007n7 stepped forward, boots crunching over the brittle leaves scattered across the cold pavement. Each step scraped with the sound of fatigue, as if the earth itself groaned beneath him. He was down to 12 HP, barely holding together, glitching ever so slightly as he moved—but he followed anyway.

Elliot didn’t slow down. He didn’t need to look to know the other was still trailing him like a stray program that refused to be deleted. Eventually, though, he glanced back over his shoulder, eyes like frostbitten code, narrowed with disbelief and contempt.

“You think I’ll heal you?” Elliot’s voice cracked like static. He turned fully now, facing the wreck of a man behind him. “After what you’ve done to my workplace?! After the server meltdown, the corrupted backups?? The hacking?!"

007n7 didn’t say a word. His HUD flickered dimly. Blood—or something like it—trickled from the side of his mouth. It almost looked like tomato sauce.

Elliot’s voice dropped to a growl, sharp.

007n7 looked down at it. Then back up. “I… didn’t mean for any of it.”