The penitentiary of Moldenlack had been the talk of the various havens since times way beyond even my humble birth. Despite being a sentinel for about thirty-one years now, I still remember the first time I even heard of this place like it was yesterday.

After my family moved out of the countryside for my mother’s new job offer at the emperor’s tower in the middle of the capital, my eight year-old self couldn’t keep his curiosity to himself. I would always wander off during the mandatory group walking with the rest of my classmates. Our instructor caught me each time and the reprimand got more and more severe with each subsequent failure to escape this suffocating authority. When I was living elsewhere, I saw my parents more frequently than any remote educator, they didn’t fight everyday and I wasn’t forced to wear itchy clothes. I hated looking down on the peers I thought I'd have befriended by this time. Could you have blamed me for seeking the sensation of these fond memories back?

One day though, I managed to sneak around the ventilation system of the town. I had finally found a use for the rampant pollution that almost destroyed our planet! More than just being proud of myself for constructing my first successful scheme, I was excited to see where it would lead me. I crawled, ran, jumped over the different security measures I found on the road before finding myself inside of a strange building that seemed misplaced on the shore of our city. I realized later it simply was buried underground, or underwater really. The waves I could hear were above me and not around as I initially presumed. At regular intervals I heard bangs and breathing that frightened me. The abominations underwater were very much active even back in the day. Furthermore, I know I was young but I really should have pieced together where I was after that pretty nasty fall I almost fell victim to.

Suffice to say, the discovery of a new building and the thrill of going around the patrolling guards and cameras prevailed over my actual safety. This whole new world of technology or the grittiness surrounding it… I’m not sure what appealed to me the most. Regardless, my little fun was more important than the legitimate concerns over my poking of the bear that plagued the back of my mind. A dire reminder of my irresponsibility was what snapped me back to reality.

…did you ever watch someone die before your eyes? It’s not very pleasant. So I swore I’d make sure to pay back the man that gave his life to protect me.

All of this to say that we, as sentinels, but more importantly penitentiary officers, bear the responsibilities of making the safety of the citizens our top priority and help those confined within our walls on the path of reinsertion.

However, in the exercise of their functions, one of my subordinates had been acting strange recently. Not in any way that would warrant an immediate termination, mind you. Their determination stayed free from any kind of corruption this type of exhausting job would entail but they were… odd.

If I had to describe them in one word it’d be: ‘pure’. That’s how the machinery higher-ups employ to judge someone’s character described them at least. One-word resumes were not that uncommon but you’d mostly find them on the worst of the scums who would be solely defined by their vices. Those whose individuality had been scratched away alongside their human shed in favor of another thrill. Alternatively, some of the strongest protectors of our countries were simply defined by their virtues. Nevertheless, ‘pure’ is not a very common trait, especially not for a teenage...er? To be honest, they were so secretive about themselves that their age and gender stayed a mystery that some of our colleagues would bet on. No one won the pot obviously. Although, having someone that could take on the role of anyone they desired with a bit of artifice was very convenient for undercover operations among inmates. Their unusual disposition was made even stranger by their lack of power. You’d think the Puppers would have deemed them worthy as a protector at some point and given them the tool to enact their desire to protect everyone but it appeared not.

I suppose they were pure because their desires were straightforward.

They’d yap about those girls and their superhuman feats so much one would think they were a love-struck kid. In fact, many approached them with raunchier topics to try and peer at different sides of their personality, but these adventurous fellows quickly gave up when their ‘adorable’ bashful face was accompanied by a knuckle sandwich. Kid’s got a mean hook, I can tell you that much.

In hindsight, this was their only trigger. No fear, no pain, no other dislike. Even then, as long as you peacefully discussed with them about who your ‘favorite’ was, or whatever label they invented, they would be more than willing to humor you. Okay, that and the sadness over never appearing on camera. They were devastated to not be included in the yearly celebration pictures for no discernible reason since they genuinely were powerless. The cameras just never picked up on their presence.

At work, no task was too daunting or below them. They’d take on anything. A very telling experience with newer recruits is the mandatory first full body shave they must perform when they enter the force. Over time and grades you were allowed a bit more freedom in your appearance but any sign of individuality had to be wiped if you wanted to even be considered a serious candidate. This kid was the only rookie of that year to not feel anything towards the process. They would have done it in front of us if we didn’t remind them that puritanism was also a virtue our society defended.

Not overly enthusiastic nor depressed, just content to obey blindly, that was the hallmark of any great future officer. In fact, they were the only one I remember keeping their head shaved long after their enrollment: “To avoid causing any unnecessary trouble to you, uncle!”

That dedication was… Well at the time I appreciated their consideration but nowadays I felt unsure about it. They genuinely had no personal identity beyond their obsession with the Puppers and our protectors. I didn’t remember ever seeing someone so dedicated to understanding the biological function of these critters and their natural predators. Yet, I couldn’t deny the amount of time they allowed me to save by being ridiculously efficient at the kind brain-melting tasks that no one else wanted to handle for their sanity. Whether it was administrative, sanitary, disposal or simply designed to be time-consuming. So I felt it was only fair to let their odd behavior slide as long as they didn’t cause any trouble. 

They were also quite skilled in rehabilitation. Since they had no personal bias towards anyone nor any ties to the high-ranked families of our society, they could get on the level of any of our convicts. They were quite liked among inmates as one of them or as an officer. So much so that I’d attribute at least a good third of rehabilitation under their name. Well, that would have been the case had they not displayed a tendency to evade any form of recognition and ‘credit-hoarding’ as they graciously called it. I mean, it’s not like they could have risen up the rank considering how inefficient they could be under stress.

Really, I did not get this kid.

...onto the topic that pushed towards this digression, we had an unprecedented riot today. In all my years of service, I’ve never seen a situation degenerate so badly in such a short time frame. One of our prisoners had still been missing since then. The man that took the life of Officer J.P Fillmore, Esteban Reilly. At least, that’s only what we could piece together from his previous identity. Before he became a mess of tendons and green slug that vaguely resembled a human shape. His metamorphosis made him incredibly hard to track and dangerous to contain. Along the way, his sense of self seemed to have been lost as well. It’s not rare for those that acquired a Pupper’s power through force instead of earning it to lose themselves in such a way. Apparently he had been a runaway long before his descent into villainy. He knew better than anyone how to hide himself and the internal security measures we implemented on him that would have at least prevented him from modifying his height as he pleased failed to contain him. Several of the floors were already flooded and messing with the electronics. Still, we managed to call in back-up from HQ. The main protectors were apparently unavailable currently so we had to make do. This was possible in no small part thanks to our combined efforts and the kid’s forward thinking in dealing with the lot of the intimates.  Most of them weren’t even trying to escape. They just wished to survive the water pressure that could have crushed us and the abominations of the deep sea had Esteban decided to destroy the building once and for all by becoming a giant. The kid saw that and negotiated a truce thanks to their good report. This was a welcome surprise considering his track record during major crises.

The situation had finally calmed down and the maintenance crew alongside their bots had started the repair work. Therefore, to avoid such an incident from repeating and find Esteban I had assigned myself to the review of the CCTV footage around the perimeter. Predictably, there was nothing unusual underwater, the breach had come from within. I identified a suspicious figure that managed to evade any damning camera angle. They opted to not wear any head cover beyond a simple surgical mask that some of my subordinates did wear at work for sanitary reasons or hypochondria. I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of their eyes or hair. They had definitely known of the cameras and their placement beforehand. If I was unable to find their identity or for how long they were active and prepared their coup, I at least needed to identify their goal quickly.

Pushing through the incoming headache, I made use of the security room’s control over the communication system. Our technological advancement allowed both rooms to coexist near the bottom of the ocean to be directly powered by the coastal nutrients and transmit their frequencies through water like a more powerful submarine. I grabbed my transceiver: “All available units within the sector, Chief Officer Seymour Gillian, do you copy? Over.”

A few voices overlapped as an answer. Far fewer than I would have liked but I could work with this. “Regroup asap and treat injuries. More to follow. Over,” I switched back the security display to the latest known position of the masked individual before changing frequency, “Sector 3, do you copy? Over.”

“Sup’ chief?” Sometimes I thanked my subordinates’ rowdiness in their speech. This made them easier to identify.

“Miguel, do any of your men remember seeing a figure with a surgical mask patrolling unauthorized in the sector? Over.”

“Nah. We all got swept away by the influx of inmates. I think that little bastard is to thank for it, you know?”

“Miguel Alcaraz, correction, over.”

“What?” Sometimes I hated that they didn’t properly remember the code.

“Isn’t Azul Orozco supposed to be with your squad? Over.”

“Oh no. They arrived late then they went off on their own a long time ago-” The transmission cut off like someone punched him. I hope it was at least for his negligence.

“Sorry chief,” yelled the poor kid gasping for breath in a panic, “He missed my return in the chaos. Over.”

“Let’s go with that,” I sighed, “How many inmates did you redirect to sector 3?”

“As many as I could,” they chirped, “Around 174. Mainly from Sector 5 though. Sector 4 was inaccessible by the time I arrived. Over.”

“Roger,” before putting the device away I tried to grasp at straws, “Did you see the figure? Over.”

“Negative. We will conduct another search among the inmates for Esteban though, over.”

“Roger. More to follow. C.O S.G, out.”

True enough the kid had been dutiful and their story checked out. The figure seemed to have bypassed our surveillance by utilizing the ventilation system of Sector 6, the kitchen and maintenance floor on the opposite end, to travel into the goods lift. It would have been guarded had it not been for the riot. They then sneaked into the holding cells to liberate Esteban.

Hold on… why only start using the ventilation after this point? They could already navigate around the camera without much issue and they vanished without a trace after a flash. Probably caused by a Pupper for whatever rea…son. Shit. Their appearances were all premeditated, weren’t they?

Looking back at the footage, the shadows were inconsistent. Perhaps this was recorded ahead of time or generated with AI but the errors were too specific for this to be the case. The manual spoke of such cases to help detect traces of invisibility. The CCTV might not have been enough to uncover this high-brand of invisibility, and if it had been performed by a renegade Pupper there would have been a reason as to why, but no one can completely conceal the invisibility of their partner thanks to their body language.

“These bastards are quite resourceful.”

With this new theory in mind, I looked once more at the footage and noticed a lot of stilted pauses in the figure’s movements before peeking ahead. They were not looking at the cameras themselves as I initially believed but the person in front of them to guide them away from our field of vision. It wouldn’t explain why even go through the trouble of sneaking inside the building on foot instead of teleporting in and out in an instant but Pupper’s ability varied from person to person. It was impossible to predict and not worth theorizing until the rest has been figured out. I grabbed my transceiver but:

“So there were two instead. That’s a clever trick to hide- what?”

It was a singular frame. A singular frame that I paid no mind to before I fathomed the possibility of a second invisible person. They bumped shoulders. More than that, the figure jolted their head back in surprise before their gaze lingered… on the floor. In their hand was a thin object they failed to properly conceal twice before properly putting it away. This panic, although subtle since it concerned only a single fraction of their body, allowed me to recontextualize this entire riot. Miguel wasn’t to blame for his negligence, I was.

“Sector 3, do you copy? Over.”

“Yes, sir?”

“That’s not the proper code of conduct over the radio, Esteban.”