p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Pain was the first thing you recognised when you slowly came back from the dark abyss that was unconsciousness. Unbearable cold was the second. Your bones creaked when you moved your fingers, trying to get feeling back into your hands, and pain shot through your arm, causing you to cry out. Your cry echoed around you, bouncing off the white snow-covered rock that surrounded you./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You attempted to sit up, but you were stopped by an intense wave of nauseating pain emanating from your ribs. Broken, several of them by the feel of it. Looking around, you spotted the soldier tasked with guarding you laying sprawled on the ground a few feet away. His spine was twisted in all the wrong directions, his eyes wide open, staring at you with their glazed depths. The snow beneath him was stained a bright red with his blood./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Panic started rising in your chest as you diverted your gaze, your breath quickening. "Athena," you croaked, desperate. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" There was no response. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Athena," you tried again, the panic making your voice rise an octave./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" No response./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Cursing, you closed your eyes. "Help," you called, listening to your voice bounce off the mountains around you. You could feel your body begin to slow from the cold, your mind hazy. "Please." /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You looked down at the hand holding yours, squeezing it tightly as the needle entered the flesh of your arm. The girl attached to the hand smiled and squeezed right back, scooting closer to you. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "See?" she said, nodding as the doctor pulled away and replaced the tip of the needle with a bandage. "I told you it wasn't going to be that bad, Fódla."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You scowled, rubbing the sore spot on your arm for the few seconds it continued to hurt. "You don't have to rub it in, Ériu," you murmured, glaring at the doctor as they turned around and began scribbling something onto their notepad. "You know I don't like needles."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Well, you'll have to get used to it," your mother said, scolding you lightly in Gaelic. "We have to make sure everything goes correctly. We can't afford another screw up."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Ériu flinched at the off-hand mention of your late triplet, casting her eyes down at her feet./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You glowered and bit back a remark about how Máthair should be more respectful of the dead/emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;", knowing it would get you nothing but trouble. Instead you kicked your little feet and looked to your sister, only minutes younger than yourself, though she looked to be years younger at this point. It seemed every day you grew two days older and she only grew one. You hated it./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "If we're done, can Fódla and I go play, Máthair?" /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Ériu asked, ever the braver of you two. In truth, she was only braver because she was the favourite. She wasn't the one who had to withstand /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Máthair's poking and prodding and all of the needles and injections. True, she had most of the same modifications as you did, but, for some reason, she "didn't need any more". /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Máthair shook her head. "No, your sister and I still have some more tests to run. You may go play with the other children, however."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "But Mamaí," Ériu began to whine, but you stopped her with a covert squeeze of your hand and a small smile./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "It's okay, go play with Stiofan," you said, nodding towards the door. "Who knows how long I'll be in here. I know he's been wanting to play with you." 'I don't want you to get in trouble.'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Your sister frowned at your thoughts, looking dejected. 'But I want to play with you.'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You shook your head. 'I can play later. I'll come find you.'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" 'Promise?'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" A small smile was your only response as your sister slipped off the examination table, still holding onto your hand. She stood there for a second before she nodded and skipped out of the room, off to look for her friend./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "I'm surprised at your maturity, a leanbh," your mother said, a surprisingly proud look in her eyes. "You are growing at an incredible rate. Now, tell me, has anything been hurting lately?"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You gasped, something in your mind sparking you awake. The sun had shifted positions, glaring down at you from closer to the middle of the sky than it had been before. How long had you been out?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Groaning, you closed your eyes and began to take stock of your situation. You had no way to communicate with the outside world, you were broken in so many places, the only thing keeping you alive currently were your modifications, and now you had memories flooding back into your brain. The crash must have knocked your memory chip back into place. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I have a sister?" you questioned to yourself, unable to pull yourself away from that thought. Who was she? Where was she? Was she even still alive? Why did no one know about her?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You shook your head. Now was not the time to be speculating about lost family, you needed to get out of this situation. Gritting your teeth, you forced yourself upward, crying out through the spasms of pain that made moving the most agonising thing in existence. There was nothing you could do about your ribs right now, those would have to wait for if you ever got saved. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" A cold blast of wind ripped through the crash site, making the steel of the aircraft screech and hitting you with enough force to almost knock you over. Keeping yourself sitting up was one of the hardest things you'd ever had to do, and it took every ounce of mental energy you had not to just let the wind bowl you over and the cold lull you into a nice hibernation. If you let yourself fall into that trap, you'd never wake up again. You couldn't leave Jesse and Hanzo like that. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "They will find me," you whispered to yourself, giving you a little strength, enough to open your eyes and look down and take stock of your current state. Your stomach gave a lurch at just how mangled your body was. The impact had broken many bones, and your unyielding rate of healing made sure they all healed very incorrectly. Luckily, you still had use of your hands, and you knew exactly what you needed to do./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Steeling yourself, you gripped your forearm and examined it, tracing a mental map of where the bone was supposed to be and where it was now. The white bone jutted out from your skin in a very disturbing manner, covered in patches of dried, crusty blood. "em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Mhac na galla/em," you murmured, trying to get your racing heart to settle, as well as your stomach. "I'm going to need to cut through the fucking skin to get it back in place."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Thankfully, your knife wasn't far, as it had been attached to you before the crash. You cradled the handle of it in your non mangled hand and took a breath, preparing to attempt to time this correctly. If you were just a fraction too slow, the bone would end up tearing through the newly healing skin as you forced it back into place and the whole procedure would be a hundred times more painful. After planning it out in your head, your fingers tightened around the handle and you sunk the blade into your arm, cutting a long strip from the edge of the bone upward. Blood soaked your hand, warm and steaming as it ran down in rivulets, and almost immediately, the skin began to stitch back together. You dropped the knife and gripped the bone and with one strong, sharp tug, snapped it back into place./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Your stomach lurched and you screamed as a cold sweat immediately took over your body, your consciousness fading not a moment later./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;"br style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; content: display: block; margin-top: 0.8em;" / /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You stood in front of the mirror, awkward, gangly limbs crossed over your body as you tried to hide from yourself as, at the same time, you attempted to take in the new you. It would take time getting used to the new wings, the way you had shrunk and grew in some places. Puberty was hard, but puberty as well as new genetic modifications? That was even harder. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Hardly eleven and you were already dealing with so much; Máthair's expectations, grappling with the notion of mortality, earning the respect needed to command an army, built for your mother's needs, but ordered to respect you, a tween, as well. Then there was all the experimentations. You'd gotten used to the needles over the years, but you would never be at ease with the cold, sterlised room Dr. O'Deorain used whenever it was her turn to look you over. Some days, everything hurt so bad you couldn't get out of bed, and other days, you felt like death walking./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" The only thing that made it worth it was your sister. Protecting Ériu was your only goal, because as long as /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Máthair had you to experiment on, /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Ériu was protected. That was the deal you had made. Your life for your sister's. You hoped some day Ériu would be able to get out of this place and live a semi-normal life, the ones you read about in books or caught glimpses of in some of the shows the other experiments spent their free time watching. Had she survived, you would have wished the same for Banba as well./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Well, how do you feel a mhuirnín?" Máthair asked, coming over to lay a hand on your shoulder. She was proud of herself, you could tell by the cock in her smile and the glint in her eye. You were the first success for the genetic modifications. You hoped you would be the last./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Am I going to look like this forever?" you asked, perhaps selfishly. If you ever made it out of here, you would always be an outcast. Not like you weren't one here./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Máthair laughed, giving your shoulder a light squeeze, bending over to meet your gaze in the mirror. "Yes, my dear, you will, do you not like it?"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "I look like a freak." You regretted your words instantly, watching the mirth drain from your mother's face. "I-I mean-"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "No," she said, squeezing your shoulder tighter as she stood. The slap echoed throughout the room, though the sting on your cheek lasted only a second. It wasn't meant to hurt, only to serve as a reminder of who was in charge. "I expected more from you, Fódla. After all, I gave you life, and I continue to give you everything I have. At least your sister is grateful." She glared at you for a moment before she straightened her vest and adjusted her ponytail. "We have a guest arriving today. I want you out of sight. The world isn't ready for you yet, my dear." Her smile returned, cruel and knowing. "Your sister will serve in your place until they are gone."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" There was something vaguely familiar about the man who visited that day. He was blonde, like you and your sister, and there was something about the way he carried himself that reminded you very much of Ériu. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You watched from around corners, up on balconies, and behind pillars as this man, this Commander Morrison, was given a very cursory tour, kept away from the inner workings of Máthair's lab. Watched as he made light conversation, fawned over your sister a bit, before he and Máthair ended up in a hallway, alone./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Aderyn, what exactly are you doing here?" he asked quietly, his face a crinkle of concern. "These children, what are they here for?"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "You have your ways of solving the crisis, Jack, and I have mine," Máthair responded smoothly. "By blending Omnic parts and intelligence, these children will become the halfway point between humans and Omnics, they will stop this war."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Jack" frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You pulled back from the railing to do the same, not missing the similarities in your stance. What war? Was there a war going on? What was Máthair trying to prepare you and the other experiments for?/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "With all due respect Aderyn, you know that's not what I'm asking about. The UN is asking about you and they're especially interested in why you have Dr. O'Deorain in your employ. What does a robotics company need a geneticist for, especially when they've already got you?" Jack asked, cocking his head./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Máthair simply smiled and shook her head. "In due time, Jack. It has been lovely seeing you again, but I have work I must get back to. I'm sure you can see your way out." The click of her heels echoed through the hall, leaving both you and this "Jack" in silence./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Aderyn, what have you done?" he murmured, running his fingers through his hair as he turned around and stopped. Blue eyes flicked up to the loft, landing on yours with surprise./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Startled, you ripped your arms away from your chest and quickly retreated into the shadows. For a moment, you hesitated there, knowing this could be your escape, or at least a portal of knowledge into the world outside the lab. But then your fear took over and you silently made your way back to your room, taking the shortcut through the vents to get there before your mother could./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" It took you less time to come to this time around, and when you finally did make it back to the land of the conscious, the pain in your arm had dulled to a faint throb. The sun was peeking out from behind the edges of the mountain. The fact that you weren't suffering from frostbite right now was amazing, probably one of the only things you could thank Aderyn for. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Gritting your teeth, you pushed through the pain of sitting up again, this time turning your focus onto your broken legs. Thankfully, this time there were no bones jutting out through your skin, but both of your legs were pointed out in the opposite direction of where they should have been./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You managed to stay conscious through the pain this time, though you were not able to hold in your lunch. The sound that your bones made as you forced them back into place made you violently ill and you had to quickly throw yourself onto your side to keep from retching all over yourself. It took longer than you expected for your bones to heal, leaving you sitting in the cold for a good half an hour before you could maneuver yourself onto wobbly knees. The first thing you did was search the body of the soldier for any supplies you could use. Unfortunately, he was only a D-class, so the supplies on him were very little and the only useful thing you could find was his survival knife, which you quickly stashed next to your own on your belt./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Once you had regained what little strength remained, you slowly crawled your way over to the wreckage, looking for just about anything that could help. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" The aircraft had split in two, which is how you and your soldier had ended up ejected unceremoniously out onto the snowscape of the Tian Shen mountains. The pilots, unfortunately, had not been able to make it out of the plane, which had taken a nosedive. There was no getting into the cockpit, and from the acrid tang of the blood in the air, you didn't want to either. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Athena?" you called softly, not expecting much, but still hoping that somehow she could hear you. When you received no response, you sighed and shook your head, continuing your search. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Eventually, you managed to find an emergency pack, which had been stashed underneath one of the passenger seats. Within it, you found some rations, which you immediately downed, not nearly getting a large enough boost of sugar to keep you going, a bunch of first aid materials that would probably not end up getting used, a tarp, and a flare. The tarp you could use as a blanket to keep in what little heat you had, and the flare? Well, if someone was looking for you, it'd be best to let them know where you are./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Your energy was running out very quickly now, with the cold constantly pulling you down into sleep and the lack of sugar making you lethargic, there was very little you could do. You'd already done all you could, so with the last reserves of your energy, you bundled yourself up in the tarp, collapsed into one of the plane seats, and set off the flare, praying to every deity you knew that someone would see it and find you as you closed your eyes, possibly for the last time./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Ériu hated you, you could feel it. She didn't talk to you like she used to, not since you'd found Gabriel. You felt so guilty, but you couldn't tell her, couldn't risk Máthair finding out, not after what happened to your sister's crush. You knew it was selfish, but you finally had something of your own, something so real it almost hurt, and you couldn't give that up for the world, even if that world was your sister./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" But Gabriel wasn't the only reason you were pulling away. As you grew older, faster than your sister did, you learned things about your mother that you wished you had never learned. How she used Ériu against you, what she did to her if you misstepped. So, you did the most painful thing you could ever think of and distanced yourself from your sister. No longer were you the warm and welcoming presence she had learned to seek out, but you'd become cold and hard around her, especially if /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Máthair was around. It tore you apart inside, but it was the best thing you could do for her./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" So Ériu never learned why her sister suddenly pulled away, why she'd become so distant, why she didn't talk to her anymore. All she knew was the only one who had been there for her had left her, didn't care anymore, had become just like their mother./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You hoped one day she could learn the truth and you could repair that relationship. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Over here! Over here!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Jaysus Christ, she doesn't look good."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "She'll be fine, she's just hibernating."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Someone get a stretcher!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Ériu? You're okay now, you're safe. Stay with us, okay?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You lay dying, bleeding out, crushed beneath the rubble of the building you had caused to collapse. On the other side, you could hear the Blackwatch agent radioing for help. It wouldn't come in time, for you, at least. You didn't have the same healing rate as your sister, she'd gotten all the better upgrades, ready to replace you at a moment's notice. You supposed this was your moment./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Twisting your head, you caught sight of yourself in the glass of a broken mirror. You were beaten, bruised, cuts littered your face, your skin growing paler by the second. This was your time./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Ériu," you groaned, your voice sounding like you'd just swallowed a shovel full of gravel. "Ériu, listen to me. I have a memory chip, we both do, but she's going to take yours and replace it with mine. You were always meant to be a replacement for me whenever I actually kicked the bucket. I'm so sorry, for everything… Our father is out there, somewhere, please, find him, he can help. Don't forget about me, or Banba. Don't forget our sacrifices. Don't forget who we are together. Please, be safe. I love you." You smiled, a gruesome sight as blood trailed down the side of your head, painting your lips like a grotesque form of lipstick, and you watched the light fade from your own eyes. The pain finally stopped. You took one last breath./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You attempted to sit up, but you were stopped by an intense wave of nauseating pain emanating from your ribs. Broken, several of them by the feel of it. Looking around, you spotted the soldier tasked with guarding you laying sprawled on the ground a few feet away. His spine was twisted in all the wrong directions, his eyes wide open, staring at you with their glazed depths. The snow beneath him was stained a bright red with his blood./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Panic started rising in your chest as you diverted your gaze, your breath quickening. "Athena," you croaked, desperate. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" There was no response. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Athena," you tried again, the panic making your voice rise an octave./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" No response./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Cursing, you closed your eyes. "Help," you called, listening to your voice bounce off the mountains around you. You could feel your body begin to slow from the cold, your mind hazy. "Please." /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You looked down at the hand holding yours, squeezing it tightly as the needle entered the flesh of your arm. The girl attached to the hand smiled and squeezed right back, scooting closer to you. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "See?" she said, nodding as the doctor pulled away and replaced the tip of the needle with a bandage. "I told you it wasn't going to be that bad, Fódla."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You scowled, rubbing the sore spot on your arm for the few seconds it continued to hurt. "You don't have to rub it in, Ériu," you murmured, glaring at the doctor as they turned around and began scribbling something onto their notepad. "You know I don't like needles."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Well, you'll have to get used to it," your mother said, scolding you lightly in Gaelic. "We have to make sure everything goes correctly. We can't afford another screw up."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Ériu flinched at the off-hand mention of your late triplet, casting her eyes down at her feet./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You glowered and bit back a remark about how Máthair should be more respectful of the dead/emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;", knowing it would get you nothing but trouble. Instead you kicked your little feet and looked to your sister, only minutes younger than yourself, though she looked to be years younger at this point. It seemed every day you grew two days older and she only grew one. You hated it./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "If we're done, can Fódla and I go play, Máthair?" /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Ériu asked, ever the braver of you two. In truth, she was only braver because she was the favourite. She wasn't the one who had to withstand /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Máthair's poking and prodding and all of the needles and injections. True, she had most of the same modifications as you did, but, for some reason, she "didn't need any more". /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Máthair shook her head. "No, your sister and I still have some more tests to run. You may go play with the other children, however."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "But Mamaí," Ériu began to whine, but you stopped her with a covert squeeze of your hand and a small smile./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "It's okay, go play with Stiofan," you said, nodding towards the door. "Who knows how long I'll be in here. I know he's been wanting to play with you." 'I don't want you to get in trouble.'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Your sister frowned at your thoughts, looking dejected. 'But I want to play with you.'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You shook your head. 'I can play later. I'll come find you.'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" 'Promise?'/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" A small smile was your only response as your sister slipped off the examination table, still holding onto your hand. She stood there for a second before she nodded and skipped out of the room, off to look for her friend./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "I'm surprised at your maturity, a leanbh," your mother said, a surprisingly proud look in her eyes. "You are growing at an incredible rate. Now, tell me, has anything been hurting lately?"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You gasped, something in your mind sparking you awake. The sun had shifted positions, glaring down at you from closer to the middle of the sky than it had been before. How long had you been out?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Groaning, you closed your eyes and began to take stock of your situation. You had no way to communicate with the outside world, you were broken in so many places, the only thing keeping you alive currently were your modifications, and now you had memories flooding back into your brain. The crash must have knocked your memory chip back into place. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I have a sister?" you questioned to yourself, unable to pull yourself away from that thought. Who was she? Where was she? Was she even still alive? Why did no one know about her?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You shook your head. Now was not the time to be speculating about lost family, you needed to get out of this situation. Gritting your teeth, you forced yourself upward, crying out through the spasms of pain that made moving the most agonising thing in existence. There was nothing you could do about your ribs right now, those would have to wait for if you ever got saved. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" A cold blast of wind ripped through the crash site, making the steel of the aircraft screech and hitting you with enough force to almost knock you over. Keeping yourself sitting up was one of the hardest things you'd ever had to do, and it took every ounce of mental energy you had not to just let the wind bowl you over and the cold lull you into a nice hibernation. If you let yourself fall into that trap, you'd never wake up again. You couldn't leave Jesse and Hanzo like that. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "They will find me," you whispered to yourself, giving you a little strength, enough to open your eyes and look down and take stock of your current state. Your stomach gave a lurch at just how mangled your body was. The impact had broken many bones, and your unyielding rate of healing made sure they all healed very incorrectly. Luckily, you still had use of your hands, and you knew exactly what you needed to do./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Steeling yourself, you gripped your forearm and examined it, tracing a mental map of where the bone was supposed to be and where it was now. The white bone jutted out from your skin in a very disturbing manner, covered in patches of dried, crusty blood. "em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Mhac na galla/em," you murmured, trying to get your racing heart to settle, as well as your stomach. "I'm going to need to cut through the fucking skin to get it back in place."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Thankfully, your knife wasn't far, as it had been attached to you before the crash. You cradled the handle of it in your non mangled hand and took a breath, preparing to attempt to time this correctly. If you were just a fraction too slow, the bone would end up tearing through the newly healing skin as you forced it back into place and the whole procedure would be a hundred times more painful. After planning it out in your head, your fingers tightened around the handle and you sunk the blade into your arm, cutting a long strip from the edge of the bone upward. Blood soaked your hand, warm and steaming as it ran down in rivulets, and almost immediately, the skin began to stitch back together. You dropped the knife and gripped the bone and with one strong, sharp tug, snapped it back into place./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Your stomach lurched and you screamed as a cold sweat immediately took over your body, your consciousness fading not a moment later./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;"br style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; content: display: block; margin-top: 0.8em;" / /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You stood in front of the mirror, awkward, gangly limbs crossed over your body as you tried to hide from yourself as, at the same time, you attempted to take in the new you. It would take time getting used to the new wings, the way you had shrunk and grew in some places. Puberty was hard, but puberty as well as new genetic modifications? That was even harder. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Hardly eleven and you were already dealing with so much; Máthair's expectations, grappling with the notion of mortality, earning the respect needed to command an army, built for your mother's needs, but ordered to respect you, a tween, as well. Then there was all the experimentations. You'd gotten used to the needles over the years, but you would never be at ease with the cold, sterlised room Dr. O'Deorain used whenever it was her turn to look you over. Some days, everything hurt so bad you couldn't get out of bed, and other days, you felt like death walking./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" The only thing that made it worth it was your sister. Protecting Ériu was your only goal, because as long as /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Máthair had you to experiment on, /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Ériu was protected. That was the deal you had made. Your life for your sister's. You hoped some day Ériu would be able to get out of this place and live a semi-normal life, the ones you read about in books or caught glimpses of in some of the shows the other experiments spent their free time watching. Had she survived, you would have wished the same for Banba as well./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Well, how do you feel a mhuirnín?" Máthair asked, coming over to lay a hand on your shoulder. She was proud of herself, you could tell by the cock in her smile and the glint in her eye. You were the first success for the genetic modifications. You hoped you would be the last./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Am I going to look like this forever?" you asked, perhaps selfishly. If you ever made it out of here, you would always be an outcast. Not like you weren't one here./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Máthair laughed, giving your shoulder a light squeeze, bending over to meet your gaze in the mirror. "Yes, my dear, you will, do you not like it?"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "I look like a freak." You regretted your words instantly, watching the mirth drain from your mother's face. "I-I mean-"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "No," she said, squeezing your shoulder tighter as she stood. The slap echoed throughout the room, though the sting on your cheek lasted only a second. It wasn't meant to hurt, only to serve as a reminder of who was in charge. "I expected more from you, Fódla. After all, I gave you life, and I continue to give you everything I have. At least your sister is grateful." She glared at you for a moment before she straightened her vest and adjusted her ponytail. "We have a guest arriving today. I want you out of sight. The world isn't ready for you yet, my dear." Her smile returned, cruel and knowing. "Your sister will serve in your place until they are gone."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" There was something vaguely familiar about the man who visited that day. He was blonde, like you and your sister, and there was something about the way he carried himself that reminded you very much of Ériu. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You watched from around corners, up on balconies, and behind pillars as this man, this Commander Morrison, was given a very cursory tour, kept away from the inner workings of Máthair's lab. Watched as he made light conversation, fawned over your sister a bit, before he and Máthair ended up in a hallway, alone./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Aderyn, what exactly are you doing here?" he asked quietly, his face a crinkle of concern. "These children, what are they here for?"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "You have your ways of solving the crisis, Jack, and I have mine," Máthair responded smoothly. "By blending Omnic parts and intelligence, these children will become the halfway point between humans and Omnics, they will stop this war."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Jack" frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You pulled back from the railing to do the same, not missing the similarities in your stance. What war? Was there a war going on? What was Máthair trying to prepare you and the other experiments for?/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "With all due respect Aderyn, you know that's not what I'm asking about. The UN is asking about you and they're especially interested in why you have Dr. O'Deorain in your employ. What does a robotics company need a geneticist for, especially when they've already got you?" Jack asked, cocking his head./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Máthair simply smiled and shook her head. "In due time, Jack. It has been lovely seeing you again, but I have work I must get back to. I'm sure you can see your way out." The click of her heels echoed through the hall, leaving both you and this "Jack" in silence./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Aderyn, what have you done?" he murmured, running his fingers through his hair as he turned around and stopped. Blue eyes flicked up to the loft, landing on yours with surprise./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Startled, you ripped your arms away from your chest and quickly retreated into the shadows. For a moment, you hesitated there, knowing this could be your escape, or at least a portal of knowledge into the world outside the lab. But then your fear took over and you silently made your way back to your room, taking the shortcut through the vents to get there before your mother could./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" It took you less time to come to this time around, and when you finally did make it back to the land of the conscious, the pain in your arm had dulled to a faint throb. The sun was peeking out from behind the edges of the mountain. The fact that you weren't suffering from frostbite right now was amazing, probably one of the only things you could thank Aderyn for. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Gritting your teeth, you pushed through the pain of sitting up again, this time turning your focus onto your broken legs. Thankfully, this time there were no bones jutting out through your skin, but both of your legs were pointed out in the opposite direction of where they should have been./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" You managed to stay conscious through the pain this time, though you were not able to hold in your lunch. The sound that your bones made as you forced them back into place made you violently ill and you had to quickly throw yourself onto your side to keep from retching all over yourself. It took longer than you expected for your bones to heal, leaving you sitting in the cold for a good half an hour before you could maneuver yourself onto wobbly knees. The first thing you did was search the body of the soldier for any supplies you could use. Unfortunately, he was only a D-class, so the supplies on him were very little and the only useful thing you could find was his survival knife, which you quickly stashed next to your own on your belt./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Once you had regained what little strength remained, you slowly crawled your way over to the wreckage, looking for just about anything that could help. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" The aircraft had split in two, which is how you and your soldier had ended up ejected unceremoniously out onto the snowscape of the Tian Shen mountains. The pilots, unfortunately, had not been able to make it out of the plane, which had taken a nosedive. There was no getting into the cockpit, and from the acrid tang of the blood in the air, you didn't want to either. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Athena?" you called softly, not expecting much, but still hoping that somehow she could hear you. When you received no response, you sighed and shook your head, continuing your search. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Eventually, you managed to find an emergency pack, which had been stashed underneath one of the passenger seats. Within it, you found some rations, which you immediately downed, not nearly getting a large enough boost of sugar to keep you going, a bunch of first aid materials that would probably not end up getting used, a tarp, and a flare. The tarp you could use as a blanket to keep in what little heat you had, and the flare? Well, if someone was looking for you, it'd be best to let them know where you are./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Your energy was running out very quickly now, with the cold constantly pulling you down into sleep and the lack of sugar making you lethargic, there was very little you could do. You'd already done all you could, so with the last reserves of your energy, you bundled yourself up in the tarp, collapsed into one of the plane seats, and set off the flare, praying to every deity you knew that someone would see it and find you as you closed your eyes, possibly for the last time./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Ériu hated you, you could feel it. She didn't talk to you like she used to, not since you'd found Gabriel. You felt so guilty, but you couldn't tell her, couldn't risk Máthair finding out, not after what happened to your sister's crush. You knew it was selfish, but you finally had something of your own, something so real it almost hurt, and you couldn't give that up for the world, even if that world was your sister./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" But Gabriel wasn't the only reason you were pulling away. As you grew older, faster than your sister did, you learned things about your mother that you wished you had never learned. How she used Ériu against you, what she did to her if you misstepped. So, you did the most painful thing you could ever think of and distanced yourself from your sister. No longer were you the warm and welcoming presence she had learned to seek out, but you'd become cold and hard around her, especially if /emem style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Máthair was around. It tore you apart inside, but it was the best thing you could do for her./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" So Ériu never learned why her sister suddenly pulled away, why she'd become so distant, why she didn't talk to her anymore. All she knew was the only one who had been there for her had left her, didn't care anymore, had become just like their mother./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You hoped one day she could learn the truth and you could repair that relationship. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Over here! Over here!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Jaysus Christ, she doesn't look good."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "She'll be fine, she's just hibernating."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Someone get a stretcher!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Ériu? You're okay now, you're safe. Stay with us, okay?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" You lay dying, bleeding out, crushed beneath the rubble of the building you had caused to collapse. On the other side, you could hear the Blackwatch agent radioing for help. It wouldn't come in time, for you, at least. You didn't have the same healing rate as your sister, she'd gotten all the better upgrades, ready to replace you at a moment's notice. You supposed this was your moment./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Twisting your head, you caught sight of yourself in the glass of a broken mirror. You were beaten, bruised, cuts littered your face, your skin growing paler by the second. This was your time./em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" "Ériu," you groaned, your voice sounding like you'd just swallowed a shovel full of gravel. "Ériu, listen to me. I have a memory chip, we both do, but she's going to take yours and replace it with mine. You were always meant to be a replacement for me whenever I actually kicked the bucket. I'm so sorry, for everything… Our father is out there, somewhere, please, find him, he can help. Don't forget about me, or Banba. Don't forget our sacrifices. Don't forget who we are together. Please, be safe. I love you." You smiled, a gruesome sight as blood trailed down the side of your head, painting your lips like a grotesque form of lipstick, and you watched the light fade from your own eyes. The pain finally stopped. You took one last breath./em/p