Stealing My Way To Power

Cole woke up feeling an odd mixture of emotions. There was no grand confrontation at the end of his epic quest. There was not even a mildly discomforting conversation at the end of the day.

That notion should not have him feeling an odd mixture of emotions but it certainly did.

Worrying for what was to come and how he was going to handle it. Fear over the impending danger he was going to put himself through. Elation over finally having the power to fight back against this cruel fate of his.

Those emotions ran through his mind at speeds that felt blinding. Yet, even as confused as he was about his coming future he was able to get a handle on himself.

Cole left his room feeling an odd sense of trepidation. That conversation that he was expecting when he got home yesterday did not happen but it could happen now.

So he left his room with that thought at the forefront of his mind. Thankfully he was greeted with the sight of his familiar empty home.

Either his father never came home yesterday or he left rather early in the morning. Whatever the case may be seeing that empty room gave him a sense of relief.

Cole knew that it was only a matter of time before things came crashing around him. That even if he escaped that dreaded conversation for today that it would eventually rear its ugly head once more.

Still he took solace in the fact that it was not going to happen in this moment.

He got ready while eating his breakfast. Plans and plots blazing through his head as he tried to figure out what he was going to do.

He knew way more about the bigger picture of this world than any other person except for the Warrior himself. Cole could even argue that he knew more than the giant space whale.

Yet even knowing the things that he knew he was still floundering for a plan. He had spent his entire lifetime here wallowing in grief and despair. Even as those painful emotions subsided he was still not thinking of the future just living in the present.

It was an escape from what he knew to be a doomed failure of a earth. The very best outcome that this world could provide was an apocalyptic scenario.

A body count that would defy someone's expectations running nearly infinite in scale. For the survivors what greeted them at the end of that grand battle was not salvation but more strife.

The various powerful Shards vying for control and domination over others. In a similar fashion to his own Shard's theft of the network.

There was no happy ending in a world like this that was something he had long since learned. This entire world was built to reflect upon the ugly nature of humans as they strive to survive and better themselves.

Those were the type of thoughts that ran through Cole's head until very recently. He would not say that his assessment of what this world meant was meaningless but he had new opportunities now.

A better prospect than simply hoping and praying for salvation when he knew none was coming. The system had given that deadcore of Hope in his chest a single ember to reignite.

He knew that the coming times were going to be difficult. He knew that when push came to shove he would not necessarily have the conviction needed to fight for what he wanted. That he had given up on life in the face of crushing despair and overwhelming power before.

Yet, even knowing his own cowardly nature he was still striving to go forward. If only for the fact that he was selfish enough to want to hold the things he held dear close to his chest.

Still, even if he was adamant about going forward he was not having much success planning. He knew that the only path forward was with his System as he did not have the necessary power to protect everything in this moment.

So any plots and plans of taking out the Warrior or preventing the apocalyptic situation coming was put to the back burner. Well, he did have one solid plot that he was fairly confident in.

Jack needed to die and he needed to die sooner rather than later. If that asshole found himself dying in a ditch the world could peter on for a little longer. He was the one that kick-started Golden Morning after all.

That fucking edge lord chose the death of everything to satisfy his fucking ego. He was the last domino in the cascading effect that would lead to destruction instead of feeling fear or anxiety over it Jack rejoiced in his role.

 A truly sick creature that needed to be put down despite his Shard begging every other shard to please leave their Jackie alone.

How he was going to go about killing Jack was still up in the air but he knew it needed to be done. The easiest way for Cole to take care of Jack was to steal his power and watch as the S9 crumbled in on themselves.

So that should count as a somewhat valid plot for the future. Anything else was coming up rather blank for him at the moment.

Cole figured it could wait as he pursued power using his newfound system. He should focus in on making plans for heists as he advanced his own powers.

Kaito Kid had planned thousands of high-risk heists and pulled all of them off. So Cole was going to lean in on his experience despite the fact that Kaito kid was rather cocky.

Cole wandered off to school as he was running late with his plots running through his mind.

Winslow as always was a complete shit show upon his arrival. Hordes of chittering and chattering teenagers sprawled about everywhere. That was an okay sight to see but it was the teenagers themselves that drew worry.

Various gang colors and memorabilia were worn proudly as they faced each other. Some dressed more expensively than others but the influence that crime had over this school was absurd.

Ethnic variety was wide and varied but everyone was completely and utterly segregated. Dazed and confused teenagers high off of some sort of drug they had taken. Those not associated with any of the gangs cowering and hiding away from the clear animosity in the air.

It was not a pretty sight to see this bright and early in the morning. Yet it was a sight that he had grown used to seeing every morning it was in his everyday schedule after all.

Cole slunk his way into the school ignoring anyone that even looked at him. That was the sort of reaction that the crowd had grown used to seeing from him. Yet, no one touched him as he still had the protection of the Empire even if he made his lack of interest in anything related to them clear.

As loathed as he was to admit it he never really cut complete ties with the Empire he had only voiced his objections to Tammi and his father after all. It was a shame relying on Nazis for protection but he had a feeling his school life would be hell without it. At least that was the case before he received his system.

He wandered the hallways trying to distract himself. As he made his way to his first class he spotted her. The real big hero of this story. The only person that was able to pull off a pyrrhic victory against the Warrior. Taylor Hebert the queen of escalation herself.

She did not look like a person who could face a literal Kaiju with nothing but bugs at her call. She also did not look like a god killer in the making. No, she looked like a nerdy girl that was into band class.

Large framed glasses lay on her face. Large expressive eyes told him she made a poor choice of glasses. Wide lips that looked odd on her but only because she was growing into herself. A rail-thin frame almost bony with a height that was well beyond most girls.

She did not look as ugly as she described herself. No, she just looked like a girl growing into her own body. She was staring inside of her locker at something trying to hype herself up.

The bullying against her was rather minor so far. Lots of veiled comments and putting down her appearance. It had not reached a point where they really pushed her but it would.

Being Taylor was suffering after all.

He got a glimpse of Sophia and Emma snickering to themselves with a malicious glint promising pain to Taylor. Cole was going to ignore it. This was all a part of the plan after all but there was something about their gaze that had him on edge.

They were not looking at him of course. He may be a very pretty peacock but being part of the Nazi crew was not going to drag Sophia's gaze to him. And Emma is a lost cause too caught up in her pursuit to prove herself strong.

The problem was they were not looking at Taylor either. No, they were looking at what was inside her locker and that notion brought hesitation in him. He could not figure out why but he needed to know by this point.

So he stepped to a place where he could get a peek at what they were all so focused on. He looked over and caught sight of a long silver flute. Clearly expensive as most musical instruments were but it was not the value that had his breath hitching.

That Flute was Taylor's most precious reminder of her mother. A totem against all that was wrong in her world. Something that was so precious to her that it could ward off all the negative things in her life at least for a little while.

He could see it all happening now. Taylor was using that Flute to distract herself from the barbed words coming from her former best friend. She had a certain strength of will but her self-esteem was bottoming out at the moment so she needed it here with her. It was a stupid decision to bring something so precious to her to school but he could see why she did it.

Judging from the snickering coming from Emma and the glint in her eyes she saw an opportunity to push Taylor further. To break the girl that she once found stronger than anyone she knew. It was a strange notion to get behind but the reason Emma tried to break Taylor was not because she hated the weakness she saw in her but because she was trying to prove her own strength.

Taylor while devastated with her Mother's death and the guilt that hovered over her in her part in it still stood strong. Instead of despairing and walking around lifeless like her Father Taylor was able to move past it. Emma saw the strength in such an act and decided to break Taylor to prove she was stronger.

Strong enough to maybe move past her own trauma. It was a strange and absurd concept but Emma had been spiraling for a good long while, and no one had tried to help the girl.

He could see exactly what was going to happen as he already knew all the parts of this story. While Taylor was in class Sophia would steal the flute from her locker. They would then break it with malicious glee and throw that solemn object into the trash.

They would spend the rest of the day throwing veiled comments at Taylor poking at the truth of their actions but never saying what they did. Taylor would become more and more worried throughout the day, and then she would find her locker empty. She would scramble all throughout the night looking for it only to find it broken and shattered in the dumpster behind the school.

A knife that was stabbed into the most vulnerable part of humanity the metaphorical heart. Taylor would grow stronger over this event eventually but on this day a part of her heart will break apart.

Cole should just look away. Cole should just pretend that he was fine with what was happening. This was all a part of the plan. He needed Taylor to break to get stronger. To protect all that he held dear and even take the load off of this frail girl in front of him. He knew exactly what he should do…..Yet, his heart raced and he felt bile building up in his throat at the thought of letting this come to pass.

Memories of his mother singing him to sleep. Of her promising him the world as she stood over his bed telling stories that burned a familiar tune. Her standing proudly over him as she gushed about some minor achievement he had. The warmth of her smile as she looked at him with love that was oh so unfamiliar to him.

The smell of ash in the air. The nightmares of her being riddled with bullets and falling in despair in the face of cruel reality. Nights spent sobbing into his bed as he tried to get some semblance of control of himself. The guilt and self-loathing that made up his life for the longest time.

Those memories and feelings burned so bright for him right now. As he saw Taylor closing her locker and getting ready to get to class he felt his heart drop. Could he really leave this girl to wallow like this? To let the last reminder of her Mother be broken apart and thrown away like a piece of trash. Like the life that she lived did not really matter to the world, that her body was just that.

He knew that he could but….he also knew that he did not want to. The System may have given Cole hope in this despairing world but it did not change him that much. He was still that boy who stood helplessly in front of those prison bars. He was still that boy who could not break the heart of one girl even if it meant it was for the best.

So while the hallways cleared out he went to her locker and broke in using his skills as a thief. The locker opened with a sense of foreboding as if taunting him for his weakness, but he threw the flute into his inventory replacing it with a fake. Thank God Kaito had a variety of props that could help him craft a credible replacement.

He went back to his class with thoughts and feelings running through his mind. He regretted getting involved but at the same time, there was this weight lifted from his chest.

Cole did not think he was a good man. He was pretty sure if push came to shove he would kill to protect what was his but…he wanted to try. He wanted the despair that hung over his shoulders to not be so dark.

He wanted a world in which his mother could have been proud to live in. He wanted to crawl his way out of this dark abyss and there was no way of doing that by letting this ink drag others in front of him.

He wanted to be that hero that he dreamed of all those ages ago even if he knew he did not deserve to be one. Even if his motives were more in line with mending his own scared heart. He wanted to at least try to make this world a little brighter.

He might regret this. Hell, he already regretted it a little but he would face the coming conflicts with a clear heart. If that meant that he would have to try harder to bring about peace then so be it. For the first time in his life, he managed to gather the will to fight and bleed for something and he was not going to let go of that feeling.

The coming classes were filled with buzzing energy in him as he faced the boring subjects with energy building up. The boring mundane subjects never really caught his thoughts as his mind was already on something else. He spent the rest of the day in that state simply waiting for what was to come.

As the final bell rang for the day he left his class feeling an odd sense of floating. When he left that room he could already see Taylor bolting from her own classroom with a desperate urgency. She reached her locker with the surrounding students watching her in interest.

Her fingers fumbled with the lock likely messing up the code several times in her haste but eventually, she opened it up. He could see the tense and worried energy surrounding her. When she caught sight of that empty locker her heart dropped and he could see the hurt, pain, confusion, and utter despair radiating off of her.

Taylor spun around and looked at one particular person who was watching Taylor with malicious glee. In this moment he could see why Taylor Hebert could become someone capable of fighting against a hopeless fate.

 Her eyes were blazing, their large expressive nature truly fueling the fire burning in them. A lesser creature would have given in immediately from the look in her eyes. Emma certainly flinched from the look, but in her broken mind she could not back down now.

So Emma matched her gaze with that same mocking smile on her face.

"Where is it?" A quiet question whispered out of gritted teeth. He could see the promise that lay in it. The threat that would bloom into existence if Emma pushed Taylor just a bit further. Emma to her credit did not back down instead she just smirked at Taylor.

"What are you talking about Tay-Tay? How am I supposed to know where you keep your trash." Emma spat out with a mocking look in her eyes. The world seemed to freeze as a tension bloomed in the air. There was a blinding fury building inside of Taylor and she might do something against the fickle girl in front of her but there was something more pressing on her mind.

So she bolted from her place with all of her speed heading towards the dumpster behind the school. Smart enough to read the hints being thrown at her all day and capable of knowing that it being in the trash would hurt her the most.

No one followed her. Emma had her fun and maybe knew better than to push Taylor more than she did. She might have been able to subconsciously read the danger that was bleeding from Taylor.

Sophia on the other hand just let out a scoff. She saw Taylor leaving as a sign of weakness. She did not care for any of the context all she knew was she proved she could walk all over Hebert and she would not do a thing about it.

So the crowd dispersed avoiding the back of the school. Cole on the other hand walked towards there. He was soon greeted with the sight of Taylor tearing through trash bags with everything she had a desperate hope that the item she was looking for was only dirty.

He could see exactly when she found the fake prop he left. She clutched at the broken parts with a sob escaping her. The anger and fury built inside of her fading like a dream. All that was left was a broken-hearted girl clutching the last memento that her mother left her.

Seeing her like this made Cole feel better about what he did. He did not want to live in a world in which he let this come to pass. Cole took the flute out of his inventory and whistled to catch her attention. Taylor was too lost in her pain to notice him.

"Oie! Hebert!" Cole shouted out finally catching her attention. She looked over with a broken look on her face but before she could say anything Cole pushed the Flute to her.

"I hope you learned your lesson about bringing something precious to this hell hole," Cole spoke out as she finally caught sight of what he was handing her. Taylor blinked in confusion but desperate hope bloomed in her chest as she caught sight of the thing in his hands. 

She scrambled to take it from him. She then clutched the thing like it was a life jacket in a storming sea. She then glared at Cole trying to piece together what happened and what part he played in this.

"Did Emma really have to go this far!? To fake breaking my flute!? I know she hates me now but my mother treated her like her own daughter how could she do something like this!?" Taylor shouted out questions trying to find out the reason all of this was happening. Likely thinking he was in on what Emma was doing.

"God if I know Hebert. I don't understand a single thing going through that psycho's head. I was not privy to what they had planned all I knew was they were going to take your flute. I don't think my mother could have ever forgiven me if I let that happen so I stole it first and left that fake. Emma likely thinks that she broke the real one." Cole explained himself not wanting to deal with an irate teenager who was looking for an acceptable target.

Cole could see his words were getting to her. The anger coming from her deflated. She was still a bit suspicious of him but this was still pretty early in her bullying so she did not quite think the whole world was against her.

He could see her building up for something else so he decided now was time to cut his losses.

"Look, I know you don't trust me but just be happy that you still have that. Take it home and never ever let Emma know you still have it. She might try to finish the job if she finds out." He spoke out firmly before walking away. He could have taken this opportunity to get close to Taylor but what was the point of that?

The only reason he took a stance here was because he felt like he would lose a part of himself if he let it come to pass.

"Wait!" Taylor shouted out in a desperate way that had Cole turning around. He could humor her for a little while longer. 

Taylor had gotten herself out of the trash. She was completely and utterly filthy but she had this sort of bashful energy about. As her emotions poured out of her face he could see all the features coming alive in her face changing the sight to something captivating.

"Thank you." So spoke out softly her head bowed a little. A shudder ran through her as she clutched onto her flute truly and utterly thankful that she did not lose it. Seeing her like this Cole let out a soft chuckle.

"Don't worry about Hebert….Just live a life your mother would be proud of." He spoke out softly laying his own wish over her as well. His heart bleed for her in this moment and it was a soft reminder of the type of person he wanted to be.

There was an awkward moment in the air as Taylor parsed what he was saying. Her mood complicated and varied so Cole decided to just leave as he had other things to take care of today.

"Good luck Hebert. You are going to need it." Cole gave a parting comment before heading towards the hotel Tammi was staying at. He did promise he would be back before she knew it after all.

Taylor wanted to say something more but she held her silence for now. He could only hope that the butterflies flapping would not be too bad in the long while.