Chapter 10

"Words birds thirds turds." – Any hologram speaking.

'Words birds thirds turds.'- Any hologram thinking.

April 10th, 2023.

Monday. 09:01.

Birthdays were a rare occasion, but always predictable. Occurring on the same day, every single year. Today was Alice's best friends' birthday, but she wasn't entirely sure why she wasn't allowed to plan it this year, the two twins demanding that they were planning their own party, bar, activities and food.

Well, she wasn't the best planner. She easily got dates mixed up, times and places. But of course, this wasn't something she would admit so easily. Not when she had her favourite sniper attached to her back, comfortable climbing shoes on and her trusty camo jacket hugging her tightly.

"How does it feel to be twenty-two then, girls?" Alice looked between the girls with a small grin across her face, watching the twins walking ahead of her glance to one another before back at her. They both smiled, one of innocence, the other of smugness.

""Old.""

"Go to hell," a dry chuckle left the programmer as they tracked along the dirt path they were following through the forest, each girl sporting hiking goggles around their necks. But, they all followed the theme of camo and hiking. A small smile floated onto the face of the programmer, tugging on the sleeve of her jacket before glancing back to the sulking hologram that walked behind her, grumbling to himself about pretty much everything.

"Walking still freaking sucks," he murmured loud enough for her to hear. "Least I don't have'ta breathe," her smile growing as she met his eye. He frowned, turning his head away from her like a child in her opinion. A soft giggle escaped her, turning back to her friends as they were talking about random shit like Judith's fiancé. This subject alone made her feel uncomfortable, knowing it was her brother they were talking about.

"How's it feel joining the single's club again?" Margret teased, wrapping her free arm around her friend's waist till they were skin-to-skin, a sneaky smile across her lips. "Up for that one night stand I suggested in high school?"

"No. Way too early for that," the red-faced brunette gave her friend a soft push, seeing the girl's twin gag and walk ahead with passion. The two laughed at the sight, Jack's eyes drifting between the two women with a confused frown.

"Wait-wait-wait- this chick plays my team?" He questioned, phasing to Alice's other side. He nudged her side with his elbow, grabbing her attention. The golden ringed girl glanced to him momentarily, before they turned back to the road in front of her. She had her prescribed goggles on, seeing as she wouldn't be taking them off till she got home. If they broke, she also had a spare pair of contacts in her backpack. She was actually amazed the people at Hype made them for her. She could only guess they wanted Jack to experience the idea of being shot. Alice carried the food and other necessities, Judith carried the first aid and bullets, while Margret carried the weapons on her back.

'Yes. She's been gay for as long as I've known her,' with a small nod of her head, she carried on walking with just a single glance to Jack who continued to carry the rear of the group.

"You're shittin's me."

"It's weird, since for as long as I've known you, you've never really been single," Margret added back into the conversation, the programmer's face dropping before shaking her head. "What?"

"I always said I was seeing someone to get the guys off my back," she defended herself, refraining from looking to Jack even though she could feel his stare. "In high school, they were all idiots."

"I agree," Judith jumped into the conversation saying this, her sister nudging closer to her twin, wrapping her arm around her neck.

"Says the chick now officially engaged to a dude nearly four years older than her!"

…

"Please be quiet, Maggie."

It wasn't till the sun got a little higher in the sky, the clock now hitting ten that they finally got to the small camp grounds. Cabins here and there along with a large sign saying 'Delta Force' across the largest stand in the middle. Heading over to it, Margret brought out her phone and showed it to the young adult behind the counter.

"Maggie Bails, party of three. Expert level, present and ready to shoot people. We brought our own guns," she grinned from cheek to cheek, taking her phone back after a second before pulling the three large rifle cases from her back. The man carefully took the weapons from her, handing it to the teen by his side to take back and check them before battle. "We already have our consent forms filled out," she hummed, pulling out the three folded sheets from her pocket.

Eddi, the man behind the counter, took them and gave them a quick look over before tossing them to the side.

"Looks good. The other teams are already here," he mentioned with a jab of his thumb backwards before tugging the front of his cap down to better shield his eyes from the sun. "You guys should already know the way to the E groups- down the hall, take a right, room E Two."

"Gotcha," with a wink, Margret lead the way after retrieving their guns back and throwing them all over her shoulder; being a chef took a lot of strength and effort, being able to pick up her own weight and more. "God, we haven't been here since Ally's birthday."

"I got shot in the bloody spine," she frowned. "Hurt like a bitch," cringing at the repeating memory in her mind while Judith pulled her hood over her head as they got closer to the open garden area. Once inside, Margret ran ahead to their designated picnic table, tossing their guns down with a sigh.

"Sweet Jesus," she sighed, flopping back onto her table, removing her jacket revealing the black tank top she wore underneath. "Augh, the nervous adrenaline is hitting me already," despite saying that, she was grinning like a kid in a candy store, looking around at all the small groups of fours and threes. The young woman was excited about her first victim, pulling her medium sized, square case into her lap with glee. "I love you baby."

Her twin and friend quickly followed after her, plopping down on the bench with a sigh while nursing their poor, sore feet.

"God, I hate walking," The programmer sighed, glancing to Jack who smirked and had pixelized himself into existence right in front of her, sitting on the bench while stretching his arms out.

She wasn't sure why, but she felt like he was mad at her. Alice didn't know why, how or even when it started; she was more confused than anything as it had been going on for the last couple of weeks.

"Amen," Judith sighed, crossing her arms on the picnic table before lying her head down on them. They had another half an hour before the games started, everyone looking either bored, nervous or hyped about this fact.

The female programmer had different things on her mind with the hologram seated right in front of her, his back turned to her.

Seeing his frown as he looked around, it reminded her of how he always frowned at the apartment. For some reason, he really, really didn't like Rhys. Despite the man having a poster of 'Handsome' Jack above his desk.

It was the first time she was seeing the man in colour; truth be told, he looked beyond the expectations she had of him, which was quite low to begin with seeing as she always saw him in the blue holographic form he was always in.

"Earth to Ally?" This was enough to snap Alice out of whatever mental stance she was in, blinking her eyes as the refocused on the girls sitting opposite her with a ham and cheese sandwich outstretched towards her face. With a small smile, she accepted it, taking a bite. "Gotta keep your strength up," Margret smiled past the slightly worried look, both of the twins slowly becoming used to her little dazing out sessions. "You're our secret weapon, after all," she leaned forwards, whispering to the two.

"You two are the only ones here without military training," she scoffed at twins, ignoring the glance back her AI gave her while Judith pulled out her favourite toy from its bag. A long SMG, built for her size and weight. It looked similar to what the company supplied for the normal games played here, but the longer barrel and smaller details made it clear it was either self-made or custom made. The latter being true.

"Yeah but they don't have a badass," she smiled, gabbing a thumb into her chest before pointing at Alice who tugged her gun closer to her back. "Or a sniper like yourself," she murmured the last part softly, seeing the small glare she gave her.

"Not like I had a choice. Both of my brothers are snipers," she smirked lightly, shaking her head as one of the employees came around with a box of light helmets for the players. The teenager bringing them around instantly put the programmer on edge, a small smile on her lips when she accepted the helmet.

"Be sure to protect your breadbox ma'am," the ginger warned, grinning while giving her the quick thumbs up, before carrying on with her mission. That alone made her feel uncomfortable, her hand absentmindedly heading to her port but quickly dismissed the action when her friends started to tug on the light headgear once the goggles were secure.

"Well, that was legitimately creepy," Jack commented, speaking for the first time in a while. "Keep an eye on those employees, cupcake," he warned, a small growl escaping him. "Those assholes are up to something," with a single glance to him, the groups started to stand up one by one, gathering around the small stage they had near the three entrances to the events. A tall, familiar man stepped up onto it, smiling as he had his own shotgun attached to his back, smirking along the crowd. When his eyes fell onto Alice's group, he paused, chuckling slightly before speaking.

"Well, it's great to see some familiar faces back for more blood and bruises- and for you newbies. Don't worry, you'll be fine," he smirked, muttering into the microphone. "Maybe."

This was enough to squeeze a couple of chuckles from the crowd. Although, Alice's eyes were firmly trained on the man on top of the small stage.

"I'm Axton and I'll be your C.O for the day," he mentioned to the ginger teen from before, everyone's eyes turning to her as she came bouncing up the stage with her own shotgun on her back. "This little monster will be my hammer of discipline," he joked, "and she'll be making sure none of you get too fucked up today. Right, midg?"

"Yes, mister, unparalleled stud, sir. Gaige reporting for duty," she grinned, high-fiving the man by her side before turning to the rest of the people. "Alright my minions! Today is gonna be fun or you ain't doing it right!" She grinned. "Like, seriously. Get shot at- it's a fuckton of fun."

"Language, Kid," Axton smirked, flicking her cheek before looking to the rest. "Obviously, you guys know the rules but for legal reasons, I gotta repeat 'em," he sighed, moving his hand to ruffle the back of his hair. "Headshots don't count, no point-blank shooting and when you're hit for the fifth time, yell 'OUT'," he demonstrated. "Raise your hand and exit the area on either side of the arena to join the dead zone."

"Everything else is allowed," the ginger yelled as he finished. "So, go nuts! Climb a tree. Jump in a lake. Climb a mountain. Try out cannibalism if ya want but- don't. Cause, you know, that stuff is like- really gross-"

"Gaige, kiddo, you're getting off topic," with another flick, the group's C.O continued. "The blackboard will be updated with the first match. Come back in five minutes then line up at your assigned gates," he smirked, dropping down from the stage by extending his leg to take a step then dropping off the four-foot-high platform.

"Have fun! Don't die! See ya at the end of the first match," Gaige waved as she exited the stage in a similar fashion, the small teams of three or four looking to one another before dispersing to their tables or to wait by the blackboard. Alice's group stood there for a moment, exchanging looks before turning to head back to their table. The sniper of the group paused when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to see the retired soldier smiling and chuckling.

"Nice specs."

"Thanks. They let me see," she replied, turning her body to the familiar man as he brought his hand to his neck. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise. Likewise," he nodded nonchalantly, glancing back to the ginger who threw him a pair of thumbs ups. He rolled his eyes at the gesture, looking back to the girl in front of him. "I didn't take you for the guns type of girl."

"Oh. But, you've only known me for like, five minutes? I could be into all sorts of stuff," She raised a brow at him, seeing his brain physically start thinking of a reply. Maybe it was Jack's influence, but watching people panic while thinking was enjoyable to watch.

"Well, based on your appearance- I just-"

"I was coming home from work," she chuckled slightly at his frown, taking a guess that being tongue-tied by a woman wasn't something he was familiar with. She personally, loved the sight. "Well, Axton, it was nice seeing you," she turned to quickly follow after her friends, but he added.

"Are you free after this?"

She stopped mid-step, blinking in confusion as she turned back to him. The programmer was a little confused where that had come from.

Before Jack could jump in, she answered. "No, I'm not, sorry," she glanced over to her friends who were intently watching the conversation. "It's their birthday so I'll be spending the next twenty hours with them."

"Oh," he blinked, moving to grab his phone from his pocket. "Lemme grab your number then. We can still get that drink later," he winked, playfully which only seemed to fill her with anxiety. Hell, she wasn't sure why it did but when Jack felt it, her stomach dropped when his emotions were thrown into the equation.

"Sorry- I didn't bring my pho-"

"I got it," Margret jumped in, quite literally between the two of them while offering her phone to the man. The former soldier was a little bit confused by the offer but smirked nonetheless seeing what was going on. Alice glared at her though. "Thank you! See ya later, sir," with a short wink, the excited twin led her favourite nerd away till they were a safe distant away at their table.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you- he's hot and asking you out for a simple drink," she growled back, glancing back to the man before back at her. "What's wrong with just getting his number?"

"My boyfriend died five months ago, I wasn't even allowed to go to his funeral and you expect me to just jump back into the game? I'm not comfortable with the idea of just getting a drink with him," Alice stared- no, glared at her friend, slamming her hand down on the bench, startling the taller twin who was just listening to the conversation now. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's been five months. Five. Months," the fiery twin bit back, glaring at how stubborn her friend was being. "Just get to know him- go talk to other people besides us. Make a friend," she mentioned to her twin behind her, said girl looking more than a little awkward by the situation. "You're seriously becoming a loner."

"Team Blue versus Team Yellow! Please make your way to Gate two!" Axton yelled across the room, the three girls stiffening when their colour was called. Judith looked between the two girls unsurely till Alice walked past her twin, removing her sniper from its casing and throwing it over her shoulder, not even looking at either of them as she headed in the direction of the gates.

"You went a little too far," the younger twin frowned, passing her sister with the SMG in hand. The older twin sighed, pushing her two pistols into their holders on her thigh before following after her sister and best friend.

"I know, I know. Don't remind me."

April 10th, 2023.

Monday. 14:10.

By the start of the third round, two thirds of the Yellow team had been shot at least five times. For the easily missed sniper, she had yet to be hit once. Even with Jack's tales, tricks and gossiping; she hadn't lost focus once on protecting her friends and seeking out the enemy. But, when each game was over an hour long, injuries were bound to happen no matter how hard you kept your focus. And for Alice, her friends were the ones to suffer.

"I fucking haaaate you," the annoyed Margret barked at the programmer, throwing a random stick she had picked up in the arena. She easily dodged to the side, raising a brow at her misplaced anger. "How the hell haven't you gotten shot?!"

"It's called sniping. Where you shoot at people from a nice, saaafe distance," she smirked, earning another growl as they finally sat down at their bench, the twins groaning as the newest bruises settled in across their pale, British skin. The man of the group... sort of, made himself apparent by materialising himself opposite his user beside the angry woman who was picking dry paint from her jacket. His partner's eyes fluttering open when she took note of him. 'Before I forgot: Thanks for before.'

"Heh. It's nothin'. I got your back, kiddo," Jack smirked while making himself comfortable, leaning back against that invisible wall as his eyes surveyed the competition around him, taking note of what teams, they had played and those they had not yet. So far, their team was in third, below two older teams in their late twenties, all consisting of all male veterans. Truthfully, he didn't mind watching her back whenever she got into position, becoming her eyes and ears when she got into the mode.'I actually miss the feelin' of being shot at,' he chuckled at his own thought, glancing back to his user who had placed her head down on the bench since their next round wouldn't be for another half an hour.

The E games, paintball with little limits, was made mainly for retired veterans, trigger-happy people and lovers of the sport. completely different from paintball, seeing as these games gave you sometimes extreme locations to play in, an accident could result in an injury as bad as breaking bones. Almost a year ago, there was two deaths, resulting in the larger hills being removed from all arenas permanently.

Even though the games were quite juvenile, Jack couldn't help but admit he was enjoying himself a little too much. Although no one stayed 'dead' when you shot them, it was still an enjoyable sport. If you classed hunting people and shooting them as a sport. The joy of shooting. Oh, how he missed the feeling.

"You okay there?" Margret poked her older friend across the table, watching her stir and swat away her friend's hand. This was enough to get a chuckle out of everyone at the table as she brought her head up, looking more tired than when they got there. "Wake wakey sleeping beauty."

"Oh, go kill yourself," she grumbled back, yawning before slapping her cheeks in attempts to wake herself up some more before the next round. "What time is it?"

"Half two," Judith grumbled from her part of the table, applying the defogging spray to her goggles to let it dry with just enough time before the next match versus the current champs of the board. None of the three were scared per say, but more anxious as the rumour going around was that one of them had imported a freaking mini gun. And it had somehow gone through the checks and passed. That, they were afraid of. That, they were deadly afraid of. Imagine being shot with that thing.

Monday. 14:59.

The next round didn't last near as long as they expected, ten minutes in and both Judith and Margret had been shot five times dead centre in the torso, heading to the dead zone which left Alice alone in a tree with a silenced paint sniper. It was terrifying to say the least, knowing they were searching for her and by now, every team knew she was a sniping, but had no idea still where she hid and sniped from.

Her heart was racing knowing as she was being hunted by trained soldiers who took this game a little too seriously. She feared falling from this height more than anything, knowing she'd break a bone upon landing.

Jack was actually a little excited about the position they were in, staring through her eyes whenever she used the scope as well as keeping an eye on the ground. He was half-tempted to go find the enemy and give away their position, but that would ruin the fun of their hunt. At least, the idea of being hunted and killing the hunter was amusing from his point of view.

No one hunted Handsome Jack without getting killed in the process.

"Cupcake, ain't no point getting worked up. You'll just get shot quicker."

'You're not helping!' She swore back at the hologram leaning his back against her own, practically on top of her as she lied down on the thickest branch of the tree she was occupied in. It wasn't safe, that was for sure. But it guarded a forth of her body from incoming paintball shots. Another forth of her body couldn't be hit since it was facing the sky, so she only had to worry about her sides. 'Help or go away.'

"Woooow. Someone's a little touchy touchy today," he smirked, seeing the growing twitch in her left eye as she surveyed the area through her scope.

It wasn't for another ten minutes to pass that she spotted the first person in this game. Short, dark tanned skin but the only physical trait she could see was his facial hair. It was the minigunner, making her feel so much better knowing that if she shot him, she's have one less thing to worry about. Jack noticed him moments after she did.

"Hey- hey midg at four o'clock!"

"More like five and a half but- sure," she instantly closed her mouth when he directed a glare at her, a small smile resurfacing as she took aim. The programmer had gotten into the habit of using her cybernetic arm to aim, finding it a lot easier to hold still and straight. Sure, it was out of her comfort zone, but it had resulted in a lot more paintballs to the chests.

The shot was perfect, a straight line from herself to the enemy. It felt a little too perfect, truth be told, it felt off.

"Kiddo, what- what the hell are you waiting f-" the hologram was quickly cut off by a bullet through his forehead, just missing the top of her head by the skin of her helmet. The inner shock hit her but was pushed to the side as her eyes darted right to see the sniper of the opposite team aiming straight at her, hanging upside down by a tree branch with a smirk across her face, flicks of blue hair peeking from the bottom of her helmet.

"Nice to finally meet you, Hun," Alice could just make out the wink behind the goggles, her stomach instantly dropping as she slowly stood up from the branch, moving her sniper behind her. Her hand instantly pressed it against the lock, holding it in place.

"Oh. Flipping ultra-cat knockers," the random words slipped her tongue, earning a light chuckle from the other female sniper. Hell, Jack chuckled. It made him laugh even more when she slid down the tree facing away from the sniper, muttering under her breath. "Nope-nope-nope-nope-nope-nope," over and over again as she started sprinting in the opposite direction of where the two were.

Alice knew in her stomach she was screwed. They had tactics. Purposely taking out her friends so they could focus on finding her. When they had a general idea where she was, they used one of themselves as bait to draw her attention away while another snuck up on her. The programmers both knew this, although Jack knew she had to have missed on purpose since she had a clear shot. For what reason? Well, he had many in his mind but none of them stuck out.

What she hadn't expected was for her next step to be down a steep fifty-foot-high hill with a small stream at the bottom of it. The young woman's eyes widened as she bit down hard on her lower lip to stop the involuntary squeak from escaping, tumbling and rolling down. It wasn't even a full minute later till she hit the bottom, head first into the stream. Jack sputtered in her mind, fizzling out.

"Ow..." She murmured as she sat up, reaching up to her lip instantly tasting blood when she finally released it.

Her palm was covered in the crimson liquid, her face screwing up for a moment before spitting a couple of drops into the creek. Her back hurt more than it normally did, almost sure she had given herself a slight concussion but on the bright side; her cybernetics were fine. Rubbing her port, she felt no blood and the headache seemed to be fading.

Biting her lip, she couldn't stop the coming sigh as she reached her hand back readying herself to whack the port hard enough to stir another headache and get her companion back. She needed someone to watch her back, especially in the situation she was in.

One whack and a killer headache later, she could only guess he was back. There was no sputter, spark or warning. Did it work.

…

There was only one way to find out.

"Whooptie-fucking-do," she murmured to herself, hulling herself to her feet before jumping across the stream, pushing back the dizziness she was feeling from hitting her head. Once she was across, the programmer surveyed the area, then the top of the hill. No one was there. She could only hope she had given them the slip. Where was her A.I.?

"Language, cupcake."

Ah. There he was.

"Dude, you say shit and hell all the time."

"The Hero can say whatever the hell he wants," was his only comeback, winking as he stressed out 'hell'. The girl only rolled her eyes, continuing her trudge out of the stream and into the thick forest. Once she found a spot, she yanked her jumpsuit down to remove her jumper, wincing the water out of it; it stunk of dirty water and shit. It wasn't a pleasant combination, she was almost thankful Jack couldn't smell it or else she'd never hear the end of it.

"Lord almighty, I love my life," she muttered sarcastically as the man inside her head phased himself beside her, walking by her side as she tugged the damp piece of clothing back on. It didn't help the stink, but it felt a lot better. "Fucking brilliant."

"Cupcake-"

"I get it I get it- language," Alice couldn't help but sigh knowing the man was so damn easily angered and irritated when it came to people talking back to him. Maybe he was an important CEO when he was alive. He had the attitude of one. She sighed, turning to look at the hologram who stopped when she did. "Jack, look-"

Before she could say another word, the hologram's eyes widened and instantly reached out, grabbing her wrist and yanking her forward. "Move!" He yelled, it just hitting him that he made her physically move so suddenly. A sharp yelp escaped her when her shoulder skimmed a tree as electricity ran up her arm and along her spine. It was the first time he had given her such a violent shock, her muscles spasmed and went in the direction he 'pulled' her.

Her hands hit the bark of the tree hard, scrapping against her smooth skin, small trickles of blood appearing on her palms.

She tried to yell at him for his action, turning to face him and not the tree, opening her mouth but he covered it while pulling his blue body against her, putting his other forefinger against his own lips to signal her to shut up.

"Where did she go?" This was a new voice. It had a heavy accent laced it, Alice could tell it was European, maybe Spanish. It sounded like the guy with the minigun, from what she could remember of him. There were two guys, the short and stumpy one from before while the other was tall and thin. She hadn't spotted him till now. Both had thick accents.

"How should I know?"

"I dunno, Amigo. Maya, it was your job to keep an eye on her-"

"-She made me laugh, okay! Jeez, sorry," three voices in total, Jack's eyes seemed to narrow when the man mentioned the name 'Maya'. Did he recognise the name or the voice? His user couldn't tell. "It's not like she could have gotten far anyway."

"The fact she saw our trap gives enough of us away," the familiar voice spoke, moving past her location with two footsteps following. "We don't need Lilith yelling at us later for not questioning her," he murmured just loud enough for Alice to catch, her eyes widening.

There was a pause in the silence, Jack keeping his blue hand across her mouth while watching the three start heading away from her slowly.

"This weather sucks for tracking."

"It's England," the lady chuckled, tossing her pistol back down into her belt. "There's always a twenty percent chance of rain. I quite like it here."

The voices drifted further and further away every second, Jack's eyes following them till they split off into three directions. The young programmer's heart was racing as she kept her eyes closed, her nerves shaking as the static around her lips slowly drifted away.

"Pumpkin. You gotta listen to me, got it?" Jack spoke slowly but with a stern tone. Her heart sped up as reopened her eyes, seeing the abnormally serious expression on his face as he kept his finger near his lips, signalling her not to speak, but listen. 'We have to go. Now.'

'Jack, I'm scared,' her tone sounded more unsure than afraid, glancing in the direction the three walked off in. The A.I. followed her gaze, his lips pressing into a thin line as he pulled his hand away from them.

'I'm not pissin' myself laughing' with the shit-uation either, Kiddo. But, we have to go,' his smooth voice glitched with his pun when he watched her bob her head, absentmindedly biting on the scar in the corner of her mouth. It took a moment for her to regain her cool, looking back to Jack who simply smirked.

This was enough to calm her nerves enough for her legs to move, slowly walking along the shadows in the opposite direction they had gone in. Locked fists by her sides, one rubbing the pistol against her outer thigh but that was mainly to keep her mind sharp and restrain from panicking.

'We need to get to a gate- any gate and say I give up,' the former CEO didn't snap at her plan, something he would have done if she was any employee of his being sent down to fight. But what they were fighting for was different. They were fighting to protect. Protect him. And if he was removed, that would be the end of him. And most likely her as well. 'I give up. I quit. I'm actually looking forward to giving up, for once.'

'There's givin' up and not tryin' shit. Then there's giving up to protect something,'Jack rubbed his neck for a second, moving his arms back to his side after a second but spared her a glance. 'Three against one, well-'he smirked. 'You'll die.'

'Yeah, well, no duh,' she rolled her eyes, biting her lip as she got to the bottom of the hill after nearly ten minutes of walking, staring up at in terror as it was high- she could climb it, sure. But it was going to leave her pretty vulnerable when it did.

Jack could feel her hesitation, reading her subconscious thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he couldn't sense anyone for at least half a mile back. He looked back to the mud-covered girl with a confident grin.

"I gotcha back, baby," he moved his hand to the lower of her back, watching the sparks fly up her spine as she met his gaze. "Start climbing" seeing her unsure look, he rolled his eyes and gave her a push, more than pleased when her muscled spasmed and she moved with his force. "Get your ass in gear and start already. You stupid little code monkey," he frowned, turning away from the woman who practically shoved her middle finger into the back of his head before starting her hike up the hill.

"Fuck you man," she murmured under her breath, frowning at the sight in front of her; it was almost at a ninety-degree angle. Even with her hiking boots, it was a hard track up. The girl was unaware that the hologram had heard her, his eyes traveling up her body as she gripped a rock harder when the slope seemed to get muddier the further she climbed up.

"I wouldn't mind giving you a go," hearing his hum, she stumbled, nearly falling flat on her face in the mud while he chuckled. That was the reaction he was waiting for, just perfect. 'God damn, she's so easy to fluster,' he grinned back at the glare she threw over her shoulder as the man floated beside her, his eyes drifting back to the forest behind the small stream but his lips were close enough for her to hear his murmurs perfectly. "Throw you on the bed, rip those nerdy clothes off of ya and show you a reaaaal good time. Har-"

"Jack. Pleeeeaaaase," she glanced back to him, red-faced with a visible shake in her hands; she couldn't concentrate with him disorganising her mind like this. "I'm trying not to fall and break my neck here."

"And? I'm busting a gut watching your widdle cheeks light up like I'm doin' you right n-"

"Jaaack," she growled, giving him one last glare before continuing with her task at hand; not falling and alerting the enemy of her position. Getting the hell out of the arena without having her head ripped in two by the guys targeting her. "For the love of God, please shut up."

"Cupcake, how 'bout you shut up and learn to take a compliment. Okaaaaay," The older programmer teased but paused mid-sentence, narrowing his eyes at the moving tree in the distance. When birds flew away from the small patch, he dismissed it. Feeling her nervousness change from flustered to worry, he added. "It's nothing. Just some shitty birds."

'Good. Good,' with a shake of her head, Alice continued climbing, cheering when she was nearly at the top. She was minutes away from the top and then, the homestretch. Oh, how glorious that homestretch sounded. It was almost heavenly. "Little... more..."

"Cupcake-"

"What?" She snapped back over her shoulder at his harsh tone. Jack signalled to look up, the young woman only raising a brow as she looked up, her face instantly dropping at the sight of a mask looking down on her, she could make out the slight smile she had before it was removed. Pale blue- almost silver eyes stared back at her, two blue small circle markings under her left eye were eye-catching even though the feeling of 'oh shit' was surfacing in her stomach again. "Aw, crap."

"Such a sweet reunion," she smiled, grabbing her nearest hand and picking her up off of the hill without so much flinching at her weight. The programmer squirmed.

"Let me go!" 'Oh- Don't say that!' frowning and attempting to kick the woman who simply stared with a smile before-

"Alright. Morty, catch."

Tossing her forward. The height alone had a chance to knock her out, combine that with the rocks in the stream below- her body tensed up as she fell. What she wasn't expecting was for a man to catch her, her body tensed up at the warmth, slowly opening one eye up at the masked man.

She stared, trying to see through the tinted helmet but it was no use. Slowly, the guy placed her down on her feet just as the woman jumped off the hill and landed five-feet from her. Which was creepy of course.

"Sup. You Alice?"

'Say no,' she thought, frowning as she tugged her mask and goggled on tighter. She glanced to Jack who had phased himself to her side, catching sight of him shaking his head. "No."

*BANG*

"Mother-flying-FUCKER," Alice yelled while dropping to one knee, holding her other thigh which had just been blasted with a paintball at close range. And boy did it hurt. It was a numbing pain after a moment, but the initial shock burned. She glared up at the man, throwing her hand covered in red paint up at him. "What the hell man?!"

"I wouldn't lie to me if I were you, señorita," he warned, raising the gun to her chest and pressing it against her through the padding of her armour. "Bad things happen when you lie to me," she knew he wasn't fucking around, Jack knew it as well- the voice he couldn't Goddamn put a face to knew it too.

"If you know who I am, then why did you even ask?" She frowned, biting back a sarcastic response as she held her leg carefully; she could already feel the raising bruise that was surfacing. And God, it hurt like a bitch. She could see Jack watching in the corner of her eye, she had a feeling he was pissed. The feeling of anger and panic was rushing through her veins. "Just what do you want from me?"

"Answers," the lady behind her answered, placing one hand on the pistol on her hip. "Your program is really annoying to get into."

"London's a big place, full of crime and alleyways," the man in front of her continued, placing the pistol back in its holster. "A place like this is a lot easier to talk in. Lot safer for us both," he murmured, loud enough for her, of course.

"Don't tell 'em anything. Repeat what I say- wait. Better idea! Lemme take over," Jack whispered in her ear, becoming very close to her. It was enough to calm her nerves and keep the straight face she always supported. "You there, pumpkin? Don't worry, I know what I'm doin'. I've done this before! I'll protect you."

'Wait what? Take over? You've done this before? When? How?' She questioned, glancing to Jack who was holding a serious expression, something she rarely saw. She hesitated, taking a deep breath trying to make it less noticeable.

She had no idea how to deal with people pointing a gun at her. Well, it was a paintball gun, but death sounded more tempting than a torture session. From what Jack had told her, he had some experience dealing with these sorts of people. So... it would be okay. Right?

'Okay. Okay, sure. Yes.'

"Good," he breathed in, standing by her side watching her expression dip when the gunner in front became quiet. Alice felt light, feint almost. Then he whispered softly in her ear, she could practically feel the heat of his breath against her skin. "Now, relax. Daddy's gonna take the reins for a while."

The world spun around her, falling forward. Her only thoughts were-

'Great. I'm gonna die. There goes my holiday plans.'

Hope you guys enjoyed chapter ten of many more to come! Please review favourite and follow this story!

Also, thank you for your reviews:
HeavenlyCondemned, AgentOhioS118, Ozuhananas

This chapter's question is: Which game would you want to be involved in- like, a vault hunter in?

Answer: Pre-sequel. I get to snuggle wuggle the cutie called Timothy! :D