*finished* That's not Francis [Milkman fanfic]

Memory

"Well, well, well. Miss Nowakis." I hear a strange voice say, an almost sadistic tone evident. Cold air touches my skin and I almost forget that I can't see anything, nor move, nor breathe properly. I shiver

"You can be so glad it's me, if my colleague would have caught you and your silly monster friends, you wouldn't have lasted for longer than however fast we could turn the machines on"

I try to speak but I can barely even whisper. I try to move but every move hurts and I feel something pull my limbs.

"Don't bother, Miss. Your friends are all locked up, but nothing will happen to them yet. Just follow my instructions. I won't look under your skirt, I promise. Now take a deep breath and-"

A shock runs through my body. I flinch and scream in terror. The Terror of being blind and cold, without knowing where the heck I am.

"That wasn't so bad, was it? The worst part is over now. Come on, we will lock you up until the results are in. But I doubt attractive women can be monsters"

He says. I get untied and slowly take off my blindfold. A bright light blinding me, I find myself in a white room. It's not as freezing cold as before, but my body trembles, still.

"Help!!" I scream, without an answer. Nobody hears me, notices me, or even thinks about me. I'm all alone now, am I?

After an eternity a woman comes inside and gives me a bottle of water. I'm too weak to say anything and can only watch as she leaves. I want to tell her to stop and wait, but I can only bring out a whisper, unable to be heard.

More time passes and passes. I don't even know how much. Reality slowly waves me good bye and leaves.

"Marika?" I hear a voice. My body can hardly comprehend this. Who is Marika? That's a unique name. If I had a baby, I would call her Marika, if she was a girl. No, maybe I would call her Anastacha, instead.

I can't help it, I shouldn't think like that. It's death. The death is trying to lure me in. And it's successful. I get to be with all those who lost their lives last year. They're calling for me. I can't worry about having a child, especially not what to name the child.

"I finally found you! Marika" the death gently picks me up and caresses my cheek. I try to speak, but my body wouldn't allow me. I want to thank death, for being so gentle in my last moment. My eyes close and I feel the strong arms carry me.

The strong arms. And the unique feeling, the feeling that Francis is near and it's the real him. The one I can rely on, then one I recognize without even looking...

"Marika" he says. "It's okay, you're safe now. Don't be scared, it's over. You didn't die. We tried to find you for over a month"

I open my eyes again. My body feels heavy. The light pierces my eyes and I'm sure I just entered hell, when I see the face of Francis...

"No" I whisper, tears streaming down my face. "Francis..." I say, my hand trying to reach his face. My hand looks as white as paper, I don't even recognize myself. I feel like I fell out of the 3rd floor, as if something heavy had fallen on top of me.

Turns out, I was gone for ages, Nacha made it out but me and Jorekis were captured.

"Where is he?" I ask. Silence fills the room. I panic "Where is Jorekis? What happened to him? Please tell me he's okay"

Francis raises his eyebrows and sighs, slowly looking away. My heart starts beating fast, every beat feeling so heavy, I almost feel like my chest is about to explode.

"What happened? Jorekis is my friend, Francis... where is he now?"

"I couldn't save both of you" he says coldly. My heart stops for a second. "What?"

"Marika... he is still captured. He told me to take you and run" he says, now looking down.

"No... that can't be, we have to go back and get him out" I scream, my voice about to crack. I jump up and realize I'm in the apartment of Francis and way too weak to even stand. Fuck

"I was gone for how long??? And who did my job in the meantime? Damn, what's even going on? What happened? Francis... I need to see where Jorekis is"

Now clearly on the verge of crying, he leaves the room. My body freezes and soon, the door opens. "Nacha... you're here"

"Marika!" She screams and runs into my arms. I'm starting to cry even more now. I'm so confused, yet I clearly see relief in my people. The emotions and feelings are crystal clear, yet the situation leaves me feeling trapped inside a dark room

I found out all my friends helped deny the fact that I was half monster. They noticed it, watched my every move and wanted to kill me, yet with the support of my neighbours I got out without harm. Jorekis, however, was left behind, likely killed already. And I have no choice but to stay here and forget about him.

The days pass and I slowly find myself coming to terms with the entire thing. I slowly begin walking again, everyone taking good care of me. Soon, I start working my job again, my neighbours appreciating my presence and my labour. Dr. W. Afton was initially upset about being kidnapped, but he understood and has warmed up, too.

Today I received a wedding invitation for the wedding of him and Mia Stone, soon to be Mia Afton. An unconditional pair but it's an honour to be invited.

More and more people are talking about a war regarding the Doppelgänger attacks. The number of attacks has dropped significantly and more people start to live normal lives again. I am waiting for my turn as well. I'm not sure if I want to stay in town or leave to forget and move on. If it wasn't for...

"Francis? It's you!"
I say as I see him head to his apartment. He kisses my hand "Marika, it's a pleasure to see you so happy and healthy, how are your legs doing?" He asks and I smile

"They're good, but I wouldn't mind being carried by your strong arms again" I say jokingly and he immediately lifts me up and carries me upstairs, my surprise turning into laughter.

He invites me to a picnic and we sit by a beautiful lake, watching everything around us going back to normal. We share a romantic moment with each other and I sigh in relief, realizing my players were heard and my wish came true.

But I notice quite a few people are missing, the population of the world has declined significantly. Luckily, Francis and me are here. This world isn't generous, so best we can do now is... Just be with each other, cherishing any moment

It's been half a year since I woke up again. Francis and I have been together for a while, I'm very close to Nacha and Anastacha by now, my energy is better and I'm still working as a doorwoman, except my job is a lot easier now, Doppelgängers are the absolute minority by now, no longer a serious threat to us.

Life goes on. I have slowly accepted reality for what it was, slowly moving forward. I finally got to grow close to Francis, finally we love each other in a careless, almost childish way. He's a good man and finally, I'm given comfort. It's over.

I still miss Jorekis dearly. Maybe he was a monster, but monsters aren't born, they're made. Now I understand, all he wanted was to be loved and to be human, to be accepted and appreciated. Someone like him wouldn't have found a place within society. If he was still alive, I would have known. But no sign of him, no way he could still be here. I don't know what happened, but everyone told me there's no way he made it.

But there's no point in mourning. Now we got work to do. To rebuild everything the monsters have taken from us.

"Marika!" I hear Francis. He looks at me with so much love, even after all this time I still blush. His eyes start glowing as soon as he sees me. He's so sweet, warming my once cold heart in a way I didn't realize was even possible. I giggle "What is it?" I ask and he smiles softly. "I'm so shy around you, Marika" he says jokingly and I giggle even more now. "You're such a weirdo" I say and turn away again.

Suddenly I feel his warm hand touch my wrist. "I have to ask the question, finally" he says quietly. I turn back around and see him on his knees, my heart skipping a beat as I realize...

"Will you marry me and be mine forever?"

My heart begins beating fast and I shed a few tears before I can finally say it.

"Yes!"