Agent 4 and their drone buddy sat in the elevator. It sure was taking a while...
"Oh, hush. I'm working as fast as I can, Agent 4." H4CKER's voice was heard from... who knows where. Agent 4 could admit they were being harsh on him, but the fact that they weren't sure how to get their body back to normal...
"Nah, I understand. I'd be pretty freaked out if my body was turned into a robot, too."
They nearly forgot he could read what they were trying to say through lines of code... actually, what was he doing here, anyway? Why would H4CKER hack this place if he didn't know someone was stuck there...?
"Oh, easy. I'm trying to create my own game. Unfortunately, starting from the bottom is kinda tough, so... you could say I'm taking a little inspiration from bigger games."
Agent 4 didn't like the way he said that.
"Yeah, I'm basically stealing assets."
They looked up at the ceiling and angrily clenched their fists. Their helper was a criminal?! Stealing assets without permission is very, very illegal!
"Maybe! But hey, I'm the one that found you, right? So if it wasn't for my criminal actions, you'd be stuck here forever! Right?" He spoke with a tone of arrogance.
Agent 4 sighed. He was right. In a situation like this, maybe crime does pay. After all, they couldn't really complain about who was saving them as long as they were getting saved. He better not say that they're in debt to him, though...
"Debt?" He laughed, "Hmm... maybe. I'll have to think about that, Agent 4!"
Dangit!
"Joking, joking... or am I?"
Agent 4 groaned.
The elevator was going up, but slowly. It gave them a lot of time to think. How could a person get trapped into a virtual reality? How was their own body brought inside of a game? How was it turned into a Parallel Canon - and who created Order? Who did this?
Maybe...
Could they have done it themself?
...No, that's crazy. They may not remember who they were, but if they're this distressed over their new form, it can't be intentional on their part.
Could it have been - no. Could it have been H4CKER?!
"Chill, Agent 4!" H4CKER interrupted, snapping them out of their thoughts, "If I were the one who created Order and put you into that robot body, why would I be helping you out?!"
...Yeah, he had a point. Agent 4 quickly apologized.
"...Again, it's fine. To be honest, I'm just as confused as you are. Who would do such a thing, anyway?"
Exactly! What kind of twisted mastermind would put them into this situation?! And for what reason?! What was their overall goal?
"You and me, Agent 4. We're gonna get you to the top, and we're gonna find out. Team Four style!"
Agent 4 tilted their head.
"Y'know, because you're Agent 4, and I'm H-4-CKER. We're Team Four!"
...They shrugged. It wasn't the catchiest name, but it worked, and they were ready to stick to it!
"Yeah! Now guess what, Agent 4? Prepare to make it to Floor 11!"
With that, the elevator moved - but it moved pretty slowly. The process took... time, but at least it worked, and at least they were now up 1 floor.
Still, with 19 more floors, at this rate...
It'll take hours.
"Don't worry, I'll get you there as fast as I can- huh?!"
Agent 4 gasped. There was banging at the elevator door! Was someone... outside...?
They looked up at the ceiling and waited for a response from H4CKER. They didn't like the sound of it, after all...
"Uhh, Agent 4? We have a problem!"
A problem?!
This only worried Agent 4 even further! Was it Order?! Was Order going to attack them again?! Maybe the elevator was just malfunctioning? Honestly, they weren't sure which one would be better.
"None of those, no!" H4CKER frantically replied, "Sooo, it turns out that whoever built this place doesn't exactly like any breaches in their security!"
So, the banging outside of the door was because he's infiltrated the system! Agent 4 looked towards the door as the banging grew louder - without him, they'd never be free!
"Okay, uhh... how to explain this...Whatever's out there? Picture them as security bots. Since I hacked the elevator, they're trying to boot me out of the system!"
The banging became more frantic. There were more and more security bots out there...
What could they do?!
"You have a gun, right?"
Agent 4 nodded. They did, in fact, have a gun.
"Good! Okay, I need you to leave the elevator and fight the bots off while I hack it enough to bring you to Floor 12!"
Agent 4 nodded - they heard the instructions loud and clear! They'd take a deep breath if they could, but they couldn't, so...
They just ran out of the elevator door.
There were 3 security bots outside the elevator, and plenty more on the actual stage. They were trying to make it to the elevator!
Agent 4 would have to kill the first three and push the rest back - but something about them made their head feel fuzzy...
The security bots looked like drones, similar to the one that was constantly following them - except they were a pastel pink and wore a crown on their heads. As they moved, they shot neon pink ink down in order to splat anyone in their way...
They just looked familiar to Agent 4, though. Almost like they had seen someone who looked similar...
"Now's not the time to jog your memory, Agent 4! Fight fight fight!"
Oh, right!
With their trusty Order Shot in hand, they started shooting black ink at the security bots. As soon as the ink hit, the bots all honed in on them and started shooting relentlessly!
"Agent 4!" H4CKER gasped - but it was okay, because they quickly ducked into their own ink. When they did, the security bots seemed to lose track of them...
"Ooh... looks like you'll have to be sneaky with these guys, or they'll all come shooting you at once. Let me give you some unsolicited advice!"
Agent 4 didn't reply.
"...Well, as always, turf control is important - but here, it's basically needed I'd say. The more ink you have to escape in, the better... but I'll admit that it's probably hard to paint ground while you're being targeted."
The security bots started jamming into the elevator again.
"Ack! Just do whatever, Agent 4! Keep them away from the elevator!"
With the bots now distracted, it'd be a lot easier to take them out. Agent 4 hopped out of the ink and shot them from behind - this time being able to break them to pieces before they could react!
"Nice job, Agent 4! Wow, were you some kind of fighter before this?"
They shrugged. Maybe? They can't remember.
"Ooh, right. Sorry, I'll stop now - just super-jump to the stage and take out the rest! That should buy me enough time!"
Agent 4 nodded. With their own little drone still following behind, they super-jumped down to the main area. This space would usually be used for tests, given the weird fishlike enemies that should be attacking them if not for the fact that they were also an "enemy."
Nonetheless, there were also a ton of bots...
Agent 4 didn't take action yet, and they didn't seem to notice them. Maybe they only noticed them as a threat once they started shooting?
They had to cover ground somehow. They got to shooting as quick as possible - and, sure enough, all 10 bots started shooting at them!
They ducked into their ink immediately. Could they even respawn at all if they were splatted in this form?! What would happen to their soul?! Would they be stuck floating around like a ghost forever?! If they had a heart, it'd be pounding.
But they couldn't ever get back to normal if those bots reached the elevator, and they seemed to go down quickly...
Agent 4 popped out of the ink, threw a splat bomb in the direction of the security bots and watched three of them explode to pieces before sinking back down. This definitely caught the attention of the seven other bots, but since Agent 4 had returned into their ink, they couldn't lock onto them...
When they found an opportunity, Agent 4 leapt to the patch of ink from the splat bomb, waited for the security bots to face the direction of the elevator, re-emerged and shot all seven of them down!
"Nice work, Agent 4!" H4CKER complimented, "You made that look easy!"
If they could still smile, they would. The comment, despite coming from a criminal, was flattering!
"But the longer I stay in the system, the more bots will probably appear. You think you can handle more?"
Agent 4 was not sure - but they nodded in enthusiasm anyway! They could figure it out. It was either that or living forever inside of a simulation, after all!
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Team Four, Four the win!"
Wordplay! Agent 4 loved it!
"Come back to the elevator! I'll get you to floor 12, and we'll be out in no time. Count on it!"
Agent 4 nodded again - they super-jumped back to the main platform, the drone following behind, and walked inside of the elevator. Once there, the door closed, they sat against the wall and de-possessed their parallel canon. Somehow, it got uncomfortable...
"Need a rest? Fine by me," H4CKER stated, "You just sit tight. We'll get through this!"
Agent 4 sighed.
Yeah...
They'll make it up the tower of Order. One floor at a time.