Heartbreaking Discovery

I felt like I was drowning in soap water. The bubbles were pressing onto my skin, threatening to choke me. I shut my eyes and shook my head, my hair floating like jellyfish in the water. I couldn't breathe. It felt as if spiders were crawling on my skin and bite at a thousand places, sending venom into my blood and making me howl.

But only bubbles came out of my mouth, silencing my call. Suddenly, I fell limp and I turned around to see a huge shark coming straight for me. I panted and kicked my legs, trying to swim away, but the creature was too fast.

As it neared me, its jaws opened wide and I was enveloped by the dark red darkness. My heart leapt out of my chest as I saw its thousands of sharp canines on both jaws in many layers. I flailed my arms and tried to take out the canines.

One fell off but a bigger one grew in its place, sharper than before. Wasting no second, it bit down on my head and I screamed.

I screamed and screamed and my eyes flew open, my hands clutching my heart. I felt sweat on my head and looked around. I was in my room and Adrien was sitting next to me, his face in a worried state.

I tried to breathe normally when I saw him. I was safe.

No I wasn't! He was out to suck all my blood! He was that shark! I jumped up on the bed and crawled away from him and ran to the door to get out of the room, away from him. Before I could reach the door, my feet slipped and I collided on the floor.

Adrien slowly got up and locked the door and crouched down in front of me. 

"Ashe…are you okay?"

I looked up at him, sweat forming on my head, "Get away from me! You're going to kill me. You're all going to kill me."

Adrien cupped my cheeks and stopped me from shaking, "Ashe, look at me. It's Adrien. It's okay, I won't hurt you."

I huffed and felt his wide palms on my face. It was warm. I frowned and broke out of my trance. A headache burned in my head, unearthing old memories. 

Why had I reacted this way? I closed my eyes and placed my hand on top of Adrien's and let it all consume me. 

…

10 years ago.

It was after school at night. Dad held my hand as he showed me around the Systema Games HQ wing. He had a wide smile on his face that I couldn't stop staring at. When we reached a wide theatre like room he bent down to my eyes level and pointed inside, "See, this is where the future is going to be born."

I looked up at the glass door of the room and read the card on top of it.

'Vislate Production' 

I smiled, "You'll do good, dad."

He laughed, "I know, sweetheart. You'll love the games that will be released after beta testing."

I had smiled back then like I was looking forward to it. But in truth, I didn't even like gaming. It was attractive but it never caught my attention. I never dared tell my dad that, though. I was the only child who he showed his creations too. Darren was always out playing football. He was rarely home. 

"Beta testing? Where's that?"

"Ooh, curious aren't we? Alright, I'll let you have a glance, then we'll leave okay?"

I nodded, "Let's get ice cream on the way back home!"

He smiled sadly, "I mean, you can go home with our chauffeur. I'll return home later."

"Oh," I slumped and looked down at my feet and followed him towards the beta testing room. I walked over to it and pressed my face to the glass, my baby nose sticking on it and my jaw dropped slowly as I saw the lights and machines inside the room. There were so many people inside, mostly adults.

But six of them stood out of the group. They weren't adults, but teenagers, between the ages of 16 or 18. They had backpacks on their backs and were shaking hands with the others as if they were getting ready to go on a mission. One of the boys, the one with blonde hair turned around and looked down at the six year old me and smiled. 

He walked forward and bent down to meet my eyes and waved. I saw his green eyes against all the machinery lights and waved back. Before I could register what was happening, my dad pulled me away, "Alright, Ashe, time to go home."

"B-but dad!" I yelled a bit, looking back to the fascinating room. 

"This isn't a place for kids right now. When it's safer, I'll bring you back here."

He had dropped me in the black Mercedes with the chauffeur and walked back inside the new HQ wing without saying goodbye. I smiled and looked at the buildings whiz by on the way back home, thinking of the beta testing room. 

It was so fascinating. There had been a huge portal inside emitting neon pink and blue lights. The fact that my dad had created all this made me flush with pride.

"My dad's so awesome," I had whispered to myself. 

…

I opened my eyes from the sudden inflow of a forgotten memory and gasped. What was this… why had I not remembered that memory all these years? Did I have amnesia? 

Adrien saw my face and held my face tighter, "Is everything okay? What did you see?"

My eyes met Adrien's and I suddenly felt a familiarity to those green eyes. They were almost the same eyes I had seen 10 years ago, before they had gotten trapped inside the game. They looked almost the same as they had, except more fit. Keyword: Almost. 

But wait…

Wait, what? I internally screamed and squeezed Adrien's arms in shock. 

"Adrien…" I blurted in surprise. 

If I was remembering all these things…didn't that mean it all actually happened? That all this, the Death Six getting trapped, their families, the fact that they were humans once before…

I thought it was just the storyline of the movie Systema Games was releasing but it turns out they were all real?!

Darren had been lying to me? But how can this be…

What else didn't I remember? What had happened to me when I was a kid? 

Tears flowed from my eyes as I held the boy in front of me. I sobbed and touched my forehead with his. "I'm sorry…" I whispered to him, my tears falling on his shirt. 

So my dad was actually a manic. He had trapped them in the game…

Adrien lifted my chin and searched my eyes, "What's happening Ashe?"

"I don't know what reality is and what fantasy is anymore…" I admitted, tears still falling from my eyes. He moved his thumb and wiped away the tears from my eyes. 

"I'm not asking what kind of revelation you had now…but you can tell me, okay?"

I sniffed and nodded and he helped me get up. His arms still held me strongly and he opened the door with his right hand, "You must be feeling dizzy. Let's go to the hospital."

I reached forward and placed my hand on the lock, "No."

He turned back around to look at me in confusion, "What are you saying? You're pale and look like you're going to faint any time."

I shook my head, "I'll be fine after some water. Let's go to the place you wanted to take me."

He sighed and caressed my neck where he had bit me. I wanted to look at it but I knew the blood would make me faint again. 

"Not today, Ashe. The place is quite far away."

"Let's sneak out then, I needed some fresh air anyway."

He assessed me silently before nodding, "Fine. But how are we going to get past the guards?"

I smiled, slightly swaying. He caught me before I fell and questioned my decision to come with him in a state like this. 

"Don't worry. The girl in front of you is a born genius. I have a plan."