Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 1: The Mission - Interlude

A few minutes later...

"I know what you're going to say. I know how fond you are of the boy. If there's an easier way to do this, I would have taken that option."

"He will hate you for this. He already suspects you of hiding something from him."

"I know. He can hate me all he wants. But it has to be done this way. His powers are limitless and his control over it is still too unstable. Add to that his capacity to change things greatly. He's too fast and unpredictable, even for me. I have to be careful with him. If I break him too much and too fast, he might put himself back in a different way. I have to do this slowly so that he still ends up more or less in the direction that I need him to go."

"What if he runs away? He's been trying to avoid you lately."

"He can't. He won't be able to for long. He'll always get pulled into this. He's not supposed to like this. That would lead to a very bad outcome. But he's supposed to choose this regardless of how he feels."

"He's already starting to become aware of the extent of his capabilities. I'm sure others already are or are starting to become aware too. This is going to put him in danger."

"That's why I'm doing this. To give him a weapon so he doesn't stay defenseless. I won't be able to watch over him forever."

"And what if he chooses to kill you with it just to get things over with? He's still too emotional."

"I can still stop him while he's not fully aware of his capabilities. Yes, he's still too young and emotional but he's smart enough to choose reason over his own feelings. I believe in him. I'll continue to guide him in this path even if I have to break him again and again. Even if I'm risking myself in doing so. I need you to continue supporting him."

"You already know I will and I'm not about to stop doing that. You said it yourself. I've grown fond of him. I took care of him under your command but I watched him grow up. You couldn't have expected me to not get attached to him."

"Yes..."

"I know you're genuinely fond of him too. You've always made time to teach him no matter how exhausted you already were to the point where you'd start dozing off in the middle of the day afterwards. I've never seen you go to that extent for anyone else."

"I wanted to make sure he would comply."

"I know you enough to know that's not the only reason you did that but I doubt you'd tell me everything. It's difficult to accept that this has to happen."

"I know. I'm sorry. I know I'm already leaning heavily on you everyday but I need your help with this."

"You haven't changed. You're still too soft despite how you present yourself. What kind of master apologizes to his servant? I chose to serve you and will continue to serve you despite everything. You always keep a tight seal on the things you lock away inside that head of yours but I've been with you long enough to know that you don't have bad intentions."

"Thank you, Vincent. Please continue to take care of him."