ANTECEDENT: CHAPTER 9

HAPPY made a cake. And it was a failure, again. So now, Midnight was helping her clean up the mess she made in the kitchen because the butler was tending to Dominick, who had a stomachache, thanks to Happy's cake.

"Sorry about the cake." Happy apologized while washing the dishes slowly to not drop and break them. "It's supposed to be a chocolate cake, but..." she glanced at the cake that didn't look like a chocolate cake. "I don't know what happened."

Midnight glanced at the cake, too, before giving unsolicited advice. "Maybe you should stop making cakes. You might kill your dad."

Happy pouted and glared at Midnight. Midnight just shrugged and continued tidying up the kitchen.

Happy didn't want to talk about her failed cake anymore, so she changed the subject. "How's your therapy with Doc. Silvanus?"

Midnight paused before answering. "It's okay."

"Is there any progress?"

"No. Not really."

"Oh."

Silence fell.

Happy tried to start a conversation again. "I heard from Uncle Klaus that dad immediately agreed when Silvanus asked him to send you to his laboratory next week."

"Is that so?"

Silence fell once again.

Happy sighed and tried again. "What do you want for lunch?"

"Anything. I'm not picky."

"How about we make your favorite albóndigas?"

"Sure."

Silence fell, and the conversation was cut short again.

Silvanus told them to speak to Midnight frequently, have a conversation with him and build a bond, but it's quite a challenging task, seeing that Midnight seldom speaks, let alone have a long conversation.

Fortunately, her father entered the kitchen and rescued her from the awkwardness.

"Hey, kid! I'm going to town. Come with me."

As usual, Dominick did not give Midnight an option to say no and just pulled him out of the house. "You need Vitamin D and fresh air, so I'm being a busybody. Come on."

When they finally settled in the car, Midnight asked. "What are we going to do in the town?"

Dominick grinned. "That's a surprise."

Midnight did not ask again and just let Dominick take him where he wanted to.

After driving for half an hour, they arrived in a quaint town and parked their car in front of a small clothing store.

"Come on out. We're here."

Midnight stepped out of the car and then followed Dominick inside the store.

Soon after entering, Dominick immediately started picking up clothes and then he would look at Midnight, as if to check something, then he would nod and take it.

Midnight frowned. What is this annoying old man doing?

Dominick continued shopping like that. In less than ten minutes, Dominick already had so many clothes and pants in his hand. Midnight remained silent the whole time and just followed along.

When they got back to the car, to Midnight's surprise, Dominick handed him all the clothes he bought.

Midnight was bewildered.

Dominick clicked his tongue and explained. "Kid, you'll be going to Silvanus' lab. You have to look decent. Also, I'll be accompanying you there. If they see me looking so handsome and you looking disheveled, my reputation will be tarnished."

Midnight blinked at Dominick. He really couldn't understand this old man. He may not have emotion, but that did not mean he couldn't read other people's intentions. Dominick was just pretending to care about his reputation so he could buy him clothes that would not burden him.

Even taking my 'feelings' into consideration. Midnight sighed inwardly and said, "okay."

Dominick grinned at that and drove the car again. This time, they went to an animal shelter.

Same as in the last place, Midnight didn't know what Dominick was planning. He just followed along. However, unlike earlier, Dominick did not choose an animal. He just walked around, as if supervising the place.

Sighing, he trailed behind Dominick while also looking around. That's when a cat caught his attention. It had a long, cut wound on the side of its stomach and it seemed that there's something with its left eye.

Midnight did not realize that he had stopped on his track until a staff approached him.

"His name is Loki. We rescued him from his previous owner, who experimented on him. His left eye is blind, and he has cut wounds all over his body."

Midnight stared at the golden cat that was staring back at him. "And he's still alive."

"Yes." The staff smiled. "He's a survivor."

From beside Midnight, Dominick appeared. "Do you like it? Let's take him home and you take care of him. How about it?"

Midnight's lips parted, and he looked at Dominick in surprise. "What?"

Dominick patted Midnight's shoulder. "Kid, it's nice to have a pet. If Happy is not recuperating, I would have adopted a dog for her. But she's not fully healthy yet, so how about you adopt a cat for yourself, hmm?"

Silvanus told Dominick that Midnight needed to have a connection with others. However, Midnight remained wary of them, so he thought of an animal to accompany Midnight instead.

Dominick's reason seemed credible, but Midnight knew that there's more to it than that. But he didn't care. The cat reminded him of himself. It had also been experimented on but was able to survive the ordeal.

"Can I even take care of it?" He was reluctant. "I don't think so..."

"Of course you can." Dominick smiled and addressed the staff. "Please ready the papers. We'll adopt him." Then he patted Midnight's back. "Play with the cat and get to know each other. I'll fill up the papers myself."

To avoid being detected, Dominick always uses one of his many fake identities.

While Dominick was busy with the papers, Midnight hesitantly walked toward the cat inside the cage and slowly crouched down to level their faces.

Midnight and the cat stared at each other.

After that brief confrontation, Midnight extended his hand, but did not touch the cat. He stopped an inch away from it to let it decide if it wants to touch him or not.

Loki was wary at first. It didn't want to get close to him, but he didn't take his hand back until finally, Loki sniffed his hand and then tentatively rub the side of its face against his fingers.

Recalling the horse's reaction to him, Midnight felt relieve that the cat did not get scared of him. "Nice to meet you, Loki. I'm Midnight." Introducing himself with his real name did not feel as forced as before.

Loki meowed and Midnight rubbed the tip of his finger against Loki's face with his expressionless face. No hint of delight could be seen on his face, but his finger continued rubbing against the cat's cheek.

"What a weird cat." He muttered under his breath. After everything that had happened to it, it still accepted his hand as if it wasn't hurt by his own kind. 

Suddenly, a staff approached him with a smile. "If you want, you can play with him more."

Midnight blinked and watched in apprehension as the staff put the cat in his arms.

What the fuck am I going to do...?

Loki meowed and Midnight froze, as if something frightening was about to happen. He immediately loosened his hold on the cat, but the staff guided his arms to hug it more.

"It's okay. You're not hurting him. You'll know if you are," Said the staff.

Midnight stared at the cat meowing at him. It was now acting familiar to him, unlike earlier. "Do you want to go home with me?"

Loki meowed.

Midnight rubbed its chin. "But I don't have a home. So, you'll be living with that old man." He gestured with his chin. "They're good people, they just talk a lot. They won't hurt you."

The female staff was amused but also feel a little heartache. Such a handsome man. She'll offer her home, anytime! But before she could, the 'old man' returned.

"Getting along well already?" Dominick softly tickles the cat's chin. "Look at you being so sweet to your new owner."

Midnight ignored Dominick and just listened to the staff, who was briefing them on what to do and what not to do with Loki. Midnight looked so attentive that Dominick couldn't help chuckling.

Midnight might not look interested on the outside, but Dominick was certain Midnight liked the cat. That was enough.

"I know you like the cat even though you don't look like it, but do you really have to buy everything that says 'cat' in the store?"

Midnight, who was still holding Loki, expressionlessly nodded. "Yes."

"You used my money!" Dominick snapped.

Midnight played with Loki's whisker. "You took my wallet when you kidnapped me, so..."

Dominick could only sigh. "That was for safety reason—" Dominick paused. He suddenly felt tired. "Whatever. Let's go home."

Midnight glanced at Dominick. "Why are you complaining? You're the one who dragged me here."

Dominick waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah. It's my fault."

Midnight nodded. "Good that you admitted it."

Dominick swore to God that if he passed his day with Midnight, he was going to have a high blood pressure. It's because of that stony face and sarcastic tone. It was a perfect match.

That was why, when the two arrived back home, Dominick immediately went to complain to his butler. "That kid is not cute at all. I mean, look at my princess, so adorable! And look at Midnight. He's going to give me a high blood pressure! What did I do wrong, huh?"

Klaus calmly replied. "You kidnapped him."

Dominick paused, then glared at Klaus. "You mean we kidnapped him."

Klaus shook his head. "No, boss. I was just the driver."

Dominick stared at Klaus flatly, as if he had lost hope in humanity. "Go away. You're going to give me a high blood pressure too."

Klaus just smiled, bade goodbye and went to the kitchen to ready their dinner.

As for Midnight, he went back to his room and settled Loki in. And now, amidst the darkness and solitude, a small meow and low purr could be heard. Others may find that noisy and annoying, but not Midnight.

He welcomed that sound. The sound that proves he was not alone in this darkness.

He liked it.

AFTER breakfast on Tuesday, a helicopter arrived at the farm, taking Dominick and Midnight to Silvanus' laboratory. Midnight was instantly led to Silvanus' private lab while Dominick passed the time in Silvanus' office.

Dominick couldn't believe he was escorting a grown man like Midnight around, as if he was an elementary student. He could only shake his head.

Meanwhile, in Silvanus' private lab, Midnight was hooked to three high-tech machines that monitor his brain and then another one for his heart rate.

Midnight couldn tell that Silvanus was excited. Silvanus was even humming while hooking him into these machines. Midnight felt like he was wearing a helmet. That's how crowded his head was.

"This will scan your brain. This one is for checking your brainwaves. And this is to see the blood circulation in your brain. I have a machine that could map your brain, but we don't need that at the moment."

Midnight was used to these kinds of things, so he was calm and did not ask for an explanation. It was Silvanus who started explaining to Midnight with an excited expression, like a child who was flaunting his favorite toy.

As Silvanus explanation lengthens, Midnight just closed his eyes.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Silvanus snapped at Midnight.

Midnight was always curious about the kinds of machines being used on him, but hearing Silvanus' long explanation and yap like there was no tomorrow, he lost the little interest he had.

"Fine." Silvanus grumbled. "Let's start."

Soon after, Midnight opened his eyes and all he could see was darkness.

"Explain to me where you are."

Midnight had the same answer as last time. "Darkness."

"Alright. There's a door behind you. Go in."

Midnight listened without resistance, but stopped when he saw that there were only four rooms rather than five.

Seeing Midnight frown deeply, Silvanus asked. "What are you seeing? Tell me."

"There's only four doors." Midnight's frown deepened. "What happened to the fifth door?"

"It's alright. Calm down. There's nothing to be worried about." Silvanus' clear and mellow voice penetrated Midnight's consciousness, calming Midnight down. "It's okay. Just open the door nearest to you."

Midnight was hesitant at first, but steeled himself. When he pushed the door open, a familiar scene welcomed him. This was his most hated room in the whole laboratory. The room where he underwent hypnosis since he was a child.

"Where are you? What do you see?" Silvanus asked.

Midnight was silent for a long while, just looking around. The room was just as he remembered. Cold and full of hypocrisy. "I'm in the hypnosis room."

Silvanus frowned and urged Midnight. "Describe to me what you're seeing."

"It's empty. There's a color cream sofa in the center, a pantry in the corner, an office table and a lot of CCTVs." He walked to the table. It had many stacks of paper, but they were all blank.

He was about to tell Silvanus what he saw when he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

"You're a good boy, aren't you? Good boys always listen to their elder. Or else your big brother will not like a problem sibling like you. Is that what you want?"

In a blink of an eye, Midnight found himself back on the familiar sofa he used to rest on, not knowing how it had happened.

Midnight quickly turns around, and he suddenly found himself back on the familiar sofa he used to lie on, not knowing how it happened. He couldn't move, however much he struggled. It was as if he was bound by a chain to the sofa and he couldn't see anything! Everything was pitch black, and it reminded him of the first day he was thrown into the isolation room.

Panic flooded his senses, making it hard to think clearly. He continued to Struggle and in the outside world, Silvanus could see it. Midnight's forehead was furrowed, his movements indicating a desperate struggle, as if he were bound. His muffled voice pleaded for help, filled with desperation.

Unlike their previous session, when Midnight was showing distress, Silvanus would immediately wake him up. However, he didn't do so today. Instead, he looked at the machines connected to Midnight's brain to see what was happening inside.

Based on the result he was seeing; Silvanus was in amazement and disbelief. Midnight's brain was too active, and it was a mess. Amazed because even with this result, Midnight's brain was still functioning as it should be, but with a large disparity to a normal brain.

As a neuroscientist, he was astounded at the result of the experiment. He didn't know if Midnight was the most successful experiment they got, but he was sure that Midnight was up there on the success list. However, as a human with morals, he was in disbelief. To do this to someone since he was a child, this was nothing but pure evil and cruel beyond belief.

And the words that were coming out of Midnight's mouth were a haunting reflection of the atrocities he had endured, a painful testament to his past.

"No... no! You're wrong! You're lying to me! M-my brother cares for me. He would never abandon me! I—I'll be a good boy. Please, please, don't say that. My brother loves me. I will not be a burden. I promise I will not be a burden to big brother." Gradually, Midnight's voice became a whisper. "No... he's the only one I got. He's the only one I have. The only one... I have no one... no one...no one." Then his voice gradually lost its emotion. "Yes. You're right. I have no one. I'm all alone..."

Midnight was in pain. His tears fell silently, his anguished pleas echoing in the air, hoping against hope that those words were not real.

Silvanus took a deep breath. Thinking that those words were itched to Midnight's mind since he was a child, he realized he could never really heal Midnight. With his condition, psychotherapy might help a little, but it wouldn't be enough to fix the damage that had already been done.

With the state of Midnight's mind, desperate measures need to be done.

Silvanus woke Midnight up, and the whole laboratory was silent.

Now that Midnight was awake, Silvanus check the three machines, and he wore a bitter smile.

Unlike earlier, Midnight's brain at the moment had no activity. No brainwaves fluctuation. Nothing.

Indeed, a soulless person.

"Doc., how's the result of my brain?" After emerging from the hypnosis, Midnight calmly asked.

Silvanus had so many words in his mouth to make Midnight understand, but he filtered those words out and said, "it's not looking good, but I'll try to find a way. If I can't think of a solution, don't worry, I'll tell you. For now, let's continue our psychotherapy while I hit the books to find how to fix the damage that has been done."

Midnight nodded, but deep down, he had a feeling that whatever had been done to his brain; it was incurable. Silvanus just didn't want him to stop cooperating.

After their session, Midnight remained in the lab for half an hour so Silvanus could thoroughly examine his brain. Afterwards, Dominick picked him up in the lab, and they went home together in silence.

Dominick could feel that Midnight didn't want to talk, so he just let him be. Midnight, on the other hand, was subtly massaging his temple. It was pulsating painfully. His eyesight becoming blurry.

When they arrived, Midnight went straight to his room and let the darkness wrapped around him. Loki was not on its bed, but before he could look for it, he was hit by a severe headache. His temples throbbed so painfully, and he nearly fell over.

He huffed as he tried to steady himself. "What the..."

Amidst the pounding headache, a familiar voice resounded in his mind.

"You're alone. No one cares about you. You have no use than killing. You are nothing but the monster we created. Don't you see? Everyone left you because you're so horrible. You're so useless that no one needs you. Since you have no one, it would be useful for you to play your part well. You're just a clone. Act like one!"

"No... you're wrong..." Midnight's hands clutched his head in agony as he vehemently denied those words, a guttural groan escaping his lips and reverberating through the room. Despite the intense pain, he remained conscious due to his high pain tolerance.

He endured the pain for hours while that voice kept repeating in his ear until there was a knock on the door and it was forcefully opened after hearing a muffled groan of pain inside.

"Midnight!"

CECELIB | C.C.