Opposite Objects (BFB AU story)

Part 6

It was a warm, bright day in Goiky. The grass was green as always, and the sun gleamed beautifully over the land.

It was a shock that Liy was so adamant something was wrong on such a beautiful day.

"Remote, I'm telling you," she insisted for the twelfth time, pacing around incessantly. "Something is up."

"There's no way," Remote denied. "I don't believe it."

"How can you explain it?" Liy asked. "Book was all gray."

"She ate yoyleberries," Remote justified dully.

"But she wasn't shiny like metal!" Liy exclaimed, her hands motioning wildly. "I've connected the dots."

Remote put her hands on her eyes. "You haven't connected anything."

"But but-- I have!" Liy was still determined to convince her. "They dragged Teardrop away so- so savagely."

"That's their business," Remote murmured.

Liy was incredulous at her friend's dismission. "What if they're up to something really shady?"

"I'm sure they're not. Book and Saw are nice."

"But if they are... it'd be selfish to just ignore it!"

"We're not being selfish," Remote started, "we're just not wasting our time."

"Do you really not have the capacity to think about others? What, was it not wired into your brain?"

"I just have common sense," Remote sighed. Why was Liy so passionate about this? "You can't just jump into this. You have to admit you could be wrong."

"But I'm not wrong," Liy protested.

Remote had nothing to say.

Liy stood up tall. "Remote, I think..."

"Don't say it."

"I think I found my next adventure." Liy stared into the sky, determination gleaming in her eyes.

Remote knew that there was absolutely no stopping Liy now. She was set on her goal. Seeing her walk off alone made Remote feel like she'd get into some trouble; that's how it always went on Liy's "adventures" when Remote wasn't around.

"Wait up," Remote sighed defeatedly.

Liy turned. Her smile was wide.

--

It was sundown. waS had been explicitly told by kooB that she had to stay inside from now on. "No funny business," she had said.

It was dull work staring at the wall, waiting for the three to be done with whatever evil they were committing.

Okay, so maybe waS had kind of lost hope. But she wasn't going to take it ocaT's way. She knew ocaT's way; "It's for the sake of our friends, waS. kooB won't have it any other way, waS!"

waS let out a silent scoff. ocaT was so eager to accept all this if she didn't have to think about it. One little white lie could sway her. She was a follower. That's what waS used to be.

But waS was beginning to get awfully suspicious of kooB.

At first, everything felt normal. Crazy, but also right. ocaT coming back felt like a miracle. But pordreaT's minute of suffering still weighed on waS. She didn't deserve that.

In fact, why were they even doing this? Their friends seemed happy in their strange, parallel universe way. What right did kooB have to change their lives? Because they were slightly different?

Deep in thought, waS hadn't noticed she was pacing around the small room. But she found herself in front of a desk. It was covered with papers and smeared ink.

On one stack, there was something peculiar written.

Subject one. ocaT.

waS scanned the page in horror.

We recently found ocaT residing in the plains. She was alone, and thus a simple capture. She did not resist, but was not too eager to comply. However, she was not difficult to persuade after the first day of change. The procedure seemed to bring her immense pain, but during, everything seemed to go smoothly. Abnormalities afterwards include loss of memory, sudden rage, and minor personality changes (for example, lack of perceived authority and ambition). These abnormalities do not seem to be affecting her negatively. These abnormalities were not apparent in the first subject.

waS felt sick. She knew in an instant who had written this. kooB was documenting everything.

She swept aside the first paper to reveal a second.

Subject two. pordreaT.

pordreaT was found in the plains. I was a bit more hasty in collecting this subject. There was no ill will intended, but the handling was rougher and quicker. It is unclear whether this affected the procedure or not. She fought my grasp the whole way back, but her disobedience was quickly dealt with. During the procedure, a stronger voltage was used to fully stabilize the subject. It is still unclear whether or not this voltage affected her negatively. The procedure took longer and seemed to fry one of the chambers, but it still needs to be tested. Abnormalities include fainting sessions, passiveness, and coughing fits. There is no clear evidence for why these abnormalities seem to progress. The abnormalities do not seem to be negatively affecting the other subjects, save for one.

One. waS felt light-headed. That's when she turned over the paper to find one last, labelled clearly. The bold words on the third page made waS feel as if she were about to faint.

Subject 0. waS.

waS was found alone. She was eager to follow to the chamber sites; it seems she trusted me quite a lot. She didn't fight at all when put into the chamber; she seemed more naive. This made the procedure easy, and she came out as normal. Though, once she got out, she was unconscious. I escorted her back to the plains and laid her down. However, she sought me out once she awoke. No abnormalities as far as I can see. She retains all memory, and is doing fine. Incredibly easy to manipulate. I didn't even have to persuade her. Nonetheless, I'm a bit concerned about her perception, but am overall pleased with the result.

waS began to tremble. This couldn't be real. She was one of kooB's little experiments, too. Her mind was whirring. The last paragraph, freshly written in wet ink, only made everything clearer.

I am afraid the subject is becoming doubtful. I'm afraid she's becoming too aware. Her newfound empathy is getting out of hand; I believe it is an abnormality that I can't deal with. If I don't do something fast, she will persuade the other subjects (and future as well) to do her bidding.

I will do everything in my power to keep her down. It is too much of a risk not too.

That was the breaking point. Everything kept inside in waS overflowed, and she collapsed, her vision darkening and mind overloading.