"When will it be transferred back into the incubator?"
"I expect if we combine it with this solution, it would reduce the amount of time it needs to sleep.."
"It'll die if you keep cutting it open."
072 felt like he was falling down a great, black void. He could not see nor move any of his limbs, and yet he could feel that wherever he was felt like he was submerged in water. He felt.. cold. Unbelievably cold.
The only things he could sense were several different, familiar voices-- each and every one of them talking to him. No, talking about him. He continued to listen to the voices. The longer he listened, the more audible the voices were.
'.....'
"It's looking a bit green. Should we remove the tube?"
"It's clashing with whatever you put in."
"It's definitely going to die at this rate."
'Oh, it's.. them. I wonder what they're doing this time.'
"Remove that, then!"
"Who wants to do it?"
"I will."
SLICE.
'Hak..!'
072 felt an intense pain shoot up in his side. He still could not move. Something seemed to be keeping his arms and legs in place. He tried to scream, but even his mouth was sealed shut.
'Help! Help! Someone please help me!'
Panic began to set in. The pain started to build up through his arms--
Pat. Pat.
?
And then, his whole world turned completely white.
______________________________________
"Nugh..!!"
072 sat up on the bed. He gasped and spluttered for air, his entire body shaking with sweat. He checked the side of his stomach, as if expecting something wedged inside, and lifted his trembling hands to his face.
"Ugh.. hic.."
072 started to cry. Crying was a very new concept for him, but he realized crying made him feel slightly better. The tears, warm on his face, seemed to dissolve the knot of fear in his chest, leaving a fragile sense of peace within him.
He wiped his tears with his hands and blinked them away before looking around. This wasn't the Laboratory, he realized. He felt confused for a quarter of a second before remembering what had happened so far.
He looked out of the window. It was noticeably lighter outside than before, as several lights in the surrounding buildings had been turned on.
He scrambled out of bed and looked outside. This place looked a bit.. intimidating. Not to mention, the room he was in was full of several different weapons, either hung on the wall or dumped in a corner.
Seeing them made 072 feel both safe and uncomfortable.
The door behind him creaked.
"Morning, Peony." 072 turned to see Rem at the door, grinning. "Like it? This is my room."
072 nodded his head, gripping his white shirt. 'It's a bit scary.'
"We made you breakfast. Come eat and I'll help wash you up later."
"...."
072 scrambled after him.
The place where Rem and the others lived in was very cluttered, but it wasn't messy. It had a sort of cramped look about it, with the doors to rooms very close to each other and several weapons and posters hanging on the walls. 072 followed Rem to an odd-looking place with a large table in the middle of it. 072 backed off a bit, looking wary, before noticing there were chairs set around it. Eli was already there, dressed in the clothes he wore the night before. He was drinking from a cup.
"Morning."
"You're not fooling anyone. Put down the liquor."
"You're such a pain in the ass."
'Pain in the ass..' 072 repeated that in his head, interested.
Eli set his cup down with a soft clink. Rem lifted 072 and settled him onto the chair next to his own. 072 noticed there were still empty chairs.
"Anah?" 072 mumbled, looking up at Rem.
"What is it?" Rem prompted gently.
'Where's Fossil?'
072's small finger first jabbed towards Eli, then swept across the two conspicuously empty chairs beside them. Fossil was nowhere in sight. 072 wondered if he was still asleep. A tiny furrow appeared between his brows.
"Ah, Fossil?" Rem replied, following 072's gaze. "He's already had his meal. He has something important to take care of today, so he won't be joining us for breakfast."
072's frown deepened, and he pointed again, this time more insistently, at the other vacant seats.
"That other chair is for Norville-- our unit leader." Rem smiled. "You haven't met him yet, as he's out completing a task handed to him by the Corps. He'll probably come back tomorrow."
"Gah?" 'Corps..? I thought they were Deviants?' 072 poked at Rem's side as Rem started to spoon-feed him his food.
"Ah? Oh, right. I haven't explained it to you yet, have I?" He paused, thinking of how to word it for 072 to understand.
"Hm.. well, if you can feel a very special thing called 'energy' floating around in the air, it means you're a Deviant, and that means you belong to the Drifters-- a very big organization that recruits them. You're a Deviant and a Drifter yourself, Peony-- even if you're a bit of a special case."
Rem narrowed his eyes a little. The child's energy continued to flow through him, unstopping. In due time, he hoped to found out what was causing it..
"Heka."
"Okay, okay, I'll sto--"
CRASH!!
Clatter!
"Sh/t, my beer! Oi, Fossil!" Eli cursed.
"That.. cough-- that wasn't me." Fossil emerged from a hallway, already dressed in the Drifter uniform. He was holding a weapon, and looked ready to set off any moment-- if not for the fact he had gotten a black eye. "Sir Norville is.. back."
Eli blinked. "How--"
"Sorry about that, Fossil. I'm home, everyyyOUCH!!"
BANG!
072 watched in shock as a guy with yellowish hair and a black uniform barged into the dining room and fell flat on his face. He was a bit shorter than Rem, and a lot more.. childish. The man turned his head, getting a nosebleed.
"Welcome back.. Norville. I thought you were going to come back tomorrow?" Rem stood up and helped the man called Norville stand up. Norville dusted his clothes.
"I finished everything a day early so I could come back home quicker," he said proudly. On his uniform, 072 noticed, was a badge bearing a large number 8 on it. "I couldn't bear being the only one drafted--- eek, whose child is that?!"
Norville noticed a small, dirty-looking child sitting on a chair around the dining table. He immediately hid behind Rem. 072 sat on his chair in a daze.
'What's with that reaction?'
Rem coughed. "Ah.. this is Peony--"
"Caleb," Eli corrected, downing a bottle of liquor.
"Whatever. Peony, this is Norville. Say hello." 072, looking a bit unsure, waved a hand at the blonde-haired man.
"No.. Rem.." Norville bit at his fingernails.
"What?"
"You.. you didn't tell me you had a secret ch-child with Ms. Aurelia.."
"He's not my kid," Rem said, raising an eyebrow.
"Wh-why did you keep this hidden from me.. from us?.."
"He's not even my kid," Rem repeated.
072 glared at him. For some reason.. he felt irritated. This Norville guy was acting as if he was some sort of joke.. He hopped down from his seat, intending to give the blondie a peice of his mind.
He picked up his spoon on the table and threw it as hard as he could.
THWACK!
It hit Norville straight on the forehead. Eli spit out his liquor.