Sooner or later
By MidnightReverie

The dawn's light sneaked in on his heavy eye-lids. Another day of work? Great. But then he remembered it was a Saturday. In habit he stroked the scars across his face and then made a way to his chest. How it appeared there was still a question to him. In time of war, they had said, you had pure luck surviving a blast like that. Surviving such a thing was real luck. Anyone else could have been dead. Okay, but the details could not be told. Neo Lorrnoke, the doctor said, the only thing that actually could be told.

Neo? Which parents call their child like that? Did they watch too many old movies?

That was the way he had reacted. Awaken from a coma couple of months after the war he never could remember, and then ending up lying in some less than ordinary hospital. What in the worlds did he ended up in? Was it even a hospital? The things that bugged him was that something wasn't right about the stuff he could remember and couldn't. Then again does it even matter?

The days however began like this: do not question, but do your job and everything's going to be just fine. It almost looked like being brainwashed to look ahead, but isn't that true? Yet the scars remained; he was offered to remove the scars on his body either at ORB or PLANT. Neither felt like an option. His veteran pride was regarded high. So he chose not to.

The days began with the scars of which he did not know where they came from. There were so many questions and the only thing he could do was to hide them. The colonel, and others for that matter, didn't want to bother him with the unknown past. Still he wondered so much, especially in the earlier days, that he started fearing it. If someone actually had known him; would he still be the same like before? What kind of person must he have been in the past? Loved? Hated? Is he stillthe same?

Just don't bother anymore, he forced himself to think. Just like the doctors said; do not question.

This week had been very rough with the endless training of the Extendeds; Sting Oakley, Auel Neider and Stellar Loussier. Within a month the three weapons would invade Armory One. More weeks like these would come, but now he had rest. These thoughts did not make it easier to fall asleep again.

Neo decided to take a shower.

Done. Changing clothes. Brushing teeth.

"Neo?" A girl's voice sounded not too far away from him. Neo feared the worst; Stellar had come to his office. Ack, he must have let the door unlocked last night!

His eyes frantically searched for the mask that hid his identity. Not here. Not here? He realized he was left with no choice.

The girl was sitting on his bed with the mask in her hands.

"Hey kid. Give me that mask." Neo demanded, while walking towards the bed. Through the long strands he could see how her eyes were wide of happiness. Only the wall of his dirty blond hair made it difficult not to bump into various things. Like the edge of the bed, for example. Ouch. He cringed.

Stellar looked down at the mask she held, but then hid it behind her back.

"Hey." He became annoyed and went to sit down next to her. As usual Stellar locked her arms around his arm, while Neo's eyes were locked on the target behind her. If it was someone else… By the time his free hand reached within inches of the mask, he finally ended up looking straight in her eyes. Too late. Her eyes were still wide, but now her mouth opened in pure happiness. Stellar could see his face now.

"Neo!"

"What's the meaning of this, really…" Neo sighed and just left it like that.

Sooner or later they'll find out, there's a hole in the wall. That was one of those thoughts he had ever since he decided to hide. No man would uncover him unharmed. Yet it was a little girl who saw the man behind the mask.

She touched the scars, looking as if her world had become a question mark. If only he could believe in the possibility of answering that question: "What are these scars?"

"I gave it all away and I lost who I am." Neo mumbled. "I threw it all away with everything to gain. That's all I know."

When there was no importance to an individual like him. The things he lost could not return. The only things he could hold on was the one he was now. He feared losing Colonel Neo Lorrnoke. Yet it wasn't that much to change the world into what he wanted to be. He started to believe that he was a fool for believing these lies set in his mind, for being made into a simple tool. Neo couldn't be happy when Stellar was around him. He couldn't regarding the way she was made to be a tool of war. Though she was blind to this mask of war he couldn't do anything for her.

"Sooner or later… you'll dream to be that small."

The girl looked up at him. The other thoughts told him to wait. Somewhere deep inside he knew it was true. He would discover the memories he would treasure again. Neo just had to try to believe these impossibilities.

"Well, Stellar. Don't dream like this anymore."

Was it meant for him or for her? He got embarrassed at his strange morning babbles. The 'you don't make sense in the morning'-look written on her face didn't disappear. She just smiled as she caressed his face. Neo smirked knowingly.

"Oh, do I still look handsome?"

At this Stellar completely froze and her hand withdrew to her side. Neo's smirk had faded into a 'yes, I'm serious'-look. Really, would the women still like him with the scars?

Stellar went blank at first to let that sentence sink down first. Then she gave a firm nod and looked down before embracing him again. Neo was relieved. After burying her head in his chest a faint blush was on her cheeks.

End.