He always had blind faith in the Union. They were the ultimate government, they protected every sector and he had been one of their special pets. That’s what they called him, they always reminded him that he was one of their many pets and that he was special and that the Union had chosen him for a reason. He promised to them his unwavering loyalty and in return they’d promised him a new home, a new family, and special care just for him. 

A home away from society, the Union reassured him that he would be safer if no one knew of his existence, and a new family with other special pets just like him. Some days were slow and boring, the Union would call for one of the special pets to do a specific job. He knew that each pet had their own set of skills, he knew what his own skills were and to the Union he never ceased to make them proud. He had the other pets, they were both his friends and his family after all, and he had his own doctor that promised to take good care of him.

So why was he so different now? The painful memories that played through his mind whenever he was alone, memories of foreign faces and unknown names. The memories felt familiar despite the lack of a name, the warmth in his chest was usually followed by the pain in his head. He was a special pet, but there was some innate fear that held him back from ever mentioning these memories. There was no way that these memories were his own, the Union had told him that he had no family and he was unwanted until they’d chosen him. 

Red hair that seemed to match his, smiles on the faces but the memories were blurry. A familiar place, poor and dirty and rundown, but he can’t pinpoint it. Can’t pinpoint the location in the memories or any of the faces, he wishes he could understand whose memories these were. A child that could have almost looked like him, innocent eyes and a bright smile that could light up the world. So much different than the man he was now, empty eyes that had seen far too much and a broken smile to hide the trail of bodies that he left behind him.

 The Union reassured him that his Memory Chip was brand new so that meant he shouldn’t have these memories right? Are they memories? Are they his own memories, or maybe they’re memories that the Union would have implanted into his Chip. Was this the Union’s way of trying to give him happier memories to look back on?

This area, the sector from those broken memories, reeked of so many things. The broken class littering the streets, the mingling voices coming from some of the crowds, the mixing smells of alcohol and smoke. “Krego. Population of 3,209 citizens.” He mumbled to himself, keeping to the edges of the buildings, and once again he was grateful for the powers of the Union when it came to his own suit. A mask meant to remind him that he was their special pet, designed with a voice disguiser for his own safety. The suit itself was designed with a cloaking system, along with the monitor in the arm to aid in tracking and monitoring when he wasn’t back home. The Union spared no expenses when it came to the safety and well-being of special pets like himself. 

He knew where he was going, where he wanted to go anyway, as the memories pounded back to the surface of his mind yet again. Painful memories, memories that he couldn’t understand, memories that led him back to these slums with the hope that the Union would understand. Surely the Union would understand the need to understand these memories, these foreign pictures in his mind were not his own after all. Part of him held back from telling the Union about these memories, a part of him that he still couldn’t understand. 

A small rundown house, by the looks of it there might only be room for a few people. Not a big family then? Those same memories pounded back to the front of his mind yet again, a sharp pain shooting through his neck and up to the front of his head. A child’s voice echoed in the back of his mind, other voices that sounded both foreign and yet so painstakingly familiar. Everything about the house felt both familiar and foreign, which only brought even more questions to the front of his mind. 

Slipping inside the house was far too easy, this sector was the slums which meant a lack of scanners to the house. A small kitchen, dishes were piled in the sink, and he could see the scattered coloring books and crayons on the table in the corner of the room. A small family then? The sound of a child’s voice floated from the living room, his body almost moving on auto-pilot as he pulled the mask off and moved to follow the voice.

A girl, with brown hair pulled back into pony-tails sat by the couch playing with a few dolls in hand. Stains of dirt and Union knows what else was obvious on the dolls, which meant they were possible hand-me-downs or even pulled from the dumpster? “Eliseo? He could hear the pain in that voice, eyes snapping up to meet piercing green eyes staring back at him. Red hair that matched his own, the name that passed the stranger’s lips was not his own. It couldn’t be, could it? 

“I don’t know who that is.” He finally managed to force the words past his lips, for the first time in a long time he felt the fear that seeped into his body. He never should have come here, he should have brought all of this up to the Union instead. How could he be so stupid? “You have the wrong person.” He snapped through clenched teeth once he managed to pull himself back to reality. Coming here was a mistake, he just ended up putting this family at risk. They’ve seen him, seen his face, which meant he’d have no choice but to remove the threat. Especially the child. He can’t put the Union at risk.

“I’d recognize you immediately! Eliseo… Eliseo, it’s me. It’s Alek, your brother! We thought you were dead, where have you been?” He could feel his own heart clench at the pure panic in the man’s voice, so desperate to make him believe that he was… family? He always believed that he had no family that cared for him, or at the very least that’s what the Union had always told him. Was the Union wrong? The Union had told him that he had no family, that he was their special pet and that they cared for him more than the sectors ever would. So why was this man, this stranger, fighting so hard to make him believe that he was part of their pathetic little family? 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He said yet again but he could feel the cold edge in his tone starting to break. Those memories that were burned into his mind, memories that made everything hurt, memories that he wished he could get rid of entirely, included this stranger. “I don’t know who that is.” He repeated as his fingers clenched around the mask, eyes dancing between the child on the floor with panicked wide-eyes and the man sitting on the couch with the trace of tears threatening to spill at the corners of his eyes. 

“Flame.” His body tensed on instinct at that voice behind him, taking a glimpse behind him and recognizing that stone-cold face. Mancer Lapel, one of the top dogs of the Union members. What was he doing here? Oh no, had he been following him this entire time? “You’ve strayed away from your home, away from the Union. What is the meaning of this?” Lapel sneered at him and he could already feel his body recoiling under the pressure of his words. 

“Who are you? What… what did you do to my brother?” He could hear the panic in the man’s voice from the couch, heard the creak of the couch before he saw the body that moved to his side, the child immediately jumping up and disappearing down the hall. A plan between the pair for whenever there’s been danger? The child’s reaction seemed almost too normal, was danger a normal thing in this run-down sector?

“Flame.” His own eyes moved back to meet Lapel’s again. “The Union chooses you.” He felt his body switch into auto-pilot, eyes flickering over to the man beside him. “Remove the threat, leave no loose ends.” Lapel was never a man for many words, especially now seeing as those words passed his lips and he’d been quick to turn and leave. No reason for him to stay, especially not when Flame had his own mission now.

His mind screamed at him to fight against the order, his body already moving to face the man next to him again along with the hand that ghosted over the gun at his side. Wide green eyes stared back at Flame, as if the man had just realized what was going on around him, and almost instantly he seemed to choke over his words. “I-it’s me, Alek. Eliseo you… you don’t have to do this. Whatever they did to you, we can… I can help you.” There was panic in his voice as he spoke, Flame could see the tears in the man’s eyes as he spoke. 

“You’re a threat to the Union, you and the girl. You’re a threat to me.” Flame told the man and he could already see the man breaking at his words, not to mention the gun aimed so closely to his face. “No loose ends, no trails to lead back to the Union.” Words that he repeated over and over after every mission he’d been given, his mind already shutting down and drowning out the man’s pathetic begging.

One pull of the trigger. Red painting the couch. No loose ends. No trails to lead back to the Union… right?