Laughter filled his ears; his eyes twitched, trying to recall the memory.

Who...are you?

In front of him, an image of a girl slowly appeared. Her hair danced in the sunlight, her white dress flew swiftly. She laughed, and dashed around in front of him. From time to time, she looked at him, yet she wasn't; it was as if she tried to make out what was there, but couldn't tell.

I...want to reach you...

His heart started to pound, yet for some reason he knew it wasn't supposed to. Voices started to make their way to his ears. "He's doing fine." It was a woman's voice. Another voice interrupted, a man's voice. "Is he waking up?" The woman sounded doubtful. "I can't tell, sir. If all goes well he should be waking up in no time."

Who are they...? I've never heard those voices before...

"Let's just leave him." The man said. "Our work for today is done." Then came footsteps, going further and further away.

Again, the image appeared. The image of that girl.

I want to see you...

His heartbeat quickened, the heart monitor outside went crazy yet no one was there to hear it.

I want to meet you...

Suddenly, his hands became fists. They tightened, and a surge of power began to rush through his chest.

I want to find you...!

The next thing he knew was the sound of glass shattering. His eyes snapped open, and realized he was in some sort of giant lab. He just made his way out of a large tube filled with neon blue liquid, now rushing out the broken glass. He looked around; the lab was amazingly empty. The tube was located in the centre of the lab with wires, big and small, connected from the top of the test tube to the incredibly high ceiling. It was freezing cold, every breath he took created a little puff of steam. He immediately became aware of the low temperature and the fact that he had nothing but a pair of jeans on. He shivered, and rubbed his arm with his hands. Slowly and clumsily, he stood up, as if he hadn't done that in years.

Had he?

He couldn't remember.

It was not long before the alarm went off. The ringing killed him. He had to cover his ears; he thought his head was going to explode.

Instinctively, he dashed towards the door, but the alarm system locked it. It was a metallic electric door; he tried pressing on the keypad a few times but kept getting error messages. He looked around, trying to find another way out, and spotted a narrow and small window across from the door. It was at least ten meters high, but he had to take a chance; if he couldn't jump and reach it, he'd climb the wires around the wall to get to it.

Already he could hear footsteps rushing towards the laboratory. He backed up, and dashed towards the window.

Like a panther, he leaped up and reached the window just as the guards came in. Even he himself was amazed by his own strength. He pulled himself up, smashed the window with his bare hand, and jumped outside.

The guards rushed ahead, but it was no use. He was already outside. Besides, they could have never made it all the way up to the window.

The security chief sighed, and tugged his cap. He turned around and noticed the woman that used the key card stood there. He bowed and apologized. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Satsuki, but he's gone."

The woman smiled. Ignoring him she looked at the shattered tube and window. " 'The perfect specimen'. He sure lives up to his expectations."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Yuto Kigai entered, rubbing his hands. It was freezing cold. "We're in deep trouble if we don't find it. And we're going to be in more than trouble if we actually go and try to find it!"

Satsuki Yatouji looked away and said coldly. "I'd prefer it if you don't call 'him' an 'it'."

"What's the big deal, that's what it is, right?"

"He's more than an 'it', he's the most powerful and the most perfect specimen The ACME Corporation has ever created." She smiled. "Not only is he a powerful android, he...also..."

"President Monou is here!" One guard came in, interrupting the two. Then a man in black clothing came in. The two gasped, and waited for him to speak, and most likely, shout at them till they cry.

"I'm sorry, sir. We never knew he would wake up so early." Yatouji spoke apologetically. Kigai pointed at her, and claimed. "Her fault."

But amazingly, the cruel boss didn't shout, just smiled, and it turned into laughter that echoed in the gigantic lab.

The boy that escaped walked on bare feet. After getting out of the lab, it wasn't as easy as a walk in the park. Unfortunately, a forest surrounded the lab. Then as he went beyond that, he found himself facing brick walls that were even higher than the window he climbed. Luckily, with his strength, obstacles didn't seem to be a problem.

After walking for countless hours, he finally found civilization. Now he was in some sort of city, downtown.

It was late, and there weren't many people on the street. But when there were, they seemed to stare and point. He felt uncomfortable standing out like that. So he decided to get into camouflage.

Near by, a children's clothing store was closing. A man of forty, short and stubby, was closing the door. Just when he was about to lock it, he noticed a shadow approaching appeared behind him. He was relieved when he turned and found only a homeless kid staring up at him. He wouldn't be so relief if he knew what was going to happen next. All he felt was something hitting the back of his neck, and he fell unconscious.

In ten minutes, the "homeless kid" was wearing a new pair of pants, sneakers, t-shirt, jacket, and a cap to cover his face with. Now he blended right in, he thought.

But where could he go? The people back in the lab will certainly hunt him down. He didn't know where to turn to. He didn't know anybody.

He couldn't remember anybody.

He couldn't even remember who he was.

The image of the girl flashed in his mind again. He suddenly remembered, that was the reason he escaped.

He couldn't remember who she was, but something about her warmed him all over. He made a decision and disappeared into a dark corner.

He was going to find her.

To be continued...