Forsaken
By: Angelus Erreare
Disclaimer: All characters featured in this fanfiction belong to ATLUS. I own nothing and claim nothing.
A/N: Warning: Slight OOC, SEMI AU
Chapter 1: She and He
The girl shivered as she sat, huddled onto the corner of a cell. She wrapped her small arms around herself and closed her eyes, asking herself when this would all be over.
But she was wrong. It won't be over. It'll never be over. At least, not for her. The cell was dark and no light had dared creep in; the floor was hard and was freezing to the touch. The girl blinked her eyes once, twice but no matter what she did, she couldn't see anything.
And then, suddenly, as if her prayer had been answered, the sliding door to her cell, erm, room, opened and a person, wearing full body armor and a helmet with a visor, holding his rifle, stood outside, "Get up."
The girl meekly followed and got to her feet.
The girl looked around her as she walked behind the guard, her hands clasped together, her shoulders slightly slouched. The walls, the furniture and the floor were of the same color; grey. Clearly, the building openly displayed what she felt. She felt bland, dull and drab. Suddenly, she was cut off from her dreaming as she had collided with the back of the guard in front of her.
She hadn't even noticed that he had stopped.
The guard looked at her, and although the girl couldn't see him at all due to his helmet and tinted visor, she knew that he was displeased with her. Her silver eyes shone with fear. She was sorry. She didn't mean any harm.
She didn't want to be punished.
The guard said nothing and continued to gaze at the young girl before him. Unknown to the girl, the guard wasn't cold-hearted. He looked at her with only utter sympathy for her. There was no malice or contempt in his gaze; if only she could see his eyes.
She looked so scared; her silver eyes stared into his visor; so full of fear. She looked so vulnerable. She looked so fragile; as if she were about to shatter at the slightest touch. Her raven black hair had been cut short-much like a boy's. The guard looked at her pitifully. He imagined that numerous mothers out there had their baby girl's hair cut short as they thought it looked cute and adorable. But this girl wasn't among them. She didn't have a mother or a father to prefer her hair in any way. No. Her hair had been cut this short to get it out of the way when the tests, simulations and experiments were being conducted. No one saw this girl for what she was.
To everyone else in the building, she was a commodity. She wasn't a human being. She was treated like cattle; or worse. She was lab rat; a guinea pig for every scientist and doctor to test out any and every new theory that they could conjure.
They never bothered to stop and think about the girl per se. They all forgot to see that she wasn't cattle; she wasn't a lab rat; she wasn't a guinea pig. She was just her. She was just a little girl looking for love and security. She was but an infant that had been tossed in the ramparts.
She had been forsaken.
She reminded him of his daughter. How he wished that he could banish that look from her face forever. How he wished that he could shield her from this world and its cruelties. But he knew he couldn't.
He shook his head. After all, she, his daughter, was the reason why he was there in the first place. She was the reason why he was working for this hideous juggernaut of a company. He didn't like what they asked him to do, but none of that was relevant.
He had a family to support and a daughter to protect. He couldn't leave her the way she was now. He shook his head from all those thoughts and focused on the young girl before him. He said only but one word to her, "There."
He pointed to the room on his left and the girl followed his finger and started to walk towards it.
The guard watched the girl disappear through the door and he stood there, unable to move. He had felt very sorry for her. He wanted to help her, but he knew he couldn't. It was a heavy burden to carry.
He just hoped that God may forgive him someday.
xxxxx
The girl meekly stepped into the well lighted room. It was a room that she'd never been in before. She looked at her feet. The room, unlike her own, was carpeted; it was of the color of sea-foam green. The girl shifted her gaze to the room before her; there were things that she'd not seen in months. There were small chairs, tables and stools. There was also a large trunk at the back of the room.
What could be in it?
Her curiosity was cut short as the sliding door opened once more. She stumbled backwards, her hoary eyes widening in fear once more.
'Was she coming back…?' she thought, scared.
But then, her fear completely subsided as it was not "that woman" whom she feared, that had gone through the door.
It was…a boy.
She blinked; it was a boy of her own age. Granted, he was an inch taller than her but she knew he was of roughly the same age. She gazed at him, at first, unsure of how to make of the boy. He had the most unusual hair color; it was of pale blue. His eyes too were blue. The door shut behind him and he meekly stepped forward.
The two didn't know what to do or say, and so, just stood where they were, gazing at each other.
Finally, breaking the silence, the boy spoke, holding out his hand, "Allo…my name's Cielo…"
The girl said nothing, her lips trembling; it was as if she was afraid to speak. He had a strange way of speaking. She thought back; ah yes, there was a group of people in the world with accents like that. He must be from Jamaica or something like that. She looked at the boy once more. The more she was puzzled.
Jamaicans usually had a darker shade of skin. This boy was fair; almost as fair as she. She didn't even know it, but she was lost in her own world. This, however, was not lost to the aforesaid boy.
He looked at her with doubt; she was staring at him blankly. She looked as if she had a world of her own and that her body was empty.
The boy sighed and took her hand in his, shaking it vigorously, "Dat's how you do you it, ja?"
"So…wat's your name?"
"…"
"Come on now. I told you my name ja? So, tell me yours?"
"My name is…Sera…" she muttered, her eyes looking at their intertwined hands.
"Well, how old are you Sera?" Cielo asked, his eyes twinkling.
Sera blushed, feeling silly at herself, "I'm 7 and a half…"
The boy beamed, "Me too ja?"
"…"
Sera continued to smile, saying nothing, but as he held her gaze, she obviously grew uncomfortable and cast her head down to look at the seemingly intriguing carpet!
"Hi! Hmm…you don't talk much do you?"
She shook her head and he sighed again, "Well, dat's okay I guess. Ey! Wat's in dat chest?" he pointed to the trunk behind them, his hand letting go of hers.
Sera could only look at her hand; the one that he held. No one had ever done that before. The people she had been with had always been afraid to touch her.
Why?
She didn't know.
She then looked at the boy who ran behind her and saw him beam at what he found within the trunk. There, on the trunk were toys. Toys of numerous shapes and sizes were kept in it.
"Ey! Look at what I found! Come on Sera! Let's play ja?" He motioned for her to come over and she did…timidly.
xxxxx
"So, how did you get here Sera?" Cielo asked.
"…I…was…I was born here." she stated sadly, looking intently at the toy that Cielo was playing with. It was a brown teddy bear; it was small enough to fit in her hands.
Cielo turned a confused eyebrow at her, "Huh? Wat do you mean 'born here'? Wat about your mum and dad? Dey must be worried about you ja?"
Sera's eyes began to water, "I don't have a mum and dad…I've never seen them…"
Cielo scooted over to his new found friend and put his arm around her, "It's okay Sera. I'm here now anyway right? You're my new friend ja?"
Sera sniffed and wiped off her tears, beaming a smile at him, "Yeah…you're my friend now Cielo."
"What about you? Why are you here…?" Sera asked the boy who was now fiddling with the brown bear.
"My parents sent me here. Dey said that I had a problem," here he paused and pointed to his head, "here. Dey said that dey would help me so my parents left me here."
Sera felt her heart leap. He had parents? He was so lucky. He must be very happy.
"Do you go home too?" Sera asked; a glimmer of hope could be seen in her eyes.
"…" Cielo furrowed his eyebrows, "No…I don't…I haven't seen my parents in months…"
Sera felt a sting in her heart. She was hopeful that maybe she could see someone who was happy. But no; everyone she had met thus far was sad.
Why was the world so sad? Where was God? Wasn't he supposed to protect and cherish the world and the people who lived in it? If that was so, then why were all the people she had seen, suffering?
"Don't you miss them Cielo?"
"Yeah…I do…ja? Very much…but de people here say dat I have to get better first before I could go home. So, dey have me doing many things…"
Sera felt her eyes water once more, "…Me too…They lock me up in this big egg room with water…and I have many wires stuck to my arms and legs…They hurt me…"
Cielo looked at his friend once more and saw her crying. He didn't know why, after all, he had only met her only moments before, but Cielo didn't like to see her cry. Somehow, it made him very sad as well. It was as if, they had immediately established some sort of bond with one another.
He didn't know what else there was to say. What could he say that would make her feel better? How could he possibly know, when he himself was on the same boat?
They were the same; she and he. They had both been abandoned. They had both been and still were suffering. They were both unhappy. But then, Cielo smiled. But then again, they were still lucky. They were still lucky because they managed to find each other. They managed to meet and share each other's sorrows.
Cielo smiled and took the bear that he had been playing with, wiggling it in front of Sera, "Ey! Where did you pretty face go ja? Don't cry!"
Sera wiped her tears away and stared directly at the bear dangling before her eyes; she smiled and then heartily laughed, hugging the boy.
The boy, flustered at his friend's sudden behavior, leaned back, "Ey! Knock it off ja?"
The girl broke her hug from the boy and looked at him, her eyes gleaming, "Thank you Cielo!"
"You're welcome ja?"
xxxxx
They sat there, talking and playing; and for once in their lives, they felt, happy. Sera clutched a pink bunny to her chest while she played with a choo-choo train. Cielo played with an airplane, while still clutching the brown bear in his hand.
They didn't know how much time had passed and very soon, the doors opened once more, and the boy and girl gasped.
Was it time to say goodbye already?
They felt relieved, however, when they realized that it was only their lunch.
"Yay!! Come on Sera!" Cielo yelled happily as he ran towards the trays of food that had been set on the small tables. Sera stood up as well, a warm smile playing on her lips. She ran after him towards the tables, her pink bunny still in hand.
The two sat across from one another and took their spoons and forks. Cielo, upon inspecting the food, wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Wat da heck is dis ja? Dis again? Don't dey ever change the menu around here?"
Sera tilted her head to the side, "Change the food? Menu?"
"What's that?"
Cielo, who was about to take a spoonful of the icky goo in front of him stopped and looked at Sera with a shocked expression, "Wat do you mean 'what's dat'?"
Sera blinked; had she said something wrong? Had she upset him?
"I'm sorry…It was nothing…"
Cielo shook his head, "You say 'sorry' too much. Don't you? Now, wat did you say?"
Sera smiled; she was amazed and truly thrilled at her new friend. She felt more confident with more all the more.
"You said that the people here don't change food…and that you said something about a 'menu'…What is that? It a 'menu' a sort of food?"
Cielo almost choked, "Wat? You mean dat…you've never been on a restaurant before…?"
Sera blushed; she had heard of those…but no, she had never been into one of those. She wasn't a retard. Her intelligence was one of her highly prized talents. She was taught many languages, took courses on math, physics and such…but then, she was confused.
If she knew about all those complex principles, how come she didn't know about the simple things in life…? Cielo had given off the impression that this 'menu' was something that anybody and everybody knew…Why was it that she did not know of it?
Menu…?
She had heard of that…
'I think…'
"Wait…" she said, "A menu…from a computer screen?"
Cielo laughed and Sera felt her insides churn; he was laughing at her.
"No ja? A menu is like a…file filled with a list of different types of food dat you would like to eat!"
Sera's eyes widened; different types of food? Of course; she knew that the body required different nutrients from different sources; proteins…carbohydrates…fat…fiber…but then, that was why they were given this 'goo' for food. The 'goo' that they were eating contained all the nutrients that were required by the body.
Was that the "type" of food Cielo was speaking of?
"But…this…" she pointed to what they were eating, "contains what we need to grow…They're different types of food aren't they?"
Cielo flailed his arms up, "No ja? This is goo…!! Outside, dere are many types of food. Like…ugh…popsicles, ice cream…cake…sushi…all dat ja?"
Sera looked at him as if he had grown two heads, "Ice…cream? Cake? Sushi?"
"Dat's right ja? And dis," he once more pointed to the 'goo' with contempt, "isn't food! Dis is 'goo'!"
"One day Sera…wen we're both better, I'll take you to a restaurant and we'll eat real food ja?"
"Do you really mean that Cielo?" Sera asked; her eyes shining.
"I promise ja? I'm going to let you eat everything! None of dis 'goo'!"
xxxxx
As the two finished their meal, they left the trays where they were and walked towards the toys once more.
"Do you think you'll see your parents again?" Sera asked.
"Of course!" Cielo beamed, "Den, we can all go eat at a restaurant and play all day ja?"
"You're so lucky…"
"Huh?" Cielo asked, confused. But then, his confusion gave way to sadness. She was right. He was lucky to have parents. He was lucky because she didn't have them. After all, how could he have known that he was lucky to have parents had he not met a person who didn't have them?
"I'm sorry Sera…"
Sera smiled at him, "It's okay."
Then, as the minutes flew by, fatigue began to set in and the two dozed off with them snuggling with each other for warmth. Sera held on to her pink bunny and Cielo held on to his brown bear.
xxxxx