Darkness Falls - Chapter 13: Souls

Groaning, Caroline sat up, brushing dust and spider webs from her face. Where am I, she thought, confused. For a moment, she couldn't remember what has happened, or how she had gotten here. Her head spun as she tried to stand and, once completely that simple task, Caroline felt herself sway back and forth.

"You're finally awake. Here I've been, waking the dead, and you haven't even stirred."

"Huh?" Caroline blinked, her confusion increasing as her eyes adjusted to the lack of lightly. The speaker formed in front of her, and the familiar voice helped it click. "Iris?"

The ghost girl nodded, smiling. "Yes, it's me. Tanya and Mafuyu are with me, too."

The first name Caroline knew, and she gave a small smile to the young child, reminding herself that she needed to ask her later how she got here. After all, didn't she saw that she needed to die to help X? The second man, who was wearing a white jacket and had short black hair, was completely unfamiliar. "Who…?"

"Didn't your mother teach you anything about your family history?" he asked teasingly, smiling himself.

"Of course she did," Caroline shot back hotly. "About the camera, and the mansion, and how my grandmother came here after her broth…." Realization slowly dawned over her. "… Mafuyu? You're Miku's elder brother, the one who stayed with Kirie, aren't you?"

"None other than," Mafuyu responded, giving her a small bow. "And I'm also Miku's only brother. Just like her, in looks and in thought."

Before Caroline could respond to that, Iris interrupted them both. "Brother sister fights can happen later, you two. Right now we need to figure out how to deal with Malice."

"It's stronger than the last time it was released, I think. I couldn't even protect him."

All eyes turned to Tanya, who was currently staring at the ground. "It's not your fault sweety," Iris said softly, kneeling down and stroking her hair. "You did your best to help him. We really couldn't have asked for more."

"Who? X?" Once again, Caroline was confused. If I had a dollar for everytime this happened… "Did something happen to X? I mean, something else happen?"

"Yes, he… Malice broke through my protection. And it got to the girl, too." Tears began to well up in Tanya's eyes, glowing an eerie silver-ish shade. Caroline bit her lower lip, wondering how to tactfully phrase her next question.

"… I thought you died when you were giving your soul to X."

Iris shot her a dirty look, making Caroline feel like kicking herself. Tactful. Veeery nice.

Tanya shook her head, but it was Mafuyu who answered for her. "What she did was try and protect his soul, his consciousness. She didn't really 'die', just gave all her energy to him for an undisclosed amount of time." He sighed. "But it's far stronger than any of us thought."

Iris frowned, grabbing at a chunk of her own long, chestnut hair, and yanked. "This is so stupid! And frustrating!" Closing her eyes, she dropped her hands to her sides, clenching them into fists. "Why can't we prevent this? We should have been able to. We should have been watching!"

"Could someone please explain this to me?" Caroline asked after a long paused. Iris was too busy fuming to pay attention to her, and Tanya was lost in her own world, so it was Mafuyu who answered her question.

"Just like Miku, always questioning… okay, now where to start…"

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Zero paced over the floor, listening to the incessant, annoying creaking of the floorboards. A small smile flickered across his lips as he stared at the dead body, lying only a few feet away from him. True, Cain had already been dead when Zero stumbled across his body, but it had been satisfying ripping him apart anyways.

"Feeling rather violent today, I see."

Whirling around, Zero drew his sabre, intent on mauling whoever it was that had snuck up on him. When no one was there, and nothing greeted him safe for the tittering coming from above his head, he scowled.

"You're too tense. Calm down, put that stick away, and talk to me like a civilized person would."

Still scowling, Zero dropped his sabre and crossed his arms. "Malice, you goddamned female, would you just show yourself instead of hiding up in the rafters where I can neither see you nor get to you?"

The girl laughed again, a light, tilting noise as she came down and landed gracefully in front of him, hair settling neatly around her shoulders. "Why Zero, you seemed so unenthused by the thought of speaking with the great and mighty me. Why so?"

"Why should I be happy to see you?" he spat at her, glaring.

"I have some interesting news…"

+╗
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"Reploids don't exactly have souls. You see…" Mafuyu paused, struggling to find some decent way to explain it. "They have a consciousness. Some of the do, at any rate. And that's all a soul is, really. Understand?" Caroline nodded, but judging from her blank stare, it was obvious that she didn't.

He sighed. "Okay, let's start again…

"A soul isn't what everyone makes it out to be. It's not some ultra sacred and holy mystical thing, though it is rather important. It's simply the gathering of your awareness, of your consciousness."

"So how come all reploids don't have one?" Caroline questioned, raising an eyebrow. "And how come Iris, Alia, X, and Zero have, had one? And why do humans have them?"

"I can answer the human part," Tanya said quietly, leaning against Mafuyu. Smiling, he patted her shoulder. She's so young, and she's trying to deal with all of this… "Human's don't have everything 'programmed' into them at birth. Since there is a real chance of growth and of change, their minds change and shift, creating their awareness as they get older. In sense, their souls."

"Very good," Mafuyu said, smiling once more. "Now, as for the reploid part… um…"

"Let me explain this," Iris offered. He immediately accepted, greatly relieved that he wasn't stuck trying to explain something like that.

"After a reploid goes through a… difficult experience, their awareness is expanded beyond that of their programming. Once that happens, the boundaries disappear, allowing for the to 'grow', in a sense, creating a 'soul'."

"And that means what in English?" Was all Caroline could say to that. "I kinda sorta lost you… sorry. I mean, why you four?"

Iris grew silent, and for a moment, Mafuyu was afraid that she was going to refuse to answer the question. Before he could say anything, however, she began to talk, quietly at first.

"When… when Zero killed my brother, I felt… torn. I couldn't see the world in black and white anymore, and I couldn't understand anything that was happening to me. Zero used to be a maverick, but he lost his memory and joined the hunters. When he regained his lost memories, and finally came to terms with the fact that he was… evil… he couldn't easily distinguish right from wrong, either. X… when Zero died… X didn't know which was worst: The Mavericks or the Hunters. And everyday, Alia has to watch X nearly die trying to save people that hate him. It causes you to wonder…" She took a deep, shaky breath. "In short, we don't see things as good an evil. I can, to a point, understand the rational logic behind the mavericks. Surprisingly enough, there is one."

"I see." Frowning, Caroline bit her lower lip again. "Then I have to help them but-" Her eyes widened. "The camera! I lost the camera!" Panic began to fill her as she thought of all the horrible things that could, and would, come from that.

"Calm down," Iris snapped, rubbing her forward and muttering under her breath. "Just… Mafuyu, Tanya!" Both jumped at the sound of her barking their names. "Take Caroline to the Hell Gate. I'll meet you there, with the camera." Before anyone could say anything, she was gone, with only a faint snapping noise left from her disappearance.

"… oh what fun this is…"