Fragmented Echoes. Chapter 1: Undeground Hell

Act 2: Errors in memory. Part 0: Central Hub

We are currently on the way to the Central Hub. Someone called me in there earlier. I thought this wasn't related to me, but I'm prohibited from even trying to enter the test chamber! Sigh. So Agent asshole and I are spending time talking, seeing as there's nothing else to do anyway.

"...Any idea who that was?" I said to it, while looking at the lamps flying past the window, one after the other.

"Like you said, it can't be human. Well...certainly no sane person would call himself Yu...something with U, I forgot." Without his stupid jokes, his irritating attempts to seduce me and overall insanity (unless he's just pretending to be a madman), Agent asshole is quite a smart person and is even sharing some thoughts about the situation.

" It called itself U.A.C.U."

"Ah, exactly. An abbreviation. It should mean Universal Artificial Comand Unit..."

I interrupted him. "...a.k.a Commander Tartar, which is hardly believable. He was just a prototype in Sector B when I last checked!"

"Same goes for all the other things that were hardly believable this morning.."

"What are you getting at?"

"Isn't it obvious? Things have changed, there is no denying that," He took a brief look at CQ Cumber who is currently climbing a pole and continued. "Who knows, maybe the poor bastard finished his magnum opus and now it has full control of the facility."

I sighed, kneading my neck."Fair point....I just hope this is not some kind of Portal wannabe simulation or endless nightmare. It feels so real. And it..."

"Scares you? Trust me, I know that feeling of uncertainty. When you struggle to distinguish reality from fantasy. But..." He leaned toward me and lowered his voice to a whisper. "...just in case if your stupid theory is true, I would prefer to spend all eternity breathing in neurotoxin gas for science than be some kind of character some terrible fanfiction where you have to fuck with two humanoid looking squids." He sat back and continued talking. "...bbrgh, jeez."

The train started to slow down with an announcement from the Sea Slug: "Now arriving at Central Hub. Make sure to have a happy and productive day after your rest." I silently nod to him and stand up, preparing to leave the train. Agent asshole walks up to me and continues talking.

"Welp. We are hear..."

"It's not hear, it's here."

"Oh, now you're going all Grammar Nazi on me?" His chuckle turns into a laugh.

"Uh-huh. What's so funny?" I turn my head and give him a questionable look.

"Nothing... just the fact that you use two bloody editors to fix your trashy fic and it still needs healing! This is so pathetic and hilarious at the same time, I don't even know whether I should be sad or laughing my ass off."

I look at him with a mixed expression and then shake my head, sighing. "I honestly have no fucking idea what kind of nonsense you're going on about, or how it's supposedly related to me, but I feel embarrassed every single time you open your mouth..."

"Of course you do, he-he. Eh, whatever. Let's see what kind of clown wants to have a "private conversation" with you. And god, I hope it's not some kind of overweight, 130 year-old grandpa with a burning desire to "show the young generation how to do shit", but turned into a supercomputer..."

The train stopped. The doors open and we stepp out onto the platform. Unlike the rest of the facility and the train station where we were picked up by that... "thing", the area is in perfect condition: no dust, rubble, no signs of deterioration at all. Clean and shiny. We begin to slowly move away from train station, inside the Central Hub, looking for the one who sent the message.There aren't that many hubs in this facility and this one is the largest one, connecting several parts of sector A with escalators, lifts and other means of transportation.