"That guy back there? He reminds me of Payton."

"And he drives like him."

- Viper

"That sounds kinda sketchy."

- a guy in the Mega64 Death Stranding video right after Rocco explains how he's transporting "rare resins"

"Crucifixion lasts hours. It's a slow, horrible death."

"Well, at least it gets you out in the open air."

"You're weird!"

- Life of Brian


"Aya" cowered in helpless trepidation with her back against the post of a medical gurney. Her knees were drawn toward her chest, and her long disheveled locks dangled over her shoulders in blonde waves. Two foreboding figures stood at the foot of the bed in the Advanced Genetics Development office: Company chairman Kagami Mikage with his arms crossed and his eyes locked in an observational stare, along with the orphaned and vengeful Miori Sahara standing at his side.

"Aya's" hands were stretched over her head with her wrists crossed in a perfect knot, leaving her vulnerable and unable to fend for herself. But she wasn't actually restrained to the bed. She just kept her arms like that on her own.

"Please don't be scary, big Mr. Science Man! I know how much you wanna leggo my eggos!" "Aya" squeaked in an anxious voice. She rattled her wrists and put a tiny squirm in her hips as she said it.

Kagami blinked. Quizzically tilted his neck five degrees. He wasn't exactly sure how to proceed here. It was quite the rare sight for the typically reserved and cunning lab owner.

"You're sure this is Aya?" Miori narrowed and shifted her eyes in doubt.

"Wei confirmed it's an identical physical match when he brought her in. But I haven't had a chance to verify her gene markers." The chairman nodded, regaining his more stoic deposition. He added "Her face looks different. Chin is slightly rounder. Eyes look a little bigger."

"Could just be the makeup. She's definitely wearing Toya's choker," Miori pointed her index finger with certainty. Then she stopped as her forehead twitched. "Hey, didn't she cut her hair short last month?"

"C-Genomers have been known to alter their physical traits at will. She could have just decided the style didn't work for her and grew it all back," Kagami explained without a single doubt.

"Ah." Miori scratched her chin half-suspiciously.

"It alarms me that she would suddenly give herself up so wholeheartedly after all the aggravation she's caused us. Although…" Kagami paused to weigh his own thoughts. "Perhaps she's come around to understanding how important she is for the C-Project's success. All we want to do is assist her so others will recognize her as the dominant matron of the new humanity."

The two speakers at the foot of "Aya's" bed turned closer to each other, continuing their conversation in hushed voices that their guest wouldn't hear.

"She told me she'd give us everything we want if we just leave Kuruma and Aogiri alone," Miori muttered softly.

"A reasonable arrangement. I see no reason to continue devoting resources to pursuing the Pallas if we already have Ceres in our caché," Kagami agreed with caution.

"I guess that means you won't need my help here, either?" Miori asked under her breath.

"Type B's aren't as valuable to the nursery. But I would still be grateful if you remained employed as our field operative, Miss Sahara. You're the first C-Genomer to act as one of our agents." Kagami gave her a subtle concerned look that silently asked for her help.

"Deal, Chief." Miori bobbed her head once with a sly smirk.

The speakers ended their secret exchange and turned their attention to "Aya." Miori leaned toward her "cousin" for a closer look. "Aya" wiggled her knees with glee when their noses were only a few inches apart.

"Why are her eyes red?" Miori asked over her shoulder to Kagami. "I remember them always being blue when we were growing up."

"A new latent genetic change, possibly? It could be the result of being somewhere between her human form and her C-Genomer form," Kagami hypothesized. "Or she's just started a new hobby wearing contact lenses."

"Why don't you do all kinds of tests on me to find out? I betcha wanna transform me into one of your babushka dolls." "Aya's" lips curled into a suggestive smirk.

Miori shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"You're a strange girl, Aya."

"Don't you mean I'm a Slippery girl?" "Aya" playfully quivered her jaw and fluttered her eyelashes.

Miori let out a overwhelmed sigh as she turned back toward Kagami.

"Maybe she's like one of those Stepford Cuckoo things. There's a bunch of Ayas running around and you just caught the one with the sketchy personality."

"That wouldn't be the most unnatural thing I've seen lately," the sublime geneticist nodded in contemplation.

Miori shifted her eyes toward "Aya," toward the ceiling, and then back to "Aya." Something in the margins of her vision started to draw her attention.

"Wait a minute."

The girl walked all the way to front of the gurney and reached behind her "cousin's" shoulders. She lightly tugged at the back of "Aya's" blouse collar and glanced down her neck. She squinted her eyes as she read the handwriting inside the shirt's tag.

"Who the hell is Kitagawa Marin?"

"Must have been an alias she was using to avoid our detection. I wouldn't think much of it." Kagami finally unfolded his arms and glanced toward the door.

"We'll work with what we have. I'll tell the medical staff to prep her for surgery."

"Aya's" mouth widened into an excited smile at those words. The sparkles in her eyes became even more amazed when they started wheeling in the anesthesia cart and the vital monitors. She had no reason to fear being part of today's business agenda.

After all, she wasn't exactly a stranger to scissors.


Author's note: Never breaks character. What a trooper.