It had been a strangely normal day, one could even say excessively so. Not a single thing had gone wrong, except for the dark clouds in the sky, everything went off without a hitch. The woman sat inside the conference hall, she had just gotten out of her work evaluation meeting. It went well, everyone ranked her relatively high. She was content with the score she had gotten, but for some reason she couldn't shake this feeling something was off. This was something that happened often, and she could never know where or what was coming her way.
She let out a loud sigh as she finally began gathering her belongings, despite working for the company for three years now, she hadn't gotten so much as even a raise. Despite being dubbed one of the most qualified workers in the company. She was honestly at a loss as to what to do, she could push herself harder; but what would that bring? She worked her fingers to the bone just getting where she is now, it's either more stress... or it's time to move on.
The decision was quite daunting, as although she didn't want to be used by her company anymore, she hated change. Aside from that, her company could decide to fire her before her two weeks' is up, and that'll appear on her permanent record. She shook her head and continued walking home, it was just then when thunder cracked loudly throughout the sky, startling her. All around her she began hearing the sounds of water drippling down.
This was honestly her luck, just as she was about to leave, it'd start raining. She dug through her purse but couldn't find her umbrella, she sighed audibly again and pulled out her re-usable rain poncho and pulled it on. It wasn't much, but it was better than being soaked. She then headed out of the building, quickly checking whether Spy x Family had been updated. It was her favorite manga, currently. She loved it, she loved the found family trope, mostly because it helped her not feel so lonely.
As she walked, she listened to her footsteps. The water rippled as she walked, and the sound of the water; all of it, the puddles, the rain... it was all calming. She had begun to space out, and when she finally came to she heard a loud horn. She turned and looked towards the noise; only to be met with a semi-truck's headlights.
Huh. So this was how it was all going to end... It was mediocre, just as her life was. It all flashed before her eyes, everything she could remember. Being given up to Child Protective Services after her father died and her mother didn't want to deal with her, she was five... so, at least she didn't really remember that part. The parts that hurt, they were during school. When people would bully her; tease her constantly for being an orphan, that nobody loved her. She knew as much, but it still hurt to hear. At least she can rest, although she was sure there was someone out there that needed this more than she did. She finally let go, before she even could close her eyes everything went black.
She opened her eyes, but she was somewhere unfamiliar. She glanced around in confusion, sitting up as she rubbed her eye softly. The room was white, sickeningly white, as in literally everything was white. The walls, the floors, the furniture. It hurt her eyes, she stood up and walked forward a bit, it was then when she noticed that there was a mirror on the wall; but when she looked in it, she saw someone else.
She was... confused, to say the least. The girl in the mirror was about 3'9, she couldn't of been older than twelve. She was beautiful though; she had long, flowing raven black hair. Her eyes were the clearest shade of ocean blue she had ever seen. She brought her hand up to her cheek, and pinched it. She winced, since she had felt pain she knew for sure this wasn't a dream. She looked back into the mirror, the girl was wearing a hospital gown, although it had been altered to be a dress instead of just being tied around.
Suddenly, without warning she heard her door click and creak open. She turned around in fear, a random flush of memories... horrible, horrible memories flashing through her mind. Before her stood a guard, she couldn't see his face because it was obscured but she knew what time it was.
"... Oh, three. You're awake, good. Let's go, you need to eat breakfast and then get to work." She couldn't bring herself to do anything but nod, and then nervously follow. It was quiet, but she knew what was going on behind closed doors. Although she didn't experience these things first hand, whoever she possessed did. 'Three' the guy called her. Like... the number three? She wasn't sure, and she sure as hell wasn't going to ask.
She was lead into the cafeteria, where there were other children ranging from two-year-old's to fourteen-year-olds, they didn't seem to go older than this for whatever reason. She walked over to where she knew her spot was, and sat down and quietly began eating. Nobody spoke, nobody gestured to each other, nothing. It was at this point something caught her eye. On the other side of the room, with the youngest children, there was a small girl that she recognized. She had short, pink hair, but her eyes were a brilliant emerald color.
The girl seemed to feel her gaze, and turned to look at her. She quickly snapped her head away and began eating again. What was going on? Why was there a girl here who looked like Anya Forger, one of the protagonists from her favorite manga. She finished eating quickly, as there wasn't anything preventing her from doing so. She was then lead by the guard to a small testing room, and she sat down and awaited her orders.
"Three, did you sleep well?" The examiner asked, thankfully Three's memory was coming in handy now. Responding truthfully will end in her being physically assaulted, ignoring them will result in being assaulted, lying will result in being assaulted. She blinked for a moment, before nodding sheepishly. It was then it happened, the examiner struck her quickly making her stumble a bit before muttering an apology.
"Alright then, Three. What is the West planning to do?" She took a deep breath, and tried doing what her memory says she should do. 'Urgh... I shouldn't of had that coffee with breakfast.' Someone's thoughts rang through her ears, luckily Three's memories allow her to skip a step, the whole process of learning to do so. She had to ignore all these other thoughts though, she needed to read someone important's mind. That's when it hit her. 'I tried to reason with him, but the boss says there's no plans to retaliate against the East. He want's "peace".' She wasn't looking forward to this, as most of the examiners seem to believe it'd be impossible for the West to want peace.
"There are no plans of retaliation." She responded plainly, almost no emotion to her voice. She was trying to sound as emotionless as possible, to avoid any issues. This, of course didn't change anything, as before she knew it she had been slapped again, this time hard enough to knock her out of her chair. She yelped out in pain, and held her cheek, with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Three, you know how I take to liars." He looked over at her, her fear suddenly doubled, and she looked around for anyone to help her. Of course nobody would, they're all being paid by this company. She took a deep breath, and awaited the beating, and sparing the details, she got exactly that.
After it was over, she was led out of the examination room and back to her own. After the door was shut, she broke down. She dropped to the ground and curled herself into a ball. What did she do to deserve this? To be reincarnated into this hell? This... was terrible.
Day in day out it was the same routine, get up, eat breakfast, then 'study'. She'd overhear the other children throw fits, and protest but they ultimately ended up hurt. Her stomach constantly would twist and turn from the fear. She could barely even sleep at night.
One day though, something changed. She was awoken by the flashing of the lights, and the blaring of the lab's built-in security alarm was going off. She sat up, and noticed that her door was slightly ajar, like someone had been entering but ran off. She quickly and quietly slipped out of bed, she glanced around as she tip-toed up to the door. She shakily grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open slowly. Wincing when it creaked loudly, but the alarm was too loud so nobody heard it. She quickly began using her telepathy to figure out what was going on, and she quickly got her answer. 'I can't believe Seven escaped her room!' 'How is this possible, her room was locked tight, I checked it!' It was then when she was suddenly hit with her own realization. Her door was opened, why was it opened? What time was it even? She didn't know, she had no way of telling. She listened more to thoughts, trying to figure out if anyone was near her.
A quick scan of the nearby minds she realized that none of them were worried about her, they thought that all the children had been effectively put on lockdown, her guard must've been slacking off. She quickly ran across the sterile hallway, the alarm masking any noise she made. She leaned up against the door that was on the other side of the hallway, across from her door, and peaked inside. Inside, huddled in a corner clutching a teddy bear was a small boy no older than eight, the hospice clothing hung loosely around his shoulders, she quietly turned the doorknob, slowly opening it to allow the boy to come out into the hallway with her.
The boy looked up in surprise, his wide eyes showing nothing more than fear and curiosity. The sudden sight of another child in a time like this was strange for him, but he wasn't going to question it. He ran over to the door and crouched down with her.
"W... Who are you?" He asked sheepishly, looking up at the older girl who now appeared to be around twelve.
"I... I..." She started, but she didn't really have a name... the only thing she'd ever been called in this body was... "I'm Three." She stated, and the boy looked up at her, nodding sheepishly.
"I... I am... I'm Ten." The boy said, looking up at her with fear. "W... What's going on?" He asked, worried about what her answer could be.
"... Someone escaped..." She stated plainly as she read the minds of more nearby guards. 'Where is she!?' 'She must be on the East end now.' 'We need to hurry and find Seven!' After she was sure there was no guard nearby, she grabbed Ten's hand and lead him to another door. She peaked inside and saw a small trembling girl, probably around six. Her hospice clothes were too small, it looked short on her. She reached up, and turned the handle, startling the girl into the corner more.
"Shhh... It's okay... We... We need to get out of here. We have an opportunity let's go." She reached her hand out, offering it to the girl, who she recognized as Nine. The girl looked up with fear and uncertainty, no doubt afraid of being hurt again. "... It's okay, we're here to help." She continued, Nine then reached out and took her hand, trembling as she walks out into the hallway with them. Eventually, they came upon a door that was already open. She sheepishly opened it, and there on the floor hiding under the bed was none other than Seven. She reached out her hand for Seven to take, and she eventually just grabbed the girl. Using her telepathy, she knew the safest route, and she began leading the children towards that exit.
She made her way to said exit as stealthily as possible, her grip tightened around Seven as she scooped up Nine, holding both Seven and Nine in her hands while Ten did his best to keep up. She eventually had to rip a part of her oversized hospital gown and tied it around her back, she then instructed Ten to help her tuck Seven into it, as she was the youngest, no older than two. Ten helped her and tucked Seven in, pulling the fabric until it was outstretched from Seven's lower knees, to her back, keeping her firmly against her back. She knotted the fabric until she couldn't tie it anymore, and the tips of her fingers had started to bleed. She ripped another peace off and tied her hair into a bun, so nobody could pull it. She then grabbed Ten's hand while holding Nine and still making their way towards the exit.
As they ran up to the exit, they were just about to go up to the door, when it suddenly swung open and a group of guards walked back in, immediately noticing the children and using their handheld radio's to tell the other guards where they were and what they were doing. Just as they were about to begin gathering the children a gain, a cold, stern voice rang throughout the hallway.
"... Three, what on earth are you doing?" The voice that rang through the air was one that she felt she knew, she just couldn't put her finger on it. She turned to face the person who had called out, and there stood a tall, mature looking woman with short brown hair that had been pulled into a tight bun, her other features however, were obscured by the large round sunglasses she was wearing. "Three, you've been such a good subject. Why are you acting out now?" The woman asked, but she didn't have the stomach to answer. She knew this feeling, pure, unbridled fear. She was scared, this was obvious by her trembling hands. Suddenly, she got a flash in her mind. It was only for a second, but she saw it clearly. This is where the original Three dies, she's shot when she refuses to return, and all but one child is returned. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this one.
"... D... Director..." She managed to whisper, the woman smiling a sickeningly sweet smile, as she tried to approach the children, but Three wasn't having any of it. She instantly took a fighting stance, not that she knew how to fight. Then she heard the guns cock, aimed at her and the other children.
"... T-Three... I-I'm scared..." Nine whispered, and Three looked down at her. With each passing second she became more desperate, she couldn't let these kids go back... Not now, they've gotten so far. She felt her breathing quicken, and she felt herself beginning to panic. She was beginning to panic so much, that she didn't notice a scientist sneaking up on her, and didn't notice Ten's desperate tugging. Before she could do anything else, she felt a needle enter her neck. She felt a rush of panic, fear, desperation, and determination flood through her all at the same time. She let out a loud scream of pain, and threw her hand around to push the scientist off of her. But right at that moment, she accidently unlocked something, a shockwave sent the guards and the Director flying a few feet. Killing some of them, knocking most of them unconscious, but some were still conscious and the Director's eyes widened in surprise. Most of the children's abilities didn't go beyond the telepathy, so what was different about Three? This wasn't a gust of wind that knocked them over; so what happened? She didn't have a whole lot of time to ponder this, as Three quickly ripped the syringe out of her neck, and on pure adrenaline, scooped up Ten and fled the building through the door. She ran with the children in her arms for what felt like forever, but eventually she started to feel strange, so she stopped and set Ten and Nine down, although she needed help from Ten and Nine to get Seven off her back. After that was done, everything went black.
Author's Note:
Hello! I don't know if any of you have read my previous fanfiction for Spy x Family, but this is kind of like... a re-boot? After taking the time off to find a new place, I re-read my original work, and admittedly did not like how it turned out. So I deleted it and am starting from scratch again. If you had, you probably noticed there is a ton of new characters, unfortunately Nine and Ten probably won't be in the rest of the story; although they will get a happy ending. (For now. Who knows what'll happen in the future?) That being said, this story is going to be different from before, and it will not completely follow the original manga. Although there will be obvious things like Loid adopting Anya, and Loid marrying Yor, and them adopting Bond. Let's just consider those canon events.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading, and I will try my darnest to upload on a weekly basis. Hopefully between 3K and 5K words, or more depending on how inspired I am. Thank you again, and have a good morning/evening/night!