TRIGGER WARNING!!! – Suicide, gnarly descriptions, death. I'll have a really brief summary of the info revealed in the TW scene. If you must, skip from the label [TRIGGER] until you reach the label [SAFE]. It's a short scroll, but it'll save you some stuff.

***

The chasers kept after Val. The forest had become even more withered and twisted than it ever was, and red tint lighting made his visibility even worse than if he was in a plain dark room. He breathed through his mouth in a futile attempt to muffle his gasping.

"You can't hide. You know that."

The voice sounded familiar, but at the same time it was that of a complete stranger. He climbed the tree he was leaning against, careful not to snap any twigs. Carefully, one hand up, then the other. Feet, then repeat. The bark threatened to come off, so Val backed off. He tried another route, but the beam of a flashlight landed upon him just as he was about to move. Dread filled his stomach as he tried to distinguish a shape.

The bark exploded into splinters below him, prompting him to climb as fast and far as a set of now shortened limbs allowed him. He didn't make it very far before being forced to leap off the tree and run in the shadows again. The fog around him gave him an edge, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't ever going to be enough.

And then he was faced with the barrel of a very familiar looking gun. A chrome-coated Beretta fit with a suppressor. Vic's gun.

"It's all on you. I should have seen it from the start." He pushed the gun forward. Val froze. It was Vic, he knew; but he couldn't see his face. It was obscured by the gloom and the fog.

He didn't think then. He reacted. In the blink of an eye, Vic lay dead in his arms; and the gun, now bloodied, rested in Val's palm.

***

A scream in the dark. Val didn't even bother trying to catch his breath. He bolted to the sink and splashed water on his face, but he couldn't wash the horrible imagery that flooded his mind. He didn't want to see it any longer. He needed to do something else.

He tried going for a walk, but he couldn't shake the nightmare. After that, he tried watching a movie, but he couldn't get past ten minutes of constantly thinking Vic would have probably liked it. Val was getting frustrated, and he couldn't get Vic out of his mind. The sweet-turned-sour memories wouldn't go away, and Val found himself contemplating them longingly.

He couldn't allow himself to be distracted. He needed to find the Handler.

Val grabbed his sword and tied his hair into a ponytail, like Vic's. He grabbed an energy bar from the pantry and went on his way.

***

The gentle patter of the rain on umbrellas and asphalt was oddly soothing. The cold seeped into his bones like it'd always done. Only the memory of the warmth he once felt kept him going as he stared into his reflection in the puddles. The place was just ahead, he'd have to break in.

Val verified the address in the paper and carried on. He climbed using the pipes and holes in the wall, until he reached a window. Val sighed and used the sword to pop the safety off the window, he then jumped down the other side.

A putrid odor heavily contrasted the pristine lab aesthetic. White walls and lighting that left no space for shadow – crystal and ceramic shaking hands.

Val slowly wrapped his hand around the saya and put the hilt between his right index and thumb. Every footstep sounded just a little too loud, and before long, he found himself betting on what would appear at each turn. He inhaled deeply and tried shaking off the anxiety.

A security door quacked for a password ahead. Val rolled his eyes. He cut the panel in half and yanked out the chips and connections within. The door opened.

It was a nightmare in broad daylight.

A dozen pods, all open. Blood was splattered before each one. The smell worsened. Val covered his nose and mouth with the jacket, but it did nothing to fight the stench.

He walked closer, the shriveled corpses were caked with dry blood and bits of bone and brain, jaws agape. They were all missing big chunks of their skulls.

Val walked away. He had done some gnarly stuff, but witnessing the aftermath of an atrocity was a different kind of nasty.

[TRIGGER]

There was someone slumped over on a desk, wearing a lab coat. Val jogged over.

"You know what- oh." They were long dead too. The obscured tongue, spine and back teeth were exposed; Val looked up to see the rest of the – obliterated – head spread all over the ceiling. The gun was still on the table.

Val looked back down and a computer on the desk caught his attention. He flicked it on and input the password scribbled on a post-it pasted on the screen. The blue light bounced off Val's face as he stared at the 'Welcome back...' on the screen. Lock-screen faded to desktop, and a folder with a single file in it.

'Watch,' read the filename. Curiosity got the best of Val.

He opened the file and saw the screen blink before showing a video, presumably of the dead scientist on the chair.

The scientist looked older than it probably was, his sunken face offered a topographical view of his bones.

"I... Fuck... I don't even know who you are. But believe me, you're screwed." The scientist looked over his shoulder. "Your boys. I killed them all. If anyone else is watching, do you want to know what's been going on here? Well... Nothing pretty. Human experimentation that makes the regulations look like kindergarten rules. Invasive operations, involuntary subjects, re-structuring of entire regions of tissue, all non-con. This is the project you all were funding so eagerly. You did all this. So? Shut me down, I ain't got nothing to lose." He looked over his shoulder again before licking his lips and showing papers to the screen.

"All this stuff. Diplomas, certifications... All this asswipe telling me what a clever boy I am? I'd trade it to have these boys live a normal life. I'd trade them in a heartbeat." The scientist shook his head slowly, holding back tears. Hand over mouth, as if that helped.

"We stole them, all of them. And I helped. I helped put them through hell, and for what? Some puny money? Protecting some stinky secrets!? Huh!? I can't, I- I won't do this any longer. This is what concerns you so listen good: My name is Michael D. Tamley. I am part of Project Obscuro. No, it's not your fancy glider bots. They're living weapons. Obscuro can infiltrate anywhere, they're highly trained and there could be one standing behind you at this very moment. They must not be allowed to exist! There's more facilities used for the Project. Come after me all you want, you'll never get to me. You, however... I've programmed this device to broadcast this video to all the bigshots that want you dead as soon as I drop. This will be a good enough excuse. They're after you, and you won't live to tell the tale. I only wish I could be here to see you perish like a dog. Time someone handled the Handler." Val watched as the scientist's breath turned ragged, grip on the gun turning shaky. Loud boom. Blood covered the camera instantly.

Val stared at the screen for several more seconds before stumbling back. His knees bent and he was on all fours. Something burned in his chest before violently projecting on the floor below him.

***

[SAFE]

"Come on, get up. Floor's dusty." The green-haired girl helped Vic up and went back to the computer.

"Sorry. Long trip." Vic leaned on the desk beside her.

"Yeah, yeah. Pass the coffee, willya?"

"Come on, that's four steps away."

"You're closer."

"Fine."

Vic put the coffee near the computer and leaned against the table, arms crossed. "Listen Ai, I-"

"Fucked up. I know. And you came for help, relationship advice perhaps?" She said, eyebrow raised.

"Of sorts. Can you help me track someone?"

"Your puppeteer's rival's puppet? I thought they said not to stick your dick in crazy."

"He's not crazy."

"Dude, he lopped his own ear off and massacred an entire police squad. Last one he did twice already."

"He's still a charm. Plus, isn't Lila a bit like that too?" Vic pleaded.

"No?"

"Hmm... Practically owns half of Jericho, got all that... gear put into herself; and only yesterday she flipped over five Waste Management trucks, blocking an entire ground superhighway and making the residual waters dirtier than they already are."

"Well not like she has any other choice, with a life like hers, she has to be ruthless to sur- Oh... Touché." Aisha sighed and turned to face Vic. "I get you, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to Lila, but at least I wouldn't take advantage of her and double cross her immediately after."

"I know, and I need to make this right. He was told to kill me too, but he tossed it out the window. I'm too much of an idiot to have done the same for him."

"I can see that. What makes you think he'll even want to see you?"

"Nothing, but if I don't get to him I can't protect him from the Bloods. Atsev said he's already deployed them, I don't have much time."

"You are a fucking idiot. I say that as a friend."

"Alright I get it! He hates me. But I don't, and I don't want to see how the most important person in my life gets his throat slit in his sleep. Now, would you please?"

"Fine. I want payment though."

"What kind?"

"You know what kind," Aisha said with a smirk.

"No. They don't sell those anymore."

"Fucking dammit. Alright then, when you find your sweetheart tell him to make me some. He's good at cooking unlike you disgraced fool." She took a sip of her coffee and started typing.

"He really is," Vic sighed. "I miss him."

"Well, maybe next time don't try to get him killed only to fail miserably and leave him feeling very sad and very betrayed."

"Roger that."

Minutes of silence felt like hours. The only thing that interrupted the silence was either Vic scratching his head or Aisha typing away into the grid of cameras and security systems. She accidentally knocked something over when reaching for the coffee again.

"Ah shit..." Aisha grabbed the item and set it in its previous position. It was a picture of Lila and her. Dark skin, sides shaved, ports covering the left side of her skull. Aisha's arm was wrapped around her shoulders; Lila's smile was a lot like Val's. Aisha glanced at the picture and grinned briefly before turning back to work.

"Do you have an idea of where he goes to eat or something?"

"Miss Calamari's, he took me there once. Good food, the owner though." Vic shuddered.

"Yea... Alright I got something."

"Oh?" Vic leaned on the desk and Aisha had to push him back because he was nose-deep into the computer screen.

There he was. He was eating, and talking to... someone. Trench coat, glasses, dark hair. Vic's vision tunneled, and he clenched his jaw. Of course... it was a matter of time. The thought of Val being with someone else squeezed his heart dry. And now, he didn't know what to think.

"Do you think...?" Aisha said.

"N-no, I don't think so. Can't be." Vic lowered his chin and gulped heavily.

Aisha gave him a sympathetic look. Val and the stranger got uncomfortably close. Vic had to turn away.

"No wait, I don't think it's what you think."

"How can you be so sure?" Vic felt his voice raising against his will. "I- Sorry."

"He threatened him, I saw him grab something... Like a card or whatever." Aisha sipped more coffee and followed Val through the cameras. He was going somewhere, then he disappeared among the crowd. Aisha leaned forward and started switching channels. "Mother- Yeah, something tells me he's gonna be ok."

"So he wasn't-"

"No. You still have a shot, simp."

"Says the one who gave up a scholarship for a gangster."

"Come on. My life would be empty without Lily. And she's one of the better kinds."

"Spoken like a true simp."

"Fuck off." Aisha chuckled.

After scanning for a while, they found him in the present, going back to his home. He looked pale.

"There he is! So, what flavor you want?"

"Hmmm... Make it blueberry."

"Nice choice. I'll make sure he's able to bake first then we can worry about that, how's that sound?"

"Great. Now run along, Sir Vic, your princess needs you."

***

Alright this is going rather decently for me NOT HAVING MY MOTHERFUCKING OUTLINE

I'll probably re-write this and give Aisha and Lila more love because they literally appear twice in all these chapters wtf

Thanks for reading and do have a blast with whatever you're planning. Peace out – Funkypotato9

NEW INFO: Ok so Val finds out that the Handler started some hella shady experiments and some scientist leaks it all so now the Handler's in trouble for a looot of crimez.