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He opened his eyes, light brightening his face. Far from used to it, he placed his hand in front of his eyes. Eric looked down to see white sheets atop of his whole body, which was covered by a white robe, and sat up, surprised. He had no idea where he was, and rubbed his eyes before studying the room; three white walls surrounded him, the fourth at the left being a dark red curtain obstructing his view. There was a widescreen television attached to the corner of the right-hand side wall in front of him, a yellow box of used syringes hanging underneath it, and a few chairs around his bed. He then knew he was in a hospital bed, and judging by the wires attached to his finger and toes, he had already been treated. His head hurt an awful lot, but he still managed to recall most of what had happened earlier that day. Lying back down, he figured everything went moderately well.

The last thing he could recall was the fight in his full form, which had obviously taken a large toll on him. The dragon collapsed and gave control back to him, allowing him to suffer the pain of breath, while he slowly fell unconscious. When he wondered how much time had passed since then, he checked his wrist, only to find his watch was not there. The blinds across the windows did not seem to have been blocking any natural light from the sun, which gave Eric the indication it was late night, so he estimated to have been sleeping for at least four hours. When he grew tired of doing nothing, he hunched over to his right side to press a red button attached onto the wall, which sent a buzz to - whom he presumed to be - the nurse. His assumption was proved correct, when a woman in a white dress appeared to face him. She did not seem at ease in his presence, due to the fact her patient's face had been plastered everywhere on the news.

"Ah, yes", she commented. "You're awake. Someone's been waiting for you downstairs. I'll get him to come up; he'll explain everything you'll want to know."

Eric nodded, allowing her to leave the room in a hurry. Eric relaxed in his bed once again, noting it was much too firm for his own comfort. He tried to amuse himself with the position controls, increasing the head slope, descending the entire mattress, with the aim of comfort. However, he seemed to have gone too far when he repeatedly pressed a specific button, with the result being a loud beep from the bed, startling him to a point of immediately replacing the control in its holder, and sitting back, embarrassed.

It took a few more minutes for the man whom the nurse had mentioned to have come up. He had seen him before, but he was not sure who specifically it was. The man gave him a slight nod, to which Eric shot an awkward two-fingered wave back at him.

"Hello Eric", he greeted, taking a seat on the armrest of one of the three chairs placed in front of his bed. "I'm Alan Parker, and I'm in charge of the special affairs department for the government." He took out his hand and lent it to Eric, who grabbed and shook it. "I don't think you know me, but I stopped Tom from getting to you."

"Did you kill him?", Eric inquired calmly. "That man doesn't deserve to live."

"Believe me", he replied with a grin on his face, recalling the moment. "He won't be anytime soon."

Eric sat back. "Good. How about Xavier?"

"He's fine. He broke his leg in a few locations, but no permanent damage. He's actually in another room down the hall from here."

"And Diane...?" He was uncertain whether the answer would change any feeling he had over her death, but he wanted to know anyway.

"The doctors think she'll be fine as well, but it'll take a while before th--"

Eric jumped up. "What?! She's not dead?"

Alan gave Eric a perplexed look. "No, she was taken away from the fight scene with severe damage, such as a broken back, many broken right-side ribs from the crash, and a few other scars, but after a few operations, they were able to successfully remove the broken bones from her chest before they punctured her lungs. Sadly, she'll be confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life."

Eric sat down once again and looked at the ceiling with mixed emotions. He was grateful she had not died, but was equally heartbroken over the news of her paralysis. He frowned at the thought of the lie Benson had told him. "That lying bastard... he told me she had died thanks to me, in order to put me into more misery." He suddenly thought of something completely irrelevant, but just as important. "Mr. Parker, do you have any information about my parents?"

"Of course", Alan assured with a smile. "Your mother filed divorce papers with your father a few days ago. Apparently she took up a longer shift at her job and kept the house as well. Your father, however, is struggling to find a residence, but took a few more hours as well at his job. They were both cross-examined two days ago, but they didn't help our investigation very much. They were also scheduled for another interview tomorrow, but, for obvious reasons, we canceled it."

While he was glad his mother was faring well without his father, he felt bad for the former, even though he had been the one to abuse him all of those years. "Do they know I'm okay?"

Alan's smile cleared from his face. "Actually, no. That would be part of the main reason I needed to come and talk to you." Eric propped himself up, wanting to see what the excuse for not telling his parents had been. "You see, Eric, in the eyes of the public, you're a crucial danger to society. If we let them know you're still out and about, they'll go out of control again. That's why telling anyone, including Xavier and your parents, would be a risk we can't take. What we're going to do is send you to another country of your choice, with 10,000$ cash in hand, a new passport, a new identity, and other minor things. You can do whatever you please over there; however, you'll be placed under the criminal protection program, and you will not be able to speak of your past life. That's the only condition, and I stress, over your well-being, you do not breach it. Have I made myself clear?"

Eric nodded in acknowledgement, but he recalled his previous deal, and did not want to risk being cheated once again. "How do I know this will be legit, and not just some other scam like Tom attempted?"

"Trust me Eric," Alan smiled. "we have absolutely no intention of keeping you here any longer. We simply want you to leave our country in peace, and stay far from here. That way, you aren't our problem anymore, and we can forget all about you. Now, I assume you wish to go to Moscow?"

Eric thought about it for a few moments. The rumored dragon colony sounded like a fantastic place, but he had a completely new identity available, as well as ten grand. A tough choice was to be made, and he only had a few instants to think about it. "Yeah, that's where I was headed."

"Alright. We'll set up a private flight destined there as soon as possible. I'll fill out all of the paperwork once I get the chance, and then we'll send you off later tonight. See you then."

"Thanks."

Alan left Eric in his room, turning the light out on the way, and left him to wonder how his life would change from that point on. He had initiated a cross-country goose hunt, killed over twenty people, "hijacked" a plane, faced some of the best fighters in the United States, and fought - but did not win - against a giant failed experiment, which was rumored to have died out a long time ago. He lied back down, wondering how all those things happened in just a few days. When he shut his eyes, he took benefit of the peaceful atmosphere, in order to drift off into a careless sleep, knowing nothing could harm him.

...

Eric woke up to a creak followed by a small thump. The lights turned on in the room, and someone came in. He could not see exactly what was going on due to his temporary blindness, so he relaxed in his bed, trying to grab a few more moments of comfort before getting up - which is what he presumed he was going to do. The visitor revealed to be Alan Parker once again, and he did not seem rested.

"Alright Eric, you're set to go now. You have a private flight set to leave in 45 minutes for Moscow, so get dressed."

Eric nodded and asked for his belongings, which were given to him quickly. He put on his clothes, threw his hospital robe aside, glanced at his watch, - which read three in the morning - and got up to meet Parker, who was outside of the room along with two guards wearing sunglasses. Suddenly, he was forced to turn around and place his hands behind his back. Eric was stunned once they placed handcuffs on them, seeing he had fallen into yet another trap.

"Uh, what are you doing?", he asked, demanding an answer.

"Don't worry", Parker bolstered. "It's temporary. There are hundreds of civilian patients around here. We wouldn't want you being spotted roaming around freely; it would only cause sheer panic."

While he was still doubtful, Eric sighed and played along, making his way downstairs by elevator, and crossing the path of many people. Outside, he noticed he was at the Metropolitan Hospital, which was only a few blocks away from Central Park. He would have loved to have stayed a while longer to visit, but he knew there were more important things to get to before he'd even be able to consider it, if ever. There was a black car waiting for him, and he entered it, where to his relief, was the location he had his handcuffs removed. Rubbing his wrists, he watched the lights of New York go by, as they left Manhattan in the direction of the state of New Jersey.

Eric let out a sigh of happiness once he saw the large airport of Newark in front of him. They did not take the front entrance; it merely took Alan badge verification, and they were able to enter directly into the airfield, Eric's international charter flight waiting for him. The plane was big and luxurious, - to his standards at least - and he was let in immediately. Alan followed Eric inside, watching his eyes open at the sight of his own compartment. This moment of joy did not last long, however, because Alan reminded him of serious matters again. He began by handing him a thousand dollars in cash, as well as three forms.

"Here's a down payment of the 10,000 we gave you in cash." He placed one of the pages on the table, pointing it. "This is your bank account information. We placed the remainder of your payment in there, and it's locked at the highest security level until you unlock it yourself." The two remaining pages were put down as well. "This is your birth certificate, with your new name on it, as well as new date of birth. You're now 18 years-old, you were born in Sweden, and you moved to Russia in 2023 with your parents. They died in a car accident recently, and were the only family you had, explaining both your accent and your lack of family ties. We've assigned credit for a loan for a house and a vehicle, so if ever you receive the money to do so, you'll be able to qualify no matter your financial position."

Eric pointed the final page. "And this?"

"That's none other than your high school diploma from 'last year'. You graduated with honors and received a two-year scholarship bonus for medical school. You can make a nice living out of that, if you want. Just send an application to the school of your choice and you'll be accepted automatically regardless of your grades."

Eric stared blank into the table holding his new identity's information. He completely forgot why he was trying to gain access to the dragon colony. The keys to his life were in front of him, and the door was eight hours away. Massive opportunities awaited him; why would he not take this chance? However, another question bobbled in his head.

"So, what about my dragon form? Can I use it anymore?"

Alan gave him a neutral expression. "I'm afraid not. The good thing about your pick of country is they don't care much about us Westerners. The media frenzy is over, and I highly doubt they showed your picture anywhere other than the internet. But, you don't want to cause yet another situation - especially not in another continent. Not only would they be constantly on the lookout for you, but they'll ask for foreign help, just like Canada did, and we'll be one of them. We won't back down next time, Eric."

Eric could not process anything anymore. He simply nodded his head, without asking another question. The flight attendant came up to break their discussion, notifying them of their departure. Alan was obviously did not plan to board the flight, so he shook Eric's hand one final time, before bidding his final farewell. Suddenly, Eric stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait!" Eric's target turned around, halfway down the steps to the gravel runway. "I have one last question."

"And what would that be?"

"Why did you decide to drop the charges against me?"

Alan took a pause, trying to think of an appropriate answer. "You're a good kid, Eric. You don't deserve to be placed in jail."

Eric smiled. "Thanks, Alan."

"Don't mention it."

Alan walked down the staircase and out of the plane. Eric took a seat on the couch surrounding the table, and looked around to see a bed, a TV, and a buzzer - to notify someone whenever he needed something. Shooting a look at his watch again, it was almost 4 o'clock in the morning, so he figured he should have gotten some rest before arriving in Moscow. Shutting the lights beside him, he sat onto his couch, and thought about everything which had happened to him thus far. He sighed, crossed his arms behind his head, and relaxed.

"Maybe the world isn't such a bad place after all..."