My first Fanfic on this account! Yay! So... as stated on my profile and in the summary, this is based off of the CD "Elysion ~Rakuen Gensō Monogatari Kumikyoku~" which is loosely translated to "Elysion ~Paradise Illusion Story Suite~." I can tell you right now that not all of the songs will be in this little fic, because I can't make them fit into the plot I have. So, for those who are interested, this will include both Eru no Rakuens (Side E and Side A) and the five Abyss songs-Ark, Baroque, Yield, Sacrifice, and Stardust. This chapter is Eru No Rakuen [- side:E -]. Eru no Rakuen, by the way, roughly translates to "Paradise of El" or "El's Paradise." The song can be found here: www. youtube .com/ watch?v=Ix-0HDSKpfI But without the spaces. There is also a reference to the song "Eru no Tenbin," loosely translated as "Scales of Elle" or "Elle's Scales." That song can be found here: www. youtube..com/ watch?v=6Q-foIJTWsk Again, without the spaces. So, enough of my ranting. Oh, any song lyrics used (I'll be using the translated version, might tweek them a BIT) will be underlined. Okay, now let's begin!
The man looked down at the little baby girl, who smiled innocently up at him. Short black fuzz that would in time become the girl's hair covered her head, and soft brown eyes were trained on him with clear interest. You facinate me, those eyes seemed to say. The man wanted to answer with a smile of his own, but he simply could not. Because even now, as he held the child who was born less then a week ago in his arms, he knew that a grave was being dug for his wife, and this child was the cause of it. How could he possibly love the child that caused his wife to pass away? Alone in his house, he stared at the child, willing the warm feeling in his heart to go away. Wanting it to go away, even though it didn't.
"It's likely that I will never love her in my lifetime."
Even as he said these words, he knew he was lying to himself. Because he already loved the child that he now held. Despite the circumstances involving the child's birth, he still loved her. Despite this, he tried to talk himself out of loving her, knowing even as he did so that it was impossible. "However, her existence may take on special meaning for me." He continued, trying to turn the love he felt for the child into something like mere affection. She had her mother's eyes, and her nose. Maybe these were the things that sparked the irrational, traitorous love he felt inside of himself. "After all, her name was decided in the distant past..." He sighed, holding the child up as if to inspect it, to detect evil inside of it.
"Elle. That is what she wanted to call you, she always wanted a child by that name. Your name is Elle." As if in response, the baby cooed and giggled.
...
"Hey, Papa!"
Elle coughed, and tugged on her father's pant leg. The man looked down at her, mask already perched on his face. The young girl didn't know what the mask was for, but she had seen it on her father's face countless times. It was probably best that she couldn't read. If she could, she might have read the newspaper, about the mysterious man in the mask that stole, looted, even murdered to get money. Yes, it was certainly a good thing that the frail girl couldn't read.
The man swept his daughter into his arms. "What is it, Elle?" Underneath the mask that covered the man's eyes, there was a smile, one that was seen less and less as every day went by. His work took a toll on him... after all, he was by no means an evil man, he simply needed the money.
Elle smiled childishly, her gaunt skin looking like it would tear from that simple movement. "Do you know what day it is tomorrow?"
The man's smile widened. "It's the birthday of the cutest girl in the world."
Elle giggled, tugging on her father's hair playfully. "I think a picture book would be a good birthday present..."
The man kissed Elle's forehead before setting the girl down. "So do I. Let's hope you get one." This caused another giggle from Elle. "I have to go to work now, sweetheart. I'll be home later." With that, he walked out, the door closing behind him as he walked out into the snow.
...
The man sighed, snowflakes fluttering to earth around him. Elle was sick, and nothing seemed to be helping. What little money they had was spent on trying to make her better, all to no avail. This was probably going to be her last birthday, and he was going to see to it that she got that picture book that she wanted. He couldn't do much, but he could do that, he was sure of it. He just needed a way to make enough money...
He knew what he had to do make the money. Tonight was the night that the daughter of a rich man was running off to meet the man she had fallen in love with, a worker in her father's fields. Her father disapproved of this, since she was already engaged to a man who was more suited to her wealth. So he hired the masked man to kill the worker, and bring his daughter back to him. His sources told him that they would be meeting at the sea, so he waited there, disguised as the boatman meant to lead the two to freedom.
Soon, the doomed couple arrived, and got onto the boat. Silently, the man rowed out to where no one was. "A-are you sure you know where your going? The fog here is very dense, and it doesn't look like your heading in the right direction..." The woman gasped as the masked man lowered his hood, revealing the mask that covered the top half of his face, the mask that everyone knew from newspaper articles. She drew closer to the man with her, but the two lovers were trapped. It sickened the masked man to have to do this, but he had no choice. He had to, for Elle.
"Don't worry about the returning pass fare", He said quietly, "Since you've already payed more then enough for this. However..." He took the knife out of his pocket, pointing it at the man threateningly. "His journey ends right here. It's a shame, isn't it...?"
Before any answer could be given, the masked man leapt forward, driving the knife into the worker's chest. The woman screamed, but the man only got out one shocked gurgle before the knife was out of his chest and sliding across his throat, spraying blood everywhere-onto the masked man, the woman, the boat. Blood pattered into the water, the red slowly dissolving into pink, then nothing. With a grunt, the masked man tossed the now lifeless body overboard. The woman was screaming his name, over and over, giving the murderer a headache. Finally she turned her tearstained face up to the masked man. "This is my father's doing, isn't it?" Her voice was near hysterical.
The masked man only nodded. The woman let out a keening moan, screaming up at the sky. "You are the devil's man." Those were the last words she said to him, and the masked man still did not raise his voice once to defend himself. Because how could he possibly explain to the grief-stricken woman that he had killed her love for a picture book?
...
That night, Elle's condition worsened. Each breath the thin girl took rattled in her chest, and her fever grew higher every minute. Her father desprately tried to bring the fever down, but nothing seemed to help. The girl turned her sweaty face up to her father's and asked, "Hey, Papa, what kinds of flowers bloom in Paradise?"
The masked man shook his head, not trusting his voice. It was unfair that such a beautiful child should die, when so many others lived. Was this his punishment for the many murders he commited?
The girl did not seem bothered by this, the fever was making her delusional. Again she tried to get her question across, although her voice was already becoming weak. "Hey, Papa, what kinds of birds sing in Paradise?"
The masked man could feel tears coming, and tried to hold them back, even as Elle's questions got more heartbreaking. "Hey, Papa, will my body stop hurting in Paradise?"
Again the masked man was unable to answer, but Elle didn't mind, instead curling up under her warm blanket. "Hey, Papa, can we always be together in Paradise?"
This questions struck the masked man more then the others. Surely he wouldn't be granted entrance into Paradise. Tears began to slip down his cheeks as Elle closed her eyes. "Hey... Papa..." With those words, her breathing became more even as she fell asleep.
...
The next day, the woman was in town, glaring at her father. The father merely rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me like that, dear. You know that it had to be done. He was a commoner. This man is much more suited for you, I promise."
The fire in the girl's eyes did not dim. "I loved him, father. And I will never forgive you for what you did."
The father rolled his eyes again, closing the conversation. Suddenly, she heard a voice.
"Yes, that book, please. For my daughter."
That voice, she would recognize it anywhere. It was the voice of the devil's man, the killer, the man in the mask. She didn't even think twice.
"Young lady, where are you going?" The woman barely heard her father as red obscured her vision.
Without thinking of anything, she rushed into the store where she heard the voice. The man had his back to her, but the shape was undeniably his. Screaming in hate and fury, she grabbed a knife that was for sale and drove it into the man's back, feeling the triumphant fury when he cried out. He collapsed to the ground, as she pulled the knife out of him.
Before the shocked storekeeper could say anything, she screamed. "I'll be with you soon, my love!" With those last words, she plunged the blade into her own chest. She collapsed forward, a smile on her face as she died in a pool of her own blood.
With the death of such a rich woman, no one spared a second thought for the man who crawled away, back home.
...
Elle turned as the door opened, her vision blurry. Had she been well, she would have noticed her father stumbling into the door. She would have noticed how he collapsed beside her. She would have noticed that blood stained her father's back. But Elle was not well, and she noticed none of these things. Instead she simply talked to her father as if he was still alive. She couldn't see that the man beside her was now a corpse.
"Hey, Papa, what kind of passion blooms in Paradise?"
The girl's voice was weak as she tried desprately to get out all of her questions. A bright light was obscuring her vision, and she knew what it was. It was the light of Paradise. She would be there soon.
"Hey, Papa, what kind of love sings in Paradise?"
The light got brighter, and Elle could hear the spirits singing, welcoming her to Paradise. Her tiny hand found her father's cold one, and she gripped it, barely feeling it.
"Hey... Papa..."
Those were Elle's last words, and she was finally welcomed into Paradise.
...
The masked man was not welcomed into Paradise. Instead, he was doomed to wander the earth, taking in lost souls in hopes that they were his beloved daughter. but soon, something happened. The souls he took in got renamed, and given new lives... as vocaloids. They began to look up to the masked man as their master, but he was still unhappy, hoping that the next soul would be his Elle...
So... yeah. The first chapter really has very little to do with vocaloid, I know. The next ones will have more to do with it, I promise. Well, I already know who's going to be in Ark, Baroque, and Stardust, but any help in Yeild and Sacrifice would be greatly appriciated. Particulary with "Yeild," because I have a slight idea on who to use in "Sacrifice." So... love it, hate it? Comments are appriciated, but please attempt to be somewhat polite... thank you!