So this is it….

I stood in front of a big gate with a tall building behind. The name “Rubywing” along with its logo are plated on the top of the building.

There are lots of people gathering here. They’re most likely new recruits too like myself.

Now, if I recall correctly, Sir Eldebert suggested me to apply as the Rubywing’s agents. What is an agent? An agent in this company refer to the people who encounter the clients and serve them. They are the staffs that will operate the machines as per the clients’ requests.
Heeding the president’s suggestion, I applied as an agent. Although… If I may ask, what did he saw in me..? What made him believe I’m the right person for this job..? Can I really do it..?

…..

Thinking too much will not give me the answer. I suppose the only way for me to find out is to give it a try itself. And then maybe…. along the path….

….I would find the purpose of my life.

For now, I need to go to the receptionist and sign myself in. Like many company these days, people have to apply for the job and sign up online, then on the big day, we come to the workplace and sign in to confirm our arrival.

As I walk to the gate, I heard a panic voice from behind me that say to get out of the way. I turn around and saw someone wearing a helm moving at my direction at a very high speed. Thankfully, I managed to dodge the running bullet gracefully.

*CRAAASSHH!!*

A loud noise was made afterward. The speeding bullet young man crashed into garbage cans, and he actually got stuck in one of those. The young man flail to free himself to no avail. He ask anyone around for help.

......

“Phuaah! Ah! Thank you, thank you! I owe you one! Guess I still need to lea—”

The young man with short brown hair and glasses start to explain the reason he lost control with his roller skates and hit the trashes, however something else truly caught my attention..

.....Ugh…. He really smells…. After crashing into trash cans, it is to be expected but….

I furrowed my eyebrow unable to stand the smell. I wanted to cover my nose, but that would seem to be rude. But as if he understand me, he apologizes and he ransack his bag. He quickly took out a spray and spray all over his body. In an instant, the terrible smell disappeared.

“Thanks to Cleaning Clear Spray, all germs are gone, all bacterias goes buh-bye!”, the young man said while posing eccentrically.

Wow.. A product placement this early…. And what’s with the pose? Does he have an 8th-grader syndrome or something? Well, anyway, I don’t want to waste my time. So if he’s now okay, then I would excuse myself.

But as I’m about to take my leave, he suddenly apologized and try to stop me. .... …. Very well, I suppose I can listen to him for a bit. I stopped my steps and turn to him, giving him attention.

The young man once again thanked me, and this time he introduced himself as Jake. He is one of the new recruit who wanted to become an agent as well. After he have given me his name, he asked about mine, in which I introduced myself to him.

In our walk, Jake try to make small conversation. Every time he asked me, I answered his questions as much as necessary. However, my responds seem to dissatisfy Jake as he called me too quiet.

Now why would he called me too quiet when I’ve indulged in his questions? Just as I thought about that, I bumped into someone.

“I’m sorry, are you alright?” *Extend hand to help* [Ian]

“Oh no! I-I’m sorry too! I was in a hurry.”

The young woman took my hand as she replied.

“Thank you very much. Hm… Did you come here to be an agent as well?”

“Yes. My name is Ian, and this is Jake.”

“Hello! Nice yo meet you!” [Jake]

“Yes, likewise. My name is Holly, I’m also a new recruit for agent.”

Holly mentioned that there are a lot of great people here as she point the new recruits.

“Say, I think the briefing is about to start soon. You need to quickly sign in.”

A young woman with glasses and ride a wheelchair.. No wait… that is not a wheelchair. That’s a hoverchair. Either way, the young woman told us that the briefing will begin soon. We need to quickly sign in and go to the audience room.
We thanked her and left hurriedly.

After signing in, we are gathered and briefed by the director in the audience room. It’s the usual briefing of welcoming us as new recruits of agents.

The most important thing that I caught about it is that we are going to be trained as the agents of the company and we will be tested. And though we came numerous, only some of us that would succeed and become agents. And for those who managed to became agents, they will be the agents under one of the chiefs. The said chiefs are the people standing at the side of the stage, as pointed by the director.

Now that I think about it, isn’t this similar as school? Where there is an orientation and such for new students? This training and test can be considered as the orientation for us.

“All right! Bring it on!” [Jake]

“Yes. Let’s do our best.” [Holly]

“Ehehe. Now I’m getting excited.”

The third person who just spoke… who sat beside Holly, is someone familiar to us. It’s the young woman with the hoverchair that helped us!

After recognizing her, we greeted and thanked her for her help. But the woman brushed it off, saying that it’s nothing. She introduced herself as Sheema, who naturally a new recruit like us. We had our introduction with her. In her bright smile, Sheema hoped that we could be agents together. The three of us nod to her words.

After the briefing, we are assigned to our own dorm room and given tour around the facilities. After the tour, we are allowed to rest and called it a day.

Today is just the introduction, but tomorrow our training for agents will begin.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

As per the briefing, we are going to be trained and tests within 14 days. Today is the first day of our training.

After we’re gathered in our respective assigned room, our instructor begins his greeting and introduction.

For today, we are taught about the company, the agents and the machines, including how to use it. We are taught in theoretical ways with books and whatnot.

To summarize, the Rubywing Company offer the “Vacation at Home” service. Where there are people or family who’s unable to go to foreign places or vacation spots, we can help them reach that vacation spots with our integrated VR technology at reasonable price.
The clients will hire agents, and the agents will help operate the machine to give the clients full experience of their virtual vacation.

The machine will be using VR technology. However, unlike the ordinary VR technology that only affect the sense of sight and hearing, the machine will affect the user’s all 5 senses. So when they’re in the virtual place, not only they can see and hear the virtual objects, they can “touch” them. They can “smell” the virtual scent. They can “taste” the virtual foods.

However, since the machine affect the human brain directly, it’s delicate and need extreme caution when handling it.
Sheema add that this is one of the reason why they can’t mass-produced the machine for public, with how complex and delicate it must be handled.

“That’s right. That’s why the customers can only rent the machine under the agents as its operators”, Jake explained further.

We continued with the lecture and theories

 

2nd Day.

We continued the lecture where we left off. Later, we are informed that the written test would be on the 4th day. We are encouraged to study hard. Hearing the news, Jake whined that the test came too soon. Holly reminded him that our training time is merely 14 days, so it’s natural the theoretical test will come soon. Sheema invited us to study together.

…..

This is school… right? I’m really starting to think that this is a school.

 

4th Day.

The day of our written test. Since we have studied together for the last 2 days, I’m quite confident we can succeed. Thankfully, the test is exactly as we have learnt.

 

5th Day

Without us realizing, it’s already the 5th day. It feels like it was just yesterday we signed in.

As I spend my time at the company, I realized that I always hang out with Jake, Holly and Sheema. It goes without saying that we became very close to each other. They have became my good friends, and I do enjoy their company. Sheema and Holly, especially, looks like they’ve become best friends.

Today is the rest day. We have a briefing that said that after we finished the theoretical, the 6th day would be the start of practical training.

The theoretical test result have came out. It’s pretty fast, I must say.

Sheema managed to score an A, I managed to score a B+, Holly scored a B, while Jake….

“So Jake, what did you got?” [Sheema]

“Hehehe….”

Jake lowered his head and chuckled.

“Jake..?” [Sheema]

Jake raised his face and immediately showed us his result with a glint in his eye.

“Ahahaha!! Bow before my genius!!”, Jake said as he showed us his A++ test score.

It seems Jake managed to score the highest in the written test. He managed to get a perfect score. No wonder he act all high and mighty.

Jake laugh as if he is the king of the world. Somehow, his action is a bit irritating.

“That’s…. Amazing, Jake!” [Holly]

“A perfect score….” *disbelief* [Sheema]

“Ahahaha! Of course!” [Jake]

“Well, well. Someone looks happy.”

A foreign woman came to our direction. Was she one of the chiefs? No, I don’t think so. I remembered the faces of the chiefs that was introduced to us back then, and I believe she’s not one of them. Holly also supported this fact. She must be just a normal staff.

“So what if you aced the written test? The real deal is the practical ones. When you’re sent as an agent, the clients won’t be asking you about theories, you know.”

That I agree.

“Anyway, good luck with your training tomorrow.”

After saying that, the mysterious woman waved us goodbye as she walked away.

The words that the woman told us left us an impression. Sheema also agree and admit what she said is true. Holly encouraged us that we should do our best in the practical training. Jake for one reason or another, said with a smug that he will. And as if he looks down on the training, he said that this will be a cinch.

Jake, I’m glad you’re confident, but be careful not to get your head swollen.

 

6th Day.

This is the start of the practical training.

We are taken to a new room and taught by a new instructor. Before us is the training machine and a dummy. After receiving the instructions on how to use the machine, we start our practice.

After our practical training session is over, the four of us gather together exhausted from the training.

“That was a bit difficult…” [Holly]

“Yeah, it’s actually easier in theory than practical.” [Sheema]

It’s true. The practical is absolutely a world different than the theory. It is as if that everything we have learned in the past few days before are being thrown away.

“Jake, how about you? Are you okay?” [Holly]

“….!! O-Oh! Yeah! I’m fine, I’m fine! Don’t worry about it!”, Jake said with a smirk.

He said that, but his face clearly betrayed his words. Let’s just hope his nose would not get swollen this time.

 

8th Day.

At the 8th day of our practical training, the instructor gave us our “statistic”, or perhaps “progress” of our growth.

Every single person will be evaluated individually by the instructor and given their progress chart. From there we can see in what area we lacked and needed to be improve, and what area that we are good at.

After our class, I mean, training is over, the four of us gathered.

“So, how are you doing, Sheema?” [Holly]

“I’m progressing!” [Sheema]

Sheema shared that she is progressing quite well. Initially, she have a hard time tuning the device, but now, she start to get the hang of it.

“Ian, how about you?” [Sheema]

Oh! So now it’s my turn.

“Well, I think I’m doing fine.” [Ian]

I shared the others my progress and showed them my evaluation.

“W-What!? You’re actually what!? H-Holly, Jake! Take a look at this!” [Sheema]

“Oh…. My…” *disbelief* [Holly]

“Ian! You’re natural, aren’t you!? You must be a genius!” [Sheema]

I admit that I had a hard time setting and tuning the device. But after some practice, I start to understand how to use it. I suppose that’s how I learn how to really use the machine.

“This is great! As expected of you, Ian. So Jake, what about you?” [Holly]

Hmm? Is that a flinch I see from him.

“Uh… well…..” [Jake]

“Oh c’mon! Don’t be shy! Since you aced the written exam, you must’ve aced the practical, right?” [Sheema]

Jake hanged his head down. After a while, he slowly extend his hand to share us his chart, as if he feels bad since we’ve all shared ours.

What we see from his evaluation is…. something unimaginable. All of us are at loss of words…..

“Um…. Jake…” [Holly]

“….” [Jake]

“This is….” [Sheema]

“YESSS!! I know! I blew it!!” [Jake]

Jake shout as he hold his head in depression.

From the looks of it, he seems to always fail at the tuning, the most important part. The review said that he’s too “reckless” when operating the device. In a way, it’s true. Since the device will be connected to the human’s nerves, a simple mistake could be fatal. Jake said that he’s still haven’t used using it, or something along that line.

From the looks of it, this experience seems to humbled him. So in a way, this is a good experience for him. That way, he won’t get over his head.

But as we’re walking and talking, Holly suddenly stopped her steps. She noticed someone ran fast at her direction. The mysterious figure clad in black. Almost as if… An assassin!

The assassin wields a dagger running straight at Holly. Even though Holly’s aware of her perilous situation, her body was too shocked to move.

“Watch out!”

A voice suddenly resounded. Faster than the assassin, a woman dashed and saved Holly before she was taken hostage. Few moments later, the three of us came to Holly’s side after noticing that she was not with us. We are very surprised when we learned what had happened. Sheema and I immediately try to comfort Holly. Soon after, the building alarm went off.

Perhaps realizing he no longer had a way to win, the assassin immediately jumped out from a nearby window.

Wait a minute! Did he just jump out of the window of the 4th floor of the building!?

“You okay?”, the woman asked Holly who is shaking.

“Y-Yes… T-T-Thank you…” *trembling* [Holly]

“Oh, aren’t you…” [Sheema]

It’s that mysterious woman we met back then.

“The name’s Marge. As you can see, I’m one of the staff here.”

We thanked Marge for saving Holly.

When we asked her about the mysterious figure (assassin), she replied that she have no idea who he is. She give us a warning, however, that we should be careful. There are bad people out there, such as terrorists and gangs. She give us suggestion to get back early, as the securities and higher ups will definitely be on high alert after this.

Heeding Marge’s warning, we all return back to our room.

 

13th Day.

Days have passed since that incident. We continued with our practical trainings. In these past few days, Jake have improved. He finally start to get the hang of using the machine. He’s no longer reckless as before.

“C’mon, guys. It’s all thanks to you that I got this far.” [Jake]

“We’re glad that we could help, Jake. And we’re happy for you too.” [Holly]

“Yeah! Finally, it clicked on you. It took some time, but you made it. Congrats!” [Sheema]

“Well, it’s natural that no one can do something perfectly at first. But constant practices could help you with that.” [Ian]

Seeing how everyone managed to operate the machine properly now, I suppose we don’t need to worry about tomorrow.

“Ah yes.. Tomorrow’s the time..” [Sheema]

“The final test… right?” [Jake]

Yes. Finally tomorrow, the 14th day is the time of our final test. This is the one thing that will determine whether we’re going to be an agent or not.

“We have gone so far.. All we have to do is to give it our all.” [Holly]

Holly is right. We have come this far after all those trainings, and Jake have also improve greatly. If we do exactly as we did training, we should be able to pass the test.

That night, I cannot sleep. No matter how much I tried, I cannot turn in. This must be because of the final test the next day. Since I cannot sleep, I decided to take a short walk outside.

Near our dorm, specifically, the east of the female dorm, there is a garden. Although it is a complex garden, it was created meticulously for the purpose of relaxation. It is a beautiful place. The moon shines beautifully above, and I can feel the gentle night breeze blowing. Just as I walk, I saw Holly.

“Ah! Ian! A surprise to see you! Are you unable to sleep as well?” [Holly]

I nod agreeing her. Holly replied that she have a lot on her mind, including the final test tomorrow, thus she cannot sleep too.

Holly shared that she can’t believe that we’ll soon become agents. Ever since she was a child, she admired the agents who helped people who are not wealthy enough to get their dream vacations, especially dying people.

That’s true. Most of the Rubywing’s clients are indeed dying people who wished to spend the last of their time in their dream place. Although the number of healthy clients are not little too.

She shared that it has been her dream to become an agent for a long time, but when she learned that the Rubywing have no branch in our country, she was surprised. Knowing her economical condition, there’s no way she can go abroad, and so she gave up. But now, as they miraculously extend their branch to our country, her long lost dream rekindled. She finally have her chance to be an agent.

Holly wished that all four of us can become agents together. And when she imagine us becoming agents, working together to help people, and giving them happiness and satisfaction with our services, it brings her joy. She asked me if I felt the same.

Happiness for helping others, huh…? I admit I haven’t thought much about that….

“That’s actually not a bad idea!” [Jake]

“Well, there’s more happiness in giving than receiving, as they say.” [Sheema]

Out of nowhere, Jake and Sheema gave their answers. Both Holly and I were surprised. Sheema, Jake. They both came out of nowhere!
Turns out both of them cannot sleep because of tomorrow’s test as well. Just like us, they decided to take a night walk, and they happen to meet each other on the way. Jake suggest that since the four of us are awake, we should talk for a while. Maybe that could lull us to drowsiness. We all nod in agreement to Jake’s idea.

“Say Holly, why do you want to be an agent?” [Sheema]

“W-Well… It’s because… I admire them. Just like them, I want to help the small people who’re not wealthy enough to get their dream vacation. I want to give them happiness and hope, that even they could have their dream of visiting their dream place come true.” [Holly]

*chuckle* “As expected of Holly. As for me.. The reason why I joined to be an agent is because, I want to learn their technologies.” [Sheema]

It goes without saying that the Rubywing technologies are quite advanced. Sheema continued that because of how great their technologies are, the Rubywing is confidential and only some people could get their hands on it. What’s the fastest way to get your hands on the technologies other than becoming an agent yourself? Sheema admitted that even now during our training, she have learned a lot about its technologies. Her time here has been instructive.

“Oho! That’s good for you, Sheema. As for me, I decided to work here because I’ve heard the payment is good!” [Jake]

“………”

After Jake said his piece, the three of us looked at him in silent.

“…. …. W-What? Hey, don’t look at me like I’m some kind of a money-grubber! I need money for living, you know!” [Jake]

Okay.. I guess in a way, he’s right.

“Ahaha… O-Okay….” *sweat and wry smile* “Um… So how about you, Ian? Why do you want to become an agent?” [Sheema]

“Well…. ….. …It’s personal…..” [Ian]

I want to become an agent out of personal reason. I do not become one because I want to make a living, or because I want to learn about their technologies, and I certainly did not become one because I want to help people bringing happiness to them. I become one because I thought I could learn the purpose of my life. It’s a private and personal reason…. If I told them about my reason now, I would’ve need to told them about what had happened to me. And…. I know that we’re close, but… I…. I don’t think I’m ready to share this to them yet… I’m sorry…..

“….. Well, it’s okay if you cannot say it.” [Sheema]

Thankfully Sheema understand me and let it slide.

“Some people have something they cannot say to others after all. All that matters in the end is that you’ll become an agent. And we’re gonna be agents together!” [Sheema]

“Yes, I agree! Let’s pass the test together and become agents together!” [Holly]

The four of us spend some time more talking. After some time passes, the four of us decided to return to our room to rest.

 

14th Day.

Finally the day of our final test have arrived. Before the test began, Sheema and Holly gave us headbands. According to them, the headband could help us to be more focused. As Jake and I received and try them on, the girls looks excited. The girls then urged us to wear them during the exam.

Well, it may be a bit silly to wear it, but… Since Sheema and Holly have went through a lot to get it, I suppose we have no choice.

On the test, the four of us wear the headbands. We did our final test as best as we can. Thankfully, the final is exactly as we have learned and practiced.

After the test is over, I’m confident I’m doing well. Seeing the other three looks relieved and happy, I believe they also did well.

“Hell Yeaaah!! Finally the test is over!” [Jake]

“Yes!” [Holly]

“I think I did well, if I say so myself. How about you guys?” [Sheema]

Responding to Sheema’s question, we all replied that we have done just fine as well.

“Well, now that we’re through with that…. Let’s go to the beach!!” [Jake]

Out of nowhere, Jake suggested to hang out at the beach. It’s true that due to the final test, we finished our day early, but….

“Hey, that’s a great idea! Let’s do it!” [Sheema]

“Well…. I guess resting once in a while is fine…. right?” [Holly]

We went to the beach together. The weather is clear and nice. It’s a perfect time to relax.

I know that I usually hang out with Jake, Sheema and Holly at the company, but.. hanging out with them outside the company time…? Initially I want to refuse due to my shut-in nature, but…. oh well… Since we’re already here, might as well enjoy the time.

We play at the beach together. From volleyball, table-tennis, basketball, and even some arcades. Apparently there is an arcade station in the beach. At the arcade, Holly literally kills everything. She’s very good… None of us could beat her even once at any games.
Seeing how he always lost to her, Jake got frustrated. But thankfully, Sheema and I managed to calm him down.

As I hang out with them, I must admit…. Contrary to my expectation, I have a good time. As I have mentioned, usually the time we hang out together is always at the company, but to think that hanging out with them outside the company would be this… enjoyable…
Somehow, seeing Jake, Holly and Sheema’s smiling face…. I felt a warm in my chest. Without me realizing, a smile formed in my face.

 

When Jake buys us some noodle treats, he caught a glimpse of a ball rolling to the street, and a little girl running for it. Just as she try to get the ball, a motorcycle run in a high speed to her direction. Jake was surprised and shout “Watch out!”. The little girl was surprised about the motorcycle, but she noticed it too late, and she’s too stunned to move.
But then, a black shadow suddenly moves in. It dashes very fast to the girl’s direction and snatched her away from the road.

A young woman with brunette hair hold the young little girl with her ball.

“Hey, are you okay?”, The woman said as she put the little girl down.

“U…Uh…. Uhh…..” *Tears welling up*

The young girl who was just an inch from the jaws of death is crying, terrified.

“…. ….. There, there. It’s okay now. It’s okay.” *pat the girl’s head*

As the woman calming the girl down, the parents of the girl called her. Hearing their voice, the little girl turn to her parents’ direction while saying “Mommy! Daddy!”. And for the woman, as if it’s her cue, she stood up.

“Be careful next time, okay.”

“Uh.. Um… T-Thank you, big sister!”

The girl immediately ran to her parents. The girl was reprimanded by her parents for her recklessness. But in the end, they hugged her. They are very relieved to see her safe. When the girl try to point her savior, the said woman has disappeared without a trace, as if she was never there to begin with.

 

At the evening, we surprisingly meet Marge again. It seems Marge also relaxing here as well, as she drink her coconut beverage in her casual beach clothing. It was a very great coincidence.

Marge revealed to like this beach, and she is very glad to be able to spend time here. And I have to admit, this beach is indeed beautiful. “Great minds think alike”, what Marge said as she point that we also have a good sense of choosing relaxation place.

“Although our line of work is ‘Vacation at Home’, in the end, nothing beats a real vacation”, as Marge continued.

Thereafter, Marge offered us coconut beverages. Holly and Jake seem interested in it and they accepted her offer.

At the evening, we watch the beach’s water shows. It’s really an amazing sight to behold. I have heard about the water show here before, but to be able to see it firsthand. It’s… in a way, amazing.

As we watched the shows, I heard a small weep. I turned my head and saw Holly is crying.

“Holly, is something wrong?” [Ian]

“O-Oh! I…” *sniffle* “I-It’s nothing!” *wipe her tears* “It’s nothing, really!” [Holly]

“Holly, are you sure you’re alright?” [Sheema]

We got worried about Holly. Jake told her that if there’s anything that she need, a help or something, just say a word. Sheema and I nod to his suggestion, ready to help her. But once again Holly insisted that she’s okay. She thanked us for worrying about her. She shows a gentle smile while saying that word, as if trying to convince us that she’s fine now.

Right after her thanks, fireworks are shot at the sky. We enjoyed seeing fire flowers bloomed on the sky. I must admit that we really have a good time here.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

The next day after our hang out, we gathered together at the hall. I once again together with Jake, Holly and Sheema. We are assembled as per our instructor’s instruction.

During our waiting time, Holly step up and opened her mouth.

“It’s been some days since we met. When I bumped into Ian and Jake, when Sheema helped us, and when the four of us become friends. Those are the best things that ever happened to me. Our days together may have been short, but those time that we spent together.. it’s a very precious moments, a very precious memories to me. Sheema, Jake, Ian… Thank you so much… I promise I will not forget the memories we shared.” *sincere smile* [Holly]

“Aww, shucks. We’re glad that you came into our lives too, Holly. Trust me, all of us are glad too.” [Jake]

Well, I’m glad for you as well, Holly. But… ….why is it that you talk that way…? Like…

“So, umm… wait…. Why are you talking like it’s the end of the world…?” [Jake]

In a way, yes. It’s as Jake said. But I was more like, “why did you talked as if you will leave us?”.

Short moment after Holly said that, explosions can be heard from outside. Surprised to the sudden explosion noise, one of the staff came to our direction and told us that our securities have been breached. There are intruders on the building. Some of the trainees are in panic. One of them lament that why is the timing is exactly when the higher ups and veteran guards away?

If you consider what he said is true, then this timing is too perfect for a mere coincidence.

“D-Don’t panic everyone! Even if the securities outside have been breached, we still have a lot of security guards inside the building!”, one of the staff said, trying to be positive.

“Unfortunately…. All of the guards have been neutralized.”

…… What is this….. Why is the voice that sounds villainous is very close….? Why is the voice…. sounds familiar…?

As I turn to the source of the voice, my eyes widen…. My mouth lost its voice..

“But don’t worry. While the drugs may incapacitated them for 24 hours, no danger posed to their lives.” [Holly]

We are immediately surrounded by some of the intruders. From the way they clothes, they must be one of the gangs, no… Raiders.

Raiders are group of gang that attack and steal from people. It’s not rare they will resort to violence. Their targets are usually rich people or big companies.

Seeing them, Sheema realizes that these people are the infamous raider called the Hellbind Raider.

Hearing her knowledge, Holly nod and said she’s correct. As Holly slowly walked to the Raider’s side, our widen eyes gave her undivided attention. Then she turned to us.

“Allow me to reintroduce myself.” *Bow* “I am Holly, one of the Four Heads of the Hellbind Raider. I truly hope for your sake, you will cooperate.” *raise her head and give a cold gaze* [Holly]

After Holly’s reveal, and with how she gazes us with her cold, emotionless eyes, all of us are horrified.

“No…. This can’t be…. This can’t be true….” *extremely shocked* [Sheema]

“Holly, you…” *surprised* [Jake]

“This is… This must be a nightmare! This HAS to be… I….” *cover her face with her hands* [Sheema]

Tears started to welled in Sheema’s eyes.

Holly in her cold voice admitted that it really takes time to hack and disable the advanced defense systems, while at the same time gaining trust from the other staff members, mainly the securities.

As she explain, a shadow member of their group came to her side. That shadow looks familiar… Wait! Isn’t that the assassin that once infiltrated the building and almost attacked Holly?! The assassin is one of them..!? The said assassin removes their mask and revealed a beautiful young woman with brunette hair behind. Seeing that, Jake immediately responded.

“You’re!! You’re the one who rescued that little girl at the beach!” [Jake]

“……”

“Now then everyone. With the 1st phase of the plan completed, let us begin our main objective. The destruction of Rubywing.” [Holly]

Destruction of the company!? So they’re here to destroy the company!?

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

“Dammit! Let us go!” *banging the door* [Jake]

“…….” [Sheema]

We are currently being held in a certain room with 2 guards guarding the door. The room we’re currently in is using the electric lock. The keycard for the door is in the hands of the raider, or to be more accurate, one of the guards. We are truly trapped.
Jake is frustrated, while Sheema is devastated.

No matter how we look at it, we were betrayed by Holly and locked in this room. Whether we accept it or not, that’s the truth. There’s nothing we can do about it.

In the midst of our conflicted condition… I somehow remembered about our time together with Holly. I remembered how we all laugh and have fun together, and I know those feelings are genuine. And when I saw Holly betrayed us…. wait…. when I’m recalling the time Holly betrayed us, I remembered how cold her eyes were, but…. There’s something else… I feel like there’s something else beyond her actions that nudge me…..
Now that I think about it, back then why did she bothered to give us a farewell speech before her betrayal if she truly wants to betray us and never cared about us? And why did she gave us that smile? The smile of happiness, as well as sadness. And her eyes that speak as if… she’s reluctant…

And one other thing. For some reason, I recalled back then at the beach. I remembered that Holly cried out of nowhere…. But what if the reason why she’s crying is….

“NO!! Something’s definitely wrong with her! If Holly really wants to hurt us, she won’t say those goodbye words! She won’t even give us that smile! Holly…. She must’ve been forced to do this by someone. She must’ve been threatened!” [Sheema]

Sheema said with determination. Her faith in Holly is proven unwavering. In a way, she seems to come to the same reason as I was.

“Hmm…. Not that you mentioned it, you’re right. It does make no sense for her to say goodbye if she really do wants to attack us.” [Jake]

“That’s true… By the way, can you sense it? I haven’t had a chance to tell you before, but don’t you think she looks sad when she said her goodbye?” [Ian]

“Yes!! Of course!! I knew it!!” [Sheema]

Sheema in her excitement said that she knew that the Holly we know is still in there. Jake add that if that’s really true, then we need to knock some sense into her— revised, bring her back. After the three of us came to an agreement, we decided to work together to bring Holly back.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

Meanwhile somewhere, another group of staffs were taken hostage. The one who happen to be in charge of them is the brunette-haired woman.

“Captain Eclair, the staffs are secured in this area.”

“Good. You guys take care of the other areas. Leave this place to me.” [Eclair]

“Ma’am!” *salute*

The place where they currently at is the canteen. The young woman Eclair, looks coldly at the frightened staffs. There are total 10 staffs that were caught in this room. Although it is ideal to have a man or two by her side, she watch over the hostages all on her own.
The hostages that she watches do not look exactly powerful or battle-hardened. There’s a man who have good muscles, but he is shivering in the corner like a frightened puppy. Truly there’s no threat at all from these hostages; and even if one of them may be a powerful threat… No, even if all of them are powerful threats, she won’t have any problems dealing with them.
Eclair have been trained in the art of assassinations and combats ever since she was young. Her prowess itself have managed to made her earned captain position. Furthermore, Eclair carries guns and other weapons with her. No matter how strong they are, they won’t beat her.

And with that, she is confident in fulfilling her task. If there are hostile hostages, she can easily disarm them. If they try to escape, she will easily notice and stop them. And even if they managed to escape her, there are many other members outside that will stop them. And even if somehow one of the staffs could escape all of that, they won’t be able to trigger the alarm and alert the police thanks to Holly’s interference in the Defense System.

“U….Uuuu…”

A voice emanated from one of the hostage. Eclair turn her eyes on the source and found a child clinging to one of the staff. The child must be the staff’s child, since it’s not rare for a parent to bring their child to work.

“Daddy… I’m hungry….” *tears start to fall*

“I’m sorry… Daddy’s sorry... But daddy can’t help.. Please…. Hang in there, okay.”, the staff said while he hug his child.

“……” [Eclair]

“My stomach hurt…. Daddy…. please…” *tears fall*

“I know… Daddy know….” *tears start to fall*

After analyzing the situation, the young child most likely have an ulcer. He is in need for food. However, since he’s someone who is her hostage, that is none of her concern. But somehow, something moved Eclair.

“Here….” [Eclair]

Eclair offered a riceball that she brought. She gave the young child the riceball and told him to eat it.

“This is….”

“I made it in a hurry, so don’t expect much.” [Eclair]

“uh…”

“Just eat it.” *raise her voice a little* [Eclair]

The young boy slowly take the riceball. He look at Eclair and softly thanked her. When he thanked her, he have a very sweet smile on his face.

“Yummy!” *chew* *chew* “Sister, your riceball is really good!”

“Hmph….!” [Eclair]

After hearing the young boy’s voice, Eclair give more of the riceballs to the hostages. She said if there are any others who feel hungry, they can take the food. It’ll be a trouble for them if something happened to the hostages.

One of the hostage took the riceball and eat it.

“This is…!!”

A taste of delight flows into his mouth. Then the muscular man look at Eclair and thought that not only she is beautiful and have a beautiful heart, she actually have a beautiful skills. He can feel the great love from her food.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

Now then… After Jake, Sheema and I decided to work together to stop Holly, we need to first escaped from this room.

First, let’s see what we have and understand our condition. It seems that we’re in a computer room, with electric lock for its door. There’s electricity, so we can access the computers.
After activating one of them, Sheema start tinkering with it, thinking maybe she could find something that could help us. Soon after, I heard Jake’s shout, calling for me. I came to his side and saw that there’s a good supply of fireworks here. We may be able to put this to use.

I look around the room and found coconut shells….? Why are there coconut shells here…? Either way, I decided to took it with me. We may be able to use it one way or another.

Good news from Sheema that she managed to hack into the room’s lock. We can escape from this room now. However, that doesn’t account for the guards outside. Even if we managed to unlock the room’s door, we won’t be able to avoid the guards if we don’t do something about them.

We start concocting our escape plan using all the things we have.

“All right! Are you ready?” [Jake]

“Yes.” [Ian]

“Commencing the plan in 3… 2… 1….” [Sheema]

*Click!*

A noise came from the door. Noticing the odd noise, the 2 guards check the door and it’s unlocked. Surprised, the two of them decided to enter the room to check on us. When they set their foot in the room, they realized that the room is quite dark. They can almost see nothing. All of a sudden, they heard a small tapping noise. As the guards walk in a shaking manner a bit further to the sound’s direction, in front of them, they noticed a young man with a simple haircut and glasses, sitting on a chair facing them. He sit calmly crosslegged as if he’s a boss of a big organization. In his calmness, he opened his mouth.

*Dark face* “Welcome gentlemen….” *slightly raise his head and glasses glint* “…to your worst nightmare….” [Jake]

As Jake said that, firecrackers under the guards feet start to blow. The guards failed to notice them due to being distracted by Jake. Panicking as the firecrackers blow under them, they did not notice 2 shadows closing in on their backs.

“Ugh!”

“Ngh..!”

One of the guard got hit by a coconut shell on his head and immediately fainted, however the other guard still conscious as the coconut only hit his back.

“Ah….” *dumbfounded* [Sheema]

“Hmph!” *glare at Sheema* [Guard]

“…..” [Ian]

*Smack!*

Graciously I smacked Sheema’s share with my coconut shell, and with this, both of the guards are unconscious.

Immediately after the guards fell unconscious, we search and took the room’s keycard from them. After we got what we want, we disarm the guards and shut the computer’s electricity off and head out. We lock the door behind us.
When I ask is it okay for us to just leave the room, won’t we got found out since the room have security camera? Sheema said that she have hacked the security camera too, so they shouldn’t have any problem.

Alright! Now that we managed to escaped the room, we need to find and stop Holly.

We move through the hallway while avoiding the raiders. As we travel, we noticed the raiders are running through a different hall desperately as if there’s another threat they have to take care. Sure enough as we slowly peek where they are running to, we saw them got beaten immediately by a single woman.

“Heh! You call that a fight? If this is the extent of the Hellbind Raider’s power, then I’m afraid it’s already over for you.” [Marge]

“M-Marge!” [Jake and Sheema]

“Hn? Oh, it’s you guys! So you’re here too?” [Marge]

It’s Marge, the Rubywing staff we met before. She greet us with a smile on her face while stepping on the back of one of the fainted raider.
Just as we see, Marge have single-handedly defeated all of the raiders. The raiders that have outnumbered her and carry dangerous weapons such as blades and guns, but she beat all of them by herself, and with a stick no less.

Marge said that from the way the raiders moves, their leader must be here as well. When she noticed our faces suddenly down, she asked if something’s wrong. We… actually know who the leader is…. We told Marge what we know..

After listening about Holly and the Hellbind Raider.

“I see…. So there’s a rat among us….” [Marge]

“No!! Holly is not a traitor! She must’ve been forced to do this by someone!” [Sheema]

Seeing Sheema’s denial, Marge sigh and looks at her with eyes as if pitying her for still innocently believe someone who has clearly betrayed her. But a second after that, she look at her with gentle eyes as if showing her admiration for her faith.

*chuckle* “Anyway, we need to stop her.” [Marge]

“Right!” [Sheema]

“Yeah!” [Jake]

According to the info Marge gathered from one of the raider, Holly is about to blow the whole building up. So she’s most likely in the main engine room.
But as we rush to the main engine room, suddenly there’s a gunshot few inches from my feet. From above (1 floor from ours), we saw the black assassin woman from before holding a firearm.

“Hmph. So you’re the wild beast that cause the uproar.” *point her assault rifle* “Let’s see if you could still act tough after I riddled your head with bullets.” [Eclair]

“Oh~ You look different. Are you their captain or something?” [Marge]

“Marge!” [Jake]

“You kids find a safe place to hide. I’ll handle this.” [Marge]

As per Marge’s instruction, we back away and find a safe spot.

“Good call. If you told them to go ahead while you try to hold me off, they would’ve been dead.” [Eclair]

“Seeing how you carry that rifle already told me that you’re experienced with them. I can’t make any mistakes that would cause casualties. So! Without further ado, shall we dance?” *point her stick to her* [Marge]

Immediately after, the woman open fire at Marge. But Marge easily deflect all of them with her stick like nothing. Seeing how she deflect the bullets with ease, we are all amazed with her, and the woman looks extremely surprised. She keep shooting her, but Marge still deflect it easily to the point that she easily return a bullet back to her. In surprise, the woman turn her body sideway to dodge the returned bullet. But as she regain her position, her eyes widen. Before her, she saw Marge, who was once at a floor below her, flying in midair and about to strike her.
In the nick of time, she managed to dodge Marge and return fire once more. She keep firing at her, and even switching guns, but as always, Marge easily deflect or dodge them. The woman jump down to our floor while shooting, as Marge follows her while deflecting and dodging her bullets.
The woman have now accepted that guns don’t work, and she change her tactics into close combat. She readied her daggers and strike Marge. However, as if anticipating her, Marge easily deflect her attacks and push her back.

The woman is by no means weak. Not only she’s an expert with guns, she’s also a powerful combatant. The woman give powerful and fast attacks on Marge. But unfortunately for her…. Marge.. is simply more powerful than her.

When the woman think she found an opening and strike Marge, Marge suddenly disappear. Before she noticed it, Marge appeared behind her. The young woman can merely glance at Marge in surprise as she dealt her the finishing blow.

The battle is over.

“Phew~ I must say, you’re pretty good. It’s been a while since the last time I had a good fight.” [Marge]

“What…. What are you…?! Your strength and reflexes are inhuman…! And you deflected all my bullets with a stick!!??” [Eclair]

*small chuckle* “I’m just your everyday staff of the Rubywing Company.” [Marge]

Right after the fight, the three of us came out from our hiding and approach Marge. Thankfully Marge is alright. As we’re about to go,

“Hey.. you’re gonna stop Holly, right? Well, it’s not like it’s my problem, but…. If you do….. make sure you go easy on her…. …… Yeah, I know! I know the things we do is wrong! We know it all this time! But…. sometimes, there are those that have to do because they have to do.. ……” *small groan* “What I’m trying to say is…. Just.. Please….!! ……save Holly….” [Eclair]

“…… Say, I haven’t catch your name yet. Can you give me your name?” [Marge]

“……..Eclair…” [Eclair]

“All right, Eclair. The name’s Marge. We’ll save Holly. I give you my word.” [Marge]

“……….” [Eclair]

It appears Eclair have fallen unconscious. Taking her wish, we went to Holly.

 

At our destination, we saw Holly finished planting bombs in the main core.

“Holly!!” [Sheema]

“So you’ve come.” [Holly]

Holly turned to our direction, seemed to have anticipated our arrival. As Sheema and Holly silently look at each other, Sheema opened her mouth.

“Holly, let’s go back…. okay.” [Sheema]

“Why….?” [Holly]

“Huh?” [Sheema]

“You already knew I’m one of the Raider. So why? Why do you still come for me?” [Holly]

“Holly, let’s just stop this. Let’s go back together, okay.” [Jake]

“I can’t! I must fulfill my mission! I must complete my task! Even if… Even if I have to fight you.” *readied and point her gun* [Holly]

Holly shows determination in her eyes, and yet at the same time…. she’s trembling.

“Holly.. Do you remember our time together that night. Back then when you said that the four of us will become agents together?” [Ian]

“That is a complete lie! Mere words to fool you! I…. I never once cared for any of you! You’re just tools for me! You were never someone I hold dear in the first place!” [Holly]

Holly may try to act strong with those words, but…

“Then why… why are you crying?” [Ian]

“Huh….?” [Holly]

Noticing that tears flow from her right eye, she touch her upper cheek where the warm tears flow. As she try to wipe her tears and unknowingly dropped her gun, her tears grow more intense.

“Holly…. Your body and voice have made it clear. You never want to do this as well.” [Ian]

“Holly, come back to us.” *extend her hand* [Sheema]

“I…. I’m a raider….. After all the things I’ve done….. It’s already too late for me to turn back…” [Holly]

“No Holly, it’s not.”, Sheema slowly approach Holly and gently hold her hands.

“It’s never too late. Let’s return back together. Let’s make the rest of your life, the best of your life.” [Sheema]

“Sheema….” [Holly]

“Yeah. We promise we’ll help you too! Holly, you’re one of us. No matter what, you’re our friend.” [Jake]

“Jake….” [Holly]

Hearing Jake’s words, both me and Sheema nod our head. We also gently hold Holly’s hands. Unable to hold in any longer, Holly breaks down. She cried her heart out.

“Uwaaaaaaahhhhh!!”, Holly cried as Sheema hold her in her arms. Holly conceded and admit we are right. In the end, she surrendered.

That marks the end of the Hellbind’s attack on the Rubywing.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

Thereafter, the police forces came and apprehended the Hellbind Raiders. Needless to say that included Holly and Eclair. We learnt later on that Eclair is actually Holly’s little sister.

“Everyone….. I..I’m sorry…. for everything…” [Holly]

But right after she apologized, the three of us immediately ran to her and hug her.

“…!” [Holly]

“Holly… We forgive you. In fact, we have forgiven you even before that.” [Sheema]

“Sheema….” [Holly]

“Holly, I know that you’ll be arrested for your crime and as a raider, but…. We promise we’ll wait for you. And after you’re back…” *hold Holly’s hand* “Let’s become agent again.” [Sheema]

Hearing her words, tears start to fall from Holly’s eyes.

“Thank…” *sob* “Thank you…. Sheema…” *sniffle* *sob* “Thank you…. everyone….” *give her best smile while tears flow* [Holly]

Holly shows a relieved expression behind her teary face. After we said our farewell to her, the sisters were taken by the police.

All of the staffs that were taken hostages are rescued. Later on, the three of us and Marge were interrogated by the police about what happened.

After we have finished with the police and on our way back to our dorm, Sheema opened her mouth.

“You know, don’t you think it’s strange?” [Sheema]

“Hm? What is?” [Jake]

“When the raiders locked us, they locked us in the computer room with active computers. There are firecrackers, and also coconut shells somehow in that room too….” [Sheema]

Now that I think about it, she’s right. Not to mention that we were not bounded with anything, the guards are ordered to stay outside, giving us freedom to travel the room, and they even did not confiscate Sheema’s hoverchair. This is too much for a coincidence. Especially…. The fireworks.. and the coconut….

“You know, I think…. All of them was because of Holly.” [Sheema]

“She prepared them for us, huh? Then that means…. Holly wanted us to stop her.. didn’t she?” [Jake]

“Yeah.. I think so too…..” [Sheema]

That’s true…. And I’m really glad that we managed to take Holly back.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

The next day after the incident, the news stated that the elusive Hellbind Raider group have finally been caught and apprehended, including their leader. There was a massive uproar thanks to the news.

 

The next day after, all of us are gathered once again for an important announcement. Initially we are planned to be gathered in the Audience Room, but due to the room’s currently being occupied, the trainees are gathered in their respective assigned rooms. Fortunately Jake, Sheema and I are grouped in the same room.

After the intended time come, a person who seems to be the instructor came in.

..….

It’s Marge!

“Greetings everyone, I’m Marge Osborne, one of the chief that will handle agents.” [Marge]

The chief!? Marge is one of the chief!? Just as I was surprised, Jake raised his hand.

“Excuse me! But back then during the opening briefing, you are not among the chiefs that were introduced to us!” [Jake]

“Fair point. That’s because…. I was in the middle of an important task. Sorry about that.” [Marge]

Chief Marge casually give her reason.

“Right. I’m sure you know that we’re about to have an important announcement. But before that, we still have one person short.” [Marge]

After Chief Marge said that, she turn her attention to the door, as if signaling someone to come in. From the door, a young woman slowly and nervously walk in.

It’s.... No way……

“Holly!?” [Sheema, Jake and Ian]

So many emotions flows into my heart. Holly…. She’s here… She’s back…

“Um… E-Everyone… I.. I’m back…”, Holly said with a gentle smile on her face, trying to hold back her tears.

After Holly returned back to us, the three of us accepted her happily. After our tearful reunion, Sheema and Jake ask how did the police let her go. Holly answered that it seems that Chief Marge and the president of the company managed to negotiate with the police.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

At the police station after the Hellbind Raider was caught, Marge talk with the police. After her arrest, Holly cooperate with them and revealed everything about the Hellbind Raider. Thanks to the information she gave, they managed to catch the elusive raiders.

“—And so, we would like to take her back with us.” [Marge]

“…. I’m sorry, Ms. Marge, but we can’t do that. It’s true that thanks to her cooperation we finally managed to catch the Hellbind Raider. However, Holly herself have claimed to be a member of the said group. We can’t let her go because of that. But rest assure. Since she have cooperated, her sentence will be lightened.”

*chuckle* “I thought you might say that, but… perhaps, our boss may have a different word.” [Marge]

Just then, the president Eldebert enter the room.

“When the voice of desperation falls to deaf ears!” *pose* “When the cry of the weak fades in the winds!” *pose* “Fret not, for I, Eldebert Maximus Jerobeam is here!” *pose!* [Eldebert]

“………”

“President, perhaps we could skip your novel intro.” [Marge]

“Ah, of course! I have heard everything from Marge. It appears that one of our members is in need of our aid. I have come here to make a statement, good sir.” [Eldebert]

Sir Eldebert shows his ID, that he is the CEO of the Rubywing Company, where the raider attacked. He make a claim that he does not felt harmed by Holly, and also to the fact that nobody in the company were harmed as well.

And just as he made that statement, a muscular man came in.

“President! Wait a moment!”

“Pelangi?” [Marge]

“It is true that we were attacked by the cruel raiders.. But! I must vouch for one other young girl, the one with the long brunette hair. She also did not harmed us! Not even a finger! In fact, she helped us in our time of need with her foods! Her lovely name, I believe, is Eclair~” *sparkle* *sparkle* [Pelangi]

“Holly’s sister, huh?”, Marge said as she grabbed her head with one hand and let a small chuckle

“Indeed! I’m here representing the voices of the people aided by the young Eclair, that she does not deserve to be incarcerated!” [Pelangi]

“….. Sir Pelangi. Just as Ms. Marge, we owe you a big debt in helping us capturing the raiders. But even if the president and the others may have claimed that they were not harmed by their actions, not only both of the young women have confessed to be a part of the group, they also wished to take their punishment. I believe they say it’s their atonement. We could, however, lighten their sentences further, since they are vouched by our benefactors.”

Hearing that, the president smile as if he have predicted that. Then he asked the police how much their penalty costs.

 

★★★★★★★★★★★

 

“I… I think both me and my sister owe the president much….” [Holly]

“And I think you mentioned that he also spread the news to the other staffs and new recruits that you and your sister are actually ‘forced’ to do the raider’s bidding, huh?” [Jake]

It must be to eliminate the suspicion on them.

Yesterday after the incident and interrogation, Sheema, Jake and I are to rest at our dorm full day since we are directly involved with the raider. That must be the time when they spread the news.

Holly note that even though she told them they don’t have to do that. That if they are hated, it is their just deserts, the President and Chief Marge still made their announcement. Sheema told them that even if they did something like that, not everyone will trust their words. There are still people who will be wary of them. Holly replied that if that happened, then it’s fine. She and her sister will do their best to regain their trust.

I give suggestion to Holly that she should stick with us when she’s out. So that she will have someone to protect her from harassments. Holly accepted the suggestion. But then, she remembered about her sister and wonder if she will be okay. Jake told her to also bring her sister together too, so she could also be protected. Holly smiled as she agreed and thanked us in the end.

“All right! Now that everyone’s here, we can begin the announcement. Congratulation to you all! All of you have passed as agents!” [Marge]

We passed! All of us passed! Together with Jake, Holly, Sheema and all the other members in the room, we celebrate our success. Seeing everyone’s happiness, how our hard work paid off, and that we can be agents all together, my heart felt elated. Happiness well-up in my chest as a big smile naturally formed in my mouth.

We did it…!

Chief Marge added that from now on, all of the members in this room will become a team. We are Team 10 of the agent division, under Ms. Marge Osborne as our chief.

And so, our new journey as agents begin…

I took my first step on my journey to find my answer.

To find the purpose of my life.

 

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Case 1: A Wayward Soul’s Happy Dream

Closed