Nocturne

20. Friends

It had to be close to one when we finally got home again. Nolan was the only one awake enough to remember the passphrase to unlock the door, but once we were inside we pretty much went straight to our bedrooms. I said my goodnight's to everyone while Nolan clamored into bed beside me, his skin warmed by the lamplight. I changed into sleep shorts and a tank top, revealing enough skin for him to trace the outlines of music notes across my thighs and my side as he cradled me against him. His touch was still just as cold as ever.

"My moon and my stars," he whispered gently, his voice groggy, "my everything-"

"You are." I finished the sentence for him, turning in his arms to face him.

"So your real mom's in that building, huh?" He asked quietly as he tucked my hair behind my ear.

"0606S, codename: The Horseman." I told him. "She's been out here all along, Nolan."

"I'm glad you found her." He pressed his lips to my cheek gently as he pulled me closer. "Are you excited to meet her?"

"I'm as excited to meet her as I was excited to see you for the first time after Utah." I smiled tiredly. "It's a need, something I have to have. Just to know."

"I know." He grabbed my hand as I reached out to cup his cheek, kissing my palm instead. "Let's go to sleep, you need all the energy you can get to meet your mama tomorrow."

I nodded in agreement and he turned out the light, leaving us in darkness as he closed his eyes. I felt a tightness in my chest as I tried to sleep, something that kept me from actually falling into a slumber. It was that lingering sadness that just clung to me like a perfume, it was almost a defining trait now. I didn't like being sad, I wanted to feel alive and happy again. Thunder struck off in the distance somewhere and it unsettled me greatly, enough to chase me from my bed and into the arms of the night.

It was a little chilly as I walked from the room to the marketplace, finding it desolate and barren. Not a soul was out, leaving me to watch the skies as the stars glimmered and twinkled like little Christmas lights. I sat on a bench and just relaxed, staring at them with wondering eyes. I stopped seeing them in detail when I lost my ability and it struck me as odd. What did constellations have to do with me?

It wasn't long before I felt myself starting to snooze. The pull of sleep was just too much and I was about to get up and go back to my room when I heard whispers from across the market. I paused and glanced over the stands, finding a pair of figures waltzing across the aisle towards me. They didn't seem aware of my presence yet so I ducked behind the counter of a stall, deciding to listen to what they had to say.

"This is the right location, we just arrived a tad bit late." A man spoke, a smooth British accent dripping from his words. It made me shudder. "Say we come back in the morning, love?"

"Say we stay and snoop around a little bit, get a good layout of the land." A woman replied, her voice voluptuous and sharp. "Might not get a chance like this again."

"These are people like us darling, not a house to ransack. They'd probably welcome us with open arms if we arrived in the daytime."

"I guess you're right." The woman sighed, her voice clearer now. They grew close enough for me to peer over the ledge and get a good look at them: the woman was dressed in a hoodie and jeans, her hands gloved in leather that was missing a couple fingers. A mask caught in the light of the lamps and I saw a wooden skull staring back at me, freezing me to the spot. The man beside her was taller, with deep brown hair and the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen. Well, eye. The other was covered in a golden plate, what looked like a goggle built right into it. The device bit back into his hairline slightly and it wasn't hard for me to see that his face wasn't the only part of him that was altered. He may have been hiding beneath a leather trench coat but that couldn't cover the golden shine from beneath the collar of his shirt. That man was more machine than human.

"Oh, Gio, don't you just love the California air?" The woman groaned happily, lifting her mask up to taste the breeze. I saw a split tongue poking out from behind her lips that unsettled me.

"I'll admit, it's even more gorgeous out here than it is on the streets of seventeenth century London," The man chuckled as he pulled her against him, "not half as gorgeous as you are, though."

"That's only true when I'm covered in someone else's blood." The woman snickered evilly.

I took their maniacal kiss as my cue to exit and began backing away from the booth, attempting to make my way back into the residential hall before they noticed me. My foot must have slipped on something though because a sound echoed in the room, their affectionate cooing coming to an abrupt end. I stood there for a few moments to assess the situation before I deemed it safe and turned on my heels only to come face-to-face with the man. A startled yelp left my lips before he clamped his hand down over my jaw and muffled my voice. A blade slipped out from beneath the sleeve of his jacket and I began to panic until the woman grabbed his hand and ripped it away from my face.

"Giovanni that is no way to treat an ally!" She scolded the man as she pulled me to my feet and out of his reach, turning around to check me over before sliding her mask up again and smiling. "Fiery hair, eyes like the sky, you must be the one Kaage sent us to find."

"Y-You're Kaage's friends?" The words finally reached my lips as I stood there, still in shock as he brushed himself off and held out a hand towards me.

"Giovanni Vettel, subject number 0134A, codename: Jack the Ripper," The man explained deviously, "that lovely lady right there is Ms. Kathryn Snow, cousin to the famed Sable Snow. Quite the beau, isn't she?"

"Ignore him, he likes to flatter people." She snorted as she grinned at me. "I'm codename: Phantom Snow, most people call me Snow for short; or just Kathryn, Kitty for short."

"Lots of "for shorts", don't you think?" I laughed nervously as I felt myself start to relax. Kathryn cackled and her eyes sparkled like dead seas.

"I like you, Kaage was right, you're a character." She teased me playfully and even though she still had an uneasy aura, I felt like I could trust her.

"You guys showed up at a good time," I admitted as I pulled my blanket tighter around me, "we're planning on attacking the facility tomorrow night."

"Just in time we are then." Giovanni adjusted something on his faceplate, walking closer to me and peering into my eyes. I held my head high and stared back at him. "There's something strange in your soul. It's empty, but it's like it held something strong before."

"My power was taken from me," rage flared in my system for a split second and he let out a noise of intrigue, "the CEO used a crystal from a subject that took my abilities, I'm a husk."

"Oh, not quite." He grinned, sharpened teeth catching in the lamplight. "You can't just take someone's soul from them like that. It's still there, just lying dormant."

"Really?" I breathed, my heart stuttering in my chest as the words left his lips.

"There it is," He whispered, tilting his head to the side, "there's some sparks."

A cautious smile crossed my lips and I felt my heart swell with relief. Both of them seemed elated to have cheered me up, even if they themselves seemed a little daunting. I had the urge to hug both of them but seeing as they were armed to the teeth with blades I didn't want to risk a limb.

"Well, I don't know what rooms are open right now so you guys might have to wait until morning to find a place to stay." I told them as we watched the sky begin to lighten above us.

"Seeing as it's nearing six we might not have to wait long." Giovanni pointed out as he stared at the glowing morning. Kathryn inched closer to him, tangling her fingers in his lovingly.

We all stood there and watched as the first of the subjects began to rise from their beds, joining us in the market and wandering into the kitchen to get some food. Kami didn't keep us waiting for long and seemed more than happy to escort my new friends to a room, their appearance not even phasing him in the slightest. I'd have stayed up to wander the marketplace but I found myself gravitating back towards the place I felt safest, cracking open the door to my room and finding Nolan still passed out in bed. It didn't take me long to worm my way back into his arms and rest my head on his chest, finding that instead of silence, there was a soft thumping on the inside that echoed in my ears. It put me to sleep almost instantly.