"Let me see it!" Ichiru begs Level.
"No, it's my scrapbook!" Level snaps, holding the red scrapbook close to her chest.
"Oh come on, it's not like it contains the secret to world domination!"
Zero walks by, whistling like it actually did. Level smacks his arm with the scrapbook. "Shut up, Zero! MOM, ARE YOU READY NOW?"
"Hold on!" Mom replies. "Your show isn't even on until three!"
It's two thirty. "There's dress rehearsal!"
Dad trudges in, tired yet smiling. "I'll take you earlier, okay?"
Level nods and we follow him out. That's when my memories speed through, images flying by. The doll, her performance, it all hurts my head, and I'm NOT enjoying it. It stops at me running home. I'm wiping furious tears out of my eyes, my twenty vectors inside. I roar and smash a brick wall apart. I run into my house, even though the door was locked, and relock it, running into the back after unlocking the back door, then shutting it securely, and then kneeling by the creek, crying.
"He doesn't get it…he won't get it!" I cry, slamming my fists into the ground. My cap feels like it is glue, and then the voice comes.
"Why don't you tell him?" I hear Level's voice ring. I guess she's my angel conscience.
"No, kill him and in his last breath show him," the voice that changed everything between me and Kota rings. So I knew it before hand.
"NO! NO! NO! I WANT HIM TO LIVE! I WANT HIM TO-"
"Torment you with his perfection?" that devil mocks.
"SHUT UP!"
"K-Kaede?"
I turn abruptly to Zero, clutching the door. He looks sympathetic. "WHAT?" I snap, tears flowing. I didn't know I was this sentimental.
He sighs and slowly walks over. "Are you okay? I just asked how you did that stuff."
I blink and look down at the river, my eyes furious and my jaw set. "I've done it before. It's not my fault you don't care enough to F*CKING notice."
He turns me around. "Of course I care! I'm your friend Kaede! You got to trust me!"
I shake my head. "You'd just laugh, you'd just leave, there's a number of possibilities of what you'd do, Zero. It's better to just forget this."
He gaps and shakes my shoulders roughly. "FORGET THIS? ARE YOU F*CKING STUPID?" Jeez we had sailor's mouths. "WE'RE FRIENDS!"
I sigh and glare. "IF WE WERE, YOU WOULDN'T BE GONE ALL THE TIME!"
He raises a brow. "So I've been gone several weeks at a time, I have a family!"
"SO DO I, YET I'M HERE!"
"I'm not you!" he snaps. "If that's the problem, I wouldn't mind leaving!"
I turn and cross my arms. "GO AHEAD, SEE IF I CARE!"
I hear nothing. I try to keep my fury, but I soften. I stare sadly at the ground. Someone sets a hand on my shoulder. "I said if that's the problem."
I turn slightly to see Zero still standing there. "That's not the problem."
"Then what is it?"
I sigh and turn completely. "Promise?" He nods and I smile. "Okay." I take off the cap, his light smile fading quick. "What do you think Zero? I also have vectors." I take them out, knowing he can't see them. He hesitates. I can tell the mood change in his eyes, but in my past state I fail to notice because I'm hoping too much. He bites his lip, and then looks down. "Zero?"
He snaps his head up, completely different. "FREAK!"
I blink. "What?"
"YOU'RE A FREAK KAEDE!"
I gap, snarling. "I'm not a freak."
"FREAK!"
"I'm not!"
"You're right Kaede…VAMPIRE!"
"I'M NOT A VAMPIRE!"
"EXPLAIN THE HORNS!"
"VAMPIRES DON'T HAVE HORNS STUPID! I WAS BORN WITH THEM! CAN'T YOU TELL BY THE FACT I'M ALWAYS WEARING A CAP?"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU KAEDE! I TRUSTED YOU! All these years… YOU WERE ONE OF THEM!"
"HOW AM I ANY DIFFERENT JUST BY MY HORNS?"
"IT'S AN OBVIOUS SIGN YOU'RE BAD!"
"NOT ALL VAMPIRES ARE BAD!"
"SO YOU ADMIT IT!"
"NO! I'M NOT AN F*CKING VAMPIRE!"
"Hey," Mrs. Kiryu who apparently reached my home comes out, "what's going on here?"
I pull my cap on, my vectors becoming more visible with my anger. "YOU JERK!"
I shove Zero in. He thrashes and I hold him under until Mrs. Kiryu goes in to help him. I release him and my parents and his dad come out, Level staring at me as she arrives. She turns to Zero and I notice he's slightly bleeding, so she covers up her throat. She turns to me and I immediately understand, especially with the explanation Level gave me earlier; she hasn't had her medication, or blood. Her eyes flicker and Mom sighs, pushing Level inside. Dad guides me inside, Mr. Kiryu staring at him in confusion. I hear Zero explaining to his mom what happened, but I feel tears come out. One second he's my friend, he promised, but then he lashed out. Dad pulls me into the bathroom in which Level is there, holding her throat and Mom sitting across on the floor. I sit next to Level, tears of fury coming out. Zero can just go and die! I shake my head and clutch it, the voice screaming for some reason. Level's eyes flicker and she wishes for something; peace. Dad locks the door to prevent the Kiryu family from entering and suddenly, my anger reaches its climax. I scream and my twenty vectors lashing out in random straight lines, Level's pain also making her do the same thing. I blacked out for a moment, and then stopped screaming, seeing the blood dripping off our vectors. Level is crying, blood trickling onto her face. She wanted peace, and this is what happened. I try to comprehend that Mom and Dad aren't here, so I return my vectors and next thing I know, once Level pulls hers back, the house crashes onto us. We slam into the ground and fight our way out of the rubble, running into the backyard to see and Mom and Dad, in their dead state. Level cries harder and someone shoots at us. We turn to see Mr. Kiryu, who never knew that Dad was a vampire. Mrs. Kiryu is blinking, Ichiru is crying, and Zero is glaring. With our vectors we pick them up and run as fast as we can, managing to dodge a few bullets. I look back once to mouth to Zero 'I'm sorry, but if you can't accept me, I might as well be dead'.
The scene goes to a few days later. We're out on the outskirts of a field, in front of two handmade tombstones with our Mom and Dad's info carved into them. We say prayers, give last conversations to dead people, and tell each other about the good parents they were. It's sad. Level silently cries, cursing herself for being the cause. She wasn't. I pat her back and that's when I hear a gun cock. I turn around and push Level away, seeing Zero for a brief second before FLASH! The bullet tears through my temple, making my body knock back with my arms in front, falling as if someone hit me in the stomach.
"SISTER!" she screams.
Ichiru comes to the front and I notice they're both crying as if they don't want this. "I'M SORRY!" Ichiru screams, Kimia in his hands and the power activated.
The scene flashes, and some doll ribbon Level had been holding flies up, covered in blood. Level digs into a third party's mind, making me realize this is Zero's memories. The scene continues with Zero dropping the gun and glaring up at the sky. "Ichiru, please tell me they're not dead."
Ichiru runs to check the pulses. "Barely, it's a miracle!"
Zero sighs and smiles slightly, facing my unconscious figure. "I hope they'll be okay."
"Well, you could've cooled down with the whole 'protecting her' thing."
Huh? Don't ask me, this is my first time with this memory. "What was I supposed to say Ichiru? 'Go away otherwise the Vampire Society might come and mistake you'? Have you forgotten how prideful she is?"
I feel like slapping him, but I can't now. "Should we?"
"Yeah, leave them with information, Ichiru. We're just making sure they're found."
They drag us in two different directions, meeting up in between our locations. "Why are we separating them, Zero?"
"So they can't get both at once," Zero reminds him. If that happens, we won't have more of a chance seeing them again.
I blink to see Nyuu took charge, and she's just been staring at the ceiling. "Nyuu?" I think.
Nyuu sits up, crying apparently. "Zero sorry."
"I know that," I sigh, my actual talking not affecting her anymore.
"Nyuu…" she covers her eyes, wiping boiling water out of them. "Nyuu!"
"Calm down, they're just tears," I huff, crossing my arms.
She blinks and hugs our ribs. "Nyuu, nyuu, nyuu-nyuu."
"Yeah, I know she's not here," I sigh.
There's a knock at the door and Nyuu stands to answer it, but she has an IV for some weird reason. She blinks at it and yanks it, obviously not having common sense. Something crashes to the floor, causing the door to fling open. I hear a huff and Kaname comes to pick up a beige box, setting it on the stand and seating Nyuu on the bed. "You're not supposed to get up."
Nyuu blinks. "Nyuu?"
He sighs and pats my head. Something thumps at my back and Nyuu feels at that area, Kaname turning her around to look for himself. "Nothing's the-"
Something slams his into a cabinet, and shoots out of Nyuu's back. She screams, something I rarely hear her do, and we switch within the pain, me making myself clutch my head and widen my eyes, vectors adding up to a total of seventeen. I blink to get sense back and feel the big fresh hole sting and the vectors try to close it up. Kaname glares and pushes himself up, the door opening to Yuki. She blinks and sighs at the hole, probably understanding it was an accident. Zero walks in after her, not at all happy.
"Lucy?" he calls.
I turn. "Huh?"
"How are you feeling?" Yuki asks, feeling my forehead.
"Better," I lie, shrugging.
I blink at the ground. Level, are you still there? Yeah, but there's something wrong wit-. All I hear is the voices surrounding me falling into scrambles. My eyes are wide, I clutch my head, and I swear they're worrying. Level?…Level?...
"SISTER!"
I cringe and fall down on the bed, my head in a splitting fever. I look at the stand to see the medication gone. I look out the window to a twelve-year-old with purple hair. I raise a brow at first.
She's my Grandma. What are you to Granny?
Granny…I stand and run out, despite how much it hurts. So I can't pull out my vectors, it's something.
I keep running, look behind once, and when I turn, I collide with none other than a crimson jacket. I look up and gasp; it's Level 30.
"Level?" I ask.
She looks up, frozen. "Kaede?"
I nod and we hug each other for a brief moment before helping each other up. That's when Level turns around frantically. "Looking for something?"
"Someone actually," she gulps. "Twenty-nine's missing."
I blink. "You mean the girl with the purple hair?"
Level turns back to me. "Have you seen her?" I nod. "Where is she?"
I point behind me and she gulps. "What's wrong?"
"If she's near humans, they're probably dead."
I gasp and turn to none other than the missing, nothing murder related on her. "Hi Granny!"
I turn to Level. "Is she…"
"Twenty-five's offspring, yes," Level sighs.
"I still don't get why the…never mind."
"Look, the egg is in the back," she points to an area next to her spine. "What happens is that the vectors take them out because look." She made her arm go through the nearest oak tree, and it wasn't a vector. Ouch.
"Granny, who's she?" Twenty-nine asking, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"This is my sister," she informs.
Twenty-nine's eye twitches. "Ah…"
I look up to see people beginning to walk this way. "Uh, I was thinking of spending Christmas at my home, if you don't mind."
"It's okay, but can I come?" she asks.
"I'll call; just keep checking in okay, Level?"
She smiles and hugs me. "I missed you Kaede."
I sigh. "Call me Lucy, that name is just something that reminds me of Mom."
"And unoriginal."
"Shut up," I chuckle, patting her arm.
I walk back to the building to at least get my phone, since I think I saw it on one of the shelves. I stare at the ground, thinking of anything in my past that seems out of context. Why was Zero acting weird earlier with that whole disgusting vectors thing? Well, it's not like we never fought I guess. I stop when I see a book. The Tale of Despereaux, what is it doing here? I pick it up and I accidentally get a paper cut. Strange...My head starts to pound, and I crutch down to hold my head in my state of pain.
"Mama, who she?" I ask.
This isn't me, but I'm this person. She has white hair, and she's two. "She's your mom, His."
Her mom is what I can fairly assume to be Level 23. I take out a vector myself, but it's only the one, and it is one yard long. "Look Mama, it is showing!"
All goes black.
…
"Mother, where's Aspasia?" a five-year-old, that I'm seeing the eyes out of asks. This one has two vectors of two yard range. These visions are what happened to the other Levels. Aspasia, a cat, crawls out limping. The door blows open and the men from the facility enter. She runs in front of a crib containing a newborn. "I won't let you near Nana!"
She gets shot to death.
…
Three kids are lined up to be shot; triplets. They are all the age of ten. One has three vectors with three yard range, one has five with five yard ranges, and the other has ten. "FIRE!"
…
"I'm scared!" a red head girl with four vectors and six cries to her older sister.
"I know, but we have to brave it," Level 14 comforts.
Level 15 comes in. "Knock, knock."
She cackles, and I'm Level 14. She's clear-headed and focused, but it's just the fact of more vectors.
…
Level 13 is crazy, and Levels 6 and 7 try to stop her, but she's bouncing all over. 6 and 7 are twins, only nine.
…
Level 13 is still on the loose after thirteen months. Level 8 comes along as a distraction, but Level 12 stops 13 too late.
…
Level 9 and 11 are walking when Level 29 comes up. These two are the grand-children of 25, but they have a one year difference. 29 doesn't like competition. She wants to be the only loved one for the Princess and the Queen.
"Nighty Night, dear children."
…
Level 12 is complaining about how 29 is out of control, how she's probably the reason for 9 and 11's deaths. Level 26 doesn't want to hear it, so she gets rid of the weak.
…
I breakdown on the floor, panting and hugging my ribs. All of them were good, mere innocents. Some didn't fight, but they were killed for mere power. I growl. If that's how it works, then I'm going to take out all the bad ones, save Level 30 some trouble maybe. But, might as well spend a last day. I push myself up and run for the infirmary, finding it clear and I slip in to grab my phone.
"Hello," Yuka smiles, "who's this?"
"Yuka, I'm Lucy."
"Lucy! How are you?"
"You haven't been gone for that long Yuka."
"Hey, Yuka, can I talk to her?" I hear Kota in the background.
"Sure, Lucy, Kota wants to talk to you."
She hands him the phone. "Hey Lucy, how are you?"
"Eh," I shrug. "It's school, it can always be better."
He chuckles. "Hey, listen, are you coming home for the holidays or is there some policy that you can't?"
"I'm going home, but can I invite some people?"
"Depends, who are they?"
"Well," I sit on the bed, the crunching of the springs probably audible from the other end, "remember how I knew nothing before I was eleven?"
"Right."
"Well, there are several people who knew me then."
"Really? That's great!"
"Yeah…" I falter. "Um, so I was wondering if that's okay?"
"Sure, anyone else?"
"Well, there's this one girl who I didn't know, but Yuka seems to like her."
"Yuki I guess? She's been talking about her to Mayu and Nana up and down."
I chuckle, in which the mention of Nana brings me to a stop. "Hey, can I talk to Nana for a bit?"
"Sure. NANA! LUCY WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!"
I hear the phone pass. "Hello?"
"Hey Nana."
"Oh hi Lucy, how's the school life?"
"Hard, I'm in the infirmary for the…fourth or third time."
"Jeez, can't you behave?"
I roll my eyes. "Anyways, I learned a little about your past."
She stops. "What about it…?"
"You had a sister," I state.
"Is she alive?"
"No. She died trying to protect you. You also had a cat called Aspasia."
She's silent. "Thanks."
She hangs up. I sit here, clutching my phone. All of them died, because of power. After I spend my most likely last Christmas here, and somehow say goodbyes, I will give them justice, with Level 30's permission along with 25's of course. I can't just be like I was and kill them off, like I did with Kota…like I killed those boys because I was angry, even though they deserved it. Be the better person, my dad told me. I will.