AN: Aha! A title that won't spoil everything!

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CQ wouldn't leave Geno's side. She stays with him... or rather, take him wherever she goes. She kept him company when his brothers were in school. She kept him in her home office while she works. And whenever she would notice Geno slightly turn his head to the side, as if he was listening to something, CQ could already guess that it was the voice.

So she would try to distract him; talk to him or make him tell her a story. Anything for her son to occupy his mind other than that voice.

She stubbornly refused to believe that that voice belongs to his son's subconscious. It's just... unbelievable.

It's been days and the men, who promised would monitor their surroundings, haven't given her a call for an update on their situation. Although there was no sign of the stranger again, which both relieved and worried her.

Yes, she was glad that the guy backed off, probably. Hopefully. But then she was afraid that maybe the guy was waiting for a chance. A moment of slip up. To take advantage of them at their weakest.

CQ also never let Geno sleep in his own room again. For now, at least, and until the stranger was caught. She let him sleep with her in her room, cuddled together and holding her son in her arms.

Geno was thankful for her. She chases away the voice and the nightmares. He was able to sleep through the night without any disturbance. He thought he was getting better. Everything was getting better.

And then, one afternoon, CQ was working with her comic with Geno on her lap when her phone rang. It was the police. They said they needed to talk to her.

Error and Fresh were still at school and CQ would never dare leave Geno alone in the house.

She buckled her son on the front passenger seat and they drove off. Upon arriving at the police station, CQ and her son was led inside the busy establishment and into an office where the chubby chief staring at his laptop screen on his desk. As well as an investigator wearing a brown coat and slacks standing behind him. It seems as they were waiting for her arrival.

Although the chief prefers to have no child in the office while they talk. CQ protested. She insisted to let her son be by her side the whole time. She also said that the topic would go over her son's head, he wouldn't understand.

But the chief and the investigator refused, for some unknown reason, and insisted to take the child out of the room. But they assured the mother that the other officers would keep an eye on her child.

A lower rank police officer came in, after being called, and escorted Geno out. The officer led him back into the lobby and told him to sit on one of the plastic chairs lined by the wall. There he fiddled with his thumbs, patiently waiting for his mother's meeting to be finished while the policemen silently keep an eye on him as they work on their tasks.

CQ was offered a seat and she took it. Sitting on a chair by the chief's desk while the investigator sat, too, across from her.

"Ma'am," the investigator began. "I'm sorry if we have to leave your son out, but this is a matter a kid should not hear. Especially him." he said and CQ raised a questioning brow.

The investigator turned the laptop to him and pressed a few keys. "The 'spies', as you may call, have been watching over your family since the installation of security cameras." he said and CQ nodded, already knowing this part of the matter. The chubby chief was intently listening as well.

"And what we've seen are some.... unexplainable things." the investigator said with a hint of hesitance in his tone. Obviously, because he couldn't explain it himself.

"What do you mean?" CQ worriedly inquired, her gaze shifting to the laptop and back to the man.

The chief cleared his throat, successfully earning her attention and he handed her a small stack of printed photos. "These are the screenshots taken from the footage..." he began and let CQ figured out the rest.

She looked down at the black and white photos in her hands, one by one, and it shows the inside of her house. There are her and her son at various times and different rooms. But that's not the focus of attention. The red circle indicates so.

There's the stranger, inside her home and she didn't even know about it. She looked at the next photo. And the next. And the next one. And so on.

Each and every single one of those, there's a red circle and a member of her family. Inside the red circle, was the stranger in different locations. Mostly he was in the corner, some were he was behind the couch, peeking through the doorway and one was standing by her bed as she and Geno sleep.

Then something clicked inside her head. A realization. She abruptly stood up. "He was there all along?! Why didn't you do anything?!" she demanded and slammed her hands on the chief's desk.

"Ma'am, please calm down. We-" the investigator began, standing up and reaching out his hands to her but was afraid to touch her.

"Don't tell me to calm the f*** down! My sons are in danger and you-! you're just watching the whole time!? You're not even doing anything!" she screamed, her voice reverberating in the small room.

"Ma'am, let me explain." the investigator said and turned the laptop to her. On the screen, she saw a black and white video of the inside of her house. The man pressed space and the video plays.

CQ watched. It was a shot of their living room from the up corner, showing her three sons on the couch watching TV. An obviously normal occurrence in their lives until a dark figure just... manifest right behind the couch. He just... appeared there out of nowhere. And the video ended shortly after that.

CQ was utterly confused. The man beside her played another video. This time, it was her and Geno walking through the upstairs hall in pajamas. CQ remembered this, they were heading to her bedroom. But then, as soon as they entered her room and closed the door, the stranger once again fades into existence standing in front of her closed door.

He stood there for a few seconds before walking through the door and into her room. Her hand flew to cover her gaping mouth. "Is he-? Is he a ghost?" she asked in disbelief.

A few more videos were shown to her, all displaying the unworldly abilities of this stranger. "We do not believe in supernatural," the chief said. "We have records showing a few monsters able to use teleportation magic. It's quite rare though." he added.

That doesn't make her feel any better.

"And we have noticed a 'pattern' in his behaviour." The investigator began and took the stack of photos and laid it out on the desk. CQ scanned it all, looking for some 'pattern' like they say.

"You see, in every picture, your son appears." he pointed at the child with a glitched cloud over one eye. "Whenever this son of yours is around, the stranger appears. And he's always near him."

CQ's blood ran cold. No, not her son! She begged. Tears pricking her eyes as she held her visibly shaking hands over her mouth.

The investigator tried to calm her down, led her to her seat and offered her bottled water.

The chief began explaining all possible motives of the stranger and each scenario was worse than the previous.

Oh, God. Why does it have to be her son?

After nearly an hour of discussing the plan and police operation, CQ was escorted out of the office. She's mentally exhausted. Her back hunched over slightly and her face was pale. She's... stressed. She didn't know what to do.

How can she protect her son from someone with a f****** magic to disappear? Rubbing both of her hands on her face, she let out a tired sigh. What should she do?

When she arrived at the lobby, her eyes scanned the area; searching for a familiar white jacket and red scarf that her son always wore. But oddly, she can't find him. Of course, she had to fight down the panic knowing that they're in a police station with a bunch of highly trained individuals capable of taking down their enemy with or without a gun.

She turned to the lady behind the counter. "Excuse me, have you seen my son? He's a short skeleton wearing white all over and red scarf?" she politely inquired.

"Yes ma'am, I saw him sitting there a few minutes ago." she pointed at the empty chairs lined by the wall across the area.

"Where did he go?" CQ asked, nervousness starting to show on her facial features.

"Oh, he left. Someone picked him up."

Confusion etched across CQ face. "What-? Who-? Who picked him up?"

"The guy wearing a black jacket with his hood up."

CQ blanched. Someone took her son.

~~~~

"Where are we going?" Geno asked as the guy held his hand and led him through the street before turning to a narrow alleyway.

The guy looked back at him and smiled.

To be continued...

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AN: I'm doing an awful job at this story.