"Just relax, Lady Maria. Lay back. would you like to hold my hand?"

Iosefka gently eases Maria down onto the gurney, ignoring the older woman's protests.

"Don't patronize me, you little brat," Maria snaps.

Iosefka shoots her a quizzical look. "But you were clinging to me like a leaf to a tree when I drew your blood for the pregnancy test."

Maria's face turns a brilliant shade of crimson. "S-s-silence!"

"Wait," the Hunter says. "Maria, you're afraid of needles?! But you use more blood vials than an anemic vampire!"

"That's different!" Maria snaps. "Blood vials go straight down into your leg, and the needle is large. But these injections use the small needles that slide under the skin, through the vein, then-... Ughhhh," she groans cringing. The blood minister prepares the needle, the tip shining in the moonlight.

Maria shivers. "Get over here," she whispers, pulling Iosefka on top of her and holding her tight. When faced with one's greatest fear, ego tends to evaporate rather quickly.

The Hunter joins in, reaching over and hugging the large woman by the shoulders, resting his head against her collarbone. His hand snakes down to grasp hers, squeezing it reassuringly. Maria visibly relaxes, her eyelids closing slightly.

The blood minister wheels closer, patting her on the shoulder. "Prepared to leave this body behind?"

"As I'll ever be," Maria replies, taking a deep breath.

Before she has even finished inhaling, the needle plunges into her skin with pinpoint precision. By the time the feeling even registers, the process begins. Maria feels a strong tugging, and an eerily melodic female voice cuts through the haze.

Then, with the sound of rushing blood, she slips, leaving her body and child behind forever.

* * * * * *

Maria awakens, naked, in a dark, tepid abyss. With no ground to tether her, and no up, no down, no direction at all, her senses simply give up, putting her in a state of blissfull nothingness.

"This again..." She thinks, her thoughts echoing around the space.

Welcome back, child.

A voice, inhuman, deep, and genderless, worms it's way into her mind.

All beings yearn for the comfort of the womb that they once knew. You are no different.

Biting back a retort, Maria lays back, closing her eyes. "I have come to volunteer as a surrogate."

And This One graciously accepts. You shall be spared an oath for this second rebirth; live your life as you see fit. Your selfless actions in the nightmare have redeemed your past transgressions. Go forth without guilt.

* * * * * * * * *

Maria awakens on the cold stone path of the Dream, gasping. Her new, naked body stings, the flesh freshly grown and sensitive. Shivering, she quickly pads her way up to the workshop, rifling through the storage coffin for her clothes.

She hisses as the silk and satin rubs her skin, the leather of her coat feeling heavier than usual. She lets out a sigh as she slides her tricorn onto her head, reveling in the comfort and familiarity.

Slowly lowering herself to the ground, Maria scoots closer to the fire, shivering. She did it. Her baby- her last chance of being with the Hunter- is hers no longer.

"It was the right thing to do," Maria whispers.

But then why does it hurt so much?

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The stale air of the clinic shimmers. A ray of moonlight falls across a tall woman, her form shimmering around the edges. Maria gains her bearings, forcing herself to draw up to her full height despite feeling like a wrung-out rag.

The sound of steady breathing draws her attention. The Doll, Iosefka, and the Hunter all lay on the clinc bed, having fallen asleep shortly after the transfer. Maria smiles, but her spirits quickly drop as she realizes that the Hunter will never be hers.

Sighing, she leaves the clinic, stepping out into the cramped Yharnam streets. The air is chilled, just a hint below cool.

It is unusually clear, untainted by the all too familiar scent of rot. The sky is cloudless, the cosmos in full view. Galaxies, stars, nebulas, all clear as day in the night sky.

How many more Great Ones reside on this plane alone? Maria thinks. She was never one to ponder the heavens, but now that all the commotion had died down, questions fill her mind.

She continues down a familiar street, one that brings back countless memories. She had her first drink at that bar. At the rooftop garden of that restaurant, her first kiss. At that park, her first break-up.

And that was just one night. Maria tends to go full speed or not at all.

She sees the odd beast or blood addled townsman, dispatching them easily.

Just as she is wiping the blood off of her blade, she hears footsteps behind her, whipping around.

"Ah, a hoonter, ah yah? And on outsidah.

What a mess you've been caught oop-in.

And on tanight, A' all niights." A woman, by the sound of her voice, stands there clad in a cloak of feathers, her face obscured by a plague mask.

Maria lowers her weapon upon seeing she poses no threat. The crow-woman sounds scottish, so she racks her brains for the little Gaelic she knows. "Ah, um... A bheil Beurla a 'bruidhinn thu?"

"Wahat the blooody 'ellre you onaboot? Y' speak th' queen's english, Y' giant lass o' pale visage and you-rin colahed haih?"

Maria looks the woman up and down, realizing with a start that her garb marked her as a hunter of hunters, the faction that seeks blood addled hunters and slays them. While she isn't blood addled, the group was known for roving in groups and slaying hunters, lucid or not.

Suddenly, Maria uses quickening, shoving over the old scottish crow and dashing down an alleyway.

"Ooah, me hip! Te neahv o' ya, to assail an ol' women! I-" Her shouts are quickly drowned out as Maria rounds a corner.

Oh well, she thinks. Better to hurt one innocent hunter than to be killed by five corrupt ones.

She rounds another corner, then another, dropping down to a plaza, unwittingly heading deep into the heart of Yharnam. The weathered cobblestone gives way to pale old brick, coated with dirt from years of neglect. Pace slowing, Maria pants, trying in vain to navigate her way through the urban maze.

Rounding a corner, she spots a figure slumped against a well. They don't seem to be injured, and even from a distance the figure seems familiar. She slowly approaches, shaking her head in disbelief. She bends down, finally getting a good look at his face.

It's the Hunter.

Marua gasps. "Hunter?!"

Suddenly, quick as a flash, his hand darts up to grab her arm, his eyes wide and panicked. "What happened?! Who are you?! What did you do to me?!"

Maria jumps back, startled. "Hunter, it is me! Maria!"

The hunter's breathing steadies, yet his eyes still don't have a hint of recognition.

"I know no one by that name." He stares off into the distance, struggling to recall what had happened.

Maria kneels down in front of him. "What happened?"

The man sighs. "I... I was sick. I came here for the healing blood, and the last thing I remember was being surrounded by these... These things."

Maria's eyes widen. No... It could not be... Is this... The Hunter's body?!

"You... You called me hunter. Who is he?"

Maria's face reddens slightly. He's my... Friend. Just a friend."

The man grins, the Hunter's trademark saccharine smile. "So, I suppose your friend must be quite handsome."

Maria's eyebrows raise. Slowly, her mouth tugs upward in a grin, and she covers her mouth as she begins to laugh. Soon she is doubled over, shaking with mirth.

Not long after, the man joins in, and the square is filled with the joyful sounds of two lonely strangers.