Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

cover for the story

« What do you think Jasmine will do for a distraction? »

« She’ll probably, like, make a noise or throw a rock. That’s what I would do. And that’s what I told her to do. »

« NORMAN! RAY! RUN!! »

The two boys turned around to see their friend running towards them. They looked at her pass beside them and watched her as she disappeared behind some building. Ray was about to say something when the sound of a building exploding followed by multiple car alarms going off were heard. They looked toward the explosion before looking at each other.

« …Or she could do that. »

« … »

Ray rolled his eyes before grabbing Norman’s wrist. The two boys started running to go join Jasmine. They found the girl at the entrance of the sewers. She was laughing.

« Jasmine! What the fuck was that?! »

Jasmine was unable to stop laughing. Ray gave her a bump on the head, making her stop.

« Answer us. What was that for? »

« Oh, come on. It was fun, okay? And here’s your distraction! »

Norman let out a sigh.

« When I said distraction, that’s not what I meant! »

« Anyway! »

Jasmine ignored Norman and directed herself towards their destination. Norman let out a sigh before following her. Ray rolled his eyes and followed them.

Welcome to the city of Grace Field. One of the most resourceful cities in the whole world. Some would even call it the world’s capital.

With its white and golden buildings. Luxurious trees and plants. Not a single sight of trash on the ground. Everyone is so happy and wealthy. No one is missing of anything. The perfect city, you know.

But… is it really that perfect?

The city of Grace Field hides a huge secret. Behind its perfect appearance hides a disgusting one. If you were to stumble on the symbol, just follow it. It will bring you to the sewers. 

Don’t be scared. Go in. Go in and find the symbol again. The symbol will bring you deeper and deeper into the sewers. Once you reach a dead end where the last symbol is, just crawl into the hole in the wall. If you manage to find it, of course.

Once inside the little hole, crawl all the way to the end. The symbol is waiting for you. Standing proudly in the middle of an underground city. This underground city is the complete opposite of the city of Grace Field.

Damaged buildings. Trash laying around a bit everywhere. Children everywhere. Smell of death in the air. Not so luxurious trees and plants. Screams, random shouts, yells. Smell of alcohol at every corner. Same for the smell of drugs. Drug dealers at almost every corner. Don’t go into that alleyway yet, it seems like these two will be there for a while, if you know what I mean. And do not go there, it’s forbidden.

The underground city is also called the slums by the people from the surface. This is also where all the orphans end up as there is no orphanage that isn’t full in Grace Field city. Those who couldn’t fit into an orphanage ended up down here. 

But you know, that’s the only thing the surface people know about the underground people. They’re not only orphans, there’s adults too, not much, but there are some. Most of them are the kind of adults you do not want to interact with. You might be telling yourself: “Why leave these kinds of adults with children then??” Well, you should go ask the government of the surface, maybe they’ll have a perfect lie ready for you. Who knows?

That’s the case for our three friends. Well, four friends, the fourth one isn’t there yet so let’s just talk about the trio. Ray, Norman and Jasmine all were in an orphanage before, but due to the lack of space and being part of the oldest, their orphanage kicked them out. They found the symbol and followed it. At least, that’s what they’ve been told to tell people who would ask them how they ended up down there.

Once in the city at the plaza, the trio took off their masks. They looked at each other and burst into laughter. Jasmine pointed at Ray.

« Your hair! Haha! You look so stupid like that! »

« Have you seen yours?! You’re the stupid looking one! Hahaha! »

« Guys, guys! Stop fighting over whose hair looks stupidest! Haha! That argument is stupid. »

« Like you’re one to talk! Your hair is the stupidest looking, Norman! »

The trio bursted into laughter, not caring about the rest of the city’s citizens. They all turned around when the voice of a girl approached them.

« Guys! You’re back! »

« Rose! »

Rosemary was the fourth child that was growing up with our trio. She was like they’re younger sisters. They had swore to protect her from any kind of danger. Rose had never left the slums.

They started making their way toward their home where they were welcome by their parents. Adoptive parents to be more precise. Wait no, those who are taking care of them. Since, you know, they can’t afford to adopt a kid since they live in the underground city as well. You see what I mean, right?

Ray, Norman, Jasmine and Rosemary aren’t siblings. Well. Some people have doubts about Norman and Rose. They are all childhood friends who grew up together. 

Yuugo, Lucas and Dina have been friends forever. They ended up one day in the underground city and have since then been living there. 

Yuugo has been raising Jasmine. Lucas has been raising Ray and Dina has been raising both Norman and Rose. The story on how they found them is for another time.

As the only adults of the city (only decent and normal adults), Yuugo, Dina and Lucas, as well as taking care of the trio, also take care of the other children of the city. Not as much as our group of friends of course, but you know. The underground city has another name amongst its residents. They call it the Orphans’ city. As there are more orphans than adults.

This city is where the orphans who had no place to go end up. Just like our four friends.

Of course, the older kids are there to help them out. But they can’t be everywhere all at the same time. The underground city is also a place for the poor. They mostly live in another part of the city. 

So hearing a gunshot is a daily thing for those kids. They just hope they’re not the next targets.

There’s also the forbidden part of the city. No one ever approaches it because of the poachers. That forbidden area is their playground. Or more like hunting ground. No one ever goes there. No one even wants to go see that place anyway. Everyone living in the underground city knows how dangerous this area is.

And as kids without much supervision, it is a common thing to find some of them doing "adult" things. Just ignore them and you’ll be fine. Yuugo, Lucas and Dina know they can’t do anything about this.

Yuugo is actually the one responsible for Jasmine’s love for explosives. He had the brilliant idea to show her how to make some one day after she accidentally blew up something.

Yuugo, Lucas and Dina don’t like it when the kids go to the surface. They know it’s one of the only ways for them to get good and fresh stuff, but it doesn’t make them stop worrying. Especially when the trio gets themselves into trouble.

Oh and, let’s not forget that the four are currently eight years old. So that doesn't help either to ease their worries.

:****:

It was the adults turn to go find some fresh food they would be able to eat for a special occasion. Norman’s birthday was coming. 

Ray and Jasmine had insisted on coming with them, but Lucas told them to stay home so they could keep an eye on Norman. They all knew that the little boy had forgotten about his birthday. Rose was currently distracting Norman while the adults left.

It had been a few hours now that Yuugo, Dina and Lucas should have been back from the surface. The four were starting to get worried. 

So they decided to go investigate. 

They took their masks and went to the surface despite the simple order. 

:****:

The trio decided to separate once at the surface. Rose had stayed home like always in case the adults would come back.

Norman was going around town when he stumbled on a little girl. She was smiling at him. Her big emerald eyes were looking at him with curiosity. Her wild ginger hair was tied in a small ponytail.

« Hi! »

Just like how Norman thought, the girl's voice was cheerful.

« Hum, hi. »

« What are you doing here? I've never seen you before. Why are you wearing a mask? What's your name? Mine’s Emma! »

Norman became more nervous at the enthusiasm of the girl. He shouldn't say his name to anyone, he knows that. But… he felt like he could trust her. 

« I'm… Norman. »

Emma suddenly stopped rambling to look at him with stars in her eyes.

« I love your name! »

« Hum, thanks? »

« Say, why are you wearing a mask? »

« Huh, I- »

« Can you take it off? »

Seeing how nervous the boy was, the girl stopped talking.

« Oh! I’m sorry! I talk too much again, don't I? »

« Oh no! It’s fine! I’m just… not used to having long conversations with people from the surface. They usually ignore us. That’s all. »

« What?! Why? »

The girl suddenly looked sad, which confused Norman.

« Well, hum… I'm not supposed to be here. Mom doesn't want me to. And I don't know why people usually ignore us. I- »

Norman let out a yelp when arms wrapped themselves around him. The girl was hugging him! 

Norman didn't know how to react. He gave her some tap on her back before she finally backed away.

« Sorry! You looked like you needed a hug. »

An apologetic smile appeared on the girl's face, making Norman chuckle.

« Thanks. I guess I needed one. »

Norman took a look around and noticed they were alone and that no one was paying any attention to them. He raised his mask and he saw the girl's eyes widen.

« It was nice meeting you, Emma. I have to go. »

Her eyes wide open, the girl smiled back.

« It was nice to meet you too, Norman! I hope we can see each other again soon! »

The two kids smiled at each other before the boy left, putting his mask back on his face.

:****:

Norman came back to the underground at the same time as Jasmine and Ray. The trio were welcomed by Rosemary. She looked worried. Wait… was she crying?

« N-norman! Ray! Jasmine! »

Ray caught the younger girl right before she could trip. 

« Hey, Rose. What's wrong? Did those guys bother you again? »

Rose shook her head. The poor girl was panicking so much she wasn't able to form a single word.

Norman and Jasmine approached her. Rose was not letting go of Ray and was holding his shirt tightly. Jasmine put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

« Just show us what's wrong, okay? We'll go see what's going on. »

Rose looked at Jasmine, her eyes shining with tears. She pointed towards the plaza. 

« D-dina- They- They- *hiccup* on the fountain… »

The young girl bursted into sobs, which worried her friends even more. Ray tightened his hug around her.

The trio looked at each other. None of them had a good feeling of what was going on. 

« We'll go to the plaza, okay? Come on. »

Rosemary backed away from Ray and took Norman's hand. Her tears were still streaming down her cheeks.

« Y-Yuugo? Lucas? Where are they? »

The trio looked at each other, even more worried now.

« They're not back? »

Rose shook her head. 

« O-only Dina came back but- »

The four children then hurried to the plaza where a group of people was gathered. 

They all looked up at the statue in the middle of the fountain and their eyes widened in horror.

There she was, hanging as if she was crucified on a cross. Blood covering her face and her shirt, dripping into the water of the fountain, tainting it red.

Dina was there.

Chapter Text

The trio were frozen into place. No wonder Rose was having a panic attack! 

Some of the older children took Dina’s body down the statue. The four finally moved to make their way towards Dina.

Norman and Rose knelt beside Dina. Norman hadn’t said a single thing since they had arrived at the plaza. Which was worrying the others

« H-hey, Norman? »

Ray called out to the white-haired boy who didn't react. Jasmine and him looked at each other.

Rosemary looked at Norman and, noticing the way he started to shake, hugged him. Rose felt him wrap his arms around her. Both siblings started crying.

Ray took a look around only to notice some adults were missing. He frowned and asked one of the older kids.

« Hey, where are Yuugo and Lucas? »

The kid just shrugged.

« I don’t know. I thought they were back already. »

Ray stayed silent for a moment. He then turned towards Jasmine just to notice that the girl was nowhere.

« Wait- where did Jasmine go?? »

:****:

Rosemary was alone right now. She did not want to be alone. Ray and Norman had left for the city to go look for Jasmine before she could get herself in trouble.

She didn't want to be alone right now. Her mind was still a mess from what happened earlier.

So Rose left her sewing work on the side, took Dina’s old jacket and left the house to go to the city. 

She knew she was forbidden to go since, unlike the others, she didn't know how to fight. 

She knew the way to the city. She had followed the others a couple of times without anyone knowing because she wanted to know how to get there. She never went past the entrance though. 

Rose stopped at the entrance. She looked past the planks supposed to block it. She could see the giant buildings from the city and all of the white and gold colors. 

She took a deep breath and took a step out of the tunnel. Her feet touched water. 

Rosemary looked down before looking up. She took a deep breath, inhaling the pure air of the city. 

This was…

« Wow… »

The little girl let out a chuckle before adventuring herself further. 

Now, it was time to find the others. 

:****:

Rosemary quickly noticed how everyone was just ignoring her. Which was great, that meant she wouldn't be bothered during her search!

She was starting to be hungry though. And she had no money on her. 

So Rose ignored the rumbling in her belly and continued her research. 

She continued for hours without finding anything that could lead her to her friends. 

The girl let out a sigh as she sat down on the sidewalk, her head on her hands. 

« Where are they? Hm… »

To add to that, her belly reminded her that she was still hungry. 

« Here. »

Rose looked to the side, from where the voice came from. It was a young woman. She had dirty white, with some pinkish streaks in her bangs, hair tied in a neat bun. She clearly was from the city and you could tell just by looking at her clothes. What surprised Rose the most was the black mask the young woman was wearing. Only her right eye was visible and it was brown. 

She was handing her a pastry. Rose had never seen those pastries before. The little girl smiled before taking the food.

« Thank you. »

Rose sniffed the pastry first. Not smelling anything weird and it actually being the best thing she’s ever smelled, she took a bite. Her eyes widened.

« This is so good! »

« You’ve… never had these before? »

Rose shook her head.

« We don’t have any pastries where I’m from. Dina makes some from time to time when we have all the ingredients, but it’s super rare. »

« You’re from the underground city? »

Rose looked at the older girl and started to panic.

« I- I’m just looking for my friends! I’m not looking for trouble! »

« Hey, it’s okay. I don’t care if you’re from the underground city or not. For me you’re just a lost little girl. »

Rose looked at the girl for a moment before smiling.

« I have a question because I noticed something. There's no gunshots here. I haven't heard any since I've been here. Is it normal? »

The older girl just stared at her for a moment.

« What? No?? Why? Is it… is it normal in the underground city? »

« You can hear gunshots all day and all night in the underground city. You get used to it. »

« But- isn’t that place filled with children? »

« Mostly children, irresponsible adults, no rules, no laws, you have access to basically everything you could think of. If you can’t find it, just do it yourself. They’ve been abandoned, traumatized, abused and more. Should I go on? »

« No it's fine. Jesus- »

Rose takes the last bite of her pastry.

« Yeah… but you get used to it and once you know how to avoid the troubles, you can easily live your life. »

The older girl just stared at the younger one. Her gaze then noticed the pink ribbon Rose always wears in her hair.

« Wait… is that- »

BOOM!!

Everyone started screaming and running away from the explosion. Rose and the older girl both got up.

« Great! The dark phoenix is attacking again! Come. I'll bring you to safe- Hey! »

Rose left before the older girl could say anything else. 

:****:

Unlike everyone going away from the explosion, Rose was going towards it. Everyone ignored her so that was helping.

Rosemary suddenly bumped into someone, making them both fall. 

« I'm so sorry! »

Rose looked up to see a girl around her age. She had wild ginger hair and big green eyes. She had a hand extended towards Rose.

« Let me help you! »

Rose gave the girl a small smile and accepted the help.

« Thank you. I- I have to go now. »

« Wait! Don't go that way, it's too dangerous! There was just an explosion. »

« O- oh I know, but my friend is still there. You should go though. »

The girl only stared at her for a moment.

« My name’s Emma by the way! »

« I'm Rosemary. »

Emma smiled before turning away and leaving.

Rose looked at her leave before leaving herself in the opposite direction.

:****:

She found Jasmine standing in the middle of the ruins of a building. Jasmine suddenly let out a scream. 

Rose hurried to her side and only put a gentle hand on her arm. Jasmine looked at her.

Despite her wearing a mask, Rose knew Jasmine was crying. And that she was surprised to see her here. After all, Rose wasn't supposed to be there.

Rose gave Jasmine a small smile before taking her in her arms. It wasn't long until Jasmine hugged her back.

Rose saw a man coming closer to them. By the way he was approaching, he was most probably hurt. 

Her eyes widened once the man was close enough for her to see who it was.

It was Yuugo.

« Oh thank god you two are alright! Come on, we're going back home. »

Yuugo took both girls in his arms. Jasmine laid her head against him. It seemed like she had stopped crying. 

Rose laid her head against Yuugo's chest and, it's only now that she notices, she starts crying. She's so exhausted right now. And it was like her mind only now let her cry.

She felt Yuugo tightened his hold on her. 

« Let's go back home, girls. »

Yuugo left with the two girls in his arms.

Rose noticed the older girl from earlier. They both looked at each other before Yuugo turned a corner.

:****:

Once back at home in the underground city, Jasmine immediately went to lock herself in her room. Lucas and the boys were already home. Rose had fallen asleep from exhaustion in Yuugo's arms but was refusing to let go of his shirt. So now he was just sitting on the couch with a sleeping little Rosemary in his arms.

Norman was taking care of Lucas who had just lost consciousness because of the pain and Ray had just left to go take a nap in his room. 

Yuugo and Lucas, as well as Dina, had been kidnapped during their excursion to the city. Dina had been used by the, from Norman and Ray’s hypothesis, poachers as a warning of some sort. Yuugo and Lucas had been tortured by the kidnappers. For what? No one might ever know. It did ended up with Lucas losing an arm and getting a fucked up knee. 

Oh and scars. Of course scars. Especially after what happened.

The two men had learned what had happened to Dina once they were back to the underground city. They were both devastated, but they had to stay strong for the kids. The children needed them more than anything right now. 

They'll plan Dina's funerals later.

:****:

Norman had gone to check on Rosemary, but her room was empty. 

Norman didn't tell anyone as he didn't want to worry anyone about it. They were already busy with Dina's funerals. But the white-haired boy had an idea of where his sister could be.

So Norman discreetly left the house to go to the abandoned aquarium. 

The abandoned aquarium was their secret hideout. The children had found it while exploring one day and had decided to make it their secret base. They had repaired one of the big tanks and had found some fishes they've been taking care of for a while now. 

Norman knew Rose liked to go there whenever she wanted to be alone. So that's where he went.

Just like he thought, he found her at the abandoned aquarium.

« I knew I would find you here, Rose. »

The little girl turned around to look at her brother. She gave him a small smile. Norman stopped by her side. Both looked at the fishes in the tank.

« I wonder what the aquarium looked like before it was abandoned. »

Norman looked at Rose for a moment before looking back at the tank.

« Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in the city instead of the underground? »

Rosemary let out a sigh before taking a seat, her back against the glass of the tank, her knees close to her chest with her arms wrapped around her knees. Norman sat down beside her.

« I met someone when I went to look for you in the city. I don't know what her name was, but she was really nice. She gave me one of those fancy pastries because she noticed I was hungry. It was so good. She stayed with me for a moment until Jasmine exploded a building. She said there weren't any gunshots up there. »

Norman scooted closer to his sister.

« It's so much safer in the city than down here. So I wonder what our lives would've been like if we were living there instead of the underground city. »

The young boy wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulder, bringing her closer to him.  

« I don’t know what our lives would've been like, but I hope I would still be able to call you my sister. »

Rosemary looked at Norman for a moment before smiling. She then wrapped her two arms around Norman. The little boy hugged her back.

« I hope I would still be able to call you brother too if we were living in the city. »

The two siblings stayed silent for a moment.

« I want to see an aquarium one day. »

Norman looked at Rose.

« I’ll bring you see one one day. I promise. »

« We’ll go with Jasmine and Ray too. »

« Yeah. With Yuugo and Lucas as well. »

Rose chuckled as she nodded. 

« Yeah! »

:****:

Dina's funerals were followed by days of silence. Everyone was playing their respect for the woman who touched so many hearts without even knowing. 

« I've never seen the underground so silent. »

Lucas hummed, agreeing with Yuugo. 

« Hope the kids are doing okay right now. »

« Talking about the gremlins. Where are they? »

Lucas looked at Yuugo.

« Norman told me they were going to the flooded place since there's usually no one there. »

« I told them I don't like it when they go there. »

« You know how they are. »

:****:

The flooded place is underground. Just go past the statue in the middle of the town, continue a little further and, once you go past the old tavern and where the buildings start to be abandoned, go left. Then, follow the plants on the wall surrounding the city. They'll bring you to a door. Just enter and go down the stairs. You'll then arrive at a place where it's impossible to go down further. Unless you want to end up completely soaked. 

The place is basically just metal stairs going further underground that ended up being flooded. Some say these were underground tunnels that could bring you to different places in the city. Now only some half submerged stairs remained from that place. Oh and that's not water you’d like to drink.

Some children liked to try and do parkour on them while others, like our group of friends, just like hanging out there.

Norman, Ray, Jasmine and Rosemary just sat down in silence. Rose staring at the water under them. Norman sitting in the stairs, staring at the floor in silence. Ray standing against the railing, his arms crossed. Jasmine sat a little further in the stairs, on the last one that wasn't touching water.

The group of friends stayed in silence. None were in the mood to talk. Dina's death was still too fresh in their mind.

« We should make a robot arm for Lucas. »

« What? »

Everyone looked at Ray. 

« I mean, he lost an arm because of the poachers. And we have the skills to make something to replace it. Well, Norman and I have the skills to do it. »

« We'll just need to find the materials. »

Ray looked at Norman. 

« Exactly. We don't have what we need at home or in the underground so we'll have to go to the city. »

« Can I come this time? »

They all looked at Rose. Jasmine got up, turning to look at the other girl.

« There's no way you're coming with us to the city. It's too dangerous for you. »

« Why? You always find excuses so I don't come with you! I'm tired of always staying behind. I don't want to stay here. I want to help! »

« Rose… »

Rose turned to glare at Norman, making him stop. None of the trio had ever seen Rosemary like that. 

« I just want to help you guys… »

« We don't want you to put yourself into unnecessary danger, Rose. »

« Ray's right. We're just doing that to protect you. »

« Protect me from what exactly? The city is safer than here. And you guys know it. I would be fine walking around. You guys are the ones putting ourselves in danger with everything you've done. »

Rose looked at her three friends. Ray, Norman and Jasmine stayed silent, looking at the ground.

Rose let out a sigh.

« I'm going home. »

The trio looked at the girl leaving. Ray let out a sigh.

« Don't you guys think we're being a bit too hard on her? »

Jasmine and Ray looked at Norman. 

« What? »

« I mean, Rose is right in a way. We're always looking for excuses so Rose doesn't come with us to the city. »

Ray and Jasmine stayed silent, just looking at Norman for a moment. Ray scratched the back of his head.

« Yeah but, in a way, it is too dangerous for her to come. »

« Yeah, especially when we never know what we'll fall on. »

Norman only sighed as an answer.

« I'll go see her. »

« Yeah, we're coming too. »

:****:

« Hey, you three. »

The trio went to see Yuugo. The older man looked worried.

« Wasn't Rose with you? »

« Yeah but she went home before us. »

The trio looked at each other, worries starting to settle in them. 

« Rose didn't come back home? »

« Neither Lucas nor I've seen her. And she's not in her room. ‘went to check earlier. »

The trio looked at each other.

« Oh no… »

« You guys don't think she went… »

« No, of course not. Rose wouldn't go there by herself. Right? »

« You three finished mumbling to yourselves? Where's your sister? »

The trio looked back at Yuugo. Norman nervously scratched the back of his head.

« Hum, we're not entirely sure where she could be. But we might have an idea. »

« And? »

« And she might've gone to the city. »

« The WHAT?! »

Chapter Text

Rosemary was too upset to go back home. Plus she didn't want to worry Yuugo and Lucas more than they already were.

Rosemary wandered around the city, no destination in mind. She just walked around the city until she started to get hungry. She had no money to buy herself anything to eat and she had no intention of going back home just yet. She took a look around. 

Her gaze stopped on a young man that looked distracted. He had short blond hair and pinkish eyes. Maybe she could try to steal some money from him?

Rose was quite good at stealing from people. Even Yuugo and Lucas never noticed her when she did so. Even Norman, Ray and Jasmine never noticed her.

So the petite girl sneakily approached the young man. But before she could grab anything, a hand grabbed her wrist, startling her. She looked behind to see who it was only to see the older girl she met the first time she went to the city!

« What do you think you’re doing, young lady? »

« Ah! I- hum… nothing! »

Despite her having only one visible eye, Rose could still see how the older girl had an eyebrow arched. The young man turned around to check what was going on, an eyebrow arched as well.

The young girl let out a sigh, her gaze dropping to the ground, a faint blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

« I don’t have any money and I’m hungry… »

The young man and the young woman looked at each other.

« You know, you should’ve just asked. Adam and I would’ve been happy to help. »

Rose’s gaze raised to look at the older girl before dropping to the ground once more as she fidgeted nervously with her fingers.

« But… Yuugo says that the people from the city only think about themselves. A-and that they’ll just ignore us because we’re not like them. »

Rose and the young woman looked at the young man, his name was Adam, when he started talking.

« Well, it is true that most people here would ignore someone from the underground, but not everyone is as heartless. Take Claire’s parents for example. They really want to help everyone from the underground city, they just can’t do anything because of those who have higher status and more power than them. »

« Oh… your parents sounds really nice. »

The young woman, Claire was her name, let out a chuckle.

« They are. So, what would you like to eat? »

Rosemary took Claire and Adam’s hands and followed them. 

« Can we get the pastry from last time? It was so good! »

The two young adults let out a chuckle. 

« Of course. There’s a lot more if you ever want to try something else. »

The little girl’s eyes widened in awe. She was excited now.

:****:

« God! Where could she be?! »

« We have to hurry before Yuugo and Lucas notices we left to go look for her. »

« They’ll get mad if they ever notice we’re gone too. They did tell us to stay home. »

Ray looked at Norman and Jasmine.

« There’s no way we’re leaving Rose up here even longer. She doesn't even have a mask to begin with! It’s too dangerous for her to stay here. »

Norman and Jasmine nodded, agreeing with their friend.

« We should separate and come back here in an hour to see if anyone found anything. »

Ray and Jasmine agreed with Norman and, after putting their mask on, the trio of friends went their separate ways.

:****:

Ray was wandering around the marketplace. He was silently listening in to people's conversations, hoping to hear something about Rose.

It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, but it did worry him.

« Have you heard? The dark phoenix striked again! »

« Oh god, really?? »

« Yeah! And this time, I heard they blew up an important building. »

« Which one? »

« The Parliament. Apparently there were some underground scums held back hostage in there which would be why the dark Phoenix attacked and destroyed it. »

« Oh lord- »

Ray had stopped listening at that point. 

The dark phoenix? Destruction? An attack? Some underground people being held hostage?

Wait…

The dark phoenix… 

THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT JASMINE!!!

Ray had to go warn Jasmine and Norman and now.

:****:

Norman was looking around a park near the marketplace. He had found nothing that would help him out find where Rosemary could be. Until he stumbles into two wealthy old lady discussing on a bench.

« Have you seen the daughter of the Vita family earlier? »

« No I haven’t. Why? »

« She was with a young girl from the slums. »

The second Lady let out a gasp. 

« Does her parents knows? Knowing lady Vita, she won’t be too happy if she is to learn about it. »

« Oh, come on. You know Lady Vita is the one that keeps pushing for that project about the slums to be accepted. Just like her husband and Mr. and Ms. Ratri. »

« True. Isn’t Lady Evans in that project too? »

« I believe she is. Yes, ever since her daughter suddenly disappeared the day of the incident. »

« Yes. Anyway, Miss Vita was with that fiancé of hers and I believe I’ve seen them go into the Paradise cafe. I have to admit, that little girl was very pretty for someone from the slums. »

« Is that so? »

« Yes. And also very peculiar. »

Norman listened carefully to the lady’s description of the little girl she saw. His eyes widened.

It was Rose! Rose was here!

Now, he just had to find that Paradise cafe and pray for his sister to still be there.

:****:

Jasmine had gone back to the place she had last blown up. Guards were surrounding it, but she was expecting it.

She had to go back to Norman and Ray, but, for that, she had to get past the guards. The young girl took a look around and found an abandoned cloak. She took it, put it on and went on her way.

Jasmine was almost out of eyesight when two guards approached her. She internally cursed.

« Kid, you shouldn’t be here. Go back to your parents. »

« That’s what I was doing, sirs. »

One of the guards reached a hand towards her, but before he could do anything, Jasmine felt a hand on her back. A tall woman with dark hair and purple eyes was standing behind her.

« Messieurs. »

« L-lady Asulf! W-we- hum- »

The lady raised a hand, shutting the men up.

« I’ll bring this young one back to her parents now. You go back to your job. »

« Y-yes, mama. »

They both bowed down before running off. Jasmine was still looking at the woman. She let out a sigh before looking back at the younger one.

« Excuse them. Let's get going, shall we? »

Jasmine could only nod before following the older woman.

Once they were out of sight, Jasmine quickly thanked the woman before running off, ignoring the lady’s call.

:****:

Ray and Jasmine arrived at the same time at the meeting spot. Ray frowned.

« Where’s Norman? »

« I don’t know. I thought he would be there first since he’s the one who said to come back here in an hour. »

The two looked at each other, their eyes widening.

« He found out where Rose was and went by himself. »

« Knowing Norman, that wouldn’t be surprising. »

They both let out a groan of annoyance before running off to go look for their friends.

:****:

Rosemary was having a good time with Claire and Adam. After eating, they went to some shops just to look around. Rose had been amazed by all of the beautiful clothes. It made her sad to know that she’ll never be able to wear any of them though. After this, seeing as it wasn’t cheering the little girl up, Claire and Adam brought her to the biggest library ever.

Rose had been in awe of the place. If it wasn’t for the shelves full of books, anyone could mistake it for just some kind of cathedral. The little girl had never seen. Not that she had ever seen a lot of libraries in her life, but you see what I mean.

It had been a good hour since the trio were just sitting in a corner, reading together. Rose didn’t know how to read since no one could teach her back in the underground, so she had asked the two young adults to teach her. They had gladly accepted.

To their surprise, Rosemary had quickly learned how to read and now she was excited to teach her friends on how to read. 

Once they all got bored, they left the library. Rose was rambling about the new stuff she had just learned. Claire and Adam both let out a chuckle.

« Are you two a couple? »

The two young adults looked at her and smiled.

« Yeah, we are. »

« We're actually fiancé. »

« Fiancé? »

The little girl tilted her head.

« It's, how can I explain, that's the step before the wedding. »

Rose let out a gasp.

« You're going to get married!? »

The two young adults let out a chuckle.

« Yeah,we are. In a couple of months actually. »

« I'm so happy for you two! »

Rosemary then suddenly hugged them. Claire and Adam hugged her back.

Something then caught Rose's attention. On one of the walls near them, there was a wanted poster. Her eyes widened when she recognized the person on it. 

Claire and Adam looked at where the little girl was looking.

« Oh, the wanted poster for the dark phoenix? »

« That's… that's Jasmine… She's in danger. I- I have to go warn her. »

« Jasmine? »

« Hey, breath. It'll be okay. »

Rose hadn't noticed she had started to panic. She was scared something was going to happen to Jasmine. And now that she thinks about it, the others must be looking for her.

Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she fell face to face with a familiar fox mask.

« Norman! Jasmine- Jasmine's in danger- »

Norman grabbed her shoulders.

« Rose, breath. Inhale. Exhale. Like we always do to calm ourselves down. »

The younger girl did as she was told. Once she was fully calmed down, she then explained what she meant to Norman. 

Norman's eyes widened under his mask before he grabbed Rose's hand.

« We need to get back to Ray and Jasmine, now. »

Rosemary nodded. She turned to look at the couple.

« I have to go now. Thank you for today. It was lots of fun. »

She then grabbed Norman's hand back and the two children ran off.

As they ran back to the others, Rosemary's gaze landed on a woman. She had to be one of the most beautiful ladies the little girl had ever seen.

The woman had reddish-pinkish wavy hair that was tied in a bun with some white feathers. She had a half mask covering only her right eye. Her eyes seemed to be a dark brownish-reddish color. She had lots of golden jewels around her neck, on her shoulders, bracelets, a ring, etc. And white gloves. She was wearing a long, beautiful marine blue dress that was slit on the right side and a white feathered scarf around her arms, falling from her shoulders. She was also wearing long, slightly transparent stockings and golden heels with white feathers at the back.

Their gaze met. The woman's eyes widened for a moment, her mouth opening as if she was about to say something. 

Feeling his sister slow down, Norman pulled on her hand.

« Come on Rose! We need to get back to the others! »

« Ah! Y-yeah! Sorry. »

Rosemary wonders who that woman was.

:****:

The siblings met Ray and Jasmine on their way back to the meeting point. Rosemary let go of Norman’s hand before hugging Jasmine, surprising the other girl. Jasmine still hugged her back because she was super worried for her.

« I’m so glad you’re okay Jasmine! »

« Huh? Why wouldn’t I be okay? »

The two girls backed away from the hug.

« I saw some wanted posters earlier and they had your photo! You’re in danger here! We need to go back home. »

« Rose is right. I heard some people talk about the last building you blew up. »

They all looked at Ray for a moment before looking back at Jasmine.

« Shit- yeah, let’s go back home. Plus, we found Rose back so we don’t have any more reasons to stay here any longer. »

The group of friends then started making their way towards the sewers so they could go back home. Rose took a last look at the city.

She wonders when the next time she’ll see it will be…