Hey, everyone! First off I wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed to this! It took longer than usual to get this one out because work has been making me actually work! Audible GASP! I had it ready and it just seriously needed editing (that always takes me FOREVER to finish).

Here's the next chapter. I decided through the editing process to cut this one shorter. This next one will be crazy exciting. This story is so much fun to write! I'm having a blast and I really look forward to work now!

Well, I hope you enjoy it!

The metallic smell of gasoline was enough to make the masked man choke. He resisted the urge. The woman was unconscious, as well as two young boys. Their still bodies lay side by side, tied and gagged. He had scouted them before Dornkirk had given the official Operation RED approval. He had them ready before he had even come to see his mother.

Looking down at the sleeping woman, he felt nothing. Not a stir in his heart. Just as if they were a sack of useless flesh. Nothing more.

Pouring the gasoline on the youngest boy made him jerk awake. His eyes blinking out the burning chemical, he gave a squeal of pain through his blocked mouth. Gray moved on to the next older boy and he mercifully still remained unconscious. The woman stirred slightly, but fell back into oblivion once the gas was done soaking in her clothes.

Looking into the young boy's wide brown eyes, his mind remained impassive. Necessary evils might be evil, but someone had to do them. Crying Gray knew he was perfect for this job. A born killer.

A born strategist.

Saving his family had been one he'd planned from the beginning. Another necessary evil.

If his father survived the attack, where else would he run to?

Reaching into his pocket for a box of matches, Gray's mahogany eyes glinted for a second. The boy's cries were more urgent. The terror in his face was prominent.

Still, Gray felt nothing.

The match dropped into the gasoline.

A small beep caused Gray's eyes to immediately open. Leaning down, he pressed several buttons on one of the small screens in front of him. It lighted the dark room with a tracer and recorder. His eyes shifted slightly as he glanced at the phone number on the screen.

He had received the call from his father, but was unable to trace it earlier. Then, earlier after he'd left his mother, she'd called and left a one word message to his father. Gray had no idea what "fireflies" could mean, but he was sure it was significant to him. That was probably how he'd find her.

If he made it that far, that is.

The screen identified the caller as Balgus. It was probably another complaint call to that car dealership he'd ranted to an hour earlier. The old man had almost filled up a quarter of the memory drive on his computer with verbal nonsense while Gray was defending Dilandau. Despite the irritation, the young man had listened to the entire conversation after he'd gotten back to his post. There was still no sign of his father. Balgus probably was the last person to hear about the burning rent house.

Was Balgus even worth listening to? Gray's finger hovered over the trace initiation button. It was only a two second pause. Then he pressed the button and the computer immediately went into action.

Might be a lead or he might be listening to another thirty minutes of shouting. Either way it never hurt to be ready.

He blinked at the name of the intended call... a taxi service?

The signal was weak, but the call was coming through. Reaching up a hand up to his earphones, he waited with patience for the phone to connect.

"Drive-A-Go Taxi, how may I help you?" A bored female voice answered the call.

"So this damn phone works. Good. I need a taxi for an idiot."

Gray's concentrated face hardly moved, but he couldn't help narrowing his eyes with thought. For another person, Balgus? Not for yourself?

"Um… your location, sir?"

In less than a second, Gray flicked his eyes to the tracer, to the call recorder, and then back again. This was almost too good to be true.

It had been a moment of impulse that he bugged Balgus' cell number long ago with the Merchant's first line of spy-wire. Could it be he found what he was searching for already?

The young man still body remained very deadpan, but his soul smiled with satisfaction. If this mysterious idiot turned out to be his father...

I'll kill him before Dilandau even arrives for his first day of training.

"I'm on Route 96 stuck on the highway. Close to the turn-off at Arzaz Road."

Only seven miles from the lab. Interesting...

"And the destination?"

"Cherry Blossom Park, right?" Balgus called loudly off the phone. A low voice murmured an obvious confirmation because the old man immediately said, "Yep. Cherry Blossom Park."

Now Gray was confused. Why go to a children's park, father? Why not run to mom and Van? What are you up to?

"How many passengers?"

"An idiot and a brat."

A brat?

His heart rate increased by only five degrees, but for Gray that was a racing heartbeat. He has a kid with him? What?

Gray pressed his fingers on the headset, trying to listen for the male voice behind Balgus. He heard nothing but the sound of passing cars.

"Considering your location on the highway, are you in need any towing assistance? We have a special offer for-"

"I'll take a tow truck, but I don't want to hear any crap about offers, woman. I've had a really bad day and talking anymore with you will just make it worse."

Gray pressed even harder on his earphones as he heard a small voice muffled in the background. So, there is a kid? This doesn't make sense. Where did a kid come from?

"I know that, you stupid child! Don't tell me what to do!" He heard Balgus roar back. "Keep that brat quiet while I'm on the phone, will ya? I don't need it to blow up right now!"

The child spoke again. A familiar lower voice answered it.

Father is traveling with a child. That's for certain. But why? Who is this kid?

"Uh… sir, so you need the truck?" asked the now timid taxi service representative.

"Yes, you silly woman!"

"Give us thirty minutes to get to you, sir."

The call ended abruptly. Gray leaned back on his seat, his mahogany eyes staring at the blinking dot on his screen. Route 96… to Cherry Blossom Park.

"What just happened?" he whispered to himself. Eyes zipping to the clock, he swiftly stood up and left the room.

The birds were chirping happily in the early morning. Cars of various sizes zoomed past the broken down vehicle on the side of the road, occasionally getting over to give them space. Three figures, two adults and one child, sat together on the side of a two lane highway close to muddy ditch with tire tracks in it. The wind that swept by them was both refreshing and chilly. Surrounded by tall trees and foliage of different kinds, the trio hardly noticed the lovely scene around them. Probably because one of the adults was roaring at the other one.

"How do you plan on explaining this one? The kid started the car, Goau! Without a battery!"

"I know, Balgus."

"Varie told me you never would tell her about your work! Little did she know you were doing human experimentations!"

"Don't take things out of proportion."

"Why doesn't this girl have a shirt? And why are you guys so dirty? And what the hell happened to your hand? What kind of experimentation were you up to, Goau?!" Balgus' listed accusations made his voice grow in volume. "Am I on some hidden prank show? Are people going to come out and give me money and fame for participating?"

"No," Fanel answered drained of energy. His brain felt like it was running on the sludge in the ditch beside him. His stomach was grumbling with hunger. The small pain of a caffeine headache was blooming slowly between his eyebrows. The dark-headed man knew he could use a long shower, a good meal, a tall glass of water and three days of sleep. Maybe after that, he'd be able to concentrate more on what was happening around him.

Maybe then he could figure out what had happened to Hitomi.

"I just discovered she could do this several hours ago. Even then I wasn't sure. It's a long story why she doesn't have a shirt on. I can't tell you about what I was working on because it will put you in danger, too. I just want to get in the taxi and get some answers to my questions."

"You're an idiot. Always were one, always will be one." The old man grumbled. "Your 'keeping secrets for the good of everyone' is the reason Varie left, you know that right?"

"I'm well aware of that fact, yes." Goau confirmed in the same monotone voice.

"So, anytime the brat gets upset it's goodbye electronics." Balgus' small eyes suddenly got smaller. "She doesn't cause cancer, does she?"

"No, as far as I know she's as harmless to living creatures as a little girl should be. It's only electricity that seems to have a problem with her."

"That's good." Hitomi's voice mumbled beside him. Goau broke out of his exhausted self-pity at her unexpected response. She had her small head bent low. Drawing her legs close, she nuzzled her chin on her knees. The white coat was tucked around her making her look like a dirty snowball with a head.

Her body language said it all. She was upset.

Fanel felt a mixture of worry and shame wash over him.

"Come here, Hitomi," he commanded gently, reaching out to her pick her up. Quietly, she moved into his arms and he pulled her into his lap. Wrapping her small, cold hands around his neck, she buried her head into his chest. After tucking the white cloak back around her, he curled his long arms around her body and gently stroked her short hair with his uninjured hand. He didn't notice the old man watching.

He also didn't see Balgus' eyes flicker with understanding and resolve.

Balgus sighed, which turned more into a growl. "We are lucky my phone lived to see another day. The taxi should be here soon. As well as my damn tow truck."

"I can't pay you for it. I'm sorry."

"Of course, you can't. You're pathetic."

"Thank you for giving me the money."

"Can't have you running around looking like you kidnapped a half-naked child. Besides, several years ago, you were family and I've always had a soft spot for family." The old man snorted and shook his head. His floppy gray hair danced on his forehead. "I haven't seen you for a decade and you manage to ruin my day, my car, and take my money in less than an hour."

There was silence between them.

"She's a cute kid," the old man suddenly mumbled. He wasn't looking at them, but far across the street. "And you're a good man to take care of her."

"She's my best friend's daughter. She's the only thing I have left of him. And I'm all she has. Never mind the fact she's a scientific phenomenon." Goau's dark eyes twinkled slightly as he looked down at the cuddling child in his arms.

"Damn scientists and your damn science…" Balgus grumbled. "Why the hell are you going to Cherry Blossom Park?"

"I need to figure out something her father told me. He said to remember 'under the bridge'. I asked her and she said his favorite thinking spot was on a bridge in that park. It's the only lead I've got."

"No wonder Varie left you. You're a lunatic. Testing on little girls…"

"We weren't testing on little girls, Balgus, please stop saying that. I kept Varie in the dark for her own good. The thing is – I don't think she was overlooked like I wanted."

Balgus' turned to frown angrily at the younger man. The face he made looked like a glare from Death himself.

"What do you mean?"

Goau tensed. Hitomi shifted in his arms at the unexpected change in his body. She lifted her head and glanced at him with tired green eyes.

"I – think she was attacked." He answered hesitantly.

That was by far the wrong thing to say.

"WHAT?" Balgus roared. He leaped to his feet. "What do you mean attacked? She's not dead, is she? Why would they attack her? Unless…" His small eyes grew smaller. "They were after her because she's associated with you! Is that what happened? Your little science experiment attracted killers and you escaped with psycho electric kid! Meanwhile, Varie and her sons are left for dead! Does this mean I'm dead too? Are there crazy ninjas in the bushes ready to shoot poison darts into my butt just because I gave you money and called a taxi?" He shot the shrubs behind him a nasty glare before rounding it back on Goau.

"From what I can figure, they only wanted my experiments. I don't think they know about Hitomi. As for Varie, I have a feeling she's okay." Goau replied quietly, not looking at the raging man beside him.

"Who gives a damn about your feelings? This is about my baby sister and my life! And this is your entire fault!"

"Who's Varie?" the girl asked quietly.

"My wife."

"His ex wife." Balgus supplied with a growl.

Her green eyes widened and began to fill with tears. "She got hurt, too? Oh, no!"

"I'm not worried. She knows what she's doing." Goau stated calmly. "She left me a message on my phone. I know she's safe."

"I thought your phone got destroyed by little miss anti-electronics over here!" the old man shouted, gesturing a thick hand at Hitomi. She frowned slightly at the insult.

"This was right before it got destroyed."

Balgus sighed with his usual growl before plopping down on the ground beside Goau. "If anything happened to her or me, I'll kill you."

"Fair enough," the black-haired man agreed. "After I find Hitomi a safe place, you can kill me all you want."

"If you kill him, I'll make sure every eletroianic you have dies with him," the girl whispered to the huge old man. Goau looked at her in surprise. Her green eyes shinned brightly, almost feverishly. He felt the hair on his arms and neck stand up slightly. He narrowed his dark eyes in thought as another hypothesis slowly formed.

This was definitely not normal five-year-old behavior.

"It's electronic, brat." Balgus growled back. "Threaten all you want. You let even one spark fly and I'll call the government! They'll cart your tiny butt all the way to a rubber cell. Have fun escaping that!"

"Good luck trying to call them when your phone blows up!" she shot back. Electricity tingled in the air. Goau acknowledged this was a good time to stop the oncoming blowout… literarily.

"Hitomi, it's okay," Fanel reassured, stroking her head again with his healthy hand. Her hair stuck to his fingers with static shock. "It was just a joke, honey. He wouldn't kill me. It was just an empty threat."

"Ha, you keep thinking that, Goau." Balgus snorted. He turned his small eyes to the little girl. "Calm down, will ya. Learn to take sarcasm before you cause another accident."

"Promise you won't hurt him." She demanded her green eyes still bright.

The old man rolled his eyes. "I'm not taking orders from you. You're as high as my kneecap."

"Then promise it for your electronics' sake," Fanel asked, shooting Balgus a worried look.

Snorting loudly, the old man caught his nonverbal message and shook his head, "Fine. Whatever. I just hope this tow truck comes before the taxi. Nothing would please me more than to leave you two in the dust."

"Alright," Hitomi confirmed. "You've promised." The pressure slowly let up as she turned her green eyes onto Goau's face.

"Mr. Fanel, what does sarcasm mean?"

The seat was the most comfortable thing he'd ever sat in. Goau sighed with relief as he laid his head on the back of the headrest and felt the urge to drift into oblivion. He flexed his hurt hand and grimaced. There still wasn't much he could do about the cut. Unless…

"You wouldn't happen to have any baby wipes, would you?"

"Duh I look like ah babe ta ya?" the driver answered with a scowl.

"No," Goau answered with an irritated sigh. "But you probably act like one." He added under his breath.

The driver snorted importantly and continued down the obscure highway. Through his fatigue, Fanel slowly realized he still didn't know the name of this highway. Not that it matters anymore, he thought with an odd sense of comfort. They were on their way to Tsukasa's favorite bridge and it wasn't even noon yet. Speaking of…

"Hitomi, honey? Can I ask you something?"

The little girl had stretched herself on the seat and laid her head on his thigh. She nodded without opening her eyes.

"How did you know that we'd find a friend on the highway?"

"I saw it in my head." She answered simply. "It came through some fog."

"Some fog… in your head?" Goau clarified quietly, still looking at the girl. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what to say, Mr. Fanel. I saw it while we were walking in the forest. It came with a fog. I'm going to go to sleep now, okay?"

Sighing deeply, Hitomi nuzzled her head on his thigh and - within seconds - was out.

"Talking to voices… seeing visions in fog…antimatter going into your chest … what are you, child?" the dark-haired man muttered to her. "You're the biggest puzzle I've ever encountered. I thought the Energist would be a lifetime of discovery. I think you just trumped it." Reaching over, Fanel searched the coat pocket for the fossil. Taking it out, but keeping it down so the driver couldn't see, he stared at it.

The color is off. It's not as bright as it was once was. The Energist gave a weak pulse.

The radiation is still flowing, but the green residue is gone, as well as the antimatter from what I can tell. I'll have to study it further to see the exact extent of damage. He tipped the Energist back into the pocket and settled on the seat with another sigh. Hitomi will need to stay with Varie. If the fossil is what the killers were after, she will have to get away from me. I can't protect her if I'm being hunted. Varie will have to change her name. Van, too. Legal papers need to be forged. I hope she destroyed her phone. She'll have to avoid contact with other people for a while until we can figure out how to keep her true identity from being discovered. And Balgus. I hope he'll be okay. God, everything is so messed up… everything...

"Oi," a gruff voice raced through his black oblivion. "Oi, we'r ait Cherry Blos'm Pak."

Goau slowly cracked his eyes open and lifted his neck off the back of the seat. He groaned at the slight pain that raced down his back.

"Say wha?" He answered, blinking to get his bearings.

The driver turned around to shoot him an annoyed look. Goau felt like gotten that look way too much in one day. "We'v erraved ait Cherry Blos'm Pak."

"Oh!" Sitting up, he felt Hitomi's head still on his thigh. "Sorry, I fell asleep. Honey, we are here."

Her green eyes were just as groggy as he felt. She sat up and blinked lazily at him. "I'm so tired. And hungry."

"I know. Me too." He agreed. He slipped the driver some of Balgus' money. The drive was more expensive than he expected. He had enough money for this, but food? Clothes? Medicine? Glancing at his damaged hand, the black-haired man winced. This was not good.

He glanced at the clock. 12:14pm.

This had to be the longest day of his life.

"Ya gotta git out. Me next call be comin' soon."

"Got it." Goau helped Hitomi open the door and followed her out.

The sun was blinding on his eyes. Squinting, he bent and picked Hitomi up from the ground. Behind him, the taxi screeched out of sight.

The park was covered in trees. Playground equipment of various sizes covered the area. Goau looked around and his heart sank.

No bridge.

"Go that way, Mr. Fanel," the five-year-old in his arms yawned. She pointed to the right at a manmade pathway through the trees. "There's another playground area. That's where I always go. The bridge is there."

Goau set on the path. Several minutes later, the trees spread out to show a small meadow only about fifteen yards wide. Fanel sighed and smiled at the little girl. She returned his grin, her eyes crinkling. It was so peaceful. Somewhere in the surrounding trees a mocking-bird sang numerous notes. The meadow only had a small swing set with a connecting slide. The set was rusty and old-looking, but it fit the serenity of the area. A small incline in the grass showed where a small pond used to be. Covering the incline as an old stone bridge that barely came up to Goau's waist. He could just imagine Tsukasa sitting with his long legs dangling from the edge; his bright eye-squinting grin plastered on his silly face. The burning hit the dark-haired man's eyes and throat again and he took a deep breath to calm his rising grief.

Slowly, he set the girl on her feet and she ran into the meadow with a giggle. The white coat billowed out behind her. "I love this place!" she announced loudly. "I used to make daddy daisy crowns from that patch over there. It's not growing daisies now. You'd look good with a crown."

"I'd love to have one someday," he answered her. "Under the bridge? I guess under this one?"

"Don't know. He'd sit on the bridge right here." She called running towards the stone archway. Goau swallowed the burning and followed her. It was in the middle of the meadow. The incline was filled with grass. It seemed like the dry spell had really had taken a toll on the pond. He imagined it would be full in the rainy season. That was good luck for them since they had business under this thing. The bridge was only a yard wide. There wasn't much room to maneuver.

Bending down, Goau examined the underside of the bridge. Being small enough, Hitomi easily crawled under the bridge.

"See anything?" Fanel asked her.

"Spiders!" she squealed. "I hate them!"

"Look around real good, Hitomi. Try to ignore the spiders if you can."

"Do I have to?" She whined anxiously. "They're really big and hairy and it's kinda slimy down here."

"Try to bear through it, honey. They won't hurt you if you don't mess with them. And come on, we are already filthy. What's a little more dirt going to hurt, eh?" He gave her an encouraging nod.

She shot him a grumbling look and moved to the opposite end to look at the various stones on the archway. The black-haired man searched the sides and top.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

What did you mean by 'under the bridge', Tsukasa? The man prayed, sitting on the bridge. He slumped his back in defeat, one leg dangling over the edge. He closed his tired eyes and shook his long dirty locks. I don't understand what you want. I'm so lost. You wouldn't have told me if this wasn't important. So why have you led me here? Why?

"Mr. Fanel!" he heard the small girl's voice from somewhere underneath him. "I found something on the stone! You need to see it!"

Blinking for three seconds in surprise, Goau jumped from his perch and bent to look under the bridge. She was on the right side rubbing the accumulated green slime off the very bottom. He peered in closer.

"Get over here!" she commanded excitedly.

"It's too small."

"If daddy was able to fit down here, you should have no problems! You crawled through a vent just fine earlier."

"That was also a life and death situation."

"Then this is a piece of cake."

Goau frowned at her. "You have mastered the art of manipulation at a startlingly early age, girl."

"Stop saying stuff I don't understand and come here!" she answered back without looking at him. Her small fingers cleared the dirt as the black-haired man groaned while slowly army crawling under the bridge. She was right. There were a lot of spiders.

"Do you see this?" she said excitedly as he came closer to her. "It's 'KT'! My daddy's initials! He carved it into the bridge."

"How does this help us though?" Goau asked.

"There's an arrow!"

"What? Where?" the black-haired man scooted closer. She moved to give him room. "Well, I'll be. There it is. 'KT' for Kanzaki Tsukasa, I'm sure. Where's the arrow?"

"It's pointing down right there, see? And the grass isn't growing here."

"You're right! The dirt has been disturbed. He probably was here before. He said something about a bridge when he showed up at work this morning. Maybe this was where he was."

The girl shrugged. "I've never seen him bury anything, but I think we should dig there. Besides, we are already dirty. What's it going to hurt?" She smiled cheekily at him. Goau couldn't help but laugh.

Using both hands – damaged or not – they scooped out the dirt underneath the pointed arrow. It was easier work than originally fathomed. The soil was soft from it's earlier disturbance. Within minutes and about a half yard down, the black-haired man's hands felt a hard surface.

A box?

"Hitomi, sit back for a sec. There's something down here."

She moved away immediately and Goau took up the rest of the space. Digging ferociously, he hardly felt the sharp pain in his hand. He freed the corners of what looked like a leather briefcase. Tunneling to the very edge, he grunted as he lifted the heavy case out of the dirt. His dark head hit the stone archway and he groaned in pain.

"What is that?" Hitomi gasped. Her green eyes wide with surprise.

"I'm not sure. Let's get out from under this bridge and look."

Crawling out and dragging the leather case with him, he sighed with relief and collapsed on the soft grass face first. There was something here. He felt a strange satisfaction hum in his empty belly. He figured it out. There was reason behind the madness.

"What's in it?" the green-eyed girl had made her way to the brief case and was twitching excitedly besides him.

Sitting up, he pulled the case closer. It was a dark brown leather that had a snake-skin print. It didn't look very old through the dirt and muck. The case was only a few inches thick and maybe a foot and a half wide. There wasn't a lock. Not even a combination. Just simple latches.

He clicked it open and lifted the lid.

Inside was more money than he'd ever seen in his life.

"Live in the constant impulsive dream, Tsukasa?" Goau muttered to himself in disbelief. "Looks like you were planning for something…"

Just as Fanel moved down to inspect some of the money, he heard a small 'ping' hit right above his head. Glancing wildly, he noticed the stone breaking slightly at a newly acquired hole. He reached up a hand to feel the hole in confusion. Another crack later and an identical hole appeared right next to his hand.

And then it hit him.

A bullet hole.

Oh, God.

He bent down again just as another whistling 'ping' hit the bridge. He closed the case and let his survival instincts take over. Grabbing Hitomi with his free hand, she squealed as he lifted her over his shoulder. He pushed up and took off sprinting as fast as he could into the trees. The sound of whistling bullets was like a dissonant symphony against his raging heart. The killers were back.

They had found him.

AH! I love it! This was so much fun!

I'm already editing the next chapter! I cannot wait to get it done! Eek! I love this story!

Well, I hope you liked it regardless of the short length (well, short for me at least) and the lack of romance. It will come. Just bear with me.

If you liked it, hated it, or want to throw fruit at me, you can let me know. :) The fruit will be used to make a delectable fruit salad.

Have a good one and see ya next time!

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