Jasper looks around as he hovers in an empty space. It seems to stretch infinitely in all directions, with nothing in sight except for an endless sea of faint pearlescent light. As Jasper looks around aimlessly, he notices the silhouette of a person floating far in the distance. He watches them cautiously for a few moments, waiting for any sign of movement, but the figure remains completely still.
Jasper opens his mouth in an attempt to call out to the figure, but as he tries to speak, nothing comes out. He takes a deep breath and tries again, this time yelling as loud as he can, but again, there is nothing but silence. Jasper leans forward slightly and breaststrokes in an attempt to move closer to the figure. He desperately pushes harder and harder against the space around him, but the figure doesn't get any closer.
*clang*
Jasper wakes up to the sound of clanking metal. As he slowly sits up and takes in his surroundings, he sees the doctors working diligently around his infirmary room. He tries to grasp the memory of his dream, but it quickly fades as he gradually wakes up.
"Good morning," Jasper says politely to a doctor near his bedside.
The doctor ignores him while they closely examine a monitor and record its readings on a tablet.
Jasper's cheerful attitude fades, "Figures," he sighs.
Another doctor approaches him, holding a metal tray of medical instruments. The doctor sets the tray down on a table near Jasper's bed and immediately starts poking and prodding at Jasper.
"Could you give me one damn minute to wake up?!" he yells angrily.
The doctors stop what they're doing and look around at each other, whispering among themselves without saying a word to Jasper.
Jasper starts to get out of bed before one of the doctors at his side shuffles in front of him, preventing him from getting up.
Jasper glares at the doctor, "What? I can't even go to the bathroom?" he asks aggressively.
The doctor reluctantly steps aside as Jasper stands up. Jasper grasps at the various tubes and wires connected to his body and yanks them off before entering the bathroom. He steps inside and takes a moment to relieve himself.
Jasper approaches the sink to wash his hands and stares at himself in the mirror. As he looks in the mirror, memories of his last mission start to flood his mind again. However, before he can recall the events, the searing pain from the day before shoots through his head again. Jasper grabs his head and groans loudly as he tries to keep himself together. After a few moments, the memories fade and the pain slowly subsides.
Outside of the bathroom, the doctors in the room silently look around at one another, seemingly all thinking the same thing.
Jasper exits the bathroom, and the doctors quickly resume their work as he looks around at them all. He realizes they heard his groans of pain, but decides not to say anything. He lies back down and reluctantly allows the doctors to hook him back up to the machines surrounding his bed.
That night, Jasper is officially discharged from the infirmary. He puts on some Cronus-branded clothing before making his way out. As he walks through the Waypoint back to his room, he notices various Agents going about their day, laughing and smiling with one another without a care in the world.
Jasper exits the elevator after reaching his floor and makes his way down the hall. As he approaches his room, he notices a cleaning crew clearing out his friend's rooms. A wave of despair washes over him as he imagines how many Agents have cycled through these rooms before them. He shuffles past the crew and enters his room.
He looks around at the bland atmosphere, and his despair grows as he stands in the dark. His window is almost completely blacked out, but it glows faintly as the city lights seep through. Jasper makes his way over to the window and turns the dial next to it, decreasing the tint and revealing a view of the city.
Rain hits the window as Jasper looks out over the city and feels a strange sense of comfort while he examines the various sights.
*knock knock knock*
Jasper is interrupted by a knock on his door. He rolls his eyes in annoyance before creeping over to his door and looking through the peephole.
A woman he's never seen before stands waiting with her hands behind her back. She is a beautiful woman with bleach-blond hair and dark roots, tied into pigtails. Her eyes are an unnatural shade of blue, and she has various piercings in her ears, nose, and mouth. Jasper also can't help but notice her hourglass figure, which is rather unusual for an Agent.
Jasper ignores her, hoping that she goes away as he makes his way back over to his window.
*knock knock knock*
Before Jasper can make it back to his window, the woman knocks again. Jasper pauses for a moment before rolling his eyes again and continuing toward his window. He sits down and gazes out of the window again.
*knock knock knock*
As Jasper looks out of his window, the woman knocks again. Realizing she isn't going to leave him alone, he sighs before getting up and stomping toward the door.
Jasper flings the door open aggressively, "What do you want?" he asks.
"Jasper, right? I'm Ainsley, nice to meet you!" the woman says cheerfully as she smiles at Jasper.
Jasper stares at her in silence.
"Um, sorry to bother you, but Sebastian wants to see you in his office as soon as possible," Ainsley says nervously.
Jasper rolls his eyes. "Tell him I'm busy," he sighs.
Ainsley peeks inside Jasper's dark room, "I can see that," she teases.
Jasper continues to stare at her silently.
"Well, when you get the chance, read this and meet up with Sebastian," Ainsley says as she hands Jasper an envelope she was holding behind her back.
Jasper snatches the envelope from her hand before slamming the door in her face. Ainsley stares worriedly at Jasper's door for a moment before turning around and walking away.
Inside his room, Jasper throws the unopened envelope on his desk and returns to his window. The rain has picked up quite a bit, and he is no longer able to see the city clearly. Wanting a better view, he decides to go outside. He throws on his Cronus-branded hoodie and sweatpants before heading outside.
The rain pours down on Jasper as he steps outside the waypoint. He looks up at the cloudy sky and feels the rain on his face before putting on his hood and walking away from the waypoint. The city center is as crowded as usual, and Jasper can't see very well from the ground, so he looks around for a somewhere where he can get a better view.
A massive hotel nearby extends into the clouds, and Jasper notices a sign out front advertising an observation floor. He makes his way inside the hotel and shuffles through the crowded lobby before taking the elevator to the top. As he steps out onto the viewing floor, he notices it is just as crowded as everywhere else. He feels a wave of disappointment wash over him before noticing a door marked with an emergency exit sign. Jasper sneaks over to the door and peeks inside, finding a stairwell leading to the roof. He walks up the stairs before reaching a door labeled "Emergency Exit Only, Alarm will sound".
Jasper stares at the door for a moment but eventually decides to risk opening it. He pushes lightly on the push bar and listens closely for an alarm as it creaks open. Luckily, he doesn't hear anything and decides to slip outside. The door latches closed behind him before he notices that there is no handle on the outside, just a keyhole.
"Fuck..." Jasper mutters to himself, realizing he's locked himself out.
Jasper doesn't dwell on it too much and approaches the edge of the roof. A dense fog surrounds him, and he realizes that he is inside the clouds. The vibrant lights from the streets below scatter off the clouds, creating an iridescent haze. The haze reminds him of passing through a fracture, and the memories of his last mission start to flood his mind again.
This time, the memories are not accompanied by the searing pain, and he is forced to confront the memories for the first time since the incident. As flashes of Liam's blood raining down on top of him and Brick's decapitated body fill his mind, he steps up on the roof's edge.
His mind races. Everyone I cared about is gone. I'm going to be forced to keep working. How many more people am I going to have to watch die? How long before I die anyway? It's not like anyone would miss me. He thinks to himself as he stands on the edge, looking down on the city below.
Before he can make up his mind, the searing pain returns, this time stronger than ever before. Jasper stumbles as his head throbs. He tries to keep his footing, but the roof is drenched and he slips off. He starts to fall but manages to grab the ledge. As he tries to pull himself up, the pain pulses again, and he loses his grip.
Jasper starts to fall through the clouds as he flails around. It only takes a few seconds before he falls past the clouds and gets a clear view of the rapidly approaching ground far below him. He flies past numerous bridges that connect the nearby buildings, and he desperately tries to grab one. Eventually, he flies close enough to grab the railing of a bridge and uses all his strength to try and catch himself. Unfortunately, his momentum is too great, and his arm is ripped off as the rest of his body continues to fall.
He starts to spiral out of control as he plummets toward another bridge directly below him. The spinning and blood loss cause him to lose consciousness. Luckily, his spiral motion, combined with the momentum lost when he grabbed the bridge, have slowed him down significantly, but he is still falling incredibly fast. A few moments after losing consciousness, Jasper smashes into the bridge.
Jasper's body leaves a noticeable dent in the floor and he lies unconscious as blood pours from a massive crack in his skull and his dismembered arm.