Another chapter for all you Demonata fans! Hope you've all enjoyed it so far, and I hope that you'll like the next couple of chapters too. My apologies if I don't update this story for a long time, because I am currently writing four other stories all at once.

THE PAST

Grubbs was frozen with absolute shock. This one emotion numbed his entire body, crushed his mind with cold hands. His heart ceased to beat for the ten, long seconds that he stood stunned, before rapidly speeding up and pounding against his ribs like a hammer as a trillion questions fought inside his head for attention.

How was this possible? Why had his family not told him? Did Dervish know? Why was she here? What did she want? The list went on.

A sudden warmth caressed his grief-hardened heart, and it took Grubbs a while to work out the emotion he was feeling. I turned out to be a mixture: relief, amazement, belonging, slight fear, and most odd of all, love. Love for a stranger that could be a lying demon in disguise.

Fighting the tears that stung his eyes and resisting the urge to throw his arms around the girl, he croaked "My twin?"

"Yes," she relied with a vigorous nod. "Do you speak English? Know what a twin is?"

"Yes, but…" Grubbs sighed and answered softly. "I thought I was alone."

"So did I," murmured Merlin, smiling sadly. "But now, we have each other."

Grubbs had lost his mother, father, and sister, all brutally murdered by the living nightmare that was Lord Loss. He had nearly lost his mind to the horrors he saw in that blood soaked and web engulfed room, but thanks to Dervish, he regained his sanity. And then he discovered he had a half-brother, Bill-E Spleen, who, even though at times it didn't show, loved more than anything. He was not alone, now that he had Dervish and Bill-E, but nothing was closer than a twin. Now there was a shred of his old life sewn back into his heart.

"Wait, how do I know that you're my sister?" frowned Grubbs. "You could be lying."

"So distrusting!" cried Merlin. She sighed deeply. "I'll tell you the truth, but it's a long story."

"Come inside" said Grubbs, standing out of the way of the door. With a smile, Merlin walked over the threshold and Grubbs closed the door behind her. For some reason, Grubbs felt a shiver run down his spine, as if closing the door was a big mistake. He ignored the warning in his head though, far too concerned with the appearance of a long lost twin.

Grubbs led her to the lunge and flicked on a few lights, the soft yellow glow creating an air of intimacy and sanctuary. As Merlin sat on the huge sofa, she gazed around in slight awe at the house's massiveness and lavish furniture. "Nice place, you have here" she commented.

"Yeah, my uncle owns it."

"Our uncle" said Merlin softly, though by her tone it seemed like she was correcting him.

"Let's hear your story" Grubbs said impatiently.

The girl took a deep breathe, and let it out slowly. She fiddled with a strand of flaming hair as she told her tale:

"Mum and Dad were overjoyed when they found out they were expecting twins. Or at least, that's probably what they felt. Till one day, when Mum was 8 months pregnant, a mysterious stranger appeared at the door and told them that if they kept both twins, they would be subject to a terrible curse, a curse other than the Grady's lycanthropy. Of course, one curse was enough to live with, and they already feared for Gret becoming inflicted. But they would never separate us, not ever. The stranger left without a word.

"A few weeks later, Mum gave birth to both of us. They called you Grubitsch, and they called me Merlin, after the bird of prey, not the magician. Everything seemed happy for the time being, and Mum and Dad thought that the curse they were threatened with was nothing but a cruel hoax.

"However, that night, when everyone was asleep, someone sneaked into the hospital and stole me. They took me far, far away, and left me in a realm of horrors."

"The Demonata…" murmured Grubbs without realizing. He clapped a hand around his mouth as if to prevent the words from being heard, but Merlin just smiled sorrowfully and answered "Yes Grubbs. I know about your battles with that hellish race, and of the traumas you've lived with."

She took another deep breathe and continued. "They left me in their realm, a newborn baby, completely defenseless and a quick snack to any passing Demons. I would have been killed if it hadn't been for the mysterious stranger. He took me back to earth though a window and raised me as his own child. He told me he was a Disciple and explained to me what had happened to me as a baby. He said that he had come to Mum and Dad not to threaten them, but to warn them. Warn them against the person that took me away from my family. But he also came to warn them against… against…"

"Yes?" pressed Grubbs.

"To warn them against me," Merlin sobbed all of a sudden. Her shoulders shook wildly as she whispered the last words. "Grubbs, I'm not a human."

Aha! Another cliff hanger! Hope you enjoyed it for now folks! Please give me any criticisms if the Merlin's story sounds a bit crappy, and please review if you liked it. ^^