[Bonus chapter]The Shack

It is not entirely out of boredom that Aria finds herself in the deep bowels of the mansion where a copse of tall, spindly trees encircle an out-building, low and square and painted a bland beige - there is a whole storm of mangled feelings inside her translating into the world as unceasing pacing and random bursts of violence; she chucks whatever item clear across the room, memorably the stupid phone that, to her memory, has been vibrating the entire day. Only a string of meaningless numbers; she's tossed it somewhere under the bed between round 4 or 5 and it has stayed there well into the afternoon.

Aria has an entire list of things that drive her roaming like a duck around the...shack, because it is one compared to the rest of the impersonal opulence of the estate, something you'd much rather find in the backyard of a normal family pushing for middle-class as the sons slowly rise to an acceptable, bottom of the rung, position within that fancy company you always see splattered everywhere.

The main chief is her curiosity. It's novel, a building promising secrets tucked deeply in that dark corner no one would have expected - or she had been that unlucky to be reborn in the home of a serial killer.

She tries the handle but it only squeaks, there is no key hole in sight and no obvious way of entry, a keypad missing too. How is one meant to enter? Perhaps a hidden mechanism? Surreal and strange as it may be, her trip is proving to be useless, especially when the star system decides to come back; Aria could have taken a bubble bath instead. The thing, star, system, whatever its name, is preparing to nag. She can tell by the little coughs and hums and hemming it does.

Aria's shoulders hunch with tension she can't quite undo. She breathes in deeply, hoping for once to be wrong-

"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! AND IT'S ONLY YOUR FIRST DAY TOO!"

On her last try to open the door (who is she kidding, she'll spend the whole day hacking at this dammed shit) Aria plops down, leans her weight on her elbows, lifts her legs and kicks the wooden monstrosity; it doesn't budge, an impenetrable wall. Aria sighs. Maybe if she can get something wedged in? Never, even a silver of an edge cannot be seen. This place is air tight sealed.

"Are you seriously ignoring me?!"

Finding the shrill voice rather annoying - aunt Maggie used to scream like that when the kids stole her favourite stupid fine china dolls exported from France, mind you - Aria tries to find a topic worthy of shifting the conversation, something to make him ramble and lose track of the conversation, it used to work rather well on Stiff Maggie. Aha, the system was rather insistent on explaining the 'mission'.

"You said my mission is to fix the world."

The system pauses, a heavy presence in the back of her mind; she cannot stand the extra weight. For God's sake, does it feel a lot like being watched by a camera. All the time. She thinks they could have been great friends, in any other situation, when Aria had been a less jaded younger version of herself.

"Yes, at a crucial moment the world faced an anomaly that destroyed the flow of energy," it stutters.

Aria nods, and the star blooms, gaining confidence that borders heavily on arrogance. Unbidden, the image of a snotty brat raising his chin as he paced like a peacock enters her mind. Aria bites her cheek.

"Yes. I got that dipshit. How do I fix it," Aria says, teeth grinding.

Aria has never enjoyed repetition, or nagging, or long speeches.

She rams full-body at the door yet even the natural vibration expected from the impact is missing, fruitlessly she tries twice more. Aria gives up soon enough on the door, and shaking the numbness from her arm she walks around the corner, the side awfully bland and the foliage so thick she'd have trouble getting through. She gives up on that too, especially when it becomes obvious that there are no windows. An empty mansion, an out-building with no entrance, what else could be hidden?

"Oh yes! Well I must explain the way the world forms and -"

Aria waves her hand, sighing heavily. She hates rambling.

"There are special souls in the universe because of the unbound energy they carry and when they meet an explosion of sorts occurs and the world snaps into being..."

Aria hums noncommittally, the information intrigues her but she finds a trapdoor a little ways off the main path, an ornamental vase of tall verdant leaves covering it. She grunts, the vase is made of marble, thick and well grounded.

"..they're called the chosen darlings. Although other souls inhabit the world, it often revolves around its creators..."

The vase tumbles over, nearly taking Aria down. She huffs, chest raising rapidly, heat suffocates her and she swings the sweatshirt over her head. At this point, whatever the star is talking about is only filtering in, not truly registering. She holds no delusions of participating in a mission, not when her memories are gone.

"I see," she says, eyes carefully inspecting the trapdoor.

There is a thick locket, and thicker chains yet, on the faded metal square rust spread freely - she imagines it might creak mightily when she flings it open, imagines the sound following her nightmares.

This, perhaps, is not her most brilliant idea.

"...agents are sent to corrupted worlds to fix the problem with the chosen ones..."

Aria nods again, her mind firmly on acquiring a tool to break it open. The shack should have those kind of tools...Aria turns around to inspect the building. The paint is fresh, the corners wet, the lines are sharp and linear; a modern structure but no windows or viable ways of entrance. She should let it rest, but she lives in this body now, in this house, and even if she hasn't met any of them, these new family members are hers to contend with. Whatever they're hiding could bite her in the ass. She's learned that lesson long ago.

So, Aria Jin needs to know what secrets lie in her back garden. Quite literally. Because Arianna Smith will never sleep while a dagger rests daringly on her throat.

"..you have received a script of the future and pivotal moments that must be upheld or the world collapses. By the end of your time 'on screen', if you have successfully..."

This time, his words hit her like a hammer - would a hammer do much against the lock - the star isn't simply explaining, no it is demanding, the tone too high and snooty. There's a certain edge of entitlement; Aunt Maggie always used that tone to demand they prune her darling roses, Aria's fingers always suffered. Aria throws her head back, cracks her neck from side to side. She knows how to deal with Margaret the royal Bitch; had been the only bane to that woman's existence. A little system will have his work cut out for him.

You're swimming in shallow water, she repeats again and again. Calmness is needed for a thorough negotiation, calmness fuelled by cold fury works best.

"...and this is why you have ruined everything! Frolicking in the sheets with the male lead's father of all people!"

The sun is setting, she'll have to make her way back before dusk fully settles. Aria fears three things only; the sea, the cold, and the dark.

"It's none of your business who I sleep with."

Her body halts, she tries to lift her leg but it is as if someone poured lead into her limbs. Her arms are similar, at most she can twitch a finger. A sour tanginess fills her mouth, bitter on her tongue, harsher on her teeth. The illusion of freedom. She knows, she expected as much.

"Aren't you being a bit rude? I'm chattering here on my own - "

"And you think this will change my mind?"

The icy grip releases reluctantly. Aria scoffs.

She storms into the empty mausoleum, switching lights as she goes; her shoulders are stiff, a headache creeping behind her head. The eerie silence makes her flinch at her own reflection, at the creak of wood as she opens the door, at the flick of her new bedroom light turning on. Aria sinks into the mattress, curling on her side - there is a buzzing from beneath her bed.

She let's it be...only the buzzing urges her own until she flops onto the carpet, fumbling into the darkness for the device, glad for the fingerprint lock (Aria is no mood to haggle with the system).

It's that number only, a long line of missed calls and messages; she hopes its not a boyfriend.

But Aria grows still. The text damming.

I told you not to go there.

That's not all, the further she scrolls up the harder her body is wracked by shivers.

Who was that man?

Did you sleep with him?

I will be back soon.

The phone slips between her fingers, she looks down and they're trembling. Aria clenches her hands, hides those fragile digits.

"Tell me," she says hoarsely.

Aria can feel the smugness emanating from the star system. She wanders if...