***
Tomorrow...
This morning the birds were chirping, the sky was very blue and there weren't many clouds there.
A cultural parade was being held in the center of Iacon, with marching bands even joining in the fun.
The city center was very crowded with spectators, even though it was a very hot day and many had to use umbrellas to avoid the cold spray.
The car above it was Nova Prime, who waved to the audience and the surrounding community.
Among the audience, Sentinel's wife, Amelie, was also present to watch the cultural parade. Amelie appeared to be with several female friends. However, Amelie still seemed somewhat gloomy, remaining silent. When called, she was slow to respond; if you didn't knock, she would likely remain in deep thought.
Her friends try to make Amelie forget about her problems at home, and have fun.
Amelie couldn't stop thinking about Sentinel. She occasionally glanced around, hoping, even for a moment, to see him.
****
Unfortunately, Sentinel is busy working on some project documents at Prime's palace. Today, everyone is celebrating outside, welcoming the city's new name: Iacon City, which has officially been renamed Cybertown.
On his desk, a computer. Papers were scattered and piled up. He was copying several documents from the paper to the computer.
However, his performance slowed. Several employees who had observed Sentinel said he was often silent, staring blankly, his mouse motionless, and only moments later did he move his hand.
"Mr Sentinel!"
....
"Mr Sentinel!"
....
"Mr. Sentinel!!"
Someone called out to him.
"Oh, yes. What's wrong?" Surprised, realizing the director was standing nearby.
"We might be able to find a temporary replacement for you, you seem... unwell," the Director said.
"... I'm fine, I'm just a bit confused about some of the data," Sentinel replied.
Meanwhile, the results of Sentinel's work in summarizing the data were still very little written on his computer monitor.
"Ah—... you should rest, Mr. Sentinel," said the Director.
"Huhh..." Sentinel sighed.
"Alright..."
Sentinel then got up from his desk and went outside to rest because he was not feeling well.
...
"Come on, you have to meet him," a man's voice said in the front yard of Prime Palace.
...
"Can I help you, sir?" asked Sentinel.
A little girl covered half her face with a piece of paper she was holding. A man next to her kept saying, "Come on... you have to be brave."
The girl finally, took a step, one step at a time.
Sentinel then stepped forward and approached the girl, then squatted down near her and asked her.
"Wow... what's wrong, little angel?" asked Sentinel.
The little girl then handed him a piece of paper. It looked like an envelope, but it was wider.
"A gift?" asked Sentinel.
The girl's hands were crossed behind her, and her feet were stomping.
"My name is Cherry... um... I'm Iris's classmate," the girl said hesitantly.
Sentinel then opened the envelope and untied the string that bound it. The photos were shocking. Several photos of Iris with her friends, even a photo of her birthday.
"... I'm sorry, I never knew Iris was sick. If I had known, I would have played with her more often." The girl's tears streamed down in front of Sentinel.
"Hey..., don't cry." Sentinel wiped the girl's tears that were streaming down her face.
The girl then said, sobbing and sobbing, "Sir, Iris doesn't feel any pain anymore, especially after she died. She must be at peace in the afterlife. Even though I miss her so much."
Sentinel, speechless.
The girl's father, who was accompanying her, approached the girl. The girl then moved closer to her father, and her cries died down in his warm embrace.
"I'm so proud of you, you've had the courage to express your feelings," the father said.
The father then stood up and turned to Sentinel. "Mr. Sentinel, I'm sorry to bother you. My daughter keeps asking me to accompany her here.
Sentinel then stood up, giving a friendly smile. "Ah, that's no problem. He's a very good and brave girl."
The girl hugged her father's leg tightly and stared at the Sentinel.
"Thank you, Mr. Sentinel. We'll take our leave now, see you later," said the girl's father.
"See you later," replied Sentinel.
The father and daughter left from the front gate.
Sentinel looked again at the photos of Iris. Each smile, and the face in the photos, brought tears to his eyes. But this was no place to grieve. Sentinel tucked the photos into his chest pocket and left.
***
On the other side of town, a parade, music, dancing, and various performances were taking place. Amelie was still there with some of her friends, sitting on the wall.
"Hey, let's go get some drinks and snacks!" said one of Amelie's female friends.
"I'll just leave it for you, I'm a bit tired from standing! I'd like a vanilla oil drink," said Amelie.
"Okay! Wait here, don't go anywhere, we won't be long, okay!" said Amelie's female friend.
Her friends then left and Amelie sat with the residents on the wall.
In the midst of him sitting and contemplating, a man came who he didn't really know.
"Hi! Mrs. Amelie, nice to meet you," said the man.
"Yes... uhm..." Amelie, confused who the man was.
"My name is Brake! Do you remember? We were school friends and we were in a band together, remember?" asked the man who identified himself as Brake.
"B—Brake?... Uhhh..." Amelie tried to remember.
"Oh, Brake Rocker?! The guitarist and songwriter back then!" Amelie said.
"Well, that's right. You still remember, I see," said Brake.
"Honestly, why are you so different? I mean, look at your appearance!" said Amelie, who was surprised to meet an old school friend.
"Yes, I've been working abroad recently and I've been upgrading my look a bit. I've been starting a solo career since our band broke up!" said Brake.
"... yes, your career is indeed very successful. You are very famous because you can be a talented vocalist, guitarist and lyricist," said Amelie.
Brake then sat down next to Amelie and talked to her.
"Yes... I regret that you stopped being the band's vocalist, but... I understand that," said Brake.
"... Without me, the band seemed more hyped, even though in the end you decided to go on hiatus," said Amelie.
"I miss our old band. I'd actually like to have a reunion sometime, but many of our members are busy, and they're just like you, busy raising families," Brake said.
"Everyone's busy in the family right now, huh," said Amelie.
...
"Well... what about you, are you married too?" asked Amelie.
"Not yet... you know, finding a partner feels hard for me... You know, I feel regretful because I'm as famous as I am now. The label demands me almost every day, and it feels bad because I'm not the one who manages my privacy," said Brake.
"By the way, why do you seem alone here?" Brake asked.
Amelie replied, "My friends are looking for a drink for me, they will be here soon,"
"Oh..." said Brake.
...
They both looked awkward, but Brake then said, "Uh..., sorry I didn't come to your daughter's funeral, I was... too busy and probably didn't have time but I'll still come even though... it'll take a few days to get here. I'm very sorry about that."
"Yes... it's okay," said Amelie, even though her hands couldn't keep still.
"... I need your help, recently I decided to only become a song producer, because I am unable to sing songs, I had an accident in my throat, so when I sing my voice is gone, I have really lost my talent," said Brake.
"... For iris,... Huh... I will do the lyrics and vocalist," said Amelie.
"..." Drake smiled in relief, "Thank you, Amelie. ... This is going to be a special song."
***
From a corner, among the crowd, on a street open to pedestrians, Sentinel walked, heading home to rest, even though he knew it was a parade and it was very exciting.
But when he looked around, he saw his wife Amelie, talking and sitting with a man, Sentinel knew it was Amelie's old friend, but also Amelie's ex-lover.
...
Sentinel stopped staring at them, Sentinel was about to step closer to Amelie, but he canceled his intention. He decided to continue walking away.
But Amelie, saw it, the moment the Sentinel passed.
...
"Sentinel!" said Amelie.
Amelie immediately ran towards the Sentinel in the crowd. She looked around.
"Sentinel!!" Amelie called.
...
"He must be home!" Amelie rushed out of the crowd.
"Amelie!" Brake called but Amelie left just like that.
Brake was confused by Amelie, "Even though I didn't feel Mr. Sentinel's presence earlier,"
...
"...wait a minute..." Brake's eyes widened as he was shocked by something in his mind.
Not long after, Amelie's friends came, they were confused, looked around and didn't find Amelie.
"Where's Amelie?" asked her friend.
***
At the Sentinel residence. The gate of the house was open, the door of the house was also open.
Sentinel didn't say anything, he sat on the chair looking at the view of the houses down the hill from the balcony, especially since it was already 3 in the afternoon.
A few moments later, the sound of someone else's footsteps could be heard heading towards the balcony. No, it was Amelie again.
"... Sentinel... I'm sorry about—"
"It's okay!" replied Sentinel, quickly cutting off his wife Amelie.
"..." Amelie was speechless. Her nerves were getting more and more tense, and it was clear that the Sentinel was terrifying.
Sentinel said, "...I understand... I should be the one apologizing."
"Maybe..."
"Maybe if it makes you happy it's not a problem."
"Unlike with me, I'm rarely home for that happiness," said Sentinel.
Sentinel then walked away, leaving Amelie who was silent on the balcony.
Amelie's heart was broken, those words came from the husband she loved.
Sentinel went out of the house and walked who knows where.
****
Near the Prime's palace, a large, walled palace. Outside, a Sentinel was walking, stopped, staring at it.
He decided to approach, unlocking the palace because he always had the key.
Down a very long flight of stairs.
'Why...'
'Slowly one by one people started to leave me?'
Sentinel sat down, taking a break from descending the long stairs.
'Is this my karma?' Sentinel muttered in his mind.
...
The side door creaked, opened, and slowly slid open.
Someone was standing behind there, seeing that Sentinel immediately stood up, staring at that person.
"Atlas... what are you doing here?" asked Sentinel.
The person behind the door was named Atlas, he was a Prime, the leader of the city of Voltage.
"Yup, I came here alone. So..." Atlas moved forward.
"I don't want to beat around the bush... But it seems you're no longer interested in being my shield?" Atlas asked.
"...This is not the right time to discuss it," Sentinel replied.
Sentinel continued down the stairs, and chose not to speak to Atlas.
Atlas then said, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to tell you. I'm finally a father."
"..." The Sentinel stopped.
Sentinel then said, "... Congratulations!" Sentinel then continued down the stairs.
Atlas was confused, by Sentinel's attitude.
"Come on man, you don't seem happy about all this? I wanted to invite you to a party at my house, it would be sad there if you didn't come!"
Sentinel then said, "Atlas, please... I want to be alone right now!"
Sentinel continued walking and was already far away from Atlas. But then Atlas said, "You're looking very gloomy today. But then, okay."
Atlas then went back through the door.
****
"Let go of me, you bastard!"
Some of the inmates of Cybertown's underground prison said. The prison was shabby and quite dark, and the crowd was very noisy because someone from the Prime group had arrived there.
"Give me the key to the lowest prison gate there," said Sentinel.
A guard there then said, "Sir, Sentinel. But... heading to that room isn't all-"
The Sentinel swung his sword, and nearly sliced the guard's neck.
"Just hand me the key." Sentinel glared at the guard.
Having no other choice, the threatened guard was forced to hand over the key to the lower gate to the Sentinel.
...
Sentinel then stepped further away from the contents of the prison car.
He then passed the carriage, where it was quiet and filled with empty prisons and finally there was the gate he was aiming for.
The gate was large and there were words carved on it, "This room is a special prison with high threat behavior. Entry is prohibited, if you dare to go in you will not be able to get out safely."
The key itself contained a serial number to unlock the gate. After typing in the numbers and scanning the pattern on the key, the gate slowly shifted.
There was a fairly large room beyond. But there was a prison cell in front of it, shrouded in darkness. Above the cell, however, was a name written: "Taken."
Surprisingly among the prison cells, only this prison cell was dirty and unkempt because no one dared to enter it.
Sentinel knocked on his prison cell.
"Taken!"
In the darkness of the cell, orange eyes glowed brightly.
The Sentinel then turned on the light in the cell, but it was dim.
A dark figure, wearing a robe of worn cloth.
Taken, he leaned against the wall. Raising his head slowly, he was so weak, just lifting his head made his breath tremble as he looked at the Sentinel.
His gaze was very cold, no one knew what expression he had on his face, because he was wearing a mask made of a skull.
"Look, how unfortunate you are. It's hard to believe that the fate of the angel of death fell like this," said Sentinel.
"...." Taken remained silent.
Sentinel then reached into his chest pocket and placed a large piece of bread in front of Taken.
But not for the Taken. The Sentinels ate the Bread bit by bit.
"... I know, Nova always comes here. Talking about unimportant things, and complaining a lot. She is really annoying," said Sentinel.
"I even understand why she... keeps an animal like you. Is it because you're her best friend? And you seem tamer in front of her. Or maybe Nova strokes you to make you tame?..."
"I don't understand why they were reluctant to kill you, I mean... Nova Prime... Did he pity a killer like you?..." asked Sentinel.
...
Taken was silent, locking his gaze on the Sentinel who was devouring the bread.
"Don't just stand there. Say something!" said Sentinel.
"..." Taken didn't say a word.
"So the god of death is this weak. If Nova had killed you back then, what would have happened?" Sentinel asked.
"..."
The Sentinel then opened the prison, swallowing the piece of bread until it was finished.
"How do I get my son back?" asked Sentinel.
...
Taken just kept quiet.
Sentinel reached for something else from his chest pocket he extended the whip.
"Answer me, you bastard!" said Sentinel.
Back!
A whip flew, hitting Taken's cheek. His head only turned, but he remained silent.
"I wonder, how could an entity like you be born in this world?... Why are you so hard to kill, even though you are weak, with no strength left. But you are still a threat to the universe, why?"
Bakk!
This time it was whipped on the neck.
"Oh yeah, you can't even feel pain. I'm sick of seeing that flat face of yours!"
Sentinel gripped the Taken's neck tightly, lifting him higher and higher until he was floating. But the Taken remained still, as if in no pain, neither screaming nor struggling. There was no blinking or exaggerated eyebrow movement in his eyes.
"I want to see what's behind your bastard skull mask... Disgrace?" said Sentinel.
Sentinel grabs the mask on Taken's face.
But as soon as his hand touched the mask, Taken gripped Sentinel's hand tightly.
Slowly Taken looked at Sentinel and shook his head, although he didn't speak but he gave a signal not to.
...
Sentinel then grabbed Taken's hand, threw him against the wall and strangled him.
Zakk!
The sharp sword in his hand then stabbed the Taken's stomach. Sentinel pulled the sword away. But the Taken didn't react. He lay back against the wall, his tilted head simply shifting, staring at Sentinel.
"Always silent, you're lucky to have kids to rely on. I wish I could make you feel what I feel, motherfucker."
Back!!
Sentinel kicked Taken in the face, causing his head to hit the wall, cracking the wall behind him. But Taken remained silent, always unresponsive, just staring at Sentinel with his orange eyes.
Sentinel then left the cell and relocked it. Getting no answer there, there was no point in talking to the Taken.
"...You will regret this tonight..." a voice from behind him Sentinel. Taken said something.
"Don't ever think, I just keep quiet?" Taken stood up, walked to his cell, held on there.
The Taken rarely spoke, but this was the first time he spoke, and his words were very surprising.
That flat tone instantly sent shivers down Sentinel's spine. Especially since Taken was actually speaking.
Sentinel then stopped in his tracks.
"Go home, and I hope you're on time," Taken said.
"What are you planning?" asked Sentinel.
Taken slowly retreated into the dark Cell, leaving only the Orange light of his eyes.
"...Just a little reply..." Taken replied.
The Sentinel then hurriedly ran out of the hallway.
'Is... is something going to happen at home? No, it's probably just a bluff from the Taken. He won't be able to do anything in that special cell.'
Sentinel relocked the Taken's special cell. He ran as fast as he could, transforming into his vehicle and speeding through the hallways, climbing the stairs as fast as he could.
...
The guard up front was still sitting waiting for the Sentinel to return.
"I think I should just tell Mr. Nova Prime, huh?" said the guard.
WOO
The Sentinel passed by and threw the prison key at the guard, which made him jump spontaneously, then failed to catch the rope and was allowed to fall.
"Wo—" the guard was shocked.
Sentinel continued to speed out of Prime's palace, speeding to get home.
...
***
On the other side, at the Sentinel residence, his wife, Amelie, was in her bedroom. Sitting on a chair, holding a pen and writing something on a piece of paper.
The room was a complete mess, with many things scattered on the floor, the mattress thrown out of alignment, clothes scattered, the wardrobe knocked over, and much more.
He then folded a piece of paper that he had written on. The paper he folded was then covered with a transparent flower paste.
Amelie then grabbed something like a cable, tied it and made a knot, the more she pulled, the more it tangled in the circle.
...
He then plugged Jack from the cable to the electricity.
Pull the cable to the balcony.
...
'... I... wasn't interested in marrying Sentinel from the start. We may have been old friends, but we didn't really love each other,' Amelie muttered.
'... Brake, he's actually my lover. But I don't really want to marry him. I chose Sentinel because it seemed like my future with him might be better. He never got angry, ever,' Amelie muttered.
Amelie's face was dull, full of scratches, full of stains, it seemed she had been crying alone in her room all night, truly poor thing.
'What woman doesn't want to marry a rich man?... All this time, I saw that Sentinel was really very good, his love for me was sincere, so I gave him my sincerity,'
"But I never thought that the trials were just beginning. I now think this is my fault. I failed to be a quality wife. My family was destroyed... by myself."
Amelie tied the rope around her neck until.
'I'm so confused, I don't know what to do? My regret is too great for me to bear. I can't do it, I have no one left to lean on,'
'Sentinel, if you're reading this letter, I hope you'll start a new life and not have me as your lifelong partner. I'm sorry, I'm not a strong woman, I'm too weak for you. I've always been a burden on you and haven't been able to take care of our child.'
Amelie jumped, and the rope tightened instantly. Amelie struggled, the rope tightening around her neck.
'I'd rather just die, because then my meaning to you would disappear completely, don't be sad, Sentinel. I'm happy, I'm happy as you asked,'
Amelie looked up at the full moon, smiling, her hand reaching for it, but then her strength gave out, and she remained motionless. Hanging there, unnoticed.
"AMELIE!!!" shouted Sentinel.
To be continued....