Warning: Small mentions of blood and violence.

|A/N| Greetings and salutations, my beautiful readers!

Happy (kinda late) New Year! I hope this chapter is okay and at least slightly worth the wait. I kinda went for a creepy vibe from it, and managed to get a little action in there too! Someone I've been waiting to put in finally arrives, and he'll be lurking around here a bit! Anyways, hope you all enjoy it at least slightly, because I also loved to write it!

See you guys next chapter~

February 28, 2016

[Location Unknown]

I shouldn't be here...Oh God, I shouldn't be here.

Vash fidgeted, tugging at a ripped-up sleeve, eyes darting wildly around the small room he was in like there was something new to see. Of course, there wasn't. If was...concrete, gray, lifeless. It was all he had even known. He had woken up here, eaten here, slept here. That was all his life had been. There were breaks from the usual, sure; check-ups and training and all that, but those were far apart with few in between. So, the steady pattern of his life went on, and he didn't question it.

Yet, there was a sense of something being...off. Blank points in his memory that weren't supposed to be there. It was more than just a case of forgetfulness, as he had been told it was so often. It made him want to dig around in his brain, recover the missing information, but all he could do was rip out hair and hope that the pain sparked something.

It never did. And that seemed all the more aggravating.

His mind started to swim, a sudden surge of the familiar sensation of energy writhing under his skin, almost like it was begging to escape. He bounced his leg, trying to dispel some of the energy and sort out his thoughts, despite they were already way too jumbled and smudged to create a clear picture. He chewed at his nails, practically stubs by now, trying not to make a sound when he heard clanging keys and sliding metal.

"I'd advise you stop your fidgeting, boy." A cold voice said, breaking through his thoughts. It was his doctor, nameless and mostly faceless beside the tired grey eyes above the white face mask. He sat on the bench beside Vash, dragging a small metal cart towards them, "If I get anything wrong, you won't be in the correct condition for the mission, and we'll both be on thin ice. Wouldn't want that." He picked up a flashlight, grabbing Vash's chin, "Eyes open."

My eyes are open, can you not see that?!

Flinching when the bright light went into one of his eyes, Vash grit his teeth. A hum from his doctor, and the light moved to the other eye. The light was put down, replaced by the little mallet that was used for his reflexes. Vash zoned out, not listening or paying attention to what the doctor was saying. The energy in him was calming down, at ease once more.

Suddenly, a sharp pain hit his arm, shocking him out of his thoughts. A shot, filled with a clear liquid that Vash wasn't familiar with. He didn't have the nerve to ask, just watching as it was injected.

A bandage later, and the doctor was bidding him farewell again, sneaking him a candy from "one of his nurses." He popped it into his mouth as all the lights turned off, leaving him in the dark. Why did they have to do this? It was something about testing, wasn't it? That was their motivation for doing this stuff. But, still, he hated being without his sight; it made him vulnerable.

You don't have to be helpless. You can do whatever you want with this darkness. Just tap into it.

Vash clenched his fist, "Why are you still here? You should leave already. I don't even know why you care about me getting out of here."

I care because I'm not letting another person waste away here. Because you don't act! Do it this once and you'll be free. Then you can gather your memories again and I'll go.

"..." Taking a deep breath, Vash stuck his hands out in front of him. His hands started to tremble, the energy coursing through him again. "Fine. But, please, leave me after this. I don't need the help of a ghost to guide me through my life."

He swore he could almost see someone nodding in the darkness. Of course. They mumbled, before Vash felt the energy increase. All he could manage was a scream, before everything went white.

Red light poured across the white floor, sirens blaring almost loud enough to break eardrums and shatter glass. People ran through the halls, gathering files from offices or snatching up keys for the restricted areas of the building. They didn't have time to rest, especially not with their supervisor watching over them like an angry hawk on the catwalk above them; ready to get rid of the weak link that allowed this hassle to happen or was doing nothing productive.

A lady walked up to him, looking nervous. She tapped on his shoulder, waiting for his attention to be on her to speak, "Um, sir...You won't be very happy with this, but..." She looked around, motioning for him to lean down so she could finish her statement in a whisper. He stared at her incredulously when she pulled away to let him process her words.

"What do you mean ZS-1921 escaped?" He finally asked, deathly quiet.

She shuffled her feet, flipping through her notes and adjusting her glasses, "I mean exactly what I said, sir! We can't find him anywhere. Not even a trace of his energy is locatable. It's like he was never here."

"This isn't good..." He groaned, pressing his fingers to his temples and leaning on the railing. "Do you know how much money his supposed powers could have made us? So many people need a good powered hitman nowadays! Now we'll be behind quota..." Shaking his head, he turned his head back towards the woman, "Thank you for telling me this, Dolores. Go and try to help the others."

"Yes sir." She nodded, turning and going back towards the special containment cells. Though, as she passed one of the unused corridors, a small sound - almost like giggling - caught her attention.

Approaching it, apprehensively, Dolores poked her head into the dark area, "Hello? Is someone there?"

The giggling grew louder, more crazed. After a moment, it mixed with a hissing noise and footsteps. Something stumbled towards her on shaking legs, pant legs torn and dirtied. She stared at the thing as it revealed more and more of itself; it wore the standard outfit for subjects, but ripped all around the arms and, of course, legs. More terrifyingly, a large, black shape loomed over it, smiling down at her with a smile filled with sharp teeth.

Raising a limp hand, the escaped subject matched their monster's lopsided grin. They brought their hand up to point at her, the shadow monster jumping out from behind them and inching close to her, "Go on. I know you're hungry."

Finally coming to her senses, Dolores screamed, turning tail and starting to run. She didn't get very far, before ribbons of dark energy burst up from the ground, wrapping around her ankles and bringing her to the ground. More ribbons made sure she couldn't get up as the creature loomed over her, mouth opened wide. She screamed again, watching as its teeth came closer at a tauntingly slow pace.

"Apologizes." The subject said, running past her, "But this world is eat or be eaten, is it not?"

Another scream, this time muffled by the ribbons, and blood spilt across the floor.

.

February 28, 2006

Antsla, Estonia

Eduard woke up with a gasp, eyes opening as he jolted in bed. Slowly, he sat up, searching for his glasses on the nightstand. He brushed at his eyes with a fist, surprised to see they were wet with tears. Ugh... He shook his head, putting his glasses on and looking at the clock. Midnight. And, yet, here he was; pumped full of adrenaline from that stupid nightmare.

Well...He didn't have to keep his mind on it. He might as well be productive while he was up. Pushing his blanket off him, Eduard jumped out of bed. He yawned, walking to the kitchen and wasting no time in making coffee for himself. But, as soon as he poured his mug, more footsteps came from the living room. He turned his head, smiling at a nervous looking Feliks standing in the doorway.

"I didn't know I would be having company this morning." He chuckled, grabbing another mug from the cabinet. He didn't get a response, just the sound of a chair squealing as it was pushed out. He didn't know what he was expecting; his houseguest had been acting...off lately. Not his usual self.

Putting down a mug in front of Feliks, Eduard took his own seat. "I'm sorry if I woke you up," He began, blowing at his drink before taking a drink, "I forgot that Toris had inviting you to stay while you were traveling. I'm not used to visitors, so I guess I'm not the best at being quiet." He laughed to himself, watching as the other mug was pushed away.

"Eduard." Feliks' voice instantly made Eduard tense. It sounded almost...dead. Too flat and unemotional to actually belong to him. But, no, it was still coming from his lips. "Now is not the time for small talk. You and I both know this, even if - in your case - it's only subconsciously. I want you to listen to me, right now, and accept my words with an open mind."

"F-Feliks...You're kind of scaring me..."

Sighing, Feliks went on, "I don't expect you to understand this, but I want you to try, okay?" As soon as Eduard nodded, he went on, "I'm going to be blunt about this: We're going to be in danger, Ed. All of us. You, me, Toris, Raivis, Elizaveta; even people we haven't even met yet. It's all connected, you see? Every single one of us has a common thread going through our lives. And it's all going to crash together on that string one day, when it's most important!" Feliks' serious façade was falling away, his eyes shining with...something. He slowly grabbed Eduard's hands, staring him in the eyes, "Everything's bound together. People like you, and to a smaller extent, like me; we're living in an entire world depending on butterfly effects."

"No, Feliks." Eduard shook his head, pulling his hands out of his friends hands, "Do you even know what you're saying? I think you're taking that one guy's - what was his name, Vargas? - work too seriously. He's a complete loon. Maybe you should just sleep this crazy notion off? Toris said you haven't been sleeping well at all la-!"

Feliks stood suddenly, chair tipping back and clattering to the ground as he smacked his hands down on the table. "Don't speak to me like I'm a child, Ed!" He shouted, "I know what I'm saying. I've been studying this, even before Doctor Vargas explained his own studies. And it's finally come together, I'm on the very verge of a breakthrough with this! I know why those people with that 'Unnatural' gene are so spread out in this world." He started to pace, a habit he developed when thinking on something too hard.

Eduard rolled his eyes, but couldn't say anything before Feliks spoke again, "If they were all in one place, it would be dangerous. They all need to develop their skills properly. If they all shared territory, then there would be the ones that would be weaker, and they'd probably either turn to a darker lifestyle or be killed off by the ones who did the first option. Survival of the fittest. But, you can't have that with 'Unnaturals,' they all need to take their own path, not be forced to try and get more power of be killed off by others. Of course, they gravitate towards those like them, because that's just natural instinct!"

"Feliks... You make it sound like these 'Unnaturals' you're talking about are animals. Didn't Vargas say the gene is only in humans?"

"Humans are animals, Ed. Don't your remember what's in this world? Murder, stealing, cheating; it's all in out nature. And, like any other species, there will always be a higher class. That's where they fit in snugly, in that upper class. Because they still have those human urges, but they have power to supply relief to the urges, if they so wished. It's a terrifying thing to think about, hm? The fact that even people above the normal ones of our species are savages as well. But I'm sure you don't have any need to be afraid..."

Flashing a smile, Feliks finally picked up his cup, taking a drink of it and going back to the living room after it. Like they had just had a normal talk.

Eduard stared into his coffee, holding onto it tightly. He swore that he saw flashes of his earlier nightmare in the cup; somehow crawling out of his head to give him the images to choke on. Now that he thought about it, the screams had been a little to real, the laughter a little too distinct, the blood almost like he could touch it and have his fingers coated with it. A shiver ran through him.

Maybe...Feliks was so crazy...