"In this season three of A Song of Cooling and Overheating, Jon Data Dump will face–"

Shannon groaned as she shut the holotelevision off and left the remote control on the kitchen table with a loud clang.

She leaned on the table, a cheek resting on her palm. She let go of a deep sigh. I hate this series. So bland... so... Ugh! I'm bored. So bored. Ragna forbade me from rushing into working or doing any task at all, simple or hard. Rest is pivotal to my recovery, she said. At least, I was allowed to leave the clinic, but only to go to my bedroom or the kitchen, much to my dislike.

Brooding in the kitchen of the Core, on the fifth floor, was the last thing she wanted to do, but entertainment was running short when all the excitement was precisely waiting outside, in Browser City's streets. So, she sat at the table all alone, with her eyes fixed on some distant target in the neon-coloured skyline over an indigo sky.

Despite the dreamy scenery, worries haunted her mind besides boredom.

While gently tapping her fingers on the glass surface of the table, she took a sip of her cup of energy. Finding it already empty, she licked her lips and left the cup back on the table. Her right leg started moving up and down in a nervous tic. Getting another cup will only amp my nervousness up.

She sank her fingers into her hair and groaned. How can I make time go faster and in a less pathetically boring way?

Her mind rallied fiercely, with a myriad of negative thoughts competing against each other in a horrid race to make her feel worse, to see which would get most of her attention as a trophy in the coveted finish line.

Mark's dead. He wasn't the only one. My brother is in danger. And the rookie hates my guts. Fantastic. She stared at the glassy reflection of her sad face in the window.

Yes, I feel guilty for all the reasons Ajax told me. And I'm frustrated about Aethelred's command as well. But above all, I feel stupid and useless. This has never happened to me in my entire existence.

Despite my quick reaction, my holoball training, and above all my good intentions, Ajax made me feel like I was a nobody. Is that true? Being a recently graduated AAA cadet, I assume he must have a wide range of techniques and weapons to deal with any threat. Maybe he was right in telling me to stay put and leave it all to him.

I just wanted to help. That's all.

Her eyes roamed from the skyline down to the surface of the table. She put both hands around the energy cup, caressing the surface. She found a tiny crack on the handle. Her eyelashes fanned as she stared at the tiny imperfection. She softly put a finger on it and pressed it with the tip, eventually sliding it down as if she were trying to erase it. I wish I knew what to do to fix it all, to make everything go back to normal.

"Hey, Shannon," Beatrice shyly greeted her from the threshold of the kitchen's door. "I heard you were better... and hanging around here. May I... May I join you?" Beatrice Voyager's voice was loaded with hesitation as much as her eyes were.

"The world's your oyster, literally for a geolocalisation app like you. You can go wherever you want." Shannon leaned her mopey face on a palm, with the elbow resting on the table.

Shannon's eyes followed her every move as she came to sit across from her. She was a rather short app who, with some difficulty, managed to sit on one of those high kitchen stools. Her wavy brown hair momentarily blocked her view due to her clumsy movements.

Once seated, she let go an uneasy sigh and readjusted her vintage dark plastic glasses. Her full-body suit was as white as the kitchen appliances, the stools, and the table, with curvy golden lines glowing all over her, resembling the continents on Earth, where the Users lived.

Beatrice's lips were pressed into a thin line until she forced them to open. "I'm told your body has fully recovered from the poison."

"Yeah, I feel much better now," Shannon replied as casually as she could. "Want some energy?"

"No, thank you."

Shannon smiled out of courtesy. "If you don't wanna be here, it's okay. If you don't mind me saying this," she hesitated, "I find it odd that you came here to check on me. Did Aethelred or Ragna send you?"

"No, no... of course not." Beatrice's eyes shied away.

That reaction made Shannon chuckle in disbelief. It's obvious that Beatrice is rather uncomfortable at the moment. We're good friends, but small talk isn't her strength. She looks like a circuit out of the board.

"I won't be mad at you. If you've got work to do, just go. I'm fine," Shannon lied using a soft voice.

"Of course, I believe you. It's n-not like I don't want to b-be here with you... b-but..." Beatrice stammered a bit as she moved her hands erratically. She was losing control of her non-verbal communication. She kept averting her eyes, as well. "It's just... that..." A loud sigh escaped from her lips as her shoulders dropped, and then she said in earnest, "Shannon, I'm worried about you."

"Worried?" Shannon frowned. "Why?"

"Because you've acted irrationally, Shannon. You've never been that way before." Beatrice's concern showed as her body leaned forward on the table, with her arms now less tense and more still.

"Irrationally? I did what I needed to do." Shannon's reply boomeranged back to the same pride that launched her earlier remarks during her conversation with Ajax.

"I know you like being in control," Beatrice said, seriously. "First, the User gets clickbaited the nanosecond you're not supervising Him. Next, two threats enter our city, putting Ned's life in danger the first time they meet, and potentially Aethelred's in the future because of what they want from him–which means that the User's data and the User himself are also in danger. And last but not least, Mark and many other bookmarks got deleted by those two threats, and one of them could've finished you off with a couple of poisonous, paralysing darts.

"You've lost control too many times in very little time, Shannon. We've known each other ever since... forever. Maybe we're not the best of friends, but I can read you pretty well. You hate this predicament because you're losing control for the first time in your life. And to be honest, I hate it too."

"You talk too much for an introvert, Bea," Shannon replied, narrowing her eyes at her.

Beatrice is right, and it bothers me. It was easier to focus on somebody else's bugs and flaws than on her own. Her hands wrapped around her empty cup of energy with too much strength, almost crushing it. If she kept on doing that, the cup might break.

"I'm only here because I... I care about you," Bea went on with a sad kind of urgency. "Aethelred might've asked me to come, but that doesn't matter. I consider you a good friend—and the best search engine Browser City could ever have." She sighed with frustration. "I care about you. I really do. Your well-being is also Browser City's."

Shannon's lips were crushing each other, drawing a fine line on her face, denoting stress and guilt.

"The rookie will handle this issue," Bea added. "And Ned, of course. You've got nothing to worry about. And if they need further assistance, I could help them by tracking down those enemies... if my tools can get a trace of their digital ID. Or Imari and Amser could decrypt their messages, if there are any."

I hate having this conversation. She sounds like Aethelred and Ajax. I am not useful. I need to stay put and do nothing.

"You make it sound like my mistake was nothing, as if I have nothing to atone for just because Ned and Ajax can fix the mess I made, that everybody else can do something but me."

"I-I just... I want to cheer you up if that's what you need to go back to normal."

"You're doing a great job so far," Shannon answered with mild sarcasm. She knew Bea didn't mean to offend her, though. She let the cup go and massaged her forehead as she sighed. "How's Zeeta, by the way? Any news?"

"The babysitter brought Zeeta home. She called Aethelred a second ago, reporting trouble only a couple of blocks away, in the zoom building. The malware and spyware were wreaking havoc too close to her home, so she decided to bring her here. She's now playing in the Console Room and telling the guys some stories, you know—as usual," Bea added with discomfort as a nervous tick appeared in a vein in her throat.

"How come you're not comfortable whenever Zeeta is around?" Shannon raised an eyebrow with curiosity.

Bea took a deep intake of air and scoffed. "She's loud and digresses too much. She's constantly demanding attention. She's unable to follow a routine. Besides that, she gets easily mad whenever an adult refuses a petition from her. You know. Those things."

"Those things are called 'being a child', Bea. It's not wrong, it's natural. She's, well, a child."

Bea crossed her arms over her chest. She whispered with downcast eyes, "I don't like children, that's all."

"Don't mind her, Bea," Shannon replied warmly. "Just focus on your job as usual."

The PA made an announcement that caught both Shannon's and Bea's attention. They turned their heads to the ceiling by the door, where a loudspeaker was.

"Entrance request accepted," the metallic feminine voice said in her classic, satisfied monotone over the loudspeakers. "Please, step inside before the doors are sealed again in five nanoseconds. Welcome to the Core."

"It must be Ned and... Ajax," Beatrice said in a weak whisper. Her lips widened and revealed a nice but nervous smile on her face.

"Let's go down and see them." Shannon stood up and went to the door, with a fidgety Beatrice following her.

Indeed, Ned and Ajax were granted access once more, and they were greeted by a stern-looking Shannon going down the stairs, and a blushing Beatrice walking beside her with shyness. The latter rearranged her glasses over and over because she was staring at the floor, mostly, as if she was afraid to look up.

Both guys parked their vehicles on the ground floor, beside other vehicles. Bright white and light blue lights arranged in a hexagon-shaped, hive-like pattern illuminated them from that tall ceiling. A pristine silver pathway over dark grey hexagon tiles branched from the centre into various parking spaces.

Ned parked his convertible next to Aethelred's bright turquoise SUV, while Ajax parked his motorbike on the right side of Bea's white and yellow compact car. As he passed by, his head turned to the side, his gaze glued to a sleek motorbike parked on the left of Bea's car—an Oxford blue beauty with premium finishes and carbon fibre accents.

Shannon's eyebrow shot up. Oh, he's noticed my bike. Maybe it's the lightweight frame with those aerodynamic curves. I bet he can tell at a single glance it's got premium brakes, suspension, and exhaust systems that signal top-tier performance.

"The Core will now be sealed again," the robotic voice echoed from the PA system as the main double doors shut close, grabbing the attention of everyone.

Much to the girls' surprise, there were three of them entering the Core. Shannon's eyes scanned the mysterious addition to the group.

"Wait a nano!" Shannon exclaimed. She ran to Ned's convertible. "By all my metadata! Is this a tracking algorithm?" she asked, leaning forward with her jaw mildly down and examining the dog which was seated in the copilot's seat.

"It is," Ned replied with a broad smile as he turned the engine down.

The dog merrily jumped out of Ned's convertible. It merrily wiggled its tail at her while breathing fast with its open mouth.

"Why the Recycling Bin have you brought it here?" Bea asked, baffled, standing with her arms crossed and tense. She had her eyes glued to the dog. "It could be dangerous!"

"That's what I've told Ned, but he doesn't agree," Ajax said then in a foul mood. He took off his helmet and put a hand through his hair to comb it.

His fingers nervously went through his hair, as if he was in a hurry to fix it.

Beatrice stared intensely at him with a softly glowing blush on her cheeks.

Shannon turned her face first to Ajax, then to Bea, and back to Ajax. Holy CPU! She's whipped. She chuckled noiselessly and smirked at her friend.

The dog got closer to her and demanded some attention by softly scratching her leg. She responded by petting its head and ears, but her eyes never stopped spying on them. Well, who can blame Bea for being smitten? Ajax is quite an outstanding masculine specimen. I have to admit that myself, but it's not me to fall prey to desire that easily.

Especially with his deplorable, analogue personality. Shannon spied on him from the corner of her eyes. As she scanned his flawless silhouette, he climbed off his bike in one swift move, and left his helmet on the seat.

His full-body armoured suit could only enhance his delightfully sculpted body. He had an easily angered look in his eyes, as if he would never yield to anyone for any reason—much less a dog-shaped tracking algorithm.

As she was spying on him, Ajax's eyes locked with hers for a nanosecond.

Shannon averted her gaze and aimed her eyes at the dog once more. Damn. He saw me.

He chuckled loud enough for her to hear.

Oh, he's acting all cocky and provocative, like an eBook preview of the first chapters of a novel. He's fully conscious of his impressively attractive physique, I see. That chuckling even sounded rehearsed. I bet he's done this a million times. Pathetic.

She dared to look back at him. The corners of his lips drew a proud smirk.

As an automatic response, she rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the dog. "Oh, come on! This cute little thing can't be that bad, can it? Look, it's really friendly." She scratched its chin and neck while squatting down in front of the algorithm.

"Indeed, he is," Ned replied as he came out of his convertible and closed the door.

She could still spy on Ajax thanks to the rearview mirror of Ned's convertible. He wore a defiant raising eyebrow as he stared at her back and the dog.

She smirked. The more he hates this dog, the more I'm gonna annoy him.

"I think we should test it," Bea whispered as she came near Shannon with a worried frown and trembling hands.

"Test it?" Ned asked. "It saved us from the malware and the spyware right in the nick of time. Well, it saved Ajax, to be more precise."

"Hey! That's not true!" Ajax complained, making Shannon giggle.

"Upgrade your memory, Ajax," Ned replied. "That wicked spyware came back for her colleague and blinded us with a pink light aura, spread like a fog. I couldn't activate my firewall weapon to shield us from harm—the fog might've blocked it. Then, I heard her slice your gun and split it in two. I heard her stilettoes getting closer to where you were. Did she come near you to... what? Kiss you, maybe?" He chuckled as Shannon turned her face to Ajax once more to scan his reaction. Ajax's cheeks went bright red.

Interesting. Shannon raised an eyebrow.

"Come on! She wanted to delete you," Ned went on, moving a hand between him and the dog, "and the dog providentially leapt in, bit her, and saved your arse."

"Oh, really?" Shannon asked with keen interest.

Ajax averted his gaze with his jaw tense and clenching his fists.

Interesting 2.0. Shannon squinted her eyes at him. The spyware did something to him that he's ashamed about, and the dog he hates saved him. I love this.

"Are you okay?" Bea asked Ajax with shy eyes and blushing cheeks, but he didn't reply.

They remained in silence, waiting for an answer from Ajax that never came. That's rude. Shannon frowned at him.

"Come on, Ajax," Ned said, with his hands on either side of his hips. "There's no need to be angry. There's no shame in accepting help—especially when you need it. This dog could be our next best friend... if you care to consider anyone around here as such, that is."

Ajax scoffed.

"I mean it, AAA rookie," Ned insisted, his eyes glued to him. "In Browser City, we live together. We work together. We stand up for each other. We trust each other. If this dog becomes one of us, you'll have to treat it well... or to the best of your ability, that is. Take my advice and relax instead of fuming and talking back, will you?" He tried hard not to roll his eyes, but Shannon noticed it.

So, it's not just me. Ajax talks back to everybody.

"I don't care," Ajax said with defiance. "I don't trust this beast. It could still be a threat, not just to the malware and the spyware, but to us."

He's never going to fit in.

"It's got no chip hanging from his collar, where it should be. So, this dog has got no owner anymore," Ned replied nonchalantly. "It should be harmless. I'm gonna bring it to Aethelred. He'll agree with me. Besides, what will it do out there all by itself? At least we should repay it with some kindness, shouldn't we?"

"I totally agree," Shannon replied while nodding with vehemence.

She smiled at Ajax with a rude attitude, while he seared his eyes on hers with a strange kind of fascination mixed with anger. Can he read how much I'm enjoying this situation? I hope he can.

"What do you say, Ajax?" she asked him with a cheeky attitude. She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you convinced now?"

He clicked his tongue.

"Who knows? Maybe this dog is super tough as you're supposed to be, and it chased the malware and the spyware with the same passion and upright attitude that antimalwares have," she added. "It could help us."

He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

"Anyway, I thought those two threats were nothing to you," she said then, crossing her arms over her chest, "or so you said. Why did a dog need to save you from them, huh?"

"Okay, fine," Ajax eventually admitted in a foul mood. "I'm not perfect. It saved me, and I'm grateful. Not a big deal. They were already enemies. Period," he said.

Is he getting massively annoyed because of my defiance? Yes. Can't he simply ignore that annoyance and pretend not to care? Nope, he just can't. He's too big of a plughole.

The fact that both never broke eye contact with each other made Bea shift her weight from one foot to the other with awkwardness and made Ned clear his throat loudly.

"Well, maybe they had ravaged its home city," Ned said.

"So, a dog-shaped tracking algorithm gets rogue, and chases Pitt and Nekari for vengeance all alone all over the net?" Ajax commented in a growling kind of voice. "It's a dog, Ned—not a fully sentient being like us, capable of abstract thought and making ethically related choices!"

"Well, dogs are sentient beings," Bea commented with renewed joy and a cute, intense blush on her cheeks. "They have got feelings, and they can act upon them."

He shot a menacing glare at her. "But can they feel an unsated thirst for vengeance and chase enemies all over the net?" he asked with sarcasm and a smirk.

He doesn't like being corrected or the mere fact that someone can disagree with him. Pfft, monolithic.

Ajax squinted his eyes at Bea. She swallowed hard and averted his gaze. "I don't think so."

Right after that, Bea bit her lower lip and cast her head down in embarrassment. Her long hair shielded her face from either side.

Shannon frowned. She was simply taking part in the conversation. He didn't need to be rude to her. Now, she's retracting into her timid self, as usual when something like this happens. Damn, you, Ajax.

"You shouldn't project your frustration onto somebody else," Shannon told him, squaring her pose and staring at him with burning eyes. "If you're mad about a dog saving your arse, save your anger for a—I don't know—a punching bag, for example."

"This bloody dog may have no chip, but I hardly believe it's not loyal to its owner anymore," Ajax replied in his trademark foul mood. "Who knows who's its owner! We might have common enemies, but that doesn't automatically mean it's our friend."

"A common enemy may unite different communities. It's happened before," Ned said. "Look, we should scan it to check the true nature of its coding. Let's go to the Console Room and see whether it is an actual threat to us and whether it's still got an owner. And then, let's have Aethelred decide. He's the boss here—he should decide its fate."

Ajax eyed Ned with a challenging gaze and a low growl, but he shut up. The only sound coming from him was the joints in his fists cracking.

I wonder whether Ajax has a problem with having someone else make such decisions, especially bearing in mind he hates this dog. Has he got a problem with authority, too? He just talked back at Bea and openly disagreed with Ned, someone he should trust because he's now his partner in fighting those two threats. An authority figure like my brother might question him just like she did and decide against his wishes. He might not recognise Aethelred as the leader of Browser City—and that could be an issue.

If he starts acting like a plughole to my brother too, I'm gonna remind him of what Nekari did—and I'm gonna push him until he confesses what makes him so ashamed. I'm dying to know what, actually.

Bea started going up the stairs, followed by Ned, who beckoned the joyful dog to follow him.

As it walked by, the dog paid no attention to Ajax as he glared at it.

Shannon and Ajax remained standing there, scrutinising each other for a few nanoseconds until he made a tense courtesy gesture to invite her to go up first.

"Up we go, then, babe," he said.

She rolled her eyes. Taking a step towards him, she whispered, "If you don't stop acting like this, you're not gonna make many friends around here, rookie. Reprogram your anger. And stop calling me 'babe'."

"Or what? You already hate my circuits because I told you a good, hard truth." His smile told her how much he didn't give a chip about her opinion.

She squinted her eyes at him. "This isn't about me, Ajax. I see your true chroma—and soon my brother and the rest will too. Even the dog." My calm and serious tone didn't produce any change in his body language.

"I didn't subscribe to your obnoxious opinions."

She scoffed. "Your personality needs a serious upgrade."

"You're a VR dream, too," he added with sarcasm and a hateful smirk as he left her behind.

She flashed a murderous glare at his back and, after a couple of nanoseconds, she went up the stairs.

The dog stays. He won't have it his way—or anything his way. I'll make sure of it. I swear.