A/N - I'd like to give out special thanks to NullNoMore for not only following and favoriting this story, but also leaving a very kind review behind! Also, I mentioned last chapter how I have a tumblr account at teddyspade. So far, this chapter and the last is the only content on it, but eventually I will be posting pictures and extra information as the story progresses. Anyway, without further ado, I hope you enjoy reading!
The world was painted in shadows, muddled voices drifting by in arbitrary directions. The brunette's eyes fluttered open, allowing a small sliver of light to wash away some of the darkness. But even the light she can perceive wasn't enough to truly grasp the situation. She lay there, unmoving, her senses gradually slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness. How much time has passed, the young woman wouldn't be able to answer.
Though eventually, she finally got a grip on reality and her mind no longer spinning. The girl slowly sat up, looking around the dark room in a daze, keeping the thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. When she moved from the thin bed and stood on the metallic floor, the brunette noticed something weird and looked down at herself. She let out a small squeak in surprise and felt her cheeks grow hot when she saw that she had nothing else on, save for some plain underwear.
Further wrapping the blanket around herself, the woman made her way to the door, where the only source of light peeked through the cracks on the other side. When the door slid open, a man sitting alone at a plain table jumped from the sudden noise and whipped his head around to see the cause. The two stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, not knowing what to say.
"H-hey there…I, uh…I see you're awake…" the man trailed off, looking away as he scratched the back of his neck. The girl didn't answer, instead looking around the small room in curiosity. Her eyes zeroed in on white fabric, folded into a neat square, on the table beside the man.
"Oh, right!" the man quickly got up with the cloth at hand and walked over to her, holding it out to her. The girl took the white fabric, one arm poking out of her blanket cocoon, and unraveled it, revealing it to be a sleeveless white dress.
"It got soaked in the rain when we found you and we couldn't just leave you in it cause you might get sick. So we, uh, dried it for you while you slept," he elaborated, looking away with a light blush on his cheeks.
"Why don't you go back in the room and change, then we can talk?" The girl wordlessly nodded, turning around and retreating back into where she slept, her bare feet pattering against the cold floor. Once back in the dark bedroom, the girl threw the blanket to the nearest bed and slipped on the dress.
It did weighed something, made out of smooth, thick material, and went down to her knees. While the warmth it provided was nice, it definitely wasn't as comforting as the blanket from before. Before stepping out of the room, she snatched up the blanket and wrapped it around herself like a burrito.
"So how are you feeling?" the man asked as the brunette moved to sit in the chair across from him. She pulled her knees to her chest, being small enough to sit comfortably in that position.
"I'm good, thank you," she spoke sincerely, her voice a little scratchy, as if it had been a while since she had last spoken. The young man was surprised when he heard her voice. He didn't expect it to be so deep, especially for a woman of her size.
"That's good. My name is Shingo Amari, by the way. Wanna tell me yours?" he introduced himself as he got up and made his way to the fridge in the corner of the room. Shingo grabbed a paper cup from the counter and began filling it with cold water.
"Ah…Amalia…?" The hesitancy and raised pitch at the end didn't go unnoticed by either of them. When Shingo began walking back to the table, he mentally took note of her furrowed brows.
"You don't know?" he asked in concern as he handed her the water, which she took with a quiet word of thanks. Amalia took a moment to down it before answering again with a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry, but I can hardly remember anything about myself." The brunette looked down and away, both ashamed and saddened by her lack of knowledge about herself. Shingo jumped in his seat when he heard her sniffle
"Hey, don't worry about it, okay? We'll take this one step at a time," he spoke fast, desperately trying to calm her down. Shingo wasn't good with emotional people. Maybe his other teammates, sure, but definitely not him. Nonetheless, Amalia wiped her eyes with the blanket and wordlessly nodded.
"So, do you remember anything at all?" Shingo asked, feeling himself relax.
"I remember a cake…I think there was a birthday, but there weren't that many people there to celebrate…only one other person, an old person…I think it was my birthday? The candles said twenty-something. I'm sorry, I can't seem to remember anything past that and the more I try to recall, it just keeps slipping from my mind," Amalia sighed out in despondency with a slow shake of her head.
"No, no, this is good! You remember something, and that's good. Happy birthday, by the way," Shingo congratulated, bringing a little smile to the brunette's face.
"Anyway, do you have any memories of fighting? You handled my rifle like an expert back there." All Shingo received was a shake of the woman's head, along with blank stare.
"I fought? When did I fight?" she questioned him.
"Hmm…" Shingo hummed to himself in thought. He leaned forward and held out his hands towards the small girl in front of him.
"May I see your hands for a second?" he requested. Though confused, Amalia wordlessly complied and placed her hands in his, palms facing upwards. He leaned down, scrutinizing her hands with sharp eyes, running the tips of his fingers along her skin a few times. He even compared his own hands to hers.
"Even though you don't have memories of fighting, your hands tell a different story. There are calluses everywhere, meaning you've done hard work with your hands for a long time now. And judging by their placement and what happened when we first found you, you must have a lot of experience fighting and handling weapons," Shingo deduced, looking up at her.
It was hard to believe that the baby-faced woman in front of him, curled up in the chair and with a blanket wrapped around her, was a capable combatant. Looks can be deceiving, he supposed.
Then again, he wouldn't have known she was over twenty years of age if she hadn't told him. He could guess mid-to-late teens, but never above or at drinking age. In the back of his mind, Shingo wondered if Amalia could drink.
"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about it. Maybe that's why the let you on the White Whale," he spoke in thought as he stretched out. When he looked back to Amalia, he was surprised to see her surprised. It took a moment for realization to click.
"That's right, you don't even remember the White Whale, do you?" The brunette shook her head in silence. Shingo just smiled reassuringly, showing her that there was nothing wrong with her lack of memory.
"Well, you see, the White Whale…" The two sat at the table under the single light for quite some time. Shingo explained more than just the White Whale, retelling stories of the last days of Earth and new anecdotes of this strange planet they call Mira. He was very spirited throughout his speech, his emotions clear on his face and wild hand gestures everywhere. Amalia watched him with wide-eyed wonder, intently listening to even the slightest nuances in his words.
"…and then Saiden just rushed at the damn thing and–" at the abrupt sound of doors sliding open, the pair jumped in their seat and whipped their heads over to the source, ending Shingo's tales. Three men walked into the bunker, two of them wearing the same armor as Shingo while the shortest man had on a black, skin-tight outfit.
"I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" the man with long black hair asked Amalia, looking at her intently.
"I'm fine, thank you. Shingo was just talking about this planet," the brunette reassured him with a small smile, nodding to Shingo's direction when he was mentioned.
"Hey Shingo, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" one of the men teased, coming towards them and lightly bonking the kid on the head.
"Yeah, I was getting to that," the youngest of the team grumbled, rubbing the spot where he was his. Though when he turned to Amalia, he noticeably perked up and ignored his friend's jesting.
"Amalia, these are my teammates, Saiden Burke," he gestured to the man with a similar buzzcut that had recently hit him, "Mondo Provenza," he gestured to a man with gray hair parted down the middle, "and our team leader and also my mentor, Lao Huang," he finally gestured to the odd one out.
"And everyone, this is Amalia." The mentioned woman offered a shy smile, her cheeks heating up with the sudden attention on her.
"Amalia? No last name?" Mondo asked her as he took a seat next to Shingo, a paper cup of water in hand. The young woman shook her head sadly.
"She doesn't remember anything except her name. I spent the last hour or so explaining the White Whale, Earth, and this planet," Shingo quickly interjected, picking up on his new friend's mood shift.
"Your amnesia must be because of your forced ejection and head trauma when you fell. You might be feeling fine, but we should get to the Maintenance Center as soon as possible to get you checked up," Lao spoke up.
"So when are we heading out?" Saiden asked their leader, already straightening himself.
"When everyone is ready." Lao sent the amnesiac a quick glance and she immediately picked up on the message. They were waiting for her.
"I'm ready whenever everyone else is," she tells the group, to which Lao nodded in confirmation before turning to address his team. Regretfully, she unraveled her blanket cocoon and began folding the comfortable material.
"Alright. If we take the Humvee and head out now, we should be able to reach NLA by early morning, possibly earlier if we don't run into trouble. Everyone else good with that?" the team leader asked his comrades, immediately receiving their affirmations.
"Good, let's go." Team Belisarda made their way out of the bunker with Amalia trailing behind. Once outside, the brunette gazed around in amazement, her eyes drawn to the lights of the forest. But she forcibly tore her gaze from the beautiful scenery and jogged to the men, who were readying the vehicle for the long ride ahead.
Amalia hopped into the back of the Humvee with help from Shingo and Saiden. With Lao at the wheel and Mondo beside him, the vehicle jumped alive and began driving out of Noctilum.