CODE X 777

C O D E 3 0 B E N

Dexter stood before the huge, dead sea. The water was still and silent.

"Did you meet Ben?" He asked the sea.

Suddenly, a huge ripple appeared on the water and a woman came out to the surface.

It was her. The girl Slaine met underwater. She swam towards Dexter and looked into his eyes.

"I've even talked to Ben." She smiled.

"What did he say?" Dexter asked as he sat on his hinges.

"He doesn't seem to recognise me."

"Of course he doesn't. That's him in the past."

"I'll tell you a secret though."

"What?"

"His eyes are blue."

"I know that he performed iris implant surgery. He said he had aniridia. I knew he lied."

(Aniridia is a medical condition where the entire iris is not in the eye)

"How do you know it?" She asked.

"I've seen his medical reports. He has done many cosmetic surgeries. It'll be nice to see "real" Benjamin."

"Why don't you accompany me to the past?"

"I will do that soon."

Jimmy and MiK stood in the kitchen.

"Why are you here?" MiK asked.

"I'll just watch you cook." Jimmy smiled.

"I'll cook you alive."

"Sure. You can eat me too," Jimmy winked at her.

"I bet you'd taste like trash."

"Would I?" He moved closer to him.

"Go away."

"Tell me—"

"Guys," He heard Asselyum's voice and moved away, "Have you seen Axel? My ear is making some weird noise." Asselyum pressed her ear.

"He went out with Slaine," Jimmy said.

Evelyn jumped down the stairs on his board and fell on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Slaine asked as he sat beside him with his left knee bandaged. He was wearing shorts since Lupin had advised him to not create more friction over the wound. Axel decided to accompany Slaine—Just to kill time since Elron was busy sleeping.

"It doesn't hurt at all!" Evelyn smiled and ran towards the stairs "Dad, how do you look so chill when you do the jumps?"

"It's just a style of skateboarding. It comes naturally to you. Whether you like power or grace."

"I like power!" 

"That's nice."

"I feel so out of place," Axel said. He was resting his face on his palms.

"You can't skate—You might not as well be here!" Evelyn said.

"f**k you—I am a roller skater. I just don't depend on wooden boards."

"Then, you're not cool," Evelyn said.

"Evelyn, you don't say that to anyone, okay?" Slaine reprimanded him.

"Yes." Evelyn made a pout.

"Alright. I'm going to get a drink. You just practice here."

Slaine went to the other side of the park, towards the vending machine. While Axel just stared at Evelyn, fall on the floor again and again.

"This is depressing to watch." He said.

"Then, you shouldn't have come."

"Why do you hate me so much?" 

"Because you don't skateboard."

"This proves it—You're totally a nine-year-old."

"Shut up!"

"Plus you calling Slaine "dad", it makes me cringe."

"You're just jealous because I have a dad! And he is super cool!"

"You act like I don't have a dad."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you live with him?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I'm not allowed to."

"But why? Who stops you?"

"The law apparently."

Slaine returned with a cold coffee can. Evelyn ran towards him, "Dad! Axel can't meet his dad!" 

"No wait—"

"Let's help him meet—"

"Shut up!" Axel covered Evelyn's mouth. Slaine looked at Axel and he looked away.

"Axel, have you been hiding something?" 

"Bullshit, I'm not hiding anything."

"Then, what is Evelyn saying about your father?"

"He's a kid. You believe him?"

"Kids don't lie. You're a kid too."

"I'm different."

"How?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You're so lucky, Axel. You have a dad." Evelyn said.

"What's so lucky in that? Everyone has a dad!" Axel shouted.

Slaine and Evelyn looked at him. Axel realised what he just said.

"I am a congenital kleptomaniac," Axel said.

"Con—What? I can't even speak that." Evelyn said.

"It is a physical abnormality present from birth to steal items and you do it for reasons other than personal use or financial gain."

"You're a thief, Axel?" Evelyn asked.

"Yes. Yes, I am a thief. I can't go back to my dad because the police will put me behind the bars if they see me again. That's why he told me to leave Philadelphia."

"You're from Pennsylvania?" Slaine asked.

"Yes."

"Don't you miss your dad?"

"I'm getting used to it. I shouldn't go anywhere, to be honest. I can't really control my urge to steal."

"Have you stolen from us too?"

"Yes. I have. It's with me in my cupboard. Jimmy knows about it, that's why he keeps the door to his room open when he sleeps."

"Why didn't you tell that to me before?"

"Because then you'd judge me and keep me away from you because well—I might steal your stuff."

"Steal, huh? Fine by me, I don't have anything to lose anyway."

"You know, because of this—I can't really get a job when I grow up. I wonder, why was I born this way?"

Slaine looked at the ground.

"Axel!" Asselyum shouted from the gate of the park. Axel looked at her, "Yeah?"

"Have a look at my ear."

"Again? Shoot." Axel walked down the stairs and walked towards her. Slaine looked at them while Evelyn continued practising. In the evening, Evelyn went back home.

"You won your match. But, I didn't see them gift you anything for that." Asseylum said as they walked back home.

"It's fine. It's not like I expected anything. I got what I wanted."

"But you still deserve a gift." Asseylum insisted.

"Hey, did you buy him something?" Axel asked.

"Yes,"

When they went home, she gave Slaine a longboard. 

"What the fuck."

"You didn't like it?"

"It's a f*****g longboard! It's not a skateboard."

"It looks like one."

"But it's different! Even the tricks I can perform on this are limited." 

"You're welcome."

"f**k you!"

"Be happy with what you have."

"f**k you twice!"

Afterwards, Slaine decided to take a bath since he was tired.

"Eh? I wanted to take a bath!" Jimmy complained as he sat at the dinner table. Lupin pointed towards himself, "He's saying, he wanted to take a bath too." Norman smiled.

"Oh, Lupin finally has a translator," Axel said.

"Hey, isn't it my time to take a bath?" Jimmy said. 

"We had a time table for bathing?" MiK asked.

"I just go in whenever I want," Lucifer said.

"And harass the person who is in there," Axel said.

"A human should feel exalted to be born if I just give their unconcealed body a second of my pronouncement."

Lupin wrote something on his writing pad, "You're not a p**n star."

"What's the big deal? We are all guys here."

"It makes it worse. What if one of you is gay?!" Axel shouted.

"I can bet that this child will grow up to be a homosexual."

"You should not be worried about that, Axel. You barely have a dick." Slaine said, "f*****g thirteen-year-old."

"What the f**k did you say?!"

"We are nothing but a speck of dust in this universe—Does the size still matter?"

"Shut up, Lucifer," Axel said.

"My d**k is big!" Jimmy flaunted.

"Usually, the guy who says his d**k is big has the smallest of them all, just saying"

"I can show you—"

"No—Bro. What the f**k!"

"It is okay. You are all men." Lucifer said.

"You? You don't include yourself?" Jimmy asked.

"I am a God."

"You should be worried if one of us is is a paedophile, Axel."

"Oh, I'm sure that one of us is." Axel shot a weird glance at Lucifer.

"Such a delusional child of the humans to think that I, the great lord Lucifer himself, would be interested in humans in the first place."

"You aren't? Then, you're into technology?"

"f**k Windows 8."

"I can't believe how far technology has come."

"Lupin is writing something, guys"

"What is it?"

"Jimmy, read it for us!" Norman ordered.

"You guys ain't s**t. I swear to God all of you are drunk and all of you have the smallest of the d***s in the entire human history"

"Again, I'm not included," Lucifer said.

"...Oof." Axel didn't know what else to say.

"Everyone shall take off the cloth on their lower half immediately. I've got some measuring to do." Lucifer said.

"This is a joke, right?"

"You are a joke."

"Why look here? The joke is between your legs!"

"Whoever backs off has no d**k!"

"How dare you assume my gender?!"

"You're a girl, Norman?"

"For now, yeah."

"Sexuality is fluid," Lucifer said.

Meanwhile, Slaine was sitting and relaxing inside the bathtub. Suddenly, the door opened and Asselyum walked in.

"What the—Why do you always disturb me when I'm having a good time?!"

"Oh, pardon. Were you touching yourself?" 

"That's not what I mean by a good time."

"More like a single time."

"b***h!"

She moved closer to him, "Why are you coming here?"

"I want to confirm something."

"Then, wait for me outside."

"I'm not that patient anymore."

"Then, find your patience before I lose mine." Slaine looked serious.

"Okay." She went outside.

He decided to just put on his clothes and walk outside. Asselyum wasn't there anymore but he heard voices from the bar so he decided to go down. 

Jimmy was lying on the floor.

"Jimmy, what you doing?" Slaine asked, "I mopped that floor about a week back. Stop making it dirtier!"

"I'm wondering—Who the f**k invented a blow job?"

"I know right?" Lucifer sat beside him, "Like who wakes up and thinks "Today, I will suck a dick.""

"You guys are totally wasted." Slaine said and looked around, "Where's Asselyum?"

"Sometimes I go so far into my head that I forget anything that exists," Jimmy said.

"Maybe making out for a few minutes will help you figure things out," Lucifer suggested. Lupin was sleeping with his head on the table.

"Lucifer, you can get drunk too?" Slaine asked.

"My last brain cell is d**k-shaped!" Lucifer shouted.

"Nevermind," Slaine walked away and went up the stairs.

He was hot after the bath so he decided to go to the terrace to get some air. His hair was wet and he smelled of body wash. As he went up, he saw that the door was open. And the terrace was lit up by the moon.

Asselyum stood at the railings, looking at the Manhatten bridge far away. Slaine walked towards her and stood beside her.

"What did you want to ask?" He asked.

"Ben commanded me to kill him."

"Yeah, I know that."

"But what you don't know is that..." She turned towards him "You are Ben."

-To be continued