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“Anko! Can’t you tell we have a common enemy?! Or would you rather we both be killed!” you say, through æthereal impression. Knowing these ambitious young technopaths of the Chosen of ÆON, you know you can’t count on their loyalty to their masters, and least of all on any loyalty to you.

“A three way fight now, is it?” Anko manifests another CommTech program. The sniper above you recoils--her aim drifts astray and she looses her star arrow--it impacts just behind you, pushing you and Anko aside with the force of its nova burst. Anko readjusts to ensure he doesn’t lose his hold on you.

“What’s wrong?!” Pulse says.

“I can’t see!” Deianira says.

“So what?!” Pulse says.

“Sighteds...” Anko signs.

Pulse manifests her æthereal keyboard and presses a chord as the keys glow beneath her avatar fingers. The sonic æther-wave appears and closes in on you and Anko from all sides. Your shield barely withstands the pressure of the attack--your focus is pushed to its limit. But the wave passes harmlessly through Anko.

“You’re powerless, Ryouko!” Anko signs in concepts across the æther to Pulse. “You’re hyper-specialized, outside of your music your technopathy is average. And your girlfriend, a typical EvoSpec brute, easily disabled.”

You feel the wire tighten around your avatar neck--the suffocation feels real. If he’s latched onto your autonomic nervous system, it very well could be. An unsuppressible panic strikes your mind--manifesting any program beyond a simple message would weaken your shield and leave you at Anko’s mercy.

“Now, to complete my order!” Anko signs, as he constricts your avatar tighter and tighter, as the wire burns hotter and hotter.

“A...ki...ko...” You force out the signs of her name--she’s in there somewhere, will she really let Anko kill you? Above, Admin Crypta is locked in a desperate struggle against Vanitas, and further above, on the surface, you feel Zeta drawing nearer and nearer its target. Would you ask either to abandon their mission--possibly losing your chance to incapacitate Vanitas--to save your life? Your only other hope lies trapped in an encrypted drive--in the hands of an enemy.