After helping Anya use the bathroom, they all chose a spot and began settling down. Although the city was nearby, making it there by sundown was unlikely due to how late it already was. Once Anya finishes, Annie and Arlo sat down and discussed how they were going to do this. Originally; Arlo suggested sleeping in shifts, but Annie shot that down because if that's the case they would very quickly fail. She was exhausted, and honestly knew that she would fall asleep while watching them. Anna eventually suggested an idea that made sense to all of them; they found a large bush nearby, and Annie worked on making a small opening, allowing the children to follow suit without much issue.
Once they had all settled, Annie took a good look at all three of them. She thought for a few moments, while she looked the children over. Arlo looked to be eight, ten at the most he had messy chestnut brown hair and blue eyes, Anna's hair was dirty blonde with chocolate brown eyes, and finally Anya... Anya was the strangest looking out of all of them. She had short pink hair that curled at the ends, and vivid emerald eyes. She couldn't help but wonder how these children got their original 'names'. If you can even call it that, the facility had literally just slapped a number on them. She was Three, or more specifically 003. That means more than likely Arlo was 010. Her stomach sunk at the thought; no... the possibility that they were simply numbered by when they came in. 1, 2, 3... Who were 001 and 002? Did they even exist? There was a possibility that Annie was incorrect, although it was doubtful. Annie remembered her first day at the facility. When she had gone to go eat breakfast, there had been a large range of children of all different ages. There had been children older than her; but they disappeared.
"Big Sister Annie?" Anya's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at her.
"Yes?" Annie responded, looking down and smiling softly. Anya looked up with worry filling her eyes. It was a strange to see Anya so worried, and Annie felt that she had to make her feel better.
"Anya is worried about big sister..." Anya admitted sheepishly, glancing off to the side and then looking back at her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm quite alright, thank you for worrying about me, Anya." Annie said, reaching around the girl's small frame and hugging her gently. Anya hugged back cheerfully.
Night fell rather quickly after that, she helped the children to sleep and then eventually fell asleep herself. This time, she was confident nobody would find them. She and the children slept flawlessly throughout the night.
When they woke up, Annie was the first one to wake up. This wasn't anything new, as she was usually the one who got startled awake or something. She sat up, and began adjusting her raven black hair while dusting dirt, grass and let's be honest... probably bugs out of it. She shuttered at the thought that there was some kind of spider in it.
"Good morning~" Anna said with a sing-songy tone to her voice. She followed suit with her hair as Annie began waking up Anya and Arlo, who were the heaviest sleepers. It no doubt would take a bit to fully wake them up. Annie began brushing the dirt out of Anya's hair as Anna shook Arlo awake.
After they had finished freshening up as much as they could, they finally set off down the hill. All three children sitting in the makeshift sling as Annie carried them all down the hill. She walked for ages until they finally stumbled upon the orphanage. Annie didn't want to go here, but... it was the best option they had... And she felt better ensuring that Anna and Arlo at least are adopted into loving homes. Anya, too, of course. But she knew Anya would probably be returned like in the manga; Anya was still young. Anna and Arlo were old enough to acknowledge that their powers are a bit of a downside. After actually arriving in this orphanage, Annie realized it wasn't the same one from the manga, and... even worse. It didn't have any extra space. They were quickly transferred out to another orphanage, and then after Anya freaked out the owner of that one, they were transferred to another. The one from the manga Annie walked up to the gate, which must've broken sometime prior to the manga's events, considering it wasn't broken.
Annie took a deep breath, and walked into the grounds. Her stomach twisted with uncertainty. There were many things to think about, what if the orphanage was full? What if he could only take some but not all of them? How good is the environment? Would there be a consistent food source? She should've thought about this before she decided to leave their food bag behind, thinking that they'd have a stable food source now. She couldn't voice her concerns with the kids, they'll just freak out. She walked up to the door, and was just about to knock when it swung open. This surprised her, but she glanced up and looked at the chubby man, he was obviously drunk.
"Great. More of ya's?" The man asked, irritation all over his voice, but not anger. "Ah, whatever. Get on in here, find a spot and sit there I guess." He stated, leading the group of children into the orphanage. Annie softly closed the door behind her. At least they made it this far, and she could earn her keep by helping out around. Anya, Anna and Arlo all have the biggest chance of being adopted. Annie knew that the chances of her being adopted were extremely low do to her age. She wasn't even sure how old she was at this point... She was twelve when she transmigrated... so she would be... thirteen now?
"You guys made it in time for breakfast, it's oatmeal. It will be served at 7:30 sharp. If you don't make it on time, you don't get food." He turned and looked at the children. "It's rough, but supplies are tight. I simply don't have the money to ensure you all have food. It's first come first serve." Ah. So it's like that, it's survival of the fittest. Oh well, Annie was determined to ensure that Anya, Anna, and Arlo are all fed, clothed, clean and happy. Or well, as happy as they can get.
"I understand, sir. Uh... may I ask what time it is?" She asked, turning to look at him. He looked down at her and then sighed, looking at his watch. "It is... 7:12." Annie nodded in understanding, and then went to sit somewhere. Luckily, there was a clock hung on it. Although she was doubtful that any of the children in the room could read it.
"Annie... why are we here?" Anna asked as Annie set them all down, Anya noticed a toy nearby and immediately grabbed it. Staring it down, intensely.
"You will be Chimera!" She said, holding the plushie to her chest and then standing up and turning to face the three older children.
"We're here to live... for now." Annie stated, and then knelt down to be eye-to-eye with them. "This is an orphanage, it is a building that houses orphans, or children who don't have parents." Annie said sadly, and the glanced around the room. There were many children, but they seemed to clock out at 16. That must mean it's the age children age out. She didn't really need to worry about that though, she knew Anya would end up with Loid Forger and Yor Forger... the only ones she has to actively ensure get adopted are Anna and Arlo. Maybe they can even go together. When it comes to Anya though, she needs to let the story progress the right way.
It was 7:25 the next time she looked at the clock, so she reached over and grabbed Arlo's hand. She instructed that he hold Anna's, and that Anna hold Anya's. She had no idea where the mess hall was though, so she had to guess. Once she had finally gotten there, there were already a few older kids there. This bothered her, as she knew they were hogging as much of the food as they wanted. She couldn't really blame them though, things are rough. But there are much younger children here who need help too. Annie sat Anya, Anna and Arlo at a table, and then walked up to the food. She grabbed four bowls, and began filling them up.
"Yikes!" A masculine voice came from behind her, and she turned around and looked at the boy. "A lady shouldn't eat like that!" He exclaimed, reaching to grab one of the bowls but was stopped by Annie grabbing his wrist. This surprised him, as nobody ever really stood up to him.
"Hands off." She said plainly, getting the attention of the nearby orphanage owner, who although didn't really care what happened, was curious as to how this scene plays out.
"Who do you think you are?" The boy asked, watching as Annie calmly continued to fill the bowls to a normal amount. Once she had finished, she turned away from the boy and began walking back towards the table they were sat at. The boy followed, continously insulting her, her hair, her cheeks, her body. Whatever he could spit out, he said. This was childish, is this how teenage boys act now?
"..." She ignored him, still remaining silent as she handed a bowl to each of the three children. At this point, the boy was infuriated. He grabbed at the last bowl, obviously meant for Annie, but was stopped by her once again. This time, she stomped on his toe and shoved him back. "Act your age, not your shoe size." She stated plainly, sitting at the table and beginning to eat. This boy, realizing he couldn't mess with her, stumbled away. Annie quickly ate, and waited until they finished eating before collecting the bowls and putting them into the sink.
This is how every mealtime went for the next few months, and it was painfully boring. The same thing day in day out. But at least they were fed, Annie had begun ensuring that all the younger children got their food first. Then the older children can duke it out for the rest. She had also taken up most of the chores, cleaning, cooking, bathing the girls while the orphanage owner was in charge of bathing the boys. All things considered, it was significantly better than her time in the facility.
It was around February when Anya was adopted for the first time, and it was only a month later she was returned. The woman was bawling, and angry. Insisting that Anya had 'ruined her marriage'. No doubt Anya exposed an affair, which admittedly is the morally right thing to do. Anya ran up to Annie, Anna, and Arlo, and began crying. They comforted her, and they all moved on with their lives.
Two more months pass, it's now the beginning of May. Around noon, a couple walked in looking to adopt a child. They spent some time looking around, admiring the clean orphanage, which is no doubt all thanks to Annie.
"This is the cleanest orphanage I've seen, and the children look well taken care of too!" The woman exclaimed, smiling kindly at the orphanage owner who was leading her and her husband throughout the orphanage.
"Aw, thanks for the compliment." The orphanage owner, now known as Mr. Vicken said. "It's mostly because of Annie!" He gestured to the girl, who was sweeping up a mess one of the children had made. At least she was getting credit for it. The couple looked over at her, and smiled awkwardly. This is mostly because they feel bad for her, but they don't want a teenager. She understood, and read the minds of the couples. 'She so pretty... Whoever adopts her will be really lucky. But we really need a boy.' Annie realized this was an opportunity for her to get Arlo adopted, he was nine now. So he could help with chores, and other things. Just at that moment, Arlo came in playing with Anna.
"Oh hi!" Arlo greeted the couple, his hand tightly clasped into Anna's. The two had gotten close during their stay at the orphanage. And to make a long story short, Arlo and Anna get adopted. It's around this time Anya gets adopted once again, but gets dropped back off. Admittedly, she understood why Mr. Vicken was getting tired of seeing her. It happened one more time, before she began just avoiding people. Anya's sadness probably stemmed from the fact that she's gotten returned so many times, but Arlo and Anna haven't. Things are going good for them, Annie had been exchanging letters with them, keeping in touch.
One day, Annie was working hard cleaning when she heard someone's thoughts, very specific thoughts to be exact. 'What a rough environment, the building is clean, just... needs a lot of repairs. This is good though, the shadier the facility, the higher chance of these kids having murky backgrounds.' She rushed out, and ran over to Anya. Under the guise of taking a break, but she was only here to ensure everything goes as it should. Once Anya is adopted, she'll just wait out the story and go home once the natural conclusion happens. She had also stopped listening to Loid's thoughts, she didn't want to hear them. It wasn't like it mattered anyways, she was only here to ensure that Anya is adopted as she was canonically.
"Oh- Ideally I'd like a child who can already read and write." She heard Loid- er... Twilight say? She was unsure of how she should call him. It didn't matter! All she needed was for Mr. Vicken to lead Loid to Anya. Which, as if out of a script, he did.
"Yeah? If that's the case..." Mr. Vickens began, looking towards Anya, he finished. "Anya, get over here!" Anya stood up, taking the toy with her, she approached the Mr. Vickens and Loid. "She's the smartest one we got, of the younger children of course. She doesn't say much, but she's a good kid." Mr. Vickens stated, looking towards Anya. 'Little brat weirds me out... This is my chance to get her outta here.' Mr. Vickens thought. "Greet the man, Anya!" He directed.
"Ahh... Perhaps not." Loid responded, looking Anya up and down. 'You have to be at least six to enroll in Eden Academy. This girl looks about four, five at the oldest.' Loid's thoughts leaked through as she tried to focus on reading Mr. Vickens' mind. She knew this moment, here in a second Anya will claim to be six.
"Six!" Anya suddenly blurted out, probably out of desperation to get out of this horrible orphanage. Permanently, hopefully.
"Hmmm?" Loid responded in slight confusion, this was reasonable as... well, he was just thinking about needing to be six to enroll. He brushed it off though, as it wasn't like she was reading his mind or anything.
"I'm six!" Anya claimed, Loid's expression pointed towards him not believing this for a second. Which was reasonable, four-year-olds look much different than six-year-olds.
"Huh? You're six already?" Mr. Vickens asked, his voice and face laced with a tone that can only be described as 'I'm already that old?!' 'She seems much too short to be-' Loid's thoughts were cut off by Anya standing on her tippy toes to appear taller for a moment, before she ran over to a table and grabbed the newspaper on it.
"The crossword puzzle? That might be a bit difficult for you." Anya ran back over to the table and grabbed a pencil. Unlike the original, she didn't use her powers to fill out the puzzle. This is most likely because Annie spent the last year or so helping Anya and the other students study. Most of the children could now read and write, and are at least to first-grade level. But, Annie spent special time with Anya to ensure she'd be able to keep up with Eden Academy's curriculum. Hopefully, with any luck she'll be able to transmigrate back into her original body. Anya didn't need to rely on Loid's thoughts to do it, which no doubt would be good for the both of them. Once she finished, she turned and showed the paper to Loid.
"You finished it?! Seriously!?" Loid was seriously surprised, it no longer mattered whether she was too young. As Loid could forge a birth certificate. 'This is a stunning level of intellect! This girl should be able to ace the entrance exam!' Loid thought, and Anya got excited.
"I'll take this one!" Loid exclaimed, turning to Mr. Vickens. "Now about the paperwork..."
"Don't worry about it, just take her and get outta here." Mr. Vickens said, despite his attitude he was genuinely happy for Anya. Hopefully this family would stick.
"... Big sister Annie, too!" Anya suddenly demanded, Annie's stomach dropped.
"Big sister Annie?" Loid asked, a confused expression on his face, turning to Mr. Vickens for some explanation.
"Ah..." Mr. Vickens started, with a somber look on his face. "Annie is an older girl that Anya and two other children were with when they arrived. The other two have been adopted; so it's just Annie and Anya now." Mr. Vickens said, thinking of this as a way to get two children adopted. Although Annie had been a great help to him and the other children, she didn't deserve to spend her time here. Before Annie could do anything to protest, or duck out of the way or something, Anya gestured towards her, and Loid looked at her. Making eye contact.
"N... No... Anya, it's okay." Annie said, regaining her composure and walking over, kneeling down and rubbing Anya's head softly, to comfort her. Anya looked up at Annie, and jumped up and hugged her tightly. But then they both heard something, causing their eyes to widen, Anya's in excitement and Annie's in horror. 'Well, Desmond does have a son in middle school.' They both looked at him, and then he stared them down. 'I'm unsure if Eden Academy will accept applications for those after first grade, let alone a middle school student.' Anya's face fell again, and Annie's expression softened as she rubbed Anya's back. Poor girl was basically having her feelings played with. 'Ah, what harm could it do? At worst she won't be able to apply, but it'd still be nice to have help around the house.'
"I'll take them both then." Loid said, surprising Annie and exciting Anya, who ran around cheerfully. This wasn't right, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. No other children get adopted the day Anya does... Did I-... I mean, did Annie interfere too much? She was confused, and shook her head before scooping Anya up to make the commute to wherever he takes them easier. There was no point in fighting it; it seemed pretty obvious Loid had already made up his mind. Annie couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable, especially considering the situation. As they walked away, Anya waved off Mr. Vickens and the other children, while Loid tipped his hat maturely.
"Listen up, girls." Loid started, gaining the attention of the two girls. Annie looked up at him and Anya's face turned to a somewhat annoyed expression.
"It's Anya!" She protested, and then pointed up at Annie. "And this is Annie!" Anya stated, annoyed.
"Listen up, Anya, Annie..." Loid started once again, taking Anya's words into consideration. "From here on out, you'll be my children. But as far as everyone else in concerned, you've always been my children." Loid stated, earning an understanding nod from Annie. "Is that clear?"
"Clear." Anya stated as they walked, Annie kind of felt out of place, uncomfortable. She wasn't supposed to be here, this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"You are to address me as 'father', as the elite do." He continued on, basically giving the two the rundown of how to act.
"Papa!" Anya exclaimed, and Annie looked towards him sheepishly.
"Very well." He responded, the rest of the walk to the apartment was rather awkward, understandably so. Realistically, how does one talk to someone else comfortably after this entire situation? It was incredibly awkward, but they had to go with the flow. She also couldn't interfere with the flow of the actual story... Wait... Could she... further the story by helping Loid finish his mission?
"What adorably little ladies." A woman's voice rang through her ears, cutting through her thoughts.
"We're the Forgers, we just moved in." Loid said, tipping his hat politely at the elderly woman.
"... I'm Anya, and this is Annie!" Anya exclaimed, smiling at the woman. "And we've always been Papa's children!" This obviously concerned the woman, and made her slightly uncomfortable, although she brushed it off as the little girl acting strange.
"Er..." The woman began, blinking confused.
"Let's go into our apartment." Loid interjected, moving the attention from Anya's strange words. They walked into the apartment, and Annie placed Anya on the floor.
"Our home?" Anya asked, glancing over at Loid. The apartment itself was decent, although Annie was confused as to how Loid had it furnished so quickly. In the manga, he comes to the orphanage just after getting the apartment, of course... there might've been a time skip.
"That's right." Loid responded, walking into the apartment with Annie and closing the door.
"TV!" Anya exclaimed, running over and looking at it.
"Turn it on, if you'd like." Loid watched as the girl quickly switched the TV on, and went to a particular channel. The show playing was called 'Spy Wars'. Ironic, always was, always will be. Annie could see Loid's discomfort, so she walked over to speak to him.
"Father." Annie spoke carefully, hoping not to make Loid uncomfortable. "How... do you plan on explaining our appearances to other people?" Annie asked, sitting down on the couch across from Loid. Obviously, this was a good question considering Annie and Anya didn't look even the slightest bit similar. Annie had raven black hair with sapphire blue eyes, Anya on the other hand had pink hair, more specifically the shade was actually called lemonade pink, which was strange considering lemonade is yellow... Anya's eyes were also a vibrant emerald green color.
"That's a good point..." Loid stated, frowning softly as he looked at Annie. It wouldn't be fair to ask Annie to change everything about herself. "I guess we could probably have you dye your hair..." He stated, looking her over. "We can say you get your eyes from me, your hair from your mother, and Anya... she can just look like her mother." This made sense to Annie, and she stood up.
"Well, in that case we should probably buy hair dye." Annie said, this made sense to her. She thought about going to a salon, but that'd get expensive eventually. She can just buy dye and put it in a separate container so Yor won't see it when she finally comes.
Loid nodded in agreement, and walked towards the door while Annie walked over, turned off the TV and picked up Anya. As she turned around to follow Loid, he glanced at her with confusion.
"What're you doing?" Loid asked, confusion obvious all over his face.
"Uhm... I'm bringing Anya." Annie explained truthfully, and Loid began shaking his head in protest.
"She'll just slow down everything." Loid admitted, and Annie stared at him with blank eyes. Almost like he was an idiot. "... Why are you looking at me like that...?" Loid asked, Annie's expression making him somewhat uncomfortable.
"... Father, it's illegal to leave children under the age of eight home without supervision." Annie explained, looking at Loid. Was he this out of touch in the manga? Was he simply unaware of child welfare laws? Annie didn't know the answer, but Loid's expression switched from a confused to an understanding. 'Good thing she told me... Wouldn't want to be arrested first day of being a father...' he sweat dropped, and then walked out the door, gesturing for the girls to follow.
"I want a silenced pistol!" Anya exclaimed, causing Loid to softly facepalm as he walked.
"We'll see if one is on sale..." He humored her, as they walked to the nearest store. While they were there, they went and grabbed some hair dye. It'd take some time to make the correct shade, but... they'd figure it out.
After they checked out, Annie placed Anya down to talk to her 'father' about the logistics of everything. It would take a couple of times, but hopefully Annie would be able to get the right shade in no time.
"Papa, Sister! Help meee!" Anya's voice pierced their ears, getting their attention and they turned to see her nearly getting dragged away by the crowd. Luckily, an elderly woman grabbed her hand before she got lost.
"Come now, dearie... Little girl like you has got to hold her daddy's hand." The woman said, handing Anya back to Loid. They all kind of... stared at each other, before Loid begrudgingly took her hand and they continued walking. 'Holding hands will impair me from reacting to an enemy attack... I guess there is no way around it now.' Loid thought, scaring Anya into running away and hiding underneath a nearby table.
"... What're you doing?" Loid asked, confused as he thought about everything. He needed to have a good relationship with these girls to come off as a normal family. Annie had already begun coercing Anya out from under the table. Once she did that, she grabbed her hand and they were on their way.
"I like peanuts!" Anya randomly exclaimed, turning and looking at Loid with determination.
"Hm? Okay?" He asked, confused.
"I hate carrots!" Anya continued, looking around for things she could explain to him. "OOOOH, a bakery!" Anya cheered, this made Annie's stomach drop again. Something else changed, Anya didn't know how to pronounce bakery in the manga. "I love sweets like cake!" ... Oh well, it didn't matter. Annie needed to further the story anyways, the completion of Loid's mission is important. Anya knowing more than she did last time will only serve in furthering the story.
After this, they kept walking. Annie didn't notice anything particularly of value, so there was no reason for her to ask for money or ask Loid to buy her things. It'd be kind of ungrateful and rude to ask him to buy her something after he just adopted her, pretty much on a whim, anyways.
"Papa!" Anya ran up, looking at him. "I need a dalc!" She exclaimed, putting her hands out. Yet another thing that changed, Annie's existence in this world must've altered a lot of stuff. Loid handed her a dalc, and she ran over, to buy a Spy Wars poster she had seen.
They finally made it home, with Anya sleeping peacefully in Annie's arms. She must've been tired from all the running around, she is only a toddler after all. Realistically, Anya was only four, not six. It had been exactly two years since she entered the world, although it felt as if time didn't pass at all. That means... she's now... fourteen? She put Anya to bed, and then began getting ready for bed herself. Before she did go to bed though, she walked out into the living room, where Loid was reading some books. 'Luckily Annie is here, so I don't have to worry too much.'
"Father." Annie suddenly spoke up, startling Loid into looking up. She walked forward and stared him down, crossing her arms softly. "Are you going to enroll us in school?" She asked, although of course, she already knew the answer.
"Yes, I plan on enrolling hopefully both of you into Eden Academy this fall." He confirmed, and Annie nodded softly. "... I'll study with Anya, you don't need to do much." This was surprising to him, although he was thankful. He had more time to get other things done while Annie was studying. "... Thank you, Annie."
"... I'm doing it for Anya, not for you." Annie said, almost with a cold expression on her face. Annie had been quiet all day, but Loid was surprised with this reaction. Annie almost... seemed older. Maybe this was a side effect of her being parentified while living in the orphanage. "Goodnight, father."
And with that, Annie walked into her room and laid down. She didn't mean to be so cold to Loid, but knowing he intends on using Anya to get his mission done doesn't feel right to her. But it is what it is. When morning came, Annie rose early. She got a breakfast started for the three, and Loid woke up next to Annie cooking toast, bacon, and eggs. After they ate, it was then when Loid informed Anya that he had to leave and that Annie would be here to help her study. Anya nodded, and they began.
Annie read the back of the back of the hair dye bottle, and then began experimenting with the color. Once she got the, hopefully right shade, she put the first layer in her hair, wrapped each layer with tin foil, and then put a bonnet over her head. She then walked over and continued studying with Anya. After a few hours, Annie had to get up and go into the shower. She had to take one so that she could get the dye out of her hair. While she was in it, she couldn't help but feel calm. But suddenly there was a strange... feeling in the air. So she quickly rinsed her hair out, and got out of the shower. Wrapping her body with a towel, she didn't even have time to admire her new hair before her mouth and nose was covered, by a rag... It smelled... chemically.
Wait... is this chloroform!?