Anna smiles warmly at Wraith, and clicks her beer bottle against his. "It has been a great ride." She says, and then she adds"and we picked a bunch of magical toys! Though, they were not powerful enough to save their owners. I think they are addictive.

She sighs "You know, Rozenberg was likely infected, and his lackey was a vampire... Do you think that they go about the world tormented and looking to be cured? I mean, I get that eating raw metahuman meat is disgusting... but it is not like she has to kill people herself. Besides, our friends have spilled blood for lesser reasons, and they do not seem tormented for it. I just don't get how can Kerstin casually gives up the very thing that defines me as if it is a disease. "

Sharkboy holds up his beer, but doesn't open it or drink from it. He can't without pulling off his ballistic mask, so it just kind of floats around in his hand like a prop. "Maybe she doesn't want the magical abilities to define her. I imagine she had a life before all this that she is trying to get back to.

"She won't be the first person I've met who'd willingly give up being magical."

Anna cries "Shark!" she pauses "you really aren't going to take off your mask even now?"
She sighs"Fine... have it your way then. I understand giving up being magical, it is scary and dangerous. With the extreme prejudice of Redmond, it could have gotten me killed, and there was nobody to teach me. It made me different, and it separated me from my family and friends... I wished to get rid of it more than once. Prayed even... Still, once I developed my talent, I experienced some amazing things and I cannot imagine myself giving it up.

Would you give up your magic if it came with a dark side?"

"Why would the mask come off now? We're still on the clock, and in my profession you're working at least until you get to the hotel room."

He just shrugged at the question about giving up his magic. "Dunno. Never really thought about it. I guess it conflicts with the bioware, but they've gotten along well enough."

Anna says "Well, it ends when they arrive doesn't it? We got the girl, the cure was optional. Made some nice money... Do you plan to adjust the bodyarmor to your size? Or is it just loot to you?"

"I just got this suit tailored how I like it.

"I'll probably run it by my gear guy and see how much it would cost to get it fitted, but I'm not in a rush to wear some vamp's magical suit. Haven't even properly searched it for hidden blood-packs or whatever the frag else one might hide, yet."

While they were waiting for the van's arrival, Nova stayed fully alert and armed. She certainly noticed, that the mood wasn't entirely light, especially for bnc, but not everything had been smooth or worked out perfectly, so that was somewhat understandable. At least, the end result was everything they could have hoped for, assuming the cure would actually work, but there was little she could do to help about that part now.

Finally, finally, they arrived.
The van had long scratches where bullets had ricochet and even a few holes where the Armor was hidden underneath other materials. Still, the vehicle was in better shape than it had any right to be.
First the passenger door opened and Nacl got out. He looked exhausted but unharmed. Next stepped Splitterbruch from the driver's side. A thin scratch along his cheek indicated that he had at one time looked outside the window and also that he had more luck than brains.
Finally the side door opened and Kerstin got out. She still wore her muslim outfit, showing only her blood red crystal eyes beneath. Her bodylanguage was clear: She didn't want to be here, was on the defensive and barely had herself under control.

Nacl strode over to the assembled team and nodded:
"Well done everyone. Now, if you please could give me what you got from Dr. Rosenberg. I'll have Eliza take a look on the formulas and let the autodoc run a test before having Kerstin try it out. Until then, please stay around in case there is a last ditch retribution attempt by Mitsuhama."

When Nacl received the contents of the briefcase he frowned: "Seems like some of these are the original formula that caused that mutation in Kerstin. We have to be very careful with them. Kerstin, please come with me to the autodoc. I'll run some tests now."

With that, their boss vanished into the house, Kerstin in tow.

Anna is a bit warry to make sudden moves around Kerstin, but as she leaves she walks toward Splitterbruch and hugs him warmly. Whispering "I saved your ass so the least you can do is spank mine." She is in a happy mood, and light spirit, almost euphoric from the excitement and the sense of achievement.

“So bnc, now that we’re all here with nothing left do to, who is the good doctor that hired a bunch of killers, thieves, and old friends to rescue your sister? What’s in it for him?”

When she sees icon and van coming closer, bnc rushes outside to await their arrival, long before the rest of the team sees them coming. For a while, she stands forlorn in the dark, until finally the light of the van engulfs the pale figure of the young decker.

When Kerstin gets out of the car, bnc's bowels feel like a twisted knot. For a strange moment, she has to remind herself that this creature is indeed her sister ... or has been? She feels strangely enalienated to the creature that once was Kerstin. And yet, she was most eager to dig for her sister underneath.

In response to Sharkboy's question, she only tsks and replies: "For someone who doesn't even show his face, you are bastante mucho curious about other people's private lives."
Even while speaking, she walks towards Kerstin and Nacl, intent to follow. "Surely you don't mind me staying with my sister.", she says, but apparently the remark was merely intended to be rhetorical.

"Didn't know it was a private or personal thing. Not between him and yous twos girls anyways. I just assumed that she and our employer had a bastante mucho professional past and he wanted to keep her around."

Nacl frowned but nodded: "Of course bnc. Come with us."

The team had noticed that at the mention of the autodoc and tests, a somewhat disconcerting expression had appeared on Nacl's face. Which reminded them that there currently was a heavily augmented mercenary sedated by this system. What kind of tests would Nacl perform there?

"Excuse me." Anna says to Splitterbruch "I am quite fond of our sedated tinman." she says and follows after bnc. she is almost running, in a sense of sudden urgency.

She listens to her inner voice of chaos, the voice that makes no sense - perhaps a reflection of her own. Perhaps the Protector urging her or guiding her.

"Is he even looking for a cure? Perhaps he just wants to make another one like her. Can he really spend so much money to save her? Why would Rozenberg look for a cure when he clearly intended to make Kerstin. Perhaps the infection killed all the other subjects. I feel like we are being played... Kerstin should be excited to get it over with, not act like she is going to her own doom. This is not the happy end I envisioned."

Nova was sceptical, but in the end there was little point in doing anything. Kerstin was very much capable of her own decisions, and if she wanted to trust Nacl with this, then it was her own decision to make. She stayed in her gear for now and sat down to clean her weapons and re-fill her magazines in the meantime.

Now I get why they were so keen on taking him prisoner. They want to test the substance before risking Kerstin's life. And naive me thought they were good samaritans...

Anna's impulsive reaction surprised Wraith for a second. Not that he couldn't understand her will to prevent experimenting on the mercenary - the sheer speed with which she had made up her mind and reacted intuitively startled him. He wasn't quite the type for spontaneous decisions, he had to think this through first. Chaos mages...

Wraith hesitated for a moment. He knew it was not right to use the merc as a test dummy - heck, that was hardly better than what Rosenberg had done - but this time, the stakes were different: It was Kerstin's life that was at stake.
I'm sorry, Lord, I don't think I'm strong enough to do the right thing here.
His decision was made. Trading the life of a mercenary - who worked for a murderous vampire and who had repeatedly tried to kill them - for the life of his friend was a trade he was willing to make. No he had to make sure his teammates wouldn't screw this trade up.

He gave them a short headstart, then he emptied his beer and stood up.
"Gotta take a piss.", he excused himself from Nova, Sharkboy and Splitterbruch - not really caring much wether they bought his excuse or not - and headed for the restroom inside the farmhouse, where he locked the door behind him and sat down.

After a short moment of hesitation, he activated both his foci, took a deep breath and projected his consciousness into the astral, from where he immediately started to look for the sedated Assault.

Nova only shot Wraith a sideway glance.

"You know, you could say it like 'I need to use the bathroom'."

Fun fact. That would even be true.

Wraith found himself in the cellar room. As expected, there were medical instruments and a fully stocked autodoc unit in which the mercenary slumbered. His scrapes and cuts were healed by now, but his aura still showed the holes that the cyberware had made in his essence.

Beyond that, there was not actually a bad background down here.

Nacl turned to Anna, one foot on the stairs: "If everything works out, your tin man will regain the use of his full body again - and then be free from the taint. But I'll also give him a choice and ask for his consent. What I won't do is risk Kerstin's life without testing the cure first."

Anna asks "What kind of choice will you give him?"

"Test or die"

"and if he chooses to die?" she knew that there was no choice, Nacl was going to test on him anyhow, but she was not sure what to do about it.

There was no time to loose.
Not knowing in what state the merc was in, Wraith decided to press hod luck: he materialized right next to/ on top of the man, making him feel the tingle of his astral representation, and hissed right in his ear:
"Hey, drekhead! Wake up! That's right... Remember me? 'Cause I remember you. And your sweet mother. Listen, you'll likely get a chance to repent for your sins. I suggest you take it, lest you want others to pay for your mistakes.
Whatever they want from you, I expect to to fully cooperate.
Do that, and I swear I'll leave your old Lady alone. Disappoint me, and you'll disappoint her."

He took a quick glance at the door, ready to disappear as soon as he saw the door open.

"He will. In that case, I'll test it on me."
Nacl said and turned away to step down into the cellar.

Anna says sincerely, and she struggles with intense emotions when she say these words. "Nacl, I am not feeling very comfortable with killing people aside for self-defense, and I am not comfortable with you killing this person specifically. I feel responsible for his fate since I went out of my way to capture him when we were desperate for information on Kerstin. I could not have done that knowing that I am going to get him killed, and this dispute about his fate nearly tore apart our group in the aftermatch. I went out of my way for the success of this mission, including turning your car invisible before your luck run out - please do not wrong me like that."

"Come on, Austria is filled with people desperate enough to test anything for some money, or even for food. There is nothing all too special about this particular man. Grant me this boon and we can part ways in mutual respect, and with no hard feelings. I am even willing to put my money where my heart is, and give up my pay from this work to compensate you for this minor setback. "

"You fraggin' kiddin'??" bnc cries out in a sudden flare of anger.
"This drekhead tried to kill us because we tried to rescue my sister from the claws of a psychopath who turned her into a monster. You hypocrite are willing to put the snare around an innocent's neck whose only fault is that he or she is so desperately hungry they'd do anything for a couple of nuyen? You of all people who went through that shit? That's immoral as fuck. We need someone to test the cure, and who better to help cure a monster than a monster?
Get your nice ass out. I really like you as a friend and as a chummer and I'd love to continue regarding you this way. Please don't get between my sister and me. You know I'd have no choice in that case."
bnc's expression is stern, hard, and above all, unrelenting.

Nacl stopped:
"Anna, you have done a great deal for us - and I am very greatful.
I'm not sure why you are attached so much to this mercenary, but I understand your reluctance to commit what is in essence a warcrime.
Yet, this man is by far too dangerous to be let go in his current state. We can't keep him here locked up. His cyberware is highly dangerous even though it's currently disabled. Eliza informed me about what you found out about him. Leaving him in his dangerous form alive is just not an option.
If the Salt works on him like Kerstin, his body will regenerate, regrow his limbs and reject his cyber and bioware. After that, the cure will turn him back into a normal person. If one of these two steps doesn't work, he'll either stay a cyborg or become a pseudo ghoul, likely also with gaining adept powers.

And no, I can't just use anyone for that. I'd have to screen and brief them about this whole project beforehand, costing us time and risking exposure.

But I'll make you a deal: We wake him up and ask him what he wants. If he agrees to the test by his free will, everything is fine. If he doesn't I won't subject him to it and we can take up this discussion again about his fate."

Anna looks at bnc a cold look but says nothing. Answering her would give Nacl an excuse to ignore the too emotional women, and just carry on his plan.

"Nacl, think of it, Rozenberg wanted Kerstin *alive*. He also took Bianca as a substitute, so that if he could not get Kerstin, he could start over with a genetically similar sister. The man had plenty of time and resources and plenty of test subjects. Kerstin is special, and my guess is that it is not that easy to create superhumans, that salt is likely lethal to 99% of the people. Otherwise, the logical orders were to kill Kerstin. to protect the research... but Rozenberg wanted her alive."

She sighs "As for the moral issues... The man is dangerous but he is a soldier, and there are more like him. You take a good soldier and you buy expensive augmentations - to make him like that. It costs a fortune, but powerful organizations do that. Aren't there any terms where releasing this man is an acceptable risk to you? We made some very powerful enemies here, we killed a bunch of important people that were in the way, but we did not just burn their facility and we did not go out of our way to damage them. Rozenberg's secretary should still be alive for example. I am thinking that releasing a million euro cyborg can be seen as a token of goodwill, perhaps we can even give him a copy of the research. If the goal is only to heal Kerstin it is worth a thought... Perhaps it is better to lower the flames once we accomplish this goal. I mean, you would have to live with the consequences of what happened here."

bnc shakes her head firmly. "You release their mad dog, they're gonna unleash him at us. We should've killed him right away, for the same reasons, but we didn't, thanks to you.
Nacl, please proceed."
The last word was suddenly spoken less firmly, as if something had come to bnc's mind.

"Let's postpone the ethically challenged portion of our dealings for when they become an issue - right now my intention is only to wake up the Mercenary and have a word with him. If you want all of you can accompany me. Maybe the guy will jump at the chance to be a normal human once more. He'd certainly be free from his corporate masters once more."

Nachl deflected - which showed that Anna's arguments had maybe hit on something.

Anna responds "Alright, let's see how it plays out." only then does she texts bnc

Only then does Anna feels confident enough to confront bnc; she thinks some angry thoughts but let them go. The poor girl has her own issues, and fighting with bnc would not lead to the desired results. Truth be told, bnc does not respect many people - and demanding respect is no the way to earn it.

Instead, Anna looks at Kerstin, and watches her for a moment. Kerstin is the elephant in the room. The war crime Nacl wants to do is for her safety, and then Anna speaks her mind that she is uncomfortable with it - perhaps delaying Kerstin from what she really wants. bnc spilling her emotions like a teenager - and Kerstin keeps completely silent. She does not support bnc, or rebuke Anna - she does not even seem angry - or murderous. The last time Anna talked to Kerstin the woman was extremely motivated to get the cure or to get vengeance. Yet, here we are at the moment of her redemption and Kerstin feels as if she'd rather be anywhere else.

>> bnc, was Kerstin always this stoic?... She feels a bit off to me.

A hidden face is hard to judge, but Anna could clearly see the avoidance in Kerstin's body language. How must it feel to be so close to getting your life back but being uncertain if all the effort, blood and sweat have been worth it - or if everything was a failure from the start? Was being a Super-Ghoul really such a miserable existence? From the look of it, Kerstin certainly felt so, now that she no longer had anything to strive for.

Or maybe she was just hungry and actively trying to not give in to her instincts to start eating her sister's teammates.

The team entered the cellar just as the mercenary began to stir. Nacl walked up to him, checking that the cyberlimbs were still connected and in service mode.
"Where am I?"
The man asked with audible confusion.
"In a secure place, far away from your corporate masters. You'll be happy to hear that beside the loose teeth you didn't sustain any lasting damage when you were captured.
You are currently at the mercy of the very people you hunted for your amoral employer.
Now, you have a choice to make and I'm afraid it's a risky one.
You are aware of the regenerative properties that this new drug has, your boss was developing? Kerstin here has shown that it actually works as intended - if you ignore the side effects. She lost all her cyberware, but regenerated lost tissue. There is also a drug that should be able to remove the side effects and turn her back into a normal human being.
Now, you already know what it feels like to be a monster with that much obvious chrome. Would you like to have a chance to become human once more too?
I am offering you a test run of the medication, you have been confident enough in, to hunt a person down for.
If everything works out, you'll be whole again and I'll let you go away - unharmed.
Should you refuse this test, you won't and I'll have to find another way to make you go away. It will likely contain some serious harm for you.
So, what should it be?"

Seconds ticked by as the mercenary came to terms with the choice provided to him.


Finally the man shook his head: "I don't wanna turn into something like her. No way. You can threaten me all you want. If I die I want to die human."

"Not that there is anything wrong with being a super ghoul." Anna says peacefully, and then she comments to Kerstin. She shoots Nacl a hard look and says "Calm down Assualt, we said nothing about killing you.".

Sharkboy watched the team go downstairs and snuck off to a bathroom to enjoy his beer and a moment of peace.

bnc replies in a chill tone, void of any emotions except for sarcasm and a bit of loathing. "No, only if people whom she thought she could trust take salvation from her just the moment when it was within reach."
She then blocks Anna from sending her any more messages.

bnc casts a look at her sister, unsure about how to deal with her. Could she embrace her? It seems utterly wrong, amidst all those hardened runners, her being what she was. Is there something bnc could say or do? She finds nothing, so she remains silent, and confused. So bnc follows the others into the cellar.

When she hears Assault's answer, her belly cramps into a tight knot. She swallows hard, unable to speak for a couple of moments. Then she speaks up, uttering a choice she had already made before they talked to the mercenary.
Her voice is fatalistic, yet determined.

"I volunteer."

Nacl pushed a few buttons on the Autodoc and the Mercenary went back to sleep once more, before turning to bnc:
"No. I'll do it. I was the one who foolishly applied this stuff to Kerstin in the first place. It's fitting that I'm the one who will test the cure for her."

At this moment, Kerstin spoke up for the first time:
"You are both fragging stupid. I knew the risks of the runs and I was the one who got sloppy. That I'm still alive - even with this condition - is a miracle in itself. And either it works or it doesn't.
Also your bickering makes me hungry - more hungry. And I'm sick of it all.
All I wanted was earning enough money to go look for my sister. And now I know she is save and healthy, do you really think I want her to get the same shit as me? Are you nuts? And you Max. Do you really think I want this to happen to you too? We are chummers, we are family.

And now, give me that cure before anyone - me included - does something incredibly stupid."

With that, Kerstin and her adept speed flew across the room and grabbed one of the vials that Nacl had identified as the cure. The moment she grabbed it with her artifiical crystal hand, she began to shiver and the blood red of the crystal turned milk white in part.
"Shit, that stuff is potent. I can feel it. Ok, now I need someone else to pull up a syringe. I don't think I can manage this by myself."

bnc perks up, but reflects a second, before responding with a nod while meeting Kerstin's crystal eyes.
"She's right. If the cure doesn't work, there's no point in doing it to one of us, too. If it does, it'll be all right anyway. Sister, sit down. I'm gonna strap you to the seat, in case you go rampage or something of the sort. You don't know what the vial does to you while it's working. Once we got you secure, I'll do it myself. Frag, I know my way around needles at least."

bnc looks around in search of possibilites to tie Kerstin up.

"Thanks sis."
Kerstin sat down on a chair and rested her lower arms on the armrests.

Wraith cursed inaudibly when he heared Assault refuse Nacl's offer. Why did people always have to be complicated?
But things weren't lost yet - they could still make the mercenary comply.

When he saw bnc volunteering to test the cure on herself and then how Kerstin gabbed the vial, he reacted without thinking:

Suddenly, Wraith's shilouette appeared in the back of the room, seeminly just emerging from a medical cabinet. "Wait!", he shouted, only now realizing how he just barged into their private conversation, without a warning, without any reason to be here.
"Don't... don't be rash. Give me a chance to talk to Andreas first. Er, Assault. I've read his thoughts, I think I know how to convince him." At least I hope so.
"We don't have to do this untested."

Had he not been merely a hologram of himself, his cheeks would have turned bright red - he felt emberassed for spying on his comrades and now reveiling himself like an idiot.

Anna is outraged and struggles to keep her emotions in line. Had she been a lesser woman she would have thrown something at Wraith, our starts shouting, or cry, or do SOMETHING. "IF HE DARES TO USE MIND MAGIC, THEN I AM GOING TO COUNTER IT" she thinks.

They were going to a sensible decision, one she could live with. Possibly murdering people for Kerstin, when she expressed no desire for such sacrifice seemed so wrong - especially when it came from someone as religious as Wraith. Anna felt that Waith was an ally - because when people were in the way he had a moral code. How is convincing someone into a deal with the devil was the right thing to do? Nacl's compromise was bad enough but she could live with it - it was the best Anna felt she could achieve given the situation. Then Wraith came, and volunteered to take the situation into the zone of amoral abuse - was Assault really any lesser than any of them?

She bites her lower lip, and squeezes her left hand tight well into pain. Since Wraith is not physically present - the delay helps her come to acceptance with the absurdity and chaos of the situation. "Indeed, the Lord works in mysterious ways." she whispers as she hears Wraith approaching.