Iker's priority was figuring out why his memories got tampered with. He dragged both of his sneakers—what he called efficiency—through the inky Colorado desert with the other three boys following him.
A self-driving magnetic car in the black sky would stick out like Camilo's face in an earthplexus chatroom, so Maverick suggested going out as far north as possible to avoid detection from the crypt keeper lookin' ass priest and his hologram chasers.
Once they were far out enough, the boys could call the vehicle to fly to a Byzian outpost. The one in Colorado Springs had virtualtops which would let Bastian and Iker go back to Bolsa Mágica to seek answers. The Prunus Tantulum tree they used to connect their virtualtop visors to in the past was now ashes under a burnt home.
Iker summoned a hologram screen to observe Snitch's live coverage.
At this point the cultists were almost realizing that something more queer than the pride parade itself was happening. A machete wielder, stopping and moving deliberately, noticed one of the holograms would pirouette away as soon as he slashed forward. The hologram waved to say goodbye while landing on both feet.
The partying holograms, clad in rainbows, pinks, and blues, were dancing in synchronized dutty wines to avoid every bullet and baseball bat that came their way.
No headshots, no triples, and no pentakills tonight.
The bullets did not even graze any spinning ponytails and dreads that whipped away just in time. The sounds the parade marchers made while dodging made the fanatics even angrier.
Kyah!
Haya!
Really?
Ugh.
Hah!
And I Oo-
ez
These speedo men and lipstick lesbians, bisexuals, and pansexuals achieved ultra instinct dodging while never running out of breath. Another hologram shablamed for a double kill, avoiding two passing bullets that later pierced the two Alkrezians that shot them. The hologram held a sublime pose on the concrete Pueblo street while the two shooters were about to pose as corpses.
Iker laughed so hard for so long that it became painful, so he waved the hologram away. After the hand wave he tripped over a sneaky-ass rock, falling over on the floor like a drunk hyena. He lifted his hoodie over his eye to check on Bastian's breathing, but he seemed fine as he failed to get himself up once again. Bastian's softening of the eyes showed that he knew Iker was checking on him. Bastian assured his friend with an upnod, tripped over a bush once again, and landed on his face still laughing.
Maverick was panting in amusement while checking on a planking Camilo. The human boy was stuck chuckling so hard that he could not get himself up either.
Now that Camilo and Maverick were with them, Iker and Bastian could not casually jaunt to a location that had virtualtops to have a scrum meeting. They were not able to jaunt Camilo nor Maverick. The process had steep requirements and possible fatal consequences.
Only Iker and Bastian had the neccessary privileges to execute the splatting commands that unlocked many influx abilities.
The boys passed a pile of massive boulders as they marched on.
Well, Iker was dragging his feet like a worn-down terrestial car, and Maverick's paw lances had a forced bravado.
"It's so weird how you got used to... this dragging sound," Camilo whispered in the back.
"Everything is going to shit, so why not have a zombie apocalypse too? Why the fuck not?" Iker whined with a shrug. "I'm practicing my brain hunting catwalk."
Iker poured more melodrama into his feet dragging, creating a larger tail of floating sand behind him.
"The category is... Zoooombie Bottoms!" Bastian announced, skipping around the group while throwing open palms to Iker.
"I'm starting to think you're hitting on me since you can't stop picturing me on all fours," Iker joked, twerking in Bastian's direction while also dropping it low.
Iker glanced in Camilo's direction to see him taking in the view with no shame at all. Camilo's eyes said he wanted to get caught.
"Ooooooooo!" Camilo yelled in Bastian's direction. "He got you there!"
Camilo had to do a jog around a large rock to contain his laughter. Or was he faking it? His smile did fade quicker than usual when he circled back to the group.
Bastian leaped and wrapped Iker in his arms to give him a nudgie. Iker sensed his hug from his other hand. The shaky hand revealed Bastian's repressed despair as he was seeking comfort, and Iker replied with a firm hand on the shoulder.
"I am sure you would still look hot as a zombie," Camilo said.
Iker jumped out of Bastian's embrace and did a flip into a dramatic face-off that followed with screams of utter disguist. "Camilo! Cochino!"
Camilo's mouth gaped. "What? What the fuck is it with all the screaming?"
"Camilo finds dead bodies hot!" Bastian teased, doing an undead shuffle around Camilo with a goofy grin.
Camilo's face went flat. He was cracking too.
Iker's chest tightened as he remembered the closed school where the three of them met in kindergarten. Even another silly jump in the air just made the emotional anchor in his chest more apparent and his eyes summoned sneaky-ass tears.
The town resembled miniature squares on a black horizon if Iker squinted hard enough.
"Everyone is sad huh," Maverick murmured. His paws were getting closer to being dragged as well.
"It's okay," Iker whispered to the lion. "Can I carry you? It's obvious you're exhausted."
Maverick stopped walking and nodded. He nodded in both senses of the word as Iker had to drop on a knee to catch the little cub. He took off his black hoodie that made him recognizable from far away and laid Maverick on it.
Sounds of sniffles approached Iker. He looked up to meet Camilo's bleary eyes.
Iker and Camilo stared at each other, reassuring each other as their eyes softened each passing second.
Iker raised his hand the same way he would interacting with an earthplexus hologram, but he instead gently slipped his fingers between Camilo's. He grabbed Iker's hand in return.
Iker had held a girl's hand once and felt no significant difference. He foolishly expected that holding Camilo's would be just as uneventful. Iker was never more wrong in his life as this was the first time he held a guy's hand, and it had to be a Colombian mega influencer testtube boy. Iker was stunlocked harder than in any PvP match he joined in A Big Satan Under Your Pinky Toe. Iker could almost report him for hacking his hormones with just his hand.
Nerf his ass, Iker thought.
Just holding hands alone made him realize just how much of a teenager he was; he had to execute an emergency baseball simulation. Iker had to think about baseball.
|prompt a supersoldier tapping into Kaya form and swinging a baseball bat right into Iker's homo gonads
He did not actually imagine that into the earthplexus as he intentionally held back his will. Could one imagine if the generated clip appeared in front of Camilo? He would leave him on read in Memoryfeed for all eternity, confirming that he was a loser after all.
He kept forcing the imaginary simulation of the supersoldier swinging away at the jewels. He absolutely cannot let hand holding affect him like this. That was gay gay.
"Hey Iker?"
I'm a really really fucking gay! Flaming-ass gay, Iker screamed into the void of his mind, starting a galactic war campaign against puberty itself. Now he was going to report both Camilo and puberty itself for stacking teams.
I'm the fudge factory's employee of the month. Sodom and Gomorrah has nothing on me. If only straight people could feel.. they would never question how natural this was. From fucking holding hands? I am a loser. Stop this stunlock and just gray screen me already you hormone hacker.
Iker begged the imaginary supersoldier to go harder as he was getting tag teamed.
I got the big gay. The biggest gay. Shit, I'm going to be boy crazy aren't I?
"You're... you're growing up Iker," Bastian whispered with awe. Iker checked quickly if he was referring to something else, but he sighed in relief. So far the imaginary baseball supersoldier was gay bashing better than a 2comsa troll.
"There's no need to play around anymore," Iker barely said. He couldn't tell if it was his melancholy or... that choking him up.
"I am being a million percent serious bro," Bastian affirmed. "I saw you grab his hand first. I'm proud of you."
How long did I zone out for?
That finally got a real smile from Camilo. "Why is that?"
"Iker thought he would never have a chance with you," Bastian explained.
"Why are you embarassing me in front of him?" Iker asked, wiping the second ninja tear he found. He glanced over at Camilo to see him shaking his head at him, still holding his hand.
Shit I was trying to forget that he was holding it.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"I am not embarassing you at all. I'm telling Camilo that you're becoming a man," Bastian said. "You're growing up buddy. Yo I could cry again."
Iker glanced down once again just to be sure. Surprisingly, Bastian was not being a jackass for once.
The boys let the howl of the desert pass as they cleaned up their faces.
"Camilo, aren't you being paranoid at this point?" Iker asked.
"Wow!" Camilo yelled as Bastian freed a simmering hyena-like laugh. "Not even one date in and he's calling me paranoid. Iker's gonna be a heartbreaker."
"I've been telling you!" Bastian ranted. "He's going to have a line of guys always."
"Okay I get it," Iker chastised with blushing cheeks. Camilo chuckled, also taking enjoyment in Iker's prudishness. "You do know what I meant right?"
"Yea, I think we're far enough from Pueblo," Camilo replied. "Well we could have stopped much earlier, but I wanted to watch Iker walk for longer."
Iker's face went really hot. He rollled into a bush to hide as he heard laughter behind him.
"I am never wearing gray shorts again."
Iker was even worse at taking compliments, but Iker felt assured by Camilo's smile he discovered in the crack of the bush.
Then the realization of the pointless walk caused fury to flash into Iker's chest. He peaked between dead leaves to find Bastian also struck with rage as he flared his golden fangs.
Iker leaped out of the bush with more ferocity than the Kool-aid man and the Manbearpig combined. He landed beside Bastian who was red all the way down to his pinky toe.
"YO WHAT THE FUCK!?" Bastian and Iker screamed at the same time. Camilo covered his mouth with both hands.
"You made us walk all this because you were listening to your other head?" Bastian asked. "Man Camilo, stop thinking with your verga."
"Look who's talking," Iker teased. "You were trying to lie to us about your virginity. That shit ain't even real."
"Hey Camilo, did you order the self-driving car?" Bastian asked, throwing an open hand at Iker's face.
"No," Camilo replied.
That got Bastian's eyes to really widen and he sucked in a humongous breath. Iker shook his head while covering his ears.
"THEN FUCKING CALL IT ALREADY!" Bastian shouted with his entire diaphragm and a flick of his veiny neck. He raised his begging arms to the dark sky above.
Feels did run high indeed. All kinds of them.
"Sir, this is a boutique," Camilo whispered to Bastian. "How can I help you?"
It became dead silent, but Camilo posed with closed eyes and the sturdiest posture.
Iker and Bastian stared at each other the whole time. Forced deadpan faces. Being dead ass serious in Spanish.
They gave up on repressing it and laughed. However, the two boys finished it with a kiss to the teeth and with sandy Pueblo garbage thrown at Camilo's stupid ass grin.
However, the two boys finished it with a kiss to the teeth and with sandy Pueblo garbage thrown at Camilo's stupid ass grin [https://img.wattpad.com/ef40a0f698173854be034066f0d755a56793d349/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4e636a3833554673562d4a5373413d3d2d313337383631393938372e313738303739353634303039353462303835353334373933373234332e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Camilo called the self-driving magnetic car the three boys and the cub entered in several hours ago. He had the r0cbytes and the connections.
Iker tried to get him to use the earthplexus instead of the Sentiennica Cluster phone he had, but it was too new for him. The phone's hardware was a small silver square that would generate a hologram that covered all of Camilo's hand, but it only had access to the internet.
Camilo wouldn't have access to the sites he needed on the earthplexus at first as Iker arranged his own local earthplexus by creating logic gates with drones and Prunus Tantulum branches. Iker wanted to call it the Ikerplexus until he realized how cringy it was.
Iker and Bastian could not access the MWAOS terminal in the main earthplexus, but with their own local computer composed of invisible leylines to the human eye, they could use their own terminal. That was the first step neccessary to splat, something Camilo and Maverick did not need to know about. Bastian was just a Byzian supersoldier and nothing more, or at least that was the brothers' testimony.
Whoever invented the earthplexus has made it near impossible to open its terminal. Another mystery that plagued Iker's mind.
For Camilo to use the earthplexus Iker would have to "open" the logic gates so he could access the main earthplexus, but it was not necessary as he phoned in the self-driving magnetic car they were in.
After having some much needed sleep inside the flying blue car that provided some of the fluffiest rides in No Man's Land, the boys received the most beloved gift a Byza mafia watchtower in the ruins of Colorado Spring could offer them.
A shootout of course.
Why get a rooster in the 22nd century when Byza members have decided that mowing down children pairs well with a cup of coffee? It was all part of an essential breakfast.
The first alarm came through with a metal bullet that flicked the golden grills that were loose on Bastian's lips, waking everyone.
"Did you steal my grill?" Bastian asked Camilo. Bastian had smoke coming off the side of his lips. "Holy shit my mouth. Ow."
"I think a bullet stole it," Maverick said.
The number of total shots already leaped in the double digits, causing the default AI in the magnetic car to aggressively sway to evade while entering defensive driving mode.
The smell of burnt metal and the cacophony of simultaneous infinite firework shows consumed Iker. It was inevitable that the influx engine that inverted gravity will stop working soon.
Iker was dead quiet the whole time as he was responsible for every life in the car. If anyone died, it will be his fault no matter what. A logic gate he made for himself if he ever wanted to reach donhood. He wanted to be different than the ones that treated life as disposable.
Iker did give a drone each name, but Noah was their universal mind. Iker got Noah to take over the pummelled magnetic car.
Snitch confirmed that most of the shots were coming from the watchtower that was in the folds of the collapsed gargantuan mall. Hughmungus reacted to the data and simmered down the cacophony that was outside the vehicle with his tanky ricochets.
"Should I get out?" Bastian asked, probably already in Kaya form.
"No," Iker commanded. "We're in a favorable spot for holograms."
The 420 drones and 430 drones have arranged the leylines and formed logic gates to isolate Iker's network from the main earthplexus.
One of Iker's core beliefs was that most issues could be resolved with holograms. He understood sometimes violence was necessary, but it should be the last option.
Byza, making it clear that they knew that the boys killed Dominic, did force the boys into a disadvantageous spot in the air if the battle took place a decade ago.
However, from the perspective of the enemy's eyes, it seemed that the boys and the vehicle vanished thanks to the holograms that resembled the sky generated by Iker's network. He knew that whoever issued this hit would be aware of his hologram usage, so he kept his eyes peeled for his opponent's next move.
Now with the earthplexus exisiting, the operating system that used carbon chains, influx, and electricity, made most air fights stalemates. It was much too easy to create a hologram that resembled a piece of the sky, and the earthplexus also had means to make any radar not detect anything. It became more practical to use a self-replicating AI that could cover the sky, the kind Ember Comsa used for her police robots.
If the Don allied themselves with Ember, the next assailants could very well be police robots.
If Iker had to guess Byza's strategy, they must have detected that they were not awake and tried to get sucker bullets in quickly. Camilo was a famous influencer that was always issued bulletproof and laser resistant vehicles. If the new Don was not careful, Camilo could bring down the reputation of whoever was responsible. Truth or fiction did not matter, it would just be another information war.
The car's engine was defunct, but Hughmungus in disguise as a piece of the sky was hauling the disguised car.
"Is anyone hurt?" Iker asked.
Camilo's face said everything. His frozen gaze showed Iker that he was doing everything he could to avoid looking at the fatal wound that was gushing blood from his chest area. Maverick was whimpering as he tried to grab whatever he could in the vehicle to stop the flow. Iker helped by using his own shirt to press on Camilo's chest while trying to predict the next move the new Don would make.
"Stay with me Camilo," Maverick commanded.
|chat were gonna have to steal his genome info to save his life
pettypapi: were gonna have to steal his genome info to save his life
iker+camilo=♡: i know im the one that has it easy, but you know you have to let him die. i can't let you upload his genome to the earthplexus. remember that this is bigger than the four of us
pettypapi: if I learned anything from the 21st century is that you can't be doing the same mistake over and over. don't you understand we need to be different? i want to change it all. the ends don't justify the means bastian
Bastian allowed himself to weep when his brain received the splat message. He bunched up his hoodie and shirt and begged Camilo to hang on with Maverick.
I know we need to keep our secrets, but who are we if we let people die when we can save them? Iker thought.
And as the boys were about to make their escape, one of the best living advertisements for Ember's conglomerate stepped out onto the landing pads that could host magnetic cars and spaceships.
Don Dominic Titan Seraphis returned as a cyborg composed of the most precious metals on Earth. However, his synthetic skin was not ready as usual.
It became apparent to Iker that Dominic was going to use a dark earthplexus weapon to shoot up the sky. It was likely that Don Dominic stayed indoors to try and disable Iker's hologram sessions, but stepped out now when he realized it was not possible.
Iker recognized the arm bar and leg bar that were attached to the cyborg's side. It was now forming a ring of capacitators attached to Dominic's underarm, hip, and the upper half of his shin. The circular weapon he was assembling should theoretically ignore the speed of light. Did Dominic know, if he did not fall for a deepfake, that he was going to change space combat forever?
Did Dominic attain another holy grail?
"I-isn't that the Godzilla beam thingy majig from those creepy sites?" Bastian stuttered.
"Ember and Japan haven't been able to pull it off," Iker murmured. "But theoretically... it should be possible with the Prunus Tantulum."
Iker and Bastian could no longer keep their jaws closed. Iker was struck with both awe and terror.
"I got a plan," Iker said.
"He will hit us eventually with that," Bastian warned. Iker stared at him hard while the three beings kept compressing on Camilo's barely conscious body. Camilo's car seat went from gray to a glistening maroon. Iker did not waver from looking into Bastian's eyes.
Iker was not stressed out at all and he wanted Bastian to realize this. He knew to trust him when he's calm. They were having this conversation with just their faces alone. They were brothers; they didn't need to rely on splat's chat to communicate this.
Iker was going to find a way to splat Camilo without revealing anything once they make their escape. For once in his life Iker did not have a plan post-escape, but he was going to have to improvise.
Iker summoned hologram duplicates of the pummeled car, getting Noah to analyze every detail carefully. However, all of them were spawning right in the vicinity of the real vehicle.
Bastian roared at Iker's decision, motioning him to stop with his hands. While patting his chest, Bastian began struggling to breathe. They morphed into sharp wheezees while Bastian was still glaring at Iker. "Iker are you fucking crazy? He will shoot this way."
"Bastian, do you understand the game we are playing?" Iker asked. He shifted his glance to stare at the don ominously as if they were having an actual stare down.
"This isn-"
"It's always a game Bastian," Iker interrupted. "Let me ask you agai-"
Bastian motioned for Iker to close his mouth. Bastian's irises were rolling upwards indicating that he was deep in thought, and that little oxygen was getting to his head.
"It's just poker," Bastian whispered with a faint smile.
Bastian could no longer catch his breath, falling over on top of Camilo's pool of blood in between the seats. Iker grabbed the puffer that came with every rented magnetic car from the dashboard and leaped over to give Bastian a nice solid pump. Then a second one.
Dominic's new weapon...
A cosmic sound was how Iker would describe it.
It was apparent that it did not care for how sound normally worked for biological beings. It did not care if it was heard or not... or maybe Iker became deaf. Was he trying to comprehend an unperceivable scream? Even gravity felt as if it momentarily halted as Dominic was siphoning a divine amount of energy around him.
Then there was only white light around them, and what sounded like all of the seven polluted oceans of the Earth being poured on an interdimensional plane where only aluminum existed. All Iker could do was monitor Bastian's and Camilo's heartbeat with touch. Maverick cried as Iker and Bastian held him. Iker already placed his trap card and he needed Dominic to fall for it.
Dominic did not call Iker's bluff.
Dominic's steady glowing beam went around the holograms rather than the holograms themselves. If that were to not be the case, Bastian would no longer be breathing in Iker's arms.
The ominous white light began to fade.
Iker outsmarted the Don once again.
With the recoil the groundbreaking invention was bound to have, Dominic would be stuck holding up the hyper beam. Iker had to let him see his face. Show him the face that will replace him when he becomes an adult.
Humongous halted its spinning and dropped with the smoking vehicle in free fall.
Iker glanced at Dominic once again as the car fell below the earthplexus hologram that hid them. Dominic had to halt the godlike beam before he could switch directions. As they made eye contact, Iker smiled at him as all he could do was watch him escape.
Iker leaped forward and shoved back Bastian and Maverick as Dominic's kneecaps popped opened to capitalize on the 14-year-old's mistake.
Iker's left arm was obliterated.