"Hey, saw you across the street looking gloomy as all fuck, what's the damage girl?" 

"Huh? What's... what's up?"

"You. Looking so miserable it's got me in a bad mood right before I cook the most depressing meal of my adult life. See? You know you can actually make a pretty good meal using instant noodles as a base but I don't got any ingredients and they keep hiking up the barter."

"Um... why are you talking to me?"

"If I eat these plain noodles and remember your face at the same time, it's likely to kickstart some bummer depressive episode that ends with me bleeding out after trying to rob some better grub and getting jumped. Or I'll blow my brains out, all over you, right now. Serves you right for kicking me while I'm down, sulking in the street like some sorry stray."

"I don't... don't have any money."

"That makes fucking two of us then, wanna go find some?"

"You mean... find a job?"

"That's not what I said and you know it. Gal I was running with cut me out and now I'm eating like shit for god knows how long, I'm suddenly motivated by spite to make heaps of fat cash I can rub in her face before I find her and... well."

"Oh fuck.... is that a gun?"

"Are you stupid? Wanna get shot? ...maybe don't answer that. Here, for the tears."

"Um, thanks."

"Say um one more time and I shoot you. Right here, you'd drop like a pretty fly and people would probably pass this spot for days before someone cleaned you up."

"Can you stop saying such scary things?"

"Why? Fear's thrilling, ain't it? You look like you could do with a few cheap thrills in your life, if you're just gonna spend your days moping you might as well roll with me. Let me boss you around a bit before you reach out to your parents and start 'finding yourself' or whatever the hell proper people do. Just dip your toes in the dark side a little and see if you like it, eh?"

"Like... committing crime?"

"Gotta commit to something, weepy. I'll be your big sis, even if we get caught I'll be the one who gets all the blame and you'll have a little slap on your wrist. A nice bit of thrill before the fun factor in your life freezes over entirely. How old are ya?"

"Uh... 19. I'm turning 20 in a month, but..."

"Don't know if you'll make it? God, teenage runaways are so dramatic! C'mere, stand up. Oh, she's tall. Lemme just dust you off, this part of the city's fuckin' filthy, girl. Eh, you don't look half bad. I'm 24, so I'm your big sis. Heh... the name's uh... one sec."

"What are they? Oh... lipstick?"

"You can call me... Beauty. And you're Sweetheart. Got that, Sweetheart? Take my hand, it'll be exciting or I'll give you your moneyback guaranteed! Oh wait, we're both flat fuckin' broke... I'll split my noodles for now. Begrudgingly."

"O-okay just... don't call me that, it's embarrassing. My name's J--"

"Sweetheart, don't be difficult. It's easier if we don't learn names, okay? Plus this one suits you so well, it's already stuck."

"Ah... got it."

"Right, onward march. I got enemies in this sector, ones with more ammo than I have noodles and it's shit bartering anyway. Coming, Sweetheart?"

"Eh? Y-yeah, I guess."

And that's how I met Beau, how my life became inexplicably entwined with hers during the lowest point of my youth that I'm now realising was a gentle breeze in the face of the hurricane awaiting me on those desolate city streets. I felt so worthless at that time, I was all too happy to be swept up in somebody else's story while trying so desperately to outpace my own. It's hard to keep pace these days, everything's just so accelerated. 

A woman with unmistakeable presence walks across broken tiles in mismatched sandals, groaning as she bleeds from her forehead and drops down onto beaten sofa with a dramatic sigh. Having grabbed some ice from the freezer and packed it into a plastic bag wrapped in hand towel, she holds it against her head and locks eyes with me. One of her eyes is a radiant amber, the other flooded red from her hacked neurals and both seeming to glow in this dim light. "Power out again? Ahhhh, this city can suck my--"

"Are you hurt?" I quickly step over to Beauty with that worried look that always makes her want to tease me, rolling my eyes in anticipation of sarcastic response. 

"Jumped by Citadel sweepers, they're clearing out the sectors bit by bit but I thought A-6 would still be safe for a quick drop, just my fuckin' luck eh? You're looking cute today, Sweet, you know I give you all the clean clothes and all the pretty shit like nice dresses on purpose right? That sorta thing's wasted on me, kinda funny--"

"Don't change the subject!" I raise a pan from the table like I'm about to whack her into better senses, heaven knows I've tried. Our apartment's a complete shithole, an entirely inconspicuous sight in this forsaken city we call a home. Nakami hasn't really been liveable for a long time, the sector my parents came from and others like it were evacuated and subsequently overrun a while back now. I don't even know where they live these days and frankly... I don't think I care. I stopped being homesick sometime around march last year, when I realised I'd been clinging to Beau for an entire year already and hadn't looked back. It's a horrible life, I've no idea why I love it so much. "You didn't have a spotter did you? Went out by yourself and got the crap beat out of you, again. I should have been there..."

Beauty's eyes narrow as she looks me over sternly, acting the big sister she's been since the day she ran across me in my sulk. I raise my eyes to meet her, noticing that her hacked neurals are on the fritz again, she's practically blind in one eye with the amount of warnings and error messages that must be flooding her right side. Stupid piece of junk. "Not while you have studying to do, dumbass. 'Sides, I'm doing this to send you to a nice school like your folks prolly wanted, not that I could give two cherry fucks what they want. If I get you caught up in my illicit activities again, you won't wanna go back to books believe me. It's better this way, you're too damned smart to be a deadbeat dropping in the streets one day and being forgotten in all that dust 'n' grime." She gives me a disarming smile in attempt to shut me up with sheer charm, which usually works too well. 

"You're just... a mess." I raise her a pout and crouch down, holding onto her knees and presenting her nostalgic sulk. Beauty pets my hair as I fill the space between those obnoxiously spread legs. Looking up at her, she really hasn't changed much at all from that day while I'm a stranger to my former self. Plasters plaster her face and her bright bubblegum hair is still shaved at the back and sides while draping down from the top, a look that suits her just too well. A baggy tank top hangs from her rosy shoulders, her sports bra practically on full display beneath it alongside the myriad scars across her torso. 

"Right? Business as usual then, I'm always a damn mess! If I'm real good and sit still while you do my stiches this time, can I have a beer from the icebox?" She tries her best attempt at puppy dog eyes and I hate myself for blushing, this woman's so unreasonable. 

"You shouldn't have to be coerced into letting me patch you up, but fine. At least let me take a look at that police neural, I just finished cracking the new OS. It's offline only right now, they can sniff out jailbroken tech way too easily now the citadel folks are involved." I sit across from her and pull heavy duty laptop onto my thighs, smiling lightly at the comments about giving me nicer clothing when I look down at my dress. The only one without burn marks or deep stains, I've got a denim skirt I absolutely adore... despite the blood. 

Beauty snorts, realising I'm going to prioritise the tech over closing up that cut on her poor head. I may get carried away sometimes, but it's her fault for getting me hooked on this sorta thing in the first place. "Well look at miss hacker, don't get too good at this stuff or those white haired freaks'll recruit you, make you one of them and their big undying conquest. Their idea of liberating the city made it a fine shithole, right? Pretty weird if you ask me."

"What I'm doing isn't hacking, but ah... you really don't like them? We're all on the same side of the law right, criminals holing up in this place we're ordered to evacuate. Plus, we're using similar methods, like the neurals." I feel like I'm inadvertently fighting for a cause I definitely don't believe in, I just don't want Beau to start antagonising the lawless pack that forms the top of the pecking order here in the dead sectors.

Beauty waves her hand dismissively, looking a little pained. "Well I need this to stand a chance out there, it's basic defence to blend in right? If I don't go out pre-hacked I'll just be inviting someone, a whitehead no doubt, to go and pop my cherry. Don't be purposely obtuse to win an argument, dear. Er... as for the evacuation crap, you really believe that amnesty bull? They don't just have free empty homes lying in wait in the other cities and they're not so forgiving either, probably rounding Nakami residents up into places you don't see or hear about. Now the Citadel's involved I'm sure of it, maybe your parents and all the other folks with actual cash and careers are doing fine but people like us? This shithole is all we have, lawless and fuckin' free."

"Mmh, you're free to get another nasty headwound tomorrow, too."

"Damn fuckin' right I am!" 

I give my big sister a sweetened smile, closing my laptop after ejecting the portable memory drive and moving to sit beside her on the couch. "Don't fuss, you always fuss..." I grumble as I fiddle with her port, Beauty tensing up immediately. Up close, she smells of sweat, cigarettes and gunpowder. Why does it drive me so crazy? She obviously needs a shower but... it can wait. After almost two years I'm accustomed to her scent, it's a little comforting if I'm honest. Nothing stinks worse than the dead, this is someone who's living life to her fullest ability. 

"It ain't right to be poking around in people's heads. Gives me the creeps. I'm not into that religious crap like the starfuckers in the Citadel, but it just ain't right... y'know?" Beauty leans her head onto mine as that pink hair drapes over me, making me more flustered than I care to admit. I'm just trying to do some maintenance so that she has better mapping out there when the dust kicks up, but she's a shameless flirt with her found family. "You feel the same way, right? Those shitheads can hack as many robots as they like and wage war, but people, folks with bleeding hearts... you shouldn't mess with that, right?"

I've never heard her sound so unsure, so vulnerable. It's a sore spot, Beauty idolises the concept of free will to the utmost extreme. She could never understand the act of bending another person's will with these neural implants, even in the name of a worthy cause. Could I? "Of course, it's... not right."

If I knew then who I'd later become, I wouldn't have been able to lie to my sister with such a straight face.

I hear the shower running and try to contain my surprise, kicking my legs up onto the table in front of me as I return to my laptop and immediately regret it. Looks like the time to pay the price has come up quicker than I'd anticipated, an email from that nutcase that did the hacking job for me sits on the screen like a bad omen. Beauty would never be able to understand my contacting those people, but if I didn't figure out a way to update her implant she'd have kept getting more nasty wounds and I'd just be waiting for the day she didn't come home at all. So I struck a deal with those white haired renegades, new software in return for my help on a job when the need arose. I wasn't sure what to expect, figuring I couldn't possibly be much help to the most powerful gang in the city, but I guess they've found something even I can be of use for. 

Hesitantly, I click on the email and realise I'm going to have to decrypt it first, which does no good for my fraying nerves. It's like opening a letter you've been dreading for months, like a bill or maybe a fine, but then finding out there's a second damn envelope inside before you can rip the band aid off. I think I'm more nervous about Beauty finding out and being disappointed in me than I am about the job itself, work is work and after dipping my toes in a life of crime there isn't a whole lot that really fazes me anymore. I've seen Beauty shoot somebody who was attempting to have their way with me, I still remember the smell of gunpowder and the ringing in my ears from that day. For all I know the man could have died, I think the thought kept me up once but I'm not so yellow anymore. He deserves it, doesn't he?

My eyes trace the location before reading the bulk of the email and I let out a small sigh of relief, it's only a couple blocks away so I won't have to worry about travelling on my own too much. It isn't something Beau has any right to berate me for given she does it herself, but she's very protective of me and I know it'd start a fight I wouldn't win. In the past we could have gotten around on the skyrail, but the only one still functioning in Nakami is the one passing the station on the edge of the city. I'm shocked it still sees use, though anybody with any sense knows to avoid the routes that even think to pass by this wasteland of a city. 

The job looks simple enough, it's something I can do after all. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the implications being made here, but it says I won't remember anything anyway. It's something I have to do for our safety, so it's not too difficult for me to accept, but again... I'm not sure that Beauty would see it that way. It's my damn body, she needs to learn when to stop sticking her nose into every facet of my life. 

Heavy footfalls she should really work on if she insists to sneak around doing drops all day signal Beauty's return, the woman's hair dripping water all over the charred rug below her. "Hey, never heard of a towel?" I give her a little more sass than usual, still worked up over thinking about how she'd react to this job I have to do for us. 

She looks caught off guard by the bite in my voice and I quickly soften in realisation of my harsh tone, closing my laptop sheepishly. "We only have one and it's yours... Don't want my stink all over it."

"I have two... it's not my fault yours ended up as makeshift gauze! I'm shocked you haven't died of infection. Just take one of mine, drippy." I smile to let her know I'm not really mad, a year ago I never would have noticed that I had any sway on this beast's emotions but she's more human than anyone, just as fragile. I'd do well to remember that sometimes. 

Beauty sits herself down beside me and pulls my legs onto her lap, making me place my laptop down and lay back against the armrest. She always pampers me like this to get her way and it always works, I'm not the one who needs a massage when she's been on her feet all day without me, but I don't say that. "Heh, I'm just that resilient clearly. And nah, those towels are yours, I'm not in the business of taking from the one person I actually give a shit about."

My cheeks tint red and I throw my head over the armrest until I'm staring upside-down at the wall opposite me. Hair drapes over the messy floor but it's worth it to hide this embarrassment on my face. Rough fingers knead between my toes slowly, firmly, and I let my eyes fall closed for a while. 

My eyes flicker open to the sight of a dimly lit ceiling fan that hasn't made a rotation in years, realising Beauty must have carried me into bed. I'm embarrassed to have fallen asleep against her touch, turning my head to find that she's not laying beside me despite the midnight black stretching over the window. Light spills into the room through a crack in the door, telling me she's still awake which is certainly a change of pace when I usually have to fight through her snoring to get any rest in this place. The bed feels lonely without her in it... it's times like these I'm reminded all too well that we're not really sisters, though I can never quite tell if she feels the same way as I do. We spend too much time being stubborn to speak on such matters openly, it's not so bad really. I'm sure we've got plenty of time to open that can of worms down the line. 

Doesn't look like I'm getting back to sleep any time soon, I'm far too nosy to not go and spy on what's keeping Beauty up so late. Shifting out of bed and into my well worn slippers, I creak the door further ajar and lock eyes with Beauty sitting on the couch in deep concentration. She's so lost in thought that she doesn't notice me at first, making me wonder if she's browsing her implant before we finally lock eyes. 

"You left your laptop on." She states bluntly, gesturing to the hefty thing on the table without looking away. The lid is open, making my privacy feel a bit violated before I remember the only way to turn it off is to open it and I left it right on that decrypted email like a dumbass.

"So you're spying on me now?" I know I just gave a good excuse for her, but I'm feeling indignant, embarrassed for being caught hiding something from her all the same. 

Beauty doesn't say anything, which makes me feel worse than any words could have hoped to. I shamble over to her and sit down with my arms crossed, dropping my head into her lap stubbornly. The woman rubs my cheek, still looking upset. 

"I had to..." I search her for understanding, she must have figured out I got the OS from somewhere, she's not so clueless. 

"And this job tomorrow, you were planning on going alone?" Her hand slides down to my chin, tilting me to look at her when I try to turn away.

"I have to..." I mumble again, sounding as pathetic as she's making me feel. Why does she have to treat me like such a princess, it's not fair. This isn't the same woman I met all those moons ago, the one who threatened to blow my brains out for lowering her mood. 

"I'll go instead." She declares with an air of finality I refuse to accept, glaring up at her defiantly.

"No you won't. That's not how it works, if I don't show up they won't open the door." I'm not going to let her win this one, my feelings are hurt that she's being so ungrateful when I'm only doing this for her sake. No, that's not quite right. My motivations were much more selfish, maybe she sees right through me. 

Beauty groans in frustration, holding my face stubbornly, refusing to let me go. "Then I'm coming with you. We run together, like before."

"That's... not fair." She's been making me hang back and study for entrance exams for months now, her plan is to put me on that skyrail at the station and see the back of me. I'll never go on that train car without her, I don't care what she says. 

"Indulge me anyway?" Her smile is as charming as always, how could I ever hope to say no?

Two Nakami City strays cut across an empty block with hands in their pockets and hoods pulled over their heads, masks protecting them from the dust and preserving anonymity. Eventually we reach a building that looks as abandoned as any other, a high rise covered in graffiti all the way down to imposing metal door. When I hesitate, Beauty steps forwards and raps on the door impatiently even if the Sentinel drones should keep all those with red neurals safe from city sweepers in this sector. The city first fell into chaos when the autonomous droids meant to enforce law were turned against their masters within a week, a fatal flaw of security that'll forever go down in history as the greatest failing of modern technology. They rushed them out too quickly all for the sake of better metrics.

A small camera we hadn't even noticed comes to life at the corner of the door and looks us over. I realise I need to remove my hood and mask, doing so before the door promptly opens. I'll later find out that they weren't scanning my face but my biodata, comparing it to known records, freaky. We're ushered inside and led into a dingy room that looks like it should be used for interrogation rather than briefing, me and Beauty sitting down on the metal bench lining the back wall as a white haired member of Nakami's most infamous, nameless gang closes the door behind them. 

"What's with the plus one, doll? Not what we agreed on but we just checked her out and she's worked with us before, not a trace of fed we can find... heh, you bring muscle?" The gang member removes their hood and looks us over, their red neural would be an imposing sight if I wasn't so used to it with Beauty. 

Beauty tugs on her collar, sitting forwards. "Here to make sure this stupid girl of mine isn't gonna throw her life away for your shitty cause and certainly not for a lost one like me. Find something for me to do, like you said being muscle suits me just fine. Leave the tech shit to her and I'll be a spotter, a fighter or anything you need me to be."

The white haired career criminal looks Beauty over with a poorly concealed smirk. "Well you're certainly not suited for her role, I can say that with some certainty. But fine, we're low on brawn so you're a sight for sore eyes if I'm honest. All goes well you won't need to throw a punch though nor pull out what you're packing, this is a standby assignment you got it? It means you stand the fuck by unless we update your orders."

"Yeah yeah, like you said. I've run with you dickheads before when I was fresher and a hell of a lot stupider. I know the drill, Hacker." 

"Oh, you're!" I pause, realising I just blurted out the words without thinking. This is the person I got the software for Beauty from in the first place, it seems Beauty knows her but the recognition doesn't go both ways. Does that mean this person is relatively high in the chain of command here?

Hacker grins, looking us both over a second time. "So this is who you wanted that new operating system for? You'll want to change it out every few years, the driver gets corrupted as you well know. The human body is so stubborn, wants to reject anything foreign that interacts with it, even our implants don't fare too well in the long term."

"Thank you." I feel embarrassed saying this in front of Beauty, but it may well have saved her life so I feel some gratitude is warranted even we're already paying her back with this job. Beauty seems to have misread the email at least, thinking I'm just going to be cracking something like I used to. That's fine, I think it's better this way, she'll be preoccupied keeping guard and will never have to know the extent of what I'd do for her. I think she'd hate me for it, or worse...

"Right then. I'm afraid you're going to have to go in separate cars to the venue. We tend to brief people only on their part of the job for obvious reasons, so be patient girls."

Beauty nods through gritted teeth, I can tell she hates this and feel like I was right for wanting to come alone, it'd have been easier if I had. I squeeze her hand and she turns to look at me, staring at my lips for a second before turning and spitting onto the floor with a resigned growl. It'll all be okay after this job, we just need to get through it. 

"See you on the other side."

"She doesn't know does she?" Hacker's voice is dripping with a sick sense of amusement I don't much care for as she drags me through the corridor, Beauty having been asked to wait for somebody else to collect her. I shrug the comment off, not wanting to talk about my personal affairs with this person, with anybody. Least of all Beauty, apparently. "Still, colour me impressed that you actually seem to have cracked that new OS I sent you, we're still working on it here, you some kinda savant?"

"I... no. It was something I had an interest in back when I lived a much cushier life than this one, they kept restricting everything more and more so who wouldn't want to just get rid of all those dumb limitations?" I walk behind her timidly, giving a light, nostalgic smile remembering the days where the biggest issues in my life were not being able to access certain apps on my phone. 

"Too fucking true, bit of a leap I'm not understanding here, still. You're not part of a group?" Her grip around my wrist is tight enough to hurt, but I'm used to a little rough handling so ignore it.

"No... a man sheltered us for a couple of months, I learned a lot from him about this stuff, I had a keen interest cause I felt it was something I could do to help Beauty." I feel embarrassed for spilling all this to a stranger, but it's cathartic to talk about it with anyone really. "Wasn't much else to do while we couldn't go outside, that and I actually enjoy it."

Hacker stops and turns, assessing me for honesty with her implant... again, freaky. "Shit, you really did it by yourself? Some stray showing us up, know where this guy is now?"

I give her a bitter smile and my words almost don't need to be said. "Where most people who stay in Nakami for too long end up, most don't make it as far as he did though, I think he was in his sixties he never said."

Hacker nods coldly, then says the words I was waiting for, waiting to reject as quickly as I can. "And you, fancy working for us more permanently? We're going to turn this city into a parad--"

"I-I'm not interested, sorry." If I'm not polite I might antagonise them, though Beauty appears to be less concerned with that than I am. 

"That's too bad. Come, just through here. No turning back now, you get that right?" Hacker pushes me through the door to an intimidating room full of more white haired members, a reclining chair sitting in the middle of the room with straps for wrists and ankles bolted onto it. 

"It's only temporary, right? So it's fine... and I won't remember?" I look at all the effort it takes them to successfully override one human implant with false memories and wonder if there isn't a way to improve the process dramatically. Technology is constantly progressing, evolving, so there must be ways to streamline this. I'd take a crack at it myself, but it'd feel like I'm betraying Beauty's ideals.

"That's right, we appreciate you doing this. Nobody here cleans up very well at all, you're a diamond in the rough in this city, haha. No idea how you've managed to stay so pristine, lucky girl." Hacker's words play on my mind as I'm led into the middle of the room, told to strip out of my clothes else I'll overheat during the brainjacking. I'm only in such a well kept condition because Beauty's been protecting me since the day she came across me, even if she used to at least pretend we shared an equal sense of danger in our outings. Such a heroine, but this time I'm the one looking out for her.

It's strange being naked in a room full of people, even stranger that nobody else seems to care at all, their indifferent looks creating a suffocating atmosphere. Hacker notices me tensing up and asks to administer a shot she prepared. "You'll want this trust me, there can be erratic side effects if you're emotionally volatile during the process. Any tinkering with implants gets more dangerous the less calm you are, so may I?" I nod weakly, feeling the cool leather of the chair against my bare back and wondering if they intend to use those restraints on me. "Not necessary since you're being good and accepting the shot, you've no idea how many wackos we get who tell me they don't want a needle anywhere near them, it's no good working on people like that."

"Oh, you do this often then?" I feel the syringe against hot skin and close my eyes, lightly biting my lip until the sting subsides. I peek through one eye to see how she's doing and realise she already finished, sighing with a bashful grin. 

"This? No, but our initiation has similar risks, maybe you'll find out one day hm?" The woman pushes me back down and my body obliges her sluggishly, feeling an unnatural calm begin to wash over me that I'm supposed to be grateful for. I'm glad Beauty's not here for once.

I roll my eyes, and then my eyes begin to roll. "Not... likely... mmh, can we start now?" 

"My, someone's impatient." Hacker chuckles, gesturing to two of her fellows and brushing hair behind my ear as she assesses my port. "Someone in this life with a mostly clean implant, here I thought you'd at least install that software on your own neural too. We're going to have to jailbreak it from scratch, someone fetch the glove and make sure it's on the right program." One of the assistants picks up a gauntlet covered in loose wires plugged into a laptop resting on an icebox. Again, this seems so impractical, inefficient, but how could you improve it?

Hacker slides her hand into the glove and flexes her fingers, rubbing some kind of gel onto my temple before touching the cold metal to my head, all five fingers coated in metal plates that make my head start to fuzz. As someone crouches down to tap away at the laptop keyboard, I feel the plates begin to heat up and my neural implant begins to go haywire with error messages that flash by too quickly to read, accelerating in frequency as pop up after pop up floods my vision. The malware bypasses the firewall protecting my mind with relative ease, it's no wonder they managed to hack into the Sentinel program so easily, this tech really isn't up to scratch.

The heat from her gloved fingers slowly spreads through my entire body and I soon realise why they needed me to undress, my skin feels sweltering hot and I start to sweat heavily against the leather recliner with my eyes lightly crossing. "There you go, girl, just try and relax as best you can. Don't fight it, you're being a good little helper today I need you to remember that. I... don't really need you to remember anything else for a while, though. Your memories, your personality, will be well taken care of and returned. I mean we're not actually taking them away, just locking them up for a while as we slap on some temporary new ones. Hey, this can be your briefing too, it won't be a particularly long drive given what little traffic we get on Nakami's roads these days!"

I feel the buzz penetrating my mind and grit my teeth, a trickle of drool escaping from the corner of my mouth and rolling down my slick neck, all I can seem to focus on is how hot I feel. It's like Sweetheart's melting away, and as much as I hate to admit it... that's not an unpleasant feeling. I already forgot one name, what's another? 

"The city's upper sectors are the only place where us whiteheads don't hold all the power, see? So naturally it's still pretty popular, not to mention profitable, for the more sketchy activities of those with more wealth than they could care to spend. There's a... private establishment that we've good intel one of our high priority targets is gonna be enjoying themselves at tonight. Real classy joint, where the girls there call themselves companions instead of whores or whatever. It's a place still trusted by the folks with deep pockets and unhappy marriages, meaning our kind aren't usually able to get within a ten foot pole of the place. Well let's just say they fucked up on that front, it's a fragile agreement we got with 'em right now based on a little blackmail you sure as shit don't need to know about, so we're pretty limited in what we can do there if we wanna keep the peace. Owned by a rival gang who likes money more than they care for a cause, I guess. Here's the rub... we cause too much noise and make our presence there obvious enough to hurt their rep and it's back to warring, or worse. At the same time, they don't even wanna know what we're up to, we agreed to this one night stand with them and that's it. Another caveat, we're not to involve their girls... that's where you come in, doll. They're not so protective of one of ours in their place, but most of us are pretty fucking war torn be it through actual fighting, bad hygiene or uh, self augmentation. You clean up nice, you're perfect for this job. Noble jackasses think they have some code of honour running a brothel, won't let us film their girls without consent and yeah, they don't wanna be involved in that crap with us. You just need to look pretty and smile for the camera, this guy'll be in our pocket forever after that. These Citadel fucks are too easy, ego rules them even better than their vices."

I absorb the words distantly, feeling like I've floated a good foot or so from the reclining chair, my vision too blurry to bother with currently. I'm beginning to remember things I haven't experienced and forget those I have, being replaced piece by piece like the Ship of Theseus. My new personality starts to override and I rub my thighs together idly, chewing on my lip with my eyes fluttering provocatively. I'm just some whore... why did I think I was anything more than that, again?

But I'm like, a good whore. I'm a companion, the place I work for values and respects me... I think. When I spread my legs I'm well compensated and best of all, I love doing it regardless. Hell if I weren't a professional I'd probably just be some street slut handing out free fucks for fun, I'm just built to be bred. Hacker runs her hand over my chest and my body gives an appropriately erotic response, a tight coo escaping from between these lewd, luscious lips of mine. I want her to fuck me already, but I'm a professional so I exercise restraint. I guess I'll have to be good and wait for the next client, my shift starts soon or so she tells me. My heads still a little groggy, must be the drugs again. 

"Hey, easy now." Hacker slips out of the jailbreaking glove and holds my burning cheek, playfully running her thumb over my soft lips. Unable to help myself, I take her thumb into my mouth and suck on it seductively, making sure to maintain eye contact and even giving a playful wink. "Ah, perfect. You'll do nicely, just show them a good time in there, love. You know how, right?"

I nod demurely, still sucking on her thumb nice and slow. Suddenly being nude doesn't feel so bad, in fact I think it's preferable to all that stuffy clothing. Still, there's nothing better than some proper lingerie. One of the assistants brings some in for me to try on once I'm able to stand, guided over to the mirror and finding something that suits me best. Red lace!

It's gonna be one hell of a night.

Beauty somehow ended up undercover as server in the downstairs bar where these corrupt rich folks mingle before and after their forays into the dark. The cities may be excellent places for their capitalistic pursuits but restrictions imposed by the Citadel's wide umbrella of control means that simple pleasures such as these are harder and harder to come by. Puritanical values from the floating fortress city ruins the fun for all of us on the surface, how unfair. Not even pornography is legal anymore save for the obvious loopholes, so these loveless pricks are all pent up, their wives just don't even bother to pretend anymore and so they find themselves on the edge of Nakami. A paradise city in name only, though perhaps it can be a garden of pleasure for the lucky few with means to pay.

"Ugh..." The woman's hair is slicked back and she dons the male waiter's garb, crossdressing with surprising effectiveness despite the unnatural colour of her hair. It's been a while since she dressed up, but Beauty's a little flattered at the compliments given to her by the waitresses who seem to be whispering about her like she can't hear. Do they think she's a man in earnest, some handsome new coworker ready to whisk them away to untold heights in the breakroom? The thought makes Beauty grin, getting into the role a little too eagerly even while she's slamming down drinks ungraciously. 

"See I'm not the only one, figures." Hacker wipes down the bar and Beauty leans over it from the other side, forgetting for a moment that she's staff and not another customer, bars are too familiar to her even if it's been a long while since she had enough disposable income to frequent one. The stray butch looks over at her white haired employer, that waistcoat looks good on her she'll admit, seems she's got a binder on too unless she's just as poorly endowed as Beauty herself.

"Here's to us, eh? You got a princess too or are freaks like you too emotionally stunted for that sorta thing?" Beauty can't help but push her luck, never quite knowing when to pull back and let something go. 

Hacker gives her a calm look in response, having the decency not to unload her ace in the hole, her knowledge of where that aforementioned princess is right now. "What makes you assume I like women?" She smirks and starts polishing a glass, Beauty cocking her head. 

"Um, everything?" 

The two exchange a smile before parting, their alliance built on as fragile a foundation as the two gangs involved in this operation, but they've at least managed to find common ground for the time being. The night progresses on and Beauty gets a taste of working a real job for the first time in nearly a decade, getting lost in the swing of things as she's given a tray of food and drink to carry upstairs into one of the private rooms. That's where the real business takes place, she assumes, smart enough to have figured out the sort of establishment this place is even if they never elected to fill her in. Honestly, taking a girl like Sweet to a place like this is liable to overwhelm her, she wonders with a dumb smile if she's going to have to run her Sweetheart through the birds and the bees once they're back home. 

Beauty ascends the steps more carefully than she usually would, knowing she has to be quiet even if acting with discipline feels beyond her. The handsome woman gently knocks on the door with worn out knuckles, hearing a man call her inside and stepping into the room with practiced indifference. She knows how to carry herself for a job at least. 

"Ah, drinks!" One of the men calls out. They're all wearing suits you'd never guess cost more than a year's salary working this job Beauty acts out all too well. Their belts are all undone and their shirts are a mess, but at least they had the decency to dress themselves at all before a member of staff waltzed in with their next batch of poison. Beauty half wonders if a stronger poison might be better for them than this intoxicating swill, glancing over at the girl curled up in one of the men's laps, clinging to his jacket so pathetically. Just one to share between the four of them, huh? Passing the poor thing around as they no doubt spout the most awful shit you could ever hope to overhear. 

"Want some booze, Mia?" One of the men reach for a bottle and another slaps his wrist. 

The whore, Mia, lifts her head with a giggle and tilts it back over her shoulder to look at the tray Beauty just carried inside. She locks eyes with the lingering waiter, her lips glossy and her dress smeared. Beauty stands petrified by the sight as recognition dawns on her, realising that it's a recognition that only goes one way. 

"You can fuck off now." One of the men places himself between Beauty and Mia, putting his hand on the woman's chest and pushing her firmly with an insistent glint in his eyes. These people don't like hearing no, it's as foreign to them as the memories forced into Sweetheart's head. Beauty steps backwards through the door's threshold and watches it slam closed before her. 

Beauty backs up against the wall and stares at the door with dead eyes, playing the scene back in her head and knowing she can't lie to herself even for a second. It wasn't her, but it was. Sweetheart's in that room right now, servicing those rich pieces of shit with her body. Does she have her lips wrapped around one of their cocks right now? A rage so white it freezes her makes Beauty drop the silver tray in her hands and stand there aimlessly for the next half hour. She can't hear any sound coming from the room so she only has her own masochistic imagination to fill all the blanks. That and the state of the woman who steps out of the room, exhausted and delirious. Beauty steps forward quickly to catch the girl in her strong arms and holds her up until she finds her footing in those disgustingly high heels they've put her in. Sweetheart, Mia, looks up with a dizzy smile and pushes against Beauty's shoulders. 

"What're you--" Beauty's back slams against the wall as Mia's body presses against her lazily, delicate arms snaking around her neck and holding tight.

"Are you my next client, love? Mmh, shy ones are fun too~" Mia leans in to plant a kiss on Beauty's lips but the prideful butch pushes her away before they can touch. Her lips are tainted, she'd just be tasting someone else. Beauty pulls the napkin from her breast pocket and wipes the whore's face clean, staring down at the state of her. 

"Where's your underwear?" The woman asks in a cold tone, unable to figure out her own feelings in this moment. 

"They took it as a souvenir, obviously. It was ruined anyway, so..." Mia giggles like an airhead and Beauty feels her knuckles turning white with such clenched fists, not knowing she could be made to feel this way. It's an emotion she's never even heard of, one she couldn't begin to describe. She's not even sure if she's breathing. 

A set of uniform footfalls slowly get louder and gloved hand presses against the side of Mia's head, a duffel bag hoisted over Hacker's shoulder. "Don't worry, they're all conked out on red powder in there, won't be coming out any time soon." The whitehead who arranged this job slowly returns Sweetheart's memories, my memories, and as promised I don't remember a thing. I can feel the exertion though, and this dirty taste in my mouth I'll need to wash out. "Be careful and watch your step, you'll be a little groggy for around an hour but otherwise you're fine. Good work, ladies, now lets just get the fuck out of here without causing a scene okay? I'll leave you to have a moment but don't take the piss, I'm trusting you to carry this princess out of here alright?" Hacker gives Beauty a dirty look that only confuses me, what was that about a princess?

With the whitehead leaving us alone, Beauty removes her fancy jacket and wraps it around my shoulders, kissing me on the forehead with a scary look in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong? We... we did the job, right? Let's go home."

"I can't." Beauty smiles wryly, wiping something off my cheek with her thumb and giving a resigned look I don't like. 

"We can walk right out of here scot free, Beauty. I chose to do this, I had to. I did it for you. Be mad at me!"

"I'm not mad at you. I shouldn't have kept you so pretty, I'm such a..."

"Beau, what are you going to do..."

"They touched my girl." 

"They'll kill you... please. We can leave. We can talk about it later. We can leave..."

"I know, but I can't." Beauty shakes, gripping the firearm at her hip and leaning in to kiss my forehead a second time. This one lasts a painfully long time, like there won't be another. Her lips stop trembling and I hear the sound of the safety clicking free below. 

As the click rings out, I realise that Beauty isn't leaving this building alive. 

I take a step back when she finally releases me, clutching the jacket over my shoulders and knowing not to plead. Beauty simply smiles as charmingly, as disarmingly as ever, the smile that she always gets her way with. Is this all my fault?

My big sister, my loving protector, pushes open the door to find those four doped up jackasses whose faces I no longer remember. I watch her execute them with a tear rolling down my dolled up cheek, knowing well that the people we're working for just watched her do it on that camera they're using for blackmailing purposes. She'll be lucky to even leave this floor, so she doesn't bother leaving the room, looking back at me with a cool grin I hate more than anything right now. "I love ya, princess." She drops the handgun onto the floor and rushing footsteps approach from either side, the whites pushing me onto the ground and filling the room opposite in a flash.

Hacker holds me still and groans. "Dumb bitch... ruined everything." She's infuriated, though her rage is much more typical than Beauty's was. Easier to define in words. The woman looks down at me with disdain, then softens. "I hope it was worth it..." She mutters in a melancholic tone, waving her fingers to the grunts and gently covering my ears with her hands. I try to fight it when I realise, but I'm too weak to do much of anything. A muffled series of bangs run their course, I feel them more than I really hear them. It all happened so quick, every event since having my memories returned to me. I didn't have a chance to process any single event, Hacker cradling my head and pulling it into her chest. The woman shushes me as I cry, petting my hair a little roughly, just like Beauty. 

I sob until I'm spent, collapsing into arms that carry me out of the building and back into the truck.

"Not hungry today, too?" Hacker throws a hard roll of bread at me and I kick it away stubbornly. Doesn't anybody in Nakami City know how to make edible fucking food anymore?

"Just leave me alone, murderer." I pull my knees up into my chest and wonder when they're planning to release me, or kill me. Better yet, fuck with my memories again. Why can't they just make me forget?

I hear the metal door hinges give that harrowing creak and look up expecting to see Hacker leaving already, wondering if she's given up on talking to me entirely after a week of getting nowhere. Instead I find her standing exactly where she had thrown the bread from, another woman entering the room with the clacking of boots signalling her entrance. She has a confident gait suggesting of a high rank, which would explain that uniform that makes her almost appear a dignified military woman. Still, the dyed white hair and blood red neural gives away what she truly is beneath all that repurposed NCPD gear. 

"Murderer you say? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black, Juliet?" That's not my name, but I'm sure she knows that and is only trying to get under my skin. I pay her no mind and glare at hacker, who shrugs. 

"Well you shot Beauty without a trial or anything... it's murder, even if it's an eye for an eye..." I don't want to think about this, why are they making me relive that night again?

"Your friend made a choice that she knew would lead to her death, you could just as well call it a suicide. Better yet, she was driven to that corner by your actions ultimately now wasn't she? You who knew her better than anybody else, who made the choices that led to her taking that path. She didn't want to be there, but you forced her hand, using that love she harboured rather maliciously to get your own way. Did you murder her, Juliet?" The woman cuts across the room and crouches down to the corner I'm slumped in, making me want to suddenly extend my leg and kick her over but... her words are really painful.

"That's... not fair." I lift my head and dry my eyes, who does this bitch think she is?

"It's as reasonable a conclusion as saying we're most responsible simply because we pulled the trigger. Had we not, it would have been the owners of the establishment themselves, they may have kept her alive for days and tortured her slowly. If not them, then the people who are most financially ruined by the deaths of those four men. She chose her fate, gave her life up before we did a thing besides offer you a nice and easy gig. You got her killed, Sweetheart, admit it." Oh, so she does know my name? I search her face for dishonesty but find none, wishing I could refute her claims more easily, but she's only saying what I've secretly been thinking since it happened. 

"Okay... so what? Does that suddenly mean I like you guys? I got the woman I love killed and now I'm gonna dye my hair white and start screaming about making this shithole city into some unattainable paradise? Fuck. Off!" 

The woman gives me a sympathetic smile that makes me want to die, moving even closer. She smells better than most, at least, though she's in my light up close like this. "Okay, okay. I'm glad you're able to understand me so far, I don't blame you one bit for feeling the way you do. You've been through a lot, Sweetheart. Tell me, how would you feel if I told you it wasn't really your fault at all either?"

I perk up and curse myself for being so easy, so weak, looking back down and spitting onto the floor with a shrug. 

"I'm being serious, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. The obvious culprit behind everything. We just finished going through the logs on Beauty's implant and it's plain as day to me, though I've been fighting in this war for a while. Not on the front lines, but I do my part." She's so gentle and patient, it doesn't fit my image of these people at all. It's so annoying. 

"You're just trying to convince me to become one of you..." I want her to leave me alone so badly and at the same time, I need her to keep talking to me like this. I forgot that people like her exist, even if it's all an act.

"Hm." The woman smirks and nods her head, sitting herself down beside me and admitting it freely. "You're not wrong, hon. Hacker told me about your turnaround on the OS and it puts our people to shame, funny to think we're the same force who turned the Sentinel program on its head on day one. I've been asked to recruit you, something Hacker and her goons in this base have been failing miserable at as I can see. They call me handler, I help people transition into their roles here without all that nasty brainjacking business. We don't use it on our own, so do take the fact your neurals have been left well alone as a sign that we consider you one of us even if you're not ready to agree." Handler certainly has a way with words, perhaps if I weren't so tired I'd be better at seeing through them. 

Instead, I just give in to the convenient escape she's promised me. A true culprit, was it? I need her to tell me already so that I can stop feeling so awful. "Please... just continue. Who's responsible, tell me!"

Handler nods, thoughtfully stroking my shoulder even if I recoil at the touch initially. The next moment, I'm accepting it like one of Beauty's massages, indulging in the contact with another human being after going a week without any. 

"The Citadel send their sweep teams more and more regularly in their efforts to 'clean up' this city, don't they? They're not really getting anywhere, only winning back sectors they can't do anything with, ones we willingly relinquished to placate them for a while. If we follow the blame game backwards in time, it was these patrols that caused all of this to take place to begin with wasn't it? You needed to protect her, needed to take that job as fair price and... well, the rest is history. The citadel is to blame for this grief you feel, girl." A hand strokes into my hair and I tilt my head to stare at her more intensely than I ever have at another human being. 

"And why are they attacking us in the first place?" I ask her so coldly I'm surprised I can't see my own frosty breath collapse against her calm face. 

"Ah, I wondered if you'd go there. What do you think the Sentinel program was, Sweetheart? Nakami was a city know for it's gradually rising organised crime, yes, but their solution was to fill our city with inhuman machines that could not be trusted to discriminate between criminal and innocent very accurately. Given how rushed their security measures were, it's no surprise their detection wasn't up to point either. And even if it was, would it make you feel safe for your city to be overrun by these metal soldiers enforcing martial law? You've lived a life of crime long enough to know you can't give them an inch, Sweet. Do you really feel safer with them than us? Organised crime can be dangerous, sure, but a corrupt force like that ruling over everyone... it's hell. We want paradise. It'll take decades, so don't look at the state of this city and make a snide comment on our goals. Your friend sure set us back, but we'll persevere. We are the only people who love this city, I just want you to understand that." Her fingers in my hair feel so fucking good, why am I being so docile? I try to find some obvious flaw in her argument but again I'm too tired to think clearly. 

"It's their fault, really? Is that true? Really?" I drop my head onto her shoulder and close my eyes, thinking. I'm thinking... 

"Yes, I wouldn't lie to you. They're not just my enemy, or your enemy. They're our enemy, which means we're all unified in pushing back against them. We're all on the same side, nobody wishes for the infighting that tends to occur from time to time. Not to be crude, love, but the way I see it... if you don't fight for this city, your friend's death will have been in vain. She'll have died for nothing, but if it causes you to see the light. Doesn't that give a positive ending to the entire, sordid affair? It'll give you both purpose, I think. Wouldn't you like that?" Her voice is like fucking velvet, wrapping me up in her lies. Maybe... maybe they're not all lies. Or white lies, at least, ones that I could do with. As white as that soft hair that smells so perfect. 

"You mean... become one of you? Dye my hair and help with your tech?" I gorge myself on her comforting scent, her softness, and for some reason the woman allows me to indulge. She's quite generous, I don't think I ever want to leave her shoulder, it's my home now.

"What else would you do with your talents now that you have nothing left to protect?" Ah, her words sound so harsh and yet I can't deny the truth in them.

"Nothing..." I mutter weakly, wanting her to tell me what to do even if I despise myself for it. 

"Then become one of us." It's like a command, something simple for me to follow in my weakness. 

"Okay."

"Guess I was right, doll!" Hacker guides me down onto the reclining chair I once let her turn me into a begging slut on, this time I'm here for initiation into their little cult. "To be back here so soon, ain't I good? So this is more or less the same process that the enforcers at the NCPD used, overclocking your implant so that you can use your neural to the fullest. It's dumb and risky, to be honest, but it gives us some nifty tricks you can't otherwise do. Heightened perception, faster processing meaning you can basically slow down time. It's more of an altered state of mind, accelerating your thinking and such, but it sounds cooler to put it the other way right? To compensate for how fucking batshit it is to even do this, may I remind you these were your regular officers not us clowns, a serious of psychoactive drugs are used in combination with that same sedative I used on you before. And uh... a healthy mental state is preferable, but we'll work with what we've got. Look, if you're not stable enough to go through with it right now we can wait cause it'll just dial that shit up to 11 and--"

"Hacker. I don't give a fuck, just get it over with." I didn't realise this woman was capable of rambling quite so much, laying back on the recliner as I undress without much shame left in me. Handler seems pleased despite my attitude, perhaps because of it, and hands the sedative to Hacker. "Hey, I don't want that."

"What? Crazy bitch, you want us to strap you down is that it? Do you get off--"

"No sedative, I want to feel it. Please." I'll let them drug me if it prevents me from losing my head, but I don't want them to rob my senses again. Handler steps over to me and brushes the hair behind my ear, speaking into it carefully.

"Are you sure, dear?" 

I nod, Handler returning the gesture before gently securing the straps around my wrists and ankles. Hacker sighs, clearly displeased but willing to go along with it despite her reluctance. "You're about to have a killer fucking headache but that's not the issue, the sedative keeps you calm. Calmer and more stable you are, the less chances of side effects or lasting damage on your psyche. Don't be an idiot, girl."

"That's enough, Hacker, she made her choice already and we have to respect her decision as one of us. Try to admire her bravery, her commitment." Handler plucks the syringe from Hacker's hand and gets rid of it, causing me to relax. 

"Yeah but c'mon, she's clearly hoping to lose her marbles so she doesn't have to dwell on the past. We've all been there." The woman looks down at me with some judgement I don't really need right now. 

"So long as she's useful to the cause, she can lose as many marbles as she needs to. Everyone's needs are different, my job is to see that the unique ones are met and not disregarded. You can't fit a square peg into a round hole, Hacker dear." Handler pushes down on my chin and holds a glass of water to my lips, forcing me to take a set of three brightly coloured tablets. Almost immediately, the corners of my reality begin to fizzle. 

"Depends on the size... but whatever, too late now I guess. Hey Sweet, just in case you don't come out of this in the same state of mind, might be best to make peace with everything right now eh?" Hacker slides her hand into the glove and I live in anticipation of its electric touch, wondering how strange it's going to feel to have my world accelerated. To speed something up is to slow down something else depending on perspective, and vice versa, everything's so relative. I'm not even scared at all, I'm excited. All a matter of changing perspective, isn't it?

My vision begins to swirl as the drugs force my consciousness to slowly recede, the cold metal of the glove feeling like five ice cubes melting against my burning temple. I watch my neural display begin to glitch as they use the backdoor they left from before, no need to bother jailbreaking my implant a second time. My eyes gently cross and I writhe against the restraints, feeling everything becoming unbearably hot over the next few minutes until the sensation starts to fade. 

And then, time begins to slow. I distantly see a progress bar in my blurred vision, then another. New software uploading directly into my jailbroken head, why does that sound so fucking hot when you put it like that? I've... always had a fascination with this sort of thing, it's why I couldn't look Beauty in the eye when I told her what she wanted to hear the last time we talked about how wrong it is. I don't disagree that it's wrong, but it doesn't stop me from having a keen interest. Can something wrong be used for right in trusted hands, in retaliation? The white haired gang appears to think so, they wield all manner of tactics I consider immoral in ordinary circumstances and yet they do it for a just cause... right? Handler thinks so and she seems so well put together, so intelligent. They even killed you Beauty, something I hate them for, but did they do that with good reason too? I'm confused, no, I'm parched.

Handler places ice cold glass of water to my lips and I gulp the liquid down, moaning a little when she wipes down my sweat soaked body. "H-how long..." I force out, confused at why this is going on for so long. It feels like hours already, but then I realise... altered perception. 

"It's been a minute and a half, it'll take around an hour in full. Hang in there." Handler's speaking so slowly it's grating, even a pretty voice like hers sounds so distorted and unpleasant. Hacker checks the readings from my neurals on the screen as she presses fingers firm against my sweltering temple. 

When they broke into my mind before, I remember feeling like I'm floating. This time, I feel like I'm falling. I am Alice, tumbling down past books and cards and timepieces. I reach out for a candelabra to hold onto before I hit the bottom and yet my fingers flow right through it. I'm like water, losing shape as I run down this funnel into a soft bed of soil and soak into it freely. I nurture a seed and smile as it finally cracks open, healthy green plant sprouting out into the sunlight and growing rapidly. Accelerated.

My body lurches against the chair's restraints and I push out towards the light in need of photosynthetic sustenance, my eyes shining brightly against that light for so long I see a big blue circle when I blink. Hacker snorts and I tilt my head, by the time I whip my head around she's already somewhere else. I'm not sure if I'm less than or more than human right now, I know I'm just something else. Someone else. Are they going to give me a fancy new name like Hacker and Handler and whatever else they have here, or am I just some techie grunt who doesn't need a title? I think I want a title, I want to be useful... special... needed. I want to be better. Accelerated.

I wonder how this affects my heartbeat, is it faster or slower? Is it the same but my perception is different? I wonder what's more true to the me that is now, the perception of reality I hold or the cold hard truth that forms the rules of existence around us. Oh my god I'm thinking nonsense, my mind is unravelling! It's kinda fun, to be honest, to just lean into it. I always was a meek, wet bag of rice, and I don't have Beauty to carry my weight any more. I need to have enough personality for the both of us, heck, I'll carry that weight. I don't mind if it makes me more human or less human, I just want to be... accelerated. 

My legs won't stop kicking but I can't remember why they feel that way, have I not caught up to them yet or are they the ones still lagging behind? I feel serene and stimulated and spacious and so, so damn hot. My eye is flooding so much redder than Beauty's ever was, the overclocking showing my little veins around the eye too like I've been corrupted by malware... oh wait! It's okay though, I wanted this and I asked for it. The last time I did that, it ended in so many gunshots you'd think I wouldn't memorise the exact number. Beau's felt so drawn out even if they weren't, perspective, while the whites were done in only half a second or so my memory tells me. I don't think they really did it that quick, my memory's a damn dirty liar, it's doing that thing again. Where my perception of time is changed, accelerated. 

The room's totally gone now, I have no idea where I am. All at once I'm crouching in a filthy street sulking so badly that someone as rough as her would come to cheer me up and offer new life to and I'm also boarding skyrail with a cocky face that surely isn't mine. It's anything but Sweet. I'm seeing my past, my future, my entire fucking life. Accelerated. 

Fingers knead bleach into my hair from behind with gloved fingers, Handler humming a tune that sounds so ugly and distorted that I can't help but try and hum along with it. Ugly things can seem pretty with a change of perspective, it's not complicated to understand or perhaps I've just gotten better at thinking with this boosted neural business. I'm so happy that I'm being dyed white, a blank new canvas to paint over. A new slate, a new story, a new purpose. A c c e l e r a t e d. 

Fuck, I'm cold.

"Not hungry today, too?" Hacker throws a hard roll of bread at me and I swat it away stubbornly. Doesn't anybody in Nakami City know how to make edible fucking food anymore?

Woah, déjà vu.

"Not now, busy. I mean I'm busy, I'm not calling you that! It'd be better than a piss poor name like Hacker, sounds like something I'd call my dog." I scratch the back of my neck, crouching on an office chair with no wheels but enough swivel to give a girl the ride of her life. "I don't have a dog though, Handler doesn't trust me..." I swivel around to face her when I realise my rambling isn't going to deter her. "Oh just gimme the damn bread and go away, I'm working on a deadline remember?"

Hacker seems amused by my erraticism which tells me she's in a good mood at least. "Yeah yeah, maybe some day soon we won't be eating on fucking military rations eh? How's the hand, think it'll have healed before next Thursday?" She grabs the roll off the floor and drops it into the hand not currently bandaged up. 

I lift up the bandaged arm and my eyes shine in pride at the delicate handiwork, wires running under the skin and metal tips that'll let me gain access to an implant anywhere, any time. It runs directly to my implant, which can run the improved upon version of the software they had before while I'm overclocking my neurals. I can't wait to test it out. "Oh it'll be ready, just you watch. Now you can go back to living up to your name handling the boring network crap, leave the fun stuff to me! That girl won't know what hit her, so long as you make sure to do your part and hack into the skyrail."

My sister nods her head, looking serious when her pride is on the line. "Yeah, I'll run you right through Nakami station, bet the city folks are gonna be shaking in their boots when they see that come up as the next stop. Besides all that, you good?"

I've known this woman for around a year now and she's alarmingly clingy, when we first met I thought she was one of this gang's bosses but it turns out I'm already technically ahead of her in rank. I won't hold that over her unless I'm bored and have nothing better to do, but I've been busy over the past week. I think she tries to look after me as some sort of unspoken promise with a woman she had to put down like a dog. I was there too, but it's a blur. Memory accelerates and leaves an afterimage you can't quite make out, there are logs backing it all up somewhere anyway. 

"Peachy." I throw my head over the backrest, draping soft white mop across it. "Thanks for the good eating, but I really should get back to it. Updating the malware, I just want to make it as quick as possible you know? Efficient, accelerated." 

"Yeah well, if anyone'll crack it. I'll get out of your hair but make sure to eat that before it goes mouldy, next time I'll force it down your throat. Gotta look after yourself and all that, I'm sure you get enough of this shite from Handler sorry. Seeya, Jailbreak."

"Godspeed, Hacker~"