Finally, Syzen's transport rolled to a stop. Both soldiers stood, with Soldier S opening the door and Soldier K roughly pulling Syzen to his feet. Soldier S stepped down, and Soldier K pushed Syzen after him.
"If he pisses himself, you're cleaning it up," Soldier S threatened. Soldier K just had a wicked smirk.
"Well, we-" the female soldier started, to be cut off by the male soldier.
"We can't tell you. Wer tell you, you try to find them, we get sick with a body and a week of paperwork. No way." The male soldier looked like he was speaking from experience.
"Alright…" Kassidy states with a smile and then looks down at her lap and starts to think about the journey ahead.
"And of Q and B?" The kinder soldier asked quietly.
"We'll arrive before them, if wer hit no road blocks." This soldier looked disdainfully at Kassidy.
"Then we can hand it over to the agents."
“You know, that whole pissing thing was just a joke. Though that gave me the idea that you two aren’t really enjoying your jobs, like, at all, right?” Syzen asked, more of a teasing manner but he was genuinely curious.
"Not really. It's getting old." Soldier S sighed as the two soldiers started leading Syzen into the complex before them.
"I'd enjoy it more if I want stuck with this old fart," Soldier K mumbled, but his demeanor remained the same.
"Welcome to Area 51," K said in a louder voice. "It's going to be home for you for a very long time."
“I have several questions but whatever…” Syzen sighed, getting dragged like this wasn’t new to him at all.
“So where in this Area 51 are we going?”
"Just the holding area. After the others arrive, you'll be processed and given cell. Of course, if you are able to pass off as human and sign enough papers, you might be allowed to travel to preapproved cities." Soldier S explained this in a monotone way, as if it were something he said on a regular basis.
“Does it count if I was human, I kinda wanna go home now if you know what I mean” Syzen knew well that what he said wasn’t gonna help but he said it anyways as there was nothing better he can do.
"Unfortunately, you are home now. At least, until your author sends you back. No guarantees though. Its not uncommon for an author to leave characters here." With that, the soldiers pulled Syzen into the building. They moved down several corridors, each lined with metal doors. Various noises could be heard from within. Muffled wailing, music, and animalistic noises have clues as to what was held within, along with serial numbers stamped on each door.
“Yeahhhh… let’s hope I’m one of the lucky ones” Syzen laughed as he joked with himself.
“Oh come on, that was kinda funny”
Soldier S didn't reply, but he did have the ghost of a smile. Soon, they reached the end of the hallway, which split in two directions. On the left, there were more doors. These had letters on them; A, P, H, G, L, and U.
To the right, where Syzen was being led, was a large room, the doors wide open. As the three men stepped inside, Syzen's bindings fell off, though he was still unable to use his powers. The two soldiers then turned to leave.
"I'd suggest not trying to leave," Soldier S warned. "Or things would be worse for you."
“Right… thanks for the advice Captain Obvious” Syzen teased the officer before standing up straight and started to pace around the room.
The room's walls had benches built into them; several had scratch marks on them. The room was dimly lit, and the corners were bathed in darkness. When Syzen passed the darkest corner, the sound of something scooting away could be heard.
“Who’s there…?” Syzen asked coldly, eyeing the dark corners of the room. He turned left and right once in a while, collecting the sounds of the scooting.
Slowly, a boy came out of the corner. He has short blonde hair, and a golden clock hanging by a chain. He looked as if he had been beaten, his left eye swollen and his lip bleeding. He was quite obviously terrified of Syzen.
"I-I am," he muttered.
Syzen reaction immediately turned from annoyed to…
“Who did this to you?” He knelt down in front of the boy. He used his napkin to wipe off some of the bloodstains on the boy’s face.
“Here” he handed the boy a plaster with a soft and caring smile.
“Can you walk? If not, I’ll help carry you around”
The boy flinched slightly when Syzen touched him, but calmed down slightly.
"T-there soldiers who brought me here. They…" The boy trailed off, rubbing his clock. Shaking his head slightly, he focused on Syzen's second question.
"I-I think I can walk." He shakenly tried to stand, but it seemed as if something were wrong with his leg.
Syzen tried to get a closer look at the boy’s leg but the poor lighting in the room made it hard to even focus. He decided that whatever was with the boy’s leg, he could only cheer him up mentally anyways. The best he could do was carry the boy around, but to where as there was no destination yet.
“Forgive me for asking but… you’re also a character, right? Like, you’re not human, am I correct?”
"That's what the soldiers called me." Slowly, the boy moved to sit on the closest bench.
"My name's Akira," he said after he had sat down.
“Nice to meet you buddy, I’m Syzen” he sent the kid a friendly smile. He then sat on the bench, right beside Akira.
“So, how long have you been in here for?”
"A c-couple hours. I think. After the guards left me here, it got hard to really tell…" Akria rubbed the clock again, pulling one leg up.
"Well, we-" the female soldier started, to be cut off by the male soldier.
"We can't tell you. Wer tell you, you try to find them, we get sick with a body and a week of paperwork. No way." The male soldier looked like he was speaking from experience.
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Good for you. Why would I try to go after my 'author,' who probably doesn't even exist?"
This time, it was the female soldier's turn to cut off her partner.
"You find them, you could get your powers back." The male soldier was listening to his radio, then turned to the female.
"We should be there soon; A and T seemed to have been delayed for some reason, and will be arriving after us."
Ash snorted and rolled her eyes, shifting to get into a more comfortable position. "Whatever you say."
"Believe what you want to believe, I guess." Soon after this, the vehicle rolled to a stop. The two soldiers stood, each moving to Ash's side to pick her up as they had before. They stepped out of the back, taking her towards the main compound.
Ash didn't struggle. It would be no use. She did wish her hands were free, though. It would be so much easier to… disarm them?
Ash was led through the same corridors as Syzen had been; the ruckus from the various holding cells a constant background noise. The female soldier paused for a moment when they passed one of the doors. It was labeled "SB7823." The room in question had been a source of some of the louder sounds, but now it was silent. The male soldier looked at the other.
"Let's keep moving," he said gruffly, a hint of sympathy in his voice. Shaking her head, the female soldier continued on. As they walked away, the occupant of the room the female soldier had been looking at banged against the door, wailing softly.
