Almost at the nick of time, they all managed to dodge the strikes, reburying themselves into the asphalt so hard, each created a mole hill.

The small victory couldn’t be celebrated, because instantly each girls’ respective pair of legs locked up with siVis. Aiko peered down at her legs, and can see them enhanced with siVis. Or rather, the siVis forcefully activated because, for the life of herself, she doesn’t want to turn it off—while her body is arguing she needs to let go to rest. For every tense pulsating her puzzle-piece-defined legs did, it was a highlight of their struggle.

She trembled to stand, especially since Jackie was now on her back, Aiko’s arms clutching at her legs. She didn’t even know she did this in the precious seconds they had.

“We can’T—AAH—We can’t even run…!” Maddie wrestled with herself, grunted and grabbing her calf as she rolled up from the ground. “If we do—there could be more fucking wires under here! If there aren’t, it’s going to uproot and follow us into the city!”

But there wasn’t time to think, the hooks unearthed themselves, rose, twitched and then struck again.

There was a collective groan of agony, as the girls flung themselves away from them again. They found themselves squirming on the street, legs curling up in pain. Of course, Aiko could only lay on her belly, with Jackie still on her back as she writhed around.

And there wasn’t time for that, either. They grew smart.

The hooks scraped at the ground, as they trailed the girls.

Tracy screamed, pleading incoherently at her legs to work and they just couldn’t respond anymore. Maddie punched at hers, as if to spur them to move in the face of immediate pain.

But it looked like River was having the worse of it. Aiko remembered, not only did she do the legwork during Jackie’s town—but she along with Jackie used everything in their legs to escape the Nulgarrt. She made painful noises from her clenched close jaw, veins that were also siVis enhanced were starting to form on her neck, and she just hugged her leg.

Until she stopped hugging and dug her fingers within her leg, trembling as she does.

Aiko got it. While she has to suffer a bit more, she got how the rest could get away.

Despite the pain, Aiko forced her legs to kick away, letting go of Jackie’s legs to use her hands to skitter away, to dodge the trailing hook that was again, seconds from snatching her and the others away.

She kicked and kicked, even skidding a bit against the street because of how sloppy she was being, but it didn’t matter. She needed to survive. She needed Jackie to survive. Her eyes were squeezed shut, sweat coating every inch of her, at the point it felt like the very act was starting to hurt as well.

She forced her eyes to open, trying to gauge if the ground she covered. It wasn’t enough.

But the hooks paused, twitching. They stopped just a ways away from where she and the other were.

“Good thinking, River!” Tracy tried to sound congratulatory but was so strained. Aiko trailed down to the girl’s leg, and she too had her fingers within them. Her whole leg was activated, like the Hospital.

Maddie shouted out in both pain and strain, shaking trying to lift herself up, “Get up, get up!”

Aiko agreed, “Yeah, we gotta get up before—ah!”

The girls struggled to their feet, and had even harder trouble standing.

“We’re… We’re going to rush back, rush them---” River strained. “Wait until Jackie wakes up and she’ll try again…”

“But the thing isn’t the doll!” Aiko shouted out. “The mascot—It isn’t the mascot!”

“I figured… But… It’s messy… It’s still the Davenoid, despite… Despite not being the body… Like they’re merged…”

The pillars started to twitch harshly.

“SO WHAT ARE WE DOING?!” Maddie urged.

“We still destroy the body—” River reasoned. “The wires’ll still be there, but at least they’re going to be lost without any direction!”

River reached into her legs again and twisted something, causing her to scream as her legs shifted into activation once more. Maddie did the same in a second, while Tracy bit down on her lip and psyched herself up into following the lead.

Aiko still has to suffer. The pain panged, starting from her aching legs that echoed throughout her body. She felt woosie, as if she already broke a personal limit and the body is confused—deciding if enough is enough. And worse of all, the fear was trying to take hold again. Grasping to clutch her very heart.

She started the rush, running at top speeds in a burst, sidelining the pillars before they could’ve made their move.

After making it to the warehouse’s entrance again, Aiko fell on her knees hard. She fought back, against the surge of pure agony that tore itself through an already worn body, using siVis on her spine to stay erect. She couldn’t let Jackie fall.

She looked over, to see how the others were faring.

The pillars made their move, trying to wind up and swipe at the girls, but Tracy managed to find a spot to squeeze between where they couldn’t get her, while Maddie and River used to confusion to weave past. As they ground away from the pillars, it was clear that their stiff movements before every attack was them deciding the next move. Because after getting away, they froze, twitched in confusion almost. In a situation where time is a blissing, this was a gift.

They all ran, they used their activated legs to run as fast as they couldn’t have ran—how fast they never thought they could achieve.

But it was all still too new.

River landed a foot wrong. She tumbled forward, glasses fallen off onto the road, and yelled as hard as her voice allowed her to.

“FUCKING I FUCKING ROLLED MY ANKLE!” she practically sobbed out.

All Aiko heard from Maddie’s mouth was a string of swears, as Tracy looked on—deer in headlights with her mouth covered.

And almost akin to laughing at them, the pillars corrected themselves, lancing outwards.

One of them wrapped around River’s defenseless, now normal leg, and twisted it.

The only sound was the howl of pain River unleashed.

Maddie tried to advance, tried to save her, but the other pillars perked, aimed at her, causing her to backtrack and achingly dodge when they came to reap, burying themselves into a hole again.

The four crashed pillars formed a barbed cage, no way for the others to rush in as River now had no means of escape. From these black bars, they were forced to watch what would happen next.

The last three pillars coiled together, forming a sharp, pulsing, spike. The hook that twisted River’s ankle stayed firm, to paralyze River from trying anything.

She could only look up, hyperventilate. Raising her arms, holding them up towards it as if pleading for mercy, no matter how feeble it was. Her very breathe was a visible white steam.

Without a second of error, or fate, or anything intervening—the spear skewered River right into her chest.

…But instead of blood or even siVis sparks—it was just more of that thick steam.

Even with herself, who covered her eyes in her supposed last moments, moved her fingers to uncover her eyes. She was looking at a hole directly in her chest, and she watched her chest become steam itself.

siVis Ability: FOUNDED!

River laughed—in relief? Elation? True insanity, brought upon the fact she’s slowly becoming steam?

Either way, she became steam itself—flooding and clouding the whole area. The only way Aiko reckons that she could see everyone, if not hazily, was because of her prior trip into the dust cloud Jackie created. The others must’ve done the same as well.

Tracy garbled some semblance of words out—she herself probably going through many emotions.

“Well fuck—way to go, River! …W-wherever you are…” Maddie cupped her hand in confusion, at the still fog she created. “Is this you—if so, tell me if I’m touching your ass or boob or something—I’ll stop—”

“I think I’m over here…” a voice—River’s—but it was like a whisper. A whisper you would dismiss as you going crazy thinking you heard something.

They turned on instinct towards the voice, but their eyes caught what she meant. Almost like a cloud forming a shape within itself, River’s body shape was formed out of the smoke. She… Looked at herself? It was odd. Like the 3D creations in movies—your human perception catches that this is out of place, that it looked weird, because all of the nuanced detail being lost.

She looked at her hands, yet they weren’t hands—but puffs of smoke. And she didn’t have eyes. A face. And her moving was just smoke gathering and waiving, versus actual motion.

“And here… And there… And everywhere…”

“It’s incredible…!” Tracy remarked. “You’re able to escape anything with this ability, River!”

“Too bad it wasn’t some tech-shutdown shit…” Maddie admitted. “Otherwise, you would’ve been the new Jackson.”

“Still! No way it can track us now!”

“… Do you think I can turn back, guys…?” River questioned.

“Don’t ask us!” Maddie exclaimed. “I don’t even know what determines the power or whatever, try… Being you or some shit.”

They stood there for what felt like a minute.

“… Can I get another direction-?” River managed to retain her dry wit.

Tracy chuckled to herself.

“Anyways,” Maddie cut in. “You’re basically untouchable unless that thing has a fan, so that’s a plus.”

“You can run in and cloak us!” Tracy exclaimed in delight. “You do that, the Davenoid can’t hurt you, we hide out in a save place until Jackie awakes, and that’s it! You’re amazing, River darling! I’d kiss you again if you weren’t made of smoke!”

Maddie smirked towards the shape, “How’s that for motivation, huh?”

“Never in my entire life did I ever wanted to be me right now…” River sounded entranced.

Maddie was yanked from under them without a second to spare.

“WHY DO I EVEN OPEN MY MOUTH?!” Tracy screamed.

Aiko and the rest looked towards the entrance, the Davenoid’s suspected body was right there… And it’s eyes were glowing amber.

“THA-THAD-THAD-THAD-THAD—YUUUUR---AAAAAOO…”

Maddie was swearing, trying to kick, as the wires that were dragging her were covering her completely now—so spinally yet created an excellent mesh. So, it couldn’t have been from the pillars, but the Davenoid’s web supply.

Aiko reasoned that it managed to see them, somehow.

River in her specter like form floated forward, creating a trail of bellowing steam in her wake. Tracy and Aiko ran after.

Oddly, the Davenoid didn’t notice, or at the very least didn’t notice River. She glided, towards Maddie, clouding the entire warehouse in seconds.

But suddenly, she became visible. Just like that, with even her looking over her own hands as she pants.

“RIVER, HIDE!” Tracy screamed. “WE DON’T KNOW HOW IT SAW US!”

River, out of breath, just looked towards Maddie who was starting to become strung up within the webs, “W—WE’LL GET YOU OUT--!” She retreated within the fog.

Aiko looked around the white mist, and said this to Tracy—River—anyone, “We have to figure something out—have River use the ability again so I or Jackie can uproot the Davenoid from behind, something—anything!”

“DON’T DO IIIIIIT!” the small girl tried to rip out of the terrible construction she’s in the dead center in. She was like the Davenoid, only unwilling, a series of wires starting to dig into her very skin—only way she could fight off was to use siVis to buck against it. But she was losing.

“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT, YOU BOOTLEG MICKEY MOUSE BITCH, I’LL FUCKING TEACH YOU TO FUCK WITH ME--!”

“River!” Aiko looked for her, trying to keep moving despite hoisting Jackie up and her legs post the point of giving out, moving towards where she disappeared while being wary of any nearby hazards. “Please! Figure out how your ability works--!”

She hit and nearly tripped on something.

Someone. River was on her side again, clutching her still-twisted ankle, trying desperately to catch her breath.

Aiko could only look on, as fear paralyzed her again.

Her head snapped towards a shriek that belonged to Maddie.

The wires attempts to bore into her was still futile, but still caused massive bite-sized holes to be created throughout her body. And by Maddie’s expressions, twisting and turning, it was nothing but merciless pain.

“I’LL KILL YOU—I DON’T KNOW HOW, BUT I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU, DO YOU HEARD MEEE?!” Her voice cracked, and she noticed. This made her angrier, practically spewing and spitting venom, “I’M NOT DYING TO THIS—I COULD’VE DIED TO BETTER THINGS THAN THIS, YOU FUCK, YOU FU---” Cut off again as she wailed out, a squeal that ended with a unimpressive squeak. “FUCK YOU, FU—” She tensed, only able to jibber. She couldn’t stop it, she couldn’t stop this, and it was becoming more and more apparent. “You’re not going to be the one to get me—I fucking survived for this fucking long not to get got by s-some--!” Cut off again, and she just roared in agony, pain, and desperation. It trailed off into a broken, hurt whimper that was embarrassingly long.

She just started crying, weeping her next few words.

“i didn’t do all of this shit—just to die like this… please, i cant fucking go like this…”

In a last, pitiful bid—Maddie grabbed at the wires that drilled into her hands, tugging at them like a child.

But a tug was enough. The wires, somehow, turnt of a sickly, moldy green as it lost it’s strength, and Maddie broke free.

Her eyes, big now and not half closed—glossed with tears just looked at her hand. Barely believing what she’s seeing. And what just happened.

siVis Ability: FOUNDED!

“am-am I strong--?” Maddie spoke in a whisper, before using her other hand to do the same, again—a sickly green before being able to rip away casually. She ripped away all the wires, falling right into the fog.

Aiko saw her scramble forward, stopping just short of River. Wordlessly, she tried to help her up.

Then River’s shoulder started to turn that sickly green.

“Fuck--!” Maddie reeled her hand back, looking at it.

The girls just watched at what Maddie did. A sickily green, a rubbery texture… Of strings.

And not just strings, but oddly patterned and layered and laid out with care and purpose. It slowly returned into River’s regular shoulder.

“…I turn things into string?” Maddie said. “Well shit, that’s disappointing as fuck… Deserving, but still.” She looked at her hands again, “Can I never touch anything now?!”

An attack by the Davenoid not only stopped the possible talk, but sent Aiko and Maddie fly backwards—causing Aiko to lose grip of Jackie as she fell on her back.

“MAN FUCK YOU--!” Maddie’s throat was still raw.

As soon as the impact hit her back, Aiko knew that she was done.

This body—this fearful, cowardly body—was past it’s due. Even with enlightenment, it only granted the fact that fear always took hold of her—no. It was fear that always played a vital part in her make up.

She looked to River, barely stabilizing her breathing still, the only thing she can go was tense in pain as she’s reminded of her twisted ankle.

Where was Tracy in all of this? Hiding again?

It was only down to Maddie, and it pained Aiko more that she couldn’t help. She was about ready to give into despair.

Then she heard Jackie gasp back for life, causing Aiko to crane her head towards her. She kept gasping for air, only to cough and scurry about out of instinct.

“Oh, thank Christ!” Maddie exclaimed. “Be a hero again Jackson, please, none of us can do it better than you can—"

The victory was sort lived.

Jackie tried to rest, only to fall back down again. She hoisted herself up with her arm and leg fighting against the buckling, but it was clear. Her ability still left her drained after the attack. Her eyes were shot open, she was so delirious—when she looked at Aiko and Maddie, she only did just that. She didn’t see them.

The wire-tendrils that tried to attack Aiko and Maddie reared up again and lanced themselves forward.

Maddie cursed to herself and readied her hands, catching and gripping onto one of them as the ability call was made again. She turned the wire into threads again, causing the others to stop in their tracks.

“I told your ass I’d get--!”

Her insult was followed by a scream, as the wire accelerated—like they did to bore from the earth—within her hands, causing her to immediately let go.

And the pain made her a sitting duck, for the others to dive and prey upon.

Tracy tackled her out of the way, almost from nowhere. The two skidded away from the impact, and it was clear that they were going to bore right through Maddie.

As Maddie grunted and crawled over to inspect her hands, Tracy rocked in place as she was the only one standing. And she knew that.

When she saw the vibrating tendrils, practically king cobras rearing to go, Aiko saw something snap in the lady. She rose her hands, as if what she did was wrong.

“I’m sorry, please—I-I-I’m sorry! I HAD TO PLEASE, I’M SORRY--!”

They dove in anyways.

And like everyone else, Tracy feebly put her hands up to brace herself.

What followed was the floor being lifted up as she did it, the tendrils crashing head on and stunned due to the suddenness of it all.

siVis Ability: FOUNDED!

“me--?” Tracy pointed herself in quick succession. “Me too--? I did--? YEAH! YAAAY!”

“Shit!” Maddie broke through the joy. “I think I’m fucked up, girls!”

“W-what do you mean?” Tracy said. She turned to her, and Maddie in turn sat up and faced her plus Aiko.

Maddie’s hands, for a lack of a better description, were in literal tatters.

They were turned into thread instead, and each unraveled string hung from her hands to her wrists.

“OH MY GOD, MADDIE—" Tracy shrieked.

“I-it hurts, but it’s not—ah! Fuck me—it’s not that bad, not as bad as the other shit right now, but I think I’m fucked like River!”

“Tracy!” Jackie’s voice was unmistakable. “Another wall, quick--!”

The girl fumbled a bit, trying to figure out how she did in the face of the speeding tendrils. Raising her arms, flapping them in the air as the precious seconds burnt away.

siVis Ability!

Tracy’s arms suddenly stopped, mid-flailing. She was confused, but no time to ponder. She struggled, as if she were a mime trying to lift something up, again a slab of floor followed her lead, casting vertically as it became a shield.

It became ammo instead.

The tendrils bore into the slab, showering the girls in mishappened clods that pelted them nearly everywhere on their bodies—knocking the ones standing down again, everyone inflicted with siVis-latent bruising.

“Damn it!” Jackie looked at the tendrils advancing, and got right back up. Despite herself? “I did this, I—”

She dashed forward, meeting the now-merged serpent hand on—punching at with her ability, despite getting knocked back.

…Despite not fainting…

Jackie couldn’t believe it either, while looking tired, she was still here.

Immediately rebounding from the burst, the wires spilt once more and try to rush Jackie. She responded, reflexively punching away any that gets near, skirting back, but still was able to keep consciousness while blowing them back—forcing them to retreat.

“…I can absorb kinetic force too…?” Jackie pondered, while still looking worse for wear.

But she had a fiery look in her eye, none the less.

“I can dish it back—It’s weird, and not as strong, but I can dish it back!” Jackie proclaimed, as the tendrils advanced at her again, and she kept punching them back—feebly, but still enough.

“In that case—” Maddie found the strength to leap up and ran for the Davenoid’s webbing. “You keep it busy! I’ll do what I can!”

Aiko can only look, despite her awareness being sharpier than usual—maybe heightened because of all this.

Maddie tore at the webs, all while wincing in pain, but she continued to shout, “Fucking get fucked! I’m fucking up all your shit! Fucking trashed, bitch--!”

Even the fog started to get more and more thick. With a resounding confirmation, River regained the use of her ability, adding as much steam as she can in her state. Aiko glanced over, watching her still holding her leg, her cheeks filled with air shrink, as her body is releasing steam, but not transforming into it this time.

On her other side, Tracy is trying her best to raise the ground again, but clearly nothing’s working. There’s some kind of logic, some kind of cause and effect with these abilities—and maybe the best thing about this whole incident is the fact that they’re able to figure that out, versus facing someone that clearly figured theirs out.

The Davenoid kept moving it’s head, just like Aiko, but it was clear whatever it used to somehow detect them doesn’t work anymore. And Maddie is ripping up it’s handy work as Jackie keeps fighting back with it, possibly for a long time.

Its his blessing and curse, Aiko figured out. Its a terrible accident that could’ve killed countless people, never mind them… But its also an accident. It can do these improbable things, but no true software or design that perfects it every single time. It pauses, it figures out, but it gets overwhelmed.

Maddie made it to where the Davenoid was, and started swiping at the last wires it was being held up by, and could even aim at the last chuck of wires at its base, ending this.

It began to use everything and anything it had.

The hanging wires, just undone, started to lash in every direction, knocking Maddie back onto her side.

It followed up, and proceeded to wrap itself around her head and started to squeeze.

“MADDIE--!” Jackie screamed out. Her guard let down.

Jackie was lashed, repeatedly, but she braved it if that meant getting to Maddie, using her ability to burst forward. She got the tendril coiled around Maddie, and pried with her own strength that should’ve been gone what felt like hours ago. She freed her, taking the hits as she’s launched with Maddie in her arms.

“M-maddie… Tell me…” Jackie swallowed, trying to keep awake. “You…?”

Maddie could only raise a thumb up, encouraging but concerning.

Aiko looked to River, who has her eyes shut, barely gathering herself no better than before. Aiko looked to Tracy, who pleaded to herself to make whatever she did work.

Every move forward, the push renders everything void. Reality, again and again, pushing them all back in the most insane ways.

It was what she was living in fear of.

It was everything that everyone feared.

So that was the reason she got up. Forced herself up.

She had to stand up, and had to charge straight forward.

No more words, no more thinking. Either weighs down what every human’s capable of, an universal gift and a crippling curse.

To act.

Aiko jumped at the Davenoid, not really knowing what she was going to do. But she landed and tried to rock her body to finally force it down to the ground. With the help of Maddie, the wires she couldn’t rip at finally gave way and her with the Davenoid fell to the ground.

So she felt accomplished, despite feeling the tendrils coiling around her. The shouts and screaming of the others. The endless pit in her stomach that doubled as a black hole, telling her that she’s fucked up. It was all worth it.

This is why she did the things she did. Scale streetlights. Hopped across rocks that scattered across rushing rivers. And cut anything not related to that out of her life.

Just to be this. To live, not ruled by fear—but a life of ultimately no regrets.

The Davenoid flung her to its right at blinding speeds, and Aiko crashed out of the warehouse’s boarded up window.

She sailed so fast, that she picked up enough momentum to jump the high fence of a nearby construction yard, and once she hit something, she felt nothing.

But… It was her Mindscape. She was within her mind.

She found herself floating, within the make up of her being, as her eyes settled onto… Her.

She was looking up at a boundless sky—that put the starriest to shame. Nebulas swelled, planets glowed, and cosmic happenings beyond that. It was more than looking at space, or the universe.

It… Was reality itself.

She was remembering that siVis showed her, in that split moment. Between her never having it and the forced activation. Consciousness and non-consciousness.

Grounded and beyond.

But it wasn’t all that Aiko was focusing on… But something that caught her eye.

In the endless shifting of existence, there was something she witness during this showcase that stuck with her. All this infinity, yet cessation… Imagine all the things that can and has happened within it.

She imagined that possibility.

And she needed it more now than ever.

Aiko’s eyes flickered back open and she started to sink within the construct she landed in.

She didn’t get it. She didn’t know what was going on right now… But she always knew about this possibility.

She sunk further and further, until she was completely submerged.

She reached out to move her arm, but an axel to a wheel turned.

She tried to move her head, but it was still, in place.

She realized she hadn’t breathed this whole time, and tried for a huge gulp.

And only the start and revving of an engine responded.

siVis Ability: FOUNDED!

…And with that, Aiko put herself in gear. She never driven before, nor planned to. But if this vehicle was her new body—she had to think of it as such.

So she drove herself forward, her truck-crane body prowled toward the warehouse as it picked up speed.

Feeling out for the various controls on the dash and inside the crane divided her focus, so she just focused on gaining speed. Gaining speed and power.

She crashed through the fence, and she powered through more so that didn’t slow her down. She knew if she had any less for what was coming up, the whole crane would be destroyed and maybe she’ll destroy herself in the process. The curious thing about this experience, despite being so alien to “feel” what a vehicle does, is the fact she can also feel herself exceed the capability of the vessel. Unlike siVis, where you can push through—but clearly understand the pain and process that goes into it, it was this liberating possession.

As she came up to the warehouse’s side, it was time to test this feeling. She honked multiple times before she slammed into the warehouse.

She rammed the walls, wooden and tinged with erosion—she was coated with debris and body already taken a great hit. But there was nothing to do but do it.

She looked her crane, extending it down towards the Davenoid, who was clearly taken off guard. She chomped down, gripped it with all of it’s might and tore away as the tendrils retaliated—puncturing, slashing, dicing at the body. Funnily enough, it was adding to the damage that was already happening.

The influence of Aiko was taking it’s toll on the crane, which again, was okay. It was already over and the afforded time, she was going to use all of it.

She pulled away, yanking and uprooting the mass of squirming. She crunched the pitiful mascot within her mechanical maw. Again. And again. Until she couldn’t gather and keep the useless bits and pieces that were falling out.

Aiko swung the crane throwing the trash into the hole she came from, into the pouring rain as she popped out of the base of the vehicle.

She stumbled out, forward, as the rushing of human sensibilities blurred into the combination that she recognized: her’s. Her eyes focused, onto the stares and awe of the rest of the girls, huddled together. Clearly was going to stage a final stand before she got there.

But the crane started to buckle, tear itself apart, which caused Aiko to lean forward and forced herself to run. Of course, the girls woke themselves up and got out before she did.

It all collapsed, burying what was basically the girls’ worse experience during this massive trying period.

Even being peddled with rain, feeling so hurt that it became weights on their souls, they were able to beat this. Beat themselves.

They buckled, they fell, they collapsed onto the ruined street.

They couldn’t move, even if they wanted to. Even if they forced themselves to. Even if they went beyond, using siVis to directly influence their bodies, they were broken. So much in pain that they didn’t have the luxury to writhe or shift in it. It wasn’t just the torn muscles, the pulled bones, or being overwhelmed by the sensory of this pain. It was them, as people, running out of the energy to even move.

They barely survive. And now, they can barely exist.

Just in time for the rogue wires to slither out of the wreck. It became just a dark, gibbering mess as it collected itself. And crawled over to the girls, clearly on it’s last legs—looking for anyone, anything, to latch onto.

There was a notable change in the air.

TENKAGOMEN: KIRI-SUTE…GOMEN.

They couldn’t even see it. They were instantly overwhelmed.

The sheer pressure—pressing them down around all side, forcing the pressure inside of themselves to shift and change—wanting some kind of release, rattled the girls into screaming primally. Their cadence, their restraint less they damage their vocal cords—were all lost in that one moment that lasted an eternity.

There was a wave of silver, that slowly brought the warehouse into a destructive crush. Planks, beams, the wires that was once their enemy—all popped and turned into crumbled slop. And anything else that unfortunately was nearly that warehouse was crushed into dusty paste as well.

They all screamed themselves raw. They all then, almost in sync, proceeded to sob. And not without reason. They begged their bodies to work. Just one more chance. They know they exhausted all of their chances, but please, right now of all times.

At least let them look up at Nathaniel Fuuki. Who was right there, walking towards them from up the street.

Aiko was the few that was positioned to be able to look at him. And she cursed reality, the thing she just praised, for it.

It was he who not only spurred her parents, but her people, into a mass exodus when he roamed about Japan. He was the boogeyman, who terrified them so badly, that fear looms over them for life.

An siVisTrend. Once a victim, but became so obsessive with the concept, he became an oddity. One of the collection of outliers that could very well be the possible dead end for most, if not all, siVictims like herself.

A man, who became so obsessive—modeled his ability’s appearance to provoke the visage of the Shifts, so that whoever dares to face him struggles with the mental suggestions and associations.

A man, that refused to be a mortal man anymore, so much so that he removed it.

His limbs were double helix-themed parts, made up of pieces of himself he arranged. His hands and feet were stripped down to the bare minimum, bendable rods for fingers, foldable square plates for palms. Currently, his arm was transformed into a sword-like appendage. “Uneven Edge”, he called it, due to the jaddeged look it took because of the transformation from arm to “sword”. The rods made up the blade’s edge, floating, as the shape of an arm was maintained but rendered featureless and flat. He was just structure. Pieces that had a purpose and efficiency. No redundancies. No weakness. Nothing recognizable.

But nothing was worse than what covered him.

He fashioned his skin into a living cloak. It was translucent apart from the clear tears and stretches where the skin refused to come off. It was collapsed into a cloak, with the hood spiraled and coiled around the last bit of humanity he has left. His head.

He let the cloak peel itself off from his head, letting his wet, white “hair” free. In reality, it was small fibers that made up to hair. Neck up, he was human, but only in the loosest sense of the term. His skin was just alabaster, avoid of any distinguishing characteristics. No moles, no skin that was tight or sagged in places, no eye lower than the other, no unique shape of the eyes, nose or mouth at all. Even the rain, that should've wet his face--casading and then dripping from his chin. It was just sliding off. His face remained dry. Still.

But his eyes.

Nathaniel’s eyes were the common indicator that he’s passed the point of no return—or at least that’s what Aiko heard. Instead of the ring, it was a series of them. A pattern that circled and encased the pupil. And anything beyond the pupil was torn away bare. Only leaving the rings and a hollow look.

“…What… Are you…?” he tilted his head, at the girls in the pile. “How… Did you manage any of this?”

“please…” Jackie sounded so innocent, clearly sobbing her words out. “do…don’t kill us…”

Nathaniel simply stared with his hollow eyes and motionless face.

“Oh. You misunderstand… I was merely coming back to what I discovered here…” His voice was so even, so punctual, and relatively young despite being in his late 20’s. “I’ve been so bored since this ‘incident’ had occurred… I merely wandered around, seeing whatever this phenomenon created. Only the standard with twists so far.”

The being looked at his hand, glancing it over as he extended what could’ve been his index, picking at it, “I commend you for targeting that doll, I assumed the same thing when I stumbled upon it… But you upstarts couldn’t have lasted any longer—you needed to find a way to deal with the wires themselves after. The way you’ve already fell due to that mascot, you couldn’t have anticipated the wires finding a new host in some other form of technology. A tough puzzle indeed…”

“Look, if yo—you’re gonna fucking kill us—just—just—” River cut herself off, suddenly screaming, “YOU PICK AND POKE AT THINGS—THEN YOU ‘TEST’ THEM TO SEE HOW FAR THEY GO!”

Nathaniel was unfazed by the accusations, and casually ripped off a regrowing fingernail before flicking it aside, causing it to crack the sidewalk beside him with a thunderous snap.

Anything they had in mind what he was going to do to them, that managed to scare them silent alone.

“Again. You all misunderstand. I do those things towards what catches my interests, that… Tells me the final secret to my total transcendence. Besides. No use of telling a gnat how long it has to live.”

“W-what do you mean-?” Tracy desperately asked. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!”

Nathaniel raised his newly inhuman finger and looked down upon the girls. “It’s clear as day. Whatever you did, your cheap ways of achieving siVis—It was never meant to be done in this fashion. It’s impressionable knowledge in need of foundation before it can be applied. And you all lack it.”

He continued on, looking up to the storming skies now.

“You’re a series of mistakes. Interlinking and never supporting. Creating this long, winding and crooked line, ready to cave into itself in a matter of… Hm. I’d say… If you meet a true siVis user. Someone, even as an upstart, tries to best you and pushes you like this mascot did… The amount of activity, lack of structural support, along with your clear overemotional dispositions… Implosion. And not a terribly brilliant one, at that. You all will just beg for more power, before collapsing into a pile of pieces.”

There was shaking, howling, shouting—they didn’t want to believe it, and they refused. They came a broken pile even before their assumed fate happened.

“A shame, really,” he continued to look up at the pouring rain. “I can tell—your lot in life, right? That made you take the chance? Even before my enlightenment—honestly, everyone knows that this is a confused, meaningless world… Not a student of nihilism, especially the modernized bastardization, but it is true that in this life… Simply, existence does not have the capacity to house meaning. What we create is slowly destroyed. Ideals can crushed by one simple truth. And finally… Every living thing strives for the pursuit of comfort—of total fulfillment… And the concept of life denies it. Only a select few can truly achieve such, and the system cannot support anymore.”

He simply turned around, shaking his head. “Hey… At least, in the precious little that you have left… I’m sure you can use siVis to find peace in your demises. The best thing you can do, is at least create a bittersweet end for yourselves. And while I can’t exactly covey or emote the sentiment, I’m happy that I’ve sent you towards the right direction.”

Then he shrugged, starting to walk away as his cloak clawed at the back of his head to reform the hood. “Or not. At least your raging against inevitability will be just as short. If not more.”

The rain got to the point of masking any and all sound. Aiko couldn’t hear her own protests, crying and screaming. All of this. For nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

She fell into it’s lull. Closing her tearful eyes.

***

Jackie was the last one to pass out. She was too busy crying on her back to let her body do so. The rain stung her eyes and her crying made them ache. Just adding to the threshold of pain that she’s discovered was designed to be added to, never stopping for function or mercy.

How did this happen? How did happen? She’s not really here, is she…?

She was supposed to be at home, her real one. Quadale, California. Studying for some exam, maybe some other class because the History one was going to be a steal. Her father offering her cocoa, and playfully scolding him that she can’t before downing it, making him laugh.

It was supposed to be her final year, dragging Scarlett into school to make sure she doesn’t flunk and graduate. Stupid, wonderful things like that.

She always refused, raged against the idea that life was out to get people. That life was the ultimate entity. It was assigning blame to something when the blame fell to themselves.

But it’s happening now. Life, reality, existence… All of it. It was always like this. It was just invisible then. It was manageable, then.

All it took was for us to give in, and made it easier for life to rot from the inside out. For life to get worse, and let the worse become the norm. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to do?

She should have accepted that, everything. Accepted that she just never had a chance here, and found peace in this void.

It was always meant to be.

We never stood a chance, in the end.

Before she closed her eyes, she saw a shifting figure manifest into a woman. She ran towards them. Jackie surrendered to it.

Jackie let it be.