*Note* This is a beginning to a possible story. Feedback welcome and appreciated! *End Note*

 

 

Atee stuck to the shadows as he crept through the alleyway. The whole point of stalking someone was to not let them know you were following them. His cloak helped him hide- it was one of the fourteen items, after all. The Forgotten Cloak. 

All of a sudden, the person Atee was following dodged around a few people, making Atee lose sight of them. “Sights!” Atee cursed, starting to jog. They were nowhere to be found. “Come back!” he hissed under his breath, checking over his shoulder before crossing the street. A few wagons clomped by lazily, but he was able to avoid those without much trouble. 

“Where’d you go,” he mused thoughtfully, pausing by an old abandoned building. 

“I’m right here.” Hands grabbed at Atee, covering his mouth. His scream stopped short and his eyes were quickly blindfolded. His cloak was ripped off, and he felt himself become… different. 

“Knock him out,” a different voice said. Atee thrashed, but quickly another set of hands pinned him down, and a sweet smelling rag was placed over his nose. He tried as long as he could to hold his breath, but it wasn’t long before it all faded to black. 

—

“Wake him up.” 

“He’s coming around, boss.” Atee blinked slowly, the light setting off a painful headache as it hit his eyes. He thrashed, struggling to think through things. 

What? What had- yes. Everything came back to him in a flash. He had been following Knaa. Then… then what? He… he had been caught? How? He was wearing the Forgotten Cloak.

The Forgotten Cloak! Atee tried to lift his hands, but they were tied tightly to the chair. 

“Where?” Atee asked. Or rather, thanks to the gag in his mouth, he asked, “gheair?” 

“See! I told you he was coming around, boss!” That came from a man off to the side. He was wearing a short brown trench coat and hat with a peaked brim. Atee glared at him. 

“So you did,” a man said, stepping forward directly into Atee’s line of sight. 

Tall and masculine, the man had a black mask covering his nose and eyes. His monochromatic outfit really set off the look, highlighting his pale blue eyes. 

Grabbing Atee’s chin, the man tilted Atee’s face from side to side, looking at him. “Thsssoppt st,” Atee hissed. 

“Remove it,” the man said coldly, releasing Atee. The man with the brown trench coat stepped forward, then took out the gag. Atee spat, clearing his throat. 

“Now what was that?” the man asked pleasantly, folding his hands in front of him. Atee scowled, saying nothing. 

“Hmm, nothing to say?” The man took a step back. “Well, that’s okay, I can do all the talking. My name is Kiil, and you are clearly Atee, the holder of the 12th object.”

“How do you know that? How did you find me?” Atee blurted out. He never had been good at holding his tongue. It was part of why he needed the cloak. 

“It was pretty obvious,” Kiil said in response to his first question, turning slightly to the side to show that he was wearing Atee’s cloak. 

“You realize you can’t control it, right?” Atee said, straining against his bonds. “You don’t have the Code.” 

Kiil twisted to look eerily at Atee. “Not yet I don’t,” the man said ominously. 

Oh sights no. Please no. Every fiber of Atee’s being wanted to hide, to run. But he couldn’t. He was stuck. 

“You won’t break me,” Atee said weakly, his voice faltering. 

“Oh,” Kiil said. “I will. I have.” 

“What do you mean?” Atee flinched as Kiil put his face in close. 

“It means I know how to do this.” Kiil said, taking a finger and laying it lightly on Atee’s neck, right where the scar was. Then he pressed down. 

Agony flared through Atee, white and hot. Lights flashed across his vision and he constricted, muscles tensing. 

The pain lessened for a moment, and Atee inhaled sharply, gulping air. “W-what?” he sputtered. Kiil, a fuzzy blur to Atee, took a step back, seeming pleased with himself. 

“I know things,” Kiil said. “And, to answer your question, you can’t be forgotten if we never lose sight of you.” Atee was shaken. They knew about his Point, and they knew about the Flaw of the Twelfth item. How? 

“Now,” Kiil said. “Tell me the Code.” 

“N-never.” Atee braced himself, but nothing could dull the flash of pain that tore through him as Kiil pressed down on his Point again. 

“Let’s try this again.” Kiil’s voice turned cold, and he met Atee’s tear filled eyes. “What is the Code?” 

“I won’t tell you,” Atee hissed. Kiil pressed down on Atee’s Point once more, and Atee forced himself to go limp after a moment, feigning unconsciousness. 

“What?” Kiil said, his grip on Atee loosening. “Why did he go limp?” 

“He must have passed out from the pain, boss.” That would be the minion. Atee slowed his breathing and just listened. 

“No! I need that Code!” There was a clatter- likely Kiil tipping over the table that was in the corner of the room. 

“Just go back again, boss. Use the item.” 

“This will be the fourteenth time. We can’t use it now.” 

“It only has side effects to those who know about it being used. He’s unconscious. He doesn't know anything, boss.” 

After a moment, Kiil spoke. “Fine. Put your hand on it.” 

Taking a huge gamble, Atee peered out through his eyelashes, squinting to make it less obvious. In his hand, Kiil held an antique watch. The servant placed a finger around the edge, and Kiil slowly cranked it back, rewinding the hands a bit. 

Wait. What was that? Atee noticed a small etching along the side of the clock. His eyes opened completely as he realized it was in the shape of the number eleven. That meant… 

Kiil released the winding of the clock, and everything dissolved into colors and light. 

—

 

Atee stuck to the shadows as he crept through the alleyway. The whole point of stalking someone was to not let them know you were following them. His cloak helped him hide- it was one of the fourteen items, after all. The Forgotten Cloak. 

All of a sudden, the person Atee was following dodged around a few people, making Atee lose sight of them. “Sights!” Atee cursed, starting to jog. They were nowhere to be found. “Come back!” he hissed under his breath, checking over his shoulder before- Wait. He had done this before. 

A sort of awareness came to Atee, jolting him and bringing him to a stop. What was going on? 

He remembered… he remembered… he remembered the pain. The flashes of agony. He remembered the man, Kiil, and the object. The eleventh object. 

He had to go. 

Whispering a silent command to his cloak, Atee faded away into the shadows.