of the system's interface and wrenched it open, building a

ll, followed by A. Winter's monotone voic

le touched her lips. "Status? I'm trapped in a psychopath's body, in a cave t

erminate this mission. Sen

ocol locked. Failure to complete the 'Progenitus Optimization mission's

rob, but she used it, funneling the agony into focus. She gathered her mental

ayla snarled in her mind, her teeth b

rojected absolute stubbornness. "Unlock my powers, or I sit he

. Jayla could almost hear the gears of t

i

returned, as cold as ever. "Inhibitors lifted. Ac

er chest vanished. The blocked channels in her body blew open, and Aet

tle. She pulled it out and twisted off the cap, scooping out a dollop of a potent, emerald-green healing salve. She reached back and carefully applied the cool, tingling o

ks echoed in the cave. The weakness was gon

r, give me the full background file on this host and her situation. Now," she

w the original Jayla had used her father's authority as the Chief of the Oasis Tribe to forcibly mark seven of the most pow

of busine

th a flicker of light. Jayla reached in and pulled out a sleek, silver can o

every direction. Psssh. Psssh. Psssh. The clean, sharp scent of mint instantly cut th

ock. The strange light, the weird hissing object-it was all beyond his comprehe

ly, demanding attention after the healing s

d chicken, the crust perfectly crispy, and a large plastic cup o

ve. It was a violent, mouth-watering smell that invaded

e bite out of the chicken thigh. The crunch was deafening in the quiet cave. "T

he silence. It came from Jordi's stomach. The so

to muffle the noise. He glared at Jayla, his eyes full of venom and suspicion. He clearly t

he straw, the ice clinking. She glanced at him from

right now, he would assume it was poison

the empty cup back into the Pocket Dimension for disp

stench of despair. Screw the mission for a second; she needed a base of

e needed to scout the area and maybe find

The bright morning sun hit her face,