"Where's that portal thingy?" Piaper quipped. "The pixelating doors?"

On exiting the infirmary, they stood in a white corridor, winding in either direction.

LEVEL 4

INFIRMARY

Identical rooms lined the path on both sides. It was surreal, but was nothing like the portal chamber through which they arrived earlier.

"The Dimensional Portal, or as I call it- DimPort is my personal travel aide," Jack said, waving his communicator at him. "We used it to travel from the interrogation room to our facility. The portal has different appearances at different times. Sometimes it is a corridor. At other times, it is merely a doorway."

"Whoa, you are wrinkling my circuits, doc!"

Jack guffawed. "Come, we can discuss some more before your memory is wiped."

"Can you leave the memory of the DimPort in my head?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way."

A hooded girl reclined against the wall outside the infirmary door. She was clad in a black leather suit, which stood out against the impeccably white corridor.

"Umm-" Piper began, but Jack dragged him away by the arm.

After they left, the girl entered the infirmary room and walked towards Noah.

The latter was nibbling on a bar of chocolate that the nurse had brought for him.

"Jack said I had a guest," he said. "Can you identify yourself, Miss?"

"You should refer to him as Dr. Chrysalis."

The girl took off her hood to reveal her face.

"Eve? Damn! Are you all right?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Noah," she said without emotion.

The boy looked at her in the black skin-fit leather suit and instantly regretted the thoughts that flooded into his head. He struggled to keep his eyes on her face. Eve had a shapely figure, and her attire left very little to the imagination.

"You, uh, you look great!" Noah stammered. "But.. I remember the last time I saw you on the train tube. You had fractures, bruises, and cuts! How did you heal so fast? I mean, I don't even see scars!"

"Providence has the latest medical facilities." Eve offered no further explanation. Her voice was monotonous, even a tad bit annoyed.

"You're here to convince me to join the Fellowship team, aren't you? There's no way I am going to become a test subject."

"No, I am not here for that, Noah."

"Then, are you here to kill me?"

"Hmph." Eve folded her arms defensively and clenched her jaw. Her blonde hair was trussed up in a tight bun. The leather suit squinched and squeaked as she shifted in her position.

The beauty stepped closer to Noah's bed.

"Whatever you are here for, go ahead and do it," the boy said, looking away. "I'm just glad you are alright."

"I-

"Yes?" Noah looked straight at her, and their eyes met. Hers were a rare, shimmering scarlet.

"I'm here for a confession."

"Umm... Go ahead. At this point, I don't know if you can surprise me. I've seen more shocking things in the last few hours than I did in my entire life."

Eve sighed. She looked up at the hovering security camera in the room.

"A true hero is mute as his exploits speak for him," she said softly, biting her lip.

The line was out of the blue, and a random person would dismiss it as gibberish. However, Noah recognized it straight away.

"That's a quote from the Knights of Regia game! Are you a player?"

"Hmph. Noah?" she said, ignoring his question. "Do you have a best friend?"

"Err... Why the sudden interest in my life? Are you trying to humiliate me for not having friends? That will not make me join your team. I'm immune to insults, courtesy of my parents."

"Just answer the question!" Her lips shivered, although the room was warm.

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"I don't have any real-life friends," the boy replied with a raised eyebrow. "Forget best friends. Although, there is this gamer on the internet. GoulagSlayer13. I don't know his real name. He taught me everything I know about gaming. We've been playing MMORPG together for three years." Noah spoke almost jubilantly. "We are sworn brothers, never to be apart."

"Tonight, we feast in the abyss, right?" Eve said, touching her right shoulder with her left fist.

Noah's eyes widened.

"Wait, that's his signature line! He says that before every campaign on chat in CAPS. And just now, you did the White Knights greeting! Have you been spying on me, Eve? Is this what your organization does? Spy on gamers who mind their own business?"

"No, LoveLord15. You are not getting it right. Think!"

Noah's eyes darted around. His head started throbbing again. "I don't-"

There was an extended, awkward silence.

"I... I am GoulagSlayer13."

"What? No, you're messing with me! GoulagSlayer13 is a guy! It isn't funny, you know."

"Oh, really?" Eve quipped with her hands on her hips. "Have you ever seen GoulagSlayer13 on picture or video? Or talked to him on audio?"

"No, because-"

"-he has freckles and is shy. Did you fall for that excuse? Really?"

It dawned on Noah that she was telling the truth. Conflicted emotions flashed across his face.

"But… but… why did you not tell me as soon as you came to school?"

"I'm not allowed to have friends, Noah. It comes with the job." She twirled around in her leather suit. "Right now, I will be leaving for a mission."

Noah shook his head with a silly expression.

He had imagined meeting GoulagSlayer13 in person several times, and they would have shaken hands and hugged- according to Regia's culture. It was supposed to be a guy!

The duo spent the next few minutes in silence.

Eve looked concerned. Noah might feel betrayed, thinking Providence set her on him to gather intelligence. She waited for his outburst.

"Did you install the expansion pack?" Noah asked with a crooked smile.

Eve giggled, relieved. Her beady eyes sparkled with adolescence. "Yes! It's awesome. Now we can have custom-made sigils. There are 12 new campaigns to cover!"

The boy grinned back at her. He split a piece of chocolate into two and offered the girl a half. "Piper has given me some credits. I'll join in today."

"He's a good friend," Eve lisped, with the chocolate in her mouth. "It seems he cares about you."

"He's okay, I guess."

Another extended moment of silence passed.

"I-"

"It's okay, Eve. It doesn't matter who you really are. You'll always be GoulagSlayer13 for me. My memory about this part of your world will be wiped soon, anyway."

"Thanks, Noah. Still, I want to explain. Trinity is a classified project, and subjects aren't allowed to mix with people in real life. Unless it is part of the mission."

"I understand." Noah sized the girl with a fleeting glance. "Can you tell me what your race is?"

"Well, all subjects of Project Trinity are special or enhanced races. I have advanced cyborg parts, and there is some hybrid mixed in as well."

"Err.. what do you mean?"

"Let me show you."

Eve approached him gingerly. "Give me your hand," she said, grabbing his wrist.

Even though the prosthetic skin made it appear real, Noah could feel the cold metal underneath her fingers. However, he could not figure out at the moment what she wanted to show.

Eve turned around and pulled his hand towards her lower body.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Shh! Just touch me there," she insisted.

"Ermm.." Noah could think of no reason to decline the offer. He delicately put his hand on her right butt cheek. It was warm and firm. The boy's heart skipped a beat.

Was the universe compensating for his past suffering?

"Not there, you perv! Up at the base of my spine!" Eve griped.

Noah flushed in embarrassment. "Ohh! I'm so sorry!"

He slid his hand upwards, feeling the curve of her hip. She trembled but did not complain.

There was a slight depression at the base of her spine. Noah quickly realized what it meant.

"You had a tail?"

"I still have a tail, but it appears only when I transform into my hybrid self."

"That's so cool."

Noah had kept his fingers on the girl longer than necessary, feeling her lower back.

"I think that's enough," Eve whimpered, slapping his hand off her bottom.

"I'm sorry. I forgot tail bones are highly sensitive in hybrids."

Eve turned around, her face flushed red.

Was she angry or aroused?

"I have fox genes," she said, looking away.

"Cool! Then why did you not transform during your fight?"

"Because my hybrid self is locked away. I am administered anti-hybrid serums every day to keep the genes in check. Special races are all unstable, you know. Forever cursed." She sounded bitter.

Noah wondered why a pretty girl like her with amazing skills had a cause to be sad.

"But you don't seem unstable at all!"

"I killed someone in the early days of my training," she confessed, averting his gaze. "My fox went berserk."

"Oh, I am sorry."

"It's okay. I have come to terms with it."

Noah shook his head. He had had too many revelations on the same day. His instinct told him to run away from the scene.

"I'd like to stay some more time at this facility. The nurse was really kind to me, and I got all my favorite snacks. But if it means signing up with a shady organization, then I'd rather have my memory wiped and left to myself."

"That's a wise decision, Noah." Eve smiled at him bitterly. "Get as far away from here as you can." She again looked up at the security camera.

"I have to be somewhere. But I'll see you tonight in Knights of Regia. Bye."

She winked at him and left as suddenly as she had arrived. Noah watched her walk away- his heart broken. He rubbed his fingers together, committing to memory the touch of her body.