Beatrice: “No, no. With this task over, I'm reporting in for another mission. Father says it's only a matter of time to earn another 'Challenger’s Right' at my current pace.”

Kifah: “...Sa-Same.”

Tyler: “Uhm...Big sisters? Why did both of you come with me? Was it just to confirm I met up with Uncle Durandez? I don't see the need for a mission when big brother Aeron could've done that just fine. I mean, he was already-”

Beatrice: “Uhh, hahaha! Actually we've been assigned to watch over you while father talks to sister Alianne. It seemed important, so he probably gave us this super easy mission to get rid of us. Don't think about it so much.

Hey! Why don't you report with father first? I'm sure he would love to congratulate you in person after graduating from your personal instructor.”

Tyler: “Okay then, if you say so.”

…

Aeron: “Don't look at me like that Kifah. I won't reveal your 'real' mission, nor the fact that you've been tailing him ever since he woke up. Though he might've already noticed after you laughed at his failures back at the entrance, but I digress. It was just...me, having a little fun, at your expense. Haha!”

Kifah: “The moment you revealed we would be meeting him at Uncle's door, our mission had already received a large setback. Please don't do it again big brother. Even just to tease Bea...I don't wish for a tarnished record.”

Aeron: ”So THAT'S what it really was about! I thought it was strange, y'know? That you of all people would take a sudden interest in my actions. How long is your 'bodyguard' mission?”

Kifah: “Yes, well...we're only supposed to play babysitter until he reaches the microchip-implanting surgical room. After that, we're free to do as we please, prior to pick-up. Phase 2 of the mission will begin thereafter, where we must safely deliver the chip....and Tyler… back home for testing.”

Aeron: “Oh, well good luck with that. Stay safe~ hahahaha.”

{Going to lower floors is hard, but heading back up is easy. All I gotta do is retrace my steps until I reach my own bedroom door. What makes things hard the first time around are all the traps. My brother only set some easy ones for me to fight against. Most of these hidden traps come from those Durandez folk working in tangent with my technological brothers and sisters. I think there's a little over a handful of specialists that handle all things related to security, here. Father, of course, being good at everything, oversees their work and rewards them, accordingly.

Oh! But auntie's family are really good with technology involved in all sorts of info-gathering or tech-jamming needs as well. It became second nature for them.

Back to where I am, after reaching my bedroom door I need to turn in the hall until I find a Golden elevator diagonally across from my room. From there all I'll have to do is take an elevator to Father's Main office after inputting my code into the security panel. THAT helps him know which of his 'children' wants to meet him.

Um, it's supposed to, but...

But...but....wh--WHY ISN'T MY CODE ISN'T WORKING?!?!

There's no way father lied, right? No, of course not. He had me test it before and it works! Punching in my code is supposed to let father open a channel with me...could the device have stopped working?

Haha, of course not! His subordinates would never be that negligent. Da-Father must be away. But where should I...Hm? Is that...Boman? Dad's right hand, Boman?

Maybe he knows where Father is?}

No no, wait – he wouldn't just tell me where Father is when he's not in the office. The guy's too quiet. Father must've trained him really well, too, so it's not like I can overpower him for the answers.

..Heheheh, I'll just have to tail him.

---

Boman: “...”

Tyler: “...”

Boman: “...."

Tyler: “.…”

{Why did he stop?

….Strange. He's looking this way. Surely not at me since I'm behind a corner. I've only been tailing him for 30 seconds after all, So surely not.

S-Surely not...

Sur-Surely not...

S-Sur-Surely...n...

Could...it be...he...

No....did..did he notice me?! Do I....suck at tailing?! Impossible! Father ALWAYS praised my tailing skills! It was one of the only things that earned me a compliment from him!}

---

Shifting perspectives for a bit...

Boman is a simple man.

Yes...VERY simple.

He loves to work. He loves to follow orders.

But most of all...he loves staying out of trouble.

There's just one problem with his work environment: The Boss's children.

Throughout the many, many years, he's had to apprehend them, punish them, and even help with raising them.

...

That's where the easy parts of his job, end.

It gets tough once those children take an interest in Boman.

Having helped to raise the majority of those little monsters, he's gained countless gray hairs. Of course, his boss helps to get rid of such menial troubles.

But, such efforts are never enough.

One of the newly born children has, just like his siblings before him, taken interest in shadowing the hulking lug. Well, such actions in this family can help facilitate their growth, so it's largely ignored, but even so! Boman knows what's to come. Intuition coupled with sharpened experience dictates that this can indeed, only spell trouble for Boman's future.

---

{Hmm? He's...turning around? Ha...haha! I knew it! I-I don't suck. I was worried for absolutely nothing! Anyways, time to continue this perfectly successful tailing mission.

...

Alright! I think he's getting ready to leave this floor, that means he has to---wait. Leave?

But, is that where the stairs are?

…

AHHH! NOT AN ELEVATOR!

I can't tail him anymore!

...Fine. Maybe I can just...check which floor he's going to or something.

Hmmmm.

Hmm.

Hmmm, oh! It stopped! So he went to the 9th floor huh?

Okay, that's a little far away from my room on B-02 but, I can handle this much. Just a little bit of stair climbing.

And climbing.

And more climbing.

…

…

…

..

.

….

Phew...I finally made it! But Boman seems to be gone. I guess I should've expected this to happen when he took an elevator, but now that I see the floor myself...

...There's too many rooms! I'm starting to get dizzy, thinking about checking them all! Which one could he have entered?

Hmm...

Scanning each entrance for signs of usage, such as unlocked or open doors, is proving largely fruitless. In fact, signs of dust build-up is evident on most of the doorknobs. Somebody's slacking.

In the end, all my superior eyesight bears witness to are extended rows of doors on both the left and right side, paralleling one another down to every door and pedestal-perched statue in between.

As for my heightened hearing...I..can actually make something out!

To be frank, I hear a small crash. It was muffled, yet vibrated softly against the walls fixed to the left side of the hall. I tried following the noise, but it only led me to a statue. Of course, I go to touch it.

I mean, who wouldn't?

Though, even after using a teeny bit of force, there's no change.

It isn't until I swipe my hand across the front of a very dusty pedestal carrying that same unresponsive statue that I hear a *Click* resound around me.

The Pedestal-with-statue disappear into the floor below, while the section of wall it was protecting splits apart. From the drab appearance and lack of proper lighting...I definitely recognize this hallway from my own time in...ahem, solitude.

This has to lead to the interior of a dungeon.

Honestly, I feel bad for people who make my family angry. Finding yourself inside one of our dungeons usually means that you won't be coming back into society as a free man or woman. Naturally, that only applies to those who ever make it out alive.

Father may put a restriction on your soul, forcing you to abide by certain orders given, even if that means killing your own family and turning yourself in as the murderer.

One of my moms may even force a contract down your throat in order to gain a test-subject for one of their more...'risky' experiments that we CORE Malierano Family members cannot safely test. I've seen some 'failures' occur back when I first toured the Malierano Family labs as a child, and they weren't pretty.

Oh, but hey! It's not all bad! If you make it successfully through their test-runs with your body and soul in tact.......yes you'll be used for more test runs...BUT! Once that project concludes and only IF you survive, they'll consider taking you in as an outer family member!

Sure you won't have complete freedom unless you're allowed by your superior and safety measures to prevent any betrayal, would of course, be set in place, but at least you get to live. Better than nothing, considering you only reached that point by making the Malierano Family your enemy.

Besides, that means you'll be assigned to an inner family member as a subordinate, and you can even become one yourself!

All Inner family members are like our Family's special forces made up of ordinary assassins, hitmen and hitwomen 'for-hire' to the outside world. Oh! That's 'ordinary' for our standards, by the way. They're, as a whole, overseen by 3 Core members of the family and 12 of the strongest Inner Family members we have.

Our more famous members even tend to work for Core Members of the Malierano Family.

That means my siblings, cousins and I.

There have been a few lucky ones like that who were so gifted and passed every requirement the family had for 'em that they became direct subordinates to my relatives.

Nobody can become a subordinate to Father, Uncle, Auntie or my Mothers though. Such a position is strictly reserved for personally-chosen freaks.

But thinking this far ahead is basically useless, since most die during the dungeon-torture. That really makes the survivors special.

Going down the hall until reaching the stairs, my senses are met with the damp, musky odor that permeates every skin pore.

The unbearable stench of blood mixed with this, slimy texture on the stone walls as we sink deeper and deeper into the darkness...

Everything about this place scares me.

I always feel as if I'm suffocating. It's a constant reminder of my horrible time locked up in these very same prison cells, and THAT makes me nervous. Although not nearly as bad as Alianne, my 'torture-time' was probably enough to kill an ordinary 10 year old.

Probably. I've never actually met an ordinary 10 year old my own age before. Only adult targets on missions. Special 10 year olds, like Lisa? Yes. Ordinary ones? No.

Suddenly I feel the place growing brighter..and.....warmer? How stran--}

*FWOOOSH!*

Tyler: “Aaaaaah!”

{I barely managed to jump back up a few steps out of pure instinct before numerous green bolts of fire caused the complete ruination of both the staircase leading downstairs, plus my progress.

Luckily I'm making out voices now after so long in silence...and ALL it took was a deadly trip down a dungeon! Yay....}

---