The Freaks of the Ring

Fifteen : Rayne

I'm busy having another conversation with Doku when Blitz runs in, completely panicking and pale in the face. Doku furrows his brow at the other boy's state. "What the hell is wrong?" He asks, not understanding just what might be going on.

Blitz just shakes his head, trying his best to catch his breath. "Rem....Just come on..." He runs back out, a crackle of electricity left in his wake. Doku and I glance at each other for a second. Neither of us really like them, but since Rem is a part of the team, it looks like we have to see what exactly happened.

He leads me to the commotion, where the rest of the team has gathered in the Mess Hall. It's a good thing that there isn't many of us, because it's easy to find a spot between Ventus and Tony to see what the matter is. She seems to be freaking out too, too busy sobbing in Tierra's shoulder to even notice our arrival. "It's all my fault," I hear her say at one point, though the rest of what comes out is too muffled to understand.

Even Doku seems pretty shocked at the scene. Levi and Rem are sitting on the floor, Rem's face buried in their sibling's shoulder. The top half of what I assume to be some sort of special uniform has been taken off, revealing all the scratches and bruises amassed from the mission. Their scythe is gone, which seems to piss Kannie off to no end in the corner. The thing that shocks me the most is the fact that while Rem looked pretty feminine earlier, their body is closer to a guy's.

Tony must know what I'm thinking, because he feels the need to throw something in. "The twins are genderfluid," he whispers, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world. I've never even heard that term before, so he continues, "It means that they identify as both male and female. Hence why neither of them go by 'he' or 'she.' Just 'they.'" Funny how I only get real explanations whenever something bad seems to happen. This is probably some of the most useful information I've gotten all day, honestly.

It's not long before Levi glares back at us all, just trying their best to comfort their twin with all of us gawking like they're creatures on display. "A little privacy, please," they hiss, just as Rem glances up from their spot on the floor.

"'s fine, Levvy," they say quietly, picking up another shirt that someone brought for them and starting to button it up with shaky hands. Rem sniffles and wipes their nose on the sleeve. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just need a little rest, 's all." They have to have Levi help them to their feet though, and the pain on Rem's face hints that they're anything but fine. Ventus rushes over to help, getting Rem to levitate a little so they don't have to walk too far.

The awkward silence gets the crowd to disperse a little, a few people mumbling how everyone should get to bed too, since it's been a long day and all. I have to agree, and it's probably just because I'm new and all, but man has this been exhausting. No one else really seems phased by it all, but I've probably learned more today than I have in most of my life.

It takes  while to find the way back to my room, and another to remember just how to get inside. But the door eventually opens (mostly thanks to Blitz stopping for a moment to help me get in, but whatever) and I climb up the ladder to get back into my tank. It's going to take a while to get used to not sleeping in a bed, but I think I'll manage to deal with it. I'm just tired enough not to think about how I'm in a literal water bed and fall asleep. Right before I force my eyes to shut, the entire Ring goes dark. Maybe it won't be so had going to sleep after all now, since we've all been plunged into synthetic darkness.

Or maybe I'm wrong, like always in here.