CHAPTER 16

Author's note part 1 – chapter 16

Oh my God, guys, here it is – the meeting. Yes, Tao and Takeo finally meet! And…!

… Please, don't kill me.

Warning: mild gore.

Also, there will be a short break after this chapter. But don't worry! Next month I'll post a special 'one-shot' I've been working on for a long time – something nice and fluffy for a change. So do keep an eye on my profile!

Takeo had a rough night. After months of 'sleeping' on a cold floor in a sitting position one would think the bed was all he needed to sleep like a baby.

He was dead tired, not even having the energy to wonder why the blonde doctor hadn't left the room when she finished the examination. The woman just sat there fiddling with expensive equipment apparently not paying him any attention. It didn't take long for him to doze off hearing nothing but distant humming and buzzing of the machines surrounding him.

Through the buzzing… slipped a different sound. It rang inside his head and, all of a sudden, he felt stiff and trapped by his own weight. Takeo couldn't move, and at first it didn't bother him too much, his mind somehow being aware that he was dreaming. (He was asleep and when you sleep you don't really move a lot.)

But then he woke up, in cold sweat and barely able to breathe. He looked around the room, searching for something, yet finding nothing but the machines and the doctor.

The blonde was observing him, but she stayed in her corner not taking any action. If he was having nightmares, evidently, he wasn't reacting to them violently this time.

(Were those nightmares, though?) Takeo couldn't remember why he'd wake up every half an hour with his skin tingling like someone had left invisible handprints all over it. (Was someone touching him while he couldn't move?) The young doctor was the only other person in the room and Takeo could swear she never left her post. (Why was she still here? She had finished her objective, so… Why? Why did she set for the chair when she could be sleeping somewhere else? And why wasn't she sleeping? What did she want?)

Takeo soon realised he dozed off again. It was strange how he couldn't recall falling asleep after being shook into wakefulness.

In a dream there was that weird sound again. It was becoming louder as if announcing that something was approaching. Someone was coming.

A familiar presence was reaching out for Takeo and he couldn't pull away; he was completely defenceless. When he opened his eyes there was a blurry face right in front of him and a sound caught in his ear. He was not ready to shield himself. The large mouth that spoke in a deadpan tone was upon him, the weight pinning him down. With no weapons in hand he was left wide open for anyone to have a peace of him.

So they nibbled.

Starting with his ear.

Takeo opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling for almost ten minutes dreading to look down at his body covered in wet trails of fingertips. It might have been blood. There was a coppery after taste in his mouth. Red. Everything was in red. His brain too was scratched, until it oozed crimson. Scratched with long polished nails.

His head hurt so much he wanted to scream.

But there was someone hugging him, telling him it will be ok. She was patting him on the hair… with long polished nails and…

Tap!

Takeo's eyes flew open once more and he saw himself with a crack in his skull. A big, gaping hole that was his head. There was something big missing and-

Tap! A nail was hammered in the fracture stopping all the fluids from dripping down his body. And then another one… and another.

Tap! Tap! TAP!

(No more…)

There was no more space; his head was so full it throbbed and pulsated like an open, festered wound, another nail ready to be squeezed in.

And she was still consoling him, telling him it will be alright. (If there was no more room in this crack she could always make another.)

When Takeo opened his eyes he saw her in front of him. (How she got there without him noticing was mind boggling.) He couldn't jerk in attempt to defend himself before she was too close. (Why would he even try to fight her off when she was the only one comforting him at a time like this?)

With a hammer in her hand she called his name and he believed with all his heart when she said he'll be fine.

But he was begging her to stop. (No more…)

"… Nmm… mm-drugz-ssh…"

She gently caught his hand, ending his feeble attempt to push her away and protect himself. There were now both of her hands on him, caressing his skin in calming circles. She shushed him and his mind went mute.

There was really no hope for survival.

"… Alright… It's alright. No more drugs," she whispered.

Takeo could only watch her in a daze. Her small, round face, beautiful golden locks. Eyes that loved him and looked at him for support.

She was an angel.

He was so lucky.

"Teira…"

Doctor Miriam decided skipping sleep was not a big deal. She was a night bird anyway, and her instincts were telling her that the subject was recovering from more than just an iris implant surgery.

She was still new at the institute so she couldn't tell whether his behaviour was ordinary or not. She could tell he had severe nightmares that didn't end when he woke up. Hallucinations can be caused by drugs… A drug that wasn't found when she had done his tox screen. (It wasn't unheard of at the Union; one of their goals being to create undetectable narcotics. Nevertheless, it was still interesting enough to take notes.)

It was four o'clock in the morning and Doctor Miriam was sitting on the subject's bed, rubbing circles on his hand with her thumb. He was drowsy and being completely still, and she wondered whether she should risk it and inject him with some sleeping aid after all. She had a needle prepared when he pleaded for her to stop.

"Teira…"

She cocked her head once again, not expecting a subject to talk in such a voice. (How was this young man so different from what she had imagined? From what she had seen so far?)

"Teira…" (That was one of the purest smiles she had ever received.)

The subject mentioned that name before. (Was he dreaming about that person? It was highly unlikely to have night terrors of someone you hold so dear.)

He kept repeating this name over and over again as if it was some kind of a mantra for him, as if he was possessed. It was often barely audible, sometimes filled with affection, other times, flat and emotionless. Those moments were truly chilling, because he didn't seem like he understood what he was saying.

"Teira…"

"Yes?" She asked in hope to break the cycle and make him shut up.

It was becoming uncomfortable and she was debating whether she should let go of him and leave him alone to deal with whatever the hell was happening. He was most certainly experiencing aftereffects of some drug whose usage was kept secret from her. Probably for a reason.

She was a newbie, daughter of a recognised researcher at the Union or not. The only reason she was even allowed to be near Dr Aris's work was because of her father's influence. It was truly an honour rookies like her could only fantasise about.

What was festering in her chest was not fascination nor excitement. And when the young man (younger than her, for sure) has gone silent all on his own, pure dread formed at the pit of her stomach. A pair of blue eyes gazed at her and there was absolutely nothing in them.

"Yes?" She tried to stir him, hoping this vacant expression was just him coming to his senses.

"… Who are you?"

"… I'm your doctor," she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

"Who are you?" His breathing hitched, his face no longer resembling a robot's.

"I'm Doctor Miriam. I'm in charge of looking after you after your iris imp-"

"Who're you?" He huffed impatiently with a touch of fear and panic in his voice. He waved his head as if he was trying to stay awake and repeated: "Whoareyou?"

"Shush. It's alright. You'll be fine, you're just confused. You've been having nightmares." The doctor pulled lithely on his hands to keep them in place. He started squirming, twisting his arms away from her.

"Teira- Who… you, who are you, who- She… she's not… I gotta- I have to… I have to…!" He was now truly trying to run away from her, but unlike this morning, he had no strength in his limbs and she found it easy to overpower him.

"Takeo," she called him holding his hands tight. "Takeo, look at me."

It was unwise to call a subject by its name, especially for young doctors. Then again, nursing a subject in this way was also unwise. It felt like all she did in the last 24 hours was nothing but stupid; unacceptable for a prodigy like her. Making sure your patient was in less pain than necessary was something her father installed in her. She would always see to it for them to have the best care even though it wasn't a custom at the Union. (Spending a night by the sick bed, though? It was dumb even by her standards.)

"That's right," she said when he obeyed. "You're in your room. I'm your doctor."

"… I have to-"

"You have to calm down."

Her patience payed off; Takeo soon relaxed against the pillow and the staring contest continued. Now, however, Takeo seemed to comprehend the situation. She could see it in his eyes how the cogs were turning in his brain.

"Who's Teira?"

That was the last question she should have asked, but there it was – out in the open. He reacted to the name and made it hard for her to ignore him. The moment she uttered it, his eyes glazed over, and now more than ever she was convinced Teira was a trigger for activating some spell he was under.

"… Who is Teira...? Who… My sister…"

Doctor Miriam didn't see this coming. (Was Dr Aris performing some test trials on siblings? Some experiments on genetics? She heard nothing of the sort, but it could be confidential. In that case, she shouldn't dig deeper.)

"Is she here? At the Union?" Maybe this charm or whatever was contagious.

"… My sister is sick. They promised…" Takeo glanced at the floor.

"They promised?" She was puzzled.

"I have to…" Takeo looked at her with more resolve. "I can't be… wide open… on the bed- can't. I have to get out of here."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave," she was strict with him, but he was not scared of her.

"No. There." She didn't expect for his strength to come back so quickly. When he released himself from her grip she was seconds away from calling security. "On the floor. I'll sleep on the floor."

Doctor Miriam was stunned by this unusual request. What she saw next was him sitting on the floor in the corner, his back leaning on the bare wall.

"You can't sleep on the floor."

She was bewildered, yet she couldn't really give an explanation why it was so wrong to choose hard floor over a warm bed. When he gave her a not so pleasant look she opted to let him have his way. (What was it to her, anyway?)

"Don't come near me."

To say that this threat surprised her was an understatement. Her brow twitched and she almost raised her voice at him, because who was he to treat her so after everything she's done for him. Her lips formed a firm line when their eyes met and she remembered why this man caught her off guard so many times before.

"He doesn't want to accidentally hurt me like he did this morning," she thought.

As if he could feel she got the message, Takeo rested his head on his knee and didn't address her further.

"I'll stay in my corner, you stay in yours," she added just to make the rules clear. She wasn't planning on sleeping and leaving him- Herself unattended, but Takeo was sane and smart enough to be trusted with a little bit of freedom. The responsible doctor in her rebuked her for making such decisions on her own. She should at least cuff him if she planned to allow him to do what he wanted. Miriam, however…

Miriam even dared to take a nap.

When the morning came, it was as if the last night never happened. Takeo was still a bit groggy, but he was present in mind and didn't seem to recall any of the outbursts. Doctor Miriam couldn't believe that he actually managed to sleep for three hours on the floor without any disturbances.

Even though she could see unwillingness in his eyes, Takeo took all of his pills without protest and waited in silence for Krantz to pick him up. Instead of Krantz, though, one of Dr Aris's scientists came for him and escorted him to the training grounds.

The man in the lab coat was anxious to be near Takeo alone which baffled Miriam. (In her humble opinion, Takeo was the last subject to make a fuss.)

And she was right: Takeo followed the man wordlessly not even taking his time to have a look through many of the corridors as other subject did.

Takeo was unusually cooperative.

Miriam took notes.

Takeo noticed there were unfamiliar footsteps in the cubical room even before he entered it. The owner was light on his feet and was breathing in… (Childish excitement?) He could hear the tapping of long fingers on computer keys. Whatever this person was doing, he enjoyed it and tried real hard to stop the laughter from forming in his throat.

(What on Earth is happening in there?)

Takeo entered the room and there was this skinny young man with a bowl cut padding around the room with a laptop in his hand. He was busy explaining something to Shark and Hammer who seemed to be genuinely interested in what he had to say (even if they tried to appear not to be).

"I hate gas masks," Shark muttered while black polished nails pushed the buttons in high speed.

"No need for masks if we use 667 ppm," Hammer uttered glancing over to the bowl cut.

"Correct. Our charts say we won't be affected even with a larger dose. But Hammer, no more than 1000 ppm or we're gonna have to deal with severe headaches."

Takeo could swear the fat man pouted.

"Still hate it," Shark grumbled taking out his knife. "Why can't we just…"

"It's supposed to look like an accident."

"Boooring!" Shark caught a fistful of the younger man's black shirt that revealed one of his shoulders.

There was a strange smile on the unfamiliar man's face when Shark showed his violent side. Takeo barely noticed it, so he was sure the other two missed it completely. The thin man… No, he looked more like a boy who barely finished his sudden and fast growth spurt, and was still suffering from too little weight on his bones and poor limb coordination.

"Well, it's just our first mission. Take it as a warm up."

Aside from the unsettling smile that quickly vanished from his visage, the boy appeared to be unperturbed by the tip of the Shark's knife threatening to pierce his stomach.

"You have a fucking retort for everything," Shark let go of him.

"Ha ha ha."

(Was it just Takeo and his super hearing messing with him, or was that not a normal laughter? He couldn't be sure since he couldn't see whether the laugh met the owner's eyes or not.) Something was not right with this boy, but Takeo didn't ponder over it for too long. There was something else that caught his attention.

"How long was I absent?"

Takeo spent months with those two jerks and still didn't know how to deal with them, yet this kid seemed to have figured it out in a matter of seconds. (On the other hand, perhaps he shouldn't be so surprised.)

All of them finished their personal training, and after all they've went through, the first thing they did when they met each other again was to scheme about how to poison people.

"They're talking in the same language."

Takeo looked dazedly at those polished fingers swiftly hitting the keys in a captivating rhythm. They hit and hit, they've kept hitting that one note that released goose bumps all over Takeo's flesh. His hand involuntarily ended on his wet temple, sweeping away the sweat.

"I won't… I won't be able to handle this."

"You're right on time, Takeo!" The cheerful call made him return to reality. "We have just about enough time to introduce ourselves before the leader comes back."

Takeo inhaled deeper and pulled up his guard. Constant vigilance against mental and physical attacks was slowly but certainly becoming his new default mode. The new member didn't seem interested in attacking him, but he was weird enough to be kept at a distance.

"I'm Tao. The hacker and… Well, you know, the usual… enhanced human. I joined your team yesterday." Tao closed his laptop and put it away while Hammer and Shark observed. Judging by how wide his grin was, Shark particularly enjoyed this one sided conversation.

"Your score is amazing. It will come in handy on our missions." Tao was too close for Takeo's comfort, yet the taller man had no idea how to react to any of this. It was even harder for him to take part in the exchange when he couldn't look the other person in the eye.

Snickering and whispered comments about Takeo's handiness and his none-existing balls from the audience distracted him long enough for Tao to approach even closer, completely shattering the invisible wall protecting Takeo's personal space.

"Wow… Those are… Those are some eyes."

Tao was mesmerised by the sky blue, and it was this unexpectedly honest and harmless amazement that stopped Takeo from pushing the boy away. Tao propped himself on his toes and ogled him while his fingers twitched in obvious want to touch. Takeo was thankful the boy had enough self-control to not do that.

"Are they real? Aren't you…?" Tao came down on his feet and just like that switched to fluent Japanese. Hearing his mother tongue left an odd sensation in Takeo, but what caught him off guard was a sudden burst of emotion in the younger man. The small smile on his face was genuine. "You're from Japan, right? Do they have blue eyes there? I never saw that in the videos. Don't they go with bright hair or something?"

"… It's an implant." Takeo almost stammered. For a second his mind was not sure in which language to answer.

"Implant…" For the first time Takeo could see the black eyes and deep circles of fatigue around them; that didn't stop them from sparkling as they realised something only Tao could understand. "An implant. They're… Is that new? There wasn't anything about machine parts in your file… You have an implant…"

"Oh my God!" Shark barked at them and Takeo couldn't help but frown. "Stop hitting on that asshole! And stop babbling, especially if you're gonna do it in that piece of trash lan-"

"I speak many languages, they're all the same to me." Tao said as-a-matter-of-factly. "I can teach you, Shark. Until then, I can be your translator; we were talking about Takeo's implants, you see."

"I don't give a damn!" Shark showed his canines. "What's so good about them icicles anyway? Our Jap here must be so proud he can see like a pussy cat now."

"You're just as useful, Shark," Tao said in a comforting tone. He seriously meant it and it was far from an insult. Takeo had to take a moment to recover from a powerful kick to his chest of a long forgotten feeling. (Did he find this funny? Was he about to laugh?)

But laughter was so foreign to him in this environment. He couldn't remember the last time he felt even remotely good. (Happiness was reserved for the moments he spent with Teira. She was, in fact, the only one who could make him smile, the only one to make him feel good. When he was not with her he was not in the mood, he had no energy to even try.)

The good feeling died before it could take roots and in its place lingered annoyance. Shark was being too loud. His crappy voice was bad for Takeo's thrumming head.

"Zip it, you little twerp." Shark chided and Tao shut his mouth. The way his voice died out as if someone shoved a piece of cloth in his mouth… And the way his face became flat like nothing was… wrong…

Annoying. So annoying.

"What's the mission?" Takeo cut in with a voice cold and sharp as ice. He was staring at the curly man as if he had dared him to speak again.

"What's the matter, princess? Can't wait to spill some blood?" Shark turned his head to the side letting his hair fall over his lips that curled into a sneer. With his eyes wide open, he challenged Takeo to repeat the threat he had sent him. "What's your dear sister gonna say about that?"

Takeo heard something cracking and then before he knew it, the rage came crushing down on him like a tide wave, flooding all his senses. His body moved on his own, and if Tao hadn't bumped into him on purpose, he would have been all over Shark.

"Whoa!" Tao was standing in Takeo's path holding onto his stomach. Takeo's sturdiness and speed was way more impressive when seen in person than on a paper. The mere impact knocked the air right out of Tao, but to his merit he wasn't struck down. "Guys- Guys, the leader ordered us to wait for him."

"He didn't specify what we're not allowed to do while we wait," Shark chuckled, his knives ready for some action.

"Come on, cut it out." Tao barely managed to grab Takeo by the waist and one arm, but that turned out to be not nearly enough to stop him, so Tao released his wires. They slithered around Takeo's limbs like snakes.

When they fastened around his thighs too, Tao slumped down on the floor and became dead weight Takeo had to pull in order to move. (Suffice to say, the sniper was more confused and alarmed than enraged at the moment.)

And then he snapped.

Takeo growled and threw a vicious glare at Tao who immediately rose his hands in the air as if he wanted to reassure him he wasn't planning to use his secret weapon on him any further. (That didn't calm Takeo down in the slightest. In his upset mind, Tao was cementing his position as someone who's definitely not on his side.)

"Get this off me!"

"Sorry, Takeo, but we shouldn't risk injury before our first mission. We should just stay focused on the task." Tao attempted to mollify him by providing logic and reason. This tactic should have worked because – judging from the videos of the fights and the maze – Takeo was the most reasonable out of all DA5. However, and for some reason, the sniper was having a mental breakdown. (Tao didn't have a choice but to wonder if his own behaviour was one of the triggers.)

"What's the matter, princess? Had a rough couple of nights? You've become so sensitive!" Shark was beaming with joy, spinning his knife around the finger. "I say we ditch this motherfucker! All he's gonna do is screw us up with his fucking hypocrisy!"

"Fine!" Takeo turned sharply to Shark and roared. "I don't want to be here!"

Tao was not expecting that, not in a million years.

"Oh? Did you tell that to your baby sister? Did you look at her with those eyes and told her to fuck off? Did she cry on you?"

Shark was toxic and it made Tao curious about this… sister. (She was also something that was left out of Takeo's file. He considered asking about it later when they all cooled down.)

"Shark," Hammer mumbled in a serious tone.

"Don't talk about Teira!" That was apparently the last straw for Takeo. He pushed forward dragging a surprised Tao with him. Shark disappeared into thin air and reappeared in front of the sniper, clashing each other's foreheads together.

"Whose gonna stop me?!" Dark pit met the blue ice.

"Shark." The deep voice of the DA5 leader echoed in the cube.

Tao winced and immediately got up. Hammer sighed wishing he had something to gobble on. Shark's eyes twitched and, unfortunately for him, he couldn't hide a drop of sweat strolling down his spiky nose. It vexed him mostly because Takeo's face stayed unruffled. (Maybe he truly was made of ice.)

"Whatever. Ice breaks." Shark thought to himself and then said to Takeo loud enough for only him to hear: "Saved by the bell."

"You are," Takeo hissed not braking eye contact even when Shark was removed from his vicinity.

Krantz took a couple of seconds to observe the situation and then looked at Takeo who was still held immobile by the wires.

"I believe I told you not to make a fuss." The brawny man was stoic as ever. Tao was not surprised to see the gaze of their sniper avoiding their leader's.

"Tao. Free him," said Krantz and Tao listened.

Everybody waited for the leader to continue as no one dared to speak out of turn.

"We're leaving for a mission tomorrow," Krantz announced. "Tao suggested the strategy. We talked and determent it was a fairly well organised plan of attack. Tact and stealth is a must for this mission. I expect all of you to follow the rules we established and to stick to the plan. This will be our first performance as DA5 – failure is unacceptable.

"Takeo will be briefed on the mission plan, but first, we have a request to fulfil," Krantz added while tinkering with his earpiece. "This simple assignment will also serve as a short practise sequence."

The doors of the room opened and inside entered two scientists. They were pushing a trolley on which sat a scrawny human. Its body was covered in scorch marks, it was missing a leg and an eye. There were strange masses growing on its back. A mutation went wrong. With almost no hair on its scalp, disfigured back and a frozen facial expression that depicted nothing but pain and fear, it was hard to even determine the gender of the somehow still living and breathing body.

Takeo felt his gut churn, the picture of the human in front of them being familiar. Like he had dreamt about something like this before. (Was this what they called déjà vu?) Try as he may he couldn't fit the foggy 'vision' in any drawer of his mind.

Takeo was not the only one feeling sick. Tao swallowed down his nausea and used the momentary lack of attention of others to take his laptop. He hugged it as if the computer could protect him from anything. (He was so glad a half of his face was hidden.)

Shark grimaced at the tortured body, while Hammer showed the same disinterest to it like he showed to anything else.

"Dr Aris received this specimen from Dr Crombel as a gift for wrapping up the DA5 project," Krantz said when the scientists left the room. "She gave it to me to do what I please with it. She did, however, ask me to do one thing."

Tao was startled when Krantz turned to him: "The current name of the specimen is 0718. Dr Aris wishes to know more about it."

"Oh… Ok," Tao nodded and sat down. He quickly started typing and in a few seconds he had first results. "0718 specimen. Brought under custody of Dr Crombel two years ago. Gender female, age nineteen. 0718 was part of the experiment Dr Crombel was doing on cross genetics."

"The hell is that?" Shark asked in disgust.

"He mixed the genes of animals and humans through transplantation and injections. He was also working on artificial in-breeding." Tao had a hard time speaking. His mouth was dry as sand paper.

"So what? She's a failure?" Shark asked.

"Um… It says here the experiment was terminated due to lack of progress."

"What else?" Krantz seemed uninterested in the facts Tao had found. He didn't look surprised by how twisted the findings were, either.

"Uh…" Tao tapped a little and then said: "Any further information needs higher clearance."

"So?" Krantz was cold. "Hack."

"… I'm not supposed to hack the Union database."

"I'm giving you ten minutes."

Krantz was more than serious, so Tao started immediately bringing his A-game. (He didn't want to discover what will happen if he breaks the time limit.)

For the next ten minutes, it was silent in the room. Only the restless typing and haggard breathing could be heard.

Takeo couldn't take his eyes of the girl who looked nothing like a human. Only God knew what they did to her and, once again, he couldn't understand why. She was younger than him, barely an adult, but there she was – now reduced to a gruesome pile of meat that was sane enough to feel pain. (Why would they show them something like this? In what universe was this considered to be a gift? Why did the info about this unfortunate soul matter?) She was destroyed beyond repair.

What was the point of it all?

"Why am I here?" A strong thought appeared in his warped mind. "What's the point?"

Takeo remembered the maze and all of the souls he condemned in it.

"Am I still in the maze?" Takeo thought with a shiver. When he opened his eyes there were the doors of the cubical room in sight. The exit was right in front of him, yet he couldn't take a single step towards freedom.

"Why? Why am I here?" His mind kept asking the same question while invisible hands wrapped around his shoulders.

"I've found something," Tao's voice broke through the silence. "Prior to being Dr Crombel's specimen, 0718 was used in another project that started three years ago. It's stated in the documents that she was shipped from China in order to be used in the experiment of super regeneration of the amputated limbs and other parts of the body."

"Ah… I remember that one," Krantz muttered with a smile. "It was a complete disaster."

"Yes. It says here the project was scraped when the failure reached 80%. Most of the… survived meat was sent to Dr Crombel."

"Heh, I guess you shouldn't throw out food," Shark snickered.

"This meat is rotten. A failure from the start," Krantz held up his chin. "Failures should be disposed of before they stink up the whole place."

"Oh? Are we gonna put it down?" Thrilled, Shark once again pulled out his weapons that glimmered under the neon.

"Before we do that, I want you to think about your future." All eyes were on Krantz. "One wrong step is enough to fall, and once you do, there will be no place for you in this organisation. Fail the mission tomorrow or any other given to you, you will be thrown away with the rest of the trash. And once you become trash, you better hope you don't get picked up by those who like to save food."

To know how effective this speech was one only needed to see Hammer sweating.

"Right now, DA5 is the only elite group operating under the Union's banner. We were all chosen for something greater because we were born special and we thrived by sacrificing everything for success. You should all be proud of by how far you've come, how far you will go. Never doubt your superiority – it is earned. Trash has no one else to blame for being trash but themselves. They, like us, had a chance and they wasted it. So… To fail is also your choice and your own fault. The judgement upon failure will also be earned. It will be righteous."

Krantz made a dramatic pause and then addressed Tao: "Anything on the specifics of Dr Crombel's latest experiment this trash was a part of?"

"U-uh…" Tao looked down at the screen. "Uh… There seems to have been a file about it but… But it was erased. I can't recover it."

Krantz frowned.

"B- But, I did find the file's name. The name of it still exists in other files as a mention. This particular experiment went by the name 'J'. There are many others that use similar principle of labelling."

"What? Dr Crombel does his shit in alphabetical order or something?" Shark was curious, while Krantz was squinting at Tao.

"Ha ha ha, you could say that. A, B, C, D… It's all there. There's even a K." He wasn't courageous enough to meet the leader's eyes.

"Tao," Krantz said strictly. "You will download all the files you've found and give them to me. Erase every trace of meddling."

"Yes, sir," Tao nodded and went back to work. He was very lucky to not have been chastised this time. He had a feeling Krantz was close to punishing him even if Tao's failure was not his fault.

Then again, their leader did say all the mistakes were on them. It was a very strange point of view, but a lot of other people say that too, so maybe it wasn't wrong. (Tao will spend many days musing on it.)

It was a heavy task to regain any level of composure after what Krantz recited to them. No matter how many times he thought Krantz was a power-hungry, insane bastard, the man would always manage to exceed all expectations previously set.

"Tao," Takeo heard him giving new orders. "You will download all the files you've found and give them to me. Erase every trace of meddling."

The girl was so weak she could only breathe and watch. Her lungs were making a horrible sound, like someone was tearing paper, as her mouth hung opened revealing her inflamed gums. She had barely any teeth left.

She existed but she wasn't able to interact with the world and she seemed in mind detached from it… Until Krantz said something. Takeo watched as she fought to focus her one eye on the boy. Her mouth closed like in a fish, her hands even moved in the hacker's direction.

The girl was reacting to the name Tao. And when she had enough of staring at his bowl cut, she separated her lips and heaved. Her voice was so weak none could hear it- Except, maybe, a super soldier with enhanced hearing.

"…a…"

Takeo followed her lips forming a single word. Repeating it again and again like it was the only thing she knew how to say. Her one eye widened, water accumulating on her dark eyelashes threatening to drip down her sad, yet… happy face.

She was bursting with emotion and no one was there to see… To care. Shark and Hammer were in their own world, often casting sidewise glances at him, Takeo being their sole source of entertainment. Krantz turned his back to the specimen, waiting for Tao to finish his job. Tao…

Tao didn't hear her.

(Does she know him? Does he know her? How is that even possible? He didn't recognise her?)

"Are you hallucinating?

"Why isn't Tao reacting? Why isn't he saying anything? She knows him. I know she knows him. That's the face… She's happy to see him… He's her… everything now… The reason she… moved…

"… He can't hear it… Should I say something?

"Why? Why do you care? He's a jerk like the rest of them.

"I have to say something!

"What good would that do? You'd still have to kill her.

"She's alive…

"You're hallucinating. You just want an excuse to not do it.

"… Do it?"

There was a pressure on his chest and when he blinked his vision cleared up and revealed a gun pressed to his upper body. The muscular hand of their leader held a gun Takeo recognised as his own.

"You do it," Krantz said in a strange tone. When he let go of the gun, Takeo's fingers found their way around the handle without him noticing. "Kill like you did in the maze. You've demonstrated my point perfectly."

"All the deaths I had caused in the maze were not on me, they were on the trash… How is that right? It's nothing but arrogance.

"Why… Why did I do it?

"Why am I here?

"Teira… I did it for her…

"… Who…?

"I did it for her. For her smile. I had to do it for her.

"It's alright to do it for her.

"It's just an excuse… It doesn't make it right. Doing something in the name of good, in the name of love, doesn't release you from the guilt. You're still doing it out of selfishness. You're selfish enough to think you and your excuse are more important than others. It's…

"It's arrogance.

"It's all on me… It will all be on me… The poisoned people… and all the future others… They will all be on me.

"But she's worth it. Teira is worth it.

"How much is she worth? Who on Earth would be worth so much?

"Her…

"Who?

"My sister. My only sister is worth it all.

"All of it? How much is that?

"It doesn't matter, she's my only…!

"But it does, otherwise you wouldn't be thinking about it. You wouldn't be thinking about that déjà vu and you wouldn't be still staring at that poor girl. You're looking for it, Takeo. The exit.

"… There should be a line.

"Then you should just betray her.

"Who?

"Teira. You should leave.

"I could never! She needs me! I can't…! I can't without her…!

"Then shouldn't the line be your Teira? It's a nice excuse, very relatable. It's ok to become a monster for her.

"… I… don't want to…

"You're a hypocrite to think you're not like the rest of these jerks.

"Why are you… making me…?

"Because it's your choice! You have to make a choice!

"But, Teira…

"You're already half there! You can handle it! Besides, the real monster is that girl. Look at her. About the same age as Teira, yet so ugly. Everybody in their right mind would choose Teira over her. Hunter of the beasts – how's that for an excuse?

"… I don't need… I just need… I need Teira. They promised… And if I don't…

"Then why are you wasting time thinking about all this? Don't think. You don't need brains to shoot. Just shoot. Pull the damn trigger! Shoot!

"Shoot it, Takeo!

"Shoot and get over it!"

The bullet went clean through her forehead and killed her on the spot. Takeo stood there completely still, his body going numb, he's face divested of all emotion. The ice blue eyes were staring blankly at the victim beneath his feet.

Takeo felt nothing.

Krantz stayed close, following Takeo's every move… Or lack of it.

There was that expression again. Takeo wore the same face he had in the maze right before he had gone suicidal. For a second, Krantz was worried he was going to have to knock him out again or at least try using Teira on him. Fortunately, the brat pointed the gun at the right direction and pulled the trigger like it was child's play.

He was a good shot, and Krantz could now count on him to pull the trigger for him and the team.

(Damn it, Yuri was right about Takeo having a foreboding presence.) Krantz was sure the brat had some form of internal debate about the murder, Teira or not, but to not show it at all? To not even blink?

Takeo was sucked dry of all emotion by his own volition. He was detached, yet he was 100% there. He affected others with his energy and he locked in place everyone that met his eyes as if he was aiming at them.

(That bitch was right to make those eyes blue.)

Takeo's appearance when he decides to end one's life was, simply put, cruel.

Krantz couldn't wait to see how it will evolve over the years.

"Good," Krantz squeezed Takeo's stiff shoulder. Then he turned around and said: "Now we can discuss the mission."

"I want to see her," Takeo was tired, almost lethargic, his half-lidded eyes were gazing at the floor. His arms were lifelessly hanging off his shoulders and the gun seemed to be too heavy for him to carry; the cold-bloodedness has vanished.

The shift from one stage to another was too drastic for Krantz's taste. He hoped, in time that the two would mix, and create a true image of a soldier.

"After the mission."

There was nothing left to say.

Author's note part 2 – chapter 16

I'm so sorry! It's not fluffy, I know! I'm a bad person! But they've finally met (and there was some bondage involved)! Yay?

We've reached about two thirds of this story. I have a plan to write about some of the stuff that happens to them on various missions (there has been a lot of setting up in this chapter for that mission's part of the story). There's also a lot of M-21 related stuff here. Hmm… What could that possibly mean?

In the comic Takeo is referred to as the coldest among DA5. When we first meet Takeo, he seems detached and emotionless, doing his job without any questions. He even looks bored when he has to fight. Heck, even his smile to Yuna and Shinwoo seemed fake to me (even when he mentions Teira). When we get to spend more time with the DA5 crew we also find out about the sister and about Takeo's emotional outbursts. After that, I now see a tired, depressed man who has so much rage in him, yet he keeps it bottled up. People who endure and stay quiet about their emotions explode for the smallest things if properly triggered. Character traits that go with this behaviour are often tolerance and kindness (all which fit Takeo).

This is why I see his depiction at the beginning so interesting. I see him as someone who had to numb himself in order to do the job. It was also a way to try to salvage his mind. And because of that misdiagnosed cold demeanour Takeo got famous as the worst of them all.

In the episode 136 Tao says: "M-21, I thought you were a pathetic Union failure… But I started to envy you." Which was strange to me because it sort of came out of the blue for Tao's character. That's why in my story I gave him a bit of an ego (but not without any backup). When they first met, M-21 said Tao could easily find the files he wanted and Tao said Correct while smirking. You cannot tell me that was not an arrogant smirk! He was a pet project, but, more importantly, being special and successful means a lot to Tao because of everything that happened to him. Hence the Krantz's speech and all that jazz.

See ya next time!