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"Y/n! Y/n! Y/n! Wake up! Wake up please," I hear a voice call out to me.
"Wake up. Please." the voice sounds panicked.
I try to open my eyes and after a few seconds, I finally get them cracked open without only seeing colours.
Ray's hovering above me with a very worried facial expression adorned on his features.
Once I fully open my eyes, he then looks relieved.
"Y/n! You're awake!" he says with a relieved smile, I sit up to hug him and I grunt.
I feel a liquid coming up my throat, I push him away and turn to my side as blood spills from my mouth.
I groan in annoyance and pain, it's the black kind of blood I get from that smoke bomb.
"Jesus, did that smoke bomb reorganize your intestines or something?! It was just smoke!" he asks, helping me up.
"No, it was something designed for me back at headquarters a couple years ago," I comment.
I wobble at first and get a little dizzy, he drapes an arm around me to help me up.
"Wh-" I almost feel like hurling again, but I don't because I cover my mouth. "Where's Emma? And where even are we?"
"I don't know to both of those questions, I went looking for you first."
"Aw."
"Shut up."
"Alright."
We eventually find Emma, Ray goes to wake her up while I rest my back up against a cave wall. I rub my head.
That bomb seemed much more powerful than I remember, I wonder if they tweaked it specifically for this mission?
I sigh.
Emma comes up and hugs me.
"I'm so glad you're alive too!" she says.
I hug her back. "Yeah, same here."
"Do either of you know where we are?" she asks.
"Nope."
"No."
"So you don't know either?"
Emma shakes her head. They start to theorize as we slowly walk down the tunnel.
"Do you think it's Mr. Minerva?" Emma asks.
"Mm, I don't think so," I said. "He said to meet him at B06, how would he know we needed help? much less make it over as fast as the mysterious person did?" I said.
"Oh, good point," Emma says. "Well, maybe it's somebody from his clan!" she says. I stay silent.
I stop in my tracks, "Nay, someones here." I say as a small lantern light starts to grow bigger.
The hooded person stands in front of us, they suddenly jump on Emma.
"You're awake! How do you feel?!" By the voice, it's a girl.
Her voice sounds a little familiar.
I can't pinpoint where I know it from though.
She then looks in my direction.
"Oh my! You were in terrible shape! Are you okay too?" she asks.
Emma and I nod, she looks back at Emma, "You can't exert yourself, you might faint again." she then looks back at me.
"I don't really know what caused you to be in such horrible shape, but I assume it's from all the running?" she asks. I shake my head.
"No it wasn't that, but thank you."
"Uhm, where is everyone?"
"The kids? Oh, they're over in the other room," she says, turning around.
"Come now, I just prepared food." she says, we follow her.
My eyes trail around the cave, my eyes then trail back to the girl.
Those robes...
I look down to her feet.
Demon feet.
Ray asks who the hooded figure was that saved us was.
"Oh, you mean Sonju?" she says. "Yeah, he's here too."
Sonju.
That name...
I've heard that name before.
Argh! Gods!
I can't pinpoint anything!
"So it's not Mr. Minerva?" Emma asks.
"Minerva? Who's he?" the woman asks.
"You don't know William Minerva?"
"No, sorry." she answers as we keep walking.
I see Ray is deep in thought.
"Hey-" Ray says, he briefly looks down and his eyes go wide for a second. I assume he saw her feet.
He takes my arm and yanks me back next to him, holding my wrist as he looks up.
"Thank you, for saving us and all..." he starts. "Because if you didn't, we'd be dead. So I do thank you from the bottom of my heart..."
"But there's just one question I want to ask."
I gulp.
"Why did you save us?" he pauses.
Gods, I just realized how many dramatic pauses he takes when he's talking.
I thought to myself.
"Answer me this, why are demons saving their food?"
"Demons?" Emma questions.
"You're both demons, right? You and that guy?" Ray says. "What are you planning?" he asks.
I hear footsteps behind us, I don't look back because I know it is the other guy.
"Tell us why, demons." Ray says with a smirk.
Ray, you're practically poking at them with a stick to see what'll tick them off. Stop it.
I thought as I grumbled to no one in particular.
"Mujika, you went too far again." the other man says.
Mujika?
I look back at the other man.
His crystal spear.
I can't see his face.
His body structure.
His voice.
His hood.
His name is Sonju.
I look back at the other woman, completely disregarding the conversation at hand right now.
Mujika.
I can't see her face.
Those robes.
And her voice.
I constantly whip my head back and forth between the two.
Why is it so hard to remember why they look so-
I look at the ground and recall hearing their voices.
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"Don't go out at night, I've told you this. You can be taken or eaten if something happens to you." he told me.
"Well, it's not night. It's sunset. So can I go find some fish for us to eat?" I asked. "Pretty please?" I was 5 at the time.
The woman thought about it. "Alright. Just, please make sure to keep track of the sun. It's setting pretty soon."
"Got it!" I gave a thumbs up as I ran out with a smaller version of the spear he carried.
That was the day I was taken from the forest by a big man and forced into headquarters with no way out.
I didn't even realize it was nighttime until I resurfaced from the lake.
Don't go out at night...
Sonju was right.
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"Hey, what's wrong?" I turned back into the conversation. Ray was shaking me.
My eyes were wide open as I looked at him, everyone was looking at me weirdly.
I shake my head. "Uhm, nothing..." I shrug it off.
"This one's a little different, Sonju. She looks like someone we used to know, I think." Mujika points to me.
"Don't be ridiculous. She strived away from us and went missing years ago when she was five. She's probably dead anyway." Sonju says whilst glancing off to the side.
That confirms it.
I thought.
Sonju and Mujika...
Were my comrades that I lost all those years ago.
Mujika gave me the teddy bear that I still have in my bag.
"ARE THE KIDS OKAY?" Emma asks.
She gets no answer and ends up dashing off.
"Emma!" I call out as I follow her.
We are met by another room, all the kids run up to us.
"Emma! Y/n!" they say happily as they run up to hug us.
"Are you all safe?!" Emma asks frantically.
"Yeah!" they all say.
I still can't wrap my head around it.
I haven't seen them in so long.
Is this fate?
That I see them again?
A sign?
Oh, what the hell. This isn't some cosmic bullshit coincidence.
But still...
I never thought I'd ever see them again, or that they'd still be here after all these years.
Or maybe they left and came back.
"Y/n! Why are your eyes open so big?" Jemima asks me, I look down at her with my same dumbfounded expression.
"Huh?" I say.
"Your eyes are open really big! Is something wrong?" She asks.
I shake my head and change my expression.
"No, I'm alright. Thank you for asking though."
"I'm sorry to have scared you." says Mujika.
They both take off their hoods, Ray joins us and looks at them, the kids also run up to Ray.
"My name is Mujika."
"My name is Sonju."
I widen my eyes a little.
Now that I have seen their faces, it is most definitely them.
But when do I bring this up?
Certainly not in front of everyone else.
I stop looking and go to think about it.
I tune out of a lot of conversations. I keep going over it, and occasional memories pop up in my head.
I try to focus once we start praying. I follow the hand motions but keep getting lost in my own mind.
"Thank you for the food,"
"Thank you for the food!"
I mutter under my breath as I stir the soup but don't eat anything. I'm barely even blinking.
"Uhm, Y/n? Something wrong?" Emma asks me.
"Maybe if I just go up and ask them if they remember me? No that won't work they probably don't even remember me anyway, or I could like give them hints? Start acting like I used to? No that won't work either, I probably have to ask once everybody else is asleep, but I need to wait until they're both in a room together-"
I muttered to myself, barely registering Emma trying to get my attention.
"Oi!"
I snap out of my mumbling when Ray snaps his fingers in front of my face.
"Something right up in here?" he pokes me on the head multiple times.
"Yup. Don't worry." I told him as I started to eat. Thinking the plan in my head.
⇠⫷❖◈❖⫸⇢
I decide to go up to Mujika first since Ray and Emma are talking to Sonju right now. Mujika is traveling the tunnels throughout the bedroom spaces to make sure everything is alright. During said time I had also taken Cuddles out of my bag and put him behind my back.
Before I was preparing to approach Mujika though, I found something that caught my eye.
There were a couple of candles and a few scattered items.
I walk up to them, only to realize I know all of these things.
They're all mine from when I was here with them prior.
One of the items was a bejeweled mask to protect my middle eye along with fancy robes, another was a wooden flute, three vidas, a gold and jeweled twisted pendant I wore for good luck that had a cubic Zirconia gem in the middle, and a flower crown, all of which were on top of a folded out travelling bag.
I beam, I couldn't believe they kept all my things.
When my hand hovers over the pendant it starts to glitter very brightly. I pick it up to examine it.
Still in good condition.
I thought.
I took my mask as well as the pendant, I put the mask to my side and the necklace in my pocket and was going to come back to the rest later.
I only recently realized they didn't recognize me because of my hair tuffs and my eyes were still red.
"Mujika." I call her name. She turns around.
"Oh, do you need something?" she continues. "I don't think I got your name either, what was it again?" she asks.
"Uhm, that's the thing..." I start.
Well, it is only now that I don't realize how I am going to word this.
Just, say whatever first comes to mind.
Come on.
"You said something about me resembling someone? A little girl, perhaps?" I ask.
She looks surprised I even brought it up.
"Yeah?"
"Can you describe her?"
"Oh, sure." she starts.
"She was a demon, with small f/c horns, she also had h/l h/c hair, e/c eyes. They would shine when she accomplished something. She was very small, maybe half my height when I last saw her... Uhmmm..." she paused to think.
"She was with Sonju when I met her, she was very energetic, never got tired. I once got her a stuffed bear and she always carried it around everywhere-" Mujika sounded like she could go on and on, she was seemingly joyful while explaining everything she knew.
"Oh, and her name was Y/n." she says, finalizing her long description. "Why?"
I smile and look at her. I removed my fake hair tuffs to reveal my bigger f/c horns, turn my eyes back to their normal shade of e/c, and showing Cuddles from behind my back.
"I'm Y/n." I said. "And to prove it, I know I didn't keep track of the time when I went to go get fish. I was so immersed in the water I didn't realize the time flew. I also was given back the bear you gave me when I dropped it because they went out looking for more kids like me" I pause, she quivers a little.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, old friend?" I say in a whisper.
Mujika drops her lantern upon hearing this information. She covers her mouth.
"Y-Y/n? Is it really-"
"Yes. I was taken by some big man, and the farm demons tried to make me their little pet, it was so cruel, what they did to me. They even changed me to make me look more human. But I got a chance to escape with the Gracefield escapees and even made some friends-" Mujika hugs me suddenly.
"It's you! It's really you!" she says happily. I hug her back.
"Sonju and I thought we'd never see you again!" she says, practically choking me in her hug.
I rapidly and lightly hit her arm to tell her she's choking me and she lets go with a chuckle.
"You have to tell me what happened! I was so mad at myself for not going with you that day, or-"
"Mujika it's fine! I'll tell both you and Sonju, but first, we have to tell him I'm still alive." I say.
Mujika's expression softens. "Oh my, you don't know how torn up your disappearance left Sonju," she says with a sweet smile. "It was the worst I'd ever seen him at."
"Oh, we better hurry then," I say, she dashes ahead, leaving me to catch up.
I put the hair tuffs in my pocket and head around the corner of the room where Emma and Ray were just about to leave. Mujika runs into the room, ecstatic as hell.
"SonjuSonjuSonjuSonjuSonjuSonju!!!" she says, incredibly fast paced as she runs up and shakes him on the shoulder.
"What is it?" he asks.
"Y/n! She's here! She's back!"
That certainly catches Sonju's attention.
He stands up and looks down at her.
"Mujika. Don't joke about that. I don't want to think about her anymore. It's been years." he says seriously.
Ray and Emma have questioning faces, but stay silent.
"No, I'm serious! She's here! She's the girl I told you I recognized!" that was my cue to walk in.
Without the hair tuffs, my eyes back to e/c and hugging the light brown bear I walked up to him, a few paces away.
"Before you accuse me of lying." I hold up a finger. "I know I should have paid more attention to the sun when you let me go out fishing. I was so caught up in the water and catching fish I didn't realize the sun would have gone down so fast. When I was taken, I was experimented on and given more human-like features, which is why the only thing left that's demon-like of me is the horns." I elaborate.
Sonju drops his spear, it made a loud and echoing CLANK against the cave floor.
And he just looks at me.
I know he believes me now because they never mentioned anything to anybody here about how I went missing. And if he told Ray and Emma, I wouldn't have been around to hear it to lie.
I can't fully tell his emotions behind his mask, but then he walks up to me and takes my hand.
There's quite a difference since I've been changed to have more human-like features. It was quite interesting to see the difference.
"Been a while, huh?" Sonju picks me up which startles me quite a bit.
He hugs me.
"Is it..." he questions.
"Is it you?" he asks.
"Yes. I'm really here! That night, I was taken and forced to be with the farm demons, but I got a chance to escape with the Gracefield escapees, and I even made some friends!" I told him.
"What did I tell you?!" he says, now angry as he sets me down.
"Don't go out at night..." I reply begrudgingly.
"And what did you do?!"
"..."
"Went out at night." I replied.
"I should have included sunset too! You clearly couldn't keep track of the time!"
"...I know."
"NOW you know!" he grumbled.
"U-uh, Y/n? How do you know Sonju and Mujika?" Emma asks.
I look over at her.
"I was with them prior to getting kidnapped by headquarters."
She forms an, "O" shape with her mouth.
I take my mask I found at their mini memorial of me from my pocket and put it on. I also put on the gold pendant.
"That's the Y/n I remember." Sonju comments. "You never liked wearing your mask, and the necklace would always shine very brightly in the daytime. Could see you from a mile away." he laughed.
"We found it when we went looking for you that night, but couldn't find your bear," Mujika adds. "We've had it ever since. But you can have all your things back if you want." she says.
I take off the mask. "Yeah, that'd be nice." I say.
Ray and Emma head over to bed, I collect the rest of my things and put them neatly in my bag.
I stay up later telling Sonju and Mujika everything that happened to me before coming here as Mujika looks at the stuffed animal she got for me all those years ago, which was still in pristine condition.
She also adored his name.
Sonju grumbles. "Damn humans can't keep their hands to themselves," he comments with a scowl. "I'll kill those scientists."
I wave my hands in the air. "That's very unnecessary," I tell him as I continued with the story.
⇠⫷❖◈❖⫸⇢
"Oh, so you like Ray??" Mujika asks. I burst out into many different shades of red as I shake my head.
"I don't!" I say defensively.
"Sounds like you do." Mujika teases with a smile. "Has he said he likes you too?"
I thought back, remembering the incident when he was about to set himself on fire.
"I have feelings for you."
I got embarrassed thinking about it, and this embarrassment did not go unnoticed by my old comrades.
"He said something too, didn't he?" Mujika beamed.
"Ah! No no no." I shake my head.
Sonju huffs. "Just make sure you know what you're doing, alright?" I nod, he pats my head.
I finish the story and I mentioned the new abilities I can do from the experiments. The shedding, everything.
I even demonstrated one out of a few magic tricks I taught myself, using the petals thing I did a day ago as an example.
Sonju whipped his head around trying to keep track of the petals, and Mujika was gazing at my hand, seemingly wondering how I was able to make my hand look like it was disintegrated like that and suddenly coming back.
"Well, as much as I love talking to you guys, I'm gonna go to bed." I said with a yawn as Mujika gave me back my stuffed animal.
"Goodnight," Mujika said.
"Rest well." Sonju added.
I had quickly found my sleeping roll and slipped into a dream state.
⇠⫷❖◈❖⫸⇢
I woke up in a bright room, I sat up rubbing my head, only to notice I had chains attached to my ankles and wrists to keep me from going anywhere.
What the hell happened?
I could try to break out of these chains, maybe.
The chains immediately unlock themselves as I sit up.
"Please make your way to the room adjacent." some robotic voice tells me.
I'm confused as to where I am.
But Sonju and Mujika aren't around.
All I remember is resurfacing from the lake, and being grabbed by someone, and getting knocked out.
I open the door, an interrogation/hospital styled room greets me.
I sit in the chair with the iron table. A man walks in.
He sits in front of me, I observe his appearance.
Silver circle glasses, white hair, and black streaks, with tan skin.
Why is he wearing a suit?
Whatever.
"So, our little test subject is finally awake," he says.
"Test subject? I didn't sign up for this, I'd rather be back in the forest than in this funky asylum like room." I say as I look around.
"Still confused?" he asks with an amused look.
I grumble, irritated the moment I woke up.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"The names Andrew."
"Fuck you Andrew."
"I'm sure the higher ups would certainly disapprove of your language."
"Does it look like I care?" I said. "Wheres my comrades, what did you do to them?? Where's my stuffed bear???"
He raises his eyebrows, "Comrades? You had comrades?" he questions. "And a stuffed animal?"
"Yeah stupid, otherwise I wouldn't be asking." I say in an obvious tone.
"I don't know, I only took you because I was assigned to fetch someone to do tests on. And I never saw any bear in the forest when I took you." he continues.
"The demons wanted to see if kids would taste better if they injected certain chemicals in them, so since word got out a couple of kids escaped from Grand Valley, he sent me out to find and bring one back, but from the looks of those horns..." he smirks. "You're no ordinary kid."
"Yeah, I'm just built different." I mock. "Of course I'm not an ordinary kid. I'm obviously a demon." I wiggle all 12 of my fingers in front of his face.
I was so fed up with him and I hadn't even known him for more than a minute.
"Right," he says.
Argh, why didn't my lucky necklace prevent this from happening??
I think. Feeling on my neck, to feel my eyes widen.
It isn't there.
Why isn't it there??
Did it unlatch in the lake or when I got dragged here??
"What?" he asks.
I retreat my hand from my neck. "Nothing."
The man nods.
"I'll go talk with the higher ups about you, see what we can do with you."
"Can you let me go home?"
"No, anything but that." he stands up and brushes imaginary dirt off his suit.
"Can I have my bear?"
"I don't know where your bear is."
"Find it."
"It isn't that simple-"
"How difficult is it for a grown man to look under leaves and through bushes?"
The man growls at my annoying persistency. But if I was going to have one thing while being stuck here, it'll be my bear.
"I'll be going. We'll find you a place, and your bear... Don't worry."
"I'm already bored here. Can I have something to play with while you go find him?"
"How about a dead mouse?"
"EW! No! I want a real toy like a Rubix cube or something!" I say disgusted.
He rolls his eyes. "Alright. I'll be right back."
I wait until the door opens, the Rubix cube I requested is chucked inside the room and boinks me in the head.
I grumble. "Rude bitch! That hurt!" I said as I grabbed the Rubix cube from the floor.
"Don't complain when I got you your Rubix cube. It's a really complex and large one, so you should be busy on it for quite a while. until I'm back with your stupid stuffie" he says through the crack of the door.
"HE'S NOT STUPID!"
"Just hush and be a good demon child." he closed the door and locked it.
Bastard.
I go back into the plain bedroom and sit on the bed doing the puzzle.
Now that I think about it, I should probably give that bear a name.
What the hell is going to happen to me here? I feel like I am in some sort of hospital.
This place gives me the creeps, and that man, Andrew also gives me the creeps.
I hope I can leave soon.
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fun fact: cats can't taste anything that's sweet (meaning it tastes like nothing)