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Literature Text
"Sins of the Past."
Through the Eyes of two Directors and Trainee within the Agency. A Backstory of a Lost Child.
"How was your training today, Jonatan?" the greying haired Logan asked as he along with his young watch donning a trainee uniform walked his office.
"Tiring," the child groaned. Though it was clear to the old Agent that he was lying.
It had been over two years since Logan rescued Jonatan from his home world, now long dead and under quarantine. The old man had since retired from fieldwork as an active Agent and retired to desk duty within the Board Administration, especially given his long record of experience and rank as a Veteran Agent. However his worries over Jonatan's new regimen continued to gnaw at him. Nonetheless, he tried to smile. As much as he disapproved, he didn't want to give the child even more reason to be bitter.
"Well, take a rest in my office for the time being, Jonatan. I've got some books for you to read as well if you like."
Jonatan smiled slightly to his foster guardian. "Ja, I like that."
That was something Logan's daughter, Dahila told him about. The child had taken a huge interest to literature after he learnt how to read and write in both of his mother languages. While Jonatan was illiterate before the aging man rescued him, since then, he was more likely to spend time reading books about literature, history and culture. It still astounded him just how much he had taken to education and literature like a fish onto water.
If just for that, he wondered as the two entered the office whether Jonatan's better off as a scholar than another weapon for his fellow Agents.
The office itself was a modest sized one with a back room where his desk was so that he and more specifically his watch could have some privacy while staying nearby to him. The carpeting and general aesthetic indeed look more out of the 1950s than the rest of the place. Just as he liked it.
"Dahila also brought over your notebooks to study, kid. Along with that Harry Potter novel you asked," Logan told the young boy as he sat down on the long red couch that was just recently added to his office's back room.
Jonatan smiled before a yawn. "Do you think I should start learning English? Sophia's father told me that English is an important...international language in Europe, I think and... and...everywhere else in that world!"
This surprised Logan. Especially by how fast Jonatan was catching up with this kind of knowledge.
"Perhaps another time," he smiled as he glanced. "For now, it's better to savor a good book."
Jonatan nodded, yawning again as he covered his mouth.
"Can you...read it to me, Logan?" he asked. Looking drowsier by the minute.
"Of course," the old man smiled as he grabbed the Harry Potter novel from the table. Jonatan laying down on the couch next to Logan before eventually drifting away asleep. With a quiet smile, he stood up and rested the young boy's head on a pillow before putting a blanket over him.
But as he quietly closed the door to the back room, leaving a small gap instead of fully closing it, Logan soon heard a knock on his office door.
"Christ. Come in."
Entering inside his office was a man that Logan rather loathed to see.
"I should have known."
"Hey hey, Log'! Its been a while since I've seen you," the tall man greeted the old Austrian man with a smirk.
Alexander B. Quibble, the current Director for Operations Board. And an old rival of Logan in their younger years when he first started off in the Agency. A military man, Alexander came from a long line of distinguished officers back in the world where he was from. Though this current Quibble lacked the honor of his forefather.
"I'm not in the mood for small talk, Alex," he frowned in his accented English. "So out with it. What is it that you want now!"
Alexander simply smirked. "I simply want to say hi and hello to you, that's all. We haven't exactly seen each other a lot since you transferred to desk job work in the Administration wards, Loggy~"
"Don't call me that!" Logan glared at him. "And if this is about Jonatan's training, he's had enough for the week."
The visiting cocky Director grinned. "Oh right Jonatan! Yes, I'm here to say by - how impressed I was of Jonatan's progress. He's gone further than any kid I've ever seen before! Well, despite that awful incident when those two nasty boys poured cranberry sauce on top of him-"
"What do you want from Jonatan?"
"Potential!" he beamed. "That kid has spunk, pal. The potential in him is immense!"
"It is," Logan sneered. "For scholarship!"
Alexander snorted before laughing it off. "Oh, you're too funny, Log'! That kid's not gonna waste his life reading books! That kid is the full package! To be one of the best, if not THE best Agent this Agency may ever have! Well Logan, as one of the head instructors for new recruits to the Agency, I suggest that Jonatan advances up to the higher level of training. Self-defense, special combat missions-"
"I agreed only because it's for his well-being!" he snapped. "This kid isn't some damn weapon!"
Alexander simply shook his head, "Oh Logan, have you already forgotten how the Agency operates, especially with how it treats its staff?"
"Ja. But not from the likes of you!" Logan sneered. "I've already told you. Jonatan will not be part of any special training!"
"Oh come on! I know you're a softy when it comes with little kiddos but Jonatan's of fighter material. You're wasting his potential-"
"I know what the kid is capable of! But he will not be used as a weapon for you to fiddle around with." Logan snapped angrily at his former rival.
"Weapon? Who says that the kid's a weapon? All I'm saying is that you're denying the kid his true destiny! He could become one of the best, if not THE best of us all!" Alexander exclaimed with a smug smirk. "Unless of course, YOU'RE the one whose using the kid for whatever purpose you have in mind for him."
This caused a nerve within Logan and caused him to slam his fist on his desk. "GET OUT! GI CALL SECURITY!" He snapped loudly at Alexander.
Thee visitor stepped back a bit by the old Austrian's angry demands before eventually backing towards the door with his hand up to Logan.
"Alright, old friend. But you're denying the kid's calling! Mark my words!"
Once the door closed, Logan slumped down on his seat behind his desk with a heavy sigh before grumbling under his breath.
"Ungrateful, intrusive imbecile..."
Inside the back room through the small crack of the open book, Jonatan was still wide awake and heard all of the commotion between his foster carer and the Director. Sitting up slightly, he grabbed his bag that sat near the long red couch and took out one peculiar history book.
"The History of the Habsburg Empire."
It was a picture book that he saw inside a bookstore back in his adoptive world's Vienna. When Dahila first brought a copy of it home, Logan forbade him from reading it or any related books. But as much as he did not want to disobey his foster carer, curiosity took the better of him.
He wondered how Logan would react if he find out.
---
The next day, inside the classrooms of the Training Academy. It was end of the day for these young students. Within this class, most of the students and soon-to-be Agents were around 13 or 14 years old. Most had parents, relatives or family friends who were already working for the Agency. Many of young students would later go on to be field Agents or Operators in the Operation Board while others would go on to enter into Research, Technology or even the Medical Departments.
Jonatan packed all of his school belongings into his backpack as his other classmates made their way out of the classroom. He was then stopped by the teacher before he could step out of the classroom.
"Jonatan. Can you stay back after school for a while?"
The young boy shimmered a bit, "D-Did I do something wrong?"
"No, of course not." The teacher shook her head, "There is a special guest who would like to see you. Would you mind waiting here until our guest comes?"
Jonatan hesitated for a moment before he quietly nodded.
"Good. You may take a seat, Jonatan."
He nodded once more and took a seat at the front the teacher left the classroom, leaving Jonatan by himself. A few minutes soon passed and the "special guest" had not turned up yet. Jonatan then took his bag up onto the table and grabbed out that the Habsburg History bag. He began to read it, flipping through the pages of words and images of maps and people. He soon reached a certain chapter in the history book.
"1867..." He muttered quietly to himself.
"Wat'cha reading there, sport?"
Jonatan almost jumped from his seat and quickly closed the history book in his hand before he looked up towards the classroom door. A tall man stood bu the door in a crisp military-like uniform with the inklings of the Agency. Combed greying hair and a cheeky grin, Alexander entered inside the room, grabbing a chair before sitting right across from Jonatan.
"You must be Jonatan, ah? I'm Alexander Quibble, how are you doing kiddo?" The Director put his hand out to the startled young boy.
At first, Jonatan was very hesitant. Looking down at Alexander's hand and back up to his face with a strange look but he returned the gesture. He recognised the man's voice though, from yesterday after he overheard the argument between him and his foster carer.
"N-Nice to meet you...Herr Quibble."
Alexander grinned to the young boy, "Please call me, Alexander. I heard quite a lot about you, Jonatan. You have quite a talent!"
"Um...d-danke?"
The Director chuckled before he leaned closer to the young boy. "Now, I bet you're wondering why I'm here, yes? Well kid, I have some great news for you! You see, few of my colleagues in the Board are quite impressive by your report card here in the Academy."
"T-They...were?" The young boy frowned slightly.
"Of course! Top in the class in the brains, technical knowledge...more so on the field too! Heck, you're faster, stronger and smarter than any other kids here that ever set foot here! You got the stuff kid to become one of the best, if not THE best in this Agency!" Alexander exclaimed excitingly, as he praised at Jonatan's incredible abilities.
For Jonatan however, deep down he felt unsettled by this. Even as he tried to ignore this feeling buried at the deepest part of his mind.
The boastful Director was not done just yet, "Anyway, as the Director of Recruitment and Operations, I am about to offer you a special program we could say, that especially designed for kids and other people like you."
Jonatan slowly nodded.
Alexander simply gave him a wide grin as he stood up from his seat. "Well kiddo, follow me then."
The young boy did so as he grabbed his bag and followed the tall man out of the classroom door as he slipped his history book back into the backpack.
---
Back in the HQ Complex.
Logan was hosting his old friend and former field partner, Catherine Kimberly after she brought over a few report files for Logan to see. The two long-time friends were sitting around the old Austrian's desk over some coffee with Logan grumbling.
"Alexander just doesn't know where to put his limits! Even after that one serpent incident that almost got us killed back when we were still on the Field...didn't you remember that too, Catherine?!" The greying Austrian frowned as he pressed his fuming head.
The British woman quietly sighed with a frown as she placed his cup of coffee back on the saucepan in her hands, "I'm surprised that they didn't expel him after that..."
"I'm surprised that he was allowed into the Board Administration at all!" Logan fumed. "A Director to boot!"
"Alex' has been part of the Administration much longer than you did. Not to mention that he has many connections across the Administration. Mainly through his family name." Catherine simply nodded.
Logan shook his head, "I swear Catherine. That man always find an easy way to get what he wants! One of these days, his ego and ambition is gonna land him into trouble!"
"Well, you have more 'honour' than he does, Logan." Catherine assured him. "More credibility as well, given your long record on Field."
Logan let out a very strained sigh as he rubbed his face. He looked down at his wrist watch for a moment to check on the time. "I wonder what's taking Jonatan's so long. The kid should be back by now."
"Come to think of, I've heard Alexander took the afternoon off from work," she remarked with a frown. "I was supposed to be having a meeting with him in regards to the welfare of the new recruits but then I was told on the last minute that he cancelled it."
It was then that it hit Logan. He suddenly stood up from his desk with a fuming look and stormed out of his office. "That son of a bitch!"
"Logan, where are you going?!" Catherine quickly followed her angry friend.
---
Jonatan felt intimidated when he and Alexander entered the gymnasium of the Academy. Already present were two instructors in strange attire and the floor was set up to look like some kind of crash course.
"Well then," the older man grinned as he clasped his hands together. "Let's show the Agency what you're made of, sport! Now, I'll like to introduce you to Instructors Magnum and Omegon. They are instructors from the Primarch Program."
"Prim...Primarch?"
"The Primarch Program is the highest training programs here in the Agency for special-gifted trainees such as yourself, kiddo! Magnum and Omegon would just like to see if your reputation does in fact proceed you as they say. But I have all the confidence you'll blow those expectations sky high!"
The child nodded as one of the instructors came forward to the young boy.
"Jonatan Herz, yes? How this course will work is that, you must finish this obstacles in the fastest time until you capture the red flag. Understood?"
Jonatan nodded. "Ja!"
"I must caution though. These are primed for candidates at their prime, and can do grievous harm if you're too careless. If what is claimed is true, I hope those fears aren't founded."
Jonatan tensed up a bit before shaking his head. He couldn't show weakness now. He settled his bag and book down on the side before he was led away towards the start of the crash course.
The instructor nodded. "When you are ready."
With a stopwatch ready, Jonatan readied himself on the starting position before the horn was blown. As he jumped through the first set of obstacles, the young boy's abilities and seemingly unnatural speed and quick reflexes were evident. With seemingly no effort, he manage to dodge every single barrier thrown at him. Even with the crash course becoming harder and more difficult as he went along, Jonatan's able to run, jump and slide through with ease. Even most trained Agents older than him could not do the same level of professional skills as he could. Not in the same amount of time.
All to Alexander's amazement and delight. "Yes!" he grinned. "Keep it up, sport!"
Jonatan climbed up to the highest platform, the most difficult part of the crash course yet. He could see the finish line. All he needed to do was just to catch the red flag at the end in which he would have to jump and swing above three meters from the gymnasium floor. There were safety nets and blocks below. The young boy dashed his way through, leaping off from the sudden falling floor blocks below his feet and hopping onto a set of bars before lunging onto a swing rope. But with each new challenge, it was becoming more and more straining even for him.
As he was about to reach the flag of the finish line, something suddenly snapped through Jonatan's mind. He lost his grip of the swing rope. Neither were his feet onto the next high platform and left him falling a good two metres onto the net below.
Much to Alexander's disappointment.
Just as the doors burst open. "ALEXANDER!"
"Calm down Logan," a woman's voice pleaded.
The Director and the two Primarch instructors turned around to find a fuming red-faced Logan shooting a death glare at Alexander as he stomped his way inside, Catherine trying in vain to calm her long time friend down.
"You and I already discussed this! You cannot have Jonatan join into your little program, bastard!" the aging Austrian spat on him. "He's MY child. Not yours!"
"That child has potential!" he snapped, coming across more as a whine than anything. "And look what you did! The kid lost focus!"
Logan fumed as he resisted the urge to strangle the man before turning away to retrieve Jonatan from the safety net.
Catherine stepped in, however after a heavy sigh. "Mister Quibble, do you have a very reasonable explanation for all this?! Especially after cancelling the meeting we're supposed to have!"
"Of course I do," he beamed. "It's to give kids like Jonatan a chance to prove themselves as valuable assets to our organization. This isn't a charity we're running here, after all!"
"We're not guns for hire either, Quibble!" Logan fumed as he helped Jonatan out of the safety help. "Are you alright, kiddo?"
The young boy nodded, only to wince with a headache.
"My head hurts," he murmured. "I-I don't know what's happening..."
"Children are not conscripts. We're an intelligence agency. Not a military force!" Catherine reminded the Director. "And I doubt the higher ups want some wannabe wanker of a Director doing things behind their backs!"
"What? I'm doing no such thing, Mrs. Kimberly!" Alexander shrugged with his hands up. "I just like to see what the kid can do! So don't worry so much."
"As one of the senior heads of the Medical and Welfare Department, it's my job to do just that for all recruits' welfare," Catherine retorted before being cut off by Logan.
"Don't pull that damn routine on me, Alexander! This has always been about that damn promotion!"
"What? Who says anything about promotion? I'm just helping people find their true potential. Unlike you!"
Logan gritted his teeth, fuming before turning away from the cocky Director. He grabbed Jonatan's hand and his bag. "Come on kid. I think we have enough of this loon for today."
The child was pulled away from the gymnasium by his fuming foster carer. "O-Okay."
Walking through the campus courtyard towards the exit, Jonatan held onto his backpack and trailed behind his foster carer, who was still fuming about the what Alexander tried to do with him.
"Is it true?"
"Hmm?" Logan stopped suddenly before turning to the young boy. "About what, kiddo?"
"That...I'm being used as a weapon?"
The old man sighed. "Look, kid. So long as I'm around, no one's gonna make you into one. I promise."
It was then he noticed what was inside Jonatan's bag, particularly that peculiar history book. Jonatan froze when Logan reached in and took the History of the Habsburg Empire book out from his bag.
"I figured you'd gain an interest in this one of these days. Just not so...soon."
Jonatan paused for a moment, looking down. "So...you're not mad at me?"
"A bit, I admit," he shrugged. "It couldn't be helped. I can't stop the search for truth and all that. But I gotta warn you. This book marks just a small step down a difficult road."
Jonatan nodded before he was handed the history book back.
"Now c'mon, kiddo. You must be tired." Logan held his hand out to the kid. The young boy reached out to him before the pair made their way back to the HQ Complex.
"And don't worry," Logan added with a smile. "No one's leaving you behind. Not even on this, kid."
---
Back inside Logan's office, the old Austrian man made sure that Jonatan was comfortable in the backroom of his office. He made a few more refurbishments to make the room more cosy for the young boy. Blankets, pillows and even a nice mug of hot chocolate he could get in their adopted world's version of Austria.
"Feeling a bit better, Jonatan?"
"A bit...but my head still hurts..." The young kid nodded after a sip of his hot chocolate mug. "Do you think I'll find answers in that book?"
Both the kid and the old man looked over to the history book of the Habsburgs on the table next to the kid's backpack. Logan sighed as he picked it up. "Like I said, it's a small step. But those steps are important to dig into the deeper things. I have to admit though, kid. The Danube is beautiful..."
Jonatan looked up to his foster carer. Before being ruffled by his hair.
"I'll be at front for you ever need me, ja? I'll just be doing some paperwork."
The child nodded as he took the book from the old man. Once Logan had left the room, Jonatan opened the book up once more to the last page he was reading. Ausgliech. 1867. The "Compromise," so it seemed between the two most powerful nations in the Danube.
The first part looked like the ruling Emperor of the time proclaiming the new union on the stairs of St. Stephen's Cathedral. Inside the old church however, it seemed like a wedding was taking place. Jonatan leaned his head closer as he examined the scene. Reading through, he turned the page to the coronation of Francis Joseph I and his wife, Elisabeth Amalie. The date printed above however, was his own birthday. At first, he thought it was simply a coincidence. But deep down, he felt something else. As if that date was much more important than he knew.
In the background meanwhile, he noticed something very peculiar. Of the many guests featured in the royal garments and dresses of the period, there were two figures that caught his eye. As he looked closer, he almost dropped the book in shock.
He knew them.
"Mama...Papa?" he whispered out to himself. Just as his head started to ache again, only this time it was much more painful. "Can't be!"
He dropped the book with a large groan. As his head pounded harder, Jonatan held a pillow over his head and buried himself under the rest of the cushions and blankets.
"Bitte...stop..." His memories and emotions stirring and threatened to overwhelm his mind once more. "T-That couldn't be them! They..."
He suddenly gasped sharply when he felt his mind snap and suddenly his conscience takes him back to the days of his grim childhood.
[flashback]
Jonatan, in his old, worn uniform of his old prison, was back in that old grey wide cell of chains and red stains on the floor and walls. In front of him was a battered, thin woman, her hands chained up above her as she laid on the ground pathetically. Her hair covered her bruised face as she was coughing out blood.
"Nein...NEM, NEM!"
The woman cringed as she tried to raise her head. He immediately recognised her face. A woman who befriended him in this prisoner. Even in her broken state, he could still see a slight glimmer of that warmth and compassion she showed to him. Now she was being punished for showing humanity to him, and Jonatan was made to be her punishment.
Jonatan stepped back, only to have his back hit another stranger. Who in return grabbed him by his shoulder forcefully with a rusty taser close to his neck.
"NEIN," he screamed, resisting the pain. "LET ME GO!"
"Go ahead, 005! Show what that abomination of a whore deserves!" The man threatened him. "You're a soldier, a machine! So kill her! She means nothing!"
"NEIN! I WON'T DO IT!!" Jonatan screamed out. He was then suddenly shoved onto the ground hard before he felt a shock of electric pain on his back.
"I'll say it one last time, 005. Destroy that abomination at once! Or are you as worthless as her?"
The boy winced as he tried to stand up. He looked up at the chained woman.
"I-I'll understand," she whispered with a weak smile. "Do what has t-to be done."
There was a sudden urge going through Jonatan's mind and body. As much as he wanted to resist. With one tear shed in his eye.
"I'm sorry..."
In unnatural speed, the young boy suddenly got up and his hand onto the woman's neck. In a snap of a second, she drew her last breath. Once he let go, Jonatan stood still. He felt suddenly very numb as that urge died down, along with the woman's life. The figure behind him held him by the shoulder.
"Excellent, 005. You'll make a fine weapon for our cause and salvation."
Only for that man to suddenly be grabbed by Jonatan before the young boy began to choke him to his death.
"You will never use me...AGAIN!"
....onatan..... Jonatan..... JONATAN!!
[flashback ends]
The child got up, sweating in shock. "L-Logan," he stammered.
"Gott," he sighed in relief. "That scared me, kid!"
Jonatan stared at his foster father. Breathing heavily in shock as his eyes started to get teary. "I'm...I'm not a weapon, right?"
"Nein," he shook his head. "Never, Jonatan."
Logan came over to the boy's side and scooped him up into a comforting hug. Jonatan buried his face on his carer's suit jacket.
"They still hurt," He muffled in tears. "I can still...hear...feel them..."
Logan cooed him down as he did his best to comfort him. Looking down at the history book on the floor, showing the page of the Coronation marking the beginnings of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. "It'll be alright, Jonatan. It'll be alright..."
---
Sitting in his office, Director Alexander Q. Gribble looked through his holograhic screen projecting from his desk, searching through files from the Agency's official Archive. On one side of the screen were the profile reports and evaluation results from the Training Academy on a certain recruit: Jonatan Herz. The man was certain that there was more to that kid than it seemed. That somehow, Logan was keeping him from the truth.
"A boon for me if I could find out what that answer is," he mused with a grin.
Much of the young boy's official profile-file was trivia, most of the information he already know. So he decided to go into the Archive's more confidential sections in which they keep a much detailed information and intelligence. As a Director, Alexander has the privilege perks to bypass most of the Archive's security to access to these documents. But with each passing minute however, he grew more impatient.
"Whoever this kid is, he must be important! Security code U-0N1-spartan. Access to documents on "Jonatan Herz." He commanded to his holograhic screen.
The screen projected in front calculated through as it tried to access files, only for it to suddenly go red. "[Access denied]" The computer A.I. said.
"Repeat," he groaned. "Security code U-0N1-spartan! UN-0N1-spartan! Work, damn it!"
But again and again, "[Access denied.]"
Alexander groaned. "Fucking hell. Verify file's security status!"
"[Verifying information on file's security encryption.......Security Level S-05. Requires executive confidential permission from the Board Administration.]"
"Level S, huh?" Alexander remarked. That could only mean that the kid definitely was given special treatment of sorts to have that much high security level on his file.
"I wonder if there's a way to get around it?" he grumbled. "Interrogation?" he thought to himself, but quickly dismissed it. That would require a more drastic situation for that option to be viable. He knew that Logan was out of the question, that man was far too protective of the kid. Hacking into the Archive system was simply impossible for most personnel. On the other hand, he did know a few associates who now work in the Medical Department's administration boards.
Alexander pressed on his desktop holographic screen to his contacts. He scrolled through the list, looking for someone. Pressing one contact name, Alexander waited until the call went through.
"[Hello? Oh hey, Alex! It's been a while, unless its something important,]" a medical officer and one of Alexander's old associates answered.
"Hey bud. Say, can you do me a favor?" Alexander asked as he slouched on his seat. "I just need to learn more about this Jonatan kid. Seems like a promising sport."
"[Jonatan? You mean Herz's kid? Well, he's something, I'll tell you that. Caused a bit of a stir when he first appeared here.]"
"Do tell, bud."
The medical associate over at the video call raised an eyebrow to Alexander. "[You mean you don't know? That's a first!]"
"Know what, pal?!" he groaned. "Come on, out with it!"
"[That child is the last of his kind! Whatever happened to him made him into something more than human! And because of that, from what I heard, he's badly traumatised by the whole ordeal. Ever since Mister Logan rescued him 2 years ago.]"
Alexander's mind however burst with excitement. "More than human...Go on, pal. Tell me more!"
"[Well, all I know is that there's been some rumours saying that this Jonatan kid was used as a child solider for some kind of experiment in his home world. It's all lodged up in his file though. But if it's so important, perhaps I could pull a few strings. But it'll be tricky, with all those security locks regarding that one particular kid. Heck, I even heard that computers weren't able to identify what species the kid is! The best even Mrs. Kimberly could do is "human" with an asterisk. But you didn't hear all that from me!]"
Which made Alexander even more intrigued about Jonatan. "Of course. It's just between us. Just do what's to be done, and I promise, it'll be all worth it." The man grinned. "Trust me, pal. Soon, I'll be the one running this place!"
---
Two days later, in the Training Academy campus grounds.
One thing was clear and that Jonatan was not a very sociable type of person. He was awkward and very quiet at best when it came to socialising with his classmates and peers. Unlike the other kids, he preferred to be alone and with books. He found a quiet corner outside where he could read while eating his lunch under the shade of a tall tree, near the fountain at the center of the campus grounds. He could see in the distance other kids talking and playing amongst themselves. Deep down, Jonatan knew that he could never have that same experience as them.
"At least their lives are peaceful," he sighed.
Back in his home world, growing up he hardly met or seen another kid in the small community of survivors. When he was in the warlords' care, he was purposefully isolated from any human contact other than his minders and the people who experimented on him. To use him for-
"Nein! Stop thinking of that!" he snapped at himself internally. "That's all in the past! Ja. All in the past..."
Jonatan headed back to the classrooms alongside with his peers, until he was stopped by one of the teachers. "Jonatan," the adult whispered. "Looks like there's someone who likes to talk."
The child nodded as he turned towards the direction the teacher pointed to. He walked down the hall, only to frown upon seeing who it was.
"Great seeing you again, kid!" Alexander beamed.
"Oh. Hi, Herr Quibble..."
"Why the long face, pal?"
Alexander smiled and let his hand out towards Jonatan. Only for him to step back before he could reach for his shoulder.
"Logan told me that I shouldn't be seeing you anymore."
"Well, he's been keeping quite a few things away from you. And I can help in finding them out!"
This however only made Jonatan even more suspicious about this man. "I don't think I...want to know." He stepped back away from Alexander. "I-I...should be back in class. And I don't think you would want to find out too!"
"Kid, there's nothing to be worried about!"
"That's because you don't know anything about me!" Jonatan suddenly snapped at him before he ran off.
"Wait, Jonatan!" he shouted before mumbling to himself. "Dammit. Better go to plan B then."
As he returned back to his class, Jonatan excused himself before taking his seat at the corner back of the room. One of his classmates, Hilda momentarily glanced over to him and noticed how upset Jonatan looked.
"Hey, are you okay?" She whispered to him.
"I-I'm fine," he lied with a forced grin. "I'm just fine!"
"That doesn't sound fine," she frowned and pointed out at his tears.
Jonatan quickly wiped them away once he did before turning back to the class taking place. Hilda softly sighed with a hint of concern before paying attention to the teacher.
"It's not bad to tell others, you know," she whispered.
There was no response from Jonatan as the class continued.
---
"Hey Jonatan, right?" Hilda once again approached the shy boy after class finished for the day.
It was the last day for the trainees before their mid-term break from studies over Christmas. Most kids returning back with their parents elsewhere in the Hub Sanctuary or to their home worlds.
Still, he managed to smile at the girl. "That's right...I think," he sighed.
The young girl, returned the gesture with a hint of amusement. "Are you doing anything over the winter break?"
"Me? Um, nothing much actually. Other than studying," Jonatan admittedly sighed. "W-What are you doing during your break, Hilda?"
"Probably going skiing. It's almost Christmas anyway so I'll probably be visiting family here and there," Hilda shrugged. "You doing any family gatherings over the Christmas break?"
"Ja!" he nodded. "It's Logan's idea though. I'm still getting used to it."
"Getting used to it?" Hilda raised an eyebrow, rather confused.
"I'm...actually adopted," Jonatan admitted with a whisper. "I didn't even have Christmas breaks before."
Hilda looked very surprised before eventually putting out a smile. "Well, I suppose there's a first time in everything, ja?" She then heard someone calling out to her from the distance amongst the crowd of students and parents. "Oh that's my dad. I should get going now. Auf Wiedersehen!"
Jonatan waved goodbye to her with a slight smile as he watched her go off with who he figured was her father. Looking around at the other kids along with their mothers and fathers, he remembered a distant time when he too had parents. Real ones.
With a heavy heart and mind, Jonatan dragged his feet away and headed back towards the HQ on his own. The last thing he needed was to be reminded of a world that no longer existed.
As he walked towards the portal pads that would lead him to the HQ Complex, he asked the teleport A.I. to take him there. Only to suddenly sense that something was wrong when the green light he stood flickered and with a light glow, teleported him away elsewhere.
"N-NEM!"
When he reappeared, Jonatan felt a shock before blacking out.
---
When Jonatan regained his conscience, he found himself in a very unfamiliar. His trainee uniform had changed to a set of black training clothes. "W-Where am I?! What's g-going on?!"
"Welcome Jonatan!" a familiar voice bellowed from an invisible loudspeaker. "I had to pull a few strings, but it's important that this be done!"
"Herr Quibble!" Jonatan gasped. "W-What do you want from me?! Just let me go back to-"
"Now now Jonatan," The voice of Alexander burst through the loud speakers. "This is for the good of all of us! Time to show us all that famed power. Seems like your name is quite a legend in those old battlefields. Now go! Let that soldier come back to life!"
Then out of nowhere, bright white lights lit up above Jonatan, blinding him for a moment. When his vision adjusted, Jonatan found himself standing in the middle of a very, very large white room. Almost like a stadium. A few meters above were a set of viewing windows along the tall high wall.
"I don't want to do this!" Jonatan shouted out.
However that seemed to fall on deaf ears. The platform around him suddenly became active with a series of grindlines around the whole room shaping itself into what looked like an abandoned industrial complex.
"It'll all be over soon, kid!" Alexander bellowed. "Promise! Just do this and we can all go home!"
"But do you want me to do?!" Jonatan cried.
"We're just running a few...trial runs that's all! To see what you're really capable of doing!"
Just as three figures in the shape of soldiers appeared from the simulated ground.
"Let us begin, shall we kid?"
Jonatan gasped. The three simulated soldiers, unarmed, instantly charged towards him from different directions. With little hesitation he grabbed the lead soldier and with no effort managed to throw him against the other two. Panting, he watched as the three defeated guards disappeared. Another one, this time armed with a baton grabbed him from behind only for Jonatan to thrash down onto the ground in an instant.
"Good! Good, kid!" the loudspeaker bleated.
More and more of these simulated soliders continued to appear from different spots of the rundown industrial complex. Jonatan was able to dodge and counter all of their attacks. Until one solider materialised with a long electriced taser in hand. Jonatan gasped with wide eyes as one terrible memory suddenly snapped in his mind...
[flashback]
"GET UP YOU ABOMINATION!" An angry taser-wielding minder shouted at the battered Jonatan. "I SAID GET UP!"
In the dusty and stained chamber where he was trained by the warlords, Jonatan struggled to stand up. Bruised and bloodied from the wounds and open cuts he received in another day of his brutal training, he managed to pull his head up to see three of the cruel trainers carrying electrified batons, towering over his battered body. Even here, he sensed that all wasn't well with the world, no matter how much his "masters" pretended otherwise.
"Not so powerful now, aren't you, Abomination?!"
Jonatan gritted his teeth with narrowed eyes at the three guard-trainers. "I'm...not...weak... I won't show...weakness!"
"Prove it, Abomination!" one of them sneered as he readied his prod. "This time, I won't hold back!"
[flashback ends]
In a snap, Jonatan smashed his way through and shattered the holographic image of the solder in front with unprecedented speed and strength. With the same brutal force, he managed to punch one more simulated solider and slashed the next one with its own prod.
All to the surprise of Alexander. He heard of the young boy's above human-like strength, even seen some of it himself. Nut this was nothing like he'd ever witnessed before. With each figure that the simulation projected out, the more brutal Jonatan's actions increasingly were. The young boy before long was able to smash each projected figure almost instantly. His attacks although sharp and swift, grew more and more feral.
"My god..."
"Sir, the kid's charts are going insane!" The simulation operator told Alexander with a very concerned tone. "Should we stop the simulation, sir?"
"No, this is excellent! Try to push him further, we have to test his limits!"
There was a pause from the operator before he turned back to the panel screen. "As you wish, sir."
"Good..."
Inside the simulator platform, after Jonatan crushed the last projected soldiers, they suddenly changed to bigger, armoured men in body suits. Then in the corner of his eye, he managed to dodge their simulated gunfire with incredible speed, a wave of bullets from behind. Another armored soldier tried to attack him with its electric probs but the young boy was able to duck and then disarmed it. Using its own electric prob, he electrocuted it by climbing up and striking it by the neck.
"Amazing! Such a lust for revenge! Show those idiots true power!" Alexander continued to watch, thinking about how he could put Jonatan to good use.
Once the armoured man disappeared, Jonatan used the two probs and threw one onto one soldier with a railgun on the head and the other to knock down an ambushing figure by the legs before he bashed him on the back, instantly destroying the simulated images.
"NO MORE!" he screamed.
Then unexpectedly, he threw the last prob weapon in his hand towards the viewing windows. It however shattered in holographic pieces before suddenly, Jonatan threw himself towards the reinforced glass, throwing hard punches. Despite the window screen itself being bullet-proof thick, more and more cracks began appearing with each blow.
All of the operators became very worried and unnerved by the sheer monstrous strength of this young boy as the cracks grew larger and larger until the windows shattered and the young boy lunged in to attack them. This left Alexander absolutely stunned as he stepped back.
"T-That's enough, kid! Simulation's over!"
Jonatan, in his full rage, simply threw all of the operators away as if they were useless toys before he turned his head towards Alexander. His sharp and dark pierced eyes sent shivers of dread down the Director's spine.
"It...is...NEVER...enough! NEVER OVER!"
Jonatan rushed towards the man in unnatural speed and tackled him down onto the ground with his hand on the man's neck.
"Please... stop....I get it...kid..." Alexander began to choke as the kid's grip tightened with unprecedented strength that no child of his age should never have.
"JONATAN!" another voice bellowed as the door leading to the room burst open.
A squad of the Agency's best security Agents rushed into the room. With their plasma torches, the operatives created plasma light restrain binds onto Jonatan, pulling him away from Alexander. The young boy at first broke free and tried to attack the security Agents. Only to be binded again and once restrained, was injected with heavy doses of sedative. Causing the kid to be knocked out.
Which all the more infuriated the man leading the squad, loosening his necktie before grabbing the downed Alexander himself.
"Tell me dammit!" Logan sneered. "Why put him through that hell?!"
Alexander stuttered, still in shock by what just happened. "I.. I..." he tried to find the words, but he couldn't. "...I thought...I would..."
"Play him like a damn fiddle?!" Logan hissed.
"I...I didn't know, okay Logan?! That...monster almost killed me!"
"And you tried to turn him into a weapon!" Logan snapped back at him before throwing him back onto the ground. "We can talk about this in the next Administration Board meeting! I'm sure they'll love to hear about this, Alexander!!"
"But... I..."
"SAVE IT! I'm sure the senior Board Director will be glad to hear your reasoning!" The old Austrian man turned arlund to the security squad Agents who were attending to the injured simulation operators.
"Signore? What shall we do with the young boy?" An Italian-speaking Agent asked him.
The aging man sighed. "Send him to the medics. NOW!"
The Agent nodded and turned to the rest of the squad before they along with Jonatan were teleported away in a green flash to the Medical Centre.
Fuming, Logan simply turned away toward the door. "Dammit, Alexander," he hissed to himself. "This is what you could never understand."
"Logan!" Alexander called out to him as he stood back up on his feet. "Just what exactly is that kid?! He's not even human!"
Without turning to see his face, the Austrian shrugged. "The last of the Danube. The last his kind. And that will be the end of it, pal."
"His kind!?"
Before Alexander could get an answer, the old Austrian man left the room with a loud slam of the door.
---
In the chaos and distorted thoughts in his mind, Jonatan found himself in this dark black realm with a sensation of falling through what felt like an endless void.
Abomination.
Monster!
Killer.
A Weapon to surpass all Weapons!
You're nothing but a machine!
Merciless!
You don't deserve to live!
All these distorted voices echoed through this void and his mind.
"You're not a monster, my dear! Never will be!"
Jonatan snapped his eyes open when he heard that hauntingly familiar voice as his surroundings suddenly took shape.
"...You are not a tool, my sweet little Jonatan..." The voice of his mother cried out to him.
"Mama..." he gasped. "I-I can't..."
"Do not fear," the voice whispered. "We're still here...."
When his vision cleared, Jonatan found himself laying down under the shade of the tree with the face of his mother looking down over him as she tried to soothe him. Next to him was his father, holding his forehead with a concernws look before comforting him by his hand.
"You don't deserve this, mein Sohn. No one does."
Jonatan stared back to both of his parents. Unable to open his tired eyes any longer, he slowly drifted away into his sleep to the comforting voices of his parents.
"Mama...Papa..."
"We are right here. We'll always be here for you..."
Their voices slowly faded away. Before they were replaced with the sounds of medical equipment and staff.
---
Before he knew it, he began to open his eyes, noticing the blurred white surroundings. When Jonatan woke up, he was hit by the feeling of his head spinning and a sense of light-headedness. He saw that he was laying down on the long white beds of a hospital room. Logan seated right across from him.
"Just relax kid," he smiled. "It's all been cleared up. Besides, we're all glad it's all over."
Jonatan tried to his head up to his carer, with a look of pain and confusion. "W-What happened...to me, Logan?" It was then that the young boy noticed that his hands were wrapped in bandages with a few bruises and blisters.
"Something that will never happen again," he assured him. "I promise."
Jonatan looked up to his foster carer. He noted his uncomfortable look and strained posture. Then he remembered what happened before his mind became blurry. In that simulation platform with Mister Quibble.
"It happened again, didn't it?"
"Afraid it did. Alexander didn't listen, that stubborn son of a-" Logan stopped cut off completing his sentence when he saw Jonatan's face suddenly going pale. "It's alright now, Jonatan. That bastard finally got what he deserved." He sighed.
That didn't however reassure the young boy as he laid his head on the pillow and turned to his side away from the old man. "He thinks I'm a monster now, doesn't he?"
"It's a lie. We both know it."
"It feels like the truth though, Logan... And you know it," Jonatan muttered back, clearly upset.
The old man shook his head, "What you have, heinous as it is, can also be a gift. Something that can be controlled so this can never happen again. And no one will ever use that against you."
There was a brief pause from the young boy before he glanced back to Logan. "Even...if its a curse?"
"Curse. Blessing. ...It's one of the same." The Austrian sighed as he reached his arm out to the young boy and soothed his back. "All that matters is how you will use these gifts."
Jonatan nodded to his foster father. "Can you stay with me for a while, Logan..?" He muttered in a soft and tired whisper.
"Of course, kid," he smiled. "I'm not leaving you here alone."
A brief smile appeared across the young boy's tired look before he let himself fall asleep again in a quiet but comforting slumber. Looking more peaceful than before in the safe company of Logan. A few faint voices however seemed to murmur in the background.
Perhaps this Logan is all he claims to be...
...He'll be in safe hands and care after all...
Logan turned around and tried to find the sources of the voices. "Who's there?!"
But there was no one, except for him and Jonatan in the room.
---
Within 24 hours after the incident over at one of the simulation platform centres, Alexander along with Logan were called in to the office of the Agency's High Director, Madam Gverza. Usually, incidents this small did not bother the Agency's showrunner and overall "leader" in better words, and this would be addressed to the Board Administration's circle of Board Directors. However this was an exception.
Madame Gverza clasped her hands, or what passed for them in her kind as she glanced at the pitiful man before her. "As some of the humans might put it, we are not in the business of war, Alexander."
"I did what I thought was for our greater good, Madame!" he protested. "We've got enemies all over the damn multiverse. Even those newfangled laser popguns will mean nothing if we're not prepared!"
"Yes. I am aware of that, Mr. Quibble. But forcefully putting a young human child against his will into recruitment, let alone kidnapping one is not the way to do it." Gverza frowned. "And we have seen such situations in multiple worlds not to repeat them here! Indeed, we may be an influential and widespread entity in the multiverse, but the Agency is foremost an intelligence agency. Above anything else. Do I make myself clear, Mister Quibble?"
Alexander grumbled, mostly in annoyance as much as he tried to hide it. But it won't matter to a pan-dimensional being like Madam Gverza. "I do. But let me blunt, Madame. People here are missing great opportunities with this sort of power! Better in our hands than in some two-bit dictator or some world-conquering king!"
"Only IF they're willing to achieve those opportunities," Gverza cut him off abruptly, "I am very aware of your little research on Mister Logan Herz's foster child, Jonatan. As well as the kind of reputation that precedes you. Including your ambitions and interests within the Board Administration, Mister Quibble."
"I was only trying to help Jonatan realise his true abilities and talents!" Alexander argued.
"You only pulled Jonatan into those so-called training program trials out of self-interest and a damn promotion!" The Austrian old sneered at him angrily. "I didn't rise up the ranks just to repeat the mistakes of so many!"
"Please, Mr. Herz," Gverza sighed. "Let us all be civil here. While I understand your intentions for the young boy, Mr. Quibble. Your actions however are outside what the Agency's policies and code of conduct permit. Normally, the Board Directors will decide of your penalty as breaking this code of conduct. This is however of..."special" circumstances, especially in regards to Jonatan."
"Is that why the kid's files are all locked under high security level in the Archives?" Alexander groaned.
"I am not finish yet," Madam Gverza frowned. "Mr. Alexander Brudley Quibble, you will be demoted from your position as Director of Operations to Chief-Manager instead. You are still part of the Operation management but you will no longer be in Recruitment boards until further notice. For now, there are potential hotspots to oversee. And I know just the world to put you in."
This unnerved him somewhat, "Um, I guess some hellhole, Madame..."
"Not quite," she grinned. "I have a contact from a world in need of our attention. Just look for one Master Kazuhira Miller. You will also have to cover the damage bill of the simulation platform done during that incident before departure. I'm sure you've already got a first hand glimpse."
"B-But..."
"Do not be afraid," the being assured him. "We saved Miller just before he was supposed to be murdered in Alaska. And he's trusting enough."
All the while, Logan was smirking smugly behind Alexander's back. Much to latter's annoyance.
"Also," the old Austrian man added with a smile. "Don't tell Mr. Miller about fiddles, ja..."
Alexander glared at the Austrian before he stomped his way out of Gverza's office while grumbling annoyingly under his breath. "Fiddles, my ass..."
"That wasn't necessary," Gverza chided once the man was out before chuckling. "But I doubt he would be much of a concern even there. How is the young boy doing?"
"The kid's hanging in there, Frau Gverza," he sighed. "Whatever those sons-of-bitches did to him must have scarred him even deeper than I thought. Pardon the language."
Madam Gverza nodded with closed eyes in concern. There was a pause before a soft sigh, "Do what you must with the young child to help him, my friend. Jonatan will need you more than ever as he grows up. His strength will grow and it will become ever harder for him to control without guidance."
Logan however smiled. "I made a promise to the kid that it'll be alright. And I don't intend to break it. For his sake, and...well..."
"I know."
---
Outside the office, through the high ceiling hallways, Alexander grumbled his way out and when he turned a corner, he stopped frozen when he spotted Jonatan waiting patiently on a lounge seat on the wall while waiting for Logan.
"Oh! um...Guten Tag Herr Quibble," Jonatan quietly greeted the man when he noticed Alexander's presence.
Alexander on the other hand, had mixed feelings on what to do or say to the young boy. This was after all the same kid that went berserk and almost tried to kill him. It still stunned him on how such a quiet kid like Jonatan could become so...monstrous.
Still, he managed to feign a smile. "Can't stick around kid. Got a new position now."
Jonatan nodded. "I'm sorry for...w-what happened. I-I didn't mean for it- me I mean, to go...well..."
The man however just nodded before turning his back on the child.
Much to Jonatan's disappiontment and sadness. Even as he tried out to him but realised that it was no use. The young boy sighed sadly. Just as he saw Logan come back around the corner. Despite his gloominess, he managed a smile.
"H-Hi, Herr Herz! Was everything alright with M-Madam Gverza about...what happened..?"
Logan returned the gesture as he approached the young boy. "Come now, have you forgotten already?" he grinned. "It's all been taken care of. And don't worry, I'll always be here to take care of you, Jonatan." Logan reassured in a fatherly like manner as he put his hand out to Jonatan.
The boy nodded as he reached out and took Logan's hand. The pair eventually making their way through the hallways.
"S-So what happens now?"
The old man smiled. "How about some dessert, kid? Apple strudels perhaps?"
Jonatan smiled brightly, "Yes please!"
Inside her office, Madam Gverza could not help but smile at this small moment of family bonding between Jonatan and his foster father as the two walked through the hallways of her home. However she still held concerns for the young boy and his future. She could sense that this particular person will have a very rocky road ahead of his lifetime.
"You'll need it. More than ever."
To get myself back into gear, here's a collaboration with 
for a RP that's over time grown into a continuing Hetalia RP combining my old but still ongoing RDNA-verse AU ( mdc01957.deviantart.com/galler… )and her multiverse Agency.
This one though, while it could be a one-shot on its own, focuses on one particular OC from the RP with some rather peculiar origins, painful as they are. At the same time, there's a reason why it's mostly given that Austria and Hungary play an even larger role here...with tragic and bittersweet consequences. Along the way, there are more than a few nods to other works of fiction due to the whole multiverse angle, which may or may not involve Metal Gears...
In any case, I hope you enjoyed the ride in this rather different take on fic-writing!
----
And just to be on the safe side, I don't own Hetalia. All rights belong to their respective owners.
----
You can find out more about Jonatan here: aufigirl.deviantart.com/art/Jo…
As well as the RP he and Logan came from: rpdiscussionroom.chatango.com/
for a RP that's over time grown into a continuing Hetalia RP combining my old but still ongoing RDNA-verse AU ( mdc01957.deviantart.com/galler… )and her multiverse Agency. This one though, while it could be a one-shot on its own, focuses on one particular OC from the RP with some rather peculiar origins, painful as they are. At the same time, there's a reason why it's mostly given that Austria and Hungary play an even larger role here...with tragic and bittersweet consequences. Along the way, there are more than a few nods to other works of fiction due to the whole multiverse angle, which may or may not involve Metal Gears...
In any case, I hope you enjoyed the ride in this rather different take on fic-writing!
----
And just to be on the safe side, I don't own Hetalia. All rights belong to their respective owners.
----
You can find out more about Jonatan here: aufigirl.deviantart.com/art/Jo…
As well as the RP he and Logan came from: rpdiscussionroom.chatango.com/
© 2015 - 2024 mdc01957
Comments17
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The feels... Too much... 
I like this! 
I like this!