{Observation 11; Before the storm}

(Lucy)

I feel like I’m floating.

Hm, I guess that means I’m dreaming right now.

This would make the first dream I’ve had were I’m aware it’s a dream.

I wonder what I was doing before I fell asleep?

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now.

Right now, I’m in a classroom, looking out a window at the sunny landscape.

I was waiting here for some reason, but I can’t quite recall what that reason was.

I just know that I can’t leave yet, not until I see that bright yellow along the horizon start to turn reddish-yellow.

I can also see a street, one I’ve walked down every single day to get to school.

...Hm?

What… was school again?

Come to think of it, what’s a classroom?

But even though I don’t quite recall that, I do remember this street.

Why?

This street isn’t in the city, but I know it.

It’s like when Laurence called me ‘Lulu’... that feeling like somethings at the tip of my tongue, so close yet so far from remembering.

…….Gah, it’s frustrating!

“You’re here again?”

I snap my head towards the voice.

Who?

I didn’t hear anyone enter… oh, but it’s a dream so that isn’t a big deal.

I try focusing my vision on the person, but it’s fuzzy and covered in shadows, like I’m not allowed to see who it is.

That voice does sound familiar though…

“It’s none of your business.”

Ah, that was my voice just now.

I said it without even thinking about it.

I guess I am the type to be rude, now that I think about it.

Maybe I should speak a bit more calmly from now on?

I got the feeling that the blur gave me a worried look and bit my lip involuntarily.

“What’s your deal!? I already told you to leave me alone!”

It was like my body moved and spoke without my permission as I stood up from my seat.

Wait, is this… a memory?

I’m aware it's a dream but I can’t do anything at all, so is this something I’ve forgotten?

The blur seemed a bit troubled by my yelling.

“There are still teachers here.”

“Ah.”

I covered my mouth and the blur approached me.

I got the feeling like he held out his hand.

“Come on, I know a way out where we won’t run into them.”

I looked at his hand with irritation and suspicion, scoffing.

“Can I really trust you? I don’t even know you.”

“I’m not lying.”

I don’t think he’s lying, but I’m not exactly in control of my actions right now.

I swatted away the hand and sat back down.

“Ha, I’m not so easily fooled. You’re just going to lead me right to them and make fun of me for being an idiot. Just go away already.”

“No, I’m not. Can’t you tell whether I’m lying or not with your power?”

For some reason, my fist became clenched as he asked that question.

“Is that it? You want me to see if somebody's lying?”

The blur became silent at that and I felt like it trembled a bit.

“Well, you better find someone else. I don’t wanna help, and I-”

“No, I don’t need help! That’s not it at all.”

The blur shook their head rapidly, and then I heard footsteps approach the classroom.

“What are you two still doing here?”

A young man in a suit, a teacher, entered through the doorway and looked between myself and the blur questioningly.

“The bell to leave school sounded an hour ago. Is there something wrong?”

“...I just wanted to see the sunset, Mr. Paterson.”

I spoke those words with a naive, childlike voice, one that startled myself.

The blur also looked surprised as the man I called Mr. Paterson shook his head.

“I see, but it’s no good if you worry your mom by arriving late. Why don’t you go home and watch it from there?”

“Okayyyyy~”

I got up and grabbed my bag, hanging lazily from my seat, and walked past the bewildered blur.

“And, what are you doing here {!@#$%^&*}?”

“Wha- U-um… Because Lucy was...”

I didn’t hear the rest as I veered around the corner, into the nothingness of my sleep.

* * * * *

I finally felt my consciousness float upward, and noticed the pounding in my head almost immediately.

I fluttered my eyes open and groaned, trying to adjust them to my surroundings, which appeared to be bleak and dark.

After a few moments of laying there, blinking, I was able to make out a chipped out ceiling.

Great, that narrows it down to every single room in the city.

I gingerly turned my body and head to the left where I was greeted to the sight of Thomas’s sleeping face right next to mine.

So… that meant I was back at the base?

...No, I’m not sleeping on anything remotely soft, so that’s not the case.

I turn my vision upwards, past Thomas, and see a small desk with a tiny lamp on it.

We had no such thing back at our new home.

I slowly stood up, ignoring the aches and pains, and finally took a good look of the room we were in.

There wasn’t much else aside from the desk and the lamp in the room, excluding the people.

Over in a corner, slumped over, was Ruri, making it three people in this small, enclosed room.

I could see a door, but I was also able to see that it was locked through observing it.

I guess that means we were captured, but by who?

Hana and Erika?

My headache flared up as I thought those names and I clutched it, groaning again.

I… I can’t remember!

The last thing I remembered was Laurence carrying us over to the warehouse and then… nothing!

………….

I should wake the others up, to see what they remember last.

I walked over to Ruri and shook her.

“Hey Ruri, get up!”

I shook, and shook, and shook her, but she didn’t wake up no matter what I did.

Observing her, I could see that she was alive, but she remained completely unresponsive to my actions.

“A power?”

One thing I was unable to observe was the powers themselves.

Even if I observe Hana using her powers on others, I see nothing actually being produced by her, as an example.

So, if I couldn’t observe what was making Ruri stay asleep, then it had to be a power.

At least, I would think so, but that makes me wonder why I’m not under the influence of the same power?

Either way, I should try to wake Thomas up first before thinking through things some more.

If I’m not under the power, then Thomas might be unaffected as well.

I shook him and almost immediately observed changes in his body, reacting to the stimulus.

“Yup, you’ll wake up.”

Thomas grumbled as his eyes opened gingerly, looking in my direction.

“Uh… Lucy?”

I backed off as he sat up, making a grimace as he held his head.

“Where… are we?”

“I don’t know. I just got up myself.”

Thomas looked up at me, then his eyes rested on the figure in the corner.

“Ruri’s here too…”

I nodded.

“Yeah, but she won’t wake up. I think it’s a power of some kind.”

“But she’s okay!?”

Thomas then perked up, asking ratherly intensely as his sleepiness seemed to be shaken off in that moment.

“Yeah, don’t worry. Other than not being able to wake up, everything in her body is working properly.”

...Ah, I said it in a strange way.

Thomas didn’t seem to be bothered by it however, and sighed in relief.

“That’s good. As long as everyone’s alive, that’s all that matters.”

“Alive…?”

Something felt off as Thomas spoke that word, and the headache intensified yet again.

Alive, alive, alive… something was wrong with that word, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Lucy?”

“...Hm, yeah?”

“You look pale, are you feeling alright?”

Thomas had stood up fully and was holding me by the shoulders as he asked that, without me even realizing it.

I took a couple deep breaths in and shook my head.

“Of course not, we’ve just been kidnapped haven’t we?”

I said that jokingly and smiled.

I wonder why I brushed off the question like that?

Still, Thomas sighed and nodded his head.

“Oh, yeah… Do you need to sit down for a bit?”

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just look for a way out, ok?”

I didn’t want to pursue the answer to Thomas’s question any longer.

Normally, I would want to find out what felt so wrong, but for some reason, I was avoiding it entirely.

It was like… it was alright if I didn’t know.

“There’s only one way out though…”

Thomas spoke that as he looked at the door and I frowned.

“Then we need to pick the lo-”

At those words, I heard someone approaching the door.

Then, the sound of a lock being opened could be heard and the door swung open, revealing a young man with long, blonde hair, smiling creepily.

His hunched over, deathly skinny build only added to his creepiness as he walked in an unsteady manner.

“Well, well, it seems our guests have woken up!”

“Who are you!?”

Thomas spoke that rather bravely and the man scoffed at him.

“Hilarious!”

The man moved swiftly and kicked Thomas, the force knocking him back against the wall, letting go of me.

“Kuh!”

“Thomas!”

I ran over to him and observed that he got off with only a few bruises, nothing more.

I sighed in relief, but stiffened when I heard the man speak up again.

“Don’t you know that the only one who should demand anything, questions or otherwise, should be the captor? Your ignorance is amusing!”

He laughed at us and I bit my lip.

Yup, this person is even worse than Sharon.

That’s an impressive… well, impression he’s left, considering he’s only been here for ten seconds.

He took another step into the room and gestured to Ruri.

“We’ve taken the liberty of keeping one of you incapacitated, on the small chance you can actually come up with a decent plan to escape. Annnnnnnnnnnnnd, don’t think of disobeying our orders, or we will kill one of you! Isn’t that smart? We have three of you so it’ll be a simple matter to get you to do what we want! After all, killing one of our hostages doesn’t matter!”

Thomas was in pain and confused but I more or less understood what the man was trying to say.

If there was only two of us and they wanted us to do their bidding, then it would be much easier to say no, as we’d have no reason to help them after killing the only reason we helped them to begin with.

Having a third person meant they could go through with killing someone and still make us do what they want, as we wouldn’t want to lose another person… at least, I think that’s the idea.

Thomas must have been reading my mind, because his confusion seemed to turn into fear.

“Got it? Okay~! Now then, we need the purple haired girl to do something very important for us, so you’d better come with me or face the consequences!”

He spoke so cheerfully that I wanted to rip his throat out, and I had never wanted to do something as violent as that before in my life.

Of course, I couldn’t do anything to defy him, like he said.

I moved away from Thomas and approached the man.

“!!! Lucy, don-!”

“What a moron!”

The man tried to kick him again and I threw myself in the way.

His foot stopped midair and he finally gave a look other than a smile.

He looked at me with a stern expression, like death himself was ordering me to die.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?”

I almost stepped out of the way, from the sheer terror his expression seemed to command from me, but I stood there.

“The one thing you can’t order us to do is to let the other get hurt.”

I was scared, so I ended up speaking logically… in a sense.

The man scoffed again and his smile returned.

“Ah, that’s true, so very true! If we threatened to kill them if you didn’t let us kick them to a bloody pulp, as entertaining as that may be, we would be wasting one of our hostages for such a pointless thing! Truly a problem. Alright, purple, le-”

“My name’s Lucy.”

The man spat in my face and the scary expression returned.

“Did I ask for your name?”

“...No.”

And his smile came back.

“Alright purple, let’s get going! Oh, and don’t stray too far from me, because… well, you know what happens~!”

I wiped the spit off my face and followed.

I was important enough that he needed me and wouldn’t harm me, but I still didn’t know what such a person would have done if I tried challenging him any further.

I walked out the door with him, and caught a look of worry on Thomas’s face as the door shut.

Don’t worry Thomas.

I know you can read my mind, so surely you know that he won’t hurt me.

The man started whistling as he walked off to the right, and I followed.

Looking around, it appeared as though the walls and floor were worn down throughout the years.

Once again, that narrows it down to every building in the city.

Hooray progress.

Putting that aside, it was a problem that I had no idea where we were.

We could figure out an escape route if we knew the overall layout of the building, as well as where it was located.

Part of the layout was being shown to me now, but if we were in a long network of alleys like the shade, or somewhere on the outskirts like the flood or the end, then we’d have no chance even if we made it outside.

They’d probably have some guards at parts of the aforementioned routes we could take once leaving the building, if they were serious about keeping us here, which I’m pretty sure goes without saying they were.

I guess that meant our only hope for escaping was with Laurence and Birdy.

Birdy might be able to track us down, but I’m not sure about the specifics of networking, so it might not be possible.

Laurence does have the braces, but it won’t matter if he can’t find us.

Still, it was better than nothing.

Until then, I guess we just do our best to try and survive.

The man stopped his whistling and spoke up.

“Purple, you have no idea just how happy I am to see you!”

Could’ve fooled me.

“...What, no response? Oh well, I guess that’s fine! You’re probably so happy that you’re needed that you’ve been stunned into silence!”

Yes, I’m so happy at these thoughts of you dying of a sudden heart attack.

Please do so, if you don’t mind.

“Of course you would be! Hm, hm! You’re going to be a part of history!”

Oh please, tell me more.

….No really, tell me more; knowing what I’m here for might actually be useful information.

He didn’t say anything else, however, and just kept walking until we reached a set of stairs leading downward.

As we walked down, I noticed that the walls, floor, and ceiling became a dark stone, as opposed to the wood and wallpaper we were passing by earlier.

When we reached the bottom, I needed to blink from all of the new things appearing before my eyes.

Observed: a machine capable of cutting metal, but is broken.

Observed: a machine capable of melting it, but is also broken.

Observed: a machine that has the capability of mass producing structures of metal, but is missing a few key components in it’s structure that would make it function (in other words, it’s all broken).

Observed another, observed another, observed another.

I lost myself for a moment and almost smiled in excitement at the new things in front of me.

However, that was only a moment and I frowned in disappointment of myself.

I shouldn’t get swept up in childish excitement right now, not in a situation like this.

“Reynold, I’ve brought her.”

I was too focused on the machines that I hadn’t yet realized there was someone else on the floor; he was sitting on a stool in a corner and rose as his name was called.

“Have you told her what we need her to do?”

“Nope, not at all!”

“...”

The man’s eyes narrowed in displeasure before looking directly at me.

...What, does he know me?

“You’re Lucy, correct?”

Yup.

“...That’s right.”

“What we need you to do is simple; you’re going to fix these machines and build a few things for us. With your power, it should be easy to do so. If you need something to fix the machines, we will give it to you, but remember not to waste our time, as you know what will happen to your companions. Are we clear?”

I nodded and Reynold turned his attention to the psycho (who I will refer to as such even if I learn his name).

“I’m leaving now. I expect our hostages to be still alive when I come back, understand?”

“But of course! ...Well, so long as purple here cooperates.”

Reynold didn’t say anything more after that, walking past and up the stairs we came from.

Psycho looked at me as though he wanted my sympathy.

“I tell you, purple, Reynold just doesn’t know how to have any fun at all! He’s always so serious.”

I ignored him and walked up to the machines, making a mental note of what was needed to fix each one of them.

“Hey, don’t ignore me! I need to watch you, so at least entertain me as thanks!”

“...Here’s a game you can play. Put four glasses of water on a table and give me poison. Then, I’ll put poison in one of the glasses.”

“Oo, Oo, so if I drink one glass and I don’t die, I win?”

“...No, the point of the game is to drink the poison and die. I’m also forgiving, so I’ll let you keep trying until you win.”

Psycho laughed hysterically, and I sighed.

I guessed he enjoyed the fact that I at least had some semblance of going along with the idea of entertaining him, even if it was filled with spite.

So as long as he was looking for an answer, I could speak without fear.

If he didn’t seek conversation, however, I’d probably get spit on again.

If those are the rules, I think I can manage.

...Ah, I forgot what I needed for this machine.

I would like to ask for paper, but I just established that I couldn’t talk to him unless he spoke first, so I looked around the room for a bit.

A pencil and paper was lying on a table not too far away from me.

That person, Reynold, knew me.

I don’t exactly remember him, but he might have known me from being in the chosen.

He already gathered that I would need some things to fix the machines too, so he must have left it here for me.

I guess they are willing to accommodate as long as it’s in their benefit.

I grabbed the paper and pencil and jotted down what I needed for the first machine, then I observed the second machine.

I would do as they wanted me to, for now.

* * * * *

(Birdy)

“C-come on in…”

I stepped into the room, a much more bare place from what Bug previously had.

There was no kitchen to speak of, and no spare rooms either.

All that was there was the room, a small mattress and some dishes in the corner.

“...Was your place-?”

“No. I just didn’t feel right taking anything from it after that. When I thought about how I got those things to begin with… You know.”

Bug scratched his head sheepishly and I nodded in understanding.

We went to Bug’s home because I realized something; the chosen was waiting for us when we were ambushed.

If we were closer to the warehouse, then it might have just seemed like a coincidence, but we were already past the flood and making our way back to the more populated areas by then.

If they knew we were going to walk in that direction, it might have not been too much of a stretch to think they knew where we lived… although if that were the case, they could have just attacked us in our sleep.

I could just be overly paranoid, since I was taken off guard and it shook me up, but at any rate, here we were.

“Do you need to rest?”

I looked at Bug, his brown eyes containing worry.

It was an odd feeling, especially when we wished each other harm about a month ago.

“Just for a bit, but I’m not sleepy.”

I sat myself down on the mattress, which was slightly more comfortable than the floor, and exhaled a small sigh of relief.

I hadn’t been this exhausted in a long time.

Normally when I was running across rooftops, I ran conservatively so that I didn’t waste all my energy at once and managed to go for a while, even in the hot sun.

I just mindlessly ran away without any concern for that, however.

The burning feeling in my throat lingers a bit, and I wipe my mouth with my sleeve, the icky feeling of my saliva remaining there even though I know it’s no longer there.

As I was doing this, a glass of water was placed in front of me on the floor and I looked up at Bug, who seemed to be looking away.

Looking down, I saw that my pants had slid a little, revealing a bit of my underwear.

I didn’t even notice… wait, for how long has it been like this?

My cheeks flushed and I pulled them up before grabbing the glass of water.

“T-thank you.”

“N-no problem.”

I drank down the water slowly, as though I would have choked on it should I have try gulping it down.

Bug was still looking away, standing around awkwardly, and I laughed inwardly.

I was the one who should have been embarrassed the most, I thought.

Putting down the glass of water, I tilted my head in curiousity.

“What’s wrong?”

Bug seemed to stiffen up at this question, and he just shook his head rapidly.

“Nothing!”

“...Look, I’m already over it. You don’t have to be ashamed that you saw my panties, you know?”

Bug turned around slowly, a mixed expression on his face.

“W-well, I guess it was an accident.”

“Exactly. Besides, there are more important things to worry about right now.”

Bug frowned for a bit, seemingly still hung up on what happened, but he nodded his head in agreement.

“You said the chosen captured Thomas and Ruri?”

“Yes. Myself, Thomas and Ruri were coming back from the warehouse on the flood because that’s where Hana and Erika were.”

“Who?”

“Ah…”

That’s right, we never really told Bug about the Valkyries, did we?

All we did was tell him that the chosen were planning to kill a bunch of people.

“Well you see-”

I explained the entirety of what had happened up to that point and he seemed to grasp what was going on, but his face soured the more I explained.

“So let me get this straight; you guys went to save Hana and Erika, who were probably hostile towards you at that point, despite knowing that there was also the chosen base in the same location?”

“...Well, yeah.”

Bug’s face became more angry and I wasn’t sure why.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed!?”

“Huh? Of course not!”

“So then what did you think would happen if you went there? That the stars would align and nothing would go wrong? It’s a miracle that Thomas and Ruri were only kidnapped… and you haven’t even told me what happened to Laurence and Lucy either.”

“Wh- why are you so angry?”

Bug’s eyes widened and his fists trembled.

“Why!? Because I don’t understand it! Why would you put yourself in danger like that?”

“W-well, because Ruri was going…”

“That’s the only reason?”

My face became hot and I felt anger now as well.

“Yes. Do you have any family to speak of?”

I worded it poorly and Bug’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

He seemed to calm down a bit, but the sternness in his eyes didn’t leave.

“Fine, I understand why you would want to go with her, but do you have any idea how I- how she would have felt if you died?”

“It’s the same thing for me! If she died and I wasn’t there to try and save her, then I would have never forgive myself!”

A silence descended upon the two of us, staring at each other with stubbornness, refusing to budge.

What was bug’s problem!?

I don’t understand why he’s making such a big deal of this when I’m the one whose mistakes… led to this…

….Ah, didn’t I just finish thinking about why this was all my fault?

I’m such a hypocrite.

“H-hey…”

Bug suddenly looked concerned.

At least decide whether you’re angry with me or not.

To be fair though, I’d also be taken aback if the person I was arguing with was crying all of a sudden.

“...You’re right.”

“What…?”

“It was a stupid, stupid decision, and now, because of me, Ruri and Thomas might be… they might be…!”

I started bawling.

It’s so frustrating, but Bug was right.

Because I went with them, I caused all sorts of problems because of my lack of powers.

Through my blurry eyes, I could see Bug completely at a loss.

He didn’t know how I felt, or what I had realized, and just started yelling at me up to this point.

I don’t blame him though, because only Thomas can read someone’s mind.

If anything, it’s unfair to Bug.

I’m probably making him feel bad for no reason, simply because I can’t handle what I had done.

But I can’t stop crying now.

Even in front of someone I used to hate, I can’t stop crying.

I hate myself.

Everything, all of those feelings I used to fuel my running earlier, were now being poured out and I couldn’t contain them.

If tears were able to convey what words could not, I’d at least feel some comfort, but I doubted I was making any sense.

“So then why-!”

Those words, hoarse and shrill, came out of my mouth, directed to the man who was currently hugging me.

His response was about what I expected.

“I don’t know.”

I don’t know.

I don’t know…

It makes no sense.

Was I so pitiable that Bug hugged me?

I just don’t know anymore.

…….

Ahh, someone should just kill me; I’m so embarrassed.

I cried in front of Bug and even though he was in the right, he comforted me.

I can feel Bug’s hands around me, awkwardly stroking my head…

He’s trying his best, huh?

All I’m doing is being a burden again, crying like this.

….But maybe I’ll stay like this for a little while, so I don’t cry later.

Being embraced feels nice… and Bug’s hands are very gentle to the touch…

That’s a little surprising, but I’m not complaining.

……………

………

….

Okay, that’s enough.

I need to wipe my tears away and apologize to Bug…

Pulling myself away from him, I looked up at him, his nervous and uncertain expression greeting me as I did.

At such a face, my words wouldn’t come out.

What am I supposed to say when I’m facing that?

“...Um, I’m sorr-”

“No!”

Bug made to apologize, but I cut him off.

He had nothing to apologize for, not when I...I…

“...It’s not your fault. None of this is, so don’t apologize.”

“O-okay.”

Another moment of silence.

I just need to tell him how I feel, right?

“...I… I agree with you. I shouldn’t have gone with them. Because of me, Ruri and Thomas are kidnapped.”

“W-well, it wasn’t your fault…”

….What the hell?

I looked up at Bug, who scratched his head sheepishly.

Why is he changing his mind all of sudden?

“I mean… I am angry you went with them… but I don’t think it's your fault they were captured.”

“What? Then why were you mad at me to begin with?”

“Well… That’s because I don’t want you to die.”

….What?

That’s it? That’s why he was angry at me?

I mean, I guess it’s flattering that he cares about me, but that seems like a silly thing to be angry about.

“Weren’t you saying how it was just a miracle that Ruri and Thomas were only kidnapped? I thought you were mad at me for being a hinderance to them?”

“Ah… I just wasn’t thinking straight, so I ended up saying something I didn’t mean.”

…………………………

…………….

Are we complete idiots?

It’s like we’re children throwing tantrums… I feel like we should know better than this.

“...Hey Bug… What’s wrong with us?”

“I don’t know.”

Bug knew what I was referring to even without specifics.

Conversation was difficult, for some reason.

Well, it wasn’t like I was used to interacting with anyone other than Ruri, so of course I would have difficulty communicating properly with another human being.

I could tell that it was the same for Bug.

This social awkwardness born from possibly false memories… It’s frustrating.

……….Wait, that’s it!

I literally just thought of the answer to it!

“Our memories.”

We were being all over the place with our emotions and words, unable to coherently string together a proper conversation because of our memories.

Living day by day, caring only for myself and Ruri, abandoning everyone else and not caring whether or not anyone else died.

It wasn’t too long ago that I was stuck with that ‘reality’.

Only when I reached my hand out to save Bug did the cracks begin to form and I started trying to open up to others.

It was hard to change overnight.

Bug seemed to understand from my short statement and nodded.

“So then… what should we do?”

What we should do, huh?

I want to tell Laurence and Lucy what happened as soon as possible.

But is it alright to leave our conversation like this?

If we did continue it, we’d be wasting more time though.

There will be plenty of time to get over our anti-social tendencies later, so-

“Let’s put what just happened behind us and go find Laurence and Lucy.”

This seems to be the right choice.

If we tried to talk about our feelings, we’d probably be stuck here for quite a while.

Besides, regardless of how that conversation turned out, we’d still end up doing that.

...Yeah, that makes sense.

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm. We need to before it’s too late.”

I stood up, but wobbled a bit and Bug jumped up to support me.

Now he’s looking doubtful.

“Maybe you should rest some more?”

I backed away from him, standing on my own, and rubbed off the leftover tears from my face.

“No, the blood just rushed to my head from standing too fast. I’m fine.”

Really, I’m fine.

After the hinderance I was before, if I truly felt like I was going to get in the way, I’d stay and get rest like Bug suggested.

But I already caught my breath and sat down (albeit crying) for a while.

I feel much better.

“Come on, let’s go.”

I could hear Bug starting to mouth a complaint as I reached out and opened the door, but that turned into an exclamation of surprise.

I was just as surprised, because the moment I opened the door, someone was standing there.

It was a young man with brown, slick, straight hair, wearing a hawaiian shirt and grin.

“You’re-!”

Bug was cut off as the man spoke.

“Sorry for the intrusion, but I understand you’re about to go look for Laurence and Lucy, correct?”

I tensed up.

Who was this person?

He knew Bug, Ruri and Thomas, but I’ve never seen him before.

He looked at me, seemingly noticing my glare, and laughed.

“Relax, I’m a friend. I understand this is the first time we are meeting; It’s very nice to meet you Birdy. My name is Rucker.”

“Ah!”

I heard his name from Ruri.

Come to think of it, she did mention that Rucker wore a hawaiian shirt, I just didn’t make the connection right away.

I backed off as he walked into the already cramped room, and he looked around, seemingly amused.

“Hm, this is a rather small room to live in.”

“How did you find me?”

Hm?

Bug didn’t tell him where he lived?

Rucker shrugged as he responded.

“Remember how I told you about one of our mutants having the ability to tell the future? He saw where you moved before you even came here.”

“O-oh.”

Bug looked uncomfortable and I didn’t blame him.

There are ways to avoid being tailed, but if a power was involved, there was nothing you could do.

Rucker sat himself down onto the bed and stopped smiling.

“I didn’t come here for idle chatter, however. I came here to tell you where you can find Ruri and Thomas… as well as Lucy and Laurence.”

“Lucy and Laurence? Why are you mentioning them?”

I thought of a reason why, but I still asked, hoping I was wrong.

“Well, they were captured as well.”

“What!?”

Both me and Bug exclaimed that in surprise.

“What do you mean they were captured!?”

“I mean what I said. While you were running away, Laurence and Lucy were also captured by the chosen.”

I felt faint and sat down before Bug realized anything.

Not just Ruri and Thomas, but Laurence and Lucy too?

This is bad…. Really, really bad.

“I was told to come over here and tell you two were to find them, as well as give some advice.”

While the information still had yet to settle in, Rucker just kept talking.

“Lucy, Thomas and Ruri are being held above ground on lightning road. They are being guarded by four mutants, so it will be pretty easy to rescue them compared to Laurence. Speaking of, he’s currently being held in the main base; more specifically, he’s being held in their commander’s living space. Are you following me so far?”

“Uh… um……”

Just give me a minute, I’m getting a headache…

Okay, so we know where they are, that’s good.

Deep breath in, and out…..

So….. we rescue everyone except for Laurence first and come up with a plan to rescue him after?

“Okay, now here’s where it gets tricky; you two need to rescue Laurence first.”

“Wait, what?”

Oh, I said that out loud.

“You didn’t mishear me.”

“What do you mean we have to rescue him first?”

Bug asked before I could and Rucker shook his head.

“Laurence is required to save Lucy and the others. Any plans that don’t include him will resolve with those three dying.”

My head is starting to spin.

Resolve? What does he mean?

“Why can’t we save the others first? No, wait, you’re going to help us save Laurence, right?”

I sighed in relief as I suddenly realized the main reason Rucker was there.

Of course he wouldn’t ask us to do this by ourselves, that would be insane.

Haha… I’m just a little out of it from what’s been happening recently.

“Actually… you two are going to have to do it yourselves.”

………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………

………………………

……..

“Um, excuse me, Rucker?”

“Yes?”

“I know you don’t know us very well, so I’ll explain; we’re not mutants.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He said it without blinking!?

Wait, wait, wait.

He isn’t seriously telling us to do it on our own, is he?

I’m worthless, a hinderance, and I have nothing aside from running away, yet he’s telling me to save Laurence along with Bug!?

“Rucker, what are you saying!?”

Bug was just as taken aback as me when he realized how serious Rucker was.

Rucker stopped smiling a little while ago, however, and he hasn’t started again.

“I’m saying that you and Birdy are to go into the chosen’s base and save Laurence on your own. To clarify; if anyone else goes with you, they will die. This has been forseen. If you go to save Lucy and the others before doing so, they will die. This has also been forseen. If you go rescue Laurence on your own then go to save the others, no one has to die.”

What……?

“That doesn’t make any sense! What do you mean no one will die if I go with Bug!? Putting him aside, I will get us captured or killed somehow, I just know it!”

“Birdy…”

“Do you know who I am? Of course you don’t! I’m the reason Ruri and Thomas were captured! How can you ask me to go do something when I’ll just mess it up again!?”

Ugh, my head…

I’ve already accepted that I’m a detriment, so why on earth would anyone ask for my help?

Rucker got up and touched my head all of a sudden, without reason.

And…….

* * * * *

“You stupid, worthless bitch!”

Blocky splotches, dim vision and the stench of something strong and burning.

Where…. Am I?

I tried opening my left eye, but it won’t.

I tried touching it, but I can’t feel my arms.

My mouth moves.

“S…..or…..”

It’s painful to speak….

What’s happening?

My open right eye looks up at a older man, scraggly beard and wide eyes.

His left hand is outstretched, like he had thrown something and I looked off to the side, where I was meeted with some glass right in front of me.

It’s stained with my blood.

I don’t know how I know, I just do.

“S…..orr….y….”

This time, a disfigured word comes from my mouth.

And what follows that word brings a whole flood of memories with it.

“Fa…..the...r….”

I’m sorry… for being so useless……… for being born a hinderance………..

* * * * *

“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

I push Rucker back onto the bed and scamper to the corner of the room, huddling up.

I remembered! I remembered!

I remembered the pain, the aches, the long nights waiting for father to finally sleep.

The times I couldn’t get alcohol for him and he hit me.

The times I covered Ruri so that she wouldn’t get hit.

Ruri didn’t do anything wrong, it was all me…..

“...So blame me…. I’ll blame myself too, so just……………”

Shivering, blurry vision, thoughts a mile a minute.

Our memories were fake.

I knew without a doubt now, as a childhood I never remembered entered my head.

“What did you do!?”

Bug slammed Rucker against the wall.

I laughed.

I just laughed.

I cried and laughed and Bug turned around, looking worried.

“...Ha… since when were you so threatening?”

It was a silly sight.

Hahahahahaha……

It hurts.

It’s funny.

Hurts.

Funny.

I got up, slowly, slowly, and walked over to Rucker, ignoring Bug’s voice of concern.

“Hey… you.”

I whispered in a low growl and glared at Rucker, who still wasn’t smiling.

“I wasn’t aware that my insecurities were from that… It’s so cliched it makes me want to vomit.”

“Birdy…?”

“Just shush for a bit Bug, I’m talking to my new best friend.”

I said that while I gripped Rucker’s left shoulder as hard as I could.

“So, what was the reason you let me remember?”

“...Because that’s what needed to happen for you to succeed.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

I let go of Rucker’s shoulder and wiped off my tears.

The reason I was so hard on myself?

Of course what happened with Ruri was a part of it, but there was something much deeper, much more rooted inside my brain, that made me have such self-loathing.

Parental abuse.

That’s makes it easy to explain it!

I was always hard on myself, making myself seem so pathetic so that I’d be a good punching bag for good old dad.

It was so Ruri wouldn’t get targeted.

I became worthless so that Ruri didn’t get involved.

Somewhere along the way, the self deprecation became my truth.

It was a simple as that.

As for what Rucker showing me that memory accomplished…

“Even someone as completely worthless as myself was able to save Ruri.”

I grinned and stretched out.

Ahhh~ That feels like a huge load off!

“But you’re not worthl-”

Bug tried to say otherwise, but I shook my head.

“Oh, you shouldn’t even bother. You’ll ruin my good mood.”

Bug looked at me with confusion, but Rucker finally smiled again.

I wonder just how much he knew about me, thanks to his mutant friend?

“...Oh, you can make us remember. Are you the reason we have false memories?”

“Huh!?”

Bug’s confusion increased as he stared at Rucker, who laughed.

“You aren’t even fazed anymore, are you? Unfortunately, I have nothing to do with that. I can, however, as you know now, make others forget or remember things.”

Bug was agape and I nodded, satisfied.

So he was told that he needed to make me remember my childhood so that I could succeed in saving Laurence alongside Bug?

I see, I see.

...Hm, I feel like my personality changed quite a bit.

Oh well, that’s not important right now; what’s important is that we save Laurence, which, by definition, will lead to saving Ruri.

“Do you plan on helping us remember everything?”

“Yes, but not right now. If I did so now, it would make it harder for you to save Laurence.”

How does that work?

I wanted to ask that, but I doubted he went through all this trouble for no reason.

That being said, Lucy and Ruri were suspicious of Rucker earlier.

“...How do I know we can trust you?”

Rucker shrugged.

“All I have is my word. We just want to turn things back to normal as well, I just ask that you believe me.”

...Hm.

“Bug, what do you think?”

“Huh? Uh… can we scout out where Lucy and the others are to ascertain if the information is true?”

“Unfortunately, both of the mutants have powers that make it impossible to approach without their notice. Once again, you have to take my word for it.”

“You know, it would help if you explained what the plan was to save them.”

Rucker shook his head.

“I don’t know. My source says that he’s limited in what information he can give and if he gave any more, he would lose his powers.”

“That’s rather sketchy.”

Bug nodded in agreement at my statement.

Rucker, however, just sighed and made his way to the door.

“Ultimately, it’s both of your choices on how to proceed. I’ve done all I was told to do here, so I’ll leave you two be.”

“Wait-”

Bug started, but Rucker cut him off.

“Even if I did, you don’t actually know what you’re going to say, do you?”

With those words, Rucker walked off, leaving Bug speechless.

If I had to guess, his ‘source’ told him that Bug would have told him to stop, but would fail to come up with a reason for stopping him.

“That power is a little creepy.”

I noted that as I turned to Bug.

“Hey Bug, do you have any cloaks or something to cover my face with arousing suspicion? I think my face was seen as I ran away.”

Bug still looked a little at a loss, his eye blinking as I asked him.

I guess it was rather sudden, both Rucker’s explanation and my sudden change in attitude.

If anything I was probably acting strange right now.

Well, stranger than I was before.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah, I actually haven’t felt this good in a long time, ironically enough.”

Those memories were painful, but they also contained something that gave me comfort.

“I remembered my childhood. It was a little hard to think about at first, but I also remembered something good, so I’m fine. Anyways, are you going to answer my earlier question?”

Bug still looked a little unsure as he answered me.

“I do keep some stuff in the room next door…”

“Good, let’s go and get it.”

I moved past Bug, who was slow to react, and was about to reach the left door before realizing I had no idea which room he meant.

...Well, he’ll just correct me if I’m wrong.

* * * * *

(Erika)

It’s the best day ever!

Today I remembered my brother; my Nii-san, if you will; and was reunited with him.

Well, it wasn’t the only thing I remembered, but it was the most important, of course!

...Although, he’s currently not with me.

Boo.

I twirl a finger in my long, blue hair which I dyed before the world was changed, looking down at the structure Nii-san entered from atop of the building across the street.

He told me I had to wait here, but I hadn’t been with him for over a month!

It was frustrating, no, heartbreaking to hear that I needed to be apart from him again, even if only for a few minutes!

I pulled at the hair I previous twirled, a tight tug along my head satisfyingly making my scalp uncomfortable.

I understood, however, that we needed to play events out according to the highest likely percentage of the plan going through.

Narrator’s seemingly small, meaningless orders actually cause ripple effects across time… the butterfly effect, I think it’s called?

Who says what to who, what they say and do, even down to the smallest gesture or fluctuations of the voice…

How Narrator manages to keep track of it all, I don't understand.

Sometimes it seems like he does things on a whim, but it’s actually just his way of manipulating the timeline so there will be higher chances of certain events occurring.

...I’m going over this in my head to make waiting manageable, but it’s still annoying to wait for Nii-san to come back.

I was called a weeaboo in the previous world, but I scoffed at those insults.

I’m half-japanese and I grew up calling Nii-san, Nii-san, so I’m not going to change that.

Plus, it’s that one thing in anime.

You know the one I’m talking about, right?

It’s the little sister character, and half of their appeal is calling someone Nii-san.

So if I removed that from my vocabulary, my charm towards Nii-san would go down, you see?

...What’s that?

It’s just an anime stereotype meant to sell more merchandise to lonely otaku virgins who don’t actually have little sisters because sex sells and everything needs to be overlysexualized?

You’re right!

That’s why I’m using that stereotype to my advantage; I’ve already brainwashed Nii-san with anime and visual novels of that sort, so-

…..Hm?

Use -chan for a more personal meaning instead?

…..No, that’s not it?

Oh, that's right, I haven’t explained.

Well, just because it’s portrayed in anime, doesn’t mean it can happen in real life, you know?

Bro-cons.

…………………..

Oh, that’s still not what you were asking about?

In that case, yes I do think a lot like Narrator.

It’s because I’m also aware of you all, the observers.

Rucker, Elise, Sharon, and other characters who haven’t been introduced are aware of you.

Simply put, anyone who is aware of the true nature of this world is also aware of your existence.

Anyone working with Narrator is more than likely privy to this knowledge because we are all working towards a noble goal.

The noble goal of ending this world.

Although I guess to all of you, it would be the conclusion of the story.

...While I’m waiting, I might as well address the other elephant in the room.

Hana’s death.

Right now, there are only four people who are aware of her death; Myself, Nii-san, Narrator, and Lucy, although her memory is being suppressed at the moment.

Ruri, of course, is unaware of Hana’s death because she is currently unconscious.

Narrator had us kill off Hana because of the butterfly effect; her death was a necessary element to proceed this timeline towards the conclusion we desire.

If she lived, it would have caused all sorts of headaches; she would have remembered her past shortly after her fight with Lucy and become a central figure in Laurence’s groups efforts.

There is your explanation for why she was killed.

She would reveal a whole ton of information about this island and why things are-

Oh.

I didn’t mean to think island.

...Well, Narrator didn’t explicitly tell me to hide the fact that we’re on an island of some kind, so I guess it’s alright?

Anyways, as I was thinking about that, Nii-san just left the building.

I looked down the nearby alleyway and teleported down when I saw no one could see.

I skipped over to Nii-san as quickly as possibly, with a smile on my face.

“Nii-san.”

I put my arm around his and put my face close to his.

Ah, it was liberating to do this in the open, without judgement.

Nobody knew what I meant when I called him Nii-san, and it just looked like we were any other couple, albeit open.

Nii-san looked at me with a smile of his own.

“Erika.”

“How’d it go?”

I asked cheerfully as we walked away.

“Nothing varied from the likely percentage… well, except for Birdy gripping my left shoulder. I should probably mention that to Narrator when we get back.”

She did what!?

“She touched you?”

I spoke with narrow eyes and harsh whispers.

I’d cut off that hand if it hurt him even a little bit.

“It didn’t hurt or anything.”

As though Nii-san read my thoughts, he immediately answered them.

“Oh, then I guess that’s okay~”

I knew Nii-san would have said that, even if it didn’t hurt.

But, since he was willing to let it go, I would too.

Birdy, you are surely lucky to have my Nii’s mercy on your side~

I’ll let it slide this time, in light of that.

“So, what is the percentage of them saving Laurence on their own without dying anyways?”

Without even a hesitation, he answered.

“Thirty percent and a large amount of decimals.”

“Wow… that’s surprisingly high.”

She really did have luck on her side for such a big number.

“Of course, that’s if no variants happened, but she gripped my shoulder.”

“Hahaha, of course. So then what does that mean?”

“Well, if it played out perfectly, then it would be thirty percent plus. Since that’s not the case, their odds are probably lower now.”

Oooo, so she is going to pay for laying her hands on Nii after all.

Serves her right, haha.