"I'm not falling for that." Naomi retorted.
"You must really think Naomi's stupid." Nori supposed.
"We should totally make him some of that matcha pie he loves so much. And when he's leaned near it to get a slice, bam! We shove his face in it." Naomi smiled.
"You do realize I'm right here?" Copen huffed.
"But you don't know when you'll be getting that pie. That's the best part." Naomi joked.
"I'll know that when there's a matcha pie to ask for a slice and to not go near the kitchen." Copen elaborated.
"What if the pie couldn't stay away from you?" Naomi beamed.
"What?" Copen queried.
"Yeah, what if it wants a piece of you?" Naomi teased.
Copen could only sigh.
"Well, I'd better get to making that mug of oil. I'll see you later." Naomi winked.
When she walked away, Copen scoffed.
"She has a point you know." Nori agreed.
"That a pomegranate jelly pie would want to exact its vengance on me? All for someone, that might not even be me, eating its lower half?" Copen questioned.
"That you've been going around, killing Adepts. You enjoy knowing there's less of them because of you. For the sake of this conversation and idea, let's use personification.
Say the pie was mad at you for reducing it. Like how Sumeragi and Eden got furious when you tried to reduce their numbers." Nori explained.
"And they want to reduce my capabilities of returning and destroying them." Copen realized.
Nori nodded.
"They have tried using multiple methods of destruction anyways. Whether you're too stubborn to die or realize that fact though is entirely beyond me." Naomi agreed.
"I thought you went to get Lola her oil." Copen remembered.
"Yeah, but teasing you is a lot more fun." Naomi jested.
Copen rolled his eyes as his elder sister walked off with a chilled mug full of oil. Once in the basement, Naomi set herself to putting a rotary blade on a power drill and placed headphones over her ears. Copen, Lola and Mytyl walked in while Naomi was frothing the oil. Once done, Naomi took off the headphones and looked towards the basement exit.
She found herself startled when suddenly faced with her siblings and robotic partner in crime.
"And this is why I don't ask you to do anything for me." Naomi huffed while glaring at Copen.
She grabbed the mug and handed it to Lola who was in her Idol Mode. Lola sipped it once and wondered why the oil wasn't as smooth as usual.
"Did somebody swap brands without telling me?" Lola asked while pointing to the cup in her right hand.
"I thought you wanted it frothy."Naomi answered.
"Frosty, not frothy. Is your body aging without your appearance changing or something?" Lola remarked.
"It's cold, I just thought you'd want to try something new. And since I'm the oldest I thought you'd listen to me. Maybe that's why you've been dubbed the black sheep of the family." Naomi scoffed.
Copen gritted his teeth and let Naomi know he was mad.
"But I'm not the one that works for team sheeps." Copen reminded.
"I thought you wanted to be different from other humans. But the only way you're different is by being a genocidal maniac that tears through Adepts like a beaver chews wood." Naomi retorted.
Copen just left, probably to complain to Nori why it would be best for him to live alone. That, or give a lecture on all the pros if he was born an only child.
"If he wants to live alone he can just switch where he lives with Quinn. Then it can be just girls. He must be tortured, being the only boy and all. Not to mention being the only one of us having a rebellious phase. He should just accept the fact that Adepts will exist even after he's gone. I'm pretty sure everyone would be enraged if he turned himself into a cyborg. Well, except Nori, she'd just be disappointed." Naomi droned.
"You'd probably just knock him into a coma for a century or two." Lola teased.
"If we were living by ourselves and Mytyl didn't exist. Then I would've done it a long time ago. But, since we weren't blessed with those circumstances, or anger management skills, I have no choice but to put up with him until we turn eighteen I guess." Naomi supposed as she shrugged her shoulders.
"This oil is so good! The froth is really scrubbing my gears." Lola smiled.
"I just thought you might wanna try something new." Naomi explained.
"Yeah, it sucks having to live this way." Lola sighed.
"Like knowing for some random reason your boss supsended you from work for a week. Even after that, your boss still expects an apology before he allows you back inside." Naomi agreed.
"Or dealing with a hardcase." Lola added.
"Or trying to feed digital fish and they won't eat." Mytyl grumbled.
Lola and Naomi looked at Mytyl as if the girl had stated she just got a pet giraffe.
"Why all of a sudden I feel like calling Moniqa I have no idea. But I'm gonna do it." Naomi muttered.
She took out her phone and went to her M contacts which only had Moniqa's name.
"Thank goodness you called. It's getting pretty chaotic around here." Moniqa answered.
"What's going on?" Naomi worried.
"The paperwork's a mess, everyone's rushing around, even Xiao's doing paperwork. And that's not even his job. We need you back here right now." Moniqa begged.
"Okay, gotcha, I'll be right over." Naomi confirmed.
Naomi turned off her phone and ran for the doors. However, she was stopped by Copen standing in front of the doors. Naomi first tried moving her head to see over his shoulders. The she tried moving side to side, he wouldn't budge. Naomi used her last resort and teleported directly in front of the doors outside.
She opened the left door and stuck her tongue out.
"Later loser." Naomi teased happily.
She ran to work and failed to notice she was being followed.
"Okay, I'm here, what's up?" Naomi wheezed.
"We need you to start doing some paperwork. But, Asimov said he needs to talk to you before you do anything." Moniqa notified.
Naomi nodded and went to the interrogation room, closing the door behind her. Naomi found Asimov already waiting for her. He was sitting with his elbows on the table, his right hand balled up into a fist with his left hand covering said fist. Naomi sat down, her arms and legs shaking.
"I wanted to apologize, for my earlier actions and behavior. You didn't deserve to suffer that." Asimov apologized.
"And I'm sorry for making a blackmail threat. That was improper workplace conduct." Naomi agreed.
"You are now free of your suspension. Now, I wanted to ask you something. So, how much do you think you know about Sumeragi?" Asimov inqueried.
"Not as much as I'd like to. That's for sure." Naomi remarked.
"Yes, but how much do you actually know about them?" Asimov reminded.
"Well, Sumeragi was started during the Heian period. They were prominent for their efforts in spiritual work. Four decades ago, the first ever Adept appeared in South America. That was the driving force behind Sumeragi transitioning from spiritual based work to Septimal research. Uh, do you want me to continue?" Naomi droned.
Asimov nodded, Naomi closed her eyes and sighed before continuing.
"Wait, everything everything? Like, our involvement in Project Gunvolt and even the S-FIT incident? Uh, can I write about S-FIT on paper?" Naomi stuttered.
"No details of that accident can be made public, especially not to anyone else here." Asimov denied.
"Sometime during the nineteen nineties, an experiment took place at S-FIT. A facility known for its hopeful developments and progress, S-FIT gained high noteriety for its success in Septima research. One day, a study was being conducted for Project Gunvolt. However, the test subject was more powerful than expected.
As a result, the entire building went up in flames and there were no known survivors. That, however, couldn't have been further from the truth. The test subject escaped, that's what really happened. Sumeragi took down their website to prevent the public from knowing this.
All media and news coverage claimed that an explosion killed all the workers. When allegations were made against Sumeragi, they were all denied. This was caused by rumors of human experimentation and even cloning being used. Eventually the public moved on from the accident.
The workers did not and used the event as a cautionary tale. Events that happened which were good for the press were shown to the public eye. Project Gunvolt was continued. And the test subject for the project during that time was rescued.
It is heavily theorized that the person who aided the escape efforts was the previous Project Gunvolt test subject. A few years prior, wait. I can't take it anymore. GV was experimented on at S-FIT!?
That's how you knew what floor he was on! And that's why they recently said an explosion hit that floor! And by recent I mean when I was nine! No, wait, it feels like it happened some months ago." Naomi rambled.
"During one of your operations, they tampered with your memories. In such a way that it seemed like the building exploded. They needed your memories of what actually happened removed. So, if someone asked you what happened, you would only be able to say what they wanted you to." Asimov explained.
"But the return trip, the program. Was it all just a prank made by the universe?" Naomi sobbed.
"Xana teleported you onto Lyoko in a Simulation Bubble as a trick. but the program used was a teleportation program, not reconstruction." Asimov elaborated.
"So basically my siblings and I got ditched to stay with Nori and the housekeepers!? I'd rather pick the death sentence over the housekeeper!" Naomi fumed.
"It was probably for the best." Asimov supposed.
"If you need me, I'll be doing filework." Naomi huffed as he stood up and left the room.
Zeno was standing to the left of the door wondering why Naomi exited the room with such an aggrivated expression. He entered the interrogation room to see Asimov sitting the same way as before.
"What happened to her? It looks like ya told her Viper behaved better than she does." Zeno remarked.
"We believe she may have been abandoned when she was younger. Whether it was because of Mytyl or an event that happened to Mytyl is up for debate." Asimov explained.
"Dang man, that girl's got a more messed up life than half the manga characters I read about." Zeno remarked.
Naomi was trying to distract herself by studying every single file she could get ahold of. Gunvolt noticed his coworker's strange behavior and decided to check on Naomi.
"I love the sound of mayhem in the morning." Naomi smiled in an attempt to hide the pain.
"Are you feeling okay Naomi? You look like you're avoiding something by doing something else." Gunvolt worried.
"I'm waiting for a mission or to hurry up and go the heck home." Naomi growled with her head on her desk.
"Yo, what gives? I thought you'd be happy about not having any parents to deal with." Zeno commented.
"I still have to deal with them, unfortunately. Probably because child abandonment is considered a crime. But I just feel bad that Copen and Mytyl would be left without any general influence. And you've seen how bad Copen is already." Naomi elaborated.
"Yeah, that dude's crazy. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to kill you yet." Zeno mocked.
"Why else did he try to come here and kill me?" Naomi reminded.
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Zeno supposed.
"He hates Adepts, yet he creates them. I get that he's forced to work for the Sumeragi. But how come he hasn't thought of trying to get himself fired yet?" Naomi snarled as she searched through Joule's file.
"I can't help you on that one. Seriously though, what's up with you and Elise? All three of them seem to like you. Moniqa wrote that they have a positive reaction to your presence in the file." Zeno notified.
"Yeah, well, when you find someone who's been through similar things, you tend to get along." Naomi elucidated.
"So you had the resurrection Septima implanted, suffered bullying, used video games as an escape, had two other personalities shoved in your brain, and went around killing Sumeragi scientists?" Zeno interrogated.
"Well, I've been bullied, got lost in video games as an escape, Sumeragi did find out about me when I was nine, they did tamper with my brain and the last one is on my wishlist." Naomi answered while balling her fists and gaining a facial expression similar to Mytyl's when she asked to play paintball that one time.
"Actually, they did try to put a more obedient personality in you." Asimov declared.
"You're kidding." Noami laughed.
"I'm not. You can go ask during your lunch break if you want." Asimov offered.
"I'd rather kiss a frog." Naomi huffed.
"It's eleven fifty nine now. You'd better get moving." Moniqa advised.
"Right, I'll see you guys later." Naomi agreed as she left for home.
Naomi reached the sanatorium at 12:15. Once at home, Naomi went straight to Mytyl's room and shut the door.
"Fancy seeing you here." Copen commented.
"Ah!" Naomi shrieked as she threw her attention and fists to the right side of the room.
After realizing it was just Copen, Naomi calmed down.
"I was expecting you to run out the door or something." Copen teased.
"I wish I could, but I'd be facing certain death." Naomi added.
"Why's that?" Copen wondered.
"Mytyl's health has improved drastically. She's grown three centimeters since her last checkup." Dr. Kamizono stated.
"Oh my gosh he's right outside the door! I can't do this!" Naomi whisper panicked, trying to get through the window.
"I don't know what thought process is encouraging this behavior. But you do realize that's our father and not an enemy, right?" Copen reminded.
'I see no difference between him and a Sumeragi gunner." Naomi huffed.
Copen blinked, assuming he was imagining things.
"I'm sorry but I believe I may have misheard you. Could you repeat that?" Copen muttered.
"He's using you for his own goals, don't trust him." Naomi answered.
"Well that's, something to assume. Since when were you lied to? As a child?" Copen guessed.
"It really started when I was told you were safe to be around." Naomi retorted.
Just then, the door to Mytyl's room began to creak open. Worried about being spotted, Naomi placed herself folded up under Mytyl's vanity desk. Copen rolled his eyes and folded his arms. Five minutes later and Naomi still hadn't budged.
Deciding enough was enough, Copen stuck the tip of his right boot underneath the desk. Naomi moved herself so she was sitting sideways. Still, Copen pried further. Naomi tried shoving his boot away.
"This is all very laughable behavior you know." Copen notified.
Mytyl thought he was losing his mind. Their currently present parent paid him no mind. The look on Mytyl's face was rather a mix of shock and concern, all while trying not to laugh. Copen grabbed Naomi by the ankles and yanked her out from under the desk.
She protested and dug her nails into the floor in a feeble attempt to flee the "danger". When this failed, Naomi grabbed onto the desk legs. Naomi turned her head around and threw Copen the meanest look he ever saw. Copen gave Naomi the same look he gave "lesser species" or "scum".
"Take the oxy out of oxymoron and that's what you are." Naomi growled.
"That's no way to talk to your brother." Dr. Kamizono corrected.
Naomi rolled her eyes, folded her arms and stuck her tongue out. And this allowed Copen to drag Naomi to the other side of the room. He dragged her just like how a predator would drag its prey. With an exception. Instead of pride, happiness or hunger, it was anger, revenge and type O positive on the brain.
"I can now say with absolute certainty that you are now a source of physical, mental and emotional pain for me." Naomi sneered.
That's when Naomi sensed an icy glare that made her feel like she was submerged in the Arctic Ocean.
"The only reason you're here is because you're the only boy." Naomi accused.
"He told you about the anesthesia didn't he?" Dr. Kamizono interrogated while inspecting his watch and checking Mytyl's right arm pulse wit his right hand.
Naomi pointed at Copen with her right eyebrow raised in confusion.
"This troubling terror? I've never heard him say that word a day in my existence. It's probably not even in his vocabulary." Naomi replied.
"You do realize the seriousness of this matter is far more than you could possibly imagine." Dr. Kamizono notified.
"Like you and mom ditching us? Leaving practically all the work to Nori, tampering with my memories, and far more than that?" Naomi snarled.
Mytyl looked to the people having a very worrisome conversation then at Copen, looking for an explanation. Copen shook his head, showing he was in the same position as Mytyl.
"So, I was right after all. My whole life I've been living a lie. Is there anything about my existence that's true?" Naomi huffed.