Chapter 2

"And we're back wi-"

'No, you're not.' I thought, switching the channel on the television and instead putting on a cartoon channel. "Hey, I was watching that!" A younger feminime voice berated me, and then glaring at me for doing what I did. "Kids shouldn't be watching news, Alejandra." I told the little girl that I had saved and who in turn, kidnapped me, making her sigh with a hmph. And then pouting, her eyes now drilling into a cartoon character with a green watch on his wrist, transforming between aliens. Yes, I am talking about Ben 10.

I also sensed movement on my left, a little boy of about 8 years old grabbing into my forearm in existement, "Thank you!" He shouted, his previous bored out of existence eyes filled with life not going away from the television, making me chuckle. Going back to staring at the cartoon, I replied, "No problemo Carlos."

"Viktor?" I heard another voice, a woman and way older than me, calling my name from the next room, the kitchen. "Coming," I answered, gently getting away from in between the siblings and then making my way to her.

Entering the room and leaning into the island, "Yes ma'am?" I spoke with a high bead and smile, hoping for what I thought she would say.

In front of a stove, which had like 3 pots by the way, the woman who looked like a middle aged Alejandra smiled at me. Like her daughter, she had brown eyes and brown hair, but while Alejandra's hair was straight, probably from her dad or her grandparents, the woman in front of me had curly hair and was whiter than her daughter.

"Could you get me some flour and other groceries from the stores for this week, please?" She asked me, making my smile go wider. "I would have asked Alejandra but it's already late evening and-"

"It's fine, ma'am. I can do it." I interrupted, happily. Without any delay, I proposed a deal to the woman. Not the deal you are thinking about, I am a gentleman after all.

"Not to be rude or anything, but does this mean that I am free now? Because if no, then the act of asking me groceries is you thinking that I have healed enough to get out of the house and carry huge things." I told her with a smirk. An act that she reciprocted. 'Uhhh, that isn't supposed to happen.' I told myself, my smirk now gone and frown going wide.

"Ah, then never mind. I'll ask Alejandra to go out in the middle of the nig-"

"Fine! I'll get it." I told her with a frown of frustration, pouting away from the giggling woman. Once she was done with her fun, her eyes soften on me, "Viktor," She started, making me turn back to her serious. "I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter." she continued, "But seeing my and my family's savior go away in pain and injury is something that I will not accept. So until you are completely healed, or go to the hospital with us or your so called mentor comes to pick you up, you're staying with us." She ended with a bright smile, while I frowned.

"I don't see that old man coming to take me back... I was pretty annoying to him..." I muttered with a daze, remembering what I've done to him so far. Such as trying to prank him by bringing women to his doorstep amongst other things. At that, I could only chuckle. Though the consequence of those pranks were the beatings of my life. "And hospital, that's never happening." I told her about the second point.

"And, I don't think he'll be coming anytime soon. He might as well be enjoying his quiet time..." I replied, making the woman raise an eye brow in question, practically telling me to go into details. And before I could, voices broke out in the common room, the voices of a certain teenager girl and a kid fighting for something common.

Letting out a tired sigh, Alejandra's mom stared at me and then at the entrance of the living room, giving me a smile and then going back to cooking. Sighing as well, "I'll take care of it..." I told her. "And you'll have the money on the diner table when you come back." She replied from behind me. That's something I wasn't going to accept. It's been almost a week that I've stayed with the family of three.

And though I tried to be polite and just run away, it's turns out, a mother's wrath, mixed with gratitude is a terrifying thing. Like, seriously. On the second day, I tried escaping. Yes, escaping. And by some dumb luck, the woman woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and came face to face to me. Her guest that had his jacket on, his boots on, his pants on, a stack of cash on the living room table ready to jump out of the window from the living room.

At that time, my biggest regret was being frozen in the act, not knowing what to do while it took her a while to register what was happening. I mean, I could have just jumped away from the home and run, but for the past two days that I had stayed, I knew if I did that, the family would close their pastry business and search the whole town for me. That's how terrifying she was. So I had stayed. That night, I got the biggest scolding of my life.

I mean, I was scolded by the old man a bit sometimes, here and there. A bit by aunt Mercy, whenever I was too injured but most of the attacks by her was directed towards the old man, so I was safe. But before that, I had no one to scold me or correct my mistake. Instead, I was pushed and encouraged to do anything I could do to get stronger, even if that meant not caring about anybody or the consequences of my actions.

So, Alejandra's mom screaming at me, scolding me with genuine worry and concern was an eye opener... I mean, I did nothing for them. I just made sure Alejandra was safe and brought her home and the plan was to go and patch myself up with aunt Mercy's help and do it all over again while making sure the old man didn't go and kill himself because of some mission.

Of course, that was before I knew what care truly meant... Staying with this family was a huge learning opportunity. I saw what motherly love was. I saw what siblings love, and most importantly, hate was. I saw care with no hidden motive. Just... Care... I mean, how crazy is that?!

You just care about someone because... YOU CARE! Just like that. Like... How do I even explain that?! A woman letting a stranger stay at her home while being grateful and showing no concern or worry that the stranger might be bad is something unheard of to me. I could picture at least 10 ways that this could go wrong on so many levels.

I don't know if you would call it care, but I guess the old man cared about me? No... He was responsible for me. I don't think that has anything to do with care though. But aunt Mercy did care for me. And now that I think about it, she did feel like Alejandra's mom... Just less, let's say, aggressive? Yeah, aggressive.

Wait... No, she was aggressive, but it was always at the old man for whatever I needed healing with... Now that I'm thinking about it, she is scary to be able to silence the old man the way she does...

Letting out another sigh, I pushed the thought for another time because right now, I had to spice up a sibling fig- I mean, break up a fight. Yes, break siblings fight... Let's hope Ale's mom doesnt have some weird mind reading abilities or I might be in some more scolding.

Seeing the two siblings wrestle for the remote control, I could only chuckle, saving this moment for a reminder. 'Yeah, this is the correct path...' I thought to myself, each new thing I learned in this household solidifying my belief. I mean, yes, war does make people stronger. I am a living proof of that. Oli's a living proof of that. The old man is the living proof of that.

But that belief just... corrupts people. Getting stronger just for pure suvival means nothing when you can't care for people in fear that you might lose them. That was the sole reason I had gone agaisnt the gang members and almost lost my life. But with the old man saving me, I realized that that philosophy was only part of the equation...

Watching the siblings fight for a bit more, I finally broke them apart and then headed towards the exit again, not taking the money that was on the diner table. Though it didn't stop Ale's mom from reminding me. "Viktor, take the money, please."

"Can't do, ma'am. I'm already imposing on you just staying for so long, even if it's agaisnt my will, so if I can help lifting some weight from your shoulder, I'll do so without question." I replied, making her sigh again, but a grateful smile soon replaced her original hesitation. Giving her a nod, I continued on my way.

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Alejandra's Mom:

Seeing the departarting back of Viktor, all I could do was remember with a chuckle how awkward the young man was the first few days. The evening that Alejandra had gone to bought flour, she returned with an unknown man that I knew was involved with the shootings and explosions going on.

And that was further proved, not only with the rugged and dusted clothes, but also the way he carried himself. Though he was showing smiles and joking with Alejandra and Carlos and laughing with them, I saw the stiff and rigid way he was analysing the entire house, from corner to corner, as if he was searching for something.

Though his back hadn't rested on the sofa, when questioned about it, he brushed it aside, telling me that it was nothing. But upon Alejandra talking about the event with so much excitement and the way she ended it, I figured it he was injured. Maybe that was another reason why he was so stiff.

And when I had offered to help, he simply denied it, saying it's just one degree burn. I doubted that. Blocking an explosion, I am going to assume, at very close range, a first degree burn would be a miracle. But since he was uncomfortable, I let it rest for now. And with the way he was behaving around the kids and I, he shouldnt be that hurt. Or at least I thought that.

At the dinner time, he didn't touch the soup until he saw everyone take a spoonfull of theirs and even then, he looked very reluctant to eat. If it was a simple thing, I would have taken that as an insult, but him being so overly cautious of every single thing he was doing told another story. Someone that didn't easily trust people.

After dinner, he had said his goodbyes and almost went out, but the temper tentrum that Carlos started was a surprise for me, and even more so for Viktor. And seeing Carlos's way working, Alejandra also joined her little brother in trying to convince the young man into staying the night. Both siblings attacked his legs, refusing to let him move. That was a surprise for me, because they never did something like that with any other guests, even family members.

Alejandra, I could understand since the man saved her life, and I might even suspect that she has her first crush on him. But Carlos was a shocking surprise. Though Viktor had done his best to refuse the kids, when he saw that they werent gonna listen to him, he asked me for help with his eyes. At first, I wanted to berate the kids for acting that way. And I almost did but it was stopped when Carlos accidently touched his back by jumping up and down in his tentrum.

His little hand touched Viktor's lower back and at that little moment, his persona of a fun guy fell and instead, his face filled with pain showed itself for the first time since that visit. I could even see a tear forming in the corner of one of his eyes but the next second, it was gone. It was a little touch and the expression that he showed looked like Viktor was being tortured by someone. Immediately, I took the kids away from the young man.

Without turning to him, "Carlos, Alejandra, it's time to sleep." She told them, even though it was a couple of hours before their usual bed time, tonight was special. "But-" Alejandra started, "No, buts. Now go to your room. Both of you." I ordered them, to which they reluctantly looked at Viktor behind me with their eyes, pleading to say something, but nothing.

Seeing that Viktor wasn't going to help them, they gave up and slowly headed upstairs, dragging their feet. "And you," I turned towards him. That's when I saw his expression that had returned to normal, stiff and rigide. No signs that he was in pain or anything. Almost like she had dreamt about his face.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked me, being polite. "You're coming to the hospital with me after I confirm how bad you're back is." I told him, only for Viktor to refuse immediately. "You don't have to worry, I'll go there myself. And plus, it's nothing that severe." He replied nonchallently.

I was a mother. I have kids. I knew when my kids lied to me. They each had their own telltale signs. But even without those signs, I had a hunch whenever my kids lied to me and I trusted that hunch. And right now, my hunch was telling me that the young man infront of me was lying about everything. He had no intention of going to the hospital like some kid that hated the place. And worst of it was that he lied about the severity of his injury.

He wasn't my kid. I had no right to tell him what to do and what not to do. How to take care of himself, I couldn't tell him that because it would only lead Viktor to shut me down completely. I don't know how I know this, but by forcing him to do something, he will do the opposite. He will not listen and put himself through more trouble. I could feel like in my bones.

So, I went with another strategy, "Good, then you can rest here tonight." I told him. For a split second, his eyes widened before going back to it's orignal size, "I can't impose on you guys. And a stranger staying-" Excuses, he was giving excuses and he was practically ready to run out of the house anytime soon.

"You aren't a stranger," I told him, stopping him. "You're my daughter's hero, and in turn my hero. You saved my daughter..." I told him that. "I'm no hero." He replied immediately, his tone going somber for a second, his smile gone, before it was back. "I'm no hero. Just a guy that did what he could." He replied more with fake joy now.

Everything about him, everything that he had shown was fake, except the little leaks sometimes here and there. He was wearing a facade the entire time he was with us and the way he was conducting himself, it looked like he was used to this persona that he had built for himself. A persona of someone that was overly social, joking and smiling.

The only reason I could see through this was because I had children and that I was a woman. Alejandra was in her phase of rebellion, wanting to go agaisnt the world. Sometimes she would act in a certain way, to prove that nothing could get her. And as a woman, you have to see through the mask of people to spot the danger. And all my experience was pointing at the shallow cracks at the young man's masks.

After some back and forth, I had convinced him to stay the night and then leave tomorrow after breakfast, something which he agreed very reluctantly. I also threw some cautious warning at him if he ever escaped.

Once we had terms, I went to verify on the kids and because he needed the bathroom, he followed me upstairs. While he did his business, I went to check on Carlos, already finding him asleep. But Alejandra was wide awake, shufling on her bed, letting out giggles after a few seconds. She had probably heard about Viktor's stay and was now too excited for tomorrow to sleep.

Seeing me at the door, my little girl sat up on her bed, her smile wide, "Thank you, mamma." Giggling at her, I entered her room and sat at the edge of the bed, gently running a hand through her now free hair. "I'm glad you're okay, mija."

I knew I triggered some memories of the accident because she shivered and slowly wrapped her arms around me very weakly. "I was so scared," she muttered to me, while I comforted her, rubbing her back up and down to calm down her shaking. "I know," I told her. After what felt like almost half a minute, I found Alejandra asleep in my arms. And quietly, I put her on her bed and covered her up, gently placing a kiss on her forehead.

Exiting the room, I closed the door and was going to head downstairs to check up on our guest, only to see that the bathroom door was still closed and the light was still on. Deciding to let him be, I headed to my room and took a blanket and another pillow from the closest.

Heading downstaris, I put them on the couch and headed back upstairs. But as soon as I reached second floor, the bathroom door was still closed and the light underneath it was still on. With a frown, I headed towards it. Thinking that he was still inside, I gently knocked first, "Viktor?" I called out, only to get no answer.

I tried again and nothing again. At least, for the first few seconds, then, "Yeah, sorry. Fell asleep," He spoke through the other side. His voice seemed tired and weak compared to before. Letting go of the breath that I didn't know I was holding, "Is everything okay?" I asked him and immediately, he answered back. "Yeah, ev-everything is fine." The stutter made me raise an eyebrow but seeing or hearing nothing wrong, I nodded.

"Okay, I've already placed a blanket and pillow downstairs. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to tell me," I told him and after a two second of pause, "Okay, thanks." He answered back. Letting another sigh, I went to my room and prepared myself to sleep.

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It was in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, I woke up for no reason. And since I found myself thirsty, I though of going downstairs for a drink, while still being half asleep. Exiting the room, I walked down the stairs silently, making sure I didn't wake up my children. But at the last step, I found the living room light's were on.

At first I was cautious, my sleep disappearing and instead I was about to head up and silently wake up the kids and hide. But then I remembered the events and what had happened and that we had a guest. My caution was then replaced by curiosity. Silently walking towards the living room, I could hear some grunts and hisses from our visiter.

Walking a bit faster, I was now in the entrance of the living room and I came face to face with a Viktor that didn't had his jacket on him, his upper body completely naked, filled with sweats. But there was no time to get embarrased or blush or anything else. Because sitting on the floor was the young man, using the television as a mirrior to remove all the pieces of burned clothes on his exposed back.

And speaking of his back, all I could think at that moment was, how was he even alive?

No,

Correction, how could he even move without crying out in pain?!

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'That freaking old man!' I shouted internally, frustrated and angry at him. Why? It was simple, after delivering the groceries to Ale's mom, I had convinced her that I needed to meet with my mentor, only to come to our hideout and see my stuff being the only thing in the room. And a rifle that I saw him working on for so long.

On the table in the middle of the warehouse was a note and the mettalic emblem or symbole, whatever you call it of Overwatch used as the thing to make sure the paper didn't move from some wind or something. I didn't need to read the note to know what happened. He left me is what happened! AGAIN!

But the note and Overwatch and rifle was new, so pushing down the desire to go and hunt him down again, I walked to the piece of paper first. Only to see two sentences written. Taking the Overwatch symbole and then the paper, I read what was written on it.

"Go meet Mercy at Paris. Then come and find me."

"Huh... That's first..." I commented with an eyebrow raised. I mean, he always did accompany me to Mercy, but that's not the thing that had me suspect whether some imposter wrote this. Because, the second sentence was basically for him to challenge me and find him. Meaning, this was a test or something. Turning to look at the crude pulse rifle that the old man was working on, I let out a smirk. "Oh, it's so on, you shitty old man."

Pocketing the paper, I inspected the Overwatch embleme, finding a button on it's back, I pressed it. Then a hologram of the world appeared right in front of me, "Cool..." I muttered. But soon, my attention was on a dot right inside France, Paris.

"Please this better be not what I am expecting it to be..." I hoped, remembering when the old man once ignored and closed a video of a talking gorilla after it was finished. I mean, I was surprised by the talking gorilla of course, but in a world where robots are seen as... equal to human beings, what do you expect?

Don't get me wrong, I am not agaisnt the robot people or whatever. But the civil movement demanding something be done agaisnt the "discrimination" of the omnics and them being treated like human being is, well... Stupid and idiotic is the gentlest word I could find.

Robots are not humans and vice versa. Robots are created, they aren't born. Humans are born. Animals are born. Hell, insects are born. Things that are born in this world, bioligically, are way more important than things that are made and created by tinkering and patching a bucket on top of a pile of junk.

But I can't really blame them either. Humans do fight agaisnt each other over the most stupidiest things. I mean, back during all this omnic crisis stuff, I mean back in the day, there were some stupid movements that had some grand goal but no action other than screaming at the top of their lungs for "Right this, or that. Or Equal pay!"

But as soon as a war broke out, all those civil activist shut their mouth like little kids and let others fight the battle while they hid. The same goes right now with all this omnic stuff. As soon as there's another war or battle, because there will be, these screaming people will shut up and turn on their omnic vibrators and hide on top of it.

Damn reading about those was torture in of itself. One of the things that I agreed with Talon was to have a war just so that the amount of stupid people would decline. Of course, now that I was on the different side, wait... Am I on the opposite side? Uhh... Well, I don't care.

And while I was monologing, I had already finished taking all the things I needed, and that included a new jacket instead of the one that I had from the old man because his felt more heavier than mine. I wasn't ready to wear it.

I needed to head back to Ale's home to say my farewell to the family that took care of me, and then visit a... friend? For some favor with what I needed before heading to Paris. I needed to be there before the start of next week and we're already friday. Also need to find myself an express flight straight to France. Hope, Oli can help with that...

Now that I think about it, scratch that, she might as well take my eyeball and kidney in exchange when I least expect it... But a trump card or two would be nice...