 
## Avatar Auction

by Sunyoung Lee

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Sunyoung Lee

All Rights Reserved

Edited by

Michael McDonald & Michael Stevens

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15

Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20

Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25

Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30

Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35

Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40

Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45

Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49

## CHAPTER 1

My name is Cine Moon, one big, fat, problematic citizen in our society. I became a General of the Ministry of Time Travel at the age of fifteen and produced a number of followers who believed I could overthrow an existing government.

So, I am carefully watched by both Non-Time Traveler and Born Time Traveler citizens. The latter being the owners of this nation, the Society of Time Travelers.

They nicknamed the bad citizens 'cockroaches' and I am called the 'king cockroach' because I am the 'super wicked citizen'.

But the title will transfer to this woman once they see her figure. She's half way to being a zombie, is how I would describe this patient. It would be less eerie to see a plain skeleton rather than talking to this pallid woman. She is sitting on a cold steel chair across from mine, her twig-like legs stuck together, as if her ankles are cuffed and her hands folded up around her womb. Each finger is thin as a pencil. I assume she has been locked up without food at least for a few weeks in this white ward.

" _Surrender_."

I almost spit it out. There's a tiny chance you get starved here in STT. Our government feeds us well, the way a farmer feeds his pigs. Hungry citizens are those who know what they insert in the food.

_Tap_! _Tap_! _Tap_!

Sudden claps astound me. It's a nurse who is standing between Amelia and I. He's a short man with a bald head. Everyone in this hospital seems to be hairless, including poor Amelia.

"Answer his question!" says the nurse. She slowly raises her head up and stares at him as if she had just seen him. "Could you repeat it for the patient, General?" he says, turning to me.

"Of course," I say and bend towards her, looking into her eyes. "Amelia, how were you brought to this hospital?"

"Police brought me here."

"Why?"

She does not answer. _She doesn't want him to hear_. I catch it and look up at the nurse. "We'll need some time, alone."

He gazes at the wall for a while before saying "One minute, Sir."

"One minute," I repeat, forming a fake smile. _How generous_.

I quickly turn back to her, once he turns his feet away. I have to hurry. I have to hear as much as possible from her.

"I witnessed my professor being arrested. I don't know what he did wrong. He was a good teacher," she says, fixing her eyes on the nurse who's walking to the door as slowly as possible to overhear us.

"What happened to him?" I ask.

She gives me a stare. "Why should I tell you? You are a spy."

"How can you say that?"

"Your uniform proves it. No NTT man wears _their_ white uniform. You report to them what smart people talk and write."

_Well, that's how you understand me_. I look down, discouraged to bring out more information from her. If she thinks I'm a spy, she won't tell me anymore. _It's time to say goodbye_. When I open my mouth to do so, I notice her lifeless eyes have turned sparkling with spirit. She leans forward slightly and starts talking very hurriedly, as if she is being chased by them. I have to push my ear closer to her mouth to listen to what she says in a low voice.

"He finally left. Let me finish my story. They brought my teacher to the back of a building. There was no one but me watching them from the roof. They threw him on the ground and shot him in his head. You know the bullet that doesn't make any blood. It is just forcibly planted in his head. He came out the next day onto the campus. He gave a lecture and blessed the government and their policies. They must have planted him something in him that made him so loyal. He never spoke positive about this before."

"Spoke positive about what?" I also whisper.

"He's supposed to teach about politics and the government but skipped it all. He didn't want to give us a false lesson. That must be the reason. Someone in the class reported him. That person might have been attacked and shot in her brain before him."

"A real spy."

She does not answer. Her eyes ogle at the back of my head. The nurse returned after one minute as he promised. Now I know he's not a nurse but, a warden. Amelia grips my wrist with such force that I cannot believe it comes from a born student who's designed to have the lowest level of physical health. I try to extract my fingers from her grip, noticing what she's going to do but she does not let them go. She forces my thumb to her mouth, places it between her teeth and takes a quick bite. Her teeth sink deep enough to penetrate my skin and draw blood. I wrinkle my eyebrow with pain and hold my lips not to moan. I stand up and look down at her with a blood stain at the edge of her lips. She used her dogtooth when she performed that short ritual.

"I'm your devotee," Amelia says.

I shoot her a glare, pressing the wound with my other thumb to stop the bleeding. I don't like those who call themselves my devotees. Most of them are dependent. They only want to follow the steps I made, not trying to make changes themselves.

"General? Is she alright?" asks the nurse behind me.

He cranes his neck to see her as I'm covering her face with my back. I don't know what they will do if they find the blood on her lips. So, I quickly turn back, still covering her face and pretend to look around the room.

"This room has no furniture except two chairs. Got no funds for a bed?"

"We will furnish her room once she accepts a meal," he says. "We have a clock that shows meal times. Two hours left. We'll see how long she can survive without food."

While he turns to see the clock, I quickly wipe the blood spot from her lips with my thumb.

"Shall we go?" says the nurse, turning back to me. I nod yes and turn back to her. She is sitting on her chair obediently, back to the limp, inanimate student locked in a government run mental hospital.

"Amelia! Thank you for the interview. You helped me a lot," I say lively. She does not react. _Good luck with your act_ , I whisper to myself.

As I reach the door, I turn back to have the last look at her and see her mouth telling me something, soundlessly.

" _Take me_."

No.

It's " _Save me_."

## CHAPTER 2

I am waiting in the nurse's office while he's gone for his supervisor. He offered me a cup of coffee although I poured half of it into a potted plant in the corner, once I was left alone.

"Did she tell you what you wanted to know?" he asks, when he returns with a cup of tea.

"Yes," I say.

He looks over at my half cup of coffee before he sits on his chair across the table, eyes the plant and stares back at me. As I smile, he twitches his lips nervously. He seemed to have received an order from his boss to feed me the coffee. He will be scolded by the boss but, that's none of my business. I only hope his supervisor does not force the coffee down my throat. Then I have no choice but to finish a bottle of it.

_So just why am I still here_?

I tried to erase Amelia's face and the words her lips shaped. But I just failed and accepted the invitation to the nurse's office.

I look as the nurse stirs his tea, holding the tag of tea bag without drinking. Maybe he knows what's in it. Maybe he put the plant in his office on purpose and that might be why he checked it after seeing my half-empty cup.

"I just wonder," I say, trying to sound casual. "Why is she in the mental hospital? She seems sane."

He looks up at me and gives me a long gaze. His eyes are conveying to me a message in silence. _That's why. That is why she's here_.

Amelia opposed her professor when he was giving her the false lecture about the government. That proved she was one of us, the smart NTTs.

"She's insane enough to have a bite on you."

I look towards a voice and see a young man leaning on a door frame. His black double- breasted suit looks to be a perfect fit as well as his soft brown hair that reaches his shoulders. It would be yuck if I wore that hairdo but it looks good on his charming face.

"Sir," the middle-aged nurse quickly stands up and brings a chair for him. But he shakes his hand, showing a visible disgust as if he will be infected by some horrific virus once he steps inside an NTT's office.

"I was watching you and my patient in the next room," he tells me. "I can see through walls."

"See-through genes," I echo. "Useful."

"It's useful to spy on my NTT employees. My work is to monitor their every moment. They act like they have no brains at all. Screwing up everything," he says, giving a foul look at the nurse, who's staring down at the floor, standing straight like a sinner. "Why don't you come to my office? It's my honor to have Cine Moon in my place. You are number one celebrity in the district." He smirks.

"Thank you but sorry, I have to go." I stand up and push the chair under the table. "But I do have questions that you can answer now."

He gestures to go on.

"How long are you going to keep her?"

"We will release her after the operation."

"What operation?"

"We will bleach her brain and insert new genes. Then she will be reborn as a good, docile citizen." He grins.

I smile back. "Thank you. That's enough."

I thank the nurse and walk to the door.

When I pass him in the doorway, he turns to me and says, "So, it's true, you do smell like you came out of a sewer. Just as I expected coming from a 'King cockroach'."

## CHAPTER 3

I enter Morning Market which is located in the center of the district. This is possibly the most crowded area with NTT citizens. BTTs don't come here themselves but, send their robots to monitor us. So, there's no one who can poke into my mind. We are too poor to stuff our babies with mind-reading genes.

I walked out of the psychiatric hospital, keeping a smile to block negative thoughts that kept popping up in my mind. Some of them are genetic mind readers. It's always good to be careful when you are with them.

Staying in the hospital longer than planned was certainly a mistake. I could do nothing about Amelia but, only met one more psycho.

_Forget it_ , I talk to myself as I walk along the busy market street. _Forget her and forget you. This is STT. There's nothing you can do_.

I have to walk straight to go back to the Ministry of Time Travel where I work but, I turn my feet in the direction of my friend's tent bar. I have to relax my brain before I enter the battle field. I work with BTTs who are always trying to bring out my real thoughts by provoking me. They want to see anger, hatred and a plan for a rebellion within me, which I find pointless, because I have none of them but, pity. I feel sympathy. They have nothing to brag about themselves except their nature to be a Born Time Traveler.

NTTs refers to Non Time Travelers. We were once the tourists visiting STT, the Society of Time Travelers, but, later decided to move. BTTs accepted us to earn extra money from the tax but, soon realized that it opposed the original purpose of building the country. They built the domain to live by themselves, the time travelers. So, they made a domain only for the immigrants and named it NTTs' district. Producing a 'domain' is BTTs' privilege that they craft their own territory and design it as they imagine in their head. The domain does not appear on any map and no one can go in or out without the builder's consent. Which means, we are locked up in an invisible land.

MTT the Ministry of Time Travel has two branches. One in BTTs' the other in NTTs'. MTT in their district accepts tourists, runs the time travel train and studies side effects of time travel. On the other hand, MTT in my district practically performs like a government and controls NTT citizens in this hidden domain.

MTT sometimes sends us to wars as secret warriors. I've been to several battles and wars of different timelines and countries. We apply gel that makes our body invisible to local soldiers and assault them so easily. When there is no time travel mission, I go out on patrol around my district to see people's well-being.

"General Moon!" says a man sitting in a pub terrace, raising his glass. "Come here and join us. Morning isn't that long. You have to begin drinking now! Wait there, I'll go to you." He walks forward to pass me the glass, not noticing he's on the third floor. The wooden terrace breaks down and he falls over. I only watch him in the distance. His friends come out on the terrace and burst out laughing, looking down at the bleeding man.

_Good. They are doing well_.

This is the well-being they want from us. Being irrational. Being stupid. Being lazy and dull. Being happy without knowing what is really happening to us.

* * *

"Good morning," I say, entering into a street bar, rolling up a tent around it.

"Good morning, General Moon!" greets Mr. Lee.

I sit in front of him, order my food and look around. His tent bar grew fast in just a few months. He started with two tables but, he now has eight, all full with customers. He's using the whole alley.

I see bottles arranged on a stone shelf behind him each containing something that looks like a ribboned snake.

"We're selling Kimchi. Want to try some?" Mr. Lee asks me.

"No, I can't."

"You look like us but, can't eat Kimchi?"

"Sorry."

That's all I can say.

He thought I came from the same country he came from because of my Korean look. I met his family three months ago in Morning Market. It was an early afternoon when all the shops had closed. Morning Market closes at noon sharp.

A young girl, who was scanning a few pedestrians, grabbed me with her tiny hand before calling out her parents.

" _Mom and dad, hurry_! _I found a Korean_!"

Her parents rushed to us, saw my face, and smiled so happily that even a selfish brat like me could not just ignore and leave them.

Sadly, I was not a Korean.

"But you're speaking," the mother said.

"It's not me. It's a machine. It's an automatic translator."

"That's enough! We can communicate!" the daughter said.

"I have to go. I have work now," I said coolly. I did not want to be involved with anyone suspicious. Their eyes, those bright eyes, showed that they were not ordinary NTTs.

"We are new here. We need a home and work. Our agent suddenly disappeared. He's holding our money," she went on.

"Agent?" I asked, curiously.

"The agent who helped us to transfer to STT," her father said, "He was with us until we signed a contract in Ministry of Time Travel."

"Describe the person," I said, taking out my notebook and a pen.

"He's tall. Like 190cm or higher," he said.

"He looks fantastic, like a model or an actor," the daughter added.

"That's a BTT," I said, putting back my notebook and pen and held up my hands, "Out of my control."

_But why would a BTT bring foreigners to our district_? That in itself was a mystery.

"Anyway, welcome to our pigpen," I said, opening my arms. "You don't need to bother yourself finding work here. You will be fed like pigs anyway."

"What?" they said.

"Don't eat cheap foods in the public market. Don't trust supermarkets, either, except the All Timelines Market. That's where BTTs shop. If you want more advice, meet me tonight at nine."

When I went back to that place in the evening, they were not there. Maybe the BTT agent took them back to their district if they were tourists. I thought so and kept walking until I heard a familiar voice.

"No, dad! Customers cannot see the sign in that direction. Yes, just a little bit to the left..."

It was the Korean girl. In a narrow alley, the father and daughter were installing a sign on a tent.

"You came back?"

I turned back to where the voice came from. The mother stood there, holding plastic bags.

"I bought some ingredients to practice before opening tomorrow. Come here, you taste for me. I don't know your people's taste."

Since then, I kept visiting their tent bar. This family made me interested in how long they could make it here. An innocent curiosity. H _ow long will they keep them before selling them out_?

But look at me. I'm visiting them daily, being worried if that really happens. Ah, I'm a helplessly good man.

## CHAPTER 4

"Can't you breathe?"

When I come back to reality, I feel nothing in my tongue as if paralyzed. And the Korean girl is worriedly massaging my heart. She stuffed the thing into my mouth. I swallow it without chewing once. First taste of Kimchi is brutal. It burns my throat as it passes by.

"You're so cruel," I say after gulping a small glass of soju but, it only helps burning my throat. I stick out my tongue for her to put ice on it.

"Where have you been?" I ask her, munching the ice.

"I've been searching for a school to attend," she says, wearing a red apron.

My eyes turn sharp. "School? Hera, I told you..."

"Don't worry. No school accepted me. Not one of them."

"They don't accept you?"

"No."

_Why not_? I want to ask but, decide not to. She better stop thinking of schooling. Once she steps inside the classroom I will lose my little smart friend because of the foods they give. Morning tea with a club sandwich, full set course lunch, and afternoon tea with sweet desserts, and free snacks are available 24 hours in the canteen. All of them contain some chemicals that make you dull and idle. Students in NTTs' district should be too lazy to study. That's why a student like Amelia is captured. Asking questions or participating during class is abnormal in their eyes.

"Are you bored when you can't go to school?"

"No, I'm just too happy. I only want to explore new world," she whispers.

I chuckle. _Yes, this is the spirit of a child_.

"So, where are the history's biggest amusement park and the tallest STT tower? I heard its end reaches the last layer of atmosphere."

A tower reaching Magnetosphere? I almost laugh at the idea. But I pause at her earnest eyes and seriously consider if I have heard of such things. _No, I haven't_.

"We don't have anything the biggest or the tallest. We have a small theme park near the Morning Market where you can learn history of time travel and we have a tall mental hospital on a hill." _Where a bony princess is locked up_ , I add in my mind.

"No, he said the biggest and the tallest. He even showed me the pictures but I can't see either of them around here."

I shut my mouth and pretend to focus on my food. I noticed it in the first day I met them that they were delivered to a wrong place and that the BTT agent was a fraud. He must shown pictures of his district, not ours. But I don't know how to say all this while her eyes shine with hope. A false hope.

I put down my chopsticks and stand up.

"Life is a spicy thing, Hera," I say, placing some coins on the table.

"Who said I want more buttons? Give me a clue, where are we now?" Hera says angrily and throws the buttons on the ground.

I look down at them, kneel and pick up button by button. To her, they must be valueless buttons that hang on her clothes but, we use them as money. The story tells the most popular souvenir BTTs took from time travel was the buttons. They removed all the buttons from their clothes and replaced them with the local buttons. It must be the old, used buttons or ones natives are wearing as they seem to be valuable. So if you are asked to trade buttons from your clothes, kick his ass.

"Hera! Stop acting rude!" her mother says. "Sorry, General. She has developed a short temper since she came here."

"You, too, mom," she talks back. "You raise your voice a lot more since you came here."

"Hera! Who taught you to talk back to an adult?"

"I'm just telling the truth. You taught me so. Why should I keep closing my mouth here? Why can't I make friends here? Why can't I eat ice cream here? This world is strange. People laugh 24 hours a day. Something's very wrong with them. I hate their laugh. I hate it here. Let me go back to Korea!"

I quickly look around to see if anyone was listening. Fortunately, no one seemed to hear her voice as it is too noisy with laughter. Well, they probably wouldn't understand the meaning even if they heard her.

"Apologize," says Madam Kang.

"Sorry," says Hera immediately. "Sorry mom and to you General."

I crouch down in front of her and put my hands on her shoulders. Her eyes are teary with shame and anger. She is a girl with pride. She cannot bear being scolded in public, especially in my presence. But it is important to feel shame. It means she is not deeply affected with the chemical they made to play our emotion.

"Hera, listen to your customers. Don't hear those whose eyes are lifeless." I point to people with my eyes. Hera turns her head and stares into their blank gray eyes and slightly chills her body. "Let me check if your eyes turned dead as well."

She widens her little eyes as big as possible.

"Not yet," we both say.

She giggles. I like her laugh.

"There are people with straight eyes. Listen to them carefully. That's the world you belong to now."

She nods. "I promise. Will you also promise me to please forget what you saw and heard today? I was not myself."

I smile at her words. "I promise."

On the way back to MTT, I am stuck in the middle of a crowd in the street. I can't move forward because of people hither and thither. A flood of smiling faces gives me a feeling of disgust. Hera's right. _This world is strange. Something's very wrong with them_. I knew it already that they are fed with a "happy virus". Not a good one but, a hysterical one.

"Move," I say to the women in front of me. They had stopped walking and were blocking my way. One of them turns around. She is wearing ridiculously bombastic make-up.

"You are General Cine Moon, aren't you?"

"Oh, really, it's him!" her companion exclaims and locks her arm across my chest.

"What are you doing?" I try to separate her hands and accidentally push her down. "Sorry."

She only smiles spookily. "You just saw my panties, right?"

"No," I quickly say.

She discloses her skirt wide open. "You are just watching it!"

I swiftly look away to encounter another woman exposing her breasts.

"Oh, you're looking at my tits!" she screams, shaking her bosom.

"No!"

She clasps my wrist and forces my hand to touch her breast. When I try to pull away, four women around me push my hand back, pressing against her breasts.

She yells, "Oh, he's touching me!"

"Oh, he's touching her!" her companion says loudly.

"Let me go!" I shout and shove them forcibly to get away. All of them fall down, uncovering their panties and begin to laugh frantically. "You're crazy."

"Where are you going? You should buy a drink for us! You touched me!" she shouts behind my back while I'm running away from them.

"Catch him! He's fleeing!"

Hearing the woman's voice, everyone in the street tries to capture me, finding it fun. I push everyone around me and see them falling down like dominos. They snicker and guffaw, tripping over on the ground.

"Get out! Don't block my way!" I shout.

Others beg me to push them down as well. Instead I punch them and run off as fast as I can until I manage to step out of the Morning Market.

I hadn't thought of my world and my neighbors were this creepy before hearing Hera's words. Should I thank her for helping me realize I'm living in an abnormal world? Or curse her for arousing something I didn't need to recall?

## CHAPTER 5

My coarse breathing settles and my face muscles toughen automatically as the MTT building enters my sight. Soldiers salute as I enter the shabby gate. It's a gate for NTTs. There is no gate for BTTs as they teleport in from anywhere.

I walk down a corridor, trying to calm my heart once more before entering my office. There is a man who I don't want to show my weakness or fear to.

As I step into my office I see him sitting in his chair, not standing in a doorway to greet me. _What happened to my loyal man_?

"Cooper, I'm back."

"Yes sir!" He says, getting up so quickly that his chair falls backward.

"Is training done?"

"Yes sir!"

"Did anyone call me?"

"No sir!"

I pause near my desk and give him a dubious look. I find his eyes not as intense as usual. And his smile looks over-excited, just like people I encountered in Morning Market.

"Did something happen?"

"I think I'm affected with hyperactivity, sir!"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. You certainly look affected."

Cooper stretches his hands onto the air. "Oh, save me, General, save me from this endless affection."

"What did you grab to eat? I'll give you ten minutes to go back to the dormitory and puke it out," I say seriously, sitting in my chair.

"It's not possible sir. It's stuck in my heart."

"Heartworm? That's serious!"

"It's not a worm or food sir. It's something more supernatural."

"What?" I wrinkle my eyes. I don't get what's wrong with him today. "What are you talking about?"

He stands up, crosses the room and stands straight in front of my desk. He salutes briskly. I look up and wait for his words.

"General. I have something to report to you."

"Tell me."

"General," he calls me out again in a cheesy way.

"Just spit it out!" I shout, chuckling.

He nods, breathes out and gives me an extended look before spilling the words out.

"General, I'm in love."

I pause and my smile evaporates. What did he just say? _Love_? The L-O-V-E?

"General, is it this shocking? It's good I told you inside the office."

"Or where else?" I raise my voice, stirred up. "Did you plan to tell me this outside? To let them hear?"

"Why not? They emphasize love, sir. They encourage early marriage and making a big family with love."

"Stop! Stop saying that word." I stand up and walk to the bathroom, feeling dizzy. "Everything but, not that."

"Are you allergic? I didn't know a certain word can goad a person like this. It's not a pig or cockroach. It's love," he says behind me while I splash water on my face to cool down but, it was useless as I'm immediately burned up at what he just said. He just said a keyword. _Cockroach_. That is what we are called. That's the nickname they made for smart NTTs.

I turn back and strongly grab his shoulders.

"That's why you can't have love, Cooper! Because you are a cockroach!"

He looks frightened so, I soften my voice, still carrying intensity in my eyes.

"Do you think they will only watch a happy cockroach couple? No! We are not normal NTTs. We are smart. We are only the subject to be beaten and controlled! That's why they hire NTT employees. They want to watch us closely. Besides, you are an extreme case. You broke your fate. They are paying attention to you. This love will make both of you hard. They will find her and damage her to make you stand against them. That's a snare to catch a cockroach!"

He looks terrified at my idea. He is carrying the same look I saw a while ago on Hera's face. Those eyes are begging me. _Don't kill my hope_...

"Don't show a happy face outside. Don't make them curious. Don't meet her at least for a few days until I find some way for you two. Until then, you have to control your emotions."

I know I'm lying. What can I do for them? I'm not the one who permits love. It's _them_.

He still nods and shows me a faint smile. I almost immediately regret the words I spat out just to soothe his love spirit. There's nothing I can do. The best solution I can think of is to take him to my friend and ask her to erase his memory and love. Just like I wiped my father out of my head.

"I'll see you later in the dorm. I'll be late. I have a meeting in the evening," I tell him and leave the office.

As I walk down a white corridor, my mind automatically projects Amelia's ashen face here and there. She looked horrible. How long will they watch her turning bony and bonier every day? They are merciless to smart NTTs. It was my first time to see someone too thin in my life. Her portrait has been etched in my brain.

Will it be that hard for her to raise a spoon? Is she misunderstanding herself as a civil rights leader? Whose fasting can arouse a global issue? She better retain her home address then. This is STT. We live in a hidden domain that does not appear in any timeline's map and she is locked in a hospital after being declared a lunatic. No one can see her. No one can hear her. No one will know her story even if she dies of hunger. But if her intention was to irritate my nerves, she succeeded.

## CHAPTER 6

I went back to my office at night after the meeting. I already told Cooper to return to the dormitory early. So, there is no one as I expected when I enter but, I find our simple desks are gone and a luxury set of furniture has replaced them.

I wonder what's going on but, my legs move inside so naturally as if it has been my office since I joined MTT. I sit on a large sofa made of some expensive material.

Almost immediately, I hear a knock.

I gesture my door to open. There stands a stranger. She has a decent face and flawless skin just like a BTT woman. But she is too short and her clothes too shabby to be one.

I wave for her to enter.

"Welcome Nixie." The words come out of my mouth. "I heard my co-worker has a fiancée inside MTT."

She looks up, shocked. Her mind swirls in confusion with various thoughts. I catch all of them.

"Oh, was it you?" I say. I read her mind that she is worrying about her man. _It's not the time to worry about him. Watch out for yourself_. "I won't do anything to him. He is my friend. And friends share good things together."

I open my legs wide and see her standing in the middle point. She knows what I want. Her face is distorted with shame. I see her mad eyes merrily.

"I'm asking you politely. Can you do as you do to him?"

The humiliation doubles up. It is shown clearly on her face. _Come on, Nixie. Do it_. I want her to come closer and slap me as hard as she can so, I will have a reason to punish her and do whatever I want to do with her.

"I politely refuse," she says.

I put a fake grief look on my face. "You don't want me? No?"

I stand up, pretending to look serious to frighten her. She starts as I stand in front of her.

"Then how about this?"

She bites her lips tightly, believing I'd slap her face.

Wrong. She got me wrong. I am a brave man who is willing to court a woman I want, even if she's a woman of humble origin.

I kneel on the floor. She steps back, startled. I grip her leg with my hand. My other hand slowly slides underneath her skirt. I close my eyes and feel her warmth for a moment. She clenches her fists, ready to hit me. I wrinkle my eyes as I cannot hold my hand on her skin anymore. It's too hot for me to keep my hand on. I admit it was a stupid trick.

I draw my hand back and pull out a blue rose from behind my back.

"You will live a perfect life with me if you accept this."

I bring out a ring hidden in the flower. It's a large moonstone dyed with my blood. _What an honor_.

I look up at her, holding the ring and rose like a good pet looking up at its master.

"Tame me as you want. If only you accept my love. Touch it. It's containing my blood. Feel how hot it is. I've been carrying this hotness, here, in my heart secretly but, I couldn't keep it inside anymore once I heard you and Cooper were engaged."

She looks upset rather than being pleased to hear my confession. _That is the right reaction_. I grin inside with satisfaction.

"Take this ring. Then it's win-win, Nixie. Or you want me to lose my mind and die over sorrow?"

She does not answer. She still is not sure if I am telling the truth. _Of course not_.

"And you know I won't die alone, Nixie," I say darkly.

"Don't touch him," she says, looking directly into my eyes. She looks rigid, even strong when she says this. "Please." Ironical. Women are mysterious.

"Him? Who do you mean? Your fiancé or your father?" I see her face go warped and say with naïve eyes, "Or both?"

Her eyes lose the strength and her mind begins pouring curses on me. It's not so pleasing to hear them even if I love her. I think of a way to penalize her and to deliver my respect at the same time and grip her hand. I let my palm face hers. I touch and feel the softness of each of her fingers with mine. It's like touching a doll's fingers. _Too easy to break_.

I bring her hand to my cheek and rub against it. Closing my eyes, I feel the warmth. It's warm, so warm and I hate this warmth.

"You are shivering, Nixie. Forgive me if I irritated you. You know my nature. I am fair. I've lived in pain because of you. It's your turn to ache. A heartache. It's severe."

I bring her hand to my mouth and let my teeth sink into her thumb. It is as easy as biting into a squashy tomato. I taste her blood. Fishy, it's so strongly fishy that I feel I'd spew over her any second. _Stop tolerating. React. I want you to roar up and provoke him_. I nip my teeth into her thumb even deeper. She finally opens her mouth and rumbles her anger out.

With her screech, I wake up in my nothing-like-luxury dorm room. I see Cooper across my bed, deep in sleep in his sleeveless. He wrinkles his closed eyes as if in a nightmare as well.

Mine was a horrible one. I threatened his woman and even molested her. And finally tortured her with the ritual my devotees practice on me.

I look down at my right thumb. The wound Amelia left feels more painful than when she nibbled on it. She must have infected me with a certain virus through her dogtooth that makes me keep thinking of her, and my body chills over whenever I recall her face mumbling the soundless words. No one made me feel this guilty. I didn't feel a thing when I arrested the smart NTTs and inserted the bullet into their heads myself.

That's why there are no people who call themselves my devotees in the street. I shot them all myself. It is tiring to see the disappointed look on their faces which makes me feel as if I turned into a betrayer. They just don't know that from the very beginning we did not share the same scheme. I have concern for my survival, not anybody else's.

This was not only visible until the project began. The Cockroach Hunting. I was standing between two choices. To hunt cockroaches or to be hunted. And you know my answer.

Since then I triggered my gun to every devotee I encountered. I shot them while they bent forward to perform the ritual. When they fainted on my chest I moved them to a near bench where they woke up smiling after a few hours.

During a busy season of hunting, the early period of the project, my thumb was always worn-out. Now, I've shot most of my devotees and the wound on my thumb was being closed completely until Amelia tore it up once more evoking my agony back.

I did hunting to get self-relaxation. To stop seeing them struggling. Just one shot made them comfortable. Smart NTTs lived in a fear because of us, the cockroach hunters, the Generals of MTT. They concocted up a brainless smile but could not deceive the BTT Generals who read their smart thoughts. If they were caught, they were sent to a courtroom of the infamous Justice Judge Noir and never came back.

That's why I shot, to turn them into normal NTTs before they were arrested by the other Generals. But they, even after being shot by the bullet, rebooted up their intelligence and blamed me who tried to make them brainless. My excuse, to make them comfortable, did not work on them.

Amelia, what should I do? I still believe it is right to put you at ease. If you agree, I can invade the hospital and shoot you until you lose your brain to stop your suffering.

I hear Cooper mumbling in his sleep and turn to see his doll dropped on the floor. I stretch my arm and pick it up. It is a craggy teddy bear with a wrestling champion belt around its waist. He received it when he won the national wrestling champion. He followed the fate STT designed for him and grasped the glory. He was an excellent NTT citizen until he read an article in Morning Call newspaper and became one of my devotees.

He appeared in my life two years ago when MTT was selecting recruits. I was one of the interviewers with two BTT Generals when a 17-year-old born wrestler entered the hall.

"National champion at fifteen? Does it include BTTs' district?" asked Romanov.

"Yes," answered Cooper.

"You won over BTTs and still live?" asked Loring.

Cooper chuckled, thinking it was a joke. It was not, of course.

"He could survive because he isn't a cockroach," whispered Romanov.

"But his scores," said Loring, "they are higher than a BTT applicant, both in written and physical exams."

"He cheated," said Romanov firmly.

"You know that's not possible. He's a smart NTT obviously," Loring said and began asking questions about his life while I watched him carefully, admiring his cleverness. He answered tricky questions well, not irritating the BTT Generals and read a pages-long story fluently. Which was remarkable as NTTs are designed to have low literacy except born students.

Eventually he received a higher score than BTT applicants and became the second NTT General after me.

It was the day he joined me in my office when I saw the real face of him. A shy pubescent boy stood there, flushing his cheeks like a teenage fan meeting his idol. He brought out a clipped paper from his jacket and pushed it to me. I took a glance at it. It was a published article.

"I read the article when I was fifteen. It was the longest writing I had ever read since birth. I began reading and studying a pile of thick books to enter MTT. I could do so because of the person in the article."

I unfolded the paper and saw my face.

"You made me dream for the first time in my life." He added quickly, "Except wrestling."

He was a _gift_. I thought I could understand the mind of a parent. I am only two years older than him but since then, I protect him as if I'm his father. But I know he will laugh at my idea so, I call him my brother.

Morning sun throws a light on Cooper's sleeping face. I lay his wrestling teddy bear on his chest. _I don't need to be a hero for everybody. So, stop feeling guilty of Amelia and other people. I'm responsible for only one person. Only you, Cooper_.

## CHAPTER 7

Six AM, Cooper and I pause in front of our office at a letter fixed on the door with a spike. _Must be Ares_ , I think, extracting the spike out of our door. He is a man with a gene that can turn everything into a weapon. I thought he was a born magician when I first saw him taking out a scythe from his back. It happened to be his single hair that had turned into the weapon. Cooper opens the door for me and I enter inside, unsealing the letter. It reads «Weekly afternoon tea party». _Of course. They have to feed us regularly_.

"Are you going?" I ask Cooper.

"Do I have a choice, sir?"

"No. But you're not going," I say slipping the invitation inside my jacket. "You didn't even see this. I'm going alone."

Cooper gives me a worried look and I turn away, pretending not to perceive it. He knows that I will have a painful time, vomiting all the foods I am fed in their restaurant. Pushing my finger down my throat and forcing the foods out, sitting on a filthy tile floor of NTTs' common restroom are the last things I want to show him. But I must do so because the chemicals within the food will make my brain too muddy to protect Cooper.

"General Moon." I look up and see Cooper ready to leave the office. "I'm going to the gym, sir." I nod firmly and watch him walking out.

I always assign Cooper to train NTT soldiers in our ragged gym to minimize the chance he encounters BTTs. It worked well, until recently. But if Cooper's love is exposed to them, he will be a game to be wrecked at once, making my efforts all in vain.

I stand up, stretch my body for a few minutes and sit back in my chair. I close my eyes to focus on my thoughts before entering their restaurant where everyone tries to rummage my deepest thoughts. I have to do it well for the sake of Cooper. I have to kill last night's dream in me. It's been bothering me all morning.

_I met a woman called Nixie, whom I assumed as Cooper's fiancée. But it can't be true. He didn't tell me anything about her. She seemed to be a MTT employee but, I haven't seen a woman like her working for several years here. My dream was all fake_.

## CHAPTER 8

NTT employees, five men and women, are walking out of BTT Generals' restaurant. They walk soundlessly in a row with their eyes fixed on the floor. They are not allowed to look BTTs in the eyes and think I am one of them, judging by my white uniform pants. I look at the women when we pass each other. They are wearing blue uniforms. And Nixie wore one in my dream. But, of course, I cannot see a face that resembles hers.

As I enter the restaurant, all eyes follow my movement. It resembles a giant show window full of fashion manikins.

As always, my table is set in the center on a platform. They'll see me eating every piece of cake and bread on the tray of five layers. I smell of freshly baked breads and homemade deluxe candies that equal my monthly salary.

"Today's berries' special," Venus says, wrapping her arm around my neck after I'm seated. "I put on this strawberry lipstick just for you. Feel free to taste it, C, ne, Moon!" She always talks like a person with a half tongue, cutting each word with an extra high pitch, which I find _extremely_ cute.

"You know how to please a woman, you strawberry boy," she says, hearing my mind. "Choose. Which one do you want to start first? Eeny, meeny, miny, moe?" she says cutely.

I have to finish all anyway. I decide to eat from the top.

"No, you're an NTT. You are the bottom," Venus says.

_Yes, madam_. I meekly wait for her to feed me.

She picks a miniature raspberry cake and rubs it around her bare foot.

"Have it," she orders.

I quietly lower down and begin licking her toes, hearing her cackles.

"He's a good dog, isn't he?" she says to her colleagues who are chortling at me.

As I raise my head up after finishing my first sweet, she throws a cupcake into my face.

"You had to catch it with your mouth. What are you doing? It fell down. Clean the floor with your tongue."

_Wow, what a dirty player_ , I think joyfully.

"Wow, what a dirty player!" everyone follows and chuckles with great happiness, standing around my circular platform. This way is better than disobeying her and irritating them. It's just a cupcake. Just a cupcake...

I look around to find the fallen cupcake and see it behind a man's black shoe. He's the only one who is not enjoying this feed-Cine-Moon-show. He's sitting in a distance reading a newspaper. _That's Morning Call. Why is he reading our newspaper_?

He feels my glance and looks up. He places the newspaper on the table, stands up and walks to me showing off his striking handsome face. His long-legged stride moves towards me like a suit model on a runway. Two of his friends join him. On his right is Ares, who named himself after the Greek god of war. His bloodlust eyes prove his proper naming sense. On the opposite side is Bacchus, an effeminate, long-haired man as the legend depicts. I don't know if that is a concept as well that he mostly looks drunk. Bacchus, the god of wine, is usually known as Dionysus. I won't mention they are all young and handsome because they are the common factors of BTT men. They are born with beauty and youth gene.

Zeus steps on the platform and looks down at me.

"Sit. Where's the Copper?"

_It's Cooper not copper_ , I answer, sitting on my chair alone.

"Whatever. I prepared a higher tray for you two but, he didn't come. I don't think you can finish all."

I swallow, nervous from his rare kindness. It usually brings the worse consequence.

"So, I called one more person to replace Copper," he adds and turns to the door. "There she is."

I follow his gaze and see a familiar face. She looks more stiffened than last night. It must be her first time to be invited to BTTs' tea party. A junior BTT General drags her by the arm and body, helplessly, moving towards us.

"Wait a minute," Bacchus says, appearing in front of her by teleport. He points to her blue uniform with his drinking cup. "Dress code is only white. You need a new cloth." He turns his eyes until they stop at me. He comes to my table in a blink and takes off the snowy white table cloth from my table and the five-layer of trays. Cakes and breads fly everywhere, including my face.

While they laugh, looking at my jam-coated face, Bacchus pushes the table cloth to her and says sturdily, "Take off your clothes and wear this. Now."

However, she does not accept the table cloth.

Bacchus tilts his head. "You want me to help?" He snorts. "Do you think I'll touch your rags?"

I swallow and think what I can do for her. But my body does not move calculating the aftereffect. _They are enjoying this, a lot. I'll be abused, brutally, by them if I try to save her now_. They are so focused that they don't even care what I'm thinking right now. _And there's no way I can get her out of this place. It will end up with two victims_.

I finally convince myself that it's only their daily entertainment and nothing really severe will happen and decide only to observe. I soon find myself just as immoral as the other BTT Generals who are watching her curiously.

The next second, Zeus appears behind Nixie, holding Bacchus's drinking cup in his hand. Then he pours wine onto her clothes and lets it soak her shirt and reveal her bra.

"Well? Your bra is white," Bacchus says, looking down at her chest. "You don't even need this anymore." He throws the table cloth onto the floor. Now her eyes are fixed on the floor, her fists shaking with madness. That's a mistake showing an obvious reaction. They get meaner and want more.

As Bacchus takes out his wine bottle pendent from his necklace, it enlarges into the actual size of a bottle. He drinks it from the bottle.

"I know. It's hard. Everything's hard when you're not drunk." He pushes his bottle to her face as if stamping circles around her mouth. She pushes the bottle away after having ten stamps around her mouth. She did it lightly but it falls down on the floor spilling wine endlessly. It was his fault that he was not holding it tightly but, logic does not work on the drunken man. I can see his furious eyes, even from his back as he slaps her face, making a shrill sound.

Everyone's laughter stops at once. They don't dare to turn their heads to watch the king. Zeus allows every way to hurt people but, not physical violence. Though bringing a shame is more unforgivable in my eyes.

Drunken Bacchus does not notice his leader's fuming glare and moves his fingers to her shirt. "I'm so excited. It's my first time to touch an NTT's shirt. It's power of wine. Wine is brawny. Wine conquers every man and woman."

Just before his finger reaches her first button, Zeus quietly stretches his hand and grabs the neck of Bacchus. He looks up to come across the king's icy stare.

"Oh, Zeus, did I do something that annoys you? Whatever I did, you have to forgive me. You're our generous king. You are the only one my wine cannot conquer. You don't even have a sip of it! That's why I admire you, man who conquered his desire for wine! That's why I changed my name to show how much I admire you. And that's why I bought this, this..."

Bacchus cannot connect the word as his mouth is already iced-up. Greek god Zeus is a god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and fate but real life Zeus is a man with a gene of freezing. _But what was his next word_? " _And that's why I bought this_..."

I look up, feeling the chilling glare. Zeus's the sender.

_Okay, I understand. That's a BTTs' thing. I won't dare try to know_ , I say clearly in my mind. He nods tersely and turns his eyes away from me.

"Venus, take her and give her new clothes," Zeus says and turns to Nixie. "Come to my office and give me your answer about last night before I ruin your Cooper."

As Zeus disappears by teleport with Bacchus, Venus hurriedly moves to Nixie, grips her wrist and teleports out of the place. After a few seconds I'm left alone in their chaotic restaurant. I am supposed to run to the toilet to vomit Venus's foot cream out but, just cannot move with a shock.

Zeus, he was certainly talking about the proposal. _But it was bogus. His proposal was forged_.

He installed a perfect trap for her. If she says no, Cooper will get hurt. This woman won't let him touch him. I read her thoughts in the dream. She was worried about him, rather than herself. She will have to say "yes" and Zeus will punish the arrogance.

That's rather good for Cooper. She has to disappear. Then everyone's fine. I don't need to disappoint him. I can tell Zeus was only faster.

Now, think of my matter. What happened to me and Zeus in the dream? How was it possible?

## Chapter 9

"I watched through his eyes, I smelled through his nose, and I touched her hand through his hand, feeling the softness with my senses through his skin," I say and gulp down a small glass of soju.

"You were in him, that's what you're saying?" Hera says and gulps down a small glass of cider as well. We are sitting next to each other, facing her parents who are busily preparing to close their tent bar before noon.

"Yes." I nod and fill her glass with cider.

"Is it possible?" Hera asks and fills my glass with soju.

"Yes, they can do anything."

"But why? Why does he lease his body to you? You said he doesn't like you."

"He hates me," I correct her. "I don't know. They just do strange things when they are bored. By the way, where did you bring the idea he'd lease his body to me?"

"Because he let you enter his body and he shared his senses with you," Hera says, gnawing on a stick of fish sausage.

"Shared his senses with me?" I repeat her words slowly. I tilt my head. "But why?"

"Because they do strange things when they are bored," she answers.

I smile. "That is definitely right."

"Here's your brunch, General," her father says, handing the dish over. I receive the plate with two hands and place it on the table. I hold my chopsticks before lifting a chicken foot basted in a hot red pepper sauce and grilled. I turn over it and see red pepper powder on its glossy body. I swallow hard.

"Go, General! Challenge!" Hera cheers me up.

I nod and bring the thing to my mouth anxiously. I'm not really fond of a challenge.

"It's good they sell hot pepper paste here. It's just exactly the one my mother used in Korea."

"You always buy ingredients in All Timelines Market? It's expensive there. Just feed them cheap foods. They are affected already," I say, finishing one foot quickly. Its taste isn't horrible as it seems.

"You are mean. Some customers have straight eyes and they come to us knowing our foods are safe."

"Then let me shoot them. I was called to a tea party because I hunted fewer cockroaches. And I consider the dream as a warning."

Hera watches me for a moment.

"Why?"

"Will you hunt me as well?"

I put down the meatless chicken foot losing my appetite wondering if she's testing my fidelity. "What do you think?"

"I think you will take us to the courtroom one day," she says with neutral eyes. She's not trying to do anything with me. She's telling the truth, what she feels about me. So that shakes me.

"I don't want anyone to be arrested. That's why I shoot them. To help them have an easy life!" I appeal my words with ardent eyes.

She nods calmly and turns her head away from me to see her parents. They are outside, cleaning around their tent bar. She faces front and says in a little voice, "I can't sleep. What if they come to shoot my parents? What if they feed them those foods to change them?"

"Don't worry. I promise I'll keep you all unaffected."

"No." She shakes her head. "I think you're right. We don't need to struggle. I better turn like them so I don't need to have this fear every day."

"Hera." I see her tears and pull her to my chest to pat her on the back. "Sorry, if I scared you. I told you too much including things you don't need to know."

"Just shoot me if you find me going crazy," she says with a shaky voice and grabs my hand. "You must, if you think I'm your friend."

"Don't worry, Hera. That won't happen." But I actually fear. Fear of losing my friend.

She quickly pushes me away, hearing voice coming back into the tent bar. She wipes her tears away and comes back as a gleeful 12-year-old girl.

"By the way, I had to trade my crayon set to buy two boxes of hot pepper paste," she tells me.

"You trade your things to shop?"

"Yes. We told you our agent brought all of our money."

"But it's still lucky they think our things are valuable," her mother says. "They even bought my used lipstick. I felt guilty trading it."

"Don't feel bad. They love it. Believe me. They will pay you one more golden button per fingerprint."

"Thank you for the information," she says.

"Any more questions?" I ask. "Anything new?"

"We have good news, General," Mr. Lee says. "We are going to be in a newspaper."

"Newspaper?"

"Yes, reporters came to interview us. It will be a good advertisement."

"What did they ask?"

"They asked me how we came here and started our business. So I answered frankly, how the agent deceived us. But I was careful not to mention any political view of this country as you said, and I also said 'no' to pictures."

"Good, sir."

"I met them too!" Hera says lively. "I was playing outside my house and they came up to me."

"What did they ask you?" asks Madam Kang.

"They asked my opinion about STT. Don't worry. I answered well."

"How did you answer?"

"I said it's like North Korea."

## CHAPTER 10

My smile freezes at her words.

"Did you say anything more?" Mr. Lee asks.

"No. I didn't need to. They looked satisfied with my answer."

_Of course_. The certain area contains a lot of description.

"General, will this be okay? You said they arrest people with negative views of the government. Will we be arrested as well?" says Madam Kang, worriedly.

"Arrest?" Hera exclaims, startled. "How come? I simply answered their questions. I didn't lie about anything." She turns her head around nervously, wanting one of us to give an explanation but, no one's willing to talk to her right now. We keep silent until we hear a loud alarm, which tells us it's time to close all the shops in Morning Market. We are supposed to hurry and leave the tent bar before the managers come to check that every shop is empty but, we remain still. It is a serious matter.

I look down at Hera's anxious face. She does not know what she did wrong. She did not do anything wrong. No one would scold this girl for answering honestly to adults' questions in the world in which she used to reside.

_Is someone testing me_? _It's now Hera after Cooper. I didn't have this much trouble with BTTs. I haven't really complained about the way they rule us. More people I know, more occasions to question the world I belong to_.

"Don't worry, madam and sir," I say. "It's not yet published. I'll not let it be published."

## CHAPTER 11

I walk out of Morning Market leaving Hera's family behind. They were captured by managers of Market as they closed their store after noon. They asked for half the income they earned today as a penalty but, changed their minds once they found a doll Hera was holding. The damned managers took her last toy that she brought from her motherland. But there's no point to be mad at them. They are mere robots that move at their BTT owners' order.

_I have to meet Safire_. I used to be a friend of the Morning Call's editor but haven't seen her since Cockroach Hunting begun. They are looking for her aggressively. Morning Call is the only newspaper that tells the truth about STT and us. I can't think of any other newspapers that would have interviewed Hera. I have no choice but to beg my other friend to tell me how to reach her, though, it will take some more time before going back to MTT where Cooper's all by himself.

I hope Nixie did not tell him what happened in the restaurant. Otherwise, he would rush to them without thinking of the consequences that could harm both him and his woman. The best thing that could happen is that Zeus already took her to the courtroom of a blood-favored Judge.

It must be in a parent's mind to eliminate people around his son when they look to harm him, isn't it?

## CHAPTER 12

I step into an area where most of my former devotees live together. These are the people I shot but, failed to transform. They are the people who were ready to rise up against BTTs if only I had helped. They seemed to believe I became a MTT General with an ambition to change the world. But, now, they feel betrayed.

I feel bad about them. Who said I had such a dream? That's truly a mad dream. They are way too strong. Their insanely smart gene doctors are stuffing power genes, and all the genes inspired by classic movies' super heroes, into unborn babies every second. If they are humans, we are considered as tarsiers. We are way too undeveloped.

Will there be a society of people with advanced gene technology? Will they be kindhearted to find us? I sometimes daydream that an army from outside invades our district to save us from knowing it can't happen.

This domain is made by one woman. Even BTTs should have to get her permission to enter our district when they want to work inside NTTs' district as officials. That's the Minister of MTT. She has a cold face just like other BTTs. She won't hesitate to demolish her domain to get rid of us, just as she squashes a can with one foot.

I am certain that she's doing a slave business with us. She feeds us well, she wants us to be healthy both mentally and physically, and she only watches us play and sleep all day. If she's a normal monarch, she'd want her citizens to work hard and make a profit for her. But we have no factories where we can make products for import and earn our leader some money.

If I were her, I would work NTTs hard like slaves. Of course she's meaner than me. She, instead, sells her citizens as slaves outside the country. Born student, born wrestler, and others born as something must be categorize to different types of markets. I don't see beautiful NTT girls above ten. They seemed to be the number one priority taken out to slave markets.

I bet our faces and personal information are already listed in the slave agencies of different timelines. _Live happily in a cage until it becomes your turn_. That must be her strategy to keep the district for centuries without a revolt. Happy country! Smiling items under her secret territory.

Sweat cascades down my body. The Minister gave us only one season. The summer. Imagine the hottest summer you can think of. It's to keep us drained and indolent. No one works in a sauna. It's just the same. And it's another way to sort out smart NTTs from normal NTTs. Cockroaches are feeble in the heat while the others are able to play hard in this hotness, thanks to certain chemicals within affected food.

But they can't see me perspiring as I'm in a disguise under a cockroach cloak. I'm only afraid of the children who are stabbing a Cine Moon manikin with a dagger. Sweating like a pig, I try to pass by them as quickly as I can but, one of them finds me.

"Look."

"Is he mocking us?" one of children yells.

"Who are you?"

"Did they send you?"

I see one of the girls grasping her stiletto tightly, her eyes glaring at me. I swallow hard. It must be Chickie who sold the toy to the girl.

_Alright, calm down. That's only a little girl and I can manage that toy stiletto. Wait a minute, is that blood that is dripping on the end? Oops, it's not a toy at all! It's real. They are playing with real weapons_!

Once I break into a run, one of them begins throwing small knives in my back.

_Are you a ninja_? _No, I have to blame adults for this. Their crazy parents and kids' president Chickie! I will take you to Justice Judge one day_. He's the only man I know that even BTTs fear.

Climbing an uphill road, I hear muttering from a boy. He must be out of throwing knives. Not a single one stuck in my back. I smirk.

"You are a bad ninja!" I shout back at them and laugh loudly at their curdled faces, even during my breathing chokes in my throat.

"Come on, give me the dart!"

I hear the stiletto girl's mad voice behind my back and in a second, I feel every dart she'd thrown hit my black cockroach cloak. _What a gangster_. I speed up, feeling a real threat from the kid gang. I see Chickie's toy shop is closer, just within twenty meters.

"Chickie! Chickie! They are trying to kill me!" I shout out of my throat. Just then I see a lance pass just above my head. This is a long, firm lance, stronger than the one we use for training. This is crazy. Buying their children real weapons! What are they thinking of? They call themselves parents? They must be thinking of riot!

_Wait, wait a minute, the lance did not fall down on the ground but is coming back to me! Just toward my face_!

I stop at once and crouch down, risking being caught by the kid gangs.

"Boomerang lance, seventy golden buttons," says a voice above me. I look up at Frog Butler, an employee of Chickie. I see his frog hand holding the lance in the middle. "Not recommended to use for a real human."

The girl snorts at me. "You were Chickie's friend? You should have told us earlier. Let's go, kids!"

"Wait, you wait there! You didn't say sorry!" She turns back and sticks her tongue out, her hand on her ass. Then she turns back and walks away with her four soldiers.

"Gangsters," I spit the word out with ire. I raced under the starkest sun. My mental state begins breaking down. Frog Butler carries me over his shoulder, saying "Chickie says you are such a dummy."

I faint after beating on his back twice with my hand.

## CHAPTER 13

I open my eyes to see large ice rocks inside a huge cocktail glass. My cockroach cloak is taken off and my burned skin under my uniform is cooled off.

_Hmm, changed interior again_ , I think, looking around Chickie's private domain. In front of me sits two giant teddy bears drinking their tea. I feel sick looking at a dessert tray standing on a table between them which reminds me of Venus's foot cream. I turn away from them and look up at a clear blue sky and feel the refreshing wind of autumn.

_Perfect weather. I once thought I'd do anything to get out of STT to feel this wind. And I realized it's possible without fighting against them if only I visit Chickie's place_.

"That's why you don't grow up," says Chickie, knitting on my right, sitting on a floating chair made of candies.

She is my best friend outside MTT. She used to be a gene doctor in her district but, came to hide among us after falling into debt in the casino.

"What are you knitting?" I ask, thinking it is not her thing at all.

"For your dad," says Chickie curtly.

That makes me pause. I clear my throat and lean forward to her. "Is it his birthday?"

"Don't come near to me," she warns. "And don't ask about him. Don't revise your choice."

_My choice_ , she says. Yes, it was me who asked her to erase my father from my head. She has taken my memories about him, what he looks like and how he sounds. My father suffered, she said.

He seems to live alone since I left home. That is the least thing I know about him. No, there's one more fact about him. He's a Lolita. Look at Chickie. She still looks like sixteen while my dad must be at least forty. Her body has no curves at all, though her legs are lovely like a doll's. I just can't picture them kissing and sleeping together. _Yeah, he must be a pervert_.

"Whatever you do, I won't tell you about him," says Chickie. She read my tactics, to bring him, by provoking her. "He's still mad at you. He doesn't want me to talk about you. I respect his decision."

_He even doesn't want to talk about me... well, that hurts_. "Is he regretting having a son like me or doesn't he consider me as one?"

She gives me a scowl. "Unlike you, he takes responsibility for what he did. He's only seriously angry."

"Why doesn't he understand it was for his safety? If I didn't erase him out of my mind, they would track him down and drag him to a courtroom for raising a smart son!"

Chickie stops knitting and says coolly, "You say that again. You always say that you did it for him but, tell me the truth. You had other ways to keep him safe. He has me. I can hide him in my domain."

"Then why did you let me? You are the one who did the operation."

"You threatened me."

"You're lying."

"No, that's you. That's the real you. You can harm anyone for your own. Even your dad! That's why I erased him out of your mind. I thought one day you'd hurt him."

"See? You thought the same. We did it for him."

"We are not the same. You didn't trust him."

"How could I rely on him? If he's strong enough to protect me, I don't need to live this life. If only he were not a citizen here, I must be born somewhere else."

Chickie gives me a long look. "You changed. You didn't dislike here."

"I had no reason to hate here until I had a friend."

"Friend? You made a friend?"

"I didn't expect this, either. My life's becoming too complex."

"I pity your friend."

"Me too!"

"No, I pity your friend because you regret having him as your friend, cockroach. You have no right to have a friend with such a mindset."

Maybe she's right but, I don't want to hear it from her.

"I like you because you're more twisted than me," I say with a joking resentment.

"You are right. This village is asking me to make more weapons for the rebellion and I'm going to report this to MTT." She says, smiling wickedly, "Because I'm twisted."

I turn to her, startled. "Don't!"

"I already did. You are a MTT General. Make your decision. What will you do?"

"They'll die," I say seriously.

"But you don't care," Chickie whispers.

"I care. That's why I shot them."

"Their spirit won't die no matter how many bullets you insert."

"You convince them. They trust you, don't they? You tell them to live in peace."

"They won't listen to me. They want a change."

"What's wrong with them?"

Chickie leans backward and says restfully, "People change. That's natural. You've transformed too. You've made a friend and finally recognized things to change."

_What is she trying to do_? _It's like she wants me to join them and lead the riot. I shouldn't listen to a devil. I better leave as soon as possible_.

"Chickie, there's just one thing I want to correct before I leave."

"What."

"Not _a friend_. I've made several of them."

She laughs at my proud face. "Just how old are you?"

"Twenty one."

"Oh, kid."

"I know you have none. I wanted to encourage you," I say smugly. "It's fun. Life is fun with some friends."

"Are they worthy to risk your life?"

I pause at her question. She asked so casually but, it is absurd. This kind of conversation, friend talk, is the first one coming up between us. _Risking my life for my friends_... I couldn't imagine that. Nevertheless my answer is...

"Definitely."

## CHAPTER 14

I am waiting for a City Truck as Chickie instructed and it is sizzling hot.

City Truck. It is only a pretty way to call our moving container boxes carried by a truck. Every time I see people packed in the container, through small holes, sorry for them, but they look like animals being transported to a slaughterhouse.

We are not allowed to have a decent ride. BTTs want to limit our travels, believing we would have a fantasy to go out of the territory they built for us. You are not allowed to leave STT unless you work for the Ministry of Time Travel. That must add one more reason why I'm in the center of admiration and all the jealousy.

I see the truck slow down and stop in front of me.

"Mr. Roach, where do you want to ride? Our first and second boxes are packed," a truck man says as he jumps down from the truck.

"Last one."

"It's being used for an office now. Do you know who's occupying it?" he says quietly.

"Safire," I murmur, not to sound like myself.

He nods and walks with me to the last container box. He is a man of a big build, carries a large ladder with only one hand. I feel people's eyes, inside the container boxes, following me and hear laughers that ring in my ears. Chickie made this cloak to ridicule smart NTTs. Those who are laughing at me don't even know its meaning. I just let them laugh like crazy.

I open the door on the roof and jump down into the box. I hear a screech once I land in her container box.

"General? Is it you again? Do you really have to wear the cockroach costume?" says Safire standing up from her chair. She looks startled but, still welcomed me.

"Please complain to Chickie. But thanks to me, no one will try to enter your new office where a giant cockroach lives," I say, taking off my cloak.

"You're right," she says, chuckling.

I look around. One desk with a chair, two sofas, a small table and a pile of newspapers plus, four studio lights in each corner are all she has in her moving office.

"Looks cozy," I lie.

"Thank you," she says, "Sorry, I have nothing to offer but a sofa."

"No problem," I say. We sit down, facing each other.

"You have no windows. How do you breathe? It's really hot," I say, fanning my face. She offers me a flying fan. It flies around my face to dry my sweat away as I switch it on.

"It's bearable with Chickie's 24 hour cooling skin."

"That doesn't work when you are under a cockroach cloak. I bet she made this heavy and thick intentionally."

"Positively," she says with a lovely smile on her face. She is one of a few people I think is beautiful. She isn't a standard beauty and I don't know which parts exactly I felt were beautiful. Maybe, because she is everything opposite of BTT women. Parted front teeth, freckles over her cheeks, a wart next to her right eyebrow, and some wrinkles appear on her forehead every time she widens her eyes. They all look wonderful. In other people's eyes, only beautiful things about her might be her name and her curly, burning red hair. If I ever marry, I'd choose a woman who ages naturally like her.

"So, how can I help you? Do you need a new smart farmer's contact?"

"No, I'm doing fine with the ones you introduced. Actually it's about your newspaper. When will you release the next issue? I don't think you publish it daily anymore."

"No, we can't. We publish it weekly, every Wednesday."

"Good. You still have time to change the article."

"Change the article?"

"Yes. Your reporters interviewed someone I know and I strongly believe she will be in danger once her words are published."

"What did she say?"

"She said STT is like North Korea."

She laughs.

"It's not a laughing stock. You'll have to remove the whole article. Can you call your writer to eliminate it right now?"

"Sorry, General Moon but, I can't reach any of them now."

"What do you mean? Are they caught?"

"Not yet. We still work together but, just not in the same office. We had to hide in different places until we publish our feature story safely."

"Feature story?"

"Yes, we are going to reveal a big plot of STT this coming Wednesday."

"What plot?"

"Okay... is your friend a foreigner?"

I narrow my eyes. "How did you know?"

"She's the other living evidence then."

"Evidence? For your story?"

"Yes sir. Maybe you didn't really feel it but, MTT is bringing more and more immigrants from outside."

"You are saying there are more foreign families? How come?"

"MTT sends agents to each timeline to take them. They show pictures and videos of their district and sway them. But when they actually arrive and sign a contract, the agent disappears, leaving them in our district."

"That's my friends' story."

"It's everyone's story."

"What's going on?"

"I believe you already noticed NTT trafficking. They are selling us out." I nod yes. She goes on, "Recently, too many NTTs were sold out. We have a graph of population changes. That's why we took a long time to support our story. We had to make a firm research, ourselves, for years. MTT doesn't reveal the information to us, of course. Anyway as more and more NTTs are demanding, they are supplying the number with immigrants."

"Will they sell them out as well?"

"I believe so. They will fill our district with new immigrants when the old ones are all sold."

I swallow. Hera did not end up here by fraud. It was planned by them from the beginning. "Are you going to publish this?"

"Yes."

"And you know what's waiting for you." I see her only smiling. "Safire, it's a suicide. Leader of Generals, he was reading your paper. The man is merciless. You will, in the worst case, be killed."

"It's a good way to die, isn't it? And I have you here who will spread what really happened to me when I disappear."

"What are you talking about? I beg you. Think of your husband and children. Will you let them be slaves in foreign lands? You have to remain and think of other ways to save them. Revealing can't be a solution."

"But more people will know what is really going on. Every one of us should make a change to form one big revolution. This article, this revelation will be my shot. I believe my children will make their changes as well."

I pause as my heart feels stung by guilt. Safire's eyes seem to ask me " _What's your change, General Moon_?"

_My change_? I haven't agreed to such thing. Likewise, I always thought her efforts were all meaningless. Of all the projects, campaigns and stories she and her Morning Call team had made, nothing changed. This cycle won't change. Because this slave factory is so closed.

"There will be a meeting on Tuesday night. I want you to come. Your presence will give us courage."

" _I'm not the one who can encourage you_ ," I want to tell her.

_I'm your enemy, can't you see, Safire_? _We are walking in opposite directions. Let's assent to them. Let's obey. Know your limit. That's me. And what are you saying_? _My presence will give you courage_? _No way_! _I want to beat you all down to stop publishing the article. But I know you'll keep telling the story even though I break your wrist._

_And I can't say any of my real thoughts because I'm afraid to see her disappointed face. That's the real me_.

"I'll be there," I say. "I'll be there for your last meeting." I nod at her soundless thank you. "...to encourage you."

## CHAPTER 15

Nine PM, I am standing in the door way of my dorm room, feeling that something had happened to Cooper. There is no Cooper. I can't see his bed either.

_Who transferred his bed and why_?

"I offered him a new bedroom," says a chilling voice behind me.

I quickly turn back. "Zeus. Where is he now?"

An obscure smile floats on his face. "It's up to the doctor, whether he performs an operation on a bed or a toilet floor."

"Doctor?" I ask, alarmed. "Is he hurt? Did you hurt him?"

"You know very well I don't enjoy blood."

I don't listen to him but, only think of the shortest way to the clinic. Before that, I have to pass by this man in front of me.

"I recommend you consult the doctor when you arrive there. You also need to change your attitude how you deal with us."

I narrow my eyes. _Change attitude_? _Don't tell me he's with_...

"A gene doctor," Zeus connects the words. "He's the most reliable doctor in GTT operations."

* * *

I hear rough breaths of my own as I run to a clinic inside MTT building, only thinking of Cooper who must be lying down on an operation table.

GTT operation. That is a term of procedure that a non-time traveler becomes a genetic time traveler. It is very pricy that only a few rich people can afford. MTT offered me free GTT operation twice but, I refused all, knowing it was a trap.

It means "surrender" and it means "absolute obedience". They believe you admire them too much to hanker after something you don't deserve. It is as if a slave wants to wear his master's clothes.

I left Zeus behind in NTTs' dormitory. Whatever he does in my room doesn't matter. I only run to save him.

When I arrive in front of the clinic, I see a troupe of Zeus.

"What are you doing here, Cine Moon? Did you come to beg for one more chance? No way, we had enough with your stubbornness," says Ares.

I ignore him and walk towards a large glass door of the operating room.

"You can't ignore me," Bacchus says, blocking my way.

"Did he just ignore me?" Ares says behind my back. "You arrogant cockroach, I won't let you slide this time."

_When did you let me slide anyway_? I think loudly. I'm not able to control my thoughts. My focus is only to Cooper on the opposite side of the glass door behind Bacchus.

"Cooper! Come out right away! Doctor, stop the operation!"

"Are you jealous your friend will become one of us?" says Ares, grabbing my hair.

While I can't move my body freely, Bacchus slaps my face with his wine bottle. It hurts that I lose my sight instantly as my head spins giddily. But I don't stop calling him.

"Cooper, Cooper! You have to stop now!"

"Is your mouth still alive?" Bacchus says and bends forward to pick up a broken neck of the bottle. Just before he brings it up to stamp the fragmented part onto my face, we hear his voice.

"Red wine, again?" says Zeus, looking streamed wine all over the floor and my face. Ares releases my hair without delay and steps aside. Zeus stands, looking down at me with a cold look. The door is wide open, now, behind him. I peep into it but, see no one in there.

"I'm here," says a voice behind me.

I slowly turn back and find Cooper. _He teleported_.

"Good evening."

Generals laugh at my stupid greeting.

"Good evening?"

"Good evening!"

I move toward him, being worried about his blank eyes and his shaking legs.

"Are you okay, Cooper? Can you walk?"

Laughter becomes even louder.

I grip his shoulder to support his body and see his eyes gradually return liveliness. With my relief, he parts his lips to say "Remove your hands at once from my body, you filthy cockroach."

## CHAPTER 16

He pushes my hands wildly away before vanishing with Zeus.

"I think I like him," Bacchus says, patting my shoulder, then leaves.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him with my beauty," Venus says, stroking my chest tenderly and fades away with her goddess group.

I stand alone, thunderstruck. _What just happened_? _What happened to my friend_? _My brother_? _How can he change that drastically_?

"Are you still ignoring me?" says Ares from my back.

_Yeah, you don't give me time to suffer elegantly, do you_?

I turn back to him to face his large fist soaring into my face. I can duck but, I don't. I'm too exhausted to play with a rowdy tyke. I strongly covet his fist extreme enough to send me into unconsciousness. _Please. Please let me fall into a deep coma_. He strikes my face and I tumble over backward. But it was not intense enough. _Hit me more_! _Quantity than quality Ares_! I cheer him up. Hearing me or not, he feeds me a few more clouts on my face. He pauses and wipes red wine and blood out of my face with his rough palm. His eyes flicker with interest as if seeing a foreign animal.

"You are feeble," he says and touches my nosebleed. He smells it and tastes it. "It is blood, real blood," says Ares like a researcher found a new discovery. "You release blood this easily. Something's wrong with your body."

_Something's wrong with your brain_.

He stands up. "Your friend will be fine. Zeus accepted him. Then we accept him as our friends."

I snort. _That's what I'm most afraid of_.

"Talk to me with your voice. I'm no mind-reader."

I look up at him. "Get out, sucker."

His last strike was enough to jolt my head. _Thank you, Ares. You finally made it_. A slow blackout is seeping into my brain and I'm left alone, completely knocked down. Maybe he tried to be kind when he said he will be fine. But the result doesn't change. He was taken. He was taken from my office, room, and my life. I just lost him.

I recall the first day I met him. I recall the article he was keeping always with him. I imagine fifteen year old Cooper who dreamed to be like me. I visualize the wrestler studying nights.

I think I know why I erased my father from my memory. It is painful as if piercing my heart, when I realize that we just can't be together anymore. I wish I did not meet Cooper at all. I wish Morning Call did not publish about me. _Ever_.

I wish, I wish, I wish I could be powerful enough to protect my people.

## CHAPTER 17

_How did I get back to my room_? I question, opening my eyes in my dorm room. _No, it's not my room. Cooper's bed was taken out but, why is there still another bed across from mine_? _And there's a man sleeping on it. Was it a nightmare_? _Zeus's joke_?

I quickly raise my body up to check Cooper's face.

"Are you alright, General?" says a voice on my left. It is dark but his white beard shimmers like a crescent floating in a black sky.

"Gascon, is it you?"

"Yes, General," he says and turns on a small table light. I can see the person sleeping in the other bed now. Actually the sleepers were two. I recall two young soldiers who were newly joined members of the MTT army. Because of the small bed, their bodies seem to mold together as one.

"Sorry, I brought you to our room," says Gascon.

"Don't say that. Sorry for taking your bed. You can sleep now. I'll go back to my room."

"Why don't you stay here for tonight?" he asks me carefully. "I can't sleep. Maybe you won't be able to sleep as well."

I don't answer. I'll not be able to sleep, thinking of Cooper all night, for sure. I will shed tears like a heartbroken girl, cursing him all night.

"Sorry if I'm annoying you," says Gascon.

"Not at all. You're right. It may be better not going back to my room tonight. Please sit here."

He parks himself next to me on his bed. I call him Wisdom Man. I don't know how wise he is but, his wrinkles make me respect him. He is a 60-years-old soldier. Sixty. I wonder if I can survive until then without being taken out whether as a sinner or a slave for sale.

Gascon was always there when I needed someone to talk about my fear and anger that I could not show to Cooper. And it's my time to tell him something he must know.

"You once told me you want to work for MTT as long as possible."

"Yes, General, and I haven't seen an older man here."

I nod. "But aren't you tired?"

"I'm fine, sir."

"Please call me by name when we are alone. I'm far younger than you."

"I'm happy to call a younger man "Sir". Makes me feel young."

"Your spirit is more vigorous than any of us. But I'm worrying about your health. We have another time travel mission tomorrow. I read an article that time travel can shorten an NTT's life."

"I am sixty and still alive! My original lifespan must be 120 years then?" says Gascon jokingly.

"But Gascon, I can see your face turning paler every time I see you. Why don't you retire?" I see his smile fade away. "I know how much you love your work. But you should end your career yourself before the board members force you out. Then you won't receive any pension. You know they have the right to dismiss a sick soldier."

"Is it really that visible?"

"Yes. I detected your illness quite a long time ago. I just couldn't tell you because we had no chance to be alone. Gascon, I'll accompany you next morning to request retirement."

"No, sir, it's not yet the time. Let me have the last mission with you."

"Last mission, you sure?"

"Yes, sir," he says, glum.

I sigh. "I really don't want to send you away as well. I don't want to be left alone here but, it is not safe if you stay close to me. I feel they are taking out people around me."

"Like General Cooper?"

"Yes, and I'm afraid you will be the next. So I beg you. Please escape before they can do anything to you."

"Why don't we leave together?"

I shake my head no after a while. "Cooper is still here. I can't just leave him alone in MTT. I'm sure BTTs threatened him with something."

"General, it's none of my business but, there must be some reasons for him doing this. You are worrying too much..."

I cut his words off. "Do you think he really admired them and wanted to become like them?" _What nonsense_! _Cooper admired me, not them_!

"General, please lower your voice or the boys will wake up. They are your followers. They will definitely make some noise if they find you."

I feel a headache at the word "followers". Followers, devotees, they are everywhere.

What did I do? What did I do for them? Why do they say they are my devotees and followers? Why do they call me the hope of NTTs? What do they expect from me? There's actually nothing I can do for them! It's tough enough to deal with my own problems. Why do they always want me to change things while they don't do a single thing to change their situation? Okay, maybe except Safire. But most of them don't realize. STT is not only my country. It is our home. Our permanent coop.

I stand up.

"General?"

"I had enough, Gascon. I don't want to care for anyone. You're right. There must be some reason for him when he chose to go through the operation. That must be the right choice, right? And I cannot return anything. I can't bring him back to my side." My throat chokes up before I can say my next words, "He chose to leave me. He must be disappointed with me because the real Cine Moon is not a strong man. He saw me being insulted by BTT Generals several times. He saw me keeping silent during the meetings even when they discussed wrong things, the things to torment us. I was not the person he was admiring. He just could not see a single special thing in me. Everything about me was just bubbles. Fake honors. I don't want it anymore. I didn't ask them to make me a hero! I'm just a simple man who struggled every day to be awake. Sometimes, I just want to give up everything, eat foods they give me and become brainless as they want. I want to suicide, spiritually, so I won't know what's wrong with my world. I will just accept that this world is the best I can have and I don't deserve better. You see? It's me! I'm not the person you think I am. I can't make my life or yours any better than it is now.

He stands up to face me.

"General Cooper was not the only one who entered the army after reading about you, and I'm not disappointed with you at all. I haven't thought of you as a perfect man, either. But, it did not change. You still make me dream."

I am confused. _I make him dream_? _How_? _Why_? _What did I do to all of you_? _I wished to live quietly, hiding under closets like a cockroach. But you all make it impossible. You just don't leave me alone. You drag me out of my safe refuge and ask me to do something for you. And don't see me dying of stress coming from the wrong expectations_!

"You don't understand. You all don't understand me!"

"General!"

I run out of his room. I sprint fast and faster. I've never hated myself this strongly. I want to forget who I am even just for a moment. There's only person who can make it possible as far as I know. He can send me to a mysterious dream where I can be someone else. _Zeus. Save me. Please_! _Do your magic for me. Take me out from this hell_!

## CHAPTER 18

I'm making a revisit to the ward where Amelia is locked in and asked me to save her. I had totally forgotten about her. No, actually every time I reminded of her wan face, I convinced myself that it's already too late to save her. _She's just going through an operation. She won't die. It's only her spirit that dies_.

She looks up, feeling my presence. Her cheeks look gaunter than the last visit but, her eyes have turned tougher. I want to clap for her determination. She clenches her teeth and growls like some wounded beast. She seems to be mad at me. She must have been waiting for me to save her for a long time. I still feel relieved, believing I am not too late. Just before she gets up and jumps towards me, fixing her sharp, unpolished nails, I teleport out of the place.

I'm in someone's office, sitting on a sofa.

"Tea or juice, hunter?" asks a voice.

I turn to see the hospital's supervisor, Kelly. I shake my head no to anything. He still insists, placing a cup of tea at my side and sits across from me. He takes a sip of his juice. "Did you check her condition? She's still fresh and rough, isn't she? She has refused eating. And, of course, we didn't give her any operation after receiving your call."

"Good," I say.

"So, how much is your price?"

I show him four fingers.

"Four?" he says, disappointed. "Come on, you trade with the Auction, don't you?"

I quietly bring out four emerald buttons from my coat. Kelly fixes his eyes on those on my black palm. I grin and slowly spread them on the table. They shine beautifully from every angle.

"Facets are alive," he says admiringly, looking at them closely. "Do you have any more gem buttons? Like ruby or sapphire..."

I put my hand inside my coat and take out a couple of colorful buttons.

"You even have a topaz! Can I touch it?"

I smile at his sparkling eyes and shake my head no. He leans back onto his sofa, crossing his arms as if pressing his desire down. He chews on his lower lip, looking into my eyes. He cocks his head a little and scrutinizes every facet of my face, just like looking into a precious gem.

"Listen, Mr. Hunter. I can supply you as many NTTs as you want. I can sell my patients. I heard MTT is already dealing with the Auction. It's a huge market, I understand. Bidders come from all the timelines. Yeah, I'm willing to make a deal with you. STT isn't flourishing with tourists anymore. I have to find my way to earn money," Kelly says woozily and looks up. "So, do you want to check other patients as well?"

"I want only unaffected ones."

He wrinkles his nose. _Bullshit, then you had to tell me earlier. We already crammed them with heaps of folly genes_!

"I accept any smart NTT," I add, reading his mind.

"Difficult. We call them cockroaches. They hide well. They hide their intelligence."

"Hunt all the roaches."

Kelly touches his long brown hair as he ponders. "MTT already took most of them. Do you know any?"

"Cine Moon," I say.

"The king cockroach?"

"Use him. Then his devotees will come out to the light."

"Right... he came here once to meet Amelia. She's one of his devotees."

I stretch my hand to clasp my cup and put it back on the table, loudly, after gulping it down. Kelly looks at me, threatened.

"By the way, don't touch him. He's mine. My prey."

## CHAPTER 19

As soon as I wake up, I am eager to run to Hera and tell everything I saw and heard in my dream. But I have to be in MTT due to scheduled time travel mission this morning. I walk to the bathroom to take a shower, arranging my thoughts.

I was called as a hunter.

_I had black hands_.

Which means, I was not in Zeus's body this time. I was inside a man who is going to hunt me. _What is really going on_? _How did I reach my bedroom this time_? _Did Gascon transfer me again_? _Oh, the night was a nightmare itself. I was insane last night. I called Zeus to save me. What was he trying to do with my dream_? _Was it real or an illusion he concocted_? _Can I believe the dream_? _Why does he keep playing with my dreams_?

I let cold water run over my body. It's icy cold but, I don't stop until I wake up fully. I hope my brain gives me a realistic analysis.

I stop the water and open my eyes. _It's a dream. It's an illusion my brain made up_.

But how can I explain Zeus and Nixie? His proposal seemed to be real. I was in his office. I became him and touched her and felt her... And she appeared in front of me the next day.

If my dream showed me the truth, what's happening to Amelia now? The hunter bought her to sell at an auction. _Auction_? Is there an auction where they sell and buy NTTs in BTTs' district? And they invite bidders from all timelines to sell us?

But Kelly mentioned STT isn't flourishing with tourists anymore. Then where's auction? Outside of STT?

I turn on the icy water, again, to cool down my fury. They are selling us in a slave auction where all timeliners attend.

_Don't get excited. It's something you already knew. It's only confirmed_.

But why will the hunter buy only smart NTTs? Silly NTTs must be easier to handle. Do they want smart slaves? What if the slave is smarter than a master? What happens then? Before that, will there be anyone to buy a half-zombie like Amelia? What if she's not sold? Will she be thrown away? Will the hunter have her? What kinds of work will she do? Will she be able to escape one day?

"Stop it Cine Moon!" I yap, hitting the wall. "She's gone. There's nothing you could do with her. That's what Zeus wants to show me. He wants me to confirm this."

_So, it was a warning. He's doing a countdown. He's telling me my turn is closer_.

## CHAPTER 20

I check time on my watch after looking at the long line of soldiers in front of the Gel Shower room. It's 6:30AM, thirty minutes before shooting. Soldiers should be ready in the Time Travel Vessel Shooting Hall by now.

"Why are they still here?" I grumble to myself, standing in the tail of the line.

Some soldiers see me and whisper to each other. I know what they are talking about. They must have seen me last night when I was crying on the floor or running and weeping at the same time or they are talking about my swollen eyes.

No one can return my authority and I have no will to do it. Let them ridicule me. It's the real me. I cry harder than a baby. I get hurt easily. Sometimes I fall asleep in tears, missing my father. There's no girl but Cine Moon in me. But what if they send me to Kelly's mental hospital? I might have looked like an insane man last night.

When I take a step forward, I find there's no one blocking my way anymore. I look up and see them all attaching their backs on walls, making a wide passage for me to pass. I blink, wondering what they had this breakfast and I walk through soldier-walled hallway, examining their faces. _Who made them this alarmed_?

And I find out, once I step inside the Gel room.

"Good morning, General Cooper," I greet him as coldly as possible.

"Good morning, General Cine Moon," he responds tersely, not even turning his head to me. He sounds perfectly emotionless. _Good job Zeus. You successfully made your avatar_. I press down my wrath and ask him, "Why are you naked?"

"I'm taking a bath. It's a shower room anyway, isn't it?" he says, scrubbing his buttocks sitting on a chair.

True, it was a common bath room for NTTs originally before it turned to be the Gel Shower room. The board did not bother to change the interior and just installed one gel shower booth for hundreds of us.

"Why don't you let them have a gel shower first? They'll be late otherwise."

"That's what I intend. That's a punishment. They blocked my way. It's a common sense no BTT lines up with NTTs."

"So are you the one? Remember your born nature. You were one of us just yesterday."

Cooper looks up, irritated. "You better stop talking about yesterdays. We are living in today."

He rises up, fixing his gaze at me and I see the chair he was sitting on was man-formed. A soldier is bending with his back flat. I see his arms tremble. Cooper walks toward me to go to a shower booth to remove bubbles away from his body.

"Stand up," I order the soldier. He hears me but, straightens his arms instead.

"He knows who's higher now," Cooper says, passing by me.

I hear water falling down and a low hum behind my back. I turn back with fury and see a man standing near the door with Cooper's uniform hung over his face. I tread and stand in front of him. I can see only his half nose and mouth but, perceive the man. There's only one soldier who has those wise wrinkles.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm guarding the door, General," says Gascon.

"How can you guard covering your eyes?" I say and remove the uniform out of his face at once. No mercy was left in my mind. That's not the Cooper I used to know. He is now so rotten that he uses an older man as a hanger. I madly tramp toward him as he finishes showering. I clasp his upper arm and pull him as I walk to the opposite side. He struggles not to be dragged, pushing me away. I promptly trip him up with my foot and drag him on the stony floor, hearing his screams. I throw him under a gel shower booth and wildly toss his uniform onto his face. I try not to see his bloody legs and knees that were scratched by the rough floor.

"Make sure gel soaks every part of your body and clothes," I say and punch a button with my fist. As gel gushes over his head, his clothes fall down and expose his furious eyes looking at mine. We share the glares until the gel stops pouring down.

"Enough. Next, Gascon!" I shout and check him walking towards me before turning back to Cooper. He has not moved an inch.

"What are you doing? Disappear! Disappear at once! I don't want to see your face."

_I don't want to see his face from you_!

"I don't..." I hold my tears soaring up. "I don't need you anymore."

He slowly gets up and peers down on my face. He seems like he's gaining some more height after he became a GTT.

"You can't order me what to do." He says it word by word clearly, "You are below me. You better learn how to treat your superior, quickly."

## CHAPTER 21

I don't know how I managed to take a seat on a TT vessel after having gel over my body. I believe Gascon helped me. I fainted, mentally, with extreme anger and shock. I now fully accept the fact. He changed. He totally transformed. He can't come back.

"Oh, Zeus, it's him!"

My conscious returns back at the name. Zeus. He's here to destroy my life and every person around me. I knew his plan from the beginning when I first met him a half year ago. That's when he came to MTT to join the army.

I was one of the judges interviewing him.

"My goal is to hunt every cockroach," he answered to a question what he wanted to accomplish in MTT.

"Why?" I asked.

"Do I need a reason when I kill cockroaches?" he asked me back.

"I mean why should you do that in MTT? Why not police?"

He grinned at me before answering this: "Because here's the head of them."

Every judge gave him the best grade except me. I expressed my opposition with the grade rather than raising my voice that he's a psycho. And in just six months he did a lot of hunting in and out of MTT. He is the number one devotee who sent most sinners to our infamous Justice Judge Noir who tortures the sinner with various ways before ending their lives. He also has become a leader of BTT Generals in that short period of time. He seemed to have removed some of the formal Generals with his hands and filled his side with new bloods like Ares, Bacchus, Venus and other Generals who named themselves after Greek gods or goddesses to prove their loyalty to him.

He chose to squeeze my throat gradually rather than slaying me at once. He started with reducing my authority in MTT. I used to be one of the judges, when interviewing new recruits whether they were BTTs or NTTs, before he appealed the board that it is an insult to a BTT to be judged by an NTT like me.

He made more strict rules for NTTs and considered complainers as sinners. None of them came back after they were sent to the courtroom. And finally he removed people around me one by one. I didn't know them by name but, as my devotees. I am glad no one yearns for my thumb but, I worry what on earth happened to them.

"Excuse me? General Cine Moon?"

I look up at the voice to find a young soldier standing in front of me.

"Can I sit next to you?" he asks me.

He quickly sits on my right once I nod yes.

"Father, he's here! Cine Moon's here!"

I turn to my left at the thin voice which sounds like a child before puberty. A juvenile soldier pushes a big round hand mirror onto my face. I see a man's face instead of mine.

"Good morning, General! I can't believe we are video-phoning like this!" he says, deeply impressed. "I'm watching you with my sons!"

The screen divides into half and shows my face between two boy soldiers' in the half. I look blank compared to their happy faces. The younger one keeps calling _Zeus_ and _Zeus_ with excitement. It seems like some soldiers call his name when they are surprised or shocked. I only hope they don't do this in front of him.

"Oh, General, you have to know how much I admire you. I'm running a pub and your posters are everywhere," he says and turns the videophone to show me inside his pub.

_What a crazy interior_. I am hung over every wall and one of them is painted with my portrait. I'm posing like one of the Zeus's troupe wearing a crown of ivy. Every table has three Cine Moon dolls, _no_ , they are sugar, salt and vinegar bottles. And my manikin stands near the entrance to welcome customers.

_Oh, Zeus_.

He smiles at my shocked face. "And you will be even more surprised if you know my boys' names."

I swallow. _Please don't tell me. I think I know them_. I send him an earnest glance.

"Yes, they are Cine and Moon!"

_Cine and Moon. Oh, Venus_!

Venus is another expression being used among NTT soldiers. I think I can't hold it any longer. I'm too embarrassed with the beautified me.

"I have to go," I tell him rapidly. "It was nice to meet you."

"Thank you very much, sir. Hope my sons become like you one day. They are already my heroes joining MTT army," he says.

I nod and pass the video phone to Cine, the older boy. I look down and repeat the conversation I just shared with him in my mind. I check if I mentioned anything against BTTs. None. But my last words " _It was nice to meet you_ " can be a problem. If I am fortunate, they may accept it just as an expression. The worst scenario is that they may think I was really glad to meet my admirer and would track him down to remove him.

"General," Cine says on my right after turning off his phone. "Is it true that you hate us? Why do you hate us? We all love you. We all became soldiers to be like you."

I want to answer that is exactly what I hate about myself. I don't want to be the one to attract young boys into MTT army.

"We call that Cine Moon syndrome that every boy wants to be next you! My father fed us gallons of milk so we could get into the army earlier. I'm taller than boys in my senior years," says Moon.

"How old are you?" I ask him.

"I'm thirteen."

"Thirteen in the army?" I repeat myself, taken aback. _This is crazy_.

"It's not an ordinary army. It's time travelers' army!" says Cine excitingly.

_Yes, we exist for them but, you can't ever be a real time traveler unless you surrender them like Cooper_ , I think bitterly.

"Now tell me how to be a General," says Moon, shining his eyes. I almost burst out at his seriousness. His naughtiness reminds me of Cooper.

"You want my advice?" I ask.

He nods eagerly. His brother also leans toward me as well.

"Leave MTT as soon as possible before you're bewitched," I whisper, hoping they understand my twist.

Moon pauses and whispers back, "I think I'm already bewitched! I love MTT!"

_Alright... It's my fault to overestimate you. Or is he acting, knowing the board is watching us_?

Bars come down. We grip the bars and hear the announcement the vessel will be shot in a minute.

"You know what?" says Moon. "It's my first time to go out of STT. I'm so excited." Then he smiles as if nervous. I stare, thinking maybe it isn't that bad to be a MTT soldier despite that we are mostly sent to wars as secret warriors.

"I'm not going to be a General only," Moon adds. "I'll be the head of MTT so I can change the rules they made to lock us up. I'll do that before my father dies so I can take him out of STT and show him the bigger world."

" _Stop_."

That's just one word I need to say but, my lips don't move. I look up at the ceiling with fear. There are invisible cameras everywhere.

What the boy had just said was " _taboo_ ".

## CHAPTER 22

"Wake up! You must wake up before the vessel takes us back to MTT!"

I open my eyes to the voice waking me up. But there's no one around me. I stand up but, soon fall down on the floor feeling dizzy.

_Where am I_? I look around but things are turning, turning and turning around. Someone grabs my hand and talks to me with an anxious voice. "General, he's not waking up. I'm afraid he left his soul between timelines! What should we do?"

What I can see is only a mouth. A large mouth with thick lips circling in a marbling...

Instant wooziness occasionally visits me after time travel. It is a light TT sickness. Some people lose some body parts during time travel. Some people lose their life as the souls get separated from bodies during travel. We call that leaving one's soul between timelines.

I hear a sharp sound ahead and feel a burning pain on my cheek the next second. It was a slap on my face. "General Moon! I haven't learned how to bring back the lost soul! He's old and tired. Gascon will die if we don't help!"

_Gascon_? _He will die_? No way, _I won't allow it. I can't lose any more friends. They already have Cooper. Not Gascon_. I clutch Moon's hand before it gives me another slap.

"I came back." I stand up with an assist from him. He takes me to the end of the vessel. He's there, lying on the floor, closing his eyes with swollen cheeks. Cine seemed to whack his face several times. What a rude boy.

"General, he doesn't wake up. I did everything I can but he's not moving at all..." says Cine with his teary eyes.

"That's not how to bring the soul back." I push him away gently and carry Gascon on my back. "Follow me. We must get out of the vessel first."

"General," Moon calls me just before my boot steps on the exit door. "There's one more person whose soul is lost. And he was not there a second ago."

I turn back to the opposite side of the long vessel and find a sleeping king. _Zeus_.

_Yeah, I missed you_. "Leave," I tell Cine and Moon, handing Gascon over. BTTs don't ride TT vessels as they time travel themselves. That he is riding in the vessel means something.

"Find any other senior soldier. He will know how to bring him back. Don't wait for me, okay?" I push them to the exit when an icy voice penetrates into my eardrum.

"No one can leave."

I turn back to find him looking down at me.

"He, he teleported!" says Cine, amazed.

"He's a BTT. Is he Zeus?" says Moon curiously.

I sway my hand behind my back to signal them to leave now.

"Didn't you hear him? He said no one can leave."

I turn back at Bacchus holding Cine's shoulders with both hands. He yearns, laying his chin on Cine's head. "I almost fell in sleep because it's too slow. So I went to a controlling room and accelerated."

"Then some souls began separating from their bodies," Ares says as he appears next to him. "Don't worry. We put most of them back into their cases except for this old soldier." He's holding Gascon with one hand as if holding a paper folder. I clench my teeth at his insolence.

Zeus appears in the middle of them. "And I have his soul here, in this bottle."

"So it was true," Moon says, looking at the small bottle Zeus is holding. "I thought it was just an expression that a soul gets lost between timelines. But a soul actually can be separated from the body."

He looks literally bewitched at the beautiful thing in the bottle, which looks like folded wings of angels. "It's like a butterfly. A silver butterfly. He's trying to fly," says Moon, stepping forward to see into the bottle closer. _Oh, boy. He's totally brainless to approach Zeus himself_!

"We want his soul back," says Cine. "He's a good man! Playing with a man's soul, do you call yourself adults?"

I feel dizzier at the boy's thoughtless bravery. _What a nerve_! _What kind of brothers are you_?

"You're right. He's a good man," says Zeus, turning to me stunned. _Huh_? _What is he saying_? "And every one of you thinks so, right?" he says, looking at each of us. "That's why I chose him."

He clenches his fist and slowly opens his palm where a crystal clear ball is being created. He brings the bottle near to it and watches the ball absorb it as an ovum sucks up a sperm. "It's hollow now but, it will fill with ice to freeze the bottle and the soul in it, unless you win over us."

He grins and throws the ice ball up to the ceiling. I look up, afraid that it will drop and be broken. But it floats in midair looking down at us. The silver butterfly which was sitting on the bottom tries to fly up as the bottom of the bottle is frozen.

"We are playing a game. It's a popular sport in our district. We call it Avatar Triathlon," says Zeus.

"A gumball machine?" Moon says, looking at the raffle machine appearing in the center.

"It contains sports from all timelines. Each pair will choose and play a fair game."

_Fair_? I wrinkle at his word. Bacchus has teamed up with Cine. Ares, the biggest man, will be Moon's fighter as mine becomes Zeus automatically.

"We will go first." Bacchus says gently, "partner, want to do the raffle?"

He is not drunk now. Very rare. Cine nods and marches to the raffle machine. I step out stretching my arm. "Wait a minute, it can't be fair!"

"Who said he will play himself?" Zeus says. "Didn't I say it's Avatar Triathlon? We are only commanders."

_Then where's avatars_?

"You can choose your avatar after picking out your sport," he answers, reading my thought. "Soldier, turn the raffle."

Cine nods at me as if I don't need to worry. I swallow and watch a red ball with tiny yellow stars falling onto his palm. I notice it's a flag of China.

Zeus takes the ball from him and throws the ball onto the ceiling.

The next second I find myself standing on rocks under bamboo trees. I _t's an arena_ , says my instinct.

"Welcome the next participants of Avatar Triathlon. BTT versus NTT. Our favorite victims. Who will lose and keep his avatar?" rings a familiar voice among screams of countless spectators who are looking down at us. I look up to check his face with my own eyes. A handsome man with a mean dimple is looking down at us from his golden terrace.

_It's him. Justice Judge Noir. We stepped in his courtroom where only sinners enter and never come back_.

"You know the rule, gentlemen," says Noir.

The rule. Winning is not _winning_ in his courtroom.

"Cine!" I call him to warn about the rule but, just at that moment he turns to me, Zeus clutches my shoulder as if he's going to break it. And I am instantly transferred to audience seats surrounded by crazy men and women who are making animal sounds at Noir's announcement "First round is Kung Fu!"

_I have to tell him. I have to tell him about his rule_.

"You have to entertain him!" I shout out of my throat but it's no use. He's already taken out of the arena.

"He will come back after choosing his avatar," says Zeus next to me. He's crossing his arms, leaning back comfortably on his sofa. But I cannot relax myself. My heart keeps pounding as I imagine the worst things to happen to the boys.

"Worst thing can happen in this sport is only losing your avatar," says Zeus.

He doesn't sound like he's lying but, I still feel something's going very wrong. _Noir isn't a person who will judge merely a game_.

"Do you think it's an ordinary game? You don't know how many benefits we earn from this event. Avatar Triathlon is an excellent means of raising an avatar's value."

"Will they fight with robots? Is that what you mean by avatars?"

He snorts. "We are not interested in robot avatars. We want real people with colorful emotions and senses."

I narrow my eyes as I cannot believe the words "colorful emotions" came out from his mouth. _You say that, ice man_? Anyway, I'll know how the avatars work once the game begins. Just then, I hear people yell so loudly that it paralyzes my ears and then I see Cine walking out to the arena in kung fu uniform. I search to find his avatar but, there's nothing.

"Oh, poor boy, he was not able to bring any avatar," Judge Noir says, sitting on a large golden chair that shines but, cannot glow brighter than his black clothes decorated with jewel buttons. "A thunder of applaud, please!"

While people are sending thunderclaps, I promptly turn to Zeus. "What does he mean? Should he fight himself? Why doesn't he have an avatar?"

"Of course not. NTTs are not even allowed to know about avatars. But an alternative is his friend and he must be someone who already knows about avatars."

_Anyone in NTTs' district is not allowed to know about avatars. I didn't even imagine it until I was called here. Then there's no one on earth he can bring up, except_ me. I stand up without delay and look around to find the shortest way to go down to Cine.

"You can't. You cannot be your teammate's avatar. It's against the rules."

"Against the rules? We learned about this game just a while ago and you talk about rules!" I bark at his face. I expect him to attack me right away to punish a rude NTT but, he only grins as if he understands my fury. A kind Zeus makes me even more fretful.

"I told you we will lead a fair game, remember?" he says after turning back to the arena. I turn my head and check to see that Bacchus has appeared in the middle of the arena, drinking his wine and waving his hand to the audience. I sink onto my sofa with relief. What drunken Bacchus can do is only hissing crazy words.

He keeps drinking and drinking even while Judge Noir announces the beginning of the game. He throws the empty bottle onto the floor.

"I don't know how to do kung fu," he says, then smirks. "But drunken Bacchus can do it."

"Don't give me a lot of crap," says Moon, "I saw many people like you in dad's bar. You can't actually move a single finger..." He can't finish his words as Bacchus's fist is severely shoved into his stomach. He was so fast that even I didn't notice him moving a single foot. _Of course not. He teleported_! _BTT versus NTT can't be fair_! I see Cine fly a few meters up and about to fall onto the rocks.

"Oh, no," I actually spit it out. _His backbone will be shattered_! But Bacchus stands in the position where he would be falling down, and kicks the boy to the opposite side of the arena. Then he kicks him back to the right, not allowing him to drop steeply onto the floor. Just falling onto the rocks looks rather tender than Bacchus's spring kicks. I did not think he was this elastic.

Bacchus repeats soccer-in-the-midair twice more and finally teleports in the middle to knee kick his face down until Cine's body hits the rocky ground. Around the point where he's collapsed is largely cracked as if a meteor crashed. I spew out rough breathings and shake my fists with a shock how the man could destroy the young man's body in this short moment. Is he dead or alive? I cannot tell. His body is utterly numb and his eyes only expose the white part. Every bone in his body must be fractured and split. His backbone, fingers, and even his nose are so completely destroyed that he does not look like himself anymore. He won't be able to sit on a chair, again, for his whole life. _Horrible. It's horrible_. But what really makes me enraged are the people around me. They must be descendants of Satan. Otherwise, they wouldn't be clapping and laughing at this scene. I was being ruled by those devils. My whole life was being controlled by these morons.

Bacchus stoops closely to Cine scrutinizing his demolished face.

"You didn't know how to kung fu, either! If you had told me earlier, I'd have lent you some of my wine collections..." BTTs burst out once more at his words so loud that Bacchus has to hold his finger to his lips to make them quiet. He kneels with one leg and stands up, lifting Cine above his head with one hand.

"Judge Noir, declare the winner!" says Bacchus, shining his eyes with expectation. However, Noir seems to be unsatisfied, twitching his lips on the right and sitting loosely on his chair like a lazy king.

"You can't win. You made it too quick that left no entertainment for me and the audience. The winner is the boy if I have to choose. I liked his bluff in the beginning."

Bacchus immediately drops Cine back down to the stone floor, with disappointment then teleports out of the arena. People scream congratulating the winner while I am left empty with the unbelievable verdict. _We won the first round. He received a victory. He will be safe_!

"Welcome, fighters," says Noir as Ares and Moon stand on his terrace. "Please give me some fun. Don't end up like him so easily," he says, looking down at Cine whose mouth keeps releasing blood. Moon looks fired up, like a flint, at his brother's miserable form.

_Don't cry, Moon. Don't show them your tears. Don't let the insanities tease your sorrow_.

"You pick the ball," says Moon. I smile at his powerful voice. _Good. That's it_ Ares walks to the gumball raffle machine that stands between them. A white ball with a red spot falls onto his palm. _Japan_. He hands it over to Judge. He stands up and comes out to the terrace. He throws the ball above the arena and in less than a second, it changes the form for a place to play a new sport. Cine's gone as well.

"Second round's Sumo," Noir exclaims and turns back to his seat, flying his jacket. He stops and holds Moon's hand tightly before he goes down.

"You must beat him up for the sake of your brother." Screen shows Moon's face sending an intense look at the Noir's grin. "Good. Some anger will trigger the beast in you. You must thank me." Moon heaves his hand and walks down.

I feel the thirst waiting for the second round to begin. Moon will definitely appear himself in a sumo costume. There's no one on the earth who will volunteer for him. I hope sumo is the gentler sport compared to kung fu but, still everything will be fine. How critically they get wounded, I can bring them to the almighty doctor I know. In an instance, someone holds my shoulder. I start, worrying if he was paying attention to my thoughts.

"We should get ready for the last round," says Zeus.

I almost forgot, next was my turn with this ice man.

## CHAPTER 23

"Where is Cine?" I ask him once we arrive in a waiting room with an opulent set of furniture and strength-training machines.

"In any room," says Zeus, sitting on a sofa.

"Is he being cured?"

"It's up to Avatar Auction. Some buyers will find the face interesting."

I narrow my eyes at his words. _What is he talking about_? _Auction_? _Buyer_? _He's a winner_! I pause as I realize the trick.

"Winner's avatar is taken." I look at him to confirm my idea.

"Not exactly. It's only a show to raise the value of you, cockroaches."

_Show_? _To raise our value before selling us to the Avatar Auction_? _Not a slave auction_? _What is an avatar_?

"An avatar's born to serve NTTs. It is a vehicle to help you time travel without riding TT transportations. If you ride in a BTT's body, you don't need to have TT symptoms. No losing a leg or soul between timelines."

"But why do you sell us out there? We are NTTs. We can't time travel."

"Originally. But things changed after years. BTTs want to have avatars also, to become totally different personalities whether NTTs or BTTs."

_To become totally different personalities_?

"Ares, Bacchus and other Generals around me are examples. You thought they were new but they were men your already knew. They were called Loring and Romanov before they met me."

_Loring and Romanov. Those I thought resigned after Zeus took a leadership among Generals. They were always with me just with changed feature and name_.

"Sit and take your time to arrange your thoughts. I'm willing to answer every question. I feel good today as I'm about to sell you out, finally, King cockroach."

_Sell me out_? _As an avatar_? _So was that his purpose_? _He didn't need to drag the boys in then_!

Just then, we hear thunderous claps from outside. The second round must be ended by now.

"Do you have more questions before we start the game?" says Zeus sweetly. I think I want to tear his face up.

"Then my face will be recovered in a second and your value as an avatar will rocket up. They love avatars with unique experiences. That's why we make the sinners participate in the Avatar Triathlon. It's an honor to them to fight BTTs, you understand?"

I send him a glare instead of answering him. He contends with my stare for a while before turning his eyes to a door. "Enter."

As the door opens up there I see someone who melts my anger down at once. I even feel lucky to see him for the last time before I am being sold in that Avatar Auction.

"General Ares made soldier Moon win successfully," reports Cooper.

I am not surprised to hear that. How boring of a performance Moon showed, Judge Noir might proclaim his victory. All he did was acting. _That sadist dimple_. I clench my teeth, thinking of the man who calls himself Justice Judge. Where's justice? Where's fairness? STT hasn't yearned for it. But there's still a good thing in this disaster field. Cooper. He's there without a scar on his face. I even want to compliment him for making the right choice. He surrendered and minimized the odds to be sold in the Avatar Auction. Ares was right. Zeus might care for him as long as Cooper manages to maintain his attitude. That one, to Gascon, was really mean but Zeus likes it mean. Let them be the one for Cooper's sake.

We will win over them as they planned and will be able to secure Gascon's soul. I don't think they will sell the sick soldier in the auction. There is no one who wants to experience pains after riding in a sick man's body. Or the opposite? Will they be weird enough to desire aching? _No, no, just see the bright side. I'm happy enough to check Cooper's fine. That's most important to me_.

I am rather glad visualizing me winning over Zeus. His hatred toward me was obvious from the beginning. In the last he even invaded into my dream. The hunter who appeared in my latest dream must be his avatar. He bought Amelia to sell her out to Auction. That was Avatar Auction. Finally, I know everything. And now, I have the valid reason to end his life with every evil inside me.

"Are you done with meditation? He looks quite ready, isn't he, Cooper?"

I smile at him confidently and think my next words clearly.

_I'm not going to the fucking Auction. I'll die here after I bring you nearly to death. I will give you pain that you wish you would die_.

I don't need to hide my thought anymore. Let it reach him and let him feel the fear. Even an ounce of it will be enough.

I will teach you martial arts are stronger than your genes. I will show you how I trained myself to conquer your freezing gene.

Yes... I know. I may not be able to kill you... But I promise you.

_I will show you hell_.

## CHAPTER 24

I hear the earsplitting noise as we step on the terrace of Judge Noir. Screens show us facing each other. The audience seems to know that this will be a big match. I'm not a humorous guy but, I know the show. I will present them the biggest show they will ever experience. I am ready to end my life in the thrill and fun. It's definitely not the way I lived my life. This will be a bloody battle.

"General Zeus, I hope you drag time as long as possible before you end the game," says Noir.

Zeus nods curtly with his plaster-figure-like face.

"By the way, General Moon, are you insane? Why do you keep smiling like a psycho?" Noir says. "We better note you've gone mad after feeling pressure before selling you. Of course in case you beat him. Feel easy. Zeus is a human as well. He's just fantastically strong."

His joking threat does not affect me. I'm out of control, being too excited to raze him.

"I'm afraid he's going to break the raffle machine with his exceeding energy," Zeus says, "I'm going to pick the ball myself. Is it that alright, General Moon?"

"As you please," I say brightly.

Noir smiles at my confidence and leans slightly forward, excited. I see a white ball with a symbol of red and blue and four groups of black bars falls onto Zeus's palm. It's Korea. Hera's country. Noir smiles when he receives the ball from Zeus, stands up, and throws the ball powerfully into the sky. I see a neat matted white floor.

_Good to spread your blood, Zeus_.

"Final round is Taekwondo!" Noir shouts at the spectators and turns to whisper to us. "Both of you, I will not let you survive if you disappoint the crazy audience. It includes me."

## Chapter 25

I walk out in the arena after changing my clothes to taekwondo uniform. I walk to the center of the arena, proud of my black belt. And my opponent, who appeared in front of me, is wearing a yellow belt around his waist. If it were Zeus, I must snort or chuckle at it. But I can't. I can't even move a finger while his attack begins after the Judge's signal. He is the last person I want to fight with.

_Why didn't I notice_? _Why didn't I think of a possibility that he might become his avatar_?

"You can't do this, Zeus!" I roar up and throw my challenger onto the floor, gripping clothes above his chest. I turn my eyeballs crazily to find Zeus and catch him standing in the terrace behind Cooper, sending a grin to me.

"I'll break you."

I run to the nearest stairway to reach him but Cooper interrupts me by clutching my collar from the rear before throwing me onto the floor. I get him out of the way with a kick so, I can rush to my real foe, who is controlling my best friend. His eyes are like Zeus's. Cold, emotionless and he is faster and stronger as is his avatar. He drags me, again, with enormous power that flings me down.

I quickly stand up and feed him dozens of punches and kicks. He blocks some and even attacks back. He gives me an acute tornado kick in the face. I feel as if a whip slapped my cheek. I block the following kicks and notice his taekwondo is excellent. It's Zeus's skills that met Cooper's power and the collaboration is stark. _He is not going to let me win easily. Just as what Bacchus did to Cine, he's not going to end the game until he breaks me down with Cooper's hands_.

I keep some distance between us and observe his movements. It's been a while since we faced each other on a sports ground. It's good and even nostalgic. We played different kinds of sports and martial arts teaching each other. But I see the icy glare of Zeus in his face and recall what to do. _End the game as soon as possible. To minimize their enjoyment and marring our memories._

_Solar Plexus_. That's the answer.

"Forgive me, Cooper!" I bawl as I dash to him. Just a half second before my fist socks into his celiac plexus I hear Zeus shout, "Move as I order!" and I find my fist cuts across midair. _Where is he_? In an instance I hear heavy breathing from my back. I swiftly turn to him but, pause as my eyes meet his eyes, _Cooper's own eyes_.

"Hello General," he says politely, "Sorry but, I have to win this game." Then he begins a series of attacks, using his fabulous wrestling skills.

_He must not know the rule. If he knows he can't fight this hard_ , I think, receiving his Shining Wizard, German Suplex, Chokeslam, Boston Crab, Superkick, Ace Crusher, Pedigree and finally my _Game Over_.

He caught me bending. _Wrestling moves in taekwondo match_. But I am satisfied. He showed them his strength. BTT Generals won't be able to overlook his talent and expertise. I even want to shout "That's my man!" hearing the audience's crazy cheers.

_It was awesome, Cooper. You were real cool_.

"Judge this game!" utters Cooper, looking up at Noir. "Who's the winner?"

I close my eyes and heave a long sigh of relief. _It finally ended. Now he will call my name and take me to the Avatar Auction. I planned to end my life, here, after damaging Zeus but, it's all good. I was happy to fight Cooper before I leave STT and live as someone's possession_.

I hear Noir exhale before delivering his verdict. "It was amazing." He pauses as if he's, too, overwhelmed to continue. "Congratulations! Winner of the final round, General Cooper!"

I open my eyes at once at his senseless ruling. _What did he just say_? I raise my waist up, squeezing my last vigor out of my sore body and say, "Wait, Judge, he used wrestling skills not taekwondo's! He did not follow the rule..."

He cuts me off in the middle and says frigidly, "Rule is only one, when you have me as a Judge. _Entertain_ me." He turns to Cooper and talks with a delighted tone, "How can I thank you General Cooper? You killed my stress with your domino attack. Tell me one thing you want before being transferred to the Avatar Auction."

"No, that's not what you planned! You should take me. That's your purpose!"

"Shut up and listen," says Noir, closing his eyes and widening his arms as if feeling the breeze. "Do you hear it? They are calling his name, not yours. They are eager to bid for Cooper, not you. You are a loser."

Cooper looks down at me. "Cooper, you're deceived. You had to let me win!" I hear my voice shaking with fear. _He will be taken out. He will be standing in the Avatar Auction_. "That had to be me!"

He turns his eyes away from me and stares at Noir. "Time. I want time to be alone with General Cine Moon."

"Cooper," I call him out. At the same time I comprehend the truth from his calmness. _He knew the rule. He knew their plan. So he fought to amuse the Judge_.

"Say no, Judge, cancel what you said! You can't take him away from me," I say but, no one even notices that I'm saying some words as I make mumbling sounds mixed with cries. Noir tilts his head dubiously. "You don't want time with General Zeus? He was your lord."

Cooper snorts. "General Zeus? I have nothing to do with that asshole. Let him live in his Greek fantasy with his stupid comrades."

With Noir's snicker, all the audience begins laughing until it fills the whole arena, as every screen shows Zeus's fuming face. "Look at his face, General," says Cooper, giggling with his entire face. It's been a while to see his shiny beam. _He's smiling_. I can't squeeze my tears out like a fool anymore.

"Yes, it's funny. He looks hilarious," I say with my vision hazy with steam.

"How come you smile and cry at the same time? You have a weird skill." He gives me an even larger smile and lifts me up gently. I hear Noir just before he takes me out of the arena.

"Remember him, audience! General Cooper is available in the Avatar Auction. The man who gave Zeus a public shame is waiting to be your avatar!"

## CHAPTER 26

I assume he took me into his domain, seeing a castle made of glass of various colors. The structure looks too peculiar to be real. He must be clumsy in visualizing his home, like a baby who grabbed a crayon for the first time in his life.

"General, welcome to my domain!" says Cooper behind me. I instantly turn and rush to him to embrace him as hard as I can, tolerating pains coming from every cell of my body. His arms lock around my back. We both know that it will be our last chance for this deep hug. He feels rockier and bulkier inside my arms. But in a few seconds he pushes me away swiftly.

"Let's go in General. I prepared a gift for you."

I nod and follow him inside his glass castle. I am led directly to a living room.

"Please have a seat. I'll bring your gift now," says Cooper and stamps up the stairs. I sink down on a sofa and close my eyes to squeeze out an idea of how I can save Cooper.

_Come on, my brain isn't hurt. Think of it. You're his hero. Save him! He's a GTT now. He can time travel anywhere and hide. Hide? That's not possible. He's Zeus's avatar. He must be freed from the fetters_. But just how?

Just then, I hear Cooper's footsteps and see him with two women. One is Nixie but, the other sleeping in his arms is a stranger. Cooper lays her down on a long sofa like an offering to me, while Nixie and I awkwardly stare at each other. _Would she tell him that she met me in the BTTs' restaurant_? _If not, should I act like we are meeting for the first time_? Thankfully, she takes the initiate.

"Nice to meet you, General Moon. I'm Nixie."

"Oh, sorry, Nixie, I forgot to introduce you to him. Yes, sir, she's her, my love."

She stretches her hand to me. I don't hesitate to grab and shake it.

"How are you, Nixie?"

"Fine, thank you," she says with a forced smile. I see her eyes are puffed-up as if she cried all night.

"Okay, perfect! She's ready," says Cooper, kneeling next to the sleeping woman and points to an empty sofa near him. "Please lay down there, General Moon. I want to see you in her before I leave."

"Who's she?"

"She's my gift, General. She's a BTT."

" _I want to see you in her before I leave_ ," he said. Does it mean... "She's an avatar?"

"Yes sir!"

My blank brain gradually turns into a light and begins an analysis of his words. A big smile floats on my face. "That's it, Cooper. You did it well!"

"Welcome, sir. Now, you should hurry."

"Yeah, you must hurry. Go into her."

He pauses by astonishment. "Sir?"

"Go into her and take Nixie with you to the furthest place you can reach."

He exhales. "Sir, that's not an ideal plan. Zeus will catch me."

"No, he won't," I say confidently, "Because I'm going into you. You know he abhors me. He would be glad to sell me out there, not you."

His smile fades away. "What are you talking about, sir? That's totally nonsense."

"Why not? It's a perfect plan. You can live with Nixie happily ever after. You love her. What's more important?"

"You! You, sir. You and Nixie both are more important than me."

I shake my head no. "I'll be fine. I can live on. I'll be happy to think of you two traveling all the timelines together."

"Stubborn, stubborn, you are creepily stubborn, General Moon! Why don't you understand me? I planned all the things for you and her. My purpose is only your escape!"

"Escape to where? How far can we go? We won't be able to forget you. Please leave with her if you truly care for me. That's what I want." Cooper gives me a long look with tired eyes. "Come on, let me protect you. Cooper, please."

"I believe it's time to leave," says Cooper after a pause.

"Cooper!" I hold his hand tightly as I see him turning transparent. He's teleporting slowly. "You cruel brat, you heartless Cooper," I yelp in tears. "Don't leave me! You can't leave me!" He turns to Nixie, kisses her on the cheek then finally gives me a salute. His teary eyes, firmness of his fingers, and his smile remain like seeing an illusion even after he's gone to the evil Judge himself. Soon it breaks into a painful outcry of people left behind. My body evokes several stings in different body parts where Cooper's kicks and punches pierced through and I lose conscious.

## CHAPTER 27

When I open my eyes, I am lying on a bed. I raise my body up and look down, feeling a presence and warmth of another person on my left. There lays me. Cine Moon is sleeping there. I swallow and lift my hands, no, her hands. My avatar has long, thin fingers and sharp nails that chill me out.

"I transferred your soul to her body. Do you feel comfortable?" asks Nixie. She is holding a bottle of whiskey on a doorway.

"Of course not," I say in my avatar's voice. Fortunately her voice is husky for a woman.

"But you'd better get used to it," she says firmly.

I nod. "What happens to my body?"

"You can sell _that_ out or keep it here."

"I see."

She suddenly breaks into tears. "You had to stop him. There's one thing he didn't tell you. He's not going to be an avatar but, a tester."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been sold _to_ the Avatar Auction for their experiment. I overheard in Zeus's office. They are developing different types of avatars and they buy real people for it. MTT and Avatar Auction are partners. That's how the Cockroach Hunting started." She falls down on the floor. "He'll die there!"

"Shut up, shut up Nixie," I say.

"We had to stop him. You had to stop him!"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier about it? Why are you telling me just now after he's gone to Noir? We're done! We can't do anything now!"

"You are useless. You are this helpless! I don't know what Cooper and my dad saw in you. He even got sick in MTT."

"Your dad? In MTT?"

"Soldier Gascon."

"Gascon. He's your dad! He didn't tell me he had a daughter in MTT. Why didn't you tell Cooper he's your father? You had to tell him. Cooper did a foul thing to your dad. He used him as a, as a..."

"Hanger," she connects the word. "He only acted to earn Zeus's trust and my dad understood. Zeus must enjoy the show, looking at your mad face."

"Absolutely," I say and get out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" she asks me when I pass by her strong smelling odor of alcohol coming from her mouth.

"I'm going back to STT."

"Are you crazy? Cooper sacrificed himself to send you out of STT, then what?" says Nixie, frantically following me.

I turn back to her. "How can I get out?"

"You can't leave here without my consent. He left his domain for me."

"Could he transfer the ownership to an NTT?"

"He gave me a key coming in and out."

"Key? Interesting. Where's that?"

"I won't give it to you," says Nixie, holding her neck. I notice she's wearing it.

"Okay, give me that or we play wrestling."

"Don't say a word that reminds me of Cooper!"

"Cooper was a born-wrestler. That doesn't change. Well, he changed his fate."

"I warned you!"

"We should change quickly to survive. He's gone. Cooper's gone. You're right. I'm helpless. I couldn't save him but, he saved us. We should remember him and live well."

"So, is your way to live well going back to STT?"

"I'm going to bring my friends, including your dad."

"That's not possible. You cannot even go into STT without the Minister's permit."

"And I have that."

"What?"

I bring out a MTT badge that I took off from my MTT uniform. This was given to MTT Generals by the Minister. I saw the same thing from BTTs working in our district as well.

"This is the key I need to enter STT. Now, give me your key to get out of here."

"No! They will definitely find you out once you step inside STT. They will locate you with the badge. You will be caught!"

"Don't lie to me. I know what kind of deal Zeus made with Cooper. He might ask him to be his avatar for saving us. I bet Zeus was with Cooper when he bought the avatar for us. It must be his idea as well to buy me a female avatar. He's a mean chump. But, he's keeping the promise even after Cooper gave him a shame in the last. He's not invading here. You know Judge Noir's ability. He can invade any domain. He's a mutation."

She nods yes. "You have some brain!"

"Thank you."

"But Zeus isn't going to give you up. He, at last, broke the promise by taking you to the Avatar Triathlon. That's why Cooper was mad."

"I see."

"There's no reason for him to keep the deal. Zeus agreed not to touch us, believing Cooper being a permanent avatar for him but, he won and left for the Avatar Auction. You see now? He's only taking some time before catching us."

"Why take time?"

"I don't know. Maybe he knows you well. He knows you'll be back."

"Yes, of course, because he already owns me."

## CHAPTER 28

Nixie gives me an unconvinced look after hearing my story. I told her that I had become his avatar without knowing it myself, that I actually met her for the first time in the dream, and that I was inside him in that dream.

"That isn't an avatar," she says, "That's only a trick. Avatar's opposite. You go inside your avatar. So, if you were inside him it means he's your avatar. Having Zeus as your avatar? That doesn't make sense. You don't even know where to buy one."

"Avatar Auction."

"Yes, but, you don't know how to get there."

"Do you know how to get there?"

"No, but, I'm going to the black market to buy one for me."

"Why?"

"I need a new body before he catches us. He will definitely look for us."

"It's too dangerous alone. Just wait for me. I'll be back in a few hours."

She snorts. "Don't ever think of coming back if you'll return to STT. I know he will catch you."

"I'll come back safe. We should move together as Cooper wished."

"But you don't help me! And you're exactly opposing his words! Going back to STT is suicide, you get it?"

"I think taking time like this is more dangerous," I say, and stretch my hand to her neck. I was narrowing the distance between us while we were talking. However, my avatar's arm was shorter than expected so I missed the necklace by an inch. I extend the other hand, stepping forward to her but, Nixie turns back protecting her necklace. I clasp her shoulder to make her face me. Her body is so rigid that it doesn't turn around. I soon notice it's my avatar's hand that has less power. I have to use both hands to spin her body around and when I make it, I see Nixie ready to attack me with her nails.

"Oh, no," I say and step backward but, fall bumping my buttocks onto the floor. I cover my face seeing Nixie throwing her body at me holding her nails up. She lands on my stomach and clutches my blond hair. I push her face with my hands, even slap her cheeks but, the drunken woman is reckless. My right hand fumbles for something to use as a weapon, maybe a slipper and I grip something firmer. I manage to check what it is while Nixie is shaking my head by my hair. It's a glass beer bottle. I want to toss it at her but, I still have a gentleman's spirit, even in a woman's body. I grasp the bottle neck and throw it against a glass wall. When she turns her head, astonished at the blast, I pull her necklace off, move backward and get it away from her.

"You!" says Nixie, running to me. I run backwards until I reach a large door. I try to open it but, it's locked. I use the key to open it, enter a dark room and quickly lock it.

I place my hand on the door and exhale. I grope for a light on a wall and push the button. It gives me no light but, a _ding-dong_. It was a bell with a familiar sound. I lift my hand and touch a wooden ceiling and steel door in front.

"It really works," I whisper in delight. My BTT avatar took me to Hera's house.

## CHAPTER 29

I jump over the high wall and land down inside their garden where fireflies play. I tip toe towards Hera's door. I helped her father when he built this house so, I know the structure that each room has an individual door from the outside. Her room is located on the right wing. I knock the door twice and wait for her response. No answer. _Will she be sleeping or waiting to see the invader herself_? I consider whispering "I am Cine Moon" but I give up, knowing it will sound more suspicious in my avatar's voice.

I look back to see if her parents woke up after hearing the bell. It's deadly quiet. They might be deep-sleepers. Anyway it will be Hera who wakes them up before I take them to their motherland.

I open her door quietly, expecting to see her sleeping on her bed, but I find it empty.

_Is she sleeping in the other room_? I look around from left to right, leaving the door open for some light. Her room did not change much. She has a bed, a desk with a chair and a closet. I remember the closet that has four doorknobs. As I messed up when painting, I had to paint the backside and make it the front door. So, it has two doorknobs inside as well. _Is she hiding there_? I think and walk to the closet. I notice I was wrong as I hear breathing from my right. I turn to see her ready to attack me.

"No, Hera," I gasp, shaking my head and hastily walking backward to the opposite wall. She dashes towards me holding an academic divider. "It's me, Cine Moon!" I shout but, it is subdued by her yell. She's going to wake up her parents and hurt the invader at the same time. _What a smart girl_!

I am stuck in a corner while her divider is about to prick my, no, my avatar's neck. I crouch down quickly and run to the other side of the room while she's trying to take out the divider stuck in the wall. I open the doors of the closet, jump in and tightly hold the knobs from inside. I hear her footsteps and clasp them even more firmly, expecting her to try opening the doors. But, she does not even touch the doorknobs, instead she immediately begins to spear the wooden doors randomly.

"Father, mother, hurry up! We have a thief! Bring your weapons!" she shouts, piercing the closet non-stop. _Why did I enter here_? I regret with a fear that my fingers would be drilled.

"Hera!"

"Where's the thief?"

I hear her parents. They must be holding a saw. Hera's father is an architect and I saw all the spiky tools he handled professionally. _Oh, please, I don't want to die here_! _Especially when I'm in a body of a stranger_!

"Step aside," says Hera's dad, calmly and firmly. I can feel he's approaching. I hear his breath near me. There's no more time to delay.

"Listen! Listen to me! Hera and everyone, please! I'm Cine Moon! I'm General Moon!" I scream while it is quiet out there.

"General Moon?" Mr. Lee asks.

"She's lying! She's a woman! I saw her breasts!"

"Yes, yes, she's right. I'm a transgender!"

"What?" all of them react.

"So please, please, don't attack me. I shouldn't hurt my body, please!" _It's Cooper's article_!

The door is being pulled from outside powerfully. I struggle but my avatar cannot win him over. As the doors fling open, I drop down onto the floor and see them surrounding me. I shrink, watching the weapons in their hands: a kitchen knife of Hera's mom, a hammer of her father and her divider.

"You have no weapon?" asks Hera's dad.

"No, no, no," I answer swiftly covering my face, scared. I see Hera's legs moving toward me through the gaps between my fingers. "Please don't prick my face," I beg with a shaking voice. Hera kneels in front of me then pulls my finger away from my face with her small fingers. She is not holding her weapon anymore.

"You are really General Moon?"

"Yes."

"What happened to your voice?"

"I bought it as well."

"From the doctor?"

"Yes."

Her face distorts woefully at my answer. "You're terrible. How could you do this to me?" She begins weeping, punching me with her tiny fists. "Bring him back! Bring back my first love!"

"Hera, don't cry." I embrace her and let her soak my bosoms. A tear rolls down my cheek as I think of sending them off to their motherland. Tonight will be the last night for her and me in STT.

## CHAPTER 30

"It's a revolution!"

I hear a woman's screech and following gun shots while I explain that I will take them out of the country now.

"Revolution?" Hera looks up, startled.

"I knew they would make it with their kids," I murmur to myself. "Anyway, we have to hurry."

"But, General, are you sure you can time travel? Then why were you stuck in the closet a while ago?" asks Hera's dad.

"That's a pertinent remark, sir. The truth is I forgot my new ability for a while. Hera was about to pierce my neck! I know it isn't convincing at all. But we have to escape as soon as possible!"

Hera's mom nods. "I'll only wear something above my lingerie and take a few things."

"Yes, how about you sir, do you have anything to take with you?"

"No, I don't think so. But maybe the money, they are buttons but still covered with gold."

"Okay, sir, please hurry."

He nods and follows his wife outside.

I turn to Hera. She shakes her head "no", fastening buttons of her jacket.

"It's December in Korea. It's freezing."

I smile and kneel to look at her face to face. "Are you happy to leave?"

"I think so."

"What's that answer? Be clear."

"Make yourself clear first. You're lying. This body isn't yours. A person can't be shorter with one surgery."

"It is possible here."

"You said only the rich can afford surgeries. How did you manage?"

"His friend sold his life," says a voice behind me.

Freezing and emotionless. You know who that is. I stand up, fixing my eyes on him. Just then, doors behind him open and Hera's parents come out.

"Are you ready to leave?" asks Zeus turning back to them. Their eyes widen with amazement.

"You! That's him, General Moon. That's the agent who brought us here!" exclaims Hera's dad.

"Right, he's the man," says Hera, "the cheat. Give everything back you fraud! That's the money my parents earned working for several years!"

"Hera, calm down," I say, patting her.

"I only did what Minister ordered. If you want, I can take you to her office so you can call her fraud directly. Then the schedule will be advanced. She planned to sell you if you produce five children. Yes, that's why your family is brought here. To supply more avatars or testers."

"Testers? We are not fucking lab rats," says Hera.

"I don't like the way you talk to me. What do you think Cine Moon? Do you think I should inject a 'bullet of manners'?" Zeus says, pushing his hand into his jacket. There must be the gun. I quickly pull her behind my back.

"Why did you come back?" says Zeus, aiming the gun at me. "I planned to let you go."

_You big fat liar_. "How's Gascon? Did you return his soul back to his body?"

Zeus chuckles at my voice. "Of course, mademoiselle."

"Are you going to sell him as well?"

"If Minister wants extra buttons, yes. But not for tonight. We already hunted for a bunch of roaches."

"The rebels?"

"No. Minister said to calm them down with bullets only. You hear the gun shots? By the way don't you want to know who were sold tonight? They were your friends as well."

" _A bunch of roaches" and "my friends_ ".

My eyes broaden.

Zeus smirks. "Morning Call." The next moment, I feel the cold muzzle of the gun on my right ear. "They were expecting you for their assembly. Which means... you definitely read their newspaper which means... you support their rebellious words. I don't think that's all. You were a wirepuller. You used Morning Call to augment your followers and to expand them even to MTT. How do I know? The boys. Cine and Moon. They were sons of the editor."

"What?"

"Why act? You were intensifying your power, breeding post Cine Moons to prepare this revolt. And now you are going to flee, knowing your end?"

"Wrong. I had no courage for that. You know everything about me!" _Because my body was your avatar_!

Zeus snorts, hearing my mind. "Who knows what you were thinking? You learned how to deceive a mind reader from your BTT friend and sometimes acted without thinking ahead or giving me a hint. Look at Cooper. Look at how he fooled his bodylord in the Avatar Triathlon."

"Bodylord? You could never own him!"

"Oh, yeah, how about you?" says Zeus, pulling my head down. His eyes carry insanity. "What kind of avatar are you, huh?" He pushes his gun into my mouth. I hear Hera's gasp and hold her tightly, hoping that she does not do anything to provoke this mad man.

_I'm not your avatar anymore. I'm in a new body_ , I think clearly.

He laughs at my words.

"You're really unpredictable. You are misunderstanding something very seriously..."

"Zeus, we are done. The place was horrible wall-painted with Cine Moon," says Bacchus as he appears in front of us. He rubs his eyes and rotates his neck. "I even felt teleport sick for the first time in my life after seeing all... Who's this beauty?" he says, looking at me and licks his lips disgustingly. He is certainly drunk as he bows to a woman whose mouth is stuck with a muzzle.

"Let me, let me introduce myself, Ms..."

Zeus grunts at Bacchus, removes his gun from my mouth and shoves my head down to bow to him.

"Hera," she says, stretching her hand to Bacchus so calmly.

"Hera?"

"Yes."

"Is she your sister?" he asks her, pointing to me and gripping her hand to shake.

"He's my man." Hera punctures his wrist with her divider. _Oh, no_. Bacchus pulls his hand out of hers and lifts it up to see the divider stuck in his wrist. He realizes that he was attacked and stretches the other hand to clasp Hera's face. He will distort her face with one grip!

"No!" I promptly rotate my body and embrace Hera to block his hand. I see Zeus's hand has been separated, before I teleport out of this place. T _o the only place he can't follow_.

## CHAPTER 31

We arrive in my domain. Even though I didn't think of how my domain should look like, it is already fully constructed. It has an extra high ceiling, exquisite chandeliers, and chairs around a high table.

"This place looks amazing. But it's a little too cold, isn't it?" says Hera.

I pause at her word and look around. The floor, wall, and the table are made of ice. We are in a fabulous Eskimo house. I naturally scout around to find anything that is connected to Zeus. _I must be affected by him when designing this domain. That's all. I can't feel his presence_.

"Hera, wait here. I'll be back with your parents," I say, before teleporting back to her house.

She clutches my legs. "No, it's dangerous! They were already captured by one of them. He had weapons as well."

_That must be Ares_. "Don't worry. I brought you here, safely. I'll come back with them."

"You better listen to her."

I freeze at the voice. _How come_?

"How could I enter here?" Zeus says and walks toward us. "You are in my domain. Welcome."

_Why am I here_? _I intended my domain, not his, before he could invite us. I moved first. Why did it happen_? _Is there anything I don't understand_?

"You're my avatar."

_But I changed my body_.

He chuckles again then shakes his head as if he's dealing with a helplessly stupid student. "I didn't buy your body. I bought your soul."

"You bought my soul," I repeat his words, dumbstruck.

"That means regardless of how many times you change your body, you are still in my possession. You're forever mine."

Questions remain. _Where and when did he buy me_? _Is it before I erased my memory_? _And why did he try to hunt his own avatar_? _Is he really telling me the truth_? _Isn't he using some kind of trick to fool me_?

"However you refuse, the fact does not change. You want some evidence?"

I nod yes. I want to know the truth. I want to know the master of my life.

"Amelia. Do you remember her?" says Zeus.

_Of course I remember the poor girl who was sold to the Avatar Auction after being shaved of her orange hair and starved as she refused eating. She really became a patient after being declared so. But what about Amelia_?

"Question here. How did you know about her?"

I blink twice. _How_?

"Who gave you the information? Who told you to meet her?"

I try to evoke the morning. Visiting her was the first thing I did after having breakfast.

"You just walked straight to the hospital and told the nurse that you were there for an investigation. The truth is, no one asked you to do such investigation."

I open my mouth to say no but, my lips clamp shut immediately. I see him gesturing me to close my mouth with his fingers. _He's controlling my body and movement_. He smiles and goes on, "I wanted you to meet her, instead of me, because I knew she would tell you the truth but, not to me. That's why I bought you. To track cockroaches hiding in your district. They appeared in front of you calling themselves your devotees... And there she is. Our next item." He opens up his palm.

"Give me the sinner."

## CHAPTER 32

_No. No, I can't send her_!

A sinner will be taken to the courtroom where the evil Judge awaits. But my hands and my legs move as he orders. I'm dragging her, walking toward Zeus holding a firm grip of her wrist. She struggles, hitting my arms and poking my fingers with her nails. _Stronger, Hera_! _Stop me_! I can't even talk as I like. My eyes turned obedient and my lips politely curled. I now lift her and carry her in my arms as her feet resisted moving forward.

"Wake up, General Moon! Wake up!" Hera cries and slaps my face. _That's it, Hera, give more force. Wake me up_! But we are close enough to Zeus already that I kneel and hand Hera over to him.

He thrusts his hand and strokes my chin. "Good job, dog."

I hear Hera's groan and her angry voice. "What are you doing to him?" Then, a slap. I look up with amazement while Zeus's focus shrinks for an instant by her assault. There I see Zeus back to the usual ice guy without a hint of mercy in his eyes. _It's a chance_! I catch the moment and grasp her to teleport out of the place. He will follow us but, she can avoid his angry raid even for a moment.

_Teleport_! I order my avatar. _Teleport, teleport, teleport_!

"No one can leave my domain without my consent," says Zeus, lifting her up from my hands.

"No, don't do anything to Hera. Please! You can do anything to me," I beg him, kneeling at his feet.

"Don't worry. I'll do everything to you," says Zeus coolly.

"Don't take her. Don't take her!"

"General, don't worry about us. You did your best," says Hera, disappearing from my view.

## CHAPTER 33

_Did I_? Did I do my best to secure you? No, I didn't, Hera!

"Hera, I lost you right in front of my eyes... I let him take you...," I bawl, falling to the ice floor.

"Where's Zeus inviting me here?"

I turn back at the voice and see a woman in a doctor's gown. She is grumbling in unrecognizable words, sitting in a chair next to the high table. She notices me and gives me a big smile.

"Hey? Ms. Cine Moon!"

I pause. "Why are you here?"

I didn't know she had any contact with other BTTs. Especially with Zeus.

"He called me here."

I dash to her, shouting "Please help me!"

"Are you asking me to save you from him?"

"Please take me out of here. Please Chickie, he brought my friend. We should save her!"

I hear a sigh behind me. I know without turning back. _Zeus is back_.

"Why is he this stupid? Are you sure you didn't help him cheating in the board exam?"

"Of course not," says Chickie casually.

They look too friendly and comfortable with each other. _Something's strange_.

"Chickie, were you his friend?" _Please say no_!

"I'm not, practically speaking. I'm only hired to watch you."

_She was a spy. Spy of Zeus_!

"Yes, yes, whatever you call me, I only followed my employer," says Chickie. At the same time, Zeus lifts me up and places me on the table. My wrists, ankles and neck are locked in ice shackles that suddenly appeared out of the table.

"What are you going to do with me?" I ask with a shaking voice that comes with feelings of betrayal. "Chickie!" I roar.

"I'll be healing you, my friend, by taking out your painful memories."

"What do you mean?"

"Your friends you lost. You're going to forget them just like you forgot your dad," says Chickie, closing her eyes, her hands making circles on my skull.

"No, not them. Don't erase them!"

"And everything you know about avatars. Everything happened after you knew the truth as well," says Zeus, "You NTTs are not allowed to know about it."

"No, Zeus, you can do anything but, not them!"

"You will be able to smile after this," says Chickie.

"I don't want to forget them. Please, please don't erase them..." I now beg as politely as I can. Zeus wipes a tear away from my eye.

"I only want my avatar happy and healthy. That's your bodylord's mercy."

"Mercy? You bastard..."

"It's time to go back to a home where your father awaits." With her whisper, I fall into a deep sleep.

## CHAPTER 34

_Bang_! _Bang_! _Bang_!

I open my eyes at the irritating bangs. In my doorway stands my dad in his vividly flower-printed pants and a tight gray shirt that shows off his beautifully formed muscles. _Well, he looks good on everything with his alluring appearance_. No one will believe he has a big son like me if he lived in NTTs' district. He does not age, thanks to his youth gene.

_Pang_! _Pang_! He lightly slams twice more the pot with a scoop.

"Are you still sleeping?"

"Dad, I cannot move my body. How did I come back home?"

"Chickie. How could you let my girlfriend carry you?"

"Sorry, sir."

"Does anyone make you so stressful that you had to drink all night?"

"I didn't drink, sir. I'm just knocked down after being fed Naga Jolokia Pepper version three by her."

He chuckles. "That's my darling."

"Darling? She tried to kill your son!" I say, getting up from the bed and move to my closet to change my silk nightclothes into a shirt and pants. My blanket stretches and spreads, bedclothes fold and pillow land above the folded quilt themselves behind me. I am enriched with technology, thanks to my BTT father.

"She's doing revenge to you because we couldn't meet for two weeks straight. I told her I'll have business trips to Qing Dynasty and Memphis but, not how long they will take. She must be mad. It's a son's duty to lessen his father's burden, isn't it?"

I sigh and turn to him. "Yes but, I refuse to share your taste in clothes." I'm holding a multicolored flower print shirt. "I wear silky pajamas since you threw my cotton shirt and boxer shorts. But, no flower. I hate printed flowers."

"Then how about stitched flowers? With my signature diamond buttons?"

"No, sir! Do you want to advertise I'm your son?"

"Why not? I'm so proud of my son that I want to shout it in the middle of NTTs' square that Justice Judge is a single papa with a large cockroach son!"

"Perfect! Then you lose your job and I'm dead." I pass him in the doorway and walk through a wide corridor of glossy tiles.

"Don't worry! Before they do anything to us we will run away," he says, walking next to me.

"To where?"

"Where you were born."

"Then what do we do? Meet my mom and dad?"

"Not papa." He shakes his head. "Only your mom."

"Good plan. I'll tell Chickie."

"Oh, please don't, she will feed me Jolokia version four!"

"You have to arrest her for a murder attempt."

"I can't judge love."

"But you can judge your son. Don't say no. I know you can. You will tell me, _the only way to survive is to please me. Entertain me_!"

He doesn't laugh at my joke. I just turn back and walk forward until I reach an empty kitchen.

"Where are the cook robots?"

"I sent them to sleep. I wanted to have time with you only. It's been a while since we had a breakfast at home."

"What are you talking about? It's been two weeks since your business trips."

"No, son, it's been a long, long time. I felt it too long."

"You got some TT sickness, didn't you?"

He gives me a long look. I can read some regret in his eyes. _Regret_? _Regret for what_? Only possible regret he would have must be picking me up in the riverside on that rainy day. He would not regret taking some smart NTTs like his son into his court room, torturing the sinners and ending their lives. He can do it all smiling and saying it is only work. But no one in his workplace knows that this hard-core sadist has sentiment to pick up a foreign boy flooded from the other world through a time hole.

He passes me and enters into the kitchen.

"Why don't you bring a bottle of champagne?"

"For Sunday breakfast?"

"Why not? We have to bless every moment we are together. We don't know how long it will last this time, do we?"

## CHAPTER 35

He keeps champagne in a room where he cultivates his honey with the real bees but, I walk the opposite way. I'm not going back to the kitchen with champagne. We have nothing to celebrate. _He found out. That I was pretending to forget everything. Show's done_.

I don't know if it's Chickie's trick or not but, one thing for sure is that I remember everything clearly. Every moment with him and with them. I remember so vividly how he watched every piece of Cine's bones being shattered and damaged by the drunken Bacchus. He was just behind Zeus, watching me fighting with Cooper. _You might know he was my friend. You and Zeus were a team made to demolish my friends_.

There it is, the door to STT. He made it for me to go in and out of STT whenever I wanted to hang out with some friends. He eventually stopped me meeting brainless kids but, I still sneaked in to have candies. I remember the pills he fed me to vomit two days straight. That was his punishment. Anyway, through this door, I could enter and leave STT without a badge.

I look back before I put my foot inside. He's not here. I can hear water running in the kitchen. It might be filling a pot. _Whatever your Sunday breakfast, you'll have to have it alone. I'm madly sorry, dad_.

I turn my head back to the door and step backward staggering, startled badly. I might have collapsed if he had not caught my arm.

"I already got the champagne myself. Come back," he says. I only watch his back walking to the kitchen.

"I'm not going back," I say.

He stops. But doesn't turn back. "Can't you just forget them?"

_What are you saying_? Just _forget them_? "How can I forget them? I promised them. I promised I'll protect them. Yes, I already lost them thanks to you! But I still have to remember them. If I erase our moments, nothing leaves here!" I say, beating my chest.

"But you erased me from there," he says.

I pause. _So was it why_? _Was it a punishment for a bad son_? _Is he serious_? _Didn't he know my purpose_? "That was my way to protect you."

He turns his feet around at my words, frustrated. "Son protects dad? Dad protects son!"

"Why can't a son protect dad? We were a family!"

" _Were_ a family? Is that how you think of us now?"

"It was hard for me as well but, I thought it was the best way to protect both of us!"

He gives me a mad look. I swallow as he clenches his fist. I don't know what to do if he's going to attack me. He hasn't used violence but, we don't know how a person can transform through overwhelmed anger. _He is just there_.

He must read me. He opens his palm and takes a deep breath to calm down.

"And you did it in a very wrong way. Go back! And don't come back until I call you!" he says, turning around. I wait to see if he has something more to tell me but, he remains silent.

I saw the same five years ago after hearing his yell, just like now. It was during my interview with MTT officials. I passed every exam required and I only had the interview left to join the Ministry. It might be quite an issue among them that the highest officials asked me questions themselves. I did not know it then. I only wanted to work in MTT because my father worked there. I took tests without information that there was no NTT who applied as a MTT official in history. And when I passed everything, I knew that I could hurt my father.

"Question. Do you love the world you are living in?" said Vice Minister.

"Yes, I'm satisfied with both my life and my district," I answered.

He drummed his fingers on the table, his face unsatisfied with my answer. "I don't think you're telling the truth. Should I remind you we can all read your mind and you must tell the truth to pass this question?"

"No sir." I sighed quietly, not sure if I can tell how I really feel deep inside. My real attitude toward my world. "I haven't many thoughts about my life. I just live on, day by day. You didn't consider me as a sinner yet," they laughed at this moment, "So I'm alive. If you decide to spread some virus in my district, I'll be the first one who gives up my life. I don't really have a big desire for a life."

"Passive and lifeless," he said grinning, seeming to be fulfilled with my answer.

"But how come you passed the exam? Your brain is quick just like other BTT applicants which we found very weird. It's strange. You are designed to have different food. So, question. Where and which food do you eat?"

"I have my food at home."

"Do you cook yourself?"

"I don't think so because I don't know how to cook a single dish. And I can't eat instant food. I vomit if I smell it."

"Then it must be your mom or dad or both who cook your meal?"

"Yes."

"And we have no information where you were born and who your parents are."

I only nodded yes.

"Come on, answer. Don't worry. We don't arrest them for raising a smart son."

"But you are going to arrest them for feeding me the right foods, aren't you?" I asked back.

"Can I ask why I can't see anything when you talk about your parents? Usually people think of them in their mind when they are asked about their parents," an official sitting in the center asked me. He was the only one who was in black clothes bejeweled with gemstone buttons.

"I have no memory sir," I said frankly, as I knew he would read my mind anyway.

"No memory?"

"I erased it before I came here."

"About your family and home?"

"Yes."

He stiffened. I thought I saw an instant shock in his eyes but, he returned to his cold smile quickly.

"Smart. So we cannot read your mind or your memory to track them. Also, we cannot time travel into your memory. You're one insanely smart cockroach." He stood up and walked to me speaking wildly. "Do you know why we call your type cockroaches? Not because they run away fast or can be extremely smart when they are in danger. It's because we don't feel guilty to kill them. You are just that. You are nothing more than that!"

He turned back to the officials. "Sorry, I have to leave before I do something to him." Then he disappeared. I thought he was mad because I considered it was weird to decorate his uniform with money. But that was definitely not the reason.

He must be painful. He must be awfully angry. His son erased him and every moment together.

"Sorry," I say to his back. "Sorry, I did a stupid thing. But wasn't it too harsh to your son? How could you sell me to the man?"

He slowly turns back. "What are you saying?"

"Ask your girlfriend. No, go directly to your new best friend!"

"My friend? Zeus?" he says. "You're saying you're an avatar of Zeus?"

"Oh, please, stop it! I already know it all!"

He shakes his head no. "I didn't know it. There must be something I'm missing," he says and disappears from my view.

He's gone. He denied selling me out. Did he fall into a trap Zeus and Chickie made? Did she approach him with a vile purpose? What's going on? Where did he go? Did he go to Zeus to ask for facts? Will he fight him? What will happen to him if Chickie and Zeus attack him together?

_Zeus must be in STT. I have to find him before my dad finds him. He's in the trap as well_!

## CHAPTER 36

It's a night in STT. I step into a familiar alley. I recall this alley used to be dark and empty before Hera's family built a tent bar. There should be no one inside at this hour in the Morning Market. But I hear some noise from inside. I hear glasses meeting for cheers.

_Who's there in the empty tent bar without the owners_? I think he must be a very drunken man or a crazily brave man to be inside the Morning Market at this hour. They catch you if you are found in here after twelve noon except the passers.

I slowly open a gap in the tent and peer inside. There are two men sitting in plastic chairs over a round table. It's too dark for me to see their faces. But I can tell by their builds that they are not NTTs. _BTT officials_? I think and try to get out without them noticing me.

"Your target is here."

I pause at the voice and turn back.

"Familiar?" One of them stands up. "We met once but, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Kelly, the principal of the mental hospital."

_Oh, yeah, I remember you. Then the other man must be the hunter_. His _hunter. Good. I'll break you first and find your master. Blame your bodylord_.

The hunter takes out a stick and turns back to face me. I raise my fists up, getting ready to fight.

"What an honor to fight you, General Cine Moon. I have been admiring you," says the hunter. _Is he twisting_? _Trying to provoke me_?

"I'll wait in my hospital," Kelly says and vanishes out.

We stare at each other in silence for a second. He watches my fists carefully how they will move. I rush to him and deceive him as if I'll throw a punch into his face. When he covers his face with the stick I quickly feed him a strong left hook to his stomach. He grunts and steps back. When his body staggers, I grip his stick and lift him up. I feel the pins and needles. His weapon must be a voltage stick.

Before I throw him onto the tables I realize that any noise can call the officials or their robots. So, I gently pull his legs and let him fall down on the stone ground. When he is about to release a moan, I quickly throw myself and seal his mouth with both palms. Seeing him closely, I notice he is a middle aged man with gray hair and wrinkles on his forehead.

_Zeus had one more NTT avatar_.

"I'll ask a few questions. Can you answer them quietly?" I ask him. He nods yes. I get up from him and quickly place a chair over his body so he cannot stand up. I sit there and look down at him.

"Where is he?"

"The BTT? He's waiting in his hospital."

"No, not him. Your bodylord."

"Bodylord?"

"You don't know you are being controlled?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't know either."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Listen. Does the BTT know where you live?"

"No sir."

"Good. Go back home as soon as possible."

"Well, thank you General but..."

I stand up from the chair. "No but. Just leave before he comes after you."

I take two steps forward but, pause, feeling all the energy of my body has been drained. My knees buckle and I drop down on the floor.

"It's the stick," he says. He walks and kneels in front of me with an apologetic look. "That makes you paralyzed. I'm so sorry General. But if I don't take you, I'll be locked in the hospital, waiting for a surgery that makes me idle. That is what I most fear. Can you understand me?" I shake my head, no, but he ignores me then goes on. "We've been waiting for you but, you didn't appear to help us. I'm talking about the rebellion. Where were you? Were you hiding like a real cockroach?" He slaps my face. "Don't faint yet. Answer me. Where were you? Have you thrown us away? Have you thrown a hope? What the hell were you doing when they were shooting us, turning us into fools? I'll fight until I die. I don't need you. We don't need you."

I crack a smile. _Finally they know. That the change comes from themselves not anybody else. That they should make the change themselves not expecting or waiting for anyone else to act_.

"What a great learning!" I say.

"What a great learning?" he says crossly.

I meant to congratulate but, it might be provoking him. He wallops my face with his knuckles as hard as he can and I tumble forward, powerlessly, my face onto his chest.

## CHAPTER 37

I open my eyes to see a ceiling with dozens of lights shining on me. Where am I? Definitely not in his hospital for surgery. Then he cannot sell me to the hunter. Am I already sent to the Avatar Auction?

Then, Kelly's face appears in my view.

"You are still half asleep, you lazy soldier," he says and pours ice water from a bucket onto my face. I shake my face, lifting my waist but, he presses me down, stamping on my naked chest with his boot. As he thrusts his right hand out of a _ring_ , someone hands him a bottle of milk-like liquid. He removes the lid and pours it onto my face. I have no choice but to open my mouth and drink it, otherwise it will enter into my nostrils and arouse a painful sting. He throws the empty bottle out of the ring and sits on my chest to whisper.

"I fed you Ox Power version four. You will be crazily powerful, Cine Moon."

"Why should I fight in the Avatar Auction?" I ask, coughing.

"It's the Black Auction. They also have a game like Avatar Triathlon. If you win three avatars straight, I'll earn much more money than trading you with an avatar hunter. If you are able to kill any of them, your bidding price will rocket!"

"Kill?" I raise my face, startled.

He presses my chest with his sharp knee. "Don't get up! It means the beginning of the game. Just look down."

I do so and find blades tied around my wrists.

"They are also tied around your ankles."

"Are you insane?"

He slaps my cheek. "Listen. Your fate is in my hand. It depends on me to whom I sell you. If you don't make it, I'll sell you to a sadist master so he can abuse you until your last breath, got it?"

I shake my head no. This time he does not slap my face but tries hard to press his anger down. "You want me to make you my avatar and control you? So I can move your body as I want?" I shake no. "Good. I trusted that you can fight better than me so, I didn't make you my avatar. Do your best. That's all I ask."

"Are you excited?" I ask, seeing him rubbing his chest nervously.

"Oh, yes, it's my first time in gambling." He says, looking into darkness. "They are betting. Aren't you nervous? Need more Ox Power?"

I snort. "It's my second time in an Avatar fight."

His face turns grim. "I saw you losing. That's why I proposed fighting cock to my contender. Where's he anyway?"

"I'm not going to fight," I say but cannot connect my words. I stretch my hand out for help. "My stomach... is... burning." _I should not drink that. I might not eat anything given by a BTT_. But it's too late. It starts boiling inside me.

"Good. It's activating. You must thank me. It's worthy of one ruby button. So, are you ready, Ox man?" I shake no, hard, but he shouts outside, "My man is ready!"

Next moment, the dark room lights up and reveals the audience looking down at me. It certainly reminds me of the Avatar Triathlon but, the size differs. Besides, that was at least a series of sports games without weapon even though wrestling skills were allowed during the tae kwon do match.

"Come on, stand up!" Kelly yells from out of the ring.

I seize my stomach, curling my throbbing body. "Surrender... I surrender..." But I cannot make an audible voice with an extreme pain that I feel like my organs are being grilled on fire.

"What are you doing? Stand up! Don't make my buttons lose!" I hear Kelly begging. That moment, I hear a solid voice of a female. I open my eyes slightly to see a woman in my father's costume, a black jacket with colorful buttons made of cheap materials. She must be a Judge of the Black Avatar Triathlon.

"Excuse me, your avatar looks sick," she says.

"What? No! He's healthy," says Kelly.

"What did you feed him a while ago?"

"Just an energy drink."

"Ox Power version four?"

"Yes," answers Kelly after a pause.

"That's an imitation. Ox Power doesn't have version four. Version three is the last. Version four helps you to emit your vomit, not hidden power."

"What?"

"Don't be panicked. He will be okay after some rest. If you want him to recover faster, take him to the Avatar Hospital. You have to follow because you may have the effect, too, as you two are connected. By the way, why do you look so fine while your avatar's in such suffering?"

I observed Kelly listening to her, occasionally nodding. He looks dumbstruck now. Maybe he does not expect the Judge of Black Auction to be this sensible. So do I.

"He's not my avatar," Kelly eventually confesses.

"So you brought your friend to fight, not your avatar?"

"He's not my friend. He's a fucking NTT," Kelly says with an obvious irritation.

"Are you referring that adjective only to him or the whole NTTs? Are you aware that most of us in the Black Auction are NTTs?" says the Judge with an apparent fury.

Kelly looks around the audience who all give him glares in silence before answering carefully, "Only to this man, of course."

"And just who is he?"

"He's Cine Moon, he's popular but you won't know him. No," says Kelly confusedly. He's not the usual him. It's an effect of alcohol. I saw two small glasses and a soju bottle in the tent. If my stomach was fine, I must burst out at his uneasiness.

"Answer my question correctly. I'm asking you the relationship."

"He kidnapped me...," I say, squeezing my voice out. She immediately turns down at me.

"He kidnapped you?"

I nod, looking up at her, making my face as miserable as I can express. She scowls at Kelly. "Mister, you know it is a crime. I believe you have to visit the Avatar police office."

He starts. "Why the avatar police? He's not my avatar. He's no one's avatar."

"It is an avatar crime when you try to harm an avatar. I heard you suggested this fighting cock game. This is certainly intended to hurt or kill the other side's avatar. It is a murder attempt."

"Murder?" He snorts looking at the other side and brushing his soft brown hair, trying to calm down. He faces her again with a serious face. "You talk quite well. You must be one of the smart NTTs. Do you know how we call your type in STT?" he pauses for an emphasis.

"We call you cockroaches. Do you know why? Because that's one of the species we don't feel guilty when we kill them."

_That was a mistake, Kelly_. I think, seeing her reddened face with rage.

"And you know you are not in your country."

"But the nature does not change that, I can time travel and teleport to wherever I want just in a blink of your eyes. And you will just stand there dumbstruck and ask everyone around you 'Where, where is he? Where am I?'"

He laughs at her livid face and secretly places his boot on my waist.

_Oh, no, he's going to teleport_! I want to tell this to the Judge but with his "Bye!", I'll be transferred to another place... I feel my body floating up momentarily.

But that's all. We are still here in the ring and my heart is stewing up more briskly. I look up at Kelly's vocal cords moving up and down with uneasiness. It's quite fun to watch a fretful BTT when he cannot disappear when he wants. The Judge's curled lips open up.

"This is time travel and teleport block zone. What if a BTT visits and teleports with an avatar without paying? So, except outside the gate of Black Auction, you can't time travel."

_You win_! I want to cheer for her.

I see Kelly's face darkens and turns to where he was gazing. There are two men in identical uniforms.

"We came to arrest an avatar criminal, Judge," says a police officer.

"Good, this is the man, a proud BTT citizen of STT," says the Judge.

While Kelly sends her a fierce look, the police officer shackles his hands instantly. He looks alarmed at the handcuffs and turns to me for aid.

_What do you want from me_? I think, raising my eyebrows.

"You, Cine Moon," he says, clenching his teeth and being dragged out of the ring. "Wait, how about him? Why don't you bring him with us? Judge, Judge! Return him. Give him to me. I'll sell him to an avatar hunter I know, without hurting him, please!"

She looks down at me then kneels down to hear me well.

"What are you going to do? You want to follow him? Or go back to your nation?"

"No!" I say.

"Okay. Wherever you go, you need some rest. I'll transfer you to my hotel room, would it be alright?"

"Thank you. Thank you so much," I manage to say before losing consciousness.

When I open my eyes after some time, I find myself on a cozy and warm bed in a hotel room. My unfocused eyes see a person in black clothes moving around. That must be the Judge. She pours tea from a pot into her cup. Then she walks to the other side, out of my view. Resting in this snug bed, my eyelids become heavy and cover my eyes completely.

## CHAPTER 38

I'm entering a bathroom with magnificent tile works on the walls. I take off my clothes and enter a large bath tub filled with steaming hot water. I lean my head on it and fall asleep, again.

There, in my dream, I arrive in front of an ice Greek temple. I walk to the entrance but stop, feeling someone else's presence in my domain. The door flung open by itself, no, by the _invader_.

He is sitting on a fabric sofa that had not been in my home.

"I made mine because I couldn't sit on one of your ice chairs."

_So he can design someone else's private domain as well_? _Unbelievable_.

"You want some tea?" I ask.

"No. I want a talk," says Noir firmly.

"I don't talk if there's nothing to drink."

"Then please make mine as well."

I bring two cups of tea, one hot the other cold. As I walk closer to him, I see he has prepared a plate of bread. I put his cup at his side and sit across from him. As I pick one of the hot breads, it cools down almost immediately.

"You have a cat tongue?" he asks.

"Cat tongue?"

"You can't eat hot things."

"No. I just like everything cold."

"Is that your gene your father arranged for you?"

I nod.

"My son was born without any single gene. So I gave one. Do you know which?"

"Being emotional?"

"Do you find him emotional? I think every one's more emotional than you. You have a naturally cold character."

I have no comment.

"But that's fine with me. I don't dislike you."

"So, which gene did you give him?"

"I gave an every-language gene. He believed it's a machine after erasing memory about me. Do you get what I'm talking about? Languages help us to have better communication but, they can't work when a person denies expressing herself. If my convict closes his mouth and doesn't give me information I need to know, I have no choice but to force him to open his mind."

He drinks his tea while staring at my eyes. I don't avoid his gaze.

"So, Zeus, anything you have to tell me before the _trial_? For the sake of your father?"

I slowly part my lips. _It's time to tell him_. "I was able to call the attention of Judge Won."

He pauses. "Judge Won of ATHR?"

"Yes. STT is going to be exposed to the world."

"Great," he says after a pause. "That sounds great. When is it? After when your father was arrested?"

"Actually we've been working on this for years, even before you met Cine Moon."

"Why do you tell me this now?"

"Sorry, we couldn't completely trust you, yet."

"Can you trust me now?"

"I thought you only cared for your son when you accepted the partnership. And when my dad was caught, I thought you'd betray us but, you didn't. You fought to delay his trial to save one more person. Yes, I trust you now."

"But how will you deal with Cine's anger? You'll have to tell him the truth soon, won't you?"

"Actually, he is hearing and watching us now," I say. Noir stiffens and slightly leans forward to ogle my eyes closely. "...through my eyes."

## CHAPTER 39

I wake up in the water which is continuously being heated. I feel dizzy and stand up. I stand under a shower booth and let the robot arms shampoo and softly massage my head. Water rinses bubbles from my head, then the arms move down to wash my body. They massage my shoulders and back as well. After rinsing, they dry me with lukewarm air. Lastly, they cover my body with a gown and tie a sash around my waist. This is why I visit the Avatar Hotel. They have everything to keep your avatars clean without your touch. I fancy the system even though I'm not a normal avatar that cannot lift a finger alone.

I walk to the living room and drink the tea I poured before my shower. It has cooled. I prefer cold tea now. I must be influenced by my bodylord. I want some sleep as I have some time before the trial. This room has two beds, one for a bodylord and the other for an avatar.

I walk and look down at him. I fed him some medicine for the adverse reaction of Ox Power version four and locked him on the bed. I expected the Kelly man to go for Black Auction. He was a greasy man, obsessed with gem buttons.

## CHAPTER 40

I woke up, when I saw myself locked in the bed with five steel belts through the Judge's eyes. Keeping my eyes shut, I slightly move my leg to check if it's real or not. I cannot lift it because my ankle is blocked with something hard from above. _The dream was real. I'm padlocked. The Judge was his avatar_!

"I know you're awake," says the Judge. But why does her voice sound like a man? She was a middle aged woman.

Something's thrown onto my chest. I reactively open my eyes and gasp at a skin worn by the Hunter.

"I was wearing it. With a voice transformer," he says.

"Available in Chickie's toy shop," I say.

"Exactly." He walks away.

"Where are you going?" I shout from behind him.

"I'm thirsty," he says and opens the door of the refrigerator in the open kitchen. He takes out a bottle of water and comes back to me. He removes the lid and drinks from the bottle. He sits around my feet, facing the kitchen instead of me.

"You are the hunter, right? Avatar of Zeus, right?"

He slowly nods.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"Didn't he show you everything you needed to know?"

_He_? _You mean Zeus_? I think, looking at him. He nods yes. _He's a mind reader_.

"It's against a contract to tell you more than he intended to show you," he says.

"Contract? Do you have such thing in avatar trafficking? Why don't I have that?" I raise my voice. "Was I his avatar since birth?" _Or even before birth_?

"Like your mom sold you when you were in her womb?"

I nod. He gives me a long look for about thirty seconds. I try to read his thinking to see if he agrees with me or not but, my effort is hopeless. His eyes are deadpan. He seems to carry spacious night sky in his eyes.

"That's why he chose me. I have poker eyes," he says.

_Ice man's avatar is Poker Eyes_. "How about me?"

"What about you?"

"Why do you think he chose me as his avatar?"

He chuckles loudly. "So, is it how you understand? You're really clueless."

"Thank you. So, will you teach me?"

"Okay... you know your dad and Zeus are a team."

I snuffle. "I'm afraid that is broken already. My father might have beaten them up by now."

"That's what you wish. But they are fine."

"I told him I'm his avatar."

"We know. Zeus expected this anyway."

_What_?

"The schedule of the trial didn't change. Your father will lead it as planned."

"Okay."

"And the convict is,"

"Zeus's dad," I say, cutting his words, as I couldn't wait any longer which was definitely a mistake. He gives me another long look as if warning he's going to stop speaking completely if I interrupt him one more time.

_Sorry_ , I apologize to him in my mind. _But at least I must know what will happen to me. Why is he taking me to the trial of Zeus's dad_? _Zeus's father must be a BTT. But why is a BTT arrested as a sinner and waits for the trial in my father's courtroom_?

"Because he was once an NTT citizen of STT," says Poker Eyes. "He grew up in NTTs' district without noticing he was a BTT. After he saw and experienced everything, he met a doctor named Chickie and escaped the country."

_A BTT grew up without noticing he was the one_? "Is that possible?"

"That happens. His BTT parents might have thrown him into the district after observing him for some time. He was a lucky one, though. Some other parents kill their children if they are born as NTTs. They are that obsessed with that specific gene."

"That's horrible."

"That is STT, a club of sick TTs."

"I see."

"You got it now?"

"Yes, but you didn't answer my question. I still don't get the point. He's the defector, then what?"

He nods his head in a negative manner. "Not anymore. Zeus will show you when it's time. You only stay wide-awake in the dream, okay?"

_Stay wide-awake in the dream_? _How can I fall in sleep when I'm perfectly awake_?

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'll take you there after a few hours," he says walking away.

## CHAPTER 41

"Excuse me Mister, mister Poker Eyes?" I shout to his room once more but, only answer coming back is his snoring. _He never wakes up, however I call him. How deep is he sleeping now_? I grumble. "He's really torturing me!"

I pause and rearrange my words.

_How deep is he sleeping now_?

can be

_How deep is he_ dreaming _now_?

He must be dreaming by now, being connected with Zeus, I conclude. I close my eyes to fall in sleep but, sleep does not visit you when it threatens to knock you down right away. At least six hours passed and only more and more questions come to mind. I struggle hard to fall asleep, counting sheep and recalling the sleepiest moment I have ever had but, none works for me. I want to talk to him and learn everything.

I eventually become so mad and loudly scold myself.

"Why can't you sleep? It's the easiest mission I have given you, isn't it? Why do you disappoint your master?"

_Master_? _Is that you, Zeus_? _Are you preventing me from falling asleep_? _Do you know you're torturing your avatar_? _You have to go to the avatar police office_! _Torturing your avatar is a crime_!

"You couldn't sleep?"

I look up at Poker Eyes who's rubbing his eyes next to my bed.

"Good morning, hunter! Did you see anything in your dream?" I ask, hoping to end this miserable time struggling to sleep.

"It's almost twelve midnight. But, yes, I saw someone in my dream. And she was showing her best move on the stage. She was a salsa dancer." He moves his body like one. I cannot hide my disappointment and half-roll my eyes. I didn't wait for six hours to hear about his dream girl. "Zeus didn't show you anything?" I ask but, he does not hear me. He says, still looking dreamy, "She was too good to be true."

"Did you come to tell me about it?" I ask loudly.

"Oh, thank you for reminding me. I'm here to make a call."

_Call_? _To Zeus_? He turns to a phone next to my bed. He lifts the receiver and presses a button for the lobby. "Good evening, I'll order a suitcase to transfer an avatar... His size?" He looks down at me and says, "180 centimeters. Build? Bigger than medium but not bulky."

My jaw drops at his words. "Are you taking me to the Avatar Auction to sell?"

He places his finger on his lips.

"Come on, did you get consent from Zeus? Did he allow selling his avatar? Are you sure? I'm his _favorite_ avatar," I say. He puts the receiver back and bursts out. "You know it well. Are you truly admitting him as your bodylord now?"

"Of course not. He's my foe. I'm his foe. Whatever he does with my father or his father, the fact doesn't change. He bought my soul and controlled it as he liked."

"You're missing a point."

"What?"

"He didn't do anything with your decision. Relax your brain and think about it."

"Relax? How can I relax at this point? I'm going to be sold from one man to another. And I'll lose my life! No, I've already lost it! It hasn't been mine for a long time!"

Suddenly his large hand covers my mouth. He looks down at me so intensely, that I cannot help but, encounter his deep black eyes. Those seem turning like black holes and make me focus on the move. I close my eyes slowly and my heart moves to a slower rhythm. My body is much more relaxed. It's been a while since I calmed down myself like this.

He removes his hand and asks me, "How did you feel when you knew you were someone's avatar?"

It made me nervous that I cannot do anything not only physically, but mentally as well. The first moment when I knew that I was a possession of someone else, I felt lighter as if my burdens were not mine anymore. I lost Cooper and Hera's family. I also felt some responsibility for Amelia, Cine and Moon and Safire as well.

If my body and mind aren't mine, I can excuse that it's not me but, my bodylord who did not save them. He intended them to end up like that. Whatever I did, it might not work because my master was blocking every possible way to save them. My effort was all in vain. I could change nothing myself.

_Bullshit_. I knew it was bullshit. It's all _bullshit_! _Bullshit_! _Bullshit_! Zeus used me, for sure. But, he didn't control my life. It was me from the beginning who decided erasing my past to protect my dad, sacrificing myself to protect Cooper and visiting Hera's tent bar to feel the warmth. Except for going to the mental hospital to meet Amelia, I cannot find anything that happened without my decision.

_The decision_. It was the key. That's the proof that I own my life.

I feel guilty for my life, that I almost gave up my life and the responsibilities, attributing them to one man. I even feel sorry for Zeus, that he had to be the subject to be blamed just because he bought my soul. I even thank him for allowing me to have my own life, even if he could mess up everything. He let me live my life. That was the answer. _I live my life. Not anybody else's_. I don't know what he is going to do with me but, I feel that everything will be fine as long as I remember that I am the lord of my life. It won't change whoever buys my body or soul. What I have to do is holding this truth.

"You are sleeping?"

I hear Poker Eyes and half-open my eyes. I smile at him. I even want to kiss his lips after having my life back.

"Roger. Please don't," Poker Eyes says.

I laugh. "Take me, sell me and trade me! Whoever buys my body or soul, I'm the lord of my life!" I shout at full volume.

"Is your avatar sane?" says a man who looks like a hotel butler. "Wait, sir, isn't he...?"

I don't hear his words and fall in a sleep, giggling.

## CHAPTER 42

I'm running a stairway to a prison. They kept him in a high tower. They advertise it as an STT tower that reaches Magnetosphere.

How many prisoners did they keep here? People who questioned their government? People who tried to tell outside about the country? People who tried to escape the country? Yes, the defectors. They had to lock them up because their gene was so stubborn to be fixed with some gene operation that inserts genes of obedience or lifelessness. One of the main works for MTT Generals is to catch defectors and return them back to the country. Leaders were afraid that they would raise their voice up about their experiences in NTTs' district.

Sad. It's just sad that the group of stupid people has grown this powerful.

Sick. Sick that they still believe they are doing perfectly well to hide the NTTs.

I reach the middle of the tower after running on the millions of winding stairs coiling around the thin tower. It's still higher than any mountain.

I bark at the door with a mark D-0. It indicates the prisoner's trial is dated today. I howl once more. The door opens from inside and a female keeper steps out. She looks around before looking down on me at my bay.

She steps backward, startled. "Why is a dog here?"

A male keeper inside sticks his head out to see me. "Isn't it a dog from Siberia?" He turns his head back to an old computer screen. "It suits here. It's freezing all day." He's wrapping a thick quilt around his body.

"So it is a Siberian Husky." She squats to confront eyeball to eyeball. She looks into my crystal eyes, fascinated. I am a beautiful dog, I admit. But sometimes being bewitched by beauty can delay your work. I won't let this interrupt my way. I chin down and hold between my teeth what I'm wearing around my neck.

"Access permit?" She reads it. The male stands up from his chair and comes near to me. He crouches in front of me and touches my scarf.

"White scarf... He's a dog of a high official."

"Really?" She pulls her hands from me quickly. "Sorry sir."

They stand up and step aside for me to pass. I walk slowly, turning my head around to contain everything in my eyes. To remember the affront he had to bear.

"Come here, quickly." I look up at the voice. "Don't see ugly things," my dad says, sitting on a sponge which might have been once wrapped in a mattress inside bars. Don't they have a bed to lodge a trillionaire?

"I'm just a cockroach in their eyes. Closer." He coughs. "It's so cold. Let me share your warmth."

"You want to enter?" the female keeper asks me, leaning forward. I nod at her. My eyes stop at her clothes. She's in red and white stripes. It looks thick compared to my dad's as thin as a sheet of paper.

"They aren't allowed to share anything. I could survive, thanks to them. If I had no one to talk to, I couldn't forget the coldness and I'd be dead by now."

But I stare at the keeper's face for some moments. She's familiar. Bushy orange hair tied into two under ears, auburn eyes and chapped, dried lips gnawing keratin. And her curious eyes looking at mine.

"She's practically a prisoner as well," father says. "Her brain's bleached so she doesn't remember who she was. But they thought she could make trouble again so, they made her a keeper of this prison."

_Prisoner_? _What did this young woman do_? She looks stupid as hell.

"She was a student with a brain once, packed with theories of every timeline. Now her head is vacant."

"...Amelia?"

"You remember her?"

"You know me?"

"The dog just talked!" The male keeper walks to me, briskly, with his finger pointing at me. But he soon covers his index finger as if he finds it rude to a BTT's pet. _Or maybe he noticed I'm in my dog avatar_. I look at the keeper and my dad, then turn my head to the shocked girl.

"What are you doing? Open the door and get him out! It's Judge's order!"

## CHAPTER 43

"It must be easy if you told us earlier you're a dog of the Justice Judge," Amelia complains, carrying my dad by one shoulder coming down the staircase.

"It's your fault not to see the diamond button on my scarf. Gemstone buttons are his symbol."

"How can I know? I haven't seen him!"

"He must be real rich to stuff his dog with language gene," the keeper says, supporting another shoulder. My father laughs. "He can also read and write."

"Please shut up, prisoner," I say sharply to prevent him from losing any more energy. His voice sounds rough as if he smoked dozens of cigarettes. His condition is bad while his face does not show a hint of sickness. His lips are sleek and lively, his blonde hair shines, his cheeks bloom, and his eyes sparkle. None of them reflects his tiredness. It's a flaw of the youth gene. No one believes you're sick. He's been locked in the freezing, filthy prison for half a year. He rarely ate the foods they gave him just like Amelia refused all meals in the mental hospital. I walk down the stairs swiftly with my four legs and look back to check that they don't stop. Amelia and the male keeper are walking as quickly as they can but, way too late. It's an unexpected delay. My plan was just to teleport with my dad after entering the tower with my original form. But, Noir said no. He wanted to keep it secret that I am son of Zane Quicker, the CEO of the Avatar Auction. So, I quickly found a dog avatar which has no TT gene.

"It will give extra fun," he said. Fun! That's what he pursues. But, that was not all. If I was not in my handsome Husky Siberian avatar, Amelia would not look into my eyes that deeply and, therefore, I would miss a chance to notice her.

When Bacchus brought my dad in MTT I could not believe my eyes. _How did they know he was hiding them away_? _Did they have evidence_? Now I know. They might find her before she joined the _Cosmo_.

I halt and turn back, noticing the footsteps stopped behind me. "What are you doing?" I ask, looking at them sitting on the stairs. "I asked for a rest," dad says. "Come, you need to rest, too," he says and leans on the shoulder of the male keeper, who's leaning his head on the tower, sweating like a man under the sun. My eyes meet Amelia's as she was looking at me. She is sweating as well but, looks like enjoying this situation.

"So, what's your name?" she asks, learning forward.

"Husk," I answer curtly.

"Husk?" She giggles. "The Judge has no naming sense at all."

"Do you have a better name for me?"

She ponders over it shortly. "How about Thunder?"

I puff a laugh. "That really sounds like a dog."

"Isn't that your purpose?" She stands up. "Husk, how did you become a dog? Can you ask your master to take me in as well? I can be a lovely cat for him."

I don't answer, just a bit surprised by her seriousness and cleverness. _How did she know I'm not a dog_? _There's no way she could know about avatars_.

"What animal does he like? Hamster? Horse? Bird?"

"Cockroach," I answer. "He may be interested in saving cockroaches or hunting them."

"What are you saying? Save and hunt?"

"They are just the same to us. Come on, squeeze your energy and carry him. The gate's almost there. I know you're faking your tiredness."

"You found out?"

_Of course. Who would like to go back to the choky cell_?

"Husk, please take her," the male keeper says, "I don't know whatever she did in her district but, unless she killed a person she doesn't deserve to be locked forever even as a keeper. She's, she's smart."

"Of course," I say. "That's why she was locked."

"What?"

"Was that my charge?"

I hold up my front leg to stop their questions after hearing Noir's voice calling my name. "Yes, Judge."

"Cine Moon arrived. Is Zane ready?"

"Yes, Judge."

"Alright... did you meet her?"

"Yes."

"Can you take her safely without hurting the keeper or destroying the tower?"

"I cannot promise."

"Please minimize the damage. I don't want any noise before the trial, although, most officials in the tower are here to see the trial."

"Okay. Just one question. Is it okay to take the keeper with us?"

"The keeper? Isn't he a BTT?"

"Yes, but he seems like a stupid one to pity NTT prisoners."

"What a jerk! I like him. Take him with you."

"Yes, Judge."

"What was that, dog? You called me stupid?" the keeper says with an absurd look. "And who said I'll go with you?"

"He wants you. Are you going to disobey Judge?"

"Of course not. I don't want to be a prisoner."

"Then put your hand on my back. No! Not my head!" I snarl.

"Okay... you heartless dog."

"Others too, bring me your hand."

"Are we going to teleport?" Amelia whispers.

"Yes."

"Oh, I can't believe it," she says, bringing her hand to my back. Her hand is shaking with an extreme excitement. "Don't tense your body. Relax and you will have less TT sickness," I say. She nods and closes her eyes to even out her breathing. "Yes, like that. Now keeper, you see where I'm seeing, right?"

He closes his eyes as well to focus. "Yes. I see a ballroom."

"That's my room in the Avatar Auction. Teleport."

"What? I can't, I can't transfer out of the country."

"I have my General badge with me. Go on."

## CHAPTER 44

Once I wake up, I touch my face and body to check I am back to a human form. _I was a dog in the dream. No, Zeus was a dog. He was in his dog avatar_.

Inside a coffin, no, the avatar suitcase is tranquil. What I can hear is only my own heart pounding. _Amelia was saved. She looked healthy. What Zeus was doing was not hunting us but, to hiding us away. And his father was captured by Bacchus while he was transferring Amelia to the refuge called Cosmo. Oh, Zeus, how could you hoax me this perfectly_? _You're the meanest crook_!

It seemed like he was not originally from STT. He called Zane Quicker his father. He must have been born outside of STT after Zane Quicker escaped the country. _What else do I know_? _Trial, he still didn't show me why I must be present in the trial. What is my real role_? _Isn't it a trial of Zane_? _He will be judged in front of BTT officials. Should I stand there as a witness_? _What is going on_? _What can I say in the courtroom_? Just that moment, I hear some noise coming from outside.

"Is this him?"

"Is he here?"

"I want to open this, please. I'm the closest person to him."

"Who said that? No one knows his favorite but him."

"Of course I'm his favorite. He even tells me about his dreams."

"Okay, everyone, don't fight. Let's just ask him."

_My mind has gone mad_! _I'm hearing their voices_! I must have been delivered to the trial, not to Cosmo where my friends are supposed to be kept safely. _If only my theory is correct_.

"I'll open it then," says a voice that resembles Moon's.

I feel his fingers touch the zipper around my feet.

"No! No!" says a voice resembling Hera's. My suitcase shakes right and left and up and down as they jostle and tow.

"Get out, foreigner!"

"Moon, don't be rude!"

Now I'm sure, it is a voice of Safire, the boys' mom. I hear someone clearing his throat. I notice who the person is just by hearing this. "You really love General. But you can't really compare your closeness to mine. I'm the only one who has slept and showered with him together. See? I'm the most intimate person to him."

_It's him. It's Cooper_! I bite my lips not to voice a hooray.

"But you didn't marry him."

"Oh, Hera, you don't need to marry your idol."

"I don't idolize him like the boys."

"Everyone, will you give the eldest person the honor to open the zipper?"

My eyes widen at the voice. I didn't expect him to be here with the others. Zeus said he sent him home safely with his soul. I had no choice but to believe him. So he, fortunately, lied to me. _Zeus you cute chump_! And I finally feel the zipper opening up from my feet. While he does it slowly, I think which expression I should put on my face. _Shocked_? _Puzzled_? _Thrilled_? _Smiley_? _Composed as if I knew everything_? But as the zipper passes across my face and I face them, I have no choice for my facial expression. _Scared_. I momentarily stopped breathing at this daunting view of nine men of the same face. Not only face. They have the same height and build.

I slowly raise my body with my eyes fixed on them. I feel those eighteen eyes follow my movement. But not one of them notices that I am terrified. _Nonuplets_? No, each of them still has different figures. This is as if they are reproduced eight times. _Or possibly_... "Robots?" They all burst out at once and stun me. _Wrong_? I swallow and take a look of each of them carefully. They are still laughing. Two of them snicker, looking at each other, one next to them chortles, covering his mouth, the other hoots, looking up at the ceiling, and the next one is releasing a bright giggle. "Hera?" I stretch my arm to him. "Is it you?" Everyone stops laughing and focuses on us.

The nonuplet whose twitter resembles Hera's, steps forward, and bows gently and speaks fluently in our language, "Nice to see you again, General Cine Moon. I'm Cosmo, butler of the Avatar Hotel."

## CHAPTER 45

_Cosmo_. That was not a place. "It was how Zane Quicker hid you away." I realize. "He put you all in robot avatars!"

"We are not robots, General," says one of them. I know him by his voice. _Cooper_. "Cosmo is a real person with genes of duplication. That's why we all look the same. Oh, General." He steps back as I embrace him as tightly as I can. "It's you. It's really you!"

"Of course, I was waiting for you here."

"We, too, were waiting for you, General Cine Moon."

I turn back to see two Cosmos. "Cine and Moon, come here. Give me a hug."

Then, I have handshakes and hugs with other Cosmos.

"It's really an honor to meet you, General. I'm Horolo, father of Cine and Moon and husband of Safire. I was caught in the night when Generals invaded my bar. The night for Morning Call meeting. You couldn't come."

"Sorry, I wanted to see the fresco myself," I say, shaking his hand. "Who's Safire?"

"I'm here," she says near the doors. "Sorry, we have to go back to work. I'm working as a Cook Cosmo here."

"I'm a Bartender Cosmo, of course. I'll see you later, General," Horolo says and leaves with her.

"Nixie is working as well, sir," says Cooper.

"Nixie, she's here too?"

"Yes, General, we are together every night in a suite. It's like having a honeymoon."

"Honeymoon outside STT... it can't be better. I'm really happy for you, Cooper."

"Thank you, General."

"What's your job here?" I ask, looking at his uniform. It looks different from others.

"Sir Gascon and I are working as police here, sir."

"Police?"

"Yes, Avatar Auction needs the police to ensure safety of guests. We settle conflicts between them. Many BTTs from STT trail NTTs' coattails. Do you know who the worst trouble maker is?" He rolls his eyes. "I'm sick of this man, sir. He's Bacchus. Yes, the BTT General Bacchus. The drunken man!"

My face darkens. "Is it okay? What if he notices you?"

"They already noticed, General Moon. But they can't touch us until the trial ends at least. Your father, oh, I told it, I mean..."

"Justice Judge Noir," I say.

His eyes broaden. "You know sir? I mean, you recalled him?"

"Yes, how can I forget my handsome father?"

"Definitely, he even looks younger than you."

I turn back at her voice. "Chickie."

"People will still believe if you say he's your son."

I chuckle. "Still cruel... I noticed it when you appeared in my dream that you look grown."

"Grown? Was I a kid in your eyes?"

I take a look at her again. She is Chickie I know, for sure. But she doesn't look like sixteen anymore. She became ten years older at least. She's taller and curvier. It is not mere effects of red lips and heels.

"That was me at sixteen. I made the avatar using my own genetic information. Sometimes you want to go back to your sweet sixteen you know?"

"So your body now is Chickie at twenty-six?" I ask her.

"It's Chickie at thirty. I have Chickie at fifty, seventy and hundreds as well in my wardrobe."

"You were really a gene doctor, not a mere toy maker."

"I'm an official avatar maker," she says, turning back and flying her long cape with two tails. "Follow me, Cine Moon! I'll take you to Noir's courtroom. You will be able to meet them again if you manage to come back. Hope you make your decision," she says and swipes an invitation card on a crack in the door. That must be a key to his domain. The doors open flung from inside and we step inside the Avatar Triathlon arena that turned into a grand courtroom.

## CHAPTER 46

"Chickie, Chickie!" I whisper in darkness. She's gone after delivering me to the courtroom. _What's the decision I have to make_? _How can she leave me here, alone_? My heart has shrunk upon seeing the numerous number of BTT officials sitting in front of me. But it is fairly dark and I'm standing in the darkest spot, the end of the courtroom. Moreover, they are all giving their full attention to Zane, a lawyer, and my father on the stage. _My Zeus, did I just have a thought of my father_? I grip my chest and look around to see if anyone heard my mind. No one even noticed Cine Moon's in their back. But I feel choky with pressure. What if I ruin everything in the end, what if I can't make _the decision_ , and what if I will be locked in the STT tower prison with Zane and Zeus?

"How's it going?" says a voice on my left. Face of Zeus is exposed as a blue light passes across his eyes. They flash vivid-colored lights on us as if it is a concert hall. Before I open my mouth to say something, another voice answers him. "Trial began late because of the President. I can't understand BTTs getting late. Is there traffic in teleportation in STT?"

I turn to my right and see the owner of the voice. He's a young man in a long metallic jacket that's shining in the dark and reaching down to his knees, with long boots that shimmer as well. _Who's this twinkling guy_? He doesn't look like a BTT. They are taller than me whether women or men.

"He's Kiki. A BTT but, not from STT," says Zeus, reading my mind.

I am staggered by both his softened tone and the words. _A BTT who does not live in the Society of Time Travelers_?

"STT's citizens are only a fraction of our population," Kiki tells me, "You must already know that those guys are all cowards and introverts. They just can't live with other people. That's why they built STT to live together with the same types."

"I see," I say after a pause. I didn't know that I was ruled by cowards and introverts. _How much of a coward and introvert am I, then_?

"Oh, someone takes down the lawyer for me. He keeps asking the same questions. What is he scribbling in his notes anyway?" complains Kiki, looking at the stage. So, I look at the stage again. The first person I see is the _Justice Judge Noir_ who is sending Zane and Lawyer Sawyer a serious look. He looks quite bored. _Careful Sawyer, we don't know when this courtroom will change into the arena where you will be performing for him. Better hurry up and amuse him_.

"How tall is he?" asks Kiki.

"Three meters and a half," I answer. He had surgery to remove his beauty gene gifted by his parents and asked the doctor to make his face threatening. So, his face is covered with warts and horns. He enjoys the convicts who look up to him, shaking with fear. _He'll be happy if you call him a monster_.

"I see," says Kiki. "That's why he's shaking because Zane Quicker doesn't look terrified at all."

Truly, Zane Quicker looks perfectly calm with his arms and legs cuffed with spiky strips on a large dart board.

"Sinner, you bought the sinners and disguised them as your employees. Why?" says Lawyer Sawyer.

"Isn't it my right to use them as I want? You sold them to me," says Zane.

"But you lied that you will use them for an experiment," says Sawyer.

"I did as I said. We had an experiment about Cosmo. The project's title is 'How many Cosmos can we reproduce?'" Zane says brightly.

"I didn't ask that," Sawyer says, annoyed. "Next, what was your real purpose of the Cosmos?"

"To serve our guests."

"Why did you have to use the sinners for that?"

"Because they are smart."

"Smart?"

"Yes. They are smart NTTs. The cockroaches," he says, looking down at the first row. "Isn't it why you made them sinners, President and MTT Minister?"

"You have no right to question them! You are being questioned!" yells Sawyer.

"I'm just glad to see them personally. I feel proud of myself that every high official of STT came here to see my trial enthusiastically. Let me see. I see President, Vice President, Foreign Secretary, Culture Secretary, Work Secretary, and the MTT Minister. Look at them! They are looking at me, too!" Zane giggles. I swallow. _Oh, my Zeus, go and stop your father_! But he only watches him with his eyes as serene as a stilled lake. He does not even scold me that I thought of their relationship when mind readers are filled in front of us. _Strange_.

Sawyer jumps up on the podium with a bang and grabs at Zane's throat. My dad is smiling at them without even thinking of lifting his gavel. "You better take it seriously. Don't you know your life depends on this trial, do you, Zane Quicker?"

Zane's lips curl meanly at his words. "Do you know your life is also depending on this trial, Sawyer?" Then he turns his head to us, the audience. "And my lovely audience! No, should I call you the convicts?"

Sawyer lifts him and the dart board up three and a half high. Their noses are almost contacted. "Have you gone mad, Quicker?"

"Mad? I'm perfectly rational. But I admit I'm a little too excited. Noir, I believe we shouldn't let them wait any longer."

My dad gestures to go on, wearing a wicked smile as always. Zane nods and screams at the ceiling. "STT, ready for the real justice? I introduce you to my real audience!"

## CHAPTER 47

My jaw drops down as the sky begins opening up. I even step forward to see it well.

"Finally the real trial begins," says Kiki behind me.

Just like curtains, the night sky falls down gently from the top to the bottom to reveal another black sky that is brightened with a red moon. My dad's courtroom was only a stage for a larger courtroom with millions of witnesses looking down at us.

"Let me begin the trial of STT's case," a voice rings the whole place. We all look up and see five chairs floating above us. _Kiki_! He's sitting on the forth one. The woman in the middle goes on, "I'm Judge Won of All Time Human Rights." I swallow, recalling the conversation between Zeus and my father. ATHR meant this. She is the Judge Won.

"Can't move... I can't move!" someone shouts. And soon, the man's identified as his seat is rooted up and floats up to the sky until he faces the Judge. "MTT General Ares, formally Loring, direct violation and insults to NTT soldiers witnessed by a General. Have any excuse?" says Judge Won.

"It's because of my gene. I inserted a fighter's gene after having my avatar!"

"Confiscation of the gene, imprisonment and labor service required." As the Judge announces, Kiki on her left sways his hand lightly. Ares disappears at once and the seat he was sitting on falls down. Just before it hits, the seated BTTs' heads it explodes in midair creating a loud bang. I step backwards, looking at it.

"Next volunteer?" says a girl sitting near to Kiki holding her finger up, looking down at the terrified BTTs.

## CHAPTER 48

The girl shines her large yellow eyes with thin pupils like a cat, waiting for a volunteer, but, no one raises his hand. "Come on. Don't act like children being scolded by their parents. You are adults who should be responsible for your wrong deed."

"Lawyer! Give me a lawyer!" exclaims a familiar voice. Her seat also glides up to face the Judge. "You know our trial doesn't require you to defend yourself. We've already analyzed your feelings and emotions, watching the scene of the crime. You clearly intended when you insulted the victims. All the MTT Generals will be charged with similar crimes," says a woman sitting on the first floating chair.

"And just how did you watch it? MTT is perfectly closed!" shouts Venus.

"Through an avatar's eyes," says a man on the second chair, right side of Judge Won.

"Avatar?"

"You know the guy," he says.

"He lived in STT since he was ten and was raised by a BTT father. He erased him before joining MTT when he was fifteen and became a hero of smart NTTs. He witnessed all the things about NTTs' district and MTT that controlled the district for ten years, experiencing all the violations and insults himself," says Judge Won before looking down at me. As Kiki lifts his hand my body floats up. I see millions of eyes follow me.

"Cine Moon," says Venus with a trembling voice.

"Cine Moon. We will punish every one of them properly for your sacrifice. We thank you."

The Judge begins clapping for me and I hear a thunder of applause from millions in the audience who might have come here to witness a STT case. I am vacuous, receiving all the ovations. Under my feet, the BTTs are looking up at me with angry, shocked or regretful eyes. _What a look_! _I hope I have a camera for the first time_.

"That's my son!"

I look down at the voice of my father who's clapping, with a large smile. I see Zane as well, shouting something to cheer me, still carrying the dart board on his back. The applause lasts for a long time until another man rises up next to me.

"And Zeus, who entered STT and worked in MTT to witness BTT citizens," says Judge Won and another round of applause begins. I look at him on my left, thunderstruck. _What does it mean_? _Does it mean he was used as a camera as well_? _Does it mean he's an avatar of Zane as well_? _But why does he look so calm_? _Of course, he must know it. It was only me who didn't know all the plots_.

"Can we leave here, Judge?" asks Zeus when the clapping slowly fades down.

"As you please," Judge Won says and turns to Kiki. He nods. Zeus bows gently and grabs my arm. His hand feels warm.

## CHAPTER 49

I open my eyes at a sound that gently vibrates in my ears. _Thunk, whisp, thump, whisp, thunk, whisp, thump_... I see Zane weaving a giant loom made of glass or crystal, sitting in a chair next to Zeus. It is as high as Lawyer Sawyer. He operates the loom skillfully though I have no idea what he's weaving. There's nothing where the thread should be.

"We time traveled to ten years past. It's where we were reborn," says Zeus on my left.

"Reborn? Reborn as avatars?"

"No. We are not avatars," he says.

"Stop fooling me. I heard the Judge say that she saw everything through an avatar's eyes."

"She didn't tell the truth in order to protect his secret."

"Zane Quicker's secret?"

He nods. "His real name is Zane Weaver. He weaves souls."

"Weave souls?"

Zeus nods and points to _them_ with his eyes. Next to Zane's loom is a stony table where two boys stretch out like offerings.

"That's us?" I ask.

"Yes, we were around ten," says Zeus.

"You were nine and Cine was ten," Chickie says, appearing in midair and lands on the floor. She's holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. _Anything to celebrate_?

"It's up to your answer if we can drink it or not."

"Zane Weaver," I stand up reactively at his voice. _It's him_. This man sent me to STT. If it were not him, I had no reason to suffer there, fearing when they will take me to sell me out in a slave market. I worked without vacation not to be dragged out as the next item. I had to struggle to secure safe foods every day. Inside MTT, I had to bear daily insults and abuses.

He pauses before saying "Is that your answer?"

I narrow my eyes. "What answer?"

"Zeus, you didn't tell him yet?" says Zane.

I turn back to Zeus who's sitting calmly on the chair, crossing his legs. _Is it only me who's this excited_? _Did Zane insert an obedience gene into his brain_?

"You tell him," says Zeus. "I don't want to be a subject of blame."

"What are you talking about? You're the victim as well! Don't you get it? He put you in danger. It only went well by luck. If they found out your relationship to Zane Weaver, you must be locked in the prison too!" I shout to him.

"Locked? Will I be locked in a prison?" says Zane.

"Yes, in a freezing prison without eatable food," I say to threaten him. But he rather looks pleased. "Did you hear that, Chickie? I'll be locked in a prison!"

_What's wrong with him_? _Why is he so happy_? His laugh oddly provokes me.

"Zane, please go to the question straight, before he explodes," says Zeus. He sounds quite edgy, for the first time.

"What question? That's not what I am concerned with. I spent ten years in STT!"

Zane's smile fades away. "Yes, that's what the question is about, Moon. If you had a hard time," he swallows and goes on, "we can stop here. I won't weave your souls or send you to STT. That's why I asked Zeus to time travel back with you, to here, when ATHR trial begins. So, if you don't like the conclusion, you can start it all again as you want. Tell me the best life you can think of."

"We can give you a different ten years," says Chickie. "If you think the ten years was a waste, tell us now."

"What are you talking about? You can't change what I already went through for the years!"

The place falls into silence.

"Twenty millions," says Zeus, piercing the tensed air, "That's the number of people who lived in the district. Half of them were sold outside as slaves, prostitutes, and laborers. Zane was able to save two millions over the years. ATHR will require BTTs to save the eight millions themselves. And you, by offering the solid evidence of NTTs' district's existence, are going to save ten million at once."

"Maybe no one in history could save ten million people in ten years," says Zane, walking to me, "But it's your right to get mad, to get angry and to punish me." He kneels in front of me. "I apologize. I apologize for the ten years you've lost."

I look down at him. He's closing his eyes, waiting for my decision. Ten years in STT. _Do I consider it as a waste_? _Do I regret the time in the place_? _Was it that hard_?

No... I lived in the protection of my father, even after I left home without his consent. I can't deny it. I wondered who changed the rule that an NTT employee should eat in the MTT canteen. It might be my dad. Thanks to him, I could cook and eat unaffected crops. He might always be watching me if anybody tries to hurt me. I haven't been abused, seriously, working with violent BTT Generals. And there was Cooper, who gave me the strength to trust myself. If he did not appear in my life, I would not learn responsibility to protect someone very precious to me. Gascon, who gave me the hope for surviving in STT until that age. I began thinking of my future after meeting him. Safire. Who knew the power of change and encouraged me to think of the changes I could make. Hera, and her family. They changed the selfish me. If she didn't grip my sleeve in the Morning Market, I might lose the chance to change the egotistic me.

"Wrong," I say. Zane looks up. "I don't think I've lost the ten years. If I had not been there, I would not have been able to meet them or make changes in me." I raise him up and cuddle him. "Thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance to become a different person. Chickie, I thank you, too."

Chickie raises her glass. I turn back as Zeus grips my shoulder.

"Dad's calling us. The banquet's ready."
