Chapter Text
They remember how they ended up in this situation…
The absence of Builderman and Shedletsky had caused a great imbalance and disorganization in all departments of the HQ, there was a large amount of pending reports, incomplete user terminations and unmoderated experiences.
In the beginning, they were just as distraught by the situation, they did not know what to do with two of their idols missing. Builderman was the reason for their actions, of why they liked their job. What were they really working for, if the person they were doing it for was not going to be there to see it?
Their effort was barely recognized, to not say that it never was, but they told themselves that it did not matter, that as long as the possibility existed for Builderman and the other admins to notice them, it would all be worth it.
But as stated before, Builderman was no longer present.
They could feel how their motive for living was beginning to falter. They began to question if what they were doing was really something worth it.
Until someone approached them. One of the last people they expected to do so.
For the first time, someone else had noticed them.
He told them what they did not want to see, what they did not want to admit. They were frustrated, they had spent too much time dedicating their life to the administrators and at no point had any of them stopped to notice them.
But he did…
He listened to their frustrations, their desire to be useful, their desire to finally receive even just a little more attention, to be able to help in any way, whatever it takes.
And he gave them a perfect solution. One that maybe was not the best, one that was above all questionable, but one where they could finally make a change, where the HQ was finally going to notice them in some way, where they could finally point out all the problems they saw, where they could finally solve them.
The offer was too good to be rejected, an offer that allowed them to turn the chaos that distraught them so much into an opportunity.
Taph had always seen how ineffective the demolitions were, how buildings that should have been destroyed long ago were constantly forgotten and became epicenters for hackers and exploiters.
They always wanted to do something about it. And now they finally could. While he provided them with the information and sufficient equipment, Taph took care of going to the places and eliminating them.
So they started with what they would call in their mind their "other job." During their normal workday they did their respective demolitions, but in their free time they dedicated themselves to destroying the other sites they were informed about.
Even though what they were doing was not exactly the right thing, Taph felt good: good about themselves, good with what they were doing.
They could not help but feel a bit divided by their actions, though. They were directly opposing the HQ, the admins, their idols, to whom they had dedicated their entire life. But at the same time they were a bit resentful towards them, they never noticed them and they also did not take into account the problems that they saw.
Taph loved them, really, but they could not help but think that this was necessary something that they had been looking for for a long time and anyway, Taph would not deny that they were happy, they enjoyed too much being able to use their explosives for a cause greater than themselves, greater than their simple job as a demolisher.
Taph would never admit it, but deep down they did not only like being a demolitionist because it was the closest to being able to interact with the admins they could do...
They enjoyed the explosions, the destruction, they found something beautiful in the elimination of things, how the fire from the explosions disintegrated diverse materials and was reduced to small debris that barely resembled what they once were. They found it simply wonderful, it made them feel complete.
Yes, they enjoyed their job, but being able to eliminate experiences on their own allowed them a great freedom that they never had before, they could place the explosives they wanted in the way they wanted. They even started using their own explosive equipment created by themselves. (And they might have borrowed some others of these stored in one of the vaults inside the HQ... It is not like they would notice it in the first place anyway. They have already been under their possession for months).
They had a thing for explosions.
It is not that they were going to admit it, they were probably not aware of this fact either.
They felt useful. Even proud. They felt they were fulfilling their purpose in life, they could feel a confidence in themselves and their abilities that they never had before. But that, effectively, was their biggest mistake.
They began to focus so much on their work as a "vigilante" that they began to be negligent with their real job, they began to rush their demolitions just to be able to leave their workday early. They were no longer meticulous in the way they placed explosives, they no longer completed their reports with the same rigor and detail as before.
The straw that broke the camel's back was when, due to their rush and carelessness, they demolished the wrong house. That was bad, very bad.
They were lucky that there was no one inside when it happened, even more so that, despite everything, they still had the habit of taking out things that seemed to have emotional value (to give them to relatives of the banned user who would normally be the owner of the house) and they were able to give them back.
Damn, they were lucky directly not to be fired for their negligence.
There was already enough of a bad reputation towards demolitionists and with blowing up the homes of unjustly banned users, even more so with the clandestine eliminations of experiences for which they were responsible.
This mistake would not only make the scenario even worse for them and the other demolitionists, but it would put a direct target on them personally, if anything, the logical option really was to fire them.
But to their surprise, their sanction consisted of a warning, a temporary pay cut in compensation to the affected party (which was the least of their problems), and that now they had to be supervised during their demolitions. That last part seemed especially strange to them, supervisions were not common unless one is on probation to be promoted from assistant to demolisher (something they did years ago already).
They suppose it was the logical thing to be assigned a supervisor, although that meant they would not be able to do their “other job" with the same ease as before.
Taph was at home, specifically at their desk, looking at their panel at the most recent changes to their demolitionist file. In it was all their information, from their oldest jobs to their newest reports. Among that, their recent fault and the supervision indications.
The hooded one was reviewing specifically this last section to see if they had already been assigned the person in charge of watching them.
And 2x2, when they read the name of who it was, they almost had a heart attack.
Their supervisor was an admin.
And not just any admin, it was the legendary Dusekkar, one of the oldest and closest to Builderman!
Yes, there might barely be any public information regarding him, mostly his great contributions to the creation of experiences and that he was a powerful mage. But that was not the important thing, he was an admin! Finally an admin! It was almost a dream come true (Builderman was missing and it would be perfect).
They were so happy that they even let out a small trill of excitement, while hugging their panel still showing their file. If anything, this sanction was more like a prize than a punishment, maybe they should make more mistakes if they are going to end up meeting their idols for-
'No! Enough, Taph!' - They thought to themselves in an attempt to fix their composure and stop their intrusive thoughts.
'You are thinking like the hackers and exploiters!' — they reasoned
'They harm people intentionally to provoke and catch the attention of the admins, they directly oppose their work!'
'You are not like that! Everything you do, everything you are, is to help them, it is for them, the opposite of a hacker!' — they reminded themselves.
They gave a deep silent sigh, talking with him about the administration was affecting them a lot. They looked at their file again while they kept thinking about their situation:
'You only made a mistake that by chance caught the attention of someone from the high command'
Another sigh, they rested their elbow on the table and their head on their hand. They assumed a more thoughtful position
'Nothing ensures you won't end up being sent to the Banlands if you make a mistake again, much less in front of someone like the legendary Dusekkar'
Taph began to analyze more the fact that an administrator was going to supervise them. There was something more than being assigned a simple monitoring task from someone of the high command.
They carefully considered their situation. They did not know what it was going to be like to be under the watch of the mage, but if it was specifically Dusekkar who was going to watch them, it was because he wanted to find out something specifically, something about Taph, beyond making sure they did not make more mistakes.
Taph could be very distracted, maybe ignorant sometimes, but never foolish, they knew they were probably beginning to suspect that they were the one responsible for the recent illicit demolitions. But they knew there was no direct evidence against them, after all, they made sure that in each of their operations there was not a single clue that could incriminate them.
Probably, the biggest "proof" there is against them is that every image where the recent "vigilante" appears, they appear wearing clothes similar to their day-to-day garments.
Although, literally, under those conditions it could really be anyone hidden under a hood that coincidentally looks like the one Taph wears in their day-to-day life. Their hood was perhaps not the most common, but it was not something unique, plus what it represented was not exactly something unknown. Being a follower of the International Order of Buildmaster was quite common (even more so for the followers of Telamon).
The only thing where their garments really affected things, and where they truly coincided with the vigilante, was in hiding their appearance. Although, to be frank, Taph did it more to hide how they looked rather than their identity itself. All to hide their corvid nature.
In short, it would be foolish to look for the person responsible based only on clothing, there were too many factors still to consider to simply jump to conclusions.
And Taph knew this very well, it was effectively the reason why they have not bothered to modify how they dress. Nor was it like they had very different clothes, everything was cloaks from the International Order of Builders, with the only difference being the color.
With that in mind, then maybe there is another reason why they now suspect them... Maybe it is their introverted nature, scarce connections, and the fact that they do not really know anyone.
(Wow, that really sounds sad when they think about it like that)
Yes, that's probably it... They already know that even among the demolitionists themselves they are a weirdo. Unlike the other workers in their area, they usually demolish the least preferred and the worst seen, the homes.
They favor effectiveness over speed, doing their job with greater care to ensure that it turns out well (or at least they used to before their recent "job").
And not to mention that they prefer to work on their own rather than together with a team.
Although half of that is not their fault, they choose to demolish the homes because nobody else chooses to. Plus, they take the time to search for and give the items of value to the relatives of the user whose house it was. Everyone prefers to do the job quickly rather than ensuring it is well done. And most people are not going to bother learning sign language to communicate with them, and poor communication is what leads to most accidents in demolitions.
They really are doing everyone a favor by not forming bonds…
Why does that feel like something that goes beyond just their job?
'Yeah... That is probably why they suspect me' — Taph thought, a bit sad
Even in what should be the place where people of their kind are, they were an outcast...
The demolitionist gave another sigh (this time audible and sounding more like the coo of a dove) and began to make their next plan of action.
If they wanted to avoid being discovered, they would have to keep a low profile for long enough until they stop suspecting them.
They recapitulated their situation again: they had been meticulous enough in covering their tracks, most likely they only suspect them based on their behavior, so they just have to prove that they do their job well on their own and that they do nothing apart from it. If they fulfill that, it probably won't take long for them to forget about them and move on to the next demolitionist.
(They don't know why it hurt to think that they would forget about them)
So, even if they don't like it, they will have to pause their work as a "vigilante" until this whole situation passes.
After all, their job as a demolitionist was also important.
Not everything was so bad, they reminded themselves again. Their supervisor was an admin. Despite everything, it was undoubtedly another unique opportunity for them to be recognized.
They could even... No, no, it would be impossible... They would have to ask... but it cost nothing to dream…
They could manage to demonstrate in a closer way what they were capable of, to better demonstrate their potential to help the admins. Maybe convince them to be able to work directly with them. They could even, perhaps...
Become their friend...