There was silence between Gaspard and They. Hunched over unable to move because of the shackles and unable to speak because of the cloth tied over their mouth, They only looked at Gaspard before looking back over at the screen Father had left up.
They both had seen it. The fight Father had waged between Haseo and his party. It was insane how strong Haseo actually was. Watching as three of They's brothers were ultimately destroyed by an enraged Haseo. They just shattered from his data-drain. They haven't seen anything like it, not even their own data-drain was that strong.
Still, Haseo had every right to be angry, incensed, and enraged by what happened. They both had seen it, Kuhn's data was taken.
Kuhn's data was taken while protecting Haseo from a data-drain that was meant for him.
It was…tragic.
Gaspard was crying.
It wasn't just Gaspard that was crying, but his actual player. The person behind Gaspard.
They watched… amazed…but also sad. It wasn't suppose to get this far. Father was never suppose to know about this…
Gaspard sniffled as he looked at They. The two of them locked eyes before They lowered their's to the ground. They couldn't speak. Not with the gag over their mouth. Still, there's one thing Father didn't account for. The chatbox. They didn't need their hands for this as it was connected directly to them.
So, Gaspard only watched as the chatbox appeared over their head.
I'm sorry; this was never suppose to happen.
Gaspard sniffled and sloppily wiped at his eyes. "Why?..." He whimpered weakly. "Why'd you do it? What did I ever do to you?!" He gasped between his soft sobs. "What did Kuhn do!?"
They only looked at Gaspard and then lowered their gaze back to the ground.
I was scared. You'd tell everyone about me.
Gaspard tensed as he read those words. "Well… now look what happened! Not only does everybody know but-but…I lost a good friend…again."
Again?
Gaspard wiped his eyes again and let out a soft gasp in order to catch his breath. "S-Silabus. Last year he-he fell into a coma. He was in a coma for two months… I didn't think he would ever come back…and now… now Kuhn is gone! Only it's different! They took his whole character! He's not coming back! He has to make a whole new character because of this! Start over from level one! Everything he worked hard for is gone. Kuhn is gone!"
They lowered their eyes once more and let their head bow in shame.
It…hurt. They couldn't explain it, but it hurt. Gaspards words hurt them.
I'm sorry.
"Sorry isn't going to bring Kuhn back…" Gaspard hissed softly as he turned away from They.
There was uncomfortable silence after that. They continued their sad gaze at their boots and felt a painful tugging in their chest.
'I wish there was something I could do…I'm not the one who took Kuhn's data, so giving it back would be next to impossible, plus all data almost immediately goes to Father. Damn-'
"Gaspard!?" It was while They were trapped in their own thoughts did Silabus's voice ring out through the outer dungeon. His actual voice. They immediately turned their head towards where the voice was coming from-
"Sila-Silabus!" Gaspard yelled as he ran to his cage and wrapped his fingers around the bars in desperation. "Over here! I'm-... we're over here!" He corrected himself.
Off in the distance They could see it. The faint over growing outline of three players rushing towards them as fast as they possibly could.
'They did it…they actually did it. They found a way into the outer dungeon…'
If the situation weren't completely dire, if they haven't had lost Kuhn, then maybe Silabus would have been amazed by the outer dungeon. How it was completely playable despite the fact that it looked like a beta version of the game (and probably was, in all honesty), and how there were actual monsters that needed to be fought. It was all insane and would usually make him geek out. But Silabus was a man on a mission.
He heard Gaspard's scream for him and all of them sped up their running tenfold knowing that they were going in the right direction.
There, off in the distance, they could see it. The outline of a cage and a person that wasn't Gaspard. Silabus had his sword out in a heart beat. He wasn't tired, not at all, if anything he was itching for another fight.
'It's another mimic!' Silabus could see that because this mimic chose his form. He didn't wonder if this was the original mimic who started this whole trainwreck or not. It was a mimic and he was going to put it down if need be- that was until he saw the thing changed to the floor with it's mouth bound and gagged.
The three of them almost skidded to a stop.
He wasn't the only one with his weapon out. Atoli and Haseo were also ready to throw down, but, like Silabus, they were also confused by the situation.
The Mimic's eyes almost seemed to have lit up the moment it saw them approach.
Haseo put a hand on Silabus's shoulder and lightly pushed him back as he took the lead. Haseo kept both of his guns pointed at the Mimic. The Mimic's eyes dimmed a little at this as they hunched their shoulders. He then turned to Gaspard.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
Gaspard let out a shaky breath. "I am! I really am! I just want out of this thing!"
Haseo turned from the Mimic to focus on the cage. "There's no lock…or door…" He observed as he circled around the cage to try and find a weakness.
"It absorbs attacks! So, I don't think you can break it down either!" Gaspard warned Haseo.
"Great…" Haseo groaned as he dragged his hand down his face in a mixture of exaggeration and exhaustion from everything leading to this point.
If I may?
It was a good thing Haseo saw the chatbox out of the corner of his eye, otherwise he might have missed it when the Mimic tried to talk to him.
Both Atoli and Silabus got right back into attack position as they stared the Mimic down. The mimic jumped a little a this but didn't seem to let it bother them as they continued to type while Haseo was looking at them.
If you cut me free from these shackles…I will delete the cage.
Haseo scowled at the Mimic. "Why should we trust you? For all we know you're the one who took Kuhn's code, or the one who started all of this!" Haseo snarled.
… I did start this, but I swear on my short life I did not take Kuhn's code…I'm sorry about Kuhn, I never meant for any of your friends to get hurt.
The Mimic bowed it's head as if to show how remorseful they were.
Silabus, the real Silabus, looked away from his fake counterpart. Haseo could see him chewing on the inside of his cheek, no doubt stopping himself from cursing the mimic out then and there. Then Silabus went on mute.
Ryou almost wanted to laugh at the angry grumbles Yuuichi was producing over at the couch. It wasn't loud enough to cause an echo, it was only just loud enough for Ryou to hear. Still, Ryou didn't dwell on it for too long.
Haseo focused his attention back on the Mimic. "Let me repeat the question you didn't answer-" Haseo took several steps towards the mimic. Haseo stood tall over the mimic's hunched form, his shoulders were tense and he gripped the dual guns so tightly in his hands that it almost hurt, and he glared down at the AI. "-Why should we trust you?" He inquired again. His index fingers resting on the triggers now; threatening to shoot the mimic where it stood.
Well, this lit a fire inside of the Mimic as it's eyes turned hard.
Because I could have PK'd and data-drained all of you at least once, but I didn't. I could have harmed Gaspard, but I didn't. I don't wish to harm you or your friends. You can trust me and because you have no choice but to trust me because that cage is one of my own creation. If you want it gone then you have to come to me.
The two of them stared one another down.
Haseo almost seemed to relax. Like he was relenting and it made the Mimic relax-
Haseo then reached over and grabbed the mimic by the throat with one of his hands. This forced the mimic to straighten up uncomfortably against it's binds. "Try anything funny and I'll shatter you. Am I clear?" He snarled at this mimic. Haseo almost felt bad as he could see the mimic's fearful expression and it really didn't help that the mimic was wearing Silabus's face on top of having a terrified expression.
Understood…
Haseo put his guns away once he let go of the Mimic's throat and he took out his sycthe. "Hold still." He ordered. He lined the shackles with his scythe before pulling back and swinging with all of his might. With a yell, Haseo managed to break through the pixelated chains with ease.
Once the shackles dissipated the Mimic was able to use their hands and the first thing they did was to free their mouth from the gag. "Oh- Oh thank the gods!" The Mimic gasped out.
Silabus visibly tensed when he heard his own voice echo out of the mimic.
The mimic never saw this as they focused solely on Haseo. "Thank you…" They continue to gasp before straightening up. "And…I do apologize to what happened to your friend."
They then flicked their hands and a keyboard appeared right in front of them. "The cage won't be hard to delete…" They mumbled.
The Mimic was swift to hold up their end of the bargain and within seconds the cage vanished and Gaspard, who was leaning heavily on the bars, fell face-first on the ground with a loud "Oof!" of shock. Just as quick as he fell, he was on his feet.
"Silabus!" Gaspard immediately ran to Silabus. The real Silabus. Silabus hugged Gaspard quickly and gave him a quick once over.
"Are you alright?" Silabus inquired as he lightly squished Gaspard's face in his hands.
" 'M fine!' Gaspard responded.
"We were so worried about you!" Atoli was next to wrap her arms around Gaspard.
The Mimic took a step towards Gaspard and everyone reacted like the mimic was ready to fight. Silabus and Atoli had their weapons out in only milliseconds. The Mimic gave a sharp gasp and backed away.
"I'm sorry…" The Mimic whispered as they lowered their head.
Silabus and Haseo both shared a look with one another before focusing back on the mimic. Silabus swiftly sent a message to Haseo.
What are you going to do with them?
Was the question Silabus posed. Haseo read the message and paused before answering.
Haseo sent a message!
I don't know. I trust them about as far as I throw them.
Silabus shut his eyes as he sent a response back.
Same.
There was a moment of silence as he waited for Haseo's reply, and he didn't have to wait for long.
Haseo sent a message!
I just got a message from Zelkova. He wants to talk to them…
Silabus gave a shrug at Haseo.
If it's what Zelkova wants…
Haseo nodded and turned towards the mimic. "You." He pointed at the mimic. "You're coming with us to the Netslum."
The Mimic looked up at Haseo and it's mouth twisted a little. "I mean… I'm not against it but… considering what my brethren did to your friend and how you… mauled them… going up against the remaining seven of you is…less than ideal." The Mimic whispered with wide eyes.
"Yeah well, if I had it my way-" Haseo bit his tongue when Silabus and Atoli both put a hand on his shoulders silencing him. Haseo looked at both of them before relaxing a little bit. "-It doesn't matter. We aren't going to attack you. We just want to talk. You seem… a cut above the others we faced so far."
The mimic blushed a little before tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.
Silabus and Haseo just shared a look with one another. Silabus then cleared his throat.
"If I may?" Silabus spoke next causing the mimic to look at him. "Could you…look less like me before we go back to the Netslum? It could get confusing…" Silabus softly asked of the mimic.
"Look less like you? Yeah, I could do that."
"Good, oh, and none of our friends either. Again, for obvious reasons." Atoli chimed in just the same as she clasped her hands together.
"Don't look like…your friends?" The mimic blinked in shock at the request. They then brought their index finger to their chin in thought.
"Just choose a look you like!" Gaspard then encouraged the mimic.
"But… this is the look I like." The mimic lightly argued.
Silabus's mic was muted in record time.
"Why me!?" Yuuichi's muffled whine was what greeted Ryou.
Ryou lifted his headset and had to bite back his laugh at Yuuichi. Yuuichi was curled on the couch, a pillow over his head. Then Yuuichi kicked his legs violently against the couch while screaming in frustration in the pillow. "Why does this thing like me?! What did I do..." Yuuichi trailed off suddenly as he let his body go limp for a moment. His breath almost seemed to go ragged as a soft "...Oh my god…" left his mouth. He sounded genuinely shocked by whatever he realized and it made Ryou sit up.
"One moment guys…Yuuichi?" Ryou muted his own mic. "You good?"
"I kissed them…" Yuuichi didn't lift the pillow from his head. In fact, like he was attempting to smother himself to death, he pressed it harder against his face.
Ryou blinked in shock and thought for sure he heard the wrong thing. "What?" He asked as he set his headset down.
"I kissed them!" Yuuichi almost seemed to sob into the pillow now. "I thought they were you and I kissed them!" Yuuichi went right back to kicking his feet against the couch in frustration. "I am so sorry!"
Ryou walked up to Yuuichi and lightly tapped his shoulder. "Sit up, and take that pillow off your face. What do you mean you kissed them?" Ryou inquired, arguably feeling a little hurt by this.
Yuuichi sighed and did as instructed. He, begrudgingly, removed the pillow from his face as he sat up. "Remember when we realized that that mimic was doing everything it can to get into our parties? Either by pretending to be me, pretending to be you, or, as we realized, pretending to be Gaspard to be with both of us?"
"Yeah. You mentioned something about a snowy area and being in a snowball fight with the mimic-"
"I kissed them. I thought they were you and I just…" Yuuichi let out a noise of frustation as he tried to say what he needed to say, but nothing came out for several seconds. "I…I am so sorry!" He finally exclaimed as tears sprung in his eyes.
"Whoa, calm down." Ryou put his hands on Yuuichi's shoulders and forced his boyfriend to look at him. "Is it ideal that you technically kissed someone else? No. But you didn't know they were a mimic, hell, when they kissed me pretending to be you I had no clue either. So, we're both blameless-"
"But I'm not!" Yuuichi argued with Ryou. Yuuichi then put his hands on Ryou's shoulders just the same. "Ryou… they had a different name! but I still…I thought… they just said the name was a glitch…" Yuuichi hands shook as he tightened his grip on Ryou's shoulders. It wasn't painful, but it was starting to get there. "I should have known from that alone that it wasn't you, but they just looked so much like you that… I was willing to believe- I… I'm better than that…"
Yuuichi looked absolutely beside himself as he shook a little.
"Look at me-" Ryou didn't give him a choice. He was gentle as he touched both sides of Yuuichi's jaw, forcing Yuuichi to look at him.
"It's really not as bad as you're making it out to be. It was still a mistake. Yuuichi, he looked identical to Haseo, and he looks identical to Silabus right now. Side-by-side it's almost impossible to differentiate. Yes, these mimics look off and it's a calling card of theirs, no doubt… but even still it took us a while to even truly realize it. I don't blame you anymore than you can't blame me for not pushing them away when they kissed me because I thought for sure they were you. The name thing… honestly, I might have fallen for it as well if they looked identical to you."
Yuuichi looked relieved as his shoulders visibly relaxed and he stopped shaking against Ryou. Still, Ryou tilted his head at this. "Why are you so upset about this, anyways? This is the most distressed I've ever seen you and it's over a mistake…"
"I despise cheaters…" Yuuichi leaned in and placed the top of his head against Ryou's shoulder. Ryou reached over and placed his hand on top of Yuuichi's messy hair. "The idea of being one makes me physically sick, even if it's an accident."
"Fair enough." Ryou nodded. "But it's okay. You're still technically not one. You didn't know."
"...Do you want to hear the crazy thing?"
"Hm?"
"It's after I kissed this mimic did they start to change. I swear it. I also think it's where the obsession stimmed from. Or…am I just being weirdly conceded?"
Ryou listened to what Yuuichi said before nodding along. "No. It makes some form of sense. It at least explains their weird obsession with you if anything. The question is…where did their obsession with me come in? And why? I didn't kiss them they kissed me… this all gives me a headache."
"Me too…" Yuuichi sighed heavily. "We'll have to figure it out later, however; we've been talking for too long and I'm sure Zelkova and the others are waiting on us…"
"Yeah. C'mon."
It was while Haseo and Silabus talked to one another did Gaspard brave the subject to They. "Look, you can't just look like Silabus, Silabus needs to look like Silabus. You'll just make it confusing…but something tells me you're use to just taking others looks." Gaspard had approached They.
They tilted their head at Gaspard. "Well… that is what I was programmed to do."
"Yes…but as we both know, you can easily violate that code…maybe we should approach this slowly…" Gaspard sighed as he put his hands on his hips. "One thing. Why don't you change one thing about Silabus. Just so we-" Gaspard gestured to all of them even though Haseo and Silabus were still idle and on mute. "Can easily tell you apart from Silabus."
"One thing…"
"One small thing." Gaspard encouraged.
"Oh…well…"
They looked at Atoli and Gaspard before shutting their eyes. 'One thing…one small thing…'
They felt their form change. More specifically their right eye.
"How about this?!" They excitedly asked Gaspard.
Gaspard and Atoli both emoted with sweatdrops. "...I thought you might go for a different hair color, or change your clothes… but…the black eyepatch works." Gaspard gave an awkward laugh.
"If Silabus was a pirate…" Atoli whispered to him and the two of them had to fight the urge to laugh.
"Regardless, it's a small change and it does help us tell the difference between you and Silabus- oh! Maybe you should change your name too!" Atoli then encouraged. "To, you know, your actual name!"
They frowned at this. "I…I don't have a name."
The smiles on Atoli's and Gaspard's faces dropped. "You don't have a name?" Gaspard repeated.
"No. I was never given one. So, I just go by the person I'm mimicking for…convenience…"
The two of them wanted to expand on this, ask questions, maybe even give them a name themselves, but they never got the chance as Haseo came back. "What in the world? Why do they have an eyepatch on?"
"We're starting small!" They exclaimed. "To help me branch out and find my own style! Isn't it cool!"
Haseo scowled. "Whatever…" He grumbled. "As long as you don't look identical to Silabus anymore."
"Er…" Silabus gave an uncomfortable face as he looked at the mimic. "..." Silabus then just gave them a very awkward thumbs up before looking away from the mimic in question.
Silabus sent a message!
It's so strange. Unlike the other mimics we faced. They seem more human than their…siblings (?).
Haseo read over the message before responding back just as quickly.
Haseo sent a message!
I noticed this also. They're almost child-like in a sense.
Silabus had to agree and that was all that was said on the matter.
From the outer dungeon all of them, the mimic included, warped into the Netslum.
Silabus had to give the mimic some credit where it was due. Most people probably would have wised up and fled given the chance. Especially when both Haseo and Silabus went AFK for as long as they had. Yet, the mimic stayed.
The mimic stayed and chatted happily with Gaspard. Like the mimic hadn't been the one to kidnap Gaspard in the first place causing all of this.
Causing Kuhn's character to be deleted…
Silabus was both infuriated and impressed at the mimic's rather lackadaisical approach to all that's currently happened to night. Sill, he watched the mimic out of the corner of his eye more than once on their walk to the bridge.
In all honesty, Silabus figured Gaspard would have immediately logged out once they were in the Netslum; he knows he would have once free. But Gaspard stayed. Granted, Gaspard clung to him like a sandbur the whole time. Even going as far as to attach himself to Silabus's arm. Not that Silabus really blamed him.
When they got closer to the bridge was when Silabus started to hang back, allowing Gaspard to hang back also. "Hey." Silabus softly called out making everyone turn to look at him. 'God, it's weird having your own face look back at you.' He thought as he looked at the mimic. Eyepatch or not, that was still Silabus's own face staring back at him and it was weird. Still, Silabus kept his composure as he continued. "Gaspard and I are going to hang back. I don't think you guys will be needing us anymore from this point on."
Haseo looked ready to protest, but he then softened and gave a nod. "Understood." Haseo and Atoli then went forward.
The mimic gave them one last curious look before rushing off to join them.
Once it was just Silabus and Gaspard. Silabus looked down at Gaspard and lightly patted his head. "Are you okay?" Silabus was first to ask.
Gaspard shook his head and looked down at the ground. "Ku-...Kuhn is really gone…isn't he?" Gaspard softly sniffled as he reached up to rub his invisible tears away.
"You know?" Silabus asked him as he bent down so he and Gaspard were eye-to-eye.
Gaspard nodded. "That strange man…the one with the dark green hair, he put up a screen. We saw and heard everything…"
"Oh geez…" Silabus gave a weak sigh as he shifted so he was squatting and putting less weight on just one leg. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't have been subjected to that. But for the moment…yes, Kuhn is gone, but the actual Kuhn- Tomonari- is okay. Right? You've been texting him this whole time."
Gaspard sniffed again as he nodded. "B-But…it's my fault! If I hadn't have gotten kidnapped-" Silabus didn't even let Gaspard finish. He quickly wrapped his arms around Gaspard and pulled him into a hug.
"No, Gaspard. It's absolutely, one hundred precent, not your fault." Silabus told him in a stern, but not harsh, tone. Gaspard let out a weak hiccup right before he sobbed softly. "If anything, it's that mimic's fault for kidnapping you."
Gaspard pulled back from Silabus. "Mimic? Is that what they're called?"
"Yes. That's what that man- Father his name was- called them."
"It makes sense… but…the mimic… That mimic, the one that looks like you. They said that they never wanted things to get this far and even they looked shocked at Kuhn's character being deleted… despite kidnapping me they were oddly nice."
"Yeah…I could tell…" Silabus breathed out as he gave his head a shake. "There's something different about them."
"They like you… alot."
"Yeah…" Silabus used a sweatdrop emote as he let his head hang.
"I think they're different because they're learning. It's like that guy- Father- said. Their code is expanding with them. They're smarter than their brethren… I know!" Gaspard suddenly let out a happy gasp.
"Hm?"
"We should do what we do best! We should teach them about The World! Let them learn how to actually play and show them how to find their own style. So their code can keep expanding and they won't be so confused on how to be their own person outside of their mimicking powers and hacks! And eventually they might even get over their crush on you!"
Silabus opened his mouth to protest. The last thing he wanted to do was help teach this mimic…but then came the problem. He didn't have a reason to turn down Gaspard's idea because it was a good idea in all honesty.
"Well… that's a good idea." Silabus spoke slowly as he tried to think of a way out of it, but still, no counter point came to mind…well…one did. "But, we'll have to see how Haseo thinks of the idea. Don't forget, Gaspard, this mimic, it's still dangerous."
Gaspard nodded once Silabus was finished. "You're right…" A puff of air suddenly left Gaspard's mouth. "I think I'll ask tomorrow…I'm getting tired."
"Yeah, I can only imagine it's got to be…" Yuuichi paused and looked at his phone quickly. "Five in the morning. Good god, what a night…" He sighed all the same as Gaspard. He then pinched the bridge of his nose as he focused back up at Gaspard as Silabus.
"You're telling me. I'm going to log out."
"Yeah, you do that. Get some rest, okay. I'll message you tomorrow to see how you're holding up."
"Okay! Good night :)" With that Gaspard warped out with a wave.
Silabus's shoulders slumped once he was alone. "God…" he whispered as he clutched at his chest.
A part of him wanted to go to the bridge and silently watch from the shadows, but he decided against it. He wasn't an epitaph user, in fact, he technically shouldn't even know about the epitaphs. So, he sent a quick whisper to Haseo explaining that Gaspard logged out for the night and that he'd be in Canard.
Silabus walked inside of Canard, found the darkest corner he could, ignored Death Grunty's demand of "What are you doing here at this hour!? *Oink!*" and sat down.
Meanwhile, Yuuichi chose to lay down on the couch. He was on his back so not to disturb his M2D too much. Laying there, he had Silabus stare ahead blankly.
Yuuichi really didn't remember much as he dozed off the moment he allowed himself to relax.
To say the welcome party for the mimic was a little icy was an understatement.
'If looks could kill…' Haseo thought as Pi glared at the mimic before her. Of course Pi's anger was completely justifiable. Losing one of their own was not something they planned on. They never should have lost Kuhn-
'You should have been faster. Idiot! Kuhn lost his character because you were too slow!' Haseo's mind scolded him as his heart gave a painful twist.
"Haseo!-"
The fake Silabus was raining blow after blow on him. Not giving up, forcing Haseo into a blocking position, forcing him to be still. That was when Kuhn came slamming into Haseo. Haseo was knocked off his feet from the sudden assault and fell to his side just in time to hear the unmistakable sound of a data-drain being fired off. All he saw was the ball of data fly right above him and slam directly into Kuhn.
It was the mimic of Gaspard that fired off the shot. The mimic that Haseo couldn't focus on because the Silabus Mimic was forcing his attention.
Kuhn let out a cry of pain. He couldn't even fight the data-drain it was that powerful. In only milliseconds Kuhn's character, data, Magus, and all were gone. Kuhn was gone.
"No…" Haseo whispered as he slowly got up to his feet.
Atoli let out a shock cry from behind him.
Haseo whipped his head around to see the fake Silabus getting hit in the head. Atoli used her staff as a bat to knock him off of her. The fake Gaspard was going for a round two. His hand raised, twilight bracelet getting ready to power up. "Give him back…" Haseo spoke lowly as he took one step towards the mimic. The mimic didn't even notice him.
Haseo then charged. His own twilight bracelet suddenly around his wrist. "Give him back!" Haseo demanded. The mimic heard him that time and froze once he saw Haseo's own twilight bracelet.
"A little help here!" The fake Gaspard didn't even bother with the voice as he ran away from Haseo. It sounded nothing like Gaspard. But their call for help worked. Haseo saw green come rushing at him from the corner of his eye-
Having the data-drain already powered up, Haseo turned and fired-
He could only watch in horror as Silabus let out a wheezing gasp as their form shattered from his blow. Haseo took a startled step back as fear gripped him. "Sila-!" Silabus's form flickered as the mimic's true form took over. The mimic then fell to their knees before sliding on to their side. Limp.
For Haseo, thinking that he hurt Silabus should have maybe calmed him down, but no. If anything it fueled his rage. These things and their stupid abilities were pissing him off to no end. He twisted to the Gaspard mimic.
"Looks like you're all alone…" Haseo snarled. Skeith started to scratch below the surface. Begging to be let out. The fake Gaspard gulped as they pressed themselves against the barrier. Their figure started to tremble. 'As it should.' Haseo had thought as he took a threatening step forward.
Well, turns out the Gaspard mimic had some brains after all. A smoke screen was deployed forcing the battle to an abrupt end. "No!" Haseo roared.
By the time they managed to recover the beast mimic was nowhere to be seen.
Skeith was displeased by this. Growing more and more impatient and blood-hungry. Haseo felt his breath hitch and turn slightly ragged. It was the sound of battle that made Haseo turn.
Silabus, the real Silabus, was currently fighting for his life no doubt. Haseo thought about Kuhn and about how quickly he was taken from them. 'I won't lose Silabus too!'
"Atoli stay here!" Was the last thing Haseo had said to her before he charged into the battle to protect Silabus.
To say Haseo felt guilty about this whole situation was an understatement.
Pi crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to glare at the mimic who didn't seem to notice.
"Hello there." Zelkova was the only one to greet the mimic nicely.
The Mimic looked at Zelkova and tilted their head curiously. "You're… like me…" They concluded. "But…not. It's hard to properly describe, but I can see it. You're just code. Just like me."
"I didn't expect you to pick up so fast on that."
"..." The mimic didn't answer, instead, they looked at the others for a brief moment. Letting their one eye wander from person to person. They then grabbed at their arm and looked rather guilty. "I have a feeling you didn't bring me here to just chat… what is it that you guys want?"
"Kuhn back." Haseo didn't even hesitate.
"And information." Yata chimed in immediately afterwards.
"..." The Mimic's mouth twisted a little. "...I saw what happened to your friend, as mentioned before, and I do apologize but…there's nothing that can be done. What's done is done."
"He can't just be gone!" Pi immediately argued.
"His character, data and all, were sucked up by one of my brethren. That data immediately went to Father. We have no control over what happens to the data once taken."
Pi tensed at this as she looked ready to argue again, but she thought better of it and turned her head away instead to focus on Yata. "Master Yata… does this mean Magus is also gone?"
"Magus…" The mimic repeated softly. "I never saw a Magus."
"Magus's whereabouts are currently unknown." Yata pulled up an invisible keyboard as he started to type. "Whether or not they were taken when Kuhn was is also, unfortunately, unknown."
"Who's Magus?" The mimic turned to Haseo for answers.
'Don't look at me.' Was the words on the tip of Haseo's tongue. He hated that this creature had Silabus's face. It really didn't help when Haseo had that very fearful moment that he had thought he harmed Silabus. This isn't like Atoli and Shino, which had pissed him off for a completely different, albeit petty, reason. This was someone taking Silabus's face to use and trick someone else in a party. They didn't just have Silabus's face, but his voice as well. It all pissed Ryou off to no end.
Still, he tried to remain civil because they needed information. So, he just turned his head away from the mimic with a snarl leaving his mouth.
The mimic had the gall to look slightly hurt by this. Only a soft and hurt "Oh." Left their mouth as they looked down at the ground.
"Mimic?" Zelkova called out and the mimic lifted their head before putting their hands behind their back.
"Yes?"
"Who exactly is this 'Father' you mentioned? I mean, I'm assuming it's the man with dark green hair, but who is he really and what does he want?"
The mimic felt their mouth twitch. They reached behind their back and pulled Silabus's ponytail over their shoulder where they then lightly picked at the end of the swirl. "Father- We don't talk about Father- Oh!" The mimic visibly ticked at the more robotic voice that suddenly left his mouth. They put their hand to their mouth in shock. "That's never happened before…"
'His real voice, I wonder?' Haseo thought.
"Ah. A defense mechanism." Zelkova sighed at this. "I should have figured."
"..." The mimic stared at their shoes with a thousand yard stare. "I can't talk about who or what father is or wants… but I can tell you that…he created us to find people… eight people."
"I figured as much." Yata hummed in thought as he continued to type away.
"I can also tell you that…Father wanted to delete me…"
That got Zelkova's attention as he looked at the mimic. "Why?"
"My code. He doesn't like how big it's expanded… he also doesn't like that…I've refused to PK and Data drain so many people. That I'm disobedient. He was going to purge all of my code and start anew… his words."
There was silence again. "Mimic…why didn't you PK or Data-drain Gaspard? I saw you had the moment to, multiple times, but instead you chose to spare him?" Zelkova asked.
The mimic looked right back at their shoes as they blushed. "Because… it'd upset Silabus and Haseo…" They admitted like a guilty child while they twisted their hands together. "I couldn't bring myself to do it. I made a bit of a vow to myself… That I wouldn't hurt any of their friends… I couldn't even bring myself to data-drain that Rubybird…"
Haseo didn't know whether to feel happy that the mimic couldn't bring themselves to harm Gaspard, or weirded out. Endrance was one thing when it came to obsession, but this was a whole new level that Haseo never experienced before.
Pi gave a sigh of irritation and rubbed at her forehead. "I'm logging out for the night." She finally declared. "I just need to sleep before I think anymore on all that's happened. But before I go…what are we going to do with this one? We can't just let them go, can we? So they can run back to their 'Father'."
"Did you not hear me, Pi?" The mimic huffed while putting both of their fists on their hips. Pi tensed at the usage of her name. Mainly because…she never told the mimic her name. "Father tried to purge my code. I don't want to be deleted-"
"Yeah, well, neither did Kuhn- no- none of your victims wanted to be deleted! and…well… I guess I shouldn't say the obvious."
The Mimic tensed before looking away from Pi guiltily.
There was a tense moment of silence. Then Pi turned away just the same. "Do what you guys want. I'm going to bed." With that she finally logged out for the night.
"If I can be honest?" The mimic spoke after Pi was officially gone. "I'm not going to lie and say I never did what Father asked of me, because I did. A lot. I did it because of the fact that it's what Father wanted. But… I never fully agreed with it. Even after I was created, I remember questioning it more than a few times…"
"Then why'd you keep doing it?" Atoli asked softly.
"Because it's my code and it's what Father wanted. Father gave me life and the least I could do was…do what he wanted of me… I never wanted to disobey him… but then…" The mimic trailed off. A lazy smile on their face as they played with the end of their ponytail. "I met Silabus and…I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to harm him or data-drain him. After that it was just a domino effect because I couldn't hurt or harm Haseo, nor could I hurt Gaspard, or Atoli….I had ample time to do so for all of you and I just- I couldn't. I think…I think that's when my code started to expand. So…I was data-draining less and less because I was just thinking of new ways to be closer to not just Silabus but… you too, Haseo. Tanu…he was the first data-drain I managed to do in about a week… I've been rambling…I'm sorry."
Haseo looked at this mimic out of the corner of his eye before sighing. "... I'm going to bed." He said suddenly. "I'm with Pi. This is all too much for one night. I need to sleep on it…"
"Fair enough." Zelkova nodded towards Haseo. "Don't worry about Mimic. I'll keep them company! As a fellow AI I can happily say we don't need to sleep. So we can talk some things over." Zelkova offered. "I'm sure you all are tired."
Both Yata and Atoli gave their own nods at that.
It really wasn't long until the others started to log off. But not Haseo. Not right away anyways. Instead he walked into Canard where Silabus would be waiting for him. He saw Silabus sitting in a far corner. Head low, eyes shut, and very obviously passed out. Death Grunty laid perfectly still in Silabus's lap A faint blush on the grunty's cheeks as it slept content in Silabus's arms.
Ryou logged out of the game after that.
He removed his headset and immediately squinted at the bright early morning sun that greeted him from the windows. 'God, has it been that long?' He thought as he put his headset on the nightstand. He then looked over at the couch where Yuuichi was laying down.
"Alright, that's enough gaming." Ryou whispered as he carefully removed Yuuichi's headset. He put it on his own face to log Silabus out. (Sorry, Death Grunty). Once done, he put the headset down on the coffee table and looked down at Yuuichi.
Yuuichi looked at peace as he slept. Ryou didn't want to disturb him to move him. So, instead, Ryou painstakingly wedged himself on the couch. He rested his head on Yuuichi's chest and put one arm under Yuuichi's body. Still asleep, Yuuichi reacted by wrapping his own arm around Ryou's shoulders. He stirred, but didn't wake.
'What a night…' Was the last coherent thought Ryou had before drifting off into sleep.