Good morning! This is it, the final week! Only a handful of stories left to tell for 2020. Enjoy today's! (there was an incident that led me to post the wrong one today, hahaha oops)
Elrena typed on the keyboard as fast as she could. Lauriam was outside, guarding the door. He probably noticed how she had insisted on being the one hacking through the system, but he didn't point it out. Perhaps he had guessed the truth. He was very perceptive, much to her annoyance.
You must be the one Lauriam told us about? It's a pleasure to meet you!
She shook her head. She had no time for the past. Only the future mattered. And the future could be really great, or really bad, and it all depended on how long it would take her to get the information she needed.
She heard a thud on the door. Five minutes. She had spent five minutes typing on that stupid keyboard and nothing good came of it so far. Based on their prior observations, they had exactly twenty minutes before someone would come inside. She swore between her teeth. "Darn you and your stupid passwords, Vexen."
Back in the Organization Days, she had always been able to find all of his passwords, no matter how secure they were - no amount of capital letters, numbers and symbols could win against the tiny camera she had set, just in case. But this room was different and she had been unable to set up such a device in advance. Simply observing the guards patrols had almost got them caught once. They couldn't afford jeopardizing the mission.
Do you think we could become friends, by any chance? I don't… I don't have many girl friends. Maybe we could hang out together sometimes?
With a growl, she punched the side of the gigantic computer. Why was stupid thing so slow? She needed that password, and she needed it quickly. She closed her eyes, thinking, trying to think like the King. He was one foolish man who had very little security over his passwords. She knew it because the door digicode had been 1234. There wasn't even a try limit. It was almost insulting. At least Vexen would try something original, not something dumb like a birth date or the name of his pet. She frowned. Maybe not the name of a pet, but perhaps the name of… Taking a deep breath in, she tried several combinations, and suddenly, the screen went green. She was in.
Are you free today? I was thinking of a girls' day out together?
Another thud. She had very little time left. She went through the files as quickly as she could, until she found the one entry she had been looking for. "A group of children mysteriously appear out of nowhere". She plugged her USB stick in, ready to copy the file, when another linked entry caught her eye. "Light experiments on younger subjects". She knew she didn't have time for that, she knew she was putting Lauriam at risk, but she opened the file. It was full of experiment records. With pictures of said subjects. She recognized some of these faces, especially that one branded "Subject X". Back in her time, they called her Skuld. And the last words Elrena ever told her, she would never forget.
Yeah, so I'm sure you're really nice and all, but I don't need friends. Get lost.
She had been in a foul mood that day, and she refused Skuld's sympathy. The next day, the bells rang the end of the world, the Dandelions scattered, and she never saw her again. Her last memory had been that of a girl who smiled even though she had been deeply hurt by her rejection. Turned out life hadn't been rainbows and butterflies after either, based on what these reports said. She snorted. Bloody monsters.
She copied all of the files and kicked the door. Lauriam was there. "Everything okay?" He was probably mentioning her wet cheeks. She shrugged.
"You won't like it, but I've got what we came for. Let's go before I burn this place to the ground."
Clutching the USB stick in her hand, she repeated the promise she made to herself so long ago. She would find out what exactly happened to all these kids, her friends, and she would find them. She would find Skuld, and she would apologize. No matter what it cost her.
If you have read the previous years' challenges, you might be familiar with the concept that Saphire and I both decide on a duo to appear in one fic (she got Roxas and Yuffie haha). Mine was Elrena and Skuld, so here it was! They didn't interact much on this OS, but I focused on the aftermaths of their interactions instead. While it's not confirmed that X is Skuld, the chances are high, and I hope she is alright and that Lauriam will find his friends again Q^Q
Tomorrow is "Rainbow" :D