The Memory

Soon, a woman of about forty four came to the door. She had light blond hair and dark brown eyes. Her robe, which was brown, was the same style as Emily's and she had on the same golden sash. The woman was also wearing a white apron which was stained in various colors. Knowing the line of work that Victoria Sylinia was in, Jessica deduced that she had just come from fixing herbal remedies.

"My Guardians. Princess Virginia!" Victoria exclaimed, "I haven't seen you since your mother passed away. You're still as beautiful as ever. So what brings you and your friends here? Do you want to come in for tea? It's freshly made." She motioned for the eight Drifters to come inside her little house.

The kitchen was light and airy. Victoria and Emily had painted the walls a bright yellow to add a little cheer to the establishment. For the women who came to have Victoria birth their children or check on them would feel quite at home. Everyone sat down around the table, and Victoria looked at them. As her eyes fell on Vincent, she looked shocked. The boy looked just like his mother would if she was a man.

"This may sound quite strange young man. But I want to ask if your name is Vincent Maxwell? It's just that you resemble Ekatrina so much that it's uncanny. Virginia, I'm sorry we never told you about this, but you have a twin. He just vanished the day after you were born, and Ekatrina kept it a secret from everyone else. She didn't want your father to be upset and lose his concentration at work," she told her.

Vincent replied, "Yes, that is my name. And Jessica already told her. The man who took me was Father's greatest rival. He coveted Mother and would do anything to get her. The original plan was for her to come home and tell what happened. When she cried in my dad's arms, Leehalt would make his move and return me; saying that he discovered me and rescued me from the monsters that took me. But Father would be suspicious, and Leehalt hoped that it would cause a rift between him and Mother that would lead to them splitting up. Then he would come and marry her instead." He looked up at the wall.

Victoria sighed. "I have heard the name Leehalt before. However, I don't think it would have worked even if she told Werner. For she knew the two didn't like one another, and if Werner had any suspicions towards Leehalt's motives it would be justified. They would have agreed to disagree in that scenario. The love they shared was too strong to simply throw away over a little disagreement over that."

"Thank you," Vincent said, "I knew all the answers from Leehalt, but I wanted to hear about my past from someone who actually was there and I can trust. Since Mother is gone, you are the only one left who knows I exist. There could be more that Leehalt didn't mention. He only told me my name, the names of my parents, and the plan. I know there is more to everything than that; this is only the basis."

"Leehalt will tell you what you want to know, as long as it causes you pain in the process. That's how he deals with people he doesn't like. He did that to Jet too. The few things he said pertained to the not so nice things in his existence. The only remotely nice thing he talked about was how much his dad cared about him. However, Elliot is dead so it was like a, 'Look, the only person who thinks that you are worth something died ten years ago.' He is very good at being evil, I'll give him that," Virginia stated.

Jessica informed Victoria, "Jet is my big brother. He's the reason I left town; I wanted to find out what happened to him. But there was a lab accident and he was changed a little. That's why that jerk Leehalt was insulting him. The changes were all part of an experiment the Council was working on that Jet was caught up in. His body is completely man made, but he's just like any other human being inside."

Jet gave her a look. "Don't go blurting that out to everyone! It's nobody's business but mine what happened to me in the past. I don't appreciate you telling a total stranger about that one. Stupid little sister. Why don't you stop pestering me and do something for once. Besides act like a total moron."

"It isn't important," Jessica yelled, "Auntie isn't going to act differently whether you're man or machine. Besides, she's Virginia's mom's best friend. And that means that she has a motherly complex towards Ginny. So she'll act like your mother-in-law when you two finally get married sometime soon."

"I am not going out with the chatterbox. We're simply comrades in arms. Get it through your little head that I'm not interested in a relationship with anyone. I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life no matter who tries to come on to me," Jet retorted. But a small voice inside his head scolded him. How could he be so blind and take no notice of Virginia's emotions and tell her he cared? Why didn't he want to be with her? She cared about him like nobody else on Filgaia had since he lost his father at Yggdrasil.

Before the fight could escalate, Victoria informed the gang, "Jessica is right. There is no reason to judge the boy based on how his body was created. For one, he is a human being underneath the mechanical body that was created for him. And as a human being, he has the same rights that others do. For two, we of Doria are descended of a special being ourselves. One of our ancestors, a kindly man named Rudy Roughnight, was a Holmcross; that is a person made out of a special type of living metal."

Jet went over to the corner. "That still doesn't mean that I want people knowing what happened to me. After all, there are people who would want to hurt me or perhaps even use me for some sort of experiment. That's what this stupid body was initially intended for; to test the validity of a hypothesis that stated that the planet itself was a living being. But my DNA and soul were used in the creation of this body when I tried to help my old man out. I was a fool; I should have known better than to touch that."

Virginia looked at him. She wondered if this was why he was so distant. Even though he knew where he came from, he didn't get any nicer. Her original thought was that if he could find his past and his family, Jet would remember a kindness that he must have had as a child. But now she knew why he never accepted himself. He was afraid of other people. But it was surprising that he even admitted it.

"If that's why you're afraid, you don't have to be," Virginia said, "I would never let anyone take you and experiment on you. You're a living, breathing, being and I would feel just awful to see you being no more than a puppet to anyone. You can always rely on me; I will protect you from the rest of the world."

"I don't need you to protect me. I can take care of myself. So just leave me alone," Jet screamed back. With that, he left the house and slammed the door behind him. The other seven simply stood there dumbfounded. A second later, Virginia began to tear. She ran outside after him; determined to help Jet.

Teefa's Last Words...

I needed to add a little drama. The mood'll light up next chapter; I know how I want the scene between Jet and Virginia to come out. Don't worry though, Jesica will have her moment too. After all, this is her story. But we have to show this scene to put in a little fun.