Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The boy, 22194, awoke to the sound of waves crashing, the sounds of birds above him and small pinching pains on his hands and cheek. He instinctively pushed whatever was biting him away and sat up. Blue eyes scanned the area, he was on what he thought was a beach, near its shore. Not a building or person in sight. On the sand were strange rat-crab creatures scurrying about. They stayed away from him once he sat up.
Norman stood slowly, the efforts hurting his wounded leg ---it was probably broken--- and wounded stomach. His regeneration wasn't working. The pain was making his ears ring and his eyes water. Where were his siblings? Where did everyone go? He limped a little away from the shore and called out:

Norman: Hello?! Emma?! Ray?! Anyone?!

He continued to look around, his handgun was broken a few inches from where he woke up. But his long knife was still in it's sheath. Nothing else was in the sand (except for regular beach rocks and twigs). Norman tried to calm his racing heart and organize the information he had. Yuugo had gotten he, Emma, Ray and Oliver to and into the gate. Dina and the few other Glory Bell Escapees were behind them. Then, who knows when, he woke up on a beach with no one around at noon. But they were definitely in the Human World. But where? We're all of the group scattered all over the world? Did all of them survive? What if--
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a cough, it was near the shore. The coughs turned into a small groan and whimper. Norman's senses picked up his younger brother's familiar rotten scent mixed with the ocean water.
The thoughts in Norman's head came to a halt, all he focused on was getting to the water, he saw where Ray was now. He was trying to get up from the ground but he couldn't even lift his hands up or else he would fall. His breaths were coming in rough "huffs". Norman saw him in the fight with Daydream 2, Ray had used his blood magic until he couldn't anymore to, at least, slow the monster down. So their younger siblings could go through the gate. Norman had seen that his disease had spread to the point where he couldn't get off the ground.
Norman got to him as quickly as he could and fell to his knees.

Norman: Ray!

He gathered the younger boy in his arms, so that he was hugging him to his chest. He felt Ray weakly grip his coat sleeve. His voice quiet and strained

Ray: Norman-ᕓጎ𐌉ⶴ

Norman cupped his cheeks and pushed his hair out of his face. Ray's disease had spread to the far right side of his face, it looked like a burn but a blackish color and black ooze and blood dripped down from it. The right side of his stomach was soaked with this ooze and blood.

Norman: You okay, Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ? You okay?

Ray's voice was raspy when he spoke

Ray: ᕓቹ𐌄ⶴ𐌉ጎ𐌍… Norman-ᕓጎ𐌉ⶴ.. It hurts… It hurts… I.. I feel it spr--spreading.. Am I.. Am I going to die? I--I told Dad that--that I didn't want to die anymore and-- and if I--I do then he'll think.. He'll think I meant to and -- and he'll be mad.. and so-- so will our-- our siblings

Tears fell from Ray's eyes but Norman quickly wiped them away.

Norman: shh~ no, you're not going to die. I won't let you die, you know that. In the fight, when--

His voice cracked and he hugged him softly.

Norman: I'm so sorry I couldn't help you, I'm sorry I let it get you. I'm so sorry, Ɀቹ𐌄ክ𐌄ጎ𐋅.

Ray rubbed his back slightly and squeezed a little tighter

Ray: It's okay, Norman-ᕓጎ𐌉ⶴ. Don't-- don't apologize, you were.. you couldn't come close to me.

He coughed at the end of the sentence and let out a quiet groan. Norman decided to drop the subject and pulled away. But he kept a small grip on his arms.

Norman: Come on. Let's get out of the water. The tide is getting a bit too strong.

Ray moved his eyes towards the ground as fear flashed through them.

Ray: Water? We… we are in water?

Norman: Don't worry, it's not deep. We have to find everyone..

Ray nodded and Norman helped him stand. Then slung his [Ray's] arm over his shoulder to help him walk. Ray couldn't even keep his head up.

Norman: I'm sorry, kitten, I can't pick you up.

Ray: It's okay… It's okay

He sounded out of breath.
The two boys went west, they moved slowly, both severely hurt and wary. They had to stop many times due to pain. Norman was practically dragging a half unconscious Ray because he could barely move his legs. They walked for hours in the same direction without seeing anyone. It was sundown when Norman let out a frustrated shout.

Norman: Argh! Dammit!

The loud noise made Ray flinch and Norman pat his cheek gently.

Norman: oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you..

Norman wiped a few stray tears that fell from his eyes and adjusted his hold on Ray. They continued to walk.
A little more than an hour had passed when Ray grabbed the hand Norman had wrapped around his waist and slumped against his side. Norman made sure he didn’t fall in the sand below them.

Norman: Hey, no Ray, please don’t fall asleep. Stay awake, Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ.

Ray: ᕓቹ𐌄ⶴ𐌉ጎ𐌍… ᕓቹ𐌄ⶴ𐌉ጎ𐌍.. please, Can we stop? I--I can’t..

Norman: Yeah.. okay, we’ll stop. Let’s go over there, ‘kay? So we’re not in the open.

He pointed over to a medium sized rock. Ray nodded.
They limped over to the rock and practically collapsed onto the ground. Ray was next to him with his head on Norman’s shoulder and breathing heavily. Norman had his arm around his shoulders and was rubbing small circles into the tense joint there. The cool night air made them shiver and huddle closer together.

Chapter Text

Man: Hey, Emma, was it?

The girl, 63194, was in a vast place, it was like the Boundary with a seemingly endless area and a thin layer of water underneath her feet. Except it was pitch black and foggy. The only light was coming off of her and the tall man before her. Was this her ancestor? Emichi Hinokami?

Emma: Ar--are you… Hinokami-san?

Hinokami: ah, so you do know about me!

Emma: Wait.. so is this a dream? Or did I…

She didn't want to say the last word but her worry was relieved when Hinokami smiled.

Hinokami: This is a dream. You'll wake up soon, don't worry. I don't have much time here but I wanted to say that you've done well these past two years and that we are honored to have you as our descendant.

Emma smiled. This was the first time she could clearly see her ancestor. She had seen him before in a similar type of dream realm, he couldn't reach her so clearly but he did give her more power temporarily to defeat Matsubari. Hinokami was over seven feet tall and he was more muscular than Yuugo. He had the same skin tone, eye color and hair color as Emma but he had a beard and burns all over his face.

Emma: What happened to you, Hinokami-san? How.. How did you die?

Hinokami: I lost control of my power.. And Matsubari’s father finished me off. It was for the best, though I wish I could've said goodbye to my sister… Hey, Emma, could you do something for me?

Emma: Of course!

Hinokami: Once you get settled, could you visit my sister's grave? It's located close to your hometown. Please give her this.

He handed her a folded paper. The girl put it safely in her pocket.

Hinokami: Thank you, sweetheart. Please rest, get healthy again, live happily with your family… live longer than I did.

Emma: I will

He smiled again and placed a hand on her head. She closed her eyes and when she opened them she saw the blue sky. No clouds in sight and birds were flying above. Hinokami was nowhere to be found, but she felt the paper he had given her in her pocket.
She shot up from her laying position when she smelt the familiar scent of rotting corpses, but the scent was surrounded by dirt.
Emma looked around and saw that she was alone in a barren wasteland. She was sitting in dead grass. No people were in sight but she did see a bunch of cross looking structures in the north distance. She stood and called out:

Emma: Hello?! Is anyone there?! Norman?! Ray?!

All she heard back was her own echo. She frowned. She had to be on the human side… and the others had to be too. That was the Promise she made… were they just scattered? Was the entire group scattered throughout the entire Human World?
Emma shook her head to clear that thought. No.. why would they all be separated all over the world if they went through the same gate at relatively the same time? The others had to be nearby. Emma began to move towards the only structures in sight but instead of moving, her legs gave out and burning pains shot through her entire body. She let out a gasp and squeezed her eyes shut. The wounds on the outside of her body seemed to have mostly regenerated but on the inside, almost everywhere hurt. She tried to move but the movement made her cough up blood. She whimpered as tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she pushed through the pain anyway. She had to find her family and friends.
Emma limped towards the crosses and as she got closer the stench of rot became stronger. She swallowed, nervously but continued on. It wasn't long until she made it to the cross.. or rather crosses. It just came to her that this was a graveyard. Each cross represented someone's grave. That was where the corpse smell came from. As she looked around, she felt sadder and sadder, the lump in her throat grew larger. She had no idea what happened or when it happened but there were thousands of graves, each had a name and an object to represent the person, it could've been one of their belongings. Fresh flowers were placed at each grave.
Emma couldn't help but think how it would feel to lose her family and friends, to lose everyone she cares about.. she could very well be in that reality now, she has no idea where everyone is. The One and Daydream 1 could have lied about there not being a reward.. and that reward could have been her family. Or they could've all died in the cross over to the Human World.
Emma couldn't stop the fat tears that flooded her eyes and fell down her cheeks nor the harsh sobs that wracked her entire body. The sadness overcame the physical pain she was in and she dropped to her knees and wailed.
The girl had no idea how long she stayed like that when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and a soft voice speak to her. She lifted her head to find an older gentleman looking at her with concern. He was a bit portly but she could just be mistaking the layers of heavy clothing he was wearing as fat. He had short gray-white hair but a long beard. His face had wrinkles unavoidable with old age.

Old Man: Are you okay, honey?

Emma tried to stop the tears and sniffles to answer the man but when she opened her mouth another bout of tears and sobs escaped her. The man in front of her simply pulled her into a hug and patted her back.

Old Man: There, there

Emma began to calm down after a few minutes and the old man pulled away to look at her.

Old Man: What happened, little miss?

Emma: I…I don’t know where my family is.

Old Man: I see.. Well, I’m sure we can find them, they must be around somewhere.

Emma nodded and sniffled one last time.

Emma: Okay.

The old man helped her stand and looked at her. She wore a dark gray turtleneck under a light gray waterproof jacket. The clothes were much too big for her and they were dirty, her hair and skin were dirty too, she had a curved scar from the top of her head to the edge of her neck. She carried weapons, a small gun holstered on her waist and a type of small sword. Was she…

Emma: What.. What happened here?

Old Man: hm? Oh… a war..

Emma: Oh.

No more was said and a moment of silence was shared between them for the dead. The man then looked at her.

Old Man: How about we go back to my house..? I’ll get you some food and you can tell me what happened?

Emma looked back at him and stared for a moment before nodding. She could trust him. They began to leave the gravesite.

Emma: What’s your name, sir?

Old Man: My name is Alex Mikhaylov. What’s yours?

Emma: My name is Emma… Emma Moyohoshi!

It didn’t take her long to remember her last name, even though she never had to use it. She had engraved it in her memory the day she found out she had a last name as well as parents. Her surname was the one thing connecting her to her parents in the Demon Side but now in the Human Side..
The man smiled and said:

Alex: That’s a very pretty name.

Emma: Thank you! My parents gave it to me for my birthday!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was an hour or so to Alex Mikhaylov’s house. His house was the first two floors of a tall old lighthouse, the home itself was small but cozy. There were pictures of Alex and his family decorating the walls and side tables. Alex explained that the pictures were mostly of his daughter and granddaughter, who he lived with but they went to the beach nearby and wouldn’t be back until nightfall.
When Emma was sitting on the couch, bundled in a blanket and left over food was being heated up on the stove in the kitchen, Alex started asking her questions.

Alex: Who is in your family?

Emma: Oh, um, my siblings, my dad and step-dad, and my aunts and uncles. We were with our friends too.

Alex: A lot of people then? Did you cross over?

Emma nodded, to both questions.

Emma: mhm and when I woke up I was alone just outside the gravesite.

Alex: I see.. The gate that you went through was closest to the old kingdom then. That portal is a pesky one, it teleports you over the ocean and you all scatter instead of being directly brought to Purochimi Community.

Emma: Puro-- what? Community? Wait-- you’re a supporter, right? Because you know about the Demon Side, Tansua-san said that only supporters here know about the Demon Side..

Alex smiled but shook his head.

Alex: I do not work as a supporter anymore, I retired. My daughter took my place.

Emma: Oh..but um..

She bit her lip before asking:

Emma: Sir, people.. People don’t die crossing over, right? They just get teleported so they shouldn’t.. Right?

Alex kept his smile and patted her shoulder.

Alex: There has never been a case of anyone dying passing through the worlds.

Emma let out a sigh of relief.

Alex: The agents of Purochimi are probably already out there gathering who crossed over. I have also set the beacon on the tower to power on, it should turn on in about an hour.

Emma smiled, happily, and grabbed his hand to shake.

Emma: Thank you, sir! So is Purochimi where we are right now? Is it a country?

Alex: It’s an island. And Purochimi Community is where most of the island’s population live. It’s also where everyone who crosses over teleports to, no one teleports on the main island anymore. The supporters here made sure to fix that issue as to reduce confusion and panic among the public and so they can explain things to the people crossing over. Almost all of the supporters live here but some do remain on the mainland, just in case.

Emma nodded and stayed quiet as she took in that information. So this is the place where she--no everyone-- will get the most information.

Emma: So.. the community, where all the humans are, is where my friends and family will be?

Alex: Mhm..

Before Emma could say anything, the stove timer rang and Alex got up to get it. Alex put the soup broth in a bowl and put chicken and bread on a plate. He walked back over to the living room and put the plate on the coffee table in front of Emma. She looked at the food with wide eyes and her mouth started to water.

Alex: I apologize that it isn’t much, the island--

His explanation was cut short by Emma quickly starting to inhale the food in front of her. She even ended up biting into the bone of the chicken.. But she chewed like it wasn’t even there. He didn’t judge her nor did he interrupt her and decided to make his own plate and put the leftovers away. He was thinking whether or not he should stop her just in case she got sick from eating the bone but she had already eaten it.. He’d just have to watch her and help her if she did get sick.
By the time he sat down with his own plate, she was just finishing drinking her broth. Emma put the bowl down and saw that the kind man across her just started eating. Emma laughed a little.

Emma: oh, I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to eat without you..

Alex dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand and a smile.

Alex: no, no, sweetheart, don’t worry about it. Are you feeling better?

Emma: I am! Thank you for your help.

She stood from the couch with a small wince.

Emma: Um.. could you tell me where the community is?

Alex looked at her with slight confusion.

Alex: Hm?

Emma: I want to see if my friends are there already and if everyone’s okay. If not then I can meet them halfway or wait for them there at least!

Alex felt sympathy towards the girl in front of him, he knew what it felt like to be without family. He knew how worried you could get, how uneasy. But there was no way he was going to let a little girl travel the vast land of Purochimi by herself, Emma couldn’t have been older than nine or ten! He decided to compromise with her.

Alex: hm.. How about we both go in the morning? With my daughter and granddaughter? You need rest.

Emma thought for a moment. She really wanted to go find her family but she also really didn’t want to refuse the person that helped her. And she knows she probably wouldn’t even make it two feet from the house by herself. She remembers seeing a calendar earlier, the date right now was April 27, 2046. She woke up at around noon time and right now it was sunset. If they left in the morning then it gives more time for her regeneration to work a little bit and the rest of the group to meet up.
She nodded and sat back down on the couch.

Emma: Okay. Let’s go in the morning.

Alex: Thank you.

Chapter Text

There was no noise around them. The cold night air stung their faces. Norman was having trouble staying awake, the pain from the wound on his side doubling and Ray’s condition were the only things keeping him awake. He didn’t know exactly how long they had stopped for but it had to have been more than an hour. He patted Ray’s shoulder.

Norman: Hey, Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ. We have to go… Let’s find everyone

Ray didn’t respond and Norman looked over to him.

Norman: Ray---

He interrupted himself with a gasp. Ray’s face had completely decomposed from the right side of his face and he was unmoving against Norman. He wasn’t even breathing. Norman let out a scream and desperately grasped the younger’s shoulders and shook him

Norman: Ray! Come on, please wake up! Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ, wake up!

Tears overcame him and he sobbed over his brother’s quickly decaying body, hugging it tightly to his chest. Through his sobs, he heard a crack and a “thud” next to him. Norman opened his eyes and saw that the rotting had gotten to his neck bone and his head snapped off. He looked at the headless body in his arms and the head in the sand beside him over and over again. He felt his stomach turn and breathing became difficult. His beloved baby brother had died right next to him and he couldn’t do a single thing to stop it. He couldn’t…
The sound of a gasp echoed through the beach and blue eyes snapped open. Norman’s breaths had quickened but he was able to slow them after a moment. He scanned the area until he got beside him, where Ray was slumped up against Norman's uninjured side. His eyes widened and he quickly cupped Ray’s cheeks in his palms.

Norman: RAY!

Gray-green eyes with a hint of purple looked back at him. Ray looked at him rather confused, a little bit concerned but also a little bit frustrated that Norman had grabbed him right when he was about to fall asleep.

Ray: Norman-ᕓጎ𐌉ⶴ What?

Instead of answering, Norman hugged him and rocked him back and forth, slightly, as well as petting the back of his head. Ray’s chin was set on Norman’s shoulder. The younger blinked as he wracked his brain of things that could’ve made his brother so upset all of a sudden. He wrapped his own smaller arms around his neck and middle.

Ray: ..ᕓቹ𐌄ⶴ𐌉ጎ𐌍 Are you okay? What… What happened? Was it a nightmare?

Norman’s voice was quiet.

Norman: ..Yeah

Ray: Oh.

Ray thought for a moment before lifting his hand to Norman’s cheek and patting it gently and held his hand. A Similar process that Norman does to him when he has a nightmare, except a bit clumsily.

Ray: It’s okay, ᕓቹ𐌄ⶴ𐌉ጎ𐌍

Norman smiled.

Norman: Thank you, Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ.

Ray dropped his hand from Norman’s cheek and they sat in silence for a minute.

Ray: What was.. the nightmare about? It was… bad? You --

He coughed.

Ray: You are never… never this shaken up.. when you have nightmares…

Norman stayed quiet for a moment before answering:

Norman: I dreamed that you died. Right next to me. It.. It felt so real.. All of it.

Ray adjusted himself so that he could look up at his brother’s eyes. Norman also looked at him.

Ray: But.. It’s okay… I’m still alive… and you won’t let me die anyway, right?

Norman nodded.

Norman: Mhm… That’s right

Ray: And.. just so you know.. It’s not.. It’s not spreading as fast as it usually does… maybe.. maybe some god finally decided that I deserved mercy.

He laughed, bitterly but Norman frowned at that statement and was about to say something but Ray continued.

Ray: Besides… I’m not going to.. not going to leave you alone. So.. tell that stupid brain of yours to stop.. to stop showing you stupid things.

This time Ray lifted both his hands above Norman’s ears and slapped the sides of his head (a bit harder than he intended to) and kept his hands planted there. Then he began roughly ruffling his hair. Norman burst out laughing, to the point tears were streaming down his face. He wasn’t expecting Ray, of all people, to do something like that. He placed his hands on the smaller boy’s shoulders.

Norman: Okay, I will, I will.

Ray smiled and removed his hands from his head. He waited for Norman to calm down when he said:

Ray: Emma did that to me one time… I thought it would help.

Norman: It did. Thank you, Ray.

The moment was ruined when they heard voices a few feet from them, coming closer from the darkness were two figures. Norman helped Ray stand and stood in front of him, drawing out his long knife from its sheath. He felt Ray grab onto the back of his jacket to keep himself from falling and somewhat upright. They held their breaths as they waited for the figures to notice them.
It didn’t take long for the two people to come face to face with them. There was a woman and a small child, who looked to be about six or seven years old. They both had matching blonde hair, brown sun hats and long white dresses, the woman carried a basket over her forearm and held onto a leash tightly. That’s when they realized there was a gray pitbull next to them, it must’ve been hiding in the darkness earlier.. Is that how they were found? Norman gripped the knife tightly, it was unlikely that these people were enemies but he couldn’t really be sure and since Ray was with him he couldn’t take any chances. The woman looked surprised and the girl seemed excited and started tugging on the bottom of the woman’s dress. She pointed at the two boys.

Girl: Mommy! Mommy! Look! It’s people!!

Woman: Yeah… Hello.

She began to step closer but stopped when Norman pointed his knife towards her. She put her hand up above her shoulders, slowly.

Woman: It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Did you just cross over?

Norman nodded but kept his eyes firmly on her. The girl looked at her mother and at the two boys, confused.

Woman: Did you get separated from your friends? I saw some of them getting guided by my co-workers.

Norman and Ray’s eyes widened.

Norman: You saw them? Are-- are you supporters for William Minerva?

Woman: Yes. To both of your questions. My friends and co-workers have been finding them and bringing them back to the community.

Norman stared at her for a moment before looking at Ray. They couldn’t tell if she was lying or not and Norman didn’t know how to figure it out or not. Ray, seemingly reading his mind, spoke up from behind Norman’s shoulder, lifting his head up and standing on the tips of his toes to make himself taller, since Norman would not let him get close to the-could-be- “threat”.

Ray: Um.. Sue Tansua showed us… showed some sort of I.D. Card that proved--

He coughed a few times, gripping the back of Norman’s jacket tighten and failed to cover his mouth in time so a small blood splatter was on his back.

Ray: That proved she was an official supporter.. Could you…

The woman nodded

Woman: Of course.

She dug within her jacket pocket and pulled out a lanyard with a cord and keys dangling from it. She handed it over to Norman while still keeping her distance from the two boys.
They inspected the card thoroughly to make sure it wasn’t fake. It read her name: Josilyn A. Mikhaylov, and had her employee number, date of birth and the date of when she started working. They relaxed slightly and handed it back to her.
Norman turned to Ray and whispered to him.

Norman: 𐌃ዐ ሃꝊ፱ ፕ𐋅ጎ𐌍ኡ ሠ𐌄 𐌔ⶴꝊ፱𐌋ጋ ፕ𐌐፱𐌔ፕ ⶴ𐌄ዪ? (Do you think we should trust her)

Ray glanced at the woman then looked back at Norman and nodded.

Ray:ጎ..ጎ ፕ𐋅ጎ𐌍ኡ ነꝊ.. 𐌔ⶴ𐌄…. 𐌔ⶴ𐌄 𐌌ጎᏵⶴ𐌕 𐌕ል𐌊ቹ ፱𐌔 𐌕ዐ ፕ𐋅ቹ.. ፕ𐋅ቹ ርꝊጮ𐌌፱𐌍ጎ𐌕ሃ. 𐌕ⶴ𐌀ፕ’ነ-- (I..I think so.. She…. She might take us to the.. the community. That’s-)

He coughed a few times

Ray: 𐌕ⶴ𐌀ፕ’ነ ሠ𐋅ቹ𐌐ቹ ቹᕓቹ𐌐ሃ..Ꝋክ𐌄 Ꮤዐ𐌵ረ𐌃 𐌁ቹ.. ዪ𐌉ፏ𐋅ፕ? (That’s where every..one would be.. Right?)

Norman: 𐌓ዪꝊ፪𐌀፪𐌋ሃ.. ፪𐌵ፕ ጎ𐌅 𐌔ⶴ𐌄’𐌔 𐌀ክ ቹ𐌍ቹ𐌌ሃ, 𐌉’𐌋ረ ⶴ𐌀ህ𐌄 𐌕ዐ… (Probably.. But if she’s an enemy, I’ll have to…)

Ray’s wary expression changed to a stern one.

Ray: 𐌍ዐ𐌐ጮ𐌀ክ… 𐌙ዐ𐌵-- 𐌙ዐ𐌵 𐌓ዪꝊጮ𐌉ነ𐌄ጋ ሃꝊ፱’ጋ ነ𐌕ዐ𐌓 𐌀ቻ𐌕ቹ𐌐 𐌌ል𐌐ፕ𐌔፱𐌁ል𐌐ጎ-- (Norman… You-- you promised you’d stop after Martsubari--)

Norman: 𐌉 𐌊ክꝊሠ, 𐌉 𐌊ክꝊሠ. 𐌉’𐌋ረ ዐ𐌍ረ𐌙 𐌊ጎ𐌋ረ ⶴ𐌄ዪ ጎ𐌅 𐌔ⶴ𐌄’𐌔 𐌀 𐌕ⶴ𐌐ቹ𐌀ፕ. (I know, I know. I’ll only kill her if she’s a threat.)

Ray looked at him, he thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion: The only way to make sure Norman won’t kill that woman was to give him a compromise.

Ray: Ꝋክ𐌋ሃ ጎ𐌅 𐌔ⶴ𐌄 𐌀ፕ𐌕ል𐌂ኡ𐌔 𐌵ነ. 𐌉ቻ ነ𐋅ቹ ጋꝊቹ𐌔.. 𐌉’𐌋ረ ረ𐌄ፕ ሃꝊ፱ ኡ𐌍ዐ𐌂ኡ ⶴ𐌄ዪ ዐ𐌵ፕ. 𐌃ዐ𐌍’𐌕 𐌊ጎ𐌋ረ ⶴ𐌄ዪ ᕓቹ𐌄ⶴ𐌉ጎ𐌍…𐌓ረ𐌄ል𐌔ቹ, 𐌃ዐ𐌍’𐌕 (Only if she attacks us. If she does.. I’ll let you knock her out. Don’t kill her ᕓቹ𐌄ⶴ𐌉ጎ𐌍… please, don’t.)

Norman nodded, reluctantly.

Norman: 𐌅ጎ𐌍ቹ, Ꝋክ𐌋ሃ ጎ𐌅 𐌔ⶴ𐌄 𐌀ፕ𐌕ል𐌂ኡ𐌔 𐌵ነ. (Fine, only if she attacks us.)

Ray: 𐌓ዪꝊጮ𐌉ነ𐌄? ጎ𐌅 𐌙ዐ𐌵’𐌐ቹ ረ𐌙ጎ𐌍ፏ.. ፕ𐋅ቹ𐌍 𐌙ዐ𐌵’𐌐ቹ ፏꝊጎ𐌍ፏ ፕꝊ.. 𐌕ዐ ቻꝊዪ𐌂ቹ ጮ𐌄 𐌕ዐ ፱𐌔ቹ ጮ𐌙 𐌁ረꝊዐ𐌃 𐌌ልᏵጎ𐌂 Ꝋክ ሃꝊ፱… 𐌀ክ𐌃 𐌙ዐ𐌵’𐌋ረ ኡ𐌍ዐᏔ Ꮤⶴ𐌀ፕ ሠꝊ፱𐌋ጋ የ𐌐ዐ𐌁ል𐌁ረ𐌙, የ𐌐ዐ𐌁ል𐌁ረ𐌙 𐋅ል𐌓የ𐌄ክ ጎ𐌅 𐌉 𐌵ነ𐌄 𐌌ሃ ፪𐌋ዐꝊጋ ጮ𐌀ፏ𐌉ር ዐ𐌍ቹ ጮꝊዪ-- (Promise? If you’re lying.. then you’re going to.. to force me to use my blood magic on you… and you’ll know what would probably, probably happen if I use my blood magic one mor--)

He stopped when Norman cupped his cheek and sighed.

Norman: 𐌉 𐌓ዪꝊጮ𐌉ነ𐌄, Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ. (I promise, Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ.)

He turned back to the woman and girl, the former still had her hands up in surrender. Norman slowly sheathed his knife and the woman put her hands down and smiled.

Norman: Um.. could you take us to this.. Community?

Josilyn: Of course. But it’s quite a long walk and we don’t have a car. If you want we could call--

Norman: No.. We’ll manage walking just fine.

He couldn’t take the risk of endangering Ray, these two seemed good and legitimate, but others might not be.

Norman: How far away is it?

Josilyn thought for a moment before answering.

Josilyn: About a day… If we start going now, we can make it by late afternoon tomorrow.

The little girl beside Josilyn spoke up, an excited expression on her face.

Girl: Are we going to Purochimi, Mommy?

She looked down at her daughter.

Josilyn: Yes, Clea. We have to get these two back to their group. Ralph can lead us.

Clea threw her arms above her head and exclaimed

Clea: Yay! I get to see Hailey again and Ms. Joutai again!

Josilyn giggled slightly at her and looked back at the two boys. She gave them a gentle look and said,

Josilyn: Ms. Joutai is a doctor, she’ll probably be able to help your injuries.

Norman and Ray’s eyes widened and Norman jumped forward slightly.

Norman: A doctor? So, you have medicine at this community? Would she know how to help Ray?

Josilyn guessed that Ray was the boy behind the taller one.

Josilyn: I don’t know, but there is also a skilled doctor who comes onto the island from the mainland. He’s adept at treating rare cases and works with Human-Hybrids and those born with special abilities. But I don’t know if he’s there currently.

Norman looked at Ray, they felt the spark of hope for the first time since they arrived in the Human World. Norman cupped Ray’s cheek as he envisioned him healthy again, his skin no longer pale or sticky with sweat, his eyes not glassed over in pain nor drooping in exhaustion. His body no longer shaking, no more fainting spells or seizures, no more days or weeks he has to go through without talking to Ray. He, no, they wouldn’t have to be in constant fear that he’ll die suddenly. The thought moved Norman to tears.

Norman: Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ, 𐌕ⶴ𐌉ነ ጋꝊር𐌕ዐ𐌐.. 𐌉ቻ ⶴ𐌄’𐌔 𐌉ክ ፕ𐋅ጎ𐌔 𐌂ዐ𐌌ጮ𐌵ክ𐌉ፕ𐌙 𐌀ክ𐌃 𐋅ቹ ር𐌀ክ ⶴ𐌄ረ𐌓 𐌙ዐ𐌵 𐌕ⶴ𐌄ክ- 𐌕ⶴ𐌄ክ ሃꝊ፱’ረ𐌋 𐌅ጎ𐌍ል𐌋ረ𐌙 𐌁ቹ ፪𐌄ፕ𐌕ቹ𐌐 𐌀ፏ𐌀ጎ𐌍. ሃꝊ፱ ሠꝊክ’ፕ ፪𐌄 𐌉ክ የ𐌀ጎ𐌍 𐌀ክ𐌙ጮꝊዪ𐌄, ሃꝊ፱’ረ𐌋 𐌁ቹ ል𐌁ረ𐌄 𐌕ዐ ረ𐌉ህ𐌄 𐌋ጎ𐌅ቹ ፕ𐋅ቹ ሠ𐌀ሃ ሃꝊ፱ ጋ𐌄ነ𐌄ዪᕓቹ ፕꝊ. (Ray-𐌍ቹ𐋅ጎ, this doctor.. If he’s in this community and he can help you then- then you’ll finally be better again. You won’t be in pain anymore, you’ll be able to live life the way you deserve to.)

Ray only smiled and nodded. They turned back to the two girls.

Norman: Please, lead us to your community.

-------------------------

Emma woke up to the sound of a kind voice calling to her. She looked around groggily as she sat up. She was wrapped in a heavy brown and black plaid blanket, her weapons and jacket were on the floor beside the couch she was sleeping on. Her left hand was wrapped in a bandage and her body felt better.. Has she regenerated? or was it the medicine she took last night? She guessed it was a mixture of both. She looked up at the kind man before her.

Alex: Good morning, Miss Emma! I figured you wanted to go to Purochimi early so I cooked breakfast.

Emma blinked at him, looking at the plate in his hand.

Emma: Good morning…

Yeah, she definitely was regenerating if her sense of smell hadn’t picked up the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of her. She looked at it hungrily and the man set it down sat across from her on the other sofa with his own plate.

Alex: It’s 7:30 right now, we should leave the house at around 8:00. That way we’ll make it to Purochimi by noon.

Emma nodded and made a satisfied noise of approvement, she was scarfing down her breakfast so she couldn’t speak out loud.
They left the lighthouse at 7:55 AM and began walking. The walk was slow, since Emma was extremely tired and still sore, and in slight pain but they made more progress than Alex initially thought they were going to make. Alex told her during breakfast that his daughter had called him to tell him she was also going to Purochimi because she found two kids that had crossed over but her phone died before she could tell him who. Emma hoped she would meet up with whoever it was before they got to the community, Alex was great company and she was grateful for everything he’s done for her but she needed to be with one of her group members or, better yet, one of her siblings.
By 2:00 PM, Emma and Alex had made it to the front of a large field of what looked to be wheat. Emma didn’t see anyone working but she did see a wall in the distance behind the field, she stopped and looked at Alex.

Emma: Is that Purochimi?

Alex: It is. Wheat is the most reliable food source on this island since the soil can only harvest a few crops. They also have a cow farm inside.

Emma: Oh.. but the community trades with the mainland, right?

Alex thought for a second before answering.

Alex: That may not be my story to tell, but you don’t need to worry. I’m sure the adults in your group will get all the boring details from Mr.Ratri.

Emma’s face brightened at the mention of a familiar name, though she knew it was neither James or Peter. Maybe Mike Ratri? She remembered one of the brothers mentioning their uncle who lived in the human world. Before she could ask a voice from behind her called her name. She knew that voice all too well, even from a distance.
She looked behind her and saw that Norman was limping towards her as fast as he could, while also helping Ray move. Without thinking of her well-being, she ran towards them and brought them down to the ground in a rib crushing hug. She heard the two boys make a pained grunt but she could care about that later. Norman and Ray hugged her tightly as well, tears soaking her shoulder.

Norman: Emma-Ɀቹ𐋅ጎ, thank goodness you’re safe.

Ray: Emma…

Emma: Norman-ᕓጎ𐌉ⶴ! Ray! I’m so glad you both are alright!

Ray: Us too, Emma.

Emma pulled away and helped them sit up. Norman cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears away, Ray gripped her shoulder as she was doing to him. The trio rested their foreheads on each others, silently listening to the comforting sound of the others’ breathing.
-----------
They continued on towards Purochimi after they had calmed down. Norman and Ray met Alex and Emma met Josilyn, Clea and the pitbull, Ralph, who was guiding them towards Purochimi from the beach. The trio were able to move quicker now since they were helping each other, Ray was in between Norman and Emma with his arms around their shoulders. It seemed the more they went on, the worse the sickness affected him and now he was barely conscious.
It only takes an hour to make it to the gated community. The wall was made of thick wood going for miles in both directions and the wood was covered in slabs of metal (now rusted) for extra protection. At the gate were two towers where people stood, taking watch. Once one of the guards took notice of them, he raised his gun towards them. Alex and Josilyn put their hands over their heads, Clea hid behind her mother. Norman, Emma and Ray followed their lead with difficulty, it hurt to lift their arms. Josilyn called out to the guard on the wall.

Josilyn: It’s alright! They crossed over with the others, they just got separated!

Norman and Emma eyed Ray as his breathing became strained and his legs shook dangerously. Norman reached for him.

Norman: Ray--

Guard: Don’t move!

Norman flinched away as the man aimed his rifle directly at him. Then Ray fell to his knees and Emma and Norman couldn’t help but try to grab him.. Which earned them a warning shot near their feet. They gripped each other’s arms, fear present in their eyes as they looked up at the guard.

Guard: I said, don’t move!

After he said that the gate opened and about 7 armed soldiers quickly surrounded the trio who we huddled up on the ground, firearms loaded and aimed at them.