Would you fall in love with me again? (pt. 4)
Lads boys x reader
isekai and transmigrations, memory loss, soul bonds, lads canon stalking and obsession, gender neutral reader, “mc” is referred to as she/her but not the actual reader, not beta read, incest (caleb) [does it count as shipcest if youre not the you he grew up with?]
(^^ these tags only apply to this specific chapter, make sure to read each chapters individual warnings before reading)
read on ao3!
Just as you’re about to go out there looking for them: they find you. But your reunion doesn’t go exactly how you hoped.
START : PREV : NEXT
Two weeks, give or take, was all it took for Xavier, Sylus, Zayne, and Caleb to realize something was wrong with Y/n. At first, they thought something went wrong during a mission. Some messed up side effect of a wanderer attack. But it just kept getting worse.
She wasn’t sick, her brain seemed to work just fine. Physically she was fine too, body still working the way it was expected to. Nothing was glaringly wrong, but they all could feel it. Not to mention she acted so much different. Her usual demeanor shifted into something completely not her. Her personality and very soul completely striped away: turning her into someone none of them recognized.
Zayne ran a million tests on her. Some he probably shouldn’t have, but she never complained, going along with it like she didn’t care one way or the other. Xavier looked into any wander or outside force he could possibly think of that could change a person like this. Caleb tried to get her back, the same way he always had, patiently reminding her of the things she loved, the things he loved about her. Sylus used up any and all contacts he could think of to understand what happened, to see what, or who, had done this to her. But they all came up empty handed.
They didn’t want to admit that they lost her. Despite how every one of them could feel the shift every time they were around her, they were desperate to get her back— willing to do anything in their power for just that. And thats what led them to each other.
Caleb and Zayne ended up working together first. Using both of their combined intelligence and resources to figure things out. They both focused all of their attention on her, taking turns poking and prodding her, metaphorically and literally, for answers. They asked her questions: How she was feeling? Did she remember all of her important information? Was there anything that she could remember happening? While she answered all of their questions “correctly” there was such a stark emotional disconnect. She knew Caleb and Zayne, could tell them the address of her childhood home, even remember inconsequential things like the first plushie she won at the crane game, but when she told them these things its like she was some sort of program spitting out the answers with no real regard for what she was saying.
Sylus and Xavier took a different approach. They avoided her like the plague, too scared to talk to her like this but still equally invested in finding out what happened to her. Snooping on her missions, asking around for information, and eventually finding each other in the process. They were hesitant to work together at first but just knowing someone else realized how wrong things were with her made them put that aside and reluctantly become allies to figure everything out. They learned the hunters association knew nothing but had realized she had been off lately. Occasional chatter about how weird she had been, how her spark had completely went out but since she was still doing her job and not displaying any sort of obvious distressing signs so they didn’t seem to think it was necessary to look into it more.
After about a month of no answers, the groups merged. Caleb pulled some strings to find Xavier, which led him and Zayne to Sylus as well. Sharing their information, but ultimately getting nowhere.
They all recognized each other, at least in a vague kind of way. A name Y/n had mentioned before, a face they’d seen her with, or worse; someone they had purposely stalked at one point in time. They didn’t want to work together. Didn’t want to admit that there could be, and probably was, a deeper motive behind why the four of them were the only ones looking for Y/n. But they weren’t in a position to be picky.
Eventually though, they realized there was someone missing. Every face here made sense, Y/n’s brother, her doctor and close friend, her partner from the association and… Sylus… But where was the painter she always hung out with? Y/n use to always be seen with him, she was his bodyguard after all was she not? So where was he? It would be one thing if he was still hanging around her like some of her friends were but its like he had completely vanished from her life. The men were more than a little suspicious. So what else were they supposed to do than pay him a little visit.
———————————————————
You were sat with Rafayel, intently peering over his shoulder at his phone as he scrolled through “the other you’s” social media profiles. Looking for anyone who had interacted with her before that could possibly be who you were looking for. It was actually a really eye opening experience, there were so many posts, so many comments and names you remembered too. A comment from Tara that made you laugh, a comment from someone named Yvonne who you distinctly remembered was a nurse, memories of people slowly coming back to you. But there was still that disconnect. You remembered why the posts had been made but the way they were written out didn’t seem like you. They just felt ever so slightly off.
“Rafayel, does this… sound like me to you?” You asked as he stoped over one of “your” posts.
Rafayel paused for a minute opening his mouth and closing it like a fish in contemplation.
“Well… actually no…”
He never noticed before but all of the posts you made seemed… off. Almost auto generated, like someone picked them from a dropdown menu and didn’t actually put their own soul into it.
“Do you remember making these? Or are these all made by the fake you?”
“No!” You introjected. “I remember some of these. Like this one!”
You pointed at a post, “I made this one after I got five plushies in a row at the claw machine! I was so excited but…”
You trailed off. You were so excited but the post just didn’t reflect that, not the way you would want to at least. It felt like you but it didn’t at the same time.
Rafayel hummed but didn’t say anything else, continuing to scroll through post after post and especially the comment sections of posts. After what felt like an eternity there was finally a name you really recognized.
Xavier.
“That one. Click on that one.” You said pointing to Xavier’s profile.
Rafayel did as he was told, clicking on the profile and giving his phone to you to scroll and get a better look.
Xavier didn’t post a whole lot. Most of the posts didn’t give you much information either. A post about hot pot, a picture of the stars. You felt recollection looking through them, for once the memories were coming back to you slowly, trickling in like a stream instead of hitting you like a truck.
And then you saw his face. Short white hair, bangs that nearly got in his blue eyes, an amused smile tugging at his lips. He was looking at whoever was behind the camera fondly.
“I took this picture.” You said aloud.
And suddenly, you doubled over. Pain shooting through your head and your heart nearly beating out of your chest. You felt sick. What was happening? It was going so smoothly, why was this happening now? But then you felt it, the tugging in your core, dragging you towards the front of the studio.
“Y/n!” Rafayel called to you but you were too distracted to pay attention to him.
Raf’s phone fell out of your hands and you pushed yourself to your feet. Fighting through the pain and nauseating tugging in your stomach: you stumbled to the door.
When you reached it and threw it open your eyes locked onto them. Zayne, Caleb, Xavier, and Sylus— all standing before you looking far too serious for your liking. Before you could say or do anything you found yourself being pushed and pulled in a million different ways. Not from your core this time but by their evols. They circled around you, clearly ready for a fight that was not coming to them. The feeling was almost comforting. It was foreign to you in a way, something you’d never felt and yet something you recognized entirely. Their evol wrapping around you, engulfing you entirely. It would be more pleasant if it didn’t feel like they were trying to rip you apart.
Whether it was them all pulling at you or the way your body was reacting to their very presence, you werent sure, but you fell to your knees letting out a choked sound as you heard Rafayel rushing to your aid.
The strain was evident in your voice when you spoke, but there was an unmistakable fondness even in a moment like this.
“Coming in guns blaring… thats so like you all.”
