Thanks you, ulquorracifer66 for your review! :) Anyways, so this chapter is going to be the start of Hei's little inside-the-wall adventure :P Some of Spades backstory as well (after all, you sometimes see or "regain" what you've lost within the wall, don't you? But not too much background until the next few chapters...) So basically, I get to be an evil little author in this chapter (yay!) Obviously I've done some major tweaking to the plot so please don't flip out at me XD

Thanks for reading...and hopefully reviewing!

-BeingWhoIWishIWas


Maybe this whole mission is just an extended punishment, I'm not actually here to infiltrate and potentially assassinate; this is just the flipping Syndicates way of hurting me more. They finally let me out of my prison but going into the Wall is just another cage. I shrug my shoulders and deadpan, "Any specifics, Grumpy?"

Grumpy turns rapidly, forgetting protocol and absolutely seethes, "What did you say to me, Clubs?"

"It's Spades. And I asked, Grumpy, if we got to know what to do or if I can just wander around the Wall and start setting off explosives." I say in an aloof manner, I cross my arms over my chest and stare down the sputtering, short-fuse of a man.

Grumpy's mouth twists unpleasantly into a sneer, "No, you're there to recover an artifact that PANDORA took from behind the wall, it's called the meteor shard. You leave at noon; be at the bus stop by then."

I raise one eyebrow skeptically, "And why does the Syndicate want it badly enough to send us inside the gate?"

Grumpy narrows his eyes, "You're awfully full of questions for a Contractor."

My mouth settles into a straight line, "I am merely reasoning whether it is more logical to do as the Syndicate wishes or face the consequences rather than go into the wall. Ask anyone who's worked with me before; this is not uncommon for me to weigh a situation even if the answer is obvious."

Hei nods at nothing and Grumpy answers, "Look you little rat, do as they ask or they'll kill you and possibly the rest of us!"

I turn and face him, my face void of any expression except my stone-cold eyes, "It is curious that you thought anything I do would be for your sake. Why would you use it as an argument when you are pushing me into danger to save your own skin? Am I not allowed to save my own if I wish? You and Old man insist that contractors have no emotion yet think that we would be susceptible sacrificing our well being for you."

Mao steps in, but Hei gets there first. He puts his hand on my shoulder firmly and I realize that I've stood up...is this...rage? I scoff internally. No, that's ridiculous. Hei narrows his eyes and asks if I'm coming to PANDORA. I don't look at any of them, I just whirl around and stalk out into the city. I have a few hours to kill before I have to see any of those meatheads again, so I'll make the best of it; there's a job interview that's open to walk-in's so I think I might head that direction. Some private investigator or something. It's a good cover and I'll have a viable reason to be just about anywhere I want. The only better job would be a cop, but that's not likely. I walk through the narrow street and peer up at the little apartment-office. I step through the unlocked door and walk up the rickety stairs.

"Hello?" I call out, peering around, my human mask slipping as easy as my actual one.

A pink-haired girl springs up in my face, "Hi! Are you here for a private investigator?"

"I'm here for a job application..." I say feigning embarrassment.

"Oh! So do you, like, have any experience in investigation? Anything?"

"Yeah, a little."

"You're hired!" She says cheerily.

I raise an eyebrow, but shrug. "Works for me."

"Boss will be back in an hour or so...when can you start?"

"Next month...?" I suggest apologetically.

"That's great! We can finish up this case and have a brand new one by the time you're back!" the pink-haired girl exclaims.

"Um, okay." I reply, backing away slowly, "Well, since I have time before I catch the train I'm just gonna get a bite to eat, okay?"

Pinkie nods and goes to the computer in the corner and looks at anime characters, "Oh yeah, you'll meet the boss later, like when you get back, okay?"

I nod and walk out of the building. A ramen stand is within fifty yards of the Private investigators office and I happily sit down and order a few bowls. I wonder what PANDORA's going to be like. It's said that you can regain what's lost in that place; whether you want to or not. It's said to drive people insane. I roll my eyes to myself and pay the ramen stand owner before leaving for the bus stop. I figure that it's better to be one of the Syndicates trained dogs than to be by them, at least, for now. Besides, if I'm going to run for it, I ought to kill the Black Reaper first. I don't want him on my tail.

The wind picks up a bit, and gray clouds roll in slowly as the leaves swirl in circles. I pull the collar of my jacket up and stuff my hands in my pockets. My eyes narrow at the world as the bus pulls in. I pay the fare and immediately spot "Li" sitting towards the middle of the bus. I take a seat a few rows in front of him by the window. The bus jerks to a start and we're on our way. I'll get off a few blocks from the PANDORA facility outside of the wall (people have to apply for jobs somewhere). When the bus finally pulls into the loop at the facility, me, Hei and maybe a dozen other people get off the bus. I glance over my shoulder after I exit the bus; there are at least seven other buses behind us and four in front, so it's going to be a crowded trip into the Gate.

I stare out the window again as we near Hell's Gate. My gaze lazily wanders over the deteriorating urban landscape; the closer to the Gate you come the more the standard of living decreases, if anyone lives there at all. At this point it's all abandoned. Those gray clouds are still moseying in towards Tokyo. It's a shame I'll miss the storm. I remember that I used to love just standing out in the rain, not that it matters anymore. It's funny, my old memories. I only have a few, and they seem distant and fuzzy. Do most contractors retain a majority of their memories? Do they observe them rather than experiencing as I do? I admit, I am curious about certain things about being a contractor; memories and faded emotions mostly though. Also, if we're said to have no emotions; why are we so often proud or even gleeful when we accomplish something of personal importance? Why do we even still retain things of "personal importance"? My forehead begins to ache and I realize that I've been scowling for a good while now. I rub my fingers on my furrowed brow, trying to make it fade into a more stolid expression. It's odd; the one human emotion that is still vivid and present is anger. I wonder if that has something to do with my past. I've tried to recall what made me so angry but I can't tell if something would have made me angry back then or not. I shrug to myself and force myself to relax a little and practice a smile in the reflection of the glass window.

"Are you alright, Kiddo?" The older lady asks from the seat next to mine.

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise as I turn to face the gray-haired woman, slipping Alyss over my face like a mask once again, "Of course, why do you ask?"

Grannie smiles and her eyes crinkle up kindly, "Well, you were scowling and then you had this painful looking smile plastered all over your face...I've seen that look on my daughters face enough times to know that something's not going right for you at the moment."

I smile and hope it looks genuine, "Oh, I'm just thinking is all. Nothing to worry about."

She raises an eyebrow and gives me one of those funny looks only old people can pull off that's amused, arrogant yet totally trusting at the same time. She slapped my shoulder surprisingly hard (this lady's arm is skinnier than a goose's neck!) and promptly, and quite loudly declares that I need a man. I sink down in my seat and purse my lips in irritation so that I'm sure I look like one of those anime chibi's with blue stripes under their eyes. I nearly smirk at that image; a contractor chibi with auburn hair and six ear piercings? Ha! I allow myself a half-amused chuckle and resume my staring out the window.

"But honestly, young lady, what the hell's eating you?" She says. My eyes widen at her curse but I shrug it off and reply, "Nothing of importance."

She asks again, and this time I reply, "Grannie, it's best if you didn't know." That shuts her up real quick and she crosses her goose-neck arms and huffs something about stupid kids. I roll my eyes and glare out the window until the bus rolls into the Gate. I knew there was a reason I don't like people.


The next few days consist of extensive testing. I place the little clear patch just behind my ear that supposedly stops the detection of contractor powers. They hook me up to a lie detector that senses brain waves and ask me why I want to enter the Gate.

I sigh and answer as their prejudiced minds expect a pixie-cut, pierced twenty-something-year-old to answer, "Hey, they pays good for the janitor job and my boyfriend just dumped me; free lodging, food plus pay? Can't say no to that, sweetheart."

The people in lab coats look mildly annoyed but pass me anyway. I smirk at them on the way out for good measure. After all, no one expects someone who's there to steal something to stick out like that. Better to stick out a little than to be too average. Besides, I'm less likely to slip up and be normal when I'm supposed to be a young-adult punk than if I'm supposed to be normal and get a little to annoyed for my own good.


As the crowd heads for the last security check-point (classic pat-down and metal detectors) some girl gets pulled away after screaming something or other. Hei turns to look at her as they were standing near each other, and I nod in his direction. He turns and shrugs his shoulders. So he saw me then; I'm surprised (I'm medium height but I'm surrounded by stupid tall people.)

I wonder what the deal was with that one girl that got dragged away. Perhaps she's the first to fall prey to the alleged curse of the Gate; regaining what you've lost. I exhale deeply, trying to relax; every muscle in my body is tensed to spring like there's a threat my mind hasn't comprehended yet.


There is a feeling about this place, I think as chills race up my spine for the twenty-something-th time today. We're walking down the hallway as a group of janitors on the grand tour. Hei manages to fall in the bad graces of the manager almost immediately, but I don't miss the hand off of a note. He rubs his left wrist and I know that there's a contact meeting soon. I figure that I'll be filled in to the details soon enough. It's funny; I swear that Hei is utterly fascinated by the high-power telescopes in the next room, which happens to be the one room we're not allowed in as janitorial staff. Tough luck for him I suppose.

"Hey!" I say, irritation creeping into my tone as someone bumps into me. The slip of paper finds my fingers and I glare at the back of Hei's head for good measure. Equipment room it is.

I wander into the library and start dusting the tops of the shelves and file cabinets. The contact and Hei are just standing around. The contact is a short lady in a lab coat with glasses, dark brown hair and medium-dark skin that's characteristic India and other countries near it (though I'm not sure, my geography's rusty at best. I've been a contractor since senior year in high-school so a lot of academic knowledge that wasn't immediately useful went out the window to make room for "Contractor 101", "How to control metals and metalloids", "Eight-hundred ways to Kill a Human Being" as I like to refer to my self-taught lessons as. Though I did get some help on martial-arts training when I just started off.)

"So you wanted to see us?" I ask, after I've identified her as the contact. I rub a coffee stain off the wood desk, painstaking work to be sure.

"Yes. I assume you two are the operatives the Syndicate sent?" She asks.

"Quieter please." Hei says, "And if we weren't that'd be rather unfortunate, don't you think?"

I smirk, Hei just pointed out a flaw and proved why she messed up in one sentence. One of the top rules of the Syndicate; don't mention the freaking Syndicate in an insecure location, especially when talking about or to people involved with the Syndicate.

Her face floods read and she twiddles with her files nervously before catching her own suspicious behavior and correcting her posture and expression to a more emotionless state. I nearly let out a cruel laugh at her attempt to have a cold expression. She's to worried looking to be truly stolid. Not nearly ruthless enough either. I can see that Hei notices her lack of Syndicate-lessness as well through my peripheral vision.

"I received a message that you two would be posted to the janitorial department." She says.

"Are there any other members of the Syndicate here?" Hei asks her.

"There are, but I've never met or seen any of them." She replies.

"I see." Hei says, emotionless as always.

"So why'd you call us in so soon?" I question her, still scrubbing furiously at the coffee stain.

"There's something I had to tell you two right away." She pauses as glances around nervously, afraid of us or discovery; I'm not sure. Though to be in a room with two known contractors can't be comfortable for a normal person. "Don't expect anything from me, ok? I only cooperated with the Syndicate so I could conduct research here. This is my first time doing anything like this. I didn't hear from them for two years and then suddenly..."

Hei rolls his eyes and says haughtily, "You can relax."

"Yes, we won't depend on you." I add, "Contractors are an every-one-for-themselves kind of people even on a group mission. We don't even depend on each other."

Hei nods in agreement, "However, you ought to tell us more about the meteor shard. Just tell me everything you know."

"Honestly, I don't really know anything specific about it at all." She starts, and goes on to explain that a similar object was found at Heaven's Gate just before it disappeared and that the shard might prove useful in some way but she has no idea why the CIA would go to such lengths to steal the shard.

"Well, I have to be going now. If there's anything else I'll find a way to contact one of you." She says and walks out. Suddenly, she sprints for a few steps back in our direction, "Oh! By the way, my name is Meena Kandaswabi(?) if you want to know. It's nice to meet you both. And about the patches on your neck; there's no need for you to wear it. As far as I know there's no way to tell a Contractor from a regular human being."

Hei looks surprised at that and takes his patch off. I nod at her as she leaves and take my patch off as well, by the time Hei looks up from the patch in his hand, Mina is gone.

"We better take care of these, I don't want anyone to find them." I say, making scratches on the surface of the patch with my fingernail; enough to mess up whatever the Syndicate put in or on these things, and then I throw it I the trash and sling the bag over my shoulder after replacing the trash bag.

"C'mon, it's nearly dinner." I say, "But wait a few minutes before coming out, alright? And take some cleaning supplies with you or it'll look suspicious when a janitor comes out of a equipment storage room." I walk out and head to the dining hall.