//Ahn: Favor

They were standing outside of a small store waiting for the others to get food. Normally, they wouldn't have had to delay their progress by eating, but things were different now that they had humans with them. It wasn't entirely a waste of time, as, according to Nathan, the Wormhole was less than a mile away.

They currently couldn't get in; supposedly, the entrance was only active during the night. Operating in daylight would have been too risky with the OEC's consistent patrols roaming the streets, and doing it in the dark was only a little easier. This was the reason the prices were so high - the risk to get the illegal goods didn't just come from the process of acquiring them.

They still had an entire three hours or so before the sun set, meaning they had to find something to do in order to kill the time. Nathan had suggested that they all talk while he went in to buy food, but Amanda had adamantly refused.

There wasn't any conversation between the two of them at the moment, giving Ahn ample time to think. Sae appeared to be lost in thought herself, her silver eyes wandering aimlessly around the rapidly depopulating streets. It saddened him to see that she was still struggling to fully comprehend emotion, but in a way, he felt that she was lucky.

If he had the choice, he wouldn't want to feel, either. If one's emotions were only painful, what was the point of feeling at all?

It did, however, surprise him how much she had changed over the past couple of months. She had kept her analytical thought process when approaching whatever moral issues approached, but seemed more open to 'analyzing' things more optimistically. She would usually still take whatever path was easiest for herself, but avoided trampling over others along the way if possible.

It was like she was becoming something that could be called herself. She was still far from figuring out who she wanted to be, but the same could be said about Ahn. He had felt sympathy toward Ava because she shared a similar painful experience to his own, but felt nothing as he watched the people in the plaza get executed by the man with the cross.

He thought that that reaction was less than human, but that idea was apparently wrong. While Nathan had been in a foul mood after watching such a gruesome spectacle, the majority of the spectators were cheering. Yet, they were all human. How could they have such different responses to the same thing?

'No,' he thought, 'That's exactly what makes them human.'

............…

TWO WEEKS EARLIER

............…

Sae had needed to resort to using her bladed fingers as weapons in lieu of her missing swords, making her entrance to Hephaestus' workshop similar to that of a horror story.

"Again?!" Hephaestus yelled.

They still didn't know his real name, though Ahn supposed that was fair. They hadn't told him who they really were, either. All they knew was that they could all benefit from working together.

Sae looked at him cluelessly.

Hephaestus sighed, reaching for a towel. "You really have no sense of shame, do you?"

The towel, originally white, was now permanently stained red. Hephaestus recolored it yet again as he bent down to wipe the trail of blood left by Sae's hands across the floor.

When he was done, he walked over to face Sae. "Hold your arms out."

Sae tilted her head. "What do you intend to do?"

"Just do it," Hephaestus' irritated reply came.

Sae hesitantly did as she was told. Hephaestus went about meticulously cleaning the blood off of her arms and face. "It would be a shame to let a beautiful piece of machinery such as yourself be marred by dirty things like that."

Sae looked at him intently. "Shame? Does that term apply to both of the scenarios?"

"Huh?"

"I don't understand," Sae said.

"Ah, well, I was just saying it would be unfortunate if you were dirty. Figure of speech, I guess. Don't think about it too much." Hephaestus stroked his beard. "You two have the capability to feel emotion, right?"

"Correct," Sae replied coolly.

"How, ah...how does your line of work impact you? It must be taxing, right?

Sae looked confused, raising a still slightly bloody hand to brush her hair aside. "How so?"

Hephaestus frowned. "I mean...that blood doesn't come from nowhere. Doesn't that weigh on you?"

"This amount isn't enough to weigh even a pound."

Hephaestus laughed uncomfortably. "So, you don't have an issue with killing? What does instigate emotion for you?"

"I'm unsure."

"Hm." Hephaestus sank into his seat. "You'll have to forgive me for asking so many questions, it's just...you two are fascinating."

"How so?" Sae wiped gingerly at the blood on her left arm.

"Neither of you appear to have a problem with killing, yet you both have the capability to feel emotion. So why is it that you," he said, gesturing to Sae, "look like nothing bothers you, but you," he pointed at Ahn, "have eyes that show more sadness than I've ever seen in a human?"

Sae didn't get the chance to reply before Hephaestus started talking again.

"So, I can safely assume that you don't feel sympathy for the most part." He directed his gaze at Sae again. "You're entirely objective driven. Then, why are you still tagging along with him?" He glanced at Ahn as he said this.

"What do you mean?" Sae asked.

"Well, would it not be easier to leave him behind? You've been investing all of your time toward fixing his arm, being dragged down by his injury the entire time. Wouldn't it be more efficient to just leave him on his own?" He looked more than a little proud of himself for the tangent.

"I…" Sae trailed off for a moment. An almost pained expression came across her face as she contemplated the question.

Ahn watched her curiously. He had had similar thoughts over the past month, but Sae never seemed to question whether or not they should stay together, as if it were an unspoken rule.

"I have a favor to ask of you," Sae said suddenly.

................

PRESENT DAY

................

The corners of Ahn's lips turned slightly upward as the memory flooded his thoughts. It was a joyless smile, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. He glanced at the faces around him. They all gave off an air of strained anticipation, save for Sae's blank expression.

Nathan leaned nonchalantly against a wall, humming softly to himself, but the rapid tapping of his fingers against his leg gave away his disposition. He was clearly anxious about something. Amanda bore a similarly stressed composure, frequently running her fingers through her golden hair as she sat otherwise still on a smooth cement bench.

John, whom Ahn had rarely heard talk over the past few days, was frequently sharing hushed conversations with his mother. Fortunately, Ahn had no reason to speak with John. Even if he had wanted to, he had no idea how to approach him - talking to children was not something he had needed to do before, and he didn't intend to start.

Ahn shifted his attention to the expanse of street in front of him. The darkening sky cast long shadows across the pavement, dousing the ground in a solemn gray. A few lights from OEC vehicles illuminated the streets occasionally, but aside from that, there was no motion. Very few people were foolish enough to be caught outside at this hour. It was still about thirty minutes until mandatory curfew, but taking risks was not something to do around the OEC.

"We should get to a more concealed area. We're practically sitting ducks if we stay here for much longer," Nathan said, breaking the silence.

"Right," Amanda said, stretching for a moment before standing up.

Sae and Ahn did the same, aside from the stretching; they had no real reason to.

Nathan started walking at a brisk pace, making sure his mask was pulled tightly against his face. Amanda pulled a similar mask from her bag and covered her own face.

Ahn looked at her curiously. Was she simply being cautious or did she have a reason to conceal her identity? He thought back to the shard of metal lodged in her stomach. Where had such a foreign looking object come from? Ahn knew better than most about weaponry, but he had never seen anything of the sort over the eleven years of his life.

He reached into his pocket, fumbling around until he felt the cool surface of the metal. He would have to take a closer look at it when he had the chance.

They had been walking for almost twenty minutes when Nathan raised his hand to signal a halt, ducking quickly behind a small building as he did so. The others followed, being careful not to make any noise.

"What is it?" Amanda whispered.

Nathan put a finger to his lips, pointing to a small cone of light in the middle of the street about thirty feet away. A man stood defiantly in front of an OEC officer, looking intensely into the eyeholes of the officer's mask.

Amanda let out a short gasp, covering her mouth lightly with one hand.

"Someone you know?" Ahn asked quietly.

She didn't respond, but the look in her eyes served as more than enough confirmation.

The man was heavily built, corded muscles rippling across his broad back, but the officer seemed unphased by his intimidating appearance.

"Why, might I ask, are you out at this time?" the officer's muffled voice came through his mask. "As I'm sure you're aware, this is a violation of article A-401 of the Book of Union."

The man didn't say anything, and instead brought his arm back to swing. The officer tilted his head in a manner that suggested he was almost amused by the gesture.

The blow met the officer's chest with a resounding crack, but rather than the officer, the man who had attacked was recoiling in pain, clutching his fist to his chest and dropping to his knees.

"Disregarding a superior's questioning and assault of an OEC member can be added to the list," the muffled voice said in an antagonizing tone. "I'm sure you're aware of the consequences for these individually, let alone one on top of another."

The man stood slowly, raising his fist again. This time, the officer struck first, bringing a stun baton down onto the man's head, sending him to the ground a second time.

The man coughed violently for a few seconds before trying to rise again. The officer smirked, putting a shiny black boot on his head and pushing it into the ground.

He drew a small pistol from its holster, pointing it down at the helpless man under his foot.

"In accordance with the Book of Union, I hereby sentence you to death."