(Spooky song)
Vampires… They drink human blood, they have pale skin, and they can't stand light… Some say they can only walk at night—but in Grimmhoth there's a problem… namely… it is always… night!
(Teeth!)
(Splach!)(aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhh!)
(Ffps!)
Grey: "Hey, I wanted to keep watching the movie."Daisy: "Well… the movie is over."Grey: "Hahhh… 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: "So how's the pretty detective lady doing?"Daisy: "Fiona?"Grey: "Exactly."Daisy: "Don't try it… Unlike me, she's not dumb enough to chat with you."Grey: "I don't like her… she's creepy… never smiles…"Daisy: "Well… she doesn't have to. One thing though… she is scary, and the title Lady Mystery suits Fiona."Grey: "Hmm…"Daisy: "Just like you said—she's really sad… she never smiles."Grey: "Do you think it's on purpose… or because of Dark Umbrella's infamous projects?"Daisy: "Hmm… I heard it's awful there for kids."Grey: "Who knows—maybe even worse than we think…"
(14 years earlier)
In Dark Umbrella Headquarters.
(bzzzzzz!)(Screams!)Fiona: "Hahhh… hahhhh…"Doctor: "Hmm… She reacts too strongly to pain…"Doctor: "Not good… We need to limit it so she can hardly feel pain…"Fiona: "Hahhh…"
(Saber!)
Fiona: "Ghhhh…"
(Bzzzz!)
Fiona: "Ghhhhh… arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
(A few days later)
Doctor: "Hahahaha… incredible… she did it… she barely feels pain…"Doctor: "Good…"
Fiona: "(But… I do feel it… I… just won't show it… otherwise… they'll… keep going… ghhhhhh… that's the best way…)"
Beside her… the bodies of the other children.
Doctor: "Hahahahahaha… Finally… new results…"Doctor: "What do we do with the others… the dead ones?"Doctor: "The children?… Throw them away… They're dead anyway…"
(A few days later)
Doctor: "Project works with Parzival, Noelle, and Fiona… And Fiona is now showing too few emotions."Doctor: "She doesn't even smile at gifts…"Doctor: "No wonder… We tortured her more than the others… She's probably afraid we only do it to test her…"Doctor: "Hmm."
The two-voiced doctor… one half different from the other… That's why they call him Two-Face… Doctor Stevens Hawgwort.
Doctor: "Hmm…"
(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: "Hmm… Why's she staring—does she have no emotions? Is she dumb?"Schoolgirl: "Gross…"Student: "That's the one who killed her parents…"
One boy looked at her.
Fiona: "Hmm…"
She looked back at him.
Fiona: "Hmm?"
She looked forward again. She stood up and he shoved her a bit so the book fell.
Fiona: "Hmm… do you have a problem?"Student: "Oh… sorry… I'm so sorry… Let me help."
She went to pick it up as he touched the book—then stepped on it… right where her hand was, the English book…
Fiona: "Hmm…"Student: "Does that hur—"
She stared at him.
Fiona: "Hands… off."Student: "It's my foot."Fiona: "Then foot off."Student: "Or what…"
She took her scissors and stabbed his leg.
Student: "argh… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhh…"Fiona: "Hmph."
She picked up the book.
Fiona: "Tsssss… coward…"
He collapsed.
(A few days later)
Headmistress: "You stabbed a student."Fiona: "I did."Headmistress: "At least you're not denying you hurt someone."Fiona: "He stepped on my leg… It was necessary. Next time it'll be the throat… That will nick the artery so it can't heal; the body gasps for air but can't with a hole in the neck… and… then… you die."Headmistress: "Hahhh… damn… what did they do to you back at Headquarters…"
Doctor Stevens Hawkings was then, incidentally, arrested… for sexual abuse… torture of children… assault charges… and many unbelievably forbidden experiments… erasing emotions… killing without remorse… He also often tried to talk about subjects you shouldn't teach children. Naturally, once this was found out… he was convicted. Meliodas—one of Dark Umbrella's leaders—took care of the children, gave them a place in the school, and did his best to help them… but 80 percent of the children died by suicide from pain and trauma… and 10 percent from wounds and illnesses… Only 10 percent of the test subjects survived… Fiona was lucky they could only torture her for three days before he was caught… Stevens Hogwarts was executed exactly four years ago. But shortly before that… Fiona visited him—being one of the few survivors of his experiments.
Fiona: "Hmm."Steven: "You've grown… Fiona…"Fiona: "Hmm…"Meliodas: "That's enough. You may not speak to her like that—not after what you did to her."Fiona: "Hmm…"Steven: "I don't understand… what you want from me… Isn't this what you wanted? Since you came, Meliodas… Dark Umbrella has changed…"Meliodas: "You don't fight catastrophes with catastrophes… I will not let the children suffer anymore… you sick… bastard…"
He patted Fiona's head.
Fiona: "Hmm…"Meliodas: "You don't have to do this, my little one… Hey… Fiona…"
Fiona trembled.
Meliodas: "Hey."
He knelt.
Meliodas: "What is it?"Fiona: "Hahhh… hahhhh…"
(Memory)
(Bzzzz!)(Hahahahahaha!)
Fiona: "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargghhhhhhhhhh… aaaaaaaaaaarghhh."Meliodas: "Fiona!"
Fiona: "gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
It was a memory.
Fiona: "hahhh… hahhh… hahhh… hahhh… hahhhh…"
She was sweating a lot.
Fiona: "Damn…"
(Knock!) (knock!)
Fiona: "Huh?"
She got 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 April were there too…
(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 the vampires were sealed?"Elizabeth: "There's a problem, Fiona… Do you really think there were only vampires in Sora? To become a vampire you do need vampire blood… but there's something else…"Fiona: "Hmm?"Elizabeth: "Namely… what if someone had a vampire's blood long ago?"Fiona: "What do you mean?"Elizabeth: "Ever heard of Dracula's dagger?"Fiona: "Yes… I think… I think they taught us about it at the Academy… Dracula's Dagger… Dracula stabbed his hand and collected his blood… into five vials… ugh…"Elizabeth: "Hmm."Fiona: "You're saying someone found one of the vials?!"
She shouted.
Fiona: "One of the vials?… That can't be so easy… You need magic for that and no one knows where it is…"Elizabeth: "The Forbidden… Library of Rapunzel…"Fiona: "Ugh…"Elizabeth: "You've certainly heard of them…"Fiona: "You think they're behind it."Elizabeth: "Could be others too… It might be the family Les mains des damnés, who can give us information."Fiona: "Who are Les mains des damnés?"Oliver: "Miss… It's possible we've had conflicts… that we've argued with them, but do you really think they'd go that far?"Elizabeth: "No… they wouldn't go that far to bring vampires. But I think you misunderstood me—I meant it might have to do with them; that doesn't mean they did it… Maybe they know something. I know we argue, but our family and theirs have one thing in common… not dragging innocents into it."
(Silence)Elizabeth: "Hmm… So I called them… and… well… I invited one of them…"
The door opened… A tall woman—around 180 cm… long blue hair and a tall hat.
Elizabeth: "(Ahem!)… Clémence…"Clémence: "Hello… dears…"Fiona: "Hmm?"Clémence: "My goodness—pardon me. I'm Clémence Lacroix. I'm a member of Les mains des damnés. Even if our name sounds brutal, we're not actually evil."Fiona: "Then explain why you're called the Hands of the Damned."Daisy: "Oh… you know that language."Fiona: "You mean the Frankish language? Yeah, I know it."Clémence: "How very interesting… So you're the one Elizabeth mentioned—Fiona, right? You possess the Card of the Mysterious… Hmm… You're right, the name is brutal… but that's because we're necrologists… We work with the gravekeepers."Fiona: "Hmm?"Clémence: "We can hear spirits."Fiona: "Huh?"Clémence: "Hmm?"Fiona: "All right, then tell me why you're staring at me like that."Clémence: "Hehehe… I'm staring because you're staring too… Your look says you apparently… aren't interested in people… so why do you want to help?"Fiona: "It's my job… I'm a detective."Clémence: "Hehehe… But otherwise you don't care."Fiona: "Exactly."Daisy: "Hey?"Grey: "Hmm?"Fiona: "I'm human… but I'm not really interested in humans… I don't know how to deal with most people… That's how I was taught."Clémence: "I see…"
She stepped closer… Then suddenly looked serious, cupped Fiona's cheeks, and fixed her with powerful eyes… Her pupils changed from green to lilac.
Clémence: "Les Mains des Mortes, les Filles!"
Fiona: "Huh!"
Suddenly Fiona felt something awful… She heard laughter, turned—and a ghostly figure stood before her… pale skin, dark eyes, smiling and laughing. Then it held Fiona's face… and Fiona smiled at her.
Fiona: "Hmm…"Clémence: "I see…"
The figure released Fiona.
Clémence: "You're not afraid of ghosts…"Fiona: "I talk with spirits… This one seems to be a sad, lonely spirit, isn't that right?"
She stroked the girl's hair.
Fiona: "… Ten years old… murdered… gunshot wound to the heart… seeking revenge… grieving her cruel end… She showed me all of that when she touched me… Spirits don't hurt people they trust."Clémence: "… She wanted to kill you—you smiled at her… Interesting… She only attacks people who fear her. You aren't afraid—what… what…"Fiona: "What's her name?"Clémence: "Melari."Fiona: "Melari…"
She smiled at her.
Fiona: "I see… beautiful name… is that right, Melari?"Melari: "mmmmm…"Fiona: "Hmm?"Melari: "mmmm…"Fiona: "Seems like she wants me to hold her hand."
She did.
Melari: "It hurts…"Fiona: "Huh?"Melari: "It hurts…"Fiona: "Ugh!"
(Memory)
(Peng!)(Splach!)
Melari: "Mama… it… hurts…"
(End of memory)
Fiona: "Huh!…"Melari: "mmmm…"Fiona: "Hmm…"
She stroked her head again.
Fiona: "Poor girl…"Clémence: "Hehe… She showed you what happened to her. She shows that to people who aren't afraid of her…"Fiona: "She must have died in a war… Must have been long ago… It's been 100 years since there was a war in Grimmhoth."Daisy: "I can see her too…"
The spirit looked at them. They weren't afraid either; they smiled and greeted her.
Clémence: "Hehe… She's been here before."April: "Long time no see, Melari."
She patted the girl's head.Oliver: "Good girl… good girl…"Daisy: "Uh… Did I miss something?"Fiona: "Wait, so you haven't been here long?"Elizabeth: "Well… she's been here for three months."Fiona: "I see…"Clémence: "You can see her when I call her—when I call, otherwise she's always in my box…"
She showed the box.
Fiona: "What's that?"Clémence: "A necrologian box—also called a spirit box. We make contracts with spirits and send them from here."Fiona: "Wait… Melari is strong?"Clémence: "You didn't feel it?"Fiona: "No."Clémence: "Oh dear… Seems you don't quite know spirits after all—at least not contract spirits. Dead spirits who make contracts become strong."Fiona: "I understand… oh… I didn't know."Clémence: "You're human… People can forget or not know things… You're still young and naive."Fiona: "Aha… I'm definitely naive—for coming here…"Clémence: "Hmm."Fiona: "I still don't trust you… Your eyes are the eyes of a… killer."Clémence: "Hmm?"Fiona: "I touched your hand… Then I knew you carry something strong… something heavy… and the wounds…"Clémence: "Hehehe… You think I've killed people."Fiona: "I have myself… I'm not saying I'm better."Clémence: "Hmm… hehehe… You're funny."Fiona: "And you're a deceiver."Elizabeth: "Oh dear… I didn't think Fiona sometimes looks at people like that…"Fiona: "But as long as you don't get in my way—or my friends'… that's fine by me."Clémence: "And if I bother you—or your friends?"Fiona: "I'll kill you."Clémence: "(Grins)… Interesting…"Fiona: "Hmph…"