Fate...
Luke took Ingrid up the stairs, getting ready to introduce her to Stocking, who hasn't come out of her room yet. 'Stocking usually isn't this quiet…' he thought, 'I wonder what's troubling her…'
"Luke? You seemed worried…is something going on?" Ingrid asked, noticing Luke sullen expression.
"It's nothing, Ingrid…I'm just wondering why Stocking isn't out of her room yet…she's usually downstairs, especially if there're other people around." Luke answered.
"Hm…"
Luke and Ingrid walked down the long hallway of doors in order to reach Stocking's room. Luke was slightly hesitant to let Ingrid in, wondering how Stocking would react, but Ingrid insisted.
"If something is really the matter with her, I might as well try and help her. Besides…you can never have enough friends."
Luke nodded his head and knocked on the door. "Stocking? Are you still in there? It's Luke, I have someone for you to meet!"
In a flash, the door opened with a smiling Stocking on the other side. She immediately hugged Luke, as she hadn't seen him in a long time. Luke looked back to Ingrid, who smiled and told him to carry on.
Relieved, Luke returned the hug and asked Stocking how she was.
"I'm fine…I'm just…happy to see you again is all!"
"Stocking, I'd like you to meet Ingrid! She and I have been together for a couple of years now…and I thought that you'd like to meet her…so…"
Stocking looked over to Ingrid, who smiled warmly and waved. For some reason...Stocking wasn't very thrilled about seeing her.
Luke was getting ready to go back downstairs to see what the others were doing, knowing that Ingrid and Stocking would have to be alone for things to work out.
"I wonder what Gerald has gotten himself into…" Luke said as he took the elevator back down to the Church.
Stocking watched him leave; a part of her yearning for him to stay. Ingrid's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Stocking, is it? That's a beautiful name…where did your mother get the inspiration?"
Stocking didn't really know how to respond, she was looking to a more…'formal' approach from a girl like her. "It's…a unique name…and my mother…I really don't know where she got it from."
"You don't see names like that on the Earth that I'm from, many people would laugh at you…but I won't. I think your mom did a great job."
Again, Stocking was thrown off. 'Why is she being so nice to me? I thought Luke told her about…that…'
Stocking was tired of standing out in the hallway, so she reluctantly invited Ingrid into her room. Ingrid gratefully obliged, being careful not to mess with any of her belongings. She finally found a decent place in the middle of her rug to sit on, while Stocking retreated to her bed.
It was silent for a couple of moments, with Stocking hoping that Ingrid would get bored and leave…but she didn't. There was something about this girl that made her feel uneasy. A feeling that she didn't like.
It was silent for another minute before Ingrid broke the silence. "So…Stocking…what happens around here?"
Stocking decided to answer her questions with caution. She had a feeling that Ingrid was onto her about what happened between her and Luke…She had to remain subtle.
"Well, there are ghosts that come around every now and then…and Panty and I were sent down here to destroy them all. After Luke helped us defeat the demon Corset, they've been really scarce…but not completely destroyed. They're like pests who're hard to get rid of."
Stocking realized the double meaning of the last phrase she said. 'Damn it…I hope she didn't take it the wrong way…"
Much to her relief, Ingrid smiled. "I can totally relate. Dark Matter isn't that easy to get rid of either."
"Believe me, it isn't," Stocking replied.
A few more moments of silence passed. Ingrid brought up another topic.
"Your room looks so nice…has Luke seen it yet?" she asked.
Stocking hesitated. 'Ah sh*t, she's onto me...how do I answer this…?'
"Umm…he has…but only once."
"Did he like it?"
"He did say that it was, 'quite pretty'."
"He isn't wrong."
'He never is…' Stocking thought.
"What about your sister? Do you two get along?"
"…I love my sister…but we do get into…heated arguments…" Stocking replied uneasily.
"That's okay, it happens all of the time! The more you guys fight, more love you show to each other. Because you can't stay mad at each other forever…no one can. Repairs exist to fix breakups…and make sure that they don't happen again."
Stocking took this into consideration. 'Was she mad about the thing? Has she gotten over it?'
"Stocking, your sister is married to Briefers Rock, right?"
Stocking hesitated yet again, not knowing where Ingrid was going with this.
"Yes…what about it?"
"Well, I don't mean to pry, but…are you looking for someone?"
Stocking was silent. She didn't like talking about love…not after he left her…ever since then, there has been this empty feeling in her heart…something that she has grown to ignore over the years. When Luke came, she didn't really care to get to know him for the first couple of days, but as time went on, she began to develop feelings for him. He was always so kind and open to her, and never judged her on her eating habits…in fact, he encouraged them. She wanted him to be hers, but she knew that this wouldn't be possible, because Luke was already with Ingrid, which made her hate the girl even more. Luke noticed this, and tried to comfort her one night…and then…it happened. Luke was so confused and shocked, Stocking had mixed feelings…she felt good that she had finally expressed her feelings toward him…but she knew that Luke would never feel the same way. After Corset was defeated and Luke left, Panty and Brief got married years later…and the feeling came back…and she hated every second of it…
Ingrid noticed the prolonged silence and realized that she had asked a sensitive question. O-Oh…I'm sorry…I-I didn't mean to pry…
Stocking just couldn't do it anymore…all of these feelings…bottled up inside of her…they had to come out…and which better person to lash out on…
'…Than the b*tch sitting right in front of me.'
"I kissed him!"
Ingrid was confused. "Come again?"
"I kissed Luke…I did!"
Ingrid knew that she had stepped into new territory…of course, she already knew…and after Luke explained everything, she understood…now is the time to release Stocking of her pain...
...so she went along with it. "Y-you what?"
"I did it all right!" Stocking yelled, "You see…after Patrick left…no one could ever love me like he did…and then Luke came along. He changed the way I look at life! Now I realize that I can't have him…because of you…!
"Stocking…wow…I-I never knew."
"Of course you didn't, dumbass*! I was the one who never had a chance at love…once Panty and Geek Boy got together, I thought everything was gonna go back to normal! That it was all just a big joke! I figured that Panty wouldn't be able to commit! But everything changed, it wasn't a joke, and she was able to commit! The two are married now and already have their own child! And what do I have? A stupid ring, reminding me of what could have been…but was never meant to be…"
Stocking started to sniffle. Ingrid tried to comfort her, but Stocking shoved her away. Ingrid decided it was best for her to finish talking.
"Luke was so nice…and kind…he was the best thing that ever happened to me after Patrick…" Stocking's voice grew louder. "…And Fate decides to take it away from me once again!"
Ingrid continued to listen.
"I thought that I'd be the one that would have a better life…that I would be the prosperous sister…it turns out that that wasn't the case. I guess I'll never learn the true meaning of love…I'm gonna die alone."
'Ouch…that was way too dark…' Ingrid thought.
Stocking started to cry, believing that Fate just wasn't in her favor.
Ingrid decided to let her cry herself out…she'll be more approachable then.
Moments later, Luke came back upstairs to call Ingrid and Stocking for dinner, but heard Stocking crying and realized that Ingrid wasn't done yet…so he stayed to listen. What he didn't know was that everyone else was listening, too.
—
Ingrid was sitting next to Stocking, patting her back in an attempt to comfort her. Stocking's breath was uneven and ragged; black mascara streaming down her pale face.
After what had seemed like an hour…Ingrid finally spoke.
"Stocking, can I tell you a story?"
Stocking didn't answer. She just looked up from her cradled position and stared at Ingrid with eyes that could kill.
Ingrid wasn't fazed by her famous icy-death stare. At least, she was listening.
"Fate is mysterious. You can't predict what's going to happen next. Fate is like flipping a coin, you'll never know if it'll land on heads…" Ingrid brought a coin seemingly out of nowhere and flipped it, "...or tails…but there is an equal chance of both outcomes occurring." Ingrid caught the coin in the air.
Tails.
Stocking's eyes softened…but not enough that you could see it.
"Of course…you can decide your fate. Instead of flipping the coin…you turn it to the Heads side, or to the Tails side, and you can put it down. You chose to do that…but in this situation…that's besides the point."
Ingrid took a deep breath.
"I had a father…he was a Universal…just like me…I barely got to see him…and when I did…I barely got to talk with him…"
Stocking felt herself becoming interested in this story…though she wanted not to care.
"Then…one fateful day…my father was surprisingly nice…he stayed with me all of the time…we played together, he showed me his trademark tricks that he used to show me when I was a baby…"
"It was all happy for you…right?" Stocking interrupted.
"Yes, it was…until…it happened."
"What?" Stocking felt herself wanting to know.
"He was killed."
Stocking was silent. She didn't know what to say…this feeling was new to her…actually feeling sorry for someone…
"What had actually happened was that he killed himself in order to protect me. The Dark Side of his powers were controlling him…It wasn't long before it would become too much for him to bear…so he took what he had left of his Light and gave it to me…killing him instantly…"
Stocking remained silent. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes…but they weren't of pity of herself…but of actual empathy for another person.
"Luke, Cecilia, Gerald, and I quested and fought for almost a year so we could defeat the Dark Side of him. And when the day came that I was about to give the finishing blow…he begged for mercy."
"You let him go…" Stocking whispered.
"Yes…Yes, I did. I decided his fate for him…even though he killed so many people, including my father…I let him go…and do you know what he did?"
Stocking felt like she knew the answer, but remained silent.
"He tried to kill ME." Ingrid was also on the brink of tears.
Stocking gasped as a tear went down her cheek.
"I had to kill him…my own father…Fate wasn't nice to me that day…but in the end,…it all came in my favor…I just had to wait."
Stocking marveled at how wise this girl was…
"Stocking...Patrick and Luke were just things that happened…the Coin of Fate just landed on the wrong side twice in a row…that's all."
Stocking silently nodded her head in understanding.
"Don't let this stop you from living your life. Of course, having someone to share it with is nice…but don't beat yourself up over it. I'm sure that Fate will be in your favor…good things come to those who wait."
Stocking slowly nodded her head.
"Stocking…do you know what Light Sense is and Dark Sense is?"
Stocking shook her head.
"These two Senses make up your Sixth Sense. These are the things that help you make choices. We all come from the same things…us Generics…Angels…Demons…Universals…Elementals...we are all connected to the Multiverse. Fate is what created the Multiverse…and since Fate exists because of the choices you make, Dark and Light Senses reinforce those choices. You have two paths to follow…a Pure Soul…and a Corrupt one…the ghosts that reside here are a special kind of Soul, called a Fated Soul…these Souls are Corrupt…but not to the point that they can't be turned around for the better. By loving Patrick for what was on the inside, and not the outside, you cleansed him of his Corrupt Soul and gave him a Pure one. He's in Heaven because of you now…haven't you realized? You finally gave him rest."
Stocking sniffed again. Ingrid continued, knowing that her job was almost done.
"Patrick isn't coming back…he's in a better place…and he wouldn't be happy if you weren't happy…I bet this is his last request…he wants you to move on, Stocking…he wants you to be happy, Stocking."
Stocking started to hiccup.
"I want you to be happy."
Stocking looked up at Ingrid, tears already rolling down her face.
Ingrid concluded her small speech. "You need to get rid of the Dark Sense in your Sixth Sense…which is your Soul. You need to think positively. Make Light choices, just know that if you ever need someone to talk to…you can come to me. Remember that, okay?"
Stocking hesitated for a moment, then pulled Ingrid in for a tight hug. Ingrid hugged her back. Both girls started to cry…but they weren't tears of pity or empathy…but of joy…pure, warm, joy.
A knock was heard at the door. Stocking slowly got off of her bed and walked over to the door. She hesitated for a second, then opened the door slowly.
Everyone was there. They heard the entire conversation…and they were ready to comfort her.
Panty was first. "Little Sis…I didn't know you felt that way…all this time…"
Stocking hugged her older sister tighter. "Don't blame yourself…I've forgiven you…all of the wrongs have been made right…I love you, Panty."
Panty was close to tears. "I-I love you too, Stocking…"
Luke ran up to Ingrid and gave her a huge hug. "I knew you could do it…" he whispered in her ear.
Ingrid whispered back. "I'm not done yet…by the time this year is over…Stocking will have someone to love. I swear it."
The rest of the group was huddled in a group hug. Luke and Ingrid soon joined in.
'I swear it.'