Continue To Lie - Tpn Fanfic

Chapter 49 - Karma's a Bitch

"I see."

Norman starts, lying back on his familiar desk.

"Phil and the younger ones were left at the house, just as F/N predicted. But you all worked really hard, and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone else from Grand Valley as well."

He smiles up at us, and Emma holds his hand gratefully. Despite the happy occasion, Norman lowers his head slightly and frowns.

"I'm sorry. If I had been able to find the location of your shelter and learn about the attack sooner-"

"That's the fault of the Ratri clan."

I quickly interrupt, supported by the several children behind me. Marc raises both hands and shouts.

"Yeah! Stupid Ratri clan!!!"

"But Norman, N/N, how did the two of you escape that experimentation farm? There must have been supporters helping the two of you out, and you couldn't have done it by yourselves."

Ray asks the boy at my side, sort of like an interrogation, with question after question.

"N/N already explained most of it: You were both shipped out to an experiment site for children called Lambda, which is also the place Adam comes from. You escaped, and that's all we know."

Norman smiles and unties the buttons on his shirt. He eyes me for a split moment before pulling his shirt a bit and revealing the Lambda emblem tabooed on the three of our chests. It's ugly, and I hate it. Ew.

"It's actually known as Lambda 7214. I found an accomplice, told him about my sister, and with the help of a Minerva supporter, we destroyed Lambda and escaped."

"A supporter?"

"Yeah."

"He called himself Smee!"

I cut in and laugh, expecting the rest of the children to laugh alongside me, but no one does. I guess this is more of a serious moment, hehe. Oops. Now I'm embarrassed. I look up at Norman, seeing if he'll continue to speak, but he only smiles down at me and nods, letting me continue to talk.

"Uhm, yeah, so he was the one who gave Sister Krone the pen, but he's dead now. Yeah, he was killed. We were really sad, I guess."

"Current Head Peter's purge wiped out all of the supporters hiding in the Ratri clan for sure this time. But before Smee died, we inherited his knowledge and network, including this base."

As the end of conversation finally reaches, most of the kid's faces, including Emma and Ray's, have fallen into awe. I examine each face individually until I reach Don's. His expression isn't awe (well, a part of it is), but mostly disbelief.

But N/N, Norman, you guys are amazing. I'd understand if it was Mr. Minerva, but a child raised as food was able to save that many humans in such a short amount of time? How did you do it?

"Hey, Norman, N/N, I have a bunch of things I want to ask. About Lambda, this base, Hayato, his abilities, and everyone else at this colony. But, before that, can you answer something."

"Sure."

      I respond to Ray's sudden question. It's normal to wonder after hearing about a situation such as this one, after all. And Ray has always been very serious and curious and to-the-point.

"What are you trying to do here, exactly? Attacking and destroying farms, creating this paradise, what is it all for?"

      Norman sighs, which is a sign I've learned over the months of him becoming stressed. I rest my hand on his shoulder, to which he flinches, probably from the sudden touch. I remove my hand, which was meant to be reasuring (sorry Norman) before he answers Ray's question for the both of us.