V's head was spinning.

Still reeling from the Wreath's sudden mental onslaught. BDs were always weird experiences, but they were never that weird. Still, when her senses returned she immediately shifted her mind into work mode. Any little detail could have been important.

Locations. People. Objects. Sounds. Even temperature. It was all useful data.

She was no longer laid down on a 'runner chair in an abandoned warehouse. She was now standing in what appeared to be a subway station.

An oppressive wind howled through the station, cutting at her like needles. The atmosphere was heavy and it was unusually dark. It was also incredibly hard to breathe, like a plastic bag was covering her mouth. Listening closely, V could almost make out whispers in the air.

For a moment, she let things progress as though this was a regular Braindance. Though nothing happened. She then moved an arm. It was hers. "What… the fuck?"

"V?"

"Judy?"

She turned on her heel and there she was. Judy. She turned again and there was River. The two looked as confused as V felt. This wasn't a normal Braindance. In fact, this wasn't a Braindance at all. Not anymore, at least.

Taking stock of both herself and the others, V noted they were no longer wearing their Wreaths. However, the opposite was true for their weapons and other equipment. At least that was a small sort of relief.

Granted, V had left most of her heavier iron at home. Something she was now kicking herself for.

She then took another look at her surroundings.

They were, indeed, in some kind of subway station. Though it felt strange. Foreboding. Glancing down from the station platform, V noted the tracks were incredibly uneven and shoddily made. Similar to - yet somehow worse than - the rails that ran through the Badlands. Looking at the walls, there were no distinctive features, no advert billboards or other signage. Just writhing and pulsing vein-like tendrils running across the ceiling and walls.

The whole place was wrong.

"I don't like this. Where the fuck are we?" V checked her Kiroshis. "My map's all fucked… the fuck is a Path of Qimranut?" According to her navigation, the trio had landed somewhere completely new. All it displayed were twisting labyrinthine tunnels that seemed to fold in on themselves in impossible angles.

"How the fuck should I know?" River was getting agitated as he paced up and down the station platform. "Fuck. What the fuck has that bastard Felix gotten us into?"

River scowled as he went about pacing. V couldn't blame his anger. Was this all a trap? It wasn't out of the question. The whole thing smelled as bad as the warehouse. And yet, here the three were. Seemingly trapped in something straight out of an old horror flick.

V knew how River could get when things got strained. His mind would race and he would wind himself tighter than a corpo's grip on their wallet. It was one of the reasons he was kicked off the force. Granted, it was mainly corruption, but his higher ups weren't exactly grasping at straws looking for a reason to fire him.

V glanced at Judy. The techie wasn't fairing much better. Though, thankfully, her idea of stress was to try and slow things down and figure things out. "Guys, let's just take a second." She spoke, taking deep breaths. Or as deep as this place allowed without forcing a coughing fit. "That wasn't a normal BD-"

"Yeah, no shit!"

"River!"

V's shout stopped his pacing. For a moment, the ex-cop balled his fists. The knuckles on his 'ganic hand turned white. Then, after a few seconds, he let out a long exhale, letting the tension disperse. "Sorry… got a little worked up. You were saying, Judy?"

Judy glared at River for a moment before turning to look down the dark tunnel that led further into the subway. "We can probably assume this is the reason for the disappearances… question is… how the fuck is it possible? And where the fuck are we?"

V also gave the tunnel an inspection. After a few metres, inky darkness shrouded everything from view save from a very ominous and dull red glow. There didn't seem to be any other way forward and the station platform ended where the tunnel began.

"I guess our only option is to move forward…" V spoke with a hint of hesitance. She lightly slapped her cheeks before jumping down onto the tracks. "Let's just hope the trains aren't running today, eh?"

"Is it just me… or are we lost?" V muttered almost under her breath. Mainly, she just wanted to break the silence. Of course, being the social butterfly she was, V had only managed to annoy the brooding ex-cop once again.

His scowl - under any other circumstances - would have earned him a smirk and a snide remark. But this time, V came up empty.

The man was clearly worried out of his mind.

Worried, or perhaps just constipated. He did have Buck-a-Slice for breakfast after all.

"Want… to hear a joke?" V mustered the courage to try to break the silence once again.

"No." River flatly replied.

"Why did the Rockerboy's output kick him out of the apartment?"

"Because he wasn't Chippin' In. I know. You've told me that joke over a million times." River glowered over his shoulder, back at V as they walked. "I get that it's one of your friend's favourites but with all due respect… shut up, V."

All she could do was sigh in defeat.

She felt Judy gently pat her shoulder. They had been walking for what felt like hours now and the tunnel didn't show any signs of ending. It had been full of twists and turns, all at mind bending angles and elevations. Yet somehow, they were able to traverse them all without much issue.

Occasionally, they would enter a larger, more open area where they were treated to disturbing views of distant train stations and carriages. All with the same uniform red glow. It was haunting to say the least.

And the fact it was nearly impossible to breathe normally made even walking slightly faster than a crawl exhausting. V could only thank whatever higher beings were out there for Oxy-Boosters.

"Seriously, though… where do you suppose we are? Some secret underground complex out in the Badlands?" V decided to direct her conversational attempts towards her girlfriend. Perhaps she would prove more receptive. Luckily, it seemed she was. Judy gave a moment of thought before chuckling.

"My bet's on a satellite orbitin' the moon."

"Ha. If only. I heard the moon's a corpo paradise."

"I wouldn't believe everythin' the Screamsheets bark at you."

"It'd be a kick ass place for a date, though. What's the price? Couple mil? Heh… I could probably scrape that together by the time I reach eighty." Though meant as a joke, that statement didn't seem to sit well in the air. Judy fell silent once more. A pang of guilt shot at V's chest. "Sorry." She muttered, taking a hold of Judy's hand.

"What the… fuck?" River's voice barely carried through the growing tension. The two girls walked face first into the ex-cop's back, snapping them out of their sudden awkwardness. Looking around to see what he had noticed, both shared the same sentiment.

"What… the fuck?" They both murmured in unison.

The tunnel they were in culminated in a dead end consisting of a swirling vortex of red energy. It was as large as the wall itself and looked more like water flowing into a huge drain. The tracks had uprooted themselves, too. Though they were unmoving, simply resembling the motion of being sucked in.

Just looking at the swirl hurt the group's eyes.

"Jesus Christ… what's next? A fuckin' eldritch horror?" Judy groaned.

"Don't fuckin' jinx, it." V retorted. Though honestly, she really didn't know what to expect. Nor did the other two.

What they didn't expect was a very high pitched giggle.

Immediately, V's hand pressed against the grip of her iron, ready for action. She looked around quickly. Nothing. "Did you guys hear that?" She asked. The fact River already had his own iron in hand was confirmation enough. "Jude, get behind me."

Judy was quite capable of defending herself, though she understood the urgency behind V's order. When V felt a threat in the air, she got quite protective.

For a moment longer, there was nothing but the howling wind.

Then, something out of the corner of V's vision caught her attention. With quickness trained over years of combat experience, she levelled her pistol and fired off a shot. The thunderous boom surged through the tunnel, amplified by the echo.

"Eek! What the heck!? What was that for!? Is that how you treat every girl you meet!?"

The voice was almost painfully high pitched.

The voice's source was currently frozen stiff against the wall. The bullet had struck the wall mere millimetres from a very small head of red hair. Wisps of smoke and ember flared from the hole as the last of the phosphorus burned off the bullet.

The head in question belonged to an equally small body clad in a purple leotard, elbow length gloves and thigh high stockings. All of the same purple. However, that wasn't the strangest thing about her. That honour belonged to the butterfly-like wings spread from her back, fluttering erratically, keeping the girl afloat.

She floated in place with her hands in the air and her legs shaking in fear. Despite that, and to her credit, she still held an angry expression. Or perhaps mere irritation.

"Ok… I'm officially going insane." V lowered her gun and stared blankly. The flying girl was barely a foot tall, yet somehow glared at V with a tone of discontent rivalling Panam when V had first met the Nomad.

"Well that's just rude!" The flying girl scowled. Now there wasn't a gun pointed at her, she lowered her hands, balled her fists and did her best to pout, going from discontent to sulky. "Who are you guys, anyway!? Coming into my realm and shooting at me. Me! The nerve."

Under normal circumstances, one might have called the girl cute.

This wasn't normal circumstances.

"The name's Ward, River Ward. And you are…?" River - to his credit - was taking all this incredibly in stride. He introduced himself as if he were conversing with a random street vendor in Kabuki. Perhaps it was a form of coping, or perhaps he had wound himself so tight he had gone full circle and lost all fucks to give.

The girl's pout grew in intensity. She had yet to draw closer, but V could tell this girl wanted to run up and smack River. Something that would have amused her greatly. "How could you not know who I am!? I'm Pixie! This is my realm! My home! My kingdom!"

"Really? You're in charge here?"

She folded her arms and gave a defiant nod. Yellow arcs of electricity crackled briefly between her wings before settling down once again. "I suppose I can forgive you. You're only mere humans after all!"

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, if you're in charge of whatever the fuck this place is… what the fuck is that and where the fuck are we?" It was V's turn to show her irritation. She gestured over her shoulder to the vortex. Things were going from weird to downright insane.

As if to add insult to injury, a short coughing fit paused the conversation. Coughing was normal for the merc by now, but it had been quite some time since the last attack. Still, she could feel Judy's worried stare pierce the back of her skull. Her only consolation was the lack of blood this time around.

The girl - now identified as Pixie - looked at the swirling vortex. The irritation in her expression seemed to morph into confusion. Then concern.

"I don't know. Sorry! That's new to me, too."

The merc sighed. "So you're useless." She muttered before raising her iron once again. Pixie shrieked in fear, her arms shooting up once again.

"W-wait! Don't shoot! You're lost, right? I can help you get out of here!"

"You could'a led with that." Judy gave Pixie a studious glance as she quipped. She was certainly suspicious, but Judy could not hide her growing endearment. The affectionate smile that slowly pulled at her lips was enough to melt V's heart just a little. V inwardly laughed to herself. That look was usually reserved only for Nibbles.

Still, V kept the pistol levelled at Pixie.

Something the fairy-like girl took much displeasure in. The nervous sweat forming on her forehead was practically a waterfall.

"I can l-lead you to the exit! I promise! Please put the gun down…"

"V, look at her. Give her a break." Judy's eyes were positively sparkling. Clearly, Pixie had wormed her way into the techie's heart. With a grunt of defeat, V lowered her pistol and let her shoulders sag.

"Ok… Pixie. Take us to this exit of yours."

"Are we just gonna ignore the giant red vortex?" River said, staring back at it. As much as V wanted to investigate further, it was far too dangerous to simply go touching everything they came across. After all, the vortex could have been some kind of instant death machine. Or it could have been completely harmless. Either way, V really didn't want to gamble with her friend's lives.

If she were alone, it may have been a different story. V was known for jumping into things regardless of personal safety. Often leading to an argument and being sent to sleep on the couch for the night.

The solo patted his shoulder, squeezing it. "For now, we should focus on getting out. I have some choice words for our client, and I'm sure you do, too." Her words thankfully resonated with River. He nodded, grinning for the first time since arriving here.

"A few choice actions, too."

V clapped her hand hard on his back. "Good to hear it. C'mon. We sh-"

She found herself getting cut off by a distant noise. One all too familiar to the solo. Automatic gunfire.

At a guess, it sounded like a Copperhead.

The rhythmic thump of the shots carried through the tunnels well enough. It was still pretty far off, but the group could tell it was urgent. With the addition of several more sounds of gunfire from different weapons, it became quite clear there was a raging fire fight. "It sounds like we might have stumbled onto at least some of our missing people. Pixie, which direction is your exit?"

Pixie pointed towards the gunfire.

"Perfect! Two r… ugh…" V's vision blurred for a moment. "Two rats, one… ngh…" A sudden pounding migraine enveloped her mind. The solo fell to her knees. A rush of weakness took hold. The coughing from earlier came back with a vengeance, though this time it had spread to both of her compatriots. Her chest pounded and her vision grew increasingly fuzzy. "What's… happening…"

She could hear River and Judy fall to the floor too.

"Oh no. It's happening already?" Pixie's voice was hard to focus on, but V could still see the vague shape of her form. Even if it was just an amorphous blob of purple, red and occasional yellow. "This world isn't meant for humans!"

"What… do you…" even speaking became increasingly harder. Judy's panicked struggles cut through the malaise, prompting V to try reaching for her hand. To no avail. She couldn't even lift her arm.

"It's trying to purge you. The Metaverse sees humans as invading bacteria. Which… you kind of are." Pixie drew closer to V. The solo could just make out Pixie's expression. It looked like a mixture of worry and excitement. "Stay here for too long and you'll eventually die! Painfully! As it happens, you're starting to succumb."

If V wasn't currently doing everything in her power to stay conscious, she would have thought Pixie was enjoying this.

"Fuckin' Felix! I'm going to kill the fucker." River hissed. He struggled to his feet for a moment, then fell back down. He grunted, muttering profanities under his breath.

"There is a way to resist it, though!"

"Oh yeah? And how's that?"

"Become my slave!"

That was enough to give V the energy to draw her iron. Its gold and silver gunmetal flashed in the dim light. This was not the time for bullshitting and V wanted to make that perfectly clear. She heard Pixie yelp in surprise. "Alright, alright!" She squealed. "We need to form a pact. A mutual exchange! I don't really get how it works, but some Shadows - such as myself - can form special bonds with humans."

"What kind'a… ugh… contract? Do we gotta sign some old parchment with our blood?" Judy struggled to keep her breathing under control as she did her best to offer a snide remark. Sadly, it was a mistake. She began to cough violently. V couldn't see her, but the following statement was more than enough to grow a sense of desperation. "Oh… well, there's my blood for it."

"Oh, it's nothing like that! I just need you to agree to protect me. In return, I'll grant you the will to rebel against this world."

"Fine. Deal. Just make it quick." V spoke with little hesitance. She was not about to let Judy or River die here for no good reason.

There was, of course, the chance Pixie was lying to them. This bout of weakness could have been temporary. Though that was not a chance V was willing to take when it came to Judy. The girl had lost enough.

Almost immediately, V felt a warm sensation form in her chest. It grew and slowly enveloped her whole body.

I am thou, thou art I.

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Lovers Persona, thou hast attained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.

The warm feeling slowly faded. As it did so, the air grew easier to breathe. As if breaking the surface of water, fresh air rushed into V's lungs, revitalising her. Following suit, her vision refocused and her limbs regained feeling.

She took the opportunity to look back at her friends. Judging by the relieved expressions they both shared, it seemed they too had gained whatever power Pixie had granted. Even still, one question remained.

"What was that voice?"

"What voice?" Judy raised an eyebrow. River was equally confused. V slowly and shakily rose to her feet, shaking her head. She knew where this was going and she didn't like it one bit.

"Nevermind. It's nothing. Alright, let's go see what that shoot out is all about." Without even thinking, V grabbed Pixie by the waist and stuffed her into the inside pocket of her jacket. She ignored the whining protests and wriggling.

If V's end of the bargain was keeping the fairy safe, then that was what she was going to do.

The group emerged into a larger room with multiple pillars and a central structure of machinery and polished stone. It looked to be some sort of twisted train junction. Though it would never have been functional in practice.

The room's lack of realism was the least of V's worries.

There were five people in the room, all with their backs to V's group, huddling behind the central structure. Concerningly, one of them in particular was about as tall as a small child and wearing what looked like a cat mascot costume. The other four were equally strangely dressed.

That wasn't important right now.

The Maelstrom goon that had quite literally exploded into the room, guns blazing, was important. His maniacal, modulated laughter was more than enough to confirm what V was dreading. "Shit… Cyberpsycho!"

One of the five people currently under siege glanced back towards V.

A girl clad in a long, black tail coat and a domino mask. A teenager.

For a moment, V locked eyes with her. At a guess, the girl must have been weighing up whether or not V was another threat. The piercing silver gaze almost gave the merc the chills.

Moments later, a thunderous explosion shook the room as a grenade went off. Debris hurled through the air and the five huddled behind their rapidly failing cover.

"Judy, see if you can get into his system. You've got that swanky new Mox Cyberdeck, right?" V turned to her partner. The techie nodded.

"Guess now's a good a time as any for testin' it out." She grinned before sprinting to a pillar, narrowly avoiding a burst of automatic fire.

"River, cover those kids! I'll keep the borg-fucker busy. Maybe we can subdue him without having to flatline him."

"You sure that's the play? Might be better to zero him."

"Cyberpsycho or not, he's still technically a rescue target." V began to make her own move before River stopped her. She grunted in irritation. "If shit goes beyond fucked, we'll drop him. Deal?"

With that taken care of, River and V sprang to action.

Pixie wriggled free from her pocket and scrambled behind V, clinging to her back for dear life. With slight irritation, V let the girl do her thing. Pixie was light enough that she wouldn't restrict any movement.

Though V could have done without the mutterings of a "weirdly boney spine."

"Hey, Chrome-for-Brains! Is attacking random kids Maelstrom's thing now?" V yelled, running forward. Drawing her gun, she fired off a few shots, making sure she had the Psycho's attention. The four red lights of his face-plate focused on V's advance and his twisted grin morphed into a vision of pure elation.

The Maelstromer - for lack of a better term - howled with laughter. "The voices are so loud! The other guy tried silencing them! Haha! Useless! You can't silence the voices. The calls of the dead god!"

Gibberish fitting Cyberpsychosis.

He aimed his Copperhead and let off a volley. A few of the bullets struck her in her thigh and shoulder. Subdermals had her covered, though it still hurt. Oddly, however, the pain vanished near enough immediately. So too did the wounds.

Unimportant. V couldn't let herself be distracted.

She stepped to the side, drawing the line of fire away from the others.

"Uh-huh. Dead god. Got it. Who was the other guy?" V asked, returning fire. Sadly, the bullets merely bounced off his chest. The phosphorus didn't have enough time to ignite, either.

She glanced towards Judy. She was still working on her hacking. Given the wireless link V's Kiroshis highlighted, Judy had at least managed to connect to him. She just needed time to upload the demons.

"Hnnngh… Valentino! Followers of a false deity! They don't understand! They don't hear!"

So there was another missing person. Likely dead, now. At least judging by how he was talking. That confirmed there were likely others lost in this labyrinth. If V understood what Pixie had explained, unless the other missing people found a similar creature to her, getting lost in this place was a death sentence.

The Psycho fired off another volley. V dodged to the side and let her Kerenzikov implant burst to life. The effect was much more powerful than a Sandevistan, though it didn't last nearly as long. For the next few seconds, V moved quicker than the eye could see.

She could hear Pixie screaming for her little life.

V reappeared behind the Maelstrom and lashed out with her monowire. The wire wrapped itself around the Copperhead and with a yank, she pulled the iron free. Another motion flung it toward the group, out of his reach.

Sadly, it seemed he was armed with more than just a rifle.

Pulling out a Lexington pistol, he tried his best to keep up with V's movements. That was until something in the base of his skull sparked and flared. The Psycho screamed in agony as the force knocked him to his knees. The red lights of his faceplate began to strobe with different colours as garish music blared from his throat.

"He's short circuited! Now V!" Judy called from her cover. V nodded, grinned and moved in for the take down. She kicked the pistol from his grip, forced him down onto his stomach and swiftly struck him in the back of the head.

His body fell limp as consciousness evaded him. The music also stopped.

V breathed a sigh of relief. At least the kids were safe. Whoever they were.

"River, any wounded?" V asked, beginning to make her way back towards the group. She could just make out River kneeling down behind the block of machinery.

"One of 'em took a hit, looks worse than it is though." The ex-cop replied. Rounding the corner, V looked down at the girl dressed in a red bodysuit straight out of a Bondage Smutt BD. River had her laid out on the ground with his coat being used as a pillow.

The girl looked incredibly pale as she groaned in pain.

The wound in question was thankfully just a straight shot through her side. It hadn't hit anything vital and the bullet had passed straight through. Even still, the girl was incredibly distressed. Another girl - this one dressed in a fur-lined overcoat and leather armour - knelt down at her side, gripping her hand.

"Relax kid. You're going to be fine." V muttered. Though the fur clad girl looked up in confusion. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but seemed to think better of it. She glanced over to River and gave him a wary look.

The third girl - the one V had locked eyes with earlier - stood up. "Sorry, she doesn't speak much English. You're… V?" Her accent was solidly British. V nodded. "Thanks for jumping in. We weren't expecting… well… whatever that was."

"What the fuck are kids doing in this god forsaken hell hole?" V cut the girl off. Now the immediate threat had passed, it was time to get some answers. "And why the fuck are you all dressed for some kind of costume party?"

It seemed V's sudden profanity had caught the girl off guard.

"Well, we're here on business." The girl fidgeted under V's scrutiny. V was not happy with that answer, and it showed. She massaged the bridge of her nose. What sort of business did a bunch of teenagers have in a place that would kill them simply for breathing?

The two could only stare at each other in growing tension. It seemed the girl had no intention of giving up any more information than that.

V let herself relax with an exhale. She was getting as wound up as River had been earlier. "Fine. Whatever. Let's just tend to your friend."

"Uh… guys… is that… supposed to happen?" Judy's voice held a hint of fear as she pointed over to where the Cyberpsycho's unconscious form was. Said form was currently being slowly consumed by an inky black substance. Tendrils of ichor latched onto his arms and legs, digging themselves into his skin.

V could see the man's veins turn black as the ichor made its way quickly through his body. Even still, the Cyberpsycho remained unconscious. Completely oblivious to what was happening to him. Perhaps that was a small blessing.

The Maelstrom's body rose into the air as though it had been picked up by some invisible hand. His limbs almost seemed to pulse, swell and retract as they dangled in the air. Everyone could clearly hear the creaking and snapping of bone and chrome. V had to admit, the sight may have started to turn her stomach a little.

Then, a pulse of dark energy rocked the whole room. Both V and the girl were knocked to the floor violently. A bone shattering scream rattled the entire room and forced everyone to clamp their hands over their ears. All the group could do was stare in fear and confusion.

"Pixie… what the fuck is happening!?"

"I don't know! I can sense a presence drawing power from that man, though! It's strong! It's like…" Pixie's grip on V grew tighter. "It's like… they're merging!"

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!?"

"Called it! Eldritch Horror!"

"Judy, now is not the time! Everyone, get the fuck down!"

Author's Notes

As things pick up in this story and more things get introduced, I'll try to explain things should anything grow too complicated. Next chapter will be a Mix Tape, so look forward to that!