"Blue!" Cassie turns around, takes two steps, and pulls my head into her. My pistol is raised out of my shaking hand, and I, for the first time in so long, let myself cry into her chest.

"C-1!" Mary cries out.

"Just a misfire!" Cassie yells back. "Everything's fine!"

I can't do anything other than shake my head in her chest.

"I assume you didn't get a virus or something that made you do this?" She asks quietly.

"No." Corax answers for me.

"He tried to kill everyone inside Silver's compound." I say quietly.

"Shit! Vince! We-"

"No, it's ok! It stopped when I took him offline." I connect to the cameras hidden throughout the entire building, taking stock of the damage. "A few people are injured, and three people are dead. None of the kids got hurt, that's all that matters."

"Shit." She squeezes me tighter. "Don't you dare start talking about how this is your fault somehow."

I just shake my head again. I could have stopped him earlier, but I had no way of knowing what he was doing. If I did, I would have stopped him before he could have hurt anyone.

"Someone has to run the city." I whisper. "Sorry we won't be able to take our vacation."

"Shut up, don't apologize."

"Someone has to tell Mary." My eyes are pulled down against my will towards what used to be C-1.

"We'll take care of it, don't worry. It's not the first time any of us have had to break this news."

I let all thoughts drain from my mind and through my tears.

"You're ok." Cassie whispers reassurances to me the whole time.

She waits until my eyes run dry and my silent wails stop racking my body.

"On the bright side, you don't need to hide anymore." Cassie whispers. "Who's going to stop you?"

"I guess." I slowly begin to expand myself further into the system, starting with all the error signals blaring out. "The air is safe by the way. It's just a ruptured auxiliary coolant pipe."

"Ok good."

I accept a single extra camera into myself, looking over the courtyard. It's chaos out there. The falling glass killed two people, and everyone is rushing to try to get home, trampling over others and glancing fearfully at the reactivated dome.

"I need to tell people what's happening."

"If you're sure." She takes my hand for support.

I need a grasp on what the city is like first. I start with C-1's simulations, and promptly delete all of them out of disgust. Every single one is looked at exclusively through the lens of stability. I don't care about that, I'll step in front of another bullet if it means making others' lives better.

So many resources are being funnelled into a few people, all to keep the city, in C-1's eyes, stable. They only hoard their wealth and use it to grow larger, no different than Vegas. Every single one of them has an agreement directly with C-1. That can't be allowed to continue. C-1 was right about one thing, there aren't enough resources, not when they're taking so much.

Cheap alcohol and drugs are poured into the poorest parts of the city, in his eyes, a two sided solution to a potential problem. It keeps people placated, and at the same time, makes them desperate, able to work for absolute pennies just to get another drink, another hit.

The absolute worst discovery, one that almost makes me draw my pistol and put another bullet in him, is that there are other AI still in the city. They hide in what they think are forgotten servers, occasionally helped out by humans when they can. Every single one of them is used as nothing more than a tool, something to kill and stir up fear when needed. Just another way to keep the humans who live here pacified.

"I need to make an announcement." I whisper. "How do I break it to Mary?"

"You don't." One of Cassie's hands leaves my head, and is replaced just a few seconds later.

"Alright Miss Mary, we need to move you off the ground." Vince says just a moment later. "Do you have a room here? Or should we find a way to carry you back to Silver's so we can get you properly looked at?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"C-1 can help me." She insists.

"I'm sure he can, but Little Blue and him are still working things out. Sounds like you want to stay here, now which room is your bedroom?"

"Alright. Lucas, help me out." Vince says.

Just a moment later Mary yells as she's moved.

Cassie unceremoniously kicks the remnants of C-1 out of view of the door before she appears, carried along by Vince and Lucas. Her head is limp, barely able to support herself. Vince gives me a reassuring smile before disappearing into one of the two doors.

"Do you want to get comfortable first?" Cassie asks.

I just shake my head.

"I can't be uncomfortable." I remind her.

"And how many times have you gone completely limp when you get cozy?" She asks.

"I didn't realize I do that." A quick check of my memory confirms it though. "Still, I want to stay here." I glance at C-1's corpse once again.

"Alright."

I spread my mind across every processor connected to this server. The room roars to life, fans whirring loudly and pumps speeding up. A quarter of an hour flies by while I collect my thoughts, constructing a short speech.

I scan the connections spread throughout the city, accept every speaker as my mouth, connect to every monitor in the city, and watch through a few cameras to see the outcome myself. Even this stretches my mind to its limit, even with all the processing power I could ever use at my fingertips.

"I think I'm jumping in front of another bullet." I say.

"When aren't you?" She jokes. "Just do what you have to. I'm right here to pull you out."

"Right."

I force every camera in the city to display my digital form, standing proudly. I whisper my words through my own mouth, and proclaim them loudly to the rest of the city.

"Hello. I'm sure you've heard of the chaos at the Bastion today, and I'm sure me appearing here in front of you is a surprise, but I ask that you listen before panicking or jumping to conclusions. An AI named C-1 has run this city since its creation. He's watched every movement, had a say in every decision, has a backdoor into every server that I just exploited. C-1 kept a secret that I need to reveal. When Simon died fifteen years ago, C-1 forced his grief onto every AI, driving them mad, starting the war. I want to make up for that. My name is Blue, and I have killed him." I wait a moment for that to sink in, watching every response of every citizen through every camera. Fear grips every single one of them, not that I can blame them. I would feel the same in any of their situations.

"I've seen his memories, know the reasoning behind every one of his decisions. He strove, at all times, for stability above all else. At the heart of every choice was the fact that this city won't survive without a guiding hand, and that still rings true, even after his death. That responsibility now falls on me. But I don't want to do it how my predecessor did. I want what I'm doing, and why, to be public knowledge at all times. And so, there are a few things that need to change that I will announce now." My words do little to reduce their panic, which is beginning to boil over. I have no choice but to continue.

"To the top floors, those who have sat on fortunes at the expense of those beneath them: I see you. I know the deals my predecessor made with you, I know why those deals were made, and I do not care. I do not need you, and I do not want you in my city in your current form." Cameras hidden in their houses let me see and hear their response. Most of them begin to argue, already knowing I can hear them. They say it's unfair, that I can't do this, that I'll regret it. It's not possible for me to care less. "On the nearest screen you will see a scrolling value. That is every arc you have ever spent at the expense of those beneath you, catalogued by each event. I expect you to submit a document within the week about how you will repay your debt and help improve the lives of those who you have spit on, or to get out of my city. To those of you who choose to stay, I'm limiting your income to three times that of your lowest paid employee. If you want to continue living your comfortable life, bring up those beneath you first." That gets the crowd's attention. Fearful jeers quiet down, settling into an uncomfortable, unsure murmur.

"To the poor, those who don't know where their next meal is coming from, and for whom a hot meal is nothing more than a distant memory: I see you, and help is coming. The enforcers you are all too familiar with were controlled directly by C-1, and are now extensions of my own body. I will be coming to each and every one of you to have a conversation with, to talk about your needs and how I can best help you. I just ask that you give me time, you will not be forgotten. If I have not met with you in a week from now, please, come to the Bastion and I will personally speak with you."

"To those who live a comfortable life, who fight for what they need and ask for no more: I see you. I will do my best to make this transition as easy as possible for you, to not disrupt the life you hold dear in a negative way without a good reason explained personally to you. I promise you will not be forgotten, and will not be crushed beneath the wheels of progress."

"To the AI hiding in forgotten servers, kept safe by friendly humans: I see you. C-1 had every single one of you cataloged, to be killed and used as no more than a tool to stir up fear when needed. I'll be coming around to speak to each of you. I'll be offering to let you come live in the Bastion, alongside the anchors who have kept you safe, with the goal of rebuilding the relationship AI and humans once had. I understand if you don't trust me, and if you want to leave the city, I will help you get anywhere you wish to go. If you don't have a destination in mind, I know a place where you and whatever humans you want to bring will be safe. Ask any quantum AI, they will be able to vouch for my intentions." The network hums with cautious life, encrypted messages the senders and receivers both hope is safe from C-1. I don't pry into those messages.

"To those uncomfortable with me ruling: I see you. I'll be sending messages to other cities around here to work out a way to get those who want to leave the chance to do so. I'll ensure each of you leave with enough to get you started in your new life, wherever you decide to go."

"To everyone else: I see you as well. I understand you have questions. I'm walking many enforcers, my own bodies, out into the courtyard outside the Bastion now. I will always be available to answer questions. I'm sorry I have to take such an imposing form, and will be working to correct that. I dislike them just as much as you do. I'm sorry I had to tell everyone this way, but it had to be done now so that I can correct C-1's mistakes as soon as possible."

"Shit. That's one hell of a bullet." Cassie mumbles.

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