Day Three: Eumo City

"No signal detected." Tracker announced.

Where are you?

"No signal detected."

I know you guys are not dead.

"No signal detected."

"Forza and Randall are currently M.I.A. the duo are last seen at the enormous Vaanasa Rainforest heading to a tribe base to capture one of the last 3 elgoa gems." Announced by the TV News.

It's your fault!!

Get away from me you monster!!

You are no longer a human Shepard. Get out of here. You don't belong here Monster!

*fists are clenched, shivering*

YOU CAN'T LOVE US! YOU ARE A MONSTER!

Enough.. enough..

It's your fault!

*Sound of uncontrolled car hitting a wall*

*flames burning*

ENOUUUUUUGH! *punches the screen*

Shepard's punch puts a huge hole in the monitor, impacting the wall where the monitor hangs.

A door opens. "Are you okay?" said by a tall black man wearing HYPERION uniform. His eyes are at Shepard. His face concerned.

Shepard turns his head to him, his watering eyes shows pain from the past. "Yeah I'm good, Kaine."

"Nah dude. Screen got a hole, spider-web cracks are on the wall behind the monitor, and yo eyes says otherwise." Kaine replied.

Shepard takes a deep breathe. "I'm fine.."

"We'll find 'em. Think it's more of you're going to find them." Kaine to Shepard.

Shepard didn't say a word and his hands are twitching.

"I honestly don't know -"

"get out." Said Shepard. Interrupted, Kaine looks at him, confused and insulted.

"Alright.. " Kane as he closes the door, leaving Shepard alone in his office.

Shepard's sweating, his hand is shivering. "Calm down. Calm down.. you got this. You got this." His eyes are red.

On the other side of the headquarters, HYPERION Rebecca, Jane, and Alex are hanging out at the lounge. The trio are sitting comfortably while eating cheese pizza, discussing the war, and their plans after it.

"Ohh my" Alex while grabbing a cheese pizza slice. "I really love cheese. It's a good thing our metabolism is super fast! I won't get fat!" He added.

"I prefer Cornelia Cheese Pizza over our country's cheese pizza. It has a different taste and I love it." Rebecca to Alex.

"Yeah? Haven't tasted it yet. Sounds delicious."

"Well," *sips soda* "you should. Highly recommend it."

Jane sips her soda and says "I'm a bit worried about the two."

Alex and Rebecca looks directly at Jane.

"Jon and Jack?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah. I mean, it's unexpected. I hope they're okay."

"We all are. I'm a bit worried too but hey, we're supersoldiers. I'm sure they're fine. Besides, Shepard's going to look for them soon." Alex said.

"These natives are scumbags.." Rebecca rolling her eyes.

Jane looks at Rebecca. "What are you going to do once this war is finished?" *gets a slice of pizza and eat it.*

"I don't know. Maybe go on a vacation. You know, have fun. Tomorrow I'll be back on the front to lead some troops at the fields of Vaanasa." *sips soda*

"I got orders to interrogate captured Batshevas." Alex told the two women.

"I'll lead a team to raid a base near Vaanasa waterfalls tomorrow with Kaine." Jane said.

"Forza and Randall are currently M.I.A. The duo are last seen at the enormous Vaanasa Rainforest heading towards a tribe base to capture one of the last 3 elgoa gems." reported by the TV News. The trio looks at the TV and suddenly, Kaine arrives at the scene.

His clenched jaw and hatred-filled eyes are vivid to the trio. He sat down and Alex offered him a pizza.

"Here, have some. What's the matter?"

Kaine looks at them and shakes his head. "Shepard's just a weirdo. I mean maybe it's because he's the most famous out of all of us but -"

"Yeah that happens when you receive tons of spotlight." Jane said.

"SHHHHH! Don't cut him." Rebecca told Jane as Jane gives her a confused expression.

Kaine shakes his head slightly. "I did my best to be a friend to him. He's our colleague but he's not really trying to be one of us. He's in pain and he shuts the door in front of me."

Alex took a deep breathe and pats Kaine."If I'm not mistaken, Shepard's a very private person. I don't know if he's always been like that but he doesn't like sharing his past. He's a quiet guy much like Randall but Randall has Forza. Shep's more of a lone wolf." he said.

"I don't know. I guess we'll let him be who he wants to be. If he wants to be alone, let's give him that. I'm not going to talk to him about his problems. No more." Kaine to the trio.

Rebecca wipes her lower lip with her tongue. "Mmm no no. Let's be real to Shep. He's a nice dude. Maybe it's just that. Being rude doesn't help."

"He's arrogant. Bet it's because he's the most skillful one." Kaine to Rebecca.

"Maybe we should know more about our limitations. If the dude doesn't want to be part of us, it's okay. Let him be." Alex said.

"I agree with Alex. Let's put the spotlight-thing aside here. This is just personal stuff." Rebecca said while Jane nodded.

Kaine nods while his jaw's clenched.

Meanwhile, at Howlettville, Martha's watching the news.

"Forza and Randall are currently M.I.A. The duo are last seen at the enormous Vaanasa Rainforest heading towards a tribe base to capture one of the last 3 elgoa gems. Meanwhile, President Crisanda assures the whole country that the war will end sooner than they thought. " spilled by TV News causing the latter to turn the TV off immediately.

Tears fell from her eyes as her palms are covering her lips. "No.. no.. no. Please be okay.." she murmured as her heartbeat's racing.

Suddenly, a soft-pounding sound of a knock is heard by Martha. She opens the door and sees Helena with her runny eyes.

"You heard the news?" Helena as she hugs Martha tightly.

"I know.. I know... They're okay..." Martha assures..

Helena shakes her head and looks at Martha. "How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not. I just know they're okay..." Martha as she wipes her tears.

"I honestly don't know what will I do. If some-"

"Shhh! Helena.. don't think that way. Jack's fine. I know. They're HYPERION. Just calm down okay? Let's pray for the two.."

"Is James here?" Helena asked.

"No. He's teaching at Howlette School of Arts.."

"Oh.. How in the world are the other countries are not reacting.. This war.. it's strange.." Helena said.

"I don't know.. I don't know but I hope this will end soon." Martha replied. "Let's go have some tea and wait for updates.. " she added.

"Damn right." *sniffs* Helena said.

At the Zenra Department of Science, Professor Kromo is looking at the four elgoa gems that are in casings. His eyes are squinted, his left eyebrow's raised, his chin are resting on his left-clenched palm. "Hmmmmm..."

Professor Kromo grabs his report paper and analyzes the characteristics of the gems.

"I have seen and even extracted a small specimen from the first one... They say that the gems are glowing.. but how come these gems aren't glowing at all?" He wonders. Drowning in curiosity, Professor Kromo grabs the phone and calls Potpot to the lab. "Meet me at the lab. We'll figure out something..."

"On it, Doc." the intern replied.

Professor Kromo grabs his white laboratory coat and takes the four elgoa gems with him.

Meanwhile, at the Parliament of Zenra, the sun is shining, slightly cold winds are blowing the trees, selected media and civillians who were waiting for President Don Crisanda to state an update regarding the status of the war. Media helicopters around the sky of the city. Minutes later, the president appeared behind the microphone. All eyes are on the him. "Good day, heart and people of Zenra, as of today, the war is drawing near its end but 3 of the ancient gems are still in the possession of the Batshevas. We delivered the last, hopefully, ammunitions, first aid kits, and other necessities for combat in the frontlines. I thank every single resident of the country for their support. Regarding the two HYPERION Soldiers, Randall and Forza, I assigned the famous, Shepard Kunsel, to form a rescue party to search for the two missing heroes tomorrow." announced by the president.

Many people are watching the news. Commander Leo Kunsel of NOVA is watching at the NOVA Headquarters, Martha and Helena are watching at Martha's house, Shepard's listening to the broadcast, Professor Kromo and Potpot are listening while studying the gems at the laboratory.

As the president is busy stating the status of the war, few people raised their hands to ask the president.

"What's going to happen to the ancient tribes of Batsheva?"

"Regarding that matter, we are still working on a new negotiation. We don't want the ancient race to go extinct. All we want are the gems. Today, my generals told me that the frontline's status is under ceasefire. We are hoping that they will surrender the gems to us."

At the HYPERION headquarters, Kaine, Alex, Rebecca, and Jane are also listening at the lounge.

"I don't really care if the race goes extinct." Rebecca while watching the news. "It's clear, they're not going to give them away that easily." She added. The four HYPERION soldiers nodded.

Meanwhile, Shepard goes out of the headquarters. His face's down, staring at the sidewalks. He looks up at the clear blue sky and decides to go to a nearby book store called "Pages".  As he starts walking, people are greeting him, including a hotdog vendor who offers him a hotdog to cheer him up.

"Hey, Kunsel, here, have one. Don't you worry. It's free." the vendor said.

Shepard reluctantly accepts his offer. He grabs his wallet from his pocket and the vendor stops him immediately. "Hey, don't, it's free. Just eat it and enjoy life like what that Forza guy said."

Shepard smiles. "Thanks, mate.." then eats the hotdog.

"So where are you going?" Asked the vendor.

"Pages." He answered.

"Is everything okay?"

Shepard nods.

"Okay, cool."

"How does it feel being a famous HYPERION soldier?"

"Pretty much the same as normal HYPERION soldier. It's just.. you get praised more often." answered Shepard. "Hey.. I uh gotta go. Thanks for the free hotdog." He added.

"At youuur service, hero." the vendor replied. Shepard proceeds to the bookstore.

As he enters, the smell of paper or new books enter his nostrils, putting a genuine smile on his face. He walks towards the bookshelves, searching. He scans all titles and sees "Paradise by Jaden Sheen" he grabs the book and looks at the back cover where the short summary is written.

"Imagine a world where there is no war, no violence, no struggling, a world  full of peace. Paradise is a book about anti-war, anti-violence and uniting all intelligent species, creating a new form of humanity." Shepard didn't waste any time as he takes the book to the counter to buy it.

"560 Zen" the cashier said. Shepard gives the cashier a nod and as he hands the money to them, a nearby radio spills a news.

"2 houses are burning right now at Coleman 5th street, Levia, Eumo. The Patterson Family's now safe while the Kingston Family are still inside their burning house. Authorities are already at the sight and firefighters are doing their best to kill the fire and rescue the remaining family - wait what? The roof just collapsed? Which roof? Kingston? We-"

Shepard, in shock, leaves the store immediately. "I'll be back!" He said to the cashier. The cashier nodded as she looks to the supersoldier heading to the incident.

Shepard runs from street to street, jumps through a pedestrian crossing line, his mind and heart are racing against each other.

"EXCUSE ME! COMING THROUGH! COMING THROUGH!" Shepard to the civillians. "Don't be late! Don't be late! You'll get there!" He murmured to himself. "COMING THROUGH!" He sprints and jumps from car to car. He can see the huge smoke.

"Hey man slow down!" some random dude to the supersoldier.

"I can't slow down.. huff huff I can't! Mom's in there!"

Within a few seconds, he reached the scene. The fire's engulfing his childhood home. Shepard rushes to the house but was stopped by a fireman. "HEY YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE!" without wasting any seconds, Shepard pushes the fireman and jumps through the flames.

As he enters the burning house, smoke and fire are everywhere. The stairway's completely blocked by the roof and minutes later, the fire destroys the whole second floor. "WHERE ARE YOUU?"

Shepard searches the living room, no one is the area. He goes to the studio, still nobody's there. "WHERE ARE YOUUUUU?!" Suddenly, Shepard has a vision of a young blonde girl. She's standing at the kitchen and points at the basement.

The wall of the second floor collapsed and the surrounding people screams in fear.

Shepard rushes to the staircase leading to the basement. The living room's ceiling collapses. "ARE YOU THERE?!"

"HELP ME PLEASE" *coughs answered by a woman trapped in the basement. Shepard charges at the basement door. The door collapses and his mother, Anya didn't recognize him because of the smoke. Shepard quickly lifts his mom and goes to the kitchen. The fire is destroying the house slowly and as the kitchen's ceiling starts to collapse, Shepard, using his back, charges at the window.

He successfully got his mother out the house but Anya sustained a cut on her left cheek.

The crowd cheers in relief and the fireman took his mom to the ambulance. "You did a great job." the fireman greeted Shepard.

Shepard nods.

As Shepard walks away from the burning house, a man in his late forties, struck Shepard's head with a baseball bat. The fireman stops the man from hitting Shepard. "SIR PLEASE DON'T, HE SAVED YOUR WIFE!"

The man looks at Shepard. "HOW DARE YOU COME BACK HERE?! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY WIFE?! YOU THINK THIS WILL CHANGE THE PAST?! YOU'RE LIKE YOUR FATHER! A CRIMINAL!"

Shepard slowly looks at the man while holding the side of his head. His eyes are tearing and chin is shivering.

"Patrick?" His voice trembles.

"WHAT?! GET OUT FREAK!"

Shepard's tears fell as he nodded to Patrick. "That's.. how you say thank you huh?"

Patrick shakes his head. "NO! NO! I'M NOT GOING TO SAY THANK YOU TO A MURDERER LIKE YOU."

"But I didn't murder Lilly! She's my sister!" Shepard answered back.

"Enough sir enough he did save your wife." the fireman to Patrick.

"Save save save what the hell are you talking about fireguy? Mind your own business!" Patrick replied. "CAN THAT BRING MY DAUGHTER BACK?! HUH?! ASSHOLE! YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER AND NOTHING YOU DO WILL BRING HER BACK!" Patrick to Shepard.

Upon hearing this, Shepard's hands twitches. The sound of accident that night echoes his mind. He weeps. "I'm so sorry.. I did my best.."

"YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING FREAK. YOU LET MY DAUGHTER DIE."

Shepard looks at Anya, who's looking at him. Hoping to hear comforting words, Anya shakes her head, her eyes filled with hatred. "Thank you. Are you happy? Saving me won't make you a better son, kid. I don't care how strong you are. I don't even support your dreams. The way you were made, is wrong. EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU IS WRONG!"

Shepard's chest felt a stabbing pain.

"My son died the moment he entered that bullshit program. Lilly was the only angel Patrick and I had and you took her away. You're a monster. You! You're a lot like your father! You know nothing but to destroy people's lives!" Anya added, further damaging Shepard.

Because of this. Shepard withdrew from the scene. He goes back to the store to pick his book, weeping. The cashier asked if he's okay but the soldier ignores her. Shepard goes outside of the Pages bookstore and disappears immediately.

At the NOVA Headquarters, Commander Leo asks his right-hand man, David Winslet, to deliver his message to Jon and Jack regarding President Don Crisanda's statement.

"I want you to go to the Vaanasa Rainforest now and track the boys. I'm sure they're with the natives.. give this to them and please. Don't give the natives a reason to hurt you." Commander Leo as he hands the letter to David.

"Yes Sir!" David replied. David boarded a helicopter immediately and left the headquarters. Commander Leo turns the TV on.

"The Zenra Department of Fire successfully put the fire out. Both houses suffers severe damages but on the brightside, no casualties reported. HYPERION Shepard Kunsel arrived at the scene earlier and successfully saved Mrs. Anya Kingston. The soldier fled the scene due to misunderstanding between him and Mr. Patrick Kingston, the husband of Mrs. Anya." upon hearing this, Commander Leo turns the TV off and heads to Clostra, a building used as a prison.