3074

"Been a long time, Jimmy," the woman's voice was a familiar, grating, mechanical buzz, a ghost from a past he thought was dead and buried. She approached the three of them, her movements fluid and predatory, a cybernetic samurai stalking her prey.

Jimmy's combat subroutines screamed at him. He backpedaled frantically, his robotic feet scuttling across the grimy floor. The other contestants, a motley crew of chrome and scarred flesh, moved in, not with hostility, but with a strange, practiced efficiency. Two identical twin androids, one matte black, the other gleaming white, lifted Jacqui with unnerving gentleness, balancing her between their shoulders.

He hit the cold, unyielding blast doors. Trapped. His screen-face flashed a giant, pixelated skull, the words scrolling beneath it. The woman stood before him, a specter of his past sins made metal and flesh.

"¡Ay, por favor, don't kill me!" he squealed, his voice pitching up with synthetic terror. "I have a Wi-Fi connection and kids! Well, not kids, but… I have a very expensive data plan!" Ethicca and Jacqui watched, frozen, a knot of dread tightening in their stomachs.

The woman tilted her head, her half-Geisha mask betraying no emotion, but her one human eye was filled with confusion. "Kill you? Jimmy, why would I kill you?"

The warning on Jimmy's screen vanished, replaced by a buffering symbol. "You… you're not Yakuza? Sent to finish the job?" he stammered, slowly straightening up.

She threw her head back and laughed, a harsh, metallic sound. "Jimī, bakayarō! You really are a stupid son of a bitch. It's me. Cyn!"

Jimmy froze. A dramatic, glitching pause. Then, with a cry of "CYN!", he lunged at her, wrapping her in a hug that sent sparks flying from his mismatched joints.

The tension in the room shattered. The other contestants laughed, some cheered, a few even applauded. Jacqui just stared, dazed. Ethicca turned to a hulking brute next to her whose arm was a repurposed industrial press. "What the hell is going on?"

The brute shrugged, his voice a low rumble. "Beats me. But it's rare to see anyone hug in this shithole. Usually, it's just shivving."

Cyn disentangled herself from Jimmy, dragging him over to the others. "You all see this bucket of bolts right here?" she announced to the room. "Back in our Yakuza days, this idiot took the fall for a job I fucked up. Got himself zeroed out for me. But he's a damn roach. Refuses to stay dead!"

More applause. "When they iced you, Jimmy-san," Cyn continued, her voice softening, "the truth came out. So they sent me here. To the Citadel. A death sentence with more steps."

Jimmy's optical sensor whirred. "But… how did you become… this?" He gestured to her cybernetic armor, the Geisha mask, the katanas.

"In the arena, you win, you get paid. Or you get parts," she explained as they walked. "Your sponsor gives you an upgrade. I went up against the 'Geisha of Death'. A real piece of work. Had to use our secret weapon."

Jimmy paused. "Not… the Hail Mary Grenade?"

She winked. "Hell yeah. Went full kamikaze. Blew the whole damn arena sector to kingdom come. My sponsor, Silas, the Sentinel of Greed, thought it was hilarious. He put me back together with the Geisha's parts. Said it was a 'sound investment'."

Jacqui's eyes widened. "Was it the same bomb you used against Rose and Ella?"

The room went deathly quiet. Every eye was on Jimmy. "Yeah," he said, his voice grim. "The one that didn't even scratch their chrome."

A wave of despair washed over the room. A contestant in the back shook his head. "Damn. We saw what the Hail Mary did to the Geisha… a walking slaughterhouse. If it did nothing to a Sentinel… we're all just dead meat." He turned and walked away, the sentiment echoing in the sudden silence.

"Don't worry about it!" Cyn shouted, trying to rally them. "We all know we're gonna die anyway! So let's go out with a bang!"

"Where exactly are we?" Ethicca asked, her voice cutting through the grim atmosphere.

Cyn's attention snapped to her, her one human eye widening in curiosity. "Ah. The pure human. The vanilla wafer. First one I've seen in the flesh. You've been hiding?" She gestured around the vast, grimy holding pen. "You're in the 'Scrap Heap'. The Citadel's welcome wagon for all the new blood, the weak, and the low-ranking. Thieves, rejects, losers… welcome to your new home, Vanilla."

Ethicca managed a respectful smile. "I don't get out much. And… thanks for the warm welcome, I guess."

"Okay, you three," Cyn said, her tone all business. "Listen up. You need a sponsor. They pay for your augs, your armor, your medical bills—if you survive long enough to need them. Most are sponsored by corps or rich perverts. A Sentinel sponsorship is a ghost story. I got lucky 'cause Silas wanted a new toy to play with."

A voice, cold and impersonal, blared from overhead speakers. MAY THE NEW CONTESTANTS, ETHICCA PSYLUX, JACQUI STAXX, AND JIMMY SQUARE, MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE SPONSOR LOUNGE. IMMEDIATELY.

The entire room froze. Every single contestant stared at them. Cyn's jaw dropped. "First day… and you already have a sponsor?" she whispered, a note of awe in her voice. "That's not rare. That's… impossible. Go. Straight ahead. The door with the two Centurion guards. Good luck."

As they began to move, a small, grease-stained girl who looked more like a mechanic than a fighter, her own limbs a patchwork of mismatched scrap, scuttled up to Jacqui. She held out a black, metallic box. "Yo, fresh meat. My new invention. Hover-chair. Pay me when you win your first match. You're gonna need it." The box unfolded itself with a series of whirs and clicks, transforming into a sleek, minimalist hover-chair. The twin androids gently placed Jacqui in it, gave her a simultaneous tap on the shoulders, and walked away without a word.

"Weird couple, those two," Cyn muttered. "Came in right before you. Haven't said a word. Good luck, guys. You're gonna need it."

As Jacqui's chair floated forward, with Ethicca and Jimmy behind her, they felt the weight of every eye in the Scrap Heap. The other contestants stared at Ethicca with a morbid mix of curiosity and pity, knowing that pure, un-augmented flesh never survived the arena.

They reached the doors. Two hulking Centurion robots, their legs like industrial construction equipment, moved aside with a hiss of hydraulics. The door slid open. The room beyond was large and minimalist, with three chairs facing a white, metallic desk. The chair behind the desk was turned away from them.

"You may take your seats," a familiar, melodic voice commanded.

The chair slowly turned. It was Echo. Before they could speak, she raised a single, elegant finger to her lips.

No one knows I am here, her voice resonated in their minds. As the last Sentinel to join, my power over the games is limited. But I will be your secret sponsor. If anyone asks, tell them your sponsor is The New Eden Church.

She stood and walked around the desk. From Sector 1 to 7, each sector has its Sentinel. Sectors 8 through 13 and the Sump have none. I control that Church as an orphanage, a place to protect children like you, a place to search for a new host. That is why no information of your existence leaked until now.

With a gesture, the top of the desk opened. A sleek, white titanium arm and leg rose up, along with the headset Ethicca had worn, and a half-faceplate with a glowing, golden halo for an iris.

These are my gifts. The arm, leg, and faceplate are for Jacqui. The headset, I have improved it for you, Ethicca. The AI within it… I cannot alter or remove it. This technology is… alien. My plan was to sync my own consciousness to it to aid you, but it is impossible. She looked at Jacqui. "Where did you get this?"

"Some junkie," Jacqui whispered. "Said he found it outside the walls. In the wastelands."

"Interesting," Echo mused. "Remnants of the Thalerian war, perhaps. The very reason these walls exist. They turned the world outside into a wasteland of death and mutants."

Ethicca felt an irresistible pull towards the headset. She stood and walked towards it. It was heavier now, blockier. Scrawled across the front in elegant script were two words: 'The Vanilla'. "The Vanilla?"

"My personal touch," Echo chuckled. "Your arena name. It's heavier because I couldn't alter the core tech, so I had to build around it."

As she spoke, the door behind them opened. The twin androids walked in and stood beside Echo. The black one, a cybernetic shinobi, had a golden crescent moon on its forehead and a katana hilt embedded in its back. The white one was identical, but with a golden sun.

Ethicca, these are my true gifts to you, Echo's mental voice returned. This is Nite, she pointed to the black one, and this is Dei. She pointed to the white one. They are your personal centurions. I have added a module to your headset that syncs you to them. They have their own minds, but they are bound to protect you. They will move as you think.

Echo then leaned forward. The Hierophant has forbidden your augmentation. So, I created cybernetic power armor for you. It's not the best, but it will enhance your abilities. It is waiting for you in your personal bunker.

Ethicca looked Echo straight in the eye and nodded. "The Hierophant… what did it mean, that I'm tainted?"

Nite, the black android, responded, his voice a deep, synthesized baritone. "The headset contained a dormant Thalerian bio-agent. A serum used to turn humans into mutants for consumption."

Ethicca felt a cold dread wash over her. "Will I… become a mutant? Will it kill me?"

Dei, the white android, answered, her voice a mellow, feminine synth. "The serum typically induces catatonic insanity and cellular collapse within the hour. The fact that you are alive suggests either the agent has lost its potency… or your unique genome has created an unforeseen symbiosis which will kill you even any minute from now. Either way, it is now part of your blood. It cannot be extracted."

"Fuck," Ethicca whispered.

"Fuck indeed," Nite and Dei spoke in perfect, chilling unison.

"¡Oye, compadres! Are you forgetting about me here!?" Jimmy's screen flashed a 'Hello My Name Is' tag.

Echo sighed. "I don't like you. But since you are a squad, I have given you access to a personal mecha suit. You will be a literal giant pain in the ass."

Jimmy's screen hit a jackpot animation with all sevens.

Echo stood, leaning her perfect, curvy body on the table. "So. You have the tools. You have the sponsor. What will you call your squad?"

Ethicca looked up, her gaze steady, her voice clear.

"You can call us Section 8."