After spending hours "brainstorming" about what they could expect next, nightfall finally came.
While they were still gathered around a table, Naomi and Michael watched Trik and Alissia debate about who Alissia should search for next.
"I'm just saying Pride seems like the better choice to me," Alissia said, defending her opinion. "They're bound to be strong."
"They are," Naomi corroborated. "Actually, physically speaking, they're the second strongest of us."
"See! That puts them above Michael, too," Alissia added.
"Hm," Michael mumbled.
"I think Lust would be the better choice, Lisa," Trik inputted. "Going based on previous records, they're the next powerful right under Ms. Akrosa. Adding their power to the team as soon as possible would be more beneficial."
Alissia continued to defend her preference until Trik goaded her into a game of Rock Paper Scissors.
We need to talk. You got a minute?
Naomi continued watching Alissa and Trik, not at all surprised by her other self's voice.
Seriously.
Naomi sighed internally, knowing what this was about. She stood from the table.
"I'll be back," she told them.
"Where are you headed," Michael asked her.
"Getting some air," she responded dryly. She walked over to a nearby window and pointed toward a hill on the horizon.
"I think I'll go find some high ground nearby to relax on," she told them.
Without another word, Naomi jumped from the window and shot toward the hill. Once she reached the mountain, she saw that atop it was various ten to thirty-foot-tall rectangular stone pillars that must've been all that remained from some old building and a bunch of trees that led up the hill.
She chose to sit on one of the taller ones as she looked up at the clear night sky and marveled at how beautiful the mood shined.
So, have you thought about what I said, her other self asked persistently.
"I don't want to talk about it," Naomi stated in a low voice.
You need to remember, Naomi. You've been like this for as long as you can remember, but my memories go back further than yours. Something happened that made you do this to yourself, but to go back to how you should be, I need you to face it. Accept it. Remember when you were little? When you weren't like this?
Naomi could feel something in her stir as her other self tried to show her memories.
"No!" Naomi yelled, shutting the memories out. "Things are fine as they are. I have you to handle the stuff I can't. Why can't you leave it alone?"
How many tails do you have?
"...Four," Naomi answered, knowing where the question led.
Same for me. Since getting our hybrid form, it's always been that way, but you can't tell me you haven't noticed by now that our numbers should be combined. Your tails seem to be a direct representation of your mental state. Meaning you're split, Naomi. I've been telling you this for years.
"I know. I'm not in denial," Naomi said softly as she pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them.
If you understand that, then why do you keep resisting? Don't you want to be whole?
"No...it's better this way," Naomi answered sullenly. "Whatever happened was too much for me to handle, but now I have someone strong enough to carry it for me."
You were thirteen, Naomi. I think you can handle it now. Besides, things aren't better as they are. I'm not supposed to exist – not like this. This isn't healthy.
"Please just...no," Naomi begged, covering her ears as if to stop listening.
Fine, but someday you'll have to face what happened. You can't grow if you refuse to learn the truth about your past.
After her other self conceded, to get her mind off the topic, Naomi enhanced her hearing to try and see if she could learn anything useful.
Her hearing perked just in time to hear the unfamiliar and unnaturally loud heartbeat of someone nearby, causing her to go alert.
Switch with me.
"Who are they, and why are they coming after me?" Naomi questioned.
I don't know, but I'm taking control. Now.
As her other personality, Naomi focused on the person hidden somewhere among the trees that climbed the hillside.
Suddenly she senses a shift in the air and quickly dodges an incoming attack by dropping from the pillar.
She watched as the pillar's top half crashed into the ground and crumbled. Looking back up, it looked like it had been sliced clean diagonally.
Naomi swears she saw something red retreat into the shadows of the trees.
Suddenly she starts to hear a voice. No. Two voices? That's strange; she only heard one heartbeat.
"I thought you said we aren't supposed to kill her," said a masculine, young but raspy voice.
Then there were some feminine giggles.
"That wouldn't have killed her," said the feminine voice. It was soft and slick. Without even seeing the person, Naomi knew whoever the voice belonged to was the cunning type.
"I was trying to take off a piece. What should I aim for next? A finger? A hand? Maybe a leg! It's so hard to choose. I'll just take whatever's severed first," the feminine voice continued as they drew closer.
In the next instant, a red stream of liquid snaked toward Naomi at high speeds, but before it could touch her, Naomi released a pulse of arctic air over the area, instantly freezing it solid and covering the area in frost.
"Come out," Naomi demanded calmly as cold steam lifted from her body.
When the two intruders stepped onto the moonlit hilltop, Naomi suddenly realized why she was confused by the heartbeat. It wasn't that the heartbeat was loud; it was a case of two heartbeats beating perfectly in sync.
"Hello," the female said. She wore dark clothing, a shirt that exposed her stomach, and a dark, hooded cloak with red inner linings.
"I'm Kaila, and this is my brother Claeg," she said as she motioned to the large, muscular, bald man with gray skin, bloodied dark clothes, odd shimmering eyes, and a jagged smile. "But you probably know us by our more infamous epithet: The Cannibal Twins."