Our trio relocated to the room with awaiting shells and one disinterested overlord. Seeing the people who outwardly seemed to be completely fine did not help, but we started by bumping down most of their ages. That visual seemed to finally work. The fever dream just might be real.

They both just sat and stared at the inanimate bodies deep in thought, not unlike me few hours ago. I watched them for a change. I felt relief having thrown this massive weight off my back and onto theirs. The two deliberated extensively, even suggesting waking some as they are and making sure they weren’t being lied to. Not in those words, but the undertone was clear enough.

Another new cocoon started forming and I held my breath, but it wasn’t one I’ve been waiting for.

“Come with me, please,” I muttered just so the demon would hear and left the room along with the restless deliberation within in. My buddies will feel more comfortable spouting dissent, and I wanted to try something unconventional and possibly even displeasing to the eyes too. The couple held on well, faced with all these wild developments, but I didn’t want to push it.

“The girl you just made might be Ruby’s daughter. Would that help you find him?”

The figure walking right behind me remained silent as we moved downstairs, but it was one of those thoughtful silences, because there was no way he didn’t hear. When I turned from watching rustling flame, I found him sitting comfortably on the couch. Sea-monster’s appendage even risked leaning back on the wavy hair-like ears, making the posture of imitator appear almost natural. Legs apart but not too wide, sat far enough from elbow-rests. Exactly perfect for straddling that lap.

Would he care? He had always kept some distance, but it was most likely a courtesy to me. Did I really want to? Reluctantly, but yes. The alien creature has been trying to accommodate my mortal whims and when I toned down my paranoia I could appreciate that. Yearning to touch was back in full force. It swung wildly between brushing lightly with fingertips to digging into his skin with nails.

I sank my hand below his fake locks to cusp the side of face. Monster’s bright red eyes shone below, betraying no thought or feeling. My filthy thumb hovered above one and I sank it down. He didn’t even twitch when nail still blackened with blood underneath it touched the slick surface. I could claw the vivid iris out and he’d let me. Was it acceptance or indifference? Containing my violent inclinations I landed a knee to the side of him and kissed the thin lips instead. There was not a sliver of hesitation as his hands gripped to pull me closer. Tongue eagerly greeted mine.

When I withdrew, his snaky feeler remained for a while longer. I bit it mercilessly and I could bet the cheeky asshole smirked before removing his tongue. Of course, the bruise meant nothing to him. He was showing me he didn’t mind. He provoked more. It caught me by surprise that my first instinct wasn’t worry over trickery or my safety. This massive outlander was slowly wrapping me around whatever stood in place of his little finger. I was trusting him.

I couldn’t stand the piercing gaze and looked away. Startled, because somebody new sat next to us. Even in the dim light I saw the hair colour to be wrong, but I reached for the face anyway.

“It’s not him,” I breathed out bitter disappointment. Vaguely remembered this asshat, too. He had given Cherry a bruise, so pint-sized Ruby made sure to return the favour. We might have had to run at mere sight of militia for a while after that. I wasn’t too sure.

“I don’t remember a lot of things,” I admitted in a mutter.

“Your kind rarely does,” monster spoke softly and soothingly. “It’s normal.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“If a better, fuller version of me shows up. Will you just discard me again?” Which was a common occurrence really, but still somewhat unpleasant nonetheless.

“Wouldn’t you rather I left you to your own devices and obsessed with someone else?”

Touché, monstrous being, touché. I gripped his lapels and assured, “I’d rather plan accordingly.”

“If another replica spawns, I’ll make sure he lives on too,” monster answered, also gripping my forearms as though imploring me to understand. Perhaps I did. Didn’t make me feel special, but after all I wasn’t, and it was a healthy reality check. Never expected to compete with myself, though.

“I won’t leave you again,” he added a promise. Nor will he let me leave either. The sentiment wasn’t so terrifying anymore. The fact that Ruby was in all likelihood lost, left me feeling untethered and afloat, grappling for firm ground to hold onto.

“What are they up to?” I pointed up to discontinue previous sentiment.

“They tried to awaken other mouths, failed and got back to thinking how to kill me if it came to that.”

I frowned at the ungrateful, distracted bastards and grumbled, “Rude! That’s my job.”

“Your group is indeed quite single-minded.”

“Well excuse us for getting screwed over over every little thing our entire lives,” I argued back but there was no bite behind it, just like there wasn’t any real indignation. “So those assholes really are just procrastinating up there?”

“They’re trying to understand. This isn’t something they’re used to dealing with.”

“Right,” I muttered assent. I was numb to all these bizarre experiences and was still astounded into inaction. My solution was to dump that entire problem onto laps of people who were born yesterday. It’s good that I was never responsible for making big decisions.

I fell onto my back across demon’s lap and kicked Annie’s sire’s head, “Get this asshole out of here.” The form of that man imploded onto himself.

“Do you think this place will let them stay here? And… will they want to?”

“I can ensure either outcome if you deem it desirable.”

I patted his bicep in what I hoped to be read as soft refusal and said, “I’m just wondering what would come next.” Things seemed to be wrapping up. I myself wasn’t sure if I’d like to stay in such an odd place. I was also convinced I’d hate to keep seeing this group of people without certain red head in it.

“Will you come with me? I’ve such sights to show you,” monster offered.

I hated the wilderness. It was cold, dark and was full of things. “I’ll think about it,” I shrugged noncommittally, not letting roomful of prone bodies witness my capitulation. Not like any of us had better plans though.

I dozed until creak on the stairs roused my attention. I squirmed to look behind me and Tom coughed with uncertainty tainting his words, “May we speak? I’m sorry, I haven’t caught your name.”

At first I thought he meant both of us or just the one in charge of this entire restoration, but demon kept on ignoring his mouth. Mellow man returned sentiment and just held my gaze firmly. I wanted to point out demon would hear them whisper a field away, but they were already wary of their maker. Sighed and got my ass up from the comfortable huddle.

“I’m Reese. What’s up?” Slowly made my way up to the room of dark magic and secrets. I was almost curious. Would they threaten to kill me and try to bend monster to their will that way? Miserable-looking Citrine didn’t appear prepared for any shady business. Disappointing.

Door shut behind us and unbranded man exhaled with some degree of relief.

“You know, for this fantasy to work they’d need to be awake,” I waved around me, trying to get them talking. There probably were serious doubts about any of this crowd waking at all.

“What do you think should be done?” Tom asked still leaning on the door instead of asking for reassurances.

Oh no, my past mistakes coming back to haunt me. “You know… The two of you are actually awake and in on the big secret because I really didn’t want to deal with this.”

“The two of us are hardly the decision makers in our group.”

“Well, you’re the best they’ve got. Make do,” I assured with double thumbs up.

“There’s still you! Just because Ruby isn’t here doesn’t mean you get to slack off too, Reese. He’d be furious.”

Heat rose up my back from shame, anger and finally joy when for a brief moment as I thought he had remembered something. I ended up grinning sourly. That chastising would have worked better had he remembered my actual name. I was almost caught in a verbal trap, but he was just taking shots in the dark. They didn’t remember shit. It was a test.

“Ruby’s not here. That’s the best we’ll get of him, even if,” I gestured to the empty forms on the floor and felt myself frowning. “Learn to live without him,” I said in voice that unexpectedly went coarse.

“What would you pick if he was like this?”

Fuck, what would I? Leave him the entirety of three recovered memories, only one of which might be remotely good since all of his life was spent fighting for the right to live? What if the memories were nothing but most bitter misery that will keep him haunted by people who weren’t even alive anymore? Forgetting scraps of good remembrance in exchange for peaceful night’s sleep was a bargain.

He’d want to keep it, I realised. No matter the cost. That formidable man would never want to be naïve, clueless and defenceless. Ruby wasn’t like me. But if I was the one picking for him…

“I’d scrub it clean, start them anew and make sure he doesn’t need to deal with same shit all over again,” I declared firmly. Now this was something Ruby would be furious over – and I cared not. It was becoming painfully apparent I was no different to monster when it came to it. It was all too easy to ignore pleas of the powerless once I was at the top.