Charlie bolted out of the elevator before Troy could even blink. Not that the young man ever did, standing still, not a muscle in his body daring to move. The sound of the shot still ran deep in his ears. Why was it there? Where did it come from?

Had his mind finally decided to break, to put him into a whirlpool of nightmares for an endless eternity? Maybe that would have better than what was obviously a new memory, flesh from the sight his eyes saw for him.

Moments in the past could not be changed, which made the fact that Charlie was still running all the scarier. All of this was happening. All of it was real. Troy was there. He had not escaped that reality, no matter how much he had prayed that he had. Never would he be able to not recognize a projectile flying through the air. His ears had learned the fizzing of heat as a way to survive.

“How long a time it has been. Oh, I cannot ever forget this smell. How wonderful it is!” a very familiar voice exclaimed from outside the elevator. Troy could not see the figure, but the tone was more than obvious. The identity was never in question. While it might have been impossible, the young man could feel his skin turn a few times.

The voice had come from the left, from the side that had the entrance to the laboratory. In what could only be called a stupid decision, Troy took two steps forward, bringing his body outside the space safe of not been seen, letting himself see the face of the man who had shot Darlow.

Dr Fidelis. The man smiled warmly over at Charlie, the muscular man desperately checking over the man that had been more than just dear to him. Troy could see him shaking, his back vibrating due to the body not able to accept the truth. It was perhaps a good thing that the youngest could not see the body for all its glory. It helped him delay his own reaction to it.

“Darlow, wake up. You aren't dead! Come on… get up. Please,” Charlie half-shouted, the man beginning to shake the other. “Everything is fine. You aren't even bleeding. Get up from the ground now!”

“Mister… Freeman, was it?” Dr Fidelis said from the side. Troy stood by the elevator entrance, not daring to walk any closer. He very much noticed the brief glance he had been given just a second earlier. It had been incredibly nonchalant as if it was but a reminder that the doctor knew exactly where he was. It was more than enough to cause more than a large amount of dread.

And the weapon that the man had in hand did nothing but increase that dread, Troy understood that it had been used only a few seconds prior. He did not recognize the model, yet already knew to fear the effects it had. It had hardly grazed Darlow in the back of his neck, yet it had been more than enough to instantly cause the man to fall over, never uttering a sound in the process. What was it? He could only guess.

Charlie ignored the doctor walking towards him, the muscular man moving swiftly examining Darlow on the spot. Flashlights in the eyes, breathing patterns monitored, and heartbeats checked over. The results could not be glanced at, other than the fact that they were being checked. Yet… Troy could imagine that nothing spoke well, as Charlie’s hands had begun shaking as time passed on, the calm-mannered man reduced to a fool.

“Sorry, I see that you are in a state where you won't answer. That is fair, I suppose. Not every day that you get to see somebody be… hindered so quickly. Do you mind if I call you Charlie? No? Excellent!”

Everything was screwed up. Troy could only get flashbacks of his uncle, as Dr Fidelis stood there, weapon still in hand, looking like he was having a talk over afternoon tea. What twisted vision was he seeing this as? Did he find it all funny?

The man sat bent his knees, squatting a few meters away from the man that looked ready to mourne. Charlie looked forward, dead eyes on his face. It was not a look that had ever been seen on his face before, yet Troy fully understood what would come soon after it.

“Charlie, do you recognize this thing here?” Dr Fidelis asked, giving the weapon in his hand a little shake. “You shouldnt be able to, but I have learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to you people. But, from that look in your eyes, I don't think you do, so I’ll just enjoy myself a little. Charlie Freeman, first of his name and great honour of our dear country, I can personally thank you for making me able to pull the trigger on this beautiful dearie.”

That caused ahead to turn, Charlie for once looking away from the calm expression Darlow had on his face. That caused the doctor’s smile to widen just a little bit, enough to show the first signs of some perfect teeth. The man wanted the attention, and that was exactly what had been gotten.

Troy… Troy needed to do something! But, what could he do? What was there that could be done, which would stop all of this? He needed to think, and he needed to do it fast. Already, too much time had been spent, and they had only begun to pay for that mistake. If it was allowed to continue, the payment would only grow exponentially.

“I have had this piece of perfection in my collection for a year now, but never in ten lifetimes would I have guessed for you to be the master-mind of what it could do? And who could blame me? You are just the friend of my underling, somebody that I only needed to know in passing… But, that did all change a few days ago, didn't it?” Dr Fidelis asked rhetorically. Charlie only stared back, no expression that showed his reaction. There was likely none, really, all the emotion is spent on the man that continued to lie silently on the floor. “Your surprising introduction was more than enough to look your name up, if only in passing. And, oh boy, should I have done that sooner. You really are something of a hero, Charlie. You have done so much for this country, furthered our science in fields that we had thought emptied. You… you should be who we all look up to. Which is why, with a heavy heart, I can say my condolences, for why it had to come to this.”

The young man, who had been the one to hear it all from the side, finally began to move. The bag left he had dropped in the elevator. It had every tool they had brought along. If anything was going to help, it would have been in there. Yet… Troy hardly ever began his journey, his foot not even getting to rise into the air, before Dr Fidelis looked at him, giving him a small shake of the head in the process. Knowing how quick the man could be, there was not any expectation that he could do anything before being shot in the back.

“You just had to get involved in all of this, Charlie? Why? With your talent, you could have risen to such heights! You could have joined all the masters in where they could all meet. And you could have taken anybody with you, anybody you wanted to join the journey. But, you just couldn't keep yourself on the right path, couldn't stop yourself from biting into that apple. What happened to that? How did that end up for you?”

Charlie’s eyes had slowly drawn themselves back to Darlow. Troy could still not understand what was wrong with the tall man. From his perspective, there was still some healthy breathing going on, nothing that showed symptoms of anything serious. If anything, the man just as well might have suddenly fallen asleep peacefully, nothing hinting at the fact that he would not wake up.

“It was only natural that I had to use this weapon to set things right. Charlie, do you remember your very last, grand project? The one that gave you the recognition that you had reportedly worked for so long a time? That's what made this beauty here a reality. Your work gave me the tools needed to do this,” Dr Fidelis stated, moving just a bit closer. To anybody else, it might have seemed like a caring gesture, that tone being used making it seem like a conversation between friends. But… Troy saw it for the encircling viper that it really was. “He’s not dead, buddy. You know that just as much as I do. His lungs breathe for the body, the heart pumps the blood, and everything else works just as well. It is only the mind that is disconnected right now, just as you intended for that project of yours. You pitched it as an effective weapon against our enemies. In a way, is this not proof that it worked as intended? Even stopped me from having to kill anybody. You should feel proud of that.”

…

“I realise that this state of your beloved might not be what you would want. Nobody blames you there. You can trust me on that fact. I should know. I was the one who shot him!” Dr Fidelis said, laughing to himself while also standing up straight again. He seemed all the more imposing due to it. Had he always been that tall? “We could get that small lack of movement fixed if you so desired. We have all made mistakes in our life, and I am a believer that we all should get a second chance. So, what do you say? Get back to the right track in life, and we just might fix up that buddy of yours. It would just require a few payments in other places. An example would be to get my hands on that little friend of yours over there, and perhaps you could even help me locate a common associate of mine. Oh! And I would like to get a brain scan of that pretty little mind of yours. I have been wondering about the latest news of your life for a while now and would love to review it for myself. It's not that hard of a deal to take if I had to give my opinion about it. Which I just did.”

For the second time in the last two minutes, Charlie looked away from the softly breathing Darlow, so that the doctor could be looked at. Dr Fidelis was stared at deeply for but a few seconds, before a sign emanated the room, with the muscular man gently laying the tall’s one head on the floor, before getting up to his regular height. The doctor smiled in response to it.

“I am glad you have decided to-” Dr Fidelis started to say, before getting a punch to the cheek, at a speed that even Troy had a hard time seeing. With the pure sound of force that could be heard from it, the older man should have been knocked out from it. Instead, Dr Fidelis just turned his face back to meet Charlie’s, no sign of even being bothered. “I did not realise you wanted to play it that way. Very well.”

Taking the weapon in both hands, Dr Fidelis tore it in half with nothing but the strength his fingers had. The thing had been made out of metal and had looked like it weighed more than a little.

“Let's have some fun.”

Troy ran inside the elevator, knowing that something needed to be done, lest everything would be lost.