《Between the Worlds》


 Prologue - PART I*

    The last clients and workers left the store a few minutes earlier. Still, the security guard, appropiately named John Bodyguard, could sense that something was off. And it was not even that he accidentaly added salt instead of sugar into his usual evening coffee.


    He wiped the desk with a tissue and decided to once again go around the store and check if everything is in order. He lazily got up and left his little office. The store was obviously quiet and empty. However, and it was something mr. John Bodyguard noticed with terror, the door to one of the administration offices were open. The guard gasped and carefully came closer to the door.


    "Now what!?" he heard someone talk quietly "Where is that stupid Ring!?"


    Mr. Bodyguard was relieved to recognize the voice of Raphael Dooserdolf, his boss and the manager of the store. He decided to enter the office and check what for the other man was looking for. The boss stood there facing the other way. He did not see Bodyguard entering, so John decided to be the first one to speak.


    "Um... excuse me... sir?"


    "Ah, my slave" Dooserdolf did not even turn around "I do not suppose you know where I can find the Ring of Synthax?"


    "Um... find what!?" Bodyguard raised his eyebrows


    "Don''t worry about it. I see that sadly you can''t help me." The other man suddenly turned his head 180¡ã, which obviously should have broke his neck. The security guard took a few staggering steps back. He looked at his boss and noticed his eye pupils were completely black. "But I think I may just have to borrow your body now." the man spoke in a different voice.


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    "Do NOT tell me you still have not caught Lord Lanthra!" Mrs. Ayumi Aruta angrily slapped her fist into her desk and looked at the two men in front of her. Aruta was a 70-something Japanese woman that just happened to also be the head of the 9th PISF departnment. She was a rather nice woman, personally,but demanded results from her workers, so it should not come as a surprise the two men in front of her bowed their heads in shame and a bit of fear, even though she spoke with a strong Japanese accent, which in other conditions would be pretty funny.


    "Well... no, ma''am, we did not" the older man, general Hussein Abedi spoke quietly.


    "Do you two even know, what he will do after he will find the Ring of Synthax? " the woman asked rhetorically, taking her glasses off and looking at them "He will be able to escape into any of the alternative dimensions, and perhaps then return here to gain more, but armed with technology we can not possibly understand and cause more chaos then he already did!"


    "Who knows what he has already done?" Asked the second man "I mean Lanthra is a shape shifter. That means he can basically become anybody he wishes to. Maybe he actually has made even more damage than we suspected?"


    "We know what he is, LeBlanc" Aruta shook her head "I am asking how to stop him. Do you two even have a plan?"


    "Do not worry, ma''am" said Abedi "from the intelligence we''ve gathered shape-shifters are exactly as mortal as we are. Two, maybe three bullets should do it".


    "You want to shoot him!?How will you actually find him!? You were supposed to act when he was in Miami, yet you two and your experienced officers, as you two call them let him escape!"


    "This is unfortunate, indeed, but..."


    "No! No but''s will do it this time, LeBlanc!" Aruta once again slapped her fist into her desk and turned around to look through window. She crossed her arms on her chest and began thinking. Finally she turned around "He posed as a shop manager and attacked a security guard. He is getting more and more desperate. We could not even help those people. We had to completely clean their brains. They don''t know they are alive!" she sighed "You two are out of the case. You proved your people are not capable of dealing with Lord Lanthra".


    "But... ma''am Aruta, with all due respect, who else!? We are on this case since the beggining"


    "Well, we have some rookie officers which just finished their training, don''t we? I think this case will be perfect for them."


    "You can not be serious!" This time it was Abedi who slammed his fist into the desk "How are they supposed to do it, if even my most experienced officers are not able to!? Are you seriously questioning mine... I mean my teams'' qualifications!?


    "First of all, Abedi, let me remind you that you are speaking to the Head Officer of this department, and I highly recommend you change your tone, or else you can go, collect your stuff and return home!" Aruta once again slammed her fist into desk "I am in charge here and if I decide it is their turn to prove themselves, so be it!"


    "But, madame Aruta, what about our pay checks?" Asked LeBlanc. Both Aruta and Abedi looked at him. "What? Oh, wait... oh, yeah..." LeBlanc also slammed his fist into the desk


    "I am telling you, head officer, that you are making a great mistake" Abedi continued savagely "you are putting our organisation at risk of being exposed. You know very well what will happen then. Panic, Protests, even uprisings. And it will all be your fault!The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Then it would be my problem, wouldn''t it?" Said Aruta coldly "Return to your offices, you two are dismissed. And you can forget about you paychecks"


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    Aleksander got off the bus at the usual spot, only one hour earlier. He did not want to wake his mother which has once again spent her entire night drinking, so the 16 year old made his own breakfast and simply left the house. He loved his mother, but since their father has left them she just was not like her old self. Everytime she got paid, she spend the money either on alcohol, expensive jewelry or cosmetics. Sure, she made quite a lot of money as she was an very experienced IT engineer, but most of them she spent only on her own needs.


    Aleksander was not happy. He was not physically strong, he was an outcast at school, with only just one friend, He was - thanks to his mom - the poorest kid at school, and because of his dad''s Polish roots he was the laughing stock of one Eddie Felguson, whom he despised, mostly for stealing his "girlfriend" at the age of 10. Yes, Aleksander and Eddie were pretty sworn childhood rivals.


    It was a cold afternoon and the blonde boy felt chills as he was walking the streets of Toronto. It was still dark and the school was not going to start for another hour, so Aleks decided to check if his favourite Ancient History Museum of Africa was still open, if only to talk to proffesor Jefferson. The museum was only a few blocks away, and the boy got there only after a few minutes.


    The Museum itself was not really big, just about the size of two-and-a-half one family houses and a little additional building. Aleks took out his phone and looked at the time. It was 07:12 AM. The museum was supposed to be open since 7:30 AM. Resigned, he sighed and pushed the door. To his surprise, they opened.


    After reconsidering, he went inside.


    "Hello!?" he asked loudly "Proffesor Jefferson!? It''s me, Aleksander!"


    Noone answered. The corridors of the museum were empty, with no staff to talk about the museums'' exhibits. .


    "Is anybody in here?"


    He should not be surprised that nobody answered. And he would not be, if not for the open door. Now he was full of fear, and worried about proffesor Jefferson, who was always one of the only people he felt he could talk to.


    The boy turned right, towards the Ancient Egypt Hall. This exhibit was definitely the biggest one in the museum. He felt somewhat unsure of himself, as if he was being watched by someone. He decided to shake the feeling off and turned left. That''s when he clearly saw someone vanishing around the corner.


    "Hello! Proffesor Jefferson, is it you?" No answer. He started to run. "Proffesor Jefferson...?"


    He stoped rapidly when he took yet another turn and saw the man in front of him, cleaning one of the exhibits.


    "Hi, kid" Jefferson smiled "Did I scare you? Sorry, if so."


    "Proffesor" said Aleks, relieved, although a bit angry "Why haven''t you answered me?"


    "Oh... sorry" Jefferson sounded genuinely sad "It is just the museum is in a bit of financial trouble lately... besides, you may have not noticed it, but I do have a bit of a trouble with my ears."


    "You do?" Aleks asked surprised "You never seemed to have. What is wrong?"


    "Oh, nothing to worry about, sorry to bother you, kid" Jefferson sighed "Anyway, are you here for another ancient history lesson? You know, now it is not really the time... Besides, the Museum is supposed to be closed, isn''t it?"


    Suddenly, the light flickered a few times and suddenly it got dark.


    "Great, if that was not enough, now the effing light is out" sighed proffesor Jefferson, turning around.


    "Don''t worry about it, I have a flashlight on my phone..."


    "Okay, good, kid. But now, no offense, but it would really be better if you''d leave. Now." the proffesor said a bit harshly.


    "Well... sorry, you''re right... but why are you calling me <<kid>>? You still remember my name, don''t you? "


    "Yes, Yes, obviously I do... "Jefferson smiled "Arthur"


    "It is not Arthur, it is Aleks!"


    The proffesor looked at him in a strange way and took a few steps forward


    "Okay, Okay... Aleks. Now, leave. Please"


    "But why?" Aleks took a few steps back "And why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Sorry, I have a problem with my eyes."


    "What...?"


    Alex concentrated his flashlight on Jefferson''s face. And then he noticed it. The professor''s pupils were black.


    He took a few more steps back and tripped over something. He looked at what he tripped on. Those were LEGS. Human legs. Aleks directed his flashlight and saw a body laying behind one of the exhibits.


    The proffesor caught him and grabbed him by the throat and started snuffing rapidly .


    "Sorry, KID" Jefferson smiled unnaturally "I have a problem with my nose."


    Aleks could feel the other man''s hands clamping on his throat. Desperately, he kicked his adversary in the crotch. Fake Jefferson let go and squirmed in pain.


    "Ow! You little..."


    Alex immediately got up and started running. The other man looked and slowly got up.


    "Arthur! Come on, kid, it''s hopeless!" He screamed in an unhuman voice


    Alex did not listen. He just ran as fast as he could. He heard something falling down and crashing behind him. He jumped from around a corner. Suddenly he saw another figure jumping in front of him


    "Armin, come here!" Fake proffesor Jefferson waved with a smile


    Aleksander immediately turned around and jumped back behind the corner. He ran, changing direction every time he could, almost feeling the creature''s presence behind him. Just when he was getting tired, he saw the doors at the other side of the corridor. Focusing his last bits of strength he finally ran through those door.


    Straight into a young woman on the other side


    "Hey! Watch where you''re going, kid!"


    Aleks did not need to hear anymore then the last word. He once again ran through the door he just came through. He did not listen to the girl telling him to stop, or some other people suddenly appearing alongside her. He just ran and he felt getting weaker until finally collapsing on the floor. He looked up and saw a figure approaching him.


    "See? I told you it was hopeless, kid." Said Jefferson''s lookalike coming closer with a grin.


    Suddenly both Aleksander and fake Jefferson heard footsteps behind them. The boy turned around and saw six other people, five of whom were not much older then him enter the room.


    "Let the boy go, Lanthra" the only older person, a red-haired woman ordered "This is the end. Give up"


    The creature did not answer. Fake Jefferson only spun his head 360¡ã a few times and, with an unnatural shriek, jumped and escaped through the window.


    The other people quickly ran outside and began yelling something. But Aleks did not care. He did not care about anything. He just felt so shocked and tired... The last he felt was his face painfully meeting the ground, and then everything went black.

 Prologue - PART II*

    "Quick, someone get him something to drink!" The boy heard a feminine voice.


    "I think he is waking up!" Someone else said


    "Cool."


    SLAP!


    "OW!" Aleks opened his eyes rapidly "What the hell!?"


    "Yes, he definitely is waking up."


    "Dude, Jamon, quit slapping!" Yet another voice said.


    "I can not help the way I was born."


    "Hey, Hey, Hey! I am awake now!" Aleksander said and caught Jamon''s hand just as it was once again ready to meet his face


    "Ow, man..." Jamon, the young man of middle-eastern descent looked disappointed "But I am not done yet"


    Aleks looked at him angrily, massaging his left cheek.


    "Well, now, really though" said the only female in the room "You must be wondering who we are. But, trust me, it is not the right time or place for such conversation and it is not us who are we supposed to explain this to you."


    "This is bullcrap" Jamon stopped smiling and shook his head "They do not want you to tell you anything because they are going to erase your mind anyway."


    "Jamon, you idiot! Why are you telling him that?" Another young male spoke for the first time since Aleks woke up. He looked genuinely angry. "You are only making him scared. He did not need to know"


    "Uh, yes, he does, Davey..."


    "Stop calling me that!"


    "...Because no matter what and how hard we''ll try, we can''t erase all his negative memories from what he just witnessed. He is going to have serious scars on his mind, so if anything, I say he deserves to at least be informed what''s going on."


    "What for? You really believe this will change a thing? Should I remind you it is you who dragged him into this mess?


    "What? You''re actually going to blame me again?"


    "Yes! All you had to do it turn the masking device on in the museum as soon as we received the news the Ring is probably in the building, so nobody could enter or leave, and we would have caught Lanthra by now. But of course, you have forgotten!"


    "Guys, guys, guys!" The girl grabbed them both by wrists, as it looked like they were actually going to beat each other up. "Remember, this is not even our decission. The final word is up to the Head Officer anyway. We have to wait until Dagmar brings her here."


    "What about me? I want to know the truth!" Aleksander objected


    "This is not up to you either. Sorry, but Head Officer Aruta will decide. She always does in such cases. But... I agree."


    "Well, thanks."


    "Not with you David. With Jamon."


    "What?" The brown haired boy with glasses could not believe  "Are you seriously agreeing with someone like him?"


    "The Kid has the right to know, David and..."


    "Oh, stop it." Aleks hissed "Stop patronizing me! How come I''m a kid comparing to you? How old even are you? Because none of you look older then me. Okay, maybe a year or two. How old are you? 17? 18?


    The three other people looked at each other


    "Well, you are a clever one" admitted David "Quite unlike somebody else in this room. But still, this does not change the fact... oh."


    The automatic doors to the room suddenly opened themselves rapidly and two middle aged man walked through.


    "General Abedi, Sergeant LeBlanc" David and and the girl saluted


    "Father" Jamon just bowed his head down


    "Father?" Repeated Aleks, looking at him surprised.


    "What is all this!?" The Middle Eastern man with a stern face sounded angry "You are being sent on your first case, and forget such a basic thing as turning the masking device on? You let Lanthra escape, yet you bring... this boy here? I knew Aruta was wrong sending you kids there, now look what you caused. Do you even realize that a man is in a hospital with life threatening injuries? Explain yourselves  right now! SON! you speak first."


    "Well... maybe calm down a bit, Hussein" sergeant LeBlanc objected "you have to understand, they are just sixteen, they just finished their training, this was their first mission. You can not blame them for failing what even we, with our 25 years of experience, could not achieve.


    "The only reason why we did not manage to capture Lord Lanthra the first time, Earvin,was because half of the people who become PISF officers nowadays are complete imbecilles! And I thought..."


    "Well, this is a bit of strong launguage, don''t you think?"


    "Gentlemen,please." A feminine voice said "Arguments won''t solve anything,"


    "Mrs. Aruta!" LeBlanc said relieved, seeing an older female enter with two another, younger one "It''s good you finally are here."


    "Nice to see you too, Earvin". The old Japanese woman replied "Now what do we have here? Ah, yes. I understand it is you  -  the boy, aren''t you? Alexandre is your name, right?


    "It is Aleksander actually, madame." The blonde boy replied, suddenly feeling shy. All eyes were looking at him now - almost nobody objected or interrupted Head Officer Aruta, unless he was  really close to her.


    "Thank you, Aleksander." The old woman smiled "But now... what to do with you? I must admit you are a bit problematic to us"


    "No offense, but I don''t exactly know what even happened to me." Alexander replied "I hate to be... problematic, but I really want to know what''s going on"Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    "I suppose this would only be rightful towards you. Very well. I will tell you what I can without leaving your mind vulnerable to the scars the erasing procedure will cause."


    "What if I will escape? I mean, no offense, but I don''t really fancy having my mind erased. Especially if it would cause any scars, which, by the sound of it, are quite dangerous."


    "That''s impossible" another girl replied "Noone can escape from here. You may try to, but you will fail. Madame Akita also personally made sure nobody unwanted could ever enter or leave this building without permission. It''s location is also top secret, and..."


    "Thank you, Dagmar,but I can speak for myself." The Head Officer did not even look at the young girl "Now, young man, I have to inform you the creature you have been attacked by is known as a shape-shifter."


    "By a shape-shifter?" Alex was sure he didn''t understand correctly.


    "Yes, by a shape-shifter. Are you deaf?" Jamon''s dad hissed


    "Calm down, Hussein, or you will leave this room." The woman said harshly and the middle-eastern man looked insulted. Ayumi did not even look at him, she just focused her eyes on Aleksander ."The shape-shifter who attacked you is known as Lord Lanthra, and, as you probably guessed by his name, he is a quite unusual specimen."


    "He is an... prince of sorts, I guess?"


    "Not exactly. His species, the shape-shifters, value possesion over anything else. They don''t really have any sense of morality or any higher feelings, but they live rather by an instinct of sorts which makes them consider possesion as the highest value. Lanthra, however, got extremely rich selling unicorn horns to  the Snake people of Zeta Reticuli."


    "...WHAT!?"


    "YOUNG MAN" the Head Officer raised her voice a bit "Sorry, but we won''t get anywhere if you keep interrupting me"


    "Um... sorry."


    "Anyway, as I said, he has got extremely wealthy, hence the "lord" part, and because of that he achieved an mental evolution of some sorts. He is not anymore content with what he can steal in our world. That is why he is looking for this." She showed him a photo of a small, golden ring with a kind of an diamond eye and some weird markings inside. It seemed to Aleksander he actually saw it before, but he could not tell where "The Ring of Synthax. In theory it allows the person in it''s possesion to travel to any of the universes recorded on it. Lanthra wants to get it simply because he feels the urge to steal those worlds, as he doesn''t feel he has anything left to rob here. Remember, and I am now speaking to our junior officers, that he is not evil. Treat him like you would treat  an common thief."


    "But he is pretty ruthless though" added David "He nearly murdered proffesor Henry Jefferson, who was unlucky enough to arrive to work early today only because he thought the Ring of Synthax somehow got in possesion."


    "Yeah... this ring.... I think I saw it" Aleksander said and all other people suddenly looked at him.


    "You did?" Aruta was surprised "Where?


    "TALK!" demanded the older Abedi


    "I don''t know." Aleksander rubbed his forehead "But it was definitely somewhere near I live. Stop yelling, please."


    "Hey, Hey, Hey!" Jamon intervened "You can''t talk to my father like that!"


    "Then would you kindly tell your dad to  keep his voice down? My head hurts."


    "Then that is it, my boy" Aruta said "You are clearly in no condition to learn anything more. Now, please, rest. Your mind will be erased later."


    "Wait, ma''am Aruta." Hussein Abedi objected "This kid clearly knows something we can use. He is legally binded by international law to tell us anything he knows before the erasing procedure"


    "He does not remember, general Abedi" Aruta said "There isn''t a serum or any pills which could make people remember. Unless you have another idea, then please, go on."


    "Actually, yes, I do. I suggest Mind Mining."


    "Nonononono." this time it was sergeant LeBlanc who spoke "Hussein, you can not be serious."


    "The Mind Minning procedure has not been performed since a civilian died in the 1980''s." David said slowly "I don''t think even the people at the Scientific Wing are qualified enough to perform such an dangerous operation."


    "Yeah, they maybe are not." Hussein pointed his finger at the Head Officer "But you are. You..."


    "General Abedi, I must return you to your senses" Aruta said "I am not going to perform this procedure on an civilian, especially not a child. I know your miss your wife, but..."


    "DON''T YOU DARE" hissed Abedi, closing in on her "Bringing her back. They KILLED HER!" He started shaking visibly "They all killed her." And with that, he left the room.


    "What was that about?" Aleksander asked quietly, but did not receive an explanation.


    "Excuse me. Head Officer Aruta!" A young, blonde woman  entered soon after "There are some news about that shape-shifter. Apparently he has attacked an cleark in an store near Halton Hills in Greater Toronto. We are just about to bring the eye-witnesses for the mind erasing procedure. Also, about that Ring..."


    "I understand, just wait a bit."The Head Officer nodded and smiled at the boy which was laying in the bed "Well, Aleksander, i am sorry to say it is time for our paths to part. I realize I did not get to know you properly, but I feel you are an intelligent young man and I think you will get far in life... I have to admit there is something interesting about you, something that I just can''t put my finger on. Well, nevermind. Goodbye. Your mind erasing procedure will, of course, take priority over the other ones.  Heidi, please notify the scientifc wing they have one extra to perform. You four, please follow me."


    And with that the group of people left the room, or rather were replaced by another group of four people, all of whom were wearing all-blue uniforms. One of them was carying something that looked like an TV remote, only a few times larger.


    "Hello, Aleksander" the scientist with the remote was the first one to speak "Time to erase your mind. Do not worry, it does not hurt a bit. Hold still, let me teleport you to our wing. And here we go..."


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    When the 16-year old returned home, the lights were out - although this did not surprise the boy at all, as his mother always enjoyed very long nights after she got wasted.


    "Ma, I''m home!" He said out loud


    Aleks turned on the lights in the hall. He looked at his reflection and smiled. That''s when he suddenly felt very hungry. He did not have a choice, he had to make himself something to eat. That''s when he heard a voice behind him.


    "Where have you been, young man?"


    "Oh, hi mum" he answered "I did not hear you come in. "


    "Didn''t you also hear what I just asked? Aleksander Jennsen, where have you been!?"


    "I... don''t know. Probably doing... something."


    "You DON''T KNOW? Doing SOMETHING? Do you even know it''s 2:30 AM!?"


    Aleks only eyed is mum''s entire body. The woman noticed this and kooked at him with worry.


    "Aleksander, are you dealing drugs again?"


    "No, mom, I am not dealing drugs. I never did." Aleks rolled his eyes.


    "Well, then explain yourself right now. Do you have any idea what I''ve come through when I noticed you were not home?"


    "Mom? I''m back!" A voice in the hall exclaimed, and then they heard footsteps. Then Aleks entered the kitchen.


    The woman stood there petrified, looking at one Aleks, and then focusing her eyes on the one that just entered the room.


    "What is all this? What''s going on!?" She asked slowly


    "Yeah, that is a good question." The Aleks who came home first said, trying to sound calm "Who are you, kid? Is this a joke? A prank?"


    "What?" The other Aleks replied angrily "I am Aleksander Jennsen, and this is my house! Who the hell are YOU!? How dare you come here and pose as me?"


    "No, I am Aleksander Jennsen, and it is you who is posing as me!"


    "I am going to call the police." Mother decided.


    "And what are you going to tell them?" The first Aleks asked "<< Sorry to wake you up, officer, but I just found out there are two versions of my only son in my house? >> Just... tell him to go away. He is obviously thinking that somehow  pretending to be someone else funny. You are not fooling anyone."


    "No, mom! I am not a pretender! He is!"


    Aleksander standing by the door closed his eyes abruptly, as he suddenly felt a wave of pain going through his entire body. When he opened them, he looked at one of his mother''s hands


    "Mom... give me that."


    "What?"


    "Give me the ring. It''s dangerous. Please."


    "Hey what do you want with it?"  Asked the second boy  "Are you a thief?"


    "Shut up! Mom, just give the ring to me and I''ll... I''ll prove I am your son."


    "DON''T!"


    The woman looked at both of them for a while, considering. The first Alex was shaking his head, advising her not to give the ring to the other one. At the other hand, when she looked at the second boy, she saw somethin different in his eyes, something better. The woman noded her head. She took the ring off and threw it to the first kid.


    She screamed, as someone grabbed her from behind.

 Prologue - PART III*

    The woman was gasping in terror as the knife touched her skin.


    "Don''t hurt her!" Aleksander yelled, terrified.


    "Oh, I won''t do anything to her if you give me the Ring of Synthax. Do it, and she lives. Don''t do it, and I will kill her. Your choice."


    "Who are you? What do you want to do with it"?


    "I am somebody who will slit your mother''s throat in ten seconds if you won''t cooperate with."


    "Aleks, listen to me. Do not give him the ring, whatever he says. Your father..."


    "Yes,what do you want to tel us about husband?" Lanthra grinned "He was quite famous in his line of work, wasn''t he - until he vanished in thin air leaving you with a small child to raise on your own. But you did not tell your son this, did you, Clara? Let me guess, you told the boy his father was just a regular man who died in an car accident?"


    "Because I have tried to protect him! I have been trying to protect him from somebody like you!"


    "Ooh, that''s so...cliche. Sounds like something  ripped straight from a bad kind-of-adventure story. Now,still, I would kindly request the Ring of Synthax, please"


    "Let her go first."


    "You still haven''t noticed you are in no position to be making demands? Fine, perhaps this will help your mind to work correctly." Lord Lanthra laughed a bit and then moved the knife towards Anna''s arm and made a long cut. Aleksander''s mom screamed as some blood begun to pour out of the wound. "Now, are you willing to cooperate?"


    "Okay, Okay!" Aleks extended his hand "Take it. Now let her go!"


    "Not so fast" the creature replied "First I got to see if it works, don''t I?"


    The shape-shifter carrefully took the small ring with his other hand. He inspected it, weighted it in his hands and finally smiled. He released Aleksander''s mother and put the ring of synthax on his finger. He started to wave his hand in a strange patern for a few seconds, until suddenly stopping in his tracks and looking at the blonde boy.


    "It is not working."


    "Um... uh... what?"


    "It is not working!" Lanthra once again grabbed Aleks'' mom "You little sh..."


    The entrance door suddenly burst open, and a group of people quickly entered the house, some of which were carrying guns and some strange looking electronic devices. The shape-shifter looked terrified.


    "Lord Lanthra"  an old, Japanese woman stood forward and demanded "Hand over the Ring of Synthax and surrender."


    "It is not even working!" Lanthra said through gritted teeth


    "Because it can not work. You see, what you did not know, and neither did we until recently.." the woman calmly walked forward and took the Ring of his finger "is that this Ring is not the correct one. Or, rather, it was the correct one, a few hundred years ago. There is another Ring of Synthax, and it is the one that once activated is able  to create a functioning tunnel between the worlds. This one is basically worthless. Strong enough to create to create a small time and space anomaly - which, by the way, is the reason we found you - but it''s energy, for reasons unknown, is already almost completely depleted. This is pretty funny, is not it? You wasted so much energy and time for... a rock."


    "Where is the other one!? Where is it, Aruta?" Lord Lanthra was shaking in fury.


    "Now THIS IS  one funny story" the woman could not stop herself from laughing a bit "You see, it is not in this universe. Our scientific staff analyzed the police records and discovered it was stolen exactly on the 12th March 2007 from an museum you were kind enough to pay a visit to a few hours ago. It was stolen, and the thief must have - quite unintentionally, most probably - teleported himself to another universe. It''s truly an outstanding coincidence, that he unwittingly ripped you of a chance to achieve what you dreamt of. The one question which remains is: who was he."


    "Aleksander, I am sorry." His mother spoke in a different voice and everyone looked at her "I''m sorry I have never told you this, but your father was a thief. I tried to talk him out of stealing, but he never listened to me."


    "Mom, what are you talking about...?" Aleks begun, but stopped as Aruta hushed him.


    "On 12th March of 2007 he set up to what he believed to be the biggest heist of his life. I, of course was against it, but he was so obsessed... Finally on the evening of that day, he called me. He said he was getting me a present - an beautiful ring. He never returned home that day." She sighed "I notified the police, I waited for him to return for months, years even. But finally I accepted he must have died. That''s why I started to collect jewelry. To remind myself of the present I never got from him. And I was trying to cover up what he did, so you would never be like him. But I..." Anna stoped abruptly as suddenly a long knife pierced her throat. The shape-shifter let go, and she fell on the floor. Not moving, not speaking. Not breathing. The  knife was still stuck in her throat.


    "No!" Aleks fell down on his knees and picked Anna''s body up "Mom! Mom, please!" He felt tears running down his cheeks. He didn''t think he ever cried before.


    "Your family took everything from me!" Lanthra pointed at him "Now I took everything from you!"


    The boy looked at his lookalike in fury. Not being even able to control himself, he somehow picked up the knife. In an quarter of an second he stood there, holding the shape-shifter by his collar, and touching his throat with the blade of the knife. Lord Lanthra was helpless now without the weapon.


    "Aleksander, DON''T!" Ayumi Aruta said stricly


    "Why not!?" Aleks pushed the knife a bit harder "Why should he be allowed to survive, if my mother could not!?"


    "Killing him won''t change what happened." She said softly as she came nearer.


    "Yeah... well... it will change the world for better!"


    The shape-shifter was terrified - he tried to keep calm and smile unnervingly, but the boy saw fear in his eyes.


    "You think you can murder me, human?" He tried to sound dangerous, but his voice was trembling "You are much to weak. Killing requires power you would not understand. But go on, prove you are less worthless than she was."


    "Shut up! No it does not!" Aleks could feel his hands shaking. He felt someone puting a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw the middle-eastern boy, Jamon.


    "This is not worth it." The other boy shook his head "You will just become like him. I   know how you feel, I really do,  but..."A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "You don''t know anything!"


    "Yes, he does." Aruta said softly "Listen to me: you really would regret this until the end of your life. Because he is right at one thing: killing people requires power. Power you, like all good people, do not have. If you''ll push the knife, you will destroy his body, but also lose your soul."


    Aleksander looked at the creature for a few moments more. Finally he let go of the knife. Lord Lanthra immediately got intercepted by two men armed with what looked like guns. He looked at the shape shifter one last time.


    "I hope you will rot in...wherever they are taking you.


    And then, suddenly, he felt weaker and weaker and weaker. He collapsed on the floor and passed out.


    Lord Lanthra stood there and laughed maniacally.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The world all around him was spinning. He could not and did not care enough to notice what was going on around him. As Aleks sat by someone''s desk, he burried his face in his hands, not paying attention even to the people entering and leaving the room. He finally reacted and looked up when he felt someone touching his shoulder softly.


    "Are you feeling better, my boy?" The old Japanese woman asked. Aleksander only looked at her not saying a word. "I''m sorry. It''s obvious you aren''t."


    Aruta sighed deeply and sat in her armchair at the opposite side of the desk.She wrapped her hands and silently looked at the boy for a few moments, before speaking.


    "I know this won''t change much now, but I wanted to say that I''m sorry. I''m sorry we did not manage to come earlier, we did not manage to save your mother. We should have act faster than we did."


    "You''re right, this doesn''t change anything." Aleksander interrupted her, his voice cracking.


    "All I can do is assure you that Lord Lanthra will pay for what he has done. He has been arrested, and currently is being transported to the Central Penitentiary where he will await his trail. Judging by the excess of his deeds,I think... that he won''t be able to hurt anyone ever again."


    "Thanks, that''s a relief." the boy snorted sarcastically.  He sighed and shook his head "How did he even find us? How did he know where I live?"


    "The shape-shifters have very advanced smelling ability. It''s much more precise then any other creature''s we know. He must have smelled the odour of what he presumed to be the Ring of Synthax from you. He understood you had at least a small contact with it and started to follow the smell...until he found your house."


    Aleksander once again felt a sharp pain going through his entire body.


    "He sniffed me" he muttered "Back in the museum. He sniffed me, saying that he has some problems with his nose."


    "In the museum, you say? "She looked at him carefully "But you had your mind erased, didn''t you?" She opened her laptop and started typing quickly for a few moments. "Ah, yes... that is not good."


    "What is not good?" The boy asked, feeling at the same time he did not care for her answer.


    "It appears you are starting to remember what happened the first time you have met Lord Lanthra, before we performed the erasing procedure" the Head Officer rubbed her forehead "This is not good, as if you remember what happened, any other attempt to erase your mind will be useless. The scars are too deep."


    "So... what now?"


    "Now, I feel, will be the proper time to discuss your future."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Do you have a family, Aleksander?" The old woman asked,looking him straight in the eyes.


    "No." Aleksander replied silently "All I had was my mother, after my father die... has gone missing, apparently. I also had an aunt, but she returned to Poland after a big argument with my parents and we haven''t really been in touch since then."


    "But wouldn''t she agree to take you? You don''t have much longer until you turn 18, so..."


    "I don''t think so." the boy simply said.


    "That is not good." Aruta stood up from her desk and turned around towards the window "Properly, what should we do now is to completely clean your brain. This means not only you would lose all your memories." She turned around to face him again "You would lose all you characteristics, your taste, your beliefs,  everything that makes you - you. Basically, you would completely forget that you are alive."


    "So, I would go insane?"


    "It is something much worse then that. You don''t even know you exist. Really, I only know of one procedure worse than this one,which is... well, but I am telling you this, because I think I have another solution. I admit, you probably won''t like it, but trust me, it''s a much better one than Cleaning of the Brain."


    "Which is...?


    "Well, I know what it sounds like after what just happened,but - I would like you to stay here with us."


    "What!?" Aleks looked at her shocked  "Why?"


    "Because,  the alternative would be exactly the procedure I just told you about" The Head Officer sat back on her armchair. "Besides, after the procedure you would spend the rest of your life trapped in a single, small cell with only bed in it. Not that it would matter to you, but... anyway, I think this is the least we can do to help you after what happened."


    "Well, what if I don''t want your help?


    "The choice is absolutely up tu you. I can not make you do anything, I am simply offering you to stay here and join us."


    "Join you?" Aleksander stood up "After what just happened? "


    "I realize it''s hard for you, my boy, but..."


    "You don''t realize anything! Why are you even talking to me!? Why haven''t you simply performed this <


    > of yours? Besides, how can you ask me to join you, while I don''t even know who you guys are!"


    "We are an organization created long ago that tries to make sure what happened to you doesn''t happen again."


    "Well, you are not doing a very good job, then."


    "On the contrary. But please, let me finish."


    Aruta waited for a bit, until the boy noded his head and sat back down.


    "For now, it is not the right time for discussion about our organization. I promise, if you decide to stay here you''ll learn more, but for now, just know that we are doing what we are doing for hundreds of years now, and what you just went through is not anything out of the ordinary for the world we live in. Such attacks have always taken place, sometimes on a much bigger scale, and that is why we were estabilished . To help to deal with such events, and of course primarily prevent them. We are global organization, estabilished long before any kind of international alliance was born, and it is our job to make sure the world doesn''t end in chaos. This is all I''ll tell you... for now."


    "How are you helping? If what you said is true, then you are making things worse. Why not tell people how to defend yourself?"


    "We try that too. In small doses. But revealing ourselves, and what we do is not a solution. How do you think the world will react, how would YOU react if one day suddenly it was revealed that almost anything you can imagine does not only exist, but is living right here, amongst people?"


    "Well, why are you telling ME all this?"


    "I have to admit, Aleksander, that you got me interested the moment we met. There was something about you that I found fascinating. And now it seems I was right."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I am talking about the ring. It is indeed a strange turn of events, don''t you think,  that the person responsible for stealing the  Ring of Synthax leaves behind son that, eleven years later loses another parent in another attempt to steal that Ring."


    "Coincidence." Said Aleksanded, but he could not help but feel goosebumps after Aruta finished her sentence.


    "What are coincidences?" The Woman shook her head "Coincidences are simply the universes'' way to tell you you are special. I wonder, what is so special about you, Aleksander, that the cruel universe decided to take away all you ever had and leave you just with this small ring."


    "Is this why you want me to stay?" Asked the boy after a brief silence "Because you saw a mystery in me and want to solve it? Am I just some kind of... lab rat for you?"


    "I never said something like this." Aruta kindly replied "I don''t see mystery in you - I see an opportunity for you. You have a chance to discover  and learn about yourself in a way almost noone is able to."


    "If I agree to stay, what do you expect from me? I am not one of you, I don''t even know what''s going on!"


    "If you stay,  we will help you however we can to fit in. You will become a part of our junior team - which you already meet too, so it won''t really be a problem, fitting you in. You will be helping them in their duties, and they will help you. That''s all."


    "Do you... " the blonde boy thought for a minute and sighed "I know my mother is dead, but... do you think, if I stay, I''ll be somehow able to find my dad?


    "Hmm." The Japanese woman took her glasses off and looked at Aleksander "I can not promise you anything, Aleks. But, if you''ll stay... maybe this is what you were destined for. After all, the Universe can be a truly be a wonderful place. And full of surprises, too... so I think this is possible."


    "So... this really is the best option for me, isn''t it?" Aleksander muttered


    "It would be the option I would choose, If I can be honest. But this is your life, and this is your choice. So, what do you choose?"


    "So it''s either this, or not being alive?"


    "No, no. After the Cleaning of the Brain you will be alive. You just won''t know it."


    "Then, I suppose this option is even worse than death." The boh sighed "Fine, I''ll try. I''ll stay and try to be... whatever you are. But I am only doing this until I find my father. After that, I will leave, and you won''t stop me."


    The Head Officer looked at him for a few moments. Finally she stood up and extended her hand.


    "Welcome on board."


    After a few seconds of hesitation, Aleks stood up and shook her hand.