II - Gennaro

Fernando had had strange dreams over the course of his lifetime, but none of them had ever been so blurred and confused, so vivid and yet so surreal.

Sometimes he saw a red flash that made him feel like he was on the brink of bursting into flames, sometimes he saw a pair of headlights coming towards him and a series of distorted figures lifting him up. Sometimes he heard his name being called while other familiar voices echoed around him.

And sometimes his dreams were even stranger. When he wasn't a young boy running across Granada or a man having a drink with his friends he found himself surrounded by men clad in white coats shouting and giving orders, the ceiling above him a pure white. The dreams, or nightmares, unnerved him, but it was the utter darkness that enveloped him that truly scared him. He saw nothing, smelt nothing, heard nothing and was nothing.

"I am One."

He couldn't tell whether he was dreaming or not when he saw a man and a woman dressed in white leaving the strange room he was in, the latter carrying a glass tablet.

"Fernando!"

"Go, go! There's no time to lose!"

"Madre de dios..."

A gasp and he was ushered into another dream, the world bent and distorted, a chaotic mix of different times and places.

"Try to chase me, Fernando!" A child beckoned him and ran off. "Catch me if you can!"

He burst into a sprint, his body light as a cloud, his footsteps soundless. The child disappeared into a building, and he followed. Paper flew past him as he stepped onto a marble floor.

"War...war never ends."

He hurtled through the air and the world melted away. Then he stood on a terrace, people sitting at a round table.

"What's this?" a voice with an Italian accent said. "Sembra buonissimo."

"Careful there, amigo, there's chil—"

The man began to cough repeatedly, his face turning red, and another one poured wine into a glass.

"These robots," his father said as Fernando was suddenly having lunch with his family, "they should all be shut down, not given freedom."

Once again he was in the strange room, three men watching over him.

"Could it be him?"

"He doesn't look like him at all."

"His name is different, yet look at his wound..."

"He may wake up soon. Perhaps we could..."

"Hmm, yes, perhaps we could."

Esperanza waved at him, the moon shining over the empty plaza. "Ready for some flamenco?"

"What's his name?"

"Alfonso Galileo, Doctor."

"How in the world...?"

"We don't know."

"The police might want to question him when he wakes up."

"If he wakes up."

"Indeed."

Fernando saw the room again, a lamp flickering above him. He tilted his head and as his eyes adjusted to the light he somehow recognised the side table. Then he tilted his head to the left and though his sight was still blurry he could see five red roses in a green vase. He looked at the ceiling again and closed his eyes.

"Laughing Fox."

He opened his eyes, the room unchanged. Everything was just as it had been before: the roses were there, the table hadn't moved an inch, the lamp still worked and the masked man with the rifle was making sure he was sleeping soundly.

Eh?

"G-Gennaro?"

The man shifted his gaze to the glass tablet in his hand. He scrolled through the text, glanced at the door and placed it on the table. Fernando watched him pull a flash drive out of his pocket and plug it into the tablet.

"Gennaro..."

The man moved his hand to the side of his helmet and nodded. He removed whatever was connected to Fernando's body, unlocked the bed brakes and leaned against the door, opening it slightly at first and then completely. He strode towards Fernando and began dragging the bed out of the room.

"If it's for that night, I can explain."

The man slowed down and turned his head left and right before running forwards.

"I'm serious," Fernando said as the bed veered left. "You got it all wrong."

The bed came to a halt beside a wall, footsteps echoing in another corridor. As the sound became distant the bed began moving again.

"It's not because you're Italian, I mean, we all love Italy here."

The man went on, ignoring him.

"You've got to believe me, Gennaro. I didn't put chilli in your tapas."

The man pressed his finger against his visor, the number seventy-six on his shoulder, but just as he headed towards a lift Fernando spoke again.

"It wasn't me, it was Julio," Fernando said. "I don't even like tapas."

The man turned, hit him with the butt of his rifle and sent him into world of tapas, chillies and angry Italians.

He blinked twice.

Just a dream, Fernando thought as he stared at the ceiling, different from the one he remembered, the lamp replaced by a glowing flat panel. His dreams had been even stranger this time: once he had dreamt he was on some sort of flying vehicle after a masked man had got him out of a hospital, then he recalled dreaming about a woman and a monkey with glasses and the last thing he remembered was Gennaro throwing tapas at him, cursing him in Italian.

There was an intermittent beeping sound, he noticed, that came from somewhere in the dazzling white room. Is this my house? I don't recall painting my room white. He rubbed his eyes with his left hand, his right arm too sleepy to rise, yet the room stayed the same. Am I drunk? He nodded. I must be drunk.

He yawned and tilted his head, a hairy face with glasses observing him.

"Hello," the creature said.

Fernando blinked and looked away, the ceiling more beautiful than he had realised. Soon after he tilted his head a second time. The creature rubbed its chin, its features very gorilla-like.

"Are you God?"

The creature adjusted its glasses. "I'm a scientist."

"Ah." He took another gander at the ceiling, blinking. "I must be dead."

"Not at all," the scientist reassured him. "You're very much alive."

"Subject is stable, muscle mass intact, heart rate steady, no cerebral or neural damage detected, skeletal system mostly intact."

Fernando sniffed as he heard the female voice. "M-Mostly?"

"Um, yes, thank you, Athena." The creature knuckle-walked closer. "Hmm..."

Fernando squinted his eyes. "You're a monkey."

"I'm a gorilla...and a scientist."

"Winston...?"

The gorilla nodded and smiled warmly. "Do you remember anything?"

"Bits and pieces." He scratched his nose, wondering why his other arm wasn't waking up. "Am I under arrest?"

Winston raised an eyebrow. "Arrest? For what?"

"N-Nothing...? It's just conversation."

"Huh." Winston cleared his voice. "Now...what do you remember?"

Use your head, Fernando. "A red flash, voices, strange people, it's all muddled up."

"Hmm, we'll think about that later then." Winston sighed. "Um, this might be difficult to explain."

"Explain what?" He shifted in his bed. "Why can't I move my right arm?"

"About that." Winston removed his glasses to stroke his face. "Well, first things first. You...you've been in a coma."

His heart skipped a beat. "How...how long? Two weeks?"

"Hmm."

"Three?"

"Hmm."

"Five?"

"Yes."

"Five weeks?"

"Five years."

"Ah." He blinked twice. "WHAT?"

Winston's eyes darted about the place as Fernando jerked upwards. "Here, have a banana."

Fernando waved the banana away. "I DON'T WANT A BANANA."

"Here, have some peanut butter."

"I DON'T WANT PEANUT BUTTER." He struggled to move his other arm. "And why can't I move th—"

Winston grimaced as Fernando noticed that his right arm was missing. "Okay, okay, don't panic, don't panic."

"What? How? B-But? Why...? The hell...?"

"Yes, um." Winston scratched the side of his head. "Your arm is missing."

"Ah." Fernando fainted and fell backwards.

"Hmm." Winston shrugged. "Well, that wasn't too bad."

"That went horribly wrong, Winston."

"Thank you, Athena."

"How's my favourite patient?"

Fernando opened his eyes, a woman with white hair smiling at him. "Señorita, I had a terrible dream."

"And what did you dream?" She asked whilst checking a monitor close to him.

"Talking monkeys...coma...missing arm."

As she moved away he saw Winston adjusting his glasses. "I'm a scientist."

"Ah." Fernando fainted again.

Fernando sat at a table, his face buried in the only hand he had left.

"It was all real," he muttered to himself.

"I must say," the woman said as she entered the room, "the hospital in Granada did a really good job." She scrolled through his medical records. "You wouldn't be able to even stand if it weren't for them. Actually, you wouldn't even be alive."

Fernando shook his head. "Lucky me."

"The wonders of modern medicine, huh?" She turned as Winston joined them. "Winston!"

"How is he?"

"He's physically healthy and his brain has no permanent damage. From a psychological perspective though I suggest he rests some more. He may be...a little unstable."

Fernando slammed his head on the table. "Magnífico."

The doctor glanced at him. "Exactly."

"I see," Winston said. "Thank you, Angela. I wouldn't have called you here if it hadn't been necessary."

"Should we proceed...?"

"Not yet."

Angela nodded and strode out of the room. Winston sat beside the table and the door opened. Soon after someone else sat opposite him.

Fernando raised his head, the masked man observing him. "Hola."

Winston cleared his voice. "We need you to tell us what happened."

"I told you, it's all muddled up."

"We need you to remember," Winston insisted. "That arm didn't just disappear."

Fernando sighed. No more flamenco, I guess. "Is this legal?" He realised that the masked man, a seasoned soldier undoubtedly, kept looking at him. "Gennaro?" He could swear he had seen the soldier's fingers twitching.

"Technically it's not," Winston replied. "Technically nothing we do is legal. Hmm, we could all end up in court right now." The soldier hemmed. "Anyway, tell us everything that happened in the factory."

¡Ay, caramba. "Factory, what factory?" He said as the soldier crossed his arms. "Chocolate factory?"

"Listen," Winston said, his voice earnest, "this is not a joke. We know very well who you are, Fernando Aberquero."

I must be drunk.

"And we know you helped us foil a terrorist attack in Madrid."

The soldier's presence was unnerving. "Perhaps...perhaps."

"We know you are the thief known as the Laughing Fox, and we know that other thieves like you roam around Granada."

This monkey knows everything.

"So," Winston relaxed himself, "what happened?"

I need a siesta. His eyes went to the soldier's visor and the memories of the factory flooded his mind. "I am One."

And thus Fernando began telling them everything, the words pouring out of his mouth as if he had been waiting for this moment all his life. Winston's expressions changed continuously during the story while all the soldier did was stare at him without moving an inch.

Winston furrowed his brow. "Do you know what was in the safe?"

"No," Fernando replied. "They said there was information concerning them, but I seriously doubt it."

Winston rubbed his chin. "Hmm. A safe in a chamber in an omnium." He faced the masked soldier. "Could be a weapon."

"Whatever it was, the omnic has it."

"Hmm."

"There was an omnium already causing problems in...Siberia, I think?"

"It still is."

"Well, there you have it. One could be behind it."

"Perhaps," Winston said and the soldier nodded at him before rising from his chair and heading out of the room. "This is more serious than we thought."

Fernando shrugged. "Red slit, shoots lasers, looks like a vagabond, hates people. Can't miss him." He yawned. "What now? Can I go back to Granada?"

"You could." Winston knuckle-walked in a circle. "Or...you could help us."

"Help you? How? I don't even have an arm."

"That...can be fixed easily." Winston paused. "We are on the same boat. Just like you, we are no longer in good terms with the law. At least, not yet."

"Eh?"

Winston turned and a screen in the room lit up. A news channel suddenly appeared.

"I'm here in Switzerland where a massive explosion has completely destroyed the Overwatch headquarters. The UN and the Swiss authorities are currently investigating the cause. There are reports that some bodies have already been found and that, unfortunately, they are the first of many. This comes after countless allegations were made against the organisation. Could an unlawful activity be behind this disaster? What impact will this have on Overwatch? I am Ellen Jay for Atlas News. Back to the studio."

The screen played more videos.

"People all over the world celebrate in the streets as the Petras Act is finally signed into law."

"The UN has assured us that should any activity resume, there will be a swift response."

"Former members of Overwatch are gathered here in Arlington National Cemetery to pay their respects to their former commander, John Morrison."

Winston's expression changed. "Much has happened over the past few years, as you can see."

"Too much." Fernando thought about his friends in Granada. "I need some air."

Winston helped him stand up and together they went outside, Fernando staggering as he did so. "Take it easy," Winston said. "You still need to get used to it."

The sun blinded him as he stepped outside. He remained silent as he relished the warmth enveloping him."Where...where are we?"

"Gibraltar, old Overwatch outpost."

Fernando leaned against the wall, briny air filling his lungs, the blue sea shimmering in the distance.

"Those terrorists would've taken you if we hadn't intervened in time."

"Talon, huh?" Fernando said, seagulls flying in the sky. "They visited me a couple of times, apparently."

Winston breathed deeply. "So, what will it be?"

A seagull cawed. "Do I have a choice?" Fernando said.

Winston stepped forwards. "We all have choices, and it is what we choose that dictates who we are. A wise man once told me to never accept the world as it appears to be, but to dare to see it for what it could be." He faced Fernando. "If you could change the world, would you?"

Fernando didn't reply, his eyes fixed on the horizon. At long last he exhaled loudly. "Ah, whatever." He forced himself to stand properly and extended his left hand. "The Laughing Fox is at your service, my dear eloquent monkey."

Winston adjusted his glasses, smiling. "I'm a scientist. Now, time to get a new arm."

Notes:

- You can find this on DeviantART where the formatting looks much, much better.

- On this website I've decided to use those horizontal lines because the formatting is just terrible here.

Other:

Liked this? Then you may want to take a look at the two novellas I self-published, Mark & Karm and The Dragon's Roar. Both of them can be found on Amazon. My author name is Alexander A. Nastasi. Any support is truly appreciated.

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