Branded

Somewhere, in another dimension...

Dr. Alan Gogh went inside the room and locked the door. Angela was surprised, seeing as how the scientist's face was covered with both sweat and fear.

"Angela... you need to go. Now". The old scientist said, providing a lab coat for her to wear as a disguise.

"This is Dr. Kramer's lab coat, Doctor." Angela says after scanning the coat. "Wouldn't this be considered as impersonation and crime?"

"They got Kramer... and they're after us too." Dr. Gogh explains, grabbing Angela by the arm as soon as she finished wearing the lab coat that the scientist provided for her.

"Who's they, Doctor?"

No sooner than Angela finishing her sentence, when there was a loud knocking on the front door.

"Dr. Gogh. Open the door."

The old doctor grabs some sort of box he had hidden on a trapdoor beneath his bed and gave it to Angela.

"Dr. Gogh?" The voice outside, almost mechanically, continues knocking on the door furiously.

Dr. Gogh grabs the energy pistol from his desk and faces Angela. The ginoid quickly processed the information given by her surroundings and understood the situation, awaiting her creator's command.

Dr. Gogh grabs an envelope from his desk and gives it to Angela. "Travel through Terminal 21 and enter the flight capsule to Ironstone. Find my dear old friend, Doctor Albert Rooney, and give this envelope to him. You are not to give or show those papers to ANYONE but Dr. Rooney, understand?"

Angela nods, placing the envelope through a built-in safe somewhere in her "stomach". She then locates the nearest path towards Terminal 21 and activates her battle spell, which enabled her to move quickly and silently. Dr. Gogh points the gun through the door and shoots.

After the first shot, silence befell the room... but then the individuals outside started kicking through the iron door, forcing it to open. They were revealed to be Dr. Gogh's past creations, Alpha and Beta, who were now under the control of the dystopian government.

"Dr. Gogh." Alpha says, stepping inside the room. "You are under arrest for illegaly reincarnating  and endangering human life."

"Creator..." Beta says, pointing his gun at him. "It is best that you surrender now. Nobody needs to get hurt."

Dr. Gogh smiles before shooting the energy pistol again, barely missing Alpha. Alpha initiates battle mode and equips his energy spear. 

"The authorities have been alerted. You will be tried for your deeds, Creator.." Alpha tells him, moving in closer. Alan shoots again, then tries to run towards the open window. Beta speeds through him, apprehending him as he tries to jump. They both struggle for a while before Beta grabs his taser and electricutes Alan with it.

Alpha scans the room and looks through every papers that Alan's desk contained. It was made of Angela's blueprints and the tools used to make her, however there was nothing that explained how he transferred the human soul into the ginoid. 

"Creator... where are the-"

"You will never get it.." Alan replies, grinning from ear to ear. "It's now currently far away from your reach." 

They hear the police sirens go off in the distance. Beta proceeds to handcuff Gogh while Alpha collects the necessary information involving P.A.P.1 (Peace Android Prototype) and anything else related to it. 

They bring Alan outside, to where their new boss was waiting. Alan's eyes widened as he finally discovers who it is.

"Kramer..." He says, looking at the traitor angrily. "You did this..."

"It was for a great cause, you psycho." Peter Kramer says wittily, signalling the other policemen who were available at the scene. He then moves toward Alan and tries to reason with him.

"Tell me where Angela is heading, or we will shoot you and hunt her down ourselves." Peter tells Alan. "We don't want another Saber to be out and running around..."

Alan smiles, spitting on Kramer's face. "As if I'd tell you, you sick freak!"

Peter wipes off the saliva from his face using a towel before forcing Alan to eat it. He then pucnhes Alan in the face before holding it again in position.

"It seems like we're just going to do this the hard way.."

__________________________________________________________

Roger Woodsman's POV

"Wace?" I asked Linda, who was eating the soup that I had made for her. "How did you get this far off?"

"I ran away to find my daddy, of course." Linda replies, finishing her soup.

While we were on our way towards the village of Porter, where Linda says that her father is staying at the moment, a violent storm forced us to take shelter at a nearby inn. Luckily, I had some pocket money with me, and allowed us both to stay for the night.

"Tell me more about your father.." Roger says to Linda's surprise.

She then smiles as she begins to tell the stories she had heard about her father... how he saved a village from the Witch's army... how he helped drive off the remaining barbarians from the nearby villages of Heathe... how he saved countless people during the flood.

"Well, my daddy placed me in the care of Aunt Mary Salvador, a young woman who is working as both a farmer and a saleslady." Linda continues. "We weren't really close... and she would often yell at me for small things..."

"Why'd you leave home? Doesn't it mean anything to you?"

Linda looked at me with her small, innocent eyes. "Well, there's no point in staying at a house you cannot call home. My daddy told me that before he went away..."

I nodded in agreement. It seems that this girl was raised well by her father... well, it seems like it anyway. I've learned that her father left when she was just 3-years old. Her mother died at childbirth, and so nobody but her mother's sister, Mary, was left to take care of her during her father's absence due to work. At first, her father would leave home and come back 2 days later... but the absences grew... until her father stopped coming. I don't think she even knows if... if he's dead or not.

But this little girl was strong.... and I didn't want to break her spirit. She reminded me of someone I knew a few years back... someone I couldn't protect... which is why I promised myself at that very moment to bring her back to her dad before going off to hunt White Tooth. Innocent youth like her deserve the love given by family... even though I myself had forgot what it felt like.

It was like... at that moment... I had a daughter of my own...

________________________________________________________________________________

Roger and his little friend, Linda, continue to talk about many wonderful things before going to bed that night. The night was windy, as the storm around the area was beginning to leave. 

Meanwhile, somewhere in the woodlands near her, a cloaked person wielding a scythe, slices through the wolves that were responsible for the deaths of her grandparents. After that, she rips open their chests and took their hearts...

The woman swears vengeance on the King of Wolves, Haas, who sent those wolves after what she and her family had done that brought the pack shame... and it led her here...

She manages to retrieve the intact bodies of her grandparents and bury them properly. This woman knew family... this woman knew sorrow... this woman knew kindness...

And she knows how to smile at the face of madness, which was reflecting the very image displayed deep in her very soul...

For what she wants is a happy ending to every story.