A young and very familiar chameleon girl spoke up, "How by the luck of the gods did you both survive in the wilds? People around here die or go missing. It's obvious you came from Mistral or the outskirts of Anima."
Aiden froze at the voice and snapped toward her, pure joy clenching his heart and setting it ablaze with hope. He stood with aid from Rachel, took a closer look at her, "Ilia…is…is that you?"
She flinched and blushed at his grasp but didn't fight the urge to smile. As she did, her 'human' façade faded away, and she let out a genuine, heartfelt laugh as he pulled her in, letting her soak his bandages with tears. She cried and tightened her arms around him, and he bore through the pain, holding her just as tightly. "How have you been, Ilia?"
Choking out a laugh, she replied, "I've been on the run, you fool. When the captain lost track of you, he went to Sienna and chose to hunt everyone responsible. I escaped after he killed Cinder and the others in her sect…" She let him go, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "He tried to save them… she burned it all down." She calmed just enough to look him in his eyes and hugged him again, this time her arms went around his neck.
"I'm so happy my friends are still alive… but Adam, he went off the rails this time," he said, looking at the doctors. "How much lightning dust do you guys have in this town?"
Ilia stopped him and pushed him to the bed. "You're our patient, Aiden. Let your… wait, back up." She looked at him and said, "You don't know everything that happened after you died, do you?"
Aiden's expression turned mournful as he looked away. "I never thought about it. My assistant over here hasn't told me anything about Remnant. I think it's been a few months since I was gone."
"Look, Aiden, you need to understand that she died chasing the wrong thread, and she paid the price." He tried to stand, but she held him firmly by the shoulder. "But you need to let it go. Don't forget the past… just feel the pain and let it pass."
"Who died, Ilia? I've only been gone a month at best," Aiden said, feeling incredibly upset if not agitated.
"Blake, Aiden. Blake is dead… she has been for a year at most."
Rachel placed a hand on Aiden's shoulder. He looked her in the eye and stood up as soon as her face showed remorse and other emotions he could feel and sort of taste from her.
"Aiden, I'm sorry, but you were clinically brain-dead for two years and comatose for a year… you've been gone for—"
"Three years…" He looked up at Ilia and fell back on the table, feeling weak and trembling. "I've been gone that long?"
She was quick to try comforting him, and he didn't realize she was halfway through wrapping his left arm with bandages while Rachel filed his claws down to hide his arm better.
"Can we get back on track about why you and your cyborg girlfriend suddenly appear after a five-kilometer sinkhole hit our kingdom?!" Dr. Shepherd exclaimed. "This is heartwarming and all, but the council agents are on their way to investigate this town, so either get out of here or put yourself in a good position to hide what you three are, because I'll have to turn you in otherwise."
Aiden slowly rose from the bed with help from Ilia and Rachel before speaking up, "Then get Rachel and Ilia a job, and I'll hide out in a hotel room or something."
Ilia spoke up just as he was going to answer Aiden. "Actually, I have a job, Aiden, and I can let you live in my apartment for a few weeks. Two more checks, and I'll have the lien to get out of here, so why not just lie low while the two of us take care of you?"
"Fine, but I'll need to keep busy at your place, so don't expect me to take it easy and sit around," he said, grabbing a socket and draining what he could. His body healed a bit but not enough to do much other than basic necessities.
"What about working off your medical bills?" Shepherd said, walking over to Aiden and poking his chest. "You think your week-long stay here was free?" Staring down at Aiden, who amounted to a ragged man, was an understatement. It's for the best that Aiden was actually forgotten about after three years.
"I have a bank account I had before I dis- uhmm I mean left home." Aiden nodded to Rachel, who pulled out a black card from her pocket. "We'll pay out of pocket, but rest assured I'll know if you try to swindle us for more than necessary," her threat was disguised as best she could, but Ilia and Aiden shivered at the tone she had.
"I still need to work since the façade needs—"
"Just pack your shit and leave our town, you idiots," Shepherd said, walking out of the room with the students in tow.
After a long process of getting dressed, Aiden declined a shirt and opted to simply wear a jacket he'd packed in case he was cold. Low and behold, he needed it.
"The town is called Kuriku, a small town in the outermost area of Mistral that leads into the wilds. This place has twenty-five hundred people and houses twice that amount. If not for the fact that Haven was in session again, there'd be a massive influx of people in our business," Ilia explained while walking through the road.
"What are the necessity-based stores?" Rachel inquired, letting Ilia drop Aiden's arm to give a pseudo tour, pointing out every store she'd been in.
"The stores in this town are all necessary; we have farmers and butchers that sell food, tools, and every so often they aid the blacksmith." She led them to another place with three businesses next to each other. "There are the restaurants and bakery of the town, tailors, and of course, the hospital we just came from… just don't make it a habit to piss off Shepherd." She smiled at this, and Aiden noticed that it was fake but left it alone.
"Are we headed to your place, Ilia?" Aiden asked as he scratched his beard. "I'd like to cut this shorter than an old man's beard if it's okay."
She looked at him and replied, "In all honesty, you actually look handsome with a beard… and while I'm no stylist, I can give you a trim." She opened her door to the duo and kicked off her shoes. "Make yourself at home while I get you cleaned up. Rachel, right?" she asked.
"Yes, Miss Amitola?" she smiled at her hostess.
"Go into the kitchen and maybe put something together for Aiden, please. He's going to need it tonight," she winked, disappearing behind a wall, and the sound of a door closing echoed throughout the apartment.
Aiden turned to the android and asked curiously, thumb aimed at Ilia's door, "What was that about?"
Going into the kitchen, Rachel replied, "She's going to be trimming your hair and requires food prepared for dinner for you, master. You and her are acquaintances, so I'd like to think that she's happy you are alive after being dead for so long."
"I guess… that makes sense, but we need to talk about why you lied to me," he stated, grabbing his jacket and pulling it off.
"Short version then: Remnant gained a powerful cult calling themselves the Saviors. Blake Belladonna, Jacques Schnee, and Pyrrha Nikos were killed by Reaper… and his actions have Remnant in an uproar. Your destruction of the underground laboratory Dr. Merlot kept you alive in has attracted all of Mistral Kingdom, so we should be going asap."
"Blake was killed… by an assassin who also killed Pyrrha and Weiss' dad," Aiden said as he slowly made his way to a room. He found the bathroom but thought against it, so he went into the living room and sat at a table with three chairs placed around it, smiling at the bowl of apples.
"Master, don't spoil— oh, it's just an apple. Can you check our bags if you can? I packed clothes and bathing essentials in case we needed them, and you're still wearing hospital scrubs, so perhaps you should change," Rachel said, watching the food cook and hiss on the pan.
"Thank you, Rachel," he said, digging through the large duffel bag consisting of exactly what she told him was in there: ten pairs of socks, five boxer shorts, five gray shirts, and five pairs of black pants, as well as a month's worth of soap and three towels.
"I'll be in the shower if Ilia asks; no coming in thinking I'll need help. I need to be alone for this for once." He took one complete outfit and walked into the spare bedroom with a built-in bathroom. "I see Ilia prepared for guests," he smiled and climbed into the shower after locking the door and stripping out of the scrubs. The bandages were the most difficult problem he'd dealt with, so he sliced them off with his dagger he had taken from the laboratory city.
The water was nice and hot, like he'd taken to enjoying, and the conditioner and body soap felt as wonderful as they smelled. Using a loofah,
He scrubbed his body but left his Grimm arm as dry as he could while showering. The problem was his back ached as the water washed over him, making his back react worse than he thought.
After he was done, he turned off the water, climbed out of the tub, and went to work drying off. He got dressed but decided not to wear the socks since Ilia had carpet all over her floors.
"I'm lucky for even this amount of quiet; enjoy it, Aiden, this peace won't last long," he cynically joked as he opened the door.
Ilia hummed as she set up for Aiden's haircut and smiled, seeing him wet and fresh from the shower. "Like I mentioned, I'm no professional, but I'm confident I can do a good job."
"Dinner is done, so you should move it to the side until after you're both done eating," Rachel said, placing four plates on the table. Two small plates had potato wedges and ketchup. The two big plates had breaded chicken, fried asparagus stalks, and rice with pickled red onions on top. "It's not much, but I did what I could with what I found."
Aiden helped Ilia set her makeshift barbershop to the side and sat at the table. "Where's your food, Rachel?" Ilia asked.
Leaning over, Aiden whispered, "She's like Penny, except she can't fight."
"O-oh, wow, uh, I'm sorry, I didn't know. She seemed normal to me—I never thought I'd see that coming," she said, feeling incredibly guilty. "Remnant is definitely not how I remembered it."