Elvira pressed tight against the wall, too overwhelmed by the fight to even think of escaping out the narrow entrance nearby. It was all she could do to keep her head pointed in the general direction of the action.

Not that she could see any. By the time she looked after one bang, crash, or flash of steel, another came from a different side of the room. She had no idea who was wining, only the occasional reassurance this was a battle of mortals from half caught glimpses of a combatant.

The battle raged. And then, it didn’t. Not so much built into a climactic finale as abruptly halted with an earth shaking roar.

Elvira was literally knocked into the wall by the attendant shockwaves. She recovered her senses in time to see Bridget pull her arm from her opponent’s chest, then pitch a translucent crystal into the far wall like a bullet. It bounced chaotically through the room and out of sight.

Bridget looked down at the small Seitojin she’d been fighting and said. “You ain’t dead, Hitori.”

It was hard to believe, but that was the body of her team captain now slumped on the floor. The strange entity that called herself Taira Hitori-Gensui somehow transformed it into a small, rather feminine appearance.

Bridget turned to the rescue party and barked, “Paladin! You have work.”

Chandra shook from her trance and rushed to Hitori’s side. Elvira followed behind, taking a spot kneeling across from her. The others positioned themselves a short distance from his feet.

Elvira took Hitori’s hand, and tried to give him a reassuring look. He was not in great shape. The hole in his chest was no longer punched clean through, but it was deep enough to see the unsteady beat of his heart. A great deal of blood had poured around his mouth and down his neck.

“I— I can’t find his Vital Net,” Chandra said.

“It’s there.” Bridget was standing nearby. She seemed to be surveying the room. Chandra continued to run a glowing hand up and down Hitori’s body.

Hitori himself was struggling to breath, but he had a serene look in his eyes. Elvira didn’t like it one bit. Hitori glanced to her, and said, weakly, “Is… is she alright… I… tried to tell… leave… behind.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Elvira said.

“My aunt… nice… troubled.” He smiled. “I think she decided… to stay.” He looked at Protius, Gordon, and Newton. Even the indomitably chipper woman had a solemn expression. “Wish… could of had more time… with you guys… too.”

“What did I tell you, Hitori,” Bridget said. She glared at him furiously. “You ain’t dead, so stop acting like it.”

“Bridget… sorry I never… gave you that rematch.” He sighed contentedly. “You were brilliant… would have been… fun training with you.”

“I’m getting that fight, and you—“

“I found it!” Chandra yelled. A white glow filled the space beneath her palms. She looked up. “He needs a Tonic.”

“There’s one in the helicopter,” Bridget said. She looked at Protius and motioned for him to move. He vanished in a plume of mist. She took a quick look around the room, then back to the group. “Have any of you seen that Reaper woman?”

Before anyone could answer a wave of light washed over them. Elvira heard a few gasps and sharp breaths. Newton yelped, as if struck by a sudden pain. Elvira herself got a strange report from her Vital Net, something from Vinni about invalid administrator credentials being used.

By the time the weird glow faded there was a strange warmth in the room, radiating from the air itself. Everyone looked shocked and alarmed, though Elvira herself felt only puzzled until she saw their faces.

“What happened?” she said.

“M-my… how,” Bridget mumbled a few more useless things. She had a dazed look.

“It’s gone!” Chandra yelled. “It was there, and it’s gone!” She was running her hands up and down Hitori’s body, frantically searching. Hitori himself passed out.

“Chandra! Chandra!” Elvira said, grabbing one of the Paladin’s hands. “Calm down. Tell me what’s going on.”

“H-his Vital Net. It… it disappeared.” Chandra shook her head. “It was pulling in material from the rest of the body. Tearing things apart to find what it needed, and… and….” She motioned down. Blood puddled out under his back.

“God….” Elvira looked at Hitori’s face. The peaceful expression was marred by his pallid skin. “We have to do something!”

Chandra didn’t answer, her hands rested feebly on his chest.

Elvira stood up, turning to face Bridget. “Isn’t there something!”

Bridget looked back, eyes robbed of all confidence. “I don’t….”

Elvira turned to Gordon and Newton. The red haired Mairtalan slouched in a hazy torpor. Newton gestured vaguely and said, “He needs a surgeon, I think. And blood.”

Elvira didn’t understand what she meant. She turned and yelled, “Can someone tell me what’s going on!”

Newton looked at her quizzically. “His Vital Net is gone.”

“Yeah! But why’d it just happen to him!”

“It happened to everyone,” someone said behind her. She snapped over to see Protius standing there. He looked paler than usual, but otherwise in good condition. He turned to Hitori, then took a quick breath as if to brace himself.

“E-Everyone?” She realized why the team was so disoriented.

“I think it didn’t affect Paladins,” Protius said. “But the whole world’s been struck.”

“You mean… every Vital Net… in the whole world… is gone?”

“No, not gone,” a voice said. “Replaced.”

Elvira turned to see Reaper walking down a narrow flight of stairs.

“Replaced! What do you mean ‘replaced’?”

“The core restructor has been updated to a new version,” Reaper said. “It needed to be done, and Morgan went and made the perfect tool for it.”

Elvira was bewildered, but shook her head. It was enough to know this woman caused it. She marched forward, a perilous gleam in her eyes. “It couldn’t have waited ten fucking minutes!”

“Why would that matter?” Reaper said. The scowl on Elvira’s face got her to quickly scan the room. She spotted Hitori in the pool of his blood. “O-oh….” She looked at her hands. “How many deaths is that now….”

“He’s not dead!” Elvira growled. “And he’s not going to be because you’re going to fix him!”

“I-it will be days….” She shook her head.

“It was not a request.” Elvira drew her sword. She made it to the bottom of the stairs and took a few steps up.

“Settle down,” Reaper took the spear from her back. “Without a Vital Net you’ll only get killed.”

Elvira braced the sword against her chest, holding it with both arms and aiming her body at Reaper. She dipped and rolled on her feet until they were roughly inline with the slope. Then fired her Dash Tech.

A split second later Reaper was pinned against the wall, a sword run clean through her chest and up out the back. She gasped for air as her eyes bulged in shock.

“H-how?” Reaper sputtered. She locked eyes with Elvira’s murderous glare. Her own flashed silver, but all she got was a furious growl.

“Vinni says ‘sorry, wrong password,’” Elvira plucked a point near her throat, a spark of scarlet light jumped to her fingers and unfolded into a shimmering red pattern on her hand. “And I said, ‘You’re going to fix him.’” A little bolt of glowing crimson swirled into place at the tip of her outstretched digit, which she thrust dangerously close to Reaper’s head. “Do I make myself clear.”

Reaper looked helplessly at Elvira, glancing to Hitori on the distant floor, then back. Her own eyes were sad, heavy with guilt. There was no hope for redemption in them, but still, she let her spear clatter to the floor. “I… I’ll do my best.”