𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 (𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐙! 𝐟𝐟)

𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙻𝙾𝙶𝚄𝙴 ☯︎︎ 𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜

♊︎Year 5061, Month 7, Day 12, Time 10:35 pm♊︎

☯︎︎

The room around her is stark white, reflecting the ceiling-light hanging above her head so brightly it's a miracle that her eyes even adjust to the place. Not too far away from her, she can hear the sound of heels clicking on the white-tiled floor of the room she's in, but when she whips her head in the direction of the sound's source, it's no one to be found. Instead, the sound of a door closing is all that echoes and she now realizes she really is trapped here.

"Testing. Testing one, two," A voice she hears on the end of a black intercom— up high on the wall to her right— crackles to life, the familiar voice of one of her mentors filling the silent room with sound.

The speaker was turned on a little too high which made her flinch at first, taking away whatever prior drowsiness she was feeling and replacing it with alertness.

"Kurenai. Subject number 10911505. Assigned as team leader for Project Gemini. Please stand." There's a small pause before the person speaking continues. "Choi San. Subject number 2710099. Assigned as co-leader for Project Gemini. Please stand."

"San?" Rising to her feet at the mention of his name, Kurenai searches the room desperately for the person mentioned. On the other side, still slumped over and propped up against the opposite wall to her, rests the comforting form of none other than Choi San.

He also seems to have just woken up, his eyes still half-closed and his green hair ruffled up as if he's been through a heavy wind storm. His clothes are tattered and his skin looks a bit grimy with dark smudges of dirt on his face but besides that, he remains intact.

In fact, even she begins to notice that her clothes, the standard MALUS industries jumpsuit, are also in tatters. Her skin buzzes with a distant irritation and she takes in the bruises, scrapes, and dirt that's been smudged on her as well.

Although she cannot recall correctly what it was that brought them to this position, she can certainly infer that it wasn't a leisure walk in the park.

"Subject number 2710099, I repeat, stand up." The voice over the intercom orders much louder this time and with a groan, the man lifts himself, looking at Kurenai straight in the eyes, eyes filled with nothing but regret and pity.

San, as far back as Kurenai could recall, had always been a gentle person. With everything and everyone he encountered, he handled them with a delicate softness which is what drew her to him when they first met in that dark, sullen room in Fever District.

He had always astounded Kurenai with the amount of kindness he could radiate from his scrawny body. Since the time they knew each other, he had never been a very muscular guy, all sharp angles and thin limbs from head to toe, but his heart would make up for everything he lacked in physical prowess.

A heart as big as the highest mountain that reflected through his narrow eyes. But now, as they stare each other down, that kindness was nowhere to be found. And it scared her.

"Welcome, both of you. After days of waiting, you're finally here. At the last stage of Phase I of Project Gemini. Your team was handpicked by us to be put under strict surveillance to find out which of you is our best subject."

At the wall to the left of her, two large boards of white wall push outward, being controlled by some remote not in view. They part to reveal a black screen, the only contrasting color in this white box of a room, save for the intercom which the woman speaks through.