Washes the heart empty...

I wake up to hear Trigger arguing with someone, Switch I think. They're calling each other various names. It seems that the cyborg and the android followed us but Trigger doesn't trust them. I don't blame him. Most hardwires are spies for the government one way or another. But somehow I think these two are different. I try to stand up. God, everything hurts: my head, my heart, even my toes. It's a good thing Kernel's helping me or I'd never make it.

I really don't think Trigger wants to listen to me but I haven't got much choice but to convince him. We need all the help we can get if we're going to make it to the Holy City alive. Now he's angry at me. Wants to know why the fuck we'd go to right into the government's pissing-ground. I smile inwardly as I give him the most truthful answer possible that he'll agree with: revenge. That calms him down a bit. He's always wanted to take out some anger on those assholes directly and might as well come, to save me from myself. The android comments that he's always wanted to destroy the entire City. Trigger looks at him in a new light, an instantaneous bond I never thought possible.

As the two begin to discuss their plans, I pull Switch aside and ask him who the android is. Apparently he's the fifth in the 92A series, but he prefers to just be called 5. Switch tells me that the two met in a brawl just before I arrived. I carefully examine 5 and notice something strange about his appearance. The cyborg notices my glances and explains in carefully chosen words.

It seems that 5, like most androids was destined for government service from the day of his programming, probably in the military. But some idiot accidentally set his brain in the civil service rack and he ended up with a female body completely unsuited for combat. So, they sent him down to rehab to reprogram his brain. Since he arrived though, he's discovered that the doctors are more interested in fucking his completely functional body than replacing his brain. His repairs were supposed to be finished inside of a month. That was nearly two years ago.

Switch asks me why I really want to go to the City. I tell him the same thing I told Trigger a moment ago. He asks again, not believing me. So I tell him about my dreams, of the girl who comes to me every night begging me to come rescue her from X and the Holy Family. I don't bother telling him of the burning angel. If I tell him that, he'll think I'm just crazy. A girl's cry for help is one thing but a nightmare is completely different. I explain to him why I think the dream is real, that I've been having the same hallucination since I was first allowed consciousness and nothing the doctors have done have changed that. He seems to believe me and agrees to come along.

It is getting dark and the rebels have started to retreat. Their technology isn't as effective as the government's. If they continue their assault, they will likely be wiped out. As for ourselves, we wait until the rebels have moved back far enough before beginning our journey. We must avoid being seen by anyone until reaching the City. If the rebels catch us, we may be forced into helping their cause.