Year 2033, August
17:00 P.M
Goz Beida, Chad, Africa
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Hope and I were at a small eatery with Agatha. She invited us there, and of course, she did it for a reason. Agatha said she wanted to talk with us about Aegis.
We sat down at a spot overlooking the sunset on the horizon. A waiter placed a glass of orange juice on the white, roundtable before he walked away.
"Yours?" Agatha asked as she raised her eyebrow.
"Yup." I took it and gulped down the juice in the blink of an eye. "Tasty."
Hope and Agatha were stunned, unsure of what they just saw.
"Anyway," she said, looking at me sternly. "We've confirmed Relly's disappearance from Chad. He's no longer here."
"Eh? So that means, he's back at Sweden?" I asked.
"Hmm, I don't know. But we've searched all over Chad, and he's nowhere to be found. Perhaps he is still in Neo Africa. After all, Master Gheele's Aegis wall located at the borders should prevent him from escaping elsewhere."
"That is true." I ordered another glass of orange juice, and in a few minutes, it was already in my hands. "You seem quite busy Agatha. Anything I can do to help?"
She waved with a smile. "I'm fine. It's just that I'm a workaholic in a sense. Probably should take a break once in a while."
I nodded. My eyes couldn't help but stare at the scar on the right side of her face. Noticing my stare, she covered it.
"Ah, sorry Agatha." I shifted my gaze to Hope next to me. As for him, he was absorbed in his own thoughts somehow.
"No, it's fine . . . I just need to get used to it, having this scar." She cleared her throat. "Actually Ava, if you don't mind, I want to show you something."
My hand touched the gold locket hung loosely around my neck. "What is it?"
"It's back in Master Gheele's palace." She looked at Hope. "You can come too if you want."
He snapped back to reality when I hit him in the knee. "Eh? Um, what are we talking about?"
I sighed. "You're always daydreaming these days . . . Agatha wants to show something back in the palace. Wanna come?"
He nodded. "O-Of course."
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"In the underground vault?" He asked, glancing left and right.
The torches lining up the stone walls shone faintly as we walked. Agatha was at the front with both Hope and me walking behind her.
"Yes," Agatha replied simply.
Our footsteps echoed as we approached a metal vault a dozen feet away from us. Agatha knocked a few times and it slowly opened inward. A young lady in a loose, white dress then greeted us. She was about the same height as Hope, about 170 cm.
"Don't be so hardworking, Jennifer," Agatha said as they both shook hands.
"Not really. I'm just doing what I really want to be honest." Jennifer smiled at the three of us. She adjusted her glasses and gestured for us to go inside. "I just sorted out the stacks, since you said you want to see it."
"Yeah." Agatha walked past her and into the vault.
"Do I know you?" I said to Jennifer.
She looked at me with a frown. Her hands played with the strands of her long, dark hair. "I don't think so. Do I remind you of someone?"
I nodded slowly. "Maybe . . . Wait, do you know Jacqueline? Jacqueline Jones."
She gasped. "You've met my sister?"
"Yup," I said as I raised my head high.
'What am I so proud of?' I thought.
"She works at Eugene's Orphanage," I continued, "and I also met Derrick."
Jennifer immediately grabbed my shoulders. "My older brother?"
"Yeah. Wait a second . . ." I put my hand at my chin. "So, Jacqueline is your little sister, and Derrick is your older brother . . . You're in the middle, huh?"
"Yes. How are they doing right now? Are they all right? I've heard nasty things have been happening lately in Sweden."
"They're all right. Though, it has been about three months since I last saw them. But I'm sure they're doing just fine," I assured her.
She was silent for a few moments. "I see. Thank you for telling me."
I nodded. "Why are you here in the first place? Let me guess . . ."
"Gheele caught you, and judging from how you act, it seems like you're here for quite some time. A few years maybe?" Hope said.
I pouted. "Urgh."
He laughed nervously. "S-Sorry."
Jennifer put up a wide smile, leering at Hope. "That's right handsome guy."
He jerked his head at her statement. "H-Handsome?"
"Actually, Master Gheele said that I can go after my job is done for today," she said casually.
"Go? As in, you don't need to work under him anymore? That's great," I said.
"Yes." She looked at Hope sheepishly."Y-You're quite handsome for someone your age."
Hope blinked a few times. "Er, I don't think so. I'm told that my face looks like--"
"Ah, I'm not talking about your looks." She grabbed Hope's right hand and he almost jumped from it. "You have that aura you see . . . A kind, honest guy. The kind of type I like."
Hope couldn't help but blush. "I-I see. Good for you."
"EH-HEM!" Agatha glared at the three of us.
"Gotta go." I gestured at Hope and he nodded.
"Sorry. I'll just--"
"Of course," Jennifer interject him and she let go of his hand. "Don't let me hold you back . . . Dear."
"Wait, what?"
"Hope, let's go!" I pulled his arm and we went further into the vault, where Agatha was waiting.
The vault was quite small, about the size of a room in an apartment. Fluorescent lights illuminated the room and its stone walls. Stacks of metal boxes were positioned in the center, just behind Agatha.
"She's always like that?" Hope said to her, patting at his blue shirt.
"I don't think so. It's the first time I've seen her like that . . . Maybe she's really into you. Love at first sight?" said Agatha.
"No way. How old is she?"
"Twenty . . . Six? Yeah, twenty-six."
"Hmm, nine years older."
"So if she's younger you'll take her?" teased Agatha.
"W-Wha--" Hope shook his head a few times. "Wait, what are you trying to show us anyway? What's in those metal boxes?"
"Aegis containers," she said with a serious tone.
"Where did Gheele get this much?" I asked.
"About a few years ago, when Neo Africa's soldiers managed to get their hands on a C.U's cargo ship. All of these boxes are from there."
"That's also where Gheele got his Aegis," Hope said.
Agatha sighed. "We don't have any use for it for now. Gheele was lucky to not die when he got his Aegis."
"I don't think anyone would dare to actually use those containers," I said. "Not when they don't have any info on their success rates."
"If only we can bring Alicia back here, maybe we'll have a few more Aegis Users to help us fight the C.U," she said.
"Perhaps," Hope said. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll have one or two more Users, but that's not possible any time soon."
"Indeed." Agatha walked towards the exit and then turned to face us. "We should head back. I just want to show you these stolen Aegis containers anyway."
I nodded. "All right." Then, an idea struck me. "Wait, Agatha, can we use the kitchen?"
She shrugged. "Tabetha's the one you should be asking. She must be in the palace garden at this time around."
"Ah, okay." I walked past her and out of the vault, where Jennifer was waiting.
"What's your name?" she asked Hope, blushing at him.
"Er . . . Hope. Hope Domitius."
"Ah, I see." She fidgeted with her dress. Her eyes met Hope and then she lowered her head.
"I don't know what's happening. What did I do?" Hope said. "Anyway, let's go Ava."
"Yeah."
We walked away from her when she grabbed Hope's arm. He turned around and Jennifer looked at him bashfully. "Um, can I follow you, please?"
'What's gotten into her?' I thought.
Somehow, the way she acted make my blood boiled.
"Wait a minute here." Hope narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you want from me?"
"I don't know why, but," she pulled Hope closer to her, "I just want to be near you."
Agatha approached us with a sly grin. "Well now, looks like your charm works, Hope. She fell head over heels for you."
"Wha--But I didn't do anything!" He let out a restrained scream when Jennifer wrapped her arms around his.
"Take me with you anywhere . . . Dear. My heart can't take it like this. I just want to be near you at all times." She proceeded to pull his face slowly towards her and he pushed her away.
"Okay, stop. There's a lot of guys out there if you're that lustful, woman." Hope clicked his tongue in annoyance and walked toward the stone staircase.
"Wait!" cried Jennifer. "I won't disturb you or anything . . . I just want to see you more. Those golden eyes of yours, they're pulling me towards you, Dear."
Hope ignored her. Even so, Jennifer was adamant in following us, and so she did.
We arrived at the palace garden a few minutes later. Jennifer had distanced herself away from us, but her gaze was still on Hope.
"She looks obsessed with you Hope," I said. "Maybe she never met someone like you until now."
Hope sighed. He covered his face from the bright sunlight as we stepped into the garden. Slowly, he looked at Jennifer.
She was still staring at him, looking demure and innocent. "Can I help you with something, Dear?"
"All right. Looks like we're roleplaying somehow. I don't mind though." Hope approached and she immediately looked away from him. "Here, have this." He pulled out a wrapped, red candy stick from the pocket of his jeans. "You can have it, darling."
She gasped and stood there frozen in place. Hope placed the candy in her hands as her eyes widened from what he just said.
He turned back to me and smiled. We both walked away from her and went back inside the palace quickly.
"So . . . What do you mean by that, Hope?" I said sharply.
He laughed and patted me in the head. "If you can't make her go away, then you just have to go with the flow. If I do something she didn't expect, sooner or later, she'll get over it."
"Ah . . . Okay."
We turned into a corner as our footsteps echoed throughout the hallway.
"Argh!" A headache struck my head suddenly and I stumbled.
"Ava?" Hope was on his knees. He called my name repeatedly but I could only hear traces of his voice.
Hazy memories flashed before my eyes. "W-What?"
An image of Alice popped up in my head, followed by Luca's gleeful smile. Beatrice's stern expression made my heart stopped for a moment before the scene shifted into something else. Inghild and Jeremy were there for a bit, then it switched to Jessica.
The pain subsided and I shook my head, finally snapped back to reality. "What was that?"
"Are you alright? What happened?" Hope looked at me with a worried expression.
I waved at him dismissively. "Nothing . . . Let's go find Tabetha."
We walked along the hallway without muttering any words. Somehow, I felt that I need to go back to Mansel Island.
But for what purpose, that was still unknown to me.