"Aaaaack-!!"
Agent 4 shouted (despite it coming out scratchy and pixelated) as they tried to keep their balance, which was surprisingly bad in this metal body.
They were stuck on a ride rail being quickly chased by security bots that were just barely outranged!
"PEW PEW, SUCKERS! TAKE THAT!" H4CKER shouted, rapidfiring black ink from his drone.
It turns out, those "color chips" Marina mentioned gave the H4CKER drone some pretty solid upgrades too! He could now ink a lot more turf than before and unlocked several special weapons to use against the security bots. On top of Agent 4's new mobility, range, and accuracy, they were set!
The only bump in the road was the fact that the security bots themselves nearly doubled in numbers. After Agent 4 and H4CKER took her down "in person," Marina likely started to up her defenses while coming up with a different way to kick him out of the memverse. For now, they'd just have to deal with that up until they reach Floor 30... and hopefully find their answers there before she could come back stronger.
"Rail's coming to an end, Agent 4! Tuck and roll!"
Agent 4 caught themself in a somersault as they were launched off the rail, got up, and began to ink the floor around them before shooting at the bots!
"KABLAM!" H4CKER exclaimed as they took out a solid amount, "Nice work! Team Four for the win, YES!"
Agent 4 found themself laughing along with him (again, even if it did come out scratchy and pixelated). As things got faster-paced, it also became more fun! Their companion continued to fire, giving Agent 4 the time to ink just enough ground for their aura to light up.
"That time already? Then let's hit 'em with it!"
Agent 4 nodded - standing side by side with the H4CKER drone, they both prepared themselves, and then...
"Order up! Serve them the special!"
With that, H4CKER shot four stingrays from the drone and Agent 4 took out the trizooka and let it rip! In a single instant, the security bots had all been completely destroyed - all except just one.
"One left? Heh, wanna do the honors, Agent 4?"
They gestured to the bot themself - they'd let their companion take this one.
"If you say so!"
The H4CKER drone flew straight up to the last security bot, aiming right towards it.
"Boop!"
With a single bullet, it broke down.
Agent 4 lifted their arms up in celebration, then ran towards the drone for a high five - which was gladly accepted by H4CKER.
"Team Four!" He exclaimed while laughing, "And that's Floor 24 down, baby! WOOO!!"
The drone spun around, and they heard him sigh.
"Alllllright, elevator's ready to go. Just five more levels, and then we're finally set. Ready to go?"
Agent 4 nodded. Course they were!
"Of course you are! To the elevator!"
The two raced for their destination, and once inside, Agent 4 sat down again. Just five more floors...
They couldn't believe themself and H4CKER already knocked down 14 of these levels! Sure, that was hours ago... but they were still making good progress! After a whole adventure like this...
They couldn't wait to tell Agent 2 all about it!
"Agent 2?"
They stopped.
"Who's Agent 2?" H4CKER asked.
Who is Agent 2...?
Agent 4 closed their eyes and thought as hard as they could, trying to remember...
Whoever the person was, they were probably close with them if it was instinct to tell this person all about it... but what else? What else do they remember?
...
A green parasol...
Their eyes lit up. A green parasol!
"Hey, just like you mentioned earlier!" H4CKER exclaimed, "Agent 2 carries around a green parasol, then. What about the glittery ink and the snow globe? Maybe those remind you of other agents you know!"
Agent 4 nodded.
If there was an Agent 2, and an Agent 4, it made them wonder... was there an Agent 1? Agent 3? Agent 5? Maybe they were just one of dozens!
"Heh, imagine a giant league of agents. Could be hundreds of em! Maybe I should send an application. You'll put in a good word for me, eh, Agent 4?"
They highly doubted that whatever agency they were part of would accept a criminal, but they'd try.
"D'aww, thanks! I was just messing though," H4CKER laughed, "cool as it sounds, I dunno if I could keep up with the day-to-day stress. Respect to you, Agent 4."
They tilted their head and "smiled" in return. Well, they couldn't smile in this state, since they didn't have a mouth... but their soul was smiling! That counted for something!
And just then, the elevator came to a stop.
"Oh, hey - this is new." H4CKER stated, "we're at a 'vending machine floor.' I know you can't eat or drink, but if you want a quick break..."
Agent 4 was about to say no. They just wanted to hack the elevator and get it to the next floor as quick as possible - but while they didn't necessarily need a break... their friend probably does. At this point it's been almost 7 hours. He probably needed a break, or a nap, or something!
So, they quickly nodded for H4CKER's sake.
"Cool, cool," he said, "Maybe they'll have something nice."
The elevator door opened and they walked out, followed by H4CKER's drone as usual. It was a small hallway with nothing but a vending machine at the end.
"I dunno what I expected. I guess I thought it'd be a break room. Ah, well."
Agent 4 walked over to the machine, fully believing there'd be drinks and snacks inside. So it took them by surprise to learn that there were actually just color chips and drone upgrades!
With that being said, they realized 'drinks and snacks' was a pretty ridiculous assumption for a virtual reality - but then again, their physical body was somehow trapped inside... science has come too far, dang it!
"Heh, alright, alright," H4CKER laughed, "Remember, after this, we just have four floors left. That leaves us with around two more hours until this is all over, right?"
Only two hours.
That... sounded like a lot, and yet compared to the seven they've been here for, it couldn't actually be so bad...
"That's the spirit! But uh, since we're at a break floor, I'm just gonna go grab a snack and some water real quick. You don't mind, right?"
Agent 4 shook their head. That is the reason they decided to stop.
"Cool. I'll be back. Don't miss me too much!"
And with that, there was a long silence.
...Agent 4 didn't like it.
It made them feel... lonely. And yet, that feeling of loneliness felt familiar to them.
They sighed and sat down against the wall as usual. They had so much they wanted to say to someone, anyone, but everyone was either too busy to talk, or already talking with someone else...
The image of the snow globe popped into their mind again. But why now? What about a snow globe made them feel less lonely? Did they find solace in one? In a snow globe?
No, there was... someone there. And they'd talk to them when Agent 2 was too... busy... talking to...
To...
Agent 4 put their head in their hands. Who was it?! Who would Agent 2 speak to all the time?! They were pink, pink with sunglasses, but they couldn't remember the person's face, or name, or anything! And there's a person who their mind associates with snow globes? What kind of person collects those?! Okay- snow globes were pretty- but who likes them that much?! Who was it?!
Agent 4 groaned. They were on Floor 25! With four floors left after this one, how could they still remember so little? Not even their own real name...
They just felt anxious to have it all come back to them. Realistically, they knew they'd be fine when they reach floor 30 and-
Agent 4's eyes widened - or, and least, their soul's did, since their current form couldn't actually widen their eyes at all.
What if they couldn't go back?
They- they didn't even consider that. What if they could never go back to normal? Were they doomed to be a parallel canon forever? Why didn't the other Agents come look for them?! Did they already try?! Did they already find them?! Did they give up?! Did they leave them behind?! Or- or did they even try at ALL?!
Agent 4's mind was racing. Back on Floor 11, they were horrified with their current state, but they didn't worry THIS bad! Or did they?
Maybe they just felt more anxious now because they're not sure if their friends really cared.
"Agent 4?"
They looked up at the drone. H4CKER was back.
"...You okay?"
Agent 4 considered lying. They didn't want to stress him out by letting him know how nervous they were about returning back to normal. At the same time, they'd feel bad keeping a secret. They briefly expressed their concerns - both the fact that they were unsure, and the fear that the other Agents might have already tried to rescue them and found it impossible. H4CKER stayed quiet for a while, and then they heard him sigh.
"Well, if they did try, they didn't try hard enough, did they?" He gave a small, hollow laugh, "we went up 14 floors and we're still making progress. And you remember more and more every time, right? If an entire secret agency couldn't help you, I'd be surprised if a random computer hacker could."
Agent 4 tilted their head. That was true...
"So... yeah. They're probably worried about you. They just didn't find you yet. And about your body... that'll be fine too. Not sure how I could prove that, but again - we made it this far."
He took control of the H4CKER drone again, as evident by the quiet whirring of its propellor, and gave Agent 4 a pat on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry that this happened to you. If I'm being completely honest? Helping you from the computer like this makes it feel more like I'm playing a game than actually helping a real person. And levels like that last one? I have so much fun crushing bots with you I forget the gravity of this situation sometimes."
Well, up until Floor 20, they didn't realize it too much, either... they couldn't blame him, especially because of the fact that they were literally trapped in a virtual reality.
It probably wouldn't feel real to anyone on the outside.
"Yeah. But remember, we're almost through. And hey! You owe me a trip to the Square's café, right? What are you planning to eat?"
Hmm...
Right now... they were craving something sweet. Maybe they should get a cookie. Maybe even two! You could never go wrong with a good cookie, or at least, that's what Agent 4 thought. And they might need a coffee to stay awake long enough to eat something, because at this point, their real body hasn't slept in forever either.
"Hah! I hear that," H4CKER laughed a little, "so think about it! In just two hours, we'll be sitting in a café, eating cookies and drinking coffee so we don't pass out. This'll all be over, and we'll probably laugh about it too! Alright?"
Agent 4 nodded.
That surprisingly calmed them down. The image of just... living life. They didn't expect someone like H4CKER to actually be good at comforting others, but here they were.
"Hey, I'm full of surprises," H4CKER snickered. "I'll get to work on the elevator now. We'll get you back before you know it!"
They nodded again. That was pretty much their only way of showing confirmation.
As he kept up with his hacking, Agent 4 continued to sit and wait, their mind filled with thoughts of cookies, Agent 2, and snow globes.