Hacker Academy

Epilogue

Of all the situations that I could imagine meeting Perl again, I didn't think it would be like this. Her freshly manicured nails that are the colour of the HackCity sky digs into my neck. I can only let out a strangled groan. I can see burning hatred flaming in her grey eyes as she focuses on killing me with her very hands. 

I'm sure she must've waited for this moment ever since that day Cyber lurched for me and I slipped away from her grip as HackCity began to fall apart. The bright blue beam of the teleportation disc flashed in our faces, and that was the last time we saw her.

Now, she's crawled from the pits of New York to avenge herself and her mother. I can slowly feel the life being choked out of me, air slowly dissipating from my lungs and everything becoming humid. Time slows down as I steadily close my eyelids, gasping for life but horribly drowning at the same time.

I wake up in cold sweat.

I look around the bed I'm in. It's not the mouldy squeaky bed that my sister and I shared. It's not the small cramped up dorm I had to share with Unix, who easily took up most of the space with her stuff. It's a large bed big enough for two, with fluffy covers and feathered pillows. I rake my hand through my hair, which falls softly just below my shoulder-length. It's not the short boyish hair I had right before I transferred to Hacker Academy. If Domain saw me now, he'd have to rub his eyes twice to believe that I was the same person that I was in HackCity. I let out a breath, relieved and yet scared to death at the same time. It was just a dream.

I've had the same reoccurring dream ever since we destroyed HackCity and teleported back to New York. The places are different, and the ways she kills me are different, but again and again... it's always Perl coming back for revenge. I can feel my breaths becoming shallow and faster, and my pale hands are trembling in the dark. Will there come a day when it's not a dream?

A firm and reassuring hand pats me, slowly, lovingly. I lie down and huddle into his embrace.

"You okay?" His groggy voice is muffled into my hair.

My breathing begins to calm, matching the steady pace of his own. He's so warm.

"It's the same dream."

"Give it time, Ada." He says soothingly. "I'm here."

Just then, a sharp cry rings out. He groans and buries himself deeper in the covers.

"Go," I mutter.

"Why?" He mumbles into my neck.

"Because I'm tired."

"I could infiltrate the entire system of an underground city but I can't talk my wife out of anything."

"That and this are different things. Now go get the baby."

I can hear the pout in his tone. "No."

"Cyber."

"... That's my cue." With a kiss to my hair, he gets out of bed.

When morning comes, Chrys and I get ready for a special occasion today. As he cleans up the house to prepare for the arrival of the guests, I walk into the nursery room and gently bundle the baby into my arms. On cue, the doorbell rings. Chrys opens the door.

As I see the two figures arm in arm, they're just the same as I remembered them. They always stuck together. They always stuck by me, and there was no way I was going to forget them in our new lives. We may lead normal lives now, but we're still the same people. Only a little older, a little wiser.

"Congrats on the baby! You'll need this," Domain holds up a 6-pack crate of beer.

Maybe not that wise.

I groan. "Thank you for the kind gesture, but we still have what you brought last time."

Unix laughs, her laughter bubbling around the corners of the house. "That's what I thought, so I got you this!" She holds up a bag of baby clothes and toys.

"Thank you," I smile. "Let's open them together."

Once they come in and settle down on the sofas in the living room, Unix is enraptured with the sight of the baby.

"Is this...?" She points. I hold him closer for them to see.

"This is Timothy. Say hello to Uncle Dolan and Aunt Umiko."

Domain looks at me weirdly and wrinkles his nose. "It's weird when you call me that."

"It's not weird when you call me Ada."

"You never changed your name."

"He's beautiful," Unix says. The corner of her eyes begin to swell with tears, and Domain gives her a tight squeeze of endearment.

"Hey little guy." Domain lets Timothy wrap his tiny hand onto his pinky. "When you grow up, I'll tell you about how both your parents were Hacker Number 1s!"

I roll my eyes and smile. "Uncle Dolan will be passed out from the booze he bought before that."

"I'm an old man, Ada. I live a quaint life now."

The three of us eyed one another with knowing smiles. Out of all of us, Domain was the one who stayed as close as hacking as he could get. He's an IT professor and attends Hacker Conferences every year. Unix has a flower shop and teaches pottery classes on the side. Chrys is Chief Technology Officer at Cybersecurity Firms, and I manage a remote start-up that focuses on security enhancement. 

After Timothy was born, it began to get harder to manage both, and I've been considering about taking care of Timothy full-time. As much as I am involved in security for global enterprises, I had plenty of that in HackCity, and it's about time I focused on the security of my family.

The doorbell rings again, and Chrys gets up to open the door.

Speaking of family...

"Hey mom, come in," I hear Chrys say. Footsteps shuffle in and I smile when I see the two familiar figures come in.

Mom looks older now, with more wrinkles and a certain fragility to her, but she's much happier than before. Sister is much taller than me as she slings her backpack to the side. She's the valedictorian at her high school graduation, and I couldn't be more proud of her. Mom and sister, my first family, are doing well. My second family which I met on my initial arrival at Hacker Academy consisting of Domain and Unix are finding their own pathways in life, together. And my newest family consisting of me, Chrys, and Timothy is more than I could have ever asked for.

Our family is filled with the warmth of love and the security that we have one another in this big world. That's all that matters to me. Family.