SHIELD Agent Rhapsodos: A Part That Remains

:: Hollow ::

The day when Robert's life snuffed out was possibly at the worst timing imaginable.

On that weekend, just two days after he said goodbye to Robert, Genesis Rhapsodos was hunted down by the United States military with two others. It was basically his life turning for the worst all over again.

What Genesis had thought was a simple outing to enjoy life on Earth while he avoided thinking of Robert, turned into a recurring nightmare. Most of the teens from Genesis' foster home on Saturday were hyped up over the largest computer convention in Chicago, something that rarely happened. Curious about such an occasion, Genesis tagged along the next day.

The former SOLDIER admitted the sheer size of it was amazing. On Gaia, robotic and simulator tech wasn't a market money-maker no thanks to the fact it was limited to SOLDIERs and the ShinRa military. The amount of people flooding the place was astonishing for him. There were plenty of tech companies milling about, and with the gaming expo opening, everyone around him was thrilled to officially start and try the new games the expo provided.

There were the usual famous people around too, the mayor, computer companies like Microsoft, and there was also a flashy inventor by the name of Tony Stark, that Genesis really didn't care about who made an appearance. Halfway through Stark's speech, something else grabbed his attention.

One part of the convention was overcrowded with Real Time Strategy game enthusiasts who were struggling on a game that was far too hard to handle. Two groups were crowding around two people who were known RTS game champions in town and they too were nowhere getting past their scores near mid-range. Feeling suspicious and since he wasn't a bad tactician himself, Genesis tried the game on a computer that was the farthest from the crowds.

The former SOLDIER had to admit it was the most challenging strategy simulator he had tried; ever. The battle conditions were very real, logistics, troopers, loss of life, and even how the chain of command worked. All of it was far too realistic. Even ShinRa couldn't have created something this complex and real with their virtual simulator rooms. The only reason he had a high score was the fact he had years of experience in making quick decisions on the field, but that was when the real trouble started.

It was because the game wasn't just a game. The game was a disguised authentic strategic simulator made by the US military.

Genesis' luck went from bad to worse when the people behind it weren't doing the project the legal way. No sooner the teen left the convention feeling spooked, a hacker named Edward and another girl, Tina, approached him warning that they were in danger. Knowing the truth behind a disastrous military project that could get them locked up for life in the labs, the three agreed to get supplies and run for their lives. The next day after, they were officially the hunted.

Two weeks on the streets again and the military took their first victim. Tina was shot in the head. Genesis caught and cradled her body helplessly knowing she'd never be alive again. At that moment and very same second, Genesis froze when he knew a flicker of life he was familiar with thanks to the Lifestream, had gone out forever.

Robert had died.

Chilling cold only filled up the part in his heart that now was sickening, hollow, and painful.

He couldn't really recall what happened after. All he could remember was being dragged away by the hacker who had snapped him out of his shock and running away. They had run so far that Genesis wasn't sure where he was. When they did stop, though, Edward broke into an emotional wreck and cried. The former SOLDIER wasn't well himself. He shivered and curled himself to a ball his body shook with sobs and his vision blurry with tears that didn't stop coming out.

Genesis cried himself to sleep for the two lives lost that day.

That night, a part of him that had mended before, broke.