The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5, Chapter 2 Part 2
I wonder if anyone's going to read this. After Part One's ending and the title page here, I would skip this, ha ha!
If you haven't read Part One yet, you are not in proper suspense! Go read it!
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"Okay...okay, so we're all gathered here to..."
Rhyme was clearly uncomfortable, all four of her younger siblings staring at her worriedly.
She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
"Just before Dad died, he told me something that I was to tell you when you turned eighteen. I didn't want to tell you before I had all the information and worry you..."
"Rhyme, just tell us." Abel replied gently. "Whatever you have to say, we'll listen, okay?"
She smiled tensely. "Thank you. This is about what Dad was working on in the three months he was alive after Mom died."
"First, these vials. Dad never wanted to be a vampire, and he didn't want that future to be forced on you. It took a lot of money and tracking down scant evidence, but he managed to find the cure. Whenever you're ready to abandon the life of a vampire, you can. Just these cost one hundred thousand a vial, so please be very careful with them."
The quadruplets were shocked - there was a cure for vampirism?! They had no idea that such a thing existed.
"But wait." Sparrow interrupted, confused. "Why are there five bottles? I can see Dad getting one for me just in case, but..."
Rhyme was silent for a long moment.
"That's...that's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. The most important thing. Do you remember how Mom was sick right before Anne took her?"
"Mom...when Mom was kidnapped...she was..."
"Lady Anne, I'm very concerned about her health. She still isn't keeping much down, and she seems to be in pain. We need to take her to a hospital."
"Oh, Jin's human has always been sickly, I hear!" Anne replied airily. "There can't be anything too seriously wrong with her, right?"
Samuel fell silent, but Anne could still pick up on the thoughts running through his head.
"...Oh? Is that true?!"
"Now that is wonderful~! Extend my congratulations to her. Perhaps we could afford a little medical care for this. We know a handful of doctors, don't we?"
"Miss Clover? Are you awake?"
"...yes..." Clover coughed and curled up more on the bed. She was clearly ill, shaking slightly.
"I spoke to Lady Anne about getting you some medical care. She agreed, but now she knows about your, ah, condition."
"I suppose she was bound to find out sooner or later." Clover sighed weakly, getting up. "At least this will help a bit."
"I...I just wish I could be with Jin at a time like this. He should know about this."
"I'm sorry, Miss Clover. I know you must feel horrible."
"Well..." Clover said softly. "I always thought six was a good number of children."
"Eight years ago, Mom was kidnapped. And eight months after that, she gave birth to a girl. Amélie. Our...our little sister."
"C'mon Amélie, let's dance!" Clover encouraged.
"Dance?"
"Yes, dance, that's right! If only your big brother Abel was here...he'd help you dance for sure."
"Ah, there's my little heiress! Hand her over Clover, it's time for her training session."
"Anne...please. She's just a baby! Barely three years old, and every time you bring her back, she has bruises..."
"Well, learning to be a vampire isn't easy! Besides, they heal before the day is over. If you prefer, I can make it so that you don't have to see her bruises by separating you..."
Clover gritted her teeth and put Amélie down, her heart breaking as her baby whined nervously and gripped her mother's fingers.
"It's okay, Amy." she lied. "Mama will see you soon, okay?"
"Oh, what's with that look?" Anne said as she picked up Amélie. "At least I keep the two of you together, don't I?"
"You're acting like I'm going to do something horrible to her."
"But don't worry. I'm making little Amy very strong~"
"Dad found Mom just after Amélie turned three."
"Clover? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"No...nothing's wrong."
"It's just...there's someone you need to meet."
"Dad was shocked when he first met her. He had no idea that Mom had been pregnant - none of us had."
"That's..."
"Our youngest daughter. Amélie."
"Dad said that he knew who she must have been the second he saw her, though. She looked like she fit perfectly in with the rest of the family. No one else could have been her father than him."
Amélie fidgeted nervously - it didn't usually go well when she was held by vampires.
"Oh Amy honey, don't be scared."
"This is your Daddy, Amy!" Clover encouraged.
She furrowed her brow in concentration, looking at Jin carefully. Finally she patted his chest and declared, "Amy's Daddy!"
Jin broke into a grin and tickled her side. "That's right munchkin, I'm your dad." he said softly.
Amélie giggled delightedly and batted his hand away.
"I like Daddy!" she proclaimed with a bright smile. "Daddy is good vampire!"
Jin looked at Clover, concerned. "Has she spent time with Anne?"
"Yes. Anne called it training."
A look of horror flitted through Jin's eyes, and Clover wondered what kind of 'training' he had to endure as a child under Anne's care.
"We have to get you both out of here." he said. "Anne isn't far away - we only have twenty minutes or so."
"I'm staying with you Jin. I can't...I can't bear to be away from you for another second, okay?" Clover whispered.
Jin sighed and looked over at Samuel. "Let's put together a plan then."
"...I know it's a lot to ask, Samuel." Jin concluded. "But if I can't kill Anne, I need to know that Amélie is safe, at least."
"These plane tickets will take you to China." he continued. "From there, I have enough money here for you to fly anywhere in the world. Get as far away from here as possible. Don't leave a strong trail for her to follow. If you don't hear from me in a month, just...just take care of her, okay?"
Samuel sighed. "You're the same as always, Master Jin - much too kind for a vampire. But you are Anne's heir, and Anne made Amélie yours, so as a servant of the Wisteria family I will defend her to the end of my life."
"Thank you, Sam." Jin said sincerely. "I'm sorry for always causing you so much trouble as a kid. I always considered you the closest thing to a father I've ever had."
"Jin." Clover said, worry laced in her voice. "We don't have much time until Anne gets here."
Jin let out a sigh and cradled Amy close to him. "I'm sorry that I didn't get to know you, Amélie. I know you'll grow up into a strong and beautiful woman one day, just like your big sisters. I hope you'll meet them someday."
"I love you."
"Alright, let's get this show on the road."
"When Dad killed Anne, he knew that he had a choice - try to track down Sam and Amélie, or see us one last time. He and Mom decided to come here. They didn't tell us about her right away because they didn't want us to go crazy with worry. After Mom died, Dad spent every day trying to find them. Dad told me right before he died, and I picked up the case."
"It took me the better part of these past four years, but I found that there's a girl that matches the picture living around Sunset Valley. I'm not positive that it's her, but this folder has all of the information I have so far."
"If we're lucky...we might find our little sister in a month when we go to Sunset Valley for the concert."
Rhyme wasn't surprised when they rushed for the folder, Sparrow grabbing the top picture and holding it up, her hands shaking.
This little girl was undoubtedly their sister. She had the same coloring as Seth, with Clover's hair and Miles's eyes. Her face, like Abel's, was all Jin's.
They had a baby sister. Someone who had had even less time with their parents than they had, alone somewhere without any knowledge of her family.
Just when they thought that the pain from their parents' deaths was properly sorted through, this came and ripped the old wound wide open. It was too much for Sparrow, having just realized she was a vampire and had a little sister in the same day.
Abel and Noah shared a glance over Sparrow's sobs. Noah understood in an instant what Abel wanted.
"Come on Row, go to bed. You've had a very long day." Noah said gently, steering her towards her room.
"What are we going to do, Abel?" Seth asked.
Abel knew his siblings were counting on him to smile and be optimistic, to boldly proclaim that they would find Amélie no matter what and everything would be fine. But right now, he didn't have the strength.
"Let's...let's talk about it in the morning, okay Seth?" Abel said wearily.
"We could all use some sleep right now."
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But Abel didn't go to sleep.
Instead of waiting for sleep to come, he had slipped out his window and decided to wander the streets. The noise of the city, even at this hour, helped to keep his head from being overrun by his thoughts.
He knew why Rhyme couldn't tell them earlier - he definitely would have spent the past four years worrying obsessively. But Amélie, his poor little sister, was all alone out there.
What if another vampire found her? What if Sam had died? Who would take care of her? She didn't have Rhyme to protect her like she did for him. Who knows what could have happened to her?
Abel sighed. He had to get all his worrying done tonight so he could smile tomorrow. He had to be strong for all of his siblings.
"You see what I see, right?"
"A vampire roaming free in our city. That's not worth fighting over, Beau."
"I meant his face, Deidre. Doesn't he remind you of anyone?"
She pursed her lips. "He looks a little bit like the last grand vampire of Bridgeport, I suppose. Just a little."
"Not just a little - they are very similar. And if the old grand vampire is trying to come back..."
"...that's something we have to stop."
Abel had a suspicion that he was being followed, but it wasn't until he was several floors into an empty parking structure that he knew for sure. He was fairly sure that they were vampires too - this would be a pain. Gathering up his most intimidating voice, he turned around.
"What do you want?"
The two vampires froze, shocked by the force of his voice. He was definitely a young vampire, but his demeanor suggested a much older bloodline...
Beau recovered first and replied in kind. "This isn't a free hunting ground, stranger. You are not allowed to hunt in this city."
"I'm not here to hunt." Abel replied cautiously.
"Then what are you here for?"
"Business."
"Don't fuck with us, kid!" Deidre snarled. "It's no coincidence that you look like him! He's planning on taking this city back, isn't he? We're not going to let that happen!"
"What are you talking about?!" Abel asked. "I look like who?"
"The last grand vampire of Bridgeport!"
"Look, I don't know who that is, okay? I'm just here for work and I'm leaving tomorrow. So just leave me alone, please."
Beau snapped. "You don't know Jin Sekemoto? You lie!"
Abel started, realization dawning on his face. For the vampires, that was the only admission of guilt they needed.
Beau struck first while Abel was off guard. Abel only had milliseconds to react, clumsily dodging a sharp swipe aimed to blind him.
Okay, this was getting way too serious. Time to run.
Abel rarely used his vampiric powers, but he figured now was a good a time as any to employ them. He shoved Beau backwards with all his might - that ought to buy him some time.
Abel didn't stick around to see the end result (Beau crashing into the far wall) - he needed to run, and fast. Maybe if he could get up high enough, he could run along rooftops. He was certain he could out jump them.
Unfortunately, this parking garage was only ten stories high. No roof access from here.
Abel found himself backed into a corner. He had managed to get a few good hits in, but that was it. He usually avoided confrontation, so in a fight situation his instincts were rather poor. There was no where he could run...
...and ten stories was a hell of a drop.
"That's far enough." Deidre laughed. "Now hold still so we can make this quick. Jin will never rule this city!"
Abel knew that he had no reasonable escape routes.
So only unreasonable was left.
With his injuries, though, he barely got up on the ledge before tumbling haphazardly over the edge, free falling.
"Fuck!" Beau hissed. "Damn it, the sun will be up in a few minutes. We don't have that kind of time."
"It's fine." Deidre replied with a cruel smile. "A fall from this height is enough to break even a normal vampire's back. He'll still be around to finish off by nightfall."
But Abel wasn't exactly a normal vampire.
The water was lucky - still hurt like hell to hit, but better than concrete. Abel chuckled despite himself - at least he knew his new hair gel was waterproof. That little joke raised his spirits enough to get out of there.
"Ugh...not the best way to start a day." he coughed as he sloshed out of the lake.
Oh, and even better - his shoulder was dislocated from when he was thrown into a support beam along the way in the chase. Well, he couldn't let it heal like that...
Gritting his teeth, Abel managed to pop the bone back into the socket without screaming and giving himself away.
The pain ebbed a bit, but it still felt like someone was actively sawing his arm off with a red hot saw blade. He needed to get back to the hotel - it was going to take a good night's rest for him to recover enough to hide this from everyone.
"Well..."
"I guess I better start walking."
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Abel made it to the lobby, at least, which was way further than he thought he would.
Just the idea of being in the elevator made him sick, and he wasn't going to make three flights of stairs in this condition.
"Okay...a breather then..." he mumbled.
That 'breather' ended up being 'slumping to the floor', but it was fine for now. The lobby was mercifully quiet - Abel guessed that it was still only half past seven in the morning.
There were a few early risers, though.
"Oh my god!!"
Kira's voice jolted Abel fully awake - uh oh. He definitely didn't want her to see him in this state. He had barely struggled to his feet before Kira rushed over and supported him.
"Holy shit Abel! What...what happened to you?!" she yelped, surveying his injuries.
"Oh, you know. Ran into some rough characters. No big deal." Abel joked weakly. He tried to smile, but it kind of hurt too much.
"Oh god, look at your face..." she murmured. "W-wait here. I'll...I'll go get your brothers and sister, okay?"
"Kira, you don't have to-"
"Don't fucking give me that. Stay here!" she commanded before running to the elevator.
Abel sighed, slumping to the ground again. He didn't want them to know about this either. They'd probably make a big fuss, and he hated to worry them.
Ah, there's the cavalry.
"Hey guys." he said casually. Blood had stopped leaking out of his mouth at least, so he was hoping that he didn't look too scary.
His attempt to defuse the situation didn't work - Sparrow started crying and launched herself into Abel's arms.
"Aw Row, please don't cry. It's only a couple of scratches." Abel soothed.
"Like hell it's just a couple of scratches!" Noah hissed. He could clearly see the yellow marks where bruises were healing.
"Where are the bastards who did this?! Someone's going to get the shit beaten out of them."
"Noah, please." Abel said quietly.
"Row?"
Sparrow didn't respond. Everything was changing so quickly. If she didn't have her family to anchor her, then...
"It's nothing." she whispered as she pulled away.
"Thank you so much for telling us, Kira. That was very kind of you." Seth said.
"Well, I couldn't leave him there. He looked terrible! Although..." she trailed off, glancing over at Abel. "He looks better now. How did he...?"
"Ah...he probably cleaned his face after you left. It looks better when clean." Seth explained awkwardly.
Kira found this a little suspicious, but she didn't want to hold them up when they needed to get Abel back to their room. She helped them get him upstairs and said goodbye for the night.
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"What am I doing here?" Kira muttered.
It was almost noon that same day, and Kira hadn't seen any of the quadruplets at breakfast. Worry started to gnaw at her until she found herself pacing outside the door to their suite.
"I'm sure he's just fine. It's stupid for me to be hovering like this. Why do I even care?"
But when Sparrow came to the door, looking slightly curious, Kira knew she had to say something.
"I was just, uh, wondering if Abel was awake." she mumbled, embarrassed. "To see if that ugly bruise was still on his face and all. Yeah."
"Oh, you want to visit him! Yeah, he's doing much better now that he's had a little sleep. He's in his room if you want to see him."
"That's okay?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?"
"I'm not intruding or anything?"
Sparrow giggled. "Don't worry Kira - I think Abel would never turn you away."
Kira wondered what Sparrow meant by that, but she was a bit distracted. Didn't Sparrow used to have darker eyes...?
"His room is the last one at the end of the hall." Row said, breaking Kira's chain of thought. She nodded absently and went looking.
Okay, the room at the end of the hall right? While Kira was busy thinking about the odd things that surrounded the Ink siblings...
...she forgot that you should probably knock before entering a bedroom.
"Hmm? Oh, hey Kira. What's up?"
Explosion due to embarrassment in 3...2...1...
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!!"
"Well, I'm wearing pants-"
"A SHIRT!"
"Okay, okay, geez."
"You're the one that came in unannounced." Abel chuckled, pulling on a black shirt.
"Er...right." she mumbled, even more embarrassed than before. "Sorry."
"Ha ha, it's cool! You got to admire my abs."
"As if."
"Wow. Your face really did heal, huh?"
"I told you it was nothing serious!" Abel replied, stretching.
Kira was stunned - the slash on his face alone looked like he would have that scar for life. How was it gone?
Abel flopped onto his bed and said, "What'd you come over for? Wanna work on the collab or something?"
To be honest, the collaboration wasn't even on her mind.
"No. It's just...last night, you looked so... Someone hurt you really bad."
Abel looked away, keeping his expression smooth. "Well, unexpected things seem to happen all the time around our family...but it's fine."
"There's a silver lining though - I found out that you do care about what happens to me~!"
"D-don't get conceited." Kira snapped back weakly.
"Aw, are you pouting?"
"Hmph."
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My twists feel like tornadoes sometimes. Everything is always ruined after them. D:
Well, we still have Twinbrook in Part Three! Let's go!