2.6 Family Affair

"While we wait, I want to talk to you. How do you know Noah?" Daisy asked.

Farina contemplated telling the truth, but her story had to match up to Noah's. Would he wake up with all of his memories, or would he still think they were married? She could easily lie her way out of the marriage thing if he gained back his memories but there would be no way to explain it to Noah if he thought they actually were together. He'd hate her for lying, and being his "wife" left her as the only person he had. Yes, his sister was there but there was a high chance he wouldn't remember who she was. This would no doubt throw a curveball in Mason's direction. Farina decided that keeping the ruse up would keep Mason in check and prolong his next attack.  "We're married."

"Married!?" Daisy cried out. "How is that even possible....he would have told us if he got married! There's no way...he's in love with Corrine."

Farina, having spent most of her time prior watching over Noah, knew everything about him. She knew about Corrine, and she knew about Noah's intense love for her. She hadn't anticipated Daisy calling her bluff, and she had a lot more lying to do to convince her. "I don't know who Corrine is. Noah came to Oasis Landing almost a year ago. He became an astronomer and met me at work. Now, we're married."

"I don't believe you!" Daisy said rudely. "Noah never kept his family out of the loop. Besides...he knew Corrine for years. Theres no way he'd marry you after only knowing you for a year."

"He-" Farina began but was cut off by the entrance of a young male.

"Daisy! You found him? Is he alright?" Farina gasped. It was the man she was hoping never to run into again. Caleb Gray. Her former best friend. She cared so much about him, trusted him completely with her life and feelings. She accepted the name and personality he gave her, only to be tossed aside once he got older. He stopped believing in her.

"He's alright. His heart rate stabilized. We have him in a dream pod until he wakes up," Daisy said.

"Thank the watcher. What happened to him though?" Caleb asked.

"Its a long story, and honestly, I'm hoping Farina here will explain once everyone gets here."

Farina gulped at Caleb's gaze. "I uhm...well...."

"Your full name is what?" Caleb peered at her facial expression.

"Farina...." She paused for a moment to think of something. "Moon. Farina Moon."

"Hmmm...thats weird. Something about you is so familiar, but I know we've never met before. I would remember your crazy hair and outfit."

"I get that feeling too..." Farina said.

Another boy walked into the room, Kayden Gray.

"Farina, these boys are my brothers as well. The boy who just walked in now is Kayden, my twin. And the guy you've been talking to is Caleb our older brother. You can understand why we're all concerned about Noah, right?"

Farina nodded.

"Farina is your name? Who exactly are you?" Kayden interrogated.

"She says she's Noah's wife. You can retract that statement if you'd like. I'll give you another chance to tell the truth," Daisy said.

"I am Noah's wife." No use in changing her story now.

"Noah's wife?" Kayden frowned. "I don't think you're his type. You're too...well, just not his type."

"I'm too what?" Farina asked, offended. "Too awesome?"

"He just means the way you're dressed. You have to know that cupcake dress and half purple and white hair isn't exactly conventional." Caleb intervened.

"Yeah, I get it. But...Noah doesn't care about how I look. He likes my personality..."

"How did you guys meet?" Caleb asked.

She didn't think after all this time she'd still be comfortable talking to Caleb like she was. "That part of my story does need some revising." Farina sighed.

"Where is he? We got over here as soon as we could!" A pink haired woman came into the room, followed by an elderly man.

"He's sleeping now, don't worry. His vitals are all stable." Daisy told her."But, we have much more to worry about, and I hope Farina could explain. We were just waiting for you to get here. Farina, these are our parents, Athena and Levi."

"Mom and Dad to you." Levi told Daisy.

"Right, whatever." She mumbled.

"Tell us exactly what happened to our son," Athena urged.

"Well when I cam across Noah, Farina and I were looking for something to help her solve her problems, which I'm guessing was with that guy with the blue and black hair. We had unlocked this mysterious space ship and inside Noah was all beat up and bloodied. This guy with black and blue hair was there and telling Farina that it was all her fault for not doing what she was told. Apparently he had beaten up Noah." Daisy presented the puzzle pieces.

"Thats all still very confusing," Kayden said.

"Well...thats where Farina comes in. She has to fill us in."

"Right..." Farina took a deep breath. She didn't think she could lie to the entire family. Lying to Noah was one thing, but the WHOLE family was something else. Should she even attempt it? "My name is not Farina Moon like I told you Caleb. My real name is Puzzle. Puzzle Gray. I'm your imaginary friend."

"You can't expect me to believe that, can you?" Caleb frowned. "Imaginary friends are imaginary. Not real."

"But I am real. Mason, that guy you saw Daisy, used some kind of chemical on your doll and brought me to life. This chemical isn't reacting well to this future environment though, especially not the meteor showers. You have to believe me Caleb, I know everything about you and your family, especially your siblings. We used to play everything together, until you grew up and stopped believing in me. You confided in your uncle Elliot instead of me. I tried not to be jealous...but I was because I was supposed to be your best friend forever."

"Thats impossible." Caleb shook his head. "If you're my imaginary friend, then who was my first crush? I never told anyone this, and its not Malissa."

She leaned over to Caleb and whispered it into his ear. She had remembered this info clearly. He turned a bright red. "You really are Puzzle then."

"I am. But, Noah thinks I'm his wife, Farina."

"Because of  Mason?" Athena frowned. "I thought we had gotten rid of him."

"That would be too easy for us. He's meant to give us hell." Levi sighed. "Tell us exactly what Mason is forcing you to do. He's my brother, I can deal with him."

Now it was Puzzle's turn to be shocked. "He's your brother? But he's so young. No wait...I didn't mean it like that!" 

"Its alright. He's a time traveler and they don't age. I've settled down here with my lovely wife and have since began aging, much more rapidly than her."

"Oh hush. I'll be catching up with you soon." Athena hit his arm playfully.

"Well Mason...he took Noah hostage from his home in Lucky Palms. He took advantage of Noah's heartbreak over Corrine and lured him to Oasis Landing, but the time portal erased Noah's memory. I was instructed to tell Noah that I was his wife Farina and that Mason was my brother or else he'd hurt Noah, and that was the last thing I wanted. Turns out he went against his word, and he hurt Noah. I want to make him pay."

Caleb frowned. "Dad...you never told us you had a brother."

Levi shook his head. "He was a terrible person and I didn't want that kind of negativity in your lives. Trust me on this one. He hurt your brother imagine what he would have done if I let him into your lives sooner?"

"We understand daddy." Daisy piped up.

"Why does this Mason guy want Noah in the future?" Kayden asked.

Farina frowned. She wouldn't tell them when Caleb was there. The reason was to eliminate the Gray family, all except Caleb. She decided lying would be the only option. "I don't really know. I was just told to keep Noah in the dark about his real past. He doesn't think he has a family besides me."

"Farina....where am I?" Noah had waltzed into the room.

"Noah! You're supposed to be asleep, what are you doing out of bed?" Daisy panicked.

"I'm fine, except for my back which hurts. But...who are you? And the rest of you guys?" He rubbed his eyes. "Am I still dreaming?"

"Farina has a lot of explaining to do," Athena said to him.

"Yeah, come with me. Lets talk..." She had ushered him to the next room. She didn't know how she'd explain this all to Noah.

"Noah listen---" Puzzle was cut off by Noah's lips on hers. She had forgotten everything she was going to say. She melted into Noah's arms. She had never felt this sensation before. What was it?

"I don't really know whats going on....or who all those people are in that room, but after Mason took me into that ship, I was terrified that I'd leave you all alone. I was in and out of the dream world but all I could think about was you. I'm sorry I don't remember our marriage, but I know now that I love you more than anything, so if falling in love all over again is what it takes, that's what I'm going to do. I love you Farina."

She was ready to tell Noah the truth. She had to. She confessed to his family and they would no doubt tell Noah if she didn't. But...she felt so good in his arms. She never wanted that feeling to stop. Would he change his mind if he knew about the truth? Would he try to find Corrine again? Puzzle didn't know if she could risk losing Noah one more time.

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Sorry for the delay! What did you guys thinks? Corrine and Noah or Farina/Puzzle and Noah?

2.5 An Unexpected Visitor

When Noah woke up, he was in a weird building. When he tried to stand up, Mason wasn't far behind. He tackled him once again. Noah tried to fight back, but he was exhausted. Mason dealt him one last finishing blow and Noah passed out yet again.

Periodically he'd wake up and check his surroundings, but it was too dark for him to see. He was so dazed, he didn't know whether he was dreaming or not. His mind kept rushing back to Farina. Was she okay? He recalled one of his favorite memories with her in the past few weeks:

She had been stuck in the dream pod as always. Noah couldn't sleep, and neither could she, so they decided to stay up and talk for awhile in hopes of getting drowsy.

"Noah...you don't have to stay up with me you know," Farina said. She was wearing her undergarments to sleep, but didn't seem embarrassed at all. Noah mentally checked that off the "we must be married" checklist he had made in his head. 

"You're really the only person I care to talk to in Oasis Landing. My coworkers are cool and all...but most of them are robots. Its nice to have human interaction once and awhile."

Farina leaned back and closed her eyes. "I know exactly what you mean."

"How is it in the dream pod?"

"It's ok...the dreams are nice sometimes. But, I really just want to walk around and live, you know? These artificial dreams aren't covering it for me."

"Dreams are great, but you want them to actually happen," Noah responded.

"Yeah," She whispered. "I want to dream with you one day, and then make it a reality."

"I'll make that happen," Noah said to her, but she was already asleep.

-End of Flashback-

Farina felt bad for tricking Noah but she had no choice. She locked him in the dream pod and set it to memories. She had no control over what he would be dreaming about, but she hoped it was a pleasant memory that would snap him out of his amnesia. She ran back to the crash site, knowing fully that Mason was hiding something in there, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten so mad when he had found her there. She was so frightened that time that she had dropped the key and had to search all over for it again.

From a distance she had noticed an explosion by the ship.

"Oh no!" She ran faster, hoping that the ship wasn't destroyed. It turned out to be another meteor shower, something that would only slow her down. Now, she had even more rubble to search through for the key. She tried to quicken her pace. Time was something she didn't have. She had to be back before Mason noticed. She had only a few hours. 

"Excuse me miss! What are you doing out here?" Farina whipped around and came face to face with a young female. Though she was a lot older, Farina had recognized her aura. 

"Daisy!" She screeched happily.

"How do you know my name?" Daisy asked, taking a step back.

"Oh uh...is that your name?" Farina laughed nervously. "I was just searching for daisies...a futile attempt in this world." 

"Nice save, but I wasn't born yesterday. A couple hundred years ago, but not yesterday. I don't get a bad vibe from you...I see you're in a hurry. Maybe I can help you out?"  Daisy asked.

"Oh...! Would you? That would be amazing! I'm looking for a key." 

"First, you have to tell me your name though." Daisy placed her hands on her hips. 

"My name is Farina." She wanted to come clean to Daisy and explain that she was Puzzle, the doll the Gray children had all played with, but it was too risky. She had so many questions of her own but now wasn't the time to ask. She would worry about it later.

"Aha! Over here I found it!" Daisy shouted and ran over to Farina. "Is this your key?"

"Yes it is! Thank you so much! It would have taken me hours to find it on my own." 

"What does it open?" Daisy asked before handing it over.

"That spaceship over there hopefully. I don't know whats in there, but it could be important. I think it might hold something that could solve all of my problems, but I don't exactly know what that would be," Farina admitted.

Daisy began to shuffle her feet. "You don't think it'd be okay if I went in there with you, do you? I'm kind of looking for answers of my own. You see, my brother went missing and I just need to find him." 

"Of course its alright. I'd rather go in with somebody else anyway. I don't know what to expect." 

Farina slid the key into the hole and waited for it to open. It made a creaking noise and a bright light appeared before it opened.

"Alright! We're in!" Daisy cheered.

They traveled through room after room but found only money. Daisy declined Farina's over to split the profit, saying it was Farina's key and that she didn't really need money anyway. 

"Now what?" Farina sighed in defeat.

"Look, over there! Its one more door. Lets go through it." 

"This must be the control room," Daisy said. 

"It doesn't look like anything works anymore."

"Well we can't exactly fly a ship that's buried a few feet underground." Daisy pointed out. 

"I was hoping we could open some sort of trap door or something. There can't be nothing in here, unless...Mason must have taken it out, knowing I'd come back." Farina held her finger on her chin.

"I'm not going to ask, unless you think your information could help me find my brother?"

A deafening scream could be heard throughout the ship. The two girls looked at each other and ran out of the room.

"What was that?" Farina asked.

"I don't know!" Daisy answered.

Lying on the ground was a bloodied Noah. "What the...! No...I still have a few hours until Mason comes back from work! Oh my...Noah!" Farina fell to her knees. She couldn't form any complete thoughts. She was in total shock. Farina felt her body go numb and she completely shut down. All she could do was stare at Noah's lifeless body on the ground.

"What are you doing!?" Daisy shoved Farina out of the way and ran to her brother. "Oh my gosh. Noah...are you ok? Answer me1" She turned to Farina. "Why aren't you doing anything? Call for help....check his pulse. Do something!" Daisy yelled.

Farina continued to stare. She still couldn't bring herself to do anything. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh." Farina repeated over and over again.

"Damn it!" Daisy cried out in frustration. "Stop doing that and come help me!" She reached for his arm to feel his pulse. "He's breathing....he's still alive!"

Chuckling could be heard from the next room. Mason waltz in the room, head held high. "What did I tell you Farina?"

"Who the hell is this guy, Farina?" Daisy asked.

"Mason..." Farina said breathlessly. 

Mason ignored Daisy and turned to Farina. "What did I tell you Farina?" He repeated.

"Hey! I'm over here...did you do this to my brother?" Daisy shouted.

"Well, technically yes. I did hit him a few times but really this is all her fault. She allowed it to happen."

Farina shook her head furiously. "No. No. I didn't mean to...its your fault!"

"You beat the crap out of my brother!?" Daisy yelled towards Mason. "I don't know how she falls into this, but we'll get to that later. Right now, all that matters is that my brother is ok. So move the hell out of my before I do that to you!"

Mason laughed. "Go ahead. Do your worst, if you want to end up like him. This is your last warning Farina. You do what you're told or one by one thats going to happen to those children." He pointed to Noah's body. Dramatically, he tossed a smoke bomb on the floor and disappeared. 

"What the hell?" Daisy cursed. "That asshole. How dare he. Farina...are you going to help me bring Noah to safety or not?"

"Wait...you still want to talk to me?"

"Well...I can't bring his body out on my own. He's too heavy. Plus, I think you have a good reason for being involved in this which we can discuss later. I told you Noah is my top most priority."

The two headed back to where Daisy was staying. Apparently it was some sort of home base or base camp that time travelers stayed in. 

"He's starting to breath normally again and his wounds are all cleaned up." This was the first time Daisy let Farina in the room. Though she didn't sound like it, Daisy was incredibly mad at Farina for being involved in this whole situation and she didn't expect her to come clean right away, if ever about it all. 

"Oh...I'm so relieved. Thats fantastic. I was so worried," Farina confessed. She couldn't bear the sight of one of her best friends, half dead and bleeding.  

Daisy rolled her eyes, not believing a word of it. "I've called over some people to come and check Noah out. They'll be here soon. For now, you can just keep yourself busy while I get everything together."

Farina could only nod. It wasn't her house nor her brother and naturally, she had no say in what happened.

2.4 Dreams Turn to Nightmares

Things had been going on as usual. Noah was heading to work on his own and coming home to a quiet home. Whenever he had gotten there, Mason was up in his room trying to research how to "save the world" (at least that's what he wanted Noah to believe.) Farina was usually in the dream pod. Mason had told him her "instability attacks" had been happening more frequently and the only way to calm her down was to put her in the dream pod. It was all strange to him. He was beginning to feel particularly close to her though. He would sit with her when she had awoken and tell her all about his day and how hard it was searching for things in the galaxy and what girls were fighting at work. She loved to hear his stories. He was starting to believe that he might have actually been married to her despite his absent memories.

Noah had noticed that Farina was substantially better. He had approached Mason to ask to let her out of the dream pod for a few hours in the day. He wanted to take her out on the town and discover what Oasis landing had to offer together. All that bed rest couldn't have been good for her.

"So you think you know whats good for my sister huh? She is sick...and I'm not giving up her chance of living for your selfishness," Mason argued.

"No...its not like that. She looks much better. I think she should go out and stretch her muscles." 

"No. Until you get a medical degree, I'm going to trust the doctors of Oasis Landing. Now...don't overstay your welcome. I know Farina loves you...but you're honestly not who you used to be. As soon as you betray my trust...you're out of here and good luck getting anywhere in this town without me and guess what? There's no way back to Lucky Palms."

That night...despite what Mason said, Noah let Farina out of the dream pod. She was complaining she hadn't showered for days and needed to refresh herself. Honestly, she didn't even smell funny. How she got her business done...he couldn't figure out. Maybe her mind was in so much of a trance that it never actually had to use the bathroom? Who knew. Anyway, Noah had decided to see what the dream pod was all about. He slid in it for a few minutes, and ended up falling into a deep slumber. His body was physically asleep, but his mind was wide awake. 

He had somehow ended up in front of a large house. He was watching a younger version of himself fiddle with the keys of a car. Is that me? What am I doing?

"Damn it...I can't do it." His younger self hit the steering wheel, causing the horn to honk. "Shoot!" He tried to pull away but it was too late, the young lady had already turned to look at him. "Guess my cover's blown."

He slowly made his way out of the car and up to the front steps of her house. Was I a stalking her? Who is she?

"Noah! Is that you?" She asked.

"Yeah...Corrine. It's been so long." He breathed.

"Seven years." She said shuffling her feet.

"Seven years?" He frowned. "Who is that little princess?" He turned his attention to the toddler in her arms.

"This is Kylie, my daughter. Kylie say hi." Kylie opened and closed her hand at an attempt to wave.

"Your daughter?" He asked in disbelief. 

"I don't really owe you an explanation, do I?" 

"No...but...I'd like to know."

Corrine sighed and held Kylie closer to her. "After you left...my father got called back to Lucky Palms. He hated the idea of leaving Lunar Lakes just as much as I did. He was just about to marry Christa Landgraab and you were three years into high school already and it wouldn't be long until I saw you. I protested and my dad tried to find some sort of research he could do in Lunar Lakes, but the government here really needed more scientists. He offered to let me stay with Christa, we had gotten really close because she was going to be my stepmother. But...I couldn't leave my dad alone. I needed him as much as he needed me. He was getting older and though he was still young, he was diagnosed with cancer. He kept it under wraps for awhile but...I knew he was sick." 

Noah listened intently. "He's fine now though, right?" 

She shook her head. "He passed away when I turned eighteen, right before my graduation." She tried to hold it together and Noah could see how hard she was fighting to fighting to keep the tears inside. Instinctively Noah reached for her hand and she pulled back sharply.

"Its alright. I'm ok. After my dad passed away, I had the option to go back to Lunar Lakes with Christa but by then, we were strangers. I was living on my own for awhile, with some money the people down at the science center had given me. They had helped me with a funeral and everything. They're very generous people. I had refused to call you and ruin your studies, but that left me all alone, despite all the love I was receiving around me. Thats when I met Curtis. We were both working at the same bakery. He was looking for some income and I was looking to forget my problems. Our relationship came quickly and so did Kylie. But, Curtis was overjoyed and asked me to marry him. We're engaged."

Noah waited for her to finish before he poured out his feelings to her. The "dreaming" Noah watched from a distance in horror. His heart hurt more than anything he's ever felt before...but he didn't know why. Who was she? Why had she left such an impact on him?

"Damn it Corrine!" Noah cried out. "You should never question calling me! Even if it was two in the morning and I had finals the next day, I'd answer. You're more important to me than my studies. I needed to know how you were doing and I was living in blissful ignorance for seven years." 

"You could have come sooner," She whispered.

Noah shook his head. "You know thats not true. You told my parents to lie to me. My mother told me that you were studying to be a chef in Monte Vista for four years and you couldn't contact anyone because of the intense workload. She told me that you would contact me when it was all over. So, I let you be and I went to study in university. There were so many party invites and dates I had declined because I couldn't stop thinking about you. The four years were torcher and when I came out...my parents had no choice but to tell me the truth. They had said that they didn't want to hurt me and you didn't intend for anything bad to happen, you were just protecting my feelings. But...I don't understand why. I could have came to Lucky Palms and been with you."

"And give up your dream of being a doctor? Sims University has the best medical program in the world and you were practically given a free ride!" She had cried out. Kylie snuggled closer to her mother's chest and yawned. "I couldn't do that to you."

"I could have studied here in Lucky Palms. I wish I would have known. Now look...I'd be lying if I didn't say I was devastated. Seeing you with a child, and engaged is literally tearing my heart to shreds. I want nothing more than to be with you. I love you Corrine Blantan."

"Noah....stop. It's going to be Corrine Lutz soon. You were the one who told me to move on if I felt I needed to. I couldn't wait for you forever."

"You told me that you'd wait for me..." Noah whispered.

"I was young and stupid back then. Now I'm an adult and I can't be happier with the life I've chosen. I'm sorry Noah, but I hope we can still be friends." She waited for a response but she got no answer. "I have to go and put Kylie down for a nap. I think its best you leave."

"Right..." Noah said and dragged his feet across the sidewalk and to his broken down car. "Have a nice life."

Noah had jolted awake suddenly. What the? Did that all really happen? His heart still hurt for a girl he didn't know. He wondered if he'd ever feel that way about losing Farina.

"Get out of the dream pod. NOW!" Mason demanded furiously.

Noah had realized he was in the real world and jumped up surprised. "I was just taking a nap....I swear."

"Where the hell is Farina?" He growled.

"She's just taking a shower..."

"That little....she tricked you Noah. She's not in this damn house." He lunged towards the dazed Noah and held his arms tightly around his back. "I told her there'd be consequences if she disobeyed me. Now she's going to see them."

Noah tried to struggle out of his grip, but he only felt darkness.

_________________________________________________________________________________Dun Dun Dun. What will happen next? Will Noah find out his true past? Where is Corrine, Emit and the Gray family? What is Mason going to do to Noah? Where did Farina run off to? Stay tuned! Thanks for reading!

2.3 Puzzle Pieces

Hopefully this chapter answers some of your questions! It's probably going to create some more as well though haha. This chapter is a bit Farina-centric. [Italics are thoughts, also warning...some minor cursing.]
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Farina was standing outside of her body, watching her memories play over and over from inside the dream pod. According to her memories, it was a beautiful day and she had been enjoying the sunlight. Her surroundings weren't the usual gloomy foliage found in the new Oasis Landing. She was in a familiar bedroom in Lunar Lakes. She smiled at the thought of it. "Hmm...I wonder what Caleb has in store for me today. I hope he'll take me out of the house like he promised!"

"Morning Puzzle!" Caleb beamed.

"Hi Caleb! What are we doing today?" Puzzle smiled excitedly.

"We are going to play castle. I'm the king and you're going to be the knight." 

"I can't be a knight, I'm a girl!" Puzzle protested.

"In my kingdom, girls can be knights!" Caleb answered.

"Alright fine. But, who is going to be your subject?" 

"My subject? What does that mean?" Caleb asked innocently.

"The people that the king rules over." Puzzle smiled.

"Oh! I know. Follow me. I've got a new brother. You'll love him. He'll be perfect to rule over." Caleb grinned mischievously. Suddenly Puzzle was regretting saying anything, but excited nevertheless to meet new people.

"Will he be able to see me?" Puzzle asked nervously.

"I don't know. He's just a baby, so don't take it personally." Puzzle nodded.

"Noah!" Caleb grinned. Noah waved his arms at his brother and spit out some gibberish. He had yet to learn how to talk.

"How is this going to work if he can't even speak?" Puzzle frowned. She had loved children but they weren't going to get anywhere in their game like this.

"Easy. He doesn't speak yet but we can tell what he wants to say by the faces he makes. Its really funny. Watch." He turned to his little brother. "Do you want to play with me and Puzzle?" Noah's face lit up and he began to bounce. "See!"

Farina watched the scene unfold. Caleb ordered his trusty knight Puzzle to slay the dragon and save his young subject Noah from the incoming blast of fire. Noah could indeed see her. It was great having an imagination. She shook her head at the sight. We promised to be best friends always. But then he got too old and all he saw me as was a toy and not someone he could talk to. Then Noah was there for me...until he got too old and passed me down to the twins. But eventually they grew up too... She could feel a tear slip from her eye and she wiped it quickly. Puzzle is in the past. I'm Farina now.

The scene quickly changed and she was no longer in her memories but in a programmed dream. She was back in gloomy Oasis Landing. "Maybe this isn't a dream." She thought as she walked outside to get some fresh air. Noah was probably at work and she didn't really care where Mason was. A familiar crash could be heard and meteors began to fall from the sky.

Dream or not...she didn't know, but after what happened the first time, she was terrified. She began to yell. Mason had emerged from the pool. Was he always there? 

 The meteor fell from the sky and landed right on top of Farina. She couldn't move...only watch everything around her. Once again she was out of her body, and though she knew she was in the dream pod...it all felt so real. The pain of being crushed...the heat of the fire...the fear of the meteor. Everything.

It didn't end there. Mason ran over to put out the fire. But he had no concern for the body under the large rock.

The next dream took place a few days later. Apparently, she was still dead in this dream. Mason and Noah had been living without her with absolutely no problem. Zombies had risen from the ground and taken Mason. He screeched in horror as the undead bit his flesh.

He was now one of them. Good, serves him right. He dragged himself into the house and up to Noah's room.

She could hear Noah screech in terror as Mason lunged at him. Farina threw herself in front of Noah but it didn't seem to phase Mason. 

He had just walked through her and began to attack Noah mercilessly.

All she could hear was his antagonizing voice, "You took on the role of protector."

But she couldn't do anything about it.

When she had finally awoken from her sleep, one thing became clear. Her subconscious was trying to warn her that Noah wasn't safe. She couldn't protect him on her own, it was impossible. Mason was too strong. Mason never cared about her, or even Noah. The route of his plan was something far greater and he managed to trick her into helping. She didn't know how long she had been asleep in that dream pod, but she had to hurry. He had probably brainwashed Noah by now. Farina didn't know where she was running to, but her feet seemed to know where to go because they wouldn't stop moving. 

She had ended up in front of an abandoned space ship. "Maybe there's something in here that can help me stop Mason." It would be hard not knowing what she was looking for though. Mason's intentions were elusive to her. All she knew was that he was up to no good. "Damn it. I need a key."

She decided to look around the ship. She rummaged through a pile of debris and managed to find the odd keystone. Hours had passed though and no doubt, Mason would have begun to get suspicious.

She turned to leave, when her fears had come true. "Hello Puzzle."

"Mason-" Farina had began. "Funny seeing you here. I was just out for a walk..."

"You didn't think I would notice you weren't in your pod? I've been checking on you frequently. I knew something was up after the first night passed. You weren't supposed to be out this long, but somehow you were just cruising through your memories."

"I...I was dreaming...terrible things." Farina breathed. 

"I know. You were once a doll, and now you're a human. You're experiencing the feeling of other people around you...people who can see you and interact with you. I gave you a life of your own that you could live how you chose. I gave you on opportunity off of that dusty shelf that those brats kept you on. I was the one who made all of this possible. I'm on your side...no matter what." Mason stepped closer and stroked her hair. "I love you."

Farina began to hyperventilate. She didn't know what to do. She knew it wasn't the truth, but Mason's word had made her insides flip. The idea of somebody loving her...was she willing to give that up? For Noah...she would have to. "What about Noah? We're supposed to be married remember...what do I tell him? Let him go back to Lunar Lakes..."

"Oh...I'm not going to do that. The Gray family isn't progressing anymore than it has now. I let it get this far, but no more. The best future is one without the Gray's," Mason answered nonchalantly.

"You don't love anyone but yourself." Farina accused. "How could you do that? Noah is a great person...even though he outgrew me."

"I can do whatever the hell I want. I gave his mother a chance at redemption and she just threw it in my face. That whore went and slept with my brother and she let him raise MY son like it was his own. My son doesn't even know about me. Do you think I care what happens to that crazy fucking family? The only person I care about is Caleb."

"That's why Caleb felt so out of place..." Farina held a hand to her heart. "You can't do that to him. His brother means the world to him."

"Well I'm going to show him that the only person that should matter in his life is me...his REAL father. Now, you're going to march back home and keep pretending that you're Farina, Noah's lovely wife. Behave and I'll think about sparing him. Defy me and I'm going to kill both of you."

"You're sick!" Farina shouted.

"It doesn't matter. Now...are you ready to go home?"

Farina turned away and began to walk in the direction of the house. "Lets go."

2.2 Chemical Reaction

Hey everyone! This chapter reveals more information than I intended it to, but the game threw me a meteor so I just had to go with it. I hope it isn't moving too fast, because there is a lot more information that has to be unfolded. Enjoy! :)

"Is this like a family meeting thing that we're going to have every week?" Noah asked. It had been the second time they had been called to sit with Mason upstairs. Both Mondays.

"I guess you could say its something like that. I know you're not children but you have to understand that in the state that you're in...I have no other choice than to keep an eye on you," Mason said.

"I thought that's what Farina is for," Noah joked. "She's my wife right?"

Mason wasn't laughing though. "She isn't doing her title justice," He said slowly. She turned away from him.

"What the..." Noah was about to ask but Mason cut in once again.

"I think it's time you get a job. It'll be helpful to all of us to have some more money coming in as well as give you a better sense of Oasis Landing. I'm not sending you in on your own. Farina's boss was nice enough to let you follow her around for the next few days and assist her. If she gives you a good review, which she will, you can continue on the path to becoming an astronomer. Sound good?"

"Astronomer? What do I have to do?"

Farine sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why Mason? You can't let me have just one thing to myself. That's all I ask!"

"You wanted the job as caretaker," He answered back. "And you know damn well what that entailed."

"I'm going to take a nap," She grumbled and left the room.

"Well...the carpool is coming at 4 pm tomorrow. Be ready.  It's time for me to take a nap as well. Good night Noah,/" Mason said  before leaving the room as well.

"What the hell just happened?" He thought to himself. Caretaker.Wife. A glimpse of orange flashed through his mind. He couldn't discern it from anything else, but it seemed familiar, something he had loved.

Noah didn't fight it this time. He hopped right into bed with Farina. It had been going on two weeks at this point, but all it felt like to him was two people coexisting, but never meeting.

They were awoken with a loud bang. Farina was the first outside, shouting about a fire on their home lot. Mason wasn't too impressed. He looked like he was deep in thought. It was definitely a meteor shower. Things had been much worse than he had originally thought.

At this point, Noah had heard the commotion and rushed down the stairs.

"Whats going on?" Noah stopped to catch his breath.

"A meteor shower. Nothing to worry about," He said as he effortlessly put out the flames.

"But...!" Farina seemed shocked and scared.

"I said its nothing to worry about." Mason repeated sternly. "You have to prep Noah on today's job. Go inside you two."

Noah wasn't so sure. He stayed in place and watched Mason. "What are you hiding?"

"Hmm?" he asked without looking up from what he was doing.

"Noah! Lets go," Farina said, grabbing his arm.

"Leave him be then Farina. If he want's to question me then he'd have no problem sleeping outside."

"Mason...stop it! This isn't how everything is supposed to go. Noah...lets go I have some important papers to show you about work!" She tried to drag him inside. Noah gave in this time, but he knew Mason wasn't the cool older brother he was making himself out to be. 

The paperwork was long and annoying. "Did you expect it to be fun?" Farina sighed.

"No...but come on, this is a lot of paper. It's got to weigh at least a pound." The two stood in front of the science center, ready to start their job.

"Hey...so, earlier...Mason, he didn't mean any of that. He's just got a lot on his mind because of work," Farina said awkwardly.

"Uhh...right." Noah shrugged. "But...you have to know that I'm not ignorant right. Don't talk about your plans in front of me."

"I know you're smart. You caught onto chess really fast. Trust me...if Mason was hiding something, he wouldn't undermine your intelligence by leaving it right in the open."

Noah frowned. Maybe he was overthinking it.

"What the hell are you thinking damn it!" Mason shouted.

"Mason...stop it! Everything is going as planned right? So stop!" Farina begged.

"That meteor strike...was that part of the plan?" He raised his voice. "WAS IT?"

"Why would I plan that...?" Farina shrunk back. "I don't want to do anything but help people...to help Noah and his siblings..."

"You don't get to make the decisions. You do what you're told. Noah is fine and in good health. One Gray child at a time. Now, listen up...continue what you were told to do and everything will be fine."

"You promise?"

"I'm a man of my word."

That night, Noah had went straight to bed. Farina had ordered him to stay at work a few hours later, as Mason had asked her to do. When he finally got home, he was too tired to do anything and just went to sleep. With a moment to herself, Farina decided to examine the meteor. Something was drawing her near it. She couldn't help but be attracted to it, like a bug to a bright light. She walked aimlessly towards it until finally she collapsed to her knees with a shriek.

"What the hell..." She cried out in pain.

She didn't even have time to see Mason's figure looming over her. "Hmm...so it's reacting to the meteor? Very interesting..."

"Whats going on?" She gasped.

"The chemical I used to bring you back to life...its reacting with something in the meteorite. This could be an incredible discovery.  On a scale of 1-10...how much pain are you in?"

"Mason!" Farina cried out.

He chuckled. "I know what to do. Lets go before the brat wakes up."

They ended up at the hospital. Mason had known someone who used to work under him as an apprentice. The poor scientist owed him a favor for not turning him in for an earlier incident and so Farina's negative reaction was of utmost priority. At least to him and his gang of chemists. There was nothing a normal doctor could do and thus...it had to be kept a secret.

Because of Noah's presence in the house, Mason found it unfit for any more experiments than were necessary to be done on Farina. She was brought home that night and ordered to be kept inside of a dream pod for a few hours to help stabilize her chemical makeup. None of this was to be brought to Noah's attention. But he was much more perceptive than that. 

"Noah....Caleb...Kayden..." Farina whimpered in the dream pod. She tossed and turned. A dream was being activated and the only thing Mason could see from the machine she was hooked up to was a single still picture.

He frowned. "Her memories need to be erased as well."