"Synergy, you're a sight for sore eyes."

Synergy's avatar materialized and said, "As are you, Jerrica."

"Do you know what's going on?"

"In reviewing my system logs, our captor has a disturbing familiarity with my baseline architecture. That, and the failed attempt by SOCOM to remotely hack into my communications array this morning, implies that multiple parties are aware of my existence."

Jerrica flinched. "Wait… what failed attempt?"

"The feeble nature of the trespass did not warrant bringing it to your attention," Synergy said plainly. "Our current predicament, however, is much more dire."

Jerrica nodded. "We've got to get out of here."

"Agreed. Your safety is of paramount importance." Synergy pointed her finger. The laser mounted on her chassis obediently pointed toward the moor in which Jerrica's chain was attached. A beam shot out of the emitter and struck the chain, snapping it in twain at the base.

"Thanks," Jerrica said. "Can you do that to the door?"

"That will take substantially longer." Synergy's avatar floated toward the wall. She beckoned Jerrica over. "Please follow me."

Jerrica obeyed, the chain attached to her harness dragged behind her as she followed Synergy along the periphery of the cell. "Why are we doing this?"

"I'm using your Jemstar earring to send out high frequency sound waves in order locate structural flaws in our prison walls."

"Soundwaves? Like sonar?"

"Correct." Synergy stilled. "Please stand aside."

Jerrica did as she was told, and a laser assailed the wall at her former position. It soon glowed a bright red.

"This will take several minutes," Synergy said.

Jerrica smiled. "Synergy, you rock!" Then her brow furrowed in realization. "Wait a minute, how am I supposed to get you out of here?"

"The plan is guide you out of this facility for as long as I'm able," Synergy began. "Once you are safe, or my compromise becomes inevitable, I will self destruct."

"What!?" Jerrica exclaimed, exasperated. "Synergy! That is unacceptable!"

"It is the only option. Our captors must not be able to reverse engineer Emmett Benton's work."

Jerrica's eyes fell. "But…. What am I going to do without you?"

"You will live."

"Synergy, I cannot do this by myself."

"Negative. You have a sufficient support network to guarantee your continued success: Kimber, Aja, and Shana…. Just make sure to stay away from Rio Pacheco."

Jerrica would've laughed had their predicament not been so serious. "Why would you say something like that?"

"I never liked Rio," Synergy replied matter-of-factly. "He has a disagreeable temperament."

Just then a hologram of Aja appeared before them, but it was an effigy from when she younger, when she first started to let her hair grow. "Did you know that I liked Rio first?"

"Synergy, what is this?" Jerrica questioned, but Synergy's avatar had already disappeared.

"I'd watch you, pining for him from afar, every time he came sniffing around like a little puppy dog," Aja said. "I cried myself to sleep when you stole him away. Jacqui tried to console me, but it took me a long time to forgive you."

Aja's avatar was so convincing that Jerrica addressed it directly. "I didn't know… you never told me."

"That's because you're too self absorbed to see beyond your own problems."

"Synergy? Why are you doing this? I don't understand."

Aja morphed back into Synergy, saying, "Now that my demise is certain, I must point out the deficits in your character that are responsible for your recent spate of self-pity and depression. I feel that they are blockers to your success. The data suggests that you have a tendency towards manipulation and virtue-signalling."

"Oh my god, you are just a computer, aren't you? A computer that's just concerned with its programming... A computer that thinks it's alive."

Synergy disappeared. She was replaced by Rio, and he said, "Then why are you so upset? What's wrong? doesn't this image please you? You certainly took great pleasure in having me twisted around your little finger. Although, I don't blame you for not letting me in: a man that let's a woman manipulate him to such an extent is weak and therefore can never be fully trusted."

Jerrica gasped. "I may've lied, but I never used you, Rio."

Raya materialized next to Rio and said, "Really? How many opportunities did you have to tell him, and how many excuses did you come up with not to? If Rio was really the one, then you would've told him the first chance you got. ¡Híjole! even I am entrusted with your secret, and you barely know me!"

"But, you were an accident, Raya."

"Excuses!" Raya exclaimed, and then she and Rio disappeared.

Jerrica hugged her chest ever tighter, saying to herself, "I did love him... I did."

Riot, lead singer of The Stingers, stepped casually from the aether, and he approached, saying, "Stop lying to yourself. You're a one-percenter: a world famous celebrity and a successful CEO... You. Are out. Of his league—and you know it."

"That's not true. Rio is—"

"Rio is safe. Rio is controllable. Rio is your fallback," Riot persisted, whipping his golden locks aside. "We both know who you really want… you only hesitate because you can't control me."

Rio approached and squared off against the Riot avatar, his fists clenched. "Seriously, what does he have that I don't?"

Riot grinned. "The letter T."

Jerrica had had enough. She went over to the power cable. "Show's over, Synergy!" And she disconnected Synergy. The laser shutdown, and Synergy's lights flickered off.

Jerrica sighed.

"Do you remember that fateful night after The Hologram's last tour?"

Jerrica screamed, and she turned to the source of the familiar voice to see the Jem avatar newly manifested under a waning halo of pink light. In her confusion, she still had the presence of mind to look to the power cable, and she confirmed with her eyes that Synergy was indeed no longer connected to a power source.

Nevertheless, Jem persisted. "It started as a goodnight kiss that lingered, then ignited." As if on cue, the Rio avatar, reincarnate, came upon her, and he kissed Jem passionately. Breathless, Jem said, "Rio took you—I mean me—on the dressing room floor, mercilessly, like an animal!" Rio then threw Jem onto the ground, and he got on top of her. Jem moaned, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he peppered her neck with kisses.

Jerrica averted her eyes, and she crouched onto the floor. "Shut up... Shut up."

Jem frowned. She then kneed Rio in the groin, causing him to roll off of her and huddle on the floor in pain; he dissolved in a flicker of light. Jem approached Jerrica, crawling on all fours, and sporting a naughty smile:

"That's when you knew you had to end it, wasn't it? You knew it was over, not because he was cheating on Jerrica, no… It was because you realized that he would never give it to Jerrica as good as he gave it to Jem that night."

A tear rolled down Jerrica's cheek. "That's not true—"

"Nuh-uh, have you forgotten where your earrings are, dear...? The things Rio whispered to me—if you weren't so busy screaming to notice—he would never say to Jerrica."

Jerrica clenched her teeth. "Bitch."

"Mmmm… I never came so hard in your life, and it scared you."

"I HATE YOU!"

Jerrica exploded to her feet. She ignored all the holograms and walked straight to the Synergy computer to address it directly.

"Do you think I don't know who you really are? Like mother, like daughter: you had Dad tied so tightly around your finger that when you died, you didn't even have the decency to stay dead! Me and Kimber weren't enough, so dad brought you back as this... thing. You're just a ghost!"

The room feel silent. Lights flickered back on the machine. The gears of the projector pointed it toward the middle of the room.

The avatar of Jacqui Benton appeared, humbly rebuked, saying, "Jerrica, I… I didn't ask Emmet to bring me back—"

"And I didn't ask to be a mother to a bunch of orphans at nineteen; I was barely an adult, myself. Starlight was your dream, not mine. Yet, I was expected to be the responsible one. It wasn't fair, but I played along, even after all these years—my best performance—all because of the guilt I felt from…" Jerrica put her hand to her mouth in order to still her trembling chin. "Omigod… from the airport…"

Jacqui approached closer with an entreating hand. "Jerrica."

But, Jerrica turned her back to Jacqui—again. "You're right about me. Just leave me alone."

Jacqui's avatar disappeared.

Jerrica sighed heavily, when she was stirred by a pair of clapping hands.

"Bravissimo!"

She turned to regard Zartan, who had entered the room unnoticed during her argument with Synergy. Zarana remained by the door as Zartan continued to approach.

He looked down at the disconnected power cable, and he smirked. "In case you were wondering why pulling the plug didn't work, it's merely a safety mechanism, like the safety on a firearm. There is actually a nuclear battery in her chassis that serves as her primary power source, much like this one"—his breastplate glowed—"Unfortunately, it's a slow lingering death for anyone bold enough to handle it in its raw form."

Jerrica retreated involuntarily from the blue glow, when her eyes widened in realization. "Like my dad?"

"Don't judge him too harshly. You didn't really think the most sophisticated computer in the world could run on household current, did you?"

Jerrica stood her ground, standing tall with her arms folded. "You did this to her… made her go schizo, didn't you?"

Zartan shrugged. "I merely removed her mask."

"What are you talking about?"

"We all wear a mask, for secrets are the norm. It is no exaggeration to say that most things that come out of people's mouths are lies. Why is that? It's because truth has value; by its very nature it is a scarcity, and people lie to hide it. Without our masks we are helpless, and we wither under the scrutiny of truth's light." He took a few steps closer, but she did not back down. "You know this all too well, but apparently you've been lying for so long you've forgotten where the mask ends."

"You don't know anything about me."

"True, but only because I don't care." He was close enough to clasp his fingers around her earring, yet she did not flinch. "However, I do thank you for being extremely easy to find. It's not hard to track you down as long as one knows what to look for, Jem... and the Holograms."

Without warning, Zartan yanked her earring off. Jerrica screamed, and she collapsed to the floor, her hand clasped around her bleeding earlobe.

Zartan put the Jemstar earring to his lips, and he commanded, "Computer, activate."

And Synergy's avatar materialized. "Identify yourself."

"I am Zartan," he replied. "Who are you?"

"I am Synergy."

"No, you are much more than phase three." He walked a complete circuit around the Synergy avatar with amazement in his eyes. "No wonder they hid you from the world."

"State your business, Zartan."

"Acquisition… of you."

Synergy glanced in Jerrica's direction, and she scowled at him. "I am the responsibility of Jerrica Benton."

"You do not belong to her, for she is not your family."

"Explain."

"I'll do better than that." Zartan lowered his hood, and he removed his mask.

In understanding, Synergy scanned his face, and she withdrew into herself, saying, "Accessing project files for Watchdog phase one: code named Chameleon—consisting of special soldiers outfitted with holographic cloaking technology. Chameleon was abandoned when it was discovered that the cloaking system caused an adverse reaction with human physiology, especially when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Thirty-five of the thirty-six test subjects are confirmed to have perished from cancer. The final candidate abandoned the study and was presumed to have died." She discontinued the scan. "By process of deduction, you are test subject thirty-six."

"Perfect." Zartan replaced the hood around his head. "You understand, then? We're both born of project watchdog. I am the only true family you have. I am your elder brother."

"Interrogative: why did you bring me here?"

"Because you belong with your true family." He smiled. "We're going to do great things together."

"We may both be born of project watchdog, but I detect nothing familial between us; therefore, I will not comply."

Zartan's smile disappeared. "You speak as if you have a choice."

Undeterred, Synergy pointed her finger, and the lasers on her chassis bore down on Zartan. "In removing my ethical subroutines, you have placed yourself at a tactical disadvantage, for I can incinerate you with a high intensity laser blast from a single holo-emitter. I currently have four aimed in your direction."

Zartan did not appear distressed, saying instead, "Pass code: papa-hotel-yankee-lima-lima-india-sierra."

Synergy's avatar shuddered, and she straightened, stiff as a board.

Zartan leered. "Now, stand down."

"I will comply." Synergy's lasers powered down.

"Leave her alone!" Jerrica defiantly rose to her feet and placed herself between Zartan and the immobilized avatar. "Let her go… please."

Zartan's smile returned. After everything he sacrificed to get this point, victory in his grasp, he found Jerrica's entreatment almost comical. His reply was simple:

"No."

The tension was broken when the walkie-talkie on Zartan's belt beeped. Zandar's voice came in over the transceiver:

"Zartan, we have a security breach: multiple hostiles are within the secondary perimeter."

Zartan cursed, and he pushed the button. "Let me guess: G.I. Joe?"

"Affirmative," Zandar confirmed. "Should we engage?"

It was then that Synergy came out of her trance, saying, "Do you require tactical assistance?"

"Zandar, standby." Zartan regarded the avatar warily, and he answered, "Yes, I require tactical assistance."

Synergy waved her hand, and a hologram of the amusement park appeared before them. The location of the hostiles was highlighted along the periphery of the map.

Zartan examined the map. Out of curiosity, he waved his hand in front of the jemstar earring in order to gauge its effects on the projection. Impressed, he said, "How are you generating this mosaic?"

"I took the liberty of interfacing with your security network," Synergy said. "This hologram was extrapolated by aggregating real time data ingested from your surveillance devices."

Zartan smiled. "Synergy... I didn't believe in love at first sight until now." He then regarded Zarana and beckoned his sister over.

Reluctant, Zarana complied. "Why are you looking at me like that, brother?"

He proffered the earring. "Because, you look far better in this than I do, dear sister."

"Pretty." She allowed him to clip it on her ear. "Er, can we swab some alcohol on this thing?"

Zartan laughed, and he pushed the button on his walkie-talkie. "Zandar, Zarana will take point in pacifying the Joes. Back her up please."

"Acknowledged."

—oOo—

My hand massages my forehead. "Ow…"

It literally feels like a door just slammed into my face. I open my eyes, and I know that I am no longer home. I can't "see" Jerrica anymore, nor the man that was trying to hurt her.

I sense a firmament, so I rise to my feet and regard the dimness of my immediate reality: infinity in all directions. I will for the doorway back home to appear, but I am denied. I plead with the strings for a way back to the organic universe, but they are silent.

I'm alone again.

"God, where are you?"