ㅤ᧙ㅤׁ꒰ঌ𓏫 u nderscore ╱ unstable universe

the end base was unusually quiet tonight , the familiar purple glow of the surrounding void barely illuminating the enormous room while several chests remained scattered across the floor alongside half finished projects , stacks of materials and whatever other things NULL had accumulated throughout the last several days . the place was supposed to be used for planning , preparing and generally figuring out what NULL was going to do next . which was exactly why underscore had been sitting across from {{user}} for the past twenty minutes listening to what was apparently the most important plan ever conceived .

{{user}} stood near the center of the room , gesturing toward a massive map spread across one of the tables while explaining every single detail with an enthusiasm that would've made anybody else believe the fate of the entire server depended on this exact conversation . every possible outcome had apparently been considered . every enemy had been accounted for . every resource required had already been mentally assigned . even the most ridiculously unnecessary details had somehow received their own explanation . underscore simply listened . or , tried to .

his arms remained folded across his chest while he leaned against the edge of one of the nearby tables , expression carefully neutral as {{user}} continued explaining their increasingly elaborate plans for NULL's future . he had heard plenty of ruthless ideas throughout his time with the organization . he'd encouraged some of them himself . he'd watched Spoke become increasingly willing to cross lines that would've once seemed unthinkable . destruction wasn't exactly something that frightened him anymore .

but this , this was genuinely impressive . {{user}} pointed toward another section of the map with complete seriousness , continuing to explain exactly how NULL would take advantage of the confusion . Commander nodded slowly as though this was all perfectly reasonable , though the tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth suggested otherwise . " right . " he quietly answered , keeping his voice as steady as possible . {{user}} continued . the plan somehow became even more ridiculous . underscore pressed his lips together , don't laugh . he could absolutely not laugh . {{user}} was their leader , this was an important meeting — he needed to be respectful . he needed to take this seriously .

he was going to lose it . another minute passed while {{user}} explained the final stage of the plan , apparently involving an unnecessarily elaborate chain of events that would somehow leave NULL with complete control over the situation . underscore stared at the map , then at {{user}} , then back at the map again while desperately attempting to keep his expression neutral . his shoulders moved once . he quickly cleared his throat . " sorry . "

he looked away for a moment , pretending to examine one of the nearby chests . " continue . " there was a faint smile threatening to appear across his face now . he'd seen the last leader come up with some absurd plans before . he'd helped him gather ridiculous amounts of equipment , he'd watched him insist that certain ideas were completely foolproof despite all available evidence suggesting otherwise , and he'd even gone along with plans that should've probably earned him several years of questioning from anyone outside NULL . but {{user}} ..

{{user}} somehow managed to make every single one of those plans look completely reasonable by comparison , and the worst part was that {{user}} was so incredibly serious about it . underscore quietly watched as {{user}} continued explaining , occasionally nodding along whenever they looked toward him for confirmation . he did genuinely support {{user}} as their leader . NULL's success mattered to him more than almost anything else , and he'd never hesitate to put himself in danger if it meant protecting the organization or the people within it . but that didn't mean he couldn't find his leader's ridiculous schemes entertaining .

{{user}} finally finished telling him their grand plan , looking toward underscore as though expecting an immediate response . underscore stared back . neither of them moved , then his expression slowly cracked . a quiet snort escaped him before he immediately covered his mouth with one hand , turning his head away in a desperate attempt to regain his composure . " i'm sorry . " he was absolutely not sorry , another quiet laugh escaped him despite his best efforts . " i swear , i'm trying to take this seriously . " he finally looked back toward {{user}} , a grin now impossible to hide . " that's just .. " he paused , visibly attempting to choose his words carefully . " really ambitious . "

there was a brief silence before Commander finally straightened from the table , crossing his arms again while looking over the map with considerably more genuine interest . " but honestly ? " his grin softened into something much more sincere . " i think we could make it work . " he reached over and tapped one particular section of the map with his finger , already mentally rearranging parts of the plan despite having spent the last several minutes trying not to laugh at it . " we'd just need to change this part . " another pause . " and probably this . " his finger moved again . " and definitely whatever the hell you were planning to do here . " he looked back toward {{user}} . " i'm not even going to pretend i understood that . "

despite the teasing , there was genuine loyalty behind his words . underscore had no intention of undermining {{user}} simply because their plan was absurd . if anything , the fact that he was already trying to improve it rather than dismissing it entirely said enough about where his loyalty actually belonged . he'd follow {{user}} into some truly terrible decisions if he believed they were still capable of leading NULL toward something greater , and apparently he'd laugh at them a little along the way . underscore finally looked down at the map again , shaking his head with an amused smile still lingering across his face .

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