The sun peaks through to rooftops of buildings as people walk around the cobblestone streets of Rome. Some are enjoying coffee at an umbrella covered table while others are standing by fruit stalls gazing at the colorful arrangements of food. The smell of bread fills the air as a baker brings fresh loaves out to the street side. It is a very pleasant sight for a calm morning.

Among the groups of people there is a young man waiting in front of a cart filled with green and red apples. With a large brown bag the older woman in front of him begins placing apples into the bag. As he waits the boy grips at his right hand with his left. He squeezes it a bit and then starts to open and close his grip, as if his hand is in pain. The boy was wearing black gloves so it was hard to see if there was anything wrong.

The boy was dressed very casually, a button down white shirt with the top few buttons handing loose, Black pants and nice black shoes. The woman hands him the bag with a smile and he places some money into her hands. As she goes to make change he waves it away with a smile. The woman thanks him kindly and he walks away down the road clutching to apple filled bag. The buildings on his left and right are somewhat like a hallway, the road is narrow between them as the boy attempts to get around the people walking around. Soon the path opens up and the boy can hear the sound of running water. There is a large fountain off to his left, the craftsmanship is stunning and the boy uses this time to sit down and place to bag at his feet. He chooses to sit on the side of the fountain and look over the water.

What he sees is a familiar reflection of a boy with black hair. He then hears the sound of music begin to play, looking over his shoulder he sees a man playing guitar on the other side of the road. The boy reaches into his pocket as he stands up to get back on his way and pulls out a small coin. Tossing it into the water he picks up the bag and starts walking again. After a short time the boy comes upon a church, inside the building it was hard to describe how beautiful it was. The paintings at the far end of the room were stunning and the walls were expertly crafted. Light poured in from the stained windows and lit the path before the boy. On the other side of the room there was a woman in black clothing lighting candles. She turned around to see the boy walking towards her. The girl had long brown hair and smiled upon seeing the boy.

"Oh Tom it's so nice to see you" she said walking over to the boy.

"Morning Maria, I got a little gift for" he said with a smile as he handed her the bag of apples.

"Tom you didn't have to do this, the church isn't doing well but we don't want to put it on you. You have already given so much." She said as the hefty bag is placed in her hands.

"It's no trouble at all, give it to the kids at school. This war has troubled so many people, we may as well all do our part if we can." He said.

"Bless you Tom, Father Ramsey will be so happy to know the people care for each other. With all the money going to the war effort people forget that our own people are in trouble out here. "She said as the boy turned around and headed out the door waving goodbye to Maria. He closes the door behind him and takes a deep breath, as he exhales he looks around himself and smiles. The boy is definitely peaceful at this moment and enjoying life. As he looks at the people enjoying their days he can't help but notice a man with sun glasses and a black jacket looking at him from across the road. The man makes himself scarce and moves out of sight when he believes his cover is blown. The boy is a little confused about what he has just seen and starts to walk in the opposite direction.

Keeping his head on a swivel he walks through the crowds of people on the way to his destination. Every now and again he could see the same man following him down the streets. Looking to his right he sees a familiar building and runs inside. Making a sprint up the staircase that wound up the apartment like building the boy attempts to put some distance between himself and the chaser. He climbs the steps skipping some as he listens for anyone coming behind him. He can hear the recognizable sound of shoes hitting the wood as the man gives chase behind him.

The man is cautious as he climbs the steps behind the boy. Seeing as he lost sight of the boy he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a silver pistol. Slowly climbing the steps now he peaks around the corner trying to find the boy. Before long he reaches the highest point where the staircase stops and slowly creeps towards the long hallway. One of the doors is slightly open so the man pokes his gun in and pushes it open. This led to a small apartment with not much about it. There was a couch and chair on the other side of the room and a door opening to a bedroom.

The man slowly approached and walked into the room, looking around there were no signs of life. It was silent, the only thing that could be heard were the sounds happening outside the building. The man saw a closet at the back of the room and approached it. Gripping the handle he throws open the door and is struck in the chest by a pair of shoes. Without warning the man is thrown back and drops his gun with a loud thud. The man was shocked to see the boy he was chasing had used the pole in the closet to swing on and kick the man. Jumping down from his position the boy sees the man crawling across the ground to get his gun. The boy kicked it across the ground before his leg was grabbed and he was tackled to the ground. The two were in a struggle as they attempt to get the upper hand in this fight. The man starts gripping at the boy's neck attempting to strangle him. Before he can get a good hold the boy punches him in the stomach and the man goes limp and falls off of him. The boy gets back up on his feet as the man coughs on the ground. Picking up the gun the boy puts it to the man's head, pressing the muzzle into his hair.

"Who the hell are you?" the boy asked. Through the coughs the man tried to respond.

"I... I was sent to kill you John Walker." The man said as he clutched his stomach.

"How did you know my name?" John shouted at the man.

"Did you really think people wouldn't come looking for you? It was only so long before we would find out you weren't really dead. Especially with all the traveling you have been doing." The man said sitting up and looking at him angrily.

"Who is we? Who are you?" He said pressing the gun to his forehead.

"We are the people who will change this world." The man laughed. "We were once a small group who knew of what you did those many months ago, with a little digging we were able to replicate what the Hounds had done to their member. We were about to make our move on the world until we picked up on your trail. We knew you were going to be a problem if we tried anything before getting you out of the way." He said.

"What the hell are you talking about? How long have you been watching me? Who the hell do you work for!?" John shouted at the man and he started laughing uncontrollably.

"It's not like you're going to live long enough to do anything about it. I work for-"He started to say before his head shatters from a bullet wound. John jumped back and fell on his rear, looking at the wall he sees a hole where the bullet entered. Looking down at his shirt it is now stained with blood. The man's body is now lurched in the ground motionless as John breaths heavily. John doesn't move for a couple seconds and then another shot comes through the wall and hits him in the right hand. There is a clang of metal as John jumps back once again. He runs as fast as he can to get away from the shots being fired. More and more bullets start ripping through the walls as john runs for the stairs. John throws himself down the steps and tumbles down to the lower floor. He can hear the sounds of screaming from the streets below as he gets to his feet and charges down the rest of the stairs.

Bursting through the door to the streets below John can see people running for cover. Looking up at the roof across from the building he was in. at the top of the building he saw a silhouette of a woman holding a large gun. Before he could react to that a man grabbed him and started moving him with the running people.

"Are you hurt, you have blood on you? We need to run!" the man shouted at him. When john looked back up he saw the person was gone. Running with the people they ended up inside a small bakery behind the counter trying to find a place that was safe. As they waited john looked himself over and saw his glove was torn to pieces. He ripped it off his hand to reveal a dark green and yellow metal arm had replaced the one he had lost months ago. There was a light glowing beneath its surface and the people behind the counter were shocked.

"Son… I have never seen a prosthetic like that." The man said.

"Thanks… A friend built it for me" he said looking it over, there was a large scratch in the pain where the bullet hit the back of his hand. He pulled up his sleeve to where it ended at his elbow to make sure there weren't any other injuries. As John looked himself over the people around him started to get nervous seeing not only his strange hand but also his blood soaked clothing.

"Are you the reason for all that shooting going on out there?" one of them said as it breaks john concentration from his arm.

"Yeah, I think they were trying to kill me" John said jumping over the counter and running out the door. Looking around his surroundings there weren't many people still on the street. The low drone of a police siren was approaching from the distance and John knew he had to act fast. Seeing some clothes hung out on display he quickly grabbed a shirt and pulled the one he was wearing off. He knew the area he was in and quickly ran back to where he called home at the time. Along the way he found a crowd of people being escorted by police to safety in the direction he was already going. The crowd was big enough that he could make his way into it without being noticed by the police walking the people along. As they walked john saw a police car start to slowly move its way in the opposite direction of the crowd. The streets were narrow so it had to let the people slowly pass around it so it could get through.

As the car passed john he could see there were some military police officers in the car. In the back seat closest to him he recognized a black haired girl. It was the girl that had cared for him when he was injured not long ago.

"Aiko? What is she doing out here?" he asked himself when she turns towards him. He quickly looks away and ducks into the crowd trying to be sure she doesn't see him. John had so many questions that he needed answers to but he had to get somewhere safe first.

Before long john was back at the apartment he was renting and ran up to his room. Locking the door behind himself he runs to the window and looks through the shades. He doesn't see anyone and quickly pulls the blinds shut.

"If they knew enough about me to find me on the streets this place won't be safe for long. I've got to get out of here." John said as he grabbed a bag and started packing it. He then pulled out a piece of paper and started writing a letter. John stops for a few seconds as he hears people walking around in the room beneath him. He runs over to his dresser and leaps up to grab a shoe box off from its top. Pulling the top off and throwing it to the side john starts digging through the box. Inside are some old photos and a patch with broomsticks on it. Pushing all of that out of the way reveals a large revolver sitting at the bottom of the box. Lose bullets clank and roll around as john pulls it out and aims it at the door. Using his free hand he continues to write his letter.

"Barkhorn, if you haven't noticed by the fact I wrote my real name on this letter I'm in trouble and definitely can't deal with this alone. I have been living in Rome for the past month but now I need to run somewhere safe where we can regroup. I'm sorry I have to pull you into this mess but I don't know who else to turn to right now. Someone has found out what we did months ago, I'm still not completely sure what's going on. A man tried to assassinate me because they found the old Hound documents. On the back of this note I have written the address I will be staying at where you can find me. When you get here I can explain what's going on better. Until then I can't do much but keep my head down and suggest you do the same. And if I don't make it through these next couple days, I love you. I wish I had come out of hiding to see you again before this."

She reads to the girls sitting around the table. Barkhorn could see the note was getting a little personal and stopped there. The others were quiet as they listened. Barkhorn turned over the letter to see the location on the back was a town in Suomus. Shirley was angrily tapping her foot as the silence was annoying her. She stood up and slammed her hands down on the table.

"So Johns been alive this whole time and you two never thought to let any of us in on this?" she said in a very harsh voice at the girl.

"I'm sure he had his reasons" Eila said

"Like not trusting his own friends? Were a team and you chose not to let us know about this?" Shirley yelled at Barkhorn. Erica snapped up and knocked her chair back on the ground.

"Hey don't yell at her!" She shouted at the captain.

"Alright everyone shut up!" Barkhorn shouted at them all. "Sure I had to lie to you all, it was to protect John. We wanted to trust you all but he knew there would be too much of a risk. But now he's in trouble and we need to find him…" her shouting starts to drift away as she starts to think of a plan.

"Can we really just pack up and leave all of a sudden? There is a war going on." Erica asked. Sakamoto stood up and walked over to the window.

"I'll talk to Minna about getting some assistance from the Isle of Wight detachment to pick up the slack. Seeing as were the only ones in here that know about this we will be the ones to respond to this letter." Sakamoto said.

"But Commander, I can handle this myself. He asked for me." Barkhorn urged.

"Don't be stupid. This could be a trap. If people could find out john was alive they could just as easily set a trap like this. If we are together it will be safer." Sakamoto said.

"I guess you have a point" Barkhorn said as she slumped back in her chair and everyone was quiet again. She clutched the letter in her hands. Shirley really wanted to be mad at Barkhorn but seeing her this way made it melt away and she felt bad for the girl. She could see Barkhorn was really scared for John and she was also. It was a crazy rush to be told he was still alive and Shirley didn't really know how to take it.

"So all those letters you were getting were from him." Shirley asked, Barkhorn responded with a nod. She could see tears starting to come down the girls face. Erica puts her hand on the girls shoulder.

"Don't worry were going to find him and bring him home" She said.

"I'm more worried about who is trying to find him. Someone out there must have found the files related to the hound unit after the whole affair with the General went down. Something tells me there is something going on below the surface once again." Sakamoto said.

"Yeah, if someone else has unlocked the secrets of his magic core we could have another crisis on our hands. We're not even sure if these people are going to come around here to find us" Eila said.

"That's true. Lynne, I believe you should stay here and keep us updated on what happens out here. I don't want to take any chances." Sakamoto said as the others stood up and began to walk towards the door. Erica stops and looks back at Barkhorn.

"Don't worry, were gonna find him" She said as her friend stands up.

"Thanks Hartmann." She said looking down at the note. She continues to read what little was left on the note to herself. She smiled and folded the paper up and placed it in her pocket. It gave her hope as she followed the others out of the room.

"So what's the plan when we do find John?" Eila asked the group. Barkhorn takes control and moves to the front of the group.

"We find out who is trying to kill him and what their plans are. Then we stop whatever this is once and for all." She said as the door slammed behind them and they were off to find the friend so many of them had thought was dead for so long.

Man I didn't think I would be writing the second part to this so soon but I just really felt like writing this today. I can't wait to keep going with this, the plot will thicken past the ambiguous startup we have here. Please leave a review if you enjoy it I really like the feed back.