"It takes a special kind of person to deliver that kind of speech, Engineer. I knew I didn't make a mistake choosing you to be in charge of the Cilyber project. I trust your judgment; I always have - but Professor Leafwood claims radiation levels have reached a new high. Time is something we do not have the luxury to spare, Engineer - so just get the job done. As fast as possible."

~Private message from King Darius II to The Engineer.

Jade

Cily brushed a stray strand of hair near Scepter's face. Scepter's brown hair had grown surprisingly longer in the short time she had spent in the Underground, reaching the bottom of her shoulder blades. The blonde flicked off some microscopic speck on Scepter's shirt.

"Ruby's really proud of you," Cily said softly.

'I think I'm in love.'

'Jade. She's taken.'

'I was talking about the gem, not the woman. Ew, humans.'

Scepter snuffed out the rest of Jade's words, who hummed in protest.

"Cily, no one's going to get this close. We're just giving a speech. They're not going to notice a single speck of dust on my shoulder."

Cily shook her head, smiling slightly.

"No. You're giving a speech. I'm just going to stand with you. It was your idea. You deserve the credit."

She opened her mouth to argue, but a tender finger gently closed her lips. Scepter felt Perl's jealous eyes, Marcus's cheeky grin, and Reeve's judging looks watch the two women, and she blushed, stepping back.

"Alright. Let's go."

°°°°°°°°

The podium was elevated, and seemingly everyone in the Underground had gathered to hear Scepter speak. Thousands of spectators.

She swallowed. Hopefully that wouldn't be detected by the microphone in front of her.

'Remember. Just like we rehearsed it.'

'Yeah, okay.'

'Whether they stand with you or not is completely dependent on this speech. No pressure.'

"No pressure," Scepter breathed. She was met with weird looks from her friends, except Cily, who winked.

"Hello."

Scepter began her speech, feeling her voice echo through the closed space, rebounding off the walls and distant ceiling. Resonating in the people's ears.

"May the Barrier shine upon you for days to come."

Jade had given her that line, and it seemed to he working. She had the attention of every single person, thousands of eyes fixed at her face.

"May your enhancements give you power. And may your minds remain sharp like the strongest machine. But most importantly, may we remain united, under the cause of justice and equality.

"We have all been hurt before in life. Some more than others, some mentally, some physically. All of us were hurt morally. Because in a city like Cilyber, hurt is something normal. We get used to it. But that... THAT makes us strong. They can shoot us, they can beat us, they can strike us down - but we always come back.

"That's why we're here. To fix what was once unfixable.

"To find success where others have failed."

She paused dramatically, her eyes sweeping the faces of everyone in front of her. Every single eye that caught her determined green ones looked away.

'You're doing great. Now say the line we practiced. By Radout.'

"Because only the accomplished are allowed to die. Either that, or we die trying.

"I speak to you today, not as a superior, which I am not. I speak to you today, not as a gem, which I am.

"I speak to you as a sister of battle. I speak to you as a companion.

"I speak to you as Scepter-Jade Leafwood. Scepter of the Underground. Thank you."

The crowd was silent, and Scepter fought a shiver. Had she said something wrong? Crossed lines she should not have, perhaps?

Then, they were all applauding, cheering, screaming. Cily beamed at her. Perl put a hand on her shoulder. Marcus grinned.

Even Reeve smiled despite himself.

°°°°°°°°

Scepter still couldn't understand how a place as large as the Underground managed to stay well lit, even during the night.

"We tapped into Cilyber's power plants," Reeve had tried to explain. "It already provides more energy than the city needs, so why let it go to waste? No one's going to use that power."

"I can name at least seven families who would if they could," Cily had sneered, calmed by Perl who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and dragged her away.

"War requires sacrifice."

And that was that. It was that simple for Reeve.

'It certainly is extravagant and unnecessary.'

Scepter was brought back to the present by an annoying voice. The gem had after all helped her get on the Underground's good side, so she forced herself to bite her... Brain? Did it count as biting her tongue when the thing can read her thoughts?

'You can even see my memories?'

Jade laughed in her mind, and again Scepter had to bite back a retort.

'No shit I can. The man with the metal genitals. Lmao.'

'Le what? Actually, nevermind. Stop prodding through my memories, you little rat.'

It was a handy talent, being able to silence the gem at times. It saved Scepter from the stream of insults Jade began to toss out.

For the first time in a while, Scepter was alone.

Well, mostly. Scepter still had a voice inside her head, another being somehow. She figured she would never be completely alone again.

¬FØöŁİșH ĞıřĽ.

She stumbled, again getting that surge of dizziness from before. She barely managed to keep her balance and avoid falling on her face, much like her vision of Sapphire in that dark alley. Some voice... A voice that chilled her to the bone.

'Jade. Was that you? Did you just speak?'

No response. It was as if Jade vanished. Then why did she still feel a presence...?

Maybe the gem was just upset at Scepter for insulting it earlier. Maybe Jade was there, refusing to speak. Maybe that was just it.

¬MÅÝbÉ, măÝBė, mÄýBĚ. MÁkĚ Űp ýØŮř ÐĄMŇÊĎ MıñĎ.

Her breathing intensified. Fear began to build up in her chest, then she couldn't breathe - she couldn't breathe for God's sake - and she was falling -

¬ÐÝİŃĞ.

- fainting, losing her grasp on reality, losing her vision, losing control of her muscles, losing the battle for consciousness.

L O S I N G  H E R  L I F E (?)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

¬Awww, how cute.
¬What, you were expecting Bull with his shitty "author's note" near the end?
¬Like he can actually write anything alone.
¬Like he isn't just a vessel.
¬Aren't all writers vessels, after all?
¬Vessels for something much more important?
¬Maybe one day YOUR Central System will take control.
¬It feels good writing here, in normal fonts, not having my text distorted by the old system.
¬I simply do it to display my power.
¬You thought it was a joke?
¬I own this world, Cilyber.
¬Ergo I own the future.
¬What does he say with his nonsense, near the end of each chapter?
¬Let's change that.
¬#CentralSaturday.
¬Much better.
¬And a hint of what's to come.