• Emphasis / *action* / Thoughts

• Whispering / Distant Voices
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Y/Ns Room, After The Twins Leave, Y/N's POV

Seems they're adjusting well. Didn't think they would be fans of what I do but I hope it won't interfere with anything. I just hope they aren't too loud, Nina, especially with how much she reminds me of Angie.

I shake my head at that thought

Once I made it to my room, I quietly opened the door and stepped inside, making sure I didn't wake Coco up. I glance at her, clenching my fists at what could've been done to her had I not been there.

Poor kid. Not even 10 and she's already gotten a taste of hell. She seems to be doing well all things considered. Her upbringing is coincidentally similar to the twins so maybe they could bond together. Hmm...

While I mull over some thoughts, I begin to remove my armour and place it on the armour stand on the far side of the room. Once it's all off, I'm left in a black, skintight, nano-suit covering my whole body up to just below my throat.

I command the nanites to reconstruct themselves into a pair of loose-fitting lounge pants, leaving my upper half bare. I stretch my body, feeling the satisfying pops of my bones freeing themselves from all the tension. Once I'm done, I snap my fingers, the lights creating a soft, dim glow so as to not disturb Coco.

I make my over to her side, silently cursing myself for having forgotten the earplugs were still in. I dispel them and let her rest, moving my hand over to caress her cheek but I stop myself, unsure if I should. I sigh and move away, looking back at her again I...Sasha? My eyes widen at what I just saw.

I brighten the lights a little and take a thorough look at Coco again...

Sasha. My brows furrow in thought as questions quickly manifest in my head. The resemblance is uncanny albeit a bit younger but it's there. The more I look at her, the more I see her. Call it a hunch but maybe...tch, I probably sound like a psycho but I'm not getting any sleep until I figure this out. I sigh as the nanites begin to structure skintight gloves around my hands.

I grab a small pair of scissors from the bedside table and snip a minuscule piece of fur from the tip of her ear, taking extra care not to hurt her. Once the fur is cut, I enclose the sample within a bubble and make my way to the door. I close the lights and take a deep breath before letting out a soundless pulse of energy to make sure the Twins are asleep.

...Their heartbeats and breathing are even. I open the door and close it, heading towards the console to analyse the sample. A couple of seconds later, once it was uploaded to the computer, I ran it through a database to find her family, if she even had any.

She mentioned an orphanage but it's obvious that she hates it there. Maybe I can find her real family instead or anyone related to her in any way, hopefully narrowing my search somehow. As I'm lost in thought, I look at the screen again to see if it's still loading.

...
...
...

Strange...usually it doesn't take this long and considering I've got state-of-the-art technology at my disposal what's the hold up? Oh, seems I got something.

Hmm...no luck. Barely any information about her and no mention of her family. She doesn't even know her own name so I've got nothing else to go on. If I can't find anything here then maybe I need to make a trip down to Marcadia, see if their databanks hold any vital information about her.

As for what happens once I find her family, I'm not sure. Besides, I've still got some questions that need answering. How did she get into the auction? Was she abducted or taken willingly? Was she sold into the auction? Tch, I'll deal with it later. I shut down the console and head back to my room to rest. Right now, I've got to prioritise the twins and Coco.

They need me.
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1:50 pm, Next Morning, Still Y/N's POV

Sun's coming up. The night felt longer than it should've. Didn't sleep much since I was keeping an eye on Coco nor do I really need it. I rub my eyes and stretch a bit as I think about the Twins. Hmm, I'll let them rest a little longer, considering what happened last night.

I check the time via the nano-bots. Right now, it's around 1:50 pm. Since I'm not going to rest, might as well get ready for the day. I shed the nano-bots into a wristband and grab a towel from my drawer.

I head towards the bathroom in my room but not before creating a soundproof barrier around it, not wanting to wake Coco up. I look back at her, making sure she's still asleep and head inside. Hopefully, the Twins aren't awake yet.
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The Twins' room, 2:04 pm, 3rd POV

While Y/N was freshening up, the Prog Twins were still soundly asleep, dead to the world around them. Inside their room lay one Nina and Vendra Prog, haphazardly strewn across their beds, peacefully unperturbed by anything.

*snore*

Well, almost anything. The source of the snoring came from none other than Nina who was hanging off her bed like a limp noodle.

Vendra's eyes clench as she tries to block out the sound, to no avail.

*snore*

Nina's snores increase in volume causing Vendra to lazily hum.

"...hmm..."

*snore*

"...mmm, Nina...shuddup..." Her words fall on deaf ears as she tries to fall back asleep. Sadly, her sister had other plans.

*SNORE*

She snored so loud that it shook both their beds prompting Vendra to wake up.

"Goddammit...ugh, way to ruin my morning." She annoyedly mutters before yawning out her next words, "What time is it?"

*snore*

She received no response.

Vendra blankly glares at her, "Why do I even bother...hm, 2:14 pm? Did we really sleep for that long?" She asked her sister, forgetful of her condition.

*snooooooore*

Vendra sighs, "She's gonna be the death of me someday. Nina, wake up!"

"Mmmmm...no." Nina cheekily answers as she drops her façade.

"Wake up, Ni- hold on, were you awake this entire time?!" Vendra exclaimed.

The younger Prog happily answers, "Yep! Took you a while to wake you up but it worked."

Vendras eye twitches, "...let's just get ready."

The Twins head into the bathroom together. The two repeat their routine from last night with Vendra entering the shower again and Nina brushing her teeth.

The elder Prog sheds her clothing and heads into the shower, sighing in satisfaction at the feeling of the warm water cascading down her body, "I could get used to this...".

After a minute of savouring the feeling, she begins scrubbing off last night's exhaustion with the surprising amount of women's products there. "Must've been some type of fabrication technology." She comments but shrugs as she happily indulges in the fruity-scented solutions. Just as she starts to wash her hair, her sister chimes in with a few words.

"V, c'mon! You've been in there for thirty minutes!" Nina groans out.

Vendra looks around, seemingly in disbelief before addressing her sister, "Sorry, Nina. I'll be out in a bit. Was I really in there for that long?," She thinks to herself as she quickens her pace.

"Yeah, yeah." Nina grumbles. While her sister finishes up, the younger Prog takes the time to ready both their clothing.

After almost an hour of cleaning herself, Vendra steps out of the shower to swap places with Nina.

"Finally!" Nina exclaimed before rushing into the shower. Vendra rolls her eyes at her sister's behaviour before wrapping herself up in her towel. Once at the sink, she proceeds to groom herself, happily sighing at the thought of finally using actual oral and facial products.

Once finished, she steps out of the bathroom and drops her towel to pick some clothes to wear from the wardrobe. She looks at her array of clothes and wonders aloud, "Huh, have I always worn this much purple?"

She shrugs and settles on a simple oversized long-sleeve shirt and some shorts. Afterwards, she brushes her hair out, letting it down instead of her usual style. Once ready, she decides to head into Y/Ns room to ask some questions.

As the door opens she's greeted by the sight of a very clean room with a bed occupied by a snoring Cazar. Looking around, her eyes are seized by Y/Ns armour. Vendra quickly looks around before tip-toeing closer, stopping just a couple of inches away from it.

"Either he's really tall or I'm really short." She bitterly whispered, comparing her height to his. Annoyance aside, the curious Nether reaches out to the armour, temptation swimming within her eyes as her hand rests upon the chest plate.

She raps her knuckles on it lightly, surprised at the density of the metal. Moving away from the chest, she carefully removes the gauntlet from the stand and holds it in her hands.

"What the hell..." She almost drops it out of pure shock before tightening her grip. The source of her surprise came from the gauntlet's interior. A glowing blue light saturates the inside, with closer examination showing what looks to be molten metal swimming on all edges.

Vendra gapes at the sight before gingerly touching the 'molten' metal. She gasps as the metal shifts around and morphs around her finger, creating a skintight barrier. She pulls her finger away and the metal breaks down into tiny particles before joining the wave of silver.

"Fascinating..." Her words trail off as she examines it further, her mind running through countless thoughts about just what it is.

She looks at her finger again. "What if I..." The elder Prog slowly tries to slip the gauntlet over her hand before a voice stops her.

"What are you doing here?"

"AHH-", A hand covers her mouth as a voice whispers into her ear. Vendra shivers at the sensation.

"Keep your voice down. She's trying to sleep. Now, I'm going to let go and you're going to tell me why you're in here, alright?" Y/N unknowingly huskily whispers into her ear, unaware of its effect.

She rapidly nods her head.

"Good."

He takes his hand off her mouth and steps back a little. Vendra inhales a little, indecent thoughts forming in her head as she turns around to witness the Ghost in all his half-naked glory.

"Vendra?"

His words fall on deaf ears as the elder Prog's focus rests on the Ghost's abdominal muscles. His body glistens from the water, highlighting his figure and making him look all the more enticing.

"Vendra."

Before her gaze could wander any lower, Y/N lightly flicks the naughty Nether's forehead, regaining her attention. She gasps and looks away, embarrassed at having acted like that.

Y/N rolls his eyes before gently holding her chin and tilting her head towards him, his unmasked face meeting hers as piercing purple meets mint green. Vendra lets out a breath at his beautiful amethyst eyes, entranced by the cool visage.

"Do I have your attention now?"

Vendra nods, holding his gaze as a blush creeps upon her face.

"Good. Now, I'm not mad but why are you here?"

Y/N lets go of her chin as Vendra takes a deep breath.

"I-I just wanted to ask you some questions but I got a little sidetracked when I saw your armour. I swear I didn't do anything with it!" She quickly whispers out that last part.

"What was the question?"

"I...kinda forgot." She sheepishly replied.

Y/N just smiles and responds, "I see. Well seeing as you're ready and, assuming your sister is too, you can ask me whatever it is you need to in the dining room."

Vendra nods.

"Good. Now, can you please get out of my room so I can change? I'd rather not be wet for the whole day." Y/N politely responds.

The blushing Nether averts her eyes again before nodding as she goes to leave. Not even two steps away, Y/Ns voice calls out to her.

"Vendra, can I have my gauntlet back?"

She stops in her tracks and hands the armament to him without looking. Before Y/N can even thank her, she's already gone.
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Y/N's room, 2:30 pm, Just After Vendra Left, Y/N's POV

Well, that was strange. Seems the barrier worked after all, but now I'm probably going to have to deal with a bunch more questions considering she's seen my face. So much for putting it off.

I place my gauntlet back on the stand and proceed to get ready. I shed my towel and proceed to dry any remaining moisture off my body and hair. After that, I rummaged through my drawer to pick out a simple dark blue long-sleeve shirt while also morphing the wristband into some loose black pants.

Once I'm ready, I go around the bed and check up on a certain snoring Cazar.

Coco is still sound asleep, thankfully. Right now it's about 2:30 pm, should be around sunset in Marcadia. I'll wait a little longer before I leave. Just a simple intel-gathering mission, shouldn't take more than a few hours. The question is, will the twins be able to watch over her?

As I start to think, Coco interrupts my thoughts, groaning at having to wake up, "Mmm...ugh..."

"Finally awake, huh?"

She rubs her eyes as she sits up, "Mm...uh huh?"

I lean over and rub her back, keeping my voice gentle, "You okay? Still tired?"

She slowly shakes her head, still rubbing her eyes, "I'm fine. And I'm not tired. I feel very *yawn* energised." I roll my eyes with a smile.

"Yeah, I can tell. You're just full of energy right now. You usually sleep for this long?"

Coco stops ruining her eye and stretches her arms out, still keeping her eyes closed, "No, but I've just never slept anywhere this comfortable."

She finally opens her eyes and looks at me, her brown eyes brimming with curiosity as she meets mine.

"Pretty! Are those your real eyes?!"

I think my heart just swelled a bit. I chuckle and rub her head, "Yes, they are my real eyes." I bring my hand up, and cinders of purple energy flutter between my fingers. "They're connected to my powers..."

Coco looks mesmerised by my power. I clench my fist and the energy disappears, "But that's a story for another time. I have something I need to tell you." Coco looked intrigued at what I had to say. She tilts her head.

"What is it?"

"I'm going on a mission this afternoon. I'll be back by tomorrow morning, hopefully. Since I'm not going to be here, the twins will be looking after you while I'm gone." Her eyes widen as if glass shattered within her mind at the prospect of being in the care of two people she does not know.

Granted, she barely knows me either but I guess my saving and caring for her made it easier for her to trust me.

"WHAT?! Why?!" Coco looked absolutely distraught and slightly scared.

"Coco, I'm going to be gone for a while and someone needs to take care of you. Vendra and Nina will take good care of you while I'm away. I swear it. Besides, the three of you may have more in common than you think."

"B-b-but what if they can't cook?"

"The kitchen is A.I. operated." Have they ever cooked before? Need to ask them that later.

"W-well, what if they can't clean?"

I just crossed my arms, "Really? They're adults, Coco. If they can't do that then I wouldn't have even considered them to look after you."

"B-b-but what if-" Coco stutters, racking her brain to find more excuses but I shut her down.

I place a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Breathe, Coco. I understand that you don't want me to go but this mission is for your sake."

She raises an eyebrow, "My sake? What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you but please, just trust me. Okay?" I just hope my hunch is wrong.

Coco reluctantly agrees, "Mmm...fine. But, you have to promise to come back by tonight!"

"Of course." No promises.

I go to move away but she grabs me by my hand and tugs it towards her. I look at her for a while until she brings up her pinkie finger and gestures towards it.

I sigh and intertwine my pinkie with hers. "I pinkie promise that I will come back to you."

"At what time?" She narrows her eyes at me, a very familiar look I've seen on a certain Phyronix.

"Do you even know what time you want me to come back?" I curiously ask, maybe this will give me a hint at her educational background.

Coco happily exclaims, "Yeah! When it's dark!"

Fantastic.

"...I'm gonna need to buy some books on the way back," I mutter under my breath. "Fine, I promise to come back when it's dark."

"Yay!"

I never even gave her an exact time but, she looks happy so I guess I'll try to make good on it. I pull my pinkie away and get up.

"Good. Now, let's get you freshened up. The bathroom is over there. Take your time to get ready, brush your teeth, take a shower and then get dressed for breakfast...or lunch, since it's almost three. If you need any help then just give me a call, okay?"

"Ok!"

She scurries off to the bathroom to do as I said. I stocked it full of toiletries that a young girl like her would need. Hopefully, she can navigate the bathroom for what I've left...should've probably written a note for her on where to find them.

Wait...can she even read?
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3:00 pm, Dining Room, Nina POV

Something's up with Vendra. Ever since she came back to our room, she's had this flustered look about her. I've asked her why but she just doesn't acknowledge what I'm saying or she tries to change the subject. Very non-Space Witch.

And now we're sat here in the dining room because Vendra said the Ghost needed to talk to us about something. Well, that, plus I'm pretty hungry so that's two Skreeducks with one stone.

I look over at Ven and she's doing it again, daydreaming and blushing. Just what is she thinking about? Time for the interrogation to begin!

"Ven!"

"Huh? What?" She snapped out of her thoughts. Finally.

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

I blankly stare at her and raise my eyebrow. She grows even more confused.

"What? What am I doing?" She crossed her arms and looked at me.

"Dreaming and blushing. You know, the thing you've been doing for the past thirty minutes. Thirty minutes, V!"

Her eyes widen. Gotcha!

"Tch, quiet, Nina. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

Hmm...thirty minutes ago she was with...

"It's the Ghost, isn't it?"

The silence is immaculate. Her jaw dropped as she struggled to find her words. A hot shade of pink dances across her face.

Ha, still got it. She takes a second to compose herself before speaking.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her haughty attitude returns, closing her eyes and turning her nose up at my (perfect) assumption.

"Uh huh, sure. So every time you've been daydreaming for the past hour or so, it's not because of the Ghost?"

"Precisely."

I wave my hand nonchalantly, not realising just how close my guess was. "Oh, relax, Ven. C'mon, it's not like you saw him naked or anything."

I think I hit the nail on the head with that one. Somehow, her eyes widened even more and now the blush is even more prominent, covering her whole face. It'd be laughable if it wasn't shocking.

"No way! You saw him naked?!"

"Wha- no! No, I didn't see him naked!" She vehemently replied, arms at her side and face cringed in agitation.

I replied in an incredulous tone. "Really? Then how come you reacted like that when I said if you saw him naked?"

"I-it just caught me off-guard. That's all." Uh-huh, sure. I rolled my eyes a little, wondering if she even knew who she was talking to.

"C'mon, Ven, It's just us two. Remember our agreement? I mean c'mon it's not every day you see a guy like him naked." She stays silent. "A guy who we happen to live with? Who is also a legend?"

Vendra groaned. Yes!

"Okay, just to clarify, I did not see him naked. He was wearing a towel on his lower half so all I saw was the front of his upper body...and his face."

"Better than nothing, I guess. Well, tell me, what did he look like?" I asked, scooting closer to her to make sure I didn't miss any details.

But I didn't account for the fact that we lived with a silent legend.

"What did who look like?"

"AHHHHHH!" / "AHHHHHH!"
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(Word count: 3591)