The streets of Coreline buzzed with their usual chaos, but as Nox approached his building block R732, the noise dulled to a murmur in his ears. The familiar sight of the building, its rusted pipes hissing steam, its worn-out neon sign flickering above Luten's tea shop, was almost comforting in its own way.
He adjusted his coat, glancing around. No nosy neighbors in sight. Good.
With a quick step, he approached the side entrance, not the main door, but the side alley hatch Luten had subtly hinted at years ago. It was old, barely used, and hidden between stacks of discarded crates. Nox thought it perfect to get in unnoticed. He didn't want to get any unnecessary attention from Luten or the neighbors.
The old lizard could basically read Nox's mind and he didn't want him to figure anything out about the mask in his bag.
Nox pressed his shoulder against the rusted panel and shoved. The metal groaned before finally giving way, revealing a narrow stairwell leading up to the residential levels.
Inside, the building smelled faintly of tea leaves and something sweet, probably Luten's latest experimental brew. Nox silently thanked the old man for being too busy in his shop to notice him sneaking in. Luten had helped Nox many times before, just as he helped his dad.
He climbed the stairs two at a time, the familiar creaks underfoot marking his path to the second floor. A short hallway led to his door, the scratched-up, half-hinged mess that barely kept out the draft, let alone intruders. In front of his door before...
Ding ding ding. "Oh shi-" Nox just triggered his self-made alarm system by himself. While sneaking in, he quickly shuts its noise and readjusts it.
"Oh man. Good to know it's working, heh."
With a swift motion, Nox turned the key, jiggling once, twice, three times before gently nudging it open.
Inside, his room was just as chaotic as he left it.
Nox threw the bag on the floor, collapsing onto the bed, the rusty springs squeaking under his weight. He let out a long exhale, feeling the exhaustion of the day sink in.
His eyes drifted toward his backpack, the mask still inside.
For a moment, he just stared at it.
Then, with a quiet sigh, he sat up, reaching for the pack and pulling out the strange, sleek device. The weight of it felt different now—heavier, much heavier, like something had changed.
Carefully, he turned it over in his hands. He had the strangest feeling like he had seen it before.
Slowly, he slipped the mask on, but this time it didn't perfectly merge with Nox's facial features. It felt heavier, clunkier, and less alive.
Booting...
A faint hum vibrated through the metal. Then,
A flash.
Blue lines flickered vibrant across his vision.
SYSTEM BOOTING… Loading 1%
NEBULAR 4.0 SYSTEMS ONLINE
Status – Emergency Shutdown
Power Source – Internal Arc-Cell Charge: 97%
Diagnostics Check – All Systems Shutdown
Neural Interface – No SynchroLink Established
Environmental Sensors – Not Calibrated
AI Companion – OFFLINE
Helmet Initialization Complete ERROR!!!
His heart started pounding as the interface started shifting from blue to a pulsating dangerous red.
Security Integrity: Compromised.
Unauthorized User Detected.
The interface flared red, casting an eerie glow across the room.
"Shit."
With effort, Nox was able to tear the mask off, staring at it like it might explode in his hands.
His pulse thundered in his ears.
He needed answers.
And he knew exactly who to ask. Zee.
With a determined sigh, he grabbed his bag and moved toward the window. As Nox swung himself up, boots clanking softly against the rusted surface.
The metal sheet roof below him barely held together, but it was enough to get across.
Across the gap, Zee's window was cracked open, slightly enough to hear the quiet hum of her monitors.
Nox grinned slightly.
"Zee, you awake?"
A muffled groan answered.
"Ugh, Nox. What time is it?"
Nox smirked, leaning closer to the glass.
"Time for you to get interested in something really, really geeky."
A pause.
With a smirk, Nox used his finger to draw a quick sketch of the mask on the fogged glass. I have something that'll definitely interest you.
The window slid open.
"Alright, I'm listening."
Nox stepped closer, carefully pulling the mask from his bag, holding it up just enough for Zee to see.
"Look here," Nox said, his voice low. "And trust me, Zee, it's more than just interesting."
She barely had time to react before her eyes widened, her fur puffing up in alarm.
"Wait, is that a ... HEAD?!"
Nox recoiled slightly, raising his hands defensively.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Zee! It's not a head!"
Zee stared at him, ears pinned back, her expression a mix of disgust and suspicion. "You sure? Because it sure as hell looks like one of those Protogen heads."
Nox rolled his eyes, sighing. "Do you really think I'd bring something like that here? What do you take me for?"
She exhaled, still skeptical, but curiosity was already creeping into her features. "Alright. What is it, then?"
"I found it at the junkyard. Down below."
Zee crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes as she stepped back, giving Nox enough space to crawl inside through the window. "And why, exactly, were you lurking around down there?"
Nox shrugged as he hopped into her cluttered workspace. "Just doing Millio a favor."
Her room was a chaotic storm of cables, glowing screens, and unfinished projects. The air smelled faintly of burned circuits and old coffee. A tangle of wires snaked across the floor, connecting to multiple monitors stacked unevenly on a workbench, each displaying streams of raw data or flashing lines of unreadable code.
A single purple LED strip flickered along the ceiling, casting a soft glow over the mess. One of the monitors was frozen on a looping GIF of a cat, batting at a digital fish.
"Wait…" Zee carefully took the mask from his hands, turning it over. Her initial alarm faded as intrigue took over. "You're right. This isn't a head. There are tons of hidden triggers and wiring inside. This thing is extremely advanced. Hold on."
She flipped it over again, tilting her head as she spotted something.
"Wait, there's a connection port…" Without hesitation, she grabbed a nearby tangle of mismatched cables, yanking one free before plugging it into the mask.
The moment she did, her screens flickered, lines of encrypted data racing across them.
Nox watched from behind, arms crossed.
"Just don't break it. I'm kinda attached to it already."
Zee smirked. "Bad news. It looks like this thing's breaking itself right now."
Her glasses reflected the glow of the monitors as she typed rapidly, fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Okay… almost there… Done."
The mask's data flickered onto the monitor, revealing layers of encrypted messages. Zee's expression shifted, her gaze sharp.
"Oh, okay I understand. This is interesting." She clicked a file of a recorded conversation.
A distorted metallic voice played: "The last few jobs were fairly easy, but I've heard the next one is quite a task..."
"The Syndicate said no outside contact with informers."
"Strictly forbidden."
"Damn, I—" The message cut off abruptly.
Nox and Zee exchanged a glance. Nox muttered, "The syndicate, never heard of that? Now I'm getting curious."
Zee played another file.
"Dear Agent 2739, we understand your concern, but personal contact is strictly forbidden.
Same time, same date.
And as always, Syndicate above all."
Nox's ears perked up as the numbers and syndicate were mentioned. "2739... syndicate... I've heard that before. That might be… the Protogen I've seen."
Zee snapped her head toward him. "What."
Zee leaned back in her chair, staring at him hard. "How the hell would you know that? You said you only saw a Protogen—now you're suddenly saying you know it?"
Nox shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah… uh… long story. I, uh, had a quick conversation with him."
Zee's gaze narrowed.
"Uh-huh. And this 'long story'— it wouldn't have anything to do with that bus job you made me pull for you, would it? You still didn't tell me what the hell that was for."
Nox hesitated. His tail twitched slightly.
"Hard to explain… but basically yeah."
They both stared at the screen.
"Okay we don't have the time to talk right now. This mask, it's fighting back.
I've got another message coming in. This one is already half-corrupted, though pretty recent..."
"Due to personal issues, we had to ######### the lack 2739.
However, due to technical malfunctions, we cannot track down the #### location yet.
Emergency status ### been activated, the device is in self-destruction mode.
Our ######## will be contacted immediately.
The ##### will continue at a ####### location. The USB stick's estimated value is CRITICAL and could #### massive ##### toward the final destination.
Syndicate above ###."
A heavy silence settled between them.
Finally, Zee exhaled, shaking her head. "Eliminated. Oh damn. For now… it looks like they don't know where the mask is. I'll try to keep it that way."
Nox let out a slow breath, gripping the back of his neck. "Thanks, Zee."
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, then paused. She looked at him seriously.
"You're gonna tell me everything after I crack this thing open. Promise me."
Nox hesitated, then gave a small nod.
"Yeah. Promise."
Zee sighed, already typing again. "Good. Even I don't know what this thing is fully capable of yet."
She glanced at him over her glasses.
"But one thing's for sure— if these 'Syndicate' people find out, you're gonna be a head shorter."
Her voice lowered. "Nox… this is too big, even for you."
Nox ran a hand through his fur, exhaling. "Yeah I figured that when they were talking about ending that guy..."
His gaze drifted to the window, back toward his apartment.
"Okay, I'll catch up with you tomorrow. I'm dead tired."
Zee barely looked up from the screen.
"I think I can unlock something by morning. Take the mask with you. I've gotten all the data on my PC now, and I will push it onto the mask once I am done."
Nox took the mask and turned to go, pausing before glancing back.
"Don't work overtime, Zee. Get some sleep."
Zee scoffed, fingers still flying across the keyboard.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure."
He shook his head, smirking slightly. He knew full well she wouldn't listen.
With a quiet sigh, Nox climbed back onto the metal sheet roof, the cold air hitting him instantly.
It was late already and Nox's steps were tired again.
For a moment, he paused, looking out at the neon-drenched city.
From here, it was just an oddly beautiful mess.
With a final leap through his window, he landed inside, carefully placing the mask on his desk.
His old, worn, but inviting bed was the only thing he wanted at the moment.
And without a second thought, he collapsed onto it.
His eyes lingered on the blank ceiling one last time.