Waking up, Ethan eyed his surroundings, he was on the same white bed as earlier. The people who wore those black uniforms were nowhere to be seen. However, there was a boy who seemed around his age sleeping on the white bed beside him.
Letting his curiosity got the better of him, he walked over to the sleeping person. Before Ethan could inspect or identify the person, their eyes shot open in shock.
"Hey there?" The person greeted, confused by the unfamiliar face of a young boy who seemed to look irritated as he glared down at him with his intimidating grey eyes.
"I'm gonna guess you're 178 then." Ethan said. When he identified that the person wasn't much of a threat, he stopped glaring at the person and leaned on the bed stand. "I'm Ethan Lozano." He introduced.
"I'm Castiel Neverland!" the person said with a smile when he realised that the grey eye kid had no evil intentions to slaughter him.
Castiel Neverland had dark grey hair that reached his shoulders, long side swept bangs that looked extremely messy. Rather than his disastrous hair taking all the spotlight, his eyes were something else. They seemed to have a gradient to them that reminded Ethan of the abyssopelagic zone of an ocean he had seen in pictures.
"So..how did you get here? And why are we..here?" Castiel asked in a whisper.
"A trio rescued me. They failed their task though." Ethan said vaguely before scratching the back of his head in disappointment and sighed heavily.
"Why the agitated look? If I hadn't woken up you would've probably killed me off and use me as fertiliser for the soil!" Castiel complained when he saw Ethan's expression changed again to a scary one. If eyes could kill, he would've been dead by now.
"They left 23 behind. You probably don't know him. So what's your power?" Ethan answered and changed the topic, slightly avoiding eye contact with Castiel.
"I'm able to create realistic illusions that can kill if the trauma is major enough. It activates when the victim hears my voice, I do need to do some type of description telling for it to work."
"I'm able to cause explosions as long as my stamina allows me to do so." Ethan explained shortly as he felt that his power was basic enough that even a mere toddler could understand.
"You seem awfully pissed about something, if you don't mind you can tell me while we wait for them to come back and explain why did they..bring us here." Castiel said in a whisper again as if there was someone who could listen in on them.
"It's nothing." Ethan immediately said while standing up properly. "Why not search for them around the warehouse? They ought to be somewhere nearby. I can't sit here idly that long anyway." He offered.
"So what are you guys curious about?! Hey hey?" a guy said suddenly as he popped out from a random corner of the room. It seemed like he had been listening in the whole time and the two children didn't notice.
"Oh! Ray!" Castiel called out, not sounding surprised one bit.
"Hey Castiel and.. Ethan was it?" Ray asked, making sure he didn't get their names wrong.
Ethan slightly nodded and backed off, uncomfortable with the thought that the stranger had listened in on their conversation this whole time without him even realising it.
"I'm Ray. Ray Whitlock!" He introduced in a innocent manner as if he wasn't eavesdropping on the duo's conversation.
"You guys wanted to know why you are here, right? I mean who wouldn't when some random individuals dragged you out from a lab without even giving you an explanation." Ray said, he talked in such a fast pace that his speech sounded unintelligible.
"So an explanation please Ray?" Castiel asked politely.
Ray sighed and took a seat right next to Castiel and scratched his chin, deciding on where and how to start. He wasn't the best person for explaining things but he was willing to give it a try.
"We are a group called Thanatos, all our members are a special case of mutates. Our ending goal is to make civilization normalise our kind and end discrimination. What else did Damien say when I joined..? Uh" Ray started to panic, he didn't know how to continue his explanation at all.
"Copying my speech?" a dark deep voice thundered through the warehouse, if death had a voice it would sound exactly like this.
"Uh oh." Ray immediately jumped off from the bed and smiled awkwardly at the large tall figure.
Damien ignored the internal panicking of Ray and smiled at the two children. "I'm the group representative, Damien. I apologise for not telling you the reasons for capturing you here but I figured it would be better to tell you two together."
Castiel and Ethan made quick eye contact with each other and turned their attention back to Damien, whose appearance perfectly matched his dark voice. Raven black hair that was tied up in a messy bun, eyes that were a deep shade of blue.
"I'm sure you are aware of this but we were meant to take back 3 people from the lab. Ethan Lozano, Castiel Neverland and Zephyr Orpheus. You three were the only S ranks in that lab currently." Damien stated, he sounded disappointed in himself as he had not fulfilled his task.
"The higher ups would normally allow us to leave Zephyr behind as he is a lost cost but however, that is not the case this time around. He is an asset that the higher up needs to attain in order to kick-start our goal. In three days we are heading back to the laboratory and taking Zephyr back with us no matter the cost. " Damien explained in a determined tone while clenching his fist.
"If it's not too much to ask of you, would you join us on this mission as a guide? You will be our top priority and we will keep you safe. I doubt we will have to do so as you're more than capable of protecting yourselves." He looked at the kids who seemed to have been taking in the sudden information and request rationally.
"However, we rescued you out there for our group mission and purpose. If you would like to leave this place and turn over a new leaf as a normal citizen and make a new identity. We would help you do so. The choice is up to you. If you do choose to join Thanatos, we are one step closer to making a revolution." He surprisingly didn't corner and forced the duo to join the group but instead gave them two options. It felt like he was extremely sincere and was a man of his words.
"I'm joining. Living life like a normal person when knowing what happens behind the scenes would make me drown in guilt before I could live happily." Ethan immediately said, he looked like he had already made a decision right from the start. There was no doubt apparent in his voice at all.
"I would like to join but.. why are you only saving three even though there are much more in need?" Castiel questioned, his eyes hinting his irritation.
"If we save them all it would bring us down before we can make a move. We cannot possibly take in a hundred children and remove their microchips. We also do not have enough resources to sustain our daily life if we take them all in and besides, from the reports we've stolen, the others are often neglected in the lab and harm is rarely inflicted against them. They get an education, food and a roof to live under even if the lab environment is harsh. Only the higher ranks get mistreated. So we shall prioritise and not be rash in our decisions." Damien explained, all his reasons sounded true and well planned out. It was something that Castiel couldn't find fault with at all.
"I understand.. I'll definitely join and do my best!" Castiel said with a bright smile while he placed his right fist over his left side of his chest as if making a pledge.
"Than welcome. It's late now, would you like a meal before sleeping? Tomorrow will be a rough day of training." Damien offered.