2025-03-21 07:21:55“What’s down that path?” asked Ezequiel, also known as Agent B.
Brea, or Agent C-Two, consulted the map before responding:
“If you follow that path, you’ll reach Arnoldstein.”
Agent B paused thoughtfully. Then, turning to Lidia, he asked:
“What was the boy’s name?”
“Aiden, sir,” she replied with the formality of a soldier addressing her general.
“Well, kid, you don’t have to be so formal with me like you do with bossy Marie,” said Ezequiel with a mischievous smile.
Marie approached him and let out a sound of disapproval, glaring at him with a fury that didn’t require psychic interpretation to understand. Ezequiel brushed off her reaction and suggested to Lidia and Rino that they accompany them since they were already there, but not without first asking them to send him an image of the boy.
“We should send the image to headquarters; it might help shorten the search,” Marie proposed.
“It’s not necessary,” Ezequiel countered. “I doubt the kid has left the country.”
“Alright, let’s head down that path,” Agent B instructed.
“So you’re leaving me with all the paperwork and running off as usual,” Brea reproached him.
“Oh, here we go again with your games. You can’t get over it. Let’s stay professional,” Ezequiel replied, winking at her, which caused Brea to erupt like a volcano in full eruption.
Marie stepped in to calm her down, knowing these two shared a long history, and said:
“We need to continue the search. It’s important.”
Brea took a deep breath, regained her composure, and resumed her task of inspecting the area, though not without exchanging one last glance with Ezequiel—a glance that made him tremble slightly.
“If everything’s settled, let’s get moving,” Ezequiel declared.
They climbed into their vehicles and set off on the road to Arnoldstein.
In Milan, dawn was breaking. Elena had gotten up—or rather, she had barely slept—due to the events of the previous day. She prepared to go to work but felt a growing fear about what she had been asked to do. As she left her house, she began thinking about how to convince Aiden to accompany her peacefully to a secluded spot. At that moment, her phone rang. It was one of the men who worked with Zeus, and he explained how they would proceed that day.
“I’ll send you a message to coordinate how we’re going to carry out what you’ve requested,” she responded.
The voice on the other end was firm:
“We’ll be watching you, girl. Don’t be late.”
Part of Elena hoped that Aiden wouldn’t show up at the store; she silently prayed he wouldn’t come. But another part of her wished he would, for the sake of saving her father—and herself.
“Morning has arrived! Come down for breakfast!” Adia shouted from the first floor, clanging two plates together to make herself heard.
The noise woke Aiden and Podbe immediately. Both headed downstairs and were greeted by Adia, already dressed in her red suit and accompanied by her multipurpose robot. Still sleepy and yawning, they sat at the table and ate breakfast just as they had the day before.
Once breakfast was over, Aiden went upstairs to change, returned, and told Adia that he was going to the pet store to see Elena.
“Well done, young man, go get your goal,” Adia responded with a wink.
Inside, Adia thought she might have gone too far. She wasn’t one for sentimentality or “nonsense,” as she liked to call it.
Aiden and Podbe were left slightly confused by Adia’s comment and headed toward Elena’s workplace. When they arrived, they saw the shop owner and asked him about her. Thanks to the capsule Adia had given him, Aiden could now understand and speak the language as if he were a native speaker, something that still amazed him.
“This capsule Adia gave me is amazing. I forgot to thank her, and now even more,” Aiden thought.
The man recognized him immediately:
“Oh, you’re that boy who babbled and forgot his change yesterday. What a silly kid.”
Aiden didn’t know what to say about the comment regarding his behavior from the day before. He simply apologized and mentioned that he was looking for Elena. The man told him that she was in the back, in the warehouse, organizing some things, but that he could help him if he wanted to buy something.
“No, don’t bother; I just came to see her. I’ll wait outside,” Aiden replied, stepping out of the store.
When Elena returned from organizing the warehouse, the man informed her that the “silly kid” from yesterday was waiting outside. She asked for permission to talk for a few minutes, and he granted her five. Quickly, Elena went outside and greeted Aiden, visibly nervous. She apologized for leaving abruptly the day before and asked if he was upset about the incident.
“I’m not upset or anything; I was just a little surprised because, after having such a nice day, you left without saying goodbye or giving any explanation,” Aiden responded sincerely.
She apologized again, still nervous, and proposed:
“To make up for that mistake, since I didn’t behave well, how about we meet again at six in the evening, by the bridge in the center?”
Aiden responded immediately with a big smile and an enthusiastic “yes.” She said that was fine and that she had to return to work. They said goodbye with a “see you at six.”
Aiden returned home happy and cheerful, with Podbe and Reia by his side, who expressed that they were happy for him. Meanwhile, Elena sent a text message to Zeus’s henchmen: “We’ll meet at the bridge at six.” They responded:
“We expect you to do your part. We’ll handle the rest.”
Aiden walked, radiating happiness. When he arrived at the house where he stayed with Adia, he entered and told her that he was very happy because he had another chance to be friends with Elena and spend time with her again. It didn’t take a genius to notice his joy; his ear-to-ear smile was unmistakable.
“It’s written all over your face—what a big smile,” Adia remarked with a mix of sarcasm and affection. “Well, it’s time to give your hair special treatment, and this time, it might be a good idea to bring flowers,” she added with a mischievous smile.
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Agent's Dog System 19.Deception (2)
Once Adia finished styling Aiden’s hair, she thought it would be a good idea for him to wear a tuxedo, but Aiden commented that it would be too much and that the flowers would suffice. Aiden stepped out dressed in his black jeans, navy-blue jacket, black sweater, and blue polo shirt, as it was starting to get chilly outside—though not as cold as European winters. Podbe accompanied him, but not before hearing Adia say, “Go with the boy and keep an eye on him.” Inside the dog, Reia responded, “Affirmative.” The canine and the boy set off for their second outing—more than a formal date, it was their second meeting with Elena, the girl he had only met the day before but for whom he already felt an intense, overflowing teenage love.Meanwhile, Elena was finishing her workday as usual. Though she was typically kind, that day she seemed distant with customers and the public, as if she had lost her usual spark. The shop owner noticed something was wrong and, concerned, assigned her to organiz
Agent's Dog System 20.In the Wolf’s Mouth
“No, Aiden!” Reia, the artificial intelligence inside Podbe’s mind, cried out desperately. “Something is wrong; the place, the girl’s behavior—everything is off. What do we do now? I’ve lost the connection with him. I need to wake Podbe up; maybe if I use one of the electric shocks, he’ll come in,” she thought.“Get up, Podbe!” she pleaded repeatedly, but the dog didn’t move. Apparently, whatever Elena had given him the food was so strong it could have knocked out an elephant, Reia reflected.Exhausted by the lack of response, she began to meditate, hoping Podbe would wake up so they could go after Aiden. She looked at the girl lying unconscious in front of Podbe and started blaming her for everything that had happened.“That’s why I’m an intelligence: I anticipate events. If Aiden hadn’t met you, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” she muttered to herself, continuing to talk and calculate possible solutions. “You’ll hear me when you wake up, lazy dog,” she shouted at Podbe, though sti
Agent's Dog System 21.Hidden Legacy
One of the people present in the room, a little frightened, asked the doctor why he was treating the boy that way. The doctor responded with a cold smile: “It’s good that you ask. I’m doing it to activate the hidden power lying within him.”He began explaining while pressing additional buttons. A blue liquid started dripping onto Aiden, sliding slowly over his skin like oil.“You see,” the doctor continued in a calm but firm voice, “this boy appears to be the son of one of our previous experiments. Blood tests and preliminary analysis confirm it. We had to halt those experiments because we were being investigated. A reporter stuck her nose where it didn’t belong, but we managed to resolve the issue,” he added coldly, without a trace of remorse in his tone.The project was called Project Nebula. Its purpose was to combine humans with phenomena beyond our comprehension in order to prepare for potential external threats, granting subjects unique abilities. However, there were setbacks:
Agent's Dog System 22.Shadows of the Dawn
Adia was in the house, sipping a cup of hot coffee while calmly flipping through the newspaper and playing cards with her multipurpose robot. It was already past ten o’clock at night. The warm light from the lamp illuminated the room, creating a tranquil but slightly melancholic atmosphere.“Hey, Tron!” called Adia, looking up at her metallic companion. “Have the guys come by for Aiden and the puppy Podbe?”The robot processed the question before responding in its always polite tone: “No, my lady, I haven’t detected any approach to the house.”“How strange,” she murmured, lightly furrowing her brow. “I’m not one to meddle in other people’s lives, but I don’t think that date should be so long as to lose track of time. Besides, he’s still just a kid, like a big baby. I should have given him a phone so we could stay in touch,” she added with a resigned sigh.Tron tilted its mechanical head to one side and responded without hesitation: “As you say, my lady.”“Ah! Sometimes I forget you’
Agent's Dog System 23.The Gloomy Cave
The three entered the dark cave, cautiously advancing along a path that soon forked. They wouldn’t separate, as Eliot thought that in movies, everyone dies if they do. While the agent hesitated about which path to take, one of his companions accidentally stepped on a hidden alarm in the cave.The artificial intelligence at the base of the black alien transmitted brain waves to its master, informing him that the creatures sent had been exterminated. This triggered a mental roar filled with fury from the creature inside the capsule. Surprised by how such a defeat was possible, he decided to intervene personally. However, the artificial intelligence named Xen reminded him that he had not yet fully recovered, being only at thirty percent due to the mortal wounds inflicted earlier. “Damn subject!” he shouted in his mind, consumed by rage. “Then send out the second group,” he ordered, to which Xen nodded, though adding, “Sir, there are intruders in the cave, and they are not forest animals
Agent's Dog System 24. Revelations and Rescues
I’m no longer in service, young man. I left the agency a long time ago. I’m Agent A—or I was; these days, I only use my civilian name. What are we waiting for? We need to get going. At that moment, she removed what she was wearing in front of him, causing him to collapse, red with embarrassment, as he caught a glimpse of her in her underwear while she opened a suitcase containing a custom-made special suit. Gat had his hands over his face, trying not to look.While she changed, she said:“Don’t be embarrassed; I’ve gotten used to changing in front of others because of the missions I’ve had.” Then she asked him why he was in the city or why the agency had sent him there. He responded, still covering his face to avoid looking:“I’m searching for the Oceans group. According to reports, they’re hiding somewhere in this area. And well, seeing that you haven’t been informed or don’t have much information, I’ll tell you that Agent B Twelve was injured in his latest mission facing this organi
Agent's Dog System 25.Discoveries and Consequences
Marie’s team arrived in the town of Arnoldstein. They got out of their vehicles and began asking people if they had seen the boy from the image on the tablet. The locals paid them little attention, as they were busy preparing for the annual festival taking place that very day. Everyone was occupied finishing their harvests for the contest, decorating the town, setting up the stage, organizing the band, selecting the music, and preparing the animals, among other things.Marie instructed Lidia and Rino to take the right path to ask around, while she and the others would take the left. They split up, and each group set off in search of the boy.Frustrated because no one was paying attention, especially Rino, they sat for a while by one of the fountains in the center. Lidia was looking at her tablet with a smile, chatting with Tecro, the forensic artist she had met at the police station in Styria. They had been texting throughout the entire journey to get there. Apparently, neither his te
Agent's Dog System 26.The Unexpected Alliance
Before hitting the ground, Ezequiel quickly grabbed Marie and used his own body as a cushion to soften the fall, protecting her from any harm. “Are you alright?” he asked, concerned. She responded with a slight nod, though she blushed slightly at the way he had held her. “Excuse me, Miss M...” he started but didn’t finish, because before he could, a large fist struck the ground again with great force.“I see this guy doesn’t mess around. Go somewhere safe,” he instructed her as he got to his feet. Ezequiel moved toward the man, dodging his attacks with agility, and threw a direct punch. The opponent didn’t even flinch and countered with his enormous arms, which seemed made of rubber due to their ability to stretch excessively. Ezequiel blocked the attack by crossing both arms in the shape of an X. “I need to be careful; those blows are devastating. If I take another one, I could be incapacitated or, worse, killed. My
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55.A Beam of Hope
Urion's weapon was almost visible over Aiden's neck when suddenly something pushed the portal guardian. It was Sir Larot, who threw himself at him with all his might. The viewers and those present felt relieved not to witness another death. Some wrote, "Well, whoever you are, that dark knight sure puts up a fight," and some more asked, "How much longer can he fight against that thing?" Additionally, others said, "Poor puppy," referring to Podbe. Opinions online were mixed.Sir Larot had to save the boy for two reasons: one, because they needed him to create the new Metalux, and second, because he had to finish off Urion as he had promised Adia.Melisa was trying to cover all the details of the story while moving from side to side, filming Larot and Urion's fight. She observed the scene of the little boy and his lifeless dog on the ground.Larot began to activate the special abilities of his suit. "I had no other choice." "I needed to finish off this monster," he told himself as his ha
54.Televised Terror (2)
The sheriff turned on the device and saw the boy on television.Jeff, "It can't be." Darn boy, what are you doing on TV, and worse, in Italy? And "What is that thing holding you?" Jeff said to himself. "How can a boy be in another country?" "How is that possible?" he said to Tecro.Back at the orphanage, Elsa asked the other sisters to bring water to revive the mother superior while she tried to wake her in the chair where she was seated."Mother Superior, are you all right?" Ana asked.The mother came in and responded that she was, but it hurt her deeply to see Aiden in that condition."They can't kill that boy." "He's a bit distracted and wild, but a good boy," she said to herself while drinking the water, and the other sisters fanned her with sheets of paper."Look, Mother, the broadcast is still on," Elsa indicated, and everyone watched the screen.The other children were attentive to the commotion because all the other sisters were running to the mother superior's office. Some ch
53.Televised Terror (1)
Good afternoon, my name is Melisa Crig, your well-known evening news reporter. This time I am living with a piece of extremely important news that the public needs to witness. I am at the scene where one of the branches of the Radar Company used to be located. By showing the camera that Creg took off his shoulder, you can see the names of the company. She indicated to Creg to zoom in on the location. She continued narrating: "Here is the building where this company operated, split in half." Apparently, a major experiment went wrong. She motioned to Greg to show the humanoid creature."It appears to be a kind of humanoid figure, half insect, half lion," from what we can observe. "It has a child in its torso with some sort of tentacles," she narrated while thinking, "Rita Ribs wasn't crazy after all." Maybe the things she said were real, and I can see they are. "What she mentioned about children being mistreated and used for experiments and animals was all true," she questioned
52.Mystery, Camera & Action!
High in the sky, a helicopter was seen passing through the area. In its path, it spotted a distant red light that could be seen from the mountains and was rising up to the sky.“Quickly, head that way,” one of the people inside the machine indicated.It was a team of civilians who liked to wander the area searching for strange or paranormal things. The team was composed of Kile Rosas, a professor from a respectable university who sought answers to mysterious phenomena. He was about sixty years old, with little hair and wore large, bottle-like glasses. His assistant, Philip, was a young university student who supported him in all his crazy adventures with the camera. He was on an unpaid scholarship and only needed the professor's recommendations, though he was intrigued by these paranormal activities. Additionally, there was their faithful pilot, Michele, a young woman who enjoyed piloting all types of vehicles and aircraft. Of course, she didn’t do it for free, as she needed money to c
51.Zero Life
The leaders turned from their positions to see the creature approaching the supreme leader, Zeus. A unified "No!" echoed from both sides of what was left of the building. Some closed their eyes, thinking it was the end of their lord's plans with the boy's death. However, they then saw that the creature had released him for no apparent reason and moved a bit forward, screaming so loudly that they heard it from where they were. At that moment, they saw the hound striking Urion from behind."Firehead!" Podbe thought to himself, barking loudly, appearing somewhat battered from the previous battle. But how is it possible that they are alive? How did they manage to escape from there? Urion wondered as he saw his tentacle fall to the ground, releasing Aiden.Moments earlier, the floor above was collapsing on Podbe and company. "Quick, everyone, form up behind me!" she instructed. Quickly, she looked in all directions as if searching for something, and once she found what she was looking for,
50.Storm of Destruction
Urion continued flying at full speed through the large opening he had created in the floors of the inverted pyramid, that is, the underground, to reach the surface. He destroys more and more structures, firing rays while holding Aiden trapped with one of his tentacles.The boy tried to break free, but it was useless; he screamed and struggled with desperation. He even managed to bite the tentacle, causing it to loosen slightly, but soon it tightened again and squeezed him with greater force. Before he lost consciousness, the guardian mentally told him: "It is still too early for you to die. You will not perish from a fall; you will have the privilege of being finished off by a guardian. You are valuable to that person, but dangerous to us." Aiden took his last breath, wondering who "we" were and if there were more of them, before passing out from the pressure of the tentacle.Meanwhile, the robots from Zeus's company, upon hearing the order given by the lead robot from t
49.The Guardian's Transformation
The cocoon began to open slowly, revealing a strange and fascinating creature. First, horns resembling antennae emerged, attached to what appeared to be its head, followed by arms similar to those of a human. Finally, the rest of the body slid out of the cocoon with an almost hypnotic grace. Once the red light enveloping the cocoon had completely faded, the creature was fully exposed to everyone.It had a humanoid shape, but its head was adorned with two pincers that could initially be mistaken for antennae. Its face resembled that of a human, except for the nose, which had been replaced by a structure akin to that of an insect. Instead of a nose, it had bright red eyes with blue irises that seemed to burn like embers. Its body was covered with lion-like skin, and its hands had four long, slender fingers. Its feet ended in hooves, though they gave the impression of wearing shoes due to their natural design. On its back, a protective shell housed small insect-like wings, still motionle
48.A New Menace
Adia watched as the mysterious figure finished off the monster that had once taken so much effort for them to defeat in the past. In truth, they hadn’t managed to defeat it back then; they had only succeeded in sending it back through the portal. But who is he? He doesn’t seem human. Maybe he’s a monster too, Adia thought, her mind clouded by gaps in her memory. Her gaze slid over the dark armor that completely covered the stranger. Perhaps he hides his face because he knows no one could bear to look at it."Podbe, are you okay? I’ve got you, buddy," said Aiden as he carefully picked Podbe up from the ground. The dog mumbled Aiden's name, his voice weak but filled with determination. "That hit hurt," Podbe said through the link, looking up at Aiden with golden eyes that gleamed with a mix of pain and pride. "What are you doing here? Weren’t you trying to open that portal?" asked the dog. To which Aiden replied, "That doesn’t matter anymore. The guy destroyed the monster instantly."Bo
47.Stolen Soul
In the cave where Agent I-Five entered and from which he has yet to emerge, we encounter Xen, an artificial intelligence housed within a robot whose design resembles a metallic skeleton wrapped in armored plates. On a cold, rusted table, unable to move, lay the agent, with a helmet connected to a machine that looked like an old computer, as large as if it were an industrial server from another era. The air was thick with static electricity, and the constant hum of fans echoed off the damp walls of the cave."I still haven't found anything valuable; I'd better keep investigating," said Xen coldly as he observed the bound agent, his mechanical eyes glowing with a reddish gleam. "And I enjoy inflicting pain on others," he added with a frivolous laugh that resonated like scraping metal.As he continued to dig through the memories in the agent's brain, a shrill alarm shattered the silence. On the central computer screen, an alert appeared: the mutated creatures, known as the moles, had bee
