"I want to keep it, Dad!" little Zeeta exclaimed with her big, cute, shiny, green eyes. She clutched a half-eaten chipolate bar with one hand while her flying skateboard was stuck under the armpit of the other. "Please, please, please! Please, say 'yes', Daddy!"

Zeeta, my dear niece, I love you. Shannon spied Ajax from the corner of her eye. A cheeky smirk crept up her lips the nano she saw his flaring nostrils, crossed arms over his chest, and defiant yet silent demeanour. I love that he hates this.

The youngest add-in in the Core couldn't help but jump with excitement, her short blond hair floating around her with every leap. "A dog is all I have ever wanted!"

"You said that about your flying skateboard a few hours ago." Aethelred rolled his eyes and sighed. "You're too young to take care of a dog, my cookie. Besides, a tracking algorithm dog is the last thing I need right now. Who will take care of it?"

The dog watched to and fro, between Zeeta's hopeful, bright expression and Aelthelred's colder and practical attitude as they discussed the issue in the Core's Console Room.

"I promise I'll take care of it, Dad!" she replied as if her life depended on it.

Ragna giggled. "Just say yes, cookie. We'll manage."

"Of course!" Shannon said with enthusiasm. "I'll feed it and take it out for a walk when Zeeta can't. Don't worry."

"You really want this tracking algorithm in the Core? For real?" Ajax was visibly uncomfortable with his spread, tense legs and crossed arms. He faced her head-on as he added, "You're pretty bold and naïve for someone who's just let a malware and a spyware into the city. And now you want this strange dog to stay. Don't you realise it could be a threat?"

"Like we discussed a moment ago," Ned interrupted before Shannon could reply. "Let's scan it to check the true nature of its coding. This information can help us decide what to do. Oh, and... by the way." He cleared his throat as he turned to the rest of the functionalities present in the room. "Guys, ladies, this is Ajax Eagleye, the AAA rookie sent to help us defeat those two threats."

All the add-ins and functionalities present glued their eyes to the newcomer. Hector nodded to him, smiling. Amser, the red-haired email functionality standing beside him, raised a hand and waved with a warm smile. Ragna and Zeeta, who stood nearby, said a simple and agreeable "hello".

Ilara, the online media-sharing integrated platform, said, "Hello, friend! Welcome to your new home." She drew a broad smile with her dark red lips and approached him, arms outstretched as if to hug him, her long brown hair floating over her shoulders with the grace of a news presenter.

Ajax raised an eyebrow at her and tensed his pose.

"Not a hugger?" Ilara said. "O... kay..." She took a couple of steps back, pressing her lips into a thin line.

Imari, the translator add-in, eyed Ajax with a frown. He crossed his arms over his chest the moment Ajax rejected Ilara's hug. Nuru, the online classroom functionality, who stood right next to Imari, had a similar reaction.

Not what you expected, huh? Shannon scratched her forehead and clenched her teeth. Ajax is never going to fit in. We don't treat each other with such coldness and detachment here.

Bea's smile shivered and eventually faltered. She was the last one to hold it, though. The rest were quicker and less hesitant to drop it.

"Now, come here, doggie." Ned walked on by, motioning the dog to come close to him—which it did, gladly, wiggling its tail. "Let me scan you."

"It's not safe to keep it with us," Ajax added in a low, growl-like tone of voice.

"Good boy," Ned whispered with a broad smile as he ignored Ajax's comment and ran a laser scanner over the dog's head.

The big screen over the central console ran a quick scan on the dog. A huge data flow quickly popped up with apparently random data from the net. Coordinates pinged from email chains, shopping sites, price apps, and travel blogs—nothing out of the ordinary. Probably the places the dog had visited so far.

"I don't know how to read these security reports, Shannon. Any signs of malignant code?" Bea asked her in a mildly shaky voice as she leaned closer to her, probably not to be heard by Ajax. "It might've saved Ned and Ajax in a fight, but who knows, right?"

"Don't worry. The dog is a regular tracking algorithm with no evil signs," I replied. "It has never set foot on the dark web, illicit marketplaces, illegal porn sites, sensitive data leaks, extremist sites, and the like. This scanning report is clean."

"Interesting," Ned said. "Its owner gave it the task to track animal migration in the Users' world, poaching routes, and monitoring endangered species with GPS tags."

"Holy CPU!" Zeeta exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

"Hyperlinked!" Bea said, staring at the geographical data flow on the screen as it rolled up. "This I do know how to read. Amazing, indeed." Her wonderful smile returned as she drank in all the data.

"It might not have malignant code," Ajax said, still defensive, his angered tone disrupting the positive vibe in the room once more, "but only the Developer knows whether it's defective. Besides, without a chip on its collar, he's not loyal to anybody."

"Let's give the dog a chip, then," Shannon replied with a smile on her face. "If it wears a chip that it's ours, he'll become automatically loyal to us."

"Problem solved, then," Ned said. "Any more complaints, Eagleye—the rookie whiner?"

That comment made Ajax frown and clench his teeth. He glared at Ned and Shannon as if his eyes could burn them. She smirked back at him and shrugged her shoulders in a childish attitude.

Ajax rolled his eyes. Aethelred noticed the funny reactions of both Shannon and Ajax. He stared at both with an intrigued raised eyebrow.

"Come on, my cookie," Ragna gently begged her husband, who was still hesitating. "Give it a chip. I like it already."

"I promise I'll take really good care of it!" Zeeta said.

"Okay, fine!" He gave in with a loud sigh. "But the poor thing needs a name, besides a chip, right? Would you like to do the honours, my sweet little cookie?"

"YES! I'm gonna name it..." Zeeta exclaimed, petting it over and over as she pondered on a name. The dog welcomed her open display of love with a soft, pleasing grunt and flawless doe eyes. She stopped petting it for a nano and said, "I'm gonna call you... Algo!"

Algo barked with joy and wiggled its tail.

"Algo. From algorithm," Shannon replied, nodding. "Cool, and it makes sense given what it is."

Ajax chuckled with incredulity as he stared at Shannon. The obsessive way in which his eyes were glued to her was as intense as Bea's eyes on him at that moment.

How come Bea is still pulled by his presence? Is it his ruthless magnetism? I admit he's a sight to see, but... please! Shannon rolled her eyes. If I were her, I'd be more resentful given what happened before on the ground floor. I wouldn't even blush like she's doing right now. He's a rude plughole who doesn't deserve a nano of our attention.

Besides, he's not even acknowledging her presence. He's too busy focusing on me because I'm deliberately pissing him off. I really need to talk to her about this.

Out of the blue, Amser, Hector, and the others turned their heads to the console's main screen. An urgent notification popped up. It was an invitation to a call meeting, with a huge, green, vibrating telephone icon, with a joyful, accompanying ringtone.

"An incoming call. Ajax, this is for you, I guess," Amser called his attention. "This Dominic Eagleye sounds like a relative of yours."

He turned his head to her, eyes wide and his mouth half open. Turning his eyes to the name in bold on the holographic screen, his nose wrinkled, his brow furrowed, and he pulled back slightly.

"Dominic," he whispered at a very low volume, nostrils flaring. "What in the Developer's name does he want now?"

"Who's Dominic? Your father?" Amser asked, with a hand already close to the green sign to accept the call.

"No, he's my eldest brother," Ajax replied in a foul yet dark mood, taking a step closer to the console in the centre of the room. He nodded at her and added, "Just... just accept the incoming call."

This is weird. Shannon stared at him with curiosity. He's tense all over, especially his fists, but his head is now a bit down, as much as his shoulders—now hunched. And he's also avoiding full eye contact. She raised an eyebrow at his cowering attitude.

"Let's get this over with," he whispered to himself with dread, but Shannon was close enough to hear it and frowned.

When Amser accepted the call invitation by sliding a forefinger on the icon, Dominic Eagleye's face appeared on the big communication screen over the control panel.

He was an imposing male specimen with those broad shoulders and well-built chest, even more than Ajax. The family resemblance was obvious, but Dominic seemed to be fuller. He wore a black bodysuit with bright, golden, straight lines with medals on the left side of his chest. He was much older than Ajax, giving him an aura of maturity and wisdom, also conveyed by the grey hair on his neatly shaved sideburns.

"Hello, there!" Dominic greeted them all joyfully, spreading a charismatic smile.

Despite the hard, military kind of look, he looks like a trustworthy figure with that wonderful smile.

"Greetings from the Onyx Inc. Headquarters, the highest-ranking antivirus enterprise," Dominic added. "How's my littlest brother doing?"

Ajax clenched his fists even more. Shannon frowned at the way Dominic had placed emphasis on the word "littlest", checking it against Ajax's reaction.

"I'm fine, Dominic," Ajax replied immediately, with a defensive, cold attitude. "Haven't you got important stuff to do?"

"Checking on my littlest brother is important to me," Dominic insisted with a sour kind of sweetness. "To the family, of course."

"You sure were fast," Ajax complained, glaring.

"I promised Mom and Dad I'd check on your progress. Besides, I'd like to meet your boss, Ajax." Dominic leaned back on his enormous black office chair with a sigh. "Now, don't be rude and proceed with the introductions." He drew a one-sided smile on his face as he held Ajax's gaze for a moment too long.

Ajax's eyes went down slightly. His face went next. He forced himself to breathe in and out.

What is he doing? Is he trying to control his anger with a breathing exercise right now? What's going on here?

"Dominic, this is Aethelred Wise, the browser settings of Browser City," Ajax replied in a polite, formal fashion that seemed unfit for him as he motioned to Aethelred, who came to stand next to him. "Aethelred, this is my eldest brother Dominic. He's Onyx Inc.'s Digital CEO."

"Your brother is the CEO?" Aethelred exclaimed with fascination. "Of the company which hires the very best antiviruses and assigns them to top-notch destinations? This is a great honour!"

Everybody stared at Dominic with wide eyes and mouth slightly open. Somebody let go of a soft exhale and a gasp, making Dominic's smirk grow wider.

"Thank you, Aethelred Wise. It's a pleasure to meet you," Dominic replied. His assertiveness and sense of assurance were charming, as much as the gentle yet exaggerated flourish he made with his hands. "I hope we can have a close, friendly relationship. I want to know how my brother's doing in this new city. Everything."

Ajax's fists started trembling just slightly.

"Indeed. Looking forward to it," Aethelred added with sincere joy.

My brother doesn't need to report on an AAA's rookie's performance to anyone unless there's a complaint to be made. Why should he report to Dominic on what Ajax is doing? This is odd. He is the CEO of a different company than the AAA. I guess he has some obvious ties to the academy, but still...

Shannon caught a glimpse of Ajax as he clenched his teeth and kept a subdued attitude as if the whole thing was against his will.

"You must be proud of your elder brother, Ajax. Amazing role model," Aethelred commented then with admiration as he placed a hand on his left shoulder.

"Yeah, amazing," Ajax whispered in a cold, hard voice.

"So, Aethelred, I know it's only been some seconds, but..." Dominic said. He began to tap the table in front of him with a steel pen impatiently. "How's Ajax's been doing in Browser City so far? Any results? I hope so. At least I sincerely hope you've fought against the threats in this city at least once and shown them no mercy. I want a preliminary report on his actions and behaviour." He let go of a short, condescending chuckle as he then stared directly at Ajax. "I hope you haven't messed it up like that time, you know, during that simulation."

"No, Dominic," Ajax replied, curtly. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard.

Shannon raised an eyebrow. Why does Dominic act more like a boss or a superior in rank than an elder brother? Aethelred would never be like this to me. Ajax seems to be on the verge of blowing a fuse. A vein on his neck is protruding dangerously.

"Why would he mess anything up? He's been doing great so far," Aethelred replied with pride, puffing his chest a bit forward.

"Well, he can be hot-headed," Dominic admitted, raising an eyebrow and sitting up in a looming kind of pose. "During a simulation, he got badly hurt because he was rash and impatient—and a show-off. His instructor notified me of his injuries and the reason behind that screw-up. Needless to say, I was greatly disappointed. So were our parents and our brothers. And our neighbours, friends and work colleagues."

He sighed as he scanned Ajax up and down.

"Our family has got a huge reputation to maintain," he added, arms spreading wide on either side of him. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Your rashness, little Ajax, doesn't help. At all. You know Mom has heart issues. She has to put up a brave face for you to all our relatives and neighbours, giving them a wide variety of polite excuses every time you screw it up.

"Don't make this harder for her, please. Try harder, for her, okay? Besides," he said, turning to Aethelred, "he's got anger issues he doesn't seem to master very well—even towards his own family. Be careful." He raised a finger to enhance the warning in his words.

"This job is important, Ajax," he added, clasping his hands in front of him. "Dad is fed up with your insubordination. Show him you care by doing this job well. After all he's done for you..." He briefly shook his head. "If you could only admit your flaws and work harder to bypass them, it would make our lives so much easier, right, little brother?"

He shot a one-sided smirk at Ajax with that question.

What kind of relationship does Ajax have with his family? Dominic is patronising in everything he says. I wouldn't stand him if he were my brother. He's nothing like Aethelred—at all! He is the extreme opposite, loving, forgiving, and understanding—even when I screw something up. He would never shame me like this in front of others.

"You don't need to worry," Aethelred added with a warm smile as he put an arm around Ajax's shoulders with reassurance and pride. "Ajax's been amazing here so far. We trust him and his skills. The malware and the spyware are still on the loose, but he's saved my sister already."

"Well, that's a nice surprise!" Dominic exclaimed with wide eyes. "I didn't think you cared about anyone but yourself. Mom and Dad are going to be thrilled to know about this. But saving a female add-in instead of doing your job..."

"NO! Don't tell Mom and Dad!" Ajax shouted back in panic, interrupting him.

Shannon got startled. She stared at him with wide-open eyes. By all my metadata! Does he look desperate! It's as if Dominic was about to turn something positive like saving my arse into something to criticise Ajax for to their parents. I... I pity him.

"Aethelred, let me know if you need extra help," Dominic said with a dark, condescending undertone. "It's been nice meeting you."

Then, he turned to his little brother with pitiful eyes as his eyebrows slightly slid on either side.

"And Ajax, try not to be a plughole, please," Dominic begged. "I don't think these functionalities and add-ins here will have the same amount of patience that your other brothers and I have got to bear with you. Nobody likes a proud git."

"You've got other brothers? How many?" Aethelred asked Ajax with curiosity while turning his face to him.

"We're five," Dominic replied for Ajax in the click of a mouse. "Ajax is the pixel of the Eagleye family."

Some of the functionalities present giggled.

Oh, so he's the youngest in his family, like me. No one ever called me pixel in a long time, though. It's usually told to babies or kids. It's a bit demeaning for an adult to be called that in public. I feel pity for him—again.

"We're quite a large family," Dominic explained. "We, his four brothers, have become talented functionalities in notorious fields. I, the eldest, became an award-winning antivirus CEO. The second, Damien, a successful messaging app. The third, Dimitri, a fortune-making genius as the CEO of a gaming platform. The fourth, Dedalus, a worldwide-used video-sharing and viewing platform. Our parents are so proud of us—even of little Ajax. Becoming a simple anti-malware and ad blocker isn't what they had in mind for him, but they're proud nonetheless. Not all their sons were meant to be perfect although they tried, I guess. They tried really hard for you, though, Ajax."

Shannon clenched her teeth. She would've loved to reply to that with a snarky remark, but didn't dare to. Does graduating in the AAA make Ajax less worthy in any way? Ned had also graduated there, as well as many other antiviruses.

This sucks. Are his other brothers and his parents like Dominic? Probably. I can't even start to imagine how it must've been for Ajax to live with them every day ever since he was born.

No wonder Ajax has behaved like a cold-hearted, conceited plughole so far! He only wants to be perfect according to his family's standards. To fit in. He has never had any positive role models. His social environment shaped him into that flaw-hating conceited plughole.

That's why he was so angry at me: he saw himself in me. I made a mistake. I was rash, stubborn, and proud. The only reaction he has ever got to that is hard criticism. He doesn't know how to act any differently. What I've seen of him so far... is Dominic and the negative influence of his family—not who he truly is... or can be.

Shannon stared at Ajax then with wide-open eyes and raised eyebrows.

What if I...?

"We're proud of him, Dominic," Aethelred added as if Ajax was already part of the Browser City family. He shook Ajax with the arm he had around his shoulders as a visible, physical token of trust. "Don't worry about him. He's gonna do great!"

"Of course," Shannon suddenly interrupted their conversation as she took a couple of steps closer to Dominic's comm window. She stood right beside Ajax. "You don't have to worry about him. He will be fine here. No need to report on him or anything. That level of control is completely unnecessary. I'm sure he's gonna behave with propriety... and do a fantastic job—a much greater job than you can even imagine. I'll make sure of it."

She had said that last bit while turning her face to Ajax, and winked at him once with the eye Dominic could not see.

Will Ajax act differently and agreeably if shown how to? I am willing to give him a chance.

Ajax gaped at her, completely speechless.

"I'm sorry, you are?" Dominic said with a frown. His jaw tightened and his nostrils flared.

"Shannon Wise," she replied with assertiveness and a nice, wide smile. "The former pixel of the Wise family, actually—until little Zeeta replaced me. But I'm better known as the search engine of Browser City. We do care about our jobs here, a lot more than our youth."

Shannon held her head high, putting her hands on her hips. Her confident smile collided with his prideful, insincere one.

"My little sister," Aethelred added with a warm smile, "can be a little dramatic and straightforward, but she means well."

"Nice to meet such a straightforward young lady, then," Dominic replied with a frown and a tense pose.

"Nice to meet you too," she added with badly veiled sarcasm. "We're glad to have Ajax here to help us. Being an ad blocker and anti-malware is a key job in any browser, you know." She made a deliberate pause only to strengthen what she was about to say, "A job everybody admires... and doesn't need supervision."

She squared her shoulders.

Ajax's frozen posture and pale face told Shannon how puzzled he was.

"Now, Dominic," Ned said, interrupting them, "and Shannon. If you don't mind, we need to come up with a plan to defeat the malware and the spyware."

"And continue with our daily jobs, as well," Aethelred said. "It was nice meeting you, Dominic. See you soon."

The call ended shortly after that, earning a sigh of relief from Ajax.

All the functionalities and add-ins present started talking among them, busy with their tasks and worries.

To make the most out of that moment of respite, Ajax softly put a hand on one of Shannon's arms. "Hey, what was that about?" Ajax asked her discreetly so that nobody else could hear.

She smirked at him and replied, "You're welcome, pixel. Now this ungrateful functionality," she said pointing to her chest with a cheeky smile, "doesn't owe you anything for saving her arse before."

"Hey, Shannon," Ragna called her attention from over Ajax's shoulder while Aethelred knelt down to put a collar with a brand new chip around Algo's neck. "Dear, you should head straight back to your room. No, go to the kitchen and get a cup of energy first. And then, lie down for a bit, understand?" she added in a motherly warning tone.

"Okay... fine," she replied as if she were a child, rolling her eyes.

Then, Shannon turned around, walked towards the door with a nice, conscious swaying of her hips, and then esc-ed from the Console Room as if she owned the place.

Her behaviour made him giggle breathlessly—she heard it from the door.

Then, her head popped from the door to say one last thing, "Oh, and sorry about the dog thing. I was just trying to mess with you... but not like your brother does, you know."

Ned overheard everything and smiled at both youngsters, staring at them from a safe distance.

She added, "In case you haven't noticed, nobody here is like him—at all. So, chill, will you?"

She winked at him and disappeared behind the door.

Ajax smiled back at her... when she could no longer see him. But she knew she had sparked something new inside him—something he surely had never felt towards any female entity in his entire life. Not even his mother.

Trust.