Anxiety. That was what the three henchmen felt as they gathered in front of the office. They were dressed in black spy solder uniforms. Their hands shook wildly with their thumping heart.
"H-How should explain to him that the boy escaped the facility?" the first henchman asked uneasily.
"We can't just say that we were not expecting it." the second henchman added. "It just sounded like an excuse!"
"I'll go in and tell him." the third henchman spoke bravely.
The other two henchman gasped in shock. "You are, Snake? Wait, maybe one of us should come!"
"It's alright." Snake said.
Swallowing his nervousness, Snake unsteadily took the bronze doorknob, turned it, and opened the door. It slightly creaked as it slowly swung open. The two remaining henchmen could only helplessly watch their friend enter the office. After when he stepped into the room, the door gently closed with a snap. The soft yet sudden sound made the two jump.
The office had an uncomfortable atmosphere lurking in the air. Bookshelves containing notebooks with recorded information lined against the walls. The fan on the wall helplessly spun. In the middle of the room was a desk. It had papers nearly stacked. Black pens sat in a holding cup.
A tall, somewhat muscular man was seated at the desk. His build and appearance gave people the hint that he was in his mid-thirties. He had a puzzling hair color. It was a hue that was in between the color green and yellow. His narrow, merciless, hazel eyes nearly clashed with his hair. Any naive child who glanced into his heartless eyes would turn and flee in fright. He was dressed in a dark purple dress shirt, black pants, and leather black shoes, indicating that he was part of a high rank in the facility.
"Is there anything you would like to tell me?" the man asked in a low tone. His voice shared the growl of a monster.
"Yes, Zephiel." Snake answered, trying to hide the tone of fear in his voice. "I would like to report that Experiment #9 is officially missing."
Zephiel sighed in frustration and set a hand on his face.
"We made predictions that he must've fled to the nearby city Smashville." Snake continued. "It should not be a big deal. We could just catch him wandering around the city and—"
Zephiel cut the henchman off. "You think, this is not a big deal?" he strictly asked as his voice rose. "Don't you see? Cities are filled with people."
"Okay...?" Snake waited for his leader to continue.
"It's likely that he will meet some people there. He might befriend and get influenced by them. Do we want that to happen?"
"No." Snake answered. "We want to mold him."
"That's why we need to bring him back as soon as possible!" Zephiel suddenly yelled furiously. "We can't let his pure innocence get tainted with freedom!"
"Y-Yes, sir!" the henchman nervously stuttered in response.
"Look for the boy in Smashville." Zephiel sternly ordered, his voice lowering. "Do not capture him in public. The rash action will cause suspicions. Only capture him when he is alone."
"Should we alert the police?" Snake suggested. "We can just report it as a missing child case."
"You may." Zephiel answered.
Snake nodded his head. "I understand. We will start the search immediately." He instantly turned and left the office.
Mist and Ike were sitting on the couch in the family room, dressed in their pajamas. The lively TV was on. It flashed colors and exclaimed sounds and voices as Mist gazed into its hypnotizing, magical lights. Ike was paying no attention to the TV. His eyes were glued onto his Aphone as he browsed through Smashbook and looked at his friends' posts.
Roy was nowhere near them, much to Ike's relief. Although the red head showed loving affection to Ike, the bluenette found it to be quite irritating. He followed him around the house like a lost puppy. No, not a lost puppy. A greedy mosquito buzzing behind himself, slowly sucking away his space and privacy. There was not a single moment when Ike had time for himself. Ike looked up from his phone and looked around before looking back at his phone. Where did Roy go anyway? The last time he saw him was when he randomly looked up and spotted the redhead snooping around the front of his room.
"Lucky guys." Ike thought to himself gloomily as he read one of Soren's statuses. "They get to start school next month. School starts in two days for me. Also, they don't have some lost kid living in their house."
Feeling miserable and wanting to empty his bottle of feelings out, Ike decided to update his status.
"School is starting in a few days in Smashville. Why can't it start next month like the other schools? This is f**king stupid. " Ike posted.
In about five minutes, Ike got a comment from Soren and Boyd.
"wow, i feel sorry for you" Boyd's comment said.
"Awwww... How's Smashville anyway?" Soren's comment asked.
Ike quickly responded to Soren's question. "It's the complete opposite of Crimea. There are no buildings, it isn't crowded, and boring. Oh yeah, part of the town is old as the Temple of Time and surrounded by countryside."
"Did you meet anyone yet?" Soren's reply asked.
"No. Everyone's so boring..."
Elena approached Mist and Ike, whose eyes were glued to their glowing multimedia. "Kids, it's time to go to bed." she softly ordered.
"C'mon, it's only ten! Why can't we go to bed at ten thirty?" Ike thought rebelliously to himself. Yet, he kept his mouth shut.
"Okay!" Mist turned off the TV and she headed into her room. "Goodnight, Mom! Goodnight, Ike!" she said.
"Goodnight." Elena called. She looked at Ike, who rose from his seat and turned off his phone. "Ike, can you find Roy and tell him it's time to go to bed?" she asked. "I can't find him anywhere."
"Sure, Mom." Ike answered, his voice sounding neutral. "Hold on, I need to charge my phone." Elena watched Ike hurry into his room.
Ike's room was completely dark. The bright yellow, sword-shaped nightlight emitted a beam of light that lit up the corner of the room. Orange and yellow spilled into his room as Ike opened the door and flipped on a switch. The ceiling fan's lamp, which was a shadowy, upside-down dome with a pattern on it, turned into a glowing ball that filled the room with colors.
A small rustle from his bed caught Ike's attention, causing him to look. His eyes widened at the sight. There, Roy was lying beneath the covers, his eyes squinting as he sleepily looked at Ike with the sudden beam of light painfully shining in his eyes. He was also garbed in pajamas similar to Ike's, only that he was wearing red sweatpants. Ike was wearing shorts.
Ike plugged his phone to its charger and gazed sharply into Roy's drowsy eyes. His glare shared the menacing gleam of a Haunter. Ok, it was completely fine if Roy were to constantly stick around Ike's side, even if it bothered him. But this was going overboard! His bed was his private domain that can only be entered by a selected few! Roy was not on the list.
With a small sigh, Ike called, "Mom! I found Roy!"
"Okay!" his mother called back. "Tell him that he could sleep on one of the sofas!"
Ike went to his bedside, looked at Roy directly in the eye again to intimidate him, and sternly ordered, "Roy, you are going to sleep on the couch. Please get out."
Roy only sighed softly, pulled his knees up, and gently hugged the blankets as he looked back at Ike with begging puppy eyes. No, he was definitely not getting out. The bed was extremely cozy and comfortable compared to the sofas.
"Fine, you can sleep with me." Ike sighed in defeat, sensing that Roy refused to sleep on one of the sofas. He turned off the lights, got onto the other side of the bed, covered himself with the warm, soft blanket, and laid his head on the white, fluffy pillow.
When he closed his eyes and tried to drift to sleep, he felt something, or someone snuggling closely to his body. A blast of warmth embraced his body. Opening his eyes, he exhaled loudly in annoyance when he saw Roy lying intently next to him. His eyes were shut in sleep. His breathing was soft and peaceful. Ike shifted onto his left side, looked out of the window, and began to listen to the cars zooming down the street, the echoing blare of a distant train, and an occasional ambulance's alarming siren. The sixteen-year-old teen felt that his space got violated. His personal empire was invaded by an unknown alien who always absorbed his life force.
Yet, should he feel glad for the alien? He was being chased by a twisted army for nothing! Maybe the army wanted to lock him up and research him. But, that did not explain why the alien always stuck to him like duct tape. He could have sticked with his mother or Mist. Maybe it was because Ike was also a male? Did his physical appearance give him the image of a protective brother?
The sound of a car pulling up on the driveway snapped Ike out of his thoughts. The low rumbling noise hummed along with the sound of tires rolling up the gritty ground. He looked out of the window and saw the bright, white light slicing through the window blinds into his room. It immediately died out along with the rumbling noise.
The noise of a car's door slowly opening and violently slamming shut without warning jolted the startled Roy awake. His wide eyes frantically glanced around Ike's room as he heard footsteps stepping towards the front of the house. The steps made a terrifying melody with the soft jangle of keys.
Roy huddled closer to Ike as he heard the sound of a key slicing into a keyhole with a screeching crack. Who was coming?! Was it a stranger?! Roy began to sweat wildly and slightly quiver. Ike was the complete opposite. Unlike the panicking Roy, he just rolled his eyes and kept his eyes on the open doorway. Great, he finally came home from work...
Unable to hold in his fright, Roy began to wail hysterically as the menacing stranger entered the house. He hugged Ike tightly for protection and buried his blubbering face in his shoulder. What was the stranger going to do now?! Was he going to attack them?!
"Is everything ok?!" a man's voice worriedly asked.
A middle-aged man cautiously looked into Ike's room and spotted his son lying in bed with an unfamiliar red-haired boy. The man nearly looked like Ike as the two nearly the had same colored eyes, height, and build. However, they were noticeable differences. The man's eyes were much narrow, his hair was shorter and brown like Mist's, and his face had a few wrinkles and slightly baggy eyes due to age and lack of sleep.
"Hey, Dad." Ike spoke nonchalantly, forcing a slight smile.
Gawain turned on the lights and asked, "Who is this?" He pointed at Roy, who slowly stopped crying, calmed down, and watchfully looked back at him. He rested the side of his head on Ike's shoulder.
"Erm, well..." Ike began in certainly.
Ike was cut off by Mist exclaiming, "Dad! You're home!" Mist gave her father an embrace, who gently smiled at her.
"Oh dear, you're back." Elena calmly said as she joined the scene. She looked at both Mist and Ike. "Everyone, we need to have an emergency family meeting now."
Holding back an urge to protest, Ike sleepily shoved the covers off, which tumbled over Roy. Roy shoved the heavy blanket away and made a move to follow him when Elena added, "Roy, you are not involved in this." Roy nodded in understanding and watched the four members of the Greil Family walk away towards the family room.
When everyone was seated on the sofas, the family meeting began.
"Now, can someone please tell me who was that boy in Ike's room?" Gawain asked. "Ike, is he a friend of yours?"
"Well, Mist and I went to the neighborhood park today." Ike explained, listening to the crickets chirp outside in the backyard. "We found him alone in the bushes."
"What is his name?"
"We don't really know. He doesn't talk to us. We just gave him the nickname Roy."
"Yeah!" Mist piped up. "We named him after his red hair."
Gawain nodded. "Were his parents there?"
Ike shook his head sadly. "No. In fact, he looked like he ran away from his home. He was very dirty. Mist and I didn't want to leave him by himself, so we decided to let him stay here."
"Please let Roy stay!" Mist begged desperately, her eyes shining like a begging puppy's, "He does not have a place to go to!"
Gawain looked at Elena and his children. "Based on Roy's story, I would let him stay— If it is legal."
"What do you mean?" Mist asked.
"It is illegal to harbor a runaway." Gawain explained. "Roy's family must be missing him. It's best if we return him to his family."
"I don't think so!" Ike suddenly blurted out. A sudden flashback of Roy lying in the bushes helpless and terrified caused him to shout. "Look, when we found Roy, he was bruised! He was dressed in dirty and torn clothes! He is too scared to speak! Do you think his family really loved him?!"
Gawain and Elena were a bit shocked at Ike's abrupt statement. "Dear, is there a way to take custody of Roy?" Elena asked.
"I think there is." Gawain answered. "But I don't want to sign the papers yet. Ike, can you go to the police station tomorrow and see if there are missing children cases?"
"Sure, Dad." Ike answered.
When the meeting ended, the family returned to their own business. Ike yawned as he throttled sleepily back to his room. Being as quiet as he could so he would not awaken Roy, he slowly stepped towards his bed and slipped into the covers.
Roy was sleeping like a ball of yarn. As Ike turned his head to look at him, the redhead sighed quietly and stretched his legs. His facial expression told Ike that he was in a state of peace. After wandering around the shady, unknown world, he finally found a place to stay. He met people who accepted him, even though he did not quite fit the mold. (In Ike's point of view.). Reaching hesitantly, Ike cupped his hand on Roy's hair and gently stroked his cardinal hair. Before he drifted to sleep, he felt the smaller boy snuggle closer to him.
Author's Notes: I won't blame you, Roy. I rather sleep on a bed than a sofa.
Here's another quick update! Just a heads up, I'm already finished with a few chapters, so I'm uploading them as soon as possible. Admittively when I started writing this fanfic, I had trouble deciding who should be the main antagonist. I eventually settled on Zephiel, the main antagonist of Fire Emblem 6; Roy's game. Later in the story, you'll see why I chose him. :3
Judging by the looks of the poll, it's likely that I'll start the sequel to Hollow once when this story is finished. I'm still keeping the poll up though.
Obnoxious Story Questions:
Now that a bit of Roy's relationship with the men is hinted, how do you think he involved with the institute?
Do you think Ike is beginning to accept Roy?
PS: SSB does NOT belong to me! It belongs to Nintendo!