"Just- Just turn on the lights, Sylvie." Out of the darkness, and into the light. Mako and Ika, who were once sitting in near darkness after having just rode an elevator down *somewhere*, could now see that somewhere: a large hangar, of sorts. The walls were lined with dark purple metal sheets, somewhat irregular in construction and patterning. On one wall was a large set of monitors and computers, with a couple of people, all in lavender robes, pushing buttons, taking diagnostics, making calls. On the other wall was a larger monitor, showcasing the city that Ika had seen through a telescope a couple of days prior. Oh, right, and the angry captain at the helm of this. "G-gah! Ika, you're insane, you know that??" "Look, I'm sorry! I truly am! But, like, you can't just be ominous to someone you *know* was armed and preparing for a fight!" Mako piped in. "They probably have a point, Ika..." "Maks, you were *just* in there with me..." "Right, but... Sometimes you gotta trust your gut, you know?" Ika sighed, sheathing her sword. "Fine, fine, sorry. We got off on the wrong foot, clearly. Still some... latent trust issues, I'm guessing." She stuck out her arm, ready for a handshake. "Hi! The name's Ika. Nice to meet you, I guess?" The figure did the same. "The name's Velvet. Nice to meet you too, even if I was put at swordpoint." The two shook hands. Ika felt a jolt of pain on her hand, recoiled, and collapsed on the ground. Mako came to the defense. "She *just* said she's not having the best of times not trusting people! You're not helping!" Velvet put their hands in front of them, swinging them laterally, side to side, shaking their head. "I thought it would be funny, honest!" Ika arose from the floor with a slight groan. "No, no, it's... fair. In any case... where are we anyways? Some kind of... base of operations?" Velvet smirked. "I think some familiar faces you know can explain it better." They pulled out a small device from their robe and spoke into it. "[[Delta]] division, main stage, please." From behind a wall emerged a confused Edgie and Toby. Upon recognition, the two dashed towards our duo. Mako and Toby yelled each other's names, Mako giving him a bear hug. Ika and Edgie just looked at each other and nodded. After the reunion, though, Mako had questions. "Wait, hold on, you guys are stationed near the mountains. What are you doing here? This is aeons away from your residence!" Edgie perked up. "If I may? The guild of mages I come from are also in The Desert. We thought they had called upon us, but truth, it was the Evergreens." Ika was astonished. "Wait, you guys are the Evergreens?!" Velvet nodded. "The very same, yes!" Ika looked around. "Uh, Velvet, can I talk to you in private? I have a few questions you might be able to answer." Velvet raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to put me under your sword again, are you?" Ika shook her head no. "My girlfriend here has a lock for that. Mako?" Mako handed Ika the lock before continuing to catch up with the others. Ika added the thing back onto the blade. "I'll be back, I just need... my answers, you know?" "Sure thing, sweetie! Take your time!", Mako replied, smiling once again. Velvet led Ika to a small office room, just next to the main stage area. Walking in, it was pretty cozy - there were file cabinets on the left corner, opposite from the door, but on the right corner was a table with a small doll on it, which looked remarkably similar to Velvet. "Uh, Vel- Velvet, I mean!" "You can call me Vel, it's alright." "You have a... small version of yourself?" "Yes! The boys in our lab made it for me." Ika peered over with caution. "You have a [[Lab]]?" "They make all kinds of cool tech. You interested?" "Maybe, maybe. Right now, though, I think we need to talk." Velvet motioned for Ika to take a seat in front of the desk, while they set behind it. They pulled out a nail file and started working away at their left hand. "So, Ika, what did you need to talk about?" "So, I heard from a friend that I reminded them of your people, once." "Because of the green hair?" "Yeah, but also a couple of other things..." Ika paused to get her bearings. "How long have you been watching me, exactly?" Velvet put down the file and raised their eyebrow again. "Why do you ask?" "I... Look, Vel, I'll just cut to the chase. I've been... trying to recover my memory. There's bits and pieces of it, but... I think someone intentionally tried to make me forget, or maybe I tried to forget, I don't know..." Velvet took on a look of slight sorrow. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Ika waved her hand. "It's fine. I just wanted to know if you had anything about my past life." "We don't have any files on hand about you, no." "Do you have any for... Era?" Velvet's eyes widened. "Wait, Era? You know who that is, right?" "That's the thing, I... I don't know." Ika looked to the side a bit. "I... When I awoke in the woods near Mako's house, the only things I had in my pocket were a note, telling me not to remember anything, and an ID. Here, I might have it..." Ika retrieved the ID from her backpack, handing it to Velvet. They looked it over with curiosity. "So that's what happened to you..." "Well, kind of? I don't really... associate myself with the identity anymore, if you couldn't tell. I'm not... I-I don't have his memories, I probably don't have half the skill set he has, I've just been going off of intuition and muscle memory, and-" Ika started hyperventilating "Woah, woah, hey, it's okay, it's *okay!* Just breathe, okay?" Ika tried her best to breathe. She could feel hear heart rattling through her body, as if she was back where she started all over again. She started to wind down... started to... get her bearings... "I... I'm sorry, It's all just been a lot on me lately." "Please, don't be sorry. I do have a [[File]] on Era, though it's not a lot." "Anything, puh-please..." Ika was beginning to cry. "Here, come on, let's get you some water, alright?" Ika just nodded. The two exited the room, surprised to see the gang at the door. Mako came up first, clearly worried. "Sweetie? You okay?" "They know something about me, Maks."