Well, my first paycheck will be coming up so I've been looking for places to live. A proper flat of my own, and it'll have proper furniture in it that's mine. That'll feel nice. And I can save up for all kinds of stuff because well, the pay is pretty decent with these people. I'm already thinking about going off tomorrow to get some new clothes. I've only got a few pairs of pants and a few shirts. Not even one for every day of the week. But one step at a time. When you start off with nothing, you have to take it that way or else you could really get overwhelmed quite fast.

Anyway I'm at the cafe looking through the papers for flats for rent. But one problem is I don't know what my price range is. And then, I don't know where some of these places are so I can't really tell if it's a good trade off. I don't want to have a terribly long walk to work, or have to pay more for bus or train fare...

I'll be honest. Things like this are boring, comparing prices and measuring distances. So I just look around the place for a bit and am practically begging for a distraction of some kind. It's just past the busiest part of the morning for this place, so it isn't too full. I recognize a good few of the people, especially the workers. But there's some customers I've seen before, like that lady two tables up in the blue sweater. I take a second to wonder what she does for a job. Or maybe she doesn't have one at all. She's on her laptop. I haven't got one of those yet, but they sound like a good investment. You can learn a lot on a computer, and I certainly have some learning to do.

There's an old fellow at the register right now who's in here a lot. He always seems to be in good spirits. I hope I'm that way when I'm that old, still wanting to talk to people and smile. A lot of older people seem to be more sad or reserved. But I guess it makes sense because maybe a lot of people they know are dead now. I've got a long time before I'm old though so I don't worry about it too much.

There's a boy who I think must be a student because he's always got a textbook and notebook on the table when I see him and he looks a bit younger than me. I wonder if I ever went to school. I've seen them in movies and shows and they seem like stressful places since people seem to be at odds a lot, or getting put in detention on a Saturday.

This is no good is it? I'm not getting anything done, so I figure I should head back home to avoid further distractions with this people watching. I feel sort of off if I don't get work done, like I'm going to get in trouble for it. Even if it's sort of self-imposed work to begin with. I don't have that problem at my actual job. In fact the Colonel says he's never seen someone so focused as me. Lita jokes that I've got to relax some or I'm going to raise the standards for everybody else. I like the folks I work with so far. Lita and Ginzu bicker a lot but in a friendly way. They both like video games and asked if I play any and I said I wasn't sure. So they insisted I should come over to one of their houses sometime to play. McCoy likes football and the Colonel will talk about it with him sometimes but I don't know much about that either. They said I should come to a pub sometime and watch a match.

My temporary home is a bit of a walk from the cafe, since I picked the place on account of it being on the way to my work. But that might change when I move. Is it worth keeping that in mind? I'm sure there are dozens of cafes in the city. I like that one though because most of the workers know my name. It feels good, sort of like I'm making friends, even if we don't say much to each other.

I make it home and spread out my papers again. It's quite a bit of information to go through. The flat is quiet except for the hum of the fridge. I circle a place that looks like it might be in a good spot. The way the fridge keeps humming is kind of relaxing. I slump down on the table and keep reading all these boring boring details. And the fridge keeps on humming and the letters keep on blurring together and if I close my eyes just for a minute maybe it won't be the end of the world.

Panic. That is this feeling racing through me, making my hands shake and my legs feel weak and my chest feel empty even as my heart beats at an elevated rate. Tremors run through the ground, making secure footing difficult. Explosions that are all too near. Shadaloo may be destroyed today, but I can not allow the others to die. I can not allow them to end their lives as his slaves. I said that I was a prisoner, and today I have taken my first step as a free person. This is my choice, to save them, and no one will stop me.

Throw myself into the strange machine, the source of his power, the power he controls us with. He will answer for his crimes. I focus, the machine hums as if it were alive itself. I have never used it, but I must try, or I am condemning them to a life no one should have to live. And I can feel them, suddenly. Each of them, even him. He is a terrifying black vortex, nothing but destruction and evil are possible through him. I see them linked to him, each a little thread that must be severed if I am to break them from his control.

There is pain. My vision blurs, my head feels as though it's been cracked open. Each line to him snaps, one by one, and I can no longer feel them but this means they are free. Or are they dead? I can not know, and now fear-I know this now-eats at me from inside. What if I have killed them?

A close explosion shakes me so roughly that I'm thrown into the side of the machine. I try to focus as I end the connection, but my breaths are coming with more and more difficulty. The world is blurry and darkening quick. "Free-" I manage to say but it takes every ounce of strength to say it. Another explosion and I hit the floor as part of the roof caves in just inches from me. There's such an intense heat, but it's brief. I can't get up again. The machine, it wasn't meant for me to use, and I will pay for it. I try to breathe again but the air is so hot and awful. Everything blurs further as my eyes roll back into my head. I blink hard, trying to clear my vision, to stay awake. I can't focus anymore. I don't know what's happening to me. The General may kill me, but at least I've freed them. At least I've done that-

I shoot up coughing like mad and my throat feels so dry and sore I'd have thought I'd just crossed a desert. I cough so hard it makes me gag and then I keep coughing some more, fumbling in the cupboard for a glass to fill with water. I gasp a bit and why's it feel so hard to breathe? Got to calm down. Does it smell like smoke in here? I get a few breaths finally, drink some water, calm down. No, there's no smoke, oven's not on, nothing's burning. I finish off my glass and set it down, looking around. Everything's as it should be, I think. I must've dozed off while looking in the papers.

Oh. The papers. My real estate search. I look down at the listings. Only one place circled. But I've got a week. That's a good long time.