"Are you sure that was a smart idea?" Mira leaned forward to my ear and wrapped her hands around my waist just under my poncho. Her Sorrow jacket wrapped around my shoulder and her ballistic vest pushed up against my back uncomfortably.

Even with the proximity, I barely heard her over the rushing wind. We were moving to the Scath Heights, and we weren't slowing down even a little bit. "The rings?"

Just before leaving, I handed both Luna and Saint a Packheart copy. They were now part of our little pack, and I could feel their presence behind us just as well as I could feel Mira. It was a little weird with four people, but as long as I didn't actively focus on it the sensation kinda just faded away. They were also a kind of shackle to ensure nothing happened.

Mira set her head on my shoulder. "Yeah."

"Feeling jealous?" I snickered lightly and reached back to pat her leg to let her know I was joking. The whole transmitting thing with the rings was optional, so they weren't hearing our conversation.

"A bit." Mira pulled me tighter into a hug. "And proud. So deeply proud. I didn't think I'd ever see little Shiro heal and open her heart again."

"Yeah, well… that was a different time." I fell silent. My mind floated back to the past. So much had changed in just a year, and yet it felt like so little in the grand scheme of things. "And I haven't! Not fully, anyway. This is just convenient!"

"I'll believe that for Snow White, but for Prince Charming?" Mira broke into laughter and leaned back away from my ear. What was up with her and naming people after fairy tales recently?

"He's like an annoying older brother, but he's been reliable at least." I shrugged halfheartedly and completely gave up defending myself. She had me on that one. Saint had managed to wiggle past some of my thorns somehow. I still didn't fully trust him yet, but he was getting there. He didn't stab us in the back for ten mil, anyway.

"Regardless, I think it's good." Her head dipped down and the halo pressed slightly against the back of my neck. Even in the frigid winter air, it felt oddly warm. "Are- are you ready for this?"

"Are you?" I countered and glanced over my shoulder. "I feel bad dragging you into this without really asking-"

She ruffled my hair to cut me off, causing a scowl to worm its way onto my face. "Where you go, I go. Simple as that, Shiro. I'm your brave bodyguard, aren't I? Can't very well leave my charge."

That last bit had a joking tilt to it that eased some of my tension. "Still, I know this isn't what you signed up for."

"I signed up for your crazy train, which includes all the places it'll go." She pulled one hand away from my waist and patted me on the shoulder. "And it sounds fun. Wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Even if we get injured or die?" My eyes tightened at that thought. I didn't even want to imagine a scenario like that. If both of us flatlined here…

"I would've probably died in the military anyway. Doubt I could hit a high position like pa. Not nearly good enough at politics." She didn't have a speck of fear or anger in her eye. Instead, she was full of confidence and had a calm smile like some kind of dependable big sister. "At least as mercs we know what we're fighting for."

"I guess." Picking our fights was a pretty good benefit. Sure beat dying and not even knowing what for. There was a certain romantic freedom to it. 'Course, it had just as many downsides if I really wanted to start digging into that line of thought.

Her dependable smile shifted into a not-so-dependable smirk. "And if I get injured, you can just make me a cool chrome replacement, right? A mingun arm sounds kinda cool. Sides, you aren't the only one with some tricks."

"Chek…" Her talk of injuries made me look down at my bag and the saddlebags that were much fuller than normal.

We swung by a Medtech pharmacy on the way out. Figured Iris and the rest of Polar Moon might be injured, so having some proper medicine seemed like a good idea. Sure, it was disgustingly expensive, but I finally bought some good stuff just in case Mira got injured. My injuries didn't really matter, but hers? She didn't have Quick Healing.

"Y-you're approaching quick." The sickly voice of Luna came to us, breaking up our little heart-to-heart. She sounded much more confident now that she wasn't facing us directly.

"Roger." Mira patted my shoulder comfortingly one more time. "We see it."

"Ugh- it's so weird hearing you guys in my head." Saint laughed as if trying to keep some of the tension away. "Seriously hard to focus."

"I thought voices in your head would be nothing new." Mira quipped back and played along with him. At least they seemed to get along pretty well.

"Yeah, well… usually they're more masculine."

I turned my attention back to the front. It took a bit longer to get over here than I thought it would. We had to detour around the AEZ. The entire zone was a restricted-flight area, and I definitely didn't have the permissions. I maybe could've bluffed with that Special Investigator pass from Uncle Ezra, but just going around was so much easier.

The Scath Heights were immediately noticeable against the backdrop of Aythryn City. It was… dimmer, almost. Amidst the bright glows and holograms of neon, the heights lacked a certain brilliance that the rest of the city tried to push off. Sure, there was light, but it had a darker, decrepit feeling.

The entire slum area was a dense, chaotic sprawl of decayed infrastructure and buildings way outside of code. Shipping containers and makeshift apartments tangled with barely working power cables that sparked on occasion. There weren't really roads anymore as much as jagged alleys zig-zagging through the sub-district.

The skyline was a jagged silhouetted of half-finished structures and broken towers. Ninety percent of it was residential as could be expected of something that was once part of the Projects. The Scath Heights, though, was grittier and more broken than even the Projects of the East End.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Even from this far away though, I could tell the entire place was buzzing like a kicked hive. Lights and vehicles rammed through obstructions and fights broke out like lightning across the entire sub-district. It seemed everyone and their dogs were here to get that bounty, and the denizens of the heights weren't too happy with the invasion.

Sure, the heights were a shit hole, but it was their shithole. Moving through them would be particularly difficult tonight. Thankfully, I shouldn't have to worry too much about civies. With all the commotion, only suicidal nuts would be out right now. It'd be pretty safe to assume anyone met was a threat.

That, and mercs were definitely fighting each other. Ten mil was enough for someone to get a bit trigger happy. Unfortunately, we'd soon be diving into that trigger happy mass of chaos and danger.

"Hey, Shiro?" Saint hesitantly asked. "Think I could record and stream? I'll black you out of all recordings, of course. This seems like quite the scoop."

"Hah- ever the reporter, aren't you, Saint?" Mira's smirk was practically audible.

"You know me… and I doubt others will want to get close tonight. There are some feeds, but so far nobody is in the mix of things. I was just thinking, if I played my cards right, City of Suffering could blow up." Saint said.

"Chek. You'll have to handle all of that though." I opened one of my saddlebags to reveal dozens of Dragonflies. I got too obsessive back then and made far too many of them. It was nice to not have to worry about them being destroyed though.

"Of course. I appreciate the help, kiddo." Ugh- back to that stupid nickname. If anyone should be called that, it should be Luna! She was tiny compared to me! To be fair, though, she just appeared tiny thanks to how frail she was, not necessarily height.

I waited till we were nearing the edge of the Scath Heights and then dumped them carelessly off the side. "Luna, can you piggyback a connection to those?"

"G-give me a sec- got it." The screen on my bike flashed and a crescent moon popped up alongside a glitch effect. The Dragonflies instantly stopped falling and spread out around us.

"Did you just hack my bike?" Netrunners were terrifying… although if she had control, I guess I wouldn't have to worry about someone else taking over so easily. They'd have to get past her first.

"Yuh-" A particularly massive explosion collapsed an apartment building on the far side of the heights. My attention lapsed toward the fighting all around. "Woah, h-how the hell are we supposed to find them in this mess?"

"With a lot of luck. You two use those till we take over the Node Towers. Warn us of any danger." That would be the first place for Mira and I to start. After that, well, go where Polar Moon did. Head for the co-op.

"We're playing intel and overwatch then? Too bad these things don't have guns." Saint voice a very valid complaint.

"I haven't exactly had time to modify them recently." I was thinking about putting explosives in them though. Maybe call them fireflies or something. So much to do, so little time.

— — —

"Hey, Luna, give me some more of those Dragonflies." Saint called from the couch behind her. He'd already set up several decks and equipment all around on the hotel room's coffee table. It was a good thing he sensed something was off tonight and brought along his full setup.

"W-why?" The frail girl spun around in her rolly chair and stared at him through her white hair.

"Setup a massive livestream, of course." It'd been a long time since he did any kind of live news casting, but this was the perfect time. Tonight would have more action than a bloodsport, intrigue, and a handsome guide to walk viewers through what was happening.

With the right touches, cinematic edits, and camera work, this had the chance to blow not only through the roof, but to the moon. And if he could get his contacts in the Inverse Corporation to buy in tonight? It'd be massive.

With the dozens of Dragonflies, he could set up multiple points of view too. It'd take a lot of micromanaging, but he was used to running entire scream streams by himself. Not like City of Suffering had any other employees in the first place.

Of course, even with his reporting scheme running in the background, his main objective was still to protect Luna. Then it was to help Shiro and Mira accomplish their goals. This was just a little something extra on the side of all of that.

"Y-you think Shiro will have a problem with that?" Luna didn't immediately follow along with him. She twisted a lock of hair around her finger and stared out the window of the hotel room. "I-I don't want to piss her off. Not when she's all I can rely on."

"It'll be fine." He flashed his signature smile and waved a hand. "She's always talking about wanting to build up a rep. This is a good chance!"

Luna spun back around and got back to tapping away on her deck. After a moment, she pulled out a jack and tossed it over to Saint. "Plug me in. I-I need more juice."

"You won't mess with anything, right?"

"Please." The girl rolled her eyes and dangled the jack once more. "I-I've got more important things to do tonight than steal from a reporter. And I wouldn't need to be plugged, anyway."

"Fine." Saint connected her up to one of his research decks.

"And are y-you sure about this idea of yours?" Her white eyebrows were pulled down tightly in concern.

"Definetely. I'll make them the protagonists tonight." He shrugged and got back to work. "Besides, we have her permission already, don't we?"

"W-won't she have an issue with that?" Luna shook her head. "From everything I've pulled up on her, s-she doesn't seem to like being out there."

"Shiro won't be. City of Sufferings proprietary team, Sprawl Rats, will be." He fired up the editing programs and cracked his fingers. It'd been a while since he did something like this, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited. It was like back in the day when hundreds of thousands of fans would come to Sorrow's concerts.

"C-change the name, bro. That sucks." Luna didn't hesitate for a second to shoot down his team name suggestion.

"We'll figure something out." Saint ordered several energy drinks from a delivery service. Tonight he'd work himself to the bone and beyond.

— — —

I rubbed uncomfortably at my ear. Why did I get the feeling tonight was going to be a terrible night? In more than one way… It was probably just my paranoia hitting again?

I adjusted some controls on the hover bike and then pushed forward above the heights proper. Although there was no actual barrier, entering the heights inflicted a certain psychological pressure in the back of my mind. I'd always heard about this place, and now I was going on a rescue mission.

Mira let go of my waist and leaned over the edge of the bike. "Weird. Why aren't there any other flyers out?"

"Maybe they can't afford to move them?" That didn't sound right, though. This was ten mil we were talking about. Granted, not everybody had access to personal flyers like I did. And the normal ones wouldn't be of any help with how tight this whole place was.

I felt a warm buzz in my neck. Three lights popped up in my vision, each over a rusty looking antennae tower spread out across the heights. They were all high up skyscrapers, towering above the rest of the heights. "D-did you just hack my NSI?!"

"Yuh? T-the ICE on this is awful." Luna didn't seem to see a problem with it. Saint must've said something that wasn't projected to us, though. She came back with a one-eighty to her tone. "S-sorry, I should've asked. I usually help with HUDs and all that to keep the team organized."

I was half tempted to hit the manual shutoff on my NSI and shut her out. Having a Netrunner in control of my chrome was… uncomfortable. It gave me flashbacks to when I had to rip my own eye out while being chased by the Circle's mutts. A tremble went down my spine.

I held myself back though. Barely. Although I hated to admit it, seeing the towers pinged like this was actually kinda helpful. "Just ask before taking over any of my tech."

"R-right… um- want me to upgrade your ICE? And Mira's? When this is over, of course." The girl weakly offered as if to make peace.

"When this is over." I barely suppressed a sigh and moved us toward the nearest Node Tower. Tonight was going to be a long night.

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