AN: I thank God for this chapter and I hope all of you enjoy the chapter that's before you. I hope to see you next chapter.

Pagliacci-11.

Chapter 75

Odd was jogging around the track until his parents came to collect him for the holiday break. As he ran, he thought about Brynja and how so much had happened both between them and to them in their own ways. In many ways, he wanted to beg her to come to his world, to come and be with him. But there were aspects that barred her from being with him and the truth was Odd knew the very reason that kept her from going fully to his side. It was the aspect that she had so much going on in her life and so much that she had gained in Sylvia's empire that it was understandable why she wouldn't come to join him.

Even so, he couldn't help but think about that beautiful night in the subterranean room. It was such a beautiful experience where none intruded, where the dim lights of the teleporter pad where their only light and in that room, it was the most bizarre sense of sanctuary that he'd ever experienced. More than that, Brynja's kiss, her gentle caresses, the silklike feeling of her skin and the fullness of her breasts, everything he could think about her was what he considered to be the most genuine form of love that he'd ever felt. Nothing else compared in his memory and in his private admissions, he couldn't believe how at peace he felt with her. He stopped in the midportion of track, and he took a breath or two. Unknown to him, Brynja and a young man stood just out of view beside the bleachers.

"So, he's the young man, huh?" the man asked, "He doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you, don't underestimate him." Brynja replied, "But yes, he's one of the cornerstones of the new generation in the wake of the war."

"One of the new founding fathers you mean?" the man clarified and with a sigh he said, "Well, there's worse choices out there, I suppose. He longs for you to join him—one is tempted to ask why don't you? There's nothing to truly keep you bound to Sylvia, I think she'd be more than willing to let you live out life here with the young man."

Brynja shook her head, "No, if I asked, she would twist it into an aspect of State Service or at worst, State Sacrifice. That is why I gave three of the children to the State. A blood tithe if you will of children so she cannot approach Odd personally under much worse circumstances."

"I understand. In giving them to the State, you desire for Sylvia to keep away from him."

"Not just him, but everyone here. I want her to leave this world alone entirely. I just have to convince her to truly uproot everything. Even though we have the order from the high council, we can't trust she won't stay here in some way."

"You're sure of that are you?"

"Experience has taught me she'll linger in some way, and I hope for that not to happen."

Brynja checked her watch and then adjusted the minute hand teleporting herself and the young man away in a flash of light. Odd looked in that direction as he thought he saw something, but nothing was there. He went over to be sure and as he approached; he saw two pairs of footprints but no tracks leading up to them. Odd looked carefully around himself and saw nothing, He left the tracks and was about to head back when he took out his phone and took a picture of the prints and how there were no tracks to or from them and proceeded to head back to the dorm.

Later that night, Ulrich was listening to his police scanner, a hobby that he'd picked up in the last month in case he felt Odd might go back to his original vision of wanting to serve Sylvia as a watchman. The radio in its own way had turned into a form of white noise for Ulrich that allowed him to truly focus on his studies. Tonight, nothing was particularly of note, the usual muggings seemed to be the order of the evening with what Ulrich deemed the juicier crimes happening during the day. His father's friend Blake worked the local force and usually when there were the more unique crimes, Blake would let the family know whenever he came over for Sunday Dinner.

However, Ulrich's boredom was soon punctuated by the most peculiar of transmissions. Ulrich had to be sure of what he was hearing but there was no mistake,

"This is Car Seventeen investigating the disturbance around the Menagerie Garden. I need backup and a bus. It's a fucking massacre."

"What are you seeing, Car Seventeen?"

"I can't describe it. I'm looking at—at least twenty bodies. Most of them sixteen to eighteen. But there's so—there's just a lot here, just—just—get backup here and rope off the park!"

"Backup is en-route."

Ulrich listened further and he went to the map of the greater Paris area. He found Menagerie Park and he looked at the distance between the park and Kadic. It was at least six blocks and if one was running at a good pace, they could easily get from Kadic to the park. He thought for a bit, and he texted his father.

"Dad, what Municipal does Uncle Blake work at?"

"92, Sceaux. Why?"

"I heard something really crazy happened in Menagerie Park, is he on duty?"

"He probably is. You have his number, call him."

Ulrich dialed and he got Blake's voicemail. If the situation was truly that dire, Blake probably wouldn't answer. Ulrich thought to himself, "A massacre this close to home. But how did it only now get reported?"

The next morning, the children were getting ready to head home for the holiday. The massacre that Ulrich had heard the night before was splattered all over the news. To Mercier's credit, they attempted to keep the news from the majority of their students. However, given the genuine compact nature of Sceaux, it wasn't hard to pick up wind of the event even as far out as Mercier was. Ulrich had been on top of the coverage ever since it broke and as luck would have it, Blake was one of the presiding officers over the case. However, the look on his face Ulrich had not seen in a long time and he knew by how Blake's eyes moved that the cover story he was giving was the epitome of false. Whatever happened, it was being kept under wraps. As he watched the T.V. he felt a hand on his shoulder. Odd was nearby with the rest of the team.

"Oh, hey," Ulrich said as he got up from his chair, "what do you make of all this?"

"It's definitely new." Jeremy said, "A lot of the dead were gang members, but they were from reported rival gangs, why would they all be dead, and no one report anything?"

"Maybe they were there trying to settle something." Ulrich said, "It's been known to happen but to have all this death and not so much as a shot fired? How is that possible?"

"What?" Yumi asked in surprise, "No shots fired for some thirty dead? How?!"

"That's what they're trying to figure out." Ulrich replied, "I've a family friend who works the case, maybe I can ask him about it. I'll tell you what I find out over break."

The group nodded and Jeremy asked, "Who is going to keep an eye out for communications from Sylvia?"

"I have a feeling if she wants to talk, she'll find us, Jeremy." Aelita replied, "Besides, with this war being essentially over, I'm admittedly kinda' looking forward to disarming."

"I can't blame you." Yumi said.

Ulrich looked at her, "What about you, Yumi? I mean this will be the first Christmas without—"

He stopped. Suddenly, a warm flowing light washed over them and soon Ulrich was back to where he was just before he'd asked Yumi about Christmas.

"So, what about you, Yumi? Any plans for Christmas?"

Yumi nodded with a smile, "Yeah, Mom is taking us to the Swiss Alps, it's one of the benefits of Daddy working as hard as he does."

"I hope you have a great time, honestly." Odd replied, "Given all that's been going on, your mom could use a break. What about you, Princess? What are you and Einstein up to?"

Aelita chuckled, "Jeremy and I are spending the holidays with his parents and yeah, his mom's a bit of a pain in the neck, but it's nothing we can't handle."

Jeremy sighed, "I wish you wouldn't say that. She just takes a bit to warm up to people, that's all."

"A bit? Jeremy, there will be a lasting snow on the red dunes of the Sahara before she warms up to me." Aelita replied.

"She's just protective, it's how most mothers are." Jeremy replied.

There was then a profound silence before the warriors looked at each other confusedly. They didn't have words to describe how they felt, but they certainly felt out of sorts.

"Does anyone else feel—weird?" Ulrich asked.

"A little." Aelita said and she looked at her hand and gently opened and closed it, "Yeah, it feels really strange for some reason. This whole situation feels—off."

At that moment, Akiko called out, "Yumi, are you ready to go?"

The group turned to see the woman who addressed them and Yumi took hold of her bag, "Well, I guess I'll see you after break."

The others said their goodbyes but as Yumi walked towards her mother, she had a flash. A flash of her mother dead on the floor, but this lasted only for a moment until Akiko's voice broke the calm.

"Yumi? Are you alright?"

Yumi was slightly confused but waving the vision off as the remnant of a dream, she said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well come on, we have to get you packed." Akiko replied.

Meanwhile at Sylvia's base, a team of technicians were observing the children in their respective beds and made note of the time. One of them turned to Jon Barrow, "Sir, six trial runs is what it took for the implanted memories to stick. We're reading solid reads of consistency in the linkage between short and long-term memory taking place around trial four and growing stronger with trials five through six."

Jon nodded, "We have what we need. Get my double in here."

Soon, Terry appeared, and Jon said, "Okay, this power that Natasha was able to attain, never is Sylvia allowed to use it. After we restore the warriors with memory knitting, you are to leave them alone for at least a full year in order for these memories to truly take. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Barrow, perfectly."

"Good. I'll hold you to that, Terry. Otherwise, we'd have to do a raw takeover and these precautions would be for nothing." He turned to look at Akiko and then looking at one of the technicians he asked, "How much of the original has been carried over before Sylvia's termination of her?"

"We have more than enough to make Akiko Ishiyama figuratively come back from the dead. The blossoming protocol will allow the root memories to be used as a core for interaction and for our purposes we removed Akiko's history to the empire. When necessary, we will give her the information back but only so long as the situation demands."

Barrow nodded and he looked at Takeo who was watching the whole scene, "Your sure this is what Yumi requested?"

"Without doubt, Mr. Barrow." Takeo said with a slight bow, "She didn't like where she stood and she was tortured by the idea of the reality of her condition. She asked if there was any way we could undo all of what we had told her and thus I submitted her request to Mr. Terry, and this is what our specialists devised in the wake of appropriating the necessary technology and power to implement it."

Barrow looked at the children and said, "To save your world, this is why we are doing this, and it is our hope we never have to return." He looked at Takeo, "The process is complete. The children will be returned to their appropriate residences as the memories play out in their minds. The reinforcements are in place and the duration of the break will be more than long enough to secure these new memories as their realities. How did their parents fare?" Jon asked one of the technicians.

"They are already implanted. It was much easier with them as there was less to implant and more natural given the natural surroundings of the memory's reinforcement. They'll all wake up at the same time and their memories will carry onward becoming more their reality."

Jon nodded, "Excellent. Send them home. We have an hour to get in and get out and be unnoticed. So, let's move, people."

As she awoke, Yumi felt immensely rested and she looked beside her. Her luggage and passport were all ready beside her and she soon heard Hiroki, "Sis, come on sleepyhead, mom wants you down to the car!"

Yumi was slightly surprised and took her luggage and headed downstairs. Akiko was with Takeo loading the trunk of the car and she saw Yumi, "Yumi, come on, we're going to be late if you continue at this rate."

"Uh, sorry!" Yumi called out and she hurried along to load her stuff into the car.

Aelita and Jeremy found themselves in Jeremy's home. It was very still, but Jeremy more than knew the telltale signs of the smoldering poplar that was in the main room's fireplace. It was a wonderful smell that always reminded him of the holidays. Jeremy found Aelita's room, it was where he expected it and she herself was just coming out of her rest.

"Oh, it feels so good to get some sleep!" Aelita exclaimed. She stretched a moment and then saw Jeremy, "Oh, Jeremy, wow I must have been out of it—I hardly remember getting here."

"That's hardly a surprise." Michael replied, "They must have worked you really hard at the academy if you can't remember the ride home."

"Oh, to say the least." Jeremy replied, "I'm just grateful for the break that's here. Oh, are any of the relatives coming over? Or are we going to them?"

"They'll be coming here. it's why your mother and I prepared the other three bedrooms." Michael replied, "Aelita, you're more than welcome to have something to eat and drink if you feel up to it. It's been a few hours since we've gotten home and I'm sure you and Jeremy have developed an appetite in that time."

Aelita smiled, "Thank you, Sir. I'll join you."

As Michael led the way, Aelita whispered to Jeremy, "I hardly remember the ride home, do you?"

"We must have been really tired, I guess."

"But how? We had a full night's sleep!"

"Evidently not as full as either one of us thought." Jeremy replied.

Ulrich had awoken and now was helping to get the customary Sunday dinner prepared. It was a major event in his family to have such a gathering and to get all the necessary foodstuffs was a task in of itself but it more than helped that those who came brought their fair share. As Ulrich helped his mother mince carrots and onion to help enrich the stew, Ulrich couldn't help but feel just ever so slightly out of place. He wasn't sick, he'd checked his temperature already, but he couldn't place that something was inexplicably out of place. Maybe it was the car ride back to the house after all, his mother had said that he'd slept on his way back and because of that she didn't wish to disturb him on the way home.

"Ulrich?" his mother's voice broke the train of thought, "Ulrich, be careful sweetie, you almost cut yourself!"

Ulrich immediately looked down and saw the knife's ever-sharp blade was a mere half inch from the flesh of his knuckle, "Oh, sorry, Mom."

"Are you alright dear? You've been out of sorts all afternoon."

"No, Mom, I'm fine just—a bit off that's all."

"Well, if you need to get some more rest, please go ahead. I didn't realize that much was taken out of you over the semester. But given your grades, I can see why."

Ulrich chuckled nervously, "I did my best, Mom."

"And it shows! I've never seen such good grades from you. What changed if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, to say the least—I found someone who was understanding to my situation and gave me the space I needed to succeed where I was to quote dad, "Demonstratably deficient."

His mother chuckled, "Yes, he very much can be that way. But we mustn't be too hard on him. Yes, he has his issues, but things haven't been easy since Grandpa Itzhak died."

"Yeah, but that doesn't justify him being a bigger jerk than usual."

"Ulrich!" His mother scolded, "It's not easy in your father's position. Up until recently he's been under a lot of pressure. It's the price of success as your grandpa often said, 'I built a beautiful empire but in building it, my children grew up without me.' Your father, despite his distance, he wants the best for you and in wanting that, he has every right to have a standard or two."

Ulrich nodded and said, "I suppose you're right."

"Of course, I'm right. Sweetheart, it's not that your dad hates you or he bullies you, it's that as his father was before him, he really doesn't quite know how to be a dad. The men of their generation had their jobs and that's who they were. Your father is much the same and with what Grandpa Itzhak left you, he wants to be sure he's in the best situation to give you a true empire.

Ulrich, your father and grandfather came out of a very hard life. The reason your father is so hard on you is because he wants you to be familiar with and above all, to value what it means to own something of this magnitude that is not only yours but your grandfather's. We have been very much blessed by the fortunes and the good that have come out of your father's work, and it is something that your father yearned for because it was your grandpa's promised inheritance to him as it will be to you. The truth is, I know he's hard on you but only because he wants you to succeed and as I said, he's not the best at being a father because, well, look at his example, Itzhak Stern one of the original alloy and harvest forefathers of our little town.

My point is, as trying as he can be, cut him some slack. Especially when you consider that so much of what your father drives you for is the same degree of excellence grandpa demanded of him and in many ways, your father still hasn't gotten over that. There were scars left on him, sweetie. Scars that in all reality, as much as your father thinks he's avoiding giving to you, he's unintentionally impressing upon you."

Ulrich nodded in stunned silence, but this was just the way he knew his mother was. She would hold her tongue for the longest time but often when she spoke, she spoke with the knowledge of the past and she spoke with that knowledge in terms of its relevance to the present. There was never a word wasted and yet her words were often simple and direct.

Ulrich said, "Alright, Mom, I'll cut him some slack." He sighed, "So Grandpa Itzhak was similar, huh?"

"He was a very harsh taskmaster. He was a master in the realms of mathematics and engineering, but he didn't know the scope of his own intellect when it came to the everyday man. Your father and he fought constantly over mathematics the same way you and he fight over a lot of your core disciplines. But your father was put under that hot chandelier and as your father told me, there were times where he just broke down in tears because grandpa as a teacher was like having an audience with Einstein and your father was still learning basic arithmetic."

Ulrich nodded and after a moment's pause, he said, "Why didn't he tell me?"

"Well in your father's mind, he shouldn't have to tell you. If he tells you something once, it should be enough for you to get the picture. It's much better that you have your father's silent disapproval than when grandpa used to hit him. So, there's a lot of reasons why people don't tell you a lot of things. And in many ways, it's often out of both the effort to do better with you as a person and the other half is that in some way, they were jealous that you got to see a loving side to their parents that they never did. Because Grandpa loved you Ulrich and showed to you a side that was much gentler and much more tender than he had ever shared with another person and your father knows that."

Ulrich felt a pang of shame, "I loved Grandpa, but I didn't think he was that different."

"Well, he was. He loved you as a son and he taught you gently and, in some ways, your father wondered why you were given such a treatment. But now that you know this, hopefully now you can understand. You're not just dealing with a harsh father. You're dealing with a father who didn't have the best father and in seeing what happened with you, he sees the life he could have had. Now, does this make his treatment of you right? No, not entirely. But you should at least now be able to see it from his perspective."

The timer dinged and his mother went to the oven and took out two trays of rolls, "Get some rest." She said, "After you've rested you can help me finish making dinner."

Ulrich nodded and he headed back to his room. As he lay down, he still felt somewhat out of sorts but not nearly as bad as he was when he woke up. At that moment, he heard a knock at the door, and he listened as his mother answered, "Blake, come in!"

Ulrich got up and he remembered the news from earlier in the morning. He exited his room to see Blake who looked beyond haggard.

"I'm so glad that we're doing this, after the night I've had I could use the break." Blake said.

"That bad, huh?"

"Oh, Emily, you have no clue." Blake handed her a casserole dish, "Maria's eggplant parmesan macaroni made with summer sausage and veal."

"That'll be good. Come on in, Blake. You look done in."

Blake came in and sat at the table, "Have anything good in the repository?"

"It's that bad, huh? Alright." She went to the drinks cabinet and brought out a dark bottle of whiskey, "Our little secret."

Blake nodded and she poured him a glass, "So, talk to me. What's going on?"

"Doubtless you heard of the dead kids in the Menagerie, yeah? Well, that's what is confounding all of us. We're looking at a total number of some forty dead, and that hasn't been released yet so don't tell anyone until the news brakes what I'm going to tell you." He took a drink, "We're looking at forty dead, fifteen definitely from long-range with some kind of new rifle that hasn't been released yet. But the scary thing, Em, is that the rest of the guys were electrocuted from above. We've never seen the likes of it before and we don't know how it happened. Except that all of them died from directed current that was powerful enough and yet—intelligent enough that it attacked all these kids before they even knew what hit them!"

"Intelligent enough? Blake, what do you mean intelligent enough? Current can't think!"

"Well, I don't know how else to explain it! Whatever killed these kids had more than enough electric current to kill more than thirty of them from all different angles and there's no evidence of any electrical grounding in the park in this area, there's nothing! The call was originally because of strange light in the park and screaming in the area, well we believe that this was it, but none of this makes any sense! But somehow it happened because we have thirty extra-crispy kids on those slabs and others that had their heads blown clean off and had horrid voltage burns to their abdomens. And now the people are desperate wanting to figure out just what happened and frankly, sweetheart, we're at a loss for words!"

"Do you know where the shooter was located?"

"One of our boys has an idea but it's slim because the range on this thing had to be insane and for that alone we're skeptical of even our best crime scene analyst." He took a drink and said, "But enough about that for now. How's the kid?"

"He's resting. The year took a lot out of him. But Blake, he did so very well this year, far better than he ever had at Kadic."

"Could it be that Kadic was a bit too soft?"

"No. I think that he was able to truly focus without too many distractions because whatever was going on at Kadic was eating a lot of his time and impacting his grades. He won't tell me what that is, but I'm sure that it was concentrated at Kadic and frankly narrowed down to being just there because at Mercier he's making all manner of progress."

"That's good. I'm going to watch some TV until hubby gets home, that alright?"

"Fine by me. If you want, do you want to help me with the shallots? Ulrich was supposed to, and he does a good job but he's truly too tired I think."

"Sounds good. You'll have to show me what to do—I'm a bit rusty."

"It's fine. The ingredients are over here."

Ulrich had heard enough. He knew what he needed to know. it was an event that was unlike any other because the massacre truly was unlike any other. He was afraid to contemplate what was rustling around in his mind as he looked at the nearby mirror. However, so tired was he, he decided against it and lay down on his bed.