Unknown Experiments

Chapter 23

I should really be paying attention to school, but it's a class I don't really care about. So you guys get another chapter!

This is also technically the last chapter in the story, but I do have an epilogue ready for Friday. This chapter was a little difficult to write because the pacing felt off and really strange, but it should hopefully bring the whole story to an end

This chapter also dives into the inner conflict for Lucia a bit, so you'll get a good look into how she's viewing her new life. Anyway, I've said enough. Enjoy!

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Amity held the key up in the backyard of the Noceda household, showing it to Lucia. Luz was at school and Camila was at work, so it was a perfect time to try and help the older sibling. It had been a few days since they had brought her home, and their attempts to help her learn about her past hadn't worked. Nothing was jogging her memory or helping her understand anything anybody talked about. So, in one last effort, Amity decided it was best to try the one place Lucia's powers came from.

Lucia eyed the key for a bit before she asked, "What is this?"

Amity brought it back to her chest and said, "It's a key that both powers and opens a door that leads to another world. The world that I'm from, and the world that you got your powers in. I figured if anything, I would start showing you things that came from the other world. It's filled with a lot of people who have pointy ears like me, have magic like us, and don't look like normal people on this side."

Lucia stared at the key for a little longer before she said, "I don't get it."

Amity gave a small sigh and said, "I figured not just by looking at it, but maybe if you went there yourself. Granted, we'll have to get you into more... decent clothing. Nobody wears stuff like that all around the place on the Boiling Isles."

Lucia glanced down at her uniform for a few moments. She looked back up and said, "This is the only thing I've ever worn. This and my beanie."

Amity folded her arms and said, "That's where you're wrong. The Lucia we knew wore more than that. Do you want me to show you?"

Lucia held her breath slightly. "They keep talking about 'the old Lucia' when I don't know what they're talking about. It makes sense for them to really know me, seeing as they have all this evidence, but I don't know any of it. There's no way for me to know what they really mean, or what they really want from me to be me. This is who I am. This is all I remember myself being."

Amity stood there for nearly a minute until she got her answer. It was a simple nod, but it was all she needed to know what to do. She began to walk back into the house as she said, "Okay. Just follow me for the time being. I know you've barely slept ever since you got back, and I don't know why, but for this, we need to go to your room."

Lucia turned around and began to follow Amity into the house, exiting the warm sunshine that felt somewhat soothing on her skin. As she followed the younger, pink-haired girl, she fell back to her thoughts once again. "She's right about that. I guess almost never sleeping for so long in the facility really messed me up. They're all asleep for such a long time while I just sit there or walk around all night long because I don't feel tired. It's been a while since I last slept more than an hour with the strict schedule they put me on."

Upon arriving at Lucia's room - a room that Lucia herself hadn't even touched or slept in despite having been told many times it was hers to stay in - Amity walked straight to the closet and said, "In here. There are a bunch of clothes for you to pick. There may be a few things missing since my sister, Amelia, came here every once in a while."