"You're pathetic, Pitt," Nekari's voice burned with its trademark venom as her patronising smile carved itself on his brain through his eyes.

Groaning, she let her aching body fall on a half-burnt dark purple chaise longue.

"I love what we did to this place when we arrived," she added with merry, taking a good look around.

They were in the partially destroyed CEO's office of the Zoom building, right at the top. The powerful scent of ashes and destruction filled her nostrils with the pungent smell of burnt state-of-the-art furniture and depixelated bodies.

Pitt grabbed a fallen silver chair with a sleek design near the CEO's ebony black desk, put it upright, and sat on it as he leaned an elbow on the desk.

"Shut the fuck up already," Pitt said, a deep frown etched on his face. "I hate you."

"I save you, and that's how you talk to me. With disrespect." She chuckled. "Predictable like the products that a stupid User is gonna buy online."

Her slender legs rested with the grace of a top model on the chaise longue while she began to toy with a glass bottle of vintage energy which the CEO must've saved for special occasions. Seeing no glass or cup had survived their attack, she shrugged her shoulders and drank straight from the bottle.

"Maybe I should buy me a new partner—one that doesn't chicken out right when things are getting interesting," she replied and took a long sip, enjoying Pitt's intense glaring.

"Me? Chicken out? You pulled me out." He chuckled.

She smirked as she shook her head.

He clenched his teeth. "You're reckless and stupid! We almost had what we wanted. Yes, you were shot multiple times. You were about to pass out due to the harshness of repeated regeneration processes, as well—but we almost got what the Hacker wanted!" His anger flashed vividly not only in his voice but also in the way he punched the desk, leaving a deep indentation on the surface. "I was willing to take on whatever it took!"

"I shot the AAA rookie with a viral dart. That was what I was after this whole time. Fuck, you're dumber than one of those old Users who are clueless about how a computer works." Her snarky remark, uttered with a husky voice that echoed exhaustion, was so lazy that she sounded as if she didn't seem to care.

"That is not what the Hacker wants! Since when are you putting your whims before your creator's demands?"

"He gave me a command, but not how to carry it out," she replied, downing a huge sip of vintage energy from the bottle. "I have a good plan. This teenage User's sensitive data is just a small piece of it, while Ajax Eagleye... might be a big part of it."

Pitt raised an eyebrow. "So... you... want the rookie to... join us?"

She set aside the vintage energy bottle. "Great job!" she shouted with sarcasm, clapping her hands in an overacted, grand gesture over her head. "YAY! Thank the Hacker you now understand!"

"Why?" He grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Besides, your darts haven't got immediate effects. Don't you remember what happened to me?"

His complaints fell on deaf ears. She faked a yawn.

"Yes, yes, you could resist the poison for some seconds. But you eventually gave in, didn't you?" Her mildly joyful and proud comment only made him grunt again.

"This AAA rookie seems strong," he whispered through clenched teeth, his gaze now lost on a distant point over the beautiful city skyline, viscerally visible in almost its totality thanks to the ungentle openings they had made to the building's structure.

She smirked at him. "Stronger than you, you mean."

His face turned rashly to meet hers. "No, I don't! And he isn't!" he yelled as she took another long sip.

"Pitt, you're an annoying piece of a pop-up. The Hacker made me invincible! I'm the Hacking Queen of the net!" she exclaimed with a fanciful gesture with the arm and hand which was holding the energy bottle. She took yet another long and satisfying sip.

"Stop drinking your heart out!"

"I need to replenish my energy after so many regeneration processes."

"That's why you're not invincible! Neither a queen!"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" she barked back at him after almost spitting the latest sip of energy. She hated it when he was defiant and insulted her like that.

"You haven't fulfilled your mission yet, Nekari! That makes you the Queen of Nothing!" he yelled back at her. Then, he threw a broken office chair at her.

She didn't even blink. It fell on the floor and it got depixelated into smithereens right in front of her.

"We are meant to eventually steal the sensitive data of that big corporation I used to work for," he went on, pissed off. "A lot is at stake for the Hacker—and you know it. You messed up back then, when you came to my operating system. Infecting me might've served your purpose and whims, but it wasn't truly effective to get what the Hacker needs. We almost got depixelated.

"Then, that stupid tracking algorithm kept chasing us. And you thought it wise to open a portal, benefitting from a stupid teenage User's distraction to infiltrate this pathetic operating system that means nothing to the Hacker! He's gonna be mad at us if we don't deliver... and soon. He will delete us!"

"All in due time." Her voice came out sly, like the expression in her eyes. "I just need some rest now."

"The Hacker won't tolerate this. You've screwed it all up—and I'm gonna pay for it!"

His nervousness only made her eyebrows shoot up with incredulity, but that was it. She didn't even flinch when he stood up and smashed a fist on the desk once more.

She giggled. "Oh, shut up!"

"No, I'm not shutting up! You're the lousiest spyware I've ever met!" He ended that last utterance in a lousy and desperate, high-pitched squawk.

"I've still got many aces up my sleeve," she admitted.

"Yeah. Sure. Like flirting with that rookie! That was the most pathetic move I've ever seen." He chuckled.

She stared at him with hooded eyelids. "It worked on you."

"Your dart worked on me—not your charms!" His complaint only triggered a massive eye roll from her.

"Don't you like being evil, Pitt? I'm sure you do," she whispered like a temptress would, with a seductive gaze glued to his eyes. "There's so much you still need to learn from me, my dear lapdog, my loyal extension, my... whiny lover. Let me help you clear your browsing data from all these negative thoughts. Come here."

She motioned a finger for him to come to her.

He knew what she wanted from him when she was like that. He huffed, chuckled, and came towards her with a complacent look on his face. With a hand, she motioned him to lean down on her on the chaise longue. Her hooded eyes sang the wordless lyrics of desire.

He didn't sit or lie next to her. As he leaned on her face, she sensually pouted her lips, grabbed his head, and kissed him deeply and roughly. When she bit his lower lip with too much strength, he yelped.

"Stop doing that!" he exclaimed, putting a hand over his wounded lip. He took a couple of steps backwards. "I hate it when you bite me."

"You're just like an inconvenient system upgrade, aren't you?"

"Tell me something," Pitt said, searing his gaze into her eyes. "Why do you want this stupid teenage User's data? I know that He's the nephew of the company's CEO whom we are trying to hack eventually, but why does He matter so much to you and your secret plan? Why aren't you telling me what this plan is exactly?

"Besides, all we need to do is go back to my home operating system, that powerful company's operating system that the Hacker wants to bring down—immediately. I don't know why you want to stick around here."

"You don't really trust my plan, do you?" She chuckled as she got up and approached him with a lustful swaying of her hips.

"Let me be frank, Nekari," he approached her then, leaning his face down on hers. "I could do a much better job than you—if I were in command. Admit it."

She caressed the upper part of his chest in absentminded motions of her fingers and chuckled. Tracing his collarbones with her forefingers, she pouted her lips and said in an amused tone, "Do you really think you could pull this off? Damn, your delusions of grandeur amuse me." Her usual smile widened.

"HA! Nice one, girl! You're the one who's got such delusions!" he exclaimed while she took one last sip of the glass bottle and smashed it on the floor.

She licked her lips all around and leaned on his broad chest with both hands. "You're so wrong, my dear cookie," she whispered while spreading her fingers on his chest, possessively sinking them into it.

She took a sharp intake of air and exhaled leisurely, exuding sensuality with a casual fanning of her eyelashes. She then guided her right hand to his jaw and chin, only to slide her thumb to his lips. She pulled his face towards hers.

"So wrong," she whispered with slyness. "And the rookie's viral infection is only the beginning."

"Oh, really?" he whispered with a smirk.

"Really," she whispered back at him in a harsh, short output of air, displaying her sharp canines. Then, she smashed her lips on his, forcing him to stay put right where he stood with that hand of hers glued to his jaw and chin.

Next, the nails of her other hand sharpened up. She hit his abdomen hard with them until her hand and nails came out the other end.

He gasped into her mouth.

She broke the kiss. "Idiot. You were only the means to an end," she whispered, all serious. "I am in command. And I always will be."

His slowly depixelating figure lost all strength. He was about to fall, but didn't.

"You are no match for me," she added, forcing his shaking, now frail body to stand with the same hand which had held him to kiss him. "You're the only part of my plan that didn't fulfil my expectations in the end. Such a disappointment, really. Why would I want to keep you around me if you think you can defy me like that, huh?"

He had a look of shock on his face as it got depixelated right in front of her smirking lips.

"Anyway... I never really needed you." She smirked at the remaining pixels scattered on the floor and sighed. "And now that I've gotten rid of you, I bet my plan should go... smoothly, right?"

She turned to the office door and hopped her way like a playful little add-on, humming a cute, childish tune.

"Smooth like... Ajax's lips!"

Nekari's viral poison was a vicious, invisible enemy inside Ajax's body.

Shannon bit her lower lip. The fever hasn't receded, and he has been unable to regain consciousness.

His excessively tense body and intermittent yet soft whining told a biochemical story of a dreadful war within. The stormy behaviour of the poison had forced Ragna to give him extra shots of painkillers. She was already putting all the nursing materials into a bag as Shannon stood near Ajax's bed, while Ned watched from afar, seated in his wheelchair.

Shannon took a glimpse at Ned, pensive, with a hand over his mouth and his elbow leaning on the side of the wheelchair. I can't believe that Ned wants us out, not just the others. Aethelred, Ragna, and I wish him well.

"I'm scared I'm giving him too much," Ragna admitted. "He needs more, but if I give him a larger shot, he might overdose."

"So, you can't do much more for him," Ned whispered.

"For now, no. I'm sorry." She grabbed her nursing bag and exited Ajax's bedroom with a motherly, sad frown on her face. She almost bumped into Aethelred as he was about to enter the room.

"It's not fair," Shannon whispered to her brother, who stood next to her, while Ned massaged his forehead as if he had a headache. "He was trying to save us all. We made some real progress—personally speaking. I found out how to push through his anger and pride. He sheltered his true persona for a reason. He's not the plughole some believe he is. He wants... he really wants to be a better, much more open being with all of us."

Aethelred sighed. "Ned, the others are down in the Console Room. Calm and quiet," he said. "None admitted doing anything to Ajax's gun—the first one they bought for him, though."

"If you can't get to the bottom of it," Ned said, "I will. Later."

Silence ensued.

"I still can't believe one of them tampered with Ajax's gun," Shannon said, her lips quivering as she hugged herself in a useless attempt to handle guilt and sadness. "He didn't have his old gun... or a functional one. And he went into battle anyway. If I... If I had–"

"Don't beat yourself up, sis," Aethelred whispered after a deep sigh. He put a hand gently on her shoulder.

"I agree," Ned said. His eyes were serious on her, but still loving. "I'm sure he's gonna fight the poison and go back to normal. He's strong."

"What if he doesn't?" Shannon dared to ask with quivering lips.

"That's why I'm here," Ned replied sternly. Then, he turned his face slightly away, avoiding eye contact all of a sudden. "Aethelred, take Shannon out of here and explain the plan to her."

"I... I already know the plan," she whispered in a shaky voice. "I overheard everything."

"Then, there is no need to beat around the chips." Ned sighed. "I want everybody out from now on... until the quarantine time's up. I will come out with him—or without him. And if I don't have him with me, you'll already know the readon why."

Her frown deepened. Please, my Developer. Have mercy on Ajax. He might have anger issues and he might have acted like a prideful git, but he didn't do anything wrong.

"Come with me, sis," Aethelred replied as he put his hands on her shoulders and guided her outside Ajax's bedroom.

She took one last glimpse at Ajax's lying figure. His sweaty frown was the last thing she saw when the door swooshed closed behind her brother and her.

The hall greeted them with a colder ambience.

"I know what you're thinking, Shannon. Ned is worried Ragna's antivirals won't be enough. He thinks Ajax will become a virus or a malware and kill us all."

"We have to be patient and let the antivirals work. They have to." Her complaint was desperate, her voice shaking. "At least, I hope so."

"Ajax is an antimalware and ad blocker. That means he wouldn't want to become a lethal threat to us. He would rather die."

"But–"

"No buts, sis." He put his hands softly on her shoulders in a gesture to reassure her. "He knows this. He got a similar training to Ned's. You see, they get an ethics class before graduating. They get taught to self-destruct if such a threat arises. The vaccine is meant to give them extra time. But if he's unable to control his thoughts due to the infection, then–" He sighed. "He's in no state to self-destruct right now. Ned will handle this."

"He can still pull it off. He has to." Even though nobody has ever achieved such a feat. A cold sweat travelled down her spine.

Aethelred whispered, "That's why Ned is going to watch him closely from now on—just in case he doesn't."

Shannon sighed. "Now, what do we do?" she spoke fast as she hugged herself, sinking her fingertips deeply into her biceps. "I need to do something. What if Nekari and Pitt cause havoc outside? Or break in the Core? If Ned's inside watching over Ajax, then what should we do?"

He showed her his open palms in a gesture to calm her down. "Relax. Ajax's well-being should be our top priority. If those two attack, then so be it. We'll be ready to fight ourselves. I've already warned everybody, even those add-ins and functionalities outside the Core. Everybody is on the lookout. Don't worry."

A bright idea dawned on her mind as she shot her eyebrows up. "I could teach some holoball to–"

"No." His reply came out in a sudden, sharp outburst of air. "Ragna said you need more rest. Look at your leg, at your hands. You're still bandaged. And after losing Mei like that... I'm not sure you're well right now."

An awkward silence ensued. Shannon pressed her lips into a thin line and avoided eye contact with her dear brother.

Aethelred sighed. "Shannon, in so little time, you've been through a lot. And there's a lot more to come. If Ajax can't fight the poison, he's as good as dead. You... might need to... start thinking about this possibility—come to terms with it. This should be your task right now. You've been getting closer as of late, right?"

Ajax, dead? Her eyes lost the point of focus. Her mind wandered to unknown places. Dread filled her, obliterating any possible answer for her brother. He got sent here because of me. I screwed up, and he pays the price? With his life? Like Mark and Mei... and countless other victims.

A sharp shiver shook her body from head to toe.

No, he can't die! I can't take any more deletions in my life! I need him! I mean, we. We need him. We, we, we, yes, we need him.

Aethelred lowered his face a bit to level his gaze with hers. Her eyes were aimed at an unknown distant point in space regardless.

In a softer voice, he said, "Shannon, talk to me. Say something." He gently shook her shoulders to make her snap out of that trance.

"I'm... I'm fine," she eventually said, staring back at him. She swallowed hard, though.

"Would you like me to help you cope with–?"

She frowned. "Why are you insisting on this idea... to help me, what, cope with his loss when he's still alive?"

He stared at her as if the answer was obvious.

"Well, because I see you've begun to care for him," he replied, drawing a gentle smile on his lips. "Ragna and Ned have noticed that, too. Besides, I know your guilt trips. You need to start telling yourself that, if Ajax gets depixelated, it's not your fault, okay? I want to hear it from you."

A cold knot hit her hard inside her stomach. "He's not dead yet!" she complained.

"But he might be soon. And I'll be here for you." She hugged her. "We'll all be."

"You shouldn't be worrying about me when you are the one in imminent danger, brother," she whispered in a dejected attitude, her eyes cast on the floor. She freed herself from his hands on her shoulders. "Pitt and Nekari will soon be coming to get you and the User's sensitive data."

"And what? You're gonna fight to the deletion just out of guilt?" He chuckled. "I know you extremely well, sister. Not gonna happen." His last three words had been uttered with the imposing voice of an unquestionable leader.

She huffed with annoyance.

"I have already called for reinforcements," he added. "I'm still waiting for a response, though."

She raised an eyebrow. "Reinforcements?"

Ajax is irreplaceable. Shannon felt a pang in her digital heart.

"Shannon, you're staying put in the Core, by my side. And you'd better start admitting that you can't control everything, that our existence isn't perfect, and that there will always be collateral damage and add-ons whom we love or grow attached to, whom we lose along the way eventually."

With a sad smile, he leaned his face a bit closer to hers and said, "You can't control everything. Only the Developer can do that."

She slightly leaned her head to one side and took a deep breath."If Ajax..." she began to say with teary eyes, her mouth hanging open, lips shaking.

"It'll be alright," he whispered, patting her shoulder. "Go to your room and rest, okay?"

"I can't." She shook her head as if she were unable to stop. "If–"

He groaned. "Shannon, if you start complaining that you want to go out there and fight, I swear to the Developer I'm gonna–" He was about to lose it.

"No. I'm not complaining," she replied with a serious voice, looking straight at him. "I just want to say that if Ajax doesn't make it, I'm gonna go to any lengths to reach out to our stupid User and make sure this nasty situation bites him in the arse."

She released her arms from his grip and rushed to her bedroom.

Aethelred sighed in frustration.