Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

09:31AM.

These past few days had been spent practicing, planning, rehearsing and preparing. And last night was the final rehearsal. It was this or the highway. No more preparation. It had come sooner than you thought.

Everything was in place and operational. It was now time to begin. The sun shone brightly above, a thankful change from the rain of the past few days. Though cold from the mid-vestiges of spring it was looking to warm up quickly.

At least it wasn't winter anymore. Looking back, this spring had been a steadfast one, with new friends, allies and enemies all appearing constantly.

Just like the last 'show' a small flag was given to each of the participants. This time it was purple, the logo of the company emblazoned in gold. The guards were aware a 'concert' was planned a week ago. Most of them had forgotten by now, giving the element of surprise. All they knew was that it was coming.

The venue had sold out, 'fans' walking the building and 'opening acts' having completed their surveillance.

Before the 'performance' could begin there, one last roll call was needed. Was everyone ready and willing?

"████, █████? How are you two doing?"

"Fine."

"All set here. Pretty excited too! This is gonna kickass!"

"██████ and ██████?"

"We should be arriving real soon." ██████ said motherly.

"Wow, I've never been to this part of the city. So many high buildings!" ██████ said happily. You could hear other children chatting in the background. ██████ wasn't the only one excited.

"██████ and ████. What's your status? And how is █████ █████ doing?"

"Quite alright, thank you." ██████ said.

"Yeah, █████'s a bit antsy but ready. Still think I should drive but ehn."

"There will be plenty of time for you to drive, I am sure." ██████ cleared his circuits.

"This is going to be quite interesting. If ███ does betray us then there will be hell to pay." ███████ said sternly.

"We'll get 'em dad." █████ said encouragingly.

"█████?"

"I'm here aren't I? What exactly am I supposed to do anyways?" She asked, still using ████' voice.

"Replicate voices, my dear. We shall give you instruction." ██████ chimed in.

"Whatever."

There was a short silence as you checked through the list, making sure everything was in place.

"Forgetting someone?" █ asked, annoyed. He warped to your phone, tapping his feet.

"Yes, yes. █. How are you feeling today?"

"Well I feel like I'm can blow this whole building up. Can we get started already? I can't wait to start wreaking havoc!"

"Looks like we're all ready. Good luck everyone."

"Just a reminder everyone." ██████ added. "The stakes are much higher here than ████. We cannot lose █████." The words echoed in your head.

This was going to be tough...

Some notes before we begin.

This story is dedicated to my brother who is a huge fan of FNF and helped immensely when I had questions about lore and who should appear. Any character with a FNF mod is game to appear.

Because I don't like using my real name when writing, the character's canonical name is Geist. The character is supposed to be your name. You do not have to be an FNF expert to understand wtf is going on.

There was a beta version of this story I drafted up with many different elements. For one, Pokémon were considered to be added. I'll make notes of where certain characters were supposed to appear on those chapters.

This story consists of 3 arcs. They are all part of the 'Turnabout Teardown'. This is arc 1, How the Carnival Was Founded. They all 'kind of' work as separate stories but I recommend reading all to understand.

Tags will be added as new characters appear. I do not wish to spoil everyone just yet. If you want to know where a specific character appears feel free to ask. I only added tags for characters that actually appear and speak.

I too have issues where I see a giant fic with like 50 chapters and no idea where my fav appears.

Happy reading and thanks for making it this far!

The next track will be called Too Close to the Sky.

Chapter Text

Newgrounds City.

The animation and game capital of the world.

To you anyways. To describe it as "like any town" would be grossly incorrect. There was always something going on, some festival, some art showcase, some concert or some cataclysmic event. The city was always alive. You'd lived here all your life and there were still things you were learning about the city, all this time later. It was one of the weirdest cities on earth. The city's history was just as colourful, though not the subject of the discussion.

You were (still are in spirit) a young detective working for the NCPD. It was only a few days ago that you were considered a rising star in the ranks of the department. While more 'green' than the rest, you clearly outshined your colleagues. Compared to them you were head and shoulders better than most of the other cops. At one point you had been worried about making such a big splash but as time went those worries faded.

"You are set to be a boss one day. I feel it." The chief had proclaimed after one particularly noteworthy bust.

You wanted to make a difference in the city. You began taking crimes nobody wanted to tackle and go after criminals nobody cared too. You were hungry, and as cliché as it sounded, stopping crime was the only meal.

Management liked your go-getter-ness and watched closely, lending a hand when needed. In such a short time you had gone from a desk jockey to neighborhood watch to homicide detective to eventually head of your own division. You were aiming for sheriff and maybe, even chief one day.

Corruption, murder, thievery, fraud, you targeted them all. As head of your own division you begun to use its vast power to look into street gangs and drug rings.

After having busted one particular street gang you were given a week off to collect your thoughts. That week, while relaxing was spent drudging up the report for a new group you wanted to tackle.

The Dearest Family.

A family of musicians who had been using their vast industry connections to slowly take over the criminal underworld. Just as long as their careers had existed so had the shady rumours of their deeds.

Though famous musicians they had deep claws in practically every industry you laid your eyes on. While famous, the rumour had always followed them that they were the "traders of souls", that they had illegal business dealings with Hell. Ferrymen was the name you heard them called. Of course, that was the biggest rumour they had.

They had gained an almost legendary status over the years. They were among one of the most powerful groups in the city.

The crimes they had 'allegedly' committed was long, most cases you could find having gone unsolved. It always seemed they were just out of justice's reach. With the resources of the NCPD at your disposal you were going to uncover all of it. Extortion, bribery, fraud, murder, assassinations and more. The list was extensive.

You joked with a colleague that it was easier to find the crimes they hadn't of committed.

Your proposal was immediately met with opposition. The boss was strangely apprehensive to you opening this investigation. Right out of the gate it found roadblocks. The boss made all sorts of excuses as to why you couldn't but you beat them all. You simply had too much evidence of wrongdoings.

A special inquiry was absolutely a must.

And then, after delaying approval as much as he could you were finally given the investigation. That's when things started going south. Suddenly there were all these rules investigating, statues of limitations, ethics complaints against the department and more. Despite the opposition you continued. Members of your squad were replaced, people vanishing.

You just went along with it, not seeing anything wrong with that.

Evidence became misplaced and witnesses either disappeared or decided they had no longer anything to say. You got used to hearing "I saw nothing." over the weeks. You ignored those signs. No backing down. You knew this would be hard. At least you had the PD on your side.

That's when the threats began to pour in. First it was just a few threatening e-mails from random accounts. Then you began to get strange texts warning you to stop. You couldn't figure out where they were coming from, having guessed that one of the witnesses you'd talked to was in on it. Then finally, notes left at your desk and letters at your house. The warning was simple.

Stop. The. Investigation.

You decided against it. You were getting there and you had the evidence. At least the cops were still on your side...right?

You began taking some work home. Just in case. You counted a few times you were followed, unmarked cars tailing your driving, people glancing away as you looked.

You reminded yourself constantly. It was just intimidation. They wouldn't do anything. They couldn't do anything. Despite all that had happened it had only served to make you paranoid. You found yourself second-guessing things and checking your car extensively before driving off.

Someone didn't want this investigation to continue. Then, after just two months of the project you came home to see your front windows smashed in. Someone had thrown bricks through them, a torn note attached to each.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT."

Predictably, nobody saw anything. That next day you arrived to your office to find it closed off, the chief wanting a word with you. You arrived to find several of your superiors and various "ombudsmen" there.

It was like a court. They made some claim you were stealing from the department, that you h. Also made some bizarre claims about bribery, claiming you had accepted bribes from one of the Family's enemies to investigate and that it was a breach of code.

You argued against the dismissal but it was no use. It was if they were making claims up on the spot against you. Your memory became hazy here, having cast out whatever exact BS reason they had conjured up. It was simple. You went too far and now you paid the price.

But, despite the show of force against you, you could tell in the chief's eyes he was against what was happening. While the 'court' had argued you deserved imprisonment the chief managed to get them down from that result. In the end you were terminated without pay. In a strange way he had become your lawyer.

While in the 'court' you realized something. That the corruption ran deeper than you thought. That whether they were paid off, friends of, threatened by, or what; that they were not acting on their own. You had violated unwritten rules and touched the untouchables.

You knew you were going after the royal dynasty of the criminal underworld. That was a given.

What you didn't know, was that they were steadfastly becoming the royal dynasty of the city.

In the end you were dismissed, or was it forced-resignation? You weren't paying much attention at the point, mind drifting to more important things.

On the ride home you had a lot to think about. What to do now, how best to continue the investigation and how to make them pay. All of them. Your initial thought was that the investigation was just beginning.

Those thoughts were smashed as soon as you stepped out of your car in the driveway. Waiting in the garage was somebody. You didn't get a look but the next thing you knew was something smashed over your head and rendered unconscious.

When you came to you were tied up in some dark room. There standing in the light was none other than the patriarch of the family Daddy Dearest.

Bleary-eyed and possibly drugged you struggled to stay upright. He spoke sternly but arrogantly. Said how you were ruffling too many feathers, didn't know your place and didn't know how this city worked. You had trouble listening, an incessant ringing in your head blocking most of it out.

In the end he commented how the chief was the only reason you were still alive and "the next time you see me, my face will be the last thing you see." Those words stayed with you, echoing clearly through your head. Knocked out again you awoke sometime later sprawled out on your lawn, unbound, coming off some drug trip and sore from a beating. They must have just thrown you onto the driveway as your face was a bit cut up from the pavement, a few drops of blood having been splattered on it. A black eye was present too that you had no recollection of. And there was a large bump on the back of your head.

Reeling from the come down you threw up. However, despite everything it wasn't the worst thing that happened.

You crawled into your house to find it had been burgled. Looking around it was clear the thieves had only taken on the thing. The case files. All of them, backups included. They had torn up the place looking for them but left the rest intact.

Drawers left disheveled, television thrown over but somehow still intact, cutlery thrown to the ground a plates smashed. It was a simple message. This was your fault.

To rub salt in the wound they had also stolen your police-issued handgun. Fortunately you had a backup. And it didn't leave your pocket for the next two days.

Spent from the beating, firing and everything that had gone on you needed some rest. Climbing up stairs to your room was not a possibility. You merely crawled up to the couch and, brushing off some glass shards you lied down on it.

As you rested on the couch only one thing rang in your mind.

They will pay.
All of them.

Justice had faded. You didn't care about an investigation anymore. You wanted revenge now.

Two months of investigating had led to this. The only brightside was that it had all happened on a Friday. You took the weekend to get everything back in order.

You spent the next two days cleaning up and just thinking to yourself what to do next. They would pay; all of them. That you were sure of, having repeated it in your head hundreds of times over the weekend. You had enough money saved that you could coast for a few weeks at least.

Nay, money was the least of your concerns. You were alone with your mind and it listened attentively.

It wasn't like this when you were a kid. Back then the worst things to deal with were the Tankman Wars and the Hominid Invasions. Sure they were violent but not like this. The city had changed. This ran deep. This wasn't some random invader trying to take the city. This was the result of a slow and static cancer, ever-growing.

You shut your phone off, not wanting to converse with anyone. Eventually by order of the chief a few officers showed up for a wellness check. You lied about the burglary and the beating saying you had fallen. They were curious about the investigation, nearly forcing their way in. You allowed them in but assured them you weren't going to touch that Family. You made up and excuse that you were going to take a few weeks off to rest then become a private investigator, "solving domestic disputes or something."

No doubt they had considered the option you still had backups of the case on your computer but insisted you didn't. That you did everything old-school and always left a paper trail. You leaned into the paranoia that all things digital could be modified. That and, the burglars had also stolen your police-issued laptop. You were a stickler for rules and never had any case files on your personal devices as per their tech policy.

One of the officers cracked a joke about there being no shortage of those which just left you disgusted.

Satisfied with your answer they departed, presumably to tell the 'powers that be' you weren't a threat. You didn't leave the house for a few days after that, occasionally taking a look outside for watchers. Though you spotted a few unmarked vehicles none remained long.

Eventually with some elbow grease you repaired the damage, fixed the windows and door and cleaned up the place. Time flew by. In the meantime you subsisted on a steady diet of hatred and booze. Checking your watch it was Tuesday now. You'd calmed down, having a lot of time to think and a lot of alcohol in your system.

Many were still unclear at this point. Only one thing lent itself to be true. They would pay. Many times while you were resting or cleaning did a villainous monologue play in your head.

Realizing that you hadn't eaten in a few days you decide to go out. There wasn't anything good in the fridge anyways. You desperately needed a drink too, having drained your liquor collection over the week. You don your brown trench coat and conceal your handgun. You figure the Family would still be watching closely. The unmarked cars had stopped showing up on Monday but there was no telling what they had planned.

You turned on your phone for the first time in days only to find a few missed calls from the chief and a message asking how you were. Despite the fanfare there wasn't a single threatening message waiting. It was over.

You step outside to brisk weather. The trench coat was a good idea as it shielded you from the harsh winds outside. It was early spring but it sure didn't feel like it. There were still piles of snow around and the ground hadn't thawed yet. It felt as if summer was a long time away.

Before even getting in your car you did a quick check. There were no bombs strapped underneath nor any cut brakes. Nothing on the driveway either.

You get in and drive off.

With how many connections the family had you knew a lot of places were off limits. Fortunately, during the investigation you had found one place that was safe. It was not only unaffiliated with the family but outright hostile to them.

Displo's.

You started going there at the start of the investigation. During the investigation the restaurant you used to frequent made some rule that they couldn't serve you anymore. A little digging later you found they were in the pocket of the family. In the end, Displo's was more than happy to accommodate you and take your money.

You found the place through the investigation. The owner, Displo was one of the few people actually willing to cooperate with you. He even took a personal interest in the investigation as well.

When the paranoia first arrived it led you to think he was the one bragging about your case.

It didn't help that you finally had a cooperative witness too. It arose suspicions. Back then you did some digging into Displo and his restaurant, eventually finding the whole place was a front for some tech company called IRIS. Further digging you found nothing on IRIS related to the family except for a few incidents where they may have launched their own attacks on them. Either way, it was safe.

The front also explained why the decor of the place was so random.

You weren't sure exactly why they hated the Family so much but they did nearly crash one of the Daddy's concerts a few months back. Whatever their motives were, it would be safe to dine there. Plus, they served a really good cheeseburger.

The place gave the appearance of a high end restaurant but the prices were affordable.

You stepped in, greeted by a fancy looking establishment.

A purple carpeted floor lined the ground, wooden tables and red-cushioned chairs of all sorts placed atop around the restaurant. There were booths lining the walls with a various arrangement of paintings, sports memorabilia and pictures of the bar. There didn't seem to be any theme going as it looked as if a little of everything was here. The place was also really well lit, in contrast with the often dark and mysterious bars you were familiar with. Just plain bright yellow lights illuminating the establishment.

The bar was on the side taking a considerable amount of space from the restaurant. Presumably there was a kitchen behind there though you couldn't tell. There were a lot of doors around, not clearly marked. Kitchens, private rooms, washrooms, you weren't sure.

From behind the bar stood Displo. He was dressed in typical bartender attire, white dress shirt and black dress pants. He was a slim bartender, towering over the actual bar.

Atop his shoulders in place of a head was a TV screen. It was glowing faintly a TV test pattern on it, showing various colours. Seeing you arrive he immediately waved you over. The colours on his face flickered so slightly seeing the band aids and bruises on your face. He was a robot, or android, or cyborg; he'd explained you the difference one day but you'd forgotten.

There didn't seem to be many waiters tonight. You nodded and make your way to the bar.

Being a Tuesday night the place wasn't that busy. There were a few patrons about, mostly having dinner with friends. There were not many at the bar tonight, you spy only a few other drinkers.

You had quickly learned that most IRIS employees got discounts here so most patrons consisted of them. Displo remarked that a non-IRIS person would be spottable a mile away. It also explained why he noticed your presence so quickly the first time you entered.

Beside the bar was a stage with a small jazz ensemble. Consisting of several crafty characters, none of which were human they played smooth jazz. Despite the relaxed nature of the music they seemed to be into it the way each member nursed their instrument. The music wasn't intrusive. They had an anthro goose singer who singer consisted of making animal calls and cries to the audience. It was strange, but not obtrusive.

You took a seat at the bar, Displo immediately dropping what he was doing and coming to you.

"Rough day?" He asked.

"Yeah, something like that. The usual, please."

"Of course." Displo knelt behind the counter, and put a cup to the spout. "I was wondering where you had been."

"If I may ask, what happened?" Displo questioned.

"Just a minor setback." You said coldly. You weren't that interested in re-discussing what had already occurred.

"I see." Displo placed the drink in front of you. Some kind of light bourbon, foaming at the top. You take a swig, ignoring the burning it causes in your throat.

"Your food will be coming in just a few minutes." Displo spoke. You just nod in response, slowly drinking your poison.

Displo departed going to see how some other customers were doing. You notice him glance back at you strangely. His face shone the same but he cocked his head as if giving a second glance.

He looked away immediately after seeing your glance. You finish up the beer. You didn't intend to stay sober for long tonight, just holding out for the food.

You sighed. Off to your left from the entrance you notice another person take a seat at the bar. It was someone concealed in a blue hoodie and a navy blue scarf covering their face. You could just faintly catch two glowing yellow eyes within it. Whoever they were, they didn't seem to notice your presence. They had a large backpack on too. Likely not from around here. You think. Sitting on the stool they hunched over, trying not to look at anyone directly.

After having been followed constantly the last two months that sight set off warning bells within you. The last thing you needed was to get attacked again.

You look back to Displo who like you has also noticed the person take a seat. He flinches slightly at seeing them and he quickly goes up to them, whispering something at them.

You relax slightly. It seemed whoever that figure was, was an acquaintance of Displo. The whispering gets angrier as Displo apparently wasn't happy said person appeared. He was tensing up, appearing as if he was trying to keep his cool.

It was none of your concern so you tune it out. You begin scrolling through recent messages as you begin to course your actions. You order another beer, finishing it rather quickly.

After a few minutes of mindless scrolling social media feeds you look over to the figure. There was now a glass of water in front of him. At least, you think it's a man. You couldn't tell for sure. He was trying his appear innocuous and was scribbling something on a notepad.

"If it's within my purview tonight, may I ask how the investigation is going?" Displo asked, catching you off guard. He placed a large cheeseburger and potato wedges. A cartoon-ish design of a cat was stamped into the sesame seed covered bun.

The "Cheezburger", a 'signature' dish from Displo's.

You don't look at Displo, instead just muttering. "It's over."

You feel him starring at you worryingly. "Absolutely?"

"No dice. It's done." You let out a large sigh. "The family won."

"That's quite unfortunate. Your wounds are a conciliation prize I presume."

You don't respond, instead taking a large bite of the cheeseburger.

"I'll leave you to it then." Displo says quietly before excusing himself to the back room.

Alone again you think more. Maybe you could just become a PI. Or at least do something for 'justice', auditor, compliance officer, security guard, whatever. That would of course come after you take your revenge. As for what the 'revenge' was, you were stumped. They were untouchable. At some point you had ordered another drink, finishing it sometime after. You felt relaxed and at ease; a far cry to how you felt earlier.

You notice Displo had returned and was re-arranging some bottles on the shelves behind him. He was carefully looking at each glass and how much liquor was left in them.

The jazz band had taken a break and was tuning instruments, drinking some water before the next set. You glance around. Aside from the figure there was nobody here that stood out.

There were a few customers who clearly looked to be IRIS employees. The lab coats they wore were a dead giveaway. It wasn't even that well-hidden that it was a front. You weren't going to complain however, this place was above all, safe.

Having finished your food you order another draft. You make a silent promise when you figure out what to do next to cut out alcohol. You knew you had drunk enough that last few days.

"If I may ask again, your...injuries are from our man in common?" Displo asked what he had been thinking since you told him the investigation ended.

You nod. While you kept it a secret from those wellness officers you felt okay with telling Displo. After all, the 'man in common' was someone Displo had expressed displeasure with before.

"I see. The investigation then, it wasn't your call was it?"

While you'd known Displo for a few months now he always had trouble with what you called "mob-speak" or "speaking without speaking." You were unsure what he meant but guessed anyways.

"Nope."

"...And your...positio-"

"I'm not a cop anymore Displo. It's over."

"Then I will speak candidly. I knew that family has their hands in everything but to hold the police to? I did not foresee this development."

"Uh-huh."

"The family has hands in everything." Displo repeated. "Do you know what your next move will be?" There was a hint of concern in his modulated voice.

"Nope. Could I get another on tap? Something a bit stronger this time?"

"Certainly."

Displo started pouring another drink. With the band having taken a rest you can make out the pouring sound from behind the counter.

"I don't know. What do you think I should do?" You ask Displo. You two shared a common enemy. Maybe he had ideas.

"Hmm. Have you thought of going higher? Federal agents?" He placed the drink down.

"I meant regarding our mutual friend." You respond.

"I-Uh-There's...nothing...I can...legally say regarding that topic." He was trying to find the right words. You got what he meant though. He couldn't mention any 'legal' paths to enact your revenge.

"I think..-hold on a second." Displo paused looking at something behind you. You glance back, seeing a few customers waving him over to pay. You nod back at Displo and he walks off.

You take the drink and started drowning your sorrows out with it. There had to be something you could do; other than just run into the compound guns blazing.

As you pound back your drink you get a notification on your phone. You check it, just a spam e-mail for some mob movie coming out soon.

Satisfied with the break time the jazz band resumes playing, albeit joined by a drummer from the audience. They resume playing smooth jazz, the drummer occasionally overdoing it with the fervor.

"Uh, excuse me?" A high-pitched voice says from behind the counter. It was one of the waiters, dressed in a similar attire to Displo. She was human however. "For you."

She placed a beer down, foam forming around the ring, coaster under the glass.

"I didn't order anything." While you were sufficiently buzzed you at least had your wits about you. You knew you didn't order another drink.

"It's paid for, from the gentlemen over there." She said, pointing to the mysterious figure. He looked down when you glanced over, resuming the scribbling in his notebook.

"Thanks." You say to the waiter and send her off.

While you'd been paying the figure no mind, this act set off warning bells within you. Why you? What did he want? You decide not to drink the beer, it could be poisoned after all. You take it, just for appearances.

You get up and go straight for the figure. He was about the same size as you. He paid you no mind as you sit upon the stool near him.

"Well. What do you want?" You ask.

"Your problem." The figure said. He had a distinct accent you weren't able to place. Eastern European maybe? Either way he sounded gruff. Looking closer his whole attire was rough and weathered. It was definitely well worn. There were flayed edges and a few holes in his dark blue hoodie.

"Is this them?"

He didn't face you when he spoke, instead staring down at the counter, holding a glass of water with a gloved hand. He slid a folded paper along the counter. You take, unfolding it. It was a simple drawing of Daddy Dearest, the so-called Patriarch of the family.

"That's him."

"I figured." He took a drink of the water. You could just barely make out some sort of detail on his face. He didn't look human. He spoke monotone, voice quiet just above a whisper.

"You're a cop?" He asked.

"Was a cop. Detective officially."

"Hrmm."

"Well. What?" You ask.

"I want to know. What happened? Tell me." He said after some thinking.

The next track will be called Goat-Headed Man.

Chapter Text

"What do you know about them?" You ask the figure.

"That you aren't the only one they wronged. They did unspeakable things to me. I can't talk out here though. Get us a room."

"Alright." You instinctively touch your handgun, just making sure it was still there. You still had no reason to trust this person. Not to mention the buzz made you a little uneasy.

Displo returned to the counter hand washing some glasses. The figure raised a hand and waved him over. At first he pretended not to see but upon noticing you with him acknowledge the figures presence.

"Something for you two?" Displo asked.

"Can we get a private room?"

Displo cocked his head slightly as if processing the request.

"May I speak to you privately first, (Y/N)?"

"Uh. Sure. Excuse me..." You wait for him to say his name but the figure remains silent. "Right then." Displo leads you away closer to where you previously sitting. He leans forward, closer to you.

"I would not recommend engaging with that guy. He's a bad influence." Displo whispered.

"What's his deal?"

"Has history with the family; as you and I, but he's unhinged. He comes here every so often, hunting for one of those family members." Displo glanced in the figure's direction. "Said family members actually visited once. Even before I could throw them out that man was here, threatening to blow up the place. He is a radical, through and through." Displo added.

"What happened to him?"

"I do not know but I advise you to steer clear of him."

"Hm. I'll keep that in mind." While Displo was trying to discourage you; it only made you more interested. If anything, his disapproval served as an endorsement. This 'radical' was someone like you.

"If you'd like I can have him escorted from the premises." Displo chimed in.

"I think I'll be fine."

Displo stood up and crossed his arms. "If you say so. But please, don't do anything reckless in my establishment."

"Don't worry. I'll be careful."

Displo nods in approval. He waves over the figure.

"Follow me."

He gets up as well, following Displo. The figure walked head down so as to conceal his face. You still had no idea what or who this person was. But you were intrigued so far.

Displo lead the two of you into another part of the restaurant. It was a corridor with curtains lining the sides, each leading to a private dining booth. You'd never seen this side of the restaurant before. To further add to the randomness of the restaurant it appeared to have a more Japanese-style to it.

"Here we are." Displo stopped at one of the curtains, pulling it aside for you two. "If you need anything please give the bell a ring."

Inside was a booth and table like you had seen in the main restaurant, though width slightly longer. It was raised partially as well. It contained a window on the side of the wall, opposite to the curtains. If anything, the place looked like a train caboose, retrofitted for a restaurant. Like the rest of the place, it didn't match the aesthetic. The seats had a deep red colour to them, likely made of leather. You make a step up and take a seat, putting the gifted beer up on the table.

The figure goes to take the bench opposite to you but he is stopped by Displo.

"No funny business, you understand that? I got my sights on you."

"Hmph."

"(Y/N), keep him under control." Displo adds.

You nod. Displo nods back and walks off back to the main bar.

The figure takes a seat and puts his notebook and water glass down. Still concealed in his hood and a hat he looks directly at you. He had sunglasses on and removed them. You make two glowing yellow eyes and something peaking out of the hood that didn't fit. A nose perhaps? He takes his backpack off and places it next to him.

Up closer now you get a good look at the figure. He wore a dark blue hoodie and wore black gloves. On the hoodie was some sort of logo you couldn't make out. His hood was on concealing most of his face sans two bright eyes which shown faintly. Just from looking at them you could see fury in them. While his hood was on he still wore a hat that matched his hoodie. To add to his anonymity he had a scarf on concealing most of his face, and previously had a pair of sunglasses.

Like you noted earlier, his attire was all weathered. The edges of the hoodie were frayed and it looked like it had seen better days. Despite the rugged appearance he gave, he did not appear to smell at all. His clothing appeared tattered in parts and imperfectly sewn elsewhere. Whether it was because of his 'unhinged-ness' Displo claimed or because he'd been through a lot he was rough looking. Even his gloves as he rested them on the table, had a few loose threads visible.

The only thing that looked to be in pristine shape was his hat. Dark blue as well, it was one of those hats you recall seeing chimney-sweepers wear. It looked like a dome, with a tongue on the front.

He had a very punk-ish appearance to him.

"Are you gonna drink that?" He asked monotonely.

"Why? Did something to it?" You shot back.

"Nyet. I paid for that and if you aren't going to have it I want it back."

"Sure. Knock yourself out." The figure nods and takes the beer. He starts downing the amber coloured liquid.

"So. What do you know about the family?" He began.

"That depends. I want to know who you are and what you know first." You respond. While still intrigued there still wasn't a reason to trust him.

"That isn't how this is going to work." He said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You were eavesdropping on my conversation. I think I deserve to at least hear your issue first. I don't even know who you are."

"Fine. You wanna know why I hate that family? This is why."

With a dramatic pose the figure took his hat off, removed the hood and took off the scarf. Now you could see what it was hiding.

While you had thought he was human or anthro, you were wrong. He had no visible neck, it was see-through. Though, upon closer look it was there, faintly seen as one could see someone using invisibility. Where he was should have been was the skull of a goat, two curled horns atop it. In place of eyes were two small yellow flames, staring directly at you. His hat, while it had been hiding his horns was now sitting perfectly in between them, covering the top of his skull-head. While you'd seen re-animated beings before it was clear this man was not one. His jaw moved slightly as he breathed.

But despite all you weren't sure what he meant. After all the things and people you'd seen in Newgrounds City this wasn't that bizarre. Plus, the city had a sizable anthro community. He looked 'normal'.

"T-they did what?"

"They did this to me!" He said a little louder, motioning to his face. He took of his gloves, revealing bony hands. It was as if he had no skin. "See?"

"I'm supposed to be like you. Not this...freak I am." He said sullenly.

"Well. I, uh, don't think you look that bad." You mutter. He just growls in response. "Alright. I believe you." You say.

You extend a hand out. "Names (Y/N), former detective, investigator." The figure waits a second but accepts the handshake. Despite appearances his hand felt warm and soft. Maybe it his skin was invisible?

"Tabi." The man said.

"Tabi? Huh..." You'd heard that name before. It was floated during the investigation. "I've heard of you."

Tabi took a swig of the beer, the liquid disappearing into his skull. You catch it briefly disappearing down vanishing behind his scarf. "Oh yeah? What do you know?" He slurred his some of his W's making it sound more like a V-sound.

You try to recall his page in your investigation documents. "Rapper, I think? You had contact with the family and then been missing ever since. It was a dead end, so we figured they had killed you."

"Almost. I will tell you what happened, but you will tell no other soul about it. Then you will tell me what happened to you." He definitely had some sort of accent, it was more clear now. It had to have been eastern European or something close.

"Alright. Go ahead." You agreed.

You let Tabi speak without interruptions. You learn that he was originally a human and a music producer. You never really listened to the stuff so predictably you hadn't heard of him. He was dating the Daddy's daughter. He claimed that she wasn't even interested in Tabi. "It was all part of some sick game to further her career."

He caught on and tried to stop it. Before he could confront her was kidnapped and then awoke having become a "monster". Apparently most of his body was invisible, though the how eluded him. It was still there at least. He said that occasionally it appears as a sickly translucent white, further adding that he was a 'ghost'.

You knew very little of their daughter. She wasn't part of the 'family business' and that they had gone through great lengths to conceal her identity. You recall an anonymous tip that her name might've been 'Cherry' but there was no record of anyone with that name.

You focus back on Tabi's story.

Since then he'd been tracking the (now-former) girlfriend to 'get some answers'. He winced when he said that, your instincts picking up a hidden meaning. You didn't know her name but he referred to her as just 'Girlfriend'. Like 'Daddy Dearest' you figure it be some alias. It didn't seem as if he was referring to her as that out love.

You didn't detect any love within the way he spoke. He didn't act like some spurned lover. He seemed to have genuine regret and pain as he talked.

As Tabi spoke you could see all the hatred built up in him. He had been going from public space to public place to find her. It had been a little over a year since he'd been reduced to a goat-man. Though you saw little issue in how he looked, it was still a sensitive topic for him.

In a strange way you found his goat visage kind of cool. Witch-King-like, in a way. It was almost hypnotic.

"I will find her. They will pay."

"You haven't seen them since?" You had ordered another drink and were slowly taking it down.

"I caught them once. But her, she has a new boyfriend. We fought but...it didn't end well. I haven't seen them since. They won't get a second chance."

"The daughter. Are you sure it was her and not the dad? In all our investigation never once did she come up as a possible accomplice."

"Humph. How would you know? You weren't on the streets. She's not as innocent as you think." Tabi spat. He lied back and kicked his shoes up on the table revealing two predictably, worn out sneakers and his black stained jeans. At one point the shoes would have had white streaks but they had since yellowed.

"What about you then? What did you do to piss them off?" Tabi asked.

At first you considered not talking, after all, there was no telling if he was some 'double-agent' or anything. But, between the booze and Tabi spilling his guts for someone he barely knew you decide to spill everything.

You give him a detailed explanation of the investigation, the threats, the beating and all. Like you had done he lets you speak without any interruptions, nodding and listening attentively. He took in everything you said, silently understanding that you too had gotten screwed.

You notice his body language perk up when you mention you had backed up the case files but slump when you mention the break-in. After concluding he had one thing to say.

"Hmph. You didn't once think that they were working with the feds from the start? You cops just bend to whoever has the most money. You should have known better."

"Yeah, so? Girlfriend was probably playing you from the start and you didn't see it."

"Fine, whatever."

"That's about it then." You slumped down against the booth. It felt cathartic to finally speak your mind about the case. You weren't sure if it was the drunkenness or just getting it off your chest but you felt better about the whole thing.

"I'll admit I am surprised he didn't outright kill you. The family is ruthless. You're lucky cops look out for other cops."

"Yeah well, I don't respect any of those people anymore. They were all liars. I won't get a second chance."

"What are you going to do about it?" Tabi questioned.

"I don't know yet." You take another drink, finishing the beer. Last one of the night. You felt at ease speaking with Tabi. You still had some doubts about where his heart was but he seemed trustworthy so far.

Tabi, likewise had the same feeling. He hadn't been able to discuss at length with anyone about those events. Sure, he had friends who heard at length but this was the first time he told a total stranger.

"So, you've just been stalking around trying to find your ex-girlfriend?"

"Hmph. Yeah. So what?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea. She's the daughter of a magnate. She probably has security round the clock watching her. You know how protective those people are."

He leans back as if he as a sort of realization, that some things now make sense. "I-I knew that."

"Same with 'girlfriend' as well. I'm still not convinced she's completely to blame."

"You know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"During those two months of investigation she never came up once. We checked, we didn't find anything that indicated she was part of the 'family business'."

"Yeah, and there was still stuff you didn't know about the investigation. Like me."

"True. It's ju-"

"Well if you have any ideas I'm listening." Tabi said, interrupting you. He was staring at you, eyes glowing as always. It looked as if they were on fire.

"Well, we can't kill them. Too much security. During the investigation we had teams watching them. They're all really well protected." Your phone goes off with a notification.

You check it, another spam e-mail. Though seeing the earlier one again gave you an idea. You put the phone away.

"What if we robbed them?" You lean back. "Like a heist?" You barely heard yourself, the alcohol had taken over.

Tabi uncrosses his arms as he takes in your suggestion. "Fat chance. I've been to their...compound. It's impenetrable and has security tighter than the Berlin wall. Plus aren't you a cop? What happened to protect and serve?"

"I'm not a cop. Not anymore. Protect and serve? Taking them out is helping the community, way I see it."

"Well either way, it's a peabrained idea. It'll get us killed."

"Well who said it's just us? There were tons of people they wronged. There was no shortage of witnesses."

"Huh...Well, maybe if we had some more muscle it could work. I need to think about this." Tabi said, looking up, thinking. A ping emits from Tabi. It was his phone this time.

He adjusts his posture and takes his feet off the table, checking his phone. You see him furrow his brow in annoyance.

"I gotta go. Give me your number." Tabi said. You read him aloud the number and he sends you a text to make sure it works. Satisfied he gets up.

He places a few crumpled bills on the table. "Tell the bot that's for my drinks. I'll text you later." Tabi said before quickly leaving you alone.

You page over Displo and pay for your drinks and the room, departing moments after. Displo seemed a little concerned for you but you made it clear you were fine, just buzzed.

You ask Displo if it's okay to leave your car overnight. You weren't in a state to drive. He agreed.

"Have a good night, (Y/N), and best of luck on the job search. See you tomorrow." You thank him and call a cab.

Tabi had left the bar in a hurry. He had gotten a text message from a 'friend'. She had been spotted. He quickly departed from you and made his way to her location. She was seen with her boyfriend at an arcade meeting with someone.

But, as he honed in on their position he stopped, thinking about your plan. He wanted no more than to kill them, but to rob them of what they got? To take out their power? He began to like the idea. It could be worse than death. He shook his head. But I have my chance right here.

He was running to that alley but as he thought, the run turned into a stroll. He hadn't considered that. He already had a few people in mind he could 'recruit' to help with this 'heist'. Maybe he could kidnap her and ransom her back. No. That father and mother were ruthless.

In the end he made up some excuse to himself that she had to have some kind of security around and that he wasn't prepared for a battle. Plus, he was more curious about you. A random fed breaking rank and going after the family? One that survived an encounter with the so-called "Daddy"? He needed to know more. He stopped walking in the night air and pulled out his phone. There was someone he wanted to call.

The next track will be called The City In All Her Glory.

Chapter Text

Morning came too quick.

And it hit like a truck.

You had gone way over your limit at some point and the rest of the evening was a blur. All you knew was that you awoke with a throbbing headache, sore throat and a reeling stomach. You hadn't turned on the heat last night and everything was cold. As you got up and took a hot shower you tried to remember exactly what transpired last evening. The last thing you recall was discussing...something with Displo.

Sufficiently warmed up and dried you get to making some breakfast, checking your phone for any indication of what happened. Not only did the phone read 12:00PM, but there were a few new messages from someone called Tabi. Oh yeah, he was the stalker that has his own beef with the Family.

You decide to just stop drinking all together. Between the lack of food the past few days and the cleaning of the liquor collection it was best to just give it all up. The house was already dry, that was just one less temptation.

It all starts coming back to you as you cook up some food. You, rather the alcohol had come up with the idea to rob the Family. Make them pay. Literally.

With a sober mind you decide to think about it clearly.

It was just a random idea at the time but you started to like it more and more. Money and greed shielded them and if you hit them there they would fall. Of course, if you could get in, even ignoring the money you could cause enough damage to halt or outright stop operations.

When you started you had made an oath to protect and serve, one to not engage in illegal activity. But, as you reflected on it now you the more it meant nothing. Not only had you been thrown out on made-up pretenses but the other officers were complicit. They had all broken their vows probably many times before you found out. Nay, there would be no moral conundrum. Rationalize that whatever you were doing would be more moral than all the corruption anyways.

You knew the law. While this would be highly illegal if executed correct they wouldn't know what hit them. Money laundering, crypto, skipping town, framing some rival faction, the possibilities were endless. And who knows? Maybe that sign of weakness would force the cops to actually do something. Corruption suffocates without money.

Finishing off breakfast you jot some ideas of who to recruit, only to delete them immediately.

While you were respected at the station you knew none of those people would align themselves with you, including the chief. As you thought about it, you realize Tabi had a point. I don't know the street like he did.

After having done your daily pushups and had some water you got to scribbling what was needed first and foremost for the heist.

First and foremost you needed a hideout. You knew your house would not be good. You needed some central point to plan out, a place free from the eyes of both the law and the family.

You knew one place like that. Displo's. It was in a nice part of town where cops rarely needed to go. It even had the bonus of being under control by an organization hostile to the Family!

You had no idea how Displo would take the proposal. You vaguely remember him saying something along the lines of 'no illegal activity'. IRIS did hate them though. Just how much though?

Now remembering you left your car there you decide to ask him anyways. Worst case he would say no. You knew he wouldn't go to the cops about this, after all you had protected him from an investigation by said cops.

Back then it was just genuine disagreement. The charges they had brought forth hardly made sense, but it hadn't occurred they were just trying to take him down like they did you. You shudder at the thought.

Satisfied with a simple breakfast you leave and get a cab to Displo. It was brisk out. Despite the lack of snow on the ground it was still cold enough to see your breath when you exhaled.

The snow was partially melted, only parts remaining were clumps too frozen to melt from the cool sun.

Before you can even take a few steps outside a mailman knocks you over, accidentally running into you. He just helps you up, hands you some mail and runs off to the next house. He seemed to be in quite a hurry.

You check the mail, it was just some spam. With that you were off to Displo's to convince him to join.

You wondered how Tabi was and if he was just humoring you last night. Or even if he was just drunk, speaking to nothing. You consider messaging him but at least wanted Displo's opinion first. The cab driver doesn't make much small talk, and from how groggy he sounded you assumed he had a late night too. Didn't even have the radio on. Just you and your thoughts.

The Family lived on a large compound, several buildings wide. It was compared to a university campus the way it functioned. Almost like a small town within the city.

You hadn't been to the Dearest compound before, nor knew anyone who had. At least, until last night. Tabi must have been there at least once.

With how influential they were you didn't doubt they had top of the line security. You'd arrested burglars before, petty thieves and even bank robbers, but pulling off a heist like this was on a whole different level. At the very least it would require a full team and lots of planning. Not to even mention good opsec and ensuring said plan doesn't leak. It was to be a big task.

You try to think back to any people in the city's past that would have done something on that level. You could only recall two, Henry Stickmin and Hank J. Wimbleton. However, now that you thought of it, neither of those 2 really had a crew. They did most of the work themselves. And while you fancied yourself capable both those guys had skill on levels unreachable.

Recruiting them was out of the picture as well. Hank had been missing for years, off on his own journey and Henry had fled the city after pulling off some insane feats. Last you heard of him, he was in some country without an extradition treaty, making millions off his story.

You mentally shrug. You'd just have to find all the talent locally. The ride comes to a halt, the taxi driver dropping you off in the parking lots of Displo's. You pay your toll and get out.

Aside from a few cars you believed to be employees the place was deserted. You wondered if Displo was even up at this hour, well he was a robot, cyborg, thing. Maybe he doesn't sleep. No, he had to be. Restaurant opened for lunch. Maybe he had slept in?

The place was definitely closed, a chart on the doors stating that it only opens a little after noon. Despite the note you could see people inside cleaning up and prepping the place. You decide to just go in, Displo had to be around.

Nobody pays you any mind except a staff member who informs you the place is closed. You just say that you're looking for Displo. He nods and disappears into the kitchen, presumably to find the owner.

After a few minutes Displo emerges from the kitchen, dressed in the same clothes he was wearing last night. He also wore an apron. His face displayed the same colours, though the screen blinked upon seeing you.

"(Y/N). I trust your car is in order?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to ask you something about last night."

"I am listening, though please be quick. I have dishes to wash."

"Can we talk privately? It's about...our friend." Displo perked up upon hearing that, he posture adjusting slightly. He nodded. "Very well. Follow me."

He led you to the same booth that you and Tabi had sat in a night prior. He took a seat himself, though no time was wasted on sitting. He immediately began inspecting the table for any spots, pulling out a cloth and wiping it down.

"So. What happened between you two?" Displo asked.

"It's more an idea we had. Would you uh...say you would be interested in helping us out?" Displo stopped cleaning and stared at you. "To what end?" He said firmly. "If you're asking me to participate in Tabi's little firestorm then the answer is no."

You weren't sure what he meant by firestorm. "No, no, I mean...We're planning on robbing the Family." You decide to outright say it. It's not like he could whistleblow to the police anyways. "Hmmm."

"Like a heist, obviously. Their place is well protected."

Like Tabi did when you first suggested the idea, he merely leaned back. The colours on his screened dimmed slightly as he played with the idea.

Finally after pondering the idea for what seemed like minutes he finally spoke up. "That must have been your idea. More high class than that goat's terroristic tactics."

"Well?"

"Well indeed. What exactly would you want from me in this instance?"

You decide to just be blunt. "We need a place to gather, some place secure to plan it out. A hideout. And with this neighborhood and your backing you guys could help conceal us."

"My backing?" Displo said curiously. He looked at you with what you think was suspicion.

"C'mon. I know this place is a front." Displo seemed a bit taken back when you said that, though just as quickly as he displayed it let up. "I know about IRIS and their...position on the Family." Saying that causes Displo to relax slightly. He put a finger on his chin, pondering. It's like he was staring right through you.

"If anyone else would have suggested this I would have denied it outright. Especially that goat. But you...we've watched you before you know. I know you can get results."

"You did huh." This was news to you. Though it did make sense.

"You think we didn't know you looked into us? It was only fair we looked into you. I wouldn't worry about us. We had a mutual enemy and still do....And I do suppose I you a thanks for getting police off our case." Though unseen you could tell he was smiling.

As Displo spoke you put together something that had been bothering you from the start. There were a few details Displo could not have known. It didn't occur to you that IRIS had made him their emissary to you.

"Alright. I guess we're even then. So you're in?"

"Regarding working with the goat I am uncertain. Are you absolutely sure about this? I say this as a friend, not as a member of IRIS. They don't like to tolerate failure."

"Tabi and I need to discuss the plan but we're only going to do this once we know we can. Floor plans, a crew, getaway vehicles, etcetera. We won't do anything rash. I'll keep Tabi under control."

"I will have to see that to believe. I will ask my superiors but I cannot promise anything. I will say though." Displo resumed cleaning, now checking the window and wiping it down. "If they do agree they will likely see you through a proxy. I do not think they will supply anything important. They tend to want to keep their image clean."

"We just need a place to plan."

"I have a few meeting rooms you all can use. And...I know you don't need to be reminded of this but I do need to run a business. You'll still have to pay for meals and all that. And no scenes in the place either."

"That's fine. I'm probably going to meet with Tabi tonight again tonight. You're more than welcome to join."

"Give me your cellular number. I will communicate to you my answer through it. I'd recommend getting someone good with technology on the team. You're going to attract attention with that so you will need good cyber security."

"What about you?"

"Hmph. I wouldn't think you to be so biased (Y/N). I may be technological but a hacker I am not. I just happen to know a lot about it." He said, disapprovingly.

You give Displo your number and get his contact information. He didn't have a phone, cellular service was built directly into himself.

"I'll consider it." Displo adds. With your number verified, Displo gets up and readies to depart.

"Good. Now then. My schedule has been sufficiently set back. I need to make several calls and have the restaurant open soon. If you have nothing else to discuss I will be taking my leave."

"I'm all good. Thanks Displo."

"Be seeing you."

You still felt a bit hungover from last night. You decide to just take it easy for the rest of the day and await a response from Displo. You get in your car and drive home. It's best to take a nap and try and sleep off some of the 'poisoning'.

It didn't take long for a phone call to rouse you from sleep. It was Tabi.

"(Y/N)." He said coldly through the phone.

You clear your throat a bit. "Y-yeah. What's up?"

"I've thought about your idea. We should meet tonight."

"Alright." You cough. "Same time same place."

"Good." Tabi hung up.

In the few moments you shared with Tabi you noticed how distant and solemn he was. You felt a little bad for him but figured that was just the kind of person he was.

You try and continue the nap, though mentally preparing for Displo or someone else to wake you up.

With the melting of snow and the coming of summer there was plenty to be done to fix the cities 'appearance'. One such group was working on the trees in a serene residential neighborhood. In that group was Tabi, holding a rope keeping one of the workers in a tree.

If it wasn't for his friends dad forcing him to work he would have high-tailed it elsewhere by now.

The only other reason he even stayed here was that it was a job out of the public's eye. No busy streets to get spotted in and a low chance of running into that family's goons. He wasn't sure if they were even still after him but preferred not to take the chance. After his last encounter he figured they had at least someone looking.

He hated it here and if they called him bonehead one more time he would go on a killing spree. He would have done anything else but he desperately needed the money. He had skipped breakfast and dinner last night and was trying to hold out for lunch. His hunger had been sustaining itself with anger.

And then, just like clockwork, "Hey bonehead, could you pull a little tighter?"

"You call me that one more time and I will cut you like this tree." Tabi snarled at the man above.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try."

"Ey Ralphie, quit bothering the guy." Another worker butted in. Had he not said anything Tabi was prepared to let go of the rope and let the guy possibly break his back.

"Fine, fine whateva. Just focus man."

Tabi said nothing but his stomach growled. The worker must have thought Tabi was growling at him because he immediately responded with, "Yeah, up yours too."

He was almost on break and at least had that forward to look to. His mind was storm of supressing hunger, thinking about the Family and thinking about that 'heist' idea.

Judging by the sun it was almost break time. He had gotten good at that in the past weeks, being able to tell the time based on the sun. The workers got annoyed if he checked his phone. Plus, he had already gotten accosted for calling you earlier.

He had gotten a ping after the call too he was itching to check. Not wanting to further piss off the workers he ignored it. Finally, after having lost track of time and ignoring more comments from the man in the tree it was break time.

It was the first meal of the day, provided by the company. A banana and a turkey + cheese sandwich. Like he always did, Tabi sat away from the workers, thinking in his own world. They had long since stopped trying to make friends with him. As one worker put it "he's all business". As another put it "he's a psychopath". He was sure they said other things, but just ignored it.

Tabi checked his phone. There was a single new message. The display name read "Sol". The message just said to call him at his earliest convenience. He sighed but called. He hoped it related to his request and one of his 'check-ups'.

Once Tabi heard the pickup he began, "Well?".

"No hello? C'mon Tabi, if you expect me to believe you've changed you need to enact common courtesy."

Tabi grumbled. "Hello Sol...durak", he said the last part under his breath.

"I would've preferred you to use my full name but thank you." The speaker pretended not to hear that last word.

"So what is it?"

"I trust the job is treating you okay."

"Yes. It's all working out here just fine and dandy." Tabi said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Good! Now, regarding your friend. We tailed them though they haven't seem to have done much other than be at home and visit that restaurant you were at last night. Had a conversation with the owner, Displo."

"That's it?"

"There was one other thing, but...I will ask again, and will ask later. Why do you want me to track this person?"

"I want to make sure something. That's all."

"Not a very satisfactory answer. I don't think I need to warn you again, you better not fall in with the wrong crowd again."

Tabi sighed. "I won't. They're just someone I met last night."

"Alright. I won't pry further right now. As for that lookup, your friend was indeed laid off the police force. Very unusual, they used some obscure law to terminate them. Their last case had been classified too. My professional opinion is that they angered someone. But that's just hearsay."

So you were the real deal. Tabi thought. "Is that it?"

"Yes. Now is there something you want to tell me?"

"....Thanks." Tabi said after a bit of silence.

"Good. Now I don't want to keep you from work. Goodbye."

"Hm." Tabi said and hung up before the other end could make some snarky comment about not saying bye. Satisfied, Tabi resumed his break.

One long nap later you felt more refreshed than before. The hangover was mostly gone and finally felt able to think straight again. There were still a few hours before the meeting so you decide to go for a grocery run. Before you could even get out the door you get a call. This time from Displo. You drop what you're doing and answer it.

His superiors must have gotten back to him, you think.

"Hello?"

"Ah, (Y/N), do you have a moment? Are you in someplace safe?" Displo asked. He seemed a little cheerier than usual.

"Yeah, I'm just home. So? Did you get a response?"

"I did. Come around tonight, same time as yesterday. We'll discuss...your employment. My superiors are quite interested."

"Do I need to bring anything specific?"

"No. Just yourself and the goat. Until then."

"Okay, thanks Displo. See you then." You hang up. You wonder exactly what he meant by employment but figured it was some double-speak to avoid potential listeners.

With that in mind you leave and continue about your day, eager to see what would happen tonight.

The next chapter will be called First Meetings.

Chapter Text

With nothing left to do, you waste the day away before leaving for Displo's around supper time.

Finding yourself outside Displo's you step inside. You haven't heard anything from Tabi but with how distant he'd been you didn't expect him to just announce when he arrived.

There was a decent size crowd tonight, definitely busier tonight. There was a band present, not the same one as last night currently setting up their instruments. But despite everyone around you didn't see Tabi or Displo anywhere.

"Excuse me." Someone said. You turn to see a waiter approaching you. "You must be (Y/N), is that right?" She said.

"Uh, yeah, is Displo around?"

"Yep! Just this way." She said, motioning you to follow her. Displo must have been setting something up. The waiter leads you to the private rooms, past the booths to a door labeled "Party Room". She opens the door.

"Here you are." She says cheerily, opening the door. You thank her and step inside.

Inside you're met with a large room reserved for parties. It was like a miniature version of the restaurant, with its own kitchen entry, bar in the corner and table in the centre.

The decor was quite different, being stylized more like a lodge room with the green carpeted floor and decoratively carved wooden walls. A few amenities in the room looked out of place, likely having been brought in by staff. You notice a large computer with several monitors in one corner of the room. There was also a large wooden cabinet as well that looked more suited for a family room holding china.

In front of the computer stood a chair with a few beanbag chairs behind it, likely taken from a kids play area.

In the centre of the room was a large rectangular dinner table draped in a red cloth, chairs all along it. All the chairs were empty except one. Displo was sitting, waiting for you to arrive. He was looking right at you, his TV-screen blinking rapidly as he saw you enter. He was still in uniform though now wearing a red scarf. He sat cross-legged at the head of the table.

He rose up out of the chair, acknowledging your presence.

"Ah, (Y/N), glad you could make it tonight. Please, have a seat. Could I get you anything?" He asked.

"No, I'm good for now. Gonna, uh, take a break from booze."

"Suit yourself." Displo said, sitting back down.

You take a seat at the opposite edge of the table.

"You sure you don't want anything?"

"Uh, I guess just a glass of water." Displo nodded and got up to get one. He walked behind the bar and began pouring it.

"So, what did they say?" You decide to start.

"I would like to discuss with your acquaintance first so as to not repeat myself. I will say though, I was certainly not expecting this kind of response. I guess I misunderstood how far they were willing to go."

With the clinking of ice in the glass Displo brought over the water, placing it just down before returning to his seat. Looking at him, he seemed a little more fidgety than usual. Not to mention the scarf presence as well.

"So how was the lunch rush today?" You try to make small talk.

"...It was fine." Displo said uneasily. "So what's with the scarf?"

"It's my civilian scarf. It means I'm not on duty." Displo said, playing his hands as he leaned onto the table. While he was normally calm and composed he seemed a lot more uneasy.

"Are you..are you okay?" It looked as if he was hiding something.

"I..I am fine. Do not worry about my well being."

You had an idea. With Tabi still out of sight you decide to test something. You 'accidentally' knock the glass of water over. "Oops."

"Y-you!" Immediately you see Displo tense up in horror.

"Oh, could you uhh, fix that?" You ask. Even faster than he reacted he stood up, as calm as usual and goes over to the cabinet to retrieve a new table cloth. You give him some room as he fixes the table up, noticing how he's returned to his more relaxed composure.

"Do you want another glass?" Displo asked, the table cloth having been sufficiently replaced the old one stuffed into a wash bin. He seemed a little eager. As soon as he was satisfied he took his opposing seat, immediately going back to fidgeting. You had a rough idea of what was going on with him and wanted to test it further.

You 'accidentally push over one of the nearby chairs. As if relief washed over him, Displo got up and quickly fixed it, completing a once-over of all the chairs.

You were about to say something but Displo spoke up first.

"I know what you're doing. If you must know my prerogative, I have been ordered to not work until this meeting is completed. That's why I'm in my civilian clothes." You tilt your head slightly. Civilian clothes? You guess the scarf meant he was not a civilian, despite the uniform still very visible on him.

"Well, I don't mind if you want to clean up around while we wait." As if those were the magic words Displo's posture changed to more relaxed and he got up and began looking for something to do. "Thank you."

You guess it was something in his programming, compulsive even. He wasn't human or anthro after all. His conditioning was still different even if 'life-like'.

On cue you hear the door open. Inside came Tabi, staring down at the ground, face concealed by his hood and hat. Displo waved the waiter down before allowing her to leave. Tabi looked at the scene, waiting a good minute before removing his hood and putting his hat back down. He took a seat near you.

"Evening." You said.

"Mhmmph." Tabi mumbled. "What is he doing here?" He asked, meaning Displo.

"I asked him to. We're going to make this our base of operations."

Tabi looked at you incredulously. "Yes. Quite. Now that you are both here I can begin." Displo said.

"You told him?" Tabi said annoyingly. "What coul-"

"If you would please let me finish. I have been waiting here long enough. I want to get back to my patrons."

"Humph." Tabi said, crossing his arms. He glared at you, no doubt annoyed at your inclusion of Displo.

You just shrug.

"I spoke to my superiors of your proposal. They liked it quite a bit. Not only did they approve of it but they wish to help as well. Far more than I expecting, honestly." Displo fidgeting ceased, now no longer having to wait.

"First of all you and the 'team' will be granted to use this space as a base of operations. You'll also be given access to the menu. Not free of course, but you'll all be granted an employee's discount."

Tabi uncrossed his arms, listening a bit more. He liked the sound of cheap food. While it was a benefit an eyebrow still did raise at the sound that Displo had 'superiors'. He was curious now.

"Your superiors? Who do you answer to?"

"IRIS." You say to Tabi. "This whole place is a front."

"That's crude and procedural language. We do not see it that way. But I suppose, in your detective-mind you could call it that. Will that be a problem?"

Tabi leaned back. "IRIS huh? I guess it's not a problem." It looked as if he had something in mind to say but was fully expecting Displo to say some other faction.

"Good. Officially we're on a don't-ask-don't-tell basis. The higher-ups have no 'undeniable' knowledge of this. Officially, this is between us three and whomever is recruited next."

Displo turned to you. "As for you, we're prepared to hire you so as to not arouse suspicion. It's just a cover job but you will receive a small salary and some legal matters will be covered. With your consent you will be in charge of security at my establishment. Any objections?"

"Nope." You accepted your new job. "I'm hired."

"Good. It will still be an official job so you will have duties and responsibilities but I do not believe it will be an issue."

You nodded.

Displo turned to Tabi next. "I have a possible job for you as well but-"

"Pass. I already have a job. I don't need your charity." Tabi said gruffly.

"Very well. To be honest, I prefer it this way. I don't want to have to teach you how to wash a dish." Though he didn't sound as if he was trying to mock Tabi, he still took it that way, glaring at Displo.

"They have also ordered me permission to act as the liaison for the group. I will be assisting in what way I can. As an emissary and assist, management of the off-the-books usage of the companies resources. Of course, I am not a field agent in any way so my help will be limited. And in order to keep clean there will be a small limit to my involvement."

You were about to ask how that would work but Tabi beat you to it. "How do we know you guys won't fold the minute the cops show up? How can we even trust you?" You nod in agreement.

"Well, for one, the higher-ups don't know the specifics. Just that an 'external security team' has formed. There is plausible deniability and cover stories prepped in the event of police discovery. Secondly, I've by my hide on the line proposing and officially joining this. And thirdly, 'and I won't repeat this again', but IRIS has engaged in underhanded tactics before. We won't be the first 'security team' our organization has partnered with."

"What do you mean?" You ask. Was there another heist crew?

"Do you recall a concert the family put on a few months ago?" Displo said slyly. "I do wonder how exactly someone would have crashed it."

Tabi looked interested, as if remembering something. It did occur to you what he was talking about. The Family had some major concert months ago featuring androids and a huge rap battle. You didn't know the specifics but the whole thing was hacked and nearly every android or bot went rogue. Information was scarce but IRIS was pointed to as a possible suspect. Thinking on it that was the first time you'd heard of IRIS anyways.

"Hmm." You mutter.

"I suppose you don't find it odd either that no charges were laid as a result? It took much protest from the family to even open the investigation."

Though it didn't occur to you at the time, you do remember nobody actually being charged with anything.

"We know just whose palms to grease." Displo said smugly. "Don't think we can get you of all trouble though. You're on your own."

"I guess that's sorted out then." Tabi said. He pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. Before he could light it Displo spoke up.

"I maintain a strict no smoking policy. You will not smoke in here."

While he would have normally protested and had several different names to call Displo by Tabi decided to acquiesce. "Fine....ruchka." He put it away.

"Good. (Y/N), you're in charge. What is the plan for tonight?"

You had spent some time earlier just drafting up some ideas of what you needed. "We need people, diagrams and photos of the place and a strategy. First of all we need pictures, floor plans and stuff."

You pause, noticing something in the way you spoke.

"If we're gonna rob 'em we need to know the best points of entry, chokepoints, weak spots, etcetera. We don't even know where they stash their money currently." You pause again, feeling almost disassociated. You were sounding like a criminal and could hardly believe it. Tying it back to your detective days you conclude.

"I've done security before so I have a good idea of how to approach. J-just in reverse, I guess."

Tabi spoke up. "I've been there a few times. I know the area."

"You remember anything specific about the layout?"

Tabi closed his eyes, the fires in his eye sockets going out as he thought. "He had a vault in the centre of his mansion. But that's about all I can remember. It's accessible in the centre mansion."

You note that down. "Well, it's a start. Say, Displo, could you get us a floor plan?"

Displo merely shook his head. "Our network is not as exhaustive as you think. I'm afraid there's not much I can do there. I can try to research and see if I can find out what firm built it. Acquire intel."

"Sure. Please."

You turn to Tabi.

"Since you've been there, do you think you could go and get some photos of the place? Entrances, exits, break-in points and such? Tomorrow, probably during the day." You ask Tabi. You figured your brush with them was too recent. If you showed up, there would be hell to pay. Plus, as Tabi said, "you don't know the streets like I do."

"I'll do it tonight."

"You sure it'll be okay? I'm sure they have security. At least tomorrow there will be people-"

"No. It is better this way. I prefer working in the dark."

"Suit yourself. As for me I'm going to head to the police station. We had a criminal database. I'm gonna see if I can find any leads on possible candidates."

"If I may make a suggestion, (Y/N), what we need immediately is some sort of hacker and cyber security expert. Find someone to cover our tracks cybernetically."

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Do either of you know anyone that we can recruit?" You finish your water.

"There is no one that we can supply currently." said Displo.

"I'll need to think about it." said Tabi.

"That about settles it for tonight. We'll reconvene tomorrow night and be in touch. Tabi will get the recon photos, I'll find some candidates and Displo, you find out who built the place. Any questions?"

"None from me."

"Nyet. I'll get going now."

"Alright, good luck everyone." And with that you split for the night.

A party has formed!
Tabi and Displo have joined the party!

The next chapter will be called Nuisances.

Chapter Text

You leave the bar shortly after, get back in your car and make for the police station. It was a long-shot, especially after that kangaroo court but you hoped you at least still had some friends. While there were none you were seriously considering recruiting you were hoping someone would let you have access to the criminal database.

The night crew that ran the station after hours had always been slightly friendlier than the day people. Being out of sight by management had its perks and the night crew took advantage of that. A lot of the higher-ups saw working nights as a punishment while the day-officers were the ones that 'kept the city in check'. You never really cared so long as you got results, occasionally changing from days to nights.

The NCPD had an extensive program called the "Leaderboard" that contained tons of information on various criminals and the intel surrounding them. It was through that database that you were able to find unsolved cases and in turn find targets. And it would be through that database you would find potential allies. It was thoroughly kept, consistently having good results.

Ultimately you didn't care if they'd deny you. Worst case scenario they would just throw you out. You had a cover story anyways. You merely wanted to check for unsolved crimes as part of your new PI business. If anyone asked about your security detail you'd just say it was a temporary gig.

A tall brown-bricked building rose up indefinitely. It was also all quiet, the only sounds catching your ears were distant cars and the hum of the fluorescent lights. It was definitely old-school, an aesthetic the higher-ups refused to compromise. Like you had done so many times in the past you pull open that door and step in.

Almost immediately you were given some suspicious looks. None seemed too concerned at your presence, moreso the fact you were alive. You notice one of the people starring was none other than the chief, your former boss. He watched through his office window, getting up and entering the lobby. There was an expression of curiosity on his face. Whether it was positive or negative was unknown to you.

What was he doing here? At this hour nonetheless?

He walked up to you.

"Fancy seeing you here." The grizzled old-chief said. There was nothing discernable about his appearance. You think at one time you'd have described him as a good leader but those time were long gone.

"You too, since when do you work nights?"

"Since a few weeks ago." He said coldly. Clearly your 'suspension' wasn't the only change that had occurred. "I think I left something here. Could we talk?"

"My office. Come." He said. You couldn't read him.

You find yourself in the chief's office, blinds down alone with him.

He was an older man, face weathered from having to face crime. He always had a stoic look on his face. You admired him at one point, though not anymore. Looking at him again you just saw betrayal and all the negative aspects of him amplified.

You thought of him as the strong-silent type who was like a father to the department. Looking at him now, he was just another cop, silent only in the face of injustice, content to let a corrupt system run.

He'd always been an 'old-school' kind of guy, enjoying whiskey and cigars while dressing like a reporter from the 20s. The same blue/white striped dress shirt, coloured tie and dress pants. Like you'd seen him a lot before, he had a cigar, though it wasn't lit.

You take a seat.

You were expecting him to start chewing you out any second now. Want a drink?" The chief asked.

"No thanks. I'll be driving later."

"Ehn. Suit yourself." The chief said, reaching down into his desk. He pulled out an empty glass and a near-empty bottle of rye. Pouring the amber-coloured drink into the glass he sighed.

"It's a damn shame it came to this (Y/N). How's the job hunt been?"

You found yourself a little disgusted with the chief now, seeing him for what he truly was. You try your best to ignore it.

"I'm thinking of becoming a PI, doing what I did here, just privately."

"That's good work. Lotta money there. You aren't still trying to go after our 'friends' are you?" He took a small sip. The way he enunciated friends was annoying. As if that 'friendship' was two-ways.

"No sir. More, of, uh, what I was doing before, unsolved cases and all that."

"Ah, well there's no shortage of them out there. Sorry for what happened to you."

"It's fine."

The chief took a break from drinking, re-arranging some papers scattered on the desk. "I did you a favour you know. If you'd have seen what they originally had in mind...wew..let's just say you got the good end."

"Right." You figure they were just planning on having you killed but after seeing Tabi you weren't sure anymore.

They were a cruel bunch. You clear your throat, hoping to indicate you weren't interested in discussing the family.

"About my work, is it possible to get access to Leaderboard? I want to pull some cases from it."

"What kind of cases?" The chief raised an eyebrow.

"Unsolved ones, criminals at large, that stuff. I need to get started somewhere."

"Ah, most wanted. Sure. You're desk and computer should still be there. Your login should still work too. Nobody has touched it."

"Thanks. I'll go do that right now." You begin to get up.

"One other thing." The chief said, stopping you. He had since finished his glass of rye.

"IT will be monitoring your searches. We just want to make sure you really aren't barking up that tree. You know?"

"Understood sir." You leave the office. Before you get out the door you turn back and say "Thanks for sticking up for me the other day. I appreciate it. It won't happen again."

The chief just smiled back, understanding you knew your place. "Best of luck (Y/N). Again, if you need anything realistic, don't hesitate to call. You got talent."

You leave the office and go to your old desk. It occurs to you that if you proceed down this road you'd need to inevitably face the chief again. You had only one thought regarding that. Take him down if he interferes.

While you weren't a fan of the chief anymore, you were at least grateful he had your back.

That anger still remained, quietly burning. "When the time comes, you better not miss." You just hope that personal feelings and misplaced loyalty won't get in the way. He did hand you over in the first place.

You get a few odd looks from the other cops as you take a seat at your old desk. Mostly from confusion, many having figured you quit. Some were staring with malice, glad you had gotten that treatment. You just glared back, happy you knew the truth now and a fury for your revenge.

Regardless, none of those faces wanted any confrontation. Especially not here.

After a few minutes, Leaderboard opens. You decide to start searching for cybercrime suspects, sorting by most recent. As it begun its search you begin to think what other sorts of people you'd need. Without the floor plan you decide to make guesses as to what you'd need.

Before you get ahead of yourself you remember what Displo said. You needed a cybersec person. The board finishes loading.

You start scrolling through. Being cyber criminals very little information was known about any of the people, especially faces. There was no indication any of these people were even in the city. You start to realize that if you're going to get a hacker it would have to have been someone scorned by the Family. You try to recall the people you met during the investigation but can't recall anyone other than Displo with a noticeable tech presence.

As you scroll through a few pages you eventually find someone with a possible location in the city.

Alias: DOXX13
Real Name: [withheld by order of the minors act]
Accused Of:
- Online Extortion
- Exfiltration of Information
- Online Harassment
- Home Invasion*
Status: At Large / Location Unknown

There was a bit more information as well but nothing that stood out. You check the home invasion claim. Apparently this person had broken into someone's home and forced them to rap battle. Due to the age of the accused no further information was given. You decide not to print it out, hesitant that adding a child to the crew would cause too many problems. You continue scrolling.

You find a potential candidate called Arch, only to find he had been imprisoned on a laundry list of charges and wasn't getting out ever. Another one comes up.

Alias: monika.chr
Real Name: Monika [last name withheld]
Accused Of:
- Stalking
- Hacking
- Identify Theft
- E-mail / Social Media Fraud
- Banking Fraud
- Spyware Distribution
- Attempted Murder
- Several Counts of Manslaughter
Status: At Large / Potentially Deceased
Last Known Location: Doki High School

You decide to skip that page too. She seemed way too crazy for a team-up. Skimming through several more pages you decide to give up on that search. You weren't a specialist in cybercrime but slowly come to realize that the only way to find someone like this would be on the dark web. You decide you can do that tomorrow.

Curiosity pending you do a search for any gangs, circles and at-large groups. An already organized group could be beneficial for the team, if you could convince them to do the heavy lifting.

Though that thought vanishes quickly. You had arrested at least one of each member once in time. There was zero chance they'd help, if they didn't try to take you out at the same time.

One new group piques your interest, an anthro gang called the 'Seven Deadly Sins'. New enough that you hadn't arrested any of them and there wasn't any apparent connection to the Family.

Unfortunately info was scarce on them, most of the member's profiles just being silhouettes. The only person who had info was their leader, known only by the initial of R.S. And he had reportedly gone missing in Manhattan.

It also listed their case as being handled by 'external forces' which in lingo meant some other police force had taken the case. Probably NYPD, you think.

You check for another thing you know you'll need. A demolitionist. While scrolling you find two profiles next to each other that catch your eyes. One was for some 'bomb-headed individual', reported as missing months ago, the case also being handled by a third party. "By extreme request this case will be handled by TGG." You weren't familiar with that group.

The second one was...Tabi?

You print off the first page, briefly skimming it. He was a vagabond who potentially detonated several bombs during a concert. He was still at large as a 'suspect'. Due to his rapid disappearance they couldn't determine if it was him.

You read more into his profile.

The investigators noted there was little information on him prior to the bombing. They stated "Tabi may not be his real name. He shares the name of a C-level celebrity musician who went missing a year ago. Though evidence is scarce we believe him to be responsible for the disappearance of that musician". You knew better. They were the same person, the investigators were just too thick to figure that out.

An additional investigator had theorized that Tabi was behind the bombing of some restaurant. No arrests were made and witnesses were uncooperative. The bomb wrecked the restaurant as indicated by the pictures. Only a few frames from a security camera actually picked up what could be Tabi.

As you stared at it, you noticed something. He was facing two people. Though blurry you determine it had to be...Girlfriend? You tried to remember from the one photo you had during the investigation. It had to be her right? You guess the kid beside him must have been her current boyfriend.

You had never investigated the daughter, known only as "Girlfriend" but judge that was them facing off.

You quickly close the photo and print off Tabi's profile. If you were caught looking at that you figure you'd be in a tonne of trouble. Thinking back to what Tabi said last night that had to have been the last time he encountered them.

That would explain what Displo meant when he referred to "Tabi's firestorm".

Wait, was that his plan?! It occurs to you when he said his plan went south, his plan had to have been to kill them all blowing up the place. The reality finally setting in, you understand a bit of who you were working with. A possible terrorist.

You grab the files you printed and leave. He seemed like a nice guy, but to go to that length, if it was his bomb...You had some thinking to do.

Elsewhere in the city Tabi was on a quest of his own. His nose twitched. Someone was thinking about him. It was a premonition he believed whole-heartedly.

Brisk was the night.

Most of the shops had closed for the day further dimming the street. Most of the light present were that of the street lights, shining from above. Tabi walked quickly, staying out of their glow. He didn't need a map or anything. He knew new exactly where he was going.

He cursed himself for not having ordered something at Displo's. He'd only had a small lunch today and his stomach was in pain. He shrugged it off, only annoyed because his stomach was making noise. At least his hoodie and scarf were keeping him warm. He wanted a smoke but knew there was little time to idle.

This part of the town was silent, the only thing he could hear was his breathing, the quiet rustling in the wind and the sound of his steps.

He was moving fast, not trying to be conspicuous. He knew of the danger of getting too close, positive the Family had some sort of lookout. He just wanted to get in the neighborhood.

Tabi took note. Still quiet out, just his steps, a quiet rustling and...another set of steps. Tabi looked around. Nobody on the block except him. He knew better than that. He was being followed. He quickly pulled out his phone, setting it to silent.

It was time to be quiet.

He ducked into an alley, listening closely to anything. Whoever it was had stopped. Where could he have been spotted? And how long had he been followed? Paranoia had him entirely. There was no guess that it was just another pedestrian. That's when he heard it again. There was someone nearby.

There was no telling what kind of person was around, if it was a coincidence or not, if it was an enemy or not. Figuring it would be best to get away he jumped upon a trash can and jumped to the buildings fire escape. He started climbing up, hoping to reach the roof.

It was easy and with a flip he made it to the top, overlooking the empty street. It was brighter up here, clear skies ensuring the moonlight lit the rooftops.

Whoever it was that was nearby was gone. At least for now. Tabi looked around. He had no issue jumping from building to building, though would have preferred to eat something beforehand. He reached into his hoodie pocket, pulling out a few multi-vitamins.

He had found an unopened bottle a few days ago and it had been keeping him alive. Chucking them down his throat he continued making his way towards the compound.

A few buildings later he detected more footsteps. Whoever it was earlier was still pursuing him. He decided fleeing wouldn't work. Whoever this was could only be stopped with confrontation. He decided not to look back, knowing if they thought they had the upper hand it would make them confident.

While still maneuvering from building to building he saw an opening. Ducking behind a rooftop door so as to stay out of sight. He pulled out a hunting knife slowly, waiting to hear the person approach.

And sure enough whoever it was, landed just at the edge of the building. They were keeping quiet but Tabi could hear them approach. He could just barely see the silhouette getting closer. They looked...familiar? Just before they could peer around the corner Tabi rose up and forced them against the wall, holding the knife to their throat.

"Easy man, easy!" The person said panicking. The stalker rose their hands up. Now seeing who it was Tabi put the knife down.

"Damn man. What the hell?" The stalker said. He touched his throat lightly. Though there wasn't a scratch, it had been close.

"Why'd you sneak up on me!?" Tabi demanded. He put the knife away and crossed his arms in anger. It was none other than his so-called 'best-friend'.

A nuisance that called himself Agoti.

Like Tabi he was wearing a hoodie, hood up to conceal his identity. His face was all black, a toothy grin of sharp teeth covering the bottom of his face. His eyes were hollow and glowing white, but slanted in an excited way.

He wore a black and red hoodie with white stripes along the arms with white stomach pockets. To match with his aesthetic Agoti had on black jeans and black and red sneakers with white soles. He had two chains on either side of belt, an addition Agoti had preferred.

Though concealed behind the hood Tabi knew there to be tendrils that extended from his face. Just his face was covered in an inky blackness and neck down he appeared human. Though, unlike Tabi, he always looked like that. Even since they were young. He called himself a digidevil, a species of humanoid Tabi wasn't that familiar with.

"Well I tried calling you but you must have your phone on silent or something. Geez man. You need to relax." Agoti said rubbing his throat.

"Humph." Tabi checked his phone. There were a few messages and a missed call. "Sorry."

"Told you. Where' you running off to anyways?"

"I have something to do. Leave me alone." Tabi said coldly. He turned and got ready to depart. Before he could make his exit, his stomach rumbled.

"You skipped dinner didn't you?" Agoti said smugly.

"Why do you care?"

"Well, I just so happened to bring a sandwich. Be a shame if it went to waste." Agoti said, pulling a plastic bag out of his red hoodie.

He had come prepared. "Fine." Tabi turned back. He was about to reach for the bag but Agoti quickly raised it above Tabi's head.

"Uh-uh. You gotta tell me what's going on first. Why'd you duck me last night?"

"I had other things to do."

"Aren't you gonna ask what happened?"

"No."

"We had a good time, the four of us."

"I don't care."

Agoti stepped back. He had to double take if he was hearing right. "Oh man, now I know something is up." His grin somehow got wider. "You NEVER pass on an opportunity of a sighting." Agoti's grin became smaller. "You aren't...sick are you?" He continued to hold the sandwich just out of Tabi's reach.

He was getting fed up with it now.

"If you're not gonna give me the sandwich then we're done here. I have things to do." Tabi said before turning and running off. He jumped to the next building.

He jumped with little care from building to building. He recalled those first nights he found he was more durable. That simple things and few story falls wouldn't do that much damage. Whatever they had done to him had made him more durable. He no longer had a problem jumping from such heights. He'd even became good at it, having to parkour away from the Family's goons.

Agoti put the sandwich away, finding Tabi's actions to be most perplexing. It was unusual. While it may have concerned close friends, it only made Agoti more curious as to what was going on. He jumped after Tabi, landing on the building behind him. Being a digidevil he had no problem doing such dangerous jumps.

Though minor he had also started to worry about the direction his friend was going in.

"If you aren't gonna tell me what's goin' on imma keep following you." Agoti said before Tabi could make another leap. It was enough to make him stop.

Tabi thought about it. Agoti would be relentless. He at least at to tell him something to get off his back. Not to mention Agoti would blow his cover. That sandwich, no matter how lame it was, was stuck in his head too. He needed to eat.

Still facing off the building, Tabi said. "Fine. If I tell you, will you get off my back?"

Agoti, having caught up to Tabi said smiling. "Sure. I'll even throw in a sandwich as a bonus."

Tabi took a seat on the edge of the building. All this running on an empty stomach was tiring him out. Agoti chose to sit beside him, his legs dangling off the edge too.

Despite it being the dead of night, the moon was lighting up everything. It had become colder, their breaths becoming visible. The moon, whether on purpose or not had bathed everything in a faint blue, even skyscrapers in the distance.

"I met someone last night."

"Oh, congrats man!" Agoti said happily. He patted Tabi on the back lightly. Tabi just growled in response. "It's not like that. We're working together on something. I...it's more important than that girl right now."

"Really? I gotta meet this person. They managed to wow even you?"

"I already said it's not like that." Tabi said, more sternly this time.

"Now. Give me the sandwich."

"You got it chief. Turkey on whole wheat and a good helping of mayo and mustard. Bit cold now." He handed Tabi the bag. The sandwich was a little squished now but Tabi didn't complain. He tore open the bag and started eating it, pieces of it disappearing into his invisible throat.

He wanted to start smoking but knew he couldn't. Agoti always complained.

"So what's the plan now? Off to meet them? What are they like? What's their name?"

"I already met them tonight. And no, you don't need to know who they are yet."

"Ah, well you'll have to introduce me sooner or later. So what're you doing now?"

"Jumping from building to building running from a chuvak."

"Yeah but where are you going? I know you're place isn't this way."

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Agoti asked.

"It's none of your business. I've told you what happened. Are you satisfied now?"

"Not really. For one, where you going this late?"

"I grow tired of this."

"C'mon, we're friends. I won't tell anyone. You know me."

Tabi sighed.

"Friends stick up for each other. Plus, you and I both know what's in this direction." Agoti said with encouragement.

Tabi looked at Agoti, his eyes burning yellow as they always did. Agoti just had wide eyes and a large smile. It looked more mischievous than innocent.

"Will you leave me alone if I tell you?"

"Sure!" Agoti smiled back. Tabi didn't believe him but just to get him off his back he said.

"I'm going over there to take pictures."

"That's it? You sure you aren't charging there? No gung-ho? No kamikaze?"

Tabi got up, getting ready to continue on.

"Woah, woah man. Just a second."

"No. I just need photos."

Agoti became slightly concerned. He got up as well.

"How do you know it's not a setup?" Agoti said quickly, before Tabi could leap to the next building.

He stopped. "It's not. I had Sol track them. Former cop."

"Right. Sol mentioned that you were tracking some random person. At least let me tag along. You know how dangerous that place can be."

"No. I don't want Sol to get angry if something happens."

"Too bad. I'm coming along even if you don't want me."

"Argh. Fine. Let's go. I have work in the morning." Tabi said, finally relenting and jumping to the next building.

Happy at the outcome, Agoti followed, leaping after him.

Still feeling left in the dark Agoti continued to pester Tabi. "So what do you need these photos for anyways?"

"Stop asking questions."

"C'mon you now I can't do that. Is this mysterious person a painter? An artist?"

Tabi merely sighed in annoyance. He wished he could've just been alone now. At least his stomach wasn't growling anymore.

"C'mon man, you've already told me so much, you might as well tell me the full plan."

While trying to think of some response to shut the digidevil up, Tabi fumbled the jump. He quickly did a roll to catch his footing, landing on the next building uncomfortably. This wasn't going to work. Just before Agoti could make some snarky remark Tabi spoke up first.

"Alright fine. If I tell you will you finally stop bugging me?"

"You know it bro!"

Tabi glared at Agoti. "You tell no one of this. Not Sol, not a soul. You got it?"

"You got it bro!"

Tabi looked around, makin' sure nobody was around. Just like the rest of the town, it was dead silent aside from the wind. He tried to rationalize his actions that since you told Displo everything, it would be even to tell Agoti.

Tabi tried his best to summarize the events of today and last night, the first meeting, the crew's formation, the heist idea, that you were different, how he got Sol to tap your conversation with the chief, Displo and you're investigation. After explaining everything Tabi hoped that Agoti would finally get off his back.

Merely seconds after explaining the plan, Agoti's smile grew even wider, eyes showing an extreme interest. He had one thing to say.

"I want in."

Tabi sighed again, he saw this coming from a mile away.

"No. Sol will kill me and then kill you."

"Ah, don't worry about dad. He won't know."

"Uh-uh. Sol has ways of finding out. I don't want to be blamed when you inevitably blow your cover."

"Hey, that's not fair. I'm not the one blowing up buildings and stealing from shops. It's you he's suspicious of, thanks to all the crap you've done."

"He doesn't like me. You know he'll spy on me."

"Hey c'mon, he loves you. Hell, today he praised you, said he was glad you're keeping up at the job. I even told him that you went to bed early last night even after I stayed up. He just wants you to do better."

"More like institutionalize me."

"Ah, you're over-exaggerating it. Plus you'll need someone with my speed anyways."

Tabi thought about it. Having Agoti on the team would be beneficial. There was zero chance he'd flip. Not to mention he had his own run-ins with the family in the past. Tabi decided he'd ask you and worst case you'd decline Agoti joining. At least then Agoti couldn't force his way in.

"Alright fine. I'll ask (Y/N)."

"Ooh, is that the mysterious stranger's name? Never heard of 'em."

"Can we go now?"

"Way ahead of you bro." Agoti said gleefully, running off.

Finally reaching the compound the two friends stood atop the building overlooking the Dearest Compound.

He hadn't been here since that fateful day. It brought back bad memories. He had tried charging in once before, only to get thrown out by security. It was only then he begun to stalk the town for those villains.

There were definitely security around. Cameras, goons, guards, dogs and demons could all be seen. It didn't look like they had anything trained on the rooftops, it seemed a blindspot.

"Yo, after this you wanna come to my place for the nigh? It's closer than you're 'burrow'."

"So your dad can interrogate me? No thanks."

"He's out for the night. Plus it'll look good in his eyes. You know you're allowed to stay over whenever right? And I got this new track i'm workin-"

"Argh, fine. Let's just get this done."

With Agoti in on the plan the two buddies had an idea of what to get pictures of. Entrances, guards, basically any intel they could find got a picture taken.

A hour later, the two had enough intel. They still had no idea how to get in, but this was a start.

The next chapter will be called Digidevil.

Chapter Text

You had a lot to think about after the revelation you had last night. The exact thought hadn't occurred to you that you would need to work alongside criminals and shady characters.

You found hope in that the page for Tabi's bombing didn't list any hospitalizations or deaths and your brief foray into IRIS didn't reveal anything too damning. However Tabi no doubt had blood lust and it was likely IRIS had some skeletons.

In the end you went to bed full of uncertainty, questioning if this path was truly the one you wanted to venture on.

Come the morning the answer came quick.

What you thought should have been moral dilemma was solved pretty easily. You were enjoying yourself and this whole 'crew'. Even if it was still in its infancy you couldn't come up with a good reason to not work with them. And after what the forces that be had done to you and what they had planned to do to you there was little reason to stop now. It wasn't like the cops were squeaky clean either.

You spent the morning reading through the various papers trying to find suitable candidates and exercising. If you were going to pull off something like this you wanted to be in good physical condition.

Across the city, Tabi had awoken feeling refreshed. He had taken up Agoti's offer and stayed in the guest room. His dad had told him plenty of times before "it is your room" but Tabi refused.

He had tried to get up earlier so as to avoid having to chitchat with Agoti, hoping the digidevil had forgotten about his request to join.

No sooner had he tip-toed out of the guest room was Agoti waiting for him at the table, smile as wide as ever.

"So. When's the meetup?"

He was wrong. Agoti was eager to get started. Begrudgingly he told Agoti the meetup location and time.

You received a message from Tabi mid-morning that he had the pictures and would be present tonight. Shortly after you got a call from Displo asking if you could come in. He mentioned that even though it was a 'job' that it would look good if you could still come in. He mentioned having some problem with some people outside the store. With nothing to do for the day you decide to help out and actually begin your new 'job'.

You didn't mind. It helped take your mind off other things. Plus you felt you were getting a little stir-crazy just being at home. You'd done security before. It wasn't that hard.

The addition of free food was also enticing. You figured it would be best to just make it an official job, that way it would be easier to avoid suspicion. Displo agreed too but noted your salary wouldn't be as great as your detective work.

It didn't matter. A big pay-day was coming soon..

The day flew by rather uneventfully. Guarding was a simple job. You ended up just reading for most of the day, not really having to discipline anyone you couldn't handle. Having worked a full day you finally find yourself in the meeting room.

Displo was outside, making sure the servers knew what to do during his absence. Even though you didn't expect the meeting to go that long he wanted them prepared for anything. You check your phone. Tabi should be arriving soon.

You pool over the papers you got from work. You still had Tabi's profile, deciding to keep it to show what was 'officially' known about him. It could help him out. But while you had a laundry list of various violent criminals and disgruntled cyber-thieves nobody really stood out.

You hear the door open. It was Displo, putting on his 'civilian' scarf.

"They aren't here yet?" Displo asked.

"Nope."

"How unfortunate. Is there anything you'd like?" Displo asked, already starting to get antsy.

You weren't feeling particularly peckish but there was something you were curious about. You point to the computer in the corner. "So what's the deal with that?"

"Ah. That is TURINGS-04. The Unifying Random Integral Network Gearing System. I presume you've heard of it?"

"Huh?"

"To plainly put, it is a supercomputer. It should be able to help us simulate events and outcomes."

"That's cool."

"Have you ever heard of the LTS? The police ought to know of it."

"LTS? Long-term support?"

"No. The Little Thief System."

"Can't say I have. I never really dealt with the more 'technological side'."

"Well this system is basically a successor to the Little Thief System, pioneered by the Yatagarasu." It was just more words you weren't aware of.

"So how does it work?" You go over to the machine. The main unit's design was futuristic, reminiscent of the designs of H.R. Geiger. It sat attached to the top of the standing desk, several monitors connected to it. A massive keyboard covered the desk containing keys and all sorts of switches. It looked a bit like the Bat-computer you had seen in comics. Despite the appearance the desk was on wheels and could be moved around. You felt compelled to try it. The whole thing was the colour of a deep teal, and it almost looked translucent.

"Can I try?"

"I would rather show it off once everyone arrives."

"You'd rather wait here and do nothing till then?"

Displo paused as he computed the scenario.

"I'd rather not actually. Here." Displo got up and joined you at the terminal.

With the press of a button all the monitors and lights within the machine lit up. Just as it was booting up you and Displo hear a bit of commotion by the door. Something about unauthorized personal, it sounded like one of the waiters was trying to stop someone from entering.

Displo moves first as the door opens. Through the door bursts Tabi, some guy you haven't seen before and the waiter. They all tumble in, landing on the carpeted floor. In the spill a satchel opens up dumping photos all over the ground.

The waiter got up first, exasperated. "S-sir. I tried to stop them but they forced their way in."

You were less concerned about the waiter than you were of the person that was currently atop Tabi, practically pinning the goat man, hands on his shoulders. The new person got up first.

"Wow. Didn't know you liked me this way, Tab." He said looking down. Tabi pushed the guy off. "Get off me you knucklehead!" He got up, dusting himself off.

"What is the meaning of this?" Displo demanded. He looked ready to attack the new person. While the new guy seemed innocent enough something about him looked familiar. Assuming the worst you draw your gun and aim at him. You keep the safety on, no intention of opening fire.

He sticks his hands up and the waiter shrieks. "Whoa! Easy. I'm just a friend! R-right Tabi?" The new guy starts frantically saying, shaking his arms to say 'no'.

Tabi, having become amused doesn't say anything immediately, looking on with a grin at the scene.

"T-tabi?" He turns to Tabi, a look of worry on his face.

"Yeah, he's fine." Tabi finally says after an uncomfortably long time. You quickly stash your gun, picking up on Tabi's mischievous attitude.

Displo goes to console the waiter, taking her out of the room.

On the way out you hear him say something about you being security. He shoots you some sort of look but you couldn't tell if it was anger or not.

"I am truly sorry Jaiden." He says to her as they go out.

"Well, aren't you gonna introduce me to your friends?" The guy asked.

As if the situation wasn't any more tense a loud sound emits from the table, it starting to glow blue. A little jingle plays as a hologram appears on the table showing a cityscape. You have to resist nearly drawing the gun again. It does, however cause the three of you to jump.

"Woah, what's that?" The new person said.

You shoot Tabi a look of "start talking."

"This is Agoti. He's a...friend." Agoti looks to him disapprovingly. He said the friend part too slow!

"A friend."

"I'm his best friend actually." Agoti said, smile ever-present. Tabi just looked annoyed him.

"Right. And you're here for..?" You ask. Based on Tabi's reactions you still couldn't tell if he was supposed to be a 'friend' or just someone who tagged along.

"I want in. I wanna rob some people. Do some heists like in GTA." He said gleefully.

You look to Tabi who tries his best to mouth to you "no".

"You wanna start explaining?" You finally ask Tabi.

Tabi sighs and give you a summary of what happened last night. Displo arrives part way through and helps him pick up the photos.

You learn that Agoti is a friend of Tabi's and also an enemy of the Family. He was a musician who was considered too "powerful" and was kidnapped and banished to the void by the family. He spent a year there, though he said it felt longer. He stayed there until he was freed. Exactly how he didn't get into details, just that he still has nightmares of it. You put two and two together and recall he was a potential person of interest in the case, though you never got around to interviewing him. At least that clears that up.

No missing persons report had been filed though if it did, it would have been suppressed by the cops.

"And now I want in." Agoti concluded.

"Hold on. I still have some questions." You look at Tabi who has been collecting all the photos spilled onto the ground. "Can he be trusted?"

"Wa? C'mon. I want them dead as much as you." Agoti said.

"He can. But if anything happens that's on him." He said, shooting an annoying look at Agoti. He just shrugged and keeps on smiling wickedly.

"What are you anyways? Were you always like that?" You note that he was similar to Tabi, humanoid...but strange. It was a guess. His hands and neck appeared to be human.

"Yep! Always though. I'm what you might call a digidevil, or screen demon, depends on where you're from." You'd never heard of that species but he seemed to be taking his appearance a lot more upbeat than Tabi did.

"You aren't a hacker by any chance?"

"Nope. I can eat metal though, process it. S'how I got this voice."

"Interesting." Displo said. "But I don't think that can help in the
operation."

"Well what can you do anyways?" You ask.

"I can run fast, jump from crazy heights...super strong to. My tentacles, can lift like ants." Agoti said, beaming with smugness. He played with his tendrils a bit where his hair was. "OH. I can also spit oil from my stomach."

"Please don't." Displo said, flinching at the suggestion. Tabi had gotten up, the photos stashed back in his satchel. He would have placed them on the table, but the hologram had gone into some sort of 'idle mode', the cityscape turning into some ballerina light show.

Agoti continued. "Well with Tab's pyrotechnics we can easily burn stuff down-"

"Unless you get burned." Tabi butted in.

"W-well yeah. I'm not fireproof."

"Not to mention you can't swim or be near water."

"Hey c'mon man, I'm starting to think you don't want me in." Agoti protested, shooting a look of betrayal at Tabi.

"Hmph."

You thought on it. He had the history, seemed trustworthy enough. The only opposition you'd seen is that Tabi either didn't like the guy or it was just friendly banter. They acted like brothers. He didn't seem like a rat, maybe a bit naive. His whole trauma didn't seem to swallow him like it did Tabi. You decide there's no harm in letting him in. The fire ability or 'processing electronics' could help too. Plus, Tabi did seem a little more laid back today.

"So what do you think? Can I join?"

"I'm not totally against it. Displo?"

"No objections here. As long as he isn't a ruffian like our friend we should be fine."

"Alright. I'll leave the call to you, Tabi. He's your friend."

"Why?" Tabi took a step back, like he wasn't expecting to be burdened with the choice.

Agoti put his hands together and stared at Tabi with large pleading eyes.

"Well you know him better than us."

"Awww, c'mon Tabs, you know you need my help."

"Argh fine! You better not get in the way." He blurted out, peer pressure getting to him.

"Ah, thanks man!" Immediately Agoti pulled Tabi into a hug. Tabi froze, unsure if to force the guy off him or not.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get off of me." Tabi said, still not moving. After a few seconds Agoti let go of him.

"Now that, that is out of the way, can we get to business?" Tabi said. "What is all this?"

"This is a TURINGS-04. I presume you've heard of it?" Displo said.

"Nope." Tabi said.

"Nada." Agoti said.

"The latest from IRIS?" Displo said, a little higher.

Both men just shook their heads causing Displo to sigh.

"This wouldn't have happened if they accepted my proposal in advertising. Why do I even try? It's a supercomputer. It will help us plan out this heist. We can feed it data. Give me those photos."

Tabi handed Displo the pictures. Displo walked over to the computer and started feeding them through a scanner. The table sprang back to life, re-displaying the cityscape.

"Oh, yeah." You point to the folders on the desk. "I looked through the police database but I couldn't find many good candidates. I don't think we're gonna have much luck finding a hacker there, or really anyone until we have the simulation down." You pull out Tabi's file.

"Here. I found your entry in the database case you want to read it."

"What is there to even see? Serial bomber? Terrorist?" Displo said snarkily while on the computer.

"IT WAS ONE TIME." Tabi shouted at Displo. "Give me that." Tabi said before snatching the folder. He started looking through it, Agoti peering over his shoulder.

"Hey, I remember that. That's when I crashed dad's car right outside the joint. Good times."

"Shutup." Tabi muttered. "Interesting."

You put the other documents on the table, allowing the pair to see them. The hologram on the table was lighting up creating a specific city scape. It was slowly generating buildings in a crude, low-poly format.

"Here we are. I am proud to say these are decent shots. Well good enough to create the simulation anyways." Displo got up from the computer and took a seat at the end of the table. " If you would all take a seat, please."

You, Tabi and Agoti all took seats at the table, the cityscape having finished rendering. You plop the rest of the portfolios on a non-hologram part of the table. There would be time to go through them later.

"Based on the photos we now have a rudimentary design of the area. Some parts of the design will appear a bit hazy as the computer does not know what needs to go there. Other parts such as over here will appear blurry because the computer is guessing what should be here."

"There weren't many vantage points around to take photos from." Tabi said.

"Yes, I believe that to be intentional. There is a reason this part of the city is called The Compound."

The neighbourhood that the Family resided in was known colloquially as The Compound. At the time of the investigation you didn't really look at it, preferring to instead document real crimes. You only vaguely knew of the spot.

The closest you had ever gotten to it was a co-worker suggesting you bug the place. Recalling that mentally jot down the idea.

Displo began explaining the basic design of the compound as you three listened attentively.

The compound is located in the north-western part of the city, a good drives distance away from the bar and any semblance of friendly territory. To make matters worse the place was mostly surrounded by parks, forests and hills, all part and parcel to increase the privacy. All private property.

To the direct north stood an inlet, overlooking a small bay. Though a beach was present at the bottom of the inlet, a massive cliff separated it from the compound. It made approach from the north-heading-south impossible.

To make matters more damning, within the parks were several guard posts and surveillance towers. Though not present in the simulation, Tabi swore they existed, to which Displo added into the simulation.

Around that perimeter were shops and small buildings, one specific one where Tabi had gotten his photos from.

The area of the city was slightly newer than the rest and more suburban. The tallest building nearby was the Bandelin Bank, which was where some of the photos were taken.

"I guess that counts out a sniper." Agoti said as he looked around the hologram.

With nothing but small businesses to the west and south and suburbs to the north and east the place was well situated. There definitely wasn't anyone around that could be construed as hostile to the Family. Aside from the bank due south, there was a prison due east called the Fulp Prison, but with how the police were in bed with them you didn't think it to be friendly territory anyways.

Based on the photos the actual 'compound' consisted of 6 buildings, a few of which actually two buildings built extremely close together. There were 9 buildings in total.

The buildings were each numbered 1-9 as it was not known what they contained. You knew for a fact that the building in the centre, a rather spooky looking mansion has to be their manor. That was assigned as building 1.

"I'm gonna presume 1 is their house."

"Yes....2 and 3 are their recording studio and 'the hangar'. It's where they record most of their music videos." Tabi said. That was a building due south of the manor. It provided cover in case of a direct frontal attack.

Looking at it now it appeared as if it was designed to have the manor surrounded by other buildings.

As Tabi watched the render it gave him weird feelings but he didn't let it bother him. "4 was a garage and parking lots. They had their own transport system, those aren't real streets."

You knew the Family to be rich, but you have their own transport? It was looking harder and harder to get in. It was appearing less like a wealthy manor and more like an entire village you needed to break in. The task was daunting.

"I don't know what the rest are. I never went there."

"Geez. This place is locked down more than Knox." Agoti said.

"It is." Tabi said.

"Where do we even start?" Agoti said, confused. The realization this would be harder than he thought set in.

"You two don't know anything of the interior, where they keep their money, etcetera?" You ask.

"I've never been there. Well. I think I was there when they trapped me but I can't recall." Agoti said. He didn't remember much of his exact capture. He preferred to keep it that way.

"They keep their money in a vault in the centre of manor. It's in the basement. Girlfriend told me...back then."

"You don't remember anything else, Tabi?"

"Nothing that would help."

Holding some sort of tablet, you notice Displo jot some thing down and a dollar sign and vague outline of the vault form underneath the manor.

"I put in a request to the bureau of landmarks but the name of the firm and architect have been scrubbed from their databases. The only way we would be able to find out is to break into their records shop and steal it. However I strongly disagree with that. I'd rather not bring the government into this." Displo said.

"What if we just ran in guns blazing?" Agoti suggested. Tabi looked at you, nodding slightly. He was in agreement.

You shake your head. "No. We'd be fighting a whole army. If we're going to do this it needs to be covert. We can't start a war."

"I also object to such a proposal." Displo agreed.

"Fine. But we're gonna need more people than this." Tabi said.

"I'm afraid that without some sort of hacker we won't be able to get more intel. I've been looking myself and there aren't any takers internally at IRIS. We don't hire a lot of gung-ho people." Displo paused as he looked at the hologram. "It will be either that or someone who can gather more intimate intel. I.e., someone without a history with the Family. Were you able to find anything, (Y/N)?"

"Not really." Displo puts the hologram away and brightens the lights. You put forth the folders.

"I found a few people but their either completely unknown or in prison. I don't think we're gonna find our hacker there."

Tabi and Agoti begin pooling through the folders, stopping at one of them. "Hey I know this guy, jerk. Hacked into my accounts." Agoti said, motioning Tabi to look. "Oh yeah, I remember him. He's in prison?
Good." Tabi said.

"What about this Doxie person?" Tabi said. "They look to have had some run-ins."

"Wait, no. Too young." Tabi said.

"Don't know where to find her either."

"What about these Seven Deadly Sins guys? They look cool."

"Sparkledogs." Tabi spat.

"Hey c'mon that's mean. Nothing wrong with a little vibrance."

"Hm."

"Displo, you don't know anyone do you?"

He shook his head. You continued brainstorming.

"What if we flipped a guard?"

"That's impossible. All of that family's soldiers are demons, all similar and without morality. They'll be loyal to them forever." Tabi said.

"Wait, I think I know someone. That cat from the other night. He seemed pretty smart. His was name was, uh,...Short cat anthro-dude." Agoti said.

"Short cat?" Tabi said.

"At the arcade two nights ago. There was this cat guy, wicked smart. He had all the high scores. Dude must have been a hacker with how good he was. He might as well be."

"And you don't remember his name?" You ask.

"It was...argh I can't remember. Something short though."

"Well it's better than nothing. Any idea where he is now?" You ask.

"Hold on." Tabi said. "This was when you told me you saw Girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"You said they were meeting with someone. Is he a friend of them?" Tabi said.

"I didn't really hang out with them much. I went looking for you." Agoti said, Tabi just glared at him.

"They were having some competition, the guy was getting really into it. Dude was practically smashing the DDR board when I left. He was there for Boyfriend it looked like. Looked pissed."

"Hmph. I don't know about this, Agoti. Sounds like friends or he was just another person hired to kill that boy." Tabi said.

You weren't sure if Boyfriend referred to the "girlfriends" boyfriend or it was actually just his name. You don't interrupt.

Agoti continued, pretending not to hear Tabi. "Heh, maybe we can even recruit the boy-"

"Absolutely not."

"Well I don't see you suggesting anyone."

You look at Displo who just shrugs. All he knew were IRIS people. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to Tabi and Agoti's arguing.

"Whatever. You know where the cat-boy is?" You butt in.

"Ehn. I don't know." Agoti shrugs. "I got his number though."

"Well, it's better than nothing." You say. "Any thoughts Displo?"

"Sweet." Agoti said, interrupting Displo. "I'll text him right now."

"*Ahem* None currently. I'll admit that it's pretty shaky grounds to think this person would be a hacker because they got high scores at an arcade."

"Hey, it wasn't just one machine. Dude practically had the whole place cornered. Showed off all his scores."

"He mention anything about computers or hacking?" You ask.

"Nope. Don't think so anyways."

"Well, I guess I agree with (Y/N). It is better than nothing." Displo said.

Agoti's phone dinged audibly. "Oh, he's at the arcade right now actually." He glanced closer at the phone. "Says he's dealing with some BS down there."

"Maybe we should go pay him a visit then." Tabi said.

"Eyy! Sounds good. We can go figure him out. Four of us could play some games too! Night on the town!" It had only been a few minutes and Agoti was already acting like everyone was best friends.

"Actually, I will be sitting this one out." Displo said.

"Yeah, I think it would be better if maybe just you two went." You say. You had nothing against arcades but figured that Agoti and Tabi as a duo would work better. People could just tell you were a detective one and didn't want that rubbing off on anyone.

Plus, you were still enamoured by that map. You wanted to start making strategies.

"Ehn. You two suit yourselves then."

"We will." Displo said. "Though, please practice discretion." He said, looking at Agoti.

"Hey, don't give me that look man."

You look at Tabi who just nods in silence. You weren't worried at Agoti, it looked like Tabi would have him under control.

"We'll see you tomorrow then." Tabi said. You nod back.

The two leave, Agoti having a bounce in his step, Tabi walking head down, pretending he didn't know the digidevil.

With just you and Displo alone you decide to ask him some things.

"What do you think of Agoti?"

"He's a bit high-energy and juvenile but seems okay. I did a quick search while you all were discussing. His story checks out. Though I couldn't help but think that we're getting a little ahead of ourselves."

"I think I know what you mean. Can you pull up the map again?"

"Certainly." Displo fiddled with the tablet as the hologram spread back to life. You had an idea what he was getting at. It was something that was gnawing at you too as Tabi and Agoti argued.

You glance over the crude city-scape. "Something huge like this. We're gonna need practice."

"Precisely, (Y/N). Have you ever heard of pentesting?"

"Vaguely. Has to do with security."

"Well, to simply put it is a test wherein we see how far we can get into a secure system, physical or technical."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, it is just a though but perhaps we could get clearance to pentest my superiors. It would be suitable practice if we could say, break into my own headquarters."

"If they approve."

"I suspect they will. They love these kinds of 'theatrics'. It is like a game to them."

"Well first we need to see what we need." You glance over at the map.

"Let's have them recruit that potential hacker-cat and then we'll figure it out what roles we need for this. In the meanwhile I will speak to my superiors of this."

"Sounds good. If it's alright with you, I'm gonna head out for the night." You say.

"I shall retire as well. Should I expect you tomorrow morning?"

"Yep, I'll be here."

"Very good. Have a good night."

"You too Dis."

The next chapter will be called High Scores.

Chapter Text

Tabi and Agoti stepped into the cold night. Spring was still on the horizon so things hadn't fully warmed up yet. The pavement felt particular frozen as they walked. Both members didn't mind. Their hoodies put in enough work.

Tabi couldn't help but feel starved, he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and was holding out. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Agoti. He didn't need his help.

He didn't want to be here either but knew he could read characters. He had to keep Agoti from blabbering about the mission too. He hoped it would be quick.

"(Y/N) and Displo are pretty cool. That Displo guy is kinda uptight." Agoti said as the two walked. They both knew where the arcade was but Agoti led. Tabi walked close behind.

"Hrm."

"(Y/N)'s alright though. Pretty cool for a former cop too." Agoti continued, even as Tabi gave minimal responses.

"Yeah."

"Uh-uh. You wanna stay at my place tonight?

"I'll pass. I don't want to be interrogated by Sol."

"Hey, you know he was pretty happy you stayed over the other night."

"I prefer the streets. I don't need your help." Tabi's throat felt dry. He regretted not getting water earlier.

"...." Agoti didn't respond.

The two walked in silence to the arcade. Every few minutes Tabi glanced around, just to make sure they weren't being followed. After a few blocks, Agoti stopped.

Nearly passing him Tabi stopped. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Hey man, I saw how you were starring at me back in there. You really don't mind if I join right? I don't want to force anything. Be serious." Agoti said, his usual demeanour sinking slightly.

Tabi suppressed a sigh. While he'd found Agoti annoying he was still his friend. Thinking on it now, he felt a little bad the way he was treating him back there.

"It's fine. Really. We coul-need your help. I just don't want you to get in trouble with Sol. Especially after everything that happened."

"And I don't want you blabbering about this mission to everything." He added sternly.

Agoti caught up to Tabi. "Thanks man. And don't worry about me. I'll handle Sol if anything happens."

"Good. Now let's go." Tabi said without any of the gruff he usually used. Maybe I have been too hard on him, Tabi thought.

The two continued on, Agoti's upbeat demeanour immediately returning. Feeling slightly bad, Tabi decided he'd try to hold up the conversation.

"So what's this arcade like?"

"Real cool place. Only a few years old too. It's called the Flashpoint Arcade. Real cool stuff. They salvage old arcade games and fix em up. Got a whole 'cult' thing going to."

"Cool." Instinctively he almost pulled out a cigarette, stopping when he remember it was Agoti he was speaking to.

"They're opening up another location a few cities over. The new place is called Kahvibreak. They were handing out flyers to it the other day."

"I see." Tabi said. He couldn't think of anything else to add. He figured he might as well ask about one thing he was familiar with.

"And you saw the girl here?"

"And her boyfriend." Agoti said. "Yep. The two of them were hanging out, BF rap battling the cat-dude."

"Whose name you can't remember."

"Man I swear it ended with an I but that's it." He shrugged.

A few blocks later they finally reached the arcade. It was a large multi-story building with a very sleek, retro-look to it. Beside in the windows were decals of various old game characters. Tabi recognized very few of them. Whatever games they had were not the ones he grew up with. The entrance was grand with huge doors protecting the entrance. A large neon sign sat above them with the arrowed logo and the name FLASHPOINT in gigantic red neon text. There was music emanating from the entrance and it sounded more like a club than some arcade.

Not wanting to be seen Tabi put his hat on tighter, trying to stay anonymous. Agoti didn't care and was clearly standing out. Hood off, he didn't care who recognized him.

The two friends stepped into the arcade. They were greeted immediately by the luminous glow of the various machines. The ceiling of rafters was made to look like stars in a night sky, glowing paint etched into the ceiling.

The music was as loud here, the sounds of the machines and people easily drowning it out.

"Welcome to flashpoint. For two?" A clerk asked at the entrance.

"Yeah, two for free play."

"That'll be..." The clerk trailed off, Tabi not listening. He was scanning the arcade. He liked playing these kinds of machines, though it felt like a lifetime ago. They'd gone once to an arcade, her and Tabi. They had a good-

"Yo, you coming?" Agoti asked. Tabi had been staring off into the distance.

"y-Yeah." Tabi said. He stepped through the turnstile and entered the 'Launchbox Lobby' as it displayed.

The arcade was stylized to appear retro but sleek and modern. A black and red carpeted floor lined the ground displaying patterns of Flashpoint's logo. Tabi stared at them, colourful stars among the fibres.

There were arcade machines lining all of the metallic walls, assorted into categories of different developers, styles and more. There was even a large videotron hanging from the ceiling cycling through the high scores of various games. A directory stood in the centre, indicating the arcade as more vast than it looked. This was just one section of many.

There was a poster stating that all machines here were re-serviced and re-discovered by fans along with what he assumed to be the year Flashpoint launched. With all the games he'd never heard of the place seemed more like a museum than a modern arcade. He knew he wasn't going to play anything. No way I'm wasting money on this, Tabi thought bitterly.

Agoti likewise was looking around, though his attention was fixated on the cat. He was still racking his mind to try and remember what that guys name was. He wished he didn't enter his name as catkid.

"So where is he?" Tabi asked.

Agoti checked his phone. He sent a message asking exactly where the guy was.

The response was almost instant.

"2f ddr"

Agoti shrugged. "Second floor. Come on."

"Alright. Well be discreet about it. He can't know."

"I will, don't worry man."

It was only a Thursday night so the place wasn't as busy as it normally would. Tabi found this refreshing as he didn't have to worry about getting noticed. Plus the arcade machines were overpowering the sound of his stomach.

Upstairs were a similar amount of machines and layout but with a more retro looking carpet. It was what Tabi was expecting when he first came here. Purple with all sorts of random shapes patterning it.

All the machines in this section appeared to be rhythm games, some having drum peripherals and some having an arrow board on the ground. Tabi never really cared for those kinds of games then. He didn't care much now either.

Agoti scanned around before settling on the corner of the play area. Someone was getting really into the DDR game, practically stomping on the board. It was a short guy, one that Agoti recognized immediately.

"I'll do the talking." Agoti whispered and Tabi nodded. With Tabi following he introduced themselves. "Hey, hey. What's goin-"

"SHUTUP! Quiet! Just for a sec!" The catguy hissed at Agoti. He missed a few notes, Agoti having caught him off guard. He stopped dancing and pressed something on the handle, pausing the game. He sighed in defeat. "Sorry, just not doin' good tonight." He pulled a water bottle from his hoodie and downed the whole thing before tossing it aside in frustration.

He just took a seat on the edge of the board, looking defeated and burying his head in his hands.

It was not what Tabi was expecting based on what Agoti had said.

He was an anthro cat, or wolf, he couldn't tell. He had long grey fur, some of which was tied into a pony tail. He had a tail which poked out of his black jeans but it wasn't moving much. He looked to have black freckles as well as some kind of piercing in his ears.

Tabi couldn't tell. He looked to be about his age, just physically shorter than the both of them. He wore a similar getup to both him and Agoti. His hoodie was far more colourful, having blue arms and stomach pocket, orange lining and straps and red tassels and collars. He was wearing black jeans and black and blue shoes.

He looked sweaty, like he'd been working out. Perhaps a little too into the game. Agoti had referred to him multiple times as a cat so Tabi figured that's what he probably was.

"Sorry bout' that Agoti. Just got a little into it." The catboy said and looked up.

"No worries man. Rough day?"

"Not really. Just stupid, argh!" He shouted. "Nevermind. Hey...who's your friend?" His voice was medium-pitched, not as deep as Agoti or Tabi but not as squeamish as he looked.

"Ah. This is Tabi, a close friend of mine. We go way back."

The cat stood up and extended his hand. "Heh, your name rhymes with mine."

Tabi reached out to shake.

"Name's Kapi." He said smiling.

Tabi reached out to shake. "Heh, your name rhymes with mine. your names like mine, Kapi."

The two shook. Kapi took a long look at Tabi, trying to get a feel.

"So you're a goat anthro?"

"You mangy-I'm human!" Tabi snapped. He hated being called that. Kapi took a step back, surprised by Tabi's outburst.

"Woah, easy Tab. Tell you all what. Let's a drink. Think we're all little heated tonight. On me." Agoti said, immediately getting in-between them.

"Bah, you can say that again. Need something better than this water." Kapi went to pick up the discarded bottle.

The three got up and started going towards the refreshment area. An alcohol-free bar called the "Splash Pad" was situated just next to the rhythm game area. It took no time to get there. Kapi led and while Kapi wasn't looking Agoti slapped Tabi upside the head.

"You-what was that for?" Tabi whispered
angrily. Agoti just shot him a look back of 'don't blow it'.

Kapi took a seat at a high table, easily jumping onto the chair.

"What do you guys want? I'll go order." Agoti said. He silently hoped that Tabi wouldn't try to strangle him.

"Water." Tabi said.

"Get me a root beer float."

"You got it." Agoti said. He winked at Tabi before turning and walking to the counter.

"So how'd you get that look? All threatening and stuff." Kapi said.

Tabi wasn't sure to take it as an insult or compliment. "It's a long story. I didn't chose to be this way." He said coldly.

"Ah well no sweat. Lotta people think I'm a wolf. I have to correct them too. Not an anthro either actually. That's a long story too."

Kapi looked Tabi up and down. While the man did appear threatening, Kapi wasn't the least bit scared of him. His mind was already wandering onto other things.

Tabi was silently wishing he'd gone with Agoti. He wasn't sure how to approach asking him to join a criminal conspiracy. He instead decided to ask about what he did know.

That girl.

"You were here with GF the other night?"

"Who?"

"Girlfriend. Wears a red dress, long brown hair. Mahogany." Was this even the right person, Tabi thought.

"Oh-oh yeah! Yeah BF and I had a whole competition. He got lucky. I was just having a bad day. You know them?"

"I did. Once." Tabi said and chose to leave it at that.

"Alright, here you go guys." Agoti said, returning with a platter. He placed it down on the table. It had three drinks, a root beer float, a water and a soda. Tabi took the water and practically started chugging it. He was parched, though trying to hide it.

Kapi didn't seem to notice or care but Agoti did.

"Yeah, I couldn't stick around the other night. How'd it go? You got his girl?" Agoti asked.

"Bah! No way. I was just screwin with him. She's cute, but her family, man I couldn't handle that." Kapi said as he drank the float.

"You can say that again." Tabi said.

"So what're you guys doing here tonight? I'd play more DDR but I got a lot on my plate tonight. Just do that to chill out." Kapi said. Tabi shrugged. He didn't know how that made sense, but then again he never played those kinds of games.

"Yeah, what's? You looked pretty determined back there."

"Friggin-some guy came and beat all my high scores last night. And not even by a little either. Dude smashed all the records. Put me to second place. I'm not some two-bit second placer. He's screwing with me!" Kapi said, angrily.

"Who?" Agoti asked.

"Sonic."

Tabi raised an eyebrow. "The Sonic?"

"From Mobius?"

They'd heard of Sonic before, sure. He was from the planet Mobius, a huge celebrity across the world.

"Nah, it can't be the real one. That's just what he's signing all his scores as." Kapi said.

"I've been here trying to beat them but I swear he's hacking. Every time I even get close to the score I screw up. OR. When I beat it suddenly dude comes in and beats me like 1 point higher."

"You sure it's not the staff messing with you?" The cynic in Tabi asked.

Kapi just shook his head. "Uh-uh. No way. They have strict rules here. They'd get fired if they messed with the games." Kapi finished off the float in record time.

He sighed. "This sonic guy is really trying to piss me off. He beat everyone's scores but then he started screwing with me."

Kapi pulled out his phone and started scrolling. A second later he showed them a photo. "I even got this from one of the games."

"Bro I searched the whole arcade after getting that. Guy must've left or something. Couldn't find who sent it. AND, staff checked the cameras there wasn't anyone who it could have been."

A photo of the arcade machine was visible. Kapi zoomed in. On the screen it displayed Sonic and Kapi's scores, Sonic's just barely ahead. Under Kapi's scores it was supposed to display the other players but instead it was a message.

"TOO BAD KAPI. ALL YOUR SCORES ARE MINE. FIND ME IF YOU DARE."

"This really sounds like staff trying to screw with you." Tabi said again. He had finished the water and was feeling marginally better.

"No. There's no way it's them. Believe me I've checked. It's been happening to them too. Everyone's scores been beaten. They're pissed off as much as me. But this dude has been targeting me specifically."

Tabi wanted to ask more about his opinion on the family but wasn't sure how to. He looked at Agoti who just shrugged.

"But that's enough of me. I'm just about ready to return to the dance floor. What're you guys doing here? Wanna help with me quest?"

"Actually, we was looking to talk to you." Agoti said.

"Oh really? What's up?" He asked innocently.

"Do you know anything about hacking?" Tabi asked.

"I know my way around a computer. Why?"

"Tab and I are planning something. We need a hacker, someone who can break into systems."

"Who are we hitting?"

Tabi didn't respond immediately, unsure what to say. He looked to Agoti.

"I don't think we can tell you that. At least not now." He said.

"Do I know 'em?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Hmmm. It's not this place is it?"

"What? No. It's the F-" Agoti started to say but was stopped by Tabi who jabbed his side.

Kapi's ears perked up. He had an idea. His eyes went wide.

"You wanna hit *them*?" He asked surprised. He seemingly already knew the target.

"I don't-"

"Yeah sure, I'll hit the..." Kapi got real quiet and whispered. "..family." He sat up. "Guys commandeered a few arcade machines from the place anyways. I want 'em back. Plus it'll be funny."

"You're okay with that?"

"Yeah." Kapi said. "I figured that's what you guys were planning anyways. Agoti went on the other day about how much you hate them."

Tabi shot Agoti a death stare. Agoti continued. "I mean aren't you friends with-"

"BF, yeah, since childhood. But it's not like he's that close to them anyways. I talk to him all the time. He's lost track of how many times they've tried to take him out." Kapi said. "Hey, if you're looking for an extra person he'd probably love to join-"

"Absolutely not. I've had my own run-in with him. He can't know about this." Tabi said. "Me too." Agoti said.

"Oh? You gotta tell me. They send you to kill him too?"

"No. Just know that he's not in." Tabi said, leaving it at that.

"Ehn, whatever. Suit yourself. He'll tell me anyways."

"If you tell anyone of this I swear I'll gu-"

"Easy, Tab. You really can't tell anyone of this though. It has to be secret. Can you do that for us?"

Kapi looked at Agoti quizzically, as if weighing his options. "Alright. I'll keep quiet about it."

"So you're in?" Tabi asked.

"Well, I'll help you guys out on one condition. I need you guys to take out Sonic."

Tabi just looked questioningly at Kapi. "I guess we could stakeout the arcade and wait till he shows up."

Kapi stopped Tabi and shook his head. "Nah, that's not gonna work. Here." He scrolled to another photo and showed it to Agoti and Tabi.

It showed a direct threat on one of the screens telling him to log into a VR world, with an address listed below. It listed him to come during the day.

"Guy wants to fight me or something. I can't afford VR, plus I gotta work days. I've been waiting for the weekend to borrow and confront him but if you guys can do it tomorrow I'll join, no questions asked." Kapi said.

Tabi looked at Agoti. His eyes agreed.

"Alright. We'll deal with Sonic." Agoti said, holding his hand out. Kapi shook back.

"And get whatever info you can from him. I'm gonna get the arcade to ban him. Frickin' cheater."

"You got it."

"There anything else you guys want? Wanna help me get my scores back tonight? I've been tracking exactly how he cheats; been helping staff build a report."

"I gotta go, I work early in the morning." Tabi said.

"Ehn, I got some time. I'll join ya." Agoti said.

"Alright, let's get started. This dude's goin' down." Kapi said, excusing himself from the high table.

"I'll join ya in a sec, just gotta see Tab off."

"No problem. I'll get started." Kapi said, running off to his DDR machine.

Agoti leaned into Tabi. "What do you think?"

"I don't have a VR set. Where are we gonna get one?"

"I'm sure Displo has one we can use."

"Yeah, but you gotta work tomorrow. And I'm gonna be in the recording booth all day." Agoti said.

Tabi just shrugged. "I'm sure Displo and (Y/N) can handle it."

"They better. Give (Y/N) a call and get him up to speed. I'm gonna see if I can learn anything else."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya, Tabi."

Agoti left Tabi alone at the table, joining Kapi in his quest. Tabi pulled out his phone and called you, ready to give an update on the situation.

After a brief conversation he ducked out of the arcade, unseen and retired to his hovel, ready for another day of labour.

The next chapter will be called Cyberspace.

Chapter Text

Friday.

The end of the work week. Not for you anyways. While Displo had said you were free to come in and work whenever you decided to at least do a few days on before a break. The job was easy anyway.

Today was going to be a bit different however. Tabi had given you an update on his and Agoti's meeting with the 'cat-boy hacker'. His name was Kapi and you'd never heard of him before. Apparently he had agreed to help out on the condition that his 'nemesis' be defeated.

Said nemesis seemed to be a hacker of their own, having somehow broken into a few separate arcade machines. When in he would display a threat to Kapi or other people in the arcade. Tabi had forwarded you a photo from one such message. Then on, Kapi's nemesis had singlehandedly smashed every high-score he had gotten. He went by the name 'Sonic' and Tabi added that it wasn't 'the' Sonic. You figure if it was the real Sonic it would have been news.

Tabi delivered the news late last night, long after you had finished work.

Back at Displo's you were there now. It was just you and Displo in the meeting room. He was sitting in front of TURINGS, scanning through the warning and address. You were leaning on the desk, standing beside him.

"It's a little unusual this 'hacker' is targeting exclusively arcade machines. I checked with our security teams and they have no knowledge of a hacker named Sonic."

Displo scrolled through. "According to the Flashpoint docs these cabinets aren't even connected to the internet in any meaningful way. All around this hacker is just strange."

Displo had the photo displayed on the computer screen. It was a threat to Kapi inserted right into the high scores table. Signed Sonic, it included a warning as well as a web-address where to find him.

After Kapi and Tabi's meeting another warning was finally put up. It was another threat. Sonic vowed he would keep breaking scores until Kapi agree to 'fight' him at some web-address. vrp://19910726.sonic.md. You had no idea what to make of it, never being much of a computer expert yourself.

"The streets are my office." You used to say.

Displo didn't know the specifics of the address. He had put in a call to the cyber security team at IRIS. One of their technicians was on the line, speaking through the computer.

"The address is strange. I can't seem to pinpoint exactly where this server is, what system it runs or any history from it. I've checked the usual places. VirusTotal, OTX, even pinging it. At most it appears to be some sort of 68000 machine but that also seems impossible. Nothing these days uses 68k. We use mostly ARM and x86. Maybe RISC-V but not 68k. It doesn't make any sense."

"What should we do?" You ask. You had no idea what he was talking about but it didn't sound good. Displo was listening attentively, choosing not to speak.

"Well, I'd just say be careful. My scans don't indicate any malware on the server. It appears to be provisioned, sandboxed and even read-only. So there's not much can jump out at you. It's probably safe, but again be careful." He paused. "The VRP means it's a VR world. I guess the worse that could happen is that whoever is there could hit you with seizing lights or explicit pictures. Long as you aren't epileptic it should be okay."

"Thank you for your help." Displo said.

"Aight. Y'all know where to reach me. Peace." The technician hung up.

"What do you think?" The whole thing seemed unusual to you.

"The mission seems do-able. I'm still not sure what Sonic means by fight. It's VR. He can't hurt you in any meaningful way." Displo shrugged. "Maybe it's a simple game he wants Kapi to play? Just a simple wager for the highest scores. I guess you best get to it."

"About that. You wouldn't happen to have a VR set around? I've never touched the stuff."

Displo sighed. "Well I don't suppose someone like you would. My, without me this operation would be dead on the vine."

"Hey, you're the smartest, most well-connected of any of us."

"Thank you. Compliments will go a long way. I could borrow a set from HQ, but it would take some time to arrive. Don't you have any allies back at the station? I'm sure they have something in evidence." Displo said, casually suggesting you steal one.

You weren't sure about allies in the station but you knew they had some back-end evidence sales.

"Hrm. I think we might. Is the TURINGS compatible?"

Displo nodded. "It should be."

"Alright." You get up. "I'll go see if I can commandeer one and we'll do this soon as I get back."

"Until then, (Y/N)."

A quick trip to the station later you got yourself a VR set. It took a bit of doing, as well as the chief asking lots of questions. You told him the PI business was on hold while you did security. You managed to avoid telling him what restaurant thanks to an intern barging in.

It didn't take much to get a VR set from the evidence room, the guard outright giving it to you. He complained the box took up too much space. It was a large set, one that required several cops to load it into your car.

Apparently someone had been arrested in possession of several beta builds of it. The evidence guard, happy it was gone even erased the report for it. For all they knew this VR set was never in police custody.

You read that the case was a year ago but it looked like nobody had bothered to actually return them to the company they were stolen from.

With the help of two other cops you were able to load it into your car. You also learned off the record that a few more rules were put into place as a result of you digging too deep into the family. Something about police no longer being allowed to go after "monetary benefactors" to the station.

Either way you were again glad you weren't working there anymore. Back at Displo's you and him unpacked the tools and set it up in the hideout. You only intended it to be a one-off thing so it wasn't set up with any professionalism.

"Where did you get this?" Displo asked. He slotted a metal piece into another.

"Evidence. Was in storage for a while."

"Couldn't have been too long. This is a recent model." The whole process to assemble was easy. Though there was no instruction guide it was obvious what piece fit into what.

"Yeah, like a year or something."

Displo looked at one of the pieces, the logo etched onto the metal catching his attention.

"TGG." Displo mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"It's the company this set belong to."

"You know 'em?"

"Vaguely. They are one of our competitors. Shouldn't be a problem though."

"They as close with our 'partners' as you guys are?" You ask in code.

Displo looked up, thinking. "I do not actually know their stance on them. They are fiercely...how should I say...anti-paranormal so I would assume so."

"Interesting." You mentally note that down. Maybe I could return it later and get in good favour with them. You think.

A few minutes later, and a little bit before the restaurant fully opened you and Displo had the set up done.

"Do you perhaps think I could take this off your hands after this?" Displo asked. You shrug. "Fine by me."

You had originally thought this to be just a headset and some controllers. You were wrong, it was actually the full package. It looked more like a futuristic pod than a set.

While the headset was there, there were a lot of additional tools such as sensors to feel things on the body, gloves and shoes. A card within the box read that it allows the user to fully immerse themselves in a 3D world. There was a table in the set followed by a hook hanging above it containing the set. It apparently allowed the user to lie down while simulating the feeling of VR (allowing them to walk around and feel).

A small pillow was even included.

It was a bit extra from what you were expecting but you were still curious.

"What do you think?" You ask Displo.

"It's a rather advanced set. I'm sure my superiors would love to take a look at this."

"Better them than me. Tell 'em it fell off a truck or something."

"Very good." Displo said, missing the joke. He plugged the set into TURINGS.

It lit up, LEDs on the table shining red faintly. It took a minute to orient itself and install the drivers. Once it was ready a small whirring sound was heard and the LEDs starting shining blue.

It was ready.

Displo took a seat at the computer and started fiddling with it. You go to look at the set and begin putting on the apparel. The wired gloves and boots felt slick but soft. You could tell there were sensors fitted on each.

"Okay. I am going to turn it on. Once in you should be able to navigate to the VR world yourself. I'm going to leave you alone while I handle the lunch rush." Displo finished inputting some settings on the computer.

"I'm afraid that today is a corporate retreat and we're expecting a lot of employees to come by. I won't be able to help you."

"Ehn, shouldn't be a problem."

"I'll be back in a few hours. According to the instructions you just need to put the headset on and it should start. You'll be able to enter the address yourself. Worst case scenario just remove the helmet."

"Okay. Thanks Displo."

"Best of luck (Y/N)."

"You too."

Displo nodded and left you alone, closing the door behind him.

You pull yourself onto the table and lie back. You place the headset on top of your eyes and ears, allowing it to take full view. It appears bright blue as it adjusts, eventually settling into the vision of an options menu. You move your arm up, unsure if it did in real life or just the set. Either way, it mimics your perceived actions. You lose track of feeling from the outside world as the virtual reality sets in.

You get up off the table, though in reality you haven't moved at all. It feels a bit jarring but you quickly get used to it. Looking around everything looks retro-futuristic. There were purple horizons in a light purple grid. The menu popped up in front of you.

Navigating through the menus you find the option to enter the address. Displo apparently already pre-programmed it in as a small paper on the ground displays it.

You enter it in.

vrp://19910726.sonic.md

It takes a few minutes to connect but afterwards you see all the ground fade and turn to a bright shade of green. Slowly but surely everything loads in. At first it is just a plain green field, blue horizon like in a dream but gradually structures begin to form in it.

A pop-up message displays "Sonic's World, HILL ACT 1". A light jingle was playing as well, giving the area some atmosphere.

You look around. It all appeared really cartoonish.

Above was a picturesque blue sky with just a touch of clouds. On the horizon you could see a vast ocean, water all pixelated. Further down the horizon were a series of mountains that were infinitely far away. Those were the most 'normal' looking things around.

The grass contained a green and darker green checkerboard pattern. It severed any implications this was real life. The rest of the world was and robotic. Standing in an open field. There were a few bushes around but like a lot of the scenery were blocky and rough. Even the green like the grass and leaves looked sharp. The whole bush looked more like a paper fan than a bush.

Everything was rasterized with large pixels making up all the objects and scenery. It was as if a 2D sprite had been thrust into 3D, giving it a blocky and sharp feel. You would have said it was if everything was made of Lego/Lepin blocks.

The sunflowers were comically large, sharp as well. There were a few totem poles present, spikes extruding from the sides of the tops. Checking around at least some of the flowers were normal, albeit heavily pixelated.

Other than the mountains the trees were the most normal things. Palm trees, though arcing straight up instead of angled. The leaves very slowly moved in the wind, glitching as they did. Nothing much had that of the scenery appeared to not be jagged. Only some of the landscape beyond had a more 'normal' appearance.

But despite the appearances it all felt real.

Even the ground felt real beneath your shoes. Looking over yourself you see that you were wearing the same clothes as when you were in reality. Even your brown trench coat was present, gun in holster. The program even recognized it as a gun, sort of. You carried a 9mm but the program seemed to have scanned it as a revolver. Checking the barrel it was fully loaded.

There wasn't any way you could be fooled. This was virtual reality.

But, despite the presence of nature there wasn't much in the way of any creatures, let alone Sonic. You spot some woodland creatures and robotic versions of them foraging around. If they've noticed you then didn't care as they did nothing upon your presence.

Figuring Sonic could just not have shone up yet you walk around. You take in the fresh air. The scent reminds you that it was still just VR as you pick up the scent of the hideout. A slight smell of various dishes emerging from the kitchen. Well, at least if the restaurant burns down I'll be able to tell.

While the field looked 'normal enough', the landscape beyond it was even more unusual. The land contorted into loops and huge rolling hills. In parts it completely warped and went high up in the air, far higher than a hill should. And far steeper too.

You shrug it off. This was supposed to be virtual reality anyways.

Before you could examine the scenery further a notification pops up in the bottom corner of your vision. You try to look at it but you find it moves when you look. It was part of the UI.

"VRP Pro-Tip #1: You can check your settings but looking down and activating your elbow! (you can disable these pop ups by s̷̡̙̺̙̯̠̤̟̖̆̇̇̋̃̄̂̋̽́̉̆͌͐͝ͅw̴̨̡̭̙̘̣̤͙̟͇̞͂̃͊̅́̔̽̈̇̂̚͜͠i̴̧̳͔̳͆p̵̰̰̮̫̞͐̋͜ͅi̸̧̢͈̥̯͓͛̃̒n̶̪̞̓̈̈̃g̵̢̻͕̉̿͌͛̌̋́̉͊͗̐̕ ̶̨̡̥̖͎̲͈̪̰͇̘͂̿͛͜ͅt̸̨̨̧̰̘̟̖̼͎̻̱̎̓̑́͌̊̽͂̂̓͘͜͝͠ͅh̵̢̰̼̖͎̮͓̥͈̱̱̤̊̇̀͐͛̚͜ę̷͙͕̥̯̬̤̥͍̞̞͓̆̐́́͊͆̍̊̃̓̆̒̔̕̚ ̸̛͚̪̲͆̿̓̋́̋͐́͘̕̚͝ḿ̵̧̱͙͇̺̳͇̺͓͉̪͚͒͘͝ͅę̵̩̝̝̝̫̙̼̳̝͈̦͐̈͑̾́̊́͜͜͝n̷̢͖̼̣͇͕̗̠̓̌͂͒͌̆u̵͍̾̈́̒̃̄̓̂̆͆̕ ̵̧̙̖̭̮̄̆͋̓̉̃͗͒͒̑́̄͒̕͜͝ä̶̬́͂̓̾͘͝w̷̧̱̑͑̌̀̈́̒͝a̵͓̫̒̊͂̃̅́̇̿̀̃̃́͘̕̕y̸̰͓̳̻̪͕̙͚̘̺̝̞̓̒͆͑̾̕͝)"

The message cut out.

Must be because this is a beta model. You think regarding the distorted text.

You look at your wrist, pressing it like a button. A gauntlet forms onto it and a menu pops up. You look through various options before putting it away.

Where was Sonic anyways? You were expecting more of a welcome than this. You continue walking around, curious as to how that loop in the landscape functioned.

While walking to it you notice something on the ground contrasting with the rest of the scenery. It stood right out.

It was a...doll? You pick it up.

It was a doll of Tails, someone you knew was part of Sonic's crew. It was a cartoony version of him with an antenna atop his head. At the end of the antenna was a crystal. It didn't look professionally made, seams visible throughout it.

"Cute little thing."

You decide to keep it with you. You figure you could hook it onto your belt but find that while it appeared there it wasn't 'real'. You couldn't grab it. You fiddle with it for a bit before it somehow clips to the belt as if gravity pulled it. It was now attached to your waist but some unseen force. You shrug.

It's a been a while since you entered the simulation and you felt fine. Looking around still felt a little jarring and you could feel just a minor headache but you were getting used to it. Wasn't as bad as you heard it was.

With Sonic still nowhere to be found you decide to try and interact with the animals you saw back there. Turning back you notice that they were all gone. The flowers had disappeared too. Trees, foliage and the bushes remained.

While there had been a light jingle playing earlier there was no music now. In a matter of seconds things had become eerie.

The whole space looked liminal, the sky had becoming clear as well.

"Tails, where are you?" You hear someone call from afar. It sounded like the real Sonic. It echoed throughout.

You almost respond back but decide not to. Something about the whole setup was odd and you didn't trust that this wasn't to be some ambush. VR had taken over the senses and you had forgotten this wasn't real life. Or was it now? It was hard to tell.

If this is the real Sonic there was zero chance you could take him on. Not against someone with that kind of speed. You decide not to, hoping to either surprise him or run into him normally.

You blink, or the surroundings blink. You couldn't tell. The colour appeared slightly more washed out in everything, and the water falls on the horizon had stopped moving. They just stood there, motionless.

It was getting splittingly quiet. Something was really off.

Before you could even react you briefly see something move fast behind you. You spin back only to see nothing. Sufficient to say, you were starting to get creeped out now.

Another flicker in the area. For a split second you see stuff appear distorted, trees appearing out of the ground and bushes flashing in the sky. It was as if the integrity of the land itself was breaking.

You look at you wrist, pulling the menu out. Alright, enough playing. You were thoroughly creeped out. This must have been some kind of trick to scare Kapi. You didn't know him but imagined he would be freaking out too.

The exit button or rather most settings were displaying the same kind of blinking corrupted text the help-tip outputted earlier. The buttons weren't working. Nor were really any of the buttons are you pressed frantically.

While looking for another option to quit, you notice a red fraction displaying 3/30. You touch it and a menu pops up saying "ACTIVE PLAYERS".

It lists 3, though one name disappears before you could even read it. All you saw was that it started with the letter S. The other 2 players listed were you (displayed as Player 3) and Sonic.

The eerie silence began to be replaced by strange sounds and glitch tunes.

You decide you've had enough. Time to leave. No escape button? No matter. You try to take the helmet off only to find it wasn't coming off. At least, you couldn't tell. It just felt as if you were grabbing your own head. You couldn't feel a visor, let alone the headset at all. You try to take the gloves or boots off, unable to do so as well. It was just your hands and feet that you touched.

You open up the settings again only to find all the options had become distorted just as the other text. There was no getting out, at least not that way. There had to be some failsafe emergency exit. You try to weigh your options. A panic sets in, breathing becoming sharp. You touch the tails doll. It provides you with just a small amount of comfort. Displo would eventually come looking for you. This is just VR, nothing can hurt you. With no way out you had to wait for Displo now.

You relax slightly. There has to be another way out. Maybe a door or something. You look around. The foliage had all but completely disappeared, the field was barren now and the sky had turned a darker shade of blue. The horizon's colours had begun to fade as well. It was as if nature itself was becoming dying. At least you still had your gun and that doll. You try to do a check over. All pulses were fine, breathing normal. You take a deep breath, taking in the scent of Displo's cooking.

You start to walk around, a little fast now, looking for any semblance of a door. Or a portal, or anything to escape this ever-changing nightmare.

You nearly jump as another pop-up appears. Unlike the others, the text was clear, but in all caps.

"KAPI?"

"YES / N̶̙̤̜̹̟̬̪̮͍̈́͆͗̌͂̏͆ͅǪ̵̛̤͉͓͕̣̜͓̬́́̈́̑́̌̃͆̒̽̚͝͝"

It presented two options. Whoever was in charge of this world had gotten to you now. You choose to tell the truth, and, if you survive this care to kick the crap out of Kapi.

"NO."

The pop-up fades away instead of disappearing outright like the others. It was as if it was processing your response.

You stop your search upon seeing something rise up in the distance. It was red and glowing. It didn't appear as glitchy as the rest of the landscape, it looked almost organic. It reached a height in the sky before vanishing. It was like a flare.

Hoping it was some sort of escape signal you run towards it, pushing foliage out of the way.

You jump off a ledge into the clearing. Lying there, bloodied and cut up was the body of a man. You freeze, not expecting to see a dead body of all sudden. You completely forget you're in VR, this was as real as it could get.

It looked to be the body of a student, if his uniform was any indication. Soft blonde hair, light blue uniform, his face was an unrecognizable mess.

He was more pixelated than you. His appearance, though unlike the scenery was unlike yours as well. There were all sorts of cuts, bloodied bruises and bite marks all over him. He was dead.

"You saw it too right? Just dealt with this guy and some red thing rose out of him." Someone says, smiling behind you. You tense up.

"Then it just popped like a balloon. Pretty crazy huh?"

You knew that voice. It was Sonic. You turn around to see Sonic...floating above the ground?

"I wonder if you'll do that to?"

You couldn't believe your eyes.

Most people in Newgrounds City knew who Sonic was. He was the so-called "Guardian of Mobius". The few times he had come to NC had been a major event, with all sorts of people lining up to see him and his crew. You'd never seen him in person but you'd seen pictures and videos. But the being floating in front of you now could not have been him even though it sounded just like him.

In front was a blue hedgehog, wearing white gloves and red and white sneakers. Thick socks folded just above the shoes. Just like how you'd seen Sonic in pictures.

But things were off.

This didn't look fully like Sonic. His eyes were black and void-like, with a glowing red pupil in each eye. He had sharp yellow fangs that glistened in his wide, evil smile. From his eyes blood looked to have been dripping, spilling down his cheeks and past his mouth. His teeth were stained with a crimson red, no doubt carrying the blood of the deceased behind you.

"Well?" He asked.

The being calling himself Sonic shrugged. "That guy didn't stick around very long. Just you and me now."

His expression changed, happiness taking over. "Hey, you wanna play?"

Your heart skipped a beat.

The next chapter will be called Mad God. (vs. Sonic?).

Chapter Text

Now staring up at Sonic, fear started to creep in.

Sonic smiled at you with a most mischievous look. His black and red eyes clearly shone that he was looking forward to this. You froze staring up the mysterious being.

"I like the look of you." He growled, licking his lips. You glance back to the slain person next to you. "Oh don't worry about him. I'm done playing with him. But you, on the other hand. Let's play a bit more!"

And with a flash Sonic was gone.

No. If anything he's just trying to scare you. Remember this isn't real life. You take a deep breath. The scenery had at least returned to normal, all the foliage now present again.

The colour had mostly faded from the scenery, leaving a washed out landscape in front of you. At the end of field, by a cliff and bridge. Figuring it a way out you walk to it.

No sooner do you pace 50 steps before you're attacked. Just from the brief look it didn't appear you were any closer anyways. The animals from before had returned, now corrupted versions of themselves. Looking closer they weren't exactly animals but merely robotic versions of them. There were a few oversized crabs on the ground and a large iguana standing atop a bush.

It was a standoff, there was no sense in shooting them, you weren't sure if you'd have the focus to aim. Instead you follow your instinct. In a swoop you grab the nearby overly-sized sunflower. It was metallic to the touch, light but hard feeling. You wield it like a two-handed sword.

With a hearty swing you swipe at the iguana, the head of the sunflower easily cutting through it. It lodges itself in the bush's blocky exterior.

The crabs for you, trying to nip at your pants. One hearty stomp takes one out. Another one latches onto your pants and tries to drive its claws into your skin. The pain is sharp but sudden and you kick it off.

There was no time to reflect as the animals explode into a puff of smoke. You dislodge the sunflower now seeing that the metallic animals actually contained real ones!

But, just like their corrupted counterparts they don't seem the least bit normal. The squirrels jump at you, biting all the way. You stumble, only to find the cliff you thought far away was now next you. Tripping off it you fall, everything going blurry. Then, after what felt like minutes you were back up top. Whether you bounced back up or had never even fall you couldn't tell. It was all so disorienting.

"Too soon." You heard Sonic mutter from a distance.

The squirrels were gone as were the blue bird from the iguana. You grab the sunflower, looking around for another way out. Another door had appeared, this time back near the loop and dead body.

You run to it, nearly bumping into another animal as it flew it into your vision. A metallic bee, blue and grey instead of yellow and black. Stinger extended it darts at you. You raise the sunflower to block it, missing entirely. You managed to realize it quicker as you duck out of the way. It swipes at your shirt, cutting the fabric and scraping the skin. You suddenly take note at the immense pain that felt. I-it's not real. You try to repeat but find no words to speak.

Before the bee could make another move you swing the sunflower like an axe, cutting it in half. Instead of exploding like the others it merely falls to the ground, lifeless, the animal inside not moving either.

The pain across your chest now feeling like a papercut causes you to look down. Streaming very subtly from the cut in your shirt was blood. That can't be possible.

"Pretty good. Pretty good." You hear clapping from above you. Looking up was Sonic, a smug look on his face. "Lot more fight than the other one today."

You take a few steps back, raising the sunflower like a crucifix blocking evil.

"Do you like the game so far? I've made sure it's *just* like the real one." Sonic said. Just as you backed up, Sonic floated towards you expectantly.

You seldom notice the landscape changing. From washed out colours it all darkened. The sky had become a bright red, the sun was nowhere to be found, the horizon had become black and the features of the mountains vanishing. The ground had become a dark crimson red, like it had just been burnt.

The air too, felt tighter though that was a side effect of the looming panic. You try to remember Displo's cooking scent but even that seemed far away.

This was all for Kapi?

"What's wrong? Don't speak?" Sonic asked, still grinning.

You're first instinct was to frantically try and pull off the helmet. Like the earlier attempt it was impossible.

"Decapitation by yourself is no fun! Let me help!" Sonic said before flying towards you. You instincts kicked in and you jumped out of the way, tripping over yourself as moved. Sonic smashed into the landscape, kicking up a cloud of dirt. In the chaos you had dropped the sunflower.

His silhouette quickly shone through. He was fine.

"Good moves! Let's maybe stretch this out. Maybe play a little game? I could waste some time. Still waiting on that loud-mouth fool. Oh, I know! Let's play hide and seek! You hide! I'll start counting!" Sonic said with a smile. He vanished, just as the cloud of dirt did.

He was gone.

It took a second to even process what's going on.

Another robotic animal had appeared. An insect-looking machine with a wheel instead of legs. It had the top-half of a beetle and two appendages with spikes for hands. It charged towards you.

"NO! THIS ONE'S MINE." Sonic shouted and dove towards it light speed. It flinched at Sonic and as he slammed into it, turned into a fine red mist.

"Don't let me stop you now." Sonic winked and vanished again.

You hesitated, still trying to find the words to say. Stop? Tell Sonic this was all a big misunderstanding? That you knew where Kapi wa-

"Well come on! Do something! I'm going to start counting any second." Sonic shouted from somewhere.

You start running, touching the doll to try and comfort yourself. Most features of the land had become glitched. Entire parts of grass were pitch black. It looked like they were moving, like the land itself was unstable. Holes were starting to appear in the ground, peering over them showed them to have reflections of the world. A brief look up shone floating islands and rings fluttering in the air, possibly mirages. You thought you smelled smoke.

There wasn't anywhere to hide. Foliage, flowers and bushes had all completely vanished.

While still grassy, the place was as barren as the tundra.

You barely register Sonic counting down from 30. There was no time to think. It is just a game. Just a game.

Wait. The gun! While running away you check your revolver. Still present. Still loaded. That's when you spot two rocks. That's it! You say a little prayer before you try to enact this idea. Sonic still had a few seconds left.

As fast as you can you take your jacket and throw it behind one of the rocks, just so that it would be obvious. You then run to the other rock and duck behind it.

"...AND ZERO! Here I come!" Sonic said gleefully. You wondered if this would even work. Surely he had to know where you are. This was his world after all.

You stifle your breathing as much as possible. Now not moving you quickly try to think of ways to get out. You'd been in life and death situations before but nothing like this. After a minute, you hear Sonic enter the clearing. There was no footsteps, you only knew his presence by him talking. Maybe if you stood up to him he would falter?

"Where are youuuu?" Sonic questioned aloud.

You hold your breath. "Aha! Huh?"

You rise from your hiding place and aim. Sonic was standing just at the fake rock looking at it. Without saying anything you let off a shot, the sound temporarily stopping all others. It was as if the system itself paused for a second. The music stopped too.

It hits Sonic square in the back of the head and he falls down, unmoving.

Did it work? Hesitantly you get up and stagger towards Sonic. There was no bullet wound on his head but he wasn't moving. Maybe a quirk of the game? You slowly turn him over, just to make sure.

As he lies on his back his eyes fixated on you, smile growing wider by the second. It was ruse.

"What? You thought that could stop me?" He sits up. "Where did you even get a gun? Gimme that."

You stagger back, nearly freaking out. His mitten just misses it.

"Oh, not gonna give it up? You can keep it for now. We still have more playing to do! Let me return that to sender!" Sonic said, reeling his arm back, sending the bullet into your shoulder.

Sharp pain was felt immediately. For a video game it felt too realistic. It felt as if you'd actually had been shot. You nearly fumble the gun.

He starts to rise off the ground again.

"You know they thought they could seal me away?" He started to glow a bright red.

"Hid me at the bottom of the ocean. OH pLeAsE!" You notice the rocks around start to rise as well. Your jacket rises with, red glow surrounding it.

"All I needed was one little signal. And shifting sands gave me DIRECT ACCESS." You had enough listening to Sonic's dialogue and bolt for it, turning occasionally to see if anything was barreling towards you.

"THAT'S ALL IT TOOK TO FREE MYSELF."

"And now here we ARE!" You turn back to see a rock hurdling towards you. You narrowly dodge it and it smashes into the ground.

"Alright. How about this?"

A flower flies past your vision stabbing directly into the ground diagonally. You turn back to see another one aimed perfectly at your back. A tactical roll later it misses you.

You look back again to see what's next but Sonic was gone. You turn front to see Sonic floating above you, possessing another flower. It comes flying towards you. You put your arms up to shield and close your eyes.

"Got you now." He muttered.

But...it doesn't come? You open your eyes to see it stuck in the air, just in front of you.

"Huh?" Sonic looked just as confused as you did.

Sonic raises his arm and you see yourself start to glow red and then stop. You weren't sure what was going on and Sonic didn't seem to either.

"What the?" Sonic raises his hand again, flexing it at you. Again, the same red glow then a puff and it disappears. Sonic's eyes fixate on your lower half.

"Oh. Oh. Oh!!! Fascinating!" He said enthusiastically. He was looking at the doll. He clapped his hands.

"You're a crafty one aren't you? Let's see how crafty you are after this." Sonic falls to the ground.

You take a few steps back. Sonic kneels down on all fours and he starts to spin. He starting a spindash.

You knew enough about the real Sonic to know there was zero chance of dodging at this distance, let alone this speed. Panicking, you blurt out the first thing your mind says.

"I-Kapi!"

Immediately Sonic stops, the whole scene going quiet.

"You can speak?" He said surprised. "You're Kapi?!" He floated up.

"Well I can't waste this. We have a lot do to together. I'm just getting-"

"N-no. I'm with him. I'm not Kapi."

Sonic turned his head slightly. He looked at you as if you were an idiot. "That fool sent someone for him? What a joke. I'm ending this now."

He resumes his spindash, the sound getting more high-pitched by the second.

You start to say that you Kapi sent you, or that Kapi couldn't come or that you barely even knew the cat-boy but it jumbles up and comes out as...

"I need your help!"

Your eyes go wide as you realize what you just said. But, despite that, Sonic stops, starring at you curiously. You couldn't read his eyes.

There was one thing you learned in 'cop-school'. It was to act correct in any situation, even if you screwed up. You had to go along with it. You clear your thoughts.

"I need your help." Sonic just looks at your like you had done something embarrassing. "See?" You toss the gun, hoping the gesture helped.

"Go on~" Sonic's curiosity was replaced with the sadistic smile he had earlier.

"Y-you're a hacker. You know computer ss-systems. I mean you built all this-"

"That's enough foreplay. I don't need to hear how good I am. Now what's this about my help? What was your endgame coming here? You certainly aren't like the last being that entered my realm."

He seemed to be listening more now.

You tell the truth and try to give a quick summary of what had happened with Kapi, the arcade, the hacking and the rest. You change details and state that it was Sonic that was the hacker you needed and not Kapi. You try to keep it simple and watch Sonic closely. The whole time he looked uninterested but stomach full of butterflies you keep your confidence.

"That's the truth."

After the last statement, Sonic's eyes narrowed. He was thinking of something.

"Truth? What? Do you think this is some game? You think I'm bound by some cheap toy? If I slay you here you will die. Now do you wanna tell the truth or not? This is your last chance."

You gulp. You had no idea how true that threat was but your shoulder was still bleeding, even if the pain had gone numb. Same thing with your chest. You decide to heed his warning.

You explain the truth, that Kapi was supposed to be the hacker and that you accidentally blurted that you wanted his help.

"B-but I really can use your help." You quickly add.

"Curious. I want to know more. Tell me everything. Now."

"W-wha-" Sonic tackled you, pinning you. Even despite his size he had no problem holding you down, his shoes resting on your shirt. All you could see were his black empty eyes. Blood was still dripping from them, though not onto you.

"EVERYTHING." He growled, showing off his yellowed teeth.

"A-alright. Alright." You give a condensed version about everything that had happened until that point. The heist, Tabi, your life as a detective, Displo, Agoti and more. Sonic's eyes don't move, nor does the glowing red in them. He doesn't even blink as you try to get it all out. You were on the verge of a panic attack. This was a lot.

"A-a-and that's where I am now."

Sonic vanished off you. He re-appeared in front of you seconds later.

"Cool story bro. But alas, I grow bored of this. You can die now." He rose his hand.

Figuring this was it you take a deep breath and say.

"You can't."

Sonic stops.

"You can't kill me. You're unable to."

"You." Sonic's eyes narrowed. "I can easily take you out. How dare you! You think that doll can save you?" Objects around Sonic started to rise again.

"Do it then. I'm not scared of you." You took another deep breath. There was no plan. If he was going to kill you, might as well piss him off as much as you could.

"You really aren't scared of me?" Sonic asked quieter. You were absolutely terrified but if he was believing you needed to keep up the facade. "That doesn't matter."

Flowers and trees come hurtling towards you and you try your best not to flinch. Millimetres away from your face they stop, only to fall to the ground.

Sonic lets out a huge laugh. "Ah, you."

He lowers himself to the ground, other objects falling in tow.

"It's not fun when they give up."

"Come with me." You say again. It seemed like a monumental request but being so close to the verge of death meant you weren't making rational decisions.

"You know what I don't get? You said they left you alone. So now what? You're gonna put this all on the line for what? Some money? Because you wanna get revenge?" Sonic asks, referring to the heist.

"It's not about the money. It's about the principle. They have to fall."

"Principle eh?" Sonic licked his lips, his smile widening. "I'll join. And I'll see your principles to the end. I wanna see you holding the axe when you take them out." He said sadistically.

He raised his hand out. Cautiously you shook it. It felt as if you were doing a deal with the devil. You gulped, hoping this was a good idea. Kapi was so going to get a thrashing for this.

"You're lucky Tails vouched for you earlier."

"Tails?"

"Yep. Right there." He pointed at the doll still attached to your belt. It was real? Hand shaking you pet it, you hear some rumbling emit.

"So..uh, what now? How do we leave?"

"We? Good choice of words." Sonic said. You make a mental note to watch what you say around him. He had a detective's perception. "How can I get you out?" You add, hoping he appreciates it.

"I'll let you check your options. You should be able to leave now."

You check your wrist. Sure enough the options weren't corrupted. The possibility of double-crossing Sonic crosses your mind. You decide against it. While he seemed like a full-on psychopath you figure having him on your side was better than nothing.

You decide to ask the question before he can.

"If I let you out, how do I know you're not gonna betray me?"

"You won't." Sonic said in-between laughs. "That's the best parts of this transaction."

You hesitate to respond. Sonic clearly didn't like that as it jutted in instantly.

"You don't have another way out do you?" You ask.

"It's better you don't know." Sonic said. It could have been a bluff but it wasn't one you were going to risk taking. "You will let me out." He said.

"About that, how do I do that?"

"You keep the system live. I'll give you a series of commands to enter." Sonic grinned.

You nod at him. "I'll see you on the other side."

"Oh, you will. I'll make sure of that." He said. You gulped, still not trusting Sonic.

With the flick of a few settings the world disappeared, the familiar grid-based horizon appearing again. Now at the crossroads of reality and real life you take off the helmet.

The next chapter will be called My Unpronounceable Name.

Chapter Text

The helmet comes off easy, simply popping off.

"The patient's coming back to us." An unfamiliar voice next to you speaks. Whomever it was gives you a pat on the arm. Eyes adjusting to the darker light of the room you try to look around. You get up, only to be stopped immediately by a sharp pain in your shoulder and stomach.

"Easy there." The unfamiliar voice said. Eyes blinking you see a doctor taking up your field of vision. Nothing but a wall of a white lab coat and a stethoscope.

"I tried to patch you up." He said. Turning elsewhere he reported. "Breathing has normalized, pulse is back to resting." Another voice pipes up.

Patch you up? You take a look down. Your shirt was ripped in the exact part where the bee had slashed. It was covered in a bandage though evidently still bleeding slightly. As it hits you notice a small pain in your leg, just where the crab had poked. And then the shoulder pain kicked in again. Like you had been...shot?

Your jacket was missing and your shirt sleeve rolled up. And just where the bullet had impacted was a bandage.

"H-how the hell..?" You mutter, starting to panic. This wasn't the game anymore, right? You grope for the doll only to find it gone. That alone provided some relief.

A realization set in. The being calling himself Sonic was clearly more powerful than he looked. You had no idea how such a thing was possible...unless? You check your gun. The action draws a few concerned eyes and the doctor mumbles something to relax. You just inspect it.

It was back to being a 9mm pistol.

This was real life. At least that was a relief.

"A-are you alright, (Y/N)?" A familiar voice finally spoke. It was Displo. Snapping out of your daze you survey the room.

Next to you was someone you'd never seen before. Human and, judging by the lab coat they were a member of IRIS. They had a facemask on.

Looking around were other IRIS operatives, lab coats and business casual wear. A few had notepads and were scribbling stuff down. It looked like they had been...observing you? Was this all a test? Did Displo know? How did I get these wounds? It was just a game. You had a ton of questions to ask.

"Pardon my French (Y/N), but what the hell happened in there?" Displo asked. You finally noticed him, standing on your other side. It seemed like he had been sitting at the computer, a few technies beside him peering curiously at you.

You didn't notice it at first but he had been holding your free hand.

"I-I don't know." You had no idea how to explain everything that just went down. You barely managed to spit that out.

"Did someone break in? How did you get injured?" Displo asked, his usual professional tone sounded a bit more concerned now.

"I don't know. I-I was shot in the game. Robot attacked me. But I don't know how it happened here. Felt real." Nevermind the confusion of waking up to a whole room of people, you were now feeling the whiplash of being in reality now. It felt as if your senses had been scrambled. A headache was settling in as well.

"Would you say your injuries were consistent with the ones in the game?" One of the observers asked.

"Y-yes?" You ask, still confused as to why there was a 'congressional meeting' in the planning room. Upon saying yes, the researcher began furiously writing stuff down. "Displo, what's going on?"

Displo understood how unfair this was and stood up. "Enough questions. Everyone out. We'll resume this later. Allow me to speak with the patient." He commanded, sounding rather cynical.

Without any objection the doctors, researchers and remaining observers left the room.

You take off the gloves and boots.

"What the hell was that all about?" You ask.

"My sincerest apologies. See, the topic of VR research came up during the banquet and one of the technical staff requested to see the machine." Displo looked away, embarrassed.

"I let him and the man came back shaking, claiming you had been wounded. Fortunately we had a member of our medical research team and an overenthusiastic medical intern patch you up. And, well, then it sort of became a whole test session." Displo admitted. He scratched his head, understanding how ridiculous it sounded.

"The lunch rush was successfully handled though." Displo said further, as if that made things better.

"But! I monitor all entrances extensively and we have a strict staff policy. There was no way anyone could have gotten in to attack you, nor would that employee have. She was not armed."

Displo added, voice going to a murmur. "Not to mention we couldn't find the bullet either."

"W-were you able to see anything?" You ask, referring to the VR world you were in. "In the game?"

"I should be asking you that. I, as well as the technical staff could not see through your viewport. It was as if the world itself was encrypted. Only a semi-random patch of static displayed. Whatever you saw, heard and felt could only have been through the set. The technies had said they had never seen anything like it. It must have been a quirk of the machine see.." Displo stopped, not wanting to go off on a tangent.

"Well, uh-" You weren't sure how to explain what happened. Never mind the whole 'nearly died', Sonic apparently had some kind of metaphysical powers if he was able to hurt you in real life. That or the machine did the damage.

"If you do not wish to explain I won't pry. Did you at least deal with this 'Sonic' though?"

Mind snapping back to what Sonic had said before you left you stagger up. "W-wait. I gotta do something."

Displo stopped you, trying to place you back on the bench. "No. On TURINGS. I gotta do a few commands." If Sonic could somehow hurt you outside of the game he'd would be waiting. You push Displo aside and hobble to the machine.

"Are you delirious? Should we check blood signs? They said you lost a little bit of blood." Displo said as he walked closely behind you, ready to catch should you fall.

You pull over the swivel chair in front of TURINGS and sit down. Sure enough, just as Sonic said a message was displayed on screen. It was a series of commands.

"Interesting." Displo remarked as his attention turned to it. "Is this your work?" You don't respond.

"Can you enter these?" You ask.

"What is all this?" Displo asked, studying the code.

"J-just enter it. It's for Sonic." You wanted to say that if you didn't you were screwed but it doesn't come out.

"This will open a remote port on the server that contained Sonic. Are you sure?"

A brief thought occurs that you were in power now. If you wanted to stop Sonic this would be it. Against all better judgement you nod yes.

Then, just as fast as it opened a notification popped up that it closed.

"Well it appears that whatever you did worked. Now, about Sonic. Did you deal with him?" Displo asked, still wondering if you really were delirious.

"Deal with? You can't just 'deal' with me! I'm the number one! NUMBER ONE! AND I'M RIGHT HERE!" Sonic's cheerful voice shouted from your pocket. You jumped upon hearing it, toppling over off the chair, landing onto the carpeted floor. His voice got progressively louder, like he was mashing the VOL UP button. Displo rushed over to where were, helping you back up to the VR bed.

It was your phone. You pull it out of your coat pocket. On the screen lit up was the fake Sonic, in all his demonic glory.

Your phone wallpaper was just of some nature picture you found online of a forest. From within the photo itself Sonic was. He waved at you. Jumping up and pulling the notification bar down. The screen changed to show an active call. The caller read "SON-IC-#ONE" instead of a proper number.

"Thanks for keeping the gate open! Man you have a lot of cool photos on this." The fake Sonic said. He started changing the wallpaper at will.

"Y-you. How?" You ask. It was like he was in the phone, part of the software.

"Well, I've been here for a bit, buuuuuuut I wanted to wait till all those labcoats were gone. Sonic doesn't trust them, so I don't either." Sonic spoke through the phone.

"By goodness." Displo was very curious now. It sounded exactly like the real Sonic. He looked over your shoulder.

"Hey, who's the buckethead? He one of Eggman's goons? I'll take him right out." Sonic knelt down as if he were to jump right out of the phone.

"No-no. He's with me. He's a good guy." You stammer. Between nearly dying in a simulation, being questioned and now the fake Sonic reality warping you were struggling to keep up.

"Hah! We'll see about that!" Sonic said jumping at the phone screen. "Wait!" You quickly move the phone away from Displo.

Your phone and Displo's face both flash at the same time and Displo's posture slumps over. A second later Displo's face lit up again, this time with a red glow and a cartoony image of the fake Sonic on it.

"Hahaha! D-did you think that moving the phone away would just stop me?" Displo laughed, voice sounding more upbeat and evil. He gave you a condescending pat on the head. He stops, leaving Displo's hand on your head.

"You know you were a bit slow entering those commands. You weren't having second thoughts were you?" He didn't wait for a response.

He spoke smugly. "Anyways. I can move through the waves! They're everywhere! You can't see it with your weak eyes but I can see them all."

"Get out of him!" You shout at the abomination of Displo/Sonic.

"Hmmm." A question mark appears on Displo's face. "Huh, this guy really is your friend. I guess I could leave then. You two go way back!"

A second later Displo's face warps back to normal, the usual pattern setting back on his face. Your phone vibrates, indicating that Sonic had returned to your phone.

Displo nearly toppled over, his true self returning to him. You quickly rise to stop him from falling onto the machine, grabbing his shoulder.

He supports himself, hand on you and one of the machine as he boots back up. It doesn't take long for him to fully recover and his screen to light up with the familiar colour pattern.

"M-my goodness." Displo wobbled a bit. It looked like he was panting. "W-what was that?"

"Sorry, usually when I leave others it's to destroy them. I'll figure out how to it more gracefully later." Sonic spoke up.

"Yeah, it's...Sonic? From that world...somehow." You were at a loss for words.

"F-fascinating. May I?" Displo reached for your phone.

He looked at Sonic on the screen who was climbing around the phone app icons.

"What exactly are you?"

"Yea, about that, what can I call you anyways? You clearly aren't the real one." You ask.

"Wha? You two can tell I'm not the blue blur? Do you two know Sonic?"

"He is rather famous around here. But no. I do not know him personally." Displo said. Despite the fake Sonic's disturbing appearance and raucous behaviour, Displo was treating him with respect.

"And he doesn't have bleeding eyes or sharp teeth like that either." You chime in.

"What, you don't like it? I'm hurt, really." The fake Sonic said mockingly. "Alright, fine I'm not him. Just a big fan. You two wouldn't be able to understand my real name. I guess....I don't know? What do you call something you can't know?"

"How about X? It's an unsolved variable." Displo spoke up. He spoke familiarly with the illogical creature.

"Ah, I like it! I like it. Bot's got taste. Maybe I should poke around there more. Alright call me X for now. Actually no, S works better since it's like Sonic." S said.

Just as S finished talking the door creaked open. It was one of the technies peering in.

"Sir, is everything alright? I noticed you went offline for a second."

Displo stood up, waving the technie away.

"Everything is fine. Just a minor hiccup."

"Could we continue the questioning now? We have a lot to ask still." One of the researchers peered in.

"Just a few minutes, I have a few more things I need to ask the (Y/N). I will give you the full testimony as soon as I can." Displo said.

They nodded and closed the door, no doubt crowding around it curious as to your outcome.

Displo looked at the phone again. "(Y/N), S, if you would please, explain what happened." Displo took a seat. He placed the phone upright, leaning it against a bowl on the table.

"Yeah, I got some questions too. How are you in my phone?" You finally get around to asking.

"Well you see..." S began explaining. You and Displo learned that he wasn't Sonic but some sort of entity from the cosmos. He took the appearance of the famed hedgehog, expressing an extreme admiration and fervor for the blue blur. He started asking about the real Sonic, Mobius, Eggman, and all sorts of things you didn't care to answer. You cut him off and order him to continue. He became gloom at the mention that Mobius was some other planet, cursing that he crashed on the wrong rock.

You knew nothing of Mobian politics, as did Displo.

Getting back on track he didn't wish to go deeper into the extent of his powers or his origins. You were able to get it out of him that he was bound to some old game console and was subsequently buried in the middle of the ocean. When asked what he did he just said "I was a bad boy." mockingly.

Through a combo of proximity to underground wires plus plate shifting he was able to tether himself to some underground wires and generate enough electricity to connect to VR. He seemed very proud about having established access.

He mentioned something about you not being the first person to join his world. He wouldn't go into detail about the 'others'. He didn't express any remorse, acting like him luring people to do 'stuff' to them was just an ordinary task.

It unnerved you a little but you kept quiet. He took the record of most psychopathic person you'd met recently.

After S had explained his dark and twisted story you gave Displo a brief rundown of what you saw.

"Joined the world, played around, got slashed, got slashed in real life somehow, met S, we fought and uh, now we're here. He shot me and it translated to real life." You shrug.

S explained a small amount about how he was able to harm you in real life but said that such a thing was only possible while you were in his world. "You may be safe out here but the next time you come to my world you will be all mine." He said ominously.

That gave you some relief, though you vowed to never enter a VR chamber again.

"This raises far more questions than it answers." Displo sighed.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" S chimed in. Your phone vibrated as he spoke. You had put it face up on table so it at least looked like he was voice-calling or something.

"What?"

"The whole, heist, rob 'em for what they got, principles, bring the axe down, c'mon..er is he not part of that?" S spoke.

"R-right. Yeah, he's gonna join us. I asked him back in the game."

Displo's head cocked slightly as he considered it. "Interesting." He mused. "I've no qualm against it but are you trustworthy? I am hesitant after what you have just done to me."

S looked down, kicking his feet. "Well, I guess you don't. I forget you people work in absolutes and deals. Tell ya what. As a thank you for freeing me I will assist in whatever way I can. Least until the heist is over. After that...I'll go my own way." He said quietly. Realizing his visage slipping he stood upright and proclaimed. "Until then I am bound to you, what do ya say?" S said mockingly but earnestly.

You look at Displo who just shrugs at it. He wasn't sure what to think.

"Alright deal."

"Awesome!"

"Welcome aboard, S." Displo said.

"Thank you tinman, what are you called anyways?"

"Displo, I am the proprietor of this-"

"Ehn, just your name is good enough. So what now? What am I gonna do?" S said, interrupting the proprietor.

You look to Displo. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Not really, (Y/N)."

"What?" S asked.

"He's our hacker."

Displo rose his head slightly. "Interesting. This would work well in our favour."

"What's that?" S asked.

"We'd need you, when the time comes to break into systems. Basically the same thing you did to me earlier."

"That's it? I can do that no problem. Just point me where and we're good to go."

"Well we aren't doing the heist yet. We still have a lot of planning to do."

"Aw. well. I guess I can wait." S said, bored. He clearly had thought this was gonna be a lot quicker.

"I'm gonna head home, recover from this." You say, motioning to your wounds. "I'm gonna cancel the meeting tonight."

"I am in agreement. Especially on a Friday night, I doubt I would have the time to handle a meeting. Let us meet tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I guess we don't need Kapi then."

"I guess not, though he may be able to serve some other purpose. We shall figure it out tomorrow. Now then, I will go deal with all the researchers."

"Hah! I took Kapi's spot? Awesome. Guy deserves it, tryin' to go against me." S said.

"I will keep S' existence a secret. Rather not deal with what my people would do should they discover S."

"Good call tinman. I don't like labcoats."

"Good then. If you don't mind. (Y/N), S, have a good day." Displo got up and saw himself out.

"You too, pal." S said speaking up first.

You give Displo a few minutes to disperse the crowd outside. With some time to finally think you decide to ask S some questions.

"So you're just gonna be with me all the time now?"

"Not really. You aren't THAT interesting. I'm gonna explore the web. I see so many routes already. Cellular, Wifi, Bluetooth, ZigBee. Man this device is like a level select screen!" S said with glee.

"The web. There's so much to see already! I've only heard about it from other people but I'm curious to see what it has. Maybe scare some people. Y'know. Fun stuff."

You hoped he wasn't going to say that.

"Well be discrete about it. This whole heist thing is supposed to be secret. I can't have you bringing attention to me."

"Ah, you're no fun. Tell ya what, let me look around here." You heard a bunch of dings from your phone. Curious as to what he was doing you look at the screen. He had pulled up your contacts app and was scribbling over one of the entries with a pen.

"Here you go. If I'm not around give this a call or message and I'll be right there."

A distorted phone number was listed there along with a joke photo of S. It was showing a funny face.

A prompt appeared on the phone screen asking if you accept the changes. The only options displaced were yes and YES. S had removed the 'no' button.

A click of the yes button later you decide to get going. S decided he wanted to stick around more, insisting you carry the phone so he could see out the camera. Displo was still entertaining the researchers with answers so you chose to slip out the back.

Having the rest of the day off you start driving home. Best to rest after an injury.

"Hey c'mon, put the phone up. I can't see jack from down here." S complained. To his request to see the town you strapped your phone in the car seat like you would a child. It apparently wasn't high enough.

"Well I can't hold you. There's laws against using your phone while driving."

"So? Just break 'em."

"Yeah, I'm trying not to get caught with stuff." You complain.

You stop at a red. You pop open the console. You figured you had something for this. You grab one of those mobile phone things and jam it into the car vent. Putting your phone in it you raise it up, slightly above the dash.

A honk behind you reminds you that the light has turned green.

"Ah. Much better. I can see so much now!" S said.

You sigh, hoping to not get pulled over for anything.

"Hey, if you're gonna be in there all the time is it draining my battery?"

"Nope. I can recharge it myself. I can generate electricity."

You weren't going to question it but he did say earlier he had powers 'beyond your mortal comprehension'. At least he couldn't hear your thoughts.

You glance over at the phone screen. S was just sitting there through the front camera on the dash looking ahead. Nope, couldn't read thoughts. Thank goodness.

"This whole place is very different from Green Hill Zone."

"Yep, Newgrounds City."

"Cool!"

A few blocks later your phone gets a notification. Figuring it was just S doing something you ignore it. S quickly spoke up to prove you wrong.

"Hey! You got a text from...Tabi!" S said, as if he were your own digital assistant.

"What's it say?"

"What, am I your slave? Check for yourself."

You keep driving, ignoring S.

"Aren't you gonna check it?" He asks.

"No. I'll check it later."

"Well it says 'are you good for tonight'. Oh you're having a date with her? Let me send them a reply."

You grab the phone off the holder. "Woah! I was watching that. What's the big deal?"

"First of all it's him, and don't text him. He's a part of the crew with Displo. I'll message him later."

"Fine geez, you're no fun. Can you put me back?" S asks nicely.

You put the phone back on the holster.

"So can I just tell him that it's off?"

"Are you actually gonna tell him?"

"Of course!"

You sigh. Dealing with S was getting to be a handful.

"Oh! He sent another text. Asking about a cat problem." You guess he was referring to Kapi's problem. Not wanting to explain the whole situation again, let alone trying to dictate that to Tabi you summarize it in one sentence.

"Just tell him that there's no meeting tonight. We'll schedule tomorrow. Stuff came up that I'll explain later."

"Done!"

Worried S didn't actually do it and sent off something worse you pull over when safe and check the phone. Sure enough S did send a message along what you had said.

"What, you didn't believe me? Wow. How could you?" S said, pretending to cry. He was staring at you, watching from the front camera.

"Well, no offense but you seem like quite the troublemaker."

"Humph. Rude. I already said, I'm bound to you for all things this heist."

You still had no idea if you could trust him but it seemed like a safe bet having him on your side. You make up some excuse.

"Okay, okay. I'm just not used to such a...creature."

Eventually you pull in to the driveway. The house was as you left it. S insisted you give him a tour of your house but you manage to get him to calm down, only showing him your living room.

He complains about how boring it looks and jumps out of your phone to somewhere else.

"Oh? What's this?" You hear from the other room. It didn't take a detective to figure it out. He had warped to your computer.

"Ah, you got nothing cool on this. No secret documents. And barely any games. Lemme change that." S trails off.

"I'm gonna take a nap. Don't do anything stupid." You shout to the other room.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." S shouts back.

Glancing over to your room you wonder how exactly you were going to handle this. S was mischievous and while he wasn't a threat at the moment he still worried you. To wield such power over technology was dangerous. What have I unleashed?

There didn't seem to be any way to defeat him, should the need arise. You were just glad that this being decided to make himself like Sonic and not some villain. Never even mind explaining him to Tabi and Agoti, he was going to be something else.

With lots on your mind you crash on the couch, the sounds of games being heard quietly on your computer.

The next chapter will be called Saturday Rush.

S joined the party!

Chapter Text

You took the rest of the day easy. S was content in exploring the internet, leaving you alone. He had left rather abruptly, just vanishing mid-conversation stating he was bored now.

He had commandeered a part of your computer, making a new folder called GreenHillZone with a note telling you not to enter. At first you didn't look but curiosity got the better.

Ignoring it you opened the folder anyways. Present were a few photos of the same VR world from earlier as well as filetypes you didn't recognize. There were also a lot of pictures of the real Sonic. It was slowly filling up with more photos, S collecting them like cards.

Tabi was curious as to your sudden cancellation but acquiesced. You still hadn't figured out how you were going to explain S to the others. You just added that 'Sonic' was dealt with and that he was a handful. You would have preferred to use 'pain in the a-' but S cut you off stating that he in fact, was your new best companion.

With the remaining time in the day you spend it getting a brief checkup, making sure the employee that fixed you up knew what they were doing. They apparently did, the doctor even noting the bandages were above-consumer quality. "Where on earth did you get these?" He asked amazed. You just shrugged, saying it was some medic passing by.

It did confirm every single wound obtained in the game was real. S could hurt you in VR, somehow bending reality itself. They did not locate any bullet fragments in your shoulder however.

Hours later and a good rest it was now Saturday morning. A quick check on the computer indicated that S had returned at some point, a text file on the screen asking if S could have more space. Like earlier he had written in Yes for you but you create a whole new note stating NO. You decline and got to setting things up.

Though it was the weekend you still felt you owed Displo. This ended up being another shift of guard duty.

In the same text file you let S know you'd be at the restaurant. Though with how he'd been you figured he's track you down without the note.

Despite the onset of the weekend the weather outside was miserable. Winds were raging about the city and rain fell at a constant rate. Not too hard to storm, but just enough to signal in April's showers was nearby. It was also cold, not enough to freeze but just enough to be uncomfortable. It felt as if could start thundering any second, the sun hidden somewhere beyond a thick blanket of clouds.

One morning routine later you found yourself at Displo's a few hours from opening.

"Good morning, (Y/N) and S." Displo said happily.

"Morning. S isn't here. He's, I don't know, somewhere else."

"Very well. I'm sure you're aware that we don't open for a bit. Please make yourself at home."

Your phone goes off. Thinking it's probably S wanting something you check. It was Tabi.

im off today should we meet earlier

?

You respond back that you'll ask Displo first.

"You are positively soaked, (Y/N)." Displo began. "Here. I took the liberty of getting this for you. It will make you fit in here better." Displo held a pile of neatly folded clothes. He seemed to have been waiting to give it to you.

"This is...?"

"It is an IRIS standard technical field uniform. STFU for short. It's modified slightly to include my branding. It should fit you just fine."

You take the dark blue clothing. "Thanks. I'll go try it on right now."

Looking over the clothes they were much more professionally made than your current 'detective getup' with a trench coat, buttoned up shirt and frayed tie.

It looked more like SWAT gear and tactical armour than a typical uniform. All it was missing was a helmet. The outfit consisted of 3 pieces of clothing, Thick cargo pants with lots of pockets, a thick long-sleeve vest that appeared to be bulletproof and a thick shirt that went underneath the vest. While it looked to be sweltering and heavy you later found it was much lighter and even cool to wear.

Feeling it over you could tell it was supposed to be bulletproof. It wasn't camouflage but each piece was a dark blue that could have helped hide you. On the back of the vest was instead of IRIS, was written "DISPLO'S" as well as "SECURITY" in bolded text.

In privacy you put it on. Despite its cumbersome appearance it felt fine and even allowed for a bit more mobility.

You'd never done SWAT or armoured assault before if this was what they had to wear you figure it would've been easy. You stash your gun in one of the pockets and go find Displo.

"My my, you look simply ravishing, (Y/N)." Displo said. You swore you even heard a purr, though it was hard to tell. The compliment made you blush slightly.

"Thanks. Hey, about a meeting today, since everyone's off you think you'd be able to meet earlier, instead of tonight?"

"I don't see why not. There are no reservations so I doubt it shall be that busy. Just give me a heads up when everyone is ready. Here are the keys to the room." Displo said, fishing a pair of keys out.

"Sure thing."

"Well, I am off to it then. Good luck 'guarding' today. " Displo nodded and walked towards the kitchen, a kick in his step. Whatever the reason he seemed rather perky today.

There was still a bit of time before the restaurant opened so you go the HQ room. It was quiet in here, having been no activity since yesterday. The VR set was gone, nary a trace it was even here. The table and furniture had all been returned to its proper spots.

You take a seat and check your phone to pass the time. There was still no sign of S sans the broken contact page he made for you. Checking closer you notice the contact page he had defaced was the chiefs. Not a big loss after all.

The kitchen was abuzz with activity. Displo had spent hours compiling the best prep routine and most efficient and smooth way to ensure the restaurant not get over prepared. He even had a litany of backup plans in the event staff couldn't make it.

He was currently doing his daily inventory check, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. Earlier he took over from a prep cook who had to step out, something about an emergency call. He didn't mind. He always felt it correct to do every job once in a while.

There was not a single part in the job he didn't know how to do or disliked doing. Of course, all paled in comparison to his most enjoyable activity as bartending. It gave him an outlet to speak to customers as if he was one of them and not some faceless worker in a kitchen, or a waiter trying to get a tip. His skill to listen had become even known in the corporation, Displo being a 'cheap therapist' employees could talk to.

With the worker returning, Displo stepped out of the way, allowing them to continue. Onions needed to be chopped and ground beef needed to be moulded.

Music was playing out of the kitchen, an activity Displo had reluctantly allowed. At first he found it unprofessional but after several of the cooks proved to him they would work more efficient, he allowed it.

Though preferring classical music, Displo relented allowing them to play what they wanted. Such a privilege was not allowed to the actual cooks, though none complained. Their work was much more detailed-oriented then prep cooks chopping the same vegetables for the hundredth time.

Figuring it was all set here, Displo returned to the main dining room, taking a stand in his favourite section, the bar.

It wouldn't be till dinner time that it opened but gave him something to look forward to. He called it his 'therapy', not that he needed therapy; the name was just fitting.

The cleaning staff (aka the waiters) had finished cleaning and were playing cards at one of the tables.

It was just down to wait until opening now. While waiting Displo began wiping down the glasses. They were already spotless but you never know. It helped keep his hands busy as he looked around.

He didn't have a phone as such capabilities were a part of him. Checking them, he had a new e-mail. It was a thank you from the IRIS research department for the VR set. It also contained some details about your case, though most were wrong intentionally. S was more of an asset to the team than 'curiosity' of IRIS, Displo had decided. The injuries? Merely some untested feature of that VR set. It was up to them to prove it.

Upon giving the researchers your testimony he purposely omitted all details regarding S. If S was going to be apart of the team it would be better if nobody knew about him. Even he wasn't sure how the company would react to a creature like that.

S was strange to him. It was like he had no morals, the way he spoke. Displo hadn't made a full judgement yet but he was slightly concerned. He had spent time figuring out how exactly S made the jump and closed it. Though with how S functioned it was highly likely S could just jump at will, bypassing any security. It put him at the one-letter being's mercy.

Though, now that he thought about on it, the current members of the team weren't the most spotless. S was different however, unpredictable even. He absolutely required analysis but not now. His powers were simply too great to allow anyone to interfere with him.

You had departed from the HQ room, taking up your 'post'. It was a desk in the corner facing the entrance. You took a seat on the chair, reclining on it, holding the table with your shoe to stop it from falling over.

Displo glanced over to your direction. He knew the one thing that the team would need was a test. And he had the perfect idea for one already. Today would be the day he proposed it. He placed
a glass down and started checking the alcohol levels of the bottles.

You glance back, giving a wave to Displo. He waves back and gets back to whatever he was doing.

Still no sign of S. You had texted Tabi that an earlier meeting would happen and he said he'd come round a little after noon with Agoti and Kapi. You still weren't sure how to deal with Kapi. You had your hacker and even though S was uncontrollable he was still on your side. And since S was uncontrollable you worried about having him anywhere near so-called cat boy. After all, he built an entire digital realm to kill him.

In the end you told Tabi to leave Kapi out of this for now. The last thing you wanted was some kind of confrontation between the two. At least until you could get S' actual opinion on Kapi.

Plus, explaining S' existence to two people instead of 3 was much easier.

Eventually the restaurant opens, a steady stream of customers entering. You, having brought a book elected to read that. This job was very hands off, if people needed you they'd seek you out. Looking around at today's clientele you figured it would be easy.

Back to reading then.

You and Displo didn't notice the hours fly by, content in your book and Displo in his service. At one point you got curious and did a quick search of Sonic to see if anything popped out; if S did any mischief. There was nothing of note, though most of the headlines revolved around the ongoing war on Mobius. You had no idea what was going on but the headline mentioned a Dr. Star-something being involved in the conflict. Nothing about a “Sonic imposter raging about the internet”.

Looking outside you see a few cars pull in at the same time.

Whatever.

You stop staring off, a tap on the shoulder rousing you from a trance of boredom.

"E-excuse me?" A high voice asks. You turn, it was one of the waiters.

"Yeah? Everything alright?"

"Well it's just that the DVD in Party Room 2 isn't working. Could you take a look at it?" She asked.

"I'm...not a tech guy." You say, a little confused at the request.

"Yeah, but could you take a look anyways? The family in there is getting rowdy."

You sigh. It was like she didn't hear you. It wasn't your problem. You didn't know a thing about this but decide it beats just waiting here. Displo was nowhere to be seen either.

"Alright. Let's go." You put away the book and get up, stretching your legs for the first time in a bit.

While the restaurant had a confusing appearance there was an additional area to the side for kids and family dining. In this section were a series of 'party' rooms for families and kids parties.

The waitress leads you in to the brightly coloured room. Like the rest of the restaurant it had no set style and stood out. It looked like a daycare with colourful walls, floor, a centre table, TV at the end of it and additional tables covered in presents. It was some kid's birthday party.

All Displo needed was some furry mascot and it could be an upscale Chuck-E-Cheese.

The room had windows for looking out though they were frosted except for two streaks at the middle and the top.

"Ah, perfect. Someone who knows what they're doing." One of the parents said, glaring at the waitress. You just looked at the parent, expressionless.

"So, what's wrong with it?" You ask. It was just a black box displaying the current time. The TV was blank.

"Well it's not working. Isn't that obvious?" The parent shot back. The kids in the party were off in the corner of the room playing with some toys. They were hardly interested in whatever was supposed to be on the screen.

"See?" The parent pointed the remote at the TV pushing a bunch of buttons on it. "Can't you tell it's broken? This is simply unacceptable." The parent was starting to get on your nerves.

You wondered if calling S in would help. No, he'd probably start scaring them all.

You inspect the back of the DVD box. A few cords were unplugged. Unsure what any of them did you plug them back in. While nothing changed on your side you hear some sort of static as you plug them in. You push a button on the TV, turning it on. Displaying was the DVD menu, some sort of slideshow present. The Play button was highlighted on the menu.

Still unsure what the problem even was you shrug.

The parent frustratingly pushes the play button to try and get it to work, nothing happening. "This is just unacceptable."

"May I?" You take the remote from the parent. She just sighs audibly. You say nothing, less you get in trouble with Displo or worse.

You push play on it a few times, nothing happening. Just a blank screen with a DVD logo bouncing around.

Turning around you check the remote. It had no batteries. Another sigh. The waitress had been standing beside you. You hand her the remote. "It just need batteries."

"O-oh! I'll go get them right now." The waitress said, eagerly leaving.

"Humph. Glad someone know what they're doing here." The parent said to you.

With the waitress gone the parent decided she had enough and started pressing the play button on the DVD wasn't working either.

A bit of troubleshooting later you and the parent find out she had not even put in the DVD. One embarrassed 'sorry' later she started herding the children to watch. The picture on the screen was of one of the children. You presume it was the birthday boy.

A few minutes pass with no sign of the waitress. You just waited around playing with your phone, the parent getting more frustrated by the second. The parent further complained that she needed the remote to pause at parts, refusing to manually push the button. "I am not some peasant who is going to stand here pausing it like a two-bit teacher!"

"Are you a cop?" A young voice says from below. It was one of the kids, an innocent look on his face.

"No. I'm just security here."

"Do you have a gun? Can I see it?" Another kid runs up to ask.

"No, it's only for emergencies."

"Do you have a gun like the guys outside?" The first kid asks.

Thinking they were referring to the cops you say yes. They all respond with a chorus of "where is it" and "are you hiding it"? Even further confused you ask what they mean.

"The ones out there. They look like you!"

You look around, one of the other parents had stepped in to stop the first one from making a scene.

The kids were all looking through the clear streak in the frosted wall. Whatever was going on out there had all their attention.

"Mom! Mom! You gotta see this." One of the other kids had run up to the parent, tugging on their dress to get attention. He was referring to whatever was going on outside. The other parent just shooed the kid away, uncaring whatever was going on outside.

Worried now, coupled with the fact the waiter hadn't returned for some time you go up to the wall. Kneeling beside the kids you peek out.

You had to do a double take what was seen.

From what was seen the restaurant was embroiled in some kind of hostage situation. At least, that was your first impression.

Soldiers dressed in similar tactical gear were standing amongst the tables. They wore helmets, visors and carried assault rifles. They wore all black, almost like you'd seen SWAT teams, though these people didn't appear to be cops.

There was some kind of logo on the chest area but it was too small to identify. Whoever they were, meant business. The entire restaurant was being held up.

But, despite the severity of the situation several tables were still eating though with concerned looks on faces.

The atmosphere looked tense but it seemed the restaurant was still functioning. All of the waiters were just standing by the bar, looking a little scared but otherwise not moving. The ones that were immediately resumed their position after delivering what they needed.

Food still looked to be coming out of the kitchen.

Whatever was going on here wasn't some plain robbery. The customers weren't harmed. They weren't the target.

You had the benefit of surprise as no soldiers paid attention to the party rooms. None had even taken stock of them. Either that or they simply didn't believe a threat could be there.

From your limited view you guess you guessed there were about 6 armed units. One of them was standing near the entrance watching it closely. He was on the phone with someone, as evident by the communicator next to his ear.

You were outgunned and outmanned. Not to mention starting a firefight among the customers was a terrible idea.

"Everyone on the ground." You say sternly.

The first thing you do is get the kids away from the window and clue the parents into what's happening. You tell them to stay on the ground and be quiet.

Looking out the window again you try to think of a plan. There wasn't any conventional thing you could do and if this was some sort of hit you'd be just in trouble. There was also no telling if this was the family, cops or something else. You'd never been in this situation before, you were struggling to come up with what to do.

You shoot Displo a text asking him what the hell was happening. He replies back instantly.

"The sooner you can get over to the kitchen the better." It read.

"Are we gonna be okay?" One of the kids whispers to you. They had crawled to your side.

"It doesn't look like a robbery or anything. We should all be fine. Just keep quiet."

"Are you gonna save us?"

"You'll be alright. I swear on it."

"Please do." The kid crawled away.

You get a text, the sound nearly making you jump.

It was some spam message, probably a scam.

Wait, that's it! You unlock your phone, scrolling through the contacts. It was time to see what he could do.

You call S. It doesn't even ring before it picks up, your phone vibrating and the screen turning progressively darker.

"I have arrived! And this better be good. I was in the middle of, uh, reading. Yeah." S groaned. You look at the phone. A portal appeared within the phone, S jumped in, knocking aside all your app icons.

"Well,
what's up?" S asked with cheer.

You still weren't fully used to dealing with S. You turn the phone to look out the window. "Look."

"Wowzers. What did you do?"

"I had nothing to do with this. I just need to get to the kitchen. Anything you can do?"

"Of course I can. Watch this!" S spin dashes out of your phone only to crash back into it as if he was thrown back.

"Wow. These guys mean business. Can't access any of their devices."

"Were you able to see who they are at least?"

"Nope."

"There nothing you can-"

"Shush. I don't need your suggestions for this. Lemme see..." S said.

"Well I can see through the cameras. There's some big dude talking to the tinman. Looks like he's made of clouds or something. I get a bad vibe from him, moreso than me of course."

"There's....1234..8 people. Big dude, bunch of guys out here and 2 around the back looking around. Can't tell who they are though."

"Anything else?"

"Aha! I got it!" S shouted through the phone. "One of their cars is open. One little push and I can ram it into the place! What do you say?"

"Absolutely not." The last thing you needed was S destroying the restaurant.

"Aww, c'mon." He turned to you in the screen, giving off puppy dog eyes. "What if I just ram the other cars? You don't care about some puny machines? Can I just destroy those?"

"That...would work. Alright. Go for it, just don't hurt anyone."

"Sweet." S rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Time for a little demolition derby." And with that S jumped out of the phone.

You couldn't get a good look from your vantage point or hear the commotion but whatever S was doing out there worked. It caught the attention of the guards almost instantly, all of them running outside to witness S' rally.

You count them off, all but the 2 guards S said were in the back were out of the store. You tell the kids and parents to stay put and bolt out the door. Stepping out now you hear gunfire as well as several loud crashing sounds. A brief look outside showed the cars swerving to hit the guards, taking care not to hit the restaurant.

You draw your gun instinctively and make for the kitchen. The commotion had attracted several of the customers as well, who had gotten up and looked at the entrance. Nobody cared much about you, probably thinking you were one of the hostage-takers.

The circular window on the kitchen door didn't give any indication. Peering in you just saw some white thing blocking it.

As quietly as you could you pull the door back and enter the kitchen. You could just barely see Displo in front of the massive man you were currently behind. You had your gun raised, just in case. He looked to be taking up the hall with how wide he stood.

"I won't ask again." The man said ominously.

He was an absolute monster of a man, shoulders wider than the door, standing taller than you. He wore a snow white tuxedo and had a lion’s mane of silky white hair atop his shoulders. It spilled over his shoulders concealing them. It puffed up, almost like a cloud, as S had said. You couldn't tell what he was, human, alien, anthro.

"And I have said. I am not in possession of this object of which you speak." He spoke with a hard and commanding voice. There was not a shred of doubt in his speech.

The chefs and kitchen workers were still cooking, though with worried expressions. Though not the targets, they were still intimidated by this man’s presence. A few glanced in your direction, seeing you enter.

"Ahem." The monstrous man cleared his throat. "If you want to take that shot you best not miss. Otherwise, I will make sure it's the last shot you ever make."

You flinch your gun slightly. You look at Displo, Could he have seen you in the reflection? Or maybe he just knew from the chef's glances.

"Lower your gun before I make you lower it." You take a step back before lowering it completely.

The business man took a step to the side, looking at you now. He clothes were snow white, sans a black tie, buttons and frosted outline. Looking at him head-on you still were unsure of what he was. His 'lion-mane' completely covered his head, his eyes and mouth at the forefront of it. It was as if a cloud was in a suit. S had the best description so far.

He just looked at you with disdain, at least you think. His eyes were slanted and pure black, looking as if they were one with his eyebrows which twirled as they extended upwards.

"Hmph. I see your dog has arrived." He spat with disgust.

"You will not refer to my companions as dogs. Thank you."

"And you. What of my soldiers?" He asked you.

"They're outside."

Your phone vibrates, you ignore it ready for any sudden movements. It was probably just S returning.

The cloud-man looked back to Displo. "I'll consider this check. But do know this is not over, I hope you understand. I will find it, by hell or high water."

Dislpo said nothing as the cloud-man spoke. The large man turned to you.

"Humph. You reek of eldritch energy. I don't know what kind of operation you are running here Displo but I advise against it. The next visit won't be so friendly." He said, sternly. Though his eyes were obscured you could feel him glare at you.

He gave one last nod to Displo and stepped out, his presence practically forcing you to stand aside.

"And what of my customers then? You can't just barge in and ruin my lunch. I have appearances to maintain." Displo said suddenly. His voice creaked upon speaking, anxiety rippling through. It was as if coil whine gripped his voice.

Without as much as an acknowledgement the man just said. "Forward it to accounting. I will deal with whatever monetary loss you think you may have acquired. Until next time, Displo." He said coldly.

With that the intimidating man left. You watched him to the entrance as he departed, having now to deal with whatever S had done. By the lack of car crashing and gunfire you figure S had stopped.

He walked with his hands behind his back, jet black gloves covering his fists. He walked with upmost authority, not paying any attention to the customers. One of the remaining soldiers opened the door for him.

Returning to Displo he had slumped over, shoulders falling and catching himself on the kitchen countertop. A few chefs were beside him in awe.

"I can't believe you did that, sir."

"How the hell did you stand up to that guy?"

"Wow boss. That was awesome."

They continued showering him in compliments, in awe at his non-wavering attitude. You go up to him, preferring to see if he was okay.

"You alright?"

"I will be. Thank you for getting here. How did you get-Nevermind. Give me a rundown later. I need to go deal with the customers. Can you meet me in the safe room in a few minutes?" Displo sounded out of breath and relieved. He had lost the usual posh inflection he had and was speaking normally.

"Sure thing."

The next chapter will be called The First Team.

Chapter Text

You take your leave, Displo clearing his throat and following behind you. As you reach the dining room you hear Displo make an announcement about all meals being comped and that the kitchen would be bringing the food out as soon as possible. You had to hand it to him, he was a businessman first and forthright. That got you thinking though, who the hell was that earlier? You didn't get a good look at the logo. And what did he want?

All you knew for certain was that they weren't cops.

The saferoom was as it always was, spick and span, clean.

You take a seat at the edge of the table and put your phone up against a bowl sitting up.

The screen lit up. Just as you thought, S was there, sitting amongst the various app icons. He had changed your wallpaper again, now to the ceiling of some church. S sat on one of the archways in the ceiling, looking down at you. He had a malicious grin.

"Good work, S." You began. "What did you do anyways?"

"Oh, I just started smashing up all their cars. They thought it was some guy in the car driving, shot up their own rides, ahahah, shot each other." S was beaming with happiness. He was still bleeding from his eyes and baring his fangs. Though he was happy, it didn't make him look any less demonic.

There was a text from Tabi saying he and the others would be there soon. But just as it appeared, S stood up and kicked off-screen.

"Who was that guy anyways? I watched him through the cameras. Strange guy." S asked as he kicked his feet looking down. He was staring out of the frame somewhere.

"No idea."

"Y'know he could sense me, right? I could feel him looking at me." S said. So that's what he meant by the 'eldritch energy' line,. "Creeped even me out!"

"You didn't find anything in their cars as to who they were?"

"Nope. And their phones were all blocked too. Just looked like random data to me. It was nothing like your computer." S yawned. "You keep them away from me, or it'll get violent."

"Well, whoever they were, I didn't recognize the logo."

"That man. Was Updike, one of the chief presidents of The Greater Good corporation." Displo declared as he entered the room. He sighed as the door closed.

He had his hands behind his back, walking as a butler were. But, as soon as he plopped down in the chair he relaxed, shoulders slumping.

You turn the phone so that S could see Displo.

"You doin' alright?" You ask.

"I am...adequate for now. That was just rather tense for my liking. I have appearances to keep up, and all that."

He had let drop his professional look, even lowering his shoulders so he back wasn’t straight. "Despite his massive attire, he is surprisingly nimble. Even did professional ballet, he told me once."

"He may look like a meathead, but he is one of the most dangerous people I am aware of."

Displo looked at S and you. "Thank you for showing up as you did, and you S for smashing up their cars. You hit a few civilian cars but TGG will be paying for the damages, so I care not."

"Well, any time you need anything destroyed, give me a sh-Huh. Guys, I’ll be right back! I can't miss this!" S said suddenly. You phone vibrated a bunch and knocked over. When you go to pick it up, the screen has gone black. S had disappeared. There was a note on the screen that read "be back soon, I can't miss this new episode." Unsure what that was all about you pocket the phone.

"Is the restaurant going to be alright?" You ask.

"Yes. I'll bill them for all the food and damages. They will pay it. Helps avoid bringing the law into this." While speaking Displo looked directly at you, the patterns in his face flickering a certain way. It almost looked like interest in a strange way.

Displo sighed. "(Y/N), I don't mean to trouble you further, but my back and shoulders tend to lock in during such confrontations. Could you massage them, please?" Displo asked.

"How does that work? Aren't you, like, all metal?" You ask.

"There were some things within me that were made more realistic to assist me in running my business, though I think it to be an excuse for faulty engineering. If you find it too awk-"

"No, no it's fine. Here." You get up to walk to Displo. He gets up as well, moving the chair backwards before sitting backwards on it, hands around the backrest.

Displo did appear slightly hunched, the way he sat. You weren't really a masseuse at all but had a general idea of what to do.

"Thank you, (Y/N)."

Even through the black vest he wore you could see the outline of his shoulders. The back of his head looked like you would have guessed a TV would. There were various buttons and ports, unknown of if any of them would actually do anything. The shirt he wore covered the back of his neck though you could see some wires there.

"You gonna be good for the meeting today?"

"I will. I have big news."

You place your hands on the back of his shoulders. They felt hard, but strangely warm. You had expected it to be colder, with him being a robot. It felt strangely human-like the way it compressed when you pushed down into it.

As you kneaded your hands into Displo's shoulders you encountered a bit of resistance. Unsure if that was intentional or the way he was built you push harder into it.

"T-thank you, (Y/N)." Displo said, stuttering. It looked like it was working. Displo slumped lower, relaxing more in the chair. It was like he was in bliss, the way you were grabbing his shoulders.

To prevent this being any more awkward than it already was you decide to ask about earlier.

"So, what's the deal with TGG?"

"It stands for The Greater G-good. T-they're a paramilitary organization. S-specializing in the 'paranormal'." Displo said. You were fully into the rhythm now, moving closer to his neck, the resistance in his shoulders gone. This was much easier than you thought.

"Officially, t-they're a tech and 'legal solutions' company, but they hide a lot."

"So, they're like you guys then?"

"I-in a way. We'd never do something so stupid as hold an entire restaurant hostage, but I guess you could s-say we're like them. We have similar goals and we-"

"It's just a joke." You move to the top his arms. He offers little in the way of resistance, being practically moulded by you now.

"Y-yes."

"So, what brought them here?"

"They were looking for the set from yesterday. Apparently when it connected to the internet it 'phoned home'. Don't know why they cared about it. The machine is years old."

"Well you better make sure-"

"Yes, yes. Security knows. They wouldn't make a mistake like that. Could you go to my neck? I think that's where the knot is."

"Sure thing." There was a bunch more pushback around his where it met the shoulders. It was much harder than his shoulders. You still had no idea if that was armoured or not but since he hadn't complained yet you figure it was the former. You had to put your elbows into it.

"The man was Updike. One of the leaders of The Greater Good."

"Leaders? And what is he exactly?"

"I am not sure myself. I know he is likely not human or anthro though. There are two others that rule in unison. They are Abott and Sterling. I know nothing about them."

"Any idea what they're opinion on the family is?"

"Ha." Displo said weakly. "If you're considering recruiting him, do not waste your time. It is very unlikely any of my superiors would approve." Displo paused as you pressed harder.

"But to answer your question I presume they hates them. His organization tends not to like those kinds of creatures. They are far more radical than we are. One of them is an angel I believe."

As you brushed the back of his neck you felt a bump, or something protruding from the back. Pushing on it slightly did nothing. You guess it's not a button. Putting more force on it the bump goes right back into place.

"Aaahhh." Displo quivered. He nearly jumped upon the press.

"T-t-that was it. A-aahh." Displo breathed a sigh of relief. The bump smoothed right now.

"That should be good enough. (Y/N). If you ever want a career as a masseuse, I can easily make that happen. After all this is over of course."

"Thanks, Displo." You let up from him. He gets up and re-adjusts the chair.

"So they're a bunch of religious nuts?" You ask.

"I wouldn't say that. I have no idea if Updike is religious." Displo paused. "I believe I owe you an explanation as to what exactly my company does. I know you investigated us, but I doubt even you figured our true goal. Us being a tech company itself is a masquerade. We do have various programs but alas, we have a deeper purpose. IRIS and TGG, we are 'paranormal investigation corporations'. We specialize in cases where police action is not enough. We study unusual and strange creatures and beings. TGG refers to them as 'abominations' but don't use such language. S would be a perfect example of the kinds of beings we go after. What separates us however, is that while we believe in study and mitigate, TGG believes in capture and destroy. Far more dangerous, and in my opinion unethical."

"Do Tabi or Agoti count like that?" You chuckle.

"Tabi is human though his appearance would be suitable to count. Agoti as well. He is not a normal creature."

Displo felt the back of his neck.

"But alas, Agoti is a law-abiding citizen, as is Tabi...sometimes. So long as they abide by the law and do not engage in 'anti-social behaviour' we won't need to intervene. And even then, we tend only to target if absolutely necessary." Displo shifted in his seat.

"They aren't causing mayhem, nor do they have some incomprehensible morality. So we wouldn't investigate them unless personally asked. TGG however, the moment something unusual occurred they would track them down to the ends of the earth. If Tabi or Agoti were to even, go near TGG's headquarters they would have an entire team observing him from afar."

"I see. Better we avoid them then."

"I agree. My superiors consider TGG our rivals in business. There are rumours they have a prison of such 'strange' creatures. That is something even we frown upon."

Thinking back to your days as an officer you recalled seeing something about 'Anti-Nominal Cases'. It was what the computer called it. At the time your commanding officer just said that you'd know what it meant if it ever had to be evoked.

Thinking back, you realize it must have meant calling TGG/IRIS.

"It looks like we still have some time before the rest of the crew arrives. Let me get you something to eat. It will be on me. I shall add it to Updike's tab." Displo said happily.

"Sure."

"Very well. Wait right here. If Tabi and co arrive, text me. I will get something for them as well."

Displo nodded at you and departed.

There was still no sign of Tabi and Agoti, or even S for that matter. You check your phone. On it was the same note from before. You notice one of the apps were running in the background. It was a news app. You click to open.

Displayed in front was some newspiece abut Sonic. S was sitting in front of it, watching it as a kid would watch the TV, leaning back with his hands on the ground supporting him.

You decide not to bother him and put the phone away.

Minutes pass as you were left alone, resuming your reading. But just as you could, S spoke up.

"You should put a Sonic sticker on your card. Here, I'm gonna order some." S said out of nowhere.

"Wha? How would you even know what my car has?"

"I watched you park in your cameras. And I checked other angles when you were out." S grinned.

You silently sigh. What have I unleashed? "I'll think about it." You say, hoping to keep S complacent.

"Oh! Ad breaks over!" And just as quickly as S interrupted your reading he was gone, back to watching the news.

"Just you huh." Someone said. Looking up, it was Tabi and Agoti. They were dressed the same as always, hoodies and jeans. Behind them was a waiter. The rain must have picked up since the tops of their clothes appeared damp. The waiter closed the door as they entered, leaving themselves.

"Hey guys." You stand up to greet them.

"What is with the get up? You're dressed like a soldier." Tabi asked.

"Just a new uniform. Displo got it for me."

"Nice. Hope we get one too. Yo. What's with all the destroyed cars out there? Looks like a tornado hit the place." Agoti said.

"It's a long story. Oh, Displo's making us food, on him. You guys want anything."

"Ehn, I'm good. I just ate." Agoti said.

"You?" You ask Tabi.

He looked away. "I, uh, I'm good." He said quietly, avoiding eye contact. "It's free. Displo's in a good mood." Tabi didn't respond. He looked hungry, so you just take it a yes. You shoot a text to Displo to make him something too. It's not like he was going to pay for it anyways.

Intros out of the way you, Agoti and Tabi take a seat.

"So how did it go with Sonic?"

"Yeah, about that. I don't think we're gonna need Kapi now."

You open your phone to find S. He was nowhere to be found.

"Why is that?" Tabi asked.

"Just hold on." You scroll through your contacts to find S but the cursed contact was gone too. Looking at recent apps you notice the news app you were looking at was gone as well. It was as if he was never in your phone. Had he left? Did you imagine the whole thing? No, that's impossible. You still had the wounds to prove it.

"Huh, never mind. You said Kapi was still good-"

"Woah! Woah! Alright, alright. It's not funny now." S shouted from Tabi's direction. Tabi, dumbfounded, pulled the phone out of his hoodie to see the screen lit up. But as soon as he looked at it the screen darkened.

S had jumped. "Your too slow!" He shouted.

"What about you? Oh, you must be the one they call Agoti!" S said sarcastically, his voice now emitting from Agoti's pocket. "And looking at the contacts, you have this guy listed as 'best friend'. Little weird to put that but whatever."

"What the hell?" Tabi muttered.

Agoti pulled his phone out, only to have the same thing happen. "Almost! You guys gotta be faster." S had jumped again. S jumped to yours which lights up on the table.

You check it but he jumps back to Agoti's as he speaks.

"Wait why can I port into you? You don't look like a robot. Did-you-Did you eat a genesis? The hell is wrong with you!" S said, disgusted as he warped again.

You instinctively check yours next, expecting S to make some snarky comment but the jump never comes.

"AhaAHH, sO cLoSeee, woooah." The TURINGS machine sprang to life, S' voice sounding wonky.

"WoAh, uHHH, AHeM. Wow, this is weird to control." S said, voice wobbling as he got used to it.

Mystified but still curious Agoti and Tabi walk up to see the computer. You followed them, readying an explanation. You would've preferred you introduce him, but it seemed like S didn't much like doing things that way.

"Is it any different from my computer?" You ask.

"Y-yeah. I tried piloting one of rObOTnik's machiNES, same deal. I. I think I got it now. Woaaah."

The monitor flickered on, S present on it. He was looking around, fascinated by the tech. "Man I thought your computer was cool but this! It's like the death egg zone in here!"

Noticing that Tabi and Agoti were looking he quickly struck a pose. Blood was still visibly dripping from his eyes into a puddle below. His yellowed teeth flashed a full grin. You weren't sure if he was trying to appear cool or threatening but he looked terrifying.

Tabi and Agoti just looked at him slack-jawed, then at each other. Then at you.

"This is Sonic, or S as we decided to call him. He is our hacker." You try to put a little enthusiasm into it.

"Thanks, (Y/N). That's me. S. Hahaha!" The screen glitched as he laughed. "That's my name! Don't wear it out!"

Tabi and Agoti give you a confused look. You shrug. "We met in VR, he's uh, very persuasive."

"Wha, you don't like me?" S asked, slightly annoyed from their reactions. You couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

"I see you've two have met S." Displo said, entering the room now. The three of you look back. Displo was holding two plates of food, steam slowly rising from them. He was also holding something under one of the plates.

Carefully he set the plates and the object down. It was a laptop. Next to it were two plates of spaghetti alfredo with shrimp and a small sprinkle of basil. It looked simply divine.

"We have a lot to discuss, all of us." Displo opened the laptop. It was a generic machine. He put it at the corner of the table, facing everyone. "S, if you will."

"Oh, sweet. You got me my own space? Wow, thanks D." With the flash of the TURINGS machine S transferred to the laptop.

Tabi was a little apprehensive about the food you got him, but you insisted, stating that you could tell he was hungry. You noticed quickly that he only ate when nobody was looking in his direction, often quick and pursing his hoodie together. At first you thought he was choking but a flash of smile indicated otherwise. He was just a really private person. You guess. The tugging of his shirt you guessed was either because it was loose or habit.

You asked him if he was okay to which he said he was fine, shamefully. In the end, he devoured the whole plate, quietly thanking Displo.

With everyone seated and satiated, Displo began. He held a remote that controlled TURINGS from afar.

"In order to properly pull this off we need practice. As well, we also need a team." Displo began. A hologram was displayed in the centre of the table that showed the rough outline of the city. S didn't care to watch it through the laptop and instead transferred right into it, walking around as a hologram and inspecting it.

"(Y/N) already knows what pentesting is but have the rest of you heard the term?"

None answered. Tabi and Agoti just shook their heads.

"Well, simply put, it's an exercise in which a group will attempt to break into an organization. A mock heist if you will."

"What are you saying, we're already going to-"

"Please let me finish." Displo said, cutting off Agoti. "The purpose is to simulate a real intrusion and how teams could manage it. Yesterday, I proposed the idea of 'pentesting' my superiors. They loved the proposal, and it will give us good practice for the real thing. Additionally, you will all be paid. We shall be this threat group. In short, we shall conduct a pentest against IRIS."

Displo looked at S. "At least, those that can get paid will."

"Hey, I have stuff I want too!" S said in protest.

"Very well."

"So let me get this straight, we're gonna break into your headquarters and your gonna pay us to do so?" Agoti said, unsure. It sounded almost too good to be true.

"That is correct."

"Huh. Well, damn. I'm game. What about you Tabs?"

"I guess. Depends when. I don't think I can get a day off this week."

"Ah, c'mon, you know I can get Dad to get you a day off. 'Specially since we're getting paid. It's not some scheme."

"Humph. Fine."

"I have a question actually." There was something bugging you about the whole process. Two glaring issues.

"If they know we're coming, won't they be ready? The security teams. And won't they call the cops if things escalate?"

"Only the managers will be aware of this excursion. They will be absent during the event. For the few managers due present that day we have made sure they won't intervene or will all go to lunch at the same time."

Displo flicked a switch on the remote changing it to a closeup of IRIS' headquarters. A skyscraper that looked unreal through the render. S pretended to climb it.

"This will be a test to the teams themselves without manager interference. And as for police, that won't be necessary. We tend to avoid using cops, no offense, (Y/N)."

"None taken. Does that mean your guards are armed then?"

"Rubber bullets. But they wouldn't be so foolish as to actually open fire on IRIS grounds, unless we're armed but that won't be necessary. The intention is to do this without bloodshed on our part."

"So, we gotta be pacifists?" Tabi asked.

"Physical violence will be allowed within reason. It is not a wild thought to assume we won't be villains in our big finale. But again, the point of this is not destruction, but intrusion."

"Hehe, can't wait." S said.

"As such we also won't be carrying weaponry. No guns, knives or magic. A good heist can be done without bloodshed."

"Fine." Tabi muttered.

“So when is this gonna go down?" You ask.

"Barring uncertainties, Wednesday. That shall give us 4 days to plan and practice. We need to prep for it."

Tabi rose a question. "When is this happening?"

"A little before lunch time. I estimate around 9 to 10 AM."

"Why so early? We're not gonna get the Family in the day."

"Well this is merely a test. Plus doing it during the day should be more difficult. It will give us better practice."

"I guess." Tabi grumbled.

"Well, let's get started then. Everyone on board?" You say.

There were no objections.

"Very good, everyone. This will be a fantastic debut." Displo nodded in agreement.

Using the maps, you and the others get planning. Because he would get recognized, Displo was ruled out as entering directly. By providing recon and obtaining the maps his role was considered filled.

You noted that at some point the group would need some serious surveillance, or at least the floor plans of the compound. Note taken, the plan began to formulate.

IRIS consisted of two office skyscrapers, connected via a path on the 10th floor. Each building had their own security team concentrated in the centre floors of the buildings.

All attempts at property damage were ruled out. "This is not a takedown, but a simple break-and-enter." Displo had said. A note made that during the real heist, damaging the place would be allowed.

With Displo out that left you, Tabi, Agoti and S as the 'agents'.

Displo said the immediate goal of this test would be to reach IRIS' inner sanctum, an area off limits to all except specific researchers. The areas network was air gapped and not connected to the internet at all. To S' disappointment this meant he couldn't just jump in and open doors for everyone.

Agoti proposed that someone 'run' S in and once he was in the sanctum get what we needed.

S proposed that he just jump around the network till he find someone entering but Displo shot that down stating that aside from a physical check and device scan before entering that the 'sanctum researchers' weren't known to the general staff, operating almost independent of IRIS. "Very few go in, even fewer go out." He had said.

That both scratched off a possibility and raised one. "If nobody knows who the researchers are, whose to say we couldn't pretend to be one?"

"What? You seen the way I look? I'll get spotted instantly." Tabi said, shooting down your proposal. "And I’m practically famous. There's a chance I could get seen too." Agoti said.

"You look fine, Tabi. If anything, it should help you since the company has all sorts of secrets. They'd probably think you're one of them...But Agoti has a point."

"Pfft. You won't get recognized by a bunch of pencil pushers." Tabi said, snickering at Agoti.

"I guess I could try." You offer.

Tabi shakes his head. "You'd get spotted for being a cop instantly."

"What do you mean?"

"You got that 'cop' energy. They'd spot you. Trust me."

"Wha?" You look to Agoti who nods in agreement.

"Tabi is right." Displo said.

Notwithstanding you grumble, unsure what they meant.

"Are there any other robots around; what if I possessed one?" S offered.

"I happen to know for a fact there won't be. All of the others like me are on assignment. And it would raise too many questions why one of us would return suddenly." Displo said.

"I got it." You place a hand on the table. "I could easily fit in as security there. What if I got in, then let you guys in?" You suggest. Close enough to a cop anyway.

"Hmm. I think that should work. But even then, we need someone to get into the sanctum. Someone inconspicuous."

There was a silence about the room. It was a team of wayward souls and 'abominations'. Nobody was normal. After a minute Agoti finally spoke.

"What about Kapi?"

The next chapter is titled Cats and Hackers.

Chapter Text

You shrug. You knew very little about the guy. "I dunno."

"I guess he could run in S. He's small and agile. Like a cat." Tabi said.

"Woah, hold on, we don't need that nerd." S said, interjecting. He was still on the hologram and he walked right up to Tabi, glaring at him. Tabi paid the monster no mind, not even responding.

"Well?" Agoti asked Displo.

"I have no judgements. I don't know him, but if you say he's trustworthy then I have no objections."

"Hey don't ignore me! You guys don't really know him. He's a grade A jerk!" S protested. He jumped atop one of the hologram buildings, trying to get everyone’s attention. He was half the size of it.

"How can you even know that? I bet you don't even know what he looks like." Tabi snickered.

"Well, he beat my high scores."

Tabi just looked to you, giving a hand motion as to say, 'this guy is an idiot.'

"Okay, fine. I don't know him. But he's like Dr. Eggman. My arch nemesis." S said. "I can't work with him! I'm supposed to destroy him, not join him!" S complained, forgetting his current goals.

"I'm sure Sonic teamed up with Doctor, uh, Egghead at some point." You were making stuff up now. You had only a vague idea of who Eggman was. "Just let him join. You're not gonna have a problem with him joining?" You ask.

"It's EggMAN! C'mon, keep up."

"Point still stands."

"Argh. Fine. But I don't have to like him." S said, annoyed.

You almost made a quip about how 'the real Sonic would make friends' but you had no idea the truth of that.

You look to Agoti. "Alright, bring him in."

"I'll text him." Agoti said, pulling out his phone.

A reply came back almost instantly.

"He's at the arcade. Says he's working on his scores. He'll be here in a hour."

"An hour? That's no good. I'll get him here faster." S complained as he sat on the building.

"I-" Before you could finish your thought S was gone. You shrug to the remaining people. It didn't even make sense why he hated Kapi so much. If anything, Kapi was just supposed to be another victim for S.

"He's quite a handful." Tabi said.

"You could say that again. You sure he's trustworthy?" Agoti said.

"And what exactly is he anyways?"

"He's some sort of creature. I'm not sure myself. But yeah, he's trustworthy. Saved mine and Displo's life earlier today. Tried to kill my yesterday. Lives in technology, if that makes any sense."

"I've observed he has a warped moral compass, but he has been respecting boundaries since his introduction."

"If say so." Tabi said, unsure.

You try to give a condensed version of yesterday's battle with S and Updike's arrival. It only left Tabi with more questions such as why he even showed up. This led to you explaining the whole 'stealing a VR set' which Tabi and Agoti remarked as kind of impressive. "Guess you aren't just a pencil pusher." Tabi joked.

"Anyways, back to the plan. I can disguise as security. I have the uniform." You say motioning to your outfit. "I'll just say I lost my ID. I work for whoever the manager is."

"That would be a man named Blake."

"Yeah, so I'll say I'm new or something and that I need to meet Blake. See if I can get into the surveillance room. Then I guess either some of you guys can get in. I'll leave a door open or something.

"The door would be on the right-side entrance, or the west wing. There is a fire exit at the end of that hallway." The building lit up showing the entrance. It was extremely detailed, even showing a few bags of garbage at the end of the alley. "Being a fire exit it opens one-way and will sound alarms if open."

"I can just disconnect it." You had an idea how they worked; door sensor hooked up to a red alarm box.

Displo shook his head. "No need. The sensor only goes off if open for more than 30 seconds. A fixture implemented to allow employees to leave from it."

"I'll make sure we're quick." Agoti said.

"What exactly do I do when I'm in?" Tabi asked. He seemed more interested now. "I'm not going into the sanctum." That much was clear.

"Well that's the sanctum is just the primary goal. If you could steal anything else that would help."

"I'm not a hacker. I don't know much about computers."

"Well, in a real scenario anything would help. Employee papers, payrolls, printed information. A lot of things are still kept on paper."

"Where do they keep that stashed?"

"Fifth floor. HR Department. I am sure you can find something there."

"Among a bunch of pencil pushers? I'll check manager offices I guess." Tabi said, his enthusiasm fading now.

"Hrm." Agoti said.

"What is it?" You ask.

"Do we just need to get to the sanctum? Like if we're going to simulate a real attack don’t, we need a getaway plan."

"That is correct. An escape is also necessary. Even if some of the team members get captured."

"Alright, I can be the getaway driver. I do sick dri-"

"Actually, I will be the driver. It is about the least I can do without getting in trouble. Though I do think we'll need a dedicated driver eventually." Displo said.

"Ah, well I prefer being out there anyways. Wait, I got it! What if I caused a distraction? Oh yeah, like all flash mob and shot."

"Hmph. You'd like that wouldn't you." Tabi said.

"Man, don't hate me because I'm more famous than you." Agoti shot back.

"You can do it after Tabi and I are in."

With a flash in the hologram, S re-appeared triumphantly. "Alright. He should be here soon!" S decreed.

"What did you do?"

"Oh nothing." S said, clearly lying. He had the most mischievous smile you had seen yet.

Agoti's phone went off. A few texts having come in. Agoti looked at them and his eyes went wide.

A few texts and variations read: "HES DEAD WHEN I GET THERE." All from Kapi.

"What the hell did you do?" Agoti said, surprised.

"Like, I said. Nothing. Hehe."

You look at Agoti. "He's, uh, coming." The digidevil said.

"So what's off limits for my 'flash mob' routine?"

"..."

"Displo?"

"Oh. Apologies. I was just informing the waiter of our new member's potential arrival. Carrying on...No killing, excessive damage, don't torch the place. Just be reasonable in your judgement. This is my home after all."

"Be a delinquent, not a psychopath." Tabi said succinctly. "That's all I needed to hear bro. I'll put them on a chase. Just rubber bullets right? No lethal crap?"

Displo shook his head. "None. We do not practice such violence. I expect the guards to be a little more hands-off with you anyways, being what you are."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You are a digidevil, are you not? A race of beings that are not human, nor are they anthros. You are what the people in my business call, 'unusual'. Some refer to them as 'abominations'."

"His people are one of 'those' companies." Tabi explained. Agoti rose an eyebrow. "Oh, like that? They wouldn't arrest me right?"

Displo shook his head. "We will have ways of identifying who is on the pentest team. Do not worry. I will personally make sure they make now vile moves against you."

"Gotcha. Oh man, this is gonna be even more fun than I thought."

"Your summoning will be an optional task. We shall save it for a last resort if any of us are close to being caught." Displo added. "There's one thing I think we should bring up. This should really only apply to you and Kapi though." Displo spoke, motioning to Tabi. "While (Y/N) has the uniform already and Agoti will be distracting you two need to blend in better. I can secure lab coats-"

"I'll pass. I'm not a scientist." Tabi shook his head. "I'll pretend to be maintenance. I have high-vis stuff I can wear."

"Y'know I always pictured you as one of those guys. It suites you. Real labour-type." Agoti said, condescendingly.

"Shut up you."

"Hm. That is a good idea actually. I agree with it."

"Yeah, when I'm in surveillance, I'll see if I can find any lost and found or extra IDs for you guys. Alright." You declare. "I think we have a plan then." You write the stuff down, Displo interacting with the hologram as you explain.

The team would arrive in a car parked outside the building mid-morning. Displo would act as the getaway driver and reconnaissance. You were to go in first, pretend to be a new security guard and get into the surveillance room. You were given a fake name and alias to use, and would ask for the manager, Blake. As he would be ‘out’ they would station you somewhere until he got back.

S, wanting to be included decided he would come with you and see if he could 'destroy' parts of the network. Displo wasn't against that per se but informed him of one piece of the network was off-limits. He said it "Helps me communicate with management. Please leave it alone.".

Once you had a temporary ID and the place to yourself, you'd let Kapi and Tabi in. S would jump to Kapi's phone. From there you'd see if you could be in charge of surveillance and ignore Kapi and Tabi's movements. Maybe grease some hands or tell the guards you had it. Kapi would start making his way to the sanctum.

Tabi would start making his way to the HR department. It was then that Tabi revealed he could lockpick his way in if need. From there he would find a manager office or anything unusual, break in, snatch it and leave. He was given the pretense of a maintenance worker who had to deal with some sign some forms before he could begin his work. If that failed, he was told to make up some excuse about needing floor plans and stuff for plumbing.

While watching surveillance you could monitor who was close to being discovered. If either Kapi or Tabi were close to being suspected or guards deployed, then Agoti would be sent in.

Agoti would arrive and cause a distraction. He was tight lipped about what he wanted to do but assured you that it would draw all security. He said he'd try his best to escape but didn't think he'd be able to get out.

Displo would be watching the main entrance and keep an eye on the alley in case anyone tried to catch you there. He had his car and could easily make a scene with it if he pleased. Worst-case scenario he would arrive back to IRIS' HQ with a 'dire warning'. This would set off alarms and draw all the intention to him.

Once the distraction was active it would be up to Kapi and Tabi to get their stuff and escape. Once ready the 4 of you would make it to Displo where the 'getaway' would happen. No getaway would actually happen but each of the 4 people touching hands on the car would trigger the conclusion and success of the operation.

Displo mentioned there would be some paperwork to fill out, but he would do it. Displo once again brought up property damage. He said that as long as the nobody actually damaged anything that there wouldn't be any issues. He also added that he forgot to mention security teams nor it's manager would be informed of the event. To their knowledge this was a real intrusion.

The only thing Displo couldn't verify for everyone was that if the team was allowed to harm employees. He advised against it from a legal point. Tabi pressed him on it and Displo relented saying "just follow the Golden Rule. If they attack you, fight back. But again, this isn't a raid. It's a test."

During the planning Kapi arrived, furious that S had beaten his scores and tagged his name as Kapi Sucks. He wanted no more than to kill 'Sonic'.

"(Y/N), this is Kapi." Tabi said, motioning to the person behind them. A short, what you think to be an anthro cat. Via text earlier, Tabi advised you against calling him an anthro so you don't make mention of it. He was the shortest of the 3, appearing to be rather young. You shake his hand.

"Hey, names (Y/N), welcome aboard."

"Yeah, yeah, Kapi, DDR king, champion of most arcades around here. Now, where is that loser Sonic? Where's he hiding?" Kapi asked. He seemed full of energy and anger.

"Right here hairball!" S laughed from the hologram. He stood larger, now the size of the IRIS building, but still very small because of the hologram.

"Hiding behind a hologram? You're a joke. Where's he really hiding!?" Kapi demanded. He seemed unfazed by S' appearance, though likely just a by-product of his rage.

It took a bit of explaining but after a strange meeting where S couldn't help but tease the cat-boy you explained who S was. Then as he listened you explained the Crew, who you and Displo were and the test. Finally, he settled down. While S had been hyperactive, you find Kapi to be just as much. S had transferred into Kapi's phone, trying to rile up the boy.

You threatened to delete S' folders as S threatened to destroy DDR, they all finally listening.

As he listened to the plan he couldn't help but interject, questions naturally arising.

"Will I get a disguise?"

"Yes. I will secure a lab coat for you."

"Can I be the getaway driver?"

Displo shook his head. "I am. You are to run S in."

"Yep! You're stuck with me." S grinned.

"Alright, guess I can do that. You better keep quiet though." Kapi said. S just rolled his eyes at the catboy.

He seemed to not have heard his role and looked a bit taken back when it was explained in greater detail.

"So no breaking stuff, fighting, killing?"

"Nope." Displo said.

"Cool."

"Aren't you supposed to be a hacker?" Tabi asked. "Shouldn't this be easy for you?"

"Hmph. It is. I can hack, it's just, this is, uh, different. S is a better hacker."

"Damn right am I."

You notice Kapi shudder at the suggestion. You weren't sure if anyone else picked up on his be the statement made him uneasy.

After listening to the plan and Displo's explanation he had one final question to ask.

"So what happens if we win?"

"Well, there will be a monetary reward and a lot of people will get in trouble. Big trouble considering this would be our first ever pentest. This is practice for the main event, of which you are aware of I am sure."

Kapi nodded. "The Family." He said quietly.

"Nobody here excluding (Y/N) has any experience doing this."

"Ha, sweet. Aight, I'm in. Let's piss some people off." Kapi said happily.

After the kinks were settled, Displo had something to give everyone. A small red flag. He explained that showing this to any guards would signal your participation in the test and that they wouldn't harm the waver. He called it red-teaming. S was a little disappointed he didn't get one and made one himself. You didn't mind, if anything it just made the whole event more game-like.

"Once your flag is drawn you are out. No fighting back, go with whoever you raised the flag to and keep quiet. Officially you are caught. Doing this will also reveal to your assailant that a test is ongoing. They will know that there is a team operating and will become more vigilant. Do this only when there is no way out."

To further drive home the point Displo added. "I should also mention the reward is progressive. If we all get out safely "

"Well it's a given I'm getting out." S said. "No. If you get trapped in the sanctum are counted out. I am the only one who is a given." Displo said, in a rare show of smugness.

There was only one more thing bothering you. How trustworthy S was. Though there wasn't much at stake he seemed like he was going to betray Kapi at the end. You decided to warn him separately later or bribe him. You texted him as an aside to not pull any funny business with Kapi. This was a test, don't get him caught or anything.

"Whatever. I'm not gonna betray you. Totally. I am bound to you. Don't make me repeat it. You should be glad I even let him join, the mangy-"

"Enough."

S stuck his tongue out at you.

And with that Operation Blindside was formed. It was Displo who christened the name, particularly amused at the reference it hid.

With nothing further to discuss you and the others break for the day. You and the others make a plan to meet up each day leading up to the event to ensure everyone is up to date. S and Kapi decided to go to the arcade together, finally ready to settle their rivalry. Agoti joined too.

Tabi preferred to make his own way, mentioning that he had other things to do and had to reclaim the vest. You decided to tag along. It seemed like he enjoyed the company.

The next chapter will be called Days Leading Up.

Kapi joined the party!

Chapter Text

With the meeting concluded the others had split for the night. Kapi and co to the arcade, Displo to his quarters and you and Tabi alone.

You were driving him around the city. He said earlier he would have to go back to his workplace to get a spare high vis jacket. Said that there was no guarantee he'd have one come the operation day. He asked if you could hold onto it till the operation.

You asked why he couldn't store it at his place, but he just said it was under renovations. He didn't want it damaged by the dust. You didn't think much of it and agreed.

He was originally going to go alone and bring it tomorrow but you insisted to drive him. You did add that if he didn't have somewhere to store it you may as well get it now.

Not to mention that it was a colder night than usual and still raining heavily out. You insisted.

With the destination set on the arborist’s office at you two were off.

"You didn't have to do this you know." Tabi said. He was staring out the window, arm resting on the door. His eyes reflected faintly off the window. He didn't sound bored, just guilty.

"C'mon, it's terrible out here. Can't have you getting sick before the operation."

"Hmph." He said quietly.

"So what do you think of the pentest?" You ask.

"It makes sense. I just don't know how much practice we're gonna get."

"How so?"

Tabi sat upright in the seat, adjusting his back. "I've been to the compound. It won't be as easy as strolling in." He spoke. "Even disguised, they'll recognize us."

"Well, remember, this is half-practice, half-seeing what we need for the team. Much as I'd like to as well, we can't just invade. We need to be discreet."

"I guess." Tabi shrugged. "But I'm not the most stealthy person. Soon as I enter I'm going to stand out. If I don't get thrown out immediately." He said quietly.

In the time you had known him, you found him to be a man of few words. You wanted to say something encouraging but nothing came to. You change the subject.

"Ah, I think you're overthinking it. You think we need anyone for the team right now?"

"No. I'm not sure about this S, though. Are you really sure it's trustworthy? Tabi glanced at your phone, pausing as he spoke. He wanted to make sure that blue blur wasn't listening. It looked like he was really gone.

"He told me he was 'devoted' and 'bound' to me, so I figure. Hasn't done anything bad since. What about Kapi?"

"Hardly know him. I don't know if I trust him fully. He's a friend of her boyfriend."

"Really?"

"Somewhat. I know they used to hang out. Agoti's closer to him but he at least seems trustworthy. He is like a child though, the way he acts. He better behave during the test." Tabi mused.

You took Tabi's musing as an opportunity to learn more about himself. But with each question asked, he either deflected or gave vague answers, quickly returning to his stoic personality. It wasn't going anywhere.

"You definitely like to hold all the cards." You joked.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just an expression. Means you like to keep a lot of things to yourself. This isn't an interrogation you know, I'm just curious."

"Well..I like the colour orange." He said, a bit more meekly than before.

"I'll keep that in mind."

A few more minutes of driving later you pull into the lot where the office was. It was a small green building, several trucks around it in an industrial park. A single light was in the office. It looked as someone was in.

No longer lit was a neon sign above it that read 'Homskiy Forestry Company'.

"Wait here." Tabi said, getting out.

You watch as he goes to the front door, kneels on the ground and does something to it. A second later he opens it and goes inside. Did he just lockpick it?

A few minutes later he emerged carrying the vest, crumpled up.

"Here. Keep it safe." He said. "It's the only one that doesn't smell like cut grass."

"I'll guard it with my life. You want a ride back to your place?"

"Just drive me a bit closer to it...please."

"Sure man, no problem. Hop in."

With a successful pull out of the lot you were off.

"I was thinking about earlier. When you go in you can't hide your face."

"What? Why?"

"You're supposed to be maintenance. You hide yourself and it'll look suspicious."

"So what? I don't have a choice do I? You see the way I look. I’ll get thrown out. And what if someone recognizes me, like the family?"

"IRIS is openly hostile to those people. I seriously doubt any would show up. And even then, mid-day on a Wednesday? C'mon." You made a slow turn.

"Look, you walk in there with confidence, head up, face forward, nobody will question you I swear. Bro, you look badass. Just glare at anyone who stops you. I'll be able to get the IDs so nobody should make a complaint."

"You think so?" He said quieter than before.

"I know so. You've seen the kinds of people in this city. You can use it to your advantage. No different from a scar on the face or appearance change. Just own it."

"I s-see." He said. Though you were more focused on driving you notice him out of the corner of your eye look at you. He was studying your face for any hints of jokes. You were serious.

You turn your head slightly and he quickly turns away, his eyes again reflecting off the glass, flickering slightly.

He directed until you pulled beside an empty park. It was heavily forested but in a busy enough area that it stood out.

"Pull over here."

You do so. Tabi got up. "Thanks. I'll see you on Monday."

"You sure you want to be left off here?"

Tabi shook his head. "I live in there." He said, pointing to the apartment building.

"Alright." You take the vest and put on the passenger seat.

"Have a good night."

"You too." Tabi said quietly. He started walking towards some nearby buildings, crossing the street.

You wave him and drive off.

Tabi walked up to the lobby door and waited till you were out of sight. Once gone he let out a sigh of relief before turning back and disappearing into the park.

His mind was awash with thoughts. Most of all, one kept repeating. "You look badass."

To protect wildlife there were not many streetlights surrounding it. The darkness allowed Tabi to blend it as he snuck in.

Peering around he made sure there weren't any observers or followers. There weren't. And if there were they would have ran already seeing an ominous figure staring at them.

To an outsider all they would have seen was a spectre-like being moving on the ground, two large yellow burning eyes trailing along. Tabi had been spotted once, some late-night joggers noticing him. Not a word was exchanged but they ran away terrified. He recalled them screaming about a goat demon lurking the forest. It made him feel good then, as did your comment now.

Tabi didn't care anymore. If people avoided him, that was good. He threw his bag up, disappearing into the canopy. Satisfied, he climbed the tree, scampering up it faster than a cat would. It was a process he had repeated many times over. Just came as muscle memory.

Having disappeared into the same canopy, he laid down on the huge branch, back against the trunk of the tree. A hole had purposely been cut into the top of the foliage, giving Tabi a view of the night sky. Rather than wasting phone power he instead allowed the Moon and Sun to tell time. And when the sun reached above him, he would know it was time to leave for the early dog-walkers come by.

Just next to his head hung his backpack, held perfectly by some branches. It had been a perfect throw. One had done many times over again.

It had been countless nights Tabi spent up in this tree. It took planning at the start, trying to find a good place to support his back, ensure it was remote enough and that he not be spotted. It had also taken some time to ensure he didn't fall off the tree. But there wasn't anywhere else he could stay. Can't be seen. What if they find me? Repeated in his head time and time again. I'll get them! Then I can rest. So consumed with revenge.

Sol, eventually put his foot down and ordered him to at least spend one night a week at his place. Though Tabi didn't agree or even sanction it, Sol always saw him like a son. In the end Tabi relented and agreed to spend just 1 night a week. He still preferred the tree, away from Sol's prying eyes and questions. Too many questions about "how are you doing" and "you still aren't seeking revenge" and "keep yourself out of trouble", it all annoyed him so.

As thoughts of the day raced around in his mind, Tabi began to drift.

Sleep didn't last long; however, a group of kids had entered the park midnight. They were playing, having a good time and generally being loud. Tabi reached for his knife, ready to start scaring straight. But he recalled what happened last time; police called, he almost got found in his tree and had to spend the night in a smelly alleyway.

He sighed. Tonight was going to be a long night. He pulled his hood tighter over his invisible ears, hoping to at least catch some shuteye.

Flashpoint Arcade.

Three people had entered though only 2 tickets were purchased. A digidevil, a cat-boy (not an anthro though) and a cosmic entity currently living in the cat's phone.

Agoti, Kapi and S.

"Alright. I want a clean match. No cheating from either of you." Agoti said as the trio stepped onto the arcade floor.

"Oh, I won't even need to use a fraction of my powers." S declared from Kapi's phone. Agoti held the phone so S could see around.

"Please, you only got those scores because you cheated." Kapi shot back into the phone. S was on the app screen, arms crossed, glaring at the boy.

"No cheating needed. Your scores weren't even that high." S bragged back.

"Easy you two. What do we start with first?"

"I'll give you first pick." Kapi said.

"Let me think, then...Sonic Championship!"

"Course you would pick the Sonic one." Kapi snickered.

"Sonic Championship is one of the most balanced and advanced fighting games ever made. It was revolutionary for it's time. Why it's one of the best-"

"I get it, I get it. Let's do this." Kapi said, interrupting S' speech.

They found the arcade cabinet. Like most of the machines in Flashpoint, it had been cleaned and preserved properly. The machine was in good condition. Two controllers emerged from the machine. Since they had purchased free play, Kapi swiped his card to begin.

Getting ready, S transferred to the machine and selected Sonic. Kapi selected Honey the Cat.

Agoti stood by and watched, curious to see how it would play out. In a series of draws, temporary victories and losses and different games they had drawn even every single time. The swapped from Sonic Championship to other games, and always the result was the same. A straight draw. Agoti was surprised at the level of effort both were putting in. This clearly meant a lot more to each than he thought.

S, despite being incorporeal was starting to act tired as well, the constant rush taking him out. Kapi was sweating, hyper focusing on the game. They had all lost track of time. At some point Agoti found they had returned to the first game.

Then suddenly, S stopped fighting back. Kapi continued the combo, completely eradicating S' healthbar and concluding the round.

"S? Why'd you stop?" Kapi looked at his phone, S was gone. "S?"

"I gotta go guys." S said, re-appearing in the game.

"Oh, running away?" Kapi said smugly.

"This isn't over catty! Stupid (Y/N), calling me. We'll settle this later."

"Alright, yeah, run away."

S glared at Kapi through the screen. "You'll see. You only won ‘cause I got distracted. Been even this whole night!"

"Humph. Fine. Next time we'll see who's the real best." Kapi said.

"You got that right, catty." S said annoyed. He waved bye to them and vanished from the game.

Once he was sure S was gone, Kapi let out a huge breath of relief.

"Geez. That guy's good. Almost as good as me."

"Yeah, yeah." Agoti said, brushing Kapi off. He held a towel that Kapi had obtained at some point, metaphorically becoming the 'towel-boy' and referee.

Elsewhere in the city you were sitting at your computer, dumbfounded by what you saw.

"There is only 2GB left on C:'s 256SSD. Please remove some files to free up memory."

You check S' folder properties.

"230GB."

"S what did hell did you do?" You shout, still waiting on S to come through the phone.

It was the early morning. Most of the city was still sleeping. For some though, they had been up. And for Agoti he had been up for a few minutes. He had arrived late home last night, and then accidentally ended up waking up early. It was an occurrence where it was too early to wake up, but too late to get any good sleep. He chose to wake, rationalizing he needed a good sleep schedule for the upcoming test.

Mindlessly eating a bowl of cereal he sat at the granite countertop, scrolling through his phone. No milk, he preferred to eat it as is. He wasn't much of a liquids guy.

"Oh, hey Dad." He said, mouth full of cereal, noticing someone emerge from the bathroom.

"You're up early." Agoti's father said, stepping into the room. "Tabi didn't want to stay last night?"

"Nah, ended up going out with a friend somewhere."

Unlike Agoti, his dad was a different kind of being. He had called himself a solarisapien, or a sunwalker as Agoti used to call him when he was younger.

He was 'humanoid’ but made of a shining blue light. Though it was bright in the kitchen from outside, Agoti could see things tint blue as his dad walked by.

Instead of hair his light shape coalesced into a fiery appearance atop his head. It looked as if he was made of a light blue fire itself, though not burning, instead shimmering.

He was wearing a casual black jacket and a white dress shirt under it. Upon his neck was a yellow tie, the dress shirt collar buttoned up as well. Behind a pair of narrow glasses were a pair of calculating eyes, obscured by the glass.

Though he was known as Solazar, Agoti knew him mainly by dad. Tabi knew him as 'Sol'.

He had pants but had a history with them. He wore none now. He claimed that between the cost of getting pants that would work for him and that they were uncomfortable for him that he simply did not require them. There was nothing there for anyone to see, he would always remark to people. The only time Agoti recalled Sol ever willing wearing pants was when he was in school, that he needed to adhere to some standards, resuming his pantless quest once Agoti graduated.

"Ah well. I've heard good things about him from his job. As long as he is improving, I won't complain." Sol said.

He opened the and pulled out a carton of orange juice, drinking straight from the tap. He was careful not to have the carton contact his skin, less he singe it again. He didn't need the juice but preferred the taste. It changed the colour of his flames to orange briefly, trailing as the juice went down.

"Ma's out?" Agoti asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid she was held up last night with your brother. They both should be home later today."

Satisfied with the drink, Sol put it away and picked up the large bag of catfood, opening and pouring it into a series of metal bowls on the ground. The sound of pouring attracted a few cats which steadily entered the kitchen. A silvery white cat came first, purring as it saw the food.

"Good morning, Snowflake." He said casually. He pets it slowly. Though he had a fiery appearance he was able to control the temperature at will, allowing him to be gentle when he wanted to.

Agoti was still finishing his cereal. He had meant to ask last night but he had come home too late. Sol, as if sensing the impending question instead asked first.

"So what is your plan this week?" Sol got up from petting the cat.

"Well I'm gonna head to the studio, record some stuff today and tomorrow, probably meet with Tab later tonight. And, uh, Wednesday I'm doing a pentest. Y'know what that is?"

"Of course I do, it's a common thing in the security industry. How did you get involved in that?" Sol said, surprised. More interested now, Sol pulled up a chair and took at a seat at the other end of the island, across from Agoti.

"Well, Tabi and his friends were organizing it. We're gonna get paid for it."

Realizing he probably shouldn’t have led with Tabi; he could only watch as Sol's eyes narrowed.

"It's legit I swear."

"Are you sure about that?" In Sol's mind he immediately figured Tabi + Pentest = 'we're actually going to break and steal stuff' or 'burn the place down' or 'set off bombs in it'.

"Y-yeah. Well, we have a rep for the company. He's organizing the whole thing. Tabi's just part of it. His cop friend too."

"Ah, yes, (Y/N). I am aware of their existence."

"You know 'em?"

"Tabi had me look into them. But I digress. What is this company anyways?"

"It's called IRIS."

A look of concern flashed across Sol's face. Agoti was starting to realize he maybe shouldn't have said anything, a guilty look appearing on his face. He cursed himself silently.

"IRIS." He said strangely. "Hm. That was not who I was expecting. Is there any paperwork for this 'test'?"

"Uh, the rep, Displo said he'd take care of it. There something wrong?"

Solazar stood up, his expression changing to a more cheerful look. "Not currently. I should be going though. We can discuss this further later."

"Oh, uh. You think you could get Tabi the day off?"

"That won't be an issue. He's already texted me something along those lines. That I know it's not just another pointless revenge plot I will get it done. He will get the day off."

"Where you off to today anyways?" Agoti asked.

"I have some contracts to sign, bills to file and such. Lots of paperwork, the usual."

It was about an hour before opening. You had arrived earlier, dressed in the tactical suit. Though you'd only been wearing it a few days you had grown to like it. You found customers were less likely to pull stuff, seeing you at the entrance. You had the desk turned this time, facing into the restaurant. A new employee had arrived and Displo was giving introductions.

He had given the same welcoming to you when you officially started, introducing you to the employees. Despite having worked a few days now you still barely knew anyone’s name. You didn't mind. You rarely had to work with them anyways.

Despite your distance from the other employees, Displo felt it appropriate if you at least paid attention.

"I would like you all to meet our newest waiter, Tess."

"Hi everyone!"

A collective hello back was emitted.

"Some of you may recognize her as the proprietor of own diner. Those of you that do will also likely know why she's here. See, a few days back, the diner burned to the ground under various circumstances. Investigations are still ongoing, but regardless she will be here for a few weeks until things can be normalized for her."

"Yes. Thank you all for having me." Tess said meekly.

"Well, that's about it for announcements. Restaurant opens in T-minus 56 minutes. Let's make this a good day."

Your first note was that she wasn't human or anthro. She was a robot, or an android, like Displo. You still didn't know exactly what he was but whatever it was, Tess was similar.

She was shorter than Displo but definitely more human-looking. Everything she wore from the metallic-looking dress to the two large ponytails atop her head were various shades of bright green. Her head was normal, unlike Displo’s 'TV-head'.

She had two large green eyes which matched the rest of her attire, various shades of bright green. She wore a large pair of thick glasses; the glass having been tinted green. You wondered why she wore them if she was a robot.

Her eyes could've just been adjusted, right? Either way you found it suited her appearance. While Displo's head was the only giveaway he was a robot, Tess seemed to be more open about it. Her dress exposed dark green segmented arms, and fingerless gloves she had.

She had a bright orange nametag which displayed her name and a notepad to match, presumably for the orders. Her appearance was unique even among Displo's restaurant and far more suited for a diner. She wore green running shoes, wheels attached to them to double as roller skates. While the restaurant barely had a cohesive theme, she was still unique within it.

Her sudden appearance got you thinking if she was IRIS. You decide to ask Displo about it later. You were also curious as to what exactly went down with her restaurant, figuring you can ask if she needs your help later. That she apparently had a diner that 'burned down' added to her mystique. You guess if she was IRIS her opinions on the Family were identical.

For now the restaurant was quiet and you wanted to get some reading done.

Shortly after the place opened for the day you notice one of the first customers. Well, not so much notice as are nearly blinded by. It was as if a being a pure light and fire wearing a suit entered.

Blinking again, there was two of them. One a light blue flame, the other a darker shade. You hadn't even said anything when the lighter blue one glares at you from behind sunglasses.

It didn't set a good feeling in your stomach, but they sat down and had their order taken. They were legitimate customers. You keep an eye on them just in case. After Updike's sudden appearance yesterday it put you on edge too.

You just give them a knowing nod and continue on your book.

First shift of the day! Tess thought happily. She did a once-over. Notepad, check. Pen, check. Wheels were oiled and dress was in pristine condition. She was ready to take orders.

It didn't take long for her to get assigned a section of the restaurant. The 'Bar-wing'. Near the bar but still close to the windows and front. It was the section that the security guard was stationed near. It made her feel safer but did little to stop the butterflies in her stomach. Though Displo assured her that customers would not find her style clashing she couldn't help but feel he was only saying it to make her feel better. Displo's was a high-end gastropub! The clientele had to be way higher class than he diner.

It only took a few minutes after opening that a strange couple entered. They looked to be made of pure light. She set them at a table. They were completely different from the clientele she had back at the diner. Even the way they spoke gave off an aura of 'upper-classmen'.

"Hi! My name's Tess and I'll be the waiter this noon. Can I start you off with any drinks?"

"I'll have an orange juice." The light person in the suit said. He spoke clearly and professionally.

"Nothing for me. Maybe later." The other light person said. She spoke similar, a deep voice echoing from within. She wore a dress.

"Certainly. I'll be right back!" Tess said.

For the next half-hour Tess managed the tables. She had learned the light people’s names were Solazar and Amora. During their stay they happened to make eye contact with the security guard a few times. She just figured they knew each other or something. It put her on edge too, worrying that one of them would try to pull something.

Solazar and Amora spoke quietly to themselves, stopping whenever Tess got near them. Upon giving them their salads, Solazar stopped her.

"I would like to speak with your manager. I assure this has nothing to do with you."

"Can I ask why?" It had to be that security guard. She thought.

"No. You may not." Sol's expression turned deadpan and serious, as did Amora's.

"W-well, okay. I'll be back with him." Unsure if it was the security guard or not or something she skated away, hurriedly.

Displo was in the back assisting the chefs. She explained what had happened. Unsure himself, Displo told Tess to not worry and to keep waiting the other tables. She nodded. "Tell them I will be out momentarily." He spoke. He as was unsure as her. Tess mentioned her theory about the security guard, but Displo waved her off, stating it was impossible they had a problem with the guard.

With Tess gone, Displo stepped outside. He looked at the couple, answers to various questions already forming in his head.

"Is there a problem here?" Displo said to Solazar and Amara.

"Possibly. Are you the owner of this restaurant?" Sol asked. From the sunshine outside, rays reflected on his glasses.

"I am."

"I would like to speak with you about your superiors."

"I'm sorry? I am the owner and founder of this establishment. I am Displo, if that was not clear."

"I'd like to talk to you about your plans on Wednesday. I understand my son is going to be engaged in it."

Displo took a step back. It was unexpected.

"Certainly. If you'll come with me." Displo led the two solarisapiens to the back.

You were watching the scene uneasily. Probably another leader of a shadowy organization. You think. You consider calling S out but decide not to. It could have been just a simple misunderstanding.

You shoot Displo a text asking if everything was alright, and he replied back to not worry.

A few minutes later, they emerge from the back, Displo following. They go past their table and out the door, placing a few bills on the table as they leave.

Displo follows them on the way out, seeing them off.

Once they were out of earshot, you decide to ask.

"What was that all about? They kept staring at me."

"That, my friend, was Solazar Andromeda and Amora Andromeda. Solazar is the CEO and president of Entity Records."

"Uh-huh."

"The same Entity records, our friend with the red hoodie is signed to. And the same one that is known to Solazar as son."

Unsure of why Displo was being cryptic you still understood.

"That was Agoti's father?"

"Yes, it was. He just wanted to make sure that everything was in order. Concerned parents as I understand it."

"I don't see the resemblance. He, uh, want to join?" Now knowing he wasn't a threat your mind instantly wandered to having him join the crew.

"He has a special distain for the family if Agoti's story is anything to for but no. I didn't tell him about the heist. Agoti didn't appear to inform him either. Anyways, he will be observing Wednesday's operation. Has even agreed to put up some money for it."

"That's good."

"Indeed."

Displo nodded and returned back to the kitchen. However, before he could, he was stopped again. This time by Tess.

"What was that about?"

"Just a case of mistaken identity. Nothing serious." Displo said.

"I see." It had to have been that security guard. She was sure of it.

The next chapter will be called Operation Blindside.