Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Somehow, they'd thought coming home was going to be easy.

The sight of sunlight--- real sunlight, in their eyes for the first time in months--- had been jarring, to say the least. Although the sky was cloudy, the sun managed to outshine any artificial light on the AARC for miles.

The process of returning to normal would no doubt be long and disorienting. First, they would need to gain back their land legs. Kai, for one, had never felt so heavy in all his life, not even while climbing set after set of stairs in the AARC. His head was light and his stomach was still rolling from the trip back down to earth. He didn't care that it was daytime--- all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep until he felt better.

The two teams had been separated, each trio taken to a separate part of the sprawling facility. Kai didn't know what to call this place; there was no identifying signage, nor any logos on the buildings. The buildings were either grey and off-white, or covered in glass panels. Kai, Mira, and Adam's destination happened to be both. The majority of the building was white and grey, but the entire lobby was encased in a tall structure of glass panes.

Kai was almost certain he'd been here as a kid, but he just couldn't remember what this place was called.

Their escorts led them inside the building. Three people waited in the lobby; Kai recognized all three. Weirdy--- or Chris Gage, host of the Hollow. Anna Abrams herself--- shorter than she looked onscreen. And the third... a blond man he recognized, but couldn't name. Ernie, maybe? Dread filled Kai's stomach--- that dark heather suit the man wore seemed familiar, as if he'd seen it in a nightmare.

Was he the man with the burning fingers?

Anna's eyes lit up the moment she laid eyes on Kai, bedraggled as he was. She put on a bright smile, strode straight to him, and threw her arms around his neck, much to Kai's chagrin. "Kai! Kai, sweetie, I'm so glad you're alive!"

"Hey! Leggo!" Kai squirmed. He peered toward Adam, who was visibly confused. Who did this woman think she was?

"Let me see you." Anna Abrams stepped back, but kept her hands firm upon Kai's shoulders. His skin crawled. Can't escape! The woman smiled again. "You've gotten so tall!" she remarked. "I should have known you'd been due for a growth spurt..."

Kai wrested her arms from his shoulders. "Who are you?" he asked. "And why the heck were we on that busted old space thing?"

Anna sighed. "It's a long story. We were hoping you'd remember it by now. But... you really don't remember me?"

"No," Kai snorted. "Not much. Why do you know me?"

"Because," laughed Anna. She touched Kai's cheek--- a touch like fire. He flinched. "I'm your auntie."

Kai's blood ran cold.

"You... you built that thing. Why should we believe a word you say?" asked Adam, his eyes smoking black coals.

"And where are our parents?" Mira added. "I thought they'd be here to pick us up."

"Oh no, no. You three aren't ready to go home yet. We have to take you through our mental evaluation process first." She smiled apologetically. "I'm so sorry."

Adam frowned deeper. "How long will that take?"

"A few days. Maybe a week or two." Anna clasped her hands together. "It all depends on how well you're coming along. We can get started right away if you'd like."

Kai groaned. "Can't we sleep first?" Not that he wanted to lie down while this crazy woman was around, but the idea of boring tests and questions so soon after coming home sounded positively awful. Especially while so exhausted, body and soul.

"Yeah," said Adam. "We're tired. It's been a long day."

Anna and the blonde man shared a concerned glance. Then Chris Gage stepped in and officially became Kai's hero. "I can take the kids to their rooms, if that's OK with you," he offered.

Anna nodded. "All right. I suppose they'll perform better on fresh minds." She smiled. "We'll begin first thing tomorrow, after breakfast." With that, she and the blond man walked in one direction, while Chris gestured for the teens to follow him down a glass-plated hall in the opposite direction.

Once they'd made it down a sizable portion of the hallway, Chris loosened up. "Wow. Wish we weren't meeting again like this," he said with an awkward laugh. "Say. Do any of you remember my name?"

"Chris Gage," answered Adam. "You're the host of the Hollow... right?"

"Yes!" Chris danced a little cheer. "You didn't remember my name last time." He sighed, all at once turning grave. "Sorry it had to be this way, kids. I didn't know doing what I did would do what it did. I knew I should've called Ernie; he invented the tech. I just host the show."

Kai would have asked Chris a few questions--- but he was so exhausted he could barely think to ask them. Besides, he figured he'd learn what Weirdy was talking about eventually.

"It was my duty to keep you all safe." He barked a sour chuckle. "Much good I did, huh?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," said Mira. "I don't know what you did, but... it worked. We're all still alive."

Chris took a deep breath. "You survived, yes." He nodded, now oddly distant--- very different from his television persona. "And you all very nearly didn't."

Kai didn't need to think too hard to recognize a guilty conscience.

Chris laughed, attempting to bury the dark mood as they turned down another hallway and stopped. "Well, here we are. Each of you gets a room. Don't worry about anything tonight; I figure they'll leave you guys alone until you get up in the morning."

"What about the others?" Adam questioned, scouting the hallway with a suspicious eye. "Are they staying here tonight?"

Chris shook his head. "No, no. The tall kid--- Skeet, I think. His specific... complications required they take him and his two friends to a different part of the facility. They'll be spending the night over there. I doubt you'll see them here." He slid the card for one door, opened it, and motioned for one of them to enter. Kai seized his chance and hurried inside the room. Chris caught him by the arm. Kai looked up, giving the man the grouchiest, sleepiest frown he could muster.

Chris' expression was dead serious, thoughtful--- like he didn't quite know what he was about to say, and he was trying to be smart with his choice of words. His eyes were haunted, his brow pinched. "Don't be so... anxious to remember everything about your aunt right away, kid," he warned, voice hushed. Kai didn't respond. Chris pressed the card key into his hand and let him go. Kai spared a moment to wonder what that was about, but thoughts of sleep soon pushed his curiosity to the back of his mind.

At last, a warm, comfy bed! As soon as the door shut behind him, Kai flopped face-down onto the bed and unleashed a long yawn. Finally, he could splay out in whatever sleeping position he wanted; that pod had become such a tight, restrictive space over those two months. Within minutes, despite the drabness of the room and the strangeness of Weirdy's warning, Kai drifted off into a deep sleep.

A thankfully dreamless sleep.

---

But in the next room over, hours after Kai had fallen asleep, Adam tossed and turned, unable to do the same. The bed was comfortable enough, but after sleeping in a constrained pod for two months, the experience of lying in a regular bed was strangely unfamiliar. He tried to lull himself to sleep by staring at the plain grey walls. They reminded him of the AARC. Adam hated that place, yet in a strange, twisted sort of way, the AARC had become another home. It had become familiar.

Familiar was comforting. But lying here alone, without the soft sounds of Mira and Kai at rest nearby, the vague familiarity did little to help Adam fall asleep. He hated to resurrect his insomniac tendencies, but there wasn't much he could do when his thoughts raced, and his body refused to relax. He had too many worries; too much on his mind to let his eyes slip shut. He still had no peace, even here on earth.

Relax, he scolded himself. It's not like these people are gonna kill us. We'll be home sooner than we know. All we need to do is answer some questions and maybe get our brains probed. Hardly worth staying awake about.

Adam was not thrilled at the thought of his brain being probed. But if he and his friends had suffered brain damage, memory loss, or anything else, he'd rather know how much damage had been done than stay in the dark for the rest of his life. Registering how badly he'd been affected, both physically and mentally, might be the slap back to life he needed.

Adam hated the thought--- yet he feared a part of him still dwelled on the AARC, and that he'd never be able to get that piece back. Being back on solid ground felt so strange, so wrong, so... alien. So did he--- like he didn't belong here anymore. Like he didn't belong in his own skin.

Adam sighed, squeezing his eyes shut tighter. Ridiculous. He was back on Earth. Home was just a few days away, maybe sooner. And after a little more recovery, he'd be back to health. He'd be himself again. No more insomnia. No more anxiety. No more feeling like a failure to the only people who'd stuck by his side through his worst days.

The sun would rise in the morning, hailing the new beginning they'd all longed for. Adam just hoped he'd be ready to go through it.

Chapter Text

A banging on the door stirred Kai from the deepest, most pleasant sleep he'd had in ages.

"Up, up, errybody up!"

That wasn't Adam... that was... the AI? No wait... that was Chris Gage. The real Chris Gage. Kai should've remembered their trip back to earth, but he'd become so used to living on the AARC; waking up in a pod every morning was pretty much second nature. Waking up in a bed again was nice... but it would take some getting used to.

Kai yawned and rolled over onto his back, lying spread-eagle. Too bad he wasn't gonna be allowed to stay in bed for too much longer. He'd fallen asleep before he'd even had the chance to enjoy how cozy it was. Kai's eyes fluttered back shut. Surely Chris wouldn't mind if he took advantage of the next five minutes to---

Chris rammed on the door again. "Get up, kid. Breakfast is waiting."

Bed or breakfast... ever the hard decision. The bed was super comfy, and pleasantly warm. But Kai, far too tired at the time to be hungry, hadn't had dinner the day before. Now that he'd had a good long sleep, his appetite was back with a vengeance. Breathing a sorry sigh, Kai slunk out of bed, and gave the mattress a final, loving stroke as he shuffled to the door.

Breakfast it was.

---

Chris led the three down to a small, bland cafeteria. The food was laid out like a buffet, in appealing fashion. It wasn't the highest quality, but it didn't look bad at all--- and after eating nothing but synthetic food for two months, it might as well have been gourmet. All three teens were eager to dig into a real breakfast, even Adam. Kai intended to make up for lost Calories, and topped off his plate with as much as he could fit.

He piled on eggs and bacon, sausage and hash browns, and topped it all off with a stack of three pancakes, then dumped syrup all over everything. Kai sat down with fork in hand, eager to demolish the first real breakfast he'd seen in months. He tucked in with gusto, fully intending to finish the entire thing.

But there was a problem.

Five minutes into the meal, Kai was already full. And he was nowhere near finished! Granted, he'd loaded up his plate, but he'd been starving from the moment he'd gotten up. He wasn't alone in his struggle to finish; his friends seemed to have the same problem, their plates barely touched. Adam tried to keep eating, occasionally nibbling on a bit of scrambled egg, but without enthusiasm. At last, he gave up and threw down his fork.

Mira followed suit and pushed her plate away. "Why am I so full already?" she wondered aloud.

"Yeah. It's weird," Kai agreed, setting down his fork. "I'm stuffed. And I'm like... never stuffed."

"That's because synthetic food is lower density than real food."

Startled, the three turned around. Anna Abrams stood over Kai's shoulder, too close for comfort, her hands folded behind her back. "It's perfectly designed for an artigrav environment and quite efficient at sustaining the human body, but eating it over a long period of time will shrink your stomach. You should be back to normal in a few days."

Adam mumbled something under his breath.

Anna's unwelcome hands clasped onto Kai's shoulders, sending an electric shudder down his spine. "Well, if you three are finished with breakfast, we can begin the evaluation. Follow me; I'll show each of you where to go." She squeezed Kai's shoulders and released him.

Left with no other option, the trio stood, pushed in their seats, and followed Anna out of the cafeteria.

---

They dropped Mira off at Ernie Gage's office, while Adam walked away with a kindly-looking man in a white labcoat. Kai followed Anna at a distance, unwilling to get too close to her. He hated the way her hands felt, and he hated the way she smiled at him. He hated her fake nails and her crimson lips. He couldn't explain why, but if his instincts were as trustworthy as he was beginning to think, there was no chance he felt this way for nothing.

Anna Abrams seated Kai in front of her desk and asked him to be patient for a few minutes while she prepared her questions. Kai's gaze drifted all over the little office while he waited. Much like the AARC, this place felt strangely familiar. But this office hit different. Sitting here in this room, with its sterile grey walls, fluorescent lights, and generic waiting room chairs, felt bizarrely nostalgic. Like he'd been here before in some faded, unclear childhood memory. But it was a dark nostalgia--- a variety that made Kai uneasy. Like those fuzzy, unnerving old pictures of empty playgrounds at night, lit only by a single streetlight or the flashbulb of a film camera.

Anna had decorated her office with books and minimalist paintings. Unlike Ma, who kept photos all over her personal space, this woman had none on display--- certainly none that would confirm her apparent relation to Kai. On her desk sat a silver-grey laptop, a neat stack of folders, a candy dish full of peppermints and dum-dums, and one of those daily calendars. Kai peeked at the date.

December 2, 2048. Talk about coming home for Christmas.

"All right... looks like we're all set." Anna loudly straightened the folder against her desk, then laid it flat. She folded her hands. "But before we get started, I thought we could catch up." She smiled.

Kai's head filled with a swarm of bees. Please no...

"So how's my favorite nephew? Feeling any better this morning?"

Kai shrugged, refusing to meet her eyes. "As good as I can, considering... you know."

"Don't worry about it; you'll get your land legs back." Anna nudged the candy dish toward him. "Would you like a candy?"

Kai shook his head. "N... No thanks." Even if he weren't still full from breakfast, he wasn't about to take candy from this nightmare woman. He didn't want to be here with her. He didn't even want to look at her. But he'd face his fears and answer this survey, if only to prove to himself once again that he was a man and not a scared little boy. "Can we just get to the questions, please?"

Anna sighed. She opened up the folder--- labeled STEVENS, K.--- and clicked a pen. "Well, I was hoping we could set you at ease first; I know how stressful the last couple of days have been." Kai's eye twitched. Days? Try months. "But if you're ready... we will begin." She pushed her glasses up her nose, scrutinizing the paperwork. "State your full name."

"Kairos... Stevens."

"Do you remember your middle name?"

"Uh..." He shook his head. "It wasn't on the system."

"Oh?" Anna sounded intrigued. "What did you remember before you found your name on the system?"

"Just... Kairos."

The woman's brow furrowed in thought. She scribbled down a note, nodding slowly. "Better than last time. You just remembered 'Kai'. Although your last name should have been part of the Engage simulation..."

"Last time?" Kai's brow scrunched.

Anna laughed--- an unnerving chitter. "Oh, Kai... sweetie. Don't tell me you don't remember that either."

He shrugged. "OK then, I won't."

"Do you remember your home?"

Kai nodded. "Yep. Little white house with a red door. My room's downstairs in the basement, and I have all my stuff down there..."

Anna beamed. "Excellent! Excellent. I was getting worried there for a moment. We have made progress."

Kai lifted an eyebrow. "Lemme guess. From last time?"

Anna nodded, peering down at the next question. "And who lives with you at home?"

Kai sighed, sobering. "Ma." He dipped his head. "I'm sure she misses me."

"She does," said Anna, with a sympathetic tone--- but to Kai, her sympathy rang hollow. "And she'll be so happy when she sees you remember her too." She wrote in the folder, smiling.

Kai sat up a little straighter at the thought of finally, after all this time, seeing Ma again. He longed for her smiling face, her warm yet frantic green eyes, her comforting voice--- even her crushing embraces he used to hate so much. "Does she know I'm here?"

"She will."

Kai slumped, burning all the harder with longing. Anna's tone had been terribly dismissive. Didn't she care that her own sister missed her kid? That she probably thought he was gone forever?

"Before we break the good news we want to make sure you're all up to standard. If the three of you are at least 90% restored, we'll be able to send you home tomorrow afternoon. Won't that be nice?"

Kai's eye twitched again. He folded his arms. "Yeah. Nice." His tone dripped with bitterness that Anna didn't seem to register. Her ignorance dug further beneath Kai's skin by the minute, enough to chase away the fear. She was going to hear him out now, whether she wanted to or not. "So nice to go home after being literally abandoned out there for three months. Nobody even came out to check if we were alive. You guys just left us there for dead!"

For a brief moment, barely a second, Anna seemed caught off guard. That fake crimson smile faltered, only to spread back over her face with fuller force. She chittered a laugh. "Kai, sweetie. Our data showed us the entire AARC had been destroyed. We had no idea anyone had survived, much less thrived for as long as you did. It must have been in a sorry state."

"It was," said Kai. He looked her straight in the eye, squaring his shoulders. "I tried my best to fix it up. I kept it running for as long as it did. And I'm the one that fixed the transmitter that got us home." He stood and pointed a finger at her. "When you write your report or whatever, make sure you get that down."

Anna Abrams only smiled, still frustratingly fake. "I'll be sure to make a note."

---

"Who do you live with at home?"

Mira twirled a lock of hair between her fingers, leaning sideways in her chair. "My mom and dad," she answered.

Ernie Gage smiled, nodding as he wrote. "Very good so far."

Mira sipped her cup of hot cocoa while her eyes floated across that large photo on the man's desk for the fifth time--- of two near-identical brothers, just different enough to not confuse the two. Ernie was a little shorter and a little stockier, and had a much pointier nose, but his other features were nearly indistinguishable from his famous brother's. Ernie's preference for muted sweaters also set him apart; he wore a black one now, highlighted by dark gray stripes. His plum suit jacket, which he'd been wearing before the interview, now lay draped neatly on the back of his chair.

There was something genuine and down-to-earth about their rescuer, something trustworthy. He'd been nothing but kind to her, and had spared no effort making her feel at ease in his office, with the comfy chair and all the familial memorabilia out on display. The tasty cocoa helped too.

"Do you remember your birthday?"

"May 7th, 2032."

"Excellent." He wrote down the date. "Boy. What a year your sweet sixteen has been, huh?"

Mira chuckled joylessly. "It's been a year all right. And I don't even know what all happened. One moment we were at Kai's house, but... digital. The next we were in space, and..." She swallowed the sudden fear that seized her throat. "We had no idea how we got there. None of us can remember a thing."

There was a long, hard pause from Ernie. He inhaled. "We sent you there for your own good," he answered. "I'm not sure what else I can say about it. I'm sorry we didn't come looking for you. It must've been hard not knowing."

"Mr. Gage?"

"Hmm?"

Mira twirled that one lock of hair. "You all clearly know more about this... situation than we do. Can I ask you some questions?"

Another long pause. "You can ask," said Ernie at last. "I might not be able to answer you."

"OK!" Mira sighed. "OK. That simulation in those pods was so... lifelike. Even more than the Hollow. How did you create something like that?"

Ernie half-smiled. "It's a bit complicated to explain."

"Try me. I'm pretty good at complicated." Mira smiled lightly, hoping it would encourage the man to share.

"I suppose so," said Ernie, writing something down. "I've heard you're quite the puzzle solver, Mira."

"I do like a challenge," said Mira.

The corner of Ernie's mouth twisted upward. "I'll keep that in mind." He set down his pencil and aligned it parallel to the edge of the folder. "I'm a straightforward guy myself. Chris has always been the cryptic one in our family."

Perfect, Mira thought. She couldn't have gotten a better person to question. Finally--- plain, simple answers, no strings attached. "OK. So... why were we in those pods to begin with? Was it something to do with our memories?"

"In short, yes."

"And... the system, when Kai finally got to that information... it said we had brain damage? Like... amnesia?"

The man nodded once. "I invented the ENGAGE pods for situations just like yours," said Ernie. "For people suffering... all kinds of things, really. Not just memory loss. Using all this new technology to not only entertain, but to restore something to the mentally ill, to the disabled, something that was lost. HollowCorp was impressed with my ideas and I'm... truly grateful for their resources helping me bring that vision to life. Yet..." He bit his lip.

"Yet... what?"

"I shouldn't say." Ernie sighed, shaking his head. "I admire your curiosity, but..." He shrugged with his hands and clasped them back together. "There are things I'm not supposed to say to the six of you, and I'm not sure how to give you answers without, well... giving you answers. You'd be better off asking Chris; he's better at answering questions without actually answering them."

Mira sighed, slumping back. Helpful.

Ernie sat in silence for a moment. Silence, save for the tapping of his pencil against the desk. Then he yanked open one side drawer and grabbed a sticky note pad. He removed one note and folded it over, sticky side in, then began to write. "So, you say you like a challenge."

Mira sat up. "Yes."

Ernie half-smiled. "Just because I can't tell you, that doesn't mean you can't find that information out for yourself. The key..." He passed her the slip of paper, "is knowing where to look. It's all a matter of finding the right door."

Mira took the paper, expecting directions. Instead, she laid eyes upon a random mix of numbers, symbols and letters. Hexadecimal, perhaps? One thing was for certain: it was some kind of code to crack. She half-smiled back, slipping the note into her pocket. "Thank you."

Ernie acknowledged her understanding with a nod and an admiring smile.

Chapter Text

Instead of an office, Adam was taken to a medical facility, down a long hall and through a set of double doors which connected the two buildings. There the resident doctor (at least, the man looked like a doctor) ran him through a physical exam.

Shoes off, Adam stepped onto the height scale. The doctor scribbled down the results and brought Adam over to be weighed. The man seemed quite concerned about that particular measurement, and no wonder. Adam knew he'd lost quite a bit, and it was his own stupid fault he'd gotten that way. Sure, he wasn't thinking straight. But he should have been. He never should have let himself drift so far out to sea.

He never should have let himself drown.

The doctor led him over to a med table, where he sat down and did everything he was told without complaint. The doctor checked his heartrate, breathing, temperature, and reflexes. Adam had always liked the reflex hammer, and today, he liked it all the more. It let him know he was still alive and kicking.

"Mr. Delacruz, you seem to be healthy, aside from a steep weight loss. A little weight loss is expected after stasis, but we've never seen anything like this before." He eyed Adam sympathetically, like he knew something Adam wasn't supposed to. "Did you have any unusual symptoms while on the AARC?"

"You mean, besides insomnia, nightmares, lack of appetite... paranoia like you wouldn't believe." Adam shrugged and shook his head. "I threw up blood one night, but... it wasn't constant. I had a nosebleed in my sleep and probably swallowed a lot of it. It was a... a really bad nightmare. I freaked out, and..." He sighed.

"Your nosebleed theory may be correct," said the doctor. "Unless it was an ulcer or something more extreme, such as a ruptured organ. Anything that might cause internal bleeding." Adam winced. "But since you're healthy now, that seems unlikely." The doctor wrote in his notebook and chortled. "One good thing about being cooped up there for three months... no nasty viruses."

Adam wished his behavior up there was caused by a virus. He knew the doctor was trying to lighten the mood, but he didn't find much amusement in the thought. He smiled for the doctor's sake. "I guess so."

Another man opened the door. Dressed in a dark heather suit and a black tie, his outfit matched that of the blond man from the day before--- but this man had pitch-black hair and pale, cold violet-grey eyes. The doctor reacted with shock. "Sir. Is there a problem?"

The man spoke in a rich, deep voice. "No. No problems." He motioned toward Adam. "I'm ready to interview him if he's ready to go."

"He is," said the doctor, tearing out his notes. Adam raised an eyebrow. If I'm ready? He was anything but "ready" to get his brain picked by this total stranger. The doctor handed his notes to the man, who read them eagerly. "He's healthy, but underweight by some eight, ten kilos. And the kid's just exhausted." He lowered his voice, but Adam could still hear what he said. "We might have to keep him here a while longer than the rest. Just until he gets stronger."

The man in the suit shook his head. "He'll go home with the others. He'll fare better with his family around to support him. I have a feeling he won't want to be trapped here much longer."

That's the truth.

The man beckoned. "Come with me, Adam."

Adam obediently followed the man out of the medical room, back through the doors to the other building, down the hall, and into a generic office. The room's details were sparse; the walls were completely empty, as was the bookshelf beside the window. A folder labeled 'Delacruz, A.' lay atop a barren desk. A single chair faced the desk, prepared just for him.

The man shut the door and gestured to the chair. "Have a seat, Adam. My assistant will be back with coffee soon." Adam did as he was asked, still looking around with bewilderment. Strange. There was no way this empty room was this man's office. Unless he just liked working in a completely vacant space.

The man sat down on the other side of the desk and folded his hands. "Adam Matthew Delacruz. I'm so thrilled I was able to interview you today. I'm a busy man, you know."

Adam shrugged weakly. "Don't know why you want me," he muttered. "What's so special about me?"

"You're a leader." The man smiled wide, his narrow cheeks dimpling. "I like leaders. Always have. People who can take control of a situation and hold steady, no matter the circumstance. It's why your team made it to the finals so quickly. It's why your team won. A team is only as good as its leader, and you, young man, are one of the good ones."

Adam could have responded with a vehement declaration that their victory was only one-third his contribution, but the Hollow had been so long ago now. Who was responsible for winning was the least of his concerns. So he merely shrugged in response, unsure of where this conversation was heading. "Am I really?" Hadn't his leadership been apalling as of late? Not that this guy would know what they'd been through on the AARC.

"Give yourself some credit, son," the man encouraged him. "You know when to listen to your team and when to forge ahead on your terms. That's good judgment."

If only you knew. Adam didn't deserve these compliments. He'd done nothing but force his will on his friends while on the AARC, and made some stupid decisions along the way. If that was good judgment, Adam was still trapped on the AARC.

"I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself." The man leaned across the desk, one hand outstretched. "Call me John."

Reluctant, Adam shook the man's hand. It was firm and very warm--- a confident sort of handshake. It contrasted the coldness of his amethyst eyes. John seemed like a decent enough person, but Adam couldn't trust him; he was too closely tied to this situation. He had to be somewhere high on the corporate totem pole if he was addressed as "sir" by the staff. Adam's defenses rose; he couldn't give this guy too much information.

"Well, while we wait on that coffee, let's begin." John opened up the folder and clicked his pen. "Tell me about your home life."

Personal. More walls went up. Adam furrowed his brow. "Why?"

"I don't need your whole history, Adam. Tell me about your house, your parents... any siblings." Adam said nothing, his stubborn frown deepening. John twirled his pen twice, unblinking. "If it helps you speak up, we already have this information. I need you to answer so we can evaluate how much memory you've regained."

"My house... my house is brown," Adam answered at last. "With white trim. Two stories. I live with my parents and my older brother, Seth."

"Excellent!" John wrote down the results. Adam heaved a huge sigh of relief. His memories of home... they were accurate. Mama, Papa, and Seth... they were all real after all. A surge of happiness jolted through Adam's chest. Visions of home filled his head; he longed to go home, now more than ever. He wanted his family, his bedroom, his old haunts. Normal was so close!

"And when might your birthday be?"

Adam had to think about it, slowly drawing himself back out of the pleasant thoughts. "I... it... I think it's in... November. 2031? Yeah. November the 16th." Gosh, he sounded weak... and confused. His heart sank. Do I really want them to see me like this? Mama was going to freak out.

John nodded, writing. "A bit of hesitation, but you remembered." He finished writing just as the office door eased open. John looked up and waved in a young man carrying a small coffee pitcher, another small pitcher of milk, two styrofoam cups, and a pile of sweeteners, all on a tray. "Ah! Thank you, son." John's cold eyes sparkled. "A little coffee should wake up that brain of yours. You like coffee, don't you, Adam?"

Adam said nothing. His eyes trailed the coffee all the way down to the desk. John poured into both cups, then picked one up and set it in front of his guest. Adam reached out and drew the cup a little closer, staring down at it with a subdued reverence. "I think so," he said.

He was pleasantly surprised (though a bit offput) when he saw the same sweeteners he'd put in his first-ever (digital, but first nonetheless) cup of coffee, in front of him now. He held the cup to his nose and sniffed deeply, finding that the scent of the hot drink took the edge off his nerves. It smelled good. It smelled real. It smelled like home, like school mornings, like so many good childhood memories.

John took his own coffee and sipped it black. Then he gestured to Adam with an inviting smile. "Go on. Add a splash of milk. A couple of sweeteners. It'll taste better that way. Unless you think you can stomach straight black coffee." He barked a harsh laugh.

Adam's heart skipped, then plunged into his stomach. His pulse began to thunder in his ears.

Knock yourself out, Seth's distant voice whispered.

Even more on edge than before, Adam put down the styrofoam cup and lifted the small pitcher of milk. He prepared his coffee the same way he had that fateful morning, while John observed without a word. Adam stirred his coffee, glancing up at John several times. For lack of a better word, the man looked smug. Or, perhaps, unsurprised with the outcome.

Adam narrowed his eyes at John, then peered down into the cup while he took a sip. The heat startled him at first, but after a moment, Adam adjusted and took another short sip. It tasted just as good as he remembered--- exactly the same. Stomach churning, he swallowed a second time and stared into the cup. How did he know? How could he know?

"Is something wrong?" John rumbled, shifting.

"Sorry. It's just that I..." Adam set down the cup. "I've never... I've never had coffee before. In the real world. But it still... tastes the same."

"The simulation matched real life in every other way, didn't it?" asked John. "Even in the digital realm, coffee tastes as it should. That's the magic of Engage VET." He chuckled and took a deep sip. "I made sure our programmers got even the smallest detail correct."

Oh. "Makes sense," Adam admitted. Still... how did this man know how Adam liked his coffee? There was no way that was on the record.

The walls went back up.

With each question, Adam's answers got shorter and sharper. The longer he had to sit there, stumbling over basic question after basic question, the more frustrated he became. The only reason he didn't give up and storm out was the coffee, which kept him remarkably grounded. The fog on his mind grew a little less thick, though it still lingered. He could feel himself waking up as the minutes dragged on, and the more clarity he gained, the less he trusted John. Something about this man just didn't settle well with Adam.

Paranoia? Maybe, but this wasn't a feeling Adam could easily shake. He couldn't trust John, but he couldn't pin down the reason why; each reason he came up with sounded dumber than the last. Still, he couldn't talk himself out of feeling this way. What if he was right?

After ten minutes, John set down the pencil with a sigh. "Your answers are accurate, but nowhere near as detailed as your record," he remarked, sounding disappointed. He puffed a sharp laugh. "But it's certainly better than... whatever you gave us the last time you were here." He grimaced.

Adam raised an eyebrow, finishing off his second cup of coffee.

"But, you're not going to hear about that from me. I didn't conduct that interview." He closed the folder. "Well, Adam, that does it. It's been a pleasure. You're free to go. Take a walk, take a nap. You're open until 10:00."

Adam sighed, relieved. He crushed the styrofoam cup, stood, and strode to the door as quickly as he could, tossing the cup in the wastebin on the way out.

"Adam."

He turned around. John smiled knowingly. "There's more coffee in the break room."

Adam shook his head. "No thanks. I really need to sleep tonight." He slipped out of the room and made his way back down to the front lobby.

Adam reached the end of the hall the moment Vanessa stepped around the corner. Both jammed their heels and keeled back before they could bump into each other. The girl stared up at Adam, sapphire eyes even bigger than usual, and far less confident. Fearful, even.

Adam blinked. "Vanessa? I thought you guys were in another building."

Vanessa didn't answer. She exhaled sharply, squared her shoulders and rounded past Adam, hurrying down the hall. He watched her stalk away, his brow knit.

Odd. He sighed, put his hands down his pockets, and continued walking down to the lobby. Hopefully, once the three of them were together again, Kai and Mira would have more answers than Adam did.

---

Four hours and three brain scans later, the trio reunited in the cafeteria for lunch. Adam was about as interested in lunch as he was in breakfast--- interested only out of obligation. The scare of having lost eight kilos was enough, at least, to nail down the importance of lunch, even if the thought of eating still had no appeal.

Lunch was a veggie casserole, soft mashed potatoes, and spongey yellow cubes of chocolate-frosted cake. Adam skipped the cake (the sight of it made his stomach lurch), but tried to eat a small portion of casserole and potatoes. He did better than he had at breakfast, but Kai and Mira did a whole lot better. At least they both cleaned their plates. Adam pretended to still be interested in his meal, poking it and pushing it around with his fork while he listened to his friends go back and forth.

"Anyway. I don't trust her. I don't care if she says we're family; she creeps me out."

Mira winced. "Yeah, I... see what you mean. She's kind of... weird. Bad vibes."

"Insincere?" Adam offered quietly.

"Yeah," Kai confirmed. He pushed his empty plate aside and folded both arms on the table, leaning forward. "So. How'd it go for you, Adam?"

Adam thought about the concerning test results... John... the coffee. Vanessa's fear. He shrugged away the creeping dread. "OK, I guess."

"Who interviewed you?"

"Some guy named John," Adam answered, dropping his gaze back down to his plate. He forked up a single green bean and stared at it for a long moment. "I got the impression he's important around here. He brought me a coffee."

"...Huh." Kai raised an eyebrow. "Was it good?"

Adam nodded, distant. He still hadn't eaten the green bean, and he was beginning to detest it. It was dull green with a few dodgy black spots along the seam, and two little green threads sticking out at the point. Casserole cream splattered both sides. It had a pungent odor, much like the eggs he hadn't eaten at breakfast. Adam had been looking forward to eating real food again, but after getting so used to synthetic food, he found himself put off by the strong smells that came with the real deal. At least the coffee had the advantage of smelling good.

"Adam."

Adam looked up when Mira spoke to him.

Her brow knit with concern. "Are you going to eat that, or are you just gonna stare at it?"

Adam sighed and reluctantly put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly. "Anyway, he... I don't think he interviewed me in his office. The room was completely empty." His eyes narrowed. "He seemed nice enough, but... I don't know. After the coffee thing, I didn't know what to make of him. I mean, the coffee was good. With milk and a couple of sweeteners." His already hushed voice grew even quieter. "I don't know how he knew about that."

Mira looked somewhat confused. Kai eyed him with sympathy. Or pity; one of the two. "Did he say anything weird?" the boy asked.

Anger flinched Adam's chest. "Not really?" He sighed sharply, brow sinking. He clenched his fist and tried to keep his tone level. "Look. I don't need any more questions today, OK?"

"OK." The pity in Kai's eyes became painfully obvious. "Fair enough."

Is that what I am now? Adam wondered, laying down his fork. Pitiful?

"You said no more questions, but... can I at least ask to finish your casserole?" Kai offered, hopeful. "I mean... only if you weren't gonna finish it. Cause if you were gonna finish it, I wasn't gonna ask."

Adam immediately accepted Kai's offer in his mind, but said nothing. He glanced at Mira to assess her opinion. She shrugged back, one eyebrow quirked. Relieved, Adam passed his plate to Kai. "Well... can't say I didn't try."

"You did really well," Mira encouraged him with a gentle smile. "You only left a few bites. Considering none of us are up to our usual standards yet, I'd say you've made good progress."

That lifted Adam's spirit.

Just as Kai downed the last bite of casserole, a certain long-legged, magenta-blazered figure strolled into the cafeteria. He locked eyes with the inquisitive Adam for a moment, then headed straight for the lunch self-serve. He snatched a slice of cake--- only the cake--- and beelined for the trio's table. All the way, Adam maintained eye contact with him.

Chris stopped at the seat beside Adam. "Mind if I join you?"

Adam nodded toward the chair. "Go ahead."

Chris sat down, beaming that showman smile. "Well, I'm sure you'll all be glad to know the folks on high are considering sending you home tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank goodness," sighed Mira.

"Have they told our parents we're back yet?" asked Kai.

"Not yet," answered Chris. Kai slumped. "But, they'll place the calls first thing in the morning."

Adam swallowed the sudden pang of anxiety. As much as he longed to see his family, he dreaded their reaction to his physical state. He was too skinny, and he looked horrible still, like a vagrant, with untamed black curls hanging in his eyes--- and nobody had offered him a comb yet. He'd be sure to get a warm shower tonight, then make himself as presentable as he could in the morning.

Chris leaned in, motioning for the kids to do the same. He glanced over both shoulders. Once satisfied he wasn't being watched, he folded his hands. "I've got to tell you kids now before you start looking for answers. I might have said something yesterday that I... technically wasn't supposed to say." He bit his lip. "I didn't realize it at the time."

"Was that what you said about... 'doing what you did'?" asked Kai.

"Shh!" Chris hushed him. "Not so loud."

Mira's brow scrunched. "So... what is it we weren't supposed to know?" she asked. "That all seemed pretty vague to me."

"I assumed you already knew!" Chris hissed. "I thought they'd fixed your brains and restored all your memories. Maybe they did, but... I'm assuming they don't want us to remind you of that trauma, or something like that."

"That's ridiculous," growled Adam.

"Eh... Not really," said Chris. "Some repressed memories are better left forgotten. The boss told us you'd heal quicker if we didn't bring up what happened." He sighed. "I'm pushing my luck even telling you this. But you deserve to know. HollowCorp is trying to act in your best interests here. I don't agree with their method, but I get their logic."

Green lightning struck in the eye of Kai's mind. His breath hitched. Chris noticed; one eyebrow rose. "Yes?"

Kai drew a deep breath, trying to calm his thumping heart. "I had some weird... memories, I guess, resurfacing in my dreams," he explained. "About the AARC, and stuff glitching out." He hesitated. "Does that have anything to do with it?"

Chris' expression was severe. He brought his folded hands over his mouth, the gears behind his eyes turning. He said nothing.

Adam squeezed both fists. "Chris. Answer him," he rumbled.

"I'm sorry, kids," said Chris. "Nothin' doin'. It isn't up to me. If it was up to me, I'd tell you! But it isn't. So, I can't."

"Well that's helpful," muttered Mira, resting her cheek in her palm.

Chris heaved a sigh; his broad shoulders fell sharply. "I'd help you if I could. Sorry, but... I'm afraid you're on your own here." He looked Mira directly in the eye. "Don't worry. You'll put it together." His left eye twitched quickly, like a wink. A chill tingled up Mira's neck.

"But..." Kai's brow furrowed deep. "But we've waited all this time! For months! You can't even give us a hint?!"

The gears turned behind the weird guy's eyes. After a moment, he produced sunglasses from his jacket's inner pocket and pushed them up his nose, frowning. "You want answers?"

"Yes!" the three declared in unison.

"They aren't mine to give," Chris stated. Quieter, he added, "But they're yours to take. Your families can tell you some of what you want to know. Just ask before they're told to keep quiet." Before anyone could pose another question to him, Chris stood up and walked away, taking his cake with him.

The trio watched him go, burdened with more questions than ever before.

Chapter Text

December 3, 2048. Thursday.

---

Kai had responded to the morning wake-up call much more easily than he'd responded to it the day before. He felt better, stronger, and more refreshed. Even the generic cocoa puffs cereal had new life to it--- he'd even gone ahead and poured himself a second bowl.

But the best part of breakfast had to be the fresh, warm cinnamon rolls. The icing was so sweet it was like having dessert for breakfast. And really, wasn't that exactly what cinnamon rolls were supposed to be? Maybe all wasn't right with the world, but at least all was right with Kai's breakfast.

"You look chipper this morning." Kai looked up, the cinnamon roll still shoved in his mouth. Mira smiled back and took a seat beside him, setting down her own cereal and cinnamon roll. "You know, they do have forks."

Kai bit down and set the roll back on the plate. "I don't eat cinnamon rolls with a fork," he said bluntly. He licked his lips and fingers and wiped them off on a napkin.

Mira's brow pinched. "It's sticky," she said. "The fork sure beats having to wipe your hands every time you take a bite."

"Donuts are sticky too," Kai argued, going back to his cereal. "I don't see anyone arguing for eating donuts with a fork."

Mira sighed, rolling her eyes affectionately. "Fine. Have it your way." She cut into her own cinnamon roll. "Was Adam already here?"

Kai shrugged. "No. If he was I didn't see him. I thought he'd be with you."

"Nope." Mira's brow sank thoughtfully. "He must still be in bed. I hope he got enough sleep last night. If he didn't, I don't want to bother him."

Kai's heart sank; the thought of Adam still struggling to sleep, even after having a cozy bed for the last two nights, was enough to switch Kai's mood from excitement to worry. He pushed the cereal around in the bowl, watching it go around and around and around. "He was sleeping OK before we left the AARC," he said. "Why wouldn't he be sleeping OK now? Those beds are way nicer than those pods." He spooned up a bite of cereal.

"He told me yesterday he hadn't slept much the night before," said Mira. "And since he's not here yet, he's probably catching as much sleep as he can before Chris has to drag him out."

Brow furrowed, Kai stirred his cereal along in the opposite direction... around and around and around. "But why?" he squeaked. "He was doing so good. How come the moment we get home, he can't sleep again?"

Mira sighed, setting down her fork. "He'll get better, Kai. He just needs some time." She looked Kai in the eye, her face gentle, but hardened by concerned understanding. "We've got to have patience. He doesn't have much of it for himself."

Kai stopped stirring his cereal and let it settle, watching the little air bubbles float out of the cereal as it softened. He hated the thought of his inspiration--- the closest thing to a big brother he'd ever had--- ending up right back where he'd started, no matter how hard he tried. That would suck, and he knew Adam would hate it. If Kai and Mira couldn't push him out of his misery, they'd just have to be patient with him, however slow the process. Even though it sucked to watch Adam struggle.

Kai's brow knit. "I hope you're right."

---

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"Adam," a muffled voice called. "Get up and get moving. Come on, kiddo."

Adam squeezed the pillow deeper into his ears, scowling. "Shut up and let me sleep for Pete's sake," he whispered. He'd just barely fallen asleep three hours ago after a long night of wrestling with his covers, and all of his dreams had been one dizzying, nonsensical vision after another. Now Chris Gage was breaking into his headspace with that painful knocking every time he dozed off.

Homecoming day was not a day Adam wanted to spend sleepless. If he had to sleep until the moment his family arrived, he would.

Don't be so selfish, a voice in his head urged him. Get out of bed and make yourself presentable. Do it for them.

And meet them tired out of my mind? Adam argued back. I shouldn't press my luck.

Whether Chris had stopped knocking or Adam had successfully tuned the man out, he managed to doze back off into a peaceful slumber--- one that did not last nearly long enough in Adam's perception. It might have lasted longer had someone not come stomping into his room.

That someone shook Adam's shoulder sharply. "Come on, man, get up! I know you wanna sleep, but it's already 1:00! Our families will be here in half an hour!"

Already? Adam swatted his visitor's hand away and propped himself up by his elbow, opening his eyes. Kai was fully dressed and bouncing up and down, radiating nervous energy. In one arm he held a pile of clothes, which he dropped on the bed the moment Adam laid eyes on them. "These are yours," he said. "Oh! And Weirdy says to meet him in the break room in 20 minutes."

Adam grunted and brushed the frizzy curls from his eyes. "What does he want?"

Kai shrugged. "No idea. But he sounded serious."

Adam sighed and sat up, throwing off his covers. "Guess I'll find out."

Kai walked backwards toward the door, pointing finger guns. "You do that! I'll see you when it's time to go home!" With that, Kai jogged out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him. Adam winced. Thanks, Kai. That really woke me up. He caught himself with a half-smile. Kai was obnoxious, but he was sincere, and Adam couldn't help but appreciate that.

He slid off the bed, then gave his whole body a good, long stretch. He hadn't realized how stiff he'd become thanks to sleeping in that pod; hopefully, after a few more nights in a proper bed, Adam would start to feel better.

He flipped through the clothes he'd been provided. He'd been given his Hollow t-shirt, a pair of comfortable black jeans, and a large black coat Adam had never seen before. He used the toilet, cleaned up, dressed quickly and put on the coat, then carefully examined himself in the bathroom mirror.

His brow furrowed with disgust at the gaunt face which frowned back at him--- the desaturated brown stare, the ever-present darkness beneath his eyes. His sunken cheeks and unkempt hair shadowed his features, a reminder of how far he'd let himself spin out of control, deep into senseless obsession. So what if he'd been proven right in the end? He had no satisfaction and he felt like an empty husk.

The ends hadn't justified the means at all.

At least the coat hid his bony arms from sight. It didn't do much for his hands, but if he shoved them in his pockets, it just might. Adam pushed his hands down deep into the pockets, watching his skinny chest inflate as he breathed just as deeply. Now he looked more confident than he felt. A half-smile tugged at his lip.

There was nothing happy about it; the smile came as an honest response to the dishonest image he hoped to present to his family today--- an Adam who was confident and A-OK despite all he'd been through, coming out on top just like he always did. A fighter since the day of his birth some seventeen years ago, unwavering in strength and noble attitude. Oh yes; he could put on a smile and pretend everything was going to be all right in the end. It always turned out all right in the end. He was Adam Delacruz.

Whoever "Adam Delacruz" was these days.

Adam felt something hard tucked inside the inner pocket of the coat. He reached inside the pocket and wrested out a small comb. On the handle, written in silver sharpie and half rubbed away, were the initals "CG"--- Christopher Gage. An actual smile, albeit an amused one, broke Adam's stony face. Without a second thought, he rinsed the comb and ran it through his hair, working out the tangles and frizziness.

He had nothing to style it with, but that was OK; Adam didn't feel like styling it anyway. That tight, immaculate haircut belonged to an Adam who had his life together--- an Adam who had long since left the scene. This loose, out-of-sorts 'do he'd gained felt more like his present self.

It matched the chaos perfectly.

---

Adam shuffled into the break room, self-consciously tugging up the waistband of the pants that were just a bit too loose. Chris Gage waited for him there, dressed in all his usual show gear--- scarf, sunglasses, and all. Were his skin purple Adam would have thought he'd stepped straight out of the Hollow. Chris leaned against the wall, legs crossed at the heels, stroking his scarf. When Adam entered, he stood up straight and tugged his scarf back into place, smirking.

"A-ha! Here's our morning sunshine."

Adam shuffled to a stop in front of Chris, folding his arms. "Well, I'm up," he grunted. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Chris waved his hand dismissively. "In a minute. First..." He gestured for Adam to follow and started walking.

Adam held back an irritated sigh and trudged behind Chris, who led him to a coffee table. On the table stood a coffee maker with a fresh pot of coffee, all the necessary tools and flavor-boosts for the coffee, and a tray of cinnamon rolls. Chris took a plastic fork, scooped one of the largest rolls onto a styrofoam plate, and handed both the plate and the fork to Adam, who took it without complaint.

"These are from breakfast," said Chris. "You really didn't need to miss, kid. Even in that coat you look three steps from the grave." He chortled grimly.

Adam knew he looked terrible; he didn't need some weird guy to shove that fact down his throat. He stared down, with no desire to eat, at the cinnamon roll. "I didn't get much sleep," he said. "It was a bad night." His tone was almost emotionless in his attempt to keep the anger under wraps.

Chris said nothing. Instead, he poured Adam a cup of coffee and placed it in front of him. A bit of Adam's heavy mood lifted. He set down the cinnamon roll and started to prepare the coffee instead. "Thanks," he said, voice barely above a whisper. He stirred in the sweeteners, waiting for Chris to start talking. Still, the man said nothing. Adam looked up, one eyebrow raised. "So... what did you want to tell me?"

Chris pursed his lips sideways, then clicked his tongue. When he spoke, his tone was serious, all of his earlier playfulness gone. "I wanted to tell you that... of all the players, of all the teams I've had the privilege of trolling on the air... I've never been more impressed with you and your team. You're very resilient. I just thought I'd let you know." He smiled, not in a trollish way, but in a way that seemed to back up his words. Chris patted Adam's shoulder once, eliciting a jump. "You're gonna get better. Just hang in there and don't be afraid to ask for help."

Adam sipped his coffee, grateful for the encouragement, but unsure of the motive. Of course he'd get through this. He'd just told his sorry reflection the same thing a few minutes ago. How was this so important that Chris had pulled him specifically aside to tell him that? "That's... all you wanted to say?"

Chris beamed. "Yep!" He waved his hand. "Go on now. Don't wanna keep your folks waiting. They'll be outside the main lobby in just a few minutes."

Adam smiled softly. He picked up his plate and headed for the door, brightening at the thought of his family.

"Oh oh oh, wait, wait!"

Adam halted and turned around, one eyebrow raised. Chris hurried up to him, a folded piece of paper between his foremost fingertips. He tucked the paper beneath the plate and made sure it was secure in Adam's hand. "This is a list of contacts," he said quietly. "For myself, and my brother. If you have questions, or anything you want us to look up in our records, any documents you might want to take a look at, just shoot either of us a text."

Adam nodded and turned back around.

"One more thing!"

Sighing, Adam turned, giving Chris the most irked frown he could muster.

Chris only smiled. "You can keep the comb. I have plenty."

---

Adam walked down to the front lobby, sipping his coffee and clutching the plate as tightly as he could without snapping the fragile styrofoam. The encounter with Chris had been short and strange... as most interactions with the host were in-game. Adam was already pushing it to the back of his mind; he couldn't be stuck thinking about this when it was time to meet his family. He strolled out into the main lobby, which was painfully silent. Silent, sterile and greyish-white, aside from a single spot of bright green and gold near the front. Adam wasn't alone.

On the curved couch by the front doors sat Skeet, all by himself. He had his old clothes and his beanie back, and he wore a big brown coat. By his side sat a can of Mountain Dew. His hazel eyes didn't look quite so empty now, although he still stared into nowhere with a blank expression.

Adam shuffled over to the couch and sank down with a vocal sigh. He set down his coffee and cut into the cinnamon roll. Skeet acknowledged his presence with a turn of the head. Adam kept an eye on the guy and ate the piece, finding it to be pretty tasty... if a little dry. But that was Adam's own fault for not getting up sooner; it would have been better when it was fresh.

Sniff sniff. "Hmm," Skeet breathed. "That coffee smells good."

"There's some in the break room if you wanna..." Adam trailed off, noting that Skeet no longer had a guiding rod.

Skeet chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, I ain't goin' anywhere. Not 'til my dad finally shows up." His brow furrowed. "He's late."

"Hmm." Adam forked up another bite of cinnamon roll and chewed thoughtfully. He didn't really want to talk to Skeet, but for some weird reason, he'd chosen to sit with the guy. It felt like an obligation. The burden of their vicious confrontation on the AARC still weighed on Adam's mind; he could cut the tension between them with a knife. No doubt Skeet could feel it too.

"Reeve went home twenty minutes ago," Skeet added. He shot Adam a bitter frown. "At least he was good company."

"Sorry, I... don't have much to say," rasped Adam, taking a sip of coffee.

"Eh, fair enough." Skeet grabbed his soda and kicked it back, chugging down the last of it. Then he squeezed the little can with his fist and plopped it down next to him. "Ahh. I missed that stuff."

Adam smiled softly; at least he wasn't the only one relying on caffeine this afternoon. He took another quick sip and set the cup down with a sharp sigh. "So, uh... How's your last day been?"

Skeet's frown soured even more. "About what you'd expect," came the brusque response. "I'm sick of the poking and prodding, the questions... all that stuff. I'm just ready to go home." He folded his arms and fell back against the couch.

Adam sighed. "The feeling is mutual." He ate another small bite of breakfast and considered how much he'd rather be eating something Mama had cooked from scratch rather than this mass-produced pastry. She did everything with excellence, and her cooking was no different. If anything could bring his appetite back, it would be her food.

"It's too much stress," Skeet continued. "I'm lookin' forward to settling down in my room, puttin' on some classic metal, and just... turning off for a few days. Not like I can do much else." He shrugged, brow furrowing. "If I'm gonna be stuck blind I might as well make the best of it."

"Any idea why you lost your sight?" Adam asked, poking around his cinnamon roll with the fork.

Skeet barked a humorless laugh. "Well they ain't exactly open about anything that happened before we all woke up in space," he said. "All the doctor said was something happened, and the connection between my eyes and my brain got fried. They can't fix it."

"Oh." Adam looked down. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It'll be OK," Skeet said. "I know my way around my house pretty well, and... there might be another way to help me see again, even if they can't fix my eyes. Like, somethin' they've been working on. Well, that's what I thought they said anyway."

Adam sighed. "Well, at least you have that." He set down the fork, no longer hungry... not that he was hungry at all to begin with. He shook his head. "I don't know how you can be so hopeful. Kai and Mira are both doing so much better than me right now, dude. And then I'm just..." His tone sharpened. "I can't even finish one damn cinnamon roll." He clenched his jaw, swallowing down the anger.

"Hey, take it easy. You'll get there," said Skeet. "You can't rush this stuff. I know, I know. Sounds hypocritical coming from the super speed guy."

"Yeah, kinda." Adam sipped his coffee.

"But it's true. That's the easiest way. You gotta take things one day at a time, man," Skeet continued, brow knit. "Relax, de-stress. Put on some good music or a funny show you like. Lay low. Don't stress yourself out with trying to get better and just... get better."

Adam raised a skeptical eyebrow, sourer than ever.

Hearing no response, Skeet assumed Adam's skepticism and shrugged. "Take it or leave it. That's all I'm gonna say."

Adam sighed. He hadn't asked for life advice from Skeet, and he wasn't sure how sage the skater's advice truly was. Maybe the "one day at a time" stuff worked for Skeet, but Adam couldn't function that way. He needed a solid goal to accomplish--- something to look forward to--- a clear path out of the slough. Without that, Adam was certain he'd sink down into the murk with no hope of ever seeing the sky again.

A knock on the glass prompted Adam to look up. Peeking through the front door was Kai's smiling face. The redhead beckoned to Adam with excitement, his smile turning into an excited grin. Their parents were here--- and not a moment too soon.

Adam finished his coffee and licked his lip. "Hey... Skeet."

Skeet raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Adam tapped the half-eaten cinnamon roll with his fork. "Hungry?"

A half-smile slipped onto Skeet's face. "Yeah, always."

Adam stood and shoved the plate and fork into Skeet's hands. "Finish this for me. I've gotta go." He was through the door before Skeet had a chance to respond.

---

Kai bounced up and down, watching Adam hurry for the front door. He opened it for his friend, grinning from ear to ear. "Adam! We're actually going home! Can you believe it?" Adam sharply dodged Kai's approach, eyes glued on the second set of doors, no doubt searching for any sign of his family in the parking lot.

Kai sighed and followed Adam outside, not even bothering to say anything else. Like Mira said, it would take some time for Adam to recover. Maybe the guy just needed some space. And Kai couldn't blame Adam for ignoring his buddy in favor of finding his parents. He was probably sick of Kai by now anyway, especially after the way Kai had busted down his bedroom door earlier.

He craned his neck, searching for Ma's frizzy red bun. He spotted it, and immediately locked eyes with the woman he'd thought he might never see again just a week ago. Kai had imagined how this moment would play out, but the second he saw his mother's sad green eyes light up, her entire face brightening, all thoughts of keeping it cool fled. In that moment, he was a little boy again, running straight into Ma's arms as he cried out her name. He threw his arms around her neck, over her shoulders, happy tears streaming down his cheeks.

"My baby boy," Ma choked, emotion gripping her voice. Embarrassing? Maybe. But Kai didn't care what she called him at this point--- he was just happy to see her again... to be in her arms... to hear her voice. He squeezed her tighter, overcome by it all.

"I'm home, Ma," Kai said. He barked a laugh, still in disbelief. "I'm really going home... not fake home... not some freaky outer-space mental asylum..." Ma tensed. Kai withdrew and stared back at her, grinning joyfully.

Ma wiped a tear from his pale cheek. "You remember me now," she noted, blinking away her own tears. She barked a laugh. "Look at you! You've grown by at least half a head... and I missed it." She pulled Kai into an embrace of her own, sobbing. "I was beginning to think I'd... I'd never see you again!" She kissed his cheek.

Kai chortled. "Ma..."

She tucked one arm over his shoulder and began to lead him down the parking lot. "Come on... let's go home."

---

Kai had said something to Adam before he'd pushed his way outside, but he hadn't registered a bit of it. The only thought on his mind was home. Home! His family! No more craziness, no more questions. Just sweet relief and a quiet house. Rest... how he needed it.

Adam spotted Kai's mom before he sighted his own family. He stood silently for a moment, scouting the area for anyone familiar. His heart skipped a beat.

There.

After so long--- after so much--- Adam could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw them. The petite, round woman beside the tall, broad-shouldered man with a bushy black beard. The lean, handsome figure beside them, dressed in a black turtleneck and windbreaker.

"Mama... Papa..." Adam burst into a laugh--- the first he'd had in forever--- and ran toward his family. "Seth!" He ran all the way across the parking lot, right into his father's arms. Papa held him tightly. Adam could have cried. Forget composure; this was the moment he'd been longing for--- what he'd been fighting for since Day One. He sobbed a laugh. "I'm home... I'm going home!"

"It's good to see you, boy," rumbled Papa, a little choked up himself. "We'd thought you'd died."

"But we never gave up hope," Mama added. Adam peeked over Papa's armhold. Mama smiled, though tears filled her eyes. "I prayed for you every night. And now here you are!" She spread out her arms. "The Lord answered our prayers!" Adam left Papa's arms and stumbled into her embrace--- smaller, yet firmer than Papa's--- and held onto her tightly.

But Mama drew back sharply and looked him up and down, aghast. "You've gotten so thin." She grabbed his hand and turned over his skinny arm, frowning at the bones protruding from his wrist. "Did you even eat?"

Adam ducked his gaze, chest tight. "Uh... s... sometimes," he admitted. Mama was horrified. Cue more shame for all the bad habits he'd developed. What was I thinking? "Everything's been so... weird. For a while now. I just... I was too stressed. Just... wasn't hungry."

Mama drew her hand down her face, speechless.

Seth lay a hand on Adam's shoulder, a warm, welcoming smile on his face. "Hey, bro. Don't sweat it. You're home now. You'll be back to normal in no time."

Adam wanted to believe Seth more than anything else in the world.

Seth pulled Adam into a hug of his own--- warm, and tinted with the smell of coffee. "Welcome back, Adam."

---

It had been a long time, but Mira recognized her dad's thin frame and thick-rimmed glasses like she'd just seen him yesterday.

"Dad!" She ran straight into his arms. He caught her and embraced her. To Mira's surprise, he began to cry. He buried his face in her shoulder held her close.

"Mira... my beautiful Mira." He clutched her tighter, sobbing into her shoulder. "I'm the happiest man in the world... oh... oh you have no idea."

"I missed you too, Dad," said Mira. She didn't bother to stop the happy tears falling down her cheeks. Dad kissed her on the head, and she burrowed deeper into his arms. She'd missed him more than anything else. Now that she was here in his arms, all was right with the world.

Mira sobbed a laugh. Everything's OK... everything's gonna be OK!

Dad released Mira from the embrace, then held her by the hands. He smiled down at her, teary-eyed--- joyful, yet consumed by sadness. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "If only your mother could be here to see you come home."

Mira's smile slipped down a notch. What was that tone? "Where is she? Did she have to work?"

Dad squeezed his eyes shut and bit hard on his lip; he seemed to be fighting back more tears. "Mira. I know... I know this isn't anything you wanted to come home to. But your mom, she's..." He hesitated.

Mira's mouth went dry, and her heart pounded in her ears. She's... she's what? Mira feared to voice the question, because she feared she knew the answer.

Dad tugged her arm gently, urging her to walk with him to the car. "Come on. We'll talk about it on the way home."

---

Kai got himself buckled in, still in a state of disbelief. He was going home. He was actually going home! And he was actually with his mom! His real mom! Kai squirmed, barely able to contain his own excitement. His eagerness faded slightly when he noticed how distressed Ma looked. Kai was home now, and he was fine. Shouldn't she be smiling too?

Once on the highway, Ma let out a tension-relieved sigh, as if she'd been waiting to get off that campus before she could truly relax. Kai couldn't blame her. "I hope they treated you well."

"Well enough," said Kai. "That place had way comfier beds than what we had in the AARC."

"I'm sorry," said Ma, voice unusually soft and hoarse. She smiled in his direction, still teary-eyed. "You probably don't want to talk about this so soon..."

Kai frowned. "There... isn't much else to talk about. I mean, it's been my life for the past two months."

Ma swallowed hard. "Well... if she treated you OK..."

She. At the mention of Anna, Kai's mind flashed back to the nightmare he'd had weeks ago. Pinned down. Struggling. Screaming... His heart pounded with gripping fear, but he said nothing. He flexed his fingers and stared down at his lap, trying to keep his breathing under control. After a moment, the thought flashed away, and the feelings dissipated with it.

The car came to a stop at a traffic light. Ma stroked Kai's auburn hair, long and greasy though it was. Kai looked into her loving eyes. She smiled, softly brushing his cheek with her hand. "My baby's finally come home!"

---

Kai and Ma arrived back home around 2:30. Getting out of the old Corolla, Kai was astounded he hadn't gotten too terribly motionsick, considering how long it had been since he'd been in a car. He was even more astounded to see his house again, much the same way as he'd visualized it for his friends. It was exactly the way he remembered it, although there were a few more vines crawling up the side of the house. Kai wondered if Ma would ever deal with them.

"I tried to tidy things up for you but there was such short notice," Ma breathed, following Kai up the stairs.

Kai shrugged. "It's OK, Ma. I'm just happy to be home."

Ma looked at him again with amazement in her eyes--- amazement that her son was actually back. "I know you are." She hugged him over his shoulder and fumbled her keys out of her pocket. Kai noticed how her hand trembled while she fussed through the keys, and up close, how fast her heart was beating.

"I was so afraid I'd lost you the way you lost your dad," she said. "I thought she'd really taken you away from me for good..." Ma put the key in the lock upside down. She laughed to herself and turned it over. "But you're safe now. She's not taking you away from me again." She unlocked the door, kissed him again on the forehead, and nudged him inside.

Kai walked into the living room, breathing in the familiar yet long-forgotten smell of home. Dust, lingering dish soap, and the constant smell of the pine-scented air freshener. It comforted Kai--- assured him again that he was really back. Part of him was still as amazed as Ma that it was true. Part of him still thought it was a dream.

"I'd forgotten how weird our house smells," Kai chuckled, looking around.

"Just wait till you get downstairs, whewf!" Ma shut the door and walked past Kai into the kitchen, shaking her head. "I hope you haven't forgotten how weird your stuff smells."

Kai trailed her, laughing nervously. "Maybe I... just got used to it?"

"Well you lived in it twenty-four-seven. I don't think I can blame you." Despite the gentle chiding tone of voice, Ma smiled. She sniffled, fighting back another round of joyful tears. "You spent so much time down there I could almost convince myself... convince myself you were still down there, throwing some junk together. And you were gonna come up and show me any minute."

Something in Kai's heart broke. As much as he loved his Ma and missed her, he'd spent so much time buried in his own hobbies, deep in the zone, that he'd barely spent any time with her at all.

"I know I don't always get the things you do, but..." Ma tilted Kai's chin up, her brow knit. "You know I love you more than anything."

Kai chortled. "Like you'd ever let me forget."

"Is there anywhere I can take you for dinner tonight? I'll take you anywhere. Pizza, burgers, tacos... anything you want."

"Actually, I..." Kai smiled. "I really just want some home cooking tonight." After all he'd been through, he wanted to be back home--- home, in his own dining room, and nowhere else... as appealing as the idea of eating Paparoni's pizza for the first time in months was. "Hey, maybe I can help! I... learned how to cook."

Ma seemed surprised, but pleased. "Really?"

"Yeah! Mira says I'm pretty good at it, too." He cackled. "You should see the way she eats my pancakes!"

Ma chuckled, then wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his head. "You've always been so talented. And I'd love to eat your cooking sometime. But for your homecoming meal, let me do the cooking, OK? You just relax tonight."

Kai sighed, both disappointed and relieved. "All right."

Ma ruffled his hair. "Why don't you go downstairs and make yourself at home again? I'll call you when it's dinnertime."

Kai nodded, half afraid to leave his mother's side, lest he no-clip through the floor and wake up in another pod in another space station somewhere and lose her again, perchance to discover this whole trip back home had been nothing but a dream.

Don't be ridiculous, Kai. This is for real this time, he told himself, thinking of all the events that had unfolded to get him here. As unbelievable as it was to think that he, of all people, had been the one to get them back to earth, he had spent a long time working on that transmitter. He knew for a fact that he'd done it. Kai had accomplished something for once in his life, and he had to believe that was true.

No more simulations... no more glitches. Kai was home.

He creaked his way down the stairs into his basement dwelling, expecting to see the place completely rearranged and tidied up. After all, Ma had always threatened to use the basement as a place to entertain guests as soon as Kai went away to college, so who was to say she hadn't gotten started in his absence? She saw most of his little projects as pointless and often muttered to herself about talking to Kai about "scrapping this junk".

So Kai was caught by surprise when everything was exactly as he'd left it. All his tinkering projects sat in piles of organized chaos, collecting dust. His gaming gear was all in place, exactly where it should be, while all of Dad's organized boxes of VHS tapes and collectible comic books sat neatly on the shelf by the stairs. The most Ma had done was pick up whatever trash and candy wrappers had been in his gaming den. He strode over to his bedroom, curious if she'd cleaned any of it too.

Kai slipped into his room through the half-open door. He was immediately hit by the stench--- something between sweaty socks and rusty metal. Ma probably hadn't been in here at all. The room was a huge mess, full of scrap junk, paper stacks, dirty clothes and food wrappings--- just the way he remembered it. But also not the way he remembered it, because he remembered this mess seeming way less gross.

"Ugh," Kai groaned under his breath as he shuffled through the trashed floor, disgusted with himself. "I can't believe I thought this was OK," he muttered. He sighted an ancient-looking apple core under his bed, which had rolled there from the top of his overflowing trash can. "This place is filthy."

Without another thought, Kai emptied the comic books and scrap paper from his hamper and began to pick up his clothes. He was home again; he might as well start taking care of his personal space. And that started with washing his clothes and cleaning up all that trash.

New start, new Kai.

---

Mira didn't care about seeing her house again. She didn't care about the familiar rooms she passed on her way to the stairs. She didn't care about anything else she stormed past on the way to her room. She couldn't see them anyway--- not through the tears. None of it mattered compared to what she'd never see at home again... to whose voice she'd never hear again.

Mira threw open the bedroom door, flung herself onto her bed and buried her face, then her ears, in her pillow. She wept, finally allowing herself to feel every ounce of heartache. It hurt. It was a dull ache, a hunger that could never be satisfied. Maybe if she'd never played the Hollow, this never would have happened. Mom would still be alive and everything would be OK.

Dad came in after her and sat by her side. He rubbed her back and spoke some vague words of comfort. Mira couldn't hear them through the pillow and her muffled cries. They wouldn't have helped anyway.

The words rang hollow, and the wind and the rain simply drowned them out.

Chapter Text

Adam's hopes of coming home to a nice, quiet house were shattered the moment he stepped though the front door.

His grandparents and his extended family all waited inside, and crowded him the second he appeared. Adam let them see his face and ask him their questions. He gave out generic answers, never dwelling on any one topic for more than a few words. His eyes flitted over their faces, never quite meeting their eyes; they would surely see the darkness in his soul. He tried to break away from the crowd and sneak upstairs to his room, but his overjoyed family herded him into the kitchen.

A "Welcome Home, Adam!" cake sat in the middle of the kitchen table, surrounded by other party food. Before Adam had fully registered what was going on and why everybody was so darn loud, a party had begun.

Adam tried to humor his family and enjoy the party, but he wasn't doing so well. His heart pounded and his stomach churned; he felt like his head would float away from his body. He'd curled up in the corner of the living room far from the party space, on a recliner, nibbling at the small helping of cheese-topped crackers and mini pretzels he'd grabbed for no good reason. Adam had expected a quiet afternoon to adjust and soak things in. He hadn't expected a celebration. He'd never asked to see his entire extended family, and he certainly didn't want to interact with them in his current state.

Was it selfish to want to spend this day, or the next week, in silence? Maybe. But all this noise, activity, and all the questions... it was too much. They wanted to see him, huh? Why couldn't they wait a while until he felt better? Maybe they were the selfish ones.

The longer the party went on, the more isolated Adam felt. People spoke to him, but Adam barely interacted past the standard response. Walls flew up, rapidly becoming an impenetrable fortress. His mind glazed over. Nothing seemed real anymore--- nothing but his heartbeat, his breathing, and the burning desire for silence.

His family only got louder. They were laughing now. Adam didn't know what was so funny. His heartbeat quickened. He started to hear other voices, in his head, yet... somehow louder than the rest.

I need rest. I didn't come back home to sit around in the middle of this.

They've seen me. There's no reason for me to be here now. They're just interacting with each other now anyway.

They won't care if you go up to your room. You haven't been home in months anyway. They'll understand.

I want them to know how much I hate this.

Without a word of explanation or a glance back to see if anyone watched him leave, Adam stood and slipped away to the stairs, then hurried up to his room. He fast-walked down the hall to his bedroom door, let himself in, and slammed the door tight. He stepped in further and listened.

At last... silence.

Adam sank down onto the edge of his bed, drinking in the familiar, yet somehow unrecognizable sights of his room. Posters hung on the wall for bands he used to listen to, movies he used to watch, and games he used to play. A shelf full of books he used to read, or never read at all. Sports emblems, medals, and trophies from years of school competitions, all long forgotten. Nothing had changed, but at the same time... everything was different. It felt like he was about to take over some stranger's bedroom.

Adam got up and strolled over to his desk, topped with more books, his collection of rubber bands, can tabs and pencil toppers, and his laptop. On his laptop lay a photo of himself and Seth from five years ago. His younger self held up the brand-new VR gear he'd gotten for his twelfth birthday, a huge boyish grin on his face. Sixteen-year-old Seth posed behind him, making a dumb face for the camera.

With a soft smile, Adam thumbed the photo aside, revealing a second beneath it. This one was more recent--- taken no more than a few months ago. It was Seth, snapping a picture of himself and Adam in front of the Hollow studio, both of them grinning like the ignorant kids they once were. Kai's elbow, and the very tip of his russet bangs, photobombed the shot. That made Adam chuckle.

This had to have been taken just before the game. The fact that Adam couldn't remember this moment scared him just a bit. The smile slipped from his face. He remembered so little of the events before he'd stood on stage, ready to sit down and pick his secret power. He didn't remember any of what had happened after leaving the house, aside from knowing that he and his friends had all ridden to the studio together. This photo, at least, informed him that Seth had been the designated driver.

It was one answer in a pile of one thousand questions, and it still didn't explain why Adam had such huge gaps in his memory.

Someone knocked on the door. Adam growled; hadn't he made himself clear by going up to his room that he wanted to be alone?

"Can I come in, little bro?" asked a gentle voice. "I won't be long."

Adam drew a long breath, forcing himself to relax. It's just Seth. He could handle his brother's soft-spoken tones. "Fine. Come in."

Seth parted the door and slipped inside, then quietly shut it behind him. "I see you found the pictures I left." He came closer. "You can keep 'em if you want."

"Thanks." Adam wished he'd had these photos on the AARC; it would have saved him a lot of stress to have known that his brother, at least, had been real. Adam faced Seth, who stood beside him with a package in his hands. It was soft, wrapped neatly in blue wrapping paper and topped with a hand-written tag.

Seth held it out to him, smiling. "I, ah... brought you a present. It was for your birthday, but... yeah. And I couldn't wait until Christmas."

Adam took the gift, offering Seth a grateful smile--- small, but wholehearted. "Didn't have to wrap it," he chuckled. "I can tell it's a shirt." He turned it over and began to loose the tape.

"Well, it wouldn't be a birthday present if I didn't wrap it," said Seth, quirking an amused eyebrow.

Adam snorted, still smiling. "Psh. Unnecessary waste of paper." He tossed the wrapping aside and held up the shirt, allowing the dark gray tee to unfold. On the front was the Hollow's logo, just like the shirt he'd worn on Game Day. But there was something printed on the back:

2048 GRAND CHAMPIONS OF THE HOLLOW!
Team KAI, MIRA, ADAM

"Wow." Adam stared at the print. "It's perfect."

Seth let out a huge sigh. "I'm glad," he said. "I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get that shirt. You know, since it never made it to the gift shop."

Adam folded the shirt back up in his arms, raising an eyebrow at Seth. "What do you mean it... never made it to the gift shop?"

"The glitch. They told me it ruined your whole episode and they couldn't air it. They never declared a winner even though your team had the weapon." He scoffed. "So unfair. After all that, you're a winner. No doubt in my mind."

Adam stood bewildered. "But..." His brow scrunched. "We did win. At least... that's what I remember." That's what John had told him too.

"Well... you remember wrong." Seth's brow knit with mild concern. "I thought you'd gotten your memories back."

"I thought so too," Adam muttered. "Most of them." And maybe a few fake ones, he thought ruefully. Maybe, if he grilled his brother, he might start to figure out how accurate his existing memories were. He started to pace. "OK, Seth. Hear me out. I remember winning that game. And we were all fine afterwards. You even took us home, and... the reporters!" Adam looked Seth straight in the eye and paced back toward him. "They were calling our house for an entire week afterwards, remember? And... and all the kids at school were talking about us. We were all over the school paper."

Seth's expression grew more and more severe the longer Adam spouted his version of events--- severe and confused. He held up both hands. "OK, OK, enough. I'm getting the picture." He took a deep breath, preparing himself for his response. "I don't know what's going on with your memories, Adam. But..." He sighed shakily. "That stuff never happened. There were no interviews. And... you and your friends never went back to school. You couldn't have gone back. Not in that state." His eyes glazed over, haunted. "I only got to see you once after they let you come home, and..." He swallowed hard and ducked his gaze. "You didn't even remember me."

As intriguing as Seth's recollections were, Adam knew that memory was making his brother uncomfortable. Part of him didn't want to push the issue any further, but Adam needed answers. He was desperate to know what had happened--- hungry for information, and so close to getting his fill after living on scraps for so long.

"Then... what did happen after the game?"

"No idea," Seth answered. He shook his head. "All I know is you couldn't remember a thing outside of that game. And even that was starting to go."

"So..." Adam's breath hung in his throat. "That's why they sent me to the AARC. To help me?"

"Yeah," said Seth. "After the explosion I thought we'd lost you out there, but..." He chuckled, now eying Adam brightly. "Look at you. You're back!"

"Yeah," Adam croaked. He slumped his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Seth. I wish I could remember."

Seth placed his hands on Adam's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Hey, look at it this way. Even though you don't remember what brought you there, I'm... kind of glad you don't. You remember me now, and our family. That's what matters." He gave Adam a warm hug, then made his way to the door. He paused, hand on the knob. "You sure you don't want to come back down?"

And suffer all that noise and attention? "I'll be fine," said Adam, sitting down at his desk. "Just save me a slice of cake."

"OK then." Seth smiled and stepped out. "I'll tell them you're all right." The door shut softly, and the sound of his boots thumped back down the hall.

'All right.' He was definitely not "all right".

Adam leaned into his desk, mind racing. False memories? His team had never won the game? There were even more gaps in his memories than he'd originally thought? Just what exactly had happened to him that made this current situation so much better than what Seth remembered? Adam shut his eyes.

Wait... Adam's eyes snapped open. Chris had given him that piece of paper! The one with the contact information. If anything could help him fill in these gaps and rewrite these false memories, it would be HollowCorp's records. Surely they had documents about their glitchy game incident, right?

Adam dug down into his jacket pockets. Nothing. He tried the inner pockets, then the front pockets, all for nothing. Heart beating furiously through his ears, Adam checked his pants pockets. The paper was nowhere to be found.

Great.

Adam got up and flopped down onto his bed, squeezing his eyes shut with a regretful sigh. He'd probably left the contact information with Skeet, who had most likely thrown it away along with the plate. After all, what reason did Skeet have to think it wasn't just a piece of garbage? So much for Chris's offer to help; Adam had no clue how to get ahold of the guy's personal number now. All because he'd stupidly forgotten to put the thing in his pocket.

He thought about texting Mira and Kai. Maybe they'd gotten some clues or information from their own families. But then... No, they had enough on their plates between the both of them. They were no doubt trying to adjust too. They didn't need Adam to dump a bunch of heavy information with a side of personal angst on top of them. They'd had enough of his issues these last few months.

He'd let them adjust before he contacted them. Then maybe, if he was lucky, they'd have enough collective information to piece together something cohesive. But for now, he just needed to rest, mind body and soul.

Adam drifted off to sleep just as a few freezing raindrops pattered on his window.

---

Mira had stopped crying three hours ago. Now she lay face-up, staring at the ceiling. The shock had worn off; she'd gone numb.

She'd turned her phone off; she didn't want to answer any questions about how she was doing, not even from Adam or Kai. They had their own homes to readjust to; why would they need to hear about Mira's mom? She wouldn't dare tell Adam. The poor guy had enough personal issues to deal with.

Outside it had started to sleet. Mira didn't have the energy to do anything but watch the flakes of ice pap-tap-pap against the window. This... was not the sort of homecoming she had expected. It wasn't the warm, sunny experience she'd wanted. Instead, it was cold, icy, and turbulent.

Her father knocked on the door. Mira said nothing. He opened the door gently and stepped inside. Mira looked up. Dad gave her a soft little smile. "Hey, Merbear. I'm gonna make us some dinner. You hungry for anything?"

"No," Mira answered. She rolled over onto her side and propped herself up with her elbow. "To tell you the truth I'm... I'm not really hungry."

Dad frowned sympathy. He sat down beside her on the bed. "I know. It's hard to eat at a time like this, but... I'm afraid we've got to."

Mira sniffed, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes again. She blinked them away, jaw tight.

Dad rubbed her shoulder. "I've got the rest of the week off from work. Come on; let's eat. Yes, we're gonna grieve your mom. But we're gonna celebrate you too." He squeezed her shoulder and barked a quick laugh. "Before today I thought I'd lost you both."

Dad was right. A few clouds lifted from Mira's chest. Yeah, Mom wasn't here, but yesterday, neither was she. At least now that she was home, her dad wouldn't have to grieve all alone. He had half of his family back, and so did Mira. Yesterday, both of them had been alone. Today, they had each other to lean on.

Mira sat up and gave her father a hug. Dad hugged her back and rocked her in his arms. Mira sniffled. "I'm glad I still have you, Dad."

"And I'm glad I still have you too." Dad's voice clenched with emotion. He squeezed her tightly, then let her go. He smiled while clearly restraining tears. "Hey. Does spaghetti sound good?"

Mira smiled softly. "Spaghetti sounds amazing."

Chapter Text

December 10, 2048. Thursday.

---

Kai stood back from his hard work, a proud grin on his face. At long last, his first batch of real pancakes had arrived. They'd turned out so lovely, golden-brown in all the right places, not too soft nor too dark. The scrambled eggs were just as nice. The sausage had turned out a bit uneven, but that was fine. Cooking with real ingredients was a different experience than cooking with the synthetic stuff for sure, but Kai had been certain he'd get the hang of it.

And today might have been that day!

"All ready, Ma!" Kai called.

Ma walked into the kitchen to find her son scooping a pile of five pancakes onto his plate. He made his way to the table and set the plate down, beaming up at his mom with bright eyes. "Come on! I made plenty." He sat down with enthusiasm and started dressing the stack with butter and syrup.

Ma picked up her plate and served herself. "They look delicious, honey," she said with a soft smile.

Kai's chest warmed with pride. "Thanks, Ma. I worked hard on them." He cut in eagerly.

Ma sat down. Kai steadily devoured his breakfast while he watched her prepare, then take her first bite of pancakes. He smiled when her eyes lit up. "Mm! These are immaculate, Kai."

Explosions fired off in Kai's heart; he couldn't have been happier! "I could make them again some time!" He stuffed in another huge bite. "Mohr where that came fwom!"

"I'll be sure to get you more ingredients," said Ma. She dug back in with vigor.

Now's my chance!

Kai swallowed what was in his mouth and rolled his fork between his hands, conjuring up words to say. "So... any chance I can go get my own ingredients?"

Ma sat back, still chewing. Once finished, she said, "Kai, you know I don't want you going out there by yourself yet."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Ugh!" Hadn't this whole ordeal proven how capable he was of standing on his own? Kai cut off another big piece. "Ma, it's been two weeks. I'm bored out of my mind!"

"You could finish tidying your video game area," Ma suggested.

Kai's brow knit. "Yeah... I guess so." He quietly ate his next bite, stewing inside his head.

Ever since Kai had set foot through the front door, Ma hadn't let him out of her sight. It was great seeing her again, especially at first. And don't get him wrong, he was super happy to be home, in his own house, sleeping in his own bed, and eating a real breakfast with his real mom. But she wouldn't let him leave the house without her! Every food trip, every shopping trip, every walk around the neighborhood, she was there. The only private place Kai got was the basement, the one place Ma knew she could never lose him.

Kai hadn't been allowed to hang out with his friends, and he hadn't been allowed to go do any of the fun stuff he'd been looking forward to. Ma kept him bound to her side with iron chains and she refused to let him go. He'd hoped a good breakfast might sway her to his side--- might help her to see how independent and grown up he was--- but clearly, it hadn't worked.

I'm such a loser.

"Kai, honey..."

Kai looked up, mouth full.

Ma's brow frowned. "I'll let you go all the places you want to when I'm ready, all right?" She sighed. "I'm afraid you might disappear, and... and I might never get you back."

"That's not true!" Kai burst. "You'll have me for another three years at least!" If he was lucky; who knew how long she'd force him to stick around after he turned eighteen?

"Three years is... too short." Ma shook her head.

That settled it. Kai was never getting out of this house.

"You'll go out on your own some day, I know." She smiled softly, looking at her son with loving green eyes. "But for now, just let me be happy you're home safe."

Kai smiled slightly. "Yeah. It's good to be home, I guess."

He didn't like how much she insisted she keep him "safe", but he was feeling much more comfortable these days. His nightmares had almost dissipated entirely, which he was grateful for. Whether that was Ma's doing or the fact that he hadn't been on the AARC for two weeks was anyone's guess. Kai was just glad he was sleeping well, without horrible nightmares to wake him.

And if he did ever wake up screaming and in pain from head to toe, he was certain Ma would be there within seconds with a lullaby and hugs and kisses, along with everything else under the sun. What did he have to worry about anyway? Independence? Ha! Who needed that?

Bitterness aside, Kai really was grateful. He was home now, and that was all that mattered.

...Right?

Kai swept up the last of his food with his fork; he'd really cleaned his plate, and he couldn't have been happier. Although, he decided, he might be happier if he went ahead and finished the leftovers; he'd worked hard on this breakfast and he wanted to eat as much of it as he could. And he could certainly eat more; his appetite was back and bigger than ever.

Ma just smiled as Kai piled on the remaining food and stacked the empty dishes, then dug into his heap of seconds. She shook her head gently and stood to put the dishes in the sink. "I'll leave the rest of the cleanup to you, honey."

Kai nodded vigorously, stuffing in a couple of sausages. "Yes, Ma."

Ma washed the dishes while Kai trucked through his breakfast, savoring each juicy bite of reality. Once finished, he carried his plate and fork to the sink and planted a kiss on Ma's cheek. "I love you, Ma. I'm gonna go downstairs and clean up a little more." Just like you want me to.

"I love you too, Kai." She kissed his forehead in return.

Kai smiled softly, then turned and headed for the basement. Not three steps later, a forceful knock resonated through the hall.

"I'll get it!" he shouted, bolting for the door. After all, Ma was busy with the dishes; he didn't want to inconvenience her. He threw open the door and greeted the man behind it with a huge fake smile, which froze in place the second he processed the plum-colored suit.

"My name is Evan; I represent HollowCorp." The man lifted up a large check for $100,000. "I'm here to buy your silence."

---

Adam was lost in a narrow stone maze somewhere beneath the earth. It had to be some kind of catacombs; human bones littered the place, nameless, unburied and uncared for. The further Adam walked, the more fearful he became, and the walls only closed in tighter. He clung to one side, brushing his hand along the smooth concrete.

After wandering for hours, even days, he emerged from one dark tunnel into a chamber that looked like a moldy, dingy motel room. There was no furniture save a single grey chair with some severe brown stains.

The room smelled like iron and decay--- the sour stench of drying blood and rotting flesh. Adam looked down at himself. He could've puked; his hands and arms were splattered in copious dark crimson, most of it dried, and none of it his own. Adam tore his eyes up and faced forward, breathing harder. Ahead he saw the doorway to a smaller chamber off to the side--- a bathroom.

Don't go in the bathroom.

But Adam couldn't stop himself. He inched toward the bathroom. The horrible odor grew stronger and stronger, but Adam kept moving, driven by some morbid force of curiosity. Something is in there. He halted by the door and swallowed, afraid of what he'd find inside. Then, holding his breath, he stepped forward and entered.

Though the smell of rotten flesh was stronger than ever, there was no corpse in the bathroom. But there was more than enough horror. Blood soaked every bit of the room, corner to corner, from the sink to the toilet to the bathtub, all down the walls and over the floor.

And when Adam looked in the mirror, he saw more blood. Blood on his face, streaming down his neck, matted through his hair. Blood on his shirt and blood on his arms. His breath hitched. And his eyes... they were black! Black and bloodshot. The whites of his eyes were as red as the room.

Now two phantoms, just as bloodsoaked as the rest of the room, stood behind him, only visible in the mirror. Kai and Mira, little more than walking corpses, came toward him. In a flash, they'd grabbed him by the shoulders.

Adam gasped awake, sweating. He threw off his covers and rolled over flat onto his back, fighting to calm his racing pulse. The choking stench of blood still lingered in his nostrils. He reached up to his nose and felt around; to his relief, he hadn't bled in his sleep. He peeked at his clock.

Five 'til ten.

That late? Adam squeezed his eyes shut, pinching his temple. The meds are really doing their job. While they helped him fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, they couldn't do a damn thing about the trippy nightmares. Nightmares which, to Adam's frustration, still plagued his sleep here at home.

Half the time he woke up convinced he was back on the AARC, only to see the Marvel Comics poster above the foot of his bed. His bed, not his pod. Adam acknowledged the poster with a grim half-smile. It might have lost some of its color from years of late-morning sunlight exposure, and the bottom right corner might have loosed itself from the hardened blue tack, but Adam had never liked it more.

It reminded him of better times, at least for a moment. But the decay dulled Adam's sentiment.

He remembered meeting Mira in the eighth grade, where their shared interests had made them fast friends. The Hollow later drew in Kai, who quickly became the heart of their trio. They had all spent so many fun nights together in preparation, eating pizza, playing the similar team-based puzzle game Quest, and giving the Hollow everything they had during the trials and initial tournaments. Those were the best days of Adam's life, containing many of his sweetest, happiest memories.

Now they were soured, perverted by the trauma of what had followed. And how many of those happy memories, he wondered, were even real? How much of his experience with the Hollow was even true? The relief of waking up at home was likewise sullied by the onslaught of dark thoughts.

Tell someone. Get all this memory business off your chest, the voice of reason insisted for what had to be the twentieth time that week. But he didn't want to tell Seth or his parents. They wouldn't get it, and Seth was worried enough anyway.

Mira and Kai would understand. They need to know what I've found.

Adam reached for his phone, then hesitated. They're probably still adjusting, he thought. I shouldn't bother them. Subdued, Adam rolled onto his back again and folded both hands over his skinny chest. He exhaled, feeling his lungs deflate. They don't need me.

Besides, this late in the morning, they were probably all going about their days anyway. Although Kai might still be asleep. More power to him; Adam wished he could sleep that well himself without the need for medication. He needed a good, long, natural sleep. Maybe then he'd finally start to get over all this AARC stuff.

But Adam was losing hope, even in his own attempts to console himself. "Maybe then... maybe next time... maybe if this happens, maybe if that happens, I'll finally be OK." It was all so repetitive, and it was getting old. The goalpost kept moving, and Adam was getting tired of keeping up with it.

"You gotta take things one day at a time, man," Skeet's words echoed in Adam's mind. Adam wished he could afford to be so carefree. Without a sure goal to cling to, Adam was certain he'd lose his grip on whatever threads of hope he had left.

He'd lose his grip, period. And he was already dangerously close to that outcome.

A large fist knocked on Adam's door. "It's about time you were getting up, Adam. Your Mom's made waffles. You don't wanna miss out."

Adam sighed, slipping out of bed. "I'll be down in a few minutes, Papa." He made his way over to his desk, where a pile of his clean clothes still lay, not yet in the closet, and messy from being picked through day to day.

Waffles actually did sound pretty good. He wasn't particularly hungry, but the idea of eating waffles didn't sound horrible. Maybe, Adam supposed as he slipped on a comfortable pair of jeans... maybe he was on the road to recovery after all.

But after sitting at the table with his family for ten minutes, picking away at the one waffle he'd felt up to, his hopes sank once again.

Adam loved waffles, and he desperately wanted to enjoy them, but they seemed so... dry. Tasteless, though topped with butter and syrup. Each bite scraped down the walls of his throat and settled at the bottom of his stomach. Then the food just sat there, suspended, traveling neither down nor back up. Adam poked the final half-a-waffle with his fork. He had to stop; he just wasn't ready to eat this stuff yet. Not so soon.

"Adam, there's more waffles if you're still hungry," said Mama.

Jolted from his headspace, Adam looked up. He licked his lip. "Actually, uh... I'm good." He cut another piece of waffle and forked it into his mouth, tasteless though it seemed.

Seth raised his hand. "I'll have some more."

Mama brought the waffles down to the table for Seth, eying Adam worriedly. "You're sure you don't want any more?"

"Yeah."

"You're not even going to try?"

"No." Adam squeezed his fork, forcing himself to release the building irritation with his mom. She was just trying to help; there was no sense in getting wound up about it.

Her voice turned scolding. "Adam, please. You've been home for a week. You've been served plenty of good food, and you're still eating like a bird."

"Mama, he doesn't have to eat if he's not up to it," said Seth.

"Doesn't have to eat?" Mama burst. "Look at him! He's emaciated!"

"He looks better than he did when we took him home," Seth argued calmly. "He's making progress. Just let him go at his own pace and don't push him so hard."

"If I didn't push---!" Mama was about to shoot something back, but a knock on the door silenced her. She stood in silence for a moment, then glanced at her husband. "Raf, we weren't expecting anyone this morning, were we?"

Papa shook his head.

The knocker sounded again. Mama hurried away from the table and out into the hallway, breathing an impatient scoff. "If this is those Mormon boys again..."

Adam sighed through his nose, shutting his eyes. Seth thumped him on the shoulder, prompting him to look back up. Seth half-smiled and nodded his head away from the table. "I can finish yours if you don't want to."

Adam smiled gratefully. "Thanks, dude."

He'd just pushed his chair in when Mama called his name. "Adam! Come here."

Adam's brow knit. Apparently, this visitor wasn't a Mormon missionary--- not unless they'd switched from white shirts and black ties to purple suits. He approached Mama and the purple-clad woman at the door, trepidating. Mama put a hand on Adam's shoulder and forcibly guided him to stand on front of her. Adam gulped, head buzzing. "Um... hi."

"Hello, Adam," said the woman, smiling. "My name is Ester. How has your morning been?"

"Ordinary, I guess." Adam shrugged, gaze darting away for a half second. Keep looking forward, Adam, a voice told him.

"Yes. He's doing much better." Mama squeezed Adam's shoulder; she was either trying to convince herself or, more likely, to influence Adam to make a quicker turnaround. Adam tried to relax; he could at least put on a better face for this visitor, even if he couldn't make himself feel better.

"Y-Yeah," Adam answered with a curt nod.

"That's great to hear." Ester looked between mother and son. "Mrs. Delacruz, I'm here to inform you that your son went on a two-month long vacation organized by HollowCorp as part of a consolation prize. Adam, if anyone outside of this family asks where you've been, this will be your response."

What the hell...?

Adam opened his mouth to speak, but Mama responded first."I'm sorry." She tilted her head, raising one eyebrow. "You expect us to lie about where our son has been?" She gestured over Adam's side. "You expect people to look at him and how he looks right now, and believe he didn't go through something traumatic?"

Ester nodded. "Yes ma'am, I do."

Mama folded her arms, lower lip protruding outward with her scowl. "And what incentive do we have to do what HollowCorp says? I didn't raise this boy to be a liar."

The woman at the door revealed a check for $100,000 dollars. "We're not asking you to lie. Just bend the truth a little."

You mean cover up whatever damages HollowCorp caused.

Adam would have argued with her if he were on his own, but one look at his mother's face kept him from doing so. She had dollar signs in her eyes, and not just any dollar signs. Those were "this check is going straight into my son's college savings" dollar signs.

Adam didn't argue; Mama was the one person on the planet he couldn't argue with.

---

Mira finished applying her lip gloss, bought brand new by her dad, along with other welcome cruelty-free makeup and face care products. Today he was taking her out for brunch--- their first official outing since Mira's homecoming. She was eager to spend some time in town; with the group chat so silent, it was even easier to forget she'd just spent two months in space.

Or, so she tried.

Mira had not stopped thinking about the mysterious code Ernie had given her since receiving it. She'd thoroughly invested herself into "cracking the cipher", leaving her friends in the dark about her activities; they'd do fine without her for a while. They never messaged the group chat, so she could only assume they wanted their sweet alone time to recover.

Besides... She wasn't ready to break the news quite yet.

Despite the dedication, blood sweat and tears, all of Mira's attempts to crack the cipher fell apart. Tries were spent. Efforts were made. She had come at it from so many angles and failed each attempt, to the point where Mira had seriously begun to doubt herself.

Some puzzle expert she was. Sure, Mira still knew she was smart. But her puzzle-solving skills had certainly come into question now. Mira justified it by telling herself she'd gotten rusty, since she'd had no chance on the AARC to keep her brain sharp. It was always one stressful event after another. Who could even think, much less worry about brain teasers, in a situation like that?

"Mira! Are you ready?" Dad called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Mira tucked all her products neatly into a little bag, then slipped it into a round hot pink, star-spangled round purse, which she slung over her shoulder by a faux golden chain. She brushed a strand of hair back behind her headband and hurried downstairs.

On her way down, she overheard another voice beside her father's. That gave her pause, but she proceeded down, more curious than anything. Dad hadn't mentioned anything about a visitor today, and certainly nothing about a guest joining them on their outing. She wondered who it could be. A surprise visit from a family friend, perhaps?

Mira didn't catch the departing visitor's face, just a flash of their plum-colored sleeve as Dad closed the door. A sharp flash of ice shot through Mira's chest. HollowCorp. She swallowed and kept walking. Everything is fine, Mira, she reassured herself.

The girl approached her dad with a curious tilt of her head. "Who was that?"

Dad turned around; he clutched a large check, grinning from ear to ear. Mira stopped in her tracks, her jaw parting. "That was... Abel, from HollowCorp," said Dad. He gently handed his daughter the check. "Something about... the prize money from playing the Hollow?" He seemed a little confused about that, then shrugged.

"I... wow. The prize money. How much...?" To Mira's shock, she now had $100,000 to her name.

Dad chuckled. "Looks like you're rich, Merbear."

"A hundred thousand dollars...?"

"That's what it says."

Red flags. Red flags everywhere. What was the money really for? She stared at the check, rubbing it pensively between her pointer finger and thumb.

"According to the representative, HollowCorp is letting us have it in exchange for the story of what happened to you never leaving this house."

There it is. Mira nodded. "Makes sense. HollowCorp's gotta cover their asses somehow..." She stared off into space for a moment, thoughtful.

"Mira." Mira looked up into the concerned eyes of her father. "Please, don't go digging too deep into this. I know you. When you find a cause you think is worth fighting for, you never let it go." He smiled, cautioning her not to do what she now wanted to do with every fiber of her being.

"Mm." Mira nodded loosely. She thought about that cipher again; so help her, she was gonna crack it.

"I bet we have time to go to the bank with that before brunch."

"Uh... yeah," Mira said. She blinked. "I'd like that." Her questions could be answered later; she'd have time to really dig deep then. She tucked the check into her purse and readjusted the chain, smiling for her dad. "Let's go."