"Everything will be fine."
"....huh?"
An explosion was heard from the distance, but Sirius couldn't tell where it was from. The voice that has just talked to him was an older teenage boy with white hair that resembled someone's, but he couldn't remember who. Sirius saw that the guy had been carrying a younger boy with black hair and was running away from the explosions down the street. The younger boy looked exactly like... Curious, he floated down the street with the two like a ghost. The older guy finally stopped and slid to a stop. Taking a look around, he scouted the area to make sure he wasn't followed and quickly ran towards an abandoned warehouse.
"Almost there, little buddy. Hang on a bit and you'll be okay. I promise."
"O-okay!"
"Good boy. I'm sorry I wasn't able to save anything that belonged to you, but at least you got out safely. Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything?"
"Nope! ------ has been very careful!"
The white haired guy laughed and pat the younger boy's head. He seemed to be a good caretaker of younger children, especially those who were in danger. Sirius assumed that since there were explosions all around in the beginning of his dream. What part of this dream was related to him? It could all very well be imaginary, but he was curious enough to keep watching.
"Of course. I wouldn't want you getting hurt. Now hold on tight or you might fall."
The guy walked forward into the warehouse and went to an isolated part of it. There, he pulled open a door which screeched. As quickly as possible, he closed the door and looked around the dark room with the trembling younger boy still holding onto him. Finding something he was looking for, he quickly twisted a.. handle? It was too dark to see, but Sirius had his assumptions. A trapdoor opened with ladders leading down. The guy quickly got down the trapdoor and shut it, climbing down with the boy safely.
"U-um...mister...?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"It's dark here.."
"I know, but it'll be bright soon. You trust me, right?"
"M-mhm!"
"Good. And we're..here!"
As soon as the guy climbed down, he was greeted with an open door and quite a few people awaiting his arrival. This seemed to be an underground organization of sorts, but everyone seemed to be friendly. Sirius looked around and saw a wide range of Infected. There were at least...300 people down in underground base. What exactly in the world was this place? They guy walked through Sirius, which caught his attention as he looked after him. The guy had already let down the child, who was walking beside him. He was soon greeted by one of his associates.
"Hey, ------- you brought another one here?"
"Aw come on, you know I can't leave children caught in the cause we stood up for."
"True enough, but we're getting sort of cramped down here. We can't last forever, even with the generous supply givers."
"We'll make it through, Haz. Plus, this little boy is a human like us. It's rare to see one in the parts where I was walking through."
"The government of Ursus are denying attacking us, but we all know that they're behind the scenes. Did you make sure the boy didn't have any trackers on him?"
"If he did, he would have triggered the alarm before I came here. He's fine."
"I hope so. What do you plan to do next?"
"I'm not sure yet, but we should probably lie low. I saw some officials poking around the area."
"I see. Then we can all just celebrate the fact that we're alive. Welcome back -----"
Sirius tried to listen to the guy's name, but the name was silent to him. He couldn't hear it... did that mean something else was going on? Did he once know the guy standing before him? All the questions flowed through his head until he noticed someone familiar running towards the guy, tackle hugging his leg.
"Surprise!~ Welcome back, -----!"
It was a girl with ashen hair with short horns slowly growing from her head. Sirius had a feeling of unpleasantness. Was that..? The guy was surprised and flinched, but when he saw it was the young girl, he gave a smile and pat her head. She gave him a bright smile and held up a nicely drawn dragon on a paper from a...sketchbook?
"Look ----! I drew a dragon! How does it look?"
"You're getting better at drawing! I like this one very much."
"Then you can keep it! I'll make sure to draw many more!"
"Ah- I will then. Keep doing your best."
The guy took the sheet and smiled when he saw it and folded it and put it in his pocket. It was clear that the young girl and the guy were related somehow, through the hair color and the way she approached him so...freely. Others seemed to keep their respectful distance, though it wasn't out of fear. The guy...seemed to be a leader. Sirius himself was familiar with the looks of the people he had worked with. It was the exact same the people had been giving the guy right now.
"You'd better not lose it, or I'll really get mad. I took a long time drawing it."
"I promise I'll keep it for as long as I can. And you can always draw me more if I lose it."
"Good. Now come and get some food with me! You haven't been back since this morning and it's already the afternoon!"
"Ehhh! Fine fine, Talulah. I'll come right away-!"
The words hit him like a rock. That young girl was....Talulah? Then the older guy was... He wasn't sure who he was, but he could tell it was someone important to Talulah. Was this where she lived before she became leader of the Reunion? As Talulah dragged the older person away for food, the younger boy also was taken along with him. Just as they started eating, Sirius and the guy noticed that she was looking at the young boy with interest.
"Who's he, -----?"
"I found him while running away from some bombings. He didn't seem to have anyone around and was lying there."
"Ah, I see. Is he part of the family now?"
"Everyone here is. We're all the same after all. Infected or not. We still live in the world and want fairness. Be nice to him and make him feel welcome."
"I will. It's bad to leave anyone out."
"Good. I'll go back to Haz now and discuss some other things with him. Keep the little guy company."
"What's his name?"
"Oh yeah.. a name. I didn't ask for one. Do you have a name, little boy?"
The little boy shook his head, quiet while eating his food. He seemed a little nervous, but also at a loss. Sirius didn't blame the little boy for feeling so. That little boy probably lost his entire family in the explosion. He was honestly surprised that the boy was still brave enough to not break down or go on a full panic attack.
"How about I give you a name then?"
".....a name?"
"Yes, a name. You had parents, right? Did they really not name you?"
"I...want a new name. My name was left behind when they died. I should have died, but you saved me. So...if it's not sounding too weird, I want a new name."
"....."
Sirius himself was just as shocked as the guy. He hadn't expected a child to say something like that. Especially one that had just come through an ordeal. However, he admired the child's spirit. He could tell that the guy did too, but the guy smiled and gave a chuckle as he pat the young boy's head.
"Very well. You seem to be brave, meaning you are capable of many things. I shall name you... Sirius Nakamura! How does that sound?"
"Sirius...Nakamura...? I'll go with it."
"Great! Now I'll be headed to talk to Haz. He seems to have something he wanted to talk to me about. I'll be sure to catch up later, Sirius!"
As the guy ran off to find Haz, Sirius's eyes had widened as he looked at the young boy with disbelief. That..was him? But then...what had happened? How had everything ended up the way the modern world was? If he and Talulah knew each other from before... then..
"...Hey. Sirius. Let's talk!"
Sirius quickly turned to young Talulah talking to his younger self, wanting to know what they were talking about. Young Sirius looked surprised at her question, but nodded with a smile. He seemed to have accepted this place, even though he had been here for a short time.
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
"What do you wish for?"
"......For all the fighting to end. I want peace where a world of Infected and non-Infected can stay together without any bad things happening. What about you?"
"That's a deep wish. You're just like ------. Maybe you can work in his footsteps one day better than I can. I wish for him to be safe, since he always goes out on the dangerous missions. What really happened up there?"
"There...was a lot of explosions. It was just a helicopter flying away... that's all I saw before he carried me away."
"I see. Don't worry though! You'll be safe with us! Come meet everyone else!"
"Uh- sure-!"
Talulah laughed as she dragged Sirius by the sleeve to more children. It seemed that Talulah was even popular among the kids and such. She had said something about following that guy's footsteps... was she to be the next leader to step up if...something were to happen to the guy? Thinking about it made Sirius feel sad. This entire burden..was forced upon her, wasn't it? She followed along the younger kids and paid attention to what they said.
"W! Come and talk to the new kid! ------ just brought him in!"
"He's back?! I want to go see him!"
"He's busy, so you can't."
"He'll make an exception for me~ After all, we all know he favors me more than you~"
"T-that's not true! Anyway, here's Sirius. ------ told us to welcome him."
The younger W took a look and observed Sirius and gave a shrug, apparently deciding that he wasn't much. She walked away and went off elsewhere. Talulah attempted to follow her, but thought better of it.
"Don't mind W. She just admires ------- a lot too."
"He seems to be a great guy."
"He is. He even made this organization to protect all the Infected and everyone that supported them along with those who have been cast aside. Do you have any questions?"
"I haven't asked this, but what's this place called?"
"Oh! We haven't told you that yet, but it's called...."
Sirius dreaded the answer that she was about to say, but he knew what was coming. What other answer could there be besides that one organization? But...there were so many other questions about what he had just seen. None of this could possibly be real, right? How would Rhodes Island have been formed if he started off here all along? Wouldn't it be more logical if he had just remained with them instead of Rhodes Island? He stared at younger Talulah as she finished her sentence.
".....Reunion Movement."
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At that moment, time paused. Before he knew it, everything flickered as images started distorting around him with parts of conversations he didn't recognize, but were in his head.
"Are you sure about this, Doctor?"
"Do it. Wipe his memory clean. We'll let him at least keep memory of his name."
"As you wish."
"No! Don't do it! I beg of you, please!"
"Kal-"
"Do it. It's for his own good."
".......very well. I'm very sorry about this, Sirius."
"I need to remember! I can't forget about everything I-"
"Silence. The girl escaped a month or two ago, but didn't seem to remember anything of us. All she knows is to burn down everything now. I doubt she even remembers him at this point. I didn't expect her to inherit and be given -------'s ability. However, we could use her rampage to our advantage and get Sirius to our side."
"That seems like a good plan, but are you sure you want to do this? I mean, is he even worth it?"
"------ taught him many things about commanding. Let's put that into use. Make sure he'll remember nothing. We took him in and got familiar with all the other Operators already. Even Amiya seems to look up to him. Now deploy him somewhere and make sure he doesn't remember anything."
"Understood. Starting the injection now. Where will we drop him off at as part of the "rescue mission" for Rhodes Island?"
"...... Chernobog. That's where the girl will be. We'll use her to scare him away there. Send out Ace team and have then hold the her back."
"You'd go that far for the plan. Why?"
"Because he chose someone else. I'll make him forget everything about her and fear her for what she is."
"I see. Then let's get started."
"Wait-! I-!"
The conversation came to a halt and Sirius at that time put his hand to his head, feeling his head hurt as the memories tried to break free, but remained unopened for him. As he was about to give into his mind and the frustration, the dream ended. Sirius woke up, putting a hand on his head and breathed deeply. Even though the night air was cool, he was sweating. What...had he just seen? He tried to steady his breathing and realized that he was still laying on Talulah, who had also fallen asleep. As his heartbeat slowed down, he looked up at her and sighed. She was safe here with him. As of now at least. If what happened in the dream was real and he had interpreted it correctly, he would make sure none of it happened again. Wait. W. Did she..remember? He would need to talk to her about it. Trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling he had, he went back to sleep, getting ready for the next day's ordeals.
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Author's Note
Warfarin: I was considering posting this one week later just to mess with y'all, but I'm not that cruel...or am I? For all you know, I can delete this chapter two hours later.
Haz: You won't. You worked on this pretty hard.
Ayame: Ha. And guess who will be editing it? Me.
Warfarin: Please no edits. Not for one week at least. I'm already tired as is.
Ayame: I'll consider.
Haz: pats the Warfarin.
Warfarin: Anyway, sorry for the long delays! And stop asking me what will happen next on discord! No more spoilers!
Ayame: You gave people spoilers?
Warfarin: The lesser ones of the plot. Those shouldn't...matter right? I'll change them later anyway.
Ayame: Lecture time. We'll be closing out here. Haz, you do the ending.
Haz: Sure thing. Don't be too harsh on Warfarin.
Warfarin: W-wait! I won't give anymore spoilers! I promise!
Ayame: Sure sure. Come along now.
Warfarin is dragged away by Ayame, protesting.
Haz: Oh, right. I'm supposed to end this. What to say, what to say... Okay, so I am a mod and a great friend of Warfarin's. I do occasionally make sure that they are on a good sleep schedule, even though I don't follow mine. Hmm. That's all for now I suppose. Have a good time, all of you.
End.