Welcome to Gaia! ::

Itoto approached the empty pedestal slowly. What had happened? Where did she go? He didn't have to wonder long, after reading the words upon it, he heard a voice from nearby.

Whirling around, there she stood. Wires and gadgets that served some unknown purpose surrounding her like the fog itself. He really wanted to know what they were and what they did, however, before he could ask, he was given a gift.

A bag? An empty bag. Was the bag and key the gift? It was a nice thought, but what use did he have for it? Apparently something was wrong. Well at the very least he wasn't given a bag of air as a gift. That seemed heartless.

She spoke words he knew and understood, however it all jumbled in his mind as to their meaning pertained. All he could focus on was the one thing she wanted from these apparent lab chests: a heart. A heart? His mind paused as he was handed scissors, a slow realization pushing down onto his shoulders. Someone's heart? But that would mean...

With the weight of the gruesome imagination playing out in his mind, the haunting phrase of 'they didn't make it' looping over and over, he turned to leave. Her soft smile not overshadowing the odd task she'd asked of him. The steady thumping of something ached within his ears, as he took his first steps through the opening...

He was faced with three doors. Odd little sigils decorated their centre. They must serve as a means of identification, he figured. Each door had to hold something different. So which one did he choose? He had nothing else to go by other than visuals that held no meaning to him.

Each one held a vibe to it. Ranging from subtle to menacing. What possessed him to veer his direction towards the worst of the three doors was pure, morbid curiosity. The boy who defaulted to asking questions since he'd woken up, this door enticed him the most. Why did it give off such a horribly terrifying feeling? It was just a door. Nothing about it seemed dangerous by just looking.

With his task barely remembered, he sought to quell his curiosity. He'd check this door. He'd find out what was inside that it should give off such a terrible vibe.

He opened the third door.

The boy ran away, fumbling and falling, choking on his own breath. What had he done?! How could he do that!? He fell to the floor as his feet slipped on the wet, sloshy surface, his gasping sobs now echoing in the silent, dark room. He seemed to have reached a dead end in the hall, after blindly running for what felt like so long. Where were these emotions coming from? Why did he seem to think any of this had anything to do with him? It was just the heart. The heart did this to him...

The room became quiet for a spell, as Itoto stopped crying. He stared down at his hands, covered in red. Just then, footsteps. Part of him feared it was the dead body back for revenge. He slowly looked behind him, as sloshy steps crept closer.

Nothing.

Itoto sniffed, getting back to his feet, and walking in a new direction. The sloshing gave way to wading, as a now watery substance became deeper. It was harder to move now. The sloshing returned, from behind him.

"Please give it back."

He gasped and looked around. But once again nothing was there. Maybe she really was after him. That girl he'd seen. His core raced wildly, fear gripping his own semblance of a heart. He turned back around, gripping the bag tightly.

He walked, and walked, but soon he found it was less like walking and more like swimming. Water up to his neck, it was clear he could not venture any further this way.

"Please give me back my-"

Itoto gasped as two hands gripped him, pushing him down into the water. He was drowning, flailing to grab at the offender. He tried to gasp, making it worse. He felt his entire being begin to fade. He was being swallowed, eliminated. His eyes flew open as he felt the last of his existence begin to slip away. He was met with a ghastly face, a vision that shook what was left of his soul.

"Give me back my heart."

. . .

“Do you want anything? I have a pot of coffee…or if you want a juicebox, I have those! I also have some cupcakes if you’re hungry.”

"Yuegh.. No, I hate coffe---" Otto stopped and stared at Molly, blue eyes wide. "Juicebox and cupcakes, please."

“Alright!” She disappeared into the kitchen, and returned a few moments later with a plate full of melon flavored cupcakes with vanilla frosting, and a juicebox for Otto. She placed the items on the coffee table by her cup. “Here you are!”

The blonde took a cupcake, taking a sizeable bite from it before even attempting to start speaking. It truly tasted like heaven!
"Mmm....So good..." He licked his lips, almost lost in cupcake bliss until he remembered why he was there.
"Oh! Right. Uh.. Can I like.. ramble at you? I got stuff that keeps repeating over and over in my head and I dunno what to do to make it stop." In the meantime he fiddled with the juice box, popping the plastic off of the straw.

She picked up her cup from the table and took a sip, just beaming as Otto ate and complimented. She looked over at the teen though as he spoke up, and she blinked before she realized what he was asking.
“Oh! Oh, of course you can! I’ll try to help and listen the best I can,
I promise!”

. . .

Molly. That was her name. She was like a mother to him. Unconditional care, a heart of gold. This woman meant something special to him. She was home in a place of white staleness. She was the heat of the hearth, a warm moment on a cold day. She meant something to him. He could feel it deep inside.

Now what was she? A cold, vengeful being after his life, after he so ruthlessly and thoughtlessly ripped away her heart.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry! He pleaded in his mind, his own heart aching with sadness and regret. Please! Please don't do this!

Cold. His body shivered even as he woke up from sleep. Itoto's eyes barely opened before they squeezed shut again in defence of the harsh white light of the room. What was this? Where was his world of muted greys and dense fog? This place was painful to the senses. He leaned up until he was sitting, finding himself on a metal table. His stomach turned. Just what was this, anyway? Where was he? How did he get here? Was he in trouble? Questions once again attacked his mind as he slowly pushed himself off the table. He needed to get out of this room. That was a good start. He was shaky on his feet, but he slowly staggered toward the only door.

He opened it to reveal an equally blinding hallway lit bright white on the other side. Itoto took a couple more shaky steps forward, when a sudden slam made him yelp and turn around. But the door was still open. It was possible he'd imagined it, he supposed. Nothing good happened when he was alone, and maybe his imagination was playing tricks on him.

He walked the halls, his hand often coming up to rub his eyes. The blinding light was nauseating. The sterile and cold walls made him feel unsafe. Nothing good would happen by staying here. Up ahead he saw an exit at least, and his pace even quickened a little bit.

Thud? He turned his head quickly to look behind him. Nothing.. then it really was just his imagination. It wasn't even funny how paranoid he'd become. With a shaky sigh, he turned his head and took another step.

Thud.

He hitched a breath and spun around. His eyes widened as he definitely saw something, and as the details became clear, his heart nearly exploded with terror. "EYAAAAAAAUGH!!!" He shrieked, nearly tripping over himself as he fled for his life. His body felt heavy, like each of his legs were holding up iron plates. Running was hard, but he forced himself to go as fast as he could, sweat beading down his temples. His saving grace was how quickly the door soon came into view.

Itoto collided with the door as he reached the end of the hall, feverishly trying to get it open. But as in nightmares, it was locked. "NO! NO NO NONONONONONOO OPEN! PLEASE!" He screamed to himself, looking back at the slowly approached figure with scissors in their grasp.

He looked back at the door, finding it required a password. His hope began to plummet like a bowling ball down a well. What could he do now?!

He needed to run.

Itoto ran elsewhere. There had to be another way out.

The blaring difference in colour was the only reason he noticed the slip of paper. The contrast from stark white to a sick red was a target for the panicked boy. He snatched it up, his eyes barely able to focus on the letters it had.

A C E G

Huh? Was this really important? s**t. he'd wasted time picking this trash up. That horrible man was after him.. he'd die if he let him catch up.

Another slip of paper reached his view. Quickly nabbing it, he desperately looked it over. More letters and numbers? Could this be related to the 9 digit code somehow? Without time to ponder or wonder, he ran back to the door.

A satisfying click, and it was open. That horridly suffocating feeling of being trapped with a killer was now ebbing as he pushed himself through the door, hopefully towards safety.

Itoto stumbled across the bridge, the wind making it impossible to stay steady. The only thing that kept him going was the fear of getting caught. He nearly fell, catching his fall by griping onto the rope. He made the mistake of looking down over the ********.. so high up... He wobbled, disoriented.

Snip... thump... snip...

His body froze as if under a spell. His eyes widened to the size of saucers, his head slowly turning behind him.

Snip.

It all started out innocently enough. The cute goddess had sent him on a new task. There was a cute little party in a sweet little setting. It was a bit whimsical and girly for his tastes, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel somewhat relieved not to fight. However, as he drank all of the blue liquid, things went downhill. Things felt wrong. He felt off. He was forgetting something; a nagging voice in the back of his head that was just quiet enough he couldn't make it out, but loud enough to irritate him. What was it he was forgetting.
He was offered food, and of course he chose chocolate. It looked the least off of the rest, but he soon found even this weighed down on his heart. Turmoil boiled within his belly, and he rushed to take a drink from an odd red cup to wash away to overly rich flavour.

He felt hasty, nearly dropping his tea cup in jitters. Itoto wanted to do something without thinking. Act without reason. A feeling, or memory, began to overwhelm his mind. Something painful and familiar.



He'd never felt more attached someone in his life. He was in love with her. She was beautiful, quirky, and he related to her. They understood each other. He never needed to explain himself, and she never needed to either. She was his first friend. His first love. His first of so many things. In fact, he'd been so certain of his love, that life without her was never something that he'd ever thought to imagine. They were meant to be, and one day, they would leave this place together.

But maybe he was the only one who felt this way...

"We could still see each other, you know? Just a lot less frequently or else they'll catch on.." Kim tried to compromise, desperate to ease the agitated and upset blonde in front of her. It was a clear night in the tiny farming community. Otto's home town. She'd called him out outside the town limits at midnight. Everything was dead silent, save for Kim's desperate voice, and the occasional barn animal in the distance. "I'm sorry, Otto! It's just... my parents had a long talk with me last night, and the thing is.. I finally get it, you know? They're stupid, and they're total jerks, but when it comes to my future, they have it right."

She wanted to break up? Because her parents said so? Hadn't they been rebelling against them for that very reason all this time?! So why now? Otto's face was red, his eyes staring hard at the ground. There was no way.. why would she betray him? Leave him all alone?

"Otto, please listen to me. No one gets me like you do. I love you, so--"

"So, what?! If you love me, then don't just break up with me over those ********!" He snapped back, blue eyes lifting suddenly to meet hers. Her plump lips pursed, agitation evident in her eyes. "Otto, don't say that. I love my parents."

"Oh, so you love them more than me!?" He lashed out unreasonably, his voice shrill in the night air. "What? That's not fair, Otto!" She snapped back, "You're being a total jerk. I thought you'd understand!"

"Well I DON'T!" He screamed now, his angry voice amplified in the vast outdoors. "I love you! I'd do anything for you! I'd run away with you anywhere! ******** money, or parents, or the ******** who screwed with us! Your parents are just tryin' to control you! Remember?! You're just property to them!"

"But If I do what they say, they'll pay for college!" She tried to reason, and her advise was sound. She was barely able to hold it together, her boyfriend's attitude suddenly turned against ******** college! That's ******** YEARS away!" He growled, his fists balled at his sides. "You won't visit me! You'll forget all about me!"

"No I WON'T, Otto!" She continued to try and reason with him, and in response he would always find a way to throw her words back at her, or put words into her mouth. They both became increasingly on edge, emotional, rash. Teenage hormones went haywire, and all that existed now was careless words fuelled by hot tempers.

The fight seemed to go on for ours, when suddenly, Otto lost what little restraint he had. He ripped off the necklace she'd gotten him for his last birthday, throwing it into a nearby mud pit. "So it was all a LIE! You never loved me as much as I loved you! I was just a ******** toy until you got bored! You were just killing time, right!? ******** you, b***h! I wish you'd burn in Hell! I wish I'd never met you! I never wanna ********' see you again! Get outta here!" He shrieked, furiously pointing to the bike she'd parked nearby.

There was cold silence for a moment, her eyes stung with pain and betrayal. Her breath hitched, a whine filled with hurt. "You a*****e..." She turned away, her movements rigid and her gaze clouded with tears. Otto watched in stony absence as she rode her bicycle down the long country road; a ride he knew would take hours. A ride he'd often escorted her on to keep her safe from the unknown nights, despite his numbing fear of the dark; a road with few to no street lights at all.

It was only then did he begin to cry. She'd betrayed him. They'd promised to always be there for each other. Fight for one another. But now, he was going to be all alone again. His throat felt thick, and stung with regret. He'd said the worst things to the one person on this Earth that he trusted and loved most. But it was her fault. She did this. Not him. Even as he ran back to the Funeral Home that he called home, up the back stairs to the second level; as he slammed the back door behind him, surely disturbing his parents who were working late into the night; he was sure she was the one who'd betrayed him. His wails and sobs surely echo'd, though no one came up to see what was wrong. No one ever did. He wasn't worth the effort. There were more important things to do. That was always the way, right? Even Kim. She had more important things to focus on. He wasn't needed in her life, either.

He locked himself into his bedroom, too upset to even vent his frustrations on his drum set. It was the second day into his mourning he'd realized it.

He was the one in the wrong. He was the one who'd yelled and screamed without thinking. Acting on emotion. He'd meant to hurt her. He ******** it up. If he'd listened like she'd wanted him to.. even if they only saw each other once in a blue moon, he might still have had a friend in the end. But now.. now he had no one.

His father was right after all. Nobody should waste their time on him. He should have never let someone get so close in the first place. He'd been a fool. A total loser. He had gotten too attached and acted like an idiot. Everything he got too close to left him eventually, and he was always left feeling hurt, alone. Betrayed.

He wished he could take it all back, or better yet, he wished he'd never met her. All of those good times were meaningless now. They were tainted. Now she was gone and he knew she was judging him. Hating him. Everyone hated him. Because he was worthless, after all.