AN: Whelp time to flip the mood and make it more tense!
Time for more of this! There were plenty of unrecorded events in the timeline so I picked a day that didn't have a lot happening.
Chapter 60: Last Time
It was September 23 already. The day previous was blur from the various tests I had to perform. Shinobu pushed me to exhausting but, thankfully, she never told me to use that black electricity.
"Looks like more testing again, right onee-sama?" Proto gave me a grin as she push me towards the dining room,
Breakfast was served by Ichiroku.
"Dang this is some house husband material here!" Maya presented my brother like he was an item,
I think she enjoyed his meal.
He took a phone out and his eyes widened.
"Excuse me I must take this call." he told us,
Maya shrugged and went back to eat her breakfast.
Proto and I were curious. We hid around the corner and eavesdropped between the conversation.
"Mitsuko it's nice to hear from you again." we heard him say, "How's the Daihasei going? Any particular events you had to participate?"
"Oh Ichi-kun I was able to assist Misaka in a relay race." Mitsuko proclaimed, "Though I wish you were here to see us participate."
They were in a first name basis already?! Plus Kongou is saying that nickname we gave him!
"I already told you, I have to help Otomi recover from her injuries." he sighed, "When I get back, I'll treat you to where I work."
"Oh my such a gentleman! Are you requesting a date with me?"
I swore that girl was blushing.
"Yes it's a date." Ichiroku smiled,
"I'll hold on to that!" I heard Kongou, "Do take care!"
"You too!"
They were already acting like a couple, even though they didn't go on their first date.
"Onee-sama." whispered Proto, "Earth to onee-sama."
My little brother and Kongou going out-
What was I feeling?
I want my brother to be happy, yet I'm worried about him. I considered Kongou as a friend, but my sisterly instincts were kicking in.
Was this how Mikoto felt when she saw me with Touma?
"N-Nee-san!" a surprised Ichiroku jumped when we saw us around the corner,
"So you and Kongou huh?" grinned Proto, "Misaka grins as she found the aspect of her brother dating a lovely girl."
I simply laughed and waved.
"M-My love life is n-none of your concern." he stuttered,
"It so does!" Proto retorted immediately, "Misaka yells back showing concern and worry for her brother!"
What would I do without these two?
"Does the thought of being with Mitsuko make you happy?" I asked stopping the argument,
"Yes! With all my heart!" he said diligently,
I gave him a smile.
"As long as you both know your boundaries." I gave him my approval, "Mitsuko is my friend too, you know? I want you guys to be happy and don't be afraid to ask for some help."
"Understood." he gave us a butler bow, "Thank you nee-san."
As he walked past us, I swore he jump and clapped with his feet.
"What a dork." snorted Proto amusingly,
Pot meet kettle.
"We're all dorks." I rolled my eyes,
When we returned to the dining room, we finished our meals.
Sherry and Aritomi left to check on my new body. Ichiroku and Mio went to keep an eye on the two. Shinobu was using her tablet to check on the data she acquired from the last two days. Maya and Kayo were outside.
I didn't see Febrie or Janie.
"If you're looking for the girls, they went to their sisters." Shinobu read my mind, "Marie might wake up soon based on her current condition."
Proto pushed me to one of the storage rooms and I saw the girls around the various pods holding their sleeping sisters.
"See Aprie this is our family!" Febrie presented a drawing to one of the sleeping girls, "Shinobu, Otomi, Ruiko and all of us!"
Janie turned around and saw us.
"Hello momma." she approached us with a gentle smile, "I think Febrie is trying to wake them like she did with me."
I noticed so many toys and drawings around the room. This storage room became a playroom for these girls. Then again, they are doing what they can with what's around them.
"Gekota says you should get better soon so we can all play." Janie took out a Gekota finger pocket and wiggled it in front of my face,
"I will." I agreed with the frog mascot,
"Mommy, Marie's tank is making different noises!" Febrie shouted out,
All of us were curious. We approached the tank and saw the vitals were showing slightly more activity than the others.
Shinobu's early comment made more sense now.
"She's gonna wake up soon." I told her, "When she does, she's gonna have two big sisters looking out for her."
Both girls beamed up and stared at the sleeping third sister eagerly.
"You girls are just too adorable!" Proto giggled excitedly, "Misaka giggles full of joy and excitement!"
She grabbed both of them into a hug.
It was moments like this I would cherish. I felt a smile forming from the adorable sight.
Then more visions formed.
This one was particularly odd. I saw Frenda hanging out with Ruiko! The mad bomber saved my roommate from another girl. Then I saw Mugino killing her! At the end of this vision, I saw Ruiko waiting at our room. She looked so sad.
What the hell?
They become friends?! Then again, this was Ruiko she can befriend people from all walks of life. To think of all the people I knew at the Dark Side, it had to be Frenda. We could work together if the job called for it, but we never hanged out. Then again, I thought she was annoying and broke her legs when we fought. Yet, she did assist us during the whole Silent Party incident even if it was a selfish reason.
Our relationship was nonexistent. I never considered her a rival, but a mere nuisance.
That girl had a gun within her sleeves. From the looks of their faces they knew each other. The two were fighting in a very public area. Ruiko assisted on fighting the girl with the sleeve gun.
A part of me wasn't surprised Mugino considered killing Frenda. Yet it was a brutal way to execute her. Mugino killed the girl by cutting her in half with her ability. I recalled checking her memories and she was willing to sell out her group.
"Why me." I wondered quietly,
Sometime in the future, I had to save Frenda from the fourth strongest esper.
"That traitor's fate is sealed."
!
It's that damned voice again.
"No matter the outcome she will die from her own mistakes." it told me, "Your friend will get over her and move on."
It was reassuring, yet it was unnerving.
"Fate isn't written." I retorted towards the voice, "The future can always be changed."
It didn't reply.
Shaking my head, I can't believe I had to something about that.
"Alert! Alert! Alert!"
The entire room was filled the red lights and an alarm was going off.
"W-What the?!" gasped Proto,
Febrie and Janie looked scared.
"We didn't have a drill for this did we?" I asked Proto,
"No we didn't." she replied with a frown, "The chance of hostiles to come here is slim."
Shinobu arrived alongside Aritomi and Sherry.
"Noncombatants stay here and give recon assistance for the ones who can fight." Shinobu instructed us,
Sherry started to create symbols around the room. She was setting up Ellis to defend us.
Aritomi had a headset and took out his own laptop.
"I'm connected to the security system." he informed us,
Proto gave Shinobu a nod.
"You girls stay here." Proto told the two youngest, "I got some bad guys to kick."
Then she dashed out of sight.
Instinctively, I wanted to follow her. My condition disallowed me to do such an action.
"Otomi you're still helping them." she patted my shoulder, "I know you're frustrated, you can't help your group directly but they could use an extra pair of eyes."
Sighing from her reason, I approached Aritomi.
"Come to assist?" he wondered wearily,
I simply snorted and took his headset.
"How many intruders and do we know who they are?" I heard Maya from the comms,
I gave Aritomi a glance and he was checking the camera feeds as fast as he can.
"C'mon, c'mon." he focused and stopped when he saw our intruders, "They look like a black ops unit."
You're kidding me.
Hound Dog found us!
Why were they attacking us?!
"It's Hound Dog!" I told through my headset,
Aritomi gasped at the screen as well.
"T-That's-" he recognized the one leading the group,
There was a man with a twisted smile. He was blonde and had a tattoo on his face.
I knew that smile from anywhere. The man was a Kihara and he was leading Hound Dog.
Was this some sort of revenge against Gensei?
"Kihara Amata!" Aritomi found the words to say his name,
"What's the leader of Hound Dogs doing here?" a worried Shinobu frowned,
I repeated the name then I heard the collective gasps from BAD.
"He's directly under the command of the owner of Academy City!" Maya snarled, "What the hell? Did they think Otomi will be cured in a few days?!"
She sounded enraged.
"Maybe it's retaliation for fighting off Gensei." guessed Mio,
"Wait this doesn't make any sense?!" Kayo sighed, "So the owner of the city assigned us to protect Otomi and keep on eye on her recovery. So why would the same person send Hound Dogs and their leader after us?!"
Kayo had a point.
"Perhaps a test." Ichiroku told us, "Maybe he wants to see what nee-san is capable of when she's in her new body."
"Couldn't they have attack a little later then!" Proto yelled, "These things take time!"
What was their agenda?
"If not her then who?" Mio asked us,
No one could say a word.
"Maybe us." Maya broke the silence, "They're testing BAD for something."
Couldn't they have this test in the city? I took a deep breath to calm myself down. Shinobu, Febrie and Janie were here! They didn't have to be involved in this.
"Hey Otomi do you think you can apologize to Shinobu for us?" a guilty ridden Maya requested, "Never meant to bring them to our problems."
It's not like Maya to apologize or feel guilt about current events. Yet, she felt it towards Shinobu. To be fair, Maya felt she owed Shinobu a favor. It's thanks to her releasing me, she was able to reunite with Mikoto.
I relayed the message to her.
"It's simply Academy City doing whatever it pleases." she responded, "I don't hold them responsible."
I was the middleman for this situation. Once I relayed Shinobu's message, Maya was relieved.
"Now I'm motivated!" I could feel her feral grin behind the mic,
We were at an island in the middle of the day. Maya could easily wipe them out.
"They're using nonlethal bullets?!" a a confused Maya informed us,
I could hear her battling Hound Dog. She was laughing and cursing at them.
"Dammit Kiharas just leave us alone?!" she snarled, "We reached our quota before we took this assignment!"
"Gya ha ha!" I heard Amata laughing, "You could've been a goddamn contender, Hardlight, for level 5!"
What?
"But no you can't ever get over that damn trauma of yours!" he mocked Maya with glee, "Your folks killed by damn pirates and now you hate all pirates! Your ability had so much potential! You're holding yourself back with that damn pathetic trauma! Always loved how you crushed anyone with that beam of yours, but imagine it greater!"
!
He pushed Maya's buttons.
I heard Maya cursing at the Kihara, then silence.
What the-
"So where's the damn Railgun replacement?" Amata asked through the radio, "I'm looking to give her some pointers."
He picked up Maya's radio!
He's looking for me. So many questions emerged from this revelation.
"Don't worry your leader is fine, she's more useful alive!" he added,
"Maya-sama I will avenge you!" shrieked Mio through the comms,
Ouch, I swore my ears were ringing.
"Mio no!" Kayo yelled back,
I heard the two running.
"Where are those two heading?!" Aritomi gasped at the camera feeds, "That's where Kihara is!"
"Where's Maya?" I asked him,
We found the feed with an unconscious Maya on the side. It looked like Amata defeated her, but how?
Maya had the advantage in that particular environment. She was at her strongest in daylight.
Then Mio and Kayo entered into the camera's view.
"Maya-sama!" Mio cried out,
Aritomi and I saw her forming ice, but she stopped. She was holding her head like she was in pain. It was the same for Kayo.
!
This was familiar.
"Capacity Down." I realized,
How did Amata get that?
"I thought that was shutdown when Therestina got arrested!" Proto commented, "I don't have any Level Downers for us to use either."
What was the probability we had to deal Capacity Down again?!
"That damn brat sure did make something useful to keep you guinea pigs in line!" he laughed at the two fallen espers, "Stay down like the lab rats you are!"
I felt rage bubbling within me.
"Fall back." I ordered the remaining two, "Aritomi give me a visual!"
The camera was looking around for anything that looked like a speaker.
"From the boat." he pointed out,
There was a huge speaker set behind a boat. I noticed more boats around the island.
They had us surrounded.
"So what is your plan Railgun replacement?" he mocked me, "I know you are familiar with this and what it can do to espers. Gya ha ha at this rate you're not even worth becoming a replacement!"
I cut off the comms.
"Otomi?!" Aritomi was baffled by my actions,
Then the door opened again.
"Onee-sama!"
"Nee-san!"
My siblings regrouped with me. They had frowns on their faces.
"Can't exactly go out there with Capacity Down." Proto pointed out,
"Indeed only none espers and level 0s can go through it." Ichiroku added,
There were plenty of options, from a logical standpoint. However they were immoral with who we got right now.
"Shinobu you're staying here." I told the scientist, "You and Aritomi can't go up there. You might be expendable in their eyes and they'll send another researcher to finish up this Lazarus Project. I refuse to risk your lives."
Both agreed from my reasoning and stood back.
I gave Sherry a glance.
"Did you happen to make those markings around the island?" I asked her,
"I did." she nodded, "I thought of removing them later today, but thankfully I didn't."
We all sighed in relief.
"Guys, Hound Dog has breached the facility." Aritomi gasped as he checked the feeds,
"Already?" frowned Shinobu,
That was fast.
There were so many of them. I gave my siblings a pleading look.
"Don't worry we handled them before!" smirked Proto,
"If they used similar tactics then they won't be a problem." Ichiroku added,
Then the two left to take out the many squads of Hound Dog around the building.
It was amazing to see how these worked together. They greatly complimented each other's abilities and covered each others' weaknesses. With Ichiroku charging up close he could easily dislodge a squad's formation. Meanwhile Proto got opportunities to take out the operatives from afar.
"With a linked connection these two are quite a pair." smiled Shinobu,
Aritomi looked on with horror in his eyes.
"Thankfully I'm on your side." he sighed,
Despite taking out so many of them, another squad easily replaced the lost one. It's like taking out one means two more arrive.
"Freeze!"
!
"Don't move!"
I could see Janie and Febrie holding onto Shinobu tightly and hid their faces with her coat. Aritomi's eyes were filled with fear and held his hands up in surrender. Sherry looked annoyed from the situation and held her hand up as well.
If she called Ellis here then there was a risk of all of us getting shot, especially the girls. She didn't want that as much as any of us.
"N-No! Shinobu! Otomi!" Febrie cry out,
Hound Dog took the girls away from Shinobu.
"Railgun replacement you're coming with us." one of the members approached me,
Another went behind and pushed my wheelchair.
Everyone else was escorted alongside me.
We met up with Proto and Ichiroku who surrendered as well.
"When they showed us the girls we had to. We didn't want to see them hurt." Proto explained her reason,
It was understandable. None of us blamed them for what they had to do.
All of us were escorted outside where Amata was waiting. Maya, Mio and Kayo were still unconscious and restrained.
"Finally what took you so long?!" he kept that damn grin when he approached us,
"Sir these two took out so many of us." one of the Hound Dog pointed at my siblings,
Amata grabbed the man's face.
"I'm not looking for excuses." he frowned, "You must be one of the new recruits, huh?"
The man was fearful of him.
"You're easily replaceable like a gear in a machine." Amata scoffed at his subordinate, "Like all those fools that died earlier, I wouldn't give a damn if more of you died."
The man stood back and kept his head down.
"Railgun replacement, finally get to see you face to face." he grinned again,
I simply glared at him.
"No idea why my old man spared you, when you could easily be replaced by any of those dolls." he commented,
I glared even harder.
"Gya ha ha, I've seen what you've done to those punks in the streets Shock Reaper!" he laughed again, "Man such a bloodbath back then, but now you're in this sorry state."
"Why are you looking for me?" I dared ask,
"Ohoho, it speaks!" he looked at me gleefully, "You are the subject of this so called Lazarus Project. It was projected this would be done in a month, but our leader wants to speed up the project."
I would be here for a month?
"So with all of the involved participants here, I'm going to make sure you will be done sooner!" he finished,
Then Febrie and Janie were handed to another squad of Hound Dog! They were about to be taken away from us!
"These girls could be good test subjects, afterall they're not even human!" Amata told us,
"Don't listen to him, girls!" Proto yelled out, "Whatever you do, don't liste-"
"Shut up brat!" a soldier smacked my sister down,
Then a squad started kicking her.
"What are you gonna do Railgun replacement, huh?" Amata mocked me,
I-I can't use it, if I do then I would...
Die.
Yet what was scarier? The choice was obvious.
"Otomi!" Shinobu called out to me,
I was shaking. I was breathing loudly. My eyes were dilating.
"You!" snarled Ichiroku,
Then Amata activated Capacity Down. My brother went down on his knees and he was covering his ears from the noise. Proto was holding her head as well.
They were both in pain!
!
I wasn't in pain. Since Shinobu read my level when I had this black electricity this became an odd outcome.
"Officially this Dark Lightning is level 0." was her official statement,
I leveled down.
Still with how I looked, they assumed I was affected by Capacity Down as well.
What kind of sick plan was this? How was this going to speed up the body transfer?!
I knew how and it was cruel. I hated what I had to do, but it was the only way to save them.
"Get the hell away from them!" I yelled out,
In a second, I 'blinked' myself towards the squad of Hound Dog with the girls. I send out a powerful shock towards them and I could hear their cries of pain. The group was electrocuted so much they started to burn up. They were smothered and their remains became ashes quickly.
Giving Amata a death glare, I wanted to get him next.
"Reminding me when I kept an eye on that brat." he smirked, "Gave me the same exact look. This should be interesting."
However my vision started to blur.
"Sherry! Now!" I yelled at the magician,
She shouldn't be affected by the anti-esper device.
I heard Ellis forming.
"The device!" I heard a Hound Dog yelled out,
It sounded like Ellis destroyed Capacity Down.
"Stand down and retreat." Amata ordered his soldiers, "We got what we came for."
I saw blobs of black going towards the ocean. I heard various boat engines turning on.
Then everything became quiet.
I felt Febrie and Janie holding onto me tightly.
"M-Momma." a shaking Janie called out to me,
I could barely see them. I rubbed their heads and hummed a tune.
"Otomi you used your power to save us." Febrie realized then went on, "Shinobu said you can't use it."
"I know, but I had to save you girls." I smiled, "F-For you, I-I'd gladly s-save..."
The girls were safe, that's what mattered.
Then my body felt heavy.
I fell down and everything looked so bright.
"Otomi!" I heard a familiar voice
"Onee-sama!"
"Nee-san!"
!
My mind!
It's...It's...
...
Who?
These people sounded so familiar.
"Onee-sama! Onee-sama!" I felt my body being shook,
"Proto you have to calm down." a girl told the other girl,
"B-But!" she protested,
Someone was holding my hand. I gripped it tighter.
Blinking, I felt something spilling out of my eyes.
"Oh no same symptoms." the second girl gasped, "Blood is coming out of her eyes."
Was this blood? I could barely smell anything.
"Proto you have to let go of her arm or we can't help ..." she went on,
She said a name but I didn't hear it.
I felt a small spark around my hands.
Blinking again, I noticed I was looking down on a bloodied and injured girl. The girl had unusual white hair and her blood colored eyes were crying blood. Yet she was smiling for some reason.
Was that me?
"Proto listen to me." a girl with a labcoat looked at my direction, "We need you to let go of ... hand so we can help her."
Was I looking through Proto's eyes.
"Onee-sama." she said,
Sister? Was that my younger sister.
"Proto-nee please." I heard a boy begged quietly,
Were these two my siblings?
She turned her hear around and there was a boy with chestnut hair looking down on my body. This was my younger brother.
"I-I can't live without onee-sama!" the girl yelled out irrationally,
"Proto." a blonde child with a single cowlick shook her, "Please let them help her."
Proto was pulled away by the boy.
"W-What happened?"
The girl turned around and saw a trio of older girls approaching us.
There was blonde in front, she seemed to be the leader. The silver haired girl reminded me of a princess while the purple girl was a total tomboy.
"Maya, please get the infirmary set up and ready." the lab coat girl instructed, "Aritomi will need assistance in bringing Testament."
This Maya girl gave the labcoat girl a nod. Then she glanced at my direction and her eyes widened.
She mouthed my name, but I couldn't hear it.
It's like I wasn't allowed to hear my name or something. Was this my brain's doing.
"..lease remem..."
?
What was that?
"C'mon girls!" Maya ordered the two behind her,
Then the three girls and a boy with glasses left immediately. Aritomi was the guy with glasses.
"Ichiroku do you think you can carry ... to the infirmary?" the girl asked the boy,
Ichiroku? He was named after a number?
"I can." he nodded and gave our sister a worried look, "Proto-nee please hold it together. Not just for your sake, but for everyone here. What would our nee-san think if she saw you now."
He let her go and gently picked my body up.
She looked down on the sand and there were tears falling down. Then the two blonde girls approached her.
"... is super strong she's gonna wake up!" one of them reassured my sister with tears in her eyes,
This tiny girl had two cowlicks. The two little girls were identical appearance wise.
She patted both girls' heads and held their hands.
A dark skinned woman approached with a frown. She patted Proto's shoulder.
"Girls, I think we should check on our friend." the oldest told told everyone left,
We went down to an elevator and ended up in a hallway.
There were bots moving around and cleaning the place up.
"Sheesh you and your brother did a number on these Hound Dog." the princess lookalike sighed tiredly, "I apologize, if not for us then ... wouldn't be..."
The girl slowly stopped and shook her head.
"Whatever happens, happens." she told the group, "So we must be strong for her sake too."
Proto nodded from the girl's words.
"I know you mean well Mio." Proto replied, "I've seen onee-sama injured so many times, but she always got back up. Now s-she's like this."
Mio frowned and bowed to us.
"After I clean up here, I will make some tea so we may all calm down." Mio informed them, "Perhaps your brother can assist."
Proto nodded and we all moved to the next area. This place looked pretty expensive.
The purple haired girl was rubbing her eyes.
"Dang Hound Dog, when I see them again they're goners." she growled to herself and noticed the group, "Hey guys."
"Kayo, how is she?" the woman asked,
"They're about to begin the procedure. Sherry." Kayo answered,
So the woman was Sherry, while the girl was Kayo.
I'm supposed to know these people, since they knew me. Yet I didn't know my name.
"Only Proto is allowed to come in." Kayo informed us,
The door opened and Maya came out looking deadbeat tired.
"Sheesh I need a break." she chuckled, "Out of the sport festival into this mess, huh Kayo?"
"When you put it like that, ... been though a lot." Kayo rolled her eyes,
I was at a sports festival?
"Febrie, Janie c'mon let's play some card games." Maya knelt down towards the two youngest, "They said it's gonna take the whole day for the operation to be completely set up."
Both girls nodded and left with Kayo and Maya. Sherry simply sighed and went in the room.
Proto followed her right away.
In the room were two capsule like machines. I could see myself in one of them. The other was an identical girl but she looked more normal. I saw Proto's reflection through the capsule.
She just looked like the other girl, but her eyes were red from all crying.
"Shinobu to think you would use Testament like this." Aritomi commented,
So this was Testament. This device felt familiar.
The name of the labcoat girl was Shinobu.
"This is the exact thing used to develop the Sisters." she informed the boy with glasses, "I designed this machine and it's purpose. I can redesign it to something even more."
Shinobu placed helmets on the girls in the capsules.
My body was sparking with black electricity.
"Project Lazarus was named after Lazarus of Bethany." Sherry informed us, "To summarize his tale, Lazarus was brought back to life in a few days."
"I did name the project after him." Shinobu rubbed her cheek, "I had to look up a name befitting on what we're going to do. Plus I did something similar for the Testament as well."
Proto was staring at my body with intensity. She looked at a machine placed between the capsules. There was an arrow on the screen and it pointed towards the girl.
"If the Testament can input large amounts of information into a small period of time, then this process is similar." Shinobu told us, "I modified these to transfer her memories and experiences into this new body. The biggest modification is the transference of her new ability. Sherry was tremendous assistant when we developed this body."
"Wait a minute Shinobu, weren't you working on this body for a month?" Aritomi asked, "How could Sherry help you in few days?"
The woman gave a nod.
"An esper's ability is from within their mind." Sherry added, "The body is more replaceable than the brain, which stored all the memories and information. I can't go into further details but what I provided to the body will give ... the ability to withstand that black electricity. It will be like she was born with it."
"If I know then I must be terminated?" gulped Aritomi,
"Of course." Sherry smirked,
He shook his head and muttered about the sand golems.
Shinobu pressed a few buttons and we heard the machine turning on. The black electricity was leaving my body and it was heading towards the girl.
"Her mind was deteriorating at an accelerated rate." Shinobu told everyone in the room, "When she looked at us, there was unrecognition within her eyes. She couldn't remember us in her last moments."
The girl took out a picture and it showed ten identical girls alongside her.
"Little One you will be them soon." I heard her whisper,
She put the picture back and sighed.
"I know therefore I am." Sherry stated, "That girl had an inner conflict within her, which made it difficult for her memories to be transferred correct?"
"She did." Shinobu quietly nodded, "... needed a conviction so the process would speed up. However we all noticed how down she looked, like she was lost. That's why I wanted to take it slow with her here. Though it looked like the city had other plans."
"To think they would speed up the process in such a cruel method." shivered Aritomi, "They didn't give us much of a choice."
What happened to me?
"In her mind, ... was forced to make a choice." Shinobu sighed and gave my body a wistful look, "It was either the girls or her simply. None of us wanted to make a choice, instead ... made it for us. She did it without a second thought despite my warning."
"Was that what was required, this conviction?" Aritomi dared ask,
"Objectivity speaking, yes." Shinobu nodded, "However like you said it was a cruel method."
Proto touched the capsule with my body.
"Onee-sama." I heard her whimper, "Wake up soon."
"What's the down look for, girl?" Sherry asked Proto, "Your sister is stronger than this. She is stubborn and knows right from wrong. ... will pull through. From the short time I met her, something like this will not keep her down."
Proto simply nodded from her words.
"...mi-nee" my sister said quietly,
Then it all went dark.
...
Looking around I was in a dark space. Yet there was a light at the end.
"Looks like this is officially it, even though I left your body." a girl approached me,
She looked identical to the one next to my body and the ones in Shinobu's picture.
"W-Who are you?" I asked,
"Oh sheesh this is gonna take a while." the girl rubbed the back of her head then introduced herself, "I'm Little One."
"That's a weird name." I snorted out,
"Hey it used to you too!" she blushed then pouted, "I mean we used to be the same person, but we're finally separating for real this time."
What?
"So who am I then?" I asked Little One,
She offered me her hand.
"C'mon you have to remember everyone!" she smiled, "Please ...mi you don't want them sad, right?"
She was a part of me and I was a part of her? How did this make any sense?
Yet, I did trust her.
"Where are we going?" I dared ask,
"It's that saying, a trip down memory lane." was her answer,
Giving her a nod, we walked side by side to memories filled with so much pain, joy, despair and love.
I-I have to remember.
I must!
END AN: Whelp that was a roller coaster of emotions. Am I right? I dunno.
So new body new life right?
Anyways surprised to see Amata make a appearance? I hope I was able to keep him in character despite him only appearing rather shortly. Then again Shinobu was the same but I did flesh her out, right? Of course there's Aritomi as well.
Last part of Otomi was an out of body experience expect she saw everything through Proto's eyes until the very end of course. That was an inner self experience. Fun little fact, I kinda based the last scene on a Fripside song Memory of Snow (Which I don't own obviously)
Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I made the chapter.
Enjoy your day/night!