(A/N) Well, here's the next chapter guys! This one explains what Memory really is!!! I hope you like it... please tell me what you think of it! I really like this chapter and hope you all do too!!!!
ENJOY!
~*~*~
Memory glanced around on the football field, her obsidian locks flowing slightly in the wind.
"Okay, demon... I know you're looking for me.... Where are you?" She muttered to herself.
No sound emanated around her, causing her to become slightly uneasy, but soon, a little too soon for her liking, a loud noise erupted around her; like the growling of a truck.
Turning toward the fence that lead to the street, Memory began to sprint away, but stopped short as she saw four people she recognized.
Hellboy stopped short as he saw the girl they had left just moments ago, and soon Abe, Johann, and Liz did the same.
"What are you doing here?" Hellboy demanded.
Memory bit her lip slightly, a habit of worry that she had never been able to break.
"I didn't expect you four here so soon...." She muttered.
She began walking toward them, her hair hiding her eyes as she looked around as the evil feeling began to grow.
"You knew we were coming?" Abe asked.
She gave a strained smile and put her hand over her heart.
"I felt your desires coming closer." She whispered.
Hellboy looked at Abe in question who just looked at the others with the same blank face as everyone else.
"The demon's after me... they're always after me...." She smiled sadly.
Liz began to step forward hesitantly.
"Why would they be after you?" She asked cautiously.
Memory shivered dangerously as the evil being came even closer.
"Because she is the Dono ab Desiree!" A voice shouted making Memory flinch even more.
Abe's face lit up in understanding as he looked at Memory while the others looked at the demon who stepped out of a line of trees; its body covered in electric blue spikes while its snout resembled that of a large Great Dane, and was covered in brown fur, his eyes were a deep gold, swirling around.
"The Dono ab Desiree?" Hellboy echoed.
Memory looked up at them and smiled a sad smile while her eyes bore more sorrow than most had ever seen.
"It translates out to be 'Granter of Desires.'" She whispered, looking into their eyes.
The beast let out a feral growl that radiated off of every surface making Memory tremble in fear.
"And I will have my greatest desires today!" It howled.
Cringing, Memory began to back up away from the four friends and the beast.
"No... I don't want to...." She yelled.
The monster knelt down low, as if ready to spring upon her and attack.
"I desire enough power to overcome these four!" It shouted.
Memory cringed while crying out as if in pain. Against her will, her arms were brought up to hover over her chest, as if she were a puppet on strings, and out of her chest came a pure white and silver swirling sphere.
Still struggling, trying to will it away, she seemed to hesitate, tears leaking down her cheeks, before the sphere was thrown out of her hands and went into the chest of the demon.
Memory dropped to her knees, her head lolling back as tears streamed down as she muttered, "I'm sorry, so, so sorry," again and again.
Johann and Abe rushed to her to check on her while Hellboy and Liz stood out in front to face off against the creature.
But just as Abe laid a hand on Memory, the beast began to grow and change shape: he grew two times his normal eight foot long length, his spikes turned to a midnight blue, and his fur turned black, his eyes soon turned from its original gold to a deep, muddy bronze.
"I couldn't stop it... I'm sorry," She whispered, looking at Abe and Johann.
Abe placed a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her quivering.
"It's alright... I know you can't control it." He whispered reassuringly.
Memory smiled at him and let her head fall forward.
"Well, ugly, looks like we're gonna have a throw down." Hellboy chuckled.
Memory glanced up at him, her apprehension showing on her visage.
"No, you can't! He's stronger than you are!" Memory persisted.
Johann placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Do not vorry about Agent Hellboy; he is as strong as zey come." He nodded.
But Memory didn't look at all convinced.
The beast reared back, striking Hellboy and throwing him into the football goal.
Watching with bated breath as Hellboy stood, Liz's anger began to grow; her hands were consumed with bright blue and orange flames, causing new shadows to dance around her face.
As the demon looked at her, Liz held her hands in front of her as fire engulfed the ugly beast.
Evil thoughts plunged themselves into Memory's mind, making her feel filthy with dread.
"I desire-" The beast began.
Memory's eyes filled with tears as she looked at the four people trying to protect her and the realization of what the demon would ask next would be.
"No," She screamed at the top of her lungs, grasping her head.
Before the demon could even try to get the rest of his desire out of his mouth, Memory sprinted forward before either Abe or Johann could stop her and, pushing Liz out of the way, caught the attack the demon had meant for the pyrokenetic; a claw catching her about the head knocking her unconscious.
The demon screamed in fury at seeing Memory laying on the ground, her head bleeding from deep scratches on her scalp, and only her chest raising and falling giving away the impression she was alive.
Just as the creature turned back to its other four "meals," a cocking sound was heard and it saw Hellboy with his gun pointed straight at its skull.
"No one tries to touch Liz and gets away with it." With that, Hellboy unloaded a bullet into its brain, leaving it dead.
"What do we do with her?" Liz asked, looking up from the ground where she sat next to Memory's comatose form.
"We can't just leave her here." Abe persisted, motioning toward the demon Hellboy had just shot.
The others nodded in understanding.
"Plus, she said they always come after her... she needs to be protected; she's a Desiree." Hellboy added.
Without much more needed to be said, Hellboy scooped her up in one of his massive arms and began walking with the others back to the garbage truck.
*~*~*
"How long is it supposed to take to get back to headquarters?" Hellboy whined.
They all busied themselves with various tasks; Hellboy polishing his gun which he was already finished with, Liz rechecking and listing what needed to be stocked, Johann going through the contents of Memory's bag - which they found below the bleachers that she was going to run towards - and trying to figure out more about the girl, and Abe who tended to Memory.
Suddenly, a loud beat ran through the garbage truck, emanating from none other than Memory's pocket.
Making sure not to wake the girl, Abe reached in and pulled a cell out. Looking at the caller ID, the name 'Siren' flashed repeatedly with the music.
Flipping it open, Abe put it on speaker for everyone to hear.
"Memory, good, I'm glad you finally answered! I was so worried, what happened with the demon, did you get hurt? I knew I should've been there... I coulda helped and you know it!" The girl ranted.
Everyone was silent as they stared at the phone.
"Mem... Mem, did you... did it make you grant any of its desires? It didn't ask you to hurt anyone, did it? Why are you so quiet, talk to me!" Siren wailed, almost in hysterics.
"Memory is fine, we are taking her to be looked at by a physician and to be protected, so, please, do not worry about her." Abe spoke into the phone.
The other line was dead silent; the only sound heard was Siren's slight breathing.
"If you hurt her... if you hurt her I will kill you for it.... She didn't even want her gift! She calls it a curse! Just leave her alone!" Siren hissed into the other end.
"Look, girlie, we ain't gonna hurt the girl, we just wanna help." Hellboy tried, but Siren was far from listening.
"I will find her, and you will pay for anything you all do to hurt her." With that, the line went dead.
The four looked around at each other before letting their eyes rest on Memory.
It wasn't until a large pothole jarred everyone, did they begin to slowly go back to doing their own things.
"What do you suppose her friend's power is?" Liz asked.
Abe pulled his hand away from Memory's arm.
"Her friend, Siren Peace to be exact, controls water... and is this girl's protector when demons come for her." Abe said softly, looking at the girl in wonder.
"Zen no vonder ze girl wants to kill us; she probably zinks we are demons capturing her friend." Johann scoffed.
Abe nodded as his gaze fell on a small nick from glass that he had missed before.
So they all set to work again, doing their own things, until they reached the headquarters for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.
*~*~*
Memory groaned at the dancing lights she could see behind her eyelids.
"I'm dead... I have to be.... That demon wouldn't have let me live without making its desire come true...." She thought to herself.
A small tear leaked down her cheek, but as soon as she moved to wipe it away, pain shot up through her arm.
"Wait... I'm not supposed to feel pain if I'm dead." She muttered, letting her eyes crack open slightly.
The swirling light in what seemed to be a giant fish tank met her gaze, but for only so long until she had to close her eyes again as waves of dozens of desires rammed into her mind.
She grasped her head and let herself lay their, trying to get a hold on all the desires that bombarded her.
"I can help you, if you want." A familiar voice offered.
Memory cracked open her eyes once more to see Abe floating in the tank.
Smiling, she nodded, only to cringe at the sudden movement.
As she closed her eyes again, she could hear him swim to the surface of the tank and get out, padding down a spiral staircase close to her.
"Do you want me to take your hand, or is me touching your forehead alright?" He asked quietly.
Memory didn't want to speak - the vibrations from her voice too much jarring of her body - so she simply reached out blindly for his hand.
Seeing her raise a shaking hand, he let her grasp his webbed one and was surprised when she set his hand on the side of her face with her own hand still on top of it and her other hand on the other side.
'I'm sorry... it just sometimes hurts too much to speak when I first wake up.' She thought to him.
He was slightly taken aback by her readiness to let him in.
"You truly don't mind me helping you?" He asked, confusion evident in his voice.
'I don't mind... your desires are good, and you and the others make me feel safe... something only my friend Siren has made me feel.' She replied.
He let a small smile that he knew she couldn't see grace his lips.
"I'm happy to hear that... so what is it exactly that you are trying to do?" He asked softly.
Her brows furrowed in pain for a moment as he too was bombarded with a dozen or so desires that the people around the headquarters have.
"What are these?" He whispered, trying to sort through the thoughts that seemed to plague her mind.
'They're the desires I feel from the people around us. I'm trying to get them under control again... it's really hard at first.' She replied, inwardly sighing as she began to get control again.
Abe could feel the thoughts calm themselves as Memory began to direct the desires into another part of her thoughts.
"It gets really bad when I first wake up... but it just takes me a while to get them under control again." She said again, her eyes opening slowly to look at him.
He cocked his head to the side as she released her slight death grip on his hand.
"I'm sorry... it just really hurt." She smiled lightly, sitting up.
Shaking his head, he put his hands on her shoulders to help her.
"Quite alright, very understandable with what you are." He replied.
She looked down, thoughts of self loathing hitting him full force before he realized he was still channeling her.
"I've never met a Desiree before... it's quite remarkable." He said, trying to make her feel better.
She looked up at him and smiled a sad smile.
"Not really... I'm just like a genie." She laughed, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Standing, Abe motioned for her to stay seated, "I'm going to go get the others so you can explain everything if you wish." He informed her.
She nodded, "I'd better..."
As he made his way out of the room, Memory took her time to survey the place around her; apparently she was in some sort of library or office with all of the books and papers that were scattered around, but looking at the tank she guessed it was were Abe lived, or at least stayed.
Memory didn't look up from her hands, but she could feel their desires closing in on her, but theirs didn't make her shiver with evil; theirs seemed to comfort her slightly.
"So what is a Dono ab Desiree?" Liz asked, sitting in a chair beside the couch Memory sat on.
Hellboy sat across from her on the ground with his back against the glass of the tank, Johann sat in another chair on the other side of the couch, and Abe sat next to Memory.
"Like I said before, it translates out to be 'Granter of Desires.' I guess you could say I'm like a genie... but I don't live in a lamp, I don't use smoke to get around... and the magic words aren't 'I Wish' for my power to work." She told them.
"So then what are the magic words?" Hellboy asked suddenly.
Memory looked at him, worry evident in her eyes before they shifted uneasily around the room.
"I... uh..." She began.
"If you don't mind... but I think she's afraid to tell us." Abe said softly, looking at her.
She looked over at him and sighed.
"Every single person except Siren has used my power for what they want... Siren only uses it if I accidentally granted a demon's desire and she couldn't beat him." Memory recalled.
"Look, kid, you don't have to worry about us using your gift." Hellboy said, sitting up a little bit straighter as he lit a cigar.
"It's more like a curse," She muttered, her shoulders slouching.
"How so?" Johann piped up.
Memory looked over at him and then at all the others before looking up at the ceiling.
"If someone says the words 'I Desire' then I have to grant it... there's no fighting it, there's no saying 'No,' I have to... every time I've tried not to it ends up coming out anyway without my hands there to catch the Sphere of Desire; and let me tell you, that hurts!" Memory told them.
She looked around at the faces of the others and sighed.
"Let me start at the beginning.
"There is a legend that says that a genie fell in love with a mortal woman... but the woman was his master's wife.
"So, the genie tricked his master into releasing him from his magic confines, and he tries to woo the wife, but she knew what the genie was and only wanted what her heart desired. The genie gave and gave, but still the wife wouldn't leave her husband, so finally the genie got angry and cursed the woman to become something more than he was; the Dono ab Desiree. With every desire she heard, she must grant, but she can never have what her heart most desired." Memory recalled.
Hellboy snorted, "Sounds like a bad fairytale."
Liz shot him a hard look which immediately made him close his mouth.
"No, it's okay, really. At first I thought it was a load of bull when my grandmother first told it to me too... but when I started hearing desires and granting them... it made me believe.... I always thought to myself 'What'd I do so wrong?' But my grandmother told me that at least one Desiree must exist." She explained.
The others looked at her slightly confused.
"I never understood why only one had to exist." Abe thought.
Memory smiled, "For humility,"
As they looked at her, she looked into the tank, a bitter smile playing on her lips.
"The genie wanted to teach the woman he loved a lesson... but she didn't learn it, and died. So the gift, or curse, whichever you want to call it, was passed on to women throughout the ages, always hoping someone would find the meaning behind it. The meaning the genie was trying to show the woman was that you can't have everything your heart desires... but also you shouldn't be surrounded by people who want to use you for your own personal desire like she was doing for him." Memory explained.
Everyone was quiet for a few moments, moments that Memory used to survey the people around her.
"I'm sorry... about the demon I mean." She whispered, not meeting anyone's eyes.
Liz leaned forward, "It's not your fault; you had to grant it when he said it."
Hellboy perked up, "Hey, why'd you scream no before you threw yourself in front of Liz? Just 'cause you didn't want it to hit her?" He asked.
A small blush creped across her cheeks as she looked down.
"Well... to be honest I didn't see her in the way of its claws until I reached her... it wanted to ask me to kill all of you and... and I... I can't do that... not again...." She whispered, letting her hair cover her face.
"Again, what do you mean again?" Liz echoed.
Memory visibly recoiled, as if wishing she hadn't said anything but knew there was no way out of telling them.
"When I was six I was on a field trip with my class... we had just learned a new word before we got on the bus and a girl was fiddling around with it, but she was also mad at her parents.... In her mind, she thought 'I desire for my parents to die.'" Memory whispered, visibly shaking with fear.
Everyone made sounds of protest, and each made Memory whimper slightly thinking they were angry at her.
"Vat kind of pover makes a child do sings like zat?!" Johann demanded.
Memory looked up slightly, disbelief still in her eyes.
"That is horribly that her power won't even let her say no to the act of murder." Abe concurred.
Memory let her head drop into her hands.
"But you still want to test my power; to see if I'm telling the truth." She whispered sadly.
Hellboy began to stand.
"Well, yeah, but I have an easy way." He grinned.
She peeked out slightly between a couple of fingers as he grinned down at her.
"I desire -"
"H.B. leave that girl alone!" Liz shouted at him, cutting him off.
He just smirked and turned back to the teen sitting in front of him.
"I desire a plate of pancakes; enough for me to eat to get full." He grinned.
Looking at him with a mix of shock and confusion, she brought her hands up to hover over her chest - this time no struggle required - and the same swirling white and silver orb appeared before she thrust it out of her grasp toward Hellboy. It was absorbed into his chest, and before everyone's eyes, a small table sized plate filled all around with fresh steaming, golden brown pancakes rested before him with syrup already coated on them.
"Oh, you're too good, girlie." He grinned, picking up a fork found on the plate and began digging in.
"No one has ever asked for food before...." Memory murmured.
Liz leaned over toward her and whispered, "You've never seen anyone who could eat as much as him."
Memory let out a soft giggle causing Hellboy to look up, half a pancake hanging from his mouth.
"Hey, she can laugh; who knew?" He grinned at her.
Memory let a grin show through right back at him before sitting back and sighing.
"So do you have any more questions? If not... I bet Siren's worried about me; I should probably get back to the school." She said looking around.
The other four began looking at each other uneasily.
"Um... Miss, you vere unconscious ven ve brought you here, but... ve are a very long vay avay from your friend." Johann explained.
Memory looked at them all, her eyes wide, before groaning and leaning back against the couch.
"Siren's gonna kill me...." She muttered to herself.
"Actually, I think she said she was going to kill us." Abe corrected her.
Memory giggled lightly again.
"You answered my phone when she called, didn't you?" She asked, trying to stifle more laughter.
He nodded slightly, all of them looking at her as she stood and walked over to put her hand on the tank.
"Siren's just protective over me... kinda how I am of her, but she's more so because of the fact that I can't really protect myself when a demon attacks.... She's really sweet though, and if I can explain what's going on to her, she won't try to kill you." Memory said, smiling fondly at the thought of her friend.
Hellboy snorted into his pancakes.
"That wasn't protectiveness, kid, that was pretty much wanting you all to herself." He persisted.
Memory smiled at him.
"You don't know her like I do... the only desire she has is for me to be happy, even with my power. The only time she uses it is to make a demon forget about me and leave." She told them.
Hellboy looked around at the others; Liz had a look of sadness in her eyes, while Abe had a look of understanding in his.
"So she protects you when those demons attacked?" Abe asked.
Memory nodded, "She can control any kind of water and make it into whatever she wants."
She was smiling at all of them before he face turned dark and grim.
"But... you have to be careful...." She added.
The four of them looked at her in worry.
"Why," Liz asked quietly.
Memory glanced up into each of their eyes.
"Siren is just like water itself; calm and tranquil... but deadly and destructive if provoked... and I think you four provoked her. I need to get to her before she does something to hurt someone." Memory's voice grew very grave. "Before she kills to try to get to the people she thinks are hurting me."
(A/N) Please Review! I'm anxious to know what you all think of this new chapter!