Things finally started to look good for Mei, after years and years of dealing with crappy cards

First, she lost her parents, something that sucks no matter what. Then, she got sold to the Chinese Mafia by her uncle

Then she got sold again to a research facility and got experimented on with the side effect that she won't live past 50

Then, she was forced to constantly fight, even though she sucked at it, and even developed an eating disorder to try to calm her anxiety

She was really pitiful, in her opinion at least

Well, at least she knew it wasn't all bad. Her uncle did try to take care of them and was still taking care of her little brother. She wasn't alone at the facility and she even managed to get out alive from there, with a secure future from now on

Things finally started to look good for her, and it was thanks to Sara, and now that she thought about it, it was kind of funny how they got to know each other

It all started with the mission the researchers at the facility gave her. It all started with getting to know her and ask her to do this or that. She didn't though she was doing anything "bad", and she was helping her family which was a "good" thing, so she didn't feel too guilty about it. She did keep her mouth shut about it though

Besides, they never went over the top with the request. All she had to do was keep a log of their activities, conversations, and after a while, they asked her to take pictures of Sara alone

To make it look natural, and not so sudden, she started taking photos from time to time about different stuff with her standard cell phone. It was kind of difficult for those two to willingly appear in photos at the start. It was mostly because Sara and Meg didn't like appearing in photos, but Mei kept insisting on it and even managed to persuade Sara by saying it was to help Mei feel confident about her looks (which she ended up buying it) and the two of them managed to persuade Meg

It did end up helping Meg with her image problem, so it wasn't a bad idea actually

So with the good deed as an excuse, she kept taking pictures of Sara on the side and sending a few to the research facility for money for her family. Mei also received an audio file from her little brother saying "Thanks" and "I miss you" among other stuff, but it did help her worries and confirm that they were keeping with their end of their bargain

As for how things went from there? Well, nothing much. Over time, they lost interest and would just ask for some photos and the log every 2 months, meanwhile, she kept living her life

She ate with Meg and Sara every day, would go to some of Sara's extra classes, and would spend most of her points on sweets or entertainment

Luckyly for her, the fighting system wasn't unfair. It was like a ranking system, the more wins you had, the better the opponent you would have to fight against. If we put a 50% as a standard, those above 50% would fight more often with those above 50% while those below 50% would generally fight with those below 50%

This did mean she lost more than she won, but she had always around a 40% win rate while Sara had around 50% at the start but went up to 65% in the end (if you forget Makombo's revenge challenges in the equation). Meg, on the other hand, had a 60% average from beginning to end

By the way, Sara and Meg fought 4 times in total, and they are technically even with 2 wins and 2 losses, but one was a 2v1 of Sara and Mei against Meg, so Sara's pride was a little hurt that she only won once fair and square. Of course, Mei never won but she only fought against them one time each in a 1v1 fight

And if she had, to be honest, she was thankful for getting to know those two. If it wasn't for the mission they gave her, being kind of an introvert, Mei would have never approached Sara the first day, or any other day for the matter, which would probably have ended up with her being all alone until the place ended up blowing up

So not only did she get some great friends, knowing Sara and Meg ended up saving her life and even finding a way out of the facility. So Mei was basically both unlucky for finding herself in those situations and lucky for finding a way out of them

She did spend one week in hell, getting tormented by the death of her parents, the betrayal of her uncle, all those kids left behind, abandoning Meg, and selling her friends for money

It had been though, and there was no way she would have gone through it if she had known what was about, but once she was in, all she could do was wait for the symptoms to go away, and after a week, she was finally out

Now, she was happily eating pizza in a really big apartment with a kind and extremely buffed old man, and her friend. Something she would have never even dreamed of before

She did feel sorry about Meg, but at least she knew she was probably alive, unlike all those poor children they left behind and she hoped that she would one day find a way out like them

"How is it?"(Uncle Muscle) Suddenly asked

If Mei had to give an opinion about him, it would be that he was both scary and gentle. He looked really really scary, with some scars, oversize muscles, and a stature above average. On the other hand, he always dressed cleanly, he was really well dressed, had a calm attitude and gentle eyes. It was a strange mixture

"It's good"(Sara) Said happily

"Yep"(Mei)

It was strange for Mei to see Sara so happy if she had, to be honest. She did saw her smile from time to time, and she also saw her in a good mood quite often, but it could be said it was the first time she saw her genuinely happy and relaxed

Usually, even when she was happy, there was some kind of barrier or something like that. It was as if she was always on guard for something to come at her, no matter where. To put it short, she was never completely relaxed

But now it was different. She was relaxed, happy and she didn't look like she had to hold the weight of the world on her shoulders anymore. It was a first time for Mei and a big surprise

Considering that Mei kind of admired how Sara would always look composed and confident no matter what, it was a big shock when she finally saw her defenceless. It was like seeing your favorite artist without make up

Still, it is not like Mei thought Sara was perfect. Mei knew that Sara was incredibly greedy, a little pushy, paranoid, distrustful, had a temper, had a video game addiction, etc. Mei knew Sara had those flaws and more, but it was still a little disappointing that one of the sides she liked most about her wasn't as good as she thought it was

Did that mean that Mei didn't want to be friends anymore? Nope. Did it mean she thought less of her? Nope again. It just meant that Mei knew Sara a little better now

Besides, she was thankful for everything that Sara did for her. Being her friend, looking after her at the facility, helping her get out, finding her a job and helping her family. And let's not forget helping with her addiction problem and even giving her a warm meal after they got out

Hell, she was eating the best Pizza she ever had

(noise) of something really heavy hitting something

Mei was eating her second pizza portion when she suddenly heard a noise to her right. It happened so suddenly and it was considerably loud, so she couldn't help herself and looked to her right

What she found was Sara sleeping in on the table for some reason

Mei, a little confused and afraid, quickly approached Sara and started shaking her to see what was going on

"What happened? Are you alright?"(Mei)

But no matter how much she shook her or what she said, Sara didn't respond

"She is fine. I just put some sleeping pills in her glass"(Uncle Muscle) Said in a calm tone

"WHY WOULD YOU DO TH!a...?"(Mei)

When she turned so she could take a better look at Uncle Muscle, she found him staring directly at her for some reason, and it looked really really intimidating

"So we can talk"(Uncle Muscle) Said as a matter of fact

"Aaaabout wwhat?"(Mei)

"About you taking orders from the Grey Cult group"(Uncle Muscle)

Mei went from being a little white to almost completely white after hearing that

"Everrry one toook orders from them"(Mei)

"And did everyone send information and pictures of their friends to them?"(Uncle Muscle)

The cat was out of the bag

"I doonn't know?"(Mei)

It's not like she wanted to play dumb, but it's not like she knew what others did on their own. It's not like it was impossible that Makombo also sold information on Sara too(he wasn't)

"Fine, let's stop beating around the bush. Did they ask you to send pictures and information about Sara? Yes or no?"(Uncle Muscle)

"Yes"(Mei)

No point in lying

"Why did you do it?"(Uncle Muscle)

"They send money to my brother and uncle if I did it!"(Mei) Said really fast while looking at him

"And did Sara know all this?"(Uncle Muscle)

She hesitated for a moment, thinking about lying but instead just looked at the floor and decided to tell the truth

".....no"(Mei)

"Why not"(Uncle Muscle)

"..........."(Mei)

Silence

"Why not"(Uncle Muscle) Repeated

"...... I was afraid she would hate me"(Mei)

"Then why did you keep doing it?"(Uncle Muscle)

"I was worried about my family and it was only taking pictures and writing a diary. Nothing bad"(Mei)

"And what if they had asked you to hurt Sara. Would you have done it?"(Uncle Muscle)

"No way! She is my friend!"(Mei) Finally looked back at Uncle Muscle, a little angry

They stared at each other for a few seconds, until Uncle Muscle broke the silence

"Fine, tell me everything they asked you to do from the start. Don't omit anything"(Uncle Muscle)

So Mei told him everything she knew, from the time they gave her a picture to how often they ask her for pictures. When she told him everything she knew, Uncle Muscle stayed quiet for a minute, thinking about something while Mei just stayed quiet, a little afraid of what he may say

"So it is not like you sold her out, but were a mole from the start, right?"(Uncle Muscle)

"I guess. They just showed me a picture and asked me to get close to her. But I do think Sara as a friend, even if I only got to know her because of what they asked of me"(Mei)

"And you never thought of confessing?"(Uncle Muscle)

"What if she hated me? I would be all alone in that place, and would be dead by now"(Mei)

After she told him that, he went for the whisky by his side, and after pouring some in a glass, he started drinking really slowly

Not being able to handle the silence, Mei decided to ask about her future after what she said

"What is going to happen to me, now that you know what I did..."(Mei)

Uncle Muscle didn't answer instantly, and instead just kept drinking slowly . When he finished his glass, he put it down and stared at her

"Look, I am going to be honest. If you weren't her friend, I would have kicked you out of here and told you to never come back. Lucky for you, I can't do that or she will be deeply hurt, both for your betrayal and for losing a friend. This is what we are going to do, you will never tell her what you told me, ok?"(Uncle Muscle)

"Ok"(Mei)

"And if you ever do something like that, I will "take care" of both you and your family, do you understand?"(Uncle Muscle)

Mei turned really pale when she heard she would be killed and disposed of if she ever betrayed them, but still managed to nod in agreement

"Ok, then keep looking after Sara for now on"(Uncle Muscle) Said with a "beautiful" smile

-----------------------------------

Note: Well, no more side stories for a while now(not like I couldn't write like 8 more if I wanted) they were mostly to show another side of Sara that she omits to mention on her story or never noticed, besides showing that some stuff happened behind the scene that she never realised

And thanks Neiden for helping again :)