Fantasy Ghosts From The Past

[Derpy Dev]

Waven thought that after being a loyal guard captain here for over twenty years, the people of this town would start to trust his decisions. The looks on their faces when they saw Twelve spoke differently. He tried not to take it personally; if a shepherd decides to take a wolf to a sheep pen, they watch the wolf because they know what it's capable of.

They stood right outside the training ground when he heard her voice.

"I can't..." He looked towards her after she made this declaration under her breath, and she continued. "This was a bad idea."

"Relax kid," Waven reassured. "I know we're a rowdy bunch, but this guard has taken worse members. I'm certain you'll get a warm..." He trailed off when he heard footsteps running towards them from behind at top speed.

"Ah crap."

Boman
​

"The hell?" asked Mavera and Boman. The ladder pulled himself up off the ground, and looked towards the sound of shouting and swearing. Right at the gate, Barrett had tackled the new girl. He heard Barrett shout about how he'd send the beast back to hell where she belonged, and hissing not unlike that of a cat from Twelve.

"I think this is why he's still single," Mavera whispered to her sparring partner. Boman would have laughed if this weren't so serious.

To the side of them both stood Waven, rubbing his temples and looking thoroughly done with this shit. Boman wouldn't have blamed his teacher if he had leaped into the fray and beat the hell out of the both of them.

And then Boman heard it. The Buzzing.

It wasn't quite so bad if you were on his side. You could tell that it was there, and it was slightly off putting, but it was nothing compared to when you were its intended target. Boman was confident the both of them were ten seconds away from dry heaving.

"WHO THE HELL," started Waven, his voice echoing across the training grounds and a fair bit of the town, "DO YOU THINK YOU ARE BOY?"

It was rare that you'd see Waven angry, but when he got angry he left a burning impression in your mind, a reminder to never, ever do whatever you did again.

You've done it this time Barrett. I hope you're happy.

His voice was quieter after the initial outburst, but it still carried weight. "Are you a king, boy? No. Are you a baron? No. Are you anyone, anyone this side of heaven, that has the authority to do what you just did? NO." The buzzing stopped. "I took you in because you have initiative," he continued, "Because you respond quickly, you don't follow anyone's example, you do what needs to be done first. But make sure that never goes so far as to disobey a direct order of mine again, you hear?"

 

[Veno]

Twelve glared directly at Barret, not looking anywhere else, or acknowledging anything else as she continued to quickly move towards him. Her eyes sharp and focused as she was almost in some sort of daze- completely and entirely focused on one thing; and that would be fighting back against the soldier that attacked her. She couldn't really control herself; years and years of being attacked, and ultimately killing soldiers and humans that came after her left her with terrible, monstrous tendencies and lack of self control; as if in these moments what little humanity she had was lost to the animalistic beast she was forged into. A truly terrifying, dull, emotionless yet deadly look plagued her eyes as Barret moved away from the wall, and readied his sword. It was alarming to say the least.

And then, she snapped out of it as a painfully loud buzzing filled her every sense. Twelves breath immediately hitched, and without nearly any hesitation she stumbled down onto one knee and grit her slightly fanged teeth while slapping her hands over her ears. Cringing as her body stiffened and she held back the urge to puke. Meanwhile, Barret winced and doubled over slightly, shouting out a low swear in distaste to the sudden sickness that came over his body; though his reaction wasn't as severe as Twelves. The reason for this could easily be simplified down to the fact that twelve had superior hearing.
Twelve shut her eyes tightly as she just remained still where she was, trying to block out the sound.

Barret tensed at Waven's rage-filled yell. It was clear to him now that he fucked up pretty bad... Yet still, he didn't regret it, nor did he understand why what he did was truly bad. Barret slowly stood himself back up straight when the buzzing ended, his fists clenched tightly at his sides as he listened to Waven's harsh discipline. Barret glared to the side, his eye brows furrowed with his teeth gritted, slowly shaking his head a little in silent disbelief. Of course, he understood how he was in the wrong for disobeying his orders, but he didn't agree with Waven's decision to take that beast in

"I understand...." Barret spat out lowly, pausing before continuing as he looked towards his teacher. "Im sorry sir, for disobeying you... But I still cant understand why the hell you think this is a good idea! That... creature will cause nothing but problems for everyone! It is entirely capable of destroying this entire town, and your just letting it in here without a single problem! Completely unleashed!?! Its.... Its ridiculous. That thing's eyes, they are the eyes of a murderer... I saw them before, and just now. You are making a mistake... sir."

With that, Barett turned, and walked off back into the training ground stiffly. Mumbling lowly under his breath, "It'd be best to just put that damned thing out of its unholy misery.". He walked right passed Boman without giving him so much of a glance. It seemed for now Barett would respect his teachers orders to leave twelve alone, though he still did not agree in the slightest bit.

Twelve had removed her hands from her ears by now, and slowly stood herself up, staring after Barret as he walked off in complete silence. A dull, uncertain look within her glowing eyes. She kept her armor covering the entirety of her body, leaving her with much more of a monstrous appearance as she currently looked to have dark grey skin with red markings. She was terribly on edge- and for good reason.

 

[Derpy Dev]

Waven sighed and hung his head. This was turning out badly. Any trust or ease she had was gone. He was dangerously close to losing Barrett. And he knew he couldn't just leave her without another disaster happening. These were truly desperate times.

Time for desperate measures.

"Mavera!" He called out. In a heartbeat, she was next to him with that sweet smile of hers. He reminded himself not to be fooled; she had killed more people than any other he knew, and she still smiled like an innocent child. A perfect psychopath. And yet, he'd seen it again and again, she could make anyone feel at home with that gap-toothed grin.

He sighed, then looked her in the eyes. "I need you to watch her. Introduce her to everyone here. Explain what's up. You've helped me recruit countless students before, you can do it without my guidance this time." He started to walk towards Barrett. As much as it pained him to admit it, he had to do the one thing he hated doing above all else.

He had to tell Barrett everything he knew if he wanted that boy to stay.

Boman
​

Boman gave Waven a look as he passed. His teacher ignored it, it seemed he was preoccupied trying to get Barrett to listen. Fine. He didn't want answers anyway. Instead, he turned his attention to Mavera and Twelve. Mavera was grinning at the new girl.

"So," she began, "The name's Twelve, right? A pretty good alias, it is." He doubted that her strange speaking mannerisms would work, but it felt genuine and friendly as always.

Maybe, just maybe, it would work.

 

[Veno]

Barett had walked away quite a distance, to the other side of the field to be exact- and sat himself down on a rock. It seems he was attempting to calm down his current rage as he rubbed his temples and lowered his head, letting out a low and loud sigh.
"This is ridiculous..." Her muttered lowly beneath his breath before cursing quietly. SLowly, he ran his hands through his short, buzzed cut black hair. Soon enough though, he heard Waven approaching and raised his head to address him. A deep frown formed upon Barett's face as he watched his teacher walk over.

"What now?" He growled out lowly, still clearly irritated by the whole situation. He averted his gaze down to the ground as he rubbed his hands together. "Waven... You've always proved to be so... right, a tactical genius, so what the hell are you thinking..." Barett sighed lowly while closing his eyes.

------

Twelve stared towards the girl, who smiled widely at her and spoke out in such a friendly, excitable voice. Twelve didn't say anything for the moment, and also kept her guard and armor up as she simply stared at the girl, examining her, as if she was taking in as much information about her as possible. She frowned just a little before slowly nodding just a little bit to confirm to her that her name was 'Twelve'. But then, right after Twelve spoke in a quiet, low and cautious tone. "What does that mean?" Twelve paused a moment before continuing, just a sliver of curiosity apparent in her eyes. "Alias; What is that? What does that mean?"

Twelve remained a small distance away from the girl, not allowing her to get very close. Her question was a bit odd, considering Alias wasn't exactly a terribly difficult word- and most knew of its meaning. However she didn't, while twelve could speak fluently and understand normally and what not, her vocabulary was still limited to that of a child- so some words would be foreign to her.

Just then, Twelve noticed Boman nearby, watching them. She paused a moment before flickering her gaze over towards him, staring at him with narrowed eyes and a slight, uncertain and thoughtful frown. 'Its that soldier from before... what did Waven say his name was...-? ... Boman...?' She thought to herself while staring at him, her eye brows furrowed a little while her gripped her hands at her sides. Eventually though, she snapped out of it and slowly looked back towards Mavera.

 

[Derpy Dev]

Waven sighed and sat next to Barrett on an adjacent rock as he breathed in his student's words.

"So what the hell are you thinking?"

"I told you before," Waven began, "that she is part human. That she was turned into this. I wasn't lying; I've seen it happen with my own eyes. But this is the first time I've seen one that escaped and started to remember. You want to know what I'm thinking? I'm taking a gamble. If she gets all her memories, if I can get her on our side, I can stop what happened to her, what happened to Boman, what happened to you..." Waven looked his student square in the eyes. "It won't ever happen again if she can tell me where this is happening, and who we need to kill to stop it."

He sighed and continued. "You called her a monster. And you're right. I know they have a way to control the things they make... odds are, Twelve has killed many for their sick cause. She can't remember, I know that much. But it's the human part we're focusing on, okay?"

Boman
​

"Hmm..." Mavera scratched her chin at that question. He knew she was smart enough to figure out a battle strategy in the time it took you to swing, but she always seemed to act slow in conversations. An odd quirk of hers.

Then Twelve looked at him.

Shit, he thought. She wasn't suppose to notice me watching. Time to make the most of it. He stood a little taller with his arms folded across his chest, and simply nodded towards her. The message was clear, you're welcome under observation. No threats, but an honest answer. He let her know she was being watched.

"Well, suppose I didn't like the name Mavera," she continued after a pause, oblivious to the standoff going down before her very eyes. "I could change my name if I wanted to, go by something else. I could call myself Arevam instead. Of course, Arevam wouldn't be my real name. It'd be a false name, a replacement, an alias." She chuckled here. "I've heard a lot of other aliases. My old boss? He didn't want people to know his real name, called himself Revelation instead. But Twelve? That's a pretty cool one if ya ask me."

What is your real name Twelve? He asked himself. Who are you, really?

 

[Veno]

Barrett listened to Waven as he sat down and spoke. For once, he did not interrupt him, instead just listening fully and only frowning deeply by the end of it. "I know, you told me before that she is technically part human, but regardless, she is still the same vile creature that has caused this land so much suffering. Whether she's part human or not i dont care. But i understand now. Your trying to attack the root of this whole mess. And you can only do that with her information. " Barrett sighed lowly as he leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck, wincing a little as he did.

"It makes sense... But, as long as that creature is within our walls, she poses a threat to everyone. That thing will never be human no matter how many memories it regains. Not even you know whether it will attack, lose control, or whatever. The whole village is at risk- not to mention how we will all look being seen with one of the beasts we are tasked to kill. Waven, what are you gonna do to make sure that thing won't hurt anybody." He looked towards his teacher, a bit of a tired look in his eyes, exhausted by this whole ordeal and quite frankly fed up with anything involving the unholy beasts.

-----------------------
Twelve focused her gaze away from Boman after he gave her a nod- that combined with the look on his face spoke clearly; he was watching her- which was a little unsettling, as she already didnt consider herself on good terms with him, just like Barrett. Of course, she wasn't really on good terms with anyone.

'Why am I doing this.' She gripped onto her own arms tightly, are answers truly worth all of this? It felt like with each passing moment she felt less and less certain about her decision. She simply hated being around all of these people- all of these soldiers. Finally, she tuned back into what Mavera was saying as she explained to her what that word meant. She thought for a moment about the definition she was given, hesitating before frowning a little. "I didn't choose this 'alias'." She stated slowly in thought, as she foggily remembered a voice addressing her by that name; 'twelve'.

Finally, she allowed her armor to disappear partially, finally receding to reveal her face, though she kept the rest of her body covered. "Mavera. What am i supposed to do here? When will this be over?" She asked straight up, as honestly, she didn't care for any of this small talk, any of these conversations, any of this training. All she wanted was information from Waven, information that she could only get by agreeing to become him pupil. She figured that the main reason she was here was because he wanted to keep an eye on her; and that perhaps after, she would be able to talk with him and get the answers she wanted.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"I know, you told me before that she is technically part human, but regardless, she is still the same vile creature that has caused this land so much suffering. Whether she's part human or not I don't care. But I understand now. You're trying to attack the root of this whole mess. And you can only do that with her information." He sighed here. "It makes sense... But, as long as that creature is within our walls, she poses a threat to everyone. That thing will never be human no matter how many memories it regains. Not even you know whether it will attack, lose control, or whatever. The whole village is at risk- not to mention how we will all look being seen with one of the beasts we are tasked to kill. Waven, what are you gonna do to make sure that thing won't hurt anybody?"

Waven didn't entirely agree with his student here. He tried to be realistic, but it was too easy to start hoping. Hoping that she could become normal and act like an ordinary human. But he knew Barrett wouldn't believe that, he barely believed it himself.

"We won't let her be alone," he said. He made sure to control the sound around the two of them, he couldn't risk that girl overhearing this. "We keep someone like Mavera, or Boman, or you or me around her at all times to be absolutely certain that whatever happens, she doesn't snap. It could happen, as much as I hate to admit it. We have to be careful. She's had a few... moments already. I was testing her this morning when she suddenly buckled over and threw up. No Buzzing caused it this time. But after that? She was immediately back to normal. So it won't always be a big deal. So if you do get assigned to watch her..." he sighed. "Look I'll be blunt, it you come within five feet of her she's likely to freak out. She doesn't like you or Boman. So for now, keep your distance. I need someone around her she feels comfortable around."

Boman
​

"I didn't choose this 'alias.'" This statement shocked Boman. Who did then? It was certainly not a real name. Did Waven give it to her? That sounded just like him.

"Oh," was Mavera's lame reply. "Well it-"

"Mavera. What am I supposed to do here? When will this be over?" The interruption and questions were both unexpected. As she said this, the armor around her face disappeared. Mavera herself looked stunned at this, then chuckled after a moment of thought.

"What are we doin' here?" She repeated the first question back at Twelve. "Lemme tell ya. Look around this place." She made a hand motion across the training ground. Most of the students had gone off to do other things, but some still watched from a distance. She pointed her finger at a boy practicing fire magic.

"See that one there? His name's Vaver. He lost his family to a house fire some four years ago, and came here to learn how to control fire." She pointed towards two boys sparring. "Those two? Their names are Nor and Vor. Abusive father killed their mother, but Waven rescued them and brought 'em both here. They train because they want to be like their new father." She pointed towards Boman, who pretended not to be watching. "That's Boman, but you already know 'em. He lost a friend when he was very young, and trains because he wants to be stronger then next time someone attacks his friends." Mavera looked back to Twelve. "So what are you doing here? Same thing everyone else is doin'. You're learning to fight because you have a reason too. So if you want your memories, this is where you become ready to get them." She was practically glowing as she said this.

It's a shame Twelve won't give a damn, he thought. That's really, really not what she meant Mavera.

 

[Veno]

Twelve listened to Mavera as she went on some inspirational monologue. However, she didn't quite answer Twelve's question the way she had wanted and needed, as her answer merely left the girl a bit more confused. She thought about her words- everyone here was here for a specific reason, everyone started off in a bad place and was working hard towards a specific goal. This all provoked a little bit of thought- Twelve didn't really have a specific goal. She just wanted to understand, for so long- for as long as she could remember she had been lost... She wanted things to make sense, she wanted to understand what these visions that she keeps having are. She want's everything that Waven had said to her to make sense... As she could still barely believe in a lot of it. Twelve frowned a bit as she looked around.

"My memories?" She repeated quietly under her breath while looking towards Mavera. How did she know that she had no memories? She stared at her for a moment with slightly furrowed eye brows, her face went just a little bit pale as this reminded her of the memory she gained while sitting at the stream, she could remember the seering pain of her arm being sliced off. Unconsciously, she rubbed her left arm.

Twelve couldnt really understand or empathize with any of these people... Empathy, sympathy, understanding... These are all emotions that are mostly clear within humans- she was barely a human anymore... She had no memories, and no experiences of care or love or grief over loss that she can remember, which led her to this question, as she truly could not understand considering her circumstances. "Why... Does any of that matter to them? I don't understand why they would do something now, because of what happened in the past to someone else. It makes no sense, its illogical. They dont need to fight." She stared at Mavera, her eyes had dulled down a bit from their previous intense, bright, predator-like appearance, and now just seemed to hold more of an empty look to them.

Twelve found herself actually disliking Mavera in a way- there was something about her that felt unsettlingly fake. As if something was being hidden, as if this bright, overly excited person in front of her was something much more, like her appearance was a lie. And lies meant danger.

Twelve let out a long, low breath while looking to the side. "Nevermind..." She mumbled, indicating for her to not answer her last question, as it didn't matter... She knew she wouldn't understand. "Im not here to learn how to fight. I dont need to- I have already learned, and not because i have some confusing goal. I know how to because I needed to, because people like you threaten my existence; whatever my existence is." The end of her sentence held a slight sting to it.


It was clear twelve was still on edge, and didn't trust anyone as not a single emotion was being let through her barriers- much like how she was in the beginning of her fight with Boman- emotionless, analytical, cold and uncaring. With that, Twelve turned a little and walked off, she gave a bit of a glare towards Boman as she walked by, going down across the field as she kept her defenses up. Eventually, she found herself back in one of the corners of the gated area, isolating herself from the other people as she instead just crouched down in a patch of grass, inspecting a single yellow flower.

 

[Derpy Dev]

Boman saw Twelve's lips moving. He wished he was Waven all of a sudden, he needed to know what she was saying. That old bat could hear anything.

"Why... does any of that matter to them?" She asked. "I don't understand why they would do something now, because of what happened in the past to someone else. It makes no sense, its illogical. They don't need to fight." Boman was stunned by this comment. Of course he needed to fight! He had to be a warrior, to make up for what he did. He didn't have a choice, he needed to.

Right? Her viewpoint was cold and didn't consider family ties. In that moment, Boman had a realization, an understanding of why Mavera was failing where she had always succeeded before.

Vaver had had his family.

Nor and Vor had each other.

Boman had Gracia.

But Twelve had never had anyone before; at the very least nobody she could remember. Mavera was failing because she relied on you knowing friendship. Twelve did not want friends though.

Maybe she needed an ally instead.

He saw her walk away from Mavera, leaving the poor girl absolutely speechless. He must have missed that last thing she said. Oops. She ended her walk at a corner of the training grounds and sat on the grass. At least she didn't leave. He turned his eyes towards Waven, who was sitting next to Barrett. Lips were moving, but no sound could be heard. He knew what that meant. Everyone else had turned back to what they were doing. After giving her just a minute, Boman walked towards Twelve and saw her looking at a single yellow flower, one he had grown to know the name of. A grace flower. And yet again, he was struck by just how... familiar she was. He knew her. Goddammit, he knew her. Where? What villager girl had he spoken to that had become this monster? Was she-

No, he reminded himself. It's not her. She's dead and you killed her.

"I'm not one for beating around the bush," he started bluntly, "And I know you aren't either. So I'll cut to the chase. You want to know who you are. And I want to too. Because... I know you Twelve. Your real name is on the tip of my tongue. So how about this." He sat down on the opposite side of the grace flower and gave her an intense look, to let her know he meant business.

"I want to help you. I know this town, a few walks through here, I can find out what gets a reaction from you. What reminds you of your humanity. After that it's a piece of cake."

 

[Veno]

When Twelve heard Bomans voice, she paused, expelling a long breath as she frowned a bit before shooting her sharp, defensive gaze up towards him. She didn't say anything though, and instead allowed him to talk as he started off bluntly. She listened to his proposition as he took a seat in front of her.

'He knows me? The old me that Waven was talking about? ' She watched Boman closely, a skeptical look within her eyes as one of her hands fumbled around with the flower. His suggestion didn't seem so bad... It was a potential opportunity for her to get a step closer to the confusing truth that she had yearned for for so long. But even right now, the words he said held something interesting to her as he stated that he knew her, he recognized her. This made her think back to that peculiar feeling of familiarity that he too just barely emitted to her.

The idea wasn't bad... And there really wasn't much to lose, but she paused, speaking out with still caution laced within her vocals.

"Is that why you didn't kill me before? Because you know me?" She started off with a question that she had been wondering for a while as she continued to fidget with the flower. "And why would I trust you enough to leave out of Wavens sight with only you. For all I know, you could be just like Barett. You did try to kill me once before..." She watched him closely with sharp eyes. It was clear she was still terribly hostile and wary- however, she still hadn't yet shut down the opportunity... Which meant she was considering it.

 

[Derpy Dev]

He was careful to maintain eye contact. She needed to take him seriously. She needed to think he was capable of doing what he said he could.

After a long, thoughtful silence, she spoke up again. "Is that why you didn't kill me before? Because you know me?" He nodded slowly, and she continued.

"And why would I trust you enough to leave out of Waven's sight with only you? For all I know, you could be just like Barrett." Ouch. It was good to know that he wasn't the only person who hated that man, but at the same time... "You did try to kill me once before..." Even as her words trailed off, they had a bite to them. But she hadn't shut him down. She was considering it. He had to repress the urge to smile at that fact.

"Well..." He took his sheath off of his back and dropped it on the ground in front of him while being very careful not to crush the gentle grace in the soil between them. "You see that? That's my weapon of choice, everything I've trained with. Sure, I know some hand to hand, and I can still use my spells... But I can't kill you instantly with any of those. By giving you that sword, I'm giving you my surprise advantage. Meaning that if I were to attack you, you'd have the advantage."

This was probably one of the craziest things he'd done. But if worst came to worst, he was confident he could escape from her or slow her down long enough for a different guard to take care of her. But this was something he'd do a thousand times if this got him what he wanted.

He needed to know. He had to.

 

[Veno]

Twelve was a little surprised by his next action- taking off his sword, and telling her to take it; giving her the advantage if he were to attack her- though she didn't even need the sword to have the advantage, as just him not having the sword gives her a huge advantage, as she could easily create her own out of her own blood if needed. She went silent for a moment in thought- This idea of his was so crazy, so insane and disbelieving, that the fact that he may not be trying to trick her seemed to make a bit more sense.

Twelve hummed out lowly in uncertainty as she slowly pulled her hand away from the flower while lowering her gaze. After a few seconds of silence, Twelve quietly stood up, though she left the sword on the ground, she seemed to not even want to touch it.

"Okay then... Just leave the weapon here." She finally agreed while looking to the side, gripping onto her left arm tightly in thoughtful silence. She wondered if this would work.

As the two of them would begin to head off to the gates of the training area to exit out into the town, Twelve still had a few curious questions to ask Boman.

"Why do you care so much? About knowing if you knew me or not, knowing who i was? It doesn't change anything... Does it?" Perhaps she didn't have the right to ask such a question, as she could ask herself the exact same thing... Why did she even want to know who she was in the past- why does she care about any of this? ... Why is she still unsettled by the fact that she found this damned soldier familiar. She didn't have much of an answer for any of those questions.

 

[Derpy Dev]

He noted her look of surprise in her eyes when he put down his sword. He had trouble not smiling there, if only because he knew he had won. After a long silence, she stood up.

"Okay then..." she said uncertainly. "Just leave the weapon here." She started walking towards the exit of the training grounds as she gripped her left arm, the one that stood out as a reminder of her inhumanity. Dear god, what am I doing? he thought as he walked with her. To late to turn back now. He walked with her.

He looked at Waven as he walked, and as usual his teacher was unreadable. He very definitely noticed what had happened though. What are you planning old man?

"Why do you care so much?" Twelve asked. Boman snapped his attention back towards her. "About knowing if you knew me or not, knowing who I was? It doesn't change anything... does it?" She didn't look as cold as she said this. It seemed that for once, she was legitimately curious.

"It..." He stopped walking here and thought about the answer to the question. He didn't know himself. It was more than just stubbornness this time, though that was partly it. He felt that this was important, that he'd regret it if he didn't. But was that fully it either?

Either way, it was the best answer he had.

"Have you ever done something simply because you knew that if you didn't, you'd regret it later? That's why I'm doing this. Because I just have to know. And I will wonder forever if I don't find out."

He looked across town after giving his incomplete answer. He got some looks, some wondered why the guardsman was walking with a strange half-beast. He didn't blame them, because he didn't know either. But where would they go, where would they check first? There was only so much time in the day after all.

 

[Veno]

Twelve didn't say anything to Boman after he provided her with his answer, she just nodded a little and thought about it as they walked. The trip through the town was slow and uneventful, Twelve kept a bit of a distance between herself and Boman, and didnt say anything as she just looked around at her surroundings. She had never really just walked through a town like this- so now was the only time she had ever really taken in the view. Every now and then, she would look back towards Boman cautiously, as if to make sure he wasn't sneaking up behind her or anything. She disliked the crowds, the sheer amount of people had her still on edge- though for the most part, everyone seemed to quickly stumble away out of their path once seeing her.

Nothing really caught her eye- she didn't feel anything in particular, aside from the stressful distaste of being around so many humans.

"I hate it here."

She mumbled lowly to herself as the sound of the crowds voices all mixed together filled her ears, accompanied by every single persons footsteps. It felt so chaotic. After an hour of walking around, and visiting multiple sites- there was no luck. No matter what they looked at, nothing triggered a reaction out of Twelve, nothing brought back any feelings, or memories. The most reaction that was given by her, was a scowl and a hiss towards some human who purposefully rammed his shoulder into hers- she had begun to turn around, easily having the urge to go after the person, but was stopped mostly thanks to Boman.

Eventually, she came to a slow stop, staring at Boman with a frown. "It isn't working... It's not going to work." She exclaimed with a bit of frustration, her hands clenched at her sides. Though at least one thing was accomplished today, even though it wasnt really noticed by Twelve, she had just a bit more trust for Boman- the fact that he really hadn't attacked her helped her feel just slightly less on edge around him. However, she was still visibly tensed up, simply just by being out in the streets like this- It was such a huge change, going from being all alone within the woods, to now being watched by hundreds of people at a time.

Just then though, she heard a small sound, and immediately, her head turned sharply- looking down into a rather dark alleyway. Twelve fell silent as she listened, her eyes narrowed a bit in slight perplexity. Then, she heard it again. It was soft and quiet, and sounded familiar to her... and unlike every other damned sound within this town, it didn't stress her, or scare her. It took her a moment, but eventually, Twelve moved past Boman, and head straight into the darkness of the alleyway, curious, she tried to find the source of the noise. A few feet in, Twelve blinked, pausing as she slowly crouched down.

"oh..." She breathed out quietly as she stared down to a small creature- a purely black kitten to be exact, it was missing its front left leg, instead just having a stump. Twelve placed her hands on her knees as she just watched the small thing as it meowed up at her and waddled closer, attempting to rub itself against her leg, however, every time Twelve would gently push the cat back with two fingers... She seemed to handle the animal with much care and gentleness. 'Dont... Ill hurt you.' She thought to herself quietly as she continued to push the cat away whenever it came too close. Her eye caught onto the cat's missing leg, "It seems your missing part of yourself. " She murmured quietly while lowering her head a little. "It doesn't grow back for you?" She murmured before quietly looking back down to her left arm.

Then, suddenly- without warning it happened again. Twelve's entire body tensed up while her eyes widened a bit, she watched as her vision suddenly flickered away, into static darkness. She grunted out quietly as she nearly fell forward, planting a hand down onto the ground before shutting her eyes tightly. The sudden movements had the cat scurrying away. Twelve coughed a few times as her body shuddered, sudden memories, and sights flashing before her eyes, though it wasn't just the visuals. She could smell the sickening stench of burning skin, of suffocating smoke, she could hear the cries and the screams, and could see the wreckage of what used to be a town, blood dripping from her hands. Twelve couldn't move her body, all she could do was remain stuck in this visions as they flickered and distorted, she watched from the first person view of herself as she mindlessly killed person after person- innocent people.

Out of her control, as if she was being controlled- a mindless monster as she remained stuck within this nightmarish memory, Twelve slowly stood up, before spinning around, slamming a fist straight into the nearby Boman, knocking him down to the ground. She immediately lunged forward- she almost seemed faster, and stronger now within this state. Her long hair hung down over her shoulders, a bit fallen carelessly in front of her face as she immediately pinned Boman down to the ground, with her atop of him, one of her hands pressing down against his jugular.

'Kill Them, Kill them all, Kill them, Kill him kill him kill him.'

Repeated within her mind as she glared down at Ojin, her eyes glowing brightly and dangerously, though they looked empty inside, while her mouth pulled into an uncharacteristic grin. There was no hesitation within her as she pulled one hand back, the armor covering her hand to form razor sharp claws, and in a quick motion she went to slam it down directly into his skull. Murderous intent within her eyes.

A loud sound echoed throughout the alleyway, and in that last moment, as her gaze just barely managed to flicker towards that same cat in the distance, she snapped out of it, and her hand instead crashed into the stone ground just beside Boman's hand, breaking straight through the concrete. Twelve froze, her hand partially buried into the ground as her body slumped on top of his, staring down at him with wide eyes- full of confusion, terror and shock. Her mouth hung open just slightly as she panted and her body trembled... 'Wh-what was that...' She couldn't even get out a word as she slowly just forced herself to crawl off of him, gasping and coughing fiercely as she fell down onto the ground beside Boman, rolling onto her back as she stared up at the sky, slightly dazed as she coughed up a little bit of blood. She felt sick, and had a terrible ringing within her ears that she could just barely fight off. Her eyes watered slightly- she didn't know what to do, she couldn't understand anything.

The small cat cautiously moved forward, and began idly licking at her fingertips, though for now, she provided no reaction to it.

 

[Derpy Dev]

They started walking. She seemed content to drop that line of conversation, either out of total understanding or not enough understanding. It was particularly busy this afternoon, which Twelve didn't seem to appreciate, choosing to mumble about how much she hated the crowds.

"It isn't usually this busy," he commented dryly. "It's much more quaint and homey most of the time."

They saw numerous sites on their walk. But every time they stopped to look at something, she looked more frustrated. He knew that look on her face, when you try so hard but it still doesn't work. Finally, she stopped walking and spoke.

"It isn't working..." Her hands were clenched at her sides, and Boman himself sighed in frustration as she continued. "It's not going to work."

He remembered himself saying those words when he first picked up a sword.

"I can't do it," his younger self had said to Waven. "It's not going to work." This earned a chuckle from Waven.

"And are you going to get anywhere by saying that?"

"Well, I mean-"

"Look kid. I learned this lesson a while ago. The only way you'll get something done is if you try. If you tell yourself you can't do it..."

"You'll never get it done," Boman said out loud, fully repeating his master's old saying. "If you don't try. It'll take time but-"

Eh? She wasn't there. Great. He was just going into a motivational speech too. Guess that was how Mavera felt. He looked around and saw her crouched down in an alley.

"Hey, why'd you run off?" He asked, but then quickly stopped and saw the little, three legged black kitten she seemed to be playing with. An alley cat. If he could track down and beat the shit out of every coward who dumped the kittens they couldn't even be bothered to give shelter to, he would. But because he couldn't he had learned to ignore the alley cats, as he hated seeing tasks he couldn't accomplish.

Suddenly, she buckled over. Her sudden movements scared the little kitten off, and she began coughing out blood onto the pavement beneath her feet. Her breathing accelerated to a massive degree, and their was a look to her eyes, a look of... glee?

"Twelve!" He ignored the look, it had to be a trick of the light. He rushed over next to her and started to put a hand on her shoulder to help her up, but stopped when she slowly pulled herself up on her own. He couldn't see her face well from this angle, but he could tell there was something... wrong with her expression.

"Twelve... are you-" his question was cut off when she swiveled around and slammed her fist into his chest. He felt the air got knocked out of his lungs by the force of the blow, and it hit hard enough to send him flying to the hard ground on the other side of the alley. Surprise consumed him, and the next thing he felt was her jump on top of him and press her hand into his throat.

He shouted in pain as his vision blurred, and the next thing he saw clearly was the look on her face. Blood on the lips and a twisted, horrid smile on her face. He wasn't looking at Twelve any more. This was a demon of the forest, a monster of blood, the beast from over the hill.

And she was about to kill him. Her hand was raised into the air, razor sharp fingertips pointed towards his face, and it started crashing down. For the first time since his first fight, Boman froze in shock and fear. He could only imagine the look on his face.

And then, her own facial expression shifted. The thing that struck him was that she looked just as confused as he was. Instead of crashing into his skull, her fist hit the concrete. It smashed into the ground inches away from his face, and in exhaustion she fell on top of him. Her face looked much like his he imagined. She was terrified and stunned by what happened. After a long, awkward moment, she pulled herself off of him and laid down on the pavement to his side.

And this is when he became pissed. He stood up quickly and jumped away from her, every muscle tensed. While there was an inner part of him that was saying he needed to calm down, the rest of him knew he had a right to be angry. Perhaps he wasn't just angry at her, and was mostly angry at himself for freezing up. He was not feeling rational enough to think about that right now.

"The fuck was that about?" He snapped. He kept his eyes on her, watching her every movement. He was not letting his guard down again around her. Not again. Never again.

 

[Veno]

Twelve slowly moved onto her side on the ground, her body stiff snd shaking. She could hear boman hurrying away from her, and snapping out in a furious tone- demanding to be told what had happened... Unfortunately even twelve didn't have an answer for him. She didn't answer him at all, as there wasn't anything that she could say; she was just as lost and terrified as him. Currently, she was still in shock from the gruesom memory, and the terrifying feeling of being unable to control your own body.

Laying on her side, She watched the small kitten as it carefully waddled over towards her.
"I- I didn't want to do it... I didn't want them to die. I didn't want to kill them, i couldnt- I don't. ... w-why couldn't I....- I didn't want this. .. " she whispered shakily beneath her trembling breath. Her voice sounded broken, as if she was holding back tears. Twelve gritted her teeth, reaching up with one hand to grab her head. She still felt dizzy and quite sick. After a few moment, she managed to sit herself up, one hand on the ground to support herself, while her other wiped at her bloody lips- though all it did was smudge the blood across her cheek.

Finally, she looked back over to boman, frowning with uncertainty; there was a look of total distrust in his eyes, and complete anger. Her words were caught in her throat, she didn't know what to say- let alone do. She couldn't understand what had just happened to her.

"I... I don't know..." her voice sounded small and shaken up as she attempted to stand up. Her balance immediately wavered as she stumbled off to the side, only remaining upright due to being caught by the wall. She moved her hand to her mouth and coughed up a bit more blood, her body shaking and lurching as she did.

"I don't know what happened..." she remained against the wall, a distance away from boman as she kept a hand over her mouth, shutting her eyes tightly.
She hated this feeling, it was painful both physically and mentally. She was currently internally panicking a bit, which seemed to just make her current state worse. This was the most emotion she had displayed all day, she was afraid of herself.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"I-I didn't want to do it... I didn't want them to die." It surprised Boman when he realized that Twelve as in shock. He'd heard similar babbling from wounded soldiers only minutes from death. One thing could be certain, whatever memory she got couldn't have been nice.

"I didn't want to kill them, I couldn't- I don't... w-why couldn't I... I didn't want this..." After a long moment, she struggled to pull herself up, leaning on a wall to support her body. The look in her eyes started to wash away his anger with pity. But at the very least, she had regained control of herself.

"I... I don't know..." She coughed up blood, which was the final nail in the coffin when it came to dispelling his rage. She was in worse state after this than he was. "I don't know what happened..." she finished. She closed her eyes as tight as she could, and he could have sworn he saw her shaking. God, she looked the most familiar when she looked weak.

"I..." Boman was speechless. He was tempted to walk over and give her a hug, and he would have if he thought it would end with him in one piece. Instead he merely took a step closer.

"It's fine," he blurted out. "You... you scared the crap out of me, that's all." That was a lie. A complete boldfaced lie. That was only behind the smallest fraction of his anger. "You... well..." What was there to say? Both of them knew what happened. He sighed and took a step forward, reaching a gauntleted hand out to rest on her shoulder. He did so cautiously, ready to recoil back if this scared her.

"Now that we know the worst case scenario for your memories returning," he started, "Now that we know that this could happen again, and that I might have to restrain you... Do you want to keep looking around town for reminders?" He knew what choice he'd make. He just needed to know if she'd make the same.

 

[Veno]

Twelve slowly wiped the blood on her palm onto her clothing, while her mind continued to race uncontrollably, and her head pounded with a headache. She felt as if she could still just dully hear the screams of the people within her memory. The two of them were dumbfounded on what to say- there wasn't anything to say that could make this situation any lighter. Just then, she felt his hand grasping onto her shoulder, the unexpected sensation immediately had her stiffening up a bit, and quickly shooting her attention over towards him. However she didnt jerk herself away, she just stared at him for a moment, her eyes a little watery. She listened as he asked her whether she wanted to continue or not, as he asked, she ended up shying away from his hold on her shoulder.

It was a bit of a difficult decision, on one hand she almost didn't want to continue, as she didn't want to have to go through that again- and thus far, all of hte memories she had gotten have been negative, making her feel less and less human with each one... And then, for some reason this time, she lost control of herself, as if something else had taken over. A bit of a shudder ran down her spine. And finally, she had begun to wonder why she was coughing like this, why she was feeling so much physical pain, why was there blood? and... did it mean something dangerous?

In another perspective though, if she left now nothing would have been accomplished, and besides, the sun was going to set soon, which meant they wouldn't be out for much longer anyway. Eventually, Twelve nodded a little bit.

"I guess..." She looked down to the ground, uncertain and pained. By now, the sensations of dizziness had begun to fade, and she was able to stand up straight. She was about to begin to walk off when she remembered something, Twelve carefully crouched down, looking to the small cat that was waiting for her attention. For just a moment- a split second, there was a slight smile that just barely formed on her lips, though it looked bittersweet. It only lasted a moment before she reached down and picked the critter up as she stood back up fully. Twelve drew in a deep, slightly shaky breath, hesitating before turning towards Boman and quickly holding it out to him, pushing the cat into his arms. "Can you...- Can you carry it? I..." She paused a moment before continuing as she let him take hold of the animal and carefully pulled her arms back.

"I dont want to hurt it."

With that, she was ready to leave to continue searching with him; however the visuals of that memory remained on her mind entirely.

 

[Derpy Dev]

After a long, painful silence, she nodded.

"I guess." Boman nodded back. They both knew that this would not be easy. This was going to be struggle for them both. He didn't look forward to it, and he was just hoping he got answers in the end. He couldn't think of many people she could be. There were so few people she could be, in fact, that he suspected that something was wrong with his memory to. Nothing felt right about this.

While Boman was thinking, Twelve crouched on the ground.

What is she doing?

She reached for the crippled kitten.

...she isn't.

She picked the sad thing up.

No, no, no. I'm not adopting some street cat that can't even hunt.

She held the kitten out towards Boman.

No. I draw the line.

"Can you-can you carry it?" She asked. The look on her face was not unlike the one on the kitten. He couldn't say no to that damnably adorable face.

"Fine," he sighed, holding out his hand to hold the rascal. It immediately began purring, and he felt a deep sense of resentment towards the ball of fluff before him.

"I don't want to hurt it." He looked up towards her when she said this, but she had already turned around, making her impossible to read.

The kitten began batting its paw at Boman's thumb. "Have you no survival instincts?" He asked the offending kitten. Getting no response, he turned towards Twelve.

"So," he said, "Now that I have two little monsters to take care of," He pointed towards the kitten, who began batting at his finger. "I might as well deposit at least one of them at my home. So I gotta go there now." He paused in thought. "Did Waven assign you a place to sleep and somewhere you can eat?" He had to make sure of these things. And he had a feeling he knew the answer.

 

[Veno]

Twelve nodded a little bit when he stated he needed to go back to his home in order to drop off the little creature that Twelve decided to keep. What followed up was a question.

"Oh... " She took a moment of thought before replying slowly. "No..." She didn't remember him assigning her a place at least- she hadn't even thought about that. "Perhaps, Ill just rest at the training ground." She Exclaimed quietly while in thought- it wouldnt be much different from the cave she always slept in. She followed Boman as he would lead their way to him home. For the most of the trip, Twelve didn't really say anything- she was still feeling a bit off from her recent experience. She wondered why this was happening- was she slowly losing herself? What caused her to snap out of it... What caused her to lose control in the first place... How close was she to killing Boman? Twelve stared at his back, she could remember what she did- but pretty vaguely, everything felt sort of blurred and muddled in her mind, as if she could sort of understand what happened, but simply had no control. She wondered what will happen when Boman tells Waven.

As they walked, Twelve remained a small distance away from Boman, eventually though, she wanted to ask him something.

"Waven said that I used to be human." She said slowly while staring at the back of Bomans head. "But what does that mean exactly? To be human?"

 

[Derpy Dev]

"No..." she replied slowly. Boman nodded, he must have stolen her away before she could ask. Rather foolish of him.

"Perhaps I'll just rest at the training ground." she whispered out loud. There was a public dormitory there, as a lot of students were either foreign or homeless. Twelve wouldn't even be that unusual there, Nor and Vor still slept there as well as a couple of others.

"Talk to Waven about it if you get the chance," he recommended before they drifted into silence.

His mind kept monitoring the pace of her steps with his hearing. He couldn't help it; it was simply reflex there, years of training from Waven about how to watch someone you can't see or feel.

"Know what you would do if you were them, and know what their normal pace is."

It still bothered him that he was doing it though. Because he was thinking of her as the enemy and he couldn't help it. He tried to think of that faint smile he saw on her when she was playing with that rascal-said rascal purring fast asleep in his hands-and remembered that she too was capable of kindness. But then his thoughts went back to the manic, unnatural smile on her bloody lips, and the eagerness by which she pounced upon him, ready to-

"Waven said that I used to be human." Her voice made him jump slightly, he snapped his attention back to monitoring her immediately. "But what does that mean exactly? To be human?"

He looked towards her for a second before considering an answer. What did it mean? Did it matter if one was human or not, or only if they followed their morals? By default, he remembered what Waven had said when Boman had asked why they killed monsters.

"It means jack shit," he quoted, "If you are human. It only matters if you follow your morals." Here he began paraphrasing. "See this kitten in my hands? It doesn't matter that they're not human, does it?" The annoying kitten's purring became louder.

That didn't mean I like you Rascal, he lied while thinking to the cat. It's just an example. Not because you're adorable and gentle.

 

[Veno]

Twelve kept her gaze focused onto his back as she walked behind him, and listened to his answer.

Twelve frowned a little, a bit perplexed by the answer he gave her... however, the example he gave after helped slightly as he referred to the cat, asking if it mattered that it was not human. Twelve paused, pressing her lips together as she shifted her sights back towards the small sleeping cat within his gentle grip.

"I... I suppose." She answered slowly in contemplation. She then lowered her head, looking to her hands as she repeated one word under her breath. "Morals... ?"

'What are my morals?' She didnt know, she didn't know much about herself; it was hard to when you don't know anything about who you once were... And recently, all she has been blessed with are memories of terrible things- including some terribly, cruel things that she had done...Were her morals nonexistent?

"I... I dont think i have any. I dont think I have any morals..." Twelve frowned as she kept a focused gaze down to her hands. "I... I keep remembering bad things- Ive done terrible things. I... Ive killed so many. I... I was just a monster. I am just a monster." She furrowed her eye brows as she slowly stopped her walking, her mouth opened slightly as she let out a heavy, shaky breath. She began to feel a little lightheaded and sick to her stomach.

"what if..- What if all of my memories are like that, what if that is all i was... A monster, a murderer. I... I dont want to remember. " Her voice began shaking just a little bit as she looked back up towards Boman.

"If I remember then i- Ill become like i was before." She exclaimed out. Although it may be hidden, she was making progress- she was expressing feelings, expressing fear and actually talking to somebody about them.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"I... I suppose," she answered in that low voice of hers. But however silent, he could hear a familiar tone to it. Uncertainty and worry. "Morals?" she asked under breath as she shifted her steady gaze towards her hands. What are you thinking? He asked in his head. After a moment, he got his answer.

"I... I don't think I have any. I don't think I have any morals..." Twelve's words stunned Boman, causing him to immediately stop walking and look towards her with concern. She kept her gaze on her hands as she slowed her own pace to a halt. "I... I keep remembering bad things-I've done terrible things. I... I've killed so many. I... was just a monster. I am just a monster.

"What if...What if all of my memories are like that, what if that is all I was... A monster, a murderer. I... I don't want to remember." Her voice became shaky, the words burning into Boman's thoughts as she turned her gaze back towards him.

"If I remember then I-I'll become like I was before," she blurted out. Boman was lost for words. What could he say, after all? As much as he tried, he didn't have the people skills of Mavera, or the wisdom of Waven. And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't shake the image of that twisted grin out of his mind. And as she spoke those words, he realized one thing. He realized that she was right. That if she did get her memories again, she might go right back in an instant. And that terrified him. He was terrified of the beast she could become. He was terrified of the damage she could deal. And he was terrified, most of all, that he'd have to fight her again-and kill her.

Was finding answers worth that risk?

And then, he realized something. This girl, whoever she was, was stronger than he was. She had already broken free of her prison if Waven was correct, and he still felt sore in some of his wounds after their fight. She was tough as nails. She was strong enough to cut steel, she was strong enough to break free. And she was strong enough to resist the urge to kill.

"I don't know much about you," he started. "Hell, today is the first time we've actually talked like normal people in longer than either of us can remember. But look back down towards those hands of yours. Those cuffs are still there. You've broken free before. Know what that means?" He looked her square in the eyes. "It means that if you need to, you can break free again. This curse of yours can't last forever, and I'll be here to make sure you see the end of it." He wondered how ridiculous he sounded. After all, he was no good with people, this attempt at motivation was probably going to fail as horribly as Mavera's. But at the very least, he gave it his best shot.

 

[Veno]

Twelve looked up to Boman as he answered her, She had a clearly troubled look- and in a way, she almost looked afraid. Afraid of her situation, of herself and what/who she potentially is... and the terror of losing complete control, of losing whatever sliver of identity she currently held. Twelve drew in a slow breath, slowly touching the cuffs around her wrists as he exclaimed how she had already broken free before- and she could do it again if needed. Pressing her lips together tightly, she felt her jaw lock a little as his thoughts circled within her mind while she held his gaze.

"I... W-Why?" She breathed out slowly, she looked truly perplexed and somewhat stressed. She hesitated before taking a few steps forward while staring up at him. "Why would you say that? That youll be there for me. I almost killed you; I wanted to kill you, both a couple of days ago and a couple of minutes ago... I- I can tell that your afraid of me. I dont understand.You shouldnt be saying something like that, you should hate me. " She expressed her confusion while watching him, she had little sense for forgiveness, or empathy, so she couldnt understand how he could even think about saying something so nice considering all that she had done.

However, while he did raise unlimited confusion within the poor girl- completely unable to understand of the workings of many emotions and traits, she did find herself slightly more relaxed by his answer; that she had broken away from whatever she was before, which meant she could do it again.

 

[Derpy Dev]

She looked terrified as he spoke. And he could understand. This wasn't something that looked like it could end well for her after all. But by the time he finished talking, her fear was replaced with something else.

I... w-why?" she said as looked at him with a look of pure confusion. She took a handful of steps closer and he had to resist the urge to step back. "Why would you say that? That you'll be there for me? I almost killed you; I wanted to kill you, both a couple of days ago and a couple of minutes ago..." This was the first time he could think of where she rose her voice. She might not have even realized it. "I- I can tell that you're afraid of me. I don't understand. You shouldn't be saying something like that, you should hate me." He took her question into consideration. To be fair? He hadn't fully realized what he was saying. He was undoubtedly spewing out nonsense that he hadn't expected her to believe. But he wasn't lying when he said he wanted to know who she was. And he would stay by her side a very, very long time if it meant getting an answer to that question.

"Hmm..." He scratched his chin in an exaggerated expression before grinning at her. "Stubbornness. I'm too stubborn to not see this through now that this has started. Besides, I started the whole death battle thing, so we're even there." He took on a more serious expression. "I'm no coward though. I'm not backing away just because you scare me once." He spun around and started walking again. He wasn't sure if he was giving her a complete answer. There was something else he couldn't place that drove him towards this decision. But it had been made.

He was going to try to-no, he was going to-see the end of this.