A/N So, as promised, I hereby present the last part of episode I. The next episode will bring you the next story ;) And for now - enjoy reading :)565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbO7nmhsGKL
565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ156XMbAoUe
"Bad decision, woman. " she felt something sharp touching her throat "Now, kid, I won't repeat myself: GIVE.ME.THE.RING!"
"Don't hurt her!" Yelled Alex, terrified
"Oh, I won't, 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 for what he did - 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 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 never 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... at least 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..."
"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 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.
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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 at 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,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 <<procedure>> 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 ars 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 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 not only exist, but is 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 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 hesistation, Aleks stood up and shook her hand.
A/N So, that's it for now, folks :D Hope you have at least somewhat enjoyed it.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4h2rGZDmTg
Stay tuned for the first part of Episode II soon :)
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