STOP! This is going to go off from our heroes right now. Maybe all of you (or some, idk..) are wondering what 'incident' occurred to Zora when she was a child. This chapter is going to focus on her childhood side, giving you answers about as to why Zora doesn't remember Grim or Ryuu, and why Ryuu claims that he was 'replaced' as her best friend with Gaz. Yes, I'm that sweet. Hope you like it!
-9 Years Ago-
"Zora! Come down here! Ryuu is waiting to play with you!" Zelda was busy making scrambled eggs with bacon and ham. It was Zora's favorite thing to eat for breakfast. Ryuu was sitting at the table, kicking his feet up into the air. He was no older than the age of nine. His hair still held its' purple color and spiky look, but was very short. He was piercing free and large green eyes. He wore a black hoodie with jean shorts and sneakers. Grim sat across from him, sipping a cup of coffee all while reading the underworld newspaper.
"Child! Don't keep the boy waiting! Get down here so you can eat your food!", Grim called out. Suddenly, small footsteps were heard running down the stairs. Zora popped out into the kitchen.
Her red hair was short and somewhat messy. A small green hair tie was wrapped around a lock of her hair, and her huge yellow eyes glowed like the full moon.
She wore a baby pink top with purple bell bottoms and a pair of salmon pink sandals. She was very small and skinny, like Ryuu, but a lot cuter.
"Zora, what do you say?", her mother said in her teasing tone. She placed the plate in front of her daughter with her full meal.
"Good morning, Mr. Grim! Good morning, Ryuu!", the girl piped up in a small voice. How adorable!
Grim chuckled and smiled. "Good morning to you too, young lady." He continued to sip his mug of joe, while she chowed down her breakfast quickly.
"I'm done! Mommy, can me and Ryuu go play now?" she chirped. Zelda smiled warmly towards her only child. "Alright. You may go now, but both of you better be back by lunchtime!"
The two young children got up and ran out the door, heading out into the streets of Necropolis. Grim shook his head, looking up from the newspaper.
"Zora is growing up looking as beautiful as you, child." Zelda smiled and blushed lightly. "Thank you, Grim. But remember, she acts more like her father."
"Hmm." Grim raised a brow, scratching his skull. "Where is your husband anyway, Zelda? It is very unusual for him not to come to eat breakfast with everyone else."
Zelda frowned. "Beats me, Grim. It worries me too, and he never tells me things anymore as of late."
Grim raised his brow in surprise. "Oh? How so, child?"
"I don't know. Lately, he has been attending a meeting of some sort. I asked him about it, but he said he didn't want me to get caught up in it."
Grim placed his half empty mug, frowning. "Do you think it has something to do with Anderson?"
Zelda grimaced. "I hope not... Catholics are the least of our worries, or at least they should be.."
"Hey! Ryuu! Not so fast! Where are we going anyway?" Zora panted, her long but petite legs trying to catch up to her best friend. Ryuu smiled and waved from atop of a small hill. "C'mon! It's not far! There's something I got to show you!"
"O-ok!" Zora climbed up the hill, catching her breath.
Ryuu giggled. "Man, Zora. You're so slow!"
Zora puffed her cheeks, red coloring them in. "It's not my fault you like leaving me behind! What is it you want to show me?"
"There! Look at that!" He pointed to a fortress that was far, but not that far from where they were.
Zora squinted her eyes, until she recognized what that fortress was. "Ryuu, we shouldn't be here! That place.. My daddy said we should never go there! He said-"
"Oh, who cares what he said! Do you see anything dangerous there? No. So what's the big deal?"
Zora shuffled her feet into the ground, looking insecure. "Well, he said that a bad man lives there. I just think we shouldn't go there..."
"Well, if you want to be a baby, then suit yourself. I'm going to go look!" Ryuu hopped down the hill, running straight for the fortress.
"No! Ryuu! Wait! I'll go with you! Don't leave me!" Zora slid down and went after him.
Little did they know, that a battle was about to take place where they were heading.
Meanwhile, at a camp nearby the fortress, a large group of soldiers were gathered about, with maps, charts and weapons all at the ready.
"Lord Dante! Anderson's fortress had just been searched. The outer perimeter has guards in every sector and there is no opening that's free. We must attack as soon as possible, sir!"
Dante rose from his seat, his sword, Devil-fang, at the ready.
"Alert my wife to have the town secure their doors, as well as her own. This ends today!"
He looked from their camp, his red eyes burning into slits. 'Your judgment day is today, Anderson. We'll see who will dare challenge my power as king of the underworld.'
The troops were aligned, and began their tirade towards the fortress.
The phone rang as Zelda went and picked it up. "Hello? May I ask who's calling?" A long silence filled the room, with Zelda trembling like she was about to faint. She immediately hung up and turned towards the reaper.
"War is approaching at Anderson's fortress! I'm going to go alert the townspeople! Grim, find the children and bring them here, please!" Zelda's countenance paled with despair.
Grim was also in shock, and without a word, opened a portal to go find the children.
He opened a portal near the playground where the children would normally be, but to his surprise, no one was there. "Dammit! Where could those blasted kids be? I must find them quickly."
He opened another portal and disappeared, hoping that with some luck, he can find them.
"Ryuu! Wait! We're too close to that fortress!" Zora panted as her little lungs were about to give in. God only knew how long she could keep up running behind her best friend.
"Zora! Over here! Look what I found!" Ryuu pointed to a hole in a wall that was adjacent to where the fortress was standing. The two little children poked their heads in as they saw an abandoned building. It was indeed more of a shelter.
Ryuu smirked and hit Zora hard on the arm. "TAG! YOU'RE IT!" He ran off towards the abandoned building, leaving Zora rubbing her sore arm. "Hey! That hurts! Wait! Ryuu!" She hurried on after him, unaware that on the other side of the building, another child was about to be sent into the building as well, but for protection.
A priest, wearing the cross of the Catholics, was holding the child's hand. It was a boy, about the same age as Ryuu. Only he had dirty blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes. His clothes were that of a shirt and shorts. He wore only sandals.
"Young man, you'll be safe here. Your father, St. Anderson asked that you would be hidden somewhere safe. This shelter was once a place of saviors, and saved many during the Mighty War. Stay here until I or another royal court priest comes for you... Lucia."
Lucia looked at the guard, his eyes piercing and dangerous. "Yes sir."
Lucia ran into the building, leaving the priest outside. The priest turned about to return to the castle, until a report from a hidden assailant came into his communicator.
"Heavy Dog to Papa John! Come in, Papa John!"
"Go ahead, Heavy Dog."
"We have found King Dante's child about the premises. Shall I report?"
"Report to Anderson immediately! Over and-"
"Papa John? Come in! Papa John!"
Nothing but static filled the other end, as the priest that left Lucia, was beheaded by none other than Grim himself.
"Filthy priest. May your God have pity on your damned soul!"
'So, Anderson's son is in that building. I best go find Dante immediately.' He warped away from the scene, leaving a decapitated priest bleeding away.
The assailant known as Heavy Dog reported to Anderson, giving away the whereabouts of Dante's child. Unfortunately, The assailant wasn't aware that Anderson's son was in the same building with Zora and Ryuu.
"So you say his daughter went into the building?" a gruff voice murmured.
"Sir, yes sir!" Heavy Dog saluted.
Anderson held a firm smile on his ragged features. "Good. Set soul bombs all over that building. I want that child dead. That should make Dante suffer."
"Sir! Right away!" Heavy Dog left immediately, leaving a sinister Anderson to his thoughts.
'Soon Dante, I'll make you disappear from this world. After all, demons are nothing but a blemish upon this earth, especially that of your ilk... '
He threw a dagger towards an old portrait of him standing next to a young looking Dante. "Filthy vermin."
He threw on his coat as he walked down the hall, heading towards the command center of his fortress.
Dante's troops were halfway in the process of killing off all of Anderson's men outside the fortress. Only at the last three standing in front of the main gates remained. However, before Dante could slaughter them, blood went flying everywhere. Their heads went flying into the air, landing with a sickening thud. Grim stood before him, his scythe soaked with Catholic blood.
"Grim, what brings you here? I thought you would be at my home helping my wife with my daughter."
Grim grimaced with a dark look. Dante grew slightly uneasy, not liking the look on Grim's face.
"Your daughter and Ryuu are not at home. I went looking for them, but they are nowhere to be found. I also came across a priest when I was looking for them. Anderson's son is in the abandoned shelter near the fortress."
Dante grew furious. His daughter is missing! How could this be good news?
"Grim, until my daughter is found, I could give a damn about that bastard son of his!" He pushed the reaper aside, heading towards the main gates, only to open them with his dark magic.
He merely followed suit, seeing it as a mere point to bother the king about his enemy's spawn.
Anderson stood in the middle of the center, commanding all the officers to activate the soul bombs.
"I want them to be set for no more than 10 minutes. That should put the king in his place."
Out of nowhere, a dying priest entered the control room.
"S-sir! T-the king... and the G-grim Re- reaper... they... they're here..." He died at his feet. Anderson growled and pulled out his gun, ready for the final battle.
'This time, for sure..!' He left the control room, leaving all the officers stunned for words.
In mere seconds, Grim appeared in the room. "It was not for whom the bell tolls.. but that it tolls for thee! Say goodnight, filthy mortals!" With one swift blow, the whole room was drenched in flesh and blood.
Outside, at the top of the fortress, Dante and Anderson stood off, almost western style. This was it. The moment to see which would last: human or demon.
Anderson clicked his gun, "Ready, Dante?"
Dante pulled out his sword. "As I'll ever be."
"Ryuu! Where are you? It's too dark in here! I can't see you!" Zora wandered aimlessly in pitch darkness.
"Over here! I'm on the other side!" She ran over to the voice that called out to her. Suddenly, a loud boom came from outside. The walls began to crumble and so did the ceiling.
"Ryuu! LOOK OUT!" Zora pushed Ryuu to the side from where they entered. The two were quickly separated by the rubble and debris that came down after.
"Zora! Zora! Are you alive?" Ryuu shouted as loud as he could, hoping to get a response.
"Yes! I-I'm fine!"
"Stay here! I'm going to look for help!"
"No! Please Ryuu! Don't leave me again!"
"I have to! I promise I'll come back in time to get you out of here before anything else happens! Just don't move!"
"Okay. You promise?"
"I swear!"
With that said, he ran off in search for help. Hopefully he runs into some one sooner or later.
Outside the shelter, the assailant was done with the soul bombs, but not long after was he decapitated by Grim, who found him too late.
"Dammit! The fool set up soul bombs! Once they're set, they can't be deactivated!" Without warning, he felt something hit him on the side. He fell to the ground, only to see it was Ryuu, to his relief.
'Wait.. WHERE'S ZORA?' He got up and yanked Ryuu up with him. "Ryuu, boy! Where is Zora? Where is she, mon? I swear when you get home, you'll get it!"
Ryuu looked up at him frantically. He grabbed Grim by his robe, his face much paler that the reaper himself. "Grim! You got to help me! Zora is trapped in there! There was an explosion and a bunch of debris came crashing down and now she's trapped!"
"WHAT? NO! THE SOUL BOMBS-!" Grim looked down at the bombs. Four minutes left until ignition. Grim panicked, which was rare for him at the time. "COME ON, CHILD! WE HAVE TO TELL HER MOTHER NOW! SHE'S AT DANTE'S CAMP! HURRY!" Without more to say, the disappeared into another portal, reappearing at the camp. Zelda noticed their return and was almost relieved, had she not noticed that her daughter was nowhere to be seen. "Grim, where's my baby?"
Grim grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the vortex. "Woman, I can't explain now! We have to help your child!"
They reappeared at the building, with only 2 minutes to spare. Grim's sockets went wide. "WE MUST RUN OUT OF HERE, OR WE ALL DIE! NOW!"
Zelda looked frantic, and so did Ryuu. "NO! GRIM, ZORA'S IN THERE! WE CAN'T LEAVE HER! I PROMISED I WOULD COME BACK FOR HER!" The boy's eyes were overflowing with tears now, and so did Zora's mothers'.
"GRIM? IS THIS TRUE? MY BABY IS IN THERE! NO! ZORA!"
They ducked into the bushes as the bombs had a minute left.
Dante was moments away from killing Anderson, and as he was about to give the final blow, Anderson laughed, while coughing up blood. His arms and legs where completely severed from his body, and all was left was his head. "Too late Dante. You can kill me, but that won't change what will happen next!"
Dante growled. "What the hell are you talking about now, you fool?"
Anderson laughed a maniacal laugh, blood now leaking from his mouth, nose, and eyes. "You didn't know? Your daughter is in that shelter that's about to be blown to bits by soul bombs!"
Dante felt his heart skip a huge beat. His eyes went wise in terror. 'No! ZORA, NO!'
He raised his blade, and before he struck, said these final words to his almost dead nemesis, "Your son is there too, you pitiful fool."
Anderson stopped laughing, his face dropping with fear. "L-Lucia? No..."
With one quick movement, Dante severed Anderson's head. He opened a portal to the shelter, and jumped in without turning back.
Zora wept silently, until she heard a twig snap from her left. She got up and looked in fear. It was a blonde boy, no older than Ryuu. He stared at her blankly, with hardly any emotion. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a gun and lifted it up towards her.
"You're Dante's daughter, correct? I am his enemy's son, Lucia. It's about time you die now. How ever, before he could pull the trigger, a bright light came from the open side of them. Soon, both of them fell into a world of black.
Dante arrived at the scene, but arrived too late. The bombs had 10 seconds till detonation. He jumped into the bushes where Grim, Zelda, and Ryuu were. They covered their heads, as the building exploded.
Moments later, the dust cleared. Grim found Zora unconscious and barely alive. Lucia was also found alive and unconscious as well. Dante insisted that instead of killing the boy, that he would be locked away into solitary confinement for the rest of his days.
Ryuu felt the guilt riding heavy, as he had failed to keep his promise to return to Zora when she needed him most. Weeks later, in the Necropolis Memorial Hospital, Zora awoke from her comatose state, but has no recollection of the events that occurred, nor recognized any of the people around her except for her mother and father. She remembered her mother being a witch, but has no recollection of her father's position as king of the underworld. Ryuu and Grim were not remembered by her either. Grim wasn't around to hear the news of her amnesia, due to being summoned to retrieve a sick hamster. Ryuu was crushed and kept holding himself responsible for the traumatic incident. Lucia was finally locked away with full restraints and in a heavily guarded vault.
Few days later, rumors began to spread about Lucia planning to break out of the vault, and seek his revenge by killing Zora. Dante feared that with the condition his daughter was in and how young she still was, that it was possible. So the immediately fled to the human realm, and moved into a house that Dante reserved in case of an occasion. He stayed for one year in the human realm and then left back to the underworld. Zelda remained with her daughter for another year in the human realm.
They went to a witch's covenant in hiding for the next seven years, and returned to the house. Zora recovered some but not all of her memories.
The story thus continues here on in..