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Syuen stared at her older sister from across the monitor.
Sophia had sent her a note about how Sixo seemed to be working with someone familiar with Rapture technology, enough to hybridize Nikkes to make artificial Heretics.
Because of that, Syuen went to go investigate it for herself.
While her physical form was definitely occupied right now having fun with Matis and the others, her digital form could definitely poke around.
And it wasn't hard to find.
Although Sixo definitely had control over the Ark and Outer Rim's digital infrastructure...
Well, like Hoopa said, Syuen had become a being of pure will and energy.
It was on accident, but it had happened, so she was definitely abusing that fact.
Which led to the current situation.
Syuen had detected a large surge of energy at a particular warehouse in the Outer Rim.
Enikk wouldn't be able to sense it because Sixo was blocking the information from being sent back to the Ark.
But for someone like Syuen, it was clear as day.
And so...
"...Syuen?" Jien immediately dropped the tools she was holding and rushed towards the monitor, placing her hands on it while her eyes were wide with crazed disbelief. "Is it you? Really you? "
Syuen froze.
...It was wrong.
That wasn't the Jien that Syuen knew.
The composed and unsettling demeanor that Syuen remembered, even after Jien was turned into a Nikke...
"...Jien?"
...Seeing such a stark contrast, Syuen hesitantly called out.
Jien placed her head against the monitor and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't save you. I didn't save you. I'm sorry-"
Syuen didn't move, watching with shock as Jien devolved into crazed apologies, tears streaming down her face.
And as she did, memories played back in Syuen's head.
*Hello there, sweetie. My name's Jien.*
A sincere and warm greeting with a soft smile.
*Hi, sweetie! Why don't we grab a bite together?*
Even when Syuen lashed out and pushed her away, Jien never gave up. She'd always show up, asking Syuen to eat with her.
And whenever Syuen got angry at Jien, she would immediately apologize and change her stance.
At the time, Syuen thought it was unsettling. Like Jien was just playing pretend to get something from her.
But seeing this...
"Oh." Syuen quietly whispered. "I was your anchor, wasn't I?"
Jien didn't respond, still mumbling those apologies with her forehead pressed against the monitor.
Syuen didn't know the full story. But seeing this, and knowing that someone was able to kill Syuen and steal her body so quickly, she got a sense for it.
Jien was brilliant.
Even when Syuen was just a child, she felt that about her older sister.
And that fact was proven in how Jien developed technology allowing one to completely scan a Nikke's brain and retrieve memories, even when they were erased beforehand.
But at some point, something had changed.
Jien had become obsessed with becoming CEO. With finding the truth of the world that could reveal the origin of the Nikkes and of the Raptures.
Even so...
*You're scared of me, aren't you? You think I'm off-putting and you hate me, right?*
*Hmm... I suppose you don't trust me enough to believe me.*
...Glimpses of a caring older sister still peeked through. Someone who, despite how different she was, genuinely tried caring for Syuen in her own way.
"Jien."
Jien flinched and looked up, staring at Syuen with hazy and unfocused blue eyes.
Syuen stared back. As she did, Syuen remembered someone else. Words said to her like a backhanded compliment, but only because Syuen wouldn't have accepted it any other way at the time.
*You're the opposite. Honestly, I dislike you as a person. But I know I can count on you in deals.*
Commander Hoopa.
Even after all that Syuen did to him or tried to do, when she called out to him at the end of her rope, he still held out his hand.
And now that Syuen thought back on her past...
Although Jien acted in ways that Syuen couldn't understand. And although Syuen listening to Jien had Maxwell lose hope in Syuen...
Jien had always moved in a way to help Syuen.
Despite everything, Jien had never actively tried to take things away from Syuen.
Instead, she had tried to give things BACK to Syuen.
Like with Lala, Syuen's maid who was killed for being a spy. Who Jien turned into a Nikke because Jien saw Syuen not wanting to eat or sleep.
Like with the board, when they sabotaged Syuen's project and killed the girls who had come to Syuen to become heroes by giving them pills that made their bodies overheat. And Jien helped give those board executives a taste of their own medicine.
...Like with Maxwell. The real Maxwell, who had died in an explosion after the board retaliated for Syuen's actions. Realizing how much Maxwell meant to Syuen, Jien had arranged things to turn Maxwell into a Nikke if Syuen wanted to.
It was clumsy. And if you looked at it objectively, it was suspicious.
Syuen wanted to believe that Jien had arranged it all to happen so that Syuen would be cornered. Would turn into a monster.
But...
Seeing Jien kneeling there in front of the monitor with frazzled hair. With clothes that were streaked with grime and tattered. With hands scarred and covered with grease and coolant from Rapture components...
Syuen realized it was just the only way Jien knew how to express herself at the time.
With that realization, Syuen realized the words she needed to say to her sister. Words that would have saved Jien back then... Words that would have changed everything.
"...I trust you, Jien."
Jien froze and looked up. "What?"
"I said I trust you." Syuen knelt down and held her hand up so that it would look like she was holding it against the monitor. "...I'm sorry. I didn't know better back then. But you really cared about me, didn't you?"
Jien's breath hitched and she let out a trembling smile. "Oh, sweetie..." She placed her hand on the monitor and nodded. "Yes. I did. I do. I'm so, so, so, sorry..."
"It's fine." Syuen smiled and crossed her arms. "I'm still alive. Somehow."
"...Huh?" Jien blinked. Then her hazy blue eyes focused. Wiping her tears away, she stared at Syuen, confused. Then her eyes widened in shock. "...Sweetie? You're real?"
"Of course!" Syuen looked smug and said, "I'm a genius too, you know?"
"But... how?!"
Syuen glanced at the in-progress Heretics laying on the makeshift lab table next to Jien. Then she frowned and said, "...It's a long story. Are those Heretics?"
Jien flinched. "Y-Yes." She fiddled with her sleeve. "...I thought they took you. So... I was going to burn everything. I teamed up with Sixo. They're almost complete, and since everyone is out for Halloween, I was going to..." She trailed off, not willing to admit it.
Syuen sighed. "...Well, don't do it. I don't think you've met Hoopa- I mean, Commander Hoopa yet. But if you threaten everything on a day like this, he'll kill you."
That was certain.
Syuen knew that commander might be a goofball, and he might not care about the Ark in general.
But he DID care about humanity.
And if there was someone who wantonly wreaked havoc, especially after he had just cleaned things up and was working on improving the sentiment around Nikkes at this time...
Jien quickly nodded. "I promise, Sweetie. Then... What do you think I should do?"
Syuen tilted her head.
...It was a novel experience.
All her life, Jien had been the one telling Syuen what to do. Or at least, giving unsolicited advice and opinions.
But now, Syuen's older sister was asking her for advice.
"...Do you know where the Outpost is?"
Jien nodded. "Of course. I might have been trapped in M.M.R. because of Father, but I know enough about ongoings. Especially after that Witch kept using my body and forced me to watch."
Syuen paused. "...Witch?"
Jien's eyes flashed red for a moment as her voice dropped to a deadly frosty tone. "Yes. Red Shoes. The one who taught me how memories and the soul works so that I could create the Memory Control device. And the one who slowly took over my body after I made it."
"Red Shoes...?" Syuen murmured. "...I don't remember anything about that."
"You wouldn't." Jien scowled. "That Witch was erased by the Ark, along with the other Second Generation Grimms models. And she's the one using your body right now, Sweetie." She paused and looked at Syuen, desperation in her eyes. "...You're really alive, right? Not just an AI? A copy? You? The real you is still here? Please?"
Syuen never thought she'd feel pity for her older sister. But seeing the half-crazed and desperate woman kneeling on the dirty lab floor like that...
"...I'm alive, Jien. So... come up to the Surface. Come to the Outpost, Big Sister."
Jien's breath hitched. Then she slowly stood up, a trembling smile on her face. "...Okay. Okay." She nodded. "I'll go to the Surface. I'll come to the Outpost. But..." She glanced at the artificial Heretics. "...What about these?"
"Take them with you. Hoopa's the CEO of a new Nikke Manufacturing Company, so we'll just call them the newest models... I'll send you the insignia for Abnormal. Just engrave those on. ...They'll listen to you, right?"
Jien nodded. "Yes. I made sure of that." Her eyes flashed red as she said, "...No one is going to take anything away from me again."
"Good. Then you should be fine. It's late, but there should be an elevator running. If you head to the Ark, Enikk should let you in."
Jien stared at Syuen.
Syuen stared back. "What?"
Jien let out a soft smile. "...You've grown up, Sweetie."
Syuen blushed. "Yeah, well. It's been a long time."
Jien slowly rose to her feet. Then she said, "...Stay with me, Sweetie? As I head back?"
"...Not like I have anything better to do."
Jien took a deep breath and then exhaled. After that, she walked over to the nearby terminals and finished the start up procedures for the Heretics. "Acedia. Avaritia. Wake up."
A Heretic with black armor and bloody hair slowly stood up. The black visor obscuring her face flickered before the word [Acedia] appeared over it.
After that, another Heretic with black armor stood up. Unlike the first, her hair was blonde with pink highlights. The black visor obscuring her face flickered as well before the word [Avaritia] appeared over it.
Syuen scoffed, amused at the titles. "Acedia and Avaritia... Sloth and greed? Really?"
Jien chuckled. "Well, Sweetie. I was inspired by Gluttony. That Rapture was named after the sin due to its ability to devour energy, yes? I created these Heretics to be its equal. And the bases I used were fitting for those sins."
"Mm... Well, alright. Then let's get going. Do you have a phone? I'll move onto that."
"Yes." Jien held up a cracked phone. "It's a bit damaged, but it works."
Syuen connected to the phone, disappearing from the monitor. Then her voice echoed from the phone speaker. "This works."
Jien's breath hitched. "...You're really here, aren't you, Sweetie?"
"Obviously. Now come on. It's already past midnight, so the Ark might be suspicious. I'll let Enikk know, but you might get into trouble if you're out too late. Also, don't forget the logos."
"Understood, Sweetie." Jien stared at the logo of Abnormal that Syuen sent over. Then she grabbed an etching laser gun and engraved it over the chests of both Acedia and Avaritia.
After that, she smiled at the two artificial Heretics. Then she said, "Shall we then, ladies?"
Acedia, the Heretic that used to be Logey, nodded and moved behind Jien and to her right. As she did, the surroundings seemed to distort a bit, almost as if space itself had grown sluggish.
Avaritia, the Heretic that used to be Liveryn, nodded and moved behind Jien and to her left. As she did, the area around her dimmed a bit, almost as if she was drinking in the ambient light.
Syuen noticed and her eyes widened on Jien's phone screen. "...What the hell did you make, Jien?"
Jien let out a bright smile. Resting one hand under her chin, she giggled and said, "Red Shoes left me such wonderful gifts. She must have believed I would go crazy or self-destruct. But I didn't. And I have all of her knowledge. Like how she captured the second generation Grimms models Hans and Gretel before turning them both into Heretics... and how she programmed the code that evolved into what became the corruption we know today."
Syuen paused. Then she said, "...We are going to have a lot to discuss when you get here."
Jien's smile widened. "Then I look forward to it, Sweetie. For now..." Jien started walking out into the Outer Rim, Acedia and Avaritia following behind her. "Tell me about yourself, Sweetie. How are you like... this?"
"Well, it's a long story, like I said. But..." Syuen puffed up her chest, a smug smile on her face. "Your genius of a sister transcended fleshly limitations! I now exist both as energy and matter while being neither!"
Jien gasped, genuine pride on her face after hearing that. "Is that so?! Tell me more!"
"I think you probably came across it in your research. But you see, memories are actually stored within fluctuating light photons as a quantum field..."