Chapter 22

Skulker rubbed at his face, still remembering the pain of Ember's guitar smashing into it. Women! He shook his head, hardly understanding what set her off in a rage. Luckily she wasn't present at The Vortex at that moment, or else he would probably have been run out the moment he set foot into the place. After Ember struck him, Skulker got up to find that Phantom, along with the other program and security dog, was already gone. It would have been the perfect opportunity to capture his prey while Phantom was unconscious, but with the other two programs present, it was probably for the best that they left him alone to take care of Phantom. A security program was a dangerous thing to tangle with, their programming specifically designed to fight off viruses. That black haired program didn't look like a pushover either, as many other programs were.

Skulker sighed, running his hand back over his head as he leaned on the bar counter. The fight wasn't exactly what he was expecting. Naturally when Skulker made his appearance in the real world, Phantom showed up to fight him. Skulker was disappointed with how easily Ember's attack tossed Phantom back. The rogue program was a much tougher opponent when he first came into being. But since then, Phantom didn't show any increase in power, merely surviving fights through reckless maneuvers. Then those pesky humans showed up, and Skulker was unable to seek his prey while defending against the humans' attacks. Turning in his seat, he stared grumpily at the virus beside him.

"So what exactly was the point of all that?" Skulker questioned, eying the strange looking virus with his brain seen through the clear dome atop his head.

"To draw out the Phantom program," answered the other virus as he reviewed the fight on one screen and a stream of data on the other.

"This is an awful lot of work just to kill off the program." Skulker frowned at the other virus with spiny legs under his big bulbous body. When the virus suggested they work together, Skulker had his reservations about the team up. He wasn't one to work with a partner, being a lone hunter.

"Why kill him when we can make him one of us?" A smirk slipped over the virus' face as he turned to Skulker.

"One of us?" Skulker repeated in uncertainty.

"I have plans for twisting the program's purpose," explained the virus, returning to sifting through the data. "But with this unnatural coding, I'll need to observe more of his fights." He grinned with an evil light seeming to gleam off the shades that hid his eyes. "I have another plan in the works for that. Phantom will have more than just us viruses to fight against."

"You do realize I set up this establish as a place of business, right?"

Skulker turned to the program behind the bar. Red eyes glared at him in annoyance as the program frowned, tapping an impatient beat upon the countertop. He had a strange, shadowy body dotted with lights that shifted when he moved. Purple horns curled out to the sides of his head. Nocturne owned the club, and despite being a mere program, no virus that frequented the joint dared to tangle with him.

"Yeah, yeah," Skulker mumbled as he spilled some data bytes that he won in a game against another virus onto the counter. Nocturne collected the payment before strolling off to file it away within his stores.

The brief interaction drew the other virus away from his research. "I'm curious," he announced as his shaded eyes followed Nocturne's movements. "Why is a program running an establish for viruses?"

Skulker blinked, the inquiry slowly rolling through his brain. Then he chuckled with a shake of his head. "You really are a new virus, huh?" He glanced toward Nocturne, who was shooing Klemper out of The Vortex after the obnoxious virus spent far too long harassing the other patrons about being his friend. "It was years ago," Skulker explained, watching the program a while longer before he turned back to the virus beside him. "Viruses and programs aren't exactly known for getting along together. Viruses corrupt programs. That's our nature. But there was a virus named Vortex," obviously the namesake for the establishment. "He met Nocturne, and they fell for each other. They had this dream of opening this place. But then something happened."

Skulker frowned as he leaned on the bar. "They were the first to ever escape into the real world, even if it was by mere accident that they got pulled out of the NetZone. The Guys in White seized them before they could even get any understanding of what happened. Their bodies weren't as stable in the real world, and they couldn't really do anything to fight off the agents. Nocturne doesn't talk about what happened while he was held captive by the GIW. The only thing we know is that Vortex sacrificed himself during their escape so that Nocturne could get away. No one knows what happened to Vortex when the GIW's antivirus program, known as Walker, hit him. Walker could have simply wounded him too badly to escape again, or he could have erased Vortex's very existence. Nocturne remains the only one that ever escaped Walker and the GIW."

"I wouldn't see the only one," mumbled the virus as he returned to tapping through the data he gathered, reviewing the fight that took place only hours ago.

"What?" Skulker blinked at the strange virus that still had never given his name to him. "Any virus caught by the GIW never escapes from that hell. It's as bad as being thrown into the under level." In some ways, Skulker thought perhaps the GIW was worse. Being experimented on, poked and prodded, cut into, dissected before eventually meeting with the ultimate fate of being erased from existence sent a cold shudder through him. The under level, it seemed at the very least, didn't result in being destroyed if Phantom's escape from it meant anything.

"Not all of us are incredibly loud braggers." The virus landed a look on him, like the comment was directed specifically at Skulker, and after recalling the way they met, Skulker realized it most definitely was about him. "I prefer not broadcasting that I escaped from the hands of the GIW. Walker might stick around the GIW headquarter, protecting against viruses and making sure none escape, but he has underlings that patrol around the NetZone. I don't want word getting out about my location."

Skulker stared with wide green eyes at the virus. He heard no news about a virus escaping recently from the GIW base. But thinking on it, he decided Walker wouldn't want the embarrassment of a virus escaping his prison, again, being spread around the NetZone. If it got out that viruses were escaping from the GIW headquarter, Walker would probably be looking at a riot on his hands. Skulker smirked at the thought of causing a little trouble for that obnoxious antivirus program.

A metal finger tapped upon the counter as he watched the virus beside him. "What's your whole interest in Phantom anyway?" Skulker frowned, not liking the idea of someone else chasing after his prey. He would eventually have Phantom to add to his collection.

"Programming," the virus mumbled, hardly giving Skulker a glance.

That was one of the irritating things about this virus. He treated Skulker like everything about him didn't matter. Skulker clenched the jaw of his metal head as his steely hand closed in a tight fist. The secretive side of the virus wasn't helping matters either. The short, cryptic responses grew frustrating at times.

"Care to expand on that answer?" Skulker's mouth thinned as he waited for more of an explanation.

"A full explanation isn't necessary." The virus finally closed out of his screens and turned to face Skulker, his attention fully upon the other virus at last. "Your assistance doesn't require that you know, or even have a base understanding, of the endgame. Phantom is my objective." A smirk slipped onto his green skinned face, something secretive in that expression that set Skulker on edge with curiosity. "Though not in the same manner that my users' programming originally intended."

That wasn't so unusual. Viruses, even programs, often developed beyond the intentions of their users' purposes. Nocturne was a prime example of a program that broke free from the restrictions of his original coding. He didn't even require corruption from a virus to achieve it, like many other programs. Those programs and viruses left abandoned and forgotten by their users had an easier time of becoming their own beings than newly created ones.

"And who programmed you?" Skulker questioned curiously. His own user was a man out of New York that coded him to hunt through computers and collect information for him to use for whatever purpose he had in mind. The minds of humans would remain forever baffling to Skulker. But that inherent programming led him to become the hunter that he was, collecting unique artifact in the NetZone, like the sword of the Fright Knight and eventually Phantom himself. He was quite aware that this virus was using him for his own purposes, but Skulker overlooked that fact for the simple reason that once Phantom was in his grasp, he would turn around and betray this mysterious virus. The endgame, as it was put earlier, didn't matter to him. Skulker's only concern was in acquiring the Phantom program.

"There wasn't one single user that aided in the coding of my program," answered the virus. "I couldn't tell you each individual by name."

That information made Skulker blink in surprise. There were, of course, programs and viruses that had two or three users that helped in their development. But something in the way this virus spoke made it sound like there was a much larger group involved in his creation. This seemed like a curious development to his association with the virus. What group of users had their eyes on Phantom?

"I swear the next time that nuisance enters my establishment, I'll make him regret it," Nocturne muttered with a clenched fist as he appeared behind the bar again. "Someone should put that Klemper out of all our miseries."

The interruption to the conversation twisted something in Skulker's mind. Memories of the fight flitted back through his mind, and he recalled that strange program with the green dog security program. He frowned, leaning on the countertop. "Nocturne, you've encountered a lot of viruses and programs in your time, right?"

Red eyes slid toward him as Nocturne's brow knitted at the question. "Plenty of viruses visit this place on a daily basis. I know some of the local programs, but most I hear about through chatter here."

"Know anything about a program with black hair that's sort of styled like horns?" If anyone knew anything about the program, Skulker would put all his data on Nocturne having the answers. "White clothing, red eyes, has a security program with him that appears like a giant green dog."

Nocturne pondered over the information provided to him, searching through his memory bank to find something that fit the description. "Doesn't ring a bell," he said at last with a shake of his head. "But if you ask around, someone might have an answer for you."

Skulker was more than a little disappointed with that response. If Nocturne didn't know who that unknown program was, then Skulker doubted that he would find anyone else that would know. The only reason the program circled back into his mind was because it walked off with his prey. Skulker drummed his fingers upon the countertop, wondering if Phantom finally decided to team up with another program to fight viruses. If that proved to be true, he and his kind might have more trouble coming their way in the future.

DARKLOVEFORFANFICTION123: Thanks~ =)

DB-KT: Haha, he probably should worry about it. XD;; Hm... Maybe not in the same manner? *coughs-digitalhunger?-coughs*

Sammi: Yay! XD Yes, the Fenton Thermos~ Gotta have that in here~

midnight: 8D Yup!

WafflesNojutsu: I'll think about it~ =)

maltese: Haha, yeah. orz I pretty much do. One day. orz One day they'll stop with the irrational hatred. orz I hope.