《Quentin Marcus but you can call me '?'》


 Prologue - Persona - An introduction 1

    Persona


    Ever wonder what it would be like to have a secret life. One where you are no longer expected to live up to the expectations of others? Have you ever sought a form of escape?


    Given in to an addiction, tried a new approach to life.


    Have you ever sought an ¡®Out¡¯?


    Then boy do we have a lot to talk about.


    Now before we get into who you are and why you are here ¡­ let¡¯s talk about me for a bit.


    Just the basics to start off with, like the ¡®who¡¯, the ¡®where¡¯, the ¡®whys¡¯ and the ¡®how¡¯, so I don¡¯t seem to narcissistic right off the bat.


    The ¡®Who¡¯ would be me, should be ¡®Quentin Marcus¡¯, but at this point in time I am simply ¡®space¡¯.


    The ¡®Where¡¯ is in the middle of a bus on my way to a ¡®Where¡¯ that I am not currently aware-of.


    The ¡®Why¡¯, long story short, is matter of misplaced trust.


    The ¡®How¡¯ is something I too would like to know if the goddamn conductor would be kind enough to enlighten me. Having been heavily dosed with something to keep me just shy off a comatose state did not help in being persuasive.


    Heck! He¡¯s been stealing sly glances my way since I woke up, strapped to my chair by some very questionable restraints. Questionable because I have no clue how or why I was being restrained in the first place.


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    So I struck up a conversation with you to keep me in a sane mind frame. My only companions in an otherwise lonely trip.


    Now it¡¯s your turn.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Shy huh? First time talking to a guy in restraints? Hey I understand. It¡¯s my first time talking to someone in restraints too. Ha ha.


    No? Not a good time for levity? Well you are probably right. Must be the drugs then because my biggest concern at the moment is that there is something really wrong about a bus with only one passenger. Right?


    Lets play a game to pass the time then. How about ¡­ ¡®Guess where the mysterious bus is taking the questionably tied up passenger¡¯.


    Now the smart ones picked up on the fact that I know why I am here but not the how.


    Five points to you, and yes, you should keep score (grab a pen and paper, I can wait).


    Seeing as you seem more interested in my situation at the moment than your own, I think I can keep up my part of our ¡®back and forth¡¯. Might have to seeing as this might end up being a long drive.

 Prologue - Persona - An introduction 2

    Now then boys and girls. I''m sorry for my moment of silence. Being drugged isn''t exactly all that it''s cracked up to be. Though I am glad that this conversation is happening in my head.


    Really bad case of cotton mouth you see. Now that I feel a bit of lucidity shall I tell you why I''m here.


    This is a typical case of ''a friend in need,is the friend who bleeds''. I am what you would call an ... unfortunate soul.


    That is to say I have no fortune to speak of. I ran away from home early on in my life. Nothing grand. Just packed my stuff and left. Caught a taxi and drove to the nearest train station. Got myself a ticket and map of the city that I would call home for the next decade.


    I was 15 at the time if you were curious. That makes 27 years old. If you do the math you notice that I''ve been away from that city for 2 years. If you follow the news then you''d know why.


    "Young man stabs an elderly teacher and escapes police detention.Suspect is believed to armed and dangerous. Do not approach if seen. Contact the local authorities immediately." That''s the story they told anyway.


    No one cared about my story. It was pretty good too. Full of betrayal and innocence lost. A reaaal tear-jerker.


    What? You interested? Of course you are! Why else would you be here? You don''t even know how I look, let alone the sound of my voice. I bet you are trying to imagine my ''person'' as we speak. How about I tell you how I was first before the grand reveal?


    Ok. I was a kid of average build at the age of ten. About 5 feet tall. I inherited my dads thick raven black  hair and my mom''s dark brown eyes.I inherited my grandfather''s stubborn nature and my grandmother''s cunning and wit.


    It''s a shame that I inherited little else.


    I then grew at a steady rate of an inch or two a year with no obvious growth spurt. I did however get tougher. While I wasn''t technically an orphan that was the first ''persona'' I adopted.


    I was the quiet  and helpful Isaac Turner. A ten year orphan who was found squatting at an old building set for demolition. The orphanage that took me in was a good one. Plenty of room and enough food to keep a growing boy well looked after. I had friends there too. How odd that I can''t remember their faces anymore.


    Though if I think about it then it''s not too strange. These are Isaac''s memories after all, not mine.


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    Oh how I envied Isaac. He was the golden child. They put him through school where he excelled. Whether in the field of academia or sports he was in the top 1 percent.


    So unlike young Quentin Marcus the runaway. The coward. The deserter.


    That is why I killed him. And like a perfect crime I was never caught. After all ... how could they prove it without any body to show?


    So as I finished my last term I was already set to run away again. That''s what I should have done.


    But that''s when I met her. On my way to my dorm room. Just standing there. She looked straight at me. Peering at me with her discerning eyes. She wasn''t beautiful but she was pretty. She looked down for a moment before approaching me. I made my way forward at a casual pace. When we were half a meter from each other we stopped. She looked at my face again and said ... "Isaac. Right?" I nodded.


    She reached into her bag and pulled out a letter. Handed it over to me,smiled and left.


    I went up to my room and closed the door. Placing my own bag down I opened the envelope and started to read the contents within.


    It was a long and well written piece but I''ll sum it for you guys.


    ''We know who you are.'' I was still for what seemed like 10 minutes. Slowly I placed the letter down. I took a couple of breaths. Ran my hands up and down my face as if trying to erase all discernible facial features. I can gotten a few scars over the years. Fights and arguments with people at school who didn''t like being shown up the orphan nerd.


    A small cut on my cheek that ran along my left eye. The scarring made it look like a tattoo. I say ''cut'' but since I don''t know the appropriate term for ''wound inflicted by a glass shard'', I''ll stick with cut for now.


    I ran up to my window but didn''t stand in-front of it. Peering through my blinds I tried to spot the unknown. The hard thing about spotting things that seem suspicious when you''re paranoid if that everything seems suspicious.


    So I just did the sane thing and packed my bags and left the city I called home for almost a decade and no degree to show for it.


    Just one dead guy and me.


    I had made it about 50 miles out of the city before my bike broke down. I made it about 10 miles  on foot before I needed to rest. I made it about 40 feet after the tranquilizer dart hit me.

 Prologue - Persona - An introduction 3

    And that''s how I had my first Knock out.Well first one as the recently deceased Isaac anyway. But before I get too ahead of myself let me explain. I can tell that you''re pretty confused at the moment. Your brain desperately trying to figure out the pattern of events that led me here from the tidbits I''ve told you.


    You must pardon this poor drug addled soul.


    I haven''t spoken to ''someone'' else in years after all. 2 years to be exact.


    So now that I''ve laid down some checkpoints shall we fully explore the map?


    My running away from home. Not some fear induced action or rage manifested feat. I was being tested. You see we talked about my inheritance ... or at-least I did.


    What I didn''t mention is that I never met my parents. I probably never will. They were merely the donors of the genes that make me who I am. An attempt at something superior. An attempt at forced evolution.


    I was concocted in a lab and born in a machine. I was already being bombarded with all relevant information as they sped up my growth stage. They made me appear normal. Nothing too eye catching but not too hard on the eyes either if I do say so myself.


    My dad was an athlete of some renown. He had broken more records in his career than most of his peers put together. Shame they later arrested him for violent behavior in a public space. Something about blackmail and physical enhancement drugs.


    Guess that''s three things we have in common.


    My mother was a hunter. She used to hunt  beasts in the wild as she grew up. Then she went on to hunt beasts on the battle field. She had a diverse skill set. She was a good tracker and she knew her traps. She was fearless in hand to hand combat preferring a blade to standard issue sidearms. The only time she preferred a gun was when she was hunting distant prey. She was one the greatest recorded snipers of the time. Her furthest kill was a target just shy of 3 miles sitting in between his two infant children.


    Her eyes have served me well.


    As for the ones who raised me I have my two ''grandparents'' to blame for that.


    An old veteran who was half Japanese and half American. A bad mix to be when he was young. But all the trials he faced left him stronger. Tough enough to stare the world in the eyes and spit back. He taught me many things. Well ... his memories did anyway. Remember ... the ''fed'' me knowledge as I was developing? His experience was one of the many things they saw fit to bestow on me.


    As for the lady I would always call ''granny'', she was one of the head researchers of the program that birthed me. Usually distant from her experimental subjects she took a shine to me during my infancy.


    By the time I breathed fresh air I was already 6 years old. My skin was like a newborn without the creases that 6 years of movement would impart on a normal boy. My skin was almost taut and seemed almost reptilian at the time as I recalled the information in my mind. My hands however were a different matter. Infants usually form palm lines in the womb were their fists are bunched up. Occasionally opening and closing them as they dreamed unformed dreams.


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    Not me though. My dreams were vivid. My dreams were structured. The ones of my grandfather especially so. They wanted to give me ''experiences'' but they wound up giving me nightmares.


    My granny later told me that I would thrash around like a fish on land so they had to bind me in the tube I was incubating in. All of me was bound as I was suspended in my nutritional vat.


    All but my hands. They creased beyond belief. Any palm reader who saw them would have a conniption.


    As for the rest of me ... I was perfect. Perfect memory. Perfect health. Perfect in every way they wanted me to be.


    Granny proceeded to teach me more than what they could fit into my mind at the time why my grandfather taught me how to fight the demons they put in me by training my body.


    This went on till I could compete in both fields with those 5 times my age at the time. But I wasn''t ready yet. Not according to them anyway. They decided to further improve me. 2 years of drugging me with muscle enhancers that far outmatched the barbaric compounds my father ''supposedly'' took. No drawbacks. Just returns.


    They decided that I could take more. So they sent me into a virtual training program called ... the Nursery. My own personal hell. Even though I was tough... I was a big investment. A BIG EXPENSIVE INVESTMENT. So all training considered too dangerous took place here.


    I cried the first few nights. Then granny came up to me as they were plugging me in. She told me that she had modified the program a bit. That it was now like a game. Each mission gave me points and these points could be exchanged for rewards in the real world. She gave a list.


    Each mission was ranked. From E to A in increasing order of difficulty. They gave me 10 to a 1000 points.


    E-10      D-50         C-100          B - 500                A-1000


    To give you an idea of the mission types;


    E- Locate a particular individual based on provided Intel and acquired  information.


    D- Escort an asset in a civilian environment without drawing attention in an enemy territory.


    C- Lead your squad and complete infiltration and take out assigned target.


    B- World war battle simulation. Recorded battles relived to produce better results than the original. Victory in the battle is not a requisite  but additional points allotted for doing so.


    ... A- ... Nightmare scenarios. Face your fears. Lose human sensibilities.


    The rank A missions were guaranteed death scenarios. A no win event where they would try to break me and I would try to minimize the damage. They placed me in the middle of an ocean on a planet with no exposed land mass. They left in a coffin in which I could hear the others than were piled around me.


    No dirt. Only other coffins with ''people'' banging on its sides. Each followed by the inevitable ''death rattle''. I would be unable to break the walls. Hard to do so when they''ve removed your limbs.


    .


    .


    .


    .


    One moment please. I have a headache. Just a moment.

 Prologue - Persona - An introduction 4

    So where was I? Oh yes. On a bus. From the looks of things we have yet to reach our ... my ... ''final destination''. I wonder if I should just have my mars bar now or ... no ... no point rushing thing.


    It looks like it''s about 11 pm ... the street lights are all on. Like little check points in a game. Growing brighter as you approach and dimmer as you pass. Sigh ...


    I know! How about a bedtime story? Anything you want to hear in particular?


    ... My story? Oh well if you insist then.


    I believe I was going to talk about the award system next. It went like this...


    1 - a hug


    10 - a kiss on the forehead


    50 - a lullaby before bed


    100 - a story before bed


    200 - a TV episode sanctioned by my ... keepers.


    500 - a mars bar


    1000 - lessons in an instrument of my choosing


    10,00,000 - outside


    I stood perfectly still. My heart didn''t even dare to beat. I carefully scanned granny''s face. Looking to see any of the signs of deceit as my grandfather''s memories taught me too. When I could finally be assured of the truth in her words I let out my first genuine smile.


    I asked them to set an A level mission for me that day.


    I wanted to go outside so bad I almost burnt myself out within 3 days. 1 A level a day left my mind in shambles. It took me a week to get my head straight and I was heavily reprimanded. No mars bars, points or no points, for a month!


    I quickly prepared a new regiment. Due to my strict time schedule I could attempt only one mission a day. So I organised myself.


    2 C, 2 B, 1 A and 2 D level missions in that order every week for the foreseeable future. I kept to this regiment so religiously that I started to refer to the days as C1,C2,B1, ... and so on. I never understood why the lab workers complained about C1.


    D1 and D2 helped  me recover from the aftermath that followed A.


    Slowly I got used to my time table and I begin to think of the outside. Given my schedule I would get 2300 points a week. Well ... 1700 after taking into account my weekly mars bar. I guess I also seldom  paid for a hug or two ... maybe a story.


    So I had an average of 1300 points a week or about 5200 points a month give or take.


    That meant that I should be outside in about 200 days!


    ... I was so naive.


    1. I hadn''t taken into account the days it would take when they had to do maintenance work or update the machine and program. This alone took up whole weeks.


    2. My ... enhancements also took time to get adjusted ... sometimes my body would reject them and it wasn''t a pretty sight.


    3. I would lose out on points if my performance was unsatisfactory. This rule was proposed and endorsed by my grandfather. He did make an exception for the A class missions though.(A small consolation but beggars can''t be choosers)


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    4. My grandfather was hard to please. (Did I mention that my granddad was a pain in the sphincter?)


    And so instead of my estimated 200 days ... it took 2 years.


    My body was broken and reforged so often during this time that I lost count Physically I was kept close enough to death that I could feel her coming. Every week I did an A class mission. Each week I died.


    My personal hell for two years. Home sweet home.


    ...


    I am now 8 years old. I have met my quota and I shall reap my reward. Fresh air. Open skies. Things I have only felt and seen in the memories of others. So familiar yet so alien.


    I am almost shaking out of nervousness. I haven''t shook like this in a long while. I did shake as I was eaten alive by worms. I didn''t so much as quiver when stripped each and every single one of my muscle fibers an then ... put them back. Hell I was rather impressed.


    But now I was more tense than a drawn bow. Fearing that this was a dream. Fearing more that it would turn out to be a nightmare instead. I don''t know if I could take that.


    My grandfather was wearing a high tier mech suit. It was much more compact than it''s lower tier counterparts. It made him, a man who could kick my three ways from D2, into a mobile tank capable of wiping out entire enemy platoons. Platoons with mech suits of their own mind you!


    On top of this I was to be blindfolded and tied till we were outside. I heard granny''s voice a distance away and so I called out to her and she told me to enjoy myself. I almost didn''t notice how sad she sounded.


    I was led to a metallic floored room and the automated door closed.


    Suddenly the floor shook and I was instantly alert trying to identify the source of the shaking. It took 2 second and the chuckling of my grandfather for me to realize that I was in an elevator.


    I was glad they taught me how to make a poker face as me rapidly ascended. We took a minute to reach... the surface(I assume) meaning that the base must be buried quite deep. I made a note of this as the elevator doors slowly opened.


    My heart was racing. 2 years of waiting. All my blood sweat and tears leading up to this glorious moment. A moment I shall never forget as long as I breathe!


    I felt my grandfathers steady hands undo my restraints before carefully removing my blind fold.


    I took in a breath as I felt a breeze for the first time and tasted all manner of things in the air as if I was feasting on it.


    I braced myself and then I opened my eyes.

 Prologue - Persona - An explanation 1

    ... Underwhelming. Disappointment. I was not outside. I was in yet another confined space. Another cage. I ...


    *Thwack* Grandpa smacked the back of my head when he saw my expression. He told me that this was the basement and we had to go further up before we could exit the building.


    We had to go though multiple gates where we were stopped and frisked. At each gate they confirmed Grandpa''s ID and let us pass. However they seemed to give me wide berth. Odd. I guess they were aware of who I am ... what I am.


    Or maybe their training and experiences informed them that there was something wrong with me.


    I didn''t care. I would finally be able to go outside!


    I wanted to run up the flights of stairs but I knew that that would be unwise at best. I waited for this day all my life ... what is a few more minutes?


    One last corner and I could see it. The last barrier between me and the world was a glass door. In a way I was grateful for that. I felt that being exposed to all of it in a single moment might overpower my senses.


    I could see a clean shaven ... lawn. Due still clinging to it''s leafy blades. I beheld larger trees that seemed to hold the ground and sky together and at the same time apart.


    I then noticed the insects ... working my way up the food chain. I heard the birds as I opened the door. A small blue bird fly past at a blistering pace. I ... I felt something happen to me. All this stimulation to my senses brought me to tears.


    I carefully glanced at grandpa. Usually he would scold me when I did this. Today though he just stayed solemn and let me be.


    I slowly took a step. My first step on what I considered Earth. Like an alien visiting a planet for the first time. I decided to remove my shoes. My second step was accompanied by the scrunch of dry leaves and light squelch of wet grass. So many new textures hit me making me feel like a child once more.


    I bent born and ran my hand through the dirt and grass. Slowly caressing it like one would a lover.


    I then walked up to the nearest tree. As I placed my hand on it''s thick bark I felt like I was looking at some ancient sentient monument to ... life. Which it was.


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    And I stood there. An hour later I felt a hand on my shoulder. My grandpa looked at me and for the first time since I knew him he told me that he was proud of what I had achieved. He told me many things in the next few moments. He spoke about his life. Not as a soldier. But as a boy. He spoke of Japan and the Sakura trees. Their culture and history. Of the warriors code.


    He looked at me and said that he too was bound by such a code and so was I. He had given up all he was for the sake of this program. His past and future sacrificed in the line of duty.


    I would carry on this burden. I was at a loss. I knew nothing of national pride other than the idea behind it. My home and country had been a lab for all my life. And I would certainly not die for it. I told this to him and for a moment I saw rage on his face but it was quickly replaced with sad look.


    What he said next would stay with me for the rest of my life.


    He held my shoulders and looked into my eyes,"You don''t have a choice." And then an intense jolt hit me. I had some resistance to it but I was only an enhanced human. The amount of power coursing through me might kill a normal man. It just left my nerves in shambles. Muscles no longer under my command.


    He then dragged me away. I tried to fight back. Dig my now useless hands into the dirt. Trying to hold on and not let go. I begged him to stop. Just a moment more! I hadn''t even seen a lake yet. A mountain. The ocean!


    "I did everything that was asked of me!" I screamed.


    I felt like my heart was being stretched apart. I was now at the door and I couldn''t feel the earth anymore. Like a fleeting dream I felt great loss as I took one last glance at the world I longed to know.


    I swore many things as I was taken down the elevator.


    I would escape. I would never again be a captive. I would live a normal peaceful life once I was free.


    As they put me in my room and closed the door I swore one more thing.


    I would kill my grandfather.

 Prologue - Persona - An explanation 2

    So now things take a darker turn. Brace yourself kiddies.


    I went about the usual grind of lab tests and training all the while plotting. There was a subtle change in the air in the lab which the others may not realize but I did.


    For a person who''s world is such a small isolated space, even the most minute occurrences are like cataclysmic events.


    The tests became ... colder more clinical. I did not have an assigned name but the lab members used to call me ''sonny boy'' or ''dude''. We had a good working relationship. Had.


    However soon after my return they started calling me by my specimen no. I was the first successful attempt but I wasn''t the only one. Before me my success there were 4000 cultures with different genes of interest,of which only 12 were synthesized and stable.


    These 12 attempts at generating a viable specimen. Of these 12 only 5 reached the fetal stage.


    Of these 5 there was 1 that was genetically unstable and was terminated.


    Of the 4 left 2 were found to be lacking the ... desired traits. They were transferred to another facility. Till this day I know not what became of them.


    Then there were two. My ''elder sister'' and ''elder brother''. They progressed rapidly and looked promising.


    At age 10 they were superior to any other living humanoid in existence.


    They were named Protessa and Secundus and they were perfect ... till age 12. The scientist didn''t take one crucial factor into account as this was the furthest stage they had successfully managed to get to in this experiment. Puberty.


    Everything was already groundbreaking ... too bad what next was earth shattering.


    Secundus grew excessively aggressive due to hormonal changes. He refused orders and lashed out at the lab help and staff. He was the problem child.


    Protessa was equally ... temperamental. She would be sad, happy, aggressive ... unstable. She became more and more arrogant as time passed by. She became more demanding. Their own spoiled little princess.


    During one training exercise they were made to face of against the other. They were always competing so they were good training partners. Were being the operative word.


    As they fought Secundus grew more an more aggressive until his actions lost all precision. His moves became unpredictable but also full of wasted movements. He began to tire and Protessa managed to take advantage of his berserk-like state and fling him to the floor. She then spat on him and called him trash. When he was getting up and ready to retort she simply turned around and started walking.


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    This drove him furious. All his eyes could see was her back ... dyed in red. So as she turned around to return to her side of the stage he hit her on the back of the head. Stunned she attempted to right herself when the next blow came. She wasn''t even able to retaliate as he mercilessly punched the back of her skull. Smash. Smash. Smash. One fist after the other.


    His fists made short work of her enhanced cranial bones. Bits of done pierced his hands and cerebral fluid entered his wounds. He was screaming in rage as his fists reigned down.


    At first the scientists were too shocked. By the time they sedated Secundus all that remained of their Perfect beings was a headless corpse and a raging monster. In a matter of seconds decades of research came to a screeching halt.They tried to get Secundus back to normal but he only grew worse.


    These two were unable to cope with things beyond their understanding. Normal things that parents would teach their children in a normal nurturing environment.


    So decided to modify the experiment. They compiled their notes and observations. Listed out the new equipment they would need. A neural-transfer device to feed the child memories and experiences. A training program to teach it social interaction and the essentials of life ... and death.


    Secundus was of course put down.


    ...


    So now that they learned their lesson and with the changes in mind they restarted the program in 2 months time.


    I would be lucky no.13.


    .


    .


    .


    Well fuck that.


    I decided that the first thing I would need is a name. Something to ground myself. An identity of my own choosing.


    In many cultures names are assigned to shape their holder.


    So I became the thing that plagued me. Something to keep me grounded. I had no country and I sure as hell had no people.


    Granny and grandpa had their own reasons for being here. Their life''s work. Me.


    I would be the first in the line of many if successful. A soldier made to perfection. Capable of handling any situation. One that would not be missed.


    While the research itself cost billions making me a vital asset. I knew that from their findings they would be able to cut cost and mass produce their work. Entire armies bred for battle while the ''humans'' lived in peace.


    Once that happened I would be an antique. I had wondered if they would have me stuffed and mounted.


    Till then I was the answer to their needs ... or so they presumed.


    No.


    I am a question to the world ... not an answer to be heard.


    I am Quentin Markus.

 Prologue - Persona - An explanation 3

    I am now 2 months of 10.


    Almost a decade old but with more knowledge and skills than a normal 10 year old should ever need.


    It''s funny when you think about it. With all the technology at their disposal my handlers could have started making clones of me immediately after I hit the age of 9.


    Almost all major implants were now done and I was undergoing the final stages of my ... ''Youth''.


    It was only the fear that stopped them. Past mistakes still fresh in mind.


    My two predecessors inadvertently increased my period of ... relevance.


    They did not dare to push their luck. So I had gotten myself a few extra years. I smiled to myself as I thought about my elder sister and brother. They''ve given me almost 2 full years to plan and grow. I would be forever grateful to people whose names I''ve only heard in passing.


    But it was enough. I had once again earned the right to go outside. However this time it would be in an urban environment. This mission would verify how well I could blend in and adapt with civilians.


    When told I appeared ecstatic on the outside. As much as I was during my last ''outing''.


    Inside however I was simply calculating escape routes and estimating the risk involved. The plan was rather well done.


    I would be accompanying a bus full of kids on their field trip. Over 3 government-run orphanages were involved. This would prevent kids asking about me as they would assume I was part of another group. I would be just another face in the crowd.


    Grandfather would be acting as a chaperon. Apparently he had already spent a month as a teacher at one the orphanages so he could oversee the mission.


    I''ll skip over the specifics and take us to the good parts.


    The bus ride was actually enjoyable. Though I refrained from talking to the other kids too much, lest I be undone, I reveled in their excitement. More than 80 excited kids talking animatedly about anime and books and comics and movies and songs and videos and performances and ... so many other things that I knew next to nothing about.


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    But I was happy. It was then ... I think ... that I realized that a bus was meant to be full. Full of people going places and doing things. Loading time before the ''act'' in the game of life.


    ...


    Making my current situation very uncomfortable but lets resume shall we?


    I got off the bus with the other kids and we were herded around the city. I decided to wait for the opportune moment. Amazing as my grandfather was he was still human. He could not wear a mech suit so he had to settle for enhanced body  armor instead.


    My moment came sooner that I could have thought. At the front one the clumsier kids fell over. It was so abrupt that like dominoes almost 10 children lost balance before the rest came to a halt. Luckily grandfather was as the head of the line at the time so he had to help out. I decided then to make a break for it.


    Bending down to ''tie my shoelaces'', I barreled into a nearby alley way. I ran through unknown streets till I felt that I was far enough to relax.


    Big mistake. I realized as soon as I was calmed down a noise in the distance. I quickly flung a nearby rock and watched as an agent hidden in the shadows recoiled in shock.


    I had been followed! I swore profusely as I ran. Realizing that they had been made over 10 agents ran after me. With nowhere else to go I decided to enter the sewers.


    A good half an hour later I had lost them so I quickly exited the sewers and broke into a nearby house. Luckily it was empty so i took a quick shower and stole some money and ill-fitting clothes. Nothing a belt couldn''t fix though.


    I had stayed undiscovered for an impressive 15 days. Once I restocked on supplies at a nearby store I was on my way that night to my ''new'' home I heard a familiar noise. The sound of footsteps that had signaled me to a state of attention for so many years.


    Heavier still due to his fully decked out mech suit.


    He looked at me with the same solemn face as always, only a bit more aged in my opinion.


    "Hello ... Markus" he said.


    ...


    "Goodbye ... Grandfather" I replied.