Author's Note:

I'll probably write a line or two about the other named agents' situation in the last chapter or something :)

【Chapter 4: Dare / Dear】

'Robert...'

Marc followed Robert's trail into the apparel section of the department store. He looked around, being extra alert as it was hard to differentiate between which silhouette could be a mannequin and which could be a zombie or his target. Glancing down at the floor, he could see a trail of blood. Must have been from Robert's wounds, he thought. He narrowed his eyes bitterly.

How did it come to this?

The Robert he knew was a respectable man—one who cared more about others than himself, always ready to give up his life to save the world. He had also been one of Marc's major motivations during his early days in the VSSE. Memories of the past flooded his mind as he thought back to their first meeting.

A year ago, Marc had freshly joined the VSSE. His dear partner, also a new agent, seemed to have a love for getting himself into trouble. Marc always had to berate him a lot during every single mission.

"Luke! Keep rushing ahead without thinking, and you're going to die for real! Let's wait for backup!" Marc warned when one mission turned bad.

"Shut up, scaredy cat! Backup won't arrive on time! As long as we beat the bad guy, right? What's one life lost if I can save this entire city!" Luke retorted, rushing ahead again into an aggressive enemy crowd.

"Ugghhh…" Marc planted his face into his palms in exasperation.

From what he knew, Luke was scouted from the streets—an outcast of society, and an unemployed, irritable punk who knew only how to fight. A disappointment to his parents, Luke's days were filled with nothing but depression and alcohol, feeling as though his life meant nothing. But then a chance meeting allowed him to rescue a VSSE agent from some gangsters, leading to the agent telling him that the VSSE could use someone with his skills and sense of justice. It was his second chance at life.

Great and all, Marc thought, except that the idiot had interpreted it as owing his life to the VSSE and that he'd gladly throw it away if it could further the organization's purpose.

"He's a real pain, that guy." Robert, who had been assigned as their mentor during this mission, sighed along with Marc.

"Well, we can't just sit here, though! I'm going after him!" Marc said, reloading his gun.

"You'll get yourself killed, too," Robert warned him, "O'Neil might lose his life, but he can handle this. Ours is a job where people lay down their lives for the greater good—they hammered that in during training, didn't they?"

"That's true, but…" Marc grit his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration. Unlike Luke, who was a rebel ninety percent of the time and refused to even wear proper clothes to his missions, Marc was on the obedient side of the scale. But just this once, rage built up in him and he found that he just had to snap at his superior.

"But Luke's not just a discardable tool for keeping world peace!" Marc shouted as he glared at Robert.

"He's my PARTNER!"

With that, Marc readied his gun and was about to rush into the suicide battle after Luke, but Robert stopped him.

"…?" Marc looked up at Robert.

"Heh, I thought that sort of idealistic thought had died years ago, the VSSE's recent missions getting more difficult and all," Robert said with a grin. "You sound like you'll be a good and dependable agent in future, kid, so stay here and be safe."

Robert readied his gun and knives. "Leave saving your friend to the veteran."

Marc watched him rush into battle, then. With how aggressive and powerful the enemy forces were, Robert seemed to have a hard time pushing through them. Although he sustained some injuries on the way, he never gave up as he forced his way to where Luke was and successfully saved him from a pinch. The two worked together and took down the enemy leader afterwards.

With all the wounds he got, Robert almost died. Owing their lives to him, Luke and Marc made sure to visit him in the hospital until he recovered after that.

"I suppose I have something to look forward to in future!" Robert laughed. "O'Neil, you've got the courage to become one of our best agents in future, and a very caring partner. How lucky of you!" he told Luke.

Luke grinned, scratching his head. "Thanks. Both of you. I'll try not to be too brash next time and watch Marc's back, too!"

"Why, thanks!" Marc grinned at his friend.

"And Godart," Robert called. Marc looked his way.

"I think you have the right attitude when your partner's in danger. I hope you grow strong enough to protect your friends," Robert said with a smile.

Despite that, Marc thought he caught a hint of sadness in Robert's distant eyes. Having worked with the VSSE for years, it would have been natural for Robert to have lost many friends, their missions being dangerous and all. Marc returned the smile and nodded.

Marc ended his train of thought as he shot down some civilian zombies who came his way. He just couldn't find where Robert could have clashed with the VSSE since he was such a man of virtue. Having cleared the zombie crowd in front of him, Marc heard gunshots coming from another direction.

'Robert…!'

Marc turned to look in the direction of the noise, seeing Robert there being attacked by the zombies himself. Heavily wounded and exhausted, Robert didn't seem to be doing very well in defending himself.

'Now's my chance!'

Marc held up his gun, aiming straight at Robert. He put his finger on the trigger, only to find that he couldn't bring himself to pull it yet again. His breathing and heartbeat quickened. Fear and doubt clouded his mind.

Am I shooting an evil mastermind or am I shooting a victim? Is he a comrade or an enemy? What if he's right? Is the VSSE covering up something? Are they trying to fool me into shooting my own mentor?

Am I doing the right thing?

"Tch!" Marc swung his gun to the side and shot at the zombies attacking Robert. Robert seemed surprised to see Marc coming to his assistance, but he had no time to question it as more zombies came to attack.

"Stay back!" Marc said, standing in front of Robert to defend him. Robert was certainly in no shape to keep on fighting. Marc gasped when he ran out of bullets.

"Here, use this!" Robert said, throwing one of his twin knives at Marc. Marc caught it, nodding at Robert and using the knife to continue fighting.

They seemed to be having the upper hand as they cleared the zombies, until the last one standing overpowered Robert and bit into his neck.

"Ghwahh!" Robert shouted in pain.

"Robert!" Marc rushed towards him, ending the attacking zombie in one fell swoop.

Robert fell to the ground. A ring was knocked out of his pocket as he crashed, its gentle bell-like sound resounding through the now empty halls as it landed out of Robert's reach.

"No…! Trish…" Robert called out, desperately reaching out for the ring.

'Trish?' Marc wondered. Who was that?

Robert cringed as the pain from the zombie bite shot through him, but he looked forward and dragged himself along the floor, trying to get his ring back. Tears flowed from his eyes.

"…" The sight pained Marc. He ran towards the ring, picked it up and gently returned it to Robert.

"Here," he said, holding it out. Robert grabbed onto it and held it in his palm as though it was the most important thing to him, crying even more.

"…" Marc watched him for a moment, not sure how he should look at Robert. The zombie bite would turn Robert into a zombie in a few minutes, so it wasn't necessary for him to end the man himself. Marc helped him up to a sitting position against a nearby wall.

"Robert… You're a righteous man as far as I've known you. I don't think what you did is right, but at the same time, I don't think you've ended the world for a selfish reason," Marc said, "If the VSSE have ever wronged you, please… I have to know what happened. I don't want it to repeat the same mistake and hurt anyone else."

"Hahaha, to have a rookie be the only one willing to lend an ear to me after all this time," Robert said, laughing bitterly. He swallowed, unfurling his fingers and looking at the ring in his palm wistfully. Although it was covered in Robert's blood, Marc could make out that it was a simple but expensive-looking silver ring, a beautiful diamond adorning its top.

"Trish, isn't it?" Marc asked curiously. "Who is she and what did the VSSE ever do to her?"

"A kind rookie agent like yourself," Robert said, wiping away his tears, before continuing bitterly.

"The VSSE—they killed her."