Though Frank was feeling more like himself, he still couldn't shake the dark fog that made his head feel heavy. He tried to focus on what the others discussed, but their words were a jumble that he couldn't unscramble. He just nodded along, hoping they weren't asking anything important of him.

Some of the fog had lifted in comparison to earlier. Parts of his brain felt functional enough to sort thoughts and what felt like fragments of feelings... There was still so much to go over, though.

His mother had magic. His father killed his mother? Or he made her disappear? Either way, he seemed to be the reason she wasn't present, not Frank... Right?

He shut his eyes, trying to think of the first time he had been told of his mother's absence. He tried, but it felt like he hit a mental wall. He knew the moment happened, but he couldn't find it in the dark. He sighed and reopened his eyes.

The crystals seemed to have dimmed once again, casting the room in the same shadows Frank had left in his mind. Pete and Patrick were gone. When he turned his head, Gerard wasn't beside him. A twinge of panic rippled through him before he spun in his seat to look at the moss bed. Gerard was there, laying on his back and looking up at the ceiling.

"What did I miss?" Frank asked.

Gerard seemed surprised to hear his voice. He turned his head with raised brows. "Hm? Oh, from the talking." He pushed himself upright and yawned, "Did you even get any of that?"

Sheepishly, Frank shook his head. Gerard rolled his eyes and patted a spot on the moss beside him. "Okay, we've got a lot to cover. Are you here now?"

"Yes?" Frank quickly moved from his chair to the moss. His questioning tone didn't seem to be what Gerard was looking for, however, because as soon as Frank sat down, Gerard cupped his face in his hands and turned it towards him. "Ah!"

"It's alright, I'm just checking." Gerard briefly looked over his face before dropping his hands and holding them up by his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to be sure since you didn't sound sure yourself."

"How can you be sure?" Frank asked, feeling his cheeks still full of heat where Gerard had held them.

Gerard brought a hand close to his own face and tapped the corner of his eye. "The color has been changing with you. You're the most present when your natural color shines through."

Frank brought a hand up to his face. "My eyes have been changing color?"

Gerard flashed a smile to him. "Like I said earlier, you've had a lot going on. It's about to be a little bit more, though."

"What do you mean?" Frank dropped his hand and frowned at Gerard. What more could there possibly be?

"Well, first of all, I wasn't really joking earlier when I mentioned a change of clothes." He gestured to Frank's outfit. "A Force uniform won't do you any favors where we're going to be headed."

"We're going to be leaving?"

"We couldn't stay forever. Plus, the point of the Force potentially tracking us still remains." Gerard leaned back on his hands, shifting his gaze up to the crystal coated ceiling. "We can't put the seer at further risk with our presence."

Frank nodded. He didn't want to be putting anyone at risk. "Where will we go?" He brought his hands together and began to interlock and twist his fingers.

"Hopefully, we'll find my brother and the group I left behind." Gerard replied, keeping his eyes on the ceiling crystals.

Frank's eyes widened. "You have a brother?" He stared at Gerard as the redhead casually nodded. "I didn't know..."

"We never really discussed family." He paused for a moment, "Well, you know, other than when I kind of insulted your mother who may have been the mother of the planet. Which was super great, of course, I can practically still feel the sting of that punch." He brought a hand up to his chin and flashed a grin at Frank.

Frank forced a small smile towards Gerard before looking down. He couldn't remember that. He wasn't sure where in the dark fog of his memories it rested, but he didn't want to bring it up either. He didn't want to think too hard about it, in case it would pull him back into something he'd have to relive. "So... Do we have intel on where they are?"

"A general idea." Gerard replied, "We had plans on moving before I was taken as a prisoner."

"Okay, then when do we leave?" Frank brought his palms up to rub against his eyes. He could still vividly remember the moments in the Force that featured his interrogation of Gerard. His stomach practically knotted as the flashes popped up over his vision.

"Pretty soon." Gerard admitted.

Frank could hear Gerard shifting where he sat. He dropped his hands back into his lap and sighed. "So, the plan is that we leave, I get new clothes, we find your group, and pretend I'm not a Force soldier?"

Gerard hummed beside him. "We'd definitely need to ease them into that last one..."

"What happens if that doesn't work?" Frank kept his head down, but shifted his eyes to look towards Gerard. The redhead seemed nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't go back to the Force because of what I know, and I don't belong with your rebels because of who I am."

"Aw, don't say that." Gerard frowned, though he didn't deny what Frank said.

Frank cast his eyes back down. Through the semi-clarity in his head, the thought kept bubbling up. Where did he belong now? Even when he was with the Force, he dreamed of being outside of the compound. Now that he was outside of the compound, so much of who he was being revealed to be made him a further outsider than if he had just been a runaway soldier.

"Hey, you aren't getting lost up there again, are you?"

Gerard pulled him back to the moment with a snap of his fingers. He muttered an apology, but didn't turn to look at Gerard. He may have been back in the moment, but the thoughts were still there.

Gerard reached out, placing a hand on Frank's arm. "If you want to talk, we can talk. Or, we can save it for the endless amount of walking we'll be doing here soon." He tapped it before pulling his hand away. "We have time for either."

"I'm fine." Frank shrugged, "Just thinking about what comes next."

"Okay." Frank could hear him shift on the moss again. "I'll be right here. We have a bit more rest time before we start out."

Frank nodded. He stayed sitting up for a bit longer before he let himself fall back, bouncing slightly on the moss. He looked up at the crystals in the ceiling. His thoughts picked up just as loud as they had been before. His past. His present. Any future? They swirled through the dark as the hours passed, only interrupted by the occasional snore from Gerard.

—-

Frank rubbed his thumb across the leaves that decorated the shirt he had been given to change into. They were cascading shades of blues, purples, and greens. He could feel tears wielding in his eyes as he looked at it, but he swiftly wiped them away before they could spill over. He took a deep breath and sat the shirt down on the table. He reached for his uniform, beginning the process of unclasping the buttons.

Pete had been the one to provide the alternative wardrobe. He seemed more than happy to give it to him, on the condition he could burn the left behind uniform.

Frank's fingers tripped over the buttons. They were shaking.

He snapped his hands into fists and inhaled a sharp breath. It was fine. It was fine. It was fine. Why couldn't he just be fine?

He flexed his fingers before shaking out his wrists. He then moved back to the buttons on his uniform. It wasn't even technically his. It was one from the infirmary, if his mind wasn't betraying him. It wasn't like he was going to be the one destroying it. It was out of his hands... It wasn't even something he should care about.

He finally finished undoing the shirt. He shook it from his shoulders, letting it slowly drop down his arms. It was okay. He was okay. The shirt hit the floor with a faint fwip sound. He brought his hands up to his bare chest with a quick breath. The uniform wasn't him. He didn't belong there anymore... But it still felt wrong.

Those thoughts were interrupted, however, when Frank flattened his hands against his chest. His eyes widened as he felt smooth skin. He pulled his hands away to see no trace of the dark mark that had plagued him since waking up in the infirmary.

"What the fuck..." He poked and pulled at his chest skin, but it was just normal flesh. The mark didn't even leave a faint residual marking. It was just him. Frank's breath came out shakey. Hadn't it just been there?

Frank snapped his eyes shut. "No." He reopened them and shakily reached for the leaf shirt. He slid it over his head and pulled it down to cover his chest. He didn't need that. Not on top of everything else.

He stepped over his Force uniform shirt and out of the room.

The others waited in a room that food was stored and prepped. Pete and Gerard appeared to be prepping as Patrick put things into a cloth bag. He was the first to notice Frank come into the room, looking up from his task with a smile.

"Frank! You look good in nature."

Frank muttered a soft thanks as Pete and Gerard turned to look at him. Gerard smiled at him. Pete set down what he was working on and moved to leave the room. "Where's the other shirt? I'm ready to light it up."

"Pete..." Patrick rolled his eyes.

Gerard left his task to move to Frank. "We're almost ready to go." He nudged him, "Are you ready?"

Frank nodded.

"I'm sorry we can't offer you more." Patrick rose to his feet, closing the top of the bag he had been filling. "Especially with your history. I'm so sorry, Frank. I should have been a better guide to you."

"Please don't apologize." Frank frowned as Patrick held the bag out to him. "You've done so much."

"When it's safer, I do hope you'll return." He offered another smile, "Hopefully, your future stays brighter."

"Thank you." Frank was able to muster a small smile back.

"Why don't you go rest up just a bit longer?" Gerard draped his arm over Frank's shoulders. "We're almost finished up here."

"I can wait." The words toppled out of Frank's mouth. He immediately bit his lip after. He didn't want to be alone. Not now.

Gerard shrugged, though his brow furrowed as he side eyed Frank. "Suit yourself. You can help me finish the fruit then."

Frank nodded as Gerard pulled his arm back. That would be a welcome distraction.