Five Double Uby Hoax1337ChaptersRed shadows in the night.Race the train.Full truths.Red shadows in the night.Author's Note Just a silly idea (result of the hype for the new Carmen Sandiego show) that I might expand in the future. Red shadows in the night. "Let's see... this matrix seems to be the one blocking the access to the important ones... If I apply an inverse one... the values reset and I can easily untangle it." I quickly write down the inverse on the air and what once looked as an impenetrable security spell was reset to an identity. Seems it worked just like in maths. "What do we have here? Material... no, time... yes, feed... yes, alarm... interesting. Time to pick the lock." I focused on the matrices that controlled the duration and the energy of the spell I was currently held within, trying to reduce the duration of the spell without alerting the caster, who was relatively close to my position. The time matrix slowly started losing value, as the energy one gained it at a constant rate, in order to keep an equilibrium between both of them that would let me go unnoticed. I simply had to control the rate at which the exchange happened. Millennia turned into centuries, centuries into years and years into months, all in a lapse of only a couple of hours. I was only minutes away from breaking the spell, and that was when the problems started. You see, keeping a balance for some hours can be difficult, especially if your mind starts wandering around, thinking about other things. From all the clothes, why I had to choose those? Suddenly, I noticed how the matrices started to violently change the drain rate, indicating stability problems. "Shit, the alarm is going to be triggered in seconds. Better if I end this now". =?= In the middle of the night, one of the statues of the Canterlot gardens suddenly broke apart in a loud and bright explosion. In the epicenter, a young woman with auburn hair and a cinnamon complexion lay down in the grass. Suddenly her gray eyes shot wide open, and her gloved hands searched through the red trench coat she wore. Then the girl looked at her surroundings until she spotted a red cordovan hat with a black band on the center of it. Without hesitation, she took it and accommodated it over her head before running into the darkness of the garden's maze. =?= "C'mon, answer please" I thought as I ran through the blackness of the maze. The person I was trying to contact was the only one that I trusted with all my heart to help me with my situation. I could try to find a way out alone since this maze wasn't so complex and I had certain tools to neglect the walls, but I wanted to avoid detection, and I needed vectors to exit the maze without having all the guards chasing me. Finally, my wish came true and the voice of a male teenager could be heard from the other side of the line. "Red, is that you?" He simply asked. "Yes, Player. Surprised?" A long silence was heard on the other side before an answer was heard. "...I should be surprised, but knowing you I'm starting to think that I should not" he replied. "I will explain all later, but now I need your help to escape the castle. Right now I am in the maze and I'm not in the mood of being chased. Not after what I went through." "Makes sense. Now you should go to your left." He suddenly indicated. "Always alert to everything. No wonder that you are the best, Player." I complimented him as I took the turn he indicated. "Oh, it's nothing, really." As I kept running through the maze I saw at the end of the corridor I was currently in a light that was approaching from the left side. I heard some mumbling also, so I supposed that there was more than one guard approaching. "Player guards approaching at nine. Any possible detours through the maze?" "...Don't think so. Guards are going in the opposite direction through all the other corridors, so your best option now is to hide, Red." I internally cursed my luck as I crouched under the bushes that made up the wall. I made myself enough space so that my red clothes did not get seen. Not many seconds later, I could hear their footsteps approaching but this time I could notice some worry in their voices. "What's going on? Why are we running?" "The central informed of unusual activity in the gardens. We need to check it out and inform, as usual." "And I hoped for a quiet night..." Okay, that's lazy. I waited for them to move further before getting out of my cover. "Player, my head start time is running out. How much until the castle perimeter?" "Take the left, take the right, cross the wall and you are out..." "Was that supposed to rhyme?" "Umm..." I simply rolled my eyes and sighed. "Anyways, keep an eye for any alerts or nearby guards, okay?" "Got it. I just found the radio frequency that they are using. I'm gonna hook you to it now." And suddenly static was heard for some seconds until new voices appeared on the communications channel. "It is one way, so we can talk without them listening, just like eavesdropping through a wall." "Speaking of walls, I'm already there" I announced to him. "I hope that the spell did not affect my aim." I slide down my right arm to let a metallic contraption reach my hand, which I then proceed to unfold until it took a shape similar to a very thin gun. I aimed it right to the upper border of the wall and pressed the trigger of the contraption. My body recoiled a bit from the shot, but nevertheless, the hook reached its target. Then I took a quick look to make sure that the cable was correctly extended. Seeing that I was good to go, I ran towards the wall as I started to roll up the hook, making it possible to wall run to the top of it. With a little extra effort, I managed to roll over one of the wall apertures, and I took a second to catch a breath. 'Note to self: practice more with the hook.' Not gonna lie, my arm was a bit sore from that wall run, makes me wonder how I actually performed it successfully. Now I simply needed to get down... And then I noticed a red light coming from the right side of my face. I stood up and I saw a flare ascending through the sky, followed by an intense chatter on the comms. I quickly secured the hook to the outer side of the wall and started my descent. "Player, head start is out. Which is the shortest route that can take me outside the city?" "Let me see... the closest exit is five blocks away in a straight line, but it is very dangerous, considering the artifact needed. However, if you..." "Guess I will have to go through the danger zone" I interrupt him. "Are you sure Red? You did not practice a lot with it yet." "Then I will have to practice on the field" I replied after crossing a road at full speed. Four left. "...Okay then" he hesitated, "just be careful." I kept running down the road towards the edge of the city, and before I could think I was already a block apart from there. I would have preferred to blend in with a crowd, but given it was night already and who I was possibly confronting with this escape I think it would have not mattered. "Red, guards are coming in your direction. You will need to hide again!" He was right. If I jumped as soon as I reached the border the aerial patrol would catch me, given they were as close as Player said. But if I hid long enough for them to disperse... However, I had reached the city border. Only a railing separated me from... a very long fall. "They are closing in! You need to act now Carmen!" The railing area was quite open so going alongside would be dumb since I would be immediately spotted. Going back would probably end in a not so friendly meeting, and hiding in the roofs would make me an easy target for aerial guards. I looked again at the railing and peeked down, and an idea formed in my mind. Canterlot was constructed at the side of a mountain, and some places such as where I was standing were platforms, so what if I hanged from the city? "I cannot be seriously considering this." Now, I'm not usually afraid from heights, but that is when I am equipped with safety harnesses and all that stuff, and right now the only object that remotely resembled that was my grappling hook, and I had only that. Come on, you just climbed a wall, from which you could have fallen to a potential death with no sweat, what's holding you?" I ask myself. 'Dunno. Maybe the fact that I have to shoot the hook while falling, and I could rip off my arm with a sudden stop?' I reply to myself sarcastically. "Then use both hands." 'But...' "Carmen, If you don't at least attempt it, you will end back in that garden. Is that what you want?" ... 'Yolo.' =?= Guards suddenly surged from a dark street into the perimeter border of the city, following a possible trail of a very sneaky woman. "Guards, report" a commanding female voice could be heard behind the search party that was formed. "The trail seems to end here, princess. It disappears after the railing, and if she jumped then the trail has been lost to the wind, so we have no lead now." The leader explained. "She could have not gone too far yet. Keep searching. I will alert the aerial patrol." "Yes, ma'am" and the guards continued their way through the perimeter. Like many others, Princess Luna has hoped for a quiet night after finally capturing and imprisoning the elusive red thief, only to find out that she escaped in less than 12 hours. It was very conflicting. The spell should have kept her in stone for at least one thousand years, but remembering her curriculum, she should have expected this to happen. But still, how was she able to break such a powerful spell? Is break even the correct word? No, she knew that the thief would not use such a basic action. She knew that somehow Carmen manipulated the spell. Still, the method used was unknown to her. "You won't get too far. The world wants you behind the bars, Carmen Sandiego." =?= 'don't look down don't look down don't look down-' I kept reciting the same phrase in my mind as I hung from my hook with all the strength of my arms, waiting for the guards to go as far from my location as possible. My thoughts got interrupted by the intercom. "Carmen, you still there?" "Huh? Oh, yes, in one piece, completely fine, zero problems." I lied. "Guess that hanging from deadly heights is not your cup of tea, huh? Well, good news, guards are gone, so you can descend with no trouble." He announced. I let out a sigh. "And it also seems that I don't need to risk using the delta wing." I also added. "What do you mean?" "The platform is closer to the mountain than I expected, so I can rappel all the way down to the base" I explained to him. "Aren't you exhausted from your escape, Carmen? You could descend more quickly through the air." "While you are right, I think that If I stay away from visible sites I will be able to avoid anyone who wants me back as a garden ornament," I replied. "Ok then, If you need any help, I will be awake all night. Have you thought of any place to lay low meanwhile?" "Now that you mention it, which is the closest settlement to Canterlot?" Race the train.Author's Note I was bored, so I decided to update this. Race the train. "Umm..." What's causing him to doubt? "Any problem, Player?" "You know Ponyville, right?" "Yes, and?" "That's where the elements of harmony live, Carmen." Oh, that. "Almost forgot that. Sometimes facts slip away." As we talked I managed to reach the side of the mountain and I started my descent. "I don't think that going to that town will be convenient. Besides, I'm sure that they will search nearby places first. So, may I make a suggestion?" "Go ahead." "The closest transport is a train line that runs all the way southwest and ends in Las Pegasus..." Oh my god, not the puns... "... and it is right at the base entrance of mount Canterlot. Where the International airport is located." "Oh, So you suggest hiding among the superstars?" "Basically. However, you will first need to take a short train to Ponyville, and then board the main train to Las Pegasus." "Why?" "I just searched the services that go to Las Pegasus, and the earliest ones are express, and while the airport is not one of the stops, Ponyville is, and we both know that the best option is to get as far as possible from Canterlot as soon as possible, so, since the elements will not be in there for a day at most, I think that exchanging at Ponyville is the best idea." He explained. "You are starting to think like me, Player." I commented to him as I kept descending. "Any Information on how much I need to wait at Ponyville?" "First tell me, how close are you to the basement?" "I barely descended two hundred1 meters, so I guess I have two and a half kilometers2 left?" "...Okay, I need you to reach the basement anyways, so don't expect an answer yet. It all depends on how fast you are." I noticed something odd in his voice... wait. Oh, no way. Was he challenging me? "You think I cannot make it to the first train?" "Well, It leaves in two hours, so..." "Say no more, Player." =?= Descending became quite faster after I gained enough confidence to descend jumping rather than walking, and given that the mountain was filled with small plateaus every once in a while I reached the bottom in 40 minutes. I then reconnected with Player. "Player, are you still there? I'm on solid ground." "Yep, alert as usual." I then took out a small pair of binoculars from the trenchcoat. "I have visual of the airport from here. I guess that around 4 kilometers separates me, am I right?" "You definitely have spatial awareness Carm. However, considering the irregularity of the road and the fact that the station is located at one of the sides and not right in front of you the distance is extended to almost 6 kilometers. Unless you are a marathoner, you won't make it, after all, you don't have a transport..." Such a teaser... Who said I don't have one? "You forgot that you are talking to a thief, Player." And I started picking up my pace. =?= Already on the side of the highway, I walked quickly south towards the airport, looking for any gas station. I knew that there should be one, since I had always seen them close to airports as they would usually attract the tourists that rented vehicles. I finally saw a sign indicating a nearby station so I sprinted down the walkway until I was able to have a visual of it. Before getting any closer I needed to take care of something that could make me easy to track. "Player, I need you to play a video loop every time I enter the visible zone of a camera, if possible. I'm entering now a gas station, so you should start there." "Remember when you told me I was starting to think like you?" "Yes?" "Well, I thought you would ask me to cover the cameras with fake feed, so while you descended and walked down the highway I took my time to compile some empty and credible recordings for the security systems. Gave me some time to practise my editing skills." Holy- "Okay, that's what I call a deus ex machina." "Umm... what?" "A trope from fiction, player" I started explaining as I approached a toilet room. "Short version, it is the character that solves the protagonist's problems through 'mysterious' ways, sometimes even before they can even be presented to it. By creating the fake feed before I even detected the potential problem you pulled out a deus ex machina. Or at least that's what I think it meant." I ended. "Do you really think that high of me? I'm just a guy that turned 18. Besides, creating a video loop and trespassing the security of outdated cameras was easy" he questioned. "Trust me when I say that you have outstanding abilities. Most people even struggle with simple coding languages, and you know... how many?" "Four. Maybe you are right, Carmen." He admitted. I simply smirked. Always so humble, yet his skills deserved bragging rights. After closing the toilet room door I immediately started changing clothes at the same speed of a student running late to school. The least amount of time I spent idle the better. I then faced the mirror to make sure my clothes were properly placed and, for the final touch, I stuffed all my hair into a ponytail. I quickly checked that all the important tools were within reach, and I went straight to the bike parking spot. Too big, too heavy, has combination... yes! This one. Not many seconds later a lock was devoid of the bike it was holding. =?= "Cheater" I heard through my earpiece. "What cheat? We never established if the transport should be personal" I replied as I pedalled my way through the highway. "Besides, the objective of getting in the first train is to escape, so any boost is welcome" I added. I could hear a sigh from his side. "You're right Red. I also sometimes forget things such as the fact that I'm helping a wanted criminal." Criminal. My body cringed from the sole mention of that word. It simply sounded so wrong, yet it was the truth. "Holaaa? Sigues ahí Carmen?"3 I was quite surprised to hear him speaking in Spanish and I made sure to let him know. "Yes, I have been practising, so that you don't feel alone." Aww, how considerate from his part. "Seguí así y vas a poder mantener una conversación en poco tiempo"4 I encouraged him. "I only understood half of it, but thanks". =?= I finally had the airport in sight, so I did an extra effort to the terminal, from where I would be able to board my escape transport. I left the bike close to the building so that nobody said anything about how I reached the airport. I ran towards the door and I pulled out my phone. 5 minutes left. Once inside my eyes quickly scanned for the signs that showed the way to the plattform. A sign indicated the way to the left, going down through a mechanical ramp. I waited no more and I sprinted my way down the ramp, being careful not to trip over anything. Once at the bottom I inmediately spotted the ticket vending machine, and I did a mad rush to it's screen. With my hand shaking I indicated to the machine my destination, and quicky I took four banknotes each worth 10 bits, and I basically forced them on it. No change came from it, and I anxiously awaited for the ticket to print. "Last call for the six o'clock service to ponyville at plattform 4. Doors will close in two minutes". I almost slammed the machine in frustration, but I saw that the printed paper fell into the collecting point. I grabbed the ticket and this time I rushed to plattform 4... ...which happened to be at the other end of the station. Kill me please was the only thought that formed in my mind, and consumed in the fear of the possibility of missing the train, I reached the barrier without even thinking about it. I slammed the ticket in the scanner to open it, which took some precious seconds. In the instant I saw it was starting to open I almost forced it open, if it was not for the fact that it opened faster. I ran the distance of the engine to the first door, and I dived into the carriage, almost hitting the opposite door. A second later, I could hear the whistle and saw the doors closing. "Mission-" I quickly took a breath "Accomplished- Player". "You sure are a determined girl, Red. Take a break for now. I will take care of you connection". "I- thank you player. Even if you didn't have to..." "Don't say that. We are team, and we need each other to succeed. Don't you remember our first time?" ... "Carmen?" Already on a seat, I answered. "You are right." I was too tired to speak anything else. "Relax, and enjoy your trip" was the last thing I heard before he cut the call. ~656 feet ~1.58 miles Hellooo? Are you still there Carmen? Keep going like that and you will be able to hold a conversation in no time. Full truths.Beep beep beep- Huh? Is it already morning? But I want to sleep... Beep beep beep- Would you shut up already? Beep beep beep- Okay, okay! I'll get up! The first thing I noticed when I accumulated enough will to move from my comfortable position was the unusually small room I was in. For some instants, I did not recognize it, but a look through the window showing the passing landscape of a forest reminded me of last night events; how I escaped, reaching the train in the last second and transferring at Ponyville into the long distance two-floor train to Las Pegasus. I should really thank Player for reserving the room- Beep beep beep- -but first I should take care of that alarm. Hold on... an alarm? But I did not remember setting one up before sleeping, given that I wanted to get enough rest before arriving. I swiped through the cabin to find the phone, which happened to be close to an outlet which it was plugged in. But the screen had no alarm to turn off. Beep beep beep- At that moment I realized that the annoying beeping came from my body, more specifically, my waist. I sat down at the bed and I took the device that was attached to it, and I read the graph is displayed. It showed how overnight an almost smooth curve drastically went down to the red zone. I had to fight the urge to panic as I turned upside down my bag in search of the case where I stored my lifeline. I took a pen from it, which had a transparent liquid loaded on it, but instead of having a ballpoint, a short needle was on its place. Without hesitation, I punctured my skin with the needle and applied a respectable amount of insulin to my bloodstream, which I considered enough to recover my regular levels to live one more day. Having taken care of my condition I dismissed the alarm and inspected the pump to see why the levels fell while I was asleep. What I saw made me want to slap myself for my own stupidity. The insulin reservoir was empty. And I should have noticed that. After all, I need to check it constantly so that this type of emergencies do not happen. But the bad news was that I did not have spare insulin to fill it, as it was all left in Canterlot. So now I had to depend on the good ol' injections, and make sure that I do not exceed the dose for my own sake until I was able to acquire some at the destination. Thanks to that small incident, now I was completely awake, and the fact that it was afternoon already didn't help to go back to sleep, so I decided that the best would be to take a stroll through the train. The narrowness of the passages was compensated by a complete view of the second floor of the car in which my bedroom was, but that sight would not suppress my increasing boringness, so the only logical option I had was to take my phone and tablet and find my way to the observation car. I was lucky enough to take the right direction, and I reached the car in a minute. There were windows in almost any direction, letting in a clear sight both sideways and up. For that moment I dismissed the small café located at one corner and made myself comfortable in one of the seats. 'Connections, take the free one and fuck off network login'. And without giving any real data, and after activating the VPN, I accessed the database that Player created to keep track of our progress. The best course of action was to dig in the seemingly innocent documents of many corporations and check out for discrepancies. "Red, you okay?" A voice asked over my earring slash intercom. I should have remembered that the computer would warn him of any external access. "Yeah. The pump was empty and woke me up. Now I only have the pen for my doses" I briefly explained. "Ouch. Should really suck to need an injection all the time" Player said. "It's not a great deal actually," I countered, "you get used to it after being raised around them. Besides, it helps me to have a balanced diet" I joked. "Oh, come on, Carmen! Your condition is not something funny! You are missing a lot of delicious food out there!" He protested in a non-serious manner. "You know what people say, Player. Laughter is the best medicine. It helps to not think about it constantly". "I was just messing around. Would make me a hypocrite since I always joke about my lack of social skills". "Then you would be double since right now you are holding a conversation with someone" I taunted him. "It's... Different, and you know it!" He attempted to defend himself. "Still, my point stands" I proudly claimed. On the other side, I could hear a groan of frustration coming from him, so I decided to calm down the situation. "In all seriousness, thank you for your help last night. I mean it". "It was nothing really. Barely another show of my minor skills. Still, why are you on the database, Carmen?" "Just looking for anything I can do while among so many famous people. I'm sure there is something, and I'm looking for any mention of the city on the documents". "Save yourself the trouble. The word searcher found the city in at least five percent of the documents which mostly correspond to income declarations, and It also found mentions of companies that do not have any clear objective on them." "Think you could compile all those names? We can later search for any information about suspicious activities reported. If any of them have a physical presence on Las Pegasus I might do some sightseeing". "Heh. Already searching. And the info out there seems promising. You might see some action very soon". "Nice" I simply replied, as in that instant my stomach rumbled. Seemed like I was going to make use of the café after all. "I'll be back soon, Player". Already in front of the counter and with the order done, I took my wallet to take enough bits to pay the meal. I made a stack of coins that I was sure were enough to cover the cost. But then the cashier returned one of the coins. "Umm, this is not a coin, miss" She told me politely. I casually inspected the coin to see what was wrong with it, only to realize that it was not a bit. It was far more important, at least to me. Its silverish color was dimmed by a layer of rust, but the scene depicted was still legible on it. Under it, the number 1000 was graven at the border, accompanied by another inscription also in the border.1 Back home it was a rare coin, as only five thousand were created, and while technically one could use it to pay for goods, It was more of a collection item, as they were specifically done to commemorate the 200 years of the start of the process of independence of the country. The coin on itself had a value of around 30 dollars, and that was a fact; but its history, how it reached my hands... That has a value beyond comprehension. "Miss?" She called my attention again. I excused myself and exchanged the coin with a valid one, and made my way back to the seat. "Now trying to pay with counterfeit money? You surely are going down a path of darkness..." "Haha, very funny. I almost lost one of the few things I have from home, Player". There was silence from his part. At first, I was too hungry to realize that he was not talking, so the meal was gone faster than in other instances. Still, without realizing his silence, I made my way back to the bedroom and laid down on the bed. My mind wandered back to the coin, and the awkward moment with the cashier. I mindlessly attempted to roll the coin over my hand, failing miserably due to the fact that it was simply too big for such trick. "Carmen?" Oh. Was already starting to miss him. "Yeah?" "This might sound a bit out of nowhere, but you told me a lot about where you come from, your life before ending here, you know, stuff you used to do and watch. You also told me why you nicknamed me like that, you know, from the show that also happens to have your name." "Mhm..." "Is that your actual name?" I was mute at the question. A lot of memories surged back with the question, of the girl I used to be. How peaceful it was. And how it was shattered by one fucker. "Isabella." "Umm, what?" "Isabella Rojas. That's my name." The irony, eh? "Are you sure this isn't another pun of yours?" He asked in disbelief. "I still have my ID. I can show it to you if you want." Immediately I took from the wallet a blue plastic card with my face on it, took a photo and redacted the ID number. Finally, I sent it through our private chat. "I... See..." "Still, why were you suddenly curious about my real identity?" "Well, your incident with the coin reminded me of all the things you shared with me about your world, and when I hit the topic of the Show..." "You did simple math, I guess." "Right. Why didn't you share your name before?" He asked with some concern in his voice. "I guess the topic never came, and," I struggled to continue the sentence, "I don't know, sometimes you have something wrong right in front of you and don't realize until much later." He let out a small chuckle. "Can relate. I can't think of another reason why I never thought of that coincidence." "Just, I don't want you to think I'm holding information on purpose. My mind can be a beautifully ordered chaos, and when it comes to exposing information, some is lost only to come again when it isn't useful anymore." "You sure? Do you know what is the source you cite the most when you have those spontaneous ideas at critical moments?" "YouTube?" "Yes Red. A freaking video streaming platform. A place so random, yet you manage to retain information of something that most of the people would consider useless." "Hey!" I protested, "it's not so useless, only, the algorithm of suggestions can be a bit weird... Usually. Besides, don't think I'm the only one who managed to make use of the information out there. There is this guy with a math channel and some pi mascots that helped a lot of people to finally understand calculus-" "I have heard the term at school, yet I don't know what it means." "Short version? Mathematical torture about areas of irregular shapes that is rewarding to understand. Understand the math jokes. Still, matrices ended up being more useful." "Please don't scare me. I still have to tackle it." We both shared a nervous laugh. "Knowing you, it is likely that you have been using it for a long time without realizing." "Maybe." Again silence fell for another moment before I resumed. "You're such a nice person to talk to Player, we end up talking about random things." "Yes, I think we need to focus on what to do once you get off the train." "First I need to deal with the pump, and also we have the accommodation problem. Then we can... plan my tour through the city." "Don't worry about the first things, they are a click away on the web. It can be done in a few minutes. We should focus on the documents for now." Having planned my next movements, I opened once again the documents for my next hit. Author's Note Next time there will be action, I promise.
Red shadows in the night.Author's Note Just a silly idea (result of the hype for the new Carmen Sandiego show) that I might expand in the future. Red shadows in the night. "Let's see... this matrix seems to be the one blocking the access to the important ones... If I apply an inverse one... the values reset and I can easily untangle it." I quickly write down the inverse on the air and what once looked as an impenetrable security spell was reset to an identity. Seems it worked just like in maths. "What do we have here? Material... no, time... yes, feed... yes, alarm... interesting. Time to pick the lock." I focused on the matrices that controlled the duration and the energy of the spell I was currently held within, trying to reduce the duration of the spell without alerting the caster, who was relatively close to my position. The time matrix slowly started losing value, as the energy one gained it at a constant rate, in order to keep an equilibrium between both of them that would let me go unnoticed. I simply had to control the rate at which the exchange happened. Millennia turned into centuries, centuries into years and years into months, all in a lapse of only a couple of hours. I was only minutes away from breaking the spell, and that was when the problems started. You see, keeping a balance for some hours can be difficult, especially if your mind starts wandering around, thinking about other things. From all the clothes, why I had to choose those? Suddenly, I noticed how the matrices started to violently change the drain rate, indicating stability problems. "Shit, the alarm is going to be triggered in seconds. Better if I end this now". =?= In the middle of the night, one of the statues of the Canterlot gardens suddenly broke apart in a loud and bright explosion. In the epicenter, a young woman with auburn hair and a cinnamon complexion lay down in the grass. Suddenly her gray eyes shot wide open, and her gloved hands searched through the red trench coat she wore. Then the girl looked at her surroundings until she spotted a red cordovan hat with a black band on the center of it. Without hesitation, she took it and accommodated it over her head before running into the darkness of the garden's maze. =?= "C'mon, answer please" I thought as I ran through the blackness of the maze. The person I was trying to contact was the only one that I trusted with all my heart to help me with my situation. I could try to find a way out alone since this maze wasn't so complex and I had certain tools to neglect the walls, but I wanted to avoid detection, and I needed vectors to exit the maze without having all the guards chasing me. Finally, my wish came true and the voice of a male teenager could be heard from the other side of the line. "Red, is that you?" He simply asked. "Yes, Player. Surprised?" A long silence was heard on the other side before an answer was heard. "...I should be surprised, but knowing you I'm starting to think that I should not" he replied. "I will explain all later, but now I need your help to escape the castle. Right now I am in the maze and I'm not in the mood of being chased. Not after what I went through." "Makes sense. Now you should go to your left." He suddenly indicated. "Always alert to everything. No wonder that you are the best, Player." I complimented him as I took the turn he indicated. "Oh, it's nothing, really." As I kept running through the maze I saw at the end of the corridor I was currently in a light that was approaching from the left side. I heard some mumbling also, so I supposed that there was more than one guard approaching. "Player guards approaching at nine. Any possible detours through the maze?" "...Don't think so. Guards are going in the opposite direction through all the other corridors, so your best option now is to hide, Red." I internally cursed my luck as I crouched under the bushes that made up the wall. I made myself enough space so that my red clothes did not get seen. Not many seconds later, I could hear their footsteps approaching but this time I could notice some worry in their voices. "What's going on? Why are we running?" "The central informed of unusual activity in the gardens. We need to check it out and inform, as usual." "And I hoped for a quiet night..." Okay, that's lazy. I waited for them to move further before getting out of my cover. "Player, my head start time is running out. How much until the castle perimeter?" "Take the left, take the right, cross the wall and you are out..." "Was that supposed to rhyme?" "Umm..." I simply rolled my eyes and sighed. "Anyways, keep an eye for any alerts or nearby guards, okay?" "Got it. I just found the radio frequency that they are using. I'm gonna hook you to it now." And suddenly static was heard for some seconds until new voices appeared on the communications channel. "It is one way, so we can talk without them listening, just like eavesdropping through a wall." "Speaking of walls, I'm already there" I announced to him. "I hope that the spell did not affect my aim." I slide down my right arm to let a metallic contraption reach my hand, which I then proceed to unfold until it took a shape similar to a very thin gun. I aimed it right to the upper border of the wall and pressed the trigger of the contraption. My body recoiled a bit from the shot, but nevertheless, the hook reached its target. Then I took a quick look to make sure that the cable was correctly extended. Seeing that I was good to go, I ran towards the wall as I started to roll up the hook, making it possible to wall run to the top of it. With a little extra effort, I managed to roll over one of the wall apertures, and I took a second to catch a breath. 'Note to self: practice more with the hook.' Not gonna lie, my arm was a bit sore from that wall run, makes me wonder how I actually performed it successfully. Now I simply needed to get down... And then I noticed a red light coming from the right side of my face. I stood up and I saw a flare ascending through the sky, followed by an intense chatter on the comms. I quickly secured the hook to the outer side of the wall and started my descent. "Player, head start is out. Which is the shortest route that can take me outside the city?" "Let me see... the closest exit is five blocks away in a straight line, but it is very dangerous, considering the artifact needed. However, if you..." "Guess I will have to go through the danger zone" I interrupt him. "Are you sure Red? You did not practice a lot with it yet." "Then I will have to practice on the field" I replied after crossing a road at full speed. Four left. "...Okay then" he hesitated, "just be careful." I kept running down the road towards the edge of the city, and before I could think I was already a block apart from there. I would have preferred to blend in with a crowd, but given it was night already and who I was possibly confronting with this escape I think it would have not mattered. "Red, guards are coming in your direction. You will need to hide again!" He was right. If I jumped as soon as I reached the border the aerial patrol would catch me, given they were as close as Player said. But if I hid long enough for them to disperse... However, I had reached the city border. Only a railing separated me from... a very long fall. "They are closing in! You need to act now Carmen!" The railing area was quite open so going alongside would be dumb since I would be immediately spotted. Going back would probably end in a not so friendly meeting, and hiding in the roofs would make me an easy target for aerial guards. I looked again at the railing and peeked down, and an idea formed in my mind. Canterlot was constructed at the side of a mountain, and some places such as where I was standing were platforms, so what if I hanged from the city? "I cannot be seriously considering this." Now, I'm not usually afraid from heights, but that is when I am equipped with safety harnesses and all that stuff, and right now the only object that remotely resembled that was my grappling hook, and I had only that. Come on, you just climbed a wall, from which you could have fallen to a potential death with no sweat, what's holding you?" I ask myself. 'Dunno. Maybe the fact that I have to shoot the hook while falling, and I could rip off my arm with a sudden stop?' I reply to myself sarcastically. "Then use both hands." 'But...' "Carmen, If you don't at least attempt it, you will end back in that garden. Is that what you want?" ... 'Yolo.' =?= Guards suddenly surged from a dark street into the perimeter border of the city, following a possible trail of a very sneaky woman. "Guards, report" a commanding female voice could be heard behind the search party that was formed. "The trail seems to end here, princess. It disappears after the railing, and if she jumped then the trail has been lost to the wind, so we have no lead now." The leader explained. "She could have not gone too far yet. Keep searching. I will alert the aerial patrol." "Yes, ma'am" and the guards continued their way through the perimeter. Like many others, Princess Luna has hoped for a quiet night after finally capturing and imprisoning the elusive red thief, only to find out that she escaped in less than 12 hours. It was very conflicting. The spell should have kept her in stone for at least one thousand years, but remembering her curriculum, she should have expected this to happen. But still, how was she able to break such a powerful spell? Is break even the correct word? No, she knew that the thief would not use such a basic action. She knew that somehow Carmen manipulated the spell. Still, the method used was unknown to her. "You won't get too far. The world wants you behind the bars, Carmen Sandiego." =?= 'don't look down don't look down don't look down-' I kept reciting the same phrase in my mind as I hung from my hook with all the strength of my arms, waiting for the guards to go as far from my location as possible. My thoughts got interrupted by the intercom. "Carmen, you still there?" "Huh? Oh, yes, in one piece, completely fine, zero problems." I lied. "Guess that hanging from deadly heights is not your cup of tea, huh? Well, good news, guards are gone, so you can descend with no trouble." He announced. I let out a sigh. "And it also seems that I don't need to risk using the delta wing." I also added. "What do you mean?" "The platform is closer to the mountain than I expected, so I can rappel all the way down to the base" I explained to him. "Aren't you exhausted from your escape, Carmen? You could descend more quickly through the air." "While you are right, I think that If I stay away from visible sites I will be able to avoid anyone who wants me back as a garden ornament," I replied. "Ok then, If you need any help, I will be awake all night. Have you thought of any place to lay low meanwhile?" "Now that you mention it, which is the closest settlement to Canterlot?"
Race the train.Author's Note I was bored, so I decided to update this. Race the train. "Umm..." What's causing him to doubt? "Any problem, Player?" "You know Ponyville, right?" "Yes, and?" "That's where the elements of harmony live, Carmen." Oh, that. "Almost forgot that. Sometimes facts slip away." As we talked I managed to reach the side of the mountain and I started my descent. "I don't think that going to that town will be convenient. Besides, I'm sure that they will search nearby places first. So, may I make a suggestion?" "Go ahead." "The closest transport is a train line that runs all the way southwest and ends in Las Pegasus..." Oh my god, not the puns... "... and it is right at the base entrance of mount Canterlot. Where the International airport is located." "Oh, So you suggest hiding among the superstars?" "Basically. However, you will first need to take a short train to Ponyville, and then board the main train to Las Pegasus." "Why?" "I just searched the services that go to Las Pegasus, and the earliest ones are express, and while the airport is not one of the stops, Ponyville is, and we both know that the best option is to get as far as possible from Canterlot as soon as possible, so, since the elements will not be in there for a day at most, I think that exchanging at Ponyville is the best idea." He explained. "You are starting to think like me, Player." I commented to him as I kept descending. "Any Information on how much I need to wait at Ponyville?" "First tell me, how close are you to the basement?" "I barely descended two hundred1 meters, so I guess I have two and a half kilometers2 left?" "...Okay, I need you to reach the basement anyways, so don't expect an answer yet. It all depends on how fast you are." I noticed something odd in his voice... wait. Oh, no way. Was he challenging me? "You think I cannot make it to the first train?" "Well, It leaves in two hours, so..." "Say no more, Player." =?= Descending became quite faster after I gained enough confidence to descend jumping rather than walking, and given that the mountain was filled with small plateaus every once in a while I reached the bottom in 40 minutes. I then reconnected with Player. "Player, are you still there? I'm on solid ground." "Yep, alert as usual." I then took out a small pair of binoculars from the trenchcoat. "I have visual of the airport from here. I guess that around 4 kilometers separates me, am I right?" "You definitely have spatial awareness Carm. However, considering the irregularity of the road and the fact that the station is located at one of the sides and not right in front of you the distance is extended to almost 6 kilometers. Unless you are a marathoner, you won't make it, after all, you don't have a transport..." Such a teaser... Who said I don't have one? "You forgot that you are talking to a thief, Player." And I started picking up my pace. =?= Already on the side of the highway, I walked quickly south towards the airport, looking for any gas station. I knew that there should be one, since I had always seen them close to airports as they would usually attract the tourists that rented vehicles. I finally saw a sign indicating a nearby station so I sprinted down the walkway until I was able to have a visual of it. Before getting any closer I needed to take care of something that could make me easy to track. "Player, I need you to play a video loop every time I enter the visible zone of a camera, if possible. I'm entering now a gas station, so you should start there." "Remember when you told me I was starting to think like you?" "Yes?" "Well, I thought you would ask me to cover the cameras with fake feed, so while you descended and walked down the highway I took my time to compile some empty and credible recordings for the security systems. Gave me some time to practise my editing skills." Holy- "Okay, that's what I call a deus ex machina." "Umm... what?" "A trope from fiction, player" I started explaining as I approached a toilet room. "Short version, it is the character that solves the protagonist's problems through 'mysterious' ways, sometimes even before they can even be presented to it. By creating the fake feed before I even detected the potential problem you pulled out a deus ex machina. Or at least that's what I think it meant." I ended. "Do you really think that high of me? I'm just a guy that turned 18. Besides, creating a video loop and trespassing the security of outdated cameras was easy" he questioned. "Trust me when I say that you have outstanding abilities. Most people even struggle with simple coding languages, and you know... how many?" "Four. Maybe you are right, Carmen." He admitted. I simply smirked. Always so humble, yet his skills deserved bragging rights. After closing the toilet room door I immediately started changing clothes at the same speed of a student running late to school. The least amount of time I spent idle the better. I then faced the mirror to make sure my clothes were properly placed and, for the final touch, I stuffed all my hair into a ponytail. I quickly checked that all the important tools were within reach, and I went straight to the bike parking spot. Too big, too heavy, has combination... yes! This one. Not many seconds later a lock was devoid of the bike it was holding. =?= "Cheater" I heard through my earpiece. "What cheat? We never established if the transport should be personal" I replied as I pedalled my way through the highway. "Besides, the objective of getting in the first train is to escape, so any boost is welcome" I added. I could hear a sigh from his side. "You're right Red. I also sometimes forget things such as the fact that I'm helping a wanted criminal." Criminal. My body cringed from the sole mention of that word. It simply sounded so wrong, yet it was the truth. "Holaaa? Sigues ahí Carmen?"3 I was quite surprised to hear him speaking in Spanish and I made sure to let him know. "Yes, I have been practising, so that you don't feel alone." Aww, how considerate from his part. "Seguí así y vas a poder mantener una conversación en poco tiempo"4 I encouraged him. "I only understood half of it, but thanks". =?= I finally had the airport in sight, so I did an extra effort to the terminal, from where I would be able to board my escape transport. I left the bike close to the building so that nobody said anything about how I reached the airport. I ran towards the door and I pulled out my phone. 5 minutes left. Once inside my eyes quickly scanned for the signs that showed the way to the plattform. A sign indicated the way to the left, going down through a mechanical ramp. I waited no more and I sprinted my way down the ramp, being careful not to trip over anything. Once at the bottom I inmediately spotted the ticket vending machine, and I did a mad rush to it's screen. With my hand shaking I indicated to the machine my destination, and quicky I took four banknotes each worth 10 bits, and I basically forced them on it. No change came from it, and I anxiously awaited for the ticket to print. "Last call for the six o'clock service to ponyville at plattform 4. Doors will close in two minutes". I almost slammed the machine in frustration, but I saw that the printed paper fell into the collecting point. I grabbed the ticket and this time I rushed to plattform 4... ...which happened to be at the other end of the station. Kill me please was the only thought that formed in my mind, and consumed in the fear of the possibility of missing the train, I reached the barrier without even thinking about it. I slammed the ticket in the scanner to open it, which took some precious seconds. In the instant I saw it was starting to open I almost forced it open, if it was not for the fact that it opened faster. I ran the distance of the engine to the first door, and I dived into the carriage, almost hitting the opposite door. A second later, I could hear the whistle and saw the doors closing. "Mission-" I quickly took a breath "Accomplished- Player". "You sure are a determined girl, Red. Take a break for now. I will take care of you connection". "I- thank you player. Even if you didn't have to..." "Don't say that. We are team, and we need each other to succeed. Don't you remember our first time?" ... "Carmen?" Already on a seat, I answered. "You are right." I was too tired to speak anything else. "Relax, and enjoy your trip" was the last thing I heard before he cut the call. ~656 feet ~1.58 miles Hellooo? Are you still there Carmen? Keep going like that and you will be able to hold a conversation in no time.
Full truths.Beep beep beep- Huh? Is it already morning? But I want to sleep... Beep beep beep- Would you shut up already? Beep beep beep- Okay, okay! I'll get up! The first thing I noticed when I accumulated enough will to move from my comfortable position was the unusually small room I was in. For some instants, I did not recognize it, but a look through the window showing the passing landscape of a forest reminded me of last night events; how I escaped, reaching the train in the last second and transferring at Ponyville into the long distance two-floor train to Las Pegasus. I should really thank Player for reserving the room- Beep beep beep- -but first I should take care of that alarm. Hold on... an alarm? But I did not remember setting one up before sleeping, given that I wanted to get enough rest before arriving. I swiped through the cabin to find the phone, which happened to be close to an outlet which it was plugged in. But the screen had no alarm to turn off. Beep beep beep- At that moment I realized that the annoying beeping came from my body, more specifically, my waist. I sat down at the bed and I took the device that was attached to it, and I read the graph is displayed. It showed how overnight an almost smooth curve drastically went down to the red zone. I had to fight the urge to panic as I turned upside down my bag in search of the case where I stored my lifeline. I took a pen from it, which had a transparent liquid loaded on it, but instead of having a ballpoint, a short needle was on its place. Without hesitation, I punctured my skin with the needle and applied a respectable amount of insulin to my bloodstream, which I considered enough to recover my regular levels to live one more day. Having taken care of my condition I dismissed the alarm and inspected the pump to see why the levels fell while I was asleep. What I saw made me want to slap myself for my own stupidity. The insulin reservoir was empty. And I should have noticed that. After all, I need to check it constantly so that this type of emergencies do not happen. But the bad news was that I did not have spare insulin to fill it, as it was all left in Canterlot. So now I had to depend on the good ol' injections, and make sure that I do not exceed the dose for my own sake until I was able to acquire some at the destination. Thanks to that small incident, now I was completely awake, and the fact that it was afternoon already didn't help to go back to sleep, so I decided that the best would be to take a stroll through the train. The narrowness of the passages was compensated by a complete view of the second floor of the car in which my bedroom was, but that sight would not suppress my increasing boringness, so the only logical option I had was to take my phone and tablet and find my way to the observation car. I was lucky enough to take the right direction, and I reached the car in a minute. There were windows in almost any direction, letting in a clear sight both sideways and up. For that moment I dismissed the small café located at one corner and made myself comfortable in one of the seats. 'Connections, take the free one and fuck off network login'. And without giving any real data, and after activating the VPN, I accessed the database that Player created to keep track of our progress. The best course of action was to dig in the seemingly innocent documents of many corporations and check out for discrepancies. "Red, you okay?" A voice asked over my earring slash intercom. I should have remembered that the computer would warn him of any external access. "Yeah. The pump was empty and woke me up. Now I only have the pen for my doses" I briefly explained. "Ouch. Should really suck to need an injection all the time" Player said. "It's not a great deal actually," I countered, "you get used to it after being raised around them. Besides, it helps me to have a balanced diet" I joked. "Oh, come on, Carmen! Your condition is not something funny! You are missing a lot of delicious food out there!" He protested in a non-serious manner. "You know what people say, Player. Laughter is the best medicine. It helps to not think about it constantly". "I was just messing around. Would make me a hypocrite since I always joke about my lack of social skills". "Then you would be double since right now you are holding a conversation with someone" I taunted him. "It's... Different, and you know it!" He attempted to defend himself. "Still, my point stands" I proudly claimed. On the other side, I could hear a groan of frustration coming from him, so I decided to calm down the situation. "In all seriousness, thank you for your help last night. I mean it". "It was nothing really. Barely another show of my minor skills. Still, why are you on the database, Carmen?" "Just looking for anything I can do while among so many famous people. I'm sure there is something, and I'm looking for any mention of the city on the documents". "Save yourself the trouble. The word searcher found the city in at least five percent of the documents which mostly correspond to income declarations, and It also found mentions of companies that do not have any clear objective on them." "Think you could compile all those names? We can later search for any information about suspicious activities reported. If any of them have a physical presence on Las Pegasus I might do some sightseeing". "Heh. Already searching. And the info out there seems promising. You might see some action very soon". "Nice" I simply replied, as in that instant my stomach rumbled. Seemed like I was going to make use of the café after all. "I'll be back soon, Player". Already in front of the counter and with the order done, I took my wallet to take enough bits to pay the meal. I made a stack of coins that I was sure were enough to cover the cost. But then the cashier returned one of the coins. "Umm, this is not a coin, miss" She told me politely. I casually inspected the coin to see what was wrong with it, only to realize that it was not a bit. It was far more important, at least to me. Its silverish color was dimmed by a layer of rust, but the scene depicted was still legible on it. Under it, the number 1000 was graven at the border, accompanied by another inscription also in the border.1 Back home it was a rare coin, as only five thousand were created, and while technically one could use it to pay for goods, It was more of a collection item, as they were specifically done to commemorate the 200 years of the start of the process of independence of the country. The coin on itself had a value of around 30 dollars, and that was a fact; but its history, how it reached my hands... That has a value beyond comprehension. "Miss?" She called my attention again. I excused myself and exchanged the coin with a valid one, and made my way back to the seat. "Now trying to pay with counterfeit money? You surely are going down a path of darkness..." "Haha, very funny. I almost lost one of the few things I have from home, Player". There was silence from his part. At first, I was too hungry to realize that he was not talking, so the meal was gone faster than in other instances. Still, without realizing his silence, I made my way back to the bedroom and laid down on the bed. My mind wandered back to the coin, and the awkward moment with the cashier. I mindlessly attempted to roll the coin over my hand, failing miserably due to the fact that it was simply too big for such trick. "Carmen?" Oh. Was already starting to miss him. "Yeah?" "This might sound a bit out of nowhere, but you told me a lot about where you come from, your life before ending here, you know, stuff you used to do and watch. You also told me why you nicknamed me like that, you know, from the show that also happens to have your name." "Mhm..." "Is that your actual name?" I was mute at the question. A lot of memories surged back with the question, of the girl I used to be. How peaceful it was. And how it was shattered by one fucker. "Isabella." "Umm, what?" "Isabella Rojas. That's my name." The irony, eh? "Are you sure this isn't another pun of yours?" He asked in disbelief. "I still have my ID. I can show it to you if you want." Immediately I took from the wallet a blue plastic card with my face on it, took a photo and redacted the ID number. Finally, I sent it through our private chat. "I... See..." "Still, why were you suddenly curious about my real identity?" "Well, your incident with the coin reminded me of all the things you shared with me about your world, and when I hit the topic of the Show..." "You did simple math, I guess." "Right. Why didn't you share your name before?" He asked with some concern in his voice. "I guess the topic never came, and," I struggled to continue the sentence, "I don't know, sometimes you have something wrong right in front of you and don't realize until much later." He let out a small chuckle. "Can relate. I can't think of another reason why I never thought of that coincidence." "Just, I don't want you to think I'm holding information on purpose. My mind can be a beautifully ordered chaos, and when it comes to exposing information, some is lost only to come again when it isn't useful anymore." "You sure? Do you know what is the source you cite the most when you have those spontaneous ideas at critical moments?" "YouTube?" "Yes Red. A freaking video streaming platform. A place so random, yet you manage to retain information of something that most of the people would consider useless." "Hey!" I protested, "it's not so useless, only, the algorithm of suggestions can be a bit weird... Usually. Besides, don't think I'm the only one who managed to make use of the information out there. There is this guy with a math channel and some pi mascots that helped a lot of people to finally understand calculus-" "I have heard the term at school, yet I don't know what it means." "Short version? Mathematical torture about areas of irregular shapes that is rewarding to understand. Understand the math jokes. Still, matrices ended up being more useful." "Please don't scare me. I still have to tackle it." We both shared a nervous laugh. "Knowing you, it is likely that you have been using it for a long time without realizing." "Maybe." Again silence fell for another moment before I resumed. "You're such a nice person to talk to Player, we end up talking about random things." "Yes, I think we need to focus on what to do once you get off the train." "First I need to deal with the pump, and also we have the accommodation problem. Then we can... plan my tour through the city." "Don't worry about the first things, they are a click away on the web. It can be done in a few minutes. We should focus on the documents for now." Having planned my next movements, I opened once again the documents for my next hit. Author's Note Next time there will be action, I promise.
