I don't own anything. All characters and all rights belong to Ichiei Ishibumi*
M for mature topics. No children allowed. *
The Broken Boosted Gear
By Try Another Time
Story 3: Under the Falling Snow
Location, New York City.
"The city that never sleeps. Such tall buildings and crowded streets. Even the snow doesn't seem to affect the people that live in this place." Issei said as he watched the scenery below from the roof of one of the buildings. His body shivered against the cold weather but that didn't stop him from wearing one of his suits and a long winter coat that barely offered any protection against the cold.
"Are still not going to change into something that can offer you heat under these conditions, my lord?" Raynare asked. The fallen angel was wearing a maid uniform that was specially made for the cold. She feared the chances of Grayfia showing up and dragging her back to maid training camp if she slack on her job.
"Raynare-san is right, Issei. Why not wear a heavy winter coat like mine?" Asia said as she keep looking down to try to find her target with a pair of binoculars. The girl was wearing a full winter attire which protected her from the temperatures and cold breeze of the winter.
The eyes of the Welsh Dragon change. "I won't sacrifice style for commodity. I endured even lower temperatures before with barely any clothes." Ddraig says.
The dragon shivers once more.
"My lord that doesn't mean that you're fine. We both know that dragons such as yourself, Tiamat-sama, and Tannin never liked the cold. Heck, Tosca and Ophis are both hiding in their rooms as we speak. Only Yukime would enjoy this kind of weather." Raynare says.
"And that's why you asked my help for this particular mission which is great." Yukime appears right behind Ddraig before hugging the dragon. "Looking nice, d-a-r-l-i-n-g."
Ddraig shivers even more. "Stop, your cold temperature is not helping now!" His eyes change and Issei takes over. "You're late, Yukime-san. Also please stop the sexual harassment. This is a serious job and I contracted for it, so do your job."
"I'm ahead of you." Yukime releases him and gets out a folder. "The name of your target is Lorenzo Moretti. Age 30. Occupation: bartender and delivery boy. No wife but he seems to have at least two children with two different women who live in different areas of the city. All the information is in here." Yukime gives him the folder with a photo of the man.
Wavy black hair and blue eyes. The man looked very appealing when taking into consideration that he was someone that was already entering his 30s.
"You really something else for asking me, a trained assassin for something like this," Yukime says in a calm tone.
"You have never taken a contract to kill anyone, Yukime. I talked to your other siblings before asking you for help."
"Ha? They told you?"
"Do you really think I wouldn't do my own research about you? I know you only take contracts like these. Your mother did train you for killing targets but she told you that it wasn't necessary to take those kinds of contracts." Issei approaches her ear. "I'm 7 steps ahead, I know more than what you think. Your older brother, Balthasar was especially helpful."
Yukime is taken by surprise. "... You win this time. I'll have a talk with them about keeping my personal information secret." Behind her veil, she was blushing. She was supposed to be the one teasing him not the other way around.
Issei smiles. Winning one over Yukime felt good. "Thanks for this information. I'll-"
Yukime stops him. "We can talk about the payment after the job is completely done. I still want to know how far will this go. Asia-chan, are you ready for this?"
Asia turned around. "... I am."
It was time to meet the man… her so-called "father."
Hour: 3:15 PM.
"Good night Lorenzo. I'll see you tomorrow." A man said before getting inside his car and driving away.
Lorenzo turned his sight to the night sky and took a deep breath. "I'm really tired. The night wasn't that good. No, new clients nor good-looking girls. Maybe on the week of Christmas, we will get more clients."
The area in which he found himself was devoid of any signs of life. Not even the homeless that one might see in the streets of the city were around this night. The snow and cold breeze of the night were more than enough to make sure that everyone tried to find shelter away from these conditions.
The man was just a few steps from his car but he didn't feel the need to go inside yet. Lorenzo began to search in his pocket for a cigarette. After finding one he began to look for a lighter. "Where did I put it?"
"Need some fire?" A feminine voice attracted his attention.
As Lorenzo turned around, his eyes meet those of a beautiful lady in a maid costume. Her violet eyes behind those glasses were some of the most beautiful he had ever seen. "Mama mia. She has to be one if not the most beautiful lady I have ever seen. Look at those hips. The maid uniform just increases her appeal."
"Excuse me, didn't you need some fire?" The maid asks.
"Ah, yeah. Can you offer me some?" Lorenzo watched as the maid pulled out a lighter from her pockets. The maid lights the cigarette and Lorenzo waste no time and begins to smoke. "That hits the right spot, thanks, Miss. Tell me, what is a beautiful girl like you doing here at this hour? Are you lost?"
The girl shakes her head. "Nothing like that." Raynare looks at the night sky. "I'm just taking care of a task given to me."
Lorenzo smirks. His eyes wander as he admires the great body of the maid. "God, thank you for this. If I play my cards right, I might get some tonight." Lorenzo steps closer to the maid. "And what would that task be if I might ask?"
The maid smiles. "Simple, capturing you." The maid swiftly moves her right hand and hits the right spot on the neck of Lorenzo.
The man loses consciousness instantly and falls into the snow.
"Well is time to go, Mr. Moretti." The maid picks up the body of the male before flying into the night.
Some minutes after.
"... Wake up, Mr. Moretti."
"..." Lorenzo didn't react.
"Wake up."
"..." The same result again. The guy was out.
"Ok, use the bucket."
A cold shower forced the man to wake up. "Too Cold!" Lorenzo screamed out. His body trembled and shivered. The man tried to get up but his body feel weird and unresponsive. There was also the fact that he was chained to a chair.
He was surrounded by many lights which almost blinded him.
"Nice of you to finally wake up." A manly voice said.
"Where am I? Who are you? What do you want?" Lorenzo asks.
"That's too many questions but I'll answer one. I'm just someone with a few questions. You give the answers and I release you. Nothing more, nothing else."
"Questions? Why would I have to answer them?" Lorenzo asks.
Lorenzo hears the sound of steps. The lights begin to turn off, one after the other as the steps get closer.
After a few seconds, the lights are all turned off and darkness surrounds Lorenzo. The sound of steps stops just before him.
A pair of sharp green eyes appear in front of him.
"Because I'm not joking around." Flames ignited around Lorenzo. The figure of a well-dressed boy stands in front of him.
Lorenzo shivers after noticing the cruelty behind those eyes. "Shit, shit. This is bad. He might look like a child but those are the eyes of a killer. These flames don't look like special effects! Damn it, what did I get myself into. I thought that I was from having to deal with dangerous guys like back in the day." Lorenzo shakes in his chair as he ponders about what to do.
His eyes detect a folder in the arms of the child before him and another chair right behind the child.
The boy takes a seat. "Let's begin with a few simple ones. Your name is Lorenzo Moretti right?"
Lorenzo wants to say something else but his mouth goes against him and shouts out "Yes, my name is Lorenzo Moretti."
"Very well. Were you born in the city of Fasano on April 24, 19xx?"
"Yes," Lorenzo replies once more. "What the hell is happening? Why am I answering so willingly?" Lorenzo looks around and eyes notice a few injection marks on his right arm. "They drugged me?"
"Good, Lorenzo. Let's go get to the important stuff. Around 8 or 9 years ago, were you in the city of Milan?"
"Yes, I was in that city."
"Why?"
"I had to escape from my previous home. I got in trouble with a certain mafia group after getting involved with the daughter of a member of the group."
Lorenzo screamed at himself internally for opening his mouth.
"Oh, what happened?"
"I might have taken her virginity and had to run away after that. The father didn't appreciate the fact that I had taken advantage of his daughter. It was either death, getting married, or running away."
"And you choose to run?"
"Yes, I didn't want to get married. I was only 22 at the time while she was 17."
"Talk about a bastard. So let me get this straight, you took her to bed, and then you ran away when the situation got serious."
"Yes, she was fine looking and I couldn't waste the chance to get a night with her." Lorenzo was smirking as he talked but deep inside his mind, he was trying to stop himself. His vision was becoming weird as colors and shapes intermixed with each other.
The boy snapped his fingers at him. "I know the serum's effects are strong but try to keep your attention on me. I have questions that need answers. Let us continue. Back to Millan, did you meet a girl going by the name Clarissa Abruzzo?"
"... Clarissa? …. Oh, I do remember. The studious chick with the glasses. Such a nice a-" His words are interrupted by a swift hit on his left cheek. His eyes didn't even register what hit him.
"Please do keep your perverted thoughts to a minimum. I don't want to hear your lustful memories." The child seems annoyed by his comments about the girl.
"... I'll try."
"... so you did meet Clarissa. Tell me about her. How did you two meet and what kind of relationship do you two have?"
"Clarissa…. The first time I saw her was in a coffee shop. The girl was around 18 when I meet her. Cute blonde with emerald eyes. Those eyes were like jewels. I got interested as soon as I saw her. I was staying with some of my extended family and I didn't really have anything else to do besides my job at the docks. She was always studying in that coffee shop. I approached her bit by bit. She had her defenses up all of the time. "I have no interest in you, Lorenzo." She kept saying that for a while until I finally sweet-talk my way into her heart. I got to say that she made me work for it but once I was in the rest was history. I enjoyed every moment with her, she was fine like wine maybe one of my top 5 victories but everything good must come to an end."
"... How so?" The boy tried to keep a calm mind and not break the neck of the man.
"The same thing that always happens. She became pregnant. Man, she was crying really hard that day. "Lorenzo, I'm pregnant. What should we do? Should we get married?" Those words made me scared. Marriage? A child? I'm not a man for that kind of life. My father was the same so why should I settle down with her? I told her to have an abortion, she was young and I thought it was the best for both but Clarissa didn't want that. She wanted to have the child, but she couldn't do it. I began to sweat and choose to run away that same night."
"... You ran? You left her?"
"Yes, I did. I wasn't going to take responsibility for no child of mine. Children are a hassle and I prefer being free from any attachments."
"... You left her pregnant and alone. You coward." The boy's eyes were filled with anger.
"She had her family. She was going to be fine."
"No, she wasn't, you bastard. Clarissa committed suicide after giving birth. She hanged herself from a tree."
"So? I didn't tell her to do it. She went ahead with the pregnancy and disregarded my opinion. If she's death is all her fault."
The boy watched the smirk on the man's face. His hands became fists but he stopped himself. "I should kill him here… but this is not what Asia wants." The boy sights as he composes himself. "Do you have any interest in knowing about the child that she left behind?"
"What you're going to say that the child is here?"
"Maybe. Answer the question."
"Not really. I didn't care back then nor do I care now. I had at least two other children after the first and I'm not in their lives either. Children don't need their father's in their lives to survive. Look at me, dad wasn't there at any point and I'm still alive. That child doesn't need me nor do I want to meet him or her."
Silence. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees even with the flames that surrounded them. The boy knew that the drug would bring the truth to the surface, that nothing would be hidden but some truths are harsher than some lies.
The man kept smirking while the boy stood silent. His ears twitched as a particular sound reached them.
Small drops fall onto the hard concrete of the building.
"I'm done with all of this. Yukime, Raynare, take care of him. Make sure he doesn't remember any of this." The boy stood up from his chair. The flames died down as the darkness consumed everything once more.
"Hey, wait a moment. Don't leave me here." Lorenzo screamed before he felt the sharp pain of being hit on his neck once more.
A few moments afterward. The roof of the abandoned building.
She was standing in front of him. Her back turned to him as the snow continued to fall.
The Welsh Dragon hear the sound of every tear as they touched the ground.
"... The curiosity of a child is interesting, isn't it? Even when we know that we shouldn't do some things we still do them. When kids are left in orphanages in most cases is because they're not wanted by their parents. I sort of knew that this could have been the most possible development but I still wanted to meet him."
The dragon felt the sadness behind those words. He approached the girl before putting his wings and arms around her.
"Life is complicated. Yes, many times that is the case, Asia. There are people like him, they'll live on only for their sakes and their desires. I know because I was one of them. But you were loved by at least one of your parents. Clarissa continue with the pregnancy and although she didn't raise you, she loved you because she not only gave birth to you, she also brought you to that orphanage. She cared even with the likely chaos that was her mind at that moment."
"... But she's gone. She's dead and I-"
The dragon interrupts her. "Is okay for you to cry but you don't get to finish that phrase. You have me and the rest of the chaos residence. We might not share blood relations amongst almost all of us but we're a family. A family of weird beings, from dhampirs to dragons and angels. I will always be here for you, Asia."
"Why? Why go so far for me? What do you gain from this?"
"Simply because I'm a selfish dragon that ignores the words of others and just wants to make those he cares about happy. Even if you grow old and get married to some male that captures your eye, I'll always watch over you. I will always do what's necessary to see a smile on your face. This is what I promise myself and Mikhail." The dragon smiles as he embraces her with even more strength.
Asia felt the warmth of the Welsh Dragon which was embracing her. Amongst the falling snow and the cold temperatures, her body enjoyed his warm body. "... My chest hurts. This pain is getting worse. I can't make these tears stop but….. I feel relieved. Relieved that you're here; relieved to have met you. Thank you…."
The crying girl stopped thinking and allowed her body to fall victim to the warmth of her protector. It was late and her body had reached its limit. She was too tired to continue.
"Asia?" Issei called out to her as he felt her body going limp. The girl did not reply as she had fallen asleep. The dragon smiled as he took her in his arms while making sure to cover her from the snow. "You're a strong girl for enduring something like this." The dragon turns his sight towards the night sky. "... If you're watching her from somewhere in the heavenly realms, please be at ease. I'll do my best to make sure that she grows happy. I'll be always around for her, Clarissa."
He did not get a reply but he hope that his words had reached her mother's soul.
"She fell asleep? Want me to take her?" The voice of Raynare grabbed his attention.
The dragon shakes his head. "Is alright, I got this. Are you two done with him?"
"He's knocked out. I doubt he'll wake up before tomorrow." Yukime steps ahead with Lorenzo who's being dragged by the neck of his coat jacket. "I have taken his memories from tonight." Yukime has a strange photo in her right hand.
"That ability of yours is something else. Maybe one of the most unique I had ever seen." Ddraig admits.
"Thank you for the praises. I imagined that my ancestors are proud of me if they are even watching from the afterlife. One could easily incapacitate a target for life if they lost the memories of their past and present."
"I don't know about that. Even without memories, some are able to continue on." Raynare objects.
"But not able to be the same person. Let's put it this way, one of my previous targets was a famous narco that had a contract with one of my siblings. He didn't hold his end of the deal and my sibling asked me to take all of his memories. From being the head of a strong criminal organization to becoming a husk of their former self that couldn't even remember his name. That man lost everything as his organization crumble without a head that could guide it. Memories are important and once they are all gone forever, the person won't get a chance to continue with their previous life. Their skills and the things that they mastered are all gone with their memories. Only a blank slate remains."
"Thanks but you don't need to go that far in this case." Ddraig looks at the man. "Put him in his car. There's nothing else that we need to do with him."
"Are you sure? I could-" Yukime tries to suggest something.
"Asia only wanted to meet this guy and know why he wasn't in her life. Wasting our time to punish him isn't worth it. He is a bastard, trash, he's not worth it and one day everything will come crashing down on him. One day the past will catch up to him." Ddraig said. "He did make me realize something. I won't let anyone have their way with none of my future children nor with those under my protection."
The snow continues to fall as the group set out to leave the man behind and go back home.
Meanwhile, Elysian Fields.
A young blonde lady continues to look deep into the waters of a lake. Images of Asia's daily life appeared before her.
"... You have grown so much." A few tears fell from her eyes. "I'm sorry for not being there for you. But I can rest in peace knowing that you'll be protected and cared for by a good man. I'll be always watching from within this calm realm, my dear daughter."
The young woman moved away from the water before laying on the vast fields covered in nature. She closes her eyes and goes to sleep while enjoying the soft breeze of this paradise beyond the reach of mortal hands.
Story 4: Remnants of Motherly Love
The softly broken voice of a female reached her ears. A soft lullaby was being hummed. The sounds were barely hearable due to the low volume of the voice.
"What is that voice? Why it seems so familiar?" Valerie asked herself as she began to open her eyes. As soon as she opened her eyes, she found Gasper in front of her. The boy held her right hand with care while he sleep.
Valerie smiled before turning her attention back to their room. Months have gone by since they came to this place, their new home. The room was barely illuminated by a few night lights that were placed on the ceiling.
Their clothes and personal items were things that they never had back in the place of their birth but now their "Old brother" made sure that they got to enjoy a normal life.
As her eyes wandered around the room, her eyes found a suspicious black figure who was standing by the window. Covered in what seemed to be a black victorian dress, the figure had its back turned to her.
"Who are you?"
Valerie got no reply. The figure just kept humming its lullaby. Valerie got out of bed while making sure not to wake up Gasper. She began to take small steps until she was close enough to the figure.
"Who are you?" Valerie's hand reached out to the figure before getting the scare of a lifetime.
The figure's face turned to her. A pale face with bleeding eyes smiled at her. The pale hands of the woman reached out to her.
Valerie started to back away from the figure. "Stop. Don't get close to me."
The figure kept getting closer to her with a smile still on its face.
"Gasper! Help me!" Valerie called out to her friend but the boy didn't react.
The figure continue to approach her, and with each step that it took the room began to distort itself. The walls crumble to nothingness as Valerie kept backing away. The bed and Gasper disappeared as well.
"...Vale… rie…" The soft voice of the figure began to call out her name.
Valerie became more scared as she didn't know this person. She wanted to escape. To run away.
"Gasper, Gasper, please save me. I don't want to be here. I'm scared." The girl drop to her knees and began to sob as the figure got closer to her.
"Valerie!" Another voice reached her ears.
"Gasper!" Valerie turned in the direction of the voice and ran after it without looking back.
And then…
The Real world.
Valerie opened her eyes once more only to find Gasper looking at her with intense eyes. Her eyes also saw Issei and Tiamat in the room looking concerned.
It only took a second for the girl to begin to sob before Gasper began to hug her.
"Is okay. I'm right here. It was all a dream." Gasper said as he embrace her.
"Is this the Graal's fault?" Tiamat question Issei.
"It was bound to happen at some point. Her gear deals with life and death. Gasper already had that episode without her realizing it." The dragon's eyes turned to the shadow that stretch out from Gasper. It seemed to be alive as it took the shape of a feminine figure with red eyes. "It seems that our suspicions were correct, they are both "haunted." We're going to need to talk with her as well."
"Let me get Gabriel. She's the one with the most knowledge about this." Tiamat got out of the room.
A few moments after.
Valerie, Gasper, and Gabriel sat down at a table while Issei and Tiamat stood on the sides.
"It has been at least 5 months since we had this conversation, Gasper," Gabriel says as she looks at the pair.
"Yes…. I hoped that it was just me." Gasper replies.
"..." Valerie turns her eyes to him.
The boy has a serious face as he holds her hand.
"Let me begin by giving a bit of background information. Everything alive has a soul. From a god to a human, to even a tree, everything has one although they are different. A soul of a human is not the same as the soul of an animal or plant. The soul of a conscious form of life possesses desires and dreams while the soul of an animal is mainly guided by instincts and natural law. Once the body dies, the souls of humans and other conscious beings are collected and judged in the afterlife by the gods of death. The souls of animals and plants return to Gaia before getting reincarnated into other beings. Do you understand?"
Valerie nods.
"The souls of conscious beings are always collected although exceptions do arise. Those that are trapped within curses need to be released/purified before the reapers can collect them. When souls are successfully collected they can leave remnants of their strongest desires in some cases. These remnants are what we called ghosts, which are nothing more than the strong attachments that souls have in their previous lives. They can attach themselves to locations, objects, and even people. Most ghosts are unable to affect anything. Some can affect objects in the real world and some can be troublesome existences that need an immediate exorcism before they can become a danger to those that are still alive."
"Those that attach themselves to people haunt them until they're are purified," Gasper says.
"What does this have to do with us?" Valerie asks.
"Valerie, do you remember your mother?" Gabriel asks.
"... No… I was a baby in that cell. I never meet her." Valerie replies.
"I was the same but 5 months ago I experience something that scared me to my core. As I was meditating after training in a dark room with Nii-san, I felt a presence. Deep within the darkness that surrounded me, I felt the hand of someone on my shoulder. I know that it wasn't Nii-san, the hand felt too cold to be his. I looked around and found nobody except for Nii-san who was sitting in front of me." Gasper turned to Issei.
"He told me about it but I didn't think it was possible at the beginning. We were alone and the door was closed. Nobody could just enter and not be detected by me. Yukime wasn't either since she was taking care of a mission I had given to her." The dragon replied.
"We ignored it and continued training until that same night I woke up while sweating like crazy. I had a nightmare in which a woman with a blackened face with only red eyes as a feature called out to me." Gasper explains.
As he says this his shadow stretches out and a tall figure begins to rise from within it. A large dress and sharp claws. Long hair and a dark face with only red eyes appear next to Gasper.
Valerie is taken by surprise.
"Some of the strongest attachments are those of a mother and their child. You two share many things and your mothers shared similar fates. Both died while trying to make sure that you two survive in those cells. Their souls might be gone but their remnants were still there." Gabriel says.
"Valerie, she's the ghost of my mother, Olivia," Gasper says as the figure slightly pats the head of the boy with extreme care. "She's part of my shadow now."
"We investigated the issue that same night. We talked to Gabriel, and she investigated the location of Gasper's mother's soul and we planned to exorcise the ghost at the beginning. Having a ghost haunting him wasn't something that I wanted for him but Gasper didn't want that. He asked to leave the ghost with him after he confirm its identity." The dragon says as he looks at the tall figure that continued to pat his brother's head.
"A mother's love is something far stronger. It was something to be expected since the places in which they die weren't likely purified by the guards." Tiamat suggests.
"She's your mother's ghost…. But why did she appear now?" Valerie asks.
"It was likely due to your sacred gear. The Sephiroth Graal is deeply involved with life, death, and souls. We have been training you for the past 6 months. Your gear awakened a month after Gasper's. You have been gaining control over the Graal's power but we know that you're far from completely controlling it. Its influence was likely affecting the ghosts by making them take a stronger form. Both of the ghosts have likely been with you two for quite a long time but never truly manifested in these ways until now. We didn't know if you were also haunted until now." Gabriel said.
"We considered the chance but I wanted to wait and see if it was also the same case with you." Gasper looks at the ghost. "I didn't want you to be scared by it or get scared about what your gear was capable of. There's also the fact that an exorcism will be painful for you since you're a dhampir like me. I worry about you, Valerie."
Valerie looks at the ghost and sees her deep red eyes react to the boy.
"Gas….per!" The ghost called out his name in a broken voice before lifting him up and hugging him.
"I know but please let me go. Your hugs are too strong." Gasper says as he tries to escape.
Valerie watches in shock as the scene happens. One would scream at the sight of such a terrific figure grabbing such a young boy under normal circumstances but not a single one of the adults tried to stop the ghost.
The ghost cheerfully spins around as it showered Gasper with affection. The only motive for her existence was to care for and love him for those were the feelings that his mother's soul left behind, maybe even the reason behind his survival for such a long time within a jail in the depths of the Tepes residence.
"So… that woman in my nightmare is the ghost of my…. Mother."
"Only you can say if she is. We can exorcise her or leave her with you like Gasper once you learn what its identity is." Gabriel said.
"Wait so you're saying that the ghost might a total stranger?" Valerie asks.
"... There is a chance although small. We have kept you protected from any other entities that have tried to get attached to you for quite a while but this is the first time in which one has done something like this." Gasper admits.
"Wait what? When did this happen?" Valerie looks around.
"You have come along with me to visit the cemetery many times. Have you paid enough attention to the people there? They were always there." The dragon asks.
Valerie goes silent for a few moments. Her mind tries to remember the people at the cemetery during those visits. As she begins to recall she notices the weird circumstances. "A man under the rain without an umbrella who was standing near a grave. A lady who kept smiling while sitting down near a grave. How could I had ignore all of that?"
The girl looks around and everyone seems to confirm her fears. "They were all ghosts?"
"Yes. There are quite a few that walked around the town but all of them are not dangerous. They're likely the ghosts of family members who roam the town while repeating the same acts they did while they were alive." Tiamat admits.
"Take the time to learn about the ghost that is haunting you and let us know if anything seems like a sign of danger. Gasper will likely be around so let him know if anything happens." Gabriel says thus bringing the meeting to an end.
And like this, the days of haunting began for the girl.
Several days later.
Valerie was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom while she washed her face. After taking a tower and drying her face up, the girl watch the mirror with surprise as the same ghost was standing right beside her.
The ghost smiled softly as its hand reached out to touch her head.
Valerie shivered at the touch of the apparition.
"Don't," Valerie said.
The ghost removes its hand after hearing Valerie's reaction before disappearing once more.
This was her every now, as the ghost made more appearances and try to get close to her. Be it at school, in bathrooms or while she walk through the streets, Valerie's eyes would notice the so-called ghost of her mother watching her from a safe distance while it smile.
Her dreams weren't saved either as the ghost will continuously sing and called out to her.
"Gasper, why are you fine with all of this?" Valerie asked her friend the day after learning the truth.
"... I just appreciated having something that let me know she loved me. Valerie, we were trapped in jails for all of our first years of life. No parents which cared about us, not a bed in which to sleep, not even food that would fill us up. We were all alone in darkness and never had anything that resemble love from a family member until now. Nii-san is great and I could never thank him enough but I wonder about mom for quite some time. That night on which they rescued us, after drinking that bag of blood I remember her voice and her bloodied face as she held me in her arms. She cared about me so much that she gave me her blood. The first blood I ever drank was that of my mother who gave it up to make sure that I survive. After meeting her ghost, I was scared at the beginning but after thinking about it I couldn't let her disappear. This is the closest thing I will ever get to having her around watching over me. Yes, I know, the ghost is just an incomplete remnant of her real self but she still is in a way her." Gasper admitted with a smile.
Since then she had been thinking and pondering about what to do. How to deal with this situation.
"What should I do? Should I get her exorcised or should I leave her as it is?" The girl continued to think in her bed as the ghost stood by the window.
Like every time, the ghost was humming the same lullaby.
"... I have tried to figure out which one is it. No matter how hard I try to look into it is not a common one." Valerie told herself as she look at the book Raynare had given her. She tried to remember her, a voice, a vision but nothing was getting her closer to discovering if this ghost was indeed her mother.
Valerie stood up from the bed and approached her. "Hey…. are you truly "mom"?" Valerie asked the question once more.
The ghost turned to her and just continue to smile before turning back to the window.
The night was starting to settle as the full moon took its position.
"Is a waste of time," Valerie said as she began to walk away from the window. It was almost time for Gasper to be back and then they would go to sleep, so Valerie began to prepare herself. She quickly took off her clothes before covering herself with a towel and walking out of the room.
It didn't take her long to reach the bathroom. After taking a shower and washing her pale blonde hair, the girl rested in the bathtub. The warm water was a commodity that she had enjoyed a lot after not even getting an actual bathroom for years.
"Beautiful…" The voice of the ghost scared her for a moment.
As Valerie turned around she found the ghost standing behind her while touching her long strand of hair.
She was going to scream at the beginning but stopped herself. "I give up. I don't know what else to do. I can't remember you and you don't answer my questions either. I don't know who are you."
As she talked to herself, she began to feel the ghostly hands working on her hair. She didn't notice when the ghost had brought a brush into the bathroom but now she was getting her hair untangled by the apparition.
"Hair… must… be… careful. Brush… after…. wash…." The ghost says as it carefully takes care of her hair.
Valerie stays silent as she lets the ghost continued. Only the sound of humming is hearable in the room until Valerie speaks once more.
"... Selene….." The ghost stops. "... You remember your name?"
"... Child….. shouldn't…. call….. parents…. by…. their… names." The ghost replies.
"..." Valerie feels the arms of the ghost around her neck.
"... You… were…. small….. In…. that….. dark… place…."
Valerie just stays silent and listens.
"... Blood…. so … much. You….. cried…. hard….. like…. the…. child…. in… the… front…. cell. So…..small… yet…. strong."
Valerie is shaking due to the cold touch of the ghost but tries her best not to push her away. The girl closes her eyes and tries to focus only on her voice.
As the ghost talked, the young girl sank deeper into her earliest memories trying to remember anything.
Long ago, Tepes Residence.
Her dress was a mess since her captor had used her as a toy for his desires without regard to her condition. Months have gone and come as the torturous life of being a sexual object for king Tepes continued.
She felt dirty and had lost all hopes of ever escaping. How could a human like her even make it out from this hell in which vampires were found in every corner of the residence? She had been kept upstairs for quite a while but once the pregnancy became apparent she had been put in this place to likely let her die of starvation or lose the pregnancy due to it.
The cries of the baby in the cell in front of her weren't increasing her hopes either. The child had been already there by the time she was put in here and she didn't know how it was still alive as nobody seemed to care for it.
As the weeks went by the day came.
The contractions increased, the pain was practically unbearable and then a new life was brought into this world within the walls of this dark cell.
As Selene lifted the baby within her weak arms she began to cry. She could barely see her within the darkness.
"You're so small. My young baby girl, I'm so sorry that you were born here." Selene said as she used the remains of her dress to cover the small child. She felt so weak. She knew that it was just a matter of time until her time came.
The sound of steps alerted her to the approaching guards. The darkness began to be illuminated by the approaching torches.
"How is that even possible? He's a baby. He should be dead!" The voice of Marius Tepes was heard loud and clear.
As the vampire came into view, Selene tried to crawl away from the cell's door.
Selene watched as Marius walked into the cell of the baby only to scream in anger.
"Dead I said! You are a damned half-blood! Why are you alive?" Marius asked the baby as if the baby was going to answer. "Damn it. I'll kill him myself."
"Sir, you shouldn't do that. Your father said that leaving him in this place was more than enough. We only put a plate with milk in here and when we come back the milk is gone." One of the guards says.
"That shouldn't be possible. Is one of you giving it to him?" Marius asks.
"No. We wouldn't dare sir." The other guard replies.
"... I'm killing him so don't try to stop me," Marius said.
Selene listened in silence as Marius prepared himself for the atrocious act. But what she saw, left her speechless.
The bodies of Marius and the guards were thrown out of the cell with incredible force.
"Monster!" Marius said as he got up and ran away like a coward.
One of the guards got up and quickly tried to close the door of the cell only to lose an arm while trying. The partner of the guard got up and finished the job before grabbing their partner and getting themselves to safety.
Selene's eyes look at the cell opposite to hers with fear but also curiosity. Something seemed to be moving within the cell but she couldn't tell what it was. The sound of meat being consumed didn't help either. The crunching sounds of the meat being devoured told her that whatever was there was hungry.
After a while, the torches that were left behind died off and the sounds within the cell stopped only to be replaced by the sounds of a baby once more.
"What was that?" Selene approached the door of her cell once more. "Is someone there?"
Nobody replied only the sound of the baby who had impressively survived once more.
Selene didn't know what was happening but she had regained some hope after seeing that now. "If you can hear me, child of mysterious powers please take care of my daughter. I feel that my time will come soon. Can you care for her and make sure that she survives as well? You might take her as a bride once you two get out of here so please take care of her. This is my only hope, that this child, …Valerie…. Make sure that Valerie survives."
The sounds of the baby stopped as the growls of a beast arise. Selene felt how tendrils of pure darkness began to touch her. As she turned to the cell, she saw a pair of deep red beastly eyes focused on her. She couldn't see the shape of the beast but she knew it was bigger than a baby.
"So it is you…. You're truly a beast of darkness. Can you take care of her once my time comes?" Selene asked the malformed beast.
The beast doesn't move but its senses detect the smell of blood and its ear notices the irregular heartbeat of the woman. The beast of darkness seemed to understand as its tendrils slightly caress the girl as some kind of acknowledgment.
"Thank you, I appreciate your help. Maybe these last days of mine will be one of my most precious." Selene said as the tendrils covered her and try to offer her some heat.
Selene smiles once more before she begins to hum a lullaby for her child and the unexpected ally she had met within the darkness. As she hummed, Valerie's instinct kicked in. Her sharp fangs sank into her boob and began to suck some of her blood. Selene didn't care really and allowed the child to have her food.
The beast watches over mother and child silently from within its cell as it focused on her voice.
Days passed like this until her time came, but Selene died with a smile on her face. Knowing that her child was in safe hands.
Back to the present.
When Valerie opened her eyes once more she found herself back in her bed with Gasper right beside her. She was already dressed in nightwear that matched the red ones that the boy was wearing.
"How?" Valerie looked around only to find not one but two ghosts standing by the window.
As her ghost continues with her antics, Gasper's ghost silently focuses its eyes on the moon.
The two stood up side by side as remnants of the desires of two mothers.
Valerie admires the pair for a few moments before giving up on trying to understand all of this. She might never remember her mother but she had begun to slowly accept this being as some weird motherly presence that would continue to watch over her.
"Hey, Gasper…. We're truly a unique pair aren't we?" Valerie held his right hand and close her eyes once more. Having him this close after years of being separated by the doors of their cells was something that she appreciated from the bottom of her heart.
As she closes hers, Gasper opens his. His usually sharp and serene deep red eyes looked like those of a beast now. The dhampir's eyes meet those of Selene's ghost.
Both seemed to acknowledge each other as some kind of allies that had known each other for quite a while.
The boy close his eyes once more after that knowing that there was nothing to worry about.
*Notes of the author: And we're done with the second set of stories. I know many will have questions about Gasper's second personality and I promise that we'll see more of it later on. The next stories will be either the ones involving Vali/Azazel/ Shemhazai and Vali's mother or I'll do a few wholesome stories with the cast. We'll see. Anyway, I'll see you next time.*