"On." I watched as the wall flickered slightly before the white wall turned a dark blue.

"Hello, Arcelia 14786. What would you like to do today?" The wall asked, it's cheerful voice echoing throughout the empty room.

"The Weekly Mental Examination please," I replied, knowing if it wasn't done once a week, I would receive a violent shock from the newest shocker.

I could hear the wall whirring as it processed my words, translating them for its system. I watched as the dark blue screen darkened until it turned into a black slate. As always, a tranquil wave of calmness ran through me at the sight.

"What is our name?" I didn't find myself smiling as I did, but instead frowned at the machine. It seemed as if the importance of my name no longer mattered here, as if I was no longer needed.

"Experiment Arcelia 14786," I answered, my voice low. I didn't sound as confident as I used to. I didn't like this feeling and wanted more than anything for it to go away.

Before the wall could ask me the date, which I was grateful for seeing as I didn't keep track of time while I was Outside, the door to my room slid open. I looked over, seeing Dimitri standing there with a lab coat. Linsey was missing completely.

"Off," I told the wall, hearing it whir as it processed my request. It then disappeared, the wall becoming white once again.

"Hello, Lia. Are you enjoying being back at the lab?" Dimitri asked, looking over at me. I straightened my back before turning towards him.

"Yes, I am," I said, afraid of telling him the truth. If I told him that I didn't want to be back at the Lab, would I get punished or would someone evaluate whether I should be terminated?

"That's great news," he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. The lab coat beside of him flinched, but I didn't.

"Experiment Varian has some time on his hands if you'd like to see him," Dimitri added, finally catching my attention. I nodded, something blooming in my chest at the words.

"I would like that," I replied, knowing a verbal answer would be required as well. Being back at the Lab was bringing back all of its rules and requirements. It was bringing back a time before I had met Experiment Varian or been Outside.

"Alright, shall we?" He said, motioning towards the lab coat. The nodded their head, stumbling over their own feet as they tried leading us out of the room. His head was bowed, only showing people were still afraid of Dimitri, the man who ran everything.

Dimitri paused when we neared Experiment Varian's room where a lab coats was standing, jotting down notes on a clipboard. Others were gathered with him, talking excitedly. I wanted to go closer and know what they were so thrilled to see.

"Are you ready?" Dimitri asked. The simple question caused the lab coats to stop chattering, their smiles fading away. They even stood taller when they all noticed him. Then their eyes drifted past him and to me, some growing more excited.

"Yes," one responded, his eyes flickering back at me before smiling.

"Hello," he said and I stiffened, remembering that it was frowned upon when I didn't respond to them. It had disappointed Him every time.

But then again, He had disappointed me. "Can we go in now?" I asked Dimitri, my attention drifting away from the group of lab coats.

He nodded, quickly typing in the passcode for the door before motioning for me to step in. I hesitated, my heart pounding, but I finally walked into into his room.

The door shut behind me and I froze, realizing Varian and I weren't alone. He was currently talking to a blonde girl, smiling and nodding as she spoke in a light voice.

I hated it, but I could feel the same emotions being resurrected from when I saw Diana and Varian talking. It was an ugly emotion, one filled with darkness. I didn't even know who the girl was, yet I felt myself despising her more and more by the second.

But the moment his attention diverted away from her, those feelings dissipated. His eyes grew round with shock and I felt myself smiling. They had only grown more blue with time.

"Is that really you?" He asked, the girl completely forgotten. I tilted my head, confused.

"Who else could I be?" I asked, knowing they had yet to perfect shape-shifting. When they did, it would be a huge success for the world of science.

I blinked and the next moment he was running towards me, crushing me against his chest. He was holding me so harshly, so much, that I would've had trouble breathing had I been normal. But I found his embrace much more comforting than I cared to admit.

I felt myself relaxing in his arms, my emotions overriding the rational part of my mind. It wasn't longer before I felt water running down my cheeks, falling from my face, and landing on his shirt. Once they started, they flowed freely and I didn't know how to stop them.

Varian only held me tighter, whispering soothingly into my ear. His voice calmed me in a way that it shouldn't have. It calmed me in the same way being reassured or my regular routine had. It had the opposite effect that change did.

"I'm sorry I said I hated you. It wasn't-" I started, trying to get the words out before I was left alone again. Varian was quick to shush me, his fingers running through my hair. It was foreign feeling, but comforting.

"I won't ever run off again, I promise," he murmured, repeating the words over and over until the tears finally subsided. But once they did, I didn't find myself desiring to pull away from him.

The room fell quiet, but we continued standing like that, neither of us making a move to separate. I wondered whether Varian enjoyed holding me or felt if was necessary to aid in controlling my emotions.

Someone cleared their throat, silence escaping the room. Varian let go of me, but stay close by, as he turned to look at her.

"Do I know you?" I asked, confused. My memory was perfect yet I couldn't place where I had seen her before in my life. She looked extremely familiar to me.

The girl shook her head, the blond ringlets swaying side to side as she did so. "We've never met," she replied, her voice soft and delicate.

I frowned, not believing her. She was lying to me, surely. I was certain I had seen her before, although I couldn't place from when or where. There was something so familiar about her. It irritated me.

Varian cleared his throat, drawing my attention from the strange, new girl. He wasn't looking at me, but at the floor while running a hand through his hair that seemed to have grown softer since I had last seen him. He glanced at me, giving me a small smile. I tilted my head, realizing he knew something I didn't.

"Do you know something?" I asked, looking between him and the girl. He had known her longer so perhaps he knew what experiment she was being placed under, or why I might know her.

I saw him hesitate before using a hand to gesture towards the girl. "Angel, meet Experiment Arcelia."