02.04.1642

The Southeast Military Base

47:29

Little N04H, LUK3 and MY4 are walking together on the hallway as they talk, or, well... as LUK3 talks. He seems relaxed, despite the chaos that is happening around the base at this hour, as everyone seems to get ready to leave, but also confused on what's happening for an unknown reason. Officer RY4N is one of these people, and as he notices the small group, he rushes towards these three to talk with Miss MY4.

[RY4N]-MY4!

[MY4]-...?

When she heard him, she looks confused at the young Officer, as he seems a bit worried as well.

[RY4N]-Have you seen CHE5TER? The mission is about to start and none of us can find him anywhere! Did he tell you anything?

[MY4]-No, actually... Are you sure He said there will be a mission now?

[RY4N]-Don't you see all the people here!? Of course he did! And we even tried to contact him, but no response!

[LUK3]-Well then I don't need to stress myself to get ready if Boss isn't here. N04H, do you want to train a bit now?

[RY4N]-LUK3, I'm serious! He doesn't miss any mission, nor he informs us of one and leaves us to do it without him!

[MY4]-...Have you tried talking to the people around the city that work for us? Maybe they know something.

[RY4N]-I already thought of that! None of the people that I asked about him seem to know where he is now! Nobody saw him in the city!

[N04H]-M-Maybe He just took a break?

[RY4N]-Without telling us?

RY4N looks at the recruit as he says these words, making him realise that the situation is serious.

[LUK3]-With or without Him, we are prepared for every mission. I don't think it is something so hard that we can't do without His orders. You led us in the past, what's with the whole crisis?

[RY4N]-That's not my point, LUK3! And even so, you already know he is the only person with the Investigator role until N04H finishes his two years of training!

[LUK3]-Then put N04H in this mission this time. What's the big deal?

[RY4N]-Are you out of your mind!? I can't put a child without experience to complete this mission!

[LUK3]-You say it like he isn't capable of doing anything. Besides, isn't training better in a real situation rather than a simulated one? At least this way he can learn what he has to do in the future. The soldiers of the M aren't focusing on finding more C borns in the city anyway?

[RY4N]-LUK3...

[LUK3]-...AAAND if something really happens, I can always go and take his butt out of the problem! It's not like we will leave him alone for good!

[RY4N]-...

RY4N looks again at the young recruit as he waits for his response. Of course, from the look on his face, he really wants to join this mission, and LUK3 seems pretty confident in what he is saying too.

[RY4N]-I don't know, LUK3... It still seems too risky. CHE5TER wouldn't agree to this plan...

[LUK3]-Forget what Boss thinks! This time, you are the Leader, not Him! You have to make your own decisions, RY4N!

So he looks one more time at the soldier. Though his stupidity makes him look like a fool most of the times, he has his own moments of seriousness, but they still look like he is joking. RY4N doesn't have a choice here though. All the people already prepared and he is the Leader until the real one comes back from wherever He is. If the Great Leader wished to make this mission, he cannot cancel His words.

[RY4N]-*sigh* I know I'm going to hate myself after this, but... Everyone! I will be the one who will lead you on this mission! Take your leave and meet me at the Entrance 19 of the City of Above!

And with that, LUK3 smiles confidently at the temporary Leader, while he simply seems pissed off by this idea.

[RY4N]-...I hope you know what you are doing, LUK3. Don't make me regret my choice.

[LUK3]-Don't worry, Boss! I will keep my eyes on the little man!

The City of Above

48:05

Now, everyone stands hidden on different buildings, circling the one in which they have to go to do their mission. Most of the people are the Guardians who supervise the situation in the area around them, so they can make sure nobody finds them during the mission. The others are the ones that are completing the mission itself, like a few Defenders including C0NNER, the Hackers which are led by Officer KYR4 and emergency people which have some Strikers and a few Healers.

[LUK3]-Are you ready, little guy?

[N04H]-I'm not so sure...

[LUK3]-Oh, come ooon! Of course you are ready! I wouldn't have taken you in the first place if you weren't ready after all!

[/KYR4]-Maybe he would've feel better if you didn't force him in the first place.

[LUK3]-Hey!! I didn't force anybody!

[/B4S7IAN]-You literally forced Officer RY4N to take the responsibilities and make this kid come with us to "train". We could've just stayed at the base and wait to see what Master CHE5TER wanted to do, but nooo, I have to risk a young life in this mission because I think I'm the smartest guy in the world!

[LUK3]-OKAY, OKAY! NOW YOU CAN STOP!! ...I wasn't speaking to any of you anyway, why are you guys even talking?

[/J4CE]-Maybe because you are as stupid as always and we have to tell you when you are wrong every single time.

[LUK3]-You guys are mean, you know that?

[/B4S7IAN]-Oh, cOMe OOon! DOn'T bE LIke thAt! ...We know you love to work with us anyway!

[LUK3]-Well, I DON'T like when YOU are making fun of ME!

[/RY4N]-Alright everyone! You can stop all this nonsense now! It's too late to change the situation anyway. If the Great Leader wished to make this mission, we have to obey to his orders.

As they stop talking in their airpods, Officer RY4N comes to LUK3 and N04H with CHE5TER's personal Defender, Mr. N4THAN.

[N4THAN]-Hello, N04H! It seems like our paths have crossed their ways again!

[RY4N]-...N04H, I think you already met Mr. N4THAN, right?

[N04H]-Yeah... He helped me when I chose my role.

[RY4N]-Since you didn't choose your personal Defender yet, and CHE5TER isn't present to work with him, he will be the one guiding you this time. The other Defenders will only provide him with information so that he can help you.

[N04H]-Right... So it will be similar to when we've first worked together?

[N4THAN]-I will try my best, though I am used to other methods during the missions, so if you encounter any problem on what I'm saying, just remind me that you are not the person I'm working with in general. Your airpod will be connected only to mine unlike the others, so it won't confuse you whatever we are going to talk during the mission. You just need to focus on what I'm saying, alright?

[N04H]-Alright...

[RY4N]-And remember! If anything happens, shout for help so we can send the Strikers to help you get out! I don't want another person to act brave and do everything by himself! It's your first time in a real mission, don't do anything stupid!

[LUK3]-Actually, it's the second time.

[RY4N]-You don't help, LUK3!

[N04H]-Okay... I think I got it.

[RY4N]-Good. Now go in there so we can finish this quickly. CHE5TER's gonna kill me if he finds out what we are doing, and I fear that he might be in this city, so it is a chance we will all get in trouble.

Then, N04H activates the device which makes him invisible and gets into action. Though RY4N said these words to the little man, at least some people know the actual truth. Yes, they fear that the ruler might find out what's happening, which is very clear that He will, no matter how hard they hide it from Him, but the Officer wishes for His appearance at this mission, even if that means he will have to argue a lot with his brother about this subject. The only thing he can do now is to take a deep breath and hope for the best.

48:17

After he got in the building, N04H started walk around the hallway, guided by N4THAN, as he can't let him to do every decision on his own yet. Some soldiers wander around here too, but there is no stress as they can't see him. Then, he finally arrives at the room that N4THAN told him to find, so he waits for all the soldiers to go away and to enter the room itself. He then disables the device to not waste its battery and starts whispering to the Defender.

[N04H]-Alright, N4THAN! I'm in! What do I do now?

[/N4THAN]-Find the document we require!

[N04H]-Okay... but what document do I have to find exactly?

N4THAN looks at the Officer who was standing next to him to make sure that the situation there is fine.

[N4THAN]-What document do we need to find?

Yet RY4N, as he hears these words, realises that there is still a problem with the Great Leader's absence. Though they know what they have to do in every mission, the only one who knows what are they searching for is missing. He looks fast at the papers that he has with him, searching for a possible answer. N4THAN gets scared, worried about the little man, as he realises the problem too.

[/N04H]-N4THAN? Hello? Can you hear me? Mr. N4THAN?

[N4THAN]-Hold on a bit, buddy!

He looks at the Officer who was still struggling to find an answer, but there is no hope. The Great Leader never revealed the documents needed on the papers that He writes to His brother, nor to the people that help Him. Only the Investigators who were working before knew what they had to find. It was decided to be like this even before He chose this title, so if anybody unauthorised finds these papers, they won't know what they are trying to see in the first place.

[N4THAN]-What do we do? We came too far to leave empty-handed!

Out of adrenaline, the RY4N takes the Defender's airpods and starts talking to the recruit as he remembers something.

[RY4N]-N04H, listen to me! In the equipment that I gave you, there is a small camera hidden! Somewhere behind your airpod, there are two small buttons! The first one will activate a small transparent screen that would stay in front of your right eye, and the second one is the button that you can use to take photos. By activating the screen, you activate the camera as well!

N04H puts his right hand on the airpod to find the buttons that his Officer was telling him about. He does as he said, activating that transparent screen he was talking about.

[/RY4N]-Did you find it?

[N04H]-Yeah!

[/RY4N]-Good! Now search for every document that seems important and take photos of them as much as you can!

So, he starts searching for documents in the rooms. He doesn't seem to know what "important" means though, so he just takes photos of whatever he finds interesting, such as some documents that have some information about things that happened around 50 years ago or 100 years ago, some even older, others that talk about the city's evolution throughout the years, some about how many slaves were recorded to exist in the past 20 years, the numbers of the C borns executed analysed and so on and so forth. None of these seem to get close to the word "important" to him, but he doesn't know what exactly they need in the first place.

But as he searches more, he finds a strange hole in one drawer of a desk. He puts his finger there by curiosity and activates a hologram which seems to be the map of the entire city. Again, he doesn't see something important in it. Several maps are found in every base. But as he looks deeper at this hologram, he sees in a corner a strange icon. He puts his hand on the hologram to interact with it and presses that icon, and by pressing it, makes it appear a space on the right side of the map, full of hidden documents, messages by the high titles and more. By clicking on one, not only the document is opened, but the map moves on some locations by itself. Each document and message seem to be talking about future plans decided by the General, such as where they will patrol or with which people they are still struggling to make a deal to get their slaves, so he takes photos of everything he sees.

But one thing attracts his eyes at the end, a conversation between two M Colonels about something. The document itself doesn't have a name, it's simply a chat.

"-...I'm not sure about that. When we came to the location to investigate everything, only the body of the victim was found. It doesn't seem to be her the one who did this. Even the soldiers who were before us reported a man leaving the building.

-So it was him again?

-Most likely. But they said they attacked the man as he was leaving, the result being some buildings getting damaged. Also, they did report that they caught him into an explosion, leaving a bit of blood behind, but the body wasn't found. It was either blown up completely or they still have to search deeper. Either way, I do not think he is still alive. Seven Two was already injured as far as we know.

-Then if we really managed to get rid of him, we can finally prepare for the next phase of the General's plan. Whatever that is..."

But he can't read anymore as he hears noises coming from the hallway. He closes this strange hologram as he already took enough photos, activates his device to vanish, gets outside the building and manages to go back to the group that was waiting for him.

While so, RY4N seems to be looking around the city for a reason or another. It's not to guard the area, being his role as one of the Guardians, but rather to find something, or someone. N04H then finally comes back, without any kind of emergency happening. For a first try, he did pretty well. LUK3 was also waiting for him all this time to see how he did, so when he saw him, he took him by surprise and raised him a bit in the air by holding him by a hand.

[LUK3]-Ohhohoho, no problems encountered? No alarms activated? I can't even tell if you are a noob! SEE EVERYONE!? I KNOW WHEN PEOPLE ARE GREAT AT DOING THINGS!

[N4THAN]-Did you manage to find anything?

[N04H]-I did...

[N4THAN]-Alright. Hope what you have is useful then... Let's wait until we get back to the base so we can see what you've got there.

The Defender then looks at the Officer who was still looking around the area...

[N4THAN]-Master RY4N, we are ready to go!

...but he didn't seem to respond at first. He looked down, closing his eyes and took a breath before he made his decision.

[RY4N]-...Let's go.

The Southeast Military Base

49:21

Officer RY4N, N04H and LUK3 are standing in the Great Leader's office. RY4N seems to project all the photos took by the recruit this whole time while the others wait for him. LUK3 came only to support N04H though, as he seems a bit down for a reason he doesn't really understand.

[RY4N]-...You sure did take a lot of photos, N04H.

[N04H]-Sorry...

[RY4N]-Don't apologise, I don't blame you. It was our fault we didn't think about that problem before we put everything in action. You only obeyed to the orders that I gave you. I'm just surprised of how many you managed to take.

[LUK3]-Yeah, little guy! You did a great job! Maybe from now on, Boss will let you come with us without that stupid decade training!

But even with all these positive words, N04H is still sad, and of course, LUK3 notices that and he gets a bit concerned about him too. He just doesn't see why he would be this way after all, since everything went so smoothly. Doesn't he want to work with them anymore?

[LUK3]-N04H? Why are you sad? You should be happy! You showed us all what you are capable of!

[N04H]-...

But he doesn't respond, as he waits for RY4N to finish everything, nothing more. All can LUK3 do is to stay by his side and look at him worried. Meanwhile, RY4N continues to look into the photos, until he finally finds the strange hologram N04H found.

[RY4N]-What is this...?

[N04H]-It was... hidden in a drawer of a desk... From what I've read quickly, they are suppose to be documents written by the M soldiers regarding their future plans.

[RY4N]-Then I think we found it! Maybe these are the documents CHE5TER was searching for! Now we know where we can find the soldiers in the next few days!

[N04H]-...

RY4N was excited as he knew these photos were what his brother wanted in the first place. All the documents were in front of him. And yet, the happiness didn't last long as he finally got to the last photo. As he was reading it in more details, it was like his whole life crashed before his own eyes. This is why N04H was feeling so down ever since he got back from the building. This is why he didn't want to talk that much.

So, tears were falling from his eyes, no one saw him cry like this before. LUK3 didn't even know what was happening at this point, so he got close to the Officer in a hurry and started to read what was in front of him. But even he got upset, no matter what happened all these years between these two... as they've witnessed the death of the ruler only by reading a bunch of words.

And as the world crushes him further, RY4N was looking deadly at nothing, remembering a memory from some days ago, what he thought that those were the last words his little brother told him.

"[RY4N]-...So you are going to leave us now, huh?

[CHE5TER]-It's not like I'm leaving forever, Brother. You know that I always come back no matter the situation. Even when we were kids, I used to do this to you and our father. Don't you remember?

[RY4N]-Those were different times, CHE5TER. You were leaving only to explore this city by yourself, not the City of Above.

[CHE5TER]-What's the difference anyway? I was getting in all bunch of problems in both of the cities. But I always came back home, dead or alive.

[RY4N]-...

And in this memory... RY4N is watching his brother getting ready to leave, as he says his last words before a long goodbye.

[RY4N]-...Can you promise me something, though?

[CHE5TER]-What is it?

[RY4N]-Would you... take care of yourself?

Then, as CHE5TER hears these words, He cannot help but crack a smile on His face. No matter in which case this situation was, the brother who remains behind will always be concerned about the other. It was a bad habit of His to leave for a good time the ones that He loves ever since He was little, but the thing is that now He is only doing it to protect them all. The enemies already took His father, why would He stay and watch them take His brother as well?

[CHE5TER]-...It is my word."

03.04.1642

The Council of the Underground City

23:56

Inside the room are every Leader and Officer waiting for the meeting to start, but outside are Officer KYR4 and Officer RY4N, standing together, waiting for someone. No matter how hard it is, RY4N still hopes that his brother will come, that He didn't die as the Colonels said. He still hopes that He is the unbeatable child he knew ever since they were kids and that nobody took his last family member away from him.

But he waits in vain. The ruler didn't come, nor with His disguise, nor as His true self. All he can do now is to enter the room alongside Officer KYR4 and lie about the situation regarding the Great Leader, as he did one year ago as well. Everyone greets the son of the Great Leader, but starts questioning about the father immediately after.

[EM3RY]-Young Master RY4N, may I ask you where the Great Leader is? You usually come together at the meetings.

[RY4N]-He is... taking a break for a while. We will need to continue these meetings without Him until He decides that He is ready to come back.

[XANTH3]-..."A break" as in what He did a while ago, or a smaller one?

[M4EK0]-I don't think it's a good idea for Him to take a break right now, Young Master RY4N. Especially with what's happening in the City of Above.

[XANTH3]-If anything, it will only bring more chaos to these events. At this point, we can already start to make the decisions on our own.

[M1SH4M]-Don't be childish, XANTH3! If the Great Leader considers that He needs a break, we should respect His decision.

[XANTH3]-I'm just saying that the last time Master M4TTH3W took a "break" resulted in a complete mess regarding all the plans. Not to mention the "break" He took after His son's death and came back as a complete new person.

As everyone argues about the situation, RY4N is only looking deeply at the empty space on the chair in which the ruler was always sitting, thinking only about Him. He then closes a bit his eyes to clear up his mind, or maybe to try and wake up from the nightmare he thinks he has. Yet there are too many problems to this whole thing that crosses his mind right now, and the biggest problem from them all is just one question: who will take the title now?

As it happened before, when the Great Leader M4TTH3W LENKOV died, there was no will left by Him to inform His people who will be the next descendant of the title. But He had two sons from whom to choose. RY4N wasn't ready for this title, he never trained nor stood to learn about everything that comes with it. CHE5TER was already training by the time the old ruler died, so His master chose Him to be the descendant. But the problem was that the death was too early, so CHE5TER wasn't ready for the title either. He didn't even manage to get to the adult age, as He was only 14 when this happened. But it was an obligation after all and He had to accept it for the sake of the people from the underground. His master let Him take the title, but also have two years of learning about it before He can put anything in action. So, He became a true Great Leader at the age of 16, when He finally hit the adult age.

Now, things are way different. CHE5TER doesn't have any successors as His father did, and before anything, He clearly said that He will never let His brother take this role, no matter what happens. So now, the descendant line is falling apart in his mind, and not only that, but also the title itself. The Leader title of the group will clearly belong to RY4N as CHE5TER was already planning on preparing His brother for this role, but the Great Leader role has no potential candidate.

This problem didn't actually happen for the first time now, it was discussed one year ago as well. Fortunately back then, the Great Leader managed to get into His position back and led everyone until now. But back then, at least they had Him with them the entire time, knowing His condition very well. Now, nobody even knows if the body was left behind or not, or if what the two Colonels said is actually true. Probably that's why people will still hope to see Him come back, at least until they know for sure that He is dead.

And of course RY4N hopes that too. Not only CHE5TER was the Great Leader of the city, but also his own brother, who raised by his side all this time and never let him go. To others, the LENKOV family is just a bloodline, but to him, it was HIS family, HIS childhood in which his story started. He could endure the death of his father that time, but losing his sibling as well is just too much for him... especially for an Original with a close Error. All that they can do is to hope that this isn't the actual truth and that it was hidden from them this entire time, but if it turns out to be real, they have to prepare everything by themselves to outcome these desperate situations.

The Southeast Military Base

25:33

And after the Officers got back to their base, we witness now MY4, who was sitting by the side of the bed that she used to treat the Great Leader, in the room specially made for Him one year ago. Before anything, it was a simple room in which someone could stay and call it "home" if the person didn't have where to stay in the first place, similar to the one LUK3 has, only for it to become a room in which the ruler could rest. She was simply looking at that empty bed, as she was waiting for Him to come back to her. CHE5TER wasn't only the boss in her eyes after all, He was more even back when she first came here. It was like destiny made them to be each other's lost piece, piece that covers the empty hole in their soul that they didn't even know about, completing it as a whole. That's why she cares about Him so much, that's why she is so worried every time she sees Him. But now, the only thing remaining behind was an empty room, in which she sits alone.

RY4N was looking at her from the entrance of the room. He knew about everything between them, as sometimes he was even jealous of her and how much He cared about her, at how much He used to talk with her compared to him. But in the end, it was this little thing that made Him happy, so why destroy it?

[MY4]-He... didn't come back... did He?

Silence can always be an answer as well though, as the Officer doesn't respond to her question. Of course she stays quiet for a while, she was devastated when she first heard about this too.

[MY4]-...I told Him that this might happen if He continues like this. I told Him so many times... Why didn't He want to listen?

[RY4N]-...Because he acted the same as when we were kids. It wasn't unexpected for him to make this kind of decisions, but I didn't expect this to happen so soon either...

They both stay a bit silent. It is a hard time for both of them to endure the situation after all.

[MY4]-So what will happen now...?

[RY4N]-...Do you think that I won't fight for his desire anymore? We will continue everything no matter how hard it gets for us. Both of the previous Great Leaders wished to bring peace among their people, why would I stay in the dark doing nothing at all and watch their wishes fade alongside them? If my brother wanted to end everything, that's what I'm going to do, with or without him.

[MY4]-...Wasn't revenge what put Him in this situation?

[RY4N]-I'm not seeking revenge... only to make his desire come true. As my last words to him.

The City of Above

47:35

Now, everyone is prepared for another mission, that... seems to be already going to start at any second. But even so, nobody seems so pleased doing it. Not because of the incident, but more because of a different reason.

[/J4CE]-...Are you sure about this, Master RY4N?

[RY4N]-If I said we are doing it, WE are doing it.

[N4THAN]-As much as I would like to be positive, Mr. J4CE has his rights to be concerned, Master. I don't think it's the best idea to put the recruit complete this mission...

[/ELL1OT]-...I have to say that he is right. We lost more Investigators in this building alone, even Master CHE5TER came injured out of it.

[/IZA4K]-It is the most guarded building in the entire city after all. What did you expect? Not even the crisis going on now will stop the soldiers from doing their duties here.

[RY4N]-That's why we should give it a try. If anything, the building could have answers to whatever the General is planning to do in this "next phase of the plan".

[LUK3]-Even I have a bad feeling about this, Boss...

[/C0NNER]-Oh, if even HE fears this...

[RY4N]-I won't change my mind now. We shall continue the Great Leader's work for the city's safety.

[/IZA4K]-I don't think Master CHE5TER wished for us to commit suicide, but oh well...

N04H was scared as he heard the conversation between everyone, as he was the one who is put to enter the building in the first place. If even the Great Leader couldn't escape harmless, then what makes him think he can do it?

[RY4N]-Are you ready N04H?

[N04H]-Mhm...

[RY4N]-Do the same thing as you did yesterday, okay? And listen to Mr. N4THAN.

He then activates his device, vanishing immediately, without any other word. What can he do? Now, RY4N is the Leader. He has to obey to whatever he says.

47:41

He enters the building without making any kind of noise. Compared to the building from yesterday, this one is indeed more heavily guarded. No matter where you look, there is always at least one soldier guarding the area. He tries to not panic and goes forward guided by N4THAN.

When he arrives at the specific door, he doesn't actually know what to do, as two soldiers are standing side by side in front of the entrance, and don't seem as they will move any sooner. He can't speak to N4THAN either, as someone might hear him. In the end, his very first idea to announce him is by pressing the big button on his airpod, which for N4THAN appears as a quick "beep", then disappearing.

He is not so sure what it means, as he used other codes with the ruler when he worked with Him. So, He tells the Hackers to track down his location in the building first so they can tell the Defenders to view the area around him, in hope that he might get an idea of what's happening. And so they did, a Defender looks at the area noticing the door and the two soldiers. Mr. N4THAN understands then that he can't get inside, so he puts the Hackers to find another way. They find one, of course, but he needs to use the ventilation, which would mean that he needs to go back from where he came from.

He goes back, gets into the ventilation when nobody was looking and goes forward guided by what N4THAN says, who seems a bit confused as some people are shouting in his airpods which one is the best, but he manages to get in the room after a bit of anger. He disables his device to not waste its battery, of course, but the room itself is a bit too dark for him to see anything. He struggles a bit at first, before setting somehow the airpod to give him even a bit of light.

[/N4THAN]-N04H, can you find any kind of document there?

[N04H]-Let me see...

The room seems pretty empty though, only a desk and a chair located to what seems to be a closed window are found. Remembering what he found yesterday, maybe he can try the same thing on this one as well. But as he gets closer, the desk doesn't seem to look any close to what the other one looked like. It looks more advanced, not a normal desk. He looks for some drawers, but the desk doesn't seem to have, not even one.

[N04H]-...I don't see anything here. It's just a desk and a chair in a closed room.

[/N4THAN]-It can't be just nothingness. As how highly guarded this room is, I can't believe there is only a desk and a chair. Look in the drawers.

[N04H]-I already thought of that, but there are no drawers to begin with.

[/N4THAN]-What!? No, there has to be something! Look closer! Maybe you can find something out of the ordinary.

He checks the chair to see if maybe he missed something, but nothing. He even sits on it to see if it can activate something, but still no response from any of his actions. He gets a bit disappointed, actually, so he puts his hands on the desk to think a bit what could he try now.

And of course the only random thing he does is the right thing to begin with. As he puts his head on the desk too, he notices that under him it got a bit brighter out of nowhere. When he looks, the desk seem to have a circle in the middle, one that wasn't before. He looks at it before doing anything, to see if there is suppose to be something, and tries to touch more of the area out of the circle to see if he can activate other things as well. But it doesn't seem to work as intended, in the end, the only thing remaining on the desk is that circle. He puts his finger on it to see if it does anything, but nothing in response. Then he puts his whole hand and finally sees progress. A light appears and starts moving from up to down in the circle for a bit as he keeps his hand there. He gets fascinated a bit as he is curious what's behind.

But, curiosity kills as well, as the light and the circle disappear completely and an alarm goes on. He gets up from his chair and goes to the ventilation before anybody enters the room. Right in time as he closes everything, the soldiers come to investigate the area.

47:53

[/N4THAN]-N04H, what's happening? Why are the alarms activated??

[N04H]-It was the desk itself all this time! There should be whatever they hide!

[/N4THAN]-N04H, where are you??

[N04H]-I'm in the ventilation! I need to go back to the exit now!

[/N4THAN]-No, no, no, no... N04H, stop talking! They might hear y--

Yet N4THAN doesn't manage to finish his sentence, as underneath him, a bullet made its way through the ventilation, almost even hitting him. Though he was silent when he came, now he made too much noise and discovered himself. He gets panicked and starts moving faster.

[MSoldier1]-He's here!

[MSoldier2]-Get him, now!!

His heartbeats rise to the heavens as he hears the soldiers coming after him. He moves forward for a while, but the soldiers stop him from getting any further, activating a small explosive as they stay far from the location and destroying the ventilation, making N04H fall. He gets fast from the ground as he isn't hurt badly yet and looks behind, only for him to see the soldiers coming closer and closer. Now he understands why they lost so many Investigators in the past. Whatever was yesterday was nothing if this is a normal mission for them.

[/N4THAN]-N04H, get out of there! Don't stay in one spot! RUN!!

And so he does. He starts running for his life as he never did before, not even when he first met these people. Meanwhile, N4THAN gets panicked and looks at his new Leader.

[N4THAN]-Master RY4N, N04H is in trouble! We need people to get him out!

But RY4N looks at him terrified, almost traumatised from what he just heard. Just these few words made him realise the mistake he made: he put a child in a suicide mission because of his despair.

[RY4N]-...Strikers! I need you all to go after him now!

[LUK3]-No need for everyone. If there is someone who needs to go, that will be me. If I didn't obligate you yesterday, he wasn't in this situation.

[RY4N]-There is too much for you to handle alone, LUK3!

[LUK3]-It's not like it's the first time I'm doing this. Just stop talking and let me do my thing.

Yet now, we are cut back to N04H, still watching the recruit run, as bullets try to reach him. He doesn't look behind as he tries to find an exit, but no matter how much he looks for one, the soldiers are already guarding any kind of possible way out. He can't run forever though. He is exhausted and soldiers are catching up with him fast, and it doesn't help either that some bullets even managed to hit him which slowed him down, but at least he wasn't affected during the whole explosion so he isn't injured from them. Still, they can do their work even this way, knowing that they are designed to just knock them on the floor rather than killing them. After all, everyone needs to be affected by that gas to be injured to begin with.

But after the whole chasing, N04H finally can't bear any more step and falls to the ground. He was so scared, he didn't know what will happen to him. He never knew what happens to the survivors of the execution who become slaves. But luckily for him, LUK3 gets into action, being covered by his armour, only the face being revealed.

[LUK3]-...You missed me, little guy?

[N04H]-LUK3!

[LUK3]-That's right! Now get your ass up and run!

LUK3 protects N04H from the bullets coming their way with his weapon while he tries to get up and do as he said. Then, he fixes it heavily in a wall to detach a part of it and throws it to the soldiers coming to slow them down, and of course, starting to run after.

[LUK3]-Why didn't you activate your armour too?

[N04H]-YOU DIDN'T TELL ME I HAVE ONE!

[LUK3]-Are you stupid? The thing on your arm has it!

[N04H]-Oh, great! Maybe next time YOU WARN ME??

[LUK3]-Yeesh, you are such a cry-baby! You have five buttons, god dammit! You never got curious to see what every single one does?

[N04H]-NO??

[LUK3]-Oh, I have a lot to teach you, buddy! For now, just run! I don't want to lose you now as well!

Though he was speaking the same stupid way he was before, his voice wasn't really the same, nor his attitude. He saw him many times arguing with the Great Leader, but even after all of this, it seems that it got him a bit affected too. But now it wasn't the moment to think about that. They had to continue running.

Minutes of chasing later, they get to a hole in one of the walls that get them outside which seems to be the entrance he created when he came, high above the ground, but some soldiers were already there to make sure they won't escape. LUK3 didn't seem as he cared though, he continued running towards it as there was nothing.

[N04H]-LUK3, they are going to catch us!

[LUK3]-No, they aren't! Trust me and continue running!

And so they do. They run faster and faster towards their exit, ignoring all the soldiers standing there. Then he takes his weapon, pointing it in front of him, as he runs and looks down to protect himself from any possible danger and takes N04H by his hand, screaming like the soldiers will fear him or something. Then, they finally jump off the building.

As they jump outside from a huge height, he drops off a device behind him, which when it finally activates, covers the whole hole from the wall almost completely. The only thing they have to fear now is the landing. While they are falling, LUK3 takes N04H in his arms and fixes his weapon aggressively in the building to slow down the falling. When they get closer to the roof of another building, he pushes his body with all his strength of his feet towards it and falls on it safely, remaining on the ground because of the impact.

Though none of them were affected by the gas, a landing like that can't just leave you without anything. Immunity or not, the body can still response to pain. And not only that, but their energy also gets affected, as both of them seem to have lost that C colour of theirs pretty quickly, remaining only a tiny part of it, causing the exhaustion they might have. Yet from his airpod, LUK3 can hear a voice talking to him again.

[/KYR4]-LUK3! LUK3, can you hear me?

[LUK3]-...KYR4?

[/KYR4]-Can you hear me, LUK3?

[LUK3]-Yeah... I can hear you...

[/KYR4]-What happened there?

Both of the boys stay on the ground, unable to move, N04H even seeming as he passed out because of the whole impact from the landing and loss of energy too quickly, while LUK3 barely keeps himself awake too. Others, though, wait for his response, as they are concerned for both of them.

[/LUK3]-...We managed to escape from the building.

[N4THAN]-Thank M1NERV4 they are alright...

[/LUK3]-We are... somewhere... on another rooftop... Can you see us?

Officer KYR4 then makes two sings with her hand to some of the people around her, making them search for them both. A man notices the boys standing on a smaller building and announces her affirmatively.

[/KYR4]-Yes, we found you. Some people are on their way. Just stay there and wait.

[LUK3]-...Hey... KYR4?

[/KYR4]-What is it?

[LUK3]-...Why don't you admit you are worried... about me?

[/KYR4]-You are talking nonsense again.

[LUK3]-I can... hear it from your voice... Hehe...

[/KYR4]-And I think you hit yourself too badly in the head this time.

As he listens for the last time her voice, he smiles a bit as he looks at nothingness, closing his eyes slowly. All he can reply to this is a simple laugh, before passing out.

[LUK3]-Ha ha...

The Southeast Military Base

49:46

Now, everyone is returning from the mission disappointed, while some people help LUK3 walk as he doesn't seem to be able to stand by himself for now. N04H doesn't seem severely affected as LUK3 really tried to protect him back there though.

[ER1C]-Should we call MY4 for you?

[LUK3]-Naah... I'm fine, guys! I just need to take some rest this night. We were lucky the gas didn't affect us back there.

[ER1C]-I was actually thinking maybe she could fix your stupidity that lies in your head, not your body.

[IZA4K]-Hehe, I don't even think Miss MY4 can fix such a huge problem.

[LUK3]-HEY! WHY ARE YOU MOCKING ME?

[ER1C]-Aww, I thought you like it when we make jokes...

[IZA4K]-Yeah, Mr. I'm-The-Best! You always enjoy when we are joking around, don't you? Especially when it's about you.

[LUK3]-YOU KNOW WHAT!? I CAN WALK ON MY OWN!

[IZA4K]-Alright then, big guy! If you say so!

Then, they both let go of his arms to let him walk by himself as LUK3 is really stubborn when he gets mad and doesn't want to admit he needs help now. So of course, instead of walking, he falls on the ground because of the lack of powers he has now. N04H stands behind all this time and can't help but feel bad about him, seeing him this way.

[IZA4K]-There you go, buddy! Walk!

[LUK3]-*mumbles* I hate you guys...

[IZA4K]-Oh, what was that? You need our help after all? See? I knew it you want us to walk with you!

[ER1C]-You don't need to act brave, LUK3. It's normal to need help sometimes.

[LUK3]-Yeah, yeah, just shut up and get me to my room.

[ER1C]-Yeesh, man. You are hard to get through today, that's for sure...

They finally get to LUK3's room, where the two guys put him down on his bed, nod for goodbye and leave him alone with N04H, who was still not feeling well about this.

[LUK3]-What is it, N04H? Why are you staring at me like that?

[N04H]-Why... do you act like nothing happened?

[LUK3]-Because nothing happened? It's not the first time any of us does this. As long as you don't see blood around me, I will be fine, buddy.

[N04H]-But you still got injured.

[LUK3]-Meh... Not really. I mean, the gas didn't affect me, neither did affect you, which means it is only a shock of the body that responds to the impact. I will get back to my powers tomorrow, though I think it will still hurt a little to be honest.

[N04H]-But still...

[LUK3]-No, just stop thinking about it. Don't make it look like it was your fault. I was the one who started this so I was responsible for saving my disciple.

[N04H]-...Disciple?

[LUK3]-Yeah! You don't see me as your master? Haha! I mean, I'm the one who is teaching you everything! A-And you don't need to be ashamed of that... Everyone had their own master at some point, even the ruler. Though, I'm not so sure I met that guy before... Point is that I have to take care of you for a while until you are ready to do everything on your own. My master told me once that a disciple takes a bit of the master's ideas and personality, just like a child copying its own parent.

[N04H]-...Your master seems wise.

[LUK3]-Nah, he was a dumbass. But he had his times of logic too!

Now it all makes sense to him. Everyone acts the same as the one that they had as a model. C0NNER acts the same as the Great Leader because he was taught by Him in the first place. LUK3 has his stupid ways of doing things because his master was doing them as well. All of these people took a part from their models in their actions. But now that he thinks about it, what kind of master did the ruler have to become this way? Was he also someone who sought revenge his entire life, or was he different?

[LUK3]-Hey, N04H...

[N04H]-Hm?

[LUK3]-Let's... stop everything about involving you in the missions. Maybe we should really wait until your whole training is done, okay? We should've listened to Master CHE5TER from the beginning after all, hehe...

But even as how stupid LUK3 was until today, he never confused N04H like this before. Or maybe, it wasn't confusion, but he didn't know either. It was his first time hearing him call the Great Leader this way, why did he change that all of a sudden?

50:03

N04H left LUK3 to take a rest alone, so he wanders the hallway a bit searching for someone that might have to talk. He doesn't really know where he could find him, but he can try the Great Leader's office. After all, they are siblings by code, aren't they? And so, when he enters, he sees Officer RY4N standing on a chair in front of the seat of the Great Leader, looking at nothing and rethinking his decisions. None of them say a word though, but RY4N knows N04H is behind him.

[RY4N]-...I'm sorry that I put you in danger, N04H. You don't... need to forgive me.

Even from his voice you can tell that he didn't make up his mind about his brother's absence. But does it really surprise anyone? Everyone says that these two were inseparable when they were younger. And even if everything changed all of a sudden, they still were there for each other. But, truth to be told, N04H never seem them that close before, only the ones that worked here before him.

[RY4N]-Would you... tell me the truth if I would ask you a question?

[N04H]-Yes...?

[RY4N]-How much... did I change in your eyes?

[N04H]-...

He waits for a response, but he already knew he will never get it. Not because of what he thinks though, it's just that N04H doesn't really know that much about these two siblings. CHE5TER is a weird man in his eyes, one time you see Him dead serious about His work and other times you see Him in the city with the others, without even wanting that much, and that is not to mention the time he saw Him catching those who were giving the city's money to the M people, a wild being that he never saw in his life before. What could he say about RY4N? He didn't stay that much with him to know him better nor did hear some things about him. In his eyes, these two are different from one another, but all of the people here say that they are very alike.

[RY4N]-*sigh*...What happened back there wasn't something that I intended to do. I didn't want to involve you in that dangerous place. But in the end... the mind doesn't win the battle with the heart. I... only realised what I've done only after I heard you were chased down. Heh... seems like even if I didn't want to, I still sought revenge, just like him. Now I understand his actions, even if it's a bit too late.

[N04H]-But... maybe it isn't too late.

[RY4N]-Maybe... You are optimistic, that's admirable. But, knowing him, he would had came back at least once from everything.

[N04H]-Maybe something just came up?

[RY4N]-Who knows... But that's not an excuse for him to not answer the calls.

[N04H]-Then... what will happen from now on?

[RY4N]-We will stop these missions for a while, that's for sure... And maybe I will talk to the South Base Leader so we can help them a bit with the investigation of the City of Above.

Then, he looks a bit down, takes a deep breath, and says his final words to the young recruit.

"...No more danger. I promise."