Westbrook, New California

2426

Ripley

"What should I call you?" Kensuke guided this broken, untethered mind of Soul Killer up the stairs to the surface of the refugee camp. "All of you?"

"Subject K is fine, but right now… I'm not… whole." The woman shivered. "I just… there was another one of me, stronger, Silver. He was taken in to join the soldiers, since then…"

She belched, coughing blood onto the ground. The blood seemed wrong, bits of it moving like slithering worms into the ground while at the same time evaporating into mist.

"So the nature of your power lies in infection? You've erased this woman?" Kensuke said it like it was a matter of fact.

"I don't mean to." Subject K gripped her head. "But they… die after a bit, their mind isn't stable. She's still in here… and I'm putting her in pain."

I looked at the scene, my hands clenched tight as I saw Soul Killer as they had been. A lost child born of experimentation, Amaterasu and Albert Guessberg had like made a deal to Evolve Zero at the expense of Subject K's survival. That was my hypothesis of it, but The Bladefather himself truly didn't know the truth either.

"Am I doing a bad thing?" Subject K struggled to get on her feet. "I'm learning from their minds and… this feels like a bad thing."

"It isn't. It's the nature of your mutations — what had been forced upon you." Kensuke guided her to their encampent, a shoddy building of scrap metal loosely held up against container stacks.

"I want to learn." Subject K clenched her teeth. "I want to control this. Here, I'm not in the dark. I don't want to go back to the dark."

"There is no controlling the nature of your Mutations." Kensuke shook his head. "Only controlling yourself, and how you wield them."

There was a childlike defiance from her as she laughed. "I can't control this… I'm breaking them."

"I know someone who can help you." Kensuke guided her up… to Missy.

And then the memories blurred again, the exact details of what had happened were unknown to me as The Bladefather concealed them.

"You really don't want me learning more about Missy, do you? How she's involved with all of this?" I gave a bitter laugh at him. "All this time, she really has been lying her ass off? How much is she involved with?"

"Her influence has certainly shaped this city… and not always for the better, despite her intentions."

I felt waves of change pass in their lives. The refugees, searching for peace, were promised to receive that only if they used their 'expertise' in the wilds to forge a final defence against the Swarm. Every month, they were told their stations would end soon as monsters broke through and killed their own.

Every month, they were told the Swarm was nearing it's end. That didn't stop a year from passing, a year in which Missy lost even more people to the MALswarm. A year in which my grandfather did everything he could to stop others from dying, his only way was to arm them, to turn them into weapons. A year in which Kensuke continued to be one.

And then, that year led to the next, and the next. It took them three years to reach the outer walls of the city, and they spent another three years in the outskirts as fodder for the Swarm — never going past the Swarm walls to enter the city. New California welcomed in hundreds of thousands of other refugees, each of them wanting salvation but only being thrust back into the beasts they'd fled from.

Kensuke had certainly changed, he'd grown more… angry at the treatment. Not just upon himself, but others. Krishav was by his side, fighting just as much as he legislated with the military to stop this treatment of the refugees. In time, the nature of his position as the Lieutenant in charge of the refugees came known to Kensuke as a punishment of sorts.

"They couldn't engineer the humanity out of me." Krishav said over drinks, his body covered in scars from a recent outbreak. "Neither could they do it to you."

"Well, Ishy…" Missy poured him another. "Can't wait to see you become mayor."

"Maybe in another two decades… Tristan Han has both the military and the people on his side…" Krishav gulped it down. "And Yuzhou."

Kensuke looked at a broadcast that had been background noise. The mayor, Tristan Han, had been in charge for as long as the Swarm poured against the city's walls, promising to not let New California end up like The Floridian Gulf. The fear gripped the city more than their sympathy, they'd numbed to tragedy and only self-preservation held them up. "We will stand tall, stand proud. New California rises even amidst the fall of others."

"I fucking hate the guy." Alberich slammed his glass into the table, countless others echoed the motion. "Fall? We worked harder than any Californian ever did to survive! Bullshit, and now he's acting like he knows scrap about our struggles!"

"It's not all bad, Al." Missy ruffled his hair. "There's plenty of people who speak in the senate helping us."

"Plenty talk! Not enough doing!" Alberich put his drink down, storming outside to the frigid cold. Kensuke sighed, walking after him.

Alberich shiverred amidst the snow, rubbing metallic fingers on a tube. Kensuke sat beside him, the cold unable to bite through his physiology. "You should tell Krishav about it, he knows how brilliant of an Operator you are."

Alberich shook his head. "Why? So that they take me, and leave everyone else to die? You've stayed, I'm staying…"

He clenched his hand around the tube. "It's mine. Missy told me that when she dug me out of the rubble because I was stupid enough to try and fight a MAL without an Implant. This Warp Material is mine to make something out of, no matter how long it takes. And I'll use it to help everyone."

His eyes reflected gold from the contents of the tube… where a golden twisting strand of thread floated in spools. "Even if it takes a hundred years, I'll build something that saves us all. One step at a time."

Kensuke put a hand on Alberich's shoulder. "You have a good heart, Al."

Suddenly, a chorus of shouting erupted from the dank building that served as their outpost. Alberich and Kensuke hurried inside, even someone like Missy looked grave at the broadcast.

"What happened?" Alberich shouted.

The glass in Krishav's hand exploded, the alcohol floating between his hands with spikes jutting out. He seethed. "Exactly what I was expecting. They've finally given you all an option to become legible citizens of the city."

"They have?" Alberich said in confusion.

"As long as you give up your Implants." Krishav slammed his hand on the table. "They want to acclimate you to the city, by giving you new Iron Implants. They'll compensate accordingly, but…"

"Fuck no!" Alberich protested. "I didn't build myself up to Silver over a decade just to have it taken from me!"

A chorus of agreement came with him.

"Stay cool." Krishav said, teeth clenched as he watched the broadcast. "I'll deal with this from the inside."

———

2430

Another year passed, and tensions only rose. The Fourth Swarm, by now, had faded… Celebrations came and went across the city. It was a happy time, for a bit, but the aftermath of such worldwide cataclysm had it's scars among everyone.

Officially, it lasted from 2400 to 2430, with more than 2 billion dead across the world. New California lost 33 million citizens, about one-third — and The Floridian Gulf lost 189 million, or 82% of their population.

The remaining 18% largely now lived in New California, albeit… living was the wrong word. They survived, the same as they always had been. Kensuke had been given his graces, some even calling him a hero, but it was his wish to remain hidden so that Krishav could take much of the glory.

He was promoted to Captain soon after the Swarm ended, a tale of a man born to do great things. Krishav was young and destined, a man of strong will and wanting for change to the city — many saw promise in him and his ideas for the future. Including Kensuke.

The refugees, meanwhile, had a worser time adjusting to New California — in particular, to Westbrook. Those who gave up their Implants were offered a right to start anew, promises of growth and a world safe from terrors. Those who hadn't had to survive in the shadows of a world where no opportunities were given — forcing them to make their own. Crime skyrocketed, the recently formed Los Diablos gang consisted majorly of Floridian refugees, and it only further dissolved any talks of mutual acceptance.

Resources from the Swarm had flooded in, but their distribution was disproportionate. Debts owed to Yuzhou and SynTec for their weaponry and safety claimed a majority of the city's spoils of war, and what remained was spent on improving their own military with mere leftovers to go to improving the infrastructure of the city after repairs were committed to.

And if anything was improved, it was only for the 'fortunate'.

"You're kidding me?" Alberich, now a bit older than me, showed Kensuke the newest article on the city's plans. "The Hanging Gardens? A whole fucking flying section joining Great Lake and they can't even give us clean water!"

"I say it's time we make things right!" Another man shouted, someone Kensuke knew to be in Los Diablos, which at the time was more of a brotherhood of loosely guided criminals. A man named Luciente, his hair was shaggy and wild, and he was younger than any of them here. He'd become quick friends with Alberich… and I knew him as the current leader of Los Diablos.

"How many of you guys knew each other?" I looked to the Bladefather, who shrugged.

"There are common events that tie us all, whether known or unknown." He sighed. "Luciente and your grandfather only knew each other for a short while, everyone's paths diverged soon…"

"The civil war, right?" I didn't like what was coming next. I wasn't the biggest history buff, but I was well aware that shortly after the Swarm, a conflict arose in Westbrook as various factions each grew more fed up with one another… it only ended because of the earthquake.

That was the story of how Westbrook became known as Westcrook.

Kensuke was an unofficial agent of Krishav's working in the underground, keeping tabs on the crime side of things — and occasionally forced to do some dirty work. My grandfather scrambled around for any work he could get his hands on, while neither Missy nor Kensuke had let him dive freely into the world of Shard Operating for criminals… that didn't stop him from freelancing his skills.

Apparently, he was snooping around Harold Anderson's clinic and constantly spouting out how he'd do the work better, and cheaper. Even then, he had to keep his Silver Grade concealed if he didn't want to be mugged on spot, so he resorted to modifying his liver.

So that's where my boss got the idea from?

Missy worked largely in the shadows, the nature of her secrecy made more sense now considering her family, but she largely helped out the refugees by protecting them from crime… and even taking an occasional vigilante-esque approach to stopping it. By now, no one really saw her as a threat, but she was still a force to be reckoned with.

Kensuke knew that best, when she came to him. "We're holding a protest."

"Krishav warned us against it." Kensuke sighed. "This city is on edge."

"And an edge is exactly what we need to be there… just… on the scales of tipping. Can you be present? Waiting." Missy tugged Ken's hand. "In case something bad happens."

"If Yuzhou notices my appearance…" Kensuke didn't like the idea. "If they know I'm with you… then it'll be bad for everyone."

For the first time, there was a sense of pleading to Kensuke's words. Even if his life had been tragic, his hands comfortable in shades of red… now in the muck and destitute of everything he'd begun to find purpose. In the struggle of leading people to a new life, he'd formed bonds that he thought were unseverable.

Thought.

He never offered his aid to the protest, and it truly did start out small. Just a few hundred Floridians spelling out to the world what they wanted, what they deserved. Some called them ungrateful, others called them dangerous, but there were still many voices who agreed with them. The protests became more regular, more wanting, and Krishav truly did keep his forces peaceful with them. He was their man on the inside, communicating with them ways to best get their message across.

But like all groups that grow, some snakes find their way inside. It didn't take long for those who truly hated the government to join in, not wanting peace but instead the destruction of who they saw as their enemies. Luciente was one of them, his voice growing louder in his gang as he took to the information sphere and spread radical opinions that garnered as many loyalists as it did enemies.

And when you had enemies and loyalists gathered in one spot…?

2431

Things had steadily been changing for the better, they had been. Then a Los Diablos man punched an officer, and a brawl ensued. About twelve died… and ideals stopped being the reasons for the protesting.

"As with all things in violence…" The Bladefather showed me as the scenes grew more violent, the groups less organized — many more factions spouting different things from their original message. "Ideals are seldom the reason for conflict. In time, it no longer becomes about wrong or right, but about if they hurt your family… your friends. And people know this, they just don't care… in fact, they spread that notion that violence deserves violence. They'll dehumanize whoever their shame and guilt can live without."

Articles grew more opposing, some stating corporate conspiracy and others labeling Nomads and Floridians as criminals. All sides had their loyalists — they all made their enemies. Corporations came to call for stricter policies. In 2432 — martial law was called upon the precincts where Floridians were most populous. This only drove them deeper into the underground.

And… in-

2433

More bloodshed sparked, the fuse so close to igniting. It wasn't even a matter of politics, just a man bearing the wrong flag was involved in a crime that saw someone die. And it turned everything ever more violent, stricter policies and laws overtook everyone. The fear of the Swarm, having lived in a violent world, it all fed into their minds to treat this as normal.

Krishav was overwhelmed, one side or the other had to stop. But he could hardly control his own men, and pressure from those above and below him to take an official stance other than neutrality. Kensuke was the only one he really trusted, and even then… he was a man forced to live in the shadows, away from Yuzhou's notice.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I don't know what to do." Krishav hardened.

Kensuke put a hand on the man's shoulder. "We fight."

"Fight?" Krishav shook his head. "Fighting's the reason we're in this mess."

"Not on the field… take your stance, and bare it proudly."

"I'll be labelled a dissident, a traitor." Krishav was a man bearing the weight of the world. "I know there's corruption here, but dammit, I can't do anything about them without putting it all at risk. If I get punished… then…"

"Maybe so…" Kensuke took a deep breath. "Then I'll make things right."

Reaching an independent gene-clinic, Kensuke saw the various doctors there treating individuals with clockwork speed and efficiency, but at his appearance, the patients were all told that the clinic would close for the day.

Alone, the doctors bared their soulless eyes to him.

Kensuke, his gaze even and wanting a better world, spoke to Subject K. "Your power… I believe I know a purpose it could be used for."

"What for?" They all spoke in unison, the Nexus being the same woman whom Kensuke had helped over at the refugee camp.

"I need the people to see what lays before their eyes, so let yourself spread through them. Bad people… and turn them good." Kensuke sent a list over. "We will make a world worth living in, together, Kaisel."

A woman walked out, her hair red but carrying flecks of gray inside them, she was aged but Kensuke knew she'd only been born recently. She smiled, as bits of her began to bubble and froth, vines and roots tearing out of her skin as red spider lillies bloomed through her body. It was hauntingly beautiful.

It was the birth of The Revenant.

2434

Corruption unveiled over the next year, as numerous details from corporations and the military made it's way into the public's knowledge with Kensuke's spreading of Subject K within key targets. Outrage had been incited, and the need for change in the way the city was run had become evident.

Krishav, after years of inaction, finally had a reason to take a stance. His proclamation took the city by storm, his presence larger than himself as he called for action against the corruption in the police force. The city, by now, had no choice but to regard his statements with a sense of truth.

And thus, calling upon the action of all citizens of California and Florida alike… he created the Iron-Sword movement. Meanwhile, two other fronts grew parallel to his, Free California was led by Luciente and the corporate factions who had begun to reject mayor Han and run to a different devil, towards SynTec.

Krishav led the Iron-Sword, calling upon systemic changes to the military and demanding justice to be brought to the city. Kensuke was his blade in the night, the ever watchful guardian of a future both men sought for. Krishav donned the Blue Mask of The Leviathan, as Kensuke wielded the White Mask.

Missy had turned into a ghost during this time.

Contact with her grew less frequent, but her presence was felt, there were growing talks of her shadowed between Alberich and Kensuke. My grandfather had truly begun to build his legend, his work miraculous to some and his methods considered ingenuitive and foreign. He hadn't yet become The Hammersmith, but a man of talent and meticulance.

Officially, people say the civil war began around this time, but it wouldn't be called a civil war until much later.

2435

In fact, even though it was called a civil war, the first year had no large battles involving mass casualty. Neither side saw for that option to become reality, as it instead became a brutal time where you bore different flags than your neighbors. Where Precincts held different beliefs and systems, and the corporations were both enemy and ally depending on the side you were on.

It was during this time, that Alberich came to Kensuke. "I… I'm leaving."

"You are?" Kensuke felt saddened by the man's announcement, but didn't reject it.

"This isn't the home I sought for… I- I didn't come here looking to continue fighting. I feel like I'm losing myself." Alberich held something in his hand — a sword. "I made this, and I hate myself for it."

He threw it on the floor, Kensuke looked upon the blade, clearly modelled after the katanas that Kensuke wielded. It shone with a thin gold reflection around it's edges, curved and elegant in it's edge and writhing with potential. Currently, in 2497, I had seen it within The R0N1N's grasp, but a lifetime ago.... Kensuke's gaze reflected the golden blade. "You used Livewire in this?"

"I did. I want you to have it… I trust you to keep it." Alberich began to close the door.

"Where will you go?" Kensuke kept it open.

"Far away." Alberich shook his head. "I'll come back one day… just not now."

Alberich tapped his head against the door. "Take care, Ken."

"You as well, Al." Kensuke ruffled the young man's head.

And then my grandfather left this city… onto a journey where he would become known as the Hammersmith.

Missy, meanwhile, remained hidden even to Kensuke…

And he was all in on helping Krishav. The war wasn't over yet, it had barely just begun.

2436

"Free California did… what?" Krishav's eyebrows sunk with his disbelief.

"They attacked a Yuzhou convoy." Kensuke didn't seem too saddened, in fact, he had largely positive opinions of Free California, even if Krishav saw as them far too radical. "They now have weapons."

"That's what I'm worried about!" Krishav cupped his chin. "It'll mean…"

"War?" Kensuke's blade was ready.

"That's what I want to avoid." Krishav's voice nearly broke at the weight of the word.

Kensuke's words were tempered by a lifetime of it. "That's what's forged this city."

2437

"They count in twenty-thousand, scattered along these areas in the city." Subject K smiled as she showed detailed observations of the corporate factions structure. "SynTec has mostly outfitted former veterans, it seems they're keeping their direct men away from the conflict to avoid the pretense that they're directly manipulating the city's politics."

Kensuke nodded along. "Thank you, Subject K… you may terminate those bodies."

"Do I have to?" She pouted. "I was wondering… what if I just let them go missing? I could use them for experiments."

Kensuke thought on the matter, and nodded. "Be careful with them. You must never be compromised."

2438

"FREEDOM FOR CALIFORNIA!" Thousands conglomerated in what I knew as the Pleasure Lanes. "MAYOR HAN IS A TYRANT!"

Security forces all over tried to keep things stabilized, no weapons had been fired by either side yet, but it was a thin barrier. Krishav had truly been trying his hardest, but Free California had grown ever larger… and it was all thanks to one person.

A figure was spoken of amidst the shadows, one Kensuke hadn't been surprised to hear.

"What is Emizren doing?" He said in disbelief to Kensuke. "Why isn't she cooperating with us?"

"She likely believes you won't amount to much." Kensuke relayed to him from afar. "Her faith in governmental systems is… lacking."

Luciente, who had otherwise been known as a leader for Free California, had taken a back seat as he found money and power to be spread with media.

Particularly, music. While the civil war was terrible, it was considered a time of cultural revolution where Californian classics were created. Remarkably, that had risen to a new age of revolutionaries, as symbols of rebellion came known in art that even their enemies couldn't help but listen to.

So that's why music is so prominent in Los Diablos culture?

Besides Missy and Luciente, there was another figure I was surprised to see led Free California. Jacob Grazhe.

2439

Missy came in the dead of night. Kensuke had opened the door to his apartment, and she was seated there. Eyes baggy, a gun on her side. "We need to talk."

"We do." He agreed, but not for the reason she came.

Missy threw a SIM onto the table. "I thought you were leaving her out of this?"

The SIM was infected with red veins. She looked betrayed, anger barely contained. "I didn't help her for you to make her into some spy network."

"And yet, she has shaped this battle." Kensuke confidently took his seat next to her. "Without her, would we really know about-"

"Ken. She's dangerous." Missy urged. "And… you can't trust her."

"Why?"

"Do you know about a man who calls himself… The Sin?" Missy took a deep gulp. "He's come to me, and he has big plans… she's become a part of it. Except, it's unknown if he wants her alive or dead."

"Who is he?"

"Powerful. Enough to rival my grandmother." Missy looked both fearful… and excited in her gaze.

"To rival a Founder?" Kensuke didn't believe that.

"He wants to kill them." Missy said.

"He can go right ahead." Kensuke had no love for the man who was technically his father, being a clone of a son meant little.

"Well… thank you." Missy sighed. "Because I joined him. Apparently Al has too."

"Alberich?"

"He's in Requiem right now, good old Australia. And… I've heard he's got a wife." She laughed. "Could you imagine that, god, she's beautiful too. Oh, and he's Tier IV too."

"He's Evolved?"

"He's a legend. Gold." Missy looked proud with mirth in her eyes. "The Hammersmith, that's what they call him."

"And so… you've both decided to eliminate the Founders?" Kensuke could hardly imagine such a daunting task.

"With the MALtitans, we want to… unite the Source-Shards." Missy's fingers nervously danced on the table. "I… I haven't told Maiden. Actually, we broke up."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. We're better off as friends. I didn't want her getting involved." Missy looked sad as she said that. "But you? You rejected me once before, but…"

"You want me to join you?"

"The Sin is a man unlike anything, I don't trust him… but… his power, his goal… it's all real." Missy was resolved. "We can't let ourselves be caged any longer."

I realized what I was witnessing right now…

My voice turned accusatory towards The Bladefather. "You three formed The Uncaged?"

"It wasn't what it is now." He explained, but the hint of shame inside of him was there. "There have been many who called themselves 'Uncaged', it's only a title."

Missy nodded, standing up. "Then you should know… seismic activity is taking a turn. If you have your enemies, then will be the time to strike."

2440

In the last year of the conflict, it escalated greatly. The total unravelling of many corporate schemes in New California from Subject K's intervention had given them the winning edge. Even though Iron-Sword was never officially allied with either Free California or the corporate factions, Kensuke had made his quiet dealings with both.

An earthquake would hit New California soon. A natural disaster had been prophecized, and now was the time to strike for him. Forces rose, as all sides turned hateful and wanting devastation for those who made them suffer. Yuzhou and SynTec were more involved now, only furthering the circulation of possible conspiracies they were involved in.

And Krishav made a decision. "We need to end this, I'm ready to sign to Mayor Han's terms for peace. I've acted middle-man long enough."

"We can't." Kensuke rejected the idea. "Nothing would change."

"People have forgotten what they're fighting for!" Krishav argued. "Ten years! Ken! Thirty before that with the Swarm, when will it end!"

"When people see that gods can fall." Kensuke left the room, and he wouldn't meet Krishav again after that. Krishav called for the meeting regardless between leaders, Missy had returned to the shadows as a new man took charge of represnting Free California. In a spur of fate, it was another grandson of a Founder.

The current Mayor of New California. Johann Trask.

He was a symbol of rebellion like any other, a man who rejected his birthright to argue for peace and change. That was what he had been. When Krishav brought on the talks for peace, to resign from the conflict that had been spurning on… it sparked the fumes of hatred that had been burning in people.

November 2440 was a month where conflict erupted across New California, but centralized in Westbrook. Many dissidents of Iron-Sword joined either Free California or the corporates, and Krishav was left alone with his dreams.

Then the bombing started. It came on order of Mayor Han, who boldly announced all Free California participants as terrorists, and all of SynTec's violent supporters as dissidents intending to destablize the city. Entire areas were destroyed, places of sanctum — hospitals, schools, universities and homes were reduced to rubble.

Thousands died, tens of thousands, many not even involved directly in the conflict. Things were escalating profoundly, and half of the citizens had become so jaded they stopped caring as long as one side stopped talking. It was in the dead of night when Kensuke approached a Yuzhou facility, his blade sparking Gold.

"I wish to speak with Amaterasu." He demanded, voice cold and distant.

Soon, a woman, eyes masked and mouth visible approached the man in the cold night. "It's been a while, Zero."

"I go by Kensuke now."

"Have you finally opened your eyes?"

"I have." Kensuke stilled. "I want to make a deal."

"A deal?"

"I'll return to you… as long as you make your puppet stop this madness." Kensuke's expression twisted with grief. "Prune my mind, return me into that weapon I once was, but let these people live for the world they strove for… none of this is based on rationality anymore."

Amaterasu tilted her head, taking his newfound emotions curiously. "You've certainly grown, or perhaps… dulled? You know, I think you're right… you have no idea how diminutive it has been to my logic gates taking into account the chaotic rationality present in you humans. Everything's been taken out of proportion… but you have to understand, we can't recede control of New California so easily."

"Why?"

"It's special." She smirked, it came off wrong. "We have plans requiring the city, for the next Swarm. If we don't have control, it will suffer once more."

"It suffers now."

"It won't… in about another century." She said with an off-putting smile forming her voice. "But I can come to a compromise."

———

In December, a meeting was held… and Kensuke's mind was eroded. He was Zero once more, as the price for the future, he had his mind pruned of everything he'd become. Talks followed in Yuzhou's corporate tower by the Pleasure Lanes, Mayor Han expected to adress the largest collection ever seen on the streets. Tens of thousands awaited below. Free California, SynTec's allies, and Iron-Sword…

Zero felt a pressure in his body, a blade reacting as Amaterasu sat beside him. The Muramasa Blade, spawned off the remains of a thousand who had been subjected into soulless states, eagerly wanted her flesh. She turned to Mayor Han, who couldn't dare meet her eyes. "This puppet you see next to me made quite the bargain, in truth, he's perfectly worth the terms he asked for. To give up our position in this city's politics."

She sighed, her voice becoming more distant from humanity. "Yet, I hold no need to agree to them, there is little his allies can do without solidifying their appearance as violent terrorists. These terms will appear beneficial to them, in the short term, but I have calculated that our loss will be minimal in the century to come. New California will be prepared as a front for our assault on the MALtitans, if anything… once we allow them the pretense that we've given into them, they will be all the more loyal to giving up their lives for our cause."

Mayor Han nodded, prepared to finally address the people down below.

Zero twitched, his mind burning with the mention of Titans. Something he couldn't recall itched to bare its fangs — yet, he was only a puppet. Until another suited man twitched, his eyes shifting in color. Kensuke had always been a weapon, but that didn't stop him from being a schemer.

Raising from his seat, the suited man's eyes shifted to red-and-white as he pulled out a gun. Various guards readied their weapons as the suit grew a manic sneer. Amaterasu put her hand up to warn her guards from shooting, her voice delighted at the sight of Subject K. "Ah, so you've made it this far up, was this your plan? To shoot the mayor?"

"No." Subject K chuckled, aiming for Zero, and shooting.

The bullet was weak, Zero didn't even need to deflect it as it harmlessly splat against his armor. But the code within the bullet spoke differently, for it contained the power of Oblivion. Of Missy's Warpcode, of her Unique Feature.

Corrupting a mind was easy, but an Implant contained your very presence. Amaterasu may have blanked out all the growth Kensuke had gone through, but she couldn't tear it out of him — and as her machinations to keep him under her control were forcibly put into a permanent state of error… the Muramasa Blade took over.

Crimson erupted, then blood. The people amassing at the bottom of the building were met by a rain of sharp glass as smoke drifted from the building scarred red. Some would claim to see a figure standing amidst the ruin, others would cower in fear as they witnessed their god falling.

Mayor Han was pronounced dead hours later, as chaos swept through the city in a wave of outrage. Blame was thrown across all factions, some even wanting to claim it, as a power vacuum unlike any other manifested within New California. To the City's most corrupt, their protector was gone, and Krishav knew that.

More importantly, SynTec knew that.

Violence broke out of the city, from the crumbling military still loyal to Mayor Han, to the Free California movement more emboldened than ever, to SynTec's more prominent engagement with the factions loyal to them, and Iron-Sword grew larger as they enforced peace and prosecuted key targets of corruption with overwhelming force.

Krishav was winning, he was well aware… but at the same time, where one demon had fallen, many others rose to take his place. SynTec was beginning to be a problem. The death of the mayor failed to truly settle peace into the city, war continued as it always did and he'd have no choice but to win it by force. To send his men in without mercy, rooting out all corruption even if it meant harming those who served as lost, misguided souls used as shields.

So when Kensuke reappeared in his office, two months after their last meeting, Krishav met him with accusation. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"It was." Kensuke's eyes held little mercy.

"Were you an idiot?"

"Are you?" Kensuke pointed at the map on Krishav's table. "You've identified all their key targets, yet you refuse to apprehend them with the force necessary."

"This was never meant to be a military coup, Ken." Krishav's hands sharpened. "Thousands would die."

"Thousands will die regardless." Kensuke sighed. "Millions, I've seen it happen. You have."

"Don't make this into a numbers game." Krishav seethed. "You're better than this!"

"And you -- the best. A man worthy to take control. Seize it," Kensuke urged, "before others do."

"We were so close to ending things," Krishav said, bitterness stuck in his throat. "Now, I don't know how much longer we'll have to fight, what this city will be by the end of it!"

"It'll end sooner than you believe." Kensuke took a sword out from his scabbard, the same one my grandfather had forged, before kneeling. "And I am yours to achieve that."

Krishav looked at the kneeling man, scoffing. "You're barely even a human, you know that?"

"No, Krishav." Kensuke shook his head, his eyes stirring with an endless depth. "I am more human than ever."

"Get out of my office." Krishav ordered. "I gave you a chance to make things right for the things you've done!"

"And am I not?" Kensuke's grip over the blade hardened. "Have I not eliminated the very rot resting within your city, the same that had sought to use me? Now, I make a choice of my own will, and you diminish it?"

"You haven't changed." Krishav's body began to turn steel-like, as nanomachines within his body came to the surface. "I said get out of my office."

Kensuke, rising calmly, plucked a bone-white mask he'd set on the table before. It fused to his skull, as his clothes began to fade in color to the pristine white that often accompanied him. "Then you should know, I intend to continue this mission. Yuzhou will fall, for what it's done — I don't care about the rest. That's in your hands."

A week later, the city was ravaged by an earthquake originating from Yellowstone. All reparations done in the decade since the Swarm were rendered moot, without electricity, the cold bitterness of the wilds invaded the city and forced the fighting to stop. It should have been a time of peace.

But it was a time when key powers took hold, where the underworld blossomed as forces united against the rich still surviving in their homes and warmth. A time in which emergency treaties were enforced with policies that benefited SynTec's grasp over the city as they promised to provide aid. And they provided aid, even it was merely a disguise to their encroaching influence. In many ways, the Floridian Gulf had been theirs, and now… they finally had New California.

It was a time in which Los Diablos was united under Luciente, where he gathered those most damaged and broken and gave them a purpose, where Metal Heavens brought many more into their beliefs as the people lost faith in those who'd promised to protect them.

A time in which a man wore white, bearing the mask of a dragon, and found those who sought the same vengeance he did. A time in which so many souls were alone amidst the shaken earth, where bodies could go missing. Where rumors of the red-eyed Revenant began.

But it was not a time used well by Captain Ishram Krishav. He was never the type to exploit his opportunities; the only thing holding him back was ever himself. And he could do nothing but watch as SynTec appointed others above him, knowing he was too good to be put in a position worthy of his power.

It was a time where he could do nothing but watch—

—As Westbrook became Westcrook.

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