Meena raised an eyebrow at Niko. "The hotel room we stayed in only had one bed," she scoffed. "Did you think I slept on the floor in that nice suite? Yeah, right."

Niko fought off the heat that tried to rise into his cheeks, feeling somewhat satisfied at the horrified expression on Adam's pretty-boy face. He cleared his throat and stated, "Well, I'm fine with it if you are."

Aida clapped her hands together. "Luckily, both guest rooms have two beds each! So we don't have to worry about sharing beds or anything." She glanced at Adam who was readying his protest. She quickly stepped behind him and put both hands on his large back, pushing him towards the far guest room before he could vocalize his concerns. "We're going to check out our room! We'll let you know when food is here!" She called over as she shoved an angry Adam into the room and shut the door behind them.

Niko motioned for Meena to enter their room first, his formal manners making themselves evident. He followed her in and the room did not disappoint. It felt like a creepy, gothic Renaissance-style guest suite. The black walls had amazing crown molding, both queen beds had intricately carved headboards and a long dresser sat between them. There was a candelabra on the dresser and another on the black vanity desk on the opposite wall. Above the vanity was a large mirror inside of an ornate frame that reflected the flickering candlelight. Against the far wall were two elegant, red velvet arm chairs. The room would probably seem less creepy if both the walls and carpet weren't black and it wasn't in this haunted building.

"Did she really need to paint this many symbols?" Niko heard Meena mumble under her breath as she surveyed the room as well. His eyebrows furrowed as he searched for any symbols like the ones that had glowed momentarily on the back door and Meena's palm, but didn't see any. Maybe it had something to do with Ayano's power? He wasn't sure. Then, Meena turned to him with her bright blue eyes narrowed and he tensed up. "I want to talk to you," she announced.

Niko gulped. "I won't stop you from speaking," he replied quietly. He really didn't want to talk about her memories, but he could tell it was bothering her.

Meena sighed and ran her hand through her hair. He was beginning to notice that she did this when she was frustrated. As if pushing her hair back would somehow clear her emotions.

"I…" she began and bit her lip briefly. "I want to know what you're thinking. About what you saw. In… In my memories."

Yes, Niko had closed his mind. He did it the moment they came out of the memory. He had to. He didn't want to show her the weight of his guilt. And there was something else he saw, too. Something he wished more than anything that he didn't see. He wasn't sure if he should tell her about it. It might make her terrible memory even worse, and that was the last thing she needed.

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He kept his face neutral as he answered. "It's strange to think that place was a Chronos facility. But it definitely was." He strode over and sat in one of the arm chairs, resting one of his ankles over his other knee. The velvet felt soft and lovely. "My father would have been running the company during that time. When we took over, my brother and I went through a lot of documents about what went on during his management, but there was nothing on natural-born ability testing sites that I saw. He must have kept it well hidden."

Meena nodded solemnly. "I went back to that facility some years later and it had been emptied and cleaned. It seems the research facilities change locations regularly."

Niko rubbed his chin absentmindedly. "Hmm. Smart." Suddenly, like a lightbulb had lit up in his mind, he whipped his head up to look at Meena. "Were you at the party to find out the location of the current facility?!"

Meena's face looked like a deer's caught in headlights for a moment. Then, her shoulders relaxed and she nodded shamefully. "After I got your power, I was hoping to hear something about it from yours or your brother's thoughts. It was easier than my original plan to sneak into an office."

Niko closed his eyes and groaned. "If you were caught… I don't even want to know what we would've done. It seems like you're lucky I was kidnapped."

Meena laughed loudly before she could try to hold it in. "Yeah, I feel really lucky," she said with sarcasm dripping from her words.

Niko pursed his lips, but let that insult go and sighed deeply. "Anyway… I can't help but feel like the only reason we have the Chrona serum now is because of your sister and her power. And I feel horrible about it."

Meena glanced away. "Yeah. But it would've been worse if Regina didn't help me to escape. I would've been taken to the basement and I'd still be locked away until they found out about my power."

Niko froze at the sound of the name 'Regina' and unfortunately, Meena didn't miss the reaction.

She moved closer to Niko, who couldn't meet her inquiring gaze. "What?" she asked suspiciously, her eyebrows furrowed. "Do you know her?"

Niko clenched his fist to stop the violent shaking that threatened to overcome him. "No."

He was clearly lying and Meena knew it too. She continued as if he'd said 'yes'. "I'd like to meet her! Do you know where she is?!"

"No," he answered again shortly, fighting back his anger.

"Please!" Meena got down on her knees and held onto his arm with pleading eyes. "I just want to thank her!"

Niko stood up abruptly and almost yelled, "You can't!" He couldn't control the shaking in his body now and he drew in a ragged breath. "You… can't," he whispered.

Meena watched the agony in Niko's expression for a minute before she slowly stood up as well. Niko felt her hand on his back and calmed slightly at the soft touch.

"You knew her very well, didn't you?" Meena asked delicately.

When Niko composed himself enough, he nodded and smiled faintly. "Funny story. Your memory of the last time you saw your mother… was probably one of the last times that I saw mine. Well, it wasn't that funny. Sorry."

He watched as understanding dawned on Meena and she looked up at him with wide eyes. "No…" She shook her head in denial and her hand fell from his back. He knew she wouldn't react well to this. "Regina… is your mother?"