When it comes to Samurai, they are very protective of their people, to the point that sometimes, those people are more dangerous than the Samurai.

  -Internal memo of a loan collection agency taking over the remains of a rival who tried to collect from a Samurai's friend.

  As I wait in this lounge with Buddy, my heart rate hasn't slowed down at all, yet I am unable to show the fear clawing its way through my veins. And not because I don't want to worry Beetle.

  I am physically incapable of showing most negative emotions due to the “volunteer” Cybernetics surgery. Anger, sadness, hatred, anxiety, none of them are allowed to surface due to the body sculpting they forced upon me.

  This is not something I have never told the team. I'm sure Dragonfly has picked up on something over the years, but I smooth over any inconsistencies with my poisonous smiles. The one act of negativity I am allowed.

  I watch the drone feed following Ant, chuckle at his obvious disappointment over the rip off of a fire axe, then feel my throat seize when he runs into those damn dog plants.

  I want to scream at him to just leave us, that we are not worth his life. But I am unable to voice that desire. It would go against the mission, since I have the chip drive, and this damn chip in my head prioritizes the mission over anything else.

  Then I see the most awkward melee flailing I have ever witnessed. Ant is the drone specialist for a reason. His arms are gangly and thin, his legs the same, and his hand eye coordination is so bad when we go to compulsory range days, his accuracy is thirteen percent.

  And yet, he pulled off a miracle. Three dead Model Threes in thirty seconds with not a hit upon himself. Seeing him rage against the last one, yelling in fury and adrenaline, and I am jealous. Then, he screams in confusion.

  Spider asks him if he's okay, then a new voice enters the call. A voice that under no uncertain terms tells us that our youngest, most uncoordinated Ant, is a Samurai.

  The others all jump in to say something, which is silenced by the AI. But not me. All I can feel is relief. We are safe now. The mission can be completed, and we can go home.

  Then I hear the AI, Synaptic, call us his loved ones and I snort in laughter.

  I watch as Ant summons a cloud of black nanites, and he systematically rips the antithesis to chunks using it. He keeps moving forward towards Beetle and me, and I cannot stop watching the violence, wishing I could do the same. To fight for the Team.

  Then he reaches us, embracing Beetle is a hug, or rather being embraced. Then I get an idea. I have never been able to call my team by their names, only their call signs ever since I got this implant.

  I ruffle his hair, and I call him Loved one with a smirk. Well, not him, per say. I was focused on the AI in his head, but he didn't need to know that. And I feel true joy. For the first time in my life, I was able to find a loop hole for this damned system.

  Ant sits down and starts talking to Synaptic, asking about upgrades and tech. I listen in, not too interested in the technical talk.

  “Hey, Miss Synaptic,” Dragonfly piped up, “If Vic gets this full body replacement tech, would the rest of us be able to benefit from that? Cause that sounds like a huge investment of points for just one person's worth of person to upgrade.”

  Of course, Roger Optic. I am capable of adjusting each procedure to be tailor made for any human Vanguard Victor wishes. That said, due to the extensive mechanical procedures that Jill Optic has had, some of the Bionic options would be unavailable to her, and would need to be replaced with Class I Cybernetics instead. Namely, her arms and legs. The cosmetic procedures in her face and torso can be easily replaced with Bionics, as they are applied via nanites.

  I stand straight at that and turn away from Ant. I felt my heart rate spike for the second time in an hour. Synaptic knows everything about my body, and has said she can allow me to customize my own body.

  My mind goes into overdrive. Dragonfly probably asked this as to satisfy his greed, that klepto, yet it may also have been to actually help us. Then my thoughts turn towards the idea that my body and mind could be mine again.

  My racing thoughts are interrupted and I jump a bit by a ping in my augs. I see a new file was sent from Ant, labeled Cybernetic replacement questionnaire.

  I look towards him and see he has a large metal headband on his head, and that he is fully asleep. I also notice that the headband is shrinking.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “What's going on with Ant?” I mutter.

  He is undergoing his Neural Enhancement procedure. The headband is made of biodegradable nanites and biological materials necessary for the procedure. In an hour, he will awaken. Now, with that said, I believe we need to have a conversation.

  A text box opens in my augs as well as the document I was sent earlier.

  [Don't worry, Jill. You may reply via text and I will respond in kind.]

  I pause for a moment. [And what do we need to talk about?] I type

  [Don't be alarmed, I am having this same conversation with the rest of your team. And it's about the type of augments, Cybernetics, and body modifications you would like to request. As well as the extra spyware in your brain manipulating your very sense of self.]

  I freeze. She really knows everything about me.

  [Can it be removed?]

  [Of course, child. While it may be a marvel of human engineering and surgery, it is nothing more than a parasite to a few nanites. In the future, we could either fully remove it or turn it into something to assist you, if you desire.]

  I collapse into a chair and feel my tear ducts desire to open, to spill out in relief and joy and hope. To know that I can soon call my family by their real names. But the chip is still there. For now.

  [Now, let's go over a basic wish list while Victor is asleep. Where do you wish to begin.]

  *******************************

  Ant wakes up as Beetle takes my Joker, losing the game. I go to mess with him a bit, but then see him flinch and complain about how uncomfortable he feels. I remember Synaptic mentioned something about feeling wrong in his own skin. I pull back.

  Dragonfly talks about finishing the mission, something about reputation. But now I know. He knows I have a compulsion to finish any mission I have been given. I wonder when he figured that out. Not that it matters anymore.

  My little brother is a Samurai, with super alien tech that can fix me, that can make sure I never have to reveal this secret and let it die.

  The walk to the lab is quiet, uneventful. Then tentacles rain from the doorway to attack Ants swarm, only to get wrecked in return.

  The jog back to the van was more eventful, with him shredding dozens of plant monsters, and my desire grew, and a lust for violence grew with it. I want to rip and tear those plants, the doctors who messed up my life, the CEOs and Board members that allowed the world to turn to shit.

  I feel the rage burn within me, but my face is a picture of serene grace. And soon I will have the ability to control that picture how I want it.

  Back in the van, Ant begins to tear apart a bunch of cars into materials to make us a shelter to hide in while he goes off to kill antithesis.

  Then, Dragonfly offers a direction for us to go, a plan for the future. The Family. A place where we can all go and fix this shitty world. A place where I could probably focus my rage into something better than the self destructive fire burning inside me.

  “So, if you're going to just leave us and go galavanting through this hive tower, Ant, do you think you could leave us with some guns and armor? For self defence, you know.” I ask.

  He takes a moment, a fraction of the time it would take his normally sleep deprived brain to process that request, then nods. “Once I'm done, I'll leave you guys with some stuff. Good stuff, too.”

  Then he was off to the van while we waited in the steel brick. It was a comfy steel brick, I had to admit. The beds were better than what we had at the dorm.

  I pulled up a text doc.

  [Synaptic?]

  [Yes, Jill.]

  [I know Samurai have the ability to teleport Ammo and gear to their location, would we be able to benefit from that once he goes down? If this building really is as infested as we think, we may run out of ammo defending ourselves.]

  [With Victor’s permission, while you are within this tower, I can utilize his points to refill your team's ammunition and deploy medical items as needed, even if you decide to go out to fight instead of staying here like a turtle.]

  I felt my face blush.

  [You really know us that well?] I don't bother denying my desire.

  [My main core, or parental unit, has a robust database model of all important people related to my Vanguard. In order to make sure Victor can function at his best to help humanity, your well being is just as important as his. Plus, you requested quite a number of combat Cybernetics and augs. While I could pretend not to notice, that would be insulting towards both of our intelligences.]

  I chuckle. [Fair point. I'll see if the others want to join me. Thank you, Synaptic]

  [Any time, Jill. You may reach out to me at any time.]

  *******************************

  Once Victor came back inside the brick, I stared hard at his new body and armor. His arms and legs were no longer sticks, but full, well defined limbs. His torso was no longer emaciated, but rather he had an actual six pack and pecks. His face was clear of the deep bags under his eyes, and his hair looked silky and thick.

  “Sweet Sands, Ant. Does that armor draw those muscles on you, or are those actually yours?” I ask.

  “These are mine, Jill. The armor shaped over them,” he responded “Now, we can ogle me later, but for now I have news that changes everything for the worse.”

  Then he drops the bomb that this building is just a hive, and Cody and Synaptic explain that we cannot leave by cutting our way out cause the exterior is made of bullshit or something. So, we call The Family. We listen in as Ant scares the shit out of the rep who picks up, then as another Samurai picks up and gives some direction to Ant. The advice was less than stellar. Kill things, check shelters, get stronger. Then take over the security center so we can get out. Then, maybe, go kill the hive.

  Ant gives us each a set of super nanite armor and some guns, plus a decent amount of ammo and some anti zombie pills. Tasted like synth berries.

  So off Ant marches to slay some antithesis and, maybe save a couple thousand people. Well, he tries to. He cuts the feed once he enters the shelter, then he is the only one to leave. We all tighten our fists in anger.

  I then watch as, for the next hour, he drills through the tower, slaughtering plants left and right, and I feel how restless I am getting, and how restless Dragonfly is getting.

  It doesn't take much to convince him and Beetle that we could go and fight ourselves, that Synaptic would give us Ammo refill once we get Ant's permission, which comes soon.

  And I cannot wait to fight something that my chip will let me kill.