Nox shifted his weight uncomfortably. The air inside the dumpster had grown thick and sour, the kind of stench that clung to your soul more than your coat. "You think it's safe outside?" he muttered, nose scrunching as something squished beneath his paw.
Nebular ran a few calculations, her light casting a soft blue glow across the stained interior walls. "According to surveillance footage, our two friends are long gone. They headed toward the northern sector, Metal Dome."
"Good. Let's go ahead and get out of here." Nox slowly slid open the dumpster lid. First his ears popped out, then his eyes, then the rest of him. "All clear."
He leapt out in one motion, landing with a splash. Garbage water dripped off his coat and pooled around his boots. He gave himself a quick shake, brushing off what clung to him. A few stains remained, dark and unidentifiable. "Oh man. I definitely need to change clothes. Hopefully Chet's already home so we can go fix Adobe. I just took a shower…"
"Suggestion: take another shower. Strongly approved." Nebular began calculating the safest route home. "Shall I lead the way?"
Nox reached behind him, pulling a few sardine bones from his tail fur. He flicked them one by one back into the trash. "You know," he said, nose wrinkling, "I always wonder where all that fluid comes from in these dumpsters. I mean... people don't just toss in their full diet sodas, right?"
Nebular chimed in with an almost chipper tone. "Oh, that delightful fluid? It's called garbage leachate. A complex cocktail formed when moisture seeps through decomposing organic waste. Usually a mix of spoiled food, biological matter, old cleaning chemicals, and whatever liquid leftovers people forget to seal. Over time, bacteria break it all down into what I like to call trash tea."
She paused with mocking pride. "You're welcome."
Nox groaned and attempted to wipe his coat with a rag he found in his pocket. It didn't help. "Okay, okay. Wasn't asking for a trash history lesson. Mental note: never ask you about ANY kinds of fluids again."
"Too late," Nebular hummed. "It's in your memory now. You can't un-learn trash tea theory."
They moved quickly through the back alleys of Coreline, weaving between steam vents and neon signs flickering through rusted grates. The deeper parts of the city had a way of swallowing sound, making footsteps feel louder and shadows feel heavier. But they knew these routes well. Eventually, they reached Nox's apartment block. He pressed his forehead against the glass entry door of Luten´s shop, fogging it up more and more with each impatient exhale. His nose left a wet oval in the center.
Chet was just inside, seated at Luten's counter with a cup of tea, completely unaware.
Nebular softly hummed in his ear. "Say pretty, pretty please and I'll make him notice you in no time. or you go in there looking with a perfect cosplay of a trash bag hehe-"
She chuckled, her tone veering dangerously close to gleefully diabolic.
"Oh come on, are you really—" Nox sighed. "You're evil...Dearest, greatest AI ever to seize existence in the electronic realm... could you please go ahead and, I dunno, do your thing?"
Nebular's glow pulsed green.
"Request acknowledged. Booting protocol in three. Two. Actually... Chet still has his earplug in. I'll just..."
A soft ping confirmed she had connected to Chet's line. A second later, Chet blinked mid-sip and choked a little. Through their shared earpiece, Nebular's voice spoke clearly.
"Trashmammal waiting in the hallway for you. Name's Nox. I think you know him. Good news, he's alive. Bad news, you'll smell that in a second."
Nox watched through the glass as Chet jolted upright, looking around in confusion. Then his expression shifted to recognition, and finally a wide grin spread across his face.
Back in Nox's ear, Nebular buzzed with satisfaction. "Job's done."
Nox laughed. "Did you just...? Oh man. Sometimes I love you, you diabolic genius. But you know, I heard you talk to him, right?"
Nebular flickered green. "Nox, I know everything all the time. Of course I knew."
Chet carefully squeezed through the doorframe, slightly bumping his head against the low ceiling.
"There you are. Why are you a trashman now? What happened with the tiger and the raven? And what the heck is that smell—did you make out with a skunk or something?"
Nebular chimed in. "Nah. He made out with a garbage bin."
Nox raised a finger like a professor correcting a student. "Nah WE made out with a garbage bin, Neb. And as for the tiger and raven... let's just say we parted ways."
Chet groaned, still holding his nose. "Whatever. Just be sure to take a shower, buddy."
Nox tugged Chet by the sleeve dragging it ,to get him going. "Come on. Let's head to my apartment. There's another surprise waiting to be repaired, and that's our job today."
Chet allowed himself to be pulled along, although not from Nox´s pulling efforts. "Another one? You've been busy digging around again, haven't you?"
Nox tapped the top of his hat, still soaked with dumpster moisture. "You know me."
Nebular's voice flickered through a green pulse from Nox's coat pocket. "We all do, Nox. We all do."
They began ascending the metal staircase. Each step moaned under Chet's weight like the whole place was about to collapse.
Grrrrz.
Squuuuuuuuakk.
"Oh, yeah. You might wanna skip that step. Unless you feel like crashing into Mrs. Harrow's apartment. It's been loose for years."
Chet eyed the stair, then awkwardly hopped past it. "Deal. I'll just... ugh."
After the usual climb and a couple of mild death threats from the staircase, they reached Nox's apartment. He disarmed the string of alarm tin cans, then gave the door three firm nudges before it creaked open.
Nox stepped inside, ready to sweep away the chaos he called home…except there wasn't any.
He froze. No mugs. No dirty dishes. No clothes on the floor. The scent of moldy socks had been replaced by something that resembled a clean room.
From the far corner, Adobe buzzed into view. The tiny bot was scrubbing furiously at the floor, locked in a duel with the last stubborn stain. "Come on... cleaning protocol must be fulfilled... or disposal will be initiated again..." he muttered.
Nox and Chet shared a confused gaze. Even Nebular was seemingly impressed. she flickered back into the mask, lighting up green in relief.
"I gotta say, Adobe. You were really on the clock with that one."
Adobe spun around and zipped to Nox, hugging his foot with mechanical enthusiasm.
Adobe rushed toward Nox clinging to his feet. "Finally, master is home! I initiated the cleaning protocol as a showcase for my thankfulness!"
"Okay, wow. First of all, I'm not your master. Second of all... thanks. Damn, Neb, you could do that too from time to time, you know."
She chuckled. "Hah. You wish."
Chet raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "This mission just keeps getting weirder."
Adobe inched over to Chet, his voice slightly glitching. "G-Good day, Mister Massive Bull. Are you a so-called... F-R-I-E-N-D?"
Chet looked down and smiled. "Oh, hello there, little one."
Nox tilted his head, smirking. "Oh yeah. That's Adobe. He's the newest addition to the cast. Seems like he loves cleaning."
Nebular flickered yellow from the desk. "He's... special."
Chet crouched to get a better look. "Special, huh? Well, welcome to the club, little guy. He's kinda cute."
Adobe whirred with joy. "Acknowledged. I am now part of the club... and kinda cute."
Nox grinned. "See? He's already fitting in."
Sighing nebular flickered in yellow - then blue. "That's what I'm afraid of. Okay. Back to the plan."
Nox rolled his shoulders, stepping forward. "Right. We've got a trade going down in the Undercity. USB stick. Valuable data. Connected to the Syndicate. It's happening in a couple of days.
We don't know who's selling or buying, but we know where. And there's a lot of money involved. We're going to obtain that USB stick."
Chet nodded. "Let me guess. We're not invited."
Nebular flickered calmly. "Correct. Which is why we're making our own invitation."
Nox tapped Adobe's metal head. "Oh, and before I forget. This little guy's gonna need repairs. That's why we're dropping him off at Millio's place. He's a glitchy mess right now, but he's part of the group. Before we go... let me just take a quick shower."
While Nox took a shower, Chet, Nebular, and even Adobe finally had a moment to settle and meet each other a little closer.
Nox changed into clean clothes stepping out of the bathroom, shaking his damp fur fluffed up fur as he adjusted the new blue-black faded Hawaiian shirt hanging casually open over a soft purple tee.
A splash of color against the usual grit of Coreline. The faded black jeans clung just right, patched in places but still solid, kind of like him lately.
He stretched, arms overhead, and gave the others a smug grin. "Did I hear a little bit of Incognito as clothing choice? Thought I'd try something more... chill. You know, for a fun adventure."
There was a beat of silence. Nebular flickered green from inside the sling bag. "You look like you are about to have a nice week on a beach of some sort haha!"
Chet tilted his head, then nodded slowly. "Actually? I like it. It's loud, but it's kind of you, just less criminal."
Adobe's eyes blinked with enthusiasm. "Observation: I LOVE it! Stylish! Radiates positivity! Maximum cool level achieved!"
Nox smirked, striking a dramatic pose. "See? The bot gets it."
Nebular groaned. "Great. Now I'm stuck traveling with a walking postcard and a broken blender."
He approached the desk, picked up Nebular's core unit, and stuffed her into a sling bag. "There you go."
The bag immediately glowed red and began vibrating violently. "Hey! What do you think you're doing you wannabe tourist?" came Nebular's muffled, outraged voice.
Nox peeked into the bag. "Hey, don't worry. I'm gonna pull you out as soon as we're in the Lower District. I just don't want too many people seeing you up here."
Nebular grumbled, her voice still muffled. "This is undignified. I am not some pocket gadget, Nox."
Nox smirked, adjusting the strap over his shoulder. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. You're in stealth mode, okay?"
He turned to Chet, who was watching all of this with a bemused expression. "So. Nebular is kinda our tool for all of this. With her, I've got sci-fi upgrades like enhanced vision, mission updates, analysis... even a direct route to every coffee shop nearby."
"She's our eyes and ears." Nebular jumped in, her voice crackling annoyed through the bag. "And brain. Don't forget brain."
Chet raised an eyebrow. "Alright... so what exactly is the plan, Ms. Brain?"
Nebular flickered smugly, the bag now pulsing with a cool blue light. "Glad you asked, muscle."
Nox rolled his eyes. "Alright, here's the play. We're gonna crash the deal, but not as the buyers or sellers. We're acting as a third force."
"We get in, take the USB, and get out...ideally without them even knowing we were there."
Adobe shook his tiny, dented hat. "HOW?"
Nox chuckled, tapping the little bot's dome. "That's where you come in, buddy."
Nebular projected a schematic briefly from the bag, holographic light dancing off the walls. "We need a distraction. Something small. Unassuming. And preferably... not one of us."
Chet crossed his arms. "Let me guess. You want to send the walking toaster into the lion's den?"
Adobe whirred, processing. "Calculating... outcome... ERROR. Unclear. But... willing to assist!"
Nox gave him a gentle pat. "Not exactly the plan, but... yeah, sort of. That's what Neb and I could come up with for now. But first, let's get him repaired. Sound good?"
Chet sighed and rubbed his temple. "So, let me get this straight. Step one: walk into the Undercity. Step two: send the tin can to cause chaos. Step three: hope for the best."
Nebular flickered calmly. "I'd phrase it as adaptive strategy execution... but yes, essentially."
Adobe whirred excitedly. "Mission parameters accepted! Engaging... CHAOS PROTOCOL?"
He began rumbling with a high-pitched buzz, his metal casing shaking slightly.
"Whoa there, buddy!" Nox quickly grabbed him before he could fall apart.
"First of all, repairs, remember?" He steadied the little bot and turned to Chet. "Alright, what do you say? Are we going?"
Chet exhaled, arms crossed. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Nox opened the apartment door. "Alright, let's go. Uh—Chet? Could you carry Adobe? Since I'm already taking care of the other tin can."
The bag on Nox's shoulder pulsed red, vibrated sharply, and heated up. "OUCH! Neb, that was a joke!"
Nebular snickered inside the bag. "Oh, I'm sorry. Must have been a miss-input. It's not easy being a tin can, you know."
Chet groaned and looked down at Adobe. "You two are gonna kill each other before we even get there."
He knelt down as Adobe looked up at him. "New handler acquired. Initiating... trust protocol?"
Chet cautiously lifted Adobe, who now sat comfortably in the palm of his hand. "Alright, little guy. Just don't explode or start screaming, alright?"
Adobe whirred happily. "Acknowledged! Initiating silent mode... ERROR. Silent mode not found."
Nox burst into laughter as he stepped out onto the street. "Yeah... good luck with that, Chet."
Nebular flickered with subtle amusement. "I estimate a 78 percent chance of you regretting this decision in the next ten minutes."
Adobe suddenly screamed at full volume. "INITIATING MISSION: GET REPAIRED. STATUS: GRATEFUL. FEELING: JOY-Y-Y."
Chet flinched, nearly dropping him. "WOAH—can we turn down the volume on this thing?!"
Nox snorted and patted his shoulder. "Yeah, about that... I don't think he has a volume setting."
Nebular sighed inside the bag. "Correction. He does. It just doesn't work."
Adobe proudly buzzed. "SYSTEM ERROR: I AM PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL."