Another backstory chapter, so enjoy smol Mono and Seven

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Seven was eight years old when he started to get those stupid weird feelings. It was also after Commander Thirteen started to see his love for work, the boy in the black coat encouraged him to continue his job as a scout.

To the rebellion, it was no secret Seven was... special. He normally had a hard time with scouting and paying attention, his moods were known to change constantly, and his temper was always so short and explosively violent when angered. When he started to show signs of his... condition, other kids thought Commander Thirteen would place him in a doctor position or as a cook.

Out of sight, out of mind... it would also be safer on everyone.

It was also no secret Thirteen himself hated that part about the rebellion. If you weren't normal, you were forced to be in one of the more isolated positions. The thought of it sickened him, the broken healing or prepare food for the perfect.

So Seven was his test run. Around that time, Seven and Rain had already begun their scout training. Rain was a natural at it, she had mapped out the entire woods in less than a week, and was now working on a few maps that went farther into the city than any of the kids had gone before.

Seven struggled greatly with it. Yes, he knew where traps were, but... every tree looked the same, all the rocks looked the same, everything looked like copies of everything. He tried, really, he tried! ... But why did he have to know which tree had sap in it and which one would make you feel funny when it burned as firewood?

But out of everything, he never counted on the Hunter adding new traps. So, now, Seven found himself dangling in a tree by his ankle that was caught in a loop snare.

His cheeks were flushed as the blood ran to his head, arms hanging limp above him. His blue jacket, which was still a little oversized on him ruffled and slipping down him as he tried to breath with the slowly mounting pressure in his chest.

Okay, yes, maybe he should have been watching where he was going more carefully, but he didn't know the Hunter would step up his game!

Now, here he was, feeling like he was going to throw up with Rain probably halfway across the forest and no one else with him since they normally were scared or didn't like him. Maybe the Hunter would be merciful and just kill him without drawing it out for too long. He looked to the branch he was hanging from, before losing his breath as the pressure in his chest pressed against his lungs. Maybe gravity would take him out first...

The normal protocol for this situation was to have your partner or teammates cut you down and to not scream since it would draw attention to you; but no one was ever around to help him.

A bush rustled next to him, the boy in blue waiting for a wolf or fox of some kind to step out and eat him, only to give a sigh of relief as he saw a familiar face.

"Wow, you must have a thing for traps, Sev," Mono teased as he came out from the bush. His trenchcoat followed behind him, the coat tail waving behind him slightly. They had found the piece of clothing while down at the beach while they were play-- TRAINING-- training a few nights ago in a furious game of tag. The mismatched eyed boy loved it the moment he saw it, and despite Seven being the one to find it first, he couldn't help but give it to him with the awestruck puppy-dog eyed look on his face.

Seven glared at him, swinging slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, yeah, can you get me down? Can't breath that well and my head feels like it's gonna explode," he said. Mono gave a small chuckle, nodding his head.

"Have no fear, my fair prince, your knight in shiny armor will save you once again." Seven felt his cheeks grow even hotter, watching the other come closer to him, resting his hands on his hips.

"Whoa, Mono, what are you do-ING!" Seven let out a loud squeak of fear as he was lifted up, having to hold his arms out on Mono's legs to keep himself from hitting his face against his leg.

Mono lifted him up, reaching up, loosening the snare around his ankle, able to slip it off with ease. His arm was around his hips, continuing to hold him upside down, Seven trying to keep from smacking face first into the other, averting his eyes, trying to convince himself the bush over towards the side was much more interesting and to not pay attention to where he was at.

Carefully, Mono placed him down, right side up. The blood that rushed to his head started to calm down, leaving the other dizzy and lightheaded. Seven sat on the ground, holding his head in his hands, trying to calm down the raging swirling world around him.

Mono crouched down, pulling the other's pants leg up, looking at the now rubbed and slightly raw skin from where the snare was. "It's gonna be sore for a day or so, but you'll be fine," he said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a small piece of cloth, wrapping it around the other's ankle to help avoid hurting it anymore than it always was.

"There we go, all patched up!" Mono said as a small cheer, sitting on the ground in front of him. "Dizziness die down yet?"

Seven flicked his eyes to look at him, his hands and arms still over his head. "No," he groaned. Mono eased back slightly, hands propping him again, looking up to the sky. "Well, we have a bit of time," he simply stated.

The boy in blue groaned, reclosing his eyes, trying to ignore the now pounding headache from the blood rush. The boy in the trenchcoat looked back to him.

"So, why were you out all by yourself. It's safer to travel in pairs you know," he asked.

Seven just gave a groan in response, but seemed to be enough to satisfy the other.

"You could have asked me then. Me and Four would have joined you," he said back. Seven glanced up to him, before flinched as his head throbbed again.

"So, where's Rain? She off to the city again?" Seven gave another groan, only this time in annoyance. He didn't know why he was getting so annoyed with Mono talking about his sister so much, maybe it was just because she was his twin and the two, though sharing a tight sibling bond, did get irritated by the other fairly often.

He knew Mono had started to like his sister a few weeks ago, he came and asked about what she liked, only to reluctantly tell him about his small crush after Seven threated to withhold any information of him until he told him why.

He didn't really know what Mono saw in Rain. Yes, she was pretty, one of the few things he'd probably ever admit, and was a ball of sunshine and may or may not have taken all the younger girls under her wing and became a big sister figure to most.

He was dashing too of course, Rain wasn't the only one that got their looks from their mother. If you ignore how oddly thin he was for forgetting to eat at times, he was quiet nice. Handsome blue eyes, fluffy brown hair, round cheeks with (in his opinion) hideously ugly freckles. Okay, maybe he wasn't that lucky in that side of the gene pool.

He tried to keep himself clean as much as possible as well, and he hated messes. He also tries really head to make friends too, it's not his fault everyone is so sensitive.

"Seven?" Seven jumped as he heard his name being called. Mono looked at him, a bit of worry in his oddly beautiful brown and green eyes.

"Y-yes?" He squeaked back, his voice cutting off midsentence for a small moment. Mono pushed himself up, now leaning in towards the other.

"You okay? You went quiet on me," he mumbled. Seven rose his head, flinching a little as the world swiftly jerked into place again.

"I'm fine," he mumbled. Mono got to his feet, dusting off his jacket and pants.

"Well, we need to get going, the Hunter will be making his rounds again soon," he said, holding his hand out for the other. Seven took it, his cheeks heating up again as Mono helped him up. The boy in blue looked up, seeing the other's bright smile, a small cheerful smile of his own coming over him.

Mono seemed to always have this effect on him. He always got so happy and found himself snapping less. When he held his hand he felt warm and felt like everything was safe, and get all nervous and flustered if the two of them made eye contact.

Seven gave a small nod to him. Mono helped him through the forest, occasionally catching him if he almost fell over thanks to being lightheaded.

Eventually, they came to the rebellion's hideout, the two surprised as they saw Rain standing there with another girl. Oracle Eleven, or Flash, as most people knew her as. She was a scrappy girl, always hungry to leave her mark in the world they lived in.

"Rain, how long have you been hearing them?" Flash asked, holding the other girl's hands in her own. Her black hair was neat and clean, resting on her shoulders, her white dress dirty from her time in the wild.

"It's only happened a few times... but I can hear them. The rules say I was supposed to tell you so... does this mean..?" Rain went quiet, looking up to the other.

Flash nodded. "I'm afraid so..." she whispered.

Rain went to speak, before she jumped when she noticed the two boys. Flash looked over and narrowed her eyes at the two. "Oi! It's rude to ease drop on Oracle business, you both know that."

Rain gave a small smile at the two, her previous worried and nervous expression gone. "Yeesh, Sev, you look bad," she muttered.

Seven gave her a look, eyes hardening at her. "Thanks so much, Rai, I didn't notice," he countered. Rain came over to him, giving a small look over him, before noticing his carefully wrapped ankle and flushed cheeks.

"Snare?"

"Yeah,"

"Mono saved you before your head exploded?"

"Yeah,"

"Man, you are bad at scouting,"

"... Yeah."

The twins shared a small chuckle of amusement at their small exchange. Rain reached over, carefully taking her brother's side, supporting him against her. "Well, off to your room than. I'll talk to you later, Oracle Eleven, see you later, Mono," Rain said, before leading the two of them down the rabbit hole.

***

"So... you're going to become an Oracle?" Seven asked. The two were sitting in his bed, a blanket under them. The two were facing each other, their legs criss-cross, the small oil lamp lit to give them some lighting.

Rain gave a small nod. "I first thought the voices I was hearing were a group of wanderers, but after a while, I started to realize they were the stars. I'm... gonna have to stop being a scout. I hate it, I love scouting, I love being able to run and join you guys, but... I can't go against the rules," she explained with a quiet voice.

Seven looked at her for a moment, trying to process it. His own sister, an Oracle? Rain was the last people he expected to be one, all they did were be messengers and be important when important things happened. Not only that, but also meant...

"Mono's gonna hate this..." he whispered under his breath.

"What?" Rain asked, not hearing him. Seven shook his head.

"This is crazy..." he half-lied. The two sat in silence for a moment, not sure what to say. "Well... I wish you the best of luck then, I know you'll do a good job," Seven said, looking back up to his sister, the pair sharing a smile to one another.

Rain seemed more at ease when he said that, calming down as she gently smiled. Rain knew Seven, despite his bashing and quick tongue, would have her back.

"Well, I'm getting hungry, wanna go see what the cooks have ready?" She asked. Seven nodded, the two jumping off his bed, finding themselves racing to the kitchen together.

As they raced in the dining hall, the curtain to the Commander's chamber opened, Commander Thirteen stepping out. His dark eyes spotted the two, calling out to them before they could disappear down another tunnel.

"Seven! Rain! I'd like you see you in my chamber," he called out. The two stopped, looking over with confusion.

They came over with no real fuss, Thirteen opening the curtain for them. Seven at first thought they were in trouble, it wasn't everyday the Commander would call them.

Instead, once they were seated around his desk, Thirteen surprised them.

"Rain, Oracle Eleven told me about your recent hearings. Normally, you wouldn't have a choice in the matter, but since Eleven is still with us, you have the choice to accept the position or refuse it. If you accept it, when Eleven gets caught or dies, you will step in as Oracle; if not, when the time comes, you won't become the Oracle and whoever else can hear the stars will become her."

Rain gave a small nod to him. She took a small breath, her hands in her lap. "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna miss being a scout, but... the stars are calling me, and if I refuse then, who knows what could happen," she said.

Thirteen nodded. "The stars can be merciless at times... well then, once something happens to Eleven, you will become our Oracle. Now, my second thing," he said, turning his head to Seven.

"Eleven also told me about you and your accident today, Seven. I'm sorry, but... you can't seem to do it on your own, and as much as I hate saying it, no one has requested to be your partner. For your own sake, I have to take your scout status away from you," Thirteen explained.

Seven felt his blood freeze. But-but he tries hard! If he had seen or known the snare before hand, he would have been fine! If Commander Thirteen took his scouting position away, does that mean...

"But, there is one good thing. I'm thinking about putting you into the Adult Settlement Destruction Unit. It seems like a good position for you, I've seen your interest with fire recently, and I think you'll be a natural at it. You can make explosives and go on destruction runs, along with making friends who have the same interests as you. It'll be great for you, I promise."

Seven blinked. Be a part of the ADSU? Making explosives? Fire? The thought of it made the other suddenly excited, slightly bouncing in his chair. He could make explosives! He had been a scout during a destruction run, experiencing the whole ordeal first hand.

The hot fire, clouds of dark smoke, the beautiful ember that floated up. He could make those with people actually supporting it!

His love for fire was what got them kicked out. After he accidentally set his father's workshop up in flames, they were seen as 'more than ready to leave' and kicked the two out, despite just barely old enough to no longer being counted as toddlers.

He could do it, he'd loved to do it!

"Yes, sir," he answered. Thirteen smiled, straightening out his black fur coat.

"Than, it's decided. Seven, you will be reassigned to your new ranking and, Rain, you will become our Oracle one day. Now, go wash up, it's almost getting time to eat," the Commander said, allowing the two to go ahead and head back to whatever they were doing before.

Two days after, Seven was taken under the wing of the head pyro tech.

Four months after, Rain took her Oracle position.

A year after, Thirteen went missing.

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Finished - Feb. 19th, 2021

I was finally able to get this chapter done. Yaaaay!

Current we're in Act 2, so I'm just trying to explain the history Seven, Rain, and Mono have, which can help allude to what is happening in the story in the present time.

So, based on this chapter's info, I'd love to hear theory people have. So far, all I have read have been very fun to read. And to give you something more, I did a sketch (I outlined it too cause I liked it), of a future event, and want to know what you think is happening.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!

* Edited Mar. 21st, 2021 *

Act 2 chapters will probably come out a lot quicker than the others, mostly because I don't have that big of an issue with them. I hope you all enjoyed, I know some people have recently been showing their confusion to the story, but everything will be explained as we go on, don't worry.

Take care!

* Edited May 25th, 2021 *