Arrival Pt. 2

"You're awake!" Tessa smiled, launching herself at Seventeen.

Seventeen tensed under the tight hug. So this was Tess. Before she could comfort Tessa, she pulled away and gripped her shoulders in panic. "Your sister!" She quickly turned left and right before whispering, "I think she's gone insane. What should I do?"

"Sister?" Seventeen clenched the bedsheet. No. Her sister was already-

"I'm not insane." A silver-haired girl popped out from behind Tess. "And I'm not her sister. I already told you. I'm not Ash."

A voice shouted from behind her, "Hurry up and stop her, Seventeen. Why is her own bond just nodding along? Are they crazy?"

Seventeen clutched her own head, overwhelmed. "Everyone shut up for a moment."

The room fell silent as Seventeen glanced around. It was a simple room with two twin beds, one of which she was currently resting on. There was a small dresser in front of the dusty window. Right, this was her room.

She looked up, meeting Tessa's expectant eyes. Seventeen glanced at the silver-haired girl who had been arguing with Tessa. So that was her new sister. "Wait. But, her sister died too." She shook her head. "No way. X?"

"Hey, Seventeen." X turned towards Tessa. "I told you that she wasn't Sephil."

Tess crumpled onto the floor, crying. "I'm sorry, I was too late with the medicine. Now both of you need a doctor. But what do I do? I can't afford a doctor. And your parents, you know…"

Seventeen sighed and patted Tess on the head. "Screw it. She'll realize something's off soon anyways."

"Ash and I are actually two souls from another world that have traveled here to… Actually, I'm not sure what." She paused. "You know what? I get why you think we're insane, but you'll probably believe us soon."

"I see," Tessa nodded seriously. "Reality must have been too hard that you two have both made up some fantasy to live in. I'm sorry for not being enough. I'll try harder."

Just as she was about to comfort Tessa, the mysterious voice from before cut her off.

"Stupid. Why did you tell her everything? Now she's going to think that you both are crazy. I mean, I didn't expect anything from the other one, but you too? You're supposed to be sociable!"

"Who is it?" Seventeen turned around, a move she immediately regretted, trying to locate the new voice. Floating in front of her face was a small yellow blowfish. She covered her mouth, holding back a scream. Seventeen jumped out of bed, gesturing at the blowfish. "Wh-what is this thing?"

"Thing?" The blowfish rolled around angrily. "Excuse me, I am The Esteemed Blowfish. I could easily kill you with a simple prick."

Seventeen rolled her eyes. Behind her, Tessa asked full of goodwill, "Who are you talking to? Are you also delusional?" Tessa patted her shoulder. "It's alright. I will find a doctor to help us. Even if it costs all my savings. Both of you."

X pulled Tessa back. "She's probably just talking to her spirit bond. I can't be sure though because it should be like Red, unable to show itself yet due to lack of magic power."

"A spirit bond? Magic power?" Tessa looked aghast. "I knew it. Life was too hard so you escaped to a fantasy."

X fell silent, unsure of how to respond to Tessa's concern while Seventeen ignored X's crisis. "So they can't see you?"

"I, your most amazing spirit bond, unfortunately, cannot be shown to others yet because you are too weak."

"And a spirit bond is?" She rummaged through Sephil's memories. "Oh, it's a monster who is tamed by a human. So I tamed you? When?"

"Tamed? By you?" Despite the limited expressions a blowfish could make, Seventeen could feel its disgust. "How rude of you, lowly human. You think that you could tame this amazing -"

"I get it already. You're awesome, okay?"

"So you aren't that stupid I suppose. Anyways, there are actually two kinds of bonds: one where both parties are equal and one where one party must obey the other. Of course, in the present, most humans form subjugation bonds where they tame the monster, but our bond is a friendship bond - because we mutually consented to this relationship."

"What? I never-"

"Hush child. I understand that you feel that I am too amazing for you-"

"I don't."

"You do."

"I really-"

"Do. I know. But it's alright. You are not entirely hopeless. Have some more confidence."

Seventeen breathed in deeply as she calmly screamed insults at the pretentious blowfish on the inside.

"So everyone has a spirit bond? Then why is Tessa so confused?"

"Did you even inherit Sephil's memories properly? It's obvious that only top mages actually have the power to tame a spirit bond, and only rich people can afford to tame a spirit bond, especially one that can speak like the majestic me."

Seventeen pulled apart Tessa, still panicking over X who was calmly repeating the same words as though it were common sense to accept what she was saying.

"Oh, you finished?" X looked over at Seventeen. "So you know why we're here right?"

"Nope. The stupid blowfish just kept on bragging. All I know about are the spirit bonds."

"Blowfish? Interesting. But, I thought you already got that information from the memories."

"See? I told you. You're the stupid one." The blowfish cut in angrily.

"..." Seventeen jumped out of bed. "Give me a break. There's too much information. I haven't even fully processed the fact that we're in another world. In fact, why are you so calm?"

"I am?" X smiled stiffly; it was a foreign expression to both Seventeen and herself. "I guess to me, this is simply another mission, but it's just in another world this time."

"Just another world?" Seventeen shook her head and sighed. Even back then, no one knew what was going through the X's head. X, the top agent who refused the position of One even after completing more missions than anyone else at the young age of 14. And at 16, when she suddenly reduced her missions from over thirty a year to three or four, all high-risk high return, no one knew why, but no one questioned her either; no, to be more accurate, it was that no one could. When they had died on the island, X was already one of the top assassins in the world, uncontrollable.

"Whatever. I give up on thinking." Seventeen looked at Tessa who seemed to have crashed early in the conversation and now was repeatedly muttering on how she had to save the poor children. "What should we do now then?"

"Let's leave this place." X reached out her hand which Tessa, still in her own little world, grabbed weakly. "It's not like there's anything stopping us."