011

The air was sweet for some reason, and I could barely hear Haya's words. I felt my eyes become heavier until I couldn't keep it open anymore and fell into a deep sleep. Momentarily of course.

My consciousness was pulled from a deep sleep into my head. Haya slapped me awake, metaphorically, in my head. I felt it, I don't know how. "Partner!" She keeps shaking me awake, "You're in danger!"

I jolted awake in real life. The air smelled sweet with chloroform. I should be awake but it seems that Haya is forcing my body to remain awake.

"Remain calm, remain calm. It's hard managing your entire body. But I'll try to recover your motor functions." She states. The air constantly felt heavier and heavier until my room's door was kicked open. Two people, dressed as doctors and wearing gas masks entered the room. They carried an innocuous stretcher with them.

They stared down at me, at my eyes, clearly awake. "Shit, he's still up. What should we do?" The one on the right says through the mask, shifting his gaze towards the one beside him which doesn't break eye contact.

The one on the left pulls out a gun, a tranquilizer gun. "The Commander says he lost his motor functions, this should help." He aims it down my neck.

"Motor functions recovered." I immediately grabbed his hand, twisted it, and fired it towards the other, sending him back momentarily. I struggled with the other as we wrestled for control over the gun.

I laid my hands on his mask with the aim to take it off. Twisting his neck back, I managed to pull it out, kicking him towards the other, then wearing the gasmask myself.

Within seconds, one was fully tranquilized, and the other, chloroformed. 'Thanks, partner.' I thanked Haya as I made my way out of the room with my book and staff. I feel like it won't be safe to stay in the city.

As I walked out of the room, gas mask in face, I looked to my left and saw nothing but empty halls, then to my right. Cecil and several of her bodyguards walk away, she spots me and yells, "OI! GET HIM!" I casted a short blast to disorient them and ran as fast as I could away.

"I'm cutting off the power in this entire district, take the stairs." The lights in the district gradually turned off as the shocked yelling of civilians drowned the noise of gunfire from the guards.

They fired aimlessly through the darkening hall, sparks flying as they hit random objects, vases, walls, bulbs. "I'll do you one better!" I ran straight for the window at the end of the hallway. And jumped.

The glass shattered across my body and I saw the view of 500 meters high. The sea of clouds atop the dark district. There were no stars, only the bright darkness of the sky illuminated by the moon. I stretched my hand towards the moon as we began our quick descent into the darkness below.

"Ah," I hear the voice inside my head say, "Maximizing the energy output of your staff. Fire when you're ready." I hear the gunshots coming from our floor, firing into the void as we dove into the sea of clouds.

We passed through them and saw the dark district below. I maneuvered my fall towards a safer area, a park. I made sure from Haya that there's no civilians there as I pointed my staff down.

I concentrated as much energy as I could muster at the tip of my staff and with a deep breath, "BLAST!" A strong rush of air emanated from my staff, halting my velocity, and letting me land on the ground softly.

"Good job, partner." Haya remarked. The blast left a significant mark in the ground below. Not much, but noticeable nonetheless, "You need to charge up your book and staff, it's better if we hide. I already encrypted your tracker so it'd be hard to find you anywhere." I sighed and thanked her, running into the dark alleyways of the powerless district.

Rain had started to pour in the labyrinthine complex of alleyways. Each step, a shallow puddle displaces all around. My entire body was wet, but there was no time to waste under covers. "Haya, can you locate a man named 'Jeremiah Twain?'"

"Jeremiah Twain? Alright. Might take a while in the weather." She replied. I, exhausted, stopped running and started walking heavily. Winds blew through the alleyways strongly as the rain grew into a storm. "Danger!" Haya yelled out.

"Danger?" Thunderbolt and lightning crackled through the weeping sky as a figure appeared in front of me. Her hair dashed by the wind, yet let down by the severe rain. Her eyes pierced mine. I couldn't think of anything else other than a silent, 'shit.'

"Agent Pollus." She glared harshly at my eyes, as if to peer into my mind, "Agent Kinthos." She held a pistol with her right hand and a knife on her left, "By order of high command, you are hereby sentenced to 10 lifetimes in the galactic edge prisons." She aims her weapons at us, "Please do not resist."

"Commander!? What's the meaning of this!?" I pleaded, "Where's your guards!?" Seeing as reason would be useless, I readied my weapons, charged my staff, and made sure my knife was with me.

"Personal matters, Ag- Marcus. I would take you back to base myself!" She exclaimed, pointing her pistol straight at me. I prepared a barrier and hovered my hand over my knife.

"We refuse!" I loudly remarked, strong winds engulf my body as heaps of trash from the alleyway either orbit me or fly everywhere else, "Not until we get a viable explanation."

"Partner, I'll try to probe into her mind again. I'll try to give some support once I can." Haya declared as she started typing away in my mind. The commander laughed, for a moment she seemed to drop her guard. But I knew better than to attack now.

"Oh do you now? You want an explanation?" She drops her arms but kept her hands on her weapons, the storm crackled and howled stronger, "Fine, your memory will be erased again anyway."

"Again?" What did she mean? As far as I know my memories from when I was a child up to now were consistent. Even when I got the perfect memory implant, it was all… consistent."

"Again. Because, the memories you have, the memories you had. The you that you thought you were, were never you." She breaks into a fit of laughter, I hear her voice crack a bit, "Fabricated, you're a fake." She aimed her weapons towards me again, though she was shaking, "YOU'RE NOT THE REAL MARCUS POLLUS!"