I thought I'm prepared for it, but when it finally comes, it still makes me furious.
There is a huge aircarrier floating above Bifröst. Its only purpose is to spread a message through massive speakers, repeated twice every half an hour.
"An important announcement. Europe's Ministry of Castaway Matters has reclaimed the Flicker serums, both the cure and the vaccine, and is willing to provide it to every Castaway who asks for it. We offer a full amnesty to Castaways who run away from Bifröst and joins our side again. You will not be prosecuted if you return. If you were thinking about switching sides, if you were forced to join Nightingale because of the serums, now it's the right time to change sides. I repeat..."
It's no surprise that little rebel groups started to appear as soon as the first announcement was made. I was thinking about just letting them go - after all, I don't need disloyal individuals in my army. But in the end, I decided they should be punished.
Nobody will be leaving this city against my will.
I observe a small clash near the city gates from the rooftop of a nearby building. A small group of traitors made it this far, but I guess they already realized their little rebellion was futile. One by one, they fall under the gunfire of my loyal soldiers. Dead bodies are scattered throughout the whole city.
Even though it's a rather gruesome sight, it makes me smile. I guess it's because it makes up for Isaiah's escape a little. Nobody else will escape me now. I know it's a bit petty, but after all, I am the ruler here. And my word is the law.
My enemies outside must be disappointed - they probably expect a crowd of guilty Castaways begging for forgiveness. Well, one more point for me.
I can't risk someone foiling my plans now, when I'm so close. NSS Opportunity parked in the city's docks is almost ready for its fateful mission. I can't let this minor inconvenience interfere with the great scheme that is soon to happen.
"Don't you think this decision was a bit too resolute?" asks Roxanna, also known as Scarlet Sparrow, standing next to me. She's also watching the carnage below us, but she seems more curious and horrified than pleased. I feel she would love to stop me.
"I should have known you will have compassion with those who change sides like socks," I smile at her. "Do you still regret betraying your... friends?"
"I've never regretted it," she retorts, running her hand through her short, black and red hair. This gesture tells me she's not being completely honest. I can already read her body language well. I've already seen her body in all its beauty, but I've also seen her lie.
But I'm not going to blame her for that.
"There may be a time where you'll have to face your former allies," I tell her. "Konstantin. Or Zoya, your apprentice. There won't be a time for being sentimental, you know?"
"I'm not sentimental!" she barks. "My loyalty belongs to you and our case."
"That's what Isaiah claimed, too."
"Don't compare me to him," she hisses, glaring at her with anger with her eyes. "Do you doubt my loyalty? Fine. Try and execute me like these pathetic suckers below us." The gunfire stopped; the last rebel collapsed on the ground. The city of Bifröst is calm once again.
I kiss Roxanna on the forehead. "There's no need to be upset. Of course I trust you. But it's no shame to admit you haven't cut out your past completely yet. I know how hard it is. It took me a while before I managed to kill the person I used to be for good."
Is it true? Or is a part of the hideous Birdie still living inside me?
That's for another debate. Now, I have to find someone to clean the bodies from the streets. This little uprising bugs me more than it should. Just like that annoying talking aircarrier above our heads.
Two days passed since my visit to the Castaway hospital. Now, I'm getting ready for a live broadcast in the main news programme on TV Europe 24, Europe's most important TV channel. It will be a key moment in my life. This will be the moment I will spread Ryan's legacy.
In the backstage, the make-up artist is putting powder on my face and highlighting my eyes with a decent eyeliner. I squirm on my chair since I'm not used to such treatment, but I endure. Tonight, I won't be presented as a tomboy, wild Neoclash Champion. I will become the voice of many people.
Including my deceased friend.
For this occasion, I changed my usual hoodie, crop top and leggings for a dark red blouse and knee-long black skirt. Also, my hairstyle is something I'm not used to. But, against my will, I'm starting to like this ladylike look. Maybe I'll start going out like this more often.
I've been preparing my speech since I received the offer to perform in the show, but it seems to be in vain since I've already forgotten it. When I'm finally seated behind the table I'm used to seeing every day on TV, in a studio that seems almost unreal when seen in reality, next to an announcer whose voice I associate with both good and bad news, I'm so nervous I subconsciously start tapping my fingers on the tabletop.
"Stop it," Lucy Brolin, the announcer, scolds me. "We'll be on air in a minute."
Don't get me wrong, Lucy is a nice woman, just a bit of a pedant. She's in her mid-forties, but she's looking thirty for over a decade now (I'm not guessing how much did plastic surgeries help here). Her glossy brown locks and fashionable eyeglasses are helping to create Europe's most known face of news coverage.
I try to calm myself down; Lucy helps me with an encouraging smile. Finally, the camera drones come to life and start the live broadcast. Lucy starts to speak first, reading from the computer screen invisible to the viewers. Damn, I'd love to have such aid.
After the greeting the announcer tells the world every day, she gets straight to the point. The background behind us is green, but the viewers see an artistic photo of a hand holding a syringe and a text: Cure for Flicker reclaimed. Millions of Europe's inhabitants are now listening to Lucy's report:
"After a lengthy struggle, the Ministry of Castaway health has finally reclaimed both the cure and the vaccine which is ought to destroy Flicker, a disease deadly to Castaways. Until now, the cure was in the hands of a Castaway terrorist known as Nightingale who used it as a triumph to lure desperate Castaways into her army. But now, thanks to the effort of several brave Castaways, the cure is available to all Castaways in Europe."
The background changes to a series of short clips depicting overjoyed, relieved Castaways receiving the much-needed cure in form of a series of injections. The recording further features Austin Halliday - the Castaway doctor who implanted my first bionic legs. It seems like an eternity ago.
"The healing process takes long, but it can completely cure Flicker in any stage and eliminate the chance of relapse," Halliday tells us, standing next to a hospital bed with a teen Castaway girl heavily struck by Flicker laying on it. The girl has a tired, yet hopeful smile on her pale lips.
Lucy continues. "Regarding this matter, we invited a special guest for today. Lately, she had been connected with shady activities by certain media, but today, we will leave these speculations aside and talk about the history of the Flicker cure. Here, in the studio, I have Zoya, also known as Tempest."
The camera drones focus their lens on me and my nervosity grows stronger than before. But I have to go through this, if only for Ryan. "Greetings," I say; Lucy urges me to raise my voice through a gesture. I speak louder, trying hard to control my trembling voice. "First of all, I want to assure you I am not a terrorist and I stand on what I said earlier. Thank you.
However, today I have been invited to speak about the Flicker cure which caused a lot of problems, but now, it saves the lives of hundreds of Castaways. I have to say that this time, I'm not a focus of the story. This time, I'll be nothing but a humble narrator who will tell you the story of the exceptional man who found the cure all by himself. I feel obligated to do so because he was my Neoclash partner. And my close friend."
Lucy is showing me thumbs up.
...
"His name was Ryan Bridger and most people remember him as my Neoclash partner," I start. According to our agreement, the dramaturge starts to show short clips depicting Ryan on the background behind me. Seeing the clips hurts so much, but I have to endure it somehow.
"However, I remember him as a passionate scientist. In fact, my whole Neoclash career started because of this moment - Ryan needed money to continue his research about the cure for Flicker. Some people see me as a hero, some as a villain, but I was never anything more than a means to reach this goal.
Ryan died soon after he finished this creation. He was killed by Nightingale." My voice cracks, but Lucy gestures me to continue. "Valentina, as I know her, stole the serum and used it as a part of her awful scheme. But somehow, we managed to retrieve the cure and now, we're giving it to those who need it the most. All thanks to the courage of a man who was brave enough to defy Nightingale and her ideology and strike her where it hurt the most. A man who turned his back on Nightingale and decided to do the right thing."
Isaiah was invited to join the show, too, but unsurprisingly, he refused. That means my job for today is to give two people the glory they deserve.
"I can't describe how happy would Ryan be if he saw this moment. He lived for this... and, sadly, also died for this. Now it's up to me to give him the recognition and fame he deserves. I will now ask you for one thing. Once this speech hits the internet, share it as much as you can. And remember one name - Ryan Bridger. Remember this name for he is the savior of all the Castaways who will be cured of Flickers and all the Castaways who will be saved thanks to the vaccine.
No matter if you love or hate me, please, spread this message. This is not about me, but about Ryan. Please thank him when you receive the cure or if you already received it. He deserves it. I would say my mission ends here, but I decided it would be cowardly to just withdraw without a fight. No matter what some of you say or think, I'll keep fighting against Nightingale even if it meant fighting alone. She wants war? I'm the war. And I think it's finally time to throw away these stupid conflicts and unite against real threats. It's the only way we can solve problems without unnecessary carnage. Thank you for your attention."
I stare into the camera drone for a moment in dead silence. Then it finally turns back to Lucy and I can finally exhale in relief. I hope my words had at least some effect. There are countless other things I want to say, but my time is limited and I'm already exhausted even though all I did was to say a few words.
Lucy helps me out. She fluently follows up my speech by presenting a short biography of Ryan - a biography I helped create. The compilation of videos involving Ryan continues in the background. I mentally prepare for the last video of the compilation. I'd rather turn around and pluck my ears, But since there are still several cameras pointed at me, I have to stay as cool as possible.
The last video has been recorded by me, about two weeks before the Neoclash Showdown in Ostrava. Before all the horrible things that happened afterward. I was so innocent back then. It's painful to hear my cheerful giggling from behind the pentop recording Ryan's lab in his basement.
"What are you going to do when you succeed?" I ask on the video.
"Of course, grab the fame and fortune I deserve," Ryan grins, dressed in a lab coat. "A Nobel prize would be cool. Why are you even recording this?"
Maybe I had a subconscious thought that this video will one day become one of the last memories connecting me with him.
"Come on, Ryan, it's just for fun. Testing my new pentop's camera."
"You know, even a cynical sucker like me has dreams," Ryan takes off the lab coat and looks into the camera. "I know it sounds cheesy, but it would be nice if everyone in Europe knew my name, respected me for what I've achieved. And I think that what I'm doing, if I succeed, can help many people."
"What about money?" I tease him. "Aren't they your primary motivation?"
"Money are nice, but this time, they are just secondary. This time, my main objective is to help, and I'm not making this up just because you're filming me. Because, you know, being known for doing something extraordinary is better than being famous for your money. I hope that one day..."
...
The next day, I'm watching the recording from the show which became Europe's most streamed video overnight. Of course, I started to cry after the producers showed the video from my pentop. The staff saved me with a commercial break, but still, the viewers saw me as I snapped.
After the broadcast ended, Lucy told me it's not a bad thing. It actually made my words more trustworthy and added depth to Ryan's story. And it seems it worked.
Just a few hours after the broadcast, a webpage titled Thank you, Ryan appeared on the internet. It serves as a forum where Castaways cured using Ryan's serum show their gratitude to my late friend. Some of them even post photos and selfies which show receding symptoms of Flicker.
I think it's needless to say I burst into tears again. But, for the first time in a long while, it's tears of happiness streaming down my face. This is what Ryan talked about in the home video I recorded. He would be so happy. His legacy is finally fulfilled.
Also, a pinned post on the webpage tells me: We would love to invite Zoya/Tempest to become an admin of this site. Zoya, if you're reading this, please contact us.
Of course I comply.
Even though the two-pronged war with Nightingale and the Yeomen isn't over yet, I enjoy this small victory. Now the whole of Europe knows the name Ryan Bridger. I can't wait to visit his grave and tell him. And another good thing? Yesterday's performance once again changed the public opinion about me. Less and less people are willing to believe I was somehow connected with the destruction of Studený peklo.
Things are starting to get better. Ryan got his wish fulfilled, Isaiah escaped Valentina's clutches, people are on my side again. Now we only have to win both wars we wage.
Jaroslav's voice returns me to reality. "Zoya? I have the results. Some people I know examined the Augments from the Inception company," he tells me as he steps into the living room where I occupy my computer. "Another point for you."
I wipe the tears off my face. "Let me guess - the Augments are contaminated."
Jaroslav nods. Augments, the serums which alter the Castaway's DNA to make them stronger, faster or simply better, had their risks already - just remember the monstrous Vultures Valentina is creating by overdosing Castaways with them. But now, it seems they are more dangerous than ever.
"The examinations revealed someone infected the serum in Augments with an aggressive Flicker strand," the man explains. "This modification had to be made during the manufacturing, it couldn't be contaminated additionally. And that's another point - the company who made the Augments came to the market right before the Flicker epidemy broke out."
"That means someone is intentionally making Augments which are supposed to kill Castaways," I say.
"Exactly. They set up exceptionally low prices to make the Castaways buy them. The problem is there seems to be no address of the company headquarters or manufactures. In other words - we will never know where did the Augments come from. Not even the resellers know. The company did a good job covering the tracks."
"That means we can't know whether Nightingale or the Yeomen is behind this."
"But it's a start. We can hope Lenka finds something in Bureš's services."
I raise my eyebrows. "You think the Yeomen are behind it, do you?"
"I'm almost sure about it."
Isaiah, who is living with us in the past days, hears our conversation and joins it. "I spent quite a while with Nightingale and her generals," he says. "I have never heard her talking about contaminated Augments. And I think she would constantly boast it if she did it. So I also incline towards the option the Yeomen did it."
The man is becoming accustomed to his new eye and, most of the time, the bionic one is synchronized with his natural one, but there are still moments it starts to wildly flutter in its socket. In these moments, Isaiah groans and bangs the temple of his head several times until the eye synchronizes. That's what happened now.
"Goddamn thing," he utters.
"I wish there was some way to contact Lenka," I think out loud. "So she would have something to focus on. If we gave proof that Zeman and the Yeomen are behind the contaminated Augments, it would be the end of them. It could count as mass murder, and nobody gets away with that."
"There is a way," Jaroslav says. "Let's disclose the Augment contamination. And things will happen."