And yet again, no comment.

*Chapter 3: Tragedies*

Hope walked over to the girl's bed cautiously.

"Are you alright?"

The girl slowly sat up, wincing as she nodded. "Yes… I'm fine…" She then caught sight of the boy, and struggled to get up. "Fell! What happened to him?"

"Don't try to move yet," Hope commanded. "He's been injured, and has already been looked over. Depending on his physical strength, he should make it."

The girl hesitated, then lay down again. "Then he should be alright… his physical endurance surpasses most humans… how was he wounded?"

"Two bullets, one in the leg and one in the shoulder. Luckily, neither bullet went in too far."

"That's good to know…"

There was an uneasy pause, before Hope decided to explain her wonders.

"…This might be a personal question, but can… I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"…Your ears…"

The girl touched them absentmindedly. "These things? So you saw them…"

"Unintentionally."

The girl was silent for a few minutes. Then…

"You saved Fell, so I'll tell you… on one condition."

"Fell… he's the boy?" Hope inquired.

"Yes. I am called Larka," she explained.

"What's the condition?"

"That you promise to tell nobody else… keep it to yourself."

Hope nodded. "Alright. I promise not to tell anyone."

"I don't know why I trust you… but thanks." Then Larka began to tell of her horrible past.

"Fell and I are brother and sister… twins, to be more precise. Although I have never known our exact birthdates, I do know we were born on a full moon. That's one reason on why this whole thing occurred."

"I do not remember anything of our previous life, but when we were six, invaders came. Our parents were killed in front of our eyes, and we were taken away."

"Why? A scientist needed us. He needed two humans, preferably young ones, which were born on a full moon, with corresponding DNA. That leads to us… a rarity. Why not take us?"

"For ten years we have lived a life of torture in that lab of his. The scientist… even when we were young, he didn't soften the pain. Injections, surgeries, so much more, I cannot begin to explain the life we were forced to live. If suicide had been possible, it would have happened a long time ago. But he was careful, and never gave us the chance… he has many lab assistants. Two of them, his most loyal, were assigned to keep an eye on us."

"I was not sure what he meant to do, but one day, when I was around ten, I heard him talking on a phone, saying that "his specimens" for the project were coming along successfully. Also, the two assistants were talking in whispers one day. Our hearing is enhanced… what many would never hear can be heard as a normal voice to us. I managed to hear one referring to something he called, the "werewolf project". So that was it… he was attempting to turn us from humans to monsters. You thought our ears resembled dogs? That's a close guess, but they are actually meant to be wolf ears."

"Of course, "werewolf project" isn't what the official name was, but it gave us the idea of what was going on. Fell was determined to get away, one way or another. He told me that we would escape, someday…"

"Fast forward to last week. Six year ahead, basically, since we are sixteen now. That is just a guess, but we have seen dates recorded into the scientist's lab book, so we can roughly guess our own age based on that."

"Anyway, we aren't the only specimens he was working on. He had another… we didn't know anything about it, except that it had never been human. That slightly relieved us. Anyway, one of the two loyal lab assistants he had, the older of the two, was killed when the beast managed to escape the glass prison it was confined in… the scientist had made the creature far too strong. The younger one shot the beast, hitting its forehead, slaying it instantly."

"Furious at this, the scientist decided to focus entirely on us. Much to his disgust, he employed an inexperienced assistant to take the place of the older one that had died."

"This was the chance Fell had wanted… he said that the new one would make a mistake eventually. And this morning, he did."

"The scientist… I never gave you his name, did I? He is called Viken… he had to leave for a few minutes, and ordered for the lab assistants to get Fell ready for another experiment…"

"There is a unique way they handle us. They have these things that are like tranquilizer guns… but they don't put us to sleep… they paralyze us instead. It has a long-lasting effect…"

"The inexperienced guard shot through the small opening at Fell, hitting his arm. But the problem with the guns is that the liquid must enter the bloodstream through a vein. This man had missed the vein, so it didn't even harm Fell… of course, he acted like it had."

"Before the other assistant could warn him, the new one opened the tube that they kept Fell in. He instantly killed both. Our fingernails are more like claws, and his strength is great… it is no challenge to rip a person to shreds. They didn't stand a chance."

"He released me, and we both ran out… again, our running speed is amplified. At the end of the hall though, we ran into two more guards. Fell dispatched one… and that's all I remember." Larka rubbed her head. "The other one probably managed to hit me over the head…"

She sighed. "There you have it. Now do you see why I was unsure about sharing this with a stranger? We cannot trust many… I trusted you because you helped us, and because… I don't know, just an instinct, and I trust my instincts. But Fell… he does not trust anyone but me. I doubt that he will accept you quickly."

Hope nodded. "I can see why… that's just… I can't…"

"You don't have to show sympathy. What's done is done… although where we will go now, I do not know."

"Until you heal, you can stay here," Hope volunteered. "My mother already gave permission."

"We owe you a lot…" Larka said. "Thanks… maybe you could do one last thing?"

"…?"

"I will look after my brother's wounds for now. I don't know much about healing, but I know enough to look after him now."

Hope pulled out the first aid kit again. "Ok. We'll leave you both alone until you are ready to speak."

"Again, thanks."

*****

"Come on…" Rue muttered, clicking on a card and then a slot to put it in. "Be an idiot… be an idiot… damn it!" He swore as the other player made their move. "An Assassin in the right corner! And Plus is on! Damn it!"

"Lose again?" Claire joked.

"Hey! Unlike Duel Monsters, I win a lot here! Rats, Ante was on as well… and he took… oh good, just my Celia… I have doubles of her…"

"What on earth are you playing?" Hope asked, walking in.

"Triple Triad Advance. It's a card game you can play over the internet. It's almost as good as Duel Monsters."

"I'm sure," she replied. "Hey Claire, the girl woke up. I asked how she was feeling, and she said she was fine. She also said that she would prefer to look after her brother from now on."

"Ok, as long as that's what she wants. Who are they, and what happened to them?"

"They will introduce themselves later, and explain if they want to," Hope said firmly.

"Alright then… so where are we going to sleep?" Rue inquired.

Hope facefaulted. "I forgot about that! Be right back."

She ran downstairs. After a few minutes, she was back up.

"We have a couch, and a sleeping bag. You guys choose who gets what."

"I call the couch," Claire told her brother.

"Yeah, yeah… hey, wait a minute!"

"Thanks!" She ran off, ignoring her brother's snarls.

Hope left too, calling back to Rue to shut down the computer when he was done.

She quietly entered her room, and was glad to see that Max had not woken up. She threw the note she had left into the trash can, and then got into her bed and fell asleep.

*****

"Hey, Hope! Wake up already!"

"Alright, I'm up," Hope moaned, sitting up. "Rue? What the heck are YOU doing in MY room?"

"I was sent by your mother to get you up. Don't kill the messenger."

"I'm resisting the urge to," she muttered, climbing down the ladder she used. "Ok, I'm coming, now get out!"

"Gladly." He ran out.

She sighed, and realized she had not changed out of her clothes last night. Shrugging it off, she slipped into the bathroom to change, and then ran downstairs.

"Morning," she greeted her mom, who was making pancakes, and Claire.

"Same to you," Claire replied.

"Good morning. Would you please get the newspaper?"

Complaining all the way, she opened the door and grabbed it. She looked at the headline, and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Rue asked.

"It looks like Will and Neo arrived last night," she giggled.

"Huh? Did I miss something?"

Hope showed him the headline, which read, "Bed and Breakfast's Kitchen Explodes"

"Looks like Neo's up to his old tricks," Rue laughed. "I'd hate to be him right now."

"Me too." She flipped through the other pages. "Looks like nobody discovered the blood in the park… good thing it was a secluded area. Ah, here we go… "Gunshot Heard In Park", but they found nobody injured. Good…"

A knock at the door startled them. Hope threw the newspaper at Rue, who barely managed to catch it, and opened the door.

"Oh gosh… what on earth happened to you?" she exclaimed.

"I got in the way of a deranged cook, that's what," Will growled. He was covered with ash. "I take it you saw the newspaper?"

"So Neo was the one who did that?"

"Obviously. Right now, he's cowering in his Soul Card, while I am contacting my insurance company, ordering them to pay for the destroyed kitchen. I just came to say I was here; I'll be right back after I change clothes." He then ran off.

"Hey mom! Save some pancakes, would you?" Hope called.

"Sure! Why?"

"I have another friend coming over."

"YOU WHAT?!"

Hope ran over to her, and after several minutes of arguing, finally persuaded her mother to let Will, and two others coming, stay for the time being. By then, Will was back.

"Now that that's taken care of… so how is Max?" Will asked.

"Just as I told Rue, I'll tell you; he can't be seen yet, as he is currently sleeping. When he wakes up, you guys can introduce yourselves, but one at a time."

"Introduce?"

"That's right, you didn't know… Max has amnesia."

She explained the whole thing to him, and Will shook his head.

"Terrible. Just awful."

"Yeah, but hopefully, he'll snap out of it."

"Indeed…" Will sighed, and tried to change the subject. "I had been hoping that place would have made something besides bagels or cereal for me, but I've given up on that idea."

"My mom saved some pancakes for you, want those?"

"I'll take them gladly, thanks." He walked into the kitchen.

"So now we are just waiting for Brandi and Matt?" Rue inquired.

"Yes. I don't know when they are coming though…"

"True."

After breakfast was taken care of, the four of them had some tag team duels. The partner's were often switched, and everyone won an equal amount of times, or so it seemed.

"That was fun, but can we take a break?" Rue requested.

"What is on your mind?" Hope asked.

Rue brought out a PS2 memory card. "I noticed you own a Playstation 2… got any good games on it?"

"I have Disgaea."

"Congratulations on getting one of the best games in existence. Now please excuse me while I go play it." He ran off to the family room, Claire following at a slower pace.

Will got out a book titled Lord Brocktree. "I think I'll just read. In the office, preferably, as far away from that game as I can get."

"Go ahead. I'm staying in the living room." She got out Dracula again, and was soon absorbed in the book.

At around three, another knock sounded at the door. She got up, and opened it again.

"Brandi! Matt! Hi!"

"Yo," Matt greeted. He had lost the sweatshirt he used to wear, revealing the lime green shirt he wore underneath it. Brandi was wearing the same thing Hope had seen her with in Teknisk Wereld.

"So where is Max?" Brandi asked.

"…" Hope sighed heavily. "Brandi… I hate to tell you this… but Max… he has amnesia! He didn't respond to anything; his own name, Olympion's, any of ours, mine, not even yours! I'm so sorry…"

Brandi stared at her in shock for a few minutes, then looked at the ground. "I see…"

"He's… asleep, currently. When he wakes up, I'll tell you, and you can see him… ok?"

She just nodded.

Matt was devastated at the news, yet he masked it. "Brandi, listen to me…"

Hope caught his eye and nodded in understanding; they wanted to be alone.

She walked into the family room, and saw Rue playing Disgaea. Despite the sad news she had been forced to relay, she couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Come on! Laharl, use your dratted Nightsever already! Wait, no… DAMN IT! I HATE YOU BAAL!"

Claire was laughing. "And you lose to him yet again."

"Shut up!" he snarled. "What's the matter Hope?"

"Brandi and Matt arrived," she explained.

"I see…" he went over to the PS2 and shut it off, so that the Game Over screen disappeared. "So we had best all talk about what we're going to do next, huh?"

"That's the main point," Hope nodded.

To be continued…