The Not-Sonata was more fragile than she had first expected. She was barely able to get any work on it done before its state had become unmanageable. The Not-Aria fared a lot better, which came as some form of relief as it meant her theory of them retaining her sister’s traits was true, where in this case it has kept Aria's toughness. That just gave her further reason to continue her experiments, and reconfirmed her idea that her sisters were still alive, deep inside of them.

As of yet she was unable to locate the magic like she hoped, but believed she was on the verge of a breakthrough. Knowledge came with a price, her many years on this world had taught her that. And unfortunately this time, the price was a steep one. What she had just done on the Not-Aria was risky, but if she was correct, it could be the answer to what she was looking for. She would need to observe it closely when it woke up.

She often found herself talking to them. Or, calling it ‘talking’ might be wishful thinking. They would make vague noises at her, and she would reply to what she imagined they were saying. At first she told herself it was for her own sanity's sake, but the more she did it, the more she found herself enjoying it.

She may well be going insane, projecting Aria and Sonata’s personas onto those things, but sometimes it even felt like she could feel their presence. Their blurry forms would focus, just for a second, and she would catch a glimpse at the sister beneath. Sometimes she even got confused over whether or not she was making up the words the ghouls were saying, or if she could actually hear them speaking to her.

All of this combined made her work harder and harder. She felt the best she had in a long time. She finally had a reason to keep going; a goal to reach for. She was making progress with restoring her sisters, and when they came back they would have their magic back as well. The three of them would rise again as the Dazzlings, and Adagio knew she had only herself to blame for their resurrection.

She had succeeded in her job, not only as a sister, but as a villain as well. She was doing the impossible, and she was clawing her way back up from rock bottom.

“You need to let me know as soon as she wakes up, okay?”

The Not-Sonata replied something inaudible to her.

Satisfied with her work, Adagio peeled her rubber gloves off and tossed them aside. She stepped out of her bedroom, and shifted a chair under the door handle behind her.

She didn’t know how long she had been working on them. It had to have been a good few days now, at least. It was difficult to keep track of time before, but even more so now, when she would easily get lost in her work for hours on end.

Adagio slumped down on the sofa she’d been using as a bed. Her back was killing her. She had the Not-Aria on the bed and the Not-Sonata up attached to the wardrobe, meaning she was either stood up for long periods of time or bent right over. She really should have thought through where she was having her experiments take place, as she was really beginning to miss her bed. She had briefly considered sleeping in one of her old sisters rooms, but the thought of their rooms being anything other than exactly how her sisters left it didn’t sit well with her.

Stretching over, she heard her back click in a few places. Her hand disappeared down the side of the sofa and pulled out a clipboard. Scanning over the theories and checklists, she pulled the pen free and began to update it on her findings.

Not-Aria transplant successful. When it wakes up communication with Aria should be possible. If unsuccessful, a second attempt will be made on the Not-Sonata. This will be as a last resort, as the Not-Sonata is weak, but I doubt the Not-Aria could survive a second operation of such a scale. Awaiting further results.

Adagio smirked at her use of professional wording. Damn, if the whole world-conquering Siren thing never works out she may well consider a career as a doctor.

Sluggishness in both ghouls remain; cause is still unknown. Began a day or two after capture. Ghouls are finding it increasingly difficult to fight off my advances. Initially I considered this a good thing and that I had gotten through to them my intentions, but upon closer examination they are just growing more and more depressed. I suspect this to be due to the final remains of magical energy being drained from their system. Their life force is draining, which makes my work now more important than ever.

Adagio finished her sentence and clipped the pen back into place. She took a quick glance through her previous pages, and found that four days had passed since she began her work. She quickly scribbled DAY FOUR onto the top of the page.

Her stomach began to rumble.

“Oh crap.”

If the two events had happened separately she would never have connected the dots.

She’d forgotten to feed them.

Adagio leaped from her seat and raced into the kitchen.

How the hell could she have forgotten to feed them? Four days! Four days they had gone without food or water!

She was an awful sister. A positively awful sister and a terrible doctor.

Grabbing handfuls of whatever she could manage, she ran back out into the hallway, kicked the chair out from under the door and entered the room.

“I AM SO SORRY!”

Unscrewing the top of a water bottle, she began to bottle feed the Not-Sonata like a baby. Even through the blur surrounding its body, Adagio could feel the Not-Sonata desperately gulping down the water, which further added to her ever growing guilt.

“I’m so sorry, I’d completely forgot. You girls got so independent these past few years I completely forgot I need to care for you again.”

After giving the Not-Sonata a few seconds of the water, she then swapped the bottle out for a small cinnamon bun. She held the bun out to the ghouls face, and within a few short bites it was completely gone.

Adagio then switched her attention to the Not-Aria, but didn’t get any reaction. Even pouring water over her face did nothing but wet its bandages.

She should not have performed the procedure while the Not-Aria was in such a malnourished state. It was entirely her own fault, she should have been paying closer attention. A pulse check confirmed it was still alive, but Adagio would have to be extremely careful about what she was doing from now on.

Adagio looked over to the Not-Sonata.

It was weak, but stronger than the Not-Aria would be for quite a while.

“Looks like you finally get to be the center of attention, sis.”

“Won’t be long now, don’t worry,” she quietly reassured. “I’m sure I’m nearly there.”

"Lift your arm up."

"Stop crying, I said lift your arm up."

"Can you feel that?"

"Ah shit. Sorry, sorry."

"Okay, that should be it for now. Do you want some more water?"

"How's that?"

“She still isn’t waking up? She’ll be fine, you don’t need to worry."

"Aria is a tough girl. She should be awake by now, though. You need to let me know as soon as she wakes up. Call to me, or something.”

"It was an accident, I hope you know."

"Why am I even talking to you?"

"I love you, you know. Even now. I'm gonna get you back. I'm going to fix all of this."

"Life without you girls isn't worth living, I hope you know. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."