"Do you remember who you are?" A calm, if not a tiny bit nervous, gentle voice asked.

The figure sitting on the bed in the dark turned towards the sound, their wide eyes going even wider before they started backing away. 

The girl let out a sigh before she put down the bowl of food and swung open the purposely unlocked cell door, something they have done many times to show the figure that they can leave any time they want. Of course, seeing the door open up only caused the figure to back away further, their glowing white eyes showing fear despite lacking any normal features an eye would have.

"Listen, I know you don't trust me, and I know I don't know what you're going through, but a good fruit salad is a good bowl of fruit salad."

With that, the girl picked up the large bowl of fruits and cheddar cheese and slid it into the room, coming to a stop right by the base of the bed. The figure flinched, clutched their head for a couple of seconds, before leaning forward and looking down at the bowl below. With cat-like movement, their hand darts into the bowl and then quickly out, like a cat would do with water. Maybe after feeling for whatever trap they thought would be in there isn't there, they grab the bowl and puts it on the bed. 

Liala would think the action cute if it weren't for how much fear, distrust, and pain went into it... but she still found it a bit cute. 

"Do you remember who you are?" She asks again, taking a small step forward. 

The figure stopped, a piece of cheddar and two grapes in their small hand, their mouth wide open to take a bite. Their hands twitched and a shudder went through their body before, with a blink, they answered.

"N-No  I do I-I Remember I-I do- Not clear. Too m-many voi- So many memories Memories not- They're not mine! N-not mine. C-a-can't think...Straight It hurts!  Who are you again?"

Liala grimaced a bit on the inside. Their voice is the same; Young, and like they are in pain, with an ethereal after-effect sound that she would say fits perfectly with what a computer virus would sound like if it could talk. Yet, at the same time, because the voice is the same, it is hard to tell who is talking and what is a leaked voice, and what the actual answer of the figure is.

Liala remembers when they first found them. They were crying while talking at the same time. It is...hard to describe, let alone explain. 

I guess that's what happens if you have many essences, souls and code stuck inside you, making up your body. She sighs, then takes a couple of steps into the room, slow but not too slow, and fast but not too fast. 

The figure instantly noticed it and reacted, jolting up and nearly knocking the bowl off the bed. If it weren't for their lightning quick grab, something that Liala noticed seemed to surprise them, the bowl would have tipped over and off the bed. 

Deciding to use this chance to get closer to them, Liala quickly closed the gap and waited for them to look up from their hand. When they did, their reaction was priceless, like Liala expected it would be.

They jolted back, their eyes widening. "Woah Gahh-ahhh How did?  Magic! D-d-don....."

They trailed off, fear and amazement all over their face, as well as pain and confusion. Ignoring those, knowing she can't fix them right now, Liala let out a chuckle and offered them her hand.

"It is magic. I can teach you, if you'd like," Liala's smile grew a bit upon seeing the expression of amazement on their face grow more, "It's not scary at all, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"Th-t-tha- Sounds cool Neato!  Neat. Y-ye-yes I But... I already know- Well, it'd certainly be- Wh-why it... it.... Shut us up?  G-go for it. Wowie! Magic. So cool!  Is it similar to chi? Wh-what's chi? Just accept. I-I... uhh... w-we accept."

Liala let out a soft giggle at that. "Splendid! But you know.... "

She dramatically looks to the door and to the figure back and forth, "We do have to go out of the room in order to practice. I know of a nice table full of tasty food upstairs, and a big empty, nice room made just for practicing magic."

"Ehh? Cuu. B-b-but- W-we can trust you, right?  We can trust th-  O-outside?  I-is it s-s-safe? N-no! O-outside is n-never sssssafe! N-not for a-a aaaa freak l-like Us Me."

And of course...still, I'm not giving up just yet! And immediately after thinking that, Liala gently grabbed the bowl away from the figure, causing them to instantly let out a cooing sound as well as a small whine.

"Come on, little one," Liala didn't miss the little eye twitch that came from them, "I really don't mean you any harm, and I really want you to trust me so... can you trust me this once and, hopefully in the future, learn to trust me some more?"

The figure paused or froze is more likely. Around them the air shimmered as blue to green to red boxes appeared around them at random, and a humming sound filled the air. After a couple of seconds, they jerked their head violently to the right before, with a click, the boxes around them disappeared. 

"O-oh...U-ummm Yes Y-yeah," they said, swallowing nervously before, with what looked like took a tremendous amount of effort, took Liala's still waiting hand.

The smile on Liala's face was one of pure happiness.

"Aha! I managed to break through to an anti-social girl. Teehee!"

The figure flinched horribly. The memory of what they are again flashed through Liala's mind. It's not that the figure looks particularly feminine, but more of their voice is unmistakably that of a young girl.

"GirlGiiiirrrrllll," The figure said, and Liala was sure that each voice in there said the same thing too. Some said it with disgust, some relief, some hope, others just confused. 

"O-oh...y-yeah, don't worry. Right now, I'm gonna get you upstairs, get you some good food, and teach you some magic. What do you say?"

A sharp crackling sound filled the air as the figure tilted their head before, with a nod, it stopped.

"Well, come on then, silly," Liala gently pulls the figure off the bed while also making sure the bowl in their other hand doesn't fall, "Let's get you going upstairs."

 

 

.      `    ~    0

 

 

"Do you remember who you are?"

Were... Were is more... accurate. 

"You're so negative. Lighten up, kid. This isn't as bad as it-"

As it seems? N-no, it is.

"W-well, at least w-we get to go up."

"B-but it's d-dangerous!"

"S-so dangerous!"        "W-we need h-help."

"N-no we d-don't! W-we need to-"        "Shut Up! Ugh, dealing with you is like dealing with a bunch of kids, and there are only four kids here!"

I ignore them the best that I can, hoping that the strange girl dressing as a mage wouldn't notice the look of pain that I can't keep off my face. Why can't they just stop talking?

"Because most of us talk when we're nervous or in pain."

I say the girl's words in my head once more. I... I don't really remember. B-but, I do know that my body wasn't like this... this mess that it is now. T-this freakshow of a-a body.

"A mistake."    "We're a mistake."

"No! W-we are Not a mistake! You are not a mistake, kid!"

"Yeah. My body was honestly worse. That disgu-"

"What are you even saying? Nothing can be worse than this... this.... fucking thing!"

"Shut it, bud!"     "No! You ca-"

'Yawn'

"Gosh... you humans sure are boring, noisy, and loud. I guess tasty food is the only good thing to come from your planet."

"Shut it, you egotistical-"

"""SHUT UP!"""

"No I Wo-"

Finding the voice, I conjure a mental nail and imagine it impaling them. Hearing his cry of pain, I felt a smile start to grow on my face.

""Serves Him Right!""

"Racist bas-"

"Shhh. Shut it, mortal."

"Ughh....a-and n-n-now the b-bitch G-god spe-"

W-why can't they j-just talk in p-peace? I-is it so h-hard to b-be friendly to one-another?

"I know, I know... this must be painful... Hell for you, b-but try to s-stay strong. Magic... yes, magic is going to be fun! Let me handle this."

"Careful on these stairs now," The mage girl stops in front of me, staring at me with warm eyes that I doubt that I deserve. 

I do remember how this happened to me. I still recall it quite vividly. The slight jog in the park, really doing it because it seemed like fun, no exercise in mind. Just wanting to see the lake from a prettier angle as quickly as possible... or q-quick enough.

T-t-then Then t-th-the l-light The blue beam... T-the m-man B-black man... o-on some k-kind of UFO-loo-looking c-chair Th-throne... T-the w-w-way h-he looked at me.... Like we-I-I I IIIIIIIIIIII W-we' We're Nothing Nothing... nothing but a-a me-means A d-dead end A-A disappointment. But w-we didn't even d-do anything!

"Not our fault."   "He'll get what's coming to him."

"Looking at us like that... Like we're Trash!"   "Who does that mortal think he is? I have never actually been so insulted in my life."

"Yet that puny mortal managed to kill you too."   "Oh, shut it. He played dirty and attacked me while the Supreme-"

"Let's just agree that, the next time we see him, we kill him."

"That is a given."   "But the question is how? How are we supposed to kill him if we're... we're like this!?"

"Shut up! You know you're never supposed to ask the forbidden question!"

"It's been asked. I'm sure the main host caught wind of it all."   "We need to find a way to change all this."

"Let's just hope they forget about it quickly."

Magic. We can solve this using Magic! Magic is supposed to be really strong, right? Maybe with magic, we can solve this!

""""""""""....""""""""""

"K-kid, ma-"   "Shut it!"   "Exactly! Magic will solve this!"

"Go on, kid! Let's learn magic!"   "This will be fun!"

Yeah! And once I learn magic, maybe I will find a way out of this mess... Maybe.