Dogs Will Always Bark

Ain stood upright with a straight look ahead, facing the Maestro who was staring at him closely.

"Ain, this is not an official conversation. Please, Sit down," Maestro invited Ain to sit on the chair which suddenly appeared from the floor.

"What's the matter, Maestro?" Ain asked as he sat on the chair.

"I told you, this is not an official conversation. Just call me like you usually did," asked the Maestro as he switched off the hologram in front of him.

'What does this man want?' Ain thought to himself. "Very well, Uncle Orland, what's wrong?" said Ain repeating his question. Actually, he was reluctant.

"Hahaha, you haven't changed Ain. I want to tell you something important as this concerns your mission too."

'Then why do you say it's not an official conversation? What nonsense is that,' Ain thought. "Then what is it, uncle?" Ain asked, seen from the look on his face that Ain wanted to leave there immediately.

Of course, Orland as the Maestro of the Left Head Cerberus could read it. But he doesn't care about it. There was something important he needed to tell Ain.

"Look Ain, a man you met during the exam. His name is Grief, he formed a group, tho the purpose of the group is still unclear. What is clear, our informant said that Grief and his group will sabotage the meeting tomorrow," Orland paused for a moment to see Ain's reaction.

Ain looked surprised to hear that. He immediately thought of something.

"Was Lond part of that group?" Ain asked after a moment of silence.

"Lond is not a member of the group. He was only used by Grief with the lure of being invited into his group. Now, what I want to talk about is... Maybe you will come face to face with Grief," Maestro looked thoughtful with a worried expression after saying so.

"You know, Grief is actually the former Maestro of Left Head Cerberus. He trained me, Heim, and many of the Masters here. You're lucky that Grief didn't exert his original abilities, nor did he use his weapon when fighting you," Orland continued without losing his anxious expression.

Ain was silent and did not say a word. His memory turned back to the incident inside the Night Blood tent. He knows just how strong Grief is. This made him feel anxious too. But despite his anxiety, Ain, who wanted to test his fighting skills with Grief, was delighted to know that maybe he would meet the former Maestro again.

"Honestly, I actually don't want to send you on a mission this time. But you're the only Cerberus troops with Rank A here. Heim is going to Center Head to settle some business," Orland said after pondering for a moment.

'No wonder I haven't seen Heim since the exam,' Ain thought.

"Then, the others already have their respective missions. Well, it's fine if you want to resign. I can understand that. I will find your replacement from another Cerberus Branch," Orland who was worried about Ain immediately opened the hologram in front of him again, looking another troop member to replace Ain.

Seeing this, Ain stood up and said firmly, "I will take this mission. When can I start?"

Orland was silent as he turned his head towards Ain. It can be seen from the look on his face that he is thinking about something.

"Unlike the others, your task starts now. After Agna arrives, you need to head to Refario immediately. Our informant mentioned that Grief was last seen in the city. Maybe you can find some clues there. But remember, you are working in secret. This information can't leak to anyone. Including your friends, we don't want a traitor like Lond to find out about this, do we?"

Ain nodded, indicating that he understood Orland's words. "Alright, I'll get ready," said Ain as he got up from his chair, preparing to leave.

"Later when you arrive at Refario, look for our informant. If you hear someone say the phrase 'Dogs will always bark', answer with the sentence 'But the gates of hell are always closed.' That's a secret code for you and the Informant assigned there," explained Orlando, trying to get rid of his worries. "And last...."

'What else??' Ain thought a little annoyed. He couldn't wait to get going on his first mission as a Cerberus trooper.

"Be careful. Put your safety first, Ain," said the man, worried about Ain's safety.

"Huh? That is not an appropriate sentence to say to a Cerberus troop, is it?" Ain replied coldly, Orland just smiled wryly.

[•X-Code•]

In a room located on the B3 floor, where the room of the Cerberus soldiers was, Ain was already wearing his black Cerberus coat. Not forgetting also the ring containing his plasma weapon, He pinned it on the middle finger of his right hand.

Ain could not wait to immediately carry out his first mission. Since childhood, Ain dreamed of joining the Cerberus army. In the past, Ain's life was saved by a Cerberus soldier when he was a child. That's what made him want to join the Cerberus army. What's more, he had nowhere to turn back. The only place he took shelter was the Left Head Cerberus.

Right after Ain finished preparing. Riev came to his room to inform him that Agna had arrived there and was waiting in the lobby. Ain immediately stepped out of his room to meet Agna.

"Where are you going, Ain?" asked Riev as he walked following Ain.

Ain did not answer, He just looked at Riev with a serious gaze.

"Oh, I see. Mission right? All right, be careful!" Riev stopped in his tracks as he gave Ain thumbs up.

Ain paused for a moment to simply nod at Riev then, continued his steps.

[•X-Code•]

"Ain..." Agna stood up from the sofa in the lobby as soon as she saw Ain exiting the elevator.

From a distance, Ain saw Agna dressed all in white, along with the distinctive coat of the Cerberus troops which was also white. The lower part of the mantle worn by Agna was not very long, unlike Ain's mantle which was lower than the length of the calf. And of course, there's the Cerberus troop logo on the left sleeve of the coat.

Each branch of Cerberus has its own unique colour for its troop duty clothes. Left Head Cerberus is black, Right Head is white, while Center Head is red. Deliberately made in this way to show where a man Cerberus came from.

"Have you heard the explanation?" Ain asked in a half-whisper when he was in front of Agna.

Agna nodded in agreement.

"Then, let's hurry," Ain asked.

Agna followed Ain walking towards the elevator to go to the B4 floor, the parking lot for all vehicles used in Cerberus.

Ain, who has officially joined the Cerberus army, has permission to use Trava. They had not enough time, so Ain had to move quickly. Therefore, in this mission, Ain chose to use Trava.

Once they were airborne, Ain activated the 'ghost' mode on the Trava. So the Trava was shrouded in a magnetic field that refracted light, making the vehicle invisible.

After entering the coordinates of the destination, Ain activated the Auto-Pilot mode. He didn't really master using Trava because it was his first time controlling Trava. Hence, he chose to use the Auto-Pilot mode. So that, Trava will automatically dart to the coordinate point that Ain had previously determined.

Ain leaned back in the pilot's seat. From the chair to her left, Agna looked at Ain with her trademark innocent gaze. Ain noticed her gaze. "What is wrong?" Ain asked who saw that Agna could not stop looking at him.

"Umm," answered Agna quietly as she shook her head.

Ain's mind crossed his mind, 'Why did this girl get targeted by Grief? Is it because of her ability? But for what?' Ain's mind was fixed there. But Ain immediately brushed off the thought. There were more important things he had to do. He didn't want his job to be distracted by many unnecessary thoughts.

Ain glanced slightly at Agna, found that the girl's innocent gaze was still on him. 'What's wrong with this kid?' Ain thought a little uncomfortable.

"Uh… Agna, I need to find an informant when we arrive in the city of Refario. Can you help me find him? If you see the informant, let me know. But don't let anyone see our movements. We are moving in secret. Understood?" Ain said giving instructions, hoping Agna would stop staring at him. He also hoped that Agna would understand what he was saying.

"Hm!" Agna replied firmly while nodding.

'Haah... Thank God, that this girl only has problems pronouncing the sentence,' Ain thought with a sense of relief. He imagined that Agna also had problems understanding what other people said. Her life must be a mess. 'What if she needs to go to the bathroom, then didn't understand when someone tells her where the toilet is. Hahaha,' Ain thought to himself. Without realizing it, Ain smiled amused by his own imagination.

"Ain!" Agna's half screaming voice interrupted Ain's reverie.

"What's wrong?!" Ain asked in a panic. He put up an alert position to face any unwanted things. Ain looked closely at the front hologram which displayed the conditions around Trava. But there's nothing there.

Then Ain turned to Agna for answers. He saw Agna smiling broadly while pointing at his face.

"Ain! Smile!" he said cheerfully, full of joy. Looks like a child who is happy when his parents give him snacks.

"Errr..." Ain didn't know what to say. 'Geez, this child...' Ain thought. Then return to back down on the back of the chair, he could only sigh, and trying to be patient.