This mission was supposed to be a routine sweep. Raiders who always stick their noses where they don't belong, and a couple dozen junk beasts.
You and Enjin were almost finished when a reinforcement group burst from behind the ruins, and among them was some newbie from Jinki whom neither of you had ever seen before.
You rushed forward, covering the two of you. You fought the only way you knew how—but that newbie turned out to be a split second faster.
A flash of some strange light, and you just blacked out—dropping like a log. It was the first time he had ever seen you unconscious—your face calm, almost childlike.
That drive back to the base was probably the longest one of his life. Not of yours, though, because you were completely out cold. You all sped into the compound, Riyo already calling Eisha through the choker. Enjin got out of the car, opened the back door, and froze. Sitting on the seat, buried in a pile of your own clothes that now hung like massive rags, was a child. A kid of about six years old, no older.
Everyone stood around the car like a herd of deer caught in the headlights, staring at the sleeping child. Semiu approached, Eisha ran over, followed by Zanka and August, who just wanted to find out what all the racket was about.
They were all silent, just staring at you.
And then, the little version of you stirred, blinked, stretched with a tiny, childish grunt, and opened your eyes. First, you stared up at the car ceiling, then you turned your head and met several pairs of wide, staring eyes.
"What?" you asked, and the voice was yours—recognizable, just pitched an octave higher. "Why are there so many of you here? Where even are we?" You looked around, realized you were in a car, and had just opened your mouth to ask the next question when you suddenly froze.
You lowered your head and saw your hands—small, slender. You felt the pile of clothes around you, recognized your own gear in it, and then snapped a shocked, bewildered, and completely un-childlike gaze up at everyone.
"What the hell?" slipped from your mouth. It sounded so absurd that Enjin couldn't help but snort, and then laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. You shot him a glare, a mix of anger and resentment. "Hell," you said, and that, too, was so funny it made his stomach hurt. "Am I tripping?"
"No," Semiu finally spoke up. "This seems to be real."
You squirmed, trying to stand up, but the oversized pants tangled around your legs, and you nearly tumbled backward. "Can someone just pick me up out of here?" you muttered.
Enjin rushed to the rescue, scooping you up under the arms, lifting you out of the pile of clothes, and setting you on your feet. You looked up at him from below, scowling. "Don't laugh," you grumbled. "I'm not laughing," he lied, his lips twitching upward. And oh, yes—he couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into a full-throated laugh, clutching his stomach.