《AOT: Detective Rai》 Chapter 0: Prologue / Chapter 1: The Kitchen Chapter 0: Prologue It was a dark and rainy day, which quickly became a darker, rainier, muddier night. Rai was trying to follow her mother, who was just barely out of reach. No matter how much she struggled, but her mother never seemed to get closer, always just a shadow right in front of her. She slipped in the mud, landing hard on her face. ¡°Ow! What the-!?¡± Rai said, waking up She had fallen out of her bed while she was sleeping ¡°Ugh. I need to get dad to fix this thing. It''s slanted.¡± Rai said, kicking her bed multiple times ¡°Hey, Rai! Breakfast is ready! Get up or you''re going to be late! And stop hitting things!¡± A voice called up to Rai ¡°Coming! Make sure Taz doesn¡¯t eat all of the bacon!¡± Rai yelled back ¡°Dad is guarding it too well, Rai! I couldn¡¯t if I wanted to!¡± Taz said, reaching for Rais food ¡°OW!¡± Taz yelped ¡°For the record, I AM keeping an eye on the food today, Taz.¡± Dad said ¡°Jeez. Stingy. It¡¯s just bacon.¡± Taz said, checking the mark that had been left after dad slapped him with the spatula ¡°Rai, are you coming down or what?¡± Dad called ¡°Dangit, dad, gimme a sec! I just woke up!¡± Rai said, rushing downstairs after getting ready ¡°You have practice today, right?¡± Dad asked ¡°Yeah, it may run pretty late tonight.¡± Rai said shoveling food into her mouth ¡°Alright, thanks dad, bye! See ya later, Taz.¡± Rai said, rushing out the door to school ¡°Bye, sis.¡± Taz said, smiling The last bell rang, an annoying, yet relieving, sound to Rais ears. ¡°Damn, that was tiring. High school sucks..... Time for practice, I guess. Great. Damn, wish I could just relax for a little bit.¡± Rai said, stretching ¡°Nope! Can¡¯t have that. Cmon, practice is gonna start soon!¡± A voice said, slapping Rai ¡°Don¡¯t slap her there, Jen. That¡¯s inappropriate.¡± Another voice said ¡°Aw, cmon, Layla. Don¡¯t worry about it. She doesn¡¯t mind, right Rai?¡± Jen asked Jen was promptly hit on the head by Rai ¡°Idiot. Blue, what¡¯s the schedule for today?¡± Rai asked, putting Jen in a chokehold ¡°Hm. First there¡¯s drills, from this to this, then that.....¡± Layla said, reading a schedule ¡°Got it. That¡¯s a lot of stuff we have to do.¡± Rai said, sighing ¡°Rai, while I understand that my sister is annoying, she''s turning purple. Maybe you should let go?¡± Layla asked ¡°Oh. Oops.¡± Rai said ¡°Gah!! Ha...ha¡­.Jesus, Rai. You coulda just said no¡­. ack¡­. my neck. You¡¯re as brutal as always.¡± Jen said, breathing heavily ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m so used to putting you in a chokehold that I don¡¯t even realize it anymore.¡± Rai said ¡°Whyyyy.¡± Jen said, whiningStolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you sexually assault her daily.¡± Layla said ¡°Hmph. She likes it.¡± Jen said, puffing her cheeks in mock anger ¡°Shut it, you two. Let¡¯s go practice, okay?¡± Rai said ¡°Fiiiine!¡± Jen said ¡°Fine.¡± Layla said They went to the field A few hours passed, and practice ended The sun was no longer in the sky, and the orange glow from the sunset slowly faded away. ¡°Bye, Rai! Merry Christmas!¡± Jen yelled ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, Rai. Happy Holidays¡± Layla said ¡°Bye, Jen. Seeya, Blue. Happy Holidays, you two.¡± Rai said, heading home. Chapter 1: The Kitchen It was late. Practice had lasted much longer than Rai had expected. She was walking down the street, heading home after a long and tiring day. Rai was lost in her thoughts, ignoring most of what was going on around her, until she got to her front gate ¡°Huh. It¡¯s unlocked? Oh, right. Taz broke the lock again. What was he doing this time, anyways? It¡¯s always something strange. It¡¯s like he lives in his own little world.¡± Rai said, shaking her head She got to the front door and froze ¡°Taz¡­ didn¡¯t break this lock, did he? Hold on. The lights are off. Nobody¡¯s home? Lights are off, front door is open¡­. did something happen?¡± Rai asked She walked into the house, and flicked on the light in the kitchen She immediately flicked it off. ¡°I¡¯m¡­.dreaming. Yeah. This is a dream. This¡­..has to be a dream.¡± Rai said, expressionless ¡°Maybe¡­. maybe it was a hallucination. Yeah, a hallucination. If I just turn it back on, it will be all gone.¡± Rai said She flicked the lights back on, and heard a voice from the kitchen ¡°Rai? Is¡­.that you?¡± Taz asked Rai walked into the kitchen and stared at Taz ¡°Rai¡­. don¡¯t come in¡­ just¡­..run. Far. Fast.¡± Taz said, coughing ¡°Taz? Is...this real?¡± Rai asked, trembling ¡°Rai¡­. forget me.... right¡­.now. Run. She dragged dad off already. He¡¯s dead. I can¡¯t move. Just run. Call somebody. Please.¡± Taz said, smiling He puked up blood ¡°There¡¯s¡­ blood. No, nonononono. What? H-hold on¡­ run, right? Yeah, run. I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll get help.¡± Rai said ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ be fine. ¡®Tis¡­.GAH!.... ¡®tis but¡­.a scratch.¡± Taz wheezed, laughing sadly His guts were spilled on the kitchen counter. He shouldn¡¯t have even been alive, let alone conscious or able to speak. He had waited for Rai. To warn her. ¡°I¡­ no, I¡¯m not stupid. I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll be back. With help. You¡¯re going to be fine.¡± Rai said She ran out the door, jumping over the gate and sprinting down the street as fast as she could ¡°Ha...ha¡­. you can''t¡­ have my sister, you¡­bitch.¡± Taz said, laughing A knife came down, smashing through his skull, splattering chunks of hair, flesh, skull, and brain on the walls and floor, blood spraying even on the ceiling. ¡°Oops. A bit too much strength. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. You got too close to her. Family or not, nobody can have her. She¡¯s mine, you know. All mine. You helped me out a lot, though, you piece of shit. Now I can be there to comfort her while she grieves for you. Oh, right. Your father, too. I only needed his upper half to display him properly. Ahhh. The look of these cold dead eyes is incredible. Unlike you, who chose to get them squashed. Fucking idiot. Ha. I feel sorry for whoever has to clean this shit up. Wait. No, actually. I don¡¯t, I guess. I don¡¯t really care. Ah, whatever. I¡¯ll hang up your father and be done with it, okay? Hmm. I should have kept you alive a little longer just so I could hear you talk. It¡¯s boring when I have to do this alone.¡± Said a voice, smiling happily The voice started humming, the sound of a rope being thrown and tied being made repeatedly. After a second, you could hear the sound of something being dragged across the floor. ¡°God, damn. Your father is fucking heavy, you know that? I guess he is an adult. I hate killing adults. Wasn¡¯t as fun to hear him beg. That¡¯s why I killed him immediately, I guess. But he¡¯s a pretty nice looking decoration. Ahhh, right. It¡¯s Christmas soon, isn¡¯t it. I can use his intestines to wrap them around your tree. That would look nice, right?¡± The voice asked The rustling of a tree and a wet plop could be heard from even the next room over ¡°Ah, I should crucify you, no? Really get into the true spirit of christmas. Hm. Would it have the same effect if there¡¯s no head above the bottom jaw? Nah, I guess it looks fine. I don¡¯t have a cross, though. Sorry. The wall will have to do.¡± The voice said, sighing Two large thunks could be heard, as the voice stabbed a knife into each of Taz''s hands, pinning him up on the wall, his arms splayed outwards ¡°Hm. This arm is a tad broken, but I guess it could look worse. Ah! Look at the time. I gotta go, I promised to meet someone soon. It''s a good alibi, I guess. Bye, you two! Don¡¯t touch Rai again, okay? Only I can touch her. Anyways, Merry Christmas!¡± The voice called, to a room devoid of life. She flicked off the kitchen lights. The back door opened and then closed as the intruder left the house. Despite the mess, she had left almost no trace of herself for the police to find. Night fell completely, the moonlight reflecting off of the pooling blood on the kitchen floor. It looked beautiful. Chapter 2: Sleep Chapter 2: Sleep ¡°What the hell was that. What the HELL WAS THAT!!!!??!¡± Rai wailed ¡°Miss, please calm down, can you explain what¡¯s going on?¡± A voice asked, coming from her phone ¡°Blood. Lots¡­ of¡­. stuff. Stuff everywhere. He¡­. Oh my god. Taz. Taz! You have to help Taz!¡± Rai cried ¡°Miss, emergency services have been dispatched to your location.¡± The voice said ¡°Taz¡­..Dad¡­..¡± Rai said, slumping against a nearby wall, tears streaming down her face. She started hiccuping ¡°Ta-Taz¡­. dad...heuh-help.. meeee. What do I even do! What is this? What is this! Why. What¡¯s going on? Wh-why did I leave?¡± Rai asked, looking at her hands ¡°I¡¯m¡­.tired. It¡¯s just a dream. I¡¯ll be fine once I go to bed. Everything will be fine.¡± Rai said, smiling, tears streaming down her face ¡°Of course.... That¡¯s what it is. A dream. There¡¯s no way that this is¡­.real. No, I¡¯m going to sleep. I don¡¯t care.¡± Rai said, leaning over She closed her eyes. She fell asleep in an alleyway, and was found a few minutes after. She was rushed to the hospital, refusing to wake up. And so she slept. She slept and she slept, refusing to get up. She slept for days.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She slept for weeks. She slept for months. She slept for an entire year, refusing to wake up. ¡°You¡¯re visiting her again? I¡¯ll come with you.¡± A voice said ¡°Layla, I¡¯m fine. I can do this myself. It¡¯s been a year since then. I just¡­. I just wanna go check on her again.¡± Another voice said ¡°Jen. I¡¯m her friend, too. Snap out of it.¡± Layla said, slapping Jen ¡°Ow.¡± Jen said, rubbing her cheek ¡°I¡¯m going for her sake. You¡¯re not the only person that worries and cares about her. You can¡¯t be in the same room with her alone anymore, okay?¡± Layla said ¡°Fine¡­.sorry..sorry, I just-.¡± Jen said ¡°I know. Shut up, let¡¯s go. Talking about it will only make things worse for you.¡± Layla said ¡°Thanks¡­.¡± Jen said, shaking her head ¡°I said let¡¯s go. Stop slowing down.¡± Layla said, dragging Jen ¡°Layla, I get it, okay? Fine. I gotta get flowers though.¡± Jen said, pulling her arm away The two girls headed for a hospital. It was large and brought back many memories for them, past and present ones alike. ¡°This place¡­. I still hate it here.¡± Layla said bitterly ¡°Yeah. I have to agree.¡± Jen said, sighing ¡°Oh, come on. Jeez. Snap out of it, Jen. It¡¯s been a year, already! You have to get over it. You have a life to focus on, too. All we can do is wait¡­. And just hope that she wakes up. Come on, you were the one who wanted to visit, right?¡± Layla said, trying to smile ¡°You suck at smiling.¡± Jen said flatly ¡°I tried. My best. For you. Get over it already, damnit! Even I¡¯m getting annoyed by this! I¡¯ve been with you your whole life, and now you won¡¯t even pay attention to me. Is it because of the DID diagnosis from back then?¡± Layla asked ¡°Shut up, blue. I don¡¯t care about that. I¡­. I¡¯m worried.¡± Jen said, slightly disturbed ¡°....Did something happen? You just called me blue. You rarely use my nickname. What¡¯s going on? Are you okay?¡± Layla asked, suddenly worried ¡°Huh? Ah, sorry. I was a little zoned out for a second. Just¡­ thinking about the future. What did you want to do, again?¡± Jen asked ¡°I¡¯m going to study and become a cop or a detective. You?¡± Layla asked ¡°You know damn well. We¡¯re both doing that I guess, aren¡¯t we? I wanna find the bastard that made her like this.¡± Jen said, hatefully Jens posture started to change slowly. ¡°Jen, stop. We¡¯re in public, I get how you feel, but later, okay? Now is not the best time for another you to come out, okay? Keep calm! Ugh, DID my ass, this personality thing you have sucks!¡± Layla said, dragging Jen to a secluded area to calm her down Chapter 3: Dreamscapes: Level 1 Chapter 3: Dreamscape: Level 21 Multiple voices called out, hundreds of people talking, whispering in her ears, reminding her of her mistakes. ¡°You left everyone. You went to sleep.¡± A voice said ¡°And now I¡¯m trying to wake up.¡± Rai said ¡°You ran away. You abandoned him.¡± A voice echoed ¡°I know I did. I get it already. It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s what he wanted. It¡¯s what he told me to do. I accept everything.¡± Rai said ¡°Are you sure?¡± A voice asked Rai felt a huge amount of pressure, forcing her downward "Ack!" Rai flinched ¡°YES! I AM!¡± She yelled, waking up. She was in a hospital room, staring at a colorful ceiling She sat up She looked at a vase full of clear water sitting next to her bed, a card saying a really bad pun next to it She frowned ¡°Where am I? You. Tell me. Where am I? Right now.¡± Rai said, pointing to a nurse after getting out of bed ¡°Huh? Oh. You¡¯re awake. Good morning, Mrs. Rai. This is a hospital.¡± The nurse said ¡°No shit. Ah, sorry. I¡¯m not exactly in the best of moods. How long have I been asleep?¡± Rai asked ¡°Ten years. It''s 12/2/2020. Wednsday, december second, twenty twenty.¡± The nurse said "What?" Rai asked Rai went to a bathroom and looked in the mirror She looked like she was in her mid twenties. ¡°What? No, I just went to bed for a little bit. It should have been a year at most!¡± Rai said, scowling ¡°Yeah, well, reality doesn¡¯t always work the way you want it to. It''s life. Sometimes you just have to deal with it.¡± The nurse said ¡°What? I-I¡¯m going out. And I don''t need anyone, I can go alone.¡± Rai said ¡°Of course.¡± The nurse said, smiling happily Rai left the room, going to nowhere in particular. She just felt she needed to leave, so she ran. ¡°Where am I?" Rai asked, about 10 minutes laterUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "This is gary Puto hospital. It''s a few blocks away from where you live. Remember?" The nurse asked, walking out of a patiens room in front of her "Huh? Um. There was definately a hospital a few blocks away. Was that really it''s name? That''s a pretty boring name." Rai said "Thanks... it wasn''t up to me. It''s the reason this hospital is here. Without gary Puto''s donations, we wouldn''t have the funds. I don''t know it myself, but I''ve heard mixed things about it. Still, It''s our benifactor, so it''s not my place to question it." The nurse said "Why are you calling gary ''it''?" Rai asked "gary doesn''t have a gender, but I don''t know much about that. That or it was both? I don''t recall. There''s a story about it. There should be another person here who remembers it." The nurse said, filling out a clipboard on the wall next to the room she just left "I haven''t seen a single soul. Aside from you or me, at least." Rai said "Huh? Oh! Right. I forgot, the hospital is closed on Sundays. I''m the only other one here today." The nurse said "What? You must be joking! What about taking care of people!" Rai exclaimed "Until you came, there was nobody who was here at night." The nurse shrugged "....." Rai stood there for a second, thinking "Fine. Where do I go to find food or something? I''m starving." Rai asked "Oh, If you go around that corner and straight, it should lead you into the east wing. Just keep going until you see the map." The nurse said Rai headed around the corner that led into the east wing ¡°And this is why you¡¯re still stuck in a dream. You run and you run and you run. You can¡¯t even face me once, can you. Pitiful.¡± The nurse said, when Rai disappeared from view ¡°I knew it.¡± Rai said, walking out from behind the corner ¡°Huh? Oh, so you found me out? A shame. How did you do it?¡± The nurse smiled ¡°You are the only other living thing here. Even the vase had no flowers in it.¡± Rai said ¡°I should have expected as much from a future detective. Yet, you still don''t see everything.¡± The nurse said ¡°Let me leave.¡± Rai said ¡°No.¡± The nurse replied ¡°Why? What do I have to do to leave?¡± Rai asked ¡°Face yourself, without flinching once, without giving up, and you get to the next level. Fail, and you go back to the first level again.¡± The nurse said ¡°What? What do you mean by that?¡± Rai asked ¡°Just accept the truth already. Go outside, go back to the place you fell asleep forever.¡± The nurse said, grinning Rai left, the nurse waving to her as she went ¡°Damn, this rain is annoying. It feels real. This is a weird dream.¡± Rai said, shaking her head She headed towards the alley she remembered falling asleep in. ¡°Wh-What? Why is-? No¡­. You have to be kidding. No. I¡¯m just asleep... Right. That''s what this is. It''s still a dream.¡± Rai said, eyes widening, as she looked down the alley "Nope. What you see in front of you is all true." The nurse said, melting into existence in front of Rai She walked towards Rai, eventually stepping into the light She had no face that could be understood when seen by the naked eye, and that one would remember. All that could be explained was a completely smooth, featureless face, all skin. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. And yet, if one who has seen it is asked, they will still insist that there was a large smile. Rai was no exception, the entire thing giving her a brain splitting headache. "Huh? Oh. You weren''t supposed to see that. I stepped into the light, didn''t I? What a silly mistake. Oh well." The nurse said. Her voice sounded like human flesh being ripped apart by a cheese grater, in a giant blender. Behind the calm words came the scream of thousands of souls, all in constant states of pain and torture. She grew longer, limbs distorting and elongating until she no longer looked human "Ah. Does this scare you? Sorry about that. Normally I''d kill you, but..." The nurse said, looking down the alley "I guess that would be excessive." The nurse sighed She walked past Rai, who had paid her no attention, focused on the horror she saw at the other end of the alley. Rai screamed, the rain falling harder and harder around her until it drowned out her voice The world itself seemed to start flooding, the water level rising every second, an inch higher each time. "I give up. You win." Rai said, closing her eyes Rai laid back in the water and relaxed, floating, until it had risen beyond a two story buildings height off of the ground She swam to the bottom, and wedged herself under a bus stop roof until she couldn''t move There she stayed, waiting for death, starving her body of oxygen. Everything went black. She opened her eyes to a pitch black room around her Chapter 4: The Loop, A Dream Deeper. Chapter 4: The Loop, A Dream Deeper. Multiple voices called out, hundreds of people talking, whispering in her ears, reminding her of her mistakes. ¡°You left everyone. You went to sleep.¡± A voice said. "I already know what to do. Let me go." Rai said, shaking the voices off. "Are you sure?" A voice echoed. ¡°Yes. Let me try again.¡± Rai said. ¡°Nine lives left.¡± The voice said. ¡°What?¡± Rai asked, confused. ¡°Nine lives, nine chances, nine times before it¡¯s eaten. One more piece gone.¡± The voice said. ¡°Explain.¡± Rai said. ¡°The nurse will show you the way¡± The voice rasped, distorting as it faded away. She woke up ¡°The same ceiling as before. At least I¡¯m in my own body. But I¡¯m still in a dream.¡± Rai said.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Yes. Yes, you are. Your memories shall be eaten after nine more failures. Well, I¡¯m not sure calling this a dream is accurate, but I guess it works. Anyway, I guess I should explain further. Each time you try to go through the dreamscapes, you have nine chances before a total reset. Like a game, I guess.¡± The nurse said. ¡°And if I lose all of my lives?¡± Rai asked. ¡°We eat one of your memories, take away your knowledge of the dreamscape, and you start again.¡± The nurse said. Rai thought for a moment. ¡°Have...have I gone through this before?¡± Rai asked. ¡°Are you asking if you¡¯ve reset before? Yes. Yes you have. Your precious information, your knowledge, your memories, I¡¯ve locked them away inside of myself. They were delicious.¡± The nurse said. ¡°Who are you?¡± Rai asked. ¡°Why, I¡¯m you, who else would I be?¡± The nurse said. ¡°Don¡¯t screw with me. This is my head. Not yours.¡± Rai said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure about that. I¡¯m not sure you can face yourself.¡± The nurse said. ¡°I admit, I want to forget that. But I can face it.¡± Rai said, determined. The nurse shook her head. ¡°You have no idea how much trauma you¡¯ve gone through, do you? Try to remember yourself, when you were a kid.¡± The nurse said. Rai froze, thinking. She shook her head. ¡°No, you must have taken those memories. You said I¡¯ve reset before, right? Who knows what you¡¯ve taken away¡± Rai said angrily. The nurse looked at her pitifully. ¡°You really are helpless. What should I have expected? You¡¯re never going to escape like that.¡± The nurse said. ¡°I¡¯ll prove you wrong.¡± Rai said. ¡°That''s not what-Nevermind. Trauma can do things to a person, Rai. I¡¯m not the only reason you forgot things.¡± The nurse said. ¡°Stop trying to trick me. What am I supposed to do, how do I escape?¡± Rai asked. ¡°You already failed.¡± The nurse said, shaking her head.