Chapter 24

That one year was almost over when they got the last call from Junian. Jim took the call, but no one got any information off of it. Jim wasn't talking. He just went up to his room and closed the door. Bobby was sleeping in his nest, and Jim collapsed on his bed.

"99%...," he whispered.

Jim went to sleep and dreamt of pleasant things for the first time in a while. The hard part was almost over.

It was quite a shock to see Junian's old face at the door. Wanda answered it, and the old man said he was looking for Jim and Bobby. She had no idea who he was, so she called them both down. Bobby was a little sleepy, having been levitated to the bottom of the stairs and dropped by Jim. Winde was at the door in an instant.

"Junian...are they...?"

The white-haired man smiled and opened his arms. "They are fine."

Jim watched as they materialized out of thin air in front of him, and Bobby stood up and rubbed his eyes. They were dressed in long robes with hoods. Snidva was shorter than she had been and her eyes were gold, but she looked the same. Illkune was shorter as well and had the same gold eyes. Snidva stared at them with large eyes with uncertainty on her face.

"Snidva, Illkune, your family..."

Jim moved to the side and ushered them in. Bobby stood at the door and watched silently. Snidva didn't remember anything it seemed like, and Bobby felt something inside him die. The more he looked at her, the more it shriveled. She stayed close to Illkune and Junian, scared of everything else.

She didn't know them.

Bobby walked outside and closed the door before walking into the flower garden and burrowing into the mud. Todd came out there after a few minutes.

"Bobby..."

"She doesn't remember."

Todd looked at the ground and sighed. "It might take time."

"Just leave me alone."

"Alright yo. I can do that."

Bobby stayed outside as it began to rain, semi praying that he would drown in the mud. At least he'd die in the flower garden. With that as his last thought, he rolled onto his side and went to sleep. He really just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up.

A tap on the shoulder woke the dragon boy. Bobby stirred and opened his eyes to look up at the dark-robed Illkune. The Mimic offered his hand, and Bobby took it and scrambled to his feet.

"You...mad at her?" he whispered, unsure of himself.

Bobby shook his head and looked at the ground. "I want her to remember..."

Illkune nodded. "I do not remember a lot either, but...I think...I do not want to remember. Snid...has things here that I think she wants to remember."

Bobby sank to the ground again.

"She saw you...when you came out here. She remembers your name and your face."

"I miss my friend."

Illkune stood in silence staring down at Bobby with concern flooding his eyes.

"Let us go inside. Speak to her. She might remember something else."

Bobby closed his eyes and fell over. "I...just want my friend back."

Illkune sighed and walked away a little ways. "You need to talk to her alone, if you ever talk to her."

The black creature in the purple robes walked inside the house again, and it once again began to rain. Hours passed, and Bobby finally came inside dripping with water. He shook most of it off at the door, then came in and started to sizzle. Junian was sitting on the couch with the Brotherhood teenagers, talking about how interesting the world once was to their misery. He caught sight of Bobby and smiled.

"They're in the attic, Bobby. Jim's up there too."

He groaned and nodded his head before heading towards the stair well. Each passing step made his heart sink lower until he was dragging his body up the stairs. He went to the one door that led to the attic and turned the knob with his tail. Up more stairs he went, coming into the open room. She was sitting on Jim's bed, and Illkune was sitting next to her. Jim and Lilian were sitting against the far wall. Everyone looked at him as he rose.

Bobby looked at the floor and slinked across the room. Illkune stood and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and then looked back at Bobby, her ears pointing towards him. Illkune nodded his head and left the room. Lilian followed him, and Jim was the last to leave. Bobby shrank closer to the floor as he felt her eyes on him.

"I...remember you," she said. Her voice wasn't scratchy or animalistic anymore. It was soft and her own, scared and unsure. "I remember your face, and your name is Bobby Nite."

He felt sick to his stomach, but he gathered enough courage to look up at her. He nodded his head and closed his eyes, hiding his face from her. He heard her get off Jim's bed and wander close. She knelt down in front of him and sat. He sat up and looked at her for a few seconds before hiding his face again.

"I am sorry I cannot remember anything," she whispered.

He looked up at her and shook his head. "I...just missed you. Now, everything's different because you don't know me anymore..."

"I will try hard to remember you."

"It's not you," he confessed, rubbing his head. "I guess I'm scared. I don't know what to do now. I don't know how to take this."

Snidva moved forward and embraced him softly. His body tensed up immediately, but he started to cry and wrapped his arms around her back.

"I...just want...to be friends again."

His grip on her tightened, and she waited in his arms as he cried, feeling sad herself that she didn't know who he was except for his name, his face, and a blank memory that she wanted to believe was special.
"So what was this side experiment you were talking about?" Jim asked from his corner.

Junian snapped his fingers. "I'm creating the father!"

Everyone looked at him. "What...?"

"I've taken the pure gene and created a male subject with it. It's a pure specimen, though, and it's still taking time to develop. It's in its fetal stage right now."

"You're making another one? Is that wise?" Lance whimpered.

"I will keep it properly isolated and restrained. It shouldn't be a problem."

Jim didn't like that word. Shouldn't. It was never 100%.

Snidva came downstairs slowly, one step at a time. She stopped at the bottom and looked at Jim.

"Bobby is sleeping," she said simply, walking over to Illkune and hiding behind his back.

Illkune didn't move, just turned his head to look at her for a few minutes. Pietro and Elizabeth were absent again, probably gone out on a date. Wanda was grateful that he found someone serious and wasn't jumping around with multiple girls anymore. Todd was still following her around, but at least Bobby destracted him sometimes.

Illkune and Snidva had two beds in the same room in the basement. They had gone to bed early that morning. Illkune sensed that she had something to talk about.

"There was something special that I have to remember. There was something special that we had that I need to remember."

Illkune sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Give it time, and you will remember everything."

"I cause him pain, and I don't know why."

She hid her face in her hands and leaned against him. Illkune hugged her close.

"He cares for you. Seeing you again hurts him because you do not remember him caring for you."

"I wish I could remember."

"Keep speaking to him. He knows of your past. He will help you remember."

They slept peacefully the entire day, and Snidva had a surprise waiting for her in the morning. It turns out she was about Wanda's size, so Wanda and Elizabeth set out to get her something of a wardrobe. Illkune had Lance and Pietro to do that job. Oh was it going to be a fun week....