乇卩|乙ㄖ́

匚卄卂卩ㄒ乇尺 ㄒ山乇几ㄒㄚ-丂乇ᐯ乇几

I couldn't tell you what happened after Vespera attacked me. I was assuming she had knocked me out because I had woken up in a strange room.

I didn't recognize it, but I already knew that I was back at the Empire State building.

I picked my head up, trying to move around to make sense of my current situation. I couldn't move my arms, and I felt a fuzzy fabric against my wrists.

Handcuffs? No, rope.

It'd be weird if they used fuzzy handcuffs.

I opened up my eyes, noticing that I was kneeled on the floor.

The room was dark, and I could hardly see what was in front of me. The only thing I could make out were glowing green tubes against the wall, but they were far away from me.

"Kama? Kama?" I finally heard someone calling my name, allowing me to actually grasp reality right now.

"Aino? Griff?" I questioned, trying to glance around in my restricted state.

"It's Aino, I'm behind you. They tied us up back to back. I don't know where Griff is. I-I'm starting to worry," I heard him breathing heavily, like he was insane panicking.

"Don't worry, we'll make it out of here," I spoke, but I didn't really believe it myself.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Just then, a bright light shined throughout the room.

The way the light came in, it seemed like a door opened. So we were in a dark room.

Multiple footsteps sounded beside us, telling us that there were multiple people coming in.

"I give you three props. You cracked all the codes, and you were so close to getting out. If it wasn't for Aurelio, you would've made it out for sure." I heard Bitchford begin to speak, the rest of the people surrounding us.

"I have someone who wants to talk to you, Kama. I'm sure you'll recognize her when you see her face."

My eyebrows narrowed, confusion filling my head. Who else do I know other than Aino and Griff?

A woman fell to her knees in front of me, her warm hands grabbing my face in desperation.

"Kama! Please, look at me," she begged, trying to stabilize my face.

My eyes lazily looked up at hers, my eyes widening when I saw her.

She had long salt and pepper hair, her skin pale and eyes as grey as smooth paint. There were scars on her face, but other than that, there was hardly anything else. Her face was actually really smooth.

There were a few wrinkles, showing her age, but she looked young and clean.

Fuck.

"This is the secretary I mentioned, Amara Grey. Sound familiar?"

Now I knew why her name sounded familiar.

Grey was my last name, and the name Amara belonged to...

...my mother.

"What? Who is she?" Aino began to ask, the panic very obvious in his voice.

Tears began to fall from my eyes, my cheek brushing against the palm of her hand.

"Mom— Fuck, mom," I cried out, her other hand wiping my tears away.

"Don't cry, dear. Tears won't ever compare to the opportunities you take," she spoke, her words alone showing how wise she was.