The red-haired girl lay in her bed, so twiggy that she was dwarfed by the covers and the comfort rectangle she was laying on, whose size described itself as a Queen.

Nikola couldn't even tell that her mouth was hanging open in shock and interest. There in her Boons, outlined by twirling, glittering swirls was a Card.

[NPC AWAKENING CARD: VENGEFUL PERSONALITY

Rarity: Mythical

A mystical card that 'awakens' any NPC it touches. You may set it to awaken the NPC with their current stats, but the NPC may never level up. Alternatively, you can set it to awaken the NPC as a 'player' and choose a class, race, and general appearance for the NPC, and they will be able to level up as any other player might, but they must begin from 0.

The NPC will begin play knowing their own backstory and that a killing game has started, and will remain loyal to you and your party as long as you wish. If and when you choose to remove them from your party, they will return to where they were before you used this card on them.

They will act in the way they were written, but will generally heed to whoever awakened them in a conflict situation. The awakened NPC will be imprinted with the personality type specified on this card - in this case, Vengeful.

An awakened NPC may kill other NPCs, even unawakened ones. NPCs killed in this way will return in the new season of the Liberation Game.]

It must have been obvious she was dumbfounded. "Hey, you alright there?" He looked back forth between her and the screen that was, to him, blank. Did he think she was having trouble with the inner workings of the game, or just navigating her menu?

"I am fine." Nikola didn't know how Luke would react to this. Her first instinct was to hide it until she could work through what to do on her own, but in this case it was more like she already knew what to do with the item. She wanted to wake Angelica. Her life was a sad, empty one of prison, rescue and then not having the capacity to realize she had ever been rescued. Violet hadn't even reported feeding her again while they were out, which meant that that one measly meal a day was all she could eat, even now that she lived outside of a cage. She would never get any meat on her bones. She would never speak another line of dialogue. This card was all she could do to actually, truly 'rescue' her.

It had become clear to her that even now, the red-haired girl lived in an invisible cage. All she had ever done was move her prison.

Nikola knew it was possible for an NPC to awaken of their own accord. She had done so, after all, without really even knowing it. But she had done it an effort to defend her father, to right the wrong imposed on their world by the writers of the game. Without that catalyst, she would have remained dead to herself. She didn't know enough about Angelica to create that catalyst for her, and even if she did... was there enough to her to do such a thing? Luke had described her as decoration, a mere body to fill a room. Did she have siblings, family, a home? Had the writers even considered such things when they made her?

No, certainly not. So, barring forcing some mind-bending event on her, this little paper rectangle was the only way for her to finish the job she'd started.

She couldn't hide it from Luke for long, though. And he would probably notice if Angelica, who spent 95 percent of her day horizontal, suddenly began to play the game like a real girl. And if it was true that Nikola would be able to meddle with her appearance, there would certainly be some very sudden visual changes as well.

"But there is a card in my Boons area," Nikola offered slowly, "and it says it is able to awaken any NPC I use it on."

"You got a boon, Nikola?" Luke's dark eyes widened. Boons were expensive, so far out of his personal price range it would take him lifetimes to save up enough Credits for even one of the cheapest options. "Damn. What did you say it was?"

"It is a card that allows me to awaken any NPC I use it on."

The man's navy eyebrows rose up. He hadn't showered since returning and his face was still speckled with blood, which moved skyward with his shocked expression. "Wow, that's uh-- that's a fucking amazing card. Any NPC? Nikola, we could get the Golden Dragon on our team and win this whole thing." A sparkle returned to his eyes, a sparkle Nikola had never noticed was missing but had been there before Phase 2 had begun. Hope?

"I wish to use it on Angelica."

"I know," he growled out, the noise suppressed but still present, "but I want you to think about this, Nikola. I know she's important to you, but you should be important to you too. You said the Host said you would be getting a human body if you won this, right? Well, we need to win for that to happen. Why would you do anything to hurt our chances? Why would you put that at risk for her, Nikola?"

Nikola's white-blue eyes narrowed to slits, her immediate reaction one of anger, particularly at the fact that he had a good point. This was why she hadn't wanted to bring this up to him. "I can see your logic, but I--" Seething, she curled and uncurled her fingers at the damnable words she would have to say. "I do not wish to consider only the logical option. I also wish to consider what it is I want to do with my item."

Hearing it referred to as 'my item' both calmed and egged the Warrior's frustration on further. "Nikola, I hate to bring this back up, but she's just... a decoration. I know she means something to you, but using this card on her would be a serious waste. We could use it on an ancient dragon capable of beating 100 players all on its own and just ride its back to victory. I hate to hurt your feelings, but Angelica isn't worth it."

The Butcher pulled in a sharp breath of air through her nostrils. "This card is the only way to ever make her anything other than a decoration." She looked back over to her, dwarfed by the Queen-sized bed, her wrists like twigs. "She looks like a child even though she may be fully grown. She is incapable of change, incapable of growth, incapable of acting of her own free will. You continue to refer to her as useless, simply something to fill a room-- but there was a time where I was the same thing, and it was not long ago."

"Nikola, don't kill us just because you're incapable of seeing this girl as anything other than yourself," Luke snapped, his growl exploding into a full yell.

Violet rose from her bed in an effort to show them she still existed. "I think this is getting out of hand," she cut in softly, with her gentle, even, girlish voice.

"Killing is all I have ever done, Luke," Nikola hissed, ignoring Violet's attempt to calm her, "but I did it in an attempt to free my Father, even if at some point I figured out that was never going to happen. I did it to give him back his life, and I--"

Red hot tears began to escape the edges of her traitorous eyeballs.

"I have an item in my hands that will allow me to give life to this girl. I wish to try giving life for a change, Luke-- instead of taking it away."

"I just don't understand why it has to be her. You're an AI, Nikola. Think about this."

"I am not just an AI anymore. I had thought that you, of all people, would embrace my newfound playerness. I do not know why I have chosen her as the NPC I wish to awaken, but I have many guesses as to my reasoning." Again, her nostrils flared. Nikola had been thinking on this topic since plucking the red-haired girl from her prison; why her? Why not one of the many other prisoners down there? Why did she care about this one, who said and did so little? As much as she hated to admit it, Luke had hit the nail on the head with this one.

She saw Angelica as a tiny, helpless version of her near-past self. Trapped, unable to do anything about her predicament. Doomed to replay the same day over and over again, never deviating, never fixing her own flaws or dislikes about her own life. Stuck.

"I-- I do embrace your playerness. I understand that you're capable of feeling and shit now. I just don't understand why you don't understand that this is such a waste. We can use the card on any NPC, Nikola. Do you realize what a fucking blessing that is? God, I'm begging you to just think about this."

The raven-haired girl crossed her arms over her silken shirt. She could feel her heart thudding through the cage of her chest. She was fighting her instinct to lash out at him, and instead she tried to find the words to explain herself. Communication was fucking hard, especially when the option to end the argument via shanking existed. Instead, she had to use her quivering voice, which showed how very mixed up her insides were feeling. "And I do not understand how you do not see that every time you say I should 'think about this', you are insulting me. I have thought about this. I am incapable of not weighing the risks and rewards logically. I just-- I cannot get past the fact that you would simply have me leave her like this, when I have the option to fix her. You say she is a brain-dead husk. Well, with this item, we can rectify that. These other NPCs, are they in such a predicament? Are they forever stuck in a loop of possessing no memories, no family members-- forever starving? Eating one meal a day? Do you remember what Phoenix said about wanting to deserve his life as one of the Lavish? I believe he determined that I was morally unworthy. I do not care about his determination, but I wish to think I am worthy of living-- and that begins with not leaving this AI-- this girl, to rot."

She stamped a frilly-sock-lined foot on the floor. "And if you do not agree, then I believe that means you do not give as much weight to an NPC life as you would a player life, and think of us as lesser beings. I hope I would not have to explain how that would effect me."