B3 — 20. Closure

AuthorSME

POV:  Rachel Sung Park

Recap:  Rachel is dealing with all the stomach twisting anxiety of meeting her parents for the first time after her change.

The shadows around Rachel dispersed; her glowing red irises scanned the new colorful environment with mild interest.  They were in the back seat of what she could only describe as a limousine.  The curtains had all been pulled around the windows to help block the sun, and a light blue glow illuminated the bar in front of them.

Scarlet leaned forward, causing the leather seats to make a stretching sound as she glanced around.  “Wow, we’re really inside a fancy limo.  I assumed this is what they meant since it was the only really acceptable car.  What do you think, Rachel?”

A small smile lit Rachel’s lips as she looked at the back where the only door was situated, ears tilting forward to graze the ceiling.  “It’s nice.  There’s also some guy in the driver’s seat looking around; well, I assume, he’s a guy by the sound of his muscle movement.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty beefy.  Isn’t this cool?  We have our own chauffeur!”  Scarlet’s blue eyes sparkled.

“I guess,” Rachel chuckled.  “Well, I don’t know how my parents would feel about us rolling in like this, but it’s the best we’ve got.  Alexa would probably make a big deal about it, though … she grew up riding in things like this.”

Slight concern crossed Scarlet’s features.  “Wait, who’s Alexa again?  Did you tell me about her?  I—umm, is she your sister?  I thought you only had a brother.”

“Eh—I’m not a hundred percent sure I did, to be…”

She paused as the driver’s voice entered the conversation through speakers; it was deep and pleasant to Rachel’s ears like a western late-night radio talk host.

“You girls’ back there?”

“Umm, yes, Sir,” Scarlet promptly responded.  “Are you with the Army?”

“That’d be correct, Ma’am; Marine Corps, to be specific, and I’m a radio repairman that’s assigned to Repair Company.”

Scarlet seemed to be a little flustered by his military-like response.  “Oh, well, umm … what’s your name?”

“Lance Corporal Andrew P. Carpenter, Ma’am.  Would you like me to relay my orders?  As I understand, you just got off a long flight from Billings, Montana.”

Rachel forced a chuckle.  “That would be great, Lance Corporal.  Eh, how should we address you?”

“Whatever is more comfortable for you.  Lance Corporal, Andrew, or Carpenter would suit me fine.”

“Andrew, then,” Rachel replied.  She rather enjoyed the way the military responded; the structure gave her a sense of ease.

“Very well.  I’ve been told that I’d be picking up some Demi VIPs … I understand that there are some changed that don’t like that term.  Is it suitable?”

“Yes, it’s fine,” Scarlet quickly replied, glancing over at her.  Rachel smiled, giving her a nod as she continued.  “I really like the term.  It makes me think about a bunch of anime shows I’ve watched!”

He cleared his throat before continuing.  “That’s great; I didn’t want to offend you.  I was ordered to use this limo that was being prepared and to drive you around.  Both of your home addresses, your parents’ listed work addresses, and a Miami University dorm address have been given to me.  However, I’m told that one of you is sensitive to daylight?”

Scarlet brow creased as she tucked her bottom lip under her teeth, fangs poking out, and Rachel’s eyes narrowed while looking at the black barrier separating them.

Is he asking so he can roll down the windows or not?  That’s a pretty loaded question that could be taken a lot of ways.

“Umm—yes,” Scarlet muttered.  “Why do you ask?”

“Ah, I suppose that would be a rather pointed question,” he sighed as the vehicle began to move.  “My apologies.  It’s currently eighteen-hundred hours … six P.M.  It will be another few hours until the sun has dipped below the horizon.”

“Oh!”  Scarlet’s lips pursed to the side.  “I see … umm, I guess it would still be kind of sunny in your house, right, Rachel?”

Rachel folded her arms, leaning back in the soft seat.  “Yeah, it would be.  My parents like to keep the blinds open during the day.  I guess we’ll need to kill some time before heading there.”

“Anywhere in mind?  It seems they’d like us off the airstrip.  I’ve also put the phones that were given to me in the compartment to your far left.”

A jolt shot down Rachel’s spine.  Phones … Tom is following through on his end so far, but will the President be free enough to honor my request?  It’s a long shot, I mean, the whole world, plus over three-hundred million people on his mind, much less all the political crap.  I have to hope…

“Thank you, Andrew,” Rachel responded, scooting to the area.  “Umm—is there anything you’d like to do in the meantime, Scarlet?”

Scarlet hunched over a little, rubbing her left arm.  “I—umm, if it’s not too much to ask … could we maybe—I don’t know…”

Rachel paused, pulling her hair around before tilting her head to show Scarlet had her attention.  “What’s up?”

“I just—thought that maybe I could—nevermind … it’s stupid,” she mumbled, looking away from her.

A little concerned about her reservations, Rachel sat back against the seat again.  “No, go ahead.  What’s on your mind?”

“It’s crazy…”

“More than what we did yesterday?”

“Maybe…”

“Huh?”  Rachel lightly bit on the inside of her left cheek before saying, “It can’t be that crazy.  C’mon, spit it out.”

“Well … I was just thinking that maybe we could—go back to my house…”

Rachel was a little thrown off-guard, and she didn’t like the feeling.  “Your house?  You’re serious?  I’d think that was the last place you’d want to go.”

“Kind of,” Scarlet whispered, playing with her long black hair.  “I just—closure, maybe?  I don’t know; it’s just a suggestion.  I was so—I don’t know … distraught—hysterical … I just want to know if everything was real.”

Large ears shifting to the side of her head, Rachel studied the nervous Vampire in front of her.  “You’re serious?  You really want to open those wounds?  It’s going to hurt—a lot.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.”  Scarlet breathed in a long breath before letting it out.  “I know it will, but—but I just need to make sure.  The person I was … my life before … everything’s gone, and I need to know that—if that makes sense.”

“No, I get it … well, no, I don’t think I get it on the same level, but,” Rachel scratched the back of her head, pursing her lips to the side.  “Okay.  If that’s what you want, then it’s not my place to stop you, but I’ll go with you if you’ll have me.”

“I’d like that,” Scarlet said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before leaning back.  “I just need some time to process all this … life’s been so crazy that I’ve just been living in the moment.”

“That, I get,” Rachel chuckled, “and for the record, I like the Scarlet I’ve gotten to know over the last few days.”

“Thanks.”

Andrew hummed softly.  “Seems like we’re going to quite the hotspot, then.  It’s Scarlet, right?”

Scarlet’s face flushed a little, likely not expecting him to listen.  She shifted in her seat to look up at the black divider.  “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Our destination is your house?”

“If it’s possible.”

“I’m just the driver,” he chuckled.  “I take orders and follow them, and for the next few days, at least, I’ve been assigned to drive you girls around.”

Rachel’s brow furrowed as she reached over to open the compartment, extracting the slim phones; they were the latest model.  “Few days?  Where are you going to sleep?”

“I’ve been given a list of hotels that have agreed to house military personnel in the area.  If you need me, then you can just call me.  I’ll give you my number whenever you’re ready to put it in.  By the way, what would you like me to address each of you as?”

“Thanks, Andrew,” Rachel swallowed, lips suddenly feeling dry as she stared down at the phones in both her hands.  “You can call me Rachel.”

“Scarlet is fine.”

“Alright, Scarlet, Rachel, I’ll put in the destination and leave you to your privacy.”

She reached over, handing Scarlet one of the rectangular devices before turning hers on.  She swiped it open; it seemed like a brand-new phone.  Tapping on contacts, she frowned; the only numbers listed were Rachel and Tom.

Scarlet giggled as she looked up from her own phone.  “I think we have the wrong phones.  This phone is all written in Korean, and there’s a background with a boxer or something on it?”

They both giggled, swapping phones.

“It’s Joanna, one of the Muay Thai fighters I kind of look up to.”

“Cool,” Scarlet whispered, absently staring down at her new phone.  “There were a few characters I think I looked up to, but I’m not really sure if TV Dramas count.”

“Sure, why not?”  Rachel chuckled before taking a deep breath.  She looked down at the names shown, and sure enough, it was all in Korean.

Leave it to Tom to do his homework.  It has … wait a minute; this is everything my phone had … all my contacts.  It must be from my back-up.  Wow … Tom did do his homework or had someone else do it for him.

The two new numbers on the phone were the English spelling Tom and to her excitement The President.

A lump dropped down Rachel’s throat.  How many people have a direct line to the President?  She tapped Tom’s number, and after a few rings, he answered.

“Rachel,” he said in a tired tone.  “How was your flight?  I see you got the phones.”

“Yes, we did.  Thanks, Tom.  You sound like you should get some sleep.”

“Bah, you know how it is,” he yawned.  “There’s a lot to do, and I’m the one making a lot of those decisions.  Happens when the President puts you over a large section of the U.S.”

“Speaking about the President…”

“Yeah,” Tom breathed a long sigh.  “By the way, those phones are secure, running through a Military encryption app before making calls.  The Tech-boys swap it up every once in a while; just make sure to keep it updated.”

“The President?”  Rachel pressed, butterflies in her stomach taking flight.

“He was impressed and extremely grateful for what you girls did, and Maria’s already making massive waves in the media.  Not all good, but I expected as much.  She punched a reporter in the face.”

Scarlet giggled, listening to their conversation intently.

Rachel forced her own chuckle.  “Sounds like her.”

“I thought the same,” he laughed before smacking his lips.  “Well, the President would be happy to help you out.”

“There’s a but in there,” Rachel said, feeling more dread than when she entered the alien ship.

“Yes, but it’s not that big of a deal.  Just give him a call and drive around the block a few times when the sun goes down.  It’ll go to voicemail, and he’ll call you back when he has a bit of spare time.  Just be sure to be close enough to your home where Scarlet can teleport you to the door.”

“Oh, I like that plan!”  Scarlet said, rubbing the glass surface of her phone while looking down at it.

“That sounds wonderful,” Rachel said, releasing a breath that seemed to carry with it the world.

Finally … everything’s set up.  All of this … did I really do it all to impress my parents?  I’ve done some impressive things, but there has to be more to it than just making my parents proud and throwing it in Nam’s face.  I’ve got friends now … we all did it together, and there’s no possible way I could have done it alone.

Maybe, in the beginning, it was about Mom and Dad … after that call with Dad, but at some point, I really connected with Scarlet, Maria, and Fiona.  Fiona probably the least, but she’s grown closer to Maria more than me.  I’m sure we’ll get closer in the future, though.  Things are looking up.

“Tom…”

“Hmm?  What’s up?”

“Please—make sure the world stays together.  Things are finally looking up, and … I don’t want things to fall in my face.”

Tom released a long chuckle before breathing out a heavy sigh.  “Yeah … it’s my job to keep every American safe.”

“And if you need more help, then don’t hesitate to call me,” Rachel responded, feeling Lunar Pride swell in her chest.  “I don’t know about Scarlet and the others, but if you need my help with something, then I’ll consider helping where I can.”

Tom hummed softly.  “I’ll take that into consideration, Rachel.  You’ve got the clearance now, and I don’t think I need to remind you, but I must anyway; you can’t tell your parents about the crystals or going to other worlds.”

“I understand the NDA,” Rachel replied, “but I can tell them I was involved in a Top-Secret Military OP that basically saved the world, right?”

“That’s acceptable,” he replied, “and if the President is forced to declassify some things, then it will be fine.  I’m sure Congress will subpoena the President sometime in the next week on this very issue with some of the reports that have been delivered to them, and the Judicial Branch is being called in to dispense with Martial Law.  We need to make the case why it needs to stay in force for a bit, but there are a lot of people in even the Executive Branch that are a bit nervous about the powers being granted to it.”

“Understandable,” Rachel said.  “I’ll leave all that business to you guys.  I’m happy with the little things.”

Tom chuckled.  “I get it.  Alright, I’ve got to go … more reports, meetings, and decisions to be made.”

“Sure thing.  Thanks, Tom.”

Rachel sat back, dropping her phone to the side before closing her eyes.  She ran her fingers through her hair, pulled around at her front.  “I can’t believe everything is working out … I can’t help but feel like black clouds are hanging over my head, and I’m going to get struck by lightning before this is all over.”

“There always is,” Scarlet yawned.  “Umm—how do we…”  Her eyes widened, and she quickly brought her phone out of sleep before her fingers began skidding across the screen.

Rachel’s brow knitted together as she opened her eyes.  “Texting Tom?”

“Yeah … what about blood bags?”  She asked with horror.  “How am I supposed to get more?”

“Hmm,” Rachel crossed her leg.  “That’s a valid question.”

“Right?  I need to eat, too!”

A response came quickly.

“Oh…”

Rachel scooted over to her.  “What’d he say?”

“He said there’s already been a notice sent out to all the ASBP … what’s that?”

Rachel quickly spotted the button that was likely used to talk to the driver and pressed it.  “Hey, Andrew.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what the ASBP is?”

“Ah, that’s the Armed Services Blood Program.”

“Oh … he said there’s not a center in Miami,” Scarlet said, glancing back at her phone.  “He said to contact one of the Army recruiter stations, and they’d point me in the right direction; mobile centers are being set up, and our driver should be given some updated information on that soon.”

“Sounds good,” Andrew replied.  “We going there first?”

“No, no,” Scarlet protested.  “I’m just wondering where the nearest … well, I guess you’ve guessed that I’m a Vampire.”

“Eh, honestly, I suspected it, but I didn’t know until you told me.”

“Is that a problem?”  Scarlet nervously asked.

“Not really.  I mean, sure, I’ve heard about Washington, like everyone else, but if Top Brass are calling you a VIP, then I just gotta follow orders.  You’re not going to use me as a portable snack, right?”

“No, no, never!”  Scarlet blustered.

“Then we’re all good, and if you’re talking about using the ASBP, then, by all means, sounds like you’re one of the good Vampires.”

Scarlet stiffened before smiling sadly.  “Thanks … you don’t know how much—that really means a lot to me.”

Rachel gave her a reassuring smile.  “She’s one of the good ones, alright.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it.  Anything else you need?”

“I think we’re alright,” Rachel replied.

“Got it.  GPS tells us we’ll be at your destination in thirty minutes.”

Scarlet licked her lips before saying, “Thanks.”

The light showing the speaker was active dimmed, and he didn’t respond, likely terminating the connection to give them their privacy.

“Well, things are looking up.”  Scarlet smiled.

Rachel let her head fall back to the cushion, ears flopping to the side.  “It’s about time.”

“By the way,” Scarlet whispered.  “If Tom does need your help, then I’ll come with you.”

“Glad to hear it.  I’d feel a lot more confident with you around.”

“... Even with the Reaper?”

“Even with the Reaper.”

Scarlet didn’t respond for a moment but smiled softly.  “So, what about this Alexa?”

“Ah, she’s the Wicked Witch of the West … a spoiled brat that gets whatever she wants because of daddy.”

A light chuckle left Scarlet’s throat.  “Sounds like me … before everything happened.”

“No, she’s nothing like you,” Rachel growled.  The world blacked out as she closed her eyes, tail flicking with annoyance.  “She’s loud, annoying, and judges everyone.  My brother tolerates her … I think.  I just can’t see him really liking her.  It was an arranged marriage; so, what can he do?”

“Really?”  Scarlet asked with slight interest.  “I thought that stuff only happened in movies nowadays.  So, she’s your sister-in-law?”

“Yup … and I can picture her yelling at me because I glow, and now I outshine her in every way.  She told me she hated how I was taller than her one time.”

“Sounds like a real piece of work,” Scarlet said with a forced chuckle.

“That’s an understatement.”

Scarlet’s voice became determined.  “Well, I’ve got your back, no matter what!”

“Thanks … we’ll see if she’s even at my parents’ house.  I could see her running back to her dad’s place.”

“What about her mom?”

Rachel opened her eyes, frown deepening.  “I … honestly don’t know.  I’ve never really had a sitdown conversation that didn’t start or end with insults.”

“Oh … okay,” Scarlet hummed.  “So, we’ve got your parents, your brother, and his witchy wife?”

“That’s it … well, my Grandpa lives in the Miami Bay area.  He retired pretty wealthy and built his own Zen-styled house … it’s like a fifteen-thousand square-foot mansion or something like that.  He teaches an Eastern philosophy called Neidan.”

Scarlet gave her a blank look, causing Rachel to scratch the back of her neck, for some reason feeling a bit self-conscious.

“You could call it Internal Alchemy.  It revolves around purifying yourself and obtaining peace and harmony with your body through a number of different ways, including breathing exercises.”

“Sounds pretty cool!”  Scarlet said with excitement.  “Is it like that one new anime that has the breathing techniques, and they have like fire and electric powers and stuff?”

Rachel’s white eyebrows lifted.  “Fire and electric powers through breathing?”

Scarlet scratched her neck with a giggle.  “I know, I know, it’s just something that connected in my mind.  The anime was super good.”

“You’ll have to show me sometime,” she said with a chuckle.  “But no, you couldn’t spit fire or something with those breathing exercises … unless you do those crazy island dance rituals where you suck in liquid and spray it out to make fireballs.  It’s not what the breathing exercises are for, though.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Scarlet said with a thoughtful smile.  “Still, it would be cool to swing a sword around with fire or water.”

“A water sword?”  Rachel giggled.  “Sounds deadly.”

“Oh, you have no idea!”  Scarlet said with bright eyes.  “There’s this one scene…”

Rachel listened to Scarlet explain all the crazy things she’d seen anime characters do with breathing techniques with amusement.  It started to sound like she was convinced her grandfather was some kind of hidden superhero, transplanting all of the anime abilities onto the mental image she was creating.

Her cheerful smile faded in an instant as the speaker light flipped on.  “We’re coming to your house, Scarlet.  It seems like a few houses in the area are under investigation.  There are police tape and barriers in front of a few doors around the area, although … it looks like the FBI is taking point with your house.”

Scarlet’s void black and red halo-like eyes returned as she looked through the car walls, squinting a little.  “Man, sunlight sucks.  Umm … yeah, I see it.  Could you just park by the side of the road?”

“Sure thing.  I’ll just be waiting here, then.  Let me know when you want to go.”

“Aren’t you wondering how I’ll get in?”  Scarlet asked.

“Not really,” he replied in a dismissive tone.  “I figured you got into the back of the limo without much issue.  You’ve got a way to get places.”

“Right … thanks for not asking too many questions.”

“Just following orders.”

“Yeah…”

Rachel reached out, gripping her hand.  “You want me to go with you?”

Scarlet took a deep breath before nodding.  “I’d like that.”

Scooting closer to each other, shadows surrounded them, and suddenly they were sinking into a soft mattress.  Rachel’s wide field of vision scanned the room in a single glance.

The thick blinds were closed, shutting out the outside light, and posters of various men and women lined the white walls, all seemingly vampire hunters by profession based on their attire and weaponry.

Rachel assumed it was Scarlet’s room as she looked around with a sad expression.  She slowly rose before gripping her left arm, right held tightly at her side.  “Just as I left it,” she mumbled.  “We go to another world … and it’s just as I left it.”

She walked over to a desktop computer in the left corner, pressing the power button; it didn’t turn on.  “Power must be out,” she mumbled, glancing toward her open closet and bathroom, right beside each other.  “I’m actually a vampire … at least I have a reflection.”

“Yeah, that’s an odd one,” Rachel whispered, getting up before flipping her hair back.  “So, this is your room?”

“Mhm … I can’t believe I’m not as embarrassed as I think I should be.  This was me,” she mumbled, picking up and hugging a few stuffed animals that Rachel assumed were from some anime.  “I feel sort of numb about it all, but there’s this strange tingling in my chest … like I’m trying to convince myself it’s not real.”

Rachel didn’t respond, vision continuing to scan the space.  The white carpet was vacuumed and mostly clean, but there was evidence of several people walking in before quickly exiting after making sure no one was inside.

The smell of vomit came from the bathroom, and she could detect different perfume and soap scents from a hamper in the closet.  It was a little strange; human Scarlet smelled entirely different than Vampire Scarlet, and she quickly filtered through all the scents until she came to the stronger scents of her mother and father, dotting the room.

“Need me to do anything?”  Rachel asked softly, trying to filter out the sounds of thousands of humans within her wavelength radius to focus on Scarlet.

Scarlet’s throat seemed to catch, and she shook her head, unable to speak.  A lump dropped down her throat, eyes wandering, and after a moment, she walked into the bathroom and flushed the toilet before standing in front of the mirror, staring blankly into her blue irises.  After a minute, she sighed and moved into the hallway.

She looked up and down before moving further up the hall.

Rachel watched her silently, keeping her features unreadable, following her movements.  

Scarlet leaned up against the wall, looking into a room.  Her voice was a little hoarse.  “My parents’ room … pretty plain for cultists, right?  There’s sunlight in there, though…”  She looked down at her hand, flipping it around while extending it.  “The small reflections sting a little … they did this to me.  They made me into this … thing.”

“What do you mean?”  Rachel’s brow knitted together.  “The Oscillation did this to us?”

“But why?”  Scarlet demanded, glaring at her parents’ room, fingers closing into fists.  “Why did I get turned into a Vampire?  Out of everyone, my parent's were the Vampire worshipping cultists that so happened to be performing a ritual that very night to turn me into the host for a blood goddess … no, demon, a blood devil!”

She turned to look at her, streams of red liquid running down her cheek.  “They used my name, my brush, my hair, me … they did some stupid ritual like the hundreds of other worthless rituals they did, but this time … this time it worked.”

Her nose twisted with disgust, and she slammed her fist against the wall, smashing through the sheetrock and snapping a support beam.  “They got everything they’d wished for … I’ve thought about it a lot.  I’m not like you, and I’m not like Maria or Fiona.  You know it!”

She bit into her lip, blood leaking to her chin before being reabsorbed through her skin.  “Scarlet’s Blessing, and all the strange skills I have … Achievement Skills.  You don’t just get that shit from nowhere.  No, Scarlet’s real … she really is The Reaper of Blood, and everything my parents talked about … no, more than they said.”

A lump dropped down Scarlet’s throat.   “I’ve seen anime and shows like this … just like this.  I’ve got some demonic goddess in me, and it’s only a matter of time before she takes me over.  I’m an avatar … a container … nothing more.  She probably needs to recuperate after some battle or something.  Who the hell knows?”

Rachel watched her with a neutral expression.  “It’s true.  When we went over our skills, some things didn’t make sense when it came to your abilities.  I think it is a little premature to definitively determine anything about The Oscillation, but your situation does raise some concerning questions.

“You’re right, a lot of it doesn’t add up.  It could be somehow tied with a power your mother gained during The Oscillation for all we know.  In truth, we know little, yet we’re in a position to know a lot more than any other human on this planet.”

“I’m sure scared,” Scarlet growled, fingers gripping the inside of her parents’ doorframe.  “I have real people that want to kill me … not fake movie shit, but real people, and I don’t know if they’re actually wrong to do it or not.  Really, I don’t … I don’t want to die, but I’m also scared of myself.  It’s all so confusing!”  She moaned, rubbing the side of her head; the doorframe creaked from the pressure of her grip.

“In an anime, you have situations like this … the world’s in danger because of one person, and you could stop all of it.  Maybe … who knows, maybe if I die, then Scarlet is released.  I just don’t know…”

Rachel walked forward and put her arms around Scarlet, hugging her close against her body as she trembled.

“That’s why we should look for answers.  Worrying about things we have no control over will only make things worse, and I know it’s hard to hear … even harder to follow.  I get that it’s no different than trying to tell yourself you don’t like someone when you really do … we can’t help how we feel.  We just have to soldier through and try to weather the pain.”

Scarlet sniffed back the blood leaking out of her nose, wrapping her arms around her.  “Thanks, Rachel … it’s a lot harder than I thought.  It’s like my heart’s going to explode … I can’t help it.  Why did my parents do this to me?  Why would any parent do this to their daughter?  Did they ever love me … or is their love for me so much that there was no other choice than to pick me for their god’s avatar … I’m just so confused.”  She cried.

Rachel’s ears and tail twitched as she shook her head.  “I don’t know … I can’t really say.”

They stood there for a bit, and Rachel watched the beams of sunlight in the room across from them slowly fade.  After a while, Scarlet took a deep breath to calm herself before pulling away.

“Thanks, Rachel.”

Stepping back, Rachel tightened her lips for a moment.  “Are you okay now?”

She folded her arms under her chest, blue irises gazing back at her parents’ room before shaking her head.  “I don’t think so.  I don’t know if I ever will be, and I’m more confused than I thought I’d be, but … I know I also need to move on.  It’s hard, but I’ll do my best.”

Scarlet chuckled sadly.  “Getting lost in our little adventures helps a bit.  It’s just … I never thought I’d lose everything … without warning—without a hint.”

Rachel leaned up against the wall, head tilting back so her ears would rest against the surface.  “It’s a bit different for me.”

“How so?”  Scarlet asked, leaning against the opposite wall to look up at her.

“I don’t regret my change.  I kind of want to, but I think it’s also a part of Lunar Pride or maybe even some other more instinctual part of my transformation.”  She looked down at her smooth, blemishless hand.  “I like it … this power I feel … the excitement of the unknown … the inevitable conflict that will shape our world.  I know I’ll be a part of it, and that gets my blood pumping.  I’m ready for war, and it’s pumping faster in my veins every day.”

“Doesn’t that scare you?”  Scarlet asked.  “Well, you’ve told me it does in the past, but what about now?”

“No, not really.  I wouldn’t say I’m scared … concerned, sure, but not scared.  Crystals with monsters attacking our world; forced conflict with armies … it all gets my blood hot, and I want to prepare more.  I know I need to get stronger, faster, smarter, and it pulls me into this fever that pulses through my body.”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed slightly as she lifted her red irises to study Scarlet.  “It could be The Reaper that’s interfering with that part in your own transformation.  Fiona, Maria, and me … I’ve seen it in both of them, too.  The acceptance of this change and our new nature; however, all I’ve noticed is resistance from you, which does make me worry about our own transformation.

“Whatever The Oscillation did to us, it was pretty thorough.  Yet, for you, there are definitely differences.  The System tells you that you are a Mythickin, but you’re not a Vampire, and that’s the interesting part; you’re a Vespertine Reaper.  I’ve never heard of a myth like that.  I’m a Lunar Hare, Fiona is a Prismatic Fairy, and Maria is a Sunlit Unicorn.

“Going by the same logic, you’re not a Vampire, but a Reaper, which connects to your abilities, like the Guise of the Reaper skill.  Yet, at the same time, you also have an entire base Skill Tree called Scarlet’s Tree, with another base Skill Tree called Reaper’s Tree.  You’re not wrong to be worried, Scarlet.  Let’s look for answers where we can, but we also need to live our lives, too.”

Scarlet took a long breath, pressing her hand against her chest.  “My heart feels like it’s beating a million miles an hour … yeah, it’s not, but I still have that feeling.  I’m thankful to have you as a friend, Rachel … your logical way of thinking always calms me down.”

Her smile turned into a smirk.  “But we really gotta do something about that family of yours!  Speaking about family…”  Her vision fell again.  “What do you think my Mom’s doing?”

Rachel shook her head.  “Who knows … I have some thoughts, but I’d rather not voice them until I get a lead.”

“You’re going to look into it?”  Scarlet asked.

A smile lit Rachel’s cheeks.  “Of course!  I mean, we got a lot of enemies pointing knives at our back and concerning people that seem interested in us.  Remember Relica?”

“Like I could ever forget that perverted psycho,” Scarlet mumbled with a shiver.

“Yup, we’ve got our hands full!”

“We totally do,” Scarlet sighed, shoulders falling into a depressed slump.  “There’s those guys I scared that went missing, too.”

Rachel lifted an eyebrow.  “Scared?  You literally made them poop their pants.”

“Ew…”  Scarlet giggled.  “Gross … yeah, I did kind of scare them shitless,” she winked.

Rachel winced.  “It is kind of gross, isn’t it?”

“More than kind of!”

They both laughed.

Scratching the side of her neck, Rachel stretched out her arms.  “So, see enough?”

Scarlet breathed out a long sigh before nodding.  “Yeah, just let me transfer over some clothes.”

They went back into her room, and Scarlet made a Blood Portal to toss clothes through, sending them back to the limo.  The last item she chose was her pillow, throwing it in like a basketball.

“It’s so hard to sleep without it,” Scarlet defended, catching Rachel’s smirk.

Rachel shrugged.  “I didn’t say anything, but I gotta say, you sleep pretty soundly without it from what I’ve seen.”

“It’s just not the same,” Scarlet huffed, puffing her cheeks to the side.  “Anyways, let’s go meet your parents and get a personal call from the President!”

“Yeah, my dad’s going to flip,” Rachel chuckled.

They teleported back into the limo, now filled with dresses, pants, shirts, shoes, garments, and the occasional stuffed animal.  Scarlet sighed with relief as she laid her head against her pillow atop the large pile of clothing.

Rachel chuckled before giving Andrew the go-ahead to take them to her parents’ house; the butterflies in her stomach returned.  Finally, time to meet my parents.  This time, for sure…

AuthorSME

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