It was dark, and ze knew that much. Ze sat in a room that had a bed furthest from the exit, and on the wall to the right, when coming in through said exit, was what looked like a window. Ze knew it wasn't a window, but actually a monitor that showed live footage of the outside world. Behind the monitor was actually just a cement wall and some cords for the monitor. Ze had broken one out in an attempt to escape when ze was younger.

Ze sat on the bed and stared at the vault door that kept zim in. It was about half-a-forearm thick with six deadbolts that were each about four fingers thick. Closer to the top was a one way glass, which was the only place we had ever been able to see zimself, for as long as we could remember. Above the glass was a plaque that had symbols she knew to mean "fourty-four."

Ze got up, walked to the vault door, and looked in the mirrored glass.

Returning zir empty look was a soft, pale, pink face with black symbols that made perfect rows in the area from just below zir eyes down past the collar of zir shirt. Ze looked to zir red-furred ears atop zir head that had remained fluffy, rounded, and standing up straight. Ze then focused on zir bright red irises contrasted against dark red sclera. Zir pupils were slits because of the light in the room. 

Ze was entranced by watching zir pupils dilate before ze looked down at zimself. A familiar, plain black shirt and shorts that didn't go down very far in the same color. Ze looked over the black claws on zir hands that were raised, down to zir ankles that were digitigrade and ended in black-clawed, long paws. The only parts of zir body that had hair were zir eyebrows, the top of zir head, ears, and paws, but it was all thick, dense, and colored a vibrant red.

This is 44. I am 44, I guess. 

44 walked back to sit on the bed. 

I am tired of being here. I have exhausted every means of leaving. This place is miserable, and I want to be something other than a test subject. If I had anything, I would give it all to leave and experience something less painful. I wish I could leave this behind. 

44 rolled onto zir side and closed zir eyes. 

Shortly after, 44 could hear the loud sound of the deadbolts in the door being slid back.

44 shot upright and looked around to see nothing different in the room. Ze got up and went to pull the door open and stopped as if frozen.

It is time for you to take your leave. I should warn that if you open that door, you must walk through and listen to my commands. Do you understand?

44 quickly opened the door to see if anyone was there to find no one.

Let me make this simpler. I am in your head, so you will not see me. You will have to trust that I can change everything for you, but you have to trust me. If you think of your response, I will know. Do you follow?

I do. What comes next?

Take a left and keep walking. You must not stop moving forward. I will tell you when you may stop. 

Alright.

44 did as zir was told and kept walking at an even pace. The hall seemed to grow longer than ze had remembered it being. Ze could see that there was a door at the end of the hall and proceeded towards it.

As 44 neared the door we could hear voices growing in volume from behind zim.

What do I do about that?

Hurry through the door. Do not look back. They will try to stop you. You must not let them.

44 sped up to a run and could hear running footsteps behind zir. Ze quickly threw the door open to find a void, but didn't have enough time to fight zir momentum. 

44 was ready to fall but was surprised when zir foot fell on something solid. Then the door closed behind zim.

What now?

Sit down, wrap your arms around your chest, and close your eyes. Stay like that until I notify you that you can stop.

44 did as ze was told.

Like this?

Yes.

44 felt queasy, as if moving really fast, and zir ears were filled with sound. 

Just after 44 was starting to get used to the new feelings they came to an abrupt halt, and ze felt sick for a while. Ze fought to remain as told, though.

You may stop now. I apologize for the feelings you may be experiencing, but I promise that you will be okay.

What was that?

Dimensional Transportation.

To where?

Earth.

Uhm… 

I need you to lay down. I have more that needs to be done.

What are you going to do?

Teach you to speak a language fluently and while your body processes that I will go over the system.

Instead of saying anything, 44 just laid down without opening zir eyes. 

Commencing install.

For a brief moment 44 felt as if zir head was going to implode from the pressure, and then the feeling went away.

Welcome to Boons and Banes provided to you by the very gods of all. To break it down, Boons and Banes is a complex system that allows you to interact with all things in the multiverse. The choices you make all affect your status. Boons are marks of achievement or blessings, and Banes are things that limit you or set you back. This system also acts as a tool for growth, analytics, and bartering. It also kindly provides everything in numerical values, for your convenience. Feel free to ask any questions at any time.

44 then felt like weights were taken off zir head, relieved.

Install complete.

Does it always feel like this?

The more the information, the more it hurts.

Can I get a warning next time?

Most certainly.

What even changed?

You now speak the main language of Earth, English. This will allow you to interact with the people of this place, but you cannot read or write in it yet. It is not recommended to install so much knowledge, especially the first time experiencing such.

Where do I go now?

Anywhere you want.

What do I do?

Whatever you would like.

44 opened zir eyes and found everything was vastly different from the walls and cells that we knew. Even the substance under zir feet was dry, gritty, and brown, but also felt nicer on zir paw pads than cushionless, cold flooring of the building zir knew. The sky was a purple haze that zir had never seen, lit by countless bright dots. Big mounds of the substance zir stood upon rose and clashed with the sky for a place to reside. For the first time zir understood what it meant to be free, and it was both terrifying and exhilarating.

Can you point me to where people live?

Yes.

44 saw a big, yellow arrow just ahead, and ze understood its use without any further interrogation. Ze made no delay and just started putting one foot in front of the other.

***

It was night by the time 44 made it past the more scattered shelters that ze saw and reached a much more dense cluster, with lights that went on to the horizon. Ze could see the lights quite a distance before actually reaching them, which made it a relief that ze had finally made it to them. 

44 found it easy to follow the black paths with white lines on them in roughly the direction of the arrow ze saw. Ze also stuck to the stone strips on the side of the black paths, as really fast machines shot by in different directions. Ze was able to figure out how the lights worked that were at where the black paths crossed worked after watching them for a while. Ze knew when to walk and to stop, at least to avoid getting in a collision with the machines that sped by.

The buildings around 44 were mostly made of brown, rectangular-shaped stones laid on top of each other. Ze could see large windows in the walls, and doors every so often, too. All the doors were different from each other, and made more unique by the signs made of lit tubes in the shapes of words. 

As it got later into the night, 44 came across less and less of the super fast machines or people, and that's when it really started to weigh on zim that ze had no idea where to go, even remotely. All of the things ze had never seen before were starting to become overwhelming, and the anxiety of what dangers such a new place could hold was creeping into zir thoughts.

44 did what ze always did when feeling this way and got up next to a wall, sat on the ground, pulled in zir knees, and wrapped zir arms around zimself. Then ze stared at the paths, and started to count the time in between the occasional machine whirring by. 

Ze had lost track of reality, and didn't notice the machine stop just outside of zir vision.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked by the voice of a person that was now standing outside of the machine.

44 could see the person had long hair and a chest similar to zir own, but the clothing the person wore covered up anything else distinguishable to zir.

"I'm not sure." 44 replied.

"Do you need help?"

"Yes."

"Are you injured?"

"No."

"Are you in danger?"

"I'm not sure. Can I trust you?"

"I have no reason to hurt you. Would you like help contacting your parents?"

"What are parents?" 44 turned zir head.

"Uhm… Do you have a home?"

"No, I do not."

"Would you like to stay with me and my husband until I am able to get you help?"

"Will you be putting me in a cell?"

"Heavens… Why would I do that? I don't have any cells in my house."

"If you have no cells, then I would like to go with you, yes."

"Come get in the car. You can call me Kat. What is your name?"

44 froze after getting off the ground.

"I… I don't know."

"What do I call you?"

"I've always been called 44, but I know it's not my name. I just don't know what my name is or was."

44 resumed to walk to the door Kat was holding open from the side of the machine, and as ze got closer ze noticed that Kat was much shorter than ze was.

"Oh, hold on." Kat said before bedding over hand pushing a seat back. "Dear, you are so tall."

44 then got into the machine and watched the door close behind zim. Kat walked around the machine and got in on the opposite side.

"Will this hurt?" 44 asked.

"Will what hurt?"

"This machine."

"The car? No, it shouldn't. You do need to put on the belt, though." Kat pointed to a flat cloth belt with a buckle hanging on it next to the door.

44 reached, pulled it across zimself, and then struggled for a little bit to find out where the buckle would go, until Kat pointed it out.

"Like this?" 44 shyly asked.

"Yeah, that'll do, dear."

Kat then turned something behind a wheel in front of themself and the machine spun to life. Kat then reached for a level in between the two of them and it clicked as Kat moved it. The machine began to move.

44 closed zir eyes to help with the feeling of fear zir felt at this moment.

"Where are you from?" Kat spoke up.

"Nabuka Industries."

"Family business?"

"No. It's a testing facility."

"A mental ward?"

"No. They test products on people. I've never seen any of the other people they tested on, though, just the doctors and technicians."

"Did you run away?"

"Yes. I wanted to be free."

"I don't blame you. I've never heard of Nabuka Industries. Is it from New Mexico?"

"It's not from Earth. This is the first time I have ever been on this planet."

"You're not playing with me, are you?"

"I have no reason to do that. What I have said is the full truth of what I have been through."

"Alright. So, you have no parents, family, and no home?"

"No, I do not."

"And you're not playing a character for Comicon?"

"I don't know what any of that is." 

"So, those horns aren't fake?"

"No."

"Those ears?"

"No."

"You're saying you really have paws?"

"I do. How do I prove it to you?"

"Can I touch them?"

44 leaned down so zir head would be at a height Kat could reach. Kat grabbed a horn, shook it along with 44's head, and then grabbed zir ear and pulled at it. Kat stopped when 44 yelped from the pain of it. Kat then rubbed at the fur gently.

"P-Please don't do that. It's very un-uncomfortable."

"Oh. I'm sorry. It's just so hard to believe that you are actually an alien…"

System, what am I?

You are an archdemon, technically, from Morinth 284C.

"Actually, I am an archdemon." 44 said in reply to Kat.

"You're not evil, are you?"

"I don't think I am evil, no."

"You're not going to make the car suddenly burst into flames or something, either?"

"I am not sure that I could do that, even if I wanted to."

"Do you have paperwork of any kind that I could use to help you?"

System, do I have any… Papers?

Yes. Here.

44 was looking around and was suddenly holding something that had symbols ze couldn't read on them.

44 handed Kat what ze assumed to be papers, "Will these help you any?"

Kat took them and looked them over quickly while continuing to look forward in between.

"Yes. These are exactly what I need, but they don't have a name on them. You will need to have a name for these."

"Oh…"

"Uhm, alright. My husband is going to have a lot to say, but I guess I am adopting you now. You're going to be Aleksandria, uh, Everblight Thornbury. I'll call you Sasha, though."

"Okay, I accept."

Sasha and Kat were both mystified when the name, quite literally, sizzled onto the papers.

"Alright. I've just adopted a demon…" Kat said in a lower tone.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, but if my husband asks anything, I impulsively adopted a child because I always wanted another child and I couldn't say no to giving you a better life, understood?"

"Yes. I understand."

"Glad that's out of the way. Now we will figure this all out together, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do you own anything, at all? Do you have any money?"

System, do I actually have anything?

You possess two physical items. I was also to inform you that you have been deemed eligible by the Paragog to receive lifelong support, as you would have gotten on your previous planet, because of what happened to you. It will be converted into USD, the currency of Earth, and when said and done you will receive $5,000.00 each Earth week. For damages caused by testing you will be reimbursed $100,000.00. As of right now your account sits at $105,000.00.

How do I use the money?

This card I am going to give you. It has all of the means to interact with Earth's point of sale systems.

Sure enough, there was now a sparkling, red, metal card that depicted a black paw print on the front, and on the back was Sasha's name, some numbers, and a black strip above them.

"I, uh, apparently have $105,000. Is that of any use to us?" Sasha said while ze flashed the card at Kat.

"Wow. Yeah, that's super helpful because you're going to need to get some stuff to, you know, sustain yourself. We should be able to take care of you, but that money will give you some freedom, which you deserve. I'll take you shopping tomorrow and you can set up in the room in the loft. I was going to make it into an office, but I really don't need it. Meanwhile, I can set up everything you would need to go to school here in a couple weeks."

"What is school?"

"It's a place where young people go to learn all kinds of things, from how to live to rocket science."

"Okay."

Sasha watched as Kat pulled the car into a small stone area in front of a house that had angled roofs, and windows that had beautiful trimmings and shutters. The house was big and a light blue color that ze liked a lot. Ze could also see that the door had elegant designs in it, but ze had never seen anything like it, nor knew how they were made. 

Kat took off the belt, opened the door, and got out of the car with the papers in hand. Sasha followed Kat's lead and left the car with the card ze had gotten from the system up to the door. Kat opened the door and they went in. 

Another person with short ginger hair and beard came towards the door, but paused with a very intense look of confusion.

"Welcome home, love… Who is this?" The person asked slowly. 

"This is Sasha. Sasha, meet Seamus, my husband. I have been feeling like doing this for some time, and I adopted them. I spent some time with them after work, but I just couldn't make myself say no, especially when I really felt we could give them a better life."

There was a long pause after Kat finished talking, while Seamus was making different faces, then took a deep breath, and then looked back at Kat.

"I wish you had said something. I'm not going to lie, I am very surprised and this is a lot. I will do anything for my family, so if this is what you need, then we will make it work. Please, talk to me next time, though, okay?"

"Thank you, Seamus. I will talk to you first, in the future."

Seamus turned a little to look at Sasha.

"Anyway, Sasha. Welcome to you new home. I hope you like it here. No matter what happened in your past, you deserve happiness like everyone else. If you need help with anything, just ask and we'd be more than willing to assist you. The only thing we can't take you out of is school because it is the law that you go, but we will make sure you are able to get the best education we can for you."

"You're not going to ask about my horns and ears, too?" Sasha asked.

"I'm sure other people will, but as long as your don't do anything to harm any one else I do not care how you express who you are. We can talk more later, if you are okay with that. For now, we should show you to where you'll be sleeping and getting you fed, it is late after all. Kat can show you to your room, and… what do you eat?"

"I actually drink fluids from living things. I am not sure what any of them are called, though. I also am not aware as to whether or not I can eat normally, any more." Sasha said before showing her fangs.

"Well, um, I'll see what I can do. I am grateful that I went shopping today."

Seamus turned away and left just Kat and Sasha, once more. 

Kat didn't delay and waived for Sasha to follow.

They walked past a big room that had something like a big version of the monitor in the room Sasha was forced to stay in for as long as ze could remember, but across from it was a big, soft seat that multiple people could be on. Behind the monitor were the stair that Kat was now guiding Sasha up. It was on the stairs that Sasha realized ze was now walking on a material that felt soft and cushioned under zir paws. Ze looked down and saw that it was many gray strands put together.

The stairs made a turn going the opposite direction and ended with a platform in front of a door. Kat opened the door to reveal a giant room that had a large bed next to the wall opposite the door and to the left was a large window that showed the night sky sitting within an indent in the wall that gave way to a beautiful wooden seat that was also atop part of the wall. It was very notable that it was under the angled roof that went up really high, and hanging from it was a fan hanging from a long pole that had five blades made of wood with elegant designs. The bed had more pillows than Sasha thought ze would ever use, but the bedding looked really comfortable.

"I know it doesn't have a lot now, but we can fix that tomorrow. I hope this will be okay for now. You are welcome to close and lock the door if you want." Kat turned and spoke. 

"There-there is a lock on the door?"

"It only locks from the inside, so it's to lock other people out, not to keep you inside."

"Can I leave it open?" 

"Yeah, you're more than welcome to leave it open, if you're comfortable with that."

"I greatly appreciate everything you have done for me, even though you have never known me."

"It's no problem, really. You were in need, and I am gladly able to provide. Don't worry about it too much. Let's go eat, alright?"

"Okay."

Sasha followed Kat to where Seamus was holding meat over a cup and dripping its fluid into the cup. The glass cup looked to be three quarters full. There was also another person in the room. They had long, ginger hair and beautiful eyebrows that were more definitely an angle than Sasha's own. They were wearing a dress that had a lacy top, and looked exceptionally nice with their physique. What stood out the most to Sasha was the colors above their eyes that made the person look bruised, but still somehow made their face look better rather than worse. 

Sasha felt bad because the person's hair was long, straight, and looked soft compared to zir fluffy, fur-like hair that really only came down to zir chin. 

Sasha's hair was never longer than that, but it did shed every time it got warmer and the vents in the facility started blowing cool air. Sasha had never felt this way about it before, either, though.

"Sasha, this is your new sister, Renee. Renee, Sasha." Seamus said pointing with their free hand.

"What's with the getup?" Renee asked Sasha with a face that caused Sasha some pain.

"If you are asking about my horns and stuff, they are very much real. You're welcome to touch them, if you don't believe me." 

Renee got up from the seat they were in and pulled on Sasha's horn, then gave it a little shake that moved Sasha's whole head. Then Renee rubbed Sasha's ear before giving it a light pull, which made Sasha hiss.

"What… are you?" Renee looked bewildered.

"I am a demon. Before you ask, no I am not kidding or playing with you."

"Why do you have tattoos on your face?"

"I prefer not to talk about them. I never wanted them, and have had them since I was much younger."

"Can I touch your fur? It's such a beautiful red."

Sasha lifted zir leg up and held it for Renee to feel her fur. Renee rubbed it and sat there bewildered. 

"What are your pronouns? Mine are she/her."

"Where I am from, I was taught to use ze/zim/zir. I don't know if that translates, here."

"Where are you from?"

"A planet called Morinth 284C. Before you ask, I have never seen any of it other than the facility I was contained in and tested on. All I know is that the other people I have encountered in that facility didn't look like me, either. I don't think they were demons because they referred to themselves as Tulki. I am sorry I can't tell you more."

"Tested… on?"

"Yes. The facility tested new products they were intending to release to the public on us test subjects, but I never met any of the other subjects."

"Gosh, Sasha…" Renee got closer and hugged Sasha. "I am glad you found your way here. You really do deserve better." 

"I really appreciate your kindness, Renee."

Renee pulled away from Sasha and went to sit back down.

"Alright! I have succeeded in making dinner, I believe." Seamus said as they pulled something out of a heated box and started to portion it out onto plates.

Seamus then came over and handed Sasha the cup they were filling earlier. Then Renee patted the seat next to her while looking at Sasha. As Sasha went to take the seat, Seamus and Kat sat across from them. 

As Sasha drank from the cup, Renee spoke up, "You're really drinking blood?"

"I can't process food the same as other people any more," Sasha flashed her fangs. "But I can drink any fluid that comes from living things for nutrition, at least I believe."

"Does it taste any good?"

"No, so I try not to taste it any more." Sasha held the cup to where ze could make the blood come to the tips of zir fangs while holding their mouth open to show that it didn't have to be on zir tongue, which rolled out of zir mouth and hung well past zir chin.

All of them just stared as the blood disappeared, not a drop left the cup, and Sasha pulled away the empty cup.

"Mom, do you think that counts as a party trick?" Renee asked, and Seamus broke out in laughter.

"Renee!"

"What's a party trick?" Sasha asked with zir head turned.

"It's like a weird thing you can do to impress people, I guess?" Renee said.

"Oh. Is it really that weird?"

"Well, since you're the only person with fangs I've ever met, it's different, not bad, though." 

"I hope you're not lying…" Sasha trailed off, feeling very self conscious. 

"I'm not. I'm sure there are people who would have a problem with it, but I find it to be very cool."

"Does it make you feel cold?" 

"No, awesome or incredible. It's slang."

"Alright. I am sorry. I will not do it again then."

"Dear, it's alright. You haven't upset anyone. It's okay, I promise." Kat spoke up and then smiled gently. 

Sasha turned to see Seamus and Renee nodding before zir chest started to whir up in shame.

Sasha took a deep breath and set the empty cup down. 

"Have you been to school before?" Renee asked with a smile.

"No, I am not familiar with that."

"That's okay. I will help you make some friends and show you around. I can't promise that it'll be a lot of fun all the time, but they will teach you just about anything you could want to learn. We're sisters, now, I've got your back."

"I really appreciate that, Renee." Sasha mimicked Renee's smile, and hoped ze was doing it right.

After a while of the others talking and Sasha sitting there listening, occasionally asking a question, they all decided they would go back to their rooms. 

Sasha didn't like feeling the social separation because ze never had experienced anything like that before, only commands and directions. The conversation was nice for zim and it felt amazing to know it was not just an experiment this time. 

Sasha carefully got in the bed, and thought about the day before drifting off to sleep, ready for the next day for the first time ze could ever remember. It also helped that the blankets were thick and warm.

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Please leave some comments because I really would like to hear what you have to say! Thank you for your time! -UnaWoofie