"A-Adam?.." Cassie stammered.
Adam, still reeling from the shock of the sudden attack, blinked rapidly as if trying to reboot his brain.
"Yeah, it's… me," he finally replied, his voice subdued. The usual brightness was gone, replaced by anxious undertones as he wiped away the sweat pouring down his forehead in thick, nervous streams.
His eyes dropped to the metal object now lying on the floor—a short, slightly bent rod, about the length of a sword. He gulped.
Just how hard did she swing that thing?
Both Adam and Ivan could only stare, wordless, at the blind seer.
In the split second after hearing his voice, Cassie's heart leapt into her throat. Guilt surged through her like a tidal wave. Even though she'd grown stronger, more capable—less the helpless girl she once was—some part of her still clung to the soft instincts of the past.
Cassie broke out of her stammer with a sharp inhale. Then, almost instinctively, she reached toward the sound of Adam's voice. Her hands trembled, searching, needing to know if he was alright. relief tangled with frantic worry. But her footing faltered; she was still off-balance from the adrenaline.
"Cassie, watch out!" Adam shouted.
But of course—how could she?
Her foot landed right on the metal rod.
"W-wowo—wowow—wa-wa—aaah!"
With a squeal and a wild flail of arms, Cassie lost her balance completely.
Thud.
Adam, luckily close enough, caught her just before she crashed hard to the floor. Unfortunately, the momentum slammed them both back, and the back of his head met the ground with a solid crack —of course it was the floor the cracked.
Cassie lay sprawled across his chest, dazed. Her cheek pressed against the warmth of his robe as her breath came in short bursts. Adam, teeth clenched, stared at the ceiling, silently cursing the sharp, blooming pain in his skull.
Awakened weren't easily injured, so it took only a moment for Cassie to snap back into motion.
Her hands moved frantically, guided more by fear than reason. She reached for Adam's face, cupping it with trembling palms, her thumbs brushing his cheeks. From any other angle, it would've looked like she was gently caressing him. But there was no reply—not yet.
"Adam?" she whispered, then firmer, "Adam!"
She slid her hands down to his shoulders and shook him, harder than she meant to. "Adam, wake up!" Her voice cracked. She was teetering on the edge of crying, holding it back through sheer force of will.
Adam's head lolled slightly as she rocked him.
"I—" he began, but it came out barely audible before his head tilted again with a soft, dazed groan.
"Cas—"
Another failed attempt.
Then finally, his hand shot up and gripped her shoulder, stilling her. "Cass, I'm alright. Calm down," he muttered, voice unsteady and slurred from the lingering dizziness. "Just… give me a second."
But Cassie wasn't buying it.
"No, I definitely heard something heavy hit the floor! That had to be your head—don't lie to me!" she snapped, her worry morphing into determination.
She backed off slightly, trying to sit up straight and resume her frantic check. But fate, ever the prankster, wasn't done.
Her foot caught the hem of her robe. Again.
"Ah—!"
This time, she was already so low to the ground that it barely counted as a fall. She caught herself with a hand before she could face plant completely and immediately resumed her inspection like nothing had happened.
Her hand brushed upward—searching.
And then she felt it.
Soft. Squishy. Slightly firm. Her brows furrowed. She squished it again, slower this time.
"Cass—are you okay?!" Adam asked quickly, voice soft but urgent, his hand coming to rest gently on her arm.
But inside, his mind was anything but calm.
He was panicking. Every nerve was firing at once. His brain was in full red-alert mode, spiraling into places he had no control over. His body, however, moved on its own, pulling Cassie gently but deliberately away from the active war zone of where her hand had just landed.
There were no words in his head.
Just chaos.
Steering her hand carefully away from the war zone, Adam took a deep breath, trying to shake off the echo of panic.
"Let's calm down… Let's just sit for a second. I need water, maybe lie down," he muttered, almost to himself, then looked at her seriously. "I'm ALRIGHT," he emphasized, each syllable clear and firm.
But when he looked at Cassie's face, he paused.
Her bangs cast a soft shadow over her eyes, veiling her expression. Something about the stillness in her face made his stomach twist.
Oh God… did she notice?!
Just as the thought formed, Cassie sprang up like a jack-in-the-box.
"Adam! Adam!!" she shouted, brimming with excitement.
The worry that gripped her moments ago? Gone. Evaporated like morning mist. No one else knew it, but Cassie could shift emotional gears instantly—almost frighteningly fast. Her eyes practically sparkled with golden stars.
"I think I just found a frog!"
"…Huh?" Adam blinked. His brain failed to keep up. "Frog? What frog? You were panicking a second ago!"
He stared as Cassie dropped to her knees, sweeping her hands enthusiastically across the floor like a determined archaeologist.
"I definitely felt a frog!" she declared with absolute confidence.
Somewhere deep in Adam's mind, something shattered—like the sound of glass cracking under emotional whiplash.
Meanwhile, not too far away, the Apparition Adam was doubled over in laughter, gripping his sides as if they might split. His eyes bulged, voice wheezing with mirth.
"I-I see, my soldier…" Ivan spoke, barely holding it together.
"How do you even know it's a frog?" Adam asked weakly, the last threads of reason unraveling.
"Oh! When I was little, I found a frog in my mom's garden," Cassie said, bright as the sun. "It felt just like that! Soft, a little bumpy, kind of squishy—but not too squishy!"
And then she went on. And on. Describing in alarming detail how the frog had felt, how she held it, how it tried to jump out of her hands and she squealed but chased it anyway—
"Cass, please—" Adam finally cut in, cheeks burning red.
She frowned, puffing her cheeks slightly. "Aw… I wasn't done."
Adam gave her a look, face the shade of a tomato, and sighed. Her innocence is unreal.
"I'll get you a frog," he promised, rubbing the back of his neck. "Once we leave this place. I'll find you one."
Cassie's face lit up. "REALLY?!
"yes, i pretty sure i saw a frog in a pet store once, in NQSC" ,adam lied.
"Alright! I'm gonna name him…" she paused, grinning wide. "Squidy! Get it? 'Cause he's squishy! Squidy! Get it?!"
Adam tugged at his collar, trying to vent the steam building in his head.
"Y-Yea," he stammered, eyes drifting behind her.
There stood Apparition Adam, now wearing a dusty sheriff's uniform, complete with hat and mirrored sunglasses, arms crossed with a smirk of amused disgust.
He clicked a miniature communicator on his chest.
"Beep-bep. Send some backup. Looks like we got a 'minor' situation brewin'," he drawled, pure Wild West inflection.
"I DIDN'T mean it like that! And what do you mean 'MINOR'?!" Adam snapped mentally. "I'm barely months old and mentally the same age as her—and you as a whole!"
The apparition only laughed harder as the sheriff getup shimmered, shifting into the black robes of a clergyman.
Cassie suddenly turned to Adam, tilting her head.
"Hey… are you really okay?"
He tensed as she leaned forward. She was shorter than him—by quite a bit—so she rose to her tiptoes, steadying herself with a hand on his chest. Her other hand reached up to press lightly against his forehead.
Her head rested right over his heart.
Thankfully, she was on the wrong side—she couldn't hear the frantic drumming underneath.
"You seem alright," she said thoughtfully, voice barely above a whisper.
"Of course I am," Adam said, trying to sound calm. "Even Sleepers don't get sick easily."
There was a small flutter in his chest.
"We've had enough drama for one day," he added gently. "Let's head inside."
And just like that, he reached for her hand and guided her back into the shelter, away from mysterious frogs that stared at the duo disappearing into the room.