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✧ 𝙰 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 ✦
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Some tears fell out of her green eyes that were filled with turmoil once she had opened them. The girl was laying on the ground, in a forest that was gifted with the same color as her visionaries that clearly still revealed her uneasiness.
'Where am I?'
The girl quickly dried the tears with her white sleeve. She didn't feel like crying, she had sorta just woken up with a few tears trailing down her cheeks for some reason, and from what the redhead knew must have been a good reason because she couldn't remember a thing!
'Who even am I and why am I here?'
The irritated teen felt an emptiness wash over her at these words. They seemed to echo through her mind without reaching and hitting an answer that was supposed to be there. It felt like a void in her head and she didn't like it.
The girl with the orange antenna eyed her surroundings with caution in fear whatever made her lose her memories might jump at her at any moment. The girl was also quick to realize she had a gun on her and despite not recalling how to use it she held it in her hands with confidence.
Suddenly the girl with the tangerine-colored hair almost flew out of her skin when her ears picked up the noise of something brushing against leaves and bushes, she could make out some steps whenever the feet of their owner would hit the hard ground of the forest.
How did she know there were humans nearby? Easy- There were footprints on the floor but they were quite small which she failed to realize at that distance... She gave an awful attempt at trying to get up, her legs felt sore as if they didn't know what they were supposed to do.
Her grip on her weapon tightened as she squinted her emerald eyes at the spot she predicted it would come out of.
The young redhead was ready to shoot down her enemy- Yet when she was met with the frightened figure of a child, younger than herself she dropped it abruptly, holding her hands up as if some policemen were telling her to do so.
„Oh god, I'm so sorry!“
The girl with no memories said with an apologetic expression. She reach out with her hand to the little girl with similar orange hair to her's just less vibrant. The other's light blue eyes watched her carefully but softened at the older girl's kind smile.
„I won't hurt you, you just caught me off guard... What's your name?“
She confessed while secretly hoping she wouldn't get that question fired back at her in an instant but maybe it was her lucky today- Or maybe not considering her situation.
„C-Carol!“
The name didn't ring any bells in her but the redhead with the green eyes was delighted to see Carol take a few steps towards her and shake her hand softly to greet the taller girl with a cute smile.
The yet-unnamed girl had so many questions but in the end, decided to not ask them here and not to a little child.
„Would you mind bringing an adult to me, Carol?“
She just expected there to be an adult nearby, who would leave a kid alone in a forest? Carol eagerly nodded, the girl felt herself relax even further.
Good, everything seemed safe so why were her memories gone? She had also noticed her legs were slightly bruised and her right ear was missing for some reason as she pushed the braid back. The girl didn't like how empty that space behind it felt suddenly.
Normally she would have followed Coral right away instead of sending her to get someone but she didn't trust her own legs at the moment.
„Thank you!“
She simply said just before the tiny one disappeared into the bushes again.
„Do you have time for me now...?“ A strangely familiar voice behind her caused the girl with the messy hair to jump out of her spot and turn to see who was speaking and she felt her green eyes widened in straight-up confusion.
'So that's why the voice was so familiar...'
Before her, was standing a woman, dressed in a carol-colored dress which had a beautiful sun imprinted on it. She had long untamed orange locks and it felt as if her own eyes were starring back at her but unlike hers, the woman's eyes had two tiny rivers streaming with black tears that faded once dropping down her chin.
'I get it now, I must be dreaming!' She thought comically, not believing herself at all since it felt way too real.
„W-who are you? No, what are you..?“
She also noticed how the older one's figure was slightly transparent. Was she talking to a ghost or something, why did an image of a letter laying under a pillow pop into her head?
„I think it's more important for you to understand who you are first... Also, my moon's watching us right now.“
'Moon? It's not even night yet!'
The other's voice held an undertone of hurting in it, the woman's leafy-green eyes shone with a certain sadness that made the girl speechless as she found herself wanting to speak up to start an attempt at some comfort despite her confusion but it was all interrupted anyway by another voice behind her, this time male but still young which made her turn her head away from the young lady in the dress.
„Emma?“
A boy said, his blue eyes wide open. Some tears were forming at the corners of them but they didn't look sad at all. The boy tried hard not to smile too brightly because he seemed to be at the edge of tearing up and crying.
Emma looked at him, startled by the name and his reaction upon seeing her- He must mean her, no? Maybe he meant the mysterious lady she just saw but Carol didn't seem to have noticed her so why should he? An even better question made itself into her mind...
'Why should I?'
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„You're back!“
The boy went in to hug her tightly and Emma found herself embracing him back after a short moment of hesitation. It provided her with familiar comfort.
'He knows me?'
Not long after his appearance, a mature face showed up, a lady dressed in a black dress who was wearing a white apron with it. Her hair was blond and well kept in a beautiful ponytail, her eyes were green but seemed to also shine in a fading shade of dark blue.
Maybe it was just the light but she looked lovely, her posture remained calm when she spoke up with a smile.
„Phil, please come back here. You might scare her.“
'Ah, so that's his name...'
Emma noticed that the woman who looked just like her but older was now standing next to her, silently looking at the newcomers with no emotions showing through her expression anymore, even if the strange black liquid was still falling from her eyes.
None of them looked back at her though, all eyes were on Emma instead.
„Is that my name... E-Emma?“
She asked carefully in fear she might say something wrong. Finally, she was able to get up from the dirty ground, a bit unbalanced at first, reminding her of her struggles from earlier. It was as if they slowly remembered their purpose.
The gorgeous woman revealed some surprise on her face at Emma's question but then nodded calmly.
„Yes, that's your name, Emma.“
She spoke, her voice was as sweet as honey, Emma now noticed.
„I'm Lyza, mother of this house. Please follow us to our home, you must be so irritated and lost, let us help you, dear.“
Emma was quick to notice the sheer amount of names Lyza was giving out to Emma, including her supposedly real one, she definitely had a motherly aura.
Carol who was standing next to the adult stared at the mother in confusion.
„Huh!? Your name isn't mom?“
She said as if her life had been an entire lie in itself, causing the adult lady to chuckle. Emma smiled as well before giving her answer to Lyza.
„Uh, sure- Thanks!“ The mother's blueish green eyes shone with warmth and satisfaction at her words as Lyza motioned to Emma to give her the gun she was still holding. She gladly gave it the older one as Emma didn't feel too comfortable holding it anymore, not around these kids. She truly wondered why it had been on her in the first place.
„Thank you.“
The gun was replaced with the mother's light and guiding grip on Emma's hand after she had put the gun away into a pocket on her dress. Phil was fast to take a hold of the young girl's other hand as if he was afraid she would disappear at any second now.
Emma felt at ease, she trusted these people somehow, unlike that weird woman who looked like an older but sadder version of herself.
The girl with no memory smiled warmly at Phil who returned it happily before they all started walking through the forest... The only one left unnamed and alone disappeared behind a tree.
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After just a few minutes they arrived at a big house mostly made out of wood. The kids that had been playing in the green field surrounding it, looked at Emma as if she was some mystical creature, like a giraffe or something! She was embarrassed to no end at all the attention she was getting until she felt a comforting touch on her shoulder that made her look up into shades of blueish greens.
„Here we are, that's the orphanage, Emma. Don't you recognize it...perhaps?“
The mother asked her, a glint of something Emma couldn't figure out went through Lyza's eyes. The asked girl simply shook her head in a hesitant 'no'. Emma didn't want to be pitied and certainly not make it harder for the ones around her by not remembering anything.
„Am I an orphan too?“
The mother flinched a little, not knowing what to say for a second.
'I can't let her know... not now that is'
The woman thought before smiling kindly to not reveal her mind to Emma.
„As long as you're here, yes, sweetheart but we'll speak later, try to make yourself comfortable at the house, I'll prepare a bed for you to sleep in tonight, alright?“
She simply nodded and when Lyza let go of her hand, it didn't feel as if it had ever been held by her in the first place. Phil waited a few moments until the mother was nowhere to be seen anymore. His smile suddenly disappeared and shifted into a concerned expression.
„Do you not remember me?“
The girl that was being spoken to felt the hasty urge to apologize to him. Emma gave him a sad look through her eyes and was about to speak up to tell him she couldn't but with the way Phil looked back at her she knew that he understood already. He was young but seemed to have a strong talent she felt.
„Who are you?“
A young female voice spoke, next to her, making Emma flinch.
„Are you our new sibling?“ The next question came from someone who was now next to Phil. Emma opened her mouth to speak but nothing would come out as she saw how many kids were suddenly approaching her.
„She's not dressed like us or mom tho.“
Someone commented, making Emma awfully aware of how dirty they were in comparison to theirs.
„Where did you come from?“
Another asked, a bit older than the first one and male this time.
„Simon, all of you... You're scaring her.“
Phil said, not having let go of Emma's hand yet as he started taking her inside, dragging the taller girl behind him, leaving everyone else just standing there. They didn't follow so she assumed they felt a bit called out from the boy's words. It wasn't as if they weren't true.
„Hmmm... I think we're unbothered now. I'm sorry, Emma-“
„Don't be! Thank you for standing up for me when I was there, not getting a single word out!“
The girl chuckled. Phil felt reassured and had a cute smile on his face. Emma reminded herself of what she wanted to tell him earlier.
„You're also right. I don't remember anything, sorry... D-do you know me? I mean, how well do you know me and from where?“
The girl with the untamed orange mane that some wouldn't dare to call hair rephrased her question. Of course, he'd know her, it had already been proven so maybe Emma could figure out something.
„Oh... So it's just how I thought.“
He didn't sound too happy but Emma saw that Phil was trying his best to not make her feel bad for it which the girl appreciated, even more at the realization that he was still so young.
„We lived together once in a similar orphanage like this one until- Well, until one day all over the age of 4 just disappeared after a fire.“
The brown-haired kid explained a big question mark formed itself in her head. Maybe it had something to do with her losing her memories.
„I thought that maybe you, Ray, and the others went out to see Norman because you missed him so much but now I can't even ask you but at least I was right when I said you guys weren't dead when our new mom explained you all went sleeping or something... I-I'm just worried about our other lost siblings now. After the fire, everyone who was left with mom got sent to another orphanage which looks exactly like the old one. I can only speak for myself and a few others, I'm not sure if it was the case for everyone.“
Emma did find that story suspicious and at the words Norman, a small voice calling out to her was ringing in her ears. It was soft, gentle, terribly familiar, and deep down it hurt her to hear it even if the poor girl didn't know who it belonged to... She snapped out of it as she realized Phil's stare and mouth still moving.
'God, he wasn't talking while I wasn't listening, right?!'
„... and that's why I'm frustrated that I can't ask you anymore...“
Emma internally scolded herself, she felt like an awful person, how could she get so distracted by an illusion her own mind produced to trick her into thinking she was hearing a voice? Wait- On second thought that sounded a bit like she was remembering something, what name did Phil mention again when he was talking?
'Darn it!'
„What they told you we were dead? Phil, I'm so sorry for not being able to tell you what happened to our siblings but they'll be fine. They have each other and who knows, maybe they even found what they were searching for?“
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„Are you going to leave me again, Emma?“
Eyes with lots of gorgeous shades of the greenest greens you've ever seen widened at that question before turning into soft seas of comfort as Emma looked into Phil's worried face.
„I won't, I don't want to leave you again.“
The boy didn't look very convinced at first, he eyed her suspiciously but decided to just give in and let himself relax from the thought of losing his beloved Emma again. The young boy used to have such a wonderful relationship with her, he still didn't understand why he was left alone without a word by her but he could forgive, especially when he thought of the situation Emma was in at the moment.
„Do you promise?“
He hopefully raised his voice and his pinky the girl nodded kindly, entangling hers in his to seal the promise.
„I do promise. We'll figure this out together, alright? If we're lucky I might remember everything again soon!“
Even if she decided to go search for these siblings of hers in the end, Emma would take Phil with her this time. With the way he spoke about what had happened made her feel guilty about her supposedly past actions. How could that Emma have left him without telling him about it? She didn't know but was eager to find out.
„Emma, are you in here?“
A sweet and mature female voice called her name as the door opened to reveal it was Lyza. They smiled and Emma guessed she was done setting up a bed for her.
„I finished, you look so terrible tired, dear. Why don't you go to sleep and take a shower in the morning? It's still a bit early but you look like you need it.“
The mother insisted, making Emma sigh in defeat. She would have loved to decline and talk some more to Phil but Lyza had been so very nice to her and she wasn't wrong, Emma did feel exhausted, mentally and physically.
„Sounds awesome, thank you!“
The younger girl replied and Phil waved Emma goodbye and told her to sleep well as Lyza guided her towards a room of her own, which was quite rare to have here, the mother explained with a few giggles here and there. Emma found herself enjoying the adult's company and when they arrived at her bed Lyza turned around one last time before closing the door behind her.
„Have a restful sleep, darling.“
With a soft noise, the door was shut and Emma was left alone in a room of her own to sleep. She felt herself sink onto the bed, inhaling the scent of it. It didn't smell like anything special, just like a normal bed. She hugged herself under the blanket and started thinking.
This place seemed familiar although she couldn't recognize it at all. Phil's story on the other hand had the girl theorizing and suspecting things that all eventually hit a dead end.
'Maybe I should focus on myself for now...'
„How about now?“
The voice from earlier was there again and Emma threw the blanket off of her body in alarm.
„Could you not do that?!“
Emma pouted, despite not fully trusting whatever that woman was she still could act a bit childish. The other didn't reply to her new question but rather her old one.
„Just call me Omega. I'm here to warn you. Since he's not watching us right now, I'd like to take this opportunity to do so.“
The younger one stopped and was now more serious as the other spoke, the tension in the air was thick and Emma wasn't sure what was going on anymore but this was real, she needed to listen to Omega.
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„So she's here with you?“
An adult male voice spoke over a radio. The headphones Lyza was wearing helping her hear the man's words loud and clear as she sat in a dark room. The mother was done with almost done with her daily routine.
„Yes, escapee 63194 also known as Emma was found by one of my children today in the forest, without any memories, Sir Ratri and Grandmother Isabella... How would you like me to proceed?“
The two on the other line of the call were sitting on a table, speaking into a mic.
„Ship her out to us by tomorrow, Lyza. Thank you for your report, we'll see each other tomorrow after the preparations are set, so if you're done we'd now excuse ourselves.“
The call ended and Lyza sighed, a hand traveling to her head to removed the thing from it with a hopeless sigh.
„I'm sorry, Emma...“
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„Sir, are you sure you want to pick up on the old plan we had for her and the now-deceased 22194? Something about this isn't right, we both know that.“
A soothing and feminine voice spoke, it was Isabella. Her violet eyes pierced through his blue ones at her question and the head of the Ratri Clan just chuckled lowly.
„Of course, there is no problem with it now that the girl's here again. Sure, she was found dead falling off the cliff while foolishly trying to escape with her siblings and the genius boy also is no longer but do you know what?...“
The lady knew Peter Ratri wanted her to ask about it, even if she didn't feel like it she effortlessly faked a smile but her curiosity was anything far from not honest.
„I don't, please do tell me.“
He grinned maliciously as he poured her a cup of tea. His blue eyes starring deep into her to try to read her reaction. Despite being closer now and being promoted Peter still had his doubts about Isabella when it came to what happened in the past. She seemed loyal but was she truly on his side?
'Well, that's why I gave her the position. Just so I could see it for myself...' He thought to himself, noting that so far, the woman had done an excellent job at her role as the new grandmother, even after her failure from a few years ago.
„I always get what I want in the end and this time, I'm not going to fail on this. I don't care that the girl suddenly is alive again, I just care about the results.“
Isabella simply continued smiling and took the now filled cup and brought it to her mouth.
„I understand. I'll do my best with her training.“
The past mother spoke before drinking it and the man looked pleased with Isabella's answer.
„Good, I'll set some preparations now on my side. You should start doing so as well, Grandmother Isabella. Enjoy the rest of your tea and I hope to see you tomorrow to pick up the girl.“
With that, he left the room and Isabella waited a few moments before she stopped drinking her hot drink. Deep sorrow and concern shone through her eyes, she wasn't happy about the news at all.
'I thought my children finally found peace...'
Isabella thought bitterly gripping the cup a little harder, placing it down.
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„Why couldn't you have stayed dead when you had the chance to, Emma?“