I gasped for air as the fist constricted around my throat. I tried to pry my attacker's hands off of me, but they wouldn't budge.
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"Chase!" Marisa sprang to her feet, preparing to come to my defense.
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"No, stay there, I need you to keep hacking, okay?" I wheezed through choked breaths.
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She reluctantly agreed and continued searching for the Annihilation Code.
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"You should've turned back while you still had the chance." Piercing green eyes peered at me from behind a battered skull mask. It appears my nemesis, Vindicator, is here for another rematch. I knew we'd have to face him sooner or later, but now really isn't a good time.
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"Sorry, not sorry," I muttered before jamming my fingers through the eye holes on his mask, temporarily blinding him. He let go of my throat and stumbled backward.
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I surveyed the room for something I could use as a weapon. I'm going to need any help I can get in a one-on-one fight against Vindicator. It was too dark; I couldn't make out anything! I reached out with my cerebral link, trying to contact Atlas for help.
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Vindicator kicked me in the stomach, causing me to double over. Waves of pain shot through my abdomen. I clutched my stomach and coughed up a spattering of blood.
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Vindicator laughed. "Are you calling Curseword to come to fight your battles for you?"
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How the hell did he know that? "Maybe."
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"What are you, some kind of damsel in need of saving?"
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"I'd rather be a damsel than a villain."
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Vindicator shoved my body into the back wall. "I am not a villain!
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"Atlas!" I called out through our shared link.
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"I'm a little busy right now," he replied.
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Vindicator tackled me and restrained my arms, pinning me to the ground. He kicked me in the shin so hard I heard something snap. My limb throbbed with pain. Standing up after this was going to be a challenge.
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"If you bring Curseword here, I'll crush your throat then drop your corpse at his feet. How do you think he'd feel about that?" Vindicator said.
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"Um, I don't think he'd love that."
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Vindicator let out a satisfied chuckle. "I think you're right. I think it will tear him apart."
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"False alarm, there's nothing here." Lying to Atlas broke my heart, but I reminded myself I was doing it to protect us.
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"I know you're lying. You're in pain. I can feel it."
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"I stubbed my toe." I lied again.
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Atlas didn't respond after that. I hope he's okay. "You're sadistic," I said to Vindicator.
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"That's where you're wrong, Chase. I don't enjoy hurting people. In fact, I abhor it!"
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"You've got a weird way of showing it." I quipped.
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"We all make sacrifices for the greater good."
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I rolled my eyes. "Oh, so you think you're some kind of savior?"
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"I saved you."
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"Um, no. Do you have amnesia? You've been trying to kill me. That's the opposite of saving."
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"I was the one who pulled you from the wreckage of your burning car, and I left you on the doorstep of Patch Contreras, so he could fix you," Vindicator said in a serious tone.
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I closed my eyes and tried to recall the night of the crash. I remembered the strange smell in the car, then the smoke coming from the engine, and last, there was a fire. It was all a blur after that. Then it all came rushing back to me. My dream about the skeleton wasn't a dream at all! Patch thought I was crazy, but I wasn't. In my delirious state, I just mistook Vindicator's skull mask for an actual skull! Why would Vindicator rescue me? It's not like he knows me. "Why? What possible reason could you have to rescue me?"
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"I believed you shouldn't have to die for my mistakes. Now I realize I should have let you die."
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"What are you talking about? Die for your mistakes?"
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He ignored me and waltzed over to Marisa. He clutched her shoulder so tightly I feared he might shatter it. "Get me that code." He commanded through clenched teeth.
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Marisa jerked free from his grasp. "Get your hands off me, asshole! I won't do anything else for you. I'm done!"
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Something akin to disappointment flickered through Vindicators' eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that. I thought you and I had some level of understanding. Especially after I promised to save your uncle."
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A look of guilt flashed across her face.
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"You made a promise to me, I don't take kindly to people who break their promises, Marisa." He placed a hand on her chin and angled her face towards him, forcing her to make eye contact.
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"Keep your hands off her!" I tried to stand, but shocks of pain shot through my leg, causing me to stumble.
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Vindicator glared at me with contempt. "Stay out of this Chase."
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While he was distracted, Marisa discreetly reached into her pocket and removed a small device. She attached the device to his cybernetics, sending a shockwave through his entire body.
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"Remind me to never get on your bad side."
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I forced myself to my feet. I summoned every ounce of strength I had and delivered a devastating blow, knocking Vindicator clean off his feet. He lay, unmoving, on the ground.
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I turned to Marisa. "What the hell did you do to him?"
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His mask came loose, revealing a patch of pale skin. Let's see who this really is. I knelt beside him. I ripped off his mask and tossed it aside, staring directly into the face of my assailant.
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Staring back at me was the face of my best friend. I dropped the mask, sending it clattering to the ground. "Mason? How? Why?" I shouted. My hands trembled and my lips quivered.
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He rolled his eyes. "Stop with the theatrics, Chase."
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I slammed my fist into his jaw. "You hurt Atlas. You ripped him apart. How could you?"
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He grimaced. "What's it to you? You hardly know him. You've known me much longer."
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My voice quavered as I spoke. "You hurt me too."
I punched him in the face over and over again. I couldn't stand to look at the face I once loved. He was my best friend! "How could you? How could you? How could you?" I screamed until my vocal cords couldn't take it anymore.
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He stared up at me with his calculating green eyes. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth. "Are you going to let me explain, or are you going to keep punching me?"
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I delivered one last blow to the mouth before grabbing a fist full of his shirt. "This had better be the best damn explanation I've ever heard or else I'll strangle you with your own intestines, you treacherous ass!"
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He laughed. "Typical, you survived one Cybrawl, and now you think you're tough. Let me give you some free advice. Don't threaten me, I've survived horrors you can't even imagine. I've faced my worst nightmares and come out on top. Destroying you will be like child's play."
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I punched him in the face one last time. "Oh, shut the hell up! How are you going to destroy me if you can't move?"
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He didn't answer.
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"Are you going to explain or not?"
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He let out a long, deep sigh, then began his tale. "I was left on the doorstep of a fire station when I was an infant. You see, my parents never wanted a child. Their lives were hard enough already. They didn't need the extra burden. I grew up an orphan."
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"I had no idea," I said.
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He scowled at me. "That's your problem, Chase. You only think about yourself."
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"That's not true!"
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Think about it. Throughout our entire friendship, you've never once asked me about my life. I had to listen to you bitch and moan about your problems, while you never once asked about me. I may have been your friend, but you were never mine."
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That can't be right. I racked my brain for a time when I asked Mason about himself. I must have at some point, right? There's no way I've never asked in all the years.
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"You know I'm right."
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"Shut up, I'm thinking!"
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"You shouldn't have to think this hard about something so simple," he chided.
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He's right. It shouldn't be this hard. Was I a bad friend? I knew the answer to that question.
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"Are you done interrupting?"
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I folded my arms and nodded.
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"I was sent to live with several families, but I never stayed in one place for long. I've been told I was a difficult child. Eventually, it was decided that I'd do better in a group home. While I was there, I learned a few things about rule-breaking. That was the first thing I was ever really good at. It gave me a strange sense of satisfaction. It was exhilarating. "
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"So you wanted to be a criminal when you grew up?"
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He shook his head. "No, I wanted to be an actor. I grew up watching the scripted Cybrawls on TV, and wanted nothing more than to take part in them." His tone was so wistful, it would've made me sad if I had any sympathy left for him. Plus, we needed to stay on topic.
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"But you weren't a cyborg then, right? Wait! Are you a cyborg now? You don't look like one. You look like a human. I'm kind of confused as to how this works."
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"Slow down, I'm getting to that part." He spat.
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I raised my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Finish your story, but hurry up. We can't have your paralysis wearing off before you finish talking."
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"We can't have that," Mason said sarcastically.
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I shot a glance at Marisa to gauge how the search was going. She appeared to still be sifting through files without any luck.
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Vindicator caught me looking and shifted his gaze towards her.
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I snapped my fingers a few inches from his face. "Hey! Eyes on me, buddy! Don't look at her, look at me!"
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He gritted his teeth and refocused on me. "Fine. Let's continue. After their parents died, Marisa and Carlos came to live in the foster home.
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"Wait, who's Carlos?"
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"Oh, you didn't know. That's Curseword's real name. I believe he goes by Atlas now, but Carlos was the name we all knew him by. It's the name his parents gave him. I assumed he would've told you this since you two are best friends now." His tone was laced with something I couldn't quite place, jealousy maybe. Why would he be jealous? He hates us both.
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I looked to Marisa for confirmation, and she gave an affirmative nod.
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"Actually, I didn't know that," I said.
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He shrugged. "I thought you two were closer. Anyway. On the day Curseword arrived at the foster home, I protected him from some bullies. I didn't usually get involved in local squabbles, but he was so small and weak that I felt sorry for him. After that, he latched on to me. He'd always trail behind me like a little shadow. I tried everything to keep him away, from yelling at him to locking him out of our room. I was barely surviving on my own. The last thing I needed was someone else to take care of, but Curseword was persistent. He wanted to be near me more than anything, and nothing could deter him. So, I recruited him to do some simple heists with me. He was stealthy, and he could fit into small places. That made him a good thief. Over time, I developed a soft spot for him. He was soft and vulnerable, which made me want to protect him. He made me wonder what I could've been like if I'd kept my innocence a little longer." He sighed and stared wistfully at the ceiling.
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"Then you got caught stealing a car, right?"
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He nodded. "I knew my crimes would catch up with me one day, but I hoped Curseword wouldn't be there when it happened."
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"After you got arrested, you were forced to join the cyborg army," I said, recalling what Atlas had told me.
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"That's correct," Vindicator said with a sigh. "First they amputated my arms, then my legs, and last they came for all my internal organs. The funny thing is, the whole time, all I did was worry about Curseword. I knew he was sensitive and would not cope well with the transformation."
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I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I'm supposed to believe you were so concerned for his well-being and you loved him so much, but then you ripped him apart like it was nothing."
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"I did love him! More than anyone." He insisted.
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"What changed?"
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"He wasn't cut out for the army. Some of the older recruits liked to harass him. He was an easy target with his small stature and his tender heart. He'd silently cry himself to sleep every night. One day, he couldn't take it anymore. He snapped and killed one of the ones who'd been tormenting him. The rest were too scared to confront him after that. I was shocked and horrified when I heard what he'd done. I couldn't believe he'd do something like that, not sweet, innocent, Curseword. He was supposed to be better than the rest of us."
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I jumped to Atlas's defense. "He was protecting himself! You can't seriously tell me you wouldn't have done the same!"
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He sighed. "At first, I told myself the same thing you just told me, but over time he revealed his true colors as a cold-blooded killer. After Bionic Corp discovered his capacity for killing, he started going on missions. He refused to share any details about what he was doing, but I knew. After one mission, in particular, he disappeared for several weeks. We all assumed he was dead, but one day he returned. After the mission, he was different somehow. Something broke him. He wasn't the sweet kid I knew anymore. He was a ruthless assassin, hell-bent on killing anyone who stood in his way."
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"You're wrong about Atlas! Everyone is wrong about Atlas! He doesn't want to kill. Everyone is too caught up in who he used to be, they're missing out on the amazing person he is now." I pulled the drawing out of my pocket and waved it in his face. "Look how talented he is!"
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He squinted his eyes and examined the sketch. "He used to draw me all the time when I wasn't looking. Look at how much he improved." His eyes glistened with unshed tears.
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I snatched the drawing away from him. "You don't get to be sentimental. You tried to kill him, remember? You ripped him to shreds, if I remember correctly."
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I had to! He was murdering innocent cyborgs left and right. I couldn't just let it slide. I had to end him even if it killed me! Now I've come here to finish what I started. I'm going to destroy Curseword and the Annihilation Code, so he will finally stop haunting me!"
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"Maybe he's haunting you because you know you were wrong," I suggested.
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He shook his head. "The child I cared for is dead, and a merciless killer took his place. I did the right thing."
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I vigorously tapped my toes on the cold cement floors. "Whatever. You still haven't answered any of the most glaring questions, such as why do you look like a human? And why did you end up becoming a niche Hollywood celebrity?"
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"After tearing Curseword apart and leaving him for dead. I wanted to quit the army. I was of all the senseless violence. I knew Bionic Corp would never let me go wittingly. So, I faked my death."
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"You faked your death!" I didn't know that was a thing people actually did. I thought it was just a dramatic plot line in Holofilms.
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"Yes, I just said that, pay attention."
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"But, how?"
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"Long story short, I carved myself open and ripped out anything that could potentially be used to track me and destroyed it in the middle of a war zone. Everyone assumed I perished in the battle.
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I pursed my lips in begrudging respect. "That's actually pretty badass. I'm impressed. All this time, I thought you were just a Hollywood pretty boy."
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He laughed. "Not quite, but I had you fooled."
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"I think you had everyone fooled."
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"I'm an excellent actor, though I have to admit, it wasn't too much of a challenge to master the charming side of me. I ran many scams growing up, so I was used to deception. I moved to Hollywood to follow my childhood dream of being a performer. I was rejected from the cybrawl. They didn't think I was scary enough. I opted for a career in filmmaking instead. I got surgery to cover my cybernetic parts. I didn't want to do it. It felt like a betrayal of everything that I am, but I needed to keep Bionic Corp's attention away from me. Posing as a human was the best way to do that. So for the next five years, I made films. I worked on projects that highlighted the corporate corruption and maltreatment of cyborgs in our society. Although we achieved some success, I realized most humans don't care about us. They don't care if we suffer. Our existence makes them uncomfortable, so they'd rather pretend we don't exist."
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"That's not true!" I protested.
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He rolled his eyes. "How many of your so-called friends have contacted you since the Cybrawl?"
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I racked my brain. "Um, none that I can think of."
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"Exactly! They aren't concerned about your well-being."
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"It's not their fault. My Holowatch was broken."
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"What about at Marjorie Spoketon's birthday party? How many people spoke to you then?"
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"One," I muttered, defeated.
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"You see, Chase. I'm right about humans. They have no sympathy for us because they do not suffer like us."
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"There have to be good humans out there somewhere."
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He stared up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Let me know when you find them."
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I frowned, but decided to drop the topic for now and move on to more pressing questions. "Why did you give up your posh Hollywood life to become Vindicator?"
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"I heard Bionic Corp had opened a new warehouse. This one had more guards, more cameras, and one of the most advanced security systems on Ikigai II. Even though I'd promised I was done with Bionic Corp, I couldn't resist the temptation. I had to know what they were hiding. What could be worth all this trouble? I suspected it might be the Annihilation Code. When I finally stole the files, all I found was what appeared to be a useless map. I knew it had to be important. Why else would they hide it? I successfully snuck off Ikigai with the map, on the day of Jaxon Wan's party. I thought I was in the clear, but then I caught sight of a Bionic Corp security drone stalking me. I knew I had to dispose of the map quickly. I split the map into four pieces to make them harder for Bionic Corp to recover. I intended to go back and reclaim the pieces when I had the opportunity. I gave one piece to Gabriel St. Martin for safekeeping. I should've known better than to trust him with it; he has no loyalty to me. He gave it away the first chance he got. The second piece I sold to Harv Knox for a handful of credits. A Bionic Corp security bot swiped the third when I wasn't looking." A flash of guilt passed across his expression. "While you were busy getting wasted at Jaxon Wan's party, I swiped your Holowatch and planted the fourth piece of the map on it."
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"You framed me!"
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"Bionic Corp was coming for me! I had to do something to keep them off my trail!
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"So you threw me under the Hoverbus?"
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I had to make a difficult choice!"
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Do you regret it?
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"I don't know," he stammered.
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I threw my arms in the air "You don't know?"
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He slumped down in defeat. "I saved you afterward, remember.
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"That doesn't magically make it better!"
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"I know."
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I felt a stabbing, piercing pain in my abdomen. I doubled over and pressed my stomach, checking for wounds. Everything seemed normal, but something felt wrong, an inescapable feeling of dread clenched my gut.
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"I'm so sorry, Chase. I wasn't strong enough to stop her. It's up to you now. I'm sorry," Atlas said through our link.
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"What's going on? I'm coming to find you! Hang in there, okay!" I answered, limping toward the door.
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Then the link went quiet.
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"Atlas?"
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No response.
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I have to go help him! Before I could leave, Vindicator grabbed my arm and twisted it backward. I guess the paralysis wore off.
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"We're not done," he growled.
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