Alit ruffled a small girl's hair, which prompted a giggle. "Hey, Maple, wanna go for a hike?"
"Okay, big brother!" she chirped.
"Hey, Bryan!" Alit called.
"Huh?" came the response.
"Wanna go for a hike with Maple and me?" Alit called.
In a flash, a small boy with strawberry dark blond hair was by Alit's side. "YES!"
"Okay then! Dad? Mom? We're going for a hike! Wanna come with us?" Alit yelled.
"Give me a second to get ready!" his mother yelled back.
"Okay! Dad?"
"Sorry, Alit, I have too much work to do on the farm. Tomorrow I think I can go with you kids to do something, though!" his father called.
"Okay!" Alit replied.
His mother came in wearing a pair of boots, her favorite shoes, and a bag containing a lunch, as evident from the aroma waving from it. "All set. I'll see you later, Antonius! Don't die from overwork or, God forbid, become a grouchy old man!"
"Don't have too much fun without me, you whippersnappers!" came the laughing reply. The three kids snickered at the response while their mother rolled her eyes.
"Come on! Let's go! See you, Dad!" Alit as he strode out the door, closely followed by his mother and two siblings.
"So big brother, wanna look for snakes?" Bryan begged.
"If we come across one that's not poisonous, I'll catch it for you. Just don't let it die like the last one you kept as a pet," Alit said.
"Hey, that darned stray cat ate George! All I did was take him out for a walk!" Bryan complained, slightly sniffling, "I miss him!"
"Hey, he'll always be in your memory," Alit comforted.
"Yeah, I guess," Bryan still looked sad.
"Hey, let's race! Last one to that big rock in the woods eats rotten eggs for dinner!" Alit called, then bolted.
"No fair!" Maple and Bryan complained and raced after him. Their mother laughed and chased after her three kids. In the end, she was the last one to reach said rock.
"Hah! You have to eat rotten eggs, Mommy!" Bryan gloated.
"You forget that I MAKE dinner. If I eat rotten eggs, you all eat rotten eggs," his mother said playfully.
Bryan paled then turned green. "Never mind."
Maple laughed at her little brother's expression. "Looks like someone didn't think ahead," she taunted.
"Hey!" Bryan complained and Maple started laughing some more.
Alit laughed as well at his siblings and eventually his mother started to laugh along with her children. Alit felt as if his life was perfect at this moment. Suddenly the ground beneath him gave way and he felt himself falling into darkness. He looked around for his family as he fell, feeling confused. He saw a bright red demonic eyes stare at him out of the darkness and he screamed.
Alit sat up with a cry of fear and trembled all over. It was just a dream. At least that last part was. The first part was a memory. He curled up into a ball and tears slipped from his eyes.
"Maple... Bryan... Mom... Dad... I miss you!" Alit sobbed, "I want you back! I miss you! I'm sorry I never came back! I died before I could! I miss you so much! I just want you all back! I want to have a family again! I want to go on hikes with you again! Please..." Alit cried himself back to sleep slowly, "I miss you..."
... (^0^) ...
Alit blinked awake in the middle of the night. Everything was calm and silent, but his instincts told him something was wrong. He got out of bed and strode quietly over to the doll's room. He pressed his ear to the door and heard dry sobs echoing from inside.
Alit opened the door and crept inside. The little girl was curled into a ball and sobbing her heart out. "Hey, Princess? You okay?"
"NO! I'm NOT okay! My big brother's dead! My little brother and I are dolls! My daddy's a book and I don't even know what happened to Mommy! She could be dead! He could have turned her into anything! I could've been right next to her many times and I didn't even know it! And Daddy can't move at all! He's fully conscious but he can't move or even really talk! The rest of my family are all being tormented beyond belief right now!" she gave another dry sob, "I can't even cry! I literally have no tears at all the shed!"
Alit hugged her close and she offered no resistance for once. "I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through right now. But I promise, things will turn out all right in the end."
"HOW?! How can you promise that will happen?!" she cried.
"Because I'll make it so. My comrades and I will figure out a way to turn you back and I'll rescue your brother and dad then turn them back too. I'll find out what happened to your mother and get her back to normal." Alit promised.
She sniffled. "R- really?"
"Yeah! Or I'll try as hard as I can, at any rate." Alit whispered, "As soon as you're back to normal, I'll take you swimming, alright? We can go to the beach, make sandcastles, go snorkeling, go scuba diving, swim in the waves, get ice cream, and anything else you want to do because you deserve it."
"Why would I deserve it?" she asked.
"Because you're a sweet kid and you shouldn't have ever had this happen to you," Alit explained.
She looked up at him with her eternally dull eyes. "You know, when I couldn't move and you were holding me, I was terrified. But then I saw your eyes fill with tears when that... well, I don't know what she is, explained what was going on with me and heard you say that you wanted to attack him again because of what he did to me. I wasn't exactly calmed down, but I wasn't completely terrified of you anymore," she said softly.
Alit blinked a few times then 'smiled' sadly. "I'm sorry I look scary to you."
"It's okay! I'm used to you now," she whispered.
"That's good. Although if you really are, I'm impressed. It's not easy to get used to... this," Alit said, gesturing to himself.
"I really am! I mean, you looked scary at first but now I think you look... cool. I mean, you're really powerful and not many people can mess with you. And you look kinda... magical," she looked down, embarrassed.
Alit 'smiled' and hugged her again, "You're an amazing kid, you know that?"
"...thanks," she muttered, "My big brother always said that when I was feeling down. And now he's gone..."
Alit hugged her tighter, tears coming to his eyes. "I want to help you, I just don't know how. I don't know what you need. I can only do my best."
She didn't move for a few seconds, then Alit felt her arms wrap around him as she hugged back. "You're doing perfectly, Red."
Alit 'smiled' sadly down at her, "Thanks, Princess. But I still can't help you as much as I want to."
She pulled away and rested her head on his upper arm, since she couldn't quite reach his shoulder. "You're really nice, Red. I like you a lot," she seemed hesitant to continue, but she kept talking, "I didn't want to admit it when I first realized it, but I really like you. You rescued me and took care of me. You treated me like I was important, like I was special. The only other people who have ever done that were my family and they haven't been able to for a long time. At least, the family I have left."
Alit sighed and 'smiled' down at her. "So will you finally tell me your name?"
She shook her head. "...no, I like it when you call me Princess and since you'll tell me your name when I tell you mine, I don't want to tell you because I like calling you Red."
"Okay then, Princess!" Alit 'smiled' and ruffled her hair.
She looked up at him, then smiled. She looked truly happy for a while, then she sniffled and her smile fell. "My big brother used to mess with my hair, too."
"I think a lot of big brothers do that. I used to do it to my siblings too, mostly my sister since she enjoyed it for some reason," Alit felt a tear slip down his cheek, "I miss them just as much as you miss your brother. At least you have your memories though. Let me give you a word of advice, never forget anything about your family. When your family isn't with you, your memories are them are the most important thing you have. Take it from someone who temporarily lost all of theirs, and someone who still can't remember a lot."
She looked up at Alit and stared at him for a while, apparently thinking about something earnestly. Finally she appeared to come to a decision and hugged Alit tightly around the middle. "Red, you can be my new big brother!"
"Wh- what?" Alit asked, confused.
"I mean, you lost your family and my big brother's dead. I miss him and you miss your family, so maybe we can be your new family and you can be my big brother! I miss my big brother, but I think he'd like it if I got another older brother to take care of me. Please, Red?"
"Well, if you really want me to be and if your parents don't have any problem with it... I don't mind! Sure!" Alit exclaimed.
"Yay!" she hugged him tightly around the mid-section again. "Thank you, Red-nii!"
"No problem, Princess," Alit ruffled her hair and hugged her back. "Don't worry, I'll get your family back."
"And if they're okay with you being my new big brother, then they'd be your family too, right?" she asked.
Alit blinked as he realized this. "I don't know if I'll ever refer to your parents as mine, especially since I'm friends with your dad, but I'll happily be your little brother's brother and will consider your parents my family."
"That's all I can ask for!" she giggled and hugged him tighter. Alit 'smiled' and hugged her back.
"You should probably go back to sleep. Once you're human again, you'll need to sleep every night," Alit picked her up and set her back under the covers and carefully tucked her in while she smiled sweetly up at him. Alit's breath caught when he saw her smiling so happily. She looked so innocent.
"How's that going, by the way?" she asked.
Alit sighed, "Not too well. Dumon's working almost round the clock, splitting his time between that and breaking into that jerk's place again, but he hasn't made much progress."
"It's okay," she yawned, snuggling deeper under the covers, "I can wait. I've been a doll for so long, a little longer won't hurt much."
Alit felt his heart breaking in half for his newly informally adopted little sister. He picked up the stuffed dolphin from the foot of the bed and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up and she hugged the giant plush toy close to her. "Sleep well, Princess."
"Goodnight, Red-nii! And thank you!" she smiled at him then rolled over and closed her eyes. Alit felt tears prick at his eyes then brushed back her hair and 'kissed' her forehead.
"Oh, Princess. You're so sweet. Why would anyone ever want to hurt you? How could that bastard even bring himself to do something like this to you?" Alit took her small hand in his and squeezed it. "I promise you, I'll make things right. I'll get your family back to normal, or as normal as I can, anyway."
He stood back up and kissed her forehead again. "Good night, Princess. Don't have any nightmares. Just let it be rainbows and gumdrops up there." He exited the room and started to walk back to his own before stopping and deciding to check on Koutei. He had been in a baria crystal ever since that beating a few weeks ago. Alit teleported to the crystal only to find it completely empty.
Alit glanced around frantically. "Koutei?!"
"Mm, hey Alit. How long was I out?" Alit whirled around to see Koutei leaning against another crystal behind him.
"Koutei!" Alit ran over and hugged him.
"Hey, Alit!" Koutei hugged him back then pulled away, "And you still haven't answered my question."
"A few weeks, you took a really bad beating." Alit replied.
"Damn it... I wanna break his nose again," Koutei growled.
"Oh! And I broke into his lair. I didn't get him back, but I got his daughter. She was turned into a living doll. She's been kinda closed up these past few weeks but just tonight she opened up a bit!" Alit exclaimed.
"Wow, I'd like to meet her. What's her name?" Koutei asked.
"Well... here's the thing, she didn't want to tell me her name so I didn't tell her my name as a kind of joke. Long story short, I just call her Princess and she calls me Red." Alit admitted.
Koutei frowned thoughtfully. "Huh. That's interesting. I'm surprised you haven't gone back already."
Alit 'scowled'. "That bastard upped the security and Dumon hasn't figured out how to get around it."
"Damn it. Well, kill that bastard when you next see him," Koutei suggested.
"I will. Say... you want me to overlay you home?" Alit offered.
"Why not? I may need to clean up a bit," Koutei admitted with a grin. Alit opened an overlay network and Koutei walked up to it. "Hey, come see me tomorrow, okay? I want the entire, long, tragic story."
"I will, see you tomorrow!" Alit waved goodbye to Koutei as he disappeared and 'smiled'. His friend was better, Princess was smiling, and he remembered a little more of his family. All in all, not a bad night. The only thing that could make this better would be-
Alit felt the crystal he used for communication let out a burst of Dumon's energy signature. Aka Dumon was calling him. Alit 'grinned'. Jackpot!