"Why didn't you tell us in the first place?" the General wasn't happy, it was only hours that passed and the battle the night before ceased to something unwanted.

The neuro agent who was tagged to be the person who served as the root of all of this merely adverted her gaze for a moment. "I've made a formal report already, General. I wanted to make sure that my suspicion were correct, which is why I came back there that night..."

"General, allow me to interrupt. I've read the report, it was a ten-page detailed narrative of what happened before, during, and after what happened." By then, Agent Geetha looked at her tablet, doing a quick scan of the contents of the file. "It appears that Ali was influenced by the late Uno before the tragedy at the academy. He took up the identity as Uno's son, and his own goals were elaborated."

"I see..." the General glanced at the neuro agent who remained her gaze on the ground. "I'm not here to scold you—I trust that you've had your reasons. However, what you did was gravely dangerous. I'm suspending you from partaking in any missions for the week, I hope for your compliance." He stated, as sanctions similar to this is in accordance with the protocols.

Usually, Alicia would disagree and just find a way to retaliate against the order. However, she gave a small nod. "Understood, see to it that I'll present my utmost compliance." She limitedly spoke, her mind wandering for a bit.

The General sighed. "Very well, you are dismissed for the time being." He immediately waved in motion, telling the young neuro agent to leave his sight.

Alicia didn't dare say anything else, not that she wanted to. She merely turned and walked out of the briefing room, the double doors sliding open, then close as she left.

Only those left in the room were Agent Geetha, the General, Agent Rizwan, and Agent Bakar.

"How is he, Agent Geetha?" the General questioned, eyeing the three agents left in the room.

Under Agent Rizwan's request, Ali was taken for medical aid, it was unknown what will happen to the former young tekno.

"We did the best we could, but we have to wait until he wakes up to make sure that he's alright." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Azurium poisoning is difficult to aid, but given the new technology we have, I am certain that we can remove the corrosive chemical of it."

"I'm certain he'll live, because if not, he would've perished already by now. However, what concerns me is what exactly should we do to him if he does wake up?" Agent Rizwan inquired, being calm and collected, already finding no point in worrying when the youth has a relatively high chance of survivability.

The General gave a frown at the query. "I do not wish to result to violence, given that he indeed helped us apprehend the Numeroz in the end." He trailed off, as if still in thought on what exactly he would do at this point. "I've long decided to leave this at the hands of the Chief Pillar Leaders. I'm certain that whatever they decide will be the best for both M.A.T.A. and Ali."

"But you won't... eliminate him, right? He's just influenced and confused—" Agent Bakar couldn't help but worry of what might happen to the youth, he only has one nephew, and he knew that the youth was only led astray.

The General gave a firm look. "I'm not heartless, even the meanest of entities only fell in lifetime imprisonment, but certainly not death." He pointed out, somehow offended of what the Kombat Mentor thought of him—sure, he was entirely cruel to the youth at first, but he certainly wont resort to such cruel violence.

As if a needle has been pricked out of the bulky man, he sighed in relief. "I'm glad... General." He knew that the youth still needed to pay for his mistakes but that's just about it, a better resort than eliminating him on sight.

"Make sure he's alright, I received strict directions from the Chief Pillar Leaders to ensure Ali's health and safety. For what they planned to do with him, I don't know, and I think it will be best if we all restrain ourselves from intervening." He sighed, pausing for a moment as he glanced back to the agents in the room. "I'm just as surprised and bewildered as everyone else—suddenly discovering that the greenhorn was still alive, as an enemy of all kinds."

"True as it is, there are things that we are unknown of, and inclusive to this is Ali's agenda of hiding and monitoring M.A.T.A. for several months since he disappeared." Agent Rizwan crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "Even I am left off guard when I heard it."

His words were fully meant with something else underneath. He has always been the neutral party, only siding with any of them if they are plausible and justifiable. In this case, Ali—his apprentice, has always been there, right under his nose.

Only now did he found out.

He should've been keener, maybe he would've stopped Ali when he had the chance.

If he were to be given a chance, he'd very much like to reform the boy, back into the path he's supposed to take.

While Agent Rizwan himself will start delving into a path which will serve him good.

If only he knew sooner...

"Give him a few hours, its still too early for him to wake at this point. If his body is already completely cleansed from the corrosive Azurium, he should wake up in an hour." Agent Geetha spoke amidst the silence, monitoring the young boy's vitals from her tablet. At the upper corner of her screen shows a camera feed of the medical ward where Ali stays, despite the boy still unconscious, his right wrist had a magnetic cuff around it, a security precaution in case.

"Fine, do notify me if he does wake, then I'll notify the Chief Pillar Leaders." The General spoke before he himself ended the transmission, leaving the three agents in silence.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Her footsteps were light, though the light thud of her heels on the metallic flooring was still audible, nonetheless. Several agents passed by her—some were in phone calls, some were staring at the clipboards or tablets in hand, while some were talking with their colleagues about things they've done, or projects that are ongoing.

Nevertheless, she held her head down as she walked, making her way to the dormitories where they were to temporarily stay in the event of emergencies of presence-requiring missions.

She need to only stand for a moment in front of her door before it slid open, engulfing her with the warmth from the room's heater, her bed properly arranged, and everything was left as she last been here.

Her tired eyes glanced at her bedside, her soft pillows nearly calling out to her for well-needed sleep, something she wasn't able to get for several hours now. Her feet dragged on the ground as she made her way to sit on one side of the bed. The soft cushions made her sigh from exhaustion. However, upon glancing to the left, her tired eyes landed on her bedside desk, drawers built in from the wooden furniture.

Her gaze softened, remembering her activities earlier before the mission a week ago occurred. Her fingers grazed the wooden surface of the drawer before holding the knob, pulling it briefly, revealing the contents of the wooden drawer.

Several notebooks, pens, papers, and important files were scattered in the area, different from her usual organized behavior. However, what was easily noticeable was the box at the very center of the drawer, the same box that she held just a week ago before she was called in to briefing.

She took ahold of it, as if the small red box were but a priceless jewel.

She got herself comfortable on the spot where she's sitting, her feet lightly elevated from the floor with how high the bed was, but it was never a concern for someone like her.

Slowly, she took ahold of the lid, taking a deep breath before opening to view its contents. It was nothing special, only several pieces of photos were inside.

She gingerly took ahold of one, smiling at the memory. It was a photo they took during elementary graduation, a photo of the whole class—Alicia being at the far left, but what was very much noticeable was Ali's disastrous smile—his cat deciding to jump on him the exact moment the photo was to be taken.

It brings back a lot of memories, times when Ali was still simple-minded, back to the time when he was still a pure boy.

Several other photos were inside as well, the time during new year's eve, their birthdays, or hang-outs she's forced to go to with their fellow friends both in the academy and outside of it.

She took the time to admire each and every photo, memories swirling in her mind, taking the tiredness away from her eyes. However, it ended with a note hidden at the far under, just below the last photo inside.

She set the box and photos aside, taking the note and slowly unfolding it to reveal a page torn from a notebook. The handwriting wasn't as neat as hers, and many words were covered by scribbles to make up for obvious mistakes.

She knows this note.

-----

"Dear Alicia,

Happy Birthday! Even though I'm sure you probably don't want anyone giving you stuffs like this. But hey, I'll probably sneak this somewhere in your dorm room—I hope you don't mind, I.R.I.S. has benefits. Anyways, even though I'm well aware of your unexplained hatred towards me, just know that I'll always be here to lend a hand if you need one, to lend my ear if you need someone to listen, or a shoulder to lean on if ever you feel so alone. Even if you throw me off the building—like you always do, I'll still be here for you. I know you have your personal stuffs to worry about, I won't take up too much of your time! Maybe a study session? Anything worth your comfort and time—sheesh, I'm blabbering again, aren't I?

Anyways, just know that I'll still be here all the way even though you don't want me to, I'll stick to you like a bug! I hope one day, we can have a casual conversation like friends do. Again, happiest birthday! I hope you don't turn grumpier than you are now!

From,

Ali"

------

She couldn't help but smile, she remembered finding this at her bed, she was so furious that she took the note and shoved it in a random drawer—leaving it unopened for who knows how long. That was until she began collecting photos, storing them in a small red box while throwing the letter in it too. For some reason, she couldn't find the courage to throw it away—thus, it was unopened.

Until now.

She sighed for a moment. "Ali... you broke your promise but..." she gave a small smile despite that, tired eyes loomed as she stared at another group photo framed by the wall. "... I don't mind you coming back."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Will he wake soon?" a brooding voice questioned, his bulky yet fit figure watched the holographic screens displaying camera feeds of the medical ward.

"He will, his life is not in danger, after all." Another voice—feminine yet firm, spoke from behind the man, sitting on her hovering chair as she watched the scenes unfold.

"What is your take on this?" the man asked, turning to look at the woman, the man being Agent Ganz, the Chief Pillar Leader of the Kombat Pillar.

The woman being addressed, being Agent Dayang, the Chief Pillar Leader of the Tekno Pillar, raised a brow. "My take?"

"Yes." He replied firmly, arms crossed. "This all started with Djin telling Ali the other side of the Protocol Gegas incident. What's your take on this?"

The woman simply smiled. "You know the truth about that day, I don't think I need to elaborate it further."

The bulky man looked away, already understanding her answer behind her smile.

That smile has always been terrifying, no one knows what she's really thinking, despite having worked with her for so long.

"Even so, the fact remains that Ali has been alive this whole time, yet not one trace could we find about it." she smiled, as if proud of what her youthful subordinate has done. "Impressive, his identity only compromised when the need to protect his friends came."

"What are you talking about?" Agent Ganz question, seemingly impatient to guess. "That boy should get an earful from me! Changing sides?! Assaulting and holding agents hostage?! What the hell—?!"

"Language, Agent Ganz." She raised a hand to pause him before he shouts even more adverse profanity as he usually would. The man obliged, much to his dismay. "Regardless of your testimonies, I'm keeping Ali strictly under my wing."

"You've gone mad..."

"Oh? I don't think so. Giving him a second chance seems far more useful for us, does it not? Especially with what I've had planned for him." She glanced at the holographic screen, an unnamed project remained in a folder that she until now, had not touched. "Let this event be just between us and the concerned parties, don't let the news of this spread M.A.T.A.'s walls."

"Fine, even though its hard to understand, you always know what to do." Agent Ganz gave up, no longer arguing with the female—the only Chief Pillar Leader left by his side.

"Helping him realize his goal in a different way is indeed much better, right?" she narrowed her eyes at the holographic screens, a distant memory flashing right before her. "He has potential... after all."

"It's in his genes."

The End...

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Hello!

Been a while before I completed this. I've had my fun, and I hoped you guys did too!

It was always a question on which was true in the infamous protocol gegas incident. Was it really a mission needed to be given sacrifices of, or was it actually a plot to eliminate?