Which brings us full circle.

Three minutes, thirteen seconds remaining until my BPG self-destructs. I'm sweating the bullets that should be issuing from the gun, shaking because I hear the truth in what Astra has told me; I know, deep inside, that it's true. Some part of me that was never lost in the Agent brainwashing knows it to be true. Who am I, really? Five-two-three still wants to shoot, to stop the vicious lies, and go back to the life I know.

The holes in the stories HQ told us, the ones I'd tried my best to bury, are mocking me inside.

"One more question," I say to her. "And no evasions. You said you sought me specifically. Why? Sure, I'm good, but there are a lot of good Agents."

She smiles at me then, a far more warm and personal smile than I've ever seen out of her.

"Why me?" she says. "That's always the question, isn't it? You truly are their best, and we need you. You have the strongest sense of justice and humanity of any Agent I've known. It will be a grievous blow to them. But this question, at least, has an even simpler answer. Before we were captured, you were one of my siblings."

I feel like I'm tumbling down a rabbit hole, a deep, deep rabbit hole that leads to somewhere considerably less desirable than Wonderland. All my understandings of the world are crumbling around me, and a new vision of reality is becoming clear.

"Why," she continues, "do you think you felt that strange sensation during our conversation after the attack? We are attuned to each other. And without my BPG in the way, our connection is felt. Sister."

Finally, something clicks in my mind. I feel at peace and know what must be done.

I lower my pistol and lay it on the ground beside me.

"Okay Astra, you win," I say. "What now?"

"No, we both win!" she replies with a smile. First, Tasha helps you avoid my fate."

Tasha Emerald River, the smile of a redeemer on her face, steps out from behind another crate. Less than a minute remaining, she removes my BPG once again and casts a special Mana holding on it to prevent it from self-destructing, and to silence its homing device. Then, to my complete surprise, she hugs me warmly, friend to friend. I'd almost forgotten what it feels like. A true friendship not mediated by HQ and espionage. And now, I can make real friends, and I'm looking forward to my own life, as Keia.

Tears come unbidden.

"You are now Keia el Rahim, warrior and liberator of the Ba'hari people," Tasha says. "I welcome you to our group. It will take some number of months before we are able to use our BPG-A process to fully restore your powers from this, but rest easy knowing that it will happen. In the meantime, you can stay and help us with some intelligence reports."

I stare at them, bemused.

"All that time spent in the cell, that was just to give me time to feel what it's like to have a fixed identity again, to be someone, wasn't it?" I ask. "To give me a foothold on a normal life again."

Astra nods at my quick understanding.

"And you have no idea how much work lies ahead of us," she replies to me. "You may yet quail when you hear the rest of it. As I implied, the troubles don't stop with freeing our people.

"We will have to move on," she continues. "They will know how long you spent in this town before losing the signal on yet another Agent, and they will come, as they always have, to investigate."

Suddenly, my mind grasps on something that had been bothering me for some time during her long speech.

"If we're so closely related, can we fix you using my BPG? I mean, like a blood transfusion..." Astra's eyes go wide; she must not have thought about that possibility before. Tasha gets a skeptical look on her face but she already seems to be working her way through the new puzzle.

Surprisingly, my eyes also find Nilo, standing to the side.

"Jerk." I punch his shoulder jokingly as he laughs back.

It's time. My people, waiting to be free at last!