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Dog Days (A Caleb x MC x Zayne Love and Deepspace Backstory Fanfic) - Chapter Three: The Past

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Masterlist and Blurb

Brief Description: This is a childhood backstory featuring Zayne, Caleb, and MC from Love and Deepspace. It will cover the lab to Zayne's departure. If you ever wanted to see Zayne and Caleb fight over MC as children, now's your chance. This chapter covers how MC and Caleb met.

WARNING: this fic was written at a time before canon was fully fleshed out and is largely based on my own interpretation of events before any major reveals— as such, some events in this fic may not align with canon in the future (but rest assured I always make sure the characters stay in character regardless and don't stray too far from the original plot). Read at your own risk.

TWs/CWs: It follows canon events, so beware of potential spoilers, child experimentation, Professor Lucius, PTSD, autism, ADHD, amnesia, sociopathic behavior, astraphobia, poly (MMF), no smut only romantic attraction and mutual pining (for now), angst, hurt/comfort, separation, separation anxiety, dysfunctional family, adoptive "siblings" catching feelings, apocalypse, oppressive government, evil corporation, hospitals, terminal illness, child death, other causalities, graphic violence, slow burn. This chapter in particular also contains very vague mentions of animal cruelty.

This fic mainly centers around the boys' feelings towards MC, but there is still a subtle romantic tension forming between the boys as well as they aim for her affections. MC is the ground keeping them all together and no one is less equal in the relationship.

Constructive feedback (particularly on characters, pacing, plot, and accuracy) is appreciated.

***

This chapter is EXTREMELY long. 10k words long. It will be the longest chapter in this entire fic. It was also the hardest chapter for me to write so far.

This is because this chapter is FILLED with lore. I have mixed some lore from the main story and Caleb’s first limited myth to incorporate into this chapter. This is also where the story starts to deviate from canon—I have used my own interpretations of the game to create what I think makes sense to the world in my fic. I still believe a lot of it is plausible to canon and does not stray away too far from the true plot of the game, but since it is still based on my own interpretation, there is still a chance this will end up being its own thing and not the same as canon.

I could have separated this into two chapters, but I chose not to. This is because this chapter is solely a series of flashbacks that dive into the world building as well as provide context on Caleb’s situation and his relationship with MC. I did not want to get rid of anything, and I thought making this into more than one chapter would only ruin the flow of what I have planned for the rest of the story, since this is the only long flashback sequence we will get.

Since this was so hard for me to write because of all the above, I actually am still not that happy with it, even with the basic revisions I had made before publishing. The doubt is mainly with the descriptions, they are definitely not my best work and weaker compared to previous chapters. I will have to come back to this chapter later on for bigger revisions. But as you may have noticed, I have been publishing chapters more frequently than just the once a month I had promised. I did not anticipate having this much motivation or energy to write, but since here we are, I want to try being more consistent with my writing schedule and keeping the streak (so I can finally finish a fic for once). Normally I’d take months to rewrite and revise, which only hinders my progress and publishing, so I think it’s better to get out of my head by limiting my revisions and prioritizing them later.

######

When the young boy opened his eyes for the first time, all he could see was white—white everywhere. He tried blinking it away, but it only caused the white to bleed into red as his vision narrowed and spiraled into a tunnel of stars. When he blinked again, the red spiral of stars transformed into bigger dark globs among the white, until he was able to make out the several tall shadows looming over him. Sound followed. A repetitive and frantic tapping, scratching, rustling that never seemed to end.

The boy opened his mouth, perhaps to speak, but the only noise he released was a wheezing cough. His jaw ached from the movement, his bones creaking, as if it had been left to rust. An odd sensation was lodged into the back of his throat, a prickly kind of static that went all the way down the gorge like an infestation of bugs and webs. His throat burned.

Why was it so difficult to speak? It was something that he assumed he must have done often, such a normal part of life. Wait… His brow furrowed. Done often. What was it that he did often? What had he been doing before this? Was there anything he did? Who even was he?

A billion questions raced through his mind. But the only answer he received was a piercing throb to the back of his skull, like he had been hit in the head by a giant club. He tried lifting himself up, but gravity had pushed him back down, like a wall he could not pass.

“A fantastic discovery. To think we could achieve it a second time, when all the others have been failures…”

“By converting traces of her energy source into an artificial human body, we created the first engineered child. Just like Adam and Eve.”

“It is similar to how a collision of two planets can form a moon with the residue. After creating 001, we have been fishing for parts that remained from the collision to form a human body. Thus came the second creation, which proved to be compatible. Their connection to each other must be studied. Perhaps twins are part of the answer we seek…”

“Don’t get too cocky now. It’s not yet a guaranteed success. We still need to know, does the boy have the same properties as 001 if he has the same energy traces within him?”

“Henceforth, the boy shall be known as Subject 002…”

Voices surrounded the boy, a clash of varying tones and pitches that created a chaotic symphony. The voices cracked into a ring that shot his ears. He covered the appendages and turned his head away, as if he could escape all the commotion by doing so. But instead, his gaze came across something different, and the world around him slowed to a stop, everything else fading into nothing.

A young girl laid on a table beside him, her hair splayed around her like a halo. Her eyes were closed, yet he found himself with an intense desire to see what her eyes looked like when opened. For some reason, the color was easy to picture. He didn’t know who she was. He was certain he had never seen her before. And yet…why did she feel so familiar?

A sigh wrapped around the room, and the world resumed with the voice of reason. “We should conduct more experiments on 001, to fully understand how she works, before we try figuring out how 002 works. Experiments on 002 can be risky if they result in the… previous cases. We don’t want to be too hasty.”

“But the Professor gave us orders. We are to prioritize 002 from now on, since it suits his immediate needs more…”

“When has the Professor actually ever cared about what we, the small fry, do?” a scoff, denoting the voice of irrationality. “If the Professor prefers 002, then he can have him. But wouldn’t it be better to keep 001 to ourselves, to make it our discovery? 001 is the real key to immortality! That kind of credit will finally break our careers!”

“This isn’t about fame, Dr. Yu. This is to save the world. The future of the human race lies within these children. EVER may not care for any information regarding 001 right now, but ethically speaking, we should not overlook any factor, else we make a grave mistake.”

“So what do you suggest we do then, Dr. Zhang?”

“...Like I said, we’ll continue to monitor 001, discreetly, behind EVER’s back. As long as we keep them preoccupied with reports on 002, their attention will be on him. But I won’t rest easy until the whole mystery is solved.”

“When you put it that way, you sound like you just want to use 002 as a decoy to protect 001 from EVER.”

“…Nonsense. 001 was born from our original goal as Gaia. While EVER may have filled our pockets ever since they approached us with that deal, and has made us larger with more tasks, we cannot forget how we started. Our main research is one thing we cannot let EVER control or take away from us. Understanding Deepspace and immortality is just as necessary for survival as achieving it. I don’t trust the Professor to do the right thing.”

As the voices droned on, the boy continued to watch the girl beside him. In a world filled with noise, she was his only source of quiet. She was…different, in general. Which made her distinguishable. More relatable. More like him. He imagined what her story was, if it was any similar to his own.

He wanted everyone else to shut up, so he could hear her speak instead. A silly request, since he didn’t even know if she was capable of such activity.

As if reading his mind, the girl’s arm twitched. The boy held his breath at the sudden movement, then eyed at the shadows warily, anticipating the voices to notice, but they never did.

Maybe he had seen wrong. But then her leg twitched, and he knew for sure. She had definitely become the most interesting thing in the room.

Suddenly, her chest rose up, and the girl’s eyes swung open, a shuddering gasp leaving her lips, like life had been breathed back into her body and revived her. She turned her head to the side, and their gazes collided. Next thing he knew, the girl was flying straight at him.

“Don’t… don’t let them take me again…”

What the…? The boy kept his arms to his side, his eyes wide as the girl clung onto him. She felt… light, against him. Too light. He had no idea how much someone was supposed to weigh, but it felt wrong for her to feel even lighter than him. But the most alarming fact about her was the sheer frost coming off of her. He couldn’t resist the shudder as tingles exploded and wrapped down his body. Why was she so… cold?

Yet despite the cold, there was something warm inside, thawing his heart, spreading through his chest, as she nuzzled against him. It was like sliding the last piece to a puzzle in place, some sense of belonging that satisfied some deep part of his soul. Although, that didn’t make any sense to him, as he still barely knew the girl, and he could not explain why she just felt… right.

“Please,” she squeaked against him. Her voice was high-pitched, higher than the other voices had been. But there was a strain to it, as if someone was squeezing her airway, preventing any coherent sound from passing through.

Was she also not used to speaking, like he was? Or could it be…she had spoken so much, and now had no more.

The boy finally let go of the breath he had been holding.

The shadows surrounding them quickly began to move.

“001 is awake again!”

“Ah, but she’s attached herself to 002. This won’t do. We need to separate them if we are to proceed…”

“Little Bomb has never been so attached to anything before. Could it be because she senses her energy inside him?”

“Or he’s familiar because he is a child, just like her. But we can’t let 001 stay glued to him forever,” this shadow crouched beside them, reaching out for the girl. “Unicorn, sweetie… you can’t just jump on others like that. Now, let go of him so we can…”

“Ah, this is taking too long. Dr. Zhang, you are too soft. 001, remove yourself at once, or I’ll remove you myself!” another shadow rushed at them, but before it could attack, the little girl screamed, and the shadow was blasted away.

The boy’s hands clenched into fists. There was something inside of him, rising up from his stomach, as if in response to the blast. It felt like the thawing in his chest had transformed into a tiny ball of fire, expanding, coating his insides with flames. His face twisted into a grimace, and his nails dug into his palms. He forced it down, pictured himself trapping the ball of fire into a small box, and throwing it away. He had no idea what “it” even was, but whatever it was, he thought the best option was to not reveal it to the shadows. He didn’t want to end up like the girl. Resisting seemed to only bring more trouble, and he did not like the way the shadows lunged at them, leaving behind gusts that chilled his bones, devoid of the warmth he had felt with the girl.

In the long run, if he wanted to avoid their touches, he should just follow what they say. He knew that. Yet… as he looked at the girl, when the shadows beckoned them over, he still could not move from his spot.

He shifted, bringing his arms up to touch her shoulders, although it felt like he was swimming in some thick liquid, and that his bones were being torn apart with the very action. He meant to push her away, to get rid of the problem, The shadows were recovering and advancing.

She’s going to do it again… right?

But as they got closer and closer, the girl did not budge. She seemed to be in some state again. He looked back up, and suddenly she was ripped from his arms.

Move, now. This was the part where he should get up and follow them. The easy way out.

But as they dragged her body, pulling at her arms, stringing her along, not caring what she hit, something boiled inside the boy, and he could not suppress it any longer. The tiny ball of fire he had sealed away broke from its tiny confines and erupted, setting the pain free. “Let her go!”

The shadows had been reaching for him next. But before they could even graze him, they suddenly all… froze.

The boy blinked. Tilted his head. How peculiar. Why was that so… natural?

He could feel them trying to push against it, breaking through to him. He glared. “Don’t come any closer.”

He could feel himself pushing them back. Screeches rose from the shadows, and he clutched his head as his brain pounded against his skull again. He wanted to get rid of them. So he imagined ripping those shadows apart, separating their particles, one by one. And as he imagined, the screeches got harsher, gasping for air, and he could see the shadows begin to writhe.

Was this… his power? Is that what power felt like? With this, he could overpower anyone who would—

“What… Evol is that?”

“It’s so unusual. So abnormal.”

“It’s crushing us, like gravity… could it be gravity?”

The boy faltered. He felt himself losing his grip on the power. His breaths became uneven as he felt something squeeze his chest.

“Could we have just discovered a new Evol?”

“A newly discovered Evol… it must be examined more thoroughly…!”

No… no… this isn’t how it’s supposed to go…

But before he could regather himself, the corporal shadows began to turn jagged and more concrete, transforming into sharp, pointed branches, aiming right for him. Piercing through him. Clutching at his arms, pecking at him. Thousands of them. He tried to break free, but he was pulled back, pulled under, the branches snuffing him out. His breaths got shorter, quicker.

“S-stop! Stay… away…”

The last thing he saw was her, and he knew, whatever fate she had been running from, what he himself wanted to avoid, would soon also become his, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

***

When the boy opened his eyes again, he was once more blinded by endless white. Why was everything always so white? He cupped his hand to his forehead, blocking the light, and stepped forward. However, he could not get very far. Something tugged on his arms, stopping him in place. He looked down. Multiple thin tubes were etched into his skin, and the veins in his arms were bulging blue. The thin tubes looped around him and were connected to a machine that was plugged into the wall.

His heartbeat picked up, beating faster and faster against his chest. His legs shook from underneath him, and the room see-sawed back and forth. The longer he stared at the tubes, the fuzzier they got, transforming into millions of pixels.

He reached for the tubes, then yanked on one. But he wasn’t able to pull it out, the tube clinging to his skin. He yanked on it again, harder this time, but quickly pulled his hand back. His hand had exploded into sharp sizzles that ran up his arm, jerking his entire body. An electrical zap. As the spasms in his body slowed to a stop, he looked up.

The room was, of course, white. Almost bare, save for the machine and a padded table. He faced a wall made of glass, although he could not see past it, for it only showed his own reflection. But he could still sense something, or someone, from the other side, watching him.

A red dot blinked in the upper corner of the walls. Underneath it was a small metal box, with tiny holes patterned into the surface.

There was a sudden beep, and the holes crackled and popped. The boy covered his ears, dragging the tubes along with him.

“Welcome, 002. Since you are new to this, we shall start with something simple. Your Evol, the power you possess, is unique, but that is what makes it highly volatile. We just want to help you better understand how it works, and keep it under control to prevent any more unwanted violent outbursts.”

The boy stared at the box. Such a grand display. Something tugged on his lips. “And if I refuse?”

The voice sighed. “Then we’ll have to sedate you again. Which means more work for us. You’re strong. It took great effort alone to get you in here.”

The boy lifted his arm up, jangling the tubes. As if he even had a choice. He didn’t know what they had done to him, but he could tell his senses had become duller. Their words were muffled, filtered, as if he was hearing them from under water. Each word passed through like a fleeting stream, disappearing into a whirlpool, wiped from memory as soon as it was spoken. Moving his arms felt more like he was moving a ton of weights, or rather that a ton of weights were sitting on his arms, pulling him down, creating resistance in his movements. Even if he had wanted to fight back, even if he wanted to scream, he didn’t think he could, in this state. His throat still burned and prickled when he spoke, and he decided then that he didn’t like speaking much. Didn’t like hearing it either. His body was being dragged under a vast abyss of nothingness.

He was so, so tired. He just wanted to sleep.

“002,” the box crackled again. “We need you to redemonstrate your Evol.”

He didn’t want to do that. Why should he do anything they asked for? But when he just stood there, his arms jolted, his whole body wrecked with tremors once more, until the feeling of being dragged under disappeared, and was replaced with the feeling of balancing on a rope, high in the air, singled out by a light exposing him to the darkness. Awareness. Was that what the tubes were for, among other things?

The boy sucked in a deep breath. Exhaling, he looked at the red blinking dot. He did not know how to use his so-called Evol. Last time had been a fluke, an irresistible urge that welled inside him and released against his will. How was he supposed to replicate that for them, under their watchful gazes?

“Perhaps you work better under duress,” the voice said.

The boy frowned. Duress?

“Evol Monitoring Experiment No. 1 will now commence. The test subject is Donor 002. The subject's age is to be determined, but assumed to be approximately 9-10 years old..."

The boy’s heart pounded strangely in his chest. Something… doesn’t feel right…

Clutching his chest, the boy collapsed onto the floor. His breathing became heavy, almost impossible to even achieve. It felt like all the oxygen in the room had vanished, or like his lungs were being constricted and tied into knots. The electric shocks kept hitting his body, and finally his throat was able to release a scream. “Make it… stop…”

The boy stretched out his hand. With no real target to aim at, he could only control the space around him. The jolts in his system went still, and he was able to bring back air flow into his body. He gasped as he regained his composure.

“Interesting. With his gravity Evol, he can control the air around him and his own gravitational pull, essentially protecting him from any threats and bodily harm.”

“There must be some connection to that with 001’s ability.”

“With time, he can practically become immune to anything.”

“Like an upgraded version of 001…”

“We’ll keep monitoring his Evol. We need to see how far his gravity Evol extends. And with time… he can become a force to be reckoned with. A black hole that can withstand any destruction, absorbing it instead. Truly what EVER aims to achieve with their goals.”

The boy breathed his last, as the room spun around him and engulfed him in black. The last thing he heard was the faint screams coming from a distance, from behind that glass wall, and he briefly wondered if those screams perhaps belonged to a certain young girl.

***

The boy lost track of how many experiments he had endured, much less how many days it had been. They had made him lift objects, crush objects, control what invaded his space, protect himself from threats. The experiments quickly amounted to the double digits, encroaching triple. It had all become dull very fast, but the boy learned the hard way that any defiance or laziness resulted in punishment.

In between experiments, a hidden mechanical door in the wall would open and a researcher would escort him, allowing him to… fulfill his needs. Even the food they had given him was some sort of test. They wanted to see what substances he could tolerate, what substances could make him sick. They had begun an experiment about comparing his heart’s strength to the girl’s, the entity they always called 001, who so far he only learned about from brief conversations he overheard when regarding their experiments. He hadn’t seen her since that day, but he liked to imagine that she just laid right beyond the wall that showed his own reflection. Imagined having private conversations with her. It made his room feel less bare.

The boy never remembered much about the experiments. The most memorable test was when he had thrown up blood in response to one of the substances. He had been force fed a batch of greens that made his throat feel like it had gone up in flames, burned by an overwhelmingly bittersweet acid. He had no idea what that was, only that he never wanted to taste it again. The strangers had insisted it was for his health, but it was more like they were killing him. Even now, he could still taste the acid in his mouth.

Now, he was being led to an unfamiliar room. A large clearing, circled by several archways leading down to different corridors. Each archway had a shiny plaque on the wall, although he was not able to read what they said.

A small line of children stood before him, all dressed the same, in blue rags with badges fixed to their chests. Squinting his eyes, he saw that each badge held a number. Some badges also spelled the word “LEMURIAN,” although he had no idea what that word meant.

“The other children you see before you are known as Lemurians. Their species are endangered, but Lemurians have long lifespans,” a voice explained to him. “Since their species are dying out, we don’t have that many subjects. Furthermore, it is not our jurisdiction. They are monitored by another research team, assigned by our sponsors. While we all aim to find the secret to immortality, each research team covers a different method. Our research team is known as Team Unicorn. We observe Deepspace for any anomalies, such as yourself and 001.”

Someone placed a hand on his shoulder. The researcher who often accompanied him during his breaks. “I know we have been locking you up lately, but it is important you spend time with some other children.”

Another researcher who had come with them clicked his tongue. “Be more honest, Dr. Zhang. We are observing his interactions with other children, in particular how he behaves around 001. If our theory is correct, then 002’s outburst was in reaction to the outburst of 001. Since they are from the same energy source, perhaps their energies feed each other. Almost like the concept of Yin and Yang. Perhaps, he could help stabilize 001 after each death. We will have them transfer energies via her resonance ability.”

The boy stiffened. His ears honed in on “001.” She was here? He was going to see her again? He wrinkled his nose. But what did they mean by “each death”? Was that what they were trying to achieve?

The main researcher glared at the man. “I was trying to ease him in.”

She patted the boy’s shoulder again. “From now on, you’ll occasionally be taken to play with other children, as well as begin studies typical for your age to keep up with your peers.”

She then lowered herself to whisper in his ear. “Keep in mind that you and 001 are different from any other entity. You only have each other. But that just makes you more of a target. Our sponsors will do whatever they can to find a way to achieve immortality, so do your best to not cross them. It will not benefit you in the slightest if you were to rebel.”

The boy stared ahead. Her voice continued, “Children do not often survive the experiments. The ones before you now are the ones who have managed to still make it this far. You are special. Always remember that.”

The weight on his shoulder lifted, and footsteps left the room. But he knew by now, they were never alone.

The boy scanned the children before him. A bunch of unfamiliar faces. Their shoulders were hunched, trembling. Their eyes were dark and clouded, without any gleam. He noticed that the children all had uneven stances in their gait, and when they moved, it was with a limp. But none of them moved towards him, which was just as well, because he didn’t want to be anywhere near them either. He did not wish to find out what happened to them, because he had a feeling he would soon know the answer himself, and he was going to do what he could to avoid it.

He turned his head, and his gaze landed on a girl who still had not moved from her spot in the line. He recognized her immediately. How could he not? She was the one who had started this all. The one he couldn’t get his mind off of ever since they first encountered each other. The one he had been beginning to think he’d never get to see again.

Her eyes finally met his, and the frown she had on as she looked about the room disappeared in an instant. Unlike the others, her eyes did have a shine to them, and it was burning bright as she skipped over to him. The boy arched his brows at her. She was coming to him, just like she had in their first meeting, and he hadn’t been expecting that part to be any different. But she was skipping? Where was the girl who wouldn’t let go of him, who begged to not let them take her, who fought when they tried?

The boy couldn’t even process her already standing before him. She peered up at him.

“Hi! Have we met before? There is something about you I can’t quite place…” she pondered, pouting out her lips. “That’s odd.”

Was she… serious? The boy frowned. He had found her interesting before, because she stood out to him. A familiar face among unfamiliars. Even now, she still stood out, but for a different reason. The girl standing before him was just another child. But that was it. Among all the withering bodies, she had somehow still been able to stand upright, and she was also able to smile and pout. Like a child.

She stood out to him, but apparently, none of them stood out to her. Not even him.

The boy’s hands clenched into fists. Something stirred inside of him again. It boiled underneath his skin, simmering, wanting to be released. It boiled until it was too much to bear. “Why are you acting like that?”

The girl blinked. “Huh?”

“We’ve met before. Don’t act like you don’t know. You’re the reason why I’m stuck in this mess.”

The girl furrowed her brows, tilting her head. “We have? I am? But I can’t recall anything.”

What kind of show was this? The girl stared at him, no ounce of recognition to be seen. She appeared genuinely confused. A cold sensation creeped over him, like water had been splashed onto his face, washing away the paint that was his skin. A prickle touched his mind, growing into white noise, as if the word, WARNING, was being blared inside, flashing on and off. But he ignored that word, buried his head in the sand, no matter how loudly advertised. For the boiling still had not stopped. The rage inside him was like a growing monster waiting to rumble and pounce. And there was only one target before him. So, he scoffed. “You don’t remember? Have you not looked around lately? Don’t you see we’re all trapped here, suffering all different kinds of horrors? How can you be so blind? So naïve?”

“I—” the girl bit her lip. She looked around the room, at the other children, and lowered her head. “I’m sorry. I truly don’t know anything. But I wish I did. To be honest, my memories are scarce. Everything else is a total blank slate. I’ve been told that’s why I’m here. That they’re helping me. But… I always had a feeling that isn’t entirely the case. It’s better to not think about it, though. Thinking about it only makes it hurt worse.”

The boy watched her for a long moment. When her eyes turned glassy, he felt a pang in his chest and looked away. It wasn’t fair, that reaction. But… could he really blame her? What good would that even do him, anyway? It wouldn’t change the situation. And she was in the same situation as all of them. He had just… not been able to hold back again, when she didn’t remember him the way he had oh so clearly remembered her. It must have been nice. To go about her days without knowing what was going on. Good for her. Was he nothing to her as well, even though she had been clinging onto him so desperately before?

It seemed that he had trouble restraining himself around her. She made him feel all these uncomfortable emotions.

The boy sighed. He could feel his throat start to hurt again, from all the yelling. Without another word, he turned away from her and marched off.

But the girl was persistent. She followed him, always hovering, never leaving his side. He didn’t get it. Hadn’t he upset her? Wasn’t he harsh with her? But still, there was that tingling in his chest again, a feeling that overwhelmed him, made his movements light. That sense of rightness and belonging, like when he had first held her in his arms.

He pushed that feeling back down. “Hey, you, why do you keep following me around?”

“You’ve talked to me the most so far. Everyone else either leaves me or doesn’t come near me. And I don’t feel as… connected to them. For some reason, I’m drawn to you. I may not remember, but my body clearly remembers you,” the girl leaned towards him, her chest brushing against his back, her breath fanning his ear. The boy suddenly felt heat enveloping his face, and his heart ached in his chest again.

“Aren’t you too close?” he dodged her, pulling his arms back close to him, as if to shield himself from her. But he had slipped up. Their close proximity caused the girl to get a good glimpse of his arms, and her hand shot to her mouth.

“Your arms…” the girl lowered her hand, but the boy just went further away from her.

“I fell,” he said simply. He had no idea why he lied to her. But he just felt like, if she didn’t know anything that was going on, it was best to keep it that way, to spare her details.

The girl gave him a look. Her eyes swirling like dark pools, pulling him in, exposing his secrets. She whispered, “Does it hurt when you fall? Are you scared?”

The boy froze. But before he could respond, she pulled away, leaving behind only a chilling breeze in her wake. “But if you don’t want to talk to me, I guess I’ll try finding someone else.”

The boy blinked, his mind racing to process what had just happened. Before she could go away, his hand snapped out and clasped onto her wrist. He had no idea why he did that, but the thought of her going to someone else made the muscles in his face twitch. None of the other children were like them. The voices had so themselves. Why would she want to entertain other children who clearly did not have much time left in this facility? Who wanted nothing to do with them? They had no worth. He knew he wouldn’t leave her anytime soon like the others have had. He was her best choice.

“If you stick with me, I’ll make sure we both leave this place alive. But you can’t ever back out.”

The girl paused. She was no longer looking at him, but past him. He squeezed her wrist, and her attention turned back to him. “I’m sorry for going off on you earlier. I promise to not give you any more regrets.”

She blinked at him. Then smiled. “It feels like we’re doing something forbidden.”

“But you’re forgetting something,” she said, then, still in his grasp, slid her hand up into his, intertwining their fingers together. The touch was… unlike anything he had experienced before. So soft, and light. It was like her warmth was transferring over to him, and he swore he could actually feel a spark fly at the junction. The boy couldn’t take his eyes off their combined hands. “If we’re in this together, then I’ll also be the one to protect you. The next time you fall, no matter how many times it takes, I will always catch your hand."

The boy let out an exhale. “You’re right… I am scared. You said everyone leaves you, but I get this sense you’re leaving me instead. How do I know your time isn’t running out like the rest of us? You’re this… thing I can’t even fully grasp. You make me crazy, make me wonder if I’m just imagining it all.”

The girl shook her head. “That won’t happen. And even if it does… we’ll always be under the same sky.”

Then suddenly she let go, and something heavy rested in his palm. He opened it, to reveal a small oval with a sliver-white gleam. He had no idea when or where she had gotten it from to place in his hand. He frowned. “What is this?”

“Don’t you know what a gift is?” she laughed, and it was such an airy jingle. The same high-pitched, tiny squeak as before. “Josephine gave it to me! She said if you put this in dirt and water it, it’ll grow into something more. I think it makes a beautiful story. Just like how we’ll make something great together.”

He had no idea what Josephine was, but he understood everything else. “It doesn’t look like much can grow here.”

“I think it’s possible. After all, we’re creating a new life ourselves. You’ll see that it’s not all bad here, so I hope you can have some more warmth in yours. For now, take it as my way of accepting your apology.”

For the first time, the boy felt a smile reach his own lips. “Thank you.”

"All kinds of plants can grow in the desert. There are bluestripe berries, redthorn grass, and the Silverglow fruit you were curious about as a child."

“At long last, I brought you to a place where Silverglow fruit grows.”

Voices filled his ears, like a distant memory. Unconsciously, his free hand had begun to reach after her again, chasing her warmth. But before he could think of anything further, a shrill rang into the air, and the room was engulfed in red light. Their smiles slowly wiped away, and the girl’s eyes widened.

From his hands, the boy felt a familiar pulsing, a familiar burn.

Somewhere, a stampede of feet rushed towards them. But it was already too late.

The room was shaken by the blast. Hands, so different from hers, dragged him away, back into his cell. His cell without her.

Oh, his mouth moved, the last thing he saw of her being her collapsed form. Now he knew… what they did to her, and aimed to do with him, and why memories were so meaningless.

***

His time at the research center continued to pass by more or less the same. A series of experiments, followed by his brief breaks to attend to his basic needs, where he ate more of that disgusting green stuff that tasted like acid, to monitor his hypersensitivities, his tolerances. Rarely, he was taken out for study sessions, where he read texts, and applied those skills to real situations.

Then he would finally see her again—his one constant in a world of blur, the only thing he ever looked forward to doing. Sometimes, her memory was doing better, and she would remember who he was. Other times, most of the time, he had to be patient as he reminded her. He decided he would no longer hold a grudge against her for it. In fact, he started to view it as more of an invigorating challenge to stimulate his senses. To remember her, for her to remember him. He began his own experiment. If he bothered her enough, made sure to leave a significant imprint on her every time they met, would that surpass any kind of memory loss? Or perhaps, it was better for her to not even remember anything. All the horrible things they had done, and what they had to suffer. He could remember enough for them both, so that she did not have to torture herself.

As time passed, he felt like he was getting even closer to the girl.

But so did they.

Getting closer meant that he… got more reactive, when they tried to drag him away, and whenever she was taken. The screams he heard in his cell often kept him up, as he imagined the screams belonging to her. What were they doing to her? Where was she? Why couldn’t he see her more often?

The researchers always boasted about his immense power. But he didn’t feel like he could do anything special with it. He still felt powerless. And if he was powerless, how could he fulfill his promise of protection and freedom to her? So far, no progress had been made.

He clenched his fists, the cuffs binding his wrists clinking with the movement. The voices had told him the handcuffs were made to suppress his Evol. To prevent any more escape attempts. He sat in a new room, unable to use his powers at all.

It was just recently after another energy transfer session. The boy had hoped to use his Evol, now that he had a better grip on it, to escape with the girl, after discovering that the girl had the ability to amplify his powers. He had managed to do some damage, but not before they had restrained him once again, and now he was awaiting his punishment as he sat in a chair, a greasy light beaming down on him, with the researchers at his side.

“Is everything prepared?” This voice, while indistinguishable, was one that he had grown somewhat accustomed to hearing by now.

“Yes, Dr. Zhang. The Professor has arrived.”

“Why now?” another voice sighed. “He does not show his face often. To do a surprise inspection… do you think he’s discovered something?”

“I don’t think so. He seemed to only be merely curious about the boy and his progress. Perhaps he came because he had heard what happened last time.”

“This is why I don’t trust billionaires,” a bitter voice grumbled. “He only sees us, the bugs under his shoe, when it is convenient for him. If it wasn’t for the money, and the legal immunity, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate EVER. At least they understand the vision and the means to achieve it.”

“What is this I hear about billionaires?” a new voice said. In the next moment, the clack of a heel hit the ground, and the other voices were immediately silenced. The boy saw the shoes first. Shoes that shined a clean black and glistened in the light. Following up the shoes to the legs, and higher still, he saw a man. A man with gray streaks in his hair, but not yet a wrinkle in sight, and wearing a crisp suit underneath a white coat similar to that of those around him. His face was set in a hard expression, a glare and a frown. The boy thought the room dropped a few degrees in temperature when he arrived, and even the other researchers were shifting in their place, avoiding his gaze. He could see Dr. Zhang clasp her hands behind her back, squeezing her wrists tightly.

The boy tilted his head, watching the man before him. The only one who would meet his gaze straight on.

The man stopped when he noticed. The corners of his mouth slowly turned upward. But his eyes remained a glare. “Ah. So this is the boy. He has… quite the spunk.”

Dr. Zhang cleared her throat. “As you’ve read in our reports, the boy can sometimes have an emotional streak. Especially when he feels threatened.”

“And what, pray, does he feel threatened by?”

“He has grown attached to… the girl.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Attached? That simply won’t do. My plan has no need for emotional attachment.”

“With all due respect, it is only understandable. After all, they were…”

The Professor waved a hand. “My expertise lies in machinery. The functions of a human body. EVER’s dreams lie beyond that, which is why you have the other research teams. The Lemurians. Those who have conquered time. The one who will herald the world to its end. Eventually, they all amount to the same purpose. But my purpose, Dr. Zhang, is creating a weapon. A weapon who will withstand the upcoming apocalypse, who will surpass death. That means they cannot feel threatened. That means they cannot have flaws. Emotions are flaws. You say his Evol is gravity manipulation. Has he even been able to warp gravity into a black hole yet?”

Dr. Zhang lowered her head. “No, Professor. But with time…”

“Time is not something in our favor,” the Professor said. He leisurely looked over his shoulder to the boy. “You’ll need to start performing other experiments. If you remove that attachment of his, he will no longer have anything holding him back. If he is defiant, you need to break him into obedience. Heighten his tolerance to pain. If he is truly worthy, his mind can take it all. But the perfect human we aim to achieve cannot be perfect if his mind is filled with other matters, if he cannot think only with logic. He needs to start thinking more competitively. I’ll only accept the best. If he is to be selected, then he needs to be the last one standing.”

“Perhaps consider some other options,” a voice spoke up, stepping up from the sea of researchers. “Who is to say he is the only one who can make it? 001 is—”

“What Dr. Yu means is that you shouldn’t completely discard 001 just yet. If you’d like to check on her as well, then—”

“No, I have no interest in something from space. While that is the original reason why EVER has sought you out, I already have explained my own purpose,” the Professor took a step forward, then another, his coat billowing behind him, until he was right in front of the boy. His hand reached out, like a giant claw, grasping the boy’s face. He turned it to the right, then to the left. The boy bit the inside of his cheek. “My interest lies within the human body, making a mortal immortal. He’ll become an even better version of her. The epitome of perfection. You’ve said so yourselves, that he is more likely to succeed than 001. And my family has no place for losers.”

The Professor leaned in, holding the boy’s gaze. “All those childish emotions you have held dear… you won’t need to worry about them any longer. Eventually, you won’t remember anything. You only need to focus on surviving. Don’t you hate being so helpless? We can make you powerful. You won’t need to be stuck here anymore. It is in your best interest to follow us. Forget about that useless girl. She can’t hold a candle to you. It would be a shame if she did somehow end up beating you instead, now wouldn’t it?”

Forget? The boy didn’t want to forget. He refused to forget. “I’d like to see you try.”

The Professor stared, then let out a laugh. He tapped the boy’s cheek. “Oh, but that spark in you is still admirable in some ways. Truly. I’ll let it slide sometimes. After all, I think of you as a potential son. Perhaps you can become my favorite.”

The man let go of his face and stood up, wiping his hands on his coat. “But don’t let it go too far. There are consequences for naughty children just the same.”

The man turned to leave. But he paused at the doorway. “You can start with his nerves. The brain controls everything. Snatch those away, and he becomes a more manipulable puppet.”

The door slammed shut behind him. The researchers all glanced at each other, then at the boy.

The boy felt like the walls were expanding around him, distancing him from everyone. Something gripped at his chest. Then his arms. His head began to ache.

"Evol Monitoring Experiment No. 742…”

His head. Why did it hurt so much? Why were the tubes connecting to his head now?

Kill them. Kill them all.

“002 is getting more dangerous. His Evol has started to reach unstable levels. It is getting risky to continue the experiments…”

***

His experiments became more intense, with an emphasis on his mind and durability, his raw strength. The boy’s “free time” between experiments also started to change. “Play” became a thing of the past. Knowledge. That is what they taught him, little by little. His time became more consumed by studying texts, practicing his fitness, fighting enemies, solving problems. What he discovered, though, was that he had an affinity towards mechanics and engineering, capable of building machines within seconds.

His knowledge and athleticism was constantly put to the test against the other peers. Within time, he earned the best scores, beating the others one by one. Only one person had been able to keep up with him until now, only one person had not yet been cast aside and still remained.

And that was her.

Was he perhaps a fool, in deluding himself that she remained because of her desire to stay by his side, even if subconsciously?

The boy had already learned that fragile things could not survive during one of his experiments. He barely remembered any of them now, but this one had stuck, more or less. He had been given an ugly baby bird, with a wrinkly face, barely able to fly. He had nursed it, or at least tried to, until…

“Hey, are you all right?” the girl touched his shoulder, ripping him away from his dark thoughts. They had been making model planes. Another competition, but the girl was treating it as more time with him instead. She never took the competitions seriously. The girl was also in one of her better moods, where she remembered him more than not. “You’ve been… more distant lately. It’s scaring me.”

He shook his head. It did not matter what had happened to the bird. If it didn’t survive, then it must have been weak. And if it was weak, then there was no reason to grow attached if it was going to die anyways.

The girl reminded him of the bird. Soft to touch, but weak, too innocent, in her own little bubble. He could try as hard as he could, to protect her, but eventually, she too would be destined for his destruction, his corruption. Staying with him would only drag her down with him, signing her doom along with his. Perhaps the only true way to protect her was to leave her, rather than causing more issues.

“You are not made to handle delicate things,” the voices had told him. “You are a danger to everything you touch. You should refrain from being near fragile objects for the time being.”

“If you wish to save her, then you need to make sure they don’t pay attention to her. You need to be the best, you need to be the most obedient, you need to shift everything to you. I’ll handle the rest to make sure she remains safe.”

Sometimes, the boy wondered if he was actually the trapped bird instead. The bird had wanted to fly, but was forced to give up on the dream when he had clipped its wings. Just like the bird, the boy wished to fly, but there was no room to fly within these white walls, trapping him in a gilded cage, the hell he had grown up in.

So he was selfish. Oh so selfish. For despite all of that, a part of him still clung onto hope, a small dot of light at the end of the dark tunnel, beckoning him forward, towards her. The hope that they could still be together, that they were made to be in this world together.

No, he wouldn’t let them win. She was the one thing they couldn’t take away from him. He would make sure he protected her. He could learn to be gentle, for her.

The boy spun the fans of his plane. Some screws laid scattered on the ground. Spare parts he did not need. He barely read the manual, as he had gotten skilled enough to build models without looking at any guides, being able to retain that much basic information. His favorite models were the planes. He took a liking to them. Planes could fly. They carried the pilot to wherever he wanted to go. And ever since he woke up, stuck in this place, the boy had longed to fly to freedom. Whenever he emptied his mind, he imagined himself flying through clouds. Not that he even ever knew what the outside world looked like. He could only go off of what he read from pictures. But it felt real to him all the same, as if he had already done it a thousand times before, in some other far off world.

The plane contained features that were replicated from a real build. As the boy pressed buttons, one button he pressed produced a high screech that made both children cover their ears.

“What was that?” the girl asked.

The boy bit his lip, his shoulders shaking. “I don’t know. But hey, it kinda sounds like you.”

The girl’s jaw dropped. The boy ignored it and pressed the button again. Then he picked up the manual, flipping through the pages. “They call it a pip-squeak. Maybe I should just call you that from now on.”

“What?” she screeched, finally catching up. “My voice doesn’t sound like that!”

“You sure? I think it’s pretty fitting,” he leaned in with a smirk on his face. “Pip-squeak.”

It had been bothering him. Ever since he first heard her speak, her voice had been so… tiny. So high. So helpless. There was a word for that, in the back of his mind, that he couldn’t quite place until now.

The name just… fit.

“You’re not calling me that. There has to be a better name,” she insisted.

“Well, I don’t know any better names,” the boy shrugged. “If you gave me your real name, I can just call you that instead. It’s been long enough. I should have something to address you by.”

“My real name?” the girl frowned. She then looked away, mumbling, “I… don’t have one.”

The boy still didn’t know much about this world. But he picked up enough by now to know that the tall figures who paraded around in white coats addressed each other with special words. These special words had also appeared in all the books he had read. He couldn’t recall any of the special words himself, but he knew that it was something that everyone must have had.

But they only ever called the girl “001,” and him “002.” Occasionally, he heard the voices call the girl “Unicorn” or “Little Bomb,” but those were not real names either. And it wasn’t a name he had given her. So it wasn’t worthy to be said by him.

“How can you not have a name?” the boy flicked her forehead.

“And do you have a name, then?” the girl shot back, covering the afflicted area.

The boy opened his mouth, only to close it back up. He knew he must have had a name. But why couldn’t he think of it…?

“We’ll make up our own names, then,” the boy pinched her cheek. “Maybe if you come up with one for me, since you clearly think you can do better, it’ll give me some inspiration.”

“I can do that!” the girl snapped, smacking his hand away, narrowing her eyes at him. Then the girl pondered, considering. “How about… Yizhou?”

“Yizhou?” the boy wrinkled his nose at the foreign word. “What’s that?”

“I heard it in passing,” the girl clicked her tongue at him. “Yizhou. It means summer, I think. And when I look at you, that’s how I imagine summer. Warm. Bright. Full of life.”

She sure had a funny way of describing things. The boy opened his mouth to disagree with her, but she was looking at him with these huge eyes, and suddenly, he couldn’t get the words out. He cleared his throat. “If… that’s what you want. But doesn’t that name sound too different from the others?”

The girl hummed. “Then… how about Caleb?”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

The girl shrugged. “I just read it in a book. And I thought the character reminded me of you. Faithful and strong.”

The boy sighed. “Well, at least that’s a little better. We’ll use that, then. From now on, call me Caleb.”

As he spoke those words, his thread throbbed once more, and voices rang in his ears.

“Calming, encouraging, bright... Caleb.”

“Is that a code? It sounds like a name.”

“X-02. Caleb.”

“Can I use it as my name?”

“Caleb.”

Before he could even register it, the memory vanished once more.

“Okay, Caleb!” the girl smiled so large, and it felt like someone had punched him in the gut. That smile… he could look at it forever. “Now, you pick my name since I picked out two for you!”

Caleb blinked, then leaned away from her. “Why should I do that? Pip-squeak suits you just fine.”

“But! But! Pip-squeak isn’t a real name!” she gaped her mouth wide. “I take that back! You’re not faithful at all! You’re a traitor!”

Caleb stuck his tongue out at her. “Too late. You can’t take back a name once it’s already given.”

“Caleb! You dummy! What kind of rule is that?”

“If you want a better name, you’ll have to earn it,” Caleb grinned at her. “Pip-squeak.”

The girl huffed, crossing her arms. “And you were making fun of my naming sense. Yours isn’t any better.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Caleb whispered, stroking the wings of the airplane. “I put a lot of thought into your name as well.”

“Hating on my voice doesn’t sound very thoughtful to me.”

“But I don’t hate your voice,” Caleb shook his head. “Do you know what that signal is actually for?”

When she didn’t respond, he held the plane up and flicked on the noise again. “They call it a pip-squeak. You see, whenever fighter pilots got lost in World War II, they would use a radio navigation system to fix their position and locate other friendly pilots.”

To demonstrate, he tilted the plane off balance, flicked the noise back on once more, righted the plane, and aimed the plane at the girl. “The radio would release this noise to indicate to the pilot that someone was nearby. The pip-squeak guided him to their destination. So when lost, all he needs to do is to listen to the pip-squeak, and he’ll get back on the right path.”

The girl blinked at him. “I don’t understand what that has to do with me…”

He shook his head. “You can be so clueless… I don’t know if I should envy your obliviousness or not.”

He gave the plane to her. “Basically, you’re my destination. You’ll always be my destination. Whenever I want to go home, I just have to hear your voice, and I’ll navigate to you. I want to always be by your side. Doesn’t matter the method as long as I’m there. No one will stop me from reaching my destination.”

Her lips parted, and she clutched the plane close to her chest. Looking down, she said, “You really are a dummy.”

Perhaps he was, for foolishly hoping that they had a chance. That one day, they can be together, without all of this between them. If they could just fly away like this plane… could they finally escape and be happy?

Instead, all he did was reach out his hand to ruffle her hair. “You don’t have to get it. Just know you’re important to me. You’re all I have…”

Footsteps echoed again. They both tensed, and the girl clutched onto his hand tightly, energy pulsing between them. Even if she had lost her previous memories, her body and heart instinctively knew what was next.

The plane fell from her hands, crashing to the ground.

Once again, they were separated.

***

“Is it truly wise to separate them like this? 002 has proven to be able to stabilize 001 through proximity and resonance. But ever since we’ve been limiting their interactions, 001 has become unpredictable and unstable. I don’t know how much longer she can—”

“There’s nothing we can do if it’s on the Professor’s orders, Dr. Zhang. EVER is the only one who can fund us and keep our secrets. If we keep disobeying them, we’ll be in trouble.”

Dr. Zhang sighed. “I feel like the polar night is an omen. We don’t get those often, but suddenly we get one now… just as we’re conducting research on Deepspace and making headway…”

Caleb didn’t know how long it had been since the last time he saw the girl. His pip-squeak. One time, when he and the girl had been together, holding hands, practicing her resonance as they called it, both their Evols went haywire, and the researchers pulled them apart again. But Caleb had tried to fight harder this time, which is probably why they suddenly put him in a different room, one with no glass wall, and had him strapped down to a metal chair. They called it isolation, solitary confinement.

Shortly after, the researchers began mentioning a “polar night.”

“You also know the reverse is true. Our attempts to drive them apart seem to only just drive them closer, but we’ve been seeing some anomalies… while they may destroy themselves when apart, together they might as well be able to destroy the whole world.”

“The Professor will be here again for another inspection. Keep analyzing the polar night and Deepspace for any changes in energy. We must prepare for his arrival and continue to monitor the children. He cannot find out about 001, now more than ever.”

***

Caleb was falling, falling, falling. His world kept warping in and out. His memories were jumbled, and some of them he could not even recognize.

A world he was not familiar with. A planet on the edge of Deepspace.

One where he had wings, and his body was in constant pain. Sometimes he was a child, but other times, he was grown. And she was always in them, always with him.

A future where they could be together.

“Do promises made many years ago still need to be kept?”

“They must.”

-

“Promise me... that you'll never leave me again. Ever.”

“What if I break it?”

-

“Don't leave me…”

“I won't. I will never leave you again.”

-

“I... I always wanted to be in the same world as you…”

“Instead of just watching you... And imagining you…”

“I want to feel your warmth, your heartbeat… Everything... I want you to stay with me... Forever…”

-

“I will give you my fate, and your fate will become mine.”

Somewhere, on a planet at the edge of Deepspace, worlds merged together, and the universe ignited the flames that speared the endless cycle of rebirth.

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