A Janitor and a Student With No Friends

"sigh....well you're in luck because I happen to have a Memoria in my hidden stock. It's an older model, but it should work on this young miss."

Dean was a little surprised by this revelation as Memoria was a heavily regulated device since it could temporarily erase memories or reveal hidden memories. A type of device that can easily be weaponized in corporate espionages or even, by rumors only, used by the Royal Internal Affairs ministry. 

Knowing that, Dean hesitantly asked, "Why...do you have one?"

Bob turned around to look at Dean in the eyes as he replied, "Because an old friend of mine gave me a broken one to fix, but a newer model came out so he decided to get it and pretend that the previous one was scrapped. Satisfied?"

Dean nodded then Bob turned back to carry Mary, but unlike Dean, Bob carried her in a gentle princess carry.

"If my daughter was a year younger then this might've been her...or worst."

The comment surprised Dean, though it didn't show on his face, as he didn't know Bob had a daughter. No, it makes sense once Dean remembers that they barely spoke to each other and were just acquaintances at best.

"I bet you're surprised", Bob commented as Dean flinched a little then proceeded to walk back to the messy ground floor hallway.

"She graduated from here, but you probably don't remember seeing how you always train or study. But surprisingly my little girl graduated in the top 100 despite coming from an old jarhead and an Esper mom who abandoned her family for fame and money."

"Sorry..."

"Don't be. Because of your hard work, you kept your number 2 status for 4 years straight despite your background. Oh the lights came back, I guess the little girl finished her diagnostic while chatting with those muscleheads hah."

The lights did indeed turn back on, but only a select number were on as to not alert whatever is lurking in the darkness outside to come in. The holes leading outside couldn't be sealed automatically and spending time to seal them would be a waste when the group haven't planned their next course of action.

Still.

With the lights back on, it felt like some of the anxiety that Bob and probably the other two young men felt disappeared. It was as if the light itself filled them with hope...hope that they'll survive this incident.

Bob led Dean back to the janitor's room, and once they were inside, he pointed Dean to a particular bookshelf sitting in the back corner of the room. The bookshelf in question was missing many of its contents as if the fiends were carelessly throwing them away, but strangely it was attached to the wall as if it was always meant to go there.

"Use your power to forcibly push the back of the third row."

Dean was confused but comply with his instruction. As he pushed it with his telekinesis, it budged a little but it felt like pushing a bus full of people, so he used his hands to better concentrate on his power. And after painstakingly pushing the third row...

Click!

There was a clicking sound as an inconspicuous wall, opposite of the bookshelf, opened up revealing a hidden room.

"I disabled the finger and retina scanners, so you'd have to manually push the switch for the entrance. Couldn't trust our tech after seeing the security drones going crazy."

Dean raised his eyebrow a little hearing this tidbit, but Bob continue walking inside not seeing Dean's reaction.

Once they were inside, Dean wrinkled his nose a bit as the hidden room reeked of sweat as if the air conditioner was disabled while everyone in the gym were working out...intensely.

"Sorry about the smell, me and those two muscleheads were stuck here since this shitshow started. But how bout you finish your story then I'll bring you up to speed on my end while I set the device."

Bob said without looking at Dean as he laid Mary gently on a workbench after clearing its content. He then rubbed his bald head a little out of habit then went to a cabinet above the workbench where the old model Memoria was. Unlike the current model which looks like a tiara, the old one looks like a helmet made out of clear glass.

Of course, the glass isn't entirely glass but a mixture of complex parts to make the Memoria capable of interfering with the human brain.

Dean was looking at the device since it reminded him of the attempts on recovering his lost memories, but his silence caused Bob to stop and look at him in question.

"Sorry..."

He quickly apologized and explain his journey after carrying Mary with him. Dean included his fight on the ground floor along with Ha-eun coming in and having to fight...no run from her while figuring out a counterattack. He then concluded with Bob and the others coming in at the right time leaving to where they are currently.

"Haaa.....boy it looks like you really had an adventure huh?", Bob commented as he rubbed his thick beard a little.

"You could say that...."

"What I'm trying to say is that you did well with just you and Kat. Many others would piss their pants and run if put in your shoes. The real thing always beats the simulated fights, heh I know trust me."

Dean nodded then look at Bob's back as he continues configuring the device to properly block a certain memory from Mary's mind. Before Bob was going to talk about his experience, Dean blurted out:

"Have you seen...Melanie?"

 The last part was quiet but enough for Bob to hear, nevertheless, Bob replied with a flat tone.

"Last I saw her was when she exited the building going towards the party. It was about an hour before the party moved somewhere else. Hours before things went to shit."

"I see....", Dean whispered as he didn't seem surprised, and he started imagining the worst for Melanie's fate.

Why?

The few people in Dean's life were either gone or moved on with their lives. His parents died as he turned 6, and the few friends he made before turning 10 moved away despite promises to keep in touch but promises are hard to keep at such a young age.

So Dean remained alone focusing on his studies and training his ability...quietly hoping that mastery of his powers would somehow recover his lost memories of his parents. He silently hoped that those memories could fix the small growing void within him. That strong fixation isolated him from most people and by the time he realized it...Granny Judy passed away leaving him with her final words on a piece of paper. He memorized those words by heart as if his life depended on it and...in a way they were.

Words though were not enough to keep Dean from always assuming the worst since aside from Kat...he was alone.

"Dean...you need a minute? Or can I tell my side of the story?", Bob said since Dean was quieter than usual. He barely heard a faint whisper coming from Dean as Bob was just a regular human.

"Yeah just give me a minute..."