Hey everyone! I have a little something to show ya!
As you can probably tell by the heading of this post, I have extra lore to share with you regarding A Hacker's Tale! Specifically, on the separate divisions of the Shadowbyte Army. Recently I was trying to get over some writer's block, so I decided I would make some logos for each division, and sprinkle in some extra info for you all!
Now, let's get to it!
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Infantry
First up on the list, we have the Infantry Division! This is the largest division in the entire Army, and rightfully so. Soldiers part of Infantry are sent on almost all missions, and are meant to be right on the front lines. They are some of the most well-rounded soldiers the Army has, due to their training in both armed and unarmed combat, as well as their wide variety of hacking abilities. New recruits are often sent here once their training is complete (if not to the Medical Division) to either stay in the Infantry ranks, or show their potential to be transferred to another division.
Medical
Next we have the Medical Division! People apart of it have a crucial role of missions, offering medical assistance when needed. Although they primarily use hacks to do their healing, soldiers also are given an extensive amount of medical training, getting more complicated as they advance through the ranks. New recruits are sometimes sent here once their training is complete (if not to the Infantry Division) to either stay in the Medical ranks, or show their potential to be transferred to another division.
Science
Double double, toil and trouble! Next up is the Science Division! This division is one of the few that doesn't send its members into combat. Instead, these guys focus primarily on research, experimenting, and things of the like. They work closely with the Medical and Engineering Divisions, developing new and improved items for them to use. For example, they might research and develop more potent potions for the Medical Division, or stronger materials for the Engineering Division to make weapons with. As more code is generated over time in the form of Updates, and new items, materials, and/or creatures are generated in Worlds, the Science Division is researching them as fast as possible.
Engineering
Grab your wrenches and hammers, folks, cuz we're now onto the Engineering Division! These guys are the Shadowbyte Army's main source of weaponry and equipment, from the smallest sword to the most powerful mech. They are skilled in redstone, craftsmanship, and operating machinery. They work closely with the Science Division, getting new and stronger materials in exchange for more advanced research equipment. The Engineering Division also goes hand in hand with the Medical Division, primarily with the development of cybernetics. When sent out into the fray of battle, they primarily operate weaponized mechs, but can also fill in the role of a standard soldier well.
Cyber
Time to go over what is probably one of the most underrated divisions in the Army; the Cyber Division! These guys focus primarily on three different things. First off, they're some of the best informants the Army has, and they can dig up any dirt on anyone from anywhere at anytime. Secondly, they're highly skilled at altering a World's code, making the most powerful Cyber soldiers lethal in combat (if their hacks are used correctly), as well as being very useful when it comes to infiltrating Worlds and getting past firewalls and firms of malware. Last, but not least, the Cyber Division specializes in creating new types of hacks. Every so often, they'll release a new hack for the Shadowbyte Army to use, and usually improve the Army's functionality in some way.
Logistics
This division's role may not be as intense or combat focused as the rest, but it's no less important. Say hello to the Logistics Division! These guys control the flow of raw materials, finances, and supplies that go in and out of each of the Army's bases and locations that they occupy. They also work closely with the Command Division to determine where soldiers will be stationed.
Special Ops
Of course, I couldn't go through this lost without going over my personal favorite of the eight divisions! Yes, everyone, it's the Special Ops Division! The soldiers assigned to this division are the best of the best, in terms of combat and stealth. They're assigned the most dangerous and important missions, from stopping the spread of deadly malware and glitches spreading from World to World, to taking down the most corrupt organizations and governments that threaten the lives of the innocent, Special Ops soldiers do it all. They are considered to be the crown jewel of the Army by many, for their skill, valor, and bravery.
Command
Finally, we have the top dogs of the Shadowbyte Army... The Command Division! The purpose of these guys is pretty straightforward; they command which soldiers are sent out on what missions, and when they are deployed. This is by far the smallest division in the entire Army, but rightfully so. Not many soldiers have the potential to command a large amount of soldiers with minimal problems, and deal with the politics that come with it. At the very top of the entire Command Division is none other than Ecryptos himself, the man who started it all years prior to the present time in the story.
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And that's the last of them, folks! Hope you all enjoyed this not-so-little tidbit of extra lore for the storyline! It may not be essential to the story itself, but I'm happy to share it with you all nonetheless xD
If you have any questions or are confused at some of the information I've put in, feel free to comment or send me an ask!
That's a very good question, Egg! Because to be honest, I haven't necessarily decided myself xD
But really, I like that you brought up the question! To be honest, I haven't thought about races or ethnicities in the AHT universe that much. All that I've really done is classify all sentient/humanoid beings under one term; Players. Then they break off into their own categories, like humans, creepers, etc. But no matter what they look like, no matter who they are, they all have the same basic code.
However, I do have some ideas for different cultures and things of the like in the storyline! They won't be super important, but they'll add some extra realism and flavor. *chef kiss*
Again, thank you for the question, Egg! I thought it was really good! :)
Recently as I've come off my writing hiatus, I've been thinking about making a Discord server for A Hacker's Tale. It can be a way that I can keep in contact with you all, share updates, and where all you fans can get together and talk as well! Maybe you can theorize, share ideas, and other stuff!
Would that be something y'all would be interested in? Hit me up in the comments and tell me what you think!
I have a question about your OCs but it's not about the World in 'A Hacker's Tale' this time around (at least I hope not tho ._.;) So if your OCs were in the Hermitcraft Civil War (either with hacks and without), what would they do there and who's side would they be on? Team Star or the G-Team?
Ooo, this is a really cool question! Thanks Allie! :D
Now, in terms of which of my characters would be on which team, and what each of them would do, I have it boiled down to the following:
Team STAR
Coda - She would definetly just be running around the field trying to take down anybody on the other team. She'd literally just take her battle axe and pull a friggin Biffa lol
Jazz - Yes, I know he's technically dead in the story, but he's still a character of mine. Fight me xD Anyway, he would probably be on the defensive side, keeping out anyone that tries to get into the fort. Shotguns are very good at crowd control :P
Lucky - Where Jazz goes, Lucky goes. Nuff said xP And to be honest, Jazz would probably just lock him up in a closet or something to make sure he doesn't get hurt xD
Angel - The ultimate sniper! She'd most likely be on the rooftops with her rifle, picking off the enemies from down below. Or if she had her hacks, she'd just be flying around and watching like a darn friggin hawk xD But I can also see her infiltrating the G-Team's base, and probably not getting detected; being a Special Ops soldier, she's essentially a trained spy. So... RIP G-Team xD
G-Team
Sakura - One word; REDSTONE! She'd work alongside Tango to make epic weaponry that can keep Team STAR out and away!
Nix - Since he's a medic in A Hacker's Tale, I figured it would make sense that Nix would be a healer of sorts in the Civil War. He'd be the G-Team's go to person in order to get patched up, before going back out to fight.
ConCorp
Synth - Synth is just the ultimate gentlemanly businessman, and he would fit perfectly among Scar and Cub. I can't really see him being on any side.
Neutral
Grey - He's old, he's tired, he doesn't care about fighting at this point. He'd most likely just hole up in TFC's bunker and wait for the war to blow over lol
Hope this answers your question Allie! This was really fun to do!
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!: This fic is rated as PG-14+, so read at your own risk! There’s swearsies, suggestive references, and LOTS of blood and gore! Be aware!
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Nix
It took Nix a bit to remember what had happened, at first.
He remembered wandering through the bunker alongside Grey and Angel. That was clear as day. The two had broken him out of his cell, all according to what the byte had planned. Then they were sneaking around the maze of hallways to try and meet up with the others.
The events following that were blurry. At some point, he had ended up all alone and was running blindly through the hallways. He had no clue where he was, or where he was headed. Eventually he had formed so much tunnel vision that he didn’t even notice the flight of stairs in front of him until it was too late. He ended up taking a painful tumble down the steps, before ultimately being knocked out cold as he hit his head at the bottom.
And then he had woken up in the infirmary weaponless and alone, Cub wrapping up his several cuts and injuries with gauze.
Since his recapture, Nix hadn’t seen Grey or Angel. Or anyone else, for that matter. But it made sense. If the others had also been apprehended, having them see each other left in the possibility of another scheme being created.
He didn’t even know how long had it been since he had initially escaped from his cell. An hour? Two? Maybe even more than that? He could never tell time for the life of him.
The teen shifted where he sat on the bed and cringed a bit. He knew he needed a shower. And a change of clothes, for that matter; his torn up uniform was caked with dirt, mud, sweat, and who knows what else from the past week. He felt absolutely disgusting.
It didn’t exactly help that his jumpsuit was mostly white, either. He could see so many stains and splatters of all kinds. And he didn’t want to know what they were.
Even if he could easily recognize what the several reddish brown splotches consisted of.
He lifted his gaze up from his lap and took in more of his surroundings. Nothing much had changed since he had last looked. Cub had stepped away and was now scurrying around the room, tending to the many wounded. His main focus was primarily on Python, who seemed to be on the brink of death from the extent of his injuries. The man with grey hair was also treating another man with dirty blonde hair and a red shirt, who appeared to have suffered from a gunshot wound to his side. It must have been either Coda or Lucky that shot him; they were the only ones in the byte with guns at that point.
However, there was one primary difference. There was someone new in the infirmary, a new patient for Cub to tend to. A tall man with ghostly pale skin and black hair was sitting on one of the beds, his brown eyes wide, almost fearful. It was Mumbo Jumbo, the redstone child prodigy turned multimillionaire.
From what Nix could see, Mumbo wasn't in the best of shape, to say the least. He had several bruises, the worst being a massive black eye, all swollen and purple. A nasty, open gash was also right next to the injury, blood steadily dripping down his cheek. It was obvious that he was going to need stitches, and it was highly possible that he had a concussion.
At least Nix knew Coda had landed a few good hits on him. Made sure that he would be out of commission for awhile.
The Shadowbyte soldier continued to keep his dark brown gaze on the former redstone engineer. Mumbo was definitely nervous and scared, due to how he was seemingly trying to distance his mind from everything going on by bouncing his knee up and down, his eyes wide and staring off into empty space. He appeared to not have noticed Cub had come up to him and had begun to attempt to patch up the massive gash on his face.
Nix was convinced of his last assumption when Mumbo suddenly winced and cried out in pain as his wound was touched, and he reeled back from the man in the lab coat. Everyone around him had some sort of physical reaction; they flinched, jumped where they stood or sat, snapped their gazes towards him. The only one who stayed still was Nix himself.
After all, he couldn’t hear Mumbo. Or anything, for that matter.
Nix was able to hear at some point in his life. Up until the time he was about nine or ten years old. But he could never figure out why he had gone deaf. One day he could hear fine, and the next his whole world was silent except for the voice in his own head.
The best explanation he (and many others) could presume was that he had come in contact with some sort of glitch and had his code altered by accident. And the fact that he couldn't remember what happened to him further supported that theory; memory loss was a common side effect of one's code being messed with, in addition to other forms of trauma.
Like going deaf, for example.
Thankfully, he wasn't completely unable to interact with his peers. His hacks were his main method of communication. He would use telepathic hacks in order to 'talk' and 'listen'. They were essentially an equivalent of hearing aids, even if they only allowed him to hear voices.
On the rare occasion he couldn’t use his hacks due to fatigue or any other reason (or if someone was just plain lazy and didn't want to use telepathic hacks to speak to him), he could rely on his ability to read lips in order to figure out what people are saying. But unfortunately, doing that wasn’t exactly easy; most of the time he had to fill in a few words on his own.
However, getting his message across without his hacks was a much bigger challenge. He knew how to sign pretty well, which was a plus. But he knew that not a lot of people could sign fluently, especially if they weren't deaf on some level themselves. So more often than not, he had to resort to pen and paper, which he didn't always have access to.
But right there, in that very moment, Nix had nothing. No hacks, no pen and paper. Nothing. He had been completely cut off, save for his signing and lip reading. But that was helpful only if others knew how to sign as well.
And he assumed someone was trying to get his attention, for he felt a hand rest upon his shoulder.
The teen blinked and shifted his gaze away from Mumbo. Looking up, he saw that a new person had entered the room and approached him. A familiar man with dark brown hair and glasses, a set of grey elytra strapped to his back. He recognized him as the W.E.S. associate assigned to him. Joe.
Nix saw Joe's lips start to move, and he tried his best to read them. It frustrated him greatly that he couldn't use his hacks anymore; if he could then the man's phrases would be understood to their full extent. All the teen could make out were three words.
"Time to go."
He let out a soft sigh, and sat up off the bed to stand next to Joe. Of course he had to go.
The teen didn't pay any mind to the man as he escorted him out of the room and into the expanse of hallways. He had other things on his mind. Where the rest of the byte was, if they were okay.
And the possible repercussions of trying to escape.
Joe continued to lead Nix down the hallway, and before Nix knew it, he was already back at his cell. And he was more than exhausted at that point. The moment his escort opened the door, he stumbled into his room and fell face first onto his cot.
Now if he could only sleep without the constant wondering of where Grey was buzzing in his head.
~~~~~
Nix must have fallen asleep at some point, for he felt himself begin to wake up at the feeling of his shoulder being gently shaken.
He knew it had to be Joe; who else would it have been? Nobody came into his cell besides Joe, after all.
The teen rolled over to face the person and cracked open his eyes. Sure enough, he could make out a blurry shape of someone, and as he blinked to clear his vision, it was indeed Joe.
Joe adjusted his glasses and began to speak, which Nix of course couldn’t understand; he was such a quick talker it was frustrating. It was a miracle if he could even make out a single word. Let alone a full sentence.
The man then gently grasped the teen's shoulder again. He wanted him to get out of bed. Of course he had to interrupt his sleep.
But Nix complied anyway, swinging his legs over the bed and standing up, and allowing Joe to walk him out of his cell.
At first, he thought he knew where Joe was taking him; the meeting room he and the rest of the byte would be escorted to. He vaguely recognized the route they were taking. However, just as they were about to round a corner that led to the familiar chamber, Joe just passed it and continued walking.
Where were they even going?
He thought Joe must have read his look of confusion quite well, for the man responded quickly. Too quick for him to understand most of it. But there was one single word that he could make out from his phrases; funeral.
Funeral.
Nix blinked as soon as he saw Joe say the word. A funeral? At first, he was almost at a loss for who the funeral was for. Did somebody else in the byte die?!
However, after a moment of his panicked thoughts racing through his head, he began to realize who the funeral must have been for. The only one who had been confirmed deceased thus far, and had been for quite some time.
Jazz. They were giving him a proper burial. A proper goodbye...
But why? The only one who was close to him was Lucky. They didn't know who he was, or what he was like.
Then again… as dark as thinking about it was, it had been a whole week since Jazz had been killed. And bodies… didn’t last that long after death, to say the least. Not to mention it was the middle of summer. The high temperatures and humidity would only speed up the process of decay. They probably wanted to get rid of him sooner rather than later.
He wished he hadn't paid so much attention during his medical training.
The pair rounded another corner, and Nix saw a familiar sight. The grand staircase leading up towards the surface, towards the outside world.
His eyes widened, and he almost broke out into a run as Joe walked him up the stairs. With every step, the air got warmer and warmer, brighter and brighter-
And then they burst through the doors, into the compound. Into the summer sunlight.
It had been so long since the last time he felt the warm sun on his skin. Too long. The sensation almost made his knees weak, and he had to resist the temptation to sprawl out onto the grass and stay there.
But Joe continued to lead Nix along before he could.
The pair passed by the several buildings in the compound, as well as quite a few of the W.E.S. operatives. Jevin, Doc, False, several others Nix didn't recognize. They all threw disapproving and angry glances towards the teen. A few of them started to speak, but he couldn't hear them in the first place.
He didn't give a single damn about what they had to say, anyway.
Nix and Joe finally passed the gates of the compound and emerged into the massive field where the gruesome battle took place just a single week prior. It was pretty much the same as it was before. But this time, a massive crater blackened the grass and earth, massive pieces of shrapnel scattered about and sticking out of the ground. A shiver went down his spine at the sight; it was almost like there was the feeling of death lingering in the summer air.
But he did notice something different. In a less charred part of the field, he saw what appeared to be a group of people in the distance. And as he and Joe approached, he could start to make out a few familiar faces. Synth, Sakura, Angel.
And then there was the casket, sat on top of a stone platform. To his surprise, it actually looked quite nice. It definitely wasn’t thrown together in a hurry; time had obviously been put into creating it. Although simplistic and lacking intricate detail, the dark oak wood making up the coffin was polished to a shine, and the metal handles appeared quite sturdy.
However, Nix still wondered how they were able to throw something that nice that quickly together. But then again, as far as he knew, with the information Lucky had provided before the byte had actually been deployed, basically every single one of the members of HermitCraft was extremely talented, in some form or another. From engineers and scientists, to soldiers and artists, there were people from all walks of life.
Nix had never been to a funeral before. Not that it was on his bucket list of things to do, of course. It was due to him being such a new recruit; he had only been enlisted since the middle of spring, just a month or so prior. He never had the chance to properly mingle and get to know other soldiers, and, as a result, know them well enough to actually have a reason to go to their funeral, if they were to pass away or be killed in battle.
The only thing close to a funeral service Nix had been to was an execution.
Although gruesome, horrifying, and almost scarring, he understood that executions were necessary. Traitors, as rare as they were in the Shadowbyte ranks, existed, and once they were found, they had to be promptly dealt with. And to add insult to injury, their fellow soldiers were called in to watch them have their hacks leeched, followed by death.
It was the ultimate form of shame and humiliation. Having their greatest gift taken away from them, and having their friends, family, and colleagues observe like it was entertainment.
And now he knew what that felt like.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as he and Joe had finally reached the small gathering of people. The teen looked over at Joe out of instinct, and felt somewhat annoyed as he said something that Nix couldn’t interpret. The man then gave a sympathetic smile and patted his shoulder a couple times, before turning around and walking off back towards the compound, his elytra softly fluttering in the breeze.
The teen glanced back over at his group, and he made his way over to stand in an open spot in the line. Leaning his head forward and glancing left and right, he began to do a mental headcount.
Angel was at the end of the row, standing tall and strong. She must have done this a hundred times before in her career. Her straight face and almost calm demeanor further supported that theory.
Synth stood on Nix's right. He also seemed quite collected, but not as much as his superior. While she had zero visible expressions or emotions, the redhead was obviously worried. What he was worried about, however, was unknown.
On Nix's left was Sakura. To his surprise and concern, she had a cast on her ankle that he couldn't help but mentally nitpick for how sloppy the work was. A pair of worn, rickety crutches helped her stay on her feet. Maybe she got injured during the escape.
But those were all of his colleagues that he could see. No Grey or Coda. Or Lucky, either. Where were they? Especially Lucky… he should have been showing up, right? It was his own brother’s funeral, after all…
… and then a single thought crossed Nix’s mind. It almost made him nervous to think about, and his heart began to pound:
Had they actually managed to escape?
As much as he wanted to go home, Nix desperately hoped that they didn’t succeed. He knew what was waiting out there. Monsters that spawned in the darkest hours of the night, wild animals that were hungry for a fresh kill or two, not to mention just good old nature, with her storms and ruthless weather. And with how the World was so young, there were bound to be some glitches occuring. Glitches that could possibly kill them-
No. They were going to be fine. They could both hold their own out there. Grey had the brains, and Coda had the strength. Everything was going to turn out alright.
There were a few other people there at the funeral, aside from Nix’s colleagues. Not surprisingly, Xisuma was among them. Nix presumed that most of the others were there to help keep an eye on what was going on. He was further convinced of that fact when he saw that almost all of them had some sort of weapon. And he could easily recognize that the entire arsenal was from the Shadowbyte soldiers’ personal setup.
The teen could recognize most of the ones standing guard. Firstly, there was the cyborg he had helped heal just about a week prior, Biffa. He had Jazz’s shotgun gripped in his mechanical hands, eyes scanning the small crowd like a hawk. And the sight of it made Nix grind his teeth in anger; that man had no respect for the dead. No respect for Lucky’s brother. He could have taken another weapon and left the gun alone, but no.
Next, there was Wels, a man with blonde hair and wearing what almost appeared to be a medieval set of armor, Synth’s longsword holstered to a belt around his waist. Nix thought the man’s choice in armor was a bit odd, but Nix just accepted that people from HermitCraft were a bit out there already.
However, then there was the wild card. A man with sunglasses and long brown hair tied in a ponytail stood on Xisuma’s left. He carried no weapon, and, to Nix’s surprise, appeared very solemn. Almost sad. He obviously wasn’t standing guard, and he didn’t look very threatening. So what was he doing there?
But then Nix saw there was someone standing next to the brunette, almost out of his line of sight; Lucky. And saying that he looked terrible would have been an understatement. Dark bags hung under his puffy, bloodshot eyes, his blonde hair needed to be combed and washed, his blue-accented uniform was covered in dust and dirt. Trails of dried up tears stained his freckled cheeks.
He couldn’t even imagine how Lucky was feeling. Nix didn’t have any family to lose; he had never lost somebody close to him. The only person who he was remotely close with was Grey.
But now he might have been on the verge of losing someone.
Nix was pulled out of his thoughts when he caught a glimpse of someone moving up the casket. A familiar man, one that Nix could recognize without hesitation, at this point. The green body armor and grey helmet covering his face made it easy.
Xisumavoid. The son of a bitch that leeched the hacks of him and his colleagues.
The man's helmeted gaze lingered on the wooden coffin, before he turned to face the crowd. Nix easily presumed that Xisuma was now talking. It would have been a bit odd if he were just standing there gazing over the crowd.
After a long and somewhat awkward moment of Xisuma's silent speech, Nix then saw Lucky's figure stiffen out of the corner of his eye. But instead of shrinking back, he shuffled away from where he was to step up onto the platform next to Xisuma, facing the small crowd.
If he was making a speech, then Nix would have to try his best to understand his words.
He saw the short blonde cough after a moment. “H...hello,” His lips read. Not too hard of a word. At least he was speaking quite slowly; it made his phrases easier to piece together. “Umm… I-I guess we all know why we’re here right now…” He glanced over his shoulder at the casket for a second, before returning his gaze back to the group.
"I...I want to say sorry…" Lucky swallowed. "T-to you guys. About everything…" His shoulders started to sag as his lips ceased to move. “I’ve been a failure as a soldier… a hacker… a-and a brother."
Nix could see the tears flowing down the blonde's face as he continued to speak. "U-uh…A-anyway…" He cleared his throat. "I-I'm not good at this sort of thing, but… but I should probably get to what I'm here for. Wh-what we're all here for. Ja-" He cut himself off. "R-riff."
“My brother was…” His lips stopped moving for a moment. He wiped the tears off his face with his sleeve. “Was the strongest guy I ever knew. He… put up with a lot. With his position in the Army, the missions he was sent out on…” A sad smile made its way onto his face, and he gave a sheepish laugh. “And especially me.”
Nix couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. He could see a few others around him laugh as well. Although he didn't know Jazz for long, it was blatantly obvious how much he had on his plate.
"But… He was always there for me." Lucky continued. "Even when he was only a kid himself… H-He protected me, stood up for me… He was the best brother anyone could ask for."
The blonde's figure began to visibly shake, and his lip trembled. "I-I…" He wiped more tears that had fallen down his face. “I’m so sorry, Jazz…”
And then, like a house of cards, Lucky collapsed to his knees, burying his face in his hands. His body shook with his supposed cries, and before long, he turned around to rest his arms and head on the casket. As if trying to say goodbye to his brother one last time.
It didn’t exactly help that Nix couldn’t hear his sobs. Or that fact that Lucky had revealed his brother’s actual name.
Not that he could blame him.
But he felt a small sense of relief and comfort as he saw the mystery man in the red shirt and sunglasses quickly make his way up to the stone platform to kneel at Lucky’s side. He slowly helped the shaking blonde up to his feet, and led Lucky away from the casket and off of the stone platform, letting him cry as much as he needed to. As surprised as he was at the sudden act of kindness, he was glad that at least one person appeared to actually gave a damn about the situation.
Not to mention Xisuma. Once Nix shifted his dark gaze to the hacker, he saw that he almost appeared sympathetic. Like he knew exactly what Lucky was feeling. Not just the obvious sadness and sorrow of losing someone close; it was more than that. But Nix couldn’t put his finger on it.
And then out of nowhere, Lucky stopped in his tracks. His tear filled eyes were wide, fixated on something, and he began to speak. Nix raised an eyebrow, and followed his gaze to where the blonde had his locked on…
Biffa. Specifically, Jazz's shotgun gripped in his robotic hands.
Oh shit.
Before he could even blink, Lucky had charged towards the cyborg and attempted to tackle him. In reality, he more ended up knocking himself back as he ran into him, but he scurried to his feet and wrapped his hands around the gun.
Several of the W.E.S. members rushed to the pair, hastily trying to tear the blonde soldier away from Biffa. It didn't take that long for them to break Lucky's grip and drag him away towards the rest of the Shadowbyte soldiers, towards where Nix was.
So many people were moving and talking all at once, so much so that Nix couldn't even piece together a full sentence. The fray was too much for him to try and understand any of their words.
However, he could make out once sentence. One sentence from Lucky, and as far as he could tell, he was screaming it at the top of his lungs. And that sentence, as soon as he realized what had been said, sent a stabbing pain through his heart.
"You don't deserve to hold it."
Just as soon as he latched himself onto Biffa, Lucky was torn away from the object of his sorrowful anger by Wels, and dragged over towards Nix and the rest of the byte. The blonde visibly struggled for a moment, thrashing and kicking. But it wasn't long before his violent movements ceased, and he went limp as he continued to be dragged across the dirt.
Nix didn't know how much more he could witness before breaking completely.
Wels stood the blonde up next to the rest of the byte and, seemingly satisfied that he had given up trying to fight, let go and muttered something, before making his way back to his guarding position. All Nix could focus on was Synth's sword strapped to his belt, the sharp blade glinting in the summer sun.
If only he could snatch it quick enough to take that son of a bitch down with one strike.
He knew where to hit, how to make a quick and efficient kill. Knowledge of anatomy made that easy. But his lack of combat training held him back, in that regard.
So Nix could only be tempted by revenge as Wels walked away.
He removed his angered gaze and put them back on Lucky. His teary eyes were wide, his body shook and shivered. He appeared to be on the verge of collapsing to the ground.
Thankfully, someone immediately went to his aid; Sakura. She hobbled over to him on her crutches, saying something that Nix couldn't understand. As soon as she got close enough, the brunette woman brought Lucky into a hug, which he promptly accepted, his figure shaking as he began to let out another series of sobs.
At least he had her to lean on as he went through the grief. She seemed like she was willing to help anyone at any time.
Nix's dark brown eyes shifted away from his colleagues and back to the W.E.S. operatives who had brought them to the funeral in the first place. Specifically, his eyes landed on Xisuma, still standing next to Jazz’s casket.
The man still had his helmeted gaze on Lucky, but now a glare was cast over his purple visor from the sun. No expression could be seen, which made him appear more intimidating than he normally was. Just the fact that Nix could no longer see his face set him on edge.
After a moment of Nix keeping his nervous gaze on the hacker, however, Xisuma turned back towards the casket, and held out his hand. A faint flicker of pixels could then be seen radiating from Xisuma's palm as he threw his hand to the sky...
And right before his eyes, the casket was then consumed in a great ball of fire, sending sparks and thick smoke into the clear blue sky. A blast of immense heat washed over him, but he stood his ground.
Nix saw a few people jump back in surprise, all of whom were Xisuma's colleagues. He could presume they weren't expecting him to do that.
Although he had never been to a Shadowbyte funeral in the past, he knew the basic gist of how one would be carried out. Like a traditional funeral from just about anywhere, close family, friends, and colleagues would attend. They would pay their respects, give condolences to the ones closest to the deceased, and many people would make a small speech or two about the one who passed, before their casket would be burned. If the soldier was in a high enough rank and well respected, sometimes Ecrytpos himself would show up to say a word or two.
Nix knew that most of those events wouldn't occur, given the situation. The only family present was Lucky, and a majority of the people attending didn't know Jazz for more than a full day. And from what he could tell, Jazz deserved some of the highest honors a Shadowbyte soldier should receive.
It was a shame that it was never going to happen now. To any of them. Not to Angel, not to Synth, not to-
And then the smell of the smoke finally hit. Not just the wood from the casket… It was the scent of charred flesh. Burning hair. Metallic blood.
Jazz.
Nix felt his mouth and eyes water as his stomach twisted and churned. He wanted to vomit so badly at the horrid smell. But he knew he had to hold back the strong urge. Now wasn't the time. He needed to give Jazz the respect he deserved. The respect that nobody but the remaining members of the byte would give him.
So he lifted his hand up in a salute, not caring about the tears from his watering eyes flowing down his face, and mentally repeated the phrase a Shadowbyte soldier knew so well...
Glorious in life, eternal in death.
~~~~~
As disrespectful as it sounded, Nix was more than happy that Joe was bringing him back down into the bunker. He didn't know how much longer he could bear the smell of Jazz's burning remains. The temptation to walk faster was unbearable.
Nix had no clue if Joe was speaking to him. He just kept his eyes forward, trying to focus on settling his stomach. He could still faintly smell the awful smoke from the funeral pyre.
Now he really wanted a shower and a change of clothes.
The moment he and Joe had arrived at his cell, Nix didn’t hesitate to lumber in. He collapsed onto his bed and sighed, dark brown eyes shifting up towards the ceiling.
He never thought a single event would wear him out so much. But then again, he presumed funerals were supposed to be mentally and emotionally exhausting. At least he was back in his room-
He then saw Joe begin to flail his arms out of the corner of his eye. He must have been trying to get his attention.
Of course he couldn't be left alone.
The teen sat up in his bed and shifted his gaze onto the man in the elytra. His lips began to move, only this time, Nix could actually make out the sentence he had said.
“Why don’t you ever talk?”
Nix remained still for a moment, before letting out a sigh. He pointed to his ear, before shaking his head.
Joe blinked, frowned, and adjusted his glasses. “So… you can’t hear anything, huh?”
Nix pressed his lips into a firm line, and held up his hands. It took someone that long to wonder about it and ask? A whole entire week?
The older man quickly said something that Nix couldn't make out and raised his hands a bit in a defensive manner.
After a short moment, the man began to speak again, much more slowly than his usual pace. Maybe he was trying to make it easier for Nix to understand him. “But why did you lie about your names? We already know who y'all work for.”
Nix furrowed his brows and crossed his arms, glaring at Joe. He had some dignity left. He could give up everything else, but his name wasn’t one of those things.
But as soon as Joe finished his last sentence, the teen felt his stomach drop. What did he mean that he 'knew who they all worked for'? Somebody from the byte must have been forced to say something, but who?
Joe opened his mouth to speak again, but as quickly his lips started to move, they stopped. As he shifted his eyes over to the door, Nix followed them with his own-
And there he stood in the doorframe, tall and strong in his emerald green armor. Xisumavoid.
Nix felt chills run down his spine the moment he caught sight of the hacker, and he had the urge to try and scoot away as he walked into the room. He knew what Xisuma could do. What he was capable of. And he did not want to be the one on the other end of his weaponry and power.
Joe was looking at Xisuma intently, as if he were listening to him speak. But not like Nix could tell. Due to the helmet covering his mouth, the medic couldn't figure out what Xisuma was saying. Only bits and pieces of Joe's sentences.
"But I can’t… Zero’s deaf. He can't hear." Joe’s lips read. Nix figured that the hacker had asked if the man had gotten any information out of him that could be useful.
And he could tell that Xisuma wasn’t expecting that sort of answer from Joe. His eyebrows raised, as if surprised, and he could see slight wrinkles form and fade on the upper half of his face. He must have been speaking then.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Joe responded. He glanced over at Nix for a moment, before shifting his focus back to his colleague. “Uhh… y’know how to sign? Can any of the others?” He asked.
Xisuma raised an eyebrow, but shook his head.
Nix blinked, and then pressed his lips into a firm line. Nobody knew how to sign? Sure, he didn’t expect anyone to be perfect at it, but he expected at least one person would have a basic idea of what he was trying to say.
He watched the two men continue to converse. Even if he could only read Xisuma’s gestures and facial expressions. Seeing the guy crossing his arms, tapping his chin, and furrowing his brows didn’t exactly reveal a lot. Just that he was most likely thinking about something.
And then out of nowhere, Xisuma's eyes shifted onto Nix. The teen froze where he sat, a deer in the headlights, and his heart began to pound as Xisuma took a step towards him. Why did Xisuma do that? What did he want-
"Zero? Zero, can you hear me?"
The sudden voice in his head nearly made him jump up from where he sat. His ears almost started to ring. At first, he thought he might have been going crazy…
And then he realized what it was. It wasn't his conscience, or a new imaginary friend that his mind formed to try and keep himself sane. It was Xisuma using telepathic hacks in order to communicate better.
“Can you hear me?” The hacker repeated his sentence, taking another step towards the teenager. "Is this working?"
Nix kept his dark eyes locked on Xisuma. As hesitant as he was, he gave him a nod.
He saw Xisuma let out a visible sigh of relief. "Alright, good," He answered. “Now, just one moment.”
The teen was taken by surprise when the hacker then disappeared in a burst of green and blue pixels for a moment. However, he wasn't gone for long. Before Nix knew it, another flash of colored static filled the room, and when it faded, Xisuma was now standing there, a black pen, a small notebook, and a stack of familiar photographs in his hands.
Nix immediately knew what the hacker wanted him to do.
Xisuma put the pen and notebook in the tennager's hands. "Now, what's your name?" He asked. "Your real name."
Nix remained quiet, but looked at the notepad and pen in his hands. Should he really do this? What were the consequences going to be?
...then again, the chances of actually going back home to the Hive were slim to none. The odds of the Army actually finding them were even less. He was essentially down to nothing. Nothing to lose, nothing that could be taken away from him.
So he pressed the pen to the page, and scribbled out his message.
Nix. My name is Nix.
The teen tore the small slip of paper out of the notebook and handed it to Joe.
After a second of his eyes darting across the paper, Nix could see the man let out a small chuckle. "So it's Nix, huh?" Joe's lips read. "Fitting."
Nix looked up at Joe and frowned a bit, giving him an annoyed expression. Like he hadn't heard that before. He knew his name literally meant ‘none’, and that it did seem like it was perfect for him, given he could both hear nothing, and chose to say nothing.
"Are you a medic, by chance?" Xisuma then asked. The teen blinked in confusion, wondering how he could know his role as a Shadowbyte soldier, but then the hacker pointed to his shoulder. "The patches on your shoulders."
Nix shifted and glanced down at one of his shoulders, and he saw what Xisuma was talking about. A worn cloth patch of a red plus sign. The insignia of the Army's Medical Division, and a common mark of a medic anywhere. Now Xisuma made sense. Understanding, Nix nodded.
“Ah, I see,” Xisuma replied, and cleared his throat. “Alright… how about this person?” The hacker then held up a picture of a tired Lucky, eyes bloodshot and blonde hair disheveled.
Nix hesitated for a moment, remembering the fiasco that had happened earlier that day. But he soon began to write his answer down on his notepad anyway. As guilty as he felt selling his teammates out of the one secret they had left, somebody had presumably leaked much more sensitive information than just names.
That one is Lucky. He has-
He paused, and then scribbled over the ‘has’.
-had an older brother, Jazz. He was the one from the funeral today.
As Nix handed the paper off and Xisuma read it, he saw wrinkles form on his face. He must have been frowning. He could easily presume why.
But after a moment, the man blinked and shook his head a bit, before holding up another photograph. It was Sakura, curled up on her bed and shying away from the flash of the camera.
She's Sakura. She's a mechanic, from what I've been able to tell. Really sweet, once you get to know her.
He ripped off the slip of paper and handed it over. Xisuma had read it, and seemingly let out a small chuckle.
"I will admit, she's one the most tame out of you all." The hacker's voice echoed as he put away Sakura's picture and pulled out another. "Now, who's this man?"
Nix shifted his dark brown eyes onto the photograph, and felt his heart sink a bit. An older man with faded blue eyes and silver hair stared back at him, eyebrows furrowed. And despite his disheveled look, Nix could recognize him immediately.
Grey.
Nix hesitated for a moment as he recognized the man in the photograph. He had to snap himself out of his trance before he began to scribble down his message.
Greydroid. My mentor.
“A fellow medic, I presume?” Xisuma’s echoing voice asked after Nix had handed him the slip of paper.
Nix gave the hacker a small nod. His mind was starting to drift back off to other thoughts and questions he had that he knew couldn’t be answered. Specifically where his teacher was, and if he was okay.
Xisuma pulled him out of his thoughts as he pulled out another photo. A familiar shot of an angry Coda flipping off the camera. "What about her?" He asked. "What's her name?"
Nix's gaze lingered on the picture for a moment. He still couldn't help but wonder where she and Grey were. But he forced himself to shake away the thought, and he started writing again.
Her name is Coda. Don’t know much about her other than that Grey was also her mentor at some point. She also has a short temper, if you haven’t already noticed.
As the medic ripped off the slip of paper and handed it to the two men, he saw Joe starting to speak again as his eyes shifted onto him. "Wait, wasn't she the one that broke Iskall's nose?" His lips read.
Nix blinked, but he shrugged. It didn't surprise him that Coda had managed to do that. He knew that even with as immature as she seemed, she was highly skilled in close quarters combat. During the initial fight the week before, she was taking down people left and right. He was shocked that she hadn't killed anyone, with how brutal she was.
Maybe she was restraining herself from doing so. Following Angel’s orders.
Nix shifted his attention back to Xisuma as he held up another photograph, a tall and handsome man with fiery red hair and striking grey eyes. Synth.
He clicked his pen and began to write.
That's Synth. He and Coda are really close friends, but I don't know if they're more than that.
Tearing off the paper and handing it over, Nix started to wonder how Synth and Coda even became friends. Synth was prim, proper, patient. Definitely a gentleman. Coda, on the other hand, was impulsive, loud, and very reckless. The two couldn't be any more different.
But he didn't have time to wonder about the relationship between the two Infantry soldiers. If his math was right he had one more person to identify.
And he was correct. Because Xisuma pulled out a picture of a woman he could name on sight. Ebony skin, black curly hair, an eyepatch over one of her dark eyes. He immediately began to write his answer.
She's our leader. Her name is A-
And then the ink stopped mid sentence, leaving only indents on the paper.
Of course that had to happen. Of all times, it had to happen when he was almost done.
Nix scribbled off to the side to try and get the ink to flow again. Nothing happened. He huffed and made another mark. Still nothing.
Now that was just great. The pen just had to go dry at that moment, didn’t it? Now what was he going to do?
...And then he had an idea. It seemed quite foolish, but he didn't care.
Nix suddenly sprang up and grasped one of the wings of the silver elytra strapped to Joe's back, tugging a couple of times.
The man was taken slightly aback by the sudden action. He jumped back a bit as the teen let go of the wing he had snatched. His lips started to move and say a sentence, that the teen unfortunately couldn't make out.
Nix then reached a hand over his own shoulder and patted his back a few times. Hopefully he could get his message across without the use of words.
Xisuma tilted his head slightly, visibly confused. "Nix, what are you trying to say?" His voice echoed.
The teen became slightly discouraged. Maybe a little game old charades wasn't going to work after all… but he knew he had to try more than once. So he tugged on Joe's set of wings and tapped his back once again.
Joe's next words were easier to understand. “Wings? Back?" He started. "Wings on her back-” His lips suddenly stopped moving, and Nix could assume he went quiet. But a small smile soon formed on his face. “Angel? Is her name Angel?”
Nix couldn’t help but smile back, and gave a single nod. They understood him!
“Thank you, Nix.”
Xisuma’s voice sounded in his head again. He glanced over at the hacker, who was now conversing with Joe, and handed over all of the photographs and slips of paper to him. Of course, he couldn't decipher what they were actually saying, but at this point, he didn't exactly care.
Joe then began to walk towards the door, stack of photos and notebook paper in hand. He said something to Xisuma and waved, presumably a goodbye, before ultimately exiting the room and closing the door behind him.
But then instead of following his colleague out, Xisuma remained where he stood. There was a moment where he did not move, did not appear to have said anything. What was he doing?
"I have one more question for you," His voice then echoed in Nix's head, catching him off guard. He turned around to face him, and took a step forward.
The teen tilted his head a bit, and unconsciously leaned closer. He almost wanted to know what his captor had to say. It gave him something to do, allowed him to fight back the boredom and ease the anxiety.
"Who leads the Army?"
Nix raised an eyebrow at Xisuma's statement. He wasn't expecting that sort of question. Sure, he knew that the members of HermitCraft had somehow figured out who he and the rest of the byte worked for, but why would he want to know? Perhaps he wanted to determine who the biggest enemy of the Shadowbyte Army was. The head of the whole beast.
At least Nix had an easy answer to the question. It had always been the same exact person, ever since the Shadowbyte Army was founded; Ecryptos. It may have been years and years since he had created it, but the general was still alive and kicking. He had grown so powerful that he had essentially become ageless. Immortal, even.
It made sense why nobody ever tried to overthrow him. And even if he wasn’t as powerful as he was, it wasn’t likely that anybody would want to take his title for the sake of others. Ecryptos wasn't anything close to a tyrant. If anything, he was a savior. A guardian. He treated any other person he took under his wing like they were his own family.
Including Nix.
He was still quite young when he was first taken in, about nine or ten years old. As fate would have it, it was at that time he had lost his hearing, and it didn’t take long for someone to notice and figure it out. And that person was none other than Ecryptos himself.
Every now and then, Ecryptos would visit the floors where the children who hadn’t begun their training would stay. Usually it was to check up on how the newer ones were doing; more often than not, they would come from a bad situation. He always wanted to make sure that each one had the opportunity to have the best childhood possible, no matter where they came from or what they were dealing with.
Nix had caught the general's attention with how distant he was being. He never interacted with the other children, or any of the adults. Due to the obvious communication barrier that was suddenly thrown upon him by the loss of his hearing, Nix had decided to shut himself off out of frustration and sadness. He would just sit in a cramped corner for hours on end.
And he didn't expect Ecryptos, this seemingly terrifying man who he had never met before in his life, try to get through to him and provide accommodations for his condition.
When Nix first saw him, he couldn't help but feel scared; Ecryptos didn't exactly appear friendly, to say the least. He was freakishly tall, had a sickly, almost rotten tone to his skin. Not to mention the countless scars scattered across his body. And what made him even more scary was the fact that Nix couldn’t see his face behind the helmet he wore; it was the unknown that frightened him.
Yet the first thing Ecryptos did when he met the boy was anything but cruel. He approached, sat down a few feet away from him, and, to Nix’s surprise, rolled a small rubber ball over. As if Nix were a shy dog that didn’t want to play.
At the time, Nix thought it was extremely silly and strange. Yet the man had continued to patiently wait for Nix to feel comfortable, to feel like he could talk to him. And after hours of the two rolling the small toy back and forth, Nix finally did try to speak (which he couldn’t hear). It was at that moment Ecryptos realized why Nix had shut himself off. He didn’t know how to communicate anymore.
And so, from that day forward, Ecryptos taught Nix as much as he could, in terms of communication. He was the one that had made sure Nix would be able to socialize in any circumstances, whether via hacks or by signing or lip reading.
So, in summary, Nix was very grateful to the legendary general. If he were to reveal his identity, the repercussions would be terrifying!
...but then again, Ecryptos couldn't exactly die. He had been alive for years, and could go for centuries more. There was no way, even with how powerful Xisuma was, that if he were to try and take him down, Ecryptos could not be killed or overthrown.
So he pressed his pen to the paper and scribbled down his answer.
His name is Ecryptos.
He stopped for a moment, pursed his lips, and added another two sentences.
And I wouldn't try going after him, if I were you. You WILL die.
He had to try and hold back the grin that wanted to form on his lips as he tore the paper out of his notepad and handed it to Xisuma. Maybe he could have a little fun with this.
But once the hacker's eyes landed on the paper, Nix noticed his behavior change right away. His grip on the message tightened, his brows furrowed, his posture stiffened. Most of all, something sparked in his eyes.
Burning hatred.
And before Nix knew it, Xisuma had sprung to his feet, spun around and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
That was certainly unexpected.
He had no idea that the hacker would have a reaction as volatile and sudden as that. But it did reveal something, something that gave Nix more questions than actual answers.
Xisuma was obviously angry and resentful at something, so much so that it took every fiber of his being to not let it all out.
Because the steel handle of his door had molded to the shape of his grip like a ball of clay.
~~~~~
After another bland couple of meals and another sleepless night, Nix didn't think twice about Joe waking him up and leading him out of his cell. He was too tired to care about anything the members of HermitCraft had to say, and too worried about Grey to focus on anything else.
Not to mention his last interaction with Xisuma. Why would he have a reaction that intense? He didn’t know Ecryptos; nobody outside the Army did. Once someone was taken in by the Army, they served for life. And even if they wanted to leave, where would they go? The reason they joined in the first place was because they had nobody else to turn to. Not family, friends. All of their bridges had been burned, intentionally or not.
He knew it was raining outside. Or at the very least, it had been. He could see the countless trails of muddy shoe prints and small puddles of water along the tile he passed by. He also felt the rubber soles of his boots squeaking against the floor as he walked.
At least he couldn't hear that. Leave that for everyone else to deal with. It was one of the only sounds he was glad he was missing.
But Nix started to notice something. The route he and Joe were taking through the maze of hallways was familiar. Even if he had only been in that World for about a week, he had been on a strict daily routine before the attempted breakout. And he realized the path that he was taking.
He and Joe were headed towards the byte’s meeting room.
But why? Had something happened to prompt a meeting? Maybe Grey and Coda had returned-
No. There was no possibility of that. Coda was the most stubborn person Nix had ever met, and there was no way she would want to come back after a successful escape. And she probably wouldn't let Grey out of her sight.
...but he couldn't help but start to hope.
Joe and Nix rounded a final corner, and the single door to the meeting room came into view. The teen's heart began to pound harder and harder with every step closer. He could see figures moving inside through the small barred window on the iron door-
The moment Joe opened the door, Nix broke away from his grip and dashed inside. Darting his eyes around, he saw every member of the that was at the funeral the day before; Angel, Lucky, Sakura, Synth. Even Xisuma.
But still no Grey or Coda.
The teen's heart sank as his hope crumbled. He couldn't help but let his shoulders sag a bit. Even if it was just a slim chance, the idea of knowing his mentor was okay was one he was desperate to make come true.
He lifted his eyes from the floor and glanced around at the people around him, before his eyes landed on the one person he didn't expect to be there. Xisuma.
Xisuma stood at the front of the room, all by himself. For a second, Nix was wondering why he had no armed colleagues at his side. But then he remembered that the man could probably wipe them out of existence with a single flick of his hand.
He could more than easily take care of himself.
"Hello everyone," Xisuma's voice echoed inside of Nix’s head, and he saw his fellow soldiers shift their gazes towards him. He must have been using his hacks and speaking simultaneously. "As many of you know, during your attempted breakout, a couple of you had actually managed to escape. You all may be part of a...faction of hackers, but we know that you all are very loyal to both your cause and your colleagues."
"We are forming a search party for the two who have escaped," Xisuma continued, making Nix's eyes widen with interest. The man then held up his palm, and two images of two people he knew all too well appeared on a holographic display, similar to Lucky's. "Coda and Grey."
Nix saw a few of the byte members beside him have a visible reaction to the real names of their missing colleagues being said. A slight feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach; it would only be a matter of time before they found out what he had done.
At least Coda wasn't there to beat the shit out of him.
Xisuma made a fist, and the holographic display disappeared in a flash of pixels. “We are willing to bring some of you along," The hacker continued, catching Nix's attention. "However, you will be under strict supervision. If you try anything, there will be consequences." The hacker glanced around the crowd one last time. "Anyone who is willing to go, just step up."
At first, everybody was still. Not a single person twitched or moved; all stood their ground. But to Nix’s surprise, he then saw someone step forward from the group of five and approach the hacker.
Synth.
The teen saw confusion arise from the others around him. Angel reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. Her lips moved wildly, too quick for Nix to make anything out.
However, after a short moment, Synth's lips moved for a second, before he gently removed the woman's hand and walked off towards Xisuma. The two men began to converse, but Nix didn't know what the redhead was saying; his back was facing him.
However, Synth’s body language revealed quite a lot. His shoulders were tense, he was standing up straight, his arms were crossed. He was definitely very serious about what he was doing. This wasn't something he was doing on a whim.
And the teen could only come up with one reason why he would be that way.
As far as he knew, Synth barely knew Grey. The way they interacted with one another was very professional, not exactly personal.
But with Coda, on the other hand, the two were practically attached at the hip. The way they interacted gave the obvious hint that they were very close. And the way Synth was acting now implied that he cared about Coda deeply.
And Nix didn't need to know what he was saying to understand that.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!: This fic is rated as PG-14+, so read at your own risk! There’s swearsies, suggestive references, and LOTS of blood and gore! Be aware!
________________________________________________
Lucky
At first, he thought it was all a dream.
Lucky felt himself starting to wake up, his closed eyelids heavy and his head pounding with a massive headache.
“Nggh...”
He let out a tired whine, and lifted his hands to cover his face. He thought it was some nightmare that he had. How the mission started to go horribly wrong, how the man named Xisuma was revealed to be a terrifying hacker, how even Nightingale couldn’t stop him…
At least he was still in the Hive, right?
Lucky figured that he might as well get out of bed; he had to get his equipment started up. So he wiggled out of the covers and rolled onto his other side-
And unexpectedly rolled off the bed and crashed onto the floor with a harsh THUNK.
“GAH!!” The blonde cried out in pain as he landed flat on his back. Not again… He needed to stop doing that. Or just become better coordinated overall. He pressed his hands against the dirty tile to push himself up-
Wait, tile?
He lifted his slightly blurry vision up to meet his immediate surroundings. Even though he couldn't see clearly, he didn't recognize anything. His floor wasn't carpeted, his walls weren't painted grey, and it wasn't supposed to be so bright.
As Lucky got to his feet, he rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. Maybe he was seeing things… But still, nothing changed.
So it wasn't a dream after all.
He was in what appeared to be a hastily thrown together bedroom. It was pretty bare; a bed and a small nightstand were the only pieces of furniture to be seen, both shoved into a corner. It almost appeared as if it were one of the storage rooms in that bunker he and the rest of the byte explored-
A scary realization suddenly fell upon Lucky. He was all alone in that room… and there was no sign of anybody. Sakura, Nix, Grey, Nightingale...
And Jazz. He had to find Jazz.
He scrambled over to the iron door and grabbed the handle. But once he tried to turn it, it didn't budge.
"Oh nononono…" Lucky muttered to himself, and he jiggled the handle harder. It still refused to turn and open the door. “Please open…! Please…!” Maybe it was just stuck… he couldn't have it be locked. He needed to find the others.
He kept trying and trying to turn the handle for what seemed like ages, but no matter how hard he twisted and pulled, the door wouldn't open. Before he knew it, he couldn't even keep his grip anymore, because his hands were shaking and sweating so much. The door was obviously locked… how was he going to get out now?
His mind began to race and panic at the possibilities of where Jazz might have been, or the rest of the team for that matter. But then a thought popped into his head, and he suddenly felt extremely stupid; he could just teleport out of there!
The hacker took a step back from the door, before closing his eyes in order to focus. He concentrated on activating a teleportation hack, waiting for that familiar buzzing in his chest to start…
Only nothing happened.
Lucky opened his eyes, confused. Why wasn't it working? Maybe he was too tired to teleport… perhaps a ghost hack would be easier on him. He could just pass through the door instead of teleporting past it. So he pressed his hands against the cold metal and began to focus again, waiting to feel his body become light as a feather and phase through the iron barrier…
But again, nothing happened. Not even the slightest hint of progress.
A sinking feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach. What happened to his hacks? He didn't feel drained or fatigued; he felt totally normal. They should have been working-
It was the sound of distant voices and footsteps that made him freeze in place.
At first, they were barely noticeable, just as unimportant as the dust floating in the air or the faint dirty footprints scattered around the tile. But once he realized they were there, he couldn't forget that they were present. Although he didn't recognize them, he could tell there two; a man and a woman.
And they were getting closer by the second.
Lucky felt his heart start to pound against his ribcage. What was he going to do?! He was stuck in that little room! He whipped his head around and only saw two things; the nightstand and the bed.
He would have to make do.
He ran over towards the cot and quickly got onto his stomach, before sliding himself underneath as far as he could. For once, he was happy that he was tiny. Now he had a place to hide. Sure, it seemed somewhat childish, but he wasn't given much to work with in the first place.
The voices continued to echo and bounce off the corridor's walls, and Lucky edged himself further under the bed as they got closer. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, panicked thoughts buzzing in his mind. Every single one of his senses was in absolute overdrive as he tried to identify the two people talking.
He almost shrieked when the iron door to his room opened, and he saw two pairs of feet walk in. One person was wearing a pair of striped knee high socks and sneakers, probably the woman. The other, however, was familiar; sleek, almost robotic steel boots, painted a bright shade of yellow.
It was Biffa. The one Jazz had shot down. It had to be him.
"You… sure this is the right room?" The woman asked, obviously confused at how nobody appeared to be in the cell-like chamber.
The man's voice sounded after. "This is the one X said to go to…" His stanced shifted, a soft mechanical whirr sounding as he did so. "He couldn't have escaped, right? The door was locked. And Xisuma took his powers away, like the others."
Lucky shrunk further under the bed, further away from the two W.E.S. operatives. He silently begged that they’d stop looking and just leave. Maybe they would think that he was in a different room. Or that he escaped. Just as long as they were convinced that he wasn’t there.
But what did he mean by ‘Xisuma took his powers away’? He probably meant his hacks, and the grim realization of that statement explained why he couldn’t use them, and also hinted to the fact that the rest of the byte could no longer hack either. But how could Xisuma take away their powers? He wasn’t Ecryptos!
A moment of agonizing silence ensued. But then, Lucky saw the woman take a small step towards where he was hiding.
“I...think he’s under the bed, Biffa…” She said.
The blonde's heart stopped at her few words.
"What? You sure?" Biffa questioned.
"I think I see him, yeah…" She assured. "You mind helping me move it?"
“Not at all.”
The cyborg and the woman then stepped towards the bed and bent their knees. To Lucky’s horror, the two managed to lift it up with ease and lean it against the other wall. Now he was completely exposed.
“S-stay away…!” The blonde scooted back into a corner, pressing himself against the wall. He was even more horrified when he saw what Cleo looked like. Her freckled skin was greenish blue and sickly, her eyes were faded. There were even exposed bits of bones and rotting flesh, especially along her lower torso; half of her ribcage could be seen, partially hidden by the ragged crop top she wore. It was as if she had crawled out of the ground, out of the grave…
Like she was a zombie.
So many questions ran through his head, but he didn't have the chance to process the situation before he was pulled up off the floor by the woman and her colleague. “W-wait, please!” He begged. “P-please, no!!”
“C’mon, blondie,” Cleo replied, leading him out the door and down the long hallway with Biffa. “You and your friends got a lot of explaining to do.” A slight bit of venom dripped from the words of her last sentence.
Lucky tried his hardest to keep up with the people escorting him. He didn’t want to be dragged around like a ragdoll the entire time. But he couldn’t help but trip over his feet every now and then, only to be pulled back up by Biffa and Cleo. It wasn’t long before he felt his breathing quicken as he stumbled and scrambled around. Not another panic attack, not here-
He had to distance himself. Find a safe place inside his head. Something to focus on and escape into the depths of his mind. His blue gaze flickered to Cleo for a moment, before it went back to the floor. Thinking about how she looked like an undead creature sounded good enough.
She was obviously not a full on zombie, like the ones that crawled out from the darkness of caves or the ones that spawned in the dead of night. She was definitely sentient. The only way he could think of her looking like that was that her code must have been altered at some point in her life.
As far as his knowledge stretched, people were either born with their code abnormal, or were involved in some sort of event that changed it, whether accidental or intentional. The former was the most common way, for altering a living being’s code was more than risky; it was potentially lethal. Most who had their code altered wouldn’t even survive such a change, and even if they did, it was said to be an excruciatingly painful experience, physically, mentally, and emotionally. They never made it out alive without some sort of permanent trauma or physical change.
Thankfully for him (and pretty much everyone in the Shadowbyte Army), he was born with altered code, altered enough to where he could learn how to change the code around him. Ecryptos wasn’t willing to put anyone, especially the children taken into his care and guidance, through something as horrific as having their code altered and tweaked. If a potential recruit’s code wasn’t viable, then they would be released for their cooperation. It was a win-win for everyone!
So if his logic and knowledge was correct, Lucky could presume that Cleo could also be a hacker. The knowledge of Xisuma being a powerful hacker was scary enough; if she could also alter code, who knows what she would do.
The trio turned into another hallway, and new voices could be heard. Some were recognizable, others were completely new. Soon Lucky and the two others flanking him passed by a massive window that peered into a large room, and he felt his stomach twist and churn as he looked inside. Several people were sprawled out on beds, badly beaten and covered in bandages. There was Doc, who had his broken arm in a sling, False, who had a massive ice pack on her head, and several others. An older, bearded man in a plain white lab coat could be seen darting around, tending to the many injured.
But one person immediately caught Lucky's attention. In one of the beds, there was someone covered almost head to toe in gauze, to cover extensive and brutal injuries. Slight patches of ruby red scales could be seen through the bandages, stained with green blood. Creeper blood. He knew he recognized him… Python? Python. Python was his name, right?
Just the mere sight of what state the creeper was in made him feel the urge to barf where he stood. Half of his head was wrapped in the white gauze, with one of his eyes seemingly bleeding underneath. One of his arms was in a makeshift cast and sling. And... oh gosh, his leg was missing-
Lucky lost sight of the red creeper as soon as he gained it. But it wasn't like he could get his image out of his mind easily. It was all he could focus on as he continued to be escorted down the hall. How he barely even looked alive, how much trauma he had received from the battle. Maybe it was from the R.O.S.A. explosion? He could only mentally argue and debate with himself for what the cause was.
He didn’t know how far Cleo and Biffa had taken him. The constant twisting and turning through the countless halls made his head spin. However, before he knew it, they had arrived in one final stretch of hallway, where several figures stood, all of them men.
Two of the men he didn't recognize. One of them was a man with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, a pair of sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Another was a taller blonde who obviously had altered code, due to his eyes being nothing but pools of dark crimson. And...
Xisuma. Xisuma stood in the hallway, arms crossed and stance strong, chatting with the two men. Lucky’s blood went cold at the mere sight of him. What was he going to do? Was he going to hurt him?!
All of a sudden, the nearby door burst open, and a man with unruly brown hair and a cybernetic eye stumbled out, clutching his nose and cursing out loud. Lucky soon recognized him as another one of the potential threats that he identified before leaving the Hive. Iskall85.
“God damnit, ow!” Iskall cursed out. Once he took away his hand from his face, Lucky saw that his nose was crooked and gushing blood. Immediately, he became concerned, more for his own safety than Iskall’s health.
The man with crimson eyes, on the other hand, definitely showed concern for the brunette, and he rushed over to help him stay on his feet. “Woah, Iskall, what happened?!” He asked.
Iskall leaned against the wall and spat out blood, spraying crimson droplets onto the grey tile. "She headbutted me and broke my damn nose!" He growled, glaring back at the door where he came from.
A muffled female voice sounded from inside the room. Coda's voice. "That's cuz ya fuckin' deserved it, asshole!"
In an odd way, Lucky hearing somebody he knew was comforting. Even if he thought she was absolutely terrifying, he was more than happy that she was on his side.
But as quickly as he saw Iskall exiting the room, the brunette and the red-eyed blonde reentered, and came back out a moment later with their arms wrapped around Coda’s. Her wrists were restrained with green translucent cuffs, similar to the ones Lucky could make. No, exactly like the ones he could make. The only difference was the color.
“Aw, ya didn’t send the cute one back in to get me?~” She whined, sticking out her bottom lip. Her lips then formed into a flirtatious grin as her dark eyes locked on one of the people in the hallway; the brunette man with the red shirt and the sunglasses. “Yo! Red delicious!”
The man didn’t say anything at first, but the moment Coda finished speaking, he glanced down at his shirt and realized that she was talking to him. His face flared up bright red, and he began to visibly sweat. “Wh...wha…?” He struggled to make any full sentences, let alone words as he tugged on his shirt collar.
The creeper fell silent at his reaction, but soon her eyes filled with shining mischief. “Oh ho ho, so you’re a blushy one, huh?” Her sharp-toothed grin grew wider, so wide at it almost seemed too big to fit on her face. “This is gonna be fun!~”
Iskall’s mouth bent into a harsh frown, his bloodstained teeth gritted. “Oh no you don’t!” He then began to pull her down the hallway, the blonde next to him doing the same. “C’mon, you’re coming with us!”
Coda’s smile disappeared, and her entire demeanor changed in an instant. As if it was all a facade to hide what was really going on inside her head. She locked her obsidian gaze on Lucky as the two men started to roughly drag her down the hall. “Don’t give in, techie!” She called out, struggling against the green cuffs around her wrists. “Don’t give in! Keep your fuckin’ mouth shut, gottit?!”
Lucky felt like a deer in the headlights. He was frozen in place, his feet glued to the floor. What did Coda mean by ‘don’t give in’...?!
Before he could mentally come up with an answer, Xisuma then spoke up. “Cleo, Biffa, you know the drill. Come on.” He then stepped through the entrance to the room, and Cleo and Biffa dragged Lucky inside with them.
Lucky's eyes darted around the room. Like his own 'bedroom', it appeared to be arranged in a hurry. A pair of dusty folding chairs and a table were the only pieces of any sort of furniture in the small space. A small splatter of blood stained the tile floor, slightly smeared from a footprint. He could easily presume who that was from.
"Sit down," Xisuma said, leading the timid blonde to one of the chairs. He followed the command instantly, shakily taking a seat, and felt somewhat relieved as the powerful hacker began to walk away towards his two W.E.S. coworkers. But it soon transformed back into fear as he heard Cleo speak again.
“Aren’t you going to restrain him? With the cuff things you can make?” She questioned, gesturing to a now even more terrified Lucky.
Xisuma shook his head. “He hasn’t been violent, Cleo. And even if he was, I honestly doubt he could harm anyone.”
Biffa tapped his chin. “You have a fair point...” He started, before glancing over at the blonde. “But are you sure that’s a smart decision, X? It could all be an act.”
X gave a nod to the cyborg. “Yes, I’m sure. And if something happens, we’ll be right outside.”
The zombie shifted her dull green gaze to his terrified figure. She pursed her lips, as if trying to form an argument against her colleague’s decision. But before long, she let out a small sigh. “Alright then... if you say so.”
“Great.“ Xisuma said, and he gestured to the door. “Cub will be here in a few minutes, so we can leave him as he is. C’mon.” He then opened the door again, letting Cleo and Biffa walk through, and keeping his gaze on Lucky the whole time, only breaking it as he walked out of the room himself.
Lucky remained glued to the chair, even as Xisuma closed the door behind him and his two companions. He was too scared to make a single move. His frightened eyes darted around the now empty room, mind racing at what was going to happen to him. Where was Jazz when he needed him?!
A shiver went up his spine, and he wrapped his arms around himself as his teeth chattered. The room was freezing! Even if he was underground, the hallway was much warmer than in there. But the temperature was the least of his worries. He was more concerned with what was going to happen to him, and even more so with where his brother was. He had already seen Coda… there had to be others, right?
After what felt like long hours of dreadful silence, so much so that his ears rang, the iron door opened with a long creak. Lucky jumped and snapped his head towards the entrance, and he was greeted with a taller man in a white lab coat. It was the man he had seen before, treating the many wounded. A large folder packed with papers, a pen, and a clipboard were gripped in his hands. It was obvious that he hadn’t slept in awhile, given the distinct, dark bags hanging under his bloodshot eyes. It made sense; from what Lucky had briefly seen, he was the only one able to give medical treatment to serious wounds and injuries.
The man rubbed his eyes as he shut the door behind him. “Hey,” He said, walking towards the chair opposite of Lucky and sitting down. “I have a few questions for you, alright?”
The blonde remained silent. He avoided meeting the other’s gaze, and couldn’t help but fidget in his seat. So this was an interrogation of some sort? Or something like it?
“I’m Cub,” The man said calmly, introducing himself and catching Lucky off guard. “What’s your name?”
Lucky kept quiet. Why was this guy being so… nice? And relaxed? Sure, he seemed tired, but he was pretty certain that it wouldn’t mean that he would give him leeway. Did he have some other ideas in store to get intel out of him? Something much more violent?!
“Are you gonna say anything?” Cub asked. “You’ve gotta have a name, huh?”
The blonde hung his head low. He felt so ashamed that he was giving in so quickly… but the thought of having information forced out of him was overwhelmingly scary. However, a thought then formed in his mind… perhaps he didn’t have to tell the whole story. “...y...you can call me Profit.” He mumbled out his code name.
“Profit?”
“Y-yes…”
Cub gave a nod and clicked his pen. “Alright, Profit…” He made a note on his piece of paper, before opening the file. "Now, first off, I want you to tell me who each of these people are. Names, descriptions, everything." He then pulled out a stack of papers and laid them out on the table. They were photographs of most of his teammates.
Lucky shifted his eyes to the collection of pictures. Most of them weren’t the best quality; he could assume that Cub (or somebody else) had thrown them all together in a hurry. Either that, or the ones being photographed weren’t exactly cooperative. He could immediately assume the latter with the picture of Coda; she was flipping off the camera and sneering at the photographer behind it.
He didn't want to give his colleagues identities away. He couldn't! He needed to be quiet...
But what would be the cost of his decision? Him staying in that room for hours on end? The operatives of W.E.S. threatening him? Or having the possibility of them using even harsher tactics to get him to talk?!
Too scared to keep his mouth shut, Lucky shamefully began to identify his colleagues in the photos. But like he did with himself, he only used their code names; he at least had a bit of dignity to spare.
Cub seemingly grew more and more intrigued with every word the blonde said. He scribbled illegible notes on his clipboard, almost filling up the entire first piece of paper once the hacker was done pointing out who was who.
It grew even worse when Cub asked Lucky to tell him what had actually happened. Their plans, their motive; he wanted to know it all, down to the last detail. And Lucky gave it to him, his feeling of shame growing with each word he spat out and every minute that passed.
But even somebody as timid as Lucky had some sliver of courage in him.
“Alright…” Cub wrote down a few more notes. At this point, he had filled another two sheets of paper. “And what happened after you, Zero, and Nightingale retreated?”
“W...we tried to get reinforcements…” Lucky whimpered. “But Nightingale couldn’t contact-"
He forced himself to stop talking. He said too much. He was willing to give up his team members' names, but he couldn't let Cub know about any others! Not to mention the whole Army!
“Contact who?” The older man asked. “Did you guys try to get in touch with reinforcements?”
Lucky stayed quiet.
“Profit… who did you try and contact?” Cub repeated.
Lucky bit the inside of his cheek, before letting out a sigh of defeat. “...the Shadowbyte Army…” He muttered.
Cub raised an eyebrow at his response. “The… Shadowbyte Army?”
Lucky nodded. “Y-yes… W-well, more of our main base of operations...”
The man scribbled down more on the paper. “So there are more of you? More hackers?”
“Mhmm…”
“How many?”
The blonde shrugged. “I-I don't know…” He admitted, glancing away. He could never keep track of the amount of people that would call him for assistance or information while they were out on missions.
"Is there anything else you can tell me? About this 'Army'?"
Lucky remained silent. He had to keep his mouth shut. For him and for the others. He had already given away so much information… why did he have to be such a-
“Well… I guess that’s it for us, then.”
Wait, what?
Cub then gathered up the photos on the table and put them back in his folder before standing. “You’ve actually been a good deal of help.” To Lucky’s surprise, he gave a small smile. “Thank you for that, Profit.”
The blonde was stunned at how the interrogation went. He wasn’t even threatened. All he did was tell the events of what happened and identify his colleagues… Except for one. The most important one of them all. At least to him, anyway.
Jazz.
Why wouldn’t the W.E.S. operatives have his photograph? Or even mention him at all? They had brought up everyone else...
Lucky needed an answer, and fast. He had to know where his brother was. So just as he saw Cub grasp the door handle, he sprang up from his seat. “W-wait!”
The man stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Hmm?” His fingers slid off the metal knob, a hint of curiosity to his voice. “You have something else to say?”
Lucky nodded. “Y-yeah… er, well, more of a question,” He began, before clearing his throat to speak. "Wh...where's Riff…?"
A look of confusion spread across his interrogator's face. “Riff...?”
“Y-yeah, Riff...” Lucky repeated. “H-he… he’s tall, has blue hair, blue eyes.” After a moment of quiet, he gulped. “L...looks like me, too…?”
Cub’s silence continued for a second as his brows furrowed. But it was quickly replaced with an expression of shock and… something else. Sadness? Guilt? Remorse? The blonde couldn’t tell.
“Uhh…” The grey-bearded man sounded uneasy as he opened the folder once again. “We did have one from your group…” He cleared his throat. “Die from his injuries in the battle. We tried to save him, but… we got there too late. We haven’t been able to make a positive identification, but from the description you gave, so far it sounds like him.”
Lucky felt his heart drop at the man’s words. One from his group? Killed? He had to be lying, right? Of course he was lying… they were the enemy. That’s what they did. They lied.
“And if you want to, there’s a picture of him in the file.” Cub’s next words made the blonde’s heart stop completely. He wasn’t lying. “You sound like you knew him well enough to make an official identification.”
Lucky’s mind raced. Should he agree? Was it really Jazz? There was a chance it wasn’t; maybe he was still alive. Maybe they just didn’t get his picture yet. The thought of not knowing was unbearable. So, taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Sh-show me.”
The older man nodded in return, not saying a word. He pinched the edge of a paper in his folder and carefully slid it out. But then he hesitated, his tired eyes glanced back between the blonde and the photo. A solemn expression passed over his face for just a moment, before he held out the picture for the blonde to take.
The moment Lucky grasped the photograph and flipped it over, he felt is stomach twist as he saw a sickly, still man laid out on a table, everything from the shoulders down covered with a sheet. He had never seen a dead body before, but it was somewhat like what he expected. His lips were blue, his skin was drained of any color or life, his hair was caked in dried blood from the disturbingly deep gash on his head.
But what stood out to him were his eyes. They were dead eyes. What used to be a bright shade of blue was now dull and clouded over with decay. And they were wide open, staring right back at him. Almost as if they knew exactly who he was...
It was Jazz. Dead.
“Profit…?” Cub asked, though his words didn’t stick into Lucky’s mind. “Is it Riff?”
The blonde’s response was, at first, nothing. He was too overwhelmed by shock to say anything. Involuntary squeaks sounded from his throat once he actually wanted to try and speak.
The older man’s mouth bent into a frown, and he gave a small nod back. “I’ll...put this away now,” He took the photograph of Jazz out of Lucky’s hands and brought it back into his folder. “If… if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think he suffered for long…”
Lucky barely heard him speak. His mind buzzed with panic, and felt his hands and feet and lips go numb as his breathing got faster. His stomach churned at the image now burned into his brain. Jazz's lifeless body, all pale and beaten and cold… He wanted to throw up.
“Profit…?”
Lucky didn’t care about Cub’s words. Eyes wide and now on the verge of tears, he tried to wobble his way over to the chair, only to immediately collapse to the floor the moment he took a step, and fully started to break down. He felt like there was a massive anvil being pressed against his chest and he couldn’t get it off. He couldn’t breathe-
“Profit, Profit, hey!”
The blonde suddenly felt two hands on his shoulders. Cub’s. But he didn’t want him touching him. He didn’t even want to be in the same room as him. The very moment Cub came in contact with him, an overwhelming feeling of terror filled his chest, and he felt like he had no other way to release it except to scream at the top of his lungs.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!!” He shoved the man’s arms away as hard as he could. “YOU LET MY BROTHER DIE! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!” Hot tears streamed down his cheeks and blurred his vision, but he didn’t care. He just wanted it to be over. To have this all be a dream. Jazz was his whole world… he couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t.
All Lucky heard from Cub was silence. Of course he wasn’t saying anything… he didn’t care about him one bit. He only cared about his other colleagues. The ones that didn’t have to raise and protect a younger brother from the age of four. The ones that weren't the guardian of the only family they had left.
The blonde soon felt that sudden panic in him transform into an immense sadness, and he looked back up at the man in the lab coat. “W-why didn’t you save him…?” He cried. “Why…?!”
Cub’s eyes were wide, and he was back on his feet. His mouth open and closed as he tried to speak, but nothing understandable could be heard. After what seemed like several long moments, he sputtered out a few words. “He...he was your brother…?”
Lucky couldn't respond. He was too busy sobbing and panicking on the floor. Jazz was dead. Dead. And he was never coming back.
...and Cub could have done something to prevent that.
The blonde was overwhelmed with all of the emotions going through him. Sorrow, terror, sadness… and now, to his own surprise, rage. A fiery hatred for Cub sparked and spread like wildfire through his body. He lifted his teary gaze to him, burning red anger shining in his blue eyes.
The man in the lab coat still had a shocked expression on his face. "P...Profit…" He began. "I-"
"SHUT UP!"
Lucky didn't want to hear him speak. He hated Cub. Rage was the only thing consuming his mind. And he had to let it out, to let it escape. So he then screamed and charged at Cub, his weak fists flying.
It was his fault that Jazz was dead. All his fault. If he had waited to heal his friends and went to treat Jazz sooner, he would have lived!
He didn't stop screaming in anger and trying to punch Cub, even as he heard the door burst open behind him and felt two sets of arms roughly grab him and drag him out of the makeshift interrogation room. He could see who had taken a hold of him out of the corners of his eyes; the brunette man that Coda had flirted with, and the red-eyed blonde that had dragged her away with the help of Iskall.
"LET ME GO!!" Lucky screeched and squirmed, eyes locked on a slightly battered and bruised Cub as he came out into the hallway, a worried Xisuma by his side. “You’re a MURDERER!” He cried out at Cub, catching his attention. “A COWARD!”
He kept screaming and struggling as he was dragged further away, long after he lost sight of the source of his anger. Before he knew it, he was shoved into another room and locked inside; his bedroom. Right where his day of hell started.
Lucky scrambled to his feet and pounded on the iron door with all his might. "LET ME OUT!!" He peered through the small window, and saw the two men that threw him back in his room. The blonde was set on walking away, but to Lucky's surprise, the brunette kept looking back and stopping.
The man with crimson eyes soon rested a hand on his colleague's shoulder. “Ren, just leave him… he needs his space.” He said, gesturing his head in the direction of where they came from.
The brunette opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. After a moment, he let out an audible sigh, glanced back at Lucky, and nodded, before following his friend back down the hallway.
Lucky's eyes widened. "Wait, HEY!" He cried out, starting to bang on the door again. "COME BACK HERE!" But soon his arms grew weary, and before he knew it, he had to lean his back against the door to rest.
He stood there, trying to catch his breath and absorb what had happened in the span of those five or so minutes. He had gotten thrown back in his dusty cell, he had managed to land a few punches on Cub, he gave away information to the enemy-
And Jazz was dead. Jazz was dead. Dead… And now Lucky was all alone.
With that last thought, Lucky finally broke. Before he knew it, he had slid down to the floor, buried his face in his knees, and began to sob. Loud, angry, distraught sobs. "Wh-why is this happening…?" He cried to himself and sniffed. "Why is this happening…?!"
The only answer he got was a grim silence. And it was all he needed to know that this wasn’t a nightmare he could wake up from.
~~~~~
Lucky lost track of how many hours had passed since he heard of Jazz’s death. His eyes were red, sore, and puffy from the countless tears he had shed. He had managed to get up off the floor and crawl into his bed some time before, but he hadn't moved since then.
Not that he wanted to, anyway.
In that time, he had tried distancing himself from his surroundings. He tried to imagine a happy place, somewhere he felt safe. He felt safe back at the Hive, back in his bunker, back with Jazz. Maybe he could just imagine he was just away on a trip-
It was the sound of his door opening that brought him back to reality. Who was it now…?
“Uhh… hey.”
Lucky recognized the familiar voice. It was one of the men that had to drag him back to his cell. What was his name again? Ren? Ren would have to do. He didn’t have to will to speak up and ask, let alone turn himself over to face him.
After a moment of silence, Ren cleared his throat. “I...I brought you some food. In case you were hungry.” He offered.
Lucky refused to move from his bed. Even though he was hungry, he didn’t have an appetite. The image of his dead brother’s face was the only thing consuming his thoughts.
A long moment of tense silence passed before Ren spoke again. “I’ll… just leave this here, then.” The sound of his footsteps approached the distraught blonde, followed by a couple soft clinks as something was set on the nightstand. The smell of warm food wafted into his nose, and another series of footfalls could be heard moving away from him soon afterwards.
Just as Lucky thought Ren was going to leave, however, his voice sounded one more time. “And… I’m sorry.” He said, catching him slightly off guard. “About your brother…”
The blonde didn't respond, but he couldn't help but shift slightly and wrap the blanket further around himself. He was sorry? Why? Ren didn't even know him… he didn't have to give condolences. Was this just another way to try and get inside his head?
He figured that his silence was enough to drive the man away, for a long creak and a soft click could be heard. Ren had locked his door and left. Finally, he could grieve in peace…
But the thought of somebody, especially an enemy, seemingly concerned for him after such a tragedy made Lucky feel extremely conflicted. He made him something to eat, gave his apologies… why would he do that?
After awhile, the smell of the food became too tempting to pass up, and he rolled onto his other side to see what was there. On the nightstand was a tray of food; a baked potato, bread, and a glass of water. Nothing fancy, but hey, it was something.
He threw his blankets off of him and sat up, his feet hanging over the edge of the bed. It was at that moment that he noticed he wasn’t given a fork or a knife; just a spoon. It made sense though. He figured that nobody wanted him getting a hold of anything sharp.
Setting the tray on his lap, he scooped up some of the potatoes with his spoon and ate it. It was actually pretty tasty, despite it now being somewhat cold. But he didn’t really care. Before he knew it, he had scarfed down the whole entire meal, and realized just how long it had been since he had eaten anything.
Lucky grasped the edges of the empty tray and set it back on his nightstand, before climbing back under the covers of his bed. Maybe now that he ate something, he could finally fall asleep...
But every time he shut his eyes, he saw Jazz’s lifeless eyes staring right back at him.
~~~~~
“Profit? You awake?”
Lucky was still for a moment. He hadn’t been able to doze off in the entire time he had been alone. All he could do was stare at the wall, his thoughts being his only company. It's not that he wasn't tired; it was that he was too tired to fall asleep.
He rolled over onto his other side, craning his neck to the door. Ren was there, standing in the doorframe. At least it wasn't Cub or Xisuma.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ren said, and he gave a small smile as he saw the empty tray on the nightstand. “Was the food alright?”
Lucky nodded, staying under his covers. “Mhmm…”
“Good, good.” Ren sounded genuinely pleased at his response. He cleared his throat. “Erm, anyway, Xisuma wants me to take you somewhere. He said that you might need it… given what happened.”
The blonde was silent for a moment. Did he have to move? His bed was so warm… But if Xisuma wanted him to do something, he figured he might as well listen. What did he have to lose?
Sighing, he lifted the covers off of him and slid off the bed. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and dragging his feet across the floor.
Ren frowned a bit. “You get any sleep?”
Lucky answered with his silence.
"I'll… take that as a no, then."
The brunette let the Lucky out of his room and closed the door, before slowly leading him down the winding hallways. Maybe it was more to not get too far ahead; Lucky was practically half asleep, too drained to be up and about.
The young soldier didn't bother to pay attention to what Ren was saying or where he was taking him. Part of him felt numb, but the other half somehow kept on going. It was a strange feeling… he didn't like it. At all.
But he accepted the fact that this would be his new reality. One where he was no longer the person he used to be.
He barely noticed when Ren had finally stopped in front of a door. Several familiar muffled voices could be heard chattering away inside. And when Ren opened the door to let him in, he saw who it was...
It was the rest of the byte. If it could even be called that anymore, anyway. It could only officially be called a byte if there were eight members… now there were only seven, including him. But the sight of familiar faces was somewhat comforting.
"I'll be right outside, alright?" Ren said to Lucky.
Lucky gave a small nod back. The brunette smiled, before exiting the room and locking the door, leaving Lucky facing his six other teammates. He took a breath, and made his way to them. At least it wasn’t any of the other W.E.S. members.
The first one to speak was Sakura. She looked up at him, a deep sadness in her dark brown eyes. "We heard what happened to Jazz…" She said solemnly. "I'm so, so sorry, Lucky." Before he could respond, however, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
Lucky was surprised at the sudden embrace, but after a moment he took to process it, he accepted it nonetheless. He tightly wrapped his arms around Sakura, realizing how much he needed a hug. He had the desperate urge and want to cry, but no tears fell from his eyes. Maybe he had run out…
The blonde then felt a hand on his shoulder as he let go of the brunette. “Lucky.”
It was Nightingale. But this time, he was too overwhelmed by sadness to be nervous. He glanced up at his superior, eyes dull. “Yes ma’am…?”
“You know that Jazz was very proud of you, no?”
Lucky blinked. “Y...yeah…”
To his surprise, an almost unnoticeable smile started to tug at the corners of her lips, but soon straightened out. “Good,” She said. “Know that none of this is your fault, understand? It could have been any one of us that died.”
The blonde hung his head a bit. “I know, ma’am…” He knew it wasn’t his fault. His blame was set on Cub and his colleagues. They refused to help him until they were done with treating their wounded. And yet they were playing the innocent card. Maybe Nightingale and the others didn’t know what he knew…
“Your brother was a very brave man,” The woman continued. “One that I’m honored to have fought alongside.”
“Glorious in life, eternal in death.” Synth spoke up, stating the Shadowbyte Army’s famous motto.
Nightingale nodded. “Exactly. He lived as a glorious warrior, and now he will be remembered for many years to come.”
Many of the others gave some sort of a response in agreement, whether it be a simple nod or a word. But even if they were small, Lucky felt his heart lift. Jazz would be remembered fondly… as a fine soldier and brother.
Nightingale then removed her hand from his shoulder before speaking again. “But now we need to stay strong. More than ever. For Jazz’s sake.”
Lucky, as much as he knew he already failed that order, nodded anyway. "Yes ma'am…" He shifted his stance a bit, and winced as he felt something inside his boot rub against his ankle. Did he get a rock stuck in there somehow? He moved his foot again. The object was smooth, cold, and hard. Like metal.
Metal.
A sudden memory popped into his mind, and his eyes went wide. He still had the gun he had grabbed tucked inside his boot. How?
“Lucky?” Synth’s voice pierced his conscience, making him flinch a bit. “You in there?”
Lucky was still in shock at what he had discovered. “U-uhh…” As nervous as he was with everyone’s eyes now trained on him, he knew he had to say something. So he went down on one knee, stuck his hand down his boot, and, like a magician with a rabbit and a hat, yanked his pistol out. “I...I-I still have my gun…”
Coda’s eyes widened as he stood up. “Wait techie, you got a gun too? When the fuck did ya grab that?!”
Lucky shrunk back a bit at Coda’s voice loudening. “B-before we left the Hive… I didn’t use it though…” His voice trailed off as he realized one small but important detail she had dropped into her sentence. “...w-what do you mean by ‘you too’?”
The creeper grinned. “They might’ve taken away our hacks and main weapons…” She then knelt onto one knee and pulled up the hem of her pant leg. Tucked inside her boot was a sleek black and red pistol, just like Lucky’s. “But those fuckers didn’t bother to pat us down.”
Sakura’s eyes lit up with hope. “Does that mean we have a chance of going home?” She asked, leaning closer to the green-scaled woman.
“You know it, baby!” Coda answered confidently. "We're home free-"
Synth then spoke, cutting off his friend. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Coda," He said, lowering his voice slightly. "It won't work if you're screaming from the rooftops about it. And we need to make a plan."
“He’s right,” Grey replied. Nix nodded alongside him. “We need to be smart about this. This might be our only shot out of here.”
“Agreed.” Nightingale added. “We have one chance. There’s no margin for error.”
As the conversation buzzed around him, Lucky retreated back into his mind and gazed at the pistol in his hands. A chance at escape? It was wholeheartedly possible. He could go home to Fort Oblivion, go back to his bunker, with all of his high tech gear and a legitimate excuse to not leave-
But this time, he wouldn't have an older brother to turn to when he needed it.
Dark thoughts clouded Lucky's mind. Why should he bother? What was the point of leaving now? Jazz was his whole entire world, the only family he ever had, and now he was dead…
Maybe he could escape in a different way. Escape that hellhole and reunite with his brother. Put that gun against his head and fire it for the first and last time in his life.
Was it cowardly? Yes. Desperate? Most definitely. Stupid? Yup. But did he care?
