Animator vs Animation: The Dark Web

Chapter 13: The Battle Strategy

authors note: Sorry for the inconvenience, but there will be no chapter art for this chapter and possibly the next. The reason being is that my Apple Pencil has not been working for the past few days, making it difficult for me to draw. However, to make it up, I will show extra doodles at the end. Happy reading!

A lot has changed in the past few days ever since The Dark Lord's visit.

The town was still recovering from the shock, but there had been a change of visions, especially ones towards The Chosen One. He was once seen as the bringer of destruction from his history with The Dark Lord, but his defiance against him had shown otherwise. Because of his resistance, Rouge has grown an unlikely respect towards him, and they get along smoothly. Whatever tension he and The Chosen One once had seemed to vanish.

And as for the plans, Rouge and Valhalla have been successful. With Valhalla's insider knowledge of the Codeborn and Rouge's intellect, they have been fortunate with hypotheses and a few ideas. Rouge has also learned more about the members themselves; the ranks, the missions, everything from Valhalla's experience.

Valhalla shone light to the ranks and how they are in a fight; the Followers are little more than Queen of Hearts' pawns, only devoting their hearts to the cause but most likely to retreat. The Hunters, the most active of the ranks, could pose a serious threat, but easier to counter. But as for the Officials—it was a different story. They were like Queen of Hearts' elite soldiers; their power together was like a clan of viruses.

Rouge couldn't help but feel his heart ache. Among those Officials was Wisteria. All the solutions they mustered led to one thing; to spare the Officials, to spare Wisteria, and in order to do that led to another search.

They even delved deeper to figuring out how the glitch worked in their eyes; the original source spreads the glitch throughout the world like a pandemic through control, and the controller was one figure in particular. Not only was Queen of Hearts the leader of the Codeborn, but she also controlled the glitch. This explained the Officials' elite position and the Color Gang's unusual behaviors.

But one question left them stumped; what was the original source of the red glitches? Was it a corrupted file hidden somewhere in the heart of the Codeborn? Was the source Queen of Hearts herself? Any theories that came up didn't make sense. Saving the world—sparing the Officials and saving the Color Gang—would be out of the question if they didn't find the answer any sooner.

The Second Coming slumped from his chair, his head feeling like it would hurt. Rouge and Lace White exchanged quiet conversations as Rouge sketched on the parchment of a scroll. Across from them, Valhalla gave The Chosen One a cup of cold tea, who casually boiled it from the inside with his palm.

Valhalla glanced at The Second Coming, his face buried in his hands in exhaustion and frustration. Valhalla's expression softened as he approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

But The Second Coming felt the pressure. His friends were part of the Codeborn—and he didn't do anything because he was tied in the Queen's stupid red strings. He jolted upright, flinging his arms into the air in irritation, startling Valhalla.

Valhalla watched as The Second Coming glanced at Rouge and Lace White, carrying the fresh parchment of paper to the chalkboard where the rest of their plans were pinned. They hoisted the paper onto place before walking away together to a shelf, continuing to engage in conversation.

The Second Coming's gaze trailed from one note to another before landing onto a detailed sketch of Queen of Hearts. She was depicted accurately menacing, her back turned as she held up a hand that transformed into a sharp dragon's claw. Atop her head is her signature crown, but something about it pulled his attention.