A Tale of Two Cities

"From me?" She asked, "What do you want it for?"

*The Adramelech steps back, pointing its machine guns at what's left of the Megadeus.*

<Not your concern. Do not try my patience any longer.>

Zell plucked a hair from her head, and walked forward, cautiously, taking special care to be aware of her surroundings. When she was close she put her hand in her coat pocket, and extended her other hand which had the hair. "Here, now leave Lilith alone, and tell me what I want to know, like you promised you would."

*With no apparent threat coming from what possibly amounts to a pair of legs, Gelu Chalybs fucks off.*

*As does the Adramelech.*

*He takes the hair from her, putting it in a canister that slides into the monitor.*

<Yes. Well, it's a trifling matter, really. In our studies, we came across a procedure to replicate memories--by creating clones of the person whose memories are meant to be retrieved. Exact genetic duplicates. Unfortuntely, we never did discover the origin of the experiment.>

*He turns around, leering at her.*

<But we produced fine results nonetheless! And so we decided to mark our experiments with a mutated eyeball, kill the original specimens, and pass the whole thing off as an experiment in gene therapy. But only after we made sure to thoroughly repress the memories of your creation, of course.>

*He turns back around, typing on the keyboard.*

<Though I do think that Rasheverek was a bit extreme in his methods. To go as far as to use himself as a sample, and willingly use the incinerator...there's science, & then there's madness. Do you not agree?>
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*When Vega gets home, the sun is starting to set. A news broadcast says that the riots are over, and police from Paradigm-1 who entered illegally were rounded up & executed. All told, the death toll numbers to 40, with 15 Paradigm-1 police, 2 Paradigm-2 police, & the remaining Paradigm-2 civilians. Also, the many-armed Megadeus is on the rampage once more.*

"Wait, what are you saying?!" Zell said in a voice that was slightly panicked, "You really think I would believe that I'm some sort of clone?"

[Great. That idiot is on a rampage again. I hate this city.]

<I promised you an explanation. It is not my problem if you choose to reject it. Now then. I believe I have no more need for any of you.>

*He presses a button &, on the monitor, Lilith's head turns into a bunch of exposed wires. The synthetic skin tears apart, leaving a scalp in one corner, a few teeth embedded in the wall, a metal jaw rolling across the floor, an eyeball that rolls under her bed, and a whole heap of other chunks of metal strewn chaotically around the room.*
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*Vega's phone begins ringing.*

*Vega answers.*

"Yes?"

*Topaz and Sulpher because the little brother needs a name and I'm playing MK, get on the Adramelech and fuck off to find the Megadeus.*

Sulpher: <That thing's going down fo' sure!>

Topaz: <I hate this city.>

Prolix Arma strolled casually down a street, dragging a tentacle through the sides of houses before using the other tentacles to hop over into another street, where it picked up a little car and threw it in the air.
"I really don't get what I'm supposed to be doing."

Zell's body goes numb, and she grips what was in her coat pocket tightly before emptying a clip from her gun into Aamon, shooting through her coat. "YOU BASTARD!"

Barbatos<It'sss me. I ha-have to meet withss you tomorrow. It'sss...ur--urgent.>
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*There's a trickle of green fluid before the wound stitches itself up & the wall rotates, taking Aamon & his computer, & leaving behind a blank steel wall with a timer on it.*

~5~
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*Topaz encounters Prolix Arminas acting like an asshole & throwing cars.*

Zell's eyes widen and she books it. She hopped down the shaft, not bothering to use the ladder rungs, instead, sliding down while holding onto the sides.

"Sure... Where and when?"

*The Adramelech puches at Prolix Arma's chest.*

Prolix Arma fires the harpoon rod thingy into Adramelech's fist, which then injects it with super heated metal.
"Hey, fuck off."

<Your dwelling...I'll come to you. Just stay there.>
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*The timer is shown on the Megadeus's viewscreen.*

~3~

"All right..."

[You can barely speak. How do you plan on coming here?]

Zell hops into the Megadeus and leaves the way she came from originally.

*The Adramelech pulls its arm down and steps back.*

Topaz: <Why are you wrecking the city?>

"Some guy told me to after I was abused by the police and a woman in a giant Megadeus stole my dad. Simple, really. If you want to stop me you either have to pay me a LOT of money, or kill me."

As she finished speaking, she aimed her missiles and hand mounted 50. cal at Adramelech.

Topaz: <What was the woman's name?>

*The Adramelech's remaining wing extends from its back with its dozens of machineguns.*