Chapter 3: Origins
"With every step I take
The less I know myself
And every vow I break
On my way towards your heart
Countless times I've prayed
For forgiveness
But Gods just laugh at my face
And this path remains,
Leading me into solitude's arms."
-H.I.M, The Path
Dream/flashback
Ember found herself lost in the hallway of an extremely luxurious Victorian house. The walls were painted with a bright yellow paint and beautiful, purple violets and the floor was of a cold, black marble. She had been here many times before in her dreams and the house that she was in did look familiar, but she could never figure out who the owners of the house were or who lived in it. Judging by how big the house was, it was obvious that it belonged to a wealth family.
Ember walked quietly and shivered as her bare feet walked against the cold marble floor and she heard the sound of a little girl giggling.
"CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHERE I AM?" Ember shouted, but no one could here her, nor even see her. At the moment, this was a good thing since she was covered in ectoplasm-stained bandages and she was naked and bare as the day she was born.
She then walked towards the room where she heard the laughter and it grew louder and louder. She then found a brown door and opened it and inside, she saw a small little girl at least at the ripe age of five or six. The girl's raven black hair was tied up in pigtails and she had the same features that Ember possessed. She sat playing with her teddy bear and talking to it, the way most children did. She was also wearing a black Victorian dress and black buckle shoes.
"Cute." Ember thought. She then heard someone else coming from the staircase behind her. Ember turned around and saw a man in his early thirties or forties with messy and unkempt black hair and grey eyes with dark circles underneath them, showing that he was hard at work and did not have time for any sleep or food.
"Ember honey. I need you to come with me. There are two people I want you to meet." the "scientist said.
"What are you talking about? I'm-" Ember then realized that nobody could see nor hear her and she also realized that the girl was a younger, more toddler like version of Ember.
The younger Ember then looked at her teddy bear, and then looked up at the man. "Okay Daddy." He then picked her up, holding her in his arms. Ember followed her younger counterpart and the man until they opened a door that revealed two tall men in black suits with grey hair.
"So, is this your experiment professor Marcus Mclaine?" The first suit asked as he looked at the younger Ember, who was taken offense to being called an experiment.
"No, just give me a few more days. She may have been cured, but my daughter-"Marcus was then interrupted.
"Your daughter what?" The first suit asked, impatience was running through the tone of his monotonous voice.
"My daughter is not some freak experiment for your government." He said sharply.
The second suit then spoke. "Your boss doesn't care about what Ember needs or wants. You do know that he is your ancestor professor? As far as I'm concerned, he was responsible for several Nazi ghost experiments during World War II."
Shock was in Marcus's eyes and he set his daughter down. "Ember, go." He said with fear and little emotion in his voice. The younger Ember only obeyed and she headed back to her bedroom while the other Ember watched and listened to the argument.
"I want nothing to do with his dirt-cheap Nazi ideals and his experiments that he used to help him win World War II. Now get out and leave me and my daughter alone!" Marcus shouted before slamming the door in their faces.
End dream/flashback
Ember woke up from the madness of her dream, feeling the cold steel around her neck and the sweat on her forehead that she never felt before. She checked the clock that sat by the nightstand and saw from the digital numbers that it was midnight and Danny was either asleep or he was probably hunting down another ghost that dared to cross his path. That didn't bother her to a great extent, but there was only one question on her mind…
"Was that my….father?" Ember thought.
She shook the thought off for now and only went back to sleep, knowing that she would probably need it for tomorrow, not even bothering to search for any clothes to wear to bed.
Elsewhere, Danny had been watching Ember sleeping peacefully like an angel that fell from a war in the heavens and grinned, knowing that she was still safe as he pulled the blanket over her body to keep her warm from the cold hands of the freezing temperature.
He had no clue what real dilemma was going on inside her head, but that didn't matter. Soon, she would become more useful in helping him answer a few questions about why Ember had been hunted down by Skulker.
To Be Continued.