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Scarlet

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With an awkward stumble, I fall into consciousness on my feet. I quickly look around for any threats... Am I blind? There’s nothing, just darkness... I squint furiously, desperate to find any visual stimuli. Very gradually, the ground gains a texture distinct from the black air above it. I’m in a void with barely-there floors and no walls or ceiling… Great.

The sound of distant footsteps shocks me out of my mental fugue. I quickly turn to face the possible threat, wary of any danger. As I stare off into the darkness, the vague shape of a girl appears. She’s short, at least, shorter than me, but still clearly a girl.

“Hey!” I try to get her attention, I don’t want to spook her any worse than I have to. The dark figure stops for a moment before silently continuing towards me. Great, super not creepy. I stay where I am, watching the figure approach. As I start to make out more of her features, she starts to feel familiar.

The brown-haired girl stops a few steps from me, looking up at my face. She’s wearing some kind of white mask on the lower half of her face. “What’s your name?” I offer her my friendliest smile, but she seems unimpressed. Silently she tilts her head at me before crouching down and flicking at the ground with her finger. Seemingly uninterested in me, she continues scratching, so I sit down and stare off into the void again.

Eventually I hear another set of footsteps, coming from the same direction the masked girl did. She doesn’t even glance up from the ground. I keep looking in the direction of the noise, now bored instead of stressed. Is it getting colder? My breath fogs up in the air in front of me as the temperature plummets around me. When I can finally make out the figure I’m having to keep my teeth from chattering.

The newcomer is a shorter boy with bright white hair. His clothes are covered in a layer of frost, mist rising off of him. “Hi!” I give him a lazy wave. He can freeze me for all I care, this dream is the worst. The boy comes no closer but looks me over, sizing me up. “I’m not gonna fight you, kid. Why would I beat up a kid in my dream?” I snort at the idea of beating the tar out of him for no reason.

“Fine,” the boy says curtly. Man of few words, I guess. The temperature slowly rises and the mist around the boy clears. “Who are you?” Oh, right, names.

I smile at him. “I’m Scarlet Holdings, who are you?” The kid’s eyes go wide at my answer.

“I-I’m Iota Holdings.” The boy's cold demeanor suddenly drops, becoming nervous and shy. “Are you really Scarlet?” I feel my pulse speed up. Iota? Like my brother?

“Yeah! Are you really Iota?” My grin feels a bit more natural now. He nods at me before sitting down next to me. “Well, greetings, little bro!” I pat him on the back and he almost falls forward with a laugh. Our familial bonding is soon interrupted by several more sets of footsteps in the distance. I feel a tug on my clothes, so I turn back towards the masked girl. Scraped into the nebulous ground are the words “Pim Holdings”. I chuckle.

“Should we greet the rest of our siblings, Pim?” I ask the girl with a smile.

】〓〓〓〓【

Luna

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Not knowing how to introduce myself, I watch as the rest of our family walks up to the group. You’d think I’d be visible here, but no, still see-through. At least it's consistent, I suppose. If I go off of the newcomer’s familiar voice, he’s Coil. The snarky guy is chiding our siblings over all the mistakes they’ve made so far. From the sheepish looks my siblings have, Coil’s memory is quite accurate. As I watch the group start to naturally interact with each other, I feel a gentle ache in my chest.

I wish they could see me. I could tell them I’m here, but if they ask how long I’ve been here, I’ll have to admit I’ve been standing here silently like a creep. Lying is an option I suppose, but not one I’ll take. I wouldn’t lie to them, especially not about something so stupid. The five of them are my family… Wait… There’s only four of them here. Coil, Scarlet, Pim, Iota… Where’s the little guy?

I finally call out to them, my worry overriding my anxiety. “Excuse me! Where is Wight?” My voice comes out as barely a whisper, but makes them jump all the same. I notice some white smoke come off of Iota, I knew I’d scare them. Realization dawns on Coil’s face, and he finally answers.

“Luna?!” The dark haired man asks with a wide smile, it reminds me of Father. “I had no idea you were even here! Guess my shadows can’t sense you either, then.” He looks uncannily close to where my face is. “Wight was hurt just before…” he motions to the five of us, “whatever this is, so we’ll probably have to find him.” Coil scowls, his bangs covering his eyes as he looks at the floor. As I wait for him to figure out something, I feel a gentle cold touch my hand.

I jerk back my hand reflexively, causing the glowing source of the cold to vanish into a cloud of mist. “Gotcha!” The floor slams into my rear as I’m tackled by someone. I look up to see Iota above me, looking down at what must look like empty air. “I found you, Luna!” The kid’s face is flat, but his eyes sparkle with excitement. “I had Alpha look around for you, and he found you. Guess ghosts can do what shadows can’t, huh, Coil?” The boy looks over at Coil with a smirk, and is ignored by the adult. Iota lets out a hmph before touching my hair. “I wasn’t sure you even had hair, Luna!”

I finally snap, pushing the slightly smaller boy off of me. The child rolls away from me, leaving a trail of frost on the ground. Once he comes to a stop and sits up, I lose control. For the first time I can remember, I start laughing out loud. Not a quiet one, either, almost a cackle. The sound of my amusement causes Iota to give me a pout and look away from the air my chuckles come from. I’m finally brought back from my giddiness by Coil’s voice.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Alright, I’ve sent my shadows out in all directions, I’ll tell you guys when they find something.” He sits down next to me with a thud. “Until then, why not have some family time?” Coil’s question causes Scarlet and Pim to look over from their scribbles in curiosity.

【〓〓〓〓】

I don’t know what I expected from my strange family, but it wasn’t this. A sigh creaks out of me as I watch the spectacle in front of me. My sudden noise spooks Pim, who is sat next to me. Before I can force out an apology I have to dodge to the side as shards of ice pummel the spot where I was just sitting.

My blood boils as I watch my two moronic brothers go at it over some stupid nonsense. I hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation leading to this fight, but I don’t particularly care, either. All I care about is how I was almost riddled with holes because of their stupid feud. Tired of them, I jump to my feet and dash at the sparring duo.

Using one of my thief abilities, I silence my footsteps even as I sprint up to the two. Focusing on Coil first, I angle myself to run past the back of his legs. Just as I reach my older brother, he turns his head in my direction. The shadows pooled around his feet shoot through the air, trying to find where I am. I lean back, skidding on my heels under the mass of dark spears.

As I skid to a stop behind Coil, I reach out and hit the back of his legs. The shorter man stiffens and starts to fall over. Before he even hits the ground I’m back on my feet, running at my second target. Iota, to his credit, has seen the situation play out and summoned some of his underlings. They don’t slow my approach, however, and I weave between their clumsy reaching easily.

After sending my other brother toppling as well I finally gloat a little. “Guess I’m the winner, then? I thought you two were good at fighting.” The two guys stare in my general direction, both missing me slightly. I smile at them glaring at nothing.

Coil grumbles a bit, “I’m not a combat class, anyways.” Otherwise the man keeps quiet, unlike his younger brother.

“I’d kick your ass if you were visible! I bet you couldn’t even dodge a single hit from me if I could see you!” Iota’s almost gray skin has the barest hint of color in his cheeks as he rants to the air next to me.

“But you were bragging earlier about how you found me, little brother, I thought for sure you’d be able to block me at least once.” My voice gives away my smirk as I goad him. Sure enough, my lame digs get a reaction.

“I am your older brother, Luna!” His pale face is - amazingly - a light shade of pink now. “I will beat you!” Frost starts to cover his frame, crackling loudly from forming so quickly. Just before Iota pounces on the spot a few feet to my left, Coil’s voice cuts the air.

“I found him, guys! I found Wight!” His words make Pim jump up, ready to move, and cause Scarlet to slowly wake from her nap. “Let’s go get him!”

【〓〓〓〓】

For at least an hour our group marches through the unending void. Throughout the whole trek, nothing changes in our surroundings, as if we’re walking in place. All the same a small, flickering yellow light appears in the distance, proving that we are, in fact, moving. After seeing the small light, we walk for another ten minutes before finally reaching the thing.

Laying on the ground is Wight’s small frame. Something is horribly wrong, sections of his body are slightly transparent and flicker with a golden light. The large translucent chunk of him looks like a severe electrical burn, spreading out from his neck down to his legs and right arm. Scarlet rushes over to the unconscious kid, hesitating to pick him up.

Our older sister looks at Coil, worry in her eyes. “You think I can pick him up?” Her voice wavers slightly. Coil eventually nods and the large woman scoops our youngest up in her arms.

The flickering parts of Wight move slightly slower than the rest of him, like an after image. Scarlet’s face bunches up even more with worry as she notices the strange effect. Coil looks closely at Wight’s wounds.

“It’s from the soul shackle, it has to be.” Coil’s voice vibrates with barely hidden anger. “It literally tore his soul open.” He touches the golden patches of Wight’s skin, causing small tongues of black lightning to spark off of the wound.

“How can we heal him?” Scarlet stares at Coil, begging for an answer.

“Look.” Coil points at the flickering scars, and Scarlet moves closer. Everyone looks at the horrific burns. At the very edges, where the transparent parts solidify, the ethereal light is slowly thickening into matter. “The wounds are slowly healing, but I have no idea how long it’ll take.”

We all stand in silence, unsure what to say. Our youngest sibling is seriously hurt, and none of us can heal worth a damn. The dark of the void around us hangs heavy on our group, until Scarlet finally makes a move.

“Nurture.” A green light flashes against the gold. “Nurture.” Scarlet uses the ability on Wight for a second time.

Coil’s eyes flash in panic. “You stupid fuck! What are you doing, Scarlet? That ability is for plants!” His shadow boils around his feet. “Stop!”

“It doesn’t say anywhere that it’s only for plants.” Scarlet’s voice is monotone and distant. “It should work since he’s naturally healing already.”

Sure enough, the flickering golden lights are slowly, but much faster than before, swallowed by Wight’s physical body. Seeing the rapidly growing skin stretch over the empty space is a bit nauseating. Despite that, we all stand and watch as Scarlet continues to use ‘Nurture’ on him. As the last of the golden light sputters out, I notice something is wrong.

Wight’s bright red hair moves ever so slightly. As I watch, two small horns start to spiral their way out of the small boy’s bangs. The horns are gleaming, a brilliant gold that matches the radiant color of his glowing scales. I glance around and see that the others have noticed the change, with Scarlet’s face draining of blood.

I look back at my brother just to see more things changing. Small scales start to speckle across his face like freckles, glinting in the same golden hues. I notice much denser patches of scales growing on the back of his hands, along with his knees and elbows. Wight’s already pointed ears grow longer, pointing towards the back of his head. When they eventually come to a stop, the tips grow coverings of scales as well. After I watch him for a few more minutes and nothing happens, I figure that he must be done changing. Just as I am about to say something, I see two small pointed teeth poke out just barely from under his upper lip.

I look to our older siblings, and remember they can’t see me doing that. “Scarlet, Coil, what happened?” My sudden voice causes the two of them to jump. They must’ve forgotten I was here again.

Scarlet looks in my direction with a guilty face. “I think he’s better now… Maybe his dragon half is better at healing?” The energy in her voice peters out in the end, and she falls silent.

As the lot of us stand anxiously in silence, Wight opens his eyes.