His head was hurting like hell. Cas couldn’t get up, and instead laid where he was, lifeless. He barely had the strength to lift a hand to his temples, trying to massage them, and the pain eased a bit. After a couple of minutes, which seemed as long as hours, he could finally sit down.

He analyzed where he ended up to. The bed he laid on was situated in the center of the room. A single closet leaned on the wall, and under a window, there was a wood desk, where he could only see some blank sheets of paper and some pencils in a pot. All the walls were white, devoid of any posters, shelves or other decorations that could make the room lively. Though the room was empty and not taking care of, the space was too big. The furniture looked old, but clean. Cas guessed it was because he wasn’t really a person from this world. He just landed somewhere suitable for a traveler, and they prepared a room especially for him with only the strict minimum he needed to be comfortable.

A man appeared suddenly. Cas stood up in a hurry, put on his guard, before realizing the man was a little child. He should be four or five years old, but Cas couldn’t feel his presence at all. He didn’t hear him coming, nor he saw him before he was in front of his eyes. Cas couldn’t forgive himself for such carelessness. The kid watched him, slightly amused by Cas’s reactions, tilting his head.

“Who are you?” Cas asked. “What’re you doing here?”

 “I’m your system” the child said. “You can call me as you like. I will assist you on your mission for this world, and if you choose to stay and are satisfied with me, I will follow you into the next tasks. You can ask everything you want to know about your current mission, I will answer with the best of my capabilities.”

So, the “partner” 452 talked about referred to this kid. Cas didn’t really know what to think, but then he remembers that the settings of the system were his to select. He knew that he couldn’t let an adult moving freely around him without putting down his guard, so a child version seemed more appropriate.

His voice seemed eerie, as if the child was speaking from a distant place. He also had a mature voice, an adult one, not at all childish in the slightest.

“Kiddo, where I am? And what’s my task?” Cas asked. “And choose your name yourself.”

 “Then I am Ruben. The house you are currently in belongs to your family. The identity created for you is that of the second son of a big family, the Ronan. Your name is still Castiel in this world, but your surname is Aster. Your family made sure you kept the family name of your dead mother. You are living with your family, your father, the head of the Ronan company, your stepmother, the biological mother of your big brother. Your stepmother loath you because you are the son of a mistress. Your brother is the one who will inherit the company after his father step down. He will soon finish his studies abroad and will come back to work with his father. You will receive the memories of the false life we created soon.”

“Why did you think of such a complicated background? Couldn’t I just be alone in a little flat? Why must I get a family?” Cas mumbled.

“Because your target is in high school. Your body is the one of a child, and without your majority, we thought it will be a burden to have to make a living alone and hinder you during your task. Furthermore, because of the personality of the body you’re currently in, you ended up changing school a lot. You were expelled of the last one and in two days you will start anew in a military one.”

Cas was a bit skeptic. So, he had to live as if he was just a human from this world. So, money was a problem if he wanted to be alone? Perhaps it was set this way because it was only his first job. But he couldn’t help but think that 452 had underestimated him. Money was easy for him to make.

“Who’s the person I have to protect?”

“I only know his name; Jasper Wolf. You will be assigned in the same class. I don’t know what his circumstances are. These are yours to find out.”

“Can I stalk him? Or kidnap him?”

“His mental well-being has to be preserved too. I advise you to renounce on these ideas.”

“Aye, aye.”

Cas sighed and though a bit about it. He had to watch over a classmate who’s probably ten years younger than him.

Reluctantly, Cas got up, still massaging his forehead to calm his migraine, and approach one of the walls, where stood a wooden door. He pushed the doorknob. Even if it was dark, he didn’t need to light the lamp. He stood in front of the mirror, without any expectation for his new figure. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw his reflection and was slightly surprised: he had the same face he always had. He seemed a lot younger, less tired and way healthier than he was. His cheeks were a bit round, his big eyes were still colored with an innocent blue tainted with grey clouds. His nose was longer, his jaw less marked. His hairs were a bit longer and a bit lighter, Cas chose to attach them in a short ponytail after he noticed the elastic on one of his wrists.

However, he kept signs of his real identity: two scars were visible on one side of his head. One started on his forehead and pursued until the middle of his cheek, jumping above his right eye. The other mark, more discreet, laid on his jaw and continued a bit on his neck. It looked better than the ones he had on his real body, less red and whiter, as if the healing went well. They weren’t as deep as before either. It only highlighted the color of his eyes instead of provoking the disgust and fear he was used to. However, with his face which seemed devoid of any emotion and his empty eyes were the only thing he could see once he faced the mirror. The scars only made him look like the monster he was.

Cas lifted his shirt but was slightly disappointed to see that the scars on his face were the only ones still covering his skin. The rest of his body was as good as new, fair and pale skin without even a bruise. He felt like a fucking baby. He understood that he wasn’t himself, not really, not without the scars. However, he kept a nice amount of muscles, and the black burnt tattoo placed under his pectoral. This stupid reminder which started to burn each time he thought about his past and them, each time they called him or ask him to obey. Without realizing it, his fingers were already tracing the letters and the numbers he knew by heart staining his bare chest.

He put back his shirt and turned to face the system which suddenly appeared next to him again. Provided that it wasn’t needed, the IA wouldn’t show itself. Cas didn’t really consider it to be human, even if the name it gave itself were so human-like.

“How much of my abilities can I display with this body?” Cas asked, a bit concerned.

“The main computer was not able to determine your strength yet. He will settle your statistics after a few tasks. I should advise you to not use your full strength if you want to be sure your body will not implode because of the pressure.”

Cas gritted his teeth. The situation around the target might not be this bad, but if it was, he hoped he could at list save him in his sacrifice. If he had to cross pass with one of them, he hoped that the minimum of his strength will be enough.

 “It is almost night. You should go to sleep.” The kid answered to the unspoken question Cas wanted to ask. “If you don’t feel like talking, you just need to ask something in your mind, and I answer. I do not read your mind if you do not allow the access.”

“What is the extent of your capabilities? What can I ask you to do?” Cas say without opening his mouth.

“I cannot do a lot, because I just was born today. I need energy to evolve. Right now, I can monitor people, and even if I cannot intervene in case of danger, I can warn you beforehand.”

The kid spoke with his mouth while Cas only had to think. Cas was relieved to see the faction he will surely join was this helpful to the workers. He frowned a bit, but he still looked as expressionless as ever.

“If I tell you to go to the target home and watch him for him, can you do it?”

“Not right now. We don’t know enough about him. I should at list know where he lives to infiltrate his home. Nobody except you can see or hear me.”

“Can you monitor my family then?”

“Only one person. I need to be there physically to see what they do. Please choose one member among them.”

“Forget it for now. We’ll start tomorrow. When you’re watching someone, how will you let me know about it?”

“A piece of paper will appear before you.”

“Good. Kiddo, what are your working hours? When do you need to rest?”

“Same as you. I am merely a robot, do not take me for those humans, I do not need to sleep. I’m your employee, so I will listen to everything you said, and will obey to every order, within the scale of my competences.”

Cas stood and opened the window to let fresh air spread into the room. The wind scratched his face. The cold invaded him. He blew to expel the chill out of his body, only to see vapor fading from his mouth. If Cas had to make a wild guess, he would say it was mild fall. The kid said earlier that it was Monday. It means that he will start school on Wednesday.

“I forgot to tell you something. There’s a welcome gift and a tip for you.”

As soon as the system calls it, two folding papers floated through the room, to end in Cas’s hands. He read the content of the first one.

Welcome gift : skill — herbs and poisons.

“Poison? Are they serious? Why do I need such a skill? If you want to kill someone you kill him face on, not with such underhanded means…”

“Poison are not only useful to kill. Maybe you’ll need it in a world you’ll cross. Do not be so narrow-minded.”

Cas disagreed, but didn’t show his discontentment. The paper lit up and disintegrated into particles which started floating in the room. They gathered and flew to hit Cas’s forehead. When he thought the sparkling dust would bump into his head, he absorbed it, and could feel knowledge invade his brain. He stayed in a daze while analyzing what he just learned: medicine, poisons, botanic knowledge. He felt like he could open a pharmaceutical shop without wasting his time in med school for years.

He unfolded the other piece of paper. There was only one sentence scribed on it. There are often more people in danger in the world than just one. Cas looked up to the kid, but his system wasn’t glancing at him back.

“Kid, you know what this is supposed to mean?”

He asked even though he already had an idea.

“452 told me that you do not trust anyone, including the higher-ups. The tips are not messages from them. If you do not want 452 to know about what is written on the paper, you should not talk about it with me. He has access to the information I hold and hope to block some of it because he doesn’t want the scientists to put their hands on it.”

So, 452 wanted to be secretive.

“Can the big-bosses intervene in this world?”

“Not that I know of. They probably can, but such a situation never happened before.”

“Can they have access to pieces of memory?”

The system seemed to think for a bit. It was the first time he didn’t know the answer. It was both unexpected and expected. But the system didn’t seem to understand what Cas thought, and didn’t ask. The higher-ups were really as secretive as they seemed to be. Better watch my back all the time then.

So. According to the IA, 452 tried to control the flow of information transmitted to the big bosses. But 452 had access to the information the system had and was the one who picked what he can or cannot give to the scientists. If Cas got information on them, should he tell the kid about it? Should he even assign tasks to his system which can bring him information on them? Should he only count on himself for this mission?

Kiddo said he was a robot, was he programmed? If so, was it possible for him to keep information from Cas if someone programmed him to do so? Could he even trust the little kid?

Fine; Cas decided. The kid will only work when there’s no other choice, and he’d only give him small mission. After the tip he got, Cas could guess that his mission would maybe concern other people than Jasper Wolf, so he will probably make the system work on this little possibility. Cas would control what he keeps from him or not. Maybe he’d even monitor him.

 “Can I trust you?”

It was a stupid question to ask. Cas didn’t know why he said it.

“Do you trust 452?” The system said instead of giving a direct answer.

“Do I look like someone who can trust a half body?”

It was a joke, but that was true. Even if 452 wasn’t what Cas supposed he’d be, it doesn’t mean they became best buddies overnight. Besides, Cas had a cautious nature. He was cold and distant and maybe a bit paranoid and didn’t want to get close from anyone. People were nothing more than a burden for him anyway. He was better on his own.

“452 is the one who programmed me.” The kid said, but it didn’t explain further.

Cas was used to be considered as a valuable tool. But he didn’t do anything yet. How did he gain such a status? Was it just because of his identity as a success? If that was the case, Cas couldn’t help but thing his future Boss was an idiot. If Cas could laugh, he would have.

“Are you sure you can’t read minds?”

“No such thing. You did not want me to be able to, so I cannot.”

Cas sighed and head to the window, deep in thought. He passed his head in the opening, turning his gaze on the sky. He climbed the desk, grabbed the quilt and stretched his arms, hold into the ledge of the roof, and pull to bring himself on the top of the house. Once he laid down on the tiles, he covered himself, and he gazed the stars. He was still cold, but there was nothing he could do to warm himself, not when he lost so many pieces of himself. The ones he gained in return couldn’t manage to make him feel otherwise.

“Kid, give me my memories. I’m ready.”

The AI didn’t appear again. While the image and feelings start submerging into his head, Cas stayed motionless, analyzing every detail. He stayed here until the sun goes up, without sleeping, to consider what he was going to do from now on. As soon as the city at his feet started waking up, he went back into his room, planning and asking himself how all of this was even possible.