___________________________ .☘︎ ݁˖ ___________________________
"They say that when life gives you apples, you make applade. Contextually speaking, that's not true, and the real example would be Apple pie, but what do I know about new words barking their way into sentences."
Orette faces us, her long brown hair, damp and washed from the inside out. She wore a white full-sleeved shirt and sat on a velvet sofa in white trousers that covered her short legs.
Her peach-tan skin glowed under the light that shone on her.
Her legs cross. Her arms were tucked under a pillow. Her face was healed of all scars and injuries.
She cast another glance at us when she finished putting on her glasses and adjusting them to her liking.
"That's better." She said and again faces us. "Now, what was I say_? Oh! right!" She clapped her hands. "How lemonades are made of apples, well that's not true and will ne_"
"Stop!" Rosa enters the screen.
Orette, taken aback by the figure in front of her. She wore the same clothes as her.
Rosa faced us and said, "I can't believe you guys begin without me, the audacity to start from this tweek." She points at Orette, who was seen dumbfounded.
"If there was time for you, I'm sure we would've used it on someone more important, like me!" Orette points towards herself and looks at us.
Rosa knew what Orette was getting at, and quickly diverted her pointing hand and moved to drag her to the side and sat beside her.
"You are really confusing the readers." Rosa said as she snatched the pillow and placed it behind her. "They want to know what happened after we were taken by 'them'."
"Right..." Orette turns to us, "The 'them'". She says as she quotes it. "But why them and not us? I mean, the book is mainly about us. Isn't it?"
"They took us to their base, made us clean ourselves and treated our injuries." Said Kace as he entered the screen. He sat beside Rosa and made Orette shove to the side. "Hum, it feels good to be clean."
"Nobody asked," Orette and Rosa said in Union.
___________________________ .☘︎ ݁˖ ___________________________
"Now that you all look presentable, I guess we could finally discuss what we've planned for you." Morticia steps ahead and displays a screen.
The screen displayed a simple scan of Rosa, Orette and Kace, showing their syrium rates and their strength according to the anatomy.
"Let's first start with Kace." Mortica enlarges his display.
_ 004 _
SYRIUM RATE: 56 m3/s
STRENGTH (ANATOMY): NONE
"As you can see, this." Morticia points at the small purple ball at the bottom right of the screen, "Shows how intact your syrium is with your blood. Kace shows a positive result of a balance form, a form which can only be achieved if your emotions are in line with your mind."
Rosa gives a small glance at Kace, only to see him wonder with curiosity as his face showed amazement.
"But the only problem is that Kace doesn't have anatomy strength, so he might need some extra work on his combat and his ability to withstand pain."
"What does that mean?", Kace asked with sudden fear. He questions Morticia with his gaze, a bolt stuck between them, to which Morticia just ended his display.
"Next, we have Rosa."
_002_
SYRIUM RATE: 73 m3/s
STRENGTH (ANATOMY): HANDS
"As calculated by Ivan, Rosa's syrium rate is slightly high. I guess it's because your emotion got the better of you."
"You have to thank her for that." Rosa says as she shoves Orette on the shoulder, to which Orette shove her back.
"But you have an anatomy strength, your hands."
Rosa looks at her white, swollen palms, small and hard. She gazes towards a desk and asks, "Can I try something with that?"
Lorenzo watches as he says, "Go ahead."
Rosa carefully examines the desk and grabs a corner. Seconds later, she shows them the corner in her small palms, which had been broken from the main desk.
"She...broke it," Kace said with astonishment.
"Mmm, maybe I should try breaking something else." She glances towards Orette with a dark smile.
Orette caught on towards what she was thinking and quickly reverted towards Lorenzo.
"I know I haven't introduced myself, sir, but could you please be kind and serve me as a shield from that psycho over there?" She says with pace.
"Who are you calling psycho?", Rosa threw away the corner with such might that it formed a hole in the wall.
Orette caught Lorenzo mummbling under his breath. "I think I could work with that."
"You know what, I think I'm putting my bets on heaven."
"You are not going to die, yet." Ivan approaches Orette while rocking his cane against the floor. He taps his cane twice and displays Orette's screen.
_000_
SYRIUM RATE: 87 m3/s
STRENGTH (ANATOMY): LEGS
"Due to the little ruckus you caused with your friend over there." Ivan directs his cane at Rosa. "Your rates are higher than they should be."
"You can't blame me for that, little Miss Perfect almost tried to kill me after I just saved her life."
"Uh-um." Rosa cleared her throat. "From my defence, you told my cousin that if I use my powers, then I would get pregnant."
Everyone stayed silent and turned to Orette.
She felt shocked glares striking straight towards her, well, except for Ivan.
His expression goes to show disappointment.
"Well, I was only making sure that our Kacey boy doesn't exert too much syrium because I knew his rates would've gone up. So for his result, you're welcome."
Unlike Kace's syrium rate, Orette and Rosa's was far beyond what it represented. They didn't have a perfect ball; instead, a deformed shape that kept changing every second was shown on the screen.
"Now that we have checked your results, I think it's time we talk about the elephant in the room." Said Lorenzo as he went to the main control panel.
Mortica just shook her head when Ivan began to centre the three children.
"As I might have made myself clear to one of you, I will do it again." Ivan said with a small hint of Russian. "You three will be trained, tested, and sent to battle of what lies beyond the void."
"And our education?" Kace inquired.
"Will be dealt with by each one of us." Said Morticia.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Rosa stepped up.
"That will be done by us, so you don't have to concern yourself with it." Ivan settles her with doubt. "But for the time being, you should concern yourself with your training."
"More like torture." Orette whispered for everyone in the room to hear.
Ivan walks towards her while tapping his cane. Lorenzo, taking his cue, walks away from Orette as Ivan shadows her small, thin figure.
"It seems someone needs an early training." Ivan's cold blue eyes glowed blue under the side effects of the syrium.
"I-I don't- think anyone here needs that."
"How about a girl who is not even five feet, has a weight of at least twenty-nine kilograms and appears thin as a needle. I think a person with a description like that should have an early start, or else she would be falling behind her peers."
Orette stood still with utter shock. Just now, Ivan pointed out every reason where she is lacking: her figure, her physique, and her health. It doesn't take a genius to figure out she was weak.
"Don't you think I should first increase my weight?" Orette suggested in her polite tone.
"I think it's a little too late for that," Ivan informed her. "'Chaos' does not take change seriously; in fact, it plays with it. Not everything in your body will change with time."
"So you're saying I'm gonna be seen as this for the rest of my life."
"More or less."
"'More or less' I_".
"I think that's enough talking." Ivan stopped his conversation. "Change your clothes and meet me on the seventh floor, your training will start nonstop. Morticia will give you your clothes, and we will set after_." He checks his watch. "Fifteen minutes."
Ivan exits the room with his cane tapping along the floor. Rosa and Kace directed their gaze towards Orette, who was still in a daze by the fact, "I'm gonna stay like this forever".