Chapter Text
Immediately, the twins were greeted by a piercing white light, one the raggy covers they were wrapped in could barely dim. The room was cold and refreshing, but the hard floors made their young joints hurt, and the stale unventilated air suffocated everyone who shared it. Once they got up, all of them were wide awake and excited. It was an important day today.
After everyone have been woken up, their representative began to count each one of them, making sure to count them all correctly. Almost everyone had a problem counting above twelve, some not even reaching five, but the blue-eyed child was older and more absorbent than the rest, with it's record being twenty-nine.
They had to be counted when they went to sleep and when they wake up, but none of them knew why this was necessary.
The ceiling, floor and walls were made out of concrete. The chunk of the room in which they slept was cut off from the exit by a wall made of rusty metal bars with a sturdy locked door in the middle. Everything besides their fellow batchmates was colored in either gray, baige or muted red, a sharp contrast to the walls' original white coating, remnants of which still rotted away in some corners of the space.
If someone was to try and even scratch the surface, chips from the paint would be painfully jabbed underneath their nails, making something as mundane as holding an object incredibly painful.
The superiors had taken measures to make sure the workers wouldn't even move a finger after lights out. None of them could imagine what would happen if someone was to actually escape.
In a moment, the doors began to open, and two observers walked into the irki's quarters, standing on the other side of the cage-like wall. Their long white robes were hovering across the floor, as silent as their footsteps.
"23 in total, observer Ful, our superior." 007227 walked to the door and reported to one of them. It was not only the oldest, but also the bravest of it's mutuals, another reason it was chosen to represent the entire batch. Everyone else stood still with their heads down in a slight bow. All superiors, from a janitor to a council, were respected and worshipped by the irki. Everything higher in rank than them was considered a god by default.
These deities ran every aspect of the children's lives. They never forced them to leave the grounds, they provided them with clothes, shelter, and food. And all they wanted in return was easy labor. All of them felt blessed and in debt.
"As always." The observer backed away from the door, letting the blue-eyed irki return to its cloth. "Today is feeding day."
If the children were allowed to make any noise, the hall could've been filled with the joyful cries of nearly two dozen excited kids. Even then, they didn't want their eagerness to be the reason why such an important day would be canceled.
"Other than that, we finally have a replacement for that empty spot which opened up a month ago." He nonchalantly pointed at the deeper end of the room. Among the many individual blankets that the children occupied, one of them was empty. It was clean and tidy, unused for a very long time.
"For this occasion, you wait here until the new worker arrives." Ful said before he and his partner turned around and closed the exit door, locking it. As the two observers began to walk away, he suspiciously glanced at his co-worker.
"You said you were going to bring the new slave today. It's been a month already, and they have to be exactly two dozen." He whispered.
"I wasn't the one to lose at Card Battle. Suck it up." Came the sly answer. When both of them were far away from the door, they slightly raised their voices. "Isn't me serving those ruts their rotten scraps enough already? And why do you always insist we do it ourselves? We have around six dozen assistants for a reason."
The more responsible of them sighed in annoyance. "The assistants may steal food or tinker with the utensils."
"They won't, they all know what will happen if they do. Every time I even mention 'the pain stick' all of them get scared and do what I tell them to. It's hilarious!"
"I swear, you think of the assistance batches as your personal servants, don't you? If even one of them drops from overworking, I'll tell their officer to make you do the laundry instead!" He threatened.
"Watch it, or I'll beat that cockyness right outta you." His co-observer snarled, very swiftly turned from smug to confrontational. His eyes were narrowed and clearly displayed hostility.
From the behavior patterns and threats, Ful began to form an understanding of why this individual was sent to work here. Experience never lies.
"Oh, so now you're quiet! You're pretty pathetic, you know?" The more brutish of them taunted, his booming voice almost echoing through the corridor. "Tallest Killuen Empirical Prison?"
". . .yes."
"The one in Judgementia or Dulpod?"
"Dulpod."
"Hah, knew it! You're not even worth one of those brats. . ."
". . ."
It might've been their lack of daily nutrition getting to them, but the wait seemed to last forever. Some of them were even tempted to ask around why that was, but kept silent. No one dared to question feeding day. It was a sacred time on which the long hours of labor paid off.
Still, that was only food for thought for on particular purple-eyed kid. Having an imagination was a gift very few could gain under these conditions.
Most of the time, they were jokes like 'Maybe the reason why 7231 has such short legs is because it falls on them so often!', but when there were serious topics like a very harsh rule or a silent issue, the tone changes completely 'Could it have been a sinkhole? No, we would've noticed. Or maybe it got stuck between the slabs? No, it would've come out by now.'
"Well, what do you think?" The crimson kid acknowledged the unspoken question of the room and asked its look-alike. The other stood silent for a few solid minutes before finally finding a consistent thought.
"Maybe the superiors started yelling at each other?" It was a question more than an answer. This was the only thing it could come up with, since fighting was common for workers and superiors alike.
". . .Could be." The red half sighed. It remained silent but it's head buzzed with questions. Still, it could read the room very clearly, so talking didn't seem appealing at that moment.
The chamber was left in complete and deafening silence. To cope with the anxious atmosphere, the twins scooted closer to one another. The pain began to rise, as if their stomach acid was digesting their guts, corroding everything in their abdomen and leaving nothing behind but a mushy painfull mess. The other kids seemed to have it badly too, holding their stomachs and rocking back and forth to ease the pain.
Around twenty minutes more have passed. That made it around an hour and a half of waiting. Quiet whispers spread through the room. No one dared to raise their tone and all of them had their hands near their mouths to silence themselves if the observers were to unexpectedly return.
The door opened with a crash, successfully startling many of the nervous children. On the other end was observer Ful. The second observer was nowhere in sight, an unusual situation, but that was not the thing that drew the irki's attention. It was the weird glare their superior was giving them. They couldn't put their finger on it, but he looked different in a menacing way.
He redirected his attention to something next to him on the other side of the door. After a few seconds, through the door stepped a short child-like figure. It had green skin, black coverage, it's eyes were big and red, and it had a terrified expression that seemed to be permanently etched into it's face.
"Everyone, this is 7324, the newest member of your batch. Treat it like such." Ful introduced, not yet closing the door behind them. The maroon-eyed 007324 was hunched over and it looked paralyzed with fear, but one of it's feet pointed at the direction of the exit. It's body language showed that it wanted to make a run for it, however, the observer had already noticed that stance and grabbed its forearm with an unnatural force.
The newbie's head instinctively turned to it's superior, only to be met with a focused and intimidating stare. "Don't. Fuck. UP." He said, as he swiftly closed the door behind him. Dragging the new irki by the arm, he pulled out a specific key and unlocked the cell door before lightly letting go of the hand, resuming the terrifying eye contact. "Now go find your seat. This is an order."
The new child was on the verge of tears. It entered and frantically skittered around, trying to find an empty space. Once it found the abandoned seat of the previous 24th member of batch B, it immediately pounced on it, as if the sheet it sat on was a hiding spot.
After that odd exchange, the older irken straightened his spine and finally instructed everyone to assemble in formation before exiting. As ordered, the entire batch jumped on their feet and put themselves into a simple shape formation with ease.
Everyone except the newest addition. It was smaller than most of it's new batchmates so it got lost in the bunch. It could barely recognise the formation they were in, even less to find it's place in it.
The two identicals saw it awkwardly fumbleing around and tripping on it's feet. Both of them looked at each other in a worried union.
They couldn't remember the last time a brand new irki was brought in as a replacement, but they did remember the first time they themselves were old enough to be a part of a batch. After their basic training and a few months of test labor, two spots finally opened up for them in construction batch B.
Their first time being in that room, surrounded by older yet new peers, was both terrifying and exciting. Their first week was their most troublesome. Not knowing what to do in certain situations, the social anxiety that was building up with every interaction, or dumb mistakes made by inexperience.
Either way, the start will always be tough. They knew how stressful and frightening it can be, and looking at the new irki, they could tell that exactly worry and fear were influencing it's movements.
In the moment they exchanged looks, they knew what was on the other's mind and nodded jointly. The purple twin, who was the closest to the wandering child, reached out to tap it's shoulder. The second it felt the contact, the maroon irki yelped and whipped it's head to get a better look at who or what was touching it.
The purple half made a waving motion and then pointed forward. Cautiously, the younger glanced at the direction, and saw a change in the crowd density. Immedietely, it knew that the empty space was it's and scrambled to get into position. Both felt a wave of relief washing over them.
The only way they were able to keep going in the first place was because of their smart, helpfull representative and a few older, kinder irki, who helped them navigate themselves around their new way of life. Explaining the meanings of certain commands, helping them correct their mistakes, and even advice on how to deal with panic attacks.
The reason why the two paid any mind to the new kid, was because one of the same old and cheerful workers, who taught them everything it knew, was the one this child was supposed to replace. There were many others over the average age that still helped the inexperienced, but with one gone, they felt like they needed to fill that spot.
From that moment on, the two were determined to become the scared newbie's mentors, and to teach it everything they were once taught. It was a tribute to everyone they could no longer thank to for the support they once received, and this act of guidance was their first step.
Maybe one day the small child will grow up and help the next generation of workers, just like they will teach it to. Only time will tell.
Throughout the escort, the two didn't look away from their target. The food stand was out in the open, accessible to all, and unfortunately that meant they had to walk across the entire plantation to get to it.
Half way there, they were led trough one of the more 'lively' areas outside of their working grounds. It was a long street made of fine sand, witch would've been normal on it's own, but next to the paths were numerous structures and equipment, as far as the eye could see. This was the place that the superiors resided in.
These structures resembled cubes, some of them taller or wider than the others, all of them having worn out shades of red, yellow or green. Each one housed one or three patrons in it and their doors were always closed, leaving the things that stood behind them a mystery to the children, who were prohibited from approaching them.
The streets were busy with the sounds of yelling or random small talk, completely cut off from the traveling group. They were thankful. There were times when they walked past those parts and almost no one spoke. Such environments were more unwelcomeing. Hostile.
Everyone followed the person in front of them, trying not to look at the people who surrounded the formation. However, there were always some irki that we're just too curious, especially when they passed through populated areas.
Some of the superiors that lived there weren't wearing any uniforms the kids were accustomed to. Neither the white robes of observers or the light flexible armor of the cadets. Most wore the same black body suits that the kids did, just wrapped in long wavy cloths, separating their attire from the children's everyday clothes.
They would never admit this, aloud or in their mind, but the people they were surrounded with barely looked like superiors. If anything, they looked like they could be working alongside them, mostly because every time those weirdly-dressed superiors were out, they were working.
There was one in particular that was holding a plucked broom, sweeping at the sand trail that led to their home. But you couldn't just sweep sand off of sand. This person either didn't realize, or didn't care that the task they were trying to accomplish was impossible. They were just looking down at the ground, repeating the sweeping motion as if it was second nature Who knows. Maybe it brought them comfort.
Today was a good day. The walk was exhausting, but immediately upon arrival, they knew it would be paid off. When arriving at the food stand, the bowls were already full, the sun that often beat down on the unfortunate was covered by pastel pink clouds, and the line for a dish was dissapearing faster than ever.
The observer's behaviour still unnerved them. He would usually monitor the food that was given away, while a second observer was supervising where the children sat to eat, but today just felt. . .off.
He was standing on a dust path, just close enough to make out the irki's siluetes, while his own was eerly still, his long white robes sticking out from the red of the landscape. No one dared to question him though, not even the people who served the food. There was something seriously wrong, but it was also the time when the kids were going to get their weekly nutrions, so they prioritised what they thought was more important.
When the duo walked up to the vender, they each were handed a bowl of stale water with chunks of cooked animal flesh and plants in it, as well as a few thin sticks of questionable quality meat. Surprisingly, a meal like this was made especially to fill up the eater and to give it another week worth of energy.
Both of them sat next to a far away wooden crate, that was supposed to serve as a table, against two others. They didn't know them, but no one paid any attention to their surroundings, especially while there was something more important in their food trays. The twins especially.
After each other, their most favorite thing in the world was food. True, sometimes their tongue didn't comply with their dish, so they had to force it down their throats, but the feeling of fullness and satisfaction they felt afterward was unmatched.
Everyone greedy dug in, trying to eat fast and not spill a drop at the same time. The duo was halfway done with their bowls when out of their peripheral, they saw the tiny silhouette of 007324. They put their bowls down for a second to focus their eyesight.
The maroon-eyed irki was fretting over where it was going to sit. While there were crates that couldn't fit any more trays on them, there were also ones occupied by only two or three people, and still the short kid was skipping them as well. It stood with it's tray in it's hands awkwardly, hoping to find a lonely crate so it can eat alone, but that wasn't promising behaviour.
"Ei! 7324! Come here and sit!" The red identical called out, while the other planted its face in the soup yet again. The receiver of the invite tensed as it spun it's head around, but when it saw the twin's face, some of its tension melted away. It slowly pointed its feet at their direction and began to walk towards them, it was still moving with caution, but now it was smoother and more confident.
When it approached, it was looming over the table without making any other motion.
"C'mon, put your tray down and eat, its your first time and it shows!" It continued. After a few more moments of encouragement, the shortest of them gathered the confidence to place down its food and lower to sit on it's knees. "Good job, you did it!" It's peer praised it.
The two red-eyed kids shared glances, one worried and one inviting. The smaller one looked down at it's bowl and slowly lowered its head. Satisfied, the older turned back to it's meal and began to slurp greedy as it's guest hesitently followed its example.
The moment one of the duo resumed with it's soup, the other popped its head back up with a sigh, just finishing it's. At this sight, the newbie's eyes widened in confusion. Did this person switch places with the one next to it just now? And why are it's eyes different?
While it tried to decode the sight before it, it went completely deaf to the pair of footsteps behind it.
"Oi, who are you supposed to be?"
After hearing that voice, the child froze. It lowered its gaze to it's knees, hoping whoever was behind it would give up and go away.
"Didja hear me!?" The voice got louder, making the kid below it wince.
"Stop being mean to it you jerk!"
"Yeah, 7268, what's your problem!?"
Two voices erupted, defending the helpless kid and shaming the mean bully that was behind it.
"I'm not mean, I just asked it who it was, what's the problem with you!?
"Well you were a little mean. . ."
"Shut up."
"O-ok." The timid sidekick of the bully tried to interfere, resulting in immediate failure.
The two unknown kids that sat along with the twins had already finished their meals and decided to head away. They knew what was about to transpire and there wasn't a superior in sight who could've scared them into behaving, so the only way to avoid trouble was to flee from it.
With the two seats free, the less harmonic duo sat in front of the twins, further provoking them.
Wanting to observe the changes around it, the small shaking kid lifted its eyes from its knees and raised its head just enough to see the crate.
On one side there were two people, one short and one tall. The shorter had orange eyes and talked with a harsh and loud voice, while the taller had light purple ones and talked meekly and carefully. It instantly recognised them as the people who snuck on it from behind just now.
And on the other side it saw the person that was helping it so far. Except. . .it wasn't one person. It was two people who would've looked like carbon copies if it wasn't for the different coloured eyes. It was looking at them a little too openly, enough for the rustic irki to think up it's next taunting words.
"Hah, stare as much as you want. Those two freaks are a mystery to themselves as well."
"Your eyes are the size of a fingertip and your calling us freaks?" One of the twins turned the insult around, causing the other to burst in laughter.
The bully's expression instantly turned sour, and when it herd it's tall partner lightly giggle next to it, it turned livid. "DON'T LAUGH AT ME!!!" It screeched defensively.
This fit of anger attracted a few glances, but was ultimately ignored by most. The three who knew the irki well enough weren't that moved by it's outburst, since they've all seen worse come out of it. But the short maroon irki that was shaking like crazy was almost hyperventilating. Worry swiftly turned into fear. If anything else were to happen again so suddenly, it was sure that it's brain was going to short-surcut.
As if out of the blue, it heard a voice coming from it's rear side again. This time, it was as if no footsteps were accompanying it's arrival, which seemed to startle everyone else at the table as well. The voice was calm and authoritarian, but it wasn't deep enough to be considered speech from a superior.
"What is going on here? What's with all the noise?" Quickly, everyone at the table recognised who this was, as the image of two bright blue eyes resurfaced in their minds.
"7268 is being mean to the new kid!"
"You dirty snitch!"
"Me!? You bully everyone, how can I snitch when it's already obvious!?"
"Shut up! Shut up!!"
The more outspoken of the twins and the irritated kid opposing it resumed their dispute. While the two were arguing, the other turned to it's batch's leader, explaining the situation.
"I called it over to eat with us because it looked nervous, but that jerk started to pick on it! But I'm not surprised. . ."
"Oh, so you and 7284 are trying to get it used to the place?"
"Yeah, since it was new, we wanted to help it. It looked scared so. . ."
"What you did was good. But why did you invite it if you knew 7268 was going to make fun of it?"
"Because it wasn't there when we called for it. It just showed up, sat down and insulted it!"
"Ah, that makes sense." After the revelation, the blue irki turned its attention to the still fighting pair.
"7284, stop that, I need to talk to it." At the command, the purple identical went quiet, but it's eyes were still glared at the orange tyrant with burning hatred. "And as to you, 7268, i'd like you to leave."
The rust-coloured child was starting at it with a deadpanned look. Soon, however, it let out a light chuckle that turned into an obnoxious laugh.
"And who are you to be ordering me around!? I'm just as important as you, not to mention there are two of us against one, if anything, I should be the one to tell you to leave!" It laughed pretentiously.
"You have the same duties as me, so you must know that the representative must protect all it's partners. You may be a partner of mine, but so is the person you're mocking. So I will ask you again. Please go away."
"And what if I don't do what you say?" It pushed.
"Don't forget about how many favours I had to make for you. Not only are you supposed to be punished, you're overdue."
"Is this supposed to be a threat?"
Scared and confused, the still shivering 007324 sensed that the seemingly calm voice in which it's representative spoke held much more mystery and danger than before. It slowly put up one knee to its chest, ready to flee if the argument transpired to physical aggression.
"Yes, this is. 7255 may have been the reason why you became equals, but I can very easily bring you down to your old place whenever I please." It warned, mimicking the tone and wording of a disappointed superior.
The orange irki's eyes narrowed, bitterly acknowledging the memory. "First you say you want to help all your partners, next you're threatening them. What a weird thing to do, 7227."
"Please, or I will have to shoo you out myself."
"I'd like to see you try! You know why? Because I know you won't." Those were the words that seemingly put the blue irki in a difficult situation. It did not like to force people into anything, and it knew that the one he was talking with was naturally stubborn, but it appeared that nothing else would send the message trough that thick head of its.
"While you're so eager to share, may you tell us what happened to your finger." It said calmly, making the bully wide-eyed.
The twins expected it to pull it for the collar and drag it out, but once they lowered their gaze, they immediately understood why this wasn't necessary.
Looking down, the kids noticed a new feature of 007268's, that they had been glossing over the entire time. The pinky of it's left hand seemed to be missing down to the second knuckle, and around the missing place were white, deep scars. This injury had probably happened years ago, but the two still couldn't wrap their hand around how they haven't picked up this obvious deformity.
Quickly trying to hide it's hand from sight, the orange child opened its mouth, ready to spill words of hatred, but then it closed it. It didn't know what to say. Would it admit it's physical shortcoming, or will it keep silent of it?
The bully gritted its teeth and swiftly stood up. "I already finished eating anyway." It said, it's tone drenched with venom.
As the spite-filled child began to walk away, it's lavender companion stood up as well, bending over the table. "I'm so so so very sorry. . ." it whispered.
Suddenly the bully yelled out for it's sidekick, making the taller kid stop it's apology and scramble to it's partner's side.
After witnessing the entire ordeal, the poor maroon newbie didn't know what to think anymore. Was it supposed to be relieved or scared? It tried to stand up and walk away from this entire thing, but a hand stopped it, firmly grabbing it for the shoulder.
It shakely looked up, following the forearm to find the main body, and when it did, it made eye contact with two deep blue eyes.
"You did good today, it's not your fault."
Unsure of what that phrase was supposed to mean, it looked at the twins for clearance.
Both of them were smiling at it, giving it an exited thumbs up. Seeing that made the new kid loosen up. Those three seemed to want to help it. Just when that thought crossed its mind, did it calm down completely.
It was. . .what is this supposed to be. . .something good? Good. Happy was good, wasn't it?
It was happy.