Mora's Story

---

Mora sat in a corner of the plastic room, cast in near-perfect darkness by the lack of windows or lamps. The only light source was the thin crack under the door, painting the ground in grey scale roughly a foot into her chamber. The only sounds were the muffled footsteps of Alloys and researchers passing by outside, on the way to and from appointments she didn't bother considering, occasionally broken by the faint jingle of chains as she shifted her arms or legs.

Twelve, eleven, ten... She counted down the minutes in her head, eyes locked on the brief stretch of greyed light from under the door.

She loathed this "project", loathed the tests, the researchers, the flagrant disregard for anything other than experiments and results. Loathed the way she looked forward to them, to the possibility of cutting loose with the abilities they'd bred into her, and, more recently, the chance to leave this fifteen foot-by-twenty foot cage they kept her in 18 hours a day.

Six, five, four...

But what could she do? She'd gotten out of the facility once before, but couldn't truly escape while the other Alloys were still trapped here, and that bastard Tadoshi knew it. So she sat, head against the wall, one foot curling a long chain around itself and then back out again as she waited for her next window of quote-unquote "liberty." Waited for her next round of circular mind games with an order of sociopaths who had inexplicably chosen genetic research over serial murder or law school.

Two, one, zero, negative one, negative two, negative three...

Of course they'd make her wait. They wanted her to be desperate, to be afraid they wouldn't show up. Wanted her drained from the lack of light and natural material. Wanted her to blah, blah, blah, blah... She couldn't even think up spiteful excuses for their tardiness anymore, she was so bored. The sudden gaps in her tiny supply of light came as welcome relief, a sign that they'd decided she'd waited long enough.

There was the familiar clanks and chunk as they undid the locks and opened the door, causing her to wince at the sudden influx of light. A single scientist and his two assistants; her usual guest list. The grey-haired man in the lap coat looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to rise. She stayed where she was, offering up her hands to indicate the chains on her wrists and ankles which kept her from going past the threshold, the first part of a game of chicken to see who would comply first.

The scientist sighed and crossed his arms, then nodded to an assistant. This woman brought a small whistle to her lips, and the shrill pitch it created assaulted Mora's ears. Only Mora's, as the scientists gave no indication they could hear it. She sure hoped there weren't any other Alloys in her little stretch of hallway.

Mora ground her teeth together, fixing the man with a stubborn glare; she really hoped her hands weren't shaking noticeably as she raised them again. A burning sensation in her nostril warned her of an oncoming nosebleed, but the noise from the whistler cut out before it could start. Her lip twitched upward in a small smirk of victory. She always won. Usually. Tadoshi was a bit tougher, but he was apparently too busy to play today.

The second assistant came forward with a key to undo her shackles. Mora returned the favor by placing a hand on the man's back and using him to push herself up onto her feet. She disregarded his small grunt as he was forced into a prostrated position. Mora stretched and undid the crick in her neck before shouldering her way past the scientist in the doorway and his obviously new assistant; the fear in her eyes made it clear she wasn't expecting anything other than an extremely negative reaction to her little doggy whistle that ended with all the nearby genetic puppies grovelling and begging forgiveness. Mora flashed her teeth at the girl and was delighted when the assistant took a few steps back.

"Aren't you curious about where you're going?" her morning scientician asked, clearly frustrated. Mora just shrugged.

"I'm sure whoever desires my presence will find me eventually," she said dismissively, strolling down the hall. Maybe she'd go find the common room, make a new friend. It felt like a new friend kind of day.

Mora's wandering eventually brought her to the common room - well, one of the common rooms. She vaguely recalled there being like, three of them? It wasn't a small facility, and multiple common rooms meant the Alloys weren't all grouped in one. Helped keep them from plotting rebellion, she guessed.

This particular room had a few small bookshelves filled with novels from the library, which allowed her to avoid the researchers who doubtless spent time there. Mora knelt in front of one, browsing the titles printed on the spines. She had a bit of time before someone fed up with waiting came to fetch her, and taking the time to read here also meant she wouldn't have to go searching for any Alloys to talk to; they would eventually trickle in on their own. The sound of a page being turned in the corner alerted her to the fact that one already had.

She turned her head slightly to look at whoever she was sharing the room with, only to turn her eyes quickly back to the shelf when she spotted the wheelchair. One of the Aeros, and an older one. She counted on her fingers the number of potential Aeros could be in the room with her: Dashure, Haruta, Shirou, Alice, Sakura... a dozen, maybe? Her confinement made keeping track of which Aeros were still around difficult. She took a few quiet breaths before turning to look again, trying to bury the tightness in her throat which always seemed to appear around the older Aeros.

"Hey," she began, eyes landing on... Haruta, she thought? Last time she'd seen him, he'd still been able to walk normally, and hadn't had those... whatever they were on his face. She did tend to avoid the Aeros, to her own shame, and it just got harder to be around them as they reached their expiration dates. "Got any recommendations? Can't decide, myself." She tapped the bookshelf with the backs of two fingers.

"Interesting" Kei whispered to himself as he finished yet another page. 'A study on vacuums and the void' he had found this little hidden gem yesterday evening in the public library of the facility. It was quite hard to find only to be discovered behind a stack of old children books found at the back of one of the smaller shelves in there. Not the kind of tittle you would expect to find behind a stack of children books but Kei knew that the people responsible for the library could more then often be a little sloppy about how they maintained and organized the books which were open to the Alloys. He didn't doubt that the 'staff only' library was far more neatly taken care for then the one he could use but in all fairness, Kei was just happy that there actually was a library he could use. The scientists could have just as easily denied the Alloys any acces to any kind of books whatsoever. Luckily this wasn't the case. Without the books in here Kei wouldn't be the person he is today after all. He had gained a lot of knowledge from these books and even used this knowledge in practice to further his ability usage in creative ways. Of course he kept his findings from the others resulting in it being a well hidden secret only known by himself and to some extend, to Dashure. But even Dashure shouldn't know the full potential of Kei's research yet. To the others it just seemed like Kei was a weak old Aero without any real power ready to drop dead at any moment now.

This worked to Kei's advantage however. Due to most scientists harboring the thought that Kei is at the last of his power, the testing done on him dropped greatly and the general supervision done on him lessened as well. This opened up more possibilities for his own research and caused him to have a lot more time on his hands. Like today, he used this time to study up some more and this book about vacuums and voids could maybe turn out to be something of use to him. Once done reading, Kei just had to find a quiet spot to test out the theories he gained from reading this book. Maybe he could ask Dashure to help him. Just a short sparring session would be enough to see if Kei could use this new knowledge to his advantage and to see if it is usable in combat. He wasn't sure though. Testing out new things like this could always be dangerous and bring possible danger to both the user and the one it is being used on. As an Aero, life was already dangerous enough without this extra risk and Kei wasn't sure he wanted to risk injuring his friend.

That reminded him, where was Dashure? He hadn't seen him today yet. Maybe he was still being tested on? Or maybe he was just sick and unable to come out of his bed? Or worse... He wouldn't have die-... would he? No! That wasn't the case. Kei was sure Dashure wouldn't go down as easily as that. Kei had known his fair share of Aeros who died before him despite being younger then Kei but he was sure Dashure wouldn't just suddenly die like that. Maybe he would go check up on Dashure's room later today just to see if he is there. Kei wasn't certain he would do that however. Knowing Dashure, he was bound to have some people visiting him already and Kei wasn't sure his arrival would be appreciated by said visitors. He was fully aware that he was quite the source of discomfort for most others with the exception of a few. With him being the oldest Aero and looking the way he does, it was no surprise really. "Well I'll decide on it later" Kei thought while he turned yet another page of his book.

Suddenly Kei felt the presence of someone looking at him. He didn't have to rely on his eyes to notice things like that. It was one of the perks of his powers as an Aero. While it was not unusual for Kei to get weird looks, it wasn't often that he would get any more then said weird look. Very rarely would someone go up to him with the intention of actually starting a conversation. Today was different however. "Hey, got any recommendations? Can't decide, myself." Kei finally looked up to see a well build woman tapping the bookshelf. Her voice sounded a bit forced. She was clearly trying to hide it but it wasn't that easy to fool the enhanced senses of an Aero. On closer inspection Kei knew this woman. "Mora" Kei thought. She was quite well known around here for that one time she tunneled her way out before.

"I would recommend this one." Kei said as he stretched his arm out to grab one of the books on the small bookshelf. The one he took out was one of the more relaxing tittles. It was a good read and could easily relieve some build up stress if needed. He remembered how he used to read it when he was younger. Immersed in its story, he used to forget everything around him for a short while before being dragged back to this harsh reality. "This used to be one of my favourites books around here. I'm sure you'd like this one" Kei spoke softly as he handed Mora the book.

Mora examined the cover for a moment, then flipped to the middle of the book and began reading. She sat cross-legged in silence, holding the book in her lap as her eyes crawling across the lines on the page.

"You should probably get goin' in a bit," she said, not looking up. "Someone'll probably be along to fetch me later, and I doubt they'll go as easy on the whistle as the punk who comes to my room."

As her eyes neared the last sentence of the final page, she closed the book and tucked it in her shirt before turning to take another book at random. As with the first, she opened to the middle and began reading. When she finished that one she grabbed a third, and then a fourth, with barely 20 minutes passing in total. She flicked her eyes over to Haruta, closing her fifth book when she noticed he was still there.

"Let me ask you a question," she began, turning to face him fully without standing. "How old are you? If you don't mind answering."

"Finally." Takami sighed as he opened the door of his car. He had finally found a parking spot close enough to the strange building where he was supposed to be today. From now on he will start working here. The Alloyed project. He had read up a bit on it at home but it was still hard to believe without actually seeing these powers for real. He would have his chance soon enough but first, he had to enter the building and fill in some administration papers. One he entered the building he was met with a young female worker who was in charge of visitors. It's not like this place looks like it would get a lot of visitors but I guess there are always those exceptional days where they would get a visitor or two. Today was one of those days since here Takami stood before the receptionist explaining that from today on he would start working here. The young woman quickly phoned her superiors to verify Takami's story and after the verification handed him a stack of papers to fill in. This would take up the majority of his time for today. Filling in papers and getting used to the layout of the building. Yet Takami was sure that he would be able to witness the test subjects today. Maybe he could even start a research project today already. That would surely prove to be interesting. He filled in the papers as fast as he could. General info about him was asked like his name, birthplace and other basic info like that. He was however quite sure that this was only a formality since he just knew from personal experience that they had already done a full background check on him. Still he was also quite sure that they couldn't find anything else about his past then what he had put on paper. On paper, Takami was just an odd researcher who traveled the world to work on various research projects for several different countries. He had confidence that his old connections cut off all loose ends. There was no need for anyone to know about his past after all.

Takami smirked as he read the last few lines of the paper he was filling in. 'The company will not be held responsible for any injury or death caused by the test subjects.' This only made this job far more interesting than it already was. Science might be something worth putting your life on the line for in contrast to risking it for some kind of organization ready to abuse your power. He quickly signed the paper and handed it over to the female worker. "I'm done filling in the papers." Takami calmly spoke while momentarily flashing a smile. A friendly gesture for most but a trained eye could see something far more sinister behind that smile he briefly showed. A certain amount of bloodlust filled his eyes while he smiled making Takami look like a predator ready to go on a hunt. Obviously, the female worker didn't quite catch this and just nodded as she accepted the now filled in papers Takami handed over to her. She then gave Takami a map of this place. It was a rather big building. Far bigger then what Takami thought while he looked at it on the outside. She then told Takami to first go to the staff room to get the necessary equipment for the job. Takami nodded and with the help of the map he had gained made his way to the staff room.

Once there he was met with a few workers who were most likely on a break since they were drinking a cup of coffee and they were chatting away in quite a carefree manner. Takami greeted them before telling them that he would be working with them from now on. One of the older guys amongst them then showed Takami to his locker and told him a bit about working here. The man warned Takami by telling him different stories of experiments going wrong or an Alloy going berserk. It is truly a dangerous job and the only defense they apparently have is the high pitched noise they can play with the push of a button. Takami took his own little device out of his locker and pressed the button. "Nothing." Takami thought while confirming that normal humans could indeed not hear it. He quickly tugged the device away in one of the pockets of his suit. There was also a lab coat prepared for him but he didn't put that on. He hated wearing those coats so his suit would have to do. Takami quickly thanked the man for all the useful information before leaving the staff room with all his newly required equipment.

The next thing he would have to do was to familiarize himself with the layout of the building. At first, he just navigated around in the staff only areas but it didn't take long before he passed a point where both staff and Alloys could be found walking around. Once he entered these corridors he started smiling again emitting quite the dangerous aura himself while walking around. Then he finally saw them. The test subjects. They just seemed like normal humans but Takami knew that they weren't normal at all. This surely peaked his interest. He did know before coming here that the test subjects looked like humans but he actually expected them to look a little different. If you were to put an Alloy and a normal human in a room you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. His smile widened. Science really was beautiful and soon Takami himself would be able to conduct research here. It was truly a pleasant thought.

While Takami was walking around the building he must have attracted quite the attention. Being new in this place and not wearing a lab coat made him stand out after all. It was even possible for those Alloys to not even know that he was part of the scientists now. Yet he simply ignored all the glares he got from his future experiments. They would soon enough know who he was. After almost finishing up exploring the building Takami came across a door which supposedly lead to an observatory. Here he would soon be able to do experiments on the Alloys. He wanted to see how the room looked from the inside so he started to make way to the door but before he could reach it 2 young people were pushed outside of the room. Takami was sure they were also Alloys. He stared at the door for a moment before finally focussing his gaze upon the 2 again. "Hello you two. This is the observatory isn't it?" Takami asked them with a calm tone in his voice.

---

After Kei handed Mora the book he recommended her she immediately started reading. "You should probably get goin' in a bit, someone'll probably be along to fetch me later, and I doubt they'll go as easy on the whistle as the punk who comes to my room." she said. Kei silently shook his head as he continued reading the book he had prepared for himself. Maybe he would leave a little later but he had only just arrived here. It would be a waste just to leave like that only because the scientist would be using their little toy they loved using so much. No, Kei would be alright. It's not like the high pitched noise would kill him after all. He was grateful for the warning, though. As he silently continued reading Mora picked a few other books quickly reading through them as well. She sure was a fast reader. This wasn't an option for Kei however. He didn't just have to read his books, he had to study and memorize them. Only then he would have a small chance to use them effectively in practice. So without really changing his pace, he flipped another page of his book.

After a short while, Mora seemed to notice that Kei was still around. "Let me ask you a question, how old are you? If you don't mind answering." she asked. Kei sighed. It wasn't strange for him to get this question and it was not like he minded answering it but every time he was asked this he had to face the cruel reality of his age once again. "It's alright. I'm eighteen years old now. Why do you want to know?" He spoke with a faint smile. He was lucky to still be alive. An Aero would usually only live up to 17 years old and Kei was fully aware of this fact. Memories of Aeros who used to be in his age group flashed before him. They were all dead now. He was the only one left. It was not like they all were Kei's friends but he knew them all. Not that surprising honestly. Aeros usually knew the name of the other Aeros at least. Surely when they got a little older. Maybe this was because they wanted to show some respect for the soon to be dead. Kei wasn't really sure about the reason. He just knew it was like that.

Kei looked up again just to realize that a few moments of silence had passed. He was sure that he had made quite a sad expression while thinking about his dead acquaintances. So he smiled again. No use thinking about anything related to dead now. There is still too much to do before he could die. Or at least, that's what Kei believed. "And what about you. How old are you?" Kei asked Mora in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

"Twenty-five," she answered, leaning back on one hand. She scratched the back of her head with the other, awkwardly avoiding Haruta's gaze. "I was actually gonna ask you something else, but I forgot what it was when I opened my mouth. Then I realized I haven't seen many Aeros last long enough to necessitate that set of wheels you're in, and got curious as to how long exactly you've been hanging in there." She was rambling, and probably sounded like she was making up excuses, but she really had forgotten what she'd wanted to say.

Eighteen, huh. damn that was... Young. Too young to be old. He'd get what, a month or two? A year if he was lucky? She wondered briefly if he'd ever managed to step outside the facility, truly outside, not the garden with the glass roof but actually, physically outside the walls. t was kind of depressing to think about, and she did what she could to take her mind off it. Doing so was difficult, as every topic she considered broaching just led back to the boy's mortality and their endless imprisonment.

"So what're you reading? Fairy tale? Quantum physics book? Erotica?"

"Who are you?" The girl said. Takami didn't really have a chance to answer yet however as suddenly an electric spark flew into his direction. His eyes sharpened. It was a very sudden attack and it did take Takami a little by surprise but despite this, Takami didn't move an inch. It was a split-second decision that might as well have saved him from harm as the spark flew past him, just nearly missing him when it flew by. "I'm sorry!" The girl apologized. It surely was an intriguing scene. Getting attacked only to be followed by an apology. Yet Takami's face showed no emotion. He just looked blankly at the 2 Alloys standing before him. "What's the matter? can't find your way to the newest specimen to dissect? That's what we are to you, aren't we? You don't even see us as human." The boy spoke. He seemed to have correctly guessed that Takami was a scientist. Not that strange since a new face could hardly be something else in this place Takami figured. But he wasn't planning to confirm that information just yet. "Well that was a bit unexpected" Takami spoke up reacting to the attack that just barely missed him. "But don't worry about it." He smirked. "My name is Takami." He said softly, answering the question the girl asked previously. "And... I'm not sure what you are talking about." He said directed to the boy with quite the confusing tone. "I'm not here to dissect anything, nor do I question your humanity. I was just taking a look around this place and I was wondering if that room over there was indeed an observatory." He stared at the door for a moment before redirecting his gaze to the 2 Alloys in front of him again.

Takami was sure that the two Alloys in front of him still didn't trust him and honestly in his opinion that was quite smart of them. Takami himself would never trust a stranger just like that and surely not if he was in the same situation as those two. Thinking about it brought back a few unpleasant memories of his past. In his previous line of work he occasionally had to interact with strangers on hostile grounds without blowing his cover. Blindly trusting someone could always end badly. You never know who you are talking to and what kind of person they are. Figuring that out as you are talking to them without revealing too much about yourself was basic protocol. Still you couldn't be too obvious about it or they would notice. Interacting like this with strangers could be quite difficult but this time, he was the stranger for them and not the other way around. While he didn't really know who he was talking to yet, he did know for a fact that they are imprisoned Alloys trapped in here. They knew nothing of him yet.

"But you two seem a little flustered. Did something happen?" He asked as he took a small step in their direction.

---

"Twenty-five" Mora answered before she started rambling. "I was actually gonna ask you something else, but I forgot what it was when I opened my mouth. Then I realized I haven't seen many Aeros last long enough to necessitate that set of wheels you're in, and got curious as to how long exactly you've been hanging in there." Kei looked at Mora with a hint of confusion. He wasn't really sure what she intended to ask him previously and while the rambling did seem odd, he couldn't really sense any dishonesty. "So what're you reading? Fairy tale? Quantum physics book? Erotica?" Mora continued to ask. Kei chuckled. "Erotica?" He thought, almost unable to hold in his laughter. "I sure would have wished this was erotica." he spoke which made it only more obvious that he was really trying his best not to laugh. He held up his book showing the title to Mora. "A study on vacuums and the void. This is the book I'm reading." He slowly got a hold of himself. "I found it in the library yesterday. It's a really interesting book and it's too bad I'm almost done reading it. It will take another while before I find another hidden gem like this one." Kei explained. It had indeed cost him some effort to find this gem buried under the piles of useless books. But he was happy he had found it.

"I'm planning to go bring it back to the library where I found it. Do you want to accompany me to there?" Kei asked while he closed the book he had just finished reading.

"Yeah, sure," Mora sighed, after a moment's consideration. "Can't avoid the scientists forever, may as well go waltzing into their favorite haunt. Should at least piss a few of 'em off, and that's always fun."

Mora didn't really know what to make of Haruta's book, but she could manage escorting him to the library. She stood and moved to hold the door for him, standing in front of it like a doorstop with her arms crossed under her breasts. Void stuff was outside her realm of experience, but if the guy found it interesting, good on him. Unless he rolled over her foot on his way out the door, in which case screw him.

"So what's on your agenda this lovely day?" she asked as way of small talk, just to fill the quiet on the way to the library. She didn't imagine he had many tests to worry about, but considering his Alloy type, there was always the possibility of dumbass attempts to artificially prolong his life.

"Yeah, sure, Can't avoid the scientists forever, may as well go waltzing into their favorite haunt. Should at least piss a few of 'em off, and that's always fun." Kei smiled. "Thank you" He gratefully said as she was holding the door open for him. Furthermore, he was thankful for her accompanying him to the library. The journey to the library wasn't quite a long one, but it was always fun to have someone going with you in contrast to going off alone. "So what's on your agenda this lovely day?" Mora asked. He pondered for a moment, not quite sure what to say. "Just reading I guess..." He answered. "But you know how the scientists are, they might be planning a few new experiments as we speak." He spoke with a somber tone and fell silent after doing so. Kei despised the testing. Due to his age and health, he usually didn't have to participate in a lot of experiments in comparison to when he was younger, but this didn't mean that the actual tests done on him were any less wicked than before. Yet, he was glad that he had more time to read now. He just wished there were more books he hadn't already read in the library.

Kei's wheelchair made horrible screeching sounds as he moved together with Mora in the quiet hallway. The sound it made annoyed Kei. It was a constant reminder of his weakness growing out of his sickness echoing through the room and honestly, it was quite depressing to Kei. He gazed into the distance as his mind faded to memories prior to being in his wheelchair. He remembered the training he had, the sparring and figuring out how his powers worked. He remembered people who helped him, sometimes became friends with him even, people he could trust and would not just go and rat him out to any scientist. People in the same situation as his. Other Aeros. Sadly, many of his past acquaintances and people he had previously called friends had already passed away. Luckily, some still lived. Dashure was one of the people Kei still considers close to a friend. The thought of losing another friend saddened him, though. Maybe he would have a chance to see his friend today.

Finally, Mora and Kei arrived at the library. They quickly made way inside and before long Kei located an empty space on the bookshelf to return his borrowed book on. It was a bit high up so he had to use his powers to make the book fly to the spot but it all eventually worked out. Once finished, he slowly moved back to Mora. "Well that was that. I'm going to look for another book now, but feel free to stay." He said smiling. "Or do you have any other plans today?"

---

"I am sorry, my control is slipping right now." The female Alloy said and Takami nodded. "Yes, it's an observatory." The male Alloy continued. "Can you get us in? We can show you what really happens." He said after briefly speaking with the female Alloy. Takami wasn't really sure what was going on but he surely knew that something was happening in that room. Maybe even something big. "Interesting" He thought but before he could respond another female Alloy joined the conversation. She completely ignored Takami, muttering something about some guy named Kinjuro. But as she spoke Takami noticed that something seemed off about her. Well, something was off about her shadow to be exact. It twitched around in quite an unnatural way. "Photokinesis, Umbrakinesis and the boy must be... A Pyrokinesis? He concluded the type of power the female Alloys had by being attacked and watching the strange flickering shadow. As for the male Alloy, he figured someone with such a temperament was most likely a Pyrokinesis. Takami closed his eyes, seemingly pondering for a moment or two before opening them again. Once done, he slowly walked straight at the 2 Alloys standing before the door without saying a word, fixating his gaze on them as he moved. A trained eye would be able to recognise some danger in the way Takami walked up to them and even if you weren't used to danger, it was entirely possible to feel uneasy. The feeling of a predator slowly making his way to his cornered prey would be a somewhat comparable feeling. He then stopped walking, standing close enough to be in arms reach to the 2 Alloys before him. But the Takami flashed a normal smile as if everything prior to this hadn't happened. "Please show me." He spoke gently. "I was planning to enter this room anyway and I don't feel like stopping you from coming with me." His smile faded. "Just don't make any problems. I don't like dealing with problems." He put one of his hands in his pocket, leaving it there for the time being. After doing so he opened the door of the observatory, walking through it immediately after doing so but leaving the door open for the others to follow.

What Takami saw inside was quite dissatisfying. Just one of the scientists standing before a huge window. As he moved closer to the scientist he actually saw who he was. Dr.Tadoshi, His boss. He wanted to greet him but was interrupted by a flashing light coming out of the window and this is when Takami saw it. He had only taken a glimpse of the end of the fight through the window happening in the other room which could only be a testing room. "Fascinating" He spoke out loud unable to hide his amazement. "Oh, I'm sorry Dr.Tadoshi. My name is Takami Ito." He introduced himself to his new boss. "I hope we will be able to work well together in the future." He said with a smile while stretching his hand out, gesturing a handshake.

"No problem, Dash. No reason for you to be locked away in a room all day. I'm happy to help."

The three of them did not make it very far outside of the room before they encountered a nurse. Instantly a surge of discomfort coursed through him, momentarily risking his brother's makeshift chair faltering from its perch, but it remained steady. It was always uncomfortable to be around the staff, whenever they were around it was always safe to assume someone was about to be summoned for testing. Though it was safe where it was, Griswald instinctively gripped the back of Dashure's chair, hoping to comfort him with a physical contact he knew Dashure would be aware of, preparing to openly oppose the nurse should any of the doctors gone back on Dashure not having exams today.


"Griswald, be careful not to drop Dashure. You know how fragile your brother is."

Even as Dashure responded, a remark about him not being deaf, Griswald could feel his small discomfort rising to a feeling of unfiltered rage. This was the second time today that a nurse had gone out of their way to comment on the use of his ability. They say you aren't supposed to use your ability without previous authorization, but his harmless ventures had thus far gone tolerated. Then for this one to assume that he would in any way risk harming his brother, as if he would even attempt a task he wasn't certain of.

In that moment, his pulse quickened, and a thumping sound filled his ears, drowning out the rest of the conversation consisting of Raelyn's summons and Dashure inquiring about the library as the nurse and Raelyn turned to leave. A desire to show this nurse up, to prove that there was zero risk, and that she was wrong to have even said such a comment, that it was an obvious put down of Dashure's limited stamina.

Before he could act, the force seeped out of him. From where they were standing in the center of the hall, there were approximately twelve light fixtures dangling from small chain links that swung from the ceiling down the massive hallway. All at once, they moved upward, a clinking noise emanating from the ceiling as the fixtures collided lightly against the wall. In the same moment, the clothes of three of the four people in the hallway ruffled loosely, as if an unseen force were trying to carefully undress them. Dashure however, would have felt nothing, his small area effected by a completely different field of manipulation.

The nurse wheeled around in her spot, a look of anger and panic plastered across her face. Before she had a chance to speak, the force was alleviated, the fixtures swinging loosely back into place, the light in the hall bobbing to and fro, the clothes flattening back to their original post. "You don't have to treat us like kids. Your methods in this place assure each one of us grows up pretty quickly. I don't need lectures on caution, I wouldn't hurt anybody."

The nurse scowled at him for a moment, the blood rushing to her face, brightening it a deep red. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead gripped Raelyn by the arm, spinning around and shuffling away, a furious scuffing noise in her wake as she wheeled around the corner.

Letting loose a sigh, he pushed forward with the hand that gripped his brother's chair, and it once more propelled forward down the hall, making their way to the library. Clearing his throat, he remembered his brother's earlier question. "Eh, I'll probably pick up some fiction if they have anything interesting. Last time I bothered to look they still only had three. Anything specific nipping at your curiosity?" He pinched softly at the nape of Dashure's neck as he said 'nipping', a playful attempt to lighten the mood. He didn't want anything to spoil today.

He couldn't help but think of what kind of tests they would be forcing on poor Raelyn that day as he pressed into the door to the library with his behind, clearing a space by holding the door open with his bulk while Dashure's chair hovered into the library. Taking his place back behind his brother, the door closed with an audible 'thunk', and he looked around the library, noticing the two other alloys who were also present. "There's others here Dash, Haruta and the Geo lady." He whispered, craning down behind his brother's head.

"Mmm. Not really." She leaned over to examine one of the lower shelves of a nearby bookcase. "They scheduled me for a test, but if they really want me they can come get me."

In all honesty Mora had expected to be "escorted" as soon as she reached the library, but it looked like most of the researchers had cleared out for the time being. She'd noticed a few near the back, but they weren't anyone to be worried about. She'd been here long enough to know which scientists were brave or sadistic enough to risk the whistle on the more fragile Aeros, and these certainly weren't in that category. It made her appreciative of Haruta's presence, even if his impending mortality made her a bit uncomfortable. She also marked the arrival of two other Alloys - another Aero, judging from the wheelchair, and another she recognized immediately as the program's resident wonder child, Griswald, the only gravity-based Alloy yet to be born. If Mora could get the chance to talk to him properly for once, this little field trip with Haruta would be even more fruitful than she'd expected.

She flicked her eyes away immediately after noticing the two, however. It wouldn't do to give the impression she were watching them. "So, any bets on how long before they get impatient?" she asked of Haruta, referring to her playing hooky from the tests she'd been scheduled for. She took a book off the shelf which appeared to be something about geology. Planet layers, formation of magma, macro stuff like that. "Ooo, maybe if I'm lucky I can draw out the big man himself. Wouldn't that be something."

---

---

"Mmm. Not really. They scheduled me for a test, but if they really want me they can come get me. Mora spoke answering Kei's previous question. "So, any bets on how long before they get impatient?" she asked Haruta. "Ooo, maybe if I'm lucky I can draw out the big man himself. Wouldn't that be something." Kei listened quietly to her while he used his power to make a few books float over in his direction, still facing Mora while doing so. After grabbing them he inspected them to see if they could be a worthwhile read. But unfortunately, the books that he got his hands on didn't seem that promising. "Knowing the scientists, it really isn't going to take them that long anymore before they are going to demand you come along I guess." Kei spoke softly, possibly making a slightly sad facial expression while speaking. "We all share the miserable life of a lowly guinea pig in their eyes." He muttered under his breath. "I'm sorry, I'm just talking to myself." He corrected himself, speaking a bit more cheerful while he grabbed another book, just to be disappointed again. "I hope your test won't be too painful."

Only a moment later the door to the library opened before it closed again with an audible 'thunk'. Kei didn't bother looking to see who was there. He was after all still trying to look for a good book without losing focus in his conversation with Mora. So he decided to ignore the people who had just entered. Well, that was until he felt a familiar breeze filled the room. "Dashure" Kei thought while he fixed his gaze at the door. Unsurprisingly it was indeed Dashure who had just entered the room. He wasn't alone, however. He was with Griswald, a man Kei only slightly knew as the brother of Dashure. He didn't pay much attention to Griswald, though. Kei was just taken aback to see Dashure in the state he was. He was sitting in an improvised wheelchair and this bothered Kei a bit. Was Dashure also at this horrible point already? He considered asking something about it but quickly decided not to. If he wanted to talk about it, he would probably address the topic himself. And just as if nothing was wrong, Dashure waved at Kei.

"Good to hear you breathing," Dashure said directed at Kei followed by a greeting towards Mora "And hello to you." Kei chuckled. "I'm glad to hear you're still around too Dashure." Kei really meant that. Kei was painfully aware of the dangers Aeros had to cope with and considering that Dashure, just like Kei himself, wasn't that young for an Aero anymore, it wouldn't be that surprising for one of them to drop any moment now. Kei just wished that Dashure wouldn't die before him, though. Maybe it was a bit selfish of Kei but he really didn't want to see another friend of him die before he did and if there would ever arrive a situation where he had to give up his life to save his friend, he would undoubtfully do so without any hesitation. Kei's time was, after all, long past its original end. And while he still finds enjoyment in life, not wanting to give it up for some silly reason, he also feels a bit bad because he was able to survive much longer than other Aeros up to now could.

"So are you also out here to pick up another book?" He asked Dashure, still inspecting book by book while speaking to his friend before suddenly coming to a halt. He fixed his gaze at Dashure again. "Or are you here to pick a fight with me?" Kei's tone changed into a serious, maybe even a chilling one. Honestly, it was just a harmless joke considering the physical states they were both in, and while he was sure Dashure knew this was just a joke, Kei's statement must surely have surprised both Mora and Griswald.

---

"I am pleased to meet you. As you can see there is a great deal of work we have to do. I hope you are prepared to work." Dr. Tadoshi said which made Takami nod. "You won't have to worry about that." He calmly spoke. "I do have a burning passion for science after all. Just tell me when you need something done." He walked a bit closer to the window. Observing the Alloys who previously were desperately trying to help what seemed to be a slightly older man, presumably another Alloy, before this slightly older man was taken away by the medical team together with a really young boy. "They must have a special bond." Takami thought. It was interesting to see how they tried everything in their power to save this older man, and while it might have helped, it still wasn't enough to truly save his life. Takami didn't doubt that without them the man would have probably been off far worse, but he still realised that a few electric jolts wouldn't be enough to truly save his life. He wondered if those Alloys also realised that. Filling them with despair knowing that they still had to rely on the scientists they hated so much to keep their loved ones alive. It was quite ironic considering that the scientists were both the reason for their injuries in the first place, but also the reason they were alive at all. Even though it might seem to be a bit immoral to some, the Alloys who are currently alive could thank their lives to this program. It surely was a complicated case, but Takami concluded that this breeding program was a far better thing than it got credit for.

It didn't take long for one of the doctors returned to give a brief report to Dr. Tadoshi. "Dr. Tadoshi, I have some news about Kokurai. This seemed to be the name of the slightly older man. It seems that the blast he produced or maybe a side effect from Kinjuro's attack has left him in a catatonic state. I am having a CT performed right now to see if there is any bleeding or damage in the brain that could explain the state. This was an interesting development. "A catatonic state, huh. This must surely have been quite the battle." Takami thought as the doctor continued. With your signature, I'd also like to perform an EEG to check his current potential. I won't be testing for responses since he obviously won't be performing any but I would be interested to see what is going on electrically at this point." The doctor waited for Dr. Tadoshi's response. Takami was quite sure that Dr. Tadoshi was going to accept and this turn of events surely intrigued Takami. "This job just keeps getting more interesting." Takami thought as he stared at Dr.Tadoshi also waiting for his response.

---

Though it was certainly unexpected, Griswald couldn't help but burst into laughter when Haruta suggested Dashure might be here to pick a fight. Surely he was joking, so hopefully he wouldn't be offended by his laughter. Composing himself, he cleared his throat before falling silent a brief moment. "So, you're scrappin' now Dashy? No wonder you can hardly get out of bed." This time he refrained from making any physical contact, less he accidentally hurt his brother again. Instead he offered Haruta a slight smile. "Well don't be shy, Dash." He commented teasingly. Suddenly, he gently pushed the chair forward, loosening his grip and letting it meander to a spot by both Haruta and the bookshelf. With a motion of his hand, the gravity slunk back into the air around his chair, gingerly drifting him to the ground.

As he made his own way to the bookshelf, he couldn't help but try and place a name to the face of the woman in the room. She wasn't a staff member, that much was certain. He vaguely recalled overhearing a story about a Geo Alloy woman, and she would seem to fit the description. She was healthy looking, something Geo alloys were known for. He caught himself staring, and immediately he flushed red. He had to say something now. "Uh..sorry, er..I was just thinking of whether or not I'd seen you around before. Sorry for staring. I'm uhh...Griswald, Dashure's younger brother." At the end, his voice cracked fiercely, adding a sharp pitch to his tone. He clenched his jaw as he went an even deeper shade of red, wheeling around and marching to the bookshelf. "What in the hell was that?!? She didn't even say anything to you, what in the actual hell is your problem?!?" He scolded himself silently as he pretended to be interested in the books on the shelf, acting as if he were pondering which title to read.

---

---

Darkness encompassed him. He knew not where he was, or how long he had been trapped in this state. He felt restrained, but upon attempting to move, he realized he wasn't in control of his motor skills. Coming to the conclusion that he must be unconscious, which would also attest to the darkness. A garbled noise emanated into the void where he currently existed, slowly becoming more and more audible, until it was revealed to be the concerned voices of multiple nurses and doctors. "..don't know whether or not he's going to walk again. We're doing what we can." That couldn't be good. He struggled to make more sense out of the noise. "..explosion left his spine jarred and slightly dislocated. Even if surgery goes well there is no telling how long until he is back on his feet." More bad news, but what explosion were they talking about? Had something happened in the facility? Straining his memory, he came up with nothing. That was until he heard another voice, someone he recognized as not a member of the staff, but another alloy. "...I will do better Kinjuro, I swear."

Kimiko? What could she have meant by that? Suddenly he remembered being summoned to see Dr. Tadoshi, the Photo Alloy, among others, being corralled into the room before the Dr., and Kimiko, hugging him tightly just before he blacked out. This filled him with a great despair, since there was no other conclusion but the Dr. had summoned forth his power, and whatever ensued beyond that is what resulted in his current state. He couldn't help but wonder what became of the Photo Alloy and the others if he was in this bad of shape. The only thing he could do now is wait, wait for the doctors to attempt to save his life, though at this point he wasn't sure whether or not he was deserving of such rescue.

---

---

Nazuro couldn't help but feel happy on this day. He was free to do as he pleased, most of his tests throughout the week had gone exceedingly more positive than the staff had initially expected, so that meant they were able to give him a little more slack. He had already spent a good part of his morning doing laps in the pool, the most relaxing way to start the day, in his opinion, and after he had showered and dressed for a more social situation, he made his way for the library. As he rounded a corner, however, there were several nurses rushing a young boy on a stretcher. The boy didn't appear to be in critical condition, but the way they moved suggested otherwise. A young girl with jet black locks was in tow, a look of concern upon her face. This tugged at Nazuro in a way that made a small lump form in his throat.

He watched as the nurses wheeled the boy behind a set of double doors, leaving the girl alone in the otherwise empty corridor. She stood there, still as a statue. "The doctors are very skilled, dear. I am certain whatever ails that boy will be remedied. Though the methods can seem a bit less than adequate, they are all capable medical professionals." He hoped that his words would be comforting, but not knowing who this girl was, there was a chance she could be antisocial, and chances are she wouldn't respond to his reaching out.

"Regardless, I wish him a quick recovery." Having said that, he turned back the way he was headed, down the long hallway that lead to the library, making a mental note to occasionally pester the nurses on the boy's condition. Perhaps he'd see the girl again as well.

She'd read a book once that said God was good, but this was the first time she'd seen it in action. Mora looked at him out the corner of her eye, placing the book she'd been pulling out back in its place. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was intimidated.

"Mora," she called after him. "That's the name you're looking for." She moved close enough to speak normally, but kept enough distance that no one looking on would think she were speaking to him. She pulled out a book at random and pretended to read it. "You should be careful, the scientists might not appreciate their little gravo talking to such a troublesome element."

She placed the book back and took out a different one. "Not that I'm dangerous, of course," she added as an afterthought. It wouldn't do to push the kid away; Mora needed him to take an interest on his own. Her eyes flicked briefly across the library to where the two aeros were chatting. So the other was Dashure, huh. She didn't know much about him, but it was clear he was on the older side. Maybe she'd try talking to him later, if she were still out of her room.

She looked to the door next. The scientists were no doubt getting impatient; she wondered if they'd sent someone to look for her yet. Maybe hiding wasn't such a good idea, if it dragged these other three into it; and if she pissed the scientists off enough, they might reduce her "socialization period," which was already short enough. Maybe... Maybe it would be better to postpone talking to the gravity kid. He probably wouldn't appreciate if I got his brother... Damn it.

"Hey kid. You know that hall on the west side where all the doors are really heavy and have bars on them?" she chose her words carefully, drumming her fingers on the spines of the books, counting down the seconds as she spoke. "Might be fun to check out the one at the end later, don't you think?"

Takami looked at Dr. Tadoshi, forming a smirk hearing the next thing he said. "Absolutely. You have my full permission to perform any tests you deem necessary to assess the extent of the damage done to Kokurai in the blast." just like Takami had expected Dr. Tadoshi accepted the proposal before dismissing the doctor. "Who knows what kind of intriguing mysteries this research could unravel." Takami thought shortly before Dr. Tadoshi turned his attention to him again. "Have you received a tour of the facilities yet?" he asked and while Takami did look around a bit on his own for a little while, he didn't exactly know the whole place yet. Much less the characteristics of the key Alloy inhabitants. "I have looked around on my own for a little while but I haven't gotten anything quite as official like a tour yet." Takami glanced at Dr. Tadoshi. "I would certainly be happy to learn a bit more about the facility, however." Takami answered while taking some papers and a pen to make additional notes when needed. He was quite sure there was going to be a lot of information to memorize on this little tour he would be attending, so taking notes surely couldn't hurt. Besides it was quite the honor to be guided on a tour by the head scientist. This certainly wouldn't be a job normally done by someone with that high of a position, yet Dr. Tadoshi was still willing to do so, which could mean a number of things. "If you don't mind I would also like to learn a bit more about the Alloys living here. While I did study up on the different kinds of Alloys, that doesn't exactly tell me much about the behavior of the ones living here. Which is why I would like to ask you to tell me a bit more about them. If that wouldn't be a bother to you of course." Takami interestedly said. Takami was delighted by the opportunity to learn more about the Alloys so he certainly wouldn't let a chance like this slip past him.

---

As soon as Griswald burst into laughter Kei brought his hand in front of his mouth in a futile attempt to hide his chuckle. "So, you're scrappin' now Dashy? No wonder you can hardly get out of bed." Griswald told his brother Dashure. "Yes, Griswald. I'm scrapping now," Dashure responded. To be honest, Kei missed the sparring he and Dashure used to do, hence the origin of this little joke he just pulled off. If only he was a little younger.

Suddenly Griswald made the chair Dashure was sitting on, move closer to Kei before it finally came to a standstill on the ground. Then Kei could feel a small gust of air against passing him. Undoubtedly the skill Dashure uses to locate people in his surroundings. this was confirmed by him staring directly at Kei's face, smiling while doing so. On moments like these, you could easily forget that Dashure was actually blind. Yet this was the fate of many other Aeros just like him. It was unfortunate how fragile they really were. Yet despite being so fragile, most Aeros Kei had known were actually really strong. May it be emotionally or just raw power, they always had something, something that made them able to move forward where others would have been forced to halt.

"Hi Kei," Dashure greeted Kei. "I did come here with the intention of seeking a book but the selection of books in brail are very limited. They are mostly children books and I have read them already. There is nothing else for me to read here." To say that the books written in brail were very limited was quite the understatement honestly. There were maybe only a handful of them and most of them weren't interesting at all. Kei felt a bit guilty because he suddenly felt glad for not being blind like his friend Dashure was. "What are you reading today? I thought you already read all the books here." Dashure finished speaking. "I was reading a book titled: A study on vacuums and the void." Kei answered his question. "And honestly, I also thought that I had read about everything in this library. But a few days ago I found this hidden gem buried beneath a few other books so I've been trying my luck at finding another unread book the past couple of days." Kei sighed. "But it seems like my luck has run dry. I haven't been able to find another one like this. If only the scientists would order a few new books for us every so often." Kei shrugged. There was nothing he could do about that. The scientists in this place had always taken their time when an Alloy requested something. It was just something you learned to live with.

"I'm not going to continue my search for that much longer. Maybe I'll head back to the common room after this, or maybe I'll futilely go and complain to one of the scientists to get us some more books yet again." Kei chuckled. "What are you planning to do after finding your book?" Kei asked as he put another book away.