The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5, Chapter 3 Part 1
Hello everyone! We're here once again with another chapter in the soap opera that is the life of the Inks.
To recap last chapter, Nicotine Dreams and Blue Amnesia rocked Bridgeport Beatles-style with a concert on the roof! The quads turned eighteen at the VIP party, which was awesome for everyone except Kira. Sparrow's vampire powers finally awakened, making all the quads full vampires now. Rhyme then dropped a bomb by revealing the existence of the last Ink of gen 5 - Amélie! Stunned by this, everyone was left to sort out their own feelings, and somehow that meant Abel ended up getting chased by vampires, jumping off of parking structures, and dislocating his shoulder. (He got better.) The Twinbrook after party was crashed by Tyler, who surprise proposed to Sparrow and got a yes! And the council of glowy-eyed brothers conditionally approved.
...Chapter summaries should not be that long. XD Oh well. We all know I ramble.
On to the chapter we go, and perhaps we'll even see Amy! Shall we?
--- --- --- --- ---
Missed a chapter this gen?
| 5.1a | 5.1b | 5.1c | 5.1d |
| 5.2a | 5.2b | 5.2c |
Missed more than that?
| Archives |
--- --- --- --- ---
Ah, Sunset Valley. A town on the beach that everyone has heard of, one could rest easy on the beach here. But not the Inks, as it turned out.
They had a mission to complete.
A mission that was made that much more difficult by the intense sunlight. It was never this bright back home. The only way the vampire quads could stand to be out at this hour was to wear sunglasses and a ridiculous amount of sunscreen.
It didn't help that, after three days in the city and hours of searching, Amélie was nowhere to be found.
"You're sure this is where the trail led, right Rhyme?" Abel asked.
She nodded. "To the best of my knowledge. There's a record of a Samuel Evenson buying train tickets about two and a half years ago, and this was their destination, so..."
"I think we should check the school." Seth offered. "I know that the one I work at keeps addresses for all the kids. If Amélie goes to the local school, then we could find her."
"Would they give us that information just like that?" Rhyme asked.
"It wouldn't be easy, but we could give it a try." Seth replied. "We might be able to get away with it if she looks enough like us."
It turned out to be a lot easier than they expected to get the information they needed out of the school. Seth and Abel went in and got an address in record time - it helped that the secretary was a huge fan of Nicotine Dreams and nearly fainted at the sight of them, though.
"According to the school record, there's a girl named Amélie living at 13 Skyborough Blvd." Seth said. "She's in second grade, but she very rarely comes to school."
"What are we waiting for?!" Abel said. "Let's get going, come on!"
--- --- --- --- ---
The house was certainly elegant enough to belong to a vampire. It was a certifiable manor, exuding old world charm.
"This has to be the place!" Abel declared. "Doesn't it totally look like the kind of place a really old vampire would have?"
Rhyme, however, was getting a bad vibe from the house.
"What's wrong?" Noah asked.
"I don't know. It just feels...weird, I guess, to get so close to this house. Like I shouldn't be here." she replied.
The quads exchanged a nervous glance - they didn't feel anything like that at all. Maybe it only applied to humans...? Nevertheless, they decided to approach the house. If there was any chance at all that Amélie was there, they had to take it.
For a moment they paused on the porch, everyone anxious. Finally, Abel took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
The knocked echoed through the house, fading into silence without a response. Right when he was about to knock again...
...an old man hobbled out, looking surprised that there were so many people on his doorstep.
When he caught sight of Abel, however, a look of realization flickered.
"You could only be Master Jin's son." he finally said. "You look just like him."
"Are you Samuel Evenson?" Abel asked.
The old man nodded. "You must be the children of Master Jin. And if you're here alone...then he must have died. I feared as much, when so long had gone without him contacting me."
Abel looked away. "My mom and dad died four years ago, right after his fight with Anne." He faced Sam again and asked, "Is Amélie with you?"
"It's best if you all come inside and sit down. There is a lot to explain and I know that the sun is uncomfortable for you."
The six of them shuffled into the house and sat down in the parlor. Abel was surprised at how well kept the place appeared to be - not a dusty ledge in the room.
"Well," Samuel began. "I have to say that I'm very pleased to finally meet you all. Miss Clover spoke about you often. And Lady Amélie is here..." he said, cutting off Abel's next question before he could say it. "...but she's sleeping at the moment."
"What's happened to you and Amélie since you've had her?" Noah asked.
"Well, we've been all over the world. We went to China at first, then to France, and then to numerous small towns across the United States. Wherever there was a safe house, basically. Lady Anne owned more houses than even she could remember sometimes." Sam explained.
"It was very difficult at first. Lady Amélie was nervous, as I had been Lady Anne's servant. I think she believed that I would treat her the same; she was always asking for her parents."
"Eventually, though, she calmed down. Instead of talking about her parents, she started talking about searching out her siblings when she got older. Miss Clover told her so much about the five of you that she's always felt like she knew you."
"That's great!" Abel enthused. "After all, we've found her - we can all be a family now."
"I can only hope that it will be that easy." Samuel sighed. "Lady Amélie is a slightly...eccentric child, if you will. She's very nervous and insecure, so it may be hard for her to adjust to a new environment."
No one heard a small child enter the room.
"Samuel? I thought I heard -"
"EEK!!"
They certainly heard her scream, though. All eyes were now on the shaking girl, and her eyes darted back and forth across the unfamiliar faces.
"Calm down, it's okay." Sam said soothingly. "Please don't run off Lady Amélie - we don't want to have to drag you out from under the bed again. These people are friends."
"Friends? B-but they're vampires!"
"Not all of them, dear. But look closely at them - don't they look a little familiar?" Sam insisted.
Abel took the risk of approaching her first, getting as close as she'd allow without stepping backwards.
"Hey there, Amy." he said softly. "I'm Abel. I don't know if Mom told you much about me, but..."
Amélie's stance relaxed marginally. "Abel...?" She took to scrutinizing his face, trying to fit his features to Clover's narratives.
"Amy, we've came all the way from Riverview to find you. Me, Rhyme, Noah, Seth, and Sparrow. We're your big brothers and sisters!" Abel said with a smile.
The others got up from their seats and came closer to the little girl, careful not to scare her.
And the longer Amélie looked at them, the more familiar they became. Abel had the same eye color and shape as she did. Seth had the same color hair. Sparrow's face looked just like Mama's had. Noah sounded just like Papa had, in her faint memories of him. Even the mannerisms were the same - Rhyme smiled just like Mama had, one side slightly higher than the other.
She knew these people. They weren't strangers at all!
"My brothers and sisters." Amy repeated, her nerves dissipating. "You...you came to find me?"
Abel grinned. "We came to be your family, Amy."
With that, Amy dashed forward to hug Abel as tightly as she could.
"Mama was telling the truth." she whispered. "You did come back for me."
There was a lot to discuss, naturally, so the boys kept Amélie busy for a bit. The sun had shifted lower in the sky, making it okay for the boys to play Gnubb with her outside.
It was Amy and Seth versus Abel and Noah!
"Go Noah go! Go Noah go! Go-!"
"Goddamnit Abe, shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!"
"Noah~! No swearing in front of our baby sister~"
With distractions like that, no wonder Amy and Seth were in the lead.
"They already get along so well." Samuel chuckled. "It's almost like they were never apart."
"Well, the quads loved her from the moment they knew she existed. There's nothing more important than family to them." Rhyme said quietly.
"That's why I'm so glad that you're here for her. I'm afraid that I won't be around for too much longer." Sam said.
"What?" Rhyme squeaked. "Mr. Evenson, don't talk like that."
He smiled bitterly. "Well, eighty years don't lie. I've lived a tumultuous life, but knowing that Amélie will be cared for will give me some peace."
"Now that Lady Anne is dead, I think these children can live their lives without worry. Master Jin and Miss Clover went to great lengths to protect them, and now it's finally paying off."
Rhyme smiled. "Yeah. Now that we're together...now that I've done everything Dad's asked of me...I think we can be happy."
"Okay, so Abel scored 4 points and Noah two. Seth got five and I got three. Four and two is, uh, six. Five and three is eight..."
"Hey, we won!"
"Alright Amy!"
Noah frowned. "That means we lost, you idiot."
Sparrow got her time to bond with Amélie too! That apparently meant pillow fighting time!
The two of them were really into it, it seemed.
Amélie was more than thrilled with all the attention she was getting from her siblings. She had had no one but Samuel in her life for these past four years.
"Okay, okay Amy. That last one was pretty strong!" Row chuckled. "Let's stop here - besides, I think Abel has a present for you!"
"That I do." Abel said with a grin. "Here ya go - something from all of us to you!"
"Ah!"
"Thank you big brother~! Can I open it now?"
"Please do!"
The present turned out to be a stuffed panda! It was Ink family tradition for each child to have their own bear, so Amy had to get one now that she was back with her family.
It was clear she would treasure it.
The night wore on without any sign of Amy slowing down for bed - she was afraid that if she went to sleep, this would all turn out to be a dream. Abel managed to get her to agree to sleep if he told her a story first...
...but a ghost story probably wasn't the best choice.
"Yes, and then the possessed imaginary friend doll watched the child sleep every night, waiting!"
"W-waiting for what?"
"For the child to dream. And everything that she dreamed, the doll remembered! Then when the child awoke, the doll told her strange things from her nightmares..."
Poor Amy. She'd never get to sleep now.
--- --- --- --- ---
"Well, Amy finally fell asleep. She wouldn't stop clinging to Row and muttering about possessed dolls, but asleep nonetheless." Abel said.
Samuel laughed. "Sounds like she had a little too much fun with you guys today. She still thinks that you might be gone tomorrow."
"Yeah, about that..."
"I was thinking, and I want to raise Amélie. I know it's a big responsibility, but I know I can handle it."
"Are you sure Abel? Because honestly, we can all do this together." Rhyme insisted.
"Rhy, you're getting married. Row's getting married. Noah's got his girlfriend, and Seth's hoping to go after Stella. I want you all to be able to start your relationships free, you know? As much as we all love her, I think I'm the best position to take care of her."
"Besides, it's not like we're going to be all that far apart! Riverview's really small and she can spend time with whoever she wants, whenever she wants." Abel concluded.
Rhyme was still frowning, but she didn't have a further argument. She knew that Abel could definitely raise Amy well, but it went against the grain to let other people do the caring in their family. She was prepared to raise Amy with Levi.
"It won't be easy - kids require a lot of work. Even though she's your sister, there are going to be time when you're frustrated with her. You might not be able to do everything you want to if you're raising her." Samuel cautioned.
Abel smiled. "Taking care of my family is everything I want to do." he replied softly.
Samuel laughed - he was definitely Miss Clover's son. That family-oriented streak ran strong in both of them.
"Very well then. I'll leave her to you."
The following morning, everything Amélie owned was packed into the tour van that the Inks 'borrowed' from the company for the day. They were all ready to go, but Amy was looking anxious.
"What will you do now, Samuel?" Amy murmured.
Samuel smiled and pinched her cheek. "Worried about me, are you Lady Amélie? How cute."
"Not anymore - you're as silly as always." Amy muttered. Leave it to Samuel to lighten a serious mood.
"Honestly, I will be fine here. Go and live your life." Sam insisted. "You can go to a normal school and make normal friends. You'll be able to go to the park and the beach without having to worry about who will see you there. I want you to have a normal life, Lady Amélie, and to be happy."
Amy reached up and hugged Samuel tight. "Thank you, Samuel."
--- --- --- --- ---
It was a little difficult to explain Amélie to the crew of the concert tour, but eventually Steven just let them do as they pleased as long as they didn't cause any trouble. He was used to Nicotine Dreams pulling stunts like this.
That left them with two days until the concert and a little girl to entertain! Noah had taken her to the library, Sparrow took her to a handful of movies, Rhyme and Levi took her to the bistro for lunch every day, and Seth took her to the art gallery. She was fascinated by everything, having never gone out much with Samuel.
"Hey Amy, don't run so fast!"
"Okay~!"
That left Abel with taking her to the beach! They had to go pretty early in the morning, since the midday sun would be too much for Abel.
Abel was glad that she seemed to be enjoying herself so much. He wanted the rest of her life to be carefree.
When he looked up, he saw that Amy seemed to have made a new friend!
"Abel! Over here, over here! I met someone who's a friend of yours!" she called.
Well, if it wasn't Kira! Abel had missed talking to her for the past week, but getting Amélie settled took priority.
"Hey Kira!" he said cheerfully. "I hope Amy here wasn't bothering you."
She smiled. "Nah. The kid's pretty charming, unlike her older brother."
"You're stomping all over my delicate heart, sunshine."
"Amy, why don't you play in the sand for a little bit? I'll be right here talking to Kira." Abel said. He knew she'd get bored of just standing around and talking.
"Okay! And then can we splash around in the waves?"
"Anything you want, kiddo."
Amy gave him a toothy grin in reply and dashed off to make a sandcastle, leaving the two on their own.
"So, your sister, huh? Looks like she could be your kid." Kira noted.
"I would have to have been a fairly promiscuous eleven year old for that to have happened." Abel chuckled.
Kira laughed. "Right, right. Though I am curious as to where she came from - I thought Sparrow was the youngest of you lot?"
"It's a bit...complicated." Abel replied with a nervous grin. "But remember how I told you my mom was kidnapped?"
"Yeah - gone for four years, right?"
"Right. Turns out she was pregnant when she got kidnapped and we just tracked down Amélie. Sounds kinda crazy, doesn't it?"
"Well, I've learned that nothing is too crazy when it comes to you Inks. Your family just seems supernaturally weird." Kira sighed.
Abel chuckled, still nervous - what a choice of adjective.
"Still, the most important thing is that she's alright and you found her." Kira continued. "You've got to be feeling relieved, right? You did seem a little down these past few days."
He laughed - Kira could be awfully observant when she tried. That she was able to sense his mood when he was acting as cheery as usual...well, that was pretty incredible.
"Hey Kira? We were thinking of hitting up the diner around here before the concert this afternoon - there's this chef there, Sydney, and I hear she's great. If you're not busy, would you like to come with us?" Abel offered, "I'll even treat you."
Kira smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thanks, but I can't."
"Please? I promise it won't take too long!"
"Sorry Abel. I'd like to, but..." she hesitated. "Look, some paparazzi caught us hanging out the other day and wrote about it. Reese heard about it and...well, I shouldn't hang out more than I need to."
Abel heard her words, but his eyes were focused more on the edge of her sleeve. When she moved her arm, he saw a faint purplish shadow just barely being covered by the fabric. When he reached for her arm curiously, she snatched it back before he could touch her.
"Kira." he said quietly, his voice unusually even. "What's wrong with your arm?"
"Nothing!" she replied too quickly, edging away from him.
Abel wouldn't accept that answer. Reaching for her again, he missed her left arm again but got the right, rolling back her sleeve to her shoulder.
A dark bruise dominated almost a third of her forearm, standing bright against her pale skin. She snatched her arm away and pulled down her sleeve again, looking away.
"Abel, don't."
"What the hell do you mean, don't?! Kira, that bastard hit you?!!" Abel exploded.
"It's only a bruise, Abel. It'll heal."
"Just because it will heal doesn't mean it's okay!!" he yelled. "Where is he?! Because I swear to god, I'll-!!"
"Abel!" Kira finally snapped back, silencing him. "I said to drop it."
"This isn't something I can drop and forget, Kira. He's hurting you!" Abel seethed. "Why are you with that bastard anyway?! Dump his ass!! You deserve so much better than that."
For a short moment, Kira was quiet. Then, so faintly that if he were human he would have missed it, she mumbled a quick reply.
"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I've done."
Before he could respond, she continued, louder this time. "Look Abel, we all have our reasons for what we do. I owe a lot to Reese, and he's the only one that would be able to stand me after what's happened."
"How do you know that other people wouldn't understand?!" Abel replied sharply. "If you'd only tell someone, I'm sure they'd understand!"
"Some things are beyond understanding." she shot back evenly.
"Besides, you're one to talk about keeping secrets! Don't think I haven't noticed something weird going on with you Ink siblings. Think I'd understand a secret like that?"
"I...Kira, that's different."
"Oh, is that so? Well that leaves us both with secrets that we think the other wouldn't understand." Kira said finally.
Abel remained silent. He was sure that he'd be able to understand hers - what's the worst she could have done? - but he knew that his secret wasn't one to take lightly. If he started saying, "Well actually, I'm a vampire.", it would probably only make her angrier.
Kira took his silence as an answer.
"Let's just keep our secrets to ourselves, Abel." she said as she stormed off.
Abel sighed - just perfect. He had managed to piss off the girl he liked, and the sun was making his mood worse by the minute. Lovely.
Amy's sand castle ambitions had left her oblivious to the fight, but she did notice that when she looked up, Kira was gone and Abel was looking sad.
So she patched things up the only way seven year olds know how.
"Do you need a hug, Abel?"
"...yeah. Actually, I could really do with one right now."
"Thank you, Amy."
"Now how about that splashing? We've only got about half an hour before we have to go inside!"
Abel would put back on his smiling face for now. The hurt would have to be dealt with later.
--- --- --- --- ---
I've noticed that the quads are out in the sun an awful lot for adult vampires. Good thing that they're strong and wear a lot of sunblock.
For more fun in the sun, head over to Part Two~!