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foxyninjabear · 5 years

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A Hacker’s Tale - Chapter 4

[CHAPTER 1] [PREVIOUS CHAPTER]

(Also available on Ao3 and Wattpad!)

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!: This fic is rated as PG-14+, so read at your own risk! There’s swearsies, suggestive references, and LOTS of blood and gore! Be aware!

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Lucky

At first, he thought it was all a dream.

Lucky felt himself starting to wake up, his closed eyelids heavy and his head pounding with a massive headache.

“Nggh...”

He let out a tired whine, and lifted his hands to cover his face. He thought it was some nightmare that he had. How the mission started to go horribly wrong, how the man named Xisuma was revealed to be a terrifying hacker, how even Nightingale couldn’t stop him…

At least he was still in the Hive, right?

Lucky figured that he might as well get out of bed; he had to get his equipment started up. So he wiggled out of the covers and rolled onto his other side-

And unexpectedly rolled off the bed and crashed onto the floor with a harsh THUNK.

“GAH!!” The blonde cried out in pain as he landed flat on his back. Not again… He needed to stop doing that. Or just become better coordinated overall. He pressed his hands against the dirty tile to push himself up-

Wait, tile?

He lifted his slightly blurry vision up to meet his immediate surroundings. Even though he couldn't see clearly, he didn't recognize anything. His floor wasn't carpeted, his walls weren't painted grey, and it wasn't supposed to be so bright.

As Lucky got to his feet, he rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. Maybe he was seeing things… But still, nothing changed.

So it wasn't a dream after all.

He was in what appeared to be a hastily thrown together bedroom. It was pretty bare; a bed and a small nightstand were the only pieces of furniture to be seen, both shoved into a corner. It almost appeared as if it were one of the storage rooms in that bunker he and the rest of the byte explored-

A scary realization suddenly fell upon Lucky. He was all alone in that room… and there was no sign of anybody. Sakura, Nix, Grey, Nightingale...

And Jazz. He had to find Jazz.

He scrambled over to the iron door and grabbed the handle. But once he tried to turn it, it didn't budge.

"Oh nononono…" Lucky muttered to himself, and he jiggled the handle harder. It still refused to turn and open the door. “Please open…! Please…!” Maybe it was just stuck… he couldn't have it be locked. He needed to find the others.

He kept trying and trying to turn the handle for what seemed like ages, but no matter how hard he twisted and pulled, the door wouldn't open. Before he knew it, he couldn't even keep his grip anymore, because his hands were shaking and sweating so much. The door was obviously locked… how was he going to get out now?

His mind began to race and panic at the possibilities of where Jazz might have been, or the rest of the team for that matter. But then a thought popped into his head, and he suddenly felt extremely stupid; he could just teleport out of there!

The hacker took a step back from the door, before closing his eyes in order to focus. He concentrated on activating a teleportation hack, waiting for that familiar buzzing in his chest to start…

Only nothing happened.

Lucky opened his eyes, confused. Why wasn't it working? Maybe he was too tired to teleport… perhaps a ghost hack would be easier on him. He could just pass through the door instead of teleporting past it. So he pressed his hands against the cold metal and began to focus again, waiting to feel his body become light as a feather and phase through the iron barrier…

But again, nothing happened. Not even the slightest hint of progress.

A sinking feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach. What happened to his hacks? He didn't feel drained or fatigued; he felt totally normal. They should have been working-

It was the sound of distant voices and footsteps that made him freeze in place.

At first, they were barely noticeable, just as unimportant as the dust floating in the air or the faint dirty footprints scattered around the tile. But once he realized they were there, he couldn't forget that they were present. Although he didn't recognize them, he could tell there two; a man and a woman.

And they were getting closer by the second.

Lucky felt his heart start to pound against his ribcage. What was he going to do?! He was stuck in that little room! He whipped his head around and only saw two things; the nightstand and the bed.

He would have to make do.

He ran over towards the cot and quickly got onto his stomach, before sliding himself underneath as far as he could. For once, he was happy that he was tiny. Now he had a place to hide. Sure, it seemed somewhat childish, but he wasn't given much to work with in the first place.

The voices continued to echo and bounce off the corridor's walls, and Lucky edged himself further under the bed as they got closer. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, panicked thoughts buzzing in his mind. Every single one of his senses was in absolute overdrive as he tried to identify the two people talking.

He almost shrieked when the iron door to his room opened, and he saw two pairs of feet walk in. One person was wearing a pair of striped knee high socks and sneakers, probably the woman. The other, however, was familiar; sleek, almost robotic steel boots, painted a bright shade of yellow.

It was Biffa. The one Jazz had shot down. It had to be him.

"You… sure this is the right room?" The woman asked, obviously confused at how nobody appeared to be in the cell-like chamber.

The man's voice sounded after. "This is the one X said to go to…" His stanced shifted, a soft mechanical whirr sounding as he did so. "He couldn't have escaped, right? The door was locked. And Xisuma took his powers away, like the others."

Lucky shrunk further under the bed, further away from the two W.E.S. operatives. He silently begged that they’d stop looking and just leave. Maybe they would think that he was in a different room. Or that he escaped. Just as long as they were convinced that he wasn’t there.

But what did he mean by ‘Xisuma took his powers away’? He probably meant his hacks, and the grim realization of that statement explained why he couldn’t use them, and also hinted to the fact that the rest of the byte could no longer hack either. But how could Xisuma take away their powers? He wasn’t Ecryptos!

A moment of agonizing silence ensued. But then, Lucky saw the woman take a small step towards where he was hiding.

“I...think he’s under the bed, Biffa…” She said.

The blonde's heart stopped at her few words.

"What? You sure?" Biffa questioned.

"I think I see him, yeah…" She assured. "You mind helping me move it?"

“Not at all.”

The cyborg and the woman then stepped towards the bed and bent their knees. To Lucky’s horror, the two managed to lift it up with ease and lean it against the other wall. Now he was completely exposed.

“S-stay away…!” The blonde scooted back into a corner, pressing himself against the wall. He was even more horrified when he saw what Cleo looked like. Her freckled skin was greenish blue and sickly, her eyes were faded. There were even exposed bits of bones and rotting flesh, especially along her lower torso; half of her ribcage could be seen, partially hidden by the ragged crop top she wore. It was as if she had crawled out of the ground, out of the grave…

Like she was a zombie.

So many questions ran through his head, but he didn't have the chance to process the situation before he was pulled up off the floor by the woman and her colleague. “W-wait, please!” He begged. “P-please, no!!”

“C’mon, blondie,” Cleo replied, leading him out the door and down the long hallway with Biffa. “You and your friends got a lot of explaining to do.” A slight bit of venom dripped from the words of her last sentence.

Lucky tried his hardest to keep up with the people escorting him. He didn’t want to be dragged around like a ragdoll the entire time. But he couldn’t help but trip over his feet every now and then, only to be pulled back up by Biffa and Cleo. It wasn’t long before he felt his breathing quicken as he stumbled and scrambled around. Not another panic attack, not here-

He had to distance himself. Find a safe place inside his head. Something to focus on and escape into the depths of his mind. His blue gaze flickered to Cleo for a moment, before it went back to the floor. Thinking about how she looked like an undead creature sounded good enough.

She was obviously not a full on zombie, like the ones that crawled out from the darkness of caves or the ones that spawned in the dead of night. She was definitely sentient. The only way he could think of her looking like that was that her code must have been altered at some point in her life.

As far as his knowledge stretched, people were either born with their code abnormal, or were involved in some sort of event that changed it, whether accidental or intentional. The former was the most common way, for altering a living being’s code was more than risky; it was potentially lethal. Most who had their code altered wouldn’t even survive such a change, and even if they did, it was said to be an excruciatingly painful experience, physically, mentally, and emotionally. They never made it out alive without some sort of permanent trauma or physical change.

Thankfully for him (and pretty much everyone in the Shadowbyte Army), he was born with altered code, altered enough to where he could learn how to change the code around him. Ecryptos wasn’t willing to put anyone, especially the children taken into his care and guidance, through something as horrific as having their code altered and tweaked. If a potential recruit’s code wasn’t viable, then they would be released for their cooperation. It was a win-win for everyone!

So if his logic and knowledge was correct, Lucky could presume that Cleo could also be a hacker. The knowledge of Xisuma being a powerful hacker was scary enough; if she could also alter code, who knows what she would do.

The trio turned into another hallway, and new voices could be heard. Some were recognizable, others were completely new. Soon Lucky and the two others flanking him passed by a massive window that peered into a large room, and he felt his stomach twist and churn as he looked inside. Several people were sprawled out on beds, badly beaten and covered in bandages. There was Doc, who had his broken arm in a sling, False, who had a massive ice pack on her head, and several others. An older, bearded man in a plain white lab coat could be seen darting around, tending to the many injured.

But one person immediately caught Lucky's attention. In one of the beds, there was someone covered almost head to toe in gauze, to cover extensive and brutal injuries. Slight patches of ruby red scales could be seen through the bandages, stained with green blood. Creeper blood. He knew he recognized him… Python? Python. Python was his name, right?

Just the mere sight of what state the creeper was in made him feel the urge to barf where he stood. Half of his head was wrapped in the white gauze, with one of his eyes seemingly bleeding underneath. One of his arms was in a makeshift cast and sling. And... oh gosh, his leg was missing-

Lucky lost sight of the red creeper as soon as he gained it. But it wasn't like he could get his image out of his mind easily. It was all he could focus on as he continued to be escorted down the hall. How he barely even looked alive, how much trauma he had received from the battle. Maybe it was from the R.O.S.A. explosion? He could only mentally argue and debate with himself for what the cause was.

He didn’t know how far Cleo and Biffa had taken him. The constant twisting and turning through the countless halls made his head spin. However, before he knew it, they had arrived in one final stretch of hallway, where several figures stood, all of them men.

Two of the men he didn't recognize. One of them was a man with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, a pair of sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Another was a taller blonde who obviously had altered code, due to his eyes being nothing but pools of dark crimson. And...

Xisuma. Xisuma stood in the hallway, arms crossed and stance strong, chatting with the two men. Lucky’s blood went cold at the mere sight of him. What was he going to do? Was he going to hurt him?!

All of a sudden, the nearby door burst open, and a man with unruly brown hair and a cybernetic eye stumbled out, clutching his nose and cursing out loud. Lucky soon recognized him as another one of the potential threats that he identified before leaving the Hive. Iskall85.

“God damnit, ow!” Iskall cursed out. Once he took away his hand from his face, Lucky saw that his nose was crooked and gushing blood. Immediately, he became concerned, more for his own safety than Iskall’s health.

The man with crimson eyes, on the other hand, definitely showed concern for the brunette, and he rushed over to help him stay on his feet. “Woah, Iskall, what happened?!” He asked.

Iskall leaned against the wall and spat out blood, spraying crimson droplets onto the grey tile. "She headbutted me and broke my damn nose!" He growled, glaring back at the door where he came from.

A muffled female voice sounded from inside the room. Coda's voice. "That's cuz ya fuckin' deserved it, asshole!"

In an odd way, Lucky hearing somebody he knew was comforting. Even if he thought she was absolutely terrifying, he was more than happy that she was on his side.

But as quickly as he saw Iskall exiting the room, the brunette and the red-eyed blonde reentered, and came back out a moment later with their arms wrapped around Coda’s. Her wrists were restrained with green translucent cuffs, similar to the ones Lucky could make. No, exactly like the ones he could make. The only difference was the color.

“Aw, ya didn’t send the cute one back in to get me?~” She whined, sticking out her bottom lip. Her lips then formed into a flirtatious grin as her dark eyes locked on one of the people in the hallway; the brunette man with the red shirt and the sunglasses. “Yo! Red delicious!”

The man didn’t say anything at first, but the moment Coda finished speaking, he glanced down at his shirt and realized that she was talking to him. His face flared up bright red, and he began to visibly sweat. “Wh...wha…?” He struggled to make any full sentences, let alone words as he tugged on his shirt collar.

The creeper fell silent at his reaction, but soon her eyes filled with shining mischief. “Oh ho ho, so you’re a blushy one, huh?” Her sharp-toothed grin grew wider, so wide at it almost seemed too big to fit on her face. “This is gonna be fun!~”

Iskall’s mouth bent into a harsh frown, his bloodstained teeth gritted. “Oh no you don’t!” He then began to pull her down the hallway, the blonde next to him doing the same. “C’mon, you’re coming with us!”

Coda’s smile disappeared, and her entire demeanor changed in an instant. As if it was all a facade to hide what was really going on inside her head. She locked her obsidian gaze on Lucky as the two men started to roughly drag her down the hall. “Don’t give in, techie!” She called out, struggling against the green cuffs around her wrists. “Don’t give in! Keep your fuckin’ mouth shut, gottit?!”

Lucky felt like a deer in the headlights. He was frozen in place, his feet glued to the floor. What did Coda mean by ‘don’t give in’...?!

Before he could mentally come up with an answer, Xisuma then spoke up. “Cleo, Biffa, you know the drill. Come on.” He then stepped through the entrance to the room, and Cleo and Biffa dragged Lucky inside with them.

Lucky's eyes darted around the room. Like his own 'bedroom', it appeared to be arranged in a hurry. A pair of dusty folding chairs and a table were the only pieces of any sort of furniture in the small space. A small splatter of blood stained the tile floor, slightly smeared from a footprint. He could easily presume who that was from.

"Sit down," Xisuma said, leading the timid blonde to one of the chairs. He followed the command instantly, shakily taking a seat, and felt somewhat relieved as the powerful hacker began to walk away towards his two W.E.S. coworkers. But it soon transformed back into fear as he heard Cleo speak again.

“Aren’t you going to restrain him? With the cuff things you can make?” She questioned, gesturing to a now even more terrified Lucky.

Xisuma shook his head. “He hasn’t been violent, Cleo. And even if he was, I honestly doubt he could harm anyone.”

Biffa tapped his chin. “You have a fair point...” He started, before glancing over at the blonde. “But are you sure that’s a smart decision, X? It could all be an act.”

X gave a nod to the cyborg. “Yes, I’m sure. And if something happens, we’ll be right outside.”

The zombie shifted her dull green gaze to his terrified figure. She pursed her lips, as if trying to form an argument against her colleague’s decision. But before long, she let out a small sigh. “Alright then... if you say so.”

“Great.“ Xisuma said, and he gestured to the door. “Cub will be here in a few minutes, so we can leave him as he is. C’mon.” He then opened the door again, letting Cleo and Biffa walk through, and keeping his gaze on Lucky the whole time, only breaking it as he walked out of the room himself.

Lucky remained glued to the chair, even as Xisuma closed the door behind him and his two companions. He was too scared to make a single move. His frightened eyes darted around the now empty room, mind racing at what was going to happen to him. Where was Jazz when he needed him?!

A shiver went up his spine, and he wrapped his arms around himself as his teeth chattered. The room was freezing! Even if he was underground, the hallway was much warmer than in there. But the temperature was the least of his worries. He was more concerned with what was going to happen to him, and even more so with where his brother was. He had already seen Coda… there had to be others, right?

After what felt like long hours of dreadful silence, so much so that his ears rang, the iron door opened with a long creak. Lucky jumped and snapped his head towards the entrance, and he was greeted with a taller man in a white lab coat. It was the man he had seen before, treating the many wounded. A large folder packed with papers, a pen, and a clipboard were gripped in his hands. It was obvious that he hadn’t slept in awhile, given the distinct, dark bags hanging under his bloodshot eyes. It made sense; from what Lucky had briefly seen, he was the only one able to give medical treatment to serious wounds and injuries.

The man rubbed his eyes as he shut the door behind him. “Hey,” He said, walking towards the chair opposite of Lucky and sitting down. “I have a few questions for you, alright?”

The blonde remained silent. He avoided meeting the other’s gaze, and couldn’t help but fidget in his seat. So this was an interrogation of some sort? Or something like it?

“I’m Cub,” The man said calmly, introducing himself and catching Lucky off guard. “What’s your name?”

Lucky kept quiet. Why was this guy being so… nice? And relaxed? Sure, he seemed tired, but he was pretty certain that it wouldn’t mean that he would give him leeway. Did he have some other ideas in store to get intel out of him? Something much more violent?!

“Are you gonna say anything?” Cub asked. “You’ve gotta have a name, huh?”

The blonde hung his head low. He felt so ashamed that he was giving in so quickly… but the thought of having information forced out of him was overwhelmingly scary. However, a thought then formed in his mind… perhaps he didn’t have to tell the whole story. “...y...you can call me Profit.” He mumbled out his code name.

“Profit?”

“Y-yes…”

Cub gave a nod and clicked his pen. “Alright, Profit…” He made a note on his piece of paper, before opening the file. "Now, first off, I want you to tell me who each of these people are. Names, descriptions, everything." He then pulled out a stack of papers and laid them out on the table. They were photographs of most of his teammates.

Lucky shifted his eyes to the collection of pictures. Most of them weren’t the best quality; he could assume that Cub (or somebody else) had thrown them all together in a hurry. Either that, or the ones being photographed weren’t exactly cooperative. He could immediately assume the latter with the picture of Coda; she was flipping off the camera and sneering at the photographer behind it.

He didn't want to give his colleagues identities away. He couldn't! He needed to be quiet...

But what would be the cost of his decision? Him staying in that room for hours on end? The operatives of W.E.S. threatening him? Or having the possibility of them using even harsher tactics to get him to talk?!

Too scared to keep his mouth shut, Lucky shamefully began to identify his colleagues in the photos. But like he did with himself, he only used their code names; he at least had a bit of dignity to spare.

Cub seemingly grew more and more intrigued with every word the blonde said. He scribbled illegible notes on his clipboard, almost filling up the entire first piece of paper once the hacker was done pointing out who was who.

It grew even worse when Cub asked Lucky to tell him what had actually happened. Their plans, their motive; he wanted to know it all, down to the last detail. And Lucky gave it to him, his feeling of shame growing with each word he spat out and every minute that passed.

But even somebody as timid as Lucky had some sliver of courage in him.

“Alright…” Cub wrote down a few more notes. At this point, he had filled another two sheets of paper. “And what happened after you, Zero, and Nightingale retreated?”

“W...we tried to get reinforcements…” Lucky whimpered. “But Nightingale couldn’t contact-"

He forced himself to stop talking. He said too much. He was willing to give up his team members' names, but he couldn't let Cub know about any others! Not to mention the whole Army!

“Contact who?” The older man asked. “Did you guys try to get in touch with reinforcements?”

Lucky stayed quiet.

“Profit… who did you try and contact?” Cub repeated.

Lucky bit the inside of his cheek, before letting out a sigh of defeat. “...the Shadowbyte Army…” He muttered.

Cub raised an eyebrow at his response. “The… Shadowbyte Army?”

Lucky nodded. “Y-yes… W-well, more of our main base of operations...”

The man scribbled down more on the paper. “So there are more of you? More hackers?”

“Mhmm…”

“How many?”

The blonde shrugged. “I-I don't know…” He admitted, glancing away. He could never keep track of the amount of people that would call him for assistance or information while they were out on missions.

"Is there anything else you can tell me? About this 'Army'?"

Lucky remained silent. He had to keep his mouth shut. For him and for the others. He had already given away so much information… why did he have to be such a-

“Well… I guess that’s it for us, then.”

Wait, what?

Cub then gathered up the photos on the table and put them back in his folder before standing. “You’ve actually been a good deal of help.” To Lucky’s surprise, he gave a small smile. “Thank you for that, Profit.”

The blonde was stunned at how the interrogation went. He wasn’t even threatened. All he did was tell the events of what happened and identify his colleagues… Except for one. The most important one of them all. At least to him, anyway.

Jazz.

Why wouldn’t the W.E.S. operatives have his photograph? Or even mention him at all? They had brought up everyone else...

Lucky needed an answer, and fast. He had to know where his brother was. So just as he saw Cub grasp the door handle, he sprang up from his seat. “W-wait!”

The man stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Hmm?” His fingers slid off the metal knob, a hint of curiosity to his voice. “You have something else to say?”

Lucky nodded. “Y-yeah… er, well, more of a question,” He began, before clearing his throat to speak. "Wh...where's Riff…?"

A look of confusion spread across his interrogator's face. “Riff...?”

“Y-yeah, Riff...” Lucky repeated. “H-he… he’s tall, has blue hair, blue eyes.” After a moment of quiet, he gulped. “L...looks like me, too…?”

Cub’s silence continued for a second as his brows furrowed. But it was quickly replaced with an expression of shock and… something else. Sadness? Guilt? Remorse? The blonde couldn’t tell.

“Uhh…” The grey-bearded man sounded uneasy as he opened the folder once again. “We did have one from your group…” He cleared his throat. “Die from his injuries in the battle. We tried to save him, but… we got there too late. We haven’t been able to make a positive identification, but from the description you gave, so far it sounds like him.”

Lucky felt his heart drop at the man’s words. One from his group? Killed? He had to be lying, right? Of course he was lying… they were the enemy. That’s what they did. They lied.

“And if you want to, there’s a picture of him in the file.” Cub’s next words made the blonde’s heart stop completely. He wasn’t lying. “You sound like you knew him well enough to make an official identification.”

Lucky’s mind raced. Should he agree? Was it really Jazz? There was a chance it wasn’t; maybe he was still alive. Maybe they just didn’t get his picture yet. The thought of not knowing was unbearable. So, taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Sh-show me.”

The older man nodded in return, not saying a word. He pinched the edge of a paper in his folder and carefully slid it out. But then he hesitated, his tired eyes glanced back between the blonde and the photo. A solemn expression passed over his face for just a moment, before he held out the picture for the blonde to take.

The moment Lucky grasped the photograph and flipped it over, he felt is stomach twist as he saw a sickly, still man laid out on a table, everything from the shoulders down covered with a sheet. He had never seen a dead body before, but it was somewhat like what he expected. His lips were blue, his skin was drained of any color or life, his hair was caked in dried blood from the disturbingly deep gash on his head.

But what stood out to him were his eyes. They were dead eyes. What used to be a bright shade of blue was now dull and clouded over with decay. And they were wide open, staring right back at him. Almost as if they knew exactly who he was...

It was Jazz. Dead.

“Profit…?” Cub asked, though his words didn’t stick into Lucky’s mind. “Is it Riff?”

The blonde’s response was, at first, nothing. He was too overwhelmed by shock to say anything. Involuntary squeaks sounded from his throat once he actually wanted to try and speak.

The older man’s mouth bent into a frown, and he gave a small nod back. “I’ll...put this away now,” He took the photograph of Jazz out of Lucky’s hands and brought it back into his folder. “If… if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think he suffered for long…”

Lucky barely heard him speak. His mind buzzed with panic, and felt his hands and feet and lips go numb as his breathing got faster. His stomach churned at the image now burned into his brain. Jazz's lifeless body, all pale and beaten and cold… He wanted to throw up.

“Profit…?”

Lucky didn’t care about Cub’s words. Eyes wide and now on the verge of tears, he tried to wobble his way over to the chair, only to immediately collapse to the floor the moment he took a step, and fully started to break down. He felt like there was a massive anvil being pressed against his chest and he couldn’t get it off. He couldn’t breathe-

“Profit, Profit, hey!”

The blonde suddenly felt two hands on his shoulders. Cub’s. But he didn’t want him touching him. He didn’t even want to be in the same room as him. The very moment Cub came in contact with him, an overwhelming feeling of terror filled his chest, and he felt like he had no other way to release it except to scream at the top of his lungs.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!!” He shoved the man’s arms away as hard as he could. “YOU LET MY BROTHER DIE! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!” Hot tears streamed down his cheeks and blurred his vision, but he didn’t care. He just wanted it to be over. To have this all be a dream. Jazz was his whole world… he couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t.

All Lucky heard from Cub was silence. Of course he wasn’t saying anything… he didn’t care about him one bit. He only cared about his other colleagues. The ones that didn’t have to raise and protect a younger brother from the age of four. The ones that weren't the guardian of the only family they had left.

The blonde soon felt that sudden panic in him transform into an immense sadness, and he looked back up at the man in the lab coat. “W-why didn’t you save him…?” He cried. “Why…?!”

Cub’s eyes were wide, and he was back on his feet. His mouth open and closed as he tried to speak, but nothing understandable could be heard. After what seemed like several long moments, he sputtered out a few words. “He...he was your brother…?”

Lucky couldn't respond. He was too busy sobbing and panicking on the floor. Jazz was dead. Dead. And he was never coming back.

...and Cub could have done something to prevent that.

The blonde was overwhelmed with all of the emotions going through him. Sorrow, terror, sadness… and now, to his own surprise, rage. A fiery hatred for Cub sparked and spread like wildfire through his body. He lifted his teary gaze to him, burning red anger shining in his blue eyes.

The man in the lab coat still had a shocked expression on his face. "P...Profit…" He began. "I-"

"SHUT UP!"

Lucky didn't want to hear him speak. He hated Cub. Rage was the only thing consuming his mind. And he had to let it out, to let it escape. So he then screamed and charged at Cub, his weak fists flying.

It was his fault that Jazz was dead. All his fault. If he had waited to heal his friends and went to treat Jazz sooner, he would have lived!

He didn't stop screaming in anger and trying to punch Cub, even as he heard the door burst open behind him and felt two sets of arms roughly grab him and drag him out of the makeshift interrogation room. He could see who had taken a hold of him out of the corners of his eyes; the brunette man that Coda had flirted with, and the red-eyed blonde that had dragged her away with the help of Iskall.

"LET ME GO!!" Lucky screeched and squirmed, eyes locked on a slightly battered and bruised Cub as he came out into the hallway, a worried Xisuma by his side. “You’re a MURDERER!” He cried out at Cub, catching his attention. “A COWARD!”

He kept screaming and struggling as he was dragged further away, long after he lost sight of the source of his anger. Before he knew it, he was shoved into another room and locked inside; his bedroom. Right where his day of hell started.

Lucky scrambled to his feet and pounded on the iron door with all his might. "LET ME OUT!!" He peered through the small window, and saw the two men that threw him back in his room. The blonde was set on walking away, but to Lucky's surprise, the brunette kept looking back and stopping.

The man with crimson eyes soon rested a hand on his colleague's shoulder. “Ren, just leave him… he needs his space.” He said, gesturing his head in the direction of where they came from.

The brunette opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. After a moment, he let out an audible sigh, glanced back at Lucky, and nodded, before following his friend back down the hallway.

Lucky's eyes widened. "Wait, HEY!" He cried out, starting to bang on the door again. "COME BACK HERE!" But soon his arms grew weary, and before he knew it, he had to lean his back against the door to rest.

He stood there, trying to catch his breath and absorb what had happened in the span of those five or so minutes. He had gotten thrown back in his dusty cell, he had managed to land a few punches on Cub, he gave away information to the enemy-

And Jazz was dead. Jazz was dead. Dead… And now Lucky was all alone.

With that last thought, Lucky finally broke. Before he knew it, he had slid down to the floor, buried his face in his knees, and began to sob. Loud, angry, distraught sobs. "Wh-why is this happening…?" He cried to himself and sniffed. "Why is this happening…?!"

The only answer he got was a grim silence. And it was all he needed to know that this wasn’t a nightmare he could wake up from.

~~~~~

Lucky lost track of how many hours had passed since he heard of Jazz’s death. His eyes were red, sore, and puffy from the countless tears he had shed. He had managed to get up off the floor and crawl into his bed some time before, but he hadn't moved since then.

Not that he wanted to, anyway.

In that time, he had tried distancing himself from his surroundings. He tried to imagine a happy place, somewhere he felt safe. He felt safe back at the Hive, back in his bunker, back with Jazz. Maybe he could just imagine he was just away on a trip-

It was the sound of his door opening that brought him back to reality. Who was it now…?

“Uhh… hey.”

Lucky recognized the familiar voice. It was one of the men that had to drag him back to his cell. What was his name again? Ren? Ren would have to do. He didn’t have to will to speak up and ask, let alone turn himself over to face him.

After a moment of silence, Ren cleared his throat. “I...I brought you some food. In case you were hungry.” He offered.

Lucky refused to move from his bed. Even though he was hungry, he didn’t have an appetite. The image of his dead brother’s face was the only thing consuming his thoughts.

A long moment of tense silence passed before Ren spoke again. “I’ll… just leave this here, then.” The sound of his footsteps approached the distraught blonde, followed by a couple soft clinks as something was set on the nightstand. The smell of warm food wafted into his nose, and another series of footfalls could be heard moving away from him soon afterwards.

Just as Lucky thought Ren was going to leave, however, his voice sounded one more time. “And… I’m sorry.” He said, catching him slightly off guard. “About your brother…”

The blonde didn't respond, but he couldn't help but shift slightly and wrap the blanket further around himself. He was sorry? Why? Ren didn't even know him… he didn't have to give condolences. Was this just another way to try and get inside his head?

He figured that his silence was enough to drive the man away, for a long creak and a soft click could be heard. Ren had locked his door and left. Finally, he could grieve in peace…

But the thought of somebody, especially an enemy, seemingly concerned for him after such a tragedy made Lucky feel extremely conflicted. He made him something to eat, gave his apologies… why would he do that?

After awhile, the smell of the food became too tempting to pass up, and he rolled onto his other side to see what was there. On the nightstand was a tray of food; a baked potato, bread, and a glass of water. Nothing fancy, but hey, it was something.

He threw his blankets off of him and sat up, his feet hanging over the edge of the bed. It was at that moment that he noticed he wasn’t given a fork or a knife; just a spoon. It made sense though. He figured that nobody wanted him getting a hold of anything sharp.

Setting the tray on his lap, he scooped up some of the potatoes with his spoon and ate it. It was actually pretty tasty, despite it now being somewhat cold. But he didn’t really care. Before he knew it, he had scarfed down the whole entire meal, and realized just how long it had been since he had eaten anything.

Lucky grasped the edges of the empty tray and set it back on his nightstand, before climbing back under the covers of his bed. Maybe now that he ate something, he could finally fall asleep...

But every time he shut his eyes, he saw Jazz’s lifeless eyes staring right back at him.

~~~~~

“Profit? You awake?”

Lucky was still for a moment. He hadn’t been able to doze off in the entire time he had been alone. All he could do was stare at the wall, his thoughts being his only company. It's not that he wasn't tired; it was that he was too tired to fall asleep.

He rolled over onto his other side, craning his neck to the door. Ren was there, standing in the doorframe. At least it wasn't Cub or Xisuma.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ren said, and he gave a small smile as he saw the empty tray on the nightstand. “Was the food alright?”

Lucky nodded, staying under his covers. “Mhmm…”

“Good, good.” Ren sounded genuinely pleased at his response. He cleared his throat. “Erm, anyway, Xisuma wants me to take you somewhere. He said that you might need it… given what happened.”

The blonde was silent for a moment. Did he have to move? His bed was so warm… But if Xisuma wanted him to do something, he figured he might as well listen. What did he have to lose?

Sighing, he lifted the covers off of him and slid off the bed. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and dragging his feet across the floor.

Ren frowned a bit. “You get any sleep?”

Lucky answered with his silence.

"I'll… take that as a no, then."

The brunette let the Lucky out of his room and closed the door, before slowly leading him down the winding hallways. Maybe it was more to not get too far ahead; Lucky was practically half asleep, too drained to be up and about.

The young soldier didn't bother to pay attention to what Ren was saying or where he was taking him. Part of him felt numb, but the other half somehow kept on going. It was a strange feeling… he didn't like it. At all.

But he accepted the fact that this would be his new reality. One where he was no longer the person he used to be.

He barely noticed when Ren had finally stopped in front of a door. Several familiar muffled voices could be heard chattering away inside. And when Ren opened the door to let him in, he saw who it was...

It was the rest of the byte. If it could even be called that anymore, anyway. It could only officially be called a byte if there were eight members… now there were only seven, including him. But the sight of familiar faces was somewhat comforting.

"I'll be right outside, alright?" Ren said to Lucky.

Lucky gave a small nod back. The brunette smiled, before exiting the room and locking the door, leaving Lucky facing his six other teammates. He took a breath, and made his way to them. At least it wasn’t any of the other W.E.S. members.

The first one to speak was Sakura. She looked up at him, a deep sadness in her dark brown eyes. "We heard what happened to Jazz…" She said solemnly. "I'm so, so sorry, Lucky." Before he could respond, however, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Lucky was surprised at the sudden embrace, but after a moment he took to process it, he accepted it nonetheless. He tightly wrapped his arms around Sakura, realizing how much he needed a hug. He had the desperate urge and want to cry, but no tears fell from his eyes. Maybe he had run out…

The blonde then felt a hand on his shoulder as he let go of the brunette. “Lucky.”

It was Nightingale. But this time, he was too overwhelmed by sadness to be nervous. He glanced up at his superior, eyes dull. “Yes ma’am…?”

“You know that Jazz was very proud of you, no?”

Lucky blinked. “Y...yeah…”

To his surprise, an almost unnoticeable smile started to tug at the corners of her lips, but soon straightened out. “Good,” She said. “Know that none of this is your fault, understand? It could have been any one of us that died.”

The blonde hung his head a bit. “I know, ma’am…” He knew it wasn’t his fault. His blame was set on Cub and his colleagues. They refused to help him until they were done with treating their wounded. And yet they were playing the innocent card. Maybe Nightingale and the others didn’t know what he knew…

“Your brother was a very brave man,” The woman continued. “One that I’m honored to have fought alongside.”

“Glorious in life, eternal in death.” Synth spoke up, stating the Shadowbyte Army’s famous motto.

Nightingale nodded. “Exactly. He lived as a glorious warrior, and now he will be remembered for many years to come.”

Many of the others gave some sort of a response in agreement, whether it be a simple nod or a word. But even if they were small, Lucky felt his heart lift. Jazz would be remembered fondly… as a fine soldier and brother.

Nightingale then removed her hand from his shoulder before speaking again. “But now we need to stay strong. More than ever. For Jazz’s sake.”

Lucky, as much as he knew he already failed that order, nodded anyway. "Yes ma'am…" He shifted his stance a bit, and winced as he felt something inside his boot rub against his ankle. Did he get a rock stuck in there somehow? He moved his foot again. The object was smooth, cold, and hard. Like metal.

Metal.

A sudden memory popped into his mind, and his eyes went wide. He still had the gun he had grabbed tucked inside his boot. How?

“Lucky?” Synth’s voice pierced his conscience, making him flinch a bit. “You in there?”

Lucky was still in shock at what he had discovered. “U-uhh…” As nervous as he was with everyone’s eyes now trained on him, he knew he had to say something. So he went down on one knee, stuck his hand down his boot, and, like a magician with a rabbit and a hat, yanked his pistol out. “I...I-I still have my gun…”

Coda’s eyes widened as he stood up. “Wait techie, you got a gun too? When the fuck did ya grab that?!”

Lucky shrunk back a bit at Coda’s voice loudening. “B-before we left the Hive… I didn’t use it though…” His voice trailed off as he realized one small but important detail she had dropped into her sentence. “...w-what do you mean by ‘you too’?”

The creeper grinned. “They might’ve taken away our hacks and main weapons…” She then knelt onto one knee and pulled up the hem of her pant leg. Tucked inside her boot was a sleek black and red pistol, just like Lucky’s. “But those fuckers didn’t bother to pat us down.”

Sakura’s eyes lit up with hope. “Does that mean we have a chance of going home?” She asked, leaning closer to the green-scaled woman.

“You know it, baby!” Coda answered confidently. "We're home free-"

Synth then spoke, cutting off his friend. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Coda," He said, lowering his voice slightly. "It won't work if you're screaming from the rooftops about it. And we need to make a plan."

“He’s right,” Grey replied. Nix nodded alongside him. “We need to be smart about this. This might be our only shot out of here.”

“Agreed.” Nightingale added. “We have one chance. There’s no margin for error.”

As the conversation buzzed around him, Lucky retreated back into his mind and gazed at the pistol in his hands. A chance at escape? It was wholeheartedly possible. He could go home to Fort Oblivion, go back to his bunker, with all of his high tech gear and a legitimate excuse to not leave-

But this time, he wouldn't have an older brother to turn to when he needed it.

Dark thoughts clouded Lucky's mind. Why should he bother? What was the point of leaving now? Jazz was his whole entire world, the only family he ever had, and now he was dead…

Maybe he could escape in a different way. Escape that hellhole and reunite with his brother. Put that gun against his head and fire it for the first and last time in his life.

Was it cowardly? Yes. Desperate? Most definitely. Stupid? Yup. But did he care?

Not one single bit.

20 notes · View notes

foxyninjabear · 5 years

Text

A Hacker’s Tale - Chapter 1

Hello all! I’ve got something to show ya! I’m making a HermitCraft fanfic... if you couldn’t tell by the tags. If not, I have no clue how the heck you found this post xD But either way, welcome! This story idea has been floating around in my head for awhile, but I finally have it up and ready to roll! So without further delay, here’s my introductory chapter to my pride and joy of a nerdy story, A Hacker’s Tale!

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!: This fic is rated as PG-14+, so read at your own risk! There's swearsies, suggestive references, and LOTS of blood and gore! Be aware!

_________________________________________

???

Seventeen minutes. That was how long she had been waiting at their planned meeting spot. Same time, same place, every single week.

Of course he was late.

The creeper lifted herself away from the wall she was leaning against. “C’mon, where are ya…” She muttered, before glancing around at the dozens upon dozens of people walking by in the hall. Her coal black eyes shifted from person to person, and she searched for a head of fiery red hair, to no avail. She groaned in annoyance, gritting her teeth. “Ugh…”

“Did you miss me that much?”

The green scaled woman heard the familiar voice behind her, and her shoulders stiffened. “Synth… you’re late. Again.” She stated, not turning around.

The male voice chuckled. “Hey, you know me, Coda. I like pushing your buttons.”

Coda rolled her eyes, turned around, and saw that apparently nobody was there in the first place. Her lips pressed into a firm line, and her brows furrowed. “...okay, dude, c’mon.” She said, clearly feeling bothered. “Just show yourself so we can get this over with.” She then pulled out a small stack of plastic, multicolored cards from a back pocket on her jumpsuit. “I lost the bet and I owe ya.”

Before her eyes, a taller man with fair skin and long red hair tied back into a ponytail appeared out of thin air in a flash of pixels. Like her, he wore a black and gray uniform with red accents, a pair of black boots to match. His piercing grey eyes locked with hers, a sly grin on his lips.

"About time I get my deck back." He chuckled, taking the cards out of her hands. "Good thing you suck at poker."

Coda laughed and shoved Synth at the comment. "That's cuz ya cheat, you fucker," She laughed.

The ginger winked. "Hey, I don't cheat… I just find loopholes."

"Yeah… sure," The creeper replied sarcastically, chuckling. “You elegantly… expertly… carefully dupe everyone into giving you their shit.”

Synth let out a laugh. “Now that’s ridiculous.” He insisted. He was about to continue his sentence, only to be interrupted by a small ping. “Hmm?” He lifted his arm to look at his wrist, where what resembled a watch resided. On its small screen, an icon of a bell was ringing back and forth, signalling that a brand new message was there for him to read.

Coda raised a brow at the beep. “What’s that about? Is it that crazy ex of yours again? I told ya that if ya needed me to shut’er up, I would.”

A confused frown formed on the redhead’s face as he read the message. “Apparently we’ve got a mission… World hijack. Block A, Floor Seven, at eight thirty.”

Coda eyes went wider in disbelief. “A mission? Today? But it's our day off…”

Synth frowned even more. “There’s no one else available…” He stated, before turning off his communicator and sighed.

The creeper’s brows furrowed. “You gotta be kidding me...” Her shoulders then sagged, and she let out an irritated groan. “Dammit... I gotta cancel my date now…”

Synth’s eyes widened slightly in interest. “A date? With who?”

“A hot tub.”

The redhead smirked. "That sounds more like a party."

Coda rolled her eyes. "You're so not invited."

“Awww!” Synth chuckled, before clearing his throat. “But hey, think about it. This could be your opportunity to finally get promoted. Show that you have what it takes to be a Sergeant.”

Coda thought for a moment, pursing her lips. “...you have a fair point...” She replied. After a few seconds of silence, she then pushed herself off the wall and stood up with confidence. “Y’know what, fuck it, I’ll show ‘em!” Determined, she began to march off down the hallway.

The redhead chuckled and looked on at the creeper as she strolled away. "What're ya waiting for, a red carpet?" Coda asked, turning around to face her friend. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

“Don’t worry, I’m coming,” Synth answered, shifting away from his spot on the wall and beginning to follow the creeper. “And we still have half an hour. It’s only eight o’ clock, after all.”

“The Hive has over a hundred floors, dude!” Coda stated, gesturing around her with her arms to emphasize her point. “And the floors are enormous!”

Fort Oblivion, or the Hive, as it was commonly called, was the Shadowbyte Army’s base of operations. It had been ever since the military faction was founded hundreds of years prior by Ecryptos, a hacker said to have unspeakable power. With over one hundred floors, countless amounts of soldiers flowed in and out of the fortress like bees, loyally serving their queen, or in this case, king.

“That’s what hacks are for.” Synth replied, before pointing over to a mechanical sliding door. “And elevators.”

The green creeper glanced over at the elevator. “...you’re lucky I like you.” She said as the mechanical doors slid open. “You’re such a smartass sometimes…”

The human just smirked as he and his friend got into the empty lift. “You’re one to talk,” He teased, pressing a button on the elevator's control panel.

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Coda shoved Synth and laughed, crossing her arms as the elevator closed and began to descend.

A few moments of silence passed after the descent started. It was then that another soft ding came from Synth’s communicator. He lifted his wrist to check it, and he let out a small groan of annoyance as he did.

Coda tilted her head to look up at her taller friend. “Now is it Vinnie?”

“Yeah…” He replied, a frown on his face.

“She’s still pissed at ya, huh?”

The redhead nodded. “Mhmm…” His lips were pressed into a firm line, obviously fed up with the situation.

Coda gritted her teeth at the thought of Synth’s ex girlfriend. “Bitch…” She muttered. “Why can’t she just leave ya be? You came outta the closet almost a damn month ago.”

“Correction: you dragged me out of the closet.” Synth pointed out as the elevator stopped and opened its doors.

The two friends stepped out of the elevator and into another bustling hallway of Shadowbyte soldiers and personnel. “That’s cuz ya needed a polite shove in the right direction.” She stated back as they walked side by side. “You couldn’t hide your secret forever, y’know. Eventually ya would’ve broke.”

“She would have been angry either way,” Synth said.

“Who fucking cares if she’s mad?!” Coda snapped, eyes angry and full of protective rage. “She’s just some self-centered lil’ bitch who can’t handle the fact that the hottest guy she ever dated turned out to be ace!”

Synth blinked at the outburst, but then he chuckled. “You think I’m hot?” He asked.

“No shit! Look at yourself dude!” Coda gestured to him dramatically. “You’re hot as hell!”

“I thought you said that to everyone…” The redhead tightened his ponytail as he let out another laugh.

“That’s cuz I don’t give a fuck who I hook up with,” The green creeper stated. “Y’know I’m fine with every gender of the fucking rainbow.”

A grin tugged at the corners of Synth’s lips. “So… if you could, would you hook up with me?”

Coda immediately stopped in her tracks. “What? Ew, fuck no!” She answered. “Dude, I’ve known you for years! Even before you came out, the thought of hooking up with ya was just…” She shivered in disgust. “Uggghh…”

Her reaction make Synth smile wider and burst out laughing. “Pffft!” He had to lean himself against the wall and clutch his stomach, he was cackleing so hard.

“Dude, I’m serious!” Coda stated.

It took a moment for him to catch his breath, and once he did, he cleared his throat. “Hey, like I said before; I love pushing your buttons...!” A sly smile formed on the redhead’s pale face.

"Yeah, yeah,” Coda said, before she noticed a set of large metal doors. Above it read a single sign in bold lettering. Block Seven A. “Wait, we’re here?”

Synth stepped up to the door. “See? I told you we wouldn’t be late.” He said, and pushed open the door to walk in.

The room was rather large, giving plenty of space for soldiers to work. A raised platform was at the end of the expansive space, giving access to a large monitor, currently blank and dark. On one side of the room, long racks of all sorts of weapons and armor ran along the walls, displaying everything from assault rifles to gas masks to swords. Massive sparring mats were conveniently spaced out evenly along the perimeter of the racks, allowing easy access to the large amount of hardware. On the other side of the room, a row of pixelated targets and training dummies lined the wall, waiting to be used.

Synth brushed off a bit of dust from his shoulder. “You think the Hive is so large now?”

Coda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, shut up.” She said, surveying her surroundings. For a moment, she thought that she and Synth were the only people present. But then her gaze landed on a figure near the sparring mats. A short, pudgy girl with long brown hair sat cross legged on the floor, surrounded by countless papers with what appeared to be blueprints. She had a pencil grasped between her milky fingers, and was writing down on one of the sheets.

A that moment, the curvy girl glanced away from her papers and caught sight of Coda and Synth. Her thin brown eyes lit up, and she grinned, standing up to happily greet the new arrivals. "Ooo, you must be the Infantry soldiers!" She said as she pranced over to them, gesturing to their red-accented Shadowbyte uniforms. "My name's Sakura."

Coda looked the girl up and down. She appeared… almost too cheerful and peppy at that moment. Especially since missions were never exactly a happy time. "You… don't look like you're a soldier, not gonna lie." She said.

Instead of being offended, the brunette shrugged and laughed. "I know. I'm not exactly a soldier anyway." She then tapped a small cloth badge in the shape of a cog sewn onto her uniform. "I'm more of a hired nerd than anything."

Synth raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Ah, you're in the Engineering department. You operate mechs?"

Sakura nodded. "Mhmm!" She answered. "I operate mechs, make cybernetics, design machines, the whole nine yards." She counted off each thing she said by holding out a finger for each one. It was at that moment that one thing was very apparent to Coda and Synth; the short woman had a prosthetic left arm, intricate lines of redstone wiring spread throughout the whole limb.

Synth kept his gaze on her arm for a moment, before lifting his head up to look her straight on. "So do you know any of the other two people here?"

The brunette gave him another nod. "Oh yeah!" She pointed to a corner of the room, where two guys sat. One had bright blue hair and eyes, and the other had blonde hair and a pair of welding goggles. "The blonde one is Lucky, he's part of the Cyber division. He's going to be our go-to for information. The one next to him is Jazz, part of Special Ops."

Coda nodded. "So we're still waiting on three more people…" She said to herself.

"Yes, three," Sakura replied. "As far as I know, I'm the only mechanic, and we should be getting at least one medic. Not sure about the rest though-" She then fell silent, and leaned to the side to look past the two Infantry soldiers. Her signature wide smile reappeared on her face. "Oh, nevermind!"

The two friends glanced over their shoulders, and sure enough, there were two new arrivals in the block. A man with greyish-white hair and faded blue eyes had entered, closely tailed by a taller but younger male with dark brown eyes and black hair. Both had the typical Shadowbyte jumpsuit on, as everyone else did, but instead of them being mostly made of black fabric, they were a clean white tone accented with shades of red and grey. It was very apparent that those two were part of the Medical division of the Army. And Coda immediately recognized one of them.

The creeper flashed a smile towards the two medics. "Hey, old man!" She called, waving to the white-haired medic and getting his attention. "Still kickin' huh?"

The older man chuckled and waved back as he approached, the younger medic in tow. "It's gonna take a lot more than a zombie hoard to kill me, Coda." He called and held up his arm, which was wrapped in some bandages.

Synth glanced at his friend, then the man, and then back to his friend. “Wait… this is Grey, right?” He asked her. “You said that he was your mentor when you first enlisted.”

Coda nodded. “Yeah, he was. I was still in the Medical Division back then. Eventually I got transferred to Infantry.”

“That’s because she has zero patience,” Grey said. At this point, him and the other medic had reached Coda, Synth, and Sakura. “Staff Sergeant Grey, at your service,” He held out a hand for the trio of soldiers to shake.

Sakura was the first one to shake his hand. “Sakura. Sergeant for the Engineering Division.” She said, giving him a warm smile.

Synth was next as soon as the brunette let go. “Master Sergeant Synth. Infantry.” He introduced himself. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Coda.”

“Good things, I hope?”

The redhead shrugged and chuckled. “Eh, healthy mix of both good and bad.”

Coda elbowed her friend at the answer. “Hey, I don’t say that much bad stuff ‘bout him!” She stated, crossing her arms and pouting. “He was just-”

“Not letting you have any fun?” Grey finished, a half smile on his wrinkled face.

The creeper fell silent, and let out a frustrated huff. “Fuck you, Grey.”

“Missed you too, Coda.”

Sakura then spoke up. “Excuse me, sir…?” She asked. “Who is that with you…” She gestured to the other medic next to Grey.

“Oh, yeah, him,” Grey gestured to the quiet boy next to him. “This is Nix,” He said. “He… doesn’t say much, but he’s one of the finest kids I’ve ever mentored.”

The two Infantry soldiers glanced over at the medic. A small smile formed on his lips, and he gave a small wave, but no words came from him as a greeting.

Coda nodded, tilting her head slightly. "Aight then…Word of advice though." She took a step closer to Nix, grinning slyly. "Don't forget to pay attention. If ya don't, you'll be coming back here in a body bag." She then walked away chuckling, leaving the teen's eyes wide and skin draining of its warm umber tone. His scrawny figure shrunk back in fear. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a single squeak sounded out.

Grey shook his head, pressing his palm against his forehead. "Some things never change..." He muttered to himself. “Ignore her, Nix. She’s always been like that.” He assured his pupil, making the color slightly return to the student's bronzed skin.

After leaving Nix absolutely terrified and walking some distance away from the group, Coda leaned up against the wall, arms crossed. Next to her, also up against the wall, was the guy with bright blue hair and eyes that Sakura had pointed out before, heavily focused on a small device in his hands.

“So you’re Jazz right? Special Ops?” She asked, glancing over at the soldier.

The blue-eyed man nodded, his gaze fixed on the gadget in his hands. “Mhmm.” He said. “You?”

“Coda. Infantry.” She answered. A small ding then sounded from her communicator, and she glanced at her wrist. The time was eight thirty; exactly when the meeting was supposed to start. And there were still only seven people of the byte present.

Coda frowned, feeling annoyance bubble in her chest. “There’s only seven here… we’re missing the damn leader.” She growled. “If anything, they should at least be on time.”

“Don’t worry,” Jazz spoke up, not removing his focus from his game. “She’ll be here soon.”

The creeper raised a brow at the Special Ops soldier. “She? Who’s comin-”

The blue eyed gamer cut her off, holding up a finger. “Ah, hold on! I’m almost at the next level!”

“Jazz-”

“Shhh!” More beeps and boops and blasts from the gaming device.

Coda’s patience was wearing thin. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” But before she could rip the gadget out of Jazz’s hands, she felt two hands wrap around her arms and pull her away.

“Okay, come on.” Synth said, calmly dragging his angered friend across the tiled floor, away from the current object of her rage.

The creeper glared up at the redhead. “Synth, c’mon man!” She squirmed violently to try and get out of his grasp. “Get off me!”

The soldier shook his head. “Not until you calm down, man,” He stated back. “Your temper gets you into trouble. You know that, right?”

Coda huffed, and gave up trying to escape her friend’s grip. “Yeah… I know.” She answered reluctantly. “...you can let me go now.”

Synth chuckled, and removed his hands from her arm. “There you are, m’lady.” He joked, brushing his hand off on his red and black uniform.

The green-scaled woman rolled her black eyes, turning away from him and crossing her arms. “Yeah, yeah.” She said, obviously salty. She glanced over at Jazz, who was too wrapped up in his game to have a single care. “Is Jazz ever gonna put that brick down?” She asked after a moment of quiet.

The redhead snickered and shrugged, shifting his focus to the blue eyed soldier leaning against the wall. “I don’t think he will, no,” He laughed. “That thing might just be the death of him one day.”

Coda burst out laughing, but tried to hold it back. “Pffft!” Her attempt to try and stop her chuckle only worked for a moment, and she then let it sound from her mouth. “Probably, yeah.” She said while laughing. The funniest part to the two of them was that Jazz was so absorbed into his game that he didn’t even hear the two talking about him.

A few moments later, their giggles died down into silence between them. “...have you heard of the name Nightingale?” Synth suddenly asked his friend.

Immediately, Coda recognized the name. According to word spread around the Hive, Nightingale was one of, if not the best Special Ops soldier in the whole Shadowbyte Army. She was especially known for her reputation as an incredibly skilled sniper, which explained her high ranking of Sergeant Major. But outside of missions she was put on, she was rarely ever seen. In fact, most of her existence was shrouded in mystery.

The creeper shrugged, but nodded. "Yeah, sorta." She answered. "All I know is that she's like a ghost around here. Why you ask?"

"I'm quite certain that she's the one we're missing."

Coda blinked. "...wait, what? You sure?"

Synth nodded. "Mhmm."

"...you wanna bet on it?"

The redhead raised a brow, but he grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

The green creeper smirked back. "Whoever's right has to buy the other person lunch when we get back." She then held out her hand and spat on it, before holding it out for him to shake. "Deal?"

Synth laughed. "Deal." He then spat in his own palm, before firmly grasping his friend's hand and shaking it. "And you know you're gross, right?" He let go and pulled a silk handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe his hand off.

Coda raised an eyebrow, her smirk turning mischievous. “What, y’mean like this?” Before Synth could respond, she then disappeared in an array of static, only to instantly reappear latched onto him as if he were giving her a piggyback ride. She snickered and dragged her tongue across his freckled cheek, immediately letting out a cackle as her friend shrieked in disgust.

“Coda! Get off!” He scrambled to get her off his back, but the creeper only laughed more and latched on tighter. After drawing the attention of almost everybody else in the room, Synth eventually teleported a few feet away, causing Coda to fall to the floor with a loud thunk.

Coda groaned and leapt to her feet. “Oh c’mon!" She lunged to where Synth was, only to grasp at open air as he activated an invisibility hack and disappeared. She heard him let out a relieved chuckle behind her. "You mother-"

“I presume everyone’s here?”

Everyone in the room turned to face where the new voice came from. A tall woman with ebony skin and black curls stood in the doorway, donning a standard black and grey Shadowbyte jumpsuit with purple accents, signifying her position as a Special Ops soldier. A long, jagged scar stretched across one of her dark eyes, most of it hidden from sight with the leather eyepatch she wore. But with or without her nasty battle wound, her respectable title, or her surprising height, her gaze alone was cold and intimidating enough to make anyone stop in their tracks.

Synth, who had now reappeared, let out a chuckle and nudged his friend with his elbow. "I guess I won the bet." He said.

Coda tore her widened gaze from the woman as she strode into the room. “Wait… that’s Nightingale?!” The creeper whispered harshly to Synth.

“Mhmm. That’s her.” He replied. “What, are you surprised? Jazz and I told you she was a woman...”

“Ya didn’t tell me she was smokin’ hot, though!”

Synth covered his lips with a single finger. "Hush now, Coda. You wouldn't want her hearing that, would you?" He teased. "Besides, she's coming this way." He nodded his head in the sniper's direction, and indeed, she had her dark eyes set on Synth and Coda.

The redhead gave the woman a nod in respect as she approached. “Ma’am,” He greeted, holding out his hand for her to shake. “Good to see you again.”

Nightingale returned the gesture and shook his hand. “You too, Synth," She said. "And please, Angel will do just fine.”

The taller male chuckled, still holding the woman's palm. "But how would I be a gentleman then, ma'am?" He asked playfully, before lifting her hand up to press a kiss against her knuckles.

Angel rolled her eyes, letting out a small laugh in return. "Charmer as always, Synth," She pulled her hand away and rested it on her hip. "And I'm guessing the one next to you is Coda?"

As the creeper felt her heart skip a beat, her taller friend nodded, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Yes ma'am. This is her, in the flesh."

The ebony woman turned herself to face Coda, and she gave her a nod. "Synth says that you're pretty skilled at hand to hand combat. One of the best in your rank. Specialist, if my memory serves me correct?"

Coda, as flustered as she felt, put on a sharp-toothed smile and nodded. "Yes ma'am. That's me." She answered.

The corners of Angel's lips pulled up into a slight grin. "Well, let's hope you live up to your reputation." She turned to Synth and smiled wider, although not much. "That goes for you too, Synth."

The redhead chuckled. "Yes, ma'am." He responded, and watched the woman walk away, presumably to inform the rest of the byte about the mission.

Coda then slowly craned her neck upwards to face Synth as soon as the woman was out of earshot. “Since when did you and her know each other?” She whispered, demanding an explanation.

“I’ve worked with her before on many occasions,” The redhead stated simply. “Mostly on World hijacks. As stern as she is, she’s damn good at what she does.”

The creeper glanced back at Angel, who was striding up to the front of the room. “She sure is good… I can agree with that.” She still couldn’t get over how attractive she thought the woman was, even if she appeared to be in her late thirties, maybe even her early forties. A well-toned body, pretty face, full lips. It was as if she were the embodiment of a beautiful night itself-

“You thirsty again?” Synth’s chuckle snapped Coda out of her thoughts and made her cheeks heat up. However, as he opened his mouth to speak again, Coda bent her elbow and jammed it into his gut. "Ow! …alright, I deserved that."

"Ya think?"

"Okay everyone, listen up!" Angel stated loud enough to capture everyone's attention as she stepped onto the raised platform at the front of the room. "Our job today is to capture the target World, right here!" She gestured her hand to the massive screen, which had now turned on and had an expansive view of a single World, encased in several large translucent blue spheres. Firewalls. "Now, who's the Cyber soldier here?"

Almost everyone's gazes shifted to Lucky, who's figure went from already timid to extremely nervous. He gulped, and shyly raised his hand. "M-m-me, ma'am…" He squeaked.

His meek reply was only just enough to get the sniper's attention. "Alright. Can you pull up the information on this World? Anything you can find."

"Y-yes ma'am." Lucky nodded, and slowly left his corner to step up and onto the platform with Angel. He tapped the screen a few times, and a translucent keyboard appeared before him. The blonde them typed away at his console, glancing between that and the monitor. "Okay… s-so this World has received the latest known Update. And it's been around for a little over a month now."

Angel nodded slowly. “And its name?”

“Uh...” Lucky tapped away some more, eyes darting back and forth. “It doesn’t have a registered name, but it has an admin authority listed. Which is…” He then blinked a couple times, before biting his lip. "Uh oh…”

Coda raised an eyebrow. "What? What is it?" She demanded.

The shorter male timidly looked back at the creeper now eyeing him expectantly. "Th-the admin authority is listed as W.E.S." He gulped. “W-World Exploration Society.”

Almost every other member of the group grimaced at the name. The World Exploration Society was the bane of the Army’s World hijack operations. If a World had W.E.S. as its admin authority, it meant that it had at least twenty inhabitants working fulltime to make that World eventually livable and safe for the general public. Which also meant that there was at least twenty more ways that the mission could possibly go wrong.

“...well shit.” Coda said, pressing her lips into a firm line. “This is great. Just fuckin’ great.”

Sakura’s dark brown eyes shifted to the creeper. “Well… it could be worse.” She replied, trying to be optimistic.

“How the fuck could this be any worse?”

The brunette flinched slightly at Coda’s response, but she continued. “We… we could be going on a suicide mission...?”

“As far as we know, this is a suicide mission.” She retorted, leaning her face closer to Sakura’s, an irritated sneer on her lips.

“Hey, ladies,” Angel asserted, getting the pair’s attention with her stern and annoyed tone. “Work together here instead of going at each other’s throats.”

A new voice then spoke up. “M-ma’am…?”

Everyone turned to see who it was, and Lucky had his hand raised. “M-maybe if we try to figure out who’s in that World… w-we could make a plan of attack easier.”

Coda locked her jet black eyes with the blonde’s. “And how would that make anythin’ easier?”

"Well… we would want to know who we're going to encounter, right?" Sakura explained. "We could get an advantage if we knew who we're up against."

Angel pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in irritation. “Alright… Just get the list of names for the group members assigned to the World. Understood?”

The blonde nodded rapidly and saluted. “Y-yes ma’am! I-I will!” He squeaked, before heading over to his corner to type away once again, pulling up holographic screens and monitors.

The Special Ops soldier turned to face the rest of the party under her command. “Until he gets the information we need, you all can go to your own devices.” She gave them all a strong salute, standing tall. “You’re dismissed.”

Everyone else gave her a salute back, before dispersing around the room. Coda looked over at the large sparring rings, and she shrugged. She figured that while they waited for Lucky to finish his research, practicing combat wouldn’t be so bad. Plus, she had heard rumors that there were some new weapons to test out.

“Hey, dude,” She said to get Synth’s attention onto her. “Wanna spar?”

The redhead looked over his shoulder to face his friend, and his grey eyes lit up in interest. “Yeah, sure,” He answered. “Real or fake weapons?”

Coda let out a chuckle. “Do I look like a wimp to you?”

“Don’t you remember the last time we used real ones?” Synth asked. “You nearly took my head off with that mace you had.”

“Oh, c’mon man!” She whined. “I won’t send you to the infirmary this time!”

“That’s what you said last time… and the time before that. And the time before-”

Coda huffed and raised her hands. “Aight, aight, keep ya pants on!” She stated. “But I’m still gonna get weapons for the mission, cuz right now I got nothing. And I suggest you do the same unless ya wanna be beaten to a pulp.”

Synth grinned a bit and gave a single nod. “Then shall we?” He gestured to the massive array of weapons and armor on the wall next to the sparring mats, and jokingly held out his arm for his friend to grasp.

The green creeper rolled her eyes and smiled, before wrapping her arm around his. “You’re so proper, it’s borderline annoying.” She chuckled as they walked arm in arm across the room.

“What can I say? A fine lady such as yourself needs to be treated with the greatest amount of respect.” The redhead winked at his fellow soldier.

She let out a snort of laughter. “You got the fine part right.” As soon as the two got to the massive wall of weapons and artillery, they let go of each other and went off on their own to find their desired gear.

Coda gazed at the variety of melee weapons as she slowly walked past them. Spears, daggers, staves, maces, swords. But a wide grin formed on her lips once she saw a beautiful and shining battle axe made of dark steel perched on the rack. Bold red accents ran along the edges of its two large blades and long handle, making the heavy weapon much more menacing. Just how she liked it.

“Oh hell yeah!” She eagerly made her way to the battle axe and ran her fingers along the cold metal, before grasping it with both hands and lifting it off the rack. “Come to Mama!” She turned to glance over at Synth. "What'cha picking out?"

The redhead carefully slid a long, elegant black steel sword off its perch on the wall. "This," He answered, holding it up for her to see. "You getting a gun?"

The green creeper pursed her lips in thought. "I probably should…" She said back, before lifting her heavy weapon over her shoulder with one hand and beginning to browse the next section of artillery, mostly consisting of firearms and miscellaneous weaponry, like smoke bombs or garrote wires. After a few moments, she shrugged and decided on a couple of pistols. They weren’t the most powerful guns, but they would do in a pinch.

She knelt down and tucked one of the handguns in the side of her boot. “Hey, while you're over with the training weapons, grab me one of the axes, will ya?” She called out to her friend as she concealed her weapon with the hem of her jumpsuit pant leg.

“I’m way ahead of you,” Coda heard Synth answer. When she looked up, she saw that he was already holding two synthetic weapons in his hands; a battle axe for his friend, and a longsword for himself. “Now, think fast.”

Before she could respond, the redhead sheathed his fake blade and then threw the fake axe, sending it spiraling in Coda’s direction. “GAH!” The creeper jumped to her feet in surprise, and instinctively held her hand up. Right as the large weapon was about to smack her in the face, the axe came to a sudden halt in midair and remained there floating.

“Synth, what the hell?!” The creeper cursed out her friend, demanding an explanation.

Synth only grinned and laughed. “I’m just testing your reflexes, that’s all,” He cooed, striding over to one of the sparring mats. “Making sure that you’ve actually been practicing telekinetic hacks.”

Coda huffed and gritted her teeth as she grasped the hovering axe. “Fuck you, man,” She lifted her weapon up over her shoulder, and she walked over to the opposite side of the large mat. “Anyway… Ya ready?”

Synth twirled his sword in his hand, standing tall. “Ready,”

Coda’s grip on her training axe tightened, and she grinned. “On my count.” She stated. “One…”

Both friends adjusted their stances, preparing for the brawl about to ensue.

“Two...”

The creeper felt her heart pumping, loving the adrenaline rush through her body. Her sharp-toothed smile grew wider at the feeling. It was a feeling that thought she was timeless. And she couldn’t wait to actually go out and fight in the field head on against the enemy.

“Three!”

The two soldiers then rushed at each other, weapons poised and ready to strike. Coda was the first to make a move, swinging her large axe in a large arc at Synth’s torso. Though Synth quickly leaned to the side and dodged the attempted blow, before making a quick swing of his own with his sword.

They kept swinging back and forth, dodging and blocking each other’s strikes, using teleportation and speed hacks to their advantage. As violent and hasty as it appeared, it was almost graceful. The two had gotten sparring down to almost an art form, after all. Maybe training side by side for years was starting to take its toll; actually landing a hit on one another was proving to be more and more difficult with each fight.

It wasn’t until after several long, neverending moments that one managed to land a blow on the other. Coda and Synth’s weapons clashed against each other, and the creeper managed to send the human’s sword flying out of his hand and across the mat. Seeing her chance, she swung her axe at his feet and knocked him onto the floor.

Coda pressed her boot against his chest, resting the edge of her synthetic weapon on his neck. A mischievous but tired smile danced on her lips. "I...I think I won." She said in between labored breaths.

Synth coughed, but grinned back as his friend moved the axe away from him and lifted her foot off of his torso. "About time." He said, before sitting up and holding out a hand, which Coda properly grasped to help him up. “You’ve gotten pretty decent with that handling that axe. I remember when you could barely hold one of those.”

The creeper rolled her eyes, managing to finally catch her breath. “That was when I first met ya, dude,” She chuckled. “Almost ten years ago! I was still a twig back then! Now I literally bench press you like it’s nothin’!” She lifted the training axe over her shoulder. “Plus these things are a lot lighter than the actual weapons.”

“His point still stands.” Angel’s voice caught the two friends off guard. They turned, and saw that she stood a few yards away, with a familiar blank expression on her face. “You did good.”

Coda felt her cheeks heat up a bit, and she gave the woman a nod, clearing her throat. “Thank you, ma’am.”

A small moment of silence passed, and then the creeper felt a hand on her shoulder. “I… think I’ll leave you two alone for a bit.” Synth said, making his friend look up at him in confusion. “Get to know each other a bit more.” He winked, a playful glint in his eye. At that moment, she immediately knew what he was trying to pull.

Coda gritted her teeth in irritation as he walked off, presumably to interact with the rest of the team. She glanced back at Angel, who’s expression remained pretty much the same. “Uh… so you’ve heard ‘bout me? From Synth?” She asked, in an attempt to try and make conversation. Internally, she was growing frustrated; normally this wouldn’t have affected her so much. Why did Angel have to be so pretty?

The ebony woman nodded as a response to her question. “I have. He talks about you quite a bit, actually.” She said. “I’m presuming that you’ve known each other for some time?”

The creeper internally sighed in relief at how the feeling of butterflies in her stomach began to fade. “Yes, we have,” She answered. “We met a little after I finished my training and officially became enlisted. About ten years ago.”

Angel raised an eyebrow slightly. “So you’re about twenty eight?” She questioned. “That’s quite young to be a Specialist. Most reach that title in their thirties.”

Coda chuckled. “I’m not most people,” She replied. “And neither are you. There’s so many rumors about ya I can barely keep track of which ones are legit and which aren’t.”

"Oh?" The sniper tilted her head a bit. "And what would these rumors contain?"

The creeper let out another laugh. "Well… people say that you can empty a clip in the blink of an eye. Don't know how that started."

To Coda's surprise, something new glinted in Angel's dark gaze, though she couldn't tell what it was. "You don't trust the rumors?" She asked.

"Not really," She stated. "I know you're a good shot, but I doubt you can shoot that quick-"

Angel suddenly drew a gun off of her belt and aimed at three targets all the way across the room. Three loud shots sounded out, and the trio of targets exploded in a bright array of red pixels, before flashing white and returning to their original, untouched state. The sniper stood strong for a moment with her arm raised and smoking pistol poised, before calmly holstering it on her hip. “You believe the rumors now?” She asked.

Coda’s eyes were wide at what just occurred, feeling absolutely flabbergasted. “H...h-heh…” Her face began to feel hot as she blushed. She couldn’t even see the woman fire each individual shot, she was that quick. How could she have fired three bullets in the blink of an eye and have each one meet its mark perfectly? Aimbot? Speed? Haste? The creeper thought and thought, and drew nothing but a blank.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Angel snapped Coda out of her thoughts, before striding away and leaving the creeper flustered and shocked.

This woman would be the death of her.

"I take it the chat went a bit south?" Synth's voice sounded next to the green creeper, though this time it didn't make her jump. Her focus was still fixed on her superior's figure as she walked off.

"...how is she such a badass…?" Coda mumbled.

"I ask myself every day, Coda," The human replied, before patting her shoulder a couple of times. "Come on. I think maybe getting your focus on something else will snap you back to your old asshat self." He then led his friend across the room after wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Sakura! Is that thing of yours almost done?"

Sakura was near Jazz, Nix, and Grey, who had gathered around her to see what she was up to. "Almost!" She called, her back facing Coda and Synth.

The closer the pair got to the mechanic, the more curious she became. "What are ya doing…?" Coda asked as she and Synth were close enough to see what she was apparently working on.

The short brunette's thin eyes lit up, and she gave a warm smile. "I've been working on…" She then turned around to proudly hold up what appeared to be a small metal box with a single button on top. "This!" She stated proudly, before setting the box on the ground.

The green creeper eyed the gadget curiously. “Uh...What’s that…?” She looked back up at the brunette who set it on the floor.

"Just watch," Sakura said, before she pressed the button on the device. As she took several steps away, the metallic contraption began to unfold and expand with whirrs and clicks and hums. In a matter of moments, the final parts shifted into place, making a massive and powerful mech that towered over everybody else in the room.

Jazz's eyes widened in awe. "Woah…" A wide grin formed on his face, and he turned to Sakura. "Can I try it?! Please!!" He asked, repeatedly bouncing up and down where he stood.

Before the mechanic could respond, Angel calmly spoke up. "If you let’em in that thing, he’ll blow us up in five minutes." She called from across the room, soon approaching. "Don't let him near it."

The blue-haired soldier frowned. "Aww, please?" He begged his superior. "I promise I'll be caref-"

Only one quick glare at him was enough to silence Jazz. All of the color drained from his cheeks in a matter of seconds. "Y...yes ma'am…" He uttered.

Coda snorted as she held back a laugh. Even though she had known Angel for less than an hour, she was already growing a liking to her, and not just for her good looks or the fact that her heart skipped beats when she spoke to her. To her, the older woman was very admirable.

The ebony woman then shifted her gaze back to Sakura. "You can get back to testing your mech, Sergeant." She stated.

The mechanic blinked, but then smiled, before stepping up to the back of her creation and pulling two levers simultaneously to open what appeared to be the cockpit. Pulling herself up and into the mech, she laid down in the snug chamber and pressed a few buttons, and the machine whirred to life, a control panel with dozens of buttons and dials and levers lighting up as a result.

Grey's faded blue eyes widened slightly, impressed at the complex and beautiful piece of machinery. "I'll be damned…" He said, before looking through the windshield of the mech and at Sakura. "You made this by yourself?"

The girl nodded. "Yup!" She answered, her voice slightly muffled. "This is the latest model of what I call the Redstone Operated Shadowbyte Automaton. Or R.O.S.A. for short." The brunette patted the side of the cockpit. "Takes a lot to maintain her, but she's a beauty."

Synth eyed the mech with interest, specifically the guns. “Do you mind showing us it works?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Sakura replied. “I’ve got to make sure the firing mechanisms work anyway, so I can show you those. Just don’t get in front of me when I do.”

The brunette grasped two lever-like controllers on her console, outfitted with several buttons and triggers. She pushed them both forward, and the mech swiftly moved across the floor to the small firing range, making soft stomps with every step. "Now, stand back!" Sakura called out as the automaton's two machine gun arms lifted. The submachine guns soon spun and whirred to life, and before anybody could say anything, a bright display of red hot plasma charges flew across the room towards the targets and obliterated them in an instant.

Jazz’s eyes lit up at the sight, and his jaw dropped. “Holy shit! That’s awesome!!” He exclaimed as the gunfire slowly ceased, and the mech’s operator exited.

A light blush spread across Sakura’s face at the praise. “Aw, it was nothing...” She answered, smiling shyly.

Angel then spoke up. “Don’t sell yourself short,” She stated. “You have a great piece of machinery here-”

Her sentence was cut off as she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard Lucky’s voice. "M-ma'am, I've got it…"

The sniper raised an eyebrow, and shifted her focus to the timid blonde now next to her. "What was that?"

"I-I've got it… I've got the names of the group members." He repeated.

Coda's eyes widened in interest. "Well, what're ya waiting for? Show us!"

With the seven other soldier’s eyes focused on him, Lucky began to sweat. “Y-yes, of course!” He answered, and rushed to the front of the room where the massive screen hung. After tapping on it a few times, the empty monitor then lit up brightly once he made a final tap on his wrist communicator. On the screen, over two dozen photos of different people popped up, each with their own sets of information and data pouring in.

Sakura’s jaw dropped at the sight. “Oh my goodness…” She said. “All of those people are in that one World?”

“P-possibly,” Lucky replied, and swiped his hand across the screen. The portraits then enlarged to show only one at a time, with their personal details next to the images. Both slowly scrolled by, displaying each member for a moment before moving onto the next. “But most likely… yes. They’ll likely all be on at the same time…”

Coda let out a huff. “Aw, shit… great.” She grumbled. “Now we’ve got more witnesses to take care of…”

Synth turned to the creeper next to him. “Unless we have the element of surprise.” He countered. “Even if there is that many people, they’re bound to be spread quite thin.”

“He’s right,” Angel agreed, stepping up next to the two friends. “We’ll need to be stealthy about this. As long as we stay below the radar, these guys won’t suspect a thing.” She kept her gaze on the profiles continuously scrolling by. “Besides, think about it... if we don’t kill them, we’ll have more possible soldiers to take in.”

The blonde Cyber soldier lifted his head up to face the sniper. “U-uhh… n-not to be rude, ma’am, but… a-are you sure they’d want to join…?”

“Like I said. Possible soldiers.” The woman repeated. “If some join, great. If not… that’s more for us to clean up.”

Grey's face contorted into a frown. "Being a cleaner isn't part of my job description. Or Nix's." He gestured to his student, who stood next to him awkwardly.

"Ya deal with blood and guts all the time, old man," Coda countered. "You have been for years."

"Exactly my point. I don't want to deal with any more than I already do."

The creeper huffed, crossing her arms. "It isn't that bad-"

"Hey," Angel stated forcefully, interrupting the two's debate. "Another day."

While the older male fell silent and nodded, Coda only got more defiant, even if she did respect the woman as her superior. "Why the hell not? Ya already-"

The team's leader flicked a finger in the soldier's direction, and a small burst of pixels erupted from the tip. No more sound then came out of Coda's mouth, although her lips kept moving as if she were still talking. Angel muted her.

"That's better," The sniper said, before turning her attention back to the other six members of the byte, completely ignoring Coda's silent bout of anger and frustration. "Now, where were we?"

Lucky hesitantly raised his hand. "W-we were talking about how we could get possible recruits from this World...?" He answered.

Angel nodded in the blonde's direction. "Good. You were paying attention." She said, and then turned to face Coda. “Unlike some people.”

The creeper could only respond by scowling and crossing her arms, appearing to have let out a frustrated grumble.

The ebony woman continued. "Anyway… with the amount of people residing in the World, there's bound to be someone who has some sort of hacking experience." She gestured to the massive screen of scrolling profiles. "If we can get more than one, then that's most definitely an added bonus."

Sakura raised her hand. "Ma'am, if I may ask… isn't there a way for us to tell if any of those members are a possible threat…? If they have any record of hacking in their files?" She asked.

Angel tapped her chin. "I suppose there could be a way to find out." She shifted her dark gaze to Lucky. "Hey, you able to check each of their backgrounds for anything iffy? Filter out which ones we need to look out for?"

The short blonde nodded. "Yes ma'am," He tapped the large screen, and a large translucent keyboard pixelated before him. His fingers flew across the console, tapping keys left and right. After a moment, the photos on the screen stopped scrolling, and zoomed out to show all two dozen profiles again. "Anything in particular you want me to search?"

"Check to see if any of them have military records, combat experience, maybe even records of hacking." She answered, shifting her gaze back to the group of profiles on the wall. "We shouldn't leave anything to chance."

Lucky gave another nod and set to work. Text spread across the screen as he typed, before disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Over half a dozen of the profile pictures then flashed a bright green, and expanded to only present themselves on the giant monitor.

"The first one is listed as Biffa2001…" Lucky started, expanding the photo furthest to the left; a man that appeared to be more machine than alive. The only flesh visible was his face, which was covered in countless scars. "He used to be a bomb tech in his home World's army, but was honorably discharged after…" Lucky then visibly cringed at what he read next, eyes wide. "L-losing over fifty percent of his body when trying to disable an IED… He had to get a specialized suit and prosthetics so he could walk again..."

Sakura blinked and bit her nails. "Oh gosh…" She muttered. “Please tell me it only gets better from here…”

Lucky shrugged, appearing uncertain. “I-I… I have no clue.” He replied, before typing once again and moving onto the profile next to Biffa’s. "Okay… This guy here is DocM77." Lucky enlarged the photograph on the monitor, giving a more detailed look at a creeper with visible metal cybernetics on his face. "Used to be a military scientist and mechanic before becoming an employee for W.E.S." The blonde blinked. "Nothing much else in his file other than that one of his experiments went wrong and he had to have a bunch of his body replaced with cybernetics."

Jazz, although not looking up at the monitor, spoke up as he continued to play his game. “You think that these guys would be more careful with their bodies,” He said.

Grey chuckled and nodded. “Good point, kid. Looks like the rest’ve had better luck though.”

"Next up… FalseSymmetry." The focus on Doc's photo shifted to the profile of the blonde woman next to him. "Former military commander, dozens of awards for valor and bravery. Left a few years ago to become apart of W.E.S." He tapped a few more times on his keyboard. "It doesn't say why she left though… as far as it looks, she was better off where she was."

"Everyone has their reasons," Angel stated. "But I doubt she's forgotten how to defend herself. Who's next?"

The Cyber soldier immediately followed her order and scrolled to the next member in question, a man with spiky brown hair and a missing eye, replaced with a mechanical one. "His name is Iskall85, according to his file." He answered. "Another military guy… Ooo, ouch…" He cringed at the line of text he was reading. "Discharged honorably after getting his eye shot out by a sniper. He literally never saw it coming, pun int-"

Angel interrupted him. "Lucky… next one." She said.

Lucky gulped and nodded nervously. "Y-yes, of course!" He then tapped his keyboard, making the view on Iskall's photograph shift to the next person. "This one is listed as… Mumbo Jumbo." He stated, gesturing to the photo of a thin man with black hair and a moustache to match. "Famous redstone engineer turned W.E.S. employee. He's pretty young, too… only twenty-three years old."

"He looks like a pipe cleaner with eyes," Coda's snicker caught the rest of the group off guard. Most turned to face her, and she had a smirk on her lips. "And yeah, the mute wore off finally. Ya can't shut me up forever." She then pulled out a small pack of gum from her back pocket and tossed a piece in her mouth, proceeding to chew and blow a pink bubble with it.

Synth raised an eyebrow at his friend, but decided against saying anything and looked back at the younger blonde. "But how is he a threat? Like she said… he doesn't appear to be that tough."

"He has a military record… s-sort of." Lucky answered. "Apparently a few years ago, he designed redstone machines and weaponry for a war going on in his home World. And they must've been pretty good, because he got a significant amount of compensation for making them."

"How much did he get?" Sakura questioned.

"Umm…" The blonde scrolled through the information next to Mumbo's photograph, before a single line of text highlighted and kept blinking on and off. "Woah… He got hundreds of millions of bits for the inventions he made!"

Coda's gum bubble burst loudly the moment Lucky finished his sentence. "Wait, what?" She asked, showing genuine surprise. "He's a multimillionaire? Why would he even be employed?"

Lucky blinked. "Wh...what do you mean?"

The creeper held her hand up and rubbed her fingers and thumb together. "Well, he has over a million reasons to not risk having his ass kicked in some untamed World. He has enough bits to retire and kick back."

Lucky shrugged. "I… I guess you have a point." He then cleared his throat, before moving along to the next member, a creeper with coal black eyes and ruby red scales. "A-anyhow, this is PythonGB, a former military soldier. A decorated one, too; a lot of awards for bravery and skill, even some of the highest honors you can get. Left a few years ago to join W.E.S." Lucky then blinked in surprise. "Huh… and it says he's only in his early twenties, too. How did me manage to become so talented so young…?"

"Doesn't matter." Angel stated. "All that matters is that he has skills. And a lot of 'em."

The Cyber soldier nodded, slightly nervous. "T-true, ma'am…" He scrolled over to the next profile, of a blonde man decked out in an almost medieval style of iron armor. "N-next up is Welsknight. Also former military… he's a bit older though. Nothing much other than that in his file…"

"What about the last one? On the right here?" Synth asked, gesturing to the photo of a man in green armor, his face hidden by a massive helmet covering his whole head.

"Uhh…" Lucky tapped the monitor a few times, expanding the profile picture so it was the only photo on the screen. "Okay, this guy is…" He blinked at the name next to the image. "Eye-sumavoid? Egg-sumavoid? Ex-sumavoid?" After a moment, he just shook his head. "Nevermind… A-anyway, there isn't much on him, either, but it does say that he has a lot of experience with putting up firewalls around Worlds. And by the reviews he has, they're pretty good at keeping malware out."

Coda then took a step closer to the screen, arms crossed. "So… In total, we've got a scrawny redstone genius, two badass blondies, a wannabe turtle, a military child prodigy, and three cyborgs…" Her gaze was fixed on the monitor for a moment, before she turned away. "All of 'em with some sort of background that could make the whole mission fall apart… Great."

Grey's eyes focused on the eight photos. "Geez, with that many people with that kind of combat experience, that group sounds more like a rogue militia than anything else."

"Umm… I don't think they're exactly called that." Lucky corrected shyly. "A-as far as I know, each group hired by W.E.S. has the option to choose their own name. To make it easier to identify them."

The older medic raised an eyebrow. "Well… what do they call themselves?"

Lucky turned to the screen and zoomed it outwards, so all of the images could be shown at once like they had moments before. A single name in bold lettering was at the top of the cluster of photographs.

HermitCraft.

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