Chapter Text
Cold nipped the dark-haired boy’s fingertips as the small gulps of air let out the only source of warmth left in his body. Staggering up the snow-fleeted hill was a struggle at best for the young child being dragged by an unknown figure. The boy tried to focus on the person man-handling him up the hill by pulling on his right arm but the howling winds did not let him see much aside from a large blob. The only thing the boy knew for certain was that he was cold, tired, sore and hungry. The large fur-trimmed coat did little to protect him from the harsh environment—it felt more like an accessory than functioning object.
Trying to catch his breath the young boy tried to pant out questions, “Who was he? Where were they? Why is it so cold? Where were they headed?” However the only thing to leave his chapped lips were tiny puff of breath and chattering teeth. The young boy wanted to slow down from the fast pace the figure ahead of him kept. Putting strength in his legs, the youth attempted to stop walking and tried to pull his arm back. The figure noticing the boy’s movement stilled and finally turned around to look at him.
Bright caramel eyes glared in defiance as his wobbling lips gave away his fear.
“I-I w-w-ant to st-stop”, the young boy chattered.
The figure said nothing.
“I-I’m c-c-old, h-hungry a-and t-t-ired”, the young boy continued his body shaking with anticipation of what the figure would do and the chill of the wind.
The figure took a step towards the young boy and the boy took a shaky step back sensing a menacing air around the blank figure.
The dark-haired youth could no longer follow the figures movements as pain exploded in his stomach and he dropped to his knees in the snow. The figure then gripped the youth by his hair and tilted his head up to glance at a face concealed by the hood of a similar coat and ski-glasses
“How dare you claim to want anything in this world, to have your desires listened to, when you do not have the power to do them yourself”, a feminine voice calmly replied. “Your life is no longer your own, will no longer be your own, you have a greater purpose now”.
The young youth could barely hear her voice over the pain in his body.
“If you want to blame anyone for the pain you are experiencing and will continue to—blame yourself for not being strong enough to break yourself out of your chains,” the woman’s cold voice rivaling the wind, said. “Now stand and walk, we still have a ways to go”, she commanded turning her back to the youth and began to walk ahead.
The young boy shakily stood up and followed the woman up the hill, muted silence in his head and he forced his body to keep up with the figure ahead of him. Although he wanted to stop and have his questions answered, he knew that going with her was better than staying out in this winter wonderland alone.
After what felt like hours, with the cold freezing his toes and turning the tips of his fingers red, the young boy saw a large silver oblong shape in the distance. The woman walking in front of him stopped.
“Boy”, she said, hair back still turned from the dark-haired youth. “If you want to break your chains you’ll need power. In our world power is power, don’t forget that. If you want to live you first need to survive. In order to survive you need to have a reason to live. Following me even in immense pain displays your want to survive but now you will go through trials that will try to break you. You will not break, you will bend, mold yourself into anything that they need so that you can break these shackles”. The boy trudged forward to hear her better as the wind blew the woman’s words into soft whispers.
The boy jumped in fright as the woman quickly turned around. Her steps were strong and sure as she came closer to the boy.
“You won’t understand why I am saying this until later but we don’t have time—they won’t give you time”, she bit out crouching to the boy’s eyesight. “For now remember this, you will be tested, everything they will put you through is intended to break you, to create a perfect weapon no matter if you fail or pass, they will have the perfect soldier, even if it is not you. But it will be you, you won’t break, you’ll survive because you want to live”.
The young boy could only stare at the woman in front of him.
“W-w-why are you t-telling me t-this”, he mumbled tightening his body as if preparing to be hurt again remembering the last time he asked a question.
The woman in front of him raised her ski-glasses and pierced him with steel brown eyes.
“As I’ve said earlier, your life is no longer your own”, she replied before putting the ski-glasses back over her eyes and facing her back once again to the boy. “ You are expected and will do well, my successor”. The woman then began to walk towards the silver building.
The woman led the boy to the front of what looked like steel-plated gates around the large building. After the woman placed her hands on what looked like a regular part of the metal gate, a soft beep could be heard before revealing a door to the boy’s right.
“Go in” the woman directed and followed the boy from behind.
Inside white walls greeted the young boy and hard marble did little to soften his steps as he anxiously walked inside the new environment.
“At least it’s warm inside” the boy thought before the woman grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.
“We’re here,” she said as the boy looked in confusion at what looked like a blank wall.
The woman placed her right hand against the wall to reveal another door. This room was similar to the hallway of white walls and marble floors, the only difference being larger and having occupants in the room.
The boys looked close to age from the body sizes and had the same look of shock or discomfort on their faces. The dark-haired boy counted eight boys in the room and each also had their own adults hovering near them. Half of the boys were being led to line up against a wall. The other half noticeably more exhausted and looking half-dead were slumped along another wall.
“Agent R”, a man’s voice with a strange accent to the boy boomed around the room, “We were wondering if yours was going to make it”.
The young boy turned to the source of the noise. His eyesight was engulfed by what looked like a large boulder in the same fur-trimmed coat and ski-glasses as the woman beside him. His hood was also up but his lips could not hide a feral grin as he walked toward them.
Agent R, or the woman next to him simply ignored the man, walking in the opposite direction dragging the boy with her. The dark-haired youth took the time to look closely at the other children. They all looked just as cold and tired as he was. Most eyes looked vacant staring ahead as they were lined up against a wall—the same wall the woman was walking him to.
Sensing the boy tense, the woman simply gave him a warning squeeze, not breaking her stride in the least. The boy still sore from the harsh winds and punch to the solar plexus bit his lips as alarm bells were ringing in his mind.
“What was happening”, he thought as he was lined up next to another boy. “What are they going to do?”
“Agent R, why are you being colder than the weather?” The same booming voice asked the woman in front of him. The boulder-looking man from earlier had followed them across the room.
“Why aren’t you with your assignment”, the woman replied, still not looking at the man.
The Boulder looking man’s grin took a meaner streak and glanced slightly to the boys against the wall.
“I knew mine’s wouldn’t make it as soon as I saw ‘em”, the man replied “Besides I’m too young for a successor anyway”.
“Careful, one might think you might be the reason he did not make it this far”, the woman’s clipped voice said sending a small chill through the young boy. The dark-haired youth took a quick glance at the man next to the woman who brought him in. “If I got hit by him instead of her, I don’t know if I would still be able to walk”, the young boy thought taking in the burly exterior of the man in front of him.
“Careful, from the way everyone that you have under you breaks, one would think we are in the same boat”, the large man quipped amused.
The young boy carefully blinked as he cleared his mind, not wanting to hear anymore. He knew he didn’t know the woman but to think he was one of many that “broke” stirred uneasiness in his stomach. The woman told him not to break but did not mention this information was given to who knows how many others and they still “broke” anyways.
The woman did not sat anything for a moment.
“I demand absolute perfection in a successor— this one won’t fail me”, she calmly replied still facing to the young boy. The man next to next to her kept grinning taking a quick glance of the boy in front of him, already sizing him up as another failure for Agent R.
The dark-haired boy clenched his frozen fingers swearing to himself that he would live despite what the man in front of him deemed him unworthy of.
A sudden sounds of large footsteps and the flash of lights from a newly opened door introduced another pair of individuals into the room. Another boy and an adult entered. Instead of walking the boy was thrown over the shoulder of the adult before being haphazardly placed against the wall of other slumped boys.
“Ten out of fifty made it inside the room and only five are still able to stand”, the burly man mused, his grin still in place. “How many do you think will actually make it graduation?” He asked the woman next to him.
The woman did not reply.
“Actually how many will make it past th—“ the man started before a large horn interrupted him.
“Stand”, a robotic voice stated. After a few tense moments the voice repeated itself. The boys on the opposite wall from the young boy were unresponsive. The dark-haired youth looked over at the helpless kids across the room. “Even if they wanted to, they can’t stand”, he thought glancing at the weak bodies and hopeless expressions.
The boy’s air was sucked out of his lungs as he saw new adults enter the room dragging the slumping boys away.
Feeling stupid rather than brave, the young boy attempted the move from the line.
“Stay”, the woman commanded him, her voice eerily similar to the biting tone after she hit him before.
“Where are they taking them—why are you doing this?” The boy yelled before white hot pain branded side of his face. Feeling something wet on his chin the boy felt his face discovering a split lip. The woman’s face betrayed nothing. For some inexplicable reason, he felt ashamed as his face grew hot both from the pain and shame. The woman’s words filled his head, “How dare you claim to want anything in this world, to have your desires listened to, when you do not have the power to do them yourself”. The boy’s eyes felt as hot as his face, welling with tears. How could he hope to save them, to ask questions, when he himself could not break free of the same imprisonment?
“At least he can listen with a little discipline,” the boulder-man said grin cemented on his face.
The young boy could only watch as the slumped boys were taken away, heart growing heavier with every boy the strange adults pulled away.
“Check the rest”, the robotic voice clipped.
The woman in front of him quickly forced his eyes open and whipped a flashlight out, from where he did not know, and began blinding him with the light. The boy did not know what she was checking for but sent a silent prayer to whatever god should listen, that she would not find it. After a stripping his outwear and shoes followed by fingers down his throat that left him sore with gagging, he was apparent cleared by the woman.
“Daffodil—defective” a man to his far left reported as the child in front of him looked vacant, his eyes no longer shining any light of life. The strange adults that cleared the other boys away returned to the room, grabbing “Daffodil”, leading the child out the room.
“Then there were four”, the Boulder-man surmised.
“Operation rooms are ready”, the robotic voice reported as the walls behind the boys opened revealing a larger room filled with a plethora of operating tables.
“Welcome Flowers, By perfecting your body through this surgery, you will be paying us back with your entire existence. The next time you open your eyes, you will be trained to absolute perfection. You are no longer unfortunate souls who had an unfavorable start in life. You are now agents, a tool for international affairs and beings of absolute perfection,” the robotic voice stated.
Feeling a prick in his neck, he could only glance at this strange cold woman sticking a string in him. Her ski-glasses reflecting the confused and betrayed look of his own reflection. Black shadows overwhelmed his vision as he felt himself slump into her arms. His only thoughts self-admonishing himself for still trusting this woman enough to feel betrayed.