Father: “Hello? Come in. Hello? Hellllo..? Heeeeeeeeellllllllllloooooo..? Tyler?...Tyler. Tyler!! Tyler Malierano Stop your damn sniveling and answer this instant..! This is why I told you to lose all connection with your emotions and just focus on the mission!"
Tyler: ".......Ye-Yes father..."
{This happens to be my name.
Originally, my name was already decided to become something 'unique and sophisticated sounding' like Jian. Its pronunciation isn't (J-eye-ahn) nor (J-eey-ahn). It's just pronounced (J-ohn) like the French name 'Jean'.
One of the family's 'Mothers', Narcisa, had been appointed to naming me I'm told...but instead, she started arguing with the 2 remaining wives over Jian's pronunciation and spelling. Finally she settled on Jean after a long discussion, before succumbing to the name 'Jian' inspired by their joint desire to be 'unique' yet 'elegant' with baby naming...
Why the opinions of all three women EQUALLY mattered even though only 1 was in charge of naming me? Apparently father's “prestige” should be left untarnished, so they all felt entitled to share opinions when it came to...well, deciding my name.
Father scrapped all of their ideas and named me Tyler in the end though.
Immediately after the accident, I started to succumb to a panic attack. I saw it happen to a few of my older sibs during mock battles and punishments luckily enough, so it was easy to realize what was going on. By slowing my breathing, relaxing my shaken nerves and calming my heart-rate, just like practice...I somehow managed to respond to father's question before disconnecting the communicator attached to my left ear.}
Tyler: "A-According...to 3rd Mother Nirael, I just hafta...r...relax my muscles...like pr-practice.”
{Dammit! Why am I stuttering?! I don't recall having a speech issue...maybe this whole mission is just...overwhelming me or something. Yeah, that's gotta be it. This is happening all because this is my first…
….my first genuine kill...
Whatever – forget it. I need to relax!
Relax~
Now, let's start with the fingertips, relax...then my arms…
...A relaxation exercise should help. Good job, me. Now, time for my shoulder blades and chest, move down the spine towards the abdominal area...through the legs and kneecaps, calves, ankles...Phew. I can breathe again! FINALLY THE PAI--}
*Thunk*
...
?: “Father. Mission complete. I have retrieved the problem child before his panic attack worsened.”
Father: “....Although I saw him doing okay from my drones before you arrived...good work Aeron. What of the 'hero'?”
Aeron: “That loser? I gave him the slip. Dammit, because of him, I missed witnessing little Ty's first reaction to the target's blood when he thought he shot the geezer. I made sure to pump a higher level of amp into the 10,000v clone he's chasing. One touch and he'll light up like a Christmas tree. Hehe.”
Father: “Christmas? What's that?”
Aeron: “...It's a holiday pop-err―Father. Normal people who practice it exchange gifts with each other to display their familial or romantic affection. Fathers are especially expected to go all out on their younger childrens' Christmas gifts.”
Father: “BAH! I remember now. Such a disgusting holiday is for the weak. Focus on improving yourselves instead of worrying about miscellaneous trivia. Giving my children proper presents will only make them soft. Foolish celebrations...just like birthdays!”
Aeron: “...Father, did you just use the term, 'proper presents'? Does that mean you're aware you're gifts are somewhat....improper?”
Father: "Yes. I am very well aware. So?"
Aeron: ".....No. No problem here father. Still, do you find little Ty's aim and precision to be...miraculously good or incredibly bad? Who could've guessed he'd miss with that first bullet of his – only to correct his error seconds before the coot passed? It’s only a shame the old man had to even BE rendered immobile to begin with for Noel’s bullet to land its mark. At least this 'hit' became much easier due to little Ty's first mistake, that gave me the cue to intervene. I'd say he passed though--*BOOM!* Oh! There goes my clone, haha! What a beautiful shade of blue the night sky has turned, over there."
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Father: “Focusing on this mission’s requirements of him, I’ d rather fail Tyler for that unnecessary hesitation...but although a fluke, he DID manage to end the target's life. Besides, your mother wouldn't be too happy if I overruled your decision after choosing you for the role of this mission's overseer.
Hmm...Oh what the heck, I’ll be a tad lenient this time around and give him a barely passing grade. When he wakes, tell the boy that he scores a C...no a D-, NO: a D--, BARELY qualifying to meet The Malierano Family's arms handler: Durandez, as well as for partaking in The Family’s final mission. Only by succeeding, only then, will he join his siblings’ ranks as an ‘Elite’. You're task once he awakens is explaining your uncle’s duty towards the family in an easy to understand way. OH! Also, your mother’s new proposal, be sure to tell him about it. If he's willing to be its first human test subject, it can grant him a more advanced cognitive chip than the previous prototype our labs developed. Hehehe, aren’t I a good father?"
Aeron: “Haha. Yes, Father. You are a wonderful parent.”
{After coming around, I recognize the plush carpet that surrounds a twin-sized mattress without a bed-frame...windows that can't be unsealed due to metal bars preventing entry and escape, and let me not mention anything about the heavily booby-trapped ventilation shaft...Yeah, I'm back in my room.
Normal people would think because of how rich my family is that I'm experiencing “lavish luxury” but nope. I own only a single bed and a plush one-eyed penguin who's been worthily named Mr. Betrayal since way back 'cause of the camera stuck in his one good eye...oh, wait...that's right! The mission!
I tried to swing my body off the bed, only to notice that I'm unable to move. Above me is a timer attached to a wire, is this....punishment for failing to appease father?! BUT I killed him!! I succeeded!
---Ah~, he must've abandoned me like the others. I don't wanna die…!
...death, huh…?}
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
*PAH!*
{Hearing silence permeate the bedroom, I begin bravely opening my eyes...fully prepared to witness my very first sighting of the mysterious “afterlife”. Yet surprisingly, all I bear witness to instead is confetti.}
Tyler: “....Huh?”
Aeron: “SURPRISE!! Congratulations on passing! Haha. By the way, Mr. Betrayal has a knife underneath his left flipper. Cut the ropes restricting you and meet your older sisters ranked in 30th and 17th place respectively in the Elite Siblings Ranking: Beatrice and Kifah, on the 42nd underground floor in room 210-B: watch yourself for the usual traps.”
{...STUPID STUPID BROTHER!!! He's ALWAYS like this! Dad says he's doting on me, but he just gets his kicks from torturing me! I hate it! He was almost always the one dad sent to beat me up in the dungeons during my, ahem, rare past failures, while Father's subordinates were away. As a 6 year old child, he always had me accompany him on his assassination missions. Father guided me through a communications device on how to properly 'kill'.
Aeron: “Oh yeah, Dad wants me to explain the family details to you, but how much do you already know? I don't like to repeat myself."
Tyler: “Well then. Ahem! I know the basics everyone's taught. Also that father is the head of the family, both my personal one plus the Family Organization. He looks 40 but you all have told me he's secretly over 10,000 years old.”
{I asked Dad about it in secret and he said that he's only 349 years old, plus these oh-so-great siblings of mine also claim he rides his pet dinosaur during war times and keeps a Leprechaun in his closet. I no longer believe their words.}
Aeron: “Good, that's a start. He used to have 5 wives, but numbers 1 & 4 are dead now. None of our moms would tell us the details, but their deaths boosted the living ones from “2nd Wife Narcisa” to “1st Wife Narcisa”, “3rd Wife Naosuke” to “2nd Wife Naosuke”, and “5th Wife Nirael” all the way up to “3rd Wife Nirael”. Very complicated, I know. It only gets worse.
Hmm, by the way this bit of info is probably irrelevant but there's this specific rumor in the family which claims dad as a man with over 300 super-powers. Supposedly Father has a unique ability that can produce 1 new ability each year or so. Either that or he goes around every New Year hunting for a brand new power – those two are the most popular theories flying around.”
Tyler: ”Wait, but if daddy was really 10,000 years old, then, uhh 1 power each year...shouldn't he have 10,000 superpowers!??”
Aeron: “Hahaha, I don't think there's a human alive who can HANDLE that many abilities. Normal people can barely handle 5 with the average number being 1-3”
Tyler: “...Is Father even human anymore after reaching over 300 years old...”
Aeron: “Yes he is.”
Tyler: “O-Oh, okay.”
Aeron: "Moving on, there's also his younger brother: Durandez. This man is nearly as old as father and just as strong. He's been vying for the family head position for the longest time, but because father always beat him during his schemes and succession battles, he eventually settled down to become The Malierano Family Weapons-maker. His creations are so incredibly ahead of the times that even father is often left baffled. THEN there's his child: Durandez II. Durandez the second, otherwise known by his nickname Heinen, is nearly his equal in weapons-making: taking more “MODERN” approaches to designs than his father. His skills in combat leave little to be desired too – having bested Jraedan, your very first big brother and probably the strongest of the younger generations except for father, at least once in his life. That's an accomplishment worth bragging for like...forever about, haha.”
Tyler: “Big brother? But Jraedan doesn't like it when we call him “brother”. Last time, I saw him hurt Big sis-Kifah for saying that...”
Aeron: “Yeap, if not for big sis Angelica stepping in, Kifah would've probably died. Remember, dad has been alive for a LONG time. Of course, so have the first generational kids of our chaotic family.”
Tyler: “...I met them all, but...they didn't seem to like me. I could tell at least half of them wore forced smiles back then.”
Aeron: “Naturally. They look down on us for coming from younger generations and experiencing a whole lot less than they did. I can say with certainty that you'll be fighting against them much more if you ever wanna climb the ranks. Nobody has ever managed to take the top 5 positions away from those overpowered freaks either.
I mean, if 'that man' ever decided to participate as well, the top 5 would almost certainly change for the first time...but he'd rather train those rejected ones stuck at the family's academy for failing the Malierano Family's expectations.”
---