"Hey, hey! She's waking up!"
"Don't stress newbie. They do that sometimes. The brain needs some kind of stimulation and since they're always sleeping, sometimes they search for it and wake up a bit. Nothing to worry about, they'll fall back asleep soon. Oh, and also don't refer to it as 'her'."
"Eh? Why?-"
_
"-the older one. What's gonna happen to him- I mean, it?"
"Dunno. Some experiments."
"Why him? The readings say that the sister has more Flame output."
"Exactly. The boss is saving her for something really good."
_
"Damn those arrogant pricks!"
"Isn't that a British insult?"
"...Why would you care what country my curse came from?"
"Can it even be counted as a curse?"
"...aren't you angry? They got the older one and are rubbing it in our faces -as if that actually matters!"
"Then why are you angry?"
"Because- ugh!"
"This can't have anything to do with that woman, can it?-"
_
"We're like a family here. We've got the lab as the house, her as the daughter, I'm the dad, and you're the mom."
"...alright, I'll bite. Why am I the mother? You're smaller, younger, and you're even thinner, kiddo. You lose in all aspects."
"Stop calling me kiddo! I'm only two years younger than you!"
"Of course, and let's conveniently forget the other parts."
_
"-er getting psychic readings from the younger one."
"Hm. Good, good. This is great. The boss will raise our pay for this."
"Why? I mean, it's not like we're responsible for it. We didn't cultivate it or anything."
"Ah, but he doesn't know that."
_
"-did you join?"
"Ehhhhh... No reason really. What about you?"
"Money. Money makes the world go round. It's just another form of power. And power makes the world move. It's the most important thing in the physical plane. Knowledge can't be gained without money -food, shelter, clothes, love, all of it. You need money for everythi-"
"I get it! I get it! Sheesh! I didn't ask for another rant about your money! Mikey, you have a problem."
"And I also have a solution."
"Let me guess, money?"
_
Sometimes, there are these voices. More often there's only silence.
And then, other times, there's The Other One.
The Other One is different from 'mom' and 'dad'. His voice always comes from inside, never outside, and it echoes to It like a ripple in It's mind that threatens to consume It.
The Other One scares It.
It and The Other One cannot imagine a life without each other.
They are... Important.
_
You are... must be Sister...
Then you are Brother.
_
It is Sister. And The Other One is Brother.
_
"Hey, why does she wake up more often than him? Her brain activity shouldn't be this much, should it?"
"What did I say about the pronouns."
"Oh, come on. No matter what I call them, there's no way anyone can grow attached to some eternally sleeping brats."
"...The other one gets dosed with pain relievers and a hundred other drugs. This one only has the one we use."
"...just a thought, but wouldn't enough doses make her immune?"
"... we'll up the dosage just in case."
_
There is more silence.
_
"-move-"
"-seperate-"
Sis... don't leave... please... please... don't want to be... alone.
Not gonna let go.
Not... gonna...-
Not gonna...-
...Not forget...
_
"-snakey, snakey, hisssssss..."
"...What the hell are you doing?"
"...I don't know either. I went to the zoo yesterday and saw a viper and then I just keep thinking about it."
"How did you even get into the Estraneo?"
"Hey, brains isn't all the requirements."
"Clearly. You do realize what you just implied?"
"It's like a viper right? I mean, it's behind a glass aquarium-ish thing and all."
"And of course we ignore what I said."
_
Viper... I want to be Viper, Brother.
Why? Don't you want to be my Sister anymore?
_
There is only silence.
_
And then Viper opens their eyes to cold air, broken glass, a burning world, and the star studded sky.
It is magnificent.
There is no Brother and there is no 'mom' and 'dad'. And Viper is damp, bare, and shivering in the chill of the night.
They don't close their eyes for worry that they will not be able to open them again, then stretches their mind to encompass a very large area -they don't know how large but certainly larger than what they can see- and they find the musings of a rabbit for a place to sleep, the thoughts of a deer hiding from prey, the deliberation of a hunting wolf, and the fears of a lost man, completely fascinating.
XxXxXx
Again and again, I find myself surprised at the things I find in my files...
I THINK this is supposed to be Viper and Mukuro being twins, or siblings, and waking up in completely different decades...