Natalia shot an arrow into the thick roof of Cheagle Forest, but missed her mark by an embarrassing distance. As she gnashed her teeth and her patience grew progressively thinner, Sync nimbly leapt from treetop to treetop over her head, laughing psychotically along the way. This routine went on for another four or five rounds, with Natalia wasting precious ammo and Sync taunting her each time. Finally, she caught the upper hand when she aimed her latest shot toward an especially narrow branch the masked assassin was about to land on, sawing the entire limb off at the trunk. Unable to adjust to this difference, Sync fell past the now-empty space where he would have landed and roughly crashed to the ground.
Natalia had her next shot lined up at point blank range before Sync even had a chance to climb to his feet. When he recollected his bearings, he offered an awkward smirk to his opponent. Despite the fact he was clearly about to meet his end, he seemed especially amused. Something about his posture signified this was all somehow part of some greater scheme just before he taunted her again.
"Clever girl. But you forgot the most important rule for hunting."
Natalia's attention was focused solely on Sync when he spoke. His words were strange to her, and she couldn't help but put her bow slightly to the side and raise her eyebrow. She sounded thoroughly confused when she responded.
"What rule?"
Her question was answered by a new voice, much deeper than that of the young boy she had been chasing and unmistakably familiar to her ears. It was coming from just over her shoulder.
"Always be aware of all of your surroundings."
She turned around just in time to see the blur of an enormous fist sailing toward her temple. Her felt a brief but immense pain in her head, and then everything was black.
Largo stood over Natalia's fallen form, shaking his head.
"You disappoint me, Meryl. You really must have wasted your potential to let yourself fall into such a basic trap."
Sync crossed his arms as he joined the conversation in mild anger.
"Hey, don't blame it all on her stupidity. You never would have caught her without my diversion."
Largo returned to his usual quiet demeanor and did nothing to acknowledge his shorter colleage's complaints. Instead, he slung Natalia's limp frame over one of his armored shoulders. In a display of relative courteousness, he adjusted the hem of her traveling dress so it properly covered the more personal regions of her dark tights. She expressed her gratitude with a soft, incoherent groan as her mind drifted through the throes of unexpected unconsciousness.
When the two men were set to depart with their new trophy, Sync suddenly stopped and questioned his older partner in a curious voice.
"Are you really sure about this? She's your daughter, after all, and you know there's no guarantee she'll survive this."
Largo remained stoic. The complexities of the matter at hand were something he had ceased concerning himself over long ago.
"My daughter is dead."
Sync blinked through his gold visor before he shrugged. He found arguing to be a lost cause.
"If you say so."
Largo and Sync turned toward the safest path out of the woods and began their journey home.
When Natalia came to, she was instantly blinded by the glare of bright ceiling light. When her vision cleared, she realized the fuzzy figure that had been looming over her was Asch. He held her in his arms, forming a cradle that supported the back of her shoulders and behind her knees. He had a relieved smile on his face, a rather odd gesture for the usually brooding young swordsman. Despite this awkwardness, Natalia was happy to meet a familiar face in her current circumstances. Overcoming her bewilderment, she spoke in a tired voice.
"Asch? What are you doing here?"
Her savior answered with in an assuring tone.
"I'm getting you out of here."
After a short pause in thought, it dawned to her that he had come alone. She looked perplexed as she moved to her next inquiry.
"Where are Luke and the others?"
Asch responded promptly, with the same smile and tone as before.
"They haven't noticed you're missing yet. The God Generals are the only ones who know you're here."
Natalia nodded slightly as she accepted this explanation. Her mood then drastically changed when her eyes left Asch's gaze and began studying her surroundings. She was in some sort of laboratory. Although the place was pristine in appearance, the sight of various medical equipment and assorted machinery of unimaginable purpose sent shivers down her spine. She quickly succumbed to panic, causing her to seek refuge by reaching upward and squeezing Asch's shoulder. Noticing her peril, Asch lowered his voice so it took on a soothing quality.
"Relax. I got here before they were able to do anything to you."
When Natalia calmed and returned to her senses, Asch offered her a teasing grin. His words took on a similar quality when he spoke again.
"Maybe I'll reconsider that marriage proposal when we get back. Who knows what you'll get yourself into next if I don't tie myself down with you."
Natalia's eyes grew bright with hope as she gasped in surprise. Their engagement had been a childhood promise before it was crushed by unforeseeable tragedy. Being kidnapped at a young age and growing up to be a forgotten shadow of your own identity had predictably dire effects on your outlook on life.
But now Natalia could see Asch had overcome his misery and was willing to give things a second chance. Perhaps there was a tiny bit of room left for idealism in a despair-filled world. Tiny droplets were forming in her eyes when she quietly spoke.
"Do you really mean it?"
Asch's playful demeanor now took on a more serious quality. He answered with a gentle nod.
"You know I wouldn't joke about that sort of thing, Natalia. I don't care if everything was stolen from me. Luke can have all of it. You're the one person who never stopped trying to help me find myself, and seeing you wind up like this made me realize I'd be happy just with you."
Natalia responded with a peaceful smile and a soft sigh. Asch could see she was still quite weary from her ordeal, so he allowed her to rest her head against shoulder as he began his escape.
As she rattled in Asch's arms with each swift footstep he took, Natalia thought about her hero's radical change of heart and the bright future it would bring. It was like a dream come true.
Natalia stood attentively in front of Van, waiting for him to speak. The two figures stood in Eldrant's research lab, surrounded by strange whirring machines and a handful of security staff. Natalia had a soft smile on her lips and, aside the fact she seemed to be perfectly relaxed in the presence of her sworn enemy, nothing seemed to be off about her character. Nothing except a barely noticeable hint of bloodlust in her eyes.
The mighty commander circled Natalia as he studied her from head to toe, paying painstaking attention to every detail of her body and every crease in her short dress while keeping a keen eye for the smallest hint of imperfection. He briefly stroked his beard as he shared some of his thoughts.
"I watched your latest training exercises. Your archery skill has improved substantially."
Natalia's smile brightened at this praise, but she remained silent. Van continued by tilting his head and questioning her.
"Just to make sure you're prepared, can you summarize our plan for me?"
Natalia remained politely in place while calmly replying.
"I'll allow Luke and his friends to rescue me so I can infiltrate their group. Once I leave Eldrant with them, I'll wait until the time is right before proceeding to the next phase of the operation."
Van was impressed by her answer. He gave a soft nod of acknowledgment before bringing his next inquiry.
"And what will you do once they take the bait and let their guard down?"
The innocence abruptly faded from Natalia's smile and was replaced by sadistic delight. She lowered her voice and narrowed her eyes when she answered.
"I'll massacre them one by one."
Van boasted a light chuckle before he replied in a rewarding manner.
"Very good, Replica. I have high hopes you'll prove to be even more useful than the original."
And that was the reality of it all. This Natalia was an exact copy of the young woman Largo and Sync had captured. She was her predecessor in every conceivable way, as she shared all the same thoughts, memories, personality quirks, and anything else that defined a particular human being. Only one slight alteration had been made to her psyche during her creation: A predisposition for complete and absolute servitude to Van.
The benefits of the subject Van had chosen were twofold. First, Luke and his band of rapscallions were quite the thorn in the warlord's side and had proven themselves to be highly resilient to direct combat. Destroying the team from the inside out, however, was a virtually guaranteed solution. Second, once the current nuisances were taken care of, Van would have an apparent heir to the throne as his ally, giving his forces almost as much political prowess as they did military. Nothing would be able to stop Van from recreating the world in his image. It was an ingenious design.
The minion respectfully bowed as her voice returned to a much more delicate quality.
"Thank you, Master Van."
Van nodded again before issuing his next orders.
"Now, please meet the other God Generals in the prison chambers. They'll prepare you so you can begin your mission."
He sighed in mild regret before adding to his words.
"I do wish I didn't have to keep you in such a dreary place, but I fear Luke's team might suspect something is off if they see us treating you as anything more than a lowly captive."
Despite these conditions, the synthetic girl smiled in understanding and answered cheerfully. She found joy in doing anything that made her superior proud.
"Of course. I'll do my best to play the part."
After he formally concluded his conversation with the female Replica and allowed her to leave, Van walked to one of the corners of the room. Waiting for him there was Dist, his chief war technician, and one of the scientist's latest creations. The object was a large metallic cylinder about the size of a coffin. It sat on its platform lengthwise, and Van's eyes focused anxiously toward it as he addressed its inventor.
"Dist, do you have anything new to report?"
Dist smirked and glanced deviously through his glasses in response. When he replied, his gloved hand reached outward and traced over the rounded top of the device in an almost seductive manner.
"Ah, yes. I just finished giving the princess her daily check-up."
Van maintained his professional posture when speaking again. He was accustomed to Dist's unique charm.
"And?"
Dist adjusted his glasses and shifted all of his attention to his leader. He gave his full answer in a singsong voice, taking great pride in the results of his efforts.
"The scanners still haven't found any signs of fonon separation. Her physical composition is as stable as it was before the replication procedure."
Van nodded his head contently. The real Natalia may have been trapped inside the pitch black belly of the mechanical beast with no hope of escape, but at least she was alive and well in there.
"Good. I want her kept under the highest level of security in case she's needed again."
Dist lowered his head and replied by further celebrating his own genius.
"I've made all the modifications you asked for, my lord. This apparatus is completely portable, fully equipped with life support systems, and totally sealed off from the outside atmosphere. I figured keeping her in a place she would enjoy would be the best option for her health, so I designed it to keep her in a sedated state while her brain is free to live out its greatest fantasies. She couldn't be more comfortable."
Van gave his engineer an impressed look before his eyes returned to the capsule. He still had a few doubts on his mind.
"And what of the emergency precautions we discussed?"
On cue, Dist's fingers carefully reached to a panel on the device and flipped it open to reveal a hidden compartment. Inside was a key pad that served as the machine's primary controls. The inventor flamboyantly waved his hand to the small panel to draw Van's attention.
"All seamlessly built in. She can only be removed from her sleep under your direct authorization. The moment someone tampers with the controls or tries to breach the shell by force, the system will retaliate by shutting off the prisoner's oxygen supply and de-fononizing her entire body. She'll be gone before anyone can even be certain she was ever inside. You'll never have to worry about her falling into the wrong hands and compromising her doppelganger's identity."
Dist suddenly sighed and raised a hand to his forehead in distress. Likewise, his next words came in a very worrisome tone. It was the first sign of despair he had exhibited.
"I pray it doesn't come to that. She's the most valuable material I've ever been able to work with."
Van paused in secluded thought before he returned to Dist. He cast a stern look toward the scientist as he spoke with resolve.
"We have to be prepared for every scenario. If it does happen, will she suffer?"
Dist's expression instantly transitioned back to a mischievous smirk as he answered.
"Not at all. Her mind will be is such a deep sleep that it won't be able to tell the difference. She'll simply fade away into whatever pleasant dream she's concocted for herself."
Van offered a final relieved smile to his subordinate, then verbalized his gratitude. It was good to know his strategy was airtight, just like the structure that could very well prove to be Natalia's tomb.
"Thank you, Dist. It's the least we can do to accommodate her."
Dist closed his eyes and bowed in response.
"It's a pleasure to be of service."
With the business meeting over, Van allowed Dist to return to his work and departed for Eldrant's command bridge. Everything was in place for his vile scheme.