I see black. A vast, infinite land of darkness. Where am I? What the actual hell happ…

Oh yeah, right… I fell asleep. On… Kate Denson's lap. How could I ever forget that very important detail…

My eyes are closed, I believe… but I can't open them. I can't even move at all, to be honest. A spike of anxiety spears my chest, thinking for just one second that something bad happened and I am on a one way train towards the Entity's Realm.

After almost a minute, I start hearing voices, which calms me down considerably. Still not fucked, good… which can only mean that I'm currently sleep paralyzed. I forgot what a… lovely feeling this is. Being aware of your surroundings but incapable of moving. Not at all annoying, how could you ever think that?!

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! What are you…"

The female voice stops. I… don't think I've ever heard it. But to be fair, most characters in the game do nothing but grunt and moan in pain/anger/misery, so what do I know.

"Shhhh! You're gonna wake him up!"

The second voice is much more familiar. Kate's tone relaxes me completely, driving away whatever fear I might have left. Still in Ormond, still not abducted… good, let's keep it that way, shall we?

The first voice continues, ignoring the warning completely.

"So, this is Jason Kostenko, isn't he? Aww, he looks adorable, all comfy on your thighs like that! You little minx you, not even a week later and the brave hero is already all wrapped around finger!"

Kate squeeks in embarrassment.

"Thalita! What are…! I'm not…!"

The other girl, now named Thalita, giggles like she's having the time of her life.

"I know, I know! Sorry, I just couldn't resist. But seriously, what are you two doing, all cozy like that?"

"Jason is… going through a rough time and hasn't been sleeping well. I just… thought that I could offer him some peace of mind…"

She didn't stutter once in all of that phrase. So I do make her uncomfortable!

Why does this teenage shit has to be so fucking complicated?! I already went through with it once, I should be a veteran at this point!

Thalita hums, sounding like she's not believing anything of what she's hearing.

"Suuuureeee. And I bet the big, fat crush you have on him has nothing to do it".

Kate tenses underneath my head. Right, time to interrupt this dumb conversation…

"I-I don't have a-a… a… a-a…!"

My finger finally decides to obey my command and flicks, my eyelids following suit, until finally I'm back into the land of the living.

Kate's face is the first thing I see upon waking up fully, an expression of surprise etched on it. Hehe, she looks funny like that, like someone slapped her with a fish or something.

I yawn and sit up, stretching my back with a satisfying pop. Oh yeah, I needed that…

"And sleeping beauty is back with us! Had a good rest on my friend's leg?"

Ah, right, the other girl in the room. When my eyes rest upon her, I have to forcibly stop myself from staring.

She's tall-ish for a girl, around my height I'd say. Her skin is a nice mocha color, her light brown hair held back by a yellow headband. She has a purple shirt on which left her midriff exposed, with a drawing on it that looks like… weed? On her… shapely, to be conservative, legs are some snug black stockings, to protect herself from the cold most likely. She also has quite the assortment of rings and bracelets on her hands and arms, all coupled together with a teasing, mischievous grin on her face.

I blink while looking at her, but not for any weird reason. She just… looks like someone that I'm supposed to know, for lack of better words. Like someone important that I should recognize. But I don't, so I'm left with that annoying feeling of emptiness in my brain.

The girl thrusts her hand forward.

"Name's Thalita, by the way. Thalita Lyra! I'm Kate's best friend… allegedly at least. But I have the sudden suspicion that you're stealing my spot, mister!"

I grapes her hand, her name once more jolting a spark of… something, in my head. But the lightbulb is just not lighting up.

"Am I? Well, that's just too bad. Maybe she likes me better. I'm Jason Kostenko, but I think you already knew. I mean, your bestie here probably babbled on and on about me, didn't she?"

The subject of my jab covers her face.

"D-Don't say t-that! J-Jason!"

I smirk in Thalita's direction and she immediately picks up on my intentions.

"She sure did! 'Jason this', 'Jason that', 'Jason please take my vir…'"

Kate's hand shoots up and covers her best friend's mouth. She's so red I could probably cook an egg on her forehead.

"D-Don't finish t-that s-sentence! I'm serious Thalita, don't!"

The girl in question merely smirks. Then the blonde female makes the most disgusted face I've ever seen her make, taking her appendage back and shaking it up and down.

"Did you just lick my hand?! That's so gross!"

Thalita shrugs, still smiling.

"Well, I had to make you let go, didn't I?"

I laugh, covering my mouth with my hand. I like this one, she looks like pure, chaotic fun to have around. How did these two even become friends at all? What, is it the usual "extrovert takes a shine to the introvert and takes them under their wing" sort of deal?

The two bicker for a little while, while I take out my phone to check on the time. I make a face. Yeesh, this late already?! Julie is gonna murder me…

I cough a bit to catch the others' attention.

"Well, this has been lovely, truly, but I really have to go now. It's getting kind of late and all. So if you wouldn't mind, I'll…"

Thalita interrupts me.

"Not so fast, mister. You and I need to have a small chat. Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you or anything".

Her smile is not very reassuring.

"Thalita, what are you…?"

Kate tries to ask the question. She is quickly brushed off.

"Your little hero is gonna be fine, I promise. I just have to ask him a couple of things, in private of course. You can go ahead Katie, I'll catch up with you in a couple of minutes".

The blonde girl protests a bit more, but eventually gives up, probably knowing that her friend is not going to back down.

"Five minutes. No more. Okay?"

Thalita gives her a thumbs up, which prompts the American girl to exit the room, not before waving goodbye at me.

I wave back with a small smile. We're alone now.

Thalita is looking at me. The smile is still on her face, but noticeably tinier than before. She giggles lightly, seeing how tense I am.

"Relax already! Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise. I just need to ask you some questions, then you can go. Quick and painless, girlscout promise!"

I raise my eyebrow.

"You're a girlscout?"

She shrughs.

"Nope. But I might as well be, considering how much I enjoy helping people. Back to the actual conversation… what are your intentions towards Kate?"

Huh? Intentions? What is this broad blabbering about?

"You're gonna have to elaborate on that. I don't have any 'intentions' towards your best friend. I don't think I do, at least…"

Her smile becomes a bit bigger.

"I mean exactly what I said. You see, Kate is a good person… she's not the most popular girl for anything. She's beautiful, smart, humble and kind. Too kind, even, to the point that a lot of people tried to take advantage of her, like Victor Deshayes. Thanks for that, by the way. It's one of the reasons why she's so… skittish, would be the right word. She's slow to open up to people, she doesn't make friends easily… but you smashed right through her defenses. She trusts you, no other way around it…"

I'm starting to get it.

"Which leaves her open to possibly being hurt again…"

Thalita nods, glad that I'm catching on.

"Exatamente. So, before I allow the two of you to talk and have your, admittedly, adorable moments, I want to make sure that she's safe. So, I'll ask again. What are your intentions towards Kate?"

She's… awfully protective. Like she has seen these kinds of things before. Is it slightly annoying to be on the receiving end of it? Yeah, kinda. Is it perfectly understandable?

100% yes. Honestly, I would probably do the same with Susie, in similar circumstances.

"Kate is… a good friend. For now, there's nothing more or nothing less. I have no reason or desire to hurt her. Not intentionally, at least…"

Thalita looks at me with a critical expression, trying to discern if I'm lying or not. What she sees seems to satisfy her, given her nod.

"Good. Keep it that way, then. Sorry if I weirded you out, but I was very suspicious you know? Here is my painfully shy best friend, suddenly going on and on about this guy that apparently saved her. It felt like she was talking about an old friend… someone that she could trust to watch her back. And honestly…"

She gets a bit closer, smiling once more.

"You do give off that aura… the feeling of someone that you can blindly trust and they're never going to let you down. I wonder why…"

To be perfectly honest? I've been wondering that as well. People are very, VERY quick to trust me, for whatever fucking reason. Just one more question to add to the already massive pile…

"Well, our time is up, I believe. Shame, I was enjoying our conversation, but we gotta go before little Katie throws a fit. Don't be a stranger if we bump into each other in the hallways, okay? See ya!"

And with that, Thalita Lyra runs off, in a rush to reunite with her best friend.

I furrow my brows and wrack my brain, trying to remember why I am supposed to know this girl…

But nothing comes up.

When I finally managed to return to the Kostenko household, it's close to 7 pm. Damn, I must have slept for quite a while… poor Kate, her legs must have fallen asleep as well at a certain point. I'll have to make it up to her at some point.

I step inside the home, expecting Julie's incessant whining about "being late for dinner" or whatever. She could definitely learn how to at least cook some eggs. Or even how to not burn water would be a start!

… where did that come from?

Anyway, she wasn't there. In her place, Elias Kostenko is sitting at the lunch table, smiling at me in a fatherly way.

"Welcome back Jas. Had a nice day at school?"

I shrug. 50/50 I'd say.

"It wasn't the worst day of my life. Nothing much to add".

He chuckles, like he was expecting that answer specifically.

"Just average then? Better than a bad day, I guess".

He sighs, dropping the smile he's forcing on his face.

"Son, come over here for a minute, would you? I would like to talk to you about something…"

Everyone wants to talk today huh? Oh well, better to talk than to be kicked in the balls, or something like that.

I sit down next to the older man, ready to listen. One more serious conversation, coming right up.

"Is it about Julie?"

He winces, likely because he got caught.

"Yeah… or more specifically, this is about both of you. Two days ago, after we had dinner, I just… couldn't help but notice that your relationship seems… strained, in a way. Julie refuses to talk to me about it, so I was hoping that you would be willing to… open up, I guess".

He noticed too, huh? So I'm the only clueless one around here… how annoying. Is it a teenage boy thing to be obnoxiously dense? Was I like this when I was a teenager?! How much have I missed during the years?!

Getting off track again… yup, I'm definitely a brat once again. What a shocker, really.

"I'm… not sure I should talk about it. It's something very… personal, between us".

I sigh, depression clouding my eyes again. I'm getting way too invested in all of this. More than I probably should… but I just can't help it. This world… these people…

I care about them. Like this was my world… my father, my friends…

My sister. They are not… but that doesn't prevent me from caring.

"I understand that much. But I want to help you, Jason. Seeing the two of you being so… stiff around each other is killing me here. I won't tell Julie that you talked, I promise, but please… don't shut me out".

I… guess he should know. Everyone else does, and it makes sense that Elias has no idea, considering how much time away from home he must spend to make ends meet.

I end up spilling my guts. From how Nadia's abandonment affected us, to Julie's efforts in making things go back to normal, my refusal in accepting what happened to the big argument that happened right before I came into the picture.

Elias listens quietly, not interrupting me even once, letting me exhaust all the details and confessions that I have to make.

By the end of it, he slumps backwards.

"And so, you're worried that she's not gonna forgive you…"

I mean, kinda? Joey's story took away most of the anxiety, so I'm not really afraid. I just need to find the courage to go to her and actually apologize properly.

"I'm waiting for the right moment to talk with her. And hopefully not get cold feet in the meantime…"

Elias chuckles.

"You're gonna do fine son. You and Julie are way too connected at the hip to let some pesky argument get the better of you. This does bring me back…"

My "father is about to drop some wisdom masqueraded as a story" sense are starting to tingle. I'm right, of course.

"You know, way back in the days, something similar to this happened between me and your mother. Believe it or not, she used to be a good woman, once. Sure, sometimes she had 'intrusive thoughts' and allowed her anger to get the best of her, but especially in the period where we were dating, she was… someone special. Beautiful, cunning and with a desire to make it big like her father did, as a writer, but she still found the time to care about people. It persisted until a couple of years after our marriage. Julie was barely one year old and your mother was pregnant with you… when her father left her one day, for absolutely no reason… or so she would say. Thinking about it now, I can definitely see it. She was… changing. But I was too lovestruck to notice".

His face turns almost painfully sad.

"Her father did. It all started when she found his latest work. See, he was a writer, yes… but he didn't do books. He was… what was the term… a mangaka? Yes, that's the one. In the story was the depiction of a woman, who used her intelligence and technology to stalk, isolate and kill her victims, using and selling their skulls as currency. The Skull Merchant, was her name. The story… she became obsessed with it. She saw herself as this… monstrous, heartless woman. And started imitating her. Never to the point of actually killing people, but her demeanor changed drastically. And when I noticed, it was far too late. You and Julie were all grown up and she had you both firmly under her thumbs…"

His gaze sweeps to me.

"Especially you. You were starstruck by your mother, to say the least. You would have done anything to please her, to have her praise you… for her to be proud of you. But nothing that you did was ever enough. She always wanted more, and when you finally reached your limit was when I finally decided to step in. We had a big fight while you and your sister were asleep… and the day after, she was gone. This happened almost a year ago… and in usual clueless fashion, I completely missed just how hurt the both you were… what the consequences of her betrayal were…"

His hand is placed on top of my head, a sad smile now etched on his face.

"I'm sorry, Jason. I really… truly am. Things between my wife and I went bad… but you two? You are different from us. You genuinely care about each other, something that I wish I could have had with her. It's far too late for us… but your sister and you are still in time. I promise that you are, you just need to… take a deep breath and plunge yourself. You'll see the surface. I know that you will".

My head is buzzing. Skull… Merchant…? That same feeling that came when I met Thalita is back once again. A name that I should know, but I can't properly recall, no matter how hard I try.

"Tell you what, this Sunday I'm going to go to sleep early. Monday morning I have to be on a plane, after all. Take that time to talk to your sister, tell her everything you told me… she will understand. And she will forgive you. Something tells me… that she's not waiting for anything else, at this point. Can you do that for me?"

I nod, numbly. I… yeah, I can do that. I think…

But still, his story resonates in my head, buzzing around like an angry bee.

"Nadia Kostenko huh…?"

Elias looks at me weirdly, before chuckling.

"That… that was simply my nickname for your mother, back when she was someone worth loving. But no, that's not her name anymore. Neither the first part… or the second. Especially the latter".

"What was her actual name, then?"

The older man gets up from his seat, hiding his face from my view, while he starts walking towards the kitchen.

"Her true name… is Adriana Imai".

Dun dun duuuuunnnnnn.

Welcome back, dudes and gentleladies, to another episode of AIOS, the show where someone actually had the balls to make The Skull Merchant his waifu.

Yup, there it is peeps. Jason and Julie's mother true identity: Adriana Imai, aka The Skull Merchant. Is Elias a fool or a chad for actually banging her AND having children with her? You be the judge.

Speaking of judge: would you guys like to see Thalita being added to the "main cast"? I know that I said Mikaela was going to be the last one, but I kind of like writing her. Do you people want to see more of her? Let me know!

Review responses!

A Petty Theif: Yup. Kate remembers her time in the Entity's Realm, from the first trial to the last. She remembers her fellow survivors and all the monstrous killers that she had to deal with. Her demeanor now makes a lot more sense, doesn't it? Her fascination with Jason is given by something else that will be revealed… fairly shorty tbh.

blackknight99: I already answered this question a couple of chapters ago, but I might as well repeat it. All the new characters will be at very least mentioned, but Jason will simply not recognize them. Something in his head will tell him that they're important, but nothing more. There is only one exception from the survivor side of things, but that will come later.

WhyareUsernamesTakenAlready: Yeah, that announcement came completely out of the blue. And also way after I started this fic, so I had to do some smart retconning/sentence manipulation to make it work, but I think I made it work… I hope. Please tell me that it does work. The lucky guy… well, if you read David's latest tome, you should know already. Yeah… does she know more? I wonder…

That's all folks! Ta-ta for now!