Kurama looked down at the table he was sitting at, his head processing the true horror he'd just heard, while Kakuzawa took a moment to consider what he'd heard. Genievieve cleared her throat.

"For what it's worth," she stated casually, "I was never in total favor of this idea."

Kurama glared up at Aristide, but Kakuzawa, perhaps sensing an impending storm, spoke up first. "What was the total fallout from this?"

"All of the staff were killed, as well as the children who harassed Alma and Lucy," said Genevieve, "The children present were the obvious killers, but they had no memory of the heinous actions they committed. That is for the best, I feel. We sent in a team to recover the children, as well as any footage that we could salvage from the cameras. We also mobilized another search team for finding Alma. It wasn't very successful though. What we tell you now is what we gathered from Alma after we reclaimed her years later, right around the time you grabbed Lucy, I believe."

"Lucy shared a few stories with us following her capture as well," said Kakuzawa, "She'd talk so long about Alma that we'd sometimes sedate her. Tell us what happened, and we'll corroborate."

Genevieve took a moment to open a folder from within her briefcase, and examine it studiously. "Our next recorded event has them meeting up with a young boy named Kouta, but before that, they were in the woods for a few days…"

Alma looked up into the trees. Two full nights had passed since she and Lucy had fled into the forest, and now it had been nothing but trees, trees, trees. The girls had been wandering aimlessly through the uneven terrain, up hills, down ridges, and darting through the occasional field. A few accidental trips over roots had gotten both of their clothes dirty, and the lack of food gave them both growling stomachs, and the meager amount of river water and grass that they could stomach didn't seem to be helping much either. And Armacham wasn't helping much either. Alma could hear there helicopter coming back around for another search, their third run this day.

"Hide," said Alma sharply, and the two young girls quickly dove into cover beneath an overhang of rocks. With their backs pressed against the stone, they waited for when the thunderous sounds of the rotors eventually faded. Only then did it feel safe to try and progress forward at a tired and hungry pace.

"...Lucy."

"Yes, Alma?"

"Are we going to talk about what you did back at the orphanage yet?"

Lucy let out a tired sigh, "Can't you just read my mind?"

"I want to talk with you."

"Really? Usually I'm the one who has to pry a conversation out of you!"

"..."

"...Sorry."

"It's okay."

"I...I'm just so hungry."

"Yeah."

"And tired."

"Me too."

"Seriously, how do we sleep with these people looking for us?"

"Standing watch has helped us some."

"I still can't sleep, Alma! I want a bed, not some rocks!"

"We'll just have to keep moving. Maybe find a house."

"With food!"

"Yes, with food."

The two of them continued walking for a few minutes, or maybe a few hours, (neither of them had any watches,) but eventually, they reached a highway running past a cliff, with several statues carved into the cliffsides. Standing by the side of the road, observing the statues, was a young boy. He had dark hair, and a backpack, and before the two girls could pull back into the woods, the boy turned toward them, and his eyes widened. Hey, there!"

Alma and Lucy seemed to wince at the unexpected social contact. The boy, who was too far away to initially see this, began to approach them hurriedly.

"Hello!" he exclaimed, running up to them both eagerly, "How did you two get up here?"

Alma and Lucy exchanged a glance, then glared at the boy.

"None of your business," said Alma. The boy frowned at this remark.

"No need to be rude," he said, "I was just asking. What are you two doing out here? Did your parents give you a ride or...did you guys walk all the way out here?"

Alma and Lucy exchanged another glance. The boy didn't know it, but the two girls in front of him were already wondering whether or not to kill him.

"By the way, my name is Kouta, and-" he abruptly stopped, finally noticing something distinctive on Lucy's head, "Woah, are those horns?!"

Lucy made up her mind right then. Invisible arms snaked out from her, and reached out toward the unsuspecting boy with lethal intent. He'd be ripped to shreds before he even realized what was going on.

"Those look really cool!" he said as he ran up to Lucy and put his hands on her shoulders. Alma bristled at this physical contact, but Kouta did not seem to notice. Lucy's face blushed at the sudden compliment, and her vectors receded almost on instinct, "I'm actually kinda jealous."

This made Lucy scowl. "You think these horns are something to be envious of? You have no idea..."

Kouta frowned, "I don't really know what you mean, but I was just saying that they look cool is all."

He then turned to Alma, who was running fast out of patience for this guy. "I've never seen someone like you before."

"Few have," she replied cryptically, a reply that went way over the boy's head.

"Yeah, there aren't many foreigners around here," he replied, "So are you an American, or European? I've always wanted to visit a foreign country. Maybe you could show me around?"

These questions were beginning to make Alma feel overwhelmed. Were it not for Lucy's close proximity, she'd have already scorched this boy off the face of the earth. Maybe if he backed off a few more feet…

"Hey, do you guys want to be friends? I'm staying with relatives for a few more days, we can meet back here if you want."

"We're done here," said Lucy, she grabbed Alma's hand and began to walk off, "You people are all the same, so uncar-"

"Oh, by the way, I've got food."

Alma and Lucy froze in an instant. They both turned and looked toward Kouta with the expressions of starving wolves. Kouta had taken off his backpack, and had fished out two king-sized candy bars. "My mom gave me these to last for the day, but if you two need them more than-WOAH!"

Lucy and Alma had simultaneously tackled Kouta, and the three kids fell to the ground. Kouta let out a yell, but the girls didn't care. They frantically grabbed the candy, tearing the wrappers open before stuffing the sweets down their throats, not bothering to get off of Kouta, who squirmed indignantly beneath them. He might have uttered a few words of protest, but they were muffled by Alma's forearm over his mouth. After savoring the feeling of sugar in their stomachs, the two girls finally got off of Kouta, who lay panting on the ground, his face red and flustered.

"Do you have any more candy?" Alma asked, a bit more eagerness in her voice than she had meant.

It took a moment before Kouta could catch his breath, his eyes looking up toward the girls, "S-sure. Just meet me here tomorrow at noon."

Lucy and Alma exchanged one more glance, then turned and fled into the woods. Kouta slowly got up, still a bit winded by the sudden physical contact...by two girls, no less. And now they might come back tomorrow! He felt a large grin spread across his face, in spite of the physical assault. He suddenly couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.

Harlan could almost feel his world crumbling around him, and it was not a happy feeling. It was like a massive pit in his stomach, a pit that forbade its host from food or sleep. A pit that would grow and grow until it swallowed him whole. He could feel it now as he looked over the crime. Several police, having finished photographing the corpses, had already gone about cleaning up the bodies, wrapping them in cloth. The surviving children would be questioned, though many of them had already been crying that they had no idea why they were all covered in blood. Harlan figured the butchered staff would be sent to their families, but the group of dead orphans in the room...well, they'd probably just be cremated, with no one to remember them. He was standing outside the room now, wondering just how things could have gotten so wrong so fast.

Boris walked up, looking very pale. "What now, boss?"

No cute nicknames, this time. There was nothing like an obscene slaughter to instill some respect for your superiors. Harlan let out a heavy sigh, and spoke with a tired voice. "Now, we clean up. Once we've gathered all that we know, we'll leak to the authorities that two girls have gone missing, chief of which is a young American girl named Alma Wade."

"What about Lucy?"

Harlan was so deep in his head that he needed a moment to remember the name. Lucy...yes, the girl with the horns! The only one who'd dared to be Alma Wade's friend, who'd spent all of her time with her.

"You said she was missing too, Boris?"

"Yeah, gone along with Alma, and no doubt both in the same place!" Boris glanced into the room where the children had been slaughtered, at the small body bags that were waiting to be shipped out. The man seemed to be thinking to himself, before turning back to Harlan with a grave expression, and a hushed tone. "Sir, are we sure Alma is the only psionic in the world?"

Harlan narrowed his eyes on his subordinate. "What are you saying?"

"Well, Alma, she...she's never really killed anyone like this, has she? Usually burns 'em to a crisp, but never chops them up in such clean cuts. That one girl, Lucy...Maybe she's got more going for her than just pink hair and horns."

Harlan felt his pit grow more. It was starting to become a downright chasm, "We'll let the authorities know about Alma and Lucy. The Powers That Be saw fit to buy over a few contacts in the local PD. We can let them know as much as we need for them to know."

"Does that mean letting them know that two girls killed all of these people?"

"As far as the police know, all of the kids killed these staff."

"I see that. I don't know what Alma did...The other children were already acting off due to lack of sleep. Wouldn't be the first time that Alma's manipulated the dreams of others, but manipulating others into doing your will...that's a new one. I'm sure the children that are still standing will eventually tell us, but given that it was Alma who manipulated their dreams, I'm sure that it must be her who commanded these children. I don't even know if she did it willingly or if it was a more passive trait, like dream manipulation."

Boris looked back at the crime scene, and let out a heavy sigh, "Well fine. I guess we'll see in time what the authorities turned up, but for now, the police are going to be on the hunt for two orphans who are affiliated with a freaking children murder cult. That sound about right to you?"

"Yeah, sure," grumbled Harlan. He ran a head through his hair, and was not surprised to see more than a few average strands had fallen out onto his hand.

Alma sat on a couch, eating a bag of cookies, and watching the evening news. It had been another hour before they'd found a suitable home, and had in fact wandered out of the woods into some stranger's backyard. Now Alma sat on the couch of their new home, flipping through the channels while her best friend finished her turn in the shower. Alma stared at the screen, watching the evening news. A woman with an authoritative voice was sitting at an elaborate desk and talking to the camera.

"There haven't been any new leads in the murders committed at the Children's Home several days ago. People are still advised to keep an eye out for two girls matching these description," The screen then displayed a photo of Lucy and Alma, one that she didn't even remember having been taken, "This girl, named Alma Wade, and her friend Lucy have reportedly vanished from the orphanage, and is believed to have crucial information relating to the tragedy which occured at the orphanage. All other children are in custody, but if this girl, who our sources say is American, is found, then people are advised not to approach, but to call the police at once. We'll let you know if we have any more news."

The authoritative woman was then replaced by an image of a man talking about car deals, and Alma lost interest. She glanced over at the other figure seated on the other side of the couch. He had long ceased bleeding from his severed neck, though not before his blood had completely covered his side of the couch. His head was lying on the floor, facing Alma with an expression of mild surprise. There hadn't been enough time to form another expression before Lucy had parted his head from his body. A woman had heard the noise and had come out from the kitchen in the next room. Now she was a pile of charred ash on the floor, not too far from her companion's head. Alma didn't know who these people were, and didn't really care. They had four walls, a roof, and food, food, food.

Shortly after claiming the house, she and Lucy had proceeded to lay claim to the fridge itself. The small table where the residents had presumably eaten was now overflowing with used plates, open containers, food bags, and bottles. Their feast had been the high point of what had been a very lousy week, but it now felt a bit blurred in Alma's head. Must've been all the sugar she'd consumed. The sound of running water suddenly cut off, and after a while, Lucy stepped out into the tv room, her tiny form wrapped in a towel.

"The shower's yours," she said casually, then eyed the cookies Alma had, "Hey, did you eat all of those?"

"I saved you some, don't worry," Alma handed her the bag, and Lucy helped herself to a few handfuls.

"Anything interesting on the news?"

"They're still looking for us," Alma said, still staring at the screen, "I'm not sure it'll be safe to see that boy again."

"So should we just stay here?"

"Just for tonight. Tomorrow, we have to keep moving."

"Do you think we could meet Kouta again?"

"Why are you so interested in meeting that boy again?"

"I don't know, I guess I was hoping we didn't have to be hiding all the time."

"If they find me-"

"I know, Alma."

"..."

"...What were his thoughts?"

"Kouta's?"

"Yeah."

"...He seemed to be sincere. He really wanted to be our friend."

"..."

"..."

Kouta looked around the clearing once more, wondering when his new friends would be coming back. He'd showed up about twenty minutes early, eager to see the girls again. One with horns, the other an american...today just got better and better! Kouta smiled widely as he noticed two small figures coming out of the woods, and eagerly ran up to meet them. "Hey, you came! I was waiting and...woah."

It took Kouta a moment to recognize his new friends. Lucy was wearing black denim overall skirt over a blue hoodie, while Lucy was wearing a ball cap, as well as a leather jacket with sweatpants. The oddity wasn't so much the apparel as it was the size. The straps on Lucy's skirt seemed to be continuously slipping off of her shoulders, and the skirt nearly touched the ground. The sleeves on Alma's jacket had to be rolled up a great deal, and there was a belt that had been wrapped around the waist of the sweatpants, the sleeves of which bunched up at the shoes.

"...Um, why are you guys wearing such large clothes?" Kouta asked, "Did you guys run out of things to wear that were your own size?"

"Y-yes!" exclaimed Lucy, her eyes brightening at the opportunity for an excuse, "We, uh, ran out of clean clothes."

"Laundry day," stated Alma plainly, and Lucy nodded her head in agreement.

"...Okay," said Kouta, "Oh, I've got more candy if you want it."

"Maybe later," said Lucy, "We've had a big breakfast."

"Do you guys still wanna hang out?"

"Depends," said Alma, "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could go to the zoo. Have either of you ever been there?"

"No," replied Lucy simply.

"Well we can go there now, if you want," replied Kouta, "There are all sorts of weird animals there."

The girls exchanged a grimace between each other. Memories of schoolyard taunts and imprisonment flowed between them.

"You...like looking at weird animals?" Lucy asked in a dark tone.

"You like watching things in cages?" Alma's tone carried an equal darkness to it.

Tomoo didn't seem to notice the negativity in the air. "Yeah, it's great! I always like looking at the weird ones, and you both will, too! Follow me!"

He abruptly turned and bolted off, not realizing how close he came to being physically destroyed. Alma and Lucy took a moment to exchange opinions.

"Do you want to go with him, Lucy?"

"...I mean, we already came out here, and he hasn't harmed us yet-"

"Hey, come on, you two!" Yelled Tomoo from afar.

Alma narrowed his eyes on the boy. "He's kind of loud."

"Yeah," said Lucy, "I doubt I'll have any fun!"

"AAAAAAAAAHWHATISTHATTHING?!" Lucy shrieked in outright excitement.

"It's so big!" squealed Alma in a slightly-higher-than normal tone of voice, a practical shout for the normally quiet girl.

Indeed, the elephant was quite big. It raised it's trunk from the small pool in it's cage and began showering itself. The girls cheered.

"OH MY GOSH, IS THAT HIS NOSE?!" yelled Lucy.

"He's actually washing himself with his nose! That's so cool!" Alma gasped, "Oh oh! He's looking over towards us, he's curious!"

"The two of you are putting on a bit of a show," admitted Kouta. Alma and Lucy didn't seem to hear him, but they did proceed to bolt toward the next exhibit, the two girls practically tripping over one another to see the next strange beast.

"Alma Alma look at that one! His neck is so long!"

"He's so tall!"

"So awesome!"

Kouta laughed sheepishly. These two might be weird, but they were also fun to be around, and he liked that a lot. This was becoming a really fun day.

"Hey girls, are you hungry? I know a good place where we can eat."

It took a moment to get their attention, but once that was done, he managed to bring them over to a nearby food stand, and treat the three of them to a new kind of food.

"It's so cold," said Lucy as she bit into her snowcone. She chewed a bit on the crushed ice before swallowing.

"Well, it is made out of ice," admitted Kouta, "How's yours, Alma?"

"These don't have a lot of flavor."

"Well, not yet. The syrup accumulates at the bottom, and you have to eat your way to it."

"Oh...yeah, I knew that."

Kouta chuckled, "Anyways, what do you guys want to do, now? Wanna go back to the reptile house?"

"That'd be fun," admitted Alma, but Lucy had a look of concern on her face.

"Kouta," she asked, "When will you be leaving?"

Kouta looked back, caught off guard by the question, "Tonight, I think. There'll be this festival that I'm going to, then my family will leave."

"Oh," Lucy looked a little sad at the news. Alma studied her, sensing this sadness.

"Are you alright, Lucy?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine."

"You can't lie to someone who reads minds."

Lucy lowered her head, "Alma, please, I don't want to talk about it now."

"Oh...okay."

Alma looked around the zoo, hopeful for something to cheer her best friend up, but Lucy's train of thought was distracted by the conversation of some people who were standing nearby.

"Did you see the news? Two people were found slaughtered in their home."

"Police say it might be connected to the attack in the orphanage!"

"I can't believe all of those children could be involved in such a horrible ordeal! What were those teachers doing to them?"

"As if that's not bad enough, there are now two of them missing. Who knows what they might do next?"

"I mean, they're just a couple of girls. How much harm could they do on their own?"

The two women began to turn around, and Alma quickly ducked her head down, the brim of her hat obscuring her face. This had been a bad idea. Kouta might not know who they were (a quick mind read had confirmed he'd had little time for tv, and less time to listen to his father's warnings,) but the thoughts and feelings of everyone else had verified that they'd seen and heard of the two homicidal children, and while that might not seem as threatening as adult murderers, the whole massacre at the orphanage had still put people on edge. She looked over at Lucy, who also seemed concerned, as well.

"Lucy?" Her question fell on deaf ears. Alma frowned, curious as to what might have silenced her friend. She felt around in her friend's thoughts, and heard, to her surprise, multiple thoughts in conflict with each other. It was like before, when Lucy had frightened Kouta by knocking over a chair. The part of her mind that was dormant was stirring.

If you don't kill first, the humans will kill you. It's a matter of time.

But that's not an excuse. I can't keep killing people who haven't done anything wrong!

You should know by now that it is my destiny to take human life.

This wasn't good. At all. She needed to get Lucy and leave right now. She was reaching out to grab her friend, to try and shake her out of her trance, when one of the women she'd been eavesdropping on spoke up once more.

"Hey, aren't those the girls from the news?"