Bloodborne Twin Ch. 4

Disclaimer: Bloodborne belongs to FromSoftware, and RWBY belongs to the late Monty Oum (someone I should have written on here to give my respect to) and Roosterteeth.

"I want to know the truth, and nothing but the truth, do you understand?"

She sighed. She knew this was coming sooner or later, but she couldn't lie to him now, not after what she had almost done. But there was only one problem. Had they heard of a city called Yharnam, or does it really not exist here? If it didn't exist here, then she'd be in a very tough predicament. There was only one way to find out. "... yes."

"Alright, so mind if you tell me who you really are?"

And there was another problem. She really couldn't remember who she was at the moment, and telling him that she only knew her first name and profession would get her nowhere with him, and lying to him again would only make things worse. She really didn't know where to start, but after a short moment of consideration she went with the former.

'Well, here goes nothing,' she thought, "I did tell you truthfully that I am a hunter, but as for who I am... I don't remember."

"You don't remember who you are," he asked incredulously, "you told us your first name and that you are a hunter, and now you're telling me that you don't remember anything about yourself? So how are you going to tell me the truth?"

"You wanted the truth and I'm giving it to you," she countered. She did expect he would not believe her right off the bat, but she was upset at the fact that he did not let her explain herself. "All I know is my first name and my memories of the hunt. I can't remember my last name, or where I'm from. I can't even remember my birthday!"

Quinn was taken back a bit by her little outburst, "So you're telling me that you have amnesia?"

"For now, yes, and until my memories come back to me, all I can tell you is my memories of the hunt, and where I came from."

He sighed. This just had gotten more complicated than he had thought. Not only did she have no memory of her past, but she only had her experiences of being a 'hunter'. He would have continued to scoff at such a claim, but the tone in her voice showed she was being honestly serious. It was pretty difficult to know if she was telling the truth with her white mask still on. If he was going to get anywhere in helping her, perhaps he should just hear her out and then see where it would go.

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Okay, I'll listen to your story, but first, the mask comes off."

She was hesitant about taking off her mask. She had worn it since the beginning of the hunt. She actually thought it was part of being a hunter until she was told otherwise, but even so, she kept it on regardless, because why would any predator care about what her face looked like when all they see is prey? There were only three hunters in Yharnam she had revealed her face to, but only because they earned each other's trust. This time though, she would have to reveal herself not because he earned it, but because she had to gain his trust.

After coming to a decision, she lifted her hands to her hood and brought it down to reveal her black hair. Then she got a firm grip on her white kabuki mask and slowly took it off...

To reveal a flawless, pale skinned face. Her features looked chiseled, making her look very attractive. And the eyes were a very alluring sight if he was honest with himself, but he did not wish to voice it. All in all, she was a beautiful young woman, but this was not the reason he had told her to take her mask off.

"Alright, let's hear your story."

"I will, but first, a history lesson of where I came from, just so you'll understand." She had to be careful in handling her story. If she told him the whole story then it would take all night to finish, and the details of the story would have been too disturbing and strange for him to believe. So, she soon came up with how to tell him what he needed to know, but not the entire story. "I must warn you, though, the things you'll hear from me will be disturbing."

He silently nods, signaling for her to start.

"Do you know of a city called Yharnam?"

"No, I do not."

"Yharnam was the home of Blood Ministration, and was founded by the Healing Church. An organization dedicated to the practice of blood healing."

"Blood healing," he asked somewhat incredulously.

She nodded. "The Healing Church had control over the distribution of all kinds of blood, and I'll spare you the details on what they were used for. But the only blood that was sacred to the church was the once miraculous liquid known as Healing Blood, originally known as the Old Blood."

"Old Blood?"

"Yes, it was discovered long ago by a small group of scholars who stumbled upon an ancient tomb, built by a long lost civilization in memorial to their dead gods. This blood in particular did many miraculous things as far as I've read. It could cure practically any diseases, patch up any serious injuries, and even help reattach severed limbs."

"This... 'Healing Blood' you describe sounds too good to be true." Of course he felt a little disgusted by how these people used blood, but the way she described its miraculous properties would have sounded incredibly far fetched. "But I have a feeling that there's more to this miracle cure than what was let on," he added inquisitively, having a feeling that he was not going to like what he'll hear next.

"You are correct. By extensively abusing the Healing Blood, a trigger was activated within the blood itself. Slowly, this mutation started to physically and mentally change them into beasts, and eventually this plague was given a name, the Beast Plague."

"So these beasts these people turn into, are they like the Grimm?"

"No, but to what I've seen of these Beowolves I'd say it's much worse."

He widened his eyes a bit, and the colors on his face grew pale. How could there be creatures more savage than the Grimm? "How so," he asked.

"The beasts I've encountered are more viscous and wild but not mindless. They're werewolf like in a way almost akin to these beowolves but lack the bone spikes, and they have a craving for flesh and blood. These... Grimm you say only attack out of hatred."

"I see," this information was disturbing him the more he learned of this Yharnam and its use of blood. "So what happened to Yharnam when they discovered this new mutation?"

"The plague came from outside Yharnam, and it was happening in the older part of the city. So when the church did all they could but failed to stem the tide, they decided to quarantine it and burn it to the ground, hoping to permanently stop it in its tracks, even if the method was costly. But it failed, and this plague continued to spread through other parts of the city, though not the entire city mind you. Not even the Cathedral Ward, the highest level in Yharnam, was safe from the plague."

"So where did you come in?" He was now more curious, how was it that she got into the city without getting caught by these plague bearing monsters?

"I... don't remember how I got in, but I do remember waking up in the medical wing. Which I found out was where I lost my memories."

He raised an eyebrow to this confusing discovery of her memory loss, but before he could ask he watched her bring up her mask to show him.

"It's where I found this mask, and the note that came with it showing my first name and saying to 'seek Paleblood and transcend the hunt.'" Now this added information made him even more confused.

"I don't understand, how did a hospital make you forget everything about yourself? And what is this paleblood?"

"Well, to what I found out from my old mentor, and from the medical logs I found back in the hospital, I was given a blood transfusion under a contract known as the 'Paleblood Contract.' Once the transfusion is complete, the blood will then block all of your memories of who you are except what you've learned. As to what Paleblood is, well... to be honest, you don't want to know, but what I can tell you is that I no longer sought it out."

"What made you stop searching for it?"

"It's because of this," she reaches behind her neck and undid the lock connecting the chain together. Then she held the two ends of the chain together in one hand while having the locket opened and laid on the palm of her other hand, and setting the chain down on that hand. She handed the locket to Quinn by leaning over the table for him to take it. He took the offered locket with both hands and inspected it. The locket itself looked to be completely made of silver, and well maintained if he would say so himself. It had what looked to be a rather old picture, but it was still clear enough to show two little girls who looked exactly the same. That's when it dawned on him...

"You have a sister," he said as a matter of fact.

She nods and gives a soft smile, "I learned I had a family when the chain got cut off during a fight with a beast. I first thought it was just an accessory until it came open on the ground. Seeing that gave me a new purpose during that long, terrible night, and if I didn't see the picture of my sister... I just don't want to think of what I would become if I went all the way through with my contract."

He could sympathize with that, he did have a wife a son to protect, and in the end family meant more to him than just his job as a guard. "So you tried to end the contract early?"

"No, I had a job to find the source of the beastly scourge first, which I eventually completed. After that, my mentor severed me from my contract, and in doing so knocked me out. I woke up in the middle of the woods, and the rest you already know."

'Severed from the contract,' he asked himself. There were many questions he wanted to ask, but when he looked down at his watch he realized they had spoken for too long. Before he called it a day, however, there was one little thing he needed to know, a missing piece to the puzzle that could help him help her. "I just got one more question before we call it a night, what did you do after you woke up in the hospital?"

She didn't want to recall that memory, but if he insisted, then she had no other choice but to oblige. "... I went searching for answers to what Paleblood was. I was unarmed and unprepared, and the first people I'd met were an angry mob of blood addled Yharnamites. They came at me with pitchforks, muskets, and cleavers. They shouted curses at me for being an outsider, and they even believed I was a beast. I ran for my life, and I nearly died that time."

She didn't mention to him about the Scourge Beast that had almost killed her in the lower level of the hospital, or the time she started killing these crazy people for the first time in self defense, or the first time she experienced death by a Cleric Beast. But it was enough for him to put two and two together to see how she had been so thoroughly shell shocked. It was simply one traumatizing thing after another. He still did not completely believe in her story, but he would be damned if he did not do something about her condition.

"No wonder you looked like you were ready to go nuts," Quinn commented half to himself.

She raised an eyebrow, slightly miffed by those words: "Did I look that off to you?"

He took a deep breath and straightened his back. "The lands of Remnant were never really tamed. Our village stands, but the Grimm ate others. Years ago, back when I served Atlas, we were called upon to aid a hamlet attacked by hordes of the monsters. Fending off assault after assault had turned a few of their townsfolk into grizzled, tough as nails fighters. They'd be almost right up your alley, really, 'cept that where you were graceful, they were downright brutal instead." Another deep breath. "They couldn't cope with a safer life. They had those fevered looks I saw in your face, and it would take some trivial thing —a gesture, a sound, a blazing fire— to make them snap.

"There was this one… Johann or whatever, he was a knife nut. His fellows saw him tear through four beowolves like those with a butcher's cleaver and a machete." He shook his head slowly. "A slamming door. That was all it took, a stupid idiot who slammed a door shut. He was in the main hall of the inn when he lost it. It took ten of us to put him down after he had stabbed a score of people." Again, a deep, slow breath. "None of them lived past that year. The last one actually charged the Grimm, slashing and stabbing anything that got close to her before she got herself killed."

He raised his eyes to meet hers. "And you would have trounced the lot of them, singly or all together. Just imagine what could have happened if you had lost it yourself."

Her eyes widened in shock. If he had not been there...

Well, she could not stomach the thought of losing her chances of finding her sister.

"Then I want to thank you for stopping me back there," she said sympathetically.

"You're welcome." He shook his head again. "Never believed that some good would ever come out of all that."

"So you're saying… my condition is that bad?" she asked a little worriedly.

"The way you were reaching for your weapon… yeah, I'd say it's that bad. You're gonna be looking for your sister, right?"

She silently nodded yes.

"Well, you can't get anywhere like that. You might end up stabbing the wrong people." He leaned in on the table with his hands clasped together. "Which is why I want to help you, starting tomorrow, just so you get acclimated in our village, and perhaps the people here will help you, too in a way. Mind you, people are going to be a little scared, and it's not as great or fancy here as the kingdom down south, but this'll be a start for now. What do you think?"

If anything could be said about Quinn was that he was honest and blunt in equal measure. It did not look like she would be getting anything better than that.

"I accept the offer," she answered with a sincere smile. "Thank you."

"Whelp," he gets up off the chair, "guess we should head to the inn and pick them up." She nodded in agreement, got up off the chair and grabbed the mask. He saw what she was going to do and asks. "Are you sure you want to put it back on?"

"... I'm more used to having it on than having it off."

"Well, you can't keep it on forever. Besides, this isn't like Yharnam so there's no need to worry. Plus it will help ease everyone's minds about you."

She thought about it for a minute, and after much consideration she decided that keeping the mask on would be preferable, if only for one night. She was just too used to having it on.

"I'll just keep it on, but just for tonight," she replied.

He sighed. This was going to be a little harder than he thought it would.

After getting the mask on and putting up her hood, they both went to the front door. Once outside they headed straight to the inn where Ginger and Lavi were currently waiting in. It had gotten dark since their talk, and the dirt paved street was lit with burning lampposts and the moonlight.

"Just so you know, you'll be sleeping at our house for the time being. Wouldn't want you to be staying at an inn now, should we," stated Quinn.

She recalled the story about the veteran going berserk — and only then she realized just how much the man was trusting her by making that offer. He was putting the life of his wife and child on the line.

Nonetheless, she still asked, turning her head towards him: "Why is that?"

"Because, do you know what lien is?"

She shook her head.

"Lien is our currency, and the inn requires lien for each night you stay. And since you don't know what lien is, I can guess you don't have any." Even if true, it rang as a convenient excuse, and they both knew it. "Staying at our place will be free of charge so long as you help around the house, and until your condition improves."

"I do have coins, would that help?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't waste them on food and room rental. Use them only on supplies for the road. Before I forget, the conversation we had stays between us, understood?"

Ella nodded in agreement, ashamed of herself. Having saved the town from the Grimm did not make her any less dangerous to the people around her, but Quinn was willing to risk his life to help her heal those wounds. And that of his family.

She would have to learn how to sleep without a dagger under her pillow, she thought.

She turned her head back to the dirt road. They were halfway past the small clinic built between their home and the inn when she turned her head to look at the moon, but the state of what she saw made her stop in her tracks with widened eyes. The moon was not whole but shattered, and she wondered how that happened. Seeing it felt almost familiar to her, as if she had seen it before. She had gotten used to seeing the full moon back in Yharnam, so this breathtakingly looking broken moon was as clear-cut an indicator as she was going to find that she no longer was in the world she used to know.

Quinn stopped when he did not hear her walking with him and turned to see her staring up at the shattered moon. He would admit, she was a strange one, but she did have heart, and the skills to take on Grimm. All she needed to do in the future was to hopefully let her guard down. Which reminded him...

"Hey, I almost forgot," he called out.

Hearing him brought her back to the real world. She averted her eyes from the moon and and turned to look at him.

He gave her a smirk. "Welcome to Huckleberry."

-line-break-

Ella felt cramped and trapped, she couldn't even block out the moans and cries of the children cramped beneath her. She couldn't tell how long she had been trapped in this bag or know where she was headed. For all she knew, this monster of a man was taking them to his home to eat them, and that assumption scared her. She didn't want to die, but the only way of escape was through the top of the bag that was clamped shut by a massive bony hand.

Just when she started to lose all hope, she heard tearing from somewhere underneath the children, and before she knew it, she fell out of the bag amongst the pile of children. The monster noticed this but was too late to stop it as Ella and the kids squirmed out of the pile and scrambled in different directions.

She never looked back, ignoring the terrible, bloodcurdling cry from the monster. She didn't think about where the other kids went. She just ran, ran as fast as her legs could take her as if her very life depended on it. She kept running through the dark, sickly, twisted forest she had never seen before, but it all seemed scary which was all the more reason for her to keep going. She didn't know how long she'd been running, but eventually she saw a light at the end of the dark woods to which she gunned for it.

As soon as she went past the trees she became blinded by the bright light, only to clear up as soon it came. Her vision cleared revealing the view of a dry, grassy plain with what appeared to be a dirt road in the distance. She could see two individuals in strange, blue colored clothes walking down the road. Perhaps they're huntsmen on patrol she assumed. She tried calling out to them, but her voice became so dry and hoarse, and she suddenly became dizzy before losing consciousness and went crashing down onto the dirty ground.

-line-break-

She awoke with a short gasp. After a short while of regaining her vision, she slowly sat up from her bed with her right knee lifted near to her chest. She then slowly massaged her temple with her fingers. She was currently sleeping in a guest room. It contained the usual furniture, such as a small bookshelf, and dresser drawer, a desk, and few decorations. Her sleeping attire consisted of a grey T-shirt and pajama pants that were given to her by Ginger.

'What was that,' she asked herself, she couldn't really tell if that was a memory or a bad dream. The dead forest seemed almost familiar to her, as if she were really there. So whatever that place was, or whoever those children were, none of it made any sense. she pondered about this for a moment longer until the sound of knocking broke her out of it.

"Lady Huntress, are you awake," asked the voice of Lavi. She looked through the window to her right and determined that it was morning.

"Yes, sweetie, what do you need," she asked kindly as she turned to look back at the door.

"Um, mom told me to check up on you, she's also making breakfast."

"Thank you, Tell her I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay," he said happily. She heard footsteps fading away quickly through the hall. Putting the thought of that dream away for later, she got out of bed and took a stretch. It would have amazed her that she could simply dream without having to go to the Hunter's Dream again, if only it didn't have to end up as a bad one. She could only hope that she won't be getting more of those in the near future.

After being done with her morning stretches she switched her pajamas to her Hunter Trousers and her white buttoned up shirt, and left the rest of her attire to change back into later after breakfast. She looked to the mask which laid on the desk. Quinn had told her to simply leave it inside the guest room for the purpose of showing her face to the people. She understood the reason; to simply get acclimated to the new life of… Remnant he called it. Of course, wearing that throughout the long night in Yharnam had become apart of her attire, but she figured that some habits need to be put down in order to go with the changes.

Being all done reminiscing about it, she headed out of the guest room door to greet the dawn of a new day.

A/N: And finally the chapter you've been waiting for. I'll be honest, this chapter took a bit of work to go over, but thanks to the help of CruxMDQ we've been able to get the dialogue just right. But if the history I've written down is still inaccurate let me know.

Now you guys are starting to see that Quinn is no ordinary man but something more, and you may be wondering why he didn't help her in the fight against the Beowolves. It's just that family came first to him, and since the Hunter was with them it made more sense to take his family to safety. Plus it didn't hurt to see what she was capable of. Also, Ella has a memory in the form of a dream, but it still doesn't reveal how she got there. Giving you a heads up, though, that she'll be getting random memories like pieces to a puzzle.

next chapter will see some action when Ella and Quinn go hunting for Grimm.

This is Kyro2009, signing off.