Syuen grit her teeth. Her board meeting was just about to finish up, when news about Wardress had arrived. What she had hoped would be a grand triumph was instead a disaster. Mihara and Yuni's combat reports sat on her desk, but she didn't want to look at them. She already knew the contents, as did the board.

  313N. Again with 313N. Not only did the mass-produced model have the audacity not to die, but now the board was convinced that it had value. And after numerous scientists, including Ether, were grilled on how 313N was somehow able to detect Chatterbox on an audio level, and how could such thing be replicated, if possible. The answers we have no idea, and we don't know where to even start trying, combined with the supposed risk of losing the trait forever one way or another?

  This meant the board felt that 313N had irreplaceable value if one could consider bait to be of such importance. Sure, she tried to argue. Correlation was not causation, and just because Wardress's first time encountering Chatterbox included 313N's presence, doesn't mean that it was the critical factor. However, when asked if 313N had anything to do with it, some scientists floated the idea that 313N's ability to sense Chatterbox would be enough to consider 313N a threat to be either captured, corrupted, or eliminated.

  They also asked if corruption might be the reason why 313N was able to detect Chatterbox. But given how the Ark's anti-corruption measures didn't notice anything, and that 313N wasn't dead, those scientists answered no. This was true, as there would have been no opportunity for 313N to be corrupted in the first place. If it was corrupted, then the excuse would make itself, but even the insinuation could raise a considerable number of issues.

  Sure, the scientists feared her, but the board and investors were just as feared, if not more so. They weren't going to lie for her, especially in such a situation like that. The capture of Chatterbox was risky, but worth the investment. If this gave the investors a bigger chance of getting that payday from the technological advancements they would be able to make? Then they would keep something that otherwise had no value around.

  Syuen would love nothing more than to tell the scientists to damn the risks and just cut it open. It wasn't like it was currently unconscious, as they extracted an unknown metal object that had ripped through several coolant and lubricator pump lines.

  Syuen's eyes flipped over the damage report, turning away with a huff. 313N came within moments of overheating its core. Couldn't even die right. At least it brought back the metal with it. That was at least worth something, even if the scientists still hadn't figured out what it was as they tried to dislodge it. There were two prevalent theories about the stuff. Either that it was some form of old Rapture weapon. Or an old Nikke one.

  Either was good. Rapture technology, even older stuff, was useful if handled properly. But if it was an old Nikke weapon, then that was promising. While Missilis produced some of the most technologically advanced Nikke's in the world, even she knew that compared to the oldest Nikke's, even their current best was barely scratching the surface. That find was worth more than 313N itself, depending on how much use it could be. Perhaps even more of the weapon or object remained. Something to investigate when she had the free mass-produced units and a Commander willing to undergo a salvage operation came up.

  In the meantime, Wardress was out of action while they repaired Yuni. While 313N was to be assigned to the group until further orders were to be given. Meaning if she wanted Wardress back in action as soon as possible, 313N was going to need a full-body replacement. No matter how much she hated the idea.

  Even without the damage to its systems from being impaled, 313N's reactor was lucky to have not shattered completely from Chatterbox's blow. Much less enter a meltdown with its coolant system compromised. Even now, 313N's left leg had nearly fallen apart. Not from battle damage, but rather accelerated wear and tear that was beyond what the scientists had initially calculated.

  Though, keeping Wardress out of the field for the moment would prove, advantageous. Chatterbox was an issue, and capturing it was still a priority. But the combat reports and they state they were all in made the simple fact impossible to deny. Wardress by itself would not be sufficient to capture Chatterbox. It pained her to admit it, but they simply wouldn't be enough.

  Chatterbox had proven to be both stronger, and smarter than she or anyone else had considered possible. Wardress was lucky. A Pilgram was in the area and saved them. One that was also hunting Chatterbox. Likely to kill it, if it hadn't already succeeded. They might not have that luck again if Chatterbox still lived.

  313N would be bait. That was all it could be. But Wardress would not be a sufficient trap. No, she needed something that could match a Pilgrim in terms of strength. That limited her available assets considerably. If she factored in the need for secrecy, then Syuen had nothing left. The closest thing she had to a Pilgram in terms of strength was Matis. She could get away with deploying Wardress as she pleased if Syuen took the right steps.

  But deploying Misillis's most public squad alongside her black ops unit? Matis alone would bring eyes, but when it came to capturing a Rapture, much less one of Chatterbox's caliber, attention was the last thing she needed. The Central Government overlooked many of the things she did. As CEO, she was much too important to the safety of humanity.

  And while she could probably get away with it, there was a risk that some might consider it a bridge too far.

  But it might be worth noting how Chatterbox would respond to such a provocation, as well as if Matis was something it would consider a threat, at least alongside Wardress. The Squad was able to defeat a Heretic with the support from Absolute, after all. If it was reluctant to engage a Pilgrim, then it should be unwilling to engage Matis, in theory. If 313N being to detect it was the threat the board thought it was, it might try to take the bait anyway, and if it didn't? Nothing was too lost.

  But the repairs were problematic. Mihara was largely fine. Yuni would need a significant part of her body replaced, and giving her a new one would be cheaper. Not by much, but enough.

  The problem was 313N. Repair was considerably more expensive than replacing, especially even now as they were updating to a frame for the 08 that could withstand their abilities. The problem was, that despite their best efforts, they were only copying 313N's ability. It was inferior in both terms of effectiveness.

  And stress on the Nikke's body.

  The upgrade would help, but it was still a patch job. Syuen hated it, but the numbers did not lie. Even if this mission was considered an anomaly, the damage from general wear and tear of its abilities would mean it would need replacement every few missions, even with the upgraded 08 body.

  It would be cheaper to give her a unique body that could actually handle the stress and strain of its abilities. And such infuriated Syuen. This mass-produced model was, getting rewarded with a unique body? After all the problems it caused?

  Thankfully, it wasn't to be right away. After all, it was still unknown whether 313N could undergo such an upgrade, due to its unique traits. After all, it hadn't held onto its identity, rather, a new one had appeared completely.

  Moving it into a unique body could have unforeseen consequences, after all, given its abnormal state. That was the one thing the scientists had agreed on with her.

  But that wasn't the only way 313N was causing issues. Normally, she would have dismissed such claims. Exotic was a problem, but the bomb collars rendered them an easily solvable one. There was no need to go digging for more information as to why they might become an issue. Them being problematic was a known factor, and had been accounted for.

  The idea that 313N's memory came from a time before Raptures came was laughable, no matter how much it explained the abnormal behavior. She partially sent it off to Exia as a joke. Syuen needed the laugh after the day she'd been having.

  After all, the idea that Crow had a tattoo that referenced a religious symbol from some fictional war game was well and truly laughable.

  The response Syuen got wasn't. At least, that is what she could glean from the information Exia had sent her. Which wasn't much. Something that trivial was unlikely to make it through the Rapture invasion and certainly wasn't important enough to be saved in the Ark's database.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  So Syuen had thought. It was something else she was ignoring for the time being. Take time to deal with other issues, unrelated to the Mass Produced model that refused to learn her place.

  That was why Syuen felt her eyelid twitch as the phone began to ring. Emergency connection, directly to the lab. She was almost tempted to let it ring. Reluctantly, however, she picked up the phone.

  "This better be important," she ground out, hoping to make her displeasure known to whoever it was that contacted her.

  "We were forced to remove 313N's head from the rest of its body. Someone managed to cause the object in 313N's chest cavity to activate, where it attempted to fuse with the main nerve system," the scientist said, as a few loud sounds rattled in the background. Syuen scowled, though that did answer the question of what exactly the strange stuff was.

  "Then we'll have to upgrade 313N's frame to a new body," Syuen made a face. That meant paperwork, even if she was going to have to fill it out anyway. "Get the old body into quarantine and under observation. I want to know as much about the metal, its sources, and the effects it can have as soon as such tests can be carried out."

  At least they had a free test body they could work on. Some silver lining to this whole mess.

  "Detaching 313N's head, however, brought the subject back online as well," he continued. "We're trying to get it to deactivate before Mind-Switch sets in, but we have not met much in the way of success."

  Syuen felt the pen in her hand twist as she clenched her fist.

  Could this mass-produced model do anything right?

  x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

  I tried my best to keep my eyes closed. I really, really did. Something, anything, to keep my mind off the fact that I was, at this moment. A disembodied head.

  Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

  How am I breathing without lungs!

  Yeah, fuck it, this wasn't working. At all. That dark thing in my mind was back, twisting around like a shadowy monster. Maybe, listen to the scientists who were just as freaked out as I was?

  "How is it!"

  "We don't know!"

  "We need the main body transferred into isolation, Syuen's orders!"

  One plus side was that I wasn't going to have to deal with whatever got rammed through my chest again. Hopefully. I'd only been here long enough to know that hope was a long shot. Syuen was a dumbass who'd find a way to do something really dangerous with it.

  "How do we get it to shut down? Being like this elevates the risk of Mind Switch!"

  "You know being called it probably isn't helping," I growled out, not that anyone seemed to be paying me much in the way of attention. Sure, I really would like to be unconscious right now. Rather than dealing with whatever this bullshit was! I was a head, an actual disembodied head! How the hell did you screw up this badly!

  Still, it was one part hard panic, one part carrying Syuen's orders to the letter. Ironically, despite being down to a head, pretty much everyone else was acting as if they were headless chickens. I was down to a head, breathing despite not having lungs, capable of speech without vocal cords, and just about everything else going wrong. I. Just wanted. To fucking scream.

  I wasn't exactly sure what the damage was, but several of the closest people were covering their ears and groaning in pain, and now I had everyone's attention.

  Good news? I had everyone's attention. Bad news? See good news.

  But I needed that. Badly. And this acted as stress relief without anyone being punched, kicked, or shot! A win-win for everyone involved. Well, almost everyone. I'm pretty sure that scream probably could have made them jump out of their skins. However, now that I had their attention.

  "Alright you chuckle fucks, listen up! I've spent today being shot at, nearly turned into a pancake, impaled on whatever the hell that was, and a full-on mental breakdown, with that just being today!" I shouted, even if I was nowhere near as loud as the primordial scream of frustration I had just let loose. "All while you got to stay in your nice, cosy, little box! How about you leave the panicking to me, who is currently a disembodied head, who has every single right to be losing their mind about the situation, and instead focusing on fixing the problem!"

  There was some grumbling, but at the very least, it got them to stop panicking, and start being productive. Presumably. I was smart, but I had no idea about what any of this technobabble nonsense was. That wasn't my wheelhouse.

  All I cared about was that I got to have another existential crisis in peace.

  x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

  The mission was a failure. Mihara knew what some were saying. This was the first time they encountered Chatterbox, making it a step forward. But if it was a step forward, they'd been knocked a good ten steps back. Yuni and Mihara made a potent team, a near-peerless combination of abilities that could bring down anything.

  Or as Chatterbox showed her, almost everything. What racked even more was that Chatterbox didn't even come up with an original trick! It'd done the same thing 313N had done, just far more effectively. It was odd that both would apply the same tactic. But while 313N had done such in a panicked last-ditch effort, Chatterbox seemed much more, analytical. As if it were sizing them up. About how much of a threat they would naturally be.

  Or, and the thought made Mihara shudder, it was seeing how well their powers would work on itself. As if it had observed them before. Yuni had told her another chilling fact. That Chatterbox was smart enough to talk. To understand.

  That it had told 313N to obey it.

  313N, in a fashion most typical to herself, told Chatterbox to get stuffed, managed to dodge its charge, burying it in a building, before grabbing the two of them and running away.

  At least Mihara knew that 313N wouldn't simply abandon them for the sake of her survival. That was, better than she had expected, though she was still thankful for it. Yuni seemed somewhat shocked, but losing half her body would do that, nor was that a healthy state to remain active in.

  But it did raise a lot of questions. 313N's ability to almost, hear Chatterbox, was abnormal in the extreme, and more than likely, tied to the demand of obedience. Her first thought, and fear, was corruption. But for that to be possible? She didn't know how. 313N hadn't been to the surface before. And while she had certainly been impaled with something, it wasn't near vital systems, nor did it look particularly Rapture in origin. Chatterbox could have infected her somehow with the initial hit, but 313N had been hair it long before that point.

  However, 313N had been cleared upon return. The Ark's security measures detected such things. A corrupted Nikke running amok was something that Raptures had no doubt tried in the past. If 313N had been corrupted, then she would have been dealt with. A mercy killing in every sense of the word.

  But the fact they were all still alive didn't change the fact that the operation had been a disaster. It didn't matter what the board or even Syuen said, even though she knew that was exactly what the CEO was thinking. They had failed miserably. If it wasn't for the Pilgrim, they all would have been killed. Or worse.

  Even with their powers and 313N being willing to see what the situation already was, they still only made it out alive by sheer luck. Mihara was fully confident in their ability to capture it when it came to a confrontation. It was fights like this that Wardress was made for.

  But Chatterbox had led them into a trap and had shrugged off the worst they had to offer, even with 313N having some degree of heads up. It was smarter than anyone had thought it was, and it was tough. Tough enough that it tore off its arm without a second thought, rendering her power useless in less than seconds. It rebuilt its arm in a matter of seconds, meaning that even if she avoided using her powers to swap their sense of pain, there was still little they could do against it.

  Never mind that the first time they ran into it was when 313N was there. That couldn't be a coincidence. She wasn't sure how, but more and more was piling up around what most people would consider an ordinary Mass-Produced Nikke.

  Memory from before the Raptures arrived. The ability to increase how quickly her nerves fired for brief intervals. And now, the attention of a Tyrant-class Rapture that in one day shattered their understanding of Raptures to pieces.

  What had happened when making her?

  x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

  "I'm unsure how such a thing managed to transpire."

  "You are lucky that I don't think you're lying to me. But compensation must be had."