The child stared at the wall of Lego's sets, overwhelmed by the shear ammount of choice that loomed before him. There were predominantly yellow boxes of bricks, but there were some grey boxes, some red, some green. Brooks chose a modest cardboard box, proffering it to Celeste.

"Would this be okay? Please?" the child asked, grinning. It was by no means an expensive set, not in the least bit. It was just a basic set of Lego bricks. But it was all he wanted, too. He needed something small enough to carry and stash. Nothing too cumbersome.

She smiled as she watched  the boys eyes light up at the Lego box. She nodded, “Of course, Brooks.” It wasn’t going to cost her an arm or a date with a creepy cashier, so she was fine with that. She let him carry it as they headed over to the cashier, where she purchased it for him.

As they walked out of the store, she yawned, “Well… Let’s go back to my school, okay? I’m sure they can help us find out where your parents or guardians are.” She smiled and gave the boy a squeeze on his shoulder. 

With that, she’d lead them to a bus stop, where they waited for a little bit before they were getting onto the station, “Be careful touching stuff, okay? It might sting. Lots of people come in and off the bus…” She wasn’t sure why or what stung her, but she wanted to be on the safe side either way. 

The child beamed at the granted permission, wrapping his arms around the small box of Legos. He marched after Celeste to the registers, only surrendering the carton of interlocking blocks long enough for it to be scanned, before wrapping it in his arms once again.

>> “Well… Let’s go back to my school, okay? I’m sure they can help us find out where your parents or guardians are.”

The boy nodded. The logic was sound to him.

>> “Be careful touching stuff, okay? It might sting. Lots of people come in and off the bus…”

Another nod. His hold on the Lego box tightened. After a brief wait, the bus rolled to the curb, the pressurized doors sliding open to allow passengers in.

"Why are you going to school at night?" the boy inquired, the strangeness of the concept finally settling on him. The two of them ascended into the vehicle, the mutant child exchanging an owlish glance with the bus driver.

Celeste smiled at the happy child. It made her happy that he was happy. 

After they were at the bus stop, it wasn’t long before they were on the bus and heading towards Xavier’s. She smiled towards the boy as they walked onto the bus. “I live there right now. It’s kind of like a boarding school? Except, for people like you and me. Mutants.” 

After about 20 minutes, they arrived at a stop near the mansion. She nudged him as they walked off the bus, “Anddd we’re almost here! Just a little longer and we’ll be there. They will be able to help you find your family.” 

The kid listened attentively, kicking his legs absentmindedly. His eyes flicked over the cityscape as it rolled by, his skinny arms wrapped around the box of Legos. As the boy disembarked from the bus, something stirred in his brain-- a vague familiarity, recognition of a place someone hadn't been too frequnetly.

He jogged to keep up with Celeste, his breath coming out in small puffs.

"I know this place!" the child declared, his voice confident. His tone then dropped. What if he didn't know this place? "I mean... I think... I know this place..." This time he spoke as if it was some fantastic secret that his surroundings were familiar.

Once they reached the school, Celeste immediately felt more relaxed. They would be safe here - particularly, he would be safe. No one would harm him here like they would at the mall or other places. There was a lot of bigots and she was worried that would be an issue. Luckily for them, they managed to get away and to the mansion in time.

She perked a brow, stopping to make sure he could keep up. "I think you know this place. You are doubting yourself... Maybe you know someone here or have been here before?" This must not be the form he is usually in - he must usually be in a different kind of form. The fact that he probably knew this place meant that someone here would know him!

The next issue was... Who should she talk to? Mr. Holloway, Mr. Cervantes...? Ugh, she had no idea.

The child shrugged, skipping to keep-up with Celeste. The box of Legos rattled in his grasp, keeping time with each skip. Ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk. When they reached the steps to the Mansion, Chase jogged up the stairs, leaping onto the landing at the top. He didn’t go inside, though. He turned to face Celeste, waiting for her to catch-up.

“This is the fanciest school I’ve ever seen,” the boy proclaimed, “We should talk to one of the teachers, maybe they know me! Teachers teach everybody, right?”

She smiled as he kept up by skipping. She felt like he was a good kid. She hoped that she could find someone, anyone to help at the Mansion. If she couldn't... Well, at least he was safe. And she'd be there to help if she could. He was ahead of her, up the stairs and nearly at the entrance.

She smiled as he waited. She chuckled, "It is a very fancy school, yeah. But a lot of people live here - it's home to a lot of people." It was becoming her home, too. "Yeah, we need to find one of the teachers as soon as possible." She opened the door and motioned for him to go in.

Chase had been gone for hours.

Gemma had already raised two kids successfully (although both were smartasses enough to argue that point sometimes), but that did not make the horrible, sinking feeling any easier. Every time a kid was missing, even if it was likely that they just wondered off to some school activity without notice, it felt like a bottomless pit opened up in her stomach. As strong a woman as Gemma was, her mind conjured up horrible possibilities just the same.

She had already called Jorge, and searcher the Mansion and the grounds. Chase was not there. Not anywhere. He was only allowed to go out if he told his parents where he was going, and someone was with him... but there had been no notice this time. Gemma chewed on her lips as she checked with Mansion security, and then got her jacket and bag to go start looking for him.

She was on her way down the stairs when she saw the front door open.

"CHASE!" she dropped the bag, hurrying over to the boy with a relieved sigh "Oh my god, are you alright? Where have you been?..."

The boy had barely made it into the foyer when a shout snagged his attention. He turned to the black woman, not because he recognized his name, but because she was yelling, and seemed to know him. Come to think of it, she did seem kind-of familiar... The shifter child backpedaled slightly, his look clearly confused as the woman ran down the stairs and began to barrage him with questions.

>> "CHASE! Oh my god, are you alright? Where have you been?"

"Is that my name?" he asked the woman, "My name is Chase?"

He looked over his shoulder, at Celeste.

"Celeste found me," the boy-- Chase, he supposed-- told the familiar-faced lady, "I was very confused, there were all these lights. And we got food, and Legos!"

If Chase had held-on to his memories, he would understand that he was going to be in trouble... Gemma likely knew of the high school-and-older trip to the mall, which she'd explicitly forbid Chase from going to. She would also likely know that her shifter child had probably disguised himself as another student and gone anyways. But, after trying to hold onto that form for a minute too long, he'd reset, and now he was here, looking blankly at his adoptive mother.

"You must know me," Chase said, smiling, "You seem like you know me."

Nothing could be done to jog his memory, except explain to him who he was.

As soon as she opened the door, when she heard... The guidance counselor screaming? Celeste looked up the stairs at the woman running down, confused as to what was going on. She knew it had to be serious for a guidance counselor to be freaking out like she was. After all, while Celeste had never met Ms. Taylor, she knew about her through other students who loved her.

After a second, it hit her. Chase? That was his name. Then like a light bulb, she realized who he was. She didn't have classes with Mr. Cervantes nor knew Ms. Taylor, but she knew they were together and had a kid from just knowledge of being in the school.

After this realization, she relaxed a little. She knew Ms. Taylor was a good person and wouldn't try to hurt the kid.

She nodded a confirmation, "I guess that is your name, Chase." She smiled, relieved that her plan worked out. "I found him at the mall. I was worried and no one wanted to help, so I brought him back here. I... I didn't really know what else to do." Like call the cops, or something. Isn't that what she should have done? Oh well... "I think that is your mom," she said towards Chase with a big grin.

Gemma hurried over and knelt down to take a look at Chase, and make sure that he was okay. She noticed the confusion in his eyes as he looked back at her.

>>"Is that my name? My name is Chase?"

>>"I guess that is your name, Chase."

Gemma paused, her own eyes widening in surprise as she realized that Chase was not remembering things... even his own name. She looked up at the blonde girl with him, hoping that she had some kind of an explanation.

>>"Celeste found me. I was very confused, there were all these lights. And we got food, and Legos!"

>>"I found him at the mall. I was worried and no one wanted to help, so I brought him back here. I... I didn't really know what else to do."

The mall. He must have snuck out with the older kids to go on a field trip, despite her having told him he was not allowed to go without supervision. Gemma sighed. She was too worried to be angry, so that was going to be a conversation for a later time.

>>"You must know me. You seem like you know me."

>>"I think that is your mom,"

"I'm your mom" she confirmed, reaching out to hold Chase's hand "My name is Gemma, and your name is Chase. Your dad is called Jorge. You live here with us at the Mansion. I think you probably snuck out to go to the mall, shifted, and got a little confused. Is there anything you remember?"