*****A Cursed Existence*****

Entry 19: Wakey, Wakey

AN: Dialogue heavy chapter ahead. Also, to those reviewers asking questions: check your pm's. If there's nothing there, it shall be answered over the following chapters. Keep asking though by all means, you have me curious about what can be done here.

December 31st, 2182, 1:29 am. (Fourteen hours, 15 minutes later)

Calm

That was all I felt at the moment. I was still in whatever sort of mindscape I'd ended up in, though compared to the vibrant pink and purple nebula of Liara's from the game, mine was distinctly less… colorful. The surface was like that of a deep purple lake, ripples spreading out everywhere I stepped, though I never sank into it, the whitish purple horizon around me being the only source of light. Somehow though, despite the almost eerie setting, it was remarkably… comfortable. Soothing. Calm.

I didn't really know how long I'd been here, but at some point the other Miri had disappeared without me noticing. Which was… strange, considering we hadn't broken the hug last I remembered. I think? It was hard to think at times in here. Hard to remember. Whenever I tried, I'd get confused with a nigh endless stream of memories, seemingly flowing out of the lake itself. At least that was the best way to describe it available to me.

Wandering across the lake, I felt a gentle breeze blow across my face. Or perhaps it was the memory of a breeze? Either way, it was refreshing, and made me take a deep breath to enjoy it. It was nice. Relaxing even.

It's time, little one, a feminine voice that rang out nearby said, and I felt a distinct something when I heard it. Familiarity, and… love. But also… sadness?

Time to wake up. You've slept too much, sleepyhead, it said and I tried to find its origin, desperately searching. I knew this voice. It almost sounded like…

Mom?

No response came, and I kept frantically searching, yet before I could find it the horizon grew brighter and brighter, to the point I had to squint my eyes to mitigate the glow of the light.

No! I have to find her! She has to be here!

Yet the light didn't care, as it kept increasing in intensity, the glare becoming almost unbearable, until finally-

…

…

…

Uuuhhhhhggg…

Slowly letting myself wake up from the dream/mindscape initially brought on by the bond, I groaned, feeling several parts of my body ache as I did.

Hmm? Is it… is it over?

Forcing my eyes open, I saw a familiar bedroom ceiling above me. It was one I'd seen for years now, after all, and to top it off, I was the one who designed it, so it didn't take long to recognize the pattern.

Wait… that's not right. Isn't it?

Feeling mildly confused at the thoughts and memories still sporadically making themselves known to me, I brushed it off in favor of trying to get out of bed. That particular action was stopped when I felt something in my arm shift uncomfortably, making me wince, so I laid back down. Judging by how dim it currently was, I guessed it was either late evening or night time. The mansion had built-in dim lights in every room and hallway to make traversing it at night easier without fully waking you up, only being bright enough to see shapes and outlines. Though taking that into account, one outline in particular was decidedly lacking in regards to its presence.

Where… where's Aena? Shouldn't she be here? After that fight… wait, did she win? I assume so. I'm not in a cell, a hospital, or dead, so it seems to be a fair assumption… then why?

Deciding I'd slept enough, and wanting certain answers, I brought up my left hand on instinct to use my omni-tool. Oddly though, the only thing on my wrist at the moment was what appeared to be a dark grey or black tattoo of some kind, and while the lights were dim, they were still enough to see the details of it: a ring of thorns, looking like they were on fire, and every time I tried to follow the flame to where it started, the tattoo would seemingly rotate, the flames never changing their position from my perspective.

Well that's… ominous.

Whether it was habit or simple curiosity, I still flicked my wrist to activate the 'tool that… should've been there. Maybe, I thought, it was just hard to see it due to the lighting; I know there have been plenty of times I completely forgot about it due to how well it blended in with my skin. After I did, however, the strangest thing happened: my omni-tool turned on, but at the same time, it wasn't… my omni-tool. The startup screen was the same as it used to be, but everything else, from the outline, to the styling, even the color, had changed. Stranger still…

Why isn't this hurting my eyes? It looks to be on max brightness, far as I can tell. More than that…

Looking around, the light from the 'tool didn't actually provide light. No shadows were cast, no blue shine given off from it, I even held it next to my other arm to check if the glow would let me see it clearer. But there was nothing giving it away as even existing outside of the fact I could see it and interact with it. It felt… strange. Unnatural even.

Is it even real? All the evidence is telling me no, but it's not going away either.

Flicking my 'tool closed, it shut off as it should, and just to test it, I flicked it on again. Sure enough, it came back in an instant, exactly where I'd left it: on the somehow both familiar and unfamiliar home screen.

How? Am I just imagining it? No, that can't be it; I'm many things, but a schizophrenic isn't one of them.

A message alert popped up on the ghost-tool – wait, since when was I able to receive messages on my Agatha omni-tool? – and I felt a sort of buzz in my arm. It almost felt like a normal message alert, if not for the fact I could feel it coming from my skin, and not something attached to it; in particular, the odd burning thorn tattoo. Shaking off the odd sensation as best I could, I opened the message now showing on the 'tool.

It started with a very reassuring: "No, you aren't imagining it. Schizo is debatable, though."

I just stared at the message at that, honestly too tired to care at this point and generally done with Agatha's shenanigans after what she did to me before I entered the bond.

"Rude. Maybe you'd like it if you were a baby instead? That would be pretty funny, don't you think?"

Continuing to read, I felt an increase in the urge for my sanity to swan dive off the mental ledge it had been balancing on since I first came here.

"Oh stop being such a drag. You have most definitely seen worse. Now up, up! I desire entertainment! Oh, and I said it before, but once more, do enjoy the gift.

With love, Agatha."

I continued staring at the message, which had been suspiciously slow to "load" while I had read through it, before it (naturally) deleted itself. Feeling a headache as my sanity continued to struggle not to off itself, I decided a good song was what I needed to relax. Fortunately, my playlist was still intact, and I scrolled through it until I found one that fit the mood.

Ahh… Take Me To Church will do finely, thank you…

Hitting play, I sat back and unwound as best as my aching body allowed, humming along with it. At least briefly, anyway; my throat hurt after a second or two, most likely from the Justicar bruising it in our fight, and I went back to simply enjoying the music instead.

A few minutes passed in relative peace, if not silence, before I felt calm enough to think rationally again. That taken care of, I tried reaching for my nightstand with my right hand, intending to find my normal/business omni-tool. That proved to be a mistake, however, as the second I moved the arm, I felt the uncomfortable sensation from before return in full force, earning a pained grunt from me.

Okay, not the best idea, I'll admit. Let's try this slower, then.

Carefully leaning on and using my left arm to push myself up, and being grateful that the only thing I felt upon doing so was a twinge in my right leg, I sat up in bed. Slowly, I tested each leg to see if I could stand on them without issue. While the left wasn't too bad – a bit of an ache but nothing unbearable – the right gave a sensation from its calf of me being too close to an open flame, the skin there feeling quite delicate under the bedsheets I found myself comfortably wrapped in. There also happened to be another thing I could feel on the leg, as well as various other parts of my body: bandages. Well, more along the lines of medicinal patches adhered to the skin, but bandages was less of a mouthful. As a side note, all I wore at the moment was my underwear, but that was neither here nor there.

Regardless of the injury, I could tell I was at least able to stand on the leg. Walking, however, remained to be seen, but I'll be damned if I didn't at least try.

Easing myself off the bed as gently as possible, the covers wrapped over my shoulders so I could stay warm, now with the tune of some song from Adele in my ear, I readied for the effect of putting my weight on my legs once more. Sure enough, the left held it easily, while the right was going to have a noticeable limp until it healed. My knowledge of asari physiology said it could be anywhere from a day to a week before it fully recovered, depending on how deep the wound was.

Wanting more mobility, I tested my biotics for a moment, hoping at least one part of my body had made it out of the impromptu duel uninjured. Thankfully, my implant gave me no trouble, and I was able to channel the near magical energy into my body, making it that much lighter. The effect was only slight, seeing as anything more would drain my energy too quickly, and regardless, I didn't want to start flying around given my current condition.

Walking over to a dresser, albeit still with a slight limp, I took note of an arm sling put there. Doubtless it was the work of Aena while I was asleep, so taking the hint for what it was, I placed it around my neck and under my right arm. Almost immediately my shoulder felt relief, the weight it had been carrying now eased, and I let out a pleased breath of air.

Well that felt good… alright then, time to find out what happened. Where did my assistant go I wonder…

Finding my normal omni-tool next to where the sling was, I slipped it onto my right wrist, having to get used to operating it with my left hand. It wasn't too hard – ardat yakshi memory hacks and left handed bondmates, and all that – but it still took a moment to adjust. But adjust I did. Putting it in projection mode (an Armali trademark) made interacting with it far easier than if it was locked to my arm like usual.

Hmm… so I was asleep for half a day? That certainly explains why it's dark out right now. Though it also most likely means the mess over at that diner has probably been reported by now. Shit. Hopefully I can play cleanup before it gets revealed I was involved, but perhaps a rapid retreat off world is in order… *sigh* One thing at a time, Miri. Find Aena first.

Opening the door to my room, having turned the bedsheets into an impromptu robe, I hobbled out, the dimly lit hallway greeting me on the other side. All the doors in the hallway were currently closed, however the downstairs lights appeared to be on, which gave me a direction to start in at least.

Maybe I should've just messaged her from bed… ah well, too late now. Onward!

A few minutes later…

"-istress, I didn't see you there! You should still be recovering!" Aena told me, sounding as worried as she looked, her rapidly pulsing yellow practically screaming concern.

"I'll be fine, Aena!" I said, trying to calm her down, though a shooting ache in both my leg and my throat reminded me of the accuracy of that statement, and I rubbed the latter gingerly, deciding to lower my tone to minimize the pain. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, though not being under threat of death anymore, I could feel every little scratch I'd taken in that fight, painkillers or not. "For now anyway. And what do you mean you didn't see me? Don't you hear the music?"

"Music? My audioreceptors are not picking up anything known as or similar to 'music'. To what music are you referring to?" was her genuine response, worried yellow mingling with confused green, which itself made me confused.

"This music," I said, waving my left arm around, the strange blue omni-tool covering it still decently loud as it continued along my playlist. Aena, for her part, looked between the arm and my face, becoming more and more confused by the second. Quietly wondering if maybe she took some damage from her own part of the fight the day prior, I paused the music and closed out the device, deciding I'd figure it out later. "Never mind, there are more important concerns. What happened after I passed out?"

She still pulsed yellow, but nonetheless, Aena answered. "After you were incapacitated, my priority changed from 'for this situation only unless otherwise specified' to Emergency Protocol: Sunset. Your life was in danger, and as such, efficiency was decided on when it came to ending the engagement."

Not especially liking that, and only vaguely remembering what Sunset Protocol was (there were dozens of protocols in her programming, after all, and that was before her AI awakening) I asked her to clarify with a gesture. She was good at reading what I wanted like that.

"The two TCPD officers were in the way of carrying out the protocol. Both were made compliant or irrelevant with minimal waste of energy." She glanced at her left shoulder then, an expression I couldn't identify on her face. "Though one did put up a fight. Minimal damage was sustained, however, there has been a slight decrease in my physical performance as a result."

"I can look at you later after I've recovered a little more," I told her reassuringly, only to be surprised as she shook her head in the negative.

"Your health takes priority, Mistress. Please fully recover before attempting anything strenuous. My frame will still be fully functional until then."

Well I'll be damned. She actually wants me to rest up rather than fix her. AI or not, she's dedicated to say the least… though to be fair, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

"Alright, Aena, I'll focus on healing for now. Clearly you were successful, though. However… I have to ask: what happened to the officers?"

Depending on her answer, either I'd add killing a pair of effectively innocent bystanders onto the list of things I regret, or I'd have to get ready to run for it into the Terminus as soon as possible. However, continuing the trend of surprising me, Aena answered.

"They, along with the third witness, are currently resting in the upstairs guest rooms, awaiting your decision," she told me, matter-of-factly.

Before I could say anything, she perked up slightly, apparently receiving information of some sort. "Correction: two are resting, the third is making their 16th attempt to hack through the manor's signal interference program. Further correction: their 16th failed attempt," she ended smugly.

Wait, was that part of the protocol? I do remember something about taking witnesses alive… I think? Pretty sure I wrote that particular protocol only as an 'in case of last resort' type of thing. Then again, the last resort may as well have already come to pass… decisions, decisions…

"How long have they been resting then?" I asked, needing to speak to them one way or another.

"Six hours now. As per the protocol, you were transported to a safe zone – the manor – as soon as hostilities ended, and were given necessary treatment, along with the required organic waste disposal of any items potentially hazardous to your health. The follow-up action involved returning to the site to collect any previously missed digital evidence, as well as the final witness, Old Ira, and ensuring she was aware of what her cooperation or lack thereof would ensure. She was… difficult, but eventually complied with the protocol."

Wait, so she saw all this happening too? *sigh* Too many loose ends, and no way to tie them all off without making even more… well, here's hoping they can at least be reasonable. One disappearance will be hard enough to cover up, even with the local senator thoroughly in my pocket after that last big 'donation'; four is just too many. Though being 'friendly' with most of the officials of any importance on this planet for the past several decades will certainly come in handy even if the senator proves herself less than useful.

Hopping my way over to a chair next to the kitchen table, I gently sat down on it, careful not to agitate my arm or leg any more than absolutely necessary. The chair was pleasantly comfortable (no surprise there) and allowed me to relax as I waited for my 'guests' to come downstairs. "Go and wake them up, then. May as well get this out of the way now, and it's almost daytime anyway."

"Right away, Mistress," she confirmed, giving one last look to my leg before turning and heading upstairs.

Alright, Miri, game plan time: what will I do with them? Death isn't exactly the best result here, because the more people removed the higher the chance of them missing being discovered, not to mention I really don't want to kill them just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, yet I obviously can't just let them go without some guarantees. Hmm… maybe if I… oh yes, that is diabolical… and I could test that just to be sure as well… and maybe, also just try that idea out to see if it works…

Sending a message to Aena about what I wanted her to do, I readied myself for the conversation to come, putting on my best CEO face in preparation, along with mentally stretching the part of my mind that controlled the more… unique aspects granted by being an ardat yakshi. If all went well, they wouldn't know what hit them.

Meanwhile…

"GAAHHH!" she yelled, blinded by a sudden flash of light.

Huh? What? Who? Oh Goddess… what time is it?

"-ou have four minutes to ready yourself before I return to enforce your compliance. Do hurry. The Mistress is waiting on you," the cold voice of the VI mech said somewhere over by the doorway, the room lights having now dimmed enough to be at least semi-comfortable, what with her having been forcefully woken up.

Fuuuccckk me… does she have to sound so downright chipper about it?!

"I'm moving, I'm moving! Athame's tits…"

Ciaris watched as the VI huffed – huffed! – at her before proceeding to walk out, and she was gifted with hearing the door next to her own down the hall being opened, followed by a scream and a truly impressive amount of curses, many of which she didn't even recognize, coming from Old Ira as the near matriarch was woken up in a similar fashion to herself.

Heh. Serves her right. If we had her help yesterday, the fight with the bot would've… well, probably not been such an utter defeat. Ah well. Haven't been killed yet, so clearly I'm doing something right…

Forcing her body to wake up, through sheer annoyance if nothing else, she eventually managed to stumble out of the downright luxurious bed she'd been told was hers until V'Seila woke up. Her leg wound had yet to fully heal, true, but the wonders of medi-gel ensured that she barely felt it even after so much time had passed. If anything, her head hurt more than the leg, what with having been given an express ticket to the floor back at the restaurant. Doubtless she'd need to be looked at for the minor concussion she suffered, but so far she hadn't noticed too much in the way of issues aside from lights being especially bright at times. Supposedly it would pass on its own given time, according to her limited medical training as a cop, but a real doctor would be able to give a more definite answer.

She briefly tried to attach her issued pistol to its spot on her hip before remembering it was shattered yesterday in the fight, causing her to grumble under her breath. Those things weren't cheap, after all, and if it went missing, the amount of paperwork to file to get it replaced would see her contemplating just leaving the force, so long as her superiors didn't do that on their own considering how badly the mission they assigned her to had gone… assuming V'Seila didn't decide to simply have her murdered anyway.

Taking a peek at her omni-tool (the device was practically useless as anything but a clock after the VI did whatever she did to it) Ciaris noted she had two minutes left by now. Grumbling further, she cursed whatever gods that decided her luck would be so shit, and slipped her shoes on, heading out and downstairs to meet the mistress of the manor, and her mechanical servant.

Heh. Sounds like a title for one of those silly little mystery novels I read when I was younger…

Briefly, and fondly, remembering those earlier days, she paused at the top of the stairwell leading down. Now granted, her leg didn't hurt anywhere near as much as it should've given the circumstances (aka: having it sliced open) but she had a feeling that despite that, going down the steps would still hurt quite a bit, as having gone up them the day prior proved. Sticking close to the railing, and trying to put as much of her weight on that rather than her leg, she slowly made her way down. Thankfully, having been ready for it this time along with going down rather than up, she made it without issue.

Hmm. Now that I think about it, not just anyone can win a 1v1 against a Justicar. In fact, very few can, if even half of the stories about them are true. What does that mean about the billionaire I wonder… suppose I'll just have to find out, won't I? Well alright then, where might V'Seila… be… hiding…

Her attention was drawn to a table in the mansion's kitchen, where the person in question was currently sitting, wrapped in what could've either been a robe, a dress, or a blanket, the velvety red color of the fabric allowing it to pass as any one of them. Regardless of what it was, all it did was make her look like a queen in her morning clothes, the small medical patch on her right cheek only barely visible given the angle Ciaris had on her, and somehow only adding to the regal look in spite of itself. To top it off, as Ciaris got closer, she heard the older asari humming a song she'd never heard before, and even if it was only a hum, it sounded quite pleasant to her ears.

Goddess… dammit, what I wouldn't do to look like that when I get older…

Shaking her head to dispel the random thought, she put her game face on, remembering why she was here to begin with. Smoking hot bod or not – shit, fuck! Down girl! – she was here more or less to bargain for her life with the Matron, so bargain she would.

"Ahem," she said, a little too timidly for her tastes, trying to draw the Matron's attention. Strangely, it didn't work, V'Seila still quietly humming the unknown song as if she hadn't heard Ciaris say anything. Deciding to try again, she spoke up louder this time. "Matron?"

"Hmm?" said Matron hummed in question, now turning to look at her, apparently having just noticed her. For a brief moment, Ciaris could've sworn she saw the elder asari's eyes were a shade of pure black, as if in the middle of a bond, but just as quickly they returned to being their natural ice blue, making her wonder if perhaps she was just imagining it. "Oh, sorry about that. Though I have to ask… do you hear that?"

The way V'Seila looked at her made it seem as if it should be obvious what 'that' is, but Ciaris couldn't help but blink in bewilderment. "Umm… no?"

Nodding to herself as if that answered a question she had, V'Seila tapped something above her left hand. At least, it looked like she tapped something, but all Ciaris could see was a strange tattoo on her wrist. "And I'm guessing you didn't see anything either?"

Further bewildered, all she could do was ask, "Was I supposed to?"

"I don't know, to be honest," was V'Seila's answer, sounding almost as confused as Ciaris felt. "But that's a problem for later. How are you feeling?"

"How am I- huh?" Of all the things Ciaris was ready for – threats, blackmail, demands, bribes – a genuine question was something she was not. It just didn't mesh with the situation she was in. "I… I guess I'm alright? My leg doesn't hurt too much, but the medi-gel won't last forever, miracle medicine or not."

"That's good. And medi-gel? Lucky girl, you are. I never stocked up on that before now. Won't be making that mistake again," she replied casually, as if it were a normal conversation, further throwing off Ciaris's predictions for how this would go.

Finding herself oddly comfortable with the topic, Ciaris relaxed somewhat, letting some of her guardedness slip away. "It wasn't cheap, you know. I had to shop around for a good supplier that wouldn't cheat me with some shitty volus copy of the real deal."

"Oh? Guess those tiresome little bankers have their hands in a bit of everything nowadays, legal and otherwise," V'Seila commented, to which Ciaris nodded in agreement, having dealt with one too many volus 'salesmen' trying to pawn off their second-rate goods at the local spaceport to gullible travelers, when they weren't busy trying their hardest to crash the local stock market in their favor that is. It never worked, naturally, because monetarily gifted or not, any species with a shorter lifespan than an asari just couldn't compete with them in terms of connections and experience, certainly not in their own private markets anyway.

Her thoughts were interrupted when V'Seila spoke up, glancing behind Ciaris. "Oh, here comes the other two now. Good, we can get started."

Turning to look herself, she noted Old Ira coming down the stairs, seeming especially grumpy, with a rather tired looking Tilasius right behind her. Ciaris nodded at the rookie, who in turn stood a little straighter at noting it, returning the gesture after a beat. Going off the bags under her eyes, the kid hadn't spent any time actually sleeping, not that Ciaris could blame her. The VI followed behind them, still showing nothing but mechanical apathy towards the ones in front of it, at least until it caught sight of V'Seila. Like a switch being flipped, the mech began glowing a pleasant blue from its faux-headcrest, now smiling as it strode past the other two so as to stand next to its owner.

"Good job, Aena," the owner in question idly commented, to which the VI glowed a little brighter, wisps of silver intermingling with the blue. "Now that you are all here, I believe it's time we discussed what needs to happen going forward. I-"

"Oh cut the crap already," Old Ira cut her off abruptly, causing an immediate shift from the VI, whose glow instantly shifted into a dangerous red as it glared at the speaker. Surprisingly it seemed even the old Matron was cowed by the intimidation factor of the machine, as she straightened up before continuing. "What I mean is, ya can skip all the platitudes. None of us are getting any younger, ya know. What do you want?"

"Hmm," the second oldest person in the room hummed in amusement. "Straight to the point then? Very well."

Adjusting herself, and somehow coming off as not having expected this outcome while also appearing collected and ready for it, V'Seila stared Old Ira in the eyes directly. Whatever the oldest of them saw in those eyes, it caused her to back down after only a few seconds. "To answer your question: what I want is for everything that took place yesterday to disappear as if it didn't happen. Unfortunately for all parties involved, it did, and now I have to deal with it. So, to do that, I need one of two things: either the cooperation of everyone here… or your silence. Aena?"

The VI moved in sync with the command, a drone having appeared at some point, said drone now projecting multiple screens with various things on them along with a number in the bottom corner.

"If I could have you all look at screen number two," V'Seila said, and look they did. The screen in question had several charts on it that, going off her limited experience with it, showed the current galactic stock market, with all its somewhat erratic ebbs and flows.

"What you see here is the Citadel Commerce Exchange," V'Seila said, confirming Ciaris's guess. "Commonly known as the stock market. Watch the elcor economy closely. Aena?"

Glancing at the VI, she wondered what it was that the mech was about to do. Whatever it was, she didn't see it, as a change in the chart showing the general economic stability of the Elcor nation as a whole caught her eye: for the briefest of seconds, it dipped. This wouldn't have been too shocking, except for the fact it happened once more, and it was for the exact same amount of time. After that, the market began shooting up and down, seemingly out of control, for almost a full minute before it mostly stabilized, and even Ciaris could tell that whatever was just done was very, very bad for a whole lot of investors.

"What in hell did you do?" Old Ira asked, sounding halfway between shocked and concerned. If Ciaris had to guess, the elder asari had some money of her own in that market.

"I sold half the shares I held in the largest elcor mining corporation in the galaxy, along with half the shares I own in their largest starship manufacturer, to a shell company I've had ready to use just in case. I then sold the other half to another such company, which as you can probably guess, resulted in a surge of panic sales and buys across the rest of the economy. It shouldn't have done too much lasting damage – the elcor market is, after all, one of the most stable out there – but as you can see, it was enough to make a difference."

"So you…" Ciaris found herself saying, more or less having understood what she was insinuating. "What? Almost caused a short-lived market collapse for an entire species?! Why!?"

Staring directly at her, Ciaris felt a chill run down her spine at the look in V'Seila's eyes, as well as something else that she'd rather not admit regarding the way those same eyes glistened like jewels. "To prove a point. To show what I can do to each of you… but also, consequently, what I can do for you."

"The classic 'wine and poison'," Old Ira said in a neutral tone, to the nodding of V'Seila.

"Our 'wine and poison', the turian 'steak and sword', the krogan 'trophy and cannon', and the human 'carrot and stick'. Whatever you call it, that is indeed what I intend here. If you cooperate, I can guarantee each of you enough passive income that, if you wanted to, you could each retire here and now. If that's not what you want, I could set you up with a ship to explore the galaxy… or repair and improve your business, potentially even expand it."

The last part was more directed at Old Ira than either of the officers in the room, but even still, Ciaris could admit to it being a tempting offer. Unfortunately, however, her better half demanded a question be asked before she agreed to anything. "And what if we don't cooperate? What if we turn you in for the murderer you are?"

Ignoring the surprised look from the others in the room, V'Seila included, along with the hostile mech now turning her direction with that baleful gaze from before, she shoved aside the thoughts now swirling in her head about how good it would be if she agreed with what the wealthy Matron wanted. Good for her or not, she still had her own principles to contend with; she wouldn't have been a cop this long without something to ground her. Yesterday may have been a wakeup call, but that didn't mean she'd given up entirely. She just hoped it didn't end up backfiring.

"Well… simply put, you would lose everything."

There was a pregnant silence as that settled in before Ciaris found her voice again. "What do you mean, 'everything'? Our lives? Livelihoods? Family? Friends?"

Still staring at her, V'Seila answered with a word that cut off all her other thoughts: "Yes."

Tilasius apparently decided now was a good time to jump in, the shock in her voice matched by her face. "But… why? What did any of them do to you?!"

"Nothing," was V'Seila's rather cold response, something in her gaze turning dangerous. "But if you would make me sacrifice everything I've ever made for myself due to knowledge you shouldn't have, then you should be prepared to suffer the same yourself. Besides, that's only if you refuse the deal I offer, because have no worries, you will be allowed to leave here alive. Of course I never said anything about staying alive, but you would at least live long enough for everything you hold dear to be burned to ash, which again, is only fair given what you demand of me in that situation. Wouldn't you agree?"

For some reason, the VI decided to speak up then, adding more fuel to the fire. "By all societal standards, it is indeed a fair exchange. The Mistress would offer nothing less."

Not giving them a chance to rebound, V'Seila continued. "Indeed. So what will it be? Reveal my secret and watch everything around you crumble, even if it takes years to do so, and feel as if you have the moral high ground for a few days, or take my offer and live on, prosperous, all in exchange for creating a new reality for what happened yesterday when those sent to look into it come asking."

Ciaris didn't answer. She couldn't. Everything about her screamed this was wrong, and yet she recognized the look V'Seila had: it was that of a person perfectly willing and able to carry out the promise they made, consequences be damned. She'd seen it on far too many people who had gone through with their mad schemes, or self destructive plans. It shocked her. It terrified her. It… excited and aroused her?

What?

Feeling a bit of a headache, she rubbed her scalp, trying to figure out where that last thought came from. Before she could recover, though, Old Ira beat her to it. "I don't know about the two of ya, but I wasn't so attached to that fuckin' Justicar that I'd shoot myself in the head to uphold what's 'right'. I have daughters and granddaughters I need to think of – hells, I'm about to start my own damn Matriarchal house! And I doubt my old place will be able to stay open if a bunch of goddess-damned reporters show up asking about the fuckin' shootout that took place in my parking lot between a billionaire and the trio of stupid shitheads that decided to pick a fight with her."

Ciaris couldn't help but wince at that. Clearly, Old Ira had decided where her own beliefs fell, and while she didn't want to admit it, it did hurt a little to realize one of the few people she talked to semi-regularly was so willing to spurn her for it. The worst part is that it made sense. Only an idiot would turn down a deal like this unless they genuinely wanted to die in the worst way possible.

Moving on to the next person of the group, V'Seila gave the rookie a stare of her own. "Well? What about you, Officer Tilasius? You still have much of your life ahead of you; one full of possibilities, opportunities, and more. Or you can watch as your life ends one day at a time."

Props to her, Tilasius lasted a full ten seconds under the attention before turning away, though not before Ciaris caught the conflicted look on her face. When she turned back to face them, the kid looked utterly beaten, a bit of that innocence she held having been lost in a span of less than a minute. "Could you help my sisters instead? They're almost adults, so they could use a sponsor for getting into university. I already have a degree, a place to live, and more. They need it, not me."

"If that's the price of your compliance, then consider it paid."

Turning the gaze back to her, V'Seila simply watched her stew in silence, awaiting her answer.

And then there was one… fuck me, why is this so hard? I didn't have any issue accepting it yesterday…

"I…" she started, trying to find the words. The gaze from V'Seila didn't let up, which only made her more flustered, but she powered through it. She was stronger than this dammit! "I want a new job."

"Is that it?" the Matron asked, sounding like she expected something more.

"Yeah. I'm a Lieutenant in the Taria City Police Force, but all that's ever done for me is screw over my personal life and make me unapproachable for most of the people I work with. But I've always wanted to be an actual investigator; an independent one, going out and doing jobs to solve legitimate mysteries. Not whatever shit my boss just doesn't feel like dealing with today. Worse still, I don't see the job going anywhere with how high up I am, because despite my position, I'm at the beck and call of every stuck-up bitch on this planet with a good connection or two and more money than sense… such as yourself. I'm stuck in it, and I want out. That's all."

V'Seila seemed oddly contemplative at that, looking her over in a new light. Finally, she nodded, slowly, as if coming to a decision of her own. "I understand that kind of feeling. How about this: You help me smooth over this investigation, and I'll ensure you get that job you've always wanted. Believe it or not, someone with your set of skills would come in handy with what I have in mind for a number of corporations and governments out there; that can be discussed later, however. For now, do you accept this little deal with the devil I offer to you?"

Ciaris wasn't sure she fully understood what a "devil" was, at least not the human version of the word that V'Seila used, but she got the general idea of what was meant by it. "Yes, I accept."

Giving a serene smile at the answer, the Matron gestured at her VI, causing the various screens still showing different pieces of information (she didn't really catch what the others had on them) to blip out of existence. "Good. Very good. And with that recording, each of you will be bound to this even should you change your mind."

Eh? Recording? She found herself thinking, before realizing that one of those screens from before did indeed show a live recording of everyone in the room. Oh… well then… no going back now, is there? *sigh* You made your bed, Ciaris, no choice but to sleep in it now… who knows? Maybe she actually will do what she promises. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?

Welp. Here we are again. Only one more chapter to go before the "Justicar Arc" is over, and then it's off to Feros and everyone's least favorite alien fungus monster. Are you excited? I'm excited.

Anyway, another one down. Hope you all enjoyed it, because if so, then I'll see you next time!