Chapter 9 Part 1Vampire!
(Spooky song)
Vampires… They drink human blood, they have pale skin, and they don't like light… Some say they can only go out at night — but in Grimmhoth there's a problem: it's always… night!
(Teeth!)
(Splash!)(aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhh!)
(Ffps!)
Grey: "Hey, I wanted to keep watching the movie."
Daisy: "Too bad… the movie's over."
Grey: "Hahhhh… Are you still mad? You sound like my ex…"
Daisy: "I am your ex, idiot."
Grey: "But not the only one…"
Grey snickered annoyingly.
Daisy: "Ahhh… great."
Grey: "And how is that pretty detective lady?"
Daisy: "Fiona?"
Grey: "Exactly."
Daisy: "Don't try it — unlike me she won't come up with dumb ideas about talking to you."
Grey: "I don't like her… she's creepy… never smiles…"
Daisy: "Well… she doesn't have to. One thing I will say — she's creepy and the title Lady Mystery suits Fiona."
Grey: "Hmmm…"
Daisy: "Exactly as you described — she's really sad… she never smiles."
Grey: "Do you think she's like that just because… or because of the Dark Umbrella's infamous projects?"
Daisy: "Hmmm… I heard it was horrible there for kids."
Grey: "Who knows. Maybe worse than we think…"
(14 years earlier)
At the Dark Umbrella headquarters.
(bzzzzzz!)(Screams!)Fiona: "Hahhh… hahhhh…"
Doctor: "Hmmm… she reacts too strongly to pain…"
Doctor: "Not good. We must limit it so she barely feels pain."
Fiona: "Hahhh…"
(Saber!)
Fiona: "ghhhh…"
(Bzzzz!)
Fiona: "ghhhh… arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
(A few days later)
Doctor: "Hahahaha… incredible… she made it… she barely feels pain now."
Doctor: "Good…"
Fiona: "(But… I feel it… I just don't show it, otherwise they'll do it more… ghhhhhh… this is the best way)…"
Beside her… the corpses of the other children…
Doctor: "Hahahahaha… Finally… new results…"
Doctor: "What shall we do with the others… the dead ones?"
Doctor: "Those children? Throw them away… they're dead anyway…"
(A few days later)
Doctor: "The project works with Parzival, Noelle and Fiona… and Fiona now shows too little emotion."
Doctor: "She doesn't even smile at gifts…"
Doctor: "No wonder… we tortured her more than the others… surely she's afraid we'll do it more just to test her…"
Doctor: "hmmm."
The two-voiced doctor — one half different from the other — therefore they call him Two-Face, Doctor Stevens Hawgwort.
Doctor: "hmmm…"
(Dong!) (Dong!)
Fiona: "hmm…"
At the Dark Umbrella Academy.
Student: "Look, that's the new girl…"
Student: "Oh… she's pretty…"
Student: "But she scares me…"
Schoolgirl: "Hmmm… why is she staring? Does she have no emotion? Is she stupid?"
Schoolgirl: "Disgusting…"
Student: "That's the one who killed her parents…"
One of them looked at her.
Fiona: "hmmm…"
She looked back at him.
Fiona: "Hmmm?"
She looked forward again… He shoved her so the book fell.
Fiona: "hmm… do you have a problem?"
Student: "Oh… sorry… so sorry… I'll help you."
She reached for it when he touched the book — where her hand landed, the English book…
Fiona: "hmmm…"
Student: "Does that hurt…?"
She looked at him.
Fiona: "Hands… off."
Student: "It's my foot."
Fiona: "Then foot away."
Student: "Or what…"
She took her scissors and stabbed his leg.
Student: "argh… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhh…"
Fiona: "Hmph."
She grabbed the book.
Fiona: "Tsssss… coward…"
He fell to the floor.
(a few days later)
Headmistress: "You stabbed a student."
Fiona: "I did."
Headmistress: "At least you don't deny you harmed someone."
Fiona: "He kicked my leg… it was necessary. Next time I'll aim for the throat. That injures the carotid so it can't heal properly… the body would gasp for air, can't with a hole in the neck… then… you die."
Headmistress: "Hahhh… damn… what did they do to you there… in the Centrale…"
Doctor Stevens Hawgwort was later arrested — for sexual abuse, torture of children, violent crimes… and many unspeakable forbidden experiments: removing emotions, teaching people to kill without remorse… he even tried to teach children things they shouldn't learn. When this came out he was convicted. Meliodas, one of the Dark Umbrella leaders, then looked after the children — gave them a place in the school and tried his best to help them. But 80% of the children died by suicide from pain and trauma, 10% died of wounds and disease — only 10% of test subjects survived. Fiona was lucky: they could only torture her for three days before he was caught. Stevens Hawgwort was executed exactly four years ago. Shortly before that Fiona visited him — because she was one of the few survivors of his experiments.
Fiona: "hmmm."Stevens: "You've grown… Fiona."Fiona: "hmmm…"Meliodas: "That's enough… You mustn't speak to her like that… not after all you did to her…"Fiona: "hmmm…"Stevens: "I don't understand… isn't this what you wanted? Since you came… Meliodas… the Dark Umbrella changed…"Meliodas: "You don't fight catastrophe with catastrophes… I won't let the children continue to suffer… you sick bastard."
He stroked Fiona's head.
Fiona: "hmmm…"Meliodas: "You don't have to do that, my little one… hey… Fiona…"
Fiona trembled.
Meliodas: "Hey."
He bent down.
Meliodas: "What is it?"
Fiona: "Hahhh… hahhhh…"
(Remembering)
(Bzzzz!)(Hahahahahaha!)
Fiona: "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargghhhhhhhhhh… aaaaaaaaaarghhh."Meliodas: "Fiona!"
Fiona: "gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
It was a memory.
Fiona: "hahhh… hahhh… hahhh… hahhh… hahhhh…"
She sweat a lot.
Fiona: "Damn…"
(Knock!) (knock!)
Fiona: "huh?"
She stood up and opened the door.
Fiona: "ugh… Daisy?"Daisy: "Fiona… it's important… quick."Fiona: "hmm?"
(A few minutes later)
Fiona: "Huh?"
Everyone was in the room — the Frankenstein siblings, Daisy glanced at Fiona and nodded… Oliver, Grey and Jane were also there.
(Patch!) (Patch!)
Elizabeth: "Hello… friends… I think you've heard…"
Fiona: "Heard what?"
Oliver: "There was a vampire attack nearby."Fiona: "What?…"Elizabeth: "It can only be a vampire attack…"Fiona: "To become a vampire you need vampire blood… so how could someone be killed by a vampire if vampires were sealed away?"Elizabeth: "There's a problem, Fiona. Do you really think vampires were only in Sora? To become a vampire you do need vampire blood — but there's something else…"
Fiona: "hmm?"Elizabeth: "What if someone already had a vampire's blood long ago?"Fiona: "What do you mean?"Elizabeth: "Have you heard of Dracula's dagger?"Fiona: "Yes… I think… I think it was once brought to our academy… Dracula stabbed his hand and collected his blood into five jars… ugh…"Elizabeth: "Hmm."Fiona: "Are you saying someone found one of the jars?!"
She shouted.
Fiona: "One of the jars? That can't be so simple… you need magic for that and no one knows where it is…"Elizabeth: "The Forbidden Library of Rapunzel."Fiona: "ugh…"Elizabeth: "You know of it, right?"Fiona: "You think they're behind it."Elizabeth: "Could be others… it could be the family Les mains des damnés that might have information."Fiona: "Who are Les mains des damnés?"Oliver: "Miss… maybe they argue… that we're in conflict with them, but do you think they would go so far?"Elizabeth: "No… they wouldn't go that far to bring vampires… but I think you misunderstood: I mean there could be a connection; not that they did it. Maybe they know something. I know we argue, but my family and their family share one principle: don't drag innocents into it."
(Silence)Elizabeth: "Hmm… They called me… and… well… I invited one of them."
The door opened — a woman entered, tall, about 180 cm, long blue hair and wearing a tall hat.
Elizabeth: "(cough!)… Clemence."Clemence: "Hello, my dears."Fiona: "hmm?"Clemence: "My goodness… sorry… I'm Clemence Lacroix. I'm a member of Les mains des damnés. Even though our name sounds brutal, we're actually not evil."Fiona: "Then explain why you're called the Hands of the Damned?"Daisy: "Oh… you know that language."Fiona: "You mean Frankish? Yes, I know it."Clemence: "How very interesting… so you're the one Elizabeth mentioned — Fiona, right? You own the Card of the Mysterious… Hmm… the name is brutal, but that's because we are necrologists… we work with the graves of the dead."Fiona: "hmm?"Clemence: "We can hear the ghosts."Fiona: "huh?"Clemence: "Hmm?"Fiona: "Alright, then tell me why you're staring at me like that."Clemence: "Hehehe… I stare at you because you stare at me… your gaze shows you apparently have no interest in people — why do you want to help then?"Fiona: "It's my job… I'm a detective."Clemence: "Hehehe… but otherwise you don't care."Fiona: "Exactly."Daisy: "Hey?"Grey: "hmm?"Fiona: "I'm a human… but I'm not really interested in them… I don't know how to deal with most people… I was taught that."Clemence: "I see."
She stepped closer… and suddenly looked at Fiona seriously, cupping her cheeks and staring with her intense eyes. Her pupils shifted from green to lilac.
Clemence: "Les Mains des Mortes, les Filles! (Hands of the Dead girls!)"
Fiona: "huh!"
Suddenly Fiona felt awful… she heard a laugh, turned — and a ghostly figure stood before her: pale skin, dark eyes, smiling and laughing. The spirit touched Fiona's face and Fiona smiled at her.
Fiona: "Hmmm…"Clemence: "I see…"
The figure let go of Fiona.
Clemence: "You're not afraid of ghosts."Fiona: "I speak with ghosts… this one seems like a sad, lonely spirit, right?"
She stroked the spirit's hair.
Fiona: "…10 years old… murdered… gunshot wound to the heart… she seeks revenge… mourns her gruesome end — that's everything she just showed me when she touched me… ghosts don't hurt people who trust them."Clemence: "She wanted to kill you — you smiled at her. Interesting. She only attacks people who are afraid of her. You have no fear — what… what…"Fiona: "What's her name?"Clemence: "Melari."Fiona: "Melari…"
She smiled at her.
Fiona: "I see… beautiful name… do you have Melari here?"Melari: "mmmmm…"Fiona: "Hmm?"Melari: "mmmm…"Fiona: "It seems she wants me to hold her hand."
She did.
Melari: "It hurts…"Fiona: "huh?"Melari: "It hurts…"Fiona: "ugh!"
(Remembering)
(Peng!)(Splash!)
Melari: "Mama… it… it hurts…"
(End of memory)
Fiona: "huh!…"Melari: "mmmm…"Fiona: "Hmmm…"
She stroked her head again.
Fiona: "Poor girl…"Clemence: "Hehe… she showed you what happened to her. She shows it to people who aren't afraid of her."Fiona: "She probably died in a war… must have been long ago — it's been a hundred years since the war in Grimmhoth."Daisy: "I can be her too…"
The ghost looked at her. They weren't afraid either and smiled and greeted her.
Clemence: "Hehe… she's been here before."Jane: "Long time no see, Melari."
She stroked her head.Oliver: "Good girl… good girl…"
Daisy: "Uh… did I miss something?"Fiona: "Wait, you haven't been here long?"Elizabeth: "Well… she's been here for three months."Fiona: "I see…"Clemence: "You can see her when I call her… otherwise she's always in my box."
She showed the box.
Fiona: "What is that?"Clemence: "A necrology box — what we call a box of spirits. We make contracts with ghosts and send them here."Fiona: "Wait… Melari is powerful?"Clemence: "You didn't feel it."Fiona: "No."Clemence: "Oh dear… seems you don't know much about ghosts… at least not about contracted spirits. Dead spirits that make contracts become powerful."Fiona: "I understand… oh… I didn't know."Clemence: "You're human after all… you can forget things. You're still young and naive."Fiona: "Aha… naive I definitely am — for coming here…"Clemence: "Hmm."Fiona: "I still don't trust you. Your eyes are the eyes of… a killer."Clemence: "hmmm?"Fiona: "I touched your hand… I sensed you carry something heavy… and the wounds…"Clemence: "Hehehe… you think I killed people."Fiona: "I did it myself. I'm not saying I'm better…"Clemence: "hmmm… hehehe… you're funny."Fiona: "And you're a deceiver."Elizabeth: "Oh dear… I didn't expect Fiona to look at people like that sometimes…"Fiona: "But as long as you don't get in my way or hurt my friends… that's fine by me."Clemence: "If I disturb you or your friends—"Fiona: "I'll kill you."Clemence: "(grins)… interesting…"Fiona: "Hmph."