Their flight was a slow one, but a pleasant one. Chirani and Syna were playing a little game of “I Spot” and chatting to pass the time until they got Angie’s message. The hacker wanted to ask for more information when suddenly, their C.T.D landed near an opening where two figures were waiting for them. One was Marc, the other a man dressed in a navy military uniform, with a blue cap and speaking on a long-range WristCom.
-” Yes sir Robert, it worked. The C.T.D just landed. Uhum. Sure, give me a second. FINER, GO TO YOUR LEFT!”, he shouted, and it did as he commanded. He tried it a few more times, and each time the robot followed the Commissary's orders.
-” Confirmed sir Robert. Now please contact me again when you revoked all of Priya’s roles and rights as a CEO. “
Marc, with his head held down, stood right behind the Commissary, incapable of even addressing his former companions. Neither did Syna and Chirani, who knew they were woefully outmatched and outclassed here, so both pointed their arms to the masked man.
-” Finer, shield me”, he coldly commanded and waited to see how they would react.
Chirani clenched his teeth, and murmured an apology to his former companion, then yelled out to Syna to shoot the C.T.D on a spot near where his arms were. After they hit it a few times, it lost control of its flight patterns, and its out-of-control path put it directly in line with the Commissary. This forced him to defend himself using a weird ability but gave the two enough time to flee from them.
-” Should I give chase, dad?” asked an exhausted-sounding Marc.
-” No, you’ve done enough for today. Just summon a cube and take the C.T.D back to a clinic for repairs. Besides, it's been a while since I caught some bad guys, leave this to me.” With that, he almost gunned for it, but then changed his mind at the last second. “ Actually, I do have a mission for you. Use the cube to go to the fourth clinic’s location and confirm that the coordinates for it are real. I wouldn’t put it past it for them to have sent the wrong logs to pull a fast one on us!”
While still not out of his dejected state, it put a smile on Marc’s face knowing that his father still had some trust in him.
Syna and Chirani were trying really hard to put some distance between themselves and the Commissary, but both knew that it was impossible, especially if all the rumors about his tenacity were true. All they could hope was for Angie to have managed to turn their cube around and pick them up in time.
-” Hello little traitors”, he screamed as his figure grew in size behind them. Like Ingress, he was also using special wheels to run around, giving him speed faster than humanly possible. When he got in range, he stretched his right arm and the metal he was carrying in a bag on his back started to float and move at his command.
-” Fantastic, he's got a magnetic controller”, complained Syna. All the shrapnels were rapidly gaining on them until, at the last second, Angie used her pickaxe to put a crater in the middle of the projectiles, which left them staggered. Before the Commissary could even land a word edgewise, she already grabbed the two and jumped with them back into the cube. She did, though, issue him a challenge by pointing towards her, then at him, followed by a throat-slitting gesture.
He was thrilled at the display and couldn’t contain the idea of having to pick up a fight with her.
-----
As they finally showed up at the clinic, Vivar, Billy and Priya were there to greet them. The robots were mostly focused on Savan to see how they held up, but the clopy explained that they were good and the two should also check on the rest as well:
-”’ They're your friends as well, you know?”.
Billy and Vivar shared shamed looks, and followed their advice, starting with the sniper: " You feeling ok Chirani? We'll get Finer back, don't worry", were the two's comforting attempts.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Savan used that moment to slide into the shadows, on a bench, and rest for a bit. They felt as tired as if they just finished a marathon, with weights attached to them. The fatigue numbed all their senses and failed to notice that a person was savoring some tea on a chair nearby. It gave them a scare at first, but then noticed something peculiar about them; they had a doctor’s uniform and tools and a name card...
-” You’re a clopy...I mean C.E, but you're a doctor?”
The staff member ignored them for a second and loudly sipped from their tea.
-” No, I’m the chief medic here. And you must be Savan Forg, the bane who introduced the name clopy to our people. I don’t like it by the way.``
-” What, why? I thought it was a cute and clever name, unlike C.E.”
Savan straightened up on the bench, cleared their throat, and appeared more presentable to them, but it became clear that the doctor was already miffed with them.
-” Sure, but I already put one in for official recognition: e-clones; entered all the paperwork, did all the procedures, and then I found out that our people call themselves clopies in secret. So you’ve wasted my time.”
-” Oh…sorry, I guess." The conversation left Savan a bit embarrassed and didn't know how or if they should continue it. But there they were, another clone that left the compounds of the County, chief over an entire clinic:
- "Congratulations, by the way, for getting such a high position.”
-" Hmmm, a more developed emotional intelligence than mine?"
Over the years, they might regret missing the occasion to speak with them; but with that sarcastic question, Savan's fatigue convinced them to give up on the polite attitude and was done with whatever retort duel the doctor wanted to have with them.
-" Listen, another time I would have been impressed with your achievements, but...I can't now. Just say what you want to say or do your mind games somewhere else."
-" Oh, a very emotive resp..."
-" No doc, just no. I'm not in the mood."
The staff expected their first interaction to be wittier, but their first impression of them did show some promise in his theory: " So you are becoming more diverse in your approaches...hmm, it's no wonder the device works better on you than me."
-" Huh? The Guidance?"
-" There you go, choosing another better name than I could come up with." His tone was softer now, content that they finally could have some face-to-face with Savan. "Yes, the Guidance. I tried it on myself...I never managed to get past the first field, you know. Never could properly adapt to...them."
-" I see. I'm also actually bad at this, but I had good people to help me out. Didn't you also, since you are the chief?"
-” Yeah, I became that mostly thanks to my colleagues. They threatened to strike if I wasn’t set as chief since I had the skills and all the requirements. But besides being good at my job, I wasn't able to relate more with my colleagues. Maybe with Priya, but it's more like a work-friend relationship."
Savan was a bit shocked at how clueless the doctor seemed, since they just poured out parts of their hearts to them, but..." Is it easier to say all of that to a clopy? Guess I could try."
-" It's not fair for you, only you to be so honest, so my turn. I'm scared now...of doing the Guidance. After Dilena..."
-" That wasn't your fault, though. The self-destruct..."
-" I know, but that's how I feel. I understand the rationale, but not...the feeling of it."
The doctor took another sip, and remained speechless, using all of their knowledge to form an answer. Not a good one, per se, but they knew they had to give them something.
-” I don't get it, either, Savan. I read about situations like yours, and some advice I learned was that it will pass with time, and people are worried about you. Also, I don’t know how much it will help, but the staff here will make sure everything will be alright during the procedures. Ok, little sibling?”
-” Hah, you've also developed a bit, right?... Wait, little? How ol…no, wait what’s your name?”
The doctor then got up and turned towards Savan. “ Eh….I forgot and I guess you can call me Doc Ther. Like you, I also choose my name. “ The doctor then left in a hurry, feeling like they had done enough soul-searching for a day. They then patted Priya on the back and had a chat with her as well. Somehow, seeing another clopy, one that came at this level, gave Savan some peace and strength they felt were missing.
-----
Throughout the rest of the entire day, Savan, one by one guided all of the remaining ones under threat of the molding device, and the team was relieved of the Brands' control. Vivar and Billy also received some repairs, alongside some upgrades to their gears.
The next morning, they all stood prepared and ready for their final challenge. To take control of the Playground.