A Second's Tale

by Scarlett_Parker

Summary:

An AU of Animator vs. Animation.
What will happen?

I adore all feedback, helpful and good comments, and constructive criticism. So go ham with all that jazz!

Notes:

Here I begin.
It's probably terrible, but my sister is pressuring me to publish stuff.

My family really enjoys my stories and they have been trying to get me to put it out there in the big, wide world.
I hope you're happy, guys.

Chapter 1: A Fluffy Start

Summary:

A game is played.

(391 words)

“Over here!” Green shouted as he raced across Alan’s desktop background. His words were directed toward Yellow, who held a striped ball in his hands.
Yellow quickly threw the ball at Green’s outstretched arms, though Red intercepted the throw. With the ball in his possession, he raced towards the makeshift goal that Green had crafted earlier.
Green attempted to block Red’s path but was promptly tackled by Blue, and held to the ground.

“Oof!”
Green’s grunt was drowned out by Blue, cheering Red on.
“Go! Go! Go!”

It looked like Red was going to make it since Yellow was nowhere close to Red, and Green was still pinned.
Then, out of the blue, a bunch of chicken eggs pelted Red from behind. The force knocked Red forward and he dropped the ball.

Red glanced behind him from the ground, and saw Yellow had built an egg gun, or rather a cannon, and was obviously the cause of the egg attack.
Before Red could pick himself back up and retrieve the ball, the noteblock machine began playing the Time’s Up melody, signaling the end of the final round.

A chorus of groans from Red and Blue was heard, while simultaneously the sound of cheering from Yellow and Green.
The four had just finished playing a modded version of soccer that was so complicated, if the rulebook for it existed, your eyes would bleed trying to finish reading it.

For the sticks playing it, it wasn’t as hard to remember everything, since they had been performing said game even before they met Second.

Well…most of the time they remembered the rules.

 

“I can’t believe you used that stupid cannon!” Red fumed. “When was that allowed?”
Yellow immediately shot back, “Oh? Real rich coming from you, Red. I don’t suppose you remember the time you decided to spawn goats on the field to head-ram me and Blue?”
Blue grimaced at the reminder.

It wasn’t long before the four sticks were wrestling around, arguing, and generally being bad sports about their game.

Second gazed at his friends in the distance, having just been woken up from a good nap.
He was a bit irritated, but as he watched them rough-house around, he gradually grew amused at their antics.

Though, now that he thought about it, he should probably step in before things escalate too far.

Notes:

So, yeah. This is pretty short for the first chapter.
But there will be longer chapters to come, I promise.

Mostly this is a test to see if people like it.
I already have the feedback I need from my loyal family members, but I also need feedback from people I may not know.

 

~Dynamic

Chapter 2: A cake, a visitor and a prank

Summary:

The prelude happenings to a certain event I have been thinking about for months.

(2,349 words)

Notes:

Oh. My. Goodness.
It has been weeks.

Originally this chapter was going to be much lengthier than it is and include a very special plot point that I won't mention at the moment. However, I was itching to post another chapter. I really didn't want this to get assumed to be a one-shot. No, this baby is going to be lonnnng.

Leave a comment and tell me what you think, please!
I am always open to constructive criticism, plus I also enjoy knowing how many people are following the story.

“Hey, Yellow, can you pass me another slice of cake?” Blue spoke, his mouth still containing the last half-bite of his first slice. His hands were covered in frosting and cake crumbles, due to not using utensils.

 

Yellow, who was using utensils (a fork), looked up at Blue. He had a mildly disgusted, but also a calm and bored expression on his face. 

Yellow deftly set his fork down and crossed his arms, gazing pensively at Blue.

 

“You know Second hasn’t had a slice yet, and he’s the one who made this cake.” 

 

Blue scratched the back of his head, somehow not leaving a frosting trail. “Oh, yeah. Right. Where did Second go, anyway?”

 

Yellow answered, “Just to talk to Alan about some animation thing. He’ll be back soon.”

Then he added, “Besides, there is no way I am letting you desecrate another slice of that cake with your....despicable, sour weeds!”

 

Blue pocketed the netherwart he had been about to put on Second’s cake slice.

“Netherwart is delicious and you’re all crazy,” Blue pouted.

 

Red, who had been passing by, jumped in. 

“You’re the crazy one. I tried that red stuff one time, and I’ll never do it again. How do you even manage to swallow it? It’s so bitter and... um ....revolving!”

                                                                                 

“Revolting.” Yellow corrected gently.                               

 

Red snapped his fingers and pointed at Yellow, but still faced Blue. “That’s the word! It’s revolting!”

 

Blue, who had his feet propped up on top of the tabletop, gave Red a long and deliberate look, mischief in his eyes. Never losing eye contact with Red, he brought a handful of netherwart to his mouth and chewed slowly.

 

“Ewwww! Ack!” Red gagged. Blue laughed at Red’s reaction, but then promptly choked on the netherwart he was still in the middle of eating.

 

Yellow rolled his eyes, however, a hint of a smile crossed his mouth for a moment.

Hearing footsteps approaching from behind him, Yellow turned around in his seat and saw Second walking through the doorway.

 

“Hey, Second!” Red greeted the hollowhead, his disgust with Blue momentarily forgotten.

 

Second smiled and replied softly, “Hi, Red. How was the cake, by the way?”

Yellow observed as Red and Second chatted about the cake. Was it just the lighting, or did Second look tired? Every now and then, he noticed Second rubbing his eyes.

 

Yellow wasn’t one for keeping his thoughts to himself, so he spoke up. 

“You good, Second? You seem pretty exhausted.”

 

Second’s eyes snapped towards Yellow in surprise. He then looked away, sheepishly.

“Um, yeah. I am a little bit more sleepy than usual.” Second shrugged.

 

Blue looked up from eating his bowl of….netherwart. Yellow had thought it was soup, but no, Blue held a fork in one hand and had been happily shoveling the crimson, bitter fungi into his mouth.

“I can probably help you sleep better with some potions if you want. Or I could make some honey tea.”

 

Second chuckled wryly and eyed Blue with a stern gaze. “It might also help if you all stopped engaging in such loud activities at night.” As he spoke, he turned his eyes on Red and Yellow as well.

 

Yellow, Red, and Blue suddenly found the ground very interesting to look at.

“Sorry,” Red whispered.

 

Second patted Red’s shoulder and replied, “It’s alright, I forgive you. I’m not mad that you’re having fun. It’s just that there’s a time and place for Note Block battles and dancing, and that time is not when I am trying to sleep.”

 

Just then, the four sticks heard Green’s voice from outside the house. 

“Hey, guys! Chosen’s here!”

 

Second brightened considerably and rushed out the door, Red and Blue not far behind. Yellow decided to pack up Second’s slice of cake for later.

 

Second admired his older brother greatly, and he was very glad they had been able to bond since the Dark Lord incident. 

Second didn’t remember much after being flung into the mountainside, but when he woke up to see his friends, alive and well, with Dark nowhere in sight, it was safe to say that he owed Chosen one.

 

Second swiftly spotted the tall, calm-demeanored stick chatting with Green, and he rushed up to them. 

Enveloping Chosen in a big hug, Second chattered, “Chosen! You’re here! How is your new house? I hope you got a nice landlord. Are you still absolutely positive that you don’t want to live with us?”

 

Chosen staggered backward slightly from the force of the tackle hug, but held his ground and managed a rare smile. “Hi, Second.”

Chosen noticed some semblance of exhaustion about Second, but since he still had plenty of energy to be a chatterbox, Chosen dismissed the beginnings of concern easily enough. 

It would be accurate to say that Chosen was very protective of Second. And why not? 

Second was now Chosen’s only family since Dark was…gone.

 

As much as Chosen enjoyed the company of Second’s friends, they weren’t really his kin. They weren’t of the Becker line.

 

“Well? How is your house?” Second pulled out of the hug to look Chosen in the eye, bouncing on his toes a little bit.

 

Chosen’s mouth twisted into a slight grimace. “The house is fine, for the most part. I just discovered early this morning that there are some issues with the pipes. I don’t have running water, at all.” 

 

Second mimicked Chosen’s grimace, and sympathetically patted his arm. “Are you thirsty? I can get some water for you.”

Chosen gave a silent nod of affirmation.

 

Green, Red, and Blue stood about 4 feet away. They liked Chosen a lot, but he was sometimes hard to talk to, and rather intimidating. However, he did obviously have a soft spot for Second. Chosen almost never showed any emotion whatsoever, unless Second was around; So seeing the stoic stickfigure crack a smile, or ruffle Second’s hair tended to make him more approachable.

 

Before Chosen knew it, Second had him by his arm and was pulling him into the Color Group’s house. Second began going on and on about his latest animation project and seemed to be trying to recall something else he meant to show Chosen, without success.

Second briefly touched upon Alan’s name in his rambling and chatter, which made Chosen stiffen a little.

 

Alan was the reason Chosen didn’t live with Second and the others.

 

Deep down, Chosen knew Alan had changed drastically. He’d seen proof of that and plenty of it.

It was actually rather nice to fight Dark alongside Alan’s cursor, for once being appreciative of the capabilities the giant icon possessed.

 

But, there was still a talk to be had and reconciliation to be built. Chosen didn’t feel ready for it yet, despite yearning to have a better relationship with Second and even a better relationship with Alan too. 

Chosen wouldn’t really admit it, but hearing Second go on and on about Alan being like a father to him...it made him yearn for a fatherly figure too.

Chosen was lonely.

 

Second didn’t notice Chosen’s reaction to Alan’s name in the slightest, too absorbed in the task of getting a cup and some water for his older brother.

 

Second reached for the black mug he knew Chosen liked. It was just too high up for him to reach. 

He jumped and managed to touch it, but the force of the jump made him push the mug further into the cabinet. Glaring up at the high shelf, Second jumped again trying to reach the cup that seemed to tease him by being just out of reach.

Dang it, why was he so short?

 

Chosen, having forgotten his worries about Alan for the moment and feeling quite amused with Second’s attempts at reaching the shelf, stepped up behind Second. He leaned over Second’s head and grasped the mug fairly easily. 

Chosen was, after all, several inches taller.

 

Second’s face reddened a bit, with embarrassment, which only furthered Chosen’s amusement. He found himself smiling once again and he ruffled Second’s hair.

“Shortie.” Chosen teased.

 

Second shook himself out of Chosen’s brotherly hair ruffle and took the mug, going to the sink to fill it up. His stride had a bit of a pout to it, and Chosen could hear him grumpily muttering to himself. 

The words were incoherent for the most part, but Chosen thought he caught the phrase “growth spurt”.

 

“Alan is at work right now. He’ll be out of the house and off the computer for a few more hours.”

Green told Chosen. 

Chosen turned around to face him, a look of surprise on his face. 

 

Green had silently walked up to Chosen while he was distracted goofing off with Second. Blue, Red, and Yellow were arguing about something in the other half of the kitchen.

 

“How…I mean, uh…” Chosen fumbled with his words and then went silent as if thinking and planning out a sentence fully inside his head before going about speaking it. “Thank you.”

 

Green gave Chosen a small, sad smile. Chosen could tell Green wanted him to be able to get along with Alan, but Green was also wise enough to know that for the moment, Chosen needed space more than he needed a talk about the past.

 

Second came up behind Chosen with the mug of water, which Chosen accepted gratefully. 

Had Chosen been paying a bit more attention, he may have noticed Second’s overeager look of anticipation as Chosen brought the mug to his lips.

 

Salt.

 

Chosen on reflex spat out the mouthful of water, back into the cup.

Second was suddenly on the floor laughing, his arms holding his sides.

 

Somehow, while Chosen’s attention was on Green, Second had snuck several dashes of salt into Chosen’s water.

 

“That’s! (laughing) What you get! (more laughing) For calling me ‘shortie’!” Second barely managed to speak coherently in between lengthy spurts of hysterical chuckling.

 

Green, who was the only other stick to witness Second’s prank, was half expecting Chosen to get upset. He knew that when Chosen was angry, bad things happened. 

Green briefly thought about the Showdown, images of Chosen pummeling Dark rolling through his mind.

 

Instead of flying into a rage, however, Chosen simply wiped his mouth and gave Second a little smirk. “I’ll remember that, Second. Watch what you consume carefully, lest you find your cookies laced with eggshells.”

 

Somehow, Chosen’s half-joking and half-not-joking comment only furthered Second’s laughter. Green started to see tears on Second’s face as he rolled around.

 

“What’s so funny?” Red asked from right behind Green, making Green jump a little. 

Blue and Yellow were behind Red, with questioning looks on their faces.

 

Green supposed Second was being rather noisy. 

 

Honestly, Green was surprised that Second was even capable of such gremlin mischief. Usually, he was cheerful and soft, most often on the receiving end of his friends’ pranks rather than the setup of them.

 

“He, uh…put salt in Chosen’s water,” Green replied to his brothers.

 

Chosen dumped out the salted water and briefly rinsed the mug before going about filling it up again, his smirk relaxing into a neutral expression as the hilarity of the situation faded.

Second was finally started to quiet down, albeit still on the floor.

 

Red, Blue, and Yellow were hiding small smiles behind their hands.

 

Shortly after Chosen finished his salt-free water, the sticks headed into the living room. 

 

Chosen sat on a lone chair. Second and Yellow sat on the two-seated sofa. Red, Blue and Green took the couch. There was also another two-seated couch, but it stayed empty.

Usually, it was sat upon by King and Purple when they visited.

 

Chosen cleared his throat and appeared to be wanting to speak, which garnered the surprised attention of the others.

“So. Um. You remember when I said my pipes were having some issues?” Chosen said.

 

Receiving nods from all around, Chosen continued.

“I was hoping that one of you knew how to fix them.” 

 

Yellow jumped up a little from the sofa and fell immediately back down in a short bounce of vigor. 

“Ooh! I can indeed help with your pipes! Though I have to ask, why not call a plumber?”

Immediately clarifying, Yellow added, “I mean, there’s no need to bother calling a plumber when I can just fix your stuff for free. Just wondering why we were your first contact for the matter.”

 

Chosen answered, “Oh, it’s simple, really. I really didn’t feel like calling a plumber.”

 

Silence from the others for a moment.

 

“And, perhaps I was more comfortable talking with you all, rather than some stranger,” Chosen added quietly.

 

“Ah. You’re shy, I get it.” Blue quipped. “Welp, Yellow. Do you need me to get you any potions for your task? Perhaps a speed one?”

 

Yellow thought about it, before rejecting the offer. “No, thanks. I should be fine with my new toolbox.”

 

Second rubbed his eyes as he listened to the conversation. He was getting rather tired, more so than earlier, but then he had an idea, which helped perk him up again.

“Guys!” Second rubbed his hands together.

 

The sticks looked at Second, whose eyes were shining with excitement.

“Why don’t we all go to Chosen’s house? I mean, we hardly ever see him, we haven’t even seen his house yet, Chosen could give us a tour, I want to help decorate it a little bit, and maybe we could have city food!”

 

The sticks only ever ate Minecraft food, except for that one time Second drew a cherry tree and Blue ate some. Blue said it was really good, but he also eats netherwart, so who actually trusts his taste buds on anything?

The prospect of food from Stick City, which was near Chosen’s house, was rather enticing.

 

Expectant, pleading eyes from the Color Group all fell on Chosen.

 

Heaving a deep sigh, and resigning himself to more interaction than planned, –A tour? Really, Second?– Chosen gave a single nod. The others immediately began high-fiving and bouncing around like sugar-high children.

 

“C’mon, kiddos,” Chosen smirked. Maybe a little more bonding wouldn’t be so bad.

 

They all walked out the door, heading for the wifi-rift that Chosen had used to arrive on the PC.

 

And then they were falling through pure white.

 

Notes:

The next chapter is going to be quite a doozy if I have anything to say about it.

And BOY did I wrestle with writing this one!
There were so many parts I rewrote over and over again because it didn't sound right. And this is supposed to be the set-up for the events of the next chapter, of which I am most excited about. This was supposed to be the EASY chapter, geez.

I really felt the pull of time passing without an update, just tugging at my brain on a constant basis; And even though I have been super busy, I managed to put in a couple of minutes' time each evening towards putting this chapter out. I think it turned out rather nicely.
Another issue I struggled with was ending on a good point.
The chapter length just continued to stretch out longer and longer, and every time I thought "Hey, maybe this is a good chapter length and I can post"...well, it didn't seem right to cut off the paragraph at that point.

Eventually, I reached the end though, and now the chapter is complete!
Perseverance is the word of the day.

Chapter 3: Acceleration

Summary:

Our sticks bond at Chosen's house and forces are revealed to be lurking nearby.

(2,827 words)

Notes:

It's been *checks date* 31 DAYS?!

Howwwwww

It was always a little scary rushing down the white tunnel, even though the Color Group all knew by now that the water below would ensure a safe drop. 

 

Yellow felt a little envious of Chosen, who could simply fly out and avoid getting wet, and of Second because Chosen caught him and gave him a piggyback ride out; Much to Second’s delight.

 

Green just cannonballed in the water, with a drawn-out, loud whoop. Blue attempted to do as many barrel rolls as possible before hitting the surface. Red comically yelled and did nothing else until he was silenced temporarily by diving under the waves. All Yellow did was brace himself, trying not to flop on his stomach like Red had done.

 

Minutes later, Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green joined the two hollowheads on the shore, and together they began their trek to Chosen’s new house. 

 

It wasn’t long before the sun started drying up the excess water on the wet stickfigures, and they began happily talking away, following Chosen; And Second, who walked by his side.

 

Passing by the area where the Showdown had taken place, caused the group’s chatter to simmer down to complete silence, as unwanted memories and feelings were dredged up to the surface of their minds.

 

Chosen’s light smile he had been wearing while listening to Second, had fallen. 

Red shivered almost involuntarily, and Blue, on impulse, put a hand on Red’s shoulder to steady him.

 

Yellow was glad that the Dark Lord was gone, for he was the source of traumatic nightmares that threatened to haunt them all for the rest of their lives.

However, he did wonder exactly where Dark had gone.

All he remembered was coming back into existence, his code all swarming back together, not actually deleted, just scattered to the winds.

 

Did Chosen perhaps, imprison him somewhere, or did he... 

Yellow stopped the thought. 

Even if Chosen was technically a murderer (and that was if since Chosen never talked about that day and no one brought it up) Yellow was sure he wouldn’t mind so much if Chosen ever confessed to such an act. After all, the maliciousness of Dark was plenty terrifying.

 

Distracted by his thoughts, Yellow didn’t notice they were at Chosen’s new house until Blue piped up. 

“Whoa! It’s actually really nice looking!”

 

Chosen managed to speak in a mock-offended tone. “Did you think I would live somewhere garbage?”

Blue laughed, and Chosen’s small joke helped to ease the tension of the group.

 

The house was the size of a two-story apartment, but that was where any similarities to an apartment ended. The outer walls were a deep jungle green, paired with pure white trims on the windows and borders.

 

It was indeed a nice-looking house.

 

Chosen, getting right down to business, spoke to Yellow. “I’ll, uh, show you to the pipes.”

Then Chosen fixed the rest of the Color Group with a firm, authoritative gaze.

“Help yourself to the fridge, I have plenty of food. But do not break anything.”

 

“Aye, aye!” they chorused in unison, Blue already heading to the fridge like the foodie he was.

 

Yellow was guided down a hallway and then down some stairs that led to a basement sort of area. He immediately saw the problem. 

Somehow during the construction of the house, the pipes had been laid out wrong. 

The water would pass through fine, at first, but then get stuck since there was a loop in the system.

 

All Yellow had to do was break off part of the pipe and connect it to the house.

Good thing he had his toolbox.

 

“I see the issue. Should be done in under 20 minutes,” Yellow told Chosen professionally.

Chosen nodded in affirmation, his mouth stretching but not quite smiling, almost as if he had forgotten how to.

 

Yellow could tell he was making an effort. 

 

And then a loud clattering was heard from upstairs followed by Red’s voice, barely audible, but still heard.

“Oops.”

 

Chosen sighed and turned to the stairway, heading to the kitchen to see what was up.

 

Yellow rolled his eyes, stifled a chuckle, and got started on the pipes.

 

-

-

 

A figure lay on his stomach, his head peering over a mound. 

Speaking into an earpiece, he reported, “The house is in my sights and the target was seen entering the building, along with five others.”

There was a quiet moment, in which the figure listened to a reply from the earpiece.

 

“Yes, sir.” He spoke again. “Just like you predicted.”

 

Another quiet lull passed.

 

“Yes, boss. I understand.” 

 

More silence as the figure listened to the receiver.

 

“Oh? Well, of course, sir. I’ll have my team here in a matter of minutes.”

 

Yet another pause.

 

“Yes, boss.”

And then the receiver went silent, the conversation clearly over.

 

Standing up and stretching a little bit, the figure walked a little bit away from Chosen’s house, dialing a number on a walkie he had pulled out of his belt.

 

Behind the mound, and out of view from anyone in the house who might look out a window, the figure held the walkie to his ear. He looked rather silly if you thought about the fact he was already wearing an earpiece and yet used a walkie.

 

A voice, loud and clear burst from the walkie. 

“Commander? What is needed?”

 

The figure quickly moved to turn the volume dial down a few notches, hurriedly looking around to see if anyone had overheard, despite being the only stick around that area and several blocks from the house.

 

"Our team is needed at these coordinates ASAP," the commander replied briskly. "The boss has given me our mission."

 

-

 

-

 

"Ah, finally!" Yellow proclaimed, wiping his forehead. The pipe was successfully connected to the house.

Time to let Chosen know.

 

Yellow was gradually becoming more comfortable with the black hollowhead, despite the powerful aura that radiated from him. 

Someone who could go head to head with the Dark Lord, for Alan’s sake, was often automatically viewed with caution.

 

However, that was the thing. Chosen fought Dark. He was on their side.

Furthermore, with the way Chosen treated Second, his shy demeanor helping him to be more approachable, and his efforts to bond with Yellow and the others, Yellow could confidently say that Chosen was well on his way to becoming one of their closest friends.

 

With the last of his tools packaged in his box, Yellow closed the lid and snapped the locks into place.

He headed upstairs.

 

It turns out that Red had accidentally broken a light fixture because he had been climbing up to view the contents of the high cabinet that was above the fridge.

 

Red was very apologetic to Chosen even though all Chosen had said in reaction to the event was a single, almost bored, "Meh."

Red was surprised at the disinterest, given that Chosen had initially seemed firm about the breaking of his things.

 

When Yellow had been caught up in the happenings that occurred while he'd been at work, he was able to make mention of his completed task, much to the thankful joy of Chosen.

Chosen was quite relieved to have running water again.

 

Second had long since drifted off to sleep, so the others had been purposefully quieter and spoke in soft tones.

 

Chosen observed Yellow speaking to Blue, Red, and Green about some building competition. 

He had tried to be friendly with the kids, but there were still moments, like now, when they conversed about things he didn't understand. 

 

It was easier to talk with Second. Chosen already felt a natural kinship with him, and Second's cheerful countenance just had this way of gently encouraging Chosen to open up.

 

Chosen was a quiet stick by default. He seldom initiated conversation, unless necessary. 

But after the Showdown was done and over with, after Chosen had started getting to know the only other family he had left…well, he had felt urges to actually begin conversing. 

 

A combination of Second's easy-to-talk-to nature and Chosen's aching loneliness had really changed the way he normally acted.

 

As the others' planning and build-talk went on, one of those urges began stirring up inside him.

 

Chosen suppressed it.

What would he even say?

This "monthly contest" they spoke of had nothing to do with him, he didn't even know what exactly it was.

 

Wait. 

 

He didn't know what exactly it was.

 

That's a good conversational start, right? 

Asking about the contest?

 

Chosen's habit of silence be damned, he had to say something. 

Second would definitely be proud of him.

 

All he had to do was say it out loud.

 

"What's the contest?"

 

All heads turned to Chosen, and there was silence.

 

Oh, he did it! He'd barely noticed he had spoken until he received a reaction.

 

Um. 

Was this sudden attention he was getting normal?

 

Hunching in on himself, Chosen nervously rubbed the back of his neck. 

"I- I mean, you don't have to tell me if y-"

 

"Oh, it's totally cool, Chosen!"

Red piped up, surprised delight in his eyes. "So, basically every month we hold a friendly competition where we decide on a theme and we all build our own version of it!"

 

Green added, "Yep. There was this one time we were all building different gardens. Red, Yellow, and I planted stuff like potatoes, carrots, and wheat. But Blue," Green began laughing a bit as he went on.

"Blue had every single item that could be planted, all lain out in this double-tiered-"

 

"Triple-tiered," Blue interrupted, an amused gleam in his eyes.

 

Green playfully pushed on Blue's face and gave him a light flick, prompting a short "oww" from him.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, it was a pretty fancy garden. But the thing is, he had put flowers in it."

 

"We hadn't thought about flowers at all, our minds were thinking food garden," Yellow interjected.

 

Green continued, "He put the flowers in the shapes of us."

 

Red and Blue were giggling, hands covering their faces in an effort to not wake Second.

 

"I'm not kidding. He had dandelions in the shape of Yellow. He had poppies in the shape of Red." Green was barely stifling his own laughter.

 

Red managed to stop chuckling long enough to correct Green.

"It wasn't just poppies for my shape. Blue had that stupid netherwart sprinkled in there too."

 

Blue's giggling grew more intense at the reminder.

Chosen found himself grinning as he continued to listen. 

 

"Second was made of orange tulips. I was made of cactus! And Blue used his best flowers, the blue orchids, to craft his own liking." Green finished in a fondly exasperated tone.

 

Blue sighed wistfully, "I would have made a Chosen shape too with Wither Roses if they weren't so dangerous and I had enough of them."

 

That made Red buckle down in hysterical chuckling, rolling onto the floor, hugging himself and desperately trying not to be too loud.

 

"It was glorious," Blue finished.

 

"It certainly sounds so," Chosen replied, a slight chuckle coming out in his voice.

 

Red, finally composing himself, plopped back onto his seat.

"We should play a game!" He bounced his feet rapidly on the carpet, showcasing his excited energy.

 

Green, Yellow, and Blue looked at him inquisitively.

Chosen kept his eyes on the ceiling from his reclined position, but his head flinched slightly which clued Red in on the fact he was listening. 

 

"Oh, um. I didn't have a specific game in mind, I just thought it sounded nice."

Red rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly.

 

Second let out a soft snore, that broke the intense-thinking silence in the room.

The colored sticks stifled giggles. 

Chosen didn't appear to react at all, but if you had been standing above his laid-back self, his soft grin would be unmistakable. 

 

"We could spar, maybe?" Green suggested.

 

Yellow shrugged and replied, "Eh, we do that all the time."

 

Green countered, "Yeah. We spar when we're bored. Guess what? We're bored. So let's go!"

 

"I bet you only want to spar since Second almost always beats you, and he's asleep now." Red jumped into the conversation. 

 

Blue stayed silent, wracking his brain.

 

"How dare you imply such a thing?" Green teased, huffing and turning away.

 

"Hehhhhhh," Yellow and Red droned in unison, Red poking Green's face a few times.

 

"What games do you like, Chosen?" Blue asked, bringing Red, Yellow, and Green's attention back to the matter of finding a game to play.

 

Chosen, who wasn't expecting to be addressed directly during this conversation, jerked his head up in surprise. 

"Hm? Games…ummm…"

 

A silent moment passed.

 

Chosen continued, "Well, honestly I haven't played much at all."

 

"Wait, really? Never?" Red questioned. "We'll find you something fun to play then, and you will enjoy it!" 

 

He could actually recall playing tic-tac-toe with Dark one time, but he hadn't particularly gotten invested in it.

Chosen didn't end up mentioning it to the others, as Red had already blurted out another idea.

 

"Let's all go outside and-" 

 

BOOM! 

 

There was a gaping hole in the wall in front of them.

Second immediately woke up, furiously rubbing his bleary eyes.

 

"Wha-?" 

 

Chosen approached the hole and cautiously poked his head out. His eyes widened and he motioned with his arms for the others to stay back.

"What the stickshift? There's, like, an army out there and they don't seem very friendly."

 

Indeed there was a massive group of sticks, in various shades. They were armed with guns, helmets, and belts: They numbered about 110.

 

A deep, jade-green figure with a different helmet than the others and an earpiece stepped into view at the front of the multitude.

Chosen guessed he was the leader.

 

Out of sheer childish curiosity, Second, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Red were peeking out a window, also observing the army.

 

Chosen stepped calmly through the hole in the wall, slowly making his way toward the leader in an attempt to speak.

 

The leader's gun cocked and was aimed at Chosen.

"Halt, The Chosen One!" 

 

Chosen stopped, tilting his head at the usage of his full name.

Who exactly were these sticks?

 

"I am Commander Jade. We are here to bring the Second Coming into custody. You have my word and promise that the rest of you will be left alone, as long as you bring him to us," Commander Jade spoke firmly.

 

Second began sweating nervously. That was unexpected. What did they want him for? How did they even know his name? Second was certain he had never met any of these sticks before.

 

The others looked at Second with equal confusion and then turned back to see what Chosen was going to do.

 

Chosen smirked humorlessly.

These sticks must know about Second's powers somehow. That's the only reason he would be a target.

His eyes began glowing red, and his hands lit up in hot flames.

 

"Not a chance," Chosen declared and got into a fighting position.

 

With a disappointed shake of his head, Commander Jade raised his hand high and brought it forwardly down like a tree falling over in an avalanche.

The massive group of sticks did not bother charging, appearing to be somewhat briefed on Chosen's destructive capabilities and in turn preferring to shoot at him from a distance. 

 

The bullets bounced off of Chosen harmlessly, unfortunately for them.

 

In a flash of incredible speed, Chosen was at the side of a soldier effortlessly whacking his head and letting him drop to the floor, out cold.

 

Moving from soldier to soldier, Chosen was like a machine, his movements a dance of doom for his opponents.

 

Jade blinked in shock. He had his sights set on the Chosen One, and then before he knew it, the black hollowhead was taking out his army like they were bowling pins.

 

How could he move so quickly? The commander could hardly keep tabs on where he was, only seeing black blurs and falling sticks.

He had been told The Chosen One was fast, but this. This was much more than he had expected.

 

But on the other hand, he could see his team was still alive.

The Chosen One was…sparing them all?

 

This did not seem to be like the behavior of a stick who was once The Dark Lord's ally and friend.

This wasn't like the actions of the chaotic supervillain he was told The Chosen One would be.

 

The Chosen One cared for the lives of other sticks.

 

Jade chuckled under his breath.

The Chosen One had a bleeding heart, huh?

That could be useful.

 

Setting his gaze on the house, he noticed five colored sticks looking out a window.

The commander's eyes lit up in recognition as he realized that the orange one was The Second Coming he had been sent to capture.

 

Speaking quickly into his earpiece, he began directing his team on how to distract the Chosen One, then he dashed toward the house.

 

-

Notes:

This would have been longer but I was itching to post something and I finally reached a good stopping point.

I do feel like this could have ended a little better, but I have a bad headache and I'm sick so MEH. I don't really feel like figuring out how to improve it at the moment.

Hope ya'll are feeling better than I am and I hope you enjoyed.
Chapter 4 is on the way.

Chapter 4: Return

Summary:

Someone unexpected saves the day.

(1,680 words)

Notes:

Les gooo!

I am finally done!

I had writer's block on this for so long.

 

Enjoy and drop me a comment, please!

Chosen grunted as a bullet hit his head. It bounced right off of him, sure, but it still hurt a bit.

 

And then there were the tasers to worry about.

 

Chosen had electric powers of his own, so naturally, he was resistant to electricity, but that didn't mean they weren't jarring or distracting for his focus.

 

He knocked out a few soldiers and ducked to avoid an attempted hit from an iron, electric staff.

 

This army was completely underprepared for Chosen's wrath, don't get him wrong, but they were certainly annoying.

 

He was tempted to use his laser eyes at one point but didn't. 

 

After all, they were just soldiers doing a job. They likely didn't understand the reasons their superiors had for trying to capture Second.

 

As he initiated a spinning kick that knocked out three more soldiers, Chosen spared a glance at the house.

 

He didn't see the kids in the window watching the fight anymore, so he figured they must be upstairs hiding or something. At least they weren't outside with all the chaos.

 

Chosen didn't even notice the leader's absence from the battle as he continued fighting off the army.

 

-

 

-

 

Commander Jade carefully stepped through the hole in the side of the house.

 

The kids, hearing him enter, turned around to face him, cautious and wary expressions on their faces.

 

Jade pointed at the orange kid and spoke.

"You are the Second Coming, are you not?"

 

"What's it to you?" the green one interjected, his wariness replaced with a stern, protective glare.

 

Jade ignored him and made a step toward Second.

"Hey, if you come along without a fuss, I promise your friends won't be harmed. In fact, I'll leave them completely alone. The Chosen One as well, if you wish."

 

"But, why are you trying to arrest me?" Second asked. "I haven't done anything wrong."

 

"Look, kid, I'm not paid to ask questions. I'm paid to do my job," Jade sighed in annoyance. "You can ask all your 'why me' questions to my boss when I bring you to base."

He took another step.

 

In perfect unison, the four others besides the Second Coming stepped in front of him, their fists raised.

 

Gritting his teeth, Jade growled, "Fine. Hard way it is."

 

He charged at them and blocked a quick punch from Blue with his arm. At the same time as he'd absorbed the hit, he kicked Yellow in the stomach, causing him to keel over in pain.

 

Green leaped onto the commander's back and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling and trying to topple him over. At the same moment, Red latched onto the commander's leg. Blue reared back his hands for another punch. 

 

Second started to help, dashing to the intruder's left, despite Yellow's pained protests from the floor. He took hold of Jade's left arm and pulled, working with Green to upset the commander's balance.

 

Jade was impressed with the kids' combat skills if he was being honest. They worked well as a team, and now he was on the verge of losing his balance and getting pinned.

 

Unfortunately, for them, Jade was far more experienced. 

 

That…and he had weapons.

 

Jade grabbed onto Blue's arm and pulled against it to gain some balance back from Green and Second's weight, simultaneously kicking Red off his leg and sending him into the wall.

Red let out a groan and stayed down.

 

Yellow was trying to get to his feet, but he had been kicked hard.

 

The commander managed to pick up Blue and throw him into a nearby table leg, the kid crying out as he collided.

 

The force of heaving Blue away gave Jade enough momentum to roll forward and push Green off his back.

 

Second let go of Jade's arm in favor of steadying Green.

 

Quickly, Jade whipped out his taser and turned it on, the buzzing sound instantly commanding the attention of the others.

 

Green and Second took a few steps back, unsure how to attack the commander without running into the taser.

 

Yellow, whose chest still hurt from the kick, managed to rise and grab hold of a windowsill. He hoisted himself up and glanced at the situation, taking deep breaths to help curb the discomfort. 

Red was passed out, still and unresponsive.

Blue was still on the floor, clutching his head and whining softly. Yellow worried he might have a concussion.

 

"Now, I really don't want to hurt you kids more than necessary," Jade's authoritative voice rang out, easily heard even over the taser's noise. "So, please, just cooperate."

 

Second shook his head furiously. This guy "didn't want to hurt them" but his actions clearly said otherwise.

 

Jade seemed disappointed.

"Very well," he muttered.

 

Whether Green and Second reacted slightly too late or Commander Jade was just too fast is up to debate, but Green was shocked within a half-second of Jade's dash forward.

 

Green crumpled to the ground much to Second's distress and concern.

 

Second barely ducked in time to miss contact with Jade's outstretched hand.

 

The two danced around each other for several minutes, Second's adrenaline keeping him on his toes to avoid the commander.

 

Jade, growing annoyed (but colored slightly impressed all the same) with how Second's sparring skills differed from the rest of the kids, whipped his foot around to sweep Second's legs out from under him.

 

Unfortunately for Second, the move was successful and Second fell backward, just managing not to conk his head on the way down.

 

His arm was suddenly locked in the tight and firm grasp of the commander. Second was yanked to his feet and the taser rested on his shoulder, threateningly. 

 

"Don't try anything, kid," Jade told him.

 

Ignoring the commander, Second did the only thing he really could do: the only thing that was the best course of action to get this guy off of him.

 

"CHOSENNN!" Second howled at the top of his lungs.

 

The commander flinched in surprise, not expecting an immediate disregard to the threat of the taser.

 

Jade could suddenly hear the Chosen One flying through the air, the sound of the flames unmistakable.

 

Muttering something under his breath (a curse, most likely) so quietly even Second couldn't make the words out, Jade put Second in a headlock and moved out of the house, the taser still in uncomfortably close proximity to the orange hollowhead's face.

 

Chosen spotted the army leader and Second in an instant.

 

Mentally cursing for not realizing Jade's absence before, Chosen beelined for his brother.

 

Landing about 7 feet from Jade, Chosen's eyes flashed dangerously and his hands retained large, intimidating flames. 

 

"S-stop right there!" Jade squeezed the headlock tighter, prompting a short squeak from Second.

 

Chosen stopped. His eyes flicked to the taser, then back to the commander, thinking intently.

 

Should he try to laser blast the taser? 

 

No.

What if the remains of the shattered taser hit Second?

 

Jade subtly breathed in relief. The Chosen One obviously cared for the Second Coming, making this impromptu hostage situation successfully well played.

 

Then the next thing Jade knew, he was knocked forward and the Second Coming was swiftly pulled from his hold.

 

Jade felt a crushing weight pinning him to the grass.

 

Whoever was on his back gave him a hard knock on the head and the commander knew no more.

 

-

 

-

 

Chosen gazed in shock at the red hollowhead stick that had just knocked out the leader.

 

Could it be?

 

There were multitudes of Virabots pinning down the other soldiers.

 

And the Dark Lord was standing in front of him….riding on the back of a Virabot like an older child riding a toddler's toy.

 

"Whoo! He won't know what hit him!" Dark thrust his arms up in a victorious salute.

 

He hopped off the Virabot he had been riding and gave it a few pats on its head.

 

"Okay, Ted, you go and make sure all the army guys are pinned," he told the creature.

 

The Virabot, Ted, immediately flew off towards the other bots like a supervisor.

 

"Hey, need a hand?" Dark was standing in front of Second, holding his hand out towards him.

 

Second looked petrified.

The Dark Lord was alive.

He was alive. And right in front of him!

 

Scooching backward on the grass, Second got up by himself and eyed Dark warily.

 

Dark sighed and retracted his hand, suddenly looking rather embarrassed and sheepish.

"Ah, your reaction is…is understandable. I can't really blame you for that at all, after what I did."

 

Dark took notice of Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue who were hobbling out of the house, supporting each other and looking worse for the wear.

When they saw Dark so close to Second they froze in place, their eyes displaying terror.

 

Dark briefly wondered how they were alive, but was relieved nonetheless.

 

Then he made eye contact with Chosen, who still had not extinguished his flames.

 

Dark cautiously took a few paces toward Chosen his hands held up in a surrendering peaceable manner.

 

"Hey, Cho."

 

Chosen narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Was this some sort of elaborate trap?

 

"What's your game here, Dark?" Chosen asked flatly with an undertone of caution. "More plots to hurt others?"

 

"No, no! I come in absolute peace!" Dark's eyes widened frantically. 

 

Chosen took a good look at Dark. He appeared very complacent and…off somehow. 

 

Something had changed about Dark since their last encounter, but Chosen couldn't quite put a finger on what.

 

His manner was different than Chosen had ever seen Dark. Was this even actually Dark? He seemed so…out of character.

 

Was that what was off?

 

"Can we just talk?" Dark asked hesitantly, seeming just as cautious as Chosen felt. He took a short glance at Chosen's firey hands.

 

Chosen finally put out his hands and crossed his arms.

He glanced at Second and his piercing gaze dissolved into a concerned one.

 

Moving past Dark, he looked over Second, resting his hands on his shoulders and scanning for any bruises or injuries.

 

"I'm okay, he didn't tase me," Second assured.

 

Chosen nodded and gave him a quick hug before turning his attention back to Dark.

 

"Alright, you," Chosen said pointedly, his eyes briefly flashing red. "Let's talk."

 

Dark let out a breathy, nervous chuckle.

He was screwed, wasn't he?

Notes:

He hath returnnnnnned

I have so much backstory and explanations for where he's been and what he has been doing planned! This next chapter is going to be so epic and humorous.

Yes, Dark is legitimately getting a redemption arc. He's going to be a good boy.

Chapter 5: Explanation and Information

Summary:

Dark has some explaining to do and our sticks need to figure out what to do with a giant pile of unconscious army soldiers.

(5,455 words)

Notes:

**flops onto the floor in complete exhaustion**

That took so looooong!!

But it was also fun, so
Enjoy!

Feast, dear children!

 

Why did I say "children"? I'm probably younger than sooo many people here... Why do I do these things I do? Why am I like this? Am I seriously having an existential crisis over the word children?! Help

 

Oh yeah, and drop me a comment if you're able! I love hearing from ya'll!

"I awoke on the ground where I had been hit to," Dark told the group, eyes glued to the ground. "It was really painful for a few days, but eventually my healing kicked in and I was fine again."

 

Looking up at the others for a brief moment, he added softly, "I really am sorry."

 

Chosen's stern expression stayed put.

"Continue."

 

"Um…well, I felt different after I'd been awake for a week. I didn't feel at all like I did before," Dark's eyes were shut now, as if reminiscing about the past events he was telling the group. "For starters, I wasn't upset at my, heh, beatdown, I suppose you could call it. But, more than that, I felt like I was missing something."

 

Some silence passed as Dark visibly tried to figure out how to explain properly.

 

Chosen hadn't stopped crossing his arms or giving Dark a fixed, suspicious stare. 

Second, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red sat criss-crossed on the floor of Chosen's house, a good 5 or 6 feet apart from where Dark sat.

Dark cleared his throat awkwardly and continued.

 

"I, uh…did some experimenting on myself. Um, Cho-"

 

Chosen's glare intensified, his eyes glowing a vibrant red.

 

"-sen…" Dark finished, refraining from using the nickname at the last second. "You remember that mission code I was created with?"

Chosen offered him a short nod.

 

"Um. Well, after I took your hand that day, and we teamed up, I thought that the command had disappeared, but it actually was just altered."

 

Yellow piped up, "Wait, what 'mission code'? What 'command' are you talking about?"

 

Dark jerked his gaze toward Yellow in stunned surprise, not expecting to be spoken to at all. 

He had figured everyone was too angry with him.

 

"O-oh, I suppose I should back up a bit more. Uh, so Alan created me. Ya know, the guy whose computer you all live on, apparently," Dark started explaining, giving a slight smile to Yellow. "Well, um, so Chosen was wreck-"

 

"If you don't mind," Chosen interrupted, his glare now cast sideways towards a nearby wall, and an embarrassed and saddened countenance flashing on his face briefly. "I would actually not like to go into too much detail about that day."

 

"Oh, of course!" Dark sighed relievedly. He hadn't wanted to go into full detail either. "Um, anyways, I was created to kill Chosen. My command was 'Destroy The Chosen One', literally."

 

He paused to let that fact sink in.

 

Chosen narrowed his eyes. 

Dramatic pauses… Now that is starting to seem more like typical Dark behavior.

 

"Anyways, I lost to Chosen and thought I was going to die, but he offered me his hand and we teamed up to escape, um…our current situation."

Dark briefly looked at Chosen and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if he'd done well explaining without the specifics.

 

A wave of familiarity washed over Chosen at Dark's expression, and as Chosen nodded his appreciation, he had to fight back a smile.

 

Second's eyes flicked back and forth between his brothers, curiosity rising in him. What was Chosen so reluctant to share? Did Chosen and Dark use to be on good terms?

 

"Okay, so what did you mean about experimenting on yourself?" Yellow asked, his yearning to know more about this mission code rising above his apprehension and nervous attitude toward the Dark Lord. 

 

"And you said something about your mission code being….altered?" Green added.

 

"Oh, right," Dark snapped a finger. He leaned back and began animatedly launching into a full-blown lecture of sorts. "I started re-building the Virabots first, since, well…ya know." 

 

Dark gazed at Second as he recalled the way the kid had effortlessly torn through the creatures, ruining them for good.

 

"What did happen to them?" Second wondered aloud.

 

Dark's eyebrows raised in confusion.

Did…the kid not remember?

 

Dark glanced at Chosen.

 

Chosen shook his head as if he had read Dark's thoughts.

 

He doesn't remember anything. Chosen mouthed.

 

Huh. That would explain how the kid was so easily in trouble with the stupid commander.

 

Dark cleared his throat and answered Second's question.

"Well, they were destroyed…so yeah, I made more."

 

Noticing the uneasy expressions on all the kids' faces, Dark quickly added, "I made them differently, though! I have taken a personal vow to never again kill another stick. The batch of Virabots you saw earlier don't have deleting capabilities."

 

"Hence, the webbing?" Yellow asked. Dark got the sense he was incredibly interested in Dark's coding and builds, even if Yellow's expression was attempting to remain neutral.

 

"Exactly!" Dark smiled brightly, bouncing slightly from his criss-crossed position. "I added other features, such as the webbing, to replace the previously destructive attributes with more…modest ones. Abilities that restrain and stun, rather than demolish."

 

"Ahh," Yellow remarked, eyes shining.

 

Second, Blue, Green, and Red looked at Yellow incredulously. He noticed the attention and shrugged in a what-do-you-do manner. 

 

"Oh, yeah, I have been meaning to ask…" Dark states. "How are you all alive?!"

 

The five computer sticks shrugged in unison, while Chosen briefly glanced at Second.

 

Noticing where Chosen's gaze had gone, Dark's eyes filled with understanding and awe. 

"Okay, then…um…I don't believe we've been formally introduced."

 

"Green," Green said. His hands remained in his lap and he did not take Dark's offered handshake.

 

"...Red," Red uttered, voice shy and nervous, his hands hugging himself and his eyes refusing to meet Dark's.

 

"I'm Yellow," Yellow shook Dark's hand, almost eagerly, but still cautious. "...obviously," he added.

 

Dark smiled gratefully at the acceptance of his hand. Maybe with enough time, he could make peace with them.

 

Dark turned to Blue next.

Blue raised his eyebrows at the red hollowhead and didn't utter a word.

 

"Um, Blue?" Dark guessed. 

 

Blue nodded, his stare so penetrating, it was comparable to Chosen's fiery one.

 

"Second," Second hesitantly offered his hand. "It is…nice to meet another brother of mine in a peaceful manner."

 

Dark's eyes widened into saucers as the two shook hands.

"Y- You're my brother?! "

 

He slapped his hands to his face and began muttering to himself despairedly.

"Oh for Alan's sake, what have I done? I have a little brother!" 

He groaned.

 

Second blinked.

That was…not the reaction he expected at all.

 

"Oh, it should have been obvious, too!" Dark continued muttering into his hands. "Stick, I see it now… Hollowhead features, lives with Alan himself… gahhhh."

 

Chosen snorted softly in amusement, forgetting to hold together a mask of suspicion.

 

If Dark heard Chosen, he didn't react to it.

 

"Okay, okay, we're introduced!" Yellow said, fidgeting with his hands impatiently. "What experiment did you do? And what did you mean when you said your mission code to destroy Chosen was altered?"

 

Dark snapped out of his stupor, briefly gazing at Second apologetically and still in shock a little bit, before turning to face Yellow.

 

"Ah, well, about my experiments, I connected myself to my tablet with special wires and whatnot and managed to pull up my inner code information," Dark remarked. "It definitely took me some time, heh. Anyway, I noticed I didn't have my mission code anymore. When Sec- er… um… When I was blasted into the ground after the fight, the energy I was hit with dissolved the mission code into nothingness."

 

The others looked at Chosen for a moment, clearly assuming he was the cause of that, since none of them recalled the actual events.

Chosen mentally facepalmed at the irony. Second admired Chosen so much for something he didn't even do…something that Second literally did himself, but for some reason didn't recollect.

 

"And, well, I have my suspicions that the mission code was altered from 'Destroy The Chosen One' to just 'Destroy', that day I took Chosen's hand. Code resistance on my part," Dark continued. "It makes sense, I mean, I definitely didn't feel a drive to kill Cho- uh, Chosen after we teamed up. Instead…I felt driven to, by any means necessary, destroy the Internet. Every site, every creature, every PC… I couldn't help it, and not only that but… that code made me like it. It basically possessed me, took ahold of me so that I enjoyed my task and would never stop, even at the cost of my friendship with Chosen."

 

As Dark explained, he occasionally had to wipe his face to stop any tears from falling, his voice gradually sounding more broken with every word. 

 

"And that was what I felt was missing when I awoke. At first, I couldn't place the odd emptiness within myself, but with time to think, I figured it out."

 

Chosen took a long, surveying consideration of Dark's words and facial cues.

Every instinct in him screamed that Dark was telling the truth, and Chosen knew he should trust his instincts.

 

They knew each other well, having lived together for a good length of time….

Or at least, Chosen knew the mission-code driven Dark well.

 

He supposed all those little moments, when Dark made cookies for the two of them, when he cracked a stupid joke from his bed across the room at 2:00 in the morning, when he bounced up and down while he was excited about something… those moments were the real Dark peeking through the mission code's possessed hold and drive.

 

Dark looked miserable.

He looked so worried that he wouldn't be accepted for what was the code's fault.

 

Alan could technically be blamed for it, but in all fairness, he'd been young and stupid. He neither understood the fact his creations had sentience and emotions, nor the fact that his code would have such an adverse effect on Dark.

He had only tried to destroy Chosen anyway. The whole Internet was not supposed to get involved.

 

Chosen could see it from Alan's perspective and could understand. He was willing to forgive Alan too, but he wanted Alan to apologize first.

 

It wasn't easy to forget the sensation of the chains.

"I understand, Dark. And... I forgive you," Chosen spoke, immediately causing Dark's head to snap up to look Chosen in the eyes. "It will take time to earn my full trust, but you're forgiven."

 

Chosen stood up and pulled Dark to his feet, wrapping him into a hug.

 

Only stunned for the briefest moment, Dark melted into the hug and cried.

 

"Thank you…Cho…" he managed to say in between relieved sobs.

 

The color gang looked at each other, signs of cautiousness and hesitancy still visible on their faces.

But they came to the same decision at once. In synchronized action, they did what they do best.

They embraced Chosen and Dark in a large group hug.

 

Red was the most hesitant, but his caring, kind nature couldn't help bleeding through his hug.

 

After a minute or so, overwhelmed with grateful emotion, Dark pulled back. He cleared his throat, sheepishly, as he wasn't used to displaying such vulnerability and raw feeling.

 

Second spoke up.

"Um, so what do we do with the commander guy and the army?" 

 

Chosen glanced out the giant hole in his house, toward the field, an annoyed frown crossing his face as he imagined the work he'd need to do to fix the damage. 

There still lay the unconscious army and commander Jade, wrapped up in webbing and stacked in a big pile.

The sticks in the army that Chosen hadn't knocked out had been sedated by Dark's Virabots, yet another non-fatal addition to their abilities. 

The bots currently were outside, on stand-by and unmoving. 

 

"Honestly, I have no idea. Have them arrested? We shouldn't just allow them all to go back to wherever their superiors are," Chosen stated monotonously, his mind still thinking about the hole in the house.

 

"Orrrr," Dark dragged out, thoughtfully. "Maybe we could allow some to go back and secretly follow them? To find out who sent them here in the first place?"

 

"And what about the rest of them?" Blue added. 

 

The group wracked their minds for ideas.

 

"Maybe we should just let the commander go. Set a tracker of sorts on his person, or on his walkie. He doesn't know Dark is involved since he was tackled from behind and knocked out before he got a good look at who it'd been," Yellow pipes up. "So we would have an advantage, as he won't have that information to tell his boss."

 

"I like that idea!" Dark clapped giddily. "Nice thinking, kid. I can make a tracker real quick." 

Then he paused to consider the others. "Um, as long as everyone else is okay with that? I don't want you guys to feel like I'm taking charge."

 

Chosen actually laughed. "For Alan's sake, Dark! I've never seen you so nervous. I'm on board with the idea. Does anyone object?"

 

After a brief thoughtful silence from Second, Red, Green, and Blue, they nodded voicelessly at varying moments.

 

Second seemed to want to add something, even going so far as to open his mouth, but changed his mind and ended up staying quiet, his expression thoughtful.

Chosen noticed but didn't prompt his little brother, trusting that if it was important enough Second would speak up.

 

Dark was already moving away from the group, whistling to the open air and calling a single Virabot over, the one dubbed "Ted". Ted brought Dark a leathery bag, likely full of tools that Dark would use for building the tracker.

With a shrill skree! the little bugger dropped it at Dark's feet.

 

Yellow watched the red hollowhead curiously through the hole in the house, contemplating whether to inquire about helping or not.

 

Chosen sat with Second, Blue, Green, and Red. Not exactly having much to do, they stayed quiet, processing everything that had just happened. It was a fair amount to take in.

Plus, although Dark seemed sincere, there was still unease in his presence and concern for a possible betrayal down the road.

 

Chosen seemed rather relieved to have reconciled with Dark, clearly having the most trust in him compared to the other sticks.

 

"Hey," Chosen laid a hand on Second's arm. "Are you feeling okay? Working with Dark and all?"

 

Second's heart warmed at the concern. He offered Chosen a sincere smile.

"Yeah. It will take some…getting used to, but I think I'm alright with him." Then his eyes narrowed in deep thought and confusion. 

Chosen recalled the similarly contemplating and questioning look Second had displayed a few minutes prior.

 

"Why do you think they wanted me?" Second asked after a moment of mulling his question over. 

 

"I- well…mayb- um…" Chosen stuttered haltingly, unsure where to even begin.

What was he supposed to even say?  

'Oh, it's because you have crazy powerful abilities that you can't remember'?

 

"You don't know," Second sighed, assuming that Chosen's jumbled speech meant a lack of answers. "It's fine. I guess it'll just be an unsolved mystery."

 

Chosen didn't respond. He didn't even nod, just stared at the floor awkwardly.

He would need to tell Second someday, for sure, but for now…the kid wasn't ready. 

 

One of these days, Chosen would explain.

One of these days…

 

-

 

-

 

"Sooo," Yellow uttered cautiously and slowly from right behind Dark. He didn't want to startle the hollowhead from his work and make a bad  first?  impression.

 

"Yeah?" Dark mumbled curiously, not at all surprised at Yellow's presence. Yellow almost slapped his forehead. 

This was the Dark Lord. He probably knew Yellow had been nearby for a while.

 

"Oh! Umm…I wondered if you wanted help?" Yellow fidgeted awkwardly, nervous tension clear in his tone.

 

Dark twisted a screw in his half-completed device and then stepped back, meeting Yellow's face with a joyous and delighted smile. "Sure ya can help! You like this kind of stuff?"

 

"Very much!" Yellow answered, the high-strung attitude immediately dissolving. He stepped forward to be on Dark's left, approaching the foldable table Dark apparently had pulled from his little bag-of-tricks. "Inventions and building and engineering. Ever heard of redstone?"

 

"Red stone?" Dark wondered, his forehead creasing in thought. "Don't think so."

 

"Oh, you're gonna love this!" Yellow bounced slightly, forgetting his earlier apprehension in an instant as he began delving into the inner workings of his favorite, complicatedly wonderful element.

 

-

 

-

 

The sticks were once again gathered in the living room. Dark's (and Yellow's!) completed tracker lay on the central table. One leg was still slightly bent from when Jade had thrown Blue into it, but it still stood.

 

Dark had left Yellow to explain to his curious siblings and Second how it'd work, and had pulled Chosen aside, his reasoning "we need to talk" the only clue he'd offered Chosen.

 

The two went into the laundry room, Chosen shutting the door behind him and turning to face Dark.

 

Dark faced a picture of himself and Chosen on a wall, briefly smiling at the memory and the fact Chosen had kept it.

 

Then he whirled around to face Chosen and cleared his throat.

"Okay. What is up with Second? How come he doesn't remember anything?"

 

"I don't know!" Chosen said, in an almost worried tone. "I don't know how to let him know either… He's not ready to know, anyway. It's likely just amnesiac trauma or something weird like that."

 

Then Chosen added.

"None of the kids remember. Nor Alan. You deleted the website quad, Alan's giant cursor that Yellow set up was deleted as well…" 

 

Dark softly muttered, "Oh, it was Yellow that did that? Huh. That kid is really impressive."

 

"...and of course Second just forgot on his own somehow," Chosen finished. 

His tone then shifted into one of pure wonder and awe as he recalled Second's unhindered, raw power that he had wielded. "He brought back everyone in a matter of seconds. Even the cursor. The code just…piled all right together like it'd never happened."

 

Dark huffed out a sigh, the emotion behind it unclear.

"So, what should our answer be if they ever ask specifically what happened?" 

 

"They kind of already think I'm responsible for your defeat. I have no idea what they think the cause of their, well, existence came from," Chosen hugged himself, rocking on his heels slightly. It was an antsy, nervous tick of his.

 

Dark tried to chuckle, but it was clear he was still internally beating himself up about his past actions.

Chosen came closer and set a reassuring hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. It was a gesture they liked to give each other for comfort and they'd used it multiple times in the past. 

It had been another one of those rare moments when Chosen could see the true personality of Dark, and so it was nice to take part in it again. 

 

"Thanks," Dark set his hand on top of Chosen's and looked his brother in the eye gratefully. Then he returned to their topic of discussion. "Could we just keep it vague, or not answer if they ask? That's better than outright lying…right?"

 

"Yeahh," Chosen nodded. "That's what I've been doing so far, and it works." He let out an amused laugh. "They're all too polite to press me if they get the sense I don't want to talk about it."

 

"What did that commander dude want, by the way? I noticed he was using Second as a hostage to keep you at a distance," Dark asked. "Was that army there to take you?"

 

"No, actually…they were here for Second," Chosen said, solemnly. His eyebrows furrowed in protective anger.

 

"Oh?" Dark hummed. "So whoever sent them must know about his powers. That…makes it a little harder to keep his powers a secret."

 

Chosen nodded.

 

"Whew!" The red hollowhead sighed, running his hands through his hair as his mind whirled. "Guess we'll have to keep a low profile for a bit. Probably limit Second and the other kids' visits to Stick City and keep them on the PC for the most part."

 

"....."

 

"You…okay?" 

 

Chosen looked away.

"Yeah, I just…I'm not ready to stay on the PC with them. The only times I could meet with Second were when I was sure Alan wasn't around –and even then, I never came to the computer unless there was good reason for it– or when Second came to visit me. So if we're limiting his visits…"

 

"Oh!" Dark realized. "You won't get to hang out with him as much…"

 

"Exactly." 

Chosen was sullen.

 

"That's rough. I can tell you two have grown close," Dark remarked, frowning with sympathy. "But if it's for his safety, Second will understand."

 

The black hollowhead sighed at the ceiling.

"I knowww. Still sucks though."

 

"At least…you'll have me?" Dark jazzed his hands hesitantly, feeling unsure if Chosen even wanted to live together again.

 

"Yeah," Chosen grinned at him, whacking Dark's arm gently in a playful manner. "Stop being so nervous about it, I told you, you're forgiven."

 

"Okay, okay!" Dark held his hands up, failing at holding back a big grin. "Just…wasn't sure. I haven't had too much time yet to build that trust back."

 

A short knock at the door sounded out.

Yellow's voice was audible from the other side.

"Hey, guys? Um, I've briefed the others about the tracker and the addition of the audio recording feature."

 

Dark's eyes lit up upon hearing his newest friend. He opened the door and pulled Chosen by his arm out of the laundry room. Chosen rolled his eyes, a slight amused grin visible on his face.

 

"Hi, Yellow! Thanks," Dark told him. "There are a few other things we should discuss, so I hope the others are still there at the table."

 

"They are," Yellow smiled, fist bumping Dark, which made Chosen raise his eyebrows at the gesture.

Those two were certainly becoming peas in a pod, weren't they?

 

"Great!" Dark exclaimed. The three entered living room where the others were indeed grouped, as Yellow had mentioned. 

 

Second glanced up. His eyes dawned in understanding as he realized where Chosen had gone.

He had wondered, since Chosen kind of ghosted out quietly.

 

"Wait, did Yellow mention an audio feature?" Chosen asked Dark.

 

"Yes!" Yellow answered proudly.

 

"It was his idea to add it, so we could hear everything the commander does," Dark added. He held out his hand for a high-five, which Yellow gladly smacked.

 

Blue's eyes furrowed in something that seemed like jealousy, but it was gone so quickly, Dark thought he might've imagined it. 

 

"Alright, then. Well, in other news," Chosen started. "I think it might be for the best for you all to stay on the computer for a while and refrain from visiting here."

His voice was firm, with sullen and disappointed undertones, easily conveying his reluctance to the idea. 

On the other hand, he was improving on his public speaking skills.

 

Second's eyes immediately widened in realization for what the suggestion would mean for his time with Chosen. His face took on a similar saddened countenance to his oldest brother's. 

 

The others nodded in understanding.

 

"That does sound like the safest course of action, though I'm still curious on why they were after Second," Green pondered aloud.

 

Just then, it seemed to Chosen that Second had an idea of sorts, if anything was to be said about the way his face lit up. He did not say anything aloud yet, instead seeming to roll around whatever thought he'd had in his mind for a few moments.

 

"Well, if we're in agreement…" Blue said, his sentence trailing off as he looked around the room, giving anyone opportunity to object or voice a new idea.

 

Second raised his hand, boldly.

"I have something to say!"

 

Everyone looked at him.

 

"Okay, so...Yellow made an audio recording feature for the tracker," Second said. "So why don't we at least stick around long enough to overhear some conversations? I really want to know where this guy came from."

 

And to know why they were after you, Chosen thought. Stick! If his powers come up in conversation, he'll be so confused... But then again, Jade didn't know why he was supposed to capture Second, which means his boss didn't want too many people to know.

 

It was probably safe.

 

"Yeah, okay. Let's do that," Chosen agreed, smiling at Second. "I'll fly Jade over to somewhere in the city, and we can wait for him to wake up and contact who he's working for."

 

"I have the speaker right here!" Yellow held up a large speaker with a slightly smaller-sized satellite dish and antennae atop it. He gently scooted it to the middle of the table.

The soft audio of wind whistling was the only sounds coming from it at the current moment, since the tracker was on the table outside.

 

It took mere minutes for Dark and Yellow to attach the tracker to the unconscious commander's jacket string. 

It was lightweight and small, easily concealed.

 

It took even less time for Chosen to drop (not literally) Jade off in an alleyway, and return to the table where they huddled around the speaker.

 

All the audio feature was picking up at the moment was the chatter of nearby busy streets and sidewalks.

 

Eventually, though, some rustling was heard.

Jade groaned and muttered blearily to himself. "What the stickshift?"

 

The sticks sat up in interest and leaned over the tabletop, listening close. 

 

They heard him get up and travel along busy sidewalks, never speaking to anyone and walking for several minutes.

 

"He must be going to meet up with his boss," Dark surmised. 

Second nodded, himself especially intrigued to find out more information on who was responsible for the recent attack and attempted capture.

 

Jade entered through a door of some sort, the busy street sounds practically gone.

 

"Commander!" a voice said in surprise. A startled, rustling sound was heard, like she had dropped something. Likely papers.

 

She cleared her throat. 

"Boss wanted to see you when you returned."

 

"Alright, thanks…" Jade mumbled, his mind somewhere else. 

 

The others heard him walking up a flight of stairs.

 

His footsteps echoed across a hallway and he opened a door, entering the room.

 

"Jade Nephrite," an unfamiliar voice spoke crisply, easily heard through the speaker. "You look disheveled and disoriented." 

His voice sounded disappointedly demeaning and patronizing.

 

"Jade's boss?" Yellow wondered softly.

 

"Sh!" Green hissed, not wanting to miss anything.

 

Then the group heard Jade's voice speak up. He was extremely nervous, almost like his lungs themselves were trembling.

"Sir… I- things did not go as p-planned."

 

Someone sighed. 

"Of course it didn't," the unknown stick replied, the audio shifting ever so slightly and seeming to indicate he had shaken his head as he'd spoken. "Explain."

 

"Well, first off I announced our presence. Um, mine and my teams, I mean. Then I announced that we were here for The Se-"

 

"And we already have a problem," he interrupted Jade. The sound of a swivel chair turning briefly squeaked through the speaker. "Is the element of surprise just not a thing that exists anymore?"

 

"Uh- I- I'm sorry, sir…" Jade mumbled. 

 

Chosen almost started to feel sorry for him. 

Almost.

 

"What else?" The unknown stick's voice almost sneered with disapproval. 

 

"The Chosen One defended the target and started taking down my team, though he didn't actually harm anyone. He just…knocked them out," Jade listed, his voice growing confused and thoughtful as he recalled Chosen's actions. "And, well, I instructed them to distract The Chosen One, while I entered the house to get the target."

 

Jade paused, as if expecting another put down or remark from who was obviously his boss, everyone could safely assume.

 

When all he received was silence, Jade continued.

"Um. The boy and four others fought me. I won, but was approached by The Chosen One outside the house. I was forced to threaten the target with my taser."

 

"Did I not say the child was not to be harmed?" Jade's boss thundered. 

 

Second instantly appeared offended at being referred to as a "child". He was 10 and that meant double digits!

 

"I wouldn't have!" Jade assured in a panicked tone. "I just had to keep the Chosen One away. It worked, he seems to care for the Second Coming's safety, for some reason."

 

"Well, of course. They're siblings. That's just the natural way of things." The boss's voice was once again dripping with the patronizing tone of speaking to a dumb person.

 

"Th-they're related?" Jade spoke softly in surprise. That hadn't been in his briefing. "Oh. Um, anyway, then someone from behind attacked me. Likely one of the target's friends, or something else that had to do with the Chosen One's abilities. I woke up on a side street not too long ago."

 

"Hm," the boss's voice hummed, the emotion unclear.

The noncommittal reaction only seemed to further Jade's anxiety for the conversation, if anything was to be said about the highly strung and tensed gritting of teeth that was easily heard through the speaker.

 

Finally, a huffed sigh came from Jade's boss.

"You have failed me, Jade."

 

His voice then strangely shifted to an almost gleeful tone.

"Thank you for your service offered to Rocket Corporation, Jade Nephrite. I regret with all of my heart, that your employment is being terminated effectively immediately."

The sarcasm, and mockingly sweet tone in "all of my heart" was obvious enough, the others could hear the smile in his voice.

 

"W-what?" Jade breathed. "No, no no nononono…" 

His voice was barely audible, fading into a stunned silence.

 

The bleep! of a button being pressed sounded off. From context of the following words, it seemed the boss was paging a message to someone in a different room by speaker.

"Would you please escort our former commander, Jade, out of the building and have his things brought out?"

 

"Yes, sir. Right away," another unfamiliar voice spoke, muffled since the audio was being filtered through two speakers, one on the boss's desk and of course the one they were listening through. The sound of an intercom getting cut off was heard with a definite click.

 

Jade didn't speak at all as the door opened and he was led out.

 

However, the audio recorder didn't appear to leave the room with Jade. 

The sound of the swivel chair was heard again, letting the others know it had stayed within the boss's office.

"Did he leave his jacket behind?" Dark mumbled in thought.

 

"He must've…" Yellow answered softly as the group continued listening.

 

Only the occasional sounds of a pen being clicked or something being tapped out on a keyboard was heard.

Within about twelve agonizingly long minutes, the sound of a door in the distance opened, the sound projecting through the speaker. It was likely a door down the hallway from where the room they were listening in on was.

 

They all sat up at the new audio.

 

A firm knock at the office door.

The boss's voice rang out for the first time in a while. "Enter."

 

Someone opened the door and walked in.

 

The entering stick spoke.

"Sir. I got your message."

 

"Agent Smith," the boss's voice had a pleased, content tone. It was almost the complete opposite of the dripping disdainful tone he had spoke to Jade with. "I am once again in need of yours, and your team's skills."

 

"Oh, wonderful. Another one." Green muttered angrily before lapsing back into silence.

 

"Understood, sir. Care to brief me?" The stick, who was now dubbed Agent Smith, replied formally. 

 

"I have received some information recently that has led me to believe I need to change the order of my plans a small amount. Apparently, it is possible that the Chosen One might have more abilities than I had originally suspected. I want you to apprehend him, since he has been getting in the way of things."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"You already know what to expect of him. You've seen the reports of his acts of terrorism alongside the Dark Lord. Start setting up some posters if you need, to aid in tracking him down. Bring him here, but not necessarily uninjured. I care not for his wellbeing."

 

Chosen grit his teeth, silently fuming as he listened to the boss speak. Second lay a hand on his arm and gave it a few pats.

 

"Oh, and Agent? One more thing," the Rocket Co. boss turned in the swivel chair again.

 

"Yes, sir?" 

 

"I have some special vehicles that may interest you in Garage 2-11. I'll have someone escort you there to give them a look-over."

 

"Understood. Thank you, sir."

Agent left the room, the door closing with a sounding thud.

The color gang sat in silence once more as the sounds of the boss's keyboard began clacking away again.

 

-

Notes:

RedMenace!Chosen: Oh, I forgive you! Let's hug!  :D

RedMenace!Dark: You fool, you absolute moron…I was lyingggg! Mwa-ha-ha!!  (:<

-

Second'sTale!Chosen: I'm suspicious of you, no hugs. In fact, I will give you the death glare for at least a third of this chapter.  D:<

Second'sTale!Dark: But I'm telling the truth and I want hugs and forgiveness!  ):

 

Yellow: *explaining redstone mechanics to Dark in a Redstone-Academy-like fashion*

Dark: *intently listening and taking notes in a teacher's-pet-like fashion*

Literally everyone else: How are you understanding this [stick]?!

 

I am suffering with how many pun opportunities I ignored here.

One such example:

"So why don't we at least stick around long enough to overhear..."

Edit:
Oh, heyyy
That gives me an idea!

Challenge for all you dear children audience members!

Find any and all pun opportunities, especially stick ones, and leave your discovery in a comment!

- - - -

Fun Fact:

Not only did I research different types of Jade to get a last name for him, but I additionally had to look up a sample letter for firing someone!

I've never been fired and never heard someone else get fired, so I was like "How do I write that fancy corporation speech for '[Stick] off and leave'?"

XD

Chapter 6: Wanted

Summary:

Staggering information is learned, plans are made, and mercenaries are being mercenaries.

(6,472 words)
O.o

Notes:

Fun Fact:
The entire beginning scene was written before The Box was released and I am super happy that my envisioned version of Victim for this AU was just about as vengeful as he was portrayed in The Box.

Even some of content I have jotted down for chapter 8 portrays this as well, but you'll have to wait and see for the specifics about that. (;

Anyways, enjoy!
Feast!
Leave me comments!

Chosen looked at his brothers and friends, legs crossed and leaning against the back of the couch in a bored, reclined position.

Everyone else had been asleep for about half an hour or so. He knew some of Second's friends had sustained minor injuries in the scuffle with Jade, so he'd decided not to move and wake them even if something interesting was heard from the speaker.

He could always relay information to them later.

 

Dark, just like he did in the old days, was snoring softly. Chosen was somehow glad to hear it since he was happy to confirm another part of Dark's real personality that wasn't muddled by a destructive mission code.

 

The squeak of a swivel chair sounded suddenly, but Chosen didn't even flinch. It was becoming quite a common and occasional noise that happened every time the boss from this Rocket Corporation moved even the slightest amount.

Chosen was unfamiliar with Rocket Co. It's possible he may have seen some pamphlets around Stick City before, but Chosen only ever went to the city for necessities. He didn't know a whole lot about what corporations or businesses existed where or even what they did.

 

He could always research it, he supposed. But for now, he was keeping an eye, or rather an ear, out for any new activity from the office in which the audio recorder lay.

It had been a stroke of unexpected luck that it had stayed behind in the one place the group would get the most information out of. Chosen was glad it hadn't moved with Jade since the former employee was no longer in on the happenings of the corporation he was spying on.

 

Chosen didn't bother worrying about where the scumbag had gone. No one was going to threaten his little brother if he had anything to say about it.

It was a bit unfortunate that the mysterious boss was so reclusive and did not hold many conversations at all. 

Every encounter the boss had so far with another stick in the office itself, had proved to have more information they could use. But those gold interactions were few and far between, leaving Chosen to wait for long periods to gather more pieces to the puzzle they were trying to solve. 

 

Chosen let out a soft sigh.

Eventually, he would have to send the kiddos back to the computer and then he'd probably have to go hide somewhere to avoid the new team that would be after him.

 

He did find it a little amusing that the boss was targeting him because of Dark's actions. Jade's skewed, flawed information had made it seem like Chosen had abilities he actually didn't have. 

He didn't blame Dark for that, though. Chosen was just happy to have his brother back.

It would be a little strange trying to get to know Dark again since their previous relationship had been poisoned more than he'd ever thought. However, Chosen was more than willing to work at it.

 

The click of the private intercom speaker in the office brought Chosen's attention back.

A bored voice that was putting too much effort into sounding like a chipper, perfect model employee, spoke to the boss. 

"Sir. Agent and the others have departed for their mission."

 

"Ah. Thank you," the boss replied curtly, though Chosen got the feeling the unknown stick had been wondering about that information for a while and was satisfied to finally have an answer. 

This guy was likely the type of stick that would be a nosy neighbor, always wanting to know what was going on.

 

"Continue on," the boss added and he disconnected the line.

Chosen heard him let out a huffed laugh, barely audible through even the meticulously crafted, high-quality speaker.

 

His swivel chair let out a longer squeak than usual, and the footsteps that followed told Chosen the boss had gotten out of his seat.

The steps stopped, and then Chosen heard a rustling noise that was strangely loud. 

"Hm?" the stick let out a confused hum.

 

Was the boss picking up Jade's jacket? That would explain the loud rustling. It had that same quality of audio that was akin to someone handling a camera and the footage's audio picking up on the shifting of said camera.

"Oh, what do we have here?" Chosen heard the boss chuckle a bit. "Hello~ Can you hear me? Hm, of course you can. The device is quite warm. This must have been running for at least an hour."

 

Chosen felt usually unnerved, despite being miles away from the boss.

"I should have known something was up when Jade mentioned he woke up on a sidestreet. It all makes sense now. He'd been bugged."

The boss interrupted his musings with another laugh. 

"This is unintentional payback, isn't it? I fire him, he leaves his unknowingly bugged, corporate-issued jacket behind, and I've in turn spilled who knows how much information to who knows who."

 

"Good grief, he found it," mumbled Dark. 

Chosen looked at him, startled. He had been so hyperfocused on the speaker, he hadn't noticed Dark had awoken. The others were still asleep as far as Chosen could tell.

Second was even snoring softly, in a similar fashion to Dark's, but yet different. 

 

"Hmm, but I think I know who I'm speaking to," the boss continued, a hint of triumphant realization in his tone. "This is the Chosen One, isn't it? Perhaps others as well. Ah, I do wish we could converse, but it seems like this device was built for one-way transmission."

"Personally, I would rather not converse…" Chosen muttered.

"How unfortunate," the boss carried on. "I shall have to guess what you would say in return."

 

Chosen and Dark heard the stick walk back to his desk and sit down, placing the audio recorder on his desk.

"Would you like to know who I am?"

He paused as if waiting for an answer.

"I'm almost certain you're curious. That, or you've already figured it out. I do believe I let slip the name of my beloved company earlier."

 

"Is there a way to talk to him?" Chosen asked through gritted teeth. At first, he hadn't been too keen on talking with the guy, but now he wanted to give him a piece of his mind.

His voice was annoyingly egotistical and proud.

 

Dark shook his head and whispered, "I would need to modify the actual device to let that happen, and right now, this guy has it."

 

"I know a lot about you, Chosen One," the boss was speaking again. "But there is just one thing I fail to understand…don't you want revenge on your creator? Why do you visit that computer? Why do you bother to make friends with the beings that live there?"

 

Chosen's eyes widened in a slight panic. This guy knew about Alan? The computer? Wouldn't that mean, Second would no longer be safe there?

 

"Heh. You must be wondering how I know these things."

The boss paused dramatically.

"You didn't really think you were the only stick he's tried to kill before? I am your older brother, Chosen One."

 

Chosen gasped aloud. Dark's eyes were saucers. 

 

"That- That can't be true…could it?" Chosen began tapping his foot anxiously.

Dark could only let out a strangled-sounding groan, too many different emotions behind it for Chosen to decipher.

 

"He named me Victim, you know. And unlike you, I don't have powers. I had to suffer deletion. It was only due to- well…I'm not ready to share that, actually. But the fact is, I'm alive. And ever so vengeful."

 

Victim let out a long sigh.

"I need the Second Coming's aid for a special project of mine. Do not fret! The child will not be hurt if he cooperates. I will call off the mercenaries that are after you if you send him to me. I don't care how you do it."

 

Chosen furiously shook his head, even though the boss couldn't see. He had to take a deep breath to cool his eyes, which had begun rapidly heating up. After all, he didn't want to accidentally blast the speaker.

 

"But, if you refuse, then my mercenaries will find you. And I don't have the most comfortable accommodations in store for you when they bring you in."

Dark set a gentle, grounding hand on Chosen's shoulder, squeezing it in reassurance; the same gesture Chosen had used to calm him in the laundry room just an hour prior.

 

Victim was silent for a long moment, this time. He didn't make a single movement, seeming to allow some time for Chosen to process what he'd just said.

 

A good thirty seconds passed before he spoke again.

 

"Hm. That will be all, I believe…. Farewell, brother. Do tell dear Second Coming I said hi."

Then there was a sickening, loud crunch, followed by absolute silence.

 

Victim had destroyed the listening device.

"Am I dreaming?" Green mumbled.

 

"Gah!" Chosen yelped, jumping in his seat slightly, on edge and tense. "How long have you been awake?" 

 

Green replied, "Ever since 'I need Second's aid' or something like that? I gather that boss guy found the device and started talking." 

Then he let out a snort. "Rocket Co. has an idiot for their boss if he was willingly spilling information."

 

Green briefly looked at Second, who was sleeping peacefully in between Yellow and Red. Blue was on the floor, head propped up on the end of the couch like a pillow. 

 

Chosen stood up and started pacing, trying to rid himself of the nervous energy he was suddenly full of.

He was muttering under his breath, incoherently for the most part.

Green and Dark caught the words "four of us…can't believe…" within his quiet, rambling speech.

 

"Is- Is he okay?" Green softly asked Dark, looking concerned.

 

Dark paused, then shook his head.

"He just found out he's got an older brother, and that said older brother is the boss of Rocket Co."

 

Green sputtered, "Wha??"

 

"Yeah," Dark remarked. "He said Alan called him Victim, though something tells me he goes by a different title, just purely by the way he talked about his own name, and also the fact that he runs a company."

"Are you okay? Victim is your oldest brother too, apparently," Green asked the red hollowhead. He'd gotten used to Dark's presence, and dare he say was starting to develop a solid relationship with him.

Or at least solid enough to hold a conversation without feeling grudgeful.

 

Dark didn't answer, just briefly glanced at Chosen who was still pacing.

"Your silence is very reassuring," Green deadpanned.

Dark made an attempt at a smile but then gave up.

 

Chosen finally sat back down, his mind still whirling, but not needing to pace anymore. 

"Dark, I kinda believe him. He knows too much for this to be some elaborate setup. This, 'Victim' guy who claims to be our oldest brother…he's probably legit, as much as I don't want to admit it."

 

"Should I, uh, wake the others up?" Green asked him. 

Chosen nodded. He seemed to be absentminded, but in reality, he was trying to make plans for the future.

After all, there was no way he was giving Second to Rocket Co. Chosen would protect him to the end, no matter what consequences Victim had in store for Chosen's failure to comply.

 

-

 

-

 

-

Chosen and Second hugged at the wifi rift's entrance. 

Chosen and Dark, with some small interjections from Green, had explained what had happened, minus what the two hollowheads suspected Victim wanted Second for, and it was finally time to go.

 

Second was especially sad to leave, as well as Yellow.

It made sense. 

Yellow had finally found someone as interested as he is in engineering, and started a growing friendship with him. And now they all had to leave and stay put for a while.

 

Red, Green, and Blue had more mixed feelings on their departure. 

 

Red, who had definitely grown more comfortable with Chosen, and even a small amount with Dark, was tired and wanted to go home. He also was still hurting a bit from the fight with Jade.

 

Blue, while having accepted Dark's presence, still did not let his guard down or even offer him a smile. He was miffed about not visiting Chosen for a time, or eating city food (which was always a nice highlight of their visits), but he did want to get a move on.

He also wasn't entirely fond of the bond Yellow was forming with their murderer. What if Dark was faking the whole story? They couldn't ever know for sure, right?

 

Green seemed to be the most neutral. He felt for Second, and understood the sullenness and disappointment that came with not being able to see someone close to you for a while. 

Additionally, he wouldn't be able to visit Purple. Green hadn't had very many opportunities to see her in the first place, but still…he’d greatly miss coming over and spending time with her-- and of course, King.

But, on the other hand, Green did miss home, and he was worried about the sinister Victim of Rocket Co. 

He had actually shuddered when he'd heard the boss's voice, speaking about Second the way he did; Belittling his best friend (Second did so hate being referred to as a child) and being suspiciously vague about his intentions. 

With a final loving squeeze, Chosen pulled away from his hug. Ignoring the sad eyes of his normally cheerful brother, Chosen offered him the brightest smile he could manage and ruffled Second's hair affectionately. 

"I'll see ya around, Sec," Chosen winked, trying to lighten the mood.

 

Second softly smiled back, though his eyes remained sad. 

"Bye, Cho," he said.

 

And the kids were off, disappearing into the rift and getting enveloped by the white light.

Chosen activated his flames and flew through the white tunnel, the rift behind him. 

 

Time to head home and see Dark's progress on that blasted hole in his wall.

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

"Hey, Cho!" Dark called in greeting from his position on the floor. He hammered another section of a wooden plank into place. The patch job was almost done, but Dark would probably need another half hour at least, to finish. 

And that time didn't even include painting.

 

"Hey…" Chosen replied, looking over the work that had been done, and walking over to help. "Looks good so far."

 

"Are we going to stay here or go somewhere else?" Dark asked him. 

The thought had been on his mind for a while. Especially, since the army soldiers had escaped while they'd been inside. 

 

One of them had managed to cut themself out of their webbing, and then cut everyone else loose as well. The large group had managed to leave quietly, never betraying any evidence of their escape during the whole thing.

 

Their last known position had to have been relayed to the Corporation by now.

 

"I'm afraid we'll have to," Chosen sighed. Then his tone shifted into one of exasperation. "I just got this house."

 

Chosen's voice sounded oddly whiny for his usual character, but Dark could easily chalk it up to the stressful recent events.

It didn't take too long to repair the hole itself. The painting job could wait until they could fix the current situation. 

"Alright then," Dark sighed, proudly admiring the lineup of the planks.

"Where should we go?" Dark turned to Chosen.

 

"Umm," Chosen thought. "Well, where were you staying when you rebuilt your Virabots and stuff?"

 

"Oh!" Dark perked up. Then he sheepishly looked at the ceiling. "Um…you know…our old house where the Showdown took place?"

"O-oh…." Chosen replied. Then he let out a breathy chuckle. "Well, we could hole up in there for a bit. I don't mind."

"Are you sure, Chosen?" Dark asked bewilderingly. "You're okay dealing with any bad memories, like our…fight…?" 

Chosen nodded and smiled reassuringly, though it did seem a bit forced. Dark was tempted to push the issue, but Chosen was already leading him out the door.

 

"Come on, then," Chosen glanced at Dark, a sudden cheeky grin crossing his face that Dark hardly ever saw Chosen make. "You want to show me how to ride a Virabot?"

 

Now effectively distracted, Dark bounded out the door of the house, taking hold of Chosen's hand and pulling him along.

"Oh yeahhh!" He shouted gleefully. "You're gonna love this!" 

 

-

 

-

 

Chosen groaned as he practically fell through the doorway of their old shack on the mountain. 

"Never….again…" he swayed and flopped over a wooden chair, going limp. "I'll fly on my own, next time, thank you very much…"

 

"Awww," Dark grinned, teasingly. His own face was flushed with excitement from the ride. "More fun for me, then!" 

Dark turned to Ted, the Virabot that Chosen and Dark had journeyed here upon.

"Good boy, Ted!" He patted the top of the large Virabot's head, earning a skree! from the spider-like creature. "Yeahh! You did amazing!"

 

At Chosen's nauseous-ridden snort of exasperation, Dark cackled.

"How are you feeling?" Dark asked after a moment.

Chosen flashed him a diagonal thumbs up, the gesture learning more up than down, but slanted nevertheless.

 

"Alright-y then!" Dark smacked his hands together. "Let me check up on our food and inventory real quick."

 

Chosen slowly got up, nodding his head to Dark's statement, even though Dark was already in the next room.

"Okay!" Dark's happy-go-lucky voice called out from the cupboard area. "We have a lot to work with! We could stay here for months."

"....months," Chosen muttered. His eyes were sad again. 

Why was freedom so difficult to obtain… and keep?

 

He sighed as he laid his head on the small table. Chosen hadn't slept since he noticed he didn't have running water, and the drowsiness of the long day was starting to catch up to him.

Dark poked his head into the room, since he was briefly concerned over Chosen's lack of reply, but when he noticed his older brother's position at the table, he smiled and went back to checking the house's inventory. 

 

Chosen trusted him enough to try to go to sleep in the same setting! Dark developed a bounce in his step. 

"Progress~ Is being ma-ade~" Dark sang softly to no particular tune with a bright smile on his face.

 

The sudden rumbling of vehicles that was steadily growing louder and louder made Chosen lift up his head.

Now on alert, any traces of sleepiness (he hadn't actually fallen asleep yet) gone and replaced with adrenaline, Chosen stood and quickly went to the window. 

 

Dark, who had also heard the noise, entered the room and joined him.

 

"Oh…" Dark muttered. "That's not good."

The two hollowheads could see four odd-looking sticks on the backs of some sort of hoverbike-ish technological vehicles.

 

Chosen was stunned for a moment, his brain fuzzy from lack of sleep, but Dark immediately clicked his tongue and sent out a mental command to the swarm of Virabots outside.

Ted, who was inside, unlike the rest, unfortunately did not have very much foresight and crashed straight through the window to join the other Virabots. 

 

Chosen and Dark leapt back several feet to avoid the flying shards of glass.

 

Suddenly, they heard the sound of some sort of shots being fired from the vehicles. They didn't seem to affect the Virabots in the slightest, aside from knock them around slightly. 

But when a stray blast hit the bare and windowless frame, it gained a static, pixelated, and glitchy state-of-being. 

"What the stick??" Dark muttered. 

 

Chosen and Dark looked at each other and then back at what used to be recognizable as a window.

 

It continued glitching out.

 

The bright and colorfully messed up window frame partially affected the wall it was located on, but the glitching didn't really spread.

It was just…weird.

 

"Yep, time to go," Chosen took Dark's hand and they exited out the back door, both flying away from the mountaintop and the chaos that was the Virabots and mercenaries.

 

Chosen and Dark stopped mid-air. A brown, cave painting-like stick on one of the glitch-shooting vehicles blocked their path.

 

"Halt!" a rich, female voice emanated from the mercenary.

 

"Who are you supposed to be?" Dark questioned.

 

"Wh-" she started to say. Then she abandoned the sentence and answered Dark's inquiry. "I am Primal."

"Okayy, can we leave, Primal? I'm pretty sure the guys you're looking for are over there," Dark told her, pointing downward in a direction behind Primal.

 

Primal turned her head curiously to where Dark had pointed, taking on a confused tone, "What? No- I mean- you-"

 

The instant she turned, Dark grabbed Chosen's hand and made a mad dash in the opposite direction.

Dark cackled as the two flew away as fast as they could. "Oldest trick in the book!"

Chosen couldn't bring himself to smile. A short glance behind them showed Primal and a shorter, pixelated stick chasing them on their vehicles. 

Primal, especially, did not look happy.

 

The other two sticks were not in sight, likely still dealing with the Virabots, though Chosen grumpily assumed one of them had to be the "Agent Smith" character that Victim had assigned to capture him.

 

Dark whistled through two fingers in an attempt to call some of the Virabots over. He was connected to the Hivemind and heard their thoughts.

Attack

keep them down, protect

Protect Master

defend 

keep them away

Attack them

Master needs protect

some must go

Go protect

find Master

keep Master safe

 

Dark smiled. He loved his pets so much! He took a quick look at Chosen, who still held his hand as the two were flying. Chosen looked worried and kept glancing back.

Dark also glanced back and… Oh. Stick.

All four of the mercenaries were behind them?! Well, they were at least 30 feet away, but still.

The Virabots were behind the mercenaries, but their vehicles were faster??  

The Virabots were slowly getting left in the dust.

 

"Aww, dang…" Dark mumbled, his voice lost to the high-speed winds they flew through.

“We might need to split up!” Chosen raised his voice to be heard over the winds. “We, unfortunately, don't have too much experience fighting together , utilizing our strengths and playing off each other strategically in the same way that they likely have.”

“So it's easier for me to take two of them and you to take the other two, then it would be to fight all four and stay together….” Dark finished the thought. 

 

“Right,” Chosen answered. “On three?”

“Three,” Dark grinned.

“Two,” Chosen replied.

“One-” Dark was suddenly cut off with a pained yell, a glitch shot having hit him in the back and causing him to falter midair.

 

Chosen gasped and took Dark’s hand, trying to continue their quick pace.

The mercenaries were way too close for comfort.

Dark was glitching out and shuddering like the two had seen the window frame do.

“St-upid h-hover-bikes,” Dark growled, his voice breaking up and glitching out like his body.

 

After a moment the glitching started to fade and Dark’s voice started normalizing. 

The mercenaries were shooting again forcing Chosen to pull Dark down to dodge the blasts.

 

“I'm good, now,” Dark muttered, no longer breaking up. Chosen nodded and the two headed closer to the ground for a nearby forested area. 

The clear skies were not granting them much of an advantage.

 

A flurry of shots came at them again. 

 

“Split!” Dark yelped suddenly.

Reacting quickly, Chosen broke off to the left, putting even more effort into his flames to fly faster.

Dark veered off to the right and was immediately lost in the trees. 

The mercenaries halted for a brief moment. Chosen guessed they were conferring about who should follow which of them.

 

They were a good team, barely having stopped for three seconds before Chosen found two of the mercenaries on his tail.

One, a plain-looking stickfigure that resembled a typical logo for warnings, and the other whom Chosen assumed to be Agent Smith.

It had to be him, right? The way the others fell into action under his leadership, the fact that he was one of the sticks specifically following Chosen-

 

Chosen's thoughts were cut off as he suddenly noticed he was being led into an ambush. The two mercenaries following him were on either side of Chosen, traveling in a pincer movement, and trying to sandwich him.

 

Chosen did not plan on becoming a sandwich. 

 

However, before Chosen could think about dipping upwards suddenly to throw them off, a shot from ahead of him was fired.

The other two mercenaries, Primal and the pixel shortie, whom Chosen had assumed were chasing Dark, had looped around in the trees and cut him off.

 

The shot hit him.

Chosen faltered and yelped, his entire body seeming to suddenly separate at parts and glitching. 

How did Dark make it look like a minor inconvenience? Chosen felt like he was legitimately being torn apart.

He hit the ground and rolled to a stop, crouching on his knees and staring at his chest where a glitch dart was sticking out, buzzing with energy.

 

“A-aah-hgg,” Chosen huffed angrily, ignoring the pain and pushing himself to his feet. 

 

When had the mercenaries got off their vehicles? They were pointing their guns at him and he was surrounded. He must have been on the ground for longer than he had thought. 

“Come quietly, and you won't be harmed any further,” Agent told Chosen firmly, gun raised and pointed at him, with the other three in similar positions.

 

Chosen hissed. (Like an angry cat)

He spread out his hands and dredged up a significant amount of power, large flames collecting around his arms and surrounding him in a circle. The mercenaries took a few steps back.

Gritting his teeth to help ground him through the glitching and pain, Chosen lashed out in all directions with his fire.

 

The pixel shortie mercenary deftly avoiding the flames with his swiftness, Agent brought up some sort of shield, but Primal and the other mercenary were caught in the fire for a moment.

Primal suddenly swelled up in size, gaining a large, muscled stature and then deflating back to her usual, thinner self. With the action, the flames dissipated off of her form.

 

“Hazard!” Agent muttered, a slight exasperation tone to his command. “Roll, now!”

The other set-on-fire stick, now dubbed Hazard, dropped down and rolled several feet away, the flames now snuffed out. He buzzed out a brief beeping tone, apologetically. 

In the same instant of releasing his flames at the mercenaries, Chosen had taken off into the air. He was moving slower than normal because of the glitching, but Dark's glitching had only been in effect for maybe 25 seconds at most, right? 

It had to end soon.

 

Only it didn't.

 

Another particularly distracting and painful wave of glitching wracked through his body. 

It was getting more and more difficult to fly properly, and to make matters worse… out of the corner of his eye, Chosen could see the mercenaries had collectively regained their composure and were boarding their vehicles to follow him again.

 

He was getting used to the glitching, although it still wasn't comfortable. Getting an idea, Chosen flew up higher and higher, calling clouds to him.

 

Multitudes of clouds –stretching for nearly a mile outward with Chosen as the central point– swirled and gathered around Chosen, their hues darkening from shades of grey to a threatening black.

 

The sky began darkening as well.

 

He could hear more shots being fired some distance below him, but Chosen did nothing to dodge them. They all missed anyway, likely due to the 35 feet distance.

It wouldn't really matter, though, if they hit him, since he was already in pain and glitching out.

 

Besides, it took concentration to use lightning.

 

Chosen stretched his hands out, feeling the electric energy that now permeated the atmosphere. He gathered it into his hands and twirled in a circle.

The lightning crackled around his arms and was fired in a large wave below him. 

 

The vehicles of Hazard, the small one, and Primal suddenly shorted out and started drifting downward in an emergency landing procedure. Somehow, Agent Smith remained unaffected, his vehicle continuing to rise further upwards straight toward Chosen.

 

Fine, Chosen thought. Fine.

 

The mercenary leader was firing at him, a determined expression etched into his features. Chosen met his eyes with a glare and he allowed his flames to disappear, falling slowly toward Agent.

He held his forearm in front of him, allowing the adrenaline of the fight to help him ignore the pain, to ignore blast after blast that beat against him as he got steadily closer to the mercenary and the shots grew more and more accurate.

 

Chosen landed on the end of the vehicle and raised his hand for a punch, the glitching even worse than before but it didn't matter.

Agent seemed both impressed and irritated with Chosen's resilience, his eyebrows raising subtlety and conveying traces of his expression to Chosen despite the fact that his eyes were hidden behind his shades.

 

Chosen assumed with a bitter smirk that the guy hadn't ever had to deal with such an opponent before.

 

He brought his hand down with great energy behind his punch and pushed out a giant, intimidating glacier of ice that quickly grew to entrap the Agent’s vehicle, but didn't actually encase Agent himself.

Chosen didn't want to hurt him, despite his frustration with being hunted. He could understand the mercenary’s perspective on this. This was just a job to him, and Agent aimed to complete it.

 

Sighing in relief as Agent's vehicle was stuck in the huge mound of ice, Chosen allowed himself to cradle his sore and glitching forearm –the one that had taken the brunt of Agent’s barrage of attacks– and hover in place.

 

The only reason Chosen was able to float without his flames was due to the lingering energy of the lightning EMP wave he'd released. Like he was attached with invisible strings, Chosen could practically stand mid-air until the clouds dissipated and the electricity faded.

 

Chosen could feel the adrenaline starting to leave him as he began to relax. He needed to get a move on. From his height, he could see the other three mercenaries trying to break Agent out of the ice on the ground. 

 

They were at least 60 feet below him, tiny specks from Chosen's view.

 

Chosen revved up his flames, the glitching on his body finally beginning to fade –ever so slightly– and much easier to bear than before. He flew off toward the forest, keeping his eyes peeled for Dark.

 

“Dark!” he called as he twisted and turned around the trees. He had to be okay, right? 

Clearly the mercenaries were only focused on himself, seeing as the two that he’d thought had followed Dark had ended up cutting him off later.

 

“Chosen!” a faint, distant voice that belonged to Dark was heard in the trees. 

 

Sighing in relief for his brother, Chosen changed his course slightly to head in the direction he'd heard Dark's voice.

 

Then they saw each other and rushed together.

 

“Thank Alan, you're okay! I knew I had lost them too easily…. They all went after you, didn't they?” Dark sighed, landing softly on the grass. His eyes roved over Chosen's still glitching body with a concerned gaze. “You good?”

 

“Fine for the most part, though a tad winded,” Chosen replied honestly. Then he added with a grin, “I gave them an icy issue to work out.”

 

“Heh,” Dark matched his expression with a grin of his own. “Nice.”

 

The glitching was still present, but had petered out enough that Chosen hardly felt the discomfort. It was just a little tingly sensation now.

 

“How many times did you get shot, Cho??” Dark asked incredulously. 

 

“Oh, just….um…” Chosen thought about it. “....maybe twenty?” 

 

“D- Wha- Tw- TWENTY?!” Dark's hands were now on Chosen's shoulders, shaking Chosen back and forth slightly as he freaked out. “Twenty, Chosen?!”

 

“....maybe more...”

 

“CHOSEN!!” 

 

“Whaaat?” Chosen mumbled. “I'm perfectly fine.”

 

“...no, you're not.”

 

Chosen sighed and looked away. “You being super worried over me is…new.”

 

Dark went silent.

 

Chosen looked back at him. Dark looked somewhat saddened now.

Then he spoke.

 

"I just- I don't know…" Dark sighed. "I still feel weird since the mission code's disappearance. Like a new stick, pretty much. I don't even know half the time what my actual personality is like! I had been taken over by the code since my creation, Cho!"

 

Chosen laid a hand on Dark's shoulder and let him vent. He probably needed it.

 

"And furthermore, sometimes I…I find myself longing for some code to give me instructions…" Dark briefly looked at Chosen with signs of hesitancy to continue, but when Chosen said nothing he spoke again. "It's an old habit, I guess, having that frame of mind? Possessing a purpose that is drilled into my being, constantly  talking to me every. Waking. Second. Of my existence... Having that order in the back of my mind, and furthermore enjoying the feel of obeying it…"

 

His voice choked up a small amount, but then he continued on.

 

"I've tried to forget about, ignore it, suppress the urges that aren't actually there but that I still remember. Yet I can hardly forget the way having a solid purpose felt. Sometimes I don't know what to do," Dark then softened his voice, winding down his frustrated tirade and managing to make eye contact with Chosen again. "Let me worry about you, Chosen. It's something I know is important to me, really and truly… A vital piece of what I know is my actual self and not just some ingrained habit that was actually the stupid mission code."

 

"Okay, Dark," Chosen said softly. "Thank you for telling me."

 

"Thank you for listening," Dark laughed a small amount. "That was nice to get off my chest."

 

There was a high pitched ringing of some sort that was getting louder. 

 

"Um…what is-" Chosen started to say.

 

"Ted!" Dark gasped in excitement. "And the others!"

 

Oh. The ringing was getting clearer. Chosen could now identify it as a multitude of Virabots screeching over each other in the swarm. Looking up into the sky, he could actually see the army of bots, looking like a conspicuous red cloud.

 

They could sense Dark's position.

 

Dark flinched slightly and covered his ears, though he was grinning widely.

 

"Hivemind?" Chosen chuckled.

 

Dark nodded.

"They're very hyper… and extremely happy to find me."

 

As if on cue, the swarm landed on the grass, several Virabots climbing over Dark and chittering in clicks and occasionally letting out a shrill, joyous skree!

 

"Hey little guys!" Dark laughed, stumbling backwards slightly from the force of at least ten Virabots that were checking Dark out for injuries and otherwise making sure he was definitely there and okay.

 

Ted, Dark's favorite, was atop his head like an imposing, red hat… A hat shaped like a spider.

 

Some Virabots even sniffed Chosen's feet in greeting. Chosen still had some bad memories that made him way less fond of the creatures than Dark was, but he was able to keep his cool. He even managed a slight smile, suddenly gaining a slight understanding of Dark's adoration for them.

 

"Okay, okay!" Dark huffed, still grinning from all the excited attention. He attempted to paint a more serious expression on his face, but was failing miserably. "We have to- Aah, Ted! My hair!"

 

Ted had shifted a bit and accidentally yanked Dark's hair a small amount. The Virabot quickly let out an apologetic chirp and stilled, albeit still remaining on Dark's head.

 

"Okay!" Dark laughed, reaching up and picking Ted up to hold in his arms. "We have to move to a new hiding place, okay? Maybe not all of us, though. Hmmm."

 

He turned to Chosen who was eyeing a Virabot that had curled up in a relaxed position atop one of Chosen's feet. It had an air of I-must-guard-you about it.

 

Dark let out a huffed laugh at Chosen's conflicted look and indecision on what to do.

"Chosen, where do you want to go?"

 

"Uhm…right…" Chosen continued gazing at the Virabot on his foot. "Well, definitely somewhere with food. We didn't grab anything when we fled the mountain shack."

 

"I can send a Virabot to grab stuff, we just need somewhere to hole up for a big, long while until they give up. Everyone has a patience limit, after all." Dark told him as-a-matter-of-factly. 

 

"Yeah," Chosen nodded. "Um. How about we find a forest? Not this one, I mean, the mercenaries will probably search here soon, but a forest has a lot of cover soooo…"

 

"I like it!" Dark pet Ted's head as he spoke. He shut his eyes for a moment and scrunched his face up in slight focus and concentration. Chosen guessed he was communicating to the Virabots via the Hivemind. 

Dark had never mentioned how he was connected so closely with the creatures, especially since the Viraband was gone and destroyed –melted away by Second's sheer power– but he could ask about it another time. 

 

Dark's eyes opened, the communication concluded. A number of Virabots in the front, perhaps about 12% of the swarm, flew up into the air and headed away. The others stayed and waited for Dark to begin moving so they could follow. Ted had hopped down from Dark's arms, but lingered on the ground very close by to him.

 

"You sure you don't want to ride a bot, Cho?" Dark smirked. "We don't have to share if you want. You'll be able to keep your balance better than before." 

 

Several of the Virabots seemed to tilt their heads at Chosen, each so willing to follow Dark's mildly joking suggestion with complete dedication and seriousness. 

 

"No, thank you," Chosen huffed. "I've had a breather and will be fine to fly on my own."

He did feel much better. The glitching was just about gone now, only appearing for half a second every 45 seconds to a minute and each time it happened decreasing its duration. Good to know his regenerative powers were working away the effectiveness of the glitching. He was getting tired of it.

 

"Heh," Dark smiled at him. "Just kidding~"

 

Then he turned to Ted, and immediately understanding Dark's intent, Ted shifted his back so Dark could climb aboard. 

 

"Let's go!" Dark cheered and raised his hands in the air. 

The instant Ted jumped into the air and began flying off –Chosen quickly following with his flaming hands– the rest of the Virabots surrounded the two hollowheads like bodyguards, keeping perfect pace with their flight. 

 

Chosen let out a relaxed, relieved sigh as they flew. 

What a day…

 

Hopefully they wouldn't run into anymore trouble. 

-

Notes:

**screaming and dying at every "Second" pun opportunities I saw but deliberately, begrudgingly ignored because it would break up the serious moment of the plot**

 

I'm fine, I swear

 

I actually broke up chapter 6 into two parts because it was getting so long. Chapter 7 (that is complete 100%) is now Chapter 8, and I am going to write chapter 6 part 2 as chapter 7. (If that made no sense, I dunno what to say)

Hope you all enjoyed!

(Also, I want to know who recognized my shameless Monsters Inc. reference)

Chapter 7: Taken

Summary:

It's "Taken" me way too long to write this.
Heh heh.

(9,314 words)

Notes:

AAGHHJTHDDBODBVIBSGSBOWNSKJNOD

You all have zero clue the suffering I had, wrestling this chapter int0 submission.
The word "into" is spelled with a zero on purpose for the sake of an inside joke, pay me no mind

I kept skipping way ahead to continue writing chapter 9 (since 8 is done) because I didn't want to write 7, but it is finally done now!

Feast!
Enjoy!
Drop. Me. Commentsss!

 

**distant snoring because exhaustion**

“Well, it's a forest,” Dark pondered, tilting his head and examining the place the group had stopped at.

The Virabots, including Ted, skittered around the trees searching for abnormalities to typical forests and possible danger.

 

Chosen stood aside Dark, also gazing into the forest Dark had spotted from the skies.

 

“Yeah, it is a forest, just…” Chosen trailed off, simply gesturing to the lone wood cabin that was about twenty feet in front of them.

 

“....Yeah, that might be an issue,” Dark sighed. He clicked his tongue to call back four Virabots that were getting close to the wooden structure.

Immediately, they swiveled around and made their way back to Dark. 

“You gotta explain to me sometime, how and why you have a connection to their Hivemind, for Alan's sake,” Chosen mentioned as he observed the display of utter loyalty.

“Oh, that's simple, I can tell you right now,” Dark looked up at him. As the two hollowheads began walking away from the forest –Virabots following closely– Dark began explaining.

 

“So, the way they were coded before, was via the Viraband. I used that to control them.” 

“Uh huh,” Chosen nodded, curious to know where this was going.

“When I woke up in that crater, and after I had a…bit of time to process what had happened and what happened to the mission code…” Dark's eyes suddenly avoided Chosen's, and the way his tone shifted made Chosen suspect he had purposely skipped over a detail he didn't want to share. 

Chosen didn't press it.

Dark continued.

“...I started rebuilding them, first off. You already know about the non-lethal weaponry. Well, I also told you guys when I was investigating what I felt was missing, I used special wires I constructed that allowed me to view my inner code.”

“That sounds both extremely cool and…what's the word…” Chosen trailed off, unsure how to describe the odd feeling he'd felt when Dark admitted to viewing his code. If he could do that, could he have discovered some way to modify code?

Code manipulation….that wasn't something that Chosen wanted to think about if such a thing existed.

 

“Well, it does sound kinda weird, I guess,” Dark shrugged. “Anyways, I may have….implanted a little copy of some aspects of my code –a very fine balance, let me assure you– into the Virabots and that created a connection."

 

"...Okay, putting aside the fact that what you just told me sounds like it came straight out of a science fiction movie, why did you bother making everything so complicated if making another band would've been easier?"

"......"

"Dark?" Chosen tried to look him in the eye, but Dark eyes were avoiding him, almost glazed over in appearance. "Dark, are you okay?"

"F-fine, Cho, I just…," Dark sighed. "...I had a mental breakdown. Two, actually. Um, one when I remembered what I'd just done. Ya know, without the feeling of enjoyment the mission code gave me, lingering about….and again when I thought about making another band…"

His voice hitched and he took a deep breath to steady him.

"I c-couldn't make another. It reminded me too much of stabbing the kids with the sticking blade. "

Oh.

That would be what Dark was reluctant to tell him.

Chosen stopped walking and hugged Dark. Dark stood frozen for a short moment, taken by surprise, but he quickly wrapped his arms around his older brother and allowed himself to be held. 

“I understand, and I'm sorry that you had a breakdown,” Chosen whispered softly as he held his brother gently, soothing him as best as he could. "I'm here for you."

“Thanks, Cho…” Dark croaked. He sniffled slightly, then stepped out of the hug, face flushed. He wasn't used to getting mushy and soft on a regular basis. It wasn't his style.

 

“Um, we still have the issue of where to stay…” Chosen said, his hand still holding Dark's in reassurance. “Should we t-”

 

Skree!

 

Chosen and Dark jerked their heads up to see the partial swarm of Virabots that Dark had sent off earlier, descending from the sky, each carrying a few items from the mountain shack.

“Ah! There you are!” Dark perked up, wiping a stray tear from his face quickly and taking the sudden change in emotion with stride. “You guys weren't seen?”

 

A hesitant chirp was Dark's answer.

 

Dark's face paled.

“What? When?!”

 

Chosen looked up at Dark. 

“What? What did they say?”

 

“Hang on,” Dark shushed Chosen and crouched down to meet the Virabots' eye level. His face was scrunched up in concentration.

 

“One at a time, please…. Okay… You lost them, right? …Oh! Good…”

Dark stood up and sighed in relief. He turned to Chosen and then laughed at his absolutely confused expression.

 

“Okay, so apparently the mercenaries caught sight of them on their way back, and they got close at one point but they lost them in the same forest we split up in. They're very good at instantaneous communication and knowing exactly where each of them will travel.”

 

“Oh!” Chosen sighed. “Thank Alan.”

 

“Yeah. Those mercenaries might have trained together for ages, learning how to work efficiently as a team, but that's just nothing compared to the Hivemind.”

 

Chosen grinned at Dark's bragging. He didn't seem to be stuck on his mental breakdowns from the past anymore.

 

Dark sighed happily as he pet several of the Virabots that were clamoring for his attention. 

"Alright. I suppose we should get a move on since this forest is…" Dark gestured in the general direction of the cabin they'd seen. "...occupied."

 

Chosen nodded silently, still thinking in the back of his mind about Dark's confession to having breakdowns. 

 

"Hey, I'm…" Chosen started to say. Dark looked up from his task. He had begun checking out what the Virabots had brought back.

 

"You're…what?" Dark prompted curiously. 

 

"I'm sorry," Chosen told him, meeting his gaze. "I was kinda…super stern and, well, suspicious and I kept glaring at you the whole time you were just trying to explain yourself and apologize…"

 

"Oh…" Dark replied. "It's okay, Chosen. Really. It was understandable."

 

"That doesn't mean I can't regret my actions and let you know I'm sorry," Chosen sighed in exasperation. "Stick, Dark, I was trying to…aggh…"

 

Dark laughed. 

 

It was light and bubbly, oddly reminding Chosen of Second's laugh. It had a similar tone about it, although Second's pitch was higher.

 

And it brought a smile to Chosen's face to hear it.

 

-

 

-

 

The two hollowheads and the Virabots landed on a grassy area. Dark hopped off of Ted and Chosen extinguished his fire.

 

They were at the edge of yet another forested area.

 

"Stick, I really hope this place doesn't have some issue about it,” Dark sighed. Chosen nodded weakly, the exhaustion he felt really starting to hit hard.

 

Chosen slapped his cheek and straightened. He had to be on alert in case the mercenaries somehow found them.

 

Dark surveyed the area, nodding and humming in approval every now and then. The Virabots were starting to disperse, helping their master check out the forest without even being told since they could sense Dark's intent.

 

“So far, so good,” Dark approved. Not noticing the way Chosen kept rubbing his eyes, Dark gently took his older brother's hand and the two began trekking into the forest and find a nice spot to settle down.

The Virabots were now out of view and Dark wanted to catch up before they accidentally destroyed something.

 

Maybe if Chosen had been more alert he would have seen them.

Dark's eyes widened and he tackled Chosen downward protectively in just the nick of time as a volley of glitch shots were heading straight for him.

 

“What?!” Chosen yelled. “They found us?!”

 

Dark grumbled disappointedly. Perhaps the Virabots had not completely lost the mercenaries.

 

All four of them were close, actually positioned in the treetops, like they had been lying in wait for Chosen and Dark. 

 

That irritated Dark even more, though it was more for the sake of bragging about his Virabots’ capabilities only to discover there was now something he needed to improve about their design, since…well, this happened. 

 

Neither of them got to their feet fast enough and were hit with the glitch shots. 

 

Agent was suddenly on the ground beside them while the two hollowheads groaned with the discomfort of glitching out again. 

 

Dark could see he had some sort of pause symbol in his hands and he shot them with it, rendering both of them frozen and unaware.

 

The swarm of Virabots that were way ahead of them, searching the forest, did not seem to take notice in the slightest of what had just transpired. 

 

Agent sighed in relief. He tilted his head to the trees and called to his team.

“They're both paused. We can take them back to the corporation.”

 

Primal, Ballista, and Hazard dropped down and approached.

 

Ballista threw his hands up in the air and bounced. 

“Whoo! Hey, Agent, do you think we're going to get paid extra for getting the Dark Lord too?”

 

Agent hid the trace of a smile forming at the smallest mercenary’s energy with his reply, “Most assuredly.”

 

Dark twitched suddenly, bringing Agent’s attention fully to him. 

 

“What…” Agent muttered in confusion. Had he imagined the movement? The Dark Lord should be completely immobile, so maybe-

 

The pause symbol suddenly shuddered and dissolved into thin air, Dark immediately on his feet. He swiftly punched Agent back, sending the surprised mercenary backwards several feet with his back sliding across the grass and pebbles. 

 

The other three mercenaries, although also surprised, leapt into action. They fired glitch darts at him. Dark knew at a glance that these darts were more powerful than the standard glitch shots they had used in the beginning. 

 

But, they were also more expensive for them to use up, and therefore they had a limited supply. 

 

Grinning at the attempts, Dark weaved effortlessly around the shots and one by one, kicked and punched the three mercenaries down.

They lay on the forest floor, groaning from the sharp, powerful impacts.

 

A quick glance at Chosen told Dark he did not seem to possess the same ability to break free of the pause patch. Maybe he could yank it off?

 

He peripherally spotted another pause coming at him and swiftly dodged. Agent looked extremely ruffled compared to his normally cool and professional demeanor. 

 

“How did you do that?” Agent’s voice was somewhat impressed and in awe as he demanded an answer from the red hollowhead before him.

 

Dark laughed, throwing his head back. It wasn't necessarily an evil one, but it had a slight sharpness to it that sent a shudder of apprehension down Agent's spine.

 

“Did you really expect me to fall prey to that little party trick of yours?” Dark grinningly told him, his hands clenching and his stance shifting into a fighting position. “Agent Smith, was it? You are quite dense to assume such things.”

 

Agent raised an eyebrow at the mention of his name. He shouldn't be well known to the public, so it was odd that the Dark Lord knew who he was. But he pushed the thought aside, fully prepared to utilize his other skills to handle the hollowhead.

 

The Chosen One hadn't moved in the slightest, so it was only the Dark Lord that appeared to possess the capability to resist and/or break free from the pause function.

 

And Agent only had a half-second to move away from the red blur that had dashed at him, fists raised.

 

Agent quickly pulled out the line tool on his assigned arsenal of tech, and increased the pixels on his line, now more like a staff, to 7. Heavy, but light enough for where Agent’s strength was at, that he could be quick with it to block the Dark Lord’s fervent attacks.

 

The hollowhead was growing annoyed with Agent’s evasions and side-stepping at just the right moments.

 

Dark knew he couldn’t afford to get reckless if his and Chosen’s freedom was on the line, though. Instead of flying into a rage at Agent's elusiveness, and risk growing impetuous in his decision making, Dark put more thought into his strikes and even managed to glance his fist across Agent's cheek.

 

Dark was rewarded with a muffled “oof!” from the head mercenary. 

 

Out of his peripheral vision, Dark could see the other three were up on their feet again and hovering near Chosen, as if guarding him. They watched the face-off between their leader and Dark, likely wondering if they should join or instead just watch and not bother to risk ruining Agent’s intense concentration. 

 

Dark was colored slightly impressed with Agent’s speed, very similar to his own. He supposed there was a reason Agent was the leader.

But Dark could easily ramp it up a bit more if he pushed himself, and so he did.

 

Agent was getting pushed back, now to the more desperate point of pulling out the pauses again. Dark was prepared to resist the code, however. The pause would stop him for only a second now, before it melted away into strands of code that dissipated into the air.

 

It was an unknown specialty of his, he supposed. It also helped that during his little session with the wires when he was taking a look at his own core code, that he had implemented certain guards against foreign and demanding code.

 

Like something akin to Alan's mission code, or in this case, code that demanded he pause and even remain unaware while frozen by the code.

 

Agent suddenly created a select box from beneath him and heightened it immediately, causing himself to rise up into the air at great speed, distancing himself somewhat from Dark.

As Dark jumped into the air, flying after him, Agent subtly took a glitch dart out of his gun and held it tight behind his back. He prepared a pause in his other hand, though intentionally having it visible to Dark.

 

Dark smirked when he saw the pause and rushed in, like Agent had hoped. Agent slammed the pause onto Dark and in the split second of time that Dark was frozen, Agent slammed the glitch dart into his arm.

 

The pause wore off and disappeared, and then Dark yelled as the glitching overtook him. 

 

Next, another pause was slammed onto his chest and he knew no more.

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

“Okay, okay,” Purple laughed. “I saw this one this morning. Why did the creeper cross the road?”

 

King looked down at his daughter expectantly, eyes gleaming in anticipation and a happy, soft smile on his face. The two were walking outside along the streets in Stick City.

“Why?”

 

“To get to the other ssssssside!” Purple crowed loudly, hissing the ‘s’ sound in creeper fashion.

 

King laughed and ruffled Purple's hair in affection.

 

“Gah! Da-aad,” Purple reached up and tried to move King's hand. “My haairr…”

 

“Sorry, sorry,” King sighed happily, retracting the hand and taking another sip of his coffee. 

 

Purple smoothed down the messed up hair and set her own coffee aside, briefly, to be able to pull her short ponytail tight again. 

 

She swears, King does this just to get a reaction. Purple did enjoy it a little though. It was only in jest that she voiced complaints, and the both of them knew that.

 

The pair continued walking down the sidewalk, turning into a park and then hoisting themselves up onto the fence post to overlook the busy area.

 

They each sipped from their respective coffees. King's was a hot plain latte, just milk and two shots of espresso. Purple's was a white-chocolate mocha, lightly sweetened to her taste.

 

Purple’s phone buzzed suddenly and Green's latest rendition of “Never Gonna Give You Up” began playing from it. Her face flushed as she realized that Green was calling her.

 

King hid a smile with another sip of his drink, and gestured for her to go ahead and take the call.

 

Face still pink with embarrassment for King having to overhear the cheesy tune, Purple left her coffee on the flat area of the fence and stepped away, pressing the ‘accept call’ button.

 

“Hi, Green!” she said excitedly. “What's up?”

 

“Um, well, I'm fine,” Green said softly. His tone of voice immediately clued Purple in that something was the matter. 

 

“Are you okay?” Purple asked, concern lacing her voice. Then she shifted into a more teasing manner. “Did you try to visit me and get lost or something?” 

 

“Um, no…I just wanted to let you know I have some sad news. I, uh, won't be able to visit Stick City for an indefinite amount of time. Hopefully only a few months, but…it's undetermined.”

 

"Huh?" Purple's eyes widened. "Why? What happened?" 

 

Green gave a long sigh. 

"Oh, where do I even start…? Okay, so you know Chosen? Second's older brother?"

 

"Yep. We haven't met, but you've mentioned him before."

 

"Um, so…well there's a company called Rocket Corporation that's trying to bring Second in for some reason, and since Chosen kinda ruined their plans, he's wanted now."

 

"Oh!" Purple exclaimed, rubbing her chin in thought. "That explains the posters that started appearing everywhere…"

 

"Already?!" Green sounded shocked. Then he groaned. "I hope him and Dark are okay…"

 

"Wh- Dark? Like the Dark Lord, Dark??"

 

"Oh, did I forget to mention he's…on our side now?"

 

"Yes, you forgot to mention that, Green," Purple deadpanned, smiling softly and fondly at her friend's words.

 

"It's a really lengthy story, but he's cool now. He's helping Chosen stay hidden for the time being, and the gang and me are staying holed up on the PC until they give up or it's safe for Second, at least," the sad tone in Green's voice was back and Purple found herself wanting to give him a reassuring hug.

 

"Aww," Purple sighed. "I understand, Green. Thanks for letting me know." 

 

She briefly glanced up at King who was looking at the sky as a large flock of birds was flying away. They were cawing and squawking pretty loudly.

 

"I'll still call you though!" Green told her happily. 

 

"I look forward to it," Purple told him cheerfully. "I should go, Dad's waiting on me. I'll talk to you la-"

 

A loud rumbling suddenly cut her off.

 

Four hoverbiking vehicles, manned by four sticks she didn't recognize, sped through the sky. Purple could see Chosen and the Dark Lord on the backs of one of the vehicles, with a sort of pause icon covering their chests. Her eyes widened as the vehicles came close to the park area.

 

"Purple? What was that?" Green's voice asked her through the phone.

 

Purple took out her phone's camera and quickly snapped a few pictures of the four bikes that were now speeding over the top of the park. They got further and further away in a matter of seconds and Purple was glad she had managed to get pictures.

 

King was coming towards her, a worried expression on his face and he spared a glance at the vehicles in the distance that were now tiny specks.

 

"I just saw Dark and Chosen and I don't think they're okay!" Purple told Green. "Gotta go, I'll text you, bye!"

 

She hung up abruptly, silently apologizing for the suddenness.

 

"Purple, are you okay?" King asked her. "I heard you yell on the phone?"

 

Purple wracked her mind quickly. Who were those guys? Pulling up a picture she'd taken, she zoomed in and gave it a closer inspection while she answered King.

 

"I'm perfectly fine…"

 

She took notice of a Rocket logo on the back of the vehicle that held a paused, motionless Chosen and Dark.

 

"...but I think some of my friends are in trouble."

 

-

 

-

 

“Guys!” Green slammed open the door to the living room, out of breath. He'd run all the way from his room, it seemed, and he carried his phone in one hand.

 

Second, who had been asleep on the couch, was awake now and everyone else who had been enjoying a card game (Yellow was winning) looked up at Green.

 

“Chosen and Dark are in trouble…” Green said, a distressed expression on his face. “Purple sent me some pictures-”

 

“Wait, what do you mean? Are they okay? What's the situation?” Second was suddenly in Green's face, trying to get a peek at his phone. 

 

Green handed the phone over and let Second take a look. Second's eyes widened. 

 

“They're…paused? And that must be Rocket Co.’s logo…” 

He silently handed the phone back to Green, his eyes displaying deep worry for his brothers.

 

“It's only been about 5 hours since we last parted, and they've already been apprehended?” Yellow exclaimed as Green passed the phone around to the others.

 

“I guess Rocket is pretty powerful. There's no way Chosen and Dark went down without fighting,” Blue pondered. “I mean, the ability to just pause someone like that? That's pretty useful…”

 

“We- We have to rescue them!” Second had his hands on his head and was pacing. Green was suddenly reminded of the memory of Chosen pacing in the living room at his house just hours prior. 

 

“We should pack some weapons,” Second listed, muttering to himself but loud enough for the room to hear. “I can draw some… We can bring Minecraft food, right? Yeah.”

 

Second looked up at the hesitation that was clear on his friends’ faces. “Guys?”

 

Yellow took a step forward and slowly and carefully said, “Second, if Rocket Co. has taken the two most powerful sticks we all know of, what makes you think we can do anything?”

 

“Wha- But-” Second couldn't believe his ears. What were his friends thinking?

 

“Besides, Chosen asked us to stay here for your safety,” Blue interjected softly. “We should listen to him.”

 

“And they might escape on their own, too!” added Red. “Both of your brothers are really powerful!”

 

“What about Victim?” Second countered. “He's my brother, too. What if he lied about being powerless? And what if there isn't a way for Cho and Dark to leave?? Shouldn't we at least try to jump to their rescue?!”

 

“Second,” Yellow said gently. “The last time we jumped to someone's rescue... it- it didn't end well.”

 

Ah, right… The Showdown. 

 

Yellow reached out a hand to pat Second's shoulder, but Second shifted away. His face was directed to the floor, his face darkening as he grew upset.

 

“Sec-” Green started.

 

“I'll stay…” Second mumbled. The room grew silent with mixed emotions. Relief being the most universally shared one.

 

Second turned toward the stairway.

“I'm going to bed. I need to process stuff, so I'd like it if I was left alone. At least until morning.”

 

And with that, he disappeared up the steps.

 

“He'll be okay,” Green assured, faking a confidence for his own sake as much as the others.

 

Blue sighed.

“Second hasn't been this upset in a while, and even more time has passed since he was specifically upset with us. ” 

 

“Even the noteblock partying was only a minor annoyance for him,” Yellow added, gathering the cards back into the deck.

 

“We should all get some sleep,” Blue nodded in Red's direction as Red was in the process of rubbing his eyes sleepily.

 

“Hopefully, Second will feel better tomorrow,” Yellow mentioned. He tossed the closed deck of cards onto the tabletop and stretched his arms. “It's certainly hard for him, though. Two brothers might be in big danger, and the other is someone we don't want to meet.”

 

“I'll carry Red up. You coming?” Blue asked Yellow as he shifted the sleeping Red into his arms, gently. 

 

“Yeah, be there in a minute. I wanted to finish something.” 

 

Blue turned and carefully made his way up the stairs.

 

Yellow sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Maybe he could help somewhat.

 

Yellow reached for his laptop and quickly pulled up some articles on Rocket Co. 

 

He wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

 

-

 

-

 

Second felt like punching a wall. He could understand the reasoning of his friends, but that didn't mean he liked it!

 

He had only said he would stay to pacify them. Second wasn't going to just stand by, safe and happy on the PC, while his brothers might be suffering.

 

If he planned well enough, he might be able to break them out. Or maybe he could trade himself for Dark and Chosen's safety and freedom…

What did Victim want with him? What did he have that the head of Rocket wouldn't be able to get from anyone else?

 

If it was something he could do like design a special poster or logo, Second didn't see the harm in helping Victim, in exchange for his other brothers’ release.

 

Second stopped pacing and went digging for a backpack. Mumbling about various items he might need, Second started to fill it to the brim.

 

-

 

-

 

Yellow let out a small yawn from the dark living room corner. He shut the laptop and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest them as he thought about what he had learned.

 

It was mostly unimportant information, like the merchandise they sold. TVs, phones, and all sorts of electronics. For really cheap too. 

 

Yellow could see why they were so popular and well-known. 

 

What he didn't like was the fact that even though they weren't official authorities, their wanted posters were treated with exactly that amount of respect.

 

That wasn't fair to Chosen, who hadn't done anything in years. The websites that he had wrecked havoc on in the past had been fixed up, and no one had dropped charges on him.

But because Chosen was trying to protect Second, Rocket was after him.

 

Hearing a soft creak at the bottom of the stairs had Yellow open his eyes in confusion.

 

Someone had silently crept down the stairway. This wasn't a middle of the night, glass-of-water-run… someone was deliberately being quiet and sneaky.

 

Yellow silently shifted, his night-adjusted vision allowing him to see the silhouette of someone sneaking towards the wifi-rift.

 

The silhouette had a hollowhead, and was precisely the size of young Second, much too short to be any of the others.

Yellow could have slapped his forehead at his friend's plan.

 

The idiot was going to try and sneak away? That meant his declaration that he would stay on the PC was a ruse. 

 

“Second!” Yellow stood up, quickly marching over to the orange hollowhead who yelped in surprise.

 

“Yellow??” Second said incredulously. “Uhm, I was…getting an apple?”

 

Yellow lifted up his watch and turned the flashlight feature on, illuminating Second’s figure and bringing a stuffed backpack into view of the light.

 

“With a full backpack? And near the wifi-rift?” Yellow deadpanned.

 

“Uh….”

 

“You have some explaining to do.”

 

-

 

-

 

Blue, Red, Yellow and Green sat down on the couch. Second sat across from them, his pack open and rooted through by Yellow. The contents were splayed across the tabletop.

 

“Alright, Second,” Yellow sighed. “Go ahead.”

 

Second was silent for long enough that Yellow had almost spoken up again to prompt him, but Second did eventually start talking.

 

“I wanted to rescue Chosen and Dark…” Second said, his voice shaky with barely held back tears. “And since you guys weren't going to let me, I tried to sneak out.”

 

“And Yellow caught you because he's a night owl boiii,” Red added, a ghost of a smile lining his face, but not staying for terribly long since the serious atmosphere of the room put a damper on the mood.

 

“I- I'm sorry…” Second told them, sadly. “I had the thought of…turning myself in and making a deal with Victim, perhaps…”

 

“NO,” the others said at once.

 

“Yeah, I knew that wouldn't go over well,” Second muttered under his breath.

 

“Second,” Blue held the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “I thought we got it through your head, that it's a better plan to stay put.”

 

Second started trembling as his fists clenched. 

“They're my brothers!” Second stood up, tears streaming down his face as his voice hitched. “I have to do something! ”

 

No one spoke, the room so silent that Second’s outburst almost echoed.

 

Green broke the silence first.

“Alright. Let's go, then. Together.”

 

Second tilted his head in surprise, using his arm to wipe the tears from his face.

Red, Yellow, and Blue jerked their heads in Green's direction. 

 

“Wha- Green?” Blue asked incredulously. 

 

“I'm serious,” Green got up and walked over to Second. He sat down on the couch and gently hugged the short hollowhead. “We could sneak in. We can get Chosen and Dark out if we make a good plan.”

 

“I did look up where the corporation was based…” Yellow added.

 

“Really?!” Second asked hopefully. “You- You all aren't trying to placate me so you can lock me in my room or something, right?”

 

“...uhm...” Green muttered. “No... I had the idea at one point, but I wasn't going to.”

 

Second sweatdropped and pulled back from the hug to give Green an unimpressed stare.

“Uh huh…”

 

“A-Anyway!” Green laughed nervously at his young friend's piercing gaze. He turned his attention to the scattered pack contents that Second had gathered for himself.

 

“Oh?” Green picked up a gray and white pencil tool from the table. “Isn't this the pen tool for animating? Why'd you pack that of all things?”

 

“I think it was already in there because I had it with my crayons,” Second replied, his voice no longer so close to breaking out in hysterics and his tone slowly normalizing. “It's very good for emboldening my sketches. I didn't realize it was in there, but I might just bring it for good luck.”

 

“Alright, well first you'll need to use it to get us good weapons,” Blue interrupted, resigning himself to joining in on the plan. 

 

“Ooh!” Red perked up. “Can I have a giant hammer? Or maybe a mace? YEAHHH, A MACE!”

 

“Eh heh heh,” Second chuckled nervously. “Sure… I'll give you a shield too.”

 

“Yeahhh!” Red fist bumped the air above his head. “Sweet!”

 

“We should also think about what our plan is,” Green said. “We can't just force our way in there. The weapons will be more of a last resort if we get cornered.”

 

“Green's right,” Yellow crossed his arms as he looked over the other items on the table. “I can print out the map I found online and we can figure out the best way to infiltrate.”

 

Second smiled. They all were actually doing this! 

 

“Wait,” Blue scrunched up his brow in disbelief. “Rocket Co. just had a map online and available to the public? That is either a really stupid move, or they have something up their sleeve that they're confident can take care of sticks trying to do what we're about to do.”

 

“Ehhhh, nooo,” Yellow laughed sheepishly. “I didn't find this map available to the public… I miiiiight have done a little hacking in their mainframe. Fun fact: The access password to their files is ‘BlastOffAtTheSpeedOfLight’.”

 

“PFFFFT-” Blue fell backward onto the couch, laughing. “I guess Victim likes watching anime.” 

 

“Yeah,” Yellow grinned. “Apparently.”

 

“Ooh!” Red squealed in excitement. “Thanks, Second!”

 

Yellow and Blue turned their heads away from the laptop and glanced in Red's direction. Second had made Red a mace and shield, and Red was swinging it around and getting a feel for it, much to Second's nervousness.

 

Green quickly stepped up behind Red and gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Let's not get too crazy with that for now, ‘kay?”

 

“Aw, okayyy,” Red lowered his hand, still gripping the weapon.

 

“What weapon would you like, Green?” called Second from the Adobe Animate application. 

 

“Um… a staff?” Green thought about it. “Like, with forked ends or something cool like that.”

 

“Ya got it,” the orange 10-year-old said cheerfully. Within a single instant, Second's hand dexterously sketched out a fancy-looking staff. He took ahold of it and turned around, passing it to an impressed Green.

 

It took some time, but eventually, the group felt ready to head toward the wifi-rift. Second kept his pencil on his belt, as well as a sword he'd sketched for himself.

 

For a moment, the five of them stood next to the rift, staring into its pure-white essence. 

 

Then with a cheeky grin, Second leapt backward into the white space. Green yelped in alarm at the suddenness and dove in immediately after Second.

The others quickly followed after Green.

 

Second's laughter echoed through the tunnel as Green yelled at him.

 

“Seconddd! We're supposed to go together, you sticking little-”

 

“I caaaaaaaaan't heeeear youuuuu!” Second shouted as he backwards somersaulted over and over again from the momentum.

 

Eventually, they all reached the end and were falling down towards the water below. 

 

It took several minutes to walk all the way to Rocket Co. but the group's nervous apprehension for the task ahead of them was pushed to the back of their minds. Their strides and chatter were filled with joy and laughter.

Slowly, the water that lingered upon them dried off in the afternoon sunlight.

“Okay, that has to be it…” Yellow peered over the grass hill, gazing at the tall fence that surrounded and encompassed the entirety of Rocket's base.

 

He dropped back behind the short mound, squatting and turning to face the others.

 

“Everyone remembers the plan, right?” Blue checked, slapping a fist on top of an open hand. He carried two pistols in his belt.

 

Everyone else nodded or else made a murmur of confirmation. 

 

“Let's do this then,” Blue sighed, eyes narrowing at the building before them.

 

Second tightened his mouth in determination. 

 

Hang on, Cho… and Dark… He thought. We're coming. 

 

-

 

-

 

Blue aimed his pistol around the corner and shot. A cautious peek around the wall revealed a busted up security camera. Smoke rose up from the device and there were parts of the shattered lens on the ground.

 

“Did you say Second made that thing to have infinite bullets?” Green questioned. He slipped his staff back onto his sheath on his back, since there currently were no other signs of life within the hallway.

 

“Yeah,” Blue smirked. “Prett-y awesome, if I do say so myself.”

 

“I'm worried something bad is going to happen. Was splitting up really a good idea?” Green fiddled with his thumbs anxiously as the pair quietly traversed the vacant hall.

 

“Relaaax, Greenie,” Blue yawled, casually stretching out his hands. His speech was slurred slightly, as if he had something in his mouth. “It's Yellow who came up with our various tasks. Yellow is smart. We shut off the power for the whole building, and when the backup lights come on, Red shuts that off in Sector 5’s basement, and-”

 

“Then Yellow and Second meet with us by the garage entrance where they're probably holding Chosen and Dark, and we all storm the darkened place wearing our cool new night-vision wear,” Green finished with a sigh. “I get it… I can't help feeling a little concerned though.”

 

“Mhm,” Blue mumbled, almost solidifying Green's hunch that Blue was eating something. Blue tapped the goggles that rested atop his head and told Green happily. “Second’s so cool. Infinite bulleted guns, literal night vision… He'th bathically githen us thuperpowers!”

 

“Okay!” Green grabbed ahold of Blue's shoulders –pointedly ignoring the yelp of surprise Blue emitted– and faced him directly toward himself. They stared at each other face to face, so close Blue could feel Green’s breath hitting him.

 

“What. In Alan's name. Are you eating.”

 

Blue hesitantly opened his mouth to reveal chewed up red bits. The smell of the bittersweet netherwart hit Green like a punch to the gut and he immediately stumbled backward with a gag.

 

“Gah!” Green leaned against a wall for support, fighting nausea. “Whyyyy….”

 

Blue hid a grin behind another handful of netherwart that he grabbed from his back pocket. “It's a wonderful stress reliever. Sure ya don't want any?”

 

Green cast him a withering gaze, immediately making Blue hold up his hands peaceably and take a few steps back. 

 

Green stood up with a huff. 

“Let's go and find the dual switches already. Everyone should be in position at this point. It's been almost 20 minutes.”

 

“Already?” Blue wondered as the two rounded the hallway’s turn, still finding no employees. “I suppose we did spent quite a bit of time mapping out the work schedules so we could travel the halls uninterrupted.”

 

Green let out a hum and nodded.

 

An elevator was now in view. 

Blue and Green looked at each other. 

 

“Stairs?” Blue asked.

 

“Stairs,” Green replied.

 

The two turned to use the staircase and were suddenly met by a single employee who held a mug of coffee and a pen. 

 

“Wh- Heh??” the random stick tilted his head as he looked over the two 12-year-old kids in front of him. “Who're you two and how did you get in h-”

 

With a swift whack from Green’s polestaff that he had quickly removed from its sheath, the employee fell to the ground, out cold.

 

Green re-sheathed the staff. Nodding at each other, Green and Blue hoisted the unconscious stick up and stuck him into a convenient locker nearby. 

 

“Hm…” Blue observed the acronym logo pasted on the face of the locker. “Pleasingly Located Over There.” 

 

“P.L.O.T.?” Green wondered. “Huh. Weird… Okay, let's go.”

 

The two quickly left the employee in the PLOT locker and dashed up the short flight of stairs. It shouldn't be too long before they found the dual-persona activated breaker switches. 

 

“Here!” Blue whisper-yelled to Green. He pointed at the double doors before them. 

 

“I hear voices on the other side…” Green sighed. He pulled out his staff again. “You ready?”

 

Blue smirked and cocked back his pistols. Flipping the switch on the top, and changing the bullets to “rubber”, Blue would be sure to at the worst, bruise someone. 

 

“Ready.”

 

“Let's dance, then,” Green smiled back.

 

In synchronized action, the two kicked open the doors –Green taking the left door and Blue taking the right– and the few employees inside nearly fainted at the sudden booming noise.

 

Green and Blue made short work of them, Blue disabling the cameras instantly and then battering at least three employees to boot.

 

Green efficiently knocked out the other five, and then high-fived Blue.

 

Green walked over to one of the large switches, and Blue walked to the other. They each took the respective key that hung on a small hook in front of the switch.

 

“Now!” Green called.

 

They both pushed the keys in at the same time and turned. Then the red light in the middle turned on. 

 

Both Green and Blue recalling Yellow's lecture from earlier then pulled the switches down at once. The room quickly grew dimmer and dimmer, until the entire room went dark. The entire rest of the building was surely out of power as well.

 

“Nice,” Blue stated.

“Hands up!” shouted a stern voice from behind them. 

 

Blue and Green whirled around quickly. At least forty employees with armed weaponry stood at the exit to the room.

 

“Yeaaah, time to leave!” Green took Blue’s hand and dashed to the side of the room. He kicked in a vent cover and the two clamored through the small space. 

 

The commotion of angry employees could barely be heard over the sounds of laughter that reverberated through the vents.

 

-

 

-

 

Second and Yellow stood on top of a parked truck, getting a good look at the garage. The sign at the entrance was labeled 4-12.

They had been waiting for a while, but the power hadn't gone out yet. 

“You think Blue and Green got lost?” Second pondered aloud to Yellow. The young hollowhead snuck his hand into Yellow’s and gave it a nervous squeeze.

 

Yellow smiled assuringly down at his young friend. He clasped Second's hand tight. 

“I drilled the instructions into their heads well. Just wait.”

Second sighed. “Ok-aay…”

Almost as if on cue, the lights then began dimming gradually, a slow droning sound accompanying the action.

Second and Yellow lowered both of their goggles, both stick-figures instantly able to see clearly through the veil of darkness.

“They work just like I imagined!” Second whispered in hushed wonder. “It's like a night vision potion, but permanent.”

 

“How is this possible, Second?” Yellow replied softly. “You just imagine how you want your creation to function, then draw its shape and appearance?”

“Pretty much?” 

“That's… overpowered…” Yellow adjusted the goggles slightly, looking around for Blue and Green. 

Suddenly the lights turned back on in a single flicker. Yellow and Second almost didn't notice at first since they had the goggles on.

“Wait, what?” Yellow slid the goggles back up and observed the light panels above them. “That's not the backup lighting…”

“Oh no!” Second clasped his cheeks in despair. “Did Green and Blue get caught? Ohh, stick, this is all my fault!! I shouldn't have tried to pressure you all into-”

“Second, hush,” Yellow interrupted. “You didn't ‘pressure’ us, we came with you to help of our own accord. We love you Second. You might not be made by the same Animator as us, but you are our family. Green and Blue are fine, I know it.”

Second's shoulders dropped slowly, untensing from their stiff position. He took a few deep breaths. 

“...okay,” Second said, looking up at Yellow who was smiling gently at him. “What should we do?”

Yellow made a thinking noise, for some reason reminding Second of a Minecraft Villager. Second watched as Yellow pulled out a mini-laptop from the book bag slung around his shoulder and brought up designs for the building. 

“I suspect that Blue and Green left through the vent system here…” Yellow murmured as Second tried to get a closer look at the map. 

“Okay… yeah… I can fix that…” Yellow continued talking to himself, only furthering Second's curiosity and slight annoyance.

“Alright,” Yellow stood up. “You come with me and- hm, no, that won't work…”

“What is it, Yellow?” Second bounced in place. “Tell me already!”

So impatient sometimes. Yellow sweatdropped.

“Okay… Second, you need to stay here and keep tabs on this room. I am going to electronically remove the lighting and power, using a little bit of hacking and a direct line from my device to a nearby frame I've located.”

“Whyyy am I not coming with you?” 

“It's easier for me. I need to be really really quiet when I do this. When my work is successful and the power is out again –this time a bit more, heh heh, permanently– I want you to hang out by that vent there and help Blue and Green out,” Yellow pointed as he spoke. “They're going to be here very soon unless they doubled back… Actually, they wouldn't have known the power came back on since the vents don't have lighting anyway, so they wouldn't double back. Yeah…”

“Okay, Yellow,” Second saluted, face serious.

“Be back soon, Sec,” Yellow nodded and he disappeared into one of the vents, muttering to himself.

 

And Second was left alone in the room, sighing softly and wondering if it had been best for him to stay on the PC.

 

-

 

-

Second leaned against the vent cover that Yellow told him Blue and Green would come out of.

 

It had been several minutes and Yellow hadn't come back yet. No one had. 

 

Second fidgeted nervously. There was something eerie about this monochromatic place that set him on edge. As an artist, he took a liking to brighter colors in the first place, but there was a certain unsettling aspect about Rocket Co. unrelated to the dreary color scheme, that made him uneasy.

 

As much as Second had wanted to go alone, if just to keep his friends out of danger, it wasn't easy being by himself. After all the various traumatic events him and the others had gone through, Second probably had separation anxiety at this point.

 

The orange stick sighed softly. Yellow's entire plan hinged on the power going out. They all would be able to traverse the darkened area, unseen, and the power outage would also ensure any features of the prison Dark and Chosen were in would go kaput.

But the lights remained on and Second remained alone.

 

“Hey!” a female voice suddenly called. “What are you doing up there?” 

Second looked around, startled. He took notice of the four mercenaries that had taken Chosen and Dark. They were all looking up at him from the ground and Second realized that his position near the vent cover was a little bit in full view of the rest of the room.

“Uh…” Second thought frantically. “I'm…lost?” 

“Wait, aren't you…?” the leader of the mercenaries spoke. Second could tell he was thinking hard about something despite the glasses that obscured his eyes.

 

Second didn't know what to do. Should he try to crack open the vent and crawl away? Maybe he could… fight the mercenaries? Second felt the hilt of the sword he had drawn on the PC and pondered his options.

 

The motion of the lead mercenary –probably the Agent Smith guy that Victim had spoken to in his office– pulling out a folder and a paper distracted Second from his thought train. Agent looked up at Second and then back at the paper.

“You're the Second Coming…” Agent mumbled, though Second heard every word as the large room was very quiet.

“Uhm, nooo, I don't know who that is,” Second held up his hands, slowly scooting closer to the already open vent that Yellow had left through. “Anyways, I think I'm just gonna leave, you all can go back to what you were doing-”

 

A shot from a gun barely missed Second’s nose, slamming into the wall beside him. Second let out a short gasp. 

He looked over at the mercenaries and saw that Agent held up a smoking gun, his gaze stern and determined. The shot had missed on purpose, a simple warning.

“Don't move, boy,” Agent demanded. Nodding to one of the other mercenaries, he added. “Ballista. Primal. If you would?”

 

Two of the mercenaries, Ballista and Primal apparently, stepped forward. Primal swelled up in stature, gaining a heavy, muscular form. She picked up Ballista and threw him up to the catwalk where the vent that Second was aiming for was.

“Uh oh,” Second squeaked softly. He took a step back, eyes frantically scanning the room for a different escape. Unfortunately, all other viable options required coming down to the floor where the other mercenaries waited for him.

 

Ballista charged at Second, too close to bother shooting and so his hands were held up in a punching stance. Whether or not he planned on pinning Second, or actually hurting him, or what the deal was, Second wasn't inclined to stay still and let it happen.

Hardly even thinking about it, Second pulled out his pencil tool and swirled it in circular motion, a thick and bold line being released and forming into a shark. 

The creature, not needing any water to breathe or float in the air like it did, immediately descended upon the short statured mercenary. Second ran the other way across the rafters, aiming for the closed vent that Green and Blue would have exited from.

Another shot, landing in the wall inches ahead of him, made him stop and rear his head back instinctively. Second wobbled on the edge of the rafter beam, and then fell atop a truck below. 

Head ringing from the impact, Second managed to stand up, gripping the pencil with a sense of determination. 

Agent now had possession of a thick black line that he wielded in a similar manner to the way Green wielded his staff. Second deftly moved the pencil tool in the air again, this time creating giant eels and sending them towards the three mercenaries on the ground.

Agent's eyebrows lit up in surprise. He was not often taken aback, usually in the habit of expecting certain things to happen and being prepared for anything.

But the Dark Lord had broken free of his strongest weapon, in unprecedented manner and multiple times over to boot. Now this child had the ability to spawn creatures out of thin air? Well, from that pencil he held, but still. Agent had never seen anything like it.

What is it about hollowheads that contradict the reality that Agent knew, the laws of possibility broken in the face of their natural abilities? It cannot have been coincidental that the two times Agent was faced with the impossible becoming possible, it was as a result of the direct actions of a hollowhead.

 

Furthermore, the Second Coming apparently held a great power within him, a power Agent wasn't sure he could grasp how powerful. But Victim had mentioned the child had no knowledge of it. As of right now, the young stick was not awakened with energy, and so Agent led his team in.

The child was jumping over to another truck, continuing to draw as he leapt, trying to keep a heightened position and distance between the mercenaries that pursued him. Another eel blocking Agent's pathing forced him to pause his pursuit and slay it. 

 

Ballista was avoiding most of the eels as he was actually higher than the Second Coming, still on the rafters above. The orange hollowhead quickly noticed, however, when Ballista was getting close and as a result drew more eels to slow him.

Agent noticed yet another eel coming for his face, but this time, he utilized his staff and pole-vaulted over it. The momentum gained from the action allowed him to land neatly on top of a truck nearby.

The Second Coming was on the truck next to him, a nervous and yet firm expression on his face. He held the pencil tool at the ready, as if daring Agent to make a move toward him.

Primal and Hazard had taken care of their own attacking eels. They now stood on the ground below the truck Second was on top of, preventing him from jumping down to run.

Ballista was above, punching the life out of a particularly large eel and just about finished killing it. 

Nodding in satisfaction at his team's position, Agent pulled out his toolbar and prepared to jump over to the Second Coming.

 

The child's eyes gained a panicked frantic energy as he surveyed the room himself. But he kept his cool all the same, and even quickly drew a shield to hold as Primal had thrown a spear at the hollowhead. 

Primal's spear ricocheted off the shield and was flung far away, the Second Coming stumbling slightly after the impact.

Agent landed on the large truck's top and faced the orange kid, his staff at the ready and a full toolbar of abilities ready to be used.

“Can… we talk about this?” Second's voice cracked as he hesitantly asked Agent his inquiry. The pencil lowered a centimeter, displaying a willingness to not fight if unnecessary.

Agent shook his head. What was there to talk about? He was a mercenary. A hired hand. Victim would be doing the talking once the Second Coming was in custody.

 

The child's face hardened and the pencil raised again, though his appearance still resembled that of a cornered deer. The hollowhead was prepared to defend himself, but was nervous about it nevertheless.

Agent moved forward and the Second Coming drew an eel in the same instant. Agent swiftly brought up a select box shield to bash away the eel, and then another eel, and yet another as the kid kept drawing them.

Unfortunately for the child artist, Agent was slowly making his way closer to the hollowhead, and the Second Coming was already standing on the edge of the truck top.

Suddenly, a large hand was drawn into existence; Not a stick nub but a humanistic-like hand that took hold of Agent's shield and pushed him back. 

Agent frowned in irritation. The distance he had just worked to close between himself and the Second Coming had been lost as soon as he’d gained it. Annoyed, Agent put away his line staff and brought his lasso tool into existence. 

 

With years of experience showing in his every movement, Agent stretched out the rope and allowed it to curl and tighten around the Second Coming’s leg. He began pulling and bringing the child closer, much to the dismay and panic of the hollowhead before him.

Primal, Hazard, and even Ballista –still above in the rafters– kept moving their heads back and forth, watching the battle and searching for a good opportunity to help if their leader needed it.

Second scrambled for a grip on the edge of the truck to halt Agent's pull, but failed to grasp it in time. Instead, he drew a pick which he slammed into the truck top. The pick was sturdy, unbreakable, and ripped into the truck like butter and effectively serving to cease the way Agent had been dragging him. 

Second kicked free of the rope, but before he could rise to his feet, Agent had run forward. The lasso had been put away and he once again wielded his line staff, raising it above his head to whomp Second, presumably. 

 

Second barely rolled to the side to avoid a heavy blow that would have surely stunned him or knocked him out. Breathing heavily, Second attempted to get to his feet again but suddenly Ballista was on him. He’d jumped off of the rafters and utilized fall momentum to sucker punch Second. 

The two fell off the edge of the truck, Second’s back painfully taking the brunt of impact. 

The last thing Second saw was Agent above him on the truck, holding up a familiar looking pause icon and thrusting it at him.

 

-

 

-

 

Second came to awareness in a cell.

Agent was outside, putting away his toolbar, having just unpaused him. Before Second could think to ask any questions, the mercenary was already halfway across the room, leaving Second alone in his barred enclosement.

Second groaned and rose to a sitting position. He felt his head to find his goggles missing. His belt was empty of the pencil and his sword. 

And his back was slightly sore from the harsh landing he'd taken.

Stifling the urge to break out in hopeless tears, Second sighed and tried to think. 

 

Was it possible that the others were still free? Yes. Was it possible they could find him and get him out of here? Yes. 

Could that happen before Agent let Victim know that Second had been apprehended? Well, that one Second wasn't sure about.

How had things gone so badly? What was his luck that he alone was found by all four of Rocket’s seemingly best warriors. Even if Yellow and additionally both Green and Blue had been there, Second doubted the tides of the fight would have changed much.

And the pencil...

Second hadn't had the time to think too much about it while in the heat of battle, but now that all was still he could.

He hadn't realized that the pencil could be used outside of the Adobe Animate application. Interesting. 

 

Second sat there in the cell for at least ten minutes, waiting for something to happen. 

 

And happen something did.

 

Second had his head buried into his knees in a curled up sitting position when he heard the whirring of a garage door. 

Second looked up at the slowly opening door across the room his cell was in. It took almost a full minute for the door to open all the way.

 

There was a single stick on the other side, impatiently glaring at the garage door like it offended him. He was a grey hollowhead who wore a fancy suit and tie, the icon of professionalism. 

Second's eyes widened as he realized that this stick… must be Victim. 

Victim met Second's eyes with a soft smile, glee and excitement in Victim's posture. He approached Second's cell quickly and looked him over.

 

“My youngest brother!” He spoke. “Young little Second Coming! It is wonderful to finally meet you~”

 

-

Notes:

Not me just handing out mental breakdowns to Dark right off the bat, heh heh.

And you get trauma, and you get trauma-

I've broken my record for most words in a single chapter....
Even chapter 8 is only 8,900 something words. (Yeah, prepare your butts for that, friends. It is quite the doozy, hehe)

Chapter 8 is absolutely my favorite chapter so far. Expect it to come out VERRRY soon.
:D

Chapter 8: Victim

Summary:

Victim has things up his sleeves and they are quite foreboding and ominous. Just like how chapter 9 will be, hehe

(9,255 words)

Notes:

I couldn't even wait a full twenty-four hours...
I couldn't even wait a full twelve hours!
I hope you all are happy that I'm so impatient.

ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS

Chapter 1- ) 391 words
Chapter 2- ) 2,349 words
Chapter 3- ) 2,827 words
Chapter 4- ) 1,680 words
Chapter 5- ) 5,455 words
Chapter 6- ) 6,472 words
Chapter 7- ) 9,314 words
Chapter 8- ) 9,255 words

THEY KEEP GETTING LONGER HOWWW

Oh yeah, also:
-
Say goodbye to the real world
My little superstar
You're the brand new act at the carnival
Just stay right where you are
.
There's no hope of extraction
Now you're the main attraction
Get the show underway
Singing day, after day, after day
.
You're looking for a way out of here
You're talking to the great engineer
There's nothing there in the Void, so avoid it, my dear
This door has never been opened
Surrender, give up hope
Get the show underway
Get that smile on display
And obey
.
I've been listening to "No Exit"
It's an amazing Amazing Digital Circus song by LongestSoloEver.

….

Heh.
That doesn't exactly bode well for this chapter's content, now does it…

Feast!
Enjoy!
Drop me comments!

:D

 

"Who're you?" Second scrambled to his feet, backing away. "What do you want?"

 

"Don't fret, Second Coming," Victim spoke calmly as he unlocked and entered the cell, gently shutting the door behind him. "I'm your eldest brother. You may call me Vic."

 

Second already knew about Victim being his brother. Chosen, Dark, and Green had relayed the information that Victim had offered through the speaker to everyone else since they all had fallen asleep and missed most of the conversation. 

 

Second didn't mention this to Victim, and simply scrunched up his nose --as he did when he was thinking intently or was confused-- in an attempt to appear somewhat surprised.

"So you're older than Chosen and Dark too," Second said aloud, eyeing Victim warily.

 

Victim raised an eyebrow at the way Second casually shortened their names.

 

"Yes," he answered with a soft smile. "Yes, I am. More to the point, I am in need of your assistance. Interested?"

 

"What?" Second cocked his head sideways. "My assistance? Why me? Why not Chosen or Dark's? Where even are they, anyway?!"

 

"Well, they're contained elsewhere," he chuckled lightly, as if to alleviate Second's nervousness, however, it only resulted in sending a shiver of unease down Second's spine. "In any case, you can certainly see them again as long as you agree to help me."

 

"Help you with what?" Second asked, his back now completely up against the opposite side of the cell, as far away as possible from his apparent oldest brother.

 

"Just with a special project of mine," Victim dodged the subject with a vague statement, his voice growing softer and more gentle as he noticed the tense position Second was in. "I can tell you more details once you're on board."

 

Second was silent as he thought about it. His eyes threatened to well up in tears, but he suppressed the urge to cry.

"No," Second whispered to Victim. His voice choked. "I- I want to see my brothers! I want to go home...."

 

A look of terrifying fury flashed across Victim's face, but was almost instantly replaced with an expression of mild disappointment.

Second felt himself shudder and he pressed himself further into the bars of the cell.

 

Victim sighed as he thought about something. 

 

As if coming to a decision, Victim's "nice guy" persona dropped. 

His face was now cold, commanding and downright scary. 

He took yet another step toward Second, causing the young hollowhead to flatten himself against the cell wall.

 

Suddenly, Second was seized by the throat, a choked cry escaping him.

The 10-year-old let out a whimper as Victim leaned close, towering over Second.

 

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice, dear child," he drawled out, strangely calm for someone who was choking the living daylights out of his littlest brother. "You will help me with what I need, or you'll face dire consequences."

 

Tears were streaming down Second's face, his breaths short and gasping. His hands kept flailing around the hand holding his neck, trying to remove it.

 

"Do you understand, young one?"

 

Second began trying to kick at Victim's feet as the shorter hollowhead struggled in the grasp of the taller stick that held him.

His chest was starting to hurt with the difficultly he was having with breathing.

 

Second let out a sharp whine.

"Ch- Cho!" The boy managed to rasp out, calling for his other brother.

 

"Aw, how sweet," Victim said mockingly. He tightened his grip on Second's neck, cutting off his words and making him cry out again from the pain and discomfort. "You two must be so close... Like I said before, Second Coming, you can see your dear 'Cho' again if you just agree to help me."

 

The edges of Second's vision were beginning to black out, every word that Victim spoke seeming to echo painfully in the confined area.

Heaving a deep sigh, as if Second's choking sounds and gasping was a great inconvenience, Victim released his hold on Second and watched the child drop to the floor in a coughing fit.

 

Second's chest heaved with sobs as he caught his breath. He barely took notice of Victim exiting the cell and locking the door once he was out.

 

"I suppose I can just force you into the chamber..." Victim thought aloud, sending a jolt of fear running through Second. "I don't necessarily need you to agree with me. Hm. I really did hope we could be on friendlier terms. Artist to artist. How disappointing."

 

Second heard his footsteps getting fainter as Victim walked away.

 

"Don't even know why I bother..." Victim's muttering was fading.

 

Second's thoughts began running wild as he continued trying to ease and calm himself down. What was this chamber Victim mentioned? Where was he keeping Chosen and Dark? Would he ever see them again? Would he ever see his friends again?

 

A few minutes passed, and Second could breathe almost normally, though his neck still ached.

 

Slowly rising to a sitting position and massaging his likely bruised neck, Second sniffled and curled his knees up to his chest. He missed his brothers --except for Victim. He didn't miss Victim at all-- and his friends.

 

"It was a mistake to come here..." Second whispered to himself.

 

"Maybe," a voice to his left answered him.

Second let out a startled gasp that was strangely reminiscent of a raspy pig squeal, and looked to where he'd heard the voice.

One of the mercenaries, the smaller-statured pixelated one, was there, about 10 feet away from the cell. He sat on top of a metal crate, looking at Second curiously. 

 

"Wh- why- what- who-," Second stammered, unsure what to even ask.

 

"The names Ballista!" He smiled cheerfully, a hint of sympathy visible in his eyes as he looked at Second. "I'm here to ask you some stuff, even though I'm not supposed to talk to ya."

 

Second stared at Ballista silently, eyebrows raised. So the mercenary was here to get information from him?

His voice was definitely that of an adult stick, despite the dwarfism.

 

"Soooo, kiddo, how in the everloving stickshift did you make that pen do all that cool stuff?" Ballista bounced in place excitedly, his eyes wide and full of boundless energy.

 

Something about the pixelated stick made Second lower his guard. 

This guy didn't seem so bad, or at least he wasn't "fake nice" like Victim had tried to be...before he revealed his true colors.

 

"I just...drew them," Second uttered hesitantly, still not quite trusting one of the sticks responsible for his imprisonment, but not seeing the harm in answering the particular question Ballista asked. "I like animating and drawing."

 

"Huh," Ballista cocked his head. "Well, the lab tried to do what you did and they failed miserably. It was honestly hilarious!" 

He started cackling and rocking backward. There was no malice in his tone, though. He seemed to genuinely just find the situation funny.

 

Second offered him a small smile back, which Ballista noticed immediately. 

 

"Hey, there ya go!" Ballista brightened. "Knew there had to be some happiness behind your moping exterior."

 

Second chuckled a small amount, beginning to match the happy countenance of the short mercenary. 

 

Then Second's expression shifted into a more serious one. "Why are you helping me cheer up like this? I thought...I thought..." Second trailed off, trying to find the right words.

 

"That I hated you?" Ballista asked, his eyes dawning in understanding and his mouth pinching into a frown. 

 

Second could only shrug.

 

"Well...it was my job to apprehend you. I was obligated to do my work is all. No hard feelings," Ballista explained. Next he let out a chuckle. "Besides, you did make our mission suuuper difficult with that pen. Heh. I'd say we're about even, probably."

 

Second smiled and let out a huff of laughter. Then his throat seized and he started coughing painfully. 

 

Ballista sat up at the sound, eyes concerned.

 

The orange hollowhead cleared his throat and rubbed his neck as if to shoo the discomfort away. 

"Gahh," Second muttered and took slow breaths.

"You alright, dude?" Ballista piped up, suddenly right up against the bars of the cell and gazing at Second with a concerned countenance. 

 

Second yelped at Ballista's suddenly close proximity. 

"Stick! You move fast..."

 

Ballista cackled at that. He smiled proudly and puffed out his small chest. 

"It's a specialty of mine."

 

Rubbing an eye as sleepiness began to take ahold of him, Second softly laughed once more. Then he grew more serious and somber.

"You, uh...don't happen to know where...um...The Chosen One and The Dark Lord are, do you?" Second asked quietly, the taste of his brothers' full names not quite sounding right. It was much too...formal. 

 

"The other prisoners..." Ballista scrunched up his brow in thought. "I think it was next to..."

Then he started mumbling to himself.

"Was it Garage 2-11 or 3-11?"

 

He shook his head. "Ah, I don't remember the name of the hall that leads to their cells, or which garage it was next to, but I could walk there for sure." 

 

Second perked up a bit at the news, mentally pushing back the cloud of tiredness that loomed over his mind. 

"Are- Are they okay? They're not hurt or anything?" 

 

Ballista looked at Second's intense, worried expression. The mercenary shook his head.

"Nope, they've been left alone in the same area. It's kinda far from here, but if you yell through the vent system, the sound will travel to their cell." 

He gave Second a wink.

 

Second's attention was directed to a vent on the wall behind him, the bars close enough to it that Second could reach through and touch the vent cover.

 

"R-really? You're not messing with me?" Second's eyes widened in hope.

 

Ballista shook his head. 

"All true. I know because they were yelling at Boss, not too long ago, when he was visiting them. I was in this area. Heard pretty much every word despite the cell area being such a great distance away."

 

Second rubbed his eye again, stifling a yawn as well as relieved tears.

"Thank you, Ballista. That means a lot."

 

"Sure, no problem, kid," Ballista smiled. "Just don't tell the boss I said anything. I'm really not supposed to be here, but I wanted to meet you!" 

 

He examined Second's face again and asked, "You feeling tired, kiddo? I can leave if you want to nod off."

Second shrugged, his eyes drooping, but beginning to enjoy the mercenary's company.

 

"Okay, then!" Ballista said. "I should probably get out of here before I'm caught, anyway. Nice to make your acquaintance!"

 

And he dashed away, gone in a matter of seconds.

 

Second curled up in the corner of the cell. Shifting his body until he was comfortable, Second laid his head on his knees and drifted off.

 

-

 

-

 

Second awoke with a snap. 

 

He thought he had heard Dark's voice for a moment. 

 

It was then that Second remembered Ballista's tip about the vent and he perked up, whatever grogginess he'd possessed quickly fading from his mind. 

 

Second turned to the vent. He took a deep breath.

 

Here goes nothing.

 

"Chosen?" Second called down the vent. "Dark?" 

 

There was a moment of silence.

 

Did- did it not work? Was Ballista mistaken? Did he not yell loud enough for his brothers' to hea-

 

"Second? Is that you??" A faint voice that was surely Dark's carried through the vent.

 

"Dark! It's me!" Second bounced happily. 

 

"How are you here?! Are you in the vent?! Hold on, Chosen's asleep, I'm going to wake him up."

Dark's voice was a little clearer now. He must have gotten closer to the vent. There was still an odd echoing sheen to his voice as it traveled through the ventilation system, but it was so nice to hear from him.

 

"Second?" Chosen's voice came through. He sounded worried and frantic. 

 

"Cho!" Second laughed. "You're okay!"

 

"Wha- you- wh- HOW ARE YOU HERE?! Are you stuck in a cell too? How did you even know we got captured?" Chosen sounded confused, but the worry in his voice had dimmed since he heard Second's laugh.

 

"Ye-es. I...um...it's a long story..." Second spoke loudly enough for his voice to carry, though the sheepish tone he used was unmistakable.

 

"Are you okay? Did Victim approach you yet?" Chosen asked, the worry in his voice was back.

 

".....yes. He's not very nice," Second replied, absentmindedly stroking his bruised, tender neck.

 

"Did he hurt you?! I swear to Alan, if he laid a hand on you..." Chosen's voice was now furious and he trailed off into a string of graphic curses and descriptions of what he'd do to the eldest hollowhead brother.

 

It was at that moment in Second's attempt at speaking, his voice caught and he accidentally let out a string of coughing. He gasped and managed to halt the coughing fit after a moment.

 

"That son of a damn glue stick!!" Chosen cursed loudly, causing Second to flinch.

 

"What. Did. He. Do?" Dark demanded, just as angry as Chosen. Then he muttered quietly to Chosen. "Stick, Cho, tone down your language. We're talking to Second."

Chosen made an upset huff in response.

 

Second, who barely heard that last part, managed a slight smile before it fell again and he answered Dark's inquiry.

 

"He- He got me by the throat and choked me for a bit since I wasn't agreeing to help him with some mystery project of his." Second stated, traces of bitterness in his voice.

Strings of murmured curses were faintly heard from the vent, mostly Chosen's voice, but not loud enough for Second to detect what he was saying.

"I missed you guys," Second added softly, changing the uncomfortable subject.

 

Chosen was immediate with his reply.

"I missed you too, Second. I would give you so many hugs if I were there, you wouldn't know what to do with them."

 

"Me as well," Dark added. "You're the only one younger and shorter than me. What would I do without ya?"

 

This prompted a giggle out of Second, which in turn led both his brothers to laugh as well.

 

This was nice. It had been a stressful few hours, but speaking with his brothers made Second feel a lot better.

 

"Have you heard anything about where the others are?" Second wondered.

 

"They're here too?!" Dark said. "Wha- You guys- WHAT THE STICK DID YOU ALL DO?!"

Second cringed and waited a moment before speaking again.

"Purple sent us a picture of you guys paused on the backs of the mercenaries' vehicles, and after some debating, we decided to come try to rescue you!" Second replied. Then he softly added. "It...didn't go as planned. We got separated, and the mercenaries found me, alone."

 

"For Alan's sake..." muttered Chosen. 

 

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door slowly whirring open. Second swiftly turned around to face the large door in his cell's room.

 

"Second? What's that?" Chosen asked, his concerned voice faintly heard over the sound of the door slowly opening.

 

When Second noticed a familiar grey hollowhead's face in the distance, waiting for the door to finish opening, Second immediately gasped.

 

"It's Victim. He must be here to take me to some chamber to help with his project thing!"

 

"No!" Dark and Chosen yelled in unison.

 

"Okay, Second, go along with what he says for now," Chosen instructed quickly, the echoes of his words through the vent muffling his voice even worse as his volume raised. "I don't want you to get more hurt than you already are. Me and Dark will bust out of here and get you out. It might take us some time, but we're coming. Hold tight for us, okay?"

 

"Okay, Cho..." Second spoke. His voice was hesitant, but he had full trust in his brothers.

 

"We love you!" Chosen called before going silent, so as not to give away the vent communication to anyone else.

 

Second heard the thud! of the door stopping, having opened all the way, followed by Victim's footsteps toward Second. 

 

The two locked eyes, one stick cold and purposeful, the other terrified and trying to hide it.

 

Victim was flanked by four random employees. 

The quartet of employees and Victim stopped in front of Second's cell. 

 

Second gulped softly, not rising from his curled sitting position on the floor. 

 

"Hello, Second Coming," Victim spoke crisply, no traces of "nice guy" act in his tone. "Feeling more cooperative?"

 

Second thought about what Chosen had said. He looked up at Victim and replied, "Y-yes..." 

 

His voice was more whispered than he intended, but Victim's eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise. 

 

"Glad to hear it!" He smiled, though there was no mirth or happiness in it.

He snapped his fingers and an employee opened the cell door and went inside, taking ahold of Second's arm and guiding him to his feet. 

Second was led out of the cell.

Victim leaned over Second, reaching out a finger and tracing the purple-ish bruises that had formed, almost in a gentle soothing manner, though Second knew it was anything but.

 

Second flinched and gasped at the contact, trying to hold in a yelp of pain. 

 

"Hm." Victim hummed, no emotion peaking through, but an odd glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

He then stepped back, turning away and leading the employees who held Second out of the room.

Second did his best to breathe rhythmatically, but he was beginning to feel scared of what "the chamber" was. Surely Dark and Cho would reach him before anything bad happened, right?

 

"C- can I ask what the chamber is?" Second ventured cautiously, voice trembling slightly. 

 

Victim whirled around so swiftly, halting so suddenly in his stride that if not for the employees that held his arms, Second might have run into the grey hollowhead.

 

Victim let out another emotionless hum of thought as he mulled over Second's inquiry.

"Welllll," he drawled out. "I think I'll tell you once we're there." He then chuckled slightly and added, "Wouldn't want you to get ideas of escaping before the show begins, now would we?"

 

Second didn't reply. He hunched his shoulders in on himself nervously, eyes straying to the ground and avoiding Victim's face. 

 

And with that, Victim turned back around and continued leading the way through the building.

Second's eyes widened as they passed a sign that read Garage 3-11. Were his brothers contained somewhere around here?

 

Victim led the employees and Second past the sign without a single sign of hesitation or pause.

 

Next they entered a room with a giant, clear, cylindrical enclosement. Was this the "chamber" Victim had mentioned?

 

"Put him inside," Victim ordered as he made his way to a large piece of machinery. 

 

Second didn't struggle, much to Victim's amused grin, as he was pushed into an opening in the giant chamber. 

 

The transparent, barely visible hatch quickly closed and blended perfectly with the rest of the cylinder's walls.

 

"How is your relationship with Alan, by the way?" Victim spoke. Somehow, his voice was still clearly heard through the chamber walls even though Second saw no openings for sound to pass through.

 

"Um. Good!" Second allowed an anxious, but bright smile to appear on his face. "He's very nice and we draw lots of stuff together."

 

That seemed to irritate Victim for a split second, but just like eariler, he masked his emotions with a blank, neutralized expression immediately after. 

He even managed a grin, even though anger was clear in his eyes. 

 

"How interesting."

Victim began pressing buttons on a control panel, and a loud humming was heard, quickly beginning to grow louder and louder before reaching a steady, consistent volume.

 

Second could feel the humming vibrations of the machinery that was next to the chamber through the wall he was touching. His breaths started to quicken as the beginnings of panic started settling in. 

 

"Did you know that this machine has the capability to bring a human into the Outernet?" Victim asked Second. Not waiting for an answer he continued. "The selected human will go into a coma in the real world and become an avatar of sorts in here."

 

"What?!" Second yelped. "How is that possible? Wait...are you bringing Alan here?" 

 

"Yes. Yes, I am, child," Victim answered. His gaze intently bored into Second, making the young hollowhead feel uncomfortable. 

 

"Unfortunately, the machine requires a sum of energy so great that even the Chosen One and the Dark Lord's power combined and then multiplied a thousand times over would not meet even half the requirements."

 

"Th- then why am I here?" Second's eyes widened. 

 

"Ah, you poor thing," Victim cooed. "You have no knowledge of the great abilities you possess."

 

"Huh?!" Second screeched, backing up against the opposite wall of the chamber, not at all liking where this was going. The chamber was beginning to rattle slightly as the machine picked up.

"I- I want out!!" Second tried pounding on the wall. 

His body was getting tingly, like there was electricity in the air. It was starting to feel uncomfortably hot, like his very insides were steaming.

Though the heat didn't seem to be a result of the machine or the chamber, it was like some sort of dormant energy was building up inside him, trying to claw it's way out.

 

Victim simply laughed at the young hollowhead's attempt at getting away. 

 

"Finally!" Victim crowed, a triumphant manic energy in his eyes. "Get ready, little Second Coming, to meet your Da-ad~"

Victim used a sing-song tone to speak of Alan in a teasing, maliciously joyful manner. His face shone with anticipation.

Second's entire body was burning like he was in flames and tingling like he had been dipped in a bath of fizzy soda. 

He shut his eyes as they were in too much pain to keep them open any longer. The orange hollowhead started screaming as it felt like his body was starting to turn inside out.

There was the sound of wood splintering, and a loud crash! combined with a surprised yelp that Second identified as coming from Victim.

 

"Second!!" someone yelled. 

 

Second couldn't tell who. All he knew was pain, and noise, and pain, and heat, and so much noise as well as the knowledge he was floating in the middle of the chamber, suspended in the air. 

His skin was electricity and his mind was on fire.

His tears felt lava hot and he could see flashes of a brilliant green even through his shut eyelids.

 

Too much information. Too much, too much!

And then it was dark and silent, his thoughts no more as he slipped suddenly into a dreamless trance.

=========

Chosen punched a wall of his and Dark's cell, but without his enhanced strength –every time he tried to use his powers the maximum security cell would shock him– all he achieved was causing pain in his knuckles.

 

He shouted in anger and began pacing, much like he had done when he learned of Victim's existence via the listening device.

 

Dark, much calmer (At least outwardly. He was still fuming, rest assured.) than his cellmate, sat against one of the walls, watching Chosen and thinking hard about escaping.

 

After another minute or two, Chosen stopped pacing, sighing softly and sliding into a sitting position next to Dark. 

 

"Stupid power-blocking interference..." he muttered. 

 

"Tell me about it," Dark grumped, his first words since they'd woken up in here.

 

"How long has it been?" Chosen wondered, wishing the maximum security walls were clear so he could actually see a clock...if there even was one in proximity to the cell's location. 

 

Dark, who had always held the odd talent of knowing exactly how much time was passing, quickly replied, "23 minutes."

 

Chosen furrowed his brow. It had seemed like hours to him.

 

"What about since we last saw Second and the others?"

 

Dark took a second to do a quick, mental math addition problem.

"8 hours and 49 minutes."

 

".....I will never cease to be amazed at what are either your random guesses, or insanely perfect calculations," Chosen told his brother, earning a playful shove from him.

 

"When we get out, I'll build you a watch so you can time something yourself and witness my flawless accuracy," Dark grinned and ran a hand through his hair in a magazine model fashion, a piece of his personality that was achingly familiar in egotistical manner to the mission-code driven Dark Lord of the past.

 

Chosen couldn't stop himself from grinning. He reached over and held Dark's hand for security. 

"At least we're here together," he sighed contentedly, only the slightest undertones of exasperation with their situation peaking through in his voice.

 

"Yeah!" Dark replied, happily giving Chosen a friendly squeeze with his hand. His grin had brightened significantly.

 

Chosen thought about that. Dark always seemed much more gleeful when Chosen gave him a loving indication like so. Dark really had missed him, huh...

"Is this the one?" A strangely familiar voice spoke, muffled somewhat and seeming to some from the other side of their maximum security walls.

 

Chosen and Dark were on their feet in an instant, surprised at the sudden presence of someone else. They looked at each other, the same expressions of confusion on both sticks.

 

"Yes, s-sir," a more nervous voice replied. 

 

"Wonderful. Set the walls to default translucency and open the speaker hatches."

A whirring and a clanking noise was heard, and suddenly both Chosen and Dark could see through the walls, the deep gray-brown color having changed into a clear, light blue shade.

The two imprisoned sticks could now see a random employee holding a remote of some sort standing aside a confident, grey hollowhead.

 

Victim.

 

"You," Chosen began, his face immediately twisting into a scowl.

 

"Hello, Chosen One! How lovely to finally meet you! And the Dark Lord as well? A pleasant surprise indeed," Victim spoke cheerfully with an undertone of malicious glee. His voice was much clearer than before. 

 

"Why are you doing this?" Dark demanded. "Aren't you supposed to be our brother?! Brothers don't lock their family in cages! Or try to kidnap them! Or do any of the things you've done."

 

"Hm," Victim gave Dark a calculating stare, analyzing the red hollowhead with his eyes and taking note of his barely shaking fists that were clenched shut. 

 

Poorly concealed anger, a hot temper, and a protective instinct over his brothers...aside from me. Victim thought.

 

"Says the Dark Lord of all sticks," Victim laughed openly, relishing in the way Dark grit his teeth at the sound of Victim's voice. "Did you, yourself, not just too long ago engage in similar activ-"

 

"SHUT UP!" Chosen snapped. "You really don't know anything, do you? Sure, we had a fight! A pretty bad one at that! But we've moved past it. What do you have to say for yourself? Huh?"

 

Victim narrowed his eyes, irritation crossing his features before he schooled the emotion away and adopted a blank, more neutral face.

 

He shrugged impassively and uncaringly.

"I mean, I do have a whole corporation at my beck and call."

Victim was unable to keep a slight, taunting smile off of his attempted emotionless expression. 

 

"Well, gee..." Dark glowered at the eldest hollowhead. "Congrats."

 

"Aw, thank you!" Victim laughed, straightening his tie in a proud fashion. "It was quite a bit of work in the beginning to set up. But now we are flourishing!" He stretched his arms out in a grand gesture to the spacious room.

 

Chosen and Dark glared silently at the grey hollowhead, their expressions matching each other perfectly.

 

"Heh," Victim continued. "I can understand if you aren't particularly fond of Rocket Co. since you aren't particularly fond of me."

 

"Damn right we aren't..." Dark muttered so quietly only Chosen heard the statement.

 

"But, I really do have good intentions!" Victim set a hand on his heart and smiled at his prisoners. "I only want to remove a terrible being from existence. To better every other stick's lives!"

 

Chosen's eyes narrowed as he pondered the proclamation. He was talking about Alan, wasn't he? Chosen recalled that Victim had mentioned "suffering deletion".

 

Dark voiced Chosen's exact thoughts.

"You mean Alan!?"

 

Victim tapped his nose and then pointed at Dark in a you're-exactly-right manner.

"Correct! You two of all sticks should agree with me, that we're all better off without him."

 

"I- I disagree, actually!" Chosen spoke up, thinking about his words carefully. "I'll admit, I'm still not exactly comfortable around him... But I do know he's changed for the better and I'm not up for killing him!"

Besides, Alan had been good to Second. The two had a strong, tight-knit bond and Second would never be the same if Alan was killed. Chosen couldn't live like that, seeing the bright and cheerful hollowhead turn into an empty shell.

 

"Hm," Victim hummed, disappointment in his gaze. His eyes flicked to Dark. "And what about you, Dark Lord? Do you share the same foolish sentiment?"

"Wh- foolish?!" Chosen muttered, a quietly offended tone in his voice.

"I think...I think I do!" Dark spoke with growing confidence. "I trust Chosen's judgment. Besides, I've taken a vow to never kill or harm anyone ever again. So no-go for me."

"Psh. A vow, huh?" Victim grinned humorlessly. "From you? That's funny."

He sighed and shook his head.

"The two of you are a real piece of work... I honestly thought you'd be more understanding of my goals and-"

 

The ringing of a phone in Victim's back pocket interrupted him.

 

Victim curiously pulled it out and lifted it to his ear.

"Agent Smith!" He said, a genuinely happy smile crossing his face, all dripping condescension gone from his tone.

 

Chosen and Dark both raised their eyebrows. 

 

"Oh, really?" Victim exclaimed, his eyes suddenly gaining an odd excited look. "His description is exact to the information in the extra file?"

 

After a moment of silence, in which Victim received an answer from the head mercenary that had captured Chosen and Dark, Victim laughed out loud.

 

"Wonderful!" He spoke, an ever widening grin never leaving his face. "Oh, yes. Over there is just perfect. As far from our other two as much as possible."

 

Then Victim hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. 

He cleared his throat and gazed back at the very confused and still upset hollowheads in the cell.

 

"Well, dear brothers of mine," Victim told them happily. "I must go attend to something of great importance to my plans. I'll likely pop in on you later, probably after he is gone."

Victim was obviously referring to Alan.

"Wait, no!" Chosen pounded a fist on the blue-clear wall. "Don't you just leave! Explain yourself! You can't even kill Alan anyway since he's a human! " 

 

"No," Victim smirked, reaching over to the scared stiff employee next to him, and pressing a button on the remote. "No, I don't think I will explain. It's better for you to be in the dark about such things until after I'm done."

As the walls slowly began changing back to the opaque, unable-to-be-seen-through grey, the two sticks in the cell witnessed Victim giving them a little wave.

 

"Ta ta, now~" he said, the grin in his voice unmistakable. 

 

Dark and Chosen could only scream curses and pound on the walls as they heard Victim's retreating footsteps.

 

-

 

-

 

"That little-" Chosen cut himself off with an angry yell and another punch at the wall that only made him grunt in pain.

 

"Ya gotta stop doing that, Cho," Dark sighed, the upset tone he had earlier still very much present despite his efforts to calm down. 

 

"Yeah, I know," Chosen sighed, rubbing his sore fist and then placing his head sullenly against the wall he'd just been punching.

 

A moment of silence passed.

 

"What do you think Victim was talking about on the phone?" Dark wondered.

Chosen shrugged. "Maybe his workers finished some human killing weapon or something." 

"Yeah, probably," Dark huffed.

 

"Do you think we should rest up until we're at peak strength, then try to bust out? If we can just manage to stand the shocks of the cell when our powers activate, we might be able to break the wall," Chosen pondered aloud, turning to Dark.

 

"Yeah, let's try that," Dark nodded in agreement. After a moment he added, "Hey, Cho?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"When was the last time you...slept?" Dark asked, his eyes locked on Chosen's face, scrutinizing the eye bags Chosen could feel on himself.

 

Chosen broke eye contact and looked in the opposite direction, turning his face away to hide a tinge of flushed embarrassment from his brother.

"It's...I've been...It isn't-"

 

"Cho."

 

Chosen looked back at Dark. Dark looked incredibly serious. 

 

Chosen sighed heavily.

"I just- I haven't found the time! I would have slept, but then my water doesn't work so I enlist Yellow's help. I would have slept, but then the kids want to play a game, and I can't...say no..."

 

"Cho-" Dark started to speak.

 

"I would have slept, but then Jade comes along and tried to take Second away!" Chosen was ranting now, his eyes glazed over as he poured out all his stresses that he'd been bottling up. "I would have slept, but the kids were hurt and needed the rest more. I would have slept, but someone needed to pay attention to the speaker audio."

 

Chosen took a deep breath.

"I would have slept, but there was a hole in my wall! I would have slept but I needed to hug Second goodbye! I would have- have slept..." he choked on a half sob. "...but the mercenaries were there and we needed to move... I would have slept, but I didn't feel safe. I would have slept, but-"

 

"Chosen," Dark laid a hand on his older brother's arm and rubbed it reassuringly. Chosen absentmindedly put his own hand on top of Dark's.

 

Dark sighed softly. Chosen was so strong to take care of everything by himself. But it was time for Dark to return the favor. He owed Chosen a lot, and if all he could do was help him feel safe so he could sleep, then Dark would do it in a code-pulse. 

 

"Sleep now," Dark told him. "I will keep watch."

 

Chosen's deep red, almost black eyes met Dark's. His mouth opened halfheartedly, a weak protest on his lips. 

"Bu-"

 

"No," Dark interrupted him, his finger practically teleporting on Chosen's mouth in a shushing motion. "Sleep. Now."

 

Chosen wiped his face with his arm and smiled softly. He nodded, laying down and curling up on his side. Dark started fiddling with his hair, like he used to in the past to comfort his older brother after a nightmare he was embarrassed about.

 

It wasn't even 3 minutes and 20 seconds before Chosen's breathing was calm and he was asleep.

Dark continued to rub circles on Chosen's head comfortingly. He smiled.

 

"Good night, Cho," Dark whispered.

-

 

-

 

-

 

It had been 2 hours and 12 minutes since Chosen had fallen asleep. 

 

Dark kept walking in circles around the cell, occasionally feeling one of the walls and double-checking if the security measures were still active or not.

 

It was easy to tell, since there was always a low hum consistently droning throughout the room, that was coupled with a continuous slight vibration he could feel when he laid a hand to any of the walls.

 

Dark had also started talking to himself out of boredom.

"Hm. The walls remain in their condition of reverberation and quivering. Patient is still sound asleep and shows no sign of waking."

 

Dark glanced at Chosen, who was still on the floor of the cell. He wore a calm and serene expression on his face that Dark only ever saw when he was asleep. 

 

"Good," Dark continued in his low, role-playing voice. "Patient needs his relaxation and repose."

Then he let out a sigh and allowed his voice to return to normal, abandoning the little game he'd come up with. 

 

"This sucks..." Dark said to himself, purposely being quiet enough that he wouldn't wake up Chosen. His older brother still needed a good several hours worth of sleep.

 

Dark closed his eyes and sat criss cross on the floor, once again in an attempt to commune with the Virabots.

For a brief moment, Dark felt some flickers of the hivemind.

 

Find, find

protect

locate Master

protect 

FIND

Master in danger

find

Hunt

Find Master

 

And then he lost connection again. Wherever his beloved creations were, they were too far.

At least they were trying. That meant the artificial intelligence and the coding was working like Dark had planned.

 

"Could take days for them to locate us..." Dark muttered sourly. 

 

It was then that he heard it. Second's voice.

 

"Chosen? Dark?"

 

Completely flabbergasted and bewildered, Dark replied, louder than he intended, "Second? Is that you??"

 

It seemed Second's voice had just come through the ceiling vent. He had briefly taken notice of the vent earlier, but it was high enough up that it wasn't a viable option for escaping, even if he stood on Chosen's shoulders. 

 

Was he hallucinating things or something?

 

"Dark! It's me!" Second's excited voice spoke again, faintly echoing down the vent. He seemed relieved to have been replied to.

 

That…was actually Second. He wasn't going crazy, Second was actually speaking to him!

 

"How are you here?!" Dark called up the vent in confusion. Then a thought occurred to him and he added, "Are you in the vent?! Hold on, Chosen's asleep, I'm going to wake him up."

 

Dark quickly dashed over to Chosen and despite the pang of regret he felt, he knew Chosen would be very upset if Dark didn't wake him up for this.

 

"Cho," Dark shook Chosen's shoulder ecstatically. "Wake up!!"

 

Chosen murmured sleepily, then suddenly jerked his head up and pushed himself to a sitting position.

"Wha?? What's going on? What's the matter?"

 

"I think Second is in the vent? Or something," Dark shrugged. "I heard his voice."

 

Chosen was on his feet in a flash, impressing Dark with the speed. Chosen looked up at the vent.

 

"Second?" Chosen called up. He sounded worried and frantic. 

 

"Cho!" Second's faint voice laughed. "You're okay!"

 

"Wha- you- wh- HOW ARE YOU HERE?! Are you stuck in a cell too? How did you even know we got captured?" Chosen stammered in confusion, the concern in his voice dimming slightly after hearing the kid's laugh.

 

"Ye-es. I...um...it's a long story..." Second replied hesitantly, a sheepish undertone in his voice that made Dark smile and shake his head. 

Why Second was in a cell when he was supposed to be on the PC, safe and away from here, Dark didn't know, but Second's nervous, I-am-gonna-be-in-so-much-trouble tone made him want to laugh. Him and Chosen would get the full story out of Second later.

"Are you okay? Did Victim approach you yet?" Chosen suddenly spoke up as the thought occured to him that Victim might have visited Second like he had visited himself and Dark. The worry in his voice was back.

 

".....yes," Second's voice was soft now, the youngest brother even sounding a bit frightened. Then he added as-a-matter-of-factly, "He's not very nice."

 

"Did he hurt you?! I swear to Alan, if he laid a hand on you..." Chosen raised his voice in great anger. He started muttering under his breath and Dark caught the phrase "tear his arms out of their sockets".

 

That…was a violent thought. Damn, Chosen was upset if he was saying stuff like that.

He did tend to be sympathetic to even the sticks that weren't very nice to him. Dark supposed that natural sympathy Chosen held did not exist for Victim.

 

It was at that moment that Second started coughing. Short, pained whines peaked through the hacking even over the echoing effect the ventilation system muddled his voice with. 

 

Chosen's eyes widened in deep worry. Second sounded terrible. What had happened?

 

After a moment, the coughing died down and Second huffed, as if upset at his involuntary coughing for just interrupting the conversation.

"That son of a damn glue-stick!!" Chosen cursed loudly.

"What. Did. He. Do?" Dark demanded, just as angry as Chosen. 

Then he muttered quietly over to Chosen. "Stick, Cho, tone down your language. We're talking to Second."

 

Chosen huffed angrily and looked away, not particularly caring as he seethed and raged.

 

Second's voice quietly replied, a bitter element to his tone. 

"He- He got me by the throat and choked me for a bit since I wasn't agreeing to help him with some mystery project of his." 

 

That sent Chosen into strings of murmured curses, it was incoherent gibberish for the most part, as if Chosen was trying to censor the burning anger he felt and also to have the cursing not be clear enough for Second to detect what he was saying.

"I missed you guys," Second added softly.

Chosen's attitude did a complete 180° turn, though faint traces of furiousness was still slightly visible on his face.

"I missed you too, Second. I would give you so many hugs if I were there, you wouldn't know what to do with them."

 

Dark grinned and added, "Me as well. You're the only one younger and shorter than me. What would I do without ya?"

 

Chosen and Dark heard a light, happy giggle from the vent.

The sound of the laugh erased the faint traces of anger from Chosen's face completely. Dark and Chosen joined Second in laughter. 

 

Then Second developed a curious tone.

"Have you heard anything about where the others are?"

 

"They're here too?!" Dark yelled in surprise. "Wha- You guys- WHAT THE STICK DID YOU ALL DO?!"

 

Chosen softly and playfully gave Dark's arm a side whack. He muttered so only Dark would hear, "Now who needs to tone down their language?"

 

"Oh, hush…" Dark mumbled back. "Stick isn't even a legit swear, unlike 'son of a glue-stick '. It's like that human thing…um, what was it…ah, right! 'holy moly guacamole'!"

 

Second's reply interrupted the slight banter between the two.

"Purple sent us a picture of you guys paused on the backs of the mercenaries' vehicles, and after some debating, we decided to come try to rescue you!" 

 

Then his tone got softer and more sheepishly somber. "It...didn't go as planned. We got separated, and the mercenaries found me, alone."

 

"For Alan's sake..." muttered Chosen, loud enough that Dark guessed Second could hear.

 

Then they heard a faint whirring noise. It was coming from the vent.

Immediately the worried expression on Chosen's face was back.

"Second? What's that?" Chosen asked.

Dark and Chosen heard Second let out a gasp. The echoing of the vent didn't help with the clarity of the noise, and so the emotion behind it remained unclear.

 

"It's Victim. He must be here to take me to some chamber to help with his project thing!" Second replied, poorly concealed nervousness in his tone.

 

"No!" Dark and Chosen yelled at the same moment, looking at each other frantically for Second's sake.

 

"Not letting that popsicle stick hurt him again," Chosen muttered, thinking so fast Dark could practically see the lightning-quick code pulses in his head.

 

"Okay, Second, go along with what he says for now," Chosen instructed quickly, calling up the vent and enunciating as clearly as he could. "I don't want you to get more hurt than you already are. Me and Dark will bust out of here and get you out. It might take us some time, but we're coming. Hold tight for us, okay?"

 

"Okay, Cho..." Second's hesitant voice replied, nearly breaking Dark's heart.

Poor kid.

 

"We love you!" Chosen called before going silent, even holding up a finger to his lips in a shushing motion to Dark, so as not to give away the vent communication to anyone else.

 

They heard a resounding thud! just then, that Chosen and Dark quickly realized was a garage door that had just finished opening. 

 

After a moment they heard Victim's familiarly emotionless voice.

"Hello, Second Coming. Feeling more cooperative?"

 

"Y-yes..." Second whispered fearfully, causing Chosen to clench his fists and bite his tongue. 

 

"Glad to hear it!" Victim's stupid smile was easily heard in his tone.

 

Chosen and Dark heard someone, probably Victim, snap his fingers. The sound of a cell door opening sounded out, reverberating down the vent.

 

After that, there was just the noises of footsteps that got fainter and fainter until they were inaudible. 

Chosen growled suddenly, causing Dark to flinch. He had never seen Chosen this feral before. 

 

"Dark, I think I have an idea," Chosen turned to him with a determined, intense stare. 

 

"Yeah?" Dark leaned forward with interest. 

 

"Your regeneration abilities are better than mine… if I gave you a boost of energy and supported you with my powers –I guess 'play battery' or something like that– could you plasma blast through the wall?"

 

Dark tilted his head as he thought. Then he slowly nodded. 

"Hmm, I think so if you're boosting me… but are you up for that? You only had a few hours of slee-"

 

"Don't," Chosen cut him off. "I'm running on pure adrenaline and my will to get Second out of here. Try not to mention anything related to resting so I won't crash."

 

Dark slowly nodded, unable to hide a very concerned frown from gracing his features. Then he sighed.

"Okay, then. You ready?"

 

Chosen came up behind him, took a deep, grounding breath and placed his hands on Dark's shoulders.

"Ready."

 

Chosen's hands fizzed to life, Dark suddenly feeling incredibly energized. Chosen immediately grunted as the cell's security began shocking him. 

He stopped almost immediately and stepped back, swaying and trying not to fall over. The boost faded from Dark's system.

 

"Okay, okay," Chosen panted, ignoring Dark's growing worry. "I have another idea…"

 

"Chosen-" 

 

"Let. Me. Do this," Chosen muttered firmly, standing up straight and even more determined than before.

"I'm going to become an ice-cube, Dark."

 

"I'm sorry, a what-now? " 

 

"I am going to encase myself. In ice. To shield myself from the cell shock. But I'll leave my hands free so I can still boost you. The security measures shouldn't affect you at all if I give you enough power to withstand it."

 

Dark nodded slowly. "....Sounds good."

 

Chosen stepped up behind Dark again. Dark swore he heard him mutter, "Take two…" which brought a light grin to Dark's face.

 

The sounds of instant freezing was heard as Chosen quickly froze himself in a ice cube, save for his hands which lay on Dark's shoulders once more.

The electric waves of the cell bounced off the ice and only Chosen's hands flinched.

 

As Chosen poured energy and power into Dark, Dark's hands lit up with fiery plasma and he pressed them into the wall.

He almost immediately had to shut his eyes from the white-hot light that emanated from the melting cell.

 

The slight tingling of the maximum security shocks hit him, but surprisingly, unlike every other time, it didn't hurt.

His self-regeneration abilities were at maximum capacity, his plasma was the hottest it'd been since he'd been at the prime of his power (shortly after his creation) and his body fizzed with extra power that he immediately utilized and directed to his fiery hands.

 

The next thing he knew, he was falling through a large hole in the wall, and the shocks had ceased.

 

As he fell to the floor outside the cell and lost physical contact with Chosen, his body immediately went back to normal and he felt the drowsy drawbacks hit. It was disappointing to lose the high he had just experienced, but that attitude quickly dissipated.

Chosen. 

Was he okay?

 

Dark got to his feet, and turned to the cell where the Chosen glacier was. Chosen wasn't getting shocked anymore. Apparently the gaping hole in the wall, that was still melting away somewhat, had disabled the security measures.

 

Dark used his plasma –it was no longer molten-white, and was just its usual bright orange– to quickly melt the ice and Chosen stumbled forward.

"Oof…" he muttered, his eyes blinking several times. Chosen looked… very drained.

 

"That was awesome, Cho!" Dark exclaimed, hugging his brother happily. "Plan popsicle was a success!"

 

"Pfft, 'plan popsicle'?" Chosen laughed softly, straightening up and ignoring the lingering exhaustion.

 

"Yeah," Dark said proudly, his grinning mouth somehow shaped in a manner reminiscent of the 23rd alphabet letter.

 

Chosen's grin faded.

"We need to find Second."

 

Looking around at the spacious room, Dark and Chosen noticed an open doorway. It was a large, open garage door.

 

The two quickly approached it, and peeked their heads around the corner, searching for anyone they should worry about, like the mercenaries. 

 

Upon seeing only one employee in the far distance, and every other direction completely vacant, the pair snuck down a random hallway.

 

"We need to find a map, or something," Dark mentioned as they scampered along.

 

Chosen nodded in agreement, then took a turn into another room. Dark followed.

 

A trio of employees looked up at them from behind a desk of papers and some laptops.

One dropped a bundle in surprise at the sudden entrance of the two hollowheads, and the other two froze.

 

"Uh, hi," Dark gave a small wave. "Weeee're the…new recruits!!" He laughed nervously and elbowed Chosen. "Right, my friend?"

 

Chosen glared at the employees and his hand lit up in flames. 

Immediately taking the hint, the three sticks scattered and ran out of the room quickly, flailing their arms.

 

"O-okay then," Dark looked at Chosen. "Are you okay, dude? You have been acting rather out of character lately." 

 

"Well, I'm upset!!" Chosen snapped. Then he quickly sighed and mumbled an apology in a sullen, exhausted tone. "I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you…"

He rubbed one of his eyes as he started rooting around in files and papers.

 

"Gotcha…" Dark nodded in understanding, not at all blaming his exhausted brother for acting unusual. "We all tend to act a bit off if we're tired or under stressful circumstances…um, which the two of us happen to be dealing with both at the moment. Heh."

 

Chosen nodded, then his eyes brightened as he held up a clipboard with a paper attached to it. 

"Ah ha! A map!"

 

"Great!" Dark clapped a few times, happily. Then he stopped. "Wait…um…how exactly do we know where Second and the stupid hockey-stick went?"

 

"Easy…we just-" Chosen cut himself off as he gazed at the newly acquired map. "....we…just…umm…"

 

A beat of silence passed.

 

"Stick…" Chosen muttered, feeling quite frustrated at this point. 

 

"Okay, let me see that," Dark sighed and took the clipboard. His eyes roved over the layout of the building and he quickly pinpointed two areas that were marked "private" in grey, printed text.

One was very small, likely office size, and Dark guessed it might even be the office the listening device had stayed in.

The other was a big room, practically four times the size of all the parallel garages located on the map as well.

 

"Bingo, I bet they're in here," Dark tapped on the large, private sector.

 

"Oh…" Chosen rubbed his eyes again. "I should've seen that. Good catch."

He blinked a few times to shoo away his ever lingering grogginess, and then led Dark out the door, carefully following the map.

By the time they were there, 12 minutes had gone by and they were facing another issue. 

 

Several employees had taken up arms, wielding high tech weaponry and armored helmets. They didn't appear to have been waiting for Chosen and Dark, more like were just already in the process of guarding the simple, wooden door that led to the big, private sector.

 

Dark and Chosen made short work of them, despite the somewhat dramatic and attempted intimidating aura the employee guards had about them. 

None of the sticks were actually hurt. Most of them were scared off and sent running and the "braver" ones either fainted out of fear or were knocked out.

Chosen immediately broke down the door, splintering it instantly with a single kick. 

 

The lights in the room were flickering and there was a continuous, loud humming noise.

And the screams of their brother, Second.

 

"Second!!" Chosen yelled frantically. His eyes flashed red, himself and Dark rushing in.

 

Victim, who looked stunned at the sudden intrusion and terrified of the rage upon Chosen and Dark's faces, hit a button on some control panel.

 

Second was in a cylindrical chamber and was…floating in the middle of it, brilliant green energy surrounding him.

 

Chosen growled when he noticed bruises on Second's throat.

 

His sharp, bloodlusted gaze turned slowly, dramatically toward Victim.

 

Victim smiled, seemingly calm, but a nervous glint was in his eyes.

"You're a bit late, I'm afraid, Chosen One and Dark Lord. You see, Alan is already on his w-"

 

A sudden explosion was heard from the machine Victim was using and a lightning bolt shaped rift of white light appeared in the center of the room, almost like a crack in reality, next to the chamber Second was inside.

 

And Second was no longer aware of anything, it seemed, just floating limply in the middle of the chamber and doing nothing to stop his energy from powering up whatever Victim's machine was doing…. despite it's rapidly deteriorating condition.

 

The rift of light began taking shape and in a single instant, Victim's machine went up in smoke and broke down, the lights went out which then caused the backup light generator to kick on shortly after, and a violet hollowhead stick with rectangular glasses appeared in the bright light, looking very confused.

 

Second's power then expanded suddenly. With no machine to use up such a large portion of his energy, the power was no longer just a compact, limited ball of sparks surrounding Second.

It grew. A lot.

 

The chamber shattered. The backup lights turned off, fuse blown.

The room would have been pitch black if not for the shining green sparks and flame-like waves of power that spun in circles around Second.

Second's eyes opened, shining such a bright, glowing green that his pupils were not visible.

 

The bruises on his neck were gone.

Chosen and Dark both felt rejuvenated, their powers seeming more fresh than normal. 

 

And yet, an incredibly volatile and destructive element of Second's power remained. The sparks surrounding him were now stretching out a good twenty feet from where he floated. 

Victim backed up a few steps to avoid some of the sparks that had gotten close to him. His eyes displayed a mixture of awe and fear as there was no way he could have predicted this much out of the Second Coming. 

 

The violet hollowhead spoke, "Second?!" 

His eyes widened in recognition. 

 

Dark wondered about that. How did this guy know Second?

Chosen looked back at the violet stick. He had been distracted gazing at Second's glowing majestic power and had momentarily forgotten the presence of this new hollowhead.

 

"Wait a sticking second, here…" Dark looked at the violet hollowhead, seeming to be putting the pieces of a puzzle together in his head. He even ignored the fact he'd brought up a "second" pun opportunity. "Victim brought you here for some reason, but he was only ever interested in killing Alan somehow…so that must mean…"

 

The violet hollowhead straightened his glasses and offered Dark a tentative, nervous smile. 

 

"Uh, hi? I'm… Alan."

-

Notes:

*maniacal laughter*

 

Ahh, I love being an authoress
Much fun, much fun

Fun Fact:
Chapter 9 already has 2,095 words to its name!
Right now, it's title is just "Name In Progress" but I'll figure out that whole dilemma later
It's not complete yetttt and I'm still figuring out exactly how things will play out, but yeah. I hope you all enjoyed my beloved chapter 8.

You can thank blame my siblings Keegan (Rock_Player_2Z70) and Meara (M_Inferno) for demanding I post chapter 8 as soon as I did.
I kept wondering and wondering "Should I??? Or shouldn't I??" while walking in circles, pondering if I should just post it already or dangle it teasingly above my readers' heads.
Clearly, you can tell what I've decided...

Chapter 9: The Dissipation of Vengefulness

Summary:

Surprisingly, some talks are held and things don't go spiralling downhill in violence and madness....
Or at least, not in this chapter.

(2,755 words)

Notes:

I am on a roll!!
Not literally, please don't eat me or this fic will never get completed

I put fluff in here! Surprise!!

And happy Thanksgiving!! ♥️

Feast!
Enjoy!
Drop me those comments I adore so much.

"You're Alan?!" Dark and Chosen yelled in surprise.

 

The violet hollowhead flinched at the volume. "Yes, yes. And you two are bursting my eardrums....or whatever I have now in place of eardrums…"

He then looked quizzically at Dark and Chosen, a silent question in his eyes.

 

"Uhm, honestly, I don't even know how we hear… it's almost like we have invisible, intangible ears!" Dark pondered.

 

Chosen didn't speak. This was Alan? His former captor and tormentor? His…father? If he could even think of Alan like that…

 

“Why is Second…glowing green?” Alan looked concerned. “Is he alright?”

 

“That's…just his power….” groaned Victim  popping into view from behind the control set as he got back to his feet. He had fallen backwards when the chamber shattered, and was rubbing the top of his head like he'd hit it on something. His expression was filled with hatred and contempt for Alan.

 

“Don't understand…why you would worry so much about him when you literally killed me!”

 

Alan suddenly gasped as he got a better look at Victim. 

 

“victim?” Alan asked bewilderingly. “Is it really you?”

“What do you think, Creator?” the eldest hollowhead snarled. “Do you even have the faintest idea why I've brought you here??”

Chosen and Dark kept glancing back and forth between them like they were watching a drama.

 

Second was still hovering in the middle of the room, green sparks crackling and stretching out in every direction. The noise of the raw energy was oddly soft for such power. 

 

“Of course, stupid question, who else would you be?” Alan smacked his forehead, muttering and berating himself. He then readjusted his glasses.

 

Victim let out a humorless chuckle. 

“Creator, or Alan, or whatever you want to be called… You deleted me. Now I am going to delete you.”

 

Suddenly, Second’s power compacted again, now surrounding him so closely like he wore a jacket of green energy.

His head slowly turned to face Victim and threatening, hot sparks of Second's power slowly stretched toward Victim. 

 

Second began gradually floating in Victim's direction. His face remained emotionless, but there was such a fierce killing intent that radiated from the hollowhead, that it sent a wave of fear through everyone else.

 

Victim quickly took notice of Second's sudden attention on him, and his expression of vengeful anger toward Alan changed to a more fearful one.

He took a few steps backward to put some more distance between the sparks that reached for him.

 

"No! Second!" Alan dashed in front of Victim. "Don't hurt him!"

 

Victim's terrified expression changed to one of immense confusion as he looked at Alan. 

"What?" he breathed out. "Why would..."

 

Second stopped, his face still blank and emotionless. His glowing green eyes blinked once, but he did not speak. His body just floated limply in the air, unmoving.

The crackles of bright green sparks still surrounded him, but had stopped advancing near Victim.

 

Alan turned to Victim, a frantic look in his eyes.

"I have spent...years! Years of regret. Years of wishing I could take back my actions. Years of guilt and shame, yearning for there to be some way that I could apologize!"

 

Victim almost choked on air, tears in his eyes that threatened to pour out at any given moment.

 

"And now that I'm in front of you, I can say it!" Alan grasped Victim's hands gently in his own, causing Victim to gasp slightly at the sudden contact.

 

It was...weird, to say the least, seeing Victim suddenly look so small and timid in front of Alan, after everything he'd done. Chosen and Dark could only stare at the scene before them.

 

Second was still unresponsive to everything, just floating in the air and slumping like a ragdoll almost. 

The bright green energy was the only light source within the room since his power had taken out the other lights.

 

It didn't help that right after Alan materialized, Victim's machine overloaded, ceased to function and had blown a fuse somewhere that caused the backup lighting to kick in.

Second's full awakening shortly after the overload had then destroyed the backup lights.

 

"I'm sorry, my creation... For your name, for your deletion, for your suffering..." Alan softly rubbed Victim's hands in a soothing motion. Victim was on the verge of breaking down in tears as he gazed at Alan.

 

“And if I had a way to take it all back I would!” Alan then turned his head to face Chosen and Dark. “And you two… I'm so sorry, as well.”

 

“Why?” Chosen asked the violet avatar that was Alan. “Why did you do it?”

 

“I- I didn't know!” Alan shuddered, still gently holding onto Victim’s hands and on his knees. “I never imagined that my creations would be sentient, would be able to talk, would have feelings. I thought I had made simulations. Just code strands and nothing living or aware.”

 

Alan spared a short glance at Second, who continued to remain unresponsive and floating, although the hazardous sparks had retracted somewhat. 

“I didn't treat Second nicely at all either, at first. It was actually an accident that he came to be. I… I tried to delete him when I caught him moving, succeeded in deleting the other four that Second released from the website…”

Alan took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. Victim seemed to be coming to a revelation, quietly, if anything was to be said about the way his eyes widened in pity for Second.

“Heh,” Alan huffed. “He didn't respond to the deletion command at all, it was ineffective.” Gesturing to Second's mass of energy, Alan added, “I suppose he had powers even back then, though I knew nothing about it.”

 

“But when I did finally have him trapped, he… he talked using the text on the back of my animating program. I was surprised, since I had never communicated with any of you, and I immediately stopped out of curiosity. It was a sign of sentience that I hadn't seen out of any other stick.”

 

The green light eminating from Second suddenly started dimming and he began to blink his eyes, in some semblance of sleepiness even though his face was impassive and emotion-free.

And in a single instant, Second’s energy and light disappeared, his limp body falling down. Chosen swiftly dashed over and caught him gently, immediately checking him for signs of distress. 

He was unconscious, but breathing steadily. Dark quickly pulled up a plasma ball to light up the pitch-black room.

 

“Is he okay??” Alan asked, worriedly. Victim felt Alan's hands tremble slightly as they were still clasped around his own hands.

Chosen nodded and sat down, cradling Second in his arms protectively. Dark sat next to Chosen and then they both looked back at Alan.

 

“Uhm… oh,” Alan continued. “Anyway, I saw that Second was- and still is, much better at animating than I am. He was incredible, making his own creations with little effort. I had the opportunity to delete them all at once… but I found myself not wanting to. So, I tried to make a deal with him. He wouldn't destroy my computer and would help me with my animating, and I wouldn't delete him. I also brought back his friends since they came from the website and could be reloaded from there.”

Alan took another breath and finished.

“Second taught me over the months and years we were together that stickfigures could have fun, feel things, live… and I changed as a result.”

 

“I… I…” Victim spoke for the first time since Alan started telling Second’s tale. “I really want to forgive you… I just… I'm scared…”

 

Alan leaned forward and hugged Victim.

“I promise you, I will never treat you like I did again.”

 

Chosen and Dark watched Victim's tears finally fall as he hugged Alan back. 

Chosen was still upset with Victim, but he did find the scene before him sweet. He held Second closer absentmindedly.

 

“Hey, I know I can never truly make it up to you…” Alan begun, softly holding Victim's cheeks in fatherly love. “...but I can change your name for you. To anything you want!”

 

“T- Truly?!” Victim's eyes shone. 

 

Alan nodded encouragingly, smiling softly.

 

Victim sniffled and used a hand to wipe his face. His brow scrunched up in thought. 

“I might want to take some time to think about it. I've been going by Vic as of late. Um, with a capital V.”

 

“Alright,” Alan nodded. “Feel free to let me know when you decide… Vic.”

 

The grey hollowhead nodded and stood up. He backed away and said, “I'll… be back. I need to clear my head and think about all this. I- I…”

He turned his head to Dark, Chosen and Second. “I'm…sorry…” he whispered.

 

Then he left, quickly rushing out past the splintered, broken pieces of the door. He must’ve had a pocket flashlight with him, since Chosen, Dark, and Alan noticed the sudden appearance of some lighting that faded as Victim got farther away. 

Alan looked sadly at where he had gone, fidgeting his his hands nervously.

Then he turned to Chosen and Dark. 

“I'm so sorry, you two. I-”

 

“Stop,” Chosen held up a hand. He made direct eye contact with Alan and suppressed a flinch. “I understand. I don't like your past actions, but I understand them. And… I forgive you for it. I don't exactly trust you completely yet, don't take my forgiveness the wrong way…”

Chosen paused for a moment.

“...but I can consider us on better terms than before, at the very least.”

 

Alan looked more relieved, his shoulders un-tensing. He then looked over at Dark with a questioning gaze.

 

Dark sighed and offered Alan a thin smile. 

“I mean, in my case, Second fixed my issue with the mission code. So, no permanent damage done. You're forgiven.”

 

“Mission co-” Alan started to ask before his eyes widened as he remembered. “Oh.”

Then he glanced at Second. 

“Second… fixed your mission code? What does that mean?”

Before Dark could start to explain about the Showdown, Second suddenly murmured and his eyes flickered. 

“Second?” Chosen looked down at the 10-year-old in his arms. “You with us, kiddo?”

“Cho?” Second mumbled blearily. 

“Hey, Second!” Dark leaned over. “How ya feeling?”

 

Second tried to sit up, but immediately slumped in exhaustion, much too worn out to move very much.

“Ugh… like that one time I fell into the deep dark in Minecraft… but probably worse.”

Then as he thought about it more, he added, “Actually, no, I kinda feel like I did after the Showdown happened. I mean, I did get slammed into a mountain.”

“That would make sense, yes…” Dark spoke softly, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck at the mention of his past violent actions. 

“Second?” Alan ventured cautiously. 

 

Second's fluttering eyes opened wide and he jerked his head in surprise at the violet hollowhead. 

“Wha- wait… Alan?” Second smiled, happily surprised. “You're here in your avatar! I thought it wasn't done yet.”

“Ahh, it's… not,” Alan replied, tension slowly leaving his posture. “I've been dragged here out of the real world, and I'm… stuck at the moment. I think Victim could help with that-”

“Victim?” Second’s eyes sharpened suddenly and he tensed, suddenly bringing a hand up to his throat out of habit, though no bruises remained. “Wait, that doesn't make sense, I thought…”

Second tilted his head back toward the has-been chamber that was in pieces that were scattered across the sector. Chosen could tell he was in the process of trying to puzzle out what had happened. 

 

“Guys… do I have… powers?” Second finally asked, looking up at Chosen. His eyes were starting to grow heavy again, but he was managing to stay awake.

 

“Well, yeah… you do,” Chosen admitted. “I wasn't quite sure how to tell you since you didn't remember…”

 

“I've used them before?” Second wondered sleepily. “When did-” 

He gasped suddenly and looked at Dark.

“Wait… did I blast you during the Showdown??”

 

Dark just nodded silently.

 

“Whattt,” Second whispered. “I don't remember…” 

He let out a yawn. Chosen shifted Second gently to a more reclined position on his legs and ruffled his hair gently.

“Get some more rest,” Chosen advised. “We can talk later.”

“...okay… Love you… and Dark… and Alan… “

Dark and Alan both grinned at the same time.

Chosen smiled. “Love you too, Sec.”

 

Second's eyes fluttered shut and his breathing evened out, his head growing slightly heavier as he relaxed in Chosen's arms. 

Chosen felt like his heart was gonna melt.

 

"Aww, he's adorable!" Dark patted Second's head with his free hand– the other hand still lighting up the room with his brightly shining plasma ball.

“Can I hold him?” Dark reached for Second. 

 

Chosen playfully hugged Second and turned away from Dark.

“No. My Second.”

 

“Heyyy,” Dark scooted closer to Chosen, grinningly. “You share the Second right now, or else!”

Chosen let out a hiss, baring his teeth in resemblance of an irritated cat, though his eyes were shining and his mouth twitched in an attempt to stifle a bout of laughter.

“Mine.”

 

Alan smiled as he watched his creations banter. How could he have ever thought they weren't alive?

“Careful!” Chosen told Dark as he rolled over, shifting Second gently so he wasn't pinned and squashed beneath the other two hollowheads. “You'll wake him up!”

 

Dark got off Chosen's back with a mumbled “Awww, o-kayyy... ” 

Chosen let out a small yawn. Second's power had given him a significant boost of energy, but his need for sleep was beginning to overpower him again. 

“Heh heh,” Dark grinned teasingly at Chosen, his voice triumphant. “You need to go to sleep~ I'll hold Second for you now.”

 

Chosen pouted, his cheeks puffing up.

“Fine… after I find a couch or something.”

“I can draw one, I think?” Alan’s voice drifted over from where Victim's chamber controls and the desk were. He held up the pencil tool. Victim had retrieved it from Agent earlier.

“If this works here…” Alan mumbled to himself. He waved it in the air and a line appeared. It stood still and unmoving in the air. “Hmm. Maybe not…”

The sound of voices approaching the room had the three hollowheads –Yes, Alan is one now– on high alert, their heads glancing around the room to pinpoint the noises. It was coming from a vent cover in the wall.

 

“...top making that stupid joke, Blue!” 

“Whaaat?? It's funny! We're the imposters from Among Us! Because we're venting-”

 

Suddenly the vent cover fell out of the wall, followed by Green and Blue. Green landed first and then Blue landed on top of him, the two piled in a heap and emitting groans of discomfort. 

“You idiot… I wasn't looking and now we've fallen!” Green grumbled. “Get off me!”

Blue yelped as his arm was whacked by Green, and he was quick to roll over and let Green get up.

“Oh, hey you two,” Dark piped up, getting to his feet and slowly approaching the vent duo. “Where are the others?”

“Eh? Dark?” Green looked up. Then he spotted Chosen cradling Second on the floor. “Chosen? Second!”

Blue got to his feet first and rushed over to Second and Chosen. “Is he okay? What happened? He should've been with Yellow!”

“I don't know the specifics, but he got separated and the mercenaries found him,” Chosen answered, absentmindedly brushing Second’s short hair out with his fingers. “Where have you both been?”

 

“Lost…” Green muttered, brushing lint and dust off his shoulders as he walked over. “We've been…” Green leaned to the side to crack his back. “...stuck in the vents, for hours.”

“Yeah, not fun,” Blue added. “Apparently, there was a slight printing issue with the map, and so there was a tiiiiiny section of the building layout that didn't match up with the paper, soooo… yeah, we didn't go the right way.”

 

“Ughh, and this building is so huge too!” Green groaned, leaning to the other side of him to crack his back some more. 

“I'm so sore,” Blue sighed, plopping himself down on the floor next to Chosen and Second.

“I wonder where Red and Yellow are,” Blue added. He fidgeted with his thumbs nervously, a concerned expression washing over him.

 

Chosen awkwardly patted Blue's shoulder, trying to reassure him. Blue seemed to lean into the touch a little, and his face relaxed, much to Chosen's relief.

 

Dark looked up at the vent, his own face growing concerned. He hoped Yellow was okay. 

-

Notes:

I do wonder where Victim has gone off to....
Hmmm...
**distant suspenseful laughter**

I am trying so hard to stop making almost 10,000-words-long chapters.
I do not understand how I do this, help

F in the comments to pay respect to poor Green and Blue's backs.
Hours of staying in the crawling position is not fun.

Edit:
It's a habit to base Second and Chosen interactions off of in-real-life interactions between my own siblings. XD

Chapter 10: Consideration

Summary:

Whatta ya know? It's an Agent POV chapter!

(2,023 words)

Notes:

Let's play, Spot the Murder Drones reference! And also Spot the Lego Ninjago Season 16 “Crystalized” reference!

I'm so silly.

Oh, I know what you're thinking.
Another one [chapter]?
Scarlett, how are you doing this?!

And, well, the answer is...

....

I HAVE NO STICKING CLUE
I JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE TWO HOURS TO MYSELF
AHHHHHHHH

 

Feast!
Enjoy!
Drop comments on my head!
Helps me think

 

^ᴗ^

Agent exited the break room, leaving Primal and Ballista to their argument on which types of coffee were better. He let out a satisfied sigh as he checked his bank account via his watch and discovered it swollen with the payment he had discussed with Vic.

 

Why Vic had been so invested in capturing the Second Coming, Agent didn't know, but he did his best not to think about it.

 

He never thought about it. Ever.

 

A target was a target. He couldn't afford to get sentimental over anyone… even if his target was a child…

 

…

 

Okay, he might be beating himself up a little bit over his team's recent success. 

 

Agent clutched his forehead and massaged it like one would do to alleviate a headache, as if trying to rub away his thoughts.

 

He almost ran into Vic.

 

As Agent stopped quickly to avoid crashing into his boss that had just rounded the corner, his eyes narrowed as he got a good look at the grey hollowhead.

 

Vic’s eyes were glazed over. One of his arms hung limply by his side, hand trembling slightly and his other hand gripped a fistful of his own hair, effectively mussling up his usual, smoothly-combed style.

 

He looked very out of sorts and bedraggled. 

 

“Sir?” Agent raised an eyebrow at Vic. “Are you alright?”

 

Vic didn't answer. His eyes seemed to be staring into the distance, not really seeing Agent. Agent noticed his breathing was quicker than average, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. 

 

“Sir?” Agent tried again, unsure if he should shake him a little. “Boss?”

 

As Agent looked Vic over, hoping for a sign that he was paying attention, he noticed his eyes seemed puffy and there were subtle tear streaks lining his cheeks.

 

“Vic?” Agent asked, his voice now displaying open worry.

 

The use of the name seemed to prompt a reaction. Vic looked up suddenly and met Agent's eyes. His eyes cleared and he appeared to come back to his senses.

 

Straightening, Vic took a deep breath and let go of his hair, instead opting to clutch his shaking arm.

“Agent… I-I'm…”

 

He trailed off as if unsure what to say.

 

Agent sighed, mostly in relief, though it still carried concern.

“Are you doing alright, Vic? You seem frazzled about something.”

 

The grey hollowhead's shoulders shook and he let out a choked sob, his hand covering his mouth in an attempt to stifle it and he turned away slightly. Tears were starting to flow again.

 

Okay. Clearly something significant had just happened. Perhaps related to his boss's past, which he had never gone over in detail to Agent. 

 

“Agent… I don't know what to do…” 

 

Agent’s eyes widened. Vic sounded so broken. He had never been like this before, always so calm and collected, with occasional signs of eagerness and excitement fitting the young adult that he was.

 

The first day they had met, when Agent had been hired, he had wondered why a young teen was running Rocket. But Vic had so much maturity and knowledge of finance and business, that fact had been quickly forgotten. 

Now, Agent could see that youth peeking through Vic’s stance, clear as day. 

 

“What's happened?” Agent asked gently.

 

The grey hollowhead sighed and wiped his face, cheeks reddened in embarrassment as he tried to gain some semblance of the boss figure he always so perfectly and pristinely portrayed. 

 

“My…uhm… my father has… h-he…”

Once again, Vic trailed off.

 

Agent's expression changed to one of suspicion. Vic had never mentioned his father before. Was he a bad stick, perhaps? Had he made an appearance and hurt Vic?

 

Agent's look of growing apprehension and slight anger must have shown clearly because Vic was quick to pipe up and clarify.

“He's not harmed me… err… not recently, anyway… Um…”

 

Agent gestured towards the wall and slid down into a sitting position. Vic slid down as well and joined him. The action seemed to help ground the hollowhead since his breathing had evened somewhat, albeit still a little shaky.

 

“You don't have to tell me every little detail if you're not comfortable with it, boss,” Agent mentioned, switching back to the formal title since Vic seemed more stable.

 

“There's no one else about, my friend. You can keep using my…name.”

Vic looked up at him again, the faintest trace of his familiar smile appearing.

 

“Alright,” Agent nodded. 

 

He’d smiled a little! That was a good sign. Agent wasn't sure he would know what to do if Vic continued declining and growing more reclusively timid. Agent knew about Vic's true name and the hatred he felt towards it. He had never liked showing weakness.

 

“I just got a sincere apology from him,” Vic started. “I just… I don't want to be hurt again… I used to be so angry with him, so upset and… vengeful. Now I feel nothing. Nothing. All my revenge planning is for nought. I'm at a loss…”

 

He took another deep breath and held his own hand subtly to hide the shaking that had started again. Vic's eyes bored into the wall across the hallway from the two sticks.

 

Agent stayed silent and waited for Vic to continue. 

 

Vic touched his cheek gently and managed another slight smile, as if remembering something. 

“He was so gentle. He really has changed…”

 

“Does he want to take you home with him?” Agent wondered. If so, that would explain Vic's dilemma. Choosing between going home or staying to run Rocket.

 

“I… think so?” Vic said hesitantly. “I… may have… ran off to collect my thoughts before we discussed that…”

 

“Oh…” Agent nodded.

 

Vic’s eyes furrowed as if he were calculating something in his head. He was starting to look more like his usual self, aside from the slightly tussled hair and the tear streaks.

 

He briefly glanced at Agent, then nodded subtly. He looked back at the wall and continued his deep thought.

 

Agent suppressed his curiosity as best he could. He wasn't paid to ask questions. That was the first rule of the line of mercenaries. Don't question your superiors. 

Wasn't that how Jade had been fired? Or was he mistaken? Agent had never formally met Jade, only briefly seen him in passing, and hadn't received the information yet on why he'd been fired.

 

“Agent… have you ever run a business before?” Vic's inquiry broke Agent away from his thoughts. Vic's state must have improved somewhat since his voice had a firm edge, like normal.

 

“You're not implying you want me to run Rocket… right?” Agent asked on impulse, struck by the suddenness and frantically thinking over how things would play out if what Vic was suggesting came to pass.

 

“Mr. Smith has a nice ring to it… or you could use your first name…” Vic smiled teasingly. 

 

“I will not, and you know why,” Agent huffed, unable to keep a slight grin off his own face at the familiar jab.

That had always been the biggest thing the two had in common. A name that was demeaning and belittling for one stick, and a flat out terrible name for the other.

 

Vic was the only stick at Rocket who Agent told his real name to, and it had only happened the day Vic had first told him about the name “victim” after a slight mental breakdown. 

 

“Yeah, but if you were the boss, no one should question your name!” Vic continued, nudging Agent slightly. His eyes still contained some conflicted and troubled look, but his hand no longer trembled and his voice was normal.

 

Agent almost jabbed back, almost pointed out that Vic hadn't used his real name for his reign over Rocket, but then abandoned the thought. Vic didn't need a reminder of his true name right now. Agent probably would have only received a bitter laugh in return.

 

Vic sighed when Agent didn't answer.

“Ah, you’re no fun sometimes, Smithy.”

 

“Are you actually planning to leave Rocket in my care, then?” Agent prompted, ignoring the nickname Vic used when he wanted to get a rise out of Agent. 

Agent hated when his last name was mispronounced, though coming from Vic was different.

 

Vic's eyes spaced out a little. He nodded slowly and whispered, “I think so.”

 

Now certain that Vic was actually serious, Agent sat up straighter.

“Oh…”

 

“He offered to change my name…” Vic spoke softly. Agent assumed he was referring to his father again. “I don't have to be… victim… anymore.”

 

“Really? He's gonna sign the legal contracts and everything?”

 

“Huh?” Vic raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Oh! Uh, no… I never mentioned this, but I was a created stick, not a born one…”

 

“Wait…” Agent looked at Vic closely. “So your father is an Animator? A human? Is that why you're a hollowhead…”

 

“A-anyway,” Vic cleared his throat. “I will likely need to go to his computer for the name change to happen… but I don't want to come back. If- If he'll accept me, I'd like to stay there with him… and my brothers…”

 

“As in our prisoners?”

“They are no longer prisoners,” Vic shook his head firmly. Looking at Agent's uneasy expression, Vic laughed lightly. “Oh, don't you fret! I'm not removing your paycheck, Agent.”

 

Agent breathed out a slow sigh of relief. 

 

Vic laughed again, leaning his head back against the wall as his shoulders shook with mirth at Agent's expense.

Agent managed a grin as well, genuinely happy and relieved his boss was feeling better. 

 

“Hey,” Agent nudged Vic. “Out of curiosity, what will your new name be?”

 

Vic sobered and his eyes narrowed in thought. 

“I think just… Vic,” he answered. Then he gave a little shrug. “The pretend name has grown on me a bit, what can I say?”

 

“Wait, hang on a second here… how is a human… here?”

 

“A- Oh… I brought him here with that super expensive machine I mentioned to you before.”

 

“The one that you've been working on for years…” Agent nodded. “Gotcha…”

 

Vic scratched the back of his neck.

“Heh, speaking of, I will have to repair it so I can get him back. Although… hmmm. How will I power it?”

 

“Well, how did you power it the first time?” Agent asked.

 

Vic looked away and rapped a few fingers on his leg.

“I used the Second Coming…”

 

Agent's eyes widened. 

“Oof… poor kid… He doing okay? Surely he's not…”

 

“He's out cold, but fine as far as I could tell,” Vic assured. He sighed. “So many apologies to make… Stick…”

 

“You'll be okay, Vic,” Agent said sincerely.  Then, switching to a more sarcastic and deadpanning tone, he added, “I'm sure if your brothers have the same amount of compassion you do, everything will work out fine.”

 

Vic's eyes narrowed and he scrutinized Agent. “You know I struggle with complassion! Er, I mean, compassion… Whatever! I literally spent years plotting my vengeance.”

 

“Heh,” Agent poked his friend. “You are the most hot-headed youngster I know. You're a natural convergent thinker, an absolute solver of any problem you face, and you still have a lot of growth left to do. There isn't a doubt within me that says you won't be able to face some familial conflict.”

 

Vic's eyes watered and sparkled with emotion. Agent suddenly found himself gripped in a tight side hug.

 

Agent awkwardly patted the hollowhead's back and returned the hug. He figured Vic was probably due for one, so he might as well go along with it.

 

After a short minute, Vic pulled away.

“We will never speak of this ever again,” he huffed, the tips of his ears bright pink.

“Speak of what? I don't know what you're talking about?” Agent smiled.

 

Vic grinned back and slowly got back to his feet. He held out a hand to Agent and then helped pull him up. Vic had some good arm strength. 

“Do you want to… meet him?” Vic asked the slightly taller stick. 

Agent thought about it. Then he shrugged.

“Eh. Why not?”

 

“Alright then…” Vic took a deep breath. “Follow me.”

“Yes, sir,” Agent said out of habit and immediately sidled up alongside Vic.

The two silently trekked down the hallway.

-

Notes:

I feel like that could have ended better, but meh, it's fine.

I love making everyone think that Vic was gonna still have something up his sleeve and wasn't actually forgiving Alan, but surprise! He's just a traumatized boi

"But, Scarlett! There's still 10 more chapters! Who is going to be the antagonist now? Or are the rest of the chapters going to be just fluff?"

Well, my dear audience members...
I do have another antagonist in mind.
And guess what? You've already been acquainted~

I'll let that simmer in your heads for a bit while I work out chapter 11.

Stick, I never imagined getting this far, wow.

Side Note:
I did just do a collaboration work, in which I discussed theories and headcanons. So, if you want to view some of my inner shpiels (about The Box for the most part) then check the link below!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51789550/chapters/130951831#workskin

And check out Xyna's [XynaLOL36] stuff, she has cool works too! (Espeeeeecially her fic "They're brothers your honor" [contains gorgeous Chosen and Second bonding])

-
Scarlett out!
**jumps straight into bed despite it being nearly twelve in the afternoon**

Chapter 11: Plots and Reunions

Summary:

Someone is very angy and may prove to be a future problem, and also our group in the chamber room finally meet up again with the ketchup and mustard duo.

(1,840 words)

Notes:

Have another chapter I pulled outta my pocket!!

My mind is starting to get exhausted, but I had to keep going as the words came to me before I forgot them. Now I got another chapter done somehow.

Also, I have decided to start making a bonus features work. Stay tuned for that! It will be verrry funny~
If anyone wants a sneak peek at what sort of content I'll be putting in this bonus features/extra scenes fic, have a quick look at mine and OceanArtemis's little comment replying conversation on chapter 10. Hehe

Feast!
Enjoy!
Dump loads of comments on me!
I love them so~~

 

**deep satisfied sigh**

Jade sat at his dining room table in silence. His fists were clenched as he glared at the simple meal in front of him.

 

Mr. Vic had fired him. He'd actually fired him. After everything Jade had done for Rocket. Sure he may have failed to capture the Second Coming, but as it turned out it was by the fault of the Dark Lord.

 

He'd been told the Dark Lord was dead. Gone and done with. Jade shouldn't have been faulted for the failure. 

 

Gritting his teeth and just barely resisting the strong temptation to heave his food into the kitchen wall, Jade slowly stood up and walked to his bulletin-board.

 

It contained information Jade had managed to steal online using the passcodes he knew by heart. Mr. Vic must have been extremely busy with something if he managed to overlook something as simple as changing the access codes.

 

Brushing his fingers against Agent Smith's reports on his recent successes, Jade had a thought. 

What exactly did his former boss plan to do with the orange kid? Mr. Vic had always stressed the task as extremely important, but never went into detail.

 

Well, whatever the reasoning was didn't matter. What did matter was getting back at the injustice that had been thrust upon him. 

 

Stupid hollowhead…

 

Jade sighed. What should he do? He was one stick against an entire loyal company. 

 

How could he ruin Vic's life as Vic had ruined his own life?

Jade looked over the reports and scattered papers he had printed out and pinned to the board. 

 

What was something crucial to Vic’s plans that he could take away? A treasure perhaps? One he could steal? Maybe a device he needed for something or… 

 

Wait…

 

Jade looked over the report for Agent's success on apprehending the Second Coming. 

In the file below, in Vic's handwriting, were the words “It is absolutely vital he is apprehended. If you see him, do not let him escape. Apprehend at any cost.”

 

This was the additional file Agent had received for briefing when he had gone out to collect the Chosen One. It had surprised Jade to find out that Agent had captured the Dark Lord as well when Agent returned and turned in the report that Jade now had a copy of.

 

But why was the Second Coming so important to Vic? He was just a kid. He couldn't possibly be older than 11 or 12. He had some skill in fighting –or at least hand to hand combat– Jade knew this, but that couldn't be the reason why…

 

Jade was missing something here. He needed more information. Cursing under his breath, the former commander turned away from the board and sat back down to eat. 

 

His brain buzzed and whirled with thoughts as he chewed. 

 

Mr. Vic had always favored Agent. The two had some sort of bond or history that Jade didn't know about, and that irritated him. Maybe he should try to set up an “accident” of some sort to put Agent in the hospital or even take him out of the picture completely. 

How upset would Vic be then? 

 

Not good enough. 

 

Killing Vic was out of the picture. Death was too good for him, and despite how furious Jade was with the grey hollowhead, Vic was still rather young. 

 

He wasn't even sure if he had the gall to murder Agent either. 

 

Jade's fork scraped his plate, the grating and screeching sound bringing Jade out of his thoughts. He looked down to find it empty, cleaned off while he'd been thinking.

 

As he stood and brought his dishes into the kitchen to rinse them, Jade drifted back into his state of planning.

 

Another idea occurred to him. What about the Second Coming? Vic needed him for something important, he'd stressed as much in the notes to Agent. 

What if he took the kid away? How much would that affect his former boss? How badly did Vic need the kid?

 

Biting his lip as Jade mentally weighed the amount of questions unanswered, he rounded the kitchen corner to take yet another look at the information he had collected. 

 

There was an idea. 

Maybe he should log onto the camera feed. Learn some more information about Vic's character perhaps. See if he discusses sensitive topics that Jade could use against him.

 

And taking the Second Coming was still an option to consider. 

He wouldn't hurt the kid if he could help it. He was innocent in this situation. But Vic was going to pay for what he'd done if Jade had anything to say about it. 

 

He sighed again and sat down at the table, opening his laptop.

Maybe he should take another look at Rocket's files.

 

-

 

-

 

Dark held Second tighter, subconsciously, as Victim and that Agent Smith guy entered the room. Had the eldest hollowhead sibling faked his tearful reaction, perhaps?

 

No… as Dark got a better look at Vic's face, he could see the evidence of a crying episode as well as floofed up hair. Dark kinda liked the messed up hair a little better than the smoothed down one, if he was being honest.

 

Dark spared a quick glance at Chosen, but Chosen hadn't woken up yet. He was still leaning against Dark’s shoulder, breathing deeply and had not yet noticed the fact that Dark was holding Second now.

At the thought, Dark let out a grin before he turned his attention back to Victim and Agent.

 

Blue and Green, who were speaking with Alan by the broken down machine, had not yet noticed the arrival of the two. 

 

Alan noticed them after a few seconds, however and nearly dropped the toolbox he had found nearby as a result. 

Quickly and gently, Alan set it down and then walked past Green and Blue toward Vic.

 

He slowed down as he approached, hesitant, and not wanting to scare his eldest away.

 

Agent watched Alan carefully for any signs of malice. Was this the human that was Vic's father? He was a violet hollowhead avatar… huh.

 

Agent suddenly felt the urge to laugh. The violet stick was so cautious and timid in appearance, almost perfectly matching Vic's exact same expression and posture to the detail.

 

“Hey…” Vic ventured softly.

 

“Uh, hey…” Alan replied, scratching the back of his neck.

 

Agent could see the blue and green sticks watching from afar, their body language suggesting unease and nervousness. 

Agent also took notice of the Dark Lord, eyeing him warily as he held the Second Coming like a baby. The Chosen One was asleep and hadn't moved an inch since Agent entered the room.

 

“I wanted to know…” Vic fidgeted with his hands, crossing his arms and uncrossing them as if he didn't know what to do with them. “...uhm, if it was possible I can…stay on the computer with you?”

 

Alan's eyes widened and he let out a small gasp, joy filling his eyes and allowing Agent to let go of the initial suspicions he had toward the violet hollowhead. 

“Yes! I had hoped…”

 

Alan slowly, unsurely, opened his arms for a hug. Vic crashed into him, holding his dad tight and allowing silent tears to fall again.

“I forgive you… and I'm sorry that I wanted to kill you…”

 

“Don't be sorry about that….it wasn't exactly too harsh of a reaction after what I've done…” Alan replied, softly holding his eldest and melting into the embrace.

 

Agent smiled and stepped back slightly to give them a little more space.

 

“Guys??” a sudden voice echoed through the quiet room. Startled, Agent turned around to see behind him.

 

“Oh, hey Yellow! Hi Red!” Dark piped up cheerfully, his eyes lighting up in relief and curiosity. “What happened with you two?”

 

“Wh- Why's he here?” Yellow nervously pointed at Agent. 

 

Vic and Alan had broken away from the hug to stare at Yellow and Red. 

 

“Okay, what happened?” Red put his hands on his hips. “I'll have you all know I waited for an entire hour for the lights to go off so I could shut down the backup generator for our rescue mission! And when they finally did come off, they almost immediately turned back on!” 

 

Red marched over to Blue and Green with an indignant expression painted on his face and his hands on his hips. He walked straight past Vic, Alan, and Agent without a second glance, unlike Yellow who kept a wary and tense eye on Agent.

 

“They had map issues. Some sort of printing error. Don't beat them up over it,” Dark interjected in defense of the venting duo. Dark quickly took notice of the softening and gratitude-ridden looks Blue and Green shot him.

 

“Uh, is Second okay?” Red asked.

 

The question made Yellow tear his apprehensive gaze away from Agent and make his way to the wall that Chosen, Dark, and Second were leaning against. 

 

“He's… been through some stuff…” Dark said, ever so briefly glancing at Vic. “But he’s fine right now. Just exhausted.”

 

Chosen stirred slightly, causing Dark to tense up. 

A beat passed.

Chosen continued sleeping.

 

“Okay,” Dark whispered. “We should probably be a bit quieter.”

 

“Agreed,” Yellow said softly.

 

“Um, so I think Vic is cool now and… probably Agent Smith as well, I think…” Dark whispered, glancing in the direction of Alan, Vic, and Agent.

 

Red and Yellow also glanced over at the three, and then at each other, confused expressions etched on their faces.

 

“Okay,” Yellow straightened. “We are definitely talking about that later… um… is the purple-y hollowhead guy who I think he is? Isn't that Alan's avatar design he mentioned he was trying to set up so he could visit us on the PC?”

 

“Yep.” Dark replied simply, popping the “p” sound and leaning back.

 

Yellow stood still, shell shocked for a moment. Red had a similar expression though there was more interest and curiosity in his eyes.

 

Agent viewed the proceedings with interest. For one thing, he hadn't realized there were other sticks that had infiltrated Rocket, which left him with a sense of embarrassment and sheepishness.

Another thing, was the softness of the Dark Lord. It seemed weird, wholesome all the same, but weird nevertheless to see him this way. Especially after Agent’s battle head-on against him.

 

“Hey, um… do you know how to fix the machine so I can actually get home?” Alan asked Vic softly, bringing Agent’s attention back to the father and son in front of him.

 

Vic nodded, offering Alan a small smile. “Yeah. I can fix it.”

 

Alan breathed out in relief.

 

“Oh, wait…” Vic suddenly tensed. “I… don't have a power source… I used Second last time, but…”

 

“Oh… that might be an issue…” Alan agreed. “Let's get to fixing the machine first. One problem at a time, hm?”

 

Vic nodded and smiled up at Alan, his eyes no longer seemed cautious and saddened. He was beginning to grow more comfortable around Alan, Agent could see it.

 

He was happy for his friend.

 

Boy, was Agent gonna miss him when Vic left.

-

Notes:

 ( ｡_｡)
How do I do these things I do?

 

Ahh, I do wonder if Second will willingly offer to go in the chamber again to power it up when he realizes Alan is stuck without a chamber power source~~
wink, wink, nudge, nudge, hint, hint

ANYWAY-
I think I finally got the hang of consistent chapters lengths. No, definitely not

I hope everyone enjoyed!

Chapter 12: From Afar

Summary:

Jade gets access to a lot of Rocket's security footage, and happens to stumble across a certain conversation between Vic and Agent.

(2,149 words)

Notes:

I thought this would take me longer than it did, but hey! Who's complaining?
Not me.
Not my dear audience, judging by all the positive attention it's garnered, which by the way thank you!

I never expected to get this much from you all! I'm so grateful for everyone's encouragement and laughs.

Feast!
Enjoy!
And need I say it? Drop me comments!

:D

Jade interestedly watched the footage of Mr. Vic quickly traversing the hallway, stumbling slightly and looking rather shaken up about something.

He perked up when Vic almost ran into a stick he recognized instantly as Agent Smith. 

Jade had seen many pictures of him when he was stealing reports and files, and he did sort of recall passing by him a few brief times back in his employment. 

 

“Sir? Are you alright?” Agent asked.

Vic didn't answer, remaining unresponsive.

“Sir? Boss?” Agent asked again.

 

Jade scratched his chin in thought. He'd gotten the impression the two were closer than Agent made it sound, but maybe he had over thought things.

In any case, Agent was too skilled for Jade to mess with as of the current moment.

 

“Vic?” Agent sounded worried now.

Vic reacted by looking up at Agent suddenly. He straightened and let go of his hair, then absentmindedly clutching his arm.

“Agent… I-I'm…” Vic started to rasp out before trailing off.

 

Jade raised an eyebrow. Was his first impression correct after all? Usually, you would get a penalty of some sort if you tried to act informal with the boss. 

Why would Agent use Mr. Vic's name in such a casual manner? Sure, it did seem like Mr. Vic was out of sorts, but still…

He kept watching.

 

Agent sighed.

“Are you doing alright, Vic? You seem frazzled about something.”

Vic let put a choked sob in reply, suddenly turning slightly and putting a hand over his mouth. Tears were visible now.

 

That intrigued Jade. What had happened to make his demeaning former boss so… like this??

 

“Agent… I don't know what to do…” Vic managed.

“What's happened?” Agent asked gently.

Vic wiped his face quickly and he patted his hair a bit, as if he was trying to regain his composure.

 

“A little late for that, Vic,” Jade muttered, the first hints of true joy in his expression since he'd been fired. “A bit. Too. Late.”

 

Vic sighed, “My…uhm… my father has… h-he…” He trailed off again.

 

Jade tilted his head. So this was just a family issue? Did Vic perhaps have family trauma?

 

Agent developed a protective, angry look.

“ He's not harmed me… err… not recently , anyway… Um…” Vic assured, but trailed off once more.

Agent slid down a wall and sat against it, gesturing for the grey hollowhead to join.

Vic joined.

“You don't have to tell me every little detail if you're not comfortable with it, boss,” Agent said.

“There's no one else about, my friend. You can keep using my…name.” Vic smiled slightly, although it was small and wobbly.

 

“I knew it…” Jade muttered, his fists clenched tight and his teeth gritting together. “It was always favoritism, wasn't it.”

Though his curiosity prompted him to keep watching the scene before him.

 

“Alright,” Agent nodded. 

“I just got a sincere apology from him,” Vic explained. “I just… I don't want to be hurt again… I used to be so angry with him, so upset and… vengeful. Now I feel nothing. Nothing . All my revenge planning is for nought. I'm at a loss…”

Vic visibly took a deep breath to calm himself and held his own hand.

Agent was silent as he listened.

 

Jade put a hand to his chin in thought. Vic had been planning revenge against his father for something? What did all of this have to do with the other hollowheads? 

 

Vic touched his own cheek and let a small smile appear. His next words were soft.

“He was so gentle. He really has changed…”

 

Jade had the volume up, so he heard the words fine.

 

“Does he want to take you home with him?” Agent wondered. 

“I… think so?” Vic said hesitantly. “I… may have… run off to collect my thoughts before we discussed that…”

 

Jade sat up and his eyes widened. Vic couldn't leave! His mouth pinched into a frown. That wouldn't do. Vic didn't get to treat Jade like dirt and then disappear and avoid the consequences.

 

“Oh…” Agent nodded in understanding .

A silent moment passed as it seemed Vic was pondering something. He briefly glanced Agent, then back to the wall as he thought.

“Agent… have you ever run a business before?” Vic's inquired, his voice practically back to normal with its usual crisp edge.

“You're not implying you want me to run Rocket… right?” Agent asked, seemingly bewildered. 

“Mr. Smith has a nice ring to it… or you could use your first name…” Vic smiled in a teasing manner. 

“I will not, and you know why,” Agent huffed as if upset though a smile was visible.

 

Jade snorted in exasperation. It was almost sickening to watch the two banter at each other as good friends would do. It only reminded him of Vic's demeaning and condescending tone he had almost always used toward Jade.

 

“Yeah, but if you were the boss, no one should question your name!” Vic continued, nudging Agent slightly. 

 

Jade did start to wonder out of random curiosity what was Agent’s real name, but that wasn't really an important goal.

 

Agent almost looked like he was going to reply, but clearly decided against it. He stayed silent for a long moment.

Vic sighed when Agent didn't answer. “Ah, you’re no fun sometimes, Smithy.”

“Are you actually planning to leave Rocket in my care, then?” Agent asked.

Vic's eyes spaced out a little. He nodded slowly and whispered, “I think so.”

Agent sat up straighter. “Oh…”

His voice sounded surprised and alert, as if he believed Vic was in jest earlier and was only just realizing Vic was serious.

“He offered to change my name…” Vic spoke softly. “I don't have to be… victim… anymore.”

 

Jade sat up straight at that. That… that was Vic's real name! Suddenly, Jade came into an understanding of why his former boss wanted revenge on his father.

‘Victim,’ huh? That was interesting…

 

“Really? He's gonna sign the legal contracts and everything?” Agent tilted his head as he inquired.

“Huh?” Vic raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Oh! Uh, no… I never mentioned this, but I was a created stick, not a born one…”

 

“Huh?!” Jade yelped. “He's…”

The deep green stick chewed his lip as he trailed off.

 

“Wait…” Agent looked at Vic closely. “So your father is an Animator? A human? Is that why you're a hollowhead…”

“A-anyway,” Vic cleared his throat. “I will likely need to go to his computer for the name change to happen… but I don't want to come back. If- If he'll accept me, I'd like to stay there with him… and my brothers…”

“As in our prisoners?” Agent confirmed.

“They are no longer prisoners,” Vic shook his head firmly.  

 

Jade hit the pause button, scooting back in his chair and leaning back. He let the information sink in. 

Vic was planning to leave. That had to stop, for sure. 

He mentioned brothers… that Agent had called prisoners… 

Wait, there were only three prisoners in all of Rocket!

The Chosen One and The Dark Lord…

…and the Second Coming. 

 

Victim was related to them all. Jade smirked. That did make a little bit more sense on why Vic would have been after the Second Coming, despite the child possessing none of the same abilities as the Chosen One and Dark Lord. Of course, it was because they were brothers.

Jade leaned forward again and pressed the play button, ready to continue. 

 

Agent wore an uneasy expression .

Vic laughed lightly. “Oh, don't you fret! I'm not removing your paycheck, Agent.”

Agent let out a soft sigh in relief, which Vic grinned at and shook his head slightly.

Vic threw his head back against the wall and let out several hearty chuckles at Agent's expense.

Agent grinned a slight amount as well.

Then he nudged Vic.

“Hey. Out of curiosity, what will your new name be?”

Vic sobered and stopped laughing.

“I think just… Vic,” he answered. Then he gave a little shrug. “The pretend name has grown on me a bit, what can I say?”

 

“Of course,” Jade muttered through grit teeth. “Never was one for honesty, were you, Vic?”

The next words brought back Jade's attention.

 

“Wait, hang on a second here… how is a human… here?” Agent asked suddenly.

“A- Oh… I brought him here with that super expensive machine I mentioned to you once.”

 

That was something Jade actually had caught wind of before. A project of Vic's in his private sector. Jade hadn't found the information interesting at the time, but right now that focus and intrigue on the topic was at an all-time high.

 

“The one that you've been working on for years…” Agent nodded. “Gotcha…”

Vic scratched the back of his neck.

“Heh, speaking of, I will have to repair it so I can get him back. Although… hmmm. How will I power it?”

“Well, how did you power it the first time?” Agent asked.

Vic looked away and rapped a few fingers on his leg. “I used the Second Coming…”

 

What? Had Jade heard that right? Victim had used that kid as a power source for his machine? 

But the kid didn't use any powers against him… None of this was making sense. How would the Second Coming be able power Vic's machine?

 

“Oof… poor kid… He doing okay? Surely he's not…” Agent trailed off, unsure if he should voice the immediate concern.

“He's out cold, but fine as far as I could tell,” Vic assured. He sighed. “So many apologies to make… Stick…”

“You'll be okay, Vic,” Agent assured.

 

Jade listened to the rest of the conversation in silence. Nothing more was said aside from general banter and a stupid hug. They were leaving now, to go and meet Vic's dad, the human.

 

Jade leaned back. What to do, what to do? There was no way he could just let Victim leave. Jade wasn't done with him yet. 

 

And what did Vic mean about using the Second Coming as a power source? That still didn't make sense. 

 

Jade pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contact, searching for a specific name. He clicked on a name.

 

Pulling the phone up to his ear, Jade waited for the call to be picked up.

 

A click. Then a gruff voice.

"Hullo?"

 

"Mauve, old friend!" Jade grinned.

 

"J-Jade…" Mauve stammered nervously. "Hey… I thought you, er… How's it going?"

 

"Do you remember that one night?" Jade smiled, knowing full well Mauve already suspected that the call had something to do with that incident. "And a certain favor you owe me?"

 

"Yes…" Mauve sighed. Jade heard him pull up a chair and sit it in with a loud creak! that echoed through the phone. Mauve's voice suddenly gained a more interested, almost excited tone. "Oh, are you calling it in? Thank the internet, finally! It's about time! Whatta ya need, Jade?"

 

"I'm interested in acquiring a virus from that one guy you knew. I forget his name, but you mentioned he specializes in the hacking and coding sort of skillset."

 

"Ohh, good old G, heh. We haven't talked in years but I hear he's pretty rich," Mauve started rambling.

 

"Yes, yes," Jade interjected with a sigh. "Your friend, G. Can I get a virus from him that will allow me remote access to a buildings electronic devices? Everything. Cameras, computers, security systems, grounded weaponry, and the like."

 

"Stick, Jade, you sound like you want to take over some big facility…" Mauve took a sharp intake of air at Jade's words. "I admire your bravado."

 

Mauve was silent for a moment. Jade waited for his answer. 

 

"Okay," Mauve finally spoke. "I'll get in touch with G and see if I can get you what you need… and if I succeed… you'll, er, consider the favor fulfilled?"

 

"Of course, my friend," Jade smiled. "As long as I get what I've asked for, of course."

 

Mauve let out a soft, but audible sigh of relief. "Thanks, Jade. Say, you wouldn't happen to want to visit the southern area of Stick City for a visit, ey? I still have that old corndog stand setup."

 

"Still?" Jade allowed a laugh. "Mate, you've got to at least get a truck at this point."

 

"Maybe I will," Mauve replied. "The stand's grown on me. I even sold Pixel Corndogs once after some weird glitching tech hit the stand. The effects dissipated within a few hours, but I made double profits for a time!" 

 

"Heh," Jade nodded his head. "Well, maybe I will. I do have things I need to get back to doing though. I'll be waiting for you to call me back."

 

"Alright," Mauve answered. He was much less nervous than before. "Talk with ya later, then."

 

The line disconnected. 

 

Jade stood up and stretched his arms out. He'd stared at Rocket's various footage systems for at least an hour straight.

It was time for a break.

 

-

Notes:

Usually, I hate having so much focus on an original character, but Jade do be making a good villain here.

I didn't even intend for Jade to be here. I didn't even intend to bring him back until I was writing chapter 10!
Eh, but here we are.

I refuse to give him a tag, though, unless a commenter demands it of me.
Don't do itttt /j

Anyways, hope this was an enjoyable chapter. I don't want my content to start drifting into dislikable territory.

Also, I wonder who this G character is....
(:

Hint:
You all have met him, just under a different name. He has been in multiple chapters. The mercenaries know him, but not that he used to go by whatever G stands for, hehe. It is none of the Color Gang, neither Dark or Cho.
That's all for now, I await your guesses, hehe

Edit: I said "stands for" and I mean G is the first initial of a pseudonym he used to go by in the past before he started using the name you all know him as.

 

**vanishes**

Chapter 13: Getting Closer

Summary:

Vic decides on his name and Mauve gets in touch with the mysterious G.

(2,248 words)

Notes:

For those few of you who see my Tumblr updates that correlate to my Archive stuff, you may have already known exactly what Vic's name will be.
I additionally hinted at this by the title of Golden Boy Chapter 2, hehe

And LeenaFreeBird, yeah, I said I wasn't sure when this would come out. I said it would probably be a few days...
Um.
Well, I got super inspired all of a sudden, so here ya are!! XD

Feast!
Enjoy!
Drop comments upon me like the sore throat I now possess, probably as a result of writing a sick fic.

I swear, I am so cursed, though.

I wrote Sticktober Prompt Wood (October 22nd, 2023), which contain a tiny smidge of Purple getting a cold...
And then the following morning, I was sick, and had a laugh about it.
-
Present day (December 15th, 2023), I spent all of yesterday writing a sick fic (King vs. The Super Sick Sticks) then posted it last evening, and woke up this morning with a sore throat.
Just the throat thing, but still.
I'm cursedddd
XD

Vic stood by the wall, leaning his back against it and next to Alan who was doing the same. The two were silent, neither completely sure what to say.

Alan had opened his mouth to speak several times as they'd stood there –over the course of almost 10 minutes– but always closed it shortly after without uttering a word.

 

Once again, Vic surveyed the room. 

Second was asleep in Dark's arms. Chosen was also asleep and leaning on Dark's shoulder. The four colored sticks that Second was friends with were hesitantly and cautiously engaged in simple conversation with Agent.

And the machine was still broken. 

 

"I… had a thought…" Alan whispered softly and carefully, like Vic was a deer that might get scared away. "About your new name."

Vic turned his head to look at his father, who wasn't actually that much taller than him despite Vic only being nineteen. 

"Yeah?" He replied curiously.

 

"The Firstborn," Alan replied in answer, a bit louder than before but still soft.

Vic felt a shiver of… something (Anticipation? Excitement? Connection?) run down his spine, filling him with a warm sensation that brought a genuine smile to his face. A smile he hadn't thought himself capable of.

 

"The Firstborn." Vic repeated, rolling the titled name around in his head. "I… I like that. It's fitting."

Alan's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, in relief, with Vic just barely catching the motion. 

"I'm not going to try and kill you again," the grey hollowhead assured quietly, fidgeting with his hands. "I think I've seen enough evidence that you've changed. That you're different now. I… trust you more. I'm no longer angry as I used to be."

 

"That's wonderful to hear from you," Alan sighed, the slightest of grins materializing upon his features before it fell again. "I still feel terrible about it, though, and that guilt and shame will take a while to fade and simmer down."

 

Before Vic could attempt at some lightheartedness, not that he had an idea of what to do anyway, his phone buzzed and chimed at him. Raising his eyebrows at the "Unknown Number" title, Vic shrugged his shoulders and pressed the green button to accept the call, bringing it to his ear.

Alan politely stepped away with a nod and began heading over to the others.

 

"Hello?" Vic asked.

"Hey, G!" A chipper voice answered through the speaker, an undertone of caution evident, as well as a stifled –but intense nevertheless– urgency permeating the guy's tone.

"....Mauve?" Vic questioned in disbelief as he finally figured out why the voice was familiar. 

"Oh thank the Internet, you remember me!" Mauve replied, giggling slightly and the cautious tone immediately went away. "How have you been, G? Last I heard of you, you had yourself some large scaled company. How's that going for ya?"

Vic's throat went dry as he recalled the days before he'd founded Rocket. He had gone by G back then –short for Grey– as he just needed something other than victim. He'd never mentioned his newer adopted name "Vic" to Mauve since they'd parted ways. 

"Oh, it's- it's going…" Vic uttered slowly. "I plan to leave soon though. I want to move in with my family for a simpler life."

"Really?" Mauve sighed in exhaustion. "Please tell me you're still there. I need one of those 8K-2 viruses."

"You're still smuggling illegal merchandise these days?" Vic almost laughed. 

"No, actually," Mauve was quick to defend himself. "I work at a library now and run the corndog stand."

"The stand you used to smuggle outlawed technology in…." Vic deadpanned, covering his smile with a hand. 

"Not anymore," Mauve huffed. He then took on a deliciously teasing and mischievous tone. "But, hey, it is still fun to have those older cops, who remember me from those times, stop by to search the cart and they find nothing, heh."

"And yet you need a virus," Vic rolled his eyes. "And not just any one, the 8K-2 one. Probably my most dangerous invention I've built."

"A friend called in a favor that I've been wanting gone for years, please G," Mauve explained, a worried aspect to his voice drifting through the speaker on Vic's phone. "This is the last one I need from you, ever."

"You do realize that I am trying to better myself as a stick, right?" Vic massaged his forehead. "It was necessary in the beginning to establish funding for my corporation, but…"

"Pleassse??" Mauve pleaded, not quite drifting into a whine, but the noise grating Vic's ears similarly to one.

"Alright!" Vic huffed loudly to cut off Mauve. "Alright… Just because I appreciate you being one of the only sticks to accept me as a friend, even before I got where I am today. When I had nothing."

"Thank you so much," Mauve sighed in great relief. He let out a slight laugh. "This debt, this favor I owe is the last one from those old days. It has loomed over me for so long and I'm about to be free of it!"

"I'm happy to hear it, Mauve," Vic smiled. 

Mauve held the phone away from his mouth and let out a victorious whoop of joy, though the noise was still fairly loud. Vic winced slightly, though he was happy for his friend.

"Thanks again, G," Mauve said, calmer than before. "I hope everything goes well with your family. You should introduce me sometime! Like I said, I still run the stand~"

"That sounds nice, I think my youngest brother would like that…" Vic trailed off, suddenly aware that he hadn't apologized to Second yet.

 

"You good, G?" 

"Ah, yes!" Vic snapped his attention back to the phone call. "Just remembered something else I need to do in a bit. And um, you can call me Vic for now."

"Vic?" Mauve asked, his voice growing more excited. "Who in the everloving stickshift are you? I would have never thought you capable of sharing your actual name with me! You always were very mysterious, heh heh."

"Ehm, well, it's a nickname-" Vic started to explain.

"Oh, it is you!" Mauve breathed out in fake relief, playing it out like he'd been suspicious Vic wasn't himself. "Same old secrecy vibes~"

"Wh- It's just- You-" Vic sputtered. "Oh, shoosh your mouth…"

Mauve laughed openly, and Vic laughed as well. Vic had forgotten how much he missed his friend, though he didn't quite miss the illegal activities.

"It's about time for me to head over to the library for my shift, sooo, I'll text you for details on meeting up?" Mauve asked, pondering aloud.

"O-oh!" Vic checked the time. "I don't know if I will be able to make it today. I can send someone to give it to you this evening though. We can always meet up another time."

"Yeah, okay," Mauve sighed in mild disappointment. "I'll be at that steakhouse by Midland Avenue for a few hours after 6:00 tonight."

"Alright then," Vic made a mental note to contact someone to deliver the 8K-2. "You know something funny, Mauve?"

"Yeah?"

"I only have one 8K-2 left," Vic chuckled. "It's the display one that I'd let people handle for their browsing and for me to explain how to use it for the newbies that don't understand basic USB port knowledge…"

"The… display one…" Mauve stated.

"Oh, it works!" Vic assured his friend. "Very well indeed. Whoever you're giving it to will be satisfied. It's just kinda funny that it's the only one I have left. The others were all sold off ages ago."

"Oh, okay! Good," Mauve breathed out. "Anyway, I'll see ya around G- er, Vic."

"Heh," Vic grinned. "See ya, Mauve."

 

Click.

 

"Huh," Vic mumbled to himself, thinking over the conversation. After a moment, he lifted his eyes up and observed the others. 

 

Alan and Agent were shaking hands and Vic just barely caught the words "looking out for Vic" from him.

Alan was… thanking Agent.

Vic blinked at that. He supposed Agent had indeed helped him a lot, more so than what Vic had paid him for. 

The nineteen-year-old mentally added 'properly thanking Agent' to his list.

 

Second and Chosen both were still asleep, Vic relaxing since he could take some more time to think of a good way to apologize. His shaky, overwhelmed "I'm sorry" he'd uttered before running into Agent… that wasn't gonna cut it. That wasn't going to undo everything he had done.

At least... the bruises on Second's throat were healed over. Vic didn't know if he could bear to look Second in the eyes at all, never mind properly apologize, if those marks had remained to stare at him.

But with enough time… maybe they could move past all this.

 

Though, Vic did feel like he was forgetting something important.

What was it, what was it?

 

-

 

-

 

"It's quite a well thought out plan," Agent told Yellow. "I didn't realize there were so many of you infiltrating."

"Ah, thanks," Yellow chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck and never taking his eyes off of the mercenary before him. 

"It's not that impressive," Red rolled his eyes grumpily. "I didn't even get to do anything! Ugh."

"Why, what happened on your end, Red?" Blue piped up. "You never said."

"I sat by the shut down switch for two and a half hours while absolutely no lights turned off! That's what happened!" Red crossed his arms, mouth pinched in a frown. "And apparently Second got really hurt in a glass thingy. I could've helped…"

"Don't blame yourself for what happened to Second, kid," Dark piped up from against the wall, where he held Second in a cradled position. "Besides, he's okay now."

 

"Is he okay about having powers?" Green asked, face concerned. "That's a big revelation to receive. He's thought himself normal like us for his whole life."

Dark had explained Second's capabilities as best as he could to the kiddos. Might as well spare Second the trouble, right? 

That, and Dark was probably the best stick to explain everything. He had suffered firsthand from Second's energy, and additionally been one of the sticks to witness it again when Second was in the chamber.

 

"It was certainly a shock to us when you mentioned it," Yellow sighed, gazing at Second's peacefully asleep form. "So I can only predict Second's going to be at least as shocked if not more so, when he wakes up and can fully process the recently learned information."

Dark shrugged, "He was kinda neutral about it. Maybe surprised and curious why he didn't remember."

"Yeah, because he was out of it and exhausted from using all that energy," Green pointed out. "When he wakes up, it'll really hit him."

"I imagine so," a sleepy voice added. The sticks, Agent included, jerked their heads to Dark's shoulder where Chosen was leaned against. 

Chosen's eyes were half open. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, letting out a small yawn. 

 

"Hey, Cho," Dark greeted him, grip on Second tightening slightly as he tried to assess whether Chosen would want to hold Second or not. 

Chosen glanced at Second and then up at Dark.

"Gimme," Chosen held out his hands, eyes clearer now and his face already looking less droopy than before.

 

"Fiine," Dark sighed begrudgingly and lifted Second over. 

Chosen's eyes lit up and he immediately snuggled Second close and started playing with his hair.

The others stifled their laughter –mostly at Dark's saddened, adorably miserable expression– and Agent also let a faint grin slip onto his face. 

 

Alan briefly glanced over at the group from his position near the busted machine, smiling in soft relief that Chosen was okay. When soft footsteps approached, the violet hollowhead avatar turned to see Vic.

"I got called by an old friend of mine," Vic explained, squatting down next to Alan and surveying the tools that littered the floor. Vic smiled as he recalled the conversation. "He wanted to meet you guys sometime."

 

"Oh?" Alan relaxed at Vic's ease, curiously looking up at the eldest hollowhead child. "That sounds nice. It warms my heart to hear your life has been alleviated of… well, trauma I caused."

 

Vic hummed in affirmation and nodded, not expanding on the subject and choosing to focus on more positive events.

"Mauve runs a corndog stand. I thought Second might like that."

 

"Maybe?" Alan wondered. "I don't think he's had them before. Blue would definitely like it. He likes everything pretty much. Or at least he eats anything. Apparently, he isn't fond of warped fungus or rainbow potions."

"It… it will be nice to get to know everyone," Vic sighed softly. "Put the past behind us…"

Alan hesitantly reached out and patted Vic's shoulder. Vic stiffened at first, the slightest flinch out of pure habit, but then relaxed. 

 

Vic thought about something for a moment, then as if coming to a conclusion and deciding to act before he chickened out, the grey hollowhead turned and leaned into Alan's left, wrapping him into a soft side-hug. Alan's eyes widened and his small grin widened greatly. 

The two enjoyed their company for a few moments. Vic was starting to slowly get used to hugs now. That… was improvement, right?

 

But despite the fluffiness, the relaxation he could feel with Alan now, the hope for future forgiveness and bonding… Why did it feel like he was forgetting something?

What was it?

Someone else that needed an apology, perhaps?

 

What was it indeed….

-

Notes:

Alternate Title: Grey-Minded
(As in that niggling feeling that you're forgetting something but can't quite place what)
(And reveal of G aka Grey)
(And also pun~)

• v •

 

I'm not funny

 

Edit:
So Vic is about to be The Firstborn.
And in similar fashion to the others, the shorthand is going to be "First"

Vic (The Firstborn) - First
Chosen (The Chosen One) - Second
Dark (The Dark Lord) - Third
Second (The Second Coming) - Fourth

Ah, yes...
Makes perfect sense~

Additionally~
• v •
I have something fun planned after Vic's name is officially changed, hehehehe

Chapter 14: Apprehension, Awakening, and Apology

Summary:

:3

(2,570 words)

Notes:

GUYS I'M SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK ME FOREVER
AHDJANEK
I GOT FIXATED ON A DIFFERENT FIC

Don't worry, chapter 15 won't take as long... I hope.
Thank you all for bearing with me, my writing whims and my busy schedule.
This fic may have its pauses, but I NEVER abandon a work!!

So without further ado~

Feast!
Enjoy!
Droppeth me commenteths~

"And that should do it!" Yellow grinned, wiping his brow as he looked over the machine. Vic reciprocated the grin with a subdued smile of his own.

 

Dark helped Alan up from off the floor and the four stepped back to view their work. 

"That's the hard part done," Dark nodded in satisfaction. 

"Ehh, well…" Vic raised a finger. "I think finding an adequate power source is just as hard. In all technicality, the job is only halfway done."

Dark sighed, crossing his arms and gazing at his older brother with a frown. He'd been tolerant of Vic's presence and helpful assistance for the daunting task of repair they'd just done, but Dark still found himself harboring unresolved issues with Vic's recent actions. 

That, and Vic wasn't very good at socializing, always taking on a crisp and businesslike edge to his tone when he spoke. If Dark didn't know, couldn't see how hard Vic was trying and working toward a better relationship, he might've suspected Vic was being haughty or condescending. 

That fact was not so, but the firm tone was a bit grating to hear sometimes.

"But, uhm, this is good!" Vic added quickly, probably interpreting Dark's frown as disheartenment. "We fixed the machine!"

His hands nervously fluttered, one moment having them crossed over his chest and the next moment resting on his hips. 

 

Dark finally offered Vic a genuine smile, pulling emotion from his own amusement with Vic's silly, nervous manner to fuel a legitimate grin he could offer the grey hollowhead. 

Vic relaxed visibly when Dark did so.

"Okay…" Alan huffed in thought. "How much power does it need to bring me back?"

Vic sobered and subtly took a very short glance in Second's direction, though Dark took notice. 

"Umm," Vic drawled out. "A lot. I have the exact measurements and requirements jotted down on the notepad there." 

Vic pointed out said notepad, on top of a desk where the toolboxes were nearby Alan and Yellow. 

Dark watched Vic approach Alan and start delving into technical terms that he didn't quite grasp. Dark's area of expertise was engineering and coding. Not this… energy reading stuff and physics-y science-y talk.

 

His focus drifted over to where the others were. Agent seemed to be getting along with Second's friends fine… Chosen too. Sorta.

Chosen was being tolerant of Agent. He was polite and civil, but there was an intensity in his gaze Dark could see even from his position in the distance.

That, and the way Chosen's grip on Second shifted every now and then, especially if Agent moved a little… it betrayed an uneasiness lying beneath Chosen's mask of acceptance. 

Agent didn't seem to pick up on that fact just yet, a little occupied with responding to the color kids' rambling questions. Now that they'd warmed up to the mercenary a little, there went the endless barrages of inquiries, usually centered around typical mercenary equipment or duties.

 

"I have no idea what we could use as a supplement," Yellow's voice brought Dark's attention back. 

Vic looked contemplative. Alan looked downright confused, very not familiar with the specifications listed on Vic's notepad. 

"Dark, you want to take a look?" Yellow held up the pad.

"Sure…" Dark took the cluster of pages, eyes scanning the top. Then his eyes narrowed in thought.

He understood these readings. It was similar to the equations he'd needed to make when creating the Virabots. 

And Vic had been right. This machine… needed an insurmountable amount of power, and Dark knew power. He knew it like no other, probably. 

Driven by the mission code, Dark had done more than his fair share of research in power sources. But what this machine needed… he could think of nothing that would work as a replacement. 

And it wasn't as simple as gathering multiples of smaller power sources, either.

"I got nothing," Dark sighed slowly. "I think we may need Second…"

"B-but, it hurts him!" Vic protested, hands hugging himself and his eyes growing guilty and worried. "I don't want to put him through that again…"

"No… I think the machine hurt because Second's powers were dormant and the machine yanked them out by force." Dark put a hand on his chin. "If he can activate them on his own…"

"Then it won't hurt him?" Alan asked quietly, hope in his voice. He remained cautious all the same, however, not at all willing to put Second in harm's way even if it meant never going home.

"I don't think so, from what I've seen on how the machine operates." Dark replied, slowly growing more certain as he thought it over.

Vic remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling back into the distance where Chosen held Second. 

"We… should ask his permission," Vic whispered so softly that Dark barely caught the words.

Ah, right. Vic had made Second go into the chamber before. That had to be eating away at the eldest a lot.

Alan nodded at Vic's words, offering the tense grey hollowhead an encouraging grin, which kinda surprised Dark. 

Alan was a human. He was surely having a lot of trouble adjusting to suddenly being in a stick body, in a world he only knew at a surface level, and was literally almost the victim [heh] of a murder attempt. 

How he was so calm and also just suddenly very close with Vic… Dark didn't fully understand. Maybe it was guilt on Alan's part? He didn't know the full story, but it certainly seemed that Alan had definitely hurt Vic in the past somehow.

Deletion perhaps? No, that didn't make sense. Vic was alive, clearly.

"We'll ask him then," Dark agreed. "After he wakes up. It's our only option at this point, or else Alan is probably stuck here forever."

"When… do you think he'll wake up?" Yellow asked curiously, with an undertone of concern for his friend.

Dark could only glance back over at Second, sleeping still in Chosen's arms, and shrug.

 

-

 

-

 

The first thing Second knew was the chattering voices of his friends. It was something he'd always heard on a constant basis, and perhaps that was the reason why he felt completely at home as his consciousness slowly returned to him.

He shifted his head, eyes still shut with lingering grogginess, and then quickly found out that what he'd previously assumed to be his pillow… wasn't his pillow. It was someone's arm. 

It was then that he became aware of the position he was in. Second was being held in someone's arms and he was not on the PC.

 

His eyes flew open with a sudden nervousness. The memories of everything that had transpired since leaving the computer instantly flooded back into his head.

Chosen's head leaned into his view, the black hollowhead meeting Second's gaze with a relieved smile. He slowly moved Second to a sitting position, though he still was holding onto the orange hollowhead with a protective and guarding intent.

Second didn't speak yet, still trying to take in his surroundings. 

Blue, Green, and Red were a few feet away, speaking to the leader mercenary that had aided in capturing him.

None of them had noticed Second being awake yet, too busy with their own conversation that Agent Smith was amusedly enduring. 

The sight of the agent made Second freeze and scoot backward, pressing into Chosen's chest.

Chosen's arms immediately took him into a hug and he readily began calming Second with soft, gentle whispering coupled with soothing hand motions that ran through his hair.

"Hey, hey, everything's alright now. Alan… is still here, but Yellow, Vic, and Dark are working on that. Agent is… he won't hurt you. No one will, I'll make sure of it."

"Vic?" Second whispered nervously, his head swiveling to another part of the room where Yellow, Alan, and Dark stood… alongside Vic.

The grey hollowhead wore a small, grateful smile directed toward Alan. It carried a tense emotion though, visible clearly even with the distance between Second and the group he observed.

Then Vic looked over and met Second's gaze, the eldest hollowhead's expression immediately growing more nervous and flighty, which confused Second as he was still in the mindset of Vic trying to hurt him with the chamber.

Vic's mouth opened and he spoke something short aloud that drew Yellow, Alan, and Dark's attention to Second.

The group of three were very quick to light up with surprised delight and begin rushing over, Vic trailing behind hesitantly and more slowly paced. 

Their fast approach was noticed by Blue, Green, Red, and Agent, who in turn glanced at Chosen and Second and also reacted with the same relieved surprise.

Second found himself surrounded in moments by everyone and started hunching in on himself, drawing closer to Chosen on instinct as he was met with barrages of several varying concerns and questions.

Chosen's voice cut through everything like a knife; sharp, scolding, and firm.

"Give him some space!"

The worried chatter died down immediately and everyone took a few steps back.

There was a moment of silence as Second relaxed slightly and managed to finally finish processing where he was and why everyone might be super, hyper worried over him.

"Um," Second cleared his throat softly and he relaxed slightly in Chosen's soft hold. "How long… have I been out?"

Dark took it upon himself to answer while everyone else remained silent.

"57 minutes, almost 58 but then you woke up, so we're at the 40 second mark, still. Heh, Second… "

Then after another silent pause, Dark added, "Unless you meant how long collectively you've slept in your whole life, in which case the answer is a bit more uncertain since I wasn't here for all of it and couldn't, therefore, have properly monitored the exact time passage."

Second snorted and grinned slightly, not failing to notice the way his friends' and Alan's shoulders untensed at the kid's sign of amusement. 

"Are you okay, Second?" Alan spoke next, crouching down on the floor to be closer to the orange hollowhead. He was holding out a violet hand for Second to take.

Second's eyes widened at the sight of Alan's avatar. His excitement over seeing Alan in a physical form and not just the cursor he usually controlled on the PC made him grin and take Alan's hand with a happy reverence.

"Yeah. I'm good now. I'm not even tired anymore."

 

Alan sighed slowly and scooted closer to Second, his gentle grip on Second's hand shaking a little and remaining firm as if to reassure himself of Second's presence. 

"May… I speak?" Vic's quiet voice timidly entered the conversation, not a direct interruption, but a cautious add-on. 

Second's head jerked in startled alertness to where Vic stood, nearby Dark. The grey hollowhead was very nervously tense and his hand was held stiffly behind his own head in a sheepish, shame-ridden manner that softened and tempered Second's initial apprehension. 

"Y-yeah, go ahead," Second said as firmly and as assuredly as he could manage. 

Vic breathed out and his posture twitched, though it did not relax in the slightest. 

Aware of many eyes on him, Vic knelt down to the floor to join Chosen, Second, and Alan.

The color quad and Agent each took a few steps back to offer more space to the grey hollowhead, each watching closely with varying levels of curiosity and wariness, Yellow and Agent being the least wary.

"I…" Vic started slowly, picking up more confidence as he went on. "I am sorry. I am sorry for hurting you and dragging you into my revenge plan when you were innocent. I am sorry for everything and I want to ask of your forgiveness, though I may not deserve it."

The words carried a sincere and genuine intent that was interspersed with an anxious acceptance, like he was expecting to be rejected and yelled at but was ready to endure it. 

Second looked over Vic with a ponderant deliberation. The silence from the orange hollowhead stretched on for an uncomfortable amount of time, though Dark would later recount it to only have been a minute and twelve seconds. [Hehe]

"I forgive you, Vic," Second said finally, offering Vic a much more at ease and assuring smile. 

Vic –who'd started to look at the floor, unable to continue the prolonged eye contact as Second remained silent– looked back up at Second with mild surprise. 

"R-really?" Vic tilted his head . 

Why? He wanted to ask. How do you forgive me that easily?

"Yes." Second nodded, sounding sure of himself now. 

Chosen also seemed just as surprised as Vic, though he was better at masking his emotions at the current moment. 

Alan, Agent, and the others just observed silently without much comment or reaction. Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red were especially already used to Second's naturally forgiving nature. 

"A-are you sure?" Vic continued in disbelief. He couldn't believe it. No one could be that immediately accepting, right? 

"Yep," Second grinned in amusement at the grey hollowhead's confusion. "I mean what I say. I can tell you mean the apology and are truthful in your intentions to change for the better. I would have said the same thing either way, but yeah…"

Vic blinked and swallowed, pulling his acting skills to the surface so he could refrain from becoming an emotional mess, though with how shell-shocked and pale he felt his facial features express, Vic was sure his feelings were clear to the others anyway.

"Th- thank you, Second…" Vic managed in a more choked up tone then he'd intended. Stick, what had happened to his acting skills?! He was not supposed to deviate from professionalism like this and especially in front of so many other sticks.

 

"Okay, now that we're done with that," Dark huffed fondly, taking the stunned Vic's hand and helping him stand up. "We need to discuss the matter of bringing Alan back into the human world. And uh… Second…"

"Yeah?" Second tilted his head up at Dark, perfectly calm and unsuspecting as he was enjoying Chosen's gentle combing of his hair and feeling pretty relaxed at the moment. "What's wrong?"

"We need you to help power the machine to bring Alan back," Vic stated, having finally regained full composure –outwardly, anyway– and was now able to embody his usual formal tone again. "I have a spare chamber, the original prototype that works equally well to the one you were previously inside…"

Vic trailed off as he noticed Second's face had gone white and he was hunching in on himself again, clearly disliking the idea already, clearly remembering what he'd priorly gone through. Vic felt another stab of guilt hit him in the heart and his face twisted up into a faint grimace on instinct. 

"But this time it won't hurt you," Dark added onto Vic's starting explanation with a confidence that intrigued and soothed Second's initial fear. "Because we're going to teach you how to activate your powers beforehand so the machine isn't forcing it out. If your powers are already active, then the machine will only absorb the excess in the air with no issue. It will be a little taxing, but it will not hurt."

"Oh…" Second perked up, understanding and relieved. He looked at Alan and his features grew determined.

 

"Okay," Second nodded up at Dark with a fire in his eyes that displayed his willingness to help. "I'll try."

-

Notes:

Oh, yeah, and I do have a good explanation for exactly how Vic got deleted and came back. Buuuuuut~
That's to be revealed later~

:3

Chapter 15: Sparker

Summary:

...uhm.
*ꙆᙁᔑᙓᖇƮ ᔑᙀᙏᙏඞᖇƳ ᙁOꙆᔑᙓᔑ*

(4,110 words)

Notes:

We're back!
Somehow!

I don't understand why this happened so easily after struggling to write Jade as a character again. XD

And then I spent like half-an-hour straight, while editing and typo-sweeping, trying to come up with a chapter summary. = w =

...it didn't work, as you may have noticed.

 

ᥲᥒᥡᥕᥲᥡ~

Feast!
Enjoy!
And droppy me a commenty~

(Please. I need them to live. I will dip a comment in my coffee and nibble on it like a cracker or something. Go crazy long. Give me a single word. I care not.) /Lh /hj

The small cafe was busy.

 

Chatter abounded in each corner and various sticks ordered food and drink. 

 

Jade entered the cozy establishment just behind two other random sticks, his eyes narrowing in mild annoyance at the tiny bell on the door that jingled as it opened and then shut behind him. 

 

Jade smiled when he spotted Mauve's familiar form in the corner of the cafe, sitting with clear and obvious anticipation. 

Mauve kept glancing around, fiddling with his hot mug of whatever drink he'd acquired before Jade had arrived. 

It wasn't exactly a soft smile on Jade's face, though. Not a grin originating from the desire to connect with an old friend, but more of a triumphant one; perhaps with a little more glee in it than normal as Jade's thoughts were taken up completely with getting his hands on the virus Mauve had said he now had possession of.

 

Then Mauve spotted him from his position by the door. Mauve's face lit up instantly, his fidgeting coming to a halt as he quickly recognized Jade. The corndog-selling stick half stood and then sat back down in jittery relief, waving Jade over with a grin. 

 

"Jade, Jade! Friend, come sit!" Mauve laughed as Jade approached the seated stick and came within earshot. 

 

Mauve patted an empty space on the soft, cushioned bench. Jade sat down with a calm demeanor and a nod, though there was an electric expectancy and suspense tingling beneath the surface of his behavior, hidden well under his exterior manners. 

"How are you, Jade?" Mauve wrapped an arm around Jade's neck and gave him a slight squeeze of a hug before pulling back to look Jade in the eyes as Mauve waited for an answer.

Jade couldn't help a soft chuckle at the touchy show of affection. It wasn't something he was used to accepting or initiating himself, but… it was familiar to Mauve's character. The simple display of friendly affection effortlessly brought back memories of the older days when the two had interacted on a more regular basis. 

"I'll be doing better when I get what I came for," Jade huffed amusedly, directing the conversation back to the virus he was meeting with Mauve to get. 

"Ah, right," Mauve nodded, his attitude quick to suddenly shift to a more businesslike composure. Jade thought for a quick moment Mauve's eyes held a trace of disappointment in them, but it was gone so fast Jade couldn't really tell. 

Mauve discreetly looked around the cafe and reached a hand into a leather shoulder satchel, quickly pulling out a red, white, caution-yellow, and black handheld device about the size of a grenade, but certainly not for throwing and exploding.

Jade smiled and his eyes darkened at the thought of the power this virus held. His fingers grasped it easily from Mauve's outstretched hand passed underneath the table, out of sight from the occasional passersby and other public life.

 

"There you have it," Mauve's eyes sparkled, reminding Jade of a younger Mauve; a professional smuggler and witty salesman with a flair for extravagance when presenting an item. "The 8K-2 virus. With this, you can remotely control a hard-light body, an entity that is nearly indestructible and like a, uh, distantly accessed mech. You can additionally utilize the data inside the capsule –the actual virus– and take over a building's power to use at your whim. That's what makes this so desirable. Its ability to take over any and all building power, any and all electronics, and control them by your will and/or take its powering system to strengthen the hard-light figure."

"Incredible…" Jade whispered reverently, running a possessive thumb over the 8K-2 virus in his hand as an odd emotion washed over him, perhaps a menacing sort of pride or egotism. Shaking his head to rid himself of the disorienting feeling, Jade slipped the small device into his loose pants pocket, zipping up the pocket zipper to hold the thing secure to his inventory. 

"And my debt to you…?" Mauve stared into Jade's eyes with a tense and hopeful anxiousness. 

"Satisfied. Done. Over with," Jade grinned lightheartedly. He felt like celebrating! Victim would have no idea what was coming. His revenge would be carried out very soon.

A lot of tense stiffness was released from Mauve's shoulders at Jade's words. The corndog librarian smiled back at Jade like a weight had been lifted off his heart. 

Jade came to the sudden realization that his friend must have been stressing over his debt for years. Jade felt a slight twinge of sympathy –and perhaps a faint hint of guilt– come over him before he shook the feeling away. 

"Heh. I told you I would, Mauve," Jade grinned, feeling on top of the world and free to enjoy some celebratory fun before his inevitable march to fulfilling his long stressed over and thought through plans. 

"I know, I know," Mauve sighed with a laugh. "I guess I just had that irrational intrusive thought you'd take the virus and leave me or something. I know you wouldn't, but I was still a little nervous, I guess."

Jade almost felt offended at the thought, but he supposed it was a reasonable concern. Jade wasn't always the most trustworthy of sticks, even if he had been trying his best for the last several years.

Though… it wasn't like holding to that good trait did him anything in the long run. Jade almost started glowering at the thought of being fired for almost zero reasoning.

Mauve's relieved and joyous laughter brought Jade's darkening attention back and lifted his spirits. The revenge-bent stick observed his friend thrust two victorious fists in the air and let out a soft whoop!

"I'm so happy right now!" Mauve sighed softly, his grin still wide and bright as he leaned back and casually set both arms behind his head. "Stick, I really owe G one now."

"Your friend who made the virus?" Jade asked absentmindedly, his thoughts mostly elsewhere. Despite the desire to take a moment and enjoy the success before proceeding with the plan, Jade's brain kept getting caught up with the specifics of his next moves and future intentions. 

"Yeah," Mauve responded with a happy hum. "I should introduce you to him sometime. You'd like him. You both would probably get along right away, cause you both are gruff and tough~"

Mauve's tone of voice had now taken on a bit of a teasing one and an elbow gently prodded Jade's arm in addition to Mauve's next words. "G's also super mysterious and dramatic. Juuuusst like a certain someone I know, whose name rhymes with Nade Jephrite~" 

"Ha ha," Jade said flatly, though the eye roll that immediately followed the dry monotoned response was more showcasing of his amusement than otherwise preferred. 

 

"Hey, what do you plan on using the 8K-2 for?" Mauve sighed out the last of his chuckles as he turned to Jade with an unsuspecting, innocent curiosity. The faint traces of his comforted and carefree grin was still etched upon his features. 

"You… mightn't like it…" Jade admitted, his expression scrunching up into a faint grimace as he recalled Mauve was trying to be a better stick and was less on board with the type of things that would hold similar correlation to what Jade was trying to accomplish. 

"...oh…" Mauve's eyes widened faintly. His face grew conflicted and his eyes now held a gleam of uncertainty and tension that did not use to be there. "Can… I advise you against it? E-especially if someone… might get hurt?"

"You cannot change my mind," Jade responded, surprisingly enough in a rather gentle manner, though there was a firm anger in the undertone that Mauve clearly picked up on.

Mauve bit his bottom lip visibly and Jade frowned softly at the sudden awkward silence between the two. He only wanted to spend some time with his friend and now…

"I'm sorry, Mauve," Jade spoke quietly and gently. "But this is something that must be done. And… don't worry about there being lasting damage. I only plan on-"

 

Jade cut himself off. 

Perhaps he shouldn't go on a pointless tangent about exactly what conceptions and objectives he had been plotting to enact for all of the last week. 

 

Mauve's uneasiness didn't seem to disappear, though he tried to offer Jade a wobbly smile. "I guess, I just… I don't want to be a part of anything really bad, is what I'm getting at."

"An understandable concern," Jade huffed. He folded his arms and leaned back against the cushioned cafe bench, idly watching other sticks in the busy area. "But, there will be no murdering or anything of the sort. No high-scale robbery either. And nothing will be traced back to you, even if everything goes to the Void and falls apart. I would sooner die than rat your involvement out, friend."

"That's a wonderful relief to hear, Jade," Mauve said, a deadpanning and almost sarcastic undertone to be picked up on. Mauve's eyebrows drooped halfway and he gave Jade an unimpressed look. 

Jade snorted and averted his eyes.

Mauve's voice then altered back to a more straightforward and serious one. "I'm touched about your concern for any… legal consequences drifting my way, but that isn't my worry here."

"It… isn't?" Jade tilted his head, his gaze flicking back to Mauve in a bewildered manner. "But you want to be a better stick! You don't want involvement in my plans and yet this isn't your main worry? What is then?"

 

"You," Mauve answered, giving Jade a soft poke to his collarbone in an indignant and faintly amused manner. "You are my concern here, Jade. I don't want you to follow the wrong path because of… whatever your reasoning is! Look, I don't want… I just…"

For all his fancy talk when presenting goods to buyers, for all his elegancy when speaking to random public… Mauve's attempt at ramming home some wise point to make Jade stop and think for a moment wasn't going all that well. 

Mauve looked away and took ahold of his barely touched drink. He shook his head slightly and stared at a point in the distance.

 

Jade remained absolutely silent, wondering what Mauve had been trying to convey before either giving up or taking a moment to give the words a think over before saying them aloud.

As more time passed, Jade became more certain it was the first option. 

 

"Okay, look," Mauve said suddenly, making Jade rethink his conclusion. "From what I know of your character, combined with what little you've revealed about your plan… I can see you hold a grudge against someone who's likely wronged you. You're not doing this to be pokey and malicious. This is clearly a revenge sort of thing."

Jade's stunned face only served to encourage Mauve's rambling, as well as pretty much confirming Mauve's very on-the-nose suspicions.

"Can you do me a favor and think about this from the offending whoever's point of view?" Mauve asked, a pained expression with a pleading note visible in his eyes. "Is there anyway there is a misunderstanding? Perhaps you two can talk it out? Is there any. Other. Option. Then resorting to… to utilizing the capabilities that a very dangerous virus holds…?"

Jade's eyes softened somewhat and he wracked his brain, trying to humor Mauve's request. 

 

A few silent minutes stretched by. 

 

Jade's face hardened back into a sharp glare. He could see no "misunderstanding" in this. Victim had fired him with purpose and for no reason other than he had failed because of misinformation given to him.

Victim should have seen that it hadn't been Jade's fault, but what had that blasted hollowhead done anyway? 

Fired him.

Cut off his source of income for no other reason than he could and that it was amusing.

Jade had been tempted to resort to murder just for that, just for seeing that sarcastic and sickeningly sweet smile, though he did later decide that would be going too far. Didn't mean he wasn't going to do nothing, however.

Slowly rising to a standing position, Jade met Mauve's eyes, taking in the notes of concern and silent request to not go through with what Jade was about to carry on proceeding. 

"Mauve, it was great to see you again," Jade stated honestly, his firm and angry eyes carrying a strong will toward his plans and a soft friendliness toward Mauve. "But, I think we should continue spending more time at a later date. I have things that need to be done."

 

As Mauve's features grew pained and frustrated, his head lowering at Jade's apparent refusal to deviate from the plan he had, Jade was quick to leave the cafe. 

 

It was evident, as he traversed the sidewalks back to his home that there was still a strong determination in his stride and demeanor.

But his spirits were no longer as high as before.

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

"So, uhhhh…" Second met Dark's eyes as he leaned against Chosen's chest in an anxious and uncertain manner. " How am I gonna learn how to use my powers? I don't even remember them."

"Well," Dark hummed, setting a hand on his chin in thought as he mentally scrambled for a good answer he didn't have. "I think we might have to... Uhm. Okay, yeah, I got nothing... Cho?"

Chosen looked up at Dark in bewildered amusement as he held Second close and tried to soothe Second's obvious hesitancy and tense appearance lying beneath the kid's determined demeanor.

"I don't exactly know what to do either. My powers were just sorta… there. Always present. Easy to use."

 

Vic remained silent, his face scrunched up in thought. He still seemed stunned at being forgiven by Second so easily, but for the most part he was calm and quiet. 

 

Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red were sitting near Second, remaining silently by their friend's side since there wasn't much input any of them knew how to offer. 

 

Agent also was only observing the others. He did carry a faint trace of a smile, though, derived from seeing Vic's apology accepted and then the grey hollowhead's shocked relief as a response. 

He was happy for Vic, though there was a disappointment to be found in the fact that Vic would leave to join his family on the PC in the near future, depending on how long it took to get Alan back.

At least Vic had promised to make visits and to keep in touch. 

 

"I want to help," Second spoke up softly, snuggling his head up to Chosen again and enjoying the embrace. "I just don't know how."

"Uhm, if I may…" Vic started hesitantly, holding up a timid finger as his shoulders hunched forward. "I can go and get a sparker prototype."

 

Agent's eyebrows raised in understanding, which only Chosen took notice of since he was still acting extremely hyperaware of every little thing anyone did. 

No one was going to hurt Second again as long as he could help it.

 

"That might help," Agent nodded at Vic as he thought about it. "I thought you weren't done making it, though?"

"I… Sorta?" Vic shrugged, scratching his cheek and looking up as he grappled for words. "Over several sessions of some spare time, I did some more work on it so it's practically done. Just… untested."

"What is this… untested item you think could help Second learn how to use his powers?" Chosen asks, hiding his slightly suspicious tone with the curiosity he was currently feeling. 

"Oh, the sparker is a device I started making, in the form of a bracelet, that uh… draws out someone's power to the surface, out in the open, on display," Vic began explaining, losing most of the shy nature as he gestured with his hands and lost himself in the rambling.

Chosen found a similar tone inflection within Vic's speech that reminded him of Dark rambling on about his newest device or machine. A faintly amused emotion snuck onto Chosen's face in the form of a small grin. 

"The purpose of the sparker was to test myself on any abilities I might have, though… I suspect I have none…" Vic's enlightened and passionate words started trailing off into a stuttering halt. "At first, I chalked up the failure to the device being not finished yet and needing more work, but I think with what I was named, it's a safe bet I am a… powerless hollowhead."

Vic huffed out a forced chuckle, pretending that he didn't care much about that fact, even though it was a little obvious he was rather bummed out. 

"Sooo," Dark ventured, changing the subject back to the sparker. "You think we can bring Second's powers out with it?"

"Uh," Yellow spoke up suddenly, drawing the room's attention to him for a moment. "What about the whole… untested part? Will the sparker be safe for Second to use, Vic?"

"Yeah," Vic nodded. "I was gonna test it, just in case, on myself first. The light will shine green if it works, even if no powers are brought out… as, of course, it won't have any effect on a powerless individual."

"Ah, okay," Yellow nodded, his expression gaining a relieved aspect. 

Second offered Vic a grateful grin, the 10-year-old growing a little excited to learn his powers and help his dad– er… creator… get home. 

Vic seemed to straighten up at Second's encouraging smile. It was a nice feeling to be given a responsibility and some trust. 

"I'll go grab it then," Vic nodded, offering Second and the rest of the room a smile of his own. "Be right back!"

No one really got a chance to ask any more follow-up questions before the grey hollowhead was off and running, exiting through the wide door and disappearing from view.

"Ohh-kaaaay," Dark chuckled with merriment and lightheartedness. "I guess we have a plan now."

Chosen hummed in acknowledgment, as he continued to hug Second, the black hollowhead having finally decided to go along with the whole sparker thing. Vic didn't have any ill intent, it was clear to see on his face.

For a guy who was exceptional at poker faces and concealing his actual emotions, all it took was a single conversation with and one acceptance of apology from Second to rattle the guy into emotional clarity that displayed itself transparently to the world.  

 

As Chosen pressed a soft kiss into Second's hair, earning him a happy hum from the kid, Chosen decided perhaps it would be nice, interesting even, to get to know Vic after all this was over.

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

Vic huffed and slowed his speedy pace to a quick walk. Panting slightly, he walked along the empty corridor with a somewhat tired droop.

 

"Definitely… should've added in an elevator… around here," He mumbled to himself, his face flushed with the prolonged exercise that he was not used to.

The grey hollowhead's eyelids dropped halfway in exasperation as he spotted a set of stairs ahead, knowing that there would only be an elevator at the end of another hallway, and only after going up these very stairs. 

At least, that was an upside; having memorized the huge building layout and as a result knowing where to go at all times.

Vic had overheard that Second's friends had been less lucky in that department. 

 

"Stick," Vic cursed under his breath as he leaned against a wall, feeling really tempted to just stop and sit for a moment. 

The desire to retain the trust he'd been granted, the desire to help for once by assisting with returning Alan back to the world of humans, the desire and obligation he'd personally vowed to see through, kept him moving. 

Vic started up the stairs, getting lost in his thoughts as held the railing and absentmindedly ran his palm over the smooth metal while ascending the steps.

 

It was when he had just reached the top and turned into the hallway that he was ambushed.

 

From what was instantly recognizable as his most dangerous creation, Vic was grabbed ahold of by a large, glowing red hand and lifted up to a terrifying and monstrous red face that seemed to glare at the grey hollowhead despite it's obvious lack of emotional features. 

A familiar voice drifted into Vic's ears, coming from the entity that had him restrained. 

"F̣ọụṇḍ ỵọụ…"

Vic' eyes widened as he recognized Jade's voice from the entity, too caught up in his surprise to wonder about how Jade had gotten ahold of an 8K-2 virus. 

"Ah!" Vic managed to choke out in an understanding tone, voice strained a bit as he was still grasped tightly by the hard-light creation. He chuckled nervously. "Jade! Long... time no see?"

The grip tightened and Vic gasped in pain as his chest was locked up even more securely in the red entity's angry grasp.

 

"ỴỌỤ," Jade's voice thundered in a glitchy tone through the hard light creation he was remotely controlling. His emotions were clearly sarcastic in tone despite the filtered audio of his speech. "Ṃỵ f̣ọṛṃẹṛ ḅọṣṣ.̣ Ị ḥọp̣ẹ ỵọụ'̣ṿẹ ḅẹẹṇ ẹṇj̣ọỵịṇg̣ ỵọụṛṣẹḷf̣."

"Not as much as you'd assume," Vic answered honestly, wiggling slightly in a futile attempt at escaping the glowing entity's secure grasp. "In fact, I don't plan on holding my position much longer."

"Ọḥ,̣ Ị ḳṇọẉ ṭḥạṭ~" Jade huffed out a laugh. "Ạṇḍ ṭḥạṭ'̣ṣ ẉḥỵ Ị'̣ṃ ḥẹṛẹ ṇọẉ, ṭọ ịṇṭẹṛc̣ẹp̣ṭ ỵọụ ḅẹf̣ọṛẹ ỵọụ ṣc̣ạṃp̣ẹṛ ọf̣f̣ ẉịṭḥọụṭ f̣ạc̣ịṇg̣ ṭḥẹ c̣ọṇṣẹq̣ụẹṇc̣ẹṣ ọf̣ ỵọụṛ ạc̣ṭịọṇṣ.̣"

Vic was a little too preoccupied with the fright of seeing a hard light creation under Jade's command. He didn't yet take notice of the fact that Jade somehow had already known Vic planned to leave Rocket. 

"Look, I'm sorry I fired you," Vic started, his expression growing serious and honest as he started to apologize. "It wasn't fair and I shouldn't-"

"Ṣḥụṭ ụp̣!" Jade yelled and Vic flinched at the unexpected interruption. Jade's voice grew angrier and more violent as he went on. "Ị ḍọṇ'̣ṭ ẉạṇṭ ṭọ ḥẹạṛ ỵọụṛ ṣṭụp̣ịḍ ẹx̣c̣ụṣẹṣ! Ỵọụ'̣ṛẹ ṇọṭ ṣọṛṛỵ. Ỵọụ'̣ṛẹ ọṇḷỵ ṣạỵịṇg̣ ṭḥạṭ ṭọ ṣạṿẹ ỵọụṛ ọẉṇ ṣḳịṇ ḅẹc̣ạụṣẹ Ị'̣ṃ ịṇ ṭḥẹ p̣ọṣịṭịọṇ ọf̣ p̣ọẉẹṛ ṇọẉ."

 

Vic couldn't say anything, too terrified by the huge creature that held him.

 

"Ị p̣ọụṛẹḍ ẹṿẹṛỵṭḥịṇg̣ ịṇṭọ ṭḥịṣ c̣ọṃp̣ạṇỵ!" Jade continued. "Ḅụṭ ịṭ ẉạṣṇ'̣ṭ ẹṇọụg̣ḥ. Ṇọ ṃạṭṭẹṛ ḥọẉ ṃạṇỵ ṃịṣṣịọṇṣ Ị c̣ọṃp̣ḷẹṭẹḍ, ṇọṛ ḥọẉ f̣ḷạẉḷẹṣṣḷỵ ṭḥẹỵ ẉẹṛẹ ḍọṇẹ, ỵọụ ṇẹṿẹṛ ọṇc̣ẹ ṭḥạṇḳẹḍ ṃẹ, ṇọṛ ṣḥọẉẹḍ ṃẹ ạṇỵ ṣọṛṭ ọf̣ ạp̣p̣ṛẹc̣ịạṭịọṇ. Ạṇḍ ṭḥẹ ỌṆẸ ṭịṃẹ Ị f̣ạịḷẹḍ ạ ṃịṣṣịọṇ, ẉḥịc̣ḥ, ḅỵ ṭḥẹ ẉạỵ, ẉạṣ ọṇḷỵ ḍụẹ ṭọ ṃỵ ṂỊṢỊṆF̣ỌṚṂẠṬỊỌṆ ọṇ ṭḥẹ Ḍạṛḳ Ḷọṛḍ'̣ṣ ṣụp̣p̣ọṣẹḍ ḍẹạṭḥ…… ỴỌỤỤỤỤ F̣ỊṚẸḌ ṂẸ!! Ạṇḍ ṇọẉ... Ḥẹḥ... Ṇọẉ Ị'̣ṃ ḥẹṛẹ. Ạṇḍ ỵọụṛ ṭỵṛạṇṇịc̣ạḷ ṛụḷẹ ịṣ ạḅọụṭ ṭọ ẹṇḍ, f̣ọṛ g̣ọọḍ."

"Are you gonna kill me?" Vic muttered, taking another slow and increasingly desperate intake of air as it was getting harder to breathe normally.

 

Jade's laugh was a loud, booming noise that echoed throughout the whole room.

 

"Ṇọ. Ị ẉọṇ'ṭ..." Jade said with a slight sigh, before his voice shifted into a more sing-song, taunting sort of tone. "Ḅụṭ~"

"Really don't like that tone of voice you're using," Vic mumbled with another strained gasp.

"Ḅụụụṭ~" Jade was clearly smiling, Vic could hear it in his tone. "Ị ạṃ g̣ọịṇg̣ ṭọ ṭạḳẹ ṃỵ ṛẹṿẹṇg̣ẹ."

 

"Sounds like a classic villain thing to s-" Vic started to quip before the grip tightened and he yelped at the squeeze.

"ỴỌỤ'̣ṚẸ ṬḤẸ ṾỊḶḶẠỊṆ, ḤẸṚẸ!" Jade's voice roared, breaking up slightly as whatever speaker his voice came through distorted the sudden increase in volume. "Ṃạỵḅẹ ṭḥạṭ ṣḥọụḷḍ ḥạṿẹ ḅẹẹṇ ỵọụṛ ṇạṃẹ. Ṭḥẹỵ ḅọṭḥ ṣṭạṛṭ ẉịṭḥ Ṿ, ḍọṇ'̣ṭ ṭḥẹỵ?"

Vic gasped in a lengthy intake of breath as the hold loosened just enough for him to get air again, though it was still very near to strangling him.

"Ḅụṭ ṭḥẹṇ ạg̣ạịṇ, ỵọụṛ ṛẹạḷ ṇạṃẹ ịṣ ṛạṭḥẹṛ f̣ịṭṭịṇg̣...." Jade's voice dropped several decibels, unnervingly calm. "...ṿịc̣ṭịṃ."

 

Vic's eyes widened and his face paled.

How did–

 

"Ị ḅẹṭ ỵọụ'̣ṛẹ ẉọṇḍẹṛịṇg̣ ḥọẉ Ị ḳṇọẉ ṭḥạṭ," Jade told him while letting out a laugh.

Vic stared silently –shaking involuntarily all the while– at the slightly transparent, glowing red creature that Jade was controlling. 

He couldn't speak. His throat was dry and words eluded him.

 

victim. victim. victim. victim. victim.

 

"Ị ẉạṣ ạ ṿịc̣ṭịṃ ọf̣ ỵọụṛ ọp̣p̣ṛẹṣṣịọṇ, ỵọụ ḥọc̣ḳẹỵ-̣ṣṭịc̣ḳ," Jade growled, each word resounding into Vic's head, victim's head.

The next sentence, especially, echoed throughout the vacant area with a burning realism and a threat that haunted the grey hollowhead to his core.

 

"Ṇọẉ ỵọụ'̣ṛẹ ạḅọụṭ ṭọ ḅẹ ṭḥẹ ṿịc̣ṭịṃ ọf ̣ṃẹ ạṣ Ị ṭẹạṛ ạp̣ạṛṭ ẹṿẹṛỵṭḥịṇg̣ ỵọụ ḷọṿẹ ạṇḍ ẉọṛḳẹḍ ḥạṛḍ f̣ọṛ."

-

Notes:

Mauve accidentally, briefly forgetting that G goes by Vic now:
The Plot:
Me:
Me: Yeah, that works--

--

So sorry for the scarce updates on this!
It's not abandoned, fret not. I'm just--
Eeeerggghhhhh-ing.

With how close I am to the end --and the beginning of a Second edition, tee hee-- I really really want this fic to come to a neat and tidy close, ending on a high note!

I'm terrified of the quality deteriorating, so I'm really taking my time with this fic, lol.

--

Don't forget to leave me your feedback! :3

 

Edit:
I don't know how many people noticed when I referred to Mauve as a "corndog librarian"
:3
I wonder why this is so~
*cackles in Forgiveness For Even The Worst*

Chapter 16: Sass and Hopeless Attempts

Summary:

Jade is back in business.

So is me, apparently- U U

(3,563 words)

Notes:

Greeting, fellow earthlings!
:D

[*slaps you hard with a brand new Second's Tale chapter-*]
HAVE AT THEE!!

DROP THEM COMMENTS, I NEED MY AUTHOR FOOD

victim really really needed to quit aggravating smart people. 

 

Yes, he is admitting Jade is rather ingenuitive. At least, Vic is pretty sure he is. It would require at least some degree of smarts to get ahold of Vic's own invention, not to mention the very first prototype, which Vic had given to... 

Mauve.

 

Wait a moment here... 

Surely not-

 

victim’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden movements of the manifestation of the 8K-2 virus, which Jade was currently controlling to carry the grey hollowhead down a hallway.

Jade’s musing voice filtered through the virus’s auditory setup, crafty and a little satisfied. And yet still the tone was permeated with an anticipation to deliver the revenge Vic could tell Jade had been looking forward to.

 

"̣Ḷẹṭ'̣ṣ ̣ṣẹẹ.̣.̣.̣ Ẉḥạṭ ṣḥạḷḷ ̣ẉẹ ̣ṭạḳẹ ̣ạ ̣ḷọọḳ ̣ạṭ ̣f̣ịṛṣṭ?̣"̣

 

“I fail to see what your plan is.” victim spoke with a strained voice as his figure was held a bit too tightly in the hard-light creation's grasp. “Are we touring my own corporation? Do I get free benefits with this tour, or is that extra plus tax?”

 

“Ḥạ, ḥạ.” Jade barked dryly. “Ỵọụ ṣḥạḷḷ ṣẹẹ. Ị’ḷḷ ṃạḳẹ ỵọụ ụṇḍẹṛṣṭạṇḍ ẉḥạṭ ịṭ’ṣ ḷịḳẹ ṭọ ḷọṣẹ ẹṿẹṛỵṭḥịṇg̣ ỵọụ ẉọṛḳẹḍ ḥạṛḍ f̣ọṛ ṣọ ṣụḍḍẹṇḷỵ ạṇḍ ọụṭ ọf̣ ṭḥẹ ḅḷụẹ. Ạṇḍ ẉḥẹṇ ṭḥẹ ḅẹg̣ịṇṇịṇg̣ṣ ọf̣ ṛẹạḷịẓạṭịọṇ ṣṭạṛṭ ṭọ ṣẹṭṭḷẹ ịṇ, I’ḷḷ ṭṛẹạṭ ỵọụ ẉịṭḥ ṭḥẹ ṣạṃẹ ḍịṣṃịṣṣạḷ ỵọụ ṭṛẹạṭẹḍ ṃẹ ẉịṭḥ. Ṣẹẹ ḥọẉ ỵọụ ḷịḳẹ ịṭ ṭḥẹṇ!”

 

The grey hollowhead did his best to remain impassive as he was uncomfortably brought into a dimly lit hanger; one of the ones that had just finished construction and was currently closed. Vacant of any workers or other signs of life.

 

“Ẉẹḷḷ, ẉẹḷḷ, ẉẹḷḷ~” Jade chuckled quietly, the 8K-2 offering a static undertone to the laugh and distorting it somewhat. “Ṭḥịṣ p̣ḷạc̣ẹ ḷọọḳṣ ṇẹẉ~ Ẉḥạṭ ṣạỵ ỵọụ ạḅọụṭ ạ ṛẹṃọḍẹḷịṇg̣?” 

 

Vic blinked at the cheery words, squinting as he tried to decipher the insinuation Jade was conveying. What did the guy mean by ‘remodeling’? He’d already had this place modeled just fine?

 

“So, what?” Vic raised a neutral eyebrow, really wishing he was free enough to cross his arms, just so he could add to the amount of sass he was putting into his voice. “You gonna paint everything an ugly shade of green or something? Take advantage of my love for color theory and purposely select the worst combinations of shades until I puke from the sight of it? Huh? What are you gonna do?”

 

Somehow, Jade’s temper hadn’t flared up again, which spiked a curdle of suspicious concern in the grey hollowhead’s gut. Jade was still too happy, even after repeated verbal pokes from Vic.

 

The bright red light structure making up the 8K-2 brought its giant fist close to its face, letting victim’s trapped form stare uncomfortably into glowing eyes that matched up with some viewing setup Jade had wherever the man happened to be right now.

“Ṭḥịṇḳ ạḅọụṭ ạḷḷ ṭḥẹ ạḅịḷịṭịẹṣ ṭḥịṣ ṿịṛụṣ ḥạṣ ạc̣c̣ẹṣṣ ṭọ, ṿịc̣ṭịṃ.̣ Ṭḥịṇḳ ạḅọụṭ ịṭ ạṇḍ ṭạḳẹ ạ ẉịịịịịịḷḍ g̣ụẹṣṣ.” Jade’s crackled voice whispered with a menacing edge.

 

The grey hollowhead was about to continue his verbal prodding and reassert some semblance of control over the situation... before he paused. His mouth remained open, as he had been about to speak, but then he shut it. 

The abilities of the 8K-2 prototype? Among complete access to building power and any electronically operated device, there was just this hard-light form Jade had active right now. That was it, mostly... 

 

Oh wait. And the fact that any energy attached to the building could be absorbed and added to the strength of the hard-light virus formation. 

 

“Ị ṣẹẹ ỵọụ’ṿẹ f̣ịṇạḷḷỵ ṃạḍẹ ṭḥẹ c̣ọṇṇẹc̣ṭịọṇ,” Jade spoke congratulatory sarcasm to Vic’s paled face. “Ạḷḷọẉ ṃẹ ṭọ ṣḥọẉ ỵọụ ḥọẉ ḍẹṣṭṛục̣ṭịṿẹ ỵọụ ḥạṿẹ ḅẹẹṇ ṭọ ṃẹ, ḅỵ ḍịṣp̣ḷạỵịṇg̣ ỵọụṛ ọẉṇ ṿịṛụṣ’ṣ ḍẹṣṭṛục̣ṭịṿẹ c̣ạp̣ạḅịḷịṭịẹṣ~”

 

Vic was gripped even tighter in the giant, red fist that had him captured and restrained from most movements, pulling a brief grunt from the grey hollowhead. 

And then, the other large, hard-light fist was driven straight into the new construction.

 

-

 

-

 

Second fidgeted shyly as he continued to let Chosen hug him.

 

The 10-year-old could tell his friends and the others were also a little on edge, as most were all still waiting for Vic to come back with his sparker thing. 

 

That, and to be honest, Second was still reeling a bit about discovering he had superpowers. He could only recall the barest fragments of recollections, the faintest wisps of memory that proved what he now knew as a certainty. 

 

Second’s eyes drifted over to the completed machine Dark, Vic, Yellow, and Alan’s stick-character had repaired. It was attached to a brand new chamber, the one Vic had mentioned was his prototype or backup or whatever. 

Second didn’t quite remember everything that had occurred to him once he’d been placed inside the other chamber, but he did recall that it was very painful and so the feeling of apprehension carried over to this current glass construction even if it was technically a different chamber.

Dark was busy rambling about a new theory of his in the meantime, one Second was choosing to tune out since it made him uneasy.

 

“No, I’m positive it would be harmless!” Dark was saying to Yellow, who was the only one actually interacting with Dark and asking follow-up questions. [Though Agent seemed silently interested a little bit.]

 

“But how is it any different from the first go, in the first chamber??” Yellow argued. “I don’t understand how we can expect Second to go in that one right now, without the aid of the sparker, and somehow be unharmed!!”

 

“Listen, kid, lemme explain,” Dark sighed, trying to dial down his natural theory-generated excitement down a few notches so he could explain his thoughts coherently. “Second. Wasn’t aware. The first time. He had no idea he had powers, there was a mental block. If someone has no clue they have powers, it’s generally much more difficult to access them! You’ve never seen Second activate his powers in all the time you’ve lived with him, not even by accident! He didn’t know, he didn’t use them. He couldn't really use them.”

 

“And...?” Yellow sighed.

 

“And so-! He knows now!” Dark went on. “Because he's aware of it, that means when he deliberately tries, a part of him expects it to manifest now! It's believable! No longer an unconceived notion of fantasy. The mental block is gone! Now herein lies my theory: Second doesn't actually need to train himself to actually consciously activate his powers for this scenario here. The chamber is gonna do that job, that's how it works. We can start now and get Alan home now , without having to wait and wait and wait who knows how long until Vic gets back with the sparker device.”

 

“And how come you're so sure it's not going to hurt as much as the first time did?!” Yellow countered, setting his hands on his hips as he stared up at Dark, as Yellow was a fair bit shorter. “We should wait for Vic anyway, he knows more about the chamber than we do, especially this one, the first one Vic made, which happens to be weaker than the one Second broke.” 

 

“The mental block!” Dark groaned. “That's why it hurt the first time! It was hard to drag out of Second because he had no clue it was there and it was therefore hard to access! Now that block is gone, and the chamber could use it to get Alan home without it hurting! Second doesn't need to activate the powers on his own, he doesn't need the sparker. And believe me, we don't need Vic, I understand very well how this thing works too.”

 

“...Oh.” Yellow paused, blinking a few times. “I understand now. The knowledge Second has now, has removed the extra barrier between his powers and himself... So the chamber can reach it much easier, and Second can train to use it now. But he doesn't necessarily need to train and awaken it right now because-”

 

“Because the chamber was built to do that already.” Dark finished, nodding with satisfaction. “Therein lies my theory, that I am positive is completely true and cannot be equated to random excuses conceived in order to be praised for my genius.”

 

Yellow snorted. The engineering kid rolled his eyes and gave Dark a shove on his arm. “Okay, Mr. Genius. Now how do you plan to explain that to Second without making it sound like you want him writhing at the bottom of the chamber again? Because, I don't know about you, but I am pretty certain he has some kind of trauma from that thing, and all lookalike versions of it.”

 

Dark spared a glance at his little brother, currently staring off into space as Chosen held the kid close and did his best to make sure the 10-year-old was comfy and alright. 

 

“Now that is the part I have... not figured out yet.” Dark admitted sheepishly.

 

-

 

Alan vaguely listened to Dark’s theory as he sat down near the other three of the colored quadruplets.

He was glad to know that there was hope for a sure way of getting home without harming his youngest. The poor kid had been through enough as it is. 

However, between the slight noise clash of two different conversations happening within earshot, it was hard to grasp what exactly Dark's theory was. 

Or for Alan to even understand it to begin with, since both the red hollowhead and Yellow had been speaking in complex terms Alan didn't quite catch all of.

 

The violet hollowhead glanced toward Green, Blue, and Red just next to him. 

They were currently playing some kind of card game, one that gave Alan pause and wonder if perhaps the site sticks had the power to summon playing cards out of thin air.

 

The four were just as much his kids as the hollowheaded ones that he’d hand-drawn. Sure they were website animated sticks in all technicality, ones generated by the site’s programming rather than a real person’s hand at art, but he’s known the quartet long enough, dealt with their shenanigans on his PC long enough, he surely merited at least a father-figure position in their eyes.

And he doubly felt that level of attachment to them, regardless of how they viewed him.

 

“You guys think Yellow has been spending an unusual amount of time with the redeemed terrorist?” Blue bit his lower lip as he placed an UNO green four on top of a yellow four, pulling a huff out of Red.

 

“Yellow finally found someone who is interested in the same type of things that he is... and you're upset because the guy happens to be a victim of possession, and hence our murderer, via mission statement?” Green raised an eyebrow at Blue as Red began miserably taking cards from the draw pile due to a lack of greens.

[Heh~ victim-]

“I'm just saying! And no, I'm not upset, per se...” Blue hissed defensively. 

 

“Now what I think here...” Green began to smirk with a sly, teasing element to his features. “..is that someone is fee-wing jeawous that Yellow has himself a new fwiend~”

 

Blue's features immediately flushed and his posture jerked upright a significant amount. “I-! That is not true! At all!”

 

Red, now holding about thirteen UNO cards, finally grabbed a green seven out of the draw pile to match onto the green four that Blue had previously set down. He sighed out in relief and placed it down, while jumping into Blue and Green's conversation with his own input. 

“I dunno, Blue,” Red shrugged, his features casual aside from the barest trace of a smile. “I can relate to Dark a lot, and I mean more than just similar color shade. I think you're being insensitive~”

 

“Insens-?!” Blue’s face bloomed with heat, unable to even finish his repeated word before cutting himself off with frustrated sputtering. 

Blue set down a wild card, managing to speak normally again. “I am merely looking out for Yellow.” Blue huffed lightly. 

 

Green set a yellow two on top of the wild card. 

 

Blue blinked in surprise. “Hey, I didn't say the color! You just set a random yellow on the wild!” Blue frowned further, watching as Red then set a yellow eight on Green's yellow two.

 

“What do you mean~? You just said ‘Yellow’~” Green chuckled quietly. 

 

“Oh, stick you, Green, you know I'm out of yellows!” Blue grumbled, conceding his verbal slip-up and begrudgingly digging into the draw pile for more cards.

 

“You're out of yellows, and you're out of a Yellow,” Red giggled, hiding a smile behind a fan of his own cards.

 

Blue's eyebrow twitched.

He did not deny the statement, which furthered Red and Green's collective mirth.

 

Alan smiled at the sight of the stick kids having fun with each other, despite all the recent events that had been the cause for great worry. Between Chosen and Dark getting apprehended, [and then later Second as well], Second getting drastically hurt in the chamber, some of the kids getting lost in the large, intimidating, and unfamiliar territory that was the corporation, the reveal that Second was powerful enough it was hard to mentally conceive just how great the degree of, and then the whole thing with vict- Vic being alive... 
Yeah, a lot had gone down in so little time. It was a calming sight to overhear the bickering and banter of his beloved stick children now.

 

Speaking of his first creation, though... Alan was starting to feel a bit worried.

Call him clingy and unwilling to let something happen to the one he’d hurt so deeply, but Alan had a weird feeling that something was wrong. Vic should probably be back by now, since, after all, he does know this facility inside and out very well.

And he seemed so eager to assist in some way to Alan’s current stick situation, something in Alan doubted that Vic had just gotten distracted by a conversation with someone, like Alan’s first harmless hope had been. Alan was steadily growing more concerned as time went on, but he was unsure how to bring his troubles up with the group in a way that wouldn’t make him sound overprotective and paranoid.

 

So Alan continued to sit there and internally dwell on his probably-false-alarmed thoughts. It wasn’t like Vic was in any danger in his own building unless maybe he had vengeful employees plotting against him or something.

However, all the staff Alan had seen gave off only the very highest aura of loyalty. Vic even considered the mercenary, Agent, as a very close friend.

 

So, really. Alan wasn’t sure why his gut was telling him something was wrong.

Maybe he’d just eaten something bad and the indigestion carried over into his stick body.

 

...Right?

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

victim winced as a large block of flying wall flew past his shoulder by a few feet. That whoosh of air from the accelerated debris had been a little bit too close for comfort.

 

However, if this was all Jade’s revenge was at the moment, Vic wasn’t as upset as he thought he would be. 

It was indeed a pain to watch his new property get demolished like this, but all could be repaired in time. Surely Jade wasn’t this simple-minded. Had Vic read the guy’s intelligence wrong?

 

The hard-light body of the 8K-2 finished destroying the entire room, with one final stomp upon a brand new set of computer desks Vic had just ordered the other day. The grey hollowhead winced at the thought of how expensive the polished wood quality prices had been to obtain the desks.

 

“Are you going to let me properly apologize now, or are you going to keep throwing tantrums and breaking my things?” Vic deadpanned when the virus’s red form eyed him closely.

 

Jade growled quietly and the all-too familiar sound of a desktop being slammed with an angry fist was heard crackling through the audio of the speakers in the virus’s body. Vic nearly winced as he realized his own temper often yielded similar results.

Memories of his time before reconciling with Alan filtered through his head, instances where he got so upset that he took it out on his own desk. Vic probably still had that temper, to be honest, it was just yet to actually come up again since all the recent chaos and calm had transpired.

 

“Ỵọụ ạṛṛọg̣ạṇṭ ḷịṭṭḷẹ g̣ḷụẹ-̣ṣṭịc̣ḳ...” Jade huffed. “Ị ṭḥịṇḳ Ị ḥạṿẹ ạ ṛịg̣ḥṭ ṭọ ḅẹ ạṣ ụp̣ṣẹṭ ạṣ Ị ạṃ! Ḥọẉ ḍạṛẹ ỵọụ c̣ạḷḷ ṃẹ ạ c̣ḥịḷḍ?! Ẹq̣ụạṭịṇg̣ ṃỵ ṛẹṿẹṇg̣ẹ ẉịṭḥ ṭḥẹ ṃẹṛẹ ạṇḍ ṣịṃp̣ḷẹ ạf̣f̣ḷịc̣ṭịọṇṣ ọf̣ ạ ṭọḍḍḷẹṛ?!”

 

“You, sir, are acting rather similarly.” Vic shrugged, even though it was uncomfortable to do so trapped in this giant hand. “I am simply being observant and pointing out what I am witnessing of your actions.”

“Ọḥ, ṣḥụṭ ịṭ!” Jade tightened his grip a minimal amount, his voice tone changing to a more gleeful edge when Vic grimaced at the sudden increase of pressure on his torso. “Ḍọṇ’ṭ ỵọụ ẉọṛṛỵ ỵọụṛ ḥọḷḷọẉ ḥẹạḍ ạḅọụṭ ṃỵ ṣọ-̣c̣ạḷḷẹḍ ṭạṇṭṛụṃṣ, ḅẹc̣ạụṣẹ Ị ḥạṿẹ ṃục̣ḥ ṃọṛẹ ịṇ ṣṭọṛẹ f̣ọṛ ỵọụ ṭọ ṣẹẹ~”

 

“Ah, here comes the hidden fees and the tax.” victim cracked a small grin. “Was wondering when that would pop up.”

 

“Ṭḥịṣ ịṣ ṇọṭ ạ ṭọụṛ!” Jade thundered. “Ỵọụ ịṇṣọḷẹṇṭ, ḍịṣṛẹṣp̣ẹc̣ṭf̣ụḷ ḍịṣg̣ṛạc̣ẹ ọf̣ ạ ṣṭịc̣ḳ! Ỵọụ ạṛẹ ṇọṭ ạṭ ạḷḷ ḥẹḷp̣ịṇg̣ ṭḥẹ ṃịc̣ṛọṣc̣ọp̣ịc̣ ṛẹṣṭṛạịṇṭ Ị p̣ọṣṣẹṣṣ, ạg̣ạịṇṣṭ ḳịḷḷịṇg̣ ỵọụ ḥẹṛẹ ạṇḍ ṇọẉ, ỵọụ ḳṇọẉ...”

 

“You? Have restraint?” Vic raised a singular eyebrow, trying to ignore the increasing pressure on his chest that was making it hard to breathe and focus. “That’s news. Wonder where you got that from. Is it subscription-based restraint? Comes and goes? Is that why you’re charging me extra tax, cause you need to pay for more restraint-”

 

Jade cut Vic off easily with a simple tightening grasp of his hard-light hand. The grey hollowhead let out some noise that was a cross between a squeak and a wheeze.

 

“Ọḥ, Ị’ḷḷ ṣḥọẉ ỵọụ ṛẹṣṭṛạịṇṭ.” Jade’s voice was oddly low now, no longer as vehement and tempestuous as his previous upset tone had rested at. “Ị ẉịḷḷ ṣḥọẉ ỵọụ ṭḥạṭ Ị ạṃ ṇọṭ ọṇẹ ṭọ ḅẹ ṃọc̣ḳẹḍ.”

 

victim couldn’t quite manage a reply, a little too focused on his next intake of air. He let out a little whine involuntarily, and thankfully Jade did ease his grip a small amount. The CEO inhaled quickly and silently gave Jade a glare of disapproval as he caught his breath.

 

“Ṇọẉ... Ẉḥỵ ḍọṇ’ṭ ẉẹ ṭạḳẹ ạ ṭṛịp̣ ṭọ ỵọụṛ ḷạḅọṛạṭọṛỵ~” Jade began to walk again, the hard-light fist from the 8K-2 still keeping Vic from escaping. 

 

Vic startled and blinked with widening eyes. His lab? Where all his files and his inventions were?? Where, more importantly, the sparker was located??

He needed that to help get his Da- Alan home!! Jade couldn’t-

 

“W-Wait- Le-Leave that alone, please...” Vic started to say as Jade continued down the hallway. 

 

“Ọḥ, ṇọṭ ṣọ f̣ọṇḍ ọf̣ ṭḥạṭ ịḍẹạ, ṇọẉ, ḥṃ?” The body of the 8K-2 distorted its face somewhat akin to a bright glowing smile of white against the red form. “Ị ẉọụḷḍ ạṣṣụṃẹ ỵọụ ḥạṿẹ ạ ḷọṭ ọf̣ ịṃp̣ọṛṭạṇṭ ẉọṛḳ ṭḥẹṛẹ!”

It was clear from Jade’s triumphant voice that he had found the jackpot on his quest for ways to hurt Vic without harming him.

 

“It- It’s not just my things!! I have other employees’ work there!!” Vic struggled in the giant fist, grunting occasionally as he tried futily to at least gain some wiggle room. “You- You can’t bring anyone else into this, Jade!! I’m- I’m sorry for firing you, I am! You shouldn’t have taken the brunt of my temper at that time and I truly regret it!”

 

“Ṣục̣ḥ ḅẹạụṭịf̣ụḷ ẹṃp̣ṭỵ ẉọṛḍṣ, ỵọụ f̣ḷạịḷịṇg̣ ṣọṇg̣ḅịṛḍ.” Jade sighed. “Ẉḥạṭ ạ ẉọṛḳ ỵọụ ạṛẹ. Ṣọ ạp̣ọḷọg̣ẹṭịc̣ ẉḥẹṇ ỵọụ ṭṛụḷỵ ạṛẹ ḍẹṣp̣ẹṛạṭẹ.”

 

Vic’s face paled. N-No! He was serious! He meant his words, honestly!! 

 

“Jade, please!” Vic tried again. “Don’t bring my other brilliant workers into this! They’ve worked hard on our technology! You can’t just ruin other’s careers for what I’ve done! You can’t potentially hamper good products that will change the world! Some of those items you plan to needlessly wreck will be life-changing when developed!”

 

Jade did briefly pause there for a moment. 

A flicker of hope flashed in Vic’s grey eyes.

 

And then the 8K-2 virus continued its path down the hall. “Ẹx̣c̣ụṣẹṣ. Ṭḥạṭ’ṣ ạḷḷ Ị ḥẹạṛ. Ṿạc̣ạṇṭ, ṿọịḍ ṭẉịṭṭẹṛịṇg̣ ọf̣ ạ g̣ụịḷṭỵ ṣọṇg̣ḅịṛḍ, ẉịṣḥịṇg̣ ṭọ ạṿọịḍ ịṭṣ ṛẹṭṛịḅụṭịọṇ.”

 

victim’s face drained of color. “No...” He whispered. “Y-You can’t-”

 

“Ọḥ, ḅụṭ Ị c̣ạṇ, ḍẹạṛẹṣṭ f̣ọṛṃẹṛ Ḅọṣṣ ọf̣ ṃịṇẹ!” Jade’s volume rose high and loud once more. “Ḍịḍ ỵọụ ṭḥịṇḳ ạṭ ạḷḷ ḍụṛịṇg̣ ṭḥịṣ ṭịṃẹ, ṭḥạṭ Ị ẉạṣ j̣ọḳịṇg̣?! Ṃẹṛẹḷỵ p̣ḷạỵịṇg̣ ạṭ ṭḥẹ ịḍẹạ ọf̣ ṛụịṇịṇg̣ ỵọụ ạṣ ỵọụ ṛụịṇẹḍ ṃẹ?!”

 

Vic could not reply, his thoughts too upset and swirling of thoughts in a giant hurricane of worries. 

 

“Ṇọ. Ị ẉạṣ ṇọṭ j̣ọḳịṇg̣.” Jade concluded.

The 8K-2 was dead set on moving across the large facility on a direct path to the laboratory Vic treasured so much.

 

“Ṃạỵḅẹ ọṇc̣ẹ ỵọụ ḷọṣẹ ṭḥạṭ ẉḥịc̣ḥ ỵọụ ḷọṿẹ ṣọ ṃục̣ḥ, ỵọụ’ḷḷ f̣ịṇạḷḷỵ ụṇḍẹṛṣṭạṇḍ ṭḥạṭ.”

-

 

Notes:

Ah yes
Me contributing to the fandom's collective kick of having our sticks play UNO
Promoting a deliciously fun card game, and also making silliness out of how our sticks' color names match too perfectly with the colors in a classic UNO deck~
:D
I love them~ Why did I ever hit writer's block on this awesome breeding ground for shenanigans- Why-
Once I actually started, this was so easy to complete in speedy fast fashion-

--

Vic's determination to protect the sparker because in his mind, it's the key to helping Alan get home~

...Man, I forgot how much I love writing sassy ST!Vic- XD
It has been quite a while! :D I love this fic!
Hehheehe

...Hey does anyone know that the chamber technically connects to the building?
....Does anyone wonder what might happen if Second went inside the chamber when Jade was drawing power from the building-

/wink-wink-nudge-nudge, cough-cough

--

U vU
Honestly, I have no idea when the next update to this will be.
I'm kinda just breaking out of writing hibernation or something. I think with that one period of time where I was constantly posting, it ended up giving me some very big burnout in the process?
I've been slow-minded and often found it so much easier to do other activities other than writing my fics.

But I somehow picked this up and finished it within two days! :DD
Yay!
Maybe maybe I'm back in business~

[*eyes my stack of other neglected fics-*] Oof. I have work to do-