Defiance!

The heavy mechanical door burst open with a hiss and slowly slid up into the ceiling. The room and hall beyond, with darkness looming at the edges and a stillness in the air, smelled of iron and gunpowder. The sense of danger was heavy. Coda was the first to take a step inside, and Lily hesitated by the door as he and I walked further into the abyss that was dimly lit by computer monitors along the walls.

"W-wait." She squeaked out as she scampered to our heels. It dawned on her that the safest she could ever be in this entire facility was with us. After all, there were still plenty of Insectiants lurking about that would be happy to make her acquaintance.

As we passed through the still air, barrels with warning labels and diagrams of strange creatures with weapons mounted to them began to line the walls and the hall soon widened in suspense. The rooms beyond were shrouded in complete darkness. My hand found its way to the edge of a nearby shelf, there was a little comfort in holding onto something solid. It wasn't going to jump out at me if it couldn't move. With a shimmer, Coda had disappeared into the shadows. Things related to stealth and espionage were his key Virtuories. A spark of worry crosses my mind as he becomes part of the darkness.

Gliding along the shelf, my hand found a glass case protruding from the wall. It reminded me a little of the one I had awoken from a little while before, filled with mystery and a deep blue crystalline. As I placed my hand on the glass it began to glow, lighting up the room as it spread to the whole container. The once dark blue was now a shimmering neon liquid. Suspended in the center was a cylindrical object, much like a quarterstaff. As if it had awakened at my touch, the container began to drain.

As the staff gravitated toward the edge of the container sudden sparks of energy began to fly from it, tearing the glass apart and leaving behind a molten orange hole. Hovering in space, the object made its way toward me and rested in my open hands. It sparked in me an affinity for it, almost like it was made for me.

"Oh no. That's Defiance!" Lily whispered from behind me.

"Defy what?" I couldn't help but chuckle. This thing had such a silly name?

Suddenly it burst out of my hands and bright green lights burst forth from it, carving new crevices into the floor and ceiling, sending me back a few steps as black burn marks appeared on my hands. Lily had a horrified look on her face as she dove for cover. Still sizzling from the sudden bursts of energy, I tried to make sense of the situation. I shook off the charred marks and the sting from the ignition. Had it been for a moment longer, it may have done some serious damage.

"Ok, I get it Defiance. I get it!" Clearly this thing had anger issues. I'll show it anger issues! Even as it showed no signs of stopping its rampage, I reached out to grab the staff, fully intending to tame the beast within. No matter how fast it was, I would be faster! As my hand tightened around Defiance it seemed to recognize its defeat, stopping immediately.

"Beginning biometric scan." The rod beeped out in a shrill and metallic female voice. "Phaser Origin, recognized entity. Entering observation mode." It cut out in the room followed by an ominous giggle before once again bursting out with green energy. Defiant indeed. Holding it tightly I was flown around the room like a paper plane, at the whim of the wind. It tried its best to get me to let go, slinging me around and trying to slam me into walls and weapons.

I held on and twisted my body to avoid each impact. This tiny object had all of my fury now directed at it. I held my grip even tighter, hoping it would hurt it somehow. "Stop!" I yelled out, and the second my word hit its sensors it cut all of its energy output dropping both of us to the floor, as if it wanted to have one final act of rebellion in our little dance.

"Not so defiant now, are you." I whispered in my heart, not daring to test it again. My face red from the impact. Even if it didn't manage to do any permanent damage, this still hurts! I stood up and cleaned off my suit. Clearly this would be a problem if we couldn't deactivate it soon. It's almost lucky that it went after me instead of Lily. From what I can tell, I was certainly more durable.

"Allow me to introduce myself." The green sparks from the weapon spat out an ominous glow that didn't match the energetic high pitch voice. "I am the super-duper adorable circuit pixie, code-named Defiance. I am the entirely obedient slayer of the Gods. How dare you awaken me." Suddenly the staff extended to two meters and a curved energy blade extended for a full meter before tapering off. This was maybe the second or third most beautiful thing I had ever seen, depending on how many of Coda's eyes counted as individual beautiful things. The mystic green energy coming from the blade left sparks twinkling in the air around it, giving it a magical aura. Instantly, this was my favorite. In my heart I was already accepting this little sister of mine. If only it wasn't trying to kill me.

"Slayer of the Gods?" I said with raised eyebrows. "I may have added that little detail, but with full confidence! The creators named this weapon Artemis. How could it not shoot down a god or two?" it called out as the scythe floated in the air using sporadic energy bursts. "Tell me. Are you a God? Should I end you?"

"No, no. You've got it wrong..." A tremor ran across my bones. "I'm no…" A deep breath escaped my chest and my heart picked up pace. Instinctively I looked toward the darkness Coda had disappeared into. Suddenly flashes of sparks appeared in the dark, the sound of blades cutting through the shadows met my ears.