CE 65

Sarik followed Sarah through the entrance of the unimpressive building, still unsure of what to think of this entire situation. All that she had told him yesterday while she was collecting him from school was that he wouldn't be coming back for a few weeks. While he hadn't been particularly thrilled about the sudden change in his newly established routine, he went along without complaint, since realistically, it would have done him little good.

Even now, Sarik was still unsure in which country he was. From the time and direction that the plane had traveled, he figured that they were somewhere in the Pacific, due to the fact that they had been in the air too long to have landed anywhere in Eurasia, but too short of time to have made it to the territories of the Atlantic Federation. Sarik's best guess would have been either the Orb or Oceanic Unions, due to the fact that they both had a relatively small Blue Cosmos presence, though that could also be said for most of the Pacific island nations. It seemed that his father was trying to avoid such sectors of the world as of late, which was most likely due to the fact that he had authorized that raid on their desert facility in Africa a couple months ago. It could be said that they were infamous for the grudges that they held, to say the least.

Sarik glanced around the lobby of the facility, trying to determine the building's function. Its configuration was similar to that of a high-end private clinic, or perhaps a conference center. He could have been fooled into believing it was either of the two but for the ridiculous amount of security. While only four normal looking security guards stood at symmetrical locations throughout the chamber, Sarik managed to discern enough security cameras to ensure complete identification of anyone moving around the room. In addition to this, there were several doors along the edge of the lobby which appeared to have no logical function, based on what Sarik had observed from outside of the structure. Most likely, one or two heavily armed and armored mercenaries sat on the other side, ready to rush out and defend the building should it come under attack. This meant that there was most likely something very important located at its center.

"Sarik," Sarah said, catching his attention. She had stopped a couple meters ahead of his position immediately inside the front door, probably waiting on him after realizing that he wasn't at her side. Sarik walked briskly towards her, covering the distance in a little over a second.

"Why are we here?" Sarik questioned bluntly as they proceeded deeper into the facility. It was doubtful that his father would be pleased that he was here, and not in the private school that he was grudgingly allowing Sarik to attend. The fact that he was still living in the same house was probably agonizing for the old man.

"You'll see," Sarah assured him.

Sarik conceded, knowing that asking further questions would be pointless. He could try to force them from her physically, of course, but then there would be long-term ramifications to deal with. Not to mention that she was the only person in the world that he remotely liked.

The boy began to grow suspicious as he and Sarah walked up on a set of double sliding doors sealed via key card. The setup seemed to remind him of something, but he couldn't remember what. He just knew that every fiber of his body was telling him to NOT go through there.

Sarik froze where he stood, unable to move. Even though he tried, his legs wouldn't budge as a blanket of irrational fear enveloped him.

Sarah glanced over to her side as she slid a card through one of the readers on the wall, apparently concerned that Sarik wasn't by her side, even more so than earlier, if he could tell by the expression on her face. She looked around behind her, immediately spotting Sarik where he stood.

"What's wrong?" she questioned, walking back towards him.

Sarik continued to stare at the doors for another few seconds, still unable to recall any memory of having encountered anything similar in the past. After mustering a small amount of willpower, Sarik forced himself to walk forward unwavering, his posture the same as before.

"Nothing," he informed Sarah emotionlessly as he passed her and walked through the now open doors.

"Where are you going?" Sarah asked Sarik as the doors sealed shut behind her. "We're going this way."

Sarik corrected his direction, walking towards one of the smaller corridors that branched off of the main one he was about to travel down. He continued to follow Sarah until he heard something that caused him to stop in his tracks once more.

Children.

Sarik glared up at Sarah before for a split second before darting ahead of her. This couldn't be. Was it happening all over again? Except this time, the people that he trusted were the villains? Why else would they want to be so secretive about this place?

Sarik came to a halt as two children, both somewhere between six and eight years of age, ran around a corner. But they weren't just any children. They were both Extendeds, significantly taller and more muscular than any Natural would be at that same age.

Around the corner behind them came what was obviously a guard, soon followed by a man who was most likely one of the facility's faculty. Sarik braced himself as the children passed him obliviously, ready to sacrifice himself as an obstacle to their pursuers. But just as the ran by him, Sarik realized that something was wrong.

The children were laughing.

Extendeds? Laughing? Was that even physically possible?

Sarik stood up straight and watched curiously as the two adults passed him. The male faculty member appeared to recognize Sarah, acknowledging her presence with a nod as he sprinted by her. Sarah instantly returned it before catching up with Sarik.

"What-?" Sarik started.

"Just wait and see," Sarah interrupted, a smile forming on her face instantly.

Sarik raised his eyes towards her suspiciously before continuing down the corridor. He would most definitely be seeing. And if things turned out to be even remotely out of place, there were going to be consequences.

Sarik's mood lightened from suspicion to true curiosity as he perceived more sounds of activity ahead, much the result of young voices speaking. Sarik darted ahead once again, running through a door into a large chamber. A cafeteria.

Sarik was truly stunned by what he saw. Bustling around this giant room were at least one hundred, maybe two hundred, Extendeds. Most of them appeared to be roughly between the ages of seven and nine, though it was always a little difficult to tell at a distance, due to the accelerated growth that was a part of their conditioning. But what awed him so much was how normal they appeared. All of them seemed to be getting along with each other just fine, their interactions similar to those that one could expect of children their age. Sarik knew that a number of fresh Extendeds, children who had already been through the conditioning process but not the eliminations, had been rescued from the desert facility, but it was doubtful that there were this many, not if Stella was there. Maybe his father had learned how to wipe their memories and give them a fresh start? But if that was the case, wouldn't he have done it to Sarik, too? The boy didn't doubt in the least that an action like that to be below his father.

"What is this?" Sarik inquired of Sarah as she caught up, his tone hard and serious.

"Can't you tell?" she asked.

"I can assume," Sarik told her. "And you probably won't like what I'm assuming."

"So stubborn," Sarah remarked as she folded her hands behind her back. "This is where we've been hiding the other Extendeds."

"Which ones?" Sarik questioned.

"All of them," Sarah answered.

"That's not possible," Sarik stated. "Unless you're doing the same thing as THEY did to us."

Sarik glared up at the women, his expression projecting every ounce of the disdain he was feeling. Did they think that by taking away these childrens' ability of choice that they were helping them? That by raising them in ignorance they would ultimately be happy and be able to lead productive lives?

"We aren't," Sarah informed Sarik. "In fact, I brought you here to make sure that we don't have to."

Sarik raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Them, needing his help? That was a laugh. No one thought he could do anything. What were they trying to pull? Perhaps it was some twisted form of flattery or bribery?

"What do you mean?" Sarik inquired.

"Come," Sarah suggested. "We'll talk while we get something to eat."

Sarah began walking forward, Sarik following obediently. He'd play along for a little while, at least. Just until he got the truth.

"Some of the children are being difficult," Sarah informed him a few seconds later. "Several of them have kept themselves completely isolated from the others, while a much larger number have proven to be...aggressive towards their peers."

Sarik glanced about the cafeteria as they walked along, trying to memorize as many faces as possible, while at the same time taking in the children's body language. Most of the children did seem at relative ease here, though the majority were projecting fear in one form or the other, a minority of literally a few individuals projecting so much that they were practically asking to be victimized. Though the ones who seemed to be at the head of the clusters projected the most, the kind that any individual in power feared to lose. Most likely, those were the troublesome individuals Sarah spoke of, keeping their underlings in line with the very fear that they experienced. An extremely effective form of motivation, for some at least.

"I assume that you would like for me to help you to deal with these 'aggressive' individuals?" Sarik speculated.

"To help us understand them, yes," Sarah told Sarik. "Perhaps even to befriend some of them."

Sarik let out a chuckle under his breath. Friend. Such a subjective and fleeting term. From his observations, there were few such relationships in this chamber. Most were that of master and subordinate, with very sloppy but defined hierarchies. When afraid, people, children especially, grouped themselves together, and eventually, one or more of those individuals would rise to a position resembling that of a leader. Of course, the position was often self-appointed, but the others would not argue it because they felt that they NEEDED the group in order to keep their identity, and were willing to do anything to keep it together. Sometimes, this would happen in the brotherhoods, though more naturally, more with the consent of the others.

But there were no such brotherhoods here. The command chains were too obvious. Among this small group of a couple hundred children were clusters making up nations, provinces, townships, and the splinter factions that resided within each. Or, one could better equate them to crime gangs. But this was just from an initial glance of the children's interactions with each other. Sarik probably WOULD need weeks in order to fully discern the full extent of the internal politics and instigate their ultimate and simultaneous collapse.

As Sarik was returning his gaze to what was in front of him, something, or more specifically, someone, caught his attention. From his observations, there appeared to be at least two or three different mega-clusters equivalent to nations. However, walking by his gaze this very instant were two individuals who belonged to none, individuals who were not ashamed to show it. They walked freely through the territories of their peers, receiving glimpses of both disdain and admiration from their fellows. He was intrigued by this, because they seemed to be content with their current and somewhat alienated circumstances. Even if the two had only been here a couple of months, they should have given in to conformity, joining up with with one of the superpowers that dominated their existence, just like everyone else. These children were obviously strong willed and independent. They would certainly be suitable allies.

"It might help I met some of these people," Sarik informed Sarah. "So that I could understand how everything works a little better."

"Well, then pick someone out," Sarah suggested as she turned her head to look at Sarik. "I think any of these children would do, since they've been here for a while. Most of this group are from the same facility you were."

Sarik raised his eyebrows in surprise. That was over two years ago. If most of them had been here that long, the hierarchies certainly would be a problem, far more integrated than he initially believed. Not only would the older children have a seemingly unquestionable amount of power, but they essentially prevented any other groups from forming what could be considered the next generation, the newcomers liberated by his father's operations. And with that came social stagnation.

"Fine," Sarik said as he walked boldly off into the crowd.

"What?" Sarah asked before she realized what the boy was doing. "Sarik!"

But by then, he was several meters away and ignoring her, making a beeline for the two that he had spotted earlier. Their relationship somewhat reminded him of the one he had with Stella, albeit in reverse. A red-haired boy a little was following a blond-haired girl a centimeter or so taller than him, though his posture didn't imply any sort of subordination to her, at least not in the traditional sense. He was following her out of his own conviction, capable of breaking off at any time that he wanted, and probably did. Although, that caused Sarik to wonder, was he actually following? Or was he the leader, the kind that observed most of the time and reacted when duty required? One never knew. Can't judge a book by its cover, as the ancients said.

Sarik kept most of his focus on his targets while simultaneously monitoring Sarah's location. When she caught up with him, he would have to do what she said. He respected her that much. But if he could say that he couldn't hear her, then by no means did he have to react to her while she was making her way towards him.

Sarik continued to force his way through the crowd, eventually coming within a couple meters of the two children. But as he attempted to take another step, Sarik felt a hand grab his arm.

"I think you bumped into me," said a boy's voice.

Sarik glanced out of the corner of his eye to spot an older and much larger boy, probably eleven or twelve in age, grasping his forearm. But Sarik didn't recall bumping into him, or even seeing him.

"I don't think so," Sarik told him as he tugged lightly from the older child. Sarik looked over the crowd behind the child, trying to discern innocent bystanders from the instigators allies and lackeys. Sarik quickly decided against trying to fight his way out with brute force, since there were at least two additional opponents, both around the same age as his antagonist. If they were Naturals, he would have toasted him. But Extendeds, especially the battle-hardened ones, were not to be trifled with, even by other Extendeds.

"You're new, aren't you?" the boy questioned, keeping a firm grip on Sarik. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Sarik answered as he slowly relaxed his knees. "Now would you please let me go?"

"Oh, sorry," the boy apologized as he released Sarik's arm.

Sarik darted off briskly, panting lightly in an attempt to calm himself. He'd just about snapped there, ready to break something of that child's that might be very precious to him in the future. Though the mocking he heard coming from the boy and his allies almost caused him to return and finish it. But, there would be time for that later. He needed to make his own allies, right now.

Sarik glanced through the crowds, trying to relocate his quarry. In the precious seconds that his antagonist wasted for him, Sarik had lost track of the two children. In ten seconds' time, a person could cover a deceivingly large amount of ground.

A moment later, the boy glimpsed what he thought to be a head full of red hair. He continued through the crowd, eventually finding himself near the edge of the cafeteria, in a space between the ends of one line of tables and the wall. And sitting near the end of one of those tables were the blond-haired girl and the red-haired boy.

"But almost no one likes us at all," Sarik heard the boy say to the girl. "Shouldn't we at least try to be nice?"

"If we're nice, they'll think that we're giving up," the girl replied. "You know that. As long as there's grown-ups here, we'll be fine."

The girl ran a hand across her forehead, then snapped her head towards Sarik. The boy realized that he had been caught, and made no attempt to hide his presence. That would only make things worse.

"What?" the girl questioned in an obnoxious, irritated tone.

"May I sit here?" Sarik courtesied, motioning at a seat across the table from her as he walked closer.

"Does it have anyone's name on it?" she asked snobbishly.

Sarik raised one of his eyebrows at the question. It was obviously some form of sarcasm, but why was she using it towards him, without even knowing him? Had she no manners?

But rather than taking insult, Sarik simply smirked as he sat down on the stool-like chair. He continued to stare at the girl, trying to figure out what kind of person she was. Obviously, something around here was giving her the confidence to act this way. Perhaps she was one of the faculty's favorites? Because from what the redhead had just said, she didn't seem to have much support from her peers. Though that was kind of what Sarik was looking for. An outsider.

The blond-haired girl, after looking down at the table for a moment, glanced up at Sarik from the top edge of her eyes, then snapped her head erect, most likely just now realizing that Sarik was still staring at her.

"What do you want?" the girl asked in an annoyed tone, her gray eyes cautious of him.

"I simply wish to get to know you better," Sarik replied confidently.

"Okay..." the girl said dryly.

"I apologize," Sarik courtesied. "I should probably introduce myself. I'm Sarik."

The girl turned her head slightly, staring at Sarik with a most curious glance, as if she was ob the verge of thinking him weird, but not quite there.

"May I inquire to whom I have the pleasure of making this acquaintance?" Sarik asked in the most adult voice he could muster. While he had participated in few social interactions during the past couple of years, he had most definitely been practicing his acting skills. He managed to impress most of his teachers when he started up at the private school this past fall, and got along just fine with his class mates, most of whom were at least two years his senior.

The redheaded boy glanced at the girl once, a hint of annoyance among his features, before he turned to Sarik.

"Everyone calls me Aaron," the child introduced, reaching a hand across the table, which Sarik took in his own and shook.

"Well met," the ten-year-old courtesied.

"Why do you talk like that?" the girl asked suddenly, most blunt in her tone.

"Like what?" Sarik inquired.

"You're talking like a grown-up," she informed him. "You sound stupid."

Sarik remained still but for his eyes, which widened slightly at the revelation. Part of him wanted to take offense, but another part realized that she might have a point. Talking like this at his age might might him sound slightly ridiculous, since his voice was a few pitches higher than that of most adult's.

"I'm sorry," Sarik apologized, his manner of speech unchanging. "I didn't realize that it bothered you."

"It doesn't," the girl replied.

"Then why did you bring it up?" Sarik questioned.

"Just because," she said.

"Because...?" Sarik inquired.

"I don't know," the blond-haired child responded in a huff.

Beside her, Aaron sighed as he shook his head.

"This is why no one likes us," he remarked under his breath.

The girl simply turned her head, facing away from both him and Sarik.

"I'm sorry," Sarik told her several seconds later.

"What?" the girl asked, slowly turning her head back towards him.

"I'm sorry," Sarik repeated. Apparently, she had taken insult at something he had said or done, and he didn't even know her name. Not the best way to start off an acquaintanceship. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"You didn't," the young child told him.

"Well, then," Sarik said as he reached across the table with a hand. "Let's start over. My name's Sar-"

"Stay away from me!" Amelia blurted, smacking away Sarik's arm.

Sarik jerked his hand back and jumped up out of his seat. Why was he reacting like this? He wasn't scared, as far as he could tell. But for some reason, he felt...hurt? Was that it? He couldn't find the right word to describe what he was experiencing. He couldn't remember ever having felt like this before.

"I'm sorry!" the girl apologized almost instantly in a gasp.

"It's all right," Sarik assured her as he sat back down, lightly rubbing his arm where she had hit it. "You didn't hurt me."

The child let out a light sigh in relief, then looked back up at him, her eyes alone relaying all of the apology he needed. One could say all that they wanted with words, but what ultimately satisfied Sarik was when they conveyed it physically. It was harder to lie that way, at least at this age.

"Let's get back to where we were, shall we?" Sarik suggested. "Would you mind telling me your name?"

"Amelia," the girl told him emotionlessly.

"Thank you," he told her. If Sarik's timing was right, Sarah would be locating him within a few moments.

"There you are!" Sarik heard his caretaker remark from behind him. "I was worried that I'd lost you."

"Miss Sarah?" Amelia said.

Sarik looked back at Sarah, who seemed to have be slightly stunned, if he was interpreting the look on her face correctly. Did they actually know each other?

"How have you been, Amelia?" Sarah questioned politely, as if to strike up a conversation.

"Good," Amelia answered with equal politeness. "Why were you gone so long?"

Sarah slowly took a seat next to Sarik, her response never registering with his brain. She had known this girl the entire time? He wished he'd know that sooner. He could have saved a lot of time, to say the least.

* * *

"I didn't realize that you knew them," Sarik stated as he followed Sarah down the corridor.

"You didn't say anything," Sarah replied.

"I realize that," Sarik assured her. "But how do you know them?"

"You're not the only child I've worked with," she told Sarik. "There were others who needed help."

"That still doesn't answer my question," the ten-year-old remarked as they made a turn. He was still unsure of where they were headed.

"Does it really matter?" Sarah asked.

"No," Sarik responded. "But I still wouldn't mind knowing."

Sarah sighed, and Sarik almost threw out an apology as a result. His lack of communication today had sincerely worried her, and now he was prodding in a most obvious and unrestrained fashion, something that he knew most people didn't appreciate.

"Can you keep quiet about this?" Sarah questioned.

"Of course," Sarik told her. He knew she trusted him. He assumed that she was just performing this out of courtesy, if he'd read the woman correctly.

"All right, then," she said. "They're from the same facility as you."

"I already gathered that," Sarik remarked. "So what makes them special?"

"Well, Amelia..." Sarah started, but apparently couldn't finish. "Well, you see..."

Sarik watched his mentor closely as he continued to follow her. Whatever it was was causing her some degree of turmoil.

"She was the last person to fight Stella before you did," Sarah blurted out a moment later, stopping in her tracks.

And it was a good thing that she did, because as soon as he heard that name, Sarik froze. Not out of fear, not out of sorrow. He just froze where he stood, unable to muster the willpower to move.

Was that why Sarah asked him to remain silent of this? Because she knew that he would go asking Amelia about it avidly, as every fiber of his being was urging him to now? And because she knew this, had she made him promise because she knew that he was very unlikely to break it?

Sarik continued to stare blankly forward as he pondered before smirking and looking up at his mentor. She had most definitely outsmarted him this time. He apparently still had much to learn about people.

"So what makes Aaron special?" Sarik inquired as he began walking again, a slight grin still adorning his features.

Sarah looked down at Sarik with a confused expression before starting her stroll back up, keeping a few centimeters ahead of him.

"He was the one who found Amelia, or at least WE think so," she informed Sarik. "We found him sitting near what we thought was a dead child's body beside two dead guards. Apparently, he noticed something that we wouldn't have before it was too late."

"Did they have any prior association there?" Sarik questioned. Even if Aaron had been another of the safeguarded Extendeds, he couldn't think of any other reason to why the child would have done something like that for her.

"We honestly don't know," Sarah said. "Their records didn't show any, and Aaron claims to not remember anything at all from then. It was probably a god thing."

A valid theory. It had only been through persistent and eventually forceful therapy that he had come to, and even then only remembering the significant bits and pieces. Who knew how many other of the Extendeds had reacted similarly to what they were exposed to.

"So what about the girl?" Sarik asked. "Amelia."

"She's about as stubborn as you," Sarah remarked with a smirk, turning her attention to Sarik.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" the ten-year-old inquired in a slightly insulted tone.

"It means that if you don't want to tell somebody something, you don't," Sarah stated. "She's the same way, but much worse."

"Oh, really?" Sarik questioned rhetorically.

"Yes," Sarah answered.

"I bet I could get it out of her," Sarik challenged.

"Good luck," Sarah remarked sarcastically.

"Well, now I have to," Sarik joked, or at least attempted to.

"Maybe later," Sarah assured him. "But there was someone I wanted you to meet. She was the original reason I brought you here."

She? Sarik didn't personally know any Extendeds that were girls. Of course, until today, he didn't know ANY Extendeds in any manner. That were confirmed among the living, anyway.

"So where are we headed?" Sarik asked curiously. He'd been burning to ask the question this entire time. He just hadn't had a chance to until now.

"The schooling section," Sarah informed him.

"Schooling?" Sarik questioned.

"Yes," Sarah confirmed. "What, you thought that we would neglect their educational needs?"

"I didn't really think about it," Sarik admitted. "Though I do have a problem with exposing my peers to my father's indoctrination."

"Where did you get a crazy idea like that?" Sarah asked in a disgusted tone.

"I know my father very well, Sarah," Sarik responded. "William didn't come up with that on his own."

"Well, I can promise you that nothing of that sort is going on here," Sarah assured the child. "We have teachers and professors from all over the world, all who teach their own choice of curriculum. A couple of them are even Coordinators."

"Really?" Sarik said, another smirk starting to form on his face. It would be interesting to interact with someone that he could consider his equal. At worst, he at least had a chance to finally assess for himself why so many Naturals felt threatened by them.

"Yep," Sarah answered distantly, as she seemed to be looking for something at the same time. "Looks like we're here. Classes got out around ten minutes ago, so we might not be alone."

"It makes no difference to me," Sarik remarked as he stopped to avoid passing Sarah.

"All right," she said before waving a hand over a nearby door's motion sensor, causing it to slide open.

And inside were four children, all of whom were yelling and screaming. Well, three were, while one was on the floor crying.

"Say you're sorry!" Sarik heard a girl order.

As he lazily strolled into the room, Sarik spotted a girl holding a smaller boy's shirt by the nape of the neck. The entire affair wouldn't have phased him but for the fact that he recognized two of the individuals in the room. The girl, who was obviously the aggressor, was one of the Extendeds that he had encountered during the raid on the Blue Cosmos facility a couple months back. And the child crying on the floor was her twin sister.

"I didn't do anything!" he replied, bringing his hands up to push the crazed Extended away.

"Liar!" she accused, punching the boy across the face before he could defend himself.

"What are you doing, Reia?!" Sarik heard Sarah exclaim as she bolted into the room, but the redhead obviously was ignoring her.

"Well, this is amusing," Sarik remarked obnoxiously as he continued walking closer towards the scene.

The girl suddenly dropped the boy she was assaulting and turned her head towards Sarik, obviously catching what he had said. Apparently, he had insulted her.

"You!" she snarled before bolting towards Sarik, a hint of recognition on her face.

And she was literally bolting. The girl who Sarah had called Reia managed to cover the meter and a half separating them in what appeared to be only a quick leap or two. And she was coming for blood.

But as Reia lashed out at him with the back of her arm, Sarik relaxed his knees and ducked, moving below her blow, while sweeping out his left leg and knocking her off balance. But rather than allowing her to fall completely to the ground as she had allowed her victim, Sarik reached out and braced his arms behind her back, breaking the younger girl's descent.

Sarik unintentionally let out a grunt of amusement. So he still had it in him.

"I ask that you stop," Sarik told the girl as he stood erect while keeping her dependent on his support. "I don't want to hurt you by accident."

However, he soon realized his mistake as the girl's leg suddenly twitched, and Sarik found the small appendage flying upwards at his face. He had to admit, she was quite flexible. But, having no wish to become a victim to that attribute of hers, Sarik pulled his arms away, completely removing the support that he was giving the girl while simultaneously jerking his head back. Not only did this cause Reia's attack to overshoot, but it also caused her to fall flat on her back, an audible thump resulting on impact with the carpeted floor.

"You two, out!" Sarah ordered the boys whom were being bullied by the redhead. Both were more than compliant, and vacated the room in seconds, running by the time they reached the corridor.

"Your behavior was completely unacceptable!" Sarah told the girl as the door slid closed. "You can't keep doing this."

"They needed to apologize," Reia said defensively as she rose to her feet, motioning towards the girl that Sarik assumed to be her sister.

"So what did they do this time?" Sarah questioned rhetorically. "Bump into her?"

"That's exactly what they did," Reia replied.

"Things like this are going to happen!" Sarah exclaimed. "It was an accident. You can't take offense at every little thing."

"They knocked her over, and now she's crying!" Reia observed. "It takes a lot to do that."

"How ridiculous," Sarik remarked under his breath as he began walking towards the girl who was whimpering on the floor.

"Hey, stay away from her!" Reia ordered, but the boy ignored her as he bent down in front of the girl.

"Hey, what's your name?" Sarik asked bluntly, though the only reaction from the girl was a sudden end to her crying. That was good, at least. "It's all right."

"She hasn't talked since then," Reia informed Sarik from behind him, her tone most discouraging. He assumed that she had meant since their rescue.

"Do you have a name?" Sarik asked the girl, undeterred. He'd succeeded in worse situations that men twice his age wouldn't have. This was nothing. And he WAS going to succeed.

"Her name is Ballari," Reia told him in an irritable tone.

"Shut up!" Sarik snapped off. The words needed to come from her mouth, not another's.

"Now, what's your name?" Sarik asked. When the girl seemed to pay him no heed, the boy grabbed one of her hands in both of his and gently pulled it in front of her. He needed to get her attention.

He succeeded, and the girl turned her head towards him, making eye contact, which was a good start for him. Sarik looked over her face, and realized that she had truly been crying, the drying trails of tears on her face evidence of this. That just wouldn't do, not over a little accident.

"It's all right if you tell me your name," Sarik assured her softly.

The girl continued to stare at him sadly. Sarik sighed, and released her hand. What hadn't he tried yet? What could he do to get her to come out of her shell? What had brought him out of his?

Then, he realized it. Sarik leaned over towards the girl and whispered into her ear, "I'll tell you my name if you tell me yours."

Sarik leaned back and allowed himself to sit. This might take a while, so he was going to be at least semi-comfortable while he waited. Once he came to a complete rest, Sarik glanced over at Sarah and Reia. He almost chuckled, as Reia looked like the most angry creature on Earth, only restraining herself because her arm was currently in Sarah's adamant grip. Sarah, on the other hand, had a most serious expression on hers, one that Sarik never had associated with good situations. He wondered how much longer she would let him continue trying.

"Promise?" Sarik suddenly heard from in front of him, causing him to snap his head forward.

So it worked. All this time, these people had been trying to get her to talk while she completely lacked one thing. Trust.

"Of course," Sarik told her, attempting to hide all of his surprise. He hadn't expected it to work at all, much less this quickly. "I'm Sarik."

"Ballari," the girl told him quietly. So quiet, in fact, it was doubtful anyone but him had heard it. Maybe Reia, since she also was an Extended.

"That's a bit long," Sarik remarked in an equally quiet manner. "Do you go by anything else? Like a nickname?"

The girl expression quickly changed to that of puzzlement. Did she not know what a nickname was?

"How about we call you Ari?" Sarik suggested. "Would you like that?"

The girl simply nodded her head once, which Sarik returned before he got to his feet, pulling the younger girl up with him after grabbing her hand. He quickly released it and strolled over towards Sarah, who allowed Reia free. Rather than attacking Sarik as he initially predicted she would, the girl quickly ran over to her sister, causing him to smile for a moment, at least before it brought to memory images of William.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Sarik told Sarah as they walked down the corridor, after having spent some time with the girls in the habitation area of the facility.

"For what?" she asked.

"You didn't like how I went about that," Sarik stated.

"That depends," Sarah said. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I needed to prove that I could do this," Sarik informed her. "I have to make allies in order to do what you need me to."

"Allies?" Sarah questioned. "You mean friends?"

"No, allies," Sarik corrected. "If they become friends later on, so be it. But until then, they're just individuals I can count on for assistance."

"So you don't think you can be friends with Aaron and Amelia, or Reia and Ballari?" Sarah inquired

"It's Ari now," Sarik told her.

"I rest my case," Sarah remarked.

Sarik glared up angrily at his mentor. He hated when people talked down to him like that.

* * *

Sarik stared at the wall for yet another agonizingly long minute. He just couldn't get to sleep tonight. One reason was probably because he wasn't in his own bed. That was a given. But something else was bothering him.

Was Sarah right? Was he already developing what was called "friendship" with the people that he had met today? Was he already too far into something that he was trying to avoid?

From what he and Sarah had discussed tonight before going to bed, she really and truly wanted his help in this. Apparently Sarik wasn't the only one who noticed the problems among the Extendeds. They were all well-above average in regards to potential in all forms, but they lacked the experience and understanding to do much with it, at least correctly. In fact, Sarik knew that even he lacked some in the way of this. He simply had the luxury of being raised outside of this isolated environment, while simultaneously being able to remain separate of his own environment and observe from a distance in an objective manner. Living in such tight quarters, you didn't have those options, where the politics of children dominated your life.

But there were things that he as a child could and had to do that the adults couldn't, again because of his age. However, in order to do that, he needed allies. But he couldn't become friends with them, because there might come a point and time when he would have to hurt them.

But did he really want to do that? He didn't think so. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He considered himself to be at least somewhat considerate of others. He might not show it most of the time, even in his actions, but it did hurt him to see others go through their struggles. And he also knew that there was nothing he could do most of the time. As a child, as a human being, he was powerless to do many things. And because others were human, they had unrealistic expectations from those who surrounded them, wanting help that others could not give, often the result of their imperfect judgment. Sometimes, he probably did the same without realizing it. But in the end, he had become stronger for overcoming everything on his own, hadn't he?

But did he want to be on his own? One couldn't be as easily hurt, right? And they didn't have to depend on others as much, having become more self-sufficient. They didn't have to worry about emotions constantly plaguing their thoughts, affecting their judgment.

But it was those irrational thoughts that had made him happy at one time. At one time, the only thing that kept him going were the thoughts he had of three people. And over time, those thoughts became habit, involuntary. He couldn't stop thinking about them. And he was always hoping that they felt the same way about him.

Sarik let a low grumble leave his throat as he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. He would save it all for another day.

* * *
Sarik sat boredly in the back of the classroom, really unable to pay attention to the teacher. He had already completed this level of classes at home, so it wasn't like he was learning anything new.

But the flat out disrespect many of these children had towards the facility's faculty was bugging Sarik to the core. In this case, the teacher. These people were risking their lives on multiple fronts in an attempt to expose these little snots to at least some level of normalcy. And what did they do? They would chat among themselves, pass notes, and just flat out ignore their educators. Being Extendeds, they should have at least an above average respect for what the mind was capable of, especially theirs. Why would they intentionally want to hinder their intellectual progression like this?

Sarik scowled as the young boy in front of him, probably no older than eleven, slowly began reaching his hand across towards another boy to his left, holding a poorly folded note. Fed up with this utterly unacceptable behavior, Sarik lunged over his small desk and snatched the note from the boy's hand, silently snapping back to his original position as if nothing happened. And since no one was behind him, the only witnesses were the two boys, who at the moment were powerless to retaliate due to teacher at the front of the room.

Sarik quickly unfolded the note underneath his desk and glanced over its contents. It was really nothing, just a couple of boys trading trivial remarks. Sarik quickly folded the paper back to its original form, having no wish to read the communication in any detail. He had procured it for a single reason.

As the boy in front of Sarik slowly turned about, glaring at him, he simply grinned and tore the piece of paper cleanly in half, then into quarters, causing the older child's expression to change from annoyed to that of hate. Sarik had just declared his first war.

* * *

Sarik continued to move through the play area, trying to evade his pursuers. Apparently, when he had pulled his little stunt in the classroom a couple days ago, he had underestimated any allies that the boys would have elsewhere. Now, he was silently on the run from at least six pursuers, all of whom were herding him towards some place in here, most likely somewhere where he would have his back forced to a wall. He just hoped he could make it to the meeting point before he ran into any of their other assistance.

Sarik continued to move onward, carefully maneuvering around the playing children. The underground section of this facility was impressive, to say the least. It was just before dinner, and probably a total exceeding one thousand of his surrogate siblings were inhabiting this monolithic chamber, the structure about two hundred or three hundred meters in diameter, a large number of benches, picnic tables, and play equipment strewn around at seemingly random locations. For all intents and purposes, a park. It even had grass, trees, and flowers.

However, the boy was not concentrating on this as much as he was concentrating on the seventh pursuer that had just revealed himself, making a beeline straight for Sarik from the side. If he wasn't quick, he was going to be caught, and who knew what would happen then.

But the young child let out a sigh of relief as he spotted Aaron and Amelia ahead. They were there, just as they had promised. He was safe.

Sarik quickly moved towards his associates, turning his back towards them and taking a quick tally of those who were herding him. It turned out there were a total of ten converging on them from all directions, each ironically around the age of ten. Only one appeared to be older, probably twelve years old.

"Don't get involved in this," the boy warned, obviously speaking to Aaron and Amelia.

"He's with us," she retorted. "Butt off."

"Now, now, let's be nice, friends," Sarik suggested. "We're here to-"

But Sarik never had a chance to finish as the twelve-year-old, apparently the one in charge, launched himself into the air towards Sarik. This guy apparently preferred action over talk.

After quickly glancing around, Sarik realized that he had no choice but to fight this aggressive individual, since there were no adults within his line of sight. Which meant he wasn't in their's.

Sarik ducked down to avoid the larger child's blows, though he quickly snapped back up, his arms crossed in a defensive posture. Were he against a Natural, he could toy with him, take his time in order to find a way to safely restrain him. But against an Extended, he was on equal or worse footing. And that was something he just wasn't used to.

As he came to a full stand, Sarik forced his arms out in a backhand motion, catching the boy in the chest where his hands met. The boy was forced back slightly, but completely undeterred. Sarik had a funny feeling this fight was about to come to a quick end.

But as the older child grabbed the front of Sarik's shirt and brought a fist back in preparation to punch him, all in a couple of seconds, Sarik spotted something dart beside him, and the boy holding him began falling towards the ground. Sarik broke from his grasp, just barely avoiding being crushed.

As Sarik regained his bearings on reality, he realized that Amelia was standing over his attacker, Aaron on the other side of him, apparently the one who tripped they boy. Just before the aggressor made contact with the ground, the blond-haired girl brought a kick down onto his back, compounding the impact severely.

Sarik jumped back up into a battle stance, awaiting further attacks from the rest of his stalkers, but realized that most of them had fled. The only three still around were on the ground, holding their groin areas, a pair of redheaded girls nearby, one with a most determined look on her face.

"Thank you," Sarik courtesied in a surprised tone after moving from his defensive posture. He had been in contact with Reia and Ari for the entirety of the past two days, even more so than with Aaron and Amelia. He had mentioned his little scheme to them once, but he didn't think that they would actually join in.

"I call second," Reia remarked.

Sarik let out a chuckle and smirked. So that's how it was? Well, better to have frien...allies in any form that one could get them.

"So you're not mad at me anymore?" Sarik questioned.

"Not right now," Reia informed him.

"So who's this?" Amelia inquired bluntly.

"My friend, allow me to introduce you to the twins Reia and Ari," Sarik dramatized.

* * *

Success at last, Sarik thought.

It was his last week here, and he had done it. Not only had he helped to change policy for another Extended facility, but he had essentially destabilized an entire government that the children had set up among themselves, infiltrating the two main gangs and managed to locating their leaderships. With assistance from Amelia, Aaron, and the twins, he then discerned their weaknesses and ultimately exploited them.

In one case, he had essentially negotiated the dissolution of the faction, their thirteen-year-old leader apparently one who respected intelligent interaction. He had been so helpful that he went as far as to convince the remainder of the group's unofficial brass to stand down and provide as much assistance as they could to their benefactors.

In the other case, Sarik was forced to use less orthodox measures, and had embarrassed most of the leaders so much that they stopped leading and practically isolated themselves from their former underlings. While Sarik realized that it wasn't the best solution for them as individuals, it had worked in putting the adults back into a position of recognizable authority, even when they weren't looking. While he had mixed feelings about that, at least he knew that the underdog now had a chance in this facility.

And in the process, he'd managed to get Ari to actually participate in a complete conversation with him. While Reia was away a couple weeks back, someone apparently thought that they could pick on the shy girl. Well, Sarik had proved that individual wrong, to say the least, and it seemed from now on, he would remain Ari's guardian, at least while he was around. He'd promised them that much.

"Hey, Sarah?" Sarik said to his mentor, who was sleeping on a bed across the room from him. "Sarah. Are you awake?"

"I am now," she remarked, her tone that of barely controlled irritability. "What is it?"

"Could we bring them with us?" Sarik asked bluntly.

"Bring who?" Sarah asked in a yawn, sitting up on her mattress.

"You know, them," Sarik told her.

"No, I don't," Sarah informed her charge.

"Amelia and all of them," Sarik stated sheepishly.

Sarah massaged her eyes sleepily, then looked over at Sarik, making eye contact with him.

"What do you mean by 'bring them with us'?" she inquired, slightly more alert this time.

"To come live with us," Sarik clarified. "You know, in Eurasia."

"I don't think that's likely to happen," she told Sarik as she fell back down onto her bed and rolled onto her side, away from the boy.

"But we could enroll them in my school, couldn't we?" he asked. "They have housing for students that have to travel from a long ways."

"Are you serious?" Sarah groaned as she rolled onto her other side, so that she could see Sarik.

"When am I not?" he questioned.

Sarah stared at him wearily for a moment, hopefully actually contemplating his request and not thinking about how quickly she could get back to sleep.

"I'll see about it," she finally told Sarik a few minutes later. "Now please, go to sleep."

Sarik simply smirked as he rolled onto his side and relaxed his head into his pillow. Friends. It nice to have them again, nice to have someone to care about. He didn't realize how much he was missing them until he had them back.