WeirdTrack: While He Slept Ch. 01

She was dressed in a maid's uniform. If that uniform had been tailored by a horndog teen. The shirt was so short her panties peeked out. Her blouse was a ruffled black, with a lacy white trim, and it only succeeded in covering her breasts, even then only barely. The cart she pushed belonged in a five-star hotel, complete with a covered, silver serving tray. The only thing that did not fit the mold of pornstar maid was the comically huge two-handed sword which she wore at her back; its blade serrated and it's handle black.

Suit::Helm.Say(helloWorld.txt);

Celty's black tinted visor filled with a scrolling text. It read, "Salutations!".

The maid stopped at the threshold. Her dress bounced and frilled as she walked to the side of her cart and gave a proper bow.

"Good Evening, dear Lady. My master was not expecting any visitors this evening. Your arrival is certainly unexpected; however, my Master has instructed me to greet you as an esteemed guest." She reached underneath the cart, in the process revealing a pair of lacey panties to Celty. The maid pulled out a bottle of water, which she promptly tossed at Celty. She caught it, her neural implants and combat chips barely having to flair to catch the bottle, twirl it around her hand and throwing it back at the Maid.

A blade seemed to appear from nowhere, slicing the bottle in two, letting both halves fly past the maid. She hadn't even moved.

Her command screen lit up.

Situational Analysis::Marquis Dossier :: Honor Guard Subsection

A blade telescoped out of Celty's right palm, ending a foot and a half past her hand. Still connected to her bionic arms, she gripped it, and took a defensive stance. Her posture was relaxed, but every cell and every chip inside her was tense and waiting. She was tempted to tap her chemMod, the small black box was itching to be used.

"No." Samson chimed in. He always kept an ear to her thoughts, never respecting her privacy. As if there was any privacy between them. "Don't depend on it. It's a tool not a crutch."

The maid took a step forward, still beside the cart; one hand rested on the serving tray cover, the other on her sword. Her face was blank, expressionless.

"Master is going to love playing with you." Her lips barely moving.

Celty's notification screen blinked with a new message. "Combat Analysis :: The maid: Right hand servant to the Marquis. One of his first known associates; Combat style: Aggressive. Favours direct assault; Species: Golem / 75% Certainty ~ Could also be an Eastern Flesh-Turner or an android."

Celty felt the meat of her body prickle. Her Bio screen flashed a notification of increased heart rate. She dismissed it. Her ChemMod, the feel of the Stim-Sludge coursing through her was tempting.

"Calm down. This is not unexpected. If anything, having to face only her is preferable to the scenarios we prepped for."

The maid finally drew her sword. It was swift motion and efficient, but it did not lack grace. It was an everyday action for her, like dusting or sweeping. She did it well, but always with refinement and poise.

Why had the rest of the Honor Guard not come to face her? Had they not come at all? That would've been the most wonderful thing. Perhaps something had happened to them on the three-month long trip. Perhaps they had to be left behind for administrative reasons. This typically wasn't how the Marquis operated, Celty knew that. The Marquis always had his honor guard around him, even if it wasn't immediately noticed. But this was his first-time leaving Eden in over five years, perhaps he'd decided to do things differently.

The maid uncovered the serving tray. From it flitted out two small figures. One glowed green, the other red. They were the size of a hand. They wore nothing but strips of fabric scarcely covering their lithe figures.

"OhMiGod!" Cried out the green one. "Look at her! She's so cute. She's like a little badass. She's short too. He loves the short ones. I know he likes the medium sized ones, and the tall ones too. I mean, he loves pree much everything if it has boobs and all. But I think he'll love her too-"

"Shut up!" Flames leapt from the red one's body, "Focus. Cause if you don't then we'll end up killing her and then he'll be all mad and broody. And I am not about to get dunked in ice water again because of you!"

Revised Combat Analysis~: 2 elementals identified

Combat Analysis~: Sylph: A recent summon to the Marquis, has been noted to appear whenever she desires and to talk excessively, Combat Style: Fast and flighty. Prefers to stay at a distance firing razor sharp air strikes, as well as using air to immobilize targets. When attacking directly flits close and fast through target space to deliver electric strikes; Species: Air Elemental / 100% Certainty;

A mental click sent the information into Celty's neural implants, Samson already had the data.

Combat Analysis~: Salamander: The Marquiss' first known summon. Temperamental ~ Note: Prone to emotional fighting and tunnel vision; Combat Style: Aggressive and Powerful. Can perform long distance combat using fireballs, however, prefers mid range combat to execute strong sweeps and torrents of flame; Species: Fire Elemental / 100% Certainty;

The Maid drew closer, the tip of her claymore drawing across the floor. Both elementals stopped their arguing and turned their focus onto Celty. The three began a slow approach toward her, fanning out; the maid took the center, with each elemental to either side, hovering in the air.

Celty felt her meat tighten in anticipation. The machinery in her chrome tensed. Her pockets, she knew were her pockets were. Solomon sent the inventory of her person to the forefront of her mind.

On some unspoken cue the three moved. Both elementals flew at an insane speed, flanking Celty. The maid jumped, swinging her sword up to deliver a cleaving blow where Celty stood, it would split her meat in half. Celty only knew this thanks to the neural implants. If she was a non-mod the whole sequence would've taken place so quickly, Celty would not had even had time to register her death.

Her legs tensed and propelled her forward. She rolled to the left side of the golem maid just as a sharp hiss of high-pressure air, an inferno of flame, and a claymore the size of a greyhound , passed through the spot where she'd just been. A couch exploded into flames.

Another rush of flames flew towards her and briefly bathed her thighs with flames. She could feel the fire lap at her hips. Pain from her skin ignored in surrounding chaos. She dodged another blade, stumbling into the small river of water.

Sylph seized her moment. She flicked her wrists and sent twin arcs of lightning striking the water. Celty flared her legs. They whirred as they kicked off, leaping back to solid ground. She avoided the water's surface, electric noise covering it.

With her left hand, Celty retrieved an orb from her pocket and tossed it in the direction of Salamander, the red, fey-like elemental. And with her blade, she sliced at the golem. Her sword sent sparks flying as it passed over the Maid's midriff. The false skin looked so soft but was as hard as steel. Her sword left only a chip on the side of the Maid's hourglass physique.

"What the-" Salamander's words were cut out as the orb exploded. White foam expanded out from the device swallowing the elemental with it.

Celty dodged away from the Maid as she swung her claymore around.

"Hey, CelCel?" Hayley<3 chimed in, her voice was not as happy. "So...We've got an issue."

Sylph sent a furious gust of glowing green wind towards the white foam prison of Salamander. The wind ripped the foam away, scattering it against the wall, freeing a dull red, messy, Salamander.

"Y-y-you bitch!" Her teeth chattered. Flames erupted from her body as she flew higher into the air. With each word fire flared "I'll burn you into ashes, and then scorch those ashes into more ashes, then make master cum all over your stupid fucking ashes and dip his dick in them to-"

Celty flipped backward as the Maid took another swing. The sword chipped the stone where she'd stood. Her arm flared as mid-flip her hand reached into her pocket and sent another fire suppression ball flying towards Salamander. If it were not for her neural implants then the move would've been too slow

Salamander sent a torrent of flame towards the ball.

"No DumDum!" Cried Sylph sending another gust of air towards the ball, but it was too late.

The orb exploded in white foam once more. It chased toward the flames leading directly back to Salamander.

She tried flying away from the foam, but it moved faster than her.

"You dirty-" was all she managed to cry out before the foam swallowed her again. Semi-Sentient fire suppressant was a dream.

"Cel, Problem!" Hayley<3 chirped once more. Celty tried checking her notifications, but Celty's was ripped away from them as the Maid leapt into the air, her short-frilled skirt revealing everything beneath.

Celty slid to the side with ease as the Maid brought the sword down. She redied her blade to try another strike into the Maid, looking for a place where her skin wouldn't be literal body armor. But a glint of metal struck from her side. The maid had spun the blade back with full force.

Celty leapt

"Cel!" Hayley screamed this time, anger and frustration tinting the usual icy calm demeanor.

Celty spun away, dodging a blade jabbed towards her core. She tried to swipe at the Maid, but her arm refused. It remained outstretched holding her sword.

WARNING~: Body::Chrome::Right Arm.Mobility(false);

A strike. It hit Celty's paralyzed arm, the one holding her sword. The Maid grabbed Celty's sword with a gauntlet confidence. Celty let go of the thing, but the sword did come from her wrist, and there it still stuck to her.

The Maid lifted Celty up in the air from her blade and raised her leg for a blow.

Command Screen~: trinket.Detach(WristSword);

Celty brought her free arm up in time to block the kick from striking her core. The Maid's stone foot, clad in shining black heels, crashed against her chrome arm, denting the metal. Celty flew across the room, the sword detached still held by the maid. Celty's body hit the statue at the center of room so hard it rocked. Long thin cracks formed along the statue's ass and legs. A litany of red messages filled her vision. All of them began with DAMAGE.

A new one popped up.

Resolved~: Body::Chrome::Right Arm.Mobility(true);

Before she had a chance to read anymore Hayley chirped back in, "I'm so sorry Cel, but I need you."

Execute~: HAYLEY<3.Override(CONTROL:Override.Partial(SAMSON)); HAYLEY<3.Override(User.Summon(CYBER));

Celty flipped.

The world shattered into shards of colors. All angry. Her consciousness floated in nothing, before forming into a solid form. She could no longer feel her physical body; both her meat and chrome disconnected from her. She was in her cybermind.

The room was illuminated by the dull glow from the screens around the small command center, fairy lights strung along the ceiling, and flashes of red coming from a window which stretched across the room. Hayley stood next to Celty; she'd changed her hair since Celty had last been here. Her sleek hair now traded in for a pixie punk mess. She took a drag off of a blue burning cigarette. Even though it was only ones and zeros, Celty could still smell the sickly smell of burnt rubber which came off of it.

"We're getting screwed Cel." Hayley took another drag and stepped closer to the window.

Celty double checked the live stream coming from her eyes. Time passed faster here, at a speed only capable by the divine works of the computer, so when Celty peeked back into the real world the movements seemed as if everyone was acting in a slow-motion action sequence.

She watched as torrents of flames, razor sharp wind, and a stone-faced maid, all charged at her— no, her body. She dodged, or rather Samson, who was in control of her meat and chrome, dodged. The movements seemed slow and mechanical to Celty. They lacked her grace and her skill, which were narcissistic critiques, but a dangerously true critique was that Samson's moves were predictable. Perhaps not at first but given time they'd see through his move's and she'd be skewered and cooked before she knew it.

Execute~:HAYLEY<3.Override(VIEW::Screen(false));

The screen blinked out, leaving Celty firmly in the cyber world.

"Celty! Dammit girl. The world's falling apart and you're over there watching yourself like some selfcest porno." Hayley reached out and grabbed Celty's wrist, she dragged her to the window to stare out into the beautiful black backdrop of ones and zeros.

They were housed atop a medieval style fortress crossed with a military junkie's wet dream. Complete with electrified, spiked, stone walls and Gatling guns which fired hot red explosive arrows. The fortress was manned by faceless automatons in military uniforms.

None of this was real, and yet it was. This place at once represented and truly was Celty. This was her cybernetic mind, which in Celty's case was just as well her actual mind. Celty was of two worlds, one was wire, chips, and chrome; the other was veins, bones, and meat.

A smoking tower near the outer wall explained the earlier failure of her arm. ICEbreakers

An army of shadowy, shifting, screeching figures had invaded the safety of her cybermind. Hulking gorillas with arms the size of tree trunks and body armor the strength of rhinos attacked her mind. Military grade ICEbreakers. Their speed and agility were fearsome. A few jumped from the outer darkness of the Cyber beyond onto the fortress walls, killing several of Celty's faceless soldiers, tearing into their bodies with their bare hands. Bits of digitized intestines and parts spewed from the automatons chests as they were thrown aside, their bodies crackling into nothing once dead. The gorillas hooted with glee before a new platoon of automatons approached with guns in hand, blasting the creatures into bits.

Celty's ICE was amongst the best. Top of the line consumer grade material tweaked with an expert's loving hand as well as managed by a damn good AI. But the sheer size of the assault sent a cold fear through her.

She was fighting an honor guard on her own in the real world and in the cyber world there was a corp assault into her very heart taking place. For a moment she thought that she could not do this, but only for a moment.

She grabbed a keyboard and commandeered a screen. Window after window appearing and disappearing on the screen, slowing and filling with strings of code. All this an act. She could code just by thinking here, but the act made it all the realer. It was like the junkies back planeside. So many choice drugs to choose from, but most are in pill form, so many a junkie still chooses anything that requires a needle in the arm, because the act makes it all the better. The keyboard and screen were Celty's needle.

Hayley sat herself beside Celty. "Wacha' doing?" She puffed on her cigarette, the tip lighting like a firefly, the burning green flare set a soft glow across her face. "Whatever it is, I could do it faster."

Celty didn't respond though. An AI could interface with the code at a speed that a human could not compare to, but just like Samson lacked a certain life in battle, Hayley lacked a certain creativity for code. She could run this place in a way Celty never could but give her a problem without a solution and she fell apart.

Celty click clacked, summoning and executing functions until finally the screen blipped out, replaced by a loading bar.

Ninja.exe::Ninja.TakeOver(A035x2001);

The screen was replaced by a new view of the battlefield. The army of shadowy death all the closer.

"You commandeered a soldier?" Hayley leant forward, her breath stank of ash and rubber. Celty tried not to cough. She failed.

A hulking figure had neared the wall enough to make it's jump into the fray. It landed in front of the commandeered soldier. Its skin was tight against its frame, muscles bulged underneath the silky black skin of its long arms. Its face was triangular, trimmed with white, and had a resemblance to the primates of old earth; the primates that inhabited the land before the fire rained down and razed the planet to cinder.

The gorilla leant forward to examine, with dull blue, beady eyes, this soldier. It could tell this was different. It pulled it's arm back to strike with its meaty hands- in reality this was an ICEbreaker about to smack into and tear apart her carefully constructed ICE, the ICE which protected Celty's cyber mind- but as the fist was about to strike the soldiers head, it disappeared. Celty's soldier, her ninja, had drawn a sword. Gone was the assault rifle, replaced by a long blade with an ornamental hilt, complete with a tail of red silk dangling from the pommel.

"Why all the frills and flowers?"

Celty didn't bother to answer, Hayley understood creativity when it came to her. Her hair, her room, all personalized to the liking of the AI, but when it came to things that took place in the heat of battle, she never understood why Celty took the time for such things; she did not understand why the way a sword looked was just as important as how sharp it's ICE was.

The enemy stared at its new stump of an arm, confused as to where its hand had gone to. Celty decapitated the thing. Its confused expression was still on its severed head, then it dissolved back into the Cyber; back into ones and zeros; back into nothing.

Celty's ninja ran and jumped, it propelled itself straight into an incoming assault team of gibbons. The ninja landed in a crouch, surrounded by enemies. They hooted and screeched and fell upon the ninja with a mad fervor. They were cut down with ease. The ninja had drawn its blade and executed its purpose with efficiency, there wasn't even a sound as it cut through the black flesh. The ninja swung and stabbed everything it could see, until a gibbon leapt onto it's back and sank its row of teeth, long and wicked, into the ninja's neck. A slash later its body was stilled, but another gibbon lepton and attacked, and then another. And Celty's screen blinked dark, a black mirror.

She took a moment for dearly deceased code, but only a moment. She ran the code again.

Ninja.exe::Ninja.TakeOver(A035x2002);

She glanced at Hayley, who got the message. Hayley sat herself at her command chair. A battalion of screens lit up in front of her, each with the Ninja.exe loading. With this they'd be able to fend off the Marquis's assault. This would keep her safe.

WARNING~: Body::Meat::Injury.Laceration: Core-Lower Quadrant;

Execute~: SAMSON.Override(CONTROL:Override.Partial(USER)); SAMSON.Override(User.Summon(REALS));

Celty flipped.

Pain. That was the first chop shop visit. Pain; she was no longer hurting from her wounds when Mr. Rubber dragged her there. She was numbed by that point, the shock of limbs being lost does that. She could only feel a dull ache, even during the amputation surgery. That is until Mama Ghungta attached the first chrome cap onto one of her stumps. Pure pain is what it was. The pain of shoving distilled sensation into a raw nerve ending- each nerve ending. She screamed, a primal scream. The type that can only happen when the pain is so much that you want to die, but the world doesn't even give you that joy. Mama Ghungta didn't even flinch when cinched the cap. Three more cinches and three more screams.

Celty's stomach burned. She did not need to glance down to see the tear across her leather suit. The Maid charged forward; sword ready to impale. Celty spun away, catching a glimpse of Salamander charging angrily from her side. Celty flipped forward, her legs were licked at by fire. Around her a furious tempest roared like a dragon.