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The dimly lit room faintly echoed with the soft and low hum of machinery, an occasional sound from the facility of Rocket Corporations. The company, which heavily admired and exhausted the work of machinery never fated to not hear the sound of machinery buzz for at least a second. The dark gray facility housed dull colors, matching their whole "tech and machinery" fit from the interior. The exterior of the facility wasn't much different, a dull gray color scheme that adorned most of the facility.In his office, seated behind a vastly wide desk, Victim glared at the monitors of the computer that sat in front of him. He watched intently at the conflict that took place outside, as his mercenary, Shady, fought against the stick figures that were outside his facility. It wasn't really much of a fight, no offense to the kids. He nearly laughed when he watched Shady practically sweep all four of the kids that were outside the facility with ease, barely even lifting a finger. Victim had always found interest in the way that Shady fought, with grace in his fluid movements. It felt more like he was watching a ballet recital than an actual fight.To be fair, one of the main reasons he can even fight is because of the toolbar that Victim had given him. Without majority of the tech they used, it wouldn't be as easy for them to just waltz out there and fight people. Shady was trained in martial arts, though, tech or not he'd probably be winning any fight he found himself in.But that's not the reason he had been looking at the cameras.He had been quite interested in a particular stick figure of the bunch, the Yellow one. After spotting him while scanning Chosen's memories, Victim's interest was piqued. Sure, the kid lacked the skill to physically fight as two of his workers easily subdued him by just pinning his arms behind his back, but he could do so much more.The original goal in Victim's mind was clear—defeat Alan Becker and collect his revenge for what he had done to him years ago. That was the original plan, though. Not only could this Yellow kid summon Alan Becker with seeming ease, but there was so more to him. And he's a kid, kids are easy to break, right?Unfortunately, Chosen didn't do all that well for him. Maybe that's because the guy is way more resilient, and for obvious reasons. It's not that hard to break him, either, but it'd take more time. Why not start your practice on an innocent kid who has almost nothing to do with you? Great idea, Victim.Victim's thoughts had quicky come to a halt, a knock on the door slightly startling the short gray hollow head. A slightly feminine voice was on the other side of the door, speaking in a soft but humorless tone. "Boss, may I enter?" The figure asked, with Victim quickly matching the voice to his mercenary, Primal. Victim sighed as he sat up in his chair and put his hands on his desk, staring determined at the wall. He shot a glance at the monitor to watch Shady continue to fight for a moment, before responding. "You may enter." He said, watching the door to his office creak open with an ear-piercing shriek.Primal stepped into the room, her facial expression similar to Victim's with a determined but expressionless look. Primal was a dull red, a contrast to Victim's gray. Something about Primal always shook Victim to his core, he didn't know if it was her towering figure or how unearthly she looked. She was similar to a sketch you'd see in a cave, the outlines of her body uneven and moved around as if she were actually a sketch. Victim always tried to put that aside, though, and recognize Primal as just one of his mercenaries. She's not a monster, just a little scary."What's the update, boss?" She asked, taking a step into the room. As she shut the door to the office behind her, she looked at Victim for conformation she could actually walk fully into the room. Victim nodded, and Primal approached seemingly eyeing the monitor he too was looking at. "So far so good." He said, not completely paying attention to his mercenary. His eyes were still half planted on his monitor, watching the fight commence. Primal quickly caught on that he had been distracted, as she leaned over his desk to look at the monitor for herself. "Oh, damn." She said as she watched Shady slam a blue stick figure into the side of a truck.Victim smiled, leaning back in his chair as if he was getting comfy. "Now, my dear Primal, I believe Shady has acquired our target." He said, without taking as much as a second look at his monitor. It didn't matter, though, as Shady had indeed won the fight. Primal looked at the monitor with a grimace before inhaling and straightening herself out, looking at Victim now. Victim stopped leaning back and sat up to meet Primal's gaze, waiting for her to say something. "Why do you need the kid, anyway?" She asked, looking at Victim with a somewhat sad look.She clearly saw the same thing Victim saw, yeah. He summoned Alan Becker, whoop-de-doo. But going through all this trouble for a kid who has little to offer other than, so far, his tech skills. Victim let out a tsk, shaking his head. "Primal, this kid summoned Alan Becker with barely any effort. Well, a lot of effort, but what looks like barely any effort. Do you not see the skill that takes?" He asked, looking at Primal as if he expected her to agree with him. Primal only offered him a disappointed look, but immediately switched up as to not get herself in trouble. "I see." She said, her tone lacking any emotion."Aside from Alan Becker," Victim began, making Primal perk up. "I think there's more in the kid than just his skills in technology." He said, looking at Primal with a sadistic grin, as if he had just made the biggest mastermind scheme known to man. Primal raised her eyebrow, looking at him. "That is?" She asked, once again leaning over his desk. She took a glance at the monitor, only to notice that Agent had left with the kid and left the three other stick figures that accompanied him unconscious on the front lawn. She sighed before directing her attention back to Victim.She knew Victim wasn't one for being direct, and hardly ever made his plans clear to his own workers. He only specified what he wanted to those who he found important to what he wanted to do, aside from that he told almost no one anything. Asking for conformation was also a big risk, as Victim hates demands, or questions in this case. It's either know it, or don't. No one knew if he truly respected his workers or not, much less his mercenaries.Primal raised an eyebrow, urging Victim to continue. "The kid's got skills, Primal. Not just within the limits of.. uh.." He paused for a second, trying to find the right words. "Summoning Alan Becker's?" He said, his tone obviously expressing that he doubted himself. Primal sighed, holding back the urge to slap herself in the face. "Sir, I don't think I understa-" "Then let me elaborate," Victim said, cutting her off. "I think I see.. use in this kid, Primal. He's experienced in fighting, and he's experienced at dabbling with technology. That's our whole company, Primal. If I could just make him work for us, Becker wouldn't stand a chance. And it would be so fun to watch the sadness in his friend's eyes as I turn him to our side."Primal let out a scoff, half expecting Victim to snap at her. He was surprisingly calm, so she continued. "Well, sir, I could argue about the 'experienced in fighting'. And you really think you could make him work for you? I'm sure he'd resist you, it's not that easy, sir." She said, tapping her nails on the desk. Victim smiled as if he had planned for her to say that, once again leaning back in his chair in a cocky manner. "Well, we could work on his fighting. And resistance is meant to be broken. I can mend all of his flaws into our strengths, and he's close to Becker. It's a perfect opportunity, Primal."Primal looked at him quizzically. "Then why not do it with anyone else?" She asked, turning behind her cautiously as if she didn't want someone to hear what she was saying. "That orange kid, he has powers, and they're extremely good. Did you see the foota-" "The footage, yes." Victim said, rolling his eyes. "I can mend him too, but you keep missing the key detail. He can't summon Becker, I don't need him." Primal sighed. "But you're looking for power, yes? He could make you so much more powerful, just 'cause a kid is good at tech doesn't mean you need only him."Victim sat up again now, stretching out his back as he stood up. "Are you going to continue to doubt me, or are you going to play it smart and get out of my office? I know what I'm doing, now if you have no further comments please leave." He said, pointing to the door as if he was telling a dog to leave the room. Primal looked somewhat offended, before scoffing and turning around. "Yes, sir." She said, turning around and pulling the door open. She turned to face him before she stepped out, giving him a glare. "I'd be careful with your cockiness if I were you." She said, immediately sprinting out of the office as she expected what came next. Victim slammed his fist on his desk, now staring at a closed door. "OUT!" He yelled, to absolutely no one now.He took a breath and sat back down, looking at the burned picture of a cursor on his office floor. He laughed, looking at it and picking it up. "Just you wait, Becker."
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Primal let out a long, sharp exhale as she exited the elevator that led out of Victim's office and into the hallways. She always liked to stop and look around at the workers doing whatever they do, like an army of ants. Except if ants were more efficient and had more of a brain. However, she didn't feel like it today. Victim constantly pissed her off, sure, but sometimes more than others. This was one of those times, Primal felt like she could argue for hours on how stupid Victim's ideas are, but hey, if you don't want to die brutally then don't question the boss.That was one thing Victim always made clear: never question him. He's publicly asked his mercenaries to execute other workers before, the moment they show even a sliver of doubt, it's all over for them. The same rule applies to his mercenaries, and anyone that works under him for that matter. It was one of his many rules, it's either Victim or death. There's no in between.Since the job included mostly standing, or entirely standing, you had almost no opportunity to sit down. If you sat down on a chair, the floor, a desk, whatever, you would probably either be executed or tortured. His methods were harsh, and unfortunately harsh methods don't make up for their workers IQ. Their stupidity was an all time high, and Primal hadn't seen anything like it. Hell, she could go to a kindergarten right now and start asking the toddlers what the first 100 digits of pi were, and they'd be able to answer all of them. The workers they have would be able to get through a singular digit, three. They teach you 3.14, not 3!As she walked through the dimly lit corridors of Rocket Corporations, she noticed a small gray blur out of the corner of her eye approach her. She turned to look, and noticed a worker eagerly run up to her, practically bouncing on his heels. Primal sighed, turning to look at the eager kid with a smile. Behind the smile was her pure hatred for the kid, but she never expressed how much their frequent conversations pissed her off. Apparently it pissed Victim off, too, as he specifically made a rule to never talk during work hours, but nobody really followed. And Primal wasn't one to tattle, so he never learned cases where workers were talking either amongst themselves or to mercenaries. The only time when he really knew is when he caught them talking himself.Primal tapped her foot, impatiently waiting for the kid to start the conversation. The workers were usually either fresh into high school, out of high school, or in college. She couldn't fully hate them, since they were kids. They just wanted to get a job and support their families since rent is high around places like this. Much like her co-worker, Ballista, who was similarly fresh out of high school. The only difference that lay between him and the workers were, well, the fact that Ballista was a HEAVILY pixelated stick figure, while the workers were all the same. Same gray color, same dull white hat that was an excuse for their "uniform".Eventually after a good minute of awkward staring, the worker finally engaged in conversation. "Miss Primal! Oh man, you won't believe what happened today. I mean it was absolutely crazy, you wouldn't believe it!" Primal wanted to slap herself, this kid was so fucking annoying, but she always reminded herself that the guy was just a kid so she let out a sigh and returned a warm smile that weakly painted across her face. "Oh? What happened this time?" She said, kneeling down to get to the workers height. Primal had to admit, she was a pretty tall girl. She was around two feet taller than most of the kids there, as she reached a good 7'11 feet tall.The worker rubbed his head in a daze, letting out a small chuckle. "Oh, well.. the machinery in the west wing malfunctioned again, and it took us hooouuurs to fix it! It turns out that the main data chip in the machinery had fried." He'd snort after laughing, shaking his head as he looked down to the floor. "Can you believe it?" He said, now standing up straight and looking at Primal. Primal could feel her eye twitch, as she clapped her hands together, bringing them to her face as she tried to not let out a groan. "Gee, kid. That's uh.. nuts." She said, playfully patting the kids shoulder."I know right! Can't believe it myself." The worker said, hands on his hips. Primal finally let a groan escape her lips as she stood up, preparing to start walking again. She looked down to the worker who now looked up at her towering figure with an innocent smile. "Kid, you gotta be careful. You know what Victim would do if-" "If he found out that the machine malfunctioned, right. But who cares what he thinks? It was a mistake y'know," He leaned in as if he was going to whisper into Primal's ear, but wasn't exactly tall enough to do so, as he ended up awkwardly leaning into Primal's shoulder. "Not to embarrass you, but you make mistakes all the time from what I've seen."Primal took that to offense. Not only were they annoying, but now they just pissed her off on purpose. She scoffed, turning away from him. "We aren't supposed to be talking anyway, correct?" She asked, an intimidating tone poisoning her voice. The kid sighed, swaying on his legs. "Right, sorry miss." Primal began to walk, glancing back to the kid as she pointed to his station. "Get back to work, before Victim sees you at least." She said, now continuing her walk down the hallway without giving the kid a second glance. She could hear him walk back to his station as the pitter patter of his feet got quieter, assuring Primal he had gone back, she had gotten the thought of the kid pissing her off out of her head.It's a temporary mood Primal, you're fine.She continued to walk through the hallway back to the main control room, keeping her eyes on the floor as to purposefully avoid any other interaction with the workers at their stations. She shouldn't have to, because of the rule that apparently nobody knows, but it once again didn't matter any way. Nobody would rat someone out to Victim for breaking a rule.Before she could even enter the main control room, she instantly heard yelling and the sound of laughter. Great start, seems like the 'okay' to approach. As she entered the room, the first thing she saw was Hazard's face being pressed into the floor as Ballista stood over him, foot on the back of his head as he laughed maniacally. Hazard let out muffled screams beneath him, but Primal knew that he wasn't actually in pain. This was just what they did, why? Because they're fucking morons. What made Primal disappointed was the worker that stood in front of them, a terrified look on his face."I-I just wanted to hand you the files you a-as-asked for!" The worker wailed in despair, almost falling to his knees as he violently shook the papers around in his hands. This is why you don't do your bullshit in front of random workers. Ballista stood on top of Hazard as if he was a hero, getting into some epic pose after defeating a villain. "Aha! That will teach you to never defy me!" Ballista said, cockiness poisoning his voice as he stood there with determination. Hazard let out a grumble and slowly stood up, his movements looking like if stop motion animation was 2d.Being bigger, and initially stronger than Ballista he eventually knocks him off, sending him flying with the screech of a demented gremlin. Ballista shook his head rapidly as he fell, sitting up and pointing at Hazard in anger. "Hey! You were supposed to let me win this time!" He said, standing up and charging at Hazard. Hazard simply blocked him with his hand, holding him back by the head while Ballista desperately threw himself at him in anger. Hazard merely sighed, continuing to hold Ballista back while looking at the gray staff member, holding out his free hand. "Thanks, I'll just take 'em." He said, leaving his hand open.The worker, still sobbing, handed him the files they needed before running off sobbing. Hazard began to mockingly scold Ballista when the worker ran off, glaring at him like a disappointed father. "Why would you do that? In front of the kids too, why I never-" Primal walked over, cutting them off. "What the hell are you two doing?" She asked, causing the both of them to awkwardly turn towards her. Ballista let out an awkward chuckle, walking over to Primal and patting her on the back. Despite the fact he actually had to stand on his toes to do that, since he was incredibly short. "Heyy.. didn't know you mastered the art of teleportation." He said with a giggle.Primal shot her eyes up to Hazard, who was desperately trying not to laugh. She sighed, moving out of Ballista's touch as she resisted the urge to kick him. "I thought Victim told you guys to stop rough housing?" She said, crossing her arms disappointingly. Ballista sighed, looking down awkwardly. "Yeah.. but he's not here right now, you know?" He said, moving his eyes up to look at Primal, not his head. Hazard walked up to meet in between the two, involving himself in the conversation. "Aside from that, you're alive, which is surprising." He said, eyeing her up and down.Primal scoffed, grinning at him. "Yeah, what about it?" She asked, walking around to get a bit closer to the control panel. "Well, did the boss tell you anything?" Hazard asked, following her over to the control panel as he always kept her eyes in his line of sight. Primal wasn't returning the look though, mostly looking at Chosen who had been left tied up to a chair inside the dull white box in front of them. He had passed out from the pain, and the memory device was still on his head. They hadn't bothered to take it off, and probably wouldn't bother for a while.She removed her gaze from Chosen before looking back to Hazard. "He's being fucking irrational. I'm pretty sure he wants the kid to join us, because he's good at tech or something." She said, rolling her eyes at the thought. Hazard raised an eyebrow, turning away before pacing around the room out of boredom. "Good for him, I guess." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Do you not see the issue or something?" Primal asked, following him and playfully nudging him on the shoulder. "Or are you just playing dumb with me?"Hazard shrugged again. "I mean, you know why we need him.. besides,, you know the rule. Nobody defies the boss." Primal made a mouth motion with her hand, mocking him. "Yeah, so the boss could say the most dumb shit on this earth and you'd agree with him because of a rule?" She asked him, anger spewing into her tone. She wasn't actually MAD at him, nor did she want to be, but her tone made it sound like otherwise. "No, because I don't want to be executed. Big difference really." Hazard said with a smile, Ballista kind of standing in the back watching the two argue."So you won't defy the boss when it comes to his opinions, but you'll rough house, which is against one of his rules?" She asked, eyebrow raised. Hazard kind of paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, basically." He said, no hesitation in his voice. "The fuck type of logic is that?"Before anything else could be said, they heard a collection of footsteps nearby. Half of Primal's brain though that Victim decided to stop by, but the other half of her brain told her otherwise. Eventually, she was quickly proven wrong as Shady walked into the room, spinning his stick from his toolbar around in his hand. Sweat pooled down his forehead as he walked into the room, panting. "Well, that was easy, but I'm tired." Hazard scoffed, looking at him. "What, because you had to deal with the 'rainbow warriors'? Where even is the kid boss asked for anyway?"Shady returned the scoff, his expression showing annoyance. "Well, first of all, they fought back. Second of all, he's.. uh.." He turned around to look at the workers that were following him. They smiled as they finally entered the room, dragging an unconscious Yellow stick figure behind them. The kid was somewhat beaten up, a bruise on the side of his face near his eye, and the glasses on his face were somewhat askew. Primal raised an eyebrow while looking at him. "I thought the boss asked for the kid to arrive unharmed? That looks like harmed to me."Shady sighed, looking over at a certain worker who looked a bit sheepish. "Well, SOMEONE punched him in the face and knocked him out while he was struggling." He said, glaring daggers at the worker. "Heh, sorry." The worker said, tipping his hat down as he nodded his head toward the mercenaries. Shady sighed again, pointing towards an empty cell. The two workers dragging the body had carried the yellow figure over to the cell, and threw him in rather harshly. Ballista flinched as his body fell to the floor with a loud 'thud', his glasses falling off his face and onto the ground with a crack.They closed and locked the door on him, the workers turning and exiting the main control room. The rest of the mercenaries remained in the room, now ignoring the kid they just threw into a cell. Shady was the first to restart the conversation. "So, what did the boss tell you?" He asked, leaning back on the control panel, making sure he absolutely did not press anything. He occasionally, as well, shot glances to Chosen who remained limp in the chair he was tied to."Boss wants to make the Yellow kid work for him. It's a fucking stupid idea." Primal spat, Hazard raising his hand to pause the conversation. "But we all know that the boss knows best. It's better if we just let him do what he needs to do." Primal scoffed at that. "I think you forget that we've got a kid who has incredible powers, unlike any we've seen." She said, pointing towards a cell towards the back of the room, which made everyone look over to where she was pointing. She was undoubtedly pointing towards Second's cell, but you couldn't see him as they had closed the walls down around his cell due to a security threat."But he can't control the powers. They could be unpredictable." Hazard said, crossing his arms with the joints he somehow had. "You could say that with the Yellow kid! He's unpredictable, he could betray us at any moment. Besides, boss was talking about 'mending his weaknesses into our strengths'. Just do that with the orange kid!" She spat angrily, taking a step closer towards Hazard. Ballista bit his lip anxiously, while Shady just left an eyebrow raised as he watched the altercation.Shady was undoubtedly the most professional out of the three mercenaries, but Primal always loved to say she was the most professional. On top of being the most professional, Shady was also the most loyal. He made in known nearly every time the boss was mentioned in a conversation, and would sometimes just bring the boss up in a conversation just to start talking about him. It pissed everyone off, except Shady himself of course. Just like how you can't go against Victim, you can't go against Shady, which is probably because they have the same exact ideas all the time but alright.Shady looked over to Primal, eyebrow raised. "Are you telling me you're doubting the boss? Will I have to tell him about this?" He said, the bitter taste of arrogance filling the air as he spoke. Primal snarled, holding the urge to put the guy in a chokehold, or just let the comment go. She settled for the latter of the two options and shook her head. "No, Shady, you will not have to tell him." He only smirked, now removing his gaze from Primal and turning it to Ballista. "Good." He said, the same arrogant tone still dripping off of his tounge."Ballista? You've been oddly quiet over there. Got a comment?" Shady asked, suspiciously. Ballista shook his head furiously, as well as shaking his heads in a 'no' manner. "Nah man. I got nothing." He said, trying to dismiss the attention that was on him. Shady scowled, and before they knew it a fifth voice was in the room. "Great to know we're all on the same page,"The four mercenaries snapped their heads toward the direction of the voice, only to notice Victim standing there, hands behind his back as he gazed at the white box in front of them. "Would hate to know if one of you disagreed with me. You all know the rule, and I don't need to repeat it." He said, passing Shady as he glared daggers at him. "And I hope I won't have to."Shady nodded furiously. "Sir, yes sir. I can assure you that we've got everything under control," He paused, looking at the three other mercenaries that stood behind him before turning back to Victim. "And I can assure you I've got them under control." He said, a comment that made Primal want to punch him and tear his vital organs out. He's really still no better than the rest of them. "Good." Victim commented, walking out of the room."When the yellow kid wakes up, bring him to the interrogation room. I trust you with this."The moment Victim left the room, Shady decided to follow him. Primal eyed him suspiciously. "And where are you going?" She asked, taking a step closer. "Following him, assuming he's not going to his office." He said, now following Victim out of the room. The rest of the mercenaries followed suit, not really giving it much of a second thought.As they exited the room, a moment of silence fell over the control room, before a wheeze broke the silence. Yellow sat up in his cell, clutching the bruise on his face."Orange?"
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▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Yellow felt himself sway around in the truck, as he desperately dug his nails into the bottom of the van to prevent himself from hitting the side of the van, creating noise. He had to admit, the worker driving the truck sucked at it.That could just be because by the looks of it, he's fresh out of high school and probably just received his license.Yellow cringed every time the van swayed, as he dug his nails even harder into the van, creating the sound of nails on metal. Surprisingly, the driver didn't hear it. Maybe because it looked like he was wearing air pods, but oh well.His friends were in a similar situation, as he occasionally glanced at his friends as he attempted to not be flung into a wall himself. Green seemed the most content, as he was barely moving, however he'd occasionally sway a little each time the van rocked.Red was doing the same thing Yellow was, digging his limbs into the bottom of the van as to not be sent flying out of the van and out onto the road. Yellow also took note that the guy didn't even bother to close the back of the van, even though there were boxes back there with them. But that was the least of his problems.It was Blue that Yellow worried about. For starters, he didn't really make an attempt to stop himself from swaying or moving in the van for that matter. He kept crashing into the back of the seats, which made Yellow cringe as he feared the driver of the van would eventually feel him slam into the seats.He also looked absolutely fucking terrified for that matter. He was basically curled in on himself as he lay in the fetal position, still being flung around in the back of the dull white van. Yellow debated with himself on questioning Blue about it, but for the most part remained silent.The only thing he could really think about was the whereabouts of Orange. And I guess the other guy. Yellow wasn't sure what those four guys who took off with the pair were doing, but they scared the fuck out of Yellow.Aside from looking like they had just stepped out of military training, the majority of them looked tall. Unfortunately for Yellow, being tall was not his specialty. He stopped growing at around 5'5, making him rather short.The only thing Yellow was fascinated in was their tech. Sure, he didn't see much of what happened but those hoverbikes that they rode immediately peaked his interest. Yellow could already make one similar to that if he wanted to, but why spend time trying to build one yourself when you can just steal?His thoughts didn't last long as he noticed Blue was still curled up in the fetal position, a nervous and shaky wreck. He had hit the wall of the van approximately seven different times while Yellow was thinking, that's seven too many.He didn't want to make too much noise while talking to him, so Yellow tapped his shoulder to make him sit up. Blue did, as he now clung to the bottom of the van like it was his lifeline. Blue looked at him expectingly, as if Yellow had just wasted his day with that tap.'Are you okay?' Yellow signed to him in ASL, mouthing the words as to make it easier for Blue to understand. Yellow did attempt to teach the gang ASL, but really none of them found interest except for Orange who picked up a few phrases from him. Aside from that, they knew nothing else.Blue, however, was apparently the world's biggest ignoramus, as he merely stared at Yellow with a dumbfounded look. Despite the fact that Yellow had taken the extra step to mouth the words out, apparently Blue didn't know how to lipread either. Great.Yellow let out a quiet exhale, now speaking in a whisper. "Are you okay?" He asked, quiet enough to be heard by everyone in the back of the van, but not by the driver himself.Yellow wasn't too worried about him anymore though, as you could still hear his music from the back of the van. He knew that was going to be fun to listen to for the rest of the ride.Blue gave Yellow a sad smile, as if he was trying to fake a positive emotion. It wasn't fooling anyone, though, as Yellow could see out of his peripheral as Red and Green themselves cringed at his smile. "What do you mean? Never better." He said, fear poisoning his tone of voice.Red spoke up now, as he too spoke in a whisper. Yellow figured to let Red comfort him, as Red was more of the therapist. The only thing Yellow could give was advice on what atoms are, or how to solve the hardest math equation. He wasn't no therapist."That smile says otherwise," Red said, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Just tell us, what's up?" He asked as he unfolded his arms, now expressing a sympathetic look as he glanced over to Blue.Blue too exhaled now, fidgeting with his fingers anxiously. "Well, I want to save Orange.." He began, gaze remaining fixated on his fingers as he spoke. Red let out a quiet giggle. "You and I both." He said, scooting closer to Blue to pat him on the shoulder as he attempted to not get flung around by the movement of the van.Blue paused before talking again, hesitantly pausing, as well as stopping the fidgeting he was doing. He awkwardly glanced at Yellow before talking again. "But, what if we.. you know, can't?" He asked, an uneasiness in his voice. "Like, what if we get caught or.. or Orange is dead, or-"He was cut off by Red, who spoke in a soothing tone. "Blue, I can assure you, nothing is going to happen. I mean, at least I wouldn't let anything happen." He said, trying to sound tough. Red knew he wasn't actually that tough, but he liked to think that he would never let anything seriously bad happen to his friends.Blue was evidently still anxious, shooting glances away from Red and passing them to either Green or Yellow. His eyes were glossy, his voice cracking anxiously as he spoke again. "But what if we fail?"Red rubs circles into Blue's back reassuringly, as he continued to speak in a low tone as he looked at him. "I- We would never let anything happen," He says, looking at Yellow and Green as if he were referring to all of them. "Okay? It'll be fine, I swear."Yellow and Green were more or so awkward in the van, as neither of them were as good as therapy as Red was. Green let the van carry him over to Blue's side of the truck, as he too took Blue into his arms in a hug. "Yeah, we can save Orange with no problem, don't worry." Green said enthusiastically, yet maintaining a quiet voice.Blue passed them a smile, his eyes no longer glossy as he now tapped the tips of his fingers on the bottom of the van. "Right, thanks guys." He said in a soft tone, taking in the warmth of Red and Green next to him. Yellow smiled as his heart warmed itself at the sight. Right, they'd let nothing happen to Orange.They'd let nothing happen to him.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Yellow shot up off the floor, hands desperately shooting around him to feel his surroundings. He felt like he was still half asleep, brain struggling to process his surroundings. "Orange?" He asked, voice shaky and anxious.He realized he had been staring off into space for quite a while, despite being conscious for minutes, or hours.The first thing he noticed was that it was cold. The chilly air stung his skin, leaving him curled up on himself as he shivered, trying not to let his teeth chatter. The floor was also cold, his hands numb from being left flat on the cold surface for so long.The other thing he noticed was that he couldn't see. His hands now shot to his face to feel around, as he quickly realized the main issue. His glasses weren't on his face, leaving his vision a blur. He had assumed it was because he had just woken up.Yellow began to feel around the floor the best he could, even though he couldn't feel his hands that much due to the numbness of them. Eventually after a good minute of feeling, his hands finally hit an object that he connected to be his glasses.He fumbled with them, struggling to get them to rest on his face properly. The moment he finally got his glasses on, he quickly realized the other main issue.He was alone in a cell.With shaking legs, Yellow stood up as he tried to locate where he was. No shit though, he didn't have a clue where he was. Fear had managed to subside, though, as interest took over instead.He was looking at the control panel that was planted in the middle of the room with interest, trying to see what the buttons read. The efforts were useless as he was too far from the control panel.Not to mention his glasses had already somehow been scratched up, which left it hard for Yellow to see whether he did or didn't have his glasses on.Yellow slumped down in his out of pure exhaustion, taking off his glasses and setting them down next to him. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, the feeling of exhaustion once again taking over him. Sure, he just woke up, but when you wake up in a mostly dark room with mostly nothing to do, you have no other feeling.The feeling of exhaustion was soon overtaken by confusion when he heard a raspy wheeze next to him, causing Yellow to shoot up from where he was laying. His hand went to grab his glasses that he left next to him, and he put them on quickly.He turned over to the cause of the noise and immediately realized who was causing it. A black stick figure, who was chained to the back wall of his cell lay, limbs limp as his head dangled off of his neck as if it could detach from his neck at any moment. "Chosen?!" Yellow yelled, looking at him with wide eyes.Right, that was his name. Yellow remembered Chosen's name midsentence, despite the fact that he could hardly remember his name at any event before that.Yellow faintly noticed Chosen move his limp head to look at him, before finally managing the strength to look at him. Yellow let out an audible gasp as he looked at Chosen, eyes wider than they were before.Chosen was bruised, badly. Half of his face had turned a sickly purple, which almost made Yellow gag. There was dried blood on him, and blood was still running down his face from his nose. Adding onto that, there were cuts down his arms, torso, and legs."Oh my science," Yellow squealed, sitting up in his cell as he ran over to the side that was closest to Chosen, hands hovering in the air as if he were trying to telepathically heal him. "What did they do to you?!" Yellow said with concern, still trying to figure out what happened.Chosen suddenly seemed less concerned about himself, as he too sat up. He couldn't sit up far, but Yellow could tell there was a look of concern on his face. "Kid? What are you- how are you.." He stammered for a moment, eyeing Yellow up and down."I got jumped earlier, but it doesn't matter! What happened to you?!" Yellow said, dismissing Chosen's concern over him. Chosen, however, pushed his point. "What do you mean jumped? They'd harm a kid?" Chosen asked, his tone becoming less and less panicked, but there was still a hint of concern.Yellow nodded at him with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess," He said, shrugging. "But what happened to YOU?" Yellow asked again, slamming his fist on the cell bars as he once again focused his attention onto Chosen's wounds. "Are you okay?!"Chosen sighed, he squeezed his eyes shut before responding. "They want Alan, but I refused to tell them. So he decided to fix the issue with torture," Chosen snickered before he spoke again. "Which changed nothing, he still got no intel."Yellow ignored the fact that he didn't know who "he" or "they" were, assuming that it's the people who jumped him earlier.He watched as Yellow took off his glasses, rubbing them with the collar of his shirt before putting them back on as if to confirm what he saw. "But why?! You don't deserve that pain, it's not worth it!" Yellow said, frantically.He only got a laugh out of Chosen, sitting up more as much as the chains would let him. "Well, what would you do then? Just give up information about your best friend's creator?" Yellow sighed at that response. "Touché."The odd calmness of the conversation didn't last long as he walked up as close as the bars of his cell would let him, frantic tone returning to once again poison his voice. "Where's Orange? Is he okay?!" He asked, eyes now darting around the entire room to see if he could at least find him."From what I saw, he's fine," He said, attempting to put his hand up as if he were going to reassure him. Of course, with his hands chained behind him, it didn't offer much movement. "In fact, I think he's in the cell over there." He said, using his head to nod Yellow's gaze to what looked like a closed off cell in the back of the room.Chosen seemed to notice that Yellow was going to attempt to sprint in that direction, making him call out to him to make him stop. "He can't hear you right now, they put his cell on a lockdown of sorts. It's basically sound-proof."Yellow sighed, turning over to Chosen as he nodded. "Okay, well, are YOU going to be okay..?" Yellow asked with a heavy hint of concern in his voice.Chosen chuckled, looking over to Yellow confidently. He painted a cocky smile onto his face as he glanced at Yellow, trying to adjust in his chains. "Kid, it will take more than just some torture than to bring me down." He said, confident and all.He noticed upon a second glance that Yellow's eyes were becoming glossy, tears slowly filling his eyes as he expressed evident fear. He sighed, trying to give him a reassuring look. "Life's tough sometimes, kid. It's not fun, I can guarantee you, but you gotta stay strong."Yellow fidgeted with his fingers as he looked at him, clearly not phased. "Yeah, life's tough, but not like this. You don't get kidnapped in life." He said, biting down on his nail in a state of anxiousness.Chosen sighed, looking at him with a somewhat form of sympathy. "Sorry, kid," He said, looking at him sadly. He tried to give him a smile to make him feel more confident. "But if I can do it, you can do it." He said, giving Yellow a confident stare.Yellow nodded awkwardly, returning a weak smile back to him. "Right, right, thank you." He said.The confidence didn't last long, however, as footsteps were heard outside of the room. He noticed Chosen adjusting himself to see who it was, Yellow too doing the same. He felt himself slowly become more anxious as he looked over to see who it was.A tall, dull red stick figure and a pixelated stick figure walked into the room, the pixelated one seemingly making conversation with the taller one. The taller didn't seem that interested, staring ahead as if she had been on 0 hours of sleep."You see, that's exactly why you should invest in-" The short stick figure paused, looking over at Yellow who stared at the pair in fear. He noticed as the two began to whisper to each other, before making their approach towards Yellow.He shot a glance towards Chosen, who only mouthed 'Good luck' to him, without doing much else.The door to his cell opened, the taller of the mercenaries stepping in. She took out a toolbar of sorts as she grabbed Yellow by the arm, causing him to tense up. He went to adjust his glasses, before realizing that he could no longer move his arms.With his hands cuffed behind him with some type of tool, the tall stick figure grabbed him by the arm, leading him out of the cell. The short pixelated stick figure once again whispered something to the tall red one, before they led him out of the room.This would sure be fun.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Blue woke up on the cold concrete he lay on, rubbing his head in a daze. In the back of his head, he could hear panicked voices, but he didn't pay much mind to them as he attempted to sit up, using his already weak arms to push him up.The moment he got his eyes open, he saw nothing but a blur. Specifically, two red and green blurs in front of him. He blinked, trying to get his eyes to clear up. It took a while of blinking to finally match the figures up with Red and Green, unsurprisingly.Green sat next to him, rubbing his back comfortingly with a petrified look on his face. Red, on the other hand sat in front of Blue on his knees with shaking hands, hovering over his head. He said something to him that Blue couldn't exactly hear.He tried to sit up more, only to be held down by Green. It was then that Blue finally understood what Red was trying to say to him. "No! Stay down, you're hurt!" Red yelled at Blue, shaky hands still hovering over him.Blue laid back down as all of his senses had now come back to him. He could now feel an aching pain in his stomach, and as he took a glance down, he noticed that his entire chest area was purple. That's a bad bruise, isn't it? "H..holy shit...!" Blue managed to say with a raspy voice.He noticed that Red had somehow managed to gather bandages, from where, he had no damn clue. But he wasn't about to argue with the logic of it. "This won't help much, but once we get Orange, Chosen, and Yellow out we can-" "What do you mean by 'Yellow'?"Blue asked in a mix of concern, making Red and Green grimace as they looked at each other trying to determine how they'd explain this to him. Apparently, they had opted to just not explain it to him and move on.Red carefully pulled Blue closer as Blue desperately tried to look around him, to see if Yellow was standing behind Red or something. He felt his heart sink with each passing second that he couldn't find Yellow anywhere on the nearby concrete or grass.He quickly felt a tight squeeze on his chest as Red wrapped the bandage around his chest, covering up the purple that stained his blue skin, for the most part.Blue also realized that Red and Green were in a similar situation, a few bandages plastering their legs or arms. How he didn't notice this before, he didn't know. "I'd recommend not trying to take the bandages off, it might hurt more if they're off. But I'm not a doctor, so I don't know." Red said, wrapping a few more bandages around Blue's arms.Blue merely scoffed when Red finally finished, still trying to look behind him. "Fun talk, but where's Yellow? I need to know now, please," he said with a sense of urgency, eyes becoming glossy with tears that welled up at the bottom of his eyes."Where's Yellow?" He asked, voice breaking now in the middle of his sentence. Red bit his lip seemingly to keep his words in, but Green scooched himself over to get more in front of Blue. "Well, uh.. in there." He said, pointing at the facility in front of them.Red glared at Green as he fidgeted with his headphones anxiously, looking down now to avoid Red's gaze. Blue scoffed, tears now beginning to spill out of his eyes. "Why are we still out here? You're telling me they just left us here and took him in?"Green nodded, continuing to look down. "Yeah, I guess."Blue couldn't stop the tears from absolutely pouring out of his eyes now, a low growl escaping from his mouth as Green and Red flinched at the noise. He stood up in anger, biting back a whimper as the pain from his chest surged, travelling through his body, giving him a headache now.Red looked at him wide-eyed as he stood up, hand out to grab his arm. He stopped, trying not to squeeze the bandages on his arm and make him hurt more. "No! You need to stay down; you could get hurt!"He watched as Blue scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Emotionally, or physically? If you mean emotionally, you've done enough." Blue said, biting back another yelp of pain as he took a few steps toward the facility, nudging Red out of the way.Red looked dumbfounded as he stared at Blue, who continued to walk over to the facility. He jogged over to him, grabbing his arm, causing him to yelp in pain, for real this time. "Sorry, but what have I done to you," He asked, glaring at him now.He pulled him back over to the side of a van, out of view from the facility. "And we can't just go waltzing in, first and only time we tried that, we lost Yellow," he said, gently holding Blue's shoulder with a look of worry in his eyes. "News flash, I'm not losing anyone else, so we're going to strategize this."Red said, with Green joining them behind the van. Green pulled out his phone and began typing something on it. The other two paid no mind to it as Blue looked down awkwardly. "Fine, but what do you suggest we do, then?" He asked Red, who bit his lip anxiously.He backed up a bit, putting a hand on his chin as if he were cartoonishly thinking. "Approximately how many cameras do you think they have outside the facility?" Red asked, glancing at Green to see if he was paying attention.Blue sighed as he said that, rubbing his temples with his hand. "God, you're talking like Yellow now. But I don't know, I'd say one at every entrance and corner." Red nodded, looking back at the facility. "Well I only see two entrances, the main doors and that funny looking garage over there."Green suddenly spoke up, putting his phone down so he could look at the pair in front of him. "The video told me we need preferably a coin, a backdoor entrance, and we need to lockpick the door." He said, confident smile on his face and all.Red raised an eyebrow as he looked at him suspiciously. "You- did you watch a TUTORIAL on how to break into a building?" He asked, his tone sounding like a father about to scold his kid.He only watched Green nod confidently, as he placed his hands on his hips. "Yeah, YouTube has some wild tutorials on there, believe it or not. Do you have a coin?" He said, sticking his hand out with an open palm.Red sighed, looking at Green in annoyance. "Green, no, bad! We are not going to-" "Here you go." Blue said, calmly placing a singular coin into Green's hand. It was a quarter, Green smiled as he held the coin in his hand, closing his palm. "Thanks man."He said, turning around as if he were just going to walk around in front of the building to begin walking to the back of it. Red groaned, grabbing Green's bandaged hand to stop him, making him yelp."Sorry, anyways, if we're actually going to do.. THIS, then maybe sneak around back instead of walking in front of the building itself instead of walking in front of all of the cameras." He said, pointing to a row of bushes that conveniently lined the concrete driveway in front of the facility.Green nodded, walking over to the edge of the truck to make a dash for the bushes. Red nudged him aside, going in front of him so that he could lead the other two. Blue followed suit, however, he stayed behind Green awkwardly.Red then made a dash to the bushes, tumbling into one of them swiftly. The other two didn't know what that meant, but they decided to follow his moves, Green making sure he didn't let go over either the coin or his phone.They didn't exchange conversation once in the bushes, all silently crouching while moving to the side of the facility. After finally making it to the edge of the bushes, stopping for a moment when Red saw a nest of baby birds in one of the bushes, they finally made a dash to the edge of the facility.They let out a similar sigh of relief as they finally made it to the facility, Red continuing to walk as he looked for a back door. Blue glared at him in annoyance, jogging to catch up with him. "That took longer than it should've, if only you didn't get caught up by some baby birds."Red scoffed, rolling his eyes. "They were bullfinches, okay? I had to." "The fuck is a bullfinch?" Blue asked, Green nudging the two on their shoulders to garner their attention. "Hello, yeah I think that there's a door over there," he said, pointing to an odd spot on the wall.Blue and Red squinted to look over at where he was pointing. A door was, very much indeed, over there. Green began to speed walk over there, the other two following suit. "I still have the coin, thankfully, incase we need it." Green said, spinning the coin.Blue grimaced, anxious that Green was going to fumble with the coin and lose it, making them lose a good five minutes looking for a useless coin. Thankfully, he didn't, and they made it to the door with no problems.Green tugged at the handle of the backdoor to the facility, the door not budging. He laughed, stretching his arms out, tight grip still on the coin. "Alright door, prepare to be lockpicked." He said, kneeling down to the lock in the door handle, messing with the coin before attempting to lockpick it.Red took a step back, anxiously fidgeting with the palm of his hand. "Y'know, this seems a bit too easy." He said, taking another wide step back as he grabbed Blue's shoulder to pull him back too.Green snickered, as he finally succeeded in lockpicking the door, he retracted the coin from the door before grabbing the handle. "Red, you need to ease up. Sometimes things are just meant to be easy." He said, pulling the door open.It in fact, was not that easy.Green went wide-eyed, as he was met with some type of electronic gun. He panicked, attempting to close the door. It proved to be futile, as the gun was somehow held up by a type of wire as if it was sentient, making its way outside."Shit!" Red yelled, tugging at Blue's arm to make him follow, Blue quickly taking the hint and scampering off with him, leaving Green petrified in fear for a moment as he stared down the barrel of the gun that was still making its way outside.Green remained petrified, dropping the coin, and his phone, yet he didn't think much about it at first as he remained more focused on the object pressing itself into his skull. He turned to Red and Blue for help, only to notice they weren't behind him anymore.Red and Blue had already bolted, already a quarter way back to the driveway. Green stumbled for a moment, before also sprinting after them. They heard the sound of the gun shooting at them, some type of substance they didn't recognize at first, only for Red to connect it with acid.How the acid wasn't burning up the gun itself, he had no clue, but he knew it was acid the moment he watched some grass disintegrate around him. He sped up, leaving Blue far off behind him.Green eventually caught up with Blue as well, speeding past him at a high speed. Blue gasped as he watched some of the acid being shot at them land right in front of him, nearly causing him to trip. He managed to keep his composure, eventually making it to the driveway with the other two.The seemingly sentient acid-spitting gun hadn't followed them out there, much to their relief.
Green muttered something in disappointment, fumbling with his hands and his pocket for a moment. "Ah damn, I dropped my phone." He said, surprisingly unphased. Probably because he cared more about his life than his phone, but oh well.
Red scoffed, as they continued to sprint off the property. "What did I tell you, too damn easy." He said, only speeding up while running. Green scoffed back at him, however hesitantly taking note of the fact that they were leaving the property. "Hey, YOU left ME behind to die. I don't know why you're getting annoyed at me." The other two didn't seem to want to leave the property, yet they followed him with a sense of unease. They eventually came to a stop after a few minutes of full-on sprinting, eyeing Red in confusion.Green spoke up again, turning his gaze between Red to the direction of the facility. "Are we leaving? Like, leaving the other three to fend for themselves? Red, we can't do that!" Green said, walking in front of red as if pleading with him to turn around.Red sighed, looking at him while panting. "No, we aren't 'just leaving'. We're getting help, because we aren't going to be able to take on the whole damn facility and their workers ourselves."Blue raised an eyebrow at that. "Yeah, sure thing Einstein. Help from who?" He asked, grabbing Red's hand to pull him back to the facility. Red pulled back at his arm, giving Blue a glare. "You know who." He said, leaving that as his only hint.It took Blue and Green a moment, before they eventually realized what he meant. "But.. isn't he dead?""We'll just have to see ourselves." Red said, waving for the pair to follow him.Note to self, train more often so you don't put yourself in bullshit like this.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Yellow hadn't paid any attention to the hallways that he was dragged through, only attempting to drown out the loud, deafening noises of machinery that had been coming from every direction around him. He worked with machinery, but holy shit, was this too much.He had been more or so focused on his two nearby captors, who would whisper something to each other every second. They were lucky the sounds of machines were drowning out their conversation.Aside from his ears, his eyes felt attacked. The entire warehouse was painted in a dull gray, and it was a dark gray too. Yellow hated dark gray, not for any reason, he just didn't like the dull and boring color.It was ironic, the color gray symbolized intelligence and strength, which were two things Yellow could check off on the list of skills. Maybe not strength, but definitely intelligence. Yet he hates the color that symbolizes his own intelligence, awkward.It did also symbolize being sad, indecisive, and unemotional. He'll just focus on the negativity of the color gray for now.He'd be lucky if he saw at least one plant in the long, endless stretching hallways. Not like that helped much either, as the plants were also a color of dull green. It lacked emotion, it hardly even looked like a 'green'.And the workers, dear god the workers. Of course, they're all gray too, with gray hats. This company sure does love gray. Hell, one of his captors is red, but the 'red' looks more like a dull maroon than a red at all. Everything lacked color, and it burned his eyes.He'd find himself taking glances down at his own body and skin just to refresh some ACTUAL color in his eyes, but that hardly helped him at all. As well as the fact that his captors were demanding he keep his head up, harsh.Aside from the goddamn dull atmosphere, he was just scared overall. He had barely woken up, and the moment he finally did recall his senses, the first thing he sees is a beaten up Chosen, which is not something pleasant to wake up to.Even though he had received some form of encouragement from Chosen, it didn't do the trick for him. He still felt terrified, and often caught himself blinking tears out of his eyes just so that he wouldn't bawl in front of his captors.Yellow was never one for crying anyway, as he was the smart one of the bunch. He's supposed to be mature, mature people do not cry. Yet here he was, preparing to curl up on the floor and sob his eyes out, and he hated himself for that.He wasn't good at calming himself down anyways, as the only method he had was to begin thinking of math equations he knew. Which was probably why he was memorizing the first 100 digits of pi right now.One of the captors that had been leading him through the hallway looked young, too, around his age. Obviously, the guy wasn't actually his age, definitely a little older, but Yellow knew he could probably take him on, yet he was just sitting there. Why?He didn't know if it was because there was a second one here, one that looked way older, in her twenties or so, or just because he didn't want to end up in more trouble if he fought back.Yellow didn't have much more time to think, as they finally made it to a series of rooms, and they brought him over to a room labeled "IT 1", the name of the room itself sounded intimidating, making Yellow gulp at the thought of what was in there.They led him into the room, and Yellow immediately felt his wrists loosen up as the tool handcuffs that were on him had seemingly vanished, leaving his wrists free. He rubbed the area of his wrists that had been tied together, the skin somewhat turning red.He looked up to examine the room, only to notice a table with two chairs on either side of it. A lightbulb hung loosely from the ceiling, casting a dim shadow over every other speck of the room that wasn't within a few feet from the bulb.Yellow turned back to his captors, the tall red one specifically, for confirmation before he went all the way in. The red one nodded slowly, keeping a fixed gaze on him. "Sit, please. The boss will speak with you shortly."Before he could react, the two of his captors stepped out of the room and locked the door, leaving Yellow by himself in the dingy room. He awkwardly walked over to the table, pulling out the chair closest to the door and sitting down.He thought that maybe whoever 'the boss' was would forget to lock the door when he entered, allowing Yellow to have a moment to bolt for it. Maybe it would work, if the boss was a fucking moron.Yellow let out a fearful sigh, putting his hands on the table in front of him and tapping it anxiously. He shook his head in an odd way to calm himself down and get negative thoughts out of his head. "Calm down, Yellow.. just do your math equations." He told himself, calmly.He unfortunately did not have time to do his math equations, as he almost instantly heard the sound of a click from the door, as it was swiftly unlocked. He closed his eyes, keeping himself from looking at the door at an attempt to disassociate himself with the stick figure entering.He heard the sound of the door open, footsteps approaching him. They were loud, loud in contrast to the sounds of machinery he had been hearing moments before. They sounded threatening, almost.The footsteps walked over towards him, pausing right next to him. His curiosity got the better of him as he opened his eyes, looking at the figure as he trembled in his chair. He was mildly relieved at what he saw, yet still a bit anxious.A rather short hollow head was standing next to him, glaring at him intently. The hollow head was gray, of course he had to fucking be gray like everything else in this facility was. Because why wouldn't he be gray.The hollow head had a few cuts and scars on him, and Yellow almost mistook him for Chosen if it weren't for his shorter build. The weak lighting didn't help much either, giving the figure a dark shadow over the side of his face.He watched the hollow head move from his side to the opposite end of the table, hesitantly grabbing the chair and pulling it back to sit in it. Yellow quickly sat up in his chair, he didn't know if it was to look more intimidating or what.The hollow head sat down, giving Yellow a sharp glare. Oddly, sitting up made Yellow feel more confident. Either that, or it was those math equations he had been doing almost nonstop up until now.He was surprised when the hollow head immediately swapped out the glare that had been painted on his face, to a somewhat friendly smile. The hollow head leaned forward, placing both his arms on the table in a crisscross manner to hold himself up. "Hello, I assume you are Yellow?" The figure asked him, smile still on his face.Yellow bit back an anxious sigh before attempting a confident nod as his gaze was fixed on him. "Yes, that is me. Who are you, exactly?" Yellow asked, giving the figure a confident but quizzical stare."My name is Victim, but you will not be referring to me by that name from now on, so do not worry. I am pleased to make your acquaintances." The figure said, sticking out a hand for what appeared to be a handshake.Yellow hesitantly stuck out his hand to return the shake, but bit back a yelp as Victim squeezed down on his hand, nails pressing into his knuckles, and the skin on the back of his hand. Victim, as he called himself, however, gently shook his hand while remaining a tight grip before letting go.Yellow pulled back his hand in a flash, glancing at the indents in his hand before hiding it under the table as to not look at it. He noticed Victim's gaze was fixed specifically at his face, making Yellow sweat a bit."Do you happen to have an eye condition? I've noticed you've got glasses." The figure noted, pointing at his face, moving his finger in a circular motion in the general area around his eyes. "Myopia, yes," Yellow replied, as he heard Victim hum in satisfaction."May I ask why I'm here?" Yellow asked, resting his other arm and hand onto the table.Victim did not respond to that question, his obvious forgery of a smile faded away at that moment. He pulled out a clipboard from under the table, spinning the pen that was attached to the clip board. "I will ask you a few questions, and you will answer them, correctly, no matter what. Understood?"Yellow raised an eyebrow at that, but eventually gave a slow nod. Victim let out a tsk, before looking down at the clipboard and writing something. "I expect you to answer me in words, but we can work on that," he said.That comment made Yellow feel suspicious in of itself. What does he mean by 'we can work on that'?"Let's start with something simple, shall we? On a scale of one to ten, how intelligent would you say you are?" Victim asked, tapping the back of the pen on his clipboard expectingly. "Nine." Yellow said confidently, Victim smirked at the response."Same scale, how strong would you say you are physically?" Victim asked as he wrote down Yellow's previous response on his clipboard swiftly. Yellow raised an eyebrow again, now looking a little more anxious than previously. "Uh, four."Victim sighed, writing it down. "If given the proper tools, would you say you could make up for that weakness by using technological weapons?" He asked, eyes never removing themselves from down on the clipboard.Yellow thought about it for a moment, before slowly nodding. "Yeah, I guess." He said, as he could feel his leg begin to anxiously bounce. "Would you say you're good with technology overall?" Victim asked, eyes still on the clipboard. "Yes, I'd say so." Yellow replied confidently.All of his anxiousness had seemingly travelled to his leg, as he released his anxiety by bouncing his leg every so often. The expression on his face was confident now, much like his tone.Victim took his eyes off the clipboard to look at Yellow directly in the face now. "Alright, let me ask you, do you happen to be in relations with Alan Becker?" He asked, glaring at Yellow expectingly. Yellow could feel his eyes widen for a moment as he replied. "Yea..yeah."He watched as a devilish grin grew on Victim's face, staring at him intently now while still writing, yet this time his eyes never returned to the clip board. "How exactly do you know him?" Victim asked, an oddly joyful jingle rung through his voice.Yellow almost slunk back down in the chair as he thought about how to answer this, as he bit his lip anxiously while trying to hold himself up in the chair. "He's like a father to me, I guess. I've known him for a while, and so has Orange, Chosen, and my friends. He didn't make me though."As Yellow said that, he immediately regretted everything he just said. Too much info, Yellow. Too much info. Victim seemed pleased with the answer, writing even more down. "You know how to summon Becker, correct? Do any of your other friends know how to do it?" He asked."No, that would only be me." Yellow replied, returning a suspicious stare to Victim as his leg began to bounce, much harsher than before. Victim smiled at that response once again. "Do you happen to know any weakness that Becker might have?"Yellow's eyes narrowed, thinking about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Not that I am aware of, no." He replied, internally cringing as he watched Victim's smile turn sour as he slowly nodded in an irked manner. "Alright, final question from me,"Yellow wanted to smile at that, he'd barely gone through ten questions, and he already hated the whole idea of this. It had become less of an interrogation and more of an 'about you' quiz. "Who do you work for?" Victim asked, no joking manner in his tone.Victim could evidently see the confusion on Yellow's face as he ask that, as the hand that was under the table slowly rose up as he looked at him quizzically. "Pardon? What do you mean by that?" Yellow asked, eyebrows raised.The question had to be rhetorical, no way he was being serious. "Who do you work for?" Victim asked again, completely serious. Yellow looked down, clearly thinking about the question deeply. "Uh, nobody really. If you're referring to my friends, we don't really work. It's just a friend group, and-"He was quickly cut off by Victim, who swiftly rose from his chair and looked at Yellow with a harsh glare. His face had now been enveloped in shadows as the dingy lightbulb could barely illuminate his face.Yellow flinched, adjusting his glasses as he looked at him. Victim let out a low growl, slamming his fist onto the table. "I told you to respond correctly, that was not a proper answer, Yellow." Victim spat, anger poisoning his tone.Yellow felt like shrinking down in his chair, yet remained sat up to appear somewhat intimidating. "Dude, I don't know what to tell you. I told you the truth, what else do you w-"He was quickly cut off by a fist that directly struck him in the face, his head snapping to the side with his eyes wide. He gave a shaky glance back over to Victim, who had somehow managed to make it to his side of the table.Victim was glaring at him as if he was a father, a very disappointed father. Yellow had been raised by Alan, and Alan was nice but had strict parenting, but never like this. "You do not refer to me as 'dude'. It makes you sound like a bratty teen, you will refer to me as 'sir' or 'boss', as you now work under me. Understood?"Yellow could feel the tears from earlier immediately come back to him as he looked at Victim in terror. He tried to remain confident, though, masking over his terror. "Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"Victim sighed, grabbing something from behind his back that Yellow couldn't quite make out. "I will ask you this one more time, who do you work for?" Victim asked, fist tightly gripped around whatever was behind his back.He flinched back for a moment, however, when Yellow too rose from his chair to glare at Victim. "Nobody, I've told you this! Quit it, I don't know what you want!" He spat, but immediately flinched back when Victim pulled the item out from behind his back.A whip. ╒══════════════════════╕ Yellow barely had enough time to scream, before his words gargled up in his throat as the whip made contact with his skin, a cut immediately forming on his skin as blood began to trickle out.He immediately took a wide step back, trying to use his chair as a barrier as he grabbed it by the back, tossing it at him in a panic while backing himself into a corner. Victim seemed oddly unphased by the throw, his glare only getting sharper on Yellow.Yellow clutched the spot he was bleeding, as he also tried to swat at Victim as if he were a fly to make him go away, all while he was trembling in fear. Victim let out an angry groan at seeing him cower into the corner. "Y'know, we're going to work on this eventually. I will not allow someone with such potential like you go to waste."Victim began to rapidly approach Yellow, as he continued to back himself into the corner as he choked on his words. "No! I don't want to work for you, what's so fucking hard to understand? Leave me al-"He was quickly once again cut off by the whip, the harsh texture of leather searing into his skin that cut him on his arms. He let out a scream, this time it actually managed to escape his throat. "GODDAMN YOU!" He managed to yell, before he felt something tighten around his throat.Victim had grabbed him by the throat, nails piercing into his neck, this time causing him to bleed. Victim dragged him to the floor, pinning Yellow down as he grabbed some type of lasso, dragging Yellow back over to the chair. "You will learn to NEVER disrespect your boss, do you fucking understand you worthless shit?" He said, forcing Yellow down and onto the chair.Yellow began to cough as he tried to respond, the lack of oxygen quickly catching up to him. The force on his neck was finally released, allowing him to take a breath in. He quickly realized he was now tied down to the chair, his eyes going wide.He desperately struggled, Victim tauntingly spinning the whip around in satisfaction before kneeling in front of Yellow. "We'll consider this your first time training, eh? Now, I'll stop when you respond CORRECTLY. Who. Do. You. Work. For?"Yellow remained quiet, not daring to answer the question. He let out another scream as he was once again struck by the whip. He went to stand up, but only began to choke himself on the ropes that had him bound to the chair.The whip cut into him again, except this time Victim aimed directly for Yellow's face. He went almost wide eyed as he thought he heard the sound of something shattering, assuming that his glasses had broken. Thankfully they had merely cracked, yet pieces of glass had fallen out and into who knows where.He couldn't hold back anymore, and eventually began to let tears flood out of his eyes and mix with the blood that was also trickling down his face now. Victim only laughed, lashing at him continuously.The more Victim hit him, the more Yellow cried. Thankfully he was one who silently cried, so it wasn't too embarrassing, yet he still hated himself for crying. He desperately tried to take his mind off of the situation, yet kept getting snapped into reality.'Think, Yellow.. 3.141592-'WHIP.'...6589793'WHIP.'238..'WHIP.It hurt even more each time, Yellow eventually stopped screaming each time Victim hit him, but he would either let out a quiet yelp or begin to cry even more. Victim was somewhat pleased, yet still gave him a harsh glare. "I'm glad you're trying to endure it, but I would still like you to give me a correct answer,"Yellow desperately tried to tune him out, to tune out the pain. It was beginning to get too much for him, and he eventually looked down at his body. Holy shit, was it bad.Every single inch of his body basically had an active cut, blood still trickling down it. The smell of iron burned in Yellow's nose, and a few blows that landed on his head caused blood to trickle down and into his mouth.Yellow tried to struggle, but Victim had adjusted some of the ropes so that they were now digging into the wounds, every time he struggled more pressure was put on it. Victim gave him a glare, grabbing him by the top of his head. "Who do you work for?" ╒══════════════════════╕ He listened to Yellow whimper for a moment, the whip gripped tightly in his hand as he prepared to strike again. "Y..you, sir." He finally managed to squeak out, head dropping as Victim let go."Good. If you can behave properly like you did just now, maybe you'll feel better, hm?" Victim said, placing his whip aside on the table as he began to walk towards the door of the room. "I'll be right back, do not move! Not like you can anyway." Victim said with a giddy tone that made Yellow feel sick.As he watched Victim walk out of the room, he let out an exhausted, garbled sigh. Blood had managed to make it's way into his throat, blood he'd cough out every so often, or he'd choke on it. Either way, it utterly sucked.He felt so weak, so fucking stupid. 'No way you're being such a softie right now, Yellow.' He told himself, the feeling of foolishness immediately taking over his thoughts.Obviously, aside from that, he knew deep down that he wouldn't ever work for Victim, and he tried to keep thinking rationally like that. He just said it to make him stop, probably what he should've done from the start.But can Victim actually break him? What if he eventually snaps and gives in, he can't, he wouldn't, right?Right..?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Victim walked down the hallway, a gleaming smile on his face the whole time.He hadn't expected an interrogation to go so smoothly, even if he had to beat some of the information out of the kid, it went pretty smoothly. Sure, he didn't like physical violence but at least the kid TRIED to suck it up rather than weep the whole time.Even though, sure, it's probably going to take a while to get the kid to fully submit and accept defeat, it can be worked on. Everything can be worked on eventually, and boy does that kid have a lot of things to 'work on'.Aside from the fact that he apparently doesn't know what physical strength is, which could maybe be disproven, he's weak mentally. Victim does not tolerate anyone 'weak'. Maybe he should've just tested his luck on the kid with powers.No, Victim. Don't doubt yourself, you know what you're doing.If he was ever proven wrong by one of his mercenaries out of all people, holy shit he might just kill them. It'd be great for them to be right about something for fucking once, he knew they'd never let him live it down.He's been getting sick of the unprofessional behavior in the facility, anyways. Apparently, his mercenaries, workers included have forgotten there's security cameras in nearly every inch of the facility. It's a tech company, for gods sakes.Absolutely everyone goofs off during work hours, nobody respects the 'no talking during work' rule apparently, much less any other rule. He's been aware that Hazard and Ballista were brothers for a while, but holy shit do they need to cut it out.At this point he's better off killing everyone in that facility himself and just fighting Alan on his own. He has the tech, he doesn't need them. At this point, why not make a whole day just to execute the major group of people who've been goofing off the whole week?Victim hummed in satisfaction at the thought, even though he would obviously need his mercenaries approval to pull anything like that, why not just do it on his own at this point?He walked into the staff room, where all four of the mercenaries were. Whenever he'd do something like an interrogation that didn't require their assistance, they'd simply watch on the monitor in the staff room. Usually, they found it entertaining. Evidently, not this time.All four of them, minus Shady looked petrified in some way. Victim raised an eyebrow as he walked into the room, eyeing them all suspiciously. "Are you four okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," He said, the four of them flinching as if they didn't notice his presence.Victim smirked at them, walking up to the group in an intimidating manner. "You aren't doubting my plan now, are you?" He asked, smirk slowly wiping itself off his face as he spoke. The group shook their heads collectively. "No, boss." They all said.Victim snickered, before pointing at Ballista in a swift manner, biting back a yell of pain as he hyper extends his arm. "You, go bring the kid back to his cell." He demanded, grabbing the pixelated figure by the back of his shirt, tossing him towards the direction of the door. He left without a word.Primal had been fidgeting with her hands for a while, and it was noticeable. Victim glanced at her, eyebrow raised. She immediately recognized that Victim caught onto her and stopped fidgeting as she bit back a sigh.Victim then looked back at the other two mercenaries, who were just awkwardly standing there. Shady and Hazard were the two who usually never got themselves into drama, usually staying low when there was a sense of tension in the room.The only one who usually spoke up after a while was Shady, who'd always flock to his boss' side. Even if Victim was evidently in the wrong on something, he'd take his side no matter what. Victim found it pathetic, but adorable at the same time.He sighed, looking at the two. "You both, leave." He said, demandingly. Hazard immediately looked panicked as he glanced back to Primal who also quickly realized what he was trying to do. Shady nodded, walking out of the room without hesitation.Hazard stood there for a moment, his head snapping between Victim and Primal. "Bu..but boss-" He muttered, now fixating his gaze on him, eyes begging for Victim to let him stay. "Now, Hazard." Victim snapped, pointing towards the door and taking a step closer.His eyes widened, as Hazard now booked it out of the room. Victim giggled, watching him run. Hazard had very stiff movements, looking like the stick figure you'd see outside of bathroom stalls. Victim would always slip in a quick laugh while watching him move his body at all.It wasn't completely stiff, he had joints, sure. But his movements were never animated.Primal gulped, as she took in a breath and tried her best to give Victim a confident gaze. "Sir? What are you-" Victim let out a low growl as he looked at the dull red mercenary. "Do you have a problem? I thought we discussed this already."Victim himself tried his best to remain intimidating, despite the fact that he was much shorter than Primal. It's not like being short has stopped him before, yet he struggles with the whole 'being intimidating' thing when he's barely half her size.Primal simply looked stunned at the question, yet she also had a look that she knew what she had done. "Boss, I would never doubt you. I told you so before, and it's not like I'd have a reason to not believe in your ideas anyway."She bit her lip anxiously as Victim only laughed quietly, glaring at her. "Alright, then why do you look so scared? C'mon, you know I had to get answers out of the kid some way. And besides, he'll realize where he belongs eventually. Right here, with us."The look on Primal's face quickly swapped out from anxious to angry in an instant, and Victim watched the change with a smile. "But the methods you're using, sir. They take time, you'd have to do this to him for months for it to work. We don't have MONTHS, you want Alan now, not fucking next year."Victim grinned as Primal spoke knowingly. "Ah, there she is." He said, taking a step closer. "You always have to go on with the questions, huh? What do you propose I do then? C'mon, if you've got such great ideas." Victim prodded on, taking another threatening step closer.Primal's face remained an angry glare. "You could absolutely just summon Alan now, get the kid to summon him. You don't need just one measly kid to work for you when you know full well that we're capable enough to take him on ourselves."Victim scoffed, grabbing Primal by the collar of her shirt. She let out a gasp as her upper body was tugged down with force, her falling onto her knees. "You think that's it? You think that I just want the kid to help me summon Alan? You don't know what he could be capable of."Primal once again glared back at him, rolling her eyes. "This, again. You've already used that as your argument, sir. You could easily do the same thing with the orange hollow head. You don't know what his powers could do, why must you put so m.."She paused as she felt metal push against the side of her head, looking over with a shaky gaze. She gasped when she noticed a gun pointed into the side of her head.Victim pressed the barrel of it harder into her skin as he spoke. "If you oh so badly want to just use the orange kid, then if I let you interrogate the kid yourself will you fucking shut up?" He said, slowly removing the gun from the side of her head.Primal shakily nodded, glaring at him the whole time. Victim only laughed at that. "If you ever try to get smart and use your fucking 'silly little shape-shifting powers' on me, I will straight up kill you without hesitation. I hold the power here, not you." He spat at her angrily.He watched in satisfaction as Primal growled, going to stand up. "Yes, sir.." She said angrily. Victim knew he could straight up kill her for using a tone like that with him if he wanted to, but it's fun to watch them throw a fit.Victim hit her with the butt of his gun, as she swiftly stood up so that he wouldn't be able to do it twice. "Out, now." He said, pointing towards the door as if she was a dog.Huh, this felt familiar.Primal walked out, muttering swears and threats at him, slamming the door to the staff room behind her. Victim watched the door incase she or anyone else came back in. He let out a loud cackle as she left, the cackle slowly fading into a somewhat depressed sounding sigh."Ugh, it's too early for this."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ballista sighed, trying not to gag as the carried the yellow stick figure back to his cell. Not only was it a struggle, as Ballista was about half his size, the kid was covered with blood, and some of it had stained onto Ballista already.Sure, he had watched what Victim did to the kid, but holy shit was this a lot of blood. On top of that, the kid had begun to spit out blood, causing blood to start oozing out of his mouth like a fountain. It made Ballista sick to his stomach.He felt plain bad for the kid. Ballista was hardly older than the kid, he had about two to three years on him by the looks of it, and this is already the shit he's dealing with in life. Something about doing this to him made it feel way worse than it did with Chosen.It's like Victim said, life is tough and that's the truth. But is life really like this? Where you get tortured for hours on end? No, it cannot be. He would say he'd rather die than live in a world like that, but here he is, kicking around in a world like that.Each step he takes in the hallway feels heavier than the last, carrying the yellow stick figure through each agonizing step. Guilt weighed heavy on his back, yet it wasn't even him who was at fault. It never was.It was always him, not you. Never you.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Ballista blinked sluggishly, sitting up from the couch in the staff room. Apparently, he had managed to fall asleep in there with nobody waking him up. Usually Victim catches them sleeping, but apparently not this time.He had been sleeping in an odd position, so when he sat up on the couch the first thing he felt was a burning pain that fired itself up his arm and tore it's way down his chest. He let out a subtle "ow" as it happened, shaking his arm.He sat up, looking around suspiciously. It was TOO quiet for the environment he worked in. There was no hum of machinery, no muffled noise of people talking, the only thing he could hear was his own breath and the air conditioning.Ballista once again sluggishly blinked with a lazy exhausted tone, which was quickly contradicted as he shot up off of the couch, landing on his feet in a confident position. He glanced around the room, trying to see if anyone was in there with him, if they were trying to be sneaky.Out of anyone, he expected Hazard to be in there with him. Hazard often snuck up on him when Ballista somehow fell asleep at work, waking him up by hitting him in the face or tossing him off the couch, but no. There was no Hazard in sight.Ballista hesitantly creaked the door to the staff room open, peaking into the hallway for anyone that might be walking down. There was a printer in the staff room, and random workers often dropped by to grab some papers they printed.Nobody was walking down the hallways either, not even anyone who's just taking a brisk walk past the staff room. Not even the workers who's only job was to walk around the hallway, firearms in hand, looking for any possible intruders. There was no one.Ballista swung the door open, now taking a full step into the hallway. He let out a hum of confusion, walking down the hallway in search of at least someone. No way nobody woke him up, not anyone out of hundreds of workers, or his brother who's main goal in life is to prank him whenever he gets the chance?He walked down the hallway, walking through the most busy section of the building, only to find no one. Not a single worker, nobody on the security cameras even. What a safety hazard that is.If anyone wanted to break the facility, golly gee is this the time, as there's absolutely no security measures in place right now, like there usually is.Eventually after walking down the hallway for a moment, he heard it. He heard what sounded like Victim's voice say something. Usually, he isn't particularly happy about being in Victim's presence, but now he'd do anything just to see a single stick figure.He rushed down the hallway to where he heard Victim's voice, peering down the corridor before finally linking where the source of the sound came from. It had come from the main control room, which was a rather big room compared to the size of the building.He walked over to the entrance of the room, still mildly annoyed at the fact that the room had no doors. It was just one giant doorframe, a doorframe that lacked the door itself. It's enough to piss anyone off if you actually saw it.As he peered into the main control room, his eyes widened at the sight of almost every single worker crammed into one side of the room, staring at a Shady and Victim, who were standing in the center of the room, both of their arms crossed.Victim himself stood beside Shady as Victim whispered something to him. Ballista swung a glance over to the other side of the room, finally landing his gaze on Primal and Hazard, who stood in military formation off to the side.He walked over there hesitantly, feeling the gaze of all the workers stab at his back as he began to pick up the pace, speed walking over to the pair. He stood next to Hazard, he himself falling into military formation now.They stood like that for a moment, just awkwardly staring at the two figures in the center of the room, Victim continuing to whisper something to Shady. Ballista's pixelated eye twitched, as he itched to know what they were doing, and why everyone was here.Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and tugged Hazard on the shoulder. Hazard's sharp focus faltered for a moment, before he now centered his attention on Ballista. "What up, dude? Where have you been?" He asked, mild concern in his tone.Ballista shrugged, looking down at the floor. "Dunno, I woke up in the staff room then came here looking for you." He said, Hazard's face drooping in disappointment at the explanation. "You're lucky I didn't catch you this time." He said, making Ballista laugh.He stopped laughing for a moment to continue looking at the floor, before asking the question that he desperately itched to know the answer to. "So, uh, what is this? And why?" He asked, finger circulating the area where Shady had set himself up.Hazard's face dropped even more, and Ballista had taken note of Primal's grimace on the other side of Hazard. Ballista felt his stomach sink, feeling concerned by the look both her and Hazard were giving him."Is this a good look or a bad look?" Ballista asked, biting his lip anxiously. Hazard sucked in a breath, fidgeting with his hands as he tried to choose his words carefully. "Well, you know how Mink was caught off task last week..?" Hazard said.Ballista smiled at their name. Mink was one of the workers there, fittingly named after a shade of gray. He and Ballista often held long, frequent conversations from time to time. "Yeah, what about them?" Ballista said with an innocent smile."Well," Hazard began, only to get cut off by the sound of Victim's voice, as he yelled something that wasn't audible to them. Whatever it was, it was harsh and commanding, so they played it safe and stopped talking as they stared at him. "Silence? Good." Victim said, nodding over to Shady.Shady then spoke into his radio, saying something barely audible. Victim walked away from the center of the room, leaning on the doorframe to the room. Ballista cocked his head as he realized there was an electronic gun in Shady's other hand. Why does he need a gun?Eventually, two guards entered the room. Dragging the worker that Hazard and Ballista had just been discussing behind them. Ballista raised an eyebrow, pupils shrinking to a dark speck in his eyes. "Mink..?" He muttered, confused.His heart sank as he felt Hazard put a comforting arm on his shoulder, gently rubbing his back. Ballista's eyes snapped from Hazard to Shady, then to the gun he was holding, then back to the guards. "Wh.. no. He wouldn't.." Ballista sputtered in a daze.Victim stood up, no longer leaning on the doorframe as his booming, commanding voice filled the silence. "I hope that this will be a lesson to all of you, to remind you who's in charge here. You know where you are and who you work for, get your priorities straight." He said, nodding to Shady.Shady aimed his gun at Mink's forehead, Ballista looking at Mink just to look at his reaction. The kid was sobbing, fruitlessly yanking at the two guards who held him in place. He wasn't saying anything legible, just desperate sobs and chokes.Ballista watched on in terror as Shady focused the scope of his gun, getting it just into the perfect position. The kid was sobbing harder, tugging harder, only to no avail. Shady put his finger on the trigger, then..BOOM.The sound of the shot wrang throughout the room, Ballista put his hands to his ears as he looked down. He felt tears pricking the corners of his eyes, as he looked back up to see if the worker, Mink, was still okay. And no, no he was not okay.He had toppled over, the two guards letting go of him the moment the bullet pierced his skull. It went clean through, leaving a bloody hole in the center of his head, oozing in with his gray tinted skin. All of the other workers looked terrified, a few of them crying. Ballista felt like he was going to as well.The kid he had so many conversations with, distracted him from his harsh work, kept him entertained, now lay dead in front of him on the cold floor. Victim had done this so many times, to so many workers. Why wasn't he used to it yet?Victim's commanding voice once again filled the air, the sound of his voice replacing the sound of weeping workers. "I hope this taught you a lesson, you work for me, you're going to be SERIOUS and take this seriously,"He paused, walking over to the center of the room, to the kids dead body. He looked down at his bloody head, the blood now making a puddle on the floor. He kicked Mink's limp head, satisfied. "Unless you want to end up like him."Ballista put all of his focus on Hazard, who was still rubbing his back comfortingly. A distraction, a distraction from whatever type of shitshow this was. He just wanted it to be over, he didn't want to look at this anymore.He was only 17, Victim. 17, and you killed him.Of course this happened, if Ballista actually put more of his time into work instead of chatting with the workers, this wouldn't happen. He wouldn't be fucking dead if it weren't for him.No, Ballista. It's not your fault. It's not, it's not, it's not your fault.Why won't you just believe this, for once?▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬He let out a sigh, dragging the yellow stick figure down the hallways of the facility, and into the main control room. Always that room, he might as well be tied down to that room for how often he has to go back in there.Ballista walks the kid over to his cell, opening the door with a key and entering. He places the kid down gently, for some reason going the extra mile to rest his head on his hands, providing him at least some comfort, even though he's literally bleeding out. "I'm sorry," He muttered, walking out of the cell, closing the door.He closes the door, locking it, turning on his heels to walk out of the main control room. He bites down on his lip anxiously, listening to the silent hum of machinery, before a voice interrupts his thinking. "What's wrong with you?"Ballista stifles a yelp as he pivots, looking back over to the row of cells. Shit, he forgot about Chosen. Of course he was still awake, he figured that Chosen would be out for a little longer. To be fair, he was conscious when he retrieved Yellow from his cell earlier."Yeah sure, because you care so much about how I feel," Ballista said with a laugh, no way that a wanted war criminal is concerned about how he feels. He scoffs, crossing his arms as he looks at Chosen expectingly. "What's it to you?" He asks.Chosen shrugs to the best of his ability, despite the fact his arms are chained behind him. "I mean, talking beats just sitting here, but if you don't want to tell me it's fine." He said, slumping back down in his cell as if he's disassociating.Ballista fights back the urge to take the offer and have a conversation. It's a losing battle, as he eventually gives in and he shoots out his hand as if he were trying to stop Chosen. "Wait, fine. I just need to get this off my chest, that's all." He said defensively.Even though he had made his final decision to actually talk, his insides were screaming at him for this. 'No, Ballista. Not like last time, not like every other time. This time it will be you he kills.' He shuts his mind down, cautiously approaching Chosen's cell.He takes a seat right outside it, as he can't actually enter the cell. He wasn't given the keys for Chosen's cell, due to the fact that one wrong move and Chosen could activate his powers, blasting a hole through the wall, probably causing his escape.Ballista's eyes narrow as Chosen let's out a chuckle at what he said, eyes playfully rolling. "Sure, kid. If you just need to get it off your chest, then lay it on me." He said, sitting back up.Chosen looks at him expectingly, waiting for him to continue on with his problem. He appreciated the fact that Ballista was actually talking to him, instead of flat out ignoring him. Ballista sucked in a breath, before starting. "I'm sorry, it's my fault."Chosen raised an eyebrow, quite confused on what he meant. "I, whoa, hold on. What are you sorry for, kid? What do you mean by that?" He asks, squirming in his restraints for better comfort. "I mean like, it's my fault. My fault that I get workers killed, my fault that this is happening to you and the other two, everything's my fault."Ballista fidgeted with his fingers, avoiding eye contact with Chosen as he looked down at the floor. He resisted the urge to hide himself behind a blind spot of Chosen's cell, a thick bar that would block his view. But he didn't, he sat there, awaiting Chosen's response.Chosen let out a sigh, shaking his head as he tried his best to look at Ballista with soft, comforting eyes. Not ones you'd expect of a war criminal. "Kid, it's not YOUR fault this is happening. First of all, what's going down with Second, Yellow and I are not related to you. It's not your fault."He paused for a moment, processing the first thing he said. "What do you mean 'your fault workers get killed'? As in like by who, and why?" He asked, brows furrowed. Ballista gulped, checking to see if anyone was entering the room. "Victim," He said, sadness poisoning his tone. "If anyone is caught off task, talking, whatever, he'll kill them. No matter the circumstance. And it's always my fault."Chosen's eyes widen for a moment, before he swiftly recollected himself to process what he said. "Gosh, that's harsh," Chosen says, trying to think of how to go about it. He shoots Ballista another reassuring look, however. "You know, you're still a kid, Ballista. I mean sure, hardly over 18, but you're still a kid."He paused to look around at the interior of the facility around them, sucking in a harsh breath as he looked around. "You shouldn't be working in conditions like this at such a young age. Victim just overexerts all of you, it wouldn't be your fault."Ballista bit his lip, trying to keep himself from crying as he thought about it. "Yeah, but," He paused for a moment, thinking back to watching that one worker get shot in the head. "If I wasn't such a chatterbox, nobody would have to die. I tell myself it's fine, it's not. I shouldn't be trying to excuse myself when I'm a cold blooded killer, no different from Victim."Chosen looked at him with sympathy, an odd amount of sympathy for someone who watched him get tortured. "It is different, though." He said, the warm look in his eyes reminding Ballista of the warm back rubs Hazard would give him. "Victim's just heartless, his mind's been clouded by revenge and he's killing out of blind rage. You, on the other hand, feel remorse and regret your actions. You know what you're doing is wrong, that's the difference." He said, reassuringly.Ballista somewhat ignored it, looking down at his hands. "Yeah, but I've watched others die in front of me.. BECAUSE of me.. how's it not my fault?" He asked, sighing. Chosen thought for a moment before responding. "How long have you worked for Victim?" He asked.Ballista thought about it for a moment before responding. "I, personally, have helped his cause for.. three years or so?" He said, Chosen nodding at the response. "You haven't been taught your whole life to NEVER converse with anyone, correct?" Chosen asked.He was right, he hadn't been raised like that. Ballista doesn't remember his parents much, but their techniques were way different from Victim's. "Right.." Ballista said, cautiously.Chosen nodded, feeling his previous thoughts had been validated right there. "Victim forced you into an unusual, cruel, and harsh environment when you weren't used to it. None of this is your fault, kid." He said, the reassuring tone making Ballista feel oddly happy.He paused for a moment, thinking, before finally looking Chosen in the eyes. "Why do you care, though? Aren't you a war criminal? I watched you get tortured and did nothing, don't you hate me?"Chosen laughed at that, his laughs turning into raspy coughs. "Kid, I can't hate you. You weren't the one who did this to me. And about the 'war criminal' thing, I.." He paused for a moment, looking down in sorrow.Dark."I don't know.."Ballista quickly shot up from his seated position as he heard what sounded like Victim approaching, trying to speed walk out of the room. Chosen looked at him, confused, it almost seemed like Ballista forgot the entire conversation they just had.Before Ballista could even exit the room, he was promptly stopped by Shady and Primal, who were both just as surprised as he was. At least it wasn't Victim. "You're still in here?" Shady asked. "How long does it take for you to put a kid in a cell?"Ballista paused for a moment, thinking about how to respond without getting in trouble. "Oh, gee, he was just so heavy I guess." Shady looked at him suspiciously. "A single worker dragged him in here with ease, but okay."Shady sighed, pulling down his glasses, rubbing them with the collar of his shirt before putting them back on and turning away. "When you get the chance, take Second out of containment and bring him to IT 1B."Ballista nodded frantically. "Sir, yes sir! You can count on me!" He said, watching both Shady and Primal retreat back down the hallway, letting out a sigh. He looked towards the orange hollow head's cell, still in lockdown. He could feel Chosen's gaze piercing him right now.This was going to be interesting.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Blue desperately pushed his legs to use even more force, keeping himself up while sprinting after Red and Green. Both of them were decently better runners than him, and even though he had more stamina than the other two, he had begun to fall behind.He let out a few coughs, every few coughs made Green or Red turn their heads in concern, but neither stopped sprinting. It felt more like a race than an actual rescue mission at this point. Blue wheezed as he desperately tried to call out to the two to slow down. "Gu.. guys, fucking slow down.."Green kept on sprinting, and Blue could notice the slightest 'not my problem' expression on his face, making him let out a grumble of annoyance. Red, however, began to slow to a walk, grabbing Green by the arm as he yelped, getting tugged back with force.Red sighed, turning over to Blue, as he glared at him with annoyance. "Come on, it's just one more mile.. or so. Can't you just run the last mile?" He pleaded, motioning towards the road they had been running down. Blue growled at that. "We've been running for an hour or so."He watched as Red huffed, letting out an annoyed groan, leaving Green to step in. "Well, if you can't catch up then that's not my problem!" He stated, confidently, looking far too proud of himself. "Green.." Red muttered, clearly annoyed with him too.Blue hated how Red acted like he was the parent in this situation, he was the second youngest of the group, the youngest being Orange, yet still acted like he was the oldest and most mature. Even though he gets distracted by raccoons in a bush, apparently, he's the best to take over.Red turned motioning for Green to start running again, grabbing Blue by the arm as he ran with him. Blue gasped, as he had barely gotten enough oxygen back into his lungs to start running again. The oxygen he had gained immediately spilled out, all of it going into the first deep exhale Blue took.Red didn't seem to be stopping though, he had hardly broken a sweat, and was only speeding up. Blue wheezed, desperately trying to collect oxygen back into his lungs to keep up with Red, if he fell behind, he'd fall over due to Red's grasp. If he really had more stamina, how were they running longer than he was?Eventually the dense, forest roads swapped out for a more heavily populated setting as they ran into a fork in the road, leading into a populated town. Stick figures of all types were seen walking around, Red giving a subtle nod. "Pretty sure we came from here."He let go of Blue, who was panting as if he had run a marathon five times over. He looked up, sweat beading down his forehead as he tried to snatch a gaze of the town Red was talking about. "Genius, had no clue. Now can we please hurry? I want to save Yellow as soon as possible." He said, speed walking into the town as if he wasn't exhausted.Green raised an eyebrow, looking over to Red as he watched for cars, then walked across the street after Blue. "What's up with him?" He asked, clearly picking up on the fact that Red was pissed off at the comment Blue had made. "No idea."He hadn't really paid much mind to what Green had said, thinking as he was walking across the road. Where had they come from, exactly? He thought about where they last saw the van they rode, next to a grey building and a red building with a clock. Great description.They finally caught up to Blue across the street, who was peering through windows of random stores. Green raised an eyebrow, looking into the store then back at Blue. "What are you doing?" He asked, peering through the fogged glass to see if there was anything in the store."Looking for Dark," Blue said, dead serious as he too continued to look through stores. Red almost let out a laugh, while Green looked at him dumbfounded. "Right, because the guy we got killed is shopping at your local Sephora. We need to go back to the place we last saw him, Blue.""Says who?" Blue said, speed walking now to pick up the pace. "Whatever helps us save Yellow faster." He said nonchalantly, Green glancing at Red's annoyed gaze. "AND Orange and Chosen, right?" He asked him. Blue just nodded, continuing to look through the buildings.Eventually with the tug of the arm, they got Blue to stop looking inside of buildings like a weirdo and stuck to exteriors. Red had told them where they got in the truck so they could backtrack from there. Grey building next to red building with a clock.A lot of red buildings had clocks apparently, as someone would point out a spot, only for there to be a flaw with something else. Either there was a tree in the wrong place, or a building they definitely don't remember next to the other two similar buildings.Maybe this whole plan wouldn't work, but hey, they aren't the plan experts. That's Yellows job, as he always thinks it's best to calculate every scenario, and the best possible thing they could do.Oh, Yellow.After a minute of walking, Green and Blue felt as if there was something missing. They no longer heard a third pair of footsteps with them, causing them to snap their heads around to look behind them. "Oh my Alan, Red, are you stupid?" Blue called out to Red.Red had his face pressed up against the window of a store, pupils dilated, as he bopped up and down while looking inside. Green looking up at the sign to see what store he was admiring, and quickly connected two and two together.A pet store, great.Blue groaned, tugging at Red's arm in a desperate, and far from effective attempt to get him away from the window. "Dude, what are you doing?" Red only bopped up and down more, snapping his head to the side, almost headbutting Blue, causing him to flinch back. "They have baby tortoises, Blue. Tortoises."Green stopped looking at the sign above the store so he could also look in the window. "Ooh, really? Let me look at 'em." He said with a sense of joy. Blue groaned, looking at the pair. "The people in there probably think you're weird, can we hurry this up?"Red merely scoffed, not even looking at him while doing it. "Well, I'm sorry that you hate wildlife, but this is too cute to ignore" he said with excitement in his voice, Blue not faltering as he continued to have a ticked off expression. "I'm SORRY that you hate Yellow and don't want to get a move on with this. I'm worried about him, you know?" Blue said.Red's eyes widened for a moment, before his face unpressed from the glass as he yanked Green's arm, pulling him too down the sidewalk with Blue. "Fine, let's go." He said, no longer sounding as joyful as he just did a few mere moments ago.Green watched him in concern, nearly tumbling over from the unexpected pull on him arm, yet he remained balanced as he simply blinked at Red in confusion, before shaking his hand from Red's grip and walking down the sidewalk with him.He could tell something was bugging him, and he didn't know if it was being forced away from the animals or if it was Blue's attitude. He assumed it was the latter of the two options, shrugging to himself as he just went with it.Green had also noticed Blue had picked up the pace quite a lot, as he was now speed walking down the sidewalk, occasionally glancing at the pair behind him to make sure they were following. He'd often open his mouth as if he were to say something, but always ended up reluctantly closing his mouth, saying nothing.Red also noticed it, and it was obvious, as he'd glare daggers at Blue every time he did it. Green could sense the tension between the two, but tried not to pay much mind do it as he surveyed the buildings, looking for the right two that matched their description.After a few more minutes, Blue turned around again to look at the two. He opened his mouth again to say something but didn't. However, Red did say something. "Blue, do you have a problem or something?" He asked, rather agitated.Green gulped, sensing there was about to be a dispute between the two, as he looked around to make sure nobody else had been approaching. Thankfully, nobody was, causing him to refocus his attention back to the pair in front of him.Blue raised his hands defensively, shaking his head. The expression on his face made it obvious he was lying, even though he was evidently trying not to show it. "No, no. Not at all, just making sure you're behind me." He said, defensively.Red was obviously not phased, and only walked closer to him so we wouldn't have to yell as much, Green reluctantly following behind. "Then what is it you're going to say? C'mon, spit it out already." Red spat, glaring daggers into Blue's eyes.Blue's eyes widened, before he fidgeted with his hand for a second. "Wh.. me? No, I.. okay, fine," he said, shaking his head in a manner as if he had been caught. He took a sharp inhale before speaking. "Do you WANT Yellow to get hurt?" Blue asked.Red raised a brow, looking at him astonished. "Pardon me?" He asked, a low snarl drawing from under his breath. Green stepped in between the two, trying to calm them, but got nudged aside."Do you want Yellow to get hurt?" Blue asked, repeating his question with his chest, no hesitation to it. "You're both walking so slow, getting distracted, almost as if you don't care at all." He said, toxicity poisoning his tone.Red looked at him with a shocked expression, before the shocked expression slowly faded into one of anger. He didn't believe this was the real Blue he was talking to, it couldn't have been. He's not this stupid, Blue's not this stupid, is he?Red let out a snarl, this time louder as he processed that sentence for a moment as if it was a rhetorical question. "Are you serious? How insensitive do you have to be?" He said, snapping back at him as he stepped closer, Green covering his mouth with his hands in shock.Blue only laughed cockily as if he was confident about the question, as if he was seriously accusing them of wanting their friend to die. "No, it's not insensitive. I'm asking a question since, well, obviously it's how you feel." He said confidently.Obviously, his tone matched how he really felt, as he did not hold himself back at all with the question he had asked the pair. Green had excused himself from the conflict, assuming it was not directed at him at this point.Red sharply snapped back within a matter of milliseconds after Blue asked the question in a blind fury, hot red anger clouding his vision. "Holy shit, do you hear yourself right now? I've known Yellow for YEARS! I wouldn't just pray on his downfall like that."Blue hummed mockingly, as if in a confused fashion. He put his hand to his chin as if he was deep in thought, before looking back at Red. "Well, both of you don't seem to be in much of a rush and are walking rather slow right now."Green gulped, once again trying to position himself in between the two as he desperately put his hand on Red's chest in an attempt to pull him back. "Both of you, don't argue now. We're supposed to be working together, not fighting."He was annoyed, as the pair continued on as if Green was not there at all. Thankfully, nobody had walked past them or near them in a while. Red scoffed at what Blue had said. "You were so fucking slow while we were running into town, and we didn't complain then!"Red bit down on his lip anxiously, doubting what he had just said. To be fair, they did complain about the fact he was taking too long, but they didn't accuse him of being an asshole like Blue was right now. Huge difference.Blue's cocky smile faded from his face, as he immediately let out a low snarl. "I was tired! What's your excuse, huh?" He groaned, shaking desperately with rage, and Green had taken notice. Blue lurched forward in a moment of rage, speaking out of impulse. "I just want to get Yellow back safe, I don't know what could happen to him! He could be seriously hurt, hell, even killed. Neither of you know how I feel, you're just acting stupid!"Red shrunk down, causing Blue to take a step back, as he rubbed his hand awkwardly. Green pressed his lips together, having no response, however when Red went silent he moved forward to look at his face. He immediately noticed the tears pricking out of the corners of his eyes.Blue gulped, as he immediately felt a sense of regret on the inside. He was mad, sure, but he didn't mean to actually make him cry. Blue knew he often let his actions be controlled by his emotions, but it often never got this mad. Not like he got into an argument like this before, anyway.Green didn't know how to feel, as he wasn't sure if anything was directed at him anymore or not. He merely sat there awkwardly, looking at the expression of Red while glancing back at Blue with the same bewildered expression he was giving Red.Red kept on, but he wasn't as loud or angry anymore, he just looked sad now. "I don't know what got into you, Blue, but it's not like that at all. I'm sad about what happened to Yellow too, and I know how you feel, it's not 'just a you' thing." He said, voice wavering.It was obvious Red felt regret, too. But not just at Blue, at himself as well, as if he was the source of all the problems occurring right now. Blue's heart was racing as he took notice of Red's trembling hand, it hovered in the air as if he didn't know where to put it.Blue raised a brow, looking at him and Green suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"Red sighed, hands falling flat to his sides as he fidgeted with his tight jean pant legs anxiously. "I've been thinking about what they're doing to Orange, Blue. I miss him more than anything, I've been worried about him, I guess.."Blue leaned back in shock as he noticed a tear flow out of Red's eye, slowly down his face as Red wiped it away. "I thought if I could.. take my mind off the problem it wouldn't affect me as much until we found Orange again, but.." He paused, looking down at himself disappointingly.Blue watched as the tear traced it's way down Red's cheek before Red wiped it away, a silence falling between the two for a moment as Blue waited for Red to finish his sentence, a wave of remorse washing over him as he waiting in the silence."Oh, who am I kidding? Who does this? Who ignores the problem to FIX the problem. What's wrong with me?"Green could notice a glimmer in Blue's eyes, maybe a sliver of regret, but he couldn't tell. He opened his mouth to reassure Red, but Blue beat him to it way before he could get a word out."Red, I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt like that, and I shouldn't have assumed otherwise, for starters." He said, walking forward in a comforting manner. "And it's not your fault if you cope differently. Obviously, I try to rush to fix the problem, but you try to take your mind off it. It's alright, it's a different way of coping. I'm sorry I judged, Red."Red's glossy eyes looked back down for a moment, hesitantly. Blue wasn't sure if he was taking the apology or not, and he knew he didn't have to. He just hoped he did, he just hoped he understood that he's a little heated right now. In his defense, they all are.He only held his trembling hands down to his side, obviously hesitating about how to continue for a moment before nodding, yet he still didn't seem sure about how to feel. "Blue, I'm sorry if I'm just being a burden on you right now. I want to help, I really do.."Blue's eyes softened as he put a soft, warm hand on Red's trembling shoulder as if a source of comfort. "Red, I can assure you right now, whatever I just said, I did not actually mean. I understand you have a different way of coping, and that's my fault."Blue obviously felt remorse for Red, of course he knew Red was worried about Yellow and Chosen, but he may have disregarded the fact that Orange was also kidnapped. That was also on him.He thought for a moment, before smiling warmly down at Red as he tried to give him a positive thought to lighten the mood. "Red, if I ever find a way to get you there, I will bring you to that pet store to make up for this. I swear."The moment he brought it up, a bright glowing smile painted itself across Red's face as he beamed with excitement. He nodded confidently, blinking the rest of his tears out of his eyes. "Alright, deal taken!" He said confidently. "Thanks a lot, Blue."Green sat there awkwardly, rubbing his arm as he looked at the two with a smile. He didn't know whether to feel awkward or grateful the two had resolved it without dragging him into it. He mostly felt awkward because he felt like such a third wheel right now, but whatever made them happy.As Green shot a glance at a building across the road, he quickly realized they were conveniently standing right next to where the van they had gotten into was. He made a double check, looking at the surrounding trees, surrounding buildings, all was familiar.He tapped Red on the shoulder, gathering his and Blue's attention. He pointed to the buildings, bouncing with excitement. "Gang, I think we found what we're looking for." He said, making a step around Blue and Red to make his way over there.All they needed to do once they had found the way back to the forest they came from was get to the big empty field where Orange and Chosen had been captured, then Dark's hut shouldn't be too far from there. A job well done to them.As Green walked past the final section of buildings, he took note of a music store that they were walking past. He smiled, looking back to Blue. "About taking Red to that pet shop.." "No."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Second woke, an exhausted hum from the back of his throat the moment he sat up. His entire body ached as he writhed around on the floor for a moment as an excuse to get some stretches in. The pleasure of stretching his limbs satisfied him, relieving from the temporary pain he felt upon waking up.The cold atmosphere nipped at his skin, as Second could feel the goosebumps that ran down his arms without even looking at them. He let out a shiver, his trembling spine stretching out to relieve the aching pain that coursed through his body.Aside from the physical agony, Second felt oddly drained. He had the exhausted mood you get when you wake up from a nap, atop the fact that his stomach churned, and he swallowed hard, trying to suppress the rising nausea that threatened to overwhelm him.The fluorescent lights overhead cast a harsh glare, causing Second to squint against the brightness. Despite the chill in the air, the room felt oppressively sterile, the faint scent of antiseptic lingering in the air.His temporary state of relaxation was very much, well, temporary, as he heard an 'ahem' from behind him. Second snapped around, not to see a person, but a giant piece of dark glass in the wall. Shit, a one-sided window. Great.Second's eyes narrowed as he glared over towards the window, at whoever was on the other side. He got up, much to the dismay of his own body as his legs were practically screaming in protest, as he moved to walk over to the window to try and see through it."No, stay where you are please," A voice said from behind the window. It sounded very masculine, the tone of the voice being very serious. He had quickly connected it to the one mercenary with glasses that had paused him. "Do not move, just stay there."Second heard a 'tsk' from behind the glass, the voice being rather feminine. This one he did not recognize; He couldn't figure if this was one of the workers that had made him draw earlier or not. "If I'm correct, boss said that I could run the tests, not you."Second was immediately concerned by this, as he was not yet given a pencil, so it was most likely not the same tests from earlier. The last one roughed him up a bit, anyway, so this was probably not any better.On the other side of the window sat both Shady and Primal, with Shady giving Primal a harsh glare as she spoke. "It does not matter what boss told you, as I'm the more responsible one. You can watch and learn." Shady said, with confidence in his tone.Primal Primal's fists tightened, her nails digging into her palms. A low, guttural growl escaped from her throat. It wasn't secret that she hated Shady, even he knew that he was disliked by Primal. "Well, if you wanted to run some tests you could've asked him yourself. Weren't you against this anyways?" Primal asked, poking a finger at Shady's chest.Shady remained defiant as he stood, hands clasped behind his back confidently. "I do not act without bosses' permission." Primal growled again, rolling her eyes. "That's why you ask for stuff, dipshit."Primal had always hated the way Shady thought, and for one obvious reason, he was basically a sheep in a one-man herd. He'd always do whatever Victim had told him, even if it was bullshit or not. She knows he can act on his own, yet he refuses to.Primal had ranted to Ballista and Hazard about him a lot, and they often shared the same mutual disagreement towards him, but never vocalized it. They just didn't care as strongly as Primal did, evidently so.Ballista and Hazard acted based on what the other thought. As siblings, they always believed they had to agree with one another, and shared the same opinion no matter what. Even if they both didn't evidently agree.Shady scoffed at Primal, rolling his eyes from behind his sunglasses. "Whatever," he said, turning away from Primal to look at Second once again. "As for you, we're going to be running some... tests..."Second gulped, as he could feel Shady's eyes scanning him. He couldn't see shit from behind the one-sided glass, adding onto the discomfort. He never knew what they were doing, he just got a slight feeling they were up to no good.Shady smiled as he had pressed some buttons on a console in front of him, Primal raising a brow. Unfortunately, Victim had let him set up the interrogation rooms beforehand, so neither Primal nor Second knew what he was doing. "What's the control panel for?" Primal whispered to him."You'll see.." Shady said, letting out a satisfied hum as he stopped messing with the console to take a step back, before once again directing his attention back to Second. "Now, if you'd direct your attention to your right wrist, you'll notice a little... band."Second let out a confused 'hm?' as he directed his gaze to his wrist as instructed. He noticed a little metal band on his wrist, as he was told. He could feel as it slowly got warmer, much to his confusion. The room was rather chilly, the band shouldn't be conducting this much heat.Second looked up at the glass innocently, trying to direct his gaze directly at Shady, that is if he could see where he was. "What... uh, is this, exactly?" Second said with an unsure tone. "Oh, you'll see."Primal gave herself a face palm, before turning to him. "Yeah, how exactly are you going to make him awaken his powers? Just ask him a few questions 'till he goes insane? Yeah, that's going to work for sure." She said, sarcastically.Shady snicked as he shook his head, letting out a few 'tsk's. "Oh, Primal. You underestimate me. I have... ways... of making this work." Primal rolled her eyes. "Your 'ways' are all bullshit. This isn't going to work with the way you're approaching it, just give up." She said, making quotation marks with her fingers.Shady had ignored her angered comment, keeping his focus on Second. He pressed a button on the console with a wide grin across his face, Primal looking only down at the console. Moments later, she heard a 'BZZZT!', followed by a sharp yelp.Her head snapped up with wide eyes, as she noticed Second was now down on the floor. She covered her own mouth, looking at Shady in astonishment. "Now, my orange friend, for every minute that you DON'T awaken your powers, the band on your wrist will electrocute you."Primal growled, grabbing Shady by the shoulder and spinning him around to look at her. "The fuck is this going to do. Give him trauma?" Shady smiled and nodded. "Yep," He attempted to his shoulder out of her grip, unsuccessfully. Primal instead willingly moved down her arm, but in a rather harsh manner."You see, dear Primal, before I had escorted The Chosen One back to his cell I decided to take another look through his memories. I had noticed that this hollow head's powers were.. similar to a trauma response. Upon becoming nervous enough, his powers should awaken, and I shall have succeeded in making the boss proud and doing a better job than you!"Primal's eyelid twitched as she ran her fingers down her face in a desperate attempt to calm herself, and prevent herself from punching him. "Chosen didn't see it all, dumbass. Are you even sure this is going to work? I highly doubt it will, since right now you seem fueled for this to succeed because you want to do a 'better job than me'."Shady let out a scoff, disappointed in her rather unhappy response. "You seem to be getting rather nervous, is it because you're afraid I'm right? Just give this a shot, instead of always being a doubter."Primal looked at him with a mildly saddened face, before resting her arms down to her sides. "But you never gave my ideas a shot, you're only listening now because you want validation. I will not let you harm a child; you're going too far."Her words fell on deaf ears, as Shady only gave her a shooing motion. He glared at Second who was still on the floor, as he continued to motion for her to leave. "If you believe this will go too far, call Ballista so he may bring Second back to his cell. I will resume tests for now.."Primal listened to him, immediately turning out of the room to grab Ballista. Not as if either of those two could have just brought Second to his cell themselves, they just know that they won't be able to agree on a decision.Second, on the other hand, had listened to a maximum of 0% of their conversation, as he was focused on the burning, aching band that was clamped tight around his wrist. He felt lightheaded from the shock, and only felt the band warming up again.He let out another yelp as a shock charged out of the band, coursing through his veins as he writhed around in anguish. Thoughts jumbled around in his mind, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, but he fought them back. 'No, Second. You cannot show weakness..'Second wished from the moment he got a glance at Chosen's memories that he could permanently forget he had powers, like he did when he had originally awakened them. He wished it was that easy, it should have been that easy.As much as he knows he's a threat to Victim's corporation, he couldn't grasp why they wanted him to awaken his powers this badly. Did they really need to go to these lengths? Was it really all that necessary?If anything, that had seemed more intrigued in the fact that he had a pencil that could draw anything into existence within the matter of a few seconds, now this. They didn't go THAT far when they had noticed his pencil. They didn't care."Why.." Second croaked out, as he grasped his aching wrist with his other hand. "Why must you do this?" He asked the mercenary, still hiding behind the one-sided glass like a coward. Despite the pain, he couldn't bring himself to hate him, only himself.It's your fault you're in this mess, Second. You should've been able to protect Chosen, you shouldn't be so weak. Why are you so WEAK?!A shock that coursed through his veins immediately interrupted his thoughts, as he let a few tears slip from his eyes. He begrudgingly wiped the tears out of his eyes, letting his arm that burned with pain fall limp.Despite this, he smiled weakly. Even though it hurts, he couldn't help but feel he deserved it. After all he had done, after failing, he deserved this. At least it was him, and not his friends.At least it wasn't his friends.Shady looked at the limp hollow head in disappointment, yet there was still a smile that poisoned the look on his face. "You could make this way quicker, if you just hurry up and activate your powers..." He said with a drawn-out tone.He only watched as the orange hollow head convulsed in pain and anguish on the floor, letting out a scoff at the display of weakness in front of him. "Pathetic, what is this? A circus act?" He said, keeping his eye on Second's pained expression."You know, I had expected more from you. I mean, you looked so much more tough when we fought earlier. What changed?" Second only felt more agony as he said that, was it really all that clear that he was weaker now?Second opened his mouth to reply, but the words bunched up in his throat, preventing him from getting a word out. Shady scoffed at him once more. He hated it when Shady scoffed, each time he did made him feel worse about himself than the last.Shady wanted to make it clear he resented Second. He didn't want to let the hollow head play soft on him now, yet he could only feel himself letting an opportunity slip from his arms.He could be making the boss so proud right now, if he just gets this right. If he can just make Second stop playing weak, he can receive the praise he oh so craves from the man he admires like a dad. Even if he can tell Victim would never see him that way.Victim always had a way of doing things, a way of doing things that worked. Unlike Shady, who often made mistakes so frequently. He hated mistakes. "How did boss do this? The yellow guy was so much more fragile and gave in so quickly."Second's eyes snapped open, the moment a shock ran through his body. The pain subsided, as he snapped his head toward the one-sided glass to give Shady a glare. "The yellow what? Am I hearing you correctly?"Shady immediately had a pleased expression on his face. "There we go.." He hummed in satisfaction, hoping he had finally done it. Second let out a low growl as he stood up in anger to send him an even more harsh glare.Shady pressed a button on the console, turning up the volts and power in the shock Second would receive. Hopefully this would anger him even more. "'The yellow guy'? As in Yellow? I swear, if you TOUCHED ANY OF MY FRIENDS, I'LL-"He was quickly cut off as a shock, way worse than the last few, ran through his veins, causing him to collapse. Second didn't know how to feel, he wanted to be mad, he was mad, but the pain had now gotten too much.Agony had overridden almost all other emotions, and he could no longer feel as angry as he previously had, causing him to curl up to hopefully be rid of the pain.Shady, on the other hand, let out a growl as he slammed his fists down on the console in anger. "Shit! I almost had you, little prick!" He screamed at Second, letting his anger take over his actions.This is exactly what Victim wouldn't let happen, he wouldn't have fucked this up, he would've gotten it right. Why couldn't he? If only the boss cared about Second, maybe he would've gotten it right if he did.No, Shady. You cannot doubt what Victim believes.Second couldn't take Shady yelling at him right now, the throbbing in his body and everything going on was too much for him, causing him to curl up even more and attempt to cover his ears. He didn't want to listen to him, and who would?Not long after, Primal walked in, Ballista in tow. She immediately gasped upon seeing Second curled up, and walked up to Shady as Ballista went to go enter the room with him. "Alright, playtime is over. Turn it off." Primal demanded, causing him to glare at her."I don't recall you being allowed to give me orders," he said, anger in his tone. Despite what he had said, he moved over to the console and turned off the band that was on Second's wrist. It fell to the floor with a clank, Second sitting up to look at it. "But fine."Ballista, who looked incredibly uneasy moved in to grab Second. Using the toolbar he was temporarily given to move Second around the facility with ease, he cuffed Second's hands behind his back. He was limp and could now hardly stand up straight.Second was near unconscious but could still think, yet he couldn't act. He let out a weak growl as he was picked up by Ballista. He wished he was strong enough to fight back, he wished he could do something.Did Shady really hurt one of his friends? They wouldn't do that, right?As Ballista and Second exited the room, Primal glared at as she gave him a shove. "The fuck is wrong with you. I told you this wouldn't work, yet you did it anyway." Primal said, now taking a step away from him as if she expected him to act.Shady shot icy glares at the girl opposite him. Despite her continued barrage of curses and threats, his silence spoke volumes, tension in the threatening looks Shady was giving Primal.Shady scoffed, rolling his eyes at her from behind his glasses. "I almost had him, Primal. I almost had the little prick," he said, his tone becoming more and more harsh as he spoke. "I told you that you underestimate me. I'll get the hang of it, you didn't do shit, so you cannot be talking."Primal turned to exit the room, each step being harsh and long, her irritation only bubbling up with each word Shady said. "Only because you wouldn't let me. If you weren't such a controlling narcissistic asshole like Victim, maybe you'd get somewhere."Shady growled, barking out to her in a fit of rage. "You can't-" Primal slams the door to the room as she exits, causing his words to get caught in his throat. "..call him that."He only let out an angered sigh, going to follow her out of the room. "You're lucky I won't snitch on you."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Blue sat on the grass, letting out a sigh as he took some occasional glances up at Red and Green. The two were somewhat arguing, not quite literally in an intense argument, but it was still a rather heated debate from what Blue could hear from the pair.The chilly winter air that occasionally flew past Blue wasn't helping the situation either, as he watched his cold breaths puff out in front of him. He rubbed his shoulders every so often to keep some sort of warmth flowing.It wasn't like he was going to develop hypothermia or anything, no, it was still a little too warm for that. The temperature was only 37 degrees Fahrenheit, and Blue was wearing a decently warm jacket. It was still cold enough to get his spine trembling, though.He was surprised that Red and Green weren't reacting to the cold whatsoever, the pair still standing quite a bit far off in the field as they continued to bicker. So far, the only thing the gang had accomplished was making it back to where they saw Orange and Chosen get kidnapped.Sure, it was a step, but not what they were looking for. They had completely forgotten the direction that Dark's hut was in. Green swore it was either South or West, while Red believes it was to the North or East. Green had argued that they should've used a map, but where do you get maps for random fields?Blue tugged on the sleeves of his jacket to warm him up a bit, at least the slightest bit of warmth would be way better than sitting out the cold, desolate field. "Green, trust me, I know where I'm going! I know Dark's hut like the back of my hand!"Blue directed his gaze up as he looked at Green and Red, who now had their voices raised. "We were there one time, Red. If anything, Chosen knows his hut like the back of his hand. But he's not here right now!" Green said, pointing in a Southwest direction.Green had begun to bounce up and down on his legs as he desperately pleaded with Red to listen to him, his bounce only getting more intense the more Red tried to disagree with him. Blue was getting sick of the pair, he remembers where Dark's hut was, he had taken almost a perfect mental image of it.At first, he was rather entertained by the two's quarrel, yet he was obviously getting sick of it and was about to break it to the pair where it was on his own. "Blue, tell me, where was Dark's hut? I'm right, right?" Red asked Blue, speaking incredibly fast and rather pleadingly.Blue groaned, rolling onto his back as he looked at Red in a somewhat upside-down position from his view. Well, no use in telling them on his own time. "It was West, geniuses." Blue said, growling lowly in his sentence.He could've sworn that they had handled this whole arguing thing back in town, yet I guess it was just too much to resist NOT arguing. It somewhat made sense, they were all probably tired and still anxious, but they had made up. Or so he thought.Green gave Red a smug smile, Red only returning an annoyed glare as Green gave him the 'I told you so' look. "Well, well, wouldn't you have guessed? I was right, it was West!" "You said South OR West, idiot! You could've been wrong." Red spat back at him, clearly not taking his cocky attitude.Blue sat up from his position on the grass, brushing dirt and any blades of grass that caught onto him, as he turned as to not look at either of the two stick figures behind him. "Can we just go, please? We know where we're going now so I'd rather just get going now."Green began to give him a puzzled gaze, and almost rightfully so. "Yeah, I'm sure you weren't also arguing earlier." He said, a playful yet obnoxious tone poisoning his voice. Blue scoffed. "Well, I'm not right now."Blue glanced at Red's eye as they exchanged a knowing glance. Red gave him an 'Oh really?' sort of look, rolling his eyes and turning his head away from the pair for a pathetic attempt to disassociate from them. Blue held back a laugh at Red's sass.Green shook his head as he refocused, speaking in a less playful tone and more of a serious one now as he immediately walked Westward, hoping the duo would follow shortly behind him. "Well, what do we even do when we make it to Dark's hut?" he asked in a puzzled tone.Thankfully to Green's pleasure, Red began to trot behind him shortly after he began moving, eyes aimed to the baby blue sky as if he was in an intense moment of thought. "Look for him, I guess. I doubt he could've gotten far."Blue had seemingly teleported to Green's side, letting out a snort of mockery at Red's idea. "Didn't Orange, like... blast him into oblivion? I doubt he's ANYWHERE." Blue said, hands directing at the giant, and empty, field around them.Red let out a 'Hmm' before replying. "Well, he could've lived," he said as he fidgeted with his fingers anxiously, slightly out of embarrassment for the fact that he might've made a bad call. "That guy was tough, you know?"Blue let out a sigh as he bit his lip, attempting to hold back the growl that lingered in his throat, simultaneously trying to avoid making a snarky comment towards Red. "So, he just can't die because he's tough?"Well, there goes attempting to not make a snarky comment. Red looked even more sad, evidently questioning his own point again. "Well- no! I just... ugh, never mind. Sorry, that was stupid."Blue's eyebrows dropped as he gave Red a sympathetic look. "I didn't say it was stupid, just unlikely," Green let out a soft giggle as he said that. "So stupid?" Blue could notice as Red's sad look managed to twist into an even worse frown than he had before.Blue pressed his finger up against his mouth as he looked at Green, praying he was at least smart enough to know what that meant. He nodded, so thankfully he at least enough intelligence to know what silence meant.Green sighed, looking at Red as he crossed his arms defiantly. "We'll give your idea a try." He said, begrudgingly, as Blue gave him a smile as if a parent had just watched an older sibling do something nice for their other sibling. Not as if he had just doubted Red's idea himself.He had forgotten the scenery of the landscape around Dark's hut, he could hardly remember what it looked like in the first place, but the scenery sure did give him a nice refresher.The forest that surrounded the hut in of itself was beautiful, the trees a nice sea green with even better beige colored bark, the colors blending smoothly together to make a beautiful sight, a bit too beautiful for just a couple trees.Blue was surprised that there weren't any nature trails nearby, or maybe any at all in the Outernet, for everything popped with color and felt near irresistible to look at. He could hardly tell if it was because most of the Outernet represented an art style, but he had no complaints on his end.He had quickly been snapped out of thought by a hand that gripped his shoulder tightly. He let out a yelp but realized that the tips of his toes were no longer touching a surface. He looked down, noticing that he was just hardly standing over the edge of a cliff.He let out a gasp of surprise, turning to see Green holding onto him with somewhat wide eyes as he too looked down at the bottom of the cliff. "Careful, dude. That's a harsh fall." He said, grimacing at all the rocks that lined the edges of the cliffs.As Blue backed away from the cliff's edge, he couldn't help but stare in awe at how pretty the water was below the cliff. It was almost crystal clear, the water turning a dark blue the further deep you looked at it."Hey, over here!" Red called out to the pair, Green and Blue looking up as they noticed Red already standing next to Dark's old hut, waving them over. They walked over, Blue getting a final look down at the bottom of the cliff before trotting over to him.As they got over there, expecting Red to give them some info, he merely shrugged. "It's empty, everything except the console was cleared out, and the Virabots weren't even where they were before..." He said suspiciously.Red looked down for a moment as if pondering something, before looking back up at Blue and Green with a wide smirk. Green immediately got the memo, letting out a sigh. "I guess we DO need to try looking for Dark.."He watched begrudgingly as Red let out an overjoyed 'Yes', fist pumping the air. Green scowled, before speaking again. "But because there's a lot of land to cover, and I DON'T want to deal with you, we're going to split. You go on your own, okay?"Red didn't care, as he was mostly too happy to care. "Fine by me, at least I'm being taken seriously. And I've got this on my own anyway, I'm fast, I can cover more land myself then you two combined." He said with an egotistical tone.Blue groaned, snatching Green by the arm, dragging him out of the hut as he motioned for Red to follow with his head. "Fine, got a watch on you?" Blue asked, checking his wrists or body for any device that could tell the time.Red reached into his back pocket, pulling out a watch he hadn't used in a while, because why would he need it? "Great, meet back specifically HERE in 30 minutes. If you're not, we're going to assume you're dead and panic." Blue said, with no sarcasm in his voice.Green snickered, walking off towards the giant break in the floor, where I giant fault of sorts lined the ground, up to a few mountains in the distance. Blue didn't wait for Red's response as he scampered to catch up with Green.Red growled, looking at the pair, then diverting his eyes to where they were walking. That's probably where Dark was 'thrown into oblivion', wasn't it? Seems like the most logical place to check, but too late for that.Red guided himself around the hut and over to the other side of the massive cliff, preparing to enter the forest on that side. Most unlikely that Dark would magically be over there, but hey, if there's land to cover then there's land to cover.He had to pace himself, though, if he ran too far in or got too tired then he'd run out of breath and wouldn't be able to make it back within 30 minutes. It's not like 30 minutes is much time to travel land, anyways, you'd get a few miles at max, while Dark has had years to travel on his own.Yeah, now that he thinks about it, maybe this wasn't the best idea.Red just hoped that Dark had decided he wasn't much of a travel guy and stuck to being close to where he originally was, where they had originally seen him. Why couldn't he just get the easy way out of things in life?The more he thought about it, the more he wished he could magically conjure up a Dark Lord standing in front of him, happily skipping on down to Victim's headquarters in order to defeat him once and for all. Even if that isn't the best idea.Last time Red had interacted with Dark, that earned him a stab to the chest, and a near deletion. There's the evident chance that maybe Dark hasn't changed and still hates them the same way he always has, but in these circumstances, Red would take that risk.In all fairness, Orange had done the same for him. If what Chosen said about Orange using powers to defeat Dark, all because of his and his friends' deaths, then he'd feel bad if he hadn't done something to save Orange's life in return.He never repaid the favor much, anyway...Red could feel his pace speeding up to a jog, then to a sprint, and then he was full on dashing through the woods, looking behind every tree, log, under every leaf pile, praying Dark would just be magically taking a rest in the forest.He mentally cursed at himself for draining so much energy out of desperation, he needed to take it easy. He couldn't do it, he just couldn't, the more he thought about slowing down the faster he got, until he eventually stopped checking in some places, skipping them in a desperate attempt to find Dark right there.Red wished he hadn't ever thought of this idea, it's near impossible. A terrorist stick figure isn't just lounging around in random woods, much less the same ones he was already living in YEARS ago.And there's still even the possibility Dark's dead, gone, out of existence already. Was this really all for nothing? Is Red just getting desperate at this point? Of course he was, and he hated himself for it, yet he struggled to bring himself to a stop.Orange, that's all he could think about, keeping Orange safe. No, keeping all of them safe. Not just Orange, Yellow, and Chosen, but Blue and Green too. He needed to protect them all, he was known for his strength anyway. They relied on him; they NEEDED him.After a hot minute of running, Red turned to the side a bit, using his feet to skid himself to a stop. He panted, nearly out of breath and on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. "God- DAMN IT!" He yelled, anger overcoming him in that moment.He had to admit, maybe he couldn't do this on his own. Maybe he did need Green and Blue's help for this, he couldn't do this alone. He can't, he can't he c-SNAP.Red's eyes shot up as the faint sound of a twig snapping could be heard not very far from him. His ears perked up as he took a reluctant step towards the sound, squinting as he tried to see who was over there.It didn't help that the thick pack of trees above him obstructed his view of the sun, providing little to no light as he desperately tried to see who the figure in the area was. He took three more steps over towards the location of the sound, now glancing anxiously behind him.Red, at this point, no longer hoped it was Dark. Or did he? He felt very indecisive, probably because he still doesn't know if Dark would truly wish to help him in saving Orange from Victim's clutches. Maybe he'd do it for Chosen?It had to be some type of animal, something like a deer, maybe some large elk? Something like that, he's seen plenty of animals like that. Those were mostly sketches Alan had made on his PC, though, and he wasn't sure if Outernet drawings looked the same as Alan's sketches.SNAP, SNAP, SNAP.The sound of multiple footsteps charging from behind him ripped him out of his train of thought. Evidently it was not an animal, it was nothing like that, as Red felt an arm, cloth in hand, reach from behind him and over his mouth and nose, instantly overtaking his ability to breathe.He let out a yelp of surprised, bucking and squirming against the tight grip on him, only to feel the person's other hand grab him by the arm, squeezing down on it tightly with sharp nails that poked into his skin like a needle.Red tried to let out a cry, tried to bite against the cloth and onto the persons hand, to do something, but he couldn't get himself free. He was somewhat far from passing out, yet he slumped against the person and gave up fighting, only giving a slight kick to their knee.Even though the kick did land, it did not phase the stick figure at all as their grip remained strong and hard against Red's body, only pulling him in closer as they expected him to go out like a light anytime soon.Red could feel his body going limp, turning into goop that couldn't hold itself up, before slipping his eyes shut out of exhaustion. He can't fight it any more, it's too much. A ringing began to sound out in his ears before he could succumb to unconsciousness.The only thing he could hear from beyond the ringing in his ears was a laugh. A deep laugh.Dark?▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬"So, do you not regret it?" Blue asked Green, his hands swaying awkwardly by his sides as he spoke. Green wasn't looking at him, he only looked down at the ground as he walked, clearly out of focus. Not the time to NOT be focused when you're looking for an actual war criminal.Blue straightened himself out as he walked, contemplating snapping his fingers in front of Green's eyes to garner his attention. Disrespectful or not, he needs to have a talk with Green. Evidently the tension from the group still lingered, and their previous talk didn't seem to be enough.Well, technically Blue and Red's talk. Didn't matter, as Blue was completely ready to go into therapy mode. Mostly.Blue reached his arm out in front of Green's line of vision, waving his arm frantically in front of his face. This earned a gasp out of Green as he snapped his head up to look at Blue, face filled with shock before it eased to a look of confusion.He smiled at Green before coughing into his arm awkwardly, trying to avoid the awkward tension between the pair. "Sorry, but you know you aren't going to find Dark beneath your feet, right?" He said in a playful tone.Green nodded, looking kind of shameful at himself before nodding and trying to make himself laugh too. "Oh right, sorry." he said, turning his head back in front of him as if their talk were done. He quickly looked back at Blue as he spoke to him again. "Hold on, Green."Green raised a brow expectingly as if Blue had wasted his time, waiting to hear what he was going to say. "Do you not regret it? You know, leaving Red to look for Dark... on his own." Blue said, as he turned his head to the side for a moment as he looked at the scenery around them.It was a little more different now, as hills were absolutely everywhere, on top of a rough terrain with windmills in the giant empty fields. Second sure did knock Dark FAR out... "What do you mean?" Green asked Blue, brow still raised in a confused manner.Blue bit his lip as he turned back to Green, searching for the right words in his mind before responding. "We left Red alone, to search for a war criminal. He could be killed, again, and it'd be all our faults!" Blue said, the pitch in his voice growing higher per the second.Green frowned at him as if he wished he hadn't brought that up. "Of course, I feel bad, I didn't mean to ditch him, I was just uh... a little mad?" He said, chuckling a bit at the end of his sentence.Blue returned a disappointed frown at him, looking at him as if he had just made an awful joke. "A little? Sure seemed more than a little," he said, but he still attempted to reassure Green positively. "What's up with you, anyway? You seem more distracted than usual, and you get distracted a lot."Green fidgeted with his hands for a moment as he diverted his gaze away from Blue. He could still feel Blue's eyes stabbing him in the back as he never took his eyes off of Green, which evidently did not help for the moment."Would you consider me a third wheel?" Green asked, voice cracking in the midst of his sentence. Blue looked at him quizzically as if trying to understand the punch line to a joke. "What?" He asked, brow falling down as he looked more concerned now than confused.Green swallowed down a gulp, trying to think about how he'd go about saying this. "WellIfeellikeI'vebeenfollowingyouguysaroundanddoingnothingusefulandyouguyshavedonesomuchthat'shelpedusgettingclosertosavingOrangeandYellowwhileI'vedonenothingand-"Blue stopped him there, looking at him as if he was demented. His hands were up as if he were surrendering, and he gave Green the most perplexed look ever. "Dude, slow down, I can't understand you."Green swallowed down another gulp before trying again, this time slower and more coherent. "I'm sorry, but I mean... I feel like I've been following you guys around and doing nothing while you and Red have gotten us so much closer to saving Orange and Yellow while I've hardly helped. Am I useless? I feel like such an asshole right now, the only thing I'm good for is sarcasm and jokes."Blue processed his words for a moment, trying to think about what Green meant. It wasn't that hard to process, but with the previous bunch of words spat at him he could hardly put together another sentence without his brain stumbling on thought.He quickly realized what Green meant, though, and gave him a reassuring smile as he put a comforting, warm hand on Green's back. "Just your presence is enough, you know? You don't need to be great at everything to be seen as helpful, you've not been useless at all."Blue took his hand off of Green's back to make a punching motion. "And you helped Red beat up that guy with the glasses earlier! Or well, tried to. We all failed in that fight, though, Green, so if you're 'useless', then I'm useless too."Green smiled warmly at the thought, but then quickly reverted back to the frown painted on his face as he let out a sigh. "But, when you had that conversation with Red. I didn't say anything at all, and you both made up and got a laugh out of it. I don't know, it made me feel kind of.. uh.. invisible, I guess."Blue smiled again as he repeated a form of what he had told Green before. "But you were still there, supporting us. You were there as a friend trying to help us calm down. I'm sorry if we made you feel like you weren't there, and we'll work on that, but you've never been useless nor invisible to us....sorry."Green returned a smile, using his arm closest to Blue to pull him into a hug. "Gee, don't get soft on me. Was just... venting a bit." Blue chuckled as he returned the hug, pulling Green back in the direction of Dark's hut. "Hey, if I at least made you feel better, it's a win in my book."Blue walked with Green close by his side, both smiling at each other, trying to avoid the awkwardness from not diverting eye contact in a while. Blue eventually spoke to get rid of the awkward tension still in the air. "Did I at least make you feel better..?" He said, unsure. Green smirked at him. "Yeah."Blue pumped his fist in the air out of excitement, before letting out a joyful sigh as he guided Green back towards Dark's hut. "Well, we gotta head back now. Let's hope the little imbecile didn't get himself killed." Blue said with a chuckle.Green raised a brow, following close behind Blue's tail. "Do you think he got hurt?" He asked Blue, looking at him with worry. Blue thought about it for a moment, before shrugging it off. "Nah."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Fucking great, this is what he gets for staying up all night to do nothing other than watch the hallway monitors and guard prisoners. Victim's eyes felt like they were being held down by a heavy chain with how obnoxiously heavy his eyelids were.Victim would sway every now and then, occasionally toppling over as he sluggishly blinked at the monitor in front of him. He was lucky nobody, specifically Shady, had seen him like this. If Shady saw him he'd most definitely try to coax him to bed.Not like Victim hadn't warned him to not advise him to do anything. He'll do stuff the way he wants, and no one questions it. Shady just gets bold sometimes, and it's obviously because he can identify the fact that he's the favorite. Little smartass.Maybe Victim goes too soft on him. Sure, the others get punishments fitting their crime, while Shady usually gets off with a slap on the wrist. I guess he found perks in being the favorite, which definitely makes him almost rethink picking favorites in the first place.Almost. Just almost, and the reason was obvious. Obvious for HER, Primal definitely fucking knew. Victim could never consider Primal a 'favorited' mercenary, especially not with all of the evident flaws she had.Primal wasn't the only one that got on his damn nerves all the time, now while she certainly was his least favorite, he could say absolutely who his contender for... second to least favorite was with ease.Ballista, fucking Ballista. Victim did not know what was wrong with the kid, but no matter what he tried there was always something off about him. Not in a creepy way, but in a way too overly active kind of way.If it weren't for the fact that Hazard was protecting him, Ballista would've been long gone by now. Victim most certainly saw him as the runt of the litter you could say, and absolutely wanted rid of him.He couldn't recall the kid having any special abilities, only because he's never been in a fight with Ballista around, nor has anyone told him. He might want to double in on that later. Unlike other mercenaries, like Hazard or Primal.Right, back to Primal. Total bitch.With the fact she could basically transform into anything she had her mind on with little to no struggle, god knows how, that was already an issue in of itself if that power was not being used... in his favor, per se.Victim had a close call with her once when he apparently pushed one too many buttons, which nearly ended with him finally understanding what it was like for a stick figures cranium to detach from the rest of its body.He remembers exactly as Primal transformed into some type of ape, shouting profanities and swears at him as she hooked her hands onto the two inner sides of his hollow head, nearly ripping it off. And she would've succeeded if Hazard wasn't a witness.While sure, Victim did come out which tons of wounds, some of them being permanent, he cannot say she didn't get what she deserved after. If Victim didn't kill Primal himself, the water boarding that followed certainly would've. It should've, he should've left her in the torture room until she died. But he didn't, he let her live. How nice of him.For months following that damn incident, the lower rank employees hardly showed respect for Victim anymore. Apparently, they figured out what happened and began to make fun of Victim for letting something like that happen to him.Victim never understood how they saw it, as he said the only people in the room during the altercation were him, Primal, and Hazard, yet everyone and their dog managed to know what happened. However, not long after, Victim learned it wasn't what they saw, but what they heard.It didn't take Victim long to figure out what happened, as he knew who it was immediately. And it wasn't that hard to find out. Primal had managed to tell nearly every lower ranking employee if the absolute beat down he got.Of course it was her, why wouldn't it be her. Victim evidently knew for a while that Primal said some shit, but not this often. The little bitch was talking behind his back all the time as if he wouldn't catch on. That's the thing about her, she's big for gossip.Especially about any gossip that happens to be related to him. Why would she even choose to work for him if she cannot go more than two seconds without talking about him, talking about every minuscule thing he does.Oh, right. He knows why, and they definitely know why. They would never forget, just like he has never forgotten. That's the thing that confused Victim about his mercenaries. They all saw SOMETHING wrong with what he was doing. Something wrong with trying to get revenge on his creator.Yet why aren't they doing the same? After what had happened to them, he's surprised they took it so lightly. They'd hardly bring it up in conversations, almost like they forgot about it entirely. Maybe that's why they're called what they're called.Failures, rejects.A knock on his office door startled Victim out of his dazed thoughts as he shook his head rapidly, before his eyes that tumbled around in their socket like a cartoon finally focused on the door to his office. Speak of the devil.He heard a low, deep voice call out to him from behind the door. Something he couldn't understand, but assumed it was Shady. He immediately tried to look as functioning as possible, sitting up with his hands holding his head up. "Come in," he muttered behind an exhausted breath.Shady stepped in, his towering figure bending over a small margin to fit through the doorframe. He looked at Victim, and immediately a grimace painted over his face. He was met with the raise of an eyebrow, Victim looking at him dumbfounded. "What?"He coughed into his shoulder, trying to avoid the tension. Shady grabbed his tie and tugged on it a bit. For some type of comfort, Victim would assume. "Well, sir, you're not looking too... uh... great, sir." He said, concerned.Victim huffed trying to ignore the concern as he bit down a yawn. Shady's mouth pressed together as he looked at him awkwardly. He definitely noticed the exhaustion but chose not to say it. Wise choice. "I'm fine, don't ask,"He sat up in his chair as he could feel his eyes begin to tear up, water glazing his vision as he attempted to blink tears out of his eyes with each yawn he held. "What is your purpose for entering?" He asks, looking stern behind his glossy eyes.Shady ignored the yawning with the shake of his head, inhaling deeply as if he was going to prepare a speech. "May I propose an idea, sir?" He asked, cautiously. Victim thought about it for a moment, tapping his chin with his finger. He hummed in amusement. "Sure, go ahead."Shady nodded as he bit his lip anxiously, surely whatever he had to say must be important for this much hesitation. He was returned with a puzzled stare from his boss, as he gave him the 'What?' kind of stare.He returned it back with an awkward smile before finally giving himself the go ahead. "Sir, I'd like to propose a different way you go about your.. plan." He said, dragging out his 'plan' as he expected Victim to snap, and he did.Victim's eyes shot open from their previously half-closed state, as he looked at Shady in confusion. "Different way? Oh, why whatever could you mean?" He asked in a joyfully mocking tone that Shady was all too familiar to.He tapped his foot anxiously as he tried to think about how to continue. It doesn't seem big to make a request, but for someone like Victim, and for someone like Shady, holy shit it's big.Victim was the guy who would never, ever take advice from anyone else. The only advice he'd take was his own, and it did not matter if his ideas were the most bullshit ones on the planet. If he believed in flat Earth, you would too.Everyone assumed he had picked it up from Adam, or Alan, whatever the fuck that guy's name was. Every time Victim had to describe that guy it was always like some unfathomable monster, some beast to not be messed with. Assuming from his trauma he probably picked it up from him.That's why nobody could really HATE him, they all figured it wasn't his own fault. It was a picked-up personality, some type of trauma response. Shady has always despised people who spoke negatively about him, Primal for example.If she couldn't understand that Victim was just mad, rightfully so, then why's she here at all. No matter how many times he'd try to tell her that it wasn't the bosses own fault, she seemed so... stubborn. But that isn't new for her, unfortunately.Shady on the other hand was basically Victim's sheep. Whatever was said he'd follow. Which is why Shady believes in flat Earth. For someone like Shady to propose a different idea to his own boss was an absurd thought, and it still is. Maybe Victim's dreaming?The tapping of his foot on the floor picked up in pace as the rest of the words closed up in his throat. The possible consequences for this ran through his mind like a marathon, making him regret all of his choices more and more.On one hand, maybe Victim would listen? I mean, he is the top AND favorite mercenary after all. However, on the other hand this could go terribly. He could be fired, or tortured for days, or maybe even killed. The latter seemed more probable, unfortunately.Despite the obvious flaw, the words unclogged from Shady's throat and poured out of his mouth with regret. "Well, I was thinking you could try being more... nice to the kid, possibly?" He asked, looking like he was about to go and sew his own mouth shut.Victim sat there, wide eyed for a moment, darting back and forth as if processing a flood of information. His lips twitched, struggling to contain a burgeoning smirk as he mulled over the unexpected proposal.He looked at Shady with tears running down his face, no longer from yawning but from laughing now. "You want ME to be nicer to the kid? You don't want me to torture him," He asked in half amusement and disbelief.Shady looked on in concern as he watched his boss' crazed reaction. His chest heaved with each chuckle, eyes sparkling with a mix of mirth and astonishment as he glanced at Shady. "Why, you out of all people? You of all people tell me what to do, bad day?"He definitely thought Shady was the one going psychotic. That could be debatable, mainly because of the insane smile he had plastered on his face and the fact his eyes looked like they were turned completely red. He had no room to talk about being 'psycho'.Shady knew immediately he fucked up big time, but it was far too late for him to turn back on this one. He might as well get the rest out before he doesn't get to have his last words. "Sir, have you maybe thought that the kid would listen to you if uh... you maybe act nicer to him?"Victim snapped, shooting up out of his chair as he looked at his top mercenary with the most pissed off expression known possible to man. "WHAT HAS THAT BITCH DONE TO YOU!" He demanded, shouting at the top of his lungs.His mercenary took a step back, rather shocked, with an eyebrow raised. He looked like he was going to bolt out of the room, not like he'd get far as Victim would probably shoot him. Shady stammered for a moment before replying. "What..?""THAT BITCH, WHAT DID PRIMAL TELL YOU," he shouted again, motioning to the door as if Primal was standing right there. Shady even turned around to check if she was truly there. Thank the stars, she was not. That would be awkward, she would have a field day if she saw this going down.Victim threw his chair aside, causing Shady to flinch. He stormed up to the mercenary to appear intimidating, which almost failed due to his incredibly short build. It still phased Shady, as he knew Victim had several lethal weapons on him. He inhaled sharply, seemingly to calm himself down. "...This is something Primal would say, what did she tell you?"Shady quicky attempted to cut Victim off so that they wouldn't trail off and onto another topic where he wouldn't be able to explain himself, speaking swiftly. "She said that if I wasn't a controlling narcissistic asshole like you I'd actually get somewhere, but-" "Pardon?"Victim doubled down on the 'cutting-off-people-in-the-middle-of-their-sentence' game, looking at Shady with the most despicable look known to man. He let out a small chuckle. "She said what? Controlling, narcissistic?"The mercenary bit his lip anxiously as he heard his boss let out the most concerning low growl, a growl that resonated from deep in his chest. "Oh, she's one to talk about narcissistic- do you want to die, Shady? Do you want her to die? Should I just fucking END you here?"Shady's bite on his lip only worsened as he could feel metal press into the side of his head, a gun no doubt. The taste of iron filled his mouth as his bite began to make his lip bleed. Shit, how does he go about this? Oh, right, continue the 'cutting-off-people-in-the-middle-of-their-sentence' game!Shady, boldly grabbed the gun and gently pushed the barrel away from his skull. He could feel sweat flowing down like a waterfall as he did this, swallowing deeply. "Sir, do not kill anyone, just let me talk."Victim scoffed, hitting Shady on the head with the butt of his gun, roughly. He shoved the gun back in his pocket as he glared daggers at the tall mercenary in front of him. "This better be good, I expected better from you. I will fucking kill you if you act like this is a game."He received a shaky nod from Shady as he swallowed again, trying to dig through his mind to find the correct words that won't end with him receiving a bullet through his skull. "Well sir, I was thinking that if you let him trust us he'd willingly work for us. And I know just how to-"He was cut off by a loud cackle from Victim. Still playing the 'cutting-people-off-in-the-middle-of-their-sentence' game, are we? Shady's starting to get sick of it. "So what, the magic of friendship is going to make this prick work for us? Heh, don't think so, bud."Shady held back the urge to tell this guy to shut up and let him talk for once, but he knew how that would end. C'mon, you have remain the favorite mercenary... or just remain alive, at least. Better than being the favorite dead mercenary."Well, sir, you see uh," he began, trying to think of a way to say this without Victim taking it the wrong way. Gosh, this was unnecessarily hard, which is saying a lot about the short grey hollow head. "It's not really the magic of friendship as much as it is the facts."Victim cocked his head to the side in confusion, yet also annoyance. He licked his lips as he pondered over if that was an insult or a comment. "What's that supposed to mean, hm?" He asked, looking on with a piercing glare.Shady smiled, trying to seem confident with him. He was anything but, yet he kept the mask on his face to not get shot, at least. "You said you wanted to break him, right? Distrust does wonderous things to people. As long as he no longer sees you as the aggressor, if he sees you positively, you could have him on our side immediately."Victim squinted at the taller mercenary, almost as if he was possibly considering it. Shady anxiously adjusted his glasses as he continued. "You said his flaws can be mended into strengths right? His trust in his friends is a flaw, if you just-"His sentence was immediately shortened by Victim, who's smile was a little too wide for someone who's just come up with ways to torture a kid. And besides, the 'cutting-people-off-in-the-middle-of-their-sentence' game is getting old as hell. "That's it, I figured it out!"Shady looked at him, brow raised in concern. "YOU figured it out..?" He muttered, trying not to be heard yet still getting the opportunity to at least vocalize his point. Even if no one heard it, getting it out of his throat certainly helped him.Victim smiled at him, no longer considering anything else around him. He was evidently about to go on a monologue, one Shady would much rather avoid. "Yes, I figured it out!" He announced. Shit, so he did hear him.He immediately gave the mercenary a pat on the back, despite the fact he had said that he, himself had figured it out, not Shady. "I don't NEED to torture his personality out of him, why I just need to use one of his friends! And I've got one right here..."He was returned with a suspicious look from Shady, as if incredibly hesitant. Victim knew he'd have to get used to this, because god that look from him of all people felt weird. "And you'll do what now..?"Victim gave him a smirk, almost completely ignoring his question as if he took a bet that he already knew the answer to his own question. "I thought you said distrust does wonderous things to people." He said, pushing Shady out of the way.He stumbled for a moment, playing his hands on a bookshelf to break his fall. He turned to Victim, who was already striding out of the room and into the elevator. Shady opened his mouth to say something, but he was already completely in the elevator, pressing a few buttons. "Hey, wait-"The doors to the elevator closed behind Victim, as he could slowly hear the hum of the elevator going down. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment trying to process what just happened. Did Shady LEAVE him in his office?...And did Shady knock on an elevator's door earlier...?▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬At first, Yellow wished that he could have just up and walked out of the interrogation room. He wished that Victim would've just given him some tea and had a good laugh with him, or just let him sit around, something wholesome like that.But now he wished he had died. He wished, he WISHED that Victim would have struck him too hard on the neck or near one of his vital organs and killed him. He doesn't want this, why does he have to endure this? If anything, the most he had done was trespassing.Now he has to work for some guy who, evidently, couldn't give more than a single shit for any of his workers, and only has a positive view on a singular person; himself. Is it because he trespassed? Is it because he happened to know Alan?Is he being tortured like this because of affiliation? Gee, that sure is a nice thought. Every thought of the short, grey, fucking DISGUSTING hollow head just makes him sick. He wishes that Victim would just kill him, kill him and end this pain. But shit, the though terrified him at the same time.Yellow wasn't much for religion; he never had a belief in God and never believed in any such after life. But there was always that one part of his mind that feared he was wrong. Feared that maybe it wasn't just darkness, an endless void of nothing.Not like he wasn't scared of failure, anyways. Most of his studies or any experiments he'd conduct, he'd always fear failure. He wanted to be the guy who could stare his fears in its face, watch as it reared its ugly head in a pathetic attempt to scare him, only to fail.But it was always the other way around, he feared everything so much more, and he hid behind the cover of being that 'one tough smart guy'. He wasn't, and he never will be, but the thought of at least some type of shield, real or not, gave him some form of comfort.To be honest, his best sort of comfort was always the random, stupid contraptions he'd build for no reason other than he was bored. Most of them served as defense, others were just random ass things he wanted to build.The most recent being a cloning machine, not because he wanted to clone himself and cause havoc or anything, but solely because he got tired of getting up a bunch of times in the middle of the night for snacks. So why not just clone the snacks? Great work, Yellow.But at a time like now, yeah, his cloning machine would really be preferred as of now. He could just clone himself and fight everyone off instead of sitting in a cell, beat up and bruised with no proper way to get out.He shouldn't think like though, as great as that fantasy is, it's not real, and it's just going to make him want it more and more. Now's not the time to drive yourself insane, please.Yellow already knew he was basically half insane, from all the nights he'd stay up late just to get himself sleep deprived for no reason other than 'it's building time'. And he knew who else figured he was insane and hated it.Blue would often come into his room at around 5AM to give him some boring ass lecture on why he needs to go to bed. Sleep is for the weak though, so Yellow could hardly give more than two fucks about what he was saying.Which is why he could never tell Blue his lecture word for word, no matter how many times he's said it. He always tunes him down like a radio that's pissing you off, because why would he need to listen to him? It's just some inventing.. at 5 in the morning. Everyone does that, right?Well, apparently not Blue. Gosh, he could not describe how much he utterly despised Blue-Yellow's thoughts were immediately cut off by footsteps approaching the cell he was in. He takes that back, he'd kill for Blue to be with him at a time like this. He owes him so many apologies for all the times he's trash talked him in his life.To be completely fair, he owes all of his friends an apology when he gets out of his hell. He's trash talked pretty much all of them, he just wished they'd leave him alone. To let him work from time to time.Now, he wants anything but that.He turned towards where the footsteps were coming from and seeing a pair of two gray feet. Great, it's him again, as expected. Yellow looked up to look at his face, looking at his sharp gaze from behind the bars of his cell.He returned the sharp glare, trying to look as intimidating as possible. He stood up, despite the fact he winced at the hot white pain that shot through his body. He chose to ignore it, he couldn't back down now or else the intimidation tactic wouldn't work.Yellow had a stare down with Victim for a moment, exchanging no vocal words, the only words being exchanged through their glares. He finally spoke to break the silence. "What do you want... was it Victim?" He asked, trying to remember his name.He was met with a rather surprising response as Victim gave him a gleeful, positive smile. "Oh, yes! My name was Victim, if you forgot it's no worries, but uh," He paused for a moment, still smiling. "You will refer to me as 'sir' or 'boss' remember?" Victim reminded him, simply as if Yellow had forgotten something minor.He was completely astonished; Victim's smile held no malice or rage. It was just a smile, something huge in contrast to how he acted earlier. What does he think he's doing? Looking stupid? Yellow scoffed at the reminder, rolling his eyes. "Right.."Immediately, the moment he noticed Victim take out the keys to his cell he shuffled back, his back hitting the wall of his cell. The door slid open with a creak, and Victim took a single step in which sent Yellow into a panic.His breath was erratic and fast, as he squinted over to Chosen in the other cell. He was awake, watching this all take place. Chosen could only give him a look of concern, arms still held up by the chains which blocked off a portion of his face from Yellow's view.His chest heaved with each breath he took, chest puffing out as he tried to slow down his breathing. What happened to the confidence, come on Yellow. Defend yourself, please, please. You can't go back you can't go back you can't go back YOU CAN'T GO BACK."Walk with me, hm?" Victim said in a calming tone that Yellow gasped at. He wasn't going to drag him out of the cell in handcuffs? He wasn't going back to the interrogation room? What gives? "What's wrong, cat got your tongue?"Yellow shook his head as he blinked tears away, what was with this nice approach? It was not anything like how he treated Yellow earlier, did he really think that he'd forget? Or is this something else?He could notice Chosen's hateful glare out of the corner of his eye. He had consoled Yellow when he awoke, because apparently, he's some type of therapist. He could definitely sense this was a trap from a mile away.Yellow on the other hand, could not.He shook his head once more to Victim's previous question, looking over at him. He had a friendly hand held out for him, to guide Yellow out of the cell. "No. Sorry, I'll follow you I guess." He muttered, taking the hand as he braced himself.He had half expected Victim to squeeze onto his arm, throw him against his cell and place him in handcuffs or something like that. Instead, he gently nudged Yellow out of the cell, closing the door behind the pair as he let go of his hand.Yellow gasped, this was his change. This was his opportunity for freedom, you can run for it now. However, something in the back of his mind stopped him from sprinting out of there on his own. He turned back to the empty cell behind his own.Orange wasn't in his cell anymore; they took him out of it for God knows what. He can't leave Orange, that's the whole reason he and the others came here. If he could just devise a plan, maybe he can break Orange out. Then maybe Orange could help him free Chosen?Yellow chose the latter of the two options, waiting for Victim to move as he stayed practically glued to his side like a dog. It felt like Victim was herding sheep, almost like..No, he'd never be as loyal as that one mercenary. The tall ass one with glasses, Yellow would definitely wind-up dead before he'd ever act like him. He would never be loyal to Victim, he doesn't even work for Victim. At least not legally.He can say it as many times as he wants, but technically Yellow is not under any payment contract. It'd be illegal for this hollow head to just force him to work. And for what, anyway? He still wasn't told, only given small little hints.Hints that aren't even close to good enough for him. All he knows is that Victim hates Alan, aka the man who's basically Yellow's dad. He's an inventor, not a theorist. He will not be able to work this one out for a while.Even if he was a master theorist, Victim's being far too.. vague about this for Yellow's liking. He definitely preferred answers being told to him, not for him having to figure out the answers himself. Well, technically that's exactly what science is.Yellow was definitely a science nerd and loved anything science-y. Especially astronomy, he still has an entire mapped out image of the solar system in his room. Yet everything in astronomy involved him having to figure out the answers.'You're getting distracted. Focus on the probably serial killer next to you, please.' Yellow thought to himself, biting his lip as he walked slowly along Victim's side. His dull gray color felt all too familiar to Yellow's eyes, he'd seen enough of it.At this point, the longer he's in this facility, the more shades of gray he can name within a minute. At this point he's running on over 100 memorized shades. All from being in this dull ass building, fantastic.The worst part so far was the fact that they were walking through a working area, near hundreds of gray stick figures bustled by them like drones, bolting to get work done. They all looked the same, nobody looked any different and it made Yellow feel near sick.He stood out in the room like a singular light bulb in the dark room. Despite the fact that Victim was a hollow head, he was still gray like all of them and blended in near perfectly, it'd take you a hot second to spot the difference.Yellow just didn't want to be in such a populated area with this guy, yet at the same time he did. At least if he was around other people Victim wouldn't hurt him, right? No, he would still do it. What's stopping him?He's learned by now that all of these workers are far too scared to actually act up against this man, nobody here would do jack shit if he randomly got impaled by Victim. With cowards like these, Rocket Co. must really be hurting for workers.Eventually, they finally exited the populated area of the building, leaving just Victim and Yellow alone in the near deafening silence. It was odd, walking so calmly with the guy who beat him up a day ago.He wanted to start a conversation, to at least figure out what was going on, but it felt like trying to start a conversation with the president. If the president was an asshole, that is.Victim didn't seem much for conversation himself; he always had some blank, thoughtful stare all the time. Unless he was interacting with you, he never had any other expression, and he'd certainly never say anything to Yellow. "So, how's your day kid?"Never mind, he's said something. Hold on, did he just ask how his day was? Yellow cocked his head to the side in confusion, what was this switch up? "Uh, good I guess so far. You haven't bothered me at all today."He winced as the gray hollow head gave him a 'comforting' pat on the back. He smiled warmly at him, almost too warm. "Great to hear, kid!" He said, gleefully. The fuck was this? A circus act?Yellow looked at him with some form of disgust, which Victim picked up rather quickly. "What's on your mind?" He asked, almost dumbfoundedly. He knew from behind that warm smile, the hollow head knew how he felt.He knew why he was so anxious around him; he knew for a fact. No way this wasn't an act, and he needs to fucking cut the act. As great as not being yelled at is, this is somehow mildly scarier than his other personality.It's always better when you know for a FACT someone is a bad person. You'd expect it. But this? You can't expect shit from them, they could be the sweetest person ever one moment yet beat you to a bloody pulp.He immediately took a cautious step away from Victim, trying to gain some distance, yet not make it seem like he was about to book it for an exit. "Sir, why are you doing this?" He asked, eyes widening.Shit, he just called him sir. He really was getting to him, wasn't he? Yellow growled as he swore, he could notice his smile widen as he called the short hollow head 'sir'. It really was a game to this prick, wasn't it?Victim walked over to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder as he looked down at him. Was this some poor attempt at therapy? "Why, whatever do you mean?" He asked, warmly. Yellow is starting to get sick of this personality.He'd much rather prefer this from someone like Blue, only if their attempt at comforting him wasn't so cheap and poorly done. It just seems like an intimidating father trying to... no, Alan's your father, don't think of Victim as such.Yellow let out another low growl as he moved away from the cold touch on his shoulder. "You were beating the living hell out of me earlier- you definitely remember. The fuck is this?" He asked, voice cracking in the middle of his sentence.He whimpered under his breath as he swore, he could see Victim's eye twitch. Was he really losing it this much? At this point, he nearly felt bad for the guy. How much sleep has he gotten in the past WEEK? No, month would be more fitting.Victim only looked at him as if he was about to give Yellow some type of comforting lecture. "I was just having a bad day, I was punched in the face, you know how it is. It was nothing serious and I wish I had not taken it out on you."Yellow snapped back at him rather fast, adjusting his glasses. "Well, I was whipped more times than you were punched in the face in the past year, asshole." He said, behind his breath. Immediately he realized he fucked up, bracing for some type of punch.Victim giggled at him, which was already a concern in of its own. He doesn't giggle, he laughs like he's the Joker. "Oh, that's not very nice to say, but I get it! I'm sorry, won't do it again, honest." Yellow raised a brow at that statement. "Sorry doesn't really cut it..."He watched as Victim looked at him dumbfounded, eyelid twitching again as if he was holding himself back from doing something. Alright, it's over, he's fucking sick of this. "Hm? Why not, don't you want an apology?"Yellow scoffed; sure he did want an apology, but he didn't have to accept it right away. Not after what he did, and what he might have done to Orange or Chosen. "Because I cannot accept it right away, you hurt me bad, man.." "Boss." Victim swiftly corrected.The correction was rather much quickly checked off as Yellow ignored the remark to make his own, he's not going to bother with his bullshit right now. "What did you even do to Chosen and Orange? Why not apologize to them, 'cause I'm sure you hurt them more than you hurt me."Victim shook his head, letting out a soft 'tsk' as he spoke. He looked as if he was told the most useless information possible, which was hard to understand for someone like him. "Why, I just want the best for you, Yellow! You're like my.. uh... best friend?"Yellow scoffed at him, rolling his eyes. What bullshit, that's the most dumb statement, even for him. "Sure, y'know, Orange and Chosen are my friends, and the rest of my real friends will save us, and none of them include you."Victim's eyes widened at that, almost mockingly, it didn't look real. He was obviously being dramatic about it, as it looked like his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets if he opened his eyes any further.He proceeded to laugh, hard. That's the laugh Yellow was looking for, not some stupid ass giggle that was fabricated for some type of fake cover-up personality he wants to use. "Oh, you really don't know, do you?" He asked, innocently.Yellow paused, looking at him as he cocked his head. Don't know what? Was there some type of secret the mercenaries were withholding from him? Very wise of them, for government agents they're rather.. unprofessional for their job.Victim sharply inhaled as he tried to cut off his own laughing so he could properly talk. Evidently, Yellow's dumbfounded face only made him laugh harder. He finally gathered his composure enough to speak as he looked at Yellow with the most sickening smile."They hate you!"The way he announced it made the pit in Yellow's stomach sink further as he looked at Victim in shock. "Eh? Excuse me? That could mean many things, what do you mean by they hate me? 'Cause right now, I really hate YOU."He received a pat on the shoulder from the shorter gray hollow head as he hummed in satisfaction, trying to hold back another uncontrollable wave of laughter. "You failed them, didn't you? You and your friends. They're going to die here because of you, it's your fault, isn't it?" He asked, gleefully.Yellow stammered as he tried to put the pieces together on what that could mean. "Bu..bullshit! I was talking to Chosen earlier, he was comforting me, he does not hate me. And if you hurt them, I swear to god I'll-"Victim rather smoothly cut him off as if he expected him to say that. Had he figured that him and Chosen were talking to each other while alone in their cells? Was there no consequences for this?Suddenly, Victim no longer had a joyful bubbly tone, as it was replaced with a stern, condescending and evil tone. "Well, you seemed to have figured this is an act. What's stopping Chosen from putting on an act? For a little kid like you, heh.. you're a bit too gullible."The way he said it made Yellow feel weak, as if he didn't have enough on his mind. Was Chosen really lying to him? Was everything he told him fake? How long was he being lied to, why wouldn't Chosen just tell him?Victim clicked his tongue as he looked at Yellow's utterly distraught face, letting out another laugh. "Oh, you should see your face right now. Ah! And about Orange," he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps down the hallway. "Speak of the devil."Yellow's head shot up, looking down the dimly lit hallway like a deer in the headlights. The moment an orange hollow head rounded the corner in cuffs, Yellow darted towards him. "Oran- gh!" Yellow swiftly began to try and book it over to Orange, only to get held back by Victim. This was more like him.He squirmed around in the hold, trying to make it over to Orange, who was being escorted by the short, pixelated mercenary. He looked so oddly beat up, was he unconscious... semi-unconscious at least? His legs were moving on his own, he wasn't being dragged.Yellow looked at him with concern as his eyes began to water. "Orange, c'mon! Tell me you're okay, please!" He demanded trying to move away from Victim. He was only met with a snicker from the gray hollow head. "What did I tell you? He hates you..."His words fell on deaf ears, partially deaf, as Yellow took in the information, he stopped struggling as he looked at Orange in shock. This couldn't be real, right? "Orange..?"Orange's head hung loosely by his neck, never lifting to look or even glance at Yellow, was he that bad to look at..? His legs slightly stumbled as he walked, still being held firm by the pixelated mercenary as they walked the rest of the way down the hall.Yellow looked dumbfounded, Victim only standing behind him with his hands behind his back. Yellow adjusted his glasses as he stammered for a moment. "No, no, he had to be unconscious. There's- there's no way, right?""The truth hurts, ain't it," Victim said, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. Yellow blinked in confusion, pulling away harshly from the touch. "Do not touch me, get the hell away.." He said, still in utter shock.He was only met with a look of sympathy, but no way that was sympathy, not after what he just did. What the hell is he trying to do? "I told you, I just want the best for you. You're no longer in their best interest,"Victim laughed as if he thought of something funny someone had told him a day earlier. Had he gone nuts? Was this all now a game to him, it had to be. "I wouldn't be surprised if they escaped without you."Yellow growled, going for a lunge at him. He could feel his blood boiling, and his mind clouded with pure rage and steam. He couldn't take much more from this asshole. "Shut up! Don't take about them like that, or I'll-"Victim stopped him as he swiftly grabbed his wrist, Yellow letting out barks of anger as he tried to pull away, harder and harder each time. Every time he'd tug, he'd yell profanities and swears at him.Victim tugged on Yellow's sleeve, getting him to walk along with him as he walked down the hallway. Yellow dug his heels into the floor, tried everything to stop him from walking.He realized a little too late that they were no longer walking towards the cells. They were walking towards Victim's office, away from Orange, from Chosen. Was he going to get the answers he wanted anytime soon?Yellow soon stopped his struggle, only looking at Victim with the largest, glossy eyes possible. He didn't know what to feel, the hell just happened? Is he that bad? Does everyone hate him that bad? Why not tell him, why not get it over with. Oh, he can't think he can't think he can't think he can't think HE CAN'T THINK.Only Victim has him in his best interests...?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Yellow bit down harshly on his lip, swaying back and forth in the cramped elevator. It wasn't even all that cramped, yet having the gray hollow head in the elevator with him made it all that much morse worse for him.He hadn't been making eye contact with him to avoid awkwardness between the pair, yet he could occasionally feel the harsh, penetrating glares from his captor. He didn't know what the constant analyzation was for, but he was hating every second of this.If Yellow had superpowers, he would've blasted a hole through the elevator, found the nearest corner and curled up in the fetal position in that corner. He felt like such a wuss right now, but he was sick of this.. all of THIS.He had expected what Victim said to be bullshit, some type of intimidating quip to get him on his side, but now he's just not sure how to feel. To be fair, he hadn't expected the guy who whipped him to be honest with him.It's still a shocker to him, he's not sure if it's a miracle or just something worse. No, no definitely worse, considering the context. Still, though, getting honesty from the hollow head out of all people was a little out of the park for him.Even if he did tell the truth, the truth wasn't something he wanted to hear, ever. Sometimes the truth is too much to bare, and this is most definitely one of those times for Yellow.Why would Orange out of all people suddenly hate him? He's known him for.. shoot, a decade at the least, and all of a sudden 'cause of this one incident he hates him? And for what?He's really starting to believe Victim TOLD him something, maybe he wasn't being so truthful, but Orange seemed so.. so.. he can't even find the right words; he just could tell there was a type of tension in the air.What hurt the most is he wouldn't even share him a glance.Yellow still prays for that slightly off chance that it was a misunderstanding and that maybe Orange just didn't hear him, did he go deaf? It's not like Yellow never expected it to happen, that kid was bound to go deaf at one point with all the trouble he gets himself into.Not like he's one to talk, he gets himself into a fair amount of trouble as well, mostly because of either his own curiosity or just because he wants to try 'a new experiment'. Or... a few years ago, when he thought it would be a good idea to summon the cursor.Well, to be honest, it's not ALL his fault. How was he supposed to know that a few years later Chosen would get captured and someone would see through his damn eyes? Chosen's whole description of getting his mind invaded still made Yellow's spine quake.But he's just getting off topic, Orange, right. He had to of noticed him, he called out over three times just to get his attention once, or even a glance. Maybe he was ill; he kept stumbling around as if he was drunk and could hardly walk for himself.Maybe whatever torture he underwent made him act odd, and he doesn't even want to know what those sicko mercenaries did to him. If it was anything harsh, he'd beat their asses. But would Orange do the same for him?Hell, forget Orange, what would the others do? If they all really do hate him, does that mean they'd come here to save Orange.. then- then leave him alone? With this psycho? No, sir! Not only would he not ever want to be trapped with this guy, but he'd also rather be with his friends. Even if the feelings weren't mutual.Shit, maybe Blue took offense to what he said to him in the truck... maybe Red didn't like his fighting style... maybe Green doesn't like how boring he is? Has this gone on for years? How long have they been judging him, fuck...Maybe they do have a point. They have a reason to not save him, they should just leave him here to rot. Not like Victim would let that happen, he'd probably keep Yellow alive for years to come just to make fun of him. Gosh, he hates this man so damn much.That's exactly what he wants, c'mon. You're just feeling this way because he wants you to hate everyone else so you submit to him, he's not an honest man, when has he been?His thoughts are wiped clear when he feels his legs begin to wobble a bit, the elevator coming to a stop, moving back down a bit before finally coming to a complete halt. It groans as the old doors slide open, revealing Victim's office.The gray hollow head takes a step towards the door, stopping in his tracks as he glances at Yellow with his hands wound tightly behind his back, almost expectingly. He watches Yellow sway before he finally enters the office, hesitantly.He enters the office with him, the worn out elevator doors closing slowly behind him. Yellow doesn't know where to stand, so he moves off to the side as Victim enters his office, hands still behind his back, as he walks behind his desk.Yellow puts his hand up as if he wanted to say something, but he's stopped with his mouth already open as Victim begins to speak for himself. "It's a lot to take in, huh?" He asks him, sitting down in his chair.The nerdy stick figure in front of him raises a brow in concern, adjusting his glasses a smidge at the question. "Ah, what's a lot to take in..?" He asks on an uncertain tone, moving closer to the desk as to not have a conversation from across the damn room.Victim exhaled in an exhausted manner, similar to a disappointed father having to explain something a bunch of times to his son. He couldn't tell if the hollow head was actually disappointed, or just... sighing a lot. "Listen, I know you don't want to believe that your friends, eh, distrust you now, however-"Yellow cut him off sharply with a scoff as he folds his arms in front of him. He glares hot daggers at the gray stick figure, taking an intimidating step closer. Well, to himself it was intimidating. "Because I don't believe it, and I won't."The hollow head grinned smugly at his reply, almost as if he expected it. He let out a snicker, leaning forward and placing his head on his arms, folded in front of him. "Aaaand why's that, now?" He asks with a sickening smile.Yellow growls, baring his teeth at him as if he were threatening to bite him. He would never actually do it, no shit, but having a threat made him feel better. "Because you whipped me! You whipped me and- and now this? Who do you think you are?"The latter's smile straightens out, looking way less smug than he did before. He cushioned his head even further into his arms, practically speaking into the cloth of his jacket now. "Well, that was it, correct? I've changed, just give me a chance."His tone sounded oddly disgusted and dull, as if he had no meaning to what he said, no kidding he didn't, but Yellow still somehow partially believed him, he didn't know what part of his brain he hit, but it must've been something important.Yellow shook his head dismissively at the hollow head, letting out a silent 'mm-mm' as he did so. Victim looked puzzled as he did, almost as if his actions had no meaning. "Chosen told me everything you did to him, you're sick you know that?"Victim's head shot out from his arms, sitting up straight as he stared at the smart stick figure in front of him as if he was a dog on alert. "What's your obsession with whipping people, anyway, was mental torture not damn ENOUGH for you?" Yellow snapped at him sharply.The hollow head could feel his eye twitch, and it was evident from the concerned stare Yellow gave him after he spoke. "Chosen told you what now? Wha-what I did to him? It was just a joke, heh...!" He said, uneasily.Yellow winced as he spoke, he could tell that the hollow head's mental state had been crumbling for a while, but now it was starting to fall apart right in front of his very eyes.He didn't know what to do, as much as he'd want to stick it to Victim, he didn't know if he wanted to mess with a deranged psychopath on the verge of a damn breakdown right in front of his eyes. He'd take those chances. He deserved those chances.Yellow walked up to his desk, slamming his palm down on the hard wood making Victim flinch. That was certainly a new one, making him feel somewhat pleased. "You cannot j-just treat us like toys then get defensive when someone speaks up against you. Where's your logic?" Yellow hissed at him with disgust poisoning his tone.The hollow head looked as if he was about to bolt for the door yet kept his composure in the chair. He took a deep breath in and out, before smiling warmly at Yellow, hiding immense hatred behind the smile. "Oh, it's water under the bridge... now,"The hollow head spoke, before grabbing the edge of the desk to pull his chair closer. The yellow stick figure looked uneased by his new approach, raising an arm defensively. "Tell me, what are your relationships with your friends?"Yellow looked annoyed, furrowing his eyebrows at the question. He was only getting more defiant by the moment, and Victim did not like his chances anymore. "I told you, I'm not-!" "Uh-buh-buh, I said friends, NOT Alan!"The stick figure sighed in defeat, adjusting his glasses as he kept a more professional position. "Very well," he said, making Victim smile. "I've.. uh, known them for a while. I met Orange like.. thirteen years ago? Fourteen maybe, I don't remember. The rest I've known for almost my whole life."Victim didn't care about the exact years, or any of them for that matter, all he cared about was getting him talking. NOW he was starting to like his chances. Hell, the kid's even starting to talk like him."Nice, nice.." Victim said, absent mindedly. It was very evident to Yellow he couldn't give one fuck about the conversation, yet his brain just rolled with the conversation. "...And... how's that been?" The hollow head asked, moving to stand up from his chair.Yellow took a step back as he raised his arm up once again defensively. "Oh, uh, nice, I guess. They sometimes don't get me, but they've all got their own interests and I've got mine. And they're... funny... at times, I guess."The gray hollow head nodded dismissively, making Yellow pout to himself. Why strike a conversation if you don't give a damn about the conversation? He shook himself out of his thoughts, trying to focus on the stick figure walking up to him.He didn't know why he felt like Victim was towering over him, despite the fact Yellow was a few inches taller than him, something about him just made him all the much more intimidating to him.The hollow head patted him on the back as he laughed, causing the smart stick figure to tense up as he hesitated on moving away from the touch. "Well, in any case I have some uh- work to deal with, just stay here and we'll discuss your work later."Yellow scoffed at him, still being forced to listen as the hollow head talked about him as if he was some employee. What does he think this is? Indeed.com? Hell no, he's not going to take this damn disrespect anymore!Victim clearly seemed to react to any signs of disapproval or dislike that Yellow would share with him, and despite reacting he hardly gave a damn. He simply felt like Yellow was acting like a rebellious teen, and well, he has far too many of those in the form of mercenaries.Any and all rebellious thoughts slipped out of his mind as he felt his hands tightly squeeze together, looking down to realize that his wrists had been attached once again by those stupid tool bar handcuffs.Victim pulled a chair over, forcing him to sit down in it as he lightly patted him on the head, making Yellow tense up once more. Sweat pooled down his face rapidly as he tried to pull his wrists apart so he could at least get a punch in on the hollow head.Victim chuckled, shaking his head dismissively as it looked like he was attempting to open a lid to a jar. "Now, I'm not going to hurt anyone. I just need to... talk to someone about work. Trust me, it'll be very quick, just don't run off."Yellow watched as the hollow heads eye twitched as he said that, pivoting on his heels as he marched his way over to the elevator door. He pressed a button to open the doors before stepping in, pivoting harshly again, almost in military style.As he waited for the elevator doors to close, he found himself looking into Yellow's eyes. His wide, glossy, terrified eyes. Soon that won't be the look the stick figure gives him, soon it will be admiration. Soon, too soon...The moment the elevator doors closed themselves, letting out an ear-piercing squeak, he kicked the wall to the elevator in a fit of rage. "Of course, that stupid fucking moron told the kid about everything, I'm fucking sick of him."He growled, pulling out his toolbar he always had on hand, pulling out the lasso once more. He whipped the lasso onto the floor just to hear it crack. "I'm not holding back this time, I'll go until he's fucking dead on my floors." He spat, staring at the wall in his angered state.The moment the elevator doors opened, he calmly walked out, holding the whip in his hand as it dragged along the floor behind him. He did not care if some unsuspecting worker walked up on him and stumbled on it, that's their own damn fault now.Suddenly, he no longer found himself walking. His even, smooth pace transformed into a jog, swiftly making his way back down the halls with simply a jog.He no longer found himself jogging this time, now he was sprinting, booking it down the hallways as he tries to make it back to the cells. He's never had so much damn motivation to kill a man up until this moment.Victim can hear a thud behind him, he managed to make someone trip, and he didn't bother to turn around to see who it was or apologize, he didn't give a damn at this point, he just kept booking it.Distractions began to occur almost everywhere now, and did that camera just turn red for a split second? Fuck it, he cannot dwell on it now. He has to keep going.His lungs began to burn from the over exerted amount of force Victim had been putting on them. He was pretty athletic, but this was a big facility, and now he was pushing his body to the limits.Just for one guy? That's a new one for Victim's standards. He usually did not allow running in the hallways, similar to if his whole corporation was a school. He was fine with others tripping, but if someone caused him to tumble over and make him land flat on his face then they'd forget what it's like to experience living.To be fair, the yellow kid was weak minded. He could have been easily convinced by Victim now, maybe if it weren't for the damn loud mouthed hollow head who just 'had to share his story' or some shit like that.He's suddenly stopped in his tracks, not by a person, but by the alarm. He feels sweat pool down his face as he glances around trying to figure out what happened. In fact, what DID happen?His world crashes around him when he hears that one announcement over the intercom, the announcement he was sure he'd never have to hear in his whole damn career."A prisoner is loose in the East wing, I repeat, a prisoner is now loose in the East Wing!"▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Yellow shivers as he watches the doors to the elevator close, still feeling the hollow heads gaze through the closed doors, even though Victim was probably down a floor now, he could still feel the piercing gaze from beyond the doors.His eyes narrow a bit, no longer feeling intimidated, yet the nervousness is still there. For one, he doesn't like being restrained, it makes him feel so damn helpless. If someone starts throwing punches, what's he going to do? Defend himself? Well, that's the point.The only other issue was that he was now left alone in some fucking sickos office. He expected animal carcasses to be plastered on the walls, or stick skeletons, but no. Just more gray stacked onto the facilities amount of dull gray coloring.He tries to pull his wrists apart, or at least free from the tool cuffs, yet it shows no signs of give. He leans back in his chair as he lets out a groan, he's good with technology, not breaking yourself out of binds.Yellow bites back down on his lip, feeling it ache a bit from how hard he had been biting it earlier. The only plus side was that he wasn't tied down to a chair like he had previously been in the interrogation room.Especially since, well, having your body caked in fresh cuts and bruises wasn't fun, and being tied down so you couldn't tend to those wounds made it even worse. Being forced to sit there all alone, bleeding out.Oh, right, he's not tied down to the chair.Yellow stands up confidently, moving his hands up to adjust his glasses, which proved mildly more difficult than it usually was for him. Which made him realize that he does indeed adjust his glasses a lot.On most occasions of being alone in a room, usually he'd be looking for other people, but now that was the last thing he wanted. In a giant damn facility where everyone is against you, that is the last thing you would want to happen.He took the opportunity he had to analyze the room and everything in it, mostly things on shelves that he could use to defend himself aside from his fists, or anything that could be used against Victim.There wasn't much at first glance, by the side of Victim's desk there was some type of shelf that looked like it came straight from a phone display case. Except if those display cases were filled with... weapons?I mean, it worked for him, a weapon's a weapon. Yellow reached his hand out to attempt to pry open the protective glass that kept the old timey looking weapons sealed, yet he quickly realized he'd need a key to open it.Now, while he could just risk breaking the glass, he had far too many fresh cuts that he did not want to put glass onto. It was going to be worse than putting salt on an open wound, that's for sure.He hummed in disapproval, feeling around for any weak spots. Mainly around the corners of the glass, as that is where most weak spots are, yet he felt nothing, not a single crack in the glass or fault.This company must use some damn strong material because this held firm in place. He winced as he tried to pry his fingers under to maybe just pull it off, to no avail once again, much to his dismay.It certainly did not help that Yellow's wrists were bound together, so he indeed had next to no hope of just prying this open. No matter, he'd find something else, maybe. There's not much else to analyze in the office, though.There were some other shelves and some portraits, one of them including the guy from those Ultra Stick Flex Tape commercials. Apparently, Victim has a thing for men who are on adverts, he even has the guy from Stick Farm.To be fair, all of those portraits are crossed out with giant red x's over them. I guess it's some type of company rival between Victim and them, odd for him to have rivals with people who sell insurance and tape, but alright. Yellow's not one to judge anyway.He hummed again, turning away from the shelf to analyze the rest of the room. That's when his eyes landed on just the thing he needed, or maybe needed. Sitting right on top of Victim's desk, clear as day, his laptop.It shimmered in the fluorescent lights in the room, Yellow's attention immediately directing towards the laptop as he approached it with no caution at all.He popped open the lid, smiling at the fact Victim did not have the hindsight to put a password to his laptop. This just made everything far more easier for himself. He snickered wildly as he analyzed the files on the laptop.Most of the files were, surprisingly, useless junk, like photos or vacation plans for some damn reason. All of those vacation plans had to be for Victim, no way in hell he'd let any of his mercenaries have even a two second break.Not like Victim seemed like the type of guy to take breaks anyway, he seemed way too much like a workaholic to do any of that. Vacations are probably the guy's worst nightmare, in fact.It didn't take long before Yellow finally spotted what he needed on the laptop, well, a mixture of two things to be fair. He popped open the monitor for all of the cameras, which Victim had decided to close on his own.He then opened a manual control panel to all of the cells, it seemed almost like a steal. Access to all of the cells doors from just a single laptop, why, it was a technician's dream come true.Upon scanning through some of the monitors to find the cell court, he caught a split second of Victim, booking it down a hallway with a look of pure fury and hatred on his face. He gulped, anxiously, knowing he was now on a time crunch.After rolling through a near 30 different cameras, he finally found the right one. Cell block 1A., a monitor which shot clearly into Chosen's cell. Bingo, just what he needed. After taking a note of the name, he opened the cell control panel. Despite the fact his wrists were cuffed together, it still did not prove much of a struggle, thankfully Yellow's plot armor allowed for everything to be difficult except this. Well, coding was his specialty after all.There it was, sixth row down on the monitor, Cell block 1A. It wasn't hard to figure out, the controls were very straight forward as he quickly typed in a line of code, which should open the doors to Chosen's cell right about...Yellow paused, groaning in annoyance as he looked at the pop up on the monitor. It had a voice, similar to Victim's. "Are you a robot? Find out now!" It spoke out loud, a mini picture of Victim waving his hand around.Of course, leave it to Victim to make a program what would make a person 'find out' if they're a robot. Unless they got cyborgs here, this was just a waste of his time. It didn't take long anyway, he only had to rotate a few pictures of some cars before completing a puzzle.All of a sudden, the doors to Chosen's cell slid open swiftly. Yellow typed in a few more lines of code, the chains that held Chosen's arms up then slid off, going slack against the wall behind him. Thankfully, Chosen was awake for this.He looked quizzically at the chains, then towards the open door as if this was a trick. He pulled his arm down as a test, visibly smiling widely when he realized it wasn't. Just his smile made Yellow joyful enough.Yellow watched as Chosen struggled to his feet and stood there blankly for a moment, before swiftly getting in the air as he began to fly and darted out of the cell. He was evidently a bit wobbly and weak, but Yellow had his hope.He quickly spotted a worker standing right outside of the cell, looking astonished, before running off. Yellow winced, knowing what was about to happen, before he swiftly went to go look for the controls for Orange's cell.If he could get him off of lockdown, maybe he could run for it.He didn't get far, however as the laptop shut off as a deafening alarm rung out throughout the facility. He could hear the panic in the workers voice over the intercom, yet Yellow could only crack a smile as he closed the slid to the laptop, walking around the desk and sitting back in the chair. Tears pricked lightly at the sides of his eyes."I trust you with this, Cho."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chosen let out a raspy groan as he toppled over in some random hallway, eyes widening in shock as he stopped flying mid-air to attempt to balance himself on his toes. He was face-to-face, or face-to-no-face with a plant in front of him.Honestly, it was more of a bush being supported by a thick pillar. Chosen's arms spun in a clockwise circle at a rapid pace as he desperately attempted to keep himself from toppling over and onto the overgrown plant in front of him.No noise could be made, or else he is absolutely fucked. They had begun a whole sweep of the interior facility, doing anything they could to find Chosen. He was just lucky that Victim himself was too much of an idiot to check the cameras for wherever he may be.It spares him the time for having to destroy any camera he passes, so at least he has that going for him. It would have been more of a pain to stop for each individual camera he sees. He's exhausted anyway, he needs the extra time to flee rather than to add insult to injury.The only main issue off the top of his head is the witnesses. They always say, 'no witnesses', yet Chosen left at least a dozen just standing dumbfounded outside of his cell. They all saw the direction he went, so they just have tonarrow it down to that side of the facility. God, he should've killed them all.No, not killed them. That's far too cruel for a simple group of teenagers who hardly understand what's going on. Maybe incapacitated them? He's not quite sure what he should've done with them, but anything was honestly better than leaving them standing there watching him make his great escape.Too late to go back now.Chosen finally tilts back onto his heels, stumbling backwards and away from the potted plant in front of him. Crisis avoided, for now at least. There are still dozens of hazards in this hallway alone, and an equal number of staff members right on his tail.Using the wall for support, Chosen immediately bounces off of it, the wall giving him an extra boost as he soars through a hallway he had previously left unexplored. Using landmarks, he realized he might've been going in a loop.He finally sees what the yellow kid meant. Holy shit, this building is dull and repetitive. There's gray everywhere, which checks with what the yellow kid was telling him when they were both in their cells.If Chosen was bored and could tell the kid was scared, he'd let him rant. Usually, he'd talk about how Victim had been treating him, which was not very nice for the record. It made him realize just how smart the kid was, he took notes of everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.Something he'd talk about was what it was like to walk down the hallways as if he was being sent on his way to get executed for a crime. 'Gray, dull hallways that matched the gray dull men dragging me to the interrogation room.' He had said.Chosen couldn't ever confirm, he had hardly been taken out of his cell, except for when he was being sent to The Box. The only color there was white. Shiny, clean white. Everyone says the color white represents a clean slate, a bright future.If that's the case, he doesn't like his future all that much.Aside from that, he hadn't really been able to verify for himself all of the kids complaints. The most he could do was offer him some support. Though he could tell giving him nothing but verbal support in an entirely different cell was not helping.Although he did think the kid had been exaggerating the whole 'gray' thing, he realized he was not. Not even in the slightest was he exaggerating, 'cause absolutely everything was an eye burning gray.It had begun to get to the point where Chosen was feeling... scared? Impossible, he's a war criminal. He doesn't get scared easily, had something changed about him?No, he doesn't change. Chosen has not changed one bit from his old personality, he's still a tough, nonapologetic...Dark.Maybe he didn't give him a good enough 'goodbye'.Maybe being here made Chosen realize how much he needs him.Is it that hard to move on?He could feel his breathing become ragged as the walls seemingly close in on him, the dark, dull GRAY only tightening around him as Chosen comes to a harsh stop mid-air, landing on his feet as he stares directly at another GRAY wall in front of him.Had the walls begun to laugh? Or were those the workers? Had they caught up to him, and Chosen was just distracting his own mind? Or was this some type of drug? Shit, this isn't good at all.He lifted his shaky arm as a test, no, it's still free. Not tied down or anything. No one was near him, there was no laughing. He was fine, nobody was watching him. Nobody was watching him.Chosen lifted his shaky hand to his face. He had begun to feel numb. A tear slid down the side of his hollow face as his eyes widened at the realization. He was crying. No, he was not crying. He does not cry, Chosen does not cry, he would never cry.He felt as his knees began to quake under him, hardly able to keep his own balance now. The GRAY walls around him closing in even more, everything was gray, nothing was different. Nothing was different, nothing around him changed.Nothing was different about the fluorescent lights, the stale atmosphere, the gray walls, gray ceiling, gray flooring, gray workers, the consistent migraines. Nothing was changing, it didn't change, it's not new, it's not new.It didn't change, it didn't change, it's never changed.He never changed.Chosen, who's eyes had begun to gloss over from tears, looked down at his hand. His hand had begun to get moist from the sweat, his heart was pounding in his ears as if someone had placed a marching band in there and let them do their thing.The cold air around him suddenly felt like it had begun to tighten on him, like he was physically WEARING the air. It felt so tight around him, it felt like the air itself was going to squeeze him until he burst like a balloon.His throat closed around him as he let out a choked sob, struggling to get up on his shaky and wobbly stick limbs. The cold, tight air struggling to gain access to his lungs. His throat tightened even more, just like the air. Tight, everything was tight.He hasn't felt this before, not in a long time. Not since he lost Dark, not since he-Even thinking of him was made his throat tighten even more around him, as if he had worn a necklace, only tightening the leather into his sensitive skin. He could basically feel his lungs squeeze and convulse as it tried to find more air so he could breathe. Breathe. BREATHE. DAMNIT!The pounding of his heart, the constant sweating, the lack of oxygen, fluorescent lights, stale air, gray, gray, gray, more gray. It's not changing, it's not getting better, it's not changing. He hasn't changed he hasn't he hasn't GODDAMN IT HE HASN'T!He finally felt his knees buckle under him, ankles knocking into each other as he desperately tried to keep moving. "Move. Move, move please." He quietly sobbed as he tried to regain composure. The gray walls only closed in on him as Chosen was yet still betrayed by his own body.Why wouldn't he move, damnit.Chosen could only feel his beating heart sink as he could hear the sound of at least ten workers in the near hallway behind him. He had a few seconds, at least, to move out of the way. He couldn't go back, if he went back Victim wouldn't let him live another second.He's not going back.He immediately shot up, attempting to get back in the air. His lungs squeezed back down, as his throat tightened again. No air. He needs air.Chosen instead resorted for walking, moving onto his trembling legs to move out of the way. No, not of the way, just to move. His mind clouded his vision as he held back loud sobs of desperation. He couldn't be heard; he couldn't be seen. Not when he's so close.That's when out of the corner of his eye he spots it, an air duct, perfect for him to fit in. As he turns his body sharply towards the duct, he prays that it's loose enough for him to at least get open.Despite his knees buckling again as he stumbles, he keeps moving for it. Heart pounding in his ears only getting louder, tears streaming down his face.His gaze landed on the nearby air duct once more cracking a smile at the duct. Thank god, its grate partially ajar, a sliver of darkness beckoning from within. It was his only chance.Summoning all the strength he could muster, Chosen lunged toward the duct, his fingers grasping desperately at the metal grate. With a grunt of effort, he wrenched it open just wide enough to squeeze through. He felt like he could sob from relief.Ignoring the protest of his screaming muscles, each and every last one of them aching, he hoisted himself up and into the cramped space, his heart pounding in his ears. The cold metal pressed against his skin, sending shivers down his spine, but he paid it no mind.Behind him, the sound of the dozens of workers grew louder, closer. With a surge of adrenaline, Chosen let out a silent, desperate cry as he pushed himself further into the duct, his movements frantic and uncoordinated.At last, he slid fully into the narrow confines of the duct, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. With a final glance over his shoulder, he reached back and pulled the grate shut behind him, a temporary yet working shield from the gray workers that had been following him.In the darkness of the duct, Chosen allowed himself a moment of relief. He was safe, for now. But he knew it was only a matter of time before his pursuers caught up with him once again. Though, they wouldn't search an air duct of all places for him, right?Oh, who is he kidding. Of course they would search there eventually. It fits a stick figure near perfectly, especially one his size. But thankfully it's definitely not the first place they'd check for him, he's definitely got some time.Something was happening to him, this was so different for someone like him of all people. Why is he scared of a group of teenagers, out of all the variations of stick figures to be scared of, he's scared of the gray teenagers wearing construction hats.Or maybe it's not them but.. him. The almost equally gray hollow head, one that could hardly be considered a stick figure. A monster.The black hollow head lets out a trembling sigh, as he carefully wrenches one of his limbs forward to begin crawling ahead, preferably to an exit. He swiftly stops in his tracks, however, at realizing one thing.He realized the workers were still right outside the duct, shit. Had they heard him moving around in the duct? They couldn't of, they're just a group of stupid teenagers. Right? Or was there a mercenary with them who had more of a keen sense of hearing?Chosen held his breath in anxiously as he waited to see if anyone would say something outside the vent, maybe call out to him or something like that. His sweat still dripped onto the cold duct beneath him as he struggled to hold his originally labored breathing."Ugh, this stinks," said one of the workers from directly outside the vent, seemingly below Chosen. He immediately held back a gasp, wondering if they had found him. "Y'know, this would be a lot easier if we had access to the cameras right now." They groaned.Chosen held back another noise, this time a sigh of relief. So they weren't aware of his position, that's a plus. Within the confined space of the air duct, Chosen could feel his own pulse begin to slowly calm down.He could hear a scoff from outside the air duct, he couldn't tell who either of the voices belonged to but he could tell they were both fairly young workers. "Why can't we use them, again?" The second voice said questionably.The first voice audibly hummed, and Chosen could practically hear him shrug his shoulders, even without a line of sight to the workers. "Dunno, but boss said that there's some hacker on the systems."Chosen was intrigued now, pressing his ear up against the cold metal of the air duct to get a better listen on the conversation. Sure, he didn't usually eavesdrop like this but information like this would probably be useful to him.Was the hacker the reason Chosen was able to get out of his cell? If so, whoever it is, he owes them a million 'thank you's. He heard a chuckle from outside the vent, causing him to refocus. "Ooh, mysterious? He seems cool." The second voice said, the sound of his voice fading as the pair walk down the hallway.Chosen waits for a moment, listening for proof that they're truly gone. He can hear their boots on the solid floor fade off, giving him confirmation as he goes back to crawling through the vent, his own sweat coating the duct beneath him.Well, that can't be considered evidence for the fact that he was in there, right? No, it can't, not unless someone has the misfortune of deciding to go into this very air duct. He lets out a groan at the thought, gross.He wrenches his arms in front of him again, crawling slowly down the duct. There are a few plates in the air vent that allow him to see other rooms, and he can't help but take a peek through them every chance he gets.It's always a quick glance, duh, because he isn't going to be the one who was caught crawling through the vents by staff members because he got 'a little too curious'. Not like the workers ever take their eyes off of whatever it is they're working on.He's just lucky that the loud hum of machinery covers the sound of him wrenching his way, slowly but surely, through the vents. Maybe that says something about Victim, the fact that it's near damn impossible to hear anything over all of the machines.It would be near impossible for anyone to count how many machines were in that facility, because you had one almost guaranteed for each room. At this rate, even a closet would have some type of machine in it. Probably a canon, sounds like something Victim would have.The one thing he notices is that the workers who are stationed at machines appear to be far more depressed than those on patrol duty. How harsh does Victim treat these kids? He'd have to be stabbing each one of them with a knife at least once a day for them to look this sad.He says Victim specifically, because at this point, Chosen cannot blame a single one of the mercenaries for this. After his conversation with Ballista, he figured that they're all just like the workers, teens who are just caught in the wrong situation.Maybe aside from Agent, but he was always an odd one to begin with. He looks so serious, like a teacher who would stand in a doorframe acting like they're doing something important, yet they've done nothing important whatsoever.Yeah, no, that's probably something he'd do.Chosen stops in the air duct for a moment to rub at his arms, which have begun to numb again. He can't tell if it's because he's in a cramped space, so he's begun to lose blood flow to his limbs or if it's because of how damn cold it is in here.Hardly anyone down there is wearing jackets, it's near impossible to fathom how they're surviving right now without a jacket. Even a thin one with hardly any layers of fabric would suffice at this point, and Chosen had his confiscated earlier, so...Quickly, though, the chill in the atmosphere became the least of his worries.He bit back a gasp as the air duct he was in creaked uneasily and he could feel his weight shift. He peaked out of the grate of the duct to check for anyone below. Thankfully, he couldn't spot anyone below.He took the time he had to move out of the loose, uneasy duct, but he had been far too late. He could feel the sensation of falling, and suddenly all of the air in his lungs was knocked out of him as the duct he was in fell to the ground with a crash.Fuck, that was not good. Not only could he struggle to move with the lack of air, but he had also made far too much noise than he was comfortable with. If anyone nearby sees an air duct on the floor, with him inside, it's game over.It's already game over.He hears the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly behind him, stopping right behind the air duct, out of his view. "Shit..." He muttered under his breath, immediately scrambling to get out of the air duct before the figure had time to do anything.Instead, before HE had time to do anything, he could feel a person grabbing his legs as he squirmed around, yanking him out of the air duct. He nearly screamed, trying to hold it back in case he had time to get away. He couldn't be seen by anyone else, he couldn't-Chosen let out a gasp as he was quickly dragged into a nearby room and shoved behind the thick metal door. He hummed in confusion, just barely missing the figure as they walked back over to the vent.Suddenly, a dozen more footsteps followed behind the figure who had dragged him into the room. Were they trying to corner him? Was this it for him? Shit, he had to- "Miss Primal, what just happened?!" Screamed an, evidently, terrified voice. Probably belonging to one of the workers.""Damnit," said a female voice, sounding uneasy. She let out a shaky breath, and Chosen couldn't quite see what was going on, yet he didn't want to reveal his position. "The target climbed through the air vent right here! Gather everyone at the Southern wing, he's heading that way." She commands, probably pointing in some direction."On it, miss!" The same voice said, with the sounds of boots hitting the floor slowly echoing down the hallway in a hurry. Chosen held his breath, risking a peak behind the door as he shakily pulled it back to look.There, in front of him, stood a tall, dull red stick figure. That was one of the mercenaries, wasn't it? She blinked at him calmly, moving into the room as she squatted behind the door with him. "Are you okay?" She asked, patting him down.He gulped, muscles tensing at the touch. He eased himself back up, nodding at her. "Yeah, uh.. I'm fine. Aren't you supposed to be... like... turning me in right now or something?" He asked the mercenary, uneasily.She squinted at him, standing up and leaning back on the door. "In his dreams I would," she said with a laugh, stretching her arms out. "He can figure where you are himself, besides, I'm not letting him hurt another stick figure today."Was Chosen supposed to feel thankful or confused? Because right now, all he can feel is confused. He returns the squint the tall mercenary gave him, peaking into the hallway to make sure this isn't an ambush or anything like that.He could indeed confirm, not an ambush. It's just her, but why? "Uh.. why, though? Why are you helping me and not... you know, the guy you're being paid to work for?" He asked, pulling back into the room in case anyone came booking it around the corner.The dull red mercenary narrowed her eyes at him with a scoff, only to dart her eyes to the floor instead of at Chosen. So much for friendly eye contact. "Like I'd ever help him anymore, it's become less about vengeance against those who have done wrong and more of damaging anyone who gets in the way."Chosen shakes his head, motioning softly for the door. "Your life isn't worth mine, I can probably make it out of here eventually, I don't know what Victim would do to you though, and I don't want to risk putting you through an absolute hell just 'cause you wanted to help me."The mercenary in front of him let out a soft laugh as she looked down at him, Chosen only suddenly realizing how tall she was in contrast to him. She had easily a few feet on him, sizing him up easily. "Bold of you to say even though you just met me, but I appreciate it."Chosen weakly smiled at her, nodding as he once again positioned himself in the doorframe as he looked around. "Great, so you get out of here while I-" "Who said I was going to leave you?" She interrupted him, raising a brow as he stepped into the door.He turned back to face her, swaying back and forth on his heels awkwardly. "Well, you accepted the offer I made, right?" He asked her, looking down at the ground as he swayed. "No, I accepted your compliment. Not your idea."Chosen bit back a groan of annoyance as he redirected his sight back to the tall mercenary. Did she have to be this stubborn? He's trying to save her life. "And for the record," she continued, "Working for Victim is enough of a hell for me."The moment she moved into the doorframe with him, he quickly realized what was happening, finally letting out the groan of annoyance. "So, no matter what I say you're not going to listen to me, right?" He asks hesitantly. The mercenary hums in disapproval, just the answer he expected."Great, just great," He says, moving back into the room as he sinks against the wall trying to figure out how this was going to work. "I don't know what to do, my powers feel so weak right now... I tried to fly out of here, but I failed miserably, as you saw."The mercenary raises a brow at him as she moves into the room as well, leaning on the wall. She shakes her head at him. "No, I saw you fall out of a duct. Not fall out of mid-air." Chosen stands up at that and walks straight into the hallway. "Fine, I'm just going to book it." He states, getting into a position as if he was preparing to run a marathon.The dull red stick figure follows him out there, arm reaching out as if she was trying to stop him. "Hold on, I can just-" It was far too late as the black hollow head had already begun booking it down the hallway, careless for anyone who might be around the corner. "...Never mind."She immediately follows him as he makes a mad dash for the exit, despite the fact he had no clue where he was going. The mercenary kept her distance behind him, in case anyone saw her following the war criminal they'd think she was chasing him down.Chosen let out a puff of air as he sprinted even faster down the hallway. He was far more used to making more grand exits, more specifically when his powers weren't weak as hell. If he could, he would've been blasting fire at everyone and flying out of the roof.Although he knows that Second and Yellow are still in there, they can wait, right? No, that's a selfish thing to say. Forget it, he doesn't know what he'd do under this circumstance. But being as weak as he is right now, he couldn't wait around to find out.At least he could sprint normally.Chosen was more or so shocked at the fact that there were absolutely no exit signs anywhere in sight. It was either he was deep in the building, or this building violated several safety regulations. It's hard to even fathom how the workers get around this damn place.Or hard to fathom the fact that they are now right in front of him.He immediately comes to a stop, the mercenary following close behind him also coming to a stop. Some of the young workers, holding guns, surprisingly, are now standing in front of them, blocking them from going anywhere."Stop right there!" One shouts, moving in closer towards Chosen. He immediately does a 180, only to see that even more workers had positioned themselves behind the mercenary following him. Not to block her from going anywhere, but as if to cover her. "Come with us quietly and this won't hurt!"The red stick figure gets into a stance as if she was going to charge, making Chosen sweat. Had this been for nothing? If so, he's going to die here being known as a worthless stick figure who achieved nothing. He's not letting that happen.The last thing he wanted to know was what Victim would do to him if he actually got over here, and he doesn't have much time left. He is not going to be the one who finds out what Victim does to him, whether it be torture him again, or leave his body in a dumpster.He moves to brute force his way past the group of workers, even though they easily out number him, and have guns on top of that, he'd hope that his powers would at least do him something for once today.Chosen lightly notes the sound of growling behind him, almost like a bear? He ignores it, darting over to the group of workers in front of him. Unluckily, they do not show him mercy as they immediately open fire on him.He gasps, turning on his heels to try and move out of the way, but it's far too late. He's going to die like this, he's going to die here. At least it'll be quick and painless, quick and painless, quick and painless...Instead of being met with darkness, or maybe even the pearly gates, anything similar, he sees a giant red thing in front of him. It recoils with a grunt, almost as if it's been struck. He takes a step back in awe, trying to look at what's in front of him."Holy shit," He announces out loud as he finally looks at the giant object in front of him. It really was a bear, he realizes, but not just any bear that happened to walk his way into the facility. The... mercenary? "Holy shit, holy shit. You're a bear." He says, not sure what he's trying to get at.He moves forward, trying to calculate what he was going to do for himself. Was he supposed to get on her, or follow her, or.. "Wh... since- since when could you do this?" He yelled in confusion, mouth agape in pure shock.She immediately turns toward him, the light sketch of sharp teeth nearly glistening under the fluorescent lights. Chosen yelps in surprises as she violently picks him up, placing him on his back as he was roughly jostled around.He groaned, his migraine that had only been a minor issue earlier, but it suddenly growing in intensity as the bear-mercenary thing turned back towards the crowd that had gathered, blocking their only way out.With a growl she surged forward, knocking most of them off of their feet as they dropped their guns, leaving the ones that remained standing too stunned to continue firing at the pair bolting it for the door.As she charged forward, Chosen only swaying on top of her uneasily, he quickly realized that maybe he should've listened to her. So what if he assumed that he could get out of here just fine on his own and tried running out blind?And so what if the mercenary has evidently mapped out the entire interior in her mind already? It doesn't mean that they're any different. Chosen spent a solid 20 minutes of his day looking for a single exit, that should be enough experience for him.Chosen let out a groan, putting a hand to his head. The migraine he had achieved from doing nothing but being jostled around was practically screaming at him now. He didn't have time to feel like this, damnit head. He should be more focused on walking out of here instead of how sick he's going to be when he gets out of here.He wiped sweat off of his forehead as the mercenary finally came to a sharp halt, sending Chosen-CRASH.Flying off of the bear, and into a doorframe.With a moan of pain, he sat up begrudgingly and narrowed his eyes at the mercenary, who only sat there expectingly as if he was supposed to move. Was he? After being thrown into a wall? He might as well thank her for all the damages she's caused within a matter of ten minutes with this attitude!He gets onto his legs, walking over to her and away from the wall he was just previously tossed into. He stood by her feet, looking up expectingly. "Well? Did you toss me into a wall for nothing, or-"With another loud crash, the mercenary surged forward and swiped harshly at the wall, sending it coming down. Chosen couldn't believe it, she had finally led him to an exit. And was that sunlight?He began to tear up at the sight of sunlight, surprisingly, something he'd never thought he would find himself crying over as he swiftly stepped over the debris from the wrecked wall and outside, the soft feeling of grass at his feet.Chosen turned back to the mercenary, who had shrunken back down to her natural stick figure form. He looked at her, dumbfounded. "You could've done that before? Why didn't you tell me sooner, I could've... I-"He was cut off by the sound of her laughing, as the red mercenary brought a hand up to her mouth to try and hide her laughter. She looked back at him with a sigh. "Watching you try to make your own plan was funnier.""Psshh, so you would've let me fail for your own entertainment?" He said, looking at her with a quizzical yet joking expression. She merely shook her head, holding her hands up in submission. "Never said failure, it could've worked. It was just funny."Chosen couldn't help but crack a smile at that answer. Gosh, he hadn't felt happiness like this since... well since a while. Not much to feel other than depression when you're imprisoned by some random angry gray hollow head."What, my plan to just run until I found a door that had a pretty glowing sign that says 'EXIT'? Pretty elaborate plan, eh?" He said, placing his hands on his hips with a confident smile. "...It was pretty elaborate, I guess. Could've worked, dunno." She said, returning his smile.Chosen sighed, taking his hands off his hips. "Well, listen, I should thank you for-""Now, wasn't that impressive, Primal?Both of them stopped in their tracks, and Chosen could swear he watched the blood drain from the tall mercenaries face in front of him. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she anxiously spun around to look at the owner of the voice behind them.Chosen moved to get a view over her shoulders, and immediately saw the issue. Victim, standing there confident as ever. One of his hands were planted firmly behind his back as he grinned smugly at the pair.He shook his head, almost in disbelief, taking a step forward, causing both Chosen and the mercenary to move backwards. "Now, Primal, I don't know what made you think you could pull off a stunt like this, but if you just hand back over the prisoner you can leave with your life." Primal, that was her name.She didn't falter, standing firmly between Chosen and Victim, almost like a protective barrier. If the barrier was alive, that is. She growled as she planted her feet hard into the floor beneath her, she wasn't going anywhere.Victim stepped forward again, and while Chosen stepped back Primal did not. "Primal, I swear to fuck if you don't move, I will shoot you right here, so help me, and move." He said beneath gritted teeth, snarling like an angered dog.Primal stood strong, glaring harshly at Victim as if they were in some form of a western dual. "I'm drawing the line; I'm not going to listen to you. Not this time." She snapped back, standing tall as she opposed him.Victim let out a roar of anger as he stepped forward again, attempting to intimidate her. "Primal, now!" He yelled, Chosen sweating as he only continued to take slow, careful steps forward. He hadn't gotten too close to either Primal or Chosen yet, but they were both still fairly uneased. Obviously.Chosen would say she had a fairly strong chance against him. Despite the fact Victim had weapons, and well.. people working for him standing right behind him, he figured that she would be able to tank the hits if she just transformed.Just react quickly, react quickly, react-"I've given you enough chances."With one swift, fluid motion, Victim yanked out the object that he had been hiding, hand firm on the object before he took it out. He aimed it directly at Primal, a gun, they both realized as Victim fired directly for Primal's chest.A bang followed, with one blinding flash. Chosen sealed his eyes shut, taking even more uneasy steps back as he feared the worst.Come on, not again. Come on...As he wrenched his eyes open, he saw exactly what he feared. The bullet had gone clean through her chest, leaving her with no time to protest as she sputtered out blood through her gaping mouth. She turned in his direction, looking at him with glossy eyes before collapsing.Victim only stood there, slowly lowering his gun as he eyed the corpse of his previously alive mercenary in front of him. He scoffed, placing the gun back into his pocket. "I told her to damn move."He didn't know what came first, his scream or him turning the other direction and rushing off.No, go help her. Go help her, she still has time to be saved.He didn't once turn around, not when he heard Victim shout for him, not when he could hear people following him, not when he finally got himself into the air with a rush of adrenaline, not when he realized they'd finally stopped pursuing him for a moment.He didn't stop. He left her to bleed out, he didn't stop."I'm sorry I didn't get to thank you."He tried to tell her that this is what happened to those who helped him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ballista let out a terrified gasp, refusing to move from where he was standing behind Hazard. He shook vigorously as he took very careful glances at the former mercenaries corpse in front of him, occasionally glancing at Chosen who had already begun to make his escape.He was honestly shocked that Victim had decided not to go after him. He was right there, and with someone as injured as him it wouldn't be that hard to make a swift catch. But I guess Victim wasn't feeling it as he simply scoffed, watching the scene unfold.Ballista could feel his sibling shake in terror just as he was, yet he was keeping his composure as he stood tall, sweat dripping down his forehead. He, unlike Ballista, had his eyes fixated on Primal's corpse. He just couldn't take his eyes off of it.Maybe it was the disbelief or the shock, or maybe both, but he remained trained on the body as if he expected Primal to begin to move again. Poor girl, they were so close to witnessing Victim's downfall, too.He looked over at Shady, who had joined the crowd forming around the giant hole in the facility wall. At first, despite his height, he was confused on why such a crowd had gathered, all up until he saw Primal laying there, lifeless.Shady had tried asking the brothers if either of them knew how this happened, to which they both responded no. They had gotten there just as late as he did, and they were all equally confused. The part that hurt though were the rest of the workers.It was near impossible to forget they were all still technically kids, because, well, how could you forget? It was made obvious with most of their unprofessional attitudes, one odd for someone naturally in high school or college, and they all hardly had any maturity. And certainly, none of them were used to the feeling of death.Majority of them stood, paralyzed in terror as they gazed upon the corpse of one of the mercenaries. They saw Victim kill people just like them all the time, sure, and they were still never used to it, but this was a mercenary. He had not killed any of them before.Maybe he'd throw some threats their way, but they had never expected the day to come where he seriously acted on his threats. A chill ran up all of their spines near simultaneously as they realized he was no longer playing around.A few of the workers had begun to sob, and even scream as they half expected Victim to whirl around with the gun still wielded and shoot them all straight in the craniums. Not going to lie, Ballista felt the same way. He let out a terrified gulp, looking at his boss and back to the workers simultaneously.Victim let out some angered huffs as he looked down at the body in front of him, Ballista's pixelated body beginning to drip with sweat as he waited anxiously for him to do something, anything, even if it was lashing out at them.Hazard quickly shuffled to the side, nudging Shady on the shoulder awkwardly. As Shady looked at him, Hazard began to eye back at him and Victim. Shady, who didn't get the hint, tilted his head in confusion causing Hazard to let out a soft groan.He moved forward softly, leaning into his ear as he whispered something. Ballista awkwardly craned his neck to try and hear what the duo were talking about but was a bit too late as Shady nodded and trudged towards his boss.As he finally reached him, Shady looked uneasy as he pulled out a shaky hand, moving it slowly over to Victim's shoulder. He fumbled with his words before finally coming up with, "Eh... boss? Are you okay, sir? You're looking a bit-""Great! I'm looking great, right, thanks for reminding me," Victim shouted behind gritted teeth in anger, causing everyone to flinch. He got down on his knees as he began to inspect the corpse belonging to the dull red mercenary. "I'm so glad you remembered, so helpful, so insightful!" He growled out.Ballista watched in fear as Victim clasped his hand tightly around Primal's wrist, the latter's body only being the equivalent of sludge, fell limp in his grasp. He spun around, maneuvering around workers to try and get inside as they all looked at him uneasily.He paused in place for a moment to see if anyone else had the balls to say anything, before he finally snapped and tightened his grip on the body, nails digging into the soft flesh. "If none of you go back to your damn stations and let me handle this, I will execute you all, IMMEDIATELY AND PERSONALLY."That seemed to do the trick as everyone began to let out an even more astonished, and terrified cry as they dispersed to their proper stations. Ballista and Hazard hesitated for a moment, looking at Shady, who had no problem letting Victim go.He stood there, wide eyed for a moment before dusting himself off as if he had fallen in a giant puddle of water, before walking away with his hands clasped behind his back as he muttered something quiet to himself.Ballista turned to Hazard in confusion, waiting for a moment as his brother kept his eyes fixated on Agent before turning back to Ballista. "What the hell was that about?" He questioned Ballista, looking a little uneased himself.He couldn't help but shrug, looking at the sign-like stick figure as he looked back outside. Chosen was long gone by now, he didn't know what he was looking for anymore. Ballista felt his throat close up around itself as tears sprung from his eyes. "Did boss just.. kill Primal?"Hazard's eyes widened as if he had forgotten, immediately rotating his body to look at the puddle of blood that was on the floor, the only final remaining trace of Primal ever being killed in the first place. He let out a strangled cry, turning back to Ballista as if looking for an answer. "I..."Ballista let out a sob, and Hazard couldn't help but feel himself begin to cry too. Half because of Primal, but the other reason being that he was just watching as his little brother began to cry out in front of him. Ballista shook his head, sadly. "I know he did, I know he did because he's a monster,"Hazard began to stammer, he wasn't going to be the one who lets his sibling slip at the wrong time. If Victim was still nearby and he sees this, it'll be over for him. "And he thinks he can call us freaks? Well GUESS WHO'S THE FREAK NOW, HUH BOSS? GUESS GODDAMNIT!"He had begun to shout into the building as his voice choked out tiny sobs, knees beginning to tremble. Hazard watched the pixelated stick figure as he immediately panicked, any louder and someone was certain to hear him."Hey, hey, look at me," Hazard stammered as his little brother continued to shout threats into the building. He finally stopped for a moment, turning to Hazard with the most betrayed look on his face that stabbed Hazard right in the heart.He suddenly lost all the words he had prepared a moment ago as he just looked at him in shock as tears begun to pour from his eyes as if it was a water fountain. His mouth opened as he stammered for a moment before finally coming up with, "I'm... sorry."Ballista looked disappointed, yet still just as betrayed as he did a moment ago. The pair looked at each other, both crying aggressively at this point. "You miss her already too, don't you?" Ballista asked in a worn-out voice. "You're my older brother and not even you know what to do?"Hazard panicked; hands raised in defense. "No, no! I swear I know what to do in this case, boss has never stopped me before!" Ballista sighed, turning to walk inside with a defeated expression. "Well, he stopped you today, didn't he. And at this point you should just let him."Ballista's older brother began to sweat profusely as he followed him inside, both yet still crying as he tried to refute the claims. "No, remember what we said? When we both leave this place, we'll-" He stammered as he was cut off by the smaller stick figure. "Never look back, sure. Easy for you to say, because all I want to do is look back right now. Face it, there's no such thing as 'leaving' this place without death!"He immediately pivoted to face Hazard directly, looking up at him as he froze in place in a panic. "And for the record, Hazard, I DON'T WANNA DIE!" He shouted, immediately pivoting again to book it inside. "Hold on, wait!" His brother called out for him.It had been a moment too late for Hazard as Ballista was clearly not going to turn back. Hazard knew what was right for him right now, and that was to let him be. He didn't want to make him angrier than he already was.He wiped tears from his eyes, looking down at the tiled floor beneath his feet. Primal's death had already managed to absolutely shatter his brother's heart, and not just that, it might have easily torn the mercenaries apart just like that.Sure, they never came to a complete agreement, but Hazard saw them all as siblings. They all ran a function that helped another mercenary function as they should and so on, but now they've just lost a crucial piece in the puzzle.He didn't like living like this, living with Victim. With everyone's lives constantly dangling from a thin thread that could snap at any moment. That was the boss for you, an uncalculated storm that could destroy everything in an instant.Hazard was supposed to be strong right now, strong for his brother. But he had been crumbling for a while, just as Ballista was. It was just about time he finally snapped, and it made him feel awful. He couldn't bear to see Ballista realize that he was always just as scared as he was.He was supposed to protect him from these feelings.As Hazard trudged through the halls, he finally paused as he saw the leg of a stick figure. He looked up, seeing Shady leaned up against a wall with his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping, but he had his eyes closed.Out of everyone right now, he didn't want to talk to Shady of all people. He was basically Victim's sheep, following the flock no matter what the situation is. Sure, he technically did the same but at least he didn't have such a cult-like mentality for him.Shady, on the other hand, treats Victim like his adoptive dad, as if Victim would actually do that. He needs to find other people to get validation from, because Victim is just not it.But it didn't matter right now, because he needed advice. And if he was going to have to get that advice from Shady, then so be it. He'll get advice from him, even if he's not willing to give advice he'll be getting it from someone anyway.He walked up to Shady awkwardly, who seemed to immediately sense him nearby. He shot up from where he was leaning, turning to Hazard in a panic as he squinted at him. Once his eyes, under his sunglasses, adjusted to the lights he simply blinked calmly. "Oh, it's you."Hazard sighed, wiping the last of the tears from his face. "Yeah, it's me." He paused, hesitating before he continued, "I need to talk to you about something important." Shady tilted his head, his expression remaining neutral, though there was a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "What is it, Hazard?" he asked, his voice surprisingly gentle.Hazard took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "It's about Ballista... and Primal. Everything's falling apart, Shady. My brother's a wreck, and I don't know how to keep him safe anymore. Victim... he's out of control."Shady's expression softened, and for a moment, Hazard thought he saw a flicker of understanding in his eyes. His softer personality vanished for a moment as he scoffed. "No kidding, Victim's worse than he was before. It feels like he's gone blind with rage now, and unlike before. Probably because he just barely has revenge in his grasp, it's like.. right there, you know?"Hazard returned the scoff to him, along with an eyeroll as he crossed his arms at him. "Well, that's odd for YOU to say. Aren't you supposed to be Victim's dog?" He asked, bitterness poisoning his tone. Shady simply deadpanned at him. "No,"Shady shook his head as he refocused, eyeing Hazard as he turned his body towards him, hands crossed behind his back as if he was prepared to listen for once. "Anyways, what were you going to say about your brother?"Hazard recoiled for a moment, surprised Shady would care. He sighed, frustration bubbling up inside him. "I can't keep pretending to be strong when I'm just as scared as he is. This whole place is a nightmare. We're all just waiting for Victim to snap again, and I don't think anyone can take it any longer."He looked down at the floor as he bit his lip, watching out of the corner of his eyes as Shady raised a brow at him, out of concern it appeared. "I'm sick of Noogai, Shady. I'm sick of Noogai, and I'm sick of this 'revenge' thing. It's been years, why do we have to do this for just.. one damn guy? I'm sick of this, everyone is."Shady raised his hands in the air defensively for a moment, as he immediately looked like he was going to deny it. "Well, I'm not-" Hazard scoffed, cutting him off. "Don't you dare tell me YOU'RE not sick of it too, otherwise you'd be threatening to report me to the boss." He spat out in anger.Shady's expression tightened, his calm demeanor cracking ever so slightly. "Look, Hazard, I know it's a mess. But we can't just—" "We can't just what? Leave, fight back? Why not?!" Hazard's voice rose in frustration, echoing through the corridor. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, each beat a reminder of the fear and anger bubbling inside him.Shady glanced around nervously, then leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Keep your voice down. You want Victim to hear you? Do you want him to make an example out of you too?"Hazard took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but the rage was still there, simmering beneath the surface. "I don't know how much longer I can do this, Shady. I can't keep pretending everything's okay when it's not. Ballista's falling apart, and so am I."Shady's eyes softened, and for a moment, he seemed to genuinely empathize. "I get it, Hazard. I really do. But we have to be smart about this. If we want to get out, we just need to bide our time. Running off half-cocked is just going to get us killed."Hazard shook his head, his frustration palpable. "Bide our time? Really? Best idea you've had all day, I should give you an award!" Hazard spat out in anger, letting out a low growl in between sentences. "Primal tried to bide her time, and LOOK where that got her! Between Victim's rage fits and trying to keep our heads down, how much longer do you think we'll be able to handle him?"Shady sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know, okay? I don't have all the answers. But I know that if we act rashly, we'll end up like Primal. Or worse. But-""But nothing!" Hazard shouted at him, throwing his hands up in the air angrily. "We don't HAVE time! Primal snapped, Ballista and I are beginning to snap, and so will you. It's a matter of time, Shady, the only thing we're biding for anymore is our own demise.""We can't just sit here and wait for him to pick us off one by one."▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Yellow could only let out an exhausted sigh as he let his arms slump back down, falling limply into his lap. He wasn't going to get out of this situation, was he? That's exactly what he wanted, to die alone in an office to some ugly gray freak, woohoo!The even better part? He's going to die without any friends at this rate, because they all hate him! What a great life he's living, he almost lets out a chuckle at the absurdity of it, while he kicks his feet around in his chair.He should've seen this coming, if anything he deserves this. He should've protected his friends more, but instead he let not only himself get dragged inside a building, but let Red, Green, and Blue bleed out unconscious on a concrete driveway without anyone to help them.This sucks, the guilt and anger he feels is immense, and those were FAR from the last emotions he wanted to feel before death. He at least hoped it would've been a peaceful one, like drowning. If he didn't die to an illness, he'd want to do it by drowning. It just seems calming to him.But this is one of the last ways he'd want to die, after enduring days of torture and interrogation, and sitting alone in a cell like a convicted criminal, he's finally going to be put to death, both a blessing and a curse at this point.He just wishes he had the time to at least apology to his friends for his utter embarrassing failure, maybe then he'd get to feel something good while dying. He's just as embarrassing at this point, a weak pathetic-DING!Well fuck.His head snaps towards the elevator door towards Victim's office, Victim stepping into the room as he hid something behind his back, a dead yet calm expression plastered on his face as he glanced at Yellow. He didn't look angry or anything, but Yellow knew this look well enough.As Victim walked into the room, Yellow finally saw what he was hiding behind his back, and his eyes shot open in terror as he immediately recognized the dead corpse of Primal, a shocked look permanently left on her face. He let out a scream of terror, curling his body in on itself as he backed himself into the chair.Victim raised a brow, looking nothing but tired. He slung Primal's corpse down, resting it up against a wall like a child messing with a doll, no care at all. The gray hollow head then walked over to the other side of his table, where he sat down and glared at Yellow, waiting for him to stop screaming as he looked at Primal's dead body. "Are you done?" He asked, blinking calmly.Yellow stopped screaming, swallowing down his saliva as he looked at Victim in utter fear. "You killed her, holy shit you killed her! Please don't hurt me, please!" He begged, sitting up in his chair in a desperate attempt to make himself feel bigger.Victim's expression remained eerily calm as he leaned back in his chair, almost nonchalant in his demeanor despite the chaos unfolding around them. "Calm down, Yellow," he said, his voice strangely devoid of emotion. "There's no need to panic. Primal's... unfortunate demise was necessary. She had outlived her usefulness."Yellow's eyes widened in horror, his mind reeling at the callousness in Victim's words. He struggled against the restraints of the tool bar handcuffs, feeling more trapped than ever. "You... you're a monster," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.Victim tilted his head slightly, as if considering Yellow's accusation. "Am I?" he mused; his tone almost contemplative. "Perhaps from your perspective. But in the grand scheme of things, sacrifices must be made for progress. You of all people should understand that."Yellow's heart pounded in his chest, his mind racing with fear and desperation. He had to find a way out of this situation, for his own sake and for the sake of his friends. But with Victim's cold indifference and the grim reality of their circumstances, he felt more helpless than ever.No, scratch that. For his own sake, he had to get out of here for his own sake. Because of course, as the thought always managed to creep back into his mind, his friends don't give more than a single fuck about him. They can figure themselves out for all he cares. He just has to make it out himself.Yellow let out a panicked growl as he stood up from his chair, eyes wide open in terror as he tried to make himself look assertive. "You're insane, she didn't become 'useless' like you think she did! You're just a monster, that's why you see her that way!"Victim scoffed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "You wouldn't understand, Yellow," he replied dismissively. "You're too naive, too blinded by your own sense of righteousness... unsurprisingly." Yellow looked offended by that, letting out a gasp. "Hey, I'm the smartest in my group, I'll have you know!"Of course he wasn't being taken seriously, and he shouldn't have expected respect from Victim of all people. The only person within a 10-mile vicinity that Victim is going to respect is, well, himself.Victim let out a sigh, shaking his head as he leaned forward in his chair, eyeing Yellow with suspicion. "Enough about Primal, I would like to discuss something else with you." He said, a demanding tone ever so present in his voice.Yellow's heart sank at the mention of discussing something else. What more could Victim possibly want from him? He swallowed hard, trying to maintain some semblance of composure despite the rising panic within him. "What... what else is there to discuss?" he asked, his voice wavering slightly.Victim leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he regarded Yellow with a calculating gaze. "You remember what I told you, correct?" he said simply, his tone sending a chill down Yellow's spine. "I want you to work for me, and I want you to be loyal to me, Yellow. And do me a favor, sit back down."As Yellow sunk back down into his chair hesitantly, his mind raced. He couldn't possibly betray his friends, not after everything they had been through together. But would he even have the balls to stay loyal to them after they had turned on him on a dime? If they could do that so easily, it wouldn't hurt to just.. no, no. Don't think like that.Victim's lips curled into a faint smile, though there was no warmth in his eyes. "Let's just say... I have plans," he replied cryptically. "Plans that may require the cooperation of certain individuals." He paused, letting the implication hang heavy in the air.He let out a small chuckle bringing his hand up to his cheek as he smiled ear to ear. "And by certain individuals I mean you, I don't know why it's plural but I meant you." He said, laughing as if he had made an absolutely groundbreaking joke.Yellow's mind raced as he tried to think of a way out of this situation. He couldn't possibly just become loyal to the guy who TORTURED him just because he felt slightly petty. But at the same time, he couldn't afford to anger him further."I... I don't know what you're talking about," Yellow said carefully, trying to keep his tone neutral. "I have not heard you speak of this once." He said, shaking his head in denial. Victim looked at him, unimpressed. "Yeah, sure thing buddy. You aren't going to back your way out of it. Just give me an answer."Yellow looked scared, backing up in the chair as he tried to strain his wrists free from their tool hand cuffs. This was not the ideal way for him to answer questions, he couldn't do this right now. "I.. can't... help you."Victim's smile widened ever so slightly, though it held no warmth. "Is that so?" he said, his tone dripping with skepticism. "I find that hard to believe, Yellow. I know you feel angry right now, you want revenge, don't you?"Yellow's heart raced as he tried to think of a response. He couldn't let on that he knew anything about their abilities, but at the same time, he couldn't outright lie to Victim. He had to find a way to deflect his questions without arousing suspicion.He hummed, satisfied by Yellow's puzzled reaction. "You know, I understand you. Being left behind, being left with me while all of your friends escape without you? And after EVERYTHING you've been through together? Ouch.""I don't need revenge," Yellow replied, trying to sound defiant despite the fear coursing through him. "I just want to get out of here and... and go back to my friends. That's all." He said, stammering between his sentences as sweat began to ooze down his head.Victim chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement. "Oh, Yellow, you really think your friends are coming back for you?" he asked, his tone mocking. "You're disposable to them, just like Primal was to me. Why won't you just admit it? You know you've lost them, and all you have is me now. Just give in."Yellow shook his head in fear, immediately attempting to shut down Victim's argument. "How do I know I won't just become disposable to you? Disposable like everyone else apparently? How are you any different, and after all YOU'VE done to me?""Oh, Yellow, you're such a poor liar," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "But that's okay. You don't need to lie to me. I know exactly what you want." He leaned forward, his gaze piercing through Yellow like a knife. "You want power. You want control. And I can give that to you."Yellow only cocked his head in confusion at the answer, he looked shocked yet somewhat... amused? "Wh...what?" He asked, sitting up calmly. "You want to control the situation, don't you? You want to feel like you have the power, you're the one in charge. Just trust me, I can give that all to you. I can give you more than they'd ever give you.""I-I don't want your power," Yellow protested weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I just want to be free." Yellow whispered out, despite feeling slight regret at declining the last offer. He really did want to feel in control for once, really he did.He wasn't feeling power hungry or anything like Victim clearly is, he just wants to remember that feeling he used to have, the feeling of being able to plan something out or being able to predict his next action, but now he never knows where he's going or what he's going to do.Or what someone's going to do to him.Victim's smile turned predatory, his eyes glinting with malice. "But Yellow, don't you see?" he said, his voice soft and menacing. "With power comes freedom. With control comes the ability to shape your own destiny. I want revenge on Noogai, the man who made me for FUCKING NOTHING and ruined my ONLY chance at life."Yellow flinched as Victim aggressively slammed his fist on the table, leaning towards Yellow with that everlasting predatory look in his eyes, like he was stalking prey. "And you want revenge on those who ruined your friendships and left you behind. Don't you, hm?"He thought about it for a moment, sweat dripping wildly down his forehead as his heart pounded in his ears. He doesn't know what he wants anymore, this is what Victim wants, isn't it? It's not what he wants, it's not..Yellow felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Victim leaning in close, his eyes burning with intensity. "Think about it, Yellow," he whispered, his voice like a serpent's hiss. "Think about what you truly want. Think about what they want. They want to be rid of you, I want to take you in,""Come on."Yellow exhaled sharply, clutching his right arm in regret. "I understand," Yellow said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll... I'll do whatever you want."Victim's smile widened into a chilling grin, his eyes gleaming with malice. "That's what I like to hear," he said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"The moment was quickly ruined by Yellow, however, as he stood up from his chair sharply, once again. "Hold on," He said, hesitating as Victim looked at him with a harsh glare. He gulped, before continuing. "Are you not... mad?" He asked, quizzically.If anything, Yellow would be grateful if Victim didn't give two flying fucks about the fact he let Chosen out of his cell, and casually hacked the facilities systems, but he just had to clear the possibility that he WAS still mad. In case he was... well, still mad.Victim raised a brow at him, arms clasped behind his back as he let out a soft 'hm?' at Yellow. Did he truly not know it was him? "The... fact that I hacked your systems, let Chosen free. Are you not mad at me?" He asked, taking a step back.He watched as Victim let out a long snicker, looking at Yellow with malice in his eyes. He followed Yellow's step back, moving forward with him as he looked at him as if hungry. Yellow bit his lip in terror, taking another step back. "Oh, I am mad,"Victim approached him roughly, and despite the fact that Yellow had been rapidly backing up to avoid a confrontation, eventually Victim caught up to him and grabbed his wrist, digging his nails into his joint. "And I'm not happy about it."He hummed out in satisfaction, pulling Yellow forward. Yellow stumbled, letting out a choked gasp as he shook his head in confusion. "Hold on, what are you-" "And as a new WILLING staff member, I think you should learn the definition of the word 'punishment'."As Victim used both of his hands to grab a firm hold of Yellow's arm, he immediately began to stutter out pleads as he tried to figure out what was going on. "Just give me a second, I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"CRACK!Yellow let out a choked sob as he could feel, hear, and see as his arm bent in a way it shouldn't. Oh god, Victim had just broken his arm. Yellow let out a scream of terror, the scream cut off by the multiple sobs exiting his throat all at once.Victim let go, allowing Yellow to sink to his knees as a sharp feeling of pain began to stream through his arm, and reaching the rest of his body, as it began to feel like his entire body had just been broken. He looked up at Victim, betrayed.He had just sided with a monster.Almost immediately, Yellow began to feel his consciousness slip from him as he let out a weak, raspy cough. Reaching his free hand out, he looks at Victim with desperation in his eyes as he prays to everything he knows that Victim will just help him up. Don't do this to him, please don't do this.His vision began to fade to black, as the last thing he saw was Victim standing over him, looking down at him with a wicked smile on his face.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Red's eyes shot open in pure terror as he sucked in a large gulp of air, his head spiraling around in all directions as his adrenaline rushed. He could hardly remember what happened before he was knocked out but all he could remember was danger.He was in such pain it felt like it could compare to how he felt waking up earlier on the concrete outside of Rocket Facility. Wasn't hardly as bad as it was before, yet it still hurt in a way he could compare it to before.He hardly seemed surprised as he looked down at himself, finding his limbs tied to a chair with rope. It was thin and scratchy, yet it held firm, which he figured when he pulled testingly on his limbs only for it to burn into his skin.Let's see- what can he even recall? He was walking with Green and Blue, before they split off and let him look around the forest for something by himself before he... died? No, he's still alive in one piece. (The One Piece?)Who even was it that he was looking for? He can hardly remember despite being PUMPED with adrenaline and on fight or flight most, despite just waking up. It wasn't even three hours, how'd he forget everything in three hours?"Well, look who's waking up!" A voice hummed at him from somewhere in the room he was in. Right, Dark. Red blinked at him in an exhausted daze, yet he was mostly just shocked that Dark of all people would be the next person to kidnap him in his life.Dark’s voice broke the silence again, laced with mockery. “Did you really think you could come here alone and find me? How naïve.” The voice echoed off the walls, making it hard to tell where it was coming from.Red’s vision slowly cleared, revealing the silhouette of Dark, standing by a wooden table cluttered with old, crumpled up papers and notes. His presence was intimidating, almost tangible in its darkness. The hollow head narrowed his eyes, as if analyzing his prey.He then let out a laugh that shook Red's inner core, a laugh worse than the one that Agent guy let out after brutally beating him and Green with a stick. Dark stepped closer, eyebrow raised while still letting out a few chuckles. "What were you doing, anyway?"Red yawned, licking his dry lips as he began to slowly wake up. He sluggishly blinked as he tried to get his mind to completely wake up. By the time it dead, he went wide eyed as he shot forward in the chair he sat in. "Dark! Oh my Becker, Dark- we've been-"Dark scoffed as he cut him off, leaning on the battered wooden table next to him with a cocky smirk. He rolled his eyes at Red, as if he had already formulated what Red was about to say in his mind. "What? Come back to finish me off? I know what you were put up to, and guess what, I won't allow it!"Red raised a brow at his reaction, as well as his response, as if he was genuinely confused about what Dark meant, because well, he was. "No! Green, Blue, and I came to-" "Kill me, yeah. I know." Dark said, confidence never faltering. Red just looked pissed off at this point.He groaned as he leaned back in the wooden chair he was tied to, trying not to move his wrists around too much and cause them aching. He eyed Dark suspiciously as he stretched out his legs. "Why are you even out here?"Dark’s smirk faded slightly, replaced by a more serious expression as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Why am I here?” he echoed, his tone dripping with incredulity. “Why wouldn’t I be? This is my domain, my fortress of solitude, if you will.”Red raised a brow at him, unamused, as he began to analyze the rundown hut they were in. Both floor and ceiling were missing tiles, whilst bits of the painted wall were beginning to shrivel and fall off. "Your fortress is a rundown collapsing hut?"Dark began to look at him awkwardly as sweat dripped down his forehead while he dug through the pile of garbage in his brain to find an excuse. "Uhh, appearances can be deceiving." He said, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly.Red let out a huff, shaking his head in disbelief. "Right. Deceiving. Sure." He leaned back in his chair, testing the knots on his wrists again. They were tight, but not impossible to break if he could find the right leverage. The room was dim, lit only by a small window that let in a sliver of the gray, overcast sky outside. It made the place feel even more oppressive.He watched as Dark panicked, shooting his hands up as he tried to redirect his interest back over to him. "And-and!" He stammered, running over to a wall as he skidded to his knees. "I've been holding HOSTAGES! Yeah, that's right..!"Red tilted his head, curious, as he tried to peak inside of the hole that Dark was next to. "Hostages?" He asked curiously, leaning forward, despite his wrist's protests, to get a better view of what Dark was trying to show him.Dark laughed and nodded, as he turned his head back over to Red. "That's right! It's uh..." He sat there awkwardly, pulling a few mini slices of cheese out of his pocket and shoving it into the wall. "It's a family of mice, they came here willingly but.. uh- they're MY prisoners now!"Red stared at Dark for a moment, almost in shock, before his eyes lit up and he began kicking his feet in glee. He attempted to scoot his chair over to the wall as he tried to peak in to see if there were mice in the hole at the moment. "REALLY? Where are they? CanIseepleaaaaase?"He stammered in shock, grabbing the back of Red's chair as he yanked him back to where he was before. "N-no! They're prisoners and- they're very dangerous. They're only allowed out when... when they get out. I have to feed them cheese from the stores I STEAL from!"Red only titled his head again, curious on what he meant, yet couldn't help but fail to stifle his laugh at the situation. He looked back down at the hole while laughing, expecting a mouse to pop out. "Dangerous?""Yes! They're... they're very dangerous! You don't understand!" Dark's voice cracked slightly, his confidence wavering. He hurriedly pointed at a corner of the room, where a small, half-eaten piece of cheese lay on the floor. "See? They leave their crumbs everywhere. They’re a menace!"Red sighed, shaking his head. “Dark, you’re telling me you’ve resorted to keeping a mouse family as your prisoners? What happened to the grand villainous plans?” He glanced around the shabby hut, the irony of the situation weighing heavily on him.Dark stammered as he tried to find a way to defend himself from this one, yet was utterly failing himself miserably. He looked at Red awkwardly as he continued to stammer. "We-uh..well yeah. You're supposed to be scared of me- but.."Dark stopped and faced Red, his shoulders slumped. "Look, okay, I get it. I've been... distracted. The whole villain thing isn't as easy as it looks, anymore. It's not hard to go out and set things on fire, hell, I could do it right now if I wanted. But ever since your friend tried to kill me and left me to die it's been uh.. harder."Red leaned back in his chair, contemplating Dark's words. The atmosphere in the room shifted from tension to an odd sort of understanding. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Dark, despite the fact that Red can vividly remember being stabbed in the chest by this man before. The notion that even a villain such as him could have vulnerabilities struck him. "You're saying... it's been tough since Orange attacked you?"Red asked cautiously, his mind racing through the implications. He had known Dark as an adversary, a threat to be defeated, but hearing him speak now, there was a flicker of humanity that he hadn't expected.He was met with a deadpan expression from Dark as he looked at him in pure annoyance. "No shit, Sherlock, that's what I'm saying. Congratulations, you've cracked the case!" Dark, still irritated, threw his hands up in exasperation. "What? You find this funny or something? I’m serious here, moron. You think this is a game?"Red shook his head, trying to stifle his utter shock that was probably painted across his expression. "No, no, it’s just… I never thought I’d see the day. You, the great Dark, the guy who IMPALED me through the chest, is taking mice of all things as hostages in a run down shack."Dark’s face reddened, and he scowled. "Well, if you think that’s pathetic, you should’ve seen the last couple of months. I’ve been trying to gather what little I have left, trying to rebuild something, anything. But it’s not easy when everyone thinks you’re just some monster."Originally, Red would've tried to pull the empathy move he usually does on people, and try to tell them otherwise, but he just kind of blinked at Dark in this case. "'Cause you are... whatever, what even changed your mind anyway? If the old Dark was still around I would've been.. disintegrated."Dark simply hesitated before shrugging at him. "Dying does something to a person I guess, it made me rethink like... half of my life choices, except thievery." He said with a bit of wariness to his voice, which nearly threw Red off completely.Red raised a brow, looking suspicious as he scooted his chair back a bit. He narrowed his eyes at Dark before responding to him. "And you... you're serious about this?" He said, finding it unfathomable how someone could switch up so fast.Dark sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair in a rare display of frustration. “Yeah, I’m serious. I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. After everything that happened... I quit, basically." Red looked shocked at the information, recoiling a bit. "I didn't know you could QUIT a personality."Dark chuckled softly, the sound almost melancholic. “Yeah, it’s strange for me too. But here we are, in a rundown hut, with a family of mice that I can't even bring myself to harm. Funny how things turn out.”He sat up, letting out a sigh as he suddenly reached under the table, pulling out what looked like his Viraband. As soon as he turned it on, the giant spear that he was so used to Dark wielding was now pointed right at him as Dark blinked calmly. "Anyways, I know what you were here for, so now it's time to die."Red let out a gasp, pushing his back as far into the chair as it would allow him. He shook his head, denying the accusation. "No, no! About that- you need to hear me out on that, I swear it's not what it seems!" He stammered, panicking as the red blade was pointed at his face.Dark blinked calmly as he seemed unphased, bringing the blade closer and closer to the struggling Red's face. "You have five seconds to explain yourself before I kill you, with no one to save you this time." There's the old Dark that Red remembered."I...""Five,"The bright red tip was only brought closer to his face, Red's breath hitching in his throat as he tried to turn his head away, to simply get off the chair or do something, yet he was rendered motionless as he could only watch as the spear approached him."Just, please-""Four,""If you'd let me-""Three,""Explain!""Two,""Please!""One...""THEY HAVE CHOSEN!"Dark paused, immediately lowering the blade as he began to look more serious now, placing the band down as he grabbed Red by the face, shaking him desperately. "Who- who's they? Who has Chosen?" He began to plead at this point, something Red thought he wouldn't see.Red gulped as he tried to refocus, to explain the situation to Dark without making it sound weird or cause a scene between the two. "Some... facility called Rocket Corporations. They took Orange and Chosen, and then they took Yellow!"He watched as Dark blinked in shock, the weight of the words hammering down on his back while he looked like he was about to collapse. Red only let out a shaky sigh, continuing again. "We thought coming here to get you to help would be a good idea because you're a good fighter."Dark stared at him, his eyes flickering with something Red couldn’t define—was it fear, regret, or something else entirely? He rubbed his temples, clearly overwhelmed by the weight of the situation. “You want my help?” Dark asked, his voice barely above a whisper.Red watched him closely, the tension in his own body slowly beginning to ease. “Look, I get it. You have your reasons to hate us, to want us dead. But this isn’t about that anymore. This is about saving our friends, and maybe... just maybe, stopping Rocket Corporations for good.”Dark put Red down as he pivoted, putting his hand up to his chin as if deep in thought. After a moment he spun back around, blinking at Red as if he had immediately made up a decision on the spot. "Fine, I'll help you. Only for him."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Yellow let out a shaky gasp as he sat up from the cold, metal table he was on. His body shook much like his breath as his head began to swim, as he brought his hand up to his head, blinking rapidly to refocus on something- anything at this point.He doesn't remember much, hardly anything at all. He just feels this indescribable... anger. No explanation as to why, yet, but he could feel anger at someone. His fuzzy memory hardly offered him assistance as the most he could do was clutch his head in pain.Too much was hurting right now as he suddenly felt as if his arm was heavy in some sort of way. Like it was hard to lift, that's odd. He reluctantly moved his arm down from his head to his arm in an attempt to find a wound or anything but was instead met with coldness and a texture that didn't quite feel like skin. Totally normal..Now that he thinks about it, his leg kind of feels the same way. Heavy, cold, different. Everything felt DIFFERENT in a way but just specifically those two limbs of his were screaming out to him that they were in pain, and he noticed.What he had hardly noticed though was the grayish, young looking stick figure next to him lying down on a similar table, with another gray stick figure- a hollow headed one- standing next to the younger looking one. He blinked in an attempt to refocus his vision as he sat up, but a scream exited his throat.The hollow head shot his eyes up to look at him in shock, and by the time he realized that Yellow was the cause of the screaming he only offered a soft smile in his direction. "Ah, there you are. I was afraid that I messed up the experiment..." He said, gripping the scalpel in his hand in subtle anger.Yellow looked down at the younger gray stick figure on the table next to him, dull and glossy eyes staring straight up at the ceiling. "Why is he..." "Dead?" The hollow head said, cutting him off as he looked back down at the body."Oh, right, him. Ah, funny you should ask! So he basically came barging in here while I was busy trying to..." He paused, trying to search for words in his mind. "FIX... you. He nearly made me mess everything up, and I was basically done anyway so I thought I should teach the kid some manners. Not like he has a use for them anymore."Yellow stared at the hollow head, dumbfounded, biting down on his chapped lips as he scooted back a bit on the table he sat on. The hollow head softened his gaze, reaching out a gentle hand to him. "Ah- do you happen to remember my name? Or anything?"He curled up as he began to stammer, trying to look for all of the names he happened to remember- which were basically none. Until one, one specific name popped back into his head. "Uh... Victim, was- was it?"'Victim' smiled at him, clasping his hands together in approval as he nodded. "Yes, that's exactly it!" He said with a smile, before subtly turning away and writing something down on a clipboard. He muttered out whatever it was he was writing, and Yellow craned his head to try and get a look, but Victim turned his back, blocking the clipboard.Great.Yellow's head throbbed with pain and confusion, but he clung to the name like a lifeline. Victim. The name resonated with a strange familiarity, though it also filled him with an inexplicable sense of... fear, was it? He hardly knows what 'emotions' are right now.Victim, that's his name, Victim."Now," The hollow head spoke, whirling around to look back at Yellow who looked back at him, confused. "Do you remember anything else- about your life? Any other familiar people?" He asked with a hum as he walked up to Yellow, placing a reassuring hand on his back that didn't feel so reassuring to him.Yellow bit down on his lip again, looking down at the floor as he tried to see if there were any other names that he could remember in the slightest, just whatsoever. None came to mind, sadly. "No, nothing- wait, why- why am I even here?" He asked looking around at the room.Unless he was somehow familiar with sitting inside of a lab-looking futuristic ROOM, this was not familiar to him at all. Victim didn't seem too alarmed by the question, only smiling as he carefully walked away, Yellow keeping his eyes trained on him as he set down his clipboard.He pivoted, turning back towards Yellow with a cold grin that for some reason Yellow just couldn't read. It looked like every other warm smile to him. "Oh, that. Well... I found you after you had been er- abandoned. You were left behind, Yellow. I'm simply providing for you." He said, with a calculated smile.Yellow blinked in confusion, trying to look down at himself, with a slight, but still there, blurry vision. "But then why am- why do I feel pain right now if you were..." He sputtered out a phrase of random and miscalculated words that didn't make sense, he no longer knew what to say.Victim didn't seem to worried once again, patting him on the back as Yellow flinched, his eyes shooting wide open at the unexpected contact. "You wanted this, didn't you?" The figure hummed out at him.Yellow didn't know how to respond to that, blinking in an attempt to remember anything from the past day as he gently nudged Victim's hand way, squinting at him. "I- did?" He asked, his gaze swimming in and out of focus, not quite long enough for him to analyze what shape he was in.The hollow head nodded, keeping the "soft" look fixed on him, Yellow still not quite picking up on any of the signs that it was anything but. "Yes, you did. You wanted to be better... you wanted revenge, remember? You wanted to be stronger, to make THEM regret ever betraying you. You feel it, don't you? That anger boiling inside of you."As he said that the hollow head gave Yellow a playful jab at the stomach, to which he flinched again, and Yellow could've sworn his arm had nearly just gotten heavier at that. "Oh. Is that what it is?" He asked, squinting again.The hollow head only nodded in reassurance, staring cautiously at Yellow's squint. He walked up, taking off the glasses that Yellow didn't even know he was wearing. "Sorry, I think I just need to adjust these." He said, grabbing a lens off of the side table next to him.From what Yellow could see, which was nearly nothing, the lens looked... different. FAR too different, again with that feeling of 'difference'. It was odd, but the lens just seemed so much more futuristic from the details that shone out under the florescent lights, almost like what a cyborg would have.Victim stuck his tongue out as he carefully readjusted the lens, muttering to himself. "And... there, try these." He said, handing back the glasses to Yellow. He took them in his hands, carefully perching them on his nose. He nearly let out a gasp in confusion.Maybe that was his issue.Suddenly everything seemed so much more clear, almost like his world had gotten 'better graphics'. The moment his eyes were no longer squinting and had gone wide in confusion, Victim smiled at him. "Feel better?" He asked him.Yellow looked down at himself to try and FINALLY declare what had been the cause of aching in his body, yet he could feel as Victim suddenly grimaced at his movement. "Uh, maybe just don't-" Too late.This wasn't familiar, at all, nothing about this seemed familiar. He looked down at his arm- or what he THOUGHT was his arm, as it had been completely replaced with solid metal, it looked basically fused into his upper body by the looks of it, almost to fit with an actual arm.His right leg was no different as it appeared that the back of his calf had been similarly replaced with solid metal, earning a scream out of him as he looked at the replacements for his real 'limbs'. Victim only let out a husky sigh, slapping himself in the head. "Should've told you earlier."Yellow's mind raced, desperately trying to remember anything that could make sense of his situation. But all he felt was a gnawing emptiness, a void where his memories should have been. And that anger, the seething rage that seemed to burn hotter with each passing moment.Yellow scrambled back, nearly falling off the metal table in sheer panic. He stared at his arm and leg in horror, unable to process the sight of his new robotic limbs. "What did- did you do to me?!" he choked out, his voice trembling with fear and disbelief.Victim sighed, trying to carefully ease Yellow's worries as he turned the tone of his voice down to try and get Yellow to focus on him. "Hey, I need you to calm down," He said, carefully approaching Yellow as to not set him off again as he shook about on the metal table."It's not about what I did to you, it's what THEY did to you. I wouldn't purposefully harm you, Yellow, and I hope you learn to realize that. I'm simply here to help you get revenge." Yellow finally stopped screaming, looking up at him in reluctancy.Of course, the guy he only knows on a first name basis wants to help HIM get revenge for a reason he still doesn't know, other than he's been 'abandoned'. And yet he can't help but crave it, crave to be rid of the anger that's bottled up inside of him. "Why, though? Why would you want to help me?"Victim blinked, looking at him as though his words held no value and Victim was simply speaking to a wall. "Y'know, you're much like me Yellow. I want revenge on someone, too. Someone who wronged me a long time ago, I want revenge much like I can bet you do."He smiled, a calculated look visible in his eyes as he kneeled down next to Yellow to meet him eye to eye from where he was sitting on the table. "If you'll help me with this, I can guarantee you that you will be rid of all that anger. All I need is for you to bring someone to me."Yellow blinked, reluctant. He knew this anger came from somewhere, but he didn't know where- or if he even WANTED to get revenge on the people he didn't even remember. But the rage just felt so... PHYSICALLY painful, physically burning to him.With a sigh, he nodded. "Fine- just tell me what I need to do." He muttered, hoping that the regret wouldn't eat away at him. Victim smiled, patting him on the shoulder as he helped Yellow off of the table. "Great, you know how to use technology and code, correct?" He asked him.Yellow let out a quiet 'uhh' before nodding at him, it was a little fuzzy but he still certainly remembered most of it. "Fantastic," He said, muttering under his breath. "At least you still have that part of your brain intact..."Now Yellow wasn't one to judge but this guy seemed off, yet he couldn't help but feel oddly.. okay around him, as if he meant well. He was getting so many mixed signals from this man that he no longer knew how to feel.As the pair walked out of the laboratory looking room and into a long, dull gray hallway with a bunch of staff members that looked similar to the one dead in the laboratory he had just left, they all looked the same, Yellow's brain felt a tang. This was familiar to him in some way, gray... gray walls- gray workers- gray everything. This was certainly familiar.He was about to continue down the hallway before a hand stopped him, Victim's, as he leaned against the wall. "Mind waiting here? I'm going to have one of my... very trustful friends help show you around, maybe get you used to the place."Yellow was tempted to tell him that he already FELT used to the place, but kept it in his throat as he nodded, crossing his arms awkwardly, constantly rubbing his real hand over the metal hand. Odd.Despite not remembering much, if anything at all, Yellow still knew from somewhere in the back of his mind that this was off. VERY off. He couldn't count a single time from anywhere in his hardly functioning brain where he had a metal arm.Perhaps he's just that tired? Maybe this is normal, but he just can't shake the feeling. He knows Victim wouldn't purposefully hurt him, he wouldn't.. yet still....It didn't take long for Victim's 'friend' to arrive as a taller stick figure wearing glasses came walking down the halls, gaze seemingly unfocused as he simply watched his footsteps on the floor, before looking back up at Victim the moment he had completely made it over to him. "Yeah, 'm here boss, who did you need me t-"He paused, gaze turning over to Yellow, and he almost let his personality slip as he saw the state he was in. He kid looked completely different, hardly recognizable. You could still tell it was him, but not quite.Victim grabbed the taller stick figure by the tie he was wearing, the former yanking it downwards to get the latter to be eye-to-eye with him. "Shady, I need you to walk him around to just get him familiar with the place again, and I swear to fuck if he ends up rebelling or freaks out I will have your head for this." He said in a low growl, letting him go."Do not fuck this up."The short gray hollow head then walked off down the hallway, leaving Shady to stand there in complete shock as he blinked, quickly regaining his composure and walking up to the younger, yellow stick figure in front of him as he knelt down to look at him.Yellow looked at him cautiously, narrowing his eyes as he adjusted his glasses, before waving awkwardly. "Hi? You're uh... Victim's 'friend' right?" He asked, half marveling over how tall he was and the other half terrified of that same thing.Shady blinked, raising a brow. Is that what he called him? Interesting. "Uh, I guess so. I'm Shady, nice to... meet you." He said, awkwardly. This wasn't necessarily a 'first meeting' as Shady was quite literally the one who kidnapped the kid in the first place, but it's never too late for reintroductions.Yellow nodded at him, muttering his name. Shady didn't need for him to repeat it, he already knew. His gaze was focused smack dab on the center of Yellow's forehead, where Victim had put a bandage that was quite evidently stained in blood. No way he seriously cut into a child's head.With a husky sigh, he stood up and gestured for Yellow to follow him, awkwardly. He was debating on straight up telling Yellow who he was, but he wasn't in the mood for pulling a Primal, nor did he want to lose his 'loyal' streak. Technically, he already had.He didn't know how to feel about the fact that he was falling in line with the other mercenaries, skeptical, disobedient worms. He was supposed to stay loyal to Vic until the end but now he's beginning to slip. He vowed this would never happen, it was his oath.That's just fucking brilliant.Yellow let out a confused hum as he gently nudged Shady on the arm, regaining his attention. Shady looked down at him, adjusting his sunglasses so he could look at the kid. "So, uh, Victim said you guys were friends... right?"Shady grimaced at his question as he looked away momentarily, he knew Victim saw him as anything but a friend. The most was an acquaintance, nothing else. But he had to do what Victim told him, just don't let the kid freak out. "Uh, yeah, great- great friends." He stammered out.Yellow nodded, seemingly accepting the explanation as he let his metal arm run against the wall next to him, creating a silent but irritating screeching noise. "How'd you guys meet?" He asked, with an innocent yet curious tone.He had hit a roadblock, Shady didn't know whether to SERIOUSLY explain this to him or keep his cover hidden. Would the kid even remember if he told him? Probably not. "Well, we met a long time ago when he hired me to help him with... something, originally I was just in it because he hired me for money but then uh- we got really close as friends, so I just never left..."Half of that was a lie, the other half was complete nonsensical bullshit. Yet Yellow didn't see passed it as he let out a quiet 'ah' and nodded his head, clearly the kid had more than just a bit of memory loss- he had complete brain damage.They hit an awkward patch of silence as neither of them talked, the pair continuing to walk down the hallways as Yellow just silently took note of everything. Some things felt familiar, others didn't, although most of it was a blur to him, he could still feel that slight sense of Deja Vu.He had been here before, he could swear of it, although when and why was what confused him. He looked up to Shady again, trying to squeeze some responses out of him. "Was what Victim said true... at all?" He asked, quietly.Shady blinked, trying to figure out what that exactly meant. He wasn't even nearby when Victim told him anything, apparently Yellow just assumed Shady already knew. "Uh, what'd he say?" He asked him, narrowing his eyes.Yellow let out a soft hum of annoyance at the response but answered it anyway. "That I was betrayed, is that true?" Oh, that's what he meant. No, no it wasn't true, but... "Yeah, that's about uh... right." Shady said. Yellow just looked sad now as he looked down.He looked away, awkwardly, trying not to make eye contact with the kid even though he was looking down and not at him. Still, he wanted to let him be, let him process maybe. It'd take a while but he could probably use the time."Uh, thank you I guess, sir." Yellow muttered to him. Shady looked at him, raising a brow as he walked cautiously by his side. "For what?" He asked, Yellow looking back up at him naively. "For telling me the truth, I guess."Shady grimaced and let out a silent exhale, nodding as he tried to hide the shame that dangled in his tone. "Mhm..." He said, trying not to make his feelings evident. Of course, Yellow didn't pick up on shit and just looked back away at the building as he walked.He hated this, this was his job but he hated this, lying to a child like that, yet he didn't have a problem electrocuting another just a day prior. Primal did something to him, yet he couldn't help but just thank her. In some way, he was thankful. Yet at the same time he wasn't.He felt some sort of reassurance when he listened to Victim, he always felt in the right, and he always had someone to please, but now he doesn't know who he's listening to, what he believes in or who to please. Who to be honest to.This wasn't him at all.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Victim meant many things when he said he was going to 'go talk to someone'. And who better to talk to than his second prisoner? Literally!He knew what he was getting into the moment he directed his focus onto Yellow, and now he wants to give Second a chance.Victim made his way through the dull gray hallway, humming calmly as he reapproached the cells. He entered, and looked straight back at the glowing white box that stared him right in the face. As instructed, Second had been moved into the box.Hazard and Ballista stood awkwardly outside of the box, looking over at Victim as he walked in. "I trust he's secure?" Victim asked them, approaching the box. Hazard was the only one to respond, nodding at him. The answer was satisfactory enough as he entered the box with a giddy pep in his step.The younger orange hollow head sat in front of him on his knees, his arms tied behind his back with the bright black and blue rope that he had used on Chosen, Victim smirking as he approached the orange hollow head. "I trust you haven't been causing trouble?"Second fell over on his side, bored, sticking his tongue out in anger at the hollow head as he approached him. "What do you want? I'm not in the mood, I'm bored and one of your mercenaries tried to FRY me a day ago."Victim didn't even seem phased as he rolled his eyes, letting out a scoff. "Teenagers, so dramatic." He said with a laugh, before turning back to Second, glaring at him. "I don't care what mood you're in and I don't care what you want, just do me a favor and listen to me." He said with a low growl."I'm giving you one chance and one chance only- join me and help me fight my creator and help me get revenge on him, or I will kill you in front of him and have him watch as payback for what he did to me all those years ago."Second groaned, sitting back upright as he narrowed his eyes at Victim in defense. "You still haven't told me what Alan did! You only told me you were 'mad' at him and I still dunno why! I'm sure you can talk this out with him, or me- just let me figure this out!" Second said in defense.The hollow head didn't seem impressed in the slightest, letting out a low snarl. "I'VE KILLED PEOPLE BEFORE, DON'T THINK I'M AFRAID TO KILL YOU TOO!" He snapped, pointing at him in anger. "I know you have powers, we all know now. I know you're scared, just let me help you. I can teach you how to use them, I can help you gain control. Just take my offer, that's all you need to do."Even though Victim was painfully aware that an offer wasn't the best thing to do after giving the kid a death threat, he knew his options were limited and there wasn't much to do anymore. This might be his only chance.Second only scooted back, annoyed at this point, despite having flinched at the threat. "You don't even know how to get him here, there's only one person I know that does, and-" He was cut off by a quiet laugh that slowly made it's way out of Victim's throat, Second looking up at him in shock.His quiet laugh turned into a loud cackle as he stared at Second in mere disbelief. "Oh, you think I don't have a way? Your friend was plenty enough help, and with him I don't necessarily NEED you. I'm trying to spare you here, so what's it going to be?" Victim said, keeping a calculated look fixed onto him.Second looked shocked as he blinked at Victim, returning Victim's snarl as he shook his head. "I'm not going to betray my creator, or any of my friends for you! You can hurt me, I don't care if you do, just don't hurt any of my friends!" Second said, defiantly.Victim's eyes widened, looking at the orange hollow head. All hell nearly broke loose as he clenched his fists, taking a demanding step forward. "Fine, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE LOOK ON HIS FACE WHEN I PRESENT TO HIM YOUR CORPSE, KNOWING HE WAS TOO LATE TO DO ANYTHING TO SAVE YOU!" Victim screamed out, yanking a lasso from behind his back.Second clenched his eyes shut, preparing for the blow before a sharp voice called out from behind the pair. "Boss!" It was Agent, who stood in the doorway of the box with Yellow looking in cautiously next to him.Oh, this was perfect.Victim took a deep inhale, putting away the lasso before waving Yellow in. "Let the kid in, I have a fun idea." He said, a wide and maniac grin on his face as his eyes looked nearly bloodshot. Yellow walked into the bright, white box, the light hurting his eyes as he put up his metal arm to cover his face.Victim stood out of the way, pointing to Second with a smile on his face. "Now, Yellow, meet Second," He said, suppressing a laugh in his tone. Second looked up at Yellow, shocked, as tears began to fill his sockets. "Yellow? Is that you, oh my god you're okay!" He said, completely ignoring his robotic parts, mostly thrilled to at least see his friend standing in front of him.The joy was cut short as Victim continued his sentence, "Or as you would call him- one of those people I was talking about. The ones who 'betrayed' you." He said, his smile never once faltering as his wide eyes and pinprick pupils looked directly at Second.Second immediately gasped as he recoiled dramatically, before opening his mouth to try and talk to Yellow, only to get cut off. "Yellow, Second here wants to help the one who RUINED my life, y'know that...?"Yellow didn't say a word as he simply stared at Second with a deadpan expression, blinking at him trying to read his 'friends' face. "We can't have that now, can we? And I did say I would help you get your revenge... you can be rid of most of your anger right here and now, it's killing two birds with one stone..""Why don't you two 'resolve' your issues, hm?" He said, as Victim nudged Yellow forward, walking out of the box as he left the pair alone.Second looked at Yellow with a gleam in his eyes, yet a terrified look as he now finally took in Yellow's full form as the nerd approached him cautiously. "Yellow, oh my gosh- I don't know what he did to you, or said to you, but please just untie me and I promise, I can help you."Yellow narrowed his eyes at him, only blinking at him as he approached him with a more rapid step reach time. Second struggled against his bonds, panic starting to seep into his defiant exterior. “Yellow, wait! Please just listen to me, I don't know what- what he told you but-” he pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears.As Yellow finally reached where Second was sitting, he looked down at the hollow head, anger bubbling up in his head. He felt many things all at once, recognition, hesitancy, yet one stood out to him.Anger.Second knew this was probably the best time to learn how to awaken his powers, like THE best, it would be so simple, break out of the box, take Yellow with him, and give him the help he fucking needs, then find Chosen and the rest of his friends.But it was beyond too late now, as anger clouded Yellow's mind as he clenched his fists, his robot arm sprouting sharp animal-like claws as he lunged for him, and in that singular moment, Second finally understood.He had failed his friends. This was not Yellow, not his Yellow.He didn't even have time to plead before a searing hot pain ran through his cheek.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Second let out a guttural scream of pain as sharp, metal claws met with his face, it had caught Second by surprise as he hadn't remembered Yellow having fucking CLAWS. He didn't have them a second ago, at least.Now what was he supposed to do? Talk his 'gone feral' brother out of beating him half to death? Kind of hard to do when he's- well- feral. He's almost beyond repair at this point, too hostile to talk to at all without angering him in some way.No, don't say that. Yellow was never beyond repair, he knows that his Yellow is still in there, somewhere. Whatever this asshole did to him is fixable- he just has to figure out how to jog his memory. It shouldn't be too hard.SSCRRAAATCH.Second let out a pained scream as cold, sharp metal seared its way through his skin and tearing at his flesh, blood splattering everywhere, onto the clear white, shiny floor of the box that the pair were in.Yellow's eyes were wild, glowing with a fierce, primal intensity. The sharp claws on his metal arm were stained with blood, and each swipe seemed more frantic and uncontrolled. He was snarling, his teeth bared, eyes narrowed as though he was trying to drown out everything but the anger that boiled within him.He had used his other arm to keep a harsh grip on Second's torso, holding him down as he never ceased the scratching. Not like Second wasn't pinned down anyway- by his hands still tied behind his back, and the wall of the box pinning him in place.Second let a few tears slip as he looked at Yellow and his enraged face in anguish. He was saddened, but not mad. He couldn't be mad, not at him. It's not his fault this is happening, he wouldn't have wanted this.If anything, he was mad at Victim for hurting his friends. He was mad enough when he saw Chosen tied to that chair, and he was mad when he heard that Yellow was trapped in the facility with him- and he's mad at that gray hollow head for THIS. Yet, at the same time he feels bad.He began to feel lightheaded as the barrage of scratches only continued, never once hesitating or stopping to even give him a break. How was he going to reason with him now? He can hardly think with all the blood loss, or even get his clouded mind passed the pain.He had to act quickly, or else he'd be dead before he could even get a word in with Yellow. Using his untied legs, he kicked Yellow square in the chest, knocking him back. He let out a wheeze as he stumbled back, falling to his knees as he put a hand up to his chest to catch his breath.At least Second knows he has a strong kick.In a swift motion, Second sat up and moved away from the wall as he looked at Yellow pleadingly, who only glared back at him with a fire in his eyes. "Yellow, please- I need you to listen to me, okay? I can help you, just-"Yellow lunged again, his claws raking across Second’s chest, tearing through the fabric of his clothing and leaving deep gouges in the flesh beneath. Second's body convulsed with pain, but he forced himself to keep his eyes open, to keep his gaze fixed on Yellow.He had never seen the guy so mad before, Yellow was the tamest under pressure, one of the calmest guys he knew, now all he sees behind his eyes is pure hatred and betrayal. This was going to be hard to get passed...Second let out weak cries as the even more enraged Yellow now dug his claws deeper- tearing at the muscle below his skin. Tears pooled in his eyes, as his words became choked up in his mouth as he tried to do anything to shake him off.Yellow completely gave up on holding him down and was now simultaneously using his other hand to punch at him, bruising Second's orange skin. It was actually more effective than holding him down, surprisingly.What was he even doing? He's stronger than this! Anytime that he's had a play fight with Yellow back on the desktop he always had the upper hand- how is he letting this happen?Though to be fair, he is up against a stick figure with enhanced abilities while he's restrained...Second tried to reason with him again, his mouth slowly opening as he looked at Yellow with wide, glossy eyes. "Please-" he muttered, before immediately getting a slash to the face, sliding harshly over his nose.Yellow's eyes were glazed over, his expression cold. The rage emanating from him was almost tangible, a physical force that seemed to consume him. He continued to swipe and scratch at Second with a ferocity that made every movement unpredictable.Second winced, trying to twist away from the assault, but the ropes kept him tethered to the spot. He could barely focus through the haze of pain and fear, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.The room around them seemed to close in, the bright white walls feeling oppressive and cold. The harsh lights above only magnified the starkness of the situation. The bright white florescent lights began to burn much like all the scars that now scattered themselves around Second's body, only growing in number.Sweat trickled down his skin as he turned his head away, he couldn't look at him anymore. It was too painful, both mentally and physically to keep himself upright and LOOK at him. Second’s breaths were labored, and the pain was nearly unbearable.He had to try one more thing, just one more.With all the strength he had left, he kicked Yellow square in the chest once more, sending him sliding off of Second's bleeding body. As he adjusted himself to look upright, he finally realized how much blood there was puddled around him.The puddle around him wasn't even the worst part as he could notice Yellow's arms were now covered in the thick red fluid. It didn't phase him in the slightest as Yellow stood upright, glaring at Second, daggers piercing him with the gaze.Second opened his mouth quickly before he had the chance to lunge again, tears now falling from his eyes. "Yellow, please I need you to listen to me! Just please, I can get us home, I can help you and we can go see our friends again!" He shouted desperately.Yellow backed out of his lunging position, as he looked at Second with a slightly eased gaze. "Really?" He asked, the first word Second had heard from his mouth in a while. "Yes! Yes, really! I want to help you- let me help you. Please, Yellow, we can go home if you just listen to me."Was this seriously working? He seemed calmer than he was before, taking a soft step forward. Second had failed to notice that his claws hadn't once retracted.Outside of the box, Victim sat with his upper body rested comfortably on the control panel, which probably wasn't the best decision, yet he made do of it as he sat there with a wide smile on his face watching everything go down.Shady stood next to him, eyes flickering between the kids and back to Victim, then back to his coworkers. They seemed more... on edge than usual. Ballista kept his head turned away as sweat beaded down his head, while Hazard looked at the box with wide eyes, turning to meet Shady's gaze.Assuming none of them were happy with the current situation, Shady narrowed his eyes as he tried to find a way to get himself into a conversation with Victim. A conversation about maybe- possibly- just taking the pair out of the fluorescent cube.Oh, this again. Great. Just another one of Shady's whole 'this is concerning!' feelings. He never felt this way before Chosen, he did just find watching Victim beat Chosen mercilessly before, in fact they all did just fine, although maybe some were a bit hesitant.He wasn't hesitant at all though, what changed his opinion? Was it Primal?Whatever, just get this over with.He brought a hand up to his mouth as he let out a quiet cough, Victim raising a brow as he looked in his direction. He eyed him wordlessly, wondering why Shady could possibly be wasting his time when he COULD be enjoying focusing on watching two children fight.Shady eyed him back awkwardly, struggling to comprehend how he was supposed to even go about a conversation like this, before continuing. "So, uh, what's.. what's the plan here? Just... watch some kids fight, or..."Victim nodded as his quizzical look only got worse, the nod slow as if hesitant. "Yeah? What did you think this was, a charity event?" He said, turning back towards the kids, who had begun to stand in a completely still position, simply looking at each other.Shady narrowed his eyes again at the comment, quietly scoffing to himself at the attitude. "No, not at all I'm just confused on why we're here when we could just be getting the job done with, y'know... get the cursor here now instead of- never mind."He glanced over to Ballista and Hazard, who were both looking at him with shocked expressions now. They had never expected Shady of all the mercenaries to try and question Victim, although he had before they hadn't expected him to do it in front of them. The most loyal mercenary, questioning Victim?A faint snicker was heard from behind them as the gray hollow head only smirked, sitting up with a calm, yet cold look. "No, no. That's a fair question," he muttered. "I know that hollow head was made by noogai, and we all know he has powers now. I gave him a chance to use them in our favor, but since he declined, I will instead present his lifeless body to noogai. He got to live a normal life, I didn't. I was made for TORTURE before being killed with no regrets, so now I will do the same to his 'fAvOrItE' child."Shady bit his lip awkwardly as the hollow heads cold look began to turn sour as he clenched his fists in anger. "How do you know he was made by-" "Do you see any other hollow heads prancing around the Outernet that DON'T have a correlation to noogai? Didn't think so.""...Great."Victim softly inhaled through his nose before redirecting his focus back to the box, completely ignoring any of the stares he was getting from his mercenaries. They don't matter for the moment; he doesn't have to look at them. Who cares what they think?Second kept his gaze fixed on Yellow as the stick figure slowly approached him, seemingly as if he had completely calmed down. He didn't know what else to tell him anymore, all he could do was hope that Yellow understood he had no BAD intentions.He's not an idiot by any means, he's just a bit... confused? He eased his breath, trying not to focus on the gashing wounds all over his body. “Yellow, you’re not a monster. You’re my friend. Please, just think for a moment. We can fix this. We can find a way out—”Yellow let out a scoff, almost sounding sarcastic as he raised a brow. "Monster? You think I'm a monster?" He said with a smirk, hand moving up to adjust his glasses. Second shook his head rapidly, choking on his own words. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that, Yellow, I-""Stop," Yellow said, the silence in the room speaking volumes as the only noise they could hear now being the blood dripping off of his hand. "How do I know you're not lying to save your own skin?" He said, looking at Second's scratched body. "Or well, what's left of it."Second opened his mouth to say something, ANYTHING, but nothing came out. Empty chokes of broken up words spilled from his mouth, yet not one coherent sentence. He could feel the pressure in his chest increasing as Yellow looked at him expectingly.What was he supposed to say? How does he prove anything to him? Shit, shit what is he supposed to do? Silently, with tears flowing from his eyes he lowered his head silently. "I'm sorry, Yellow." He said, nothing but remorse in his voice. "I'm so, so sorry."That wasn't good enough for him.Yellow looked practically offended, not sure what to think of that. What did Second take him for? An idiot?He silently approached Second, who lifted his head as he watched his friend kneel down next to him, using the rope holding his hands behind his back to keep them pinned in place. "What are you doing...?" Second muttered, eyes widening a bit.With a newfound rage that was palpable in his eyes, Yellow immediately bit down on Second's arm, his teeth sinking into the already tattered flesh as Second let out a scream of anguish. "YELLOW, NO, PLEASE!"He should've given Yellow a reason, he should've told him anything other than 'I'm sorry', why did he think that was a good idea? Fuck!Yellow didn’t respond. His claws tightened, the metallic taste and the salty tang of blood were sharp on his tongue, and it almost felt rewarding. He didn't know why, but to see those he hated in PAIN gave him such joy.Second's scream echoed in the small, sterile box as Yellow’s teeth dug deeper into his arm. Each bite felt like a knife twisting in his flesh, and Second’s vision blurred with pain. He gasped, trying to pull away, but Yellow’s grip was unyielding.Yellow’s eyes were cold and distant, as if the person he once was had vanished entirely. He continued to bite down, as if trying to extract some satisfaction from Second’s suffering. But each crunch of flesh and taste of blood seemed to feed Yellow’s growing rage.The pain was becoming unbearable. Second could barely think, his thoughts fragmented and clouded by the intensity of his suffering. He struggled against the ropes binding his hands, trying to free himself, but the more he moved, the more his wounds seemed to throb.And there were a lot of them.Outside the box, Shady watched with growing concern. He exchanged a worried glance with Ballista and Hazard. “This is getting out of hand,” he muttered. “I-I don't think we should let the kid KILL him.”Shady leaned over, looking at Victim with slightly panicked eyes that were hidden behind his sunglasses. "Boss are you- are you going to stop this at all?" He asked, stammering in the middle of his sentence.Victim's eyes narrowed before he nodded calmly. "Yes, I will. I don't want him dead now, duh. I'm going to wait until noogai is here, THEN I'll kill him!" Great, so he's going to die no matter what they do. Fantastic."Then what are you doing? Stop him if you're going to kill him later and not now!" Shady stated, the sound of crunching and a scream echoing in the background of their conversation.Victim blinked calmly, letting out an exhale as he walked over to the box, entering it quietly. Yellow immediately shot up, halting the brutality for a moment to look at him, standing up and wiping the blood from his mouth.Second writhed under him like a dying worm, letting out weak little cries that made Victim feel warm on the inside. Getting his revenge was going to be FUN. “Stop,” Victim commanded, his voice cold and authoritative. “That’s enough for now.”Second lay there, trembling and gasping for breath. Blood pooled around him, a grim testament to the brutality he’d endured. His body ached with every movement, and his vision was clouded with pain and exhaustion.Victim looked at Yellow with a smirk. “Good work,” he said, the praise dripping with mockery. “Now we have the brat weak enough to finally start the main event," he said with a crazed smile on his face.Yellow narrowed his eyes at him, before carefully nodding. "Right, right- uh what do you need me to do?" He asked calmly, before Victim roughly grabbed his wrist. He dragged the yellow stick figure out of the box, directing him out of the room.He turned back for a moment to motion for the mercenaries to grab the orange hollow head and follow them, to which they swiftly did, scooping him up by his arms, earning a pained cry out of him, making the mercenaries wince for a moment.The corridor they entered was stark and sterile, the fluorescent lights casting a harsh glare on the gray, metal walls. Victim’s stride was purposeful, and his pace quickened as they moved through the labyrinthine passages of the facility. Yellow stumbled slightly to keep up, his wrists still feeling the sting from Victim’s grip.Shady followed close behind Victim, adjusting his sunglasses a bit higher to hide his awkward expression as the group finally reached a much, much bigger room in the facility. Victim nudged Yellow into the center, where a control panel with a laptop sit in front of a huge, empty space filled with tools.He signaled for Shady to get ready, grabbing Yellow's wrist again as he placed it down on the laptop. "All I need is for YOU to type in the code to bring me the cursor. You know the one, Yellow... don't disappoint me."Yellow sat there, hesitant for a moment. The code for- oh right, that one. Geez, out of all the things he remembers, it's how to code and hack things, great.Despite the hesitancy, it didn't take long for him to begin typing. URGENT MESSAGE!'it's me, yellow'
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Hey so evidently I haven't been posting in a while, unfortunately due to a heavy lack of motivation that I just can't handle.I probably won't be able to post until after the next AvA episode which is towards the beginning of December, I'm sorry to inconvenience anyone. :(I post spoilers and just overall art for the series on my tiktok account sometimes if anyone wants just a sliver of content, but I'm sorry to inconvenience anyone again.Uhh see you in December. :)