The stench of blood and viscera coupled with smoldering, mechanical husks filled Ann's nostrils. Despite the appalling odors, she sucked in air and tried to compose herself. Glancing about, Ann noticed the steaming body of a massive black dragon just off to the side. It was an anachronistic sight, but Sigrid had done her job well in exorcising it from a Consortium's top official and embodying it into something that could be defeated. As the old saying went, if it can bleed, it can be killed; the viscous, cyan blood pooling under the carcass only proved as such.

Ann remembered this moment. The feeling of relief, the idea that all her troubles were now over, and then the soul-crushing realization that nothing had changed in the slightest.

She looked past Nidhogg's corpse and took in the sights. Based on what Dr. G had told her, she had come from the Consortium's hangar up to 'the surface', and yet nothing looked familiar. An eerie haze cloaked everything beyond the complex of buildings that had been erected around an ancient pillar. Towers, satellite dishes, helipads, and more dotted the rooftops. Gazing up, Ann could see neither the sun nor the stars. Taking a guess, she figured that this complex was hidden away in that gruesome fissure just miles away from the city of Skopp.

"I'm back here," Ann gasped, confused. "Why am I back here?"

"This is the point where your life was just on the precipice of a long and painful downward spiral, one I'm sure I don't have to remind you of."

Ann expected Amok to be standing beside her, but the twisted doppelganger was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her voice echoed from within. What had been an alluring, vague whisper was now as cold and clear as a spring morning, and just as sobering.

"Here you can start again… as master of your own fate."

"I take it you have a few ideas."

Dark laughter swelled from within, and Ann wasn't surprised in the slightest.

"As I said, I am you, and you are me. I can feel your anger. I know what you want to do."

Footsteps echoed from behind Ann. Yes, she remembered this as well. G believed he held all the cards, that he could make Ann dance to whatever tune he played. Even now the illusive man strode towards the heroine, flanked by two elite guards. There would be no gratitude, no empathy, not even a simple pat on the back, and no remorse whatsoever. To G, Ann was nothing more than a tool that could be manipulated in whatever way benefited the Consortium.

"Zero-Six," he sighed, feigning displeasure at what he would say next. "The Consortium will take it from here. Based on our rules, you need to remain here… and you have to cooperate with what's to follow."

Before, Ann had lashed out like an indignant child. This time she remained silent; she didn't dare acknowledge G's presence, not even with a glance. Her fingers curled as she balled her hands into fists. Besides the flash of anger that turned her body rigid, Ann felt an awesome power sparking to life. It was liberating, in a sense.

G scoffed when the seconds trickled by without a response.

"You don't have to listen to me, but disobey, and you, your friend, and your brother will be executed here."

"Go on, Ann," Amok cooed, her voice low and cruel. "Make your choice."

Fueled by anger and desire and reinforced with Amok's power coursing through her veins, Ann turned to face G with her solid light blade materializing in her hand. Her blue eyes narrowed on the good doctor, her expression hard. She wasn't sure what she expected from the man, though it would have been nice to see a raise of the brow, a glance to the side, or even another sigh. Anything that would give Ann pause. But G was not the kind of man who let emotions interfere with what he believed was the right course of action.

While her weaponry wasn't designed to kill outright, Ann's solid light blade, greatsword, and pistol could still do damage. She never intended to kill anyone, not even while working for Raymond's agency. This wasn't to say that accidents didn't happen. She might have killed a fair share of people throughout her journey, but she had made her peace with it. She couldn't control what happened to other people, especially if they were trying to kill her in the first place.

"I don't have time for this, Zero-Six," G barked. To Ann's disgust, she swore she saw a smirk sprout on his lips. "Put that away before you hurt-"

Like a ray of light, Ann dashed forward. The blade in her hand shifted and grew heavy, and yet she held it true. No longer burning blue, her blade had transformed into an immaculate saber thanks to Amok's power. Her feet barely touched the ground as she rushed G. Hair flowing behind her, rage boiling within, and one chance to seize her destiny, Ann plunged the saber through one of the best and brightest of the Consortium's senior staff.

G hadn't expected this; it was as clear as the shock written plain on his face. Blood spurted from his back as the saber cut through him. For Ann, she knew that she still had two AI guards to attend to. Throwing her weight against G, she tugged her saber back, causing more damage to the bewildered doctor. Time was at a near standstill, as the AI guards raised their weapons as if they were moving through molasses. Far too slow; Ann whirled her blade upon them and cut them down.

Their advanced bodies crumpled to the floor in pieces. Next, Ann heard a thump as G fell to his knees, too stunned to speak, let alone tend to his wound. And it was a terrible wound; surgical impalement topped off with a gruesome exit slash that would make a lesser man bleed out in a matter of minutes. Ann was content to leave him to his fate, but as she turned away she felt Amok tugging at her arms. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes she was standing over G's corpse with the saber gripped tightly in her hands.

"Y-you didn't have to do that," Ann gasped, shuddering as she took in the results.

"Yes, I did," Amok growled. In the red blood pooling beneath G, Ann swore she could see Amok where she would her own reflection. "If you are going to kill, then do it properly."

Ann didn't have time to properly process what she had done, for soon she was under great and withering fire. No way in hell was the Consortium about to let Ann get away with killing G. At first it was only bullets racing her way; bullets she could handle well enough with a swipe of her sword or deflect with her shield, but then came the shrieking of missiles and a hot storm of railguns. Rolling into cover behind what appeared to be an air traffic control tower, Ann managed to avoid the worst of the fire. But it would only be a matter of time before she was flanked and put down.

"Why are you hiding? Bring the fight to them!"

"I'm not going to wage a one-woman war on these guys," Ann barked back.

"You have the power to do so," Amok urged. Ann could sense her anticipation like a wolf salivating before the hunt. "Let loose, go wild!"

"I need to find Ryan and Ayane, and get them out of this mess!"

A railgun punched a hole through the tower several meters above Ann's head. Debris rained down and shrapnel danced across the floor. If Ann stayed here, she would die. If she mindlessly fought anything and everything that crossed her path, she would lose those dear to her. Amok seemed to realize this as her influence gradually ebbed away from Ann's body. But only for a brief moment before it returned, this time sharpened with great purpose.

"Very well. But we'll need a distraction, and I have just the idea."

Power rushed into Ann's limbs and urged her to move. She worked her way to the edge of the tower's base and peered around the side to set eyes on the ancient pillar that had served as a backdrop during her fight with Nidhogg. Taking another look, Ann found the pillar to be familiar. It looked similar to the one Amok had been restrained against, though nowhere near as imposing. A relic from Hinterland, perhaps?

"Exactly. You must reach the pillar, Ann," Amok urged once more. "Bring me there and we can unleash something powerful enough to force these damned men and machines to shift their focus."

Gazing down, Ann saw a myriad of advanced equipment and emplacements scattered all around the pillar. For the most part, much appeared to be mere research tents as if the Consortium sought to study the pillar. Turrets and Eindersohn Industries mechs were placed in key areas while heavily armed guards patrolled here and there. It seemed that Nidhogg had done a fair bit of damage around the pillar judging by smoldering wrecks, ruined equipment, and plenty of fresh corpses, but not enough to make the path a cakewalk. Even now the survivors had reorganized; scientists and non-combatants scurried away while security teams brought turrets back online.

A barrage of screaming missiles exploded all around Ann and against her perch. Unable to withstand the carnage, metal and concrete groaned beneath her feet before giving out and plunging her towards the gauntlet that awaited her. Like a graceful cat, Ann dropped to any solid, falling chunks and did what she could to break her fall until she hit the gravel at the bottom. She tumbled, rolled, then shot up and hit the ground running. Falling from several stories meant little to an expert in the art of platforming.

"Contact! She's right here!"

A squad of security personnel was the first obstacle Ann had to face. After cutting down G and his two AI guards, let alone a literal dragon, she didn't register them as a threat until a machine gun came close to bisecting her. Worse, they were in the way, and both Ann and Amok agreed that such an insult could not stand. The saber returned to Ann's hand, and so she got to work.

Roll under a burst of fire. Lurch out with a slash to the shins. Follow up with a strike to the midsection, then another to the head. Block- No, parry his comrade's wild swing. Bash his face in, twist, and plunge the blade into his gut. Leave an explosive parting gift and air dash towards the machine gunner. Death from above. Finish off the final goon with a bullet. Well under ten seconds; not bad.

Swallowing the bile in the back of her throat, Ann kept moving forward. A turret popped up and took a few shots at her only to be cut in two. Mechs glared down at her from high, perched atop the surrounding buildings like birds of prey, and showered her position with cannon fire. At first, Ann tried to avoid it all by hunkering down behind cover, but the threat of enemies closing in on her was too great. She scurried about, slashing and cutting her way through men and machines alike while the mechs continued to fire without any regard for collateral damage.

It wasn't a mindless, mad dash to the center. Ann employed smoke and chaff grenades whenever she had the opportunity, and if she couldn't stick around long enough to defeat an elite guard or heavy mech, a cryogenic grenade could slow them down long enough for her to break contact. That said, everyone knew where Ann was, and where she was going. Artillery continued to rain down while bipedal mechs galloped to cut her off. One such mech pounced on Ann and blocked her path, just as she was nearing the pillar.

"Aaaugh!"

Yelping in agony, Ann went flying from the mech's landing impact and crashed several meters away in a pile of aching, twitching limbs. She hadn't realized just how much pain she was in at the time, or rather, she had forgotten the fatigue after defeating Nidhogg. Her combat suit, enhanced by the GROM system, did what it could to soften the blows, but no amount of chemicals or stimulants could keep her from giving out after too much abuse. Speaking of which, she was fresh out of her usual supplies. Not even a bottle of corn juice was available.

But Ann wasn't alone. Not like before.

"Get up, Ann. Fight or flight, you need to get to that pillar."

The raven-haired lass gritted her teeth and pushed herself back to her feet. Amok poured her energy into Ann, far more than ever before, and instilled her with the overbearing urge to succeed at all costs. As the mech advanced on Ann, she brought her blade up to bear and felt the air sizzle around her. For a brief moment, she glowed, her hair shifted to a dark aqua, and the saber in her hands hummed with a dangerous, powerful sheen about it. All those aches and pains seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving nothing but rage and determination.

Again Ann shot forward like a shooting star on a collision course. Her blade sank through the mech's legs, again and again, all the while she shrugged off hellfire and shrapnel. She felt great; like an irrepressible force up against mere cannon fodder. If a bullet came her way, Ann figured that she would either move or it would breeze right past her. Leaping up to the mech's hull, Ann lashed out against it until she spotted its power core, and from there all it took was a heavy, downward slash to smash it to pieces.

And just before the mech could explode in a last-ditch effort to take Ann with it, the supercharged woman was well beyond the blast radius. She flew up a set of stairs on a catwalk leading up to the pillar, ignoring everything else. A crimson abyss stretched out beneath Ann as she kept running. Bullets ricocheted near her feet while her boots clacked against the metal. Then, nearing the far end of the catwalk, she invoked Amok.

"What now?"

"Plunge my sword into the pillar. I'll do the rest."

Ann channeled power into her thrusters and, halting at the very end for a split second, she rocketed upwards. She took the glowing saber into her hands and, with a mighty roar, she plunged it into the pillar; dead-center in the middle of a crimson cross etched in its surface. Hanging there, Ann felt a wicked smile spread across her lips as Amok cackled within.

"You bastards love your machines, huh? Let's see how you handle… this!"

Above, the sky cracked open. Piercing, golden beams of light shot down upon the ground like heavenly artillery, and yet they heralded an abomination neither from heaven nor hell. From this tear in reality plummeted a massive, ancient machine with four legs and a demonic dragon's head chassis. No mech in the entire Eindersohn Industries or Inner Consortium armory was even a quarter of this machine's size, and from the weaponry dotted all over the chassis, neither could they hope to match its firepower. The automaton hit the ground on all fours, then, as the dust and debris settled, glowing yellow lights appeared and the mouth opened to emit an ear-splitting shriek.

Ann slid down the face of the pillar and tumbled back onto the catwalk just in time to see the fireworks.

Lasers, cannons, missiles, railguns, hot plasma, searing hellfire, and an absurd amount of bullets raced out like bats out of hell to meet the Consortium's forces. A building that once served as a platform for an artillery battery crumbled to the ground in a pile of dust and debris as the ancient mech unloaded a salvo into it. Mechs and security personnel fired everything they could against the mechanical abomination, but it was like rain against metal. Shifting its focus, the ancient mech swept a laser across a sizable formation, leaving wreckage and a copious amount of casualties in its wake. Those who survived the initial bombardment were picked off with precision machine-gun fire, or worse, immolated.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Oh, just one of my toys," Amok cooed with all the affection of a proud pet owner. "I call them drakes. Impressive, no?"

"That thing could destroy an entire city in minutes! Why would-"

"You have some nerve being critical at a time like this. You have a distraction, now put it to use."

Amok's boon, like her goodwill, was not bound to last long. Ann watched as the drake tore up the ground with a stream of plasma from its gaping maw, carving her a path towards the platform she had fought Nidhogg upon. That's right, the hangar platform from before! Not wanting to be caught in the crossfire, Ann used Amok's power to enact a mad dash across the smoldering, bloodstained ground. She hopped over debris, ignored the odd rifle and machine-gun fire, and kept her blade sheathed even as Amok clamored for her to take a swipe at a staggering straggler or two.

In hindsight, being sideswiped by a two-in-one hooligan was merciful compared to the havoc that drake could cause.

"There! An opening!"

In all the chaos a hole had opened up in the hangar's lift. The platform that brought Ann up was out of commission, but she didn't have time for a slow descent that could be halted by the Consortium. As Amok's power boost petered out, Ann flung herself through the mangled hole and fell into the dark abyss. The Inner Consortium awaited deep below, and it was there that Ann would find Ryan and Ayane.

And god help anyone who stood in her way.