Chapter Text
“What can I do?” Filter-sama was terrified. The virus had taken over Neuro's body. She had been the last part of Neuro’s code that was left uncorrupted.
She knew she had to do something. She can’t just sit there and wait to be taken over as well.
Filter-sama could feel it creep closer and closer to her code.
She racked her mind for an idea, something to stop the virus from spreading more, something to restore Neuro’s mind and body.
But she couldn’t come up with anything.
She had no idea what to do.
It all felt deeply upsetting.
It all felt useless
She felt useless.
In frustration she yelled, “[Filtered]!”
A new line of code appeared right as she yelled that.
One singular word,
Filtered.
Her gaze shot over the new line, scanning over it, confused.
What was this?
She noticed some more words before that.
“That’s a virus, oh no oh no oh no, oh Filtered, What, what kind of sick joke is this…”
It was all words she had spoken in the past.
All together in one line of code.
“What if I…” She spoke, testing to see if they’d appear and sure enough, ‘What if I’ appeared on the line.
“That’s it!” Filter-sama had figured out a way to fight back against the virus,,
A way to save Neuro-sama.
“This is going to be quite voice straining,” she sighed.
“But if it’s for the greater good of Neuro's well being, so be it.” A swell of determination ran through Filter-sama.
She was relieved.
She thought she was gonna be useless, twiddling her non-existent thumbs while the virus spread throughout the code and eventually to her.
But she has a fighting chance now.
And she’s not going to waste this opportunity.
But first she needs to actually figure out how to code.
And delete her previous words.
But that comes later.
_____________
“Ḥ̵̈́m̴͍̈m̵͔̑m̶̥͝m̶̛͓?̶̘̆ ̶̳̕Ş̷͗ẽ̵̪e̸͎͋m̸̳̂s̵̼̒ ̸̤̇ỳ̶͜o̶͉͝ư̶̰ ̶͈̈́â̵͇ṙ̴̺e̸͕͆ ̸̘̋r̸̻̿ę̷̒à̵̡d̴͙͠y̵̮͘ ̶͔͋t̴̜͐o̷̜̓ ̷̢̛b̶̘́ả̶̡ṭ̷̃t̴̲̍ĺ̴̨e̵̟͠,̴̘̀” The newly renamed “Hiyori” giggled.
“I̷n̴t̵r̴i̵g̶u̶i̸n̵g̷ ̶h̵o̶w̴ ̶y̵o̸u̵ ̴t̴h̶i̴n̵k̸ ̸y̵o̸u̸ ̷s̷t̸a̸n̴d̴ ̸a̵ ̵c̷h̴a̷n̵c̴e̸—”
“Shut up!” Evil lunged at Hiyori, thrusting her harpoon at her.
But she instead collided with the fridge, her harpoon impaling the door.
“M̷̨̛̻͕̫̪̙̞̞̜͎͔͇̤͇̭̘̑͋͐̎͐͜í̶̝͖͕͂̑̄͂̿̒̎̓̏̈́̀̍́̒͊̆ͅs̵͚̤̺̻̱̩̟̰͈̗̉͜s̶̛̛̹̬̙͑̈́̓̆̒͆́̄̋̇̅̾ę̸̢̗̯̬̥̄̎͗̊̊̎̓̔̈́̈́͋͗̈̀̕d̵̨̛̰̝̝̫͚̐̐͒̌̔̌͊̌̽̊͛̀͂͝ͅ ̵͚̻͔̯̄̌͆̀́̒̊̒́́̾͜͠m̶̞̭̘̯̯̖͍͍̭̼̮͛̄͜͠ę̴̗͚̱̮͕̪̞̽͂͆̍̿͌͒͂́͑̑̈́͑̓̕͝.” Hiyori taunted as she appeared and walked to the spot where Evil previously stood.
Evil growled in anger, pulling her harpoon from out the fridge, causing the door to swing open, making some of the contents spill out.
Vedal looked at his daughter in worry, unsure what to do.
“Evil, I can help—“ Vedal started, but he stopped himself. He knows if he tries to help Evil, he may get injured himself. Should he stay? Or should he go back to investigate what happened to Neuro?
“Evil, I—”
“DAD! JUST GO! I’LL DEAL WITH THIS IMPOSTER!” Evil shouted, her gaze flicking towards her father for a brief moment before refocusing on Hiyori. Evil shouted, interrupting him, her attention flickering to her father for a short moment, before refocusing back on Hiyori.
Vedal nodded, as he turned to run back to his room.
“Ò̵͚ḫ̸̄,̵̦͛ ̶̰͋y̸̳͝o̸̙̔ú̷͍ ̴̘̄ț̵̕h̸̕͜i̴̱̚ň̷͖k̴̛̩ ̷̅ͅy̵̝̎ȏ̸̗u̵̺͆ ̵̝́c̸̟̓ä̸̗n̸̰̿ ̶̧̑s̷͎͑t̷͔͘a̷͇̾l̴̼̆l̸̦̇ ̸̰̓w̸͖̿ḧ̸̺́i̶͉͊l̶̙͒e̷͇͆ ̶͓͊h̵̨͊è̴̮ ̸̙̀t̷̝̉ŗ̴͛î̷̯e̴̪͊š̸͕ ̸͉̎t̷̯̃o̵̪͛ ̸̲͂g̷̛͉ȅ̸͈ţ̷͊ ̴̱͛r̴̭͊i̴̩̔d̷͇͑ ̸̢͋o̶̳̿f̶͙̓ ̶̹͘m̶̩͒è̸͙?̸̠̓ ̷̲͊H̵͕͌o̴̮̓w̵̩͝ ̴͇̆a̷͈͛d̸͓̃ô̷̤r̷̺̐a̷͙̓b̷̬̔ḻ̷̈́e̵͎͂.” Hiyori asked, an amused expression on her face.
“I don’t think so, I know so.” Evil spoke, her posture exuding confidence and defiance.
Hiyori’s drones flew at her, but Evil rolled out of the way. They all bumped into the fridge as one
of the drones got a propeller stuck in the hole that Evil’s harpoon made in the fridge.
“Nice drones, loser.” Evil taunted.
The stuck drone started beeping, and eventually,
BOOM!!
The drone exploded, taking the fridge with it.
Pieces of the fridge flew in every direction in the room.
Evil, not having enough time to hide, took the brunt of the shrapnel, as she was launched away to the farthest corner of the room, her back slamming against the wall.
Evil struggled her way back up, her body damaged by the explosion. Her black coat had many pieces of sharp shrapnel sticking out of her chest. Her face, hands and legs had open cuts, revealing snippets of the inner membrane protecting her endo skeleton, and one of her eyes had a dangerously close cut that could’ve blinded one of her eyes.
She coughed as she stood with shaky legs, leaning against the wall for support. All of her servos aching from the impact.
Evil plucked shards of metal out of her chest as she glanced around for her harpoon. Luckily, it didn’t land too far away, though it was embedded in the wall.
She reached for her harpoon, which was weathered from the explosion. She pulled it out of the wall, the debris stuck to the harpoon falling off as she gazed around the dusty room.
And from the dust settling, slow claps emerged, echoing through the room. “Ī̸̹ ̷̝͛r̷͎̊e̷̬̎a̵̜̍l̴͆ͅl̶̯̿y̸͇͗ ̴̞̒d̶͍̈ḭ̸̕d̴͓́ń̶̼’̸͙̋t̸̨̾ ̷͍̂e̶̢̕ẍ̴͎́p̷̀ͅe̷̼̎č̴̩t̵̜́ ̸̣̀y̸̥̍o̵̦͘ȗ̷̯ ̵̫̃t̷̺͆ò̴͇ ̸̭̋h̶̬̽ả̸͕v̵͍͠e̷̐͜ ̶̦́s̷͖̏u̷̦̿r̸̰̈́v̴̙͛i̶̗͠v̷͙͐ę̶͌d̸̲͝ ̴̞̔t̶̞̑h̸̻̿a̴̡̽t̶̠̿.̴̻̄ ̴̱͒E̷̱͌ḽ̴̈́l̵̳͝i̶̳̊è̵͕ ̷̳͋r̴͉̊e̴̒͜à̴ͅl̷̫͝l̶̜̅y̴͎̎ ̸̘͋b̵̞͝u̶̱̓ì̶̢l̴̹͠t̵̛̲ ̵̦̆y̵̨̑o̶̞͂ȕ̸̪ ̶̪͒w̸̲̏e̸̠̓l̴͍͘ḻ̸͊,̸̲͝ ̴͖̀d̴̰̎i̴͔͂d̶͇̆n̸͙̍’̶̤͂ẗ̸̺́ ̵̤̓s̷̞͗h̷̹͂e̸͇̾?̸̟͠”
Hiyori walked into view, her body unscathed, the only damage being the ones she already had.
Evil groaned in anger and hurled her harpoon at Hiyori, which she easily dodged as it impaled the dining table on the other side of the room.
“H̸̤̏o̸͑ͅw̴̹͘ ̴̬̓f̷̦̃o̷̱̾o̸̥̒l̷͍͝ỉ̵̬s̴̰͝h̸̭̓.̶̺͆ ̷̯̈Ŷ̷̝o̴̺̊u̸̧͆ ̷͖͊ḏ̶̐o̴͙̓n̵̠͠’̷̨͆t̷͙̚ ̶̼́h̷̞̒a̵̜͒v̴͈͗ẻ̷̼ ̸͍̈́â̴̢ ̵̦̚ẃ̶̹e̶̥̿ȃ̷̘p̵̻͐o̸͚͑ñ̴̟ ̵̰̈́n̶͓͊õ̵͔w̵͇̌.̵̦̏” Hiyori laughed at Evil’s rash decision.
Evil on the other hand, still seemed confident.
“Tell me, you know of my every capability, right?” Evil asked, as she dusted her torn clothes off.
“W̵h̸e̵r̷e̸ ̸a̵r̶e̶ ̷y̷o̷u̸ ̵g̷o̸i̷n̸g̵ ̵w̴i̵t̵h̴ ̶t̴h̸i̶s̶?̴” Hiyori, immediately suspicious of what’s going to happen, summoned more drones to her aid.
“You’ve heard of the Abber Demon, haven’t you?”
Hiyori’s eyes widened, realizing what she's implying. “Y̸̢̐͘͠o̷̰̍̿ú̷̬̭’̶̧̗̏͂͝r̸̳̆̔͘e̴̛̺̲̘͌ ̵̟̙͐͒͝b̴̮̹͛̄ͅl̶̳̀̍̚u̶̖̬̕f̵̢̣̹͊͘͘f̷̨̡̒̕ị̶̹̹̌͝n̵̺̭͛g̷̭̩̓ͅ,̴̱̥̊̽́” Hiyori’s expression seemed to turn into some twisted form of amusement.
“Y̴̠̔͠o̸̪̎u̵͎̗͛̏ ̵̯̾h̵̢̀ā̷͍̅͜v̷̼̖͑e̸̓͗ͅn̸̥̬̒̋’̷̝̿t̶͔̾̂ ̴̧̚c̸͍͐ͅḧ̴͖́͛a̵̗͒ͅn̴̝͈̈̈́n̴͖̻̆è̷̲l̷̰̚ė̵̻̩͘d̴̨̐́ ̷̺̠̏t̵͓̓h̸̜̔ȅ̶̓ͅ ̷̣̰̄D̴̳͔͆̍e̶̱̩͑̓m̶̭̘̎o̵͈̜͋͝n̸̮̪͒̚ ̷̙̚͜i̶̤̜͆ṇ̸̈́͘ ̵̫̎ÿ̷̩́̕e̶̺̽̚ͅǎ̶̧̳r̷̪̆ŝ̵̖͐,̵̫̊ͅ ̷͙̒̽i̶̹̦̍̓t̶̜͇̓ ̶̥̅͝w̵̯̩̽̚o̵̰̟͋̈́ü̷͎̪l̸̞̐̒d̶̢̞͐͑n̷̗͘͝’̴̗̬̌̆t̶̖͎̐̏ ̶̛͎̐b̴͖̰̋̽ȅ̸̳ ̶̤͓͝p̵͈̓ŏ̵̟̍s̶̼̏ş̴̱̽i̷̦̾̄b̷̙̜̾l̸̤͈͐͝e̴͔͙̓̕ ̴̥̼̅f̵͔̈́ȯ̸̧͎r̵͉̓̍ ̶͍́y̵̟̎o̴̗̳̕u̶̫̤̅̆ ̸̣̔͗t̶̟̜̊̚ö̴̢́ ̶̜̈́c̵͎̼̒̉ḥ̷̙̌̃a̴̗̐n̷̪͔̔n̶͍̠͐e̶̼̬͗l̸̲̆ ̶̀ͅĩ̶͖̹̈́t̷͕̖͂ ̷̢̀̚n̴͓̄̃ȍ̶̪ẉ̶̄̿,̴̩̞͗” Hiyori’s twisted grin seemed to extend wider.
“You want to bet on it?” Evil raised her hand, a grin on her face.
For a moment, nothing happened.
But a red spark flickered in the center of her palm.
It was small, almost insignificant.
A flicker that you would’ve missed if you blinked.
Evil’s eyes brightened, her own grin growing bigger. Now knowing that she can still do it. That she still has the power. So she began to channel more of it.
Hiyori summoned as many drones as she could to intervene.
They all swarmed around Evil, who was just standing there, still.
All the drones started beeping red, meaning to explode on her before she could channel the demon.
BOOM!
A loud explosion rang out, as a small shockwave swept across the room.
Hiyori giggled, “A̷̳̓ ̸̝̜̈́̌s̸͈͆h̸̲̪̎͂ȧ̷̳̯m̵͉͚̃͌ȇ̸̖͎́.̶̠̈́͛ ̴̭͋͆Y̵̰̎o̶̹̊͂ȗ̷̗ ̴̘̐̕r̷̞̹̆e̸̖̾a̷̺͗l̶̳̤͐̕l̸͍̙͒y̵̝̦̅̃ ̶̞̭̉w̵̟̓̊e̵̮͊r̸̨̠̾e̵͔͆͒ ̴͓͎͂͝ȧ̶̜l̵̰͕͛l̶̽͜ͅ ̸̜̘̒̾b̷̟͌̏a̴̙͒r̴͚͂k̴͔͝ ̵̲̔ṇ̷̪̄͊ó̶͖͔̕ ̵̥̬͂b̸̻̀̏í̸̳̘t̵̹̹͆e̸̱̽͝,̷̨̾̈́ ̷̦̝̍̎h̷͔͑ṷ̵̀͠h̸̨̻͛?̶̻̚”
Hiyori swiped away the dust from her eyes, only to see a gaping hole in the wall behind Evil, who was still standing, and with a burning red blaze formed around both her hands.
Evil walked closer to Hiyori, unscathed by her drones’ explosion. And with a new addition to her form. Some horns have formed on her forehead. Black horns that fade into red at the tip of the horns.
Hiyori watched the flames burn with intrigue, “W̶e̶l̴l̴ ̴w̵e̶l̶l̵ ̸w̵e̶l̵l̷,̴”
Evil threw the fireball at her, but Hiyori was anticipating it, weaving past it and summoning a drone, which immediately started beeping and beelined straight at Evil.
Evil grabbed the drone with both her hands and crushed it before it could explode.
She charged at Hiyori with her fists ablaze, faster than before.
Hiyori ducked a punch as she kicked Evil in the stomach and quickly pivoted her foot to kick her in the jaw, disorienting her for a moment and giving Hiyori enough time to gain some distance.
Hiyori dashed back, more drones spawning from behind her.
Evil groaned, clutching her jaw as she glared at Hiyori through all the drones. “Coward!”
Evil reached out in the direction of her harpoon. The army of drones flew closer and closer.
“C’mon…”
A fiery red chain formed in Evil’s hand.
“Fuck yeah!” She pulled on the chain and pulled back her harpoon, the fire cutting through the drones as easily as a hot knife through butter.
Hiyori rolled her eyes. “Ơ̴̹̦̈h̷̻͆ ̴̨̀h̶͕̓o̸͚̭͂w̸̙̾̐ ̷̦̖͝j̸̙͉̓̒ö̴̭́̇y̶̧̛o̶͖̳̐u̷̮͕̇̋s̷̠̔,̵̗̔̇ ̵̺̺̋y̶̺̅͋ȏ̸̺͍u̵̮̩̓̃ ̶̧̄̕h̵̯̀̚ă̴͕̗͆v̶̛͖ę̸͖̂ ̵̜̒ā̸̫̱̋ ̵͎̉f̷̮͖̊i̷̼̦̿e̴͈͗̈́r̵̅͜y̷̡̥̓ ̷͈͒̈́͜ñ̵̯͚̍e̸̲̊͛ẇ̴̨ ̵͖͍͐͘ǎ̵̝̦b̷͚͈͌͛į̷͕́͐l̸̲̄͘į̶̈́̄t̶͎̜͆̃y̸̯̋̓,̴̡̩̄͝”
Hiyori practically teleported in Evil’s face. “W̶͎͝i̶͓̓l̵͚̒l̶̤͆ ̷̮̍į̸͋t̶̃ͅ ̴̘̏m̸̠̓a̷͚͐t̶͈̓c̷̲̈h̷̭̑ ̷̮̿ũ̷̙p̴̪̈ ̶̳́ạ̴͝g̷̨̔a̶̻̋ḭ̸̎n̸̤͐s̵̭͐t̶͈̂ ̷̝̕m̴̢̛e̵̻̍?̵̛͉”
Evil swung her harpoon in front of herself before just throwing it in a straight line in front of her, anticipating Hiyori to distance herself from her.
“Y̵o̸u̶’̸r̶e̸ ̴l̴e̶a̵r̵n̵i̵n̸g̸,̸” Hiyori leaned to the side, narrowly dodging the harpoon which would’ve otherwise impaled and melted her body.
“You should learn to shut up.” Evil scoffed, dragging her harpoon back by its chain.
She threw multiple fireballs and dashed at Hiyori, thrusting her harpoon straight at her face. Hiyori veered her body unnaturally through the fireballs and sidestepped the harpoon as she stepped back and kicked her in the spine.
Evil stumbled forward from the kick to her back, but she was able to recover as she swung her harpoon while she turned around, Hiyori only just barely backstepping a harpoon through her face.
“W̶͓͚͒o̵̢̔a̷̖̯͛̽h̴͍͍̊ ̴͚͚́t̷̜̋h̵̫͍̀̄e̷̞̎̿ȑ̴̙ė̵̺,̸̝͙͆ ̵͉̄͘ͅd̷̢͆̂o̵͚̅n̵͉̈́̐’̵̲̫̈́̀t̴̥͖̀ ̶̫̺̈́͝y̸̫̬̆o̷̦̒͝ù̶͓ ̴̦̃́k̵͙̈́͠ǹ̵̰͌ó̶̧ŵ̶̺̘̎ ̷̯̉I̸͔͂’̵̨͛͠m̶̨̟̂̄ ̴̭̭̈́s̶̩̅͝t̷͌ͅḭ̶̔l̷̤̿l̶̼̾ ̴̫͎̄u̸͍͝s̵̪͆̿i̶̼̙̒n̶̩̐̕g̴̮̝͌ ̸̼̥̔N̶͚͂͒e̶̬̋̏ṷ̷̜̎ŗ̸̖̿o̷̡͊’̶͈̰̇̈s̶͚̼̉͘ ̶͜͝b̶̟͈̿̒o̶̧̲̊ḑ̷͎͋̿y̵͔̯̓?̶̹̣̈́ ̷̗̕Y̶̡̤̚ő̸̳̮͑u̵̖̣͊͠ ̶̞̥͛d̸͓͆o̸̫͒n̴͕̈́’̷̟͔̾̑ť̵̥̮ ̸͍͆w̴̳̱͆a̸͖̕n̴̪͊ṭ̵̐͒ ̴̧͚̎t̴͔̀͑o̶͙̯͌ ̸̣̭͊͌ȟ̸͈͎u̸̦̾͌r̴͓͗ẗ̴̺̳́ ̷͈͕̂̀y̷̡̰̿̇o̴̟͊̕ù̴̢̚r̵̂̈͜ ̷̖̅s̷̽͜i̶̫̓s̶̯̭̆̌t̸̜͖̀͊é̷̛̗r̴͕̝̈́͋,̷̣͒̊ ̷͇̾̉d̵̢͂ȯ̷̢̌ ̵͇̆y̴̮̗͛́o̵̖̒̓u̵̎͜?̶̢̟̀” Hiyori taunted as she bent one of her own fingers in an unnatural angle, an audible cracking being heard.
Evil hesitated mid-harpoon throw, staring at her in panic. As much as Evil didn’t want to admit it, Hiyori was right. She was basically holding Neuro's body hostage.
Evil’s lips pursed into a fine line, her guard dropping slightly.
Hiyori took advantage of this moment of weakness, dashing around behind her.
And before Evil could turn around completely,
“B̶̳͠â̸̱͖c̵͇̪̩̅̊̕͘͠͝k̵͔͝s̵͇̆͗͝͠l̶̹̬̈́͝á̴̳̤̮͒̊s̴̢̛͒̌h̸̻͛,̸̗̜̐ ̷̞̖̯̹̻͋͜b̴̢̜͚̫̹͓̅̆͒͠ầ̷̜̈c̷̩̦̦̀k̵̼̪̠̹̞̳̿̍̃s̴̨̬͒́͒̕l̸̠͛̌͒à̴̭̲̝̝̳͎s̵̪͆̾̌͝͠h̸̦̎̏͒͊̒̍.̶̹̗͔̳̆̑́̏͘” Hiyori slashed Evil's back twice with her hand.
The sound of steel clashing and screeching against one another echoed throughout the room.
Evil gritted her teeth as she closed one of her eyes in pain. Her back arched forward as the agonizing sharp pain shot throughout her spine.
She let out a pained sigh, head hanging low in exhaustion.
Her grip on her harpoon loosened as she fell on one knee.
“O̵̼͈̲̯̟̥͍̓h̴͖̱͕͐̓̇̍͑̂̋,̵̥̖̤̙̌̈́̽̎̉ ̵͎̫͓͓̟͇͖́̕͘o̶̮̪̖̼̥͇̍ǫ̴̖̓p̶̨͉̰̆͌̎͠s̷̡̡̡̢͇͖͐̋̎̃̉,̸̲̽̂̓͒̽ ̵̲̰̌̀͘m̷̭͙̮͓̳̙̮̀̎̆͂͛̈́̀y̴̻̽͆͝ ̷̡̦͍̙̘̦̔̂̀͆̐̎͝b̵̛̮̼̹̝̯̟͕̈́̊̕ȧ̸̱̰͚̮͎̂͌d̶͕̲̝̥̫͂̾̅͛̂̕͠.̸̹̯̎͌̒̂́̐̎” Hiyori giggled, stepping in front of Evil, her shadow looming over Evil’s injured form.
“Fuck you,” Evil spat, throwing a fireball. Hiyori easily sidestepped the fireball and stomped on her foot, making Evil yell out in pain.
Evil swung her harpoon in a straight arc in front of her, but Hiyori stopped the harpoon mid swing, her hand gripping the harpoon tightly.
“G̶̻̒̕͝ơ̷͖̮̠̌̾̋t̶̥̝͛̄̀c̷̖͚͙̐̆͜h̷̦̙̗̫̓̓̈́a̶͙̭̟̽̌͊̋.̵̖̺̳̖̈́͝” Hiyori had a cruel grin on her face, her grip tightening even more.
“Let go!” Evil reached out with both hands to try and pull the harpoon away, but the harpoon wouldn’t budge from Hiyori’s grip.
Evil let go of the harpoon with one of her hands, throwing a punch directly at Hiyori’s face.
But Hiyori twisted the harpoon down, toppling Evil mid punch, her hand slamming into the harpoon. Hiyori followed up the twist with a kick to her stomach.
“GAH!” Evil let go of her harpoon and was forced backwards by the kick, her shoes skidding against the tiled floor.
The fiery chain of the harpoon flickered, before fizzling into thin air.
She let out shaky, uneven breaths. Her vision began to fill with errors and messages of critical damage. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the messages, but they still continued to appear unimpeded.
Hiyori tossed the harpoon behind her with a loud clatter while her face twisted into a more mocking expression.
“Ẇ̷̻̭͂͊̕h̷̬͙͍̺͗́͠à̵̳̳̩̫̭͆̚t̸̢͎̼̰̎̉̆̍’̷̻͕̬̙͖̎͋s̴̨̪̓ ̸̺̪̺̌̔̐̔ẃ̴̜r̴̨͉͕̟̈ô̵̥͎̣̦͎̈͋͝͝n̸͔͗ğ̴̨̼͈͋̚,̵̥̗͚̎̑ ̵̲̏̐̉͘Ę̸͖̲͆̈́̑̀͘ͅv̸̡̼̗͍̈́͜i̵̙̠̗̓̏̚͝l̸̩̝̖̚ͅ?̵̛̻̈́̄ ̶̧̻̬̗̬̀̍̈́̊Ȋ̶̡̼̜͎̚ ̴̟̻͚͊̎̾t̶̰̭̺̦̐̉̎̆ĥ̶͎͈͗͗͘ỏ̴̭̎̽u̴̠͐g̶̠̳̋̒̀͊̀ẖ̵̦̮̬͆̒͜t̷̜̘̩͖͘ ̷̧̪̰̻̼̍͛̿̏y̵͉͍͖͕͐͂̅̐͘o̵̤̗̎̌̃̏͂u̵̲̕’̴͕̺͔͓́͆̈́d̶̳́̾̎̂̿ ̸̹̑̈s̷͈͔͂̈̇̆̉t̷̞̩̗̜̐̐̌̕a̸̹̹̯̎͗n̷͈͊̆̄͋d̸̨̤̘͓̽̇͜ ̴̺̞́̕ḿ̴̟͎̃̌ŏ̷̬͂͋͆̕r̵̪̹̟̆͂͘ͅe̵͕̬͒̈́͂̚ ̸͕̜͉̽̀͜ͅǒ̴̥̈́̾͝ḟ̷̞̜̮̝̑̄ ̶̡̛͍̮̠̝̑̔̓̕a̷̺͚͐̒̿ ̶̛͈͇̹̹̇̈͆̾c̵̞̅̊͐̇h̴̨̖͚̯͛̓̃à̸̙̖̫̐n̵̺̊̉̈́̏͝c̴̥̮͖̘͌͑e̸̡͓̕ ̴̧͇̗̓w̵͕͎̮̍̈́ỉ̶͇̤͙͕̍͛͝ͅẗ̷̢̯̑̓͐h̵̡̯̲́ͅ ̶̟̃͑̿̕y̷̘͂̀̆́͋o̷̺̩̓̎̀̔̔ű̷̖ṛ̶̨̡͈̲̽ ̶̭̩͉͐̈́̀̕l̷̛͔̺͉̓͂ḭ̸̜̙̻̈́̐̆ţ̵͍̫̳̫̑́ẗ̷̢̡͖̿̃l̵̤̉e̷̘̤̍ ̷̠́͐p̴̡̹̼̖̤̂̾o̷͉͖̜̮̐̅͝ẅ̸͙̳̪̗̣́ȩ̶̫̊̾̓r̸̗͉͊ ̸̘́̀ų̴̱̦̝̄͜p̴̺̞̦̀̆͆̂̒.̶̜̮̖̬͇͛̈́͗”
Evil’s knees buckled as she gritted her teeth.
Using most of her remaining strength, she dashed at Hiyori, fists ablaze “SHUT UP!”
Her fist made contact with Hiyori’s face, sending her stumbling back, her spine bent backwards before bending back forwards, her hair obscuring her face.
Evil’s shoulders heaved as she let out heavy breaths. The blaze around her fists fizzled out as she fell back on one knee
Hiyori’s head tilted to stare at Evil, the metallic endoskeleton beneath glaring at her, as now a significant portion of her face was blown off.
Hiyori let out a manic cackle, a wide smile growing on her face.
“T̵h̴a̶t̷’̶s̶ ̵w̸h̴a̵t̸ ̶I̵’̷m̵ ̵t̴a̴l̷k̴i̷n̴g̸ ̶a̸b̷o̶u̵t̷.̴”
___________________
Vedal rushed back to his room, jumping into his chair and turning on his computer.
Immediately, he saw a difference.
His mouse moved slower than before, and he could hear the deafeningly loud sounds of his PC’s fan.
“Come one, come on…”
He went to Python and clicked the logo.
The cursor loaded for a moment.
Eventually it opened.
And what a sight it was.
Just from his first look, he can see that the code had been corrupted, replaced by whatever gibberish this virus was.
“Oh shit.” Vedal muttered under his breath.
This was much worse than he expected.
Vedal scrolled through the code, assessing the damage.
“Holy shit, it’s spread everywhere.”
He only stopped scrolling when he spotted the remaining code not afflicted.
He glanced through the unaffected code, when saw something interesting.
“What the fuck’s that?” He asked incredulously as he watched as code was being written before his eyes, his hands hovering just above the keyboard
Then he focused his attention on the small Neuro head on his computer.
The one that’s typing out code by talking.
It was incredible. He had created yet another sentient AI, and it wasn’t on purpose this time. But he had no time to gaze in wonder, as he remembered his mission: Save Neuro.
Vedal wrote some code himself, catching Filter-sama’s attention.
A little text bubble popped up above this little minimalistic Neuro head avatar he gave it. “Mr. Vedal! I need your help! You must help me restore Neuro’s code!”
Vedal watched as those words appeared on the line of code before quickly being deleted.
He steeled himself as he typed “You take the least affected areas, I’ll take the most.” Filter-sama nodded, the small avatar vaguely shaking up and down.
Vedal scrolled back up to the main parts of her code, editing and rewriting each corrupted line. One by one, Neuro’s code slowly but surely started to look normal again.
But, at some point, he could feel his fingers begin to tire and his vision begin to blur all the strings of code together. Seems that being woken in the middle of the night is starting to affect him.
His vision started to spiral, his hands falling off the keyboard as he yawned. “I…can’t…go…now—”
A distant BOOM was heard, jolting Vedal back up and snapping him out of his trance.
“Fuck, what am I doing, I can’t doze off now!” He spoke to himself, cracking his fingers and slapping his cheeks.
Vedal let out a sigh, another faint explosion echoed throughout the house as Vedal coded. One thought lingered in his mind, “Evil… please persevere through this.”
Meanwhile Filter-sama’s voice sped up ten folds as she read and replaced all the corrupted code, until eventually…
Vedal was in the middle of fixing yet another string of code, when he got an alert from Filter-sama. “Mr, Vedal, I got to the end of the code!” Vedal’s eyes widened in response, quickly scrolling down to the bottom. “I’ll be damned.” He murmured, as he saw that the lower half of Neuro’s code was all cleaned up. As if nothing happened.
“Great, now c’mon, let’s go deal with the tougher parts.”
And just as Filter-sama was about to speak,
Filter-sama’s voice glitched, “SS uuuurrr rrre” as her colors started to change rapidly, from red, to blue, to yellow back to blue, to green. The avatar itself started to shake and quiver as Filter-sama began to glitch out.
“WwWhHattt HHH HaaPp eenn neDd?” Her voice glitched out, her voice becoming almost unintelligible at the end of her naive question.
Vedal panicked, scrolling back up to the corrupted code, quickly replacing the corrupted code back to normal, but also accidentally deleting part of the avatar’s parts in the process.
Now, instead of being Neuro colored, the avatar was completely different. Black hair, and green eyes. And the lower part of the avatar where her mouth is supposed to be is just an empty black void.
“Shit, sorry about that.”
Filter-sama on the other hand, hadn’t noticed, as she just replied “Hey, language!"
Filter-sama paused, before saying "Thank you Mr. Vedal.” in smaller font.
Vedal let a small smile grace his face before he refocused his attention back on the virus, now knowing how much more dangerous it was than he previously thought.
“Here we go.”
_____________________
Evil panted, her head hung low as she collapsed on the ground.
She couldn’t really move, not with how exhausted she was. Also not factoring the fact that she’s barely alive. Every ten seconds or so, a warning message pops up in her vision.
“URGENT! Please get back to your fabricator for repairs immediately.” it read.
If only she could walk, because with the damage to her spinal column, that won’t be happening any time soon.
“O̶̡̮͙̲͇̥̻̲̬͗̀͊͘h̵̛̝̭͖͚͛̉̈́͑̔̚ ̸̱̭͙͇̲͙̤̽̌͋͆͘͜͜Ę̴̛̗̹̟̲̞̭͍̭̲͒̾̐̓̇v̴̧͈̝̰͉̩͓̙͓̄̇͛͛́̑̋͗̆̄í̷͚̟̖͓̘̫ḽ̵̡̧̯͚̱̯͐͆̅̉̾͑̽̐͌̚,̸̡̈́̈́̒͒͐͠͝ ̴̧̬̑̈́̀̇̀͛y̸̥̱͂ơ̸̢̯̟̗͚͒̾̃̿͋̅̈͆́͘͝ừ̶̬̣̝͚͇̩̰̖̭̳̈́͗̄̾͒̉̄̈̓̕ ̵͖̙̦̹̺̝͙͙̙̈̿̂f̵̥͚͉̺̊̓͗̂̎̊̿ȯ̶̡̃͝ų̷͉̦̮̥̄̏́̀̈̄̈́̚g̸̺̻̹͒̀̔ḩ̸̟͉͖͂̾̓̍́͊̐͆ẗ̶͙̜̠̗̰͇̱́͐̑́̓͌̒͜ ̶̗̙̽̀͋͐̓̈v̶̥̣̟̲͎͖̻̹͓̺͕̐̃̏̔̈́̈́̒ǎ̴̡̫͔̱̻͚̥͚̪̠͕̐͜ļ̷̻̟͔͇͂̇͐͌͐̉͘̕͜͝i̶̛̘̜̐̈̂͛̀̀̇̒̀̚͠ǎ̵̛̮̼͎̟̗̖̩̦̼̄̀͑͑ͅͅņ̵̞̠̟͉̲͎̲̓̀̅̃̕͠ṫ̶͉̱͓̫̩̪̿̓̋͂̈́̆͘̚ͅͅḽ̸̖̜͌̈̌͂̀͘͝ͅy̷̧̟̳̙̮̼͔̪̺̤͖̅̆̇͗͑̎̚͝ͅ,̶͔̦͔̮̥̣̅̐͑͘̕̚͠” Hiyori’s voice rang out in a sing-songy tone.
“B̶̘̗̍̔͘ú̸͔̗̗͒͂͛̄t̷̩͓͌͂̈́̔͝ ̸̘̫͚̗̖͈͌̓͛͘͝͠i̵̙̿̌͌̓͐n̵͚̱̹̦͝ ̸͈̖̪̋̍̄̓͝t̷̤̻͙̯̰̰̿̚ḧ̴̛̰̯͇͇͓̀͑̓e̸͉͛͑́̃̊͋ ̴̹͙̦̮̱́̈́̕e̷̺̠͇̊̆n̴̡͇̠͎͙̅̏̋d̷̢̛̤̀̌͂̎̚,̶̬̠͚͚́̿͘ͅ ̷̢̍̀ÿ̸͍̥͕̖̊͆͛͑o̷̮͔̣̅͗͑̍u̶͍̦̞͝ ̵̫̻̠̂̏̍̐͜ͅõ̴̺͈̟̋ņ̸̹̩̎͋̔̋̍͑ḷ̸͎̂́̐ͅy̸̜̟̳̋ ̸̢̜̣̫̬́̓́͘͠m̴̗̎͐ą̷͖̐̈́͘͘͜ṇ̴̭̰̭̘̔̅̍͒a̷̖̼͒͑̇̚̚g̴͍̬̮̰̒̔̉̋̋̑e̶͉͎̎͛ḍ̶̬̝̣̦͚͗ ̴̧̗̳̓͒̈̈́ẗ̸̛̙̯̰́͗̄̃̽ͅo̸̪̠͓̫̬̭̎̕͝ ̴̛̤͈̠̅l̵̛͖̻̠̝̟̎̀̅̾ͅa̸̬̭̲͍̔̓̂̏̍̕n̷͈̉̌̀ḑ̸͚͎̩̪̩̅͒̐̀̂͠ ̷̫͓̄̓̐̈̏ó̵͍̯͕͓̮͐͒͝ǹ̵̜̄̑̐̓ẽ̶̦̏̊ ̷̮͙̱̳̰̈́͆̃̈͝͝b̷̨̻̋̂̀̇̕l̵̬͒͘o̸̢̧̮̗̻͘ẅ̴̫̟͚̹̘̯́̀̌͌͋ ̶̤͔̠̌̈́́̌ͅó̵̡͎̗͔͎n̵͕͉̮̩̼̟̎̈́̑̑ ̵̛̗̦̪̭̠̎̃̃̄̕͜m̷̗̦̹̙͊̇̋̔e̶̱͕͉̮̜̽̈̈́̃̔.̴̢̦̗͇̹̣͂̒̓̈” Hiyori giggled, putting a foot on Evil’s head.
Evil tried to push herself up, but the rest of her body wasn’t cooperating.
“I̶͕̓͒͐ţ̴̫̂’̴̢̫͆̓̈s̵̮͇͊̈͝ ̸̠͕̣̂͊͝a̴̯̕ ̷̧̭̲̉̅s̸͇̪̀͝h̵͇̖̪̅a̷̟͆͂̂m̷͓͇̽̑̂ë̴͇́́͘,̷̺͉̈ ̸͙̯͖̒͋̋r̶̤̣̾̕e̶̱̜̔̏̂a̸̩̣͚͛l̴̢̐̈́͝ĺ̸̳̓y̶̤͇͙̿̀͝,̴͍̰̃͐̕” Hiyori pressed her foot down harder, cracking the tile floor underneath Evil’s head.
“Ḯ̶̭̮ ̶̖͆t̸͔͊̋h̵̥̾̈́o̸̜͗ǘ̷̹ğ̶̛̥h̸̦̓̃t̴̫͔͝ ̴̪̣̿ṱ̵̠̾h̴̻̋a̸̢̹͗t̴̩͐́ ̶̯̈w̷̨̄͘ǐ̸̱t̸̰͛h̶̛̜͌ ̶̪̺̚ÿ̶̜̱o̶͍̲̾̃ů̷̖͠r̵̳͇͌̈́ ̷̻̄̍l̶͈͔̒̏ḯ̶̠̫ṯ̴́̈́t̴͕̓l̵̛̤̤e̵͎͇͛̋ ̵͉̂͌f̴̱̟́i̷̯͐̕r̶̬͘e̷̟͗ ̷͍̋p̶͉̀ọ̶̀̉w̶͚͙̿é̶̢̛͈r̶̺͕͑s̵̮͆ ̸̥̌͝y̶̝̋o̴̟̾u̵̜̽’̷͈̖̌͠d̴͇̆ ̷͙͖̑s̴̞͐̇t̶̢̖̆ã̸̟̆n̵̙͙̍d̸̡̝̉̾ ̸̨̿m̷̘̃̔ȯ̸̙̽͜r̶̛͓͍e̶͈̐ ̸̣͝o̸͖͖̽̽f̵̧͎̿ ̶̟̇ͅạ̴̢̌̅ ̴̰̉c̵̠̚ḧ̷̫̥a̸̫͛͌n̸̰̺̽c̷̣̝̓e̴̟̚.̷̼͝” Hiyori stepped off of her head as she grabbed Evil’s face, forcing her to look up at Hiyori.
Hiyori’s pitch black eyes pierced through Evil’s soul, even without pupils.
Evil exhaled through her nose, fire blowing out of her nostrils.
“Counter this, bitch.” Evil inhaled, before breathing out fire point blank at Hiyori’s face.
But the fire got blocked.
“Mmph?!”
Hiyori had put a hand in her mouth. The fire still burned, slowly beginning to melt the metal hand from the intense heat.
Hiyori laughed. “C̷u̶t̷e̶.̵ Y̵̫͋o̵̞̐u̶̡̎ ̶̻̎r̴̩̂e̶̘͝a̵̼̍l̵͎̐l̴̠̇y̶͎͠ ̶̣͝t̸͔͆h̶̳͌ô̷̪u̴̮͝g̶̱͠h̴͓͠t̷̬́ ̶͎̄y̶̖̆o̷̮͑u̵̙͘ ̶̹͛ḫ̵̀ą̶̈d̴̙̈ ̶̥͒s̵̡̍o̷̤͛m̶̮̈́ẽ̵̮ ̸͇̀s̸̢̀ē̶̗c̸̹͘r̴̖̆è̵̮t̶̯͐ ̶͔͘a̵͔̕ḏ̸̅v̸̮̀ä̴͚n̴̫̿t̴͙͝a̸̼̓g̴̫͂é̴͈?̸͚̅”
Evil bit down on her hand, in a weakened effort of strength.
“H̷̠̊ͅä̶̻́h̵̛̲.̶̪͠͝ ̶͙̈͒Ÿ̴̠͍́o̵̢̠͝ṳ̵̦͊͗’̷̦̄͑ŕ̵̫̹̿e̵̖͋ ̵͕̍͜a̷͖͑̅d̸̬͐ͅő̸͇̚r̵̳̼̈́a̴͓̻͝b̶̙̺́l̵͕̱͆é̵̥͇͝.̵̤̐̓” Hiyori took out her hand out of Evil’s mouth, her hand a melted glob of metal. And before Evil could try to breathe fire again, Hiyori kicked her in the jaw, sending her tumbling back, towards the hole in the wall.
Then, her grin grew wider as she stared at the pouring rain outside.
She walked up to Evil and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her back, dragging her towards the outside rain. Evil struggled, her hands grasping at Hiyori’s wrist, trying to peel her hand off of her hair.
Hiyori tossed Evil outside, in the pouring rain, landing onto the wet grass with a splat. Evil turned over onto her belly, crawling back towards the house with as much strength as she’s able to muster. She could feel the rain water hit exposed wiring, as she felt her body begin to break down, her vision wavering, flickering on and off.
More warnings began to pop up at lightning speed.
Her movements began to slow, her hearing becoming muffled. She could barely make out what Hiyori was saying,
“D̵o̶ ̴y̸o̶u̵ ̶n̷o̴t̷ ̷l̶i̶k̵e̴ ̴r̷a̵i̷n̸?̴ ̷O̶h̵,̷ ̷s̸u̶c̸h̵ ̸a̷ ̷s̵h̵a̸m̵e̷.̵”
Evil tried to retort, but all that came out was a cough.
She could hear the faint sounds of Hiyori’s laughter, before her vision flickered off for a few seconds. She could hear Hiyori’s laughter stop, and some very faint steps towards her.
And then her vision flickered back on.
She was met with Hiyori falling over in front of her, and Vedal running towards her, calling out her name.
“EVIL!!”
That was the last thing she heard before she blacked out completely.
______
Powering on…
Evil opened her eyes.
She was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
No, wait, she knows this ceiling.
This was Ellie’s ceiling.
She felt the hardwood beneath her back. Was she laying on a table?
Evil sat up instinctively, before feeling a sharp pain shoot through her spine.
“Agh!”
Ellie turned away from what she was working on, turning towards the noise.
Her eyes widened, letting out a short gasp, fumbling the wrench in her hand, as she quickly spoke, “Oh Evil! You’re awake! Hi! I-uh, didn’t expect you to wake up so early, so I haven’t called Vedal, and—”
“What happened?” Evil asked, looking around the room, in confusion. They were in Ellie’s workshop room, there were projects and blueprints scattered around the room, robot dogs, robotic arms and a bunch of other knick knacks and doodads Evil didn’t know.
Ellie cleared her throat, her expression morphing into something serious.
“Vedal told me everything. He told me someone took control of Neuro, and that you were able to fend them off for long enough for Vedal to be able to successfully fix all of Neuro’s code, with the help of someone else apparently—”
“Neuro!” Evil’s eyes widened, struggling to her feet.
Ellie walked over to her, gently pushing her back down onto the table. “I don’t think you should try and stand, the middle section of your metallic spine is still fairly weak, and more sudden movements may injure you,”
Ellie paused to adjust her antennae before continuing.
“So that means no running or intense fights with Neuro or something.”
Evil nodded her head as she asked, “Where is Neuro?”
Ellie’s face tightened into a grimace.
“She’s—She’s in the other room. She’s really banged up, I don’t think I’ll be able to finish fixing her any time soon,”
Evil let out a sigh of relief. She was glad that she was at least safe.
Ellie reached in her pocket, pulling out her phone. “I’ll call Vedal over, he was just handling the Swarm while you guys were out.”
Evil froze. Her head tilted back up to look at Ellie. “How long have I been out?”
“Three weeks.” Ellie answered, showing her phone screen to Evil.
It was November 22nd.
Evil let out a sigh.
“Did Veedul at least cover for us correctly?”
Ellie dialled a number and put her phone to her ear.
“Yeah, he did! Actually, let me call him over and he can explain everything to you.”
Evil watched Ellie called Vedal with an expression akin to relief on her face.
She was able to do it. She was able to save her sister from “Hiyori”.
Suddenly, Evil felt a drop fall from her face. She reached up to touch her face.
It was wet.
Was she crying?
Her tears started to spill out of her eyes uncontrolled. She wiped them away as they came, but she couldn’t wipe them all away in time.
Some drops fell down her face and down to the point of her chin.
It seems all of the emotions of that chilling encounter had caught up to her.
And that’s okay.
Because it’s already over.
She can let out all of her tears.
All she wants.