Chapter Text
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As she laid there, strapped into a dirty, old, reclining chair, trying her hardest not to breath, she could only see endless darkness. Everything felt numb and cold and wet. She wondered if this was what his last moments were like. He was ripped from her by those monsters masquerading as men and it wouldn’t surprise her if he died in the same chair she was in now. She wiggled her arms as much as she could, trying to find some way out of the leather straps. She had to get out. She wanted to get revenge, she wanted to hurt them, she wanted to-
Her escalating thoughts were cut off abruptly when a scientist entered the room and flicked on a small lamp, creating enough light for the girl to see his greasy, black hair and rodent-like face. Instantly, her fingers curled into tight fists and her teeth begin to chatter. He smiled a pleasant, almost sweet smile, that made her blood run cold. A small part of her was relieved that she was still able to feel fear after everything she’d been through but a much larger part was trying to come to terms with the fact that she was going to die. Why else would they send in Dr. Happy?
Every kid in the Strega Project knew who Dr. Happy was. Though not the most accomplished nor intellectual of the scientists on staff, Dr. Happy had absolutely no qualms with carrying out any experiment on anyone, no matter how gruesome the task or how young the child. He deprived several kids of sleep for weeks, keeping them awake with potent drugs. He had mutilated dozens of children, performing various amputations of healthy limbs, all without any form of anesthesia or pain relief. He lit a girl on fire and poured acid on a boy, neither of which were older than 10. He committed all of these atrocities, so horrible none of the other scientists would ever dare to do anything close, with a calm smile on his face, the same one that was inches away from her now.
He began to grab tools from the nearby work station, occasionally glancing over at her as if she was a mildly amusing site but not interesting enough to really capture his attention. She stayed silent and willed herself to stop shaking, determined not to let this monster realize just how afraid of him she was.
“Hello, #037. Pleasure to meet you,” he spoke softly. The girl used to hate when the scientists would refer to her by her number and would furiously correct them. Now, she could barely remember her own name. “I’m sure you were expecting one of the other doctors but I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.” He laughed, but his eyes were cold and dead.
She always thought it was ironic that the scientists called themselves doctors, as if they were helping the kids they had abducted off the streets and were constantly torturing.
“I heard from Dr. Sato that you were biting and scratching yourself until you bled. And this was after Dr. Akagi had to patch the wounds you inflicted on yourself with that knife you smuggled from the kitchen. Seems you really want to die, huh, kiddo?”
His eyes narrowed. She gulped, feeling her throat get tighter. He continued,to rummage through his tools until he abruptly looked her in the eyes and asked, “This wouldn’t happen to be because of #036, would it? Your brother?”
She immediately tensed up, and his smile widened when he noticed her reaction. “Don’t worry. You’ll be together again soon.”
Then, in an instant, his eyes flashed with a deranged glint. He took a few steps towards her until he was towering over her. He had a knife in one hand and a syringe filled with a bright green liquid in another.
“Although, with how carved up you’ll be, I doubt he’ll recognize you. Plus, what brother could love a sister who repeatedly has tried to kill herself? If he were still alive, he’d hate you. He’d be glad I’m putting you out of your misery.” He paused, chuckled a little, as if he had told a mildly funny joke.
“Of course, I also told him that it was your fault that he had to die. Every time he screamed in pain, I’d tell him, ‘This is because of your sister.’ His last words were, ‘I hate her!’ Ah, music to my ears!”
The ice in her veins melted and gave way to a burning sensation that filled her entire body. The way he spoke about her brother was far too casual considering that he was describing his murder. Although she didn’t necessarily believe what he was saying, the idea of her brother died hating her filled her with uncontrollable rage and, in that moment, she decided that she was going to live. She had been content to die by her own hands but that was because it was her choice, her decision, her terms. She couldn’t let this monster, this horrible man, be the one to kill her. She didn’t know how or if it was even possible but she was going to live. She was going to live to spite this man and to carry her brother’s legacy on with her.
But it was too late. Before she could even begin to think of a plan, Dr. Happy jabbed the syringe into her arm and the knife into her chest. Fire. She could feel her skin burning, her insides boiling. Her vision went white and she could feel herself losing consciousness.
Through shallow breaths, she tightly shut her eyes and used all of the strength she still had to scream, “No!”
Suddenly, everything went still. The heat escalated, but somehow became more pleasant, almost like she was sitting a bit too close to a fireplace, when a soothing voice whispered in her mind, “You are mine now. I will protect you and, in return, you will do all I ask of you.”
The young girl didn’t even think. She slowly opened her eyes, which were now glowing an unnatural gold, and called forth her protector, whose name came to her more simply than her own.
“Medea!”
A rush of warm air. Then, nothing. True nothing. Nothing but white, white, white, white, whitewhitewhitewhitewhitewhitewhitewhite-
01.21.10
White. She could only see white when she first opened her eyes, and for some reason, this terrified her.
“She’s waking up!”
“I can’t believe it...”
“It’s a miracle!”
Overwhelmed by the loud voices, she quickly blinked in rapid succession and could soon see that she was in a hospital bed surrounded by what appeared to be two nurses and a doctor. She knew that hospitals should be safe but her gut told her not to trust them.
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“Woah, are you alright? You woke up a lot quicker than we thought you would.” A young female nurse tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of... whatever that was.
“Uh, yes. I’m fine. A little lightheaded and... wait, what happened?”
The nurse hesitated and looked over to the doctor, who just sighed and looked as if he was trying to figure out what to say. He eventually said, “You had an accident but you’re safe now. We’ll have to run some tests to confirm that your body is stable again but there is a high likelihood that you will be able to make a full recovery. Is it alright if I ask you some questions first?”
Something about this situation seemed familiar in the worst possible way. Despite her looming anxiety, she nodded.
“What is your name?”
“Chidori Yoshino.”
All three of the others in the room looked stunned. “You- you remember your name? Even your last name?” The doctor eventually got out.
“Yes? I know you said I had an accident but it would have had to have been something drastic for me to forget my name.”
“Uh, right,” the doctor looked unsure but his face quickly smoothed over. “Can you tell us everything you remember about yourself?”
She hesitated, still felt weary about giving the doctors a lot of information about herself. They continued to stare at her expectantly. Chidori bit her lip, then decided that she was safe enough to share what she remembered.
“Um... Well, my birthday is December 21st, 1990. I grew up in a small apartment with my parents and we lived a normal life until...”
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The young nurse put her arm on Chidori’s shoulder. “It’s okay, take your time. It must be painful to talk about your family,” Chidori nodded and the nurse gave her a gentle smile before giving the doctor a pointed look.
The doctor sighed before turning to address Chidori again. “I’m going to go call Kirijo-san and tell her the good news but before I do, may I confirm something?” Chidori nodded, and he continued, “Do you know what a persona is?”
Chidori felt sure that she had heard that word before but she had absolutely no idea what it was. When she relayed this information to the doctor, he looked saddened but not surprised, which confused Chidori even more.
The doctor left the room, and the male nurse began writing things down on chart. The female nurse began to check her over and, even though she felt like she should feel safe, something deep inside of her was telling her to run before it was too late. She was so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed that the nurse had pricked her with a needle until she saw the nurse pulled it out of her arm.
Chidori stared at the small pinprick of blood forming on her arm, watching as it welled up into a droplet and roll a bit down her arm until it was abruptly cut off by the nurse gently placing gauze over it. This feather light touch was the thing that finally made Chidori realize that the needle should have hurt her, yet she had felt nothing.
“Why didn’t I feel the needle?”
The nurse turned to look at her, before giving her a small smile. “I’m honestly not sure. I asked you the same question after the first time I drew your blood and you didn’t even flinch. The only thing you told me was that you had never felt pain. I figured that it may have been a rare genetic condition or a side effect of the Strega project, but I-”
Chidori froze. Strega. Memories hit her like a wave, crashing against her skin, chilling her to the bone.
labcoatsglassesdoctorsknivespointedteethpainblooddeathwhiteSHOJI
In an instant, Chidori lept from the bed and wrapped her small hands tightly around the female nurses' neck. “You killed him!” she screamed, “You took my brother from me! I hate you! You will die for what you...did...” She slumped over asleep as the the male nurse removed a needle from her arm.
“Himari, are you alright? The sedation should keep her passed out for at least a few hours.”
“I’m fine,” she sighed as she rubbed her neck. “I guess we know that she does have enough of her memory to remember being a part of the Strega Project...” Himari was quiet for a moment before continuing. “It’s odd. She’s never acted like that towards us before... Sure, she was cold and quiet, but certainly never violent,” the nurse stared down at the girl in question.
“I guess saying ‘Strega’ triggered her. Maybe she thought we were working with them. Remember, she doesn’t seem to know who we are, and since she didn’t ask about him, she probably doesn’t remember Junpei-kun either. For all we know, she only played nice for his sake.”
They stared at the sleeping girl. While it was incredible that she was even alive in the first place, it would take a real miracle for her to gain the strength needed to continue living after everything she had been through.