ask-secretagentsquad
Now What?
It's just me, now- Trevor. Should I stop him, or...?
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I know that you mentioned just bucking up but it's weird seeing Green able to take such charge. I know you don't know much of what Orion is thinking, but any hunches? It's odd to see
"Well-.. It is odd to see, you're right!" He almost dropped the thought, but now that it's been pointed out by someone else, he's riled up again. "This guy just falls out of the sky one minute and he's wandering around our base the next, still a stranger, and Orion just doesn't seem to care!"
"I don't know what he sees in the guy that I don't- Orion's more distrusting than I've ever been, so..."
"... You know, maybe it just has to do with Green being- Well, just the way he is. He's nice. And he cares about our wellbeing. Maybe Orion did what he did because he's- I don't know, trying to save him, too, like he is us? That would make sense... He fights the world because he doesn't believe kindness exists. I think, when Green showed him that it did, Orion thought of him as a rare outlier. You know- because kindness is something to be saved from the endgame."
"As for why he actually listens to the guy, I don't know. They both seem to be equally as stubborn, so I don't know why Orion would be the one to cave first... Maybe respect? But I doubt it."
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What do you think Orion will do upon finding out who the conflict’s coming from? I know it’s kind of a scramble to get things cleaned up right now but I can’t help but be a littler concerned considering how he approached Aiden earlier
“He’s a little bit… Unpredictable. I don’t know what he’ll do. I don’t think he’ll hurt Aiden- But only because I saw Green tail after him when he left for the infirmary. I don’t get it, I’ve never seen Orion get bossed around before, but for some reason, Green’s really good at it.”
“What’s his deal, anyway?”
“… It doesn’t matter, he’s here, so I should probably just buck up and get used to it. He’s done a lot of good, while being here, so.. I’ll cut him a break.”
“As for Aiden- I don’t know, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with Orion. Technically, he doesn’t have to- But Aiden is probably going to be heading over to PAMA with Ranger. Orion can’t do much to him while he’s on the Ender Dragon, so… He should be fine. If Ranger makes it in time.”
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"So... Now that I have everyone's attention; What should I do now?"
"It's just me, now, and- I guess our questions were answered, so... Do you have any questions just for me?"
"I could also always drop the hold we have over your signal... Let you go on back to the agents and everything, but I don't know if that's a good idea just yet. Maybe I'll keep you around for just a little bit longer. We haven't talked one on- Well, however many of you there are- In a while, right?"
[Trevor is available for questions]
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Gil.
Your voice cuts through the end of Ranger and Trevor's conversation, startling both of them, before Ranger could leave the room.
"Gil...?" Trevor questioned. Ranger stayed silent, thinking... Thinking..
"JESUS CHRIST! GIL!" The sudden outburst from Ranger's end startled Trevor so badly that he nearly fell forward onto the bed. "I can't believe I hadn't thought of that before! Fuck!"
"Gil? Who's Gil? What does that mean?" Trevor asked quickly, urgency pushing his words out faster. Ranger dug through his duffle, tugging his laptop out and throwing it open.
"Gil- That's the name of one of the to-be Hacked- The one that fucking got away. God- He must've been injected with the same serum branch as Aiden was, but he wasn't chipped, so his consciousness is in the system but not under any control whatsoever- He's latched onto Aiden's accidentally, so it had some place to settle- This is fucking ridiculous."
"I- I didn't know that PAMA could do that-"
"It shouldn't be able to! A soldier like that is supposed to remain- On ice, dormant, whatever word you want to use. This was never factored in as a potential problem with the system- Probably because no one is supposed to escape to begin with."
"So what does that mean- for us?"
"If he figured out how to meld completely and see through Aiden's eyes, which... I can assume he has, from this sort of infection and double consciousness-" Ranger breathes out a deep sigh, putting his hands over his face. "He knows everything. I have to tell Orion... And I have to leave, now."
Ranger stuffs his laptop away again, zips up his bag and rushes out of the room, leaving Trevor alone with the radio.
[Ranger is no longer available for questions]
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Let's Talk This Out
The entire aura of the Vault had changed in mere minutes with Lukas’s decision. Lukas wasn’t exaggerating with his actions, he was entirely certain in what he was doing. What was once silent with grief had been rejuvenated with a call to action; and a rather large call to action, at that.
The Terminal.
Romeo’s personal submarine. A sub so big that it shouldn’t even be considered personal, and loaded nose to tail in steel armor four inches thick and half of the weaponry in the Vault. It wasn’t every day the agents would resort to diving in a submarine the equivalent of an underwater tank, nor was it every day the Colossuses would receive the order to prepare such a thing, especially once the only man able to give that order had been removed from that power. However, with the Witherstorm on the move and their plan so allegedly close to success, time was of the essence and options were… limited. Any lead was of first priority, and the Witherstorm was, unfortunately, under water. The sub was the only option.
Wally, the head Colossus, was who Lukas went to first; Lukas caught him in the hallway just outside of the infirmary, by total coincidence. Obviously, the agents had no real experience with piloting a submarine. This wasn’t supposed to be their job, rather instead a job for a genuine military force. Yet, with no military support and nothing but Romeo’s arsenal at their hands, they were in way too deep to turn back now. Wally was a close friend to Romeo, and his son, Conner, was like a nephew to him. The two were still struggling with Romeo’s absence, and of course, the idea of leaving Conner to fend for himself in the Vault for days on end wasn’t on Wally’s bucket list… It took a good amount of coercing from Lukas, and the promise that someone would remain behind to watch over him while they were gone, but in the end, whether it be through a need for vengeance or the good of his own heart, he agreed to accompany them.
Jesse finally caught up to Lukas just outside of Wally’s dorm. Wally was nowhere to be seen, perhaps already having hurried off to prepare. The urgency in Jesse’s steps alerted Lukas to his presence before he could even say his name,
“Jesse-” He turned to acknowledge him, “Is something wrong? Is Gil alright?”
Jesse took a moment to catch his breath; the Vault was always larger than he anticipated.
“No,” he panted, “Lukas, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Surprisingly, instead of judgment, Lukas’s eyebrows shifted up in genuine concern, and he unfolded his arms simply to put one of his hands to Jesse’s shoulder.
“What’s the matter?” He asked, straight to the point.
“We should be focusing on Gil. Running off in a submarine like that isn’t the right call. Whatever’s going on with his head is killing him- He’s sick. We should be trying to figure out how to help him not be, instead of blasting off under water to fight an enemy that we still know nothing about.”
Lukas, thoroughly surprised again, considered this. Suddenly, with the clear tone of Jesse’s voice, he recognized just how hasty he’d been.
“You’re right,” he sighed. “Gil should be a priority- I’m sorry, Jess. I know I lost my head a bit.”
“A bit?”
“A bit more than I anticipated-” He waved the notion away. “But at the same time, if we know the Witherstorm is up to something, we should be trying with all our might to figure out what it is… Remember the notebook? For all we know-”
“Yeah, the fate of the world and everything is on our shoulders.” Jesse huffed out a sigh of his own. What a predicament, indeed.
For a moment, silence hung over the both of them, as teal alert sirens blared softly overhead. They both knew the situation, and they both knew- They were both right.
“... Jesse-” Lukas broke the silence first, already sounding apologetic.
“I know, the whole thing’s already been set in motion.. It would be stupid to stop it now with the Collosuses already on the move, so, I won’t make you-”
“Well, yes- But don’t go getting all puppy-eye on me,” Lukas’s voice tipped a little into silliness, just for a split second. “We’ll figure this out. If someone needs to stay behind, we’ll sort it out. Maybe we’ll split up- The sub will have Wally on board, along with any other crew they need-”
“What? No! We’re not splitting up,” Jesse refutes with a shake of the head and a crossed wave of his hands, telling just how violently disagreed with that. “Are you completely out of your mind? No, splitting up right now would be a classic picture book cliche fuck up.”
“This isn’t a horror movie, Jess.”
“And I’m still right!”
“Okay, how about this-” Lukas didn’t feel like getting Jesse riled up, so he simply chose a different approach. “We’ll gather the rest of the group, get everyone’s input, and we won’t move forward with anything until we figure something out- I’ll have Wally put the Terminal on standby. Ready to go, whenever we decide to.”
“... Alright. Alright, that’s okay. If everyone’s agreed- Alright. I’ll go get them.”
“Alright.. I’ll go find Wally.” He gave his partner a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’ll invite him, too, and let him know what’s up.”
“Okay.” Jesse, by habit alone, returned the pat by putting his hand up to meet Lukas’s. “Lukas- Settle down a little bit. Don’t go and jump the gun again, okay? We’ve gotta talk about these things-”
“I hear you.” Lukas punctuated his comforting assurance with a smile, which worked well to settle Jesse’s nerves; he couldn’t help but return it. “Alright, go get the gang. I’ll meet up with you all with Wally in tow.”
“Control. Meet at Control. Radar and Petra should already be there, if you get there before the rest of us.”
“Gotcha. Nonetheless, hurry.”
Jesse nodded, and finally they parted again, each hurrying off down in their respective directions. Lukas to retrieve Wally from the docking bay, and Jesse to head back to Gil.
—
“I can’t deal with this radio anymore.”
Ranger tossed his tablet onto his bed, urgently hopping off of the bouncy surface and rushing to the black duffle bag waiting by the door. Trevor looked from the tablet quickly up to Ranger, suddenly more tense than he was before. He knew that the time was coming for Ranger to leave, but he was purposely not processing the emotion of the entire idea.
Until now.
“Wait- Wait, Ranger, do you have to go now?” He asked, desperation leaking through his tone. “None of our questions were answered- a- and it’s not that late-”
“Trevor, if we want any hope in saving at least the life of the soldier-”
“Aiden.”
“Aiden, I know- But you know what Leader says-”
“I know what he says. Names are a trap. To become acquainted is to gain a weakness.” Trevor sounded disgusted with the words. “I wonder if that’s why we can’t even say our names. Or maybe that’s why calling him Orion makes you flinch.”
“Trevor-”
“Go ahead, Rigel. Say my name.”
Trevor crossed his arms, tapping impatiently with his index finger, and Ranger hesitated… It’d been so long. He felt bad, awful even, for hesitating. His brother was his brother, there was no reason he should’ve considered being detached from him, and yet still it felt almost wrong to say his name, to think his name .
With that realization, something changed.
“... Tau.” He finally managed to whisper. He had to clear his throat to get a better grip on his voice. “Tau. Tau, you’re right- I’m sorry, I’m sorry- God, what’s wrong with me?”
Trevor, ‘Tau’, raised his eyebrows faintly in surprise at Ranger’s sudden change in demeanor from stoic to crumbling, and his expression softened almost instantly. He uncrossed his arms, still holding them in a lifted stance, and Ranger saw that as his opportunity; he grabbed Trevor up in a hug, tugging him close and pressing his face into his shoulder. Trevor didn’t startle.
“I’m sorry- I’m leaving tonight and I could barely even say your name…”
Gently, Trevor moved his hands to his brother’s back, returning the hug and patting him softly in attempt to calm the nerves that he set off,
“No, it’s okay… It’s been years. I’ve almost forgotten it myself sometimes- Calm down, bro, I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just-”
“It’s anxiety, right?”
Trevor only nodded.
“Yeah, me too…”
“I know it’s been making me.. Irritable.”
“Irritable!” Ranger gasped out a laugh, pulling off of him to give him a highly quirked eyebrow, “That’s a word for it, sure!”
Trevor couldn’t help but let out a sheepish chuckle of his own.
“Yeah, I guess… In my defense, Orion has been-”
“A disaster!”
“Yeah! What with all of this stuff with Green and the plan coming to a close and him just-”
“Not resting at all.”
“That. I’ve tried to tell him, but the only one he listens to is Green! And that’s only when Green drags him somewhere.”
“God, that Green. Every time he snaps back at L- Orion- I think he’s going to die, like he’s just gonna-”
“Shoot him between the eyes?”
“Exactly. But for some reason, he’s still alive! I don’t get it! He’s a total stranger, and Orion is just-”
“Entrusting him with both our and his own life. It’s so fucking strange. I mean, in his defense, he did save my life… Twice.”
“Yeah, but he’s just so- Uncanny! He looks exactly like the Lukas agent we’re trying to avoid. How is that not brought up?”
“Maybe it has been?”
“Right, because Orion is such a big talker.”
“Who knows… Orion wouldn’t trust someone without a reason, would he?”
“... Maybe if we brought it up with him, he’d listen.”
Trevor looked surprised by the notion.
“Are you insane?”
“He’s not a big talker, but he’s still our brother, Tau!” Ranger jumped right to the defense. “There isn’t anything he’d do that would ever put us in danger- He’s doing what he’s doing to protect us, remember?”
“What, from the planet? He’s going to- He’s going to kill.. So many people, Rigel. What happens after that? We live down here, at the bottom of the radioactive ocean forever?”
“I know it’s not- Ideal.. But if we can’t talk to him, then what else are we going to do?”
“... Alright, we should at least try. We can worry about that after you get back from PAMA. For now- Just be safe- This conversation’s gone on a bit too long, and Aiden needs your help.”
“Right- So, you’re not gonna pester me about leaving again, are you?”
“Not right now,” Trevor smiled, “But you’re gonna have to hurry, before I change my mind.”
Ranger only grinned back, and hoisted his bag up over his shoulder.
“... Hey- Um.. Thanks for talking with me. I know I snapped at you earlier, but- It means a lot.”
“Tsh,” Ranger clicked his tongue, “Don’t worry about it. Feeling better, now?”
“Much.”
“Good, then I did my job.”
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How’s Aiden doing now? I know Orion hauled him off to the infirmary but
"He's... Alive. That's about all he's got going for him." Ranger sounds solemn. "This whole mixed consciousness thing- It's not only dangerous for us, it's just a generally really bad mixture all around. PAMA isn't designed to work like that, and the stress of a single brain trying to hold onto two consciousnesses at the same time-"
"His brain will quite literally melt away. If we don't fix this, he has less than 72 hours left to live. Whether Leader kills him himself, or his brain disintegrates, he won't make it three more days. It’s the same for whoever’s connected to him.”
"Either way, I've gotta get to PAMA soon..."
"I know you were set to leave tomorrow, but-"
"I'm leaving tonight, yeah. I'll fix it. I'm already packed."
"Will you be able to make it all the way there in time?..."
"... It takes almost a week at normal speed. At top speed... Maybe. I'll have to. I'll make it work."
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🧍♂️ zamn okay
“Look, I know we’re tense- We seem really off and it’s kind of nerve-wracking and everything, but we need to know!” Ranger sounds like he’s pleading.
“If we don’t, and Ranger can’t figure this out at the base- Or worse, if Ranger can’t make it to the base because the whole mission was compromised- Leader is just going to kill our top soldier to cut off any leaks.”
“Believe it or not, we don’t want that to happen. The way Green and Leader were glaring-“
“It was unsettling.”
“It was mortifying!”
“… We’re worried about a rift, and we’re worried about a leak, and we’re worried about a sabotage. It’s a lot of hurt to think about… We could- We could solve all of that if we knew! Do the agents know anything and- If so- What?”
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Is the Onion boy around? Hear he’s a real favorite 💚💚💚
“Onion boy? Is that-“
“I don’t want to talk about Leader right now,” Trevor just sounds more annoyed. “He’s being- Stupid.”
“You’re talking about him anyway, Trev.”
“I don’t get it! All our lives and- I don’t know. Normally I wouldn’t even flinch when he pulls a trigger… But when Green stopped him-“
“You were relieved?”
“I was relieved… I don’t think what we’re doing is right anymore, Ranger.”
“I think you’ve had too much exposure to Green- But.. I think I agree. I felt the same way. I didn’t want to see Leader take another life.”
“And did you see his face?… When Green stopped him?”
“Yeah… I think he understood. He tried to hide it, but he has no idea how much his eyes say when he doesn’t want them to.”
“… God damn it.” Trevor’s voice sounds muffled, as though he’d put his face in his hands. “He’s not going to stop, though, is he?”
“No, he’s not…”
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YOOOO HEY GUYS
“… Hi.”
No matter how much Trevor tries to drop his tone, he can’t seem to. He’s upset and grumbling.
“Hi, good to see you again and whatnot. We’ve got a problem,” Ranger pops in. “I don’t even feel like making a joke about it, this time… Things are getting a little too intense.”
“…”
“Trevor! That face! Also watch the radio, you might shatter it with that grip-“
“I want to know what the hell is going on.”
“Here, give it to me-“
“No!” The radio is jerked away from Ranger. “Someone needs to make this start making sense!”
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The radio fritzes out, the sounds of the Vault replaced with static and white noise. The noise is punctuated by a broken whine, and finally, it clears.
“Hello, everyone! Long time no see.”
It’s the voice of Ranger.
“I’m here with Trevor. So, we just got a very concerning idea, and we want to make sure that’s not what’s really happening! Can we count on you all to answer our questions, and stay far far away from our enemies, right here in our little system where you’re safe?”
Trevor interrupts his cooing,
“PAMA is malfunctioning, and there's someone else in one of our soldiers’ heads.” There’s an impatient smack against the table. “Which one of them is it? Which agent? And how much do they know?!”
“Easy bro, come on, they won’t want to tell us anything when you put on that tone-“
[The Agents are no longer available for questions]
[Ranger and Trevor are available for questions]
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Visions of Silver Halls
“Alright, guys, that’s enough-” Lukas waved everyone down from their side conversations, focusing instead on the initial primary objective, “Gil, you’ve gotta wake up.”
Lukas, of course, was the first by his side, shaking his old friend by the shoulder with only a light urgency. He didn’t want to jostle him too badly, but time wasn’t something they had much of, anymore. Gil wasn’t responding much, only groaning faintly with the shakes. It was a gamble- Trying to wake him up without startling him in some way was going to be like playing Operation blindfolded, and it’ll only get harder with the amount of force that’s being used.
“Maybe we could stick beef jerky under his nose,” Axel offered up. It’s difficult to tell if he’s just joking, or if it's a genuine suggestion. “It always works for me.”
“Come on, Axel..”
“I’m serious!” Ah, it must’ve been genuine. “It’s strong! You try sleeping through that smell.”
“We don’t have any beef jerky; We’re not at the agency anymore, man,” Jesse shrugged.
“Tickle his eyelashes?” Olivia suggested. “If he doesn’t wake up, his body sure will.”
“Guys-” Lukas started to interrupt and gather the party's thoughts again, but an agitated groan from the bed halted everyone’s suggestions,
“Guys.” Gil, waking before the group could initiate any of their plans, moved his hand from where it rested over the covers to his forehead, rubbing between his eyebrows with his palm. “What’s goin' on?”
“Oh.” Axel and Olivia spoke simultaneously, almost in mild disappointment. Axel continued on in a mumble, under his breath, “Well, that was easy…”
“Gil, it’s good to see you awake-” Lukas jumped quickly on the alert, helping his friend sit up and keeping a gentle support to his back.
“And not screaming, for once,” Jesse added.
“Yes.. How are you feeling?”
While Gil gathered his thoughts, Lukas whispered to Olivia to fetch a glass of water; she nodded and quickly left the room, letting the door shut behind her. Gil hadn’t been awake very long for most of the week- Any time he could, he needed to keep hydrated.
“Like hell…” Gil only replied in a deep grumble. “You all’s talkin’ pulled me out of another- I don’t know.. Nightmare, I guess, but I’m not sure anymore.”
“Yeah, neither am I. Do you remember anything about it?”
“Almost everything, when my head’s not pounding.."
"Good, that's good news… I need you to describe it. In as much detail as you can. What did you see?"
Gil took a moment to think… All of his nightmares became a sort of clash of images over time, combining into a flurry of emotion and color and noise. He tried not to think about all of it, only part of it, the recent parts. He started with what he was just seeing, before being pulled from slumber,
"I… Remember silver. Chrome. Silver walls with- Purple screens and purple stripes. I remember seeing my hands, but they weren't mine. They were darker, dirtier.. Still wrinkled from- From water, maybe. Yet dry, despite it. I held a weapon, a gun; it was silver, I remember…"
Lukas raised his eyebrows a bit, waiting, and slowly beginning to realize how right he may have been.
"Voices. I remember voices. And people. Not many, but they were there. Two voices. Talking about some kind of trip… I remember- PAMA was mentioned, and the U-boat, and.. Something about us. Someone came down the hallway, someone else left. It was easy to hear; these hallways were practically empty. I saw others like me, holding weapons and standing unmoving at posts, but none in this last dream. I think I was somewhere else… And I saw my reflection, once, but- It wasn't really mine, at all. It didn't look anything like me, but- for some reason, I knew him. Brown hair, tan skin, and his eyes- His eyes. How could I have forgotten? PAMA."
Lukas sighed, letting his head dip a bit once Gil made it to the end in mild dread. Gil's voice only fell off as he pressed his palm to the bridge of his nose. Dread was all that hung over the room, for a moment, and why wouldn't it? Their knowledge of PAMA was limited; all they knew was that it invades and controls the minds of its hosts, and sometimes, it didn't need to be turned on to have already invaded. They didn't know where it was located, they didn't know how it worked, or how to rid themselves of it. PAMA was a wildcard, and a wildcard in war is nothing but dangerous, especially if held by the enemy.
"I was right.." Lukas cut through the nervous silence first. "Gil, this could be very bad. You could still be- Somehow connected to PAMA.. But I don't think the Witherstorm knows that you can see it, so we also might have a huge advantage. Otherwise, they would've done something about it, right? I need you to keep remembering. Anything about that conversation; where they're going, when they're leaving, how long, for what purpose? Anything at all, we need to know." Lukas punctuated his conversation with Gil by giving him a pat on the shoulder, and then quickly turned to Jesse. "I'm going to start scrambling the team. Whatever this trip is, it's happening soon, and we need to be ready to move."
"Wh-” Jesse stammered, double-taking over his shoulder as Lukas got up to leave, “What are you planning on doing, exactly?"
"We're intercepting. I'm readying the Terminal. Be ready.”
—
"Well, this could be a problem, putting it as lightly as possible."
Ranger was sitting cross-legged on his bed beside his bags, laptop on his lap. Orion was still helping sort things out while Ranger did a last deep dive into the PAMA system to check for last minute errors. Low and behold, he found one- Quite an anomaly compared to the ones he was used to. This PAMA trip was becoming more and more vital by the second.
Orion glanced up from the dresser to acknowledge him; he’d just finished folding a black turtleneck sweater and tucking it away with the rest of the similarly color-coded clothing. He tilted his head a bit, as if to ask what was wrong.
“Look.” Ranger flipped the laptop around to face Orion, and he shut the dresser drawer and stepped over to examine it. Ranger pointed over the edge of the screen to one of the subject numbers, which looked relatively normal, if not for the red flaring speck in the midst of it. It looked like it was throbbing, inflamed, almost like an infection of some kind. “I thought I saw something like this earlier, but- Now it’s just sticking around.”
Orion watched the red spot, wrinkling his nose a bit in miniscule disgust. The infection was part of P-00-01: the very first agent chipped into the PAMA system. Nine years ago, PAMA was completed; Orion was delicate enough to not waste any human lives on tests… The first soldier connected to the mainframe was a complete success, and had been under since that very day. Every soldier after was equally as successful. Matter of fact, that same soldier was there at that very moment, posted guard outside of the door. Freshly rescued from capture.
“Do you know what it is?” Ranger asked after giving Orion a minute to process.
Orion simply narrowed his eyes.
Just outside of the door, in the hallway, a shout and clatter interrupted the brothers’ ‘conversation.’ Ranger snapped the laptop shut in surprise, while Orion quickly straightened and went instantly to the door. He slid it open, nearly getting his fingers caught in the slot in his hurry, and to the right of the door, the Hacked guard that was stationed there was crumpled to the floor. His weapon was in the middle of the floor, and his hands were occupied, clutching at his skull in what appeared to be anguish.
Orion found himself surprised. There had been occasional fits like this before in Hacked soldiers, but never something so severe as whatever this appeared to be. Such fits were also caused by something foreseeable, like a minor glitch in the system caused by the consciousness of Hacked basically bumping into each other. They would shut down, in a way, but only for a moment…
This soldier was very conscious, very awake, no sign of such a glitch. This was something new.
While Orion looked on in mild horror and Ranger joined him at his side, Trevor was next to join them; he was followed closely by Lukas, who came around the corner in an equal panic. Trevor skid to a stop behind Orion so quickly that he nearly slipped on the slick metal floor, finding himself left as speechless as the leader.
“What happened?” Lukas was the first to speak up, joining the rest of the Witherstorm. “Is everyone-” Finally, his eyes caught up with his brain, and he fell silent at the sight of the soldier on his knees.
Aiden.
He was groaning, and tremors wracked at his body. Lukas had almost gotten used to seeing him around, he’d almost gotten used to seeing how hollow he appeared, those empty expressions and empty eyes– He wasn’t at all prepared to see that emptiness disappear. Not nearly so violently as this, either.
Ranger, still carrying his laptop close to his chest, flung it back open to check the status from before. Now, the red had changed; it’s spread, like the infection it appeared to be before, and Aiden’s subject number was… Broken. Pixels had glitched away from it, like it was fading. A different number was peaking through, one Ranger hadn’t actually seen before. The only number he could make out was a vague ‘6.’ A rogue soldier, a mystery consciousness- This could be bad.
“Leader, look-” He shoved the laptop over to Orion, who finally turned his gaze away from Aiden to examine it. “I think there’s a second consciousness- Somehow, I don’t know how it happened. I think it’s trying to take the front seat. I don’t know how it’s possible- PAMA wasn’t programmed for that, it’s not- His brain can’t take something like that for long.”
Orion didn’t move to answer. Aiden was still crippled, blood from his nose had blotted the floor, his condition only looked to be getting worse. When Orion finally moved, it was to reach down and lift Aiden’s discarded silver firearm from the floor and position it securely in his arms. He wasn’t hesitating. A lift of the weapon and the barrel was pointed directly to Aiden’s skull. Orion pulled the trigger and-
The bullet hit the floor to the left of him, missing Aiden entirely. He didn’t do that- Shocked, Orion turned to face the owner of the hands that had yanked the barrel aside so quickly. He wasn’t necessarily surprised to see Lukas, glowering at him as though he’d just kicked a dog.
“You were just going to kill him? Just like that?” Lukas, understandably, didn’t take too kindly to the situation. Orion narrowed his eyes and quirked an eyebrow at him, before slowly handing the weapon aside to Ranger.
“He could compromise everything,” Orion explained, slowly, putting emphasis on the last word with a more urgent sign. “A liability we cannot have.”
“We don’t have to just kill him,” Lukas argued without hesitation.
Orion’s expression didn’t change much, staying firm, and Lukas’s hardened further in return. Tension hung for a moment in the air, and the twins wilted back a bit from the minor face-off.
“Why prolong this? His brain will melt. Two consciousnesses will kill him.” Orion continued to sign.
“Then let’s try and fix him.” Lukas was urgent, but Orion couldn’t fathom why. It was likely that Lukas must have known him, as he did the Jesse in this world. Perhaps it was jarring. Orion could understand that- Despite everything other than his heart reminding him how illogical that would be.
Hesitation, followed by the leader dropping his gaze to the floor, as though he were thinking. While silence, only pierced by Aiden’s continuous groans, hung heavy over the group for a moment, Trevor was the next to cut through.
“He’s right, Leader.” Orion turned his gaze back up quickly as Trevor stepped closer. “We can fix it- Ranger is going to PAMA tomorrow morning. When he gets there, he can delete the other consciousness from the coding, and that should solve the problem.”
After another short moment of thought, Orion took the weapon from Ranger’s hold once Trevor had finished talking and stepped closer to the crippled soldier. He raised it again, aggression in his stance-
“Orion, wait!” Lukas’s desperate shout was punctuated as he reached out quickly in an attempt to stop him.
But Orion’s fingers didn’t touch the trigger; instead, he gave it a harsh twist, and the butt of the weapon collided with the back of Aiden’s head. There was a harsh crack, and Aiden’s face hit the metal floor. His groans and tremors ceased instantly, leaving him dead unconscious. With a quirked brow, Orion glanced back at his brothers with the same quirked brow; Lukas only stood there, slowly lowering his hand and settling his anxiety. He’d nearly tackled him… Which would have been bad.
Orion tried to appear unbothered by the group's prepared horror, and let the weapon slip from his hands and clatter to the floor.
“It was that, or kill him. Others could be listening.”
With that, Orion reached down, hoisted up the unconscious soldier’s body without much effort, and slung him over his shoulder. He didn’t address them again, only stalking off with Aiden towards the infirmary.
Ranger and Trevor exchanged an equally as concerned glance… Orion was extremely quick on the draw. Of course, that was natural for him, it has been for their whole lives, but for the first time- They weren’t sure they felt entirely settled about it.
—
“Aaagh-!”
For the past ten minutes, Gil had been in a disastrous state, jerking, shouting, gripping at his head. The nosebleed he’d earned from the stress dirtied his white shirt and left dark, heavy stains blotted onto his chest. Both Axel and Jesse were holding him still, keeping him in the bed, trying to wait out the attack- This was the longest it had ever lasted.
And then finally, abruptly, it came to a sudden halt.
Gil fell unconscious in less than a second, like he’d been unwillingly shut down by some outside force. The group took a minute to recuperate, trying to steady their pulses and try and get a read on what just happened.
“There’s never been an attack that long, before…” Olivia started.
“Should we get Lukas? I don’t know if anyone can move, with Gil like this,” Jesse breathed. “He’s really starting to hurt. Look at this bleeding- I don’t know if his brain can handle the pressure.”
“I think that’s a good idea. We already got the information we needed, be it vague or not- We should turn focus to getting him out of it, now, instead of asking more.”
“Right… The minute he tried to dig deeper, we didn’t get anything, and he just got wailed on by some malevolent, incorporeal force. This is a bad idea..”
—
When Aiden woke up, he… Didn’t recognize his surroundings. Whilst he was used to an empty mind-space of void and silence, this time, he awoke on the rough, beige carpet of a dorm. It felt real, but he knew it couldn’t be.
Groggy, he slowly pushed himself up with his palms. A good look around the room brought his attention to just how- well, familiar, it looked. It was small, compact with not much furniture, only a few deep blue cots and a small metal folding table set up in one of the corners of the room. The walls shared the same color as a floor with a grayer, worn haze. There were no windows, no posters, and only one bullet-gray, metal door. The cot he’d woken up beside was the only one undone, like he’d fallen out of bed… Like he’d had some kind of nightmare, like a little kid.
Now that he was starting to come to, he was starting to feel things. Notice things. His skin felt like it was waking up for the first time in a long time, prickly with pins and needles and chilled. Not to mention, his face was warm, and his fingertips were cold- He felt alive, or more like he was beginning to live again, after years of being gone. A heat above his lip caught his attention, and he moved his fingers quickly to his nose; he was startled, disturbed, even, to be met with deep red spots coating their tips and glistening in the faint light as he moved them away. Since when did he bleed? And what was causing it?
His hazy, mystified thoughts were interrupted by a sound that came from the other side of the door; confused groaning and what sounded like the metallic squeal of a door opening in the distance. This mind-space shouldn’t have had more than one room- Not in Aiden’s head.
The idea that Aiden wasn’t alone was even more jarring than the rest of the situation, but, as was his way, he wasted no time before making his way to the door and pushing it open.
…
He doesn’t know what he was expecting, but the sight of another person at the end of the hallway was… Not it. The figure was hunched over, holding a hand to his face. Aiden listened closely, on guard, and could hear the man’s mumbling and a faint tapping of drops of a thick liquid onto the now concrete grounds… Aiden didn’t remember the last time he had to listen closely to anything. He forgot how good he was at it.
When the man noticed Aiden on his end of the hallway, he lifted his head in a sort of surprise. His face was covered by the shadow at the end of the hall, and Aiden couldn’t make out his appearance, or his expression. He squinted and stepped forward; whatever strength he was used to missing, it was making its way back very quickly here.
“Who are you?” He snapped, breaking through the hollow silence of the hallway. “Where are we?”
The mystery man didn’t answer, for a moment. He only scanned the area around him, slowly taking everything in.
“I know this place,” he rasped out, eventually. “These are my old barracks.”
“Your old barracks?”
“Yeah, before.. Before the Witherstorm. Maya stayed here, with me. This was my door.” The man put a hand to the metal entrance to the room he appeared to have come from.
Aiden was surprised, but didn’t let his defense fall.
“These were my barracks, I stayed here.” He gestured to his own door, getting the man’s attention again.
“Wait a minute…” The man stepped closer, and continued to move closer than Aiden would have liked.
“Back off,” he growled, putting a hand up defensively.
“Hang on… I’ve seen you before.”
Aiden blinked, surprised, and thoroughly creeped out. He didn’t lower his hand, but didn’t bother looking for a way out. If he needed to, he’d fight his way out. Tentatively, he finally continued,
“How?”
“In a reflection. And in these barracks. Your squad was mine, too. Maya, Magnus, Gabriel-”
“Ellegaard, Soren..” Aiden finished, his voice growing more gentle as he recalled the names. “The Order. And you-” The other man finally came into visible light. His face was streaked with blood from the nose, much like his own, and his face- Familiar, as he was starting to expect. It took him a moment to settle, but the appearance couldn’t be argued with. “Gil… I know you, but- How? How are you here? I’ve been gone for so long, I shouldn’t be-”
“I don’t know,” Gil interrupted, sounding equally as confused, and equally as worried. “I think I’m connected to PAMA, somehow, but not fully there,” he tried to find a way to explain, but even saying it out loud started to befuddle him even more. He wiped at his nose, but the blood was quickly replaced by more… The stress on their brains must’ve been awful, but it was necessary.
“You’re in my head..” Aiden lowered his gaze. No wonder they were here. Gil’s memory must be still intact, so they found a common ground.
“I think so.” Gil nodded.
“And so- Where does that leave us?”
“In a lot of danger, if this is anything to go by,” his old friend gruffed and lifted his wrist, displaying the blood that coated it. “But… I can assume you know things about PAMA, and about the Witherstorm, right?”
Aiden winced, and dipped his head, almost in hidden shame.
“Yes. I’ve seen everything from these past years… I know.”
“I’m with a group that can help. They’re trying to stop the Witherstorm, but they’re too elusive to get any intel on in this radioactive hell triangle- And I don’t think it’ll take them very long to figure out what’s going on and get rid of me. This could be our only way in. This accident- Maybe it wasn’t such an accident after all. We can win.”
Aiden’s gaze reached Gil’s, widened, with more life in them then he ever expected there to be; the idea of freedom, the idea of bringing down these terrorists, these monsters- They imbued him with a determination to finish this, once and for all. Forever. For good.
“What do you need to know? And how can I help?”
#mcsm au#secret agent squad#sa aiden#sa gil#sa orion#sa ranger#sa trevor#R!Lukas#sa jesse#sa olivia#story#writing#witherstorm#sa axel
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Where should we start once Gil wakes up?
“I can’t stop thinking about what he was saying earlier, during the last attack…” Lukas leaned over Jesse’s shoulder so he could speak better to the radio. “About what he was seeing, and.. Well, how he said it was real. I’m going to try and see what he remembers… It might be able to give us information about the Witherstorm- If- I’m right.”
“How’d you think that?” Jesse spoke up; he missed the minor conversation Olivia and Lukas had in the hallway.
“Think about what he escaped from, and what it’s purpose was.”
“… PAMA? The Witherstorm’s- Hack system? Mind control?”
“PAMA, yes. I think he’s still connected.. But I need more information before I can just assume I’m right.”
“If you’re right… That could be dangerous- For everyone here.”
“If I’m right, we might have an inside look at the Witherstorm right at our fingertips.. and we might be able to find out where PAMA is housed, or where their main base is.”
“Don’t we have plan-… D for that?”
“We might not for much longer, with that radiation. It’s barely holding on. Gil might be our best chance.”
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AYO. ITS BACK BRO!!!
((I meant to answer this but got into the groove of story HAJDKGKFK it IS back… And it is planning on staying back))
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YEAHHHHHH JESSE HEY!! How’s it hanging?
Your voice comes through so loud over the radio that Gil nearly wakes up; however, he settles again. Sleep has him captured.
“Oh- HEY! I recognize you! Man it’s good to hear a familiar voice over this thing,” Jesse takes a moment to breathe out a sigh, seemingly relieved that the radio is indeed working. “It’s hanging, that’s for sure. It’s good to be out of bed and back on my feet, but that’s about all I can say. I’ve been confined for the past few days, but obviously, no scratch was gonna keep me down for long.”
“Still missing pants, though, it seems.”
“Olivia! They don’t need to know that!”
“I dunno, it sure lifted my spirits,” Olivia chuckled.
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Jesse hadn’t been doing much since Lukas left. He got Gil back into bed and sorted, but Gil hadn’t shown any signs of waking up. He was only sitting in silence, his head propped on his arm on the side of Gil’s bed. Gil hadn’t even moved since he’d been watching- From a distance he probably looked dead.
“Jesse?” Lukas’s voice, softly from the doorway, grabbed his attention up from where it’d been focused on Gil’s sleeping expression.
“Lukas-”
"Any change?"
"No, nothing.. Sleeping soundly, thankfully.”
Lukas joined Jesse by his side, and Axel peeked over his shoulder to get a look at Gil’s condition.
“… Should we try and wake him up?” He asked, mostly curious.
“Should we really bother him? I mean- That fall must’ve been pretty bad for him, with his neck the way it is,” Jesse replied with hesitation in his tone. “And these nightmares- They must be draining him something severe.”
“But another nightmare could just keep him in this loop of on and off, and we’ll never get any clear answers. We’re gonna have to wake him up. It’ll be good for him, too; If these nightmares are constant, getting out of them for a bit will clear his head,” Lukas offered his view with as much of an assuring tone as he could muster; and he was right. If they wanted answers, they’d have to get them from him when he was properly awake. Still, Jesse was hesitant.
Olivia could tell, and, stepping forward, she chimed in with her own idea,
“How about we let our mystery friends answer. They started talking again, just now. Maybe a couple extra voices will calm your nerves?” She held the little radio out for Jesse to see, and he took it in his hands.
“They started talking? Oh, man, it’ll be good to hear them- I thought they were hacked for good when we didn’t hear anything for more than two days.”
“So did we, but I think they were mostly just busy, or relaxing like we’ve been.”
“Trying to relax, you mean.”
“I know, but go ahead, say hi. I bet they miss you.”
[Jesse is now available for questions]
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godspeed and get that man figured out he's going through it 😭😭
“We’ll sure try. I think it has something to do with the Witherstorm’s hacking capabilities, but I can’t be sure.” Lukas sounds more sure of himself than he’s letting on.
“Any idea how you’re going to get him out of that?” Olivia, meanwhile, doesn’t sound like she believes it at all.
“No clue… But I’m going to try.”
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OH SHIT GIL
Your voice coming through the speaker while they’re on the move startles Lukas, while the other two expected it a bit more.
“Oh, hey, you weren’t kidding!”
“Obviously not, Lukas.” Olivia turns up the volume on the radio.
“Hang on, that voice sounds familiar. Is that Zone?”
“Yep. Been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it sure has- Hey, no worries, Zone! We’re gonna do everything we can to help Gil, you can bet on that!”
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