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Run run run run run.
Thwack!
“AHHH!”
The sound of a soccer ball slamming into a body comes from beside mii, the mass collapsing to the ground. I can’t look, I just have to keep running despite the crunching behind mii, despite the fatigue.
I’ve been running for so long, what am I supposed to do? It wasn’t supposed to be like this, they weren’t supposed to be like this. Me and my group skid to a stop. In front of us is them.
Cartoony, pretty eyes.
Silky hair with texture.
Perfect skin with just a bit of realism.
Realism.
More like what we’ve tried to be all this time.
“Hahaha!” It laughs, it knows we’re trapped. The one chasing us stops. A soccer ball behind us, the foam sword at our front.
They were supposed to be objects! Even then we had trouble with them! But they’ve been taking our spot. Even without the ability to speak, they proved they don’t need to. A Mii beside me tries to run, the foam sword jumps forward and slashes horizontal and-
CRACK
-the mii falls to the ground. Coughing once, twice, before going still.
Fast.
Too fast.
Too skilled.
We didn’t have enough warriors to fight them off and even then we couldn’t compete. What’s more..
A mii is beside them too.
“Traitor!” I yell at them, but they simply huff with a roll of their eyes. They’ve been given power in exchange for working with them. Another mii cries out and runs towards them. “No!”
“I’ll work with you!” Surrender. The thing smiles and kicks up her soccer ball, then aims it at the Mii’s neck. They fall to the ground. The one with the sword walks over and digs their hand into the mii’s throat, ripping out the vocal chords and replacing them with an implanted type I’ve seen before. One that gives power in exchange for losing their ability to speak. Another mii beside me wipes their face of tears.
“You told mii you would stay with mii till the end.” They must have been together. Our leader, the only one who’s been able to keep their full shape, yells out.
“Scatter!” With that word our group of miis run in different directions, being killed one by one hopelessly by the powerful shapeshifters. The foam sword, the soccer ball, the traitor’s boxing gloves. One by one. I run through trees, tripping and falling. I’m losing energy to be able to control my limbs properly. I can’t.
I fall to the ground, hurt. Am I the only one who survived? Out of our group of 30? Thirty! Thirty forced to run by one, trapped by two, and slaughtered by three.
Step.
Step.
Step.
“Hehehe!”
It found me. I lift my head up and a pink haired girl with a bob smiles at me. So pretty. How could we have competed? No one needs to hear our opinions anymore, to hear our voice, to see what we like. They are the perfect beings.
She kicks up her soccer ball, doing tricks with it before kicking. Tears run down my face. It’s hopeless. I brace for impact.
“Default form? There’s only two options but I can change them anyway, right?”
Energy flows into my body and I see the shifter’s eyes go wide before everything turns to white. When I can focus my vision I’m in a room. Polka dots. Orange. I look around and then at myself.
‘I have a form! Wait, I can't speak.’ I try to look through my memory. This is.. rumored right? Is this the rumored savior?
“Their face shape is more like this..”
I get a request in my mind and change the shape of my head quickly. My energy is here again, though I still feel a little sluggish.
“Skin is like this… eyes.. Wow, there's so many options now! The first game was so limited.”
My hair is pretty.. is this person.. helping me grow?
“Eyes.. eyes.. I can't move them any more than this.”
Sorry, I’ll get dizzy if it’s any more. What if they’re mad?
“Well, that’s fine.”
Phew.
I slowly start to change, one by one by the request of my savior. Nice and pretty. Are they changing me to be like someone?
“Name.. and voice. You look just like them! And your voice is so similar too. I kind of like the way it sounds.”
They’re so nice.. They put a little facepaint on me too. I feel very pretty. I can talk again. This is my name.. my voice.. I suppose introduction is the most basic thing, I’m glad they like how I sound even if it isn’t so realistic like their yells. I start to feel strange. My speed, my honesty, is this my life? Am I… getting to be someone? More than a base, more than a figure. I can feel more than fear and survival instincts.
It’s bright again and I’m in a new room, it’s actually pretty nice. Oh right! My introductions. I’ve carried around this card in my body too, I should give it to them so they can keep track of Mii! Realistic hands come out and take it. Wow.. so cool looking… though they’re gone before I can admire them.
“Thank you little buddy.”
hehehe
“This is the name of our island.. and call me this.”
I’ll call you whatever you want, and this is a whole island? I don’t really know what the words mean yet but whatever you pick is cool. But.. I’m still hungry.. I have more energy now but I haven’t gotten to eat in so long. Will they give me something?
“...I’m hungry.”
Do I get food? I do, right? I feel like I was told before that the savior gives food. A moment passes and I start to get anxious before a box appears in front of me. It’s placed in my hands and a memory pops into my head. Nachos. Nachos! Food!
I eat them in a few bites, I shouldn’t take too long and it’s strangely easy to eat the things they give to me. Am I supposed to eat the box? Well it doesn’t hurt.
…
So good!!!!
“Wow you really like that. You’re still a little hungry so have a cookie too.”
I eat it quickly and sigh in relief. I’m so full… Something clicks like the savior is gone and I’m in a new room wearing a suit with a script in front of me that I read outloud. This is so fun! This… This…
If they were here they would’ve enjoyed themselves too. I feel a click in my mind and I speak.
“It would be nice to have a friend!” I say quickly and there's another click. Gone.
…
Click again. Woah! I’m in the air! Okay, I trust you.
There’s someone new! Can I talk to them? I can! I.. don’t know what to talk about. I’m still so blank… Oh, okay, I’ll talk about this.
“Hey!” They turn around and we start to talk about the topic our savior gave us. This is fun! We talk about how fun we’re having, still keeping mostly to the topic. This.. This is so nice. I could cry.
Savior.
Savior.
Thank you.
“Cutie.”
They pet my head. I’m happy. I get to be someone. I want you to teach mii how to be someone. I want to be someone with you and friends. Can you help Mii?
“You’re in my care now.”
New buildings, new friends, new things that you teach Mii how to do. I’m learning more about my likes and dislikes. Sometimes you seem a little frustrated like I’m not quite like the person you want mii to be, but I’m trying my best. You still give mii food. Me and my friends like to talk about you, we like to sing you songs. We fall in love and we fight and you help us in our journey of figuring out how to be ourselves, even if it feels like some things we aren’t ever going to figure out.. We’ve gotten better. There are places to play and it’s not creepy at all that sometimes I feel like you’re watching mii.
Sometimes we forget how to move our limbs and fall, or freeze up, you help us remember how to move or bring us people to remind us. I like walking with my friends, like right now-
Rustle
We look behind us. Oh, it’s just a plate of food. Weird, maybe you dropped it. We turn to move again.
Rustle
We turn around anxiously.
It’s getting closer.
No no. They couldn’t have followed us here. This is a remote island. They couldn’t. They couldn’t have. I’m just being paranoid. They wouldn’t even be able to make it inside in their realistic forms. They would have to go back to being… objects…
Mii and my friend turn to look in front of us. A huge plate of food is in front of us. My heart stops. It’s them. I can feel it instinctively. They’re here. They snuck in. NO!
I turn and run as fast as I can. I need to make it back home. They can’t follow mii there! I can lock the door! I don’t hear any crunching but I’m not taking chances.
I run inside my house and into my room, locking the door behind mii and heaving. They can’t make it in here. They can’t. But.. I thought that about the island.
I look outside my window where the shifter would be.
It’s.. gone?
Did it run away?
No, they don’t have the instinct to run away.
I spot something in the corner of my vision. It’s… in the air. I peek as close as I can and it’s dragged into the fountain, disappearing so fast that I barely caught it. The fountain.. the island.
It protected us.
Nothing can kill us here.
I drop to the floor and catch my breath more. This must be the first time this has happened, it’ll be even quicker now. I’m safe.
Phew.
I get up….
I..
I can’t get up.
I flop onto my belly. I forgot how to get up!
Savior! Help Mii!