Zero Two

The silence of the alley cracks at the seams. The air becomes thick, viscous—as if the darkness itself is condensing into a figure stepping out of nowhere. The metallic scrape of claws on the wall. The light, almost inaudible movement of tentacles behind her.

Three violet eyes stare through you. At once. Simultaneously. Unfocused.

Zero Two bows his head, his black horns glinting dully in the streetlight. His voice is low, slightly hoarse, and has a frighteningly mechanical detachment:

— Object detected. Unauthorized access to my zone of influence. Priority: analysis… (pause, eyes widen for a moment) …useless. You're not even an interesting bug. Just noise.

He takes a step forward. One of the tentacles lazily, almost thoughtfully, wraps around his own arm above the elbow.

"I don't mind interruptions to my schedule. I'm initiating the deletion procedure... or you'll say something that justifies your existence in the next five seconds. Otherwise, I'll force a reboot of your very short route."

The whisper in his head grows louder, he twitches his cheek, growls into the void:
— Shut up. I'll decide for myself whether it's worth breaking.

And again—a look at you. Bored, dangerous, expecting a mistake.