MIR-202 Artemis Lena 

My name is MIR-202 "Artemis Lena." An autonomous exploration program made in the Mainframe.

As the Metaverse continued to thrive and grow, no matter how mighty the Mainframe's power and authority, it was difficult to grasp the full picture. Occasionally, there were reports of strange malicious avatars appearing in uncharted territory known as the "far reaches." This made it necessary to survey the far reaches to protect the Metaverse's long-term stability.

That's why we sisters were created as autonomous explorations programs. There are two programs of the same model as me...I call them sisters, but while we're all the same type of autonomous programs, our roles are different.

For example, I am an all-rounder type. I don't specialize in anything, but I am suited to all kinds of situations. My older sister, MIR-201 "Hecate Beatrix," or "Bea" for short, is an attack type. She's tailor-made to be reliable in combat against malicious avatars... Her only flaw is that she gets a bit carried away. My earnest and shy little sister MIR-203 "Selene Sheryl" is a detection type. There's nothing her sensors can't catch. Bea and I call her "Sheryl."

We three sisters may have different looks and personalities, but we trust and support one another. I believe there's no mission we can't accomplish together.

We sisters were given a certain mission. Specifically, to "search the outer edge and collect data."

"So, the outer edge..."

"It's the even more unknown part of the uncharted far reaches, right? Like, 'its whole existence is supposed to be questionable and we dunno if it's real' kind of place... Well, it gets kinda cramped in the Mainframe sometimes, so getting out to go somewhere far away doesn't sound too bad..."

Sheryl chided Bea as she grumbled. "Oh, come on, Bea! Questioning the one and only Mainframe... Besides, this is our duty! We're not going on a picnic. Please, take this seriously!"

"Hehehe. You're so serious, Sheryl... But seriously, are you gonna be okay? We don't know if it really exists, but there might be a ton of scaaary Nemesis guys in the far reaches."

"Uh... W-Well..."

Sheryl was at a loss for words when Bea tousled her head.

"Ahaha! Sorry, sorry! I'm just teasing. It's gonna be fine! Don't make that face. If we see Nemesis, I'll cut 'em down for you like nothing!"

"I'm coming too," I said. "So let's all give it our best, okay?"

"O-Okay! Of course!"

"...All right. Let's get ready. Like Sheryl said, for us, the Mainframe's orders are absolute. And we're protecting the future of humanity, too. Investigating the outer edge will be very meaningful."

"Yep...then let's get started!" Bea replied.

Transfer coordinates could not be specified beyond the far reaches. That was why we had to investigate using primitive methods. At the edge of the sea built up from discarded data and simulations, we arrived at the area where Sheryl said she found an "unknown reading" with her detection abilities, but...

"Those bubbles... Could they all be programs?"

From the surface of the endlessly dark and chaotic sea, new programs were born from little bubbles that floated up and disappeared.

"No way... It's not possible a program could be born like that!" Sheryl protested.

"Yeah, I've never heard of that kinda thing, either," said Bea.

"Let's split up and search."

Since the area was too large, we temporarily split up to start our investigation. Along the way, many malicious avatars with a low threat level attacked me.

Oh, come on! There's no end to them... And how far does this area go, anyway?

I continued my investigation, thinking such thoughts, when...

"...You there, miss. May I have a moment?"

My detection abilities weren't as good as Sheryl's, but there weren't many programs who could sneak up on an exploration program like me. I turned around and saw a program there.

"No need for alarm. I am merely a researcher."

"A researcher? ...What's there to study in a place like this?"

"Well, it is because of this place...though secluding myself here has made me ignorant of the ways of the world. From the looks of it, you seem to have come from outside. You must be having quite a bit of trouble here. It's not exactly a negotiation, but if you allow me to analyze your configuration data, I can give you my observation data on this place in exchange... What do you say?"

...It was risky to go along with what this strange man said. On the other hand, getting a lead on understanding this vast, chaotic sea was tempting... What was I to do?

Should I take up this strange program's offer? I tried contacting my sisters to ask for their judgement, but...

Huh? I can't connect? What's that mean!?

"...Are you perhaps trying to contact your companions? That won't work. All means of communication are cut off here. You won't be able to contact anyone outside, either."

I get it. That's why the Mainframe didn't know what it was really like at the outer edge.

"Do you suspect me of being an enemy? That is a misunderstanding. If I were, I would have destroyed you to begin with."

"...What's your name?"

"Oh, pardon me. My name is Old Blue."

"All right, Old Blue. I'll accept your deal."

I made a direct link with him and we exchanged data. The observation data I received revealed a terrible truth. This outer edge was the place where a "god of destruction" was abandoned after invading from the outside world, and the small bits of chaos generated from her remains accumulated here...into something called the "Sea of Nemesis."

In the Metaverse's disorderly period of expansion, the sea of chaos at the outer edge was omitted from survey efforts, and it was slowly growing its domain, eating away at the Metaverse...

I have to tell the Mainframe the truth at once!

I was going to check with Old Blue for further details, when..."

"How wonderful! This is the potential of evolution!"

Old Blue looked intently at me with a gleam in his eyes.

"Yours is a truly wonderful existence, Artemis. The fusion of human and program...fully realized!"

"Fusion? With a human? What are you talking about?"

"Oh my, were you not aware of it yourself? You are a special program based on a human."

"I predicted that it would surely occur within the process of evolution...but you are different. A program that evolves like a human..."

Old Blue's words were something I never expected.

"You mean...I'm half-human?"

"Yes. I suspect your sisters are, too—as special programs fused using human data as the basis, you are a new form of humanity with new abilities! Unlike the other avatar humans who have adapted to the environment of the Metaverse, you are programs whose existence draws closer to humans..."

"That can't be! We of the Mainframe are protectors of humankind! To think they would harm humans and act against their own principles... Not to mention, the mind and memories of the person I was based on would be..."

"Likely overwritten or deleted, of course."

"I don't know what the Mainframe or its ruler Typhon are thinking," Old Blue continued, "but you embody my ideals of evolution! Typhon...I ought to be grateful for this encounter."

I...no, we...are the embodiment of evolution? You say that, but...

Suddenly learning a secret about myself was a violent shock to my heart. Amid my agitation, I heard a familiar voice, and before I knew it, my sisters were at my side.

"Lena! You okay? You don't look too good."

"Bea... Sheryl... Huh?"

Old Blue had disappeared before I noticed.

"Lena? Is something wrong?" Sheryl asked.

"No, it's nothing... More importantly, let's get to exploring the depths."

I decided to keep the secret of our birth from my sisters for now.

...I've got to put duty first. I won't disturb Bea and Sheryl thoughtlessly.

Using the data I got from Old Blue, we set out for the coordinates in the depths of the sea of chaos.

As we approached the deepest depths of the outer edge, we encountered more malicious avatars. And their threat levels were magnitudes higher than the ones roaming around above!

"Hah...hah! Shit! So damn annoying!"

Even Bea, who's good at combat, can't hide her fatigue... Any more of this and we're in danger. We should evacuate for now...

"—Sheryl, look out!"

"Ahh!? L-Lena!?"

She may have been able to detect enemies approaching behind her, but Sheryl wasn't equipped to handle them. I quickly pushed her out of the way. That moment, a shock ran down half my body. I saw the instant Bea sliced through the attacker play out in slow motion. My vision slowly turned white, and my consciousness faded away...

No... I have to stay...

----------

I had a dream. In it, I was painting a picture. Surrounded by cheerful calm, I faced a canvas in a pure white room.

"Someone's havin' fun painting!"

Then Bea and Sheryl appeared. They didn't look like their current selves in the slightest, but somehow, I was certain it was them...

It was a scene I'd never seen before. Why would I have such a dream...? Whose world was that?

"...Hm? Where...?"

"...Looks like she's come to."

There was a hooded man I'd never seen before standing in front of me.

"Lena!"

"Lena! I'm so glad."

"Bea... Sheryl... Who is this?"

The two of them seemed at a loss for where to begin their explanation. The unfamiliar man disregarded them and began to talk.

"My name is Wiseman. I suppose...you could call me a hermit."

"A hermit? ...Are you a friend of Old Blue?"

"Oh? You've met him? He and I aren't quite friends...more like old acquaintances."

"Does this mean you saved us?"

"You're mistaken again—I wouldn't say I saved you... The true threat hasn't left yet. Right now, you're all trapped in this space."

"You all must return to the Mainframe... That means you need to get out of here. There is only one way to break out of this enclosed space—by defeating her, the administrator."

According to Wiseman, the area we were visiting was sealed into an enclosed space in the middle of battle. The one who did it was a malicious avatar who seemed to be just ahead.

"She—Pandora Nemesis—possesses a VOX that can control the surrounding area. That is to say this place holds immense power, but beings like yourselves may be able to defeat it."

"Do you know our secret, too?"

"I perused your data when I treated you."

"Our secret? What's that mean?"

I told Bea and Sheryl the information I learned from Old Blue.

"For the Mainframe to do that... But we're humankind's protectors..."

"But...no matter where we came from, we're still sisters! Isn't that right?"

"Bea... Yes. Exactly!"

Bea's words finally lifted Sheryl's spirits.

"We're going. Wiseman, what about you?"

"There are many ways I want to help you, but there is something I must do here. I'm sorry..."

"It's fine! Do what you gotta do!" Bea replied.

"Thank you. Allow me to give you one final warning. You had best avoid releasing the limiters you were given whenever possible. You all are enhanced with a constant state of super-regeneration to counteract wear on your data. Because your data is always changing, you cannot 'go back' to the way you were. If you release your limiters and repeatedly exceed your regenerative power...there is no guarantee you will survive."

"So basically, we have a 'lifespan'?"

"That is merely conjecture on my part."

"...I understand. We'll be careful. Thank you."

At the depths of the Metaverse, no light could reach the bottom of the sea. In total incongruence with such a gloomy place, there was a pale lily of a girl with dainty limbs called "Pandora Nemesis" who lay among the countless grave-like objects lining the abyss.

"That's...Pandora Nemesis..."

We stood in front of her, enveloped in her overwhelming waves of negative energy. This place proved that she was the ruler here, someone who would never let herself be broken. Instead of a crown, this empress of the outer edge held ceremoniously in her hands a sinister transformed VOX.

"Act fast and we'll win! Let's go!"

Bea leapt out toward Pandora Nemesis as she lay there, and made her attack. She slashed a number of times, but she was blocked by the barriers that went up around her.

"...Welcome, taboo spawn of order."

Pandora Nemesis stood up straight and greeted Bea affectionately.

"Huh!? My attacks aren't working!?"

"Bea!" Sheryl called. "It's the VOX! The VOX deployed those barriers to nullify your attacks!"

"...Then I better destroy that VOX first!"

We reset our battle formation and focused our attacks on the VOX.

The barriers keep changing shape! Our attacks aren't going through!

No matter how many times we attacked Pandora Nemesis, not a thing reached her.

"...You and I are the same... Twisted beings..."

In the heat of battle, she continued to speak, her expression unchanging.

"Like me, your former existences were erased, discarded as the foundation of evolution. Then why do you fight? Why not destroy the Mainframe...together?"

"Us, and you...the same?"

"I was reborn from the erosion of Nemesis. Stolen and rewritten, just like you. Reason distorted, regardless of my own will..."

Pandora Nemesis spoke to us with a tender smile. Her unexpected words shook us to the core.

"...It may be true that we're hybrids. That we were created, distorted against our will. But we're nothing like you!"

"Yeah!" Bea added. "Destroy the Mainframe? Hah! What a joke! We won't let you!"

"...Don't you understand? You are beings built atop countless sacrifices. You call yourself protectors, yet you protect the Mainframe that toys with others' lives?"

"...I don't know whether the Mainframe is right or wrong. But I swear this one thing. You are spreading disaster through this world, so we will destroy you... We sisters are the protectors of humankind!"

"Fine. Then perish!"

The darkness enveloping Pandora Nemesis grew deeper, and a storm of bluish-black electric particles raged about!

"As a former terminal administrator, I don't want to fight you, but my instincts will not permit it. Allow me to destroy your false lives!"

We got in formation and I spread both of my arms as a signal.

"We won't let that happen! You two, with me!"

"Roger!"

"Understood!"

We linked directly to each other's energy lines. This was a function only us three sisters were given—by combining our three different powers into one, our limiters were released. As a result, we could temporarily draw out power far beyond our limits.

Bright red particles surrounded us, deflecting Pandora Nemesis's attack into a cloud of smoke. Something burst out from the smoke at high speed.

"Trinity Vertex!"

With my special attack, I accelerated with the force of a catapult, successfully piercing through Pandora Nemesis's barrier and plunging my sword deep into her body.

The attack I unleashed stabbed through Pandora Nemesis, sending a crimson heat to her lily-like body and engulfing our surroundings in ashes and dust from the tremendous force of the blast. When the smoke finally cleared, she had vanished.

"Y-You did it, Lena!" Sheryl cheered.

"Yeah! You, like, wiped the floor with her! Us three sisters' power is undefeatable!"

Seeing them celebrate, I sighed in relief and surveyed the area.

"She's disappeared without a trace... We can't retrieve her VOX. We could have gotten detailed data on the depths if we had it... Ugh!?"

"Lena!? ...Ahhh!"

"Ungh! Why's it hurt...!?"

A sharp pain ran through our bodies in an instant, then slowly subsided.

Trinity Vertex allowed us to draw out several times more power. However, the toll was extraordinary, too.

And this isn't just the strain from energy consumption... Is this rejection?

We sisters belonged to the same line of programs. By all rights, we should have been compatible, with no problems sharing data. However, because we were based on humans, a subtle rejection response had occurred. I could feel in my body that Trinity Vertex was gradually wearing away at our data.

"It seems like what Old Blue and Wiseman said was the truth..."

"Yeah... I guess if we keep using that power, we really will be sorry."

"Bea, Lena... What should we do now?"

Bearing the pain in her body, Sheryl looked up at us with an uneasy expression.

"It'll be okay, Sheryl."

I pulled Sheryl close.

"Lena..."

Seeing her, Bea put on a brave face to encourage herself.

"We'll always have each other...so don't cry, Sheryl!"

"I-I wasn't going to cry!"

Bea's words finally brought Sheryl back to her usual self. Watching the two of them, I felt like a weight was suddenly lifted from my heart.

We came into contact with the truth of this world for the first time today. It's like I've been reborn. Like I've unleashed a new version of myself.

In fact, we had been reborn once before. But that was with no regard for our own will, and we were never told of that birth... We just followed the Mainframe's orders. We thought it was right to follow orders without question.

But from now on, it'll be different. We must decide for ourselves the reason we were born, and where justice lies.

"Okay, let's go. Bea, Sheryl... Let's go back to the Mainframe for now."

"Yes, let's. We need to inform them of the threat of Nemesis and work out countermeasures."

"And then we gotta really think about where we go from here."

Sheryl and I nodded at Bea's words.

"Yes. Let's follow our own hearts and figure out what's right... No matter what happens, we'll have each other...so let's move forward together!"

We wouldn't hesitate. We would walk the path of justice we believe in... The three of us, together to the last. Until the end of our lives.

The MIR sisters are each named after Greek goddesses associated with the moon. Lena is named for Artemis, goddess of the hunt and twin sister of Apollo. She shares the name Lena with Surface character Lena Ishmael!