Chapter 5 : Disheartened Implosion














Cold winds, dark alleys, loud music, screams, laughter... The dull reflection of moonlight from the rusted metal and neglected boxs from years past.


Yes. The Train Graveyard.


Where all Noise Tanks congregate.


Beta shivered, the crisp air cutting through the light armor he was wearing, otherwise known as the Noise Tanks wear, designed to protect the wearer from rubber bullets and non-armor piercing weapons, which accounted for the truth that Noise Tanks are very well protected.


Mainly because the lot of them are such wusses.


Alpha was the head leader, intelligent, attractive, but couldn't fight to save his ass. Not a single Noise Tank could fight, except maybe Giga, Data, a female Noise Tank with a taste for the extreme, Thirteen, a dark, unmoving unemotional rudie who never says a damned thing.


The other Noise Tanks had obscure names, some Beta didn't even bother finding out, just pointing and grunting was enough. He hated most of them, including Alpha. He hated Alpha. Everyone praised him, kissed his ass...


He hated the ass kissers. He hated Alpha. To Beta, Alpha was just some little punk who wanted money. Beta often had fun comparing him to the current Rokkaku CEO, Koji Rokkaku, and making Alpha mad.


Yes, Beta didn't have a lot of friends in the gang.


Because Beta hated the gang.


Constant beer binges, picking on bums, the orgies, Oh GOD the orgies. Demeaning the self-esteem defiecent girls to such fucking levels. He saw one, and was promptly nauseous. His hatred for the gang grew at an alarming rate. Why did he join?


Why did he join....?


'Ey Beta! a familiar voice called to him, rousing him from his deep vat of hatred.


Hey Giga.


A monstrous rudie of around six feet came running up grinning like a maniac, a silver chain dangling from his neck. Next to him was a shorter, leaner and meaner face of a young girl with short raven black hair. Beta nodded to her and smiled.





The girl gave a lopsided smile.


Beta. The little lap dog for Byte...


Beta blinked. EXCUSE ME?


Don't think we don't know man! Giga laughed. Data ere hacked in your computer-


Which by the way, was pathetic. 258 bit encryption is a no-brainer for me. Byte interjected.


And pulled up your little journal thingy..


Beta suddenly wished he was in a hole, and that a good Samaritan was shoveling dirt in it.


Wow man, the poems you wrote... Dat's some deep shit!


Shut up! Beta said angrily.


You of course, realize that the possibilities of Byte going out with you are... Byte pulled out a calculator and started to punch random numbers.


... are 124113483 to 1. Owned.


Your fulla shit Data. I can have her as much as I can with your yaoi porn stash! And might I add those were some mighty erotic poses you were doing?


Data's mouth opened in astonishment, Giga just looked at her bewildered, and started to laugh hysterically.


I'm going to ask Byte out. Watch me. Beta said calmly, turned on his heel and marched straight to the group of rudies clustered around a single Noise Tank, giggling.


Aww fuck... Why did I say that?


Well, no turning back now.


S'cuze me, coming through.... uh, no thanks.. Beta apologized as he moved through the group, until he was face to face with Byte, blonde hair, and if he was not so infatuated with her, he would have noticed the excessive makeup on her.


What do you want? Byte asked, arching an eyebrow.


Uh... ah, well..... I...


You are such a fuckin idiot.


Thanks for the news flash.....





Beta was aware of the absolute silence around him, and felt the penetrating looks everyone was giving him.... He was going, NO! Not now damnit!


Shit, he blushed.


There was a titter among the girls, and Beta summoned what remained of his courage and said in a loud clear voice,


Are you free this Saturday?


Unfortunately, it came out garbled, like talking in spite of a deep stab wound, which made him sound incredibly retarded, and must have looked it. Byte looked at him, raised her hand, pointed....


..... and laughed.


Everyone was in an uproar, laughing, doubling up, choking on soda...


Beta slumped through the crowds, jolted a few times, and slipped through and into the pathway leading to Genkojimae. He could dimly hear Giga's voice booming, and forced himself to look forward. He stopped dead in his tracks.


A pair of glowing, yellow eyes greeted him from a corner, and Beta strained to see who it was.


Oh... What is it Thirteen?


The rudie said nothing, and continued to stare.


....You freak the hell out of me... Beta spat, and stormed off.


The glowing goggles wavered a bit when Beta was out of eye-sight.





==========


It was quite sometime before Beta showed up to the train station, he went and collected his paycheck from the Tokyo-To Paycheck Commissioning building, constructed so corrupt businessman wouldn't take advantage of their employees.


Rarely worked.


Beta walked up to the window, paid for a ticket, and was about to be on his way, when he became aware of someone crying. He casually looked over his shoulder, and saw a blue haired girl in a blue sundress digging through her purse.


My card! It was here! Where is it? she moaned.


Beta made to move up the stairs but his legs became locked.


Help her.


Beta growled angrily. Fuck women. All they exist to do is make your life miserable, leech you of your money. She can go to hell.


You are not that way.


Not that way? Well right now Beta certainly felt like becoming that way. Humiliated and laughed at. Girls always do that to guys who loved them. Only reciprocating the love when the guy is about to shut off the money flow to them.


Not always.


If Beta had the chance, he would undergo surgery to get rid of that annoying little voice in his head that continually pestered him when he was going to do something wrong... No... Beta would never do that.


Beta sighed inwardly, defeated, and with the knowledge that he was a jerk in thinking those things. No wonder Byte laughed at him. What a sight, some blithering Japanese nerd professing interest in something as godly as her, a nerd who hated the very family she grew up in, living in the pit of metal and rust and cheap furniture.... A nerd who hated himself.


Oh yeah... Mr. Right, in da house.


He turned around and confronted the small girl, who squeaked when she saw him. Beta stared at her for a while.


Gorgeous blue eyes.


Then he grabbed her hand and pressed his train ticket into it.


Take it. I just don't care anymore.


And before the blue-haired girl can protest, Beta had slipped off into the crowds, becoming just another number...... again.