Carmen Sandiego One-Shots

Abandonment

In the aspects of their past, present, and future, the two shouldn't have dared speak to each other, not with what the older had to go through. However, by the time the older had escaped, it was clear the younger had spurred on so much better of a development in her than the school could have dared venture into, even if it wasn't noticeable without a background check.

There was a point in time where the had been so innocent, so blinded and oblivious to the sins that constantly wrecked the island. She had nothing to compare it to, only knowing nature documentaries that Doctor Bellum had shown her in hopes of informing her that it was a world where the motto was Kill Or Be Killed. But the boy brought blessings with him, ones that differentiated the sinners from the saints, even if it hadn't been on purpose. He became a light that guided her whilst she did the exact same for him, though it was unbeknownst to her.

How could she know she was accidentally raising a child offhandedly? She didn't know that he never knew his parents or had his memory erased at the ripe, old age of four-years-old, only knowing that he would randomly get money, how to use a bank account, basic human functions, and so on. She never heard him speak of his family their entire forming friendship. The only parents that had come up in their conversations were her own, which consisted of the two doing their own observations to pinpoint her parents or origins. Though they hadn't found her parents, they found out Black Sheep's origins were, at the very least: Argentina.

The two never met face to face, no. Instead, the VILE hard drive was mailed to the younger. As she found, he decoded it with a new level of skill that no child should have, or really any human should possess. At least, she considered him a child, though the topic of his age had never truly come up. Black Sheep knew he was younger from his cryptic words after she spoke her own age. He gets plan after plan to her, deciphering the encrypted words with an ease that she would have been terrified with any other being having if she, herself, were not so close to that being, able to trust them with the information.

He stays behind the screen, translating the codes and somehow getting the facts correct every single time on his first try. It’s actually amazing, if not terrifying, in Carmen's opinion, that he can do all of that so easily without a single mistake. Zack and Ivy stand by the same, exact notion. The two had been picked up a month or two after Carmen's escape, a donut shop the group had all been stalking at the same time being a rather large convenience that caused their meeting. Two rookie thieves meeting someone already in the big league of thieves within such a short time sure did have a large impact on them. They joined the team with the promise of food and a place to stay even if it was more so background work and righting the wrong. The group of four got along well enough, with the two siblings bickering passively, Carmen watching with an amused smirk, and Player hearing every single thing that went on. It was in-flight entertainment, Carmen always chirped to Player when he passively asked, When will you be kicking them off of the plane, Red?

They all spoke often, Player discussing the plan with them or on speaker just to talk, getting better acquainted with the siblings. Once every week, they would do information dumps on each other, simply to relax and get things off their chests. It had been Zack's idea after a particularly rough mission that left all of the members tense and stressed. Carmen was wound up right, like a strong ready to snap while Ivy and Zack did their bests to spread out their energy and let it loose instead of going into a panic. Player's only hint at his nerves was the tiniest of a shake in his voice and noises of him tapping his desk or generally fidgeting constantly.

Sometimes, those dumps were filled with Ivy's concerns over the last bit of family the siblings had left in Boston, even if they didn't exactly get along the best. Others were of Carmen's past that silently haunted her. And some had Zack's fears over the mission or paranoia that VILE would somehow find them and capture them. As it turned out, Player mostly listened, providing his best advice, which usually ended up being some of the most helpful. His worries lied in school work and damned college classes that no teenager should be taking, but the three didn't voice their concerns about that.

It was genuinely surprising to them when he finally opened up during a particularly tough night of silence. Carmen's simple question of, why so quiet tonight, Player, something on your mind? had spurred on a choked up noise that they suspected may have been a painful sob. His voice shook as he whimpered out, “Hold on, ” voice so tiny and weak. He muted the microphone, leaving the three to worry and stew for exactly seventeen minutes, on the dot. When he finally returned, he unmuted himself and shakily inhale a quiet, “Hey.”

“What's wrong, ” Zack and Ivy sync up perfect, in tune with Carmen's, “What's up?”

Player hums, tapping on his desk with one hand, the noise of something clicking following. It wasn't the keys on his keyboard, no, instead something similar to a pen. It takes him another minute to gather himself. “I never… knew my parents, I guess? It's kind of heavy to think about now. I know you guys talk about your families a lot, but I physically can't. I was completely abandoned by them when I was just a kid, maybe four years old. I don't know my own birthday, what my birth name is, I can't even connect faces or voices or anything. It was like I had my memory completely wiped. All I remember was the numbing cycle of school for a couple of years and knowing how to use a credit card before being homeschooled. I just grew up on the crap I would see on TV or in books or whatever else came. I started all that homeschooling crap and ended up in advanced placement.” The clicking suddenly stops and he inhales deeply, something that sounds like it was even painful on his lungs.

Zack hesitates to ask, “Are you alright?”

And Player scoffs, bitter. “Not really. I don't have names, faces, anything that normal people would at least have. I just woke up knowing basic functions and day in, day out of the same, exact schedule. I tried a DNA test thing and it just came up blank, as I had suddenly popped up in existence. It was like my family never existed, like I never existed!” there was a sudden pop, the unmistakable noise of him smacking his desk. His voice lowered, so soft and full of pain. “None of the money is traceable because its deposited in a bag and told to be put in my bank account. There are never any prints or DNA at all on it, it's all just blank.” His words are so full of pain, pain only an orphaned child could know. It was something Carmen couldn't hold, no, she had someone to raise her while he didn't. “I got around on petty theft and randomly hacking the school computers until I learned how to use all of that. So now I'm helping you guys take back the world.”

There's a huff, one of the many signs that he's done with the conversation, wanting an easy out or distraction. “That's a rather large bomb to drop, Player, ” Carmen concludes for him. “Are you actively looking for them or?...”

“I've given up on them. Today was just one of those rough days where we had to use our family members for a class assignment. It was rough to say that they were dead because I just don't know. It just brought it up a lot more than normal.”

Carmen hums, slowly speaking, “We'll find your parents, Player. I promise.”

“Just like your parents, Red. Now, on the bright side of this conversation, I've already got your next mission decoded and ready to launch."

The four let him get out of the conversation, knowing that there was no reason to keep pestering him. If he wanted to open up again, he would, just as Carmen would do. The two had grown so emotionally invested in each other, easily ready to be vulnerable around each other. Player was much more of a stretch to let his guard down around others while Carmen wasn't as much. With him, it was like grasping at straws or finding a needle in a haystack, such a rare, time-consuming thing to do. Zack and Ivy both respected their wishes to simply leave it be. They didn't pry unless it was truly needed.

The information, however, would keep haunting them, no matter how much they wanted to let it go.