Gytha's body screamed in agony as she stood up from her spot on the couch. Atilla rushed to her side, trying to sit her back down but she shook her head and leaned on Atilla's shoulder instead. She had to stand, going backwards was out of the question now. Gytha shook her head then glanced toward the wall of her studio apartment. 

"What is it?" Atilla asked her, "What's wrong?"

"There," Gytha groaned, pointing at the spot where the hooks were, "There should have been a... a project there."

Atilla sighed, staring at the hooks that were still dripping blood, "You're unbelievable. You promised me you wouldn't do this shit anymore."

Gytha shrugged, "I don't want to hear about broken promises from you. Just help me figure out where he went. Use your Exploit."

"I already told you, it's on the fritz."

Gytha clicked her tongue, "If the GSA finds him, we're done for."

Atilla raised an eyebrow, staring at Gytha as she said warily, "Why?"

With hesitation, Gytha said, "I'm an artist, Atilla. You know what I do, and I love what I do. Bob Dubble was—is—a pedophile, but a particularly nasty one. He was part of a whole ring, I think they work for the Company."

Atilla paused, sucking in a deep breath, "Fuck you." Then she moved from underneath Gytha, causing her to stumble.

Gytha put her hands on her knees and took a minute to regain her composure. The Echo Protocol really messed her up, it seemed. She breathed deep, glaring at Atilla with all the ferocity she could muster in her injured state. 

"If you want a war with the Company, you're going to fight it yourself. I'm not getting involved and I'm not letting you put anyone else in danger for your sick kink."

Gytha sucked in through her teeth, "It's not a kink, come on. If you're going to take shots at me, at least make them fair."

Then Gytha's phone rang. She checked the caller I.D. and answered it immediately.

Squid's annoying voice spoke through the phone, "Wolf's still out of commission."

Gytha frowned, "What about the Iron Syndicate? Are we hitting them back or what?"

"In time," Squid said, "But first I need to confess something."

Gytha glanced at Atilla, who looked equally confused, "Okay then."

"The Cockatiel's been taking Shine again. And Chimera's busy doing things for me that I can't mention over the phone. Let's just say that, for all intents and purposes, he's out of the picture too."

"Alright, so it's just us against Overclock and the rest of them?" Gytha asked.

She could almost feel Squid shaking her head, "No, the Cockatiel is... Well, he's got information. I know how you feel about Shine, I just wanted to bring that to your attention. You guys tend to work better when you're informed about each other's vices. Isn't that right, Atilla?"

Atilla folded her arms and looked away.

"Point being; I care about you, Gytha. But I also don't want you to fuck this up for me. Losing you would really put a damper on our operations."

"I'm glad you're finally starting to see my value," Gytha said, straightening herself a little.

"I didn't say that." Squid said plainly, "I'm gonna drop the Cockatiel's location to your phone. Go to him, find out what he knows, then report back to me. We're gonna hit the Iron Syndicate where it hurts."

The line died, and Gytha put her phone back in her pocket. With strained effort she stood up straight and looked at Atilla, shrugging.

"Guess we're sticking together for a while longer," She said.

Atilla swore under her breath and looked away, fidgeting in place, "I'm driving."

Gytha nodded, leading Atilla out of her apartment. They descended the stairs and made their way to Gytha's car. She handed Atilla her keys and hopped in the passenger's seat with an effort. She groaned, the muscles in her body protesting against her. Once she was inside, she turned the radio on. What was playing was some generic low-fi love song. Immediately after it started Gytha's cheeks flushed and she looked at Atilla. Atilla looked back at her and rolled her eyes, and Gytha changed the station.

They drove to rock music all the way to the location Squid preset in Gytha's phone, not saying a word the entire time. Gytha's heart felt heavy. She wondered why she was thinking about Atilla so much. It's not like that psychic cunt was even worth the trouble anymore. After the Shine, she was a completely different person. If they had taken this exact drive a year ago, things would have been fine and dandy. They would have had a good laugh about how gay the whole scenario was, and then Gytha would put her hand on Atilla's lap, squeezing gently the entire ride. But that was then, and now Atilla was cold and Gytha was supposed to hate her. She did hate her. She chose her addiction over her after all, and how was she supposed to just forgive her for that? It hurt worse than anything she could have done to anyone else with her knives.

When they arrived at the spot, a humble, non-assuming apartment complex somewhere on Broadway, they stepped out of the car in tandem. Gytha recognized the place as the Cockatiel's apartment. She'd been there a few times before on hunts and when she was looking for gainful employment through supervillain work. The Cockatiel would be waiting for them on the ground floor, in apartment two.

The door to the complex was held open by an envelope jammed in the doorframe that prevent the it from latching properly. Gytha entered first, followed by Atilla. They walked down the hallway to the Cockatiel's apartment and Gytha knocked on the door. 

Gytha could hear several locks being undone as she and Atilla stood there patiently. After a few minutes, when Gytha assumed there were no more locks to undo, the door creaked open a peek, held back by the chain near the top of the door. A large, beady eye stared at the women from the crack in the door, the skin around it covered in dark yellow feathers. 

"Salut," The Cockatiel said with a heavy accent Gytha could never place. Then the Cockatiel eyed Gytha up and down, clicking his tongue and making chirping noises as he did so. 

Not long after, two smaller cockatiels emerged from the crack in the door, each of them waddling on the floor until they were at Gytha and Atilla's feet. The birds took flight, hovering near the women's waistline and examining their pockets. Gytha panicked as the small creature flew inside of her pockets, rooting around in there for something the Cockatiel suspected they might have. When it came out of her pocket empty handed, or empty beaked more accurately, it went to her other side and repeated the process. Still nothing. 

The tiny cockatiels returned to the Cockatiel and chirped at him. The Cockatiel clicked his tongue twice and the birds went deeper into the apartment, fluttering away silently.

"Squid sent you." The Cockatiel stated, "Yet you bring no Shine, no Miracle, no nothing!"

Then he slammed the door in their face.

Gytha and Atilla shared a look, then Atilla knocked on the door again. Almost immediately the door opened again, and the same beady eye stared at them, annoyance growing in its eyes. 

"Go away," The Cockatiel said, "Leave this place."

Then he said something in French that Gytha didn't understand before slamming the door again.

"The Iron Syndicate robbed us, we need your help!" Atilla said through the door.

From inside, the cockatiel squawked and knocked something over. Atilla flinched. Gytha reached out to grab hold of her, but she stopped herself before she could do so. Atilla wrapped her arms around the trunk of her body and took a step back from the door as the noise continued. Gytha sighed and knocked on the door for a third time.

This time it took the Cockatiel even longer to answer than before. When he finally answered the door he squawked loudly at them, so loud that Gytha and Atilla had to cover their ears. The Cockatiel unlocked the door, peering at them through the crack again. This time his eyes were dilated to the max, his pupils just large seas of black. 

"That group of know-nothing ingrates wouldn't dare." He half asked, half stated.

Gytha walked up to the door, getting as close to the Cockatiel as she could, whispering, "But they did. Squid says we need to strike back."

"The Squid is right, hmm." The Cockatiel made a noise, a cross between a hum and a low squawk. Then he chirped twice before continuing, "What is it that you seek?"

"Squid sent us here for information about them. Have any of your birds heard anything?" Gytha said.

The Cockatiel made that weird noise again and Gytha could see him stroking his chin, plucking at the feathers. The door closed and the final latch was undone, then the Cockatiel opened the door fully and invited them in with an extended, feathery hand. Gytha stepped one foot inside and then looked to Atilla, making sure she was following. Once both girls were inside, a smaller cockatiel flew passed them and landed on the door handle, pushing it as it flew. With an effort on the bird's part, the door slowly swung closed. 

The inside of the Cockatiel's apartment was messy to say the least. There were feathers everywhere, and nesting material strewn all over the ground. The place stunk of something foul, an assault on Gytha's olfactory senses. She held her breath, trying not to breathe the air as she humanly could. The place was bright, lit up by several lamps that were haphazardly placed around the apartment. It was a one bedroom from what Gytha could see, with the bags of bird feed sliced open and left on the kitchen counter and open bird cages placed on the ground, near the window, and on any flat surface the eye could see.

The Cockatiel himself looked worse than Gytha remembered him, more animalistic and beastial than human. His head was a twenty-eighty cross between a cockatiel and a human head; he had a beak just under where his nose was, and the beak was lined with a row of yellow stained human teeth. Some of the teeth had fallen out, but Gytha couldn't be certain if that was because of the Shine or because of the Hybrid Exploit taking over. His frame was gaunt, bordering on emaciated, with his legs being naught but skin and bone and his arms, just as thin, were lined with giant feathers. Under his arms was skin that connected to his back, forming a pair of rudimentary wings with plenty of scarring from past conflicts. His feathers were a dull yellow, and that much Gytha knew was because of his Shine usage.

The Cockatiel was once a bright, powerful Hybrid, but that was years ago. Now he was a shell of his former self, preferring the company of his birds rather than human beings. He talked to them like he would have been talking to people, and they understood him, obeyed his every command. Gytha found the whole ordeal strange. 

"My birds know many things about the Iron Syndicate, about the second Exploiter war, about the Wonders..." The Cockatiel said, leaving the words hanging in the air like they were vegetables in a rather thick soup.

"The second Exploiter war? No, that's impossible." Atilla retorted, shaking her head, "There's no future where—"

The Cockatiel spun on his heels, staring Atilla down, "You would dare question the word of a crow?"

"I—what? A fucking crow?" Gytha said, raising an eyebrow and scratching her head.

"Don't question my methods, woman." The Cockatiel responded, folding his winged arms over one another. He walked to the couch and sat on it, bringing his knees up to his chin and slumping as if he were perching, "You want information or not?"

Gytha looked at Atilla and scowled. She whispered, "We wouldn't be in this mess if your Exploit was working properly."

"You don't think I know that you insufferable bimbo."

Gytha sucked in air through her teeth. She put on her best fake-smile she could muster and asked, "The Iron Syndicate; tell me everything about them you can. Exploits, weaknesses, where their base of operations is, that kinda shit."

The Cockatiel squirmed in his seat, preening himself, "The Syndicate..." He almost hissed the words, or he would have, had he had a mouth capable of making the noise, "I'm just as surprised as you are that they're still around. I thought Steel Reserve eradicated them."

"They have beef with Steel Reserve?" Gytha asked.

"They have conflict with everyone, the Animal Trope included. They're as bad as the Company, but much less powerful. I suspect this is why they attacked you. They're trying to gain influence through anomalous drugs."

"How strong are they?" Atilla asked, "We've seen all of their members in action, but what's their full fighting power like?"

The Cockatiel squawked, "Much less than before. What was once thirty is now six."

Atilla held her hands up, "Woah, no way. There's only three of them, if anyone would know that it's me. We were attacked by Lady Voltage, Overclock, and the Echo Protocol. That's all of them."

The Cockatiel shook his head, "Your Exploit lacks precision. The birds, however, do not. They know all and see all, and so do I..."

Gytha flashed a wry grin at Atilla that said crossed the line between mockery and condolences. She knew how much Atilla prided herself on being right about everything, but it seemed that even her psychic prowess wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

"You know three of them, yes, but there are others who work in the shadows. Synapse is one, then there is Overclock. The Syndicate is led by Pill Sculptor. When they last fought Steel Reserve, those three disappeared in the aftermath of Kozar's flames. They were presumed dead. Apparently, that was not the case."

Gytha put her hands on her hips, "Well, fuck us then. We're evenly matched if we count you."

"Conflict is not good for a bird's health," The Cockatiel said plainly.

"Okay, well, fuck. What are their Exploits?" Atilla asked.

"Pill Sculptor is a powerful Illusionist, Overclock is their Tinker, he can manipulate machinery. Gravemind is their Thinker, a Marquis-level psychic whose power stems from his intuition. Lady Voltage is an Emitter who can turn small objects into electrically charged projectiles and can flick them with both great force and accuracy. The Echo Protocol is an Anomaly, and not even the crows know what all it is fully capable of. Which leaves Synapse, arguably their most dangerous member. He can manipulate the neurons of the brain, causing complete and total shutdown with a wave of the hand."

Gytha let out a long, drawn out whistle and shook her head, "Why are Synapse, Gravemind, and Pill Sculptor in hiding? Shouldn't they want to come out of the shadows if they're trying to assume control of New Glasford?"

"I can think of many reasons, but none are concrete, I'm afraid. Perhaps they're afraid of Kozar going after them and finishing what he started. Perhaps they're willing to risk the lives of their lessers to accomplish their goals. The birds do not know, and neither do I."

"Okay," Gytha continued, "But what about their weaknesses? They can bleed, right? Surely."

The Cockatiel shook his head, "They're not afraid of you, Gytha. Not like the others. But they're cockroaches. You have to stomp them out before you get an infestation."

"We're not killing them, Gytha," Atilla chimed in, folding her arms and tapping her foot.

Gytha shrugged, "Can't promise anything. I'm an artist, after all."

"Artist is a strong word," The Cockatiel said, "I've seen what you do. It's grotesque." 

"Which means that it's effective." Gytha retorted.

The Cockatiel 'hmph"d and got up from his seat. He turned his back to the women and spread his arms wide, stretching. Then he turned around to face them, walking passed them and heading for the master bedroom. Atilla started to follow him but Gytha put her hand on her shoulder, stopping her short. She looked at Gytha, confusion written on her face but complied when Gytha shook her head. The less they were involved with the Cockatiel's personal doings, the better.

It was a few minutes before the Cockatiel came out of the bedroom, holding a syringe in a plastic case and a vial with gold liquid inside of it. He looked at Atilla, giving her a once over before handing both things to her. 

"For your Exploit."

Atilla gasped, "How did you...?"

"I overheard you talking earlier. You don't whisper well." The Cockatiel made his way to the door and opened it, gesturing to the outside, "Now get out."

The women walked through the door. Atilla waved a goodbye to the Cockatiel, who returned the gesture with a terse nod before closing the door and locking all of the locks again. Atilla held the vial and syringe in her hands, just staring at it. Gytha could see the cogwheels in her head spinning as fast as they could possibly go. Her eyes were darting between both objects for a while. She was frozen in place, decision weighing heavy on her mind no doubt.

"Are you going to...?" Gytha let the question hang in the air.

Atilla didn't respond. 

Gytha put her hands on her shoulders, "Atilla King."

She still didn't respond. Gytha wrapped her arms around her shoulders and brought Atilla into an embrace. They stood there in front of the Cockatiel's door, hugging for a while. Eventually Atilla hugged her back, and the two shared a powerful warmth between them, their bodies melding into one again. Gytha put the palms of her hands on Atilla's shoulders and leaned her forehead against Atilla's. 

When she spoke, it was barely above a whisper, "What are you going to do?"

This close to her, Gytha could see the tears forming in Atilla's eyes. Her voice was quiet, shaky, as if she didn't trust the very words that were coming out of her mouth, "I don't know, Gytha."

Gytha kissed Atilla's forehead, "You don't need it."

"What if it's really bad this time?" Atilla said, her voice starting to waver, "What if I don't recover from this? What if—"

"You're spiraling, Atilla. Relax, calm down. Breathe with me."

Atilla nodded and Gytha took a deep breath in through her nose before exhaling. She took another, and Atilla mirrored her. She sucked in the air through her nose and exhaled a shaky breath. After a few repetitions of this, Atilla's breathing became more level and even. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Gytha, a meager smile growing on her face.

"Thank you," She said. 

"Of course," Gytha replied, smiling back at her, "You're stronger than this. You don't need Shine, recreationally or otherwise."

Atilla moved from Gytha's hold, stuffing the syringe and vial in her jacket pocket. Gytha let her hands fall to her sides. Atilla sniffled and flashed a weak smile at Gytha before saying, "What now?"

Gytha eyed her pocket carefully, "We call Squid. Tell him what the Cockatiel told us, figure it out from there."

"I'm sorry," Atilla said, starting to walk down the hall of the apartment.

"For what?" Gytha asked, following her at a distance.

Atilla rubbed her nose with her sleeve before saying, "This."

Then, quick as lightning, Atilla pulled out the now open case with the syringe in it. She removed the syringe and stabbed it into the vial of Shine, pulling out all of the liquid. Gytha reacted fast, but not fast enough. She ran to catch up to Atilla, to stop her before she could hurt herself, but she was too late. Atilla injected the Shine into her arm, right into the vein. When she pulled up her sleeve, Gytha could see the markings from her previous injections, scars from blown out veins. It was one of these veins that Atilla stuck the needle into and depressed it, filling her body with the anomalous substance.

Atilla's eyes were filled with water. She started crying, smiling at Gytha at the same time. Gytha froze in place, her arm outstretched, her hand reaching out to stop something she was too late to stop.

Atilla spoke, her voice filled with euphoria, "It just feels so good."