//------------------------------// // Arc XXX Episode VIII: Close Call // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// It wasn’t long before the sirens were out on the road. Adagio drove just under the speed limit in order to reach Coral’s hideout as fast as possible. “Which way are we headed?” Adagio called out to Sonata, “What was the last location that Coral’s device was transmitting from?” Sonata had activated the GPS on her phone to pinpoint Coral’s coordinates. The hacker girl was smart enough to leave a trail of digital breadcrumbs for them to follow in case she came into trouble. “An alleyway,” she called out, “Shop front, right side near the crossing!” “Right? Hang on!” Adagio made a swift turn to follow Sonata’s directions. “Waagh!” Aria yelped as she was tossed to the other side of the van. “Goddammit, Dagi, slow down. We don’t wanna get pulled over again.” “I’m not letting Sandbar’s little sister die on our watch. Come on.” Soon enough, Adagio would stop their van on the side of the road near the alley and jump out. Her sisters followed her, and they would eventually see a door that had been forced open by what looked like explosives! “The door!” Sonata called out, “That must be it!” The sirens rushed over with their magical abilities at the ready… But what they saw on the other side caused them all to stare in awe… “Haaaa! Try me again!” The small, scrawny-looking hacker girl had been fighting off several armed agents. In between punching and kicking them into the nearest walls of her hideout, she loaded what appeared to be a Colt 1911 and fired multiple, non-lethal shots at them to stun and electrify them. “This is ridiculous!” one of the agents complained, “She’s just some kid!” “I am not just some kid!” she yelled back before firing off another shot to immobilize him, “You don’t have any idea who you’re messing with!” The agent groaned as he dropped to the floor from being hit with intense volts of electricity. “Gah! How are you this strong?!” “Because unlike you, I worked for this power, dammit,” she huffed as she kicked the guy while he was down. “Don’t ever step to me or my brother again or you’ll pay the price.” Then she looked up and noticed the sirens standing in her doorway. “...oh, hey. You guys, we need to get outta here. They’re gonna be looking for us.” “...I was just about to say, it looks like you’re able to handle this on your own,” Adagio commented as Coral ran up to them, “But you need our help after all, hm?” “Let’s bounce,” Aria beckoned them over to the van where she had gotten in the driver seat, “I’m calling the shots this time.” Sonata had joined in, and Coral followed closely behind Adagio who asked her another question. “...So Parabola. Is she trying to gain control of our technology?” she asked as she picked Coral up and helped her into the van. “Something like that. Parabola’s company is gonna try and hijack most tech firms and override their stuff with her own,” Coral went on as she took her seat, “If that happens, she’ll basically be in control of the whole city and then the whole country. I dunno about you, but I really don’t want that.” “Let’s hurry up and get home,” Aria muttered as she drove the rest of the way through the alley and out of one of the side streets. “We can talk more there.” Eventually, about ten minutes after they left… “What’s going on? Did any of you manage to find out what happened? Where did that girl go?” Parabola arrived at the alley and took a peek inside of the room… One of her agents tried to warn her. “Wait, miss! Don’t--” BOOM! An explosion of…harmless foam bubbles erupted from the room and pushed the restrained agents out. Greenish-blue spheres of air pushed Parabola down to the ground where she’d find a small card left behind that read… ‘...You’ve been Coral’d.’ “Grrrgh!” the woman balled the card up and threw it away as she stood up. “Yet again she evades me. How does she keep doing it?” One of her agents tried to say something. “Well--” “Don’t answer that,” she cut him off, “I’m surrounded by idiots…now we’ll need to bring out the heavy weapons. Load everyone up with their biochips.” At the Siren’s home… After finally getting their coveted fried chicken holiday dinner, they invited Coral inside and called her parents to let them know where she was. Thankfully, her parents and Sandbar trusted the Sirens well enough to allow her to stay for dinner. At the dinner table, they would converse with the little hacker. “...and ultimately, I have reason to believe she’s trying to start an uprising,” Coral explained, “By augmenting us humans with chips that’ll force our bodies to move and act faster than normal. She’s essentially trying to rush us into the future.” “Yeegh,” Aria grit her teeth as she took a sip from a soda can. “Sounds to me like she wants to rush this city into being wrapped around her finger more than anything. Can’t believe someone like that actually exists…” “Honestly it’s no different than how Tirek or King Sombra used to act,” Adagio recounted their past experiences. “...us as well to an extent. However, instead of using magic, she’s using human advancements through technology.” “Major bummer,” Sonata added with a shiver, “I’ve read light novels and watched a few movies and anime about tech companies asserting themselves into power over the population. They…were not very fun reads.” “Tell me about it,” Coral replied, “But ultimately, I already know Parabola’s next move and how we can foil her for good.” “...Eat first,” Adagio encouraged her, “Pro hacker agent or no, you’re still young and need your nutrients.” “Got it, mom,” she teasingly replied before resuming chowing down on chicken. “Mmm…are you guys sure it’s okay? You didn’t really account for me in your order…” Sonata scoffed. “Pfft. Nah. Derpy got us covered and gave us pretty much all the extra that they had after the holiday rush. Eat up, kiddo. The mashed potatoes are really good.” “Thanks…you guys are really cool, you know that?” Coral said with a smile, “I see why Keiji likes spending time with you. You’re like, the best big sisters ever!” “...I wouldn’t go that far,” Adagio muttered with a blush on her face. “Damn straight,” Aria said with a flex of her arms. “We try our best,” Sonata added. “...yup,” Coral replied in between bites, “That’s exactly why.”