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MATURE CONTENT WARNING:
This page contains mature content and is not suitable for younger users. Mature content may include violence, multiple instances of swearing, and upsetting themes or topics.


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WARNING:
This page contains a major character death.


Uploading Schedule[]

I update this story on the weekends anytime between 7:00-9:30 PM. Sometimes I upload on weekdays, sometimes I don't update for nearly two weeks, depends on my schedule and which devices I have access to.

PLEASE READ[]

I changed the beginning of the dinner conversation in Episode 1 Chapter 3, so I'd suggest you re-read it so you're not confused later.

Episode 1[]

Prolouge[]

Camilla lay uselessly against the miserably uncomfortable walls of what she now was forced to consider her home. Her exhaustion was deepened by the blood curdling screams that could be heard from all throughout Tartarus. She closed her eyes and sank her head into her knees. This torture, this gloom, this isolation was entirely what she deserved for all the despair and devastation she had caused others.

But Camilla wasn't going to get to wallow in her own self-hatred for too much longer.

"Millie," a deep, unsteady voice called to her.

Camilla forced her head to lift and turn toward the painfully familiar voice and groggily opened her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes were punished by a stinging sensation brought about by a once familiar brightness that hadn't illuminated her cave previously. She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the light, allowing the appearance of the source of the voice to materialize before her. As the figure was made clearer, the light subsided.

"Always with the flashy entrances," Camilla croaked.

"Oh, did I - I should've thought about that, I'm sorry," the woman cast her gaze to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" Camilla asked slowly.

"I'm . . . I'm freeing you. I'm taking you out of here. To start a new life."

"We both know that the best possible fate for me is to rot down here for the rest of eternity."

"You were always so dramatic," The woman said, her voice waving as the sentence reached its end. She pulled her head away from Camilla as she fiddled with the hem of her cloak. "Okay, not the best thing to say, I know. Look, I-I know you probably don't deserve it. But I don't care. I want to give you a new start."

"Right, like Jupiter would allow that."

"I've already figured something out with Hecate and Pluto."

"Pluto?" Camilla's eyes narrowed wearily. She hid herself behind her arms and long, thin legs. "I'm surprised he wants anything to do with me."

"He's so far removed from the time when you were a child that he didn't really care," the woman allowed herself to look at Camilla and keep a fixed gaze on her frail figure.

"Why are you doing this?" Camilla whispered. She closed her eyes once again, allowing the droplets that had formed at the corners of her eyes to trace her cheekbones.

The woman sighed and walked over to Camilla and lay down beside her and took her hand. "Throughout the many years of my life, I've seen all kinds of evils. And behind each and every demon was someone who had been . . . misguided in some way. Whether it be by pain or upbringing. Now I'm not saying that what you've done can be excused just because of what you've had to live through, because it most definitely can't. What I am saying is that given another chance to learn from your mistakes, I think you could be better. So will you come with me?"

Camilla turned over to face her and looked at their intertwined hands. "Yes. But I'd like to make some requests."

"Whatever you want."

Chapter 1[]

Camilla sat up hastily, awakening from her sleep. She drowsily rubbed her eyes as her eyes adjusted to the light. Looking around, she realized she realized that she didn't recognize her surroundings. How did she get here? Well, wherever "here" was, it was certainly nice. Her room was decorated with antique furniture, floral patterns, and soft colors. Camilla found that she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but a nice, simple room like this one was something she had wanted for a long time. The memory of how long exactly was lost to her.

She stepped out of bed to discover that the room had wooden flooring, which made her frown. She walked over to the wardrobe, her feet subtly aching with each step. As she looked through her wardrobe, she wished for carpeting. She found that her wardrobe was full of clothes she didn't recognize, and she didn't remember putting them there. Camilla exhaled nervously while picking out a loose pale pink shirt and a red and white plaid skirt. She then turned her attention to what she saw when she looked at the mirror. Thankfully, she still looked like herself. Almost. She looked around for a ribbon she could use to tie her hair up, but stopped when she caught another glance at herself, deciding that she preferred to leave her black hair falling over her shoulders.

After she finished her morning routine, Camilla exited the room into a long hallway lined with with many doors that head to the top of a staircase. Camilla decided it was best not to find out what was on the other end of those doors as to not risk disturbing those who have not yet awoken, assuming that she wasn't the only one inhabiting the building.

After traveling down the stairs, Camilla found herself in a sitting area filled with furniture that, even though it shouldn't have, looked odd to her. However, she didn't look too closely because of the cloaked figure sitting in front of what Camilla guessed was a coffee table.

"Uh, hello?" Camilla asked the stranger.

The figure turned her head at her, her eyes wide and lips curved to form a smile. At first glance the woman seemed to about be as old as Camilla was - however old that was - but after spotting the bags that hung under her eyes and the other accompanying wrinkles that framed her face, she began to think otherwise. The woman walked over to her.

"You're awake!" The cloaked stranger exclaimed. "Good morning."

"Uh, you too," Camilla said, her voice uneven as she squinted her eyes wearily..

"Let me guess: you're confused and can't recall any memories that would help you understand what's happening," The woman said.

"How could you possibly know that?" Camilla's tone grew rigid.

"Now, now, calm down and let me explain the situation," The woman glanced at the floor nervously. "This is your second life. You and people you knew in your past life have all been given another chance at life. Actually, they're all asleep in this very house. But under the request of your past self, none of you remember anything from your past lives. However, you'll receive those memories as time goes on."

Camilla stood in silence, staring at the floor. Out of all the explanations to this situation, she most definitely thought that what she'd just been told wouldn't be it. Granted, she couldn't think of hard any explanations in the first place. But revival still seemed outlandish. And wrong in way that felt like she was breaking some sort of rule. She looked back at the woman. "Are you sure you didn't leave out anything?"

"Positive. I know that explanation probably makes things more confusing, but that's basically it. For now, I encourage you to sit with me," The woman walked over toward a couch that faced a rectangular black box that was fixed into the wall.

"What's your name?" Camilla asked as she fixed herself into the spot needed to the woman.

"Eudoxia. Now, enjoy the wonders of modern television with me."

Chapter 2[]

"Oh, here comes our last person," Eudoxia remarked.

A few hours later, Camilla found herself joined by five more people - excluding the last person to awake. As time passed, the group became louder than the television, which prompted Eudoxia to eventually just turn it off. Now, they all turned their attention to the newcomer, who was a person of a thin and lank build who possessed severely unkempt silver hair of great volume.

"Uh... hello?" The person said.

"Hello, dear," Eudoxia greeted sweetly. "I would assume you're greatly confused right now?"

They nodded timidly, so Eudoxia explained the situation like she had six times before. "Now, to be frank, we only met a couple of times in your first life, so could you tell me your name?"

"My name is Silvestre," They said, but their voice wavered. "At least, I think it is. I can remember two different names, and the that I feel like I've been called more is that one."

"Well, which one would you prefer?" Eudoxia asked.

"Let's just stick with Silvestre."

Eudoxia nodded.

"Uh, sorry if this is rude, but you guy or girl?" Ampelio, a shortish man with a square jaw and beige skin asked.

Silvestre's eyes glazed over and they stood completely still for a moment, as quickly as they had began Silvestre had stopped and their dark eyes gained life again. "I'm a boy."

"What happened to him a couple seconds ago?" A raven-haired man named Merle asked.

"If I'm correct, I think you'll go still whenever you remember something," Eudoxia informed. "Now, that you're all here, we can truly begin our day. I would highly suggest the seven of you all get outside and go around town. Much has changed since you all last roamed the Earth, so it would be wise for me to join you despite just in case. But I'll make sure not to intrude on your fun."

"Alright, let's go!" Ampelio cheered, practically leaping off the couch.

* * *

One ten minute bus ride later Camilla and the others had arrived in front of a tall building that had walls mostly comprised of windows from what Camilla could tell. Eudoxia referred to it as a shopping mall. As Camilla and the rest walked toward the entrance, Camilla stared wide-eyed at her surroundings. All around the buildings looked like something much grander than she felt like she had ever seen before, and the vehicles looked sharper and far safer than what she saw from her memory flashes. But what astounded her most were the people. The people walking along the sidewalks were of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and backgrounds, and the way they seemed so unique and free. What she saw in her flashes greatly contrasted all of this. What she remembered from her flashes were unhappy, unsmiling people trudging down the streets in suits and other formal forms of clothing; she also saw angry people holdings signs and shouting at officers, people who she had a feeling were a lot like her in multiple ways. For a moment, she fell into a deep despair from the sudden intuition that these people had relied on her and she failed them not because she was incapable, but simply because she had stopped caring.

Soon the eight of them entered the mall, and so the exploring began. Camilla ended up not being able to settle on just one place to go and gallivanted from store to store looking carefully at every little nic-nac; A pale, grey eyed man with fiery orange hair named Wallace quietly followed Camilla, tentatively observing everything along with her; Merle, Ampelio, and a spiky haired woman named Anaxarete ended up engaging themselves in a rather competitive game of bowling; Silvestre sat calmly in a barber chair getting a hair cut that was probably long overdue; a dark haired woman named Julia who looked younger than the rest of the reborn was enjoying a slice of pizza in the food court; and Eudoxia did her best to chaperone them all.

A few hours later, they all found themselves sitting in an outdoor eating space enjoying some ice cream. Camilla had managed to acquire a particularly sunny seat; with closed eyes, she enjoyed the breeze that allowed her long hair to sway in the breeze while she relished in her coffee flavored ice cream. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, too.

"Oh, you should've seen him!" Ampelio cackled. He hovered so far above the table that his chocolate ice cream was in danger of plopping onto the table. "He was so angry! And it was just a game!"

"Well maybe if you hadn't been so cocky I wouldn't have been1" Merle protested, but on his face he wore a smile.

"Oh hush, you two are both buffoons!" Anaxarete chuckled.

"Could you pipe down a bit? You're so loud," Julia stated. "Anyways, what did the rest of you guys do?"

"Well, I think how I've spent my time is pretty obvious," Silvestre answered, picking at his hair sheepishly.

"Wallace and I have just gone around everywhere! It's crazy how many things there are to do! " Camilla chimed. "I wish I could've headed into every place there was. I think I'm going to really enjoy being alive in a world as wonderful as this one!"

Wallace nodded in agreement.

Eudoxia shifted around uncomfortably. "I'll concede that it is magnificent. But don't get your head stuck in the clouds. There's still a lot wrong here."

"What do you mean by that?" Camilla asked before finishing off her ice cream. She tensed slightly as Eudoxia considered her reply.

"There's a lot of injustice in the world," Eudoxia finally said in a grave voice. "Many people are discriminated against and oppressed for thing they can not control, others are plagued with poverty due to the selfishness and greed and greed of others. The list goes on, actually."

"Oh," Camilla said slowly, softly narrowing her eyes at the table. "Well, there's gotta be a way to change it, right?"

"I try my best to still believe so," Eudoxia noticed the fallen faces around her, "Oh, look at me. I've gone and ruined the mood. Please, do your best to move on and forget I'm here."

Fortunately, the clouds soon grew grey and thunderous, forcing the group to head home instead of make light of the dull mood that had been set.

Chapter 3[]

(TRIGGER WARNING: Death, implied murder, implied trauma)

The eight of them were all at home once again. Upon returning home, Eudoxia turned on the television, successfully bringing everyone else's attention to Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead of leaving them pensive. For the most part, at least. Camilla couldn't help but still feel a bit tense despite her best efforts to distract from the feeling. Whenever the program cut to a commercial break, her eyes darted toward Eudoxia, who was pacing in the space behind them and nervously fiddling with the hem of her cloak.

Around the time when the sky transitioned into a raven black, there was a knock on the door. Eudoxia yelped and turned to The Reborn. "Julia, you see the long rectangular device with buttons on it in front of you? Press the button with the two tall rectangles next to each other, please."

Julia did as she was ordered, and widened her eyes in shock when the once unstoppable Buffy now froze inside her own rectangular prison. Eudoxia opened the door; Camilla strained her neck, but still failed to get a good look at whoever was on the other side.

"Hello," Eudoxia began with a crooked smile. "Thank you so much for coming. I know this must be very difficult for you, and I'll try to make it as painless as possible."

"Whatever," a woman with an unspecifiable on the other side replied icily.

Eudoxia stepped aside to let the strangers in. Camilla stared at the new figures with anticipation. One of the figures was a woman who stood at around Anaxarete's height and had hair that was as light and blinding as the sun, and her eyes were almost as grey as the clouds that had arrived earlier; from the way she looked a them, Camilla guessed she was the one who had spoken before. Another was a man with skin around as dark as Camilla's, but it contrasted from her ashen complexion with a warmer one; he eyed Camilla and the rest wearily. The final visitor was someone with short golden hair that covered one of their sky blue eyes; Camilla was unable to tell whether or not this person as a man or a woman. They were all noticeably older than The Reborn, but they were clearly still young in some regard.

Eudoxia inhaled deeply, her eyes closed. Her mouth opened as her eyes did, but when she spoke she was cut off.

"Why didn't you tell us people were coming over?" Merle asked, suspicious.

"Well, um, I know you were already processing so much information today, and I didn't want to bring the mood further down by telling you who these people are. I apologize for keeping this from you. These three people are Alaura and Roy Brandon, and Skylar Alberghini. You knew them in your first lives, though Skylar went by the name Aura back then," Eudoxia explained.

Camilla received another flash. Her and the visitors were somewhere she didn't recognize. Alaura, Roy, and what Camilla guessed was Skylar - or was it Aura? - were in tears. Skylar-Aura cowered against the wall, shaking; Roy was staring wide-eyed at the ground, as pale as nature would allow him to be; and Alaura was staring back at her dead in the eye, screaming at her while sobbing at the same time. They all looked younger here, younger than Camilla, even. With her voice full of fury and another emotion Camilla couldn't quite place, Alaura hollered, "You'll pay! You hear me, you MONSTER!? YOU'LL PAY!"; when Camilla returned back to the present, she was met with Alaura's hateful glare.

What did I do? Camilla wondered with wide eyes and a tight stomach. She studied the expressions of her friends - well, the people who she had formed the closest thing to bond with so far within the 20-something hours of her life. To her surprise, their reactions were all quite varied; Wallace's expression was neutral, Silvestre was squinting confusedly at them, Merle was contemplative, Anaxarete's face was how Camilla imagined she herself must look, Ampelio was wide-eyed and panicked, and Julia was just blinking several times. She forced herself to look back at the visitors, but she couldn't bring herself to look them directly in the eye; luckily, she was taller than everyone else in the room. "Uh, hello."

Skylar sucked in a breath with their eyes closed. They opened their eyes and approached Camilla, holding their hand out. "It's nice to meet you."

"Uh-" Camilla looked down at their hand for a moment before realizing she had to shake it. Once she did that, she asked.

"So how did we know each other?" Silvestre asked.

"We - ... we worked together," Skylar answered hesitantly. Like Alaura, their voice was also vaguely accented, but in a different way than Alaura's was.

"I guess you could call it that," Alaura muttered darkly.

Skylar let out a frustrated sigh. "Please, try to ignore her. She's perpetually has a stick up her *ss."

"You expect me to not be angry!?" Alaura snapped, finally taking her eyes off of The Reborn.

"We are not doing this right now," Skylar pinched their nose bridge.

"Why not!? I'm sure it'll help jog a few memories!" Alaura snarled.

"Honey, please, we came here to make peace with-" Roy started in the same accent Alaura had, reaching his hand out toward her..

"No, Roy, you did and you dragged me along!" Alaura interrupted, slapping his hand away.

"CAN YOU GUYS CUT IT OUT!?" Merle hollered. The visitors froze for a moment, seemingly overtaken by some sort of fear just long enough for Merle to look over at Eudoxia and ask, "Why are these people even here in the first place?"

"That is a good question," Eudoxia began. "These three's memories of you all in your past lives are, for the most part, pretty horrible. I thought it would be very therapeutic for them to help you regain your memories and grow to be better than the people you were; heal them of their trauma."

Camilla looked over at Alaura. Initially she seemed just as angry as before, but from the way she gritted her teeth it looked as if she were struggling. Alaura looked down to see that Alaura had a death grip on both of her wrists to try and keep herself from shaking. When she dared to look at her eyes, Camilla noticed Alaura was glaring at Merle with wide, somewhat frightened eyes, though her stare was still full of venom. Out of a cautious curiosity, Camila glanced at Merle to find that he had seemingly taken a couple steps back, looking ashamed.

"Well what did we do that was so bad?" Julia asked, confused.

"It's best for you to learn that yourselves," Eudoxia answered, looking off to the side. "Anyways, I figured that tonight we would all just have dinner together."

* * *

An hour full of TV watching, awkward glances, and half-hearted small talk later, the steak was done being prepared. Everyone took a seat at the table and silently began their meals. When Camilla risked a glance at the guests, she noticed that Alaura had her eyes narrowed and she stared at her plate mindlessly. Camilla flinched and looked down at her steak when she spoke.

"So, this was all you could do?" Alaura asked, her tone almost accusing.

"What?" Eudoxia asked. "Oh, you mean - Look, I tried to get them back, but I couldn't force anyone here to come back. I gave them a choice, and they chose not to."

"They didn't - How could they not want to come back after the lives they led?!" Alaura questioned, in disbelief. Her fists were shaking. "If it weren't for them -," Alaura flung her arm around the table, steak knife still in hand, motioning toward the Reborn,"-they'd still have the rest of their lives to live, plus the extra years that we stole from those poor people, and make their lives better! To forget about the things that happened in our youth!"

Skylar muttered something under their breath.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't convince them," Eudoxia said quietly, but with a note of what she hoped would bring finality.

"LIAR!" Alaura slammed her fist on the table.

"I'm sorry, but may I ask who this 'they' is? And what's this about these 'poor people'?" Anaxarete asked.

"The specific people in question are some of many you've hurt-" Eudoxia began.

"The 'they' is my friends." Alaura finished, her voice quivering but angry.

"So how did you manage to bring us back, anyhow?" Anaxarete asked.

"I got permission from the Gods to go into each of the afterlives you got into, see if you wanted to live again, and then I either left you there if you didn't want to or brought you out so you could walk this Earth once more," Eudoxia explained as if it were the simplest thing.

"Wait, gods?" Ampelio asked. He went still for a moment, as did the rest of the Reborn. "Oh, that's right! I can't believe I forgot that. Wait, how do you have connections to them?"

"Technically, I only have connections to one. I trained under Hecate ages ago and we still keep in touch," Eudoxia explained.

"I'm ... surprised you never told me this. Actually ... you never told us much about yourself, did you?" Camilla asked, her gaze drifting downward.

"No, I didn't," Eudoxia said. She also brought her head down, the hood of her cloak veiling her face as she continued eating her meal.

Merle looked at Alaura. "Did we know your friends?"

"You did," Skylar answered, their tone matter-of-fact.

"They also died," Roy added quietly. Everyone brought their heads down and kept eating.

Camilla's stomach tightened as she set down her silverware, no longer hungry. She coiled her arms around her and hunched over the table in attempt to shield herself from the dread that hung over everyone's heads. She knew whatever happened to the visitor's friends was awful, and it most likely had to something with her and the others. Whatever happened to their friends was why they didn't have good memories of them all. It was why they were crying however long ago. She grew still as another flash came, this one showed her the terrified faces of two people who were, again, younger than her; one had a warm brown complexion, freckles, intelligent eyes and huge frizzy hair, and the other was a boy bearing a strong resemblance to Alaura. Even after the flash ended, Camilla could still feel their eyes on her.

"... No, really it's fine, you don't need to that, I have some savings, I'm sure I can-" Skylar assured, holding their hands up in some sort of defense.

"Nonsense. I have so much money left over it's astounding. If you don't want to stay in the house, then I'll buy you all one to live in!" Eudoxia insisted, smiling. Her smile was unsteady, as if at any moment another social disaster could strike.

"I don't think the three of us all living together is the best idea," Roy argued, looking nervously between Alaura and Skylar.

"Alright, fine, I'll buy two houses!" Eudoxia countered.

"Okay, okay, I'll stay here!" Skylar said, lowering their hands.

"Where are you guys from originally?" Julia asked. Something about that question made even Alaura falter, dropping her fork for a moment.

"Well, we were all born here in America, but we ended up having to move awhile ago," Skylar explained. "I live in the UK with Alaura and Roy for while but then we ... Uh, I moved to France."

"That reminds me, how you three doing?" Eudoxia asked. Alaura rolled her eyes and scoffed, causing Skylar to give her some side eye.

"Well, I work an office job, which i-isn't bad as it might seem!" Roy said. He looked over at Alaura expectantly, but she didn't speak. "Alaura's a receptionist. We're doing great. Everything's fine."

Skylar muttered something under their breath before making themself audible. "Life's going pretty good for me, too. I'm working in a cafe. Not one of those fancy ones you hear about though. I could never get hired by one of those. The job did inspire me to take up baking, though. Oh, I've been seeing a therapist for a while, now. I tried to get my name legally changed a while back, but I don't think that will be happening unfortunately. Overall, I'm just trying to live life day by day and to the fullest."

As the conversation continued, one by one each of the Reborn finished their meals or an excused themself from the table, and Camilla was the last to depart, finding herself anchored to the table despite her overwhelming desire to return to the safety of her bedroom. Locating said bedroom turned out to be a difficult task, and after accidentally intruding on Merle, she decided it would be good to start knocking. When she finally knocked a door without receiving a response, she hastily gripped the doorknob and flung the door open before shutting it closed. She let out a deep, almost guttural sigh, relieving herself of the stress and anxiety that had accompanied her meal. As her muscles loosened, she defended to the floor and rested against the door, eyes closed. She sat there so long she had started to drift off to sleep, and she was tempted to let herself, but soon enough she found herself buried under her blankets.

Chapter 4[]

(Trigger warning: Implied ab*se and gender dysphoria)

Camilla awoke to a soft knocking on her door and sun's bright rays penetrating her vision. With each memory of the previous day that assembled in her mind, the deeper the pit of dread in her stomach hallowed out her body. She started blankly at the ceiling, averting her eyes from the sun. She would have to get curtains sometimes.

"Millie, are you awake? May I come in?" A deep voice asked her from the other side of the door.

Camilla turned over in her bed and examined the distant wall ahead of her. There wasn't much on this side of the room, just her door, her desk, a counterpart to the end table on the other side of her bed, and - who where those people in those photos?

"Millie?" Eudoxia hesitantly repeated.

"Um, come in," Camilla said, rushing to sit up and moving lose hairs that hung around her face.

The door slowly creaked open and Camilla was met with Eudoxia loving dark eyes. "Good morning."

Camilla echoed the same greeting; her eyes darted up and down Eudoxia. "Do you always where that cloak?"

Eudoxia nodded, smiling. She continued her habit of fiddling with the hem of her cloak, but it was unlike other times she did so; in contrasted to the nervous, quick motions made by her fingers the previous night, Eudoxia movements were slow and controlled. Camilla cleared her throat and Eudoxia looked back up at her, the ends of her eyebrows lifting downward with the ends of her mouth. "Are you okay after last night?"

"I don't - no," Camilla blinked. How had that been so easy to tell her when before it had been suffocating her?

Eudoxia looked at the ground, disappointed; but about what? "I'm sorry. The way I handled things was atrocious. I should've given you more time before I had you meet. It can't be helped now, though."

"Why do you apologize so much?" Camilla asked.

Eudoxia lowered her head, her face now replaced by blue-dyed silk. She brought her hands too her eyes and she sniffed. When she brought her hands down and rose her head, smiling. "Don't worry about that."

Camilla glanced around the room, and her attention was brought back to the photos. "Who are those people?"

Eudoxia walked overt to the photos, not missing a beat. "Well, this one with the large group of people is you and a bunch your co-workers, and these two smaller ones here are you with Eleanor Roosevelt and you with Amelia Earhart."

"And they are...?" Camilla raised an eyebrow.

"Amelia Earhart was famous pilot, and Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady once upon a time. You and Eleanor were friends for a short time, but the photo with Amelia Earhart was largely for publicity," Eudoxia explained.

"Why would you hang these here?"

"I don't know, really. I guess I'm just ... proud of your accomplishments is all. Or at least, proud of parts of them. Everyone has photos likes these in their room," Eudoxia cast a proud smile at the photos. "I'm going to go make breakfast. Julia and Merle are already awake and watching a show called The Good Place downstairs.

* * *

Once breakfast had been finished, Eudoxia gathered everyone together in the living room around the coffee table.

"What is it now?" Anaxarete sneered.

Eudoxia sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You all need fake identities. In your first lives, your faces were in the public's eyes often. Some of you more so than others, but its best to not take chances. At least for now, if you so wish to reveal yourselves to the public one day." She went it into another room and returned with a paper and pencil. "First, I'd like you to all write your full names down. You'd be surprised how easily one can forget their own name." The pencil she held was passed around the room until it circled back to her when the list was completed. "Excellent. Let me get you all your fake IDs from my bedroom."

"Wait, you actually sleep?" Julia asked, smirking.

"Why yes, I do. Look, I can tall it's pretty obvious that I'm ancient, but just because I'm immortal doesn't mean I don't have to maintain my body," Eudoxia headed up the stairs.

"So, sounds like we were famous, eh?" Ampelio asked, grinning excitedly.

"It seems so. I wonder what we all did for a living!" Camilla said, starry-eyed. "Maybe I was an actress or politician!"

"Didn't the visitors form last night mention that they worked with us? We'd all have to be in the same industry then, or closely connected ones," Merle reasoned, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully and resting his chin in-between his right thumb and index finger.

Eudoxia returned from the second floor holding a small bag full of the IDs and began passing them out to everyone. Camilla's was for a person named "Millicent Russo." She looked up. "Why is there no picture?"

"Well, that's what we're doing today. Heading to the mall and disguising yourselves so you're not recognized. As well as getting you things you actually like wearing for when you’re not in public spaces" Eudoxia explained.

"And we didn't do this yesterday, why?" Anaxarete raised her eyebrow.

"Didn't want to stress you out," she said simply.

Camilla inspected herself nervously. She had at least a few inches on everyone there, not to mention her striking golden eyes. While passing people in the mall yesterday, she had seen some people with unusual features, but they were clearly among the minority. "How am I supposed to disguise myself?"

"That's a smart question that took some time to think of. good answer for," Eudoxia began. "You very rarely wore your hair down in your first life, so that should be fine. We can just used colored contacts for you eyes. As for your height, we'll find high heeled shoes so the average person will think that's what makes you so tall. And we can use clothes and make-up to hide your skin tone-"

"Wait, what's wrong with my skin?" Camilla asked worriedly, looking down at her hands.

"Nothing! Nothing at all! It's just - I'll just be blunt here and rip the bandaid off - your skin tone is reminiscent to that of a rotting corpse's. And there's absolutely no problem with that, it's just that the overwhelming majority of people don't look like their dying, so your skin tone was one of your most notorious descriptors. We'll have to use make-up on your facial area to make it easier for you blend in. As for the rest of you - you know what, we'll go over it when we get to the mall."When they got to the mall, Eudoxia led the group to a store that was far larger than the small shops that dotted the landscape of building. It was largely for buying a variety of different clothing types, though kitchen supplies and bedsheets also lined some of the shelves. Camilla stared wide-eyed at the selection, her paralyzed legs refusing to carry her any direction. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her. Although she had no memories of it, shopping was familiar to her. She knew how to look through things she needed and pick out what she favored and she knew to how to properly pay for things. As she watched the strangers around her effortlessly choose things to buy, she realized she did know what the problem was.

”Millie, what do you need help with?” Eudoxia asked her.

“How ... how am I supposed to know what I like?” Camilla asked slowly.

”I was thinking the same thing,” Julia concurred.

“Well, you ... “ Eudoxia trailed off. “How about we get you all what you need in order to hide first?”

”Alright, that sounds good,” Camilla said, exhaling.

”You only told Camilla what she needs. How are we supposed to know what we need?” Ampelio asked.

”Well, fashion is very different from when you all were first alive, so buying the clothes you see here without much thought should be enough. You’d be surprised as to how so much as changing your dress style can completely alter how you’re perceived,” Eudoxia explained. “For Camilla it’s a bit different because - well -she doesn’t look like your average human being, let’s just say. How about you all go off on your own to pick things out while I help out Camilla and you find your way back to me whenever you’re done?”

The departure of the rest of the Reborn answered Eudoxia’s question.

* * *

Anaxarete walked through the store with Ampelio and Merle. Despite the three not knowing each other for very long, she quickly found herself naturally gravitated toward them. She was smart enough to not have to wonder why. But she did wonder how and why the three of them had been so close. Had she been in love with either or both them at some point? She didn’t think that was the case, because whenever her mind wandered there she could feel her stomach tighten in a way that sickened her. She didn’t think she was a sister to one of them either, they looked nothing like her. Perhaps they had simply just been friends. Either way, she felt safe in their presence, and she’d rather find out about whatever most likely horrific events that had occurred in their first lives with them by her side than without them.

As she thought about this, she found herself surrounded by fabric that make a high-pitched zip! sound that made her stomach lurch when she scratched her fingernail across it. She looked at the the giant posters on the walls above all the clothes that portrayed fit, attractive men and women on treadmills, running, lifting weights, or just posing and smiling while wearing some of the clothes on hangers around them. While she detested the sound the fabric of those clothes made, she found herself wanting to try some of it on. What she wore in her flashbacks long, loose dresses that restricted her in way that had nothing to do with the amount of room she had to move. But hey would she wear something she doesn't like? Anaxarete shrugged. at least she could have her disguise be something she enjoyed. “Hey, do you think I could wear these clothes all the time or just while working out? I don’t wanna look weird.”

”You really expect us to know? We’re as new to everything as you are,” Ampelio pointed out, amused.

“Maybe you could find something similar to these types of clothes? Ones that you’ll know for sure you can wear all the time.” Merle suggested.

”Hmm. Good idea. I’ll go looking for that stuff, be back soon,” Anaxarete disappeared into the sea of shoppers.

* * *

Ampelio carefully and methodically looked through the selection before him. He had been considering what Camilla mentioned earlier, so he studied each pair of jeans and every T-shirt carefully, hoping to spark a memory, some frame of reference to go off of, but he wasn't getting results. He stood still and shut his eyes high, slowly inhaling and releasing a breath to try and relieve himself of his frustration. He just had to think. What had he been wearing in the flashback he received before? A button up with jeans. That was a bit too broad. He looked down at what was wearing now: A T-shirt and jeans. What an impactful difference. At least he had jeans locked in. Then, he looked to the other people in the store and what they wore. Most of the men were dressed similarly to him, and when he didn't think anything the women were wearing would fit him. Then he spotted him. A young man wearing a loose sweater, some rings on his fingers, and a few piercings caught his eye. There were also some other rather eye-catching features Ampelio noticed, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to stare too hard at a stranger in public. Still, he had an allure that drew other people to him, an allure Ampelio desired for himself. Then he was hit with clearer memories, ones where he was constantly plagued by jealousy and desperation, as if something bad would happen to him if he wasn't always surrounded by other people. Was - am I that ... obsessive? Maybe if I give in it'll stop. He couldn't tell where Merle had gone, but he could take care of himself.

* * *

Merle shifted around uncomfortably, adjusting and readjusting the end cuffs of his sleeves. His eyes drifted to the left and downward. What was wrong with him? He was just about to approach the makeup section. As far as he was aware, there was nothing wrong with just taking a step in. So why did it feel so wrong, so taboo? And why was this section of the store so tempting to him if it felt so off? He took a tentatively step forward, and then looked around. Although he wasn't being stared at, he still felt eyes on him. For a moment, everything went still, and the noises of the shoppers were replaced by the sounds of shoes clop! - ing against the stone sidewalk, imitating the horses that drew carriages on the street behind him.

He stood in front of a large glass window that displayed what the shop sold, dresses, jewelry, and other women's clothing articles. He stumbled as he took a step forward, as he was closer to the ground than he was a couple moments ago. His eyes couldn't quite settle on one thing to look at, finding all of it appealing. Suddenly, he was yanked out of his trance by a hand tugging on his collar. He looked up and squinted before recognizing the scowling face of his father.

"Now, what is this!? How many times have I told you to stay away from the girly stuff?" Without giving Merle time to respond, his father hit him on the back of the head to punish him, causing Merle to flinch and shrink instinctively even though now lasting harm had been done to him. Because some times the harm would last.

"Sorry sir, I'll stop! I swear on the styx!" Merle told him.

"Don't swear on the styx if you'll just end up breaking the promise!" his father scolded. "When we get home I'm going beat some sense into you."

Merle nodded slowly. And then the scene faded, and he returned to the present day. He stood staring at the makeup section, and then sighed before moving past it, deciding to focus on the task at hand. He put his chin between his right thumb and index finger, staring intently at the clothing selection, hoping to trigger some memories that were unalike from the one he'd just received. Staring at clothing racks full of jeans didn't seem to help. He groaned, throwing his head back and pinching his nose bridge.

He started speaking quietly to himself, "Maybe I should. just go ahead and start looking around instead of - of - whatever the hell it is I think I'm trying to accomplish. ...Wait, no. No. That will be so much worse because I'll just go back to - ", Merle's eyes briefly drifted back towards the makeup section, " - that. I just need to look around the other guys walking around the store and just try to look like them." Merle spent a few moments observing that masculine shoppers that passed him. "Nope. That's not going to work out. All the options look so peculiar. What is wrong with modern designers? Screw it, I'll just wear a suit and tie like the people in the flashback. If Eudoxia or whoever has a problem with that because it doesn't fit with the time period, that's too bad!"

After a few minutes of searching around the store, Merle found the area of the store he was looking for. He hastily collected duplicates of a black blazer, class dress pants, and white button up shirt all in varying sizes to try on, but paused when he approached the ties. He stood with his hand outstretched toward the selection, conflicted. He hadn't expected them to come in colors other than black, and now he wasn't sure what he was expected choose that would make him fit in. To look normal. He glanced to look at the bowties to see if they were a better alternative, but found himself compulsively sneering at them. When brought his attention back to the ties, he realized his anxieties were irrational. Something as frivolous as the color of a small clothing item was important, especially given that fashion sense of this time era seemed far less monochrome than whatever time he came from. Besides, he knew he'd already look ridiculous going around in what was now apparently formal attire. That nagging anxious feeling remained, but Merle forced himself to ignore it as he chose a tie and entered the changing room.

He tried everything on, and after finding the perfect fit he examined himself in the mirror.

Additional stuff that you might wanna check out[]

Character wiki pages[]

Camilla Rossi

Anaxarete Mancini

Wallace MacKenzie

Ampelio Romano Mancini

Merle Garfield

Silvestre Romero

Julia Oppenheimer

Alaura Corwin Brandon

Roy Brandon

Skylar Alberghini

Eudoxia

Theme songs[]

User blog:Multiple Mysteries/Theme Songs for A Second Chance Characters (DISCLAIMER: This is CHOCK FULL of spoilers!)

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