Forever with a Twist || An Aphmau Starlight Fanfic

Targets Acquired - 6

Ein stalked down the hall, a frown playing at his mouth as his mind wandered.

Aaron was different. Well, of course he would be, having somehow survived the lodge and now being torn away from Aphmau.
Ein wished his plan had gone right, and he could be with Aph at the moment, but pushed the thought from his mind to instead think about his current situation:

His potion. The one he had been working on for so long, oh so long, and now it was ready. A second version of the Forever Potions, but with a little something extra.

Besides being better than the original in that it could— assuming his calculations were correct— last for years without wearing out badly, place the subject under hypnosis almost effortlessly and painlessly, and hopefully be activated however and whenever Ein wanted (he hadn't figured out that part yet), it had a couple flaws.

Flaws as in, pretty unstable until I can test it out and study the results, flaws.
And maybe a, I need a real potion to compare this to. Or some type of magic.

Even though they seemed like glaring problems, Ein didn't have to worry. He had someone he could test it out. A captive.
Really, his own two captives, if fate allowed.

Terry had left the base, which is why Ein had gone to check on Aaron, thinking he could perhaps nudge him a bit closer to rage as a bit of revenge.
Besides, if they wanted him to transform, they'd need to keep his spirits down. It's not like Terry could reprimand him for that.

Somewhat reassured, Ein turned his attention back to the topic at hand.
He had entrusted Terry to kidnap Lucinda or Zane for him. It hadn't been easy to convince him, but then again, it was never easy to convince him of anything he hadn't seen with his own two eyes. At the moment, Terry should be making his around the island.
Ein wondered why Terry himself had gone. After all, he was the man in charge. Wouldn't he have sent someone more suited for the role?

No, he reminded himself. We are the only two who truly know why I want them. Any more and my whole plan could be ruined, not even mentioning Terry's.

Something wasn't right with that though.

Was it?
Thinking he was being paranoid, Ein brushed it off and continued walking.

So Ein never started questioning.

He'd regret it.

*

Not questioning anything in his own room was Garroth. Just woken up, he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

He knew Zane would be asleep, so Garroth only took a quick glance before moving towards the door.

And then he took another look, rubbed his eyes, checked to see if he was dreaming.
He was not, it seemed.

"Zane?" Garroth's voice filled with worry, although he tried to push it down. Was he just in the bathroom? Making breakfast? With someone else?

The bedside clock read 6:30. It was still dark outside, making Garroth doubt his own explanations. Zane wouldn't be up this early, not unless he'd been up all night.
Possible ways Zane could be hurt— or worse— filled his mind. His brother needed him! He called out again before moving out of the tiny bedroom. "Zane? Baby bro? Where are you?"

Zane didn't reply.

Nothing moved even an inch.

The boat was silent, waiting for the tall boy to make his move.
Briefly, Garroth pondered whether to wake someone else up, or to be quieter so he wouldn't.
Then a small, protective instinct burst out from him and made him rush out the door and jog out into the hallway. He searched the rooms he passed and called out every once in a while, becoming increasingly worried for his little brother.