He pursued the girl that was Mimsy Kercher, taking his place behind her as they went towards the weapons cave. The strange, hobo-esque man disappeared as soon as they had arrived at the cave.

Konstantin chose to sit at the mouth of it, not wanting to stare too long into the yawning darkness below. The room thrummed with unseen energy-- he could hear it. Feel it, in his bones, as he sat at the top of the stairs.

He waited. It was something he was used to.

When Mimsy surfaced from the belly of the beast, she wielded the strangest thing he had ever seen, grim and irate in equal measures. But she was triumphant. A weapon marked her as a Hunter. She had joined the ranks of the organization that ran the halls they walked through.

He, on the other hand, did not have the courage to take the plunge. Not truly. Giving Mimsy a brief nod, Konstantin carefully intoned to her that she should, perhaps, not wait. Not for the likes of him.

Ah, if only he had been successful. Mimsy Kercher was a stubborn woman. That, and she had not liked the likes of Dwight and Mark, and wanted to stick with someone who was more subdued at the very least.

But she had agreed at first, to leave him be, so Kostya slipped down the stairs.

His feet fell heavier with each step, shivering in the dim. The dark had never been a problem for him, constantly out on adventures with his gang far past the 10pm curfew-- the night sky enveloped him like a cloak.

Here, the shadows felt oppressive. Suffocating.

But, Konstantin Radoslavovich Bashmet was not a coward. Plus, there was...

It was something. It prickled like static electricity, curling in the space between his eyes but behind his nose, spiralling around in his skull, spiking intermittently.

It beckoned, warmth bleeding into his mind, the vaguest of sensations-- and the strangest.

The Russian had not intended for this excursion to come so far. The girl with the rainbow skirt had chided him, had goaded and played until Kostya was smiling and agreeing with her, even if he wasn't sure what he was agreeing to.

The reality was lacklustre in comparison.

He was not upset, or sad. He wasn't even disappointed.

Kostya simply was. It was not his place to judge any given outcome. What was the point? He was here, now. He had signed his life away to strangers, and now it was time.

And yet, he was afraid. It washed over him as he explored the tiles in the darkened room, lit only by the strange blue lights that looked like they belonged in a rave or one of his video games.

There were shapes on them all, each one of them resting in stony silence.

The static in his ears buzzed, leaping about enthusiastically, albeit weakly, in his mind.

"What do you wish of me?" Kostya murmured into the stifling air, feeling too tight in his skin.

He heard a humming in his mind, thoughtful and bubbly. It tasted like the colour green and sounded like a mathematical equation said like a prayer-- disorienting and alive, in a way it shouldn't be.

Numbers were static and reliable. Computations were elegant but unchanging. Computers were complex but unfeeling.

The prickling in his mind did not like that.

With a rush of feeling, Konstantin fell to his knees, teeth gritting. His hand pressed to a singular tile, one with an innocuous looking etching, shaped like a strange bottle, or something. Konstantin could not tell.

The contact resulted in an instantaneous reaction, happening too fast for the Russian to truly parse.

Attempting to load default profile_

Loading...

Loading...

None found_

Creating new user profile_

Starting new organic session_

Connecting to organic session server K.BASHMET_

Connected_

Starting first bond exchange_

No host key found_

Searching for host key_

Waiting...

Waiting...

New host key received_

Processing...

Bond fingerprint: 11:15:14:19:20:1:14:20:9:14

Waiting...

First bond exchange completed_

Press Any Key to Continue.


The data filtered through Konstantin's blank mind like letters across a terminal. Oh no. Oh, no no no no.

"Nyet!" he cried, his shoulders heaving as his mind and body were infiltrated. He had not signed up to be some sort of computerized automaton--had not signed up for someone to key into his brain! But there had been no chance to stop it, the speed was voracious and the touches precise.
There had been no chance to stop it.

And now it was in him, like some sort of alien offspring-- albeit, with less strange, Geiger inspired phallic imagery. The static in his brain was amused by the comparison, but it was a distracted kind of amusement.

For it was not done.

Not quite yet.

Login: syntax.error_
Password: *************

Authenticating credentials...

Accepted_

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# get initiation.tar.gz

Downloading...

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# run initiation.tar.gz

Working...

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# :)



Kostya held his breath as he saw, in his mind's eye, the various numbers and letters scrolling over his vision.

He expected a flash of pain. Of a loss of consciousness- or worse. A loss of control.

But no. All that flashed in his mind's eye was a singular smiley face, cursor blinking in his head.

"I do not understand," he muttered in his native, slowly getting to his feet. He reached a hand up to steady himself, intent on pushing off the wall so that he could ascend and get out of this forsaken little room--

But something else scratched against the rocks instead of his hand, sounding dull and hard against the wall instead of the softness of flesh to stone. Startled grey eyes turned to inspect the arm-- what had once been bare from a rolled up sleeve was now encased in translucent teal ...something. It glowed, little letters etched into a band of the object's material, giving off a soft, white light.

Konstantin let out the smallest of whimpers. He had an armcannon. It was glowing.

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# :D!


The hunter trainee screamed girlishly at the sudden emote flashing in his mind, as clear as spoken words would have been. It was a big grin, now. Should he be intimidated? Was this a threat?

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# :( !!
[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# <3333333
[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# <3!~!*~


It was clearly coming from inside his own head, so utterances out loud were...redundant. Despite his first instinct-- to scream again-- Konstantin restrained himself.

Who are you?

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# get user

user: syntax error


Is that your name?

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# :)


I see. So there was a creature, now within his mind. Clearly, now that the shock was over, this was what he had been preparing for. Mimsy must have done the same.

This strange...glowing blue surrounding his arm must be his weapon. The armcannon-tool. It was ranged, given the glowing tip it had.

As much as he was getting used to this jolting surprise--

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*♥:・ﾟ✧


The brunet heaved a heavy sigh as his mind's eye exploded with glitter and a general feeling of excitement, warm and restless. This Syntax Error was quite a wiggler, settling in like a dog spinning in circles on a bed to get comfortable.

Unfortunate for Syntax Error, Konstantin's mind was rocky plains and edges, a barren wasteland save for one or two structures. The mind-sharer would find little comfort.

Instead of pale letters against the dark fabric of his mind, Konstantin's answer came in the form of wires against the same backdrop, animated in a way intended to deliver some sort of message.

User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.
Patience.


Syntax Error had it in spades.

The match was uncomfortable for Konstantin, still, even if he did understand the origins of the weapon clad on his arm. He wished it away, and it felt like disassembling furniture for a move.

Are you well?

[syntax.error@K.BASHMET ~]# (◕‿◕✿)


Taken as a yes.

In his hands was a small device, fitting neatly into the palm of its hand. It was reminiscent of the old school digital pets from the 90s that had never quite made it over to Russia, but Kostya knew from watching the television. It blinked at him, with a little digital ball floating around the space on the screen. Its face wavered between "^_^" and ">:3", gleefully blinking.

Carefully, Konstantin pocketed it, climbing the stairs, one by one.

Loading...

Loading...

Initiation.tar.gz run successfully.


Time to face the music.