Innocence of a Mockingbird

Chapter One: Miracles

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

A mockingbird perched itself atop the snowy fence built around the house. Within seconds, the beautiful creature sang a soft tune, as careless as the wind that blew around it. My ears perked up slowly, and I closed my eyes, letting myself revel in the few miracles I had obtained over the years of my hellish life. One of them was the calm I was now experiencing within my own home. The sound of the mockingbird's voice rang in my ears as it sang, and I leaned my chin upon my palm, watching with obsidian eyes through the window, staring at the innocent bird. The serenity I felt came upon my whole body, relaxing me to the point of rest and sleep.

But I knew I could not for the night of my curse was upon me.

An inner demon had cursed me decades ago, forcing me to immortality and forever keeping this young, twenty-seven year old body. I know it sounded much better than I feel it to be, but the curse was very specific and painful. Once a month, my demon would lash out, releasing itself into the open and taking over me. After I had lost consciousness and Violence, the demon, obtained control over my body, he would do as he pleased. It varied each time, from going onto a killing spree, lustily raping an innocent girl or simply mocking me like an arrogant child who had just won an argument with his parents.

Parents… A memory of my own flashed through my mind, even though they had died possibly a hundred years ago. They lived through the years where 2012, the "end of the world", was a future to be scared of. I was born years after the 2012 incident, where the world had not ended, but began a new era of even more industrial advances. It was amazing with the way that the human race had clearly excelled, but what intrigued my old soul even more was that those humans were not satisfied.

You see, living for nearly a hundred years with the same exact body had a weary effect on the mind. When I awoke this morning, (as with every morning) I felt like an old man being thrown back into my youthful reality of life – that I was not to be saved or cured of my curse. The people in this town welcomed me with open arms, but I expected them to all be the same at the end of the night. Violence would take over and show them what kind of a monster I truly was. I repeatedly told myself that I would be better off sleeping in a coffin for eternity like a vampire I should have been. Being a vampire sounded much better than a monstrous beast that wiped out all in its path. At least, as a blood-sucking monster, my whole self, being the "emo" dark-clothed and dark haired "twenty-seven year old" I am, would fit in much better. I could live among the humans and try to be normal instead of forcing myself to live in solitude.

I evoked the memory of the last set of humans who tried to "set me straight", as one had described.

My eyes wandered off from the mockingbird to a picture set on top of the table in my room. Without having to examine it for long, I could easily recall each of their faces and the look they had in their eyes in that picture. Every night after they learned the truth, I would always refer to that picture as the result of my curse.

There were only four of them. None were old enough to be a guardian figure yet and all, I knew, were orphans living casually in a shabby home. But all of them were loving and caring towards me before figuring out the truth.

In the picture, from left to right were all of us: a small happy family, just trying to live our lives the way we could.

On the far left was the explosives master, James "Iggy" Sparda, with strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes. As the oldest (save for me, of course), Iggy was responsible with keeping the kids in check as well as managing their food. He was blind, but very capable of taking care of his family, except for the fact that none of them could work and they relied heavily on the government for money. He wasn't the brightest of kids, but he was smart enough to provide for three younger and growing kids.

With an arm wrapped around his shoulder, Monique "Nudge" Angelo smiled wide, her dark hair flopping over her face. Her mocha skin was much darker in comparison with everyone else's, especially my sickly white skin. She was the talkative one that always kept the "flock" excited and, I quote, "pumped up." The simple joy radiating off her skin was enough to put a smile on each of our faces, no matter how annoying she was at times.

Then there was me, staring right at the camera with a surprised and almost indifferent look. I looked the same as I do now – jet-black hair down to the middle of my neck, with bangs over my eyes. Those same obsidian eyes…the same look…the same age…forever.

I shook my head and looked at the next sibling: Gazzy "the Gasman" Elric. He had short, dirty blonde hair and a mischievous look written all over his face. Along with Iggy, he was a pyrotechnic and destructive "bombs master" that was highly amusing if it was not you stuck in his experiments. Whenever they, meaning Gazzy and Iggy, set off a bomb in close proximity with me, you bet I "roughed them up."

Finally, next to Gazzy was his sister: a small girl of eleven with long blonde hair and big, innocent eyes. She stared at the camera with a large smile upon her face, like the mockingbird singing its song outside my home. Her name was Angel Harmonia, a beautiful name for a beautiful and guiltless…angel. When I stayed there, she was so calm and stayed by my side all the time. Every time the guilt of my curse ate at me, Angel would sit next to me and always say unknowingly, "It will be okay, Mr. Nick" and for a while, I thought it would be. After the incident, she was the only one who trusted me, but they pulled her away from me. The only glimmer of hope I had in years…

I shook my head fiercely. Now is not the time to reminiscing about the family you almost had, Fang, I told myself, scrunching my eyebrows together.

Ten years ago, after that incident, I had given up my "human" name of Nick Walker and taken up Fang Valentine. Why "Fang Valentine", you probably are asking? As I mentioned before, I would prefer to be a vampire than an "accursed one", and vampires have fangs. The "Valentine" comes from a man I met on my journey around the world during the many years I have lived. He, too, was cursed with the same type of curse I have placed on me now. He was an assassin and a mutant, experimented on by an evil scientist by the name of…Hojo? I don't recall. Anyway, this man had taken upon himself to change his ways ever since finding a way out of his curse. He would always talk to me about a female he met along the way, his "polar opposite", if you will, and that she had apparently changed his heart.

What a tearjerker.

If you hadn't realized, that was pure sarcasm.

With a loud bang, the clock struck ten.

Two hours to go, I mused unhappily in my head, again staring out the window to the mockingbird, hoping I could, for once, have a single night of complete calm and serenity. Just two more hours…

For those final two hours, I knew exactly what I would be thinking about. Or, more accurately, what family I would be thinking about. Ten years ago, those four were the only family I had during my life of immortality on this earth. For a month or so, they were the only ones who knew the truth, but could trust my necessities…until, of course, I lashed out at them and nearly killed Angel. Ironically, as I stated previously, she was the only who trusted me after the whole ordeal.

My head spun as the mockingbird concluded its song. For my own sake, and for the town's, I hoped that Violence wouldn't overwhelm them with too much hatred. In addition to his/her/its powerful instinct for killing, that need for killing was passed onto the few living survivors, leaving the destruction of the demon with anyone it touched.

But when have you ever managed to change what I want to do? the "Voice" asked me angrily. Wait, let me answer – never.

"Shut up!" I shouted back, feeling his hatred enrage me. Why I was placed with this curse, I clearly remember, but… That was not something to be thinking about right now. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

When the clock strikes midnight, the games will begin, it whispered softly.

It was true.

I was victim to the curse on every full moon at midnight, and, until the morning sun rose, no one could stop me.

Not even myself.

(end of chapter one)

Hope you enjoyed it. It was a bit of a boring start, but I really hope it got to you. My second beginning to a MR story… Please guess where the last names for everyone are from! (Yes, Gazzy and Angel are siblings, but they don't have the same last name…no real reason to it yet. The next chapter of M3LC touches on it.)

So, review! If this story gets more reviews than M3LC, you bet I'll update this one more often…but of course:

I hope to get at least 10 reviews or I really doubt I'll be updating anything. No one seems to review my stories. -. - So review if you want me to update!

READ+REVIEW=UPDATE

Henshin a go-go, baby!
~anime-heroine

(Hey, I wrote a short-ish author's note this time! 100ish words.)

Edit: Thanks to Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute for the edit. Also, the "Valentine" part is a reference to Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII, who has a demon inside of him named Chaos, and he can turn into a monster named Galian Beast as well. I thought he worked well as a bit of a starter to Fang's journey.