Sibling Battle

"Prepare to die," Vincent told Virginia, "You will not get away with what you did to me, or to my father. He will be avenged, and I will finally be free of this burden. Then, I will go and kill your parents, and your aunt and uncle for their part in my abandonment. Just like I killed our grandfather for teaching that woman to only have one child. If he hadn't of spoken up, she'd have kept me."

"So, you murdered our grandfather! Unforgivable! Maybe I didn't know him too well, and haven't seen him in seventeen years, but he was still family. You've missed the train a few too many times in your murders though. Both Mommy and Daddy died when I was a child," she admitted.

Jet said, "You've got it all wrong. Virginia would never have intentionally done anything to harm you, she's a good-hearted soul. And if her mother raised her to be like that, then that means that she'd have been kindly as well. Everyone in Boot Hill said that she was the kindest and gentlest lady they had ever met. And another thing, Virginia did not kill Leehalt. I did, with my own bare hands, in order to protect Filgaia from his wicked ambition to turn the whole planet into a den of demons."

Vincent looked from his sister, to his brother-in-law. "I guess then I can kill the both of you. I never realized how much enjoyment killing can bring, until I went on this quest for revenge. Pity, that stupid rule about one child only. Else I would have more of your family to kill."


"You can't believe everything you hear," Clive stated, "It is unfathomable for any mother to abandon their child for such a silly reason as tradition. Did you ever try to talk to your mother?"


"She's not my mother! I have no mother. And her husband is not my father either. My father was killed by you fools seven years ago. Maybe I can satisfy my bloodlust by getting rid of not only his killer, but the allies as well. Yes, I did try to talk to her. I went to Boot Hill once when I was five, with my father. And she didn't even take notice that I existed," Vincent replied.

~ ~ ~ ~

A younger Vincent asked, "Daddy, where are those heartless people you are always telling me about? I would like to know their faces, so one day I can get revenge." The poor boy was already so hardened to the truths of the world, that he was quite mature for his age.

Leehalt looked down. "Vincent, look ahead, they're coming down the road. Now, we must not be hasty, you might be able to salvage your relationship with these people. Even if you'd rather live with me, you can still get to know your birth parents. We will talk to them, and sort things out."


Werner, Ekatrina, and a little Virginia were coming down the road. They were going out for a family picnic in the fields. Werner was carrying a picnic basket in his left hand, while his wife had a blanket under her right arm. Her left arm was intertwined with his right one. Virginia, on the other hand, was running ahead, chasing after butterflies and giggling, retaining the innocence her brother did not know. When she caught one, she'd open her hands and let it fly away once more.


"Virginia," Ekatrina called, "Be careful my dear. Don't run to fast, or you might hurt yourself."


"Ok Mommy," she yelled back. The young girl continued to run around, smelling the wonderful flowers of pre-Wasteland Filgaia. Her parents sat together on the blanket, smiling at one another.

Werner stated, "This is just perfect. The sun is shining, the grass around here is still green, the flowers are blooming, and I'm with my family. Nothing could be better than this."

Ekatrina nodded. "Yes, nothing can be better. Everything is just the way I wanted it to be, just you and me. You and me and Virginia, together forever, one family."

~ ~ ~ ~

"You never even spoke to her," Virginia said, "You just watched Mom, Dad, and me as we were on a picnic. Maybe if you'd spoken to her, she might have told you what really happened."


"I know what happened, she abandoned me. And that man let it happen. Only Father ever tried to help me out. You didn't hear her, she was happy with out me. Happy that she had her wretched husband, and her little brat of a daughter. Happy that her son had been thrown away like an old rag, and left for dead. Happy that she didn't know my fate, or even if I was alive," he yelled.

Virginia whispered, "It's not what you think it is, it just can't be. Mother would never have done something so horrible. She's just way too nice. Leehalt is just putting ideas in your head, eager for his personal revenge against Daddy. Eager enough to use his own son to carry it out."

Jet suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute. If the Yggdrasil devoured the memories of the people of Filgaia concerning the planet's green past, then how can Vincent remember a time when you are all in a field of flowers, having a picnic? Wouldn't that have been gobbled up as well? Unless, you're just a phantom Leehalt created to extract his revenge against Werner and the rest of us."

"It's simple," Vincent stated, "I recorded my memories of my birth parents and their wickedness in a journal, or rather, my father did it for me. And we made sure to remember the details as well. Just so I'd never forget the reason why I did this." With that, he shot his pistol at Virginia.

In a moment of nervous fear, Virginia put up a Hi-Shield spell, knowing that between death by an enemy or her friends finding out what she really was, she'd chose the latter. But the bullet had been reinforced, and broke right through. It did, however, miss its mark, hitting her shoulder instead of her chest. The bullet grazed right across, and ended up stuck in a barrel a few feet behind.

"That was a nice shot, you should consider target practice," teased Virginia, gripping her injured shoulder to heal it. Casting her Medium magic, she closed the wound. But not before she'd bled a bit, leaving blue blood trailing down the nice new white shirt she'd purchased for the party. Everyone began to stare at her, wondering what had happened to cause her to bleed like that.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

No, there's no phantom. He really is her brother, just, like he said, he wrote down the reasons why he planned to get revenge. Besides, Boot Hill, Baskar, and Claiborn are the three towns where the grass is still green, as well as the Secret Garden area.