System Failure (An Adesa Fanfic) [Originally by Littlewolf65]

Chapter 11

Have a doubly-long chapter :D

Adam's POV
I closed the blinds in my apartment, stopping anyone from being able to see in now that it was quite dark outside and the lights were on. Alesa sat on the couch, fiddling with her pink amulet, her thoughts seemingly far away. She had been that way since we arrived here some time ago. I slowly sank down on the couch beside her, resting one of my hands on her knee.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

She jumped a little and while she smiled, it quickly faded. "Yeah, I'm just... thinking."

"Of what?"

Her eyes left mine and dropped to the floor. She hesitated, taking a deep breath before starting to speak. "I remembered something earlier today when you and Ty were arguing. I... I think it happened before I woke up."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It doesn't make much sense," Alesa said slowly. "Just a few fragments. I remember fighting somewhere, with someone next to me. A girl I think. I can't remember what she looked like or whether she was my friend or not or... or anything else about her. But... There was a lot of chaos around us and... The place where we were fighting was collapsing." She took a shaky breath, her voice getting quieter the longer she spoke. "The place where the girl was standing was breaking up but she didn't know. I... I pushed her out of the way but the ground broke apart beneath me and I fell."

I waited for her to say more but nothing came. "You fell where?"

Alesa shook her head a little. "I can't remember. I don't know where we were or anything. I just remember the fighting."

I wrapped one of my arms slowly around her, hugging her a little. "You might remember more later," I told her quietly. "If you don't, we'll figure it out tomorrow, when we go to Jason and Jin, okay?"

She gave me a small smile and murmured a "Thanks". I gave her a quick squeeze with my arm and stood up, getting a spare blanket from the cupboard.

"You don't mind sleeping on the couch, do you?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "It's okay. It's actually pretty comfy." She pressed down on the couch a few times to illustrate her point. I handed her the blanket and she instantly wrapped herself up in it, stroking the soft fabric.

"Goodnight," I said to her.

"Goodnight," she said quietly back. "And thank you, Adam."

I gave her a smile and went into my bedroom, closing the door behind me.

Alesa's POV
There was something shining in my eyes that woke me up the next morning and I squinted them open, trying to find the thing that woke me up. I sat up quickly, my head flicking around, not recognising where I was until the events of yesterday caught up with me.

I saw the sliver of light resting on the couch armrest that I used as a pillow streaming from the curtains that hadn't quite been closed the whole way. I stretched, yawning, the warm blanket falling off me and onto the floor. My neck was a bit stiff and I rubbed it with my hand.

I froze, my hand patting the area around my neck. I couldn't feel the chain of the amulet Adam had given me and when I glanced down, I couldn't see it either. It didn't seem to be on the couch where I was sleeping and it wasn't on the floor either, or under the blanket.

I felt myself starting to get frantic. That amulet was my way to go home, into the mainframe. If I lost it, I was stuck here in the real world. Which maybe wasn't so bad all things considered, but I hated the thought of being trapped here.