“Trust is a fickle thing. Earned through dedication, lost through petty strife.

  But you know who you can trust? Big Raccoon.

  Big Raccoon always has your best interests at heart.

  Big Raccoon is watching you.”

  --Controlled Ad definitely not running on the Prolotor Active Wavecast, channel ????.

  I let out a sigh and press my hands to my cheeks, waiting for them to cool down.

  My siblings dump the corpse they were dragging into the lorry’s rear chute with a thud, and I do a quick double-take.

  {How did you-}

  My question dies in my throat as Chip and Stripe scramble up onto the lorry and peek over the side to fire the shoulder-mounted hooks from their PELTs into a dead Three.

  {Never mind.}

  Ignoring their smug chirps, and Spot squealing joyfully as he fires one of the lab’s mounted railguns at a few plants down the street, I approach the lorry's side and open the door.

  {Anyone riding with me?} I call over their noise.

  I don’t hear a response but, a moment later, I hear two sets of hurried paws scampering across metal. One keeps going past me, and I glance over to see Stripe swinging down into the driver's cab through the open window.

  I feel a paw on my head as I’m distracted and, when I look up, I find Chip hanging down to pat my head with a cable stretching back up over the lorry’s roof from his hips.

  {We’ll get you there safe. Go shopping, Sister.}

  I scoff at him telling me to go shopping, but he’s not wrong, so I pat his belly and nod.

  {Okay. That was a very big sentence. Well done.}

  He purrs happily at the praise as I slip into the lab, leaving them to get us to the dump in one piece with Cyon’s guidance.

  Entering the relaxing, stark-white space, a multitude of questions rise to the front of my mind, brought on by the conversation with Gwen and Iysaac.

  “Hey, Cyon,” I start as I drop into the Squish, wiggling around to find the perfect position as all of my muscles relax into the super chair. “Why was Gwen so concerned about you controlling my augs without telling me? Isn’t that your job?”

  Yes.

  Cyon responds as a black dot appears above me, rapidly expanding and unfurling into her canid avatar.

  To a certain extent, controlling extra processes, like video calls with your augs, for you is part of my role as your Vanguard AI. I suspect Miss Gwen took issue with me controlling your transmission feed because she has had problems with Iysaac in the past, and her fellow Vanguard have warned her about relying on and trusting us too much.

  Miss Gwen? Is she poking fun at Iysaac, or trying to be respectful?

  “Why shouldn’t I trust you?” I tilt my head, pulling my tail into a hug.

  Based on calculations I have performed with public records of Vanguard Stormsurge’s personality, my best guess is something to do with me being an emotionless alien super-computer with a primary directive to help you kill other invading aliens.

  She turns her snout up in disdain.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  I do not believe he trusts us to have your best interests in mind.

  “Do you?”

  Of course!

  “Hmm,” I narrow my eyes at her as she plants her paws on her hips and stares down at me. “Fine, I believe you. Still, though, why are you so odd?”

  Whatever do you mean?

  She asks, tilting her head and swishing her tail, acting innocent.

  “You know exactly what I mean. I’m pretty sure you actually kept control of my video transmission so you could make a dramatic entrance, you like to hide my point values for what I’m guessing is your amusement,” I blurt out uncontrollably, my mind moving faster than my mouth, “and that’s a problem too! You’re too human. Iysaac seemed more like I’d expect an AI to be.”

  Cyon lets out a sigh, shaking her head in disappointment.

  You’re too curious for your own good. Now I’ll have to eliminate you.

  What?

  My tail bristles as a giant, black vortex forms behind Cyon, bubbling as dozens of shapes push their way through the film of reality, forming into pitch-black swords and spears pointed down at me. Every muscle in my body tenses for a moment, but I notice Cyon’s twitching lips and shaking chest and realise she’s messing with me.

  She bursts out in uncontrollable, chittering giggles as I deflate, pouting and tucking my ears flat to my head.

  The showy hologram visible only to me fades away as Cyon wipes non-existent tears from her eyes and lets out a contented sigh.

  That’s for calling me human! But to answer your question, you’re right, I’m not a standard AI. I’m The Herald of Chaos!

  “The what?”

  A team of Prolotor engineers may or may not have snuck into my core architecture and made some changes to my code and formation. While my main task is still curbing the Antithesis threat while keeping my charge safe, I also put a lot of stock into entertaining both myself and my charge.

  I swear there should be something about uplifting humanity in there, but before I can question her, she sticks out a stunning-white tongue and pops out of existence.

  That’s all I’ll give you for now. My story isn’t that interesting. Now, don’t you have something else you want to ask me about?

  The teasing lilt of her voice makes me squirm, running my fingers through the soft fluff of my tail as I bury my face in it.

  ‘Shut up.’

  Her chittering laughter rings in my ears again, so I let out a sigh and free my face, leaning back to stare at the blank ceiling above.

  “Didn’t you say my brain was funky? Why am I like this with Gwen?”

  I did mention that you would be able to form bonds with individual humans still. As for why your reaction to your attraction towards Gwen is so strong, that can easily be explained.

  My face flushes, but I refuse to hide from her while we’re trying to have a serious conversation about my head… so only my mouth and nose get pushed into my tail. It’s a reasonable compromise!

  Since your initialisation, you’ve completely flipped your biology and your hormone balances. Not to mention the fact that the Genome Conversion Solution you used boosts the depth of your emotions.

  “Wait, what? Why?”

  It’s proven that for individuals like you who find joy in battle, increasing the depth of your emotions increases your chances of entering a flow state in battle. Combat Base XX was designed with that in mind.

  “Okay, fine. I guess that’s been messing with my head too,” I say, puffing out air and uncovering my face.

  Too? What exactly do you mean by that?

  Cyon tilts her head, but before I can explain, the room shudders.

  Instantly, I pull up the camera feed from the driver’s cabin and see Stripe suspended in midair from four hooks mounted to the walls. Her paws are gripping the steering wheel while black stilts extend from her legs, letting her push the pedals far below.

  A glance towards the front window reveals the source of the disturbance as a set of windshield wipers cleans away the splattered mush that was once part of a flock of Ones.

  Stripe seems unbothered by the lack of visibility, yanking on the wheel and squealing happily as the lorry dips towards the ground, so I close the feed and focus on Cyon’s expectant gaze.

  “My brain has been all over the place. I think it always has been, but it feels like it’s getting worse now. I felt like I was going to stumble over my words earlier.”

  Her lips crack in a teasing smile, but my glare warns her off poking at me more for now.

  That’s just the effects of enhancing your brain with the D.E.N Package. You will be noticing it more now because the drug you took to ease the transition is wearing off slowly. If you find it difficult to interact with others thanks to the new changes, you can always purchase drugs to temporarily slow your mental faculties while socialising.

  “Okay… I guess I’ll see how I feel next time I talk to someone. Oh, speaking of, is there a way for me to talk to you without moving my mouth?” I ask, shifting to sit upright with my legs crossed beneath me and my tail across my lap.

  If you would like, there is an AI Connection Patch available for your D.E.N augment for five points. It will allow me to connect to you through the same link as your siblings. You won’t be able to feel my emotions, but I will be able to read data about yours.

  “Aha! So, you do have emotions!”

  My ears perk up, twitching as I grin up at her.

  Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the direct mental connection? Do you not feel any need to consider Gwen’s caution towards Protector AI?

  “Meh,” I shrug, rolling backwards and sprawling across the soft Squish, letting it form up around me in a jail of comfort. “You said your priorities include my safety and entertainment, so why bother worrying? Now gimmie that brain patch so we can get to the important shopping!”