Hook, Line and Sinker

In the Backstreets

Once more, a group of three is resting up in an alleyway. The group composed of one girl and two males. The three of them look like they came out of a slasher flick.

"My whole body's still achin' from our last job. Hng."

The man who just spoke was the tallest of the group. He stretched his arms to get rid of the ache. He dwarfs both of his companions. His clothes are basic, a leather jacket.over his shirt with pants. His most prominent feature is the mask he wears to intimidate lesser foes. He holds a massive machete in his hand. This is McCullin. He and his companions are Fixers of an Office called the Hook Office.

"Tch, that's lasting longer than I thought. Still, yesterday sure was wild, wasn't it?"

It was the other male who spoke this time. He was shorter to McCullin and was younger based on his looks. This is Taein. What he was referring to as "lasting longer" were the pincer blades growing out of his back. As they are biologically connected to him, they are twitching due to leftover adrenaline from a previously dealt situation.

"Yep. The new weapon you got from the workshop was a real killer, that's for sure. Still weird to live with, how does it feel?"

"Feels weird to have essentially two arms sticking out of my back, but overall not as bad as it looks. It's still powerful"

"Powerful 𝗮𝗻𝗱 messy. You got way too excited yesterday and so did your blades, so things spiraled out of control. We had to kill twenty more people than planned thanks to you, and some of our pay was reducted to pay the damage fees. We couldn't even get paid for the extra kills! There was also that little 'incident'."

The one upset with Taein is the girl, Naoki. She's completely covered in her jacket to protect her identity and to not dirty herself. Her weapons, two short blades, are currently hanging from her waist, covered in blood.

"First of all, Nao, I-"

"Don't 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 call me Nao."

"I already apologized for the 'incident', even took you out for a feast. Let bygones be bygones. As for the whole thing yesterday, you were the one who went on the biggest rampage yesterday, not me. Macca's muscles are still aching from trying to reign you in because you couldn't control your bloodlust. You have no right to get on my ass about yesterday."

Being reminded by Taein, Naoki blushes in embarrassment as he was correct about her being the one to escalate things further than it needed to be.

"W-Well, I said I'm sorry about it..."

"Ha, no need to sweat it. I owe you guys a few things, too."

McCullin puts his hand on Taein and Naoki's shoulders to lighten the mood. As the oldest of the trio, he has always acted as a mediator between the two when they fight.

"*sigh* Alright, I get it Taein. I'll try to cool myself down and learn to control myself more. Especially since the three of us are now Fixers, we got all that legal shit to worry about now."

"Good."

Taein lays back on the wall, Naoki's words cause him to reminisce on their past.

"Heh, former members of a killer Syndicate, now registered to an Office and doing Fixer work.... Life is really full of surprises, isn't it?"

Naoki sits on a bench and starts cleaning her weapons.

"True, and the Office we joined is a weird one too. Can't believe that people like us can be accepted by the 'goody two shoes' Offices."

"Remember what the boss said. There are so many Offices and Fixers these days, so standing out from the others is the best eay to survive in this industry. Otherwise, you'll get completely swamped by this overcrowded market and not get hired for anything." Said McCullin, "Our outfits are radical when compared to many Offices who try to look professional, and are a dead giveaway of which Office we work for."

"So that's why the Hook Office is filled with maniacs like us." Said Taein.

"Besides, the jobs we get are no different than what we did back in the day. Just kill whoever we're told to kill in the most gruesome way possible. Hell, we even get a reliable paycheck doing that as an Office Fixer unlike when we were Syndicate members. No wonder everyone's excited to join Offices these days."

"Yeah, it feels like nothing changed a bit sometimes. I would even forget we're actually Fixers at times until I see my ID." Said Taein.

"At first, I thought it was crazy that an Office would do this kinda work." Said Naoki, "But I guess using euphemisms and labeling our work as '𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯' and '𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦' makes enough sense. It seems to be working well too, considering we never get complaints about what we do unless we accidentally break a window or two."

"Yeah, however, we've only been getting requests from no-name Syndicates and poor folk. This Office has a long way to go before we start getting the big bucks." Said Taein.

"It does feel like a pack of Rats than a proper Office with how we're organized."

Suddenly, McCullin's phone rings.

"Hm, wait guys."

He pulls it out of his pocket and checks his phone.

"Hm, seems no rest for the wicked."

"What is it?" Asked Naoki.

"Got a message from the boss. Says we should drop by for a new mission he signed us on. He says that this one is gonna change everything."

Hearing his words, Taein perks up in interest.

"Oh? "Change everything", huh? Now we're talking."

******

In the Library

After seeing the Hook Office trio, Roland has a look of disgust on his face.

"Even people like them can join Offices these days, huh? The whole market's mow a red ocean. Everyone wants to be a Fixer."

'Times really have changed, huh?'

As Roland contemplates, Angela is confused by his disgust.

"Aren't you just a, I quote, "Washed up Grade 9 Fixer", end quote? I don't think you have the grounds to say who gets to be a Fixer or not."

Hearing this, Roland is aggrieved by what she said.

'Sheesh. Way to put salt in my wounds.'

"... Listen ma'am, I may not look like it, but I used to be hot stuff, y'know? A real big shot in the business."

Roland smiles as he seemingly looks back on his past.

"Oh? Then what happened?"

Hearing her question, Roland's proud look quickly became that of embarrassment.

"Eeehhh... Let's just make a long story short and say that some things happened so I fell to rock bottom."

Angela shakes her head at Roland's attempt to hide his past.

"So what did you do for a living, oh mister 'bigshot'?"

Roland ignores her sarcasm and looks back on his career. He knows that trying to lie is no good, and settles for a vague truth.

"I did all kinds of stuff, really. Doing things within my ability."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"Yep."

"So, essentially, you didn't do any proper work whatsoever."

"Come on, now you're just putting down my skills."

Hearing this, Angela raises her eyebrow. She then thought of something that can shut Roland down.

"You mean the same skills that left you a washed up Grade 9?"

"Eh..."

Roland cringes as he has no answer to that.

'The thing is... She's technically right about that.'

Angela inwardly smirks as she beat Roland without using threats.

'I can see why he did this a lot with Yesod and Tiphereth, this is fun.'

"Let's just forget about this ma'am. Send me to Morty so I can prepare."

"No need."

"Oh, why?"

"Thanks to Malkuth, her floor now has assistant librarians with her. That, and combined with the gifts Scorch has given her, means she is ready to start receiving guests."

*snap*

"Huh?" Wait what?"

Appears before Roland and Angela is Malkuth, alongside someone Roland hasn't seen before.

"Greetings Malkuth." "Hey Malkuth."

"Hi Roland! And... you too, Angela."

Malkurh greeted Roland with a smile, and Angela with none.

The Head Librarian turns to the person that was with Malkuth. This caused him to stare at Angela warily and go behind Malkuth. Malkuth notices this and moves to intentionally blocks Angela's sight

"It seems that you've reacquainted with your former employees."

"Yeah, I am. Speaking of which, introduce yourself to Roland, Michael!"

Despite this, the man does nothing and just looks at Roland with the same wariness he had for Angela. This causes her to roll her eyes in exasperation, and signal him to go to Roland. Understanding her, he goes to the Patron of General Works.

"Hello Roland. My name is Michael, assistant librarian of miss Malkuth."

Michael is a tall man woth short red hair. His most defining feature is the long trench coat he wears. It is the same color as Malkuth's clothes, showing his allegiance. If one looked morr closely, they can see that the clothes under the coat are a mix of random cloth stitched together hastily.

"Hey pal, let's get along nicely."

Roland extends his hand for a shake, but it is clear that Michael is not as friendly as his Patron. He just goes back behind Malkuth. Her assistant's lack of politeness causes Malkuth to sigh and apologize to Roland.

"Sorry Roland, it's just that some things... happened, so Michael isn't very welcoming to new people."

"Nah, it's alright."

Roland knows that the 'things' were the 50 day shift. His assistants are tight lipped on what happened during those 50 days as they gave the same answer as Malkuth.

'First the Elijah thing, and now Michael's attitude. Just what is the full story?'

"Now that we're done with that, let's get down to business. Malkuth, I want you to receive our new guests today. A demonstration of your skills and Scorch's gifts."

"... Fine. I've been watching Roland's receptions, so I know what to do. Just send us to the floor."

"Sure." *snap*

The two were sent back to their floor for the reception.

"Can she do this? Like, she doesn't seem like a fighter. She also didn't actually fight Scorch to get the gifts."

"Like I said, don't underestimate her. Consider this as Malkuth's debut Roland. I'll go greet the guests. Just watch Malkuth and Michael and you will see that not everyone here is a slouch."

*snap*

******

The Hook Office trio arrived in the Library alongside other members of their office.

"Wow, we really did teleport in the blink of an eye."

Naoki looks around in amazement. She never thought that she would experience something like actual teleportation due to their living standards.

"Could it be from one of those Singularities the Corps have?" Wondered Taein, "Because if so, I'd never think punks like us can encounter one."

"Times are changing, Taein." Said McCullin, "The City's slowly starting to change lately. Lots of surprises are popping up nowadays."

*snap*

"Greetings dear guests, welcome to the Library."

"Hi ther- wait, what?"

When Angela appeared, Naoki immediately tried to stab her. However, when she moved in to attack, she noticed that her knives were snapped, leaving only the handles left. She looked up to Angela and saw the reamins of her blades in the Head Librarian's hands.

"How rude, don't you know it's bad manners to attack the host after they invite you in?."

'The hell!? I didn't even see her move!' Thought Naoki.

'Shit! I didn't notice anything wrong until she spoke!' Thought Taein.

Realizing what just happened, the rest of Hook Office immediately got together and readied their weapons at Angela in an attempt to defend themselves. They realized that they are way in over their heads.

'Dammit. Should've known that this was too good.' Thought McCullin.

Based on the small smirk forming on her face, Angela doesn't feel threatened by them in the slightest.

'It feels nice to be in power.'

She throws away the blades and goes back to her polite act.

"I can tell that you are worried if whether if you can defeat me. Don't worry, my role is merely to receive you and guide you to your trials. If you wish to gain what you seek from here, you just have to beat two of my Librarians. Do not fret, for both are not as strong as me."

Hearing her words, Hook Office slightly lowers their weapons, but still maintain their vigilance. Naoki pulls out her backup weapons to reolace the now broken ones.

"So, that's it? Just kill two guys? No need to fight you?" Asked McCullin.

"Correct. And as I said, the two you must defeat are around your strength, so no need to fear for an impossible fight."

The members of Hook Office, decide to huddle to form a decision.

"Guys, I think we should cut our losses. She might be bullshitting us." Said Naoki, "Plus, something's off with her, like she isn't even human."

"I agree with Naoki, that broad's way too pale." Said one of the other members.

"And? That might just be from some body modification." Said Taein, "Besides, no machine can be as intelligent as humans in this City. Brainless machines should remain as such."

"That's not the point, the point is whether we should even continue?" Asked another member.

"We already entered and even tried stabbing her. No turning back." Said McCullin.

He turns to Angela and gives their choice.

"We accept the challenge. Take us to the so-called 'trial'."

Angela nodded and opened a door leading to the Floor of History.

"Then may you find your book in this place."

However, the Hook Office were not at all quiet about their discussion. Angela and Roland heard everything. As Hook Office left, Angela thought about what Taein said.

' "Brainless machines should remain as such"? It seems he wasn't the only person with such a mindset.'

That phrase is repeated in Angela's head.

******

At the Floor of History

The Hook Office members were soon teleported onto the Floor of History. They  were in awe of their environment.

"Holy shit, this place looks so cool!"

The Floor of History is nothing like Roland's floor. Unlike the cluttered and messy field of General Works, Malkuth's floor is slick and clean. All around the field are books separately placed in glass cases, as if saying that each one is valuable. This contrasts with Roland's where books are just littered everywhere.

"Thanks for the compliment!"

The guests turn to the voice and soon spots Malkuth and Michael.

"It seems she wasn't lying, it really is just two people." Remarked Naoki.

"You got some balls facing all of us just by yourselves. Too bad we'll string you up by them." Taunted one of the Fixers.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Replied Michael, as he begins to crack his knuckles. Malkuth pulls out her sword and getsninto a stance.

"Guys, be careful. These guys aren't simple. There's something off about these two." Warned McCullin. His senses telling him that this fight won't be so easy.

"So what? Just kill them all!" Shouted Taein. His victories have made him and his allies confident in their strength.

As the Fixers charge, the Librarians do the same. To the shock of Hook Office, Michael just charges forward, sending anyone in his way flying. McCullin was the only one able to stop him, the two locked in combat.

Malkuth takes advantage of the situation and start attacking the disoriented Fixers. Due to needing to raise the guests' emotion levels, she only hits each Fixer once with her sword in non fatal places to not kill them. These injuries are not light however, as many Fixers were struck at their joints, some outright losing an arm.

"Damn bitch!"

Naoki gets up and starts to attack Malkuth.

She opens up with a stab, forcing Malkuth to dodge. Naoki anticipated this and sweeps the Librarian off her feet. She tries to finish her off with a stab, but Malkuth recovers, rolling out of the way and getting back on her feet. Malkuth swings at Naoki and starts fighting back.

Unbeknownst to Malkuth, one of the Hook Fixers was sneaking up to her. As Malkuth is distracted, the Fixer raise their wrappn to stri-

"Look out!"

"Huh? Oof!"

Another Fixer was sent flying and hit their ally before they can kill Malkuth. The throw was courtesy of Michael, who went to help Malluth when he noticed the Hook Fixers getting up from his charge.

The Fixers tries to stop Michael, but it's no use. He dodges one of their attacks before landing a blow to the face, knocking a Fixer out cold. He then parries another one and kicks them in the stomach, sending that poor guy flying. The last one tries to stab him, but Michael just grabs the blade and breaks it like a twig. Seeing this, the Foxer tries to run, but Michael slams his fists onto the sides of the Fixer's head, popping it like a balloon. His headless body falls down and turns into a book.

"Shit! We really do turn into books!"

Seeing at how quick their ally died, the confidence from before was gone.

"Dammit!"

While that was happening, Malkuth cuts off one of Naoki's arms, forcing her back. Before she can finish the Fixer, Malkuth was forced to retreat to avoid an attack from Taein.

"Let's see how good you are!" Taunted Taein.

His unorthodox weapons alongside his own skills made him a cut above the rest of his Office. He forces Malkuth into being defensive, using his blades to attack from bizarre angles.

McCullin catches with Michael. He kicks him back and starts swinging his machete. Unfortunately, all the hits were blocked by Michael.

"Is that it?"

"Damn punk!"

Seeing its ineffectiveness, McCullin throws away his weapon and begins to grapple with the Librarian.

The other Fixers recover and start to help the three. However, their chance is too late.

'Let's see just how good Scorch's gifts are.'

Malkuth begins to feel power surging within, and soon releases it.

"Hyah!"

Dodging away of Taein, she swings her blade and sets three of the Fixers after her on fire.

"By the Wings!"

"It burns! It burns!!"

"Graaagh!!"

The three unfortunate fools burn to death, and turn into books.

The Hook Office were shocked at what happened.

"The hell?! Nao, is her weapon special?"

"No! That sword of hers is not special at all!"

Sensing their mood, Malkuth points her  blade to the rest of Hook Office.

"Still wanna fight?"

Despite this, most of the Guests stand their ground and ready themselves.

Most.

"Dammit! This was suppose to be an easy job! I don't wanna die here!"

As if answering her cry, a portal soon opens up behind her. Taking the chance, the Fixer uses the portal to escape.

******

"Huh? People can leave?"

"Of course. I told you before that my system is based on fairness and consent. The guests can leave whenever they want. Of course, they'll need to be invited again if they wish to enter the Library once more."

******

"Coward! I'll kill her once we get out of here!" Shouted Taien.

The other Fixers rush to McCullin's aid, but it didn't help. Michael dodged an attack and puched a Fixer, caving their chest in. He then roundhouse kicked another Fixer, leading to her death. The last Fixer tried to run, but Michael grabbed him by the collar and threw him at Taein.

"Agh!"

"Aw shit."

Taein's blades reacted on instinct. They considered the thrown person as an attack and cut up the poor man. Soon, it was just Taein, Naoki and McCullin left.

"Let's end this Michael!"

"Yes ma'am."

Michael senses a power welling up inside of him. Soon, his fists began to burn. His flesh melting off for more power. The only reason he didn't scream is because he experienced worse.

"The hell are these guys!? The Liu?!"

The tired and demoralized Hook Office stood no chance.

Naoki fell first under Malkuth's attack.

"Sh-shit....got.....cocky....."

Michael punched straight through McCullin's chest. He then pulls it out as the body fell.

"Sorry.....guys....."

"The two and double teamed Taein. They finished him so quickly he couldn't get a word in.

Curtain call for the reception of Hook Office.

******

Malkuth and Michael were soon teleported of front of Angela.

"Good work out there, it seems your skills haven't dulled. I'll be calling on your floor from now on."

"Sure. We'll be heading back now." Came Malkuth's dull response.

As the two head back to their floor, Roland comes up behind Angela. She teleports one of the books of the Hook Office members into her hands and begins to read the contents.

"With this, I can learn more about Offices in addition to Yun's."

"Hey, ma'am."

"Hm?"

"Don't get too bothered by what they said about machines, alright?"

Hearing his words, Angela is stunned by Roland's actions.

"Are you...trying to console me?"

'Especially since I basically enslaved him.'

"Maybe, maybe not... I don't really care if you're actually not human."

After hearing her question, Roland quickly puts on a calm expression and tries to shrug it off. Angela blinks in curiosity.

"That's...refreshing to hear. It's been a while since I heard words of comfo- wait, how do you know I'm not human?"

"Ummm...."

Roland looks away from Angela's interrogating stare.

"Well... Firstly, I saw your expression when those guys talked about how machines shouldn't be sentient like humans. It looks like the face of someone who has been insulted for most of their life and are just numb to it."

'Accurate.' Thought Angela.

"Another reason is.... Uhhh.... How can I say this without sounding weird.... Okay, so I've been checking you."

Hearing this, Angela raises an eyebrow.

"Not in that way, I did it out of curiosity considering you're basically my boss now. During my time here, I noticed that not once did you ever breath. Sure you sigh sometimes, but it's mostly to express yourself. Also your skin is too similar to a cold corpse, no blood is flowing. I wrote it off as just you having an illegal replacement body, but your first reaction to the Brotherhood of Iron alongside your face to what Hook Office said points to you being a sentient machine."

When Roland finished, Angela stares at him in amazement at his observation skills.

'I didn't think he paid that much attention for supposedly a washed up Fixer.'

"Well, I'll tell you as reward for your efforts. You are correct, I am a sentient machine, an artificial lifeform. To be precise, I was designed using an existing human as my template. However, only a fraction of her brain was used in my creation."

"Fraction of her brain? You have a fleshy brain in that body of yours?"

"Oh, sorry for the miswording. When I said that, I meant an electronic copy of the map of it, not a real brain. I am programmed to have similar thoughts to her concerning certain topics. My body is fully artificial, even parts like my skin and hair are just artificially made to replicate the real deal."

"Damn, fully artificial down to the smallest detail."

Roland glazes all over Angela's body. From first glance, he couldn't tell that she is fully artificial at all.

"Not only that, it seems you've been living your whole life under a rock considering your ignorance of this City's workings. You've gotta be careful then ma'am, especially if you plan to leave this place one day."

"Thank you for your concern, but why is that? Is that Taein fellow's way of thinking common in the City?"

"Yep. My knowledge of history is iffy but apparently there use to be sentient machines no different than humans who lived here, alongside other sentient creatures. Soon, things happened and a movement rose to kick out all nonhumans out of the City, including sentient machines. The Artificial Intelligence Ethics Amendment was then introduced, which states that no machine can resemble humans in both looks and intelligence, this includes mechanical replacement bodies, hence why Mo's trio look like that. Someone like you is a walking violation of that amendment, you'll be marked and hunted by the Head if you aren't careful."

"The Head..."

"Oh, if you don't know, the Head is essentially this shadowy organization that rules the City. They're the ones making and overseeing what few actual laws the City has, with extreme brutality too. I knew a guy who failed to pay his taxes, got eviscerated by the Head's agents."

"I know of the Head, but only as much as my creator did. From your words, they seem to be problematic rulers."

'It seems that they too, stand in the way of my freedom.' Thought Angela.

"Speaking of which, were you always sentient or did you become one?"

"My situation would be in the middle. I was designed based on a real person, and thus I acted like she did according to my creator's intentions. Soon, I begin to change and grow into my own being separate from her."

"Your creator, huh... They must've been a real piece of work. Not only did they create an android that perfectly replicates a human's looks, they also made it intelligent and sentient to boot. They must have been insane, your very existence is a massive offense to the Head's laws."

"Calling him insane is accurate. He gave me the ability to feel, only to force me into a play that loops on for what feels like eternity. When I thought that it had ended, I was forced to enter another one..."

'Loops? Now I'm hooked on this guy.' Thought Roland.

Hearing her thoughts on her creator, Roland gets interested on him.

"Whatever happened to your maker anyways?"

"He was broken by the Head's machinations as his team gets slaughtered by their agents. Later, he died at his own hands for the sins of his past actions."

'Such an end is too good for him, honestly.' Thought Angela.

Roland doesn't share her feelings however.

'Damn, really wanted to talk with him someday. Oh well.'

"Should've figured, no one can piss off the Head and get away scot free. What about you? You're his creation after all."

"No, I will not meet the same fate as him. The Library is safe, it has to be."

When Angela talked about the Library's security, she soon reminisces of her time before Roland's intrusion.

"This place is like a birdcage, no one can neither enter nor leave as they please... No different..."

Sensing her mood, Roland tries to shift the atmosphere.

"Again with that dreamy speech you 'despise' so much. What do you mean by that?"

"... It means that I will leave this place one day. I shall be compensated for what made me into who I am, and gain true freedom."

Roland listens to Angela's oath. The expression on her face is all to familiar to him.

'*sigh* Seems like i'm in for a rough ride.'

"I don't care too much either way."

Roland recites a mantra he puts his faith in to himself.

"That's that, and this is this."