It wasn’t long after leaving the academy that she was entering a place that was entirely new to her. For comparison, Fera’s dormitory had an older, classic appearance to it, from the brick exterior to the stained wooden door. That was the entirety of District-B, really, older and smaller and not anywhere near as fancy as the rest of the city. This dorm in District-C looked like a five star hotel by contrast, with the front of the building seemingly having more glass than block. This gave a slight view into the corridors of each of the twenty or so floors, and just from the street, it looked rich.
The entrance had glass doors, though they were hazed and opaque, and the sensor that opened them resided on the left side, just under an intercom box that had blue LEDs behind the paneling, acting as a backlight for the individual keys. She pressed her band to the sensor but to her surprise, the doors did not open. Instead of the normal green light flickering and the accompanying beep, the red light brightened and flashed warningly. The sound that came from the speaker was more like a buzzer when answering a question wrong on a game show. She tried again, of course, and was obviously met with the same result. Knowing it would be a waste to try a third time, she tried to materialize another solution, and one did eventually come. She never tried it before, but she’d seen it done in movies with electronic security systems.
Ferain glanced around, making sure she was out of anybody’s sight, and held her hand up to the sensor again, this time being as discreet as possible, which in the end probably made her seem more suspicious. As the red light began blinking, she let a small stream of power run into the box. The whole system hummed and flickered and seemed to die momentarily, but in half a second, a glitchy emerald light appeared and a crackling, fuzzy beep sounded off. The glass doors slid open with a hiss, revealing the lobby. The scene only confirmed how minuscule she felt in comparison to her surroundings. It wasn’t in the way of size. It was more like… worth, if she had to put a word to it. The marble floors, the ivory pillars that rose from the ground to the ceiling made of decorative wooden panels, depicting fields of flowers and chirping birds, and floral decor of potted trees and ferns all served to make her feel out of place.
Even the desk for the attendant seemed to be manufactured from solid mahogany with golden plating acting as decorative trim pieces. The man behind the expensive piece of furniture eyed her curiously, possibly wondering how she managed to get inside, but she gave a brief wave and continued on her way, attempting to act as if she belonged here, despite how her insides screamed the opposite. She was even afraid of touching the button to summon the elevator, worrying that she might break it in the process. In reality, the tiled floors probably weren’t real marble, and the plants were all clearly fake, but it definitely served to create that lavish atmosphere. A melodic, annoyingly catchy jingle played as she rode the lift up to the seventeenth floor, the digital screen above the two metal doors rising in numbers with each level ascended.
It was by far a quicker ride than her own elevator in District-B, and she was there in just a few seconds, stepping out onto the spotless scarlet carpeting. The wallpaper on the walls were a golden-brown coloration with sporadic art pieces hung along the walls of the corridor. Nothing too fancy, just some mountains and fields and animals, the typical doctor office type of decor. The stained wooden doors lined the hall on both sides, and near the end, right next to the massive pane of glass that granted her a view of where she had been looking up from moments before, was Mana’s own room. It was very much like her own dorm in this regard. There was the door, a sensor above the knob, and beside the door, a plaque that read out the room number. Ferain hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether this was actually a good idea or not.
She was not one for pressing her company on people, and especially those that were making such a great effort to be left alone. Still, she knew Mana could not keep living the way she was, and she had to do something to help her. After all, she had survived nearly a year at this school because she was always being helped by her friends. It was almost like a resolution for Ferain now to start paying that back. It was her turn to help others, now that she was capable enough to actually do something for a change. Steeling her resolve, she rapped on the door with her knuckles, waited for an answer for nearly a minute, and tried again, a bit louder this time. For a second, Ferain thought Mana wasn’t home, but that was unlikely. What was more likely was that Mana was intentionally not answering the door. She eyed the sensor next, wondering if the same trick that got her in the building would get her into Mana’s room, but then she remembered that would be breaking a law, which was a bit more serious than bending a few school rules.
Then again, she did break curfew a few times, and she did cheat her way into the dorm to begin with. Besides, this was her friend’s room, not some stranger’s place, and she wasn’t trying to steal anything, she just wanted to make sure her friend was okay. As she lifted her hand to the sensor, her eyes glowing faintly as small webs of power arced between her fingers, a lock clicked and the knob began to turn. Ferain jumped and swiftly put her static-imbued hand behind her back, hoping that her powers would die down before Mana saw her illuminated eyes, which would give her away at once. The door was pulled open and thankfully, Mana didn’t seem to take any note of any odd features, or she at least didn’t mention anything.
Instead, she stood there, silent as a lonely night, and looking sort of… disheveled. Her short hair was sticking up worse than it normally did, as if she’d just climbed out of bed, and she was only wearing a pair of very small shorts, a black tank top whose right strap was falling down over the shoulder, and seemingly nothing else besides. What Ferain did see on her person though, something she’d never noticed before, was a black box on the underside of her left wrist. It looked like a tattoo of some kind, and had what looked like text inside of the rectangular-shaped border. Mana had a groggy expression and dark bags were under her gold and bronze colored eyes. Honestly, she seemed in pretty bad shape, even by Ferain’s standards.
“Ferain?” Mana muttered quietly, rubbing her eyes to chase the sleep away from them. “What are you doing here?”
“I…” Fera started, unable to take her eyes off of the box she had somehow missed every time she met with Mana. “I came to check on you.” she finished, forcefully peeling her attention away from the intriguing brand. “You missed school today?” Fera said, as if asking Mana if she remembered this fact or not.
“Did I?” Mana asked. She then yawned and ran a hand through her hair. “Well, as you can see, Mana is fine. In fact, Mana is better than fine. Mana is–”
“Not okay.” Fera interrupted. “Come on, you don’t have to lie to me. I was there too, remember?”
“There?” asked Mana, appearing to be genuinely confused.
Hesitantly, Ferain muttered, “Giana”, and then felt stupid for bringing this up, for even being here.
“Giana?” A light seemed to click on in Mana’s brain, as if that event had been completely forgotten until Fera brought it up again. “Yes, that…” Mana murmured. “Really, Ferain, Mana’s fine. But, since you’re here already, why not come in for a bit. I could make some tea before you head back home. I would hate for your trip to see Mana to be a waste of time. Come, come.” she said, beckoning Ferain to follow her inside the apartment.
She never knew what to expect out of Mana’s home, as… quirky… as she was. But, what she was met with definitely would not have ever come to mind. Perhaps, it was because it was too normal. The floors were plain, tan-colored carpeting, the kitchen had white tiled floors, the walls were the color of sandy shores, and there were the basics in terms of furnishing, just like Fera’s home. To be honest, the lack of Mana shocked her more than anything else. The only decorations that could possibly mark this as her home was a small wooden chest that sat on a tiny square table between the dining room and the living area, and a few stuffed animals that sat on the fabric sofa.
“Are you here alone?” asked Ferain, as Mana closed the door behind her.
“Yep. Mana lives on her own so it’s only natural.”
“Really? You don’t have a partner?”
“Have you ever seen Mana with a partner?” Mana asked, grinning and walking past Ferain towards the kitchen.
“Well, no, but… I just thought that you liked to be alone, maybe?”
“Sort of, yes, Mana does enjoy solitude from time to time. But, that’s not why she doesn’t have a partner.” Mana stated. “Your headmaster has a way of being rather flippant with the usual procedures. You yourself know two other students that also live alone, do you not? I assure you, no other headmaster would probably allow this, not according to Cross anyhow. Also, Mana’s situation is… unique.”
“How so?” asked Ferain, taking a seat at the circular dining table.
“I came here for a job, Ferain. Because of this, Mana doesn’t need a partner. Cross said it would only hinder the work, make it harder, so Mana does not have a partner.” she said, now pulling a kettle and such from the cabinets in the kitchen.
As she set the tea up, Mana hummed joyfully, but something about it seemed off to Ferain. It felt… forced, in her opinion. The truth of it was that it made her feel uneasy about being here, like something was just wrong about the situation, though she couldn’t place what exactly it was. She examined the room several times over during the wait, but didn’t manage to find anything out of the ordinary. After Mana served up her beverage and took a seat across from her, Ferain finally decided to get to the point of coming here.
“Mana… are you sure you’re okay? I didn’t even know her and it messed me up a bit. After that day, you were sort of… lost, almost.” Fera stated.
“Mana…” Mana started, but paused momentarily as she looked down into the liquid of the cup she held between both hands. “I… I am fine, relatively speaking. Giana’s death did result in some disturbing dreams, but they passed soon enough. They just brought back some unpleasant memories and for a while, I couldn't handle them. It’s funny in a way, that as a child, I was much more adept at carrying those scars than I am now. I simply had to remind myself that I am still strong enough to shoulder that weight. So, yeah, I’m all better now.” Mana said, looking back up into Ferain’s searching eyes.
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“Then what has you skipping school lately? Even when you do show up, you’re kind of spacey. What’s up with that? And what memories are you talking about?”
“You seem especially curious today, Ferain.” Mana observed, almost seeming pleased by it, and entertained as well. “I’m assuming you’re curious about my tattoo as well, seeing as I’ve been hiding it for the duration of our relationship.”
Ferain’s eyes flicked to the brand for a moment but that only lasted a second. The odd, unnerving sensation was crawling back up her spine again. This was partially thanks to the way Mana was talking all of a sudden. She’d never heard this girl speak in such a way before, and it didn’t feel right to her.
“It used to be called a tag. We all had one.” Mana said, raising her hand and showing Ferain the black printed image. Fera got a better look at the inked text, which read, ‘EXP: 0003-Codename: Mana’.
“Codename?” gasped Fera. “EXP?”
“Experiment is what that stands for, and yes, we all had codenames that I later adopted as my actual name. The only person alive that knows this about my past is Cross.” Mana sucked in a breath of air and smiled painfully. “I guess I might as well tell you the truth. It’s only fair since I know all about your life and you know nothing of mine. I like things being equal, and besides, I owe you for coming with me that morning. I know that wasn’t fair, to share that pain. That was for me and me alone. It was not a burden meant for my friends, and I know you carried it for a while afterwards. How are the nightmares, by the way?”
“They're getting a little better now, but how do you know about them?” asked Ferain.
“I asked Guji Hakamura about you. I intended to stay up to date with your wellbeing, as I feel responsible for you. My position on the case might have been revoked for the time being, but I am still here to help in any way I can, and that relates to you. Enough of the murders for now, though. You were asking about my state of mind, yes? The reality of the situation is that I am… Well, I’m feeling pretty down, to tell the truth. It’s a rough time of year for both me and Cross so I hope you don’t hold my absences against me for the foreseeable future. I guess, I might as well start at the beginning in order for you to understand, that way I can put your mind and heart at ease.”
Mana took a sip from her tea, stood, and moved to go collect the wooden box Fera noticed when coming in. Fera watched her set it beside her on the table, flip open the lid, and pull out a few items. One was a singed silver coin, another was a worn and battered yo-yo, then there was a tattered purple bandana, and finally, a charred red ribbon that seemed to be missing nearly half of its original length. She set them down gently on the table between her and Ferain, before sipping from her drink again.
“These belonged to my family.” Mana said. “I use that term loosely, of course. Really, I don’t have any biological family. You see, to get the biggest shock out of the way first, I am not a real person.” Mana paused for a second, taking in Fera’s reaction, which was silent and baffled. The sight must have been amusing since Mana covered her mouth to hide an escaping giggle. “I’m not some sort of robot, if that's what you're wondering. I’m flesh and blood and bone, just like you. I even have a soul, like any other living being. My only difference from the rest of your kind is that I was created in a lab, just like the four who used to own these cherished mementos. They were… cruel to us, terribly so. My body still carries the scars, but they aren’t nearly as bothersome as the mental wounds I was left with after my time there. I was a troublesome child, always arguing and trying to escape whenever the opportunity was presented. Because of this, I was the most punished out of us five.”
Ferain saw a wounded expression flash on Mana’s soft features, and she swore she saw an old pain swimming within those beautiful, gleaming eyes.
“I eventually succeeded in escaping. I was able to get out of the facility several times before, but this time, I made it out of the compound and into the city. Of course, London is a large place and I had never seen the outside world before, not in that way… not in person. Still, despite being lost and afraid and as small as any other five year old might’ve been, I continued running as fast as my legs would carry me. They chased me and I eventually met up with Cross. Two days from now will be the eleventh anniversary since that day, since I met him.” The next smile Mana wore was grim and hinted at an old guilt. “It just so happens that the day I met him was also the anniversary of another time in his life. I’m not really the person to reveal his past to you, but… well… Cross lost his family a few years before meeting me, and he was visiting their graves to mourn them. That was when I came running into his life, or, to put it correctly, he ran into mine.”
Mana paused again, staring at the four objects ahead of her.
“The rest is just ancient history at this point. He took me in, raised me like his own daughter. You were wondering the reason I’ve been aloof these last few weeks. It’s for the reason that this is the mourning period that Cross secludes himself to grieve the loss of his family. For the last ten years, I would always accompany him to their graves, just to pay them a visit. This year, however, neither of us can do that, seeing as we’re here. Home is quite a fair distance away, after all. That is why I have been, ‘spacey’, as you put it. I am simply feeling homesick, and I feel bad for Cross being unable to adequately mourn for his family.”
“There’s something else too, right?”
“Yes, there is. While the day I met Cross was the day he lost everything, it was also the day I gained a new life. I feel ashamed to take pleasure in the day, but I do at times. Had he not been there when he was, had he never lost his family, I might not be alive now. And if I was, I would most certainly not be the same person. To some extent, I am grateful for the sacrifice, and it pains me to think that way. I have always been conflicted over it.” Mana then saw Ferain’s stunned, speechless expression. “I know it’s a lot to take in. The truth often is. I figured that you might be able to handle it though.”
“I can… it’s just… It’s hard to believe.” Fera admitted.
“I know.” Mana stated. “That's why I hide it. Does this scare you at all? Does it make you hate me?”
“No.” Fera replied, without a moment’s hesitation. “You know what I did to my mother, knew from the very beginning, and you accepted me right away. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still just Mana. It might take some getting used to though, hearing you talk like this.”
“No need to get used to it. I don’t enjoy talking this way, it’s just ingrained in me. It’s part of the reason I mess with my manner of speaking so much.”
“I thought it was just because you liked cute things,” said Ferain.
“That’s certainly a part of it. It’s what I told Cross when we first met too."
They sat in silence while they finished their mugs of tea. Afterwards, Ferain’s curiosity was starting to get the best of her again, and she had to ask another question before Mana decided to kick her out.
“Mana, why tell me all of this? You could have told me about Cross’s family and left it at that, right? Why tell me everything else? I mean, telling me that you’re not even… I don’t really want to say ‘real’, but… Either way, that was a big risk. What if I acted negatively?”
Mana seemed to think for a moment before giving a much more genuine grin. “I trust you, Ferain. I trust you a lot. And… perhaps… I might’ve needed to finally tell somebody about what I really am. Like I said, Cross is the last living person that knows the truth. He saved me from those monsters, after all.”
“What about the others?” asked Ferain. “Your friends, did they…”
“They died.” Mana bluntly affirmed. “Cross didn’t make it in time. They knew he was looking into them, and they were aware he had my help. Between both of us, it was only a matter of time before we found them. They… They got rid of the ‘loose ends’ before we got there. After the fire was put out, I found these in their quarters, where they always were when we slept. We each had a token, and we kept them on us at all times. Mariette’s was the coin, Harry’s was the bandana, Judy loved the yo-yo, and Tyler never went anywhere without the ribbon. When I saw these left there, I knew they were dead before I even saw the bodies.”
“What about your token? What happened to it?” Ferain questioned.
“Lost it. I left it behind when I ran from the facility. I never saw it again after that. It was stupid anyway, just an old stuffed wolf. It was what I was drawn to when the options were set up in front of us. It really didn’t matter.” Mana then picked up the coin and held it in her palm as she reached across to Ferain. “Here, I want you to have this.”
“Why? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but it seems important to you.”
“To show that I trust you. Think of it as a good luck token. Plus, you remind me a lot of Mariette. You don’t really look like her, but you act a lot like her. You’re so unnecessarily timid, but you have a lot of strength when you need it the most. She was always the best of us because of that.” Reluctantly, Ferain took the coin in hand and examined it. A crown was embossed on one side while the other side of the circular coin had the imprint of a sleeping dragon. “And before you think about getting rid of it, Mana should point out that it’s not very valuable. A scientist’s pocket change, nothing more.”
“Thank you.” Ferain softly whispered, staring at the old, burned silver. “Thanks for this, and thanks for telling me all of that.”
“Mana thanks you for listening.” she said, solidifying her reversion to the way she always spoke, ever since they met on the ship. Her voice seemed lighter again, and Fera thought she even heard happiness within it, if that was possible. “Mana has one request before you take off. Can you not tell anybody else? Mana believes it would be best that way.”
“I promise to keep it between us.” Fera said, rising from her seat. “Per usual, I try to help somebody and instead I’m the one being helped.” she added with a sheepish smile. “You already know, but I haven’t been doing all that well lately either. Knowing you have as much faith as you do in me, it makes me feel a thousand times better.”
“Don’t think that you haven’t accomplished your goal, Ferain. Mana feels… lighter. Stay safe.”
“Will do. Later.” Fera said, before scooping up her bag and sliding her feet into her boots.
The return trip back to District-B was uneventful, which she was over the moon about. The entire year had been stained, poisoned in a way, by the murders and bullying. It was nice that, at least in the present, she could enjoy a quiet walk back home after visiting a friend. It made her feel… normal, which was something she’d longed for since her childhood. After crossing the checkpoint into her district, her eyes began to flicker between dullness and illumination, and the powers within her became agitated. The sky was still the clear cerulean of afternoon, with the faintest traces of twilight creeping in to take over, but somewhere off in the distance was a brewing storm. It was an unsettling sensation, one that sent a bizarre tremble through her body. Shaking her head, she continued onward, brushing by several other conversing students that paid her little to no mind.