IT'S ALRIGHT TO FORGET
Luciel stood between the two beds displaying an unconscious M-21 and Takeo in silence. She stared with strange, molten golden eyes with slit-shaped pupils resembling a cat, and when she blinked they changed to emerald green with red flecks mixed in.
"They'll both survive." Frankenstein smooth voice caught Luciel off guard. She spun around and saw him standing in the doorway, staring right into her now glowing red eyes.
Luciel let out a strained breath and bit down on her lips. Just being in this close of proximity was painful for her. But of course, despite all the years, Frankenstein has not changed one bit and still remained this devilishly handsome man that made her completely breathless.
"Of course they will live. You're looking after them." She stated as strongly as she could.
"Yet your still looking over them personally." He eyed her, referring to her changing eyes from before. He sighed deeply with a hint of a smile on his lips. "You haven't changed at all when it comes to other people. You still worry over every little thing." he walked up next to Luciel and stood beside her. He noticed she backing away very slightly. "M-21 will get better soon because his abilities have increased, and Takeo's recovering pretty fast, too. It will take time for them to recover completely though."
"Their healing abilities are impressive. never seen a human with such an ability in all my years, but I noticed Takeo's ground took a special pill that would amplify their physical strength, so that explains him. M-21's healing ability though is very familiar"
Frankenstein glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. She may not seem like it but she was astonishingly sharp-minded. "Of course it doesn't come close to your healing capability." He shrugged.
Luciel looked grim. She lifted her hand that she used to block with where not a single scar or scrap was. Despite the damage, she could have taken, there was nothing. "Nothing ever does." She spoke sullenly and walked out of the room.
Luciel walked back into the living room were Tao was trying to explain to the kids what has just happened, and judging by Shinwu shocked tone of voice...they all were taking it rather well for being simple high school students.
"It's the 21st century right now, and something like that would have been out in public," Shinwu explained the sheer nonsense that has just transpired.
"It's true..." Tao insisted.
"You're teasing us, right?" Ikhan said.
Luciel giggled at their innocent reactions and walked up to them. "How can you still be in denial after the state you have already seen me in."
The kids snapped their head over to Luciel, the innocent and adoring way she spoke along with her looks were completely different from the black mass that looked like it invaded her body and changed her appearance. Thinking back at that sight it felt like it was all a dream, but they know better.
"This just doesn't make sense..." Shinwu said.
"Are Regis and Seira really vampires, like the ones we read about in books," Ikhan asked.
"Not quite so." Luciel took a seat opposite from the kids. "They do have some key facts with vampires but they couldn't be more different, and before you freak out..." She quickly spoke since she saw the rising fear in their eyes. "They don't drink human blood. Well...they can but that more like a human drinking animal blood." She explained.
The kids were in shock with their mouths gaped open. All the information spun through their heads as they try and process everything.
"Can't believe Regis and Seira are vampires! If they get hungry, they can drink our blood!"
"He could bite our neck and munch..."
"Munch~ Munch! Like when we are eating Kimci!"
Regis finally burst forth in anger and began to shout. "Quiet! We are different from those things!" He argued back.
Luciel stared blankly at his sudden outburst that even taken her back, but the thought came to mind...was he offended by the 'Munch~ Munch!' thing? Her lips started to quiver before a genuine laugh burst from her lungs. Her head fell back and she tried to cover her giant smile with her hands and snuff out the completely unladylike laugh. Everyone turned to her which only made her feel embarrassed but the laughing fit did not completely cease. She felt her heart squeeze tightly and muscles clench up with every breath of air till nothing but giggling remained. She hasn't laughed like this in a very long time. Her large smile pained across her face and ached but she has this ecstasy that flowed through her whole body. Throughout the years filled with nothing but fear, confusion, desperation, and anxiety flooded out of her body with one burst of laughter.
"Oh, God...Excuse me. That was so unladylike." Luciel took a deep breath but a smile remained on her face. "The term vampire in used but what they're really called is nobles. Like the ones who live in elegant castles."
Ikhan's eyes lit up. "Oh, now I get it." A dark image then flashed in his head and he suddenly looked very serious and worried while staring down at Luciel's red eyes. He spoke his next words very carefully. "But what about you?"
With a simple question, the whole atmosphere changed as they waited with anticipation for her answer. Everyone saw it and the image was burned into their minds. That scream that she released and the back mass that took over her body. It was something not even a child could imagine. It was cold and frightening but oddly beautiful enough to where they couldn't look away.
Luciel lowered her head as a solemn smile crept to her lips. "I'm complicated. I'm not a noble like Regis and Seira or a modified human like Tao, but...at the same time I am." She glanced at the kids who shared a confused look. "My species should have never existed in the first place, yet here I am." She took a deep breath. "I'm a chimera. Now tell me, do you know what that is?"
Ikhan adjusted his glasses. "According to Greek Mythology: a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, a body of a goat, and with a serpent's tail."
Wonder crossed Shinwu's eyes. "Miss...do you have a tail?"
The tense atmosphere was broken in the room and Luciel stared at the boy with a confused and red face.
"This is a serious topic and you ask me if I have a tail?" Luciel said.
Shinwu blinked. "Do you?"
"No!" She exasperated, her face flaring up a deeper red than before. She didn't need to look up to know Frankenstein was smirking. "But, but...All of that has some kind of truth to it. When you combine two different species you get a hybrid, but when you take more then two...you get me. I have noble genes, human genes and so many others inside me and that combined is what you saw back at the hideout."
Yuna spoke softly with a sense of dread in her voice. "To have something like that in this world is a scary through." Her worry was clearly shared among the rest.
Luciel gave her a smile of reassurance. "You don't have to worry about that. Chimeras can only be created by hand. They can't be born. It's impossible. I'm a man-made chimera, the only one of my kind."
Yuna sighed with relief and smiled brightly "That's good. I'm glad the glad you're such a good person, Miss Luciel."
Luciel laughed a bit. "Even after seeing that form of mine, you can still assume that I'm a good person?"
Yuna looked at her in confusion. "Of course. The chairman has a picture of you on his desk. If you weren't a good person it wouldn't be there."
Luciel froze. "Picture?"
Shunwu snapped his fingers. "That's right. I was wondering why you looked so familiar. He's always had this old drawing of you on his desk. It's your spitting image." He assured her.
Luciel could feel her heart-race began to speed up. She clenched her fist tightly and took deep breaths to calm herself down and not get ahead of herself.
The kids looked up and saw Frankenstein standing in the doorway into the room.
"Mr. Chairman!"
"How are they? Are they okay?"
They stormed him with questions and with panicked faces but Frankenstein kept a cool head and answered. "The wounds are deep but they aren't critical. They will recover after a few days."
A breath was filled in the room.
"That's good."
"Sorry, you guys had to go through this again..." Frankenstein apologized suddenly to them, which caught the children off guard as they look at him puzzled.
"Again? What do you mean?" Ikhan questioned. "We experienced something like this before?"
Shinwu tried to play it off. "Come on Ikhan, What kind of question is that?"
Frankenstein remained serious. "Ikhan is right, the three of you, except Sui, have experienced something similar. You don't remember because we erased your memory."
The kids went pale as the information was processed through their heads. Luciel too looked at him puzzled and almost as shocked as them.
"Erase...our memories...If that was the case, then shouldn't there be a gap. I don't have any..."
"Me neither..."
"Neither do I..."
"It's hard to believe everything that happened so far," Frankenstein said before finally breaking the stone truth to them. "We have to erase your memory this time, too."
The kids looked at him, frozen in place for there was to much input now.
"It's for your own good." He said.
"You mean we'd get in trouble if we remember this incident?" Ikhan asked.
"That's correct," Regis said this time. "Only a few humans know about is. All information on us needs to be kept a secret. If we get exposed, we will erase their memory. You asked why such a fact was not known to the public?"
The kids were silent as Tao began. "The same goes for us. My organization won't know you guys were involved for now at least. I'm not saying they will never find out but if they do then they won't just erase your memory." He spoke his next words very grimly. "You should be thankful if they kill you peacefully." Tao then directed his attention down to Luciel. "The Miss here is a special case too. Her existence is very fragile and only a handful of people know about it. If they found out that you have information on her, not only will you endanger yourselves, but her's as well... just to get a single word out of you."
Luciel slowly nodded her in agreement. Indeed, she is now very well aware that the Union will try anything to get their hands on her or her creator. The science in creating a chimera is a very dangerous one that no one should know. She already knows the research, the physical papers, have long since been destroyed all those years ago by the hands of her own creator.
"We can't avoid getting our memory erased then," Ikhan said.
Yuna spoke solemnly. "We will forget everything. Forgetting that mister was hurt trying to protect us and Miss Luciel saving all of our lives." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "Do we have to forget and just move on with our lives...?" She pleased for an answer with her blurred eyes. Her vision was then blocked by Luciel.
The woman kneed down in front of Yuna and held her hands tightly. She smiled so very sweetly at her and spoke while rubbing the tears away from her young eyes. "Look at you...crying because you can't stand to forget, but know this...what we all done for you...What I've done for you...We didn't do it to be remembered."
Without warning all the kids ran at Luciel and wrapped their arms around her in a tight hug. The woman stood still in utter shock at these teary-eyed kids. She felt an electric jolt in her heart and that made her arms melt around them in a tight embrace. Luciel opened her eyes and glanced over to Frankenstein and almost jumped in surprise to find him staring right into her eyes. They held eye contact for a very long time and said nothing, just gazed at each other in a soft and longing manner.