We're all in this virtual space together.
Phekha

You turn down the tome with a quick shake of your head and thetwins suddenly stand up, forcing you to do the same. The swordswoman glancesbetween the two identical molds in obvious distrust, while the sorceress shiftsthe staff in her hands.

You look at the man with the shield, who is currently sizing upthe twin with the sly grin. She puts a finger to her lips and the somber twinsteps forward, leaving the tome with her duplicate sister. She walks over toone wall of coding and stops in front of it, and a glowing portal opens infront of her.

What do you do?

Stupid.

Idiotic.

Implausible.

That’s what all of theirweapon ideas boiled down to.

Myos and Zeke look ateach other from across the table, honey green eyes locking with darker oliveones. Achernar was antsy, shifting her weight from one foot to the otherwaiting in the heavy silence. Amaya blew golden strands out of her face, feetresting on the table between the two boys.

Basically, all of themwere clueless.

Zeke didn’t have accessto the kind of technology they would need to stage any sort of rebellion, evenif it was just holding up one of the resident food courts. Achernar refused toacknowledge that she needed anything but her fists, Amaya claimed to be apacifist, and Myos had absolutely no idea. The four of them continued to sit there;hoping inspiration would strike them before they struck each other.

In the face. Hard.Probably Zeke’s.

Myos sighed again,pushing his chair back forcefully and punching one fist hard into his palmbefore it connected with Zeke for lacking of anything better to do. He was justabout to voice that maybe they give up this whole endeavor when a slight girlwith a bone white bob walked in. “Hey, Razz,” he greeted with a quizzical nodof his head.

“I figured you’d behelpless without me,” She shrugged, throwing a small, black, stainless steelbox on the table. It landed with a clunk, and she sat on the table next to it,crossing her slender legs.

“Thanks, for the, uh,box thingy? It’ll be a big help and I’m glad you decided to join us,” Amayasaid brightly, despite faltering for words at first. Much like the rest ofthem, she had no idea what this box was supposed to do to help them. Did theytoss it at things? The blonde leaned over and poked it with her index finger.

The box wobbled for amoment, before settling back into place.

“Okay, I’ll bite, whatdoes it do?” Zeke asked, crossing his arms over his chest in what was swiftlybecoming a habit around this group.

“It technically doesn’tdo anything. Yet. It just shows you something I’ve been working on,” Razzyexplained, picking up the small cube and punching in a code on the keypad onthe top of the box before setting it back down.

Moments later, a varietyof screens erupted from the black box. They showed hundreds of different modelsof what looked to be robotic battle suits that equipped to an individual’sbody. The suits would be activated through an inconspicuous method, such aspulling a chain or pressing a button on an article of clothing, and morpharound an individual in an instant. Though all the suits were radicallydifferent from each other they all had one thing in common - a gleaming starwas present on each of them.

“I figured this littlerebellion of yours needed a symbol, Myos,” Razzy said, pulling off her computerglasses that hid the upper part of the right side of her face. Formerlyconcealed by the screen was a small black star tattoo by the corner of her ultramarineeye.

Myos’s eyes widened inshock - the fact that a girl he thought wanted no part in helping them would goso far was amazing to him. To his right, Amaya squealed with delight. “That’samazing! We should all get one! You’re right, it does need a symbol and that’sso perfect,” she said, words gushing out like a solar flare.

“Thanks,” Razzy replied,her tone not really changing to show that she cared. “I figured we could usethe power of branding to our advantage. Plus it replaces this fucking hearttheme,” she explained, pulling the fur on her jacket aside to show the pinkheart that adorned her otherwise black bikini top. “Alioth Empire needs to fallif just for that reason,” she shrugged.

“So, I hate to be thedowner here but I think it’s necessary. These suits may protect us from damage,but how are we supposed to inflict it?” Zeke questioned, using his glovedfingers to flit through the images suspended in front of them. “This doesn’tshow any weapons attached, just a compartment area for storing them within thesuit until they’re activated.”

“Yeah, how do we dishout the hurt to these bastards?” Achernar scoffed, flicking through thepictures herself. Though the schematics of it didn’t make much sense to her,Zeke was right for once - there were no weapons blueprints.

Amaya worriedly chewedon her bottom lip, glancing over at Myos for the answer. Or, to at least askthe question politely so Razzy would actually answer.

“Obviously if Zekedoesn’t have access to real military grade technology then neither do I - thiscould only be manageable due to my position at the technology developmentbureau. We don’t work with weapons,” Razzy explained, replacing the screen onher face before taking another small cube out of her large jacket pockets. “ButI did have access to some versions of archaic technology, which I modified. Inthe right hands, it should be just as deadly.” She punctuated her statement bypressing the button on the top of the cube, making it split into four smallercubes, one each in front of the other four members sitting or standing aroundthe table.

Myos picked up the cubein front of him, and those around him did the same. Pressing the small grooveon the side, the polished surface beginning to overlap upon itself and transforminto a different shape completely. He set the former cube down and let itfinish its metamorphosis. When it was done, a beautifully crafted crossbow satin front of him. The lath part of the instrument was molded to look flames, anda star was emblazoned on the stock. At first Myos was going to protest to suchan archaic weapon despite the warning, but then he caught sight of the rocketlike objects that were in the quiver on the side of the mechanism.

“Heat-seeking,” Razzysupplied, noticing his interest.

Myos nodded and lookedaround him to see what other weapons the rest of his team had been given. Infront of Zeke sat a silver and emerald plated weapon, with the butt of theobject resembling an assault rifle, and gradually transforming into a wicked lookingsword with a relief in the shape a star. It appeared to be absurdly sharp, andcurved to a deadly point at the end. It was a hefty weapon to wield, and it wasthe first time since they said they were taking part in this rebellion that theravenette actually smiled. “I’m sure this rifle-blade combination doesn’t justshoot normal bullets?” He said with a smirk.

“Plasma shots,” Razzynodded in confirmation, before explaining some of the finer aspects of thedevice to Zeke while Myos continued looking on his companions new assaulttools.

Achernar was alreadyplaying with her new weapon. What appeared to be a normal dynasty-style katanawas actually outfitted with an electronic mechanism that allowed a chainsaw torevolve around the blade, making it even more deadly. Stars decorated the hilt,making it a beautifully ornate piece of work. Amaya also had a hold on hers - ahybrid between a throwing disc and a chakram, albeit in the shape of a star.The edges were rimmed with purple lighting that looked like LED strips, thatnarrowed to a fine edge. All in all, their weapons were deadly even if notbeing of the most current technology.

“I told you, in theright hands these will be fine,” Razzy smirked, black and pink gradient lipspursing.

“So, you’re just givingus all these weapons, but you aren’t going to get anything out of it byfighting with us?” Zeke asked, hefting up his weapon to get a better look atit.

“No, I’ve got a weaponof my own,” Razzy replied, pulling her left wrist out of her pocket andtwisting a thin metal bracelet that was around her wrist. Within seconds, ahumming filled the air as the metal collapsed, expanded, and overlapped eachother much like the cubes had done before. When it was done, a heavy dutylooking piece of metal was on the small girl’s arm. It extended from her armlike it was part of it, and Myos was sure she could fight with it like it wasan extension of herself. It was a chrome cylindrical object, with four spiresextending off each of the sides. They came to points at the top and surroundeda pink and lime dome - one that was already glowing and smoking with the energystored inside of it. It was apparent that she now wielded an extremely potentblaster gun - even though the whole apparatus was topped off with an innocentlooking kitten face on the side.

“How come yours doesn’thave a star like the rest of the teams’?” Amaya asked, pouting her lips as shelooked at all the others’ weapons who all shared the common symbol of theirrebellion.

“Babe, do you care aboutthat door?” Razzy asked, knocking the taller woman with her hip to get herattention.

“Not really, why?”Achernar replied, looking between the other and the door.

Only a split second after theconfirmation, Razzy pointed the piece of machinery at the door and fired. Aftera brief explosion of light, the four who were unaware of the outcome inspectedthe door, seeing that a basketball-sized star had been blasted through it.“Tomorrow we storm the castle,” Razzy said, and if someone was listening hard enough,they would notice an actual hint of glee in her voice.