The world would ignite in a flash, only to fall back to its former darkness. Another sheet of lightning lit the world, only for it to fall back to slumber.

  Cerberus stood outside, the rain at angle from the wind. It struck his steely face and iron muscle like the hail beyond the eye of a storm. He weathered it like it was nothing. They could be bullets and he wouldn't back an eye.

  To his left, the Neosun crawled under the horizon for the first time since it was turned on. A full twelve hours had passed. And time continues to scrape by as he waits.

  The chemical tar, the strikes of lighting, the whistling winds were a sensation. Then, he hears a message through his conical implant.

  “Proteus to Cerberus and Basilisk. Jimmy is soon to arrive. He has brought someone valuable with him. Be prepared.”

  Septimus approached to his right, folding her arms like he did. Almost flatteringly. He looks down at her. “Septimus. I shall do the talking?”

  She nods, her gaze fixed forward.

  “Of course.” He replies. “Then it would do you well to get a vantage point. Grab a marksman rifle and perch on the roof.”

  She looks up to him and nods again, heading back to the station wagon. She opens the trunk hatch, pulling out a high-calibre sniper rifle.

  Not a marksman weapon. One built to be anti-material. Curiously, she left it open as she left to go inside.

  Cerberus stood stalwart with his arms crossed in the rain. A couple seconds pass, and he sees some headlights from afar.

  Another blanket lighting. The darkness returns, only less this time, for the headlights have grown larger. Another flash. Darkness. The headlights, closer.

  Finally, the car stops. Cerberus's red eyes take the bright sight of whatever vehicle that is on full beam. A man stands from the driver's seat; a man with a make-shift fabric mask. He yells over the rain to greet Cerberus.

  “You must be Cerberus.” The man says.

  “Indeed.” Cerberus replies.

  “Now TURN OFF that light!” Cerberus barks at the man.

  He does, the world returning to its familiar darkness of before the Neosun. The man approaches closer, Cerberus clearly seeing an obscured passenger within the vehicle.

  Cerberus turns to the man who approaches, his arms still folded. “Who is that you have brought?” He asked, pointing at the passenger seat.

  “That?” The man asked, turning to look. “That... is John. Consider me bringing him an act of good faith…”

  The man walks towards the passenger seat. He opens the door and drags out another man of similar height with a bag over his face. The man seems weak and lowly. This is not how Cerberus imagined John would look.

  The man brought John to Cerberus, forcing him to his knees. Cerberus overlooked the weak with his blinding eyes.

  “Weak.” He says.

  “Well, you have done well then… Jimmy, is it?” The man hesitated for just the tiniest second, though well within reason.

  “That's right.” Jimmy replies, waving towards the entrance.

  “Well, I assume there is better room in that facility?”

  “You should know.” Cerberus replies, folding his arms again.

  “You were the one who chose this place.”

  Jimmy swallows and laughs it off. “Ahh, of course Cerberus. You're right. Well, let's hurry up then. We wouldn't walk to leave the big boss waiting.”

  “THAT IS GAUTH VAN HULSEIG TO YOU.” Cerberus boomed, leaning over Jimmy like a colossus, his voice as Earthquake.

  “G— Gauth Van Hulsieg? Of course. Let's just get into the fucking building.” Cerberus escorts them in. Jimmy followed close behind, his face drenched in both sweat and water.

  He dragged John behind him, a close set of chains around his hands. A bag over his head, and a large LPG tank strapped to his back.

  They enter into the entry hall, tall and foreboding. Cerberus did not care for what it was once used for. The rain grows quieter inside, though the sound of many leaks seeps through. Septimus had, by this point, gone back downstairs to join them.

  Cerberus leads Jimmy into a large room on the right, lit even darker than twilight. An old, decreed wooden chair at the center. There was no color. Cerberus's eyes were the main light.

  “Sit him down on the chair. Now.” Cerberus orders Jimmy. His patience forever wearing thin, and it can be heard in his voice.

  Jimmy forces John to sit down in the chair. John has to lean forward due to the tank on his back. As Cerberus moves opposite John on the other side of the room, Septimus slinks out the shadows to join him.

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  Cerberus's eyes dark to Jimmy, he has to squint as he looks back at him. Jimmy's eyes got a gauge for the man. He is missing the helmet he remembers. His huge laser pistol is on his side. He is a monster of a man.

  “We do not trust you Jimmy.” Cerberus tells him.

  “W— well, what is required?” Jimmy asked him.

  Cerberus replies swiftly. “We will ask you questions and order tasks. If you fail them, I will hang you off the wall like an ornament.”

  Jimmy doesn't get the time to comment as Cerberus barks his first order. “One. What is the point of the tank on his back?”

  Jimmy looks to John who sits slumped over on the wooden chair.

  “That? That is to make sure he listens. If he didn't, I would set it off with this…”

  Jimmy pulls a make-shift remote out of his pocket, displaying it to the pair. “Imagine it as a gun to his head that points at it twenty four seven.”

  “Take it off of him.” Cerberus ordered calmly. Jimmy complies, taking it off of the man. “Drop the remote.” Cerberus orders again. Jimmy complies, dropping it to the left of the seat.

  Thunder rings outside as Cerberus barks his next orders.

  “Two. We have been unable to track you. A tracker will be placed on your vehicle so you can lead us to this… resistance.”

  “Of course.” Jimmy says, swallowing deeply as he watches Septimus head off out the doorway they entered through.

  “Three. Last question. You said you were in Kansas. You were not. Why did you lie?” Cerberus asked, his eyes planted between Jimmy's eyes and with arms still folded.

  “Kansas?” Jimmy questioned. “I thought I said Nebraska? Ugh, they're pretty much neighbor. I apologize.”

  Cerberus grumbles impatiently, not believing that reply for a second. Jimmy stands idling as Cerberus stares him down. Cerberus keeps his stare for thirty seconds until Septimus enters back into the room. As she stands beside him again, Cerberus adds some more questions.

  “Your answer wasn't satisfactory. You have two more questions.

  Four. Take your mask off now.”

  Jimmy looks at the for a second longer than he should have, but he complies. He takes the mask off, shoving it in his pocket, only to reveal a young face and brown hair. Blue eyes and white skin.

  “Five.” Cerberus says, now looking to John. “Take his mask off.”

  Jimmy complies, ripping the bag off John's face to reveal an older man. A graying beard, though well kept. Septimus walks towards the pair with some sort of camera device. She stands maybe three times her own height away from them both, holding the device to Jimmy's face.

  “SERaMACs.” Cerberus demands, his voice echoing like an avalanche.

  “Observe this man. Is this Jimmy?”

  The device scans Jimmy's face, with a look of subdued terror on his face. The device takes five seconds to complete. As it does, it tells the pair. “Identity confirmed; Jimmy Myers Anderson”

  Something seemed to leave Jimmy's aura once the scan was complete. Septimus moves to John, who looked up at her, biting his lips.

  “SERaMACs. Observe this man. Is this Jimmy?”

  The device scanned again, running the data through this instance of SERaMACs many subroutines. This time it took a little longer. About a second longer. Nope… two seconds longer, before the AI finally answers.

  “Identity confirmed; John #669”

  Septimus took a step back, lowering the device. She then turned her back to the two and returned to Cerberus. For some reason, Jimmy seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

  “You are dismissed now Jimmy. We will call you back in a moment.” Cerberus tells him.

  “Oh.” Jimmy says. “Should I—”

  “LEAVE. AT ONCE.” Cerberus yells to the man, who scurries away into the hallway.

  John looked down at the ground on his chair, his hands chained together lazily, his single piece jumpsuit unclear and covered with oil stains.

  Cerberus to a single step closer to the broken man. A loud step, fixing him to look up. There was an apprehension in the back of his mind, but he didn't pay it attention as he spoke.

  “John. You are quite a figure of the resistance. Where's Amy?”

  John giggled as he looked back down at the floor. Cerberus takes another step closer, and this time, so does Septimus.

  “You try my patience, John. That is a fools errand.” A deafening drum of thunder erupts outside as John looks back up to the iron monster.

  “WHERE IS SHE?!” Cerberus bellowed, his voice taking seconds to fade with its echo.

  “I don't know.” Says John, his voice fragile and meager.

  Cerberus was about to take another step, but Septimus stopped him. She puts her arm in front of his stomach, and decides she should take the next step forward.

  She pulled out her sticky note, and scribbled some writing on it. She grabbed the remote from next to John, stuck it on the back, then put it in his hands. She then walked back as he read it.

  “Why don't you know?” The note asked. John flipped the remote back around in his hands, a stupid smile forming on his face. He starts giggling. Then laughing. Then, he starts choking on his laughter something was so funny. Cerberus felt compelled to tell him to be silent.

  But he didn't, respecting her initiative. He wanted to draw his laser deagle, but didn't to maintain his stoicism. John finally stopped laughing, looking back down to the ground as a distant thunder echos.

  “Ohhhhhh… that's because you've got a key part of that wrong...”

  Septimus finally reaches Cerberus and turns around. As she does, he finished his sentence. “...because me? I am not John.”

  “What?!” Septimus asked, breaking her silence. But it was too late.

  Just as Cerberus got his hand on his laser deagle, who they thought was John had thrown the LPG tank into the air at them.

  “FOR THE ARCHLIEGE!!!”

  He yelled, smashing the button of the detonator.

  Then… all went white for Cerberus.

  He would have no idea what hit him for a moment.