A Bio-Weapon’s Rhapsody

The walk back home was, calm and normal, nothing more could go wrong, Ale had seen everyone she wanted to see, and now all that was left was go back home. Straight home, going by the hallways that passed dangerously close from the administrative o offices of Hephaestus' Forge. Where there was someone that she didn't have energy to see at the moment.

Too much bullshit was already going on around, from the fact that she had to deal with the fact that half of her boss wanted to kill the other half, and the fact that the people she actually admired and cared about wanted to kill one of those half.

The problem with this was not only that, but the fact that the half they wanted to kill wasn't actually that bad? I mean, it was bad to everyone else, but Vulcanus.exe hadn't been bad to her, if anything he was quite helpful. It helped that he was subordinated to Alexanders and in turn, that made him defer to Ale.

IF anything, as long as Vulcanus.exe was around, Ale and Alexa were safe within Hephaestus' Forge. So if she wanted to prioritize that, she just needed to ignore what [Elder] and [Gabriel Light] wanted. Actually, the only one who hadn't come to Ale with a question about the mental stability of Vulcanus was [Eleanore] right?

"Better safe than sorry." Ale said sighing and turning her awareness to the minimap that Main Core was providing, she put something on the search function and her route changed. Now it rerouted her straight to the cafeteria, she would pick up a snack and use one of the elevators there to leave.

That was a good design choice, setting up the exit there so people could eat and go, or pick a snack and go. Whoever thought about that was a genius.

With that in mind Ale turned away from the hallway and set up on her way as normal, as soon as she did that something caught her attention, unlike how it had been before, she started seeing more and more Minions, before the hallways had been deserted, but now?

Now she was seeing more and more minions, Ale turned to look at the mini map and tweaked the configurations, setting it up to show the other minions detected by the surveillance system as dots. And sure enough. Most of the traffic of minion was being redirected to walk around the most optimal route from Vulcanus office to the exit.

Which went in front the office of [Eleanore], the route she had taken to arrive would make her walk longer, as she couldn't get into the base near here, but she could exit the base from near here. Had someone set it up like this? Ale knew the base was made with the parts interchangeable, so they could change the set up of it quite easily.

Not that they had done so while she had been working here, or not to a degree that Ale noticed it anyway.

So instead of thinking on that, Ale walked to the cafeteria, none of the minions were reacting to her, so that probably meant that she had overthought, no way [Eleanore] would go out of her way to do this, they had the chance to speak with her the other day, granted, Miriam Eversoul and [Big Sister] were there, also [Golem]. So perhaps she hadn't wanted to expose herself as the hypocrite she was?

Maybe she wanted a place where she had the upper hand? Not that said place would be this, if anything Ale had even more of a chance to crush her here than up there, up there she had to think about what [Big Sister] and Miriam Eversoul would think about it. She didn't need to worry about [Golem], she was sure the big man would understand, and even if he didn't. Chances were he would not oppose her choice, he seemed to be the practical type if anything.

And while thinking on that, Ale walked up to the food stand and got herself a sandwich to go, all that she needed now, was walk up to the elevator and leave, simple. And yet, something was bothering Ale, something at the back of her head seemed to nag at her, as if she was forgetting something.

"I spoke to [Elder], I spoke with Vulcanus… [Gabriel Light] isn't around, and I have nothing else to do here… What's the issue then?" Ale said aloud as she moved.

Some of the minions looked at her weirdly, but she cared not for that, they didn't matter, and would probably forget about her by the end of the week, she was about to spend a long time abroad after all, chances were she would not meet these particular minions anywhere soon.

"Wait!" But before she could think on it, the voice of someone at the back sounded. Ale of course ignored it, because there was no way in hell that voice was directed at her, surely that woman wasn't that dense as to try to bother Ale now that she was about to leave. "Rhapsody! Stop!"

Ale couldn't help but sigh and turn to look behind her, now most of the minions around were definitely looking at her, and to [Eleanore]. Or well [Cerberus] as she was wearing her minion mask. It was still the cafeteria and many minions were not the type that would stick with Hephaestus' Forge after all.

Not even that hypocrite of a woman was that stupid.

"What?" Ale said frowning, not that [Eleanore] would know from looking at her, since her mask was covering her whole face.

The woman flinched at Ale's question, so perhaps her tone was enough to communicate how Ale felt? If so, good.

"I want to speak with you, in private." [Eleanore] said after coughing into her hand, "Come to my office."

"I refuse." Ale said almost immediately, that, once again, made [Eleanore] stop for a second, some of the minions on the tables even whistled in surprise at that. Was it that weird?

[Eleanore] seemed too surprise to react as normal, "It was not a question or suggestion." Her voice even gained a few extra octanes turning a little higher. Not that it meant anything to Ale, "I am your superior and I am asking you to come with me."

Ale couldn't help but laugh, actually laugh the eight steps of a supervillain laughter. First starting low and calm, gaining momentum and turning almost into a maniacal laughter.

"Ah… I really needed that." Ale said after she finished laughing, "You are not my superior."

Of course, [Eleanore] was a Lieutenant, of course she was a white masked minion, one that had a custom made mask, one that was taken into consideration by the high tier minions, one who probably had a personal relationship with Vulcanus, one of the founders of this organization. But, that did not make [Eleanore] Ale's superior.

"At best, you are HR." Ale said smirking under her mask, the tone of her voice carrying the mockery she felt for the woman who probably was working herself up, if Ale was to believe how her sensors were detecting the mana bubbling under the skin of this woman. "But that's all you are, I do not need to speak with HR. And any grievances I have, I will not take them to HR. I'll go to someone who actually will listen to me and consult with them."

Ale then turned to look at the minions, she did not see many white masked minions around, a couple at the back who were paying attention to what was happening, but no sign of any lieutenant. [Elder] was probably still on his workshop, and she doubted [Vulcanus] or [Vulcanus.exe] would come this way.

"I will listen to what [Hermes] has to say. I will consider what the [Fallen Angel] think about my problems, and I will ask [Vulcanus] what I should do." Ale said the names of the members of this organization she trusted, "If they are not available, then I will ask [Golem] or [Sylph], but I will never EVER go to speak with you."

"…" [Eleanore]'s eyes were now shining with that weird azure flame, her mask was now starting to materialize the phantom images of the other two heads, as her moniker called her, [Cerberus].

"Tell me this [Cerberus]." Ale said as she raised her right arm and pointed at the woman, "Do you think they will punish me if I kill you?"

The first sound that came after Ale's question was not one of outrage from [Eleanore] or mockery, but the sound of a spoon hitting the floor. One of the minions at the back eating had probably been surprised by the question.

"I don't think they would." Ale carried on, "I mean, [Elder] would probably scold me."

Ale could see it actually, he had asked of Ale several times to forgive [Eleanore] and even when he almost lost his temper and was a step away from blowing the head of this woman (He really should have done so), he still forgave this bitch.

"[Gabriel Light] will either attack me, or ask me why." Ale continued on with the examples, "I don't know too much of him, but if what [Golem] and [Sylph] said about him are true, he probably will forgive me, since he was that worried about my death."

"Ah… She is that Rhapsody!" One of the minions on the tables said, only for the people next to him to quiet him down, "The one that the Lieutenants made all the fuss about!"

They made a fuss about her? Oh right, she had been dead, right…

"I don't know what the other lieutenants would do. But since they aren't around that much, chances they don't like you either, do they?" Ale did remember the other two Empress and Hydra. But they didn't stick that much around for Ale to form an idea about them. "I know as a fact that [Vulcanus] would only miss your power. Or do you think he would fight me over you?"

Ale went as far as to shift her arm into a canon barrel, she did not went over the full transformation to create her 120mm barrel, she didn't need to. The mere fact that the barrel of a cannon materialized to replace her arm was enough proof of what she intended.

Besides, she doubted anyone around would know the difference. Not that she wouldn't go the extra way to make it an actual weapon if [Eleanore] did not back the heck away.

"I… I…" [Eleanore] stammered as her eyes returned to normal and the phantom images at the side of her head dissapeared, "I…"

"You…" Ale said sighing, returning the barrel of the canon to normal, and instead focusing mana into her hand, trying to remember the sensation she had before when she called upon the seal that [Eleanore] had crafted upon herself. "You really should know when to stop bothering people."

Ale materialized that phantom golden chain and pulled at it, it was not physically tied to [Eleanore] of course, it was more of a metaphysical representation than anything.

*Thud*

Even so, it was present enough for [Eleanore] to fall into her knees in front of Ale.

"I do not like you." Ale said word for word as she pushed the head of [Eleanore] against the floor with one of her hands and then stepped on it, "I do not like your power, I do not like what you do, nor that little theater you have of 'My past is terrible I suffered too much, so you must pity me!'. I loathe everything that you are and you represent. Really? A power that forces the secrets out of everyone? I told you several times already. I do not like you around me, so why did you thought I would tolerate you just because we are in front of this audience?"

Ale then pointed with her hand to the minions that were too busy watching the spectacle.

"Just in case any of you don't know." Ale said turning to the people watching, and took a few steps away from [Eleanore], and just for good measure turned her attention to the corners of the room to ensure there were cameras, of course there were, she could imagine who was watching this. "I go by [Rhapsody] I am a minion that is part of the Fairy Team. And I was one of the selected to go into a long term mission. Another commission from [The Theater Master]."

A few of the minions nodded, probably those that had been too far away from the one that had explained who Ale was before.

"I am also a Saintsworths." Ale carried on her explanation, "Which one does not matter, because as some of you must know. This bitch hates anything that has that last name, wether the Saintsworths enjoyed privileges or not it matters not to the hypocrite."

Ale turned to look at Eleanore who was standing up, and before anyone could react, she did a short run and kicked with all the strength she could muster at the stomach of the woman, sending her flying against one of the walls.

"I am an orphan." Ale said as [Eleanore] fell against the floor, "I was raised as a test subject, and you can be sure as hell that I have not enjoyed any privilege attributed to that name till a few weeks ago… Or well, a few weeks before the last mission I went in anyway."

Ale ignored the minions that ran past her to help [Eleanore], she would be okay, even like that she was still a [Lieutenant], no way that little kick would be enough to hurt her, and if it was… Well, too bad.

"So when I joined Hephaestus' Forge. Mind you, I had just ran away from the laboratory where they treated me as a test rat. The first thing I found was this woman trying to bind my [Core]. She did not searched about what happened to me, she did not check if I was okay. She took the opportunity to bind me down." Ale still was not sure why that was causing such a visceral reaction, before it hadn't bothered her that much, not enough to risk a fall out at least, "And now, when all somehow worked in my favor, because the other Lieutenants in this organization do care. This bitch is trying to get me to forgive her?"

Ale took that chance to turn and look at the minions that had helped [Eleanore], waiting to see if any of them would turn hostile to her.

"I will not, and if any of you try to get on her side and get me to forgive her…" Ale then went ahead and burned half her remaining mana to materialize her full combat regalia, "I will [Exterminate] you all, and you can be sure as hell that neither [Vulcanus] or any of the other [Lieutenants] will get here fast enough to save you."

Ale was sure of that.

"…I…*cough*… Wanted to… Tell you…" [Eleanore] started saying as she coughed some blood, showoff, "That I will not interact with you if it isn't needed."

That one last bit [Eleanore] had said in one go, only for her to puke another batch of blood, really, why was she pretending to be that hurt? Ale hadn't even enhanced her legs when kicking her!

[Mistress, your body is enhanced almost to the same degree of a fit adult. While Subject Eleanore is on the lower end of a normal adult. The smaller area of impact concentrates all the strength in a singular point, so chances are subject Eleanore has ruptured internal organs. She is in no risk of permanent damage as she herself is a Core User. But she is grievously wounded.]

….Whoops.

"Good." Ale said nodding, "Any of you extras will cause an issue?"

Not a single minion said anything, or even moved.

"Before I leave though." Ale said as she turned to [Eleanore], some of the minions that had come to help her did tentative steps forward. "…Rude, I am not going to actually kill her."

Not that Ale didn't want to, but she really didn't want to sour her relationship with [Elder] and [Gabriel Light], not over something as pointless as [Eleanore] anyway.

"Answer this, I will allow you to use your Core Power to ensure you say if my next statement is true or false." Ale felt the chains tying [Eleanore] shudder. "[Vulcanus] would not reprimand me if I was to kill you."

"[Truth]." [Eleanore] answered, and the next moment she fell to her knees, even though the minions near her had helped her rise. "…Truth…"

"Next one~" Ale said smiling at the face that [Eleanore] was probably making, "I am more important to [Vulcanus] than you have ever been."

That one was probably a low blow, but Ale didn't care, the bitch deserved it.

"[Truth]…" And with that statement, [Eleanore] started limping away. The minions that had helped her before weren't sure about what to do, they looked at [Eleanore] then turned to look at Ale, like lost puppies.

"Go and help the bitch, we don't want her to actually die. Do we?" Ale said as she dismissed her body armor, she had burnt the Mana, so she didn't want her armor to be fully deactivated, but she couldn't actually take it away.

"Main core, can we turn the armor into nanites?" Ale sent the query inward.

[It is possible, do you want me to do so?]

"Yes," Ale said aloud, "Go and get that woman to get treated, I didn't think she was actually that weak to get hurt from a normal kick. Most of the things I deal with would have walked that off."

The minions immediately ran after [Eleanore], and with that said, Ale walked the rest of the way to the elevator. It was still turned off, [Eleanore] probably had blocked it from working, but Ale was not on the mood, so she put a hand atop the device and sent a pulse of mana (And nanites) to hack it and get it to work.

Wether Vulcanus would actually react like that or not, Ale did not know. She knew the answer would come as [Truth] since [Vulcanus.exe] would probably resurface in those circumstances and ensure Ale got away with it.

So it was not a lie, but [Eleanore] probably did not know that, hell, [Elder] and [Gabriel Light] probably didn't either, even though they knew of the existence of the split mind. They probably thought that the one who cared about Ale was the normal Vulcanus. When in reality the one that actually cared more about her was the split mind.

Well, after this… [Elder] may guess the truth. Since there was no reason for Vulcanus to care more about Ale than he did about [Eleanore]…

"Still worth it." Ale said nodding at herself, "Send me a clip of that, will you?"

Ale of course was not asking that of Main Core or Vulcanus, but she was asking it of the voyeur that was probably laughing his ass off after what Ale had done. She was asking it of Alexanders, the one who was probably watching and clipping what happened.