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"When do you think we'll get out of here?"
The man lying beside him asked, his gaze still fixated on the distant stars above. Red scoffed, leaning into the picnic mat laid out on the grass. "There's no use pondering these types of questions. You know the answer."
Ash nudged him with his elbow, glaring bitterly at Red. "Don't be so negative." Ash redirected his focus back to the sky. "Or you'll lose your sanity. Take Derap as an example." Red snorted, watching a shooting star crossed the sky.
Red was pretty sure the sky they were watching was fake—nothing but a mere projection designed to distract them, to prevent them from going insane due to the lack of entertainment. He was convinced it did the opposite, though. The stars were always so stunning, and Red had always wanted to see the real deal, to witness them up close. That same desperation drove him to kill, to finally escape.
A pained groan to his right brought him back to reality. Red peeked over his shoulder, noticing how Ash was glitching more than he normally did, clutching his head in pain. Red patted down his uniform's pockets for painkillers, successfully finding some packaged in a zip-lock bag and handing one to Ash, who quickly gulped it down dry, albeit with a little struggle.
Ash was a glitch hybrid—an attempt to bring a program to life, to create a human completely born from lines of code. His original purpose was to show other servers how powerful Lifesteal could be, a tool to gain respect. Because of his coding, he could phase through objects, fly around, and manipulate time without error. But with such power came consequences. He experienced occasional strikes of pain, and overuse of his abilities resulted in overloads in his brain, leading to agonizing migraines and lag.
Red, on the other hand, was a demon hybrid, kidnapped from another server called Outsiders and intended to become an instrument of destruction—to tear, kill, and destroy. Despite having such a purpose, he felt weaker than strong, more vulnerable than he was supposed to be as Lifesteal's weapon. He never wanted to be known as a weapon. Never.
The solution? He hid his tail under his jacket. Oh, and he sawed off his horns.
To hybrids, their own species' traits were like treasure—something to cherish and take pride in. Red, evident in his chipped and damaged horns, had different priorities: to become human, to become normal. He had chopped off his tusks with a pocket knife, driven by pure hatred for his kind.
He'd already tried multiple ways to hide them—wearing a red mask to cover his horns from the public eye, but that didn't work because the scientists just took it away. It was the only solution he had to feel "human" again.
Sometimes, he could still feel the weight of his tusks taunting him about his past decisions. The phantom pain of sawing them off without any protection was excruciating, to say the least. To have such a connection to his hybrid traits was instinctive, which definitely made it worse for Red.
Even if he thought being a hybrid was a curse, his horns still meant a lot to him. It was instinct, something Red couldn't control because it was simply in his blood to care. Sometimes, he still had nightmares about the day he sawed them off. Sometimes, he could cry for hours wishing they would magically reappear on his head.
"What are you thinking about?" Ash mumbled, his voice raspy from the lag spike. "I miss my horns so much, Ash. I can still feel them sometimes. Right now." Red stuttered, knowing that if he lied, Ash would somehow find a way to worm into his thoughts and know what he was thinking anyway. "Shit, again? Wait. I have an idea." Ash jumped up, startling Red out of his daze. He quickly dashed out of the room, leaving Red alone in confusion.
Ash scoured the lab, determined to find a man who shared Red's traits, teleporting through solid walls of metal and steel. Finally, he spotted him chatting with another person who might prove valuable.
Clown and Branzy. Clown was also a demon hybrid, sharing familiar traits with Red. He was a little menacing, but Ash knew it was just an act, one meant to torment. Branzy was a ram, who coincidentally also had tusks that curved all the way up to his ears. Jackpot.
"Ash? What are you doing here?" Branzy tilted his head in confusion. "You're not supposed to be here right now. Be careful, they're lurking around the lab."
"I know. It's fine. I can just teleport out. They're puny." Ash exclaimed proudly, forgetting the reason he was there in the first place. "Oh right, um. I need advice."
"Ashswag asking for advice? That's a first." Clown chimed in, leaning against Branzy's shoulder. "It's something I have absolutely no knowledge of. Anyway, do you know if it's possible to grow back horns?"
"Horns, huh? Is this about Red?" Branzy asked.
"Yeah."
"Hmm. I've never seen anyone grow their horns back before. It's unlikely." Clown stated. Ash slumped over, visibly disappointed. "I'm not finished. However, our little Branzy overheard some information, didn't you?" Ruffling Clown's hair affectionately, Branzy chuckled, amused by Clown's behavior.
"Get a room."
"Hey. Say that again, and I'm not giving you any information." Ash stayed silent, his face scrunched up in annoyance. "Good. Anyway, I heard from another scientist that they produced something... a concoction..."
"Get straight to the point, please."
"Don't talk to Branzy like that." Clown threatened, holding out his scythe to Ash's neck.
"Calm down, you two!" Branzy begged, convincing Clown to put down his scythe. "The scientists made a potion designed to regenerate horns. Horns are made of keratin and can't regrow, but apparently, someone has found a solution to regrow them, the biotech lab. Maybe you could just... snatch it?" Ash grinned, knowing exactly what he was going to do next.
"Thanks, Branzy. I knew you’d be more helpful than Clown." Ash teleported out of the room.
"Get back here!"
The combination of purple and black particles materialized in front of him, the familiar indigo-haired man emerging from lines of code. Red watched as Ash ran toward him, looking more excited than usual.
"We're doing a heist." Red tilted his head in confusion. Ash explained how he asked Clown and Branzy for information about the potion that could rebuild the keratin in horns. Red felt a tinge of hope, the phantom pain tugging at his skull gradually becoming lighter.
"Are you sure? For all we know, the potion could be unfinished and might give me some sort of disease." Ash shrugged. "We can stalk them. Watch as those humans brew their potions. Then we could possibly gain even more information."
"And how are we going to sneak past security?"
"I can be in their walls. Literally and figuratively."
"Then what will I do?"
"Don't you have super senses or something? Use them to tell me whenever they're coming near."
To be honest, this plan seemed scuffed. It was made up on the spot, without any thought about the consequences. They could get caught, and the scientists would get agitated. Not good. He didn't want to be tied up again. Red didn't want to voice his thoughts because Ash's eyes glimmered with mischief and hope, a rare occurrence nowadays.
"So... what's the plan?"
Ash snuck into the staff room, snatching two walkie-talkies that weren't connected to any others and teleporting back to Red, ensuring he went unnoticed. "Anyone see you?" Red asked, grabbing a walkie-talkie and inserting the bud into his ear, pocketing the chassis into his uniform. "Don't think so. They're so blind it actually hurts. How the fuck have they been the ones torturing us?"
Ash put the mic up to his mouth, holding the push-to-talk button to test it. "Hello?" Red perked up, surprised by the sudden noise coming through the earbud. "Hi." The sound of Red's voice transmitted through. "Is this really safe? Who's to say someone else isn't on the receiving end?" Red made a reasonable point, but Ash was sure the walkie-talkies he grabbed were only connected to each other. "It's fine. I'm pretty sure we're the only ones who can hear this."
"Okay. You know the plan, right?"
"Yeah."
"Nice. Holy shit, I feel like I'm in Mission Impossible."
"Wait shit—Ash. Hide!"
Red shoved Ash behind a box, carefully peeking his head out. There was a security guard roaming the halls. Ash turned to Red, shooting him a knowing glance and zooming toward the biomedical lab, using his lag to glitch through every obstacle.
"Earth to Ashswag?" Red's voice whispered through the walkie-talkie, presumably still hiding from the security guard. Ash made sure nobody was around to eavesdrop, holding the push-to-talk button and whispering back. "Yo. You heading to the biomed lab yet?"
"This guy's still here. What if I drop him?" Ash chuckled. "You're gonna get us in trouble. Anyway, tell me when you get to the lab." Ash crept through the halls, waiting for Red to respond.
Holy shit, why was the security guard camping the door? Red was still hiding behind the box, watching as the same guy walked back and forth. Maybe they noticed the walkie-talkies were missing. Uh oh.
Red had to come up with a way to sneak past him. He couldn't waste any more time hiding behind a flimsy box. The guard had a specific route: he roamed through the halls, then checked the garden. Perhaps, Red could use this to run past him.
The door to the garden was the nearest to him, and the hallway protected by the guard was further down. Maybe he could get a little closer, and once the guard went into the garden, he could run down the hallway as fast as he could. It was risky, but Red needed to get to Ash as soon as possible.
He leaped out of his box, getting closer to the garden door and hiding behind a wall, waiting for the guard to enter the room. Once he heard the door shut, Red checked his surroundings, leaped away from the wall, and skimmed through the hallway, dashing while trying to keep his steps as light as possible. "You good? Haven't heard from you in a while." Ash's voice came through. "Wait." Red panted. "I'm coming."
He finally reached the end of the hallway, the biomedical room coming into sight. This was the next step of the plan. "I'm here." Red murmured through his mic, stepping onto a sturdy box and grabbing the screwdriver from his pocket, unscrewing the clips on the vent and wriggling the cover off as quietly as possible. "Bro, I can hear you. You're too loud."
"Ash, this vent is so heavy. I'm trying."
"Well, try harder. It's impressive you haven't gotten caught yet."
Red finally got the cover off. He checked inside the vent and crawled in, putting the cover back on the box. Inching inside the vent, he came across another opening at the bottom. This vent seemed to lead into the biomedical lab. Maybe he could watch from the tiny holes in the vent.
"Ash, I'm in the vent. I'll tell you when you can sneak in and where. Just give me a few minutes." Red muttered, making every effort to find and remember the description Ash had given him.
"Okay, so I checked the lab for where the potion is, and apparently, the potion and table are marked with a yellow flag? And a weird old guy is stationed there. I think it's pretty obvious. Make sure the potion is blue, too. That's our objective."
His intuition told him the yellow-flagged table was on the right side of the room, and it was. He just needed to observe and wait until all the scientists went on their lunch breaks. When that happened, a few guards usually came in to protect the room, which posed a problem.
Ash had been waiting for Red to finally call the signal, feeling like it had taken ages. Why was it taking so long?
"Ash, get ready, they're all leaving. Also, the table is to your right in the corner." Red's voice buzzed in his ear. Ash materialized into dust, moving toward the wall and phasing through it. The scientists left one by one, leaving only three security guards in the room.
He moved to the corner, waiting until the guards shifted their focus away from the table. It was taking too long, and their break was about to end. He had to do something. Hell naw, did she see me? She's staring straight at me. Ash panicked, watching as every guard redirected their focus to him. Holy fuck, he's coming closer.
Ding!
A sound rang out through the room, catching the attention of all three guards. He took this chance to grab the potion labeled as the one they were looking for, pocketing it and turning back into lines of code, escaping through the vent on the ceiling. Wait, why wasn't Red in here? Oh, he was probably the one who rang the doorbell. Ash changed back to his physical form, watching through the grates of the vent. Wait, did he just ding-dong-ditch them?
"Some rascal's playing with us. Increase the security level."
Ash chuckled, amused by Red's quick thinking. "Ash? Can you hear me? Did you do it?" Red's voice came through, relief washing over him knowing they had both come out safely. "Mhm. Let's talk later. See you there." Ash double-checked his pockets for his walkie-talkie and the potion before teleporting back to the room.
Red dashed back to the room, avoiding security and dodging the cameras' views. He panted as he collapsed on the floor, adrenaline fully taking over him. That scheme had been dangerous, and he couldn't believe he got away with it. Well, he didn't know if he truly did. That's for the future. All he could do now was wait for Ash.
The door to his room opened. Ash leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Red ran straight toward him, dragging him inside the room before tackling him into a bone-crushing hug. Ash looked more exhausted, particles swirling around his body. Right. He had used a lot of his power. "We should've never done this. You're glitching out." Red pushed him onto the bed, opening every drawer to find medication and water, handing it to Ash.
Ash swallowed it all down, the chaotic particles finally calming. Red sighed, realizing Ash could have gotten severely hurt. "I can read your face. It's not like I haven't pushed my power to the limit before. It's fine." Ash shrugged, brushing it aside. Red tackled him again, hugging him relentlessly. A few minutes later, they lay on the floor, fatigued, the adrenaline gradually wearing off.
Red heard a breathy chuckle beside him. "That was way too risky." Ash pulled out the potion from his pocket, showing it off to Red. "Here. Now how do we use it?" Red held the potion in his hands, clutching the very object that could cure his regrets, the object that would regrow his horns—a precious part of him lost long ago.
"Maybe I apply it to the remaining parts of my horns? That's how it usually works when you apply anything to a horn. Or I could drink it and risk poisoning." One option seemed better than the other, and internally Red already knew he had made up his mind.
"Let me help you." Ash grabbed the potion from Red’s hands and checked the label for any warnings. Toxic, whatever. He poured some into his hand and gently applied it to Red's horns. Red winced, startled by the sudden touch of Ash's hand. His horns hadn't been touched by another person in a while. It felt weird, yet also comforting. Red didn't know how to describe it. Tingly.
Ash's cold hands gently massaged his horns, occasionally unscrewing the cap of the potion and adding more liquid to his hand. The firm, circular motion on his horns felt hypnotizing, slowly lulling him to sleep.
"Does it hurt?" Red shrugged, his mind too hazy to respond. He sensed Ash watching for any signs of discomfort, but all Red felt was peace—a feeling too risky to show in Lifesteal, a vulnerability he couldn’t bring himself to hide. Instead, he felt comforted, knowing Ash had done so much just to help him, and Red couldn't be happier.
Red felt his consciousness slowly start to slip, trusting that Ash would catch him as he fell.
"Red, wake up. You—" The words processed too slowly, and Red had to piece together what the person above him was saying. Wait, why did his head feel so heavy? "Horns—" Horns. Right, how did the potion work? Red jolted awake, feeling more conscious than ever. He sat up, trying to feel the sides of his head for any signs of growth.
Holy frick, it actually grew?!
Red felt a part of him, lost long ago, heal. His mind absolutely freaked out about the horns that had been chopped off, now back on his head like nothing had ever happened. "What the heck? Am I dreaming?" Red slurred, still a little sleepy and in shock. "Bro, your horns—they're really cool. Damn. I'm not even gonna lie, that's amazing."
Red laughed for the first time in ages, his joy echoing through the walls of the room. It was infectious, and Ash found himself grinning along with him. Red hopped up and looked into the mirror in the corner of their room, admiring the newly grown horns on either side of his head. "Am I dreaming? This is surreal. How did they grow back so fast?"
"No clue. This is really good, though. Congrats, man."
"Wait." Red turned to Ash, looking sheepishly at him. Sweat dripped down Ash's face, and this time, Ash couldn't tell what Red was thinking.
"So... how are we going to explain the sudden growth of my horns to the scientists? Magic?"
Oh fuck. Maybe they both should have planned that out more thoroughly.