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The sun was already high in the sky by the time Mateo awoke. As he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of ice blue ones staring back at him.

“I don't want you to leave me," the boy cried outside Mateo's cell door.

“Jayden, I will always be in your heart. I will never leave you, remember that. I'll come back for you, just wait for me," Mateo shouted through the bars, reaching for Jayden. "Don't forget me," he added, knowing that the agency they both "worked" for would do anything to get rid of all traces of him. Soon, his name would be erased from all documents, and everyone would lose themselves in their own survival. Eventually, no one would remember him. Even his most prized possession, the one he held dearest, will neglect his existence. Suddenly, the metal creaked open, and Mateo saw a bulky, muscular figure looming over him.

“Hey kid, it's time," the guard said, rolling his eyes. Mateo nodded as he kissed Jayden on the lips softly one last time. Tears formed in their eyes as the younger boy was led away into a small chamber. Neither boy knew that Mateo would fulfill the promise he made to Jayden. All they could think of was their life without each other.

“Never believe ULTRASONIC," Mateo mouthed as he walked through the doors. Jayden nodded, determined to let Mateo know that he still believed him.

After ten long seconds of staring at the chamber's door, Jayden heard a loud “CRACK", and then a “THUMP" shaking the ground where he stood. The horrifying sound of bone being cut through and flesh tearing apart sent Jayden into a crumbling despair. He felt as if his heart had dropped into a bottomless pit of sadness. His best friend, lover, and partner-in-crime was dead.

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“Come on, Jay, you'll get over him," Jayden's best friend DJ cooed. His heart pounded in his chest as he recalled the events that happened the day before.

“No I won't DJ, you know that," Jayden retorted.

“He made a mistake, he deserves to have some kind of punishment. Though death is kinda too m-" DJ began.

“I don't want to talk about it," Jayden said, gritting his teeth through every word.

“Jeez, dude, I didn't mean it that way, sorry. " DJ muttered. Dylan-James never liked to apologize, but he knew that Jayden wasn't in the mood to argue. “Matt was my friend too. I know it's not the same but I understand a fraction of what you're going through. I'll always be here if you need me," DJ said empathetically.

“It's okay, thanks DJ." Jayden half-smiled as they walked back to the dorms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night Jayden lay in bed thinking about Mateo. He thought about the memories they'd shared throughout their few years together. It was October 30, 2292. 13 years since the War started, 1 day until he was 17, and yet only a few hours after his one true love died. Or so he thought.

“Run, Jayden, run!” he heard. It was Mateo’s voice yelling at him. Jayden caught a glimpse of Professor Lee carrying a stick and running in their direction. Not too bad for a 57-year-old. He sprinted after Mateo, narrowly missing a smack to the head. Concentrate, Jayden, control, he told himself. He found switches in Lee’s mind and peered back over his shoulder, yelling to the professor.

“Professor Lee! You left mercury on the table!” The professor stopped abruptly. His expression showed a moment of shock, realization, then anger.

“Jayden Hudson, just wait until I catch you next time!” Lee yelled as he ran back to his classroom. Mateo, having seen what Jayden had done, stopped to walk back towards him.

“I guess we’re never taking a stroll down this hallway ever again,” Mateo laughed.

“Who said we weren’t?” Jayden smirked and kissed his lover on the cheek. As he pulled Mateo closer, Jayden’s vision started fading around the edges. Blackness clouded over him, and Mateo’s smile slowly wilted into a frown. The gentle hand resting on his neck suddenly turned into a cold grasp, choking him. He sat up in his bed, panting. “Mateo,” Jayden whispered one last time.

He had to make a choice. It was either he started over again, forgetting their past, or he waited. He might be forever waiting for a promise to never be satisfied.

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“Ahhh!” Mateo screamed as he sat up. He looked around, trying to recognize his surroundings. He was on the outskirts of a city, lying within a clearing. He suddenly jumped, a shiver crawling down his spine as he noticed the blank picture he'd painted in his head. He froze up in shock as he realized he couldn't remember a single thing. Mateo stumbled backwards in fear. Slowly, he looked at his hands and flexed each muscle carefully. This city wasn't like ones that he'd seen before. Then again, he hadn't seen that many cities in his lifetime either. He'd been trapped in one for almost his entire life. Wait, that's right. He had been in a city, more specifically, the Overhead City. But the image of the area was vague in his head. He couldn't have stayed in the Overhead for long if he couldn't remember what it looked like, right? So there had to be another one. Mateo thought for a few moments, then something clicked and fell into place slowly. The Sunken. He'd lived in the Sunken City for most of his life, and he could easily conclude that this place wasn't it. Having no other options, Mateo started walking away from the clearing, down a narrow sidewalk. The city was a mess. Most buildings were either abandoned or crumbled and there were few residents who lived there. Eventually he saw a slanted sign using the English alphabet, forming words he understood. Thomas's Pub. Clearborne, he was definitely in Clearborne. Mateo stopped and closed his eyes, remembering a familiar face. He couldn’t put his finger on who it was, which made him more frustrated by the second.

“I don’t want…” A boys' voice trailed off. His hair was a soft blond, like you could run his fingers through it smoothly. His eyes were a beautiful contrast of ice blue, and he had a single earring on his left ear. Wait. Mateo furrowed his brows as his hand immediately flew to his right ear. The other earring was pierced delicately through his ear. He was so lost that he didn’t even see the figure standing in front of him.

“Hey man, you look a little, well, absent. Why don’t I buy you a drink, ya know, to get your mind off things. Seems like you could use it,” a short boy with black gelled back hair smiled, breaking him out of his trace. His accent wasn’t from Clearborne which meant the only other place he could have come from was the Commonwealth. Why would anyone leave the safety there for a broken place like Clearborne? Then Mateo remembered that nowhere was safe anymore.

“Nah, no thanks, I don’t drink,” he lied, knowing that he always stole a beer or two back in the Sunken.

“Who says you need to drink?” The boy replied, taking Mateo’s hand and dragging him along the city walls.

“Hold on,” he started as they broke into a run. “Who are you? And where the bloody hell am I?”

“Memory loss much?” The boy asked. They stopped along a small alleyway, catching their breath. “I'm Janus, are you new around here?” The boy, Janus, asked softly.

“Yeah, I-I mean no. I mean, I just woke up here, and I seemed to have lost a lot of my memories. Nice to meet you, I’m….Mateo Que-,” he offered, though Janus cut him off before he could finish.

“No way,” Janus paused, staring straight at him. “You’re Mateo? Mateo Queensley?” Janus, asked. His eyes were wide in astonishment, mouth opened just a little, showing his surprise.

“Yeah...yeah, I think. I don’t really know,” Mateo admitted, scratching his head in confusion. Why was he so impressed? Did he know me?

“Mateo,” he whispered. “I don’t believe it. They said that you were dead. They executed you. They….they killed you. You-you’re dead!” Janus stammered, clearly shocked. Mateo thought back to the other day, trying to recall the events that happened. There was a boy, then there was a chamber, then everything went blank in his mind. “HEY! Mateo! Snap out of it!” A voice called.

“Oh, sorry, I was thinking of what happened before, but I can’t understand anything. I see this room and this boy, but after that, nothing,” Mateo said, trying to describe everything. Janus paced back and forth across the alleyway, thinking. “You said something about ‘they’ earlier. Like ‘they’ executed me. Who are you talking about?”

“ULTRASONIC,” Janus said slowly.

“ULTRASONIC? ULTRASONIC,” Mateo whispered. “I was there at their headquarters in the Overhead. They killed me?” he asked. ULTRASONIC. The United Last Tactic Resort Acclimation of the Sunken Overhead Nation in Improvisational Circumstances. Try saying that 10 times fast.

“I don’t even know anymore, honestly. But um, could you do something for me? Could you just try to remember a girl, about the age of 14. She has black hair like mine and she's about my height. ” Janus rushed. Mateo realized his eyes were the color of indigo, sparkling as he spoke. He closed his eyes and tried to focus himself on ULTRASONIC.

“Almost 3 years...brother….kinesis….Ansel,” he overheard. “Death…..Mateo….spy…”. Suddenly, a sharp pain in his neck forced him to lose focus. It was like a million needles were stabbing him.

“Hey, Mateo, don’t die on me,” Janus’s voice boomed. Mateo opened his eyes as quickly as possible, hand flying to reach his neck.

“There’s a recruit that’s either been at ULTRASONIC for almost 3 years, or they’re 3 years old. I don’t know what gender they are but something about having a brother and-,” he gasped, stopping to catch his breath. Janus’s eyes sparkled at the information. Mateo saw a feeling of hope in his eyes. “I heard ‘kinesis’ and Ansel, whatever that means,” he finished, deciding not to tell Janus about his so-called death. His fingers traced across the back of his neck, feeling an indent across it. When he pulled his hand back, he stared in horror as his fingers were smeared with blood. Did he die because he was a spy?

“Ansel is German. It means God’s protection,” Janus smiled as he furrowed his brows. “It’s my last name,” he stated as he pulled Mateo in for a hug, his chin brushing against the latter's collarbone. “Thank you,” Janus whispered. A few seconds later, the truth came flooding back into the blond, piece by piece.

“Y-your sister,” he uttered. “She's a spy for ULTRASONIC.” The words hung in the air, none of them saying a single word as Janus pulled out of the hug sharply.

“A spy,” he said dryly. His demeanor completely changes.

“Janus, she didn’t choose what she got to be-,” Mateo started.

“I KNOW!” Janus screamed, hands covering his face. “How could they put her in such a dangerous position. She’s only fourteen, goddammit,” he cried. “I can’t lose her again.”

“She won’t die, Janus, I won’t let her,” Mateo promised. Janus’s crying slowly subsided into small whimpers. “Come on, let's get out of Clearborne. I don’t think you were meant to be here either,” he smiled. Janus gradually let his hands fall to the side of his body, then tilted his head up to look his new friend dead in the eye.

“I don’t know what I would do without you,” he said, forming a small smile from the corners of his lips. Those indigo eyes were filled with respect and determination. “But don’t think that I haven’t seen that blood on your fingers. I’m not as stupid as you think I am,” he sighed. “You really are Mateo Queensley, the best lawyer in the whole country. I mean, you’re only 16 and everyone knows you! But I'm going to let you in on a little secret. No one knows about ULTRASONIC. So don’t go around talking about it to just anyone, ya hear me?” Janus warned.

“I hear you, mate. And call me Alto, it's a nickname a person gave me,” he confessed. I've been telling him all this stuff when I barely know who he is, but at least this would bring us closer.

“Nice to meet you, Alto. Janus Ansel at your service,” Janus replied cockily, saluting him with his right hand. “Now, let’s get moving, we don’t want to keep my sister waiting!”