Unknown Society

Sisters

Martinez widens her eyes. "I-I know Bene!" She exclaims, clearing her throat afterwards, "I was just trying to find her and my other friends until Spy stopped me."

Spy looks at the Human. "What is your name? I don't recall Bene ever talking about you."

"I'm Purple," she explains, "Bene and I used to have a rocky relationship back at the orphanage, but ever since the orphanage burned down, we've been separated. I tried looking for her, but she never did the same for me when I needed her most."

"Why so?" Martinez asks.

"I remember getting into an argument with her about something," Purple shrugs, "ever since, we've been distant."

"How long has it been since you last saw her?" Martinez's right ear flickers.

"Five years, I believe," Purple scratches her head. All of them begin to continue north as she went on. "We used to love each other a lot when he grew up in the orphanage."

"I don't remember seeing you in the same enclosure though," Martinez points out.

"I only came in your enclosure at night when everyone was asleep," Purple explains, "Bene would sometimes stay up all night to spend time with me."

"What about after the orphanage burned down?" Martinez glances at her.

"Like everyone else, we were separated," Purple kept going, "but that was when our fight came about, and we haven't seen each other since. I don't know what she looks like now."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," Martinez began, "she's a lot bigger and fatter than I remember."

"I hate to interject this conversation," Kross points to a hut, "but is this where you reside?"

The hut had the same sign as before. The Runaways Residence. Martinez walks over to the sign to inspect it better. Yep, this was them. Martinez glances at Purple, "They'll help you with your injury." She knocks on the door.

Ban Ban answers. "You back? Welcome." He says, examining all of them.

"Yeah, I'll talk later, we just need some assistance," Martinez grabs Purple's arm and lets herself in.

Jack was rummaging through a cabinet when he heard a familiar voice. "Valarie?" He turns around, an astonished look on his face. "I-I didn't think you'd come back."

She nods, lowering her head slightly. "I acknowledge that I made a mistake, and I want to make it right."

Jack looks at the girl behind Martinez. "Who have you brought with you?" He asks.

"This is Purple," Martinez lifts her head once more, "She injured herself somehow."

"I was left by The Sages," Purple adds, "they killed everyone I knew, I witnessed everything. Then they left me for dead."

"It's a good thing I grabbed this," Jack says, holding a bandage, "but it looks like your paw needs more than just a bandage." He motions her to follow him to a nearby resting area, which she does. There, he begins to wrap the bandage tightly around her paw and wrist. "You should rest for a while, because it looks like your paw is fractured slightly. What happened?"

"Two boulders were smashed between my paw," she goes, "and—and...I don't remember."

Jack nods. "Just rest, for now," he tells her.

"Where's Bene?" Martinez asks.

"She wanted to look for you," Jack replies, "during the night, I heard thumping and thudding, and the next thing I knew, she was gone. Ban Ban and me tried searching for her, but her scent was too vast for us to find."

That's not good. Sure, Bene was strong enough to fight off enemies, but she wasn't strong or stable enough to be by herself. Martinez knew of this from the time she was at the orphanage, which brought her to another flashback.

This was the memory of when Bene's first week, and like before, she was still nervous. Valarie was by her side, stroking her hair. "Were you always here?"

Bene doesn't say anything, still high alert and quiet.

Pixel noticed this. "Valarie, it's best if you give her some space," she tells her, "she's trying to adjust."

"But what if they come back?" Bene utters, "What if they try to hurt you guys? Or me?" She was probably referring to the scientists.

"Not if I'm here," Pixel walks over to her, her arm around her neck, "Bene, I want you to promise me something."

Bene looks up at her, tears welling up in her eyes. "Whenever I make a promise, it always gets broken."

"How so?"

"I-I get scared," she blurts, "a-and I can't keep any promises."

"You can't be sure if you don't try, Bene," Pixel strokes her hair.

"That's what happened to my sister," Bene says lowly.

Valarie and Pixel exchange glances. "You have a sister?" Valarie says.

"B-but I don't know where she is," Bene continues, "she could be dead or something because of those—people."

"When was the last time you saw your sister?" Pixel questions.

Bene had looked as if she didn't want to answer, but she did. "I saw her in one of those rooms," she points at the door, possibly to another room, "I heard her crying and crying, but I couldn't do anything but watch."

Valarie and Pixel looked and each other again. Pixel broke the silence. "I wouldn't get too caught up in those thoughts," she reassures Bene, "Maybe she's okay."

"But what if—"

The door was open, and a girl about the same size as Valarie was thrown like a rag doll into the enclosure. She looked like Bene, and when Bene saw her, she sprung into action and examined her. Valarie and Pixel did the same, instead staying a short distance from the two.

"Purple! Are you okay?" Bene nudges her gently.

Purple manages to sit up, coughing. Bruises were all over her arms, and a small cut was on her cheek. "I..." she coughs, "I'm fine, Bene. They could've done worse."

Valarie took a good look at Purple, seeing the resemblance of the two. Pixel went over to her corner of the enclosure, grabbing some bandages. "This should help," she began to wrap Purple's paw.

Purple winces in pain slightly, but she could feel the pain go away slowly.

"Get some rest, both of you," Pixel instructs.

"But what if they come back?" Bene frowns.

"Humans don't usually get us during the night," Pixel says, turning off the lights, "They're like us—we sleep during the night, and we're most active during the day."

"Then why do they use weird things on us?" Valarie asks.

Pixel shrugs. "To them, we're not Human. We are technically Humans, just with hooves and paws for some reason." She lays down, motioning for Valarie to follow her.

Valarie does so, looking at Purple. "Sometimes, the Humans make noises at night. It scares me sometimes."

"What noises do they make?" Purple limps over to her.

"Banging, groaning, screaming, all sorts of things," Valarie rests her head on next to Pixel's paw, "but I don't think it's anything to worry about. The Humans are usually asleep and pretty quiet."

"Get some rest, guys," Pixel yawns, "No one will get hurt, not under my watch."