They debriefed with Luna, the Princess rather impressed with their performance and their find, and Twilight led Vinyl to an area of the mansion she had to unlock to get into. Vinyl was curious.

“This is one of the parts of the mansion that’s still mine and now part of the HQ, I only let friends in. I think you deserve to relax a while though after tonight.” Twilight explained as they entered a humid antechamber. Vinyl felt her clothes adhering to her body and found herself unsure of how to react as Twilight stripped.

“It’s a natural hotspring that the place was built around, come on.” She giggled, entering the next room. Vinyl pulled her clothes off and retrieved all of her weaponry and piled them neatly next to Twilight’s and followed the girl in. Twilight beckoned her over to where a small waterfall of sorts was pouring into a drain, where she was washing off what little blood was on her body.

Vinyl relaxed and allowed her body to open up like before. After a few moments of rinsing the blood off of her body she realized Twilight was staring at her.

“What?” She asked.

“Oh, nothing… I’ve never seen someone with that level of augmentation… It’s fascinating.” Twilight replied. Vinyl smiled, but soon became very aware of the differences between their bodies. Namely the features that made Twilight a woman, and for some reason she didn’t know how to react to it. She felt slightly embarrassed, but at the same time she felt oddly strange because of it.

Twilight hadn’t noticed her expression, as she had turned and stepped into the large pool of steaming water and was currently relaxing in it. Vinyl finished up and joined the girl. sitting next to her in the spring.

“So you’ve seemed a bit off since the assignment, you alright?” Twilight asked, opening her eyes and looking over. Vinyl didn’t respond for a few moments, trying to find words to what she wanted to say.

“I don’t know… Even when I was fighting thugs and killing them, it was all conscious and I knew everything I was doing. When I killed those Seekers, though… it was like instinct. It happened so fast I barely even remember it exactly… I was behind them and then they were on the ground and I was covered in their blood.” Vinyl explained.

“Really?” Twilight asked. Vinyl nodded. She lifted her hand out of the water and stared at it. There was a series of different emotions and feelings that she couldn’t describe flowing into her. Twilight definitely noticed it this time, her hand was on Vinyl’s shoulder and she had a concerned expression.

“I’m fine, I think… I went from street rat to killing Seekers to trying to relax in a hotspring in the middle of a mansion. All in the span of a few hours, at least to me… I guess not all of my brain is synthetic because a computer wouldn’t have all of this turmoil about it.” Vinyl said.

“I think I know what you mean… Do you regret letting me take you here?” Twilight asked. Vinyl smiled at her.

“Of course not. I feel like I’m in the right place now, that this might be what I’m supposed to do now. I certainly feel better killing for a good reason rather than just to survive…” The Seeker girl said with a weak smile.

“Speaking of that, where did you learn to take them out? It isn’t easy to sneak up on two of them, let alone kill them in one go.” Twilight said, retracting her contact and relaxing once more.

“I think I was a good fighter before I was snatched because I know a lot of stuff that wasn’t in my local databases. As far as Seekers go, though, I had more luck than skill to start out with. But, when you’re one of the most advanced Seekers out there you learn quickly.” Vinyl replied.

“Most advanced… huh? I wouldn’t doubt it, but do you know if that’s fact?” Twilight asked, her curiosity bleeding into her tone. Vinyl nodded.

“I was good at hacking even from the start, and there aren’t too many safeguards set up on Seeker databases designed to counter another Seeker. I’m an experiment, a prototype. Obviously I didn’t turn out how they wanted me to so they probably scrapped the project…” She explained.

They stayed silent for a little while, enjoying the springs, when the door opened once more and Luna and Celestia entered.

“Hello, we were just talking about the mission.” Twilight said absentmindedly. It was apparent that them joining her wasn’t rare.

“Oh look at you, I was wondering just how artificial you were. I like it.” Celestia said as the two dipped into the water on either side of the two, Celestia next to Twilight and Luna next to Vinyl.

“Anything you talk about worth repeating?” Luna asked, chuckling lightly and shaking her head at her sister’s comment.

“Nothing I can’t put into a report later.” Twilight replied. Luna seemed satisfied with that.

“Oh, speaking of your current state, Vinyl, I had a few teams trying to research who you were and we may have found a lead.” Luna said, opening her eyes as they gained a slight glow. After a moment a file was sent to Vinyl and she opened it to find a series of photos.

The main picture was a poster for some sort of club. It showed the silhouette of a girl with hair identical to hers being the only color on her, aside from purple shades. The title read ‘DJ Scratch’ and it seemed vaguely familiar.

“What is this?” She asked.

“It looks like one of those nightclub posters. I think I actually remember seeing this before, it looks familiar.” Twilight suggested.

“We did a bit of research, it’s one of the ones in the middle class side of town that get all kinds of people. Bar fights and other acts of violence were commonplace.” Luna said as Vinyl looked through the other pictures sent, which consisted of security camera stills.

“I have to admit, the girl behind the table does look a hell of a lot like you. And you do love music, you said. It’d also explain why you knew how to fight, working at a place like that.” Twilight said. Vinyl looked closely at the pictures, her augments able to clean up the poor quality of the stills. She wasn’t completely sure, though.

The hair, at least, is exactly the same.” Celestia said.

“Well maybe she was a Seeker and they made me in her image for some reason? I’ve always sort of felt that this body was off… at least until I got used to it.” Vinyl suggested.

“We’ll do a bit more research then.” Luna said.

“Oh no, I can handle it. If I leave my transponder in your database I can search while I sleep, it is getting to be around that time.” Vinyl said, noticing the time on her HUD read 11:00 PM.

“So it is. Well I’ve had a particularly boring day of paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork so I’ll just sit and soak for a while longer.” Celestia said as Vinyl got up. Luna hummed in agreement.

“I should be getting ready to sleep too, I have my morning routine and maintenance.” Twilight said, standing up with Vinyl. They bid each other goodnight and returned to the antechamber. Vinyl gathered the gear she had left as she steamed as the water evaporated from her body and Twilight toweled off.

“So, do you really think you were made in the image of someone else?” Twilight asked as she started dressing.

“I don’t know… I can’t help but feel that my hair is one of the only parts of me that’s really mine, though… I’ll figure it out eventually though.” Vinyl replied. Twilight shrugged and continued dressing as Vinyl left to find her way back to the library.

When she returned to her room she was a little surprised to find that Twilight was entering the room across from hers, brushing her hair. She had no idea their rooms were so close, she had assumed they were in different sections of the house. She put that into the back of her mind, though, as she dropped her clothes next to her bed and dropped the boots she carried next to them and rather unceremoniously plopped onto the bed.

For having a biometal body, she was rather weary. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her, but her mind remained active as she cross referenced the pictures she had and the poster, as well as the name ‘DJ Scratch’ and set up a great many filters and got to work researching.

Vinyl bolted upright when morning came, startling Twilight as she had just entered the room.

“Luna wants you to do training routines with me in the mornings, what’s the matter?” She asked with a bit of worry. Vinyl looked at the girl and Twilight was surprised to see her eyes watering.

“I’m supposed to be dead…” Vinyl said nearly in a whisper Twilight’s expression changed to one of intrigue and more concern.

“What?” She asked. Vinyl wiped her eyes that had watered up, a little surprised that they had, and stood up.

“I… I don’t think I could really explain it… I still don’t remember what happened, but I remember the pain now…” She continued in her weak tone. With a few thoughts she sent a series of files, articles and pictures to Twilight. The girl’s eyes widened after a few moments.

‘The DJ at the nightclub went missing one night, the next morning other workers found a gruesome scene in the secluded back alley behind the place. She was declared dead, as the alley was splattered with gore and blood and they found what amounted up to a pair of arms and legs. The workers recognized the DJ’s signature shades and locks of her blue two toned hair in the area as well, confirming that the girl was at least there.

More bits of flesh and bone besides the arms and legs were recovered, teeth and even a jawbone were recovered after further investigation. The rest of the girl still has not been found, but a full blown investigation is working on further details.’ Read one article. There was another much smaller one,

‘Scratch family mourns the loss of their daughter and sister, Veronica Ramona Scratch, who was a DJ at a local nightclub. They’ve launched a full, privately funded investigation to find the culprit of Vincenza’s brutal murder and the rest of her remains. More information pending.’ The second one read. There were many more, but they all said the same thing really.

Twilight waved everything on her HUD aside to see Vinyl still on the bed, but she had curled up and was shaking.

“Vinyl?” She asked, concerned, and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“It hurts… it… it hurts so much… I… Please, make it stop…” Vinyl said in a pained whisper. Her eyes were closed and her face scrunched up in pain. Twilight’s expression softened in sympathy. She went through something similar, although Vinyl’s pain must be on a level all in its own. By the articles, it seemed like the girl was ripped apart. She silently sat with the girl, ar arm around her shoulder.

Tears were flowing down her face, which neither of them thought was really possible, but Vinyl’s shaking slowed gradually until she was just breathing heavily, staring at the floor.

“Is it gone?” Twilight asked softly. She expected it was so, or at least in part, as that’s how hers went.

“No… I’m just getting used to it…” Vinyl replied darkly. Twilight stared at her, the girl’s expression went from that of someone in immense pain to more of a darker and slightly intimidating one. After a little while her breathing slowed back to normal and she stared at her hands. Her fingers twitched slightly, in rhythm with the jolts of pain.

“Do you remember anything else?” Twilight asked. Vinyl shook her head and took a deep breath before standing up.

“Thank you, for sitting here with me, Twilight…” She said, smiling slightly.

“I know what it’s like to feel the pain of death again, though it faded away for me… Maybe when you remember something besides that from your past it will fade as well.” Twilight replied, standing up as well. Vinyl looked at her and nodded. She turned back towards the door, wiping her face of her tears.

“Do you need me for anything today? I have something I want to do…” She asked.

“Unless something comes up we have at least two days of rest after a mission, Luna told me this morning that if you wish to spend some time away from the manor that I should go with you.” Twilight replied. Vinyl nodded.

“Makes sense… Even if she trusts me now, any Chasers roaming around may or may not even know I’m not with the Seekers anymore… I hope you don’t mind being my escort for the day.” Vinyl said. Twilight giggled and started out of the door.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been around the city on my own time, especially with a friend. I’ll go get our pay from the mission so we can do more than walk if it strikes our fancy.” Twilight said. Vinyl smiled, she saved the map of the city she had pulled from the Chaser database and highlighted a specific manor in the other rich district near the palace towards the center of the city. She needed to find something elegant to wear.

Author's Note

Long gap between the last update, but weekends do that to me.
But I'm on a bit of a roll now.
Things get interesting in the next chapter, that much I can say with confidence