Soul's Requiem: B1 - 24. The Loot (Patreon)

1:  Clover Emberfield

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Exiting the abandoned basement living space, Clover took a deep breath while ascending the stairs to the alleyway, scanning the misty sky; since she’d been inside, the clearing mist had doubled down, overcasting the sky.  At least the rain was gone.

The crisp smell of the dew met her senses and, even in the haze, she could tell the sun was lowering across the heavens; she’d been battling and running around for just about forty-eight hours since exiting the Great Void.

Putting the thought behind her, Clover stepped out into the street, noticing a lot more people moving about as the storm passed; Tyler’s presence skated across the rooftops not soon after, practically a blur and unrecognizable by any citizen in the mist.

Her life had become complicated, yet it couldn’t be simpler at the same time.  When living as a noble, she had many expectations placed upon her shoulders from a young age and had refined herself according to those predicated aspirations.

However, now the Emberfield title and lands were all but gone, absorbed into the last vestiges of a clinging humanity in the form of Skydream’s Peace Union; she was an aristocrat in name only, which didn’t upset her as much as she thought it should—it was practically a part of her; an identity she’d been fostered in.

The gaunt and somber looks in the citizens’ gazes told her the horrors of the previous weeks still hadn’t left their fervent eyes, shifting to look for puppets or Transevil in the shadows; society was barely holding itself together, and she could see the hope many longed for.

Once again, she was thrust into a position of privilege and power—it didn’t matter if it was wrong or right—it was reality.

Her mother’s words about responsibility came to mind, but to a degree of discomfort, it didn’t have the same impact it once had; there was a bitter taste in her mouth when even thinking about being considered some kind of heroine or messianic figure.

In all honesty, she could care less about humanity as a whole, which was the harsh truth.  It must have been a lingering sentiment from her time in the Great Void because she couldn’t recall ever having such a bleak outlook from her advantaged upbringing.  Reasonably, it was a learned behavior she’d come to have through unknown experiences that had imprinted on her—it was frustrating.

Clover’s down-turned full lips and dry expression drifted to the passing tram as she slowly made her way to the distant bar Tamara used as a base of operations.  Her noble Spirit Armament attire drew attention, yet there were other things on her mind; it wasn’t as if she cared much for their opinions, positive or negative, which was part of her discontent.

I’m jaded about something, which is whatever … I want to know why, though.  I care for people close to me, but I’m more or less neutral toward everyone else.  Perhaps my time in the Great Void was so demanding and taxing I grew surfeited with it all or disillusioned … In the end, I can’t even properly speculate, and that’s the most maddening part.

Studying the dirty glass window of an old store in passing, she glared at her serpent-like ocean green irises that slowly filtered to blue as she watched.  I don’t understand myself anymore.

She puffed out a short, hot grunt of air before contacting Yumi; the 22-year-old girl pushed up her big glasses as she answered.  “Ah, Clover.  Finished with the extermination?”

“I am.  In fact, I’m on my way back right now to drop off my items.  Is that okay?”

“Umm … Yeah…”

She turned to frown at Ronan as he hissed, “Yo, wha—you already got a haul to bring in?  How much—can I get some work soon?  I need the cash!”

“Ronan, I haven’t even finished analyzing her Spirit Armament, much less her sword; it will still be a day or two before we can get everything together.”

“I know!  I know!  I’m just excited!  How much, Clove?”

“Clover—don’t go giving people nicknames they haven’t accepted,” Yumi chided.

“She’s cool with it!  So, how much?!”  He popped up in the feed, flaming hair flickering with his shimmering eyes.  “We makin’ something good—Class-2 weapon starting out or Class-3?”

Mood lifting a little with the boy’s energy, Clover shook her head.  “I couldn’t tell you; I just collect the stuff.  I’ll be there in an hour, so you can tell me.”

“Boo!  Just run; you’ll be here in like two—max!”

“Hmm,” she smirked, “no, actually, maybe you’re right—two hours … I do need to get my hair done after all that slaughter—maybe a bath.  Three?”

“Eh—that’s not what I meant?!”

“Haha!  Don’t rush her—okay, Clover, whenever’s great; I’ll call Parker to stop in and give you an estimate on your sell value.  We can work something out when we have everything together.  See you soon!”

“Wait, I ha—”

Clover chuckled as the young woman cut the transmission.  He does add a bit of spice to the rather bizarre group.

Her slight smile falling, she turned to glare around the streets, noticing the cameras lining the buildings and feeding back to the SPU.  Tamara wanted to keep their hideout discrete, so she ducked into a nearby alley, using her map of Hollow Veil to guide her in a roundabout path to the underground bar.

Her ETA showed 43 minutes given her current pace, so she slowed; there were other things she needed to discuss and time to ponder.  After ten minutes of deliberating on how she felt about the information and how to present it, she contacted Commander Laurence.

His face popped up, and he seemed a tad more rested, showing he’d likely taken another power nap between their last discussion.  “If you could give me five minutes, Clover.”

“Of course.”

The transmission ended, and she puffed out a long stream of air, gloved fingers finding each other behind her back as she scanned a few damaged buildings on a more destroyed part of town.

If I’m going to find answers, I need friends in high places, which doesn’t come cheap.  Luckily, I have a practically non-existent skill set; it’s the only reason I’ve been able to leverage so much attention out of everyone.  At the same time, my abilities come with heavy scrutiny among the powers that be.

A low rumble shook in her throat.  I may be powerful, but I need to be cautious.  I’m not familiar with this world yet, or its struggling administrations.

Seven minutes went on before Laurence reconnected; his voice a bit weary, yet it wasn’t from fatigue.  “I’m listening.”

Experimenting with her telepathic Desire-infused earrings, Clover willed the information she wanted to be transferred to the SBB and Western Skydream Medical Corps Commander.  “Are you getting this?”

“Hmm … I see you’ve sent a request to transfer data … Interesting…”

“What is?”

“The transfer speed … I’ve never seen something this large come through the air so quickly.  What am I looking at?”

“I’ve managed to get some of the data from a secret Marcov backup center Castro hadn’t tampered with—those are the files and videos of past patients that went through the program they subjected Lilly to.”

Laurence’s chair creaked as he sat back, rubbing the scruff on his strong chin; she was surprised to not see another cigar in his hands but figured there had to be some time he didn’t puff on the stuff—he could also be out, considering the chain-smoking he’d done throughout the day.

After a minute of glancing between the monitors showing the information, his lips curved into a dark frown.  “Project H.I.V.E … A program designed to control Transevil; no one lived more than a few hours after Desire Force and this mysterious Source Material—more than likely a Transevil part—was injected.  Mmh … Lilly is still very much alive.  Am I reading this correctly?”

“Yes.  My source tells me they are certain there isn’t a way to remove the Desire Force.  Is that true for the SPU’s technology, as well?”

A short pause ensued as he sucked on the corner of his lip.  “Desire Force experimentation has been a thing in the past—mainly before the SPU’s founding, and McArthur shut it down across the board.  I can’t say anyone isn’t doing anything as of now, but it’s reasonably taboo, so not openly; I wouldn’t hold my breath privately, though, as we see here.

“Hmm … As to a cure—nothing related to the SPU Medical Corps; we do have the facilities to use this data to better accommodate Lilly and have a basis for moving forward.  Although, one solution has come to my mind.”

“What?”  Clover asked, vision narrowing at his side-long look.

“Don’t you have the ability to harvest Desire Force?”

Clover stopped in the center of a grungy alley, focus drifting to a pile of garbage.  “I … hadn’t considered that approach.  Mmh … I consume it, sure, but that’s more like a taste before killing my target and drawing in a larger quantity from its dead corpse; it isn’t a hundred percent—that doesn’t include the items they absorbed and refined.”

“It’s something.”

“It is,” she mumbled, a little disappointed she hadn’t considered it herself.  “I’ll run it across to my other contacts to get more opinions on the subject.”

Continuing her slow path, Clover’s expression tightened a tad.  “I want to believe in Lilly— she’s one of the few people I actually care for as of this moment—yet I’m not stupid enough to think she doesn’t pose a risk after reading the reports.

“Many of those subjected to the experiment became beast-like and uncontrollable, morphing into something ‘inhuman’ according to their report.  You seem to be taking this rather well.”

Laurence sighed, running his fingers through his hair.  “I’m still working my way through the reports … I hadn’t reached that part yet.  Hmm … Lilly hasn’t shown any such signs of transforming, but I’ll take extra precautions if that is the case.  I can’t say I’ve heard of this happening in the fifteen years our planet has been under siege.

“Also, in conjunction with an intelligent Transevil when Marcov has been doing experiments behind the scenes involving them … It can’t be a coincidence.  I’ll be launching a more direct investigation now that you gave me evidence to back it up; I'll be launching a more direct investigation.  Were they tipped off to you taking the data?”

“Yes.  Ugh—perhaps I was being a bit too brazen; I wasn’t in the best of moods, but that’s no excuse … It could make your job harder, seeing as they have warning of the breach.”

“Not entirely true,” Laurence mused, a sad tilt lifting the corner of his mouth.  “Panic can bring about mistakes that could have otherwise been avoided, given a collected mind; the loss of an entire—quite expensive—secret underground facility and breached data to the SPU … It gives me the ability to act with more force.”

“Heh, glad to hear … As for Lilly, might I be the one to tell her?”

“I see no issue in that.  I’ve already sent the data to be torn apart by our scientists, and they’re being put into isolation to stop any leaks; clearly, Marcov had its hands in my Core, so I can’t be too careful—all of this does call for a State of Emergency—not to mention Castro or this shapeshifter.  Anything more to add?”

Clover’s gaze drifted to the folder in her hand, and she took it out, mentally impressing on her earrings to capture a visual image using her sight to send to the Commander.  “Unfortunately, yes … I believe he’s been stalking me, and there’s nothing I can do to smoke him out.”

For the first time, Clover saw Laurence’s teeth latch together and eyes narrow, anger and frustration flashing across his face.  “Castro … That has every swinging curve of his handwriting and dramatic language … even the paper.”

His nose twitched with agitation, and Clover realized he’d been suppressing hope that it wasn’t the lethal and unpredictable Class-5 Rassi.  “I don’t care if it is an imposter or not … If this thing is willing to go so far to imitate that cursed fiend, then I can only imagine what this present might be…”

He puffed out a hot stream of air, reaching into his drawer to light a cigar, but his shaking fingers snapped the stick in his hand before tossing it into a bin to his side.  “I—don’t know what we can do.”

“Didn’t you say Ivan was confirmed to be returning?”

Scratching his temple, Laurence shook his head.  “Even if he does—if Castro is back at his full strength—no, even weakened, I’m not sure if the two of you together could handle him, and at the soonest, it will take four days for him to get here from Eastern Skydream.”

Clover looked down at the grungy asphalt lining the alleyway, smelling the waste left behind by the rats and stray cats that inhabited the place.  “I believe I’m strong enough to handle the current Castro, given a bit of time, but I can’t guarantee he won’t recover at the same rate or even faster.”

“You’re the best hope we have,” Laurence growled, lighting another cigar to puff on it.  “Everything is falling apart … I’m calling for reinforcements from Talon City, but I doubt I’ll get much support since they appear to be dealing with their own problems.  If you need anything, Clover, let me know … What do you want?”

An annoyed smirk lifted the side of Clover’s lips as she looked away.  “I will say it is nice you don’t expect me to just fall in line like a good little Spirit User, and to be honest, I don’t know, Commander.  You’ve been nothing but accommodating thus far, and I respect that.  Mmh … I have something in mind, but I’ll need to get back to you on that.”

He slowly nodded.  “If Castro is stalking you, it’s best we keep things on a more private note, taking whatever precautions we can.”

“I wish you luck on organizing your men … I’m sure he has something dramatic planned for the coming days.”

“I’m more than aware … I wish you luck, as well … Rosa be with us—we’ll need her help.”

He ended the call, and Clover connected to Tyler.

“Contacting me this soon—what’s happened?”  the man asked, back in his office while working seemingly doing work from his own specialized Desire Force device.

“What would you say to me drawing out Lilly’s Desire Force using my weapon?”

The man’s handsome face tilted to the left, a thoughtful look crossing it.  “Admittedly, that is … not an option I had considered.  Although I suspect the results will be much the same … Her body will learn to crave it by converting raw materials into resources—it’s why Transevil consume just about everything they can, including concrete and rock—if nothing else can be found.”

“She’s not a Transevil—yet, that is— I can tell from those reports.”

“No, you’re correct,” he muttered, leaning back to fold his fingers together.  “Lilly is long into the process, given no one has survived as far as she has, which could be due to a new method or maybe some other unique factor she possesses.  In any case, the result should be the same; it’s too late to reverse, but conceivable, reducing the power the Desire Force could influence her genetics, lessening the effects and helping her retain more of her humanity.”

“So, it could work?”

“Depending on how much you can remove, and correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn’t you need to stab her to draw it out?”

Clover grimaced, looking to the side.  “Mmh … Yes.  It’s not a perfect solution, but the only possible thing that seems to have some prospect of working.  I couldn’t even tell she had Desire Force inside of her when I rescued the girl.”

“Interesting … You definitely should have sensed it, given your sensitivity to even Class-0 and how you were even able to sniff me out … No, that is something to note.  It does lead me to believe there has been a change in the project process.”

He sat forward, hazel eyes fixating on her.  “You called for my opinion; I do not believe it will cure her, and it may make it worse—there are too many factors to be sure, but as you said, what other avenue is there?  Allow her to go on and hope we discover something more or give it a shot—it could slow the process by starving it for all I know.”

“I understand; thank you.”

“Anytime.  Ah, before I forget, let me transfer your account information to that device—by the way, heh, those earrings suit you.”

His smiling lips vanished as he cut their connection, and a set of letters and numbers with routing information came up on the holographic display.  Dismissing it, Clover walked in silence for the remaining seven minutes to the bar and entered.

Nothing really changed; the smell of sex, drugs, and unwanted visual attention hounded her as she passed through the public criminal lobby.  The guard by the door swiftly opened it and allowed her to slip inside before closing off the private lounge again.

“Clove, whasup?!”  Ronan grinned, instantly ushering her to a long set of tables he’d likely pulled together in advance.  “Yo, I got it all ready to show the goods.  I do good, huh—eh, maybe a tip, huh—huh?”

“Quit pestering her, and I helped, too,” Yumi mumbled, standing to come over and hug her; Clover was a little taken aback by the touchy girl as she promptly retreated to smile at her.  “I’m glad you’re okay after taking care of that Class-3.”

“Wait, she did what—no one told me that—and are you tryin’ to take a bit of the tip-cash, Yumi—mmh, okay, I can split it ninety-ten with ya…”

“Pfft,” Parker came through the back door that Tamara had used to meet with her, waving at the mute bartender behind the bar.  “First thing I hear is you tryin’ to hustle, Ronan.”

“Aye, I work hard.  Okay?”

“Putting tables together?”  Yumi rolled her eyes and shifted her oversized sweater.  “And no, I don’t need a tip to be nice; besides, Clover’s offering us business, to begin with—without her, there’s no market.”

Clover shrugged, moving to stand at the far end of one of the tables.  “Mmh-heh, I’m not against charity work, Ronan, but I’d first need to make some money to give it.”

“Woah, you seriously gonna—wait, charity work?!”  he squawked.

Parker slapped him on the back, forcing the boy forward a bit.  “Sounds about right to me, Lad.  Haha—so, our Lady Emberfield, what-do-ya-got for me?”

Folding her arms under her bust, Clover’s lips pulled in.  “I’m not completely sure; I just sucked everything in as I went.  How do you want me to dump it out?”

Yumi hopped forward to demonstrate.  “Just hold out your hand over the table—think about neatly laying it out, and … it will come out and take shape like your weapon.”

Clover saw a neatly folded piece of dark fabric appear before vanishing after absorbing it again.  “Hmm … Okay, like this?”

A pulse of teal and purple energy swirled out of her palm as she slowly moved down the long row of tables, filling them with items and making Ronan’s eyes pop.

“H-How many did you kill?”  he gasped, bright irises practically glowing from the amount of money in resources he was glancing between.

Once depleting everything she’d gathered, Clover studied the rather small variance in the loot, despite the number.  “Is it a lot?”

Yumi picked up a similar black fabric that she’d produced.  “It’s okay—more than I expected for your first encounter, but considering there was a Class-3 in the mix, and replicators, so far as Tamara indicated, I shouldn’t be shocked.”

“I could totally get the gaming console I want with this haul!”  Ronan salivated, staring at what appeared to be rough obsidian blocks.  “Is that a—a Class-3 Soul Driver?!  So cool!”

Clover centered on the shimmering purple marble, releasing a soft cloud with sparks dancing through it.  “Is their item deviation so little?”

A soft hum came from Parker as he walked over to study the materials.  “Transevil and even Rassi refine certain Desire Force items—this Soul Driver, for instance—can be found in both.  He-he, I bet you could dig out a Class-0 Soul Driver from inside Ronan if ya really wanted.”

“Bro!”  the half-Rassi shot back, holding a hand against his chest.  “Don’t even joke about that, man; I ain’t no transfer core for some weapon or armor!  You know me, Bro!”

“Heh, he gets a bit sensitive about that,” Parker winked.

Yumi gave him a dirty look.  “Tamara terrified him with the thought that he’d be ‘sold for parts’ if he didn’t pull his weight—an empty threat—more of a dark running joke she has.”

Ronan’s eyes widened in horror.  “You don’t know her; Tamara’s a monster, I tell you!  She’ll do it!  I’m a hostage, I tell you!”

“Mhm,” Parker snickered, pointing back at the items.  “However, DF Rubber, Fiber, Leather, Metal, and Stone deposits are all extracted and brought together within Transevil bodies; Rassi even uses them for their gear—it’s where we learned how to perfect the process.

“On the other hand, there are more rare materials, such as the higher-grade Soul Drivers that act as the gravitational field and transfer method between your spiritual items and the material.”

Yumi grinned, bringing forth a bright, golden orb that radiated a power that made Clover’s mouth water and gut tighten.  “You also have super-rare Driver Cores, like this Class-5 one—there’s a huge difference between the Classes, and this is a weaker, unusable one that Shane gave me from the Golden Gate incident.”

Clover slowly nodded, following the explanation as her vision fixated on the radiant orb.  “I’ve … never felt anything like that—I can’t even find a word to describe it…”

“The opposite of Desire Force?”  Yumi forced a smile.  “Yeah, that’s about what I concluded; anyway,” she returned it to her storage.  “I’d like to do something with it, but sadly, he only brought back enough material to make a single set of weapons and armor—plus, eh-heh, I wasn’t the most conservative or trained in using such materials.”

Pulling her attention back to the table, she noticed what appeared to be a dark green, unrefined gemstone and a single blue one.  Moving that way, she studied them.  “So, what’s all of this worth?”

Parker cleared his throat while directing her attention to the front of the table.  “Most of the raw standard materials—the rubber, metal, and the like—are of Class-0 to Class-2 Grade.”

“Mostly Class-0,” Yumi sighed.  “It’s far beneath what I can use to make something that can fit you, and meshing stuff of different Classes doesn’t produce the ‘best’ product—it can still be done, though.”

“What about this, though!”  Ronan jumped in, pointing at a quarter-sized coin-like piece.  “It’s a Socket Implant!  I bet the Class-3 dropped it; super rare, right?!”

“Eh, sure?”  Yumi mumbled, reaching over to play with it.  “I mean, it does give us the ability to insert another Driver—a weapon can have up to four—well, not multiple of the same Type, but that’s not relevant right now.  We only have the one, and it will serve its purpose,” she mumbled, picking up the Class-3 Soul Driver.  An Electric and Cloud Mixture … A bit on the weaker scale compared to what I’ve worked with, but it will do.”

Recalling what the girl said before, Clover grimaced.  “Don’t you need to see what Drivers I align with?”

“Hmm?  Oh, no, that’s only for your ‘Soulstone’ which is … Eh, well, Shane brought back a bunch, but those are only found in the Golden Gate, so far as I know.”

“Oh…”  Clover hummed.  “Well, okay, then.  So, what else?”

Parker rolled around his neck.  “It’s a good first haul, but we’ll need to refine this stuff to higher-grade material by combining it; I know a guy—eh, we’re not on the best terms, though, and he is a part of the Union.  He would probably do it for you, though,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

“Meaning?”  Yumi asked.  “Wait, are you talking about Jessica?”

“Eh, we have a history—yeah, Jessica, and I … would rather we not use her…”

“But, she’s the only option, is what you’re trying to say?”  Clover dully asked.  “Why don’t you want me to use her?”

Ronan snickered, looking away from the glaring man.  “Because she’d want in on the deal, and he’s not good at dealing with her—she’s pretty and knows how to get her way with him—women privilege, I tell ya!  Wait, no, for real!  Why does she get so many discounts, Parker!”

“I ask myself the same question, boy,” Parker sighed in defeat.  “We used to date—anyway, yeah, she’s the only real option we got since she’s in Hollow Veil visiting her grandma.  Here…”

They watched him separate a healthy chunk of what Clover assumed were the Class-0 items.  “I’ll give you an advance on what the standard price for these are—minus my own tax and commission fee—and that should give you enough to get her to convert the rest, eh, I hope.  Do you have your account set up?”

Clover made the desire, and her earrings opened up to show an odd symbol that made Parker grin again.  “Ah, Tamara making my life easy…”

Holding up his wrist device, he fiddled with it and pulled up a similar blocky image to link them.  “There we go—6,000 credits.  Now, you can gather up the materials and head over there—here, I’ll give you her grandmother’s address—the best place to find her.”

Yumi chapped her hands together.  “If you can get her to convert everything you have, I should be able to make a Class-3 weapon design, with enough left over that you can sell to pay for it—probably.”

Clover chuckled, watching Ronan salivate over the Class-3 Soul Driver and several other pearly spheres she assumed were the Cores that needed to be fused into a Class-3.  “So much certainty from all of you … Alright, and having someone to convert them will probably save us a lot of time.”

She turned upon sensing the woman’s unusual atmosphere enter through the second door of the back exit.  “Umm, by the way, Tamara, are you okay with the addition?”

“Hmm?”  The woman’s playful, almost cat-like voice was back as her mask shifted between them and the items.  “What should I be okay with—oh, hehe, has Parker finally acknowledged we’ll need a Refiner?  He gets so uptight when it comes to Jessica, but what did I tell you?”

“Ugh—I know, but I was sure there had to be another option in Hollow Veil, but everyone moved to Talon City when I wasn’t looking.”

“Can you blame them?”  Tamara laughed, coat sweeping to the left as she made her way over to examine the loot.  “A Class-5 Rassi a week ago, and then followed by a Class-3 Transevil—the town is bleeding citizens behind the scenes … Mmh, wonderful start, Clover; I knew I wasn't wrong about you.”

Her hand slipped into her cloak before tossing a small bag to Clover.

“What’s this for?”  she asked, feeling a few sharp points inside the small brown container.

“An invitation for Jessica to join our merry band—ooh, Yumi, have you explained the Brooches?”

“Brooches?”  Clover’s gaze darted to the green and single blue gemstone the woman’s mask was fixated on, remembering Shane’s explanation from Melissa’s video.  “Those are Brooches?”

“Unidentified ones,” Yumi chimed, “and no—sorry, hehe, I was more interested in the stuff I handle.  Umm—yeah, we’ll need Jessica to invert the power to reveal what they are.”

“Think she’ll be lucky enough to get a complete set?”  Ronan asked.

Tamara shrugged.  “Probably not, but she can hope; there will be plenty of opportunities ahead for her to find more, I’m sure.”

Taking a deep breath, Clover nodded, a vortex of mixed violet and blue pulling in the items Parker shoved away from the sell list.  “Is there anything else, or should I head over to meet Jessica?  Oh, and I’ll leave my weapon and outfit for you to examine, Yumi.”

“Wooh!  I can’t wait!”

Tamara waved her off.  “Don’t let us stop you; the sooner we can get things put together, the better.”

Clover nodded, bright lights flashing around her as she swapped to her gray dress outfit and placed her Spirit Armaments on the table, including the Viper Blade.  “I’ll be back in a bit … Mind if I take the back—there’s an exit, right?”

“Hmm-hmm-hmm, I suppose you’re fed up with being seen as an object to ogle for those lowlifes?  By all means, go straight, take a right, and go up the stairs at the end of the room.”

“Appreciated.”

With that, Clover gave the silent barkeep a soft smile on her way out; the man was still watching what appeared to be the news but returned the friendly gesture.  Opening the door, she slipped out.

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