Chapter 175

Malcolm

 

“You’re actually going to take part?” He asked as he continued to look through Motoko’s eyes.

 

*Yeah. I want to practice it a bit. They have an external connection here. So I’m going to disconnect and let you watch through their cameras. If you see me start dying or something you know what to do.*

 

“I’ll watch your back.” He assured her as he threw a few more Shwabshwab back. Blue was the best flavor after all.

 

*I know.* She replied back with a surety that would have made Malcolm blush if she was looking at him.

 

Motoko was pretty intense, but there wasn’t anyone that Malcolm trusted more. When it came to a serious situation Motoko was the most reliable person he knew. Which still freaked him out sometimes but that was just life.

 

The video on the laptop shifted loading for a few seconds before it showed an arena. It loaded for a few seconds, terrain forming up until it became a desert space. Bushes and hills becoming the only cover.

 

*Ghost in the Shell Vs. Hamm3r.* A pop up appeared and then it was on.

 

A fucking netrunner match. Malcolm popped more ants into his mouth chewing as he watched.

 

Malcolm didn’t even know you could see this sort of shit!

 

The arena started and Motokoed instantly started moving. Rushing forward, and to the side, once she was a ways away she kneeled down and started… Doing something?

 

He wasn’t sure, but it only took her about thirty seconds before whatever she was doing was complete. He watched as the opponent was moving cautiously out of his spawn point. Looking all around him, and even behind him, as he started activating Daemons.

 

Glowing orbs appeared around him, and then set off. Seemingly searching around while stopping to scan anything and everything.

 

They didn’t look very smart. He saw the same Daemon scan the same bush twice as it backtracked.

 

Motoko stood up and Malcolm now knew what she had been up to.

 

*System Breached!* Appeared on his screen attached to Motoko’s half, and suddenly a Minimap was on the screen he could see.

 

So… Motoko had breached into the system? That was good, he guessed. It must be if Motoko had decided to do it, but it was still weird.

 

Then Motoko seemed to explode, from her form something hard to see popped out, and scattered, seemingly vanishing into the floor of the server.

 

It looked kinda gnarly, and there was no update about what Motoko had just done. Instead she started moving. Slowly circling around the arena, seemingly purposefully in the opposite way that the opponent was going around.

 

Malcolm kept expecting something exciting to happen, but…

 

It was slow.

 

Motoko was stalking around. She didn’t seem to have any interest in attacking, instead she just seemed to follow in the shadows of the arena, not that there were any, but she seemed to keep a hill between her and the other guy at all times.

 

Then Motoko came across one of the Daemons. The orb literally floated right past her.

 

“What?” Malcolm had to wonder, because those things had scanned literally everything. Motoko seemed to be testing it. Walking around it, even moving in front of it, but the Daemon was stupid. When it bounced into her, it just shifted directions to wander further.

 

Motoko shrugged, something he had seen her do pretty often, and then in her hands a burst of fire slammed into the Daemon.

 

It melted. That’s the only thing Malcolm could think of. The Data steaming from it, as it melted away.

 

Motoko was obviously pleased. She had a little smile on her face, the most amount of emotion he usually saw from her, when she was in serious mode.

 

But the attack had an effect. The other guy. Hamm3r? He must have been alerted to the Daemons attack.

 

Instead of wandering, all of the orbs started rushing straight towards where she was.

 

She obviously noticed it, as she looked over but instead of running she just took a step back and waited.

 

The Daemons all floated over a hill. Looking red and angry as they started scanning around, but to Malcolm’s surprise they continued to just miss Motoko. Like she was a Ghost standing among them.

 

They floated towards where the burning remains of the other Daemon was, and it took a few moments, as Motoko wandered around them. Obviously preparing something.

 

And then it happened.

 

As the Daemons gathered closer to the flaming Daemon corpse she sent seemingly multiple bursts of her fire into them from different directions. The Daemons reacted, but it was too slow. Only one of them turned and actually started trying to attack back before they all burned.

 

The one attack was blocked by a wall of weirdness Motoko made, that took the hit and just seemingly fizzled it out.

 

The enemy runner obviously noticed what had happened, as he stopped charging towards where Motoko was and instead started summoning in even more Daemons. This time they weren’t small orbs exploring. He instead took longer, slowly forming a Daemon that resembled…

 

A thug? It looked kind of like a gangster, but Malcolm realized why this was the Daemon that was summoned, as a moment later it pulled out a gun.

 

This Daemon seemed to be smarter, instead of running off, it stuck to the runner guarding his back. Satisfied, the runner started forming another one.

 

It took a while and Motoko was seemingly watching what was happening through the mini map, content to give this runner time.

 

So Malcolm watched as nothing really happened. Motoko seemed satisfied to wait, and the runner seemed content to spend time generating more and more of his Daemons.

 

*FlAm3r: Both of these n3rds need to get on with it.* A message suddenly popped on the side of the screen, and Malcolm almost freaked out wondering if someone was hacking him, when a second message happened.

 

*B/\it: Tell me about it. Ghost is acting weird, but Hamm3r is a fucking noob. Stop playing with the little shit. I saw her last match, she could easily wipe this kid.*

 

And Malcolm realized there was some sort of chat? He typed into the keyboard and the words instantly went into a previously invisible chat field.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

 

Huh.

 

He noticed he didn’t have a username, and just before he started trying to make one he realized he was literally talking about a netrunner system…

 

He decided to not respond and just continue watching, even as a few more runners shit talked about the situation.

 

Finally Hamm3r started moving. Groups of his Daemons gathered together and started hunting. Leaving four of them with him, while an equal sized group left.

 

He waited and watched as Motoko finally reacted. Moving steadily towards the Daemons.

 

*B/\it: Why is she focused on the Daemons? If she wanted to attack him, she should have done it while he was summoning. Fucking loser.*

 

*R0ck4tr3ss: Shitstain fuckin shut up. You always complain and whine about other people but bitch out and never step into the arena. It’s obvious she is testing to see what Hamm3r can do.*

 

Malcolm nodded as he watched the fight continue. Motoko hunted the four Daemons down, murdering all of them with fire seemingly without any real issue. Especially since they couldn’t seem to see her.

 

*R0ck4tr3ss: Why aren’t the Daemons responding to her? Some sort of optical hack?*

*Admin: Ghost dropped a Daemon into the arena when she breached the system. I don’t want to go poking too deep while she is actively battling, but it seems to remove her from the sight of digital constructs. It does seem to work on Hamm3r as well to an extent.*

 

*B/\it: The lord speaketh! Hail the Admin!*

 

*FlAm3r: I’ve never heard of a hack like that. You got any deets @Admin?*

 

*Admin: You don’t have the funds to pay for such information. Best to leave it.*

 

*FlAm3r: Fuck off!*

 

*B/\it: LEL Flamer more like Flamed.*

 

Malcolm looked away from the chat as it was filled with people laughing and not much else, to focus on Motoko.

 

He looked over and she was still laying seemingly asleep on the chair. Completely calm. A quick check and her Cyberdeck was still just warm and not overheating her. Everything was fine.

 

She finished fighting the daemons, and then slipped away. Seemingly waiting to see how the runner would react.

 

Angrily it seems.

 

Hamm3r rushed towards where Motoko was. The wait seemingly getting to him as he reached the bubbling mass of his former Daemons burned into flaming puddles he looked around.

 

*Come out! Stop sneaking around!* He roared looking around but then. Nothing.

 

Motoko definitely heard him, but she wasn’t moving. Pissed, the guy summoned up another mass of Daemons, the orbs again, appearing much faster than the guys in suits, and then they sent out again. Searching.

 

But it was obvious to Malcolm that Hamm3r was seething.

 

Once a dozen of the IMPS were summoned, he stopped and started creating the larger Daemons again.

 

Though Malcolm noticed summoning each one was much much slower than before.

 

He looked towards the chat wondering if anyone would talk about it? Maybe he could get some answers.

 

Nothing. They were all just arguing about some random shit Malcolm had no idea what about.

 

So he just settled in to watch.