it is, all I can think about is getting back to my family… I’m so over this… I’m sure those ‘Big-Wigs’ are all laughing, filling their gullet with their families somewhere safe, underground, watching the world burn.”

“Hey, in hindsight, it all makes sense. What would you do with stupid amounts of money, anyway?” Ergo nodded, gritting his teeth into an irritable grin.

“I don’t know… buy everyone a ticket out of here?”

“Naw, think like STOOOOPIDDD amounts of money, the kind that literally doesn’t make sense to own. Like, two-hundred billion! What can it even be used for at that point other than to sit in a bunker for generations until the world burns to a cinder? It’s almost as if…”

“I’ve heard enough conspiracies, keep focused you two!” LT sneered, turning over his shoulder as the Squad changed directions around a long bend, etched with tangled wires. “But... if I had to guess, those ‘Big-Wigs’ think they’re the Heroes… I've been around long enough to see the Ultra-Rich buy out Wars and start them all the same. They think they’re Gods, raising Tech Institutes, Medical Research and the like with a flick of the fingers without anyone ever uttering their name. They think not world domination, but manipulation, that they are the key to keep it running.”

*THUD!*

Suddenly, all four lasers locked on to a ball of blankets huddled in the center of the Platoon. Stilled by their breaths, the lights trained on a dome-shape peering up at one end of the mysterious object.

Breathing a heavy sigh, Ergo scooped an elbow beneath the protective sheet.

“You know, LT, our Cargo is going to slow us down if it keeps tripping cause it can’t see… Do we really need to have a bag over its whole body? I mean… whose really gonna be stupid enough to poke around?”

“That’s Command’s call to make, not mine. It’s not often we have to use a full-body Blind, but as you may infer; maybe it’s not what it can’t see, it’s what WE can’t see. Now cut the diddle-dallying, resume cadence!”

Moving in a formation and as a unit, the Squad rounded the second switch-back when LT paused momentarily to add; “Oh and, stow the questions above your pay-grade unless you want to find yourself digging an unmarked grave. As your LT, I’m saying I don’t trust all this secrecy myself, so you better seal those lips of yours before we reach the Checkpoint or I’ll shoot you myself. I’ll be damned if we become loose ends." And then the LT turned to Liger. "What say you, Tin-Man? Where’s your loyalty lie?”

For the longest minute, tense silence fell over the unit.

“I am indebted to the Military through the cyberization of this body. I will follow my orders until I have paid my way through service unless I cease to function. You have nothing to worry about coming from me, LT, you have my loyalty.”

“Alright then Pointman, then you won’t question the order to investigate that rumbling at our flank from last night? I have a sinking suspicion we’re being tailed.”

“Consider it done,” Liger whispered as his armor began to shimmer in the low light before fading into the background entirely. “I will report back once you have reached the Checkpoint over a burst transmission.”

[Time: 0:100 XCT] (Earlier, Meanwhile)

[Geographical Information: North American Reform, The Lower States Technocratic Belt, Scarlet City, Low Income Urban Sprawl (Human Residence Only)]

[Weather Report: 11 Celsius, Rain-Status: Light 12cm, Light Acidity, Low Heavy Metal Particulate, Respiration Filters: Not Required. 95% Humidity, Reduced Visibility]

Having left the encampment in the first hour of the morning, the faintest trickle of starlight caught in the window panes of the distant High-Rises guided Revi and me back into the thick of the city. Near the edge of the artificial forest, purpose-built for cleansing pollutants front the air, we stumbled upon a salvage yard overflowing with mounds of derelict vehicles scrapped long before the Undead’s arrival.

“Oh, hell yes!” I cheered, plucking a crowbar from among a tower of wooden pallets. “Part tool, part weapon, all bad-ass!”

“Keep it down, E-Else… We’ve been lucky to avoid the Dead this far.”

Spinning the hook end of the pry-bar around my splint, I scanned the horizon only to find that we were utterly alone.

“Aren’t you going to find yourself a weapon, Revi? I have just one good wrist, and I feel one-hundred percent better now that I have the very weapon to surpass Metallic Gear!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a handgun wedge between Revi’s jeans beneath his blazer, although it was clear by his reaction for whatever reason he had been hiding it from me.

“Had you not rushed me out of the camp, I would have armed myself! I’m not very keen on the ‘up close and personal,’ my Kin don't build muscle all that well.”

“I'm sure you'll do just fine! After all, you seem motivated enough to come with me in the first place. Have any ideas in mind with what’cha wanna’-.”

Up goes the defensive waving. Sure, we’ll see how long that lasts. After all, nothing in this life is free. Even his red-faced reaction has the hidden fee of subtly ribbing.

“You sure your Bunny-Just-Friends-Friend isn’t going to get jealous?”

“For a Beastkin yourself, you sure don’t get the conflict of culture. Think about it; a Fox and a Rabbit… It would never work. Besides, our temperament isn’t compatible. Mayo is as Mayo does.”

As I clawed my way up the tower of flattened vehicles with the assistance of the hook end of the crowbar, I beckoned for Revi to follow the path of least resistance.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of common things I haven’t learned… and maybe will never learn given that this may very well be the end of the world. I guess you’re not a bad guy after all since most people would think of repopulating the earth, I mean, you have a friend whose sexually frustrated as you are yet you both keep to yourselves. A tad cliché dont'cha think?”

Hand after hand, I neared the peak after a good minute of throwing my weight over the edge of each crinkled rooftop.

“In any other scenario, I’d laugh and call you both hopeless virgins!”

“B-But you already did that! J-Just what makes you think-!?” Revi grumbled in protest as I took his hand, bringing him to the highest point of the scrap pile.

“Who knows? That may very well change by tomorrow night, yah? Anyway, is there a Strip Club nearby?”

“W-What!? A S-Strip Club? Why!?”

“It’s a landmark. If I can find those neon lights, we’ll stand a better chance of finding Izumi. The building she was on had a huge fire escape… that’s all I can remember.”

Casting his legs over the hood of the vehicle at the very peak of the mountain of refuse, Revi began to focus on the horizon.

“How big are we talkin?”

*WHOOSH!*

As I glanced about looking for the reason for the sudden burst of wind tearing past the two of us, Revi gave a puzzled expression.

“You felt that too, right?” I squinted, pulling the hair that clung to my eyelashes.

“Y-Yeah… that felt… oddly supernatural…”

“You mean, like a ghost? You believe in spooks?”

“I wouldn’t deny their existence if one appeared before me, no. And I wouldn’t be shocked if someone proved their existence either… Just what the hell was that?”

Without giving it another thought, Revi and I descended the labyrinth of rusted metal only for another blast of wind to sail above our heads, causing the entire salvage yard to rumble and whistle.

And then, that’s when we saw ‘IT.’

Moving as if it were stuck in slow-motion, a glass silhouette crept along the chain-link fence, almost imperceptibly were it not for my genetic advantage.

“R-Revi… D-Do you see it?” I stammered, taking a solitary step back in retreat. “Look along the fence near the entrance…”

“What? I don’t see anything? You’re not messing with me, right?”

In shaking my head, the blood from Revi's face drained causing his skin to lose of all its color.

“Where is it? What is it doing? Which way should we run!?”

“It’s just creeping along the fence line… I can’t tell if it's inside or outside, it’s moving really slowly! I’m going to thwap it, stay put!”

With my adrenaline surging, I took off over the ledge, hitting the ground in a full sprint with the crowbar raised over my head. Truth be told, I never believed in ghosts or the supernatural, but my gaming addiction gave me enough insight to know that the humanoid shape meant that this walking mirage must be some form of optical camouflage.

Shouting, “Eat dirt sucka!” I achieved an easy throwing distance before letting the crowbar rip.

***BANG!!!***

For a moment, I thought I had been shot only to realize that somehow the crowbar had been severed in two, its pieces glowing red hot from the point it had been split.

Laser Weapons, Optical Camo… My video-game intuition is telling me this must be a… Lilim? It has to be! It's highly unlikely a random Survivor can utilize such technologies! Maybe if I press my luck a little further, just maybe…

“Li-ger? Is… that you?”

The glassy mirage froze in place not but a few meters ahead of me.

“I know it’s you, ya lying asshole! Drop the cloak and dagger already! As a propagator of bullshit, I can smell you a mile away!”

“E-Else, who is…?” Revi called from behind, knees locked in fear as his color continued to drain.

“An asshole with a black eye!” I growled, aiming a punch where Liger’s head should logically had been, only for my inertia to carry me into a spin. “Come on out, you bastard! I have a fist with Izumi’s name on it!”

Even though I had been sure it was Liger, when he spoke, it startled me.

“Normally when you reserve bodily harm with a name, it means you’ll hit those whom you’ve append. Your crude mannerisms aside, it was never my intention to leave a civilian in need of medical care. Things... happened... beyond the realm of my control.”

“Show me your face! I know you can emulate empathy in your voice, but can your expression be just as guilty!?”

As if it were painted in the air, Liger’s head popped into existence although the rest of his body remained cloaked.

With legs already buckled, Revi high-pitched exclamation of “Dullahan!” rung out just as he fainted giving the two of us pause for concern.

“Is he unconscious…?” Liger winced ever so slightly.

“H-He should be okay…” I huffed shedding a single ounce of concern.

Then, the distance rumbled again, although this time, I could hear a faint ‘Snap’ hidden beneath the clamor, and in this split-second lapse in attention, Liger disappeared.

“L-Liger, god damn it! Come back!”

No answer… I’ll have to use my last resort.

“Hey Liger, I forgot to tell you that I forgot your instructions about halfway through installing your, (my), MacroSD! Guess if you don’t come back, then you’ll never knoooo~~!!!”

Before I could raise a smirk, I found the back of my skull bouncing off the hard dirt with a hand balling the front of my shirt in a painful manner.

“Ch-eck-ma-te…” I choked with a grin as I was being met with the face of fury and rage.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t take this chance to end you!? You’ve been a persistent thorn in my side ever since I found you! You stupid fool! Do you realize that not everything in life is a game!?!”

“A game!?” I laughed. “I bartered my games for your life, so what does that make you? Izumi may very well be dead and yet I’m the only one doing anything about it! What’s the point in your mission!? To save the world!? What does any of it matter if you can’t save a single life!? Surely you wont spit out the word 'HERO'?!”

With a grunt through his teeth, I closed my eyes and awaited my inevitable and probably well-deserved pummeling…

But it never came. Instead, I found a man torn by a great conflict...

But that didn’t last long.

“YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT!!!”

***BBBZZZAAPPPPAAPPAAAA!!!***

Overwhelmed by a virulent blue spark, I felt Liger’s heavy frame fall to my side revealing Revi standing over us with a taser crackling in his grip.

“That’s where you were wrong, Else. You’re not the only one struggling to survive, even before this world went to shit.”

As the morning succeeded its light to the rain, Revi offered his hand to me.

“Come. We don’t need someone who can’t see beyond statistics. Let’s backtrack the site of the Care-Package before this rain puts a dampener on my keen sense of smell.”

Nearly making the mistake of offering Revi my injured wrist, I managed to scrape to my feet under my own volition.

“Smell you say? Over this heaping pile of bullshit at our feet, I’m surprised you can smell anything…”

“Sulfur is very distinct and is discernible to a human’s insensitive nose. The amount of spent gunpowder in our little firefight stained the entire area with the smell of eggs… for me at least. I don’t know anything about High-Class Beastkin like yourself.”

Rolling my eyes to the idea of my upbringing being heedlessly labeled something furthest from the truth, I nudged Liger with the tip of my shoe only to find he had been totally immobilized.

“I’d say my snoot is not good for much else other than to detect food and to boop… I mean, my senses are obviously sharper than any human, but I can’t smell a damn thing over the sulfur clinging to the mist. Anyways, let’s get the fuck out of this dump before Soldier Boy wakes up…” And then I hesitated as a wave of guilt and pity threatened to rise to the surface. “He is going to wake up, right?”

“Of course, of course!” Revi waved bearing a single fang.“ This taser is super effective on Synthetics. It’s like giving them a jab in the ‘Reset Button.’ It is completely useless against the Undead so I mainly use it to prod Mayo when she's being lazy, but it seems it’s proved its use… Any~who, let’s get going. ”

With a nod, we were off at a breakneck pace… Only I had to look over my shoulder back towards Liger to find him staring at me. His expression; not of anger and not of peace, but something indescribable, almost as if it were in between.

'Now, we’re even.' I thought to myself as Revi leapt over the barbed wire encrusted fence all in a single bound.

“Impressive.” I clapped as a lump in my throat began to rise. “Now how the heck am I supposed to get over? There’s no holes in the fence or piles of scrap to help me climb…”

As Revi brought his hands together, he motioned to dig with a fox-like grin.

“Yeah let me go find a shovel… Don’t you have some sort of gizmo or something to snip a hole in the fence?”

Just as when it seemed that I would be met with another bout of sarcasm, Revi face lost all its color, and I had a strong suspicion that I already knew why.

“He’s right behind me… isn’t he?”

Nod.

“Fuck me…”

Again, I found myself hoisted into the air by the scruff of my neck.

“I’ll take a rain-check on said offer. We both have our objectives, so go on, prevent Izumi from becoming a statistic!” Liger grunted as he reared back, charging his throw through his mechanical strength. “While I find it unfair for the Foxkin to preemptively cast judgment upon me, it is true; the value of one life does not, and never will equate to those of many. You have your role, as do I, so do me the courtesy and stay out of my way. Final warning...”

After a few skidding bumps, I came to a grinding halt in a thick puddle of mud outside of the fence. Despite being soaked to the bone, I was smiling for I knew I had proven my point.

“You going to start taking in stray kittens now, Soldier Boy!? Haha- and then his heart grew seven sizes- hope it don't explode!’”

Without warning, Liger’s optical camo washed over him, leaving a subtle grimace to dissolve upon the grey horizon.

“Where the heck did you meet a guy like that?” Revi scoffed, pulling me to my feet. “You know, you shouldn’t be taunting soldiers… you had me really scared there for a moment that he was going to just up and shoot you.”

“Nah, he never had it in him. He made a promise he couldn’t keep, so he owes me that much. If anything, knowing he is in the area makes me feel safe. He’s probably the reason why there are no Zombies around here. That just makes finding Izumi a little bit easier!"

With a spring in my step, mud clinging to my underwear, and my new Fox-eared Friend in hand, we pressed forward down the desolate road overflowing with mid-morning mist and trepidation.