Young Writers Society

「𖤓」New Old Home「𖤓」

Kitty Intro on Vimeo

Previous Chapter Summaries:

「𖤓」PT 1: Kitty and Fi-So in present day are sent to dimension O-090 to prevent the destruction of the dimension. They have taken refuge at a poor farmland. While out, Kitty learns of a dangerous chemical called moonsmoke. After a warning from their supervisor, Angel and prodding from Fi-So, Kitty reveals that she’s been prolonging their visit because they are in her original dimension.

「☽」PT 2: 6 years before present events, Kitty is fighting for a rebellious military force known as Les Cavaliers, against the King’s forces, La Masse. Her little brother, Tora, solves puzzles on a digital database known as The Library. He gets a mysterious message from someone named Baptiste.

「𖤓」PT 3: Kitty and Fi-So take the elevator to Leo Sector, the highest sector that presides above all others. The rich visit a casino and watch the ongoing war between La Masse, the king’s forces and the rebellious force known as Les Cavaliers on giant screens for their own entertainment, this spurs Kitty’s PTSD. After a run-in with some of the denizens of Leo, Kitty rewires a slot machine, earning the money to take a ride down to Mallard Sector, where she grew up.

「☽」PT 4: Kitty falls deeper into war. After killing her first soldier, she begins to realize the true horrors of the war. Over months, she is promoted to captain of her own squad within Les Cavaliers. Tora begins to deepen his relationship with Baptiste, revealed to be Prince Panda Baptiste of the royal family. They meet in the digital realm through virtual reality vision. Over months, they work to flesh out the “reality” of the library. Panda speaks to him about his family. It turns out he hid the chemical of moonsmoke from his father in order to stop an outbreak in chemical warfare. Over months, they begin to love eachother deeply.

PT 395, Dimension 0-090

The Mallard district was a shell of it’s former self. Instead of many small shops, there were large structures that smushed the once inexpensive shops. Kitty walked sluggishly, looking into the void of reconstruction that her land had turned into.

“This is La Masse’s doing.” Kitty said.

Fi followed Kitty around her old home. They wanted to ask more about Kitty’s old life. But she didn’t seem interested. She was laser-focused on something.

“Here. This is the old bar all the inhabitants used to go to.” Kitty detailed dryly.

She pushed into the bar. Kitty recognized many of the inhabitants. Holding in a tense sigh. There were others she didn’t know, who glared at her and Fi-So judgmentally.

“What are you looking for, Kitty?” Fi asked.

Kitty brought a finger up to her mouth.

“Don’t say my name.”

Kitty brought the hood of her DRU coat up over her head and sat in a booth. Fi looked down at her with a confused look. Everything about Kitty had been off since they arrived. It was like she might’ve been happy that they missed the Mallard District prior.

“I need you to ask someone a question for me. Ask if they know about what La Masse has done to this place.” Kitty probed.

“Sure, I guess. You okay?” Fi looked down on Kitty. It looked like her insides had been mixed into slush. Her skin pale with fear.

“Yeah. I just want to know what’s happened since I left. Ask that old man over there.” She requested.

Fi moved towards the bar. They approached with worry in the back of their mind. The old man savored every sip of the beer he had in front of him. Fi sat next to him and ordered a drink in order to blend in.

The voices buzzing around the bar filled Fi’s mind, still tunnel visioned on Kitty, who sat like a ghost in the corner of the bar. Fi nearly didn’t catch their drink as the bartender slid it down to them. They drank it down, savoring the bitter taste. Praying the potion would loosen them up, they turned to the man next to them, and made their move.

“Hey, It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Looks like La Masse has done some remodeling. Do you know anything about it?” They casually questioned.

The man turned with a silent smile. He was clearly happy that someone had decided to talk to him. Someone he assumed was a woman viewing Fi’s facial features.

“La Masse has done some remodeling alright…They took down my stand at the center of town for one of their new state-of-the art shopping centers. This place is crawling with La Masse. I don’t know if you’ve noticed. You with Les Cavaliers?”

“Yeah. I used to love this place.” Fi lied. “You look pretty happy. Can I ask why?”

“The doc’s in town. Finally going to bring my son back. I’m having a little celebration before!.” The man announced.

“The doc? Who are you talking about?”

“He’s a doctor that can cure moonsmoke! Are you sure you are from around here?”

“I just haven’t heard of him, that’s all. Do you know where he sets up shop?”

“Secret alley under the center of town. If you really are from here, you’ll know, lady.”

Fi forced themselves to thank the man and sat down across from Kitty. They informed Kitty about what the man had told them.

“A doctor who can cure moonsmoke? That’s impossible.” Kitty stated it as fact.

“What about La Masse? Maybe the doctor is with Les Cavaliers.”

“Even you and I can’t do much about La Masse. It’s a shame they took over the Mallard district. Looks like my fight was for nothing.” Kitty diminished.

“Don’t say shit like that. I believe we are all here for a reason. Maybe this doc guy’ll help end the war!” Fi hoped.

“Fine, let’s go and meet this doctor. Can you talk to him first?” Kitty begged.

Fi and Kitty began walking side-by-side to where the old man had outlined as the doctor’s office. It wasn’t just the sun that was gone.

It was always cloudy in the Mallard Sector due to emissions from Leo Sector getting higher and higher. The city that once used to be for those who wanted to move up in life was now just another stepping stone for the rich. It made Kitty’s stomach churn, this fact even left the unshakable Fi-So unsettled. It lacked the hustle and bustle that Kitty was used to. They ducked into the alleyway, which Kitty remembered. Despite the “renovations” that La Masse made, Kitty remembered the town like the back of her hand, even if it was depressing for her.

“Is it okay if I sit this one out, Fi? There’s probably going to be people with moonsmoke there. Can you find the doctor and get his name?”

“...Okay. Still being pretty weird Kitty. I understand being worried and all, but why don’t you go with me and talk to the doc? It’ll make this process much easier.”

“He might be someone I know, that’s all. I just want to know if it’s him.”

“Fine.” Fi said as they walked down some stairs and even deeper into an alley.

Upon reaching the location, there was a line of people waiting to be treated. It was only growing in size once they got there.

There were families in line, only dropping as low as groups of two. One person who was sane, and the other who seemed ailed with moonsmoke. They were cuffed, even caged if it was bad enough. They were equivalent to zombies. Obsessively repeating words only familiar to them. The sane members of the families often couldn’t even look towards their family. They held their breaths as the doctor sat, apologizing to his patients profusely.

“My peers! I am sorry, but my bodyguard is not here today. He had to go and fight in the war. I know this is already hard enough, but I may need your help to hold my patients down during the process.”

“What the fuck? What kinda doc is this?” Fi thought just before their words blurted out. “What process?” They asked.

“Well, the process to cure the moonsmoke illness! I can’t have my patients squirming while I wipe the darkness from their subconsciousness.”

“What kinda back-alley shit is this?” Fi asked. “You seem like a pretty shady doctor.”

The doctor smiled at Fi.

“And you seem pretty scary. Why don’t you be my bodyguard for today? The process doesn’t hurt at all. What’s your name and why are you here?”

The patients by Fi began to cheer and egg her on to help the doctor.

“My name’s Fi-So. I’m from out of town and I heard rumors of a miracle doctor. I just wanted to see what was going on here. Your name?”

“Panda.” He revealed.

Fi had to help the first patient sit in front of Panda, his hands were corrupted with some sort of black energy. He held them up to the patient's head. Panda’s hands glowed a dark black color as he washed the madness away from the man’s brain.

“You are free now.” He congratulated as the patient’s consciousness was restored.

“Where…where am I?” The man asked.

“You are home now. How do you feel, honey?” the man’s wife asked.

“I feel like I just woke up from a bad dream.”

“Thank you doctor. I don’t know how else I can repay you.” The wife cried.

The wife handed Panda a card with draco loaded onto it.

“Oh, I don’t need this.” Panda smiled. “Use it to help your husband get back on his feet.”

Fi assisted Panda with the next patients. It was heartwarming to see broken faces of friends and family members transform to looks of pure happiness once they were cured. Fi had to wrangle members of families out of cages. They acted like mad animals while Fi held them down. To make it more of a hassle, these took longer to cure for Panda. It felt borderline criminal to let the loved ones of these soldiers watch them. They were mad, screaming as Panda held their heads firmly to vanquish the virus from their heads. When the line was gone, Panda sat Fi down for a cup of tea.

“I can tell you are not from here. What are your true intentions?”

“Maybe I’m just a good samaritan looking to help a guy out.”

“For a woman you are undeniably strong. What are you?” Panda asked innocently.

“What did you just say to me?” 

“Did I say something to offend you? I’m sorry!” Panda insisted, falling to his knees and bowing to Fi. They glared down at him.

“I’m not a woman.”

He peeked his head up at them. “So are you a man?”

“Not sure what I am, to be honest. Do you understand that?”

“You wouldn’t know the half of it.” Panda insisted.

“Then stop with that bowing shit. I appreciate the apology but you don’t need to go that far. I’m fine with a simple sorry.”

Panda jumped to his feet.

“Then I am dearly sorry, Fi-So.”

Panda stood for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before firing again at Fi.

“You gave your name as Fi-So. That’s an animal I’ve never heard of. Everyone who lives here is named after an animal because Byakko is the god who governs all of wildlife. It’s our way of respecting him. You’d be killed for disrespecting our kind god. Who are you?”

“Guess I should’ve thought about that. I am here for something, to be honest. I have a friend who thinks she knows you.”

“Whose that?”

“Her name’s Kitty.” Fi responded.

Panda dropped his kind expression. He sank into a state of confusion. Borderline shock. His eyes widened as Fi watched his mind spiral in all different directions.

“So…Do you want to see her?” They asked bluntly.

“Yeah. I’m closing up shop for the day anyways.”

Panda packed his things up, and followed Fi through the alleys. He followed at a distance, chomping at his fingernails. They got to the split in the alleyway where Kitty waited for answers.

“I’m going to go and get her and bring her down to you. Are you ready?”

Panda nervously nodded his head with wide open eyes.

Fi walked up the stairs to see Kitty waiting on the side of the road. She was watching citizens move about the sector.

“Hey. Kitty. The doc knows you. He wants to meet.”

Kitty looked up, Fi could see the heart beating from her chest.

“What’s his name?”

“Jeezus fuck! What is it with all this name shit? Stop being a pussy and meet him!”

Fi grabbed Kitty by the shirt and dragged her down the stairs where Panda was waiting. They immediately locked eyes.

“Tora?” Panda croaked.

Kitty’s eyes were getting shifty. “Yeah.”

“Whose Tora?” Fi asked.

“What have you been doing all this time, Tora?” Panda asked excitably.

“Please stop calling me that. I’m Kitty.”

Panda looked at Kitty with pure confusion. “But…”

“Kitty. Who the hell is Tora?” Fi exclaimed.

“Fuck!” Kitty finally shouted. “What are you doing here Panda? I figured you would’ve stayed in your room after everything happened!”

“I have to fix my mistakes. That’s all I’m here to do.” Panda laughed nervously. “It’ll be the rest of my life. This disease. Moonsmoke. I hid it away from my father. But he found it, and he mass-produced it as a weapon of war. I should’ve destroyed the blueprints when I got my hands on them. I’m fixing my mistakes by healing as many inflicted with the disease before I die.”

“Before you die?” Kitty asked.

“I gave myself a disease much worse than moonsmoke when I was working on a cure. Luckily, I’m not going insane, but my body gets weaker and weaker everyday. Going to miss me, Tora?” Panda said cheekily.

“Don’t say shit like that!” She chuckled nervously, “and stop calling me that!”

“Is this why you’ve been being so weird while we’ve been here?” Fi asked. “Kitty. It’s not like you to hide things from me. What’s so secret about your past that you don’t want to tell us about?”

“There are some things that I’d like to be cleared up..” Panda admitted.

Fi and Panda each saw the fear burning through Kitty’s eyes. She shook as her past and future sat before her. She paced back and forth, looking back and forth between Panda and Fi-So.

“There’s somewhere I need to go if we are going to talk.” Kitty commanded.

Kitty led the two of them to her old house. Panda stepped forward with a key. He opened the door for them. The house was surprisingly neat. Kitty remembered it to be in a state of disrepair. She sat down on her old sofa. The cushions were sunk in. But she seemed more at ease sitting in the place where she had left behind a piece of her soul. She took a deep breath. Her voice was already starting to crack while beginning her story.